NIST Technicalendar November 9 to November 13, 2009 The NIST Technicalendar is issued each Friday. All items MUST be submitted electronically from this web page by 12:00 NOON each Wednesday unless otherwise stated in the NIST Technicalendar. The address for online weekly editions of the NIST Technicalendar and NIST Administrative Calendar is: http://www.nist.gov/tcal.

In this Issue: Meetings at NIST Meetings Elsewhere Announcements Talks by NIST Personnel NIST Web Site Announcements NIST Administrative Calendar (current)   NIST Vacancy Announcements (current)

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No Scheduled Events

10:30 AM - Spin relaxation and quantum interference in InSb and InAs based heterostructures

No Scheduled Events

1:30 PM - Decision Making and Collective Dynamics of Cells

10:30 AM - A New X-Ray Metrology for Determining Cross-Sectional Profile of Semiconductor Device Pattern

11/9 -- MONDAY

No Scheduled Events

11/10 -- TUESDAY

10:30 AM - CNST ENERGY RESEARCH GROUP SEMINAR: Spin relaxation and quantum interference in InSb and InAs based heterostructures
Low-temperature quantum-coherent transport in semiconducting systems is sensitive to quantum interference between electron wave functions. The coherence allows identification of spin precession phenomena in magnetotransport measurements. This talk will present magnetotransport measurements in narrow-gap semiconductor systems where strong spin-orbit interactions may lead to avenues for spin manipulation in spintronics devices. At low temperatures Te-doped InSb thin films and quasi-1D wires fabricated from an InSb/InAlSb two dimensional electron systems show antilocalization, occurring as a consequence of the spin-orbit interactions, From the data we can extract spin relaxation times of the itinerant electrons, revealing that increasing dimensional confinement in InSb systems can affect spin decoherence mechanisms. By analyzing the dependence of the spin relaxation time on carrier concentration in films with different Te doping, it is shown that the Elliot-Yafet mechanism is responsible for spin decoherence in doped InSb films at low temperatures. In contrast, spin coherence lengths in the quasi-1D wires are found to be inversely proportional to wire width – consistent with spin decoherence via the D'yakonov-Perel' mechanism. Quantum coherence also leads to pronounced oscillatory intereference phenomena in mesoscopic rings. Magnetotransport across mesoscopic ring arrays fabricated on an InAs/AlGaSb two dimensional electron system show both Aharonov-Bohm oscillations periodic in one flux quantum, _=h/e, as well as Altshuler-Aronov- Spivak oscillations periodic in _=h/2e, affected by the spin degree of freedom. The Fourier spectra of the magnetotransport reveal a splitting of the h/e peak which is attributed to a spinorbit interaction-induced Berry's phase.
Ray Kallaher , Postdoctoral Candidate/ Dept. of Physics, Virginia Tech.
Bldg.217, Rm.H107. (NIST Contact: Fred Sharifi, 301-975-4633, fred.sharifi@nist.gov)


11/11 -- WEDNESDAY

No Scheduled Events

11/12 -- THURSDAY

1:30 PM - MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING LABORATORY SEMINAR: Decision Making and Collective Dynamics of Cells
Wolfgang Losert , Department of Physics, IPST and IREAP, University of Maryland College Park.
224 Bldg, Rm. A312. (NIST Contact: Jack Douglas, 301-975-6779, jack.douglas@nist.gov)


11/13 -- FRIDAY

10:30 AM - CERAMICS DIVISION SEMINAR: A New X-Ray Metrology for Determining Cross-Sectional Profile of Semiconductor Device Pattern
A GI-SAXS system has been developed for measuring the cross-sectional profile of semiconductor device patterns. The cross-sectional profile was represented with several structural parameters, which include pitch of grating, width and height of grating, sidewall angle, rounding of top and bottom edges, and fluctuations of the width and the height. Two-dimensional GI-SAXS data were used to determine the parameters of the average structure of the periodic grating. The structure of a grating with 100-nm pitch could successfully be determined with the present system. Some other examples will also be presented.
Hideo Toraya , Director & Executive Officer, X-ray Research Lab, Rigaku Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, toraya@rigaku.co.jp. Kazuhiko Omote , X-ray Research Laboratory, Rigaku Corporation, Tokyo, Japan.
223 Bldg, Rm. A252. (NIST Contact: Donald Windover, 301-975-6102, windover@nist.gov)


