Optical properties of Si/Si0.87Ge0.13 multiple quantum well wires

Nanometer-scale wires cut into a Si/Si0.87Ge0.13 multiple quantum well structure were fabricated and characterized by using photoluminescence and photoreflectance at temperatures between 4 and 20 K. It was found that, in addition to a low-energy broadband emission at around 0.8 eV and other features normally observable in photoluminescence measurements, fabrication process induced strain relaxation and enhanced electron-hole droplets emission together with a new feature at 1.131 eV at 4 K were observed. The latter was further identified as a transition related to impurities located at the Si/Si0.87Ge0.13 heterointerfaces

Shock and vibration response of multistage structure

Study of the shock and vibration response of a multistage structure employed analytically, lumped-mass, continuous-beam, multimode, and matrix-iteration methods. The study was made on the load paths, transmissibility, and attenuation properties along a longitudinal axis of a long, slender structure with increasing degree of complexity

Finger-gate array quantum pumps:pumping characteristics and mechanisms

We study the pumping effects, in both the adiabatic and nonadiabatic regimes, of a pair of \QTR{it}{finite} finger-gate array (FGA) on a narrow channel. Connection between the pumping characteristics and associated mechanisms is established. The pumping potential is generated by ac biasing the FGA pair. For a single pair (N=1) of finger gates (FG's), the pumping mechanism is due to the coherent inelastic scattering of the traversing electron to its subband threshold. For a pair of FGA with pair number $N>2$, the dominant pumping mechanism becomes that of the time-dependent Bragg reflection. The contribution of the time-dependent Bragg reflection to the pumping is enabled by breaking the symmetry in the electron transmission when the pumping potential is of a predominant propagating type. This propagating wave condition can be achieved both by an appropriate choice of the FGA pair configuration and by the monitoring of a phase difference $\phi$ between the ac biases in the FGA pair. The robustness of such a pumping mechanism is demonstrated by considering a FGA pair with only pair number N=4.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Strategic implications of critical fixities under continuous technological change

Includes bibliographical references (p. 27-28)

The Efficiency of Pension Plan Investment Menus: Investment Choices in Defined Contribution Pension Plans

Few previous studies have explored whether defined contribution retirement saving plans offer sufficiently diversified investment menus, though it is likely that these menus significantly shape workers’ accumulations of retirement wealth. This paper assesses the efficiency and performance of 401(k) investment options offered by a large group of US employers. We show that most plans are efficient compared to market benchmark indexes. Three performance measures underscore the fact that these plans tend to offer a sensible investment menu, when measured in terms of the menus’ mean-variance efficiency, diversification, and participant utility. The key factor contributing to plan efficiency and performance has to do with the types of funds offered, rather than the total number of investment options provided.