A Study on the Nature of Anomalous Current Conduction in Gallium Nitride

Current leakage in GaN thin films limits reliable device fabrication. A variety of Ga and N rich MBE GaN thin films grown by Rf, NH3, and Rf+ NH3, are examined with electrical measurements on NiIAu Schottky diodes and CAFM. Current-voltage (IV) mechanisms will identify conduction mechanisms on diodes, and CAFM measurements will investigate the microstructure of conduction in GaN thin films. With CAFM, enhanced conduction has been shown to decorate some extended defects and surface features, while CAFM spectroscopy on a MODFET structure indicates a correlation between extended defects and field conduction behavior at room temperature. A remedy for poor conduction characteristics is presented in molten KOH etching, as evidenced by CAFM measurements, Schottky diodes, and MODFET\u27s. The aim of this study is to identify anomalous conduction mechanisms, the likely cause of anomalous conduction, and a method for improving the conduction characteristics. Keywords: 111-Nitride, 111-V, Gallium Nitride, GaN, Electrical Properties, Conduction, Conductivity, Mobility, Hall Measurements, Resistivity, Schottky Diode, Modulation Doped Field Effect Transistor (MODFET), Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Defects, Molten Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) etching, Silvaco, Atlas, and Illumination

Modeling current flow in nanoparticle doped polymer film systems

Nanoparticle-doped polymer systems have elicited great interest for their ability to exhibit an electrical hysteresis, which can be applied to bistable organic memory devices. Such hysteresis is characterized by the ability maintain different currents at the same voltage, upon increasing and decreasing the voltage. Developing a successful theoretical and computational model for this effect could provide insights into what mechanisms are driving the hysteresis. However, while there has been interest in these systems for two decades, there are still open questions regarding modeling their operation mechanism. In this work, we explore a method of modelling these systems that approximates the electrodes in the system as finite chains connected to an interconnected system of polymer chains. We then develop the current operator between a junction between an electrode and the system in the Heisenberg picture. We have obtained preliminary results on the I-V curve of the model, and extensions are underway to improve agreement with experimental results

Surface Impedance Measurements of Single Crystal MgB2 Films for Radiofrequency Superconductivity Applications

We report microstructure analyses and superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) measurements of large scale epitaxial MgB{sub 2} films. MgB{sub 2} films on 5 cm dia. sapphire disks were fabricated by a Hybrid Physical Chemical Vapor Deposition (HPCVD) technique. The electron-beam backscattering diffraction (EBSD) results suggest that the film is a single crystal complying with a MgB{sub 2}(0001) {parallel} Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}(0001) epitaxial relationship. The SRF properties of different film thicknesses (200 nm and 350 nm) were evaluated under different temperatures and applied fields at 7.4 GHz. A surface resistance of 9 {+-} 2 {mu}{Omega} has been observed at 2.2 K

Study of the B−→Λc+Λˉc−K−B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-} decay

The decay $B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-}$ is studied in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ collected by the LHCb experiment. In the $\Lambda_{c}^+ K^{-}$ system, the $\Xi_{c}(2930)^{0}$ state observed at the BaBar and Belle experiments is resolved into two narrower states, $\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}$ and $\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}$, whose masses and widths are measured to be $$m(\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}) = 2924.5 \pm 0.4 \pm 1.1 \,\mathrm{MeV}, \\ m(\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}) = 2938.5 \pm 0.9 \pm 2.3 \,\mathrm{MeV}, \\ \Gamma(\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}) = \phantom{000}4.8 \pm 0.9 \pm 1.5 \,\mathrm{MeV},\\ \Gamma(\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}) = \phantom{00}11.0 \pm 1.9 \pm 7.5 \,\mathrm{MeV},$$ where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. The results are consistent with a previous LHCb measurement using a prompt $\Lambda_{c}^{+} K^{-}$ sample. Evidence of a new $\Xi_{c}(2880)^{0}$ state is found with a local significance of $3.8\,\sigma$, whose mass and width are measured to be $2881.8 \pm 3.1 \pm 8.5\,\mathrm{MeV}$ and $12.4 \pm 5.3 \pm 5.8 \,\mathrm{MeV}$, respectively. In addition, evidence of a new decay mode $\Xi_{c}(2790)^{0} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} K^{-}$ is found with a significance of $3.7\,\sigma$. The relative branching fraction of $B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-}$ with respect to the $B^{-} \to D^{+} D^{-} K^{-}$ decay is measured to be $2.36 \pm 0.11 \pm 0.22 \pm 0.25$, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic and the third originates from the branching fractions of charm hadron decays.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-028.html (LHCb public pages

