High density Al2O3/TaN-based metal--insulator-- metal capacitors in application to radio frequency integrated circuits

Metal-insulator-metal （MIM） capacitors with atomic-layer-deposited Al2O3 dielectric and reactively sputtered TaN electrodes in application to radio frequency integrated circuits have been characterized electrically. The capacitors exhibit a high density of about 6.05 fF/μm^2, a small leakage current of 4.8 × 10^-8 A/cm^2 at 3 V, a high breakdown electric field of 8.61 MV/cm as well as acceptable voltage coefficients of capacitance （VCCs） of 795 ppm/V2 and 268ppm/V at 1 MHz. The observed properties should be attributed to high-quality Al2O3 film and chemically stable TaN electrodes. Further, a logarithmically linear relationship between quadratic VCC and frequency is observed due to the change of relaxation time with carrier mobility in the dielectric. The conduction mechanism in the high field ranges is dominated by the Poole-Frenkel emission, and the leakage current in the low field ranges is likely to be associated with trap-assisted tunnelling. Meanwhile, the Al2O3 dielectric presents charge trapping under low voltage stresses, and defect generation under high voltage stresses, and it has a hard-breakdown performance.     

Molecular dynamics study of ice structural evolution

Molecular dynamics simulation is employed to study the structural evolution of low density amorphous ice during its compression from one atmosphere to 2.5 GPa. Calculated results show that high density amorphous ice is formed at an intermediate pressure of -1.0 GPa; the O-O-O bond angle ranges from 83° to 113°, and the O-H… O bond is bent from 112° to 160°. Very high density amorphous ice is obtained by quenching to 80 K and decompressing the ice to ambient pressure from 160 K/1.3 GPa or 160 K/1.7 GPa; and the next-nearest O-O length is found to be 0.310 nm, just 0.035 nm beyond the nearest O-O distance of 0.275 nm.     

Noise in a coupling electromagnetic detecting system for high frequency gravitational waves

This paper discusses the basic categories of noise in detecting high frequency gravitational waves in the microwave band (～0.1--10 GHz), which contain shot noise from the laser and the thermal radiation photons, thermal noise from statistical fluctuation of the thermal photons and fluctuation of the temperature, radiation press noise on the fractal membrane, the noise caused by the scattering of the Gaussian Beam (GB) in the detecting tube and noise in the microwave radiometers. The analysis shows that a reasonable signal-to-noise ratio may be achieved for a detecting device with the fixed power of GB (10⁵ W), only when the temperature of the environment is no more than T=1 K, and the optimal length of the microwave radiometers is about 0.3 m.     

Investigations of the electron paramagnetic resonance parameters and the tetragonal local structure for (VCl6)4- coordination complex in MCl:V2+ (M=Na, K, Rb) systems

By simulating the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and optical spectra on the basis of the 120×120 complete energy matrix, this paper determines the local lattice structure parameters R1 and R2 for MCl:V2+ (M=Na, K, Rb) systems at 77 K, 195 K and RT (room temperature 295 K or 302 K), respectively. The theoretical results indicate that there exists a compressed distortion in MCl:V2+ systems. Meanwhile, it finds that the structure parameters R1, R2 and |△R| (= R1-R2) increase with the rising temperature. Subsequently, from the analysis it concludes that the relation of EPR parameter D vs.△R is approximately linear. Finally, the effects of orbital reduction factor k on the g factors for the three systems have been discussed.     

Magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effects in Tb6Co1.67Si3 compound

Magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effects of Tb₆Co_1.67Si₃ have been investigated by magnetization measurement. This compound is of a hexagonal Ce$_{6}$Ni$_{2}$Si$_{3}$-type structure with a saturation magnetization of 187\,emu/g at 5\,K and a reversible second-order magnetic transition at Curie temperature $T_{\rm C} = 186$\,K. A magnetic entropy change $\Delta S = 7$\,J\,$\cdot$\,kg$^{-1}$\,$\cdot$\,K$^{-1}$ is observed for a magnetic field change from 0 to 5\,T. A large value of refrigerant capacity (RC) is found to be 330\,J/kg for fields ranging from 0 to 5\,T. The large RC, the reversible magnetization around $T_{\rm C}$ and the easy fabrication make the Tb₆Co_1.67Si₃ compound a suitable candidate for magnetic refrigerants in a corresponding temperature range.     

