INTERVALLEY GAMMA-CHI DEFORMATION POTENTIALS IN III-V ZINCBLENDE SEMICONDUCTORS BY ABINITIO PSEUDOPOTENTIAL CALCULATIONS

Intervalley GAMMA-X deformation-potential constants (IVDP's) have been calculated by use of a first-principles pseudopotential method for the III-V zinc-blende semiconductors AlP, AlAs, AlSb, GaP, GaAs, GaSb, InP, InAs, and InSb. When the calculated IVDP's of LA phonons for GaP, InP, and InAs and of LO phonons for AlAs, AlSb, GaAs, GaSb, and InSb are compared with results of a previous calculation that used the empirical pseudopotential method (EPM) and a rigid-ion approximation, good agreement is found. However, our ab initio pseudopotential results on IVDP's of LA phonons for AlAs, AlSb, GaAs, GaSb, and InSb and of LO phonons for GaP, InP, and InAs are about one order of magnitude smaller than those obtained by use of EPM calculations, indicating that the electron redistribution accompanying crystal-lattice deformation has a significant effect on GAMMA-X intervalley scattering for these phonon modes when the anions are being displaced. In our calculations the LA- and LO-phonon modes at the X point have been evaluated in the frozen-phonon approximation. We have also obtained the LAX- and LOX-phonon frequencies for these materials from total-energy calculations, which agree very well with experimental values for these semiconductors. We have also calculated GAMMA-X hole-phonon scattering matrix elements for the top valence bands in these nine semiconductors, from which the GAMMA-X IVDP's of the top valence bands for the longitudinal phonons and transverse phonons are evaluated, respectively.

SHEAR-DEFORMATION-POTENTIAL CONSTANT OF THE CONDUCTION-BAND MINIMA OF SI - EXPERIMENTAL-DETERMINATION BY THE DEEP-LEVEL CAPACITANCE TRANSIENT METHOD

The shear-deformation-potential constant XI-u of the conduction-band minima of Si has been measured by a method which we called deep-level capacitance transient under uniaxial stress. The uniaxial-stress (F) dependence of the electron emission rate e(n) from deep levels to the split conduction-band minima of Si has been analyzed. Theoretical curves are in good agreement with experimental data for the S0 and S+ deep levels in Si. The values of XI-u obtained by the method are 11.1 +/- 0.3 eV at 148.9 K and 11.3 +/- 0.3 eV at 223.6 K. The analysis and the XI-u values obtained are also valuable for symmetry determination of deep electron traps in Si.

EFFECTIVE CAVITY LENGTH IN VERTICAL-CAVITY SURFACE-EMITTING LASER

Effective cavity length method is introduced to vertical cavity surface emitting laser for characterizing some properties, including reflectivity FWHM, mode wavelength and threshold gain. Some experiment results are demonstrated, showing the agreement of theoretical analysis with experiment.

Extracting nanobelt mechanical properties from nanoindentation

A three-spring-in-series model is proposed for the nanobelt (NB) indentation test. Compared with the previous two-spring-in-series model, which considers the bending stiffness of atomic force microscope cantilever and the indenter/NB contact stiffness, this model adds a third spring of the NB/substrate contact stiffness. NB is highly flexural due to its large aspect ratio of length to thickness. The bending and lift-off of NB form a localized contact with substrate, which makes the Oliver-Pharr method [W. C. Oliver and G. M. Pharr, J. Mater. Res. 7, 1564 (1992)] and Sneddon method [I. N. Sneddon, Int. J. Eng. Sci. 3, 47 (1965)] inappropriate for NB indentation test. Because the NB/substrate deformation may have significant impact on the force-indentation depth data obtained in experiment, the two-spring-in-series model can lead to erroneous predictions on the NB mechanical properties. NB in indentation test can be susceptible to the adhesion influence because of its large surface area to volume ratio. NB/substrate contact and adhesion can have direct and significant impact on the interpretation of experimental data. Through the three-spring-in-series model, the influence of NB/substrate contact and adhesion is analyzed and methods of reducing such influence are also suggested. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3432748]