Measurement of the ratios of branching fractions R(D∗)\mathcal{R}(D^{*}) and R(D0)\mathcal{R}(D^{0})

The ratios of branching fractions $\mathcal{R}(D^{*})\equiv\mathcal{B}(\bar{B}\to D^{*}\tau^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\tau})/\mathcal{B}(\bar{B}\to D^{*}\mu^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\mu})$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^{0})\equiv\mathcal{B}(B^{-}\to D^{0}\tau^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\tau})/\mathcal{B}(B^{-}\to D^{0}\mu^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\mu})$ are measured, assuming isospin symmetry, using a sample of proton-proton collision data corresponding to 3.0 fb${ }^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity recorded by the LHCb experiment during 2011 and 2012. The tau lepton is identified in the decay mode $\tau^{-}\to\mu^{-}\nu_{\tau}\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$. The measured values are $\mathcal{R}(D^{*})=0.281\pm0.018\pm0.024$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^{0})=0.441\pm0.060\pm0.066$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The correlation between these measurements is $\rho=-0.43$. Results are consistent with the current average of these quantities and are at a combined 1.9 standard deviations from the predictions based on lepton flavor universality in the Standard Model.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-039.html (LHCb public pages

Operating mechanism of nanoparticle blend organic memory devices

A host of new solid-state memory technologies are currently being developed as potential low-cost, high-speed alternatives to conventional silicon-based memory. Organic-based, bistable, rewritable memory cells were first proposed in 2002. The simplest structure for such a device is a single layer of conjugated polymer with embedded metal nanoparticles (NPs) uniformly distributed throughout. These resistive-switch devices display low write-rewrite voltages, high reliability, fast switching speeds, and high ON/OFF current ratios. Organic-based memory devices can be incorporated into a cross-point (x-y) structure, a promising device construct due to the high density of memory elements that is made possible. Polymer-based devices have the additional benefits of allowing a stacked structure for extremely low-volume packing of memory elements and the ability to achieve low cost device fabrication through solution processing. While several groups have made significant progress in characterizing these devices, a satisfactory description of the fundamental operating mechanism is still lacking. Understanding the underlying physical principles is a necessary next step in making further developments toward commercial viability. We will describe experimental progress toward developing a full understanding the underlying mechanism responsible for bistable electrical behavior in these promising devices

Process Sequencing for Fatigue Life Extension of Large Scale Laser Peened Components

Mechanical surface enhancement techniques have been used to successfully increase the fatigue life of metallic components. These techniques impart compressive surface residual stresses that reduce the tensile stresses experienced during service loading. Laser Peening (LP) is a surface enhancement technique that uses high intensity, short duration laser pulses to create plastic shockwaves in metallic components. Experimental investigations and limited simulation studies have been conducted to determine the effects on the fatigue life of simple coupons when key LP parameters are varied. Used primarily in the aerospace and biomedical engineering fields, LP has been limited to industries that can afford its currently high development and processing costs. Reducing these costs requires that LP simulations, which currently require tremendous amounts of computational power and time due to their complexity, become more time effective and user accessible. This work seeks to address these needs by reducing the overall simulation time of large surface LP processing. The first objective of this work is to reduce the simulation time of an individual LP shot by furthering the development of an extended duration explicit Finite Element Analysis method. Error between the new method and the accepted analysis method is calculated to demonstrate the viability of the new approach. The second objective is to reduce the simulation time of large LP patterns. A symmetry cell approach is developed and used to create a base unit of an LP shot pattern, which is used to reproduce the pattern over a large surface. The last objective is to investigate the effects that the sequencing of LP shots within a pattern can have upon the fatigue life of the component. Due to interactions between adjacent LP shots, the most recent shot in an LP pattern will have the largest compressive stresses. By sequencing the shots in a particular order, the fatigue life of a component can be increased over that of a generic pattern

