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Articles 361 - 390 of 541

Full-Text Articles in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Current Density And Continuity In Discretized Models, Timothy B. Boykin, Mathieu Luisier, Gerhard Klimeck Jul 2010

Current Density And Continuity In Discretized Models, Timothy B. Boykin, Mathieu Luisier, Gerhard Klimeck

Birck and NCN Publications

Discrete approaches have long been used in numerical modelling of physical systems in both research and teaching. Discrete versions of the Schr ¨ odinger equation employing either one or several basis functions per mesh point are often used by senior undergraduates and beginning graduate students in computational physics projects. In studying discrete models, students can encounter conceptual difficulties with the representation of the current and its divergence because different finite-difference expressions, all of which reduce to the current density in the continuous limit, measure different physical quantities. Understanding these different discrete currents is essential and requires a careful analysis of …


Knudsen Force Modeling In Application To Microsystems, Jeremy S. Nabeth, Sruti Chigullapalli, Alina A. Alexeenko Jul 2010

Knudsen Force Modeling In Application To Microsystems, Jeremy S. Nabeth, Sruti Chigullapalli, Alina A. Alexeenko

PRISM: NNSA Center for Prediction of Reliability, Integrity and Survivability of Microsystems

At the microscale, even moderate temperature differences can result in significant Knudsen forces generated by the energy exchange between gas molecules and solids immersed in a gas. Creating, controlling and measuring Knudsen forces in microsystems can be an arduous task since only limited theory exists at present. This present study investigates the mechanism of Knudsen forces in detail based on numerical solution of the Boltzmann kinetic equation. The Knudsen force is shown, in general, to be a result of thermal nonequilibrium between gas and solid. The simulations are validated by comparison with experimental measurements that have been reported by Passian …


What Determines Knudsen Force At The Microscale, Jeremy S. Nabeth, Sruti Chigullapalli, Alina A. Alexeenko Jul 2010

What Determines Knudsen Force At The Microscale, Jeremy S. Nabeth, Sruti Chigullapalli, Alina A. Alexeenko

PRISM: NNSA Center for Prediction of Reliability, Integrity and Survivability of Microsystems

Knudsen forces arise in microscale systems when there is a thermal gradient with a characteristic length scale comparable to the molecular mean free path of the ambient gas. These forces are sometimes referred as radiometric or thermo-molecular forces [1] and have been recently measured experimentally in a microscale configuration using heated atomic force microscopy (AFM) probes [2]. The Knudsen force on microstructures with thermal gradients can provide a novel actuation mechanism for mass detection, thermogravimetry, and very high-resolution heat flux measurements. While measuring such forces precisely at microscale can be an arduous task especially since only limited analytical results exist, …


High Performance Atomic-Layer-Deposited Laluo3/Ge-On-Insulator P-Channel Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor With Thermally Grown Geo2 As Interfacial Passivation Layer, J J. Gu, Y Q. Liu, M Xu, G K. Celler, R G. Gordon, P. D. Ye Jul 2010

High Performance Atomic-Layer-Deposited Laluo3/Ge-On-Insulator P-Channel Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor With Thermally Grown Geo2 As Interfacial Passivation Layer, J J. Gu, Y Q. Liu, M Xu, G K. Celler, R G. Gordon, P. D. Ye

Birck and NCN Publications

Enhancement-mode p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) on germanium-on-insulator substrate is fabricated with atomic-layer-deposited (ALD) LaLuO3 as gate dielectric. Significant improvement in both on-state current and effective hole mobility has been observed for devices with thermal GeO2 passivation. The negative threshold voltage (V-T) shift in devices with GeO2 interfacial layer (IL) further demonstrates the effectiveness of surface passivation. Results from low temperature mobility characterization show that phonon scattering is the dominant scattering mechanism at a large inversion charge, indicating good interface quality. The combination of higher-k LaLuO3 and ultrathin GeO2 IL is a promising solution to the tradeoff between the aggressive …


Numerical Approach For Quantification Of Epistemic Uncertainty, John Jakeman, Michael Eldred, Dongbin Xiu Jun 2010

