Short communication: Identification of variation in the ovine prolactin gene of Chios sheep with a cost-effective sequence-based typing assay

The present study identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the coding and untranslated regions of the ovine prolactin gene of Chios sheep. By developing a cost-effective direct sequence-based typing assay, around 600 bp of reliable sequencing data and clear identification of heterozygous positions was achieved. Five SNP were found, located in exons 2 (KC764410:g.567G>A, g.625C>T, g.683C>A) and 3 (KC764410:g.2015C>A, g.2101G>A), whereas the remaining exons were monomorphic. The identified SNP were synonymous, with the exception of the g.567G>A SNP, which results in an Arg to His amino acid change. As the sequencing cost of the sequence-based typing assay was 20 orders of magnitude lower compared with a standard Sanger method, the assay was also used as a genotyping tool. The identified polymorphism was genotyped for 247 ewes and was subsequently used in mixed model association analyses of milk yield, milk fat content, and litter size at birth. The association analysis revealed a significant dominance effect of 0.17 ± 0.07 of the g.2015C>A SNP on milk fat percentage, whereas a dominance effect of ?21.33 ± 10.51 of the same SNP on total lactation milk yield was also estimated. The g.2015C>A SNP explained 2.47 and 3.68% of the total phenotypic variance of milk yield and milk fat percentage, respectively, whereas the corresponding values for the animal variance were 7.14 and 11.75%. A suggestive association of the nonsynonymous g.567G>A SNP with litter size at birth was also detected.     

Formation and stability of pyrochlore in sputtered SBT thin films

Abstract

In magnetron sputtering of SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ (SBT) thin films, bismuth deficiency tends to result in formation of an unwanted pyrochlore phase. In this paper, the dependence of deposition parameters on phase evolution in Sr deficient SBT thin films is studied. Only when bismuth is over stoichiometric (Sr_0.74Bi_2.2Ta₂O_9+x) can one obtain pure SBT structure. Decreasing the Bi content encourages formation of the Bi deficient pyrochlore phase. At 1.04 of Bi, only the pyrochlore phase forms. The pyrochlore phase is very stable even at 900°C.     

SBT资料评价固井质量的应用研究

扇区水泥胶结测井仪SBT是目前检查固井质量及管外窜槽的最新最有效的测井仪器之一。提出了利用SBT资料检查固井质量和管外窜槽的方法,并用该方法对塔河油田几口井的资料进行了处理。通过现场资料的验证及与CBL／VDL资料的对比,证明SBT资料能更好地评价固井质量,更精确地识别水泥沟槽。     

Effect of Nb Doping on (Sr,Ba)TiO3 (BST) Ceramic Samples

The effect of doping the Sr_0.3Ba_0.7Ti_(1–5y/4)Nb _y O₃ ceramic with different concentration of Nb is studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction and thermoelectric analysis. It is observed that the grain size decreases as the Nb concentration increases. The critical temperature T _c has a linear decrease at a rate of 19°C/mol% of Nb. The temperature dependence of the dielectric permittivity presents strongly broadened curves, which suggest a non Curie-Weiss behavior near the transition temperature. The diffuse phase transition coefficient () was also determined and its value leads to the conclusion that the degree of disorder in the system increases with the presence of the Nb cation.     

Fabrication of MFIS diodes using sol-gel derived SBT films and LaAlO3 buffer layers

Abstract

We demonstrate the ferroelectric behavior of Sr_0.8Bi_2.2Ta₂O₉ (SBT) films grown on Si(100) substrates by using lanthanum aluminate (LaAlO₃) buffer layers. LaAlO₃ films were prepared by vacuum evaporation method. Then, they were subjected to ex situ dry N₂ annealing in a rapid thermal annealing (RTA) furnace. From the capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurement, the dielectric constant of LaAlO₃ was estimated to be 20～25. On these substrates, SBT films (210nm) were deposited by sol-gel method and they were characterized by XRD analysis after annealing under various conditions. It was found from C-V characteristics that the memory window of an SBT film annealed at 750°C for 30min in O₂ atmosphere was about 3.0V for the voltage sweep of ±10V. It was also found from the retention measurement that the capacitance values of the SBT film annealed at 750°C did not change over 12hours. It is concluded from these results that the SBT/LaAlO₃/Si(100) structure is one of the most promising structures for realizing MFISFETs (metal-ferroelectric-insulator-semiconductor field-effect-transistors).     

