Elastic Mid-Infrared Light Scattering: a Basis for Microscopy of Large-Scale Electrically Active Defects in Semiconducting Materials

A method of the mid-IR-laser microscopy has been proposed for the investigation of the large-scale electrically and recombination active defects in semiconductors and non-destructive inspection of semiconductor materials and structures in the industries of microelectronics and photovoltaics. The basis for this development was laid with a wide cycle of the investigations on the low-angle mid-IR-light scattering in semiconductors. The essence of the technical idea was to apply the dark-field method for spatial filtering of the scattered light in the scanning mid-IR-laser microscope. This approach enabled the visualization of large-scale electrically active defects which are the regions enriched with ionized electrically active centers. The photoexcitation of excess carriers within a small volume located in the probe mid-IR-laser beam enabled the visualization of the large-scale recombination-active defects like those revealed in the optical or electron beam induced current methods. Both these methods of the scanning mid-IR-laser microscopy are now introduced in detail in the present paper as well as a summary of techniques used in the standard method of the lowangle mid-IR-light scattering itself. Besides the techniques for direct observations, methods for analyses of the defect composition associated with the mid-IR-laser microscopy are also discussed in the paper.Comment: 44 pages, 13 figures. A good oldi

GTO complex implementation technology for educational system

The study analyzes practical experience of the GTO Complex implementation project at Belgorod State National Research University with a special emphasis on the GTO Complex implementation process control mechanism including the following modules: progress test, regulatory, design and corporate management module

How do methanol masers manage to appear in the youngest star vicinities and isolated molecular clumps?

General characteristics of methanol (CH3OH) maser emission are summarized. It is shown that methanol maser sources are concentrated in the spiral arms. Most of the methanol maser sources from the Perseus arm are associated with embedded stellar clusters and a considerable portion is situated close to compact HII regions. Almost 1/3 of the Perseus Arm sources lie at the edges of optically identified HII regions which means that massive star formation in the Perseus Arm is to a great extent triggered by local phenomena. A multiline analysis of the methanol masers allows us to determine the physical parameters in the regions of maser formation. Maser modelling shows that class II methanol masers can be pumped by the radiation of the warm dust as well as by free-free emission of a hypercompact region hcHII with a turnover frequency exceeding 100 GHz. Methanol masers of both classes can reside in the vicinity of hcHIIs. Modelling shows that periodic changes of maser fluxes can be reproduced by variations of the dust temperature by a few percent which may be caused by variations in the brightness of the central young stellar object reflecting the character of the accretion process. Sensitive observations have shown that the masers with low flux densities can still have considerable amplification factors. The analysis of class I maser surveys allows us to identify four distinct regimes that differ by the series of their brightest lines.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, invited presentation at IAU242 "Astrophysical Masers and their environments

Class I methanol masers in low-mass star formation regions

Four Class I maser sources were detected at 44, 84, and 95 GHz toward chemically rich outflows in the regions of low-mass star formation NGC 1333I4A, NGC 1333I2A, HH25, and L1157. One more maser was found at 36 GHz toward a similar outflow, NGC 2023. Flux densities of the newly detected masers are no more than 18 Jy, being much lower than those of strong masers in regions of high-mass star formation. The brightness temperatures of the strongest peaks in NGC 1333I4A, HH25, and L1157 at 44 GHz are higher than 2000 K, whereas that of the peak in NGC 1333I2A is only 176 K. However, rotational diagram analysis showed that the latter source is also a maser. The main properties of the newly detected masers are similar to those of Class I methanol masers in regions of massive star formation. The former masers are likely to be an extension of the latter maser population toward low luminosities of both the masers and the corresponding YSOs.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, Proc. IAU Symp. 287 "Cosmic Masers: from OH to H0". LSR velocities of the HH25 masers, which are presented in Table 1, are correcte

Physical education department students: year-to-year physical progress tests and analysis

The studies showed the Physical Education Department students’ physical fitness level remaining virtually same throughout the academic period, moreover some progress was noted in some physical fitness components. Knowing that the practical Physical Education training hours in the curriculum tend to fall by the fourth year, we may assume that the main reason for the specific progress is the still high interest and commitment for Physical Education in the student

Detection of new sources of methanol emission at 107 and 108 GHz with the Mopra telescope

A southern hemisphere survey of methanol emission sources in two millimeter wave transitions has been carried out using the ATNF Mopra millimetre telescope. Sixteen emission sources have been detected in the 3(1)-4(0)A+ transition of methanol at 107 GHz, including six new sources exhibiting class II methanol maser emission features. Combining these results with the similar northern hemisphere survey, a total of eleven 107-GHz methanol masers have been detected. A survey of the methanol emission in the 0(0)-1(-1)E transition at 108 GHz resulted in the detection of 16 sources; one of them showing maser characteristics. This is the first methanol maser detected at 108 GHz, presumably of class II. The results of LVG statistical equilibrium calculations confirm the classification of these new sources as a class II methanol masers.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS, mn.sty include

Electric field of a pointlike charge in a strong magnetic field and ground state of a hydrogenlike atom

In an external constant magnetic field, so strong that the electron Larmour length is much shorter than its Compton length, we consider the modification of the Coulomb potential of a point charge owing to the vacuum polarization. We establish a short-range component of the static interaction in the Larmour scale, expressed as a Yukawa-like law, and reveal the corresponding "photon mass" parameter. The electrostatic force regains its long-range character in the Compton scale: the tail of the potential follows an anisotropic Coulomb law, decreasing away from the charge slower along the magnetic field and faster across. In the infinite-magnetic-field limit the potential is confined to an infinitely thin string passing though the charge parallel to the external field. This is the first evidence for dimensional reduction in the photon sector of quantum electrodynamics. The one-dimensional form of the potential on the string is derived that includes a delta-function centered in the charge. The nonrelativistic ground-state energy of a hydrogenlike atom is found with its use and shown not to be infinite in the infinite-field limit, contrary to what was commonly accepted before, when the vacuum polarization had been ignored. These results may be useful for studying properties of matter at the surface of extremely magnetized neutron stars.Comment: 45 pages, 6 figures, accepted to Phys. Rev.

