Physical processes of current gain in InAs bipolar junction transistors

InAs bipolar junction transistors (BJTs), grown by molecular beam epitaxy, are reported with common emitter current gains (β's) as large as 400. The factors affecting the common emitter current gain have been studied by estimating the magnitudes of the base transport factor (α_T) and emitter injection efficiency (γ). This has been accomplished by studying a sequence of InAs BJTs with varying emitter doping densities, N_E. Minority carrier diffusion length in the base (L_B), α_T, and γ have been extracted from measured electrical characteristics. The results of the study of these InAs BJTs are as follows: L_B≈0.4 μm, α_T≈98% and γ ranges from 92% to nearly 100% depending on N_E. This knowledge of the magnitudes of the injection efficiencies suggests when it would be useful to move from the simple BJT structure to the more advanced heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) structure. Lower γ BJTs would be improved, however high-γ BJTs would benefit little, by the use of the widegap emitters of HBTs. The method developed here to estimate γ, α_T and L_B is not specific to InAs BJTs, but should be useful for study of BJTs and HBTs in any material system.     

Thermal diffusion factors of hydrogenic trace mixtures with helium by column calibration factor

Using column calibration factor (CCF)F _s for a given column, the temperature dependence of experimental thermal diffusion factors α_T of hydrogenic trace mixtures in helium are accurately determined. This study, however, observes the inelastic collision effect in these trace mixtures when α_T by our CCF method are compared with those by the existing methods and theoretical ones respectively.     

An analysis of DC conductivity in terms of degradation mechanisms induced by thermal aging in polypyrrole/polyaniline blends

Measurements of the d.c. electrical conductivity on thermally treated polypyrrole/polyaniline (PPy/PANI) samples, in which the PPy content increased by 10% w.w. starting from pure PANI to pure PPy, followed a σ(t, T) = σ₀(t)exp[−(T₀/T)^1/2] law. This is consistent with a heterogeneous structure of the granular metal type, in which aging is accompanied by the shrinking of the conductive grains causing the decrease of the sample conductivity, a process which is described by the increase of the parameter T₀. The preexponential factor σ₀(t) depends on the intrinsic conductivity of the grains and geometrical factors affecting the carrier paths through the energy barriers, as are the grain size distribution and the mean volume occupied by the conducting grains in the material. It was found that for the samples as a whole the thermal aging law, which predicts ln σ(t, T)∝t^1/2 is followed for a given temperature T, where t is the time of the thermal treatment, in accordance with a granular metal type structure. On the other hand, the preexponential factor σ₀(t) decreases with the aging, following a different law [σ(t = 0, T)−σ(t, T)]/σ(t = 0, T)∝t^1/2, where σ(t = 0, T) is the initial value of σ₀(t), that of the fresh sample. This law reveals an aging caused by a degradation proceeding into the interior of the grains in a diffusion-like manner. So, the two different laws of aging, one from T₀ and the other from σ₀, reveal that the aging does not simply reduce the size of the grains, but affects their interior, this degradation decreases with depth.     

Separation of Anisotropy and Exchange Broadening Using N CSA–N–H Dipole–Dipole Relaxation Cross-Correlation Experiments

Based on the measurement of cross-correlation rates between ¹⁵N CSA and ¹⁵N–¹H dipole–dipole relaxation we propose a procedure for separating exchange contributions to transverse relaxation rates (R₂ = 1/T₂) from effects caused by anisotropic rotational diffusion of the protein molecule. This approach determines the influence of anisotropy and chemical exchange processes independently and therefore circumvents difficulties associated with the currently standard use of T₁/T₂ ratios to determine the rotational diffusion tensor. We find from computer simulations that, in the presence of even small amounts of internal flexibility, fitting T₁/T₂ ratios tends to underestimate the anisotropy of overall tumbling. An additional problem exists when the N–H bond vector directions are not distributed homogeneously over the surface of a unit sphere, such as in helix bundles or β-sheets. Such a case was found in segment 4 of the gelation factor (ABP 120), an F-actin cross-linking protein, in which the diffusion tensor cannot be calculated from T₁/T₂ ratios. The ¹⁵N CSA tensor of the residues for this β-sheet protein was found to vary even within secondary structure elements. The use of a common value for the whole protein molecule therefore might be an oversimplification. Using our approach it is immediately apparent that no exchange broadening exists for segment 4 although strongly reduced T₂ relaxation times for several residues could be mistaken as indications for exchange processes.     