Numerical Approach For Quantification Of Epistemic Uncertainty, John Jakeman, Michael Eldred, Dongbin Xiu

PRISM: NNSA Center for Prediction of Reliability, Integrity and Survivability of Microsystems

In the field of uncertainty quantification, uncertainty in the governing equations may assume two forms: aleatory uncertainty and epistemic uncertainty. Aleatory uncertainty can be characterised by known probability distributions whilst epistemic uncertainty arises from a lack of knowledge of probabilistic information. While extensive research efforts have been devoted to the numerical treatment of aleatory uncertainty, little attention has been given to the quantification of epistemic uncertainty. In this paper, we propose a numerical framework for quantification of epistemic uncertainty. The proposed methodology does not require any probabilistic information on uncertain input parameters. The method only necessitates an estimate of the …


Puremd Manual (Purdue Reactive Molecular Dynamics Program), Hasan Metin Aktulga Jun 2010

Puremd Manual (Purdue Reactive Molecular Dynamics Program), Hasan Metin Aktulga

PRISM: NNSA Center for Prediction of Reliability, Integrity and Survivability of Microsystems

No abstract provided.


Strain Rate Sensitivity Of Nanocrystalline Au Films At Room Temperature, K Jonnalagadda, N Karanjgaokar, Joo Lien Chee, Dimitrios Peroulis Jun 2010

Strain Rate Sensitivity Of Nanocrystalline Au Films At Room Temperature, K Jonnalagadda, N Karanjgaokar, Joo Lien Chee, Dimitrios Peroulis

PRISM: NNSA Center for Prediction of Reliability, Integrity and Survivability of Microsystems

The effect of strain rate on the inelastic properties of nanocrystalline Au films was quantified with 0.85 and 1.76 lm free-standing microscale tension specimens tested over eight decades of strain rate, between 6 106 and 20 s1. The elastic modulus was independent of the strain rate, 66 ± 4.5 GPa, but the inelastic mechanical response was clearly rate sensitive. The yield strength and the ultimate tensile strength increased with the strain rate in the ranges 575–895 MPa and 675–940 MPa, respectively, with the yield strength reaching the tensile strength at strain rates faster than 101 s1. The activation volumes for …


On The Bandstructure Velocity And Ballistic Current Of Ultra-Narrow Silicon Nanowire Transistors As A Function Of Cross Section Size, Orientation, And Bias, Neophytos Neophytou, Sung-Geun Kim, Gerhard Klimeck, Hans Kosina Jun 2010

On The Bandstructure Velocity And Ballistic Current Of Ultra-Narrow Silicon Nanowire Transistors As A Function Of Cross Section Size, Orientation, And Bias, Neophytos Neophytou, Sung-Geun Kim, Gerhard Klimeck, Hans Kosina

Birck and NCN Publications

A 20 band sp(3)d(5)s* spin-orbit-coupled, semiempirical, atomistic tight-binding model is used with a semiclassical, ballistic field-effect-transistor model, to theoretically examine the bandstructure carrier velocity and ballistic current in silicon nanowire (NW) transistors. Infinitely long, uniform, cylindrical, and rectangular NWs, of cross sectional diameters/sides ranging from 3-12 nm are considered. For a comprehensive analysis, n-type and p-type metal-oxide semiconductor (NMOS and PMOS) NWs in [100], [110], and [111] transport orientations are examined. In general, physical cross section reduction increases velocities, either by lifting the heavy mass valleys or significantly changing the curvature of the bands. The carrier velocities of PMOS [110] …


The Impact Of Nonlinearity On Degenerate Parametric Amplifiers, Jeff Rhoads, Steven W. Shaw Jun 2010

The Impact Of Nonlinearity On Degenerate Parametric Amplifiers, Jeff Rhoads, Steven W. Shaw

Birck and NCN Publications

This work investigates the effects of system nonlinearities on degenerate parametric amplifiers. A simple, Duffing-type nonlinearity is appended to a representative equation of motion for a mechanical or electromechanical parametric amplifier, and classical perturbation methods are used to characterize the resulting effects on the amplifier's frequency response and performance. Ultimately, the work demonstrates that parametric amplification can be realized in nonlinear, dynamic-range limited systems, such as resonant micro-or nanosystems, but at the expense of performance degradation. Additionally, it is shown that nonlinear amplifiers can be operated above their linear instability threshold but that doing so results in bistable amplified responses.


