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The GTS-LHC ECR ion source (named after the Grenoble Test Source and the Large Hadron Collider) at CERN provides heavy ion beams for the chain of accelerators from Linac3 up to the LHC for high energy collision experiments and to the Super Proton Synchrotron for fixed target experiments. During the standard operation, the oven technique is used to evaporate lead into the source plasma to produce multiple charged lead ion beams. Intensity and stability are key parameters for the beam, and the operational experience is that some of the source instabilities can be linked to the oven performance. Over long operation periods of several weeks, the evaporation is not stable which makes the tuning of the oven unpredictable and nonreproducible. A dedicated test stand is used to study the oven performance and possible improvements independently of the source operation. It was observed that the measured evaporation rate of the oven can vary spontaneously in a wide range even when stable operating conditions are applied to the oven controls. Data collected at the test stand hint that these fluctuations are caused by temperature instabilities of the oven itself. Several ways to improve the oven stability were tested, including insulation changes and modifications of the oven crucible. Some of the most promising results regarding the stability of the evaporation will be presented in this paper. peerReviewed

In this paper, the effect of the simultaneous rotation of two different groups, hydroxyl (OH) and hydroxymethyl (CH2OH) groups, on the basic properties of Glycerol are comprehensively studied. Relative energies are reported at the HF/ aug-cc-pVDZ, b3lyp/ aug-cc-pVDZ levels with corrections for zero-point vibrational energies. Structural parameters, Electric Dipole Moment and HOMO-LUMO energy gap of the identified conformers are also tabled. An inverse correlation between the relative energy and HOMO-LUMO energy gap is seen.

More than 1000 crystalline silicide materials have been screened for thermoelectric properties using first-principles atomistic calculations coupled with the semi-classical Boltzmann transport equation. Compounds that contain radioactive, toxic, rare, and expensive elements as well as oxides, hydrides, carbides, nitrides, and halides have been neglected in the study. The already well-known silicides with good thermoelectric properties, such as SiGe, Mg2Si, and MnSix, are successfully predicted to be promising compounds along with a number of other binary and ternary silicide compositions. Some of these materials have only been scarcely studied in the literature, with no thermoelectric properties being reported in experimental papers. These novel materials can be very interesting for thermoelectric applications provided that they can be heavily doped to give a sufficiently high charge carrier concentration and that they can be alloyed with isoelectronic elements to achieve adequately low phonon thermal conductivity. The study concludes with a list of the most promising silicide compounds that are recommended for further experimental and theoretical investigations.

We perform a detailed theoretical study of the edge fracture instability, which commonly destabilises the fluid-air interface during strong shear flows of entangled polymeric fluids, leading to unreliable rheological measurements. By means of direct nonlinear simulations, we map out phase diagrams showing the degree of edge fracture in the plane of the surface tension of the fluid-air interface and the imposed shear rate, within the Giesekus and Johnson-Segalman models, for different values of the nonlinear constitutive parameters that determine the dependencies on shear rate of the shear and normal stresses. The threshold for the onset of edge fracture is shown to be relatively robust against variations in the wetting angle where the fluid-air interface meets the hard walls of the flow cell, whereas the nonlinear dynamics depend strongly on wetting angle. We perform a linear stability calculation to derive an exact analytical expression for the onset of edge fracture, expressed in terms of the shear-rate derivative of the second normal stress difference, the shear-rate derivative of the shear stress (sometimes called the tangent viscosity), the jump in shear stress across the interface between the fluid and the outside air, the surface tension of that interface, and the rheometer gap size. Full agreement between our analytical calculation and nonlinear simulations is demonstrated. We also elucidate in detail the mechanism of edge fracture, and finally suggest a new way in which it might be mitigated in experimental practice. Some of the results in this paper were first announced in an earlier letter. The present manuscript provides additional simulation results, calculational details of the linear stability analysis, and more detailed discussion of the significance and limitations of our findings., Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures; v2: updated to post-referee version

With growing industrial interest in Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) applications of Quantum Well Hall Effect (QWHE) sensors, a study was conducted to quantitatively determine the detection capabilities and general performances of low frequency QWHE imaging for surface-breaking flaws and their comparison with Magnetic Particle Inspection (MPI), Eddy Current Testing (ECT) and Alternating Current Field Measurement (ACFM). In this study, a probe consisting of a QWHE sensor, illuminating electromagnet and sensor circuitry was controlled using an automated XY scanner with a measurement step of 250 μm to simulate an integrated array of QWHE sensors of 250 μm pitch. This probe applied a 3 mT, 100 Hz frequency magnetic field to map the surface magnetic field and Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) response of five bespoke dressed mild steel weld samples. These samples provided 15 surface-breaking flaws of varying length from 3 to 11 mm; mainly longitudinal toe and center-line cracks which are representative of typical requirements of our industrial partners. The same samples were also subjected to MPI, ECT and ACFM provided by leading industrial companies using their own qualified personnel, equipment and procedures. The outcomes and performance of each NDE technique including QWHE imaging were then compared and evaluated.

The paper deals with the description of the measuring method of temperature modulated electric current and influence of electric field on current in organic electrochemical transistors (OECT). The results of temperature dependences of current-voltage characteristics and their interpretation are presented. The measurements were performed on the organic electrochemical transistors with 3 ionic liquids: a) 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imid (No1), b) 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethyl sulfate (No4) and c) 1-ethyl-3- methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (No9). The method enables to measure the voltage and temperature dependence of the current in one step. Thus, the measured current response is influenced not only by temperature change but also by relaxation processes at the same time. The result is the dependence of activation energy on the source-drain voltage.

