Electroless plating of copper on polyimide films modified by surface-initiated atom-transfer radical polymerization of 4-vinylpyridine

Surface modification of polyimide (PI) films were first carried out by chloromethylation under mild conditions, followed by surface-initiated atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of 4-vinylpyridine (4VP) from the chloromethylated PI surfaces. The composition and topography of the PI surfaces modified by poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. The P4VP brushes with well-preserved pyridine groups on the PI surface was used not only as the chemisorption sites for the palladium complexes without prior sensitization by SnCl₂ solution during the electroless plating of copper, but also as an adhesion promotion layer to enhance the adhesion of the electrolessly deposited copper to the PI surfaces. The T-peel adhesion strength of the electrolessly deposited copper on the modified PI surface could reach about 6.6 N/cm. Effects of the polymerization time and the activation time in the PdCl₂ solution on the T-peel adhesion strength of the electrolessly deposited copper in the Sn-free process to the modified PI surface were also studied.     

Preparation of well-defined polymer-silicon wafer hybrids via surface-initiated RAFT-mediated process

A simple method was developed for the immobilization of reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) initiators on the silicon surface. Well-defined polymer-silicon hybrids, including the tethered brushes of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) polymer, poly(ethylene glycol) monomethacrylate (PEGMA) polymer and block copolymer on a silicon wafer, were prepared via surface-initiated RAFT living radical polymerization. The “living” chain ends were used as the macroinitiator for the subsequent synthesis of diblock copolymers.     

In situ monitoring of ZnO formation by photoemission spectroscopy

Exposure of a clean Zn metal to oxygen in ultra high vacuum provides a mean to gradually form ZnO. With in situ synchrotron photoelectron measurement, the progressive change in the spectra with the oxygen exposure time is observed. The analysis of the spectra allows the determination of ZnO formation. It was found that the oxidation process takes place until reaching the critical thickness, at which the oxidation rate reduces greatly to nearly zero. The critical thickness was determined to be about 2 monolayers.     

Exact solutions of the Fokker-Planck equations with moving boundaries

By means of time-dependent similarity transformations, we derive exact solutions of the Fokker-Planck equations with moving boundaries in the presence of: (1) a time-dependent linear force and (2) a time-dependent nonlinear force. The method of similarity transformation is simple and can be easily applied to more general Fokker-Planck equations. Furthermore, the knowledge of the exact solutions in closed form can be useful as a benchmark to test approximate numerical or analytical procedures.     

Lévy processes and Schrödinger equation

We analyze the extension of the well known relation between Brownian motion and the Schrödinger equation to the family of the Lévy processes. We consider a Lévy-Schrödinger equation where the usual kinetic energy operator-the Laplacian-is generalized by means of a selfadjoint, pseudodifferential operator whose symbol is the logarithmic characteristic of an infinitely divisible law. The Lévy-Khintchin formula shows then how to write down this operator in an integro-differential form. When the underlying Lévy process is stable we recover as a particular case the fractional Schrödinger equation. A few examples are finally given and we find that there are physically relevant models-such as a form of the relativistic Schrödinger equation-that are in the domain of the non stable Lévy-Schrödinger equations.     

Granger causality and contiguity between stochastic processes

Although according to many econometricians the definition of causality proposed by Granger differs from other definitions of causation in the philosophy of science, in this Letter we argue that it is not completely lacking in philosophical legitimacy. We attempt to shed new light on the nexus between Granger causality and the concept of contiguity. In particular, we prove that the existence of a Granger causal link between two stochastic processes requires that these be “contiguous” or that there exist a chain of processes, one contiguous to the next, which link the two processes.     

Surface chemistry and optimization of focused ion beam iodine-enhanced etching of indium phosphide

Focused ion beam physical sputtering and iodine-enhanced etching of indium phosphide (InP) were performed. Up to 15× enhanced etching rates over sputtering were measured at room temperature, due to the addition of iodine to the sputter-process. Reaction mechanisms and products are discussed and characterized. The reaction is limited by the desorption of indium triiodide (InI₃) at room temperature. InI₃ has to be removed by sputtering, which simultaneously amorphizes the underlying substrate. Surface roughness and stoichiometry of InP are compared for sputtering and etching. Gallium-contamination and the damaged zone in InP are significantly reduced by iodine-enhanced etching. Based on the reaction mechanisms, an optimum beam scanning strategy is proposed which allows precise microfabrication in reduced time and minimizes damage to the substrate. The method is also applicable for other halide gas etching processes of III-V semiconductors.     

