Observation of compensation effects during the thermal dissolution of aluminum oxide layers on tungsten and molybdenum 〈111〉 and on tungsten {110} in the presence of electric fields

Aluminum oxide layer dissolution was studied between 700 and 1200 K in the substrate areas of W〈111〉, Mo〈111〉, and on W{110} by means of FEM. Varying the electric field strength, F, between +45 and $\text{+105}\text{MV}\text{cm}$, two types of dissolution could be observed: dissolution by surface diffusion (low F's) and dissolution by ion desorption (high F's). It is assumed that aluminum suboxides — preferentially AlO — are involved in the dissolution processes. The preexponential factors, A_F, of an Arrhenius-Frenkel type equation were measured as a function of F. The field dependence of A_F is determined by the dissolution mechanism: (a) dissolution by diffusion: $\text{log}\text{A}{}^0{}_{\mathrm{F}}\text{=}\text{log}\text{A}{}^0{}_0\text{?}\text{ΔμF}\text{2.3k}{}^1\text{T}$ (μ  molecular dipole moment, ¹T ≡ isokinetic for W〈111〉, log A⁰₀ = ? 6.0 and ${}^1\text{T = 940}\text{K}$; for Mo〈111〉, log A⁰₀ = ? 3.1 and ${}^1\text{T = 860}\text{K}$; and (b) dissolution by ion desorption: $\text{log}\text{A}{}^{\mathrm{+}}{}_{\mathrm{F}}\text{=}\text{log}\text{A}{}^{\mathrm{+}}{}_0\text{+}\text{n}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>3</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{e}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>3</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{F}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{2.3k}{}^1\text{T}$; for A⁺₀ = ? 22 and ${}^1\text{T = 1200}\text{K}$; for W〈111〉, log A⁺₀ = ? 21 and ${}^1\text{T = 1200}\text{K}$. Using earlier proposed safeguards, isokinetic relationships (compensation effects) could be established for each of the two dissolution processes. The coordinates of the isokinetic points have the following average values: $\text{log}{}^1\text{A}{}^0{}_0\text{= 2.5}$ and ${}^1\text{T = 920}\text{K}$ for diffusion; $\text{log}{}^1\text{A}{}^{\mathrm{+}}{}_0\text{= ? 1}$ and ${}^1\text{T = 1240}\text{K}$ for ion desorption. The entropy changes (at $\text{T =}{}^1\text{T}$, zero field strength, and unit pressure) for the phase changes: solid layer → diffusion layer and solid layer → ion gas, are of the order of $\text{30}\text{cal}\text{K}$ · mol and $\text{90}\text{cal}\text{K}$ · mol, respectively. The two dissolution mechanisms can be described by the following Arrhenius-Frenkel type equations:

$\text{τ}{}^0{}_{\mathrm{F}}\text{=}{}^1\text{A}{}^0{}_0\text{exp}\text{[}\text{? (E}{}^0{}_0\text{+ ΔμF)}\text{k}{}^1\text{T}\text{]}\text{exp}\text{[(}\text{E}{}^0{}_0\text{+ ΔμF)}\text{kT}\text{]}$

for diffusion and

$\text{τ}{}^{\mathrm{+}}{}_{\mathrm{F}}\text{=}{}^1\text{A}{}^{\mathrm{+}}{}_0\text{exp}\text{[}\text{? (E}{}^{\mathrm{+}}{}_0\text{? n}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>3</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{e}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>3</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{F}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{)}\text{k}{}^1\text{T}\text{]}\text{exp}\text{[(}\text{E}{}^{\mathrm{+}}{}_0\text{? n}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>3</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{e}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>3</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{F}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{)}\text{kT}\text{]}$

for ion desorption.     

Effect of quantum entanglement on Aharonov-Bohm oscillations, spin-polarized transport and current magnification effect

We present a simple model of transmission across a metallic mesoscopic ring. In one of its arm an electron interacts with a single magnetic impurity via an exchange coupling. We show that entanglement between electron and spin impurity states leads to reduction of Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in the transmission coefficient. The spin-conductance is asymmetric in the flux reversal as opposed to the two-probe electrical conductance which is symmetric. In the same model, in contradiction to the naive expectation of a current magnification effect, we observe enhancement as well as suppression of this effect depending on the system parameters. The limitations of this model to the general notion of dephasing or decoherence in quantum systems are pointed out.     

