A new approach to β-Ga2O3 single crystal growth was studied, using the vertical Bridgman (VB) method in ambient air, while measuring the β-Ga2O3 melting temperature and investigating the effects of crucible composition and shape. β-Ga2O3 single crystals 25 mm in diameter were grown in platinum-rhodium alloy crucibles in ambient air, with no adhesion of the crystals to the crucible wall.Single crystal growth without a crystal seed was realized by (100) faceted growth with a growth direction perpendicular to the (100) faceted plane.

The characteristics of structural defects observed on (100) wafers in β-Ga2O3 single crystals grown by directional solidification in a vertical Bridgman furnace were studied in terms of crystal growth conditions. No high-dislocation-density regions near the wafer periphery were observed owing to the lack of adhesion between the as-grown crystal ingot surface and the crucible inner wall, and directional solidification growth in a crucible with a very low temperature gradient resulted in β-Ga2O3 single crystals with a low mean dislocation density of 2.3 × 103 cm−2. Line-shaped defects up to 150 µm long in the [010] direction were detected at a mean density of 0.5 × 102 cm−2, which decreased with decreasing growth rate. The line-shaped defect structure and formation mechanism were discussed.

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Cation-deficient perovskites exhibit complex local atomic arrangements which cannot be adequately described by average crystal structure models. By combining reciprocal-space electron diffraction analysis and direct observations of atom positions using state-of-the-art scanning transmission electron microscopy, we clarify the nature of the cation ordering within A-site-deficient perovskite single crystals of La (1Àx)/3 Li x NbO 3 (x ¼ 0 and x ¼ 0.04). Both materials are found to have complex modulated crystal structures with two types of A-cation ordering, namely a long-range layer ordering in alternate (001) p planes and a short-range (intra-domain) columnar ordering within La-rich (001) p layers. The columnar ordering (occupational modulation) produces modulated displacements of Nb and O atoms. It is also found that substitution of even a small amount of Li for La can affect significantly the columnar ordering, leading to a series of structural and microstructural changes that are likely to have a deleterious effect on the Li-ion conductivity of this material.

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In the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD), water levels at some stations have increased. However, the factors that cause this rise in the VMD have not been identified. We considered four factors that may have contributed to the water level rise: (1) increased runoff from upstream, (2) sea-level rise, (3) land subsidence, and (4) decrease in flood mitigation function because of construction of high dykes. We analysed daily maximum and minimum water levels, and mean daily water levels from 24 monitoring stations from 1987 to 2006. Using daily and annual water level differences, we classified the delta into two groups: one is dominated by flows from upstream, while the other is tide dominated. We then tested the trends of annual maximum and minimum water levels using the Mann-Kendall test, and identified the slope of the trend using the method of Sen. The areas of dyke construction were estimated using the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and Land Surface Water Index (LSWI) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. Results show (1) river inflow has little impact on rising water levels in the VMD, (2) the influence of high dykes on water level rise could not be quantified in this study, and (3) both maximum and minimum water levels significantly increased in the tide-dominated area. Trend of annual minimum water level can be considered as the sum sea-level rise and land subsidence. Therefore, we attribute 6.05 mm year À1 (80%) to land subsidence and 1.42 mm year À1 (20%) to sea level rise, indicating that inundations have been severe in the VMD, caused primarily by land subsidence. Figure 9. Dyke construction areas and trends of annual maximum water level (mm year À1 ). Red areas highlight where high dykes have been constructed 844 Y. FUJIHARA ET AL.

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