Growth condition dependence of unintentional oxygen incorporation in epitaxial GaN

Growth conditions have a tremendous impact on the unintentional background impurity concentration in gallium nitride (GaN) synthesized by molecular beam epitaxy and its resulting chemical and physical properties. In particular for oxygen identified as the dominant background impurity we demonstrate that under optimized growth stoichiometry the growth temperature is the key parameter to control its incorporation and that an increase by 55?°C leads to an oxygen reduction by one order of magnitude. Quantitatively this reduction and the resulting optical and electrical properties are analyzed by secondary ion mass spectroscopy, photoluminescence, capacitance versus voltage measurements, low temperature magneto-transport and parasitic current paths in lateral transistor test structures based on two-dimensional electron gases. At a growth temperature of 665?°C the residual charge carrier concentration is decreased to below 10¹⁵ cm^?3, resulting in insulating behavior and thus making the material suitable for beyond state-of-the-art device applications.     

Experimental Investigation of Thermal and Hydrodynamic Effects on Radially Grooved Thrust Washer Bearings

In this study, an experimental investigation on the effects of grooves on thrust washer bearings is investigated. Eight equally sized grooves are machined about 100 μ m deep into one side of a flat-faced steel washer. This thrust washer bearing is located between a helical gear and its carrier and is tested on a test rig capable of measuring frictional torque and the temperature of the bearing at different speeds. It is found that the grooved washers had lower bearing temperatures and failed at significantly higher loads than the control washer with no grooves. For a test procedure with varying operating conditions, the coefficient of friction is also significantly lower for the grooved washers. However, the grooved washers had about the same coefficient of friction as the control washers at each step when the speeds are very high. The results from various tests suggest that the increased amount of lubricant passing through the grooved surface of the washer removes heat from the washer bearing by convection. This decrease in stored heat conducted from friction deters thermoelastic instabilities and the reduction of hydrodynamic stiffness due to the decrease in viscosity. Enhanced hydrodynamic load-carrying capacity is also evident in the grooved washers test results.     

Interatomic potentials for simulation of He bubble formation in W

A new interatomic pair potential for W–He is described, which includes a short range modification to the Ackland–Thetford tungsten potential. Molecular dynamics simulations using these potentials accurately reproduce ab initio results of the formation energies and ground state positions of He point defects and self interstitial atoms in W. Simulations of larger He–vacancy clusters with up to 20 vacancies and 120 He atoms show strong binding of both He and vacancies to He–vacancy clusters for all cluster sizes. For small clusters, the qualitative agreement with ab initio results is good, although the vacancy binding energy is overestimated by the interatomic potential.     

Silica colloidal crystals as porous substrates for total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy of live cells

Total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy is a powerful means of probing biological cells because it reduces autofluorescence, but the need for direct contact between the cell surface and the microscope slide hinders chemical access to the cell surface. In this work, a submicrometer crystalline layer of colloidal silica on the microscope coverslip is shown to allow TIRF microscopy while also allowing chemical access to the cell surface. A 750 nm layer of 165 nm silica colloidal crystals was sintered onto a fused silica coverslip, and Chinese hamster ovary cells were successfully grown on this surface. This cell line over-expresses the human delta-opioid receptor, which enabled probing of the binding of a labeled ligand to the receptors on the cell surface. Total internal reflection and chemical access to the cell surface are demonstrated. The range of angles for total internal reflection is reduced only by 1/3 due to the lower index of refraction of the colloidal multilayer relative to fused silica.     

Effects of Flicker in a Distribution Grid with High PV Penetration

The quantity of installed PV （photovoltaic） systems in the German distribution grid is still increasing. In some areas, the installed PV capacity exceeds 5 kW per HC （house connection）. Therefore, the load flow changes its characteristics and leads to new requirements for the grid. In some areas, the power feedback is higher than the delivery and the installed PV capacity becomes the decisive factor for grid planning. This paper discusses the impact of PV systems on the flicker level. The focus hereby is on the correlation among the flicker level, the grid voltage and the meteorological parameters. Different approaches to investigate if there is an influence of PV systems on the maximum flicker are taken into account. Furthermore, an investigation if the normative limit is exceeded will be shown.     

