Read-only memory disk with AgOx and AgInSbTe superresolution mask layer

Two novel read-only memory (ROM) disks, one with an AgOx mask layer and the other with an AgInSbTe mask layer, are proposed and studied. The AgOx and the AgInSbTe films sputtered on the premastered substrates with pit depths of 50 nm and pit lengths (space) of 380 nm are studied by atomic force microscopy. Disk readout measurement is carried out using a dynamic setup with a laser wavelength of 632.8 nm and an object lens numerical aperture (NA) of 0.40. Results show that the superresolution effect happens only at a suitable oxygen flow ratio for the AgOx ROM disk. The best superresolution readout effect is achieved at an oxygen flow ratio of 0.5 with the smoothest film surface. Compared with the AgOx ROM disk, the AgInSbTe ROM disk has a much smoother film surface and better superresolution effect. A carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR) of above 40 dB can be obtained at an appropriate readout power and readout velocity. The readout CNR of both the AgOx and AgInSbTe ROM disks have a nonlinear dependence on the readout power. The superresolution readout mechanisms for these ROM disks are analyzed and compared as well. (c) 2005 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Read-only memory disk with AgOx super-resolution mask layer

A novel read-only memory (ROM) disk with an AgOx mask layer was proposed and studied in this letter. The AgOx films sputtered on the premastered substrates, with pits depth of 50 nm and pits length of 380 nm, were studied by an atomic force microscopy. The transmittances of these AgOx films were also measured by a spectrophotometer. Disk measurement was carried out by a dynamic setup with a laser wavelength of 632.8 nm and a lens numerical aperture (NA) of 0.40. The readout resolution limit of this setup was λ/(4NA) (400 nm). Results showed that the super-resolution readout happened only when the oxygen flow ratios were at suitable values for these disks. The best super-resolution performance was achieved at the oxygen flow ratio of 0.5 with the smoothest film surface. The super-resolution readout mechanism of these ROM disks was analyzed as well.

Read-only memory disk with AgOx and AgInSbTe superresolution mask layer

Two novel read-only memory (ROM) disks, one with an AgOx mask layer and the other with an AgInSbTe mask layer, are proposed and studied. The AgOx and the AgInSbTe films sputtered on the premastered substrates with pit depths of 50 nm and pit lengths (space) of 380 nm are studied by atomic force microscopy. Disk readout measurement is carried out using a dynamic setup with a laser wavelength of 632.8 nm and an object lens numerical aperture (NA) of 0.40. Results show that the superresolution effect happens only at a suitable oxygen flow ratio for the AgOx ROM disk. The best superresolution readout effect is achieved at an oxygen flow ratio of 0.5 with the smoothest film surface. Compared with the AgOx ROM disk, the AgInSbTe ROM disk has a much smoother film surface and better superresolution effect. A carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR) of above 40 dB can be obtained at an appropriate readout power and readout velocity. The readout CNR of both the AgOx and AgInSbTe ROM disks have a nonlinear dependence on the readout power. The superresolution readout mechanisms for these ROM disks are analyzed and compared as well. (c) 2005 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

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.

Birth Weight, Working Memory and Epigenetic Signatures in IGF2 and Related Genes: A MZ Twin Study

Neurodevelopmental disruptions caused by obstetric complications play a role in the etiology of several phenotypes associated with neuropsychiatric diseases and cognitive dysfunctions. Importantly, it has been noticed that epigenetic processes occurring early in life may mediate these associations. Here, DNA methylation signatures at IGF2 (insulin-like growth factor 2) and IGF2BP1-3 (IGF2-binding proteins 1-3) were examined in a sample consisting of 34 adult monozygotic (MZ) twins informative for obstetric complications and cognitive performance. Multivariate linear regression analysis of twin data was implemented to test for associations between methylation levels and both birth weight (BW) and adult working memory (WM) performance. Familial and unique environmental factors underlying these potential relationships were evaluated. A link was detected between DNA methylation levels of two CpG sites in the IGF2BP1 gene and both BW and adult WM performance. The BW-IGF2BP1 methylation association seemed due to non-shared environmental factors influencing BW, whereas the WM-IGF2BP1 methylation relationship seemed mediated by both genes and environment. Our data is in agreement with previous evidence indicating that DNA methylation status may be related to prenatal stress and later neurocognitive phenotypes. While former reports independently detected associations between DNA methylation and either BW or WM, current results suggest that these relationships are not confounded by each other.

Living on the hyphen: diaspora, identity and memory in Jamaica Kincaids Annie John / Lucy and Esmeralda Santiagos When I was Puerto Rican / Almost a woman

Esta dissertação tem por objetivo investigar o desenvolvimento de identidades de sujeitos diaspóricos em formas de narrativas nas quais a memória tem um papel crucial. As autobiografias e os memoirs têm despertado a curiosidade de muitas pessoas interessadas nos processos de construção de identidade de indivíduos que vivem em realidades singulares e nos relatos que dão sobre suas próprias vidas. Assim, o crescente interesse em diásporas e nos decorrentes deslocamentos fragmentários, provocados pelo distanciamento de raízes individuais e pelo contato com diferentes códigos culturais, poderiam legitimar as narrativas autobiográficas como maneiras estratégicas de sintetizar os nichos de identificação de autores e autoras que experimentaram uma ruptura diaspórica. Desta forma, ao analisar estes tipos de narrativas, deve-se estar atento às especificidades de algumas escritoras que passaram por processos diaspóricos e a como elas recorreram as suas memórias pessoais para, em termos literários, expressar suas subjetividades. Considerando todas essas idéias, tenciono usar Annie John e Lucy, de Jamaica Kincaid e When I Was Puero Rican e Almost a Woman, de Esmeralda Santiago como fontes de análise e amostras do desenvolvimento de identidades diaspóricas em narrativas autobiográficas

Biodegradable thermoplastic elastomers: tuning viscoelastic properties and shape memory

286 p.

Incidental Memory of Younger and Older Adults for Objects Encountered in a Real World Context

Effects of context on the perception of, and incidental memory for, real-world objects have predominantly been investigated in younger individuals, under conditions involving a single static viewpoint. We examined the effects of prior object context and object familiarity on both older and younger adults' incidental memory for real objects encountered while they traversed a conference room. Recognition memory for context-typical and context-atypical objects was compared with a third group of unfamiliar objects that were not readily named and that had no strongly associated context. Both older and younger adults demonstrated a typicality effect, showing significantly lower 2-alternative-forced-choice recognition of context-typical than context-atypical objects; for these objects, the recognition of older adults either significantly exceeded, or numerically surpassed, that of younger adults. Testing-awareness elevated recognition but did not interact with age or with object type. Older adults showed significantly higher recognition for context-atypical objects than for unfamiliar objects that had no prior strongly associated context. The observation of a typicality effect in both age groups is consistent with preserved semantic schemata processing in aging. The incidental recognition advantage of older over younger adults for the context-typical and context-atypical objects may reflect aging-related differences in goal-related processing, with older adults under comparatively more novel circumstances being more likely to direct their attention to the external environment, or age-related differences in top-down effortful distraction regulation, with older individuals' attention more readily captured by salient objects in the environment. Older adults' reduced recognition of unfamiliar objects compared to context-atypical objects may reflect possible age differences in contextually driven expectancy violations. The latter finding underscores the theoretical and methodological value of including a third type of objects-that are comparatively neutral with respect to their contextual associations-to help differentiate between contextual integration effects (for schema-consistent objects) and expectancy violations (for schema-inconsistent objects).