Self-injection length in La0.7Ca0.3MnO3-YBa2Cu3O7-δ ferromagnet-superconductor multilayer thin films

We have carried out extensive studies on the self-injection problem in barrierless heterojunctions between La_0.7Ca_0.3MnO₃ (LCMO) and YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ (YBCO) thin films. The heterojunctions were formed in situ by sequentially growing LCMO and YBCO films on 〈100〉 LaAlO₃ (LAO) substrate using a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) system. YBCO micro-bridges with 64 μm width were patterned both on the LAO (control) and LCMO side of the substrate. Critical current, I _c, was measured at 77 K on both the control side as well as the LCMO side for different YBCO film thickness. It was observed that while the control side showed a J _c of ∼ 2 × 10⁶ A/cm², the LCMO side showed about half the value for the same thickness (1800 ?). The difference in J _c indicates that a certain thickness of YBCO has become ‘effectively’ normal due to self-injection. From the measurement of J _c at two different thicknesses (1800 ? and 1500 ?) of YBCO films both on the LAO as well as the LCMO side, the value of self-injection length (at 77 K) was estimated to be ∼ 900 ?. To the authors’ best knowledge, this is the first time that self-injection length has been quantified. A control experiment carried out with LaNiO₃ deposited by PLD on YBCO did not show any evidence of self-injection.     

Narrow band quantitative and multivariate electroencephalogram analysis of peri-adolescent period

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The peri-adolescent period is a crucial developmental moment of transition from childhood to emergent adulthood. The present report analyses the differences in Power Spectrum (PS) of the Electroencephalogram (EEG) between late childhood (24 children between 8 and 13 years old) and young adulthood (24 young adults between 18 and 23 years old). RESULTS: The narrow band analysis of the Electroencephalogram was computed in the frequency range of 0--20 Hz. The analysis of mean and variance suggested that six frequency ranges presented a different rate of maturation at these ages, namely: low delta, delta-theta, low alpha, high alpha, low beta and high beta. For most of these bands the maturation seems to occur later in anterior sites than posterior sites. Correlational analysis showed a lower pattern of correlation between different frequencies in children than in young adults, suggesting a certain asynchrony in the maturation of different rhythms. The topographical analysis revealed similar topographies of the different rhythms in children and young adults. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) demonstrated the same internal structure for the Electroencephalogram of both age groups. Principal Component Analysis allowed to separate four subcomponents in the alpha range. All these subcomponents peaked at a lower frequency in children than in young adults. CONCLUSIONS: The present approaches complement and solve some of the incertitudes when the classical brain broad rhythm analysis is applied. Children have a higher absolute power than young adults for frequency ranges between 0-20 Hz, the correlation of Power Spectrum (PS) with age and the variance age comparison showed that there are six ranges of frequencies that can distinguish the level of EEG maturation in children and adults. The establishment of maturational order of different frequencies and its possible maturational interdependence would require a complete series including all the different ages.     

Transfer measurements for the Ti+Ni systems at near barrier energies

Large enhancements have been observed in the sub-barrier fusion cross sections for Ti+Ni systems in our previous studies. Coupled channel calculations incorporating couplings to 2⁺ and 3⁻ states failed to explain these enhancements completely. A possibilty of transfer channels contributing to the residual enhancements had been suggested. In order to investigate the role of relevant transfer channels, measurements of one- and two-nucleon transfer were carried out for ^46,48Ti+⁶¹Ni systems. The present paper gives the results of these studies.     

Experimental limitations in impedance spectroscopy: Part VI. Four-point measurements of solid materials systems

Four-point impedance spectroscopy of solid materials systems is severely hampered by unavoidable voltage-divider effects associated with the reference electrodes. As demonstrated by test circuit studies and experiments with Pt/YSZ/Pt cells (with embedded silver reference electrodes), high impedance reference electrodes can produce distorted and erroneous impedance data. The relationships between these data and the sample properties (conductivity, dielectric constant) and instrument limitations (input impedance/capacitance) are derived. Successful four-point impedance measurements on conductive systems require large effective dielectric constants, which may be unattainable in bulk solids, but are often associated with internal interfaces.     

Scars of the Wigner Function

We propose a picture of Wigner function scars as a sequence of concentric rings along a two-dimensional surface inside a periodic orbit. This is verified for a two-dimensional plane that contains a classical hyperbolic orbit of a Hamiltonian system with 2 degrees of freedom. The stationary wave functions are the familiar mixture of scarred and random waves, but the spectral average of the Wigner functions in part of the plane is nearly that of a harmonic oscillator and individual states are also remarkably regular. These results are interpreted in terms of the semiclassical picture of chords and centers.