Thermal and electrical stability assessment of AlGaN/GaN Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor High Electron Mobility Transistors (MOS-HEMT) with HfO2 gate dielectric.

AlGaN/GaN HEMTs and MOS-HEMTs using HfO2 as gate dielectric have been analyzed at room temperature, after STA and TC test, during off-state electrical step stress, HTRB and PBTI tests. Results showed that the leakage current in as-fabricated MOS-HEMTs decreased by 106 and the on/off ratio increased by over 104 than the HEMTs. Moreover, it was even higher after a STA test, up to 108, in the MOS-HEMTs, and the surface trapping effects were mitigated, especially if a KOH cleaning was used before HfO2 deposition. The MOS-HEMTs also showed higher electrical stability after off-state step electrical stress, HTRB and PBTI tests.pre-print732 K

Thermal stability study of AlGaN/GaN MOS-HEMTs using Gd2O3 as gate dielectric

Thermal stability of AlGaN/GaN MOS-HEMTs and -diodes using Gd_(2)O_(3) are investigated by means of different thermal cycles and storage tests up to 500ºC for one week. IV DC and pulsed characteristics of the devices before and after the processes are evaluated and compared with conventional HEMTs. Results show that the devices with Gd_(2)O_(3) dielectric layer have lower leakage current and a more stable behavior during thermal treatment processes compared with conventional devices. In fact, an excellent on/off ratio of about 108 and a stable V_(t) is observed after storage at high temperature. The beneficial effects of Gd_(2)O_(3) on trapping effects of MOS-HEMTs are also dis-cussed

Vertically illuminated TW-UTC photodiodes for terahertz generation

More efficient and powerful continuous-wave photonic mixers as terahertz sources are motivated by the need of more versatile local oscillators for submillimeter/terahertz receiver systems. Uni-Travelling Carrier (UTC) photodiodes are very prospective candidates for reaching this objective, but so far only have been reported as lumped-elements or as edge-illuminated optical-waveguide travelling-wave (TW) devices. To overcome the associated power limitations of those implementations, we are developing a novel implementation of the UTC photodiodes which combines a traveling-wave photomixer with vertical velocity-matched illumination in a distributed structure. In this implementation called velocity-matched travelling-wave uni-travelling carrier photodiode, it is possible to obtain in-situ velocity matching of the beat-fringes of the two angled laser beams with the submm/THz-wave on the stripline. In this way, minimum frequency roll-off is achieved by tuning the angle between the two laser beams. A first design of these TW-UTC PDs from our Terahertz Photonics Laboratory at University of Chile has been micro-fabricated at the MC2 cleanroom facility at Chalmers Technical University

Validation of active forest fires detected by MSG-SEVIRI by means of MODIS hot spots and AWiFS images.

The detection of forest fires and the determination of their parameters have been usually carried out by polar-orbit sensors: AVHRR, (A)ATSR, BIRD and MODIS mainly. However, their time resolution prevents them from operating in real time. In contrast, the new geostationary sensors have very appropriate capacities for the observation of the Earth and monitoring of forest fires, as is being proved. GOES, MSG and MTSAT are already operative and they have led the international community to think that the global observation network in real time may become a reality. The implementation of this network is the aim of the Global Observations of Forest Cover and Land Cover Dynamics (GOFC/GOLD) FIRE Mapping and Monitoring program, focused internationally on taking decisions concerning the research of the Global Change. In this paper, the operation in real time by the MSG-SEVIRI sensor over the Iberian Peninsula is studied. On the other hand, the reliability of validation results by means of polar sensors, with better spatial resolution, is difficult to analyze due to errors caused by confused location of fires. This paper tries to find the most appropriate spatial scale to carry out comparison between Terra/Aqua-MODIS and Resourcesat1-AWiFS image

Intra-Domain Delay-Based Quality of Service Using Differentiated Routing

Differentiated routing is an approach to providing service differentiation in networks, a field that is currently receiving significant research attention. In this report we present an algorithm, namely Intra-Domain Differentiated Routing (IDDR), which supports qualitative delay differentiation in IP networks. We review existing differentiated routing approaches and then introduce IDDR and present initial results. We demonstrate that using IDDR we can achieve qualitative delay differentiation for two classes of flows