Changes in electrical properties in α- and γ-exposed PADC track detector

The changes in the dielectric properties and temperature dependence of the d.c. conductivity of α-exposed poly allyl diglycol carbonate (PADC) have been studied. On α-irradiation the dielectric constant (′) as a function of frequency has been found to decrease significantly. The temperature dependence of resistivity in pristine and γ-irradiated samples is of the form ρ(T)=ρ_∝ exp(T₀/T) which can be attributed to conduction of thermally generated carriers. In case of (γ+α) irradiated samples the temperature dependence of resistivity is of the form ρ(T)=ρ_∝ exp(T₀/T)^1/2 which is due to one-dimensional hopping of carriers.     

Thermodynamics on noncommutative geometry in coherent state formalism

The thermodynamics of ideal gas on the noncommutative geometry in the coherent state formalism is investigated. We first evaluate the statistical interparticle potential and see that there are residual “attraction (repulsion) potential” between boson (fermion) in the high temperature limit. The characters could be traced to the fact that, the particle with mass m in noncommutative thermal geometry with noncommutativity θ and temperature T will correspond to that in the commutative background with temperature T(1+kTmθ)⁻¹. Such a correspondence implies that the ideal gas energy will asymptotically approach to a finite limiting value as that on commutative geometry at T_θ=(kmθ)⁻¹. We also investigate the squeezed coherent states and see that they could have arbitrary mean energy. The thermal properties of those systems are calculated and compared to each other. We find that the heat capacity of the squeezed coherent states of boson and fermion on the noncommutative geometry have different values, contrast to that on the commutative geometry.     

A theorem for the distribution functions of hard-sphere fluids

The thermal diffusion factor α_T for the gas mixtures N₂-CO₂, Ar-CO and Ar-NO has been measured as functions of temperature and composition by the two-bulb method. As at least one of the components of the mixture is diatomic or triatomic the thermal diffusion factor is likely to be influenced by inelastic collision. The α_T data have been analysed in terms of the available elastic and inelastic theories. The results show the comparatively small effect of inelastic collision on thermal diffusion. The necessity of using more realistic intermolecular potentials to interpret α_T data has been pointed out.     

Electrical transport, magnetic and thermal properties of icosahedral Al–Pd–Mn quasicrystals

We report measurements of electrical resistivity (ρ), Hall coefficient (R_H), magnetization (M) and specific heat (C_p(T)) of high-quality icosahedral Al_70.4Pd_20.8Mn_8.8 phases with different thermal treatment. An improvement in the quasi-crystallinity upon the annealing treatment caused a drastic increase in ρ up to 7000 μΩ cm accompanied by a very small electronic specific heat coefficient γ. The low temperature ρ(T) data has been analyzed in terms of weak localization and electron–electron interaction effects. The Hall resistivity (ρ_H) is found to be strongly temperature-dependent and varies linearly with the magnetization (M) for the same field and temperature. Magnetization measurement reveals that more conductive samples are more magnetic and vice versa. Magnetic susceptibility (χ) data of all the annealed samples agrees with the Curie–Weiss-like behavior implying the existence of localized moments. The negative Curie–Weiss temperature (θ) indicates strong antiferromagnetic coupling between individual Mn atoms. The magnetic Mn concentration is found to be small, ranging from 1.73×10^-4 for the less magnetic sample studied up to 3×10^-3 for the more magnetic one. The small electronic specific heat coefficient obtained for all the samples suggests a significant reduction in the electronic density of states (DOS) at the Fermi level (E_F) upon thermal annealing treatment.     

Preparation of α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles by high-energy ball milling

α-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles were prepared by high-energy ball milling using α-FeOOH as raw materials. The prepared samples were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential thermal analysis–thermogravimetric analysis (DTA–TGA). The results showed that after 90 h milling α-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles were obtained, and the particle size is about 20 nm. The mechanism of reaction during milling is supposed that the initial α-FeOOH powder turned smaller and smaller by the high-speed collision during ball milling, later these particles turned to be superparamagnetic, at last these superparamagnetic α-FeOOH particles were dehydrated and transformed into α-Fe₂O₃.     

Determining NMR flow propagator moments in porous rocks without the influence of relaxation

Flow propagators, used for the study of advective motion of brine solution in porous carbonate and sandstone rocks, have been obtained without the influence of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) relaxation times, T₁ and T₂. These spin relaxation mechanisms normally result in a loss of signal that varies depending on the displacement ζ of the flowing spins, thereby preventing the acquisition of quantitative propagator data. The full relaxation behaviour of the system under flow needs to be characterised to enable the implementation of a true quantitative measurement. Two-dimensional NMR correlations of ζ − T₂ and T₁ − T₂ are used in combination to provide the flow propagators without relaxation weighting. T₁ − ζ correlations cannot be used due to the loss of T₁ information during the displacement observation time Δ. Here the moments of the propagators are extracted by statistical analysis of the full propagator shape. The measured displacements (first moments) are seen to correlate with the expected mean displacements for long observation times Δ. The higher order moments of the propagators determined by this method indicate those obtained previously using a correction were overestimated.     