ADVANCE NOTICE

11/17/09 10:30 AM - CNST ENERGY RESEARCH GROUP SEMINAR: Nanoimprinted Transparent Metal Electrodes and Their Applications in Organic Solar Cells
Organic solar cells (OSCs) offer a promising alternative to inorganic solar cells due to their low cost, easy fabrication, and compatibility with flexible substrates over a large area. Since their first report, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of OSCs has steadily increased and now reached up to 4-5 %. However, further enhancement of the PCE together with low-cost fabrication is still required for practical applications. The developed transparent metal electrodes have the characteristics of the high optical transmittance and electrical conductivity, a combination of properties that makes them suitable as a replacement of the expensive indium tin oxide (ITO), a predominant choice as a transparent and conductive electrode (TCE) for organic optoelectronic device applications. Not only do metal electrodes provide excellent optical transmittance and electrical conductivity, but also nanoscale metallic gratings exhibit unique optical properties due to the excitation of surface plasmon resonance (SPR), which can be exploited in specially designed solar cells to achieve enhanced light absorption. For instance, OSCs made with transparent Ag electrode as a TCE outperform the device with conventional ITO electrode due to the surface plasmon enhanced light absorption in organic materials. Photocurrents and external quantum efficiencies (EQE) are enhanced as mush as 43 % and 2.5 fold at a wavelength of 570 nm, respectively, resulting in 35 % enhancement of power conversion efficiency. Therefore, the use of developed transparent metal (e.g. Ag) electrode will help to realize low cost, high performance organic solar cells.
Myung-Gyu Kang , Postdoctoral Candidate.
Bldg.217, Rm.H107. (NIST Contact: Fred Sharifi, 301-975-4633, fred.sharifi@nist.gov)

11/24/09 10:30 AM - PROCESS MEASUREMENTS DIVISION SEMINAR: PROCESS MEASUREMENTS DIVISION SEMINAR
Proteins are exposed to a multitude of different surfaces and chemistries in vivo and yet, they must retain their stability in order to function. However, conversion of soluble native proteins into beta-sheet-rich structured aggregates, such as amyloid and prion deposits can occur at interfaces. Protein stability and activity is also essential for use in various medical and analytical devices, such as biosensors, biocatalytic chips, biomaterials for implants, drug delivery vehicles, tissue engineering, and bioseparations (affinity adsorption). Although a vast experimental literature exists on the adsorption of specific proteins to various solid substrates under defined conditions, difficulties in determining the underlying reasons for the loss of stability and function remain. Many researchers have addressed particular aspects of protein behavior at interfaces through experiment, theory and molecular simulation. Here, we review recent results on protein stability and activity on solid heterogeneous and homogeneous substrates including nano-particles, demonstrate the effect of surface chemistry and roughness on protein aggregation, and describe a novel method to probe unfolding of a monolayer of tethered proteins. We also mention the use of single molecule force spectroscopy to determine molecular interactions in the nuclear pore complex (NPC). Tethered fibril-like proteins that contain intrinsically disordered domains interact with carrier proteins that determine selectivity. Finally, we introduce a new high-throughput method for identifying protein resistant surfaces.
Georges Belfort , Russell Sage Professor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, belfog@rpi.edu.
Physics Bldg, Rm. A366. (NIST Contact: Michael Tarlov, 301-975-2058, michael.tarlov@nist.gov)

12/3/09 10:30 AM - ATOMIC PHYSICS DIVISION SEMINAR: 1/f Noise and Dephasing from Surface Magnetic States in Superconducting Circuits
Superconducting qubits are a leading candidate for scalable quantum information processing. In order to realize the full potential of these circuits, it is necessary to develop a more complete understanding of the microscopic physics that governs dissipation and dephasing of the quantum state. In the case of the Josephson phase and flux qubits, the dominant dephasing mechanism is an apparent low-frequency magnetic flux noise with a 1/f power spectrum. The origin of this excess noise has been an open question for more than 20 years. Here we describe studies of flux noise and temperature-dependent magnetization in Superconducting QUantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs) cooled to millikelvin temperatures. We observe that the flux threading the SQUIDs increases as 1/T as temperature is lowered; moreover, the flux change is proportional to the density of trapped vortices. The data are compatible with the thermal polarization of unpaired surface spins in the trapped fields of the vortices, and suggest a microscopic origin for the 1/f flux noise. In addition we have performed measurements of the temperature- and frequency-dependent complex inductance of dc SQUID circuits. The SQUID inductance displays rich, history-dependent structure as a function of temperature. At a fixed temperature, the SQUID inductance fluctuates with a 1/f power spectrum; the inductance noise is highly correlated with the conventional 1/f flux noise. The data is interpreted in terms of the reconfiguration of clusters of surface spins, w ith correlated fluctuations of effective magnetic moments and relaxation times.
Robert McDermott , Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Metrology Building, Room B365. (NIST Contact: Neil Zimmerman, 301-975-5887, neil.zimmerman@nist.gov)

