Imaging capability of pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors, AlGaN/GaN, and Si micro-Hall probes for scanning Hall probe microscopy between 25 and 125°C

The authors present a comparative study on imaging capabilities of three different micro-Hall probe sensors fabricated from narrow and wide band gap semiconductors for scanning hall probe microscopy at variable temperatures. A novel method of quartz tuning fork atomic force microscopy feedback has been used which provides extremely simple operation in atmospheric pressures, high-vacuum, and variable-temperature environments and enables very high magnetic and reasonable topographic resolution to be achieved simultaneously. Micro-Hall probes were produced using optical lithography and reactive ion etching process. The active area of all different types of Hall probes were 1×1 µm2. Electrical and magnetic characteristics show Hall coefficient, carrier concentration, and series resistance of the hall sensors to be 10 mOmega/G, 6.3×1012 cm−2, and 12 kOmega at 25 °C and 7 mOmega/G, 8.9×1012 cm−2 and 24 kOmega at 125 °C for AlGaN/GaN two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG), 0.281 mOmega/G, 2.2×1014 cm−2, and 139 kOmega at 25 °C and 0.418 mOmega/G, 1.5×1014 cm−2 and 155 kOmega at 100 °C for Si and 5–10 mOmega/G, 6.25×1012 cm−2, and 12 kOmega at 25 °C for pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors (PHEMT) 2DEG Hall probe. Scan of magnetic field and topography of hard disc sample at variable temperatures using all three kinds of probes are presented. The best low noise image was achieved at temperatures of 25, 100, and 125 °C for PHEMT, Si, and AlGaN/GaN Hall probes, respectively. This upper limit on the working temperature can be associated with their band gaps and noise associated with thermal activation of carriers at high temperatures

Variable temperature-scanning hall probe microscopy with GaN/AlGaN two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) micro hall sensors in 4.2-425K range using novel quartz tuning fork AFM feedback

In this report, we present the fabrication and variable temperature (VT) operation of Hall sensors, based on GaN/AlGaN heterostructure with a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) as an active layer, integrated with Quartz Tuning Fork (QTF) in atomic force-guided (AFM) scanning Hall probe microscopy (SHPM). Physical strength and wide band gap of GaN/AlGaN heterostructure makes it a better choice to be used for SHPM at elevated temperatures, compared to other compound semiconductors (AlGaAs/GaAs and InSb), which are unstable due to their narrower band gap and physical degradation at high temperatures. GaN/AlGaN micro Hall probes were produced using optical lithography and reactive ion etching. The active area, Hall coefficient, carrier concentration and series resistance of the Hall sensors were ~14m x 14m, 10m7/G at 4.2K, 6.3 x 10^12cm-2 and 12k7 at room temperature and 7m7/G, 8.9 x 10^12cm-2 and 24k7 at 400K, respectively. A novel method of AFM feedback using QTF has been adopted. This method provides an advantage over STM feedback, which limits the operation of SHPM the conductive samples and failure of feedback due to high leakage currents at high temperatures. Simultaneous scans of magnetic and topographic data at various pressures (from atmospheric pressure to high vacuum) from 4.2K to 425K will be presented for different samples to illustrate the capability of GaN/AlGaN Hall sensors in VT-SHP

Supporting quality indicators in the UK national health service

Quality indicators for performance management of the UK National Health Service have been introduced for general practitioners (GPs) in order to monitor if they are meeting their performance targets. Such requirements impose significant load to GPs’ everyday operations and any type of software solution that stores relevant information and addresses performance indicators can help GPs to justify their fundholding. In this paper we report on a way of incorporating the semantics of a set of quality indicators in a database schema that can fit any GPs' practice. We concentrate on indicators that posed problems when creating the database and we provide a discussion that justifies our design decisions

Mass transfer efficiency of a tall and low plate free area liquid pulsed sieve-plate extraction column

Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge Chakwal group of industries for funding the project. Ms. Madiha, Ms. Zona, Mr. Sohaib, Mr. Abdullah, Mr. Mudassar, and Mr. Salahuddin also deserve our acknowledgements for their assistance in different ways.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

