Surface morphological evolutions on single crystal films by strong anisotropic drift-diffusion under the capillary and electromigration forces

The morphological evolution of voids at the unpassivated surfaces and the sidewalls of the single crystal metallic films are investigated via computer simulations by using the novel mathematical model developed by Ogurtani relying on the fundamental postulates of irreversible thermodynamics. The effects of the drift-diffusion anisotropy on the development of the surface morphological scenarios are fully explored under the action of the electromigration (EM) and capillary forces (CF), utilizing numerous combination of the surface textures and the directions of the applied electric field. The interconnect failure time due to the EM induced wedge shape internal voids and the incubation time of the oscillatory surface waves, under the severe instability regimes, are deduced by the novel renormalization procedures applied on the outputs of the computer simulation experiments.Comment: 41 pages, 18 figures. related simulation movies utilizing numerous combination of the surface texture, see http://www.csl.mete.metu.edu.tr/aytac/thesis/movies/index.ht

Generic role of the anisotropic surface free energy on the morphological evolution in a strained-heteroepitaxial solid droplet on a rigid substrate

A systematic study based on the self-consistent dynamical simulations is presented for the spontaneous evolution of an isolated thin solid droplet on a rigid substrate, which is driven by the surface drift diffusion induced by the anisotropic capillary forces (surface stiffness) and mismatch stresses. In this work, we studied the affect of surface free energy anisotropies on the development kinetics of the 'Stranski-Krastanow' island type morphology. The anisotropic surface free energy and the surface stiffness were treated with well accepted trigonometric functions. Although, various tilt angles and anisotropy constants were considered during simulations, the main emphasis was given on the effect of rotational symmetries associated with the surface Helmholtz free energy topography in 2D space. Our computer simulations revealed the formation of an extremely thin wetting layer during the development of the bell-shaped Stranski-Krastanow island through the mass accumulation at the central region of the droplet via surface drift-diffusion. In the strong (anomalous) anisotropy constant domain, we demonstrated the existence of two distinct morphological modes: i) the complete stability of the initial Cosine-shaped droplet just above a certain anisotropy constant threshold level by spontaneous slight readjustments of the base and the height of the cluster; ii) the Frank-van der Merwe mode of thin film formation for very large values of the anisotropy constant by the spreading and coalescence of the droplets over the substrate surface. During the course of the simulations, we have continuously tracked both the morphology (i.e., the peak height, the extension of the wetting layer beyond the domain boundaries, and the triple junction contact angle) and energetic (the global Helmholtz free energy changes associated with the total strain and surface energy variations) of the system.Comment: anisotropic surface free energy, Quantum Dots, elastostatic load, morphological evolution, strained-heteroepitaxial soli

A New Approach to Spin Glass Simulations

We present a recursive procedure to calculate the parameters of the recently introduced multicanonical ensemble and explore the approach for spin glasses. Temperature dependence of the energy, the entropy and other physical quantities are easily calculable and we report results for the zero temperature limit. Our data provide evidence that the large $L$ increase of the ergodicity time is greatly improved. The multicanonical ensemble seems to open new horizons for simulations of spin glasses and other systems which have to cope with conflicting constraints

Grundstate Properties of the 3D Ising Spin Glass

We study zero--temperature properties of the 3d Edwards--Anderson Ising spin glass on finite lattices up to size $12^3$. Using multicanonical sampling we generate large numbers of groundstate configurations in thermal equilibrium. Finite size scaling with a zero--temperature scaling exponent $y = 0.74 \pm 0.12$ describes the data well. Alternatively, a descriptions in terms of Parisi mean field behaviour is still possible. The two scenarios give significantly different predictions on lattices of size $\ge 12^3$.Comment: LATEX 9pages,figures upon request ,SCRI-9

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Future Mobility Scenarios with Design Fiction: Autonomous Vehicles as Social Agents

This article aims to envisage a future world with Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) from a speculative perspective and uses design fiction as a method. Even though there are future studies about how AVs are going to be operators in the traffic by taking the role of the driver, this article suggests that AVs are going to be referred not only as transportation vehicles but also, they will become a part of social life through their increased agencies. We argue that this might be a significant concern for the areas that are in relation with the design of AVs considering socio-technical transitions towards future. Two design fiction workshops with designers were organised to develop future scenarios including AVs. As a result, the scenarios created by designers were analysed and characteristics of the scenarios were identified considering the social and contextual aspects of the storyworlds. Finally, the study discusses design considerations for AVs based on the future contexts and lifestyles as well as the social role that AVs can fill by changing the meaning of journey in the future scenarios