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The Second Saga continues as the Aesir Chief sent out onto the Seas of Time for the rescue of his people. Even if he can come to the aid of his countrymen, his next task will be to find Little Fish somewhere in time or he won't be able to return to the Valley Realm! But a great and all too familiar danger looms before his people and the Chief must face it alone in order save his own life and secure the future of his people. May the Priestess watch over him! Monday August 1st, the Chief begins his trial in 'The Priestess: Stone, Serpent and Sea!'
My first, full length, novel is being released by Azoth Khem Publishing. So is my second and my third. This makes sense since all three work together to form a linear trilogy. Get your credit cards ready.
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| An artist’s rendition of the JUICE spacecraft. (Credit: ESA) |
Topics: Astrophysics, Planetary Science, Space Exploration, Spaceflight
Juno (JUpiter Near-polar Orbiter) is the sixth spacecraft to study Jupiter (give or take a few gravity assists), but will be the second to fall into orbit around the gas giant following the Galileo probe in 1995.
It is part of NASA’s New Frontiers space exploration program that specializes in researching the celestial bodies of the solar system. Juno was launched on August 5th, 2011 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and intended to be placed in a polar orbit around Jupiter to study the planet’s composition, magnetic and gravity fields, and the polar magnetosphere. Even though Juno’s scientific mission only lasts for a year, many more spacecraft are headed Jupiter’s way.
The next upcoming Jupiter mission following Juno is the European Space Agency’s (ESA) first large-class mission in its Cosmic Vision program, the JUICE (JUpiter ICy moon Explorer). It is planned for launch in 2022 from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana and will arrive at Jupiter in 2030. JUICE will then monitor Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto, three of the four Galilean moons, as well as Jupiter for three and a half years. As all three of these worlds are believed to possess significant bodies of water beneath their surfaces, and the JUICE Mission will explore their habitability in depth.
On December 9th, 2015, ESA and Airbus Defence & Space signed a contract signifying that Airbus would be building the spacecraft at their base in Friedrichshafen, Germany. The scientific instruments on JUICE will be built by scientific and engineering teams from all over Europe, with some participation from the United States and Japan.
Discovery: These Spacecraft Will Visit Jupiter After Juno, Jordan Rice
I recently attended the Urban Axis IndyCon 2 in Decatur, GA, over the weekend of July 23-24, 2016. Jarvis Sheffield, founder of the Black Science Fiction Society, presented me with this opportunity. I served as the moderator for the Black Science Fiction panel. (That panel was the first time I got to meet a Jedi – live in the flesh.)
To read more, go to this link: http://knipj.com/tv2f
Day Two of the Urban Axis IndyCon 2 was very informative. I got a chance to speak with a few more of the vendors. I also had the opportunity to talk to some of the people who organized the IndyCon. In addition being passionate about bringing artists together, all of the organizers are artists in their own right. We ended up discussing everything from graphic novels to video games to music.
To read more, please visit this link: http://knipj.com/69sg
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| Dwarf planet Makemake and its newly discovered moon. The newly discovered moon, MK 2, found in Hubble data orbiting Makemake. NASA, ESA, A. Parke |
Topics: Astronomy, NASA, Planetary Science, Space Exploration, Spaceflight
Once a lonely ice block, now it seems the dwarf planet may have a close-in companion.
In 2005, Caltech astronomers Mike Brown and Chad Trujillo discovered dwarf planet Makemake, currently believed to be the third largest object in the Kuiper Belt after Pluto and Eris. But at the time, astronomers believed it was alone out there on its long path around the Sun. But new data from the Hubble Space Telescope reveal a moon around the tiny world, and offer a little explanation as to where it was hiding.
“The satellite that we found was not that faint and not that close to Makemake,” says Alex Parker, principal investigator of the research and a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute. “It popped right out of the data when we looked.”
It turns out it was always there. But the newly found object, provisionally called MK 2, orbits Makemake nearly edge-on from our point of view, meaning most of the time it’s obscured by the comparatively bright dwarf planet. Makemake is 886 miles (1,434 km) in diameter, while the new object appears to be only 100 miles (161 Km). Current scenarios also paint it as a dark companion compared to bright Makemake.