Ambipolar Graphene Field Effect Transistors By Local Metal Side Gates, J F. Tian, L A. Jauregui, G Lopez, H Cao, Yong P. Chen Jun 2010

Ambipolar Graphene Field Effect Transistors By Local Metal Side Gates, J F. Tian, L A. Jauregui, G Lopez, H Cao, Yong P. Chen

Birck and NCN Publications

We demonstrate ambipolar graphene field effect transistors individually controlled by local metal side gates. The side gated field effect can have on/off ratio comparable with that of the global back gate, and can be tuned in a large range by the back gate and/or a second side gate. We also find that the side gated field effect is significantly stronger by electrically floating the back gate compared to grounding the back gate, consistent with the finding from electrostatic simulation.


Nanoscale Metal-Metal Contact Physics From Molecular Dynamics: The Strongest Contact Size, Hojin Kim, Alejandro Strachan May 2010

Nanoscale Metal-Metal Contact Physics From Molecular Dynamics: The Strongest Contact Size, Hojin Kim, Alejandro Strachan

PRISM: NNSA Center for Prediction of Reliability, Integrity and Survivability of Microsystems

Using molecular dynamics we find that the tensile strength of the contacts between two clean platinum surfaces with nanoscale asperities is strongly size dependent with a maximum strength for contact lengths of approximately 5 nm. This is the first time a strongest size is observed in single crystals. The strengthening with decreasing size down to 5 nm results from a decrease in the initial density of mobile dislocations available for plastic deformation and the subsequent weakening originates from a reduction in the constraint to mechanical deformation inside the contact by the bulk.


A Reactive Molecular Dynamics Simulation Of The Silica-Water Interface, Joseph C. Fogarty, Hasan Metin Aktulga, Ananth Y. Grama, Adri C. T. Van Duin, Sagar A. Pandit May 2010

A Reactive Molecular Dynamics Simulation Of The Silica-Water Interface, Joseph C. Fogarty, Hasan Metin Aktulga, Ananth Y. Grama, Adri C. T. Van Duin, Sagar A. Pandit

PRISM: NNSA Center for Prediction of Reliability, Integrity and Survivability of Microsystems

We report our study of a silica-water interface using reactive molecular dynamics. This first-of-its-kind simulation achieves length and time scales required to investigate the detailed chemistry of the system. Our molecular dynamics approach is based on the ReaxFF force field of van Duin [J. Phys. Chem. A 107, 3803 (2003)]. The specific ReaxFF implementation (SERIALREAX) and force fields are first validated on structural properties of pure silica and water systems. Chemical reactions between reactive water and dangling bonds on a freshly cut silica surface are analyzed by studying changing chemical composition at the interface. In our simulations, reactions involving silanol …


Experimental Observation Of The Trapped Rainbow, Vera N. Smolyaninova, Igor Smolyaninov, Alexander V. Kildishev, V. M. Shalaev May 2010

Experimental Observation Of The Trapped Rainbow, Vera N. Smolyaninova, Igor Smolyaninov, Alexander V. Kildishev, V. M. Shalaev

Birck and NCN Publications

We report on the experimental demonstration of the broadband "trapped rainbow" in the visible frequency range using an adiabatically tapered optical nano waveguide. Being a distinct case of the slow light phenomenon, the trapped rainbow effect could be applied to optical computing and signal processing, such as spectroscopy on a chip, and to providing enhanced light-matter interactions. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics.


