Study of HfSiO film prepared by electron beam evaporation for high-k gate dielectric applications

The purpose of this paper is to report some experimental results with HfSiO films formed on silicon substrates by electron beam evaporation (EB-PVD) and annealed at different temperatures. The images of atomic force microscope (AFM) indicated that HfSiO film annealed at 900 °C was still amorphous, with a surface roughness of 0.173 nm. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis revealed that the chemical composition of the film was (HfO₂)₃(SiO₂) and Hf-Si-O bonds existed in the annealed film. Electrical measurements showed that the equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) was 4 nm, the dielectric constant was around 6, the breakdown voltage was 10 MV/cm, the fixed charge density was −1.2 × 10¹² cm⁻², and the leakage current was 0.4 μA/cm² at the gate bias of 2 V for 6 nm HfSiO film. The annealing after deposition effectively reduced trapping density and the leakage current, and eliminated hysteresis in the C-V curves. Annealing also induced SiO₂ growth at the interface.     

19F-NMR进展

19F-NMR技术由于其化学位移范围大、不易出现峰重叠及灵敏度高等优点,自上个世纪50年代出现以来,在分析光学异构体,生命科学等研究中有其特殊意义.在体内核磁共振技术中,19F-NMR与其他方法相比,在不损伤样品的条件下,就可进行实时定量监测.近30年,引人氟代指示剂进行体内19F-NMR的研究,含氟生物活性物质以及含氟材料的研究受到很大的重视,19F-NMR技术及其应用发展起来.从近10年的情况来看,含氟生物活性物质的研究以及在医药、农药和具有优异性能的含氟材料的研究应用受到很大的重视,这是近期19F-NMR研究发展的一个主要特点.     

Aggregation Processes with Catalysis-Driven Decomposition

We propose a three-species aggregation model with catalysis-driven decomposition. Based on the mean-field rate equations, we investigate the evoIution behavior of the system with the size-dependent catalysis-driven decomposition rate J（i; j; k） = Jijk^v and the constant aggregation rates. The results show that the cluster size distribution of the species without decomposition can always obey the conventional scaling law in the case of 0 ≤v ≤ 1, while the kinetic evolution of the decomposed species depends crucially on the index v. Moreover, the total size of the species without decomposition can keep a nonzero value at large times, while the total size of the decomposed species decreases exponentially with time and vanishes finally.     

Analytical expression for the diffraction field of an axicon using the ray-tracing and interference method

We present a simple analytical expression for calculating the vector field distribution behind an axicon using the ray tracing and interference method. This expression can be used for analyzing vector beam propagation throughout the whole space behind the axicon, with any base angle. Using the present analytical expression, we have studied the propagation characteristics of the four kinds of polarizations, linear polarization, left-handed circular polarization (i.e., the radial polarization), right-handed circular polarization, and azimuthal polarization, incident on the axicon. We found that the longitudinally-polarized component has to be considered for a large base angle and high refractive index of axicons, apart from the azimuthally-polarized beam of incidence. PACS 42.15.Dp; 42.60.Jf; 42.25.Hz     

In Situ Monitoring the Photolysis of Fluoranthene Adsorbed on Mangrove Leaves Using Fiber-Optic Fluorimetry

A newly established fiber-optic fluorimetry was used to determine the fluoranthene (Fla) adsorbed on the leaf surfaces of three mangrove species, such as Excoecarla agallocha (Ea), Kandelia candel (Kc) and Aegiceras corniculatum (Ac). With the method, the photolysis of Fla adsorbed on Ea, Kc and Ac leaf surfaces was studied. Under the laboratory conditions, using a high pressure mercury lamp as light source, photolysis was found to be the main transformation pathway for the Fla adsorbed on the three mangrove leaves, whereas disappearance of the adsorbed Fla as a result of volatilization and absorption could be negligible. The photolysis of Fla adsorbed on the three mangrove leaf surfaces followed first-order kinetics with photolysis rates of Fla in the order of Ac > Ea > Kc. The photolysis half lives of Fla adsorbed on the leaves were from 14.32 min to 69.31 min. The different initial concentrations of Fla adsorbed on the selected mangrove leaves did not affect the photolysis rates of Fla. The absorption characteristics of leaf-wax played an important role to influence the different photolysis rates of Fla adsorbed on these three mangrove species.     

The microscopic interaction parameters for Er/Ho energy transfer in tellurite glasses

We investigate the energy transfer between Er³⁺/Ho³⁺ in tellurite glasses. The main channels of energy transfer between Er³⁺/Ho³⁺ are analyzed in detail. The microscopic interaction parameters of resonant and non-resonant (phonon-assisted) energy transfer parameters via Er³⁺→Ho³⁺ are calculated. The result shows that the resonant energy transfers Er³⁺(²H_11/2(⁴S_3/2))→Ho³⁺(⁵F₄(⁵S₂)) and Er³⁺(⁴F_9/2)→Ho³⁺(⁵F₅) are very efficient and non-resonant energy transfers Er³⁺(⁴I_13/2)→Ho³⁺(⁵I₇) and Er³⁺(⁴I_11/2)→Ho³⁺(⁵I₆), which are a phonon-assisted energy transfer process because of energy mismatch are also existed and cannot be neglected.     

A Heterogeneous Agent Herding Model with Time and Space Effect

We propose a heterogeneous agent herding model, in which the agent clusters are in active or inactive states. When agent clusters are in active states, they tend to buy or sell. In active states, an exchange may occur when two heterogeneous agent clusters encounter each other, and they may merge into a bigger one when two homogeneous agent clusters meet. The ratio of successful exchange or merging depends on two parameters： i.e. the reliability κ, reflecting the credible degree in the interacting agent clusters, being the space effect of the market, and the response degree q, reflecting the influence of the former trading to the current action, being the time effect of the market. Our numerical calculation shows that the dynamics of the model exhibits some behaviour very close to real markets when tuning the reliability and the degree of reaction to some specific values.     

Screening and optimization of highly effective ultrasound-assisted simultaneous adsorption of cationic dyes onto Mn-doped Fe3O4-nanoparticle-loaded activated carbon

The ultrasound-assisted simultaneous adsorption of brilliant green (BG) and malachite green (MG) onto Mn-doped Fe₃O₄ nanoparticle-loaded activated carbon (Mn-Fe₃O₄-NP-AC) as a novel adsorbent was investigated and analyzed using first derivative spectrophotometry. The adsorbent was characterized using FT-IR, FE-SEM, EDX and XRD. Plackett–Burman design was applied to reduce the total number of experiments and to optimize the ultrasound-assisted simultaneous adsorption procedure, where pH, adsorbent mass and sonication time (among six tested variables) were identified as the most significant factors. The effects of significant variables were further evaluated by a central composite design under response surface methodology. The significance of independent variables and their interactions was investigated by means of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) within 95% confidence level together with Pareto chart. Using this statistical tool, the optimized ultrasound-assisted simultaneous removal of basic dyes was obtained at 7.0, 0.02 g, 3 min for pH, adsorbent mass, and ultrasonication time, respectively. The maximum values of BG and MG uptake under these experimental conditions were found to be 99.50 and 99.00%, respectively. The adsorption process was found to be followed by the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second order model using equilibrium and kinetic studies, respectively. According to Langmuir isotherm model, the maximum adsorption capacities of the adsorbent were obtained to be 101.215 and 87.566 mg g⁻¹ for MG and BG, respectively. The value of apparent energy of adsorption obtained from non-linear Dubinin–Radushkevich model (4.348 and 4.337 kJ mol⁻¹ for MG and BG, respectively) suggested the physical adsorption of the dyes. The studies on the well regenerability of the adsorbent in addition to its high adsorption capacity make it promising for such adsorption applications.     

Quantum Memory with Natural Inhomogeneous Broadening in an Optical Cavity

We propose an efficient quantum memory scheme with natural inhomogeneous broadening in an asymmetric optical cavity. The scheme uses the strong rephasing pulses like traditional photon echo techniques rather than spectral holeburning, which enables us to have the potential implementation in a much broader range of material systems. In the condition of impedance matching to an optical cavity, we find that the input light pulse can be completely absorbed by an atomic ensemble. We also show that the quantum memory efficiency can be equal to unity even for a small optical depth of the atomic system.     

Fractional Fourier transform of an elliptical dark-hollow beam

The fractional Fourier transform (FRT) of an elliptical dark-hollow beam (EDHB) is studied in detail. Based on the definition of FRT in the rectangular coordinate system, analytical formulae are derived for the FRT of an EDHB with the help of a tensor method. The properties of an EDHB in the FRT plane are illustrated numerically by use of the derived formulae. The results show that the properties of the EDHB in the FRT plane are closely related to the parameters of the beam and to the fractional order. The derived formula provides a convenient way for analyzing and calculating the FRT of an EDHB.