Existing research on certifiable management standards (CMS) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) tends to focus on large companies and is characterised by disagreement about the role of these standards as drivers of CSR. We contribute to the literature by shifting the analytical focus to the behaviour of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that subscribe to multiple CSR related standards. We argue that, in respect of motive and commitment, SMEs are not as different from large companies as the literature suggests, as they are guided by similar institutional and economic motives. Results, based on ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certified SMEs in Greece, demonstrate that later adopters are more susceptible to coercive and mimetic motives and are less likely to commit fully to the CMS requirements, while earlier adopters react to normative motives and considerations of internal efficiency gains and tend to carry out CMS requirements with greater diligence.

Metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) of silicon (Si) is a simple and low-cost process to fabricate Si nanostructures with varying aspect ratio and properties. In this work, we report on the structural and vibrational properties of Si nanostructures synthesized with varying metal catalyst. The morphology of the synthesized nanowires was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The optical and vibrational properties of the Si nanostructures were studied by photoluminescence and Raman spectroscopy using three different excitation sources (UV, visible and near-infrared) and are correlated to their microstructures. We propose that the excessive injection of holes into Si at the metal-Si interface and its diffusion to the nanowire surfaces facilitate the etching of Si on these surfaces, leading to a mesoporous network of Si nanocrystallites. When etched with catalytic Au nanoparticles, “hay-stacked” mesoporous Si nanowires were obtained. The straighter nanowires etched with Ag nanoparticles, consisted of a single crystalline core with a thin porous layer that decreased in thickness towards the base of the nanowire. This difference is due to the higher catalytic activity of Au compared to Ag for H2O2 decomposition. The SERRS observed during UV and visible Raman with Ag-etched Si nanowires and near-infrared Raman with Au-etched Si nanowires is due to the presence of the sunken metal nanoparticles. In addition, we explored the influence of varying H2O2 and HF concentration as well as the influence of increased etching temperature on the resultant nanostructured Si morphology. Such Si nanostructures may be useful for a wide range of applications such as photovoltaic and biological and chemical sensing.

Phosphorus diffusion has been studied in both pure epitaxially grown silicon and Cz silicon, with a substantial amount of impurities like oxygen and carbon. Anneals have been performed in different atmospheres, N2 and dry O2, as well as in vacuum, at temperatures between 810 – 1100°C. Diffusion coefficients extracted from these anneals show no difference for the P diffusion in the epitaxially grown or the Cz silicon. The diffusion coefficients follow an Arrhenius dependence with the activation energy Ea=2.74±0.07 eV and a prefactor D0 = (8±5)×10−4 cm2/s. These parameters differ considerably from the previously reported and widely accepted values (3.66 eV and 3.84 cm2/s, respectively). However, vacuum anneals of the same samplesresult in values close to this 3.6 eV diffusion mode. Furthermore, control anneals of boron doped samples, with similar design as the phosphorus samples, suggest the same trend for boron diffusion in silicon – lower versus higher values of activation energies for nitrogen and vacuum anneals, respectively. These results are discussed in terms of the concentration of Si self-interstitials mediating the diffusion of phosphorus and boron.

Here we present the result of measurements of electrical resistivity and magnetoresistivity of graphite/diamond nanocomposites (GDNC) and onion-like carbon (OLC) prepared by vacuum annealing of nanodiamond (ND) at various fixed temperatures. GDNC contain particles with a diamond core covered by closed curved graphitic shells. The electrical resistivity of annealed ND is characteristic of systems with localized electrons and can be described in terms of variable hopping-length hopping conductivity (VHLHC). The magnetoresistivity of OLC is negative in the range of field 0<B<2 T, and is positive at B>2 T. The conduction carrier concentration for OLC samples was estimated in the framework of the theory of negative magnetoresistance in semiconductors in the hopping conduction region. The free path length for conducting electrons at liquid helium temperature was estimated from the data on positive magnetoresistivity. The localization length of current carriers was also estimated. The determined parameters are in agreement with proposed structure model of OLC constructed using HRTEM data.

