3,710 research outputs found
WASP confers selective advantage for specific hematopoietic cell populations and serves a unique role in marginal zone B-cell homeostasis and function
Selective-Area MOCVD Growth and Carrier-Transport-Type Control of InAs(Sb)/GaSb Core-Shell Nanowires
We
report the first selective-area growth of high quality InAs(Sb)/GaSb
core–shell nanowires on Si substrates using metal–organic
chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) without foreign catalysts. Transmission
electron microscopy (TEM) analysis reveals that the overgrowth of
the GaSb shell is highly uniform and coherent with the InAs(Sb) core
without any misfit dislocations. To control the structural properties
and reduce the planar defect density in the self-catalyzed InAs core
nanowires, a trace amount of Sb was introduced during their growth.
As the Sb content increases from 0 to 9.4%, the crystal structure
of the nanowires changes from a mixed wurtzite (WZ)/zinc-blende (ZB)
structure to a perfect ZB phase. Electrical measurements reveal that
both the n-type InAsSb core and p-type GaSb shell can work as active
carrier transport channels, and the transport type of core–shell
nanowires can be tuned by the GaSb shell thickness and back-gate voltage.
This study furthers our understanding of the Sb-induced crystal-phase
control of nanowires. Furthermore, the high quality InAs(Sb)/GaSb
core–shell nanowire arrays obtained here pave the foundation
for the fabrication of the vertical nanowire-based devices on a large
scale and for the study of fundamental quantum physics
Origin of the low thermal conductivity of the thermoelectric material beta-Zn(4)Sb(3): An ab initio theoretical study
By modeling beta-Zn(4)Sb(3) material as a Zn(36)Sb(30) crystal with defects, the crystal structure and thermal properties of beta-Zn(4)Sb(3) are studied by ab initio method to explain its extremely low thermal conductivity at moderate temperature. The formation and migration energies of defects are calculated and used to explain the partial occupation of Zn at the lattice sites, the disordered local structures and the origin of the low thermal conductivity of beta-Zn(4)Sb(3). Our study also unravels the puzzling dependence of thermal conductivity on doping in beta-Zn(4)Sb(3). A doping strategy is proposed to improve the thermoelectric performance of beta-Zn(4)Sb(3). (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3599483
Stability of Sb-Te layered structures: First-principles study
Using an effective one-dimensional cluster expansion in combination with first-principles electronic structure calculations we have studied the energetics and electronic properties of Sb-Te layered systems. For a Te concentration between 0 and 60 at. % an almost continuous series of metastable structures is obtained consisting of consecutive Sb bilayers next to consecutive Sb2Te3 units, with the general formula (Sb2)n(Sb2Te3)m (n,m=1,2,...). Between 60 and 100 at. % no stable structures are found. We account explicitly for the weak van der Waals bonding between Sb bilayers and Sb2Te3 units by using a recently developed functional, which strongly improves the interlayer bonding distances. At T=0 K, no evidence is found for the existence of two separate single-phase regions ? and ? and a two-phase region ?+?. Metastable compounds with a Te concentration between 0 and 40 at. % are semimetallic, whereas compounds with a Te concentration between 50 and 60 at. % are semiconducting. Compounds with an odd number of Sb layers are metallic and have a much higher formation energy than those with an even number of consecutive Sb layers, thereby favoring the formation of Sb bilayers.Materials Science and EngineeringMechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineerin
Legal and Financial Problems of International Joint Custody of Children
The aim of this article is to analyze very interesting and currently up-to-date area of children living in international joint custody from the legal and financial point of view. This covers the situation when custody of a child is awarded to both parents living in different states of the European Union (or also other states). The number of marriages contracted between Czech nationals and foreign nationals and also between nationals from two different states (not necessarily inside European Union) increases every year while free movement of people is a real practice today. Because these international marriages are becoming more common they bring new problems that must be solved by contemporary law. This regulation needs to result from the knowledge of the children psychology that is affecting family law the most but also has its practical aspects in the area of taxation and payment issues that will be analyzed deeply as well.juridical problems, financial problems, international joint custody, family.