Line intensities of the asymptotic asymmetric-top radical HO2 at high temperatures

The total internal partition sums were calculated in the product approximation at temperatures up to 5000\,K for the asymptotic asymmetric-top HO$_{2}$ molecule. The calculations of the rotational partition function and the vibrational partition function were carried out with the rigid-top model and in the harmonic oscillator approximation, respectively. Our values of the total internal partition sums are consistent with the data of HITRAN database with $-$0.14{\%} at 296\,K. Using the calculated partition functions, we have calculated the line intensities of $\nu _{2}$ band of HO$_{2}$ at several high temperatures. The results showed that the calculated line intensities are in very good agreement with those of HITRAN database at temperatures up to 3000\,K, which provides a strong support for the calculations of partition functions and line intensities at high temperatures. Then we have extended the calculation to higher temperatures. The simulated spectra of $\nu_{2}$ band of the asymptotic asymmetric-top HO$_{2}$ molecule at 4000 and 5000\,K are also obtained.     

A simulation study of microstructure evolution during solidification process of liquid metal Ni

A molecular dynamics simulation study has been performed for the microstructure evolution in a liquid metal Ni system during crystallization process at two cooling rates by adopting the embedded atom method (EAM) model potential. The bond-type index method of Honeycutt--Andersen (HA) and a new cluster-type index method (CTIM-2) have been used to detect and analyse the microstructures in this system. It is demonstrated that the cooling rate plays a critical role in the microstructure evolution: below the crystallization temperature $T_{\rm c}$, the effects of cooling rate are very remarkable and can be fully displayed. At different cooling rates of $2.0\times10^{13}$\,K\,$\cdot$\,s$^{-1}$ and $1.0\times10^{12}$\,K\,$\cdot$\,s$^{-1}$, two different kinds of crystal structures are obtained in the system. The first one is the coexistence of the hcp (expressed by (12 0 0 0 6 6) in CTIM-2) and the fcc (12 0 0 0 12 0) basic clusters consisting of 1421 and 1422 bond-types, and the hcp basic cluster becomes the dominant one with decreasing temperature, the second one is mainly the fcc (12 0 0 0 12 0) basic clusters consisting of 1421 bond-type, and their crystallization temperatures $T_{\rm c}$ would be 1073 and 1173\,K, respectively.     

The research on suspended ZnO nanowire field-effect transistor

This paper reports that a novel type of suspended ZnO nanowire field-effect transistors (FETs) were successfully fabricated using a photolithography process, and their electrical properties were characterized by I--V measurements. Single-crystalline ZnO nanowires were synthesized by a hydrothermal method, they were used as a suspended ZnO nanowire channel of back-gate field-effect transistors (FET). The fabricated suspended nanowire FETs showed a p-channel depletion mode, exhibited high on--off current ratio of ～10⁵. When V_DS=2.5 V, the peak transconductances of the suspended FETs were 0.396 μS, the oxide capacitance was found to be 1.547 fF, the pinch-off voltage V_TH was about 0.6 V, the electron mobility was on average 50.17 cm²/Vs. The resistivity of the ZnO nanowire channel was estimated to be 0.96× 10²Ω cm at V_GS = 0 V. These characteristics revealed that the suspended nanowire FET fabricated by the photolithography process had excellent performance. Better contacts between the ZnO nanowire and metal electrodes could be improved through annealing and metal deposition using a focused ion beam.     

Simple optical method for measuring the temperature of an incandescent filament under vacuum

A new optical method is proposed for measuring the temperature of an incandescent filament under vacuum. The method is based on measurement of the intensity of thermal radiation at one fixed wavelength while varying the magnitude of the filament current, without using a calibrated reference radiator. The method has been experimentally tested. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 73, No. 3, pp. 414–416, May–June, 2006.     

Electrical and deep levels characteristics of ZnO/Si heterostructure by MOCVD deposition

ZnO films have been prepared on p-type Si substrates by metal-organic chemical vapour deposition （MOCVD） at different total gas flow rates. The current versus voltage and temperature （I - V - T） characteristics, the deep-level transient spectroscopy （DLTS） and the photoluminescence （PL） spectra of the samples were measured. DLTS shows two deep-level centres of E1 （Ec-0.13±0.02eV） and E2 （Ec-0.43±0.05eV） in sample 1202a, which has a ZnO/p-Si heterostructure. A deep level at Ec-0.13±0.01 eV was also obtained from the I -T characteristics. It was considered to be the same as E1 obtained from DLTS measurement. The emission related to this deep level center was detected by PL spectra. In addition, the energy location and the relative trap density of E1 was varied when the total gas flow rate was changed.     