Thermodynamic theory of the Tolman's length

There still exists controversy on the sign and magnitude of the Tolman's length and the Tolman's gap. Further experimental, computational and theoretical investigations on them are needed to solve this problem. In 2006, Blokhuis and Kuipers obtained a rigorous relationship between the Tolman's length and other thermodynamic quantities for the single-component liquid-vapour system. In the present paper, we derive two general relationships between the Tolman's length and other thermodynamic quantities for the single-component liquid vapour system. The relationship derived by Blokhuis and Kuipers and an earlier result turn out to be two special cases of our results.

Deformation behaviour of electrodeposited nanocrystalline Ni with broad grain size distribution

In the present work, nanocrystalline Ni (nc-Ni) with a broad grain size distribution (BGSD) of 5-120 nm and an average grain size of 27.2 nm was prepared. The BGSD nc-Ni sample shows a similar strength and good ductility in comparison with electrodeposited nc-Ni with a narrow grain size distribution. The intracrystalline dislocation network was observed in the post-deformed microstructure confirming the conventional intracrystalline dislocation sliding mechanism in BGSD nc-Ni. The uniaxial tensile loading-unloading-loading deformation shows BGSD nc-Ni has the capability to store dislocations in the grain interior, which is very limited compared with that of coarse grained metals. For BGSD nc-Ni, the strain rate sensitivity of flow stress m enhances with decreasing strain rate. At the strain rate of 5 x 10(-6) s(-1), m was estimated to be 0.055. At the corresponding strain rate, the enhanced ductility along with the decreased strength was achievable, indicating activation of other deformation mechanisms, e. g. grain boundary sliding or diffusion.

EFFECT OF STRUCTURAL RELAXATION ON THE DEFORMATION BEHAVIOR OF A Zr64.13Cu15.75Ni10.12Al10 BULK METALLIC GLASS UNDER NANOINDENTATION

Structural relaxation by isothermal annealing below the glass transition temperature is conducted on a Zr64.13Cu15.75Ni10.12Al10 bulk metallic glass. The effect of structural relaxation on thermal and mechanical properties was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and instrumented nanoindentation. The recovery of the enthalpy in the DSC curves indicates that thermally unstable defects were annihilated through structural relaxation. During nanoindentation, the structural relaxation did not have a significant influence on the serrated plastic flow behavior. However, Structural relaxation shows an obvious effect in increasing both the hardness and elastic modulus, which is attributed to the annihilation of thermally unstable defects that resulted from the relaxation.

EFFECT OF STRUCTURAL RELAXATION ON THE DEFORMATION BEHAVIOR OF A Zr64.13Cu15.75Ni10.12Al10 BULK METALLIC GLASS UNDER NANOINDENTATION

Structural relaxation by isothermal annealing below the glass transition temperature is conducted on a Zr64.13Cu15.75Ni10.12Al10 bulk metallic glass. The effect of structural relaxation on thermal and mechanical properties was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and instrumented nanoindentation. The recovery of the enthalpy in the DSC curves indicates that thermally unstable defects were annihilated through structural relaxation. During nanoindentation, the structural relaxation did not have a significant influence on the serrated plastic flow behavior. However, Structural relaxation shows an obvious effect in increasing both the hardness and elastic modulus, which is attributed to the annihilation of thermally unstable defects that resulted from the relaxation.

A fixed arc length direct current plasma torch for reduced pressure deposition of thin films

Because of its high energy density direct current(dc)thermal plasmas are widely accepted as a processing medium which facilitates high processing rates high fluxes of radical species the potential for smaller jnstallations a wide choice of reactants and high quench rates[1].A broad range of industrial processing methods have been developed based on dc plasma technology. However,nonstationary features limited new applications of dc plasma in advanced processing, where reliability£¬reproducibility and precise controllability are required£. These challenges call for better understanding of the arc and jet behavior over a wide range of generating parameters and a comprehensive control of every aspect of lhe plasma processing.