4,206 research outputs found
Nucleation and growth of thin films of rod--like conjugated molecules
Thin films formed from small molecules rapidly gain importance in different
technological fields. To explain their growth, methods developed for
zero--dimensional atoms as the film forming particles are applied. However, in
organic thin film growth the dimensionality of the building blocks comes into
play. Using the special case of the model molecule para--Sexiphenyl, we will
emphasize the challenges that arise from the anisotropic and one--dimensional
nature of building blocks. Differences or common features with other rodlike
molecules will be discussed. The typical morphologies encountered for this
group of molecules and the relevant growth modes will be investigated. Special
attention is given to the transition between flat lying and upright orientation
of the building blocks during nucleation. We will further discuss methods to
control the molecular orientation and describe the involved diffusion processes
qualitatively and quantitatively.Comment: as submitted to JPCM (revised version) fixed figures and a few lines
of tex
Improved recursive Green's function formalism for quasi one-dimensional systems with realistic defects
We derive an improved version of the recursive Green's function formalism
(RGF), which is a standard tool in the quantum transport theory. We consider
the case of disordered quasi one-dimensional materials where the disorder is
applied in form of randomly distributed realistic defects, leading to partly
periodic Hamiltonian matrices. The algorithm accelerates the common RGF in the
recursive decimation scheme, using the iteration steps of the renormalization
decimation algorithm. This leads to a smaller effective system, which is
treated using the common forward iteration scheme. The computational complexity
scales linearly with the number of defects, instead of linearly with the total
system length for the conventional approach. We show that the scaling of the
calculation time of the Green's function depends on the defect density of a
random test system. Furthermore, we discuss the calculation time and the memory
requirement of the whole transport formalism applied to defective carbon
nanotubes
Electronic transport in metallic carbon nanotubes with mixed defects within the strong localization regime
We study the electron transport in metallic carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with
realistic defects of different types. We focus on large CNTs with many defects
in the mesoscopic range. In a recent paper we demonstrated that the electronic
transport in those defective CNTs is in the regime of strong localization. We
verify by quantum transport simulations that the localization length of CNTs
with defects of mixed types can be related to the localization lengths of CNTs
with identical defects by taking the weighted harmonic average. Secondly, we
show how to use this result to estimate the conductance of arbitrary defective
CNTs, avoiding time consuming transport calculations
Influence of defect-induced deformations on electron transport in carbon nanotubes
We theoretically investigate the influence of defect-induced long-range
deformations in carbon nanotubes on their electronic transport properties. To
this end we perform numerical ab-initio calculations using a
density-functional-based tight-binding (DFTB) model for various tubes with
vacancies. The geometry optimization leads to a change of the atomic positions.
There is a strong reconstruction of the atoms near the defect (called
"distortion") and there is an additional long-range deformation. The impact of
both structural features on the conductance is systematically investigated. We
compare short and long CNTs of different kinds with and without long-range
deformation. We find for the very thin (9,0)-CNT that the long-range
deformation additionally affects the transmission spectrum and the conductance
compared to the short-range lattice distortion. The conductance of the larger
(11,0)- or the (14,0)-CNT is overall less affected implying that the influence
of the long-range deformation decreases with increasing tube diameter.
Furthermore, the effect can be either positive or negative depending on the CNT
type and the defect type. Our results indicate that the long-range deformation
must be included in order to reliably describe the electronic structure of
defective, small-diameter zigzag tubes.Comment: Materials for Advanced Metallization 201
Impact of local knowledge endowment on employment growth in nanotechnology
This paper investigates the contribution of local knowledge endowment to employment growth in nanotechnology firms. We exploit a unique data set focusing on firms operating in fields that apply nanotechnology. Our findings suggest that regions that offer knowledge can stimulate employment growth in smaller and younger firms. By contrast, being embedded into specialised regions might be counterproductive, especially for firms belonging to a particularly knowledge intensive sector and older firms. --employment growth,local knowledge endowment,general purpose technology,specialisation,nanotechnology,spillover
Digital transformation maturity: A systematic review of literature
The goal of this paper is to present contemporary developments in the field of digital maturity models. By conducting a systematic literature review finally 24 relevant studies including 22 different models were identified and various characteristics of different digital maturity models were extracted. Focus was placed on the dimensions used to measure digital maturity in different model approaches. Special light was shed on organizational culture and to what extent it is represented in the models. Among other things, the findings indicate, that dimensions applied in various models can be very different and that just a few models incorporate transformational in addition to digital capabilities. In particular, organizational culture as a dedicated dimension of digital maturity is represented already in a few models, which indicates the growing importance of culture as an enabler of digital transformation efforts. Beside a comprehensive overview of the most widely used dimensions measuring digital maturity, a synthesis of the most frequently addressed cultural attributes is presented in this paper as well. This review finally reveals that most of the existing models give an incomplete picture of digital maturity, that cultural attributes reflecting a digital culture are not integrated systematically, and that digital maturity models specific to the domain of services are clearly under-represented. It also clearly demonstrates that research about digital transformation maturity as a holistic concept is scarce and needs more attention by research in the future
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