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High-field effects in metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors have been studied in detail. A comprehensive set of experiments, stressing identically fabricated capacitors on both P-type and N-type silicon, both in accumulation and in inversion, has been made to study defect generation in the oxide at high fields. There is clear experimental evidence that both bulk hole and electron traps are generated under all stress conditions. High-field prebreakdown properties depend mainly upon the dynamics of generation of traps, trapping and detrapping at these and in previously existing traps. It has been found that of several processes, some dominate, depending upon the type of silicon and polarity during stressing, and this is also true for the final breakdown mechanism. In this paper the dominant mechanisms are identified for each of the field stress conditions that have been studied.

Seventeen years ago, Ito, Naito, and Inaba [J. Appl. Phys. 46, 3992 (1975)] studied the general nature of induced second‐order nonlinear optical polarizations and their phase matching in biaxial crystal. They derived the expressions of the effective nonlinear coefficients for both type I and type II phase matching. In recent research work, we found some errors in some of the expressions in that paper which were used by some papers published later.

This paper describes a one‐dimensional analysis of a piezoelectric resonator with multiple nonpiezoelectric layers of arbitrary thickness and complex shear modulus. This analysis shows under what conditions the simple Butterworth–Van Dyke (BVD) lumped‐element equivalent circuit can be used to extract the properties of these layers, and provides a theoretical basis for doing so under these conditions. The method presented here is based on the physics of wave propagation, but uses transmission line techniques to transform the equations and boundary conditions into a simple string of 2×2 matrix multiplications, which easily accommodate any number of layers. An analysis of the AT‐cut quartz/polymer/liquid composite resonator is presented in detail because of its importance in sensor and electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance applications. The analysis shows that adding the polymer and liquid impedances in the motional arm of a BVD circuit is not valid near the polymer film resonance, but is appropriate for a thin, rigid polymer film in contact with a liquid.

An investigation of the effects of fatigue on A533B steel under constant load amplitude is reported in this paper. It was found that the plastic strain of the sample accumulated logarithmically with the number of stress cycles after initial fatigue softening. Based on the fact that plastic strain is often linearly related to the coercivity of material, at least for small changes of Hc, a phenomenological relationship has been developed and tested to correlate the number of stress cycles to this magnetic parameter. This result represents the first successful attempt to relate the fatigue exposure directly to a magnetic parameter.

By discussing the three main comments on our paper, we demonstrate that our experimental conditions: low gas pressure and reaction area radius below the mean free path in the gas phase, are only compatible with a modification of the reaction surface without any diffusion limited process.

Laser welding is a unique way of joining materials with less thermal distortion and minimum metallurgical damage to the workpiece. The molten pool formed during welding determines the shape of the final welded region. At high laser intensities, the molten material vaporizes and a key hole is formed during the welding process. This vapor and the shape of the molten pool affect the absorption of laser at the liquid surface. The forces generated at the liquid‐vapor interface due to surface tension gradient induce thermocapillary convection in the weld pool. This paper presents a mathematical model by considering these surface forces and the energy balance at the liquid‐vapor and solid‐liquid interfaces. The model is used to predict the surface velocity and temperature distributions, weld pool shape, key‐hole depth and diameter. The velocity field is found to be large in the radial and azimuthal directions before the key hole is formed, and it changes to a radially and axially dominant field after the formation of the key hole. The results of this model are also compared with experimental data.

It is well known that the Cr underlayer plays a critical role in generating large in-plane coercivity in Co-based magnetic thin films. In this paper we report in detail the Co-Sm (1 100)[0001]//Cr (1 21)[1 01] epitaxy revealed by high resolution electron microscopy. The lattice mismatch between Co-Sm (1 100) and Cr (1 21) is less than 2%, suggesting an energetically favorable configuration. The high anisotropy observed in Co-Sm films is discussed by this epitaxial relation. © 1996 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(96)15308-6]

International audience; We present computer simulation data for the effective permittivity (in the quasistatic limit) of a system composed of discrete inhomogeneities of permittivity epsilon(1), embedded in a three-dimensional homogeneous matrix of permittivity epsilon(2). The primary purpose of this paper is to study the related issue of the effect of the geometric shape of the components on the dielectric properties of the medium. The secondary purpose is to analyse how the spatial arrangement in these two-phase materials affects the effective permittivity. The structures considered are periodic lattices of inhomogeneties. The numerical method proceeds by an algorithm based upon the resolution of boundary integral equations. Finally, we compare the prediction of our numerical simulation with the effective medium approach and with results of previous analytical works and numerical experiments.