Astronomy:
Astronomers Find a Moon Hiding Around Makemake in Hubble Data, John Wenz
So let's talk about "Building". We see the images and things that are portrayed about people of color in the mainstream media and the truth is we will have very little power to change them. But what we CAN do is build our own media outlets and tell our OWN stories. But that takes funding. Now JBN - Jericho Broadcast Networks were started with the idea of building the network by advertising Black Owned and Operated businesses so that we could stay focused on providing an unfiltered view of our culture. Anyone who knows anything about advertising will tell you that it takes at least 6 months for an advertising program to take hold and be effective. Anything shorter than that and you are just reaching a small amount of people because you haven't been embedded into most people's minds. Broadcast companies are at the mercy of their advertisers because they pay the bills. So whatever is important to them is displayed on the network.
So are you interested in seeing things that are important to you and the black community? Do you have a business? Do you want to reach progressive black consumers? Well if you answered yes we can help and you advertising with us will help us build our network faster!!! If we had 300 black business owners commit to spending $50 per month* in advertising with us for one year, we can open up network offices/studios in 7 different cities across the country and employ at least 15 black people for 1 year! Our network has a long term growth plan and national format and will include: 3 online radio stations (Gospel & Urban music and Talk covering sports, news, politics and social) and an online TV network that will eventually provide 24 hour original programming from all of the areas listed in the radio area.
We are committed to a global movement of the African Diaspora that functions on a local level as well as continuing the economic growth and development of urban communities around the world! So here is your chance to get involved and help grow your business at the same time. We are asking 300 B.O.B.'s to commit to this 1 year advertising campagian. There is a $50 nonrefundable deposit to secure your space in the program and the remaining $250 of your first payment is due on Friday August 26th by 9:00pm PST. Your second payment of $300 is due by Friday November 11th 2016 by 9:00pm PST. If you change your mind prior to that date you will still receive 1 month of advertising for your payment. If you opt out or don't pay the second $300 you will receive a total of 6 months of advertising. If you have any questions email me at info@myjbn.com or call 678-383-7623
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| Image Source: MIT Technology Review |
Topics: Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Moore's Law, Semiconductor Technology
It was inevitable. I joined the industry after the US Air Force in 1989. The epitome of the industry was the nineties. As gate feature sizes shrank, we looked forward to the future, spurred on by two Star Trek series: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. This was when the Internet became commercial; flip phones looked an awful lot like Star Trek communicators. I went to my oldest son's school with scrapped wafers, bunny suits at his teachers' requests, eager to clone myself in their enthusiastic eyes and lives.
We'll still manufacture semiconductors in some form, like Gate-All-Around FETs. The transition from the old to the new is (for me) pausing and poignant.
In the next five years, it will be too expensive to further miniaturize—but chip makers will innovate in different ways.
Moore’s Law has been slowing for a while. But the U.S. industry that exploits it has finally recognized that it is about to die.
The Semiconductor Industry Association—made up of the likes of Intel, AMD, and Global Foundries—has published the 2015 International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors. It suggests that, after decades of miniaturization, transistors look set to stop shrinking in size altogether by 2021. After that date, the report claims, it will not be economically efficient to reduce the size of silicon transistors any further.
The prediction is an acknowledgment that Moore’s Law—which states that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years—isn't simply slowing. It’s grinding to a halt.
MIT Technology Review:
Chip Makers Admit Transistors Are About to Stop Shrinking, Jamie Condliffe
I have left one project but picked up a new one that has me really excited. So here you go.
14 Frogs - currently out on Bewildering Stories
http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue…/fourteen_frogs.html
Legends Parallel - currently out on Hadithi Sambamba Comix
http://www.LegendsParallel.com
Janet Callahan: Rocket Queen - coming soon in Genesis Magazine
http://www.genesissciencefictionmagazine.com/
Clarity Girl - coming August 18 on Gente Entertainment
https://www.facebook.com/claritygirlcomic/
KORZAC: NÖRDICON OF DERN - coming out in September on Bewildering Stories
The Loving Children - coming in November in the anthology The Dogs of War
The Brittle Riders - coming out on Azoth Khem Publishing. Currently being edited
Pestilent (graphic novel) - coming February 1, 2017 (tentative), on GEE Comics
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| Image Source: YouTube embed below |
Topics: Mars, NASA, Planetary Science, Space Exploration, Spaceflight
(July 15, 2016) - The Boeing Co marked its centennial on Friday with plans to sharpen its focus on innovation, including ambitious projects for supersonic commercial flight and a rocket that could carry humans to other planets.