We theoretically prove in this paper that using planar multilayer graphene-hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) metamaterials (GhMMs) can yield ultrabroadband and high-contrast asymmetric transmission (AT) and asymmetric absorption (AA) of light. The AA and AT features are obtained in the far-infrared (FIR) and mid-infrared (MIR) regions for normally incident light with transverse magnetic polarization. Here, the GhMMs are integrated with two asymmetric gratings of Ge and are composed of alternating multilayers of graphene (11 multilayers) and hBN layers (10 layers). Moreover, the total subwavelength thickness of the hybrid structures is about 3 mu m, being less than half of the free-space wavelength up to nearly 50 THz. This approach-which is similar to the one introduced by Xu and Lezec [Nat. Commun. 5, 4141 (2014)] for a passive hyperbolic metamaterial operating in the visible range-is based on the excitation of high-beta modes of the GhMM with different transmission characteristics. In addition to being ultrabroadband and high-contrast, AT and AA features of the proposed GhMMs can be actively tuned by varying the chemical potential of graphene. Furthermore, it is shown that an on-off switching of AT factor at FIR and selective tunability at MIR frequencies can be obtained via varying mu. Due to its subwavelength and planar configuration and active operation, these multilayer graphene-hBN metamaterials with AT and AA characteristics hold promise for integration with compact optical systems operating in the MIR and FIR ranges and are suitable for applications such as optical diodes, sensors, and thermal emitters. Published under license by AIP Publishing.

The significant drop of the storage modulus under uniaxial deformation (Payne effect) restrains the performance of the elastomer-based composites and the development of possible new applications. In this paper molecular-dynamics (MD) computer simulations using LAMMPS MD package have been performed to study the mechanical properties of a coarse-grained model of this family of nanocomposite materials. Our goal is to provide simulational insights into the viscoelastic properties of filled elastomers, and try to connect the macroscopic mechanics with composite microstructure, the strength of the polymer-filler interactions and the polymer mobility at different scales. To this end we simulate random copolymer films capped between two infinite solid (filler aggregate) walls. We systematically vary the strength of the polymer-substrate adhesion interactions, degree of polymer confinement (film thickness), polymer crosslinking density, and study their influence on the equilibrium and non-equilibrium structure, segmental dynamics, and the mechanical properties of the simulated systems. The glass-transition temperature increases once the mesh size became smaller than the chain radius of gyration; otherwise it remained invariant to mesh-size variations. This increase in the glass-transition temperature was accompanied by a monotonic slowing-down of segmental dynamics on all studied length scales. This observation is attributed to the correspondingly decreased width of the bulk density layer that was obtained in films whose thickness was larger than the end-to-end distance of the bulk polymer chains. To test this hypothesis additional simulations were performed in which the crystalline walls were replaced with amorphous or rough walls.

Ice nucleation plays a significant role in a large number of natural and technological processes, but it is challenging to investigate experimentally because of the small time (ns) and short length scales (nm) involved. On the other hand, conventional molecular simulations struggle to cope with the relatively long timescale required for critical ice nuclei to form. One way to tackle this issue is to take advantage of free energy or path sampling techniques. Unfortunately, these are computationally costly. Seeded molecular dynamics is a much less demanding alternative that has been successfully applied already to study the homogeneous freezing of water. However, in the case of heterogeneous ice nucleation, nature's favourite route to form ice, an array of suitable interfaces between the ice seeds and the substrate of interest has to be built - and this is no trivial task. In this paper, we present a Heterogeneous SEEDing approach (HSEED) which harnesses a random structure search framework to tackle the ice-substrate challenge, thus enabling seeded molecular dynamics simulations of heterogeneous ice nucleation on crystalline surfaces. We validate the HSEED framework by investigating the nucleation of ice on: (i) model crystalline surfaces, using the coarse-grained mW model; and (ii) cholesterol crystals, employing the fully atomistic TIP4P/Ice water model. We show that the HSEED technique yields results in excellent agreement with both metadynamics and forward flux sampling simulations. Because of its computational efficiency, the HSEED method allows one to rapidly assess the ice nucleation ability of whole libraries of crystalline substrates - a long-awaited computational development in e.g. atmospheric science., Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures

Long-lived, high-frequency phonons are valuable for applications ranging from optomechanics to emerging quantum systems. For scientific as well as technological impact, we seek high-performance oscillators that offer a path toward chip-scale integration. Confocal bulk acoustic wave resonators have demonstrated an immense potential to support long-lived phonon modes in crystalline media at cryogenic temperatures. So far, these devices have been macroscopic with cm-scale dimensions. However, as we push these oscillators to high frequencies, we have an opportunity to radically reduce the footprint as a basis for classical and emerging quantum technologies. In this paper, we present novel design principles and simple microfabrication techniques to create high performance chip-scale confocal bulk acoustic wave resonators in a wide array of crystalline materials. We tailor the acoustic modes of such resonators to efficiently couple to light, permitting us to perform a non-invasive laser-based phonon spectroscopy. Using this technique, we demonstrate an acoustic Q-factor of 2.8 × 107 (6.5 × 106) for chip-scale resonators operating at 12.7 GHz (37.8 GHz) in crystalline z-cut quartz (x-cut silicon) at cryogenic temperatures., APL Photonics, 3 (6), ISSN:2378-0967

This paper presents a neutron accelerated study of soft errors in advanced electronic devices used in space missions, i.e. Flash memories performed at the ChipIr and VESUVIO beam lines at the ISIS spallation neutron source. The two neutron beam lines are set up to mimic the space environment spectra and allow neutron irradiation tests on Flash memories in the neutron energy range above 10 MeV and up to 800 MeV. The ISIS neutron energy spectrum is similar to the one occurring in the atmospheric as well as in space and planetary environments, with intensity enhancements varying in the range 108- 10 9 and 106- 10 7 respectively. Such conditions are suitable for the characterization of the atmospheric, space and planetary neutron radiation environments, and are directly applicable for accelerated tests of electronic components as demonstrated here in benchmark measurements performed on flash memories.