This paper considers the technique of investigating diffusion processes via monitoring spectroscopically the ground state energy of an exciton confined in a quantum well. It is shown that the change in the exciton energy E−E0 during linear diffusion, can be described by an empirical relationship E−E0=(Ebg−E0)(1−exp{−γ√Dt/lw}), where Ebg is the band gap of the initial barrier material, D the diffusion constant and t the time. Detailed calculations accounting for the changes in the exciton binding energy have shown that the parameter γ∼1.5 for all wells of width lw≳40 A regardless of the material system. It is proposed that this relationship could be used to determine the linear diffusion coefficient D. Once D has been determined the relationship could then be utilized as a predictive tool, e.g., to determine the annealing time necessary to produce a given energy shift for a particular quantum well width. The paper goes on to discuss the effects non‐linear diffusion processes could have on exciton energies ...

The effects of a thermal cycle annealing (TCA) process on the defects in GaAs and AlxGa1-xAs solar cells on Si substrates are described in this paper. The defect density is reduced and the solar cell efficiency is improved by TCA. The defect density and the solar cell efficiency are evaluated in detail with respect to TCA temperature and Al composition. The problems involved in the fabrication of a high efficiency AlGaAs solar cell on a Si substrate are discussed.

The origin and interpretation of the Raman features of amorphous (hydrogenated) carbonfilmsdeposited at room temperature in the region of 1000–1700 cm−1 is discussed in this paper. Possible interpretations of the linewidths, positions of the ‘‘G’’ graphite peak and ‘‘D’’ disordered peak, and their intensity ratios are examined using results obtained from magnetron sputtered and magnetic field enhanced plasmadepositedfilms. It is shown that even small ‘‘clusters’’ of condensed benzene rings (cluster size below 20 A) in carbonfilms can explain the observed Raman scattering. Besides the care that should be taken in the correct interpretation of Raman results, the utility of Raman scattering in obtaining an estimate of cluster sizes in amorphous (hydrogenated) carbonfilms is discussed. Carbonfilms prepared by magnetron sputtering show two additional Raman features at 1180 and 1490 cm−1 in addition to the G and D peaks. It is shown that a correlation exists between the 1180 cm−1 peak and the sp 3 content in the films.

http://jap.aip.org/; International audience; The randomness in the structure of two-component dense composite materials influences the scalar effective dielectric constant, in the quasistatic limit. A numerical analysis of this property is developed in this paper. The computer-simulation models used are based on both the finite element method and the boundary integral equation method for two- and three-dimensional structures, respectively. Owing to possible anisotropy the orientation of spatially fixed inhomogeneities of permittivity epsilon(1), embedded in a matrix of permittivity epsilon(2), affects the effective permittivity of the composite material sample. The primary goal of this paper is to analyze this orientation dependence. Second, the effect of the components geometry on the dielectric properties of the medium is studied. Third the effect of inhomogeneities randomly distributed within a matrix is investigated. Changing these three parameters provides a diverse array of behaviors useful to understand the dielectric properties of random composite materials. Finally, the data obtained from this numerical simulation are compared to the results of previous analytical work.

Un-prepoled Lead Zirconate Titanate Lanthanum doped-PLZT ferroelectric cathodes have emitted intense current pulses under the action of a high voltage pulse of typically 8 kV/cm for PLZT of 8/65/35 composition and 25 kV/cm for PLZT of 4/95/5 composition. In the experiments described in this paper, the exciting electric field applied to the sample is directed from the rear surface towards the emitting surface. The resulting emission is due to an initial field emission from the metal of the grid deposited over the emitting surface with the consequent plasma formation and the switching of ferroelectric domains. These electrons may be emitted directly form the crystal or from the plasma. This emission requires the material in ferroelectric phase. In fact, PLZT cathodes of the 8/65/35 type, that is with high Titanium content, showing ferroelectric-paraelectric phase sequence, emit at room temperature, while PLZT cathodes of the 4/95/5 type, that is with low Titanium content, having antiferro-ferro-paraelectric phase sequence, emit strongly at a temperature higher than 130°C.

