215 research outputs found
Isotropic atomic layer etching of GaN using SF<sub>6</sub> plasma and Al(CH<sub>3</sub>)<sub>3</sub>
GaN is an enabling material for light emitting diodes, advanced radio frequency, and power semiconductor devices. However, fabrication of GaN devices often relies on harsh etch processes, which can leave an etch damage layer, limiting final device performance. In this work, an isotropic atomic layer etching (ALE) process involving SF6 plasma and trimethylaluminium [Al(CH3)3] is presented for the controlled etching of GaN, which reduces oxygen and carbon contamination while smoothing the surface. The ALE chemistry was first examined with density functional theory. A comparison between proposed thermal and plasma-driven reactions is made by implementing Natarajan-Elliott analysis, highlighting that the plasma process is a good candidate for GaN ALE. Saturation was experimentally confirmed for both ALE half-cycles at 150 and 300 °C, with etch rates of 0.31 ± 0.01 and 0.40 ± 0.02 nm/cycle, respectively. Analysis of the films post-ALE shows that the RMS roughness of the films decreases from 2.6 ± 0.1 to 1.9 ± 0.1 nm after 25 nm of etching at 300 °C, in agreement with a previously developed curvature-dependent smoothing model. Taken together, this ALE process enables accurate GaN thickness tuning, surface cleaning, and surface smoothing, allowing for further development of GaN devices.</p
Exact Potts Model Partition Functions for Strips of the Honeycomb Lattice
We present exact calculations of the Potts model partition function
for arbitrary and temperature-like variable on -vertex
strip graphs of the honeycomb lattice for a variety of transverse widths
equal to vertices and for arbitrarily great length, with free
longitudinal boundary conditions and free and periodic transverse boundary
conditions. These partition functions have the form
, where
denotes the number of repeated subgraphs in the longitudinal direction. We give
general formulas for for arbitrary . We also present plots of
zeros of the partition function in the plane for various values of and
in the plane for various values of . Explicit results for partition
functions are given in the text for (free) and (cylindrical),
and plots of partition function zeros are given for up to 5 (free) and
(cylindrical). Plots of the internal energy and specific heat per site
for infinite-length strips are also presented.Comment: 39 pages, 34 eps figures, 3 sty file
Electronic Structure of a Hydrogenic Acceptor Impurity in Semiconductor Nano-structures
The electronic structure and binding energy of a hydrogenic acceptor impurity in 2, 1, and 0-dimensional semiconductor nano-structures (i.e. quantum well (QW), quantum well wire (QWW), and quantum dot (QD)) are studied in the framework of effective-mass envelope-function theory. The results show that (1) the energy levels monotonically decrease as the quantum confinement sizes increase; (2) the impurity energy levels decrease more slowly for QWWs and QDs as their sizes increase than for QWs; (3) the changes of the acceptor binding energies are very complex as the quantum confinement size increases; (4) the binding energies monotonically decrease as the acceptor moves away from the nano-structuresâ center; (5) as the symmetry decreases, the degeneracy is lifted, and the first binding energy level in the QD splits into two branches. Our calculated results are useful for the application of semiconductor nano-structures in electronic and photoelectric devices
Dynamic Evolution of a Quasi-Spherical General Polytropic Magnetofluid with Self-Gravity
In various astrophysical contexts, we analyze self-similar behaviours of
magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) evolution of a quasi-spherical polytropic magnetized
gas under self-gravity with the specific entropy conserved along streamlines.
In particular, this MHD model analysis frees the scaling parameter in the
conventional polytropic self-similar transformation from the constraint of
with being the polytropic index and therefore
substantially generalizes earlier analysis results on polytropic gas dynamics
that has a constant specific entropy everywhere in space at all time. On the
basis of the self-similar nonlinear MHD ordinary differential equations, we
examine behaviours of the magnetosonic critical curves, the MHD shock
conditions, and various asymptotic solutions. We then construct global
semi-complete self-similar MHD solutions using a combination of analytical and
numerical means and indicate plausible astrophysical applications of these
magnetized flow solutions with or without MHD shocks.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in APS
Structure of the Partition Function and Transfer Matrices for the Potts Model in a Magnetic Field on Lattice Strips
We determine the general structure of the partition function of the -state
Potts model in an external magnetic field, for arbitrary ,
temperature variable , and magnetic field variable , on cyclic, M\"obius,
and free strip graphs of the square (sq), triangular (tri), and honeycomb
(hc) lattices with width and arbitrarily great length . For the
cyclic case we prove that the partition function has the form ,
where denotes the lattice type, are specified
polynomials of degree in , is the corresponding
transfer matrix, and () for ,
respectively. An analogous formula is given for M\"obius strips, while only
appears for free strips. We exhibit a method for
calculating for arbitrary and give illustrative
examples. Explicit results for arbitrary are presented for
with and . We find very simple formulas
for the determinant . We also give results for
self-dual cyclic strips of the square lattice.Comment: Reference added to a relevant paper by F. Y. W
Entropy Stable Numerical Schemes for Two-Fluid Plasma Equations
Two-fluid ideal plasma equations are a generalized form of the ideal MHD
equations in which electrons and ions are considered as separate species. The
design of efficient numerical schemes for the these equations is complicated on
account of their non-linear nature and the presence of stiff source terms,
especially for high charge to mass ratios and for low Larmor radii. In this
article, we design entropy stable finite difference schemes for the two-fluid
equations by combining entropy conservative fluxes and suitable numerical
diffusion operators. Furthermore, to overcome the time step restrictions
imposed by the stiff source terms, we devise time-stepping routines based on
implicit-explicit (IMEX)-Runge Kutta (RK) schemes. The special structure of the
two-fluid plasma equations is exploited by us to design IMEX schemes in which
only local (in each cell) linear equations need to be solved at each time step.
