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The COVID-19 pandemic has inflicted structural shocks on the global economic system by raising high economic uncertainty. Policymakers are exploring alternative measures and incentivizing foreign direct investment for the restoration of global economic operations to achieve short- and long-term growth. Given this, the study examines the global response of FDI inflow to measure the change in productive capacity. The productive capacity is proxied by structural change, private business sector, institutional quality, transportation infrastructure development, and natural capital. The study implements empirical analysis for a large panel of 170 countries in a data set from 2000 to 2021. Furthermore, the study employed the cross-sectional augmented auto-regressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) econometric estimation method for better examinations of current changes in an economic outbreak. From the results of the study, the estimations reveal that FDI inward has significant positive impact over the private business sector, institutional quality, transportation infrastructure, and natural capital on inward FDI. In accordance with discussions, the study suggests several pragmatic policy implications to achieve maximum output by utilizing the inward FDI as incentivized by the governments of the selected countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focus on the coordination and optimization of renewable energy power generation capacity and other multiple energy sources in the power grid and the operational efficiency of renewable energy power generation equipment. The detail description of multi-energy system model composed of high proportion of wind power generation, photovoltaic power generation, solid regenerative electric boiler, electricity-generated natural gas, gas energy storage, and thermal energy storage system (ESS), renewable energy based on different scheduling time scales. First, the proposed power generation capacity planning and profit multi-objective optimization model. Second, investigate the energy supply and consumption characteristics of multi-energy supply, transmission, and load equipment in the power grid, and establish a multienergy grid power balance model based on the uncertainty of high-ratio renewable energy generation. Finally, testing the proposed model using the actual operation data of a multienergy grid in a region of northeast Pakistan. The simulation results show that the renewable energy capacity and benefit optimization model can achieve a smaller renewable energy capacity allocation on the premise of ensuring higher investment benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxide materials are important candidates for the next generation of electronics due to a wide array of desired properties, which they can exhibit alone or when combined with other materials. While SrTiO3 (STO) is often considered a prototypical oxide, it, too, hosts a wide array of unusual properties, including a 2-dimensional electron gas (2DEG), which can form at the surface when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light. Using layer-by-layer growth of high-quality STO films, we show that the 2DEG only forms with the SrO termination and not with the TiO2 termination, contrary to expectation. This dichotomy of the observed angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) spectra is similarly seen in BaTiO3 (BTO), in which the 2DEG is only observed for BaO-terminated films. These results will allow for a deeper understanding and better control of the electronic structure of titanate films, substrates, and heterostructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a study of the atomic and electronic structures of the ordered Ag2Ge surface alloy containing 1/3 monolayer of Ge. Low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES) data reveal a symmetry breaking of the expected √3 × √3 periodicity, which is established for other Ag2M alloys (M = Bi, Sb, Pb, and Sn). The deviation from a simple √3 × √3 structure manifests itself as a splitting of diffraction spots in LEED, as a striped structure with a 6× periodicity including a distortion of the local hexagonal structure in STM, and as a complex surface band structure in ARPES that is quite different from those of the other Ag2M alloys. These results are interesting in view of the differences in the atomic and electronic structures exhibited by different group IV elements interacting with Ag(111). Pb and Sn form √3 × √3 surface alloys on Ag(111), of which Ag2Pb shows a surface band structure with a clear spin-orbit split. Si and C form silicene and graphene structures, respectively, with linear band dispersions and the formation of Dirac cones as reported for graphene. The finding that Ag2Ge deviates from the ideal (√3 × √3) Ag2Sn and Ag2Pb surface alloys makes Ge an interesting "link" between the heavy group IV elements (Sn, Pb) and the light group IV elements (Si, C). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electronic and atomic structures of a well-ordered 3×3 periodicity of a binary Sn/Ag overlayer on Ge(111) have been studied. The ordered binary overlayer was formed by depositing 0.75 monolayer of Sn on an Ag/Ge(111) 3√×3√ surface. Annealing at 330 °C resulted in a low-energy electron diffraction pattern that exhibited sharp spots. A detailed electronic structure investigation was performed by angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. The Sn/Ag/Ge(111) 3×3 surface shows a rich band structure. There are seven bands which are positively identified as 3×3 surface bands, all within 1.5 eV below the Fermi level (EF). The upper two bands disperse across EF exhibiting steep almost linear dispersions down to a minimum energy of ≈0.40 eV below EF at the Γ¯¯¯ point (≈0.30 eV at the K¯¯¯ point). Constant energy contours have been mapped in the 3×3 surface Brillouin zone (SBZ) in order to study an intriguing split observed in the band structure related to the two upper bands. It turned out that the two upper bands are degenerate along the Γ¯¯¯-K¯¯¯ and M¯¯¯¯-K¯¯¯ symmetry lines of the 3×3 SBZ but separated along Γ¯¯¯-M¯¯¯¯. Scanning tunneling microscopy images obtained at ≈40 K show essentially a hexagonal structure except for a honeycomb structure in a limited bias range imaging empty states. Core-level spectroscopy shows a narrow Sn 4d spectrum consistent with the high degree of structural order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]