AIP Conference Proceedings, 2033, Nov. 2018, Article number 130013-1-130013-9 This study presents a comparison of the experimental tests and CFD results for a multi-tubular solar reactor for hydrogen production in a pilot plant in the Plataforma Solar de Almería. This paper describes the methodology used for the solar reactor design and the experimental tests carry out during the testing and characterization campaign of the plant. The CFD model which has been used to design the solar reactor has been validated with an error around 10%. CFD simulations also allow to solve the thermal balance in the reactor (cavity and tubes) and to calculate the percentage of reacting media inside the tubes which achieve the required temperature for the process. The temperature in the thermocouples is around 1200 °C for the experimental data and a 90% of the ferrite inside the tube is above 900 °C. The multi-tubular solar reactor, which has been design with CFD techniques, has been built and operated successfully. Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Plan Nacional de Investigación Científica, Desarrollo e Innovación Tecnológica 2008-2011 Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional IPT-2011-1323-920000 Fondos FEDER Andalucía 2007-2013 Proyecto RNM 6127

[EN] Cu2ZnSnS4(CZTS) is a non-toxic earth abundant material and a promising quaternary semiconductor compound of groups I - II - IV - VI having a kesterite symmetrical structure. Due to its optimum direct bandgap, it has been considered as a suitable material for absorber layers for photovoltaic cell applications. This paper presents the numerical simulation and modeling of CZTS based thin film kesterite photovoltaic cells using SCAP-1D software. The influence of device parameters such as the carrier concentration, thickness, densities of absorber, buffer and window layers, defect densities and the temperature effect on the performance of the ZnO/CdS/CZTS/Mo photovoltaic cell structure are analyzed. Defect densities are added to the absorber layer and the interface between the buffer layer and the absorber layer. This type of solar cell does not comprise any toxic material and can lead to non-toxic thin film photovoltaic cells with outstanding optical properties. In this work, promising optimized results had been achieved with a conversion efficiency of 23.72%, a fill factor of 82.54%, a short-circuit current (J(sc)) of 44.87 mA/cm(2), and an open circuit voltage (V-oc) of 0.64V. Published by AIP Publishing., This work was supported by Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (ENE2016-77798-C4-2-R) and Generalitat valenciana (Prometeus 2014/044).

We describe an approach to develop conducting immiscible blends of polystyrene (PS) and polypropylene (PP) with a percolated polyaniline/polyamide (PANI/PA) filler in the presence of a SEBS-g-MA compatibilizer. The underlying principle of the work is the ability of the compatibilizer to concurrently stabilize the bi-phasic morphology to develop co-continuous blends and to improve the dispersion of the filler by specific interactions. From the latter perspective, we have chosen a percolated composite of PANI in PA as the filler and prepared its master batches with the compatibilizer expecting that specific interactions between the amino end groups of PA and the MA anhydride groups in SEBS-g-MA would result in a better dispersion of PANI. The effect of master batch preparation method using either melt mixing or solution casting on the conductivity was studied, and the latter technique was found to be superior. As a result, the concomitant effect of morphology stabilization with improved PANI dispersion led to an improved connectivity of PANI in the phase of the blend where it selectively localizes (PS) for 40/60 PS/PP blends. To further improve the connectivity of PANI, we studied the effect of different sequence additions of the solution casted master batch to the blend components. Melt mixing the solution casted master batch with PS followed by PP resulted in double percolated PANI selectively localized in the continuous PS phase owing to their specific interaction in 50/50 PS/PP blend. This resulted in an increase of the dc conductivity by 6 decades in comparison to the neat blend, already at low PANI concentrations (6 wt%). The connectivity of the blend was affirmed by the power law behavior of the viscoelastic response, more in particular the storage modulus G', of the percolated blends. Furthermore, the effect of the compatibilized blend morphology on the dc conductivity and viscoelastic response was investigated by varying the blend composition. In summary, the proper choices of using a master batch preparation technique by solution casting and subsequently melt mixing the master batch with the polar PS phase followed by PP led to the formation of a double percolated network of filler in the continuous PS phase at low PANI concentrations.

The growth of III-V semiconductors on Si generates defects at the III-V/Si interface which are known to degrade the performance of electronic devices where this interface is an active region. This paper presents a density functional theory based analysis of the InAs/Si interface with the aim to find the origin of traps at this interface. The optimized structure is obtained by structural minimization and is compared with a filtered Transmission Electron Microscopy image from the literature. The good qualitative agreement between the two results validates the atomic model of the InAs/Si interface. Electronic structural calculations are performed on the geometrically optimized InAs/Si slab to identify the interface trap levels. The study reveals that the InAs/Si interface traps originate from unsaturated orbitals present on Arsenic interface atoms. The saturation of the unsaturated As atoms by H or S is able to passivate the interface and to reduce the Dit.

Laser assisted tape winding (LATW) has become more and more popular way of producing new thermoplastic products such as ultra-deep sea water riser, gas tanks, structural parts for aerospace applications. Predicting the temperature in LATW has been a source of great interest since the temperature at nip-point plays a key role for mechanical interface performance. Modeling the LATW process includes several challenges such as the interaction of optics and heat transfer. In the current study, numerical modeling of the optical behavior of laser radiation on circular surfaces is investigated based on a ray tracing and non-specular reflection model. The non-specular reflection is implemented considering the anisotropic reflective behavior of the fiber-reinforced thermoplastic tape using a bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF). The proposed model in the present paper includes a three-dimensional circular geometry, in which the effects of reflection from different ranges of the circular surface as well as effect of process parameters on temperature distribution are studied. The heat transfer model is constructed using a fully implicit method. The effect of process parameters on the nip-point temperature is examined. Furthermore, several laser distributions including Gaussian and linear are examined which has not been considered in literature up to now.

