Abstract: A magnetic moment inside an extreme type II superconductor can have three, but not one or two, confined vortex loops near to the core. For a sub-micron superconducting particle the confined vortex loops eventually break up and reach the surface turning into external vortex pairs.

Abstract: The thermal behavior under air of LiFePO(4)-based powders was investigated through the combination of several techniques such as temperature-controlled X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis and Mossbauer and NMR spectroscopies. The reactivity with air at moderate temperatures depends on the particle size and leads to progressive displacement of Fe from the core structure yielding nano-size Fe(2)O(3) and highly defective, oxidized Li(x)Fe(y)PO(4) compositions whose unit-cell volume decreases dramatically when the temperature is raised between 400 and 600 K. The novel LiFePO(4)-like compositions display new electrochemical reactivity when used as positive electrodes in Li batteries. Several redox phenomena between 3.4 V and 2.7 V vs. Li were discovered and followed by in-situ X-ray diffraction, which revealed two distinct solid solution domains associated with highly anisotropic variations of the unit-cell constants.

Abstract: We investigated the effect of different stacking order of the four graphene layer system on the induced band gap when positively charged top and negatively charged back gates are applied to the system. A tight-binding approach within a self-consistent Hartree approximation is used to calculate the induced charges on the different graphene layers. We show that the electric field does not open an energy gap if the multilayer graphene system contains a trilayer part with the ABA Bernal stacking.

Abstract: Electron energy loss spectroscopy was used to investigate the bonding of plasma deposited carbon films. The experimental conditions include the use of a specific collection angle for which the shape of the spectra is free of the orientation dependency usually encountered in graphite due to its anisotropic structure. The first quantification process of the energy loss near-edge structure was performed by a standard fit of the collected spectrum, corrected for background and multiple scattering, with three Gaussian functions followed by a comparison with the graphite spectrum obtained under equivalent experimental conditions. In a second approach a fitting model directly incorporating the background subtraction and multiple scattering removal was applied. The final numerical results are interpreted in view of the deposition conditions of the films and the actual fitting procedure with the related choice of parameters.

Abstract: The properties of alternative metals to Cu and W for interconnect applications are reviewed based on first-principles simulations and benchmarked in terms of intrinsic bulk resistivity and electromigration.

Abstract: Highly thermally conductive graphite flakes (Gf)/Si/Al composites have been fabricated using Gf, Si powder and an AlSi7Mg0.3 alloy by an optimized pressure infiltration process for thermal management applications. In the composites, the layers of Gf were spaced apart by Si particles and oriented perpendicular to the pressing direction, which offered the opportunity to tailor the thermal conductivity (TC) and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of the composites. Microstructural characterization revealed that the formation of a clean and tightly-adhered interface at the nanoscale between the side surface of the Gf and Al matrix, devoid of a detrimental Al4C3 phase and a reacted amorphous AlSiOC layer, contributed to excellent thermal performance along the alignment direction. With increasing volume fraction of Gf from 13.7 to 71.1 vol.%, the longitudinal (i.e. parallel to the graphite layers) TC of the composites increased from 179 to 526 W/m K, while the longitudinal CTE decreased from 12.1 to 7.3 ppm/K (matching the values of electronic components). Furthermore, the modified layers-in-parallel model better fitted the longitudinal TC data than the layers-in-parallel model and confirmed that the clean and tightly-adhered interface is favorable for the enhanced longitudinal TC.

Abstract: We developed a microscopic model in order to describe the onset of ferromagnetism (FM) in GaAs:Mn. The proposed kinematic mechanism bears resemblances with the Zener exchange. The calculated Curie temperature for GaAs: Mn is in good agreement with available experimental data of the Curie temperature as a function of the manganese concentration.