Optimal trading strategies for Itô diffusion processes

In this paper we present a method for determining optimal trading strategies for Itô diffusion processes. By framing the problem in terms of the first passage time for the process we derive distribution and density functions for the trade length and use these functions to calculate the expected trading frequency for the strategy. The expected value and the variance of the rate of profit are obtained as functions of the return per trade and trading frequency. We present two measures for trade drawdown which may be used as constraints when determining an optimal strategy. The optimal strategy is calculated for the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process by maximising the expected rate of profit.     

Noise-induced coupling and phase transition in initially homogeneous bistable system

We show that a colored spatial noise induces a heterogeneous behavior and coupling of initially uncoupled single bistable units. A formal approximation reduces a non-Markovian stochastic process described by the initial set of equations into Markovian process in terms of Langevin equation, for which a simple piecewise linear emulation was used to represent the nonlinear deterministic force. It turned out that the coupling leads to a phase transition due to the noise-induced diffusive term. As an example, a typical bistable noisy system with symmetric double-well potential was studied.     

Defect-induced transitions in synchronous asymmetric exclusion processes

The effects of a single local defect in synchronous asymmetric exclusion processes are investigated via theoretical analysis and Monte Carlo simulations. Our theoretical analysis shows that there are four possible stationary phases, i.e., the (low density, low density), (low density, high density), (high density, low density) and (high density, high density) in the system. In the (high density, low density) phase, the system can reach a maximal current which is determined by the local defect, but independent of boundary conditions. A phenomenological domain wall approach is developed to predict dynamic behavior at phase boundaries. The effects of defective hopping probability p on density profiles and currents are investigated. Our investigation shows that the value of p determines phase transitions when entrance rate α and exit rate β are fixed. Density profiles and currents obtained from theoretical calculations are in agreement with Monte Carlo simulations.     

Development of the reaction time accelerating molecular dynamics method for simulation of chemical reaction

We present a novel and efficient method to integrate chemical reactions into molecular dynamics to simulate chemical reaction systems. We have dubbed this method RTAMD, an acronym for reaction time accelerating molecular dynamics. The methodology we propose here requires no more than the knowledge of the empirical intermolecular potentials for the species at play as well as the elementary reaction path among them. Bond formation during the simulation is performed by changing the inter-atomic potentials from those of the non-bonded species to those of the bonded ones, and a reaction is deemed to occur by the distance separating the bond forming atoms. In this way the energy barrier for a reaction is no longer considered; the estimation of the reaction rate, however, is possible by introducing the principles of the transition state theory. The simplicity of the present scheme to simulate chemical reactions enables it to be used in large-scale MD simulations involving a large number of simultaneous chemical reactions and to evaluate kinetic parameters. In this paper, the basic theory of the method is presented and application to simple equiatomic reaction system where the reaction rates were estimated was illustrated.     

Numerical investigations of discrete scale invariance in fractals and multifractal measures

Fractals and multifractals and their associated scaling laws provide a quantification of the complexity of a variety of scale invariant complex systems. Here, we focus on lattice multifractals which exhibit complex exponents associated with observable log-periodicity. We perform detailed numerical analyses of lattice multifractals and explain the origin of three different scaling regions found in the moments. A novel numerical approach is proposed to extract the log-frequencies. In the non-lattice case, there is no visible log-periodicity, i.e., no preferred scaling ratio since the set of complex exponents spreads irregularly within the complex plane. A non-lattice multifractal can be approximated by a sequence of lattice multifractals so that the sets of complex exponents of the lattice sequence converge to the set of complex exponents of the non-lattice one. An algorithm for the construction of the lattice sequence is proposed explicitly.     

Electron beam physical vapor deposition of YSZ electrolyte coatings for SOFCs

YSZ electrolyte coatings were prepared by electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) at a high deposition rate of up to 1 μm/min. The YSZ coating consisted of a single cubic phase and no phase transformation occurred after annealing treatment at 1000 °C. A typical columnar structure was observed in this coating by SEM and feather-like characteristics appeared in every columnar grain. In columnar grain boundaries there were many micron-sized gaps and pores. In TEM image, many white lines were found, originating from the alignment of nanopores existing within feather-like columnar grains. The element distribution along the cross-section of the coating was homogeneous except Zr with a slight gradient. The coating exhibited a characteristic anisotropic behavior in electrical conductivity. In the direction perpendicular to coating surface the electrical conductivity was remarkably higher than that in the direction parallel to coating surface. This mainly attributed to the typical columnar structure for EB-PVD coating and the existence of many grain boundaries along the direction parallel to coating surface. For as-deposited coating, the gas permeability coefficient of 9.78 × 10⁻⁵ cm⁴ N⁻¹ s⁻¹ was obtained and this value was close to the critical value of YSZ electrolyte layer required for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) operation.     