This paper describes the theoretical prediction, finite element simulation, and experimental studies of extrudate swell in monodisperse and bidisperse polystyrenes. We present a molecular approach to understanding extrudate swell using the tube-model-based Rolie-Poly constitutive equation within a Lagrangian finite element solver. This yields theoretical predictions of swelling which show a close universality: The molecular weight dependence of the swelling can be removed when the flow speed is scaled by the Rouse Weissenberg number. The roles that both chain orientation and stretch play in determining extrudate swell are clearly identifiable from plots of swelling ratio against each Weissenberg number. We also present isothermal extrusion experiments on the same polymers and can obtain good predictions well into the strong chain stretching regime. The predictions for swelling ratios match those from experiments up to Rouse Weissenberg numbers of ∼7, above which swelling is overpredicted by the Rolie-Poly equation.

Brownian thermal noise generated by mechanical losses in thin film coatings limits the sensitivity of gravitational wave detectors, as well as several high precision metrology experiments. Improving the sensitivity of the next generation of gravitational wave detectors will require optical coatings with significantly reduced mechanical losses. In this paper, we describe a system that we developed to measure the mechanical loss angle of thin film coatings deposited on fused silica substrates. The novelty of this system resides in the capability of parallel measurement of up to four samples and the ability to simultaneously probe all the resonant modes of each sample. This high throughput measurement system allows the exploration of a large number of deposition and material parameters, which can be tuned to achieve low loss coatings.

We present a multi-microscopy study of dislocations in InGaN, whereby the same threading dislocation was observed under several microscopes (atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, cathodoluminescence imaging and spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy), and its morphological optical and structural properties directly correlated. We achieved this across an ensemble of defects large enough to be statistically significant. Our results provide evidence that carrier localization occurs in the direct vicinity of the dislocation through the enhanced formation of In-N chains and atomic condensates, thus limiting non-radiative recombination of carriers at the dislocation core. We highlight that the localization properties in the vicinity of threading dislocations arise as a consequence of the strain field of the individual dislocation and the additional strain field building between interacting neighboring dislocations. Our study therefore suggests that careful strain and dislocation distribution engineering may further improve the resilience of InGaN-based devices to threading dislocations. Besides providing a new understanding of dislocations in InGaN, this paper presents a proof-of-concept for a methodology which is relevant to many problems in materials science.

Nowadays, inkjet-printed devices such as transistors are still unstable in air and have poor performances. Moreover, the present electronics applications require a high degree of reliability and quality of their properties. In order to accomplish these application requirements, hybrid electronics is fulfilled by combining the advantages of the printing technologies with the surface-mount technology. In this work, silver nanoparticle-based inkjet ink (AgNP ink) is used as a novel approach to connect surface-mount devices (SMDs) onto inkjet-printed pads, conducted by inkjet printing technology. Excellent quality AgNP ink-junctions are ensured with high resolution picoliter drop jetting at low temperature (∼150 °C). Electrical, mechanical, and morphological characterizations are carried out to assess the performance of the AgNP ink junction. Moreover, AgNP ink is compared with common benchmark materials (i.e., silver epoxy and solder). Electrical contact resistance characterization shows a similar performance between the AgNP ink and the usual ones. Mechanical characterization shows comparable shear strength for AgNP ink and silver epoxy, and both present higher adhesion than solder. Morphological inspections by field-emission scanning electron microscopy confirm a high quality interface of the silver nanoparticle interconnection. Finally, a flexible hybrid circuit on paper controlled by an Arduino board is manufactured, demonstrating the viability and scalability of the AgNP ink assembling technique.

© 2017 Author(s). This paper describes an approach for the reduction of plasma-induced damage in self-assembly based porous ultra low-k organosilica dielectrics. The concept is based on retention of the partially decomposed sacrificial organic phase (template) into the pores of the low-k film during plasma exposure. The amount of the template residues can be controlled by varying the hard-bake process time. It is shown that those residues are uniformly distributed throughout the film in the form of pore wall coatings. After plasma processing, the remaining residues are removed by means of a UV cure. Plasma damage to the underlying organosilica matrix was assessed by exposure of the differently hard-baked low-k films to fluorine-rich Ar/SF6 plasma. The thickest coating, estimated to be around 0.4 nm, enables a nearly damage-free etch process without any carbon depletion or k-value degradation along with limited shrinkage induced by post-etch UV-curing (

In this paper, we present a novel approach to Fourier transform spectral interferometry based on single-shot detection of broadband pulses. It allows heterodyne detection with non-phase-stabilised setups, which use ps- and fs-pulsed laser sources. This approach can tremendously simplify the implementation of complex techniques such as heterodyne Fourier transform four-wave mixing and pave the way to novel phase-sensitive diagnostics for lasers and optical setups.

