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Sample records for biological sub-micron thickness

  1. Characterization of in-situ annealed sub-micron thick Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ko, Byoung-Soo; Sung, Shi-Joon; Hwang, Dae-Kue, E-mail: dkhwang@dgist.ac.kr

    2015-09-01

    Sub-micron thick Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} (CIGS) thin films were deposited on Mo-coated soda-lime glass substrates under various conditions by single-stage co-evaporation. Generally, the short circuit current (J{sub sc}) decreased with the decreasing thickness of the absorber layer. However, in this study, J{sub sc} was nearly unchanged with decreasing thickness, while the open circuit voltage (V{sub oc}) and fill factor (FF) decreased by 31.9 and 31.1%, respectively. We believe that the remarkable change of V{sub oc} and FF can be attributed to the difference in the total amount of injected thermal energy. Using scanning electron microscopy, we confirmed that the surface morphology becomes smooth and the grain size increased after the annealing process. In the X-ray diffraction patterns, the CIGS thin film also showed an improved crystal quality. We observed that the electric properties were improved by the in-situ annealing of CIGS thin films. The reverse saturation current density of the annealed CIGS solar cell was 100 times smaller than that of reference solar cell. Thus, sub-micron CIGS thin films annealed under a constant Se rate showed a 64.7% improvement in efficiency. - Highlights: • The effects of in-situ annealing the sub-micron CIGS film have been investigated. • The surface morphology and the grain size were improved by in-situ annealing. • The V{sub oc} and FF of the films were increased by about 30% after in-situ annealing. • In-situ annealing of sub-micron thick CIGS films can be improved an efficiency.

  2. Sub-micron filter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tepper, Frederick [Sanford, FL; Kaledin, Leonid [Port Orange, FL

    2009-10-13

    Aluminum hydroxide fibers approximately 2 nanometers in diameter and with surface areas ranging from 200 to 650 m.sup.2/g have been found to be highly electropositive. When dispersed in water they are able to attach to and retain electronegative particles. When combined into a composite filter with other fibers or particles they can filter bacteria and nano size particulates such as viruses and colloidal particles at high flux through the filter. Such filters can be used for purification and sterilization of water, biological, medical and pharmaceutical fluids, and as a collector/concentrator for detection and assay of microbes and viruses. The alumina fibers are also capable of filtering sub-micron inorganic and metallic particles to produce ultra pure water. The fibers are suitable as a substrate for growth of cells. Macromolecules such as proteins may be separated from each other based on their electronegative charges.

  3. Rapid growth of amorphous carbon films on the inner surface of micron-thick and hollow-core fibers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ji, Longfei [Fujian Key Laboratory for Plasma and Magnetic Resonance, Department of Electric Science, School of Physics and Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005 (China); School of Physics and Materials Engineering, Dalian Nationalities University, Dalian 116600 (China); School of Science, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun, Jilin 130022 (China); Liu, Dongping, E-mail: Dongping.liu@dlnu.edu.cn [Fujian Key Laboratory for Plasma and Magnetic Resonance, Department of Electric Science, School of Physics and Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005 (China); School of Physics and Materials Engineering, Dalian Nationalities University, Dalian 116600 (China); School of Science, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun, Jilin 130022 (China); Zhou, Xinwei [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang 310007 (China); Song, Ying [School of Physics and Materials Engineering, Dalian Nationalities University, Dalian 116600 (China); School of Physics and Optoelectronic Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116023 (China); Ni, Weiyuan [School of Physics and Materials Engineering, Dalian Nationalities University, Dalian 116600 (China); School of Science, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun, Jilin 130022 (China); Niu, Jinhai; Fan, Hongyu [School of Physics and Materials Engineering, Dalian Nationalities University, Dalian 116600 (China)

    2013-10-01

    Ultrathick (> 25 μm) carbon films were obtained on the inner surface of hollow and micron-thick quartz fibers by confining CH{sub 4}/He or C{sub 2}H{sub 2}/He microplasmas in their hollow cores. The resulting carbon films were studied by using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The microplasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique resulted in the uniform growth of amorphous carbon films on the inner surface of very long (> 1 m) hollow-core fibers. Film deposition is performed by using microplasmas at atmospheric pressure and at 50 Pa. The carbon films obtained with the latter show the smooth inner surfaces and the well continuity across the film/optical fiber. Low-pressure CH{sub 4}/He and C{sub 2}H{sub 2}/He microplasmas can lead to a rapid growth (∼ 2.00 μm/min) of carbon films with their thickness of > 25 μm. The optical emission measurements show that various hydrocarbon species were formed in these depositing microplasmas due to the collisions between CH{sub 4}/C{sub 2}H{sub 2} molecules and energetic species. The microplasma-enhanced CVD technique running without the complicated fabrication processes shows its potentials for rapidly depositing the overlong carbon tubes with their inner diameters of tens of microns. - Highlights: • The microplasma device is applied for coating deposition inside hollow-core fibers. • The microplasma device results in > 25 μm-thick carbon films. • The microplasma device is simple for deposition of ultralong carbon tubes.

  4. Characterization on the coatings of Ni-base alloy with nano- and micron-size Sm{sub 2}O{sub 3} addition prepared by laser deposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang Shihong [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Anhui University of Technology, Maanshan City, Anhui Province 243002 (China); School of Nano and Advanced Materials Engineering, Changwon National University, 9, Sarim-Dong, Changwon, Gyeongnam 641-773 (Korea, Republic of)], E-mail: zsh10110903@hotmail.com; Li Mingxi [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Anhui University of Technology, Maanshan City, Anhui Province 243002 (China); Yoon, Jae Hong; Cho, Tong Yul [School of Nano and Advanced Materials Engineering, Changwon National University, 9, Sarim-Dong, Changwon, Gyeongnam 641-773 (Korea, Republic of)

    2008-12-01

    The coating materials are the powder mixture of micron-size Ni-base alloy powders with both 1.5 wt.% micron-size and nano-size Sm{sub 2}O{sub 3} powders, which are prepared on Q235 steel plate by 2.0 kW CO{sub 2} laser deposition. The results indicate that with rare earth oxide Sm{sub 2}O{sub 3} addition, the width of planar crystallization is smaller than that of the Ni-base alloy coatings. Micron- and nano-Sm{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Ni-base alloy coatings have similar microstructure showing the primary phase of {gamma}-Ni dendrite and eutectic containing {gamma}-Ni and Cr{sub 23}C{sub 6} phases. However, compared to micron-Sm{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Ni-base alloy, preferred orientation of {gamma}-Ni dendrite of nano-Sm{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Ni-base alloy is weakened. Planar crystal of several-{mu}m thickness is first grown and then dendrite growth is observed at 1.5% micron-Sm{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Ni-base alloy coating whereas equiaxed dendrite is grown at 1.5% nano-Sm{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Ni-base alloy coating. Hardness and wear resistance of the coating improves with decreasing Sm{sub 2}O{sub 3} size from micron to nano. The improvement on tribological property of nano-Sm{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Ni-base alloy over micron-Sm{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Ni-base alloy coatings can be attributed to the better resistance of equiaxed dendrite to adhesion interactions during the wear process. In 6 M HNO{sub 3} solution, the corrosion resistance is greatly improved with nano-Sm{sub 2}O{sub 3} addition since the decrease of corrosion ratio along grain-boundary in nano-Sm{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Ni-base alloy coating contributes to harmonization of corrosion potential.

  5. Nanomechanical testing of circular freestanding polymer films with sub-micron thickness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maner, Kyle C.; Begley, Matthew R.; Oliver, Warren C.

    2004-01-01

    This paper describes techniques to create freestanding films over perfectly circular spans (windows) and measure their mechanical properties using instrumented nanoindentation. Test samples were created by spin-casting polymer films over glass plates with embedded fibers, which were subsequently etched using a relatively weak acid to leave freestanding circular spans. The freestanding spans were tested using an instrumented nanoindenter over a wide range of applied loads and displacements. Material properties can be extracted from measured load-deflection responses using straightforward models for point-loads on circular plates or membranes. Results are presented for poly(methyl methacrylate) and poly(2,6,dimethyl,1,4,phenylene ether) films with thickness ranging from 350 to 750 nm. The properties derived from freestanding tests are compared with traditional nanoindentation of films on intact substrates. The freestanding approach has key advantages for characterizing micron-scale behavior of compliant materials, notably greater ease and applicability of sample preparation over other micro-fabrication techniques and straightforward analytical or numerical models

  6. Study of lead phytoavailability for atmospheric industrial micronic and sub-micronic particles in relation with lead speciation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Uzu, G. [EcoLab UMR 5245 CNRS-INPT-UPS, ENSAT BP 32607 Auzeville Tolosane, 31326 Castanet Tolosan (France)], E-mail: gaelle.uzu@ensat.fr; Sobanska, S. [LASIR UMR 8516, Universite des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, Batiment C5, 59655 Villeneuve d' Ascq Cedex (France)], E-mail: Sophie.Sobanska@univ-lille1.fr; Aliouane, Y. [EcoLab UMR 5245 CNRS-INPT-UPS, ENSAT BP 32607 Auzeville Tolosane, 31326 Castanet Tolosan (France); Pradere, P. [Chemical Metal Treatment Company, STCM, 30-32 chemin de Fondeyre, 31200 Toulouse (France)], E-mail: p.pradere@stc-metaux.com; Dumat, C. [EcoLab UMR 5245 CNRS-INPT-UPS, ENSAT BP 32607 Auzeville Tolosane, 31326 Castanet Tolosan (France)], E-mail: camille.dumat@ensat.fr

    2009-04-15

    Particles from channelled emissions of a battery recycling facility were size-segregated and investigated to correlate their speciation and morphology with their transfer towards lettuce. Microculture experiments carried out with various calcareous soils spiked with micronic and sub-micronic particles (1650 {+-} 20 mg Pb kg{sup -1}) highlighted a greater transfer in soils mixed with the finest particles. According to XRD and Raman spectroscopy results, the two fractions presented differences in the amount of minor lead compounds like carbonates, but their speciation was quite similar, in decreasing order of abundance: PbS, PbSO{sub 4}, PbSO{sub 4}.PbO, {alpha}-PbO and Pb{sup 0}. Morphology investigations revealed that PM{sub 2.5} (i.e. Particulate Matter 2.5 composed of particles suspended in air with aerodynamic diameters of 2.5 {mu}m or less) contained many Pb nanoballs and nanocrystals which could influence lead availability. The soil-plant transfer of lead was mainly influenced by size and was very well estimated by 0.01 M CaCl{sub 2} extraction. - The soil-lettuce lead transfer from atmospheric industrial sub-micronic and micronic particles depends on particle size.

  7. Scanning SQUID susceptometers with sub-micron spatial resolution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kirtley, John R., E-mail: jkirtley@stanford.edu; Rosenberg, Aaron J.; Palmstrom, Johanna C.; Holland, Connor M.; Moler, Kathryn A. [Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305-4045 (United States); Paulius, Lisa [Department of Physics, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008-5252 (United States); Spanton, Eric M. [Department of Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305-4045 (United States); Schiessl, Daniel [Attocube Systems AG, Königinstraße 11A, 80539 Munich (Germany); Jermain, Colin L.; Gibbons, Jonathan [Department of Physics, Cornell University, Cornell, Ithaca, New York 14853 (United States); Fung, Y.-K.K.; Gibson, Gerald W. [IBM Research Division, T. J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598 (United States); Huber, Martin E. [Department of Physics, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado 80217-3364 (United States); Ralph, Daniel C. [Department of Physics, Cornell University, Cornell, Ithaca, New York 14853 (United States); Kavli Institute at Cornell, Ithaca, New York 14853 (United States); Ketchen, Mark B. [OcteVue, Hadley, Massachusetts 01035 (United States)

    2016-09-15

    Superconducting QUantum Interference Device (SQUID) microscopy has excellent magnetic field sensitivity, but suffers from modest spatial resolution when compared with other scanning probes. This spatial resolution is determined by both the size of the field sensitive area and the spacing between this area and the sample surface. In this paper we describe scanning SQUID susceptometers that achieve sub-micron spatial resolution while retaining a white noise floor flux sensitivity of ≈2μΦ{sub 0}/Hz{sup 1/2}. This high spatial resolution is accomplished by deep sub-micron feature sizes, well shielded pickup loops fabricated using a planarized process, and a deep etch step that minimizes the spacing between the sample surface and the SQUID pickup loop. We describe the design, modeling, fabrication, and testing of these sensors. Although sub-micron spatial resolution has been achieved previously in scanning SQUID sensors, our sensors not only achieve high spatial resolution but also have integrated modulation coils for flux feedback, integrated field coils for susceptibility measurements, and batch processing. They are therefore a generally applicable tool for imaging sample magnetization, currents, and susceptibilities with higher spatial resolution than previous susceptometers.

  8. Deformation Behavior of Sub-micron and Micron Sized Alumina Particles in Compression.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sarobol, Pylin; Chandross, Michael E.; Carroll, Jay; Mook, William; Boyce, Brad; Kotula, Paul Gabriel; McKenzie, Bonnie Beth; Bufford, Daniel Charles; Hall, Aaron Christopher.

    2014-09-01

    The ability to integrate ceramics with other materials has been limited due to high temperature (>800degC) ceramic processing. Recently, researchers demonstrated a novel process , aerosol deposition (AD), to fabricate ceramic films at room temperature (RT). In this process, sub - micro n sized ceramic particles are accelerated by pressurized gas, impacted on the substrate, plastically deformed, and form a dense film under vacuum. This AD process eliminates high temperature processing thereby enabling new coatings and device integration, in which ceramics can be deposited on metals, plastics, and glass. However, k nowledge in fundamental mechanisms for ceramic particle s to deform and form a dense ceramic film is still needed and is essential in advancing this novel RT technology. In this wo rk, a combination of experimentation and atomistic simulation was used to determine the deformation behavior of sub - micron sized ceramic particle s ; this is the first fundamental step needed to explain coating formation in the AD process . High purity, singl e crystal, alpha alumina particles with nominal size s of 0.3 um and 3.0 um were examined. Particle characterization, using transmission electron microscopy (TEM ), showed that the 0.3 u m particles were relatively defect - free single crystals whereas 3.0 u m p articles were highly defective single crystals or particles contained low angle grain boundaries. Sub - micron sized Al 2 O 3 particles exhibited ductile failure in compression. In situ compression experiments showed 0.3um particles deformed plastically, fractured, and became polycrystalline. Moreover, dislocation activit y was observed within the se particles during compression . These sub - micron sized Al 2 O 3 particles exhibited large accum ulated strain (2 - 3 times those of micron - sized particles) before first fracture. I n agreement with the findings from experimentation , a tomistic simulation s of nano - Al 2 O 3 particles showed dislocation slip and

  9. Prescribed 3-D Direct Writing of Suspended Micron/Sub-micron Scale Fiber Structures via a Robotic Dispensing System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Hanwen; Cambron, Scott D; Keynton, Robert S

    2015-06-12

    A 3-axis dispensing system is utilized to control the initiating and terminating fiber positions and trajectory via the dispensing software. The polymer fiber length and orientation is defined by the spatial positioning of the dispensing system 3-axis stages. The fiber diameter is defined by the prescribed dispense time of the dispensing system valve, the feed rate (the speed at which the stage traverses from an initiating to a terminating position), the gauge diameter of the dispensing tip, the viscosity and surface tension of the polymer solution, and the programmed drawing length. The stage feed rate affects the polymer solution's evaporation rate and capillary breakup of the filaments. The dispensing system consists of a pneumatic valve controller, a droplet-dispensing valve and a dispensing tip. Characterization of the direct write process to determine the optimum combination of factors leads to repeatedly acquiring the desired range of fiber diameters. The advantage of this robotic dispensing system is the ease of obtaining a precise range of micron/sub-micron fibers onto a desired, programmed location via automated process control. Here, the discussed self-assembled micron/sub-micron scale 3D structures have been employed to fabricate suspended structures to create micron/sub-micron fluidic devices and bioengineered scaffolds.

  10. Scanning SQUID susceptometers with sub-micron spatial resolution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kirtley, John R.; Rosenberg, Aaron J.; Palmstrom, Johanna C.; Holland, Connor M.; Moler, Kathryn A.; Paulius, Lisa; Spanton, Eric M.; Schiessl, Daniel; Jermain, Colin L.; Gibbons, Jonathan; Fung, Y.-K.K.; Gibson, Gerald W.; Huber, Martin E.; Ralph, Daniel C.; Ketchen, Mark B.

    2016-01-01

    Superconducting QUantum Interference Device (SQUID) microscopy has excellent magnetic field sensitivity, but suffers from modest spatial resolution when compared with other scanning probes. This spatial resolution is determined by both the size of the field sensitive area and the spacing between this area and the sample surface. In this paper we describe scanning SQUID susceptometers that achieve sub-micron spatial resolution while retaining a white noise floor flux sensitivity of ≈2μΦ_0/Hz"1"/"2. This high spatial resolution is accomplished by deep sub-micron feature sizes, well shielded pickup loops fabricated using a planarized process, and a deep etch step that minimizes the spacing between the sample surface and the SQUID pickup loop. We describe the design, modeling, fabrication, and testing of these sensors. Although sub-micron spatial resolution has been achieved previously in scanning SQUID sensors, our sensors not only achieve high spatial resolution but also have integrated modulation coils for flux feedback, integrated field coils for susceptibility measurements, and batch processing. They are therefore a generally applicable tool for imaging sample magnetization, currents, and susceptibilities with higher spatial resolution than previous susceptometers.

  11. SiO2/ZnO Composite Hollow Sub-Micron Fibers: Fabrication from Facile Single Capillary Electrospinning and Their Photoluminescence Properties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guanying Song

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available In this work, SiO2/ZnO composite hollow sub-micron fibers were fabricated by a facile single capillary electrospinning technique followed by calcination, using tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP and ZnO nanoparticles as raw materials. The characterization results of the scanning electron microscopy (SEM, transmission electron microscopy (TEM, X-ray diffraction (XRD and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR spectra indicated that the asprepared composite hollow fibers consisted of amorphous SiO2 and hexagonal wurtzite ZnO. The products revealed uniform tubular structure with outer diameters of 400–500 nm and wall thickness of 50–60 nm. The gases generated and the directional escaped mechanism was proposed to illustrate the formation of SiO2/ZnO composite hollow sub-micron fibers. Furthermore, a broad blue emission band was observed in the photoluminescence (PL of SiO2/ZnO composite hollow sub-micron fibers, exhibiting great potential applications as blue light-emitting candidate materials.

  12. Fabrication, microstructure, and mechanical properties of high strength cobalt sub-micron structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin Sumin; Burek, Michael J.; Evans, Robert D.; Jahed, Zeinab; Leung, Michael C.; Evans, Neal D.; Tsui, Ting Y.

    2012-01-01

    The mechanical properties exhibited by sub-micron scale columnar structures of cobalt, fabricated by electron beam lithography and electroplating techniques, were investigated through uniaxial compression. Transmission electron microscopy analyses show these specimens possess a microstructure with sub-micron grains which are elongated and aligned near to the pillar loading axis. In addition, small nanocrystalline cobalt crystals are also present within the columnar structure. These specimens display exceptional mechanical strength comparable with both bulk polycrystalline and nanocrystalline cobalt deposited by electroplating. Size-dependent softening with shrinking sample dimensions is also observed in this work. Additionally, the strength of these sub-micron structures appears to be strain rate sensitive and comparable with bulk nanocrystalline cobalt specimens.

  13. Large area sub-micron chemical imaging of magnesium in sea urchin teeth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masic, Admir; Weaver, James C

    2015-03-01

    The heterogeneous and site-specific incorporation of inorganic ions can profoundly influence the local mechanical properties of damage tolerant biological composites. Using the sea urchin tooth as a research model, we describe a multi-technique approach to spatially map the distribution of magnesium in this complex multiphase system. Through the combined use of 16-bit backscattered scanning electron microscopy, multi-channel energy dispersive spectroscopy elemental mapping, and diffraction-limited confocal Raman spectroscopy, we demonstrate a new set of high throughput, multi-spectral, high resolution methods for the large scale characterization of mineralized biological materials. In addition, instrument hardware and data collection protocols can be modified such that several of these measurements can be performed on irregularly shaped samples with complex surface geometries and without the need for extensive sample preparation. Using these approaches, in conjunction with whole animal micro-computed tomography studies, we have been able to spatially resolve micron and sub-micron structural features across macroscopic length scales on entire urchin tooth cross-sections and correlate these complex morphological features with local variability in elemental composition. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Synthesis and characterization of hollow {alpha}-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} sub-micron spheres prepared by sol-gel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leon, Lizbet, E-mail: lizbetlf@gmail.com; Bustamante, Angel; Osorio, Ana; Olarte, G. S. [Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (Peru); Santos Valladares, Luis De Los, E-mail: ld301@cam.ac.uk; Barnes, Crispin H. W. [University of Cambridge, Cavendish Laboratory (United Kingdom); Majima, Yutaka [Tokyo Institute of Technology, Materials and Structures Laboratory (Japan)

    2011-11-15

    In this work we report the preparation of magnetic hematite hollow sub-micron spheres ({alpha}-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}) by colloidal suspensions of ferric nitrate nine-hydrate (Fe(NO{sub 3}){sub 3}{center_dot}9H{sub 2}O) particles in citric acid solution by following the sol-gel method. After the gel formation, the samples were annealed at different temperatures in an oxidizing atmosphere. Annealing at 180 Degree-Sign C resulted in an amorphous phase, without iron oxide formation. Annealing at 250 Degree-Sign C resulted in coexisting phases of hematite, maghemite and magnetite, whereas at 400 Degree-Sign C, only hematite and maghemite were found. Pure hematite hollow sub-micron spheres with porous shells were formed after annealing at 600 Degree-Sign C. The characterization was performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Moessbauer spectroscopy (MS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

  15. Study of lead phytoavailability for atmospheric industrial micronic and sub-micronic particles in relation with lead speciation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uzu, G.; Sobanska, S.; Aliouane, Y.; Pradere, P.; Dumat, C.

    2009-01-01

    Particles from channelled emissions of a battery recycling facility were size-segregated and investigated to correlate their speciation and morphology with their transfer towards lettuce. Microculture experiments carried out with various calcareous soils spiked with micronic and sub-micronic particles (1650 ± 20 mg Pb kg -1 ) highlighted a greater transfer in soils mixed with the finest particles. According to XRD and Raman spectroscopy results, the two fractions presented differences in the amount of minor lead compounds like carbonates, but their speciation was quite similar, in decreasing order of abundance: PbS, PbSO 4 , PbSO 4 .PbO, α-PbO and Pb 0 . Morphology investigations revealed that PM 2.5 (i.e. Particulate Matter 2.5 composed of particles suspended in air with aerodynamic diameters of 2.5 μm or less) contained many Pb nanoballs and nanocrystals which could influence lead availability. The soil-plant transfer of lead was mainly influenced by size and was very well estimated by 0.01 M CaCl 2 extraction. - The soil-lettuce lead transfer from atmospheric industrial sub-micronic and micronic particles depends on particle size

  16. Sub-micron accurate track navigation method ''Navi'' for the analysis of Nuclear Emulsion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshioka, T; Yoshida, J; Kodama, K

    2011-01-01

    Sub-micron accurate track navigation in Nuclear Emulsion is realized by using low energy signals detected by automated Nuclear Emulsion read-out systems. Using those much dense ''noise'', about 10 4 times larger than the real tracks, the accuracy of the track position navigation reaches to be sub micron only by using the information of a microscope field of view, 200 micron times 200 micron. This method is applied to OPERA analysis in Japan, i.e. support of human eye checks of the candidate tracks, confirmation of neutrino interaction vertexes and to embed missing track segments to the track data read-out by automated systems.

  17. Sub-micron accurate track navigation method ``Navi'' for the analysis of Nuclear Emulsion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshioka, T.; Yoshida, J.; Kodama, K.

    2011-03-01

    Sub-micron accurate track navigation in Nuclear Emulsion is realized by using low energy signals detected by automated Nuclear Emulsion read-out systems. Using those much dense ``noise'', about 104 times larger than the real tracks, the accuracy of the track position navigation reaches to be sub micron only by using the information of a microscope field of view, 200 micron times 200 micron. This method is applied to OPERA analysis in Japan, i.e. support of human eye checks of the candidate tracks, confirmation of neutrino interaction vertexes and to embed missing track segments to the track data read-out by automated systems.

  18. Practical Considerations for Detection and Characterization of Sub-Micron Particles in Protein Solutions by Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gruia, Flaviu; Parupudi, Arun; Polozova, Alla

    2015-01-01

    Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA) is an emerging analytical technique developed for detection, sizing, and counting of sub-micron particles in liquid media. Its feasibility for use in biopharmaceutical development was evaluated with particle standards and recombinant protein solutions. Measurements of aqueous suspensions of NIST-traceable polystyrene particle standards showed accurate particle concentration detection between 2 × 10(7) and 5 × 10(9) particles/mL. Sizing was accurate for particle standards up to 200 nm. Smaller than nominal value sizes were detected by NTA for the 300-900 nm particles. Measurements of protein solutions showed that NTA performance is solution-specific. Reduced sensitivity, especially in opalescent solutions, was observed. Measurements in such solutions may require sample dilution; however, common sample manipulations, such as dilution and filtration, may result in particle formation. Dilution and filtration case studies are presented to further illustrate such behavior. To benchmark general performance, NTA was compared against asymmetric flow field flow fractionation coupled with multi-angle light scattering (aF4-MALS) and dynamic light scattering, which are other techniques for sub-micron particles. Data shows that all three methods have limitations and may not work equally well under certain conditions. Nevertheless, the ability of NTA to directly detect and count sub-micron particles is a feature not matched by aF4-MALS or dynamic light scattering. Thorough characterization of particulate matter present in protein therapeutics is limited by the lack of analytical methods for particles in the sub-micron size range. Emerging techniques are being developed to bridge this analytical gap. In this study, Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis is evaluated as a potential tool for biologics development. Our results indicate that method performance is molecule-specific and may not work as well under all solution conditions, especially when

  19. Pattern imprinting in deep sub-micron static random access memories induced by total dose irradiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Qi-Wen; Yu, Xue-Feng; Cui, Jiang-Wei; Guo, Qi; Ren, Di-Yuan; Cong, Zhong-Chao; Zhou, Hang

    2014-10-01

    Pattern imprinting in deep sub-micron static random access memories (SRAMs) during total dose irradiation is investigated in detail. As the dose accumulates, the data pattern of memory cells loading during irradiation is gradually imprinted on their background data pattern. We build a relationship between the memory cell's static noise margin (SNM) and the background data, and study the influence of irradiation on the probability density function of ΔSNM, which is the difference between two data sides' SNMs, to discuss the reason for pattern imprinting. Finally, we demonstrate that, for micron and deep sub-micron devices, the mechanism of pattern imprinting is the bias-dependent threshold shift of the transistor, but for a deep sub-micron device the shift results from charge trapping in the shallow trench isolation (STI) oxide rather than from the gate oxide of the micron-device.

  20. Pattern imprinting in deep sub-micron static random access memories induced by total dose irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zheng Qi-Wen; Yu Xue-Feng; Cui Jiang-Wei; Guo Qi; Ren Di-Yuan; Cong Zhong-Chao; Zhou Hang

    2014-01-01

    Pattern imprinting in deep sub-micron static random access memories (SRAMs) during total dose irradiation is investigated in detail. As the dose accumulates, the data pattern of memory cells loading during irradiation is gradually imprinted on their background data pattern. We build a relationship between the memory cell's static noise margin (SNM) and the background data, and study the influence of irradiation on the probability density function of ΔSNM, which is the difference between two data sides' SNMs, to discuss the reason for pattern imprinting. Finally, we demonstrate that, for micron and deep sub-micron devices, the mechanism of pattern imprinting is the bias-dependent threshold shift of the transistor, but for a deep sub-micron device the shift results from charge trapping in the shallow trench isolation (STI) oxide rather than from the gate oxide of the micron-device. (condensed matter: structural, mechanical, and thermal properties)

  1. The effect of arsenic thermal diffusion on the morphology and photoluminescence properties of sub-micron ZnO rods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ding Meng [Department of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130023 (China); Laboratory of Excited State Processes, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130021 (China); Yao Bin, E-mail: binyao@jlu.edu.c [Department of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130023 (China); Zhao Dongxu, E-mail: dxzhao2000@yahoo.com.c [Laboratory of Excited State Processes, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130021 (China); Fang Fang; Shen Dezhen; Zhang Zhenzhong [Laboratory of Excited State Processes, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130021 (China)

    2010-05-31

    As-doped sub-micron ZnO rods were realized by a simple thermal diffusion process using a GaAs wafer as an arsenic resource. The surface of the sub-micron ZnO rods became rough and the morphology of As-doped sub-micron ZnO rods changed markedly with increasing diffusion temperature. From the results of energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence, arsenic elements were confirmed to be introduced into the sub-micron ZnO rods. The acceptor ionization energy was deduced to be about 110 meV based on the temperature-dependent PL spectra.

  2. The effect of arsenic thermal diffusion on the morphology and photoluminescence properties of sub-micron ZnO rods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ding Meng; Yao Bin; Zhao Dongxu; Fang Fang; Shen Dezhen; Zhang Zhenzhong

    2010-01-01

    As-doped sub-micron ZnO rods were realized by a simple thermal diffusion process using a GaAs wafer as an arsenic resource. The surface of the sub-micron ZnO rods became rough and the morphology of As-doped sub-micron ZnO rods changed markedly with increasing diffusion temperature. From the results of energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence, arsenic elements were confirmed to be introduced into the sub-micron ZnO rods. The acceptor ionization energy was deduced to be about 110 meV based on the temperature-dependent PL spectra.

  3. Deep sub-micron FD-SOI for front-end application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ikeda, H.; Arai, Y.; Hara, K.; Hayakawa, H.; Hirose, K.; Ikegami, Y.; Ishino, H.; Kasaba, Y.; Kawasaki, T.; Kohriki, T.; Martin, E.; Miyake, H.; Mochizuki, A.; Tajima, H.; Tajima, O.; Takahashi, T.; Takashima, T.; Terada, S.; Tomita, H.; Tsuboyama, T.

    2007-01-01

    In order to confirm benefits of a deep sub-micron FD-SOI and to identify possible issues concerning front-end circuits with the FD-SOI, we have submitted a small design to Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. via the multi-chip project service of VDEC, the University of Tokyo. The initial test results and future plans for development are presented

  4. Hot carrier degradation and a new lifetime prediction model in ultra-deep sub-micron pMOSFET

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lei Xiao-Yi; Liu Hong-Xia; Zhang Kai; Zhang Yue; Zheng Xue-Feng; Ma Xiao-Hua; Hao Yue

    2013-01-01

    The hot carrier effect (HCE) of an ultra-deep sub-micron p-channel metal—oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (pMOSFET) is investigated in this paper. Experiments indicate that the generation of positively charged interface states is the predominant mechanism in the case of the ultra-deep sub-micron pMOSFET. The relation of the pMOSFET hot carrier degradation to stress time (t), channel width (W), channel length (L), and stress voltage (V d ) is then discussed. Based on the relation, a lifetime prediction model is proposed, which can predict the lifetime of the ultra-deep sub-micron pMOSFET accurately and reflect the influence of the factors on hot carrier degradation directly. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

  5. Characteristics of scandate-impregnated cathodes with sub-micron scandia-doped matrices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yuan Haiqing; Gu Xin; Pan Kexin; Wang Yiman; Liu Wei; Zhang Ke; Wang Jinshu; Zhou Meiling; Li Ji

    2005-01-01

    We describe in this paper scandate-impregnated cathodes with sub-micron scandia-doped tungsten matrices having an improved uniformity of the Sc distribution. The scandia-doped tungsten powders were made by both liquid-solid doping and liquid-liquid doping methods on the basis of previous research. By improving pressing, sintering and impregnating procedures, we have obtained scandate-impregnated cathodes with a good uniformity of the Sc 2 O 3 - distribution. The porosity of the sub-micron structure matrix and content of impregnants inside the matrix are similar to those of conventionally impregnated cathodes. Space charge limited current densities of more than 30 A/cm 2 at 850 deg. C b have been obtained in a reproducible way. The current density continuously increases during the first 2000 h life test at 950 deg. C b with a dc load of 2 A/cm 2 and are stable for at least 3000 h

  6. Technique for determination of elastic limit of micron band-thick amorphous

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zakharov, E.K.; Pol'dyaeva, G.P.; Tret'yakov, B.N.

    1984-01-01

    A method is suggested to determine the elastic limit of micron-thick amorphous band under bending. The elastic limit is determined by bending an amorphous band sample around a series of cylindrical mandrels of gradually decreasing radius. Experimental data on measuring the elastic limit of some amorphous iron base alloys according to the suggested technique are presented. The elastic limit of amorphous alloys is shown to lie in the 3140-4110 MPa range depending on chemical composition, which is about 2-2.5 times higher as compared to high-strength crystal alloys

  7. Kinetics of Sub-Micron Grain Size Refinement in 9310 Steel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kozmel, Thomas; Chen, Edward Y.; Chen, Charlie C.; Tin, Sammy

    2014-05-01

    Recent efforts have focused on the development of novel manufacturing processes capable of producing microstructures dominated by sub-micron grains. For structural applications, grain refinement has been shown to enhance mechanical properties such as strength, fatigue resistance, and fracture toughness. Through control of the thermo-mechanical processing parameters, dynamic recrystallization mechanisms were used to produce microstructures consisting of sub-micron grains in 9310 steel. Starting with initial bainitic grain sizes of 40 to 50 μm, various levels of grain refinement were observed following hot deformation of 9310 steel samples at temperatures and strain rates ranging from 755 K to 922 K (482 °C and 649 °C) and 1 to 0.001/s, respectively. The resulting deformation microstructures were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction techniques to quantify the extent of carbide coarsening and grain refinement occurring during deformation. Microstructural models based on the Zener-Holloman parameter were developed and modified to include the effect of the ferrite/carbide interactions within the system. These models were shown to effectively correlate microstructural attributes to the thermal mechanical processing parameters.

  8. Nonlinear resistivity in a d-wave superconductor YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 4}O{sub 8} of sub-micron scale grains

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deguchi, H; Shoho, T; Kato, Y; Ashida, T; Mito, M; Takagi, S [Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kitakyushu 804-8550 (Japan); Hagiwara, M [Faculty of Engineering and Design, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Kyoto 606-8585 (Japan); Koyama, K, E-mail: deguchi@tobata.isc.kyutech.ac.jp [Faculty of Integrated Arts and Science, The University of Tokushima 770-8502 (Japan)

    2011-07-20

    The d-wave ceramic YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 4}O{sub 8} superconductor composed of sub-micron size grains is considered as random Josephson-coupled network of 0 and {pi} junctions and shows successive phase transitions. The upper transition occurs inside each grain at T{sub c1} = 82 K and the lower transition occurs among the grains at T{sub c2} = 66 K. We measured the temperature dependence of the current-voltage characteristics of the ceramic YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 4}O{sub 8} and derived the linear and nonlinear resistivity. The nonlinear resistivity {rho}{sub 2} and {rho}{sub 4} have finite values between T{sub c1} and T{sub c2} and have the peak at the same temperature T{sub p} = 70 K above T{sub c2}. The result agrees with the theoretical one obtained by Li and DomInguez. They interpreted T{sub p} as the crossover temperature from the normal state phase to a chiral paramagnetic one.

  9. Free-Standing Organic Transistors and Circuits with Sub-Micron Thicknesses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukuda, Kenjiro; Sekine, Tomohito; Shiwaku, Rei; Morimoto, Takuya; Kumaki, Daisuke; Tokito, Shizuo

    2016-01-01

    The realization of wearable electronic devices with extremely thin and flexible form factors has been a major technological challenge. While substrates typically limit the thickness of thin-film electronic devices, they are usually necessary for their fabrication and functionality. Here we report on ultra-thin organic transistors and integrated circuits using device components whose substrates that have been removed. The fabricated organic circuits with total device thicknesses down to 350 nm have electrical performance levels close to those fabricated on conventional flexible substrates. Moreover, they exhibit excellent mechanical robustness, whereby their static and dynamic electrical characteristics do not change even under 50% compressive strain. Tests using systematically applied compressive strains reveal that these free-standing organic transistors possess anisotropic mechanical stability, and a strain model for a multilayer stack can be used to describe the strain in this sort of ultra-thin device. These results show the feasibility of ultimate-thin organic electronic devices using free-standing constructions. PMID:27278828

  10. Fabrication of magnetic and fluorescent chitin and dibutyrylchitin sub-micron particles by oil-in-water emulsification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blanco-Fernandez, Barbara; Chakravarty, Shatadru; Nkansah, Michael K; Shapiro, Erik M

    2016-11-01

    Chitin is a carbohydrate polymer with unique pharmacological and immunological properties, however, because of its unwieldy chemistry, the synthesis of discreet sized sub-micron particles has not been well reported. This work describes a facile and flexible method to fabricate biocompatible chitin and dibutyrylchitin sub-micron particles. This technique is based on an oil-in-water emulsification/evaporation method and involves the hydrophobization of chitin by the addition of labile butyryl groups onto chitin, disrupting intermolecular hydrogen bonds and enabling solubility in the organic solvent used as the oil phase during fabrication. The subsequent removal of butyryl groups post-fabrication through alkaline saponification regenerates native chitin while keeping particles morphology intact. Examples of encapsulation of hydrophobic dyes and nanocrystals are demonstrated, specifically using iron oxide nanocrystals and coumarin 6. The prepared particles had diameters between 300-400nm for dibutyrylchitin and 500-600nm for chitin and were highly cytocompatible. Moreover, they were able to encapsulate high amounts of iron oxide nanocrystals and were able to label mammalian cells. We describe a technique to prepare sub-micron particles of highly acetylated chitin (>90%) and dibutyrylchitin and demonstrate their utility as carriers for imaging. Chitin is a polysaccharide capable of stimulating the immune system, a property that depends on the acetamide groups, but its insolubility limits its use. No method for sub-micron particle preparation with highly acetylated chitins have been published. The only approach for the preparation of sub-micron particles uses low acetylation chitins. Dibutyrylchitin, a soluble chitin derivative, was used to prepare particles by oil in water emulsification. Butyryl groups were then removed, forming chitin particles. These particles could be suitable for encapsulation of hydrophobic payloads for drug delivery and cell imaging, as well as

  11. Coherent spin transport through a 350 micron thick silicon wafer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Biqin; Monsma, Douwe J; Appelbaum, Ian

    2007-10-26

    We use all-electrical methods to inject, transport, and detect spin-polarized electrons vertically through a 350-micron-thick undoped single-crystal silicon wafer. Spin precession measurements in a perpendicular magnetic field at different accelerating electric fields reveal high spin coherence with at least 13pi precession angles. The magnetic-field spacing of precession extrema are used to determine the injector-to-detector electron transit time. These transit time values are associated with output magnetocurrent changes (from in-plane spin-valve measurements), which are proportional to final spin polarization. Fitting the results to a simple exponential spin-decay model yields a conduction electron spin lifetime (T1) lower bound in silicon of over 500 ns at 60 K.

  12. New constraints on deformation processes in serpentinite from sub-micron Raman Spectroscopy and TEM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, S. A. F.; Tarling, M.; Rooney, J. S.; Gordon, K. C.; Viti, C.

    2017-12-01

    Extensive work has been performed to characterize the mineralogical and mechanical properties of the various serpentine minerals (i.e. antigorite, lizardite, chrysotile, polyhedral and polygonal serpentine). However, correct identification of serpentine minerals is often difficult or impossible using conventional analytical techniques such as optical- and SEM-based microscopy, X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) is the best analytical technique to identify the serpentine minerals, but TEM requires complex sample preparation and typically results in very small analysis areas. Sub-micron confocal Raman spectroscopy mapping of polished thin sections provides a quick and relatively inexpensive way of unambiguously distinguishing the main serpentine minerals within their in-situ microstructural context. The combination of high spatial resolution (with a diffraction-limited system, 366 nm), large-area coverage (up to hundreds of microns in each dimension) and ability to map directly on thin sections allows intricate fault rock textures to be imaged at a sample-scale, which can then form the target of more focused TEM work. The potential of sub-micron Raman Spectroscopy + TEM is illustrated by examining sub-micron-scale mineral intergrowths and deformation textures in scaly serpentinites (e.g. dissolution seams, mineral growth in pressure shadows), serpentinite crack-seal veins and polished fault slip surfaces from a serpentinite-bearing mélange in New Zealand. The microstructural information provided by these techniques has yielded new insights into coseismic dehydration and amorphization processes and the interplay between creep and localised rupture in serpentinite shear zones.

  13. THE THICKNESS DEPENDENCE OF OXYGEN PERMEABILITY IN SOL-GEL DERIVED CGO-COFE2O4 THIN FILMS ON POROUS CERAMIC SUBSTRATES: A SPUTTERED BLOCKING LAYER FOR THICKNESS CONTROL

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brinkman, K

    2009-01-08

    Mixed conductive oxides are a topic of interest for applications in oxygen separation membranes as well as use in producing hydrogen fuel through the partial oxidation of methane. The oxygen flux through the membrane is governed both by the oxygen ionic conductivity as well as the material's electronic conductivity; composite membranes like Ce{sub 0.8}Gd{sub 0.2}O{sub 2-{delta}} (CGO)-CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} (CFO) use gadolinium doped ceria oxides as the ionic conducting material combined with cobalt iron spinel which serves as the electronic conductor. In this study we employ {approx} 50 nm sputtered CeO{sub 2} layers on the surface of porous CGO ceramic substrates which serve as solution 'blocking' layers during the thin film fabrication process facilitating the control of film thickness. Films with thickness of {approx} 2 and 4 microns were prepared by depositing 40 and 95 separate sol-gel layers respectively. Oxygen flux measurements indicated that the permeation increased with decreasing membrane thickness; thin film membrane with thickness on the micron level showed flux values an order of magnitude greater (0.03 {micro}mol/cm{sup 2} s) at 800 C as compared to 1mm thick bulk ceramic membranes (0.003 {micro}mol/cm{sup 2}).

  14. Lung deposition of sub-micron aerosols calculated as a function of age and breathing rate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    James, A.C.

    1978-01-01

    Experimental measurements of lung deposition and especially of regional deposition, of aerosols in the sub-micron size range have been so few that it is worthwhile establishing a method of calculation. A computer routine has therefore been developed to calculate aerosol deposition in successive bronchial and bronchiolar generations of the Weibel 'A' model of human lung for the sub-micron size range where deposition occurs solely by diffusion. This model can be scaled to represent lungs at various ages and vital capacities. Some calculated results are presented here and compared with measurements of lung deposition made under carefully controlled conditions in humans. (author)

  15. Dielectric enhancement of PbZr{sub 0.3}Ti{sub 0.7}O{sub 3}/LaNiO{sub 3} multilayer thick film

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fan, Yasong; Chen, Xiaoyang; Habibul, Arzigul; Zhang, Danyang; Yu, Ping [College of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064 (China)

    2016-08-15

    Multilayer thick films (∝4 μm) with compositional PbZr{sub 0.3}Ti{sub 0.7}O{sub 3}/LaNiO{sub 3} layers and one-layer PZT thick films were prepared on the silicon substrate by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. PbZr{sub 0.3}Ti{sub 0.7}O{sub 3}/LaNiO{sub 3} multilayer thick film are characterized by highly preferential (100)-oriented growth and columnar microstructure due to alternately introducing LaNiO{sub 3} seeding layers. The effects of LaNiO{sub 3} layers on microstructure and electrical properties of PbZr{sub 0.3}Ti{sub 0.7}O{sub 3} thick films were investigated in detail. The results show that both PZT and PbZr{sub 0.3}Ti{sub 0.7}O{sub 3}/LaNiO{sub 3} multilayer thick film were pure perovskite crystalline phase. The PbZr{sub 0.3}Ti{sub 0.7}O{sub 3} film texture was dense and well adhered on the LaNiO{sub 3} layer. PbZr{sub 0.3}Ti{sub 0.7}O{sub 3}/LaNiO{sub 3} multilayer thick film possessed obvious enhanced dielectric properties compared with PZT thick film: ε{sub r} ∝2450 (10 kHz) and tanδ ∝0.02 (10 kHz). Rayleigh law was used to analysis the behavior of the enhanced dielectric properties and the pinched-shaped polarization-electric field hysteresis loops. The larger Rayleigh parameter, α ∝51.1408 cm kV{sup -1} (1 kHz) indicates the larger extrinsic contribution to permittivity and strong domain-wall-defect charge interaction. The leakage current behaviors of the multilayer thick film were also investigated in detail. (copyright 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  16. Thickness dependence of the strain, band gap and transport properties of epitaxial In{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin films grown on Y-stabilised ZrO{sub 2}(111)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, K H L; Oropeza, F E; Egdell, R G [Department of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA (United Kingdom); Lazarov, V K [Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PH (United Kingdom); Veal, T D; McConville, C F [Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom); Walsh, A, E-mail: Russell.egdell@chem.ox.ac.uk [Department of Chemistry, Kathleen Lonsdale Materials Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AJ (United Kingdom)

    2011-08-24

    Epitaxial films of In{sub 2}O{sub 3} have been grown on Y-stabilised ZrO{sub 2}(111) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy over a range of thicknesses between 35 and 420 nm. The thinnest films are strained, but display a 'cross-hatch' morphology associated with a network of misfit dislocations which allow partial accommodation of the lattice mismatch. With increasing thickness a 'dewetting' process occurs and the films break up into micron sized mesas, which coalesce into continuous films at the highest coverages. The changes in morphology are accompanied by a progressive release of strain and an increase in carrier mobility to a maximum value of 73 cm{sup 2} V{sup -1} s{sup -1}. The optical band gap in strained ultrathin films is found to be smaller than for thicker films. Modelling of the system, using a combination of classical pair-wise potentials and ab initio density functional theory, provides a microscopic description of the elastic contributions to the strained epitaxial growth, as well as the electronic effects that give rise to the observed band gap changes. The band gap increase induced by the uniaxial compression is offset by the band gap reduction associated with the epitaxial tensile strain.

  17. Sub-micron Hard X-ray Fluorescence Imaging of Synthetic Elements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jensen, Mark P.; Aryal, Baikuntha P.; Gorman-Lewis, Drew; Paunesku, Tatjana; Lai, Barry; Vogt, Stefan; Woloschak, Gayle E.

    2013-01-01

    Synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence microscopy (SXFM) using hard X-rays focused into sub-micron spots is a powerful technique for elemental quantification and mapping, as well as microspectroscopic measurement such as μ-XANES (X-ray absorption near edge structure). We have used SXFM to image and simultaneously quantify the transuranic element plutonium at the L3 or L2 edge as well as lighter biologically essential elements in individual rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells after exposure to the long-lived plutonium isotope 242Pu. Elemental maps reveal that plutonium localizes principally in the cytoplasm of the cells and avoids the cell nucleus, which is marked by the highest concentrations of phosphorus and zinc, under the conditions of our experiments. The minimum detection limit under typical acquisition conditions for an average 202 μm2 cell is 1.4 fg Pu/cell or 2.9 × 10−20 moles Pu/μm2, which is similar to the detection limit of K-edge SXFM of transition metals at 10 keV. Copper electron microscopy grids were used to avoid interference from gold X-ray emissions, but traces of strontium present in naturally occurring calcium can still interfere with plutonium detection using its Lα X-ray emission. PMID:22444530

  18. Dynamic mixed state in micron bridges on the basis of Bi sub 2 Sr sub 2 CaCu sub 2 O sub x whiskers

    CERN Document Server

    Zybtsev, S G; Pokrovskii, V Yu

    2001-01-01

    One studied destruction of superconductivity by current in BSCCO (2212) single-crystal whiskers and in bridges based on them with dimensions of the order of the magnetic field penetration efficient depth. One measured the volt-ampere characteristics (VAC) of micron bridges made of Bi sub 2 Sr sub 2 CaCu sub 2 O sub x single-crystal whiskers. It was detected that at temperatures below temperature of superconducting transition in VAC one observed current quasi-periodic abrupt changes of voltage with portions of the constant differential resistance the value of which was proportional to the number of abrupt change. In the narrowest (0.5-1 mu m) bridges one observed up to 10 abrupt changes of voltage. The result is explained by formation of vortex lines under the effect of current

  19. Short range investigation of sub-micron zirconia particles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Caracoche, M C; Martinez, J A [Departamento de Fisica, IFLP, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, CICPBA, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (Argentina); Rivas, P C [IFLP-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (Argentina); Bondioli, F; Cannillo, V [Dipartimento di Ingegniria dei Materiali e dell' Ambiente, Facolta di Ingegneria, Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia (Italy); Ferrari, A M, E-mail: cristina@fisica.unlp.edu.a [Dipartimento di Scienza a Metodi dell' Ingegneria, Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia (Italy)

    2009-05-01

    The Perturbed Angular Correlations technique was used to determine the configurations around Zirconium ions and their thermal behavior in non-aggregated sub-micron zirconia spherical particles. Three residues containing- Zr surroundings were determined for the non-crystalline starting particles, which were identified under the assumption of a certain chemical reactions sequence during synthesis. While the one made up mainly by hydroxyl groups was common to both samples, the two involving mainly organic residues were particle size dependent. Upon crystallization, both samples stabilized in the t'- and t- tetragonal forms and the Xc-cubic form but their amounts and temperatures of appearance were different. On heating, the structure of the smaller particles became gradually monoclinic achieving total degradation upon the subsequent cooling to RT.

  20. Heat treatment and thickness-dependent electrical study of Se{sub 50}Te{sub 20}S{sub 30} thin film

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abd-Elrahman, M.I.; Hafiz, M.M.; Qasem, Ammar; Abdel-Rahim, M.A. [Assiut University, Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Assiut (Egypt)

    2016-08-15

    Chalcogenide Se{sub 50}Te{sub 20}S{sub 30} thin film of different thickness was deposited using thermal evaporation technique. The thermogram of the chalcogenide bulk Se{sub 50}Te{sub 20}S{sub 30} was obtained using a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) with heating rate of 7.5 K/min. The glass transition temperature T{sub g}, crystallization temperature T{sub c} and peak crystallization temperature T{sub p} were identified. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) examination indicates the amorphous nature of the as-deposited film and polycrystalline structure of the thermal annealed ones. The dark electrical resistivity (ρ) measurements were taken in temperature range (300-500 K) and thickness range (200-450 nm). Analysis of the electrical resistivity results revealed two types of conduction mechanisms: conduction due to extended states in the temperature range (T > T{sub c}) and variable range hopping in the temperature range (T < T{sub c}). The effect of the heat treatment and thickness on the density of localized states at the Fermi level N(E{sub F}) and hopping parameters were studied. (orig.)

  1. Weakening of thickness dependence of J{sub C} in YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-δ} films using a titanium-added MOD precursor solution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, H.L., E-mail: zhanghuiliang@mail.iee.ac.cn [Key Laboratory of Applied Superconductivity, Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); School of Science, Hebei University of Engineering, Handan 056038 (China); Ding, F.Z., E-mail: dingfazhu@mail.iee.ac.cn [Key Laboratory of Applied Superconductivity, Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Gu, H.W., E-mail: guhw@mail.iee.ac.cn [Key Laboratory of Applied Superconductivity, Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Dong, Z.B. [Key Laboratory of Applied Superconductivity, Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Qu, F.; Zhang, H.; Shang, H.J. [Key Laboratory of Applied Superconductivity, Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China)

    2017-04-15

    Highlights: • The thickness dependence of J{sub C} in YBCO film was weakened by introducing BaTiO{sub 3} nanoparticles into YBCO matrix. • The high I{sub C} value of 430 MA/cm-width was obtained in the BaTiO{sub 3}-doped YBCO film prepared by the MOD method. • The YBCO composite thick film prepared by using the precursor solution with polyethyleneglycol shows a compact and smooth surface. - Abstract: BaTiO{sub 3} (BTO)-doped YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-δ} (YBCO) films were prepared by the metal-organic deposition method using a precursor solution with titanium ion. These YBCO films were deposited on (00l)-oriented LaAlO{sub 3} single-crystal substrates using an automated dip coater. The thickness dependence of critical current density (J{sub C}) in the BTO-doped YBCO films was investigated. The J{sub C} value of the YBCO composite film was reduced from 6.3 to 4.6 MA/cm{sup 2} with increasing film thickness from 450 to 930 nm in self-filed at 77 K, which arose mainly from degradation of texture and roughening of the film. However, relative to undoped YBCO thick films, J{sub C} values of the YBCO composite thick films were greatly improved, and more importantly, the reduction in J{sub C} with increasing film thickness was hindered, especially in a high magnetic field. This result indicated that the introduction of BTO nanoparticles as pinning centers into YBCO matrix weakened the thickness dependence of J{sub C}.

  2. Occurrence of weak, sub-micron, tropospheric aerosol events at high Arctic latitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Neill, N. T.; Pancrati, O.; Baibakov, K.; Eloranta, E.; Batchelor, R. L.; Freemantle, J.; McArthur, L. J. B.; Strong, K.; Lindenmaier, R.

    2008-07-01

    Numerous fine mode (sub-micron) aerosol optical events were observed during the summer of 2007 at the High Arctic atmospheric observatory (PEARL) located at Eureka, Nunavut, Canada. Half of these events could be traced to forest fires in southern and eastern Russia and the Northwest Territories of Canada. The most notable findings were that (a) a combination of ground-based measurements (passive sunphotometry, high spectral resolution lidar) could be employed to determine that weak (near sub-visual) fine mode events had occurred, and (b) this data combined with remote sensing imagery products (MODIS, OMI-AI, FLAMBE fire sources), Fourier transform spectroscopy and back trajectories could be employed to identify the smoke events.

  3. Sub-micron silicon nitride waveguide fabrication using conventional optical lithography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yuewang; Zhao, Qiancheng; Kamyab, Lobna; Rostami, Ali; Capolino, Filippo; Boyraz, Ozdal

    2015-03-09

    We demonstrate a novel technique to fabricate sub-micron silicon nitride waveguides using conventional contact lithography with MEMS-grade photomasks. Potassium hydroxide anisotropic etching of silicon facilitates line reduction and roughness smoothing and is key to the technique. The fabricated waveguides is measured to have a propagation loss of 0.8dB/cm and nonlinear coefficient of γ = 0.3/W/m. A low anomalous dispersion of <100ps/nm/km is also predicted. This type of waveguide is highly suitable for nonlinear optics. The channels naturally formed on top of the waveguide also make it promising for plasmonics and quantum efficiency enhancement in sensing applications.

  4. Modelling of passive heating for replication of sub-micron patterns in optical disk substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Youngmin; Bae, Jaecheol; Kim, Hongmin; Kang, Shinill [School of Mechanical Engineering, Yonsei University, 134 Shinchon-dong, Seodaemoon-ku, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2004-05-07

    The transcribability of pit or land groove structures in replicating an optical disk substrate greatly affects the performance of a high-density optical disk. However, a solidified layer generated during the polymer filling worsens transcribability because the solidified layer prevents the polymer melt from filling the sub-micron patterns. Therefore, the development of the solidified layer during the filling stage of injection moulding must be delayed. For this delay, passive heating through an insulation layer has been used. In the present study, to examine the development of the solidified layer, delayed by passive heating, the flow of the polymer melt with passive heating was analysed. Passive heating delayed markedly the development of the solidified layer, reduced the viscosity of the polymer melt, and increased the fluidity of the polymer melt in the vicinity of the stamper surface with the sub-micron patterns. As a result, we predict that passive heating can improve the transcribability of an optical disk substrate. To verify our prediction, we fabricated an optical disk substrate by using passive heating of a mould and measured the transcribability of an optical disk substrate.

