Realisation and metrological characterisation of thickness standards below 100 nm

High-accuracy film thickness measurements in the range below 100 nm can be made by various complex methods like spectral ellipsometry (SE), scanning force microscopy (SFM), grazing incidence X-ray reflectometry (GIXR), or X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF). The measurement results achieved with these methods are based on different interactions between the film and the probe. A key question in nanotechnology is how to achieve consistent results on a level of uncertainty below one nanometre with different techniques.Two different types of thickness standards are realised. Metal film standards for X-ray techniques in the thickness range 10 to 50 nm are calibrated by GIXR with monochromatised synchrotron radiation of 8048 eV. The results obtained at four different facilities show excellent agreement. SiO₂ on Si standards for SE and SFM in the thickness range 6 to 1000 nm are calibrated by GIXR with monochromatised synchrotron radiation of 1841 eV and with a metrological SFM. Consistent results within the combined uncertainties are obtained with the two methods. Surfaces and interfaces of both types of standards are additionally investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). PACS 61.10.Kw; 68.55.Jk; 06.20.Fn; 06.60.Mr; 07.79.Lh     

Synthesis of periphery-functionalized dendritic molecules using polylithiated dendrimers as starting material

A general method for the functionalization of Si-Cl terminated carbosilane dendritic molecules via organolithium or organomagnesium reagents is described. Quantitative exchange of the bromine atoms of 4-bromophenyl-functionalized dendrimers affords polylithiated species that are valuable starting materials for further functionalization, e.g., into pyridyl alcohols. The latter were successfully applied as catalyst precursors in a ruthenium-mediated ring-closure metathesis reaction.     

Characterization of organic thin films with resonant soft X-ray scattering and reflectivity near the carbon and fluorine absorption edges

The use of soft X-rays near the carbon absorption edge (∼270–300 eV) for small angle X-ray scattering and X-ray reflectivity experiments has significantly expanded the scientific capabilities to investigate thin films of soft matter that are primarily composed of carbon and low Z heteroatoms. In this perspective, we will delineate the basic operating principles and underlying physics of these methods and exemplify their impact by discussing a few recent applications. An extension of these methods to the fluorine edge is also included, demonstrating that the general concepts are also applicable to absorption edges of hetero atoms in soft matter. A short perspective of some future developments is provided.     

Oscillatory melting temperature of the vortex smectic phase in layered superconductors

We report on transport measurements of YBa 2Cu 3O (7-delta) single crystals with different oxygen contents in the geometry B, J ||ab (J perpendicularB). Our data show that the vortices become confined between the Cu-O planes below a well-defined temperature at which the effective size 2xi of the vortex core is approximately equal to the period of the Cu-O layers. This confinement strongly increases the vortex liquid freezing temperature. A new melting line is found separating a vortex liquid and a smectic phase, which shows an oscillatory field dependence reflecting differences between commensurate and incommensurate smectic states.     

Synthesis of Novel Chiral Diol Ligands for the Enantioselective Reactions

The chiral diols ((,(,((,((-Tetraaryl-1,3-dioxolane-4,5-dimethanols) have been used for the formation of cyclic titanates and similar derivatives of Mg, Al and Zr. These complexes of oxophilic metal centers were employed in catalytic and stiochiometric enantioselective reactions such as enantioselective addition reactions of carbon-centered nucleophiles to aldehydes1, [2+2] cycloadditions2, and Diels-Alder reactions3. So far, the two hydrogen atoms of all this type of diols are in trans form…     

The diffraction of elastic waves by an imperfect fusion bond

We consider diffraction by a semi-infinite crack located alonga fusion interface between two differing elastic media. Twotypes of crack, namely open and partially closed cracks, areinvestigated. An open crack is modelled by a stress-free contactboundary condition and a partially closed crack is modelledby a spring contact boundary condition. For the latter, thejump in the stress across the crack is assumed to be proportionalto the jump in the displacement across the crack. This situationarises in, for example, a K-weld where the fine grain of theparent material (for example, ferritic or forged austeniticsteel) is in stark contrast with the coarse-grained weld metal(for example, austenitic weld metal). In the metal weld thedirection of the grain axis varies through the metal. However,diffraction is a local phenomenon and so the austenitic steelis assumed to have a zonal axis so that it may be modelled bya transversely isotropic composite. The ferritic or forged austeniticsteel will be modelled as an isotropic material.     

Existenzsätze für schwach nichtlineare Operatorgleichungen und Anwendung auf Randwertaufgaben mit gewöhnlichen Differentialgleichungen

With Schauder's fixpoint principle we establish an existence theorem for solutions of two simultaneous nonlinear operator equations of the formL _iu=M_iu, i=1,2, L_i linear,M _i continous. By applying this result to boundary value problems with ordinary differential equations we generalize results of Conti and Ehrmann in various directions.     

Substrate effect on the melting temperature of thin polyethylene films

Strong dependence of the crystal orientation, morphology, and melting temperature (Tm) on the substrate is observed in the semicrystalline polyethylene thin films. The Tm decreases with the film thickness decrease when the film is thinner than a certain critical thickness, and the magnitude of the depression increases with increasing surface interaction. We attribute the large Tm depression to the decrease in the overall free energy on melting, which is caused by the substrate attraction force to the chains that competes against the interchain force which drives the chains to crystallization.     

Synthesis,Single Crystal Growth and Crystal Structure of Ta7Cu10Ga34 – a 8 × 4 × 2 Super Structure of CsCl

Single crystals of Ta₇Cu₁₀Ga₃₄ were grown from the elements in a Cu/Ga melt. Ta₇Cu₁₀Ga₃₄ represents the first ternary compound of the system Ta/Cu/Ga. The crystal structure (Cmmm, oC102, Z = 2, a = 23.803(1), b = 12.2087(4), c = 5.7487(2) Å, 1291 refl. 78 parameters, R₁ = 0.037, wR₂ = 0.070). The crystal structure is characterized by rods of pentagonal prisms MGa₁₀, which are alternatingly occupied by Ta and Cu. Four of these rods are connected to columns running in direction (001). These columns are linked by cubic units TaGa₈, CuGa₈, and GaGa₈. According to the characteristic structural elements and the size of the unit cell Ta₇Cu₁₀Ga₃₄ represents a 8 × 4 × 2 super structure of CsCl or bcc. With respect to the underlying CsCl structure the formula can be written as [Ta₇Cu₁₀Ga₂□₁₃]Ga₃₂, i.e. a cubic primitive packing of 32 Ga atoms with Ta, Cu, and Ga in cubic voids and 13 vacancies. The pentagonal‐prismatic coordination of Ta and Cu can formally be obtained from the cubic primitive packing of Ga atoms by a 45° rotation of a part of the Ga₈ cubes. There is a close similarity to the binary compounds Ta₈Ga₄₁ and Ta_2–xGa_5+x. The first one is also related to a CsCl‐like structure, the latter one contains rods of pentagonal prisms, which form the same columns. There are also relations to the ternaries V₂Cu₃Ga₈ and V₁₁Cu₉Ga₄₆, whose cubic structures are more or less complex variants of CsCl.