In this contribution we report on the structural and magnetic properties of an Fe phthalocyanine (FePc) thin film deposited on a silicon substrate. The planar FePc molecules order spontaneously in a standing configuration, i.e., with the molecular plane perpendicular to the substrate. The x-ray linear polarized absorption and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism experiments at the Fe-L2,3 edges at T = 6 K were performed, concluding that at this temperature the film displays magnetic anisotropy with the main easy axis perpendicular to the substrate. This result is explained in terms of the FePc single molecule anisotropy which has its larger moment in the molecule plane. Thus, the standing configuration in polycrystalline thin films favors statistically that, at the macroscopic array level, the magnetic easy anisotropy axis is normal to the substrate., The financial support of the Spanish MINECO MAT2014-53921-R and Aragonese DGA-IMANA E34, both cofunded by Fondo Social Europeo and European Union FEDER funds is acknowledged. T.G. acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) DMR0847552 and the W.M. Keck Foundation. The XMCD experiments were performed at the ID08 (now ID32) beamline of the ESRF, experiment HE2486. This is a highly collaborative research. The experiments were conceived jointly, the data was extensively debated and the paper was written by multiple iteration between all the coauthors. Samples were fabricated, characterized and prepared at UCSD (T.G. and I.K.S.). The research at UCSD was supported by the Office of Basic Energy Science, U.S. Department of Energy, BES-DMS funded by the Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Science, DMR under Grant No. DE FG02 87ER-45332.

This paper validates simulation predictions, which state that specific modes could be enhanced in quantitative ultrasonic bone testing. Tunable selection of ultrasonic guided wave excitation is useful in non-destructive testing since it permits the mediation of energy into diagnostically useful modes while reducing the energy mediated into disturbing contributions. For instance, it is often challenging to distinguish and extract the useful modes from ultrasound signals measured in bone covered by a soft tissue. We show that a laser diode array can selectively excite ultrasound in bone mimicking phantoms. A fiber-coupled diode array (4 elements) illuminated two solid tubes (2-3mm wall thickness) embraced by an opaque soft-tissue mimicking elastomer coating (5mm thick). A predetermined time delay matching the selected mode and frequency was employed between the outputs of the elements. The generated ultrasound was detected by a 215 kHz piezo receiver. Our results suggest that this array reduces the disturbances caused by the elastomer cover and so pave way to permit non-contacting in vivo guided wave ultrasound assessment of human bones. The implementation is small, inexpensive, and robust in comparison with the conventional pulsed lasers. Published by AIP Publishing.

Nucleation processes are at the heart of a large number of phenomena, from cloud formation to protein crystallization. A recently emerging area where nucleation is highly relevant is the initiation of filamentous protein self-assembly, a process that has broad implications in many research areas ranging from medicine to nanotechnology. As such, spontaneous nucleation of protein fibrils has received much attention in recent years with many theoretical and experimental studies focussing on the underlying physical principles. In this paper we make a step forward in this direction and explore the early time behaviour of filamentous protein growth in the context of nucleation theory. We first provide an overview of the thermodynamics and kinetics of spontaneous nucleation of protein filaments in the presence of one relevant degree of freedom, namely the cluster size. In this case, we review how key kinetic observables, such as the reaction order of spontaneous nucleation, are directly related to the physical size of the critical nucleus. We then focus on the increasingly prominent case of filament nucleation that includes a conformational conversion of the nucleating building-block as an additional slow step in the nucleation process. Using computer simulations, we study the concentration dependence of the nucleation rate. We find that, under these circumstances, the reaction order of spontaneous nucleation with respect to the free monomer does no longer relate to the overall physical size of the nucleating aggregate but rather to the portion of the aggregate that actively participates in the conformational conversion. Our results thus provide a novel interpretation of the common kinetic descriptors of protein filament formation, including the reaction order of the nucleation step or the scaling exponent of lag times, and put into perspective current theoretical descriptions of protein aggregation., We acknowledge support from the Human Frontier Science Program and Emmanuel College (A.Š.), St John’s and Peterhouse Colleges (T.C.T.M.), the Swiss National Science Foundation (T.C.T.M.), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (T.P.J.K.), the Frances and Augustus Newman Foundation (T.P.J.K.), the European Research Council (T.C.T.M., T.P.J.K., and D.F.), and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (D.F.).

© 2016 Author(s). For Cu/low-k interconnects, the reversed damascene is an alternative integration approach where the metal wires are patterned first and then the spacing filled with a flowable dielectric. In this paper, the replacement of a sacrificial template by gap-filling ultralow-k dielectrics is studied, focusing on yield and transport performance (“replacement dielectric” scheme). On non-passivated copper, the low-k curing processes induce severe damage to the metal lines, leading to the degraded electrical properties. This is confirmed by chemical inspection on the blanket Cu films and morphological inspection on patterned structures. In order to avoid Cu oxidation and out-diffusion at elevated temperature, Cu passivation by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition SiCN is proposed and studied in detail. The inter-metal dielectric properties of replacement low-k are evaluated by resistance-capacitance and IV measurements using a Meander-Fork structure. By tuning the passivation layer thickness and ultraviolet curing time, high electrical yield is obtained with integrated porous low-k showing promising effective k-values (keff) and breakdown voltages (Ebd), confirming the interest of this specific integration scheme. ispartof: Applied Physics Letters vol:109 issue:23 pages:232901-2329001 status: published

An acoustic metamaterial has been constructed using 3D printing. It contained an array of air-filled channels, whose size and shape could be varied within the design and manufacture process. In this paper we analyze both numerically and experimentally the properties of this polymer metamaterial structure, and demonstrate its use for the imaging of a sample with sub-wavelength dimensions in the audible frequency range.\ud \ud

Mechanical failure resulting from subcritical crack growth in the SiN x inorganic barrier layer applied on a flexible multilayer structure was studied by an electro-mechanical two-point bending method. A 10¿nm conducting tin-doped indium oxide layer was sputtered as an electrical probe to monitor the subcritical crack growth in the 150¿nm dielectric SiN x layer carried by a polyethylene naphthalate substrate. In the electro-mechanical two-point bending test, dynamic and static loads were applied to investigate the crack propagation in the barrier layer. As consequence of using two loading modes, the characteristic failure strain and failure time could be determined. The failure probability distribution of strain and lifetime under each loading condition was described by Weibull statistics. In this study, results from the tests in dynamic and static loading modes were linked by a power law description to determine the critical failure over a range of conditions. The fatigue parameter n from the power law reduces greatly from 70 to 31 upon correcting for internal strain. The testing method and analysis tool as described in the paper can be used to understand the limit of thin-film barriers in terms of their mechanical properties.

