Gas Sensing with h-BN Capped MoS2 Heterostructure Thin Film Transistors

We have demonstrated selective gas sensing with molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) thin films transistors capped with a thin layer of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). The resistance change was used as a sensing parameter to detect chemical vapors such as ethanol, acetonitrile, toluene, chloroform and methanol. It was found that h-BN dielectric passivation layer does not prevent gas detection via changes in the source-drain current in the active MoS2 thin film channel. The use of h-BN cap layers (thickness H=10 nm) in the design of MoS2 thin film gas sensors improves device stability and prevents device degradation due to environmental and chemical exposure. The obtained results are important for applications of van der Waals materials in chemical and biological sensing.Comment: 3 pages; 4 figure

Two Higgs Bosons at the Tevatron and the LHC?

The best fit to the Tevatron results in the bb channel and the mild excesses at CMS in the gamma-gamma channel at 136 GeV and in the tau-tau channel above 132 GeV can be explained by a second Higgs state in this mass range, in addition to the one at 125 GeV recently discovered at the LHC. We show that a scenario with two Higgs bosons at 125 GeV and 136 GeV can be consistent with practically all available signal rates, including a reduced rate in the tau-tau channel around 125 GeV as reported by CMS. An example in the parameter space of the general NMSSM is given where, moreover, the signal rates of the 125 GeV Higgs boson in the gamma-gamma channels are enhanced relative to the expectation for a SM Higgs boson of this mass.Comment: 13 pages, 4 Table

Magnetization Losses in Multifilament Coated Superconductors

We report the results of a study of the magnetization losses in experimental multifilament, as well as control (uniform), coated superconductors exposed to time-varying magnetic field of various frequencies. Both the hysteresis loss, proportional to the sweep rate of the applied magnetic field, and the coupling loss, proportional to the square of the sweep rate, have been observed. A scaling is found that allows us to quantify each of these contributions and extrapolate the results of the experiment beyond the envelope of accessible field amplitude and frequency. The combined loss in the multifilament conductor is reduced by about 90% in comparison with the uniform conductor at full field penetration at sweep rate as high as 3T/s

Electron-Phonon Coupling Origin of the resistivity in YNi_{2}B_{2}C Single Crystals

Resistivity measurements from 4.2 K up to 300 K were made on YNi_{2}B_{2}C single crystals with Tc=15.5 K. The resulting rho(T) curve shows a perfect Bloch-Grueneisen (BG) behavior, with a very small residual resistivity which indicates the low impurity content and the high cristallographic quality of the samples. The value lambda_{tr}=0.53 for the transport electron-phonon coupling constant was obtained by using the high-temperature constant value of d(rho)/dT and the plasma frequency reported in literature. The BG expression for the phononic part of the resistivity rho_{ph}(T) was then used to fit the data in the whole temperature range, by approximating alpha^{2}_{tr}F(Omega) with the experimental phonon spectral density G(Omega) multiplied by a two-step weighting function to be determined by the fit. The resulting fitting curve perfectly agrees with the experimental points. We also solved the real-axis Eliashberg equations in both s- and d-wave symmetries under the approximation alpha^{2}F(Omega)= alpha^{2}_{tr}F(Omega). We found that the value of lambda_{tr} here determined in single-band approximation is quite compatible with Tc and the gap Delta experimentally observed. Finally, we calculated the normalized tunneling conductance, whose comparison with break-junction tunnel data gives indication of the possible s-wave symmetry for the order parameter in YNi_{2}B_{2}C.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures. Proceedings of SATT10 Conference, to be published in Int. J. Mod. Phys.

Bank ownership, privatization, and performance: evidence from a transition country

This paper combines the static effect of ownership and the dynamic effect of privatization on bank performance in China over 1995-2010, reporting a significantly higher performance by private intermediaries – joint stock commercial banks and city commercial banks – relative to state-owned commercial banks. However, publicly traded banks, subject to multiple monitoring and vetting in capital markets, perform better regardless of ownership status. The privatization of banks has improved performance with respect to revenue inflow and efficiency gains in the short- or long-run (initial public offerings). The positive long-run effect is more relevant and significant for banking institutions with minority foreign ownership. Moreover, this paper innovatively estimates interest income efficiency and non-interest income efficiency at the same time. The results suggest that Chinese banks are much more efficient in generating interest income than raising non-interest revenue, although the latter aspect has improved significantly during the sample period

Shot Noise in Magnetic Tunnel Junctions: Evidence for Sequential Tunneling

We report the experimental observation of sub-Poissonian shot noise in single magnetic tunnel junctions, indicating the importance of tunneling via impurity levels inside the tunnel barrier. For junctions with weak zero-bias anomaly in conductance, the Fano factor (normalized shot noise) depends on the magnetic configuration being enhanced for antiparallel alignment of the ferromagnetic electrodes. We propose a model of sequential tunneling through nonmagnetic and paramagnetic impurity levels inside the tunnel barrier to qualitatively explain the observations.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure