Phase transformation of Ni-B, Ni-P diffusion barrier deposited electrolessly on Cu interconnect

In this paper, we report that the phase transformation of Ni-B, Ni-P diffusion barriers deposited electrolessly on Cu, for the reason that the Ni-P layer is a more effective diffusion barrier than the Ni-B layer. The Ni₃B crystallized was decomposed to Ni and B₂O₃ above 400 °C and the Ni₃P crystallized was decomposed to Ni and P₂O₅ above 600 °C respectively in Ar atmosphere. Also, the Ni₃B was decomposed to Ni and free B above 400 °C and the Ni₃P was decomposed to Ni and free P above 600 °C respectively in H₂ atmosphere. The decomposed Ni formed a solid solution with Cu. The Cu diffusion occurred above 400 °C for Ni-B layer and above 600 °C for Ni-P layer, respectively. Because the decomposition temperature of Ni-P layer is about 200 °C higher than that of Ni-B layer, the Ni-P layer is a more effective barrier for Cu than the Ni-B layer.     

Euler configurations and quasi-polynomial systems

Consider the problem of three point vortices (also called Helmholtz’ vortices) on a plane, with arbitrarily given vorticities. The interaction between vortices is proportional to 1/r, where r is the distance between two vortices. The problem has 2 equilateral and at most 3 collinear normalized relative equilibria. This 3 is the optimal upper bound. Our main result is that the above standard statements remain unchanged if we consider an interaction proportional to r ^b, for any b < 0. For 0 < b < 1, the optimal upper bound becomes 5. For positive vorticities and any b < 1, there are exactly 3 collinear normalized relative equilibria. The case b = −2 of this last statement is the well-known theorem due to Euler: in the Newtonian 3-body problem, for any choice of the 3 masses, there are 3 Euler configurations (also known as the 3 Euler points). These small upper bounds strengthen the belief of Kushnirenko and Khovanskii [18]: real varieties defined by simple systems should have a simple topology. We indicate some hard conjectures about the configurations of relative equilibrium and suggest they could be attacked within the quasi-polynomial framework.     

Positive solutions and eigenvalue regions of two-delay singular systems with a twin parameter

The paper is concerned with a two-delay singular differential system with a twin parameter. Applying fixed-point index theory, we show the relationship between the asymptotic behaviors of nonlinearities (at zero and infinity) and the open regions (eigenvalue regions) of parameters, which are correlated with delays, such that the system has zero, one and two positive solution(s).     

On the genericity of chaos

Let M be a compact manifold with dimM?2. We prove that some iteration of the generic homeomorphism on M is semiconjugated to the shift map and has infinite topological entropy (Theorem 1.1).     

Infima and complements in the lattice of quasi-uniformities

We show that the infimum of any family of proximally symmetric quasi-uniformities is proximally symmetric, while the supremum of two proximally symmetric quasi-uniformities need not be proximally symmetric. On the other hand, the supremum of any family of transitive quasi-uniformities is transitive, while there are transitive quasi-uniformities whose infimum with their conjugate quasi-uniformity is not transitive. Moreover we present two examples that show that neither the supremum topology nor the infimum topology of two transitive topologies need be transitive. Finally, we prove that several operations one can perform on and between quasi-uniformities preserve the property of having a complement.     

A Note on Log-Convexity of q-Catalan Numbers

The q-Catalan numbers studied by Carlitz and Riordan are polynomials in q with nonnegative coefficients. They evaluate, at q = 1, to the Catalan numbers: 1, 1, 2, 5, 14,…, a log-convex sequence. We use a combinatorial interpretation of these polynomials to prove a q-log-convexity result. The sequence of q-Catalan numbers is not q-log-convex in the narrow sense used by other authors, so our work suggests a more flexible definition of q-log convex be adopted. Received January 2, 2007     

Periodic solutions for a Lotka–Volterra mutualism system with several delays

In the present paper, a Lotka–Volterra type mutualism system with several delays is studied. Some new and interesting sufficient conditions are obtained for the global existence of positive periodic solutions of the mutualism system. Our method is based on Mawhin’s coincidence degree and novel estimation techniques for the a priori bounds of unknown solutions. Our results are different from the existing ones such as those in of Yang et al. [F. Yang, D. Jiang, A. Ying, Existence of positive solution of multidelays facultative mutualism system, J. Eng. Math. 3 (2002) 64–68] and Chen et al. [F. Chen, J. Shi, X. Chen, Periodicity in a Lotka–Volterra facultative mutualism system with several delays, J. Eng. Math. 21 (3) (2004) 403–409].     

Multiple harmonic series related to multiple Euler numbers

In this paper, we define the multiple Euler numbers and consider some multiple harmonic series of Mordell-Tornheim's type, which is a partial sum of the Mordell-Tornheim zeta series defined by Matsumoto. Indeed, we prove a certain reducibility of these series as well as the multiple zeta values.     

Precise measurement of magnetic moment of short-lived β-emitting nuclei12B ( I π=1+, T 1/2=20.18 ms)

The spin polarized β-emitting nuclei¹²B (I ^π=1⁺,T _1/2=20.18 ms) were produced by the nuclear reaction¹¹B(d, p)¹²B and by the selection technique of the incident deuteron energy and the¹²B recoil angle following the nuclear reaction. The nuclear magnetic moment of the short-lived nuclei¹²B was measured by β-NMR with the β-NMR and β-NQR setup established for the first time in China. The nuclear magnetic moment of¹²B was determined to be μ=0.99993±0.00048 nm org=0.99993±0.00048 after the precise correction of the Knight shift.     

Combinatorial Lie bialgebras of curves on surfaces

Goldman (Invent. Math. 85(2) (1986) 263) and Turaev (Ann. Sci. Ecole Norm. Sup. (4) 24 (6) (1991) 635) found a Lie bialgebra structure on the vector space generated by non-trivial free homotopy classes of curves on a surface. When the surface has non-empty boundary, this vector space has a basis of cyclic reduced words in the generators of the fundamental group and their inverses. We give a combinatorial algorithm to compute this Lie bialgebra on this vector space of cyclic words. Using this presentation, we prove a variant of Goldman's result relating the bracket to disjointness of curve representatives when one of the classes is simple. We exhibit some examples we found by programming the algorithm which answer negatively Turaev's question about the characterization of simple curves in terms of the cobracket. Further computations suggest an alternative characterization of simple curves in terms of the bracket of a curve and its inverse. Turaev's question is still open in genus zero.