In this paper we report on the growth of thick films of magnetoresistive La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 by using spray and screen printing techniques on various substrates (Al2O3 and ZrO2). The growth conditions are explored in order to optimize the microstructure of the films. The films display a room-temperature magnetoresistance of 0.0012%/Oe in the 1 kOe field region. A magnetic sensor is described and tested.

The calculation of giant magnetoresistance and in general, of electron transport for multilayers in the case of current perpendicular to the planes (CPP) requires both the two-point conductivity and the solution to the local field problem. In this paper we present a solution to the local field problem at an interface using two approaches. In the first approach we find the semiclassical solution for the local field when there is a band mismatch between two sides of an interface, and examine the deviation of the total resistance from the result of “self-averaging,” in the lowest order of the value of the potential step. In the second approach, we solve for the quantum correction to the local field through a numerical iterative scheme. The oscillations due to the quantum correction are surprisingly large, but their correction to the total resistance is remarkably small. Our results imply that the “self-averaging” of the resistance, which is usually assumed in analysis of CPP, is only approximate.

Iron-gallium alloys can produce magnetostrictions of ~400 ppm and might serve as mechanically robust actuator/sensing materials. However, for polycrystalline Fe-Ga alloys, the magnetostrictive performance decreases with the increasing deviations from the ideal texture. In this paper, three directionally solidified Fe-Ga alloys with gallium contents of 17, 18.4, and 19.5 at. % were characterized at ambient temperature. These specimens exhibit high d33 and magnetic permeability when subjected to applied magnetic fields, indicating their suitability for light weight actuator applications but not for high force applications due to their low saturation magnetostriction and hence low blocking force. All the alloys produce significant changes in magnetization, around 0.7Ms-0.8Ms when subjected to cyclic compressive stresses of 51 MPa, making them promising candidate materials for sensing and energy harvesting applications. However, eddy current effects may easily become a problem when such materials are subjected to a high frequency vibration or magnetic field due to their intrinsic high magnetic permeability.

In this paper we analyze low-temperature admittance (capacitance and conductance) measurement as an effective tool for the characterization of amorphous silicon doped layers embedded in thin film structures. Temperature and frequency ranges of 20–250 K and 1–100 kHz, respectively, were used. Measurements were performed on p-i silver and p-i-n structures. Devices with different thicknesses, carbon, and boron content of the p-doped layer were examined. The evolution of the conductance of p-i-n solar cells under illumination was also investigated. Results show excellent sensitivity of the measurement to the states of the doped layer. This sensitivity is explained by using a finite difference simulation program, which proves that at low temperature the trapping process is spatially limited to the doped layers.

Control of thickness and microstructure is critical in the preparation of ultrathin metallic multilayers for magneto-optic memory, computer read heads, and improved wear surfaces. This paper describes use of in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry to calibrate sputter deposition rates, control layer thicknesses, determine optical constants, and study oxidation rates and processes. In this work, the information gained in situ is used together with ex situ Kerr measurements to determine the complete magneto-optic response including the spectroscopic figure of merit for Co/Pt multilayers.

In this paper we report the soft magnetic properties of thin films of sputtered MnZn ferrite deposited on thermally oxidized Si substrates. A high deposition temperature, 600¿°C, together with the addition of water vapor to the sputtering gas was found to improve the initial ac permeability, µ. The highest value obtained was approximately 30. For MnZn-ferrite films with much larger grain sizes, as obtained by deposition on a polycrystalline Zn-ferrite substrate, a µ of 100 was obtained. The results are discussed in terms of the so-called nonmagnetic grain boundary model.

This paper investigates the inductance versus current characteristics of a two-material and a three-material magnetic current limiter. The two-material device consists of a NdFeB permanent magnet, a high saturation flux density magnetic material, and a high saturation flux density magnetic pole piece placed on both sides of the magnet. The three-material device consists of a NdFeB permanent magnet, a high saturation flux density magnetic material, and a low saturation flux density material. Finite-element results for the three-material device agree with the results obtained using design equations. In contrast, the results obtained for the two-material device show that the transition current is overestimated and that the ratio of the maximum safe current and transition current, as well as the unsaturated inductance is underestimated. Extending the magnet beyond the adjoining surfaces improves the sharpness of the transition characteristics when the ratio of the core length to the core width is large. © 1998 American Institute of Physics.