But innovation at Boeing will be "disciplined" and not endanger the future of the world's biggest plane maker, Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg told reporters at an event marking the company's founding on July 15, 1916.
The enterprise established by William Boeing in a Seattle boathouse has faced numerous "bet the company" moments over its 10 decades to bring out new planes such as the 707 and 747.
"We have won for 100 years because of innovation," Muilenburg said. "The key is disciplined innovation. We'll take risks. We'll invest smartly."
Chicago-based Boeing has managed to stay ahead of European rival Airbus in plane production and is a major defense and space contractor, producing fighter jets, aerial refueling tankers, communications satellites and rockets.
The company is exploring the possibilities of commercial supersonic and hypersonic planes, Muilenburg said. It also is at work on a manned mission to Mars. Though those are perhaps many decades away, "I'm anticipating that person will be riding on a Boeing rocket," Muilenburg said.
Reuters: Boeing aims for supersonics and Mars at outset of second century, Alwyn Scott
I have what I call throw-away stories. These are stories that I never write down. They are sometimes complex or simple. I run through them in different ways, living in one character or another. But they are not full and complete stories, like the ones I share. They are not crystallized, like the ones I write down, but remain fluid, mutable. Sometimes I come up with the greatest ideas through them - and I might adapt it and write it down for another story. But these stay in my head, and I live and breath them and forget the great scenes I come up with and start them over again when the story can't advance any further. They don't have to make sense or be plausible in any way.
What's the point?
Well, for me, there are several points to this. The first is getting to sleep. Without these stories, I would not be able to quiet my brain enough for somnolence. The problems and worries of my life would just run over and over in my head, looking for a solution. When I've worn such mental tracks across my neurons for the millionth time and still come up with nothing, I can force them aside with a throw-away story that does not have the pressure of plot development or character consistency.
Another is to keep the image-generator in my head going. I live these scenes. I can feel, hear, taste, smell, and see everything each character experiences, and it runs through my head like a movie that I am a part of. It is more like an experience generator - I can be the powerful magic user or the downtrodden waif, the lonely hermit or the hunted fugitive, the victim or the terrorizer. I can be man or woman or beast. I can taste the fear or feel it, inspire feelings of helplessness or be lost in them.
Another is kind of taking a vacation. Sometimes I don't want to think about a story that I am writing - there might be a knotty plot problem that I have not worked out yet, and again, my brain would latch onto that and not let go. There is no such pressure with these stories.
Another is to try out the flavor of a situation. Sometimes I see a great scene in a movie, or read one in a book, and I don't care for the way it ends there, so I build my own very improbable scene and try it my way. This is how I got started writing in the first place, by changing the endings to stories or movies that I like, but thought the ending should go another way. They let me use other people's characters that I can change to my liking, take a piece here, add a dash of something I saw or read long ago, and - Action!
I love my throw-aways as much as the ones I share with the world. And if they have enough potential, I do write them down and share them with everyone.
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| Galileo Galilei shows the doge of Venice how to use a telescope in this 1858 fresco by Giuseppe Bertini. Citation: Phys. Today 69, 7, 38 (2016); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/PT.3.3235 |
Topics: Civil Engineering, Economy, Education, History, Physics, Science, STEM
Spoiler alert: I'll sound parental, but hopefully not too pedantic.
A Skype conversation with my youngest son revealed two things: 1) he liked working at his now third Civil Engineering summer internship (he's completing a project for an airbase in Japan); 2) he wished he could just do THAT and not return to school for his last year in the fall. My wife and I of course, encouraged him to do just that and the goal would be to get a job after graduation so presumably he would enjoy that too.
He gave an observation I think I had at his age: "why do they have you take all these classes that are unnecessary?" As you'd guess right, the unnecessary classes are those that didn't apply to Civil Engineering.
I told him I appreciated the classes that weren't engineering or physics classes; that sometimes you need "a mental break" from having to do designs and differential equations. It was a respite for me at least.