  5. Modelling of passive heating for replication of sub-micron patterns in optical disk substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Youngmin; Bae, Jaecheol; Kim, Hongmin; Kang, Shinill

    2004-01-01

    The transcribability of pit or land groove structures in replicating an optical disk substrate greatly affects the performance of a high-density optical disk. However, a solidified layer generated during the polymer filling worsens transcribability because the solidified layer prevents the polymer melt from filling the sub-micron patterns. Therefore, the development of the solidified layer during the filling stage of injection moulding must be delayed. For this delay, passive heating through an insulation layer has been used. In the present study, to examine the development of the solidified layer, delayed by passive heating, the flow of the polymer melt with passive heating was analysed. Passive heating delayed markedly the development of the solidified layer, reduced the viscosity of the polymer melt, and increased the fluidity of the polymer melt in the vicinity of the stamper surface with the sub-micron patterns. As a result, we predict that passive heating can improve the transcribability of an optical disk substrate. To verify our prediction, we fabricated an optical disk substrate by using passive heating of a mould and measured the transcribability of an optical disk substrate

  6. Synthesis and characterization of hollow α-Fe2O3 sub-micron spheres prepared by sol–gel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    León, Lizbet; Bustamante, Angel; Osorio, Ana; Olarte, G. S.; Santos Valladares, Luis De Los; Barnes, Crispin H. W.; Majima, Yutaka

    2011-01-01

    In this work we report the preparation of magnetic hematite hollow sub-micron spheres (α-Fe 2 O 3 ) by colloidal suspensions of ferric nitrate nine-hydrate (Fe(NO 3 ) 3 ·9H 2 O) particles in citric acid solution by following the sol–gel method. After the gel formation, the samples were annealed at different temperatures in an oxidizing atmosphere. Annealing at 180°C resulted in an amorphous phase, without iron oxide formation. Annealing at 250°C resulted in coexisting phases of hematite, maghemite and magnetite, whereas at 400°C, only hematite and maghemite were found. Pure hematite hollow sub-micron spheres with porous shells were formed after annealing at 600°C. The characterization was performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Mössbauer spectroscopy (MS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

  7. Role of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone for preparation of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@SiO{sub 2} controlled the shell thickness

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wee, Sung-Bok [Hanyang University, Division of Materials Science and Engineering (Korea, Republic of); Oh, Hyeon-Cheol [Korea Nano Plus, Inc. (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Tae-Gyun; An, Gye-Seok; Choi, Sung-Churl, E-mail: choi0505@hanyang.ac.kr [Hanyang University, Division of Materials Science and Engineering (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-04-15

    We developed a simple and novel approach for the synthesis of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@SiO{sub 2} nanoparticles with controlled shell thickness, and studied the mechanism. The introduction of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) led to trapping of monomer nuclei in single shell and controlled the shell thickness. Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@SiO{sub 2} controlled the shell thickness, showing a high magnetization value (64.47 emu/g). Our results reveal the role and change in the chemical structure of NMP during the core-shell synthesis process. NMP decomposed to 4-aminobutanoic acid in alkaline condition and decreased the hydrolysis rate of the silica coating process.

  8. X-ray imaging with sub-micron resolution using large-area photon counting detectors Timepix

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dudak, J.; Karch, J.; Holcova, K.; Zemlicka, J.

    2017-12-01

    As X-ray micro-CT became a popular tool for scientific purposes a number of commercially available CT systems have emerged on the market. Micro-CT systems have, therefore, become widely accessible and the number of research laboratories using them constantly increases. However, even when CT scans with spatial resolution of several micrometers can be performed routinely, data acquisition with sub-micron precision remains a complicated task. Issues come mostly from prolongation of the scan time inevitably connected with the use of nano-focus X-ray sources. Long exposure time increases the noise level in the CT projections. Furthermore, considering the sub-micron resolution even effects like source-spot drift, rotation stage wobble or thermal expansion become significant and can negatively affect the data. The use of dark-current free photon counting detectors as X-ray cameras for such applications can limit the issue of increased image noise in the data, however the mechanical stability of the whole system still remains a problem and has to be considered. In this work we evaluate the performance of a micro-CT system equipped with nano-focus X-ray tube and a large area photon counting detector Timepix for scans with effective pixel size bellow one micrometer.

  9. Thickness-dependent coherent phonon frequency in ultrathin FeSe/SrTiO<sub>3sub> films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Shuolong [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States); Sobota, Jonathan A. [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Leuenberger, Dominik [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States); Kemper, Alexander F. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Lee, James J. [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States); Schmitt, Felix T. [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States); Li, Wei [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States); Moore, Rob G. [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States); Kirchmann, Patrick S. [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Shen, Zhi -Xun [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States)

    2015-06-01

    Ultrathin FeSe films grown on SrTiO<sub>3sub> substrates are a recent milestone in atomic material engineering due to their important role in understanding unconventional superconductivity in Fe-based materials. By using femtosecond time- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, we study phonon frequencies in ultrathin FeSe/SrTiO<sub>3sub> films grown by molecular beam epitaxy. After optical excitation, we observe periodic modulations of the photoelectron spectrum as a function of pump–probe delay for 1-unit-cell, 3-unit-cell, and 60-unit-cell thick FeSe films. The frequencies of the coherent intensity oscillations increase from 5.00 ± 0.02 to 5.25 ± 0.02 THz with increasing film thickness. By comparing with previous works, we attribute this mode to the Se A<sub>1gsub> phonon. The dominant mechanism for the phonon softening in 1-unit-cell thick FeSe films is a substrate-induced lattice strain. Results demonstrate an abrupt phonon renormalization due to a lattice mismatch between the ultrathin film and the substrate.

  10. Toward selective electrochemical 'E-tongue': Potentiometric DO sensor based on sub-micron ZnO-RuO{sub 2} sensing electrode

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhuiykov, Serge, E-mail: serge.zhuiykov@csiro.au [CSIRO, Materials Science and Engineering Division, 37 Graham Road, Highett, VIC 3190 (Australia); Kats, Eugene [CSIRO, Materials Science and Engineering Division, 37 Graham Road, Highett, VIC 3190 (Australia); Plashnitsa, Vladimir [Research and Education Centre of Carbon Resources, Kyushu University, Kasuga-shi, Fukuoka 816-8580 (Japan); Miura, Norio [KASTEC, Kyushu University, Kasuga-shi, Fukuoka 816-8580 (Japan)

    2011-06-01

    Highlights: > We examine ZnO-doped RuO{sub 2} sensing electrode of DO sensor. > Study of ZnO-RuO{sub 2} confirmed the development of high surface-to-volume ratio. > Developed sensing electrode is insensitive to the presence of various dissolved salts. > 20 mol% ZnO-doped RuO{sub 2} sensing electrode enables maximum DO sensitivity. > We conclude that DO sensor based on ZnO-RuO{sub 2} electrode can work at 11-30 deg. C. - Abstract: Planar dissolved oxygen (DO) sensors based on thick-film ZnO-RuO{sub 2} sensing electrodes (SEs) with different mol% of ZnO were prepared on the alumina substrates using a screen-printing method and their structural and electrochemical properties were closely studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) techniques. Structural and electrochemical properties of ZnO-RuO{sub 2}-SEs have been investigated. Interference testing ascertained that the DO sensor based on sub-micron ZnO-RuO{sub 2}-SE is insensitive to the presence of various dissolved ions including Cl{sup -}, Li{sup +}, SO{sub 4}{sup 2-}, NO{sup 3-}, Ca{sup 2+}, PO{sub 4}{sup 3-}, Mg{sup 2+}, Na{sup +} and K{sup +} within a concentration range of 10{sup -7} to 10{sup -1} mol/L for DO measurement from 0.5 to 8.0 ppm in the test solution at a temperature range of 11-30 deg. C. These dissolved salts had practically no effect on the sensor's output potential difference response, whereas Br{sup -} ions had some effects at concentration more than 10{sup -3} mol/L. The relationship between DO and the sensor's potential difference was found to be relatively linear with the maximum sensitivity of -50.6 mV per decade was achieved at 20 mol% ZnO at 7.35 pH. The response and recovery time to pH changes for the planar device based on 20 mol% ZnO-RuO{sub 2}-SE was found to be 10 and 25 s

  11. Thickness dependence of La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3}/PbZr{sub 0.2}Ti{sub 0.8}O{sub 3} magnetoelectric interfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhou, Jinling; Trappen, Robbyn; Frye, Charles; Wolfe, Evan; Holcomb, Mikel Barry, E-mail: mikel.holcomb@mail.wvu.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506 (United States); Tra, Vu Thanh; Lin, Jiunn-Yuan [Institute of Physics, National Chiao Tung University, 30010 Hsinchu, Taiwan (China); Dong, Shuai [Department of Physics, Southeast University, 211189 Nanjing (China); Marcus, Matthew A.; Jenkins, Catherine [Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); White, Ryan [National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 (United States); Polisetty, Srinivas [Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506 (United States); Department of Chemical Engineering and Material Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455 (United States); LeBeau, James M. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695 (United States); Chu, Ying-Hao [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, 30010 Hsinchu, Taiwan (China); Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, 105 Taipei, Taiwan (China)

    2015-10-05

    Magnetoelectric materials have great potential to revolutionize electronic devices due to the coupling of their electric and magnetic properties. Thickness varying La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3} (LSMO)/PbZr{sub 0.2}Ti{sub 0.8}O{sub 3} (PZT) heterostructures were built and measured in this article by valence sensitive x-ray absorption spectroscopy. The sizing effects of the heterostructures on the LSMO/PZT magnetoelectric interfaces were investigated through the behavior of Mn valence, a property associated with the LSMO magnetization. We found that Mn valence increases with both LSMO and PZT thickness. Piezoresponse force microscopy revealed a transition from monodomain to polydomain structure along the PZT thickness gradient. The ferroelectric surface charge may change with domain structure and its effects on Mn valence were simulated using a two-orbital double-exchange model. The screening of ferroelectric surface charge increases the electron charges in the interface region, and greatly changes the interfacial Mn valence, which likely plays a leading role in the interfacial magnetoelectric coupling. The LSMO thickness dependence was examined through the combination of two detection modes with drastically different attenuation depths. The different length scales of these techniques' sensitivity to the atomic valence were used to estimate the depth dependence Mn valence. A smaller interfacial Mn valence than the bulk was found by globally fitting the experimental results.

  12. Fabrication of sub-micron whole waffer SIS tunnel junctions for millimeter wave mixers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huq, S.E.; Blamire, M.G.; Evetts, J.E.; Hasko, D.G.; Ahmed, H.

    1991-01-01

    As a part of a programme for the development of a space-qualified sub-mm-wave mixer operating in the region of one terahertz we have been developing the processes required for the fabrication of submicron whole wafer tunnel junctions. Using the self-aligned whole-wafer process (SAWW) with electron beam lithography we have been able to reliably fabricate high quality (V m > 20 mV) submicron tunnel junctions from whole wafer Nb/AlO x /Nb structures. In particular we show that the junction quality is independent of size down to 0.3 μm 2 junction area. The problems of film stress, anodization, registration for electron beam lithography and lift-off, which limit the yield of good quality sub-micron scale junctions are addressed in this paper

  13. A novel optical microscope for imaging large embryos and tissue volumes with sub-cellular resolution throughout.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McConnell, Gail; Trägårdh, Johanna; Amor, Rumelo; Dempster, John; Reid, Es; Amos, William Bradshaw

    2016-09-23

    Current optical microscope objectives of low magnification have low numerical aperture and therefore have too little depth resolution and discrimination to perform well in confocal and nonlinear microscopy. This is a serious limitation in important areas, including the phenotypic screening of human genes in transgenic mice by study of embryos undergoing advanced organogenesis. We have built an optical lens system for 3D imaging of objects up to 6 mm wide and 3 mm thick with depth resolution of only a few microns instead of the tens of microns currently attained, allowing sub-cellular detail to be resolved throughout the volume. We present this lens, called the Mesolens, with performance data and images from biological specimens including confocal images of whole fixed and intact fluorescently-stained 12.5-day old mouse embryos.

  14. Electrical characteristics of AlO sub x N sub y prepared by oxidation of sub-10-nm-thick AlN films for MOS gate dielectric applications

    CERN Document Server

    Jeon, S H; Kim, H S; Noh, D Y; Hwang, H S

    2000-01-01

    In this research, the feasibility of ultrathin AlO sub x N sub y prepared by oxidation of sub 100-A-thick AlN thin films for metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) gate dielectric applications was investigated. Oxidation of 51-A-and 98-A-thick as-deposited AlN at 800 .deg. C was used to form 72-A-and 130-A-thick AlO sub x N sub y , respectively. Based on the capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements of the MOS capacitor, the dielectric constants of 72 A-thick and 130 A-thick Al-oxynitride were 5.15 and 7, respectively. The leakage current of Al-oxynitride at low field was almost the same as that of thermal SiO sub 2. based on the CV data, the interface state density of Al-oxynitride was relatively higher than that of SiO sub 2. Although process optimization is still necessary, the Al-oxynitride exhibits some possibility for future MOS gate dielectric applications.

  15. Electrical characteristics of AlO{sub x}N{sub y} prepared by oxidation of sub-10-nm-thick AlN films for MOS gate dielectric applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jeon, Sang Hun; Jang, Hyeon Woo; Kim, Hyun Soo; Noh, Do Young; Hwang, Hyun Sang [Kwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Kwangju (Korea, Republic of)

    2000-12-01

    In this research, the feasibility of ultrathin AlO{sub x}N{sub y} prepared by oxidation of sub 100-A-thick AlN thin films for metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) gate dielectric applications was investigated. Oxidation of 51-A-and 98-A-thick as-deposited AlN at 800 .deg. C was used to form 72-A-and 130-A-thick AlO{sub x}N{sub y}, respectively. Based on the capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements of the MOS capacitor, the dielectric constants of 72 A-thick and 130 A-thick Al-oxynitride were 5.15 and 7, respectively. The leakage current of Al-oxynitride at low field was almost the same as that of thermal SiO{sub 2}. based on the CV data, the interface state density of Al-oxynitride was relatively higher than that of SiO{sub 2}. Although process optimization is still necessary, the Al-oxynitride exhibits some possibility for future MOS gate dielectric applications.

  16. Using synchrotron-based FT-IR microspectroscopy to study erucamide migration in 50-micron-thick bilayer linear low-density polyethylene and polyolefin plastomer films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sankhe, Shilpa Y; Hirt, Douglas E

    2003-01-01

    The diffusion of additives in thick (approximately 500 microns) single layer and multilayer films has been characterized using FT-IR microspectroscopy. The objective of this research was to investigate additive migration and concentration profiles in coextruded multilayer films of industrially relevant thicknesses. In particular, the investigation focused on the migration of an erucamide slip agent in 50-micron-thick coextruded bilayer films of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and a polyolefin plastomer (POP). Erucamide concentration profiles were successfully mapped using synchrotron-based FT-IR microspectroscopy. The synchrotron radiation helped to achieve a higher spatial resolution for the thin films. Meticulous sample preparation was needed to map the thin film samples. Results with FT-IR microspectroscopy showed that the additive-concentration profiles were relatively uniform across the multilayer-film thickness irrespective of the intended initial additive distribution. For example, a bilayer planned for 1 wt % erucamide in an LLDPE layer and no erucamide in a POP layer showed significant additive migration into the POP layer at the extrusion rates used. FT-IR microspectroscopy results also showed that more erucamide migrated to the surface of a POP layer than an LLDPE layer. Attenuated total reflectance (ATR) FT-IR spectroscopy was used to confirm the time-dependent increase of erucamide surface concentration and that the increase was more pronounced at the surface of the POP layers.

  17. Thickness dependence of magnetoelectric response for composites of Pb(Zr{sub 0.52}Ti{sub 0.48})O{sub 3} films on CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} ceramic substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Jing, E-mail: wang-jing@nuaa.edu.cn; Zhu, Kongjun [State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control of Mechanical Structures, College of Aerospace Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016 (China); Wu, Xia; Deng, Chaoyong [School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025 (China); Peng, Renci; Wang, Jianjun [School of Materials Science and Engineering, and State Key Lab of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

    2014-08-15

    Using chemical solution spin-coating we grew Pb(Zr{sub 0.52}Ti{sub 0.48})O{sub 3} films of different thicknesses on highly dense CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} ceramics. X-ray diffraction revealed no other phases except Pb(Zr{sub 0.52}Ti{sub 0.48})O{sub 3} and CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4}. In many of these samples we observed typical ferroelectric hysteresis loops, butterfly-shaped piezoelectric strains, and the magnetic-field-dependent magnetostriction. These behaviors caused appreciable magnetoelectric responses based on magnetic-mechanical-electric coupling. Our results indicated that the thickness of the Pb(Zr{sub 0.52}Ti{sub 0.48})O{sub 3} film was important in obtaining strong magnetoelectric coupling.

  18. Thickness dependence of dynamic and static magnetic properties of pulsed laser deposited La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3} films on SrTiO{sub 3}(001)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Monsen, Åsmund [Department of Physics, NTNU, 7491 Trondheim (Norway); Boschker, Jos E. [Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, NTNU, 7491 Trondheim (Norway); Macià, Ferran [Department of Physics, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003 (United States); Wells, Justin W. [Department of Physics, NTNU, 7491 Trondheim (Norway); Nordblad, Per [Department of Engineering Sciences, Uppsala University, Box 534, SE-751 21 Uppsala (Sweden); Kent, Andrew D. [Department of Physics, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003 (United States); Mathieu, Roland [Department of Engineering Sciences, Uppsala University, Box 534, SE-751 21 Uppsala (Sweden); Tybell, Thomas [Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, NTNU, 7491 Trondheim (Norway); Wahlström, Erik, E-mail: erik.wahlstrom@ntnu.no [Department of Physics, NTNU, 7491 Trondheim (Norway)

    2014-11-15

    We present a comprehensive study of the thickness dependence of static and magneto-dynamic magnetic properties of La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3}. Epitaxial pulsed laser deposited La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3}(001) thin films in the range from 3 unit cell (uc) to 40 uc (1.2–16 nm) have been investigated through ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) spectroscopy and SQUID magnetometry at variable temperature. Magnetodynamically, three different thickness, d, regimes are identified: 20 uc ≲d uc where the system is bulk like, a transition region 8 uc ≤d≲20 uc where the FMR linewidth and the position depend on thickness and d=6 uc which displays significantly altered magnetodynamic properties, while still displaying bulk magnetization. Magnetization and FMR measurements are consistent with a nonmagnetic volume corresponding to ∼4 uc. We observe a reduction of Curie temperature (T{sub C}) with decreasing thickness, which is coherent with a mean field model description. The reduced ordering temperature also accounts for the thickness dependence of the magnetic anisotropy constants and resonance fields. The damping of the system is strongly thickness dependent, and is for thin films dominated by thickness dependent anisotropies, yielding both a strong two-magnon scattering close to T{sub c} and a low temperature broadening. For the bulk like samples a large part of the broadening can be linked to spread in magnetic anisotropies attributed to crystal imperfections/domain boundaries of the bulk like film. - Highlights: • Thickness dependent magnetodynamic anisotropy constants and line-widths have been measured. • For thicknesses >8nm the films are bulk-like. • Thin film line-widths are dominated by surface/interface imperfections. • Thick film line-widths are dominated by crystal imperfections/domain boundaries.

  19. Thickness dependent structural, magnetic and magneto-transport properties of epitaxial Nd{sub 0.50}Sr{sub 0.50}MnO{sub 3} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kumar, Pawan, E-mail: p.kumar@krmangalam.edu.in [School of Basic and Applied Sciences, K. R. Mangalam University, Sohna Road, Gurgaon, Haryana 122103 (India); Singh, Hari Krishna, E-mail: hks65@nplindia.org [CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi 110012 (India)

    2016-05-06

    We report the thickness-dependent structural, magnetic and magneto-transport properties in epitaxial Nd{sub 0.50}Sr{sub 0.50}MnO{sub 3} thin films (10 to 300nm) prepared by DC magnetron sputtering technique on single crystalline (001) oriented substrate LaAlO{sub 3}. X-ray diffraction pattern reveals the epitaxial growth of all the films and the out-of-plane lattice parameter of films were found to increase with thickness. As thickness of the film increases the paramagnetic insulator (PMI) to ferromagnetic metal (FMM) transition temperature (T{sub C}), charge ordered transition temperature (T{sub CO}) and magnetic moment were found to increase with a strong bifurcation in ZFC-FC magnetization. The asymmetry in the coercivity seen in field dependent magnetization loops (M-H loops) suggests the presence of exchange bias (EB) effect. While temperature dependent resistivity of films show the semiconducting nature for thickness 10-200nm in temperature range from 5-300K, the film of thickness 300nm shows the insulator to metal transition with transition temperature (T{sub IM}) at 175K. Temperature dependent low field magnetoresistance (LFMR) measured at 4kOe found to decrease with thickness and for high field magnetoresistance (HFMR) at 40kOe and 60kOe also show similar dependence and a crossover at intermediate temperature range in the magnitude of MR between 10nm and 200nm films at constant field. Colossal increase in magnetoresistance observed for 10nm film at low temperature.

  20. Electroplated thick-film cobalt platinum permanent magnets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oniku, Ololade D.; Qi, Bin; Arnold, David P., E-mail: darnold@ufl.edu

    2016-10-15

    The material and magnetic properties of multi-micron-thick (up to 6 μm) L1{sub 0} CoPt magnetic films electroplated onto silicon substrates are investigated as candidate materials for integration in silicon-based microsystems. The influence of various process conditions on the structure and magnetic properties of electroplated CoPt thick-films is studied in order to better understand the complex process/structure/property relationships associated with the electroplated films. Process variables studied here include different seed layers, electroplating current densities (ranging from 25–200 mA/cm{sup 2}), deposition times (up to 60 min), and post-deposition annealing times and temperatures. Analyses include film morphology, film thickness, composition, surface roughness, grain size, phase volume fractions, and L1{sub 0} ordering parameter. Key correlations are found relating process and structure variations to the extrinsic magnetic properties (remanence, coercivity, squareness, and energy product). Strong hard magnetic properties (B{sub r} ~0.8 T, H{sub ci} ~800 kA/m, squareness close to 0.9, and BH{sub max} of 100 kJ/m{sup 3}) are obtained for films deposited on Si/TiN/Ti/Cu at current densities of 100 mA/cm{sup 2}, pH of 7, and subsequently annealed at 675 °C for 30 min. - Highlights: • CoPt films plated up to 6 μm thick on silicon substrates. • A1 to L1{sub 0} phase transformation by annealing in forming gas. • Various process–structure–property relationships explored. • Key results: B{sub r} ~0.8 T, H{sub ci} ~800 kA/m, squareness 0.9, and BH{sub max} ~100 kJ/m{sup 3}.

  1. Quasi-homoepitaxial growth of a-axis oriented PrBa sub 2 Cu sub 3 O sub 7 sub - subdelta thick film on (100) YBa sub 2 Cu sub 3 O sub 7 sub - subdelta single crystal

    CERN Document Server

    Sato, M; Morishita, T

    2003-01-01

    The structural characterizations of the quasi-homoepitaxial growth of a-axis oriented PrBa sub 2 Cu sub 3 O sub 7 sub - subdelta thick film grown on (100) YBa sub 2 Cu sub 3 O sub 7 sub - subdelta single crystal were investigated in comparison with those of the film grown on (001) YBa sub 2 Cu sub 3 O sub 7 sub - subdelta single crystal. The a-axis oriented PrBa sub 2 Cu sub 3 O sub 7 sub - subdelta films, expected to be a barrier layer, were prepared using a dc-95 MHz hybrid plasma sputtering on (100) and (001) YBa sub 2 Cu sub 3 O sub 7 sub - subdelta single crystals that are superconducting ground planes. The atomic force microscopy image revealed that the surfaces of 700-nm-thick a-axis PrBa sub 2 Cu sub 3 O sub 7 sub - subdelta films on (100) YBa sub 2 Cu sub 3 O sub 7 sub - subdelta single crystals were smooth with a mean roughness of 2.8 nm. X-ray diffraction scans showed that a-axis PrBa sub 2 Cu sub 3 O sub 7 sub - subdelta films deposited on (100) YBa sub 2 Cu sub 3 O sub 7 sub - subdelta single cry...

  2. Immobilization of trypsin on sub-micron skeletal polymer monolith

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yao Chunhe [Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Living Biosystems, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); Graduate School, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Qi Li, E-mail: qili@iccas.ac.cn [Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Living Biosystems, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); Hu Wenbin [Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Living Biosystems, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); Graduate School, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Wang Fuyi [Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Living Biosystems, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); Yang Gengliang [College of Pharmacy, Hebei University, Baoding 071002 (China)

    2011-04-29

    A new kind of immobilized trypsin reactor based on sub-micron skeletal polymer monolith has been developed. Covalent immobilization of trypsin on this support was performed using the epoxide functional groups in either a one- or a multi-step reaction. The proteolytic activity of the immobilized trypsin was measured by monitoring the formation of N-{alpha}-benzoyl-L-arginine (BA) which is the digestion product of a substrate N-{alpha}-benzoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester (BAEE). Results showed that the digestion speed was about 300 times faster than that performed in free solution. The performance of such an enzyme reactor was further demonstrated by digesting protein myoglobin. It has been found that the protein digestion could be achieved in 88 s at 30 deg. C, which is comparable to 24 h digestion in solution at 37 {sup o}C. Furthermore, the immobilized trypsin exhibits increased stability even after continuous use compared to that in free solution. The present monolithic enzyme-reactor provides a promising platform for the proteomic research.

  3. Design consideration for dc SQUIDs fabricated in deep sub-micron technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ketchen, M.B.

    1991-01-01

    Design rules for scaling dc SQUID junctions to optimize SQUID performance have been well known for over a decade, and verified down to the sub-micron regime. Practical SQUIDs having well coupled input coils of usable inductance have generally been fabricated at the 2-5 μm level of lithography. Other technologies, silicon in particular, are now routinely practiced at the 0.5 μm level of lithography with impressive demonstrations at the 0.1-0.25 μm level not uncommon. In this paper the implications of applying such fabrication capability to advance dc SQUID technology are explored. In particular the issues of scaling practical dc SQUIDs down to the 0.1-0.25 μm regime are examined, using as a prototype design the basic washer SQUID with a spiral input coil

  4. Growth of thick La{sub 2}Zr{sub 2}O{sub 7} buffer layers for coated conductors by polymer-assisted chemical solution deposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Xin, E-mail: xzhang@my.swjtu.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Magnetic Levitation Technologies and Maglev Trains, Ministry of Education of China, Superconductivity and New Energy Center (SNEC), Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China); School of Electrical Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China); Zhao, Yong, E-mail: yzhao@swjtu.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Magnetic Levitation Technologies and Maglev Trains, Ministry of Education of China, Superconductivity and New Energy Center (SNEC), Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China); School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 2052 NSW (Australia); Xia, Yudong [State Key Lab of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); Guo, Chunsheng [Key Laboratory of Magnetic Levitation Technologies and Maglev Trains, Ministry of Education of China, Superconductivity and New Energy Center (SNEC), Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China); Cheng, C.H. [School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 2052 NSW (Australia); Zhang, Yong [Key Laboratory of Magnetic Levitation Technologies and Maglev Trains, Ministry of Education of China, Superconductivity and New Energy Center (SNEC), Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China); Zhang, Han [Department of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China)

    2015-06-15

    Highlights: • We develops a low-cost and high-efficient technology of fabricating LZO buffer layers. • Sufficient thickness LZO buffer layers have been obtained on NiW (2 0 0) alloy substrate. • Highly biaxially textured YBCO thin film has been deposited on LZO/NiW. - Abstract: La{sub 2}Zr{sub 2}O{sub 7} (LZO) epitaxial films have been deposited on LaAlO{sub 3} (LAO) (1 0 0) single-crystal surface and bi-axially textured NiW (2 0 0) alloy substrate by polymer-assisted chemical solution deposition, and afterwards studied with XRD, SEM and AFM approaches. Highly in-plane and out-of-plane oriented, dense, smooth, crack free and with a sufficient thickness (>240 nm) LZO buffer layers have been obtained on LAO (1 0 0) single-crystal surface; The films deposited on NiW (2 0 0) alloy substrate are also found with high degree in-plane and out-of-plane texturing, good density with pin-hole-free, micro-crack-free nature and a thickness of 300 nm. Highly epitaxial 500 nm thick YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7−x} (YBCO) thin film exhibits the self-field critical current density (Jc) reached 1.3 MA/cm{sup 2} at 77 K .These results demonstrate the LZO epi-films obtained with current techniques have potential to be a buffer layer for REBCO coated conductors.

  5. Uncovering three-dimensional gradients in fibrillar orientation in an impact-resistant biological armour

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Y.; Paris, O.; Terrill, N. J.; Gupta, H. S.

    2016-05-01

    The complex hierarchical structure in biological and synthetic fibrous nanocomposites entails considerable difficulties in the interpretation of the crystallographic texture from diffraction data. Here, we present a novel reconstruction method to obtain the 3D distribution of fibres in such systems. An analytical expression is derived for the diffraction intensity from fibres, explaining the azimuthal intensity distribution in terms of the angles of the three dimensional fibre orientation distributions. The telson of stomatopod (mantis shrimp) serves as an example of natural biological armour whose high impact resistance property is believed to arise from the hierarchical organization of alpha chitin nanofibrils into fibres and twisted plywood (Bouligand) structures at the sub-micron and micron scale. Synchrotron microfocus scanning X-ray diffraction data on stomatopod telson were used as a test case to map the 3D fibre orientation across the entire tissue section. The method is applicable to a range of biological and biomimetic structures with graded 3D fibre texture at the sub-micron and micron length scales.

  6. Reduced Cu(InGa)Se<sub>2sub> Thickness in Solar Cells Using a Superstrate Configuration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shafarman, William N. [Univ. of Delaware, Newark, DE (United States)

    2015-03-30

    This project by the Institute of Energy Conversion (IEC) and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Delaware sought to develop the technology and underlying science to enable reduced cost of Cu(InGa)Se<sub>2sub> manufacturing by reducing the thickness of the Cu(InGa)Se<sub>2sub> absorber layer by half compared to typical production. The approach to achieve this was to use the superstrate cell configuration in which light is incident on the cell through the glass. This structure facilitates optical enhancement approaches needed to achieve high efficiency with Cu(InGa)Se<sub>2sub> thicknesses less than 1 µm. The primary objective was to demonstrate a Cu(InGa)Se<sub>2sub> cell with absorber thickness 0.5 - 0.7 µm and 17% efficiency, along with a quantitative loss analysis to define a pathway to 20% efficiency. Additional objectives were the development of stable TCO and buffer layers or contact layers to withstand the Cu(InGa)Se<sub>2sub> deposition temperature and of advanced optical enhancement methods. The underlying fundamental science needed to effectively transition these outcomes to large scale was addressed by extensive materials and device characterization and by development of comprehensive optical models. Two different superstrate configurations have been investigated. A frontwall cell is illuminated through the glass to the primary front junction of the device. This configuration has been used for previous efforts on superstrate Cu(InGa)Se<sub>2sub> but performance has been limited by interdiffusion or reaction with CdS or other buffer layers. In this project, several approaches to overcome these limitations were explored using CdS, ZnO and ZnSe buffer layers. In each case, mechanisms that limit device performance were identified using detailed characterization of the materials and junctions. Due to the junction formation difficulties, efforts were concentrated on a new backwall configuration in which light

  7. Time-specific measurements of energy deposition from radiation fields in simulated sub-micron tissue volumes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Famiano, M.A.

    1997-01-01

    A tissue-equivalent spherical proportional counter is used with a modified amplifier system to measure specific energy deposited from a uniform radiation field for short periods of time (∼1 micros to seconds) in order to extrapolate to dose in sub-micron tissue volumes. The energy deposited during these time intervals is compared to biological repair processes occurring within the same intervals after the initial energy deposition. The signal is integrated over a variable collection time which is adjusted with a square-wave pulse. Charge from particle passages is collected on the anode during the period in which the integrator is triggered, and the signal decays quickly to zero after the integrator feedback switch resets; the process repeats for every triggering pulse. Measurements of energy deposited from x rays, 137 Cs gamma rays, and electrons from a 90 Sr/ 90 Y source for various time intervals are taken. Spectral characteristics as a function of charge collection time are observed and frequency plots of specific energy and collection time-interval are presented. In addition, a threshold energy flux is selected for each radiation type at which the formation of radicals (based on current measurements) in mammalian cells equals the rate at which radicals are repaired

  8. Thickness oscillations of the transport properties in n-type Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} topological insulator thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rogacheva, E.I., E-mail: rogacheva@kpi.kharkov.ua [National Technical University “Kharkov Polytechnic Institute”, 21 Frunze Street, Kharkov 61002 (Ukraine); Budnik, A.V.; Sipatov, A.Yu.; Nashchekina, O.N. [National Technical University “Kharkov Polytechnic Institute”, 21 Frunze Street, Kharkov 61002 (Ukraine); Fedorov, A.G. [Institute for Single Crystals of NAS of Ukraine, 60 Lenin Prospect, Kharkov 61001 (Ukraine); Dresselhaus, M.S.; Tang, S. [Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)

    2015-11-02

    The dependences of the electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient and Hall coefficient on the thickness (d = 20–155 nm) of the n-type thin films grown on the glass substrates by the thermal evaporation in vacuum of the n-type Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} topological insulator crystals have been measured. It has been established that these dependences have an oscillatory character with a substantial amplitude. The obtained results are interpreted in terms of quantum size effects, taking into account the peculiar properties of the surface layers of the Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} films connected with the topological insulator nature of the bismuth telluride. - Highlights: • The thickness dependences of Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} thin films kinetic coefficients were obtained. • The dependences have oscillatory character with a substantial undamped amplitude. • The oscillation period increases with decreasing film thickness. • The oscillations are attributed to electron confinement in the film growth direction. • It is suggested that topological surface layer affects quantum processes in films.

  9. Analysis of optical thickness determination of materials by THz-TDS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sushko, O; Dubrovka, R; Donnan, R S

    2013-01-01

    Terahertz time-domain spectrometry (THz TDS) is a sensitive probe of the complex dielectric response of materials. Methods vary for converting time-domain response into final material optical parameters together with estimation of associated uncertainties. Here we point out the importance of using an accurate extraction procedure with particular emphasis on the error introduced by associated inaccuracy in thickness determination of a sample. The Total Variation (TV) method is used to estimate sample thickness to sub-micron accuracy, by constructively using the phenomena of multiple internal reflections ('ringing') within a sample. The applicability and performance of the TV methodology is discussed

  10. Thickness dependence of magnetic properties and giant magneto-impedance effect in amorphous Co{sub 73}Si{sub 12}B{sub 15} thin films prepared by Dual-Ion beam assisted deposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Yu [School of Physics and Nuclear Energy Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191 (China); BISSE/BUAA-SPNEE joint Laboratory Magnetism and Sperconducting technology on Spacecraft, Beihang University, Beijing 100191 (China); Wang, San-sheng, E-mail: wangssh@buaa.edu.cn [School of Physics and Nuclear Energy Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191 (China); BISSE/BUAA-SPNEE joint Laboratory Magnetism and Sperconducting technology on Spacecraft, Beihang University, Beijing 100191 (China); Hu, Teng [School of Physics and Nuclear Energy Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191 (China); He, Tong-fu [School of Instrumentation Science and Opto-electronics Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191 (China); Chen, Zi-yu [School of Physics and Nuclear Energy Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191 (China); Yi, Zhong; Meng, Li-Fei [Science and Technology on Reliability and Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Beijing Institute of Spacecraft Environment Engineering, Beijing 100094 (China); BISSE/BUAA-SPNEE joint Laboratory Magnetism and Sperconducting technology on Spacecraft, Beihang University, Beijing 100191 (China)

    2017-03-15

    Dual-Ion Beam Assisted Deposition is a suitable method for the preparation of giant magneto-impedance (GMI) materials. In this paper, Co{sub 73}Si{sub 12}B{sub 15} thin films with different thicknesses were prepared by Dual-Ion Beam Assisted Deposition, and the influences of film thickness on magnetic properties and GMI effect were investigated. It was found that the asymmetric magnetic hysteresis loop in the prepared Co{sub 73}Si{sub 12}B{sub 15} thin films occurs at ambient temperature, and the shift behavior of hysteresis loop associated with film thickness. With the film thickness increasing, the values of shift field and coercive field and other parameters such as remanence and shift ratio appeared complex variation. At a certain frequency, the large GMI effect is only observed in some films, which have good magnetic properties including low coercivity, low remanence ratio and high shift ratio. The results indicated that the thickness dependence of magnetic properties nonlinearly determined the GMI effect in Co{sub 73}Si{sub 12}B{sub 15} thin films. - Highlights: • The relationship between film thickness and ΔZ/Z, ΔR/R, ΔX/X ratio of CoSiB film exhibits a complex behavior as the film thickness increases from 1.33 to 7.34 µm. The maximum value of GMI ratio is observed when the film thickness was 1.56, 2.48, 3.81 or 7.34 µm. • With the increase of film thickness, the peak frequency shifts to lower frequency, but does not decrease following the t-power law. • The above thickness phenomenon is due to the different magnetic properties of thin films. • The Dual-Ion Beam Assisted Deposition is introduced to prepare the GMI materials.

  11. Core–shell structured FeSiAl/SiO{sub 2} particles and Fe{sub 3}Si/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} soft magnetic composite cores with tunable insulating layer thicknesses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fan, Xi’an, E-mail: groupfxa@163.com [The State Key Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430081 (China); Key Laboratory for Ferrous Metallurgy and Resources Utilization of Ministry of Education, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430081 (China); Wang, Jian, E-mail: snove418562@163.com [The State Key Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430081 (China); Key Laboratory for Ferrous Metallurgy and Resources Utilization of Ministry of Education, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430081 (China); Wu, Zhaoyang, E-mail: wustwuzhaoyang@163.com [The State Key Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430081 (China); Key Laboratory for Ferrous Metallurgy and Resources Utilization of Ministry of Education, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430081 (China); Li, Guangqiang, E-mail: ligq-wust@mail.wust.edu.cn [The State Key Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430081 (China); Key Laboratory for Ferrous Metallurgy and Resources Utilization of Ministry of Education, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430081 (China)

    2015-11-15

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • FeSiAl/SiO{sub 2} core–shell particles and Fe{sub 3}Si/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} composite cores were prepared. • SiO{sub 2} surrounding FeSiAl were replaced by Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} during sintering process. • Fe{sub 3}Si particles were separated by Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} with tunable thickness in composite cores. • Fe{sub 3}Si/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} had lower core loss and better frequency stability than FeSiAl core. • The insulating layer between ferromagnetic particles can reduce core loss. - Abstract: FeSiAl/SiO{sub 2} core–shell particles and Fe{sub 3}Si/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} composite cores with tunable insulating layer thicknesses have been synthesized via a modified Stöber method combined with following high temperature sintering process. Most of the conductive FeSiAl particles could be coated by insulating SiO{sub 2} using the modified Stöber method. During the sintering process, the reaction 4Al + 3SiO{sub 2} ≣ 2α-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} + 3Si took place and the new Fe{sub 3}Si/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} composite was formed. The Fe{sub 3}Si/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} composite cores displayed more excellent soft magnetic properties, better frequency stability at high frequencies, much higher resistivity and lower core loss than the raw FeSiAl core. Based on this, several types of FeSiAl/SiO{sub 2} particles and Fe{sub 3}Si/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} composite cores with tunable insulating layer thicknesses were selectively prepared by simply varying TEOS contents. The thickness of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} insulating layer and resistivity of Fe{sub 3}Si/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} composite cores increased with increasing the TEOS contents, while the permeability and core loss changed in the opposite direction.

  12. Effect of TiO{sub 2} thickness on nanocomposited aligned ZnO nanorod/TiO{sub 2} for dye-sensitized solar cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Saurdi, I., E-mail: saurdy788@gmail.com; Ishak, A. [NANO-ElecTronic Centre (NET), Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM),40450 Shah Alam, Selangor (Malaysia); UiTM Sarawak Kampus Kota Samarahan Jalan Meranek, Sarawak (Malaysia); Shafura, A. K.; Azhar, N. E. A.; Mamat, M. H. [NANO-ElecTronic Centre (NET), Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM),40450 Shah Alam, Selangor (Malaysia); Malek, M. F.; Rusop, M. [NANO-ElecTronic Centre (NET), Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM),40450 Shah Alam, Selangor (Malaysia); NANO-SciTech Centre (NST), (Centre for Nano-Science and Nano-Technology), Institute of Science - IOS, Universiti Teknologi MARA - UiTM, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor (Malaysia); Alrokayan, A. H. Salman; Khan, Haseeb A. [Department of Biochemistry, College of Science, Bldg. 5, King Saud University (KSU) P.O: 2455 Riyadh 1145 (Saudi Arabia)

    2016-07-06

    The TiO{sub 2} films were deposited on glass substrate at different thicknesses with different deposition frequencies (1, 2, 3 and 4 times) using spin coating technique and their structural properties were investigated. Subsequently, the nanocomposited aligned ZnO nanorods and TiO{sub 2} were formed by deposited the TiO{sub 2} on top of aligned ZnO Nanorod on ITO-coated glass at different thicknesses using the same method of TiO{sub 2} deposited on glass substrate. The nanocomposited aligned ZnO nanorod/TiO{sub 2} were coated with different thicknesses of 900µm, 1815µm, 2710µm, 3620µm and ZnO without TiO{sub 2}. The dye-sensitized solar cells were fabricated from the nanocomposited aligned ZnO nanorod/TiO{sub 2} with thickness of 900µm, 1815µm, 2710µm and 3620µm and ZnO without TiO{sub 2} and their photovoltaic properties of the DSSCs were investigated. From the solar simulator measurement the solar energy conversion efficiency (η) of 2.543% under AM 1.5 was obtained for the ZnO nanorod/TiO{sub 2} photoanode-2710µm Dye-Sensitized solar cell.

  13. Sub-micron indent induced plastic deformation in copper and irradiated steel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Robertson, Ch.

    1998-09-01

    In this work we aim to study the indent induced plastic deformation. For this purpose, we have developed a new approach, whereby the indentation curves provides the mechanical behaviour, while the deformation mechanisms are observed thanks to Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). In order to better understand how an indent induced dislocation microstructure forms, numerical modeling of the indentation process at the scale of discrete dislocations has been worked out as well. Validation of this modeling has been performed through direct comparison of the computed microstructures with TEM micrographs of actual indents in pure Cu [001]. Irradiation induced modifications of mechanical behaviour of ion irradiated 316L have been investigated, thanks to the mentioned approach. An important hardening effect was reported from indentation data (about 50%), on helium irradiated 316L steel. TEM observations of the damage zone clearly show that this behaviour is associated with the presence of He bubbles. TEM observations of the indent induced plastic zone also showed that the extent of the plastic zone is strongly correlated with hardness, that is to say: harder materials gets a smaller plastic zone. These results thus clearly established that the selected procedure can reveal any irradiation induced hardening in sub-micron thick ion irradiated layers. The behaviour of krypton irradiated 316L steel is somewhat more puzzling. In one hand indeed, a strong correlation between the defect cluster size and densities on the irradiation temperature is observed in the 350 deg C -600 deg C range, thanks to TEM observations of the damage zone. On the other hand, irradiation induced hardening reported from indentation data is relatively small (about 10%) and shows no dependence upon the irradiation temperature (within the mentioned range). In addition, it has been shown that the reported hardening vanishes following appropriate post-irradiation annealing, although most of the TEM

  14. EXPLORING THE ROLE OF SUB-MICRON-SIZED DUST GRAINS IN THE ATMOSPHERES OF RED L0–L6 DWARFS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hiranaka, Kay; Cruz, Kelle L.; Baldassare, Vivienne F. [Hunter College, Department of Physics and Astronomy, City University of New York, 695 Park Ave, New York, NY 10065 (United States); Douglas, Stephanie T. [American Museum of Natural History, Department of Astrophysics, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024 (United States); Marley, Mark S., E-mail: khiranak@hunter.cuny.edu [NASA Ames Research Center, MS-245-3, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States)

    2016-10-20

    We examine the hypothesis that the red near-infrared colors of some L dwarfs could be explained by a “dust haze” of small particles in their upper atmospheres. This dust haze would exist in conjunction with the clouds found in dwarfs with more typical colors. We developed a model that uses Mie theory and the Hansen particle size distributions to reproduce the extinction due to the proposed dust haze. We apply our method to 23 young L dwarfs and 23 red field L dwarfs. We constrain the properties of the dust haze including particle size distribution and column density using Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods. We find that sub-micron-range silicate grains reproduce the observed reddening. Current brown dwarf atmosphere models include large-grain (1–100 μ m) dust clouds but not sub-micron dust grains. Our results provide a strong proof of concept and motivate a combination of large and small dust grains in brown dwarf atmosphere models.

  15. Multiple magnetic transitions, dynamical magnetic liquid and magnetic glass in La{sub 1−x−y}Pr{sub y}Ca{sub x}MnO{sub 3} (x≈0.42, y≈0.40) thin films: A thickness dependent study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Agarwal, Vasudha; Kandpal, Lalit M.; Siwach, P.K.; Awana, V.P.S. [CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi 110012 (India); AcSIR at CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi 110012 (India); Singh, H.K., E-mail: hks65@nplindia.org [CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi 110012 (India); AcSIR at CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi 110012 (India)

    2015-11-15

    The influence of substrate induced strain and its relaxation on the evolution of the multiple magnetic transitions and ensuing modifications in the degree of phase separation, the nature of the dynamical magnetic liquid, the randomly frozen glass and insulator–metal transitions have been investigated in single crystalline La{sub 1−x−y}Pr{sub y}Ca{sub x}MnO{sub 3} (x≈0.42, y≈0.40) in t~20–140 nm thick films deposited on LaAlO{sub 3} (001) substrates. The ferromagnetic (FM) transition temperature (T{sub C}) first decreases as the film thickness is increased from t~20 nm to t~60 nm and then increases with increasing film thickness. In contrast the charge ordering (CO), antiferromagnetic (AFM) and glass transition temperatures shift towards higher values with increasing film thickness. The field cooled cooling (FCC) and field cooled warming (FCW) magnetization (M–T) of films having t≥60 nm shows pronounced hysteresis and ΔT{sub C}=T{sub C}{sup FCW}−T{sub C}{sup FCC} decreases concomitantly from 46 K to 35 K as the thickness increases from ~60 to ~140 nm. The thinnest film shows insulator to metal transitions (IMT) only at magnetic field H>40 kOe. Films with t≥T{sub C} show sharp hysteretic IMT, with ΔT{sub IM}=T{sub IM}{sup W}−T{sub IM}{sup C} decreasing from ~70 K to ~50 K as the thickness increases from ~60 nm to ~140 nm. Such strong hysteresis is a characteristic of first order phase transition and also a signature of magnetic liquid like phase created by the magnetic frustration created by the delicate balance between FM and AFM/CO phases. The H induced AFM/CO to FM transition reduces ΔT{sub IM} and at higher fields the phase transition appears akin to the second order. The observed difference in the magnetic and transport properties have been explained in terms of the substrate induced strain at lower film thickness and its relaxation at higher thickness. - Highlights: • Different thickness La{sub 1−x−y}Pr{sub y}Ca{sub x}MnO{sub 3

  16. Scalable Sub-micron Patterning of Organic Materials Toward High Density Soft Electronics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jaekyun; Kim, Myung-Gil; Kim, Jaehyun; Jo, Sangho; Kang, Jingu; Jo, Jeong-Wan; Lee, Woobin; Hwang, Chahwan; Moon, Juhyuk; Yang, Lin; Kim, Yun-Hi; Noh, Yong-Young; Jaung, Jae Yun; Kim, Yong-Hoon; Park, Sung Kyu

    2015-09-28

    The success of silicon based high density integrated circuits ignited explosive expansion of microelectronics. Although the inorganic semiconductors have shown superior carrier mobilities for conventional high speed switching devices, the emergence of unconventional applications, such as flexible electronics, highly sensitive photosensors, large area sensor array, and tailored optoelectronics, brought intensive research on next generation electronic materials. The rationally designed multifunctional soft electronic materials, organic and carbon-based semiconductors, are demonstrated with low-cost solution process, exceptional mechanical stability, and on-demand optoelectronic properties. Unfortunately, the industrial implementation of the soft electronic materials has been hindered due to lack of scalable fine-patterning methods. In this report, we demonstrated facile general route for high throughput sub-micron patterning of soft materials, using spatially selective deep-ultraviolet irradiation. For organic and carbon-based materials, the highly energetic photons (e.g. deep-ultraviolet rays) enable direct photo-conversion from conducting/semiconducting to insulating state through molecular dissociation and disordering with spatial resolution down to a sub-μm-scale. The successful demonstration of organic semiconductor circuitry promise our result proliferate industrial adoption of soft materials for next generation electronics.

  17. Heterodyne spatial interferometry of circumstellar dust shells at a wavelength of 11 microns

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sutton, E.C.

    1979-01-01

    The spatial distribution of the 11 micron thermal emission from circumstellar dust envelopes has been studied using an infrared heterodyne interferometer. Circumstellar dust envelopes often exist around cool, late-type stars. These envelopes radiate strongly at 11 microns, particularly if they are composed of silicate grains, which have a strong emission feature near this wavelength. By measuring the spatial distribution of this dust emission it is possible to probe the temperatures and densities of the circumstellar material and thereby to gain an understanding of the structures of circumstellar envelopes. Among the sources which have been observed with this interferometer are α Orionis, o Ceti, VY Canis Majoris, and IRC + 10216. The 11 micron brightness distributions of these objects all have spatially extended dust-emission components which are resolved in these measurements. The dust envelopes of α Orionis and o Ceti are optically thin, having optical depths at 11 microns of 0.02 and 0.04, respectively. In addition, variations are seen in the 11 micron brightness distribution of o Ceti which correlate with the stellar variability. These variations primarily represent changes in the relative amount of spatially compact photospheric emission and spatially extended dust emission. The source VY Canis Majoris, on the other had, has a dust envelope which is optically thick at 11 microns. The dust envelope of IRC + 10216, although optically thick at visible wavelengths, does not seem to be optically thick at 11 microns since there is a spatially compact component of the 11 micron brightness distribution which presumably represents emission from the central star

  18. Sub-micron resolution selected area electron channeling patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guyon, J; Mansour, H; Gey, N; Crimp, M A; Chalal, S; Maloufi, N

    2015-02-01

    Collection of selected area channeling patterns (SACPs) on a high resolution FEG-SEM is essential to carry out quantitative electron channeling contrast imaging (ECCI) studies, as it facilitates accurate determination of the crystal plane normal with respect to the incident beam direction and thus allows control the electron channeling conditions. Unfortunately commercial SACP modes developed in the past were limited in spatial resolution and are often no longer offered. In this contribution we present a novel approach for collecting high resolution SACPs (HR-SACPs) developed on a Gemini column. This HR-SACP technique combines the first demonstrated sub-micron spatial resolution with high angular accuracy of about 0.1°, at a convenient working distance of 10mm. This innovative approach integrates the use of aperture alignment coils to rock the beam with a digitally calibrated beam shift procedure to ensure the rocking beam is maintained on a point of interest. Moreover a new methodology to accurately measure SACP spatial resolution is proposed. While column considerations limit the rocking angle to 4°, this range is adequate to index the HR-SACP in conjunction with the pattern simulated from the approximate orientation deduced by EBSD. This new technique facilitates Accurate ECCI (A-ECCI) studies from very fine grained and/or highly strained materials. It offers also new insights for developing HR-SACP modes on new generation high-resolution electron columns. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. The film thickness dependent thermal stability of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Ag thin films as high-temperature solar selective absorbers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xiao Xiudi; Xu Gang, E-mail: xiudixiao@163.com; Xiong Bin; Chen Deming; Miao Lei [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy and Gas Hydrates, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion (China)

    2012-03-15

    The monolayer Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Ag thin films were prepared by magnetron sputtering. The microstructure and optical properties of thin film after annealing at 700 Degree-Sign C in air were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and spectrophotometer. It revealed that the particle shape, size, and distribution across the film were greatly changed before and after annealing. The surface plasmon resonance absorption and thermal stability of the film were found to be strongly dependent on the film thickness, which was believed to be associated with the evolution process of particle diffusion, agglomeration, and evaporation during annealing at high temperature. When the film thickness was smaller than 90 nm, the film SPR absorption can be attenuated until extinct with increasing annealing time due to the evaporation of Ag particles. While the film thickness was larger than 120 nm, the absorption can keep constant even after annealing for 64 h due to the agglomeration of Ag particles. On the base of film thickness results, the multilayer Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Ag solar selective thin films were prepared and the thermal stability test illustrated that the solar selectivity of multilayer films with absorbing layer thickness larger than 120 nm did not degrade after annealing at 500 Degree-Sign C for 70 h in air. It can be concluded that film thickness is an important factor to control the thermal stability of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Ag thin films as high-temperature solar selective absorbers.

  20. Water ice and sub-micron ice particles on Tethys and Mimas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scipioni, Francesca; Nordheim, Tom; Clark, Roger Nelson; D'Aversa, Emiliano; Cruikshank, Dale P.; Tosi, Federico; Schenk, Paul M.; Combe, Jean-Philippe; Dalle Ore, Cristina M.

    2017-10-01

    IntroductionWe present our ongoing work, mapping the variation of the main water ice absorption bands, and the distribution of the sub-micron particles, across Mimas and Tethys’ surfaces using Cassini-VIMS cubes acquired in the IR range (0.8-5.1 μm). We present our results in the form of maps of variation of selected spectral indicators (depth of absorption bands, reflectance peak height, spectral slopes).Data analysisVIMS acquires hyperspectral data in the 0.3-5.1 μm spectral range. We selected VIMS cubes of Tethys and Mimas in the IR range (0.8-5.1 μm). For all pixels in the selected cubes, we measured the band depths for water-ice absorptions at 1.25, 1.5 and 2.02 μm and the height of the 3.6 μm reflection peak. Moreover, we considered the spectral indictors for particles smaller than 1 µm [1]: (i) the 2 µm absorption band is asymmetric and (ii) it has the minimum shifted to longer λ (iii) the band depth ratio 1.5/2.0 µm decreases; (iv) the reflection peak at 2.6 µm decreases; (v) the Fresnel reflection peak is suppressed; (vi) the 5 µm reflectance is decreased relative to the 3.6 µm peak. To characterize the global variation of water-ice band depths, and of sub-micron particles spectral indicators, across Mimas and Tethys, we sampled the two satellites’ surfacees with a 1°x1° fixed-resolution grid and then averaged the band depths and peak values inside each square cell.3. ResultsFor both moons we find that large geologic features, such as the Odysseus and Herschel impact basins, do not correlate with water ice’s abundance variation. For Tethys, we found a quite uniform surface on both hemispheres. The only deviation from this pattern shows up on the trailing hemisphere, where we notice two north-oriented, dark areas around 225° and 315°. For Mimas, the leading and trailing hemispheres appear to be quite similar in water ice abundance, the trailing portion having water ice absorption bands lightly more suppressed than the leading side

  1. Thickness dependence of magnetic anisotropy and domains in amorphous Co{sub 40}Fe{sub 40}B{sub 20} thin films grown on PET flexible substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tang, Zhenhua, E-mail: tangzhenhua1988@163.com [Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional Soft Condensed Matter, School of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Department of Physics, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong (China); Ni, Hao [Department of Physics, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong (China); College of science, China university of petroleum, Qingdao, Shandong 266580 China (China); Lu, Biao [Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional Soft Condensed Matter, School of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Zheng, Ming [Department of Physics, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong (China); Huang, Yong-An [Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional Soft Condensed Matter, School of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Lu, Sheng-Guo, E-mail: sglu@gdut.edu.cn [Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional Soft Condensed Matter, School of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Tang, Minghua [Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Materials and Application Technology, Ministry of Education (Xiangtan University), Xiangtan, Hunan 411105 (China); Gao, Ju [Department of Physics, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong (China)

    2017-03-15

    The amorphous Co{sub 40}Fe{sub 40}B{sub 20} (CoFeB) films (5–200 nm in thickness) were grown on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates using the DC magnetron-sputtering method. The thickness dependence of structural and magnetic properties of flexible CoFeB thin films was investigated in detail. The in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy induced by strain as a function of thickness was obtained in flexible CoFeB thin films, and a critical thickness of ~150 nm for in-plane magnetic anisotropy was observed. Moreover, the domains and the uniaxial anisotropy as a function of angular direction of applied magnetic field were characterized. The results show potential for designing CoFeB-based flexible spintronic devices in which the physical parameters could be tailored by controlling the thickness of the thin film. - Graphical abstract: The in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy induced by strain as a function of thickness was obtained in flexible CoFeB thin films, and a critical thickness of ~150 nm for in-plane magnetic anisotropy was observed. Moreover, the domains and the uniaxial anisotropy as a function of angular direction of applied magnetic field were characterized. - Highlights: • The thickness effect on the magnetic properties in amorphous CoFeB thin films grown on flexible substrates was investigated. • The in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy induced by strains was observed. • A critical thickness of ~ 150 nm for the flexible CoFeB thin film on PET substrate was obtained.