Factors affecting catch and release (CAR) mortality in fish: insight into CAR mortality in red snapper and the influence of catastrophic decompression
The red snapper Lutanus campechanus fishery is arguably one of the most important in the Gulf of Mexico, but habitat destruction, climate change, and serial overfishing has resulted in significant population declines in red snapper and other high-profile fisheries species. The red snapper fishery may be one of the best examples where management strategies that promote catch and release (CAR) have failed. Populations have not recovered despite CAR management strategies, likely because CAR mortality is high; however, the basis for CAR mortality is unclear. Numerous studies associated with fishing-induced mortality were reviewed in an attempt to make generalizations as to how red snapper and other high-profile fisheries species respond to CAR. A framework for understanding CAR mortality in red snapper and other species was constructed based on four pillars: retrieval conditions, species and size relationships, handling, and release conditions. Each of these fishing factors was examined as to relative impact toward CAR. A predictive model was generated from all available data on CAR mortality. For a deep-water fish like red snapper, the underlying problem is directly related to capture depth, particularly injuries related to rapid swim bladder (SB) overinflation and catastrophic decompression syndrome (CDS). If not immediately lethal, depth-related injuries may have long term effects on growth and immune function that could go unnoticed and are unaccounted for in traditional field studies; all other fishing factors will only intensify this baseline impairment. Management plans are typically built under the assumption that CAR mortality is below 20%, but it is widely accepted that this is a gross underestimate. Modeling from this review suggests that, in red snapper, mortality may be as low as 20% but only if fish are caught between 0 and 20 m depths. This is not the case, and CAR mortality may reach 100% if fish are retrieved from deeper than 110 m. Current CAR management strategies are ineffective, and not enough information exists to impose maximum fishing depths. Given these limitations, a logical approach would be to restrict particular areas such that fish populations can be protected from all fishing and CAR activity, therefore protecting age, size, and sex classes and ratios. For fish species like red snapper, where overfishing is widespread and CAR mortality is high, or other species where CAR is unclear and a thorough investigation as to depth-related CAR mortality has not been performed, strategies based on space (i.e., marine protected areas and no-take reserves), rather than time or numbers (i.e., season closures, size limits, bag limits, etc.), have the greatest potential for overall conservation and sustainability and should be strongly considered
Nonlinear influence of excess Mn on the magnetoelastic transition in (Mn,Cr)<sub>2</sub>Sb
The influence of excess Mn on the magnetoelastic ferromagnetic-to-antiferromagnetic transition Tt in the magnetocaloric compound (Mn,Cr)2Sb has been studied. With increasing excess Mn the magnetoelastic transition temperature for (Mn,Cr)2Sb initially increases and then decreases. This trend is accompanied by a strong reduction of the (Mn,Cr)Sb secondary phase. With increasing excess Mn a higher Cr content was found in the (Mn,Cr)Sb secondary phase in comparison to the matrix phase. This competition for Cr leads to a nonlinear dependence of Tt with increasing excess Mn at a fixed nominal Cr content. However, we observed that Tt depends linear on the c/a ratio for a wide range of temperatures from 170 to 350 K. A compositional diagram of the c/a ratio was constructed to assist the selection of (Mn,Cr)2Sb alloys with a desired transition temperature.RST/Fundamental Aspects of Materials and Energ
Fabrication and properties of Sb-doped ZnO thin films grown by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering
Sb-doped and undoped ZnO thin films were deposited on Si (100) substrates by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses revealed that all the films had polycrystalline wurtzite structure and c-axis preferred orientation. Room temperature Hall measurements showed that the as-grown films were n-type and conducting (rho similar to 1-10 Omega cm). Annealing in a nitrogen ambient at 400 degrees C for 1 h made both samples highly resistive (rho > 10(3) Omega cm). Increasing the annealing temperature up to 800 C, the resistivity of the ttndoped ZnO film decreased gradually, but it increased for the Sb-doped ZnO film. In the end, the Sb-doped ZnO film annealed at 800 C became semi-insulating with a resistivity of 10(4)Omega cm. In addition, the effects of annealing treatment and Sb-doping on the structural and electrical properties are discussed. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Homologous series of layered structures in binary and ternary Bi-Sb-Te-Se systems: Ab initio study
In order to account explicitly for the existence of long-periodic layered structures and the strong structural relaxations in the most common binary and ternary alloys of the Bi-Sb-Te-Se system, we have developed a one-dimensional cluster expansion (CE) based on first-principles electronic structure calculations, which accounts for the Bi and Sb bilayer formation. Excellent interlayer distances are obtained with a van der Waals density functional. It is shown that a CE solely based on pair interactions is sufficient to provide an accurate description of the ground-state energies of Bi-Sb-Te-Se binary and ternary systems without making the data set of ab initio calculated structures unreasonably large. For the binary alloys A1?xQx (A=Sb, Bi; Q=Te, Se), a ternary CE yields an almost continuous series of (meta)stable structures consisting of consecutive A bilayers next to consecutive A2Q3 for 00.6, the binary alloy segregates into pure Q and A2Q3. The Bi-Sb system is described by a quaternary CE and is found to be an ideal solid solution stabilized by entropic effects at T?0 K but with an ordered structure of alternating Bi and Sb layers for x=0.5 at T=0 K. A quintuple CE is used for the ternary Bi-Sb-Te system, where stable ternary layered compounds with an arbitrary stacking of Sb2Te3, Bi2Te3, and Te-Bi-Te-Sb-Te quintuple units are found, optionally separated by mixed Bi/Sb bilayers. Electronic properties of the stable compounds were studied taking spin-orbit coupling into account.Materials Science and EngineeringMechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineerin
p-type Zn1-xMgxO Films with Sb Doping by Radio-Frequency Magnetron Sputtering
Sb-doped Zn1-xMgxO films were grown on c-plane sapphire ubstrates by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. The p-type conduction of the films (0.05 <= x <= 0.13) was confirmed by Hall measurements, revealing a hole concentration of 10(15)-10(16) cm(-3) and a mobility of 0.6-4.5 cm(2)/V s. A p-n homojunction comprising an undoped ZnO layer and an Sb-doped Zn0.95Mg0.05O layer shows a typical rectifying characteristic. Sb-doped p-type Zn1-xMgxO films also exhibit a changeable wider band gap as a function of x, implying that they can probably be used for fabrication of ZnO-based quantum wells and ultraviolet optoelectronic devices. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics
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