Noise-assisted mound coarsening in epitaxial growth

Two types of mechanisms are proposed for mound coarsening during unstable epitaxial growth: stochastic, due to deposition noise, and deterministic, due to mass currents driven by surface energy differences. Both yield the relation H=(RWL)² between the typical mound height W, mound size L, and the film thickness H. An analysis of simulations and experimental data shows that the parameter R saturates to a value which discriminates sharply between stochastic () and deterministic () coarsening. We derive a scaling relation between the coarsening exponent 1/z and the mound-height exponent which, for a saturated mound slope, yields . Received: 11 November 1997 / Revised in final form: 28 November 1997 / Accepted: 28 November 1997     

Studies of large scale unstable growth formed during GaAs(001) homoepitaxy

Atomic force and scanning tunneling microscopy studies have been performed on GaAs(001) films grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Multilayered mounds are seen to evolve when the growth conditions favor island nucleation. As the epilayer thickness is increased, these features grow in all dimensions but the angle of inclination remains approximately constant at 1°. The mounding does not occur on surfaces grown in step-flow. We propose that the multi-layered features are due to an unstable growth mode which relies on island nucleation and the presence of a step edge barrier.     

A new three-carbon synthon for efficient synthesis of benzannelated and 1-(2-arylethenyl) heterocycles

The novel three-carbon synthon 1-(1H-1,2, 3-benzotriazol-1-yl)-3-chloroacetone for the synthesis of benzothiazoles, pyrido[1,2-a]indoles, and styryl-substituted indolizines and imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines is reported. The proposed routes are a general and efficient approach for heterocyclizations followed by benzannelations or attachment of arylethenyl pharmacophores.     

A parallel solution-phase synthesis of substituted 3,7-diazabicyclo[3.3.1]nonanes

The parallel solution-phase synthesis of a series of building blocks and combinatorial libraries based on natural bispidine scaffold has been accomplished. Key reactions include catalytic hydrogenation of the (-)-cytisine heterocyclic system, followed by alkali-mediated ring cleavage. Using this approach, a series of new bispidine core building blocks for combinatorial synthesis with three points of diversity were effectively synthesized. The libraries from libraries were then obtained in good yields and purities using solution-phase acylation reactions. Obtained combinatorial libraries of 3,4,7-trisubstituted bispidines are potentially useful in the discovery of novel physiologically active compounds.     

Quantum mechanics and mechanical properties: Towards twenty-first century materials

The use of materials with otherwise attractive properties is often limited by unacceptable mechanical performance. Fortunately, modern processing techniques are sometimes able to overcome such deficiencies, though a systematic and fundamental approach to materials development has yet to be devised. Recent advances in quantum-mechanical computational capabilities have fostered a growing number of applications that bear directly upon the mechanical properties of materials. After a brief discussion of the role of defect structures in mediating deformation behaviour, techniques for computing properties of solids within a quantum-mechanical framework are reviewed. Examples are cited where insight into macroscopic behaviour has been attained from the application of quantum-mechanical calculations to materials of technological importance.