Electron heating in a submicron-size n GaAs wire

We have studied electron heating in a submicron-size GaAs wire from 4.2 K to 50 K. We find that the energy relaxation rate for the electrons is of the form τ_E⁻¹ = α + βT_eⁿ where α, β are constants and T_e is the electron temperature. We associate the temperature-independent term with a quasi-elastic surface scattering process in which an electron losses 1% of its energy at each collision. The temperature dependent term may be due to electron-phonon scattering. It is possible to fit the data to 2 < n < 3.     

Law of corresponding states and thermal-diffusion factor of He-Ar mixtures from two-bulb measurements

Experimental data of the thermal diffusion factor for low density He-Ar mixtures are given. The measurement apparatus is a two-bulb operated at T_H = 308 K and T_C = 77.6 K, the mean temperature being T = 148 K. It is concluded that the extended law of corresponding states proposed by Kestin, Ro and Wakeham is able to predict in a correct way the obtained results.     

Thermal property of binary tetrahedral semiconductors

In this paper we present an expression relating the lattice thermal expansion coefficient α_L (10⁻⁶ K⁻¹) for the A^IIIB^V and A^IIB^VI semiconductors with the product of ionic charges (Z₁Z₂), melting temperature (T_m) and nearest neighbor distance d (Å). The lattice thermal expansion coefficient of these compounds exhibit a linear relationship when plotted on a log–log scale against the melting temperature (T_m), but fall on different straight lines according to the ionic charge product of the compounds. A good agreement has been found between the experimental and calculated values of the lattice thermal expansion coefficient for A^IIIB^V and A^IIB^VI semiconductors.     

The reaction of CH3 + O2: experimental determination of the rate coefficients for the product channels at high temperatures

The reaction of methyl radicals (CH₃) with molecular oxygen (O₂) has been investigated in high-temperature shock tube experiments. The overall rate coefficient, k₁ = k_1a + k_1b, and individual rate coefficients for the two high-temperature product channels, (1a) producing CH₃O + O and (1b) producing CH₂O + OH, were determined using ultra-lean mixtures of CH₃I and O₂ in Ar/He. Narrow-linewidth UV laser absorption at 306.7 nm was used to measure OH concentrations, for which the normalized rise time is sensitive to the overall rate coefficient k₁ but relatively insensitive to the branching ratio of the individual channels and to secondary reactions. Atomic resonance absorption spectroscopy measurements of O-atoms were used for a direct measurement of channel (1a). Through the combination of measurements using the two different diagnostics, rate coefficient expressions for both channels were determined. Over the temperature range 1590–2430 K, k_1a = 6.08 × 10⁷T^1.54 exp (−14005/T) cm³ mol⁻¹ s⁻¹ and k_1b = 68.6 T^2.86 exp (−4916/T) cm³ mol⁻¹ s⁻¹. The overall rate coefficient is in close agreement with a recent ab initio calculation and one other shock tube study, while comparison of k_1a and k_1b to these and other experimental studies yields mixed results. In contrast to one recent experimental study, reaction (1b) is found to be the dominant channel over the entire experimental temperature range.     

Influence of isotopic substitution on the diffusion and thermal diffusion coefficient of binary liquids

The mutual mass diffusion coefficient (D) and the thermal diffusion coefficient ( D _T) of the liquids acetone, benzene, benzene-d ₁, benzene-d ₃, benzene-d ₅, benzene-d ₆, benzene- ¹³C₆, n-hexane, toluene, 1, 2, 3, 4-tetrahydronaphtalene, isobutylbenzene, and 1, 6-dibromohexane in protonated and perdeuterated cyclohexane have been measured with a transient holographic grating technique at a temperature of 25 ^°C. The mass diffusion coefficient shows a pronounced concentration dependence. Perdeuteration of cyclohexane only leads to marginal changes of the mass diffusion coefficient. The Stokes-Einstein equation describes the limiting tracer diffusion coefficients well if the solute molecule is smaller than the solvent. It is not capable to describe the small isotope effect of a few percent. On the other hand, the isotope effect, which is independent of concentration, is in agreement with the Enskog theory, that does not provide the absolute value of the mass diffusion coefficient of the liquid mixtures. The thermal diffusion coefficient of all the binary mixtures shows a moderate and almost linear concentration dependence. Its isotope effect, which is the change of D _T upon deuteration of cyclohexane, varies with mole fraction. The thermophoretic force acting on any tracer molecule in cyclohexane changes by the same amount when cyclohexane is perdeuterated, irrespective of the magnitude of the thermophoretic force before deuteration. This change of the thermophoretic force is equal but of opposite sign to the difference between the thermophoretic forces acting on cyclohexane and perdeuterated cyclohexane as tracers in any of the above liquids.     

