The process of lava-dome emplacement through a glacier was observed for the first time after Mount St Helens reawakened in September 2004. The glacier that had grown in the crater since the cataclysmic 1980 eruption was split in two by the new lava dome. The two parts of the glacier were successively squeezed against the crater wall. Photography, photogrammetry and geodetic measurements document glacier deformation of an extreme variety, with strain rates of extraordinary magnitude as compared to normal alpine glaciers. Unlike normal temperate glaciers, the crater glacier shows no evidence of either speed-up at the beginning of the ablation season or diurnal speed fluctuations during the ablation season. Thus there is evidently no slip of the glacier over its bed. The most reasonable explanation for this anomaly is that meltwater penetrating the glacier is captured by a thick layer of coarse rubble at the bed and then enters the volcano’s groundwater system rather than flowing through a drainage network along the bed.

Late-Wisconsin ice sheets were reconstructed for the CLIMAP 18000 years b.p. experiment. This experiment modeled the ice-age steady-state climate using boundary conditions that differed from present ones mainly in Earth-surface albedos, sea-surface areas, and land-surface topography. These required determinations of the area, volume, and elevation of Late Wisconsin ice sheets. An initial-value finite-difference numerical model for ice-sheet reconstruction was developed from a recursive formula which gave ice thickness for known variations of bed topography and theoretical variations of basal shear stress. Ice thicknesses were calculated in 50 km to 100 km steps along flow lines from margins to domes of late-Wisconsin ice sheets. We assumed that terrestrial margins were along the furthermost moraines, marine margins were along the present 500 m bathymetric contour, domes were centers of maximum post-glacial isostatic rebound, and flow lines were along glacial lineations (eskers, striations, drumlins, etc.) connecting margins to domes. At various locations ice-sheet margins were verified by dated moraines for terrestrial margins and Egga-type moraines for marine margins. Ice-sheet elevations and thicknesses were contoured from profiles reconstructed for 40 Antarctic flow lines and 137 Northern Hemisphere flow lines for a maximum ice-sheet extent, and 86 Northern Hemisphere flow lines for a minimum ice-sheet extent.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, August 4 – August 8, 2013.

A systematic investigation of the anelastic relaxation of thin Al films on Si substrates has been carried out. It was found that both the relaxation in bulk and thin film material can be explained by a model involving glide of grain boundaries (GBs). The mass transport necessary for the glide occurs via GB diffusion in the thin films and via lattice diffusion in the bulk material the different behavior being due to the more of two orders of magnitude smaller grains in the films. Internal friction thus provides a technique to measure diffusional parameters of GB diffusion in thin films.

The title oligomers have been incorporated in Zr-based layers on quartz substrates. Absorbance and emission spectra and fluorescence decays have been measured on these films and compared with data from solutions, powders, and PPV. The samples may be divided into those with “liquid-like” behavior and “solid-like” behavior; the latter is characterized by blue-shifted absorbance, red-shifted emission, and more complex decay dynamics than the former. By these criteria, the layers and PPV itself are decidedly “solid-like’.

This paper presents a study of the effects of electron beam (e-beam) exposure on the chemical and physical properties of FLARE™ 1.0X, a non-fluorinated member of the FLARE™ family of poly(arylene ether) dielectric coatings. Spin-coated films of this poly(arylene ether) were cured by large-area e-beam exposure, as well as by conventional thermal processing. Neither swelling nor dissolution was observed for the e-beam cured films after immersion in N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) at 90 °C for 1 hour. The glass transition temperature (Tg) for films cured with a low e-beam dose is slightly higher than, or nearly the same as, the (Tg) for thermally-cured films (∼ 270 °C). However, the Tg for films cured with a high e-beam dose exceeds 400 °C. Dielectric constants of e-beam cured films and thermally cured films are nearly the same. FTIR spectra of FLARE™ films obtained before and after e-beam exposure suggest that e-beam curing does not induce any significant change in the chemical structure. Increased solvent resistance, higher Tg, and low dielectric constant are properties that make this e-beam cured poly(arylene ether) film an excellent candidate for interlevel dielectric integration processes.

