Investigation of the RTN Distribution of nanoscale MOS devices from subthreshold to on-state

This letter presents a numerical investigation of the statistical distribution of the random telegraph noise (RTN) amplitude in nanoscale MOS devices, focusing on the change of its main features when moving from the subthreshold to the on-state conduction regime. Results show that while the distribution can be well approximated by an exponential behavior in subthreshold, large deviations from this behavior appear when moving toward the on-state regime, despite a low probability exponential tail at high RTN amplitudes being preserved. The average value of the distribution is shown to keep an inverse proportionality to channel area, while the slope of the high-amplitude exponential tail changes its dependence on device width, length, and doping when moving from subthreshold to on-state

Correlation functions and emission time sequence of light charged particles from projectile-like fragment source in E/A = 44 and 77 MeV 40Ar + 27Al collisions

Two-particle correlation functions, involving protons, deuterons, tritons, and alpha-particles, have been measured at very forward angles (0.7 deg < theta_lab < 7 deg), in order to study projectile-like fragment (PLF) emission in E/A = 44 and 77 MeV 40Ar + 27Al collisions. Peaks, originating from resonance decays, are larger at E/A = 44 than at 77 MeV. This reflects the larger relative importance of independently emitted light particles, as compared to two-particle decay from unstable fragments, at the higher beam energy. The time sequence of the light charged particles, emitted from the PLF, has been deduced from particle-velocity-gated correlation functions (discarding the contribution from resonance decays). Alpha-particles are found to have an average emission time shorter than protons but longer than tritons and deuterons.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Nuclear Physics

Correlations and Characterization of Emitting Sources

Dynamical and thermal characterizations of excited nuclear systems produced during the collisions between two heavy ions at intermediate incident energies are presented by means of a review of experimental and theoretical work performed in the last two decades. Intensity interferometry, applied to both charged particles (light particles and intermediate mass fragments) and to uncharged radiation (gamma rays and neutrons) has provided relevant information about the space-time properties of nuclear reactions. The volume, lifetime, density and relative chronology of particle emission from decaying nuclear sources has been extensively explored and has provided valuable information about the dynamics of heavy-ion collisions. Similar correlation techniques applied to coincidences between light particles and complex fragments are also presented as a tool to determine the internal excitation energy of excited primary fragments as it appears in secondary-decay phenomena.Comment: To appear on Euorpean Physics Journal A as part of the Topical Volume "Dynamics and Thermodynamics with Nuclear Degrees of Freedom

The complement: a solution to liquid drop finite size effects in phase transitions

The effects of the finite size of a liquid drop undergoing a phase transition are described in terms of the complement, the largest (but still mesoscopic) drop representing the liquid in equilibrium with the vapor. Vapor cluster concentrations, pressure and density from fixed mean density lattice gas (Ising) model calculations are explained in terms of the complement. Accounting for this finite size effect is key to determining the infinite nuclear matter phase diagram from experimental data.Comment: Four two column pages, four figures, two tables; accepted for publication in PR

Accurate modeling of gate capacitance in deep submicron MOSFETs with high-K gate-dielectrics

Gate capacitance of metal-oxide-semiconductor devices with ultra-thin high-K gate-dielectric materials is calculated taking into account the penetration of wave functions into the gate-dielectric. When penetration effects are neglected, the gate capacitance is independent of the dielectric material for a given equivalent oxide thickness (EOT). Our selfconsistent numerical results show that in the presence of wave function penetration, even for the same EOT, gate capacitance depends on the gate-dielectric material. Calculated gate capacitance is higher for materials with lower conduction band offsets with silicon. We have investigated the effects of substrate doping density on the relative error in gate capacitance due to neglecting wave function penetration. It is found that the error decreases with increasing doping density. We also show that accurate calculation of the gate capacitance including wave function penetration is not critically dependent on the value of the electron effective mass in the gate-dielectric region

Ecological effects of the European barbel Barbus barbus (L., 1758) (Cyprinidae) invasion on native barbel populations in the Tiber River basin (Italy)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the European barbel Barbus barbus (L., 1758) invasion in the Tiber River basin (Italy) on the native Tiber barbel Barbus tyberinus Bonaparte, 1839, verifying whether the co-occurrence played a negative impact on growth rate and relative weight. Fish census data were collected during three periods (2000–2005, 2006–2010, 2011–2015) at 158 sampling sites. Since its first record in 1998, European barbel rapidly spread in the study area: it was present in more than 20% of the monitoring sites, where it is leading to the gradual replacement of Tiber barbel by widening its distribution in the Tiber River and in the downstream reaches of the main tributaries. By contrast, Tiber barbel has suffered from this competition, as demonstrated by the fact that the mean value of the relative weight was significantly higher where European barbel was absent. The results obtained suggested that this non-native species could be a serious threat to the conservation status of endemic Tiber barbel, and constitute the premise to underpin conservation strategies aiming to preserve native freshwater biodiversity

Secondary structure prediction for RNA binding domain in RNP proteins identifies βαβ as the main structural motif

AbstractIn eukaryotic cells transcript processing is strictly dependent upon binding of specific proteins. Nuclear RNA binding proteins share a common domain, which is involved in RNA binding. In order to characterize RNP-RNA interactions we have performed a secondary structure prediction based both on statistical algorithms and comparative analysis of different proteins. A high conservation for secondary structure propensity between different RNPs was observed

Temperature increase inside LED-based illuminators for in vitro aPDT photodamage studies

Abstract Antimicrobial PhotoDynamic Therapy (aPDT) is an emerging strategy aimed at the eradication of bacterial infections, with a special focus on antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This method is easy to apply, not expensive and particularly interesting in case of bacteria that spontaneously produce the required photosensitizers. In the framework of a project aimed at the development of an ingestible pill for the application of aPDT to gastric infections by Helicobacter pylori, a LED-based illuminating prototype (LED-BIP) was purposely designed in order to evaluate the photodamage induced by light of different wavelengths on porphyrin-producing bacteria. This short paper reports about temperature tests performed to assess the maximum exposure time and light dose that can be administered to bacterial cultures inside LED-BIP without reaching temperatures exceeding the physiological range