Assessing risks of invasion through gamete performance: farm Atlantic salmon sperm and eggs show equivalence in function, fertility, compatibility and competitiveness to wild Atlantic salmon

Adaptations at the gamete level (a) evolve quickly, (b) appear sensitive to inbreeding and outbreeding and (c) have important influences on potential to reproduce. We apply this understanding to problems posed by escaped farm salmon and measure their potential to reproduce in the wild. Farm Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) are a threat to biodiversity, because they escape in large numbers and can introgress, dilute or disrupt locally adapted wild gene pools. Experiments at the whole fish level have found farm reproductive potential to be significant, but inferior compared to wild adults, especially for males. Here, we assess reproductive performance at the gamete level through detailed in vitro comparisons of the form, function, fertility, compatibility and competitiveness of farm versus wild Atlantic salmon sperm and eggs, in conditions mimicking the natural gametic microenvironment, using fish raised under similar environmental conditions. Despite selective domestication and reduced genetic diversity, we find functional equivalence in all farm fish gamete traits compared with their wild ancestral strain. Our results identify a clear threat of farm salmon reproduction with wild fish and therefore encourage further consideration of using triploid farm strains with optimized traits for aquaculture and fish welfare, as triploid fish remain reproductively sterile following escape

Combining the Best of Bulk and Surface Micromaching Using Si(111) Substrates

This process combines the best features of bulk ad surface micromachining. It enables the production of stress free, thick, virtually arbitrarily shaped structures with well defiti thick or thin sacrificial layers, high sacrificial layer selectivity and large undercuts using IC compatible, processes. The basis of this approach is the use of dy available {111} oriented substrates. anisotropic Si trench etching, S iN masking and KOH etching

All-optical octave-broad ultrafast switching of Si woodpile photonic band gap crystals

We present ultrafast all-optical switching measurements of Si woodpile photonic band gap crystals. The crystals are spatially homogeneously excited and probed by measuring reflectivity over an octave in frequency (including the telecommunication range) as a function of time. After 300 fs, the complete stop band has shifted to higher frequencies as a result of optically excited free carriers. The switched state relaxes quickly with a time constant of 18 ps. We present a quantitative analysis of switched spectra with theory for finite photonic crystals. The induced changes in refractive index are well described by a Drude model with a carrier relaxation time of 10 fs. We briefly discuss possible applications of high-repetition-rate switching of photonic crystal cavities

Microstructure of GaN Grown on (111) Si by MOCVD

Gallium nitride was grown on (111) Si by MOCVD by depositing an AIN buffer at 108O"C and then GaN at 1060 {degrees}C. The 2.2pm layer cracked along {1-100} planes upon cooling to room temperature, but remained adherent. We were able to examine the microstructure of material between cracks with TEM. The character and arrangement of dislocation are much like those of GaN grown on Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}: -2/3 pure edge and - 1/3 mixed (edge + screw), arranged in boundaries around domains of GaN that are slightly disoriented with respect to neighboring material. The 30 nm AIN buffer is continuous, indicating that AIN wets the Si, in contrast to GaN on Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}

Non-contact atomic-level interfacial force microscopy

The scanning force microscopies (notably the Atomic Force Microscope--AFM), because of their applicability to nearly all materials, are presently the most widely used of the scanning-probe techniques. However, the AFM uses a deflection sensor to measure sample/probe forces which suffers from an inherent mechanical instability that occurs when the rate of change of the force with respect to the interfacial separation becomes equal to the spring constant of the deflecting member. This instability dramatically limits the breadth of applicability of AFM-type techniques to materials problems. In the course of implementing a DOE sponsored basic research program in interfacial adhesion, a self-balancing force sensor concept has been developed and incorporated into an Interfacial Force Microscopy (IFM) system by Sandia scientists. This sensor eliminates the instability problem and greatly enhances the applicability of the scanning force-probe technique to a broader range of materials and materials parameters. The impact of this Sandia development was recognized in 1993 by a Department of Energy award for potential impact on DOE programs and by an R and D 100 award for one of the most important new products of 1994. However, in its present stage of development, the IFM is strictly a research-level tool and a CRADA was initiated in order to bring this sensor technology into wide-spread availability by making it accessible in the form of a commercial instrument. The present report described the goals, approach and results of this CRADA effort