This paper discusses two new kinds of micromagnetoelastic devices made on silicon wafer whose function is to control the permeability of magnetostrictive soft magnetic thin films by voltage-controlled elastic strain. One is piezoelectric type and the other is electrostatic type. Structure, fabrication process, characteristics, and maximum possible output are discussed. The feasibility of these devices has been clarified although the rate of obtained permeability change was less than 1%. These device characteristics could be improved to 11% for piezoelectric type and to 80% for electrostatic type by the optimization of device dimensions and reduction of process damage to the magnetic film.

Arc plasmas in switching devices are investigated in the presence of external and self-induced magnetic fields, as well as of gassing materials, using a three-dimensional computational model. The model development and validation for two- and three-dimensional arc columns with a self-induced magnetic field and natural-convection effects was presented in L. Z. Schlitz et al. J. Appl. Phys. 85, 2540 1999 . The present paper discusses further development of the model to enable an investigation of the effects of external magnetic fields and the presence of gassing materials. Steady-state solutions with an external transverse magnetic field 0–20 mT imposed on a wall-stabilized air arc column are presented, followed by a study of the transient response of the arc in an open-ended arc chamber in a 0.68 ms time span. Ablation from the side walls of the arc chamber made of gassing materials and the resulting mixing of hydrogen and air is shown to increase the arc voltage dramatically due to the increase in heat transfer around the arc body. © 1999 American Institute of Physics. S0021-8979 99 01905-2

Self-assembled quantum dot structures used for lasers have shown significant variation in the dot size distribution. In this article, we address the issues related to carrier occupation of these dots as a function of temperature in the absence and presence of lasing. The carrier distributions among different dots are derived in this paper through detailed balance. It is found that at low temperatures the carrier occupation is highly nonequilibrium but with increased temperature it tends towards an equilibrium distribution. Based on this distribution, the threshold current density versus temperature has been calculated. Multimode operation of lasers at different injection levels and temperatures is also examined. The theoretical results are compared with published experimental results.

Magnetic flux trapped on the surface of superconducting rotors of the Gravity Probe B (GP-B) experiment produces some signal in the SQUID readout. For the needs of GP-B error analysis and simulation of data reduction, this signal is calculated and analyzed in the paper. We first solve a magnetostatic problem for a point source (fluxon) on the surface of a sphere, finding the closed form elementary expression for the corresponding Green's function. Second, we calculate the flux through the pick-up loop as a function of the fluxon position. Next, the time dependence of a fluxon position, caused by rotor motion according to a symmetric top model, and thus the time signature of the flux are determined, and the spectrum of the trapped flux signal is analyzed. Finally, a multi-purpose program of trapped flux signal generation based on the above results is described, various examples of the signal obtained by means of this program are given, and their features are discussed., Comment: 14 pages, including 7 figures. Submitted to: "Journal of Applied Physics"

In this paper, we report the observation, through optical microscopy, of drumhead-like patterns in square and circular mesas which have been wet thermally oxidized to completion. Micro-Raman spectroscopy measurements are used to show that these patterns roughly correspond to variations in strain induced in surrounding semiconductor layers by the oxidation process. In addition, the patterns have a specific orientation with respect to the crystallographic axes of the semiconductor. A crystallographic dependence of the oxidation process itself is demonstrated and used to explain the orientation of the drumhead patterns.

In this paper an extensive characterization of the electrical activation of ultra-low energy implanted boron in silicon is reported. The Spreading Resistance Profiling technique has been used, in a suitable configuration, for measuring doped layers shallower than 100 nm, in order to extract the carrier concentration profiles. The dependence on the implant energy, dose, and annealing temperature allowed us to gain more insight into the mechanisms responsible for the electrical activation at implant energies below 1 keV. By measuring the electrical activation as a function of time for several annealing temperatures, the thermal activation energy for the electrical activation of the dopant was achieved. It slightly depends on the implant dose and it is in the range of 2–3 eV. In particular, for an implant dose of 1×1014/cm2 it is 2.0 eV, close therefore to the 1.7 eV activation energy found [Napolitani et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 75, 1869 (1999)] for the enhanced diffusion of ultra-low energy implanted boron. ...