12/3/09 1:30 PM - CNST ELECTRON PHYSICS GROUP SEMINAR: NOTE DATE CHANGE***Stability in a Turbulent (FERMI) Sea: The Ever More Remarkable High Temperature Superconductors
For over two decades high temperature superconductivity has captured the attention of scientists the world round. However, rather than finding a simple explanation for the properties of these materials, as was done for their low temperature cousins half a century ago, intensive research has instead led to an increasingly complex picture of materials characterized by an intricate phase diagram, full of competing or coexisting states, yet still dominated by a superconducting state which persists, at least in some materials, almost half way to room temperature. In this talk I will describe nanoscale investigations of the electronic structure of high temperature superconductors using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). We have recently found that a still not understood high temperature phase in these materials, the pseudogap, is characterized by strong charge inhomogeneity. Surprisingly, although this disorder persists into the superconducting state, it does not seem to perturb coexisting homogeneous superconductivity. The resolution of this apparent contradiction gives new insight into the onset of superconductivity and its relationship with the pseudogap phase.
Eric Hudson , Professor/Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Bldg. 217, Rm. H107. (NIST Contact: Joseph Stroscio, 301-975-3716, joseph.stroscio@nist.gov)

12/9/09 10:30 AM - ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY SEMINAR: Judge Harry T. Edwards and Professor Constantine Gatsonis – Co-chairs of the National Academies Committee Investigating Forensic Science in the United States – to Present Findings and Recommendations
Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Green Auditorium - The National Academies published its report in February, 2009 entitled "Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States – A Path Forward." Judge Edwards, of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals, DC District, and Professor Gatsonis, Director of the Center for Statistical Science at Brown University, will address NIST staff about this historic report and discuss the findings and recommendations to improve forensic science in the US. The findings are hard-hitting and the recommendations for improvement potentially involve a number of core strengths of NIST, including validation of forensic science disciplines, statistical determination of uncertainty in forensic analyses, interoperability of AFIS systems, mandatory laboratory accreditation and forensic science practitioner certification. Judge Edwards and Professor Gatsonis will each give 25-30 minute presentations, followed by a 30-minute period for discussion. Please join us – Sherlock Holmes would have wanted to be there.
Judge Harry T. Edwards , Co-Chair, National Academies Committee Investigating Forensic Science in the United States. Professor Constantine Gatsonis , Co-Chair, National Academies Committee Investigating Forensic Science in the United States.
Administration Building, Green Auditorium. (NIST Contact: Cindy Stanley, 301-975-2756, stanleyc@nist.gov) http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/alphaList.aspx?alpha=N

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MEETINGS ELSEWHERE


11/9 -- MONDAY

No Scheduled Events

11/10 -- TUESDAY

No Scheduled Events

11/11 -- WEDNESDAY

No Scheduled Events

11/12 -- THURSDAY

No Scheduled Events

11/13 -- FRIDAY

No Scheduled Events

ADVANCE NOTICE

No Scheduled Events

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TALKS BY NIST PERSONNEL

POWELL, C. : EFFECTS OF ELASTIC SCATTERING AND ANALYZER ACCEPTANCE ANGLE ON THE ANALYSIS OF ANGLE-RESOLVED XPS DATA.
AVS 56th International Symposium, San Jose, CA, 11/9.

HENDRICKS, J. (Co-Authors: T.Gooding D.Olson ) : NIST TRACEABLE VACUUM STANDARDS BASED UPON MEMS RESONANT SILICON GAUGE TECHNOLOGY.
AVS 56th International Symposium & Exhibition, San Jose, CA, 11/9.

RICHTER, L. : ELLIPSOMETRIC DEPTH PROFILING OF POLYMER-BLEND FILMS FOR ORGANIC ELECTRONICS AND PHOTOVOLTAICS.
American Vacuum Society 56th International Symposium & Exhibition, San Jose Convention Center, San Jose, California, 11/9.

