Optical properties of oxygen vacancies in HfO thin films studied by absorption and luminescence spectroscopy.

Hafnium oxide thin films with varying oxygen content were investigated with the goal of finding the optical signature of oxygen vacancies in the film structure. It was found that a reduction of oxygen content in the film leads to changes in both, structural and optical characteristics. Optical absorption spectroscopy, using nanoKelvin calorimetry, revealed an enhanced absorption in the near-ultraviolet (near-UV) and visible wavelength ranges for films with reduced oxygen content, which was attributed to mid-gap electronic states of oxygen vacancies.

Short-term Outcomes With a Second-Generation Uncemented Stem in Total Hip Arthroplasty.

An uncemented stem has been used successfully in total hip arthroplasty for 2 decades, and some implants have been updated. The authors have used second-generation uncemented proximal porous coating stems, the Echo Bi-Metric Full Proximal Profile stem (Echo FPP; Biomet, Warsaw, Indiana) and the Echo Reduced Proximal Profile stem (Echo RPP; Biomet). This article reports short-term outcomes with these stems compared with their predecessor, the Bi-Metric stem (Biomet).