Charge Pumping Through a Single Donor Atom

Presented in this paper is a proof-of-concept for a new approach to single electron pumping based on a Single Atom Transistor (SAT). By charge pumping electrons through an isolated dopant atom in silicon, precise currents of up to 160 pA at 1 GHz are generated, even if operating at 4.2 K, with no magnetic field applied, and only when one barrier is addressed by sinusoidal voltage cycles.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, few changes in the text and in figure 8, New J. Phys. (2014) at pres

Reply on the comment on the paper "Superconducting transition in Nb nanowires fabricated using focused ion beam"

In this communication we present our response to the recent comment of A. Engel regarding our paper on FIB- fabricated Nb nanowires (see Vol. 20 (2009) Pag. 465302). After further analysis and additional experimental evidence, we conclude that our interpretation of the experimental results in light of QPS theory is still valid when compared with the alternative proximity-based model as proposed by A. Engel.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, accepted by Nanotechnolog

Evolutionary algorithms : concepts and applications

Evolutionary algorithms are a family of stochastic problem-solving techniques, within the broader category of what we might call \u201cnatural-metaphor models\u201d, together with neural networks, ant systems, etc. They find their inspiration in biology and, in particular, they are based on mimicking the mechanisms of what we know as \u201cnatural evolution\u201d. During the last twenty-five years these techniques have been applied to a large number of problems of great practical and economic importance with excellent results. This paper presents a survey of these techniques and a few sample applications

The Stabilizing Effects of Publishing Strategic Central Bank Projections

Expectations are among the main driving forces for economic dynamics. Therefore, managing expectations has become a primary objective for monetary policy seeking to stabilize the business cycle. In this paper, we study whether central banks can manage private-sector expectations by means of publishing one-period ahead inflation projections in a New Keynesian learning-to-forecast experiment. Subjects in the experiment observe these projections along with the historic development of the economy and subsequently submit their own one-period ahead inflation forecasts. In this context, we find that the central bank can significantly manage private-sector expectations and that this management strongly supports monetary policy in stabilizing the economy. Moreover, published central bank inflation projections drastically reduce the probability of a deflationary spiral after strong negative shocks to the economy

Interface Trap Density Metrology of state-of-the-art undoped Si n-FinFETs

The presence of interface states at the MOS interface is a well-known cause of device degradation. This is particularly true for ultra-scaled FinFET geometries where the presence of a few traps can strongly influence device behavior. Typical methods for interface trap density (Dit) measurements are not performed on ultimate devices, but on custom designed structures. We present the first set of methods that allow direct estimation of Dit in state-of-the-art FinFETs, addressing a critical industry need.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, *G.C.T. and A.P. contributed equally to this wor

Cyber Security and Risk Disclosure: A Literature Review for Theory and Practice

Corporations and SMEs are facing ‘new’ external and internal pressures, which frequently result in modifications to their corporate governance structures and accounting/reporting systems. Because of the digital transformation, the environment – be it real or virtual – in which these companies operate has experienced significant changes. Business operations are a key and important component of human development all over the world – not only financially – and their influence on societal and environmental conditions as well as their necessary preservation are essentially undeniable. However, these operations increasingly undergo cyber-attacks that dramatically represent true causes of disruptions and breakdowns, eluding international governments’ inspection and sophisticated corporate control systems. The concepts of governance, internal control and accountability are critical for the protection of sustainable business activities from cyber-attacks, and their effectiveness is arguably dependent on corporations’ ability to govern themselves well and demonstrate accountability to their many stakeholders (across their entire value chain) also in relation to cyber dynamics. This should be accomplished by implementing well-accepted governance system standards that are globally harmonized with ‘Environment, Social and Governance’ (ESG) reporting and performance measurement tools capable of strategically assessing and evaluating risk exposure and providing forward-looking information on a multiple level. Few studies have adequately explored these issues in this defining setting, and due to the contrasting evidence arising from the extant literature, there is still no undisputed identification of effective measurement, reporting and disclosure systems for cyber risk and crime anticipation and/or neutralization

Testing Carlo Cipolla's Laws of Human Stupidity with Agent-Based Modeling

International audienceWe set up an agent-based simulation to test Carlo M. Cipolla's theory of human stupidity. In particular, we investigate under which hypotheses his theory is compatible with a well-corroborated theory like natural evolution, which we build into the model. We discover that there exist parameter settings which determine the emergence of stylized facts in line with Cipolla's theory. The assumptions corresponding to those parameter settings are intuitive and justified by common sense

Magnetic Field Probing of an SU(4) Kondo Resonance in a Single Atom Transistor

Semiconductor nano-devices have been scaled to the level that transport can be dominated by a single dopant atom. In the strong coupling case a Kondo effect is observed when one electron is bound to the atom. Here, we report on the spin as well as orbital Kondo ground state. We experimentally as well than theoretically show how we can tune a symmetry transition from a SU(4) ground state, a many body state that forms a spin as well as orbital singlet by virtual exchange with the leads, to a pure SU(2) orbital ground state, as a function of magnetic field. The small size and the s-like orbital symmetry of the ground state of the dopant, make it a model system in which the magnetic field only couples to the spin degree of freedom and allows for observation of this SU(4) to SU(2) transition.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter

Dopant metrology in advanced FinFETs

Ultra-scaled FinFET transistors bear unique fingerprint-like device-to-device differences attributed to random single impurities. This paper describes how, through correlation of experimental data with multimillion atom tight-binding simulations using the NEMO 3-D code, it is possible to identify the impurity's chemical species and determine their concentration, local electric field and depth below the Si/SiO$_{\mathrm{2}}$ interface. The ability to model the excited states rather than just the ground state is the critical component of the analysis and allows the demonstration of a new approach to atomistic impurity metrology.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure