Temperature dependence of thermal properties of Ag8In14Sb55Te23 phase-change memory materials

The dependence of thermal properties of Ag8In14Sb55Te23 phase-change memory materials in crystalline and amorphous states on temperature was measured and analyzed. The results show that in the crystalline state, the thermal properties monotonically decrease with the temperature and present obvious crystalline semiconductor characteristics. The heat capacity, thermal diffusivity, and thermal conductivity decrease from 0.35 J/g K, 1.85 mm(2)/s, and 4.0 W/m K at 300 K to 0.025 J/g K, 1.475 mm(2)/s, and 0.25 W/m K at 600 K, respectively. In the amorphous state, while the dependence of thermal properties on temperature does not present significant changes, the materials retain the glass-like thermal characteristics. Within the temperature range from 320 K to 440 K, the heat capacity fluctuates between 0.27 J/g K and 0.075 J/g K, the thermal diffusivity basically maintains at 0.525 mm(2)/s, and the thermal conductivity decreases from 1.02 W/m K at 320 K to 0.2 W/m K at 440 K. Whether in the crystalline or amorphous state, Ag8In14Sb55Te23 are more thermally active than Ge2Sb2Te5, that is, the Ag8In14Sb55Te23 composites bear stronger thermal conduction and diffusion than the Ge2Sb2Te5 phase-change memory materials.

Numerical research of heat generation in flashlamp-pumped Nd : glass disk amplifiers

The heat generation in a flashlamp-pumped Nd:glass disk amplifier is studied by the simulation of the whole pumping process, which is based on the ray-tracing method. The results of temperature rise distribution as well as gain distribution are presented. The evolution of heat generation in disk during the pumping process is discussed in detail. Some main factors related with the thermal effect, such as the quantum efficiency, fluorescence lifetime, and pulse duration, are investigated through studying the ratio of the heat generation to energy storage in the gain medium. The influence of each parameter on heat generation is studied carefully, and the results provide ways to decrease the heat generation during the pumping process. (c) 2005 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Dual-wavelength competitive output in Nd:Y3Sc1.5Al3.5O12 ceramic disk laser

In this paper, we demonstrated a dual-wavelength competitive output in Nd:Y3SC1.5Al3.5O12 ceramic disk laser. Different dual-wavelength output behaviors for Nd:YSAG and Nd:YAG ceramic disk laser were investigated and discussed. By applying the energy transfer model, we suggested the reasonable explanation for this new phenomenon as the disordered replacing of Al3+ ions by Sc3+ ions. The main advantage of the dual-wavelength ceramic laser is the possibility to serve as the seed source to generate Terahertz radiation. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The effect of diffusion and overhangs/vacancies on the microstructure of zig-zag thin film

Basing on some growth models of thin film, we have investigated the growth mechanism of glancing angle deposition (GLAD) film. The simulation verifies that the overhangs/vacancies also contribute to the columnar growth as well as the self-shadowing effect for GLAD thin film. Besides, we have studied the effect of the deposition rate, surface and bulk diffusions on the microstructure of thin film using the time-dependent Monte Carlo method. The results show that the surface and bulk diffusions can significantly enhance the packing density of thin film in GLAD growth, and the increase of the deposition rate induce the moderate decrease of the packing density. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Genetic evidence supports demic diffusion of Han culture

The spread of culture and language in human populations is explained by two alternative models: the demic diffusion model, which involves mass movement of people; and the cultural diffusion model, which refers to cultural impact between populations and in

Prefrontal white matter abnormalities in young adult with major depressive disorder: A diffusion tensor imaging study

Prefrontal impairments have been hypothesized to be most strongly associated with the cognitive and emotional dysfunction in depression. Recently, white matter microstructural abnormalities in prefrontal lobe have been reported in elderly patients with ma

Effects of disk rotation rate on the growth of ZnO films by low-pressure metal-organic chemical vapor deposition

ZnO films were grown at low pressure in a vertical metal-organic vapor deposition (MOCVD) reactor with a rotating disk. The structural and morphological properties of the ZnO films grown at different disk rotation rate (DRR) were investigated. The growth rate increases with the increase of DRR. The ZnO film grown at the DRR of 450 revolutions per minute (rpm) has the lowest X-ray rocking curve full width at half maximum and shows the best crystalline quality and morphology. In addition, the crystalline quality and morphology are improved as the DRR increased but both are degraded when the DRR is higher than 450 rpm. These results can help improve in understanding the rotation effects on the ZnO films grown by MOCVD. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Photoluminescence study of AlGaInP/GaInP quantum well intermixing induced by zinc impurity diffusion