Plus, part of the entire matriculation experience isn't what you'll GET at the end: it's what you're becoming, and the process of that journey changes you from how you started to how you complete at least the undergraduate leg opening you up to other possibilities. For example, as a Freshman I only had ear for one type of music: Parliament Funkadelic. As a junior studying Thermodynamics and after a "rude" awakening by Al Jarreau singing "Roof Garden," I suddenly developed an appetite and appreciation for Jazz music. Personal research revealed its origins in my own culture and the root art of many popular music forms we take for granted today. If not for art, literature and music we would be stiff and joyless automatons, fulfilling the whims of an employer only; creativity - the fuel of innovation and invention would be significantly lessened. For nothing else, the trifecta is the stuff of "Star Trek" and "Star Wars." I hope I influenced him to think further on his viewpoint.
This article in Physics Today is kind of related to our video conference, which up to being a young adult wasn't only impossible without sophisticated video equipment, it was the stuff of science fiction and "The Jetsons" Saturday cartoon show.
But of course, that in and of itself is an appreciation...of history.
Just as physics is not a list of facts about the world, history is not a list of names and dates. It is a way of thinking that can be powerful and illuminating.
Some things about physics aren’t well covered in a physics education. Those are the messy, rough edges that make everything difficult: dealing with people, singly or in groups; misunderstandings; rivals and even allies who won’t fall in line. Physicists often do not see such issues as contributing to science itself. But social interactions really do influence what scientists produce. Often physicists learn that lesson the hard way. Instead, they could equip themselves for the actual collaborative world, not the idealized solitary one that has never existed.
History can help. An entire academic discipline—history of science—studies the rough edges. We historians of science see ourselves as illustrating the power of stories. How a community tells its history changes the way it thinks about itself. A historical perspective on science can help physicists understand what is going on when they practice their craft, and it provides numerous tools that are useful for physicists themselves.
Physics is a social endeavor
Research is done by people. And people have likes and dislikes, egos and prejudices. Physicists, like everyone else, get attached to their favorite ideas and hang on to them perhaps long after they should let them go. A classic case is the electromagnetic ether, an immensely fruitful concept that dominated physics for most of the 19th century. Even as it became clear that ether theory was causing more problems than it solved, physicists continued to use it as a central explanatory tool—even for many years after Einstein’s 1905 theory of special relativity declared it superfluous. The history of physics is littered with beautiful theories that commanded great loyalty.
People come from places too, and physicists want to protect their homes as much as anyone else. It is easy to forget that 100 years ago during World War I, British scientists refused to talk to their German colleagues on the other side of the trenches. Even after the end of the fighting, Germans and their wartime allies were officially forbidden from joining international scientific organizations. During World War II, the specter of an atomic bomb in the hands of Adolf Hitler terrified Allied physicists into opening the Pandora’s box of nuclear weapons. Many of the scientists involved bemoaned their actions afterward, but war and nationalism make for a potent impetus.
Those incidents are not exceptions. Physicists are not disinterested figures without political views, philosophical preferences, and personal feelings. The history of science can help dismantle the myth of the purely rational genius living outside the everyday world. It makes physics more human.
Physics Today: Why should physicists study history? Matthew Stanley
My mother always says that I have natural talent as an artist. That's always nice to hear, but the truth is, that there is nothing natural about it.
I have, basically, two talents: writing, and the ability to learn anything. But even writing I worked to develop and polish. Drawing did not come naturally to me at all. It took decades and thousands of failed attempts to get to the level I have reached, and I am still striving for more. My father taught me the basics of the face when I was about ten. The rest I had to learn painstakingly, garnering what information I could from numerous sources, in the days before the widespread use of the internet. I learned to draw muscly men from anatomy books and body building magazines. I learned to draw poses by looking in the mirror. I trained my left hand to draw, for when I had to draw a pose that required my right hand. I used hundreds of reference books, art instructional books, and persistence, persistence, persistence.
Unfortunately, i spent so much time learning to draw people and animals, that I neglected to practice backgrounds. Thus my introduction and instant love of CG backgrounds. Artists who can successfully use perspective and can draw a convincing tree or flower have my utmost respect.
