1,100 research outputs found
Continuous-feed nanocasting process for the synthesis of bismuth nanowire composites
We present a novel, continuous-feed nanocasting procedure for the synthesis
of bismuth nanowire structures embedded in the pores of a mesoporous silica
template. The immobilization of a bismuth salt inside the silica template from
a diluted metal salt solution yields a sufficiently high loading to obtain
electrically conducting bulk nanowire composite samples after reduction and
sintering the nanocomposite powders. Electrical resistivity measurements of
sintered bismuth nanowires embedded in the silica template reveal
size-quantization effects
Metal oxide semiconductor thin-film transistors for flexible electronics
The field of flexible electronics has rapidly expanded over the last decades, pioneering novel applications, such as wearable and textile integrated devices, seamless and embedded patch-like systems, soft electronic skins, as well as imperceptible and transient implants. The possibility to revolutionize our daily life with such disruptive appliances has fueled the quest for electronic devices which yield good electrical and mechanical performance and are at the same time light-weight, transparent, conformable, stretchable, and even biodegradable. Flexible metal oxide semiconductor thin-film transistors (TFTs) can fulfill all these requirements and are therefore considered the most promising technology for tomorrow's electronics. This review reflects the establishment of flexible metal oxide semiconductor TFTs, from the development of single devices, large-area circuits, up to entirely integrated systems. First, an introduction on metal oxide semiconductor TFTs is given, where the history of the field is revisited, the TFT configurations and operating principles are presented, and the main issues and technological challenges faced in the area are analyzed. Then, the recent advances achieved for flexible n-type metal oxide semiconductor TFTs manufactured by physical vapor deposition methods and solution-processing techniques are summarized. In particular, the ability of flexible metal oxide semiconductor TFTs to combine low temperature fabrication, high carrier mobility, large frequency operation, extreme mechanical bendability, together with transparency, conformability, stretchability, and water dissolubility is shown. Afterward, a detailed analysis of the most promising metal oxide semiconducting materials developed to realize the state-of-the-art flexible p-type TFTs is given. Next, the recent progresses obtained for flexible metal oxide semiconductor-based electronic circuits, realized with both unipolar and complementary technology, are reported. In particular, the realization of large-area digital circuitry like flexible near field communication tags and analog integrated circuits such as bendable operational amplifiers is presented. The last topic of this review is devoted for emerging flexible electronic systems, from foldable displays, power transmission elements to integrated systems for large-area sensing and data storage and transmission. Finally, the conclusions are drawn and an outlook over the field with a prediction for the future is provided
In-plane magnetic field-induced spin polarization and transition to insulating behavior in two-dimensional hole systems
Using a novel technique, we make quantitative measurements of the spin
polarization of dilute (3.4 to 6.8*10^{10} cm^{-2}) GaAs (311)A two-dimensional
holes as a function of an in-plane magnetic field. As the field is increased
the system gradually becomes spin polarized, with the degree of spin
polarization depending on the orientation of the field relative to the crystal
axes. Moreover, the behavior of the system turns from metallic to insulating
\textit{before} it is fully spin polarized. The minority-spin population at the
transition is ~8*10^{9} cm^{-2}, close to the density below which the system
makes a transition to an insulating state in the absence of a magnetic field.Comment: 4 pages with figure
An efficient algorithm to calculate intrinsic thermoelectric parameters based on Landauer approach
The Landauer approach provides a conceptually simple way to calculate the
intrinsic thermoelectric (TE) parameters of materials from the ballistic to the
diffusive transport regime. This method relies on the calculation of the number
of propagating modes and the scattering rate for each mode. The modes are
calculated from the energy dispersion (E(k)) of the materials which require
heavy computation and often supply energy relation on sparse momentum (k)
grids. Here an efficient method to calculate the distribution of modes (DOM)
from a given E(k) relationship is presented. The main features of this
algorithm are, (i) its ability to work on sparse dispersion data, and (ii)
creation of an energy grid for the DOM that is almost independent of the
dispersion data therefore allowing for efficient and fast calculation of TE
parameters. The inclusion of scattering effects is also straight forward. The
effect of k-grid sparsity on the compute time for DOM and on the sensitivity of
the calculated TE results are provided. The algorithm calculates the TE
parameters within 5% accuracy when the K-grid sparsity is increased up to 60%
for all the dimensions (3D, 2D and 1D). The time taken for the DOM calculation
is strongly influenced by the transverse K density (K perpendicular to
transport direction) but is almost independent of the transport K density
(along the transport direction). The DOM and TE results from the algorithm are
bench-marked with, (i) analytical calculations for parabolic bands, and (ii)
realistic electronic and phonon results for .Comment: 16 Figures, 3 Tables, submitted to Journal of Computational
electronic
On the origin of the Boson peak in globular proteins
We study the Boson Peak phenomenology experimentally observed in globular
proteins by means of elastic network models. These models are suitable for an
analytic treatment in the framework of Euclidean Random Matrix theory, whose
predictions can be numerically tested on real proteins structures. We find that
the emergence of the Boson Peak is strictly related to an intrinsic mechanical
instability of the protein, in close similarity to what is thought to happen in
glasses. The biological implications of this conclusion are also discussed by
focusing on a representative case study.Comment: Proceedings of the X International Workshop on Disordered Systems,
Molveno (2006
Vertical transport and electroluminescence in InAs/GaSb/InAs structures: GaSb thickness and hydrostatic pressure studies
We have measured the current-voltage (I-V) of type II InAs/GaSb/InAs double
heterojunctions (DHETs) with 'GaAs like' interface bonding and GaSb thickness
between 0-1200 \AA. A negative differential resistance (NDR) is observed for
all DHETs with GaSb thickness 60 \AA below which a dramatic change in the
shape of the I-V and a marked hysteresis is observed. The temperature
dependence of the I-V is found to be very strong below this critical GaSb
thickness. The I-V characteristics of selected DHETs are also presented under
hydrostatic pressures up to 11 kbar. Finally, a mid infra-red
electroluminescence is observed at 1 bar with a threshold at the NDR valley
bias. The band profile calculations presented in the analysis are markedly
different to those given in the literature, and arise due to the positive
charge that it is argued will build up in the GaSb layer under bias. We
conclude that the dominant conduction mechanism in DHETs is most likely to
arise out of an inelastic electron-heavy-hole interaction similar to that
observed in single heterojunctions (SHETs) with 'GaAs like' interface bonding,
and not out of resonant electron-light-hole tunnelling as proposed by Yu et al.
A Zener tunnelling mechanism is shown to contribute to the background current
beyond NDR.Comment: 8 pages 12 fig
Density and well width dependences of the effective mass of twodimensional holes in (100) GaAs quantum wells measured by cyclotron resonance at microwave frequencies
Cyclotron resonance at microwave frequencies is used to measure the band mass
(m_b) of the two-dimensional holes (2DH's) in carbon-doped (100)
GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs heterostructures. The measured m_b shows strong dependences on
both the 2DH density(p) and the GaAs quantum well width (W). For a fixed W, in
the density range (0.4x10^11 to 1.1x10^11 cm^-2) studied here, m_b increases
with p, consistent with previous studies of the 2DHs on the (311)A surface. For
a fixed p = 1.1x10^11 cm^-2, mb increases from 0.22 m_e at W = 10 nm to 0.50
m_e at W = 30 nm, and saturates around 0.51 m_e for W > 30 nm.Comment: to appear in Solid State Communication
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