We report on a new cross-section measurement for the 3He($\alpha${}, $\gamma${})7Be reaction at three medium energies of Ec.m. between 1 and 3 MeV. The interest stems from the significant role played by the reaction in calculating an accurate solar neutrino flux and the primordial 7Li abundance. The energy dependence of the astrophysical S34 factor observed in the present work, especially above 1 MeV, highlights the need to constrain theories in order to obtain a precise extrapolated value for S34(0). In this context, a comparison with the recent theoretical work in a fully microscopic fermionic molecular dynamics approach and a few other representative calculations emphasize the need for further experimental as well as theoretical work to resolve the existing conflicts.

The atomic composition, structural, morphological, and optical properties of N-rich copper nitride thin films have been investigated prior to and after annealing them in vacuum at temperatures up to 300 °C. Films were characterized by means of ion-beam analysis (IBMA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and spectroscopic ellipsometry techniques (SE). The data reveal that even when the total (integrated over the whole thickness) atomic composition of the films remains constant, nitrogen starts to migrate from the bulk to the film surface, without out-diffusing, at temperatures as low as 100 °C. This migration leads to two chemical phases with different atomic concentration of nitrogen, lattice parameters, and crystallographic orientation but with the same crystal structure. XRD experimental and Rietveld refined data seem to confirm that nitrogen excess accommodates in interstitial locations within the anti-ReO3 crystal lattice forming a solid solution. The influence of nitrogen migration on the optical (electronic) properties of the films will be discussed.

2D monolayer molybdenum disulphide (MoS₂) has been the focus of intense research due to its direct bandgap compared with the indirect bandgap of its bulk counterpart; however its photoluminescence (PL) intensity is limited due to its low absorption efficiency.