Higher-Order Eigenmodes Of Qplus Sensors For High Resolution Dynamic Atomic Force Microscopy, Ryan C. Tung, Thorsten Wutscher, David Martinez-Martin, R. Reifenberger, Franz Giessibl, Arvind Raman May 2010

Higher-Order Eigenmodes Of Qplus Sensors For High Resolution Dynamic Atomic Force Microscopy, Ryan C. Tung, Thorsten Wutscher, David Martinez-Martin, R. Reifenberger, Franz Giessibl, Arvind Raman

Birck and NCN Publications

The time response of tuning-fork based sensors can be improved by operating them at higher eigenmodes because a measurement takes at least one oscillation cycle in dynamic force microscopy and the oscillation period of the second eigenmode is only about one sixth of the fundamental mode. Here we study the higher-order eigenmodes of quartz qPlus sensors [Bettac et al., Nanotechnology 20, 264009 (2009); Giessibl and Reichling, Nanotechnology 16, S118 (2005); Giessibl, Appl. Phys. Lett. 76, 1470 (2000); and Giessibl, Appl. Phys. Lett. 73, 3956 (1998)], their equivalent stiffness, and piezoelectric sensitivity, while paying special attention to the influence of the …


An Experimental Investigation On Viscoelastic Behavior In Tunable, Hao-Han Hsu, Dimitrios Peroulis May 2010

An Experimental Investigation On Viscoelastic Behavior In Tunable, Hao-Han Hsu, Dimitrios Peroulis

PRISM: NNSA Center for Prediction of Reliability, Integrity and Survivability of Microsystems

Abstract—In this paper, the viscoelastic behavior of a tunable RF-MEMS resonator and its impacts are studied by means of direct RF measurements for the first time. This tunable resonator consists of one λ/2 coplanar waveguide (CPW) resonator and two nanocrystalline-Ni RF-MEMS varactors. S-parameters of this tunable resonator have been measured for 80 hours under a bi-state bias condition of 0 and 40 V. It is demonstrated that the resonant frequency is shifted by 90 MHz and the varactor deformed by 0.12 μm over the 80 hour period. The gap of the loaded varactor is extracted from the measured S-parameters using …


Nanoscale Metal-Metal Contact Physics From Molecular Dynamics: The Strongest Contact Size, Hojin Kim, Alejandro Strachan May 2010

Nanoscale Metal-Metal Contact Physics From Molecular Dynamics: The Strongest Contact Size, Hojin Kim, Alejandro Strachan

Birck and NCN Publications

Using molecular dynamics we find that the tensile strength of the contacts between two clean platinum surfaces with nanoscale asperities is strongly size dependent with a maximum strength for contact lengths of approximately 5 nm. This is the first time a strongest size is observed in single crystals. The strengthening with decreasing size down to 5 nm results from a decrease in the initial density of mobile dislocations available for plastic deformation and the subsequent weakening originates from a reduction in the constraint to mechanical deformation inside the contact by the bulk.


Extraordinary Transmission From High-Gain Nanoaperture Antennas, Edward C. Kinzel, Pornsak Srisungsitthisunti, Yan Li, Arvind Raman, Xianfan Xu May 2010

Extraordinary Transmission From High-Gain Nanoaperture Antennas, Edward C. Kinzel, Pornsak Srisungsitthisunti, Yan Li, Arvind Raman, Xianfan Xu

Birck and NCN Publications

This letter describes a bowtie nanoaperture antenna for coupling light to a subdiffraction limited near-field spot (<λ/8). The gain of the antenna is increased using a concentric grating structure to coherently diffract normally incident light toward the aperture. We experimentally demonstrate that the addition of the grating structure enhances the far-field transmission through the aperture by 6.9 times while the intensity at the near-field is increased more than 15 times. The nanoantenna is useful for applications including nanolithography and data storage.


Simulation Of Nanowire Tunneling Transistors: From The Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin Approximation To Full-Band Phonon-Assisted Tunneling, Mathieu Luisier, Gerhard Klimeck Apr 2010

Simulation Of Nanowire Tunneling Transistors: From The Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin Approximation To Full-Band Phonon-Assisted Tunneling, Mathieu Luisier, Gerhard Klimeck

