Transparent ferromagnetic and semiconducting behavior in Fe-Dy-Tb based amorphous oxide films

We report a class of amorphous thin film material comprising of transition (Fe) and Lanthanide metals (Dy and Tb) that show unique combination of functional properties. Films were deposited with different atomic weight ratio (R) of Fe to Lanthanide (Dy + Tb) using electron beam co-evaporation at room temperature. The films were found to be amorphous, with grazing incidence x-ray diffraction and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies indicating that the films were largely oxidized with a majority of the metal being in higher oxidation states. Films with R = 0.6 were semiconducting with visible light transmission due to a direct optical band-gap (2.49 eV), had low resistivity and sheet resistance (7.15 × 10−4 Ω-cm and ~200 Ω/sq respectively), and showed room temperature ferromagnetism. A metal to semiconductor transition with composition (for R \u3c 11.9) also correlated well with the absence of any metallic Fe0oxidation state in the R = 0.6 case as well as a significantly higher fraction of oxidized Dy. The combination of amorphous microstructure and room temperature electronic and magnetic properties could lead to the use of the material in multiple applications, including as a transparent conductor, active material in thin film transistors for display devices, and in spin-dependent electronics

Robust nanopatterning by laser-induced dewetting of metal nanofilms

We have observed nanopattern formation with robust and controllable spatial ordering by laser-induced dewetting in nanoscopic metal films. Pattern evolution in Co film of thickness 1\leq h\leq8 nm on SiO_{2} was achieved under multiple pulse irradiation using a 9 ns pulse laser. Dewetting leads to the formation of cellular patterns which evolve into polygons that eventually break up into nanoparticles with monomodal size distribution and short range ordering in nearest-neighbour spacing R. Spatial ordering was attributed to a hydrodynamic thin film instability and resulted in a predictable variation of R and particle diameter D with h. The length scales R and D were found to be independent of the laser energy. These results suggest that spatially ordered metal nanoparticles can be robustly assembled by laser-induced dewetting

Investigation of pulsed laser induced dewetting in nanoscopic metal films

Hydrodynamic pattern formation (PF) and dewetting resulting from pulsed laser induced melting of nanoscopic metal films have been used to create spatially ordered metal nanoparticle arrays with monomodal size distribution on SiO_{\text{2}}/Si substrates. PF was investigated for film thickness h\leq7 nm < laser absorption depth \sim11 nm and different sets of laser parameters, including energy density E and the irradiation time, as measured by the number of pulses n. PF was only observed to occur for E\geq E_{m}, where E_{m} denotes the h-dependent threshold energy required to melt the film. Even at such small length scales, theoretical predictions for E_{m} obtained from a continuum-level lumped parameter heat transfer model for the film temperature, coupled with the 1-D transient heat equation for the substrate phase, were consistent with experimental observations provided that the thickness dependence of the reflectivity of the metal-substrate bilayer was incorporated into the analysis. The spacing between the nanoparticles and the particle diameter were found to increase as h^{2} and h^{5/3} respectively, which is consistent with the predictions of the thin film hydrodynamic (TFH) dewetting theory. These results suggest that fast thermal processing can lead to novel pattern formation, including quenching of a wide range of length scales and morphologies.Comment: 36 pages, 11 figures, 1 tabl

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Assessment of Coastal environmental changes with reference to aquaculture development in part of Tamil Nadu Coast using Geospatial Technology

International audienc