SOLES, C. : BUILDING A MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH PROGRAM THAT LEVERAGES ON OUR NATIONAL FACILITIES: THE PERSPECTIVE OF A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LABORATORY.
AIChE 2009 Meeting, Nashville, TN, 11/9.

HOLBROOK, D. : BEHAVIOR OF ENGINEERED NANOPARTICLES IN AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTS - AN OVERVIEW.
American Vacuum Society 56th International Symposium & Exhibition, San Jose Convention Center, San Jose, California, 11/10.

SOLES, C. : THERMODYNAMIC UNDERPINNINGS OF CELL ALIGNMENT ON CONTROLLED TOPOGRAPHIES.
Nanoprint and Nanoprint Technology Conference, San Jose, CA, 11/13.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

DIVERSITY DAY 4: GENERATIONAL DIVERSITY
Diversity Day 4: Generational Diversity with Robert Wendover Tuesday, November 10, 2009 This event will feature a keynote seminar and staff panel discussion in the morning. Smaller seminars for senior and line management will continue in the afternoon. The schedule is as follows: 9-10 a.m. ET: Generational Diversity Panel Discussion 10:30-11:45 a.m. Red Auditorium Keynote: Managing Age Diversity in Today's Workplace How does a "fifty-something" lead a "twenty-something?" How does a "twenty-something" lead a "fifty-something?" To thrive in this new world, you must understand the values and attitudes of both new and experienced workers. This talk helps you take a realistic, yet amusing look at how the generations relate. 12:30 p.m. Senior Leaders Lunch Session: Succession Planning and the New Generations As Baby Boomers edge closer to retirement, they are being replaced by a cohort of people having a radically different take on leadership. Younger generations will challenge the traditional ways that organizations promote and develop leaders. This a unique program focused on how your enterprise can ensure tomorrow's success by integrating the aspirations of young workers with the wisdom of veteran managers. 2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Division Chiefs and Group Leaders Green Auditorium Been There, Done That! Best Practices in Managing Age Diversity Age differences in today's workplace have become a major challenge for supervisors young and old. Veteran managers think young people lack initiative and common sense. Young workers think older employees are stuck in their ways. Young people depend upon technology. Older workers depend upon their experience. This will help you connect with the needs and desires of the diverse generations in your workplace and learn how managers in your industry and others are not just surviving, but thriving with the young talent entering the workforce.
NIST Contact: Jeremy Lawson, 301-975-5481, jeremy.lawson@nist.gov

THE CRITICAL ROLE OF DEFECT STRUCTURAL RELAXATION IN INTERPRETING NOISE MEASUREMENTS IN MOSFETS
With aggressive scaling of device dimensions, low frequency noise and random telegraph signal (RTS) noise measurements have become the methods of choice for defect profiling in MOSFET devices. While low frequency noise can be used to monitor defect distributions, RTS noise, which is fluctuations of the drain (gate) current between two or several discrete values, provides information on characteristics of individual traps. However, a conventional noise analysis, in which the time of an injected electron capture/emission by a bulk defect is controlled by the tunneling process, encounters a problem: the measured characteristic times are several orders of magnitude longer than the estimates based on tunneling times. The detailed analysis of noise controlling processes in high-k MOSFETs demonstrates that the times of capture and emission by the bulk oxide defects/traps might be controlled to a great degree by the structural relaxation of the trap rather than by the electron tunneling. The structural relaxation involves displacements of the lattice atoms around the defect center caused by the trapped charge, thus requiring the full system energy description, taking into account the energy associated with such atomic displacements. In other words, change of the geometrical configuration of the trap atoms requires a finite amount of energy, amounting to a barrier which slows down the rates of capture and emission processes. It is worth noting that typical atomic displacement caused by the captured electron is an important defect-identifying characteristic, along with its energy and capture cross-section. This approach was applied for interpretation of noise measurements an extraction of characteristics of the defects, and their comparison, in high-k MOSFETs, SiON/poly-Si transistors, and in the tunnel oxide of charge-trapping memory devices (TANOS). Authors: D. Veksler, G. Bersuker, H. Park, C. Young, K. Y. Lim, W. Taylor (SEMATECH Austin, TX 78741 and Albany, NY 12203, USA), S. Lee and H. Shin (and School of Electrical Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea). Bio: Dmitry Veksler received his B.S. in 1996 and M.S. in 1998 from Advanced School of General and Applied Physics, Nizhniy Novgorod State University and Ph.D. in Physics in 2007 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. He was with Institute for Physics of Microstructures (Russian Academy of Sciences) from 1998 till 2003 holding the position as a junior researcher, and, later, as a staff researcher studying optical and transport phenomena in low-dimensional semiconductor hetero structures, employing methods of far infrared magneto-spectroscopy. In the years 2007 and 2008 he was employed as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, ECSE department working on development of plasma wave electronic devices for THz spectroscopy and imaging applications. In 2009 he joined Electrical and Physical Characterization group at SEMATECH, Inc. His current research focus is on characterization/reliability of high-k MOSFETs, alternative substrates FETs, and non-planar devices.
NIST Contact: Jason Campbell, 301-975-8308, jason.campbell@nist.gov