Birck and NCN Publications

Nanowire band-to-band tunneling field-effect transistors 􏰀TFETs􏰁 are simulated using the Wentzel– Kramers–Brillouin 􏰀WKB􏰁 approximation and an atomistic, full-band quantum transport solver including direct and phonon-assisted tunneling 􏰀PAT􏰁. It is found that the WKB approximation properly works if one single imaginary path connecting the valence band 􏰀VB􏰁 and the conduction band 􏰀CB􏰁 dominates the tunneling process as in direct band gap semiconductors. However, PAT is essential in Si and Ge nanowire TFETs where multiple, tightly-coupled, imaginary paths exist between the VB and the CB. © 2010 American Institute of Physics. 􏰂doi:10.1063/1.3386521􏰃


Chaos-Assisted Directional Light Emission From Microcavity Lasers, Susumu Shinohara, Takahisa Harayama, Takehiro Fukushima, Martina Hentschel, Takahiko Sasaki, Evgenii Narimanov Apr 2010

Chaos-Assisted Directional Light Emission From Microcavity Lasers, Susumu Shinohara, Takahisa Harayama, Takehiro Fukushima, Martina Hentschel, Takahiko Sasaki, Evgenii Narimanov

Birck and NCN Publications

We study the effect of dynamical tunneling on emission from ray-chaotic microcavities by introducing a suitably designed deformed disk cavity. We focus on its high quality factor modes strongly localized along a stable periodic ray orbit confined by total internal reflection. It is shown that dominant emission originates from the tunneling from the periodic ray orbit to chaotic ones; the latter eventually escape from the cavity refractively, resulting in directional emission that is unexpected from the geometry of the periodic orbit, but fully explained by unstable manifolds of chaotic ray dynamics. Experimentally performing selective excitation of those modes, we succeeded …


Computational Study Of An Ingan/Gan Nanocolumn Light-Emitting Diode, Christoph Boecklin, Ratko G. Veprek, Sebastian Steiger, Bernd Witzigmann Apr 2010

Computational Study Of An Ingan/Gan Nanocolumn Light-Emitting Diode, Christoph Boecklin, Ratko G. Veprek, Sebastian Steiger, Bernd Witzigmann

Birck and NCN Publications

A comprehensive three-dimensional analysis of the operation of an In0.4Ga0.6N/GaN nanocolumn light-emitting diode is presented. Focus is put on the investigation of the nature and location of the emitting states. Calculations of strain and polarization-induced internal fields show that the strong lateral dependence of the potential gives rise to states confined to the periphery and to the center of the nanocolumn. However, lateral confinement of states near the column center is weak such that a quantum-well-like treatment of the remaining bound states seems appropriate where coherence is lost in the lateral directions. Within this picture, a coupled and self-consistent three-dimensional …


Uncertainty Quantification Models For Micro-Scale Squeeze-Film Damping, Xiaohui Guo, Jia Li, Dongbin Xiu, Alina Alexeenko Apr 2010

Uncertainty Quantification Models For Micro-Scale Squeeze-Film Damping, Xiaohui Guo, Jia Li, Dongbin Xiu, Alina Alexeenko

PRISM: NNSA Center for Prediction of Reliability, Integrity and Survivability of Microsystems

Two squeeze-film gas damping models are proposed to quantify uncertainties associated with the gap size and the ambient pressure. Modeling of gas damping has become a subject of increased interest in recent years due to its importance in micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). In addition to the need for gas damping models for design of MEMS with movable micro-structures, knowledge of parameter dependence in gas damping contributes to the understanding of device-level reliability. In this work, two damping models quantifying the uncertainty in parameters are generated based on rarefied flow simulations. One is a generalized polynomial chaos (gPC) model, which is a …


Fabrication Of Conductive Interconnects By Ag Migration In Cu-Ag Core-Shell Nanoparticles, Suk Jun Kim, E A. Stach, Carol A. Handwerker Apr 2010

Fabrication Of Conductive Interconnects By Ag Migration In Cu-Ag Core-Shell Nanoparticles, Suk Jun Kim, E A. Stach, Carol A. Handwerker

