A unified theory of free energy functionals and applications to diffusion.

SignificanceThe free energy functional is a central component of continuum dynamical models used to describe phase transitions, microstructural evolution, and pattern formation. However, despite the success of these models in many areas of physics, chemistry, and biology, the standard free energy frameworks are frequently characterized by physically opaque parameters and incorporate assumptions that are difficult to assess. Here, we introduce a mathematical formalism that provides a unifying umbrella for constructing free energy functionals.

Mid-infrared interband cascade light emitting devices grown on off-axis silicon substrates.

The high-quality growth of midwave infrared light emitters on silicon substrates will advance their incorporation into photonic integrated circuits, and also introduce manufacturing advantages over conventional devices grown on lattice-matched GaSb. Here we report interband cascade light emitting devices (ICLEDs) grown on 4 degree offcut silicon with 12% lattice mismatch. Four wafers produced functioning devices, with variations from wafer to wafer but uniform performance of devices from a given wafer.

Light-Emitting Metasurfaces: Simultaneous Control of Spontaneous Emission and Far-Field Radiation.

Light-emitting sources and devices permeate every aspect of our lives and are used in lighting, communications, transportation, computing, and medicine. Advances in multifunctional and "smart lighting" would require revolutionary concepts in the control of emission spectra and directionality. Such control might be possible with new schemes and regimes of light-matter interaction paired with developments in light-emitting materials.

Going solo: Hierarchical task analysis of the second driver in "two-up" (multi-person) freight rail operations.

While many countries have dual-driver ("two-up") modes in freight rail, driver shortage creates increasing pressure to move to single-driver operations. While this change has implications for workload and safety, the roles of the primary and second drivers have not been systematically mapped. This mapping is the focus of this paper, which presents a hierarchical task analysis (HTA) from a multi-methods study (n = 40).

Active Mediation of Plasmon Enhanced Localized Exciton Generation, Carrier Diffusion and Enhanced Photon Emission.

Understanding the enhancement of charge carrier generation and their diffusion is imperative for improving the efficiency of optoelectronic devices particularly infrared photodetectors that are less developed than their visible counterpart. Here, using gold nanorods as model plasmonic systems, InAs quantum dots (QDs) embedded in an InGaAs quantum well as an emitter, and GaAs as an active mediator of surface plasmons for enhancing carrier generation and photon emission, the distance dependence of energy transfer and carrier diffusion have been investigated both experimentally and theoretically. Analysis of the QD emission enhancement as a function of distance reveals a Förster radius of 3.

Polarization control in GaN nanowire lasers.

We demonstrate polarization control in optically-pumped single GaN nanowire lasers fabricated by a top-down method. By placing the GaN nanowires onto gold substrates, the naturally occurring randomly orientated elliptical polarization of nanowire lasers is converted to a linear polarization that is oriented parallel to the substrate surface. Confirmed by simulation results, this polarization control is attributed to a polarization-dependent loss induced by the gold substrate, which breaks the mode degeneracy of the nanowire and forms two orthogonally polarized modes with largely different cavity losses.

Recording oscillations of sub-micron size cantilevers by extreme ultraviolet Fourier transform holography.

We recorded the fast oscillation of sub-micron cantilevers using time-resolved extreme ultraviolet (EUV) Fourier transform holography. A tabletop capillary discharge EUV laser with a wavelength of 46.9 nm provided a large flux of coherent illumination that was split using a Fresnel zone plate to generate the object and the reference beams.

Understanding the visual skills and strategies of train drivers in the urban rail environment.

Background: Due to the growth of information in the urban rail environment, there is a need to better understand the ergonomics profile underpinning the visual behaviours in train drivers.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the tasks and activities of urban/metropolitan passenger train drivers in order to better understand the nature of the visual demands in their task activities.

Methods: Data were collected from 34 passenger train drivers in four different Australian states.

Tabletop single-shot extreme ultraviolet Fourier transform holography of an extended object.

We demonstrate single and multi-shot Fourier transform holography with the use of a tabletop extreme ultraviolet laser. The reference wave was produced by a Fresnel zone plate with a central opening that allowed the incident beam to illuminate the sample directly. The high reference wave intensity allows for larger objects to be imaged compared to mask-based lensless Fourier transform holography techniques.

Growth mode and defect evaluation of GaSb on GaAs substrate: a transmission electron microscopy study.

We use transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) techniques to confirm and analyze the interfacial misfit (IMF) and non-IMF growth modes for GaSb epilayers on GaAs substrates. Under optimized IMF growth conditions, only pure 90 degrees dislocations are generated along both [110] and [1-10] directions and located exactly at the epi-substrate interface, which leads to very low density of misfit dislocations propagating from the GaSb/GaAs interface along the growth direction, compared to the non-IMF growth condition. The mechanism of defect annihilation indicates that this IMF mergence process happens without formation of threading dislocations into the GaSb epilayer, which is a completely relaxed growth mode with extremely low defect density.

Comparison of a Sleep Quality Index between Normal and Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients.

This paper aimed at developing an index, called Sleep Index, to assess the quality of sleep in normal and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) subjects. The Sleep Index was designed to be directly proportional to the summation of product of the number seconds spent in each stage of sleep and the selected weighting coefficient of each sleep stage. It was also inversely proportional to the product of total number of sleep stage shifts and the total number of seconds spent in all stages of sleep.