Junctionless Gate-all-around Nanowire FET with Asymmetric Spacer for Continued Scaling

Silicon - In this paper, we have performed the scaling of asymmetric junctionless (JL) SOI nanowire (NW) FET at 10 nm gate length (LG). To study the device electrical performance various...     

Ultrasonic wave characteristics of a monolayer graphene on silicon substrate

The present work deals with an ultrasonic type of wave propagation characteristics of monolayer graphene on silicon (Si) substrate. An atomistic model of a hybrid lattice involving a hexagonal lattice of graphene and surface atoms of diamond lattice of Si is developed to identify the carbon-silicon bond stiffness. Properties of this hybrid lattice model is then mapped into a nonlocal continuum framework. Equivalent force constant due to Si substrate is obtained by minimizing the total potential energy of the system. For this equilibrium configuration, the nonlocal governing equations are derived to analyze the ultrasonic wave dispersion based on spectral analysis. From the present analysis we show that the silicon substrate affects only the flexural wave mode. The frequency band gap of flexural mode is also significantly affected by this substrate. The results also show that, the silicon substrate adds cushioning effect to the graphene and it makes the graphene more stable. The analysis also show that the frequency bang gap relations of in-plane (longitudinal and lateral) and out-of-plane (flexural) wave modes depends not only on the y-direction wavenumber but also on nonlocal scaling parameter. In the nonlocal analysis, at higher values of the y-directional wavenumber, a decrease in the frequency band gap is observed for all the three fundamental wave modes in the graphene–silicon system. The atoms movement in the graphene due to the wave propagation are also captured for all the tree fundamental wave modes. The results presented in this work are qualitatively different from those obtained based on the local analysis and thus, are important for the development of graphene based nanodevices such as strain sensor, mass and pressure sensors, atomic dust detectors and enhancer of surface image resolution that make use of the ultrasonic wave dispersion properties of graphene.     

Kinetic Analysis of Combustion Synthesis of Lead Magnesium Niobate from Metal Carboxylate Gels

A combustion synthesis route was developed for direct crystallization of perovskite lead magnesium niobate (PMN) from metal carboxylate gels. Direct PMN formation is attributed to a homogeneous cation distribution in the gel and the rapid heating during exothermic gel decomposition in oxidizing atmospheres. The maximum bed temperature and gel decomposition rate are determined by the combined influence of chemical kinetics, heat, and mass transfer. It is shown that there is a temperature window between 700° and 750°C which favors direct PMN formation, whereas pyrochlore formation is favored below 650°C and PbO volatilization occurs above 800°C. The effects of kinetic and transport parameters including oxygen partial pressure, gas flow rate, and bed geometry on PMN formation are discussed on the basis of a thermal ignition model for heterogeneous reactions.     

Nonlocal thermodynamic response of a rod

Thermally induced behavior of a rod under the influence of a moving heat source is studied in the present work. The thermal behavior is modeled using the non-Fourier heat conduction model and the elastodynamic behavior of the rod is modeled using the nonlocal continuum mechanics. Laplace transformation and Riemann-sum approximation methods are used in the mathematical formulations. Based on the temperature history, the thermally induced nonlocal deformation and nonlocal stress behavior of the rod are studied. The influences of nonlocal scale parameter and speed of the heat source are studied in detail. The results presented in this work are helpful in the design of nanoscale welding, grinding, metal cutting devices, etc., that make use of the thermodynamic behavior within the nanoscale rod.     

Scale effects on buckling analysis of orthotropic nanoplates based on nonlocal two-variable refined plate theory

This article presents the buckling analysis of orthotropic nanoplates such as graphene using the two-variable refined plate theory and nonlocal small-scale effects. The two-variable refined plate theory takes account of transverse shear effects and parabolic distribution of the transverse shear strains through the thickness of the plate, hence it is unnecessary to use shear correction factors. Nonlocal governing equations of motion for the monolayer graphene are derived from the principle of virtual displacements. The closed-form solution for buckling load of a simply supported rectangular orthotropic nanoplate subjected to in-plane loading has been obtained by using the Navier’s method. Numerical results obtained by the present theory are compared with first-order shear deformation theory for various shear correction factors. It has been proven that the nondimensional buckling load of the orthotropic nanoplate is always smaller than that of the isotropic nanoplate. It is also shown that small-scale effects contribute significantly to the mechanical behavior of orthotropic graphene sheets and cannot be neglected. Further, buckling load decreases with the increase of the nonlocal scale parameter value. The effects of the mode number, compression ratio and aspect ratio on the buckling load of the orthotropic nanoplate are also captured and discussed in detail. The results presented in this work may provide useful guidance for design and development of orthotropic graphene based nanodevices that make use of the buckling properties of orthotropic nanoplates.     