Predictive Crack Growth Technique for Laser Peening Process Development

Laser peening (LP) has shown excellent fatigue life extension in numerous tests with typical treatments garnering 2-4 times the fatigue performance of an untreated component. Initially, large test programs were implemented to determine the best LP parameters for a given scenario, eventually being augmented by physics-based modeling due to the large design space available to the LP process. Approval for these processes continues to be on a case-by-case basis, contingent on multiple factors: cost, applicability, time, % fatigue life extension, and ability to track crack growth. Because LP induces compressive residual stresses in the near surface region, the compensatory tensile residual stresses are shifted sub-surface. While an axial tensile load would be mitigated by surface compressive stresses, sub-surface a crack can propagate rapidly via tensile stresses. Current predictive methods lack the ability to track this sub-surface behavior, limiting the accuracy of fatigue crack growth predictions throughout the various design stages of an LP treatment. This work demonstrates a framework that incorporates user-defined geometry, material data, crack growth data, mechanical loading, and residual stresses to predict the crack front shape evolution in 3D solids. A baseline case with no residual stresses is simulated and compared with a closed form solution

Poxvirus-encoded decapping enzymes promote selective translation of viral mRNAs.

Cellular decapping enzymes negatively regulate gene expression by removing the methylguanosine cap at the 5' end of eukaryotic mRNA, rendering mRNA susceptible to degradation and repressing mRNA translation. Vaccinia virus (VACV), the prototype poxvirus, encodes two decapping enzymes, D9 and D10, that induce the degradation of both cellular and viral mRNAs. Using a genome-wide survey of translation efficiency, we analyzed vaccinia virus mRNAs in cells infected with wild type VACV and mutant VACVs with inactivated decapping enzymes. We found that VACV decapping enzymes are required for selective translation of viral post-replicative mRNAs (transcribed after viral DNA replication) independent of PKR- and RNase L-mediated translation repression. Further molecular characterization demonstrated that VACV decapping enzymes are necessary for efficient translation of mRNA with a 5'-poly(A) leader, which are present in all viral post-replicative mRNAs. Inactivation of D10 alone in VACV significantly impairs poly(A)-leader-mediated translation. Remarkably, D10 stimulates mRNA translation in the absence of VACV infection with a preference for RNA containing a 5'-poly(A) leader. We further revealed that VACV decapping enzymes are needed for 5'-poly(A) leader-mediated cap-independent translation enhancement during infection. Our findings identified a mechanism by which VACV mRNAs are selectively translated through subverting viral decapping enzymes to stimulate 5'-poly(A) leader-mediated translation

Material quality & SRF performance of Nb films grown on Cu via ECR plasma energetic condensation

The RF performance of bulk Nb cavities has continuously improved over the years and is approaching the intrinsic limit of the material. Although some margin seems still available with processes such as N surface doping, long term solutions for SRF surfaces efficiency enhancement need to be pursued. Over the years, Nb/Cu technology, despite its shortcomings, has positioned itself as an alternative route for the future of superconducting structures used in accelerators. Significant progress has been made in recent years in the development of energetic deposition techniques such as Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) plasma deposition. Nb films with very high material quality have then been produced by varying the deposition energy alluding to the promise of performing SRF films. This paper presents RF measurements, correlated with surface and material properties, for Nb films showing how, by varying the film growth conditions, the Nb film quality and surface resistance can be altered and how the Q-slope can be eventually overcome