Influence of the doping on the lattice sites of Fe in Si

We report on the lattice location and thermal stability of Fe in n+- and p+-type silicon. By means of emission channeling we have observed Fe on ideal substitutional sites, sites located in between bond-centered (BC) and substitutional sites, and sites displaced from tetrahedral towards anti-bonding sites. Here, we focus our analysis on the identification of Fe displaced 0.4-0.6 Å from BC sites and the influence of the doping on the stability of these sites. Fe on near-BC sites is found to be more thermally stable in n+-type Si than in low doped or p+-type Si, and seems to be related to multiple vacancy defects. We suggest that the complexes which trap Fe near BC sites, as well as the formation of substitutional Fe, may play a crucial role in P-diffusion gettering

Origin of the lattice sites occupied by implanted Co in Si

We have investigated the lattice location of implanted 61Co in silicon. By means of emission channeling, three different lattice sites have been identified: ideal substitutional sites, displaced bond-centered sites and displaced tetrahedral interstitial sites. To assess the origin of the observed lattice sites we have compared our results to emission channeling studies on 59Fe and 65Ni and to Mössbauer spectroscopy experiments on 57Co, present in literature. The possible interpretation of several 57Co Mössbauer lines is discussed in the light of our new results on the 61Co lattice location. The conclusions are relevant for the microscopic understanding of some gettering techniques

Direct observation of the lattice sites of implanted manganese in silicon

Mn-doped Si has attracted significant interest in the context of dilute magnetic semiconductors. We investigated the lattice location of implanted Mn in silicon of different doping types (n, n+ and p+) in the highly dilute regime. Three different lattice sites were identified by means of emission channeling experiments: ideal substitutional sites; sites displaced from bond-centered towards substitutional sites and sites displaced from anti-bonding towards tetrahedral interstitial sites. For all doping types investigated, the substitutional fraction remained below ∼ 30%. We discuss the origin of the observed lattice sites as well as the implications of such structures on the understanding of Mn-doped Si systems

Drawing the geometry of 3d transition metal-boron pairs in silicon from electron emission channeling experiments

Although the formation of transition metal-boron pairs is currently well established in silicon processing, the geometry of these complexes is still not completely understood. We investigated the lattice location of the transition metals manganese, iron, cobalt and nickel in n- and p+-type silicon by means of electron emission channeling. For manganese, iron and cobalt, we observed an increase of sites near the ideal tetrahedral interstitial position by changing the doping from n- to p+-type Si. Such increase was not observed for Ni. We ascribe this increase to the formation of pairs with boron, driven by Coulomb interactions, since the majority of iron, manganese and cobalt is positively charged in p+-type silicon while Ni is neutral. We propose that breathing mode relaxation around the boron ion within the pair causes the observed displacement from the ideal tetrahedral interstitial site. We discuss the application of the emission channeling technique in this system and, in particular, how it provides insight on the geometry of such pairs

Emission Channeling with Short-Lived Isotopes (EC-SLI) at CERN’s ISOLDE facility

We give an overview on the historical development and current program for lattice location studies at CERN’s ISOLDE facility, where the EC-SLI (Emission Channeling with Short-Lived Isotopes) collaboration maintains several setups for this type of experiments. We illustrate that the three most decisive factors for the success of the technique are access to facilities producing radioactive isotopes, position-sensitive detectors for the emitted decay particles, and reliable simulation codes which allow for quantitative analysis

Identification of the interstitial Mn site in ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As

We determined the lattice location of Mn in ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As using the electron emission channeling technique. We show that interstitial Mn occupies the tetrahedral site with As nearest neighbors (TAs) both before and after thermal annealing at 200 °C, whereas the occupancy of the tetrahedral site with Ga nearest neighbors (TGa) is negligible. TAs is therefore the energetically favorable site for interstitial Mn in isolated form as well as when forming complexes with substitutional Mn. These results shed new light on the long standing controversy regarding TAs versus TGa occupancy of interstitial Mn in (Ga,Mn)As

Structural, Optical, and Magnetic Properties of Highly Ordered Mesoporous MCr₂O₄ and MCr_2–<i>x</i>Fe_<i>x</i>O₄ (M = Co, Zn) Spinel Thin Films with Uniform 15 nm Diameter Pores and Tunable Nanocrystalline Domain Sizes

Herein is reported the synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalline cobalt chromite (CoCr₂O₄) and zinc chromite (ZnCr₂O₄) thin films with highly ordered cubic networks of open pores averaging 15 nm in diameter. We also show that the synthesis method employed in this work is readily extendable to solid solutions of the type MCr_2–<i>x</i>Fe_<i>x</i>O₄ (M = Co, Zn), which could pave the way for innovative device design. All of these materials can be prepared by facile coassembly of hydrated nitrate salts with an amphiphilic diblock copolymer, referred to as KLE. The as-made materials are amorphous thin films with face-centered-cubic close-packed pore structures. Electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering, krypton physisorption, UV–vis spectroscopy, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy studies collectively verify that both the transition metal chromites and the solid solutions are well-defined at the nanoscale and the microscale. In addition, the data show that the different thin film materials are nanocrystalline after annealing in air at 600 °C, adopt the spinel structure in phase-pure form, and that the conversion of the initially amorphous frameworks comes at little cost to the ordering of the cubic pore-solid architectures. Magnetization studies as a function of temperature and field further reveal the high quality of the KLE-templated CoCr₂O₄ thin films with both long-range ferrimagnetic order and spiral magnetic order at low temperatures, in agreement with previous findings

Critical care admission following elective surgery was not associated with survival benefit: prospective analysis of data from 27 countries

This was an investigator initiated study funded by Nestle Health Sciences through an unrestricted research grant, and by a National Institute for Health Research (UK) Professorship held by RP. The study was sponsored by Queen Mary University of London

The surgical safety checklist and patient outcomes after surgery: a prospective observational cohort study, systematic review and meta-analysis

© 2017 British Journal of Anaesthesia Background: The surgical safety checklist is widely used to improve the quality of perioperative care. However, clinicians continue to debate the clinical effectiveness of this tool. Methods: Prospective analysis of data from the International Surgical Outcomes Study (ISOS), an international observational study of elective in-patient surgery, accompanied by a systematic review and meta-analysis of published literature. The exposure was surgical safety checklist use. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality and the secondary outcome was postoperative complications. In the ISOS cohort, a multivariable multi-level generalized linear model was used to test associations. To further contextualise these findings, we included the results from the ISOS cohort in a meta-analysis. Results are reported as odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals. Results: We included 44 814 patients from 497 hospitals in 27 countries in the ISOS analysis. There were 40 245 (89.8%) patients exposed to the checklist, whilst 7508 (16.8%) sustained ≥1 postoperative complications and 207 (0.5%) died before hospital discharge. Checklist exposure was associated with reduced mortality [odds ratio (OR) 0.49 (0.32–0.77); P\u3c0.01], but no difference in complication rates [OR 1.02 (0.88–1.19); P=0.75]. In a systematic review, we screened 3732 records and identified 11 eligible studies of 453 292 patients including the ISOS cohort. Checklist exposure was associated with both reduced postoperative mortality [OR 0.75 (0.62–0.92); P\u3c0.01; I2=87%] and reduced complication rates [OR 0.73 (0.61–0.88); P\u3c0.01; I2=89%). Conclusions: Patients exposed to a surgical safety checklist experience better postoperative outcomes, but this could simply reflect wider quality of care in hospitals where checklist use is routine

Prospective observational cohort study on grading the severity of postoperative complications in global surgery research

Background The Clavien–Dindo classification is perhaps the most widely used approach for reporting postoperative complications in clinical trials. This system classifies complication severity by the treatment provided. However, it is unclear whether the Clavien–Dindo system can be used internationally in studies across differing healthcare systems in high- (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods This was a secondary analysis of the International Surgical Outcomes Study (ISOS), a prospective observational cohort study of elective surgery in adults. Data collection occurred over a 7-day period. Severity of complications was graded using Clavien–Dindo and the simpler ISOS grading (mild, moderate or severe, based on guided investigator judgement). Severity grading was compared using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Data are presented as frequencies and ICC values (with 95 per cent c.i.). The analysis was stratified by income status of the country, comparing HICs with LMICs. Results A total of 44 814 patients were recruited from 474 hospitals in 27 countries (19 HICs and 8 LMICs). Some 7508 patients (16·8 per cent) experienced at least one postoperative complication, equivalent to 11 664 complications in total. Using the ISOS classification, 5504 of 11 664 complications (47·2 per cent) were graded as mild, 4244 (36·4 per cent) as moderate and 1916 (16·4 per cent) as severe. Using Clavien–Dindo, 6781 of 11 664 complications (58·1 per cent) were graded as I or II, 1740 (14·9 per cent) as III, 2408 (20·6 per cent) as IV and 735 (6·3 per cent) as V. Agreement between classification systems was poor overall (ICC 0·41, 95 per cent c.i. 0·20 to 0·55), and in LMICs (ICC 0·23, 0·05 to 0·38) and HICs (ICC 0·46, 0·25 to 0·59). Conclusion Caution is recommended when using a treatment approach to grade complications in global surgery studies, as this may introduce bias unintentionally