Evidence for a Finite Temperature Insulator

In superconductors the zero-resistance current-flow is protected from dissipation at finite temperatures (T) by virtue of the short-circuit condition maintained by the electrons that remain in the condensed state. The recently suggested finite-T insulator and the "superinsulating" phase are different because any residual mechanism of conduction will eventually become dominant as the finite-T insulator sets-in. If the residual conduction is small it may be possible to observe the transition to these intriguing states. We show that the conductivity of the high magnetic-field insulator terminating superconductivity in amorphous indium-oxide exhibits an abrupt drop, and seem to approach a zero conductance at T<0.04 K. We discuss our results in the light of theories that lead to a finite-T insulator

Large-n expansion for m-axial Lifshitz points

The large-n expansion is developed for the study of critical behaviour of d-dimensional systems at m-axial Lifshitz points with an arbitrary number m of modulation axes. The leading non-trivial contributions of O(1/n) are derived for the two independent correlation exponents \eta_{L2} and \eta_{L4}, and the related anisotropy index \theta. The series coefficients of these 1/n corrections are given for general values of m and d with 0<m<d and 2+m/2<d<4+m/2 in the form of integrals. For special values of m and d such as (m,d)=(1,4), they can be computed analytically, but in general their evaluation requires numerical means. The 1/n corrections are shown to reduce in the appropriate limits to those of known large-n expansions for the case of d-dimensional isotropic Lifshitz points and critical points, respectively, and to be in conformity with available dimensionality expansions about the upper and lower critical dimensions. Numerical results for the 1/n coefficients of \eta_{L2}, \eta_{L4} and \theta are presented for the physically interesting case of a uniaxial Lifshitz point in three dimensions, as well as for some other choices of m and d. A universal coefficient associated with the energy-density pair correlation function is calculated to leading order in 1/n for general values of m and d.Comment: 28 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to: J. Phys. C: Solid State Phys., special issue dedicated to Lothar Schaefer on the occasion of his 60th birthday. V2: References added along with corresponding modifications in the text, corrected figure 3, corrected typo

Bulk and Boundary Critical Behavior at Lifshitz Points

Lifshitz points are multicritical points at which a disordered phase, a homogeneous ordered phase, and a modulated ordered phase meet. Their bulk universality classes are described by natural generalizations of the standard $\phi^4$ model. Analyzing these models systematically via modern field-theoretic renormalization group methods has been a long-standing challenge ever since their introduction in the middle of the 1970s. We survey the recent progress made in this direction, discussing results obtained via dimensionality expansions, how they compare with Monte Carlo results, and open problems. These advances opened the way towards systematic studies of boundary critical behavior at $m$-axial Lifshitz points. The possible boundary critical behavior depends on whether the surface plane is perpendicular to one of the $m$ modulation axes or parallel to all of them. We show that the semi-infinite field theories representing the corresponding surface universality classes in these two cases of perpendicular and parallel surface orientation differ crucially in their Hamiltonian's boundary terms and the implied boundary conditions, and explain recent results along with our current understanding of this matter.Comment: Invited contribution to STATPHYS 22, to be published in the Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Statistical Physics (STATPHYS 22) of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), 4--9 July 2004, Bangalore, Indi

First results on DEPFET Active Pixel Sensors fabricated in a CMOS foundry - A promising approach for new detector development and scientific instrumentation

DEPFET Active Pixel Sensors (APS) have been introduced as focal plane detectors for X-ray astronomy already in 1996. Fabricated on high resistivity, fully depleted silicon and back-illuminated they can provide high quantum efficiency and low noise operation even at very high read rates. In 2009 a new type of DEPFET APS, the DSSC (DEPFET Sensor with Signal Compression) was developed, which is dedicated to high-speed X-ray imaging at the European X-ray free electron laser facility (EuXFEL) in Hamburg. In order to resolve the enormous contrasts occurring in Free Electron Laser (FEL) experiments, this new DSSC-DEPFET sensor has the capability of nonlinear amplification, that is, high gain for low intensities in order to obtain single-photon detection capability, and reduced gain for high intensities to achieve high dynamic range for several thousand photons per pixel and frame. We call this property "signal compression". Starting in 2015, we have been fabricating DEPFET sensors in an industrial scale CMOS foundry maintaining the outstanding proven DEPFET properties and adding new capabilities due to the industrial-scale CMOS process. We will highlight these additional features and describe the progress achieved so far. In a first attempt on double-sided polished 725 mu m thick 200 mm high resistivity float zone silicon wafers all relevant device related properties have been measured, such as leakage current, depletion voltage, transistor characteristics, noise and energy resolution for X-rays and the nonlinear response. The smaller feature size provided by the new technology allows for an advanced design and significant improvements in device performance. A brief summary of the present status will be given as well as an outlook on next steps and future perspectives