Effect of Buffer Layer and III/V Ratio on the Surface Morphology of GaN Grown by MBE

The surface morphology of GaN is observed by atomic force microscopy for growth on GaN and AlN buffer layers and as a function of III/V flux ratio. Films are grown on sapphire substrates by molecular beam epitaxy using a radio frequency nitrogen plasma source. Growth using GaN buffer layers leads to N-polar films, with surfaces strongly dependent on the flux conditions used. Flat surfaces can be obtained by growing as Ga-rich as possible, although Ga droplets tend to form. Ga-polar films can be grown on AlN buffer layers, with the surface morphology determined by the conditions of buffer layer deposition as well as the III/V ratio for growth of the GaN layer. Near-stoichiometric buffer layer growth conditions appear to support the flattest surfaces in this case. Three defect types are typically observed in GaN films on AlN buffers, including large and small pits and "loop" defects. It is possible to produce surfaces free from large pit defects by growing thicker films under more Ga-rich conditions. In such cases the surface roughness can be reduced to less than 1 nm RMS

Is Fractional Reserve Banking Necessarily Immoral?

When Deposits are made to a bank, the bank can loan out most of it, while claiming they have the money to pay you back. When you deposit money in a bank, only a fraction of it stays on deposit; the rest is loaned out. When the person receives the loan spends it, money goes to another bank, repeating the process. Ultimately, if the central bank puts $100 of reserves into the FRB system,$1000 of money could enter the economy

Reconstructing glacial outburst floods (jökulhlaups) from geomorphology: challenges, solutions, and an enhanced interpretive framework

Glacial outburst floods (jökulhlaups) have been significant drivers of landscape change across Earth throughout the Quaternary and are a contemporary hazard in Arctic and alpine regions worldwide. Geomorphologic evidence is a foundation for reconstructing past and contemporary flood events and using additional analytical methods such as geochronology and paleohydraulics. Yet, accurate interpretation of jökulhlaup landforms and depositional sequences poses a persistent challenge due to complex controls on flood hydraulics and landscape evolution. Researchers have developed numerous strategies to reduce or resolve these challenges, but a comprehensive, globally applicable model to interpret flood evidence outside of sedimentary environments is lacking. This article synthesizes existing case studies to describe jökulhlaup geomorphologic interpretive challenges, discuss strategies to resolve them, and present a conceptual model of flood landform assemblages to illustrate hydraulic and environmental controls on resultant geomorphologic impacts. This enhanced interpretive framework aids researchers in identifying, interpreting, and testing geomorphologic evidence to reconstruct past jökulhlaups and predict future flood impacts as robustly as possible at a global, landscape-wide scale. Understanding jökulhlaup geomorphology yields insight into glacial lake and ice margin dynamics, the role of extreme events in landscape evolution, and interactions between climate, ice sheets, and hydrology. Moreover, it is increasingly important as glacial outburst floods may become more frequent due to climate-driven ice retreat, advancing predictive capacities to mitigate societal risk downstream.</div

A water-vapor electrolysis cell with phosphoric acid electrolyte

Feasibility of phosphoric acid water vapor electrolysis cell for spacecraft cabin air conditioning syste

XPS Study of Oxygen Adsorption on (3x3) Reconstructed MBE Grown GaN Surfaces

The incorporation of oxygen onto the (3x3) reconstructed surface of GaN(0001) has been studied using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that the (3x3) reconstruction corresponds to a fractional Ga adlayer atop a Ga terminated GaN surface. Our measurements indicate a surface coverage of 1.15 ± 0.2 monolayers of relaxed Ga on the surface. The binding energy separation between the relaxed surface Ga3d core level and bulk Ga3d level was measured to be 1.1 ± 0.1 eV. A metallic component extending from the bulk GaN valence band maximum out to 0 eV was also present in the XPS spectrum. The separation between the bulk valence band maximum and the Fermi level of the metallic component was found to be 2.1 ± 0.1 eV. The relaxation of the surface Ga was found to decrease with oxygen exposure indicating Ga-O bonding, with oxygen adsorption terminating at 1.3 ± 0.2 monolayers. The O1s core level was found to have a FWHM of 2.0 ± 0.1 eV

