Controlled Individual Skyrmion Nucleation at Artificial Defects Formed by Ion Irradiation

Magnetic skyrmions are particle‐like deformations in a magnetic texture. They have great potential as information carriers in spintronic devices because of their interesting topological properties and favorable motion under spin currents. A new method of nucleating skyrmions at nanoscale defect sites, created in a controlled manner with focused ion beam irradiation, in polycrystalline magnetic multilayer samples with an interfacial Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction, is reported. This new method has three notable advantages: 1) localization of nucleation; 2) stability over a larger range of external field strengths, including stability at zero field; and 3) existence of skyrmions in material systems where, prior to defect fabrication, skyrmions were not previously obtained by field cycling. Additionally, it is observed that the size of defect nucleated skyrmions is uninfluenced by the defect itself—provided that the artificial defects are controlled to be smaller than the inherent skyrmion size. All of these characteristics are expected to be useful toward the goal of realizing a skyrmion‐based spintronic device. This phenomenon is studied with a range of transmission electron microscopy techniques to probe quantitatively the magnetic behavior at the defects with applied field and correlate this with the structural impact of the defects.     

High Electrical and Thermal Conductivity Cast Al-Fe-Mg-Si Alloys with Ni Additions

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - Aluminum alloys with transition metals Fe and Ni show potential to form the basis for castable alloys with high electrical and thermal conductivity for...     

Absch?tzung der Pyritoxidation in einem Braunkohletagebau mithilfe numerischer Modellrechnungen

Beim Abbau von Braunkohle kann die Oxidation von im Sediment vorhandenen Pyriten zu einer Versauerung des Sickerwassers führen und damit zu einer Mobilisierung von Schwermetallen. Um den Oxidationsgrad der Pyrite in der unbehandelten Abraumkippe eines Braunkohletagebaus abzuschätzen, wurden am Lehrstuhl für Angewandte Geologie der Ruhr-Universität Bochum neben umfangreichen Felduntersuchungen und Laborversuchen auch numerische Simulationsrechnungen durchgeführt. Um die in einem Tagebau oxidierten Pyritmengen zu berechnen, wurde mithilfe des numerischen Modells gw-chem.f sowohl die Oxidation auf der Abbauseite als auch die Oxidation auf der Kippenseite berechnet. Die genaue Kenntnis der umgesetzten Pyritmenge ist notwendig, um die Kalkmenge zu ermitteln, die benötigt wird, um die bei der Pyritoxidation entstehende Schwefelsäure zu neutralisieren. Dadurch soll das Grundwasser geschützt werden, wenn der Tagebau wieder geflutet wird.     

Ultrathin PECVD epitaxial Si solar cells on glass via low‐temperature transfer process

Fabrication of high‐quality ultrathin monocrystalline silicon layers and their transfer to low‐cost substrates are key steps for flexible electronics and photovoltaics. In this work, we demonstrate a low‐temperature and low‐cost process for ultrathin silicon solar cells. By using standard plasma‐enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), we grow high‐quality epitaxial silicon layers (epi‐PECVD) from SiH₄/H₂ gas mixtures at 175 °C. Using secondary ion mass spectrometry and transmission electron microscopy, we show that the porosity of the epi‐PECVD/crystalline silicon interface can be tuned by controlling the hydrogen accumulation there. Moreover, we demonstrate that 13–14% porosity is a threshold above which the interface becomes fragile and can easily be cleaved. Taking advantage of the H‐rich interface fragility, we demonstrate the transfer of large areas (∽10 cm²) ultrathin epi‐PECVD layers (0.5–5.5 µm) onto glass substrates by anodic bonding and moderate annealing (275–350 °C). The structural properties of transferred layers are assessed, and the first PECVD epitaxial silicon solar cells transferred on glass are characterized. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental investigation and numerical simulation of liquid supported stretch blow molding

