Re-entrant Layer-by-Layer Etching of GaAs(001)

We report the first observation of re-entrant layer-by-layer etching based on {\it in situ\/} reflection high-energy electron-diffraction measurements. With AsBr$_3$ used to etch GaAs(001), sustained specular-beam intensity oscillations are seen at high substrate temperatures, a decaying intensity with no oscillations at intermediate temperatures, but oscillations reappearing at still lower temperatures. Simulations of an atomistic model for the etching kinetics reproduce the temperature ranges of these three regimes and support an interpretation of the origin of this phenomenon as the site-selectivity of the etching process combined with activation barriers to interlayer adatom migration.Comment: 11 pages, REVTeX 3.0. Physical Review Letters, in press

Ka-Band Link Study and Analysis for a Mars Hybrid RF/Optical Software Defined Radio

The integrated radio and optical communications (iROC) project at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) is investigating the feasibility of a hybrid RF and optical communication subsystem for future deep space missions. The hybrid communications subsystem enables the advancement of optical communications while simultaneously mitigating the risk of infusion by combining an experimental optical transmitter and telescope with a reliable Ka-band RF transmitter and antenna. The iROC communications subsystem seeks to maximize the total data return over the course of a potential 2-year mission in Mars orbit beginning in 2021. Although optical communication by itself offers potential for greater data return over RF, the reliable Ka-band link is also being designed for high data return capability in this hybrid system. A daily analysis of the RF link budget over the 2-year span is performed to optimize and provide detailed estimates of the RF data return. In particular, the bandwidth dependence of these data return estimates is analyzed for candidate waveforms. In this effort, a data return modeling tool was created to analyze candidate RF modulation and coding schemes with respect to their spectral efficiency, amplifier output power back-off, required digital to analog conversion (DAC) sampling rates, and support by ground receivers. A set of RF waveforms is recommended for use on the iROC platform

Investigation of Single Boron Acceptors at the Cleaved Si:B (111) Surface

The cleaved and (2 x 1) reconstructed (111) surface of p-type Si is investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Single B acceptors are identified due to their characteristic voltage-dependent contrast which is explained by a local energetic shift of the electronic density of states caused by the Coulomb potential of the negatively charged acceptor. In addition, detailed analysis of the STM images shows that apparently one orbital is missing at the B site at sample voltages of 0.4 - 0.6 V, corresponding to the absence of a localized dangling-bond state. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy confirms a strongly altered density of states at the B atom due to the different electronic structure of B compared to Si.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

Longtime behavior of nonlocal Cahn-Hilliard equations

Here we consider the nonlocal Cahn-Hilliard equation with constant mobility in a bounded domain. We prove that the associated dynamical system has an exponential attractor, provided that the potential is regular. In order to do that a crucial step is showing the eventual boundedness of the order parameter uniformly with respect to the initial datum. This is obtained through an Alikakos-Moser type argument. We establish a similar result for the viscous nonlocal Cahn-Hilliard equation with singular (e.g., logarithmic) potential. In this case the validity of the so-called separation property is crucial. We also discuss the convergence of a solution to a single stationary state. The separation property in the nonviscous case is known to hold when the mobility degenerates at the pure phases in a proper way and the potential is of logarithmic type. Thus, the existence of an exponential attractor can be proven in this case as well

Local and Global Well-Posedness for Aggregation Equations and Patlak-Keller-Segel Models with Degenerate Diffusion

Recently, there has been a wide interest in the study of aggregation equations and Patlak-Keller-Segel (PKS) models for chemotaxis with degenerate diffusion. The focus of this paper is the unification and generalization of the well-posedness theory of these models. We prove local well-posedness on bounded domains for dimensions $d\geq 2$ and in all of space for $d\geq 3$, the uniqueness being a result previously not known for PKS with degenerate diffusion. We generalize the notion of criticality for PKS and show that subcritical problems are globally well-posed. For a fairly general class of problems, we prove the existence of a critical mass which sharply divides the possibility of finite time blow up and global existence. Moreover, we compute the critical mass for fully general problems and show that solutions with smaller mass exists globally. For a class of supercritical problems we prove finite time blow up is possible for initial data of arbitrary mass.Comment: 31 page

Ab initio study of step formation and self-diffusion on Ag(100)

Using the plane wave pseudopotential method we performed density functional theory calculations on the stability of steps and self-diffusion processes on Ag(100). Our calculated step formation energies show that the {111}-faceted step is more stable than the {110}-faceted step. In accordance with experimental observations we find that the equilibrium island shape should be octagonal very close to a square with predominately {111}-faceted steps. For the (100) surface of fcc metals atomic migration proceeds by a hopping or an exchange process. For Ag(100) we find that adatoms diffuse across flat surfaces preferentially by hopping. Adatoms approaching the close-packed {111}-faceted step edges descend from the upper terrace to the lower level by an atomic exchange with an energy barrier almost identical to the diffusion barrier on flat surface regions. Thus, within our numerical accuracy (approx +- 0.05 eV) there is no additional step-edge barrier to descent. This provides a natural explanation for the experimental observations of the smooth two-dimensional growth in homoepitaxy of Ag(100). Inspection of experimental results of other fcc crystal surfaces indicates that our result holds quite generally.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev B (October 31, 1996

Application of Mxcd to Magnetic Thin-Film Sensors

While Magnetic X-ray Circular Dichroism (MXCD) has been applied extensively to the extraction of elemental magnetic moments in various magnetic multilayers, the configuration of actual devices imposes certain constraints on the application of MXCD to devices. Using a set of real, thin-film spin valve devices with varying Cu spacer layer thicknesses, we demonstrate the correlation between MXCD and R-H measurements on those devices as well as the restrictions on the interpretation of MXCD data imposed by both the device topology and the formulation of realistic error estimates