Many-body wave function for a quantum dot in a weak magnetic field

The ground states of parabolically confined electrons in a quantum dot are studied by both direct numerical diagonalization and quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) methods. We present a simple but accurate variational many-body wave function for the dot in the limit of a weak magnetic field. The wave function has the center-of-mass motion restricted to the lowest-energy state and the electron-electron interaction is taken into account by a Jastrow two-body correlation factor. The optimized wave function has an accuracy very close to the state-of-the-art numerical diagonalization calculations. The results and the computational efficiency indicate that the presented wave function combined with the QMC method suits ideally for studies of large quantum dots.Peer reviewe

Mobility Modeling in Advanced MOSFETs with Ultra-Thin Silicon Body under Stress

Mobility in advanced MOSFETs with strained ultra-thin silicon body is investigated. We use a two-band k·p model to describe the subband structure in strained silicon thin films. The model provides the dependence of the conductivity effective mass on strain and film thickness. The conductivity mass decreases along tensile stess in [110] direction applied to a (001) silicon film. This conductivity mass decrease ensures the mobility enhancement in MOSFETs even with extremely thin silicon films. The two-band k·p model also describes the non-parabolicity dependence on film thickness and on strain. Dependence of the non-parabolicity parameter on both film thickness and strain reduces the mobility enhancement due to the conductivity mass modification, especially at higher strain values

Conservation versus parallel gains in intron evolution

Orthologous genes from distant eukaryotic species, e.g. animals and plants, share up to 25–30% intron positions. However, the relative contributions of evolutionary conservation and parallel gain of new introns into this pattern remain unknown. Here, the extent of independent insertion of introns in the same sites (parallel gain) in orthologous genes from phylogenetically distant eukaryotes is assessed within the framework of the protosplice site model. It is shown that protosplice sites are no more conserved during evolution of eukaryotic gene sequences than random sites. Simulation of intron insertion into protosplice sites with the observed protosplice site frequencies and intron densities shows that parallel gain can account but for a small fraction (5–10%) of shared intron positions in distantly related species. Thus, the presence of numerous introns in the same positions in orthologous genes from distant eukaryotes, such as animals, fungi and plants, appears to reflect mostly bona fide evolutionary conservation

A Numerical Study of Coulomb Interaction Effects on 2D Hopping Transport

We have extended our supercomputer-enabled Monte Carlo simulations of hopping transport in completely disordered 2D conductors to the case of substantial electron-electron Coulomb interaction. Such interaction may not only suppress the average value of hopping current, but also affect its fluctuations rather substantially. In particular, the spectral density $S_I (f)$ of current fluctuations exhibits, at sufficiently low frequencies, a $1/f$-like increase which approximately follows the Hooge scaling, even at vanishing temperature. At higher $f$, there is a crossover to a broad range of frequencies in which $S_I (f)$ is nearly constant, hence allowing characterization of the current noise by the effective Fano factor F\equiv S_I(f)/2e \left. For sufficiently large conductor samples and low temperatures, the Fano factor is suppressed below the Schottky value (F=1), scaling with the length $L$ of the conductor as $F = (L_c / L)^{\alpha}$. The exponent $\alpha$ is significantly affected by the Coulomb interaction effects, changing from $\alpha = 0.76 \pm 0.08$ when such effects are negligible to virtually unity when they are substantial. The scaling parameter $L_c$, interpreted as the average percolation cluster length along the electric field direction, scales as $L_c \propto E^{-(0.98 \pm 0.08)}$ when Coulomb interaction effects are negligible and $L_c \propto E^{-(1.26 \pm 0.15)}$ when such effects are substantial, in good agreement with estimates based on the theory of directed percolation.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures. Fixed minor typos and updated reference

A Numerical Study of Transport and Shot Noise at 2D Hopping

We have used modern supercomputer facilities to carry out extensive Monte Carlo simulations of 2D hopping (at negligible Coulomb interaction) in conductors with the completely random distribution of localized sites in both space and energy, within a broad range of the applied electric field $E$ and temperature $T$, both within and beyond the variable-range hopping region. The calculated properties include not only dc current and statistics of localized site occupation and hop lengths, but also the current fluctuation spectrum. Within the calculation accuracy, the model does not exhibit $1/f$ noise, so that the low-frequency noise at low temperatures may be characterized by the Fano factor $F$. For sufficiently large samples, $F$ scales with conductor length $L$ as $(L_c/L)^{\alpha}$, where $\alpha=0.76\pm 0.08 < 1$, and parameter $L_c$ is interpreted as the average percolation cluster length. At relatively low $E$, the electric field dependence of parameter $L_c$ is compatible with the law $L_c\propto E^{-0.911}$ which follows from directed percolation theory arguments.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures; Fixed minor typos and updated reference

Emerging memory technologies: trends, challenges, and modeling methods”,

a b s t r a c t In this paper we analyze the possibility of creating a universal non-volatile memory in a near future. Unlike DRAM and flash memories a new universal memory should not require electric charge storing, but alternative principles of information storage. For the successful application a new universal memory must also exhibit low operating voltages, low power consumption, high operation speed, long retention time, high endurance, and a simple structure. Several alternative principles of information storage are reviewed. We discuss different memory technologies based on these principles, highlight the most promising candidates for future universal memory, make an overview of the current state-of-the-art of these technologies, and outline future trends and possible challenges by modeling the switching process