An innovative production process for PET bottles ad containers is analyzed in this article. Liquid Bi‐Orientation (LBO) is a liquid supported stretch blow molding (SBM), which combines the separate blowing and filling phases of conventional SBM. The process modification is mainly characterized by forming the bottle using the desired liquid product instead of pressurized air. Consequently, possible improvements evolve regarding production cycle time, energy consumption and machine footprint. To make use of these capabilities, comprehensive process understanding is required, which can be increased using numerical simulation methods. Therefore, in this article, an LBO process model is set‐up and experimentally evaluated. The model explicitly considers the fluid‐structure interaction between liquid and PET, which significantly influences the PET forming behavior. The key simulation parameters namely the strong rate and temperature dependency of PET and a realistic process parameter determination are also included. The model is evaluated using two different methods to show the reliability of the process prediction. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:933–944, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Terminal Mannose Residues in Seminal Plasma Glycoproteins of Infertile Men Compared to Fertile Donors

The impact of seminal plasma components on the fertilization outcomes in humans is still under question. The increasing number of couples facing problems with conception raises the need for predictive biomarkers. Detailed understanding of the molecular mechanisms accompanying fertilization remains another challenge. Carbohydrate–protein recognition may be of key importance in this complex field. In this study, we analyzed the unique glycosylation pattern of seminal plasma proteins, the display of high-mannose and hybrid-type oligosaccharides, by means of their reactivity with mannose-specific Galanthus nivalis lectin. Normozoospermic infertile subjects presented decreased amounts of lectin-reactive glycoepitopes compared to fertile donors and infertile patients with abnormal semen parameters. Glycoproteins containing unveiled mannose were isolated in affinity chromatography, and 17 glycoproteins were identified in liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization. The N-glycome of the isolated glycoproteins was examined in matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry. Eleven out of 27 identified oligosaccharides expressed terminal mannose residues, responsible for lectin binding. We suggest that lowered content of high-mannose and hybrid type glycans in normozoospermic infertile patients may be associated with impaired sperm protection from preterm capacitation and should be considered in the search for new infertility markers.     

Let's go green with hydrogen! The general public's perspective

It is well known in socio-economics that the success of an innovation process depends to a great extent on public acceptance. The German HyTrust project analyzes the current state of public acceptance in hydrogen technology in the mobility sector. This paper focuses on cutting-edge results of interviews, focus groups and a representative survey. Based on these results, almost 80% of the Germans are in favor of introducing hydrogen vehicles. But from the perspective of the general public, it is important that hydrogen is produced in an environmentally friendly way. HyTrust is the socio-scientific research project that accompanies the German Federal Government's National Innovation Programme.     

Nano-Design für Makroschichten

Nano design for macroscopic coatings – new application potentials by PVD coatings up to 100 μm thickness Non-homogeneous coatings still limit the application of thicker layers due to defect growth and irregular layer thickness distribution along the surface of complex shaped components. Therefore, the layer thickness is usually limited to about 10 μm. In order to limit the surface roughness by the growing layer, multilayer coating systems are deposited by highly ionized plasmas. This allows significantly smoother layers to be produced, which until now could only be produced by mechanical finishing. Furthermore, by combining selected material systems and targeted parameter selection, structures can be deposited during coating, especially on edges, which result in a reduction of the cutting edge radius. In future, edge geometries should therefore be able to be specifically adjusted through the coating process.     

Investigation of the degradation mechanisms of InP/InGaAs DHBT under bias stress conditions to achieve electrical aging model for circuit design

The reliability of InP/InGaAs DHBT under high collector current densities and low junction temperatures is analyzed and modeled. From the Gummel characteristics, we observe several types of device degradation, resulting from the long term changes of base and collector current in both lower and higher base–emitter voltage ranges which impacts the reduction of DC current gain. In this paper, we investigate the underlying physical mechanism of base and collector current degradation with the help of TCAD device simulation. We chose the HICUM model level2 for the modeling purpose to evaluate the drift of model parameters according to stress time. The evolution of the model parameters is described with suitable equations to achieve a physics based compact electrical aging model. The aging laws and the parameter evolution equations with stress time are implemented in compact electrical aging model which allows us to simulate the impact of device failure mechanisms on the circuit in operating conditions.