Slope Stability Analysis of a Lead-Zinc Open Pit Mine Using Limit Equilibrium and Numerical Methods

This paper describes the results of slope stability analysis carried out for a lead–zinc open pit mine. Geotechnical mapping was carried out to identify the critical orientation of structural discontinuities. The intact rock properties of different rock samples were determined in the laboratory and subsequently rock mass properties were estimated. Shear strength properties of discontinuities were determined by back analyzing the actual failed benches. The stability of the slopes was analyzed in two dimensions using limit equilibrium and numerical methods. The safe slope geometry obtained from limit equilibrium method was reexamined by distinct element method. Based on the analysis of results safe slope parameters were suggested.     

Performance Enhancement of FinFET Devices with Gate-Stack (GS) High-K Dielectrics for Nanoscale Applications

The Fin shaped Field Effect Transistors (FinFETs), are the front runner of the current sub-nanometer technology node. The semiconductor industry adopts it in high-performance (HP) and low-power (LP) applications due to greater electrostatic control and better scalability. This paper explores the numerically simulation based comparison of bulk and silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology double gate (DG), triple gate (TG) FinFETs. The essential processing steps required to create the GS high-k dielectric bulk and SOI FinFETs are demonstrated. The electrical performance parameters of the device such as I_on/I_off ratio, subthreshold swing (SS), and drain induced barrier lowering (DIBL) are extracted. Based on the three-dimensional (3D) ATLAS^TM simulation results, TG FinFET shows an ameliorated performance over DG in bulk and SOI technology as well. In order to control the short channel effects (SCEs), gate-stack (GS) high-k dielectrics are introduced with fixed thickness interfacial-layer (IL) and high-k dielectric material in between the gate material and semiconductor. The GS high-k dielectrics suppress the SCEs to large extent in both devices and technologies. The GS SOI FinFETs demonstrates the improved performance over the bulk counterpart and TG FinFET is the best among them. Further, the similar kind of investigation has been carried out for T_fin variations. These devices reveal the excellent control of SCEs when the fin is narrow. The ratio of SOI and bulk TG FinFET I_on/I_off ratio with T_fin variations provide evidence that, the SOI based devices are competent for HP and LP applications.     

Development of zolmitriptan transfersomes by Box–Behnken design for nasal delivery: in vitro and in vivo evaluation

The aim was to prepare an optimized zolmitriptan (ZT)-loaded transfersome formulation using Box–Behnken design for improving the bioavailability by nasal route for quick relief of migraine and further to compare with a marketed nasal spray. Here, three factors were evaluated at three levels. Independent variables include: amount of soya lecithin (X₁), amount of drug (X₂) and amount of tween 80 (X₃). The dependent responses were vesicle size (Y₁), flexibility index (Y₂) and regression coefficient of drug release kinetics (Y₃). Prepared formulations were evaluated for physical characters and an optimal system was identified. Further, in vivo pharmacokinetic study was performed in male wistar rats to compare the amount of drug in systemic circulation after intranasal administration. Optimized ZT-transfersome formulation containing 82.74?mg of lecithin (X₁), 98.37?mg of zolmitriptan (X₂) and 32.2?mg of Tween 80 (X₃) and had vesicle size of 93.3?nm, flexibility index of 20.25 and drug release regression coefficient of 0.992. SEM picture analysis revealed that the vesicles were spherical in morphology and had a size more than 1?µm. The formulations were found to be physically stable upon storage at room temperature up to 2?months period, as there were no significant changes noticed in size and ZP. The nasal bioavailability of optimized transfersome formulation was found to be increased by 1.72 times than that of marketed nasal spray (Zolmist^®). The design and development of zolmitriptan as transfersome provided improved nasal delivery over a conventional nasal spray for a better therapeutic effect.     

Non-aqueous stabilized suspensions of BaZr0.85Y0.15O3−δ proton conducting electrolyte powders for thin film preparation

The development of uniform electrolyte thin films minimizes the ohmic loss of ceramic oxide electrolyzers and/or fuel cells, increasing their efficiency. In this work, thin films of BaZr_0.85Y_0.15O_3?δ (BZY) electrolyte have been obtained over a 40 vol% Nickel–BaZr_0.85Y_0.15O_3?δ (Ni–BZY) cermet anode support by spin coating. To facilitate this aim, stable suspensions have been tailored, by methodically determining suitable solvents and additives (surfactants and/or thickeners). Sedimentation studies showed that ethanol and 1-methoxy-2-propanol can produce similar, stable 5% w/w BZY suspensions. The best result was obtained by simultaneously adding 1.5 wt% of ZEPHRYM PD 7000 (a commercial polyoxyalkylene amine derivative surfactant) and 0.3 wt% of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) in 1-methoxy-2-propanol. Suspensions of 1-methoxy-2-propanol with higher powder concentration (25% w/w) also show good stability that was improved by the addition of 1 wt% of ZEPHRYM. Using this system, dense BZY films of around 14 μm thick could be successfully obtained at 1500 °C.