In this paper, we present a systematic study of the effect of growth parameters on the structural and optical properties of InAs quantum dot (QD) grown under Stranski-Krastanov mode by molecular beam epitaxy. The dot density is significantly reduced from 1.9x10(10) to 0.6x10(10) cm(-2) as the growth rate decreases from 0.075 to 0.019 ML/s, while the island size becomes larger. Correspondingly, the emission wavelength shifts to the longer side. By increasing the indium fraction in the InGaAs capping layer, the emission wavelength increases further. At indium fraction of 0.3, a ground state transition wavelength as long as 1.4 mum with the excited state transition wavelength of around 1.3 mum has been achieved in our dots. The optical properties of QDs with a ground state transition wavelength of 1.3 mum but with different growth techniques were compared. The QDs grown with higher rate and embedded by InGaAs have a higher intensity saturation level from excitation dependent photoluminescence measurements and a smaller intensity decrease from temperature dependent measurements. Finally, single mirror light emitting diodes with a QD embedded in InGaAs have been fabricated. The quantum efficiency at room temperature is 1.3%, corresponding to a radiative efficiency of 21.5%. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.

A general scheme is developed to analyze the effect of non-uniform thermal magnetization fluctuations in a thin film. The normal mode formalism is utilized to calculate random magnetization fluctuations. The magnetization noise is proportional to the temperature and inversely proportional to the film volume. The total noise power is the sum of normal mode spectral noises and mainly determined by spin-wave standing modes with an odd number of oscillations. The effect rapidly decreases with increasing mode number. An exact analytical calcutaion is presented for a two-cell model., Paper for MMM'01, CB-10, to be published in J. Appl. Phys

Nonlinear characteristics of a cylindrical Cherenkov laser, which is composed of a dielectric-loaded coaxial waveguide and a hollow relativistic electron beam, are investigated with the use of particle simulation. The results obtained in this paper are compared with those for parallel plate and rectangular models. Numerical results show that, in the cylindrical Cherenkov laser, the electromagnetic (EM) wave grows exponentially in the longitudinal direction and reaches saturation, as is the case with the parallel plate and rectangular models. However, the efficiency of energy transfer from the electron beam to the EM wave in the cylindrical model is not in good agreement with that for the parallel plate model, especially for the case of a small radius of the inner conductor. Thus, we propose a modified parallel plate model whose growth characteristics are the same as those for the cylindrical model. With the use of the corresponding modified parallel plate model, one can calculate growth characteristics for the cylindrical model at a particular frequency more easily.

This paper reports on the magnetotransport behavior of Fe–Al2O3 granular thin films when the injected dc current is varied. The electric resistance as a function of temperature, magnetoresistance, and the current vs applied bias potential measurements were used to characterize the samples. It was found that the transport mechanism which best describes the electronic properties of these samples is variable range hopping. Non-Ohmic behavior was observed and is claimed as responsible for the great modification of the electronic characteristics of the system as a function of the applied bias potential. Inversion of the tunneling magnetoresistance is observed for applied bias potential greater than 3 V. Such inverted magnetoresistance comes from the activation of low resistivity tunneling paths that are promoted by increasing the bias potential. An expression is proposed to describe the magnetoresistance behavior.

High current discharge channels can neutralize both current and space charge of very intense ion beams. Therefore they are considered as an interesting alternative for the final focus and beam transport in a heavy ion beam fusion reactor. At the GSI accelerator facility, 50 cm long, stable, free-standing discharge channels with currents in excess of 40 kA in 2 to 25 mbar ammonia (NH{sub 3}) gas are investigated for heavy ion beam transport studies. The discharges are initiated by a CO{sub 2} laser pulse along the channel axis before the discharge is triggered. Resonant absorption of the laser, tuned to the {nu}{sub 2} vibration of the ammonia molecule, causes strong gas heating. Subsequent expansion and rarefaction of the gas prepare the conditions for a stable discharge to fulfill the requirements for ion beam transport. This paper describes the laser-gas interaction and the discharge initiation mechanism. We report on the channel stability and evolution, measured by fast shutter and streak imaging techniques. The rarefaction of the laser heated gas is studied by means of a hydrocode simulation.