AlGaInP/GaInP quantum well intermixing phenomena induced by Zn impurity diffusion at 540 degrees C were studied using room-temperature photo luminescence (PL) spectroscopy. As the diffusion time increased from 40 to 120 min, PL blue shift taken on the AlGaInP/GaInP quantum well regions increased from 36.3 to 171.6 meV. Moreover, when the diffusion time was equal to or above 60 min, it was observed firstly that a PL red shift occurred with a PL blue shift on the samples. After detailed analysis, it was found that the red-shift PL spectra were measured on the Ga0.51In0.49P buffer layer of the samples, and the mechanism of the PL red shift and the PL blue shift were studied qualitatively. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Measuring spin diffusion of electrons in bulk n-GaAs using circularly dichromatic absorption difference spectroscopy of spin gratings

Circular dichromatic absorption difference spectroscopy is developed to measure the spin diffusion dynamics of electrons in bulk n-GaAs. This spectroscopy has higher detection sensitivity over homodyne detection of spin-grating-diffracted signal. A model to describe circular dichromatic absorption difference signal is derived and used to fit experimental signal to retrieve decaying rate of spin gratings. A spin diffusion constant of D-s=201 +/- 25 cm(2)/s for bulk n-GaAs has been measured at room temperature using this technique and is close to electron diffusion constant (D-c), which is much different from the case in GaAs quantum wells where D-s is markedly less than D-c.

Electronic structure of self-assembled InAs quantum disks in an axial magnetic field and two-electron quantum-disk qubit

We have studied the single-electron and two-electron vertically assembled quantum disks in an axial magnetic field using the effective mass approximation. The electron interaction is treated accurately by the direct diagonalization of the Hamiltonian matrix. We calculate the six energy levels of the single-electron quantum disks and the two lowest energy levels of the two-electron quantum disks in an axial magnetic field. The change of the magnetic field strongly modifies the electronic structures as an effective potential, leading to the splitting of the levels and the crossings between the levels. The effect of the vertical alignment on the electronic structures is discussed. It is demonstrated that the switching of the ground-state spin exists between S=0 and S=1. The energy difference DeltaE between the lowest S=0 and S=1 states is shown as a function of the axial magnetic field. It is also found that the variation of the energy difference between the lowest S=0 and S=1 states in the strong-B S=0 state is fairly linear. Our results provide a possible realization for a qubit to be fabricated by current growth techniques. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.

Ferromagnetism in Mn and Cr doped GaN by thermal diffusion

Doping of magnetic element Mn and Cr in GaN was achieved by thermal diffusion. The conductivity of the samples, which were all n-type, did not change significantly after the diffusion doping. X-ray diffraction measurements revealed no secondary phase in the samples. Experiments using superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) showed that the samples were ferromagnetic at 5 and 300 K, implying the Curie temperature to be around or over 300 K, despite their n-type conductivity. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A study on the minority carrier diffusion length in n-type GaN films

The minority carrier diffusion length of n-type GaN films grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) has been studied by measuring the surface photovoltaic (PV) spectra. It was found that the minority carrier diffusion length of undoped n-type GaN is considerably larger than that in lightly Si-doped GaN. However, the data suggested that the dislocation and electron concentration appear not to be responsible for the minority carrier diffusion length. It is suggested that Si doping plays an important role in decreasing the minority carrier diffusion length.

As-doped p-type ZnO films by sputtering and thermal diffusion process

As-doped p-type ZnO films were grown on GaAs by sputtering and thermal diffusion process. Hall effect measurements showed that the as-grown films were of n-type conductivity and they were converted to p-type behavior after thermal annealing. Moreover, the hole concentration of As-doped p-type ZnO was very impressible to the oxygen ambient applied during the annealing process. In addition, the bonding state of As in the films was investigated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. This study not only demonstrated an effective method for reliable and reproducible p-type ZnO fabrication but also helped to understand the doping mechanism of As-doped ZnO. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Effect of lightly Si doping on the minority carrier diffusion length in n-type GaN films

We investigate the effects of lightly Si doping on the minority carrier diffusion length in n-type GaN films by analyzing photovoltaic spectra and positron annihilation measurements. We find that the minority carrier diffusion length in undoped n-type GaN is much larger than in lightly Si-doped GaN. Positron annihilation analysis demonstrates that the concentration of Ga vacancies is much higher in lightly Si-doped GaN and suggests that the Ga vacancies instead of dislocations are responsible for the smaller minority carrier diffusion length in the investigated Si-doped GaN samples due to the effects of deep level defects. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Fe-diffusion-induced defects in InP annealed in iron phosphide ambient

Photoluminescence (PL) and photo induced current transient spectroscopy (PICTS) have been used to study deep levels in semi-insulating (SI) InP prepared by annealing undoped InP in pure phosphorus (PP) and iron phosphide (IP) ambient. Defects are much fewer in IP SI-InP than in PP SI-InP. Deep-level-related PL emission could only be detected in IP SI-InP. The results indicate that Fe diffusion inhibits the thermal formation of a number of defects in annealed InP. A complex defect has been formed in the annealing process in the presence of Fe.