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The thermal stability of InSb/Al 2 O 3 stacks has been systematically studied upon in situ post deposition annealing (PDA) at 300 °C and 400 °C. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of Al 2 O 3 (∼3 nm) has been grown on the native oxide and the HCl aqueous solution treated InSb (100) at 200 °C. The interface chemistry, elemental diffusion as well as elemental desorption are characterized by synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy (SRPES) with the incident photon energy of 750, 600 and 500 eV. A Math model has been proposed to calculate the depth profile for In and Sb oxides based on the analysis from different incident energies. Indium atoms have re-oxidized during ALD process, and indium oxide has been observed to diffuse into the Al 2 O 3 film upon PDA at 300 °C for the HCl pretreated sample. Indium oxide has desorbed and diffused upon PDA process for the native oxide sample. Sb oxide has been observed to desorb continuously as PDA temperature increases, for all samples. The surface has been torn up upon PDA at 400 °C from the morphology characterization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distributed generation resources (DGs) and their utilization in large-scale power systems are attracting more and more utilities as they are becoming more qualitatively reliable and economically viable. However, uncertainties in power generation from DGs and fluctuations in load demand must be considered when determining the optimal operation plan for a microgrid. In this context, a novel dynamic data-driven application systems (DDDAS) approach is proposed for determining the real-time operation plan of an electric microgridwhile considering its conflicting objectives. In particular, the proposed approachis equipped with three modules: 1) a database including the real-time microgrid topology data (i.e., power demand, market price for electricity, etc.) and the data for environmental factors (i.e., solar radiation, wind speed, temperature, etc.); 2) a simulation, in which operation of the microgrid is simulated with embedded rule-based scaleidentification procedures; and 3) a multi-objective optimization module which finds the near-optimal operation plan in terms of minimum operating cost and minimum emission using a particle-filtering based algorithm. The complexity of the optimization depends on the scaleof the problem identified from the simulation module. The results obtained from the optimization module are sent back to the microgrid system to enhance its operation. The experiments conducted in this study demonstratethe power of the proposed approach in real-time assessment and control of operation in microgrids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Typhoon storm surge (TSS) frequently affects the coastal areas of Guangdong Province, causing casualties, severe economic losses, and environmental damage. A risk assessment model using geospatial techniques combined with a fuzzy complete evaluation principle and coupling coordination method to quantify risk in 14 coastal cities of Guangdong was developed to identify significant risk zones, and targeted disaster prevention strategies were proposed. Four major risk systems were established to obtain the spatial distributions of hazards, exposure, sensitivity, and mitigation capabilities. A TSS risk distribution map was generated based on the interactions between risk systems, and dominant risk factors for different regions were identified. The results showed that the very-high risk zone covered 19.40% of the study area, concentrated in the coastal areas of Zhanjiang, Maoming, and Shanwei. The high-risk zone that accounted for 19.94%, was distributed across the very-high risk zone and encompassed cities such as Maoming, Jiangmen, and Yangjiang. The middle-risk zone accounted for 20.93%. In comparison, the central and inland areas of Guangdong were characterized by low risk and very-low risk. To reduce risk, the top priority should be improving mitigation capacity, especially in the coastal regions of Zhanjiang, Shanwei, and Jieyang. In addition, authorities in Maoming need to reduce the exposure of disaster-bearing bodies, and government officials in Shantou should take measures to avoid aquaculture development in susceptible areas. The results of this study can be used by the relevant authorities to formulate effective disaster-mitigation plans and allocate emergency supplies. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Explore gray marketing in modern global supply chains. • Examine three pricing strategies: myopic, proactive, and reactive. • Identify the deterrence outcomes in each segmented market, and determine the respective optimal pricing strategy. • Highlight the roles of the entrant retailer's purchasing cost and the degree of consumers' WTP differentiation. • Reveal that a more flexible pricing strategy may lead to a "winner's curse" outcome. Nowadays, gray marketing is a critical issue in global supply chain management. In this paper, we analytically study how authorized incumbent retailers can use pricing to prevent unauthorized parties from entering and establishing gray markets. We consider the case in which an authorized retailer can choose from three pricing strategies, namely: myopic, proactive, and reactive. The authorized incumbent retailer in the high-end market faces consumers with higher willingness to pay (WTP). We investigate the entry conditions for an entrant retailer to establish a gray market under the three pricing strategies and provide a succinct analytical framework to segment the high-end market explicitly in terms of entry conditions. We identify the deterrence outcomes in each segmented market, and determine when each pricing strategy is optimal in the segmented markets. We theoretically reveal that whether deterring or allowing unauthorized entry is optimal depends on the entrant retailer's purchasing cost and the degree of consumers' WTP differentiation between the authorized and unauthorized products. When consumers have a high WTP in the high-end market and the incumbent retailer has a high purchasing cost, the entrant retailer is more likely to enter the high-end market. Although the reactive pricing strategy is the most flexible one, followed by the proactive and myopic pricing strategies, the adoption of a relatively flexible pricing strategy cannot always completely deter unauthorized entry. Counterintuitively, ignoring the threat of unauthorized entry by adopting a myopic pricing strategy is the optimal choice for the incumbent authorized retailer, followed by the proactive and reactive pricing strategies. In addition, our results highlight that the choice to adopt a more flexible pricing strategy to deter unauthorized entry may lead to a "winner's curse" instead of a "winner-takes-all" outcome. Moreover, allowing unauthorized entry into the supply chain is by no means a "win–win" game. To show the robustness of findings, various extended analyses are conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A systematic study of the interfacial chemistry for the HCl pretreated and native oxide InAs(100) samples upon atomic layer deposition (ALD) of Al 2 O 3 , and the post deposition annealing (PDA) process has been carried out, using in situ synchrotron radiation photoelectron spectroscopy. The “clean up” effect for the native oxide sample is detected, but it is not observed for the HCl pretreated sample. The out-diffusion and desorption of both In and As oxides have been characterized during the ALD process and the following PDA process. The surface morphology evolution during the PDA process is studied by in situ photo-emission electron microscopy. The bubbles emerged after PDA at 360 °C and grew up at 370 °C. After PDA at 400 °C and at higher temperatures, pits are seen in some areas, and the tear up of the Al 2 O 3 film is seen in other areas with the formation of indium droplets. This study gives insight in the mechanism of elemental diffusion/desorption, which may associate the reliability of III-V semiconductor based devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]