Laser writing techniques for photomask fabrication using a femtosecond laser

Photomasks are the backbone of microfabrication industries. Currently they are fabricated by a lithographic process, which is very expensive and time consuming since it is a multi-step process. These issues can be addressed by fabricating photomasks by direct femtosecond laser writing, which is a single-step process and comparatively cheaper and faster than lithography. In this paper we discuss our investigations on the effect of two types of laser writing techniques, namely front- and rear-side laser writing, with regard to the feature size and the edge quality of a feature. It is proved conclusively that for the patterning of masks, front-side laser writing is a better technique than rear-side laser writing with regard to smaller feature size and better edge quality. Moreover the energy required for front-side laser writing is considerably lower than that for rear-side laser writing. Received: 22 May 2001 / Accepted: 14 September 2001 / Published online: 17 October 2001     

Tablet disintegration monitored by magnetic resonance imaging

The disintegration of bromhexin tablets was monitored by magnetic resonance imaging. The fast imaging method FLASH with spoiling gradients was used to obtain images of the tablets in short time intervals. The rate of the disintegration depends on the preparation method, kind and percentage of the carrier (polyethylene glycol, lactose). Solid dispersion with slow evaporation of solvent yields materials with decreased dissolution rate. Increasing molecular mass of polyethylene glycol and its percentage content also hampers disintegration.     

First-principles studies of kinetics in epitaxial growth of III–V semiconductors

We demonstrate how first-principles calculations using density-functional theory (DFT) can be applied to gain insight into the molecular processes that rule the physics of materials processing. Specifically, we study the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) of arsenic compound semiconductors. For homoepitaxy of GaAs on GaAs (001), a growth model is presented that builds on results of DFT calculations for molecular processes on the β2-reconstructed GaAs (001) surface, including adsorption, desorption, surface diffusion, and nucleation. Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations on the basis of the calculated energetics enable us to model MBE growth of GaAs from beams of Ga and As₂ in atomistic detail. The simulations show that island nucleation is controlled by the reaction of As₂ molecules with Ga adatoms on the surface. The analysis reveals that the scaling laws of standard nucleation theory for the island density as a function of growth temperature are not applicable to GaAs epitaxy. We also discuss heteroepitaxy of InAs on GaAs (001), and report first-principles DFT calculations for In diffusion on the strained GaAs substrate. In particular, we address the effect of heteroepitaxial strain on the growth kinetics of coherently strained InAs islands. The strain field around an island is found to cause a slowing down of material transport from the substrate towards the island, and thus helps to achieve more homogeneous island sizes. Received: 2 May 2001 / Accepted: 23 July 2001 / Published online: 3 April 2002     

MO analysis of macroscopic supercurrent flow in MgB 2

We present results from an extended magneto-optical (MO) analysis of two samples cut from high-density pellets of MgB₂. The first sample was studied in order to show that no matter how large the sample is and despite the bulk granularity, the material enters into a critical state in a crystal-like fashion. The second sample was chosen for the quantitative analysis. A numerical approach based on an inverted 2D Biot-Savart model was used to calculate the current paths across the homogeneous polycrystalline bulk, as well as in the vicinity and across some morphological defects. Local current densities in the homogeneous part were estimated as a function of the applied magnetic field at different temperatures, in three regimes: below full penetration, at full penetration and above full penetration, respectively. A hypothesis of interpretation of the apparent absence of magnetic granularity inside the polycrystalline microstructure is presented. It is related to a critical state likely reached by a network of strongly coupled Josephson junctions. Received 31 May 2001 and Received in final form 5 December 2001     

Gamma-ray spectroscopy of the neutron-rich Ni region through heavy-ion deep-inelastic collisions

Nuclei in the neutron-rich Ni region have been studied by γ-ray spectroscopy. Gamma-rays emitted from isomers, with T _1/2 > 1 ns, produced in heavy-ion deep-inelastic collisions were measured with an isomer-scope. The nuclear structure of the doubly magic ⁶⁸Ni and its neighbor ^69,71Cu is discussed on the basis of the shell model. Future experiments for more neutron-rich Ni nuclei are also viewed. Received: 1 May 2001 / Accepted: 4 December 2001     

Estimation of dynamic properties of attractors observed in hollow copper electrode atmospheric pressure arc plasma system

Understanding of the basic nature of arc root fluctuation is still one of the unsolved problems in thermal arc plasma physics. It has direct impact on myriads of thermal plasma applications being implemented at present. Recently, chaotic nature of arc root behavior has been reported through the analysis of voltages, acoustic and optical signals which are generated from a hollow copper electrode arc plasma torch. In this paper we present details of computations involved in the estimation process of various dynamic properties and show how they reflect chaotic behavior of arc root in the system.     

The standard model on non-commutative space-time

We consider the standard model on a non-commutative space and expand the action in the non-commutativity parameter . No new particles are introduced; the structure group is . We derive the leading order action. At zeroth order the action coincides with the ordinary standard model. At leading order in we find new vertices which are absent in the standard model on commutative space-time. The most striking features are couplings between quarks, gluons and electroweak bosons and many new vertices in the charged and neutral currents. We find that parity is violated in non-commutative QCD. The Higgs mechanism can be applied. QED is not deformed in the minimal version of the NCSM to the order considered. Received: 29 November 2001 / Published online: 25 January 2002     

Diffractive heavy vector meson production from the BFKL equation

Diffractive heavy vector meson photoproduction accompanied by proton dissociation is studied for arbitrary momentum transfer. The process is described by the non-forward BFKL equation, for which a complete analytical solution is found, giving the scattering amplitude. The impact of non-leading corrections to the BFKL equation is also analysed. Results are compared to the HERA data on production. Received: 2 July 2002 / Revised version: 29 August 2002 / Published online: 18 October 2002     

Study of the Surface Processes in Vapor-Phase Epitaxial GaAs: Asymmetric Trapping of Atoms at the Step

Experimental proofs of asymmetric trapping of atoms at the growth step in vapor-phase epitaxy of gallium arsenide in the GaAs–AsCl₃–H₂ system are given. The data obtained confirm the important role of the surface diffusion mass transfer in the growth of epitaxial GaAs layers on vicinals in the neighborhood of (111)A. The effective diffusion length is estimated.