Study of He-induced nano-cavities as sinks of oxygen for forming silicon-on-insulator

In the present work, a Cz-Silicon wafer is implanted with helium ions to produce a buried porous layer, and then thermally annealed in a dry oxygen atmosphere to make oxygen transport into the cavities. The formation of the buried oxide layer in the case of internal oxidation （ITOX） of the buried porous layer of cavities in the silicon sample is studied by positron beam annihilation （PBA）. The cavities are formed by 15 keV He implantation at a fluence of 2×10^16 cm^-2 and followed by thermal annealing at 673 K for 30 min in vacuum. The internal oxidation is carried out at temperatures ranging from 1073 to 1473 K for 2 h in a dry oxygen atmosphere. The layered structures evolved in the silicon are detected by using the PBA and the thicknesses of their layers and nature are also investigated. It is found that rather high temperatures must be chosen to establish a sufficient flux of oxygen into the cavity layer. On the other hand high temperatures lead to coarsening the cavities and removing the cavity layer finally.     

Simulated human eye retina adaptive optics imaging system based on a liquid crystal on silicon device

In order to obtain a clear image of the retina of model eye, an adaptive optics system used to correct the wave-front error is introduced in this paper. The spatial light modulator that we use here is a liquid crystal on a silicon device instead of a conversional deformable mirror. A paper with carbon granule is used to simulate the retina of human eye. The pupil size of the model eye is adjustable (3--7mm). A Shack-Hartman wave-front sensor is used to detect the wave-front aberration. With this construction, a value of peak-to-valley is achieved to be 0.086Λ, where Λ is wavelength. The modulation transfer functions before and after corrections are compared. And the resolution of this system after correction (69lp/m) is very close to the diffraction limit resolution. The carbon granule on the white paper which has a size of 4.7μm is seen clearly. The size of the retina cell is between 4 and 10μm. So this system has an ability to image the human eye's retina.     

A CVD diamond film detector for pulsed proton detection

A chemical vapour deposition （CVD） diamond film detector was prepared and the main characteristics for pulsed proton detection were studied at Beijing Tandem Accelerator. The result shows that the charge collection efficiency of the detector increases with increasing electric field intensity and reaches to 9.44% at 5 V/μm with the charge collection distance of 15.9 μm. The relationship between the sensitivity of the detector and proton energy is consistent with the Monte Carlo （MC） simulation result. Its plasma time for a pulse with 4.85×10^5 protons is 1l.2ns. The dose threshold for onset of damage under 9MeV proton irradiation in the detector is about 10^13 cm^-2. All of the results show that a CVD diamond detector has fast time response and high radiation hardness, and can be used in pulsed proton detection.     

Anomalous magnetic properties of an iron film system deposited on fracture surfaces of α-Al2O3 ceramics

An iron film percolation system is fabricated by vapour-phase deposition on fracture surfaces of α-Al2O3 ceramics. The zero-field-cooled （ZFC） and field-cooled （FC） magnetization measurement reveals that the magnetic phase of the film samples evolve from a high-temperature ferromagnetic state to a low-temperature spin-glass-like state, which is also demonstrated by the temperature-dependent ac susceptibility of the iron films. The temperature dependence of the exchange bias field He of the iron film exhibits a minimum peak around the temperature T=5 K, which is independent of the magnitude of the cooling field Hcf. However, for T 〉 10K, （1） He is always negative when Hcf=2kOe and （2） for Hcf= 20 kOe （1Oe≈80 A/m）, He changes from negative to positive values as T increases. Our experimental results show that the anomalous hysteresis properties mainly result from the oxide surfaces of the films with spin-glass-like phase.     

Study of a rectangular coupled cavity extendedinteraction oscillator in sub-terahertz waves

An extended interaction oscillator （EIO） generating 120 GHz wave in sub-terahertz waves is studied by using the three-dimensional electromagnetic simulation software CST and PIC codes. A rectangular reentrant coupled-cavity is proposed as the slow-wave structure of EIO. By CST, the circuit parameters including frequency-phase dispersion, interaction impedance and characteristic impedance are simulated and calculated. The operation mode of EIO is chosen very close to the point where βL = 2π with corresponding frequency 120 GHz, the beam voltage 12 kV and the dimensions of the cavity with the period 0.5mm, the height 3mm and the width 1.4mm. Simulation results of beam-wave interaction by PIC show that the exciting frequency is 120.85 GHz and output peak power 465 W with 12-period coupled-cavity with the perveance 0.17 μP. Simulation results indicate that the EIO has very wide range of the operation voltage.     

Magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effect in NdxLa1-xFe11.5Al1.5 compounds

Effects of Nd-doping on the magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effects （MCEs） of NdxLa1-xFe11.5Al1.5 have been investigated. Substitution of Nd leads to a weakening of the antiferromagnetic （AFM） coupling and an enhancement of the ferromagnetic （FM） coupling. This in turn results in a complex magnetic behaviour for Nd0.2La0.8Fe11.5Al1.5 characterized by the occurrence of two phase transitions at ～188 K （PM AFM） and ～159 K （AFM-FM）. As a result, a table-like MCE （9 J/kg.K） is found in a wide temperature range （160-185 K） for a field change of 0-5T around the transition temperature, as evidenced by both the magnetic and calorimetric measurements. Based on the analysis of low-temperature heat capacity, it is found that the AFM-FM phase transition modifies the electron density significantly, and the major contribution to the entropy change comes from the electronic entropy change.     

Judd-Oflet analysis of spectrum and laser performance of Ho：YAP crystal end-pumped by 1.91μm Tm：YLF laser

The Ho:YAP crystal is grown by the Czochralski technique.The room temperature polarized absorption spectra of Ho:YAP crystal was measured on a c cut sample with 1 at% holmium.According to the obtained Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters Ω2 = 1.42 × 10-20 cm2,Ω4 = 2.92 × 10-20 cm2,and Ω6 = 1.71 × 10-20 cm2,this paper calculated the fluorescence lifetime to be 6 ms for 5I7 →5 I8 transition,and the integrated emission cross section to be 2.24×10-18 cm2.It investigates the room temperature Ho:YAP laser end pumped by a 1.91 μm Tm:YLF laser.The maximum output power was 4.1 W when the incident 1.91 μm pump power was 14.4 W.The slope efficiency is 40.8%,corresponding to an optical to optical conversion efficiency of 28.4%.The Ho:YAP output wavelength was centred at 2118 nm with full width at half maximum of about 0.8 nm.     

Few Body Systems Made of Pseudoscalars

Few body systems made of pseudoscalars, like ${K\, K \, \bar K,\,\pi \, K \, \bar K}$ , are studied within a coupled channel approach based on solving the Faddeev equations considering two-body chiral t-matrices as input. As a result, we have found dynamical generation of several states which can be associated with some of the pseudoscalar states listed by the Particle Data Group, like K(1460) or π(1300). The amplitudes obtained have been then used to study systems like f ₀(980) π π and ${f_0(980)K \, \bar K}$ and an evidence for a f ₀ resonance around 1,790 MeV is found.     

The effects of interstitial oxygen on superconducting electronic phases in strontium and oxygen co-doped La1.937Sr0.063CuO4＋δ

Strontium and oxygen co-doped La1.937Sr0.063CuO4＋δ superconductor with Tc≈ 40K, which is obtained by oxidizing strontium-doped starting ceramic sample La1.937Sr0.063CuO4 in NaC10 solution, is annealed under different conditions to allow interstitial oxygen to redistribute. The evolution of the intrinsic superconducting property with the oxygen redistribution is studied in detail by magnetic measurements in various fields. It is found that there occurs the electronic phase separation from the single superconducting phase with Tc ≈ 40 K into two coexisting superconducting states with values of Tc： 15 and 40K or of 15 and 35 K in this system, depending on annealing condition. Our results indicate that the 15, 35 and 40 K superconducting phases associated with the excess oxygen redistribution are all thermodynamically meta-stable intrinsic states in this Sr/O co-doped cuprate.     

Tunable phase-stabilized infrared parametric laser source

This paper reports that the tunable self-phase-stabilized infrared laser pulses have been generated from a two-stage optical parametric amplifier. With an 800 nm pump source, the output idler pulses are tunable from 1.3 μm to 2.3 μm, and the maximum output energy of the idler pulses is higher than 1 mJ at 1.6 μm by using 6 mJ pump laser. A carrier-envelope phase fluctuation of ～ 0.15 rad (rms) for the idler pulses is measured for longer than one hour by using a home build f-to-2f interferometer.