Metal-catalyst-free growth of carbon nanotubes and their application in field-effect transistors

The metal-catalyst-free growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) using chemical vapor deposition and the application in field-effect transistors (FETs) is demonstrated. The CNT growth process used a 3-nm-thick Ge layer on SiO2 that was subsequently annealed to produce Ge nanoparticles. Raman measurements show the presence of radial breathing mode peaks and the absence of the disorder induced D-band, indicating single walled CNTs with a low defect density. The synthesized CNTs are used to fabricate CNTFETs and the best device has a state-of-the-art on/off current ratio of 3×108 and a steep sub-threshold slope of 110 mV/dec

Description of ρ(1700)\rho (1700) as a ρKKˉ\rho K \bar{K} system with the fixed center approximation

We study the $\rho K\bar{K}$ system with an aim to describe the $\rho (1700)$ resonance. The chiral unitary approach has achieved success in a description of systems of the light hadron sector. With this method, the $K \bar{K}$ system in the isospin sector $I=0$, is found to be a dominant component of the $f_0 (980)$ resonance. Therefore, by regarding the $K\bar{K}$ system as a cluster, the $f_0 (980)$ resonance, we evaluate the $\rho K\bar{K}$ system applying the fixed center approximation to the Faddeev equations. We construct the $\rho K$ unitarized amplitude using the chiral unitary approach. As a result, we find a peak in the three-body amplitude around 1739 MeV and a width of about 227 MeV. The effect of the width of $\rho$ and $f_0 (980)$ is also discussed. We associate this peak to the $\rho (1700)$ which has a mass of $1720 \pm 20$ MeV and a width of $250 \pm 100$ MeV

Baryon states with open charm in the extended local hidden gauge approach

In this paper we examine the interaction of $D N$ and $D^* N$ states, together with their coupled channels, by using an extension of the local hidden gauge formalism from the light meson sector, which is based on heavy quark spin symmetry. The scheme is based on the use of the impulse approximation at the quark level, with the heavy quarks acting as spectators, which occurs for the dominant terms where there is the exchange of a light meson. The pion exchange and the Weinberg-Tomozawa interactions are generalized and with this dynamics we look for states generated from the interaction, with a unitary coupled channels approach that mixes the pseudoscalar-baryon and vector-baryon states. We find two states with nearly zero width which are associated to the $\Lambda_c(2595)$ and $\Lambda_c(2625)$. The lower state, with $J^P = 1/2^-$, couples to $D N$ and $D^* N$, and the second one, with $J^P = 3/2^-$, to $D^* N$. In addition to these two $\Lambda_c$ states, we find four more states with $I=0$, one of them nearly degenerate in two states of $J=1/2,\ 3/2$. Furthermore we find three states in $I=1$, two of them degenerate in $J=1/2, 3/2$.Comment: v3: version to appear in Eur.Phys.J.

Positive effective Q12 electrostrictive coefficient in perovskites

It is demonstrated that for classical perovskites such as BaTiO3, SrTiO3 and PbTiO3 electrostrictive strain induced by an electric field may not obey traditionally considered "extension along the field, contraction perpendicular to it" behavior if a sample is cut obliquely to the cubic crystallographic directions

Depletion isolation effect in Vertical MOSFETS during transition from partial to fully depleted operation

A simulation study is made of floating-body effects (FBEs) in vertical MOSFETs due to depletion isolation as the pillar thickness is reduced from 200 to 10 nm. For pillar thicknesses between 200–60 nm, the output characteristics with and without impact ionization are identical at a low drain bias and then diverge at a high drain bias. The critical drain bias Vdc for which the increased drain–current is observed is found to decrease with a reduction in pillar thickness. This is explained by the onset of FBEs at progressively lower values of the drain bias due to the merging of the drain depletion regions at the bottom of the pillar (depletion isolation). For pillar thicknesses between 60–10 nm, the output characteristics show the opposite behavior, namely, the critical drain bias increases with a reduction in pillar thickness. This is explained by a reduction in the severity of the FBEs due to the drain debiasing effect caused by the elevated body potential. Both depletion isolation and gate–gate coupling contribute to the drain–current for pillar thicknesses between 100–40 nm