In science and engineering the concepts of size and scale play a key role in design. Many physical phenomena show a dependence on the size of objects and the scale of consideration. Of particular interest to the present study are the situations when the dependence of system response on the size appears to be complex, insofar as it is characterized by transitions in behaviour between different scales. Of particular importance is the connection between laboratory specimens and full scale objects and systems. In the context of modern technology, of increasing interest is the behaviour of nano-scale objects as opposed to macroscopic. Scaling transitions and size effects in the fracture and strength of materials and structures have particular significance in modern science and engineering. The boundaries of scale of the mechanical phenomena studied and devices exploited are expanding, on the one hand, towards global scale phenomena, and on the other towards the nanometre scale processes. These circumstances challenge the conventional wisdom acquired over many decades, according to which laboratory experiments performed at the engineering scale (sub-mm to a few meters) provide the source of material property data then used as input for modelling at the scale of the real object. When deviations from accepted scaling laws are found, new physical deformation mechanisms need to be proposed or identified, and new modelling approaches to be developed and validated. In this paper I review some examples of non-trivial size dependence, and address a fundamental question of the efficient description of size effects and scale transitions. The functional description of multi-scaling power law regimes is considered, and the functional form suitable for the task is identified. This form is then applied to a variety of experimental data manifesting size effects, including dual failure strength criteria (stress and toughness), fatigue crack growth thresholds and applications in the context of fretting fatigue, the Paris fatigue crack growth law, etc. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.

There is a great deal of interest in the underlying causes of efficiency droop in InGaN/GaN quantum welllight emitting diodes, with several physical mechanisms being put forward to explain the phenomenon. In this paper we report on the observation of a reduction in the localization induced S-shape temperature dependence of the peak photoluminescence energy with increasing excitation power density. This S-shape dependence is a key fingerprint of carrier localization. Over the range of excitation power density where the depth of the S shape is reduced, we also observe a reduction in the integrated photoluminescence intensity per unit excitation power, i.e., efficiency droop. Hence, the onset of efficiency droop occurs at the same carrier density as the onset of carrier delocalization. We correlate these experimental results with the predictions of a theoretical model of the effects of carrier localization due to local variations in the concentration of the randomly distributed In atoms on the optical properties of InGaN/GaN quantum wells. On the basis of this comparison of theory with experiment we attribute the reduction in the S-shape temperature dependence to the saturation of the available localized states. We propose that this saturation of the localized states is a contributory factor to efficiency droop whereby nonlocalized carriers recombine non-radiatively.

Target poisoning phenomenon in reactive sputtering is well-known and has been studied in depth over the years. There is a clear agreement that this effect has a strong link on the quality, composition, properties and pronouncedly on the deposition rate of PVD coatings. With the introduction of IPVD techniques such as the relatively novel High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HIPIMS), which have highly ionized plasmas of the depositing species (metal and gas ions), target poisoning phenomenon is highly contested and thus has been left wide open for discussion. Particularly there have been contradicting reports on the presence of prominent hysteresis curves for reactive sputtering by HIPIMS. More work is needed to understand it which in turn will enable reader to simplify the coating deposition utilizing HIPIMS. \ud This work focuses on the study of Chromium (Cr) targets when operated reactively in argon + nitrogen atmosphere and in different ionizing conditions, namely (a) pure HIPIMS (b) HIPIMS combined with UBM (Unbalanced Magnetron Sputtering) and (c) pure UBM. Nitrogen flow rate was varied (5 sccm to 300 sccm) whereas the average power on target was maintained around 8kW. Target resistance vs N2 flow rate curves for these conditions have been plotted in order to analyze the poisoning effect. When only one UBM target was operating target poisoning effect was prominent between the flow rates of 80 and 170 sccm. However it appeared reduced and in nearly same flow rate ranges (90 and 186 sccm) when only one HIPIMS target was operating. When 4 UBM targets were operated, target poisoning effect was evident however expectedly moved to higher flow rates (175 sccm and above) whereas appeared diminished when 2 UBM and 2 HIPIMS were running simultaneously. Further, to analyze the effect of actual target conditions (poisoning) on deposition rate and on the properties of the films deposited, commercially widely used Chromium nitride (CrN) coatings were deposited in mixed HIPIMS and UBM plasma and at 5 different flow rates of nitrogen. Detail characterization results of these coatings have been presented in the paper which will assist the reader in deposition parameter selection.\ud Keywords : HIPIMS, UBM, CrN, Nitrogen flow rate, target poisoning, PVD coatings

In this paper we study the morphology of drops formed on partially wetting substrates, whose footprint is not circular. These drops are consequence of the breakup processes occurring in thin films when anisotropic contact line motions take place. The anisotropy is basically due to the hysteresis of the contact angle since there is a wetting process in some parts of the contact line, while a dewetting occurs in other parts. Here, we obtain a characteristic drop shape from the rupture of a long liquid filament sitting on a solid substrate. We analyze its shape and contact angles by means of goniometric and refractive techniques. We also find a non-trivial steady state solution for the drop shape within the long wave approximation (lubrication theory), and we compare most of its features with experimental data. This solution is presented both in Cartesian and polar coordinates, whose constants must be determined by a certain group of measured parameters. Besides, we obtain the dynamics of the drop generation from numerical simulations of the full Navier-Stokes equation, where we emulate the hysteretic effects with an appropriate spatial distribution of the static contact angle over the substrate. Fil: Ravazzoli, Pablo Damián. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. - Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Fisica Arroyo Seco; Argentina Fil: Gonzalez, Alejandro Guillermo. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. - Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Fisica Arroyo Seco; Argentina Fil: Diez, Javier Alberto. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. - Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigaciones en Física e Ingeniería del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Fisica Arroyo Seco; Argentina

In this paper was demonstrated the effect of preparation condition under vacuum and microwave drying on the mechanical properties of porcelain ceramic foam. The study was based on five different polymeric foam templates with thickness ranging from 0.5 to 4 cm. The templates were impregnated in ceramic slurry with solid loading ranging from 35 to 55 wt. % under vacuum pressure 10−1 Torr and then sintered to 1250°C. Effects of polymeric foam template thickness and solid loading quantity were evaluated based on porosity, density and mechanical properties (compressive and flexural strengths) of the ceramic foam.