Birck and NCN Publications

Fabrication of conductive nanoparticle films is observed in Cu-Ag core-shell nanoparticles by fast diffusion of Ag at 220 degrees C from particle surfaces, leading to the formation of sintered necks of Ag at the initial particle-particle contacts. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the necks were pure Ag and that particle surfaces away from the contacts were nearly Ag-free. The extent of neck formation is controllable by the choice of initial Ag thickness. Analysis of the thermodynamics of the Ag-Cu system and the relative diffusivities of Ag and Cu provide criteria for fabrication of other core-shell two-phase systems by the same …


Strain-Induced, Off-Diagonal, Same-Atom Parameters In Empirical Tight-Binding Theory Suitable For [110] Uniaxial Strain Applied To A Silicon Parametrization, Timothy B. Boykin, Mathieu Luisier, Mehdi Salmani-Jelodar, Gerhard Klimeck Mar 2010

Strain-Induced, Off-Diagonal, Same-Atom Parameters In Empirical Tight-Binding Theory Suitable For [110] Uniaxial Strain Applied To A Silicon Parametrization, Timothy B. Boykin, Mathieu Luisier, Mehdi Salmani-Jelodar, Gerhard Klimeck

Birck and NCN Publications

State-of-the-art transistors achieve their improved performance through strain engineering. The somewhat unusual uniaxial [110] strain is of particular importance as it provides a significant mobility increase for electrons. Empirical tight binding has shown tremendous benefits in modeling realistically large structures including standard strain conditions, but often fails to predict the correct uniaxial [110] strain behavior because most treatments neglect the same-atom different-orbital matrix elements induced by this strain. Two separate mechanisms are responsible for these conditions: Loumlwdin orbital changes and displacement of nearest-neighbor potentials. We present a model which separately includes both mechanisms via parameters whose range of validity can …


Electronic Transport In Chemical Vapor Deposited Graphene Synthesized On Cu: Quantum Hall Effect And Weak Localization, Helin Cao, Qingkai Yu, Luis A. Jauregui, J Tian, W Wu, Z Liu, Ramaneh Jalilian, D K. Benjamin, Z Jiang, J Bao, S S. Pei, Yong P. Chen Mar 2010

Electronic Transport In Chemical Vapor Deposited Graphene Synthesized On Cu: Quantum Hall Effect And Weak Localization, Helin Cao, Qingkai Yu, Luis A. Jauregui, J Tian, W Wu, Z Liu, Ramaneh Jalilian, D K. Benjamin, Z Jiang, J Bao, S S. Pei, Yong P. Chen

Birck and NCN Publications

We report on electronic properties of graphene synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on copper then transferred to SiO2/Si. Wafer-scale (up to 4 in.) graphene films have been synthesized, consisting dominantly of monolayer graphene as indicated by spectroscopic Raman mapping. Low temperature transport measurements are performed on microdevices fabricated from such CVD graphene, displaying ambipolar field effect (with on/off ratio similar to 5 and carrier mobilities up to similar to 3000 cm(2)/V s) and "half-integer" quantum Hall effect, a hall-mark of intrinsic electronic properties of monolayer graphene. We also observe weak localization and extract information about phase coherence and scattering …


Note: Thermal Analog To Atomic Force Microscopy Force-Displacement Measurements For Nanoscale Interfacial Contact Resistance, Brian D. Iverson, John Blendell, Suresh Garimella Mar 2010

Note: Thermal Analog To Atomic Force Microscopy Force-Displacement Measurements For Nanoscale Interfacial Contact Resistance, Brian D. Iverson, John Blendell, Suresh Garimella

Birck and NCN Publications

Thermal diffusion measurements on polymethylmethacrylate-coated Si substrates using heated atomic force microscopy tips were performed to determine the contact resistance between an organic thin film and Si. The measurement methodology presented demonstrates how the thermal contrast signal obtained during a force-displacement ramp is used to quantify the resistance to heat transfer through an internal interface. The results also delineate the interrogation thickness beyond which thermal diffusion in the organic thin film is not affected appreciably by the underlying substrate.