But I am not a natural artist. I have a natural love for drawing and painting, but the skill was all acquired.
My best work comes when I have a model to work from, and references for materials and objects. Some people can pull images directly from their imaginations - they can see the entire picture, they know exactly how they want it to look. That is not me. Usually I have a semi-clear idea of what I want, and I have to build the image as I find references. Of course, my best pieces come when I DO have a clear picture in my head, and I can draw it. But that has happened only a handful of times in my life. And even then, i use reference material to make the image completely clear.
From Brii Richards:
Hello! The addition of a word from the author was a nice touch to your website. There's been something I've thought about ever since I started reading your books and am wondering if you might want to expand upon. The names of people, places and things in your books are all very unique and interesting. But aside from just names, you also have your characters commit the act of naming. What are the conventions that you have your characters abide by in naming. How do you come up with the names. For example, we have a seilel. But then you named the tour the Bloody Eseilel. Just putting that E changed the word to a new word, building on the meaning of the original word, but adding a ton of nuance. All in a little "e"! And don't even get me started on the Ava'Lonan Herstories.
Thanks for the second excellent question, Brii!
Ah, yes, names.
This is one of the harder aspects of writing a story, at least for me. Coming up with a system of names is another one of those things that I put off sometimes, leaving a nice blank (_____) as a place holder. I do this so that the story is not held up by a lack of names. I also space out coming up with names so that they do not all sound exactly the same, which I know would happen if I tried to make them all at the same time. The protagonist is usually named first and right away, since the story is usually told from her or his pint of view. The main antagonist is also named, so that we all know who to hate.
Names are funny, tricky, sticky things. I have to be careful when I make up a name, because it has to be a name that fits the character, a name that does not sound too much like anything in the real world (unless my story deals with actual humans), and it has to be a name that I have not used before, or that sounds too similar to a name that I’ve uusedbefore. This is because once a character is named, and I start to live that person’s life, I think of myself (that is, the character thinks of himself/herself) with that name. After that, it is near impossible to change.
So, how do I come up with names? I’m almost embarrassed to say. But perhaps knowing my “process” can help, or at least give you a good laugh. I start with a letter, and begin making up nonsensical words. Nonsensical in the sense that they are not words in English, and not names as we know them. There are certain letters that I’m drawn to, and I at first try to avoid these, or else all my characters will have names beginning with “A”, “M”, “R”, “S” or “T”.
I also have to decide on the system the names will follow. Will the people have surnames, family names? Clan or Tribe names? Will the children’s names be amalgamations of the parents’ names? Will the names be long and complicated, or short and simple, down to a single syllable? In the real world, there are many systems of naming that are interesting, and that can be modified to fit a story, such as putting the surname first, or making the antecedents’ names part of the overall name (usually the father, to wit, Paul’s son can lead to Paulson).
Then there are the genders to consider. What marks a name as female, as opposed male? The ending letter can denote this – female names might be demarked by ending in “a” or “i”, whereas male names can be marked by ending in “o” or “u”. But there is no hard and fast rule. A completely new convention can be created for a particular world or culture.
But it all comes down to making up words, and seeing how they fit. I pic the letter, begin sounding out words, choose how to spell them, and put them in the appropriate place. I try to make them similar in some way, perhaps by the arrangement of the consonants and vowels, or the number of syllables. But the similarities have to be subtle – perhaps groups of individuals’ names from a Tribe or Principality sound kind of similar in a certain world. Names live, just like characters, and once stuck on a character, they almost never come off.
To answer the question about the king’s tour in The Secret Tactics being named “the Bloody Eseilel” as a jab toEsalda’s proficiency and willing use of her new swords – I have to confess that there is a part of my brain that is smarter than the rest of me. It is this part that makes connections that my conscious mind would never have come up with. When I am writing a new volume to an existing series, I have to go back and read all the preceding books (part of what takes so darn long) to input all of the details to this part of my brain. I write down all the little details that make the story unique – “threads” I call them – things to remember to incorporate to keep the storyline consistent, and as I do, this smarter part makes connections and comes up with new ideas that, I think, give the stories an extra special punch.