Monte Carlo Algorithm for Mobility Calculations in Thin Body Field Effect Transistors: Role of Degeneracy and Intersubband Scattering

Abstract. We generalize the Monte Carlo algorithm originally designed for small signal analysis of the three-dimensional electron gas to quasitwo-dimensional electron systems. The method allows inclusion of arbitrary scattering mechanisms and general band structure. Contrary to standard Monte Carlo methods to simulate transport, this algorithm takes naturally into account the fermionic nature of electrons via the Pauli exclusion principle. The method is based on the solution of the linearized Boltzmann equation and is exact in the limit of negligible driving fields. The theoretically derived Monte Carlo algorithm has a clear physical interpretation. The diffusion tensor is calculated as an integral of the velocity autocorrelation function. The mobility tensor is related to the diffusion tensor via the Einstein relation for degenerate statistics. We demonstrate the importance of degeneracy effects by evaluating the low-field mobility in contemporary field-effect transistors with a thin silicon body. We show that degeneracy effects are essential for the correct interpretation of experimental mobility data for field effect transistors in single-and double-gate operation mode. In double-gate structures with (100) crystal orientation of the silicon film degeneracy effects lead to an increased occupation of the higher subbands. This opens an additional channel for elastic scattering. Increased intersubband scattering compensates the volume inversion induced effect on the mobility enhancement and leads to an overall decrease in the mobility per channel in doublegate structures

Stochastic Model of the Resistive Switching Mechanism in Bipolar Resistive Random Access Memory: Monte Carlo Simulations”,

Memory is an indispensible important component of any modern integrated circuit. While MOSFET scaling has reached tremendous advances, semiconductor memory scaling is lagging behind. Standard DRAM cell scaling is hampered by the presence of a capacitor which is difficult to reduce in size. Z-RAM uses a bitcell composed of a single transistor without a capacitor (1T/0C) (&quot;Z&quot; stands for Zero capacitor), unlike traditional one transistor plus one capacitor (1T/1C) DRAM bitcells. The advanced Z-RAM bitcells built on a multiple-gate MOSFET (MuGFET), where the parasitic bipolar transistor [1] is utilized, which exists in SOI MOSFETs. The current flows through the body of the structure and is thus much increased. The majority carriers generated due to impact ionization are stored under the gates. The stored charge offers a good control over the current. The threshold voltage is modified by the stored charge guaranteeing two states of the bipolar transistor with high and low current, correspondingly. The stored charge for the two states is shown in Charge-based memories including flash are, however, gradually approaching the physical limits of scalability, and the search for new nonvolatile memory concepts has significantly accelerated. Several new memory structures as potential substitutes of the flash memory were invented and developed: a technology of phase change RAM (PCRAM), spin transfer torque RAM (STTRAM), carbon nanotube RAM (NRAM), copper bridge RAM (CBRAM), racetrack memory, and resistive RAM (RRAM). A new type of nonvolatile memory must exhibit low operating voltages, low power consumption, high operation speed, long retention time, high endurance, simple structure, and small size. One of the most promising candidates for future universal memory is the resistive random access memory (RRAM) The spin transfer torque random access memory (STTRAM) is another promising candidate for future universal memory. The reduction of the current density required for switching and the increase of the switching speed are among the most important challenges in this area. A decrease in the critical current density for the penta-layer magnetic tunnel junction was reported i

Phonon Driven Nonlinear Electrical Behavior in Molecular Devices

Electronic transport in a model molecular device coupled to local phonon modes is theoretically analyzed. The method allows for obtaining an accurate approximation of the system's quantum state irrespective of the electron and phonon energy scales. Nonlinear electrical features emerge from the calculated current-voltage characteristics. The quantum corrections with respect to the adiabatic limit characterize the transport scenario, and the polaronic reduction of the effective device-lead coupling plays a fundamental role in the unusual electrical features.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Differences in brain transcriptomes of closely related baikal coregonid species

The aim of this work was to get deeper insight into genetic factors involved in the adaptive divergence of closely related species, specifically two representatives of Baikal coregonids—Baikal whitefish (Coregonus baicalensis Dybowski) and Baikal omul (Coregonus migratorius Georgi)—that diverged from a common ancestor as recently as 10–20 thousand years ago. Using the Serial Analysis of Gene Expression method, we obtained libraries of short representative cDNA sequences (tags) from the brains of Baikal whitefish and omul. A comparative analysis of the libraries revealed quantitative differences among ~4% tags of the fishes under study. Based on the similarity of these tags with cDNA of known organisms, we identified candidate genes taking part in adaptive divergence. The most important candidate genes related to the adaptation of Baikal whitefish and Baikal omul, identified in this work, belong to the genes of cell metabolism, nervous and immune systems, protein synthesis, and regulatory genes as well as to DTSsa4 Tc1-like transposons which are widespread among fishes