The last meal of Tollund Man, a bog body from Early Iron Age Denmark, has been re-examined using new analyses of plant macrofossils, pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, steroid markers and proteins found in his gut. Some 12–24 hours before he was killed, he ate a porridge containing barley, pale persicaria and flax, and probably some fish. Proteins and eggs from intestinal worms indicate that he was infected with parasites. Although the meal may reflect ordinary Iron Age fare, the inclusion of threshing waste could possibly relate to ritual practices. This re-analysis illustrates that new techniques can throw fresh light on old questions and contribute to understanding life and death in the Danish Early Iron Age.

Superbubbles are acyclic induced subgraphs of a digraph with single entrance and exit that naturally arise in the context of genome assembly and the analysis of genome alignments in computational biology. These structures can be computed in linear time and are confined to non-symmetric digraphs. We demonstrate empirically that graph parameters derived from superbubbles provide a convenient means of distinguishing different classes of real-world graphical models, while being largely unrelated to simple, commonly used parameters.

The Sun is our dynamic host star due to its magnetic fields causing plentiful of activity in its atmosphere. From high energetic flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) to lower energetic phenomena such as jets and fibrils. Thus, it is of crucial importance to learn about formation and evolution of solar magnetic fields. These fields cover a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, starting on the larger end with active regions harbouring complex sunspots, via isolated pores, down to the smallest yet resolved elements – so-called magnetic bright points (MBPs). Here, we revisit the various manifestations of solar magnetic fields by the largest European solar telescope in operation, the 1.5-meter GREGOR telescope. We show images from the High-resolution Fast Imager (HiFI) and spectropolarimetric data from the GREGOR Infrared Spectrograph (GRIS). Besides, we outline resolved convective features inside the larger structures – so-called light-bridges occurring on large to mid-sized scales.

The provision of artificial nests can improve the conservation status of threatened bird species that are limited by nest-site availability. The shortage of natural cavity nesting sites is one factor limiting the population growth of the Southern Ground Hornbill Bucorvus leadbeateri. In an 1,800 km2 study area in north-eastern South Africa, 31 wooden nest-boxes were installed during 2002–2015. We investigated the relationships between nests, as well as environmental and social factors, with breeding. Generalised linear mixed models were fitted to the observational data and identified positive relationships between breeding attempts and each of home range size and the previous year’s rainfall; as well as positive relationships between breeding success (amongst the groups that attempt breeding) and each of earlier breeding, nest height and thickness of the nest cavity wall. The provision of nest-boxes increased the number of breeding groups and although breeding success also increased initially, it later declined as the density of breeding groups increased above 20 groups. Although nest-boxes alone did not increase overall breeding success, they are an effective conservation tool to enhance the population of Southern Ground Hornbills if spaced optimally, to enhance reproductive output in areas where suitable nest-sites are scarce or lacking.

Light trapping due to rough transparent conductive oxide (TCO) surfaces is a common and industrially applied technique in thin film silicon solar cells. In this study, we demonstrate a novel light trapping solution using electrochemically deposited, highly doped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod arrays which goes beyond standard light management concepts. The n-doped ZnO rods enable the application as front electrode in superstrate configuration. We explain our experimental results by multidimensional solar cell simulations and show how the nanorod array geometry influences the cell performance. The requirement is demonstrated to choose an appropriate average nanorod distance which strongly influences the electrical cell characteristics. The results clearly outline the potential of TCO nanorod technology for enhanced light trapping.

A tool has been developed that can be used to characterize or validate a BEOL interconnect technology. It connects various process assumptions directly to electrical parameters including resistance. The resistance of narrow copper lines is becoming a challenging parameter, not only in terms of controlling its value but also understanding the underlying mechanisms. The resistance was measured for 45nm-node interconnects and compared to the theory of electron scattering. This work will demonstrate how valuable it is to directly link the electrical models to the physical on-wafer dimensions and in turn to the process assumptions. For example, one can generate a tolerance pareto for physical and or electrical parameters that immediately identifies those process sectors that have the largest contribution to the overall tolerance. It also can be used to easily generate resistance versus capacitance plots which provide a good BEOL performance gauge. Several examples for 45nm BEOL will be given to demonstrate the value of these tools.