  2. Optimization of exposure procedures for sub-quarter-micron CMOS applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hotta, Shoji; Onozuka, Toshihiko; Fukumoto, Keiko; Shirai, Seiichiro; Okazaki, Shinji

    1998-06-01

    We investigated various exposure procedures to minimize the Critical Dimension (CD) variation for the patterning of sub- quarter micron gates. To examine dependence of the CD variation on the pattern pitch and defocus conditions, the light intensity profiles of four different mask structures: (1) a binary mask with clear field, (2) a binary mask with dark field, (3) a phase-edge type phase-shifting mask (a phase-edge PSM) with clear field, and (4) a halftone phase- shifting mask (a halftone PSM) were compared, where exposure wavelength was 248 nm and numerical aperture (NA) of KrF stepper was 0.55. For 200-nm gate patterns, dependence of the CD variation on the pattern pitch and defocus conditions was minimized by a phase-edge PSM with clear field. By optimizing the illumination condition for a phase-edge PSM exposure, we obtained the CD variation of 10 nm at the minimum gate pitch of 0.8 micrometer and the defocus condition of plus or minus 0.4 micrometer. Applying the optimized exposure procedure to the device fabrication process, we obtained the total CD variation of plus or minus 27 nm.

  3. The 3 micron spectrum of NGC 4565

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adamson, A.J.; Whittet, D.C.B.

    1990-01-01

    Researchers spectrum of NGC 4565 is essentially featureless. The absence of the 3.0 micron feature (Tau 3.0 less than 0.05) implies that the extinction to the nucleus does not arise to a significant degree in molecular clouds. Researchers deduce Tau 3.0/A sub V less than 0.01, compared with approx. 0.022 for GC-IRS7. These results support the conclusion (McFadzean et al. 1989) that the 3.0 micron absorption in the GC-IR sources is due to the presence of ice in a (probably single) foreground molecular cloud. The 3.4 micron feature is also weak or absent in the researchers spectrum of NGC 4565 (Tau 3.4 less than or equal to 0.07), hence, Tau 3.4/A sub V less than or equal to 0.016, compared with approx. 0.008 towards GC-IRS7. The absence of the feature in NGC 4565 at the signal-to-noise level of the current observations is consistent with a probable moderate degree of extinction towards the nucleus. The observations of NGC 4565 provide a useful comparison for studies of dust in the Galaxy. Limits have been set on the strengths of the 3.0 and 3.4 micron features in NGC 4565. The absence of 3.0 micron absorption is significant, and supports the view that the feature at this wavelength in the Galactic Centre is due to water-ice absorption in a foreground molecular cloud. The non-detection of the 3.4 micron absorption is less surprising and provides indirect support for the association between this feature and the diffuse interstellar medium. The current spectrum probably represents the best that can be achieved with a single-detector instrument within reasonable integration times. It will clearly be of interest in the future to obtain spectra of higher signal-to-noise, as a positive detection of the 3.4 micron feature in an external galaxy, even at a low level, would be of considerable astrophysical significance

  4. Structural studies of ZnS:Cu (5 at %) nanocomposites in porous Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} of different thicknesses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Valeev, R. G., E-mail: rishatvaleev@mail.ru; Trigub, A. L.; Chukavin, A. I.; Beltiukov, A. N. [Physical-Technical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences (Ural Branch) (Russian Federation)

    2017-02-15

    We present EXAFS, XANES, and X-ray diffraction data on nanoscale ZnS:Cu (5 at %) structures fabricated by the thermal deposition of a ZnS and Cu powder mixture in porous anodic alumina matrices with a pore diameter of 80 nm and thicknesses of 1, 3, and 5 μm. The results obtained are compared with data on ZnS:Cu films deposited onto a polycor surface. According to X-ray diffraction data, the samples contain copper and zinc compounds with sulfur (Cu{sub 2}S and ZnS, respectively); the ZnS compound is in the cubic (sphalerite) and hexagonal (wurtzite) modifications. EXAFS and XANES studies at the K absorption edges of zinc and copper showed that, in samples deposited onto polycor and alumina with thicknesses of 3 and 5 μm, most copper atoms form the Cu{sub 2}S compound, while, in the sample deposited onto a 1-μm-thick alumina layer, copper atoms form metallic particles on the sample surface. Copper crystals affect the Zn–S interatomic distance in the sample with a 1-μm-thick porous Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} layer; this distance is smaller than in the other samples.

  5. Block copolymer stabilized nonaqueous biocompatible sub-micron emulsions for topical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atanase, Leonard Ionut; Riess, Gérard

    2013-05-20

    Polyethylene glycol (PEG) 400/Miglyol 812 non-aqueous sub-micron emulsions were developed due to the fact that they are of interest for the design of drug-loaded biocompatible topical formulations. These types of emulsions were favourably stabilized by poly (2-vinylpyridine)-b-poly (butadiene) (P2VP-b-PBut) copolymer with DPBut>DP2VP, each of these sequences being well-adapted to the solubility parameters of PEG 400 and Miglyol 812, respectively. This type of block copolymers, which might limit the Ostwald ripening, appeared to be more efficient stabilizers than low molecular weight non-ionic surfactants. The emulsion characteristics, such as particle size, stability and viscosity at different shear rates were determined as a function of the phase ratio, the copolymer concentration and storage time. It was further shown that Acyclovir, as a model drug of low water solubility, could be incorporated into the PEG 400 dispersed phase, with no significant modification of the initial emulsion characteristics. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Sol-gel/drop-coated micro-thick TiO{sub 2} memristors for γ-ray sensing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abunahla, Heba [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research, Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates); Jaoude, Maguy Abi, E-mail: maguy.abijaoude@kustar.ac.ae [Department of Applied Mathematics and Sciences, Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research, Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates); O' Kelly, Curtis J.; Mohammad, Baker [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research, Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates)

    2016-12-01

    Sol-gel/drop-coated micro-thick TiO{sub 2} memristors were investigated and developed for low-power radiation sensing. Devices constructed with coated aluminum (Al) electrodes exhibited unipolar I-V characteristics with dynamic turn-on voltage, and progressive R{sub OFF}/R{sub ON} ratio loss under applied bias. Endurance failure of micro-thick Al/Al stacks is ascribed to gradual passivation of Al surface resulting from an electrically-enhanced oxygen-ion diffusion. By exchanging a single Al contact with higher work function copper (Cu) metal, two distinct superimposed TiO{sub 2} phases were formed. The TiO{sub 2} coating on Al surface was carbon-contaminated and amorphous, while that on Cu was found to be additionally doped with Cu{sup (I/II)} ions resulting from the corrosion of the surface of the electrode by the amine-based gelation agent. After initial forming, the hybrid stack could achieve a bipolar memristance, with high R{sub OFF}/R{sub ON} (up to 10{sup 6}), and over 10 switching cycles at low-operating voltages (±1 V). The enhanced memristive switching properties of Al/Cu devices are explained via cooperative valence-change/electrochemical-metallization processes, involving migration of oxygen and copper species. The advanced micro-thick TiO{sub 2} memristors were exposed to Cs-137 γ-rays, providing for the first time initial insights into their radiation detection capabilities. The sensing mechanism through these devices could be actuated by synergistic radiation-induced and field-driven photo-electric effects. - Highlights: • Micro-thick TiO{sub 2} memristors with Al or Cu electrodes are advanced via sol-gel drop-coating. • Memristive switching in Al/TiO{sub 2}/Al structure is not viable due to resistance build-up. • Drop-coated Cu electrode gets corroded by ethanolamine additive, introducing Cu{sup (I/II)} cations into bulk TiO{sub 2}. • Bipolar memristance in Al/TiO{sub 2}/Cu{sup (I/II)} doped-TiO{sub 2}/Cu structure is depicted for the

  7. Preparation of Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8-x} tracks and thick films by jet printing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Glowacki, B A [IRC in Superconductivity, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OHE (United Kingdom); Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ (United Kingdom). E-mail: bag10 at cus.cam.ac.uk

    2000-05-01

    The formation of the 2212 phase material on both silver and magnesium oxide (100) substrates was successfully achieved by the dropwise deposition of solutions of 2212 dissolved in nitric acid or organic acids such as acetic acid or propionic acid using commercial ink-jet printing head using so-called technique 'droplet-on-request'. Precursor solutions were prepared by dissolving either a mixture of metal nitrates (Bi(NO{sub 3}){sub 3}{center_dot}5H{sub 2}O, Sr(NO{sub 3}){sub 2}, Ca(NO{sub 3}){sub 2}{center_dot}4H{sub 2}O and Cu(NO{sub 3}){sub 2}{center_dot}3H{sub 2}O) or 2212 superconducting powder in acid solutions. From this initial study using simple solutions on conventional substrates such as polycrystalline silver and large MgO single crystals, the preparation of the textured thick 2212 film for superconducting circuits and interconnections by the ink-jet printing process appears quite promising. The critical temperatures of the selected superconducting coatings were in range of 82-92 K. (author)

  8. Thickness and bilayer number dependence on exchange bias in ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic multilayers based on La{sub 1−x}Ca{sub x}MnO{sub 3}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Restrepo-Parra, E., E-mail: erestrepopa@unal.edu.co [Departamento de Física y Química, Universidad Nacional de Colombia-Sede Manizales, A.A. 127 Manizales (Colombia); Agudelo-Giraldo, J.D. [Departamento de Física y Química, Universidad Nacional de Colombia-Sede Manizales, A.A. 127 Manizales (Colombia); Grupo de Investigación y Desarrollo en Informática y Telecomunicaciones, Universidad de Manizales, Manizales (Colombia); Restrepo, J. [Grupo de Magnetismo y Simulación, Instituto de Física, Universidad de Antioquia, A.A. 1226 Medellín (Colombia)

    2014-05-01

    In this work, simulations of ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic multilayers of La{sub 1−x}Ca{sub x}MnO{sub 3} have been carried out by using the Monte Carlo method combined with the Metropolis algorithm and the classical Heisenberg model. In the Hamiltonian we have considered three contributions: nearest neighbor exchange interaction, magnetocrystalline anisotropy and Zeeman interaction. Samples were built by including three types of Mn ions depending on their valence state and type of ionic orbital. Both the number of layers and the antiferromagnetic layer thickness influence on the exchange bias phenomenon are analyzed. Hysteresis loops results exhibit not only a shift as evidence of exchange bias but also the formation of plateaus or steps caused by the presence of more than one interface and the low layers thickness. Each layer presents a strong magnetic behavior because the magneto static energy favors formation of multi-domains in contrast with the single-domains of a single layer FM producing one sub-Loop of each domain (each layer). On the other hand, as the number of layers (n) increases, the sub-cycles tend to disappear. As the plateaus disappear, the system is more effective, increasing the coercive and bias fields. Moreover, domain sizes (layers thickness) also affect the shape of the hysteresis loop. On increasing the thickness of the AFM layer, a decrease in the plateaus produced by the uncoupling is generated.

  9. Preparation of ultra-thin and high-quality WO{sub 3} compact layers and comparision of WO{sub 3} and TiO{sub 2} compact layer thickness in planar perovskite solar cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Jincheng; Shi, Chengwu, E-mail: shicw506@foxmail.com; Chen, Junjun; Wang, Yanqing; Li, Mingqian

    2016-06-15

    In this paper, the ultra-thin and high-quality WO{sub 3} compact layers were successfully prepared by spin-coating-pyrolysis method using the tungsten isopropoxide solution in isopropanol. The influence of WO{sub 3} and TiO{sub 2} compact layer thickness on the photovoltaic performance of planar perovskite solar cells was systematically compared, and the interface charge transfer and recombination in planar perovskite solar cells with TiO{sub 2} compact layer was analyzed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results revealed that the optimum thickness of WO{sub 3} and TiO{sub 2} compact layer was 15 nm and 60 nm. The planar perovskite solar cell with 15 nm WO{sub 3} compact layer gave a 9.69% average and 10.14% maximum photoelectric conversion efficiency, whereas the planar perovskite solar cell with 60 nm TiO{sub 2} compact layer achieved a 11.79% average and 12.64% maximum photoelectric conversion efficiency. - Graphical abstract: The planar perovskite solar cell with 15 nm WO{sub 3} compact layer gave a 9.69% average and 10.14% maximum photoelectric conversion efficiency, whereas the planar perovskite solar cell with 60 nm TiO{sub 2} compact layer achieved a 11.79% average and 12.64% maximum photoelectric conversion efficiency. Display Omitted - Highlights: • Preparation of ultra-thin and high-quality WO{sub 3} compact layers. • Perovskite solar cell with 15 nm-thick WO{sub 3} compact layer achieved PCE of 10.14%. • Perovskite solar cell with 60 nm-thick TiO{sub 2} compact layer achieved PCE of 12.64%.

  10. Thickness dependent quantum oscillations of transport properties in topological insulator Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rogacheva, E. I.; Budnik, A. V.; Sipatov, A. Yu.; Nashchekina, O. N. [National Technical University “Kharkov Polytechnic Institute,” 21 Frunze St., Kharkov 61002 (Ukraine); Dresselhaus, M. S. [Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)

    2015-02-02

    The dependences of the electrical conductivity, the Hall coefficient, and the Seebeck coefficient on the layer thickness d (d = 18−600 nm) of p-type topological insulator Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} thin films grown by thermal evaporation in vacuum on glass substrates were obtained at room temperature. In the thickness range of d = 18–100 nm, sustained oscillations with a substantial amplitude were revealed. The observed oscillations are well approximated by a harmonic function with a period Δd = (9.5 ± 0.5) nm. At d > 100 nm, the transport coefficients practically do not change as d is increased. The oscillations of the kinetic properties are attributed to the quantum size effects due to the hole confinement in the Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} quantum wells. The results of the theoretical calculations of Δd within the framework of a model of an infinitely deep potential well are in good agreement with the experimental results. It is suggested that the substantial amplitude of the oscillations and their sustained character as a function of d are connected with the topologically protected gapless surface states of Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and are inherent to topological insulators.

  11. Sensitivity of MODIS 2.1 micron Channel for Off-Nadir View Angles for Use in Remote Sensing of Aerosol

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gatebe, C. K.; King, M. D.; Tsay, S.-C.; Ji, Q.

    2000-01-01

    Remote sensing of aerosol over land, from MODIS will be based on dark targets using mid-IR channels 2.1 and 3.9 micron. This approach was developed by Kaufman et al (1997), who suggested that dark surface reflectance in the red (0.66 micron -- rho(sub 0.66)) channel is half of that at 2.2 micron (rho(sub 2.2)), and the reflectance in the blue (0.49 micron - rho(sub 0.49)) channel is a quarter of that at 2.2 micron. Using this relationship, the surface reflectance in the visible channels can be predicted within Delta.rho(sub 0.49) approximately Delat.rho(sub 0.66) approximately 0.006 from rho(sub 2.2) for rho(sub 2.2) remote sensing of aerosols over land surfaces from space, we are validating the relationships for off-nadir view angles using Cloud Absorption Radiometer (CAR) data. The CAR data are available for channels between 0.3 and 2.3 micron and for different surface types and conditions: forest, tundra, ocean, sea-ice, swamp, grassland and over areas covered with smoke. In this study we analyzed data collected during the Smoke, Clouds, and Radiation - Brazil (SCAR-B) experiment to validate Kaufman et al.'s (1997) results for non-nadir view angles. We will show the correlation between rho(sub 0.472), rho(sub 0.675), and rho(sub 2.2) for view angles between nadir (0 deg) and 55 deg off-nadir, and for different viewing directions in the backscatter and forward scatter directions.

  12. n-VO{sub 2}/p-GaN based nitride–oxide heterostructure with various thickness of VO{sub 2} layer grown by MBE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Minhuan [Key Laboratory of Materials Modification by Laser, Ion and Electron Beams (Ministry of Education), School of Physics and Optoelectronic Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024 (China); Bian, Jiming, E-mail: jmbian@dlut.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Materials Modification by Laser, Ion and Electron Beams (Ministry of Education), School of Physics and Optoelectronic Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024 (China); Key Laboratory of Inorganic Coating Materials, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China (China); Sun, Hongjun; Liu, Weifeng [Key Laboratory of Materials Modification by Laser, Ion and Electron Beams (Ministry of Education), School of Physics and Optoelectronic Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024 (China); Zhang, Yuzhi [Key Laboratory of Inorganic Coating Materials, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China (China); Luo, Yingmin [Key Laboratory of Materials Modification by Laser, Ion and Electron Beams (Ministry of Education), School of Physics and Optoelectronic Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024 (China)

    2016-12-15

    Graphical abstract: The significant influences of VO{sub 2} layer thickness on the structural, electrical and contact properties of the n-VO{sub 2}/p-GaN based nitride-oxide heterostructure were investigated systemically. - Highlights: • High quality VO{sub 2} films with precisely controlled thickness were grown on p-GaN/sapphire substrates by oxide molecular beam epitaxy (O-MBE). • A distinct reversible SMT phase transition was observed for the n-VO{sub 2}/p-GaN based nitride-oxide heterostructure. • The clear rectifying transport characteristics originated from the n-VO{sub 2}/p-GaN interface were demonstrated before and after SMT of the VO{sub 2} over layer. • The XPS analyses confirmed the valence state of V in VO{sub 2} films was principally composed of V{sup 4+} with trace amount of V{sup 5+}. • The design and modulation of the n-VO{sub 2}/p-GaN based heterostructure devices will benefit significantly from these achievements. - Abstract: High quality VO{sub 2} films with precisely controlled thickness were grown on p-GaN/sapphire substrates by oxide molecular beam epitaxy (O-MBE). Results indicated that a distinct reversible semiconductor-to-metal (SMT) phase transition was observed for all the samples in the temperature dependent electrical resistance measurement, and the influence of VO{sub 2} layer thickness on the SMT properties of the as-grown n-VO{sub 2}/p-GaN based nitride-oxide heterostructure was investigated. Meanwhile, the clear rectifying transport characteristics originated from the n-VO{sub 2}/p-GaN interface were demonstrated before and after SMT of the VO{sub 2} over layer, which were attributed to the p-n junction behavior and Schottky contact character, respectively. Moreover, the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses confirmed the valence state of vanadium (V) in VO{sub 2} films was principally composed of V{sup 4+} with trace amount of V{sup 5+}. The design and modulation of the n-VO{sub 2}/p-GaN based heterostructure

  13. Sub-micron opto-chemical probes for studying living neurons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hossein-Zadeh, M.; Delgado, J.; Schweizer, F.; Lieberman, R.

    2017-02-01

    We have fabricated sub-micron opto-chemical probes for pH, oxygen and calcium monitoring and demonstrated their application in intracellular and extracellular monitoring of neurons (cortical neuronal cultures and acute hippocampal slices). Using these probes, we have measured extracellular pH in the stratum radiatum of the CA1 region of mouse hippocampus upon stimulation of presynaptic Schaffer collateral axons. Synaptic transmission was monitored using standard electrophysiological techniques. We find that the local pH transiently changes in response to synaptic stimulation. In addition, the geometry of the functionalized region on the probe combined with high sensitivity imaging enables simultaneous monitoring of spatially adjacent but distinct compartments. As proof of concept we impaled cultured neurons with the probe measured calcium and pH inside as well as directly outside of neurons as we changed the pH and calcium concentration in the physiological solution in the perfusion chamber. As such these probes can be used to study the impact of the environment on both cellular and extra-cellular space. Additionally as the chemical properties of the surrounding medium can be controlled and monitored with high precision, these probes enable differential measurement of the target parameter referenced to a stable bath. This approach eliminates the uncertainties associated with non-chemical fluctuations in the fluorescent emission and result in a self-calibrated opto-chemical probe. We have also demonstrated multifunctional probes that are capable of measuring up to three parameters in the extracellular space in brain slices.

  14. Kinetics of sub-spinodal dewetting of thin films of thickness dependent viscosity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kotni, Tirumala Rao; Khanna, Rajesh; Sarkar, Jayati

    2017-05-04

    An alternative explanation of the time varying and very low growth exponents in dewetting of polymer films like polystyrene films is presented based on non-linear simulations. The kinetics of these films is explored within the framework of experimentally observed thickness dependent viscosity. These films exhibit sub-spinodal dewetting via formation of satellite holes in between primary dewetted holes under favorable conditions of excess intermolecular forces and film thicknesses. We find that conditions responsible for sub-spinodal dewetting concurrently lead to remarkable changes in the kinetics of dewetting of even primary holes. For example, the radius of the hole grows in time with a power-law growth exponent sequence of [Formula: see text], in contrast to the usual  ∼4/5. This is due to the cumulative effect of reduced rim mobility due to thickness dependent viscosity and hindrance created by satellite holes.

  15. The effect of Ag layer thickness on the properties of WO{sub 3}/Ag/MoO{sub 3} multilayer films as anode in organic light emitting diodes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zadsar, Mehdi, E-mail: mehdi_zadsar@yahoo.com [Physics Department, University of Isfahan, Isfahan (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Fallah, Hamid Reza; Mahmoodzadeh, Morteza Haji [Physics Department, University of Isfahan, Isfahan (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Quantum Optics Research Group, University of Isfahan, Isfahan (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Tabatabaei, Seyed Vahid [Physics Department, University of Isfahan, Isfahan (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2012-04-15

    Transparent conductive WO{sub 3}/Ag/MoO{sub 3} (WAM) multilayer electrodes were fabricated by thermal evaporation and the effects of Ag layer thickness on the optoelectronic and structural properties of multilayer electrode as anode in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) were investigated using different analytical methods. For Ag layers with thickness varying between 5 and 20 nm, the best WAM performances, high optical transmittance (81.7%, at around 550 nm), and low electrical sheet resistance (9.75 {Omega}/cm{sup 2}) were obtained for 15 nm thickness. Also, the WAM structure with 15 nm of Ag layer thickness has a very smooth surface with an RMS roughness of 0.37 nm, which is suitable for use as transparent conductive anode in OLEDs. The current density-voltage-luminance (J-V-L) characteristics measurement shows that the current density of WAM/PEDOT:PSS/TPD/Alq{sub 3}/LiF/Al organic diode increases with the increase in thickness of Ag and WO{sub 3}/Ag (15 nm)/MoO{sub 3} device exhibits a higher luminance intensity at lower voltage than ITO/PEDOT:PSS/TPD/Alq{sub 3}/LiF/Al control device. Furthermore, this device shows the highest power efficiency (0.31 lm/W) and current efficiency (1.2 cd/A) at the current density of 20 mA/cm{sup 2}, which is improved 58% and 41% compared with those of the ITO-based device, respectively. The lifetime of the WO{sub 3}/Ag (15 nm)/MoO{sub 3} device was measured to be 50 h at an initial luminance of 50 cd/m{sup 2}, which is five times longer than 10 h for ITO-based device. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Investigation of Ag thickness effect on the properties of WO{sub 3}/Ag/MoO{sub 3} films. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Electrical conductivity of multilayer films increases with increasing Ag thickness. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Optical transmittance increases by Ag thickness and at 15 nm, reaches 81.7%. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Power efficiency of WO{sub 3}/Ag (15 nm)/MoO{sub 3} based devices is higher than that of

  16. Effect of BSO addition on Cu-O bond of GdBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-x} films with varying thickness probed by extended x-ray absorption fine structure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jeon, H. K.; Lee, J. K.; Yang, D. S.; Kang, B. [Chungbuk National University, Cheongju (Korea, Republic of); Kang, W. N. [Dept. of Physics, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-12-15

    We investigated the relation between the Cu-O bond length and the superconducting properties of BaSnO{sub 3} (BSO)-added GdBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-x} (GdBCO) thin films by using extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. 4 wt.% BaSnO{sub 3} (BSO) added GdBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-x} (GdBCO) thin films with varying thickness from 0.2 μm to 1.0 μm were fabricated by using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method. The transition temperature (T{sub c}) and the residual resistance ratio (RRR) of the GdBCO films increased with increasing thickness up to 0.8 μm, where the crystalline BSO has the highest peak intensity, and then decreased. This uncommon behaviors of T{sub c} and RRR are likely to be created by the addition of BSO, which may change the ordering of GdBCO atomic bonds. Analysis from the Cu K-edge EXAFS spectroscopy showed an interesting thickness dependence of ordering behavior of BSO-added GdBCO films. It is noticeable that the ordering of Cu-O bond and the transition temperature are found to show opposite behaviors in the thickness dependence. Based on these results, the growth of BSO seemingly have evident effect on the alteration of the local structure of GdBCO film.

  17. Gate-controlled metal-insulator transition in the LaAlO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3} system with sub-critical LaAlO{sub 3} thickness

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Joon Sung; Lee, Seung Ran; Chang, Jung-Won; Noh, Hyunho; Baasandorj, Lkhagvasuren; Shim, Seung-Bo; Kim, Jinhee [Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, Daejeon 305-600 (Korea, Republic of); Seung, Sang Keun; Shin, Hyun Sup; Song, Jonghyun [Department of Physics, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 305-764 (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-12-15

    We studied the electrical conduction in the LaAlO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3} (LAO/STO) interface electron system with a sub-critical LAO layer thickness of {proportional_to}3.5 unit cells (uc). It was found that the true dividing point between metallic and insulating behaviour without gating lies near the LAO thickness of 3.5 uc. Our marginally metallic 3.5 uc sample showed a sharp transition to insulating state at temperatures which strongly depended on the applied negative back-gate voltage. The superior gate-controllability of the sample was attributed to its sheet carrier density which was an order of magnitude lower than those of conducting LAO/STO samples with 4 uc or more of LAO layers. (copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  18. A sub-cm micromachined electron microscope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feinerman, A. D.; Crewe, D. A.; Perng, D. C.; Shoaf, S. E.; Crewe, A. V.

    1993-01-01

    A new approach for fabricating macroscopic (approximately 10x10x10 mm(exp 3)) structures with micron accuracy has been developed. This approach combines the precision of semiconductor processing and fiber optic technologies. A (100) silicon wafer is anisotropically etched to create four orthogonal v-grooves and an aperture on each 10x12 mm die. Precision 308 micron optical fibers are sandwiched between the die to align the v-grooves. The fiber is then anodically bonded to the die above and below it. This procedure is repeated to create thick structures and a stack of 5 or 6 die will be used to create a miniature scanning electron microscope (MSEM). Two die in the structure will have a segmented electrode to deflect the beam and correct for astigmatism. The entire structure is UHV compatible. The performance of an SEM improves as its length is reduced and a sub-cm 2 keV MSEM with a field emission source should have approximately 1 nm resolution. A low voltage high resolution MSEM would be useful for the examination of biological specimens and semiconductors with a minimum of damage. The first MSEM will be tested with existing 6 micron thermionic sources. In the future a micromachined field emission source will be used. The stacking technology presented in this paper can produce an array of MSEMs 1 to 30 mm in length with a 1 mm or larger period. A key question being addressed by this research is the optimum size for a low voltage MSEM which will be determined by the required spatial resolution, field of view, and working distance.

  19. Ellipsometric investigation of nitrogen doped diamond thin films grown in microwave CH{sub 4}/H{sub 2}/N{sub 2} plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ficek, Mateusz, E-mail: rbogdan@eti.pg.gda.pl [Department of Metrology and Optoelectronics, Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics, Gdansk University of Technology, 11/12 G. Narutowicza St., 80-233 Gdansk (Poland); Institute for Materials Research (IMO), Hasselt University, Wetenschapspark 1, B-3590 Diepenbeek (Belgium); Sankaran, Kamatchi J.; Haenen, Ken [Institute for Materials Research (IMO), Hasselt University, Wetenschapspark 1, B-3590 Diepenbeek (Belgium); IMOMEC, IMEC vzw, Wetenschapspark 1, B-3590 Diepenbeek (Belgium); Ryl, Jacek; Darowicki, Kazimierz [Department of Electrochemistry, Corrosion and Material Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, 11/12 Narutowicza St., 80-233 Gdansk (Poland); Bogdanowicz, Robert [Department of Metrology and Optoelectronics, Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics, Gdansk University of Technology, 11/12 G. Narutowicza St., 80-233 Gdansk (Poland); Materials and Process Simulation Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125 (United States); Lin, I-Nan [Department of Physics, Tamkang University, Tamsui 251, Taiwan (China)

    2016-06-13

    The influence of N{sub 2} concentration (1%–8%) in CH{sub 4}/H{sub 2}/N{sub 2} plasma on structure and optical properties of nitrogen doped diamond (NDD) films was investigated. Thickness, roughness, and optical properties of the NDD films in the VIS–NIR range were investigated on the silicon substrates using spectroscopic ellipsometry. The samples exhibited relatively high refractive index (2.6 ± 0.25 at 550 nm) and extinction coefficient (0.05 ± 0.02 at 550 nm) with a transmittance of 60%. The optical investigation was supported by the molecular and atomic data delivered by Raman studies, bright field transmission electron microscopy imaging, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy diagnostics. Those results revealed that while the films grown in CH{sub 4}/H{sub 2} plasma contained micron-sized diamond grains, the films grown using CH{sub 4}/H{sub 2}/(4%)N{sub 2} plasma exhibited ultranano-sized diamond grains along with n-diamond and i-carbon clusters, which were surrounded by amorphous carbon grain boundaries.

  20. Sensitivity of MODIS 2.1 micron Channel for Off-Nadir View Angles for Use in Remote Sensing of Aerosol

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gatebe, C. K.; King, M. D.; Tsay, S.-C.; Ji, Q.

    2000-01-01

    Remote sensing of aerosol over land, from MODIS will be based on dark targets using mid-IR channels 2.1 and 3.9 micron. This approach was developed by Kaufman et al (1997), who suggested that dark surface reflectance in the red (0.66 micron -- rho(sub 0.66)) channel is half of that at 2.2 micron (rho(sub 2.2)), and the reflectance in the blue (0.49 micron - rho(sub 0.49)) channel is a quarter of that at 2.2 micron. Using this relationship, the surface reflectance in the visible channels can be predicted within Delta.rho(sub 0.49) approximately Delat.rho(sub 0.66) approximately 0.006 from rho(sub 2.2) for rho(sub 2.2) view angle - the nadir (theta = 0 deg). Considering the importance of the results in remote sensing of aerosols over land surfaces from space, we are validating the relationships for off-nadir view angles using Cloud Absorption Radiometer (CAR) data. The CAR data are available for channels between 0.3 and 2.3 micron and for different surface types and conditions: forest, tundra, ocean, sea-ice, swamp, grassland and over areas covered with smoke. In this study we analyzed data collected during the Smoke, Clouds, and Radiation - Brazil (SCAR-B) experiment to validate Kaufman et al.'s (1997) results for non-nadir view angles. We will show the correlation between rho(sub 0.472), rho(sub 0.675), and rho(sub 2.2) for view angles between nadir (0 deg) and 55 deg off-nadir, and for different viewing directions in the backscatter and forward scatter directions.

  1. Epitaxial growth of 100-μm thick M-type hexaferrite crystals on wide bandgap semiconductor GaN/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hu, Bolin; Su, Zhijuan; Bennett, Steve; Chen, Yajie, E-mail: y.chen@neu.edu; Harris, Vincent G. [Center for Microwave Magnetic Materials and Integrated Circuits and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115 (United States)

    2014-05-07

    Thick barium hexaferrite BaFe{sub 12}O{sub 19} (BaM) films having thicknesses of ∼100 μm were epitaxially grown on GaN/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} substrates from a molten-salt solution by vaporizing the solvent. X-ray diffraction measurement verified the growth of BaM (001) textured growth of thick films. Saturation magnetization, 4πM{sub s}, was measured for as-grown films to be 4.6 ± 0.2 kG and ferromagnetic resonance measurements revealed a microwave linewidth of ∼100 Oe at X-band. Scanning electron microscopy indicated clear hexagonal crystals distributed on the semiconductor substrate. These results demonstrate feasibility of growing M-type hexaferrite crystal films on wide bandgap semiconductor substrates by using a simple powder melting method. It also presents a potential pathway for the integration of ferrite microwave passive devices with active semiconductor circuit elements creating system-on-a-wafer architectures.

  2. Discovering Motifs in Biological Sequences Using the Micron Automata Processor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roy, Indranil; Aluru, Srinivas

    2016-01-01

    Finding approximately conserved sequences, called motifs, across multiple DNA or protein sequences is an important problem in computational biology. In this paper, we consider the (l, d) motif search problem of identifying one or more motifs of length l present in at least q of the n given sequences, with each occurrence differing from the motif in at most d substitutions. The problem is known to be NP-complete, and the largest solved instance reported to date is (26,11). We propose a novel algorithm for the (l,d) motif search problem using streaming execution over a large set of non-deterministic finite automata (NFA). This solution is designed to take advantage of the micron automata processor, a new technology close to deployment that can simultaneously execute multiple NFA in parallel. We demonstrate the capability for solving much larger instances of the (l, d) motif search problem using the resources available within a single automata processor board, by estimating run-times for problem instances (39,18) and (40,17). The paper serves as a useful guide to solving problems using this new accelerator technology.

  3. A Method for Qualitative Mapping of Thick Oil Spills Using Imaging Spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Roger N.; Swayze, Gregg A.; Leifer, Ira; Livo, K. Eric; Lundeen, Sarah; Eastwood, Michael; Green, Robert O.; Kokaly, Raymond F.; Hoefen, Todd; Sarture, Charles; McCubbin, Ian; Roberts, Dar; Steele, Denis; Ryan, Thomas; Dominguez, Roseanne; Pearson, Neil; ,

    2010-01-01

    A method is described to create qualitative images of thick oil in oil spills on water using near-infrared imaging spectroscopy data. The method uses simple 'three-point-band depths' computed for each pixel in an imaging spectrometer image cube using the organic absorption features due to chemical bonds in aliphatic hydrocarbons at 1.2, 1.7, and 2.3 microns. The method is not quantitative because sub-pixel mixing and layering effects are not considered, which are necessary to make a quantitative volume estimate of oil.

  4. Thickness dependence of magnetization reversal mechanism in perpendicularly magnetized L1{sub 0} FePt films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bi, Mei; Wang, Xin, E-mail: xinwang@uestc.edu.cn; Lu, Haipeng; Zhang, Li; Deng, Longjiang; Xie, Jianliang

    2017-04-15

    We have studied the magnetic switching behavior of L1{sub 0}-ordered FePt films with varying thickness. It was found that coercivity is strongly dependent on the film thickness. The obvious variations of the coercivity in the thin films are confirmed by the measurements of structural and magnetic properties. With increasing thickness, the degree of L1{sub 0} chemical ordering increased, while the magnetization reversal process transforms from a pinned two-steps magnetization reversal to a comparatively smooth domain wall motion behavior. Although considering anisotropy, exchange interaction and applied magnetic field, the switching behavior in films is quite complex, the main features of the magnetization reversal mechanism can be understood by performing detailed investigation on the effect of the deposition temperature and the angle of magnetic field. - Highlights: • Series of FePt films with L1{sub 0} phase have been prepared. • We focused on the magnetization reversal mechanism with varying thicknesses. • The angle-dependence of switching process is revealed in the FePt films. • Different switching mechanisms were found by increasing the film thickness.

  5. Improved high temperature refractory. [MgCr/sub 2/O/sub 4/ composite with ZrO/sub 2/

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, J.P.; James, J.; Picciolo, J.J.

    1985-12-10

    A high chromia refractory composite has been developed with improved thermal shock resistance and containing about 5 to 30 wt % of unstabilized ZrO/sub 2/ having a temperature-dependent phase change resulting in large expansion mismatch between the ZrO/sub 2/ and the chromia matrix which causes microcracks to form during cooling in the high chromia matrix. The particle size preferably is primarily between about 0.6 to 5 microns and particularly below about 3 microns with an average size in the order of 1.2 to 1.8 microns.

  6. Grain orientation and strain measurements in sub-micron wide passivated individual aluminum test structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tamura, N.; Valek, B.C.; Spolenak, R.; MacDowell, A.A.; Celestre, R.S.; Padmore, H.A.; Brown, W.L.; Marieb, T.; Bravman, J.C.; Batterman, B.W.; Patel, J.R.

    2001-01-01

    An X-ray microdiffraction dedicated beamline, combining white and monochromatic beam capabilities, has been built at the Advanced Light Source. The purpose of this beamline is to address the myriad of problems in Materials Science and Physics that require submicron x-ray beams for structural characterization. Many such problems are found in the general area of thin films and nano-materials. For instance, the ability to characterize the orientation and strain state in individual grains of thin films allows us to measure structural changes at a very local level. These microstructural changes are influenced heavily by such parameters as deposition conditions and subsequent treatment. The accurate measurement of strain gradients at the micron and sub-micron level finds many applications ranging from the strain state under nano-indenters to gradients at crack tips. Undoubtedly many other applications will unfold in the future as we gain experience with the capabilities and limitations of this instrument. We have applied this technique to measure grain orientation and residual stress in single grains of pure Al interconnect lines and preliminary results on post-electromigration test experiments are presented. It is shown that measurements with this instrument can be used to resolve the complete stress tensor (6 components) in a submicron volume inside a single grain of Al under a passivation layer with an overall precision of about 20 MPa. The microstructure of passivated lines appears to be complex, with grains divided into identifiable subgrains and noticeable local variations of both tensile/compressive and shear stresses within single grains

  7. K/sub Ic/ and J/sub Ic/ of Westerly granite: effects of thickness and in-plane dimensions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmidt, R.A.; Lutz, T.J.

    1978-01-01

    An investigation is described in which tensile properties, fracture toughness, and critical J integral are measured for Westerly granite, a rock that is widely used in rock mechanics studies. This was primarily a parameter sensitivity study in which the effects of specimen dimensions and testing techniques were assessed. It is hoped that this study will aid in establishing tentative standards and guidelines for fracture toughness testing of rock as well as indicate the feasibility of using a J integral fracture criterion for this material. ASTM standard specimen configurations of the compact and bend types were tested with compact specimens ranging in width from W = 25.4 mm to W = 406.4 mm (0.5T to 8T) and with thickness ranging from 13 mm to 100 mm. A series of 4T compact specimens were tested to assess the effects of thickness and fatigue precracking. Techniques are described that enable several values of K/sub Ic/, a complete J vs crack growth curve, and a J/sub Ic/ value to be obtained from each sample. Direct-pull tension tests on shaped specimens of Westerly granite are described which indicate a high degree of nonlinear, inelastic behavior. This fact raises questions about the use of LEFM, but the J/sub Ic/ data presented appear to validate the K/sub Ic/ measurements

  8. Observing the semiconducting band-gap alignment of MoS{sub 2} layers of different atomic thicknesses using a MoS{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2}/Si heterojunction tunnel diode

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nishiguchi, Katsuhiko, E-mail: nishiguchi.katsuhiko@lab.ntt.co.jp; Yamaguchi, Hiroshi; Fujiwara, Akira [NTT Basic Research Laboratories, 3-1 Morinosato Wakamiya, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0198 (Japan); Castellanos-Gomez, Andres; Zant, Herre S. J. van der; Steele, Gary A. [Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg 1, 2628CJ Delft (Netherlands)

    2015-08-03

    We demonstrate a tunnel diode composed of a vertical MoS{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2}/Si heterostructure. A MoS{sub 2} flake consisting four areas of different thicknesses functions as a gate terminal of a silicon field-effect transistor. A thin gate oxide allows tunneling current to flow between the n-type MoS{sub 2} layers and p-type Si channel. The tunneling-current characteristics show multiple negative differential resistance features, which we interpret as an indication of different conduction-band alignments of the MoS{sub 2} layers of different thicknesses. The presented tunnel device can be also used as a hybrid-heterostructure device combining the advantages of two-dimensional materials with those of silicon transistors.

  9. Critical thickness of high structural quality SrTiO{sub 3} films grown on orthorhombic (101) DyScO{sub 3}.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Biegalski, M. D.; Trolier-McKinstry, S.; Nelson, C. T.; Schlom, D. G.; Fong, D. D.; Eastman, J. A.; Fuoss, P. H.; Streiffer, S. K.; Heeg, T.; Schubert, J.; Tian, W.; Pan, X. Q.; Hawley, M. E.; Bernhagen, M.; Reiche, P.; Uecker, R.; Pennsylvania State Univ.; Forschungszentrum Julich; Univ. Michigan; LANL; Max-Born-Strabe

    2008-12-01

    Strained epitaxial SrTiO{sub 3} films were grown on orthorhombic (101) DyScO{sub 3} substrates by reactive molecular-beam epitaxy. The epitaxy of this substrate/film combination is cube on cube with a pseudocubic out-of-plane (001) orientation. The strain state and structural perfection of films with thicknesses ranging from 50 to 1000 {angstrom} were examined using x-ray scattering. The critical thickness at which misfit dislocations was introduced was between 350 and 500 {angstrom}. These films have the narrowest rocking curves (full width at half maximum) ever reported for any heteroepitaxial oxide film (0.0018{sup o}). Only a modest amount of relaxation is seen in films exceeding the critical thicknesses even after postdeposition annealing at 700 C in 1 atm of oxygen. The dependence of strain relaxation on crystallographic direction is attributed to the anisotropy of the substrate. These SrTiO{sub 3} films show structural quality more typical of semiconductors such as GaAs and silicon than perovskite materials; their structural relaxation behavior also shows similarity to that of compound semiconductor films.

  10. Ceramic thick film humidity sensor based on MgTiO{sub 3} + LiF

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kassas, Ahmad, E-mail: a.kassas.mcema@ul.edu.lb [Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Veterinary Medicine, Laboratory of Materials, Catalysis, Environment and Analytical Methods (MCEMA), Faculty of Sciences and Doctoral School of Sciences and Technology (EDST), Lebanese University, Hariri Campus, Hadath, Beirut (Lebanon); Laboratoire Universitaire des Sciences Appliquées de Cherbourg (LUSAC), 50130 Cherbourg-Octeville (France); Bernard, Jérôme; Lelièvre, Céline; Besq, Anthony; Guhel, Yannick; Houivet, David; Boudart, Bertrand [Laboratoire Universitaire des Sciences Appliquées de Cherbourg (LUSAC), 50130 Cherbourg-Octeville (France); Lakiss, Hassan [Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Veterinary Medicine, Laboratory of Materials, Catalysis, Environment and Analytical Methods (MCEMA), Faculty of Sciences and Doctoral School of Sciences and Technology (EDST), Lebanese University, Hariri Campus, Hadath, Beirut (Lebanon); Faculty of Engineering, Section III, Hariri Campus, Hadath, Beirut (Lebanon); Hamieh, Tayssir [Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Veterinary Medicine, Laboratory of Materials, Catalysis, Environment and Analytical Methods (MCEMA), Faculty of Sciences and Doctoral School of Sciences and Technology (EDST), Lebanese University, Hariri Campus, Hadath, Beirut (Lebanon)

    2013-10-15

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • The fabricated sensor based on MgTiO{sub 3} + LiF materials used the spin coating technology. • The response time is 70 s to detect variation between 5 and 95% relative humidity. • The addition of Scleroglucan controls the viscosity and decreases the roughness of thick film surface. • This humidity sensor is a promising, low-cost, high-quality, reliable ceramic films, that is highly sensitive to humidity. - Abstract: The feasibility of humidity sensor, consisting of a thick layer of MgTiO{sub 3}/LiF materials on alumina substrate, was studied. The thermal analysis TGA-DTGA and dilatometric analysis worked out to confirm the sintering temperature. An experimental plan was applied to describe the effects of different parameters in the development of the thick film sensor. Structural and microstructural characterizations of the developed thick film were made. Rheological study with different amounts of a thickener (scleroglucan “sclg”), showing the behavior variation, as a function of sclg weight % was illustrated and rapprochement with the results of thickness variation as a function of angular velocity applied in the spin coater. The electrical and dielectric measurements confirmed the sensitivity of the elaborated thick film against moisture, along with low response time.

  11. Density, thickness and composition measurements of TiO{sub 2} -SiO{sub 2} thin films by coupling X-ray reflectometry, ellipsometry and electron probe microanalysis-X

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hodroj, A. [Laboratoire des Materiaux et du Genie Physique (UMR 5628 CNRS), Ecole Nationale Superieure de Physique de Grenoble, Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, Minatec, 3 parvis Louis Neel, BP 257, 38016 Grenoble Cedex 1 (France)]. E-mail: abbas.hodroj@inpg.fr; Roussel, H. [Laboratoire des Materiaux et du Genie Physique (UMR 5628 CNRS), Ecole Nationale Superieure de Physique de Grenoble, Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, Minatec, 3 parvis Louis Neel, BP 257, 38016 Grenoble Cedex 1 (France); Crisci, A. [Consortium des Moyens Technologiques Communs, Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, BP 75, 38402 St. Martin d' Heres (France); Robaut, F. [Consortium des Moyens Technologiques Communs, Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, BP 75, 38402 St. Martin d' Heres (France); Gottlieb, U. [Laboratoire des Materiaux et du Genie Physique (UMR 5628 CNRS), Ecole Nationale Superieure de Physique de Grenoble, Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, Minatec, 3 parvis Louis Neel, BP 257, 38016 Grenoble Cedex 1 (France); Deschanvres, J.L. [Laboratoire des Materiaux et du Genie Physique (UMR 5628 CNRS), Ecole Nationale Superieure de Physique de Grenoble, Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, Minatec, 3 parvis Louis Neel, BP 257, 38016 Grenoble Cedex 1 (France)

    2006-10-31

    Mixed TiO{sub 2} -SiO{sub 2} thin films were deposited by aerosol atmospheric CVD method by using di-acetoxi di-butoxi silane (DADBS) and Ti tetra-butoxide as precursors. By varying the deposition temperatures between 470 and 600 deg. C and the ratios between the Si and Ti precursors (Si/Ti) from 2 up to 16, films with different compositions and thicknesses were deposited. The coupled analysis of the results of different characterisation methods was used in order to determine the variation of the composition, the thickness and the density of the films. First EPMA measurements were performed at different acceleration voltages with a Cameca SX50 system. By analysing, with specific software, the evolution of the intensity ratio I {sub x}/I {sub std} versus the voltage, the composition and the mass thickness (product of density by the thickness) were determined. In order to measure independently the density, X-ray reflectometry experiments were performed. By analysing the value of the critical angle and the Kiessig fringes, the density and the thickness of the layers were determined. The refractive index and the thickness of the films were also measured by ellipsometry. By assuming a linear interpolation between the index value of the pure SiO{sub 2} and TiO{sub 2} films, the film composition was deduced from the refractive index value. XPS measurements were also performed in order to obtain an independent value of the composition. A good agreement between the ways to measure the density is obtained.

  12. Fabrication of Au{sub nanoparticle}@mSiO{sub 2}@Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Eu nanocomposites with enhanced fluorescence

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Huiqin [Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule Chemistry (Ministry of Education), Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Physico-Inorganic Chemistry, College of Chemistry & Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi' an, 710069 (China); College of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Baoji University of Arts & Sciences, Baoji, 721013 (China); Kang, Jianmiao [Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule Chemistry (Ministry of Education), Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Physico-Inorganic Chemistry, College of Chemistry & Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi' an, 710069 (China); Yang, Jianhui, E-mail: jianhui@nwu.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule Chemistry (Ministry of Education), Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Physico-Inorganic Chemistry, College of Chemistry & Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi' an, 710069 (China); Wu, Biao, E-mail: wubiao@nwu.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule Chemistry (Ministry of Education), Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Physico-Inorganic Chemistry, College of Chemistry & Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi' an, 710069 (China)

    2016-07-15

    Herein, Au{sub nanoparticle}@mSiO{sub 2}@Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Eu nanocomposites are synthesized through layer-by-layer assembly technology. Au{sub nanoparticle}@mSiO{sub 2} core–shell nanospheres were prepared at first in the presence of CTAB in aqueous solution system by the modified one-pot method. A chemical precipitation method and a succeeding calcination process were adopted to the growth of Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Eu shells on the surfaces of Au{sub nanoparticle}@mSiO{sub 2} core–shell nanospheres. The structure, morphology and composition of the nanocomposites were confirmed by XRD, TEM and UV–vis absorption spectrum. The prepared Au{sub nanoparticle}@mSiO{sub 2}@Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Eu nanocomposites have showed the emission intensity enhances to 6.23 times at 30 nm thickness of the silica spacer between the core of Au nanoparticle and the shell of Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Eu. According to the observations of fluorescent lifetime and the modeling of local electric field, the metal-enhanced and quenched fluorescence is closely related with the enhancement of excitation and radiative decay rate and the quenching by NRET comes as a result of competition between the distance-dependent mechanisms. This kind of multifunctional inorganic material will be widely used in electronics, biology and medical drug loading, etc. - Highlights: • Fabrication of Au{sub nanoparticle}@mSiO{sub 2}@Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Eu nanocomposites with core-spacer-shell structure. • The controllable fluorescence is achieved by adjusting the spacer thickness of silica. • The fluorescence enhancement is 6.23-fold at an optimal spacer thickness about 30 nm. • The metal-enhanced fluorescence mechanism is proposed.

  13. Correlation of CsK{sub 2}Sb photocathode lifetime with antimony thickness

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mamun, M. A., E-mail: mmamu001@odu.edu; Elmustafa, A. A. [Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia 23529 (United States); The Applied Research Center, Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Newport News, Virginia 23606 (United States); Hernandez-Garcia, C.; Poelker, M. [Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Newport News, Virginia 23606 (United States)

    2015-06-01

    CsK{sub 2}Sb photocathodes with quantum efficiency on the order of 10% at 532 nm, and lifetime greater than 90 days at low voltage, were successfully manufactured via co-deposition of alkali species emanating from an effusion source. Photocathodes were characterized as a function of antimony layer thickness and alkali consumption, inside a vacuum chamber that was initially baked, but frequently vented without re-baking. Photocathode lifetime measured at low voltage is correlated with the antimony layer thickness. Photocathodes manufactured with comparatively thick antimony layers exhibited the best lifetime. We speculate that the antimony layer serves as a reservoir, or sponge, for the alkali.

  14. Micron Scale Mineralogy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caldwell, W. A.; Tamura, N.; Celestre, R. S.; Padmore, H. A.; Patel, J. R.

    2002-12-01

    Although x-ray diffraction has been used for nearly a century as the mineralogist's definitive tool in determining crystalline structures, it has proved impossible to use this technique to spatially resolve the highly heterogeneous nature of many minerals at the mesoscopic level. Due to recent revolutions in the brightness of x-ray sources and in our ability to focus x-rays, we can now carry out conventional monochromatic rotation crystallography as well as Laue diffraction with sub-micron spatial resolution and produce maps of orientation, strain, mineral type, and even chemical speciation over tens of microns in a short amount of time. We have pioneered the development of these techniques at the 3rd generation synchrotron radiation source (Advanced Light Source) in Berkeley, and will describe their application to understanding the structure of a quartz-geode. Our results show the manner in which grain structure and texture change as a function of distance from the cavity wall and are compared with models of crystal growth in such systems. This example highlights the great utility of a synchrotron based x-ray micro-diffraction beamline and the possibilities it opens to the mineralogist.

  15. Electromechanical characterization of individual micron-sized metal coated polymer particles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bazilchuk, Molly; Kristiansen, Helge [Department of Structural Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim 7491 (Norway); Conpart AS, Skjetten 2013 (Norway); Pettersen, Sigurd Rolland; Zhang, Zhiliang; He, Jianying, E-mail: jianying.he@ntnu.no [Department of Structural Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim 7491 (Norway)

    2016-06-28

    Micron-sized polymer particles with nanoscale metal coatings are essential in conductive adhesives for electronics assembly. The particles function in a compressed state in the adhesives. The link between mechanical properties and electrical conductivity is thus of the utmost importance in the formation of good electrical contact. A custom flat punch set-up based on nanoindentation has been developed to simultaneously deform and electrically probe individual particles. The set-up has a sufficiently low internal resistance to allow the measurement of sub-Ohm contact resistances. Additionally, the set-up can capture mechanical failure of the particles. Combining this data yields a fundamental understanding of contact behavior. We demonstrate that this method can clearly distinguish between particles of different sizes, with different thicknesses of metal coating, and different metallization schemes. The technique provides good repeatability and physical insight into the behavior of these particles that can guide adhesive design and the optimization of bonding processes.

  16. Electromechanical characterization of individual micron-sized metal coated polymer particles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bazilchuk, Molly; Kristiansen, Helge; Pettersen, Sigurd Rolland; Zhang, Zhiliang; He, Jianying

    2016-01-01

    Micron-sized polymer particles with nanoscale metal coatings are essential in conductive adhesives for electronics assembly. The particles function in a compressed state in the adhesives. The link between mechanical properties and electrical conductivity is thus of the utmost importance in the formation of good electrical contact. A custom flat punch set-up based on nanoindentation has been developed to simultaneously deform and electrically probe individual particles. The set-up has a sufficiently low internal resistance to allow the measurement of sub-Ohm contact resistances. Additionally, the set-up can capture mechanical failure of the particles. Combining this data yields a fundamental understanding of contact behavior. We demonstrate that this method can clearly distinguish between particles of different sizes, with different thicknesses of metal coating, and different metallization schemes. The technique provides good repeatability and physical insight into the behavior of these particles that can guide adhesive design and the optimization of bonding processes.

  17. High intensity laser interactions with sub-micron droplets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mountford, L.C.

    1999-01-01

    A high-density source of liquid ethanol droplets has been developed, characterised and used in laser interaction studies for the first time. Mie Scattering and attenuation measurements show that droplets with a radius of (0.5 ± 0.1) μm and atomic densities of 10 19 atoms/cm 3 can be produced, bridging the gap between clusters and macroscopic solids. Lower density (10 16 cm -3 ) sprays can also be produced and these are electrostatically split into smaller droplets with a radius of (0.3 ± 0.1) μm. This work has been accepted for publication in Review of Scientific Instruments. A range of high intensity interaction experiments have been carried out with this unique sub-micron source. The absolute yield of keV x-rays, generated using 527 nm, 2 ps pulses focused to ∼10 17 W/cm 2 , was measured for the first time. ∼7 μJ of x-rays with photon energies above 1 keV were produced, comparable to yields obtained from much higher Z Xenon clusters. At intensities ≤10 16 W/cm 2 the yield from droplets exceeds that from solid targets of similar Z. The droplet medium is debris free and self-renewing, providing a suitable x-ray source for lithographic techniques. Due to the spacing between the droplets, it was expected that the droplet plasma temperature would exceed that of a solid target plasma, which is typically limited by rapid heat conduction to <1 keV. Analysis of the x-ray data shows this to be true with a mean droplet plasma temperature of (2 ± 0.8) keV, and a number of measurements exceeding 5 keV (to appear in Applied Physics Letters). The absorption of high intensity laser pulses in the dense spray has been measured for the first time and this was found to be wavelength and polarisation independent and in excess of 60%. These first interaction measurements clearly indicate that there are significant differences between the laser heating of droplet, solid and cluster targets. (author)

  18. Effect of the thickness reduction on the structural, surface and magnetic properties of α-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aragón, Fermin F.H., E-mail: fherrera@fis.unb.br [Núcleo de Física Aplicada, Instituto de Física, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF 70910-900 (Brazil); Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear, CDTN, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil); Ardisson, José D. [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear, CDTN, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil); Aquino, Juan C.R. [Núcleo de Física Aplicada, Instituto de Física, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF 70910-900 (Brazil); Gonzalez, Ismael; Macedo, Waldemar A.A. [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear, CDTN, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil); Coaquira, José A.H.; Mantilla, John; Silva, Sebastião W. da; Morais, Paulo C. [Núcleo de Física Aplicada, Instituto de Física, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF 70910-900 (Brazil)

    2016-05-31

    Hematite (α-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}) polycrystalline thin films of different thicknesses were produced by thermal oxidation in air atmosphere from Fe metallic thin-films deposited by radio frequency (RF) sputtering technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns confirm the formation of hematite phase in all samples and indicate that the mean grain size decreases as the film thickness becomes thinner. Conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy (CEMS) spectra at room temperature show magnetic splitting (six line patterns). It is determined that the resonance peaks become broader and asymmetric as the film thickness decreases. This finding was associated with the structural disorder introduced by the thickness reduction. Magnetization as a function of the magnetic field curve obtained at 300 K shows the presence of a weak-ferromagnetic contribution, which was assigned to the large density of decompensated spins at the films surface. From the magnetization vs. temperature curves it has been determined that the Morin transition temperature (T{sub M}) is shifted from ~ 240 K to ~ 196 K, meanwhile it becomes more broadened as the film thickness decreases. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements show the presence of Fe{sup 2+} ions coexisting with Fe{sup 3+} ions whose population increases as the film becomes thinner. The density of chemisorbed oxygen increases as the film thickness is reduced in agreement with the results obtained from the other measurements in this work. - Highlights: • Hematite thin films with different thickness were deposited by RF sputtering technique. • X-ray diffraction patterns confirm the formation of hematite phase in all samples. • Hysteresis curve at 300 K shows the presence of a weak-ferromagnetic phase. • XPS show the presence of Fe{sup 2+} ions coexisting with Fe{sup 3+} ions.

