Epitaxial silicon grown on CeO2/Si(111) structure by molecular beam epitaxy

Using electron beam evaporation, a Si/CeO2/Si(111) structure has been grown in a molecular beam epitaxy machine. In situ low energy electron diffraction, cross sectional transmission electron microscopy, selected area diffraction, and atomic force microscopy have been used to structurally characterize the overlying silicon layer and show it to be single crystalline and epitaxially oriented. Rutherford backscattering and energy dispersive x-ray analysis have been used to confirm the presence of a continuous 23 Å CeO2 layer at the interface. Rutherford backscattering and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy show an additional presence of cerium both at the exposed silicon surface and incorporated in low levels (~ 1%) within the silicon film, suggesting a growth mechanism with cerium riding atop the silicon growth front leaving behind small amounts of cerium incorporated in the growing silicon crystal

Indium oxide diffusion barriers for Al/Si metallizations

Indium oxide (In2O3) films were prepared by reactive rf sputtering of an In target in O2/Ar plasma. We have investigated the application of these films as diffusion barriers in Si/In2O3/Al and Si/TiSi2.3/In2O3/Al metallizations. Scanning transmission electron microscopy together with energy dispersive analysis of x ray of cross-sectional Si/In2O3/Al specimens, and electrical measurements on shallow n + -p junction diodes were used to evaluate the diffusion barrier capability of In2O3 films. We find that 100-nm-thick In2O3 layers prevent the intermixing between Al and Si in Si/In2O3/Al contacts up to 650°C for 30 min, which makes this material one of the best thin-film diffusion barriers on record between Al and Si. (The Si-Al eutectic temperature is 577°C, Al melts at 660°C.) When a contacting layer of titanium silicide is incorporated to form a Si/TiSi2.3/In2O3/Al metallization structure, the thermal stability of the contact drops to 600°C for 30 min heat treatment

Nearby Clumpy, Gas Rich, Star Forming Galaxies: Local Analogs of High Redshift Clumpy Galaxies

Luminous compact blue galaxies (LCBGs) have enhanced star formation rates and compact morphologies. We combine Sloan Digital Sky Survey data with HI data of 29 LCBGs at redshift z~0 to understand their nature. We find that local LCBGs have high atomic gas fractions (~50%) and star formation rates per stellar mass consistent with some high redshift star forming galaxies. Many local LCBGs also have clumpy morphologies, with clumps distributed across their disks. Although rare, these galaxies appear to be similar to the clumpy star forming galaxies commonly observed at z~1-3. Local LCBGs separate into three groups: 1. Interacting galaxies (~20%); 2. Clumpy spirals (~40%); 3. Non-clumpy, non-spirals with regular shapes and smaller effective radii and stellar masses (~40%). It seems that the method of building up a high gas fraction, which then triggers star formation, is not the same for all local LCBGs. This may lead to a dichotomy in galaxy characteristics. We consider possible gas delivery scenarios and suggest that clumpy spirals, preferentially located in clusters and with companions, are smoothly accreting gas from tidally disrupted companions and/or intracluster gas enriched by stripped satellites. Conversely, as non-clumpy galaxies are preferentially located in the field and tend to be isolated, we suggest clumpy, cold streams, which destroy galaxy disks and prevent clump formation, as a likely gas delivery mechanism for these systems. Other possibilities include smooth cold streams, a series of minor mergers, or major interactions.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figure

Geologic Map of Kentucky

This map shows the geologic age of rocks and sediments at the surface in Kentucky. Sedimentary rocks, deposited from about 465 to 290 million years ago during the Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian Periods, crop out across the state. The rocks mainly consist of shale, limestone, sandstone, and siltstone. As shown in the cross sections, these surface rocks are underlain by older unexposed rocks of Precambrian, Cambrian, and Ordovician age. Small bodies of igneous rocks were intruded into the state\u27s bedrock about 270 million years ago during the Permian Period. They crop out in Elliott County of northeastern Kentucky, and in Crittenden and Livingston Counties of western Kentucky. Younger unconsolidated sediments were deposited during the Cretaceous, Tertiary, and Quaternary Periods, from about 95 million years ago to the present time. They cover far western Kentucky and occur across the state in stream valleys and, locally, on uplands. The sediments commonly are composed of clay, silt, sand, and gravel. In northern Kentucky, Quaternary sediments include glacial deposits laid down within the last million years during the Ice Age. The present distribution of rocks and sediments at the surface in Kentucky mainly reflects uplift and downwarping of major structural features and subsequent episodes of erosion. Subsidence in the Appalachian Basin and Illinios Basin has preserved younger coal-bearing rocks of Pennsylvanian age in eastern and western Kentucky, respectively. These younger rocks were eroded from the uplifted Cincinnati Arch in central Kentucky, a process that eventually uncovered Ordovician deposits, the oldest exposed rocks in the state. Vertical and lateral movements along faults have displaced strata in parts of Kentucky. Much younger Cretaceous, Tertiary, and Quaternary sediments were deposited in the downwarped Mississippi Embayment of far western Kentucky, a northern extension of the Gulf Coastal Plain