Benchmark numerical experiments are presented to illustrate the robustness and
accuracy of these schemes.Comment: Accepted in Journal of Scientific Computin
Interstellar MHD Turbulence and Star Formation
This chapter reviews the nature of turbulence in the Galactic interstellar
medium (ISM) and its connections to the star formation (SF) process. The ISM is
turbulent, magnetized, self-gravitating, and is subject to heating and cooling
processes that control its thermodynamic behavior. The turbulence in the warm
and hot ionized components of the ISM appears to be trans- or subsonic, and
thus to behave nearly incompressibly. However, the neutral warm and cold
components are highly compressible, as a consequence of both thermal
instability in the atomic gas and of moderately-to-strongly supersonic motions
in the roughly isothermal cold atomic and molecular components. Within this
context, we discuss: i) the production and statistical distribution of
turbulent density fluctuations in both isothermal and polytropic media; ii) the
nature of the clumps produced by thermal instability, noting that, contrary to
classical ideas, they in general accrete mass from their environment; iii) the
density-magnetic field correlation (or lack thereof) in turbulent density
fluctuations, as a consequence of the superposition of the different wave modes
in the turbulent flow; iv) the evolution of the mass-to-magnetic flux ratio
(MFR) in density fluctuations as they are built up by dynamic compressions; v)
the formation of cold, dense clouds aided by thermal instability; vi) the
expectation that star-forming molecular clouds are likely to be undergoing
global gravitational contraction, rather than being near equilibrium, and vii)
the regulation of the star formation rate (SFR) in such gravitationally
contracting clouds by stellar feedback which, rather than keeping the clouds
from collapsing, evaporates and diperses them while they collapse.Comment: 43 pages. Invited chapter for the book "Magnetic Fields in Diffuse
Media", edited by Elisabete de Gouveia dal Pino and Alex Lazarian. Revised as
per referee's recommendation
Observational constraints on Horava-Lifshitz cosmology
We use observational data from Type Ia Supernovae (SNIa), Baryon Acoustic
Oscillations (BAO), and Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), along with
requirements of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN), to constrain the cosmological
scenarios governed by Horava-Lifshitz gravity. We consider both the detailed
and non-detailed balance versions of the gravitational sector, and we include
the matter and radiation sectors. We conclude that the detailed-balance
scenario cannot be ruled out from the observational point of view, however the
corresponding likelihood contours impose tight constraints on the involved
parameters. The scenario beyond detailed balance is compatible with
observational data, and we present the corresponding stringent constraints and
contour-plots of the parameters. Although this analysis indicates that
Horava-Lifshitz cosmology can be compatible with observations, it does not
enlighten the discussion about its possible conceptual and theoretical
problems.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, version published in JCA
Intrauterine devices and endometrial cancer risk : a pooled analysis of the Epidemiology of Endometrial Cancer Consortium
Intrauterine devices (IUDs), long-acting and reversible contraceptives, induce a number of immunological and biochemical changes in the uterine environment that could affect endometrial cancer (EC) risk. We addressed this relationship through a pooled analysis of data collected in the Epidemiology of Endometrial Cancer Consortium. We combined individual-level data from 4 cohort and 14 case-control studies, in total 8,801 EC cases and 15,357 controls. Using multivariable logistic regression, we estimated pooled odds ratios (pooled-ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for EC risk associated with ever use, type of device, ages at first and last use, duration of use and time since last use, stratified by study and adjusted for confounders. Ever use of IUDs was inversely related to EC risk (pooled-ORâ=â0.81, 95% CIâ=â0.74-0.90). Compared with never use, reduced risk of EC was observed for inert IUDs (pooled-ORâ=â0.69, 95% CIâ=â0.58-0.82), older age at first use (â„35 years pooled-ORâ=â0.53, 95% CIâ=â0.43-0.67), older age at last use (â„45 years pooled-ORâ=â0.60, 95% CIâ=â0.50-0.72), longer duration of use (â„10 years pooled-ORâ=â0.61, 95% CIâ=â0.52-0.71) and recent use (within 1 year of study entry pooled-ORâ=â0.39, 95% CIâ=â0.30-0.49). Future studies are needed to assess the respective roles of detection biases and biologic effects related to foreign body responses in the endometrium, heavier bleeding (and increased clearance of carcinogenic cells) and localized hormonal changes
Landscape-scale benefits of protected areas for tropical biodiversity
We are indebted to numerous local communities, PA and government agency staff, research assistants, and other partners for supporting the field data collection. Research permissions were granted by appropriate forestry and conservation government departments in each country. Special thanks is given to the Sarawak State Government, Sarawak Forestry Corporation, Forest Department Sarawak, Sabah Biodiversity Centre, the Danum Valley Management Committee, the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), the Smithsonian Institute and the Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring (TEAM) network, Sarayudh Bunyavejchewin, and Ronglarp Sukmasuang. Support was provided by the United Nations Development Programme, NASA grants NNL15AA03C and 80NSSC21K0189, National Geographic Societyâs Committee for the Research and Exploration award #9384â13, the Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award DECRA #DE210101440, the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia, Nanyang Technological University Singapore, the Darwin Initiative, Liebniz-IZW, and the Universities of Aberdeen, British Columbia, Montana, and Queensland.Peer reviewedPostprin
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