No abstract

Electron-beam deposition inside scanning electron microscope (SEM) is used to prepare a new scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tip [electron-beam deposited (EBD) tip] which has a submicron diameter and a long straight sidewall. An EBD tip as small as less than 0.1 /-lm in diameter can be formed with careful beam focusing. This EBD tip is formed to be capable of providing a low-distortion STM image of deep grooves, and is quite useful in topographic measurements of microfabricated patterns.

Electrical and optical properties of Nb-doped TiO 2 films deposited by dc magnetron sputtering using slightly reduced Nb-doped TiO 2 − x ceramic targets J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 28, 851 (2010); 10.1116/1.3358153 Structure, optical, and electrical properties of indium tin oxide thin films prepared by sputtering at room temperature and annealed in air or nitrogen Transparent conductive In 2 O 3 -SnO 2 films were deposited by dc magnetron sputtering on unheated glass substrates using high-density ceramic targets with various SnO 2 concentrations ͑0-100 wt. %͒. These films were subsequently postannealed in various atmospheres ͓air, Ar ͑100%͒ or Ar͑97% ͒ +H 2 ͑3%͔͒ for 1 h at 200°C. All the as-deposited films were amorphous by X-ray diffraction ͑XRD͒. After the postannealing, XRD profiles of the films deposited using the targets in the range of 0-20 wt. % SnO 2 showed bixbyte In 2 O 3 polycrystalline structure, whereas all the films deposited using the targets with 44.5 wt. % SnO 2 and 100 wt. % ͑pure SnO 2 ͒ were amorphous. Resistivity of the films deposited using the targets in the range of 0-20 wt. % SnO 2 went from about 4.0 ϫ 10 −4 to 2.0ϫ 10 −4 ⍀ · cm by the postannealing under all atmospheres due to increased carrier density. This implies an increase in the number of the substitutional Sn 4+ at In 3+ sites during crystallization. The work function of the postannealed films was inversely proportional to the two-thirds power of carrier density.

Light climates strongly influence plant architecture and mass allocation. Using the metamer concept, we quantitatively described branching architecture and growth of Chenopodium album plants grown solitarily or in a dense stand. Metamer is a unit of plant construction that is composed of an internode and the upper node with a leaf and a subtended axillary bud. The number of metamers on the main-axis stem increased with plant growth, but did not differ between solitary and densestand plants. Solitary plants had shorter thicker internodes with branches larger in size and number than the plant in the dense stand. Leaf area on the main stem was not different. Larger leaf area in solitary plants was due to a larger number of leaves on branches. Leaf mass per area (LMA) was higher in solitary plants. It did not significantly differ between the main axis and branches in solitary plants, whereas in the dense stand it was smaller on branches. Dry mass was allocated most to leaves in solitary plants and to stems in the dense stand in vegetative growth. Reproductive allocation was not significantly different. Branch/main stem mass ratio was higher in solitary than dense-stand plants, and leaf/stem mass ratio higher in branches than in the main axis. Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) (dry mass growth per unit N uptake) was higher and light use efficiency (LUE) (dry mass growth per unit light interception) was lower in the plant grown solitarily than in the dense stand.

Representative transparent conductive oxide films, such as tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) and indium–zinc oxide (IZO) films, were deposited by dc magnetron sputtering using corresponding oxide targets under various total gas pressures (Ptot) ranging from 0.3 to 3.0 Pa. The ITO films deposited at a Ptot lower than 0.7 Pa were polycrystalline and were found to have a large compressive stress of about 1.5 ×109 Pa, whereas the ITO films deposited at 1.5–3.0 Pa were amorphous and had a low tensile stress. In contrast, all the IZO films deposited at a Ptot range of 0.3–3.0 Pa showed an entirely amorphous structure, where the compressive stress in the IZO films deposited at a Ptot lower than 1.5 Pa was lower than that in the ITO films. Such compressive stress was considered to be generated by the atomic peening effect of high-energy neutrals (Ar0) recoiled from the target or high-energy negative ions (O-) accelerated in the cathode sheath toward the film surface.