Interface recombination in P-type GaAs-(AlGa)As quantum well heterostructures

The process of non-radiative interface recombination is considered for quantum well heterostructures. Simple model calculations indicate that, contrary to previous suggestions, the quantum effects do not cause a large reduction in the effective interface recombination velocity, S_eff. In fact, for the same interface quality, quantum effects cause an increase in S_eff.     

Definition and measurement of the normalized electrical impedance of lossy piezoelectric resonators for ultrasonic transducers

Relevant equivalent circuit parameters and values of material constants of a piezoelectric resonator can be determined from measurements of its electrical input impedance as a function of frequency. The complex electrical impedance curves and the associated critical frequencies are the basis of this characterization by the piezoelectric resonance method. In this paper, the previously introduced concept of normalized electrical impedance of the lossy resonator, extended to include piezoelectric losses, is applied to the analysis of the effects of different types of intrinsic losses on peak values, bandwidths and characteristic frequencies. The resulting impedance patterns depend solely on the electromechanical coupling coefficient and the loss tangents, providing a useful tool for the analysis of low-Q resonators. The normalized impedance is experimentally evaluated from the basic data provided by an HP 4194A impedance analyser by means of specifically developed ASP programs.     

Nondestructive shell-stability estimation by a combined-loading technique

Accurate nondestructive procedures for cylindrical-shell-stability investigations have long been a goal of experimentalists and practicing engineers. Stability criteria based on stress and deflection have been investigated intensively by researchers, but lateral-stiffness variation has been largely ignored. It is this aspect which is the foundation of the present work. The variation of specimen lateral stiffness with compressive axial loading is studied experimentally and it is demonstrated that buckling loads can be predicted for monocoque shells from such data. A study of the initial specimen geometry is presented and an evaluation is made of its effect on the distribution of stiffness at zero axial load. When the lateral test force used to termine the stiffness is considered as a destabilizing load in combination with the axial compression, it is shown that critical values of the force can be estimated by the “Southwell plat” procedure. These critical forces can be correlated with axial load and extrapolated to yield an accurate estimate of the buckling load. The approach greatly reduces the compressive load necessary for stability predictions over that required for other techniques.     

Cardiovascular Signal Entropy Predicts All-Cause Mortality: Evidence from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA)

In this study, the relationship between cardiovascular signal entropy and the risk of seven-year all-cause mortality was explored in a large sample of community-dwelling older adults from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). The hypothesis under investigation was that physiological dysregulation might be quantifiable by the level of sample entropy (SampEn) in continuously noninvasively measured resting-state systolic (sBP) and diastolic (dBP) blood pressure (BP) data, and that this SampEn measure might be independently predictive of mortality. Participants’ date of death up to 2017 was identified from official death registration data and linked to their TILDA baseline survey and health assessment data (2010). BP was continuously monitored during supine rest at baseline, and SampEn values were calculated for one-minute and five-minute sections of this data. In total, 4543 participants were included (mean (SD) age: 61.9 (8.4) years; 54.1% female), of whom 214 died. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations between BP SampEn and all-cause mortality. Results revealed that higher SampEn in BP signals was significantly predictive of mortality risk, with an increase of one standard deviation in sBP SampEn and dBP SampEn corresponding to HRs of 1.19 and 1.17, respectively, in models comprehensively controlled for potential confounders. The quantification of SampEn in short length BP signals could provide a novel and clinically useful predictor of mortality risk in older adults.     

Band gap and mass renormalisation in GaInP/AlGaInP quantum wells

We report magneto-luminescence studies of dense electron–hole plasmas in compressively strained GaInP/AlGaInP quantum wells. At carrier densities of order 10¹³ cm⁻² many-body effects are investigated. The band gap is reduced by up to 36 meV, much less than expected from conventional random phase approximation calculations. However, much better agreement is obtained on comparison with recent density functional calculations which include the Hartree energy. The reduced mass is found to increase by up to 40% over values from low-excitation measurements. Comparison with other work suggests that the mass renormalisation is substantial in materials with wide band gaps.     

A new diastereoselective aza-allyl conjugate addition-Michael addition-ring closure reaction sequence and its application in the construction of six contiguous stereogenic centres

Reaction of the sodium anion of (S)-N-(alpha-methylbenzyl)allylamine with two equivalents of tert-butyl cinnamate results in a remarkable tandem aza-allyl conjugate addition-Michael addition-ring closure reaction, resulting in a chiral aminocyclohexane containing six new vicinal stereogenic centres with excellent levels of stereocontrol.     

Zur Entwicklung von Gasen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

New high-energy luminescence bands from Co2+ in ZnSe

Three sharp absorption features in the energy range 2.36–2.55 eV have been detected in the transmission spectrum of Co-diffused ZnSe, and a number of luminescence transitions originating from the lowest of these states at 2.361 eV have been observed. Photoluminescence excitation spectra prove that these are high energy excited states of the Co²⁺_Zn impurity, a conclusion confirmed by comparison of measured and predicted luminescence energies. This represents the first identification of luminescence branching from a higher excited state of a transition metal ion in any semiconductor. The sharp, weakly phonon-coupled transitions involve either intra-impurity excitation or transitions from the impurity to localised states split off from a minimum in the conduction band. The implications of these observations for the mechanism of host-impurity energy transfer and for the nature of the excited state wavefunctions are discussed.