Mechanical Oscillations in TiNi Under Synchronized Martensite Transformations Experimental Procedure

Mechanical vibrations in alloys with thermoelastic martensitic transformations have some specific features. The main one is the existence of damping peaks at temperatures of austenite<-*martensite transitions (Van Humbeeck, 1989; Naturally, experiments including fast phase transformations with the duration of a small fraction of the period of vibrations (when tpi, < T) do not allow correctly judging the internal friction as of material damping capacity. However, such experiments are interesting from the point-of-view of active control of vibrations by fast changes of the phase composition. When tph < T, the object under investigation must be considered as a solid with periodically varying strain, in which martensitic transformation occurs on some stages of the deformation. In TiNi-based alloys the transformation is accompanied with such phenomena of martensitic nonelasticity as shape memory, transformation plasticity, generation, or relaxation of stresses. In other words, it leads to a change of the stressedstrained state of the body. If such changes occur one or several times during one period of vibrations, they will necessarily influence the whole mechanical process and cause a variation of the amplitude and frequency of vibrations, level of damping. The result of such influence will certainly depend on what stage of a vibration period the transformation takes place, is it direct or reverse, etc. On the whole, the existing knowledge of martensitic nonelasticity allows us to state that an effective control of vibrations can be achieved by specially organized fast changes of the material structural state. This is confirmed by the results of the preliminary studies by The main goal of this work is the analysis of the influence of fast martensitic transformations on the unforced oscillations of a TiNi alloy wire torsional pendulum. Experimental Procedure The vibrating system under investigation was a torsional pendulum. The specimen used as a working body has been made of Ti-50at.%Ni wire with the length 400 mm and the diameter 0.5 mm. After annealing the alloy had the transformation temperatures Af, = 330 K, Mf = 320 K, A, = 355 K, Af = 370 K. At the room temperature the specimen had the structure of martensite. The upper end of the specimen was fixed in an unmovable conical grip and the lower end could rotate freely together with an attached beam with weights. The length of the beam and the mass of weights have been chosen because the frequency of pendulum vibrations was about 0.05 Hz. The beam was equipped with a transparent rim with scores. Pendulum rotation by one angular degree corresponded to an interval between the scores. The angle of rotation was measured by the number of scores which passed through an optical registration system consisting of a lamp, a collimator, and a photo-indicator. Heating of the specimen had been done by the passing of alternating current through the circuit: upper grip-specimensteel rod fastened to the lower grip and aligned along the pendulum axis-electrolyte (water solution of copper sulfate) -copper blade contact immersed into the electrolyte. The use of the electrolytic bath as part of the circuit allowed securing a reliable electric contact with the specimen and reduce friction to a minimum. Cooling of the specimen after the break of the current occurred by natural heat exchange with the air. The mean temperature was obtained by measuring the resistivity of 0.01 mm diameter copper wire coiled around the specimen on all its length. The deformation y of the specimen was calculated by the formula y = irip)/L, where r and L are radius and length of the specimen, tp is the rotation angle in radians. The initial angular deflection of the pendulum from equilibrium corresponded to 7o = 0.3% deformation. Martensitic transformation was provoked by heating of the specimen with 0.2 s impulses of 3.5 A current. During an impulse the specimen was transformed from martensitic state into an austenitic one. Synchronization of the impulses with the mechanical oscillations is illustrated by Heating impulses were applied at a frequency twice that of the vibrations and as one may see from the figure the specimen experienced the transition from martensite to austenite and back in the course of each semiperiod of the vibrations. The moment of time corresponding to the maximum deflection of the pendulum from equilibrium in each semiperiod was registered by the equipment (by the minimum of the angular speed of the beam) and in a specified delay time At a heating impulse was given

Molecular line radiative transfer in protoplanetary disks: Monte Carlo simulations versus approximate methods

We analyze the line radiative transfer in protoplanetary disks using several approximate methods and a well-tested Accelerated Monte Carlo code. A low-mass flaring disk model with uniform as well as stratified molecular abundances is adopted. Radiative transfer in low and high rotational lines of CO, C18O, HCO+, DCO+, HCN, CS, and H2CO is simulated. The corresponding excitation temperatures, synthetic spectra, and channel maps are derived and compared to the results of the Monte Carlo calculations. A simple scheme that describes the conditions of the line excitation for a chosen molecular transition is elaborated. We find that the simple LTE approach can safely be applied for the low molecular transitions only, while it significantly overestimates the intensities of the upper lines. In contrast, the Full Escape Probability (FEP) approximation can safely be used for the upper transitions (J_{\rm up} \ga 3) but it is not appropriate for the lowest transitions because of the maser effect. In general, the molecular lines in protoplanetary disks are partly subthermally excited and require more sophisticated approximate line radiative transfer methods. We analyze a number of approximate methods, namely, LVG, VEP (Vertical Escape Probability) and VOR (Vertical One Ray) and discuss their algorithms in detail. In addition, two modifications to the canonical Monte Carlo algorithm that allow a significant speed up of the line radiative transfer modeling in rotating configurations by a factor of 10--50 are described.Comment: 47 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in Ap