  19. Nanostructured MgTiO{sub 3} thick films obtained by electrophoretic deposition from nanopowders prepared by solar PVD

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Apostol, Irina [S.C. IPEE Amiral Trading Impex S.A., 115300 Curtea de Arges (Romania); Mahajan, Amit [Department of Materials and Ceramics Engineering, Centre for Research in Ceramics and Composite Materials, CICECO, University of Aveiro, 3810-093 Aveiro (Portugal); Monty, Claude J.A. [CNRS-PROMES Laboratory, 66120 Font Romeu Odeillo (France); Venkata Saravanan, K., E-mail: venketvs@cutn.ac.in [Department of Materials and Ceramics Engineering, Centre for Research in Ceramics and Composite Materials, CICECO, University of Aveiro, 3810-093 Aveiro (Portugal); Department of Physics, School of Basic and Applied Science, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur 61010 (India)

    2015-12-15

    Highlights: • Obtaining nano-crystalline magnesium titanium oxide powders by solar physical vapor deposition (SPVD) process. And using these nano-powders to obtain thick films on conducting substrates by electrophoretic deposition (EPD). • SPVD is a core innovative, original and environmentally friendly process to prepare nano-materials in a powder form. • Sintered thick films exhibited dielectric constant, ε{sub r} ∼18.3 and dielectric loss, tan δ ∼0.0012 at 1 MHz, which is comparable to the values reported earlier. • New contributions to the pool of information on the preparation of nano-structured MgTiO{sub 3} thick films at low temperatures. • A considerable decrease in synthesis temperature of pure MgTiO{sub 3} thick film was observed by the combination of SPVD and EPD. - Abstract: A novel combination of solar physical vapor deposition (SPVD) and electrophoretic deposition (EPD) that was developed to grow MgTiO{sub 3} nanostructured thick films is presented. Obtaining nanostructured MgTiO{sub 3} thick films, which can replace bulk ceramic components, a major trend in electronic industry, is the main objective of this work. The advantage of SPVD is direct synthesis of nanopowders, while EPD is simple, fast and inexpensive technique for preparing thick films. SPVD technique was developed at CNRS-PROMES Laboratory, Odeillo-Font Romeu, France, while the EPD was performed at University of Aveiro – DeMAC/CICECO, Portugal. The nanopowders with an average crystallite size of about 30 nm prepared by SPVD were dispersed in 50 ml of acetone in basic media with addition of triethanolamine. The obtained well-dispersed and stable suspensions were used for carrying out EPD on 25 μm thick platinum foils. After deposition, films with thickness of about 22–25 μm were sintered in air for 15 min at 800, 900 and 1000 °C. The structural and microstructural characterization of the sintered thick films was carried out using XRD and SEM, respectively. The

  20. Thickness control in electrophoretic deposition of WO{sub 3} nanofiber thin films for solar water splitting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fang, Yuanxing; Lee, Wei Cheat; Canciani, Giacomo E.; Draper, Thomas C.; Al-Bawi, Zainab F. [Department of Chemistry, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QJ (United Kingdom); Bedi, Jasbir S. [School of Public Health & Zoonoses, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana 141004 Punjab (India); Perry, Christopher C. [Division of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92350 (United States); Chen, Qiao, E-mail: qiao.chen@sussex.ac.uk [Department of Chemistry, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QJ (United Kingdom)

    2015-12-15

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • A novel method combining electrospinning and electrophoretic deposition was established for the creation of nanostructured semiconductor thin films. • The created thin films displayed a high chemical stability with a controllable thickness. • The PEC water splitting performance of the thin films was optimized by fine-tuning the thickness of the films. • A maximum photoconversion efficiency was achieved by 18 μm nanofibrous thin films. - Abstract: Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of ground electrospun WO{sub 3} nanofibers was applied to create photoanodes with controlled morphology for the application of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. The correlations between deposition parameters and film thicknesses were investigated with theoretical models to precisely control the morphology of the nanostructured porous thin film. The photoconversion efficiency was further optimized as a function of film thickness. A maximum photoconversion efficiency of 0.924% from electrospun WO{sub 3} nanofibers that EPD deposited on a substrate was achieved at a film thickness of 18 μm.

  1. Analysis of functional failure mode of commercial deep sub-micron SRAM induced by total dose irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zheng Qi-Wen; Cui Jiang-Wei; Zhou Hang; Yu De-Zhao; Yu Xue-Feng; Lu Wu; Guo Qi; Ren Di-Yuan

    2015-01-01

    Functional failure mode of commercial deep sub-micron static random access memory (SRAM) induced by total dose irradiation is experimentally analyzed and verified by circuit simulation. We extensively characterize the functional failure mode of the device by testing its electrical parameters and function with test patterns covering different functional failure modes. Experimental results reveal that the functional failure mode of the device is a temporary function interruption caused by peripheral circuits being sensitive to the standby current rising. By including radiation-induced threshold shift and off-state leakage current in memory cell transistors, we simulate the influence of radiation on the functionality of the memory cell. Simulation results reveal that the memory cell is tolerant to irradiation due to its high stability, which agrees with our experimental result. (paper)

  2. Determination of the lateral size and thickness of solution-processed graphene flakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Li-Shang; Bin-Tay, Wei; Aslam, Zabeada; Westwood, A. V. K.; Brydson, R.

    2017-09-01

    We present a method to determine the lateral size distribution of solution…processed graphene via direct image analysis techniques. Initially transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and optical microscopy (OM) were correlated and used to provide a reliable benchmark. A rapid, automated OM method was then developed to obtain the distribution from thousands of flakes, avoiding statistical uncertainties and providing high accuracy. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) was further employed to develop an in-situ method to derive the number particle size distribution (PSD) for a dispersion, with a deviation lower than 22% in the sub-micron regime. Methods for determining flake thickness are also discussed.

  3. Effect of the thickness of Zn(BTZ){sub 2} emitting layer on the electroluminescent spectra of white organic light-emitting diodes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhu, F.J. [Institute of Material Physics, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300191 (China); Hua, Y.L. [Institute of Material Physics, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300191 (China)]. E-mail: yulinhua@tjut.edu.cn; Yin, S.G. [Institute of Material Physics, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300191 (China); Deng, J.C. [Institute of Material Physics, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300191 (China); Wu, K.W. [Institute of Material Physics, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300191 (China); Niu, X. [Institute of Material Physics, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300191 (China); Wu, X.M. [Institute of Modern Optics, Nankai University, Tianjin 300191 (China); Petty, M.C. [Centre for Molecular and Nanoscale Electronics, University of Durham, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom)

    2007-01-15

    White organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are fabricated with a simple bilayer structure: ITO/TPD/ Zn(BTZ){sub 2}/Al. White emission is composed of two parts: one is 470 nm, which originates from exciton emission in Zn(BTZ){sub 2} emitting layer; the other is 580 nm, which originates from exciplexes formation at the interface of TPD and Zn(BTZ){sub 2}. Specially, the thickness of Zn(BTZ){sub 2} layer effects the relative intensity of two emissions. When the Zn(BTZ){sub 2} layer becomes thin (or thick), the 470 nm (or 580 nm) emission intensity turns into weak (or strong). Finally, We successfully fabricated pure white OLED when the thickness of Zn(BTZ){sub 2} layer was 65 nm.

  4. Critical thickness for strain relaxation of Ge{sub 1−x}Sn{sub x} (x ≤ 0.17) grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Ge(001)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Wei; Zhou, Qian; Dong, Yuan; Yeo, Yee-Chia, E-mail: yeo@ieee.org [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576 (Singapore); Tok, Eng Soon [Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117551 (Singapore)

    2015-06-08

    We investigated the critical thickness (h{sub c}) for plastic relaxation of Ge{sub 1−x}Sn{sub x} grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Ge{sub 1−x}Sn{sub x} films with various Sn mole fraction x (x ≤ 0.17) and different thicknesses were grown on Ge(001). The strain relaxation of Ge{sub 1−x}Sn{sub x} films and the h{sub c} were investigated by high-resolution x-ray diffraction and reciprocal space mapping. It demonstrates that the measured h{sub c} values of Ge{sub 1−x}Sn{sub x} layers are as much as an order of magnitude larger than that predicted by the Matthews and Blakeslee (M-B) model. The People and Bean (P-B) model was also used to predict the h{sub c} values in Ge{sub 1−x}Sn{sub x}/Ge system. The measured h{sub c} values for various Sn content follow the trend, but slightly larger than that predicted by the P-B model.

  5. Characterisation of sub-micron particle number concentrations and formation events in the western Bushveld Igneous Complex, South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Hirsikko

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available South Africa holds significant mineral resources, with a substantial fraction of these reserves occurring and being processed in a large geological structure termed the Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC. The area is also highly populated by informal, semi-formal and formal residential developments. However, knowledge of air quality and research related to the atmosphere is still very limited in the area. In order to investigate the characteristics and processes affecting sub-micron particle number concentrations and formation events, air ion and aerosol particle size distributions and number concentrations, together with meteorological parameters, trace gases and particulate matter (PM were measured for over two years at Marikana in the heart of the western BIC. The observations showed that trace gas (i.e. SO<sub>2sub>, NO<sub>x>, CO and black carbon concentrations were relatively high, but in general within the limits of local air quality standards. The area was characterised by very high condensation sink due to background aerosol particles, PM<sub>10sub> and O<sub>3sub> concentration. The results indicated that high amounts of Aitken and accumulation mode particles originated from domestic burning for heating and cooking in the morning and evening, while during daytime SO<sub>2sub>-based nucleation followed by the growth by condensation of vapours from industrial, residential and natural sources was the most probable source for large number concentrations of nucleation and Aitken mode particles. Nucleation event day frequency was extremely high, i.e. 86% of the analysed days, which to the knowledge of the authors is the highest frequency ever reported. The air mass back trajectory and wind direction analyses showed that the secondary particle formation was influenced both by local and regional pollution and vapour sources. Therefore, our observation of the annual cycle and magnitude of the particle formation and growth rates during

  6. Thickness dependence of electro-optical properties of WO{sub 3} films as an electrochromic functional material for energy-efficient applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Esmail, Ayat; Hashem, Hany; Soltan, Soltan; Hammam, Mahmoud; Ramadan, Ahmed [Faculty of Science, Department of Physics, Helwan University, Cairo (Egypt)

    2017-01-15

    WO{sub 3} films of different thicknesses (100, 200, and 300 nm) were prepared by two vacuum physical vapor deposition (PVD) methods (thermal evaporation and an electron gun). Electrophysical measurements (cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry) were carried out using a potentiostat in an electrochromic cell (liquid device) that consists of a substrate coated with double layers of F: SnO{sub 2} and WO{sub 3} served as working electrodes. X-ray diffraction showed an amorphous structure for all the deposited WO{sub 3} thin films. While the transmission in the bleached state does not change and it is close to the as-deposited state, it is slightly less at larger thickness. The cyclic voltammogram was more open (more current flow) for thicker films due to the less dense structure with many channels. Also, the coloration efficiency was higher at low thickness. The response time was of the order of seconds and decreased for coloration, while it increased for the bleaching process as the film thickness increases. According to the proposed figure of merit, the electrochromic performance deteriorates as the WO{sub 3} film thickness decreases. However, the thickness is more effective in the case of an electron gun. Generally, continuous films but thinner than 200 nm, are recommended for deposition methods. (copyright 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  7. [Normal macular thickness and volume using spectral domain optical coherence tomography in a reference population].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solé González, L; Abreu González, R; Alonso Plasencia, M; Abreu Reyes, P

    2013-09-01

    To establish normal values of macular thickness and volume obtained by the Cirrus SD-OCT (Carl ZeissMeditec, Dublin, CA, U.S.A.). Secondly, to assess the association between macular thickness and volume, sex and age. A prospective study was conducted on patients who were seen in a hospital Retina Unit, and who only had retinal disease in one eye. All the Macular Cube 512 × 128 scan protocols were performed by the same operator. Only the healthy eye was scanned in each patient. A total of 100 eyes of 100 patients were analysed. The mean central foveal thickness was 261.31 ± 17.67 microns, and was significantly (P<.05) higher in males (267.74 ± 16.98 microns) than in females (255.60 ± 16.40 microns). The mean obtained for the volume of the cube was 10.09 ± 0.37mm 3, and the mean thickness of 280.33 ± 10.34 cube um, with no statistically significant differences between gender being found (P<.05). The mean macular thickness is less at central level, increases in the inner perifoveal ring, and then decreases in the outer perifoveal ring. Furthermore, of all quadrants the greatest thickness was the nasal (328.27 ± 12.96 microns), followed by the upper (326.27 ± 11.89 microns), lower (322.53 ± 12.37mm) sectors, with the temporal sector being the thinnest (313.35 ± 14.20 microns). The mean age of the patients was 60.86 ± 14 years. The mean central foveal thickness and the thickness of the inner perifoveal ring are significantly higher in men than in women. Both the mean volume and thickness of the cube, as well as nasal and inner superior sectors decrease with age, being significantly only in women. Copyright © 2012 Sociedad Española de Oftalmología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  8. Influence of film thickness on structural, optical, and electrical properties of spray deposited antimony doped SnO{sub 2} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yadav, Abhijit A., E-mail: aay_physics@yahoo.co.in

    2015-09-30

    Transparent conducting antimony doped SnO{sub 2} thin films with varying thickness were deposited by chemical spray pyrolysis technique from non-aqueous solvent Propan-2-ol. The effect of film thickness on the properties of antimony doped SnO{sub 2} thin films have been studied. X-ray diffraction measurements showed tetragonal crystal structure of as-deposited antimony doped SnO{sub 2} films irrespective of film thickness. The surface morphology of antimony doped SnO{sub 2} thin film is spherical with the continuous distribution of grains. Electrical and optical properties were investigated by Hall Effect and optical measurements. The average optical transmittance of films decreased from 89% to 73% within the visible range (350–850 nm) with increase in film thickness. The minimum value of sheet resistance observed is 4.81 Ω/cm{sup 2}. The lowest resistivity found is 3.76 × 10{sup −4} Ω cm at 660 nm film thickness. - Highlights: • Effect of film thickness on the properties of antimony doped SnO{sub 2} thin films • Crystalline size in the range of 34–37 nm • Average transmittance decreased from 89% to 73% in the visible region. • Minimum sheet resistance of 4.81 Ω/cm{sup 2} • Lowest resistivity is found to be 3.76 × 10{sup −4} Ω cm at 660 nm film thickness.

  9. Prediction of total dose effects on sub-micron process metal oxide semiconductor devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kamimura, Hiroshi; Kato, Masataka.

    1991-01-01

    A method for correcting leakage currents is described to predict the radiation-induced threshold voltage shift of sub-micron MOSFETs. A practical model for predicting the leakage current generated by irradiation is also given on the basis of experimental results on 0.8-μm process MOSFETs. The constants in the threshold voltage shift model are determined from the 'true' I-V characteristic of the MOSFET, which is obtained by correction of leakage currents due to characteristic change of a parasitic transistor. In this way, the threshold voltage shift of the n-channel MOSFET irradiated at a low dose rate of 2 Gy(Si)/h was also calculated by using data from a high dose rate irradiation experiment (100 Gy(Si)/h, 5 h). The calculated result well represented the tendency of measured data on threshold voltage shift. The radiation-induced leakage current was considered to decay approximately in two exponential modes. The constants in this leakage current model were determined from the above high dose rate experiment. The response of leakage current predicted at a low dose rate of 2 Gy(Si)/h approximately agreed with that measured during and after irradiation. (author)

  10. Ultra-large current transport in thick SmBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7−x} films grown by reactive co-evaporation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, G.; Jin, H.J. [Department of Physics, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 120-750 (Korea, Republic of); Jo, W., E-mail: wmjo@ewha.ac.kr [Department of Physics, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 120-750 (Korea, Republic of); Nam, D.H.; Cheong, H. [Department of Physics, Sogang University, Seoul 121-742 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, H.S.; Oh, S.S.; Ko, R.K.; Jo, Y.S.; Ha, D.W. [The Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI), Changwon 641-120 (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-06-15

    Highlights: • Transport properties of 5 μm thick SmBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7−x} thin films were investigated. • Laser scanning microscopy was used to demonstrate local transport properties. • Temperature variable laser scanning microscopy shows correlation between structural and transport properties. • Optical measurements described nature of current transport properties in the coated conductors. - Abstract: Structural and transport properties of high performance SmBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7−x} coated conductors produced by a dual-chamber co-evaporation are presented. The 5 μm-thick SmBCO coated conductors grown on IBAD-MgO based Hastelloy metal templates show critical currents larger than 1020–1560 A/cm at 77 K and self-field. The current transport characteristics of the conductors are investigated by room-temperature thermoelectric microscopy and low-temperature bolometric microscopy. The local thermoelectric images show the tilted grains, grain boundaries, and microstructural defects on the surface of the coated conductors. The bias current-dependent bolometric response at low temperature displays the current of the local flux flow dissipation as an increasing bias. Furthermore, we measured micro-Raman scattering microscopic imaging on oxygen-related peaks of the conductors. Comparing the Raman signal images with the low temperature optical scanning maps, it is remarkable that the structural disorders represented by oxygen-related Raman peaks are closely related to the low temperature bolometric abnormalities. From this result, a nature of the dissipative current distribution in coated conductors is revealed. The scanning optical microscopic study will provide a promising method for quality assurance of coated conductors.

  11. Sub-cell turning to accomplish micron-level alignment of precision assemblies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumler, James J.; Buss, Christian

    2017-08-01

    Higher performance expectations for complex optical systems demand tighter alignment requirements for lens assembly alignment. In order to meet diffraction limited imaging performance over wide spectral bands across the UV and visible wavebands, new manufacturing approaches and tools must be developed if the optical systems will be produced consistently in volume production. This is especially applicable in the field of precision microscope objectives for life science, semiconductor inspection and laser material processing systems. We observe a rising need for the improvement in the optical imaging performance of objective lenses. The key challenge lies in the micron-level decentration and tilt of each lens element. One solution for the production of high quality lens systems is sub-cell assembly with alignment turning. This process relies on an automatic alignment chuck to align the optical axis of a mounted lens to the spindle axis of the machine. Subsequently, the mount is cut with diamond tools on a lathe with respect to the optical axis of the mount. Software controlled integrated measurement technology ensures highest precision. In addition to traditional production processes, further dimensions can be controlled in a very precise manner, e.g. the air gaps between the lenses. Using alignment turning simplifies further alignment steps and reduces the risk of errors. This paper describes new challenges in microscope objective design and manufacturing, and addresses difficulties with standard production processes. A new measurement and alignment technique is described, and strengths and limitations are outlined.

  12. Observations of the 63 micron forbidden O I line in Herbig-Haro objects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cohen, M.; Hollenbach, D.J.; Haas, M.R.; Erickson, E.F.

    1988-01-01

    The paper presents observations of the 63 micron forbidden O I line from Herbig-Haro objects and their exciting stars. Forbidden O I 63 micron emission is detected toward the HH-exciting stars T Tau, DG Tau, L1551 IRS 5, and toward the HH objects HH 7-11, HH 42A, and HH 43 which are displaced from their exciting stars. The forbidden O I emission is associated with these flows on the basis of its spatial coincidence and its negative radial velocities. If the exciting stars drive bipolar flows in which the 63 micron emission follows that at 6300 A, the absence of redshifted 63 micron lines from the three exciting stars might indicate that the disks hypothesized to overlie the receding lobes of these flows are still optically thick in the far-infrared. 50 references

  13. Forged HITEMAL: Al-based MMCs strengthened with nanometric thick Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} skeleton

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Balog, Martin, E-mail: ummsbama@savba.sk [Institute of Materials and Machine Mechanics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Racianska 75, 83102 Bratislava (Slovakia); Krizik, Peter; Nosko, Martin; Hajovska, Zuzana [Institute of Materials and Machine Mechanics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Racianska 75, 83102 Bratislava (Slovakia); Victoria Castro Riglos, Maria [Centro Atómico Bariloche, Av. Bustillo 9.500, 8400 Bariloche, Río Negro (Argentina); Rajner, Walter [New Materials Development GmbH, Römerstrasse 28, 83410 Laufen, Leobendorf (Germany); Liu, De-Shin [National Chung Cheng University, 168 University Rd., Min-Hsiung, 62102 Chia-Yi, Taiwan (China); Simancik, Frantisek [Institute of Materials and Machine Mechanics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Racianska 75, 83102 Bratislava (Slovakia)

    2014-09-08

    Bulk Al–Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} metal matrix composites (MMCs) named HITEMAL (high temperature aluminum) were fabricated in situ by forging compaction of five different types of gas-atomized commercial purity Al powders with a mean particle size in the range of 1–9 µm. As-forged HITEMAL consisted of (sub)micrometric Al grains (matrix) decorated with nanometric thick amorphous Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} (a-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}) skeleton. Low-angle grain boundaries (LAGBs) free of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} were located in the Al grain interior. The Al grain size and the portion of LAGBs increased with the increase in the relative powder surface area. As-forged HITEMAL shows excellent thermal stability up to 400 °C for 24 h. Annealing at temperatures ≥450 °C led to crystallization and morphological transformation from a-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} skeleton to nanometric γ-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} particles. Owing to the pinning effect of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} phase, no Al grain growth took place during annealing up to 500 °C. HITEMAL showed attractive mechanical properties especially when tested at 300 °C (yield strength up to 220 MPa, Young's modulus up to 58 GPa). Despite the presence of a nearly continuous a-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} skeleton along adjacent Al grains, forged HITEMAL materials had reasonable room temperature elongation of 7–26%. HITEMAL's elongation decreased as the Al grain size decreased and with increased testing temperature. The loss in elongation (uniform and total) was attributed to the inhomogeneous flow, which occurred due to high densities of high angle grain boundaries (dislocation sinks) and small content of LAGBs. The strength of HITEMAL stemmed from grain boundary mediated strengthening mechanisms. The results showed a positive deviation from the Hall–Petch plot, which is typical behavior of ultrafine-grained metals. Transformation of a-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} skeleton to γ-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} particles led to deterioration of the HITEMAL strength and Young's modulus.

  14. Stoichiometry, thickness and crystallinity of MOCVD grown Hg{sub 1x-y}Cd{sub x}Mn{sub y}Te determined by nuclear techniques of analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Studd, W.B.; Johnston, P.N.; Bubb, I.F. [Royal Melbourne Inst. of Tech., VIC (Australia); Leech, P.W. [Applied Research and Developement, Telecom Australia, Clayton, VIC (Australia)

    1993-12-31

    The quaternary semi-conductor Hg{sub 1-x-y}Cd{sub x}Mn{sub y}Te has been grown by Metal Organic Chemical Vapour Deposition using the Interdiffused Multi-layer Process. The layers have been analysed by Ion beam (PIXE, RBS, channeling) and related analytical techniques (EDXRF, XRD, RHEED) to obtain stoichiometric and structural information. The analysis shows that all four elements are present throughout the layer and that the elemental concentrations and thickness of the layer vary considerably over the film. Channeling, XRD and RHEED have been combined to show that the layer is polycrystalline. 14 refs., 3 figs.

  15. Stoichiometry, thickness and crystallinity of MOCVD grown Hg{sub 1x-y}Cd{sub x}Mn{sub y}Te determined by nuclear techniques of analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Studd, W B; Johnston, P N; Bubb, I F [Royal Melbourne Inst. of Tech., VIC (Australia); Leech, P W [Applied Research and Developement, Telecom Australia, Clayton, VIC (Australia)

    1994-12-31

    The quaternary semi-conductor Hg{sub 1-x-y}Cd{sub x}Mn{sub y}Te has been grown by Metal Organic Chemical Vapour Deposition using the Interdiffused Multi-layer Process. The layers have been analysed by Ion beam (PIXE, RBS, channeling) and related analytical techniques (EDXRF, XRD, RHEED) to obtain stoichiometric and structural information. The analysis shows that all four elements are present throughout the layer and that the elemental concentrations and thickness of the layer vary considerably over the film. Channeling, XRD and RHEED have been combined to show that the layer is polycrystalline. 14 refs., 3 figs.

  16. DNA-microarrays identification of Streptococcus mutans genes associated with biofilm thickness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Feldman Mark

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background A biofilm is a complex community of microorganisms that develop on surfaces in diverse environments. The thickness of the biofilm plays a crucial role in the physiology of the immobilized bacteria. The most cariogenic bacteria, mutans streptococci, are common inhabitants of a dental biofilm community. In this study, DNA-microarray analysis was used to identify differentially expressed genes associated with the thickness of S. mutans biofilms. Results Comparative transcriptome analyses indicated that expression of 29 genes was differentially altered in 400- vs. 100-microns depth and 39 genes in 200- vs. 100-microns biofilms. Only 10 S. mutans genes showed differential expression in both 400- vs. 100-microns and 200- vs. 100-microns biofilms. All of these genes were upregulated. As sucrose is a predominant factor in oral biofilm development, its influence was evaluated on selected genes expression in the various depths of biofilms. The presence of sucrose did not noticeably change the regulation of these genes in 400- vs. 100-microns and/or 200- vs. 100-microns biofilms tested by real-time RT-PCR. Furthermore, we analyzed the expression profile of selected biofilm thickness associated genes in the luxS- mutant strain. The expression of those genes was not radically changed in the mutant strain compared to wild-type bacteria in planktonic condition. Only slight downregulation was recorded in SMU.2146c, SMU.574, SMU.609, and SMU.987 genes expression in luxS- bacteria in biofilm vs. planktonic environments. Conclusion These findings reveal genes associated with the thickness of biofilms of S. mutans. Expression of these genes is apparently not regulated directly by luxS and is not necessarily influenced by the presence of sucrose in the growth media.

  17. Micron scale spectroscopic analysis of materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    James, David; Finlayson, Trevor; Prawer, Steven

    1991-01-01

    The goal of this proposal is the establishment of a facility which will enable complete micron scale spectroscopic analysis of any sample which can be imaged in the optical microscope. Current applications include studies of carbon fibres, diamond thin films, ceramics (zirconia and high T c superconductors), semiconductors, wood pulp, wool fibres, mineral inclusions, proteins, plant cells, polymers, fluoride glasses, and optical fibres. The range of interests crosses traditional discipline boundaries and augurs well for a truly interdisciplinary collaboration. Developments in instrumentation such as confocal imaging are planned to achieve sub-micron resolution, and advances in computer software and hardware will enable the aforementioned spectroscopies to be used to map molecular and crystalline phases on the surfaces of materials. Coupled with existing compositional microprobes (e.g. the proton microprobe) the possibilities for the development of new, powerful, hybrid imaging technologies appear to be excellent

  18. 1300 micron continuum observations of the Sagittarius B2 molecular cloud core

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goldsmith, P.F.; Snell, R.L.; Lis, D.C.

    1987-01-01

    Observations with 23-arcsec angular resolution are obtained of the continuum emission at 1300 microns wavelength from the central region of the Sgr B2 molecular cloud, which contains the north and middle high-mass star-forming regions and associated radio continuum and maser sources. The spatial resolution of the present data shows that the 1300-micron continuum emission peak is located at Sgr B2(N), in contrast to the midinfrared emission, which is centered on Sgr B2(M). Comparison with 53 micron data having comparable angular resolution suggests that there is optically thick foreground dust which prevents detection of Sgr B2(N) at wavelengths not greater than 100 microns. Within the about 1.5 x 3.5 pc region mapped, the total mass is 500,000 solar masses and the mean H2 density is 300,000/cu cm, somewhat larger than found in previous investigations. 27 references

  19. Survey of Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness in Anisometropic and Strabismic Amblyopia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reza Soltani Moghaddam

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available . To investigate the effect of anisometropic and strabismic amblyopia on the nerve fiber layer thickness. This cross-sectional study was done on 54 amblyopic subjects, equally in both strabismic and anisometropic groups. The thickness otonerve fiber layer measured in superior, inferior, nasal, temporal quadrants and as a whole in both eyes of both groups. The means of thickness were compared in amblyopic and sound eyes. In strabismus group, the average nerve fiber layer thickness of the sound eye , in superior, inferior, nasal and temporal quadrants and as a whole were 113.23±14, 117.37±25, 68.96±6, 69.55±14 and 93.40±8 microns respectively. In amblyopic eyes of the same group, these measurements were 103.11±18, 67.74±11, and 69.59±16 and 89.59±12 microns in superior, inferior, nasal, temporal quadrants and as whole respectively. In anisometropic groups, the sound eye measurements were as 130.96±22, 129.07±29, 80.62±12, and 83.88±20 and 107.7±13 microns in superior, inferior, nasal and temporal quadrants and as a whole orderly. In amblyopic eyes of this group the mean thicknesses were 115.63±29, 133.15±25, 78.8±15, 80.2±16 and 109.17±21 microns in superior, inferior, nasal, temporal quadrants and as a whole respectively. Statistically, there were no significant differences between amblyopic and sound eyes (P>0.5. Our study did not support any significant change in a nerve fiber layer thickness of amblyopic patients; however, decreased thickness in superior and nasal quadrants of strabismic amblyopia and except inferior quadrant and as a whole. These measurements may be a clue for management and prognosis of amblyopia in old age.

  20. Electrical properties and interfacial issues of high-k/Si MIS capacitors characterized by the thickness of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} interlayer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Xing; Liu, Hongxia, E-mail: hxliu@mail.xidian.edu.cn; Fei, Chenxi; Zhao, Lu; Chen, Shupeng; Wang, Shulong [Key Laboratory for Wide-Band Gap Semiconductor Materials and Devices of Education, School of Microelectronics, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071 (China)

    2016-06-15

    A thin Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} interlayer deposited between La{sub 2}O{sub 3} layer and Si substrate was used to scavenge the interfacial layer (IL) by blocking the out-diffusion of substrate Si. Some advantages and disadvantages of this method were discussed in detail. Evident IL reduction corroborated by the transmission electron microscopy results suggested the feasibility of this method in IL scavenging. Significant improvements in oxygen vacancy and leakage current characteristics were achieved as the thickness of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} interlayer increase. Meanwhile, some disadvantages such as the degradations in interface trap and oxide trapped charge characteristics were also observed.

  1. Experimental study on reactor neutron induced effect of deep sub-micron CMOS static random access memory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Shanchao; Guo Xiaoqiang; Lin Dongsheng; Chen Wei; Li Ruibin; Bai Xiaoyan; Wang Guizhen

    2010-01-01

    This paper investigates neutron irradiation effects of two kinds of commercial CMOS SRAM (static random access memory), of which one is 4M memory with the feature size of 0.25 μm and the other is 16M memory with the feature size of 0.13 μm. We designed a memory testing system of irradiation effects and performed the neutron irradiation experiment using the Xi'an Pulse Reactor. The upset of two kinds of memory cells did not present a threshold versus the increase of neutron fluence. The results showed that deep sub-micron SRAM behaved single-event upset (SEU) effect in neutron irradiation environment. The SEU effect of SRAM with smaller size and higher integrated level tends to upset is considered to be related to the reduction of the device feature size, and fewer charges for upsets of the memory cell also lead to the SEU effect. (authors)

  2. Control of the Shell Thickness of TiO{sub 2} SiO{sub 2} Particles and Its Surface Functionalization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahn, Junho; Jung, Sung Ho; Lee, Ji Ha; Kwon, Kiyoung; Jung, Jong Hwa [Gyeongsang National Univ., Jinju (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-11-15

    TiO{sub 2} SiO{sub 2} yolk/core shell particles were obtained by a sol-gel polymerization. The shell thickness of TiO{sub 2} SiO{sub 2} can successfully be controlled by sol-gel reaction times. The anatase structure of TiO{sub 2} SiO{sub 2} was more stable than that of TiO{sub 2} particles calcinated at higher temperature. Moreover, acrylate-functionalized TiO{sub 2} SiO{sub 2} particles were also successfully synthesized using the TiO{sub 2} SiO{sub 2} particles as building blocks by copolymerization of trimethoxysilyl groups of MPA with the existing hydroxyl groups on the surface of TiO{sub 2} SiO{sub 2} particles. Furthermore, TEM, EDX, and FTIR studies confirmed that MPA had been successfully grafted to the surface of TiO{sub 2} SiO{sub 2} particles. Finally, we believe that the present results showing the development of surface functionalized particles can be very useful in the fields of various functional applications, and could be extended to more sophisticated hybrid materials.The fabrication of functional hollow particles is of great scientific and technological interest for purposes of applications ranging from drug delivery, coatings, photonic devices, and nanoscale reaction vessels. Various methods, including approaches such as spray drying, emulsion templating techniques, and self-assembly processes, have been described for the preparation of hollow spheres out of latex, metal, and inorganic materials.

  3. Highly Resolved Sub-Terahertz Vibrational Spectroscopy of Biological Macromolecules and Bacteria Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-07-01

    HIGHLY RESOLVED SUB-TERAHERTZ VIBRATIONAL SPECTROSCOPY OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES AND BACTERIA CELLS ECBC...SUBTITLE Highly Resolved Sub-Terahertz Vibrational Spectroscopy of Biological Macromolecules and Bacteria Cells 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER W911SR-14-P...22 4.3 Bacteria THz Study

  4. Thickness, Doping Accuracy, and Roughness Control in Graded Germanium Doped Ch{sub x} Micro-shells for Lmj

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Legay, G.; Theobald, M.; Barnouin, J.; Peche, E.; Bednarczyk, S.; Hermerel, C. [CEA Valduc, Dept Rech Mat Nucl, Serv Microcibles, 21 - Is-sur-Tille (France)

    2009-05-15

    In the Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique Laser Megajoule (LMJ) facility, amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C: H or CH{sub x}) is the nominal ablator used to achieve inertial confinement fusion experiments. These targets are filled with of fusible mixture of deuterium-tritium in order to perform ignition. The a-C: H shell is deposited on a poly-alpha-methylstyrene (PAMS) mandrel by glow discharge polymerization with trans-2-butene, hydrogen, and helium. Graded germanium doped CH{sub x} micro-shells are supposed to be more stable regarding hydrodynamic instabilities. The shells are composed of four layers for a total thickness of 180 {mu}m. The germanium gradient is obtained by doping the different a-C: H layers with the addition of tetra-methylgermanium in the gas mixture. As the achievement of ignition greatly depends on the physical properties of the shell, the thicknesses, doping concentration, and roughness must be precisely controlled. Quartz microbalances were used to perform an in situ and real-time measurement of the thickness in order to reduce the variations and so our fabrication tolerances on each layer thickness. Ex situ control of the thickness of each layer was carried out, with both optical coherent tomography and interferometry, (wall-mapper). High-quality, PAMS and a rolling system have been used to lower the low-mode roughness [root-mean-square (rms) (mode 2) {<=} 70 nm]. High modes were clearly, reduced by, coating the pan containing the shells with polyvinyl alcohol + CH{sub x} instead of polystyrene + CH{sub x} resulting in an rms ({>=}mode 10) {<=} 20 nm, which can be {<=}15 nm for the best micro-shells. The germanium concentration (0. 4 and 0. 75 at. %) in the a-CH layer is obtained by regulating the tetramethyl-germanium flow. Low range mass flow controllers have been used to improve the doping accuracy. (authors)

  5. The evaluation of microstructure and mechanical properties of sintered sub-micron WC-Co powders

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nor Izan Izura; Mohd Asri Selamat; Noraizham Mohamad Diah; Talib Ria Jaafar

    2007-01-01

    A cemented tungsten carbide (WC-Co) is widely used for a variety of machining, cutting, drilling and other applications. The properties of this tungsten heavy alloy are sensitive to processing and degraded by residual porosity. The sequence of high end powder metallurgy process include mixing, compacting and followed by multi-atmosphere sintering of green compact were analyzed. The sub micron (<1.0 μm) and less than 10.0 μm of WC powders are sintered with a metal binder 6% Co to provide pore-free part. The powder compacts were sintered at temperatures cycle in the range of 1200 degree Celsius-1550 degree Celsius in nitrogen-based sintering atmosphere. To date, however there have been few reported studies in the literature that the best sintering was carried out via liquid phase sintering in vacuum at approximately 1500 degree Celsius. from this study we found that in order to attain high mechanical properties, a fine grain size of powder is necessary. Therefore, the attention of this work is to develop and produce wear resistant component with better properties or comparable to the commercial ones. (author)

  6. Evolution of the SrTiO{sub 3} surface electronic state as a function of LaAlO{sub 3} overlayer thickness

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Plumb, N.C.; Kobayashi, M. [Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Insitut, CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Salluzzo, M. [CNR-SPIN, Complesso Universitario Monte S. Angelo, Via Cinthia, I-80126 Napoli (Italy); Razzoli, E.; Matt, C.E.; Strocov, V.N.; Zhou, K.J.; Shi, M. [Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Insitut, CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Mesot, J. [Paul Scherrer Institut, CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Institut de la Matiere Complexe, EPF Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne (Switzerland); Laboratory for Solid State Physics, ETH Zürich, CH-8093 Zürich (Switzerland); Schmitt, T. [Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Insitut, CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Patthey, L. [Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Insitut, CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); SwissFEL, Paul Scherrer Institut, CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Radović, M., E-mail: milan.radovic@psi.ch [Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Insitut, CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Institut de la Matiere Complexe, EPF Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne (Switzerland); SwissFEL, Paul Scherrer Institut, CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland)

    2017-08-01

    Highlights: • The close similarities in the electronic structures of the metallic bare surface of STO and the buried interfaces (LAO/STO). • The similar spectroscopic responses of these systems to photon irradiation. • The emergence of 2 × 1 structural ordering in sufficiently thick LAO/STO interfaces. - Abstract: The novel electronic properties emerging at interfaces between transition metal oxides, and in particular the discovery of conductivity in heterostructures composed of LaAlO{sub 3} (LAO) and SrTiO{sub 3} (STO) band insulators, have generated new challenges and opportunities in condensed matter physics. Although the interface conductivity is stabilized when LAO matches or exceeds a critical thickness of 4 unit cells (uc), other phenomena such as a universal metallic state found on the bare surface of STO single crystals and persistent photon-triggered conductivity in otherwise insulating STO-based interfaces raise important questions about the role of the LAO overlayer and the possible relations between vacuum/STO and LAO/STO interfaces. Here, using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) on in situ prepared samples complemented by resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS), we study how the metallic STO surface state evolves during the growth of a crystalline LAO overlayer. In all the studied samples, the character of the conduction bands, their carrier densities, the Ti{sup 3+} crystal field, and the response to photon irradiation bear strong similarities. Nevertheless, we report here that studied LAO/STO interfaces exhibit an instability toward an apparent 2 × 1 folding of the Fermi surface at and above a 4 uc thickness threshold, which distinguishes these heterostructures from bare STO and sub-critical-thickness LAO/STO.

  7. New long-wavelength Nd:YAG laser at 1.44 micron: effect on brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martiniuk, R; Bauer, J A; McKean, J D; Tulip, J; Mielke, B W

    1989-02-01

    A wavelength-shifted Nd:YAG laser, tuned to coincide with the infrared absorption peak of water at 1.44 microns, was used to make lesions in normal rabbit brain. A total of 48 lesions were made with power up to 20 W, with energy up to 40 joules, and with two different spot sizes. These lesions were compared to lesions made with 1.06 microns radiation from an Nd:YAG laser under identical operating conditions. Measurements of blood-brain barrier damage and width, depth, and volume of tissue affected were obtained 30 minutes after placement of the lesions. It was found that 1.44-microns lesions produced photoevaporative tissue loss at the highest intensities used. The layer of coagulated tissue remaining after photovaporization had a mean thickness of 0.6 mm irrespective of the volume of tissue removed. There was no photovaporization in the 1.06-microns lesions. In addition, the amount of peripheral edema per unit volume of tissue coagulated was approximately half at the 1.44-microns wavelength. These findings suggest that the 1.44-microns Nd:YAG laser may be a useful surgical instrument since it combines the photoevaporative effect of the CO2 laser while maintaining the advantages of the conventional Nd:YAG laser (quartz fiber delivery and effective hemostasis).

  8. Densification of ∼5 nm-thick SiO{sub 2} layers by nitric acid oxidation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choi, Jaeyoung [Department of Energy Engineering, Dankook University, Cheonan 311-16 (Korea, Republic of); Joo, Soyeong [Institute for Advanced Engineering (IAE), Advanced Materials & Processing Center, Youngin 449-863 (Korea, Republic of); Park, Tae Joo [Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Hanyang University, Ansan 15588 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Woo-Byoung, E-mail: woo7838@dankook.ac.kr [Department of Energy Engineering, Dankook University, Cheonan 311-16 (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-08-15

    Highlights: • Leakage current density of the commercial PECVD grown ∼5 nm SiO{sub 2} layer has been decreased about three orders of magnitude by densification. • The densification of SiO{sub 2} layer is achieved by high oxidation ability of O·. • Densities of suboxide, fixed charge (N{sub f}) and defect state (N{sub d}) in SiO{sub 2}/Si interface are decreased by NAOS and PMA. • Tunneling barrier height (Φ{sub t}) is increased because of the increase of atomic density in SiO{sub 2} layer. - Abstract: Low-temperature nitric acid (HNO{sub 3}) oxidation of Si (NAOS) has been used to improve the interface and electrical properties of ∼5 nm-thick SiO{sub 2}/Si layers produced by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Investigations of the physical properties and electrical characteristics of these thin films revealed that although their thickness is not changed by NAOS, the leakage current density at a gate bias voltage of −1 V decreases by about two orders of magnitude from 1.868 × 10{sup −5} A/cm{sup 2}. This leakage current density was further reduced by post-metallization annealing (PMA) at 250 °C for 10 min in a 5 vol.% hydrogen atmosphere, eventually reaching a level (5.2 × 10{sup −8} A/cm{sup 2}) approximately three orders of magnitude less than the as-grown SiO{sub 2} layer. This improvement is attributed to a decrease in the concentration of suboxide species (Si{sup 1+}, Si{sup 2+} and Si{sup 3+}) in the SiO{sub 2}/Si interface, as well as a decrease in the equilibrium density of defect sites (N{sub d}) and fixed charge density (N{sub f}). The barrier height (Φ{sub t}) generated by a Poole-Frenkel mechanism also increased from 0.205 to 0.371 eV after NAOS and PMA. The decrease in leakage current density is therefore attributed to a densification of the SiO{sub 2} layer in combination with the removal of OH species and increase in interfacial properties at the SiO{sub 2}/Si interface.

  9. Microstructure and properties of thick nanocomposite TiN/Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} coatings on Vanadis 23 HS steel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moskalewicz, Tomasz; Czyrska-Filemonowicz, Aleksandra [AGH Univ. of Science and Technology, Faculty of Metals Engineering and Industrial Computer Science, Krakow (Poland); Zimowski, Slawomir [AGH Univ. of Science and Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics, Krakow (Poland); Wendler, Bogdan; Progalskiy, Ivan [Lodz Univ. of Technology (Poland). Inst. of Materials Science and Engineering

    2015-07-15

    The microstructure and selected micro-mechanical properties of a 13.4 μm thick nanocomposite TiN/Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} coating deposited onto Vanadis 23 HS steel by a new gas pulsed magnetron sputtering technique were investigated. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy were employed to investigate the detailed microstructure of the coating. It was found that the coating exhibited a fully nanocrystalline structure and was composed of two zones: the outer zone with columnar structure and the inner one with equiaxed, fine columnar structure. Both zones consisted mainly of the δ-TiN nanocrystallites with a small amount of α-Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} and β-Si{sub 3}N{sub 4}. In order to increase coating adhesion to the substrate, a graded intermediate layer consisting of three different phases (pure Cr, CrN and Cr2N) was applied. The hardness of the as-deposited TiN/Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} coating was equal to 48 GPa, whereas it was equal to 40 GPa after annealing. The coatings exhibited very good adhesion to the underlying steel substrate.

  10. The evolution of magneto-transport and magneto-optical properties of thin La{sub 0.8}Ag{sub 0.1}MnO{sub 3+{delta}} films possessing the in-plane variant structure as a function of the film thickness

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Melnikov, O V [Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119992 Moscow (Russian Federation); Sukhorukov, Yu P [Institute of Metal Physics, Ural Division of RAN, 620219 Ekaterinburg (Russian Federation); Telegin, A V [Institute of Metal Physics, Ural Division of RAN, 620219 Ekaterinburg (Russian Federation); Gan' shina, E A [Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119992 Moscow (Russian Federation); Loshkareva, N N [Institute of Metal Physics, Ural Division of RAN, 620219 Ekaterinburg (Russian Federation); Kaul, A R [Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119992 Moscow (Russian Federation); Gorbenko, O Yu [Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119992 Moscow (Russian Federation); Vinogradov, A N [Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119992 Moscow (Russian Federation); Smoljak, I B [Institute of Metal Physics, Ural Division of RAN, 620219 Ekaterinburg (Russian Federation)

    2006-04-19

    Epitaxial La{sub 0.8}Ag{sub 0.1}MnO{sub 3+{delta}} films of different thicknesses (500-1000 nm) were grown on ZrO{sub 2}(Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}) substrates. Their optical, magneto-optical and transport properties were studied in order to clarify the effect of the epitaxial variant structure and Ag ion distribution on the conductivity, magnetoresistance and infrared magnetotransmission in these films. An original method was developed for separating MR contributions related to the colossal magnetoresistance near T{sub C} and the tunnelling magnetoresistance. It was established that in the La{sub 0.8}Ag{sub 0.1}MnO{sub 3+{delta}} films spin-polarization of electrons P reached {approx}0.5. The transverse Kerr effect revealed the irregular distribution of Ag ions through the film thickness. The comparison of optical and electrical data implies lower silver content near the film-substrate boundary in relation to that in the domain volume.

  11. Quantum Mechanical Enhancement of the Random Dopant Induced Threshold Voltage Fluctuations and Lowering in Sub 0.1 Micron MOSFETs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asenov, Asen; Slavcheva, G.; Brown, A. R.; Davies, J. H.; Saini, Subhash

    1999-01-01

    A detailed study of the influence of quantum effects in the inversion layer on the random dopant induced threshold voltage fluctuations and lowering in sub 0.1 micron MOSFETs has been performed. This has been achieved using a full 3D implementation of the density gradient (DG) formalism incorporated in our previously published 3D 'atomistic' simulation approach. This results in a consistent, fully 3D, quantum mechanical picture which implies not only the vertical inversion layer quantisation but also the lateral confinement effects manifested by current filamentation in the 'valleys' of the random potential fluctuations. We have shown that the net result of including quantum mechanical effects, while considering statistical fluctuations, is an increase in both threshold voltage fluctuations and lowering.

  12. Standing spin-wave mode structure and linewidth in partially disordered hexagonal arrays of perpendicularly magnetized sub-micron Permalloy discs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ross, N.; Kostylev, M.; Stamps, R. L.

    2014-01-01

    Standing spin wave mode frequencies and linewidths in partially disordered perpendicular magnetized arrays of sub-micron Permalloy discs are measured using broadband ferromagnetic resonance and compared to analytical results from a single, isolated disc. The measured mode structure qualitatively reproduces the structure expected from the theory. Fitted demagnetizing parameters decrease with increasing array disorder. The frequency difference between the first and second radial modes is found to be higher in the measured array systems than predicted by theory for an isolated disc. The relative frequencies between successive spin wave modes are unaffected by reduction of the long-range ordering of discs in the array. An increase in standing spin wave resonance linewidth at low applied magnetic fields is observed and grows more severe with increased array disorder.

  13. Thickness independent reduced forming voltage in oxygen engineered HfO{sub 2} based resistive switching memories

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sharath, S. U., E-mail: sharath@oxide.tu-darmstadt.de; Kurian, J.; Komissinskiy, P.; Hildebrandt, E.; Alff, L. [Institute of Materials Science, Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt (Germany); Bertaud, T.; Walczyk, C.; Calka, P. [IHP, Im Technologiepark 25, 15236 Frankfurt Oder (Germany); Schroeder, T. [IHP, Im Technologiepark 25, 15236 Frankfurt Oder (Germany); Brandenburgische Technische Universität, Konrad-Zuse-Strasse 1, 03046 Cottbus (Germany)

    2014-08-18

    The conducting filament forming voltage of stoichiometric hafnium oxide based resistive switching layers increases linearly with layer thickness. Using strongly reduced oxygen deficient hafnium oxide thin films grown on polycrystalline TiN/Si(001) substrates, the thickness dependence of the forming voltage is strongly suppressed. Instead, an almost constant forming voltage of about 3 V is observed up to 200 nm layer thickness. This effect suggests that filament formation and switching occurs for all samples in an oxidized HfO{sub 2} surface layer of a few nanometer thickness while the highly oxygen deficient thin film itself merely serves as a oxygen vacancy reservoir.

  14. Laser-assisted skin closure at 1.32 microns: the use of a software-driven medical laser system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dew, Douglas K.; Hsu, Tung M.; Hsu, Long S.; Halpern, Steven J.; Michaels, Charles E.

    1991-06-01

    This study investigated the use of a computerized 1 .3 micron Nd:YAG laser to seal approximated wound edges in pig skin. The medical laser system used was the DLS Type 1 , 1 .32 micron Nd:YAG laser (Laser Surgery Software, Inc.). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of laser assisted skin closure using the DLS YAG laser in a large animal model. Effectiveness was judged on the basis of wound dehiscence, infection, unusual healing result and consistency of results. Comparative cosmetic result was also evaluated. In this study, the DLS YAG laser was used to close scalpel-induced, full-thickness wounds. The pig model was chosen for its many integumentary similarities to man. Controls included scalpel-induced wounds closed using suture, staple and some with norepair. After adequate anesthesia was achieved, the dorsum of Yucutan pigs (approximately 75- 100 pounds) each was clipped with animal hair clippers from the shoulder area to the hind legs. The area was then shaved with a razor blade, avoiding any inadvertent cuts or abrasions of the skin. The dorsum was divided into four rows of four parallel incisions made by a #15 scalpel blade. Full-thickness incisions, 9 cm long, were placed over the dorsum of the pigs and then closed either with one loosely approximating Prolene" suture (the "no repair' group), multiple interrupted 6-0 nylon sutures, staples or laser. The experimental tissue sealing group consisted of 1 69 laser assisted closures on 1 3 pigs. Sutured control wounds were closed with 6-0 nylon, full thickness, simple, interrupted sutures. Eight sutures were placed 1 cm apart along the 9 cm incision. Stapled control wounds were approximated using two evenly spaced 3-0 VicryP' sub-dermal sutures and the dermis closed using Proximate' skin staples. Eight staples were placed 1 cm apart along the 9 cm incision. The no-repair incisions were grossly approximated using a single 2-0 Prolene full thickness, simple, interrupted suture located at the

  15. Vortex phase diagram and vortex dynamics at low temperature in a thick a-Mg{sub x}B{sub 1-x} film

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Okuma, S. [Research Center for Low Temperature Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1, Ohokayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551 (Japan)], E-mail: sokuma@o.cc.titech.ac.jp; Kohara, M. [Research Center for Low Temperature Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1, Ohokayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551 (Japan)

    2007-09-01

    We report on the equilibrium vortex phase diagram and vortex dynamics at low temperature T in a thick amorphous (a-)Mg{sub x}B{sub 1-x} film based on the measurements of the dc resistivity {rho} and time (t)-dependent component of the flux-flow voltage, {delta}V(t), respectively. Both {rho}(T) in perpendicular fields and the vortex phase diagram are qualitatively similar to those for the a-Mo{sub x}Si{sub 1-x} films, in which evidence for the quantum-vortex-liquid (QVL) phase has been obtained. In either material system we observe anomalous vortex flow with the asymmetric distribution of {delta}V(t) in the QVL phase, suggesting that the anomalous flow is a universal phenomenon commonly observed for disordered amorphous films, independent of material.

  16. Fabrication of an Absorber-Coupled MKID Detector and Readout for Sub-Millimeter and Far-Infrared Astronomy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Ari-David; Hsieh, Wen-Ting; Moseley, S. Harvey; Stevenson, Thomas R.; U-yen, Kongpop; Wollack, Edward J.

    2010-01-01

    We have fabricated absorber-coupled microwave kinetic inductance detector (MKID) arrays for sub-millimeter and farinfrared astronomy. Each detector array is comprised of lambda/2 stepped impedance resonators, a 1.5µm thick silicon membrane, and 380µm thick silicon walls. The resonators consist of parallel plate aluminum transmission lines coupled to low impedance Nb microstrip traces of variable length, which set the resonant frequency of each resonator. This allows for multiplexed microwave readout and, consequently, good spatial discrimination between pixels in the array. The Al transmission lines simultaneously act to absorb optical power and are designed to have a surface impedance and filling fraction so as to match the impedance of free space. Our novel fabrication techniques demonstrate high fabrication yield of MKID arrays on large single crystal membranes and sub-micron front-to-back alignment of the microstrip circuit.

  17. The elimination of charging in the PIXE analysis of thick biological samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Papper, C.S.; Chaudhri, M.A.; Rouse, J.L.

    1978-01-01

    A simple technique is described for the elimination of charging of thick biological samples subjected to proton bombardment. This involves evaporating a thin layer of carbon onto the target face and results in the reduction of background and therefore enhances the sensitivity of the technique. (Auth.)