Buffer layer dependence of memory effects for SrBi2Ta2O9 on Si

Abstract

The ability to form a high-quality buffer layer between the ferroelectric layer and the underlying silicon substrate is of critical importance. A suitable buffer layer must provide an acceptable electronic interface with the silicon substrate, and also must be able to prevent intermixing between the ferroelectric material and the underlying silicon, as well as prevent oxidation of the latter during device processing. This paper reports the properties of jet-vapor deposited silicon nitride and thermally grown silicon oxide as the buffer. Results from TEM, EDS, XRD and AFM micrographs will be presented, along with some electrical data taken from corresponding memory capacitor structures.     

Preparation of Si-Added SrBi2Ta2O9 Ferroelectric Thin Films by RF Magnetron Sputtering

Si-added SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ (SBT) ferroelectric films were prepared by RF magnetron sputtering on a Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si (100) structure. The films were deposited at temperatures below 100°C for surpressing Bi evaporation, and crystallized at 800°C in air. A typical composition was Sr_0.79Bi_2.37Ta_2.00Si_0.2O_x. The remanent polarization value (2Pr) of the Si-added SBT film was 16 μC/cm². The Si atom addition was found to be effective in improvement of the fatigue and leakage current of SBT ferroelectric films. The leakage current density was further improved by annealing in the high-pressure oxygen ambient at 7 atms.     

Surface Segregation Mechanisms in Ferroelectric Thin Films

Reliability issues have hampered the adoption of ferroelectric thin films by the microelectronics industry. One of these is imprint, an important problem affecting the performance of ferroelectric non-volatile memories. This paper presents the effects of the low temperature pyrolysis step on the chemical and physical properties of SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ films. A comparison of the hysteretic properties and composition profiles shows that control of the oxidising conditions during pyrolysis is critical to the dielectric properties. Data from this work and from the literature have been used to construct a model that explains the origin of surface depletion and segregation, self poling and as-grown imprint in ferroelectric films.     

SBT铁电薄膜及其脉冲准分子激光制备

采用脉冲准分子激光沉积法在Ｐｔ／Ｔｉ／ＳｉＯ２／Ｓｉ衬底上成功地制备了ＳＢＴ铁电薄膜，发现存在一个最佳沉积衬底温度约为４５０℃。在该温度下沉积的ＳＢＴ薄膜具有较饱和的方形电滞回线，其剩余极化Ｐｒ和矫顽电场Ｅｃ分别为８．４μＣ／ｃｍ２和５７ｋＶ／ｃｍ。     

Developing a conductive oxygen barrier for ferroelectric integration

For high-density FeRAM memories, the 1T–1C architecture has been proposed. In this scheme, the ferrocapacitor (FeCAP), a metal\ferroelectric film\metal-like sandwich, is placed directly on top of polysilicon or tungsten plugs contacted to the underlying CMOS technology. Our ferroelectric material of choice, SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ (SBT), requires crystallization anneals ranging from 650 to 800 °C in full oxygen. The bottom electrode (BE) needs to be conductive, as well as an oxygen barrier to protect the underlying plug from oxidation. We have developed a BE stack combination consisting of Pt/IrO₂/Ir/Ti(Al)N. Each layer plays a critical role in the performance of the barrier. Issues such as thermal expansion, stress relaxation, grain growth, and oxidation can be critical in order to have a working bottom electrode. For capacitor formation, the complete stack is etched and covered by SBT. Since all layers are in contact with SBT, it is important to understand how the ferroelectric interacts with both the individual layers and the combined structure. In this paper, we will present our understanding of the chemical reactivity between SBT and the BE stack, which has been successfully engineered to prevent oxidation of the underlying plug.