Surface texturing as well as boundary slip is an effective approach to increase the tribological performance, friction and load support of lubricated mechanical components. However, in a textured bearing with boundary slip, cavitation, which is generally neglected, is important, and it alters the flow behavior. Therefore, in this paper a novel analytical equation was proposed based on a modified Reynolds equation considering boundary slip and cavitation. The modified Reynolds equation was derived by following the general approach to deduce the Reynolds equation from the Navier-Stokes equation by assuming classical assumptions, except that boundary slip was present. A theoretical investigation was carried out to study the effect of boundary slip including cavitation on the pressure distribution of a pocket bearing. Different slip configurations (full slip, single slip and semi slip) were studied and compared to various pocket depths. The results indicated that the presence of boundary slip both on the lead...

This paper reports the influence of Mo and Ni on the tensile properties of the modified 13Cr martensitic stainless steels in tempered condition. Four steels with different content of Mo and Ni were prepared by induction melting followed by hot forging, quenching and tempering. The experimental results showed that the addition of about 1% and 3% Mo has a beneficial effect to increase both the tensile strength and the elongation of the steels. On the contrary, the addition of about 3% Ni into the martensitic stainless steel results in decreasing of both the tensile strength and the elongation. Among the alloys investigated the 13Cr3Mo type steel exhibited largest tensile strength of 1348 MPa and largest elongation of 12%. The observation on the tensile fractured surfaces by using scanning electron microscope supported these findings.

Adachi K., Ogi H., Takeuchi N., et al. "Unusual elasticity of monoclinic β-Ga2O3", Journal of Applied Physics, 124(8), 085102 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5047017., This paper determines all the 13 elastic constants Cij of monoclinic β-Ga2O3, which has never been achieved since the discovery of this crystal about 100 years ago. We used resonant ultrasound spectroscopy with laser-Doppler interferometry, where the resonant-mode identification was unambiguously made by comparing measured and calculated displacement distributions on the vibrating specimen surface. Using more than 110 resonance frequencies, we inversely determined the Cij: C11 = 242.8 ± 2.9, C22 = 343.8 ± 3.8, C33 = 347.4 ± 2.5, C44 = 47.8 ± 0.2, C55 = 88.6 ± 0.5, C66 = 104.0 ± 0.5, C12 = 128 ± 0.1, C13 = 160 ± 1.5, C23 = 70.9 ± 2.1, C15 =-1.62 ± 0.05, C25 = 0.36 ± 0.01, C35 = 0.97 ± 0.03, and C46 = 5.59 ± 0.69 GPa. We also performed a density-functional-theory calculation and found that the local density approximation yields both the lattice parameters and Cij closer to the measurements than the generalized gradient approximation. Strong elastic-stiffness anisotropy is found in the diagonal elastic constants: C11 is smaller than C22 and C33 by ∼30%, and the difference between C44 and C66 exceeds 50%. Our measurements also reveal anomalous Poisson's ratios: ν21 and ν31 exceed 0.5, and ν23 and ν32 are almost zero. We explain these unusual elastic properties with the truss-like deformation of the tetrahedra-octahedra network and confirm this view with the ab-initio calculation.

For organic solar cells, insertion of an optical spacer between the active layer and the reflective electrode results in a redistribution of the optical electric field. In this paper, theoretical calculations using optical modeling are compared with experimental results for devices with ZnO as optical spacer. An excellent agreement was found for blends composed of poly(3-hexylthiophene) and a fullerene derivative [6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester.

Recently, we reported on the appearance of a double peak in the switching current during the reverse poling. In the present paper, the switching current measurements have been carried out on a soft lead zirconate titanate as a function of grain size. While in small grains only a small single switching peak is observed, large grains, however, showed double peak switching, as commonly observed in this material. The pyroelectric coefficient curves show a consistent trend with the switching curves. This behavior is attributed to non-180° domain switching during the reversed poling case as a result of residual stresses developed during forward poling. ©2007 American Institute of Physics

In this paper we present the study of 1/f noise in SOI n‐ and p‐MOSFET fabricated on Si(100) and Si(110) oriented wafers. A comparison of noise performances are first presented, then the impact of the in‐plane channel direction on the low frequency noise for each device is investigated. A particular attention is made for transistors fabricated on Si(110) oriented substrates.

This paper explores the use of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT)/poly(butyl methacrylate) composites as a material for use in unconventional computing. The mechanical and electrical properties of the materials are investigated. The resulting data reveal a correlation between the SWCNT concentration/viscosity/conductivity and the computational capability of the composite. The viscosity increases significantly with the addition of SWCNTs to the polymer, mechanically reinforcing the host material and changing the electrical properties of the composite. The electrical conduction is found to depend strongly on the nanotube concentration; Poole-Frenkel conduction appears to dominate the conductivity at very low concentrations (0.11% by weight). The viscosity and conductivity both show a threshold point around 1% SWCNT concentration; this value is shown to be related to the computational performance of the material. A simple optimization of threshold logic gates shows that satisfactory computation is only achieved above a SWCNT concentration of 1%. In addition, there is some evidence that further above this threshold the computational efficiency begins to decrease.