  18. Austerity and the embodiment of neoliberalism as ill-health: Towards a theory of biological sub-citizenship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sparke, Matthew

    2017-08-01

    This article charts the diverse pathways through which austerity and other policy shifts associated with neoliberalism have come to be embodied globally in ill-health. It combines a review of research on these processes of embodiment with the development of a theory of the resulting forms of biological sub-citizenship. This theory builds on other studies that have already sought to complement and complicate the concept of biological citizenship with attention to the globally uneven experience and embodiment of bioinequalities. Focused on the unevenly embodied sequelae of austerity, the proceeding theorization of biological sub-citizenship is developed in three stages of review and conceptualization: 1) Biological sub-citizenship through exclusion and conditionalization; 2) Biological sub-citizenship through extraction and exploitation; and 3) Biological sub-citizenship through financialized experimentation. In conclusion the paper argues that the analysis of biological sub-citizenship needs to remain open-ended and relational in order to contribute to socially-searching work on the social determinants of health. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Dense plasma focus x-ray source for sub-micron lithography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prasad, R.R.; Krishnan, M.; Mangano, J.; Greene, P.; Qi, Niansheng

    1993-01-01

    A discharge driven, dense plasma focus in neon is under development at SRL for use as a point x-ray source for sub-micron lithography. This source is presently capable of delivering ∼ 13j/pulse of neon K-shell x-rays (8--14 angstrom) into 4π steradians with 2 kj of electrical energy stored in the capacitor bank charged to 9 kV at a pulse repetition rate of 2 Hz. The discharge is produced by a ≤4 kj, ≤12 kV, capacitor bank circuit, which has a fixed inductance of 12 nH and drives ≤450 kA currents into the DPF load, with ∼1.1 μs rise-times. X-rays are produced when a dense pinch of neon is formed along the axis of the DPF electrodes. A new rail-gap switched capacitor bank and DPF have been built, designed for continuous operation at 2 Hz and burst mode operation at 20 Hz. This paper will present measurements of the x-ray output at a repetition rate of 2 Hz using the new capacitor bank. It will also describe measurements of the spot size (0.3--0.8 mm) and the spectrum (8--14 angstrom) of the DPF source. The dependence of these parameters on the DPF head geometry, bank energy and operating pressure will be discussed. The x-ray output has been measured using filtered pin diodes, x-ray diodes, and absolutely calibrated x-ray crystal spectra. Results from the source operating at 2 Hz will be presented. A novel concept of a windowless beamline has also been developed. The results of preliminary experiments to test the concept will be discussed. At a pulse repetition rate of 20 Hz, this source should produce 200--400 W of x-ray power in the 8-14 angstrom wavelength band, with an input power of 40--60 kW

  20. Experimental determination of the thickness of aluminum cascade pipes in the presence of UF{sub 6} gas during enrichment measurements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lombardi, M.L., E-mail: lombardi@lanl.gov [Los Alamos National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1663, Los Alamos NM 87545 (United States); Favalli, A.; Goda, J.M.; Ianakiev, K.D.; MacArthur, D.W.; Moss, C.E. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1663, Los Alamos NM 87545 (United States)

    2012-04-21

    We present a method of determining the wall thickness of a pipe in a Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Plant (GCEP) when an empty pipe measurement is not feasible. Our method uses an X-ray tube for transmission measurements and a lanthanum bromide (LaBr{sub 3}) scintillation detector on the opposite side of the pipe. Two filters, molybdenum (K-edge 20.0 keV) and palladium (K-edge 24.35 keV) are used to transform the bremsstrahlung spectra produced by the X-ray tube into more useful, sharply peaked, spectra. The maximum energies of the peaks are determined by the K-edges of the filters. The attenuation properties of the uranium hexafluoride (UF{sub 6}) gas allow us to determine wall thickness by looking at the ratio of selected regions of interest (ROIs) of the Mo and Pd transmitted spectra. While the attenuation factor at these two transmission energies in the UF{sub 6} gas is nearly equal, attenuation in the aluminum pipe wall at these two energies differs by a factor of about 60. This difference allows measurement of attenuation in the pipe independent of attenuation in the UF{sub 6} gas. Feasibility studies were performed using analytical calculations, and filter thicknesses were optimized. In order to experimentally validate our attenuation measurement method, a UF{sub 6} source with variable enrichment and pipe thickness was built. We describe the experimental procedure used to verify our previous calculations and present recent results.

  1. An examination of the shrinking-core model of sub-micron aluminum combustion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckmaster, John; Jackson, Thomas L.

    2013-04-01

    We revisit the shrinking-core model of sub-micron aluminum combustion with particular attention to the mass flux balance at the reaction front which necessarily leads to a displacement velocity of the alumina shell surrounding the liquid aluminum. For the planar problem this displacement simply leads to an equal displacement of the entire alumina layer, and therefore a straightforward mathematical framework can be constructed. In this way we are able to construct a single curve which defines the burn time for arbitrary values of the diffusion coefficient of O atoms, the reaction rate, the characteristic length of the combustion field, and the O atom mass concentration within the alumina provided that it is much smaller than the aluminum density. This demonstrates a transition between a 'd 2-t' law for fast chemistry and a 'd-t' law for slow chemistry. For the spherical geometry, the one of physical interest, the outward displacement velocity creates not a simple displacement, but a stress field which, when examined within the framework of linear elasticity, strongly suggests the creation of internal cracking. We note that if the molten aluminum is pushed into these cracks by the high internal pressure characteristic of the stress field, its surface, where reaction occurs, could be fractal in nature and affect the fundamental nature of the burning law. Indeed, if this ingredient is added to the planar model, a single curve for the burn time can again be derived, and this describes a transition from a 'd 2-t' law to a 'd ν-t' law, where 0<ν<1.

  2. THREE-DIMENSIONAL OBSERVATIONS ON THICK BIOLOGICAL SPECIMENS BY HIGH VOLTAGE ELECTRON MICROSCOPY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tetsuji Nagata

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Thick biological specimens prepared as whole mount cultured cells or thick sections from embedded tissues were stained with histochemical reactions, such as thiamine pyrophosphatase, glucose-6-phosphatase, cytochrome oxidase, acid phosphatase, DAB reactions and radioautography, to observe 3-D ultrastructures of cell organelles producing stereo-pairs by high voltage electron microscopy at accerelating voltages of 400-1000 kV. The organelles demonstrated were Golgi apparatus, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, lysosomes, peroxisomes, pinocytotic vesicles and incorporations of radioactive compounds. As the results, those cell organelles were observed 3- dimensionally and the relative relationships between these organelles were demonstrated.

  3. Is the Alzheimer's disease cortical thickness signature a biological marker for memory?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Busovaca, Edgar; Zimmerman, Molly E; Meier, Irene B; Griffith, Erica Y; Grieve, Stuart M; Korgaonkar, Mayuresh S; Williams, Leanne M; Brickman, Adam M

    2016-06-01

    Recent work suggests that analysis of the cortical thickness in key brain regions can be used to identify individuals at greatest risk for development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). It is unclear to what extent this "signature" is a biological marker of normal memory function - the primary cognitive domain affected by AD. We examined the relationship between the AD signature biomarker and memory functioning in a group of neurologically healthy young and older adults. Cortical thickness measurements and neuropsychological evaluations were obtained in 110 adults (age range 21-78, mean = 46) drawn from the Brain Resource International Database. The cohort was divided into young adult (n = 64, age 21-50) and older adult (n = 46, age 51-78) groups. Cortical thickness analysis was performed with FreeSurfer, and the average cortical thickness extracted from the eight regions that comprise the AD signature. Mean AD-signature cortical thickness was positively associated with performance on the delayed free recall trial of a list learning task and this relationship did not differ between younger and older adults. Mean AD-signature cortical thickness was not associated with performance on a test of psychomotor speed, as a control task, in either group. The results suggest that the AD signature cortical thickness is a marker for memory functioning across the adult lifespan.

  4. Evaluation of corneal thickness alterations during menstrual cycle in productive age women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Negar Amiri Ghahfarokhi

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: To determine the change in corneal thickness through different phases of menstrual cycle in women who are in their productive age. Materials and Methods: Fifty healthy women with normal past medical history were enrolled in this prospective study. Central corneal thickness was measured with ultrasound pachymeter three times during a menstrual cycle: Beginning of the cycle (days 1-3, ovulation time, and at the end of cycle (days 27-32. We confirmed ovulation time with determining a peak in luteinizing hormone in urine. To avoid the diurnal variation of the corneal thickness which is well recognized, we checked all our subjects at 10 in the morning. Results: In days 1 to 3 of menstruation, mean corneal thickness was 541.40±11.36 and 540.82±11.70 microns for left and right eyes respectively. At ovulation time the mean thickness changed to 556.50±7.11 and 555.98±7.26 microns for left and right eyes respectively, and at the end of the cycle, the corneal thickness turned in to 536.38±12.83 and 535.48±13.08 microns for left and right eyes respectively. The difference of corneal thickness was statistically significant relating to the different stages of menstrual cycle. Conclusion: The thickest cornea during the menstruation cycle is achieved at the ovulation time and the thinnest at the end of the cycle and this should be taken in to account whilst plan to do a corneal refractive surgery.

  5. Movies of cellular and sub-cellular motion by digital holographic microscopy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu Lingfeng

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Many biological specimens, such as living cells and their intracellular components, often exhibit very little amplitude contrast, making it difficult for conventional bright field microscopes to distinguish them from their surroundings. To overcome this problem phase contrast techniques such as Zernike, Normarsky and dark-field microscopies have been developed to improve specimen visibility without chemically or physically altering them by the process of staining. These techniques have proven to be invaluable tools for studying living cells and furthering scientific understanding of fundamental cellular processes such as mitosis. However a drawback of these techniques is that direct quantitative phase imaging is not possible. Quantitative phase imaging is important because it enables determination of either the refractive index or optical thickness variations from the measured optical path length with sub-wavelength accuracy. Digital holography is an emergent phase contrast technique that offers an excellent approach in obtaining both qualitative and quantitative phase information from the hologram. A CCD camera is used to record a hologram onto a computer and numerical methods are subsequently applied to reconstruct the hologram to enable direct access to both phase and amplitude information. Another attractive feature of digital holography is the ability to focus on multiple focal planes from a single hologram, emulating the focusing control of a conventional microscope. Methods A modified Mach-Zender off-axis setup in transmission is used to record and reconstruct a number of holographic amplitude and phase images of cellular and sub-cellular features. Results Both cellular and sub-cellular features are imaged with sub-micron, diffraction-limited resolution. Movies of holographic amplitude and phase images of living microbes and cells are created from a series of holograms and reconstructed with numerically adjustable

  6. Prospects for sub-micron solid state nuclear magnetic resonance imaging with low-temperature dynamic nuclear polarization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thurber, Kent R; Tycko, Robert

    2010-06-14

    We evaluate the feasibility of (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging with sub-micron voxel dimensions using a combination of low temperatures and dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP). Experiments are performed on nitroxide-doped glycerol-water at 9.4 T and temperatures below 40 K, using a 30 mW tunable microwave source for DNP. With DNP at 7 K, a 0.5 microL sample yields a (1)H NMR signal-to-noise ratio of 770 in two scans with pulsed spin-lock detection and after 80 db signal attenuation. With reasonable extrapolations, we infer that (1)H NMR signals from 1 microm(3) voxel volumes should be readily detectable, and voxels as small as 0.03 microm(3) may eventually be detectable. Through homonuclear decoupling with a frequency-switched Lee-Goldburg spin echo technique, we obtain 830 Hz (1)H NMR linewidths at low temperatures, implying that pulsed field gradients equal to 0.4 G/d or less would be required during spatial encoding dimensions of an imaging sequence, where d is the resolution in each dimension.

  7. On the sub-micron aerosol size distribution in a coastal-rural site at El Arenosillo Station (SW – Spain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Sorribas

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available This study focuses on the analysis of the sub-micron aerosol characteristics at El Arenosillo Station, a rural and coastal environment in South-western Spain between 1 August 2004 and 31 July 2006 (594 days. The mean total concentration (N<sub>T> was 8660 cm−3 and the mean concentrations in the nucleation (N<sub>NUC>, Aitken (N<sub>AIT> and accumulation (N<sub>ACC> particle size ranges were 2830 cm−3, 4110 cm−3 and 1720 cm−3, respectively. Median size distribution was characterised by a single-modal fit, with a geometric diameter, median number concentration and geometric standard deviation of 60 nm, 5390 cm−3 and 2.31, respectively. Characterisation of primary emissions, secondary particle formation, changes to meteorology and long-term transport has been necessary to understand the seasonal and annual variability of the total and modal particle concentration. Number concentrations exhibited a diurnal pattern with maximum concentrations around noon. This was governed by the concentrations of the nucleation and Aitken modes during the warm seasons and only by the nucleation mode during the cold seasons. Similar monthly mean total concentrations were observed throughout the year due to a clear inverse variation between the monthly mean N<sub>NUC> and N<sub>ACC>. It was related to the impact of desert dust and continental air masses on the monthly mean particle levels. These air masses were associated with high values of N<sub>ACC> which suppressed the new particle formation (decreasing N<sub>NUC>. Each day was classified according to a land breeze flow or a synoptic pattern influence. The median size distribution for desert dust and continental aerosol was dominated by the Aitken and accumulation modes, and marine air masses were dominated by the nucleation and Aitken modes. Particles

  8. Room temperature magnetism of few-nanometers-thick Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}(111) films on Pt(111) and Ru(0001) studied in ambient conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lewandowski, M., E-mail: lewandowski@amu.edu.pl [NanoBioMedical Centre, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 85, 61-614 Poznań (Poland); Institute of Molecular Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, M. Smoluchowskiego 17, 60-179 Poznań (Poland); Miłosz, Z.; Michalak, N.; Ranecki, R. [Institute of Molecular Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, M. Smoluchowskiego 17, 60-179 Poznań (Poland); Sveklo, I.; Kurant, Z.; Maziewski, A. [Faculty of Physics, University of Białystok, Lipowa 41, 15-424 Białystok (Poland); Mielcarek, S. [Faculty of Physics, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 85, 61-614 Poznań (Poland); Luciński, T. [Institute of Molecular Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, M. Smoluchowskiego 17, 60-179 Poznań (Poland); Jurga, S. [NanoBioMedical Centre, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 85, 61-614 Poznań (Poland)

    2015-09-30

    Few-nanometers-thick Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}(111) films were epitaxially grown on Pt(111) and Ru(0001) single crystal supports by sequential iron deposition and oxidation in an ultra-high vacuum chamber. The growth of well-ordered magnetite films was confirmed by low energy electron diffraction. The films were covered with a protective Au layer and subjected to magnetic and structural studies in ambient conditions. Magnetic hysteresis loops, recorded using magneto-optical Kerr effect apparatus, confirmed magnetic ordering in both films at room temperature. The Kerr measurements indicated in-plane orientation of magnetization, which was supported by the lack of magnetic contrast in magnetic force microscopy images. Atomic force microscopy revealed significant differences in morphology of the films, tentatively attributed to different lattice mismatch with Pt(111) and Ru(0001) single crystal supports. - Highlights: • Few-nanometers-thick Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}(111) films were grown on Pt(111) and Ru(0001). • Magnetic properties were studied using MOKE and AFM/MFM in ambient conditions. • The films exhibited in-plane magnetic ordering at room temperature. • Differences in magnetic properties were tentatively assigned to structural differences.

  9. Deposition and retention patterns for 3-, 9-, and 15-micron latex microspheres inhaled by rats and guinea pigs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Snipes, M.B.; Olson, T.R.; Yeh, H.C.

    1988-01-01

    This study was designed to determine the deposition patterns and fate of large particles inhaled by two species of small laboratory animals during nose breathing. Rats and guinea pigs inhaled 3-, 9-, or 15 micron polystyrene latex microspheres labeled with 46 Sc. Approximately 1.4% and 0.55% of the initial internally deposited body burden of 3-micron microspheres was in the alveolar region of the respiratory tract of rats and guinea pigs, respectively. None of the 9- or 15-micron microspheres were detected in the alveolar regions of the rats or guinea pigs. Ninety-five to 99% of the deposited microspheres cleared from these animals with biological half-times of 0.5-1.0 day. Most of the cleared radioactivity was in the feces. Approximations for long-term biological half-times for alveolar retention of the 3-micron microspheres were 63 days for rats and 83 days for guinea pigs. About 1% of the initial lung burden of 3-micron microspheres was translocated from lung to lung-associated lymph nodes in both species; none of the 9- or 15-micron microspheres were detected in those lymph nodes. Small fractions of the microspheres initially deposited in the airways of the head were retained with biological clearance half-times ranging from 9 to 350 days. Results from this study do not allow projections for deposition and retention patterns for similar particles inhaled by humans. Such projections must come from studies with humans, or from studies with animal species having deposition patterns for inhaled materials more comparable to those of humans

  10. Highly nonlinear sub-micron silicon nitride trench waveguide coated with gold nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yuewang; Zhao, Qiancheng; Sharac, Nicholas; Ragan, Regina; Boyraz, Ozdal

    2015-05-01

    We demonstrate the fabrication of a highly nonlinear sub-micron silicon nitride trench waveguide coated with gold nanoparticles for plasmonic enhancement. The average enhancement effect is evaluated by measuring the spectral broadening effect caused by self-phase-modulation. The nonlinear refractive index n2 was measured to be 7.0917×10-19 m2/W for a waveguide whose Wopen is 5 μm. Several waveguides at different locations on one wafer were measured in order to take the randomness of the nanoparticle distribution into consideration. The largest enhancement is measured to be as high as 10 times. Fabrication of this waveguide started with a MEMS grade photomask. By using conventional optical lithography, the wide linewidth was transferred to a wafer. Then the wafer was etched anisotropically by potassium hydroxide (KOH) to engrave trapezoidal trenches with an angle of 54.7º. Side wall roughness was mitigated by KOH etching and thermal oxidation that was used to generate a buffer layer for silicon nitride waveguide. The guiding material silicon nitride was then deposited by low pressure chemical vapor deposition. The waveguide was then patterned with a chemical template, with 20 nm gold particles being chemically attached to the functionalized poly(methyl methacrylate) domains. Since the particles attached only to the PMMA domains, they were confined to localized regions, therefore forcing the nanoparticles into clusters of various numbers and geometries. Experiments reveal that the waveguide has negligible nonlinear absorption loss, and its nonlinear refractive index can be greatly enhanced by gold nano clusters. The silicon nitride trench waveguide has large nonlinear refractive index, rendering itself promising for nonlinear applications.

  11. An ultra-thin Schottky diode as a transmission particle detector for biological microbeams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grad, M; Harken, A; Randers-Pehrson, G; Brenner, D J; Attinger, D

    2012-01-01

    We fabricated ultrathin metal-semiconductor Schottky diodes for use as transmission particle detectors in the biological microbeam at Columbia University's Radiological Research Accelerator Facility (RARAF). The RARAF microbeam can deliver a precise dose of ionizing radiation in cell nuclei with sub-micron precision. To ensure an accurate delivery of charged particles, the facility currently uses a commercial charged-particle detector placed after the sample. We present here a transmission detector that will be placed between the particle accelerator and the biological specimen, allowing the irradiation of samples that would otherwise block radiation from reaching a detector behind the sample. Four detectors were fabricated with co-planar gold and aluminum electrodes thermally evaporated onto etched n-type crystalline silicon substrates, with device thicknesses ranging from 8.5 μm - 13.5 μm. We show coincident detections and pulse-height distributions of charged particles in both the transmission detector and the commercial detector above it. Detections are demonstrated at a range of operating conditions, including incoming particle type, count rate, and beam location on the detectors. The 13.5 μm detector is shown to work best to detect 2.7 MeV protons (H + ), and the 8.5 μm detector is shown to work best to detect 5.4 MeV alpha particles ( 4 He ++ ). The development of a transmission detector enables a range of new experiments to take place at RARAF on radiation-stopping samples such as thick tissues, targets that need immersion microscopy, and integrated microfluidic devices for handling larger quantities of cells and small organisms.

  12. An ultra-thin Schottky diode as a transmission particle detector for biological microbeams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harken, Andrew; Randers-Pehrson, Gerhard; Attinger, Daniel; Brenner, David J.

    2013-01-01

    We fabricated ultrathin metal-semiconductor Schottky diodes for use as transmission particle detectors in the biological microbeam at Columbia University’s Radiological Research Accelerator Facility (RARAF). The RARAF microbeam can deliver a precise dose of ionizing radiation in cell nuclei with sub-micron precision. To ensure an accurate delivery of charged particles, the facility currently uses a commercial charged-particle detector placed after the sample. We present here a transmission detector that will be placed between the particle accelerator and the biological specimen, allowing the irradiation of samples that would otherwise block radiation from reaching a detector behind the sample. Four detectors were fabricated with co-planar gold and aluminum electrodes thermally evaporated onto etched n-type crystalline silicon substrates, with device thicknesses ranging from 8.5 μm – 13.5 μm. We show coincident detections and pulse-height distributions of charged particles in both the transmission detector and the commercial detector above it. Detections are demonstrated at a range of operating conditions, including incoming particle type, count rate, and beam location on the detectors. The 13.5 μm detector is shown to work best to detect 2.7 MeV protons (H+), and the 8.5 μm detector is shown to work best to detect 5.4 MeV alpha particles (4He++). The development of a transmission detector enables a range of new experiments to take place at RARAF on radiation-stopping samples such as thick tissues, targets that need immersion microscopy, and integrated microfluidic devices for handling larger quantities of cells and small organisms. PMID:24058378

  13. Optimization of CZT Detectors with Sub-mm Pixel Pitches Project

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — We propose to develop and optimize 0.5 cm thick Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) detectors with very small pixel pitches, i.e. 350 micron and 600 micron. The proposed...

  14. Thickness dependence of magnetic anisotropy and intrinsic anomalous Hall effect in epitaxial Co{sub 2}MnAl film

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meng, K.K., E-mail: kkmeng@ustb.edu.cn [School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083 (China); Miao, J.; Xu, X.G. [School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083 (China); Zhao, J.H. [State Key Laboratory of Superlattices and Microstructures, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083 (China); Jiang, Y. [School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083 (China)

    2017-04-04

    We have investigated the thickness dependence of magnetic anisotropy and intrinsic anomalous Hall effect (AHE) in single-crystalline full-Heusler alloy Co{sub 2}MnAl (CMA) grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on GaAs(001). The magnetic anisotropy is the interplay of uniaxial and the fourfold anisotropy, and the corresponding anisotropy constants have been deduced. Considering the thickness of CMA is small, we ascribe it to the influence from interface stress. The AHE in CMA is found to be well described by a proper scaling. The intrinsic anomalous conductivity is found to be smaller than the calculated one and is thickness dependent, which is ascribed to the influence of chemical ordering by affecting the band structure and Fermi surface. - Highlights: • Single-crystalline full-Heusler alloy Co{sub 2}MnAl grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. • Uniaxial and the fourfold magnetic anisotropies in Heusler alloys. • Anomalous Hall effect in Heusler alloys. • The intrinsic contributions modified by chemical ordering.

  15. Quantitative measurement of mean inner potential and specimen thickness from high-resolution off-axis electron holograms of ultra-thin layered WSe{sub 2}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Winkler, Florian, E-mail: f.winkler@fz-juelich.de [Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons (ER-C), Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich (Germany); Peter Grünberg Institute 5 (PGI-5), Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich (Germany); Tavabi, Amir H. [Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons (ER-C), Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich (Germany); Peter Grünberg Institute 5 (PGI-5), Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich (Germany); Barthel, Juri [Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons (ER-C), Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich (Germany); Gemeinschaftslabor für Elektronenmikroskopie (GFE), RWTH Aachen University, D-52074 Aachen (Germany); Duchamp, Martial [Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons (ER-C), Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich (Germany); Peter Grünberg Institute 5 (PGI-5), Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich (Germany); Yucelen, Emrah [FEI Company, Achtseweg Noord 5, Eindhoven 5600 KA (Netherlands); Borghardt, Sven; Kardynal, Beata E. [Peter Grünberg Institute 9 (PGI-9), Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich (Germany); and others

    2017-07-15

    The phase and amplitude of the electron wavefunction that has passed through ultra-thin flakes of WSe{sub 2} is measured from high-resolution off-axis electron holograms. Both the experimental measurements and corresponding computer simulations are used to show that, as a result of dynamical diffraction, the spatially averaged phase does not increase linearly with specimen thickness close to an [001] zone axis orientation even when the specimen has a thickness of only a few layers. It is then not possible to infer the local specimen thickness of the WSe{sub 2} from either the phase or the amplitude alone. Instead, we show that the combined analysis of phase and amplitude from experimental measurements and simulations allows an accurate determination of the local specimen thickness. The relationship between phase and projected potential is shown to be approximately linear for extremely thin specimens that are tilted by several degrees in certain directions from the [001] zone axis. A knowledge of the specimen thickness then allows the electrostatic potential to be determined from the measured phase. By using this combined approach, we determine a value for the mean inner potential of WSe{sub 2} of 18.9±0.8 V, which is 12% lower than the value calculated from neutral atom scattering factors. - Highlights: • Quantitative analysis of high resolution electron holograms of WSe{sub 2}. • Local specimen thickness determination and estimation of tilt angle. • Mean inner potential evaluation of WSe2 avoiding dynamical diffraction.

  16. Magnetotransport in La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3}/CuCr{sub 2}O{sub 4}/Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} magnetic junctions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Iwata-Harms, Jodi M.; Suzuki, Yuri [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Department of Applied Physics and Geballe Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States); Chopdekar, Rajesh V. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); School of Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 (United States); Wong, Franklin J. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Nelson-Cheeseman, Brittany B. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Jenkins, Catherine A.; Arenholz, Elke [Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)

    2015-01-05

    We demonstrate distinct magnetic and resistive switching with junction magnetoresistance up to −6% in magnetic tunnel junctions with a CuCr{sub 2}O{sub 4} barrier. Junction magnetoresistance is inversely related to barrier thickness and reveals a maximum at a finite applied bias that converges to zero bias at low temperatures for all barrier thicknesses. The non-monotonic bias dependence is attributed to a charge gap from the Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} electrode and possible spin filtering from the spin-split conduction band of the ferrimagnetic CuCr{sub 2}O{sub 4} barrier.

  17. Core losses of ring-shaped (Fe{sub 0.75}B{sub 0.20}Si{sub 0.05}){sub 96}Nb{sub 4} bulk metallic glasses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bitoh, T; Ishikawa, T; Okumura, H, E-mail: teruo_bitoh@akita-pu.ac.jp [Department of Machine Intelligence and Systems Engineering, Faculty of Systems Science and Technology, Akita Prefectural University, Yurihonjo, 015-0055 (Japan)

    2011-01-01

    The soft magnetic properties of ring-shaped (Fe{sub 0.75}B{sub 0.20}Si{sub 0.05}){sub 96}Nb{sub 4} cast bulk metallic glass (BMG) with thickness of 0.3-1.0 mm have been investigated. The BMG specimens exhibit high relative permeability of (9-29)x10{sup 3} at 0.40 A/m and 50 Hz and low coercivity of 4.0 A/m. The core losses of the 0.3 mm thick BMG specimen are lower than those of commercial Fe-6.5 mass% Si steel (6.5Si) with the same thickness, and are comparable to those of the 0.10 mm thick 6.5Si. The low core losses of the BMG originate from the low coercivity and high electrical resistivity.

  18. Sub-micrometer-thick all-solid-state supercapacitors with high power and energy densities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meng, Fanhui [Key Laboratory for Liquid-Solid Structural Evolution and Processing of Materials, Ministry of Education, and School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 250061 (China); Ding, Yi [Key Laboratory for Liquid-Solid Structural Evolution and Processing of Materials, Ministry of Education, and School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 250061 (China); Shandong Applied Research Center for Gold Technology (Au-SDARC), Yantai 264005 (China)

    2011-09-15

    A sub-micrometer-thick, flexible, all-solid-state supercapacitor is fabricated. Through simultaneous realization of high dispersity of pseudocapacitance materials and quick electrode response, the hybrid nanostructures show enhanced volumetric capacitance and excellent stability, as well as very high power and energy densities. This suggests their potential as next-generation, high-performance energy conversion and storage devices for wearable electronics. (Copyright copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  19. Optical contrast spectra studies for determining thickness of stage-1 graphene-FeCl{sub 3} intercalation compounds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, Wen-Peng, E-mail: han-wenpeng@163.com, E-mail: yunze.long@163.com; Yan, Xu; Zhao, Hui [College of Physics, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071 (China); Li, Qiao-Qiao; Lu, Yan [State Key Laboratory for Superlattices and Microstructures, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083 (China); Long, Yun-Ze, E-mail: han-wenpeng@163.com, E-mail: yunze.long@163.com [College of Physics, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071 (China); Collaborative Innovation Center for Low-Dimensional Nanomaterials and Optoelectronic Devices, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071 (China)

    2016-07-15

    Because of novel features in their structural, electronic, magnetic and optical properties, especially potential applications in nanoelectronics, the few-layer graphene intercalation compounds (FLGICs) have been intensively studied recently. In this work, the dielectric constant of the doped graphene of stage-1 FeCl{sub 3}-GIC is obtained by fitting the optical contrast spectra. And fully intercalated stage-1 FeCl{sub 3}-FLGICs were prepared by micromechanical cleavage method from graphite intercalation compounds (GICs) for the first time. Finally, we demonstrated that the thickness of stage-1 FeCl{sub 3}-GICs by micromechanical cleavage can be determined by optical contrast spectra. This method also can be used to other FLGICs, such as SbCl{sub 5}-FLGICs and AuCl{sub 5}-FLGICs, etc.

  20. Exploitation of sub-micron cavitation nuclei to enhance ultrasound-mediated transdermal transport and penetration of vaccines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhatnagar, Sunali; Kwan, James J; Shah, Apurva R; Coussios, Constantin-C; Carlisle, Robert C

    2016-09-28

    Inertial cavitation mediated by ultrasound has been previously shown to enable skin permeabilisation for transdermal drug and vaccine delivery, by sequentially applying the ultrasound then the therapeutic in liquid form on the skin surface. Using a novel hydrogel dosage form, we demonstrate that the use of sub-micron gas-stabilising polymeric nanoparticles (nanocups) to sustain and promote cavitation activity during simultaneous application of both drug and vaccine results in a significant enhancement of both the dose and penetration of a model vaccine, Ovalbumin (OVA), to depths of 500μm into porcine skin. The nanocups themselves exceeded the penetration depth of the vaccine (up to 700μm) due to their small size and capacity to 'self-propel'. In vivo murine studies indicated that nanocup-assisted ultrasound transdermal vaccination achieved significantly (pultrasound-assisted vaccine delivery in the presence of nanocups demonstrated substantially higher specific anti-OVA IgG antibody levels compared to other transdermal methods. Further optimisation can lead to a viable, safe and non-invasive delivery platform for vaccines with potential use in a primary care setting or personalized self-vaccination at home. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Observation of the strain-driven charge-ordered state in La sub 0 sub . sub 7 sub C a sub 0 sub . sub 3 MnO sub 3 sub - sub d elta thin film with oxygen deficiency

    CERN Document Server

    Prokhorov, V G; Kaminsky, G G; Svetchnikov, V L; Zandbergen, H W; Lee, Y P; Park, J S; Kim, K W

    2003-01-01

    The magnetic and transport properties of La sub 0 sub . sub 7 Ca sub 0 sub . sub 3 MnO sub 3 sub - sub d elta films with an oxygen deficiency (delta approx 0.1) and a La sub 0 sub . sub 9 Ca sub 0 sub . sub 1 MnO sub 3 film with the stoichiometric oxygen content are investigated in a wide temperature range. It is shown that the charge-ordered insulating (COI) state is observed for a La sub 0 sub . sub 7 Ca sub 0 sub . sub 3 MnO sub 2 sub . sub 9 film with thickness d <= 30 nm, which manifests mainly a cubic crystal structure with an anomalously small lattice parameter for this composition. An increase in the film thickness (d approx 60 nm) leads to a structural transition from the lattice-strained cubic to the relaxed rhombohedral phase, is accompanied by a shift of the Curie point (T sub C) to lower temperature and a frustration of the COI state. The magnetic and transport properties of the La sub 0 sub . sub 7 Ca sub 0 sub . sub 3 MnO sub 2 sub . sub 9 film with d approx 60 nm are similar to those exhibi...

  2. Publication Growth in Biological Sub-Fields: Patterns, Predictability and Sustainability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marco Pautasso

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Biologists are producing ever-increasing quantities of papers. The question arises of whether current rates of increase in scientific outputs are sustainable in the long term. I studied this issue using publication data from the Web of Science (1991–2010 for 18 biological sub-fields. In the majority of cases, an exponential regression explains more variation than a linear one in the number of papers published each year as a function of publication year. Exponential growth in publication numbers is clearly not sustainable. About 75% of the variation in publication growth among biological sub-fields over the two studied decades can be predicted by publication data from the first six years. Currently trendy fields such as structural biology, neuroscience and biomaterials cannot be expected to carry on growing at the current pace, because in a few decades they would produce more papers than the whole of biology combined. Synthetic and systems biology are problematic from the point of view of knowledge dissemination, because in these fields more than 80% of existing papers have been published over the last five years. The evidence presented here casts a shadow on how sustainable the recent increase in scientific publications can be in the long term.

  3. Microstructure and thermochromic properties of VO{sub X}-WO{sub X}-VO{sub X} ceramic thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khamseh, S.; Ghahari, M. [Institute for Color Science and Technology, Department of Nanomaterial and Nanocoatings, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Araghi, H. [Islamic Azad University, Department of Materials Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Faghihi Sani, M.A. [Sharif University of Technology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2016-03-15

    W-doped VO{sub 2} films have been synthesized via oxygen annealing of V-W-V (vanadium-tungsten-vanadium) multilayered films. The effects of middle layer's thickness of V-W-V multilayered film on structure and properties of VO{sub X}-WO{sub X}-VO{sub X} ceramic thin films were investigated. The as-deposited V-W-V multilayered film showed amorphous-like structure when mixed structure of VO{sub 2} (M) and VO{sub 2} (B) was formed in VO{sub X}-WO{sub X}-VO{sub X} ceramic thin films. Tungsten content of VO{sub X}-WO{sub X}-VO{sub X} ceramic thin films increased with increasing middle layer's thickness. With increasing middle layer's thickness, room temperature square resistance (R{sub sq}) of VO{sub X}-WO{sub X}-VO{sub X} ceramic thin films increased from 65 to 86 kΩ/sq. The VO{sub X}-WO{sub X}-VO{sub X} ceramic thin film with the thinnest middle layer showed significant SMT (semiconductor-metal transition) when SMT became negligible on increasing middle layer's thickness. (orig.)

  4. Soft tissue engineering with micronized-gingival connective tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noda, Sawako; Sumita, Yoshinori; Ohba, Seigo; Yamamoto, Hideyuki; Asahina, Izumi

    2018-01-01

    The free gingival graft (FGG) and connective tissue graft (CTG) are currently considered to be the gold standards for keratinized gingival tissue reconstruction and augmentation. However, these procedures have some disadvantages in harvesting large grafts, such as donor-site morbidity as well as insufficient gingival width and thickness at the recipient site post-treatment. To solve these problems, we focused on an alternative strategy using micronized tissue transplantation (micro-graft). In this study, we first investigated whether transplantation of micronized gingival connective tissues (MGCTs) promotes skin wound healing. MGCTs (≤100 µm) were obtained by mincing a small piece (8 mm 3 ) of porcine keratinized gingiva using the RIGENERA system. The MGCTs were then transplanted to a full skin defect (5 mm in diameter) on the dorsal surface of immunodeficient mice after seeding to an atelocollagen matrix. Transplantations of atelocollagen matrixes with and without micronized dermis were employed as experimental controls. The results indicated that MGCTs markedly promote the vascularization and epithelialization of the defect area 14 days after transplantation compared to the experimental controls. After 21 days, complete wound closure with low contraction was obtained only in the MGCT grafts. Tracking analysis of transplanted MGCTs revealed that some mesenchymal cells derived from MGCTs can survive during healing and may function to assist in wound healing. We propose here that micro-grafting with MGCTs represents an alternative strategy for keratinized tissue reconstruction that is characterized by low morbidity and ready availability. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Synthesis and photocatalytic property for H{sub 2} production of H{sub 1.78}Sr{sub 0.78}Bi{sub 0.22}Nb{sub 2}O{sub 7} nanosheets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Bing [Laboratory of Environmental Sciences and Technology, Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics & Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Functional Materials and Devices for Special Environments, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011 (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Li, Yingxuan, E-mail: yxli@ms.xjb.ac.cn [Laboratory of Environmental Sciences and Technology, Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics & Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Functional Materials and Devices for Special Environments, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011 (China); Luo, Jianmin [Laboratory of Environmental Sciences and Technology, Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics & Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Functional Materials and Devices for Special Environments, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011 (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Academy of Instrument Analysis, Urumqi, 830011 (China); Zhao, He [Laboratory of Environmental Sciences and Technology, Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics & Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Functional Materials and Devices for Special Environments, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011 (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Zhao, Jie; Dong, Guohui; Zhu, Yunqing [Laboratory of Environmental Sciences and Technology, Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics & Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Functional Materials and Devices for Special Environments, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011 (China); Wang, Chuanyi, E-mail: cywang@ms.xjb.ac.cn [Laboratory of Environmental Sciences and Technology, Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics & Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Functional Materials and Devices for Special Environments, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011 (China)

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Ultrathin HSN Ns were first synthesized based on molten salt synthesis method. • HSN Ns Exhibit 5.5 times higher activity than that of the HSN Ps. • The enhanced photocatalytic activity of HSN Ns is due to the reduction in thickness. - Abstract: The SrBi{sub 2}Nb{sub 2}O{sub 9} platelets with a thickness of about 600 nm were synthesized by molten salt synthesis method. The treatment of the SrBi{sub 2}Nb{sub 2}O{sub 9} platelets with hydrochloric acid resulted in the formation of the protonated H{sub 1.78}Sr{sub 0.78}Bi{sub 0.22}Nb{sub 2}O{sub 7} platelets. Through a top–down approach in ethylamine solution, the H{sub 1.78}Sr{sub 0.78}Bi{sub 0.22}Nb{sub 2}O{sub 7} platelets were exfoliated into H{sub 1.78}Sr{sub 0.78}Bi{sub 0.22}Nb{sub 2}O{sub 7} nanosheets with a thickness of about 2.6 nm. The evolution of the structure, composition, morphology, optical, and photocatalytic properties of SrBi{sub 2}Nb{sub 2}O{sub 9} platelets was studied as it is converted into H{sub 1.78}Sr{sub 0.78}Bi{sub 0.22}Nb{sub 2}O{sub 7} platelets and subsequently exfoliated into H{sub 1.78}Sr{sub 0.78}Bi{sub 0.22}Nb{sub 2}O{sub 7} nanosheets. The absorption edge shifts to a lower wavelength accompanied by the protonation and exfoliation. The photocatalytic H{sub 2} evolution of the three samples were evaluated under the irradiation of a 300 W Xenon lamp from CH{sub 3}OH/H{sub 2}O solution, indicating that H{sub 1.78}Sr{sub 0.78}Bi{sub 0.22}Nb{sub 2}O{sub 7} nanosheets Exhibit 5.5 and 26.2 times higher activity than that of the H{sub 1.78}Sr{sub 0.78}Bi{sub 0.22}Nb{sub 2}O{sub 7} and SrBi{sub 2}Nb{sub 2}O{sub 9} platelets, respectively. The enhanced activity for the H{sub 1.78}Sr{sub 0.78}Bi{sub 0.22}Nb{sub 2}O{sub 7} nanosheets is mainly attributed to the higher separation efficiency of the photogenerated carriers and the larger specific surface area caused by the significant reduction in thickness.

  6. Effect of mechanical ventilation on regional variation of pleural liquid thickness in rabbits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, P M; Lai-Fook, S J

    1997-01-01

    We studied the effect of ventilation on the regional distribution of pleural liquid thickness in anesthetized rabbits. Three transparent pleural windows were made between the second and eight intercostal space along the midaxillary line of the right chest. Fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled dextran (1 ml) was injected into the pleural space through a rib capsule and allowed to mix with the pleural liquid. The light emitted from the pleural space beneath the windows was measured by fluorescence videomicroscopy at a constant tidal volume (20 ml) and two ventilation frequencies (20 and 40 breaths/min). Pleural liquid thickness was determined from the light measurements after in vitro calibration of pleural liquid collected postmortem. At 20 breaths/min, pleural liquid thickness increased with a cranial-caudal distance from 5 microns at the second to third intercostal space to 30 microns at the sixth through eighth intercostal space. At 40 breaths/min, pleural space thickness was unchanged at the second to third intercostal space but increased to 46 microns at the sixth through eighth intercostal space. To determine this effect on pleural liquid shear stress, we measured relative lung velocity from videomicroscopic images of the lung surface through the windows. Lung velocity amplitude increased with cranial-caudal distance and with ventilation frequency. Calculated shear stress amplitude was constant with cranial-caudal distance but increased with ventilation frequency. Thus, pleural liquid thickness is matched to the relative lung motion so as to maintain a spatially uniform shear stress amplitude in pleural liquid during mechanical ventilation.

  7. Interparticle interactions of FePt core and Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} shell in FePt/Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} magnetic nanoparticles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Akbari, Hossein, E-mail: Akbari.ph@iauardabil.ac.ir [Department of Physics, Ardabil Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ardabil (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Zeynali, Hossein [Department of Physics, Kashan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kashan (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Bakhshayeshi, Ali [Department of Physics, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2016-02-22

    Monodisperse FePt nanoparticles were successfully synthesized using simple wet chemical method. Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} was used as a magnetic shell around each FePt nanoparticles. In FePt/Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} core/shell system, core thickness is 2 nm and shell thickness varies from zero to 2.5 nm. A theoretical model presented to calculate the shell thickness dependence of Coercivity. Presented model is compared with the results from Stoner–Wohlfarth model to interpret the shell thickness dependence of Coercivity in FePt/Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} core/shell nanoparticles. There is a difference between the results from Stoner–Wohlfarth model and experimental data when the shell thickness increases. In the presented model, the effects of interparticle exchange and random magneto crystalline anisotropy are added to the previous models of magnetization reversal for core/shell nanostructures in order to achieve a better agreement with experimental data. For magnetic shells in FePt/Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} core/shell, effective coupling between particles increases with increasing shell thickness which leads to Coercivity destruction for stronger couplings. According to the boundary conditions, in the harder regions with higher exchange stiffness, there is small variation in magnetization and so the magnetization modes become more localized. We discussed both localized and non-localized magnetization modes. For non-zero shell thickness, non-localized modes propagate in the soft phase which effects the quality of particle exchange interactions. - Highlights: • Monodisperse FePt nanoparticles were successfully synthesized using simple wet chemical method. • Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} was used as a magnetic shell around each FePt nanoparticles. • A theoretical model presented to calculate the shell thickness dependence of Coercivity. • Magnetic shells increase effective coupling between particles with increasing shell thickness. • Magnetization modes are more localized in the regions with

  8. Thickness-dependent change in the valence band offset of the SiO{sub 2}/Si interface studied using synchrotron-radiation photoemission spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Toyoda, S., E-mail: toyoda.satoshi.4w@kyoto-u.ac.jp; Oshima, M. [Department of Applied Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656 (Japan)

    2016-08-28

    We have studied the thickness-dependent change in the valence band offset (VBO) of the SiO{sub 2}/Si(001) interface using synchrotron-radiation photoemission spectroscopy with soft and hard X-rays. The SiO{sub 2}-film thickness (T{sub ox}) and X-ray irradiation time (t{sub irrad}) were systematically parameterized to distinguish between the “intrinsic” T{sub ox} effects in the VBOs and the “extrinsic” differential charging phenomena in SiO{sub 2} films on Si substrates. The results revealed that at a spontaneous time (t{sub irrad} ≈ 5 s) that suppresses the differential charging phenomena as much as possible, the experimental VBO abruptly increases as a function of T{sub ox} and gradually saturates to the traditional VBO value range determined by the internal photoemission and photoconduction measurements. This effect is not attributed to the differential charging phenomena, but rather it is attributed to the “intrinsic” T{sub ox}-dependent change in the VBO. The two possible physical behaviors include electronic polarization and image charge. We have derived the electronic polarization contribution from experimental data by carefully describing the effects of the long-range image charges based on the classical dielectric-screening model.

  9. Impact of sensor metal thickness on microwave spectroscopy sensitivity for individual particles and biological cells analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Chen , Wenli; Dubuc , David; Grenier , Katia

    2016-01-01

    International audience; This paper focuses on evaluating the impact of metal thickness of a microwave coplanar based sensor dedicated to the microwave dielectric spectroscopy of single particles and individual biological cells. A sensitivity study has therefore been achieved for metal thicknesses comprised between 0.3 and 20 µm. After the validation of electromagnetic simulations with measurements of 10 μm-diameter polystyrene bead, both capacitive and conductive contrasts have been defined f...

  10. MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF GRAIN MICRONIZATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. A. Afanas’ev

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Summary. During micronisation grain moisture evaporates mainly in decreasing drying rate period. Grain layer located on the surface of the conveyor micronisers will be regarded as horizontal plate. Due to the fact that the micronisation process the surface of the grain evaporates little moisture (within 2-7 % is assumed constant plate thickness. Because in the process of micronization grain structure is changing, in order to achieve an exact solution of the equations necessary to take into account changes thermophysical, optical and others. Equation of heat transfer is necessary to add a term that is responsible for the infrared heating. Because of the small thickness of the grain, neglecting the processes occurring at the edge of the grain, that is actually consider the problem of an infinite plate. To check the adequacy of the mathematical model of the process of micronisation of wheat grain moisture content must be comparable to the function of time, obtained by solving the system of equations with the measured experimental data of experience. Numerical solution of a system of equations for the period of decreasing drying rate is feasible with the help of the Maple 14, substituting the values of the constants in the system. Calculation of the average relative error does not exceed 7- 10 %, and shows a good agreement between the calculated data and the experimental values.

  11. Thick resist for MEMS processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Joe; Hamel, Clifford

    2001-11-01

    The need for technical innovation is always present in today's economy. Microfabrication methods have evolved in support of the demand for smaller and faster integrated circuits with price performance improvements always in the scope of the manufacturing design engineer. The dispersion of processing technology spans well beyond IC fabrication today with batch fabrication and wafer scale processing lending advantages to MEMES applications from biotechnology to consumer electronics from oil exploration to aerospace. Today the demand for innovative processing techniques that enable technology is apparent where only a few years ago appeared too costly or not reliable. In high volume applications where yield and cost improvements are measured in fractions of a percent it is imperative to have process technologies that produce consistent results. Only a few years ago thick resist coatings were limited to thickness less than 20 microns. Factors such as uniformity, edge bead and multiple coatings made high volume production impossible. New developments in photoresist formulation combined with advanced coating equipment techniques that closely controls process parameters have enable thick photoresist coatings of 70 microns with acceptable uniformity and edge bead in one pass. Packaging of microelectronic and micromechanical devices is often a significant cost factor and a reliability issue for high volume low cost production. Technologies such as flip- chip assembly provide a solution for cost and reliability improvements over wire bond techniques. The processing for such technology demands dimensional control and presents a significant cost savings if it were compatible with mainstream technologies. Thick photoresist layers, with good sidewall control would allow wafer-bumping technologies to penetrate the barriers to yield and production where costs for technology are the overriding issue. Single pass processing is paramount to the manufacturability of packaging

  12. Very high-cycle fatigue failure in micron-scale polycrystalline silicon films : Effects of environment and surface oxide thickness

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Alsem, D. H.; Boyce, B. L.; Stach, E. A.; De Hosson, J. Th. M.; Ritchie, R. O.

    2007-01-01

    Fatigue failure in micron-scale polycrystalline silicon structural films, a phenomenon that is not observed in bulk silicon, can severely impact the durability and reliability of microelectromechanical system devices. Despite several studies on the very high-cycle fatigue behavior of these films (up

  13. Tunable Heterodyne Receiver from 100 Micron to 1,000 Micron for Airborne Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roeser, H. P.; Wattenbach, R.; Vanderwal, P.

    1984-01-01

    Interest in high resolution spectrometers for the submillimeter wavelength range from 100 micron to 1,000 micron is mostly stimulated by molecular spectroscopy in radioastronomy and atmospheric physics, and by plasma diagnostic experiments. Schottky diodes in waveguide mixer technology and InSb-hot electron bolometers are successfully used in the 0.5 to a few millimeter range whereas tandem Fabry-Perot spectrometers combined with photoconductive detectors (Ge:Sb and Ge:Ga) are used for the 100 micron range. Recent research on heterodyne spectrometers, with Schottky diodes in an open structure mixer and a molecular laser as local oscillators, which can be used over the whole wavelength range is summarized.

  14. Room temperature H{sub 2}S gas sensing characteristics of platinum (Pt) coated porous alumina (PoAl) thick films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    More, P.S., E-mail: p_smore@yahoo.co.in [Department of Physics, Institute of Science, Mumbai 400 032 (India); Raut, R.W. [Department of Botany, Institute of Science, Mumbai 400 032 (India); Ghuge, C.S. [Department of Physics, Institute of Science, Mumbai 400 032 (India)

    2014-02-14

    The study reports H{sub 2}S gas sensing characteristics of platinum (Pt) coated porous alumina (PoAl) films. The porous alumina (PoAl) thick layers were formed in the dark on aluminum substrates using an electrochemical anodization method. Thin semitransparent platinum (Pt) films were deposited on PoAl samples using chemical bath deposition (CBD) method. The films were characterized using energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The thicknesses of coated and bare films were measured using ellipsometry. The sensing properties such as sensitivity factor (S.F.), response time, recovery time and repeatability were measured using a static gas sensing system for H{sub 2}S gas. The EDAX studies confirmed the purity of Pt–PoAl film and indicated the formation of pure platinum (Pt) phase. The ellipsometry studies revealed the thickness of PoAl layer of about 15–17 μm on aluminum substrates. The SEM studies demonstrated uniform distribution of spherical pores with a size between 0.250 and 0.500 μm for PoAl film and nearly spherical platinum particles with average particle size ∼100 nm for Pt–PoAl film. The gas-sensing properties of these samples were studied in a home-built static gas characterization system. The H{sub 2}S gas sensing properties of Pt–PoAl at 1000 ppm of H{sub 2}S gave maximum sensitivity factor (S.F.) = 1200. The response time and recovery time were found to be 2–3 min and ∼1 min respectively. Further, the measurement of H{sub 2}S gas sensing properties clearly indicated the repeatability of gas sensing response of Pt–PoAl film. The present study indicated the significant potential of Pt coated PoAl films for H{sub 2}S gas sensing applications in diverse areas. - Highlights: • Electrochemical anodization, cheap and effective method for fabrication of PoAl. • Chemical bath deposition, a simple and effective method for deposition of Pt on PoAl. • A nano-composite film sensor with high sensitivity

  15. Influences of carbon content and coating carbon thickness on properties of amorphous CoSnO{sub 3}@C composites as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fan, Fuqiang [Key Laboratory of Lithium Battery Materials of Jiangsu Province, Institute of chemical power sources, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006 (China); Fang, Guoqing [Key Laboratory of Lithium Battery Materials of Jiangsu Province, Institute of chemical power sources, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006 (China); Changzhou Institute of Energy Storage Materials and Devices, Changzhou 213000 (China); Zhang, Ruixue [Key Laboratory of Lithium Battery Materials of Jiangsu Province, Institute of chemical power sources, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006 (China); Xu, Yanhui; Zheng, Junwei [Key Laboratory of Lithium Battery Materials of Jiangsu Province, Institute of chemical power sources, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006 (China); College of Physics, Optoelectronics and Energy, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006 (China); Li, Decheng, E-mail: lidecheng@suda.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Lithium Battery Materials of Jiangsu Province, Institute of chemical power sources, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006 (China); College of Physics, Optoelectronics and Energy, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006 (China)

    2014-08-30

    Highlights: • The thickness of carbon coating layers can be successfully controlled through varying molar concentration of aqueous glucose solution. • Coating carbon thickness and carbon content are two important factors on the electrochemical performances of CoSnO3@C. • CoSnO{sub 3}@C under optimized conditions exhibits the optimal balance between the volume buffering effect and reversible capacity. • As-prepared CoSnO{sub 3}@C under optimized conditions shows excellent electrochemical performances, whose reversible capacity could reach 491 mA h g{sup −1} after 100 cycles. - Abstract: A series of core–shell carbon coated amorphous CoSnO{sub 3} (CoSnO{sub 3}@C) with different carbon content are synthesized. Effects of carbon content and coating carbon thickness on the physical and electrochemical performances of the samples were studied in detail. The samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), galvanostatic charge–discharge and AC impedance spectroscopy, respectively. The results indicate that controlling the concentration of aqueous glucose solution influences the generation of in-situ carbon layer thickness. The optimal concentration of aqueous glucose solution, carbon content and carbon layer thickness are suggested as 0.25 M, 35.1% and 20 nm, respectively. CoSnO{sub 3}@C composite prepared under the optimal conditions exhibits excellent cycling performance, whose reversible capacity could reach 491 mA h g{sup −1} after 100 cycles.

  16. Observation of the dynamics of magnetically induced chains of sub-micron superparamagnetic beads in aqueous solutions by laser light scattering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tanizawa, Y; Tashiro, T; Sandhu, A; Ko, P J

    2013-01-01

    Optical monitoring the behaviour of magnetically induced self-assembled chains of superparamagnetic beads (SPBs) are of interest for biomedical applications such as biosensors. However, it is difficult to directly monitor magnetically induced self-assembly of sub-micron nano-beads with conventional optical microscopes. Here, we describe the optical observation of the dynamics of magnetically induced self-assembled rotating chains of 130 nm SPBs in aqueous solutions by laser light scattering. Magnetic fields of ∼1 kOe were applied to control the self-assembly chains of SPBs and their behaviour analyzed by monitoring the intensity of laser light scattered from the chain structures. We compared the light scattering from chains that were formed only by the application of external fields with chains formed by beads functionalized by EDC, where chemical reactions lead to the bonding of individual beads to form chains. The EDC experiments are a precursor to experiments on molecular recognition applications for biomedical diagnostics.

  17. Electrochemical formation of AlN in molten LiCl-KCl-Li{sub 3}N systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goto, Takuya [Department of Fundamental Energy Science, Graduate School of Energy Science, Kyoto University, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8501 (Japan)]. E-mail: goto@energy.kyoto-u.ac.jp; Iwaki, Takayuki [Department of Fundamental Energy Science, Graduate School of Energy Science, Kyoto University, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8501 (Japan); Ito, Yasuhiko [Department of Fundamental Energy Science, Graduate School of Energy Science, Kyoto University, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8501 (Japan)

    2005-01-30

    Electrochemical formation of aluminum nitride was investigated in molten LiCl-KCl-Li{sub 3}N systems at 723 K. When Al was anodically polarized at 1.0 V (versus Li{sup +}/Li), oxidation of nitride ions proceeded to form adsorbed nitrogen atoms, which reacted with the surface to form AlN film. The obtained nitrided film had a thickness of sub-micron order. The obtained nitrided layer consisted of two regions; the outer layer involving AlN and aluminum oxynitride and the inner layer involving metallic Al and AlN. When Al electrode was anodically polarized at 2.0 V, anodic dissolution of Al electrode occurred to give aluminum ions, which reacted with nitride ions in the melt to produce AlN particles (1-5 {mu}m of diameter) of wurtzite structure.

  18. Parametric study of plasma-mediated thermoluminescence produced by Al2O3 sub-micron powders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morávek, T.; Ambrico, P. F.; Ambrico, M.; Schiavulli, L.; Ráheľ, J.

    2017-10-01

    Sub-micron Al2O3 powders with a surface activated by dielectric barrier discharge exhibit improved performance in wet deposition of ceramic layers. In addressing the possible mechanisms responsible for the observed improvement, a comprehensive thermoluminescence (TL) study of plasma-activated powders was performed. TL offers the unique possibility of exploring the population of intrinsic electrons/holes in the charge trapping states. This study covers a wide range of experimental conditions affecting the TL of powders: treatment time, plasma working gas composition, change of discharge configuration, step-annealing of powder, exposure to laser irradiation and aging time. Deconvoluted TL spectra were followed for the changes in their relative contributions. The TL spectra of all tested gases (air, Ar, N2 and 5% He in N2) consist of the well-known main dosimetric peak at 450 K and a peak of similar magnitude at higher temperatures, centered between 700 and 800 K depending on the working gas used. N2 plasma treatment gave rise to a new specific TL peak at 510 K, which exhibited several peculiarities. Initial thermal annealing of Al2O3 powders led to its significant amplification (unlike the other peaks); the peak was insensitive to optical bleaching, and it exhibited slow gradual growth during the long-term aging test. Besides its relevance to the ceramic processing studies, a comprehensive set of data is presented that provides a useful and unconventional view on plasma-mediated material changes.

  19. Ultrafast microwave hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of Bi{sub 1−x}La{sub x}FeO{sub 3} micronized particles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ponzoni, C. [Department of Engineering “Enzo Ferrari”, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena 42025 (Italy); Cannio, M., E-mail: maria.cannio@unimore.it [Department of Engineering “Enzo Ferrari”, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena 42025 (Italy); Boccaccini, D.N.; Bahl, C.R.H.; Agersted, K. [Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical University of Denmark Frederiksborgvej, 4000 Roskilde (Denmark); Leonelli, C. [Department of Engineering “Enzo Ferrari”, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena 42025 (Italy)

    2015-07-15

    In this work a microwave assisted hydrothermal method is applied to successfully synthesize lanthanum doped bismuth ferrites (BLFO, Bi{sub 1−x}La{sub x}FeO{sub 3} where x = 0, 0.15, 0.30 and 0.45). The growth mechanism of the Bi{sub 1−x}La{sub x}FeO{sub 3} crystallites is discussed in detail. The existence of the single-phase perovskite structure for all the doped samples is confirmed by the X-ray powder diffraction patterns. A peak shift, observed at lower angle with increasing La doping concentration, indicates that the BiFeO{sub 3} lattice is doped. The results of TG/DTA show a shift in the transition temperature from 805 °C to 815 °C as function of the La-doping for all the doped powders. At higher levels of La doping, i.e. x = 0.30 and 0.45, significant weight losses occur above 860 °C suggesting a change in the physical and chemical properties. Finally, magnetic measurements are carried out at room temperature for pure BiFeO{sub 3} and Bi{sub 0.85}La{sub 0.15}FeO{sub 3}. The results indicate that the materials are both weakly ferromagnetic, with no significant hysteresis in the curves. - Graphical abstract: Display Omitted - Highlights: • MW hydrothermal method applied to synthesize Bi{sub 1−x}La{sub x}FeO{sub 3}, x = 0, 0.15, 0.30, 0.45. • A single-phase perovskite structure for all the samples was confirmed by XRD. • A T{sub c} shift in La doped BiFeO{sub 3} DTA was observed as function of the La-doping. • Magnetic measurements indicate that the materials are weakly ferromagnetic.