We present the results of a systematic benchmarking study, using 45nm-groundrule structures, of a commercially-available ionized PVD Cu technology which employs an in-situ Ar+ radio-frequency (Rf) plasma capability for enhanced coverage, and compare its performance and extendibility against the same seedlayer process operated in conventional low-pressure mode. Studies of single-damascene lines and dual-damascene via structures indicate that the PVD Cu seedlayer with Rf-Plasma enhancement enables a reduction of the PVD Cu seed thickness on the order of 35%, based on studies of Cu voiding, via-yield degradation, and transmission-electron microscopy (TEM). These results illustrate the critical importance of the Rf-plasma resputter capability in extending the PVD Cu process to advanced groundrules at 45nm and beyond.

According to market surveys automotive microsensors will evolve into a multi-billion dollar business by 2005. Key roles are attributed to inertial sensors for passenger safety systems, and mass flow and pressure sensors for engine management systems. Thin film techniques together with silicon bulk or surface micromachining have been established as preferential processes to achieve reduction of sensor size, weight and cost along with improvements of sensor functionality and reliability. Enhanced sensor performance often pushes the limits of process technology and therefore the need arises very early in the MEMS design process to identify materials and geometry related parameters which are critical with respect to their tolerance band specifications. In order to control these critical parameters, automated wafer level test procedures need to be developed (based preferentially on electrical quantities) and additionally considered for in the sensor design phase (design for test). In analogy to microelectronics 2D wafer maps of critical parameters may give hints on how to improve process stability and how to adapt the sensor design in order to optimize yield. Examples of critical model parameter variations include thermal conductivity, thickness, and shear modulus of thin films.

Sol-gel derived organic-inorganic hybrid materials with potential fields of application as refractive optical components for example laser diode bars and ophthalmic lenses are presented. The main components of the hybrid materials under investigation are precondensed methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTS, denoted: M) with an organically polymerisable methacrylic functionality and tetraethyleneglycoldimethacrylate (TEGDMA, denoted: T) as crosslinking organic monomer with two polymerisable double bonds. The molar ratios of the components ranged from M/T 10/90 up to M/T 70/30. The polymer derived from pure TEGDMA (M/T 0/100) served as a reference material. In addition to this nanoscaled TiO2 particles (5 wt.% and 10 wt.%) were incorporated in the organic-inorganic M/T 30/70 matrix to increase the refractive index of the resulting nanocomposites. For the preparation of the different systems, precondensed MPTS was mixed with TEGDMA, the nanoparticulate titania sol (when used), an appropriate photoinitiator and a thermoinitiator. The reaction mixtures were polymerised photochemically and/or thermally. The propagation of the free radical polymerisation reaction after photopolymerisation and subsequent thermal curing was followed by IR-spectroscopy, showing that the degree of double bond conversion is strongly increased by the thermal curing step. Incorporation of increasing amounts of TiO2 nanoparticles resulted in reduction of the double bond conversion compared to the corresponding unfilled system. The homogeneous dispersion of the titania particles in the completely cured M/T 30/70 matrix could be manifested by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HTEM). The thermomechanical properties of the completely cured nanocomposites were monitored by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) showing a strong dependence on composition.

The oool extended shells of giants and supergiants are well known to be places of copious dust formation as indicated by the occurrence of pronounced extinction, reddening, and polarization of the continuous star light and by the appearance of particular absorption features, both manifesting the interaction of photons with particles considerably larger than atoms or molecules.

The accepted explanation of these phenomena is the formation of circumstellar dust, i.e. small solid particles with a typical size of the order of 0.1 micron. However, the analysis of these effects yields only information on the interaction of photons with certain functional groups within the clusters - e.g. Si-O, C-H, C-C bending and Si-O, C-C,... stretching vibrations - and thus allows no definite determination of the “real” physical structure and chemical composition of the grain particles. Therefore, observational conclusions concerning the properties of circumstellar dust can provide only some “mean” information which allows no definitive conclusions regarding the true nature of the observed grains (geometrical shape, crystalline structure,...?).

Although the Khoikhoi or so-called Hottentots are still discussed in social anthropological literature, there is relatively little interest in them nowadays in comparison with the San (Bushmen) or various Bantu-speaking peoples. This lack of interest is really quite surprising since Radcliffe-Brown drew heavily on the Nama Khoikhoi material in his essay on the mother's brother in South Africa (Radcliffe-Brown 1924). Radcliffe-Brown, incidentally, based his knowledge of the Nama almost entirely on his interpretation of the field work of Mrs A. W. Hoernlé, using two unpublished papers and personal communication with Mrs Hoernlé as his sources. There is, however, a more important reason why the Khoikhoi are of interest. Many aspects of their way of life, ranging from the status of wives to religious beliefs and practices, are very ‘unAfrican’ if we equate African with Bantu-speaking Africa as is so often done.