High-Speed Imaging of Second-Harmonic Generation in MoS2 Bilayer under Femtosecond Laser Ablation

We report an in situ characterization of transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) monolayers and twisted bilayers using a high-speed second-harmonic generation (SHG) imaging technique. High-frequency laser modulation and galvano scanning in the SHG imaging enabled a rapid identification of the crystallinity in the TMD, including the orientation and homogeneity with a speed of 1 frame/s. For a twisted bilayer MoS2, we studied the SHG peak intensity and angles as a function of the twist angle under a strong interlayer coupling. In addition, rapid SHG imaging can be used to visualize laser-induced ablation of monolayer and bilayer MoS2 in situ under illumination by a strong femtosecond laser. Importantly, we observed a characteristic threshold behavior; the ablation process occurred for a very short time duration once the preheating condition was reached. We investigated the laser thinning of the bilayer MoS2 with different twist angles. When the twist angle was 0°, the SHG decreased by approximately one-fourth of the initial intensity when one layer was removed. Conversely, when the twist angle was approximately 60° (the SHG intensity was suppressed), the SHG increased abruptly close to that of the nearby monolayer when one layer was removed. Precise layer-by-layer control was possible because of the unique threshold behavior of the laser-induced ablation.

A stochastic SEIHR model for COVID-19 data fluctuations

Although deterministic compartmental models are useful for predicting the general trend of a disease's spread, they are unable to describe the random daily fluctuations in the number of new infections and hospitalizations, which is crucial in determining the necessary healthcare capacity for a specified level of risk. In this paper, we propose a stochastic SEIHR (sSEIHR) model to describe such random fluctuations and provide sufficient conditions for stochastic stability of the disease-free equilibrium, based on the basic reproduction number that we estimated. Our extensive numerical results demonstrate strong threshold behavior near the estimated basic reproduction number, suggesting that the necessary conditions for stochastic stability are close to the sufficient conditions derived. Furthermore, we found that increasing the noise level slightly reduces the final proportion of infected individuals. In addition, we analyze COVID-19 data from various regions worldwide and demonstrate that by changing only a few parameter values, our sSEIHR model can accurately describe both the general trend and the random fluctuations in the number of daily new cases in each region, allowing governments and hospitals to make more accurate caseload predictions using fewer compartments and parameters than other comparable stochastic compartmental models.

Atomic-scale ion transistor with ultrahigh diffusivity

Biological ion channels rapidly and selectively gate ion transport through atomic-scale filters to maintain vital life functions. We report an atomic-scale ion transistor exhibiting ultrafast and highly selective ion transport controlled by electrical gating in graphene channels around 3 angstroms in height, made from a single flake of reduced graphene oxide. The ion diffusion coefficient reaches two orders of magnitude higher than the coefficient in bulk water. Atomic-scale ion transport shows a threshold behavior due to the critical energy barrier for hydrated ion insertion. Our in situ optical measurements suggest that ultrafast ion transport likely originates from highly dense packing of ions and their concerted movement inside the graphene channels.

A unified theory for organic matter accumulation

Organic matter constitutes a key reservoir in global elemental cycles. However, our understanding of the dynamics of organic matter and its accumulation remains incomplete. Seemingly disparate hypotheses have been proposed to explain organic matter accumulation: the slow degradation of intrinsically recalcitrant substrates, the depletion to concentrations that inhibit microbial consumption, and a dependency on the consumption capabilities of nearby microbial populations. Here, using a mechanistic model, we develop a theoretical framework that explains how organic matter predictably accumulates in natural environments due to biochemical, ecological, and environmental factors. Our framework subsumes the previous hypotheses. Changes in the microbial community or the environment can move a class of organic matter from a state of functional recalcitrance to a state of depletion by microbial consumers. The model explains the vertical profile of dissolved organic carbon in the ocean and connects microbial activity at subannual timescales to organic matter turnover at millennial timescales. The threshold behavior of the model implies that organic matter accumulation may respond nonlinearly to changes in temperature and other factors, providing hypotheses for the observed correlations between organic carbon reservoirs and temperature in past earth climates.

Особенности температурной стабильности сопротивления омических контактов к наногетероструктурам на основе GaAs и GaN

The temperature stability of Ge/Au/Ni/Au ohmic contacts to GaAs nanoheterostructures and Ti/Al/Ni/Au ohmic contacts to GaN nanoheterostructures on silicon substrate was investigated. It has been established that optimization of the RTA process made it possible to obtain ohmic contacts with field emission current flow mechanism. The thermal stability of ohmic contacts for transistors and mesa resistors demonstrated the threshold behavior of the heat treatment temperature. The optimum process parameters for temperature stability and minimum contact resistance were defined.