Influence of genomic variation in FTO at 16q12.2, MC4R at 18q22 and NRXN3 at 14q31 genes on breast cancer risk

Breast cancer is a major cause of cancer-related deaths in women. It is known that obesity is one of the risk factors of breast cancer. The subject of our interest was genes: FTO, MC4R and NRXN3–associated with obesity. In this study we have analyzed frequencies of genomic variants in FTO, MC4R and NRXN3 in the group of 134 breast cancer patients. We genotyped two polymorphic sites located in FTO gene (rs993909 and rs9930506), one polymorphic site of MC4R gene (rs17782313) and one polymorphic site of NRXN3 gene (rs10146997). Our hypothesis was that above mentioned SNPs could participate in carcinogenesis. Our research has showed that only rs10146997 was significantly (P = 0.0445) associated with higher risk of breast cancer development (OR = 0.66 (95% CI 0.44–0.99)). Moreover, G allele carriers in rs10146997 of the NRXN3 gene were the youngest patients at onset of breast cancer. On the basis of our research we suggest that further functional may elucidate the role of genomic variation in breast cancer development

Trends in Metal Oxide Stability for Nanorods, Nanotubes, and Surfaces

The formation energies of nanostructures play an important role in determining their properties, including the catalytic activity. For the case of 15 different rutile and 8 different perovskite metal oxides, we find that the density functional theory (DFT) calculated formation energies of (2,2) nanorods, (3,3) nanotubes, and the (110) and (100) surfaces may be described semi-quantitatively by the fraction of metal--oxygen bonds broken and the bonding band centers in the bulk metal oxide

DETERMINACIÓN DE RESIDUOS DE ANTIBIÓTICOS BETALACTÁMICOS MEDIANTE UN ENSAYO INMUNOENZIMÁTICO EN LECHE DE VACAS TRATADAS CONTRA MASTITIS

The aim of the study was to determine the frequency of antibiotic residues in milk from cows that had clinical mastitis and returned to production after completion of the 3- day period of discarded milk post treatment. Milk samples were collected from 60 cows that received treatment for mastitis with betalactamic antibiotics. Samples were analyzed by the inmunoenzimatic test SNAP (Betalactam), which indicates presence of betalactamic antibiotics residues in milk. Results showed that 45.0% (27/60) were positive to betalactamic antibiotics residues. Also, 56.0% (14/25), 26.7% (4/15), and 45% (9/20) of samples from animals treated with penicillin and streptomycin, kanamycin and penicillin, and amoxicillin and clavulanic acid respectively had antibiotic residues. In addition, 50.0% (14/28) of the animals treated by the intramuscular route and 40.6% (13/32) by the intramammary route were positive; whereas 46.7% (7/15), 57.1% (12/21), and 33.3% (8/24) of cows with low, medium, and high production cows, respectively, were positive to the test. However, no statistical association between type of antibiotic used, via of administration and level of production with presence of antibiotic residues was found.El presente estudio tuvo por objetivo determinar la frecuencia de residuos de antibióticos en leche de vacas luego del periodo de descarte (tres días) de leche por tratamiento contra la mastitis con antibióticos betalactámicos. Muestras de leche de 60 vacas se analizaron mediante la prueba inmunoenzimática SNAP (Betalactam), que indica la presencia de antibióticos betalactámicos en leche. El 45.0% (27/60) resultó positivo a residuos de antibióticos. En relación al tipo de antibiótico utilizado, el 56.0% (14/25), 26.7% (4/15) y 45.0% (9/20) de las muestras de animales tratados con la asociación penicilina y estreptomicina, kanamicina y penicilina, y amoxicilina y ácido clavulónico, respectivamente, fue positiva a la prueba. Asimismo, el 50.0% (14/28) de los animales tratados por vía intramuscular y 40.6% (13/32) por vía intramamaria fueron positivos; y el 46.7%(7/15), 57.1% (12/21) y 33.3% (8/24) de las vacas de baja, media y alta producción, respectivamente, fue positiva a la prueba; aunque sin que hubiera una asociación estadística entre el tipo de antibiótico, vía de administración, y nivel de producción con la presencia de residuos de antibióticos