Size effect and the quadratic temperature dependence of the transverse magnetoresistivity in "size-effect" tungsten single crystals

The transverse magnetoresistivity of pure tungsten single crystals with a residual resistivity ratio ρ293K/ρ4.2K of about 75000 was measured from 4.2 to 20 K and in magnetic fields of up to 15 T. The size effect, i.e. the linear dependence of the magnetoconductivity on the inverse cross sample dimensions, was studied in detail at high fields. We show that the size effect can be used for the separation of the contributions from the electron-surface and the electron-phonon scattering mechanisms to the full conductivity. We demonstrate that the electron-phonon scattering leads to the exponential temperature dependence of the conductivity, and the interference between the electron-phonon and the electron-surface processes leads to a new scattering mechanism "electron-phonon-surface" with a quadratic temperature dependence of the magnetoconductivity. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd

The universal functorial equivariant Lefschetz invariant

We introduce the universal functorial equivariant Lefschetz invariant for endomorphisms of finite proper G-CW-complexes, where G is a discrete group. We use K_0 of the category of "phi-endomorphisms of finitely generated free RPi(G,X)-modules". We derive results about fixed points of equivariant endomorphisms of cocompact proper smooth G-manifolds.Comment: 33 pages; shortened version of the author's PhD thesis, supervised by Wolfgang Lueck, Westfaelische Wilhelms-Universitaet Muenster, 200

Hot-carrier-induced deep-level defects from gated-diode measurements on MOSFETs

The reverse-bias current in the gated-diode configuration of hot-carrier degraded MOS devices was measured. It is shown that interface defects created by the degradation contribute predominantly to the generation current. The spatial distribution of the deep-level defects was obtained by means of device simulation

The 'gated-diode' configuration in MOSFET's, a sensitive tool for characterizing hot-carrier degradation

This paper describes a new measurement technique, the forward gated-diode current characterized at low drain voltages to be applied in MOSFET's for investigating hot-carrier stress-induced defects at high spatial resolution. The generation/recombination current in the drain-to-substrate diode as a function of gate voltage, combined with two-dimensional numerical simulation, provides a sensitive tool for detecting the spatial distribution and density of interface defects. In the case of strong accumulation, additional information is obtained from interband tunneling processes occurring via interface defects. The various mechanisms for generating interface defects and fixed charges at variable stress conditions are discussed, showing that information complementary to that available from other methods is obtaine

Upper limits on stray force noise for LISA

We have developed a torsion pendulum facility for LISA gravitational reference sensor ground testing that allows us to put significant upper limits on residual stray forces exerted by LISA-like position sensors on a representative test mass and to characterize specific sources of disturbances for LISA. We present here the details of the facility, the experimental procedures used to maximize its sensitivity, and the techniques used to characterize the pendulum itself that allowed us to reach a torque sensitivity below 20 fNm /sqrt{Hz} from 0.3 to 10 mHz. We also discuss the implications of the obtained results for LISA.Comment: To be published in Classical and Quantum Gravity, special issue on Amaldi5 2003 conference proceedings (10 pages, 6 figures

Solid state crystal physics at very low temperatures

The properties of nearly perfect crystals was studied at cryogenic temperatures. A large Helium 3 and Helium 4 dilution refrigerator has been assembled, and is described. A cryostat suitable for cooling a 35 liter volume to .020 Kelvin was designed and constructed, together with instrumentation to observe the properties of nearly perfect crystals

Four-terminal resistance of an interacting quantum wire with weakly invasive contacts

We analyze the behavior of the four-terminal resistance, relative to the two-terminal resistance of an interacting quantum wire with an impurity, taking into account the invasiveness of the voltage probes. We consider a one-dimensional Luttinger model of spinless fermions for the wire. We treat the coupling to the voltage probes perturbatively, within the framework of non-equilibrium Green function techniques. Our investigation unveils the combined effect of impurities, electron-electron interactions and invasiveness of the probes on the possible occurrence of negative resistance.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure