"SAMs meet MEMS": surface modification with self-assembled monolayers for the dry-demolding of photoplastic MEMS/NEMS

In this contribution we demonstrate the use of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) as anti-adhesion coating to assist the removal of photoplastic MEMS/NEMS with a patterned metal layer from the surface without wet chemical sacrificial layer etching, so-called 'dry-demolding'. The SAMs functionality here is to reduce the stiction between the surface and a thin evaporated metal film. The double-layer SAM/metal provides enough stability to support subsequent micromachining step

Bose-Einstein condensation of excitons in Cu2_2O

We present a parameter-free model which estimates the density of excitons in Cu$_2$O, related to experiments that have tried to create an excitonic Bose-Einstein condensate. Our study demonstrates that the triplet-state excitons move along adiabats and obey classical statistics, while the singlet-state excitons are a possible candidate for forming a Bose-Einstein condensate. Finally we show that the results of this study do not change qualitatively in a two-dimensional exciton gas, which can be realized in a quantum well.Comment: 6 pages, RevTex, 1 ps figur

CFD Simulation of Liquid-solid Multiphase Flow in Mud Mixer

In the present study, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation was performed to analyze the mixing phenomena associated with multi-phase flow in a mud mixing system. For the validation of CFD simulation, firstly a liquid-solid multiphase flow inside horizontal pipe was simulated and compared with the experiments and other numerical simulations. And then, the multiphase flow simulation was carried out for the mud mixer in the drilling handling system in order to understand mixing phenomena and predict the mixing efficiency. For the modeling and simulation, a commercial software, STAR-CCM+, based on a finite-volume method (FVM) was adopted. The simulation results for liquid-solid flow inside the pipe shows a good agreement with the experimental data. With the same multiphase model, the simulation for mud mixer is performed under the generalized boundary condition and then pressure drop through the mud mixer will be discussed

Argon annealing of the oxygen-isotope exchanged manganite La_{0.8}Ca_{0.2}MnO_{3+y}

We have resolved a controversial issue concerning the oxygen-isotope shift of the ferromagnetic transition temperature T_{C} in the manganite La_{0.8}Ca_{0.2}MnO_{3+y}. We show that the giant oxygen-isotope shift of T_C observed in the normal oxygen-isotope exchanged samples is indeed intrinsic, while a much smaller shift observed in the argon annealed samples is an artifact. The argon annealing causes the 18O sample to partially exchange back to the 16O isotope due to a small 16O contamination in the Ar gas. Such a contamination is commonly caused by the oxygen outgas that is trapped in the tubes, connectors and valves. The present results thus umambiguously demonstrate that the observed large oxygen isotope effect is an intrinsic property of manganites, and places an important constraint on the basic physics of these materials.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PR

Spectral Degeneracies in the Totally Asymmetric Exclusion Process

We study the spectrum of the Markov matrix of the totally asymmetric exclusion process (TASEP) on a one-dimensional periodic lattice at ARBITRARY filling. Although the system does not possess obvious symmetries except translation invariance, the spectrum presents many multiplets with degeneracies of high order. This behaviour is explained by a hidden symmetry property of the Bethe Ansatz. Combinatorial formulae for the orders of degeneracy and the corresponding number of multiplets are derived and compared with numerical results obtained from exact diagonalisation of small size systems. This unexpected structure of the TASEP spectrum suggests the existence of an underlying large invariance group. Keywords: ASEP, Markov matrix, Bethe Ansatz, Symmetries.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figur

Experimental Study on Effects of Lubricant Oil in a Domestic Refrigerator-Freezer

Lubricant oil is essential for lubricating moving parts and cooling the components in a refrigerant compressor. However, the oil deteriorates heat transfer performance in the heat exchangers, and increases pressure drop in a refrigeration circuit. In this study, investigation of the effects of lubricant oil circulating in heat exchangers on the performance of the domestic refrigerator-freezer was carried out by performing some experiments. The experiments were conducted for conventional and oil-less systems with using a linear compressor in an environmental chamber to compare the cooling capacity, power consumption, and operating characteristics such as temperatures and pressures at inlets and outlets of each component, mass flow rate, and cooling time. The cooling capacity and power consumption of two systems were measured during the on-off cyclic tests. Comparing the experimental data for the conventional and the oil-less systems, the discharge temperature of the oil-less system is higher than that of the conventional system more than 20℃. However, due to the oil removal, the heat transfer performance was improved and the condenser outlet temperature was measured lower than the conventional about 1℃. The power consumption of the oil-less system was reduced by about 4.0% compared to the system with the lubricant oil

Near-Limb Zeeman and Hanle Diagnostics

"Weak" magnetic-field diagnostics in faint objects near the bright solar disk are discussed in terms of the level of non-object signatures, in particular, of the stray light in telescopes. Calculated dependencies of the stray light caused by diffraction at the 0.5-, 1.6-, and 4-meter entrance aperture are presented. The requirements for micro-roughness of refractive and reflective primary optics are compared. Several methods for reducing the stray light (the Lyot coronagraphic technique, multiple stages of apodizing in the focal and exit pupil planes, apodizing in the entrance aperture plane with a special mask), and reducing the random and systematic errors are noted. An acceptable level of stray light in telescopes is estimated for the V-profile recording with a signal-to-noise ratio greater than three. Prospects for the limb chromosphere magnetic measurements are indicated.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

Resources and student achievement – evidence from a Swedish policy reform

This paper utilizes a policy change to estimate the effect of teacher density on student performance. We find that an increase in teacher density has a positive effect on student achievement. The baseline estimate – obtained by using the grade point average as the outcome variable – implies that resource increases corresponding to the class-size reduction in the STAR-experiment (i.e., a reduction of 7 students) improves performance by 2.6 percentile ranks (or 0.08 standard deviations). When we use test score data for men, potentially a more objective measure of student performance, the effect of resources appears to be twice the size of the baseline estimate.Student performance; teacher/student ratio; policy reform; differences-in-differences