  20. Progress towards sub-micron hard x-ray imaging using elliptically bent mirrors and its applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    MacDowell, A.A.; Lamble, G.M.; Celestre, R.S.; Padmore, H.A.; Chang, C.H.; Patel, J.R.

    1998-06-01

    The authors have developed an x-ray micro-probe facility utilizing mirror bending techniques that allow white light x-rays (4--12keV) from the Advanced light Source Synchrotron to be focused down to spot sizes of micron spatial dimensions. They have installed a 4 crystal monochromator prior to the micro-focusing mirrors. The monochromator is designed such that it can move out of the way of the input beam, and allows the same micron sized sample to be illuminated with either white or monochromatic radiation. Illumination of the sample with white light allows for elemental mapping and Laue x-ray diffraction, while illumination of the sample with monochromatic light allows for elemental mapping (with reduced background), micro-X-ray absorption spectroscopy and micro-diffraction. The performance of the system will be described as will some of the initial experiments that cover the various disciplines of Earth, Material and Life Sciences

  1. Progress towards sub-micron hard x-ray imaging using elliptically bent mirrors and its applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    MacDowell, A.A.; Lamble, G.M.; Celestre, R.S.; Padmore, H.A. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab., CA (United States); Chang, C.H.; Patel, J.R. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab., CA (United States). Advanced Light Source Div.]|[Stanford Univ., CA (United States)

    1998-06-01

    The authors have developed an x-ray micro-probe facility utilizing mirror bending techniques that allow white light x-rays (4--12keV) from the Advanced light Source Synchrotron to be focused down to spot sizes of micron spatial dimensions. They have installed a 4 crystal monochromator prior to the micro-focusing mirrors. The monochromator is designed such that it can move out of the way of the input beam, and allows the same micron sized sample to be illuminated with either white or monochromatic radiation. Illumination of the sample with white light allows for elemental mapping and Laue x-ray diffraction, while illumination of the sample with monochromatic light allows for elemental mapping (with reduced background), micro-X-ray absorption spectroscopy and micro-diffraction. The performance of the system will be described as will some of the initial experiments that cover the various disciplines of Earth, Material and Life Sciences.

  2. Critical current density of strained multilayer thin films of Nd sub 1. 83 Ce sub 0. 17 CuO sub x /YBa sub 2 Cu sub 3 O sub 7 minus. delta

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gross, R.; Gupta, A.; Olsson, E.; Segmueller, A.; Koren, G. (IBM T. J. Watson Research Center, P.O. Box 218, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598 (USA))

    1990-07-09

    The superconducting transport properties of strained multilayer thin films of YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7{minus}{delta}}/ Nd{sub 1.83}Ce{sub 0.17}CuO{sub {ital x}}, grown heteroepitaxially by laser ablation deposition, are reported. For individual layer thicknesses below a critical layer thickness of about 250 A, coherency strain removes the orthorhombic distortion in the YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7{minus}{delta}} layers and makes them twin-free. Zero-field critical current densities as high as 1.1{times}10{sup 7} A/cm{sup 2} at 77 K have been measured for the YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7{minus}{delta}} layers. Flux pinning energies at zero temperature and zero magnetic field in the range of 80--140 meV have been found.

  3. Structural, magnetic and transport properties of Co{sub 2}FeAl Heusler films with varying thickness

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Xiaotian [School of Material Sciences and Engineering, Hebei University Technology, Tianjin 300130 (China); Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); Li, Yueqing [Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); State Key Laboratory of Metastable Material Sciences and Technology, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004 (China); Du, Yin [Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); Dai, Xuefang; Liu, Guodong [School of Material Sciences and Engineering, Hebei University Technology, Tianjin 300130 (China); Liu, Enke [Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); Liu, Zhongyuan [State Key Laboratory of Metastable Material Sciences and Technology, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004 (China); Wang, Wenhong, E-mail: wenhong.wang@iphy.ac.cn [Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); Wu, Guangheng [Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China)

    2014-08-01

    We report on a systematic study of the structural, magnetic properties and the anomalous Hall effect, in the Heusler alloy Co{sub 2}FeAl (CFA) epitaxial films on MgO (001), as a function of film thickness. It was found that the epitaxial CFA films show a highly ordered B2 structure with an in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy. The electrical transport properties reveal that the lattice and magnon scattering contributions to the longitudinal resistivity. Independent on the thickness of films, the anomalous Hall resistivity of CFA films is found to be dominated by skew scattering only. Moreover, the anomalous Hall resistivity shows weakly temperature dependent behavior, and its absolute value increases as the thickness decreases. We attribute this temperature insensitivity in the anomalous Hall resistivity to the weak temperature dependent of tunneling spin-polarization in the CFA films, while the thickness dependence behavior is likely due to the increasing significance of interface or free surface electronic states. - Highlights: ●Highly ordered CFA films with various thicknesses were prepared on MgO substrates. ●The magnon scattering contributions to the longitudinal resistivity in the CFA films. ●The anomalous Hall resistivity of the CFA films shows weakly temperature dependent. ●The CFA films show weak temperature dependent of tunneling spin-polarization.

  4. Properties of morphotropic phase boundary Pb(Mg{sub 1/3}Nb{sub 2/3})O{sub 3}-PbTiO{sub 3} films with submicrometre range thickness on Si-based substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alguero, M; Ricote, J; Calzada, M L [Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, CSIC, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid (Spain); Stewart, M; Cain, M G [National Physical Laboratory, Hampton Road, Teddington TW11 0LW (United Kingdom); Ramos, P [Departamento de Electronica, Universidad de Alcala. 28871 Alcala de Henares (Spain)

    2010-05-26

    The electrical properties of (1 - x)Pb(Mg{sub 1/3} Nb{sub 2/3})O{sub 3} - xPbTiO{sub 3} films with composition in the morphotropic phase boundary region around x = 0.35, submicrometre thickness and columnar microstructure, prepared on Si-based substrates by chemical solution deposition are presented and discussed in relation to the properties of coarse and fine grained ceramics. The films show relaxor characteristics that are proposed to result from a grain size effect on the kinetics of the relaxor to ferroelectric transition. The transition is slowed down for grain sizes in the submicrometre range, and as a consequence intermediate polar domain configurations with typical length scales in the submicrometre- and nanoscales are stabilized. A high saturation polarization can be attained under field, but fast polarization relaxation occurs after its removal, and negligible remanent values are obtained. At the same time, they also show spontaneous piezoelectricity and pyroelectricity. Self-polarization is thus present, which indicates the existence of an internal electric field that is most probably a substrate effect. Films would then be in a phase instability, at an intermediate state between the relaxor and ferroelectric ones, and under a bias electric field, which would explain the very high spontaneous pyroelectric response found.

  5. Orientation and thickness dependence of magnetic levitation force and trapped magnetic field of single grain YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-y} bulk superconductors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jung, Y.; Go, S. J.; Joo, H. T. [Korea Science Academy of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Pusan (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Y. J.; Park, S. D.; Jun, B. H.; KIm, C. J. [Neutron Utilization Technology Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-03-15

    The effects of the crystallographic orientation and sample thickness on the magnetic levitation forces (F) and trapped magnetic field (B) of single grain YBCO bulk superconductors were examined. Single grain YBCO samples with a (001), (110) or (100) surface were used as the test samples. The samples used for the force-distance (F-d) measurement were cooled at 77 K without a magnetic field (zero field cooling, ZFC), whereas the samples used for the B measurement were cooled under the external magnetic field of a Nd-B-Fe permanent magnet (field cooling, FC). It was found that F and B of the (001) surface were higher than those of the (110) or (100) surface, which is attributed to the higher critical current density (J{sub c}) of the (001) surface. For the (001) samples with t=5–18 mm, the maximum magnetic levitation forces (F{sub max}s) of the ZFC samples were larger than 40 N. About 80% of the applied magnetic field was trapped in the FC samples. However, the F and B decreased rapidly as t decreased below 5 mm. There exists a critical sample thickness (t=5 mm for the experimental condition of this study) for maintaining the large levitation/trapping properties, which is dependent on the material properties and magnitude of the external magnetic fields.

  6. Synthesis and characterization particles of Ba{sub 0,50}Sr{sub 0,50}Co{sub 0,80}Fe{sub 0,20}O{sub 3} obtained by the citrate-EDTA technique; Sintese e caracterizacao de particulados de Ba{sub 0,50}Sr{sub 0,50}Co{sub 0,80}Fe{sub 0,20}O{sub 3} obtidos pela tecnica dos citratos-EDTA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bonturim, E; Vargas, R A; Andreoli, M; Seo, E S.M., [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (CCTM/IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil). Centro de Ciencia e Tecnologia de Materiais

    2010-07-01

    The Ba{sub (1-x)}Sr{sub (x)}Co{sub (1-y)}Fe{sub (y)}O{sub (3)} (BSCF) has been studied as a cathode material for Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cell, due to its better ion and electron conduction. This work aims to study the synthesis of the compound obtained from the citrate-EDTA technique. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated the formation of the compound above 800 deg C. The materials calcined at temperatures of 700, 800 and 900 deg C for 5 h showed cubic pseudo-perovskite structure, according to the literature. By analysis of X-ray fluorescence were obtained powders with nominal chemical composition in the temperature range studied. The micrographs obtained by SEM and particle size distribution analysis showed the formation of particle with diameters below 1 micron. (author)

  7. Nanotechnology as a way to overcome the rapid J{sub c} fall with HTS film thickness

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Svetchnikov, V L; Flis, V S; Kalenyuk, A A; Kasatkin, A L; Rebikov, A I; Moskaliuk, V O; Pan, V M; Tretiatchenko, C G, E-mail: pan@imp.kiev.u [Institute for Metal Physics, 36 Vernadsky Blvd, Kiev 03142 (Ukraine)

    2010-06-01

    We have carried out a comprehensive study of a relation between the nanostructure and electromagnetic properties of the films prepared by pulse laser deposition on LaAlO{sub 3} substrates using YBCO targets with BaZrO{sub 3} additives. HREM studies revealed that depending on the deposition conditions BZO can precipitate as nanorods normal to the substrate or as BaYZr{sub x}O{sub y} nano-pancakes. BZO nanorods are formed at lower laser power and higher substrate temperature. Their lattice is rotated by 3-4{sup 0} to provide matching with matrix without dislocations. In a contrary, the nano-pancakes are surrounded with a great number of dislocations. Mechanisms of the nanostructure formation have been analyzed. Embedding of a proper kind of nanoparticles into HTS films leads not only to a certain increase of the critical current density J{sub c} but to a substantial weakening of its field and thickness dependences compared with pure YBCO films. Negative curvature of I-V-curves (in double-log scale) for YBCO (BZO) films is an evidence of strong pinning on extended defects, such as nanorods and threading dislocations, and/or collective vortex pinning.

  8. Online estimation of wax deposition thickness in single-phase sub-sea pipelines based on acoustic chemometrics: A feasibility study

    OpenAIRE

    Halstensen, Maths; Arvoh, Benjamin Kaku; Amundsen, Lene; Hoffmann, Rainer

    2012-01-01

    Wax deposition in sub-sea oil producing pipelines is a concern to the oil producing companies. The deposition of wax in pipelines can cause serious economic implications if not monitored and controlled. Several researchers have developed models and investigated the deposition of wax in crude oil pipelines. As of today, there is no off the shelf instrument available for reliable online estimation of the wax depo- sition thickness in sub-sea pipelines. Acoustic chemometrics was applied to inves...

  9. Vertical Bridgman growth and characterization of Cd<sub>0.95-xsub>MnxZn>0.05sub>Te (x=0.20, 0.30) single-crystal ingots

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bolotnikov, A. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Kopach, V. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Kopach, O. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Shcherbak, L. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Fochuk, P. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Filonenko, S. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); James, R. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

    2017-08-01

    Solid-liquid phase transitions in Cd<sub>0.95-xsub>MnxZn>0.05sub>Te alloys with x = 0.20 and 0.30 were investigated by differential thermal analysis (DTA). The heating/cooling rates were 5 and 10 K/min with a melt dwell time of 10, 30 and 60 minutes. Cd<sub>0.95-xsub>MnxZn>0.05sub>Te (x=0.20, 0.30) single-crystal ingots were grown by the vertical Bridgman method guided using the DTA results. Te inclusions (1-20 microns), typical for CdTe and Cd(Zn)Te crystals, were observed in the ingots by infrared transmission microscopy. The measured X-ray diffraction patterns showed that all compositions are found to be in a single phase. Using current-voltage (I-V) measurements, the resistivity of the samples from each ingot was estimated to be about 105 Ohm·cm. The optical transmission analysis demonstrated that the band-gap width of the investigated ingots increased from 1.77 to 1.88 eV with the increase of the MnTe content from 20 to 30 mol. %.

  10. Model of hot-carrier induced degradation in ultra-deep sub-micrometer nMOSFET

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lei Xiao-Yi; Liu Hong-Xia; Zhang Yue; Ma Xiao-Hua; Hao Yue

    2014-01-01

    The degradation produced by hot carrier (HC) in ultra-deep sub-micron n-channel metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (nMOSFET) has been analyzed in this paper. The generation of negatively charged interface states is the predominant mechanism for the ultra-deep sub-micron nMOSFET. According to our lifetime model of p-channel MOFET (pMOFET) that was reported in a previous publication, a lifetime prediction model for nMOSFET is presented and the parameters in the model are extracted. For the first time, the lifetime models of nMOFET and pMOSFET are unified. In addition, the model can precisely predict the lifetime of the ultra-deep sub-micron nMOSFET and pMOSFET. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

  11. Growth and properties of La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3}/YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7−δ}/La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3} epitaxial trilayer films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sharma, Minaxi, E-mail: meenanith@gmail.com; Kumar, Arvind; Sharma, K. K. [Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur -177005 (India); Kumar, Ravi [Centre for Materials Science and Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur -177005 (India); Beant College of Engineering and Technology, Gurdaspur Punjab-143521 (India); Choudhary, R. J. [UGC-DAE-Consortium for Scientific Research, Khandwa Road, Indore-452001 (India)

    2015-08-28

    We report the growth and properties of La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3}/YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7−δ}/La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3} LSMO/YBCO/LSMO epitaxial trilayer films, fabricated on SrTiO{sub 3} substrate using pulsed laser deposition technique. From x-ray diffraction and high resolution x-ray diffraction measurements, it is confirmed that the grown trilayered films are single phase and epitaxial in nature. Magneto-transport and magnetic properties are found to be dependent on the thickness of YBCO spacer layer. We infer that for fixed thickness of top and bottom LSMO layers, superconductivity is completely suppressed. At 100 K, the hysteresis loops reveal the ferromagnetic signature of trilayered film. At room temperature, we obtain a butterfly type scenario, signifies the co-existence of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interaction. In addition, at room temperature, the YBCO spacer layer allowing the top and bottom LSMO layers to interact antiferromagnetically.

  12. Diode laser trabeculoplasty in open angle glaucoma: 50 micron vs. 100 micron spot size.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veljko, Andreić; Miljković, Aleksandar; Babić, Nikola

    2011-01-01

    The study was aimed at evaluating the efficacy of diode laser trabeculoplsaty in lowering intraocular pressure in patients with both primary open-angle glaucoma and exfoliation glaucoma by using different size of laser spot. This six-month, unmasked, controlled, prospective study included sixty-two patients with the same number of eyes, who were divided into two groups. Trabeculoplasty was performed with 50 micron and 100 micron laser spot size in the group I and group II, respectively. Other laser parameters were the same for both groups: the wave length of 532 nm, 0.1 second single emission with the power of 600-1200 mW was applied on the 180 degrees of the trabeculum. The mean intraocular pressure decrease in the 50 micron group (group 1) on day 7 was 24% from the baseline and after six-month follow-up period the intraocular pressure decrease was 29.8% (p < 0.001). In the 100 micron group (group II), the mean intraocular pressure decrease on day 7 was 26.5% and after six months it was 39% (p < 0.001).

  13. On the influence of cloud fraction diurnal cycle and sub-grid cloud optical thickness variability on all-sky direct aerosol radiative forcing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Min, Min; Zhang, Zhibo

    2014-01-01

    The objective of this study is to understand how cloud fraction diurnal cycle and sub-grid cloud optical thickness variability influence the all-sky direct aerosol radiative forcing (DARF). We focus on the southeast Atlantic region where transported smoke is often observed above low-level water clouds during burning seasons. We use the CALIOP observations to derive the optical properties of aerosols. We developed two diurnal cloud fraction variation models. One is based on sinusoidal fitting of MODIS observations from Terra and Aqua satellites. The other is based on high-temporal frequency diurnal cloud fraction observations from SEVIRI on board of geostationary satellite. Both models indicate a strong cloud fraction diurnal cycle over the southeast Atlantic region. Sensitivity studies indicate that using a constant cloud fraction corresponding to Aqua local equatorial crossing time (1:30 PM) generally leads to an underestimated (less positive) diurnal mean DARF even if solar diurnal variation is considered. Using cloud fraction corresponding to Terra local equatorial crossing time (10:30 AM) generally leads overestimation. The biases are a typically around 10–20%, but up to more than 50%. The influence of sub-grid cloud optical thickness variability on DARF is studied utilizing the cloud optical thickness histogram available in MODIS Level-3 daily data. Similar to previous studies, we found the above-cloud smoke in the southeast Atlantic region has a strong warming effect at the top of the atmosphere. However, because of the plane-parallel albedo bias the warming effect of above-cloud smoke could be significantly overestimated if the grid-mean, instead of the full histogram, of cloud optical thickness is used in the computation. This bias generally increases with increasing above-cloud aerosol optical thickness and sub-grid cloud optical thickness inhomogeneity. Our results suggest that the cloud diurnal cycle and sub-grid cloud variability are important factors

  14. The application of semianalytic method for calculating the thickness of biological shields of nuclear reactors. Part 2. Attenuation of gamma rays. An example of shield's thickness calculation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lukaszek, W.; Kucypera, S.

    1982-01-01

    The semianalytic method was used for calculating the attenuation of gamma rays and the thickness of biological shield of graphite moderated reactor. A short description of computer code as well as the exemplary results of calculations are given. (A.S.)

  15. Observation of the domain structures in ferromagnetically coupled (Fe{sub 97}Al{sub 3}){sub 85}N{sub 15}/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} multilayers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stobiecki, T.; Zoladz, M. [Department of Electronics, University of Mining and Metallurgy, 30-059 Krakow (Poland); Otto, M.; Roell, K. [Universitaet Gesamthochschule Kassel, Experimentalphysik IV, 34132 Kassel (Germany); Maass, W. [Unaxis GmbH, Alzenau (Germany)

    2003-03-01

    The strength of ferromagnetic (FM) coupling as a function of the spacer thickness of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} was investigated by means of the Kerr microscopy used for analysis of magnetic domains. It was found that strong FM-coupling, strong uniaxial anisotropy and coherent rotation of the magnetization have been observed for the spacer thickness in the range of 0.2 nm{<=}t{<=}1 nm, however weak FM-coupling, patch domains and 360 -walls occur for the spacer thickness of t=2.5 nm. At a spacer thickness of t{>=}5 nm transition takes place from weak FM-coupling to the decoupled state where complex interlayer interactions and different types of the domain walls were observed. (Abstract Copyright [2003], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

  16. Measurement of thickness of thin films by the X-ray diffraction method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Srinivasan, C.; Balasingh, C.; Singh, A.K.

    1979-07-01

    X-ray diffraction method can be used to measure the thickness of thin films (coatings). The principle and the experimental details of the x-ray diffraction methods are described. The intensities of the diffracted beams are derived assuming a random orientation of the crystallites in the diffracting medium. Consequently, the expressions are not valid when the sample has preferred orientation. To check the performance of the method, thicknesses of nickel deposits on mild steel plates were determined by the x-ray diffraction method and the results compared with those obtained by the weighing method and metallographic examination. The weighing method which gives an accuracy of +- 0.1 micron is taken as the standard. The x-ray diffraction methods and the metallographic examinations give values within +- 1 micron of the value obtained by the weighing method. (author)

  17. Particles on surfaces of laser ablated Y{sub 1}Ba{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-{delta}} films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zheng, X.Y.; Zhu, S. [Tennessee Univ., Knoxville, TN (United States); Lowndes, D.H.; Warmack, R.J. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

    1993-09-01

    Pulsed laser deposition of Y{sub 1}Ba{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-{delta}} films grown at heater temperature of 720 and 800 C on SrTiO{sub 3} and MgO substrates with thickness ranging from a nominal 5 unit cells to 200 nm were studied by STM and SEM. Size and density of particles present in the films were found to depend on film thickness, growth temperature and substrate. STM images indicate a correlation between film growth mode and particle density: the onset of big particles comes after the growth mode changes from layer-like to island growth.

  18. Low-phonon-frequency chalcogenide crystalline hosts for rare earth lasers operating beyond three microns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Payne, Stephen A.; Page, Ralph H.; Schaffers, Kathleen I.; Nostrand, Michael C.; Krupke, William F.; Schunemann, Peter G.

    2000-01-01

    The invention comprises a RE-doped MA.sub.2 X.sub.4 crystalline gain medium, where M includes a divalent ion such as Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Pb, Eu, or Yb; A is selected from trivalent ions including Al, Ga, and In; X is one of the chalcogenide ions S, Se, and Te; and RE represents the trivalent rare earth ions. The MA.sub.2 X.sub.4 gain medium can be employed in a laser oscillator or a laser amplifier. Possible pump sources include diode lasers, as well as other laser pump sources. The laser wavelengths generated are greater than 3 microns, as becomes possible because of the low phonon frequency of this host medium. The invention may be used to seed optical devices such as optical parametric oscillators and other lasers.

  19. Efficient CW diode-pumped Tm, Ho:YLF laser with tunability near 2.067 microns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mcguckin, B. T.; Menzies, Robert T.

    1992-01-01

    A conversion efficiency of 42 percent and slope efficiency of approximately 60 percent relative to absorbed pump power are reported from a continuous wave diode-pumped Tm, Ho:YLF laser at 2 microns with output power of 84 mW at sub-ambient temperatures. The emission spectrum is etalon tunable over a range of 16/cm centered on 2.067 microns, with fine tuning capability of the transition frequency with crystal temperature at a measured rate of about -0.03/cm-K. The effective emission cross section is measured to be 5 x 10 exp -21 sq cm. These and other aspects of the laser performance are discussed in the context of calculated atmospheric absorption characteristics in this spectral region and potential use in remote sensing applications.

  20. Hot corrosion of the ceramic composite coating Ni{sub 3}Al-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/MgO plasma sprayed on 316L stainless steel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shirazi, Amir Khodaparast; Kiahosseini, Seyed Rahim [Islamic Azad Univ., Damghan (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Dept. of Engineering

    2017-08-15

    Ni{sub 3}Al-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/MgO three-layered coatings with thicknesses of 50, 100, and 150 μm for Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/MgO and 100 μm for the other layers were deposited on 316L stainless steel using plasma spraying. X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, furnace hot corrosion testing in the presence of a mixture of Na{sub 2}SO{sub 4} and V{sub 2}O{sub 5} corrosive salts and scanning electron microscopy were used to determine the structural, morphological and hot corrosion resistance of samples. Results revealed that the crystalline grains of MgO and Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} coating were very small. Weight loss due to hot corrosion decreased from approximately 4.267 g for 316L stainless steel without coating to 2.058 g. The samples with 150 μm outer coating showed improved resistance with the increase in outer layer thickness. Scanning electron microscopy of the coated surface revealed that the coating's resistance to hot corrosion is related to the thickness and the grain size of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/MgO coatings.

  1. Device and performance parameters of Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S){sub 2}-based solar cells with varying i-ZnO layer thickness

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Macabebe, E.Q.B. [Department of Physics, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, P.O. Box 77000, Port Elizabeth 6031 (South Africa); Sheppard, C.J. [Department of Physics, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park 2006 (South Africa); Dyk, E.E. van, E-mail: ernest.vandyk@nmmu.ac.z [Department of Physics, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, P.O. Box 77000, Port Elizabeth 6031 (South Africa)

    2009-12-01

    In pursuit of low-cost and highly efficient thin film solar cells, Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S){sub 2}/CdS/i-ZnO/ZnO:Al (CIGSS) solar cells were fabricated using a two-step process. The thickness of i-ZnO layer was varied from 0 to 454 nm. The current density-voltage (J-V) characteristics of the devices were measured, and the device and performance parameters of the solar cells were obtained from the J-V curves to analyze the effect of varying i-ZnO layer thickness. The device parameters were determined using a parameter extraction method that utilized particle swarm optimization. The method is a curve-fitting routine that employed the two-diode model. The J-V curves of the solar cells were fitted with the model and the parameters were determined. Results show that as the thickness of i-ZnO was increased, the average efficiency and the fill factor (FF) of the solar cells increase. Device parameters reveal that although the series resistance increased with thicker i-ZnO layer, the solar cells absorbed more photons resulting in higher short-circuit current density (J{sub sc}) and, consequently, higher photo-generated current density (J{sub L}). For solar cells with 303-454 nm-thick i-ZnO layer, the best devices achieved efficiency between 15.24% and 15.73% and the fill factor varied between 0.65 and 0.67.

  2. Au nanoparticles decorated SiO{sub 2} nanowires by dewetting on curved surfaces: facile synthesis and nanoparticles-nanowires sizes correlation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ruffino, F., E-mail: francesco.ruffino@ct.infn.it; Grimaldi, M. G. [Universita di Catania, Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia (Italy)

    2013-09-15

    We report a solid-state synthesis for SiO{sub 2} nanowires (NWs) (up to 20 microns in length and from about 40 to about 150 nm in diameter) coated by Au nanoparticles (NPs) (from about 20 to about 80 nm in diameter). This protocol is based on three steps: (1) large area production of very long SiO{sub 2} NWs on a Si surface exploiting a simple Au/Si solid-state reaction at high temperature; (2) coating of the SiO{sub 2} NWs by a Au film of desired thickness using sputtering depositions; and (3) a thermal process to induce a dewetting process of the Au-film coating the SiO{sub 2} NWs to obtain Au NPs on the curved surface of the NWs. The morphology evolution of the SiO{sub 2} NWs was followed, in each step, by scanning electron microscopy analyses. They allowed to correlate the evolution of the NPs size with the NWs sizes for different thicknesses of the starting Au-film coating the NWs and different annealing temperatures of the dewetting process. Some theoretical concepts, related to the dewetting process of a film on a curved surface were used to describe the experimental data. The main advantages of the proposed protocols include: (i) simplicity and low-cost (it is based only on sputtering depositions and thermal processes), and (ii) versatility based on the possibility of tuning Au-film thickness and annealing temperature to tune the NPs-NWs sizes ratio. These advantages can make this technique suitable for the mass production of Au NPs-coated SiO{sub 2} NWs toward applications in electronic devices, biosensors, and nanoscale optical devices.

  3. The magnetoresistance of sub-micron Fe wires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blundell, S. J.; Shearwood, C.; Gester, M.; Baird, M. J.; Bland, J. A. C.; Ahmed, H.

    1994-07-01

    A novel combination of electron- and ion-beam lithography has been used to prepare Fe gratings with wire widths of 0.5 μm and wire separations in the range 0.5-4 μm from an Fe/GaAs (001) film of thickness 25 nm. With an in-plane magnetic field applied perpendicular to the length of the wires, a harder magnetisation loop is observed using the magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE), compared with that observed in the unprocessed film. We observe a strong effect in the magnetoresistance (MR) when the magnetic field is applied transverse to the wires. It is believed that this effect originates from the highly non-uniform demagnetising field in each wire of the grating. These results demonstrate that the combination of MOKE and MR measurements can provide important information about the magnetisation reversal processes in magnetic gratings and can be used to understand the effect of shape anisotropy on magnetic properties.

  4. Influence of air exposure duration and a-Si capping layer thickness on the performance of p-BaSi{sub 2}/n-Si heterojunction solar cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Takabe, Ryota; Yachi, Suguru; Tsukahara, Daichi; Takeuchi, Hiroki; Toko, Kaoru; Suemasu, Takashi, E-mail: suemasu@bk.tsukuba.ac.jp [Institute of Applied Physics, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8573 (Japan); Du, Weijie [Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Material and Device, College of Mathematics and Science, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234 (China)

    2016-08-15

    Fabrication of p-BaSi{sub 2}(20 nm)/n-Si heterojunction solar cells was performed with different a-Si capping layer thicknesses (d{sub a-Si}) and varying air exposure durations (t{sub air}) prior to the formation of a 70-nm-thick indium-tin-oxide electrode. The conversion efficiencies (η) reached approximately 4.7% regardless of t{sub air} (varying from 12–150 h) for solar cells with d{sub a-Si} = 5 nm. In contrast, η increased from 5.3 to 6.6% with increasing t{sub air} for those with d{sub a-Si} = 2 nm, in contrast to our prediction. For this sample, the reverse saturation current density (J{sub 0}) and diode ideality factor decreased with t{sub air}, resulting in the enhancement of η. The effects of the variation of d{sub a-Si} (0.7, 2, 3, and 5 nm) upon the solar cell performance were examined while keeping t{sub air} = 150 h. The η reached a maximum of 9.0% when d{sub a-Si} was 3 nm, wherein the open-circuit voltage and fill factor also reached a maximum. The series resistance, shunt resistance, and J{sub 0} exhibited a tendency to decrease as d{sub a-Si} increased. These results demonstrate that a moderate oxidation of BaSi{sub 2} is a very effective means to enhance the η of BaSi{sub 2} solar cells.

  5. Synthesis, characterization and electrocatalytic properties of delafossite CuGaO{sub 2}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahmed, Jahangeer [Department of Chemistry, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, 1201 West University Drive, Edinburg, TX 78539 (United States); Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451 (Saudi Arabia); Mao, Yuanbing, E-mail: yuanbing.mao@utrgv.edu [Department of Chemistry, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, 1201 West University Drive, Edinburg, TX 78539 (United States)

    2016-10-15

    Delafossite CuGaO{sub 2} has been employed as photocatalysts for solar cells, but their electrocatalytic properties have not been extensively studied, especially no comparison among samples made by different synthesis routes. Herein, we first reported the successful synthesis of delafossite CuGaO{sub 2} particles with three different morphologies, i.e. nanocrystalline hexagons, sub-micron sized plates and micron–sized particles by a modified hydrothermal method at 190 °C for 60 h [1–3], a sono-chemical method followed by firing at 850 °C for 48 h, and a solid state route at 1150 °C, respectively. Morphology, composition and phase purity of the synthesized samples was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopic studies, and then their electrocatalytic performance as active and cost effective electrode materials to the oxygen and hydrogen evolution reactions in 0.5 M KOH electrolyte versus Ag/AgCl was investigated and compared under the same conditions for the first time. The nanocrystalline CuGaO{sub 2} hexagons show enhanced electrocatalytic activity than the counterpart sub-micron sized plates and micron-sized particles. - Graphical abstract: Representative delafossite CuGaO2 samples with sub-micron sized plate and nanocrystalline hexagon morphologies accompanying with chronoamperometric voltammograms for oxygen evolution reaction and hydrogen evolution reaction in 0.5 M KOH electrolyte after purged with N{sub 2} gas. - Highlights: • Delafossite CuGaO{sub 2} with three morphologies has been synthesized. • Phase purity of the synthesized samples was confirmed. • Comparison on their electrocatalytic properties was made for the first time. • Their use as electrodes for oxygen and hydrogen evolution reactions was evaluated. • Nanocrystalline CuGaO{sub 2} hexagons show highest electrocatalytic activity.

  6. Sub-terahertz resonance spectroscopy of biological macromolecules and cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Globus, Tatiana; Moyer, Aaron; Gelmont, Boris; Khromova, Tatyana; Sizov, Igor; Ferrance, Jerome

    2013-05-01

    Recently we introduced a Sub-THz spectroscopic system for characterizing vibrational resonance features from biological materials. This new, continuous-wave, frequency-domain spectroscopic sensor operates at room temperature between 315 and 480 GHz with spectral resolution of at least 1 GHz and utilizes the source and detector components from Virginia Diode, Inc. In this work we present experimental results and interpretation of spectroscopic signatures from bacterial cells and their biological macromolecule structural components. Transmission and absorption spectra of the bacterial protein thioredoxin, DNA and lyophilized cells of Escherichia coli (E. coli), as well as spores of Bacillus subtillis and B. atrophaeus have been characterized. Experimental results for biomolecules are compared with absorption spectra calculated using molecular dynamics simulation, and confirm the underlying physics for resonance spectroscopy based on interactions between THz radiation and vibrational modes or groups of modes of atomic motions. Such interactions result in multiple intense and narrow specific resonances in transmission/absorption spectra from nano-gram samples with spectral line widths as small as 3 GHz. The results of this study indicate diverse relaxation dynamic mechanisms relevant to sub-THz vibrational spectroscopy, including long-lasting processes. We demonstrate that high sensitivity in resolved specific absorption fingerprints provides conditions for reliable detection, identification and discrimination capability, to the level of strains of the same bacteria, and for monitoring interactions between biomaterials and reagents in near real-time. Additionally, it creates the basis for the development of new types of advanced biological sensors through integrating the developed system with a microfluidic platform for biomaterial samples.

  7. Recent achievements in multi-keV x-ray microscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Susini, J.; Barrett, R.; Salome, M.; Kaulich, B.

    2002-01-01

    X-ray microscopy (XRM) techniques are emerging as powerful and complementary tools for sub-micron investigations. Soft XRM traditionally offers the possibility to form direct images of thick hydrated biological material in near-native environments, at a spatial resolution well beyond that achievable with visible light microscopy. Natural contrast is available in the soft X-ray region, in the so-called 'water-window', due to the presence of absorption edges of the major constituents (C,N,O). Recent advances in manufacturing techniques have enlarged the accessible energy range of micro-focusing optics and offer new applications in a broad range of disciplines. XRM in the 1-20 keV energy range is better suited to map trace elements in fluorescence yield, 3-D tomographic imaging and in micro-diffraction. After a brief introduction to the principles and methods, the main attributes of X-ray microscopy will be presented. This presentation will be biased towards sub-micron microscopy developed at the ESRF in the 2-10 keV energy. Strengths and weaknesses of X-ray microscopy and spectro-microscopy techniques will be discussed and illustrated by examples in biology, materials sciences and geology. (authors)

  8. In the photograph, one can see the interconnection from one readout chip to the flexible cable realized with ultrasonic wire bonds (25 microns).

    CERN Multimedia

    Saba, A

    2006-01-01

    2 ladders are connected via a multi layer aluminium polyimide flexible cable with a multi chip module containing several custom designed ASICs. The production of the flexible cable was developed and carrier out at CERN. It provides signal and data lines as well as power to the individual readout chipswith a total thickness of only 220 microns. In the photograph, one can see the interconnection from one readout chip to the flexible cable realized with ultrasonic wire bonds (25 microns).

  9. Effect of Ta buffer and NiFe seed layers on pulsed-DC magnetron sputtered Ir{sub 20}Mn{sub 80}/Co{sub 90}Fe{sub 10} exchange bias

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oksuezoglu, Ramis Mustafa, E-mail: rmoksuzoglu@anadolu.edu.t [University of Anadolu, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Iki Eyluel Campus, 26555 Eskisehir (Turkey); Yildirim, Mustafa; Cinar, Hakan [University of Anadolu, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Iki Eyluel Campus, 26555 Eskisehir (Turkey); Hildebrandt, Erwin; Alff, Lambert [Department of Materials Sciences, Darmstadt University of Technology, Petersenstrasse 23, D-64287 Darmstadt (Germany)

    2011-07-15

    A systematic investigation has been done on the correlation between texture, grain size evolution and magnetic properties in Ta/Ni{sub 81}Fe{sub 19}/Ir{sub 20}Mn{sub 80}/Co{sub 90}Fe{sub 10}/Ta exchange bias in dependence of Ta buffer and NiFe seed layer thickness in the range of 2-10 nm, deposited by pulsed DC magnetron sputtering technique. A strong dependence of <1 1 1> texture on the Ta/NiFe thicknesses was found, where the reducing and increasing texture was correlated with exchange bias field and unidirectional anisotropy energy constant at both NiFe/IrMn and IrMn/CoFe interfaces. However, a direct correlation between average grain size in IrMn and H{sub ex} and H{sub c} was not observed. L1{sub 2} phase IrMn{sub 3} could be formed by thickness optimization of Ta/NiFe layers by deposition at room temperature, for which the maximum exchange coupling parameters were achieved. We conclude finally that the coercivity is mainly influenced by texture induced interfacial effects at NiFe/IrMn/CoFe interfaces developing with Ta/NiFe thicknesses. - Research highlights: We discussed the influence of Ta/NiFe thicknesses on structure and grain size in AF layer and texture. A direct correlation between the <1 1 1> texture and exchange coupling was found. A direct relation between average grain size and H{sub ex} and H{sub c} was not observed. L1{sub 2} phase IrMn{sub 3} was formed by deposition at room temperature for Ta (5-6 nm)/NiFe (6-8 nm). We conclude that the coercivity is influenced by order/disorder at NiFe/IrMn/CoFe interfaces.

  10. Silicon nitride and silicon etching by CH{sub 3}F/O{sub 2} and CH{sub 3}F/CO{sub 2} plasma beams

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaler, Sanbir S.; Lou, Qiaowei; Donnelly, Vincent M., E-mail: vmdonnelly@uh.edu; Economou, Demetre J., E-mail: economou@uh.edu [Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Plasma Processing Laboratory, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204 (United States)

    2016-07-15

    Silicon nitride (SiN, where Si:N ≠ 1:1) films low pressure-chemical vapor deposited on Si substrates, Si films on Ge on Si substrates, and p-Si samples were exposed to plasma beams emanating from CH{sub 3}F/O{sub 2} or CH{sub 3}F/CO{sub 2} inductively coupled plasmas. Conditions within the plasma beam source were maintained at power of 300 W (1.9 W/cm{sup 3}), pressure of 10 mTorr, and total gas flow rate of 10 sccm. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to determine the thicknesses of Si/Ge in addition to hydrofluorocarbon polymer films formed at low %O{sub 2} or %CO{sub 2} addition on p-Si and SiN. Polymer film thickness decreased sharply as a function of increasing %O{sub 2} or %CO{sub 2} addition and dropped to monolayer thickness above the transition point (∼48% O{sub 2} or ∼75% CO{sub 2}) at which the polymer etchants (O and F) number densities in the plasma increased abruptly. The C(1s) spectra for the polymer films deposited on p-Si substrates appeared similar to those on SiN. Spectroscopic ellipsometry was used to measure the thickness of SiN films etched using the CH{sub 3}F/O{sub 2} and CH{sub 3}F/CO{sub 2} plasma beams. SiN etching rates peaked near 50% O{sub 2} addition and 73% CO{sub 2} addition. Faster etching rates were measured in CH{sub 3}F/CO{sub 2} than CH{sub 3}F/O{sub 2} plasmas above 70% O{sub 2} or CO{sub 2} addition. The etching of Si stopped after a loss of ∼3 nm, regardless of beam exposure time and %O{sub 2} or %CO{sub 2} addition, apparently due to plasma assisted oxidation of Si. An additional GeO{sub x}F{sub y} peak was observed at 32.5 eV in the Ge(3d) region, suggesting deep penetration of F into Si, under the conditions investigated.

  11. Sub-micron particle number size distribution characteristics at two urban locations in Leicester

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hama, Sarkawt M. L.; Cordell, Rebecca L.; Kos, Gerard P. A.; Weijers, E. P.; Monks, Paul S.

    2017-09-01

    The particle number size distribution (PNSD) of atmospheric particles not only provides information about sources and atmospheric processing of particles, but also plays an important role in determining regional lung dose. Owing to the importance of PNSD in understanding particulate pollution two short-term campaigns (March-June 2014) measurements of sub-micron PNSD were conducted at two urban background locations in Leicester, UK. At the first site, Leicester Automatic Urban Rural Network (AURN), the mean number concentrations of nucleation, Aitken, accumulation modes, the total particles, equivalent black carbon (eBC) mass concentrations were 2002, 3258, 1576, 6837 # cm-3, 1.7 μg m-3, respectively, and at the second site, Brookfield (BF), were 1455, 2407, 874, 4737 # cm-3, 0.77 μg m-3, respectively. The total particle number was dominated by the nucleation and Aitken modes, with both consisting of 77%, and 81% of total number concentrations at AURN and BF sites, respectively. This behaviour could be attributed to primary emissions (traffic) of ultrafine particles and the temporal evolution of mixing layer. The size distribution at the AURN site shows bimodal distribution at 22 nm with a minor peak at 70 nm. The size distribution at BF site, however, exhibits unimodal distribution at 35 nm. This study has for the first time investigated the effect of Easter holiday on PNSD in UK. The temporal variation of PNSD demonstrated a good degree of correlation with traffic-related pollutants (NOX, and eBC at both sites). The meteorological conditions, also had an impact on the PNSD and eBC at both sites. During the measurement period, the frequency of NPF events was calculated to be 13.3%, and 22.2% at AURN and BF sites, respectively. The average value of formation and growth rates of nucleation mode particles were 1.3, and 1.17 cm-3 s-1 and 7.42, and 5.3 nm h-1 at AURN, and BF sites, respectively. It can suggested that aerosol particles in Leicester originate mainly

  12. Polycrystalline Nd{sub 2}Fe{sub 14}B/α-Fe nanocomposite flakes with a sub-micro/nanometre thickness prepared by surfactant-assisted high-energy ball milling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tang, Xin, E-mail: tangshincn@gmail.com [Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Devices, Ningbo Institute of Material Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201 (China); Chen, Xi [Mechanical and Electrical Engineering College, Xinxiang University, No. 192, Jinsui Road, Xinxiang, Henan 453003 (China); Chen, Renjie; Yan, Aru [Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Devices, Ningbo Institute of Material Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201 (China)

    2015-09-25

    Highlights: • Nd{sub 2}Fe{sub 14}B/α-Fe flakes are formed by peeling along preferential planes. • (0 0 l) planes are found to be preferential cleavage planes. • Magnetic properties degrade with increasing ball milling time. • Anisotropic nanocomposite magnets are fabricated. - Abstract: A surfactant-assisted high-energy ball milling technique was employed to synthesize Nd{sub 2}Fe{sub 14}B/α-Fe nanoparticles and nanoflakes from melt-spun nanocrystalline powders. The microstructure evolution in ball milling process was investigated. In the beginning stage (0–4 h) of ball milling, raw powders were crushed into micrometre-sized particles. While flakes were mainly formed by reducing thickness of particles via peeling layer by layer along preferential planes in the late stage (8–16 h). The selected area electron diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images show that preferential cleavage planes are basal planes. With ball milling proceeding, more and more defects were induced by ball milling. As a result, the coercivity and remanence decreased to 1.6 kOe and 3.2 kGs, respectively. After 16 h ball milling, the exchange decoupling occurred due to severe amorphorization. A weakly-textured nanocomposite magnet was fabricated after 12 h ball milling and the anisotropy in magnetic properties can be further improved by employing settling down process to select particle size and aligning particles in external field.

  13. Properties of slow traps of ALD Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/GeO{sub x}/Ge nMOSFETs with plasma post oxidation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ke, M., E-mail: kiramn@mosfet.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp; Yu, X.; Chang, C.; Takenaka, M.; Takagi, S. [Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Systems, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan and JST-CREST, K' s Gobancho 6F, 7 Gobancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0076 (Japan)

    2016-07-18

    The realization of Ge gate stacks with a small amount of slow trap density as well as thin equivalent oxide thickness and low interface state density (D{sub it}) is a crucial issue for Ge CMOS. In this study, we examine the properties of slow traps, particularly the location of slow traps, of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/GeO{sub x}/n-Ge and HfO{sub 2}/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/GeO{sub x}/n-Ge MOS interfaces with changing the process and structural parameters, formed by atomic layer deposition (ALD) of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} and HfO{sub 2}/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} combined with plasma post oxidation. It is found that the slow traps can locate in the GeO{sub x} interfacial layer, not in the ALD Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} layer. Furthermore, we study the time dependence of channel currents in the Ge n-MOSFETs with 5-nm-thick Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/GeO{sub x}/Ge gate stacks, with changing the thickness of GeO{sub x}, in order to further clarify the position of slow traps. The time dependence of the current drift and the effective time constant of slow traps do not change among the MOSFETs with the different thickness GeO{sub x}, demonstrating that the slow traps mainly exist near the interfaces between Ge and GeO{sub x}.

  14. 3D membrane segmentation and quantification of intact thick cells using cryo soft X-ray transmission microscopy: A pilot study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klementieva, Oxana; Werner, Stephan; Guttmann, Peter; Pratsch, Christoph; Cladera, Josep

    2017-01-01

    Structural analysis of biological membranes is important for understanding cell and sub-cellular organelle function as well as their interaction with the surrounding environment. Imaging of whole cells in three dimension at high spatial resolution remains a significant challenge, particularly for thick cells. Cryo-transmission soft X-ray microscopy (cryo-TXM) has recently gained popularity to image, in 3D, intact thick cells (∼10μm) with details of sub-cellular architecture and organization in near-native state. This paper reports a new tool to segment and quantify structural changes of biological membranes in 3D from cryo-TXM images by tracking an initial 2D contour along the third axis of the microscope, through a multi-scale ridge detection followed by an active contours-based model, with a subsequent refinement along the other two axes. A quantitative metric that assesses the grayscale profiles perpendicular to the membrane surfaces is introduced and shown to be linearly related to the membrane thickness. Our methodology has been validated on synthetic phantoms using realistic microscope properties and structure dimensions, as well as on real cryo-TXM data. Results demonstrate the validity of our algorithms for cryo-TXM data analysis. PMID:28376110

  15. Determination of optical constant and dispersion parameters of Se{sub 75}Sb{sub 10}In{sub 15} thin film characterized by wide band gap

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abd-Elrahman, M.I.; Abu-Sehly, A.A.; El-sonbaty, Sherouk Sh.; Hafiz, M.M. [Assiut University, Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Assiut (Egypt)

    2017-02-15

    Chalcogenide Se{sub 75}Sb{sub 10}In{sub 15} thin films of different thickness (50-300 nm) are deposited using thermal evaporation technique. The thermogram of the chalcogenide bulk Se{sub 75}Sb{sub 10}In{sub 15} is obtained using a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The crystallization temperature T{sub c}, peak crystallization temperature T{sub p} and melting temperature T{sub m}, are identified. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) examination indicates the crystallinity of the as-deposited film decreases with increasing of thickness. Optical transmission and reflection spectra are recorded in the wavelength range of the incident photons from 250 to 2500 nm. It is found that the film thickness affects the absorption coefficient, refractive index, extinction coefficient and the width of the tails of localized states in the gap region. The absorption mechanism of the as-deposited films is a direct allowed transition. The optical band gap energy (E{sub g}) decreases from 3.31 to 2.51 eV with increasing the film thickness from 50 to 300 nm. The behavior of E{sub g} is explained on the basis of the structure disorders in the thicker films. The effect of the film thickness on the single-oscillator and dispersion energies is studied by the dispersion analyses of the refractive index. (orig.)

  16. Electronic structures of (Pb sub 2 Cu)Sr sub 2 Eu sub x Ce sub n sub - sub x Cu sub 2 O sub 2 sub n sub + sub 6 (n=2, 3): Effect of fluorite blocks between adjacent CuO sub 2 layers

    CERN Document Server

    Arai, M

    2003-01-01

    The electronic structures of (Pb sub 2 Cu)Sr sub 2 Eu sub x Ce sub n sub - sub x Cu sub 2 O sub 2 sub n sub + sub 6 (n = 2, 3) compounds which have fluorite blocks between two adjacent CuO sub 2 layers have been studied by using ab-initio method. It is found that the anisotropy is enhanced by inserting the fluorite blocks. The Fermi velocity perpendicular to the CuO sub 2 layers decreases as the thickness of fluorite blocks increases. The Eu substitution is found to affect both the atomic positions and electronic structures. The distance between apical oxygen and copper becomes shorter by the Eu substitution. The energy bands derived from oxygens in the fluorite blocks approach Fermi energy as the content of Eu substitution increases. (author)

  17. A dual response surface optimization methodology for achieving uniform coating thickness in powder coating process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boby John

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The powder coating is an economic, technologically superior and environment friendly painting technique compared with other conventional painting methods. However large variation in coating thickness can reduce the attractiveness of powder coated products. The coating thickness variation can also adversely affect the surface appearance and corrosion resistivity of the product. This can eventually lead to customer dissatisfaction and loss of market share. In this paper, the author discusses a dual response surface optimization methodology to minimize the thickness variation around the target value of powder coated industrial enclosures. The industrial enclosures are cabinets used for mounting the electrical and electronic equipment. The proposed methodology consists of establishing the relationship between the coating thickness & the powder coating process parameters and developing models for the mean and variance of coating thickness. Then the powder coating process is optimized by minimizing the standard deviation of coating thickness subject to the constraint that the thickness mean would be very close to the target. The study resulted in achieving a coating thickness mean of 80.0199 microns for industrial enclosures, which is very close to the target value of 80 microns. A comparison of the results of the proposed approach with that of existing methodologies showed that the suggested method is equally good or even better than the existing methodologies. The result of the study is also validated with a new batch of industrial enclosures.

  18. Experimental study of the polymer powder film thickness uniformity produced by the corona discharge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fazlyyyakhmatov, Marsel

    2017-01-01

    The results of an experimental study of the polymer powder film thickness uniformity are presented. Polymer powder films are produced by the electrostatic field of corona discharge. Epoxy and epoxy-polyester powder films with thickness in the range of 30-120 microns are studied. Experimentally confirmed possibility of using these coatings as protective matching layer of piezoceramic transducers at frequencies of 0.5-15 MHz.

  19. Chemical synthesis of Fe/Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} core-shell composites with enhanced soft magnetic performances

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Bai, E-mail: byang@buaa.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Aerospace Advanced Materials and Performance, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191 (China); Li, Xiaopan [Key Laboratory of Aerospace Advanced Materials and Performance, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191 (China); Yang, Xueying [Hi-tech Industry Standardization Institute, Hubei Standardization and Quality Institution, Wuhan 430061 (China); Yu, Ronghai [Key Laboratory of Aerospace Advanced Materials and Performance, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191 (China)

    2017-04-15

    The large-grain Fe/Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} composite particles with average size of about 1.2 µm have been fabricated by a facile one-step solvothermal method. The formation of high-purity Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} as the shells (90.14 wt%) and α-Fe as the cores (9.86 wt%) in the Fe/Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} composites leads to their high saturation magnetization of 119.6 A m{sup 2} Kg{sup -1}. Very low coercivity of 30 Oe is obtained in the composites due to their uniform cubic-shaped morphologies. Compared with Fe-based nanosized particles, these micron-sized magnetic Fe/Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} composites exhibit high air stability and good compactibility with high compressed density of 5.9 g cm{sup -3}. The fully compacted sample shows good soft magnetic properties including high magnetic induction B{sub 1.2k} {sub (H=1200} {sub A/m)} of 540 mT and good frequency-dependent magnetic properties with operating frequency up to 50 MHz superior to those of the most traditional soft magnetic ferrites, which promotes their potential applications in high-frequency and high-power magnetic devices. - Highlights: • Micron-sized Fe/Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} composites are prepared by a one-step solvothermal method. • High saturation magnetization and low coercivity are obtained in the composites. • Good air stability and high bulk density occurs in the composites. • High magnetic induction and good frequency-dependent properties are achieved.

  20. MICRON-SIZED POLYMER PARTICLES FROM TANZANIAN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Micron sized polymeric particles were prepared from cashew nut shell liquid and subsequently functionalized to produce micron-sized carboxylated cation exchange resin (MCCER). By titrimetry and analytical procedures employing atomic absorption spectrometry, an assessment of the cation exchange capability of the ...

  1. Characterization of the insulator barrier and the superconducting transition temperature in GdBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7−δ}/BaTiO{sub 3} bilayers for application in tunnel junctions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Navarro, H., E-mail: henrynavarro@cab.cnea.gov.ar; Sirena, M.; Haberkorn, N. [Instituto Balseiro, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo and CNEA, 8400 Bariloche (Argentina); Centro Atómico Bariloche, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Av. Bustillo 9500, 8400 San Carlos de Bariloche (Argentina); Yang, Ilkyu [Department of Physics, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Jeehoon [Department of Physics, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang (Korea, Republic of); CALDES, Institute for Basic Science, Pohang (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-07-28

    The optimization of the superconducting properties in a bottom electrode and the quality of an insulator barrier are the first steps in the development of superconductor/insulator/superconductor tunnel junctions. Here, we study the quality of a BaTiO{sub 3} tunnel barrier deposited on a 16 nm thick GdBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7−δ} thin film by using conductive atomic force microscopy. We find that the tunnel current is systematically reduced (for equal applied voltage) by increasing the BaTiO{sub 3} barrier thickness between 1.6 and 4 nm. The BaTiO{sub 3} layers present an energy barrier of ≈1.2 eV and an attenuation length of 0.35–0.5 nm (depending on the applied voltage). The GdBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7−δ} electrode is totally covered by a BaTiO{sub 3} thickness above 3 nm. The presence of ferroelectricity was verified by piezoresponse force microscopy for a 4 nm thick BaTiO{sub 3} top layer. The superconducting transition temperature of the bilayers is systematically suppressed by increasing the BaTiO{sub 3} thickness. This fact can be associated with stress at the interface and a reduction of the orthorhombicity of the GdBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7−δ}. The reduction in the orthorhombicity is expected by considering the interface mismatch and it can also be affected by reduced oxygen stoichiometry (poor oxygen diffusion across the BaTiO{sub 3} barrier)

  2. Factors affecting biological reduction of CO{sub 2} into CH{sub 4} using a hydrogenotrophic methanogen in a fixed bed reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Jae Hyung; Pak, Daewon [Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Chang, Won Seok [Korea District Heating Corp, Seongnam (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-10-15

    Biological conversion of CO{sub 2} was examined in a fixed bed reactor inoculated with anaerobic mixed culture to investigate influencing factors, the type of packing material and the composition of the feeding gas mixture. During the operation of the fixed bed reactor by feeding the gas mixture (80% H{sub 2} and 20% CO{sub 2} based on volume basis), the volumetric CO{sub 2} conversion rate was higher in the fixed bed reactor packed with sponge due to its large surface area and high mass transfer from gas to liquid phase compared with PS ball. Carbon dioxide loaded into the fixed bed reactor was not completely converted because some of H{sub 2} was used for biomass growth. When a mole ratio of H{sub 2} to CO{sub 2} in the feeding gas mixture increased from 4 to 5, CO{sub 2} was completely converted into CH{sub 4}. The packing material with large surface area is effective in treating gaseous substrate such as CO{sub 2} and H{sub 2}. H{sub 2}, electron donor, should be providing more than required according to stoichiometry because some of it is used for biomass growth.