If that sounds bizarre – well, I agree. I will say that I have made a study of my own mind – I know how most of it works, and I know what is in most of the rooms in the mansion in my head (or motel, who can say). But there is, of course, a dark closet where a lot of things go that I don’t need immediately, or I don’t understand right away. I think it is from this closet that a lot of the connections and many of the best ideas come. Or rat droppings. Rats of the psyche are a real pain.
Yeah! I have something I'm trying to do for work. Kind of inspired by a forum topic about why black speculative fiction isn't popular. I started getting emails about it recently and it got my brain ticking.
At the large bookstore chain where I work, we do have a few shelves of African American fiction. But they're mostly urban fiction about gangs, or slave narratives. Nothing wrong with either, but my hypothesis is that if you don't have a way of knowing that there's sci fi written by black people, then you're not going to find it on the shelf labeled 'African American fiction' in our bookstore. For a reader looking for something more, they will not find it there.
One of my co-workers didn't know who Octavia Butler was- that she was black and female and one of the most prolific sci-fi writers around. And that's not their fault at all, but it does prove my point. I'm trying to convince the higher ups at my job that expanding those shelves, or at least including books from the massive sections in sci fi, fantasy and horror, written by black people is important.
People going to those shelves, looking for something other than romance novels and 'urban' fic are going to think that these books don't exist for us. And that's the problem. The sci fi section of the store is MASSIVE. So easy to get lost in, so easy to never know black people are there. My manager said she'd help me create the proposition, and while she said it's a very long shot (not just this idea, but most changes to the system) she is still going to help. She wants a list, and I need suggestions!
I need author, title, ISBN- 13 (or 10), along with publishing date and any other info you can get me. I will take anything and everything, especially repeat suggestions. I want popular stuff. I want to convince these businessmen that black sci fi, black fantasy, that it sells, that it is worthwhile. I don't know if this is going to work, but I am going to try.
Help me!
Thank you for your time.
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| Configuration coordinate diagram, showing important energies and optical transitions. For this example, Etherm gives the acceptor level relative to the CBM. Citation: J. Appl. Phys. 119, 181101 (2016); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4948245 |
Topics: Education, Nanotechnology, Semiconductor Technology, STEM
Abstract
Point defects affect or even completely determine physical and chemical properties of semiconductors. Characterization of point defects based on experimental techniques alone is often inconclusive. In such cases, the combination of experiment and theory is crucial to gain understanding of the system studied. In this tutorial, we explain how and when such comparison provides new understanding of the defect physics. More specifically, we focus on processes that can be analyzed or understood in terms of configuration coordinate diagrams of defects in their different charge states. These processes include light absorption, luminescence, and nonradiative capture of charge carriers. Recent theoretical developments to describe these processes are reviewed.
Introduction
Every material contains defects; perfect materials simply do not exist. While it may cost energy to create a defect, configurational entropy renders it favorable to incorporate a certain concentration of defects, since this lowers the free energy of the system.1 Therefore, even in equilibrium, we can expect defects to be present; kinetic limitations sometimes lead to formation of additional defects. Note that all of these considerations also apply to impurities that are unintentionally present in the growth or processing environment. Of course, impurities are often intentionally introduced to tailor the properties of materials. Doping of semiconductors with acceptors and donors is essential for electronic and optoelectronic applications. In the following, we will use the word “defect” as a generic term to cover both intrinsic defects (vacancies, self-interstitials, and antisites) and impurities.