A Continuum Plasticity Model That Accounts For Hardening And Size Effects In Thin Films, Abigail Hunter, Hariharanath Kavuri, Marisol Koslowski Mar 2010

A Continuum Plasticity Model That Accounts For Hardening And Size Effects In Thin Films, Abigail Hunter, Hariharanath Kavuri, Marisol Koslowski

PRISM: NNSA Center for Prediction of Reliability, Integrity and Survivability of Microsystems

We conducted three-dimensional finite element simulations of the mechanical response of passivated single crystal copper thin films with a continuum crystal plasticity model. The model introduces the formation of high density dislocation layers close to the substrate and passivation interfaces obtained from dislocation dynamics simulations. These dislocation structures are responsible for an increase in strain hardening as the film thickness decreases. The model predicts an increase in strain hardening as the film thickness decreases in agreement with experimental observation in films with thickness in the range 0.2 to 2μm.


On Momentum Conservation And Thermionic Emission Cooling, Raseong Kim, Changwook Jeong, Mark S. Lundstrom Mar 2010

On Momentum Conservation And Thermionic Emission Cooling, Raseong Kim, Changwook Jeong, Mark S. Lundstrom

Birck and NCN Publications

The possibility of increasing the performance of thermionic cooling devices by relaxing lateral momentum conservation is examined. Upper limits for the ballistic emission current are established. It is then shown that for most cases, nonconserved lateral momentum model produces a current that exceeds this upper limit. For the case of heterojunctions with a much heavier effective mass in the barrier and with a low barrier height, however, relaxing lateral momentum may increase the current. These results can be simply understood from the general principle that the current is limited by the location, well or barrier, with the smallest number of …


Communications: Entanglement Switch For Dipole Arrays, Qi Wei, Sabre Kais, Yong P. Chen Mar 2010

Communications: Entanglement Switch For Dipole Arrays, Qi Wei, Sabre Kais, Yong P. Chen

Birck and NCN Publications

We propose a new entanglement switch of qubits consisting of electric dipoles oriented along or against an external electric field and coupled by the electric dipole-dipole interaction. The pairwise entanglement can be tuned and controlled by the ratio of the Rabi frequency and the dipole-dipole coupling strength. Tuning the entanglement can be achieved for one, two, and three-dimensional arrangements of the qubits. The feasibility of building such an entanglement switch is also discussed.


Electronic Structure, Phonons, And Thermal Properties Of Scn, Zrn, And Hfn: A First-Principles Study, Bivas Saha, Jagaran Acharya, Timothy D. Sands, Umesh Waghmare Feb 2010

Electronic Structure, Phonons, And Thermal Properties Of Scn, Zrn, And Hfn: A First-Principles Study, Bivas Saha, Jagaran Acharya, Timothy D. Sands, Umesh Waghmare

Birck and NCN Publications

With a motivation to understand microscopic aspects of ScN, ZrN, and HfN relevant to the thermoelectric properties of nitride metal/semiconductor superlattices, we determine their electronic structure, vibrational spectra and thermal properties using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory with a generalized gradient approximation of the exchange correlation energy. We find a large energy gap in the phonon dispersions of metallic ZrN and HfN, but a gapless phonon spectrum for ScN spanning the same energy range, this suggests that a reduced thermal conductivity, suitable for thermoelectric applications, should arise in superlattices made with ScN and ZrN or ScN and HfN. …


On Eigenmodes, Stiffness, And Sensitivity Of Atomic Force Microscope Cantilevers In Air Versus Liquids, Daniel Kiracofe, Arvind Raman Feb 2010

On Eigenmodes, Stiffness, And Sensitivity Of Atomic Force Microscope Cantilevers In Air Versus Liquids, Daniel Kiracofe, Arvind Raman

Birck and NCN Publications

The effect of hydrodynamic loading on the eigenmode shapes, modal stiffnesses, and optical lever sensitivities of atomic force microscope (AFM) microcantilevers is investigated by measuring the vibrations of such microcantilevers in air and water using a scanning laser Doppler vibrometer. It is found that for rectangular tipless microcantilevers, the measured fundamental and higher eigenmodes and their equivalent stiffnesses are nearly identical in air and in water. However, for microcantilevers with a tip mass or for picket shaped cantilevers, there is a marked difference in the second (and higher) eigenmode shapes between air and water that leads to a large decrease …