  3. X-ray micro-modulated luminescence tomography (XMLT)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cong, Wenxiang; Liu, Fenglin; Wang, Chao; Wang, Ge

    2014-01-01

    Imaging depth of optical microscopy has been fundamentally limited to millimeter or sub-millimeter due to strong scattering of light in a biological sample. X-ray microscopy can resolve spatial details of few microns deep inside a sample but contrast resolution is inadequate to depict heterogeneous features at cellular or sub-cellular levels. To enhance and enrich biological contrast at large imaging depth, various nanoparticles are introduced and become essential to basic research and molecular medicine. Nanoparticles can be functionalized as imaging probes, similar to fluorescent and bioluminescent proteins. LiGa5O8:Cr3+ nanoparticles were recently synthesized to facilitate luminescence energy storage with x-ray pre-excitation and subsequently stimulated luminescence emission by visible/near-infrared (NIR) light. In this paper, we propose an x-ray micro-modulated luminescence tomography (XMLT, or MLT to be more general) approach to quantify a nanophosphor distribution in a thick biological sample with high resolution. Our numerical simulation studies demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach. PMID:24663898

  4. Thermally assisted interlayer magnetic coupling through Ba{sub 0.05}Sr{sub 0.95}TiO{sub 3} barriers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carreira, Santiago J.; Steren, Laura B. [Centro Atómico Constituyentes, San Martín, Buenos Aires 1650 (Argentina); Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires C1425FQB (Argentina); Avilés Félix, Luis; Alejandro, Gabriela [Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires C1425FQB (Argentina); Centro Atómico Bariloche, Bariloche, Rio Negro 8400 (Argentina); Sirena, Martín [Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires C1425FQB (Argentina); Centro Atómico Bariloche, Bariloche, Rio Negro 8400 (Argentina); Instituto Balseiro-CNEA & Univ. Nac. de Cuyo, Bariloche, Rio Negro 8400 (Argentina)

    2016-08-08

    We report on the interlayer exchange coupling across insulating barriers observed on Ni{sub 80}Fe{sub 20}/Ba{sub 0.05}Sr{sub 0.95}TiO{sub 3}/La{sub 0.66}Sr{sub 0.33}MnO{sub 3} (Py/BST{sub 0.05}/LSMO) trilayers. The coupling mechanism has been analyzed in terms of the barrier thickness, samples' substrate, and temperature. We examined the effect of MgO (MGO) and SrTiO{sub 3} (STO) (001) single-crystalline substrates on the magnetic coupling and also on the magnetic anisotropies of the samples in order to get a deeper understanding of the magnetism of the structures. We measured a weak coupling mediated by spin-dependent tunneling phenomena whose sign and strength depend on barrier thickness and substrate. An antiferromagnetic (AF) exchange prevails for most of the samples and smoothly increases with the barrier thicknesses as a consequence of the screening effects of the BST{sub 0.05}. The coupling monotonically increases with temperature in all the samples and this behavior is attributed to thermally assisted mechanisms. The magnetic anisotropy of both magnetic components has a cubic symmetry that in the case of permalloy is added to a small uniaxial component.

  5. Helium Ion Microscopy (HIM) for the imaging of biological samples at sub-nanometer resolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joens, Matthew S.; Huynh, Chuong; Kasuboski, James M.; Ferranti, David; Sigal, Yury J.; Zeitvogel, Fabian; Obst, Martin; Burkhardt, Claus J.; Curran, Kevin P.; Chalasani, Sreekanth H.; Stern, Lewis A.; Goetze, Bernhard; Fitzpatrick, James A. J.

    2013-12-01

    Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) has long been the standard in imaging the sub-micrometer surface ultrastructure of both hard and soft materials. In the case of biological samples, it has provided great insights into their physical architecture. However, three of the fundamental challenges in the SEM imaging of soft materials are that of limited imaging resolution at high magnification, charging caused by the insulating properties of most biological samples and the loss of subtle surface features by heavy metal coating. These challenges have recently been overcome with the development of the Helium Ion Microscope (HIM), which boasts advances in charge reduction, minimized sample damage, high surface contrast without the need for metal coating, increased depth of field, and 5 angstrom imaging resolution. We demonstrate the advantages of HIM for imaging biological surfaces as well as compare and contrast the effects of sample preparation techniques and their consequences on sub-nanometer ultrastructure.

  6. Studying Titan's surface photometry in the 5 microns atmospheric window with the Cassini/VIMS instrument

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cornet, T.; Altobelli, N.; Sotin, C.; Le Mouelic, S.; Rodriguez, S.; Philippe, S.; Brown, R. H.; Barnes, J. W.; Buratti, B. J.; Baines, K. H.; Clark, R. N.; Nicholson, P. D.

    2014-12-01

    Due to the influence of methane gas and a thick aerosols haze in the atmosphere, Titan's surface is only visible in 7 spectral atmospheric windows centered at 0.93, 1.08, 1.27, 1.59, 2.01, 2.7-2.8 and 5 microns with the Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS). The 5 microns atmospheric window constitutes the only one being almost insensitive to the haze scattering and which presents only a reduced atmospheric absorption contribution to the signal recorded by the instrument. Despite these advantages leading to the almost direct view of the surface, the 5 microns window is also the noisiest spectral window of the entire VIMS spectrum (an effect highly dependent on the time exposure used for the observations), and it is not totally free from atmospheric contributions, enough to keep "artefacts" in mosaics of several thousands of cubes due to atmospheric and surface photometric effects amplified by the very heterogeneous viewing conditions between each Titan flyby. At first order, a lambertian surface photometry at 5 microns has been used as an initial parameter in order to estimate atmospheric opacity and surface photometry in all VIMS atmospheric windows and to determine the albedo of the surface, yet unknown, both using radiative transfer codes on single cubes or empirical techniques on global hyperspectral mosaics. Other studies suggested that Titan's surface photometry would not be uniquely lambertian but would also contain anisotropic lunar-like contributions. In the present work, we aim at constraining accurately the surface photometry of Titan and residual atmospheric absorption effects in this 5 microns window using a comprehensive study of relevant sites located at various latitudes. Those include bright and dark (dunes) terrains, 5-microns bright terrains (Hotei Regio and Tui Regio), the Huygens Landing Site and high latitudes polar lakes and seas. The VIMS 2004 to 2014 database, composed of more than 40,000 hyperspectral cubes acquired on

  7. Thin coating thickness determination using radioisotope-excited x-ray fluorescence spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Del Castillo, Lorena A.; Calix, Virginia S.

    2001-01-01

    Three different approaches on thin coating thickness determination using a radioisotope-excited x-ray fluorescence spectrometry were demonstrated and results were compared. A standard of thin layer of gold (Au) on a nickel (Ni) substrate from the US National Bureau of Standards (with a nominal thickness of 0.300505 microns of at least 99.9% Au electrodeposited over 2 nils of Ni) on low carbon steel (1010) was analyzed using a Cd 109-excited XRF system. Au thickness computations were done using the (a) thin standard approach, (b) thick standard approach, and (c) x-ray absorption method (ASTM A754-79 1982). These three methods yielded results within the limit set by the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM), which is +/-3%. Of the three methods, the thick standard yielded the best result with 0.124% error. (Author)

  8. Acoustic Behavior of Subfloor Lightweight Mortars Containing Micronized Poly (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate) (EVA).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brancher, Luiza R; Nunes, Maria Fernanda de O; Grisa, Ana Maria C; Pagnussat, Daniel T; Zeni, Mára

    2016-01-15

    This paper aims to contribute to acoustical comfort in buildings by presenting a study about the polymer waste micronized poly (ethylene vinyl acetate) (EVA) to be used in mortars for impact sound insulation in subfloor systems. The evaluation method included physical, mechanical and morphological properties of the mortar developed with three distinct thicknesses designs (3, 5, and 7 cm) with replacement percentage of the natural aggregate by 10%, 25%, and 50% EVA. Microscopy analysis showed the surface deposition of cement on EVA, with preservation of polymer porosity. The compressive creep test estimated long-term deformation, where the 10% EVA sample with a 7 cm thick mortar showed the lowest percentage deformation of its height. The impact noise test was performed with 50% EVA samples, reaching an impact sound insulation of 23 dB when the uncovered slab was compared with the 7 cm thick subfloor mortar. Polymer waste addition decreased the mortar compressive strength, and EVA displayed characteristics of an influential material to intensify other features of the composite.

  9. Acoustic Behavior of Subfloor Lightweight Mortars Containing Micronized Poly (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luiza R. Brancher

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to contribute to acoustical comfort in buildings by presenting a study about the polymer waste micronized poly (ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA to be used in mortars for impact sound insulation in subfloor systems. The evaluation method included physical, mechanical and morphological properties of the mortar developed with three distinct thicknesses designs (3, 5, and 7 cm with replacement percentage of the natural aggregate by 10%, 25%, and 50% EVA. Microscopy analysis showed the surface deposition of cement on EVA, with preservation of polymer porosity. The compressive creep test estimated long-term deformation, where the 10% EVA sample with a 7 cm thick mortar showed the lowest percentage deformation of its height. The impact noise test was performed with 50% EVA samples, reaching an impact sound insulation of 23 dB when the uncovered slab was compared with the 7 cm thick subfloor mortar. Polymer waste addition decreased the mortar compressive strength, and EVA displayed characteristics of an influential material to intensify other features of the composite.

  10. Nano-crystalline thin and nano-particulate thick TiO{sub 2} layer: Cost effective sequential deposition and study on dye sensitized solar cell characteristics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Das, P.; Sengupta, D. [Centre for Advanced Materials Processing, CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute, Durgapur, 713209 West Bengal (India); CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute, Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Durgapur, 713209 West Bengal (India); Kasinadhuni, U. [Department of Engineering Physics, Bengal College of Engineering and Technology, Durgapur, West Bengal (India); Mondal, B. [Centre for Advanced Materials Processing, CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute, Durgapur, 713209 West Bengal (India); Mukherjee, K., E-mail: kalisadhanm@yahoo.com [Centre for Advanced Materials Processing, CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute, Durgapur, 713209 West Bengal (India)

    2015-06-15

    Highlights: • Thin TiO{sub 2} layer is deposited on conducting substrate using sol–gel based dip coating. • TiO{sub 2} nano-particles are synthesized using hydrothermal route. • Thick TiO{sub 2} particulate layer is deposited on prepared thin layer. • Dye sensitized solar cells are made using thin and thick layer based photo-anode. • Introduction of thin layer in particulate photo-anode improves the cell efficiency. - Abstract: A compact thin TiO{sub 2} passivation layer is introduced between the mesoporous TiO{sub 2} nano-particulate layer and the conducting glass substrate to prepare photo-anode for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). In order to understand the effect of passivation layer, other two DSSCs are also developed separately using TiO{sub 2} nano-particulate and compact thin film based photo-anodes. Nano-particles are prepared using hydrothermal synthesis route and the compact passivation layer is prepared by simply dip coating the precursor sol prepared through wet chemical route. The TiO{sub 2} compact layer and the nano-particles are characterised in terms of their micro-structural features and phase formation behavior. It is found that introduction of a compact TiO{sub 2} layer in between the mesoporous TiO{sub 2} nano-particulate layer and the conducting substrate improves the solar to electric conversion efficiency of the fabricated cell. The dense thin passivation layer is supposed to enhance the photo-excited electron transfer and prevent the recombination of photo-excited electrons.

  11. Magnetic field-induced elastic bending in bilayers of Tb{sub 1−x}Dy{sub x}Fe{sub 2−y} and Pb(Zr{sub 1−z}Ti{sub z})O{sub 3}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jin, Tao; Qichao, Wu; Ning, Zhang, E-mail: zhangning@njnu.edu.cn

    2014-09-01

    Magnetic field-induced strain in the magnetoelectric bilayers of Tb{sub 1−x}Dy{sub x}Fe{sub 2−y} and Pb(Zr{sub 1−z}Ti{sub z})O{sub 3} was studied. A butterfly shaped strain curve was observed on the surface of Pb(Zr{sub 1−z}Ti{sub z})O{sub 3}. The shape of the strain curve was found to be related to the sample thickness and the volume fraction occupied by the ferroelectrics in the bilayer. Theoretical analysis and experimental results showed that magnetoelastic bending in the bilayer composites was largely responsible for the butterfly strain curve. - Highlights: • Butterfly strain curves were observed on the PZT surface for bilayers of TDF and PZT. • The strain curve is related to the sample thickness and the volume fraction of the PZT. • A physics model depicting the field-controlled bending of the bilayers was developed. • The magnetoelastic bending was found to account for the butterfly strain curve.

  12. PHOTOCHEMISTRY IN TERRESTRIAL EXOPLANET ATMOSPHERES. II. H{sub 2}S AND SO{sub 2} PHOTOCHEMISTRY IN ANOXIC ATMOSPHERES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hu Renyu; Seager, Sara; Bains, William, E-mail: hury@mit.edu [Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)

    2013-05-20

    Sulfur gases are common components in the volcanic and biological emission on Earth, and are expected to be important input gases for atmospheres on terrestrial exoplanets. We study the atmospheric composition and the spectra of terrestrial exoplanets with sulfur compounds (i.e., H{sub 2}S and SO{sub 2}) emitted from their surfaces. We use a comprehensive one-dimensional photochemistry model and radiative transfer model to investigate the sulfur chemistry in atmospheres ranging from reducing to oxidizing. The most important finding is that both H{sub 2}S and SO{sub 2} are chemically short-lived in virtually all types of atmospheres on terrestrial exoplanets, based on models of H{sub 2}, N{sub 2}, and CO{sub 2} atmospheres. This implies that direct detection of surface sulfur emission is unlikely, as their surface emission rates need to be extremely high (>1000 times Earth's volcanic sulfur emission) for these gases to build up to a detectable level. We also find that sulfur compounds emitted from the surface lead to photochemical formation of elemental sulfur and sulfuric acid in the atmosphere, which would condense to form aerosols if saturated. For terrestrial exoplanets in the habitable zone of Sun-like stars or M stars, Earth-like sulfur emission rates result in optically thick haze composed of elemental sulfur in reducing H{sub 2}-dominated atmospheres for a wide range of particle diameters (0.1-1 {mu}m), which is assumed as a free parameter in our simulations. In oxidized atmospheres composed of N{sub 2} and CO{sub 2}, optically thick haze, composed of elemental sulfur aerosols (S{sub 8}) or sulfuric acid aerosols (H{sub 2}SO{sub 4}), will form if the surface sulfur emission is two orders of magnitude more than the volcanic sulfur emission of Earth. Although direct detection of H{sub 2}S and SO{sub 2} by their spectral features is unlikely, their emission might be inferred by observing aerosol-related features in reflected light with future generation

  13. Three-dimensional vortex pinning by nano-precipitates in a Sm-doped YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-x} coated conductor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Z [University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Feldmann, D M [University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Song, X [University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Kim, S I [University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Gurevich, A [University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Reeves, J L [SuperPower Incorporated, 450 Duane Avenue, Schenectady, NY 12304 (United States); Xie, Y Y [SuperPower Incorporated, 450 Duane Avenue, Schenectady, NY 12304 (United States); Selvamanickam, V [SuperPower Incorporated, 450 Duane Avenue, Schenectady, NY 12304 (United States); Larbalestier, D C [University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706 (United States)

    2007-09-15

    We report on the thickness and angular dependence of the critical current density J{sub c}(H,{theta}), the irreversibility field H{sup irr}, and the bulk pinning force F{sub p}(H) of a metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) grown YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-x} (YBCO) coated conductor, which contains {approx}17 vol% of {approx}10 nm sized (Y,Sm){sub 2}O{sub 3} precipitates with an average spacing of {approx}10-15 nm. Some surface porosity and amorphous second-phase particles on the scale of {approx}0.5-1 {mu}m appear to reduce the current-carrying cross-section, which controls the magnitude of J{sub c} but not the vortex pinning. We observed an enhanced H{sup irr}{approx}9 T at 77 K along the c-axis which, like the shape of J{sub c}(H) and F{sub p}(H), was independent of thickness as the sample was milled down to {approx}0.16 {mu}m. Angular-dependent measurements of J{sub c} showed the usual excess vortex pinning along the c-axis and along the ab-plane, but with a background that could only be fitted with an unusually small anisotropy parameter of 3, which, like the high H{sup irr} and the thickness-independent shape of F{sub p}(H), we ascribe to strong vortex pinning centre interactions. Together, these measurements show very different behaviour from most pulsed-laser-deposited films, which exhibit strong thickness-dependent properties. We ascribe the present different results to the dense array of small, insulating precipitates, which act as strong pinning centres and produce strong three-dimensional (3D) vortex pinning, because their separation of 10-15 nm is always much smaller than the film thickness.

  14. Ultrasonic Measurement of Interfacial Layer Thickness of Sub-Quarter-Wavelength

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, No Hyu; Lee, Sang Soon [Korea University of Technology and Education, Cheonan (Korea, Republic of)

    2003-12-15

    This paper describes a new technique for thickness measurement of a very thin layer less than one-quarter of the wavelength of ultrasonic wave used in the ultrasonic pulse-echo measurements. The technique determines the thickness of a thin layer in a tapered medium from constructive interference of multiple reflection waves. The interference characteristics are derived and investigated in theoretical and experimental approaches. Modified total reflection wave g(t) defined as difference between total and first reflection waves increases in amplitude as the interfacial layer thickness decreases down to zero. A layer thickness less than one-tenth of the ultrasonic wavelength is measured using the maximum amplitude of g(t) with a good accuracy and sensitivity. The method also requires no inversion process to extract the thickness information from the waveforms of reflected waves, so that it makes possible to have the on-line thickness measurement of a thin layer such as a lubricating oil film in thrust bearings and journal bearings during manufacturing process

  15. Ultrasonic Measurement of Interfacial Layer Thickness of Sub-Quarter-Wavelength

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, No Hyu; Lee, Sang Soon

    2003-01-01

    This paper describes a new technique for thickness measurement of a very thin layer less than one-quarter of the wavelength of ultrasonic wave used in the ultrasonic pulse-echo measurements. The technique determines the thickness of a thin layer in a tapered medium from constructive interference of multiple reflection waves. The interference characteristics are derived and investigated in theoretical and experimental approaches. Modified total reflection wave g(t) defined as difference between total and first reflection waves increases in amplitude as the interfacial layer thickness decreases down to zero. A layer thickness less than one-tenth of the ultrasonic wavelength is measured using the maximum amplitude of g(t) with a good accuracy and sensitivity. The method also requires no inversion process to extract the thickness information from the waveforms of reflected waves, so that it makes possible to have the on-line thickness measurement of a thin layer such as a lubricating oil film in thrust bearings and journal bearings during manufacturing process

  16. Optical and structural study of In{sub 2}S{sub 3} thin films growth by co-evaporation and chemical bath deposition (CBD) on Cu{sub 3}BiS{sub 3}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mesa, F., E-mail: fgmesar@unal.edu.co [Unidad de Estudios Universitarios, Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Cra. 24 N° 63C-69, Bogotá (Colombia); Chamorro, W. [Université de Lorraine, Institut Jean Lamour, Nancy (France); Hurtado, M. [Departamento de Quimica, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Cra. 30 N° 45-03, Bogotá (Colombia); Departamento de Física, Universidad de los Andes, Calle 21 No. 1-20, Bogotá (Colombia)

    2015-09-30

    Highlights: • In{sub 2}S{sub 3} thin films usually grow like an ultrathin. • Samples grown by CBD have a higher degree of coverage of the substrate unlike co-evaporation method. • Solar cells of Al/TCO/In{sub 2}S{sub 3}/Cu{sub 3}BiS{sub 3}/Mo structure. • In{sub 2}S{sub 3} thin films were deposited on Cu{sub 3}BiS{sub 3} (CBS), with of In{sub 2}S{sub 3} β-phase with tetragonal structure. - Abstract: We present the growth of In{sub 2}S{sub 3} onto Cu{sub 3}BiS{sub 3} layers and soda-lime glass (SLG) substrates by using chemical bath deposition (CBD) and physical co-evaporation. The results reveal that the microstructure and the optical properties of the In{sub 2}S{sub 3} films are highly dependent on the growth method. X-ray diffractrograms show that In{sub 2}S{sub 3} films have a higher crystallinity when growing by co-evaporation than by CBD. In{sub 2}S{sub 3} thin films grown by CBD with a thickness below 170 nm have an amorphous structure however when increasing the thickness the films exhibit two diffraction peaks associated to the (1 0 3) and (1 0 7) planes of the β-In{sub 2}S{sub 3} tetragonal structure. It was also found that the In{sub 2}S{sub 3} films present an energy bandgap (E{sub g}) of about 2.75 eV, regardless of the thickness of the samples.

  17. Intense beams at the micron level for the Next Linear Collider

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seeman, J.T.

    1991-08-01

    High brightness beams with sub-micron dimensions are needed to produce a high luminosity for electron-positron collisions in the Next Linear Collider (NLC). To generate these small beam sizes, a large number of issues dealing with intense beams have to be resolved. Over the past few years many have been successfully addressed but most need experimental verification. Some of these issues are beam dynamics, emittance control, instrumentation, collimation, and beam-beam interactions. Recently, the Stanford Linear Collider (SLC) has proven the viability of linear collider technology and is an excellent test facility for future linear collider studies

  18. Size effect of primary Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} additions on the characteristics of the nanostructured ferritic ODS alloys: Comparing as-milled and as-milled/annealed alloys using S/TEM

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Saber, Mostafa, E-mail: msaber@ncsu.edu; Xu, Weizong; Li, Lulu; Zhu, Yuntian; Koch, Carl C.; Scattergood, Ronald O.

    2014-09-15

    The need for providing S/TEM evidence to clarify the mechanisms of nano-scale precipitate formation was the motivation of this investigation. In this study, an Fe–14Cr–0.4Ti alloy was ball-milled with different amounts of Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} content up to 10 wt.%, and then annealed at temperatures up to 1100 °C. Micron-size Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} particles were substituted for the nano-size counterpart to elucidate the mechanism of oxide precipitate formation. The S/TEM studies revealed that the microstructure of the alloy with 10 wt.% yttria contained amorphous undissolved Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} after ball milling, while a small part of the initial oxide particles were dissolved into the solid solution. Consequently, when the amount of yttria was reduced to 1 wt.%, the amorphous phase of the yttria vanished and the whole content of Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} was dissolved into the BCC solid solution. Defect analysis of precipitates on the annealed samples via S/TEM and micro-hardness studies revealed that the use of micron-size primary oxide particles can produce nano-size precipitates, stable up to temperatures as high as 1100 °C, and uniformly distributed throughout the microstructure. This study indicates that the use of high energy ball milling along with micron-size primary oxide particles can lead to nanostructured ferritic ODS alloys without the use of nano-size primary oxide additions.

  19. Magnetic and magneto-optical characteristics of spin coated Co{sub 0.6}Zn{sub 0.4}Fe{sub 1.7}Mn{sub 0.3}O{sub 4} thin films on Pt (1 1 1) coated Si substrate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gupta, Arti, E-mail: artigupta80@gmail.com [Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of Delhi, Delhi110007 (India); Dutta, Shankar [Solid State Physics Laboratory, DRDO, Lucknow Road, Timarpur, Delhi110054 (India); Tandon, Ram Pal [Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of Delhi, Delhi110007 (India)

    2016-05-15

    Highlights: • Properties of Co{sub 0.6}Zn{sub 0.4}Mn{sub 0.3}Fe{sub 1.7}O{sub 4} thin films on Pt-Si substrate are reported. • Reduction in thickness ∼27% with increased annealing temperature was found. • Partial (3 3 3) plane textured orientation was noted for these films. - Abstract: This paper reports magnetic and magneto-optical properties of Co{sub 0.6}Zn{sub 0.4}Fe{sub 1.7}Mn{sub 0.3}O{sub 4} nanocrystalline thin films (thickness ∼140–200 nm) deposited on Pt (1 1 1)/Ti/SiO{sub 2}/Si substrates by spin coating technique. Deposited films are then annealed at 600 °C and 700 °C for 60 min (significant reduction in film thickness from 200 nm to 140 nm was noted with the increase in post deposition annealing temperature). The X ray diffraction patterns confirmed the spinel cubic structure of Co{sub 0.6}Zn{sub 0.4}Fe{sub 1.7}Mn{sub 0.3}O{sub 4} films with polycrystalline phase and also indicated a partial <3 3 3> texture orientation. Deposited films showed magnetic anisotropy as evidenced from magnetic and magneto-optical measurements. Higher in plane remnant magnetization and low coercivity values as compared to out of plane ones were observed for both samples, indicating in plane alignment of easy axis of magnetization.

  20. Coal reburning for cost-effective NO{sub x} compliance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Folsom, B.A.; Sommer, T.M.; Engelhardt, D.A.; Moyeda, D.K.; Rock, R.G.; O`Dea, D.T.; Hunsicker, S.; Watts, J.U.

    1997-12-31

    This paper presents the application of micronized coal reburning to a cyclone-fired boiler in order to meet RACT emissions requirements in New York State. Discussed in the paper are reburning technology, the use of a coal micronizer, and the application of the technology to an Eastman Kodak unit. The program is designed to demonstrate the economical reduction of NO{sub x} emissions without adverse impact to the boiler.

  1. Sub-micron magnetic patterns and local variations of adhesion force induced in non-ferromagnetic amorphous steel by femtosecond pulsed laser irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Huiyan; Feng, Yuping [Departament de Física, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, E08193 (Spain); Nieto, Daniel [Microoptics and GRIN Optics Group, Applied Physics Department, University of Santiago de Compostela, E15782 Santiago de Compostela (Spain); García-Lecina, Eva [Unidad de Superficies Metálicas, IK4-CIDETEC, E20009 Donostia-San Sebastián Gipuzkoa (Spain); Mcdaniel, Clare [National Centre for Laser Applications, School of Physics, National University of Ireland, Galway (Ireland); Díaz-Marcos, Jordi [Unitat de Tècniques Nanomètriques, Centres Científics i Tecnològics, Universitat de Barcelona, E08028 Barcelona (Spain); Flores-Arias, María Teresa [Microoptics and GRIN Optics Group, Applied Physics Department, University of Santiago de Compostela, E15782 Santiago de Compostela (Spain); O’Connor, Gerard M. [National Centre for Laser Applications, School of Physics, National University of Ireland, Galway (Ireland); Baró, Maria Dolors [Departament de Física, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, E08193 (Spain); Pellicer, Eva, E-mail: eva.pellicer@uab.cat [Departament de Física, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, E08193 (Spain); and others

    2016-05-15

    Highlights: • Formation of ripples after femtosecond pulsed laser irradiation (FSPLI) of metallic glass was studied. • Magnetic patterning at the surface of non-ferromagnetic amorphous steel was induced by FSPLI. • The origin of the generated ferromagnetism is the laser-induced devitrification. - Abstract: Periodic ripple and nanoripple patterns are formed at the surface of amorphous steel after femtosecond pulsed laser irradiation (FSPLI). Formation of such ripples is accompanied with the emergence of a surface ferromagnetic behavior which is not initially present in the non-irradiated amorphous steel. The occurrence of ferromagnetic properties is associated with the laser-induced devitrification of the glassy structure to form ferromagnetic (α-Fe and Fe{sub 3}C) and ferrimagnetic [(Fe,Mn){sub 3}O{sub 4} and Fe{sub 2}CrO{sub 4}] phases located in the ripples. The generation of magnetic structures by FSPLI turns out to be one of the fastest ways to induce magnetic patterning without the need of any shadow mask. Furthermore, local variations of the adhesion force, wettability and nanomechanical properties are also observed and compared to those of the as-cast amorphous alloy. These effects are of interest for applications (e.g., biological, magnetic recording, etc.) where both ferromagnetism and tribological/adhesion properties act synergistically to optimize material performance.

  2. Effect of thickness on silicon solar cell efficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sah, C.-T.; Yamakawa, K. A.; Lutwack, R.

    1982-01-01

    A computer-aided-design study on the dependence of the efficiency peak of a back-surface field solar cell on the concentrations of the recombination and dopant impurities is presented. The illuminated current-voltage characteristics of more than 100 cell designs are obtained using the transmission line circuit model to numerically solve the Shockley equations. Using an AM 1 efficiency of 17% as a target value, it is shown that the efficiency versus thickness dependence has a broad maximum which varies by less than 1% over more than a three-to-one range of cell thicknesses from 30 to 100 microns. An optically reflecting back surface will give only a slight improvement of AM 1 efficiency, about 0.7%, in this thickness range. Attention is given to the dependence of the efficiency on patchiness across the back-surface field low-high junction in thin cells.

  3. Multilayered samples reconstructed by measuring K{sub α}/K{sub β} or L{sub α}/L{sub β} X-ray intensity ratios by EDXRF

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cesareo, Roberto, E-mail: cesareo@uniss.it [Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nano Strutturati, CNR-Montelibretti, via Salaria km. 29.5, 00015 Monterotondo (Romania); Assis, Joaquim T. de, E-mail: joaquim.iprj@gmail.com [Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto Politécnico, P.O. Box 97282, 28625-570 Nova Friburgo, RJ (Brazil); Roldán, Clodoaldo, E-mail: Clodoaldo.Roldan@uv.es [Instituto de Ciencia de los Materiales, Universidad de Valencia, P.O. Box 22085, E46071 Valencia (Spain); Bustamante, Angel D., E-mail: angelbd1@gmail.com [Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima (Peru); Brunetti, Antonio, E-mail: brunetti@uniss.it [Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche, Scienza della Comunicazione e Ingegneria dell’ Informazione, Università di Sassari, Sassari (Italy); Schiavon, Nick [Hercules Laboratory and Évora Geophysical Centre, University of Evora (Portugal)

    2013-10-01

    In this paper a general method based on energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) analysis has been tested to assess its possible use as a tool to reconstruct the structure and determine the thickness of two and/or multi-layered materials. The method utilizes the X-ray intensity ratios of K{sub α}/K{sub β} or L{sub α}/L{sub β} peaks (or the ratio of these peaks) for selected elements present in multi-layered objects of various materials (Au alloys, gilded Cu, gilded Ag, gilded Pb, Ag–Au Tumbaga, stone surfaces with protective treatments, Zn or Nickel plating on metals). Results show that, in the case of multi-layered samples, a correct calculation of the peak ratio (K{sub α} /K{sub β} and/or L{sub α}/L{sub β}) of relevant elements from energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectra, can provide important information in assessing the exact location of each layer and for calculating its thickness. The methodological approach shown may have important applications not only in materials science but also when dealing with the conservation and restoration of multi-layered cultural heritage objects where the use of a Non-Destructive techniques to determine slight chemical and thickness variations in the layered structure is often of paramount importance to achieve the best results.

  4. NO{sub 2} gas sensing of flame-made Pt-loaded WO{sub 3} thick films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Samerjai, Thanittha [Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Program, Faculty of Graduate School, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand); Tamaekong, Nittaya [Program in Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Maejo University, Chiang Mai 50290 (Thailand); Liewhiran, Chaikarn [Department of Physics and Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand); Wisitsoraat, Anurat [Nanoelectronics and MEMS Laboratory, National Electronics and Computer Technology Center, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120 (Thailand); Phanichphant, Sukon, E-mail: sphanichphant@yahoo.com [Materials Science Research Center, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand)

    2014-06-01

    Unloaded WO{sub 3} and 0.25–1.0 wt% Pt-loaded WO{sub 3} nanoparticles for NO{sub 2} gas detection were synthesized by flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) and characterized via X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The BET surface area (SSA{sub BET}) of the nanoparticles was measured by nitrogen adsorption. The NO{sub 2} sensing properties of the sensors based on unloaded and Pt-loaded WO{sub 3} nanoparticles were investigated. The results showed that the gas sensing properties of the Pt-loaded WO{sub 3} sensors were excellent to those of the unloaded one. Especially, 0.25 wt% Pt-loaded WO{sub 3} sensor showed highest response to NO{sub 2} than the others at low operating temperature of 150 °C. - Graphical abstract: The response of 0.25 wt% Pt-loaded WO3 sensor was 637 towards NO{sub 2} concentration of 10 ppm at 150 °C. - Highlights: • Unloaded and Pt-loaded WO{sub 3} nanoparticles for NO{sub 2} gas detection were synthesized by flame spray pyrolysis (FSP). • Gas sensing properties of the Pt-loaded WO{sub 3} sensors were excellent to those of the unloaded one. • 0.25 wt% Pt-loaded WO{sub 3} sensor showed highest response to NO{sub 2} at low operating temperature of 150 °C.

  5. A three-dimensional finite element study on the effect of hydroxyapatite coating thickness on the stress distribution of the surrounding dental implant-bone interface

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hadi Asgharzadeh Shirazi

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available   Background and Aims: Hydroxyapatite coating has allocated a special place in dentistry due to its biocompatibility and bioactivity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relation between the hydroxyapatite thickness and stress distribution by using finite element method.   Materials and Methods: In this paper, the effect of hydroxyapatite coating thickness on dental implants was studied using finite element method in the range between 0 to 200 microns. A 3D model including one section of mandible bone was modeled by a thick layer of cortical surrounding dense cancellous and a Nobel Biocare commercial brand dental implant was simulated and analyzed under static load in the Abaqus software.   Results The diagram of maximum von Mises stress versus coating thickness was plotted for the cancellous and cortical bones in the range between 0 to 200 microns. The obtained results showed that the magnitude of maximum von Mises stress of bone decreased as the hydroxyapatite coating thickness increased. Also, the thickness of coating exhibited smoother stress distribution and milder variations of maximum von Mises stress in a range between 60 to 120 microns.   Conclusion: In present study, the stress was decreased in the mandible bone where hydroxyapatite coating was used. This stress reduction leads to a faster stabilization and fixation of implant in the mandible bone. Using hydroxyapatite coating as a biocompatible and bioactive material could play an important role in bone formation of implant- bone interface.

  6. Influence of structural disorder on the optical and transport properties of Co sub 0 sub . sub 5 sub 0 Ti sub 0 sub . sub 5 sub 0 alloy films

    CERN Document Server

    Kim, K W; Rhee, J Y; Kudryavtsev, Y V; Ri, H C

    2000-01-01

    Co sub 0 sub . sub 5 sub 0 Ti sub 0 sub . sub 5 sub 0 alloy films with a total thickness of about 100 nm were prepared by flash evaporation of the crushed alloy powders onto heated (730 K for the ordered state) and LN sub 2 -cooled (150 K for the disordered state) substrates. Structural analysis of the films was performed by suing transmission electron microscopy. The optical conductivity (OC) of the samples was measured at room temperature in a spectral range of 265 -2500 nm (4.7 - 0.5 eV). The resistivity measurements were carried out by using the four-probe technique in a temperature range of 4.2 - 300 K. The experimental OC spectra for the Co sub 0 sub . sub 5 sub 0 Ti sub 0 sub . sub 5 sub 0 alloys show the most significant change in the infrared region upon the order-disorder transformation. The structural disorder in the Co sub 0 sub . sub 5 sub 0 Ti sub 0 sub . sub 5 sub 0 alloy film leads to a change in the sign of the temperature coefficient of the resistivity from positive to negative. The observed...

  7. Growth and structure of thermally evaporated Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rogacheva, E.I., E-mail: rogacheva@kpi.kharkov.ua [National Technical University “Kharkov Polytechnic Institute”, 21 Frunze St., Kharkov 61002 (Ukraine); Budnik, A.V. [National Technical University “Kharkov Polytechnic Institute”, 21 Frunze St., Kharkov 61002 (Ukraine); Dobrotvorskaya, M.V.; Fedorov, A.G.; Krivonogov, S.I.; Mateychenko, P.V. [Institute for Single Crystals of NAS of Ukraine, 60 Lenin Prospect, Kharkov 61001 (Ukraine); Nashchekina, O.N.; Sipatov, A.Yu. [National Technical University “Kharkov Polytechnic Institute”, 21 Frunze St., Kharkov 61002 (Ukraine)

    2016-08-01

    The growth mechanism, microstructure, and crystal structure of the polycrystalline n-Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} thin films with thicknesses d = 15–350 nm, prepared by thermal evaporation in vacuum onto glass substrates, were studied. Bismuth telluride with Te excess was used as the initial material for the thin film preparation. The thin film characterization was performed using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, scan electron microscopy, and electron force microscopy. It was established that the chemical composition of the prepared films corresponded rather well to the starting material composition and the films did not contain any phases apart from Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3}. It was shown that the grain size and the film roughness increased with increasing film thickness. The preferential growth direction changed from [00l] to [015] under increasing d. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies showed that the thickness of the oxidized surface layer did not exceed 1.5–2.0 nm and practically did not change in the process of aging at room temperature, which is in agreement with the results reported earlier for single crystals. The obtained data show that using simple and inexpensive method of thermal evaporation in vacuum and appropriate technological parameters, one can grow n-Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} thin films of a sufficiently high quality. - Highlights: • The polycrystalline n-Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} thin films were grown thermal evaporation onto glass. • The growth mechanism and film structure were studied by different structure methods. • The grain size and film roughness increased with increasing film thickness. • The growth direction changes from [00l] to [015] under film thickness increasing. • The oxidized layer thickness (1–2 nm) did not change under aging at room temperature.

  8. Exploring biological effects of MoS{sub 2} nanosheets on native structures of α-helical peptides

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gu, Zonglin; Li, Weifeng, E-mail: wfli@suda.edu.cn, E-mail: ruhong@us.ibm.com [School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences (RAD-X) and Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123 (China); Hong, Linbi [Computational Biological Center, IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598 (United States); Zhou, Ruhong, E-mail: wfli@suda.edu.cn, E-mail: ruhong@us.ibm.com [School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences (RAD-X) and Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123 (China); Computational Biological Center, IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598 (United States); Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027 (United States)

    2016-05-07

    Recent reports of mono- and few-layer molybdenum disulfide (MoS{sub 2}), a representative transition metal dichacogenide (TMD), as antibacterial and anticancer agents have shed light on their potential in biomedical applications. To better facilitate these promising applications, one needs to understand the biological effects of these TMDs as well, such as their potential adverse effects on protein structure and function. Here, we sought to understand the interaction of MoS{sub 2} nanosheets with peptides using molecular dynamics simulations and a simple model polyalanine with various lengths (PA{sub n}, n = 10, 20, 30, and 40; mainly α − helices). Our results demonstrated that MoS{sub 2} monolayer has an exceptional capability to bind all peptides in a fast and strong manner. The strong attraction from the MoS{sub 2} nanosheet is more than enough to compensate the energy needed to unfold the peptide, regardless of the length, which induces drastic disruptions to the intra-peptide hydrogen bonds and subsequent secondary structures of α − helices. This universal phenomenon may point to the potential nanotoxicity of MoS{sub 2} when used in biological systems. Moreover, these results aligned well with previous findings on the potential cytotoxicity of TMD nanomaterials.

  9. Area- and energy-efficient CORDIC accelerators in deep sub-micron CMOS technologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vishnoi, U.; Noll, T. G.

    2012-09-01

    The COordinate Rotate DIgital Computer (CORDIC) algorithm is a well known versatile approach and is widely applied in today's SoCs for especially but not restricted to digital communications. Dedicated CORDIC blocks can be implemented in deep sub-micron CMOS technologies at very low area and energy costs and are attractive to be used as hardware accelerators for Application Specific Instruction Processors (ASIPs). Thereby, overcoming the well known energy vs. flexibility conflict. Optimizing Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers to reduce the hardware complexity is an important research topic at present. In such receivers CORDIC accelerators can be used for digital baseband processing (fixed-point) and in Position-Velocity-Time estimation (floating-point). A micro architecture well suited to such applications is presented. This architecture is parameterized according to the wordlengths as well as the number of iterations and can be easily extended for floating point data format. Moreover, area can be traded for throughput by partially or even fully unrolling the iterations, whereby the degree of pipelining is organized with one CORDIC iteration per cycle. From the architectural description, the macro layout can be generated fully automatically using an in-house datapath generator tool. Since the adders and shifters play an important role in optimizing the CORDIC block, they must be carefully optimized for high area and energy efficiency in the underlying technology. So, for this purpose carry-select adders and logarithmic shifters have been chosen. Device dimensioning was automatically optimized with respect to dynamic and static power, area and performance using the in-house tool. The fully sequential CORDIC block for fixed-point digital baseband processing features a wordlength of 16 bits, requires 5232 transistors, which is implemented in a 40-nm CMOS technology and occupies a silicon area of 1560 μm2 only. Maximum clock frequency from circuit

  10. Dissolution enhancement of Tibolone by micronization technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kailash Bansal

    2012-01-01

    Conclusion: Micronization technique has a significant impact on the dissolution of Tibolone. The experimental findings suggest that micronization can be used for the preparation of rapidly dissolving formulations of Tibolone, and could potentially lead to improvement in the in-vivo bioavailability of Tibolone oral tablets.

  11. Fabrication of yttrium-doped barium zirconate thin films with sub-micrometer thickness by a sol–gel spin coating method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xie, Hanlin; Su, Pei-Chen, E-mail: peichensu@ntu.edu.sg

    2015-06-01

    A modified sol–gel process was developed for the fabrication of sub-micrometer scale yttrium-doped barium zirconate (BZY) thin film at much lower processing temperatures. The film was fabricated by direct spin-coating of the sol on a Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} passivated Si substrate, followed by low temperature thermal annealing at 1000 °C, and single BZY phase without barium carbonate residue was obtained. A 200 nm-thick thin film without obvious through-film cracks was fabricated with optimized process parameters of sol concentration and heating rate. The stoichiometry of the BZY thin film was well-controlled and no Ba evaporation was observed due to the low processing temperature. The combination of sol–gel and spin coating method can be a promising alternative to vacuum-based thin film deposition techniques for the fabrication of sub-micrometer scale BZY thin film. - Highlights: • A sol–gel spin coating method was developed for the fabrication of BZY thin films. • The processing temperature was much lower compared to powder-based sintering. • Sub-micrometer scale BZY thin film with well-controlled stoichiometry was obtained.

  12. Micron-CT using quasi-monochromatic x-rays produced in micro-PIXE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishii, K.

    2009-01-01

    In ion-atom collision, characteristic X-rays are intensively produced and can be considered as a monochromatic X-ray source. We apply this feature to X-ray CT. By using micro-beams, cross sectional images can be provided with a spatial resolution of about 1 μm. On the basis of this idea, we developed a micron-CT consisting of a micro-beam system and an X-ray CCD camera. A tube holding samples was rotated by a stepping motor and the transmission images of the sample were taken with characteristic K-X-rays of Ti (4.558 keV) produced by 3 MeV proton micro-beams. After image reconstruction, images of cross sections of small objects were obtained with a spatial resolution of 3 μm. Using an absorption edge, we can identify an element in a sample. It is expected that our micron-CT can provide cross sectional images of in-vivo cellular samples and can be applied to a wide range of researches in biology and medicine. (author)

  13. Thermal resistance measurement of In{sub 3}SbTe{sub 2} nanowires

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Battaglia, J.L.; Saci, A.; De, I. [I2M Laboratory, University of Bordeaux, UMR CNRS 5295, Talence (France); Cecchini, R.; Cecchi, S.; Longo, M. [Laboratorio MDM, IMM-CNR, Unita di Agrate Brianza (Italy); Selmo, S.; Fanciulli, M. [Laboratorio MDM, IMM-CNR, Unita di Agrate Brianza (Italy); Dipartimento di Scienza dei Materiali, University of Milano Bicocca, Milano (Italy)

    2017-05-15

    The thermal resistance along the thickness of In{sub 3}SbTe{sub 2} crystalline nanowires was measured using the scanning thermal microscopy in 3ω mode. The nanowires were grown by metal organic vapor deposition, exploiting the VLS mechanism induced by Au metal-catalyst nanoparticles and harvested on a SiO{sub 2}/Si substrate. Two nanowires with different thickness (13 and 23 nm) were investigated. The thermal resistance of the nanowires was determined using two different approaches; the first one exploits the experimental data, whereas the second one is more sophisticated, since it involves a minimization procedure. Both methods led to comparable values of the thermal resistance along the transverse direction (thickness) of the nanowire. The obtained results were explained starting from the mean free path of phonons calculated in the In{sub 3}SbTe{sub 2} bulk. (copyright 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  14. One Micron Laser Technology Advancements at GSFC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heaps, William S.

    2010-01-01

    This slide presentation reviews the advancements made in one micron laser technology at Goddard Space Flight Center. It includes information about risk factors that are being addressed by GSFC, and overviews of the various programs that GSFC is currently managing that are using 1 micron laser technology.

  15. Synthesis and self-assembly of dumbbell shaped ZnO sub-micron structures using low temperature chemical bath deposition technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Borade, P. [National Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, University of Mumbai, Kalina Campus, Santacruz (E), Mumbai 400098 (India); Joshi, K.U. [Anton-Paar India Pvt. Ltd., Thane (W), 400607 (India); Gokarna, A.; Lerondel, G. [Laboratoire de Nanotechnologie et D' Instrumentation Optique, Institut Charles Delaunay, CNRS UMR 6281, Université de Technologie de Troyes, 12 Rue Marie Curie, BP 2060, 10010 Troyes (France); Walke, P. [National Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, University of Mumbai, Kalina Campus, Santacruz (E), Mumbai 400098 (India); Late, D. [National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune 400027 (India); Jejurikar, S.M., E-mail: jejusuhas@gmail.com [National Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, University of Mumbai, Kalina Campus, Santacruz (E), Mumbai 400098 (India)

    2016-02-01

    We report well dispersed horizontal growth of ZnO sub-micron structures using simplest technique ever known i.e. chemical bath deposition (CBD). A set of samples were prepared under two different cases A) dumbbell shaped ZnO grown in CBD bath and B) tubular ZnO structures evolved from dumbbell shaped structures by dissolution mechanism. Single phase wurtzite ZnO formation is confirmed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique in both cases. From the morphological investigations performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), sample prepared under case A indicate formation of hex bit tool (HBT) shaped ZnO crystals, which observed to self-organize to form dumbbell structures. Further these microstructures are then converted into tubular structures as a fragment of post CBD process. The possible mechanism responsible for the self-assembly of HBT units to form dumbbell structures is discussed. Observed free excitonic peak located at 370 nm in photoluminescence (PL) spectra recorded at 18 K indicate that the micro/nanostructures synthesized using CBD are of high optical quality. - Highlights: • Controlled growth of Dumbbell shaped ZnO using Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD). • Growth mechanism of dumbbell shaped ZnO by self-assembling was discussed. • Quick Transformation of ZnO dumbbell structures in to tubular structures by dissolution. • Sharp UV Emission at 370 nm from both dumbbell and tubular structures.

  16. Skew scattering dominated anomalous Hall effect in Co<sub>x(MgO)>100-xsub> granular thin films

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Qiang; Wen, Yan; Zhao, Yuelei; Li, Peng; He, Xin; Zhang, Junli; He, Yao; Peng, Yong; Yu, Ronghai; Zhang, Xixiang

    2017-01-01

    We investigated the mechanism(s) of the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) in magnetic granular materials by fabricating 100-nm-thick thin films of Co<sub>x(MgO)>100-xsub> with a Co volume fraction of 34≤x≤100 using co

  17. Synthesis, structure, and luminescence properties of In{sub 2}Ge{sub 2}O{sub 7}/SnO{sub 2} core-shell nanowires

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Sunghoon; An, Soyeon; Jin, Changhyun; Lee, Chongmu [Inha University, Incheon (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-09-15

    In{sub 2}Ge{sub 2}O{sub 7}/SnO{sub 2} core-shell nanowires were synthesized by using a two-step process: thermal evaporation of a mixture of In and Ge powders and atomic layer deposition of SnO{sub 2}. The core-shell nanowires were characterized using by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The In{sub 2}Ge{sub 2}O{sub 7} cores in these core-shell nanowires varied from 50 to 100 nanometers in diameter and up to a few hundreds of micrometers in length, and the SnO{sub 2} shell layer thickness ranged from 5 to 15 nm. Photoluminescence measurements showed that the In{sub 2}Ge{sub 2}O{sub 7} nanowires had a weak broad violet emission band centered at approximately 405 nm. In contrast, the In{sub 2}Ge{sub 2}O{sub 7}/SnO{sub 2} core-shell nanowires had a taller blue-violet emission peak at approximately 440 nm. The optimum shell layer thickness of the In{sub 2}Ge{sub 2}O{sub 7}/SnO{sub 2} core-shell nanowires for the highest PL intensity was found to be 15 nm. Our results also showed that the intensity of the blue-violet emission was increased further by thermal annealing in an Ar atmosphere. The origins of the change on and the enhancement of the luminescence of the In{sub 2}Ge{sub 2}O{sub 7} nanowires by SnO{sub 2} coating and annealing are discussed.

  18. Hall effect in La{sub 0.6}Sr{sub 0.4}MnO{sub 3} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Granada, M. E-mail: granadam@cab.cnea.gov.ar; Maiorov, B.; Sirena, M.; Steren, L.B.; Guimpel, J

    2004-05-01

    We studied the temperature and thickness dependence of the transport properties of La{sub 0.6}Sr{sub 0.4}MnO{sub 3} films. Hall voltage and magnetoresistance measurements on 10 and 150 nm thick films were performed with this purpose. From the ordinary Hall component, we calculated the density of carriers, which has hole-character and is systematically lower than that expected from the chemical composition of the manganite in both samples. Localization effects observed at low temperature in the resistivity of the thinner film, associated with the substrate-induced disorder, are correlated with a decrease of the density of carriers.

  19. Effect of low-Z absorber's thickness on gamma-ray shielding parameters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mann, Kulwinder Singh, E-mail: ksmann6268@gmail.com [Department of Applied Sciences, Punjab Technical University, Kapurthala 144601 (India); Department of Physics, D.A.V. College, Bathinda 151001, Punjab (India); Heer, Manmohan Singh [Department of Physics, Kanya Maha Vidyalaya, Jalandhar 144001 (India); Rani, Asha [Department of Applied Sciences, Ferozpur College of Engineering and Technology, Ferozshah, Ferozpur 142052 (India)

    2015-10-11

    Gamma ray shielding behaviour of any material can be studied by various interaction parameters such as total mass attenuation coefficient (μ{sub m}); half value layer (HVL); tenth value layer (TVL); effective atomic number (Z{sub eff}), electron density (N{sub el}), effective atomic weight (A{sub eff}) and buildup factor. For gamma rays, the accurate measurements of μ{sub m} (cm{sup 2} g{sup −1}) theoretically require perfect narrow beam irradiation geometry. However, the practical geometries used for the experimental investigations deviate from perfect-narrowness thereby the multiple scattered photons cause systematic errors in the measured values of μ{sub m}. Present investigation is an attempt to find the optimum value of absorber thickness (low-Z) for which these errors are insignificant and acceptable. Both experimental and theoretical calculations have been performed to investigate the effect of absorber's thickness on μ{sub m} of six low-Z (10sub eff}<14) construction materials (cement-black; cement-white; clay; red-mud; lime-stone and plaster of paris) at gamma-ray energies 661.66 keV, 1173.24 keV and 1332.50 keV. A computer program (GRIC2-toolkit) was designed for theoretical evaluation of shielding parameters of any material. Good agreement of theoretical and measured values of μ{sub m} was observed for all absorbers with thickness ≤0.5 mean free paths, thus considered it as optimum thickness for low-Z materials in the selected energy range. White cement was found to possess maximum shielding effectiveness for the selected gamma rays. - Highlights: • Optimum thickness value is 0.5 mfp for low-Z absorbers in energy range 662–1332 keV. • For accurate measurement of μ{sub m} absorber's thickness should be ≤optimum thickness. • GRIC2-toolkit is useful for γ-ray shielding analysis of composite materials.

  20. Controllable synthesis and field emission enhancement of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} coated In{sub 2}O{sub 3} core-shell nanostructures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang Yang; Li Yawei; Yu Ke; Zhu Ziqiang, E-mail: yk5188@263.net [Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education of China), Department of Electronic Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241 (China)

    2011-03-16

    Four types of indium oxide (In{sub 2}O{sub 3}) nanostructures were synthesized on Au-catalysed silicon substrate via a VLS method. A rod-like In{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanostructure was chosen to fabricate In{sub 2}O{sub 3}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} core-shell nanostructures with different shell thicknesses via a two-step method. Core-shell nanostructures with shell thickness of 30 nm are reprocessed by annealing and H{sub 2} plasma treating. Field emission (FE) properties of all the samples were measured and compared. It is found that Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} coatings remarkably decrease the effective work function and improve the FE capabilities of In{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanostructures (turn-on field decreases from 1.34 to 1.26 V {mu}m{sup -1}, threshold field decreases from 3.60 to 2.64 V {mu}m{sup -1}). Annealing and H{sub 2} plasma treating can promote the improvement even further (turn-on field 1.23 V {mu}m{sup -1}, 1.21 V {mu}m{sup -1} and threshold field 2.50 V {mu}m{sup -1}, 2.14 V {mu}m{sup -1}, respectively). The FE enhancement is attributed to the electron accumulation in the insulating Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanostructure and the electron redistribution at the heterojunction.

  1. Single-layer and double-layer microwave absorbers based on Co{sub 67}Ni{sub 33} microspheres and Ni{sub 0.6}Zn{sub 0.4}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanocrystals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Min [Engineering Technology Research Center of Magnetic Materials of Anhui Province, School of Physics & Materials Science, Anhui University, Hefei 230601 (China); Wang, Zhongzhu, E-mail: wangzz@ahu.edu.cn [Engineering Technology Research Center of Magnetic Materials of Anhui Province, School of Physics & Materials Science, Anhui University, Hefei 230601 (China); Wang, Peihong; Liao, Yanlin [Engineering Technology Research Center of Magnetic Materials of Anhui Province, School of Physics & Materials Science, Anhui University, Hefei 230601 (China); Bi, Hong [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei 230601 (China)

    2017-03-01

    Co{sub 67}Ni{sub 33} microspheres and Ni{sub 0.6}Zn{sub 0.4}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanocrystals were synthesized by hydrothermal method. The complex permeability and complex permittivity of the as-prepared powders dispersing in wax (60 wt% powder) were measured using a vector network analyzer in 2–18 GHz frequency range. The calculated microwave absorption of single-layer and double-layer absorbers based on Co{sub 67}Ni{sub 33} microspheres and Ni{sub 0.6}Zn{sub 0.4}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanocrystals were analyzed in 2–18 GHz frequency range. The results show that the Ni{sub 0.6}Zn{sub 0.4}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4}nanocrystals with the relatively low permittivity and Co{sub 67}Ni{sub 33} microspheres with the relatively high dielectric loss and magnetic loss can be used as proper matching layer and excellent absorption layer, respectively. The double-layer absorber with a coating thickness of 2.1 mm exhibits a maximum reflection loss of −43.8 dB as well as a bandwidth (reflection loss less than −10 dB) of 5 GHz. Moreover, their absorption peak and the absorption intensity can be adjusted easily through changing the stacking order and each layer thickness. - Highlights: • Ni-Zn ferrite nanocrystals can use as matching layer in double-layer absorbers. • Co{sub 67}Ni{sub 33} microspheres with high dielectric loss can use as absorption layer. • Double-layer absorbers exhibits an excellent microwave absorption in 2–18 GHz.

  2. Imaging of vaporised sub-micron phase change contrast agents with high frame rate ultrasound and optics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Shengtao; Zhang, Ge; Jamburidze, Akaki; Chee, Melisse; Hau Leow, Chee; Garbin, Valeria; Tang, Meng-Xing

    2018-03-01

    Phase-change ultrasound contrast agent (PCCA), or nanodroplet, shows promise as an alternative to the conventional microbubble agent over a wide range of diagnostic applications. Meanwhile, high-frame-rate (HFR) ultrasound imaging with microbubbles enables unprecedented temporal resolution compared to traditional contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging. The combination of HFR ultrasound imaging and PCCAs can offer the opportunity to observe and better understand PCCA behaviour after vaporisation captures the fast phenomenon at a high temporal resolution. In this study, we utilised HFR ultrasound at frame rates in the kilohertz range (5-20 kHz) to image native and size-selected PCCA populations immediately after vaporisation in vitro within clinical acoustic parameters. The size-selected PCCAs through filtration are shown to preserve a sub-micron-sized (mean diameter  1 µm) that originate from native PCCA emulsion. The results demonstrate imaging signals with different amplitudes and temporal features compared to that of microbubbles. Compared with the microbubbles, both the B-mode and pulse-inversion (PI) signals from the vaporised PCCA populations were reduced significantly in the first tens of milliseconds, while only the B-mode signals from the PCCAs were recovered during the next 400 ms, suggesting significant changes to the size distribution of the PCCAs after vaporisation. It is also shown that such recovery in signal over time is not evident when using size-selective PCCAs. Furthermore, it was found that signals from the vaporised PCCA populations are affected by the amplitude and frame rate of the HFR ultrasound imaging. Using high-speed optical camera observation (30 kHz), we observed a change in particle size in the vaporised PCCA populations exposed to the HFR ultrasound imaging pulses. These findings can further the understanding of PCCA behaviour under HFR ultrasound imaging.

