6,324 research outputs found

    Working Futures 2017-2027 : Long-run labour market and skills projections headline report

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    This report provides a concise overview of Working Futures 2017-2027 results for the UK. It presents historical trends and future prospects by sector for the UK and its constituent nations and the English regions. The prime focus of Working Futures is on the demand for skills as measured by employment by occupation and qualification, although the supply side is also considered. Its prime objective is to provide useful labour market information that can help to inform policy development and strategy around skills, careers and employment, for both policy makers and a much wider audience. The results are intended to provide a sound statistical foundation for reflection and debate among all those with an interest in the demand for and supply of skills. It is aimed at the general reader and focuses on the key messages from this very detailed study. It complements the more detailed outputs and results from the project available from the gov.uk website2 and cover sectors, occupations, geography and qualifications

    Anisotropic magnetoconductance and Coulomb blockade in defect engineered Cr2Ge2Te6 van der Waals heterostructures

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    This is the final version. Available from the American Physical Society via the DOI in this record.We demonstrate anisotropic tunnel magnetoconductance by controllably engineering charging islands inthe layered semiconducting ferromagnet Cr2Ge2Te6. This is achieved by assembling vertical van der Waalsheterostructures comprised of graphene electrodes separated by crystals of Cr2Ge2Te6. Carefully applyingvertical electric fields in the region of (E∼25–50 mV/nm) across the Cr2Ge2Te6causes its dielectric breakdownat cryogenic temperatures. This breakdown process has the effect of introducing subgap defect states withinthe otherwise semiconducting ferromagnetic material. Low-temperature electron transport through chargingislands reveals Coulomb blockade behavior with a strongly gate-tuneable anisotropic magnetoconductance,which persists up toT∼60 K. We report average tunnel magnetoresistance values of 100%. This work opensnew avenues and material systems for the development of nanometer-scale electrically controlled spintronicdevices.Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE)Royal SocietyEngineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC

    Design Principles for Plasmonic Nanoparticle Devices

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    For all applications of plasmonics to technology it is required to tailor the resonance to the optical system in question. This chapter gives an understanding of the design considerations for nanoparticles needed to tune the resonance. First the basic concepts of plasmonics are reviewed with a focus on the physics of nanoparticles. An introduction to the finite element method is given with emphasis on the suitability of the method to nanoplasmonic device simulation. The effects of nanoparticle shape on the spectral position and lineshape of the plasmonic resonance are discussed including retardation and surface curvature effects. The most technologically important plasmonic materials are assessed for device applicability and the importance of substrates in light scattering is explained. Finally the application of plasmonic nanoparticles to photovoltaic devices is discussed.Comment: 29 pages, 15 figures, part of an edited book: "Linear and Non-Linear Nanoplasmonics

    A new signature for strong light-matter coupling using spectroscopic ellipsometry (article)

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    This is the final version. Available on open access from the American Chemical Society via the DOI in this recordThe dataset associated with this article is available in ORE at https://doi.org/10.24378/exe.2543Light–matter interactions can occur when an ensemble of molecular resonators is placed in a confined electromagnetic field. In the strong coupling regime the rapid exchange of energy between the molecules and the electromagnetic field results in the emergence of hybrid light–matter states called polaritons. Multiple criteria exist to define the strong coupling regime, usually by comparing the splitting of the polariton bands with the line widths of the uncoupled modes. Here, we highlight the limitations of these criteria and study strong coupling using spectroscopic ellipsometry, a commonly used optical characterization technique. We identify a new signature of strong coupling in ellipsometric phase spectra. The combination of ellipsometric amplitude and phase spectra yields a distinct topological feature that we suggest could serve as a new criterion for strong coupling. Our results introduce the idea of ellipsometric topology and could provide further insight into the transition from the weak to strong coupling regime.European Research Council (ERC)Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC

    The shear viscosity of carbon fibre suspension and its application for fibre length measurement

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    The viscosity of short carbon fibre suspensions in glycerol aqueous solution was measured using a bespoke vane-in-cup viscometer, where the carbon fibre has an aspect ratio from 450 to 2209. In the semi-concentrated regime, nL3 ranging from 20 to 4400, the suspensions demonstrated strong shear-thinning characteristics particularly at higher concentrations. The shear-thinning characteristic is strongly related to the crowding factor proposed by Kerekes, indicating that non-hydrodynamic interactions occur in the suspensions. The influence of fibre bending on viscosity emerges when the bending ratio is lower than 0.0028. An empirical model based on transient network formation and rupture was proposed and used to correlate the relative viscosity with fibre concentration nL3 and shear rate. Based on the model, a viscosity method is established to analyse the fibre length by measuring the viscosity of the fibre suspension using a bespoke vane-in-cup viscometer

    Elementary processes governing the evolution of road networks

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    Urbanisation is a fundamental phenomenon whose quantitative characterisation is still inadequate. We report here the empirical analysis of a unique data set regarding almost 200 years of evolution of the road network in a large area located north of Milan (Italy). We find that urbanisation is characterised by the homogenisation of cell shapes, and by the stability throughout time of high-centrality roads which constitute the backbone of the urban structure, confirming the importance of historical paths. We show quantitatively that the growth of the network is governed by two elementary processes: (i) `densification', corresponding to an increase in the local density of roads around existing urban centres and (ii) `exploration', whereby new roads trigger the spatial evolution of the urbanisation front. The empirical identification of such simple elementary mechanisms suggests the existence of general, simple properties of urbanisation and opens new directions for its modelling and quantitative description.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
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