Quasi‐One Dimensional in‐Plane Conductivity in Filamentary Films of PEDOT:PSS

The mechanism and magnitude of the in‐plane conductivity of poly(3,4‐ethy‐lenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) thin films is determined using temperature dependent conductivity measurements for various PEDOT:PSS weight ratios with and without a high boiling solvent (HBS). Without the HBS the in‐plane conductivity of PEDOT:PSS is lower and for all studied weight ratios well described by the relation $ \sigma = \sigma _0 {\rm exp}[- \left({{{{T_0}}\over{T}}} \right)^{0.5}] $ with T₀ a characteristic temperature. The exponent 0.5 indicates quasi‐one dimensional (quasi‐1D) variable range hopping (VRH). The conductivity prefactor σ₀ varies over three orders of magnitudes and follows a power law σ₀∝c^3.5_PEDOT with c_PEDOT the weight fraction of PEDOT in PEDOT:PSS. The field dependent conductivity is consistent with quasi‐1D VRH. Combined, these observations suggest that conductance takes place via a percolating network of quasi‐1D filaments. Using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) filamentary structures are observed in vitrified dispersions and dried films. For PEDOT:PSS films with HBS, the conductivity also exhibits quasi‐1D VRH behavior when the temperature is less than 200 K. The low characteristic temperature T₀ indicates that HBS‐treated films are close to the critical regime between a metal and an insulator. In this case, the conductivity prefactor scales linearly with c_PEDOT, indicating the conduction is no longer limited by a percolation of filaments. The lack of observable changes in TEM upon processing with the HBS suggests that the changes in conductivity are due to a smaller spread in the conductivities of individual filaments, or a higher probability for neighboring filaments to be connected rather than being caused by major morphological modification of the material.     

Magnetotransport in the CeIrIn5 System: The Influence of Antiferromagnetic Fluctuations

We present an overview of magnetotransport measurements on the heavy-fermion superconductor CeIrIn₅. Sensitive measurements of the Hall effect and magnetoresistance are used to elucidate the low-temperature phase diagram of this system. The normal-state magnetotransport is highly anomalous, and experimental signatures of a pseudogap-like precursor state to superconductivity, as well as evidence for two distinct scattering times governing the Hall effect and the MR, are observed. Our observations point out the influence of antiferromagnetic fluctuations on the magnetotransport in this class of materials. The implications of these findings, both in the context of unconventional superconductivity in heavy-fermion systems and in relation to the high-temperature superconducting cuprates, are discussed.     

Enhancement of Reaction Rates by Segmented Fluid Flow in Capillary Scale Reactors

For a simple biphasic hydrolysis, we show that the application of various reaction conditions in microreactors using segmented flow can dramatically increase the reaction rate. A tandem diazotation/Heck reaction served as an example that even homogeneous reactions can be accelerated by segmentation in microreactors.     

The goal specificity effect on strategy use and instructional efficiency during computer-based scientific discovery learning

Using a computer-based scientific discovery learning environment on buoyancy in fluids we investigated the effects of goal specificity (nonspecific goals vs. specific goals) for two goal types (problem solving goals vs. learning goals) on strategy use and instructional efficiency. Our empirical findings close an important research gap, because in earlier studies the goal specificity effect either was restricted to one goal type or goal type was confounded with goal specificity. In addition, there is hardly a study with empirical evidence for the goal specificity effect on strategy use, which counts even more for a cognitive cost-benefit ratio as a dependent variable. Instead, in earlier studies the goal specificity effect has been attributed to differences in strategy use and cognitive cost-benefit ratio in a rather theoretical way. In the present study for strategy use an interaction was found between goal specificity and goal type, indicating that the goal specificity effect occurs only in case of problem solving goals, but not in case of learning goals. Compared to students provided with specific problem solving goals, students who worked on nonspecific problem solving goals, used a control of variables-strategy more frequently. Additionally, we found a main effect of goal specificity on instructional efficiency for both of the goal types, pointing at a more favorable relationship between performance gain and cognitive load caused by nonspecific goals.