Moving-coil loudspeakers are appropriate drivers for thermoacoustic refrigeration. They are cheap, commercially available, compact, light, and can be adapted to meet specific requirements. This paper deals with the optimization of loudspeakers for thermoacoustic refrigeration. Using an electrical model that describes the refrigerator, it is concluded that the electroacoustic efficiency can be maximized over a wider frequency range by matching the mechanical resonance frequency of the driver to the acoustic resonance frequency of the resonator. A gas-spring system is introduced as a practical tool to shift the mechanical resonance frequency of the driver. An electroacoustic efficiency of 35% is obtained when the mechanical resonance frequency of the driver and the acoustic resonance frequency are equal. Additionally, the efficiency is constant over a relatively wide frequency range. This has advantages for thermoacoustic refrigeration. During cool-down, the operating acoustic frequency decreases so that the refrigerator will keep near the optimum performance.

Current distribution in multistrand superconducting cables can be a major concern for stability in superconducting magnets and for field quality in particle accelerator magnets. In this paper we describe multistrand superconducting cables by means of a distributed parameters circuit model. We derive a system of partial differential equations governing current distribution in the cable and we give the analytical solution of the general system. We then specialize the general solution to the particular case of uniform cable properties. In the particular case of a two-strand cable, we show that the analytical solution presented here is identical to the one already available in the literature. For a cable made of N equal strands we give a closed form solution that to our knowledge was never presented before. We finally validate the analytical solution by comparison to numerical results in the case of a step-like spatial distribution of the magnetic field over a short Rutherford cable, both in transient and steady state conditions.

Substitutions in the Mn-sublattice of antiferromagnetic, charge and orbitally ordered manganites was recently found to produce intriguing metamagnetic transitions, consisting of a succession of sharp magnetization steps separated by plateaus. The compounds exhibiting such features can be divided in two categories, depending on whether they are sensitive to thermal cycling effects or not. One compound of each category has been considered in the present study. The paper reports on the influence of two treatments: high-temperature annealing and grinding. It is shown that both of these treatments can drastically affect the phenomenon of magnetization steps. These results provide us with new information about the origin of these jumps in magnetization., accepted for publication in J.Appl.Phys

Self-assembled Ge islands were grown on stripe-patterned Si (001) substrates by solid source molecular beam epitaxy. The surface morphology obtained by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy images (TEM) shows that the Ge islands are preferentially grown at the sidewalls of pure Si stripes along [-110] direction at 650o C or along the trenches, whereas most of the Ge islands are formed on the top terrace when the patterned stripes are covered by a strained GeSi buffer layer. Reducing the growth temperature to 600oC results in a nucleation of Ge islands both on the top terrace and at the sidewall of pure Si stripes. A qualitative analysis, based on the growth kinetics, demonstrates that the step structure of the stripes, the external strain field and the local critical wetting layer thickness for the islands formation contribute to the preferential positioning of Ge islands on the stripes., Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, 1 table, the original paper is in print in J. Appl. Phys

A complex structural, magnetic and electric transport investigation shows that the Cr doping on Mn sites in the A-type antiferromagnet Pr0.44Sr0.56MnO3 provokes a non-uniform magnetic state with coexisting FM and AFM regions. Irrespective of the ratio of magnetic phases, the samples exhibit a non-metallic behavior of resistivity and thermopower, pointing to the nanoscopic nature of the phase separation. A particularly large magnetoresistance encountered in a broad range of temperatures for samples with Cr doping of 4 - 6 % supports such idea., Comment: This paper has been withdrawn by the authors. J. Appl. Phys. 93, 8083 (2003)

In this paper experimental stress-strain and magnetization versus field curves measured for Ni2MnGa alloys are compared with modeling results obtained using a statistical model. The model is based on the assumption of equivalence between the magnetic field and mechanical stress through magnetoelastic interactions. The approach is extended to describe the complex irreversible behavior of strain and magnetization using a statistical distribution of the energy barriers that separate the metastable states of the martensite twins. A theoretical value of the energy conversion coefficient cme=1.57×10−4 MPa (kA/m)−2 is found, which is in good agreement with the experimentally determined value of 1.25×10−4 MPa (kA/m)−2.