ELECTRON BEAM INDUCED DEPOSITION (EBID) OF CARBON INTERFACE BETWEEN CARBON INTERCONNECT AND METAL ELECTRODE. 11/10/2009, 1PM, 217/H107
Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes (MWNT) are promising candidates for next generation electrical and electronic devices such as interconnects and tips for conductive force microscopy (CFM). One of the main challenges in MWNT implementation in such devices is the high contact resistance of the MWNT-metal electrode interface. Electron Beam Induced Deposition (EBID) of an amorphous carbon interface has previously been demonstrated to simultaneously lower the electrical contact resistance and improve mechanical characteristics of the MWNT-electrode connection. In this work, factors contributing to the EBID formation of the carbon MWNT-electrode connection and their influence on the contact resistance are explored experimentally and theoretically. First, a comprehensive dynamic model of EBID of residual hydrocarbons coupling mass transport, electron transport and scattering, and species decomposition is formulated, implemented, and validated. The model is used in identifying the physical conditions corresponding to different growth regimes, as well as their impact on the growth rate and shape of the EBID deposits. In addition, the impact of MWNT properties, electron beam impingement location, and electron beam energy on resulting shape of MWNT-electrode EBID carbon connection are determined. Lastly, the dominating factors contributing to the resistance of the MWNT interconnect as well as the relative importance of the mechanical contact area of the EBID-made carbon joint to MWNT and the metal electrode are determined experimentally.
NIST Contact: John Henry Scott, 301-975-4981, johnhenry.scott@nist.gov

VISITOR REGISTRATION FOR NIST EVENTS
Because of heightened security at the NIST Gaithersburg site, members of the public who wish to attend meetings, seminars, lectures, etc. must first register in advance. For more information please call or e-mail the "NIST Contact" for the particular event you would like to attend.
NIST Contact: . ., ., .

17TH ANNUAL SIGMA XI POSTDOCTORAL POSTER PRESENTATION: CALL FOR POSTERS
The NIST Chapter of Sigma Xi invites all Postdoctoral Fellows to present a poster on their scientific research to their NIST coworkers and friends. Guest Researchers who have received their advanced degree in the last five years are also welcome. There will be two sessions – Session I (from 9 am until noon) and Session II (from 1 pm until 4 pm). Both sessions will take place on February 24, 2010 in Lecture Rooms A and B and the adjoining hallway in the Administration Building and will be accompanied by refreshments. All participants will be invited to a special reception the following week, for the announcement of the most outstanding poster award in each category. There are two required steps to participate in this event: 1. Register. Please register online according to the directions on the NIST Chapter of Sigma Xi web page (www.nist.gov/sigmaxi). The registration fee is $10 for Sigma Xi members and $20 for non-Sigma Xi members. 2. Submit an Abstract. Please send a one page abstract of your poster to Doug Meier (douglas.meier@nist.gov). See online instructions on how to format your abstract on the Sigma Xi web site. All abstracts must be formatted in MS Word and contain the requested information – all submissions that are not properly formatted will be returned. Sigma Xi PPP abstracts from previous years can be seen at www.nist.gov/sigmaxi. Please note that the poster can be about your doctoral research if you have not been at NIST long enough to have performed sufficient research. THE DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACTS IS JANUARY 15, 2010. Posters in each session will be numbered according to the time of their receipt. Space is limited, so please sign up early.
NIST Contact: Catherine Lo, 301-975-8643, catherine.lo@nist.gov

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NIST WEB SITE ANNOUNCEMENTS

No Web Site announcements this week.

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For more information, contact Ms. Sharon Hallman, Editor, Stop 2500, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg MD 20899-2500; Telephone: 301-975-TCAL (3570); Fax: 301-926-4431; or Email: tcal@nist.gov.

All lectures and meetings are open unless otherwise stated.

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