Tunable, Concurrent Multiband, Single Chain Radio Architecture for Low Energy 5G-RANs

This invited paper considers a key next step in the design of radio architectures aimed at supporting low energy consumption in 5G heterogeneous radio access networks. State-of-the-art mobile radios usually require one RF transceiver per standard, each working separately at any given time. Software defined radios, while spanning a wide range of standards and frequency bands, also work separately at any specific time. In 5G radio access networks, where continuous, multiband connectivity is envisaged, this conventional radio architecture results in high network power consumption. In this paper, we propose the novel concept of a concurrent multiband frequency-agile radio (CM-FARAD) architecture, which simultaneously supports multiple standards and frequency bands using a single, tunable transceiver. We discuss the subsystem radio design approaches for enabling the CM-FARAD architecture, including antennas, power amplifiers, low noise amplifiers and analogue to digital converters. A working prototype of a dual-band CM-FARAD test-bed is also presented together with measured salient performance characteristics

Conductance through Quantum Dots Studied by Finite Temperature DMRG

With the Finite temperature Density Matrix Renormalization Group method (FT-DMRG), we depeloped a method to calculate thermo-dynamical quantities and the conductance of a quantum dot system. Conductance is written by the local density of states on the dot. The density of states is calculated with the numerical analytic continuation from the thermal Green's function which is obtained directly from the FT-DMRG. Typical Kondo behaviors in the quantum dot system are observed conveniently by comparing the conductance with the magnetic and charge susceptibilities: Coulomb oscillation peaks and the unitarity limit. We discuss advantage of this method compared with others.Comment: 14 pages, 13 fiure

Sequential phosphorylation of SLP-76 at tyrosine 173 is required for activation of T and mast cells.

Cooperatively assembled signalling complexes, nucleated by adaptor proteins, integrate information from surface receptors to determine cellular outcomes. In T and mast cells, antigen receptor signalling is nucleated by three adaptors: SLP-76, Gads and LAT. Three well-characterized SLP-76 tyrosine phosphorylation sites recruit key components, including a Tec-family tyrosine kinase, Itk. We identified a fourth, evolutionarily conserved SLP-76 phosphorylation site, Y173, which was phosphorylated upon T-cell receptor stimulation in primary murine and Jurkat T cells. Y173 was required for antigen receptor-induced phosphorylation of phospholipase C-γ1 (PLC-γ1) in both T and mast cells, and for consequent downstream events, including activation of the IL-2 promoter in T cells, and degranulation and IL-6 production in mast cells. In intact cells, Y173 phosphorylation depended on three, ZAP-70-targeted tyrosines at the N-terminus of SLP-76 that recruit and activate Itk, a kinase that selectively phosphorylated Y173 in vitro. These data suggest a sequential mechanism whereby ZAP-70-dependent priming of SLP-76 at three N-terminal sites triggers reciprocal regulatory interactions between Itk and SLP-76, which are ultimately required to couple active Itk to its substrate, PLC-γ1

Accurate Results from Perturbation Theory for Strongly Frustrated S=1/2S=1/2 Heisenberg Spin Clusters

We investigate the use of perturbation theory in finite sized frustrated spin systems by calculating the effect of quantum fluctuations on coherent states derived from the classical ground state. We first calculate the ground and first excited state wavefunctions as a function of applied field for a 12-site system and compare with the results of exact diagonalization. We then apply the technique to a 20-site system with the same three fold site coordination as the 12-site system. Frustration results in asymptotically convergent series for both systems which are summed with Pad\'e approximants. We find that at zero magnetic field the different connectivity of the two systems leads to a triplet first excited state in the 12-site system and a singlet first excited state in the 20-site system, while the ground state is a singlet for both. We also show how the analytic structure of the Pad\'e approximants at $|\lambda| \simeq 1$ evolves in the complex $\lambda$ plane at the values of the applied field where the ground state switches between spin sectors and how this is connected with the non-trivial dependence of the $$ number on the strength of quantum fluctuations. We discuss the origin of this difference in the energy spectra and in the analytic structures. We also characterize the ground and first excited states according to the values of the various spin correlation functions.Comment: Final version, accepted for publication in Physical review