In this paper we discuss the structural modifications observed in a buried amorphous Si (a-Si) layer containing high oxygen concentration level (up to ∼3 at. %) after being implanted at elevated temperature with 16O+ ions. For implants conducted at temperatures lower than 150 °C, the a-Si layer expands via layer by layer amorphization at the front and back amorphous–crystalline (a–c) interfaces. When performed at temperatures above 150 °C, the implants lead to the narrowing of the buried a-Si layer through ion beam-induced epitaxial crystallization at both a–c interfaces. Cross section transmission electron microscopy analysis of samples implanted at 400 °C revealed an array of microtwins and a dislocation network band in the recrystallized material. In samples implanted at 550 °C, only a buried dislocation network band is observed.

In the present paper we report on structural investigations of fivefold In0.2Ga0.8As/GaAs superlattices which have been grown by means of metal organic chemical vapor deposition on vicinal GaAs(001) substrates. Cross-sectional transmission electron micrographs exhibit an initially flat and nonfaceted grooved surface, while step bunching occurs during subsequent growth stages with an inclined vertical inheritance approximately 45° off the (001) direction. A reconstructed sample cross section on the base of high resolution x-ray diffraction data qualitatively confirms the local morphology proved by transmission electron microscopy. Moreover, a line shape analysis of diffusely scattered intensity using Gauss profiles indicates a lateral short range ordering of step bunches.

Nanotube sheets, or “bucky papers,” have been proposed for use in actuating, structural and electrochemical systems, based in part on their potential mechanical properties. Here, we present results of detailed simulations of networks of nanotubes/ropes, with special emphasis on the effect of joint morphology. We perform detailed simulations of three-dimensional joint deformation, and use the results to inform simulations of two-dimensional (2D) networks with intertube connections represented by torsion springs. Upper bounds are established on moduli of nanotube sheets, using the 2D Euler beam-network simulations. Comparisons of experimental and simulated response for HiPco-nanotube and laser-ablated nanotube sheets, indicate that ∼2–30-fold increases in moduli may be achievable in these materials. Increasing the numbers of interrope connections appears to be the best target for improving nanotube sheet stiffnesses in materials containing straight segments.

Based on the numerical finding of a two-dimensional photonic material which has large complete photonic gaps and structural uniformity, we propose a photonic plate which can be used to design arbitrarily shaped photonic mirrors and microcavities on a wavelength scale. This paper describes a wavelength-sized parabolic mirror that can collect light very efficiently without loss. In addition, we present circular microcavities of tunable resonance frequencies with high values of quality factor Q.

The paper presents a systematic characterization of pure hydrogen capacitively coupled discharges, produced in a parallel plate cylindrical setup. A two-dimensional, time-dependent fluid model is used to describe the production, transport, and destruction of electrons and positive ions H+,H2+, and H3+, at different frequencies(13.56 - 60 MHz), pressures (0.2 - 8 Torr), rf applied voltages (50 - 450 V) and geometric dimensions (1.6 - 12.8 cm radii and 1.6 - 6.4 cm interelectrode distances). A good agreement is found between calculation results and experimental measurements for the coupled electrical power, the plasma potential, and the self-bias potential, at various frequencies and rf applied voltages. However, the model generally underestimates the electron density with respect to its measured values. The paper discusses different space-time events, such as the development of double-ionization structures or the occurrence of field inversion and field reversal phenomena. The dependencies on pressure and frequency of the time-average electric field distribution are analyzed and related to the electron displacement within space-charge sheaths.This study is later used to understand the variations of the hydrogen dissociation rate, with changes in discharge operating conditions. The influence of reactor dimensions on the spatial profiles of the plasma potential, the rf electric field, the electron density, and the electron mean energy are analyzed in terms of discharge symmetry. An investigation of the space-time averaged rf electric field variations, with changes in the applied voltage, pressure, and geometric dimensions is carried out.These variations are shown to follow a universal similarity curve, if an adequate normalization is used when plotting the rf electric field as a function of pressure.This innovative representation of rf discharges allows a univocal definition of a reactor working point, for given operating conditions., Portugal. Ministério da Ciência Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (MTCES). Instituto Superior Técnico (IST). Centro de Física dos Plasmas – PRAXIS XXI (BD/15716/98), SFRH/BD/5012/2001., French Embassy, Gabinete de Relações Internacionais da Ciência e do Ensino Superior (GRICES) - ScientificTechnical Luso-French Cooperation Program - Project 539-B4 - Université Paris-Sud. Laboratoire de Physique des Gaz et des Plasmes.