Stochastic analysis of an agent-based model

We analyze the dynamics of a forecasting game that exhibits the phenomenon of information cascades. Each agent aims at correctly predicting a binary variable and he/she can either look for independent information or herd on the choice of others. We show that dynamics can be analytically described in terms of a Langevin equation and its collective behavior is described by the solution of a Kramers’ problem. This provides very accurate results in the region where the vast majority of agents herd, that corresponds to the most interesting one from a game theoretic point of view.     

A long-range memory stochastic model of the return in financial markets

We present a nonlinear stochastic differential equation (SDE) which mimics the probability density function (PDF) of the return and the power spectrum of the absolute return in financial markets. Absolute return as a measure of market volatility is considered in the proposed model as a long-range memory stochastic variable. The SDE is obtained from the analogy with an earlier proposed model of trading activity in the financial markets and generalized within the nonextensive statistical mechanics framework. The proposed stochastic model generates time series of the return with two power law statistics, i.e., the PDF and the power spectral density, reproducing the empirical data for the one-minute trading return in the NYSE.     

Incomplete normalization of probability on multifractals

This work is an extension of the incomplete probability theory from the simple case of monofractals previously studied to the more general case of multifractals that can occur in the phase space without equiprobable partition.     

Angle-of-arrival variance’s dependence on the aperture size for indoor convective turbulence

We analyze the angle-of-arrival variance of an expanded and collimated laser beam once it has traveled through an indoor convective turbulence. A continuous position detector is set at the focus of a lens collecting the laser beam. The effect of the different turbulent scales, between the inner and the outer scales, is studied by changing the diameter of a circular pupil before the collector lens. The experimental optical setup follows the design introduced by Masciadri and Vernin [Appl. Opt., 36(6) (1997) 1320]. Tilt data measurements are studied using the fractional Brownian motion model for the turbulent wave-front phase introduced in a previous paper [Pérez et al., J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 21(10) (2004) 1962]. The Hurst exponents associated to different strengths of turbulence are obtained from the here proposed D^2H−2 dependence.     

Fabrication of micro-structure on glass surface using micro-indentation and wet etching process

In order to improve the new micro-fabrication technology using micro-indentation and wet etching, in which the etching rate drastically decrease at the indented area and consequently micro-structure can be formed on the glass surface, the effect of the applying load on the etching rate change was investigated. The extent of the etching rate change was found to be almost constant irrespective of the amount of the applying load. Therefore, the height of the structure could be controlled simply by the etching depth as far as the densified portion remains beneath the glass surface. And some example micro-patterns were fabricated in this process. Various kinds of indentation methods were employed, including scanning a pointed tool under a load and wet abrasive blast. The patterns can be freely drawn by the use of numerical control (NC) machine. Mold pattern can be also applied, which enables drawing many lines simultaneously. In every method, the heights of the patterns were confirmed to be very uniform. This new type of the micro-fabrication method was referred to as “SMIL (Stress Masked Image Lithography)”.     

Asymmetric coupling in two-lane simple exclusion processes: Effect of unequal injection rates

This Letter investigates the effect of unequal injection rates on two-lane simple exclusion processes with asymmetric coupling. It is a generalization of the work of Pronina and Kolomeisky [E. Pronina, A.B. Kolomeisky, Physica A 372 (2006) 12], in which the injection rates of two lanes are equal. With the injection rate α₁ increases, the (1,LD), (1,HD), (1,MC) and (MC,MC) phase region do not change, while the (LD,0) phase regions shrink and the (HD,0) and (MC,0) phase regions expand. Interestingly, domain walls are observed in both lanes when the system is in the (MC,MC) phase. However, the unequal injection rates have little effect on the domain wall dynamics. The phase diagram and the density profiles are investigated by using Monte Carlo simulations and mean-field approximation. The analytical results are in good agreement with simulations.