Since defects are unavoidable, we must consider the effects they have on the properties of materials. These effects can be considerable, to the point of determining the functionality of the material, as in p- or n-type doping. Point defects play a key role in diffusion: virtually all diffusion processes are assisted by point defects. Defects are often responsible for degradation of a device. Even in the absence of degradation, defects can limit the performance of a device. Compensation by native point defects can decrease the level of doping that can be achieved. Defects with energy levels within the band gap can act as recombination centers, impeding carrier collection in a solar cell or light emission from a light-emitting diode. Sometimes, these effects can be used to advantage: luminescence centers in wide-band-gap materials can be used to emit light at specified wavelengths; or single-spin centers (such as the nitrogen–vacancy (NV) center in diamond) can act as an artificial atom and serve as a qubit in a quantum information system.2,3 Finally, sometimes, one deliberately wants to grow materials with many defects. Examples are materials for ultrafast optoelectronic switches or semiconductors used to optically generate THz pulses, where defect densities should be large enough so that carrier lifetimes are as short as a few picoseconds.4
Journal of Applied Physics:
Tutorial: Defects in semiconductors—Combining experiment and theory
Audrius Alkauskas1, Matthew D. McCluskey2 and Chris G. Van de Walle3,a)
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| To prevent cores of single-wall carbon nanotubes from filling with water or other detrimental substances, the NIST researchers advise intentionally prefilling them with a desired chemical of known properties. Taking this step before separating and dispersing the materials, usually done in water, yields a consistently uniform collection of nanotubes, especially important for optical applications. Credit: Fagan/NIST View hi-resolution image |
Topics: Carbon Nanotubes, Electrical Engineering, Nanotechnology, Semiconductor Technology
Just as many of us might be resigned to clogged salt shakers or rush-hour traffic, those working to exploit the special properties of carbon nanotubes have typically shrugged their shoulders when these tiniest of cylinders fill with water during processing. But for nanotube practitioners who have reached their Popeye threshold and “can’t stands no more,” the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has devised a cheap, quick and effective strategy that reliably enhances the quality and consistency of the materials—important for using them effectively in applications such as new computing technologies.
To prevent filling of the cores of single-wall carbon nanotubes with water or other detrimental substances, the NIST researchers advise intentionally prefilling them with a desired chemical of known properties. Taking this step before separating and dispersing the materials, usually done in water, yields a consistently uniform collection of nanotubes. In quantity and quality, the results are superior to water-filled nanotubes, especially for optical applications such as sensors and photodetectors.
The approach opens a straightforward route for engineering the properties of single-wall carbon nanotubes—rolled up sheets of carbon atoms arranged like chicken wire or honey combs—with improved or new properties.
“This approach is so easy, inexpensive and broadly useful that I can’t think of a reason not to use it,” said NIST chemical engineer Jeffrey Fagan.
NIST:
Simpler, Faster and Cheaper: A Full-filling Approach to Making Carbon Nanotubes of Consistent Quality, Mark Bello
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| Ultra-thin solar cells are flexible enough to bend around small objects, such as the 1mm-thick edge of a glass slide, as shown here. CREDIT: Juho Kim, et al/APL |
Topics: Consumer Electronics, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Photovoltaics, Solar Power
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 20, 2016 -- Scientists in South Korea have made ultra-thin photovoltaics flexible enough to wrap around the average pencil. The bendy solar cells could power wearable electronics like fitness trackers and smart glasses. The researchers report the results in the journal Applied Physics Letters, from AIP Publishing.
Thin materials flex more easily than thick ones -- think a piece of paper versus a cardboard shipping box. The reason for the difference: The stress in a material while it's being bent increases farther out from the central plane. Because thick sheets have more material farther out they are harder to bend.
“Our photovoltaic is about 1 micrometer thick,” said Jongho Lee, an engineer at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea. One micrometer is much thinner than an average human hair. Standard photovoltaics are usually hundreds of times thicker, and even most other thin photovoltaics are 2 to 4 times thicker.
AIP: Ultra-thin Solar Cells Can Easily Bend Around a Pencil, Catherine Meyers
I photographer friend sent me a video about a 1200mm camera lens. It looked like a mini bazooka, the case was carried by two persons. They compared it to a 50mm and a 400mm lens. I could stand on a mountain with my arms raised and you could count the hairs on my arm pits (eh, strike that image) from the valley below.
As a young man I had an idea of an imaginary super hero Fotoman who could snap your picture with an Instamatic and beat you by folding, spindling and mutilating the paper photo. His arch nemesis was a crazed copy machine technician. You've seen him xeroxing his behind to send smell-o-grams to business execs.
Fotoman gets the upgrade with digital cams, tablet and drones. If he can get a clear shot, he can alter your image on the fly and delete you if necessary. And don't let him get the green screen drop on ya, LOL! Have to get him a cool helmet with heads-up display and hologram projector. Fotoman uses common technology but is really a home-brewed quantum scientist having had several deep flash encounters of the 4th dimensional kind. He gets flashbacks that seem so real and wears makeup and disguises in public to prevent his real face from being photographed.