Eley–Rideal reaction dynamics between O atoms on β-cristobalite (1 0 0) surface: A new interpolated potential energy surface and classical trajectory study

We present a theoretical study of the collisions of atomic oxygen with O-precovered β-cristobalite (1 0 0) surface. We have constructed a multidimensional potential energy surface for the O₂/β-cristobalite (1 0 0) system based mainly on a dense grid of density functional theory points by using the interpolation corrugation-reducing procedure. Classical trajectories have been computed for quasithermal (100–1500 K) and state-specific (e.g., collision energies between 0.01 and 4 eV) conditions of reactants for different O incident angles (θ_v). Atomic sticking and O_2(adsorbed) formation are the main processes, although atomic reflection and Eley–Rideal (ER) reaction (i.e., O₂ gas) are also significant, depending their reaction probabilities on the O incident angle. ER reaction is enhanced by temperature increase, with an activation energy derived from the atomic recombination coefficient (γ_O(θ_v = 0°, T)) equal to 0.24 ± 0.02 eV within the 500–1500 K range, in close agreement with experimental data. Calculated γ_O(θ_v = 0°, T) values compare quite well with available experimental γ_O(T) although a more accurate calculation is proposed. Chemical energy accommodation coefficient β_O(T) is also discussed as a function of ER and other competitive contributions.     

Non-ideal behavior of mixed micelles of cationic gemini surfactants with varying spacer length and anionic surfactants: A conductimetric study

Mixtures of cationic and anionic surfactants (catanionic mixtures) are often highly non-ideal, exhibiting strong synergism in their interfacial properties, manifested for instance in significant reduction of the mixture critical micelle concentration (cmc) and enhanced adsorption onto surfaces. The magnitude of such effects is of fundamental interest and has important application-related uses (e.g. in detergent formulation). In this work, the micellization process of mixtures of cationic gemini surfactants of the alkanediyl-α,ω-bis(alkyl dimethylammonium bromide) type, denoted by 12–n–12 (where n is the spacer length), with several common anionic surfactants has been investigated by electric conductivity. For the purpose of comparison, cationic–cationic mixtures, where dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide is the second cationic surfactant, have also been investigated. The cationic/anionic mixtures show relatively significant deviations from ideal behavior, depending on the structure of the gemini surfactant and the anionic surfactant. The interaction parameter β₁₂, within Rubingh's non-ideal model for mixed micelles, has been calculated for each mixture, as well as the mixed micelle composition as a function of mixture composition. The observed synergism in the different mixtures is interpreted in terms of the molecular structure of the surfactants and corresponding head–head and chain–chain interactions.     

Correlation between the Soret coefficient and the static structure factor in a polymer blend

Mutual mass diffusion and thermal diffusion has been investigated in poly(dimethylsiloxane)/ poly(ethylmethylsiloxane) (PDMS/PEMS) polymer blends of equal weight fractions. Molar masses ranged from below 1 to over 20 kg/mol. Both the mutual mass (D) and the thermal diffusion (D_T) coefficient contain a thermally activated factor with an activation temperature of 1415 K. The molar mass dependence of D_T is due to an end-group effect of the local friction coefficient. The thermal diffusion coefficient in the limit of long chains and infinite temperature is D_T^0, = - 1.69×10^-7cm²(sK)^-1. The Soret coefficient S_T of blends far enough away from a critical point is proportional to the static structure factor S(q = 0).     

NMR relaxation times and proton motion in HxWO3

The relaxation timesT ₁,T _1q,T _1D, andT ₂ for¹H in the tetragonal-A phase of H_xWO₃ have been measured over the temperature range 190 to 490 K. The¹H relaxation behaviour appears to be governed by diffusion over inequivalent jump distances, approximating to a short range planar diffusion and a long range isotropic diffusion. Parameters for the latter motion are estimated asE _a = 68 kJ/mol and ₀=2.5×10^–13 s. The powder X-ray diffraction pattern for this phase of H_xWO₃ has been studied over the temperature range 300–470 K. The tetragonal distortion diminishes with temperature and H_0.43 WO₃ becomes cubic at about 435 K. Volumetric studies of hydrogen evolution show that decomposition accelerates at approximately this temperature.