Passivated metal lines, commonly used in integrated circuits, show thermally induced stresses due to the difference of the thermal expansion coefficients of the lines and their surroundings. These stresses cause voidage and plastic flow of the lines. Aim of the analysis was to derive equations connecting experimentally measured strains or stresses by the X-ray diffraction and wafer curvature techniques with the magnitude of voidage and plastic shear deformation of the lines.

Using the concepts of linear elasticity the volume averaged stresses of an array of parallel interconnects embedded in a passivation layer on a flat substrate are analysed. Equations are derived connecting the volume averaged stresses in the metal and in the passivation with the “eigen-strains” of the metal which characterize the true (stress free) thermal strains and plastic deformation strains of the metal. The coefficients entering these equations are determined from (elastic) finite element method (FEM) calculations performed for various geometries and aspect ratios of the metal lines. Choosing the proper values of the coefficients allows the eigen- strains to be determined from the experimental data.

By comparison of the evaluated eigen-strains with the purely elastic eigen-strains ΔaΔT the extent of voidage and/or plastic shear deformation of passivated metal lines caused by thermally induced stresses can be determined model independently.

Al and Al- alloys are commonly used as interconnect materials in integrated electronic devices. Stress induced voiding and degradation of metal lines by electromigration are closely related to the stresses in the lines.

We have studied the strain and stress evolution during thermal cycling, isothermal relaxation and due to electromigration in passivated Al and AlSi(1%)Cu(0.5%) lines by Xray diffraction with variation of experimental parameters such as the aspect ratio and the electrical current density. Furthermore the extent of voiding and plastic shear deformation has been determined from the experimental metal strains with the help of finite element calculations.

Main results are: 1) During thermal cycling the voiding is less than 2.10-3. The extent of plastic shear deformation increases with increasing line width and with decreasing flowstress. 2) During isothermal relaxation void growth occurs but no significant change in the plastic shear deformation. 3) An electric current in the lines causes no measurable additional change of the volume averaged stresses up to line failure.

Arrays of mesoscopic ferroelectric PZT structures with lateral sizes from several micrometers down to below 300 nm were prepared applying nanoimprint lithography. The ferroelectric properties of the mesoscopic structures were investigated by scanning force microscopy in piezoresponse mode. The best chemical route to obtain ferroelectric structures was found to be the sol-gel method. Using Nb-doped SrTiO3 single crystals as bottom electrodes, the crystallization into the ferroelectric phase was uniform with grain sizes in the 35 nm range. The best ferroelectric properties of individual 300 nm structures were obtained if an intermediate, continuous ferroelectric layer was present on the bottom electrode.

A perfect 2D porous alumina photonic crystal with 500 nm interpore distance was fabricated on an area of 4 cm2 via imprint methods and subsequent electrochemical anodization. A 4” imprint stamp consisting of a convex pyramid array was obtained by modern VLSI processing using DUV-lithography, anisotropic etching, LPCVD Si3N4 deposition and wafer bonding. The optical properties of the porous alumina photonic crystal were measured with an infrared microscope in Г-M direction. For both polarizations, a bandgap is observed at around 1 μm for r/a = 0.42. A reflectivity of almost unity for E-polarization in the region of the bandgap is a sign of the high quality of the structure, indicating almost no scattering losses. These experimental results could be correlated very well to the bandstructure as well as reflectivity calculations assuming a dielectric constant of å = 2.0 for the anodized alumina.

We demonstrate two ways in which the optical band-gap of a 2-D macroporous silicon photonic crystal can be tuned. In the first method the temperature dependence of the refractive index of an infiltrated nematic liquid crystal is used to tune the high frequency edge of the photonic band gap by up to 70 nm as the temperature is increased from 35 to 59°C. In a second technique we have optically pumped the silicon backbone using 150 fs, 800 nm pulses, injecting high density electron hole pairs. Through the induced changes to the dielectric constant via the Drude contribution we have observed shifts up to 30 nm of the high frequency edge of a band-gap.

Extended 3D photonic crystals based on macroporous silicon are prepared by applying a periodic variation of the illumination during photoelectrochemical etching. If the lateral pore arrangement is 2D hexagonal, the resulting structure exhibits a simple 3D hexagonal symmetry. The dispersion relation along the pore axis is investigated by optical transmission measurements. Photonic band gaps originating from the pore diameter modulation are observed and the group velocities of the photonic bands are determined by analyzing the Fabry-Perot resonances. Furthermore, angular resolved transmission measurements show a spectral region of omnidirectional total reflectivity.

Work done to date on the SMBH mass function has brought to light some interesting puzzles, the best known of which is cosmic downsizing. The solution to this problem is based upon the methodology by which we determine SMBH masses, which comes mainly from studies of active galaxies. The most massive SMBHs cease to be active at earlier epochs than their less massive counterparts, thus leading to an apparent decrease in the SMBH mass function with time. The larger SMBHs should still be present in the local Universe, but they lie in quiescent galaxies. This lack of certainty reflects the biggest gap in the observational record – the mass of SMBHs in quiescent galaxies.

Stimulated Raman scattering from a fully focused relativistically drifting electron plasma in a parallel-plate waveguide is studied. A set of internally consistent transport relations governing the three-wave interactions is developed. These transport relations lead to the proper conservation of energy and momentum. Including small wall and bulk plasma losses, parametric and nonlinear characteristics are investigated theoretically and numerically. It is found that in an unbounded medium the saturation period of the signal wave is considerably smaller than in a bounded medium. The signal energy comes from the plasma stream through the idler wave with small depletion of the pump wave amplitude.

Greenhouse experiments were conducted to determine whether multiple applications of glyphosate and time of glyphosate application with regard to the crop's growth stage had a significant effect on the growth and development of glyphosate-resistant canola. Glyphosate was applied as single applications at the two-, four-, or six-leaf stage of canola; as sequential double applications at the two- and four-, two- and six-, and four- and six-leaf stages of canola; and as a triple application at all three stages. Of the plant growth parameters measured, single applications of glyphosate resulted in significant reductions to stem weight and shoot weight compared with nontreated plants, and multiple applications of glyphosate caused significant reductions to leaf area, leaf weight, stem weight, and shoot weight. Single applications of glyphosate were less injurious to glyphosate-resistant canola compared with multiple applications, and canola growth parameter reductions were greatest after earlier glyphosate applications.

A new strain of wild Meriones unguiculatus (strain Ugoe:MU95, named WILD) with high genetic variability was recently established in Germany. A previous study showed that offspring (F-1) of WILD founders (F-0) showed reduced spermatogenesis and testosterone compared to domesticated gerbils (LAB) maintained under similar conditions. We investigated F-0 and subsequent generations in respect to sexual maturation, duration of fertility and gonadal weights of different seasons. Body and reproductive organ weights showed negligible seasonal fluctuations in both strains. Testis and epididymis weights in WILD covered a wide range, which indicates a high reproductive variability. Reproductive organ weights increased in F-3. Less variable and high reproductive organ weights (testis >900 mg, epididymis >200 mg) in almost all LAB illustrate their readiness to reproduce, even in small individuals. Prominent testis (T+) was found in 71% of adult males (F-1, F-2) reflecting the natural portion of T+(63%) found in wild gerbils investigated in Mongolia in 1995 and 2002. Testicular descent was accelerated and pronounced in WILD F-3 (T+, 88%) and LAB (T+, 91%). Time between mating and the first litter was significantly longer in wild F-0 than in their offspring or LAB. The average age in wild F-0 when the last litter was born was 27 months. Breeding went on for 2 to 32 months and was mostly terminated by the death of the females. Relative testis and epididymis weights correspond in young adults and in old males up to 6 years, the total life span of male wild Mongolian gerbils. In summary, the results suggest that laboratory conditions improve the reproductive fitness of wild gerbils.