Decomposition model for phonon thermal conductivity of a monatomic lattice

An analytical treatment of decomposition of the phonon thermal conductivity of a crystal with a monatomic unit cell is developed on the basis of a two-stage decay of the heat current autocorrelation function observed in molecular dynamics simulations. It is demonstrated that the contributions from the acoustic short- and long-range phonon modes to the total phonon thermal conductivity can be presented in the form of simple kinetic formulas, consisting of products of the heat capacity and the average relaxation time of the considered phonon modes as well as the square of the average phonon velocity. On the basis of molecular dynamics calculations of the heat current autocorrelation function, this treatment allows for a self-consistent numerical evaluation of the aforementioned variables. In addition, the presented analysis allows, within the Debye approximation, for the identification of the temperature range where classical molecular dynamics simulations can be employed for the prediction of phonon thermal transport properties. As a case example, Cu is considered.     

A nonlinear macroscopic multi-phasic model for describing interactions between solid,fluid and ionic species in biological tissue materials

A nonlinear, macroscopic multi-phasic model for describing the interactions between solid, fluid, and ionic species in porous materials is presented. Governing equations are derived based on the nonlinear theories of solid mechanics, linear flow theory of Newtonian fluids, and theory of irreversible thermodynamics for the transport of ions and ionic solutions. The model shows that the transport coupling between ions and ionic solution exists only when the porous material has a membrane-like feature, which could be inside the material or on the material boundaries. Otherwise, the coupling occurs only between the solid and fluid phases and the transport of ionic species will have no effect on the macroscopic stresses, strains and displacements of the porous material. As an application of the present multi-phasic model, a numerical example of the human cornea under the shock of NaCl hypertonic solution applied to its endothelial surface is presented. This is a typical example of how ionic transport induces swelling in biological tissues. The results obtained from the present multi-phasic model demonstrate that the mechanical properties of the tissue have an important influence on the swelling of the cornea. Without taking into account this influence, the predicted swelling may be exaggerated.     

Bulk properties of the UCoGe Kondo-like system

We report on extensive experimental investigations of a single crystal of the orthorhombic uranium compound UCoGe. Bulk measurements on as-grown and annealed single crystals, recording magnetization, magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity, magnetoresistivity, thermopower, thermal conductivity and heat capacity data do not reproduce the previously reported coexistence of ferromagnetism with superconductivity. The latter phenomenon was only observed for the annealed sample at T _SC = 0.65 K. New observations show a crossover at around 13 K, visible in thermal and transport measurements as well as the coherent state around 50 K, signaled by a wide knee in ρ(T). Above this temperature, UCoGe exhibits a single-ion Kondo-like effect. The magnetoresistivity of the annealed single crystal increases negatively down to 4.2 K, reaching as a large value about ?27% at a field of 8 T. The latter may be interpreted in terms of fairly strong magnetic fluctuations existing in UCoGe at low temperatures.     

Comment on “Role of the velocity frame of reference in thermodiffusion in liquid mixtures” by M. Eslamian,C.G. Jiang and M.Z. Saghir

We analyze the material transport equations (MTE) derived by Eslamian and co-authors and address the criticism expressed regarding the approach formulated in our previous work. In doing so, we show that the MTE formulated by Eslamian and co-authors are valid only in closed stationary non-isothermal systems in combination with the restrictions on the Onsager coefficients formulated in our work which is criticized, and that for non-stationary systems the approach we took can be used.     

Molecular scale electronic devices using single molecules and molecular monolayers

Molecular electronic devices that utilize single molecules or molecular monolayers as active electronic components represent a promising approach in the ongoing miniaturization and integration of electronic devices. Rapid advances in technology have enabled us to engineer molecular electronic devices with diverse functionalities. Significant progress has been made in understanding charge transport in molecular systems at the single-molecule level, and concomitantly, new device concepts have emerged. This review article focuses on experimental aspects of electronic devices made with single molecules or molecular monolayers, with a primary focus on the characterization and manipulation of charge transport.     

Oxide magnetic semiconductors： Materials, properties, and devices

We give a brief introduction to the oxide （ZnO, TiO2, In2O3, SnO2, etc.）-based magnetic semiconductors from fundamental material aspects through fascinating magnetic, transport, and optical properties, particularly at room temperature, to promising device applications. The origin of the observed ferromagnetism is also discussed, with a special focus on first-principles investigations of the exchange interactions between transition metal dopants in oxide-based magnetic semiconductors.     

Spin Chern numbers and time-reversal-symmetry-broken quantum spin Hall effect

The quantum spin Hall （QSH） effect is considered to be unstable to perturbations violating the time-reversal （TR） symmetry. We review some recent developments in the search of the QSH effect in the absence of the TR symmetry. The possibility to realize a robust QSH effect by artificial removal of the TR symmetry of the edge states is explored. As a useful tool to characterize topological phases without the TR symmetry, the spin-Chern number theory is introduced.     

Spin gapless armchair graphene nanoribbons under magnetic field and uniaxial strain

Using Green＇s function method, we investigate the spin transport properties of armchair graphene nanoribbons （AG- NRs） under magnetic field and uniaxial strain. Our results show that it is very difficult to transform narrow AGNRs directly from semiconductor to spin gapless semiconductors （SGS） by applying magnetic fields. However, as a uniaxial strain is exerted on the nanoribbons, the AGNRs can transform to SGS by a small magnetic field. The combination mode be- tween magnetic field and uniaxial strain displays a nonmonotonic arch-pattern relationship. In addition, we find that the combination mode is associated with the widths of nanoribbons, which exhibits group behaviors.     

Thermal recrystallization of physical vapor deposition based germanium thin films on bulk silicon (100)

We demonstrate a simple, low‐cost, and scalable process for obtaining uniform, smooth surfaced, high quality mono‐crystalline germanium (100) thin films on silicon (100). The germanium thin films were deposited on a silicon substrate using plasma‐assisted sputtering based physical vapor deposition. They were crystallized by annealing at various temperatures ranging from 700 °C to 1100 °C. We report that the best quality germanium thin films are obtained above the melting point of germanium (937 °C), thus offering a method for in‐situ Czochralski process. We show well‐behaved high‐κ /metal gate metal–oxide–semiconductor capacitors (MOSCAPs) using this film. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)