Optimal configuration of microstructure in ferroelectric materials by stochastic optimization

An optimization procedure determining the ideal configuration at the microstructural level of ferroelectric (FE) materials is applied to maximize piezoelectricity. Piezoelectricity in ceramic FEs differ significantly from that of single crystals because of the presence of crystallites (grains) possessing crystallographic axes aligned imperfectly. The piezoelectric properties of a polycrystalline (ceramic) FE is inextricably related to the grain orientation distribution (texture). The set of combination of variables, known as solution space, which dictates the texture of a ceramic is unlimited and hence the choice of the optimal solution which maximizes the piezoelectricity is complicated. Thus a stochastic global optimization combined with homogenization is employed for the identification of the optimal granular configuration of the FE ceramic microstructure with optimum piezoelectric properties. The macroscopic equilibrium piezoelectric properties of polycrystalline FE is calculated using mathematical homogenization at each iteration step. The configuration of grains characterised by its orientations at each iteration is generated using a randomly selected set of orientation distribution parameters. Apparent enhancement of piezoelectric coefficient $d_{33}$ is observed in an optimally oriented BaTiO$_3$ single crystal. A configuration of crystallites, simultaneously constraining the orientation distribution of the c-axis (polar axis) while incorporating ab-plane randomness, which would multiply the overall piezoelectricity in ceramic BaTiO$_{3}$ is also identified. The orientation distribution of the c-axes is found to be a narrow Gaussian distribution centred around ${45^\circ}$. The piezoelectric coefficient in such a ceramic is found to be nearly three times as that of the single crystal.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure

Extended supersymmetry and its reduction on a circle with point singularities

We investigate $N$-extended supersymmetry in one-dimensional quantum mechanics on a circle with point singularities. For any integer $n$, $N=2n+1$ supercharges are explicitly constructed in terms of discrete transformations, and a class of singularities compatible with supersymmetry is clarified. In our formulation, the supersymmetry can be reduced to $M$-extended supersymmetry for any integer $M<N$. The degeneracy of the spectrum and spontaneous supersymmetry breaking are also studied.Comment: 36 pages, 5 figures, 2 table

The Persistence and Memory of Polar Nano-Regions in a Ferroelectric Relaxor Under an Electric Field

The response of polar nanoregions (PNR) in the relaxor compound Pb[(Zn$_{1/3}$Nb$_{2/3}$)$_{0.92}$Ti$_{0.08}$]O$_3$ subject to a [111]-oriented electric field has been studied by neutron diffuse scattering. Contrary to classical expectations, the diffuse scattering associated with the PNR persists, and is even partially enhanced by field cooling. The effect of the external electric field is retained by the PNR after the field is removed. The ``memory'' of the applied field reappears even after heating the system above $T_C$, and cooling in zero field

Domain Size Dependence of Piezoelectric Properties of Ferroelectrics

The domain size dependence of piezoelectric properties of ferroelectrics is investigated using a continuum Ginzburg-Landau model that incorporates the long-range elastic and electrostatic interactions. Microstructures with desired domain sizes are created by quenching from the paraelectric phase by biasing the initial conditions. Three different two-dimensional microstructures with different sizes of the $90^{o}$ domains are simulated. An electric field is applied along the polar as well as non-polar directions and the piezoelectric response is simulated as a function of domain size for both cases. The simulations show that the piezoelectric coefficients are enhanced by reducing the domain size, consistent with recent experimental results of Wada and Tsurumi (Brit. Ceram. Trans. {\bf 103}, 93, 2004) on domain engineered $BaTiO_{3}$Comment: submitted to Physical Review