Experimental and theoretical study of ultra-thin oxides

We report on an experimental and theoretical study of transport through thin oxides. The experimental study was carried out on the tunnel switch diode (TSD) which consists of an MOS junction on top of a pn junction. The properties of the TSD depends critically on the properties of the tunnel oxide layer. Our results indicate that these devices can exhibit two different modes of behaviour depending on the stress history of the oxide. An unstressed device exhibits a thyristor-like I-V characteristic with fairly low current density. As the oxide is stressed, however, the I-V characteristic discontinuously shifts into a higher-current thyristor-like mode in which current transport appears to be highly non-uniform and depends strongly on stress history. This suggests a possible structural change in the oxide layer which is not completely destructive in that the device continues to function. We present a possible theoretical model of such a structural change in which microscopic filaments are generated in the oxide. Calculations of J-V curves for such structures with varying filament heights qualitatively match stressed MOS I-V curves found in the literature and qualitatively explain the dual-mode behaviour of the TSD

Perturbed Three Vortex Dynamics

It is well known that the dynamics of three point vortices moving in an ideal fluid in the plane can be expressed in Hamiltonian form, where the resulting equations of motion are completely integrable in the sense of Liouville and Arnold. The focus of this investigation is on the persistence of regular behavior (especially periodic motion) associated to completely integrable systems for certain (admissible) kinds of Hamiltonian perturbations of the three vortex system in a plane. After a brief survey of the dynamics of the integrable planar three vortex system, it is shown that the admissible class of perturbed systems is broad enough to include three vortices in a half-plane, three coaxial slender vortex rings in three-space, and `restricted' four vortex dynamics in a plane. Included are two basic categories of results for admissible perturbations: (i) general theorems for the persistence of invariant tori and periodic orbits using Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser and Poincare-Birkhoff type arguments; and (ii) more specific and quantitative conclusions of a classical perturbation theory nature guaranteeing the existence of periodic orbits of the perturbed system close to cycles of the unperturbed system, which occur in abundance near centers. In addition, several numerical simulations are provided to illustrate the validity of the theorems as well as indicating their limitations as manifested by transitions to chaotic dynamics.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures, submitted to the Journal of Mathematical Physic

Elastodynamics of radially inhomogeneous spherically anisotropic elastic materials in the Stroh formalism

A method is presented for solving elastodynamic problems in radially inhomogeneous elastic materials with spherical anisotropy, i.e.\ materials such that $c_{ijkl}= c_{ijkl}(r)$ in a spherical coordinate system ${r,\theta,\phi}$. The time harmonic displacement field $\mathbf{u}(r,\theta ,\phi)$ is expanded in a separation of variables form with dependence on $\theta,\phi$ described by vector spherical harmonics with $r$-dependent amplitudes. It is proved that such separation of variables solution is generally possible only if the spherical anisotropy is restricted to transverse isotropy with the principal axis in the radial direction, in which case the amplitudes are determined by a first-order ordinary differential system. Restricted forms of the displacement field, such as $\mathbf{u}(r,\theta)$, admit this type of separation of variables solutions for certain lower material symmetries. These results extend the Stroh formalism of elastodynamics in rectangular and cylindrical systems to spherical coordinates.Comment: 15 page

Impurity-induced Local Density of States in a D-wave Superconductor Carrying a Supercurrent

The local density of states (LDOS) and its Fourier component induced by a unitary impurity in a supercurrent-carrying d-wave superconductor are investigated. Both of these quantities possess a reflection symmetry about the line passing through the impurity site and along the supercurrent if it is applied along the antinodal or nodal direction. With increasing supercurrent, both the coherence and resonant peaks in the LDOS are suppressed and slightly broadened. Under a supercurrent along the antinodal direction, the coherence peaks split into double peaks. The modulation wavevectors associated with elastic scatterings of quasiparticles by the defect from one constant-energy piece of the Fermi surface to another are displayed as bright or dark spots in the Fourier space of the LDOS image, and they may be suppressed or enhanced, and shifted depending on the applied current and the bias voltage.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure

Analysis of Clumps in Molecular Cloud Models: Mass Spectrum, Shapes, Alignment and Rotation

Observations reveal concentrations of molecular line emission on the sky, called ``clumps,'' in dense, star-forming molecular clouds. These clumps are believed to be the eventual sites of star formation. We study the three-dimensional analogs of clumps using a set of self-consistent, time-dependent numerical models of molecular clouds. The models follow the decay of initially supersonic turbulence in an isothermal, self-gravitating, magnetized fluid. We find the following. (1) Clumps are intrinsically triaxial. This explains the observed deficit of clumps with a projected axis ratio near unity, and the apparent prolateness of clumps. (2) Simulated clump axes are not strongly aligned with the mean magnetic field within clumps, nor with the large-scale mean fields. This is in agreement with observations. (3) The clump mass spectrum has a high-mass slope that is consistent with the Salpeter value. There is a low-mass break in the slope at \sim 0.5 \msun, although this may depend on model parameters including numerical resolution. (4) The typical specific spin angular momentum of clumps is $4 \times 10^{22} {\rm cm^2 s^{-1}}$. This is larger than the median specific angular momentum of binary stars. Scaling arguments suggest that higher resolution simulations may soon be able to resolve the scales at which the angular momentum of binary stars is determined.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures, to appear in 2003 July 20 Ap

Experimental observation of negative differential resistance from an InAs/GaSb interface

We have observed negative differential resistance at room temperature from devices consisting of a single interface between n-type InAs and p-type GaSb. InAs and GaSb have a type II staggered band alignment; hence, the negative differential resistance arises from the same mechanism as in a p+-n+ tunnel diode. Room-temperature peak current densities of 8.2×10^4 A/cm^2 and 4.2×10^4 A/cm^2 were measured for structures with and without undoped spacer layers at the heterointerface, respectively