Use of air gap structures to lower intralevel capacitance

Interconnect delays, arising in part from intralevel capacitance, are one of the factors limiting the performance of advanced circuits. In addition, the problem of filling the spaces between neighboring metal lines with an insulator is becoming increasingly acute as aspect ratios increase. We address these problems simultaneously by intentionally creating an air gap between closely spaced metal lines. Undesirable topography is eliminated using a spin-on dielectric. We then cap the wafers with silicon dioxide and planarize using chemical mechanical polishing. Simple modeling of test structures predicts an equivalent dielectric constant of 1.9 on features similar to those expected for 0.25 micron technologies. Two level metal test structures fabricated in a 0.5 micron CMOS technology show that the process can be readily integrated with current standard CMOS processes. The potential problems of via misalignment, overall dielectric stack height, and the relative difficulty of ensuring void formation compared to that of ensuring a void-free fill are considered

Novel thin film field emission electron source laboratory directed research and development final report

The objective of this project was to demonstrate proof of concept of a thin film field emission electron source based on electron tunneling between discrete metal islands on an insulating substrate. An electron source of this type should be more easily fabricated permitting the use of a wider range of materials, and be less prone to damage and erratic behavior than the patterned field emitter arrays currently under development for flat panel displays and other vacuum microelectronic applications. This report describes the results of the studies of electron and light emission from such structures, and the subsequent discovery of a source of light emission from conductive paths across thin insulating gaps of the semiconductor-insulator-semiconductor (SIS) and metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structures. The substrates consisted of silicon nitride and silicon dioxide on silicon wafers, Kapton{reg_sign}, quartz, and cut slabs of silica aerogels. The conductive film samples were prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and sputtering, while the MIS and SIS samples were prepared by CVD followed by cleaving, grinding, mechanical indentation, erosion by a sputter Auger beam, electrical arcing and chemical etching. Electron emission measurements were conducted in high and ultra high vacuum systems at SNL, NM as well as at SNL, CA. Optical emission measurements were made in air under an optical microscope as well as in the above vacuum environments. Sample morphology was investigated using both scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM)

Lowering of intralevel capacitance using air gap structures

Interconnect delays, arising in part from intralevel capacitance, are one of the limiting factors in the performance of advanced integrated circuits. In addition, the problem of filling the spaces between neighboring metal lines with an insulator is becoming increasingly severe as aspect ratios increase. We address these problems by intentionally creating a air gap between closely spaced metal lines. The ends of the air gap and reentrant features are then sealed using a spin on dielectric. The entire structure is then capped with silicon dioxide and planarized . Simple modeling of mechanical test structures on silicon predicts an equivalent dielectric constant of 1.9 on features similar to those expected for 0.25 micron technologies. Metal to metal test structures fabricated in a 0.5 micron CMOS technology show that the process can be readily integrated with chemical mechanical polishing and current standard CMOS processes

Low frequency water level correction in storm surge models using data assimilation

Research performed to-date on data assimilation (DA) in storm surge modeling has found it to have limited value for predicting rapid surge responses (e.g., those accompanying tropical cyclones). In this paper, we submit that a well-resolved, barotropic hydrodynamic model is typically able to capture the surge event itself, leaving slower processes that determine the large scale, background water level as primary sources of water level error. These “unresolved drivers” reflect physical processes not included in the model's governing equations or forcing terms, such as far field atmospheric forcing, baroclinic processes, major ocean currents, steric variations, or precipitation. We have developed a novel, efficient, optimal interpolation-based DA scheme, using observations from coastal water level gages, that dynamically corrects for the presence of unresolved drivers. The methodology is applied for Hurricane Matthew (2016) and results demonstrate it is highly effective at removing water level residuals, roughly halving overall surge errors for that storm. The method is computationally efficient, well-suited for either hindcast or forecast applications and extensible to more advanced techniques and datasets

CaMEL and ADCIRC storm surge models-A comparative study

The Computation and Modeling Engineering Laboratory (CaMEL), an implicit solver-based storm surge model, has been extended for use on high performance computing platforms. An MPI (Message Passing Interface) based parallel version of CaMEL has been developed from the previously existing serial version. CaMEL uses hybrid finite element and finite volume techniques to solve shallow water conservation equations in either a Cartesian or a spherical coordinate system and includes hurricane-induced wind stress and pressure, bottom friction, the Coriolis effect, and tidal forcing. Both semi-implicit and fully-implicit time stepping formulations are available. Once the parallel implementation is properly validated, CaMEL is evaluated against ADCIRC, an established storm surge model, using a hindcast of storm surge due to Hurricane Katrina. Observed high water marks are used to verify that both models have comparable accuracy. The effects of time step on the stability and accuracy of the models are investigated and indicate that the semi- and fully-implicit solvers in CaMEL allow the use of larger timesteps than ADCIRC's explicit and semi-implicit solvers. However, ADCIRC outperforms CaMEL in parallel scalability and execution wall clock times. Wall times of CaMEL improve significantly when the largest stable time step sizes are used in respective models, although ADCIRC still is faster