Picosecond electrical spectroscopy using monolithic GaAs circuits

This article describes an experimental apparatus for free-space mm-wave transmission measurements (spectroscopy). GaAs nonlinear transmission lines and sampling circuits are used as picosecond pulse generators and detectors, with planar monolithic bowtie antennas with associated substrate lenses used as the radiating and receiving elements. The received pulse is 270 mV amplitude and 2.4 ps rise time. Through Fourier transformation of the received pulse, 30–250 GHz measurements are demonstrated with <=0.3 dB (rms) accuracy

Micro-Structured Ferromagnetic Tubes for Spin Wave Excitation

Micron scale ferromagnetic tubes placed on the ends of ferromagnetic CoTaZr spin waveguides are explored in order to enhance the excitation of Backward Volume Magnetostatic Spin Waves. The tubes produce a closed magnetic circuit about the signal line of the coplanar waveguide and are, at the same time, magnetically contiguous with the spin waveguide. This results in a 10 fold increase in spin wave amplitude. However, the tube geometry distorts the magnetic field near the spin waveguide and relatively high biasing magnetic fields are required to establish well defined spin waves. Only the lowest (uniform) spin wave mode is excited.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure

Broadband Optical Serrodyne Frequency Shifting

We demonstrate serrodyne frequency shifting of light from 200 MHz to 1.2 GHz with an efficiency of better than 60 percent. The frequency shift is imparted by an electro-optic phase modulator driven by a high-frequency, high-fidelity sawtooth waveform that is passively generated by a commercially available Non-Linear Transmission Line (NLTL). We also implement a push-pull configuration using two serrodyne-driven phase modulators allowing for continuous tuning between -1.6 GHz and +1.6 GHz. Compared to competing technologies, this technique is simple and robust, and offers the largest available tuning range in this frequency band.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure

Dispersion and spin wave "tunneling" in nano-structured magnetostatic spin waveguides

Magnetostatic spin wave dispersion and loss are measured in micron scale spin wave-guides in ferromagnetic, metallic CoTaZr. Results are in good agreement with model calculations of spin wave dispersion. The measured attenuation lengths, of the order of 3um, are several of orders of magnitude shorter than that predicted from eddy currents in these thin wires. Spin waves effectively "tunnel" through air gaps, produced by focused ion beam etching, as large as 1.5 um.Comment: 3 pages, 5 figure

The floristic changes of Scottish moorland dominated by heather (Calluna vulgaris, Ericaceae) but unburnt for 50 years and kept checked by moderate grazing

Vegetation and herbivore usage have been monitored since 1969/1970 at four moorland sites where heather (Calluna vulgaris) remained the main species under moderate levels of grazing. Much of the annual growth of the heather was regularly consumed by this grazing, but no burning occurred to remove heather biomass. Two sites were on acidic base-poor soils and had only minor cover of grasses and herbs, their vegetation having most affinity to H10 heath in the National Vegetation Classification of British plant communities. The other two sites were on more base-rich soils, and grasses and herbs had substantial cover; their vegetation showed most affinity to NVC CG11a grassland. One of the latter sites lies at 700 m and Calluna grew poorly being close to its altitudinal limit; the other three sites were at lower altitude and Calluna grew strongly creating dense swards. Over the 43–44 years of observation Calluna increased moderately in height but many subordinate higher plants declined in cover, as measured by point-quadrat recording. Bryophytes increased at three sites largely due to substantial gains of Hylocomium splendens, but other pleurocarpous mosses suffered some declines. At the three lower-altitude sites species number fell by 20–35% between the first and last recordings, but at the high-altitude site there was negligible change in species number. The main drivers of change were the grazing received and the performance of Calluna, and no evidence was found of species composition reacting to climate change or nitrogen deposition. To maintain diversity, timely burning is recommended

Work characteristics and employee outcomes in local government

The overall objective of this study was to examine the work characteristics that make significant contributions to extra-role performance (as measured by the helping dimension of citizenship behaviour) and employee wellbeing (measured by job satisfaction and psychological health) in a local government. The work characteristics examined were based on the demand-control-support (DCS) model, augmented by organization-specific characteristics. The results indicate that characteristics described in the core DCS are just as relevant to extra-role performance as they are to more traditional indicators of job stress. Although the more situation-specific conditions were not predictive of citizenship behaviour, they made unique contributions to job satisfaction<br /

Selective-area chemical beam epitaxy of in-plane InAs one-dimensional channels grown on InP(001), InP(111)B, and InP(110) surfaces

We report on the selective-area chemical beam epitaxial growth of InAs in-plane, one-dimensional (1-D) channels using patterned SiO$_{2}$-coated InP(001), InP(111)B, and InP(110) substrates to establish a scalable platform for topological superconductor networks. Top-view scanning electron micrographs show excellent surface selectivity and dependence of major facet planes on the substrate orientations and ridge directions, and the ratios of the surface energies of the major facet planes were estimated. Detailed structural properties and defects in the InAs nanowires (NWs) were characterized by transmission electron microscopic analysis of cross-sections perpendicular to the NW ridge direction and along the NW ridge direction. Electrical transport properties of the InAs NWs were investigated using Hall bars, a field effect mobility device, a quantum dot, and an Aharonov-Bohm loop device, which reflect the strong spin-orbit interaction and phase-coherent transport characteristic in the selectively grown InAs systems. This study demonstrates that selective-area chemical beam epitaxy is a scalable approach to realize semiconductor 1-D channel networks with the excellent surface selectivity and this material system is suitable for quantum transport studies