In this paper, the degradation characteristics of MOS (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) stacks with Al2O3/AlON or Al2O3 only as dielectric layers on InGaAs were studied. The dielectric nitrides are proposed as possible passivation layers to prevent InGaAs oxidation. At negative bias, it has been found out that the main contribution to the overall degradation of the gate oxide is dominated by the generation of positive charge in the gate oxide. This effect is pronounced in MOS stacks with Al2O3/AlON as dielectric, where we think the positive charge is mainly generated in the AlON interlayer. At positive bias, the degradation is dominated by buildup of negative charge due to electron trapping in pre-existing or stress-induced traps. For stress biases where the leakage currents are low, the changes in the electrical characteristics are dominated by electron-trapping into traps located in energy levels in the upper part of the semiconductor gap. For stress biases with higher leakage current levels, the electron trapping occurs in stress-induced traps increasing the shift of VFB towards positive bias. The overall results clearly show that the improvement of the high-k dielectric/InGaAs interface by introducing N into the Al-oxide does not necessarily mean an increase in the reliability of the MOS stack. Fil: Palumbo, Félix Roberto Mario. Technion - Israel Institute of Technology; Israel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Krylov, I.. Technion - Israel Institute of Technology; Israel Fil: Eizenberg, M.. Technion - Israel Institute of Technology; Israel

© 2015 AIP Publishing LLC. This paper presents a combined technique of high voltage off-state stress and current transient measurements to investigate the trapping/de-trapping characteristics of Au-free AlGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes. The device features a symmetric three-terminal structure with a central anode contact surrounded by two separate cathodes. Under the diode off-state stress conditions, the two separate cathodes were electrically shorted. The de-trapping dynamics was studied by monitoring the recovery of the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) current at different temperatures by applying 0.5 V at cathode 2 while grounding cathode 1. During the recovery, the anode contact acts as a sensor of changes in diode leakage current. This leakage variation was found to be mainly due to the barrier height variation. With this method, the energy level and capture cross section of different traps in the AlGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diode can be extracted. Furthermore, the physical location of different trapping phenomena is indicated by studying the variation of the diode leakage current during the recovery. We have identified two distinct trapping mechanisms: (i) electron trapping at the AlGaN surface in the vicinity of the Schottky contact which results in the leakage reduction (barrier height φB increase) together with RON degradation; (ii) the electron trapping in the GaN channel layer which partially depletes the 2DEG. The physical origin of the two different traps is discussed in the text. ispartof: Applied Physics Letters vol:106 issue:8 pages:0835021-0835024 status: published

In order to understand the magnetocaloric response of materials, it is important to analyze the interactions between the different phases present in them. Recent models have analyzed the influence of these interactions on the magnetocaloric response of composites, providing an estimate value of the interaction field that is consistent with experimental results. This paper analyzes to which extent magnetization first-order reversal curve (FORC) method can be used to calculate these interactions. It is shown that the different field ranges that are explored using these techniques (inside the hysteretic region for FORC; close to magnetic saturation for magnetocaloric effect) produce interaction field values that differ in order of magnitude, with FORC being sensitive to the lower values of the interaction field and magnetocaloric analysis accounting for the larger interactions

In this work, we report on a highly variable, compact, and light high-vacuum sputter deposition unit designed for in situ experiments using synchrotron radiation facilities. The chamber can be mounted at various synchrotron beamlines for scattering experiments in grazing incidence geometry. The sample position and the large exit window allow to perform x-ray experiments up to large q values. The sputtering unit is easy to mount on existing experimental setups and can be remote-controlled. In this paper, we describe in detail the design and the performance of the new sputtering chamber and present the installation of the apparatus at different 3rd generation light sources. Furthermore, we describe the different measurement options and present some selected results. The unit has been successfully commissioned and is now available for users at PETRA III at DESY.

This paper presents a model suitable to design and characterize broadband thin film sensors based on piezoelectric polymers. The aim is to describe adequately the sensor behavior, with a reasonable number of parameters and based on well-known physical equations. The mechanical variables are described by an acoustic transmission line. The electrical behavior is described by the quasi-static approximation, given the large difference between the velocities of propagation of the electrical and mechanical disturbances. The line parameters include the effects of the elastic and electrical properties of the material. The model was validated with measurements of a poly(vinylidene flouride) sensor designed for short-pulse detection. The model variables were calculated from the properties of the polymer at frequencies between 100 Hz and 30 MHz and at temperatures between 283 K and 313-K, a relevant range for applications in biology and medicine. The simulations agree very well with the experimental data, predicting satisfactorily the influence of temperature and the dielectric properties of the polymer on the behavior of the sensor. Conversely, the model allowed the calculation of the material dielectric properties from the measured response of the sensor, with good agreement with the published values. Fil: González, Martín Germán. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ingeniería. Departamento de Física; Argentina Fil: Sorichetti, Patricio Aníbal. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ingeniería. Departamento de Física; Argentina Fil: Cardozo Santiago, Gustavo David. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ingeniería. Departamento de Física; Argentina

This paper describes the use of electro-hydrodynamic actuation to control the transition between three major flow patterns of an aqueous-oil Newtonian flow in a microchannel: droplets, beads-on-a-string (BOAS), and multi-stream laminar flow. We observed interesting transitional flow patterns between droplets and BOAS as the electric field was modulated. The ability to control flow patterns of a two-phase fluid in a microchannel adds to the microfluidic tool box and improves our understanding of this interesting fluid behavior.