GRIDCC: Real-time workflow system

The Grid is a concept which allows the sharing of resources between distributed communities, allowing each to progress towards potentially different goals. As adoption of the Grid increases so are the activities that people wish to conduct through it. The GRIDCC project is a European Union funded project addressing the issues of integrating instruments into the Grid. This increases the requirement of workflows and Quality of Service upon these workflows as many of these instruments have real-time requirements. In this paper we present the workflow management service within the GRIDCC project which is tasked with optimising the workflows and ensuring that they meet the pre-defined QoS requirements specified upon them

High sensitivity and multifunctional micro-Hall sensors fabricated using InAlSb/InAsSb/InAlSb heterostructures

Further diversification of Hall sensor technology requires development of materials with high electron mobility and an ultrathin conducting layer very close to the material's surface. Here, we describe the magnetoresistive properties of micro-Hall devices fabricated using InAlSb/InAsSb/InAlSb heterostructures where electrical conduction was confined to a 30 nm-InAsSb two-dimensional electron gas layer. The 300 K electron mobility and sheet carrier concentration were 36 500 cm(2) V-1 s(-1) and 2.5 x 10(11) cm(-2), respectively. The maximum current-related sensitivity was 2 750 V A(-1) T-1, which was about an order of magnitude greater than AlGaAs/InGaAs pseudomorphic heterostructures devices. Photolithography was used to fabricate 1 mu m x 1 mu m Hall probes, which were installed into a scanning Hall probe microscope and used to image the surface of a hard disk

Adult Thyroglossal Duct Carcinoma of Thyroid Epithelial Origin: A Retrospective Observational Study

Thyroglossal duct or cyst carcinoma (TGDCCa) is uncommon. Current treatments follow those of thyroid cancer but controversy exists over the extent of thyroid and lymph node surgery. Our aim was to study the presentation, treatment strategies and clinical outcomes in patients presenting with TGDCCa. Of 637 patients diagnosed with thyroid cancer over 15-years, 4 patients (0.6 %) with TGDCCa were identified. Two patients were diagnosed outside this time period. Details of demographics, presentation, diagnosis, management and outcomes of all 6 patients were reviewed. 5 females and 1 male with a median (range) age of 41 (21–70) years were treated for TGDCCa. Five patients were diagnosed after initial surgery for thyroglossal cyst—cyst excision (n = 2) and Sistrunk’s procedure (n = 3). This was followed by a total thyroidectomy (TT) in 4 of these patients. One patient underwent Sistrunk’s operation, total thyroidectomy and central neck dissection at the first operation. I131 therapy was used in patients who had TT. Three patients had additional tumour foci in the thyroid. However, lymph node recurrence occurred in 2 patients at 6 and 16 months. At a median follow up of 55 months, all 6 patients were disease free. All patients had papillary TGDCCa and did well with conventional treatment as for thyroid cancer. The extent of treatment required is debatable as half the patients had additional thyroid foci and no patient had clinically or radiologically involved lymph nodes at presentation. A systematic review of published cases will help summarise the existing knowledge base

A new outranking method for multicriteria decision making with complex Pythagorean fuzzy information

[EN]This article contributes to the advancement and evolution of outranking decision-making methodologies, with a novel essay on the ELimination and Choice Translating REality (ELECTRE) family of methods. Its primary target is to unfold the constituents and expound the implementation of the ELECTRE II method for group decision making in complex Pythagorean fuzzy framework. This results in the complex Pythagorean fuzzy ELECTRE II method. By inception, it is intrinsically superior to models using one-dimensional data. It is designed to perform the pairwise comparisons of the alternatives using the core notions of concordance, discordance and indifferent sets, which is then followed by the construction of complex Pythagorean fuzzy concordance and discordance matrices. Further, the strong and weak outranking relations are developed by the comparison of concordance and discordance indices with the concordance and discordance levels. Later, the forward, reverse and average rankings of the alternatives are computed by the dint of strong and weak outranking graphs. This methodology is supported by a case study for the selection of wastewater treatment process, and by a numerical example for the selection of the best cloud solution for a big data project. Its consistency is confirmed by an effectiveness test and comparison analysis with the Pythagorean fuzzy ELECTRE II and complex Pythagorean fuzzy ELECTRE I methodsPublicación en abierto financiada por el Consorcio de Bibliotecas Universitarias de Castilla y León (BUCLE), con cargo al Programa Operativo 2014ES16RFOP009 FEDER 2014-2020 DE CASTILLA Y LEÓN, Actuación:20007-CL - Apoyo Consorcio BUCL