Frequency selective surfaces (FSS) effectively filter electromagnetic radiation in the microwave band (1 mm to 100 mm). Interest exists in extending this technology to the near infrared (1 {micro}m to 10 {micro}m) for use as a filter of thermal radiation in thermophotovoltaic (TPV) direct energy conversion. This paper assesses the ability of FSS to meet the strict spectral performance requirements of a TPV system. Inherent parasitic absorption, which is the result of the induced currents in the FSS metallization, is identified as a significant obstacle to achieving high spectral performance.

We have developed a new technique for photothermal displacement spectroscopy that is potentially orders of magnitude more sensitive than conventional methods. We use a single Fabry-Perot resonator to enhance both the intensity of the pump beam and the sensitivity of the probe beam. The result is an enhancement of the response of the instrument by a factor proportional to the square of the finesse of the cavity over conventional interferometric measurements. In this paper we present a description of the technique, and we discuss how the properties of thin films can be deduced from the photothermal response. As an example of the technique, we report a measurement of the thermal properties of a multilayer dielectric mirror similar to those used in interferometric gravitational wave detectors., Comment: Style changes and spelling corrections; removed redundant figure

This paper reports on an experimental study of the contact resistance of Hall bars in the Quantum Hall Effect regime while increasing the current through the sample. These measurements involve also the longitudinal resistance and they have been always performed before the breakdown of the Quantum Hall Effect. Our investigations are restricted to the $i=2$ plateau which is used in all metrological measurements of the von Klitzing constant $R_K$. A particular care has been taken concerning the configuration of the measurement. Four configurations were used for each Hall bar by reversing the current and the magnetic field polarities. Several samples with different width have been studied and we observed that the critical current for the contact resistance increases with the width of the Hall bar as previously observed for the critical current of the longitudinal resistance. The critical currents exhibit either a linear or a sublinear increase. All our observations are interpreted in the current understanding of the Quantum hall effect brekdown. Our analysis suggests that a heated region appears at the current contact, develops and then extends in the whole sample while increasing the current. Consequently, we propose to use the contact resistance as an electronic thermometer for the Hall fluid.

The paper describes experiments on the generation and transport of a low energy (70–120 keV), high intensity (10–30 A/cm2) microsecond duration H+ ion beam (IB) in vacuum and plasma. The IB was generated in a magnetically insulated diode (MID) with an applied radial B field and an active hydrogen-puff ion source. The annular IB, with an initial density of ji∼10–20 A/cm2 at the anode surface, was ballistically focused to a current density in the focal plane of 50–80 A/cm2. The postcathode collimation and transport of the converging IB were provided by the combination of a “concave” toroidal magnetic lens followed by a straight transport solenoid section. With optimized MID parameters and magnetic fields in the lens/solenoid system, the overall efficiency of IB transport at the exit of the solenoid 1 m from the anode was ∼ 50% with an IB current density of 20 A/cm2. Two-dimensional computer simulations of post-MID IB transport supported the optimization of system parameters.

In this paper, the liquid crystal (LC) order parameters of the interface layers at rubbed polymer surfaces were studied. The LC films in this study were made with either polyvinyl alcohol or polyimide and the test LCs were filled into wedge-shaped cells for various measurements. The real distribution of order parameters from LC bulk to the interface was obtained by measuring the anisotropic infrared absorbance of sample films. It was found that the order parameters start to decrease where the LC layer thickness is smaller than 10nm, and the order parameter of LC monolayer at the rubbed polymer surface is only 1∕3–1∕2 of that of the LC bulk even in a strong rubbing condition. When the temperature was increased to the transition point, the LC interface layer (excluding the adsorption monolayer) completed the phase transition while the bulk layer remained in LC phase. This was a further evidence that the order parameter of the interface layer is lower than that of the bulk.