Matching small β\beta functions using centroid jitter and two beam position monitors

Matching to small beta functions is required to preserve emittance in plasma accelerators. The plasma wake provides strong focusing fields, which typically require beta functions on the mm-scale, comparable to those found in the final focusing of a linear collider. Such beams can be time consuming to experimentally produce and diagnose. We present a simple, fast, and noninvasive method to measure Twiss parameters in a linac using two beam position monitors only, relying on the similarity of the beam phase space and the jitter phase space. By benchmarking against conventional quadrupole scans, the viability of this technique was experimentally demonstrated at the FLASHForward plasma-accelerator facility.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

The Nature of Nearby Counterparts to Intermediate Redshift Luminous Compact Blue Galaxies I. Optical/H I Properties and Dynamical Masses

We present single-dish H I spectra obtained with the Green Bank Telescope, along with optical photometric properties from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, of 20 nearby (D < 70 Mpc) Luminous Compact Blue Galaxies (LCBGs). These ~L*, blue, high surface brightness, starbursting galaxies were selected with the same criteria used to define LCBGs at higher redshifts. We find these galaxies are gas-rich, with M(HI) ranging from 5*10^8 to 8*10^9 M_sun, and M(HI)/L_B ranging from 0.2 to 2 M_sun/L_sun, consistent with a variety of morphological types of galaxies. We find the dynamical masses (measured within R_25) span a wide range, from 3*10^9 to 1*10^11 M_sun. However, at least half have dynamical mass-to-light ratios smaller than nearby galaxies of all Hubble types, as found for LCBGs at intermediate redshifts. By comparing line widths and effective radii with local galaxy populations, we find that LCBGs are consistent with the dynamical mass properties of Magellanic (low luminosity) spirals, and the more massive irregulars and dwarf ellipticals, such as NGC 205.Comment: 33 pages, 8 figures, accepted by Ap

Optical nonlinearity enhancement of graded metallic films

The effective linear and third-order nonlinear susceptibility of graded metallic films with weak nonlinearity have been investigated. Due to the simple geometry, we were able to derive exactly the local field inside the graded structures having a Drude dielectric gradation profile. We calculated the effective linear dielectric constant and third-order nonlinear susceptibility. We investigated the surface plasmon resonant effect on the optical absorption, optical nonlinearity enhancement, and figure of merit of graded metallic films. It is found that the presence of gradation in metallic films yields a broad resonant plasmon band in the optical region, resulting in a large enhancement of the optical nonlinearity and hence a large figure of merit. We suggest experiments be done to check our theoretical predictions, because graded metallic films can be fabricated more easily than graded particles.Comment: 11 pages, 2 eps figures, submitted to Applied Physics Letter

Smectic ordering in liquid crystal - aerosil dispersions II. Scaling analysis

Liquid crystals offer many unique opportunities to study various phase transitions with continuous symmetry in the presence of quenched random disorder (QRD). The QRD arises from the presence of porous solids in the form of a random gel network. Experimental and theoretical work support the view that for fixed (static) inclusions, quasi-long-range smectic order is destroyed for arbitrarily small volume fractions of the solid. However, the presence of porous solids indicates that finite-size effects could play some role in limiting long-range order. In an earlier work, the nematic - smectic-A transition region of octylcyanobiphenyl (8CB) and silica aerosils was investigated calorimetrically. A detailed x-ray study of this system is presented in the preceding Paper I, which indicates that pseudo-critical scaling behavior is observed. In the present paper, the role of finite-size scaling and two-scale universality aspects of the 8CB+aerosil system are presented and the dependence of the QRD strength on the aerosil density is discussed.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, 1 table. Companion paper to "Smectic ordering in liquid crystal - aerosil dispersions I. X-ray scattering" by R.L. Leheny, S. Park, R.J. Birgeneau, J.-L. Gallani, C.W. Garland, and G.S. Iannacchion