Planar low-temperature solid phase epitaxy of amorphous silicon in a-Si/10nmNiSi/c-Si structure was observed. The crystallization rate is well described by the arrhenius-type expression with the activation energy and preexponencial factor deduced from our measurements of 1.7 eV and 2.4×1012 nm/min, respectively. NiSi2 formation at the NiSi2/a-Si interface is believed to be the limiting stage of the transformation. The structures with thicker Ni-reached interfacial layer perform much poorer a-Si epitaxy.

Oriented carbon nanotube films were grown using a method of chemical vapor deposition in hydrogen/methane plasma activated by glow discharge. The film phase composition and structural features were studied by Raman, SEM, TEM, and HRTEM techniques. Field emission properties of the films were examined to obtain I-V characteristics and the field emission site distribution. The I-V curves in Fowler-Nordheim coordinates were linear, that is typical for the field emission, with the threshold average field about 1.5 V/μm and the emission current density up to 50 mA/cm2 at the field of 5 V/μm. The emission site density reached 107 cm2 at the same value of electrtic field.

Rechargeable zinc-air batteries are a long run time solution for portable electronics. Cells with a nominal voltage of 1.05 V have a specific energy of 169 Wh kg−1 and aenergy density of 219 Wh L1. This cell is capable of delivering 16 – 18 Ah of capacity at 2 A (16.7 mA cm−2) discharge rate. However, the cycle life of these cells is artificially shortened because of the generation of carbon dioxide in the alkaline electrolyte during the cycling of the cell. The carbon dioxide has the effect of removing the OH− (equation 1) needed by the anode

half reaction (equations 2 and 3). The need for hydroxide is demonstrated in equation 2.

There is literature evidence [1,2] that the CO2 was the result of corrosion of the carbon matrix of the air electrode. We report here the results of our investigation of this corrosion reaction and what properties of the carbon contribute to the corrosion reaction rate.

Photo- and electroluminescence were studied in erbium-doped amorphous hydrogenated silicon films. A mechanism of excitation of erbium ions by defect-related Auger process is proposed which permits to explain consistently the whole set of our experimental results.

Phosphorus diffusion in a biaxially compressed Si0.87Ge0.13 film has been investigated in the temperature range of 810–900°C. A significant enhancement of the P diffusion in the biaxially compressed Si0.87Ge0.13 in comparison with P diffusion in Si is observed. Injection of Si self-interstitials (I) during oxidation of a Si-cap in Si/Si0.87Ge0.13/Si heterostructures is used to characterize the atomic mechanism of P diffusion in Si0.87Ge0.13. It is found that the upper limit of the interstitial fraction of the P diffusion in Si0.87Ge0.13 is 0.87 of that in Si. A comparison between B and P diffusivities in SiGe supports the hypothesis of the pairing-controlled mechanism for the diffusion of B in SiGe.

The paper is a brief retrospective review of our contribution to the Si:Er problem in the last decade. It contains a description of the experimental facilities, results of the light emitting media (Si:Er and Si1-xGex:Er) research and device applications.

The formation mechanisms of carbon deposits and silicon carbide whiskers on metal surface catalysts have some common steps. The most important are: (1) the formation of metal particle alloys oversaturated with carbon or silicon and carbon atoms and (2) the nucleation of corresponding deposits on the metal catalyst surface. A thermodynamic analysis of the carbon and/or silicon carbide nucleation on the metal surface was performed. The master equations for the dependence of critical radius of carbon or SiC nucleus on reaction parameters, such as reaction temperature, supersaturation degree of catalyst particles with C (or Si and C), work of adhesion of metal to carbon (or metal to SiC), were obtained. These equations combined with the phase diagram approach can be used for the description of different scenarios of carbon and/or SiC deposits formation and for the development of the main principles of catalyst and promoters design.

Highly conductive (> 103 Ω-1cm-1) and transparent (∼ 90%) In4Sn3O12 films have been deposited using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on glass substrates held at a temperature of 500°C under varying pressures of oxygen (2.5 mTorr ≤ PO2 ≤ 15 mTorr). The crystallinity and the roughness of the films were found to increase with the pressure of oxygen used during deposition. Electron concentrations of the order of 5×1020 cm-3 and mobilities as high as 30 cm2V-1s-1 were derived from the measurement of Hall coefficients. Both the electronic transport and optical properties of the films were found to be strongly sensitive to the pressure of oxygen used during deposition.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2008 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, August 3 – August 7, 2008

The paper is a brief retrospective review of our contribution to the Si:Er problem in the last decade. It contains a description of the experimental facilities, results of the light-emitting media (Si:Er and Si1−xGex:Er) research, and device applications.

A comprehensive study of the ∼2200-Ma-old Kuetsjärvi Sedimentary Formation (KSF), NW Russia, was undertaken to contribute to our understanding of palaeoenvironments associated with the global perturbation of the carbon cycle between 2330 and 2060 Ma. Closely spaced drill core samples (n=95) were obtained from a 150-m-thick unit deposited in rift-bound fluvial-deltaic and shallow-water lacustrine settings with a short-term invasion of sea water. Apart from a very few de-dolomitised samples, all other carbonate lithologies are represented by Corg-free, S-poor, quartz-rich dolostones, stromatolites and travertines which have high Sr concentrations (51–1069 ppm) and low Mn/Sr ratios (2·9 ± 2·1). The carbonate succession, excluding travertines, shows high δ13C (+7·5 ± 0·6‰, n=95) with a limited variation (+5·8 to +8·9‰). Fluctuating δ18O values (10·8–20·4‰) were overprinted during diagenesis, regional greenschist-grade and later retrograde metamorphism. Several short-term stratigraphic excursions of δ13C were apparently governed by evaporation and CO2 degassing combined with pulses of12C-rich hydrothermal waters precipitating travertines. However, the 13C-rich nature of the dolostones reflects the global isotopic signal, which was modified in a shallow water lacustrine environment by evaporation, enhanced uptake of 12C by cyanobacteria, and pene-contemporaneous oxidation and loss of organic material. The best proxies to δ13C and 87Sr/86 Sr of coeval sea water recorded in the KSF dolostones are likely to be around +5–6‰ and 0·70406, respectively. The study of the KSF has shown that circumspection is necessary when attempting to model the behaviour and evolution of the global C-cycle in Deep Time. Models which purport to explain global oceanic–atmospheric evolution without first adequately accounting for the possibility that many Precambrian carbonate deposits might be non-marine, or at least influenced by non-marine fluids, should be viewed with caution

We present the catalog of data for 27 gamma-ray flares detected above 500 keV by the gamma-ray spectrometer SONG (Solar Neutrons and Gamma-Rays) onboard the Russian CORONAS-F satellite. These gamma-ray flares were collected during the period from August 14, 2001 till November 31, 2003 covering the latter half of the 23rd solar sunspot cycle.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

The description of two major flares detected by SONG spectrometer on board the CORONAS-F mission during famous period of solar activity in October- November 2003 and their comparison with soft X-ray measured by GOES-12 is given.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html

The finite Pfaff lattice is given by a commuting Lax pair involving a finite matrix L (zero above the first subdiagonal) and a projection onto sp(N). The lattice admits solutions such that the entries of the matrix L are rational in the time parameters t_1,t_2,\dotsc, after conjugation by a diagonal matrix. The sequence of polynomial \tau-functions, solving the problem, belongs to an intriguing chain of subspaces of Schur polynomials, associated to Young diagrams, dual with respect to a finite chain of rectangles. Also, this sequence of \tau-functions is given inductively by the action of a fixed vertex operator.

As an example, one such sequence is given by Jack polynomials for rectangular Young diagrams, while another chain starts with any two-column Jack polynomial.