Control of interlayer exchange coupling in Fe/Cr/Fe trilayers by ion beam irradiation

The manipulation of the antiferromagnetic interlayer coupling in the epitaxial Fe/Cr/Fe(001) trilayer system by moderate 5 keV He ion beam irradiation has been investigated experimentally. It is shown that even for irradiation with very low fluences (10^14 ions/cm^2) a drastic change in strength of the coupling appears. For thin Cr-spacers (below 0.6 - 0.7 nm) the coupling strength decreases with fluence, becoming ferromagnetic for fluences above (2x10^14 ions/cm^2). The effect is connected with the creation of magnetic bridges in the layered system due to atomic exchange events caused by the bombardment. For thicker Cr spacers (0.8 - 1.2 nm) an enhancement of the antiferromagnetic coupling strength is found. A possible explanation of the enhancement effect is given.Comment: Submitted to PR

Zinc Oxide Defect Microstructure and Surface Chemistry Derived from Oxidation of Metallic Zinc: Thin-Film Transistor and Sensor Behavior of ZnO Films and Rods

Zinc oxide thin films are fabricated by controlled oxidation of sputtered zinc metal films on a hotplate in air at temperatures between 250 and 450 °C. The nanocrystalline films possess high relative densities and show preferential growth in (100) orientation. Integration in thin‐film transistors reveals moderate charge carrier mobilities as high as 0.2 cm$^{2}$ V$^{-1}$s$^{-1}$. The semiconducting properties depend on the calcination temperature, whereby the best performance is achieved at 450 °C. The defect structure of the thin ZnO film can be tracked by Doppler‐broadening positron annihilation spectroscopy as well as positron lifetime studies. Comparably long positron lifetimes suggest interaction of zinc vacancies (V$^{Zn}$) with one or more oxygen vacancies (V$^{O}$) in larger structural entities. Such V$^{O}$‐V$^{Zn}$ defect clusters act as shallow acceptors, and thus, reduce the overall electron conductivity of the film. The concentration of these defect clusters decreases at higher calcination temperatures as indicated by changes in the S and W parameters. Such zinc oxide films obtained by conversion of metallic zinc can also be used as seed layers for solution deposition of zinc oxide nanowires employing a mild microwave‐assisted process. The functionality of the obtained nanowire arrays is tested in a UV sensor device. The best results with respect to sensor sensitivity are achieved with thinner seed layers for device construction

Low temperature and radiation stability of flexible IGZO TFTs and their suitability for space applications

In this paper, Low Earth Orbit radiation and temperature conditions are mimicked to investigate the suitability of flexible Indium-Gallium-Zinc-Oxide transistors for lightweight space-wearables. Such wearable devices could be incorporated into spacesuits as unobtrusive sensors such as radiation detectors or physiological monitors. Due to the harsh environment to which these space-wearables would be exposed, they have to be able to withstand high radiation doses and low temperatures. For this reason, the impacts of high energetic electron irradiation with fluences up to 1012 e-/cm2 and low operating temperatures down to 78 K, are investigated. This simulates 278 h in a Low Earth Orbit. The threshold voltage and mobility of transistors that were exposed to e- irradiation are found to shift by +0.09 ± 0.05V and -0.6 ± 0.5cm2 V-1 s-1. Subsequent low temperature exposure resulted in additional shifts of +0.38 V and -5.95 cm2 V-1 s-1 for the same parameters. These values are larger than the ones obtained from non-irradiated reference samples. If this is considered during the systems’ design, these devices can be used to unobtrusively integrate sensor systems into space-suits

Flexible IGZO TFTs and their suitability for space applications

In this paper, low earth orbit radiation (LEO), temperature, and magnetic field conditions are mimicked to investigate the suitability of flexible InGaZnO transistors for lightweight space wearables. More specifically, the impacts of high energetic electron irradiation with fluences up to 10 12 e - /cm 2 , low operating temperatures down to 78 K and magnetic fields up to 11 mT are investigated. This simulates 278 h in LEO. The threshold voltage and mobility of transistors that were exposed to e - irradiation are found to shift by +(0.09 ± 0.05) V and -(0.6 ± 0.5) cm 2 V -1 s -1 . Subsequent low temperature exposure resulted in additional shifts of +0.38 V and -5.95 cm 2 V -1 s -1 for the same parameters. These values are larger than the ones obtained from non-irradiated reference samples. Conversely, the performance of the devices was observed not to be significantly affected by the magnetic fields. Finally, a Cascode amplifier presenting a voltage gain of 10.3 dB and a cutoff frequency of 1.2 kHz is demonstrated after the sample had been irradiated, cooled down, and exposed to the magnetic fields. If these notions are considered during the systems design, these devices can be used to unobtrusively integrate sensor systems into space suits

Towards a multisensor station for automated biodiversity monitoring

Rapid changes of the biosphere observed in recent years are caused by both small and large scale drivers, like shifts in temperature, transformations in land-use, or changes in the energy budget of systems. While the latter processes are easily quantifiable, documentation of the loss of biodiversity and community structure is more difficult. Changes in organismal abundance and diversity are barely documented. Censuses of species are usually fragmentary and inferred by often spatially, temporally and ecologically unsatisfactory simple species lists for individual study sites. Thus, detrimental global processes and their drivers often remain unrevealed. A major impediment to monitoring species diversity is the lack of human taxonomic expertise that is implicitly required for large-scale and fine-grained assessments. Another is the large amount of personnel and associated costs needed to cover large scales, or the inaccessibility of remote but nonetheless affected areas. To overcome these limitations we propose a network of Automated Multisensor stations for Monitoring of species Diversity (AMMODs) to pave the way for a new generation of biodiversity assessment centers. This network combines cutting-edge technologies with biodiversity informatics and expert systems that conserve expert knowledge. Each AMMOD station combines autonomous samplers for insects, pollen and spores, audio recorders for vocalizing animals, sensors for volatile organic compounds emitted by plants (pVOCs) and camera traps for mammals and small invertebrates. AMMODs are largely self-containing and have the ability to pre-process data (e.g. for noise filtering) prior to transmission to receiver stations for storage, integration and analyses. Installation on sites that are difficult to access require a sophisticated and challenging system design with optimum balance between power requirements, bandwidth for data transmission, required service, and operation under all environmental conditions for years. An important prerequisite for automated species identification are databases of DNA barcodes, animal sounds, for pVOCs, and images used as training data for automated species identification. AMMOD stations thus become a key component to advance the field of biodiversity monitoring for research and policy by delivering biodiversity data at an unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. (C) 2022 Published by Elsevier GmbH on behalf of Gesellschaft fur Okologie