  3. Depth profiling of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} + TiO{sub 2} nanolaminates by means of a time-of-flight energy spectrometer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Laitinen, M., E-mail: mikko.i.laitinen@jyu.fi [Dept. of Physics, P.O. Box 35, 40014 University of Jyvaeskylae (Finland); Sajavaara, T., E-mail: timo.sajavaara@jyu.fi [Dept. of Physics, P.O. Box 35, 40014 University of Jyvaeskylae (Finland); Rossi, M., E-mail: mikko.rossi@jyu.fi [Dept. of Physics, P.O. Box 35, 40014 University of Jyvaeskylae (Finland); Julin, J., E-mail: jaakko.julin@jyu.fi [Dept. of Physics, P.O. Box 35, 40014 University of Jyvaeskylae (Finland); Puurunen, R.L., E-mail: riikka.puurunen@vtt.fi [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Tietotie 3, FI-02150 Espoo (Finland); Suni, T., E-mail: tommi.suni@vtt.fi [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Tietotie 3, FI-02150 Espoo (Finland); Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, ew304, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, 153-8505 Tokyo (Japan); Ishida, T., E-mail: tadashii@iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, ew304, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, 153-8505 Tokyo (Japan); Fujita, H., E-mail: fujita@iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, ew304, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, 153-8505 Tokyo (Japan); Arstila, K., E-mail: kai.arstila@imec.be [Imec, Kapeldreef 75, Leuven 3001 (Belgium); Brijs, B., E-mail: bert.brijs@imec.be [Imec, Kapeldreef 75, Leuven 3001 (Belgium); Whitlow, H.J., E-mail: harry.j.whitlow@jyu.fi [Dept. of Physics, P.O. Box 35, 40014 University of Jyvaeskylae (Finland)

    2011-12-15

    Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is currently a widespread method to grow conformal thin films with a sub-nm thickness control. By using ALD for nanolaminate oxides, it is possible to fine tune the electrical, optical and mechanical properties of thin films. In this study the elemental depth profiles and surface roughnesses were determined for Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} + TiO{sub 2} nanolaminates with nominal single-layer thicknesses of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 nm and total thickness between 40 nm and 60 nm. The depth profiles were measured by means of a time-of-flight elastic recoil detection analysis (ToF-ERDA) spectrometer recently installed at the University of Jyvaeskylae. In TOF-E measurements {sup 63}Cu, {sup 35}Cl, {sup 12}C and {sup 4}He ions with energies ranging from 0.5 to 10 MeV, were used and depth profiles of the whole nanolaminate film could be analyzed down to 5 nm individual layer thickness.

  4. The Cheshire-cat-like Behavior of 2nu(sub 3) Overtone of Co2 near 2.134 micron: NIR Lab Spectra of Solid CO2 in H2O and CH3OH

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernstein, Max; Sandford, Scott; Cruikshank, Dale

    2005-01-01

    Infrared (IR) spectra have demonstrated that solid H2O is very common in the outer Solar System, and solid carbon dioxide (CO2) has been detected on icy satellites, comets, and planetismals throughout the outer Solar System. In such environments, CO2 and H2O must sometimes be mixed at a molecular level, changing their IR absorption features. In fact, the IR spectra of CO2-H2O mixtures are not equivalent to a linear combination of the spectra of the pure materials. Laboratory IR spectra of pure CO2 and H2O have been published but a lack of near-IR spectra of CO2-H2O mixtures has made the interpretation of outer Solar System spectra more difficult. We present near infrared (IR) spectra of CO2 in H2O and in CH3OH compared to that of pure solid CO2 and find significant differences. Peaks not present in either pure H2O or pure CO2 spectra become evident. First, the CO2 (2nu(sub 3)) overtone near 2.134 micron (4685/ cm) that is not seen in pure solid CO2 is prominent in the spectrum of a CO2/H2O = 25 mixture. Second, a 2.74 micron (3650/ cm) dangling OH feature of water (and a potentially related peak at 1.89 micron) appear in the spectra of CO2-H2O ice mixtures, but may not be specific to the presence of CO2. Other CO2 peaks display shifts in position and increased width because of intermolecular interactions with water. Changes in CO2 peak positions and profiles on warming of a CO2/H2O = 5 mixture are consistent with 'segregation' of the ice into nearly pure separate components. Absolute strengths for absorptions of CO2 in solid H2O are estimated. Similar results are observed for CO2 in solid CH3OH. Since the CO2 ( 2nu(sub 3)) overtone near 2.134 micron (4685/ cm) is not present in pure CO2 but prominent in mixtures it may be a good observational indicator of whether solid CO2 is a pure material or intimately mixed with other molecules. Significant changes in the near IR spectrum of solid CO2 in the presence of H2O and CH3OH means that the abundance of solid CO2 in the

  5. Variation of central corneal thickness in patients with diabetic retinopathy as detected by ultrasonic pachymetry in patients presenting to a tertiary care hospital

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, S.A.

    2017-01-01

    To compare the central corneal thickness between patients with diabetic retinopathy and non diabetics. Study Design: A cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Lahore General Hospital Lahore, from 1st Dec 2015 to 31st May 2016. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the ophthalmology outpatient department of Lahore General Hospital. A total of one hundred and fifty subjects from different age groups were selected for the study. An ultrasound pachymeter was used to measure CCT. There were two groups for sample, 75 were patients with diabetic retinopathy and 75 of them were non-diabetic subjects. Results: The diabetic patients had average central corneal thickness of value 554.93 +- 33.73 microns. The average central corneal thickness found in non-diabetic patients was 520.41 +- 26.06 microns. The diabetic patients showed an increased central corneal thickness as compared to non-diabetics. The result of this study was statistically significant (p=0.001). Conclusion: The diabetic patients showed an increased central corneal thickness as compared to non-diabetic patients. (author)

  6. Scanning transmission ion micro-tomography (STIM-T) of biological specimens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schwertner, Michael; Sakellariou, Arthur; Reinert, Tilo; Butz, Tilman

    2006-01-01

    Computed tomography (CT) was applied to sets of Scanning Transmission Ion Microscopy (STIM) projections recorded at the LIPSION ion beam laboratory (Leipzig) in order to visualize the 3D-mass distribution in several specimens. Examples for a test structure (copper grid) and for biological specimens (cartilage cells, cygospore) are shown. Scanning Transmission Micro-Tomography (STIM-T) at a resolution of 260 nm was demonstrated for the first time. Sub-micron features of the Cu-grid specimen were verified by scanning electron microscopy. The ion energy loss measured during a STIM-T experiment is related to the mass density of the specimen. Typically, biological specimens can be analysed without staining. Only shock freezing and freeze-drying is required to preserve the ultra-structure of the specimen. The radiation damage to the specimen during the experiment can be neglected. This is an advantage compared to other techniques like X-ray micro-tomography. At present, the spatial resolution is limited by beam position fluctuations and specimen vibrations

  7. Ferroelectric domain inversion and its stability in lithium niobate thin film on insulator with different thicknesses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shao, Guang-hao; Bai, Yu-hang; Cui, Guo-xin; Li, Chen; Qiu, Xiang-biao; Wu, Di; Lu, Yan-qing, E-mail: yqlu@nju.edu.cn [National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); Geng, De-qiang [Jinan Jingzheng Electronics Co., Ltd., Jinan 250100 (China)

    2016-07-15

    Ferroelectric domain inversion and its effect on the stability of lithium niobate thin films on insulator (LNOI) are experimentally characterized. Two sets of specimens with different thicknesses varying from submicron to microns are selected. For micron thick samples (∼28 μm), domain structures are achieved by pulsed electric field poling with electrodes patterned via photolithography. No domain structure deterioration has been observed for a month as inspected using polarizing optical microscopy and etching. As for submicron (540 nm) films, large-area domain inversion is realized by scanning a biased conductive tip in a piezoelectric force microscope. A graphic processing method is taken to evaluate the domain retention. A domain life time of 25.0 h is obtained and possible mechanisms are discussed. Our study gives a direct reference for domain structure-related applications of LNOI, including guiding wave nonlinear frequency conversion, nonlinear wavefront tailoring, electro-optic modulation, and piezoelectric devices.

  8. Atomic layer deposition of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} and Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/TiO{sub 2} barrier coatings to reduce the water vapour permeability of polyetheretherketone

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahmadzada, Tamkin, E-mail: tahm4852@uni.sydney.edu.au [School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia); McKenzie, David R.; James, Natalie L.; Yin, Yongbai [School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia); Li, Qing [School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia)

    2015-09-30

    We demonstrate significantly enhanced barrier properties of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) against water vapour penetration by depositing Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} or Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/TiO{sub 2} nanofilms grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD). Nanoindentation analysis revealed good adhesion strength of a bilayer Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/TiO{sub 2} coating to PEEK, while the single layer Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} coating displayed flaking and delamination. We identified three critical design parameters for achieving the optimum barrier properties of ALD Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/TiO{sub 2} coatings on PEEK. These are a minimum total thickness dependent on the required water vapour transmission rate, the use of an Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/TiO{sub 2} bilayer coating and the application of the coating to both sides of the PEEK film. Using these design parameters, we achieved a reduction in moisture permeability of PEEK of over two orders of magnitude while maintaining good adhesion strength of the polymer–thin film system. - Highlights: • Atomic layer deposition of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/TiO{sub 2} coatings reduced water vapour permeability. • Bilayer coatings reduced the permeability more than single layer coatings. • Bilayer coatings displayed higher adhesion strength than the single layer coatings. • Double-sided coatings performed better than single-sided coatings. • Correlation was found between total thickness and reduced water vapour permeability.

  9. A laboratory exposure system to study the effects of aging on super-micron aerosol particles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Santarpia, Joshua; Sanchez, Andres L.; Lucero, Gabriel Anthony; Servantes, Brandon Lee; Hubbard, Joshua Allen

    2014-02-01

    A laboratory system was constructed that allows the super-micron particles to be aged for long periods of time under conditions that can simulate a range of natural environments and conditions, including relative humidity, oxidizing chemicals, organics and simulated solar radiation. Two proof-of-concept experiments using a non-biological simulant for biological particles and a biological simulant demonstrate the utility of these types of aging experiments. Green Visolite®, which is often used as a tracer material for model validation experiments, does not degrade with exposure to simulated solar radiation, the actual biological material does. This would indicate that Visolite® should be a good tracer compound for mapping the extent of a biological release using fluorescence as an indicator, but that it should not be used to simulate the decay of a biological particle when exposed to sunlight. The decay in the fluorescence measured for B. thurengiensis is similar to what has been previously observed in outdoor environments.

  10. Preparation and electrochemical behaviour of Sb sub 2 O sub 5 films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Badawy, W.A. (Chemistry Dept., Faculty of Science, Univ. of Cairo, Giza (Egypt))

    1990-04-01

    Sb{sub 2}O{sub 5} films of various thicknesses were prepared on glass or glassy carbon using a chemical vapour deposition-spraying technique. A 0.5 M SbCl{sub 5}-ethyl acetate solution was used as a spray. This evaporated in front of the heated substrate and the hydrolysis reaction 2SbCl{sub 5} + 5 H{sub 2}O{yields}Sb{sub 2}O{sub 5} + 10HCl took place, leaving a homogeneous antimony oxide film adherent to the substrate surface. The effect of the thickness of the prepared film on its physical properties was studied. The electrochemical behaviour of electrodes of the oxide film in three different redox couples was investigated. The results reveal that the charge transfer reaction occurring at the electrode-electrode interface takes place via tunnelling of the electrons through the barrier formed by the space charge layer into the Sb{sub 2}O{sub 5} conduction band. (orig.).

  11. Influence of ni thickness on oscillation coupling in Cu/Ni multilayers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gagorowska, B; Dus-Sitek, M [Institute of Physics, Czestochowa University of Technology, Al. Armii Krajowej 19, 42-200 Czestochowa (Poland)

    2007-08-15

    The results of investigation of magnetic properties of [Cu/Ni]x100 were presented. Samples were deposited by face-to-face sputtering method onto the silicon substrate, the thickness of Cu layer was constant (d{sub Cu} = 2 nm) and the thickness of Ni layer - variable (1 nm {<=} d{sub Ni} {<=} 6 nm). In Cu/Ni multilayers, for the thickness of Ni layer bigger than 2 nm antiferromagnetic coupling (A-F) were observed, for the thickness of Ni smaller than 2 nm A-F coupling is absent.

  12. Phase separation, crystallization and polyamorphism in the Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Skinner, Lawrie B; Barnes, Adrian C [H H Wills Physics Laboratory, Royal Fort, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TL (United Kingdom); Salmon, Philip S [Department of Physics, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY (United Kingdom); Crichton, Wilson A [European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 6 rue Jules Horowitz, BP 220, Grenoble Cedex, F-38043 (France)], E-mail: a.c.barnes@bristol.ac.uk

    2008-05-21

    A detailed study of glass formation from aerodynamically levitated liquids in the (Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}){sub x}(Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}){sub 1-x} system for the composition range 0.21{<=}x{<=}0.41 was undertaken by using pyrometric, optical imaging and x-ray diffraction methods. Homogeneous and clear single-phase glasses were produced over the composition range 0.27{<=}x{<=}0.33. For Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}-rich compositions (0.33{<=}x{<=}0.375), cloudy materials were produced which contain inclusions of crystalline yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG) of diameter up to 40 {mu}m in a glassy matrix. For Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}-poor compositions around x = 0.24, cloudy materials were also produced, but it was not possible to deduce whether this resulted from (i) sub-micron inclusions of a nano-crystalline or glassy material in a glassy matrix or (ii) a glass formed by spinodal decomposition. For x = 0.21, however, the sample cloudiness results from crystallization into at least two phases comprising yttrium aluminium perovskite and alumina. The associated pyrometric cooling curve shows slow recalescence events with a continuous and slow evolution of excess heat which contrasts with the sharp recalescence events observed for the crystallization of YAG at compositions near x = 0.375. The materials that are the most likely candidates for demonstrating homogeneous nucleation of a second liquid phase occur around x = 0.25, which corresponds to the limit for formation of a continuous random network of corner-shared AlO{sub 4} tetrahedra.

  13. Dynamic-speckle profilometer for online measurements of coating thickness

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kamshilin, A A [Laboratory of Optical Sensor Technology, Department of Physics, University of Kuopio, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio (Finland); Semenov, D V [Laboratory of Optical Sensor Technology, Department of Physics, University of Kuopio, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio (Finland); Nippolainen, E [Laboratory of Optical Sensor Technology, Department of Physics, University of Kuopio, PO Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio (Finland); Miridonov, S [Optics Department, CICESE, Carr. Tijuana-Ensenada km 107, C.P. 22860, A.P. 360, Ensenada, B.C. (Mexico)

    2007-10-15

    Online control of thickness of as-deposited coatings is of great importance because it directly affects the quality of protective coatings. We present a novel approach that enables online, real-time and non-contact measurements thickness of thermally sprayed coatings. The proposed technique uses dynamic speckles generated by rapidly deflecting laser beam. Within 10 ms the system can scan 500 times a small area of the deposited layer thus resulting in measurement accuracy of 5 microns irrespectively of the layer roughness. In comparison with traditional optical triangulation technique of distance measurements, our system has following advantages: (i) much simpler optical scheme that includes conventional photodiode to measure the scattered light, (ii) much simpler electronics for real-time data processing, (iii) much higher speed of measurements.

  14. Dynamic-speckle profilometer for online measurements of coating thickness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kamshilin, A A; Semenov, D V; Nippolainen, E; Miridonov, S

    2007-01-01

    Online control of thickness of as-deposited coatings is of great importance because it directly affects the quality of protective coatings. We present a novel approach that enables online, real-time and non-contact measurements thickness of thermally sprayed coatings. The proposed technique uses dynamic speckles generated by rapidly deflecting laser beam. Within 10 ms the system can scan 500 times a small area of the deposited layer thus resulting in measurement accuracy of 5 microns irrespectively of the layer roughness. In comparison with traditional optical triangulation technique of distance measurements, our system has following advantages: (i) much simpler optical scheme that includes conventional photodiode to measure the scattered light, (ii) much simpler electronics for real-time data processing, (iii) much higher speed of measurements

  15. Quantification of 2D elemental distribution maps of intermediate-thick biological sections by low energy synchrotron μ-X-ray fluorescence spectrometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kump, P.; Vogel-Mikuš, K.

    2018-05-01

    Two fundamental-parameter (FP) based models for quantification of 2D elemental distribution maps of intermediate-thick biological samples by synchrotron low energy μ-X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (SR-μ-XRF) are presented and applied to the elemental analysis in experiments with monochromatic focused photon beam excitation at two low energy X-ray fluorescence beamlines—TwinMic, Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, Italy, and ID21, ESRF, Grenoble, France. The models assume intermediate-thick biological samples composed of measured elements, the sources of the measurable spectral lines, and by the residual matrix, which affects the measured intensities through absorption. In the first model a fixed residual matrix of the sample is assumed, while in the second model the residual matrix is obtained by the iteration refinement of elemental concentrations and an adjusted residual matrix. The absorption of the incident focused beam in the biological sample at each scanned pixel position, determined from the output of a photodiode or a CCD camera, is applied as a control in the iteration procedure of quantification.

  16. Efavirenz Dissolution Enhancement I: Co-Micronization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helvécio Vinícius Antunes Rocha

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available AIDS constitutes one of the most serious infectious diseases, representing a major public health priority. Efavirenz (EFV, one of the most widely used drugs for this pathology, belongs to the Class II of the Biopharmaceutics Classification System for drugs with very poor water solubility. To improve EFV’s dissolution profile, changes can be made to the physical properties of the drug that do not lead to any accompanying molecular modifications. Therefore, the study objective was to develop and characterize systems with efavirenz able to improve its dissolution, which were co-processed with sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP. The technique used was co-micronization. Three different drug:excipient ratios were tested for each of the two carriers. The drug dispersion dissolution results showed significant improvement for all the co-processed samples in comparison to non-processed material and corresponding physical mixtures. The dissolution profiles obtained for dispersion with co-micronized SLS samples proved superior to those of co-micronized PVP, with the proportion (1:0.25 proving the optimal mixture. The improvements may be explained by the hypothesis that formation of a hydrophilic layer on the surface of the micronized drug increases the wettability of the system formed, corroborated by characterization results indicating no loss of crystallinity and an absence of interaction at the molecular level.

  17. Angular distribution of species in pulsed laser deposition of La{sub x}Ca{sub 1−x}MnO{sub 3}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ojeda-G-P, Alejandro [Paul Scherrer Institut, General Energy Research Department, 5232 Villigen-PSI (Switzerland); Schneider, Christof W., E-mail: christof.schneider@psi.ch [Paul Scherrer Institut, General Energy Research Department, 5232 Villigen-PSI (Switzerland); Döbeli, Max [Ion Beam Physics, ETH Zurich, CH-8093 Zurich (Switzerland); Lippert, Thomas; Wokaun, Alexander [Paul Scherrer Institut, General Energy Research Department, 5232 Villigen-PSI (Switzerland)

    2015-05-01

    Highlights: • The angular distribution of species was analyzed for different pressures. • Results show a non-congruent transfer of composition from target to substrate. • Film thickness and composition show different angular distributions. - Abstract: The angular distribution of species from a La{sub 0.4}Ca{sub 0.6}MnO{sub 3} target irradiated with a 248 nm nanosecond pulsed laser was investigated by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry for four different Ar pressures. The film thickness angular distribution was also analyzed using profilometry. Depending on the background gas pressure, the target to substrate distance, and the angular location the film thickness and composition varies considerably. In particular the film composition could vary by up to 17% with respect to the composition of the target material.

  18. Enhanced Optical and Electrical Properties of TiO{sub 2} Buffered IGZO/TiO{sub 2} Bi-Layered Films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moon, Hyun-Joo; Kim, Daeil [University of Ulsan, Ulsan (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-08-15

    In and Ga doped ZnO (IGZO, 100-nm thick) thin films were deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering without intentional substrate heating on a bare glass substrate and a TiO{sub 2}-deposited glass substrate to determine the effect of the thickness of a thin TiO{sub 2} buffer layer on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of the films. The thicknesses of the TiO{sub 2} buffer layers were 5, 10 and 15 nm, respectively. As-deposited IGZO films with a 10 nm-thick TiO{sub 2} buffer layer had an average optical transmittance of 85.0% with lower resistivity (1.83×10-2 Ω cm) than that of IGZO single layer films. The figure of merit (FOM) reached a maximum of 1.44×10-4 Ω-1 for IGZO/10 nm-thick TiO{sub 2} bi-layered films, which is higher than the FOM of 6.85×10-5 Ω-1 for IGZO single layer films. Because a higher FOM value indicates better quality transparent conducting oxide (TCO) films, the IGZO/10 nm-thick TiO{sub 2} bi-layered films are likely to perform better in TCO applications than IGZO single layer films.

  19. Study on the dielectric properties of Al2O3/TiO2 sub-nanometric laminates: effect of the bottom electrode and the total thickness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ben Elbahri, M.; Kahouli, A.; Mercey, B.; Lebedev, O.; Donner, W.; Lüders, U.

    2018-02-01

    Dielectrics based on amorphous sub-nanometric laminates of TiO2 and Al2O3 are subject to elevated dielectric losses and leakage currents, in large parts due to the extremely thin individual layer thickness chosen for the creation of the Maxwell-Wagner relaxation and therefore the high apparent dielectric constants. The optimization of performances of the laminate itself being strongly limited by this contradiction concerning its internal structure, we will show in this study that modifications of the dielectric stack of capacitors based on these sub-nanometric laminates can positively influence the dielectric losses and the leakage, as for example the nature of the electrodes, the introduction of thick insulating layers at the laminate/electrode interfaces and the modification of the total laminate thickness. The optimization of the dielectric stack leads to the demonstration of a capacitor with an apparent dielectric constant of 90, combined with low dielectric loss (tan δ) of 7 · 10-2 and with leakage currents smaller than 1  ×  10-6 A cm-2 at 10 MV m-1.

  20. Wet/dry film thickness measurement of paint by absorption spectroscopy with acousto-optic tunable filter spectrometer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinha, Pranay G.; Xiong, Xiangchun; Jin, Feng; Trivedi, Sudhir; Prasad, Narashima S.

    2005-08-01

    Controlling/monitoring the thickness of applied paint in real time is important to many situations including painting ship and submarine hulls in dry docks for maintaining health of ships and submarines against the harshness of the sea, in automobile and aerospace industries, and in a variety of other industries as a control sensor that plays significant role in product quality, process control, and cost control. Insufficient thickness results to inadequate protection while overspray leads to waste and pollution of the environment. A rugged instrumentation for the real time non-contact accurate measurement of wet and dry paint film thickness measurement will be immensely valuable. As paint is applied with several layers of the same or different type, thickness of each newly sprayed wet layer is of most interest, but measurement on dry paint is also useful. In this study, we use acousto-optic tunable filter-based near infrared spectrometer to obtain the absorption spectrum of layers of paint sprayed on sand blasted steel surface and thus measure the thickness of coating under both wet and dry situations. NIR spectra are obtained from 1100 to 2300 nm on four sample of different thickness of paint up to 127 micron. Partial least squares model built with the spectra shows good correlation with standard error of prediction within ~ 0.7 micron. Results indicate that the spectra also respond to the amount of organic solvent in the wet paint and can be used to monitor the degree of dryness of the paint in real time.

  1. Self-Assembling Biological Springs Force Transducers on the Micron Nanoscale

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Benedek, George [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Casparay, Alfred H. [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)

    2016-08-19

    In this project, we are developing a new system for measuring forces within and between nanoscale biological molecules based on mesoscopic springs made of cholesterol helical ribbons. These ribbons self-assemble in a wide variety of complex fluids containing sterol, a mixture of surfactants and water [1] and have spring constants in the range from 0.5 to 500 pN/nm [2-4]. By the end of this project, we have demonstrated that the cholesterol helical ribbons can be used for measuring forces between biological objects and for mapping the strain fields in hydrogels.

  2. Size-effect in layered ferrielectric CuInP<sub>2sub>S>6sub>

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chyasnavichyus, Marius [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). The Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences; Susner, Michael A. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Materials Science and Technology Division; Ievlev, Anton V. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). The Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences; Eliseev, Eugene A. [National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU), Kiev (Ukraine). Inst. for Problems of Materials Science; Kalinin, Sergei V. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). The Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences; Balke, Nina [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). The Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences; Morozovska, Anna N. [National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU), Kiev (Ukraine). Inst. of Physics; McGuire, Michael A. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Materials Science and Technology Division; Maksymovych, Petro [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). The Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences

    2016-10-24

    In this paper, we report on polarization switching properties of thin flakes of van der Waals ferrielectric CuInP<sub>2sub>S>6sub>. We observe mesoscale polarization domains, ferroelectric switching, and the Curie temperature above 299 K down to a thickness of ~50 nm. However, the electromechanical response is progressively suppressed below 50 nm, and vanishes at room temperature at a thickness of ~10 nm. Though larger than a single layer, 10 nm is still a very small value compared to the expectations for an intrinsic ferroelectric semiconductor. We therefore propose a model for a doped surface layer that screens spontaneous polarization in this material. The charges in the screening layer may also participate in secondary chemical reactions, which may explain domain pinning observed in thermal cycling of the flakes above the Curie temperature. At the same time, ferroelectric switching is intertwined with ionic diffusion, resulting in erratic and damaging switching at room temperature. Finally, owing to much stronger temperature dependence of ionic diffusion, the two phenomena can be decoupled allowing more reliable switching to be obtained at low temperatures.

  3. Voltage linearity modulation and polarity dependent conduction in metal-insulator-metal capacitors with atomic-layer-deposited Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/ZrO{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2} nano-stacks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhu, Bao; Liu, Wen-Jun; Wei, Lei; Zhang, David Wei; Jiang, Anquan; Ding, Shi-Jin, E-mail: sjding@fudan.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of ASIC and System, School of Microelectronics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433 (China)

    2015-07-07

    Excellent voltage linearity of metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors is highly required for next generation radio frequency integration circuits. In this work, employing atomic layer deposition technique, we demonstrated how the voltage linearity of MIM capacitors was modulated by adding different thickness of SiO{sub 2} layer to the nano-stack of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/ZrO{sub 2}. It was found that the quadratic voltage coefficient of capacitance (α) can be effectively reduced from 1279 to −75 ppm/V{sup 2} with increasing the thickness of SiO{sub 2} from zero to 4 nm, which is more powerful than increasing the thickness of ZrO{sub 2} in the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/ZrO{sub 2} stack. This is attributed to counteraction between the positive α for Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/ZrO{sub 2} and the negative one for SiO{sub 2} in the MIM capacitors with Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/ZrO{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2} stacks. Interestingly, voltage-polarity dependent conduction behaviors in the MIM capacitors were observed. For electron bottom-injection, the addition of SiO{sub 2} obviously suppressed the leakage current; however, it abnormally increased the leakage current for electron top-injection. These are ascribed to the co-existence of shallow and deep traps in ZrO{sub 2}, and the former is in favor of the field-assisted tunnelling conduction and the latter contributes to the trap-assisted tunnelling process. The above findings will be beneficial to device design and process optimization for high performance MIM capacitors.

  4. Orthorhombic MoO{sub 3} nanobelts based NO{sub 2} gas sensor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mane, A.A. [Thin Film Nanomaterials Laboratory, Department of Physics, Shivaji University, Kolhapur 416 004 (India); General Science and Humanities Department, Sant Gajanan Maharaj College of Engineering, Mahagaon, 416 503 (India); Moholkar, A.V., E-mail: avmoholkar@gmail.com [Thin Film Nanomaterials Laboratory, Department of Physics, Shivaji University, Kolhapur 416 004 (India)

    2017-05-31

    Highlights: • The effect of thickness on physicochemical and NO{sub 2} gas sensing properties of sprayed MoO{sub 3} nanobelts has been reported. • The sprayed MoO{sub 3} nanobelts show the NO{sub 2} gas response of 68% for 100 ppm concentration at an operating temperature of 200 °C. • The lower detection limit of MoO{sub 3} nanobelts based NO{sub 2} sensor is found to be half of the IDLH value (20 ppm). - Abstract: Molybdenum trioxide (MoO{sub 3}) nanobelts have been deposited onto the glass substrates using chemical spray pyrolysis (CSP) deposition method. The XRD patterns reveal that films are polycrystalline having an orthorhombic crystal structure. Raman spectra confirm that the films are orthorhombic in phase. The XPS study shows the presence of two well resolved spectral lines of Mo-3d core levels appearing at the binding energy values of 232.82 eV and 235.95 eV corresponding to Mo-3d{sub 5/2} and Mo-3d{sub 3/2}, respectively. These binding energy values are assigned to Mo{sup 6+} oxidation state of fully oxidized MoO{sub 3}. The FE-SEM micrographs show the formation of nanobelts-like morphology. The AFM micrographs reveal that the RMS surface roughness increases from 16.5 nm to 17.5 nm with increase in film thickness from 470 nm to 612 nm and then decreases to 16 nm for 633 nm film thickness. The band gap energy is found to be decreased from 3.40 eV to 3.38 eV. To understand the electronic transport phenomenon in MoO{sub 3} thin films, dielectric properties are studied. For 612 nm film thickness, the highest NO{sub 2} gas response of 68% is obtained at an operating temperature of 200 °C for 100 ppm concentration with response and recovery times of 15 s and 150 s, respectively. The lower detection limit is found to be 10 ppm which is half of the immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH) value of 20 ppm. Finally, NO{sub 2} gas sensing mechanism in an orthorhombic MoO{sub 3} crystal structure is discussed in detail.

  5. Characterization on the coatings of Ni-base alloy with nano- and micron-size Sm2O3 addition prepared by laser deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Shihong; Li Mingxi; Yoon, Jae Hong; Cho, Tong Yul

    2008-01-01

    The coating materials are the powder mixture of micron-size Ni-base alloy powders with both 1.5 wt.% micron-size and nano-size Sm 2 O 3 powders, which are prepared on Q235 steel plate by 2.0 kW CO 2 laser deposition. The results indicate that with rare earth oxide Sm 2 O 3 addition, the width of planar crystallization is smaller than that of the Ni-base alloy coatings. Micron- and nano-Sm 2 O 3 /Ni-base alloy coatings have similar microstructure showing the primary phase of γ-Ni dendrite and eutectic containing γ-Ni and Cr 23 C 6 phases. However, compared to micron-Sm 2 O 3 /Ni-base alloy, preferred orientation of γ-Ni dendrite of nano-Sm 2 O 3 /Ni-base alloy is weakened. Planar crystal of several-μm thickness is first grown and then dendrite growth is observed at 1.5% micron-Sm 2 O 3 /Ni-base alloy coating whereas equiaxed dendrite is grown at 1.5% nano-Sm 2 O 3 /Ni-base alloy coating. Hardness and wear resistance of the coating improves with decreasing Sm 2 O 3 size from micron to nano. The improvement on tribological property of nano-Sm 2 O 3 /Ni-base alloy over micron-Sm 2 O 3 /Ni-base alloy coatings can be attributed to the better resistance of equiaxed dendrite to adhesion interactions during the wear process. In 6 M HNO 3 solution, the corrosion resistance is greatly improved with nano-Sm 2 O 3 addition since the decrease of corrosion ratio along grain-boundary in nano-Sm 2 O 3 /Ni-base alloy coating contributes to harmonization of corrosion potential

  6. Thickness and microstructure characterization of TGO in thermal barrier coatings by 3D reconstruction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Song, Xuemei; Meng, Fangli [The State Key Lab of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, , Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050 (China); Kong, Mingguang [Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Institute of Solid State Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031 (China); Wang, Yongzhe [The State Key Lab of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, , Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050 (China); Huang, Liping; Zheng, Xuebin [Key Laboratory of Inorganic Coating Materials, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050 (China); Zeng, Yi, E-mail: zengyi@mail.sic.ac.cn [The State Key Lab of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, , Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050 (China); CAS Center for Excellence in Superconducting Electronics (CENSE), Shanghai 200050 (China)

    2016-10-15

    Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are prepared by plasma spraying. Thermally grown oxide (TGO) would be formed between YSZ topcoat and bond coat after 50 h thermal service for YSZ TBCs. The electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD) results reveal that the TGO layer is composed of α-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} and cubic Al{sub 2}NiO{sub 4} layers. Measured values of TGO thickness from the 2D-SEM image are greater than or equal to its real thickness due to the fact that the TGO layer is much rolling so that up and down surfaces of the TGO can't be completely perpendicular to the cross-section direction confirmed by 3D-SEM. Furthermore, 3D-SEM results reveal that the real thickness of TGO layer is 3.10 μm instead of 7.1 μm. In addition, 3D-EBSD confirmed that α-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} layer in TGO is composed of single layer of grains and Al{sub 2}NiO{sub 4} layer consist of multilayer of grains while α-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} layer is mixed with single layer and multilayer of α-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} grains from observation of the 2D-EBSD image. It provides a new method to characterize real thickness and microstructure of TGO, which is also applied to other film materials. - Highlights: •This work provides a new method to measure the real thickness of TGO. •YSZ TBCs were prepared by plasma spraying. •TGO is formed in TBCs by simulating thermal service at 1100 °C for 50 h. •Real thickness and microstructure of TGO were investigated by 3D reconstruction.

  7. Design and characterization of radiation resistant integrated circuits for the LHC particle detectors using deep sub-micron CMOS technologies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anelli, Giovanni Maria

    2000-01-01

    The electronic circuits associated with the particle detectors of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have to work in a highly radioactive environment. This work proposes a methodology allowing the design of radiation resistant integrated circuits using the commercial sub-micron CMOS technology. This method uses the intrinsic radiation resistance of ultra-thin grid oxides, the technology of enclosed layout transistors (ELT), and the protection rings to avoid the radio-induced creation of leakage currents. In order to check the radiation tolerance level, several test structures have been designed and tested with different radiation sources. These tests have permitted to study the physical phenomena responsible for the damages induced by the radiations and the possible remedies. Then, the particular characteristics of ELT transistors and their influence on the design of complex integrated circuits has been explored. The modeling of the W/L ratio, the asymmetries (for instance in the output conductance) and the performance of ELT couplings have never been studied yet. The noise performance of the 0.25 μ CMOS technology, used in the design of several integrated circuits of the LHC detectors, has been characterized before and after irradiation. Finally, two integrated circuits designed using the proposed method are presented. The first one is an analogic memory and the other is a circuit used for the reading of the signals of one of the LHC detectors. Both circuits were irradiated and have endured very high doses practically without any sign of performance degradation. (J.S.)

  8. Airborne spectrophotometry of P/Halley from 16 to 30 microns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herter, T.; Gull, G. E.; Campins, H.

    1986-01-01

    Comet Halley was observed in the 16 to 30 micron region using the Cornell University 7-channel spectrometer (resolution = 0.02) on board the Kuiper Airborne Observatory on 1985 Dec. 14.2. A 30-arcsec aperture (FWHM) was used. Measurements centered on the nuclear condensation micron indicate that if present, the 20 micron silicate feature is very weak, and that a relatively narrow strong feature centered at 28.4 microns possibly exists. However, this feature may be an artifact of incomplete correction for telluric water vapor absorption.

  9. Determining the Thickness and the Sub-Structure Details of the Magnetopause from MMS Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manuzzo, R.; Belmont, G.; Rezeau, L.

    2017-12-01

    The magnetopause thickness, like its mean location, is a notion that can have different meanings depending which parameters are considered (magnetic field or plasma properties). In any case, all the determinations have been done, up to now, considering the magnetopause boundary as a structure strictly stationary and 1D (or with a simple curvature). These determinations have shown to be very sensitive to the accuracy of the normal direction, because it affects the projection of the quantities of interest in studying geometrical sensitive phenomena such as the magnetic reconnection. Furthermore, the 1D stationary assumptions are likely to be rarely verified at the real magnetopause. The high quality measurements of MMS and their high time resolution now allow investigating the magnetopause structure in its more delicate features and with an unequal spatio-temporal accuracy. We make use here of the MDD tool developed by [Shi et al., 2005], which gives the dimensionality of the gradients from the four-point measurements of MMS and allows estimating the direction of the local normal when defined. Extending this method to various quantities, we can draw their profiles as functions of a physical abscissa (length instead of time) along a sensible normal. This procedure allows answering quantitatively the questions concerning the locations and the thicknesses of the different sub-structures encountered inside the "global magnetopause" [Rezeau, 2017, paper submitted to JGR-Space Physics].

  10. Colossal elastoresistance, electroresistance and magnetoresistance in Pr{sub 0.5}Sr{sub 0.5}MnO{sub 3} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Liping, E-mail: chenliping0003@163.com [Department of Physics, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004 (China); Department of Physics, Hong Kong University, Hong Kong (China); Guo, Xuexiang [Department of Physics, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004 (China); Gao, J. [Department of Physics, Hong Kong University, Hong Kong (China)

    2016-05-01

    Pr{sub 0.5}Sr{sub 0.5}MnO{sub 3} thin films on substrates of (001)-oriented LaAlO{sub 3} were epitaxially grown by pulsed laser deposition. It was found that a substrate-induced strain of ~1.3% brings a great resistivity change of ~98% at 25 K. We studied the dependence of resistivity on the applied electric current and magnetic field. In the greatly strained films of 60 nm thickness the electroresistance ER=[ρ(I{sub 1} {sub μA})−ρ(I{sub 1000} {sub μA})]/ρ(I{sub 1} {sub μA}) reaches ~70% at T=25 K, much higher than ER~7% in the strain-relaxed films of 400 nm thickness, implying the strain effect on ER. Also the magnetoresistance of the film falls with strain-relaxation. Therefore the electric properties of the film could be efficiently modified by strain, electric current and magnetic field. All of them may be explained by the effect on the percolative phase separation and competition in the half-doped manganite material. The manganite films located at phase boundary are expected to be an ideal compound for providing practical colossal effects of elastoresistance, electroresistance and magnetoresistance due to the multiphase coexistence. - Highlights: • The electric current-induced electroresistance (ER) and magnetoresistance (MR)studies on PLD grown Pr{sub 0.5}Sr{sub 0.5}MnO{sub 3}/(001) LaAlO{sub 3} films were found to be greatly sensitive to the film thickness arising from the strain. • It is shown that, 60 nm film exhibit compressive in-plane strain which leads to phase separation and hence colossal MR and ER. • Our results suggest that the manganites located at phase boundary may be an ideal compound for providing practical colossal effects of elastoresistance, electroresistance and magnetoresistance.

  11. Micronization increases vitamin E carrying and releasing abilities of insoluble fiber.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Pang-Kuei; Chien, Po-Jung; Chau, Chi-Fai

    2008-03-26

    This study was to investigate the effects of micronization on vitamin-carrying capacity and slow-release ability of carambola (starfruit) insoluble fiber (IF) and cellulose using in vitro and in vivomodels. Upon micronization, carambola IF (8.1 microm) underwent structural changes to expose more functional groups in the fiber matrix and to exhibit higher oil-holding capacity ( approximately 20.4-fold). Micronized fibers in forms of fiber-vitamin composites, particularly the micronized carambola IF-vitamin composite, were capable of carrying vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) up to 9.6-fold over their unmicronized forms and releasing nutrient gradually. Animal studies demonstrated that the adminstration of micronized carambola IF-vitamin composite could maintain the plasma vitamin E of rats at relatively higher levels (2.1-3.6-fold of the initial values) for at least 5 h. The results suggested that micronized fibers, particularly the micronized carambola IF, could be exploited as potential nutrient carriers in food applications and also be used to produce slow-release formulations.

  12. Optical microcavities and enhanced electroluminescence from electroformed Al-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}-Ag diodes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hickmott, T. W. [Department of Physics, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, New York 12222 (United States)

    2013-12-21

    Electroluminescence (EL) and electron emission into vacuum (EM) occur when a non-destructive dielectric breakdown of Al-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}-Ag diodes, electroforming, results in the development of a filamentary region in which current-voltage (I-V) characteristics exhibit voltage-controlled negative resistance. The temperature dependence of I-V curves, EM, and, particularly, EL of Al-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}-Ag diodes with anodic Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} thicknesses between 12 nm and 30 nm, has been studied. Two filters, a long-pass (LP) filter with transmission of photons with energies less than 3.0 eV and a short-pass (SP) filter with photon transmission between 3.0 and 4.0 eV, have been used to characterize EL. The voltage threshold for EL with the LP filter, V{sub LP}, is ∼1.5 V. V{sub LP} is nearly independent of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} thickness and of temperature and is 0.3–0.6 V less than the threshold voltage for EL for the SP filter, V{sub SP}. EL intensity is primarily between 1.8 and 3.0 eV when the bias voltage, V{sub S} ≲ 7 V. EL in the thinnest diodes is enhanced compared to EL in thicker diodes. For increasing V{sub S}, for diodes with the smallest Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} thicknesses, there is a maximum EL intensity, L{sub MX}, at a voltage, V{sub LMX}, followed by a decrease to a plateau. L{sub MX} and EL intensity at 4.0 V in the plateau region depend exponentially on Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} thickness. The ratio of L{sub MX} at 295 K for a diode with 12 nm of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} to L{sub MX} for a diode with 25 nm of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} is ∼140. The ratio of EL intensity with the LP filter to EL intensity with the SP filter, LP/SP, varies between ∼3 and ∼35; it depends on Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} thickness and V{sub S}. Enhanced EL is attributed to the increase of the spontaneous emission rate of a dipole in a non-resonant optical microcavity. EL photons interact with the Ag and Al films to create surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) at the metal-Al{sub 2}O{sub

  13. Size dependence of non-magnetic thickness in YIG nanoparticles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Niyaifar, M., E-mail: md.niyaifar@gmail.com; Mohammadpour, H.; Dorafshani, M.; Hasanpour, A.

    2016-07-01

    This study is focused on particle size dependence of structural and magnetic properties in yttrium iron garnet (Y{sub 3}Fe{sub 5}O{sub 12}) nanoparticles. A series of YIG samples with different particle size were produced by varying the annealing temperatures. The X-ray analysis revealed an inverse correlation between lattice parameter and the crystallite size. The normal distribution is used for fitting the particles size distribution which is extracted from scanning electron micrographs. Also, by using the results of vibrating sample magnetometer, the magnetic diameter was calculated based on Langevin model in order to investigate the variation of dead layer thickness. Furthermore, the observed line broadening in Mössbauer spectra confirmed the increase of non-magnetic thickness due to the reduction of particle size. - Highlights: • Pure phase Y{sub 3}Fe{sub 5}O{sub 12} nanoparticles are fabricated in different particle size by a thermal treatment. • The size effect on magnetic properties is studied with a core/shell (magnetic/nonmagnetic) model. • The logarithmic variation of (dead layer thickness)/(particle size) ratio with the particle size is investigated. • The results of Mossbauer are explained based on the correlation between lattice constant and particle size variation.

  14. Synthesis and electrical transport properties of the LaVO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3} interface

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hentrich, Richard; Schultz, Ludwig; Huehne, Ruben [IFW Dresden (Germany); Haenisch, Jens [IFW Dresden (Germany); ITEP, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) (Germany)

    2015-07-01

    We have investigated the two dimensional electron gas at the interface of band gap insulator SrTiO{sub 3} and mott insulator LaVO{sub 3} in comparison to the well-known, purely band insulating LaAlO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3} system. Thin films of LaVO{sub 3} were grown epitaxially on TiO{sub 2} terminated SrTiO{sub 3} single crystal substrates using RHEED-monitored pulsed laser deposition. Optimal process parameters for layer-by-layer growth were found resulting in the growth of atomically smooth films of well-defined thickness. Electrical transport measurements revealed an insulator-metal transition at a film thickness of six unit cells, which is different to previously reported values. Conducting samples showed metallic behavior in a wide temperature range, with their conductivity showing little to no dependence on layer thickness. This led to the conclusion of the metallic behavior being a merely interface driven effect.

  15. Mechanical and tribological properties of polymer-derived Si/C/N sub-millimetre thick miniaturized components fabricated by direct casting

    OpenAIRE

    Bakumov Vadym; Blugan Gurdial; Roos Sigfried; Graule Thomas J.; Fakhfouri Vahid; Grossenbacher Jonas; Gullo Maurizio Rosario; Kiefer Thomas C.; Brugger Juergen; Parlinska Magdalena; Kuebler Jakob

    2012-01-01

    The utilization of silicon based polymers as a source of amorphous non oxide ceramics obtained upon pyrolytic treatment of them is increasingly gaining attention in research and is currently expanding into the field of commercial products. This work is focused on the near net shaped fabrication mechanical and tribological properties of a polymer derived Si/C/N system. Small sub millimetre thick ceramic test discs and bars were fabricated by casting of polysilazane and/or polycarbosilane precu...

  16. Effect of pulse current parameters on microstructure of tungsten coating electroplated from Na{sub 2}WO{sub 4}–WO{sub 3}–NaPO{sub 3}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jiang, Fan; Zhang, Yingchun, E-mail: zycustb@163.com; Sun, Ningbo; Len, Jiaxun

    2015-03-15

    Highlights: • Tungsten coatings were electroplated on cooper alloy by pulse plating. • Increasing current density resulted in an increase in grain size of tungsten coating. • With the increase in duty cycle, the grain size of tungsten coating increased. • The pulse period had an insignificant effect on the tungsten grain size. - Abstract: The tungsten coatings with low oxygen content were prepared on copper alloy substrate by pulse electroplating in Na{sub 2}WO{sub 4}–WO{sub 3}–NaPO{sub 3} molten salt. A series of tungsten coatings with compact morphologies were successfully obtained under various conditions. The influences of current density, duty cycle and period on tungsten grain size and coatings thickness were investigated. The results demonstrated that current density was the most important factor influencing tungsten grain size, which had a positive correlation with current density. The thickness of coating decreased when the current density was up to 80 mA cm{sup −2}. However, the tungsten grain size, tungsten coating thickness and current efficiency changed a little with the increase in pulse periods.

  17. High-performance supercapacitors based on intertwined CNT/V{sub 2}O{sub 5} nanowire nanocomposites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Zheng; Shen, Meiqing [School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072 (China); Augustyn, Veronica; Dunn, Bruce [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States); Wen, Jing; Zhang, Yuewei [Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States); School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072 (China); Lu, Yunfeng [Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States)

    2011-02-08

    High-performance asymmetric super-capacitors containing thick-film electrodes (over 100 {mu}m thick) made of CNT/V{sub 2}O{sub 5} nanowire composite are designed. The excellent conductivity, high specific capacitance, and a large voltage window of the CNT/V{sub 2}O{sub 5} nanocomposite enable the fabrication of devices with high energy and high power densities. Moreover, the resulting devices exhibit excellent cycling stability. This supercapacitor approach may be attractive for a wide range of device applications. (Copyright copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  18. Electrical four-point probing of spherical metallic thin films coated onto micron sized polymer particles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pettersen, Sigurd R., E-mail: sigurd.r.pettersen@ntnu.no, E-mail: jianying.he@ntnu.no; Stokkeland, August Emil; Zhang, Zhiliang; He, Jianying, E-mail: sigurd.r.pettersen@ntnu.no, E-mail: jianying.he@ntnu.no [NTNU Nanomechanical Lab, Department of Structural Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), NO-7491 Trondheim (Norway); Kristiansen, Helge [NTNU Nanomechanical Lab, Department of Structural Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), NO-7491 Trondheim (Norway); Conpart AS, Dragonveien 54, NO-2013 Skjetten (Norway); Njagi, John; Goia, Dan V. [Center for Advanced Materials Processing, Clarkson University, Potsdam, New York 13699-5814 (United States); Redford, Keith [Conpart AS, Dragonveien 54, NO-2013 Skjetten (Norway)

    2016-07-25

    Micron-sized metal-coated polymer spheres are frequently used as filler particles in conductive composites for electronic interconnects. However, the intrinsic electrical resistivity of the spherical thin films has not been attainable due to deficiency in methods that eliminate the effect of contact resistance. In this work, a four-point probing method using vacuum compatible piezo-actuated micro robots was developed to directly investigate the electric properties of individual silver-coated spheres under real-time observation in a scanning electron microscope. Poly(methyl methacrylate) spheres with a diameter of 30 μm and four different film thicknesses (270 nm, 150 nm, 100 nm, and 60 nm) were investigated. By multiplying the experimental results with geometrical correction factors obtained using finite element models, the resistivities of the thin films were estimated for the four thicknesses. These were higher than the resistivity of bulk silver.

  19. Optimization of Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5}/Ag/Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5} multilayers as transparent composite electrode on flexible substrate with high figure of merit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dhar, Aritra [Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287 (United States); Alford, T. L. [School for Engineering of Matter, Transport, and Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287 (United States)

    2012-11-15

    Different multilayer structures of Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5}/Ag/Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5} have been deposited onto flexible substrates by sputtering at room temperature to develop an indium free transparent composite electrode. The effect of Ag thickness on the electrical and optical properties of the multilayer stack has been studied in accordance with the Ag morphology. The critical thickness of Ag to form a continuous conducting layer is found to be 9.5 nm. A new conduction mechanism has been proposed to describe the conduction before and after the critical thickness. The effective Hall resistivity of the optimized films is as low as 6.44 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -5} Ohm-Sign -cm with a carrier concentration and mobility of 7.4 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 21} cm{sup -3} and 13.1 cm{sup 2} /V-s, respectively, at the critical Ag layer thickness. The multilayer stack has been optimized to obtain a sheet resistance of 7.2 Ohm-Sign /sq and an average optical transmittance of 86% at 550 nm without any substrate heating or post-annealing process. The Haacke figure of merit (FOM) has been calculated for the films, and the multilayer with a 9.5 nm thick Ag layer has the highest FOM at 31.5 Multiplication-Sign 10-3 {Omega}{sup -1}, which is one of the highest FOM values reported for TCE deposited at room temperature on a flexible substrate.

  20. Correlation of infrared reflectance ratios at 2.3 microns/1.6 micron and 1.1 micron/1.6 micron with delta O-18 values delineating fossil hydrothermal systems in the Idaho batholith

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillespie, A. R.; Criss, R. E.

    1983-01-01

    Reflectance ratios from laboratory spectra and airborne multispectral images are found to be strongly correlated with delta O-18 values of granite rocks in the Idaho batholith. The correlation is largely a result of interactions between hot water and rock, which lowered the delta O-18 values of the rocks and produced secondary hydrous material. Maps of the ratio of reflectivities at 2.3 and 1.6 microns should delineate fossil hydrothermal systems and provide estimates of alteration intensity. However, hydrous minerals produced during deuteric alteration or weathering cannot be unambiguously distinguished in remotely sensed images from the products of propylitic alteration without the use of narrow-band scanners. The reflectivity at 1.6 micron is strongly correlated with rock density and may be useful in distinguishing rock types in granitic terranes.

  1. Sol–gel preparation of well-adhered films and long range ordered inverse opal films of BaTiO{sub 3} and Bi{sub 2}Ti{sub 2}O{sub 7}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Al-Arjan, Wafa S. [Chemistry, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ (United Kingdom); King Faisal University, PO Box 380, Al Hofuf (Saudi Arabia); Algaradah, Mohammed M.F. [Chemistry, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ (United Kingdom); King Khalid College, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia); Brewer, Jack [Chemistry, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ (United Kingdom); Hector, Andrew L., E-mail: a.l.hector@soton.ac.uk [Chemistry, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ (United Kingdom)

    2016-02-15

    Highlights: • Highly adaptable sols are presented for processing of the electroceramic materials BaTiO{sub 3} and Bi{sub 2}Ti{sub 2}O{sub 7}. • High quality thin films are produced by dip coating with good phase control. • Infiltration of cross-linked polystyrene templates led to high quality inverse opals. - Abstract: Barium and bismuth titanate thin films and well-ordered inverse opal films are produced by dip coating from sols containing titanium alkoxides with acetic acid, acetylacetone, methoxyethanol and water. The inverse opal preparations used crosslinked polystyrene opal templates. Heat treatment in air produced tetragonal BaTiO{sub 3} or mixtures of the hexagonal and tetragonal phases, or phase pure Bi{sub 2}Ti{sub 2}O{sub 7}. Good quality films were obtained with a thickness of 5 μm from a single dipping, and the thickness could be increased by dipping multiple times. Inverse opals were well ordered and exhibited opalescence and photonic stop band effects.

  2. Process-structure-property relationships of micron thick gadolinium oxide films deposited by reactive electron beam-physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grave, Daniel A.

    Gadolinium oxide (Gd2O3) is an attractive material for solid state neutron detection due to gadolinium's high thermal neutron capture cross section. Development of neutron detectors based on Gd2 O3 requires sufficiently thick films to ensure neutron absorption. In this dissertation work, the process-structure-property relationships of micron thick Gd2O3 films deposited by reactive electron-beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) were studied. Through a systematic design of experiments, fundamental studies were conducted to determine the effects of processing conditions such as deposition temperature, oxygen flow rate, deposition rate, and substrate material on Gd2O3 film crystallographic phase, texture, morphology, grain size, density, and surface roughness. Films deposited at high rates (> 5 A/s) were examined via x-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. Quantitative phase volume calculations were performed via a Rietveld refinement technique. All films deposited at high rates were found to be fully monoclinic or mixed cubic/monoclinic phase. Generally, increased deposition temperature and increased oxygen flow resulted in increased cubic phase volume. As film thickness increased, monoclinic phase volume increased. Grazing incidence x-ray diffraction (GIXRD) depth profiling analysis showed that cubic phase was only present under large incidence angle (large penetration depth) measurements, and after a certain point, only monoclinic phase was grown. This was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis with selected area diffraction (SAD). Based on this information, a large compressive stress was hypothesized to cause the formation of the monoclinic phase and this hypothesis was confirmed by demonstrating the existence of a stress induced phase transition. An experiment was designed to introduce compressive stress into the Gd2O 3 films via ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD). This allowed for systematic increase in compressive stress while

  3. Multifunctional thick-film structures based on spinel ceramics for environment sensors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vakiv, M; Hadzaman, I; Klym, H; Shpotyuk, O [Institute of Materials of SRC ' Carat' , 202 Stryjska str., Lviv, 79031 (Ukraine); Brunner, M, E-mail: shpotyuk@novas.lviv.ua, E-mail: klymha@yahoo.com [Fachhochschule Koeln/University of Applied Sciences, 2 Betzdorfer str., Koeln, 50679 (Germany)

    2011-04-01

    Temperature sensitive thick films based on spinel-type NiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4}-CuMn{sub 2}O{sub 4}-MnCo{sub 2}O{sub 4} manganites with p- and p{sup +}-types of electrical conductivity and their multilayer p{sup +}-p structures were studied. These thick-film elements possess good electrophysical characteristics before and after long-term ageing test at 170 deg. C. It is shown that degradation processes connected with diffusion of metallic Ag into film grain boundaries occur in one-layer p-and p{sup +}-conductive films. Some part of the p{sup +}-p structures were of high stability, the relative electrical drift being no more than 1 %.

  4. a-Si{sub x}C{sub 1−x}:H thin films with subnanometer surface roughness for biological applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Herrera-Celis, José, E-mail: jlhc@inaoep.mx; Reyes-Betanzo, Claudia, E-mail: creyes@inaoep.mx; Itzmoyotl-Toxqui, Adrián, E-mail: aitzmo@inaoep.mx [Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica, Luis Enrique Erro #1, Santa María Tonantzintla, San Andrés Cholula 72840, Puebla (Mexico); Orduña-Díaz, Abdu, E-mail: abdueve@hotmail.com; Pérez-Coyotl, Ana, E-mail: anapcoyotl@hotmail.com [Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología Aplicada del IPN, Ex-Hacienda San Juan Molino Carretera Estatal Tecuexcomac-Tepetitla Km 1.5, Tepetitla 90700, Tlaxcala (Mexico)

    2015-09-15

    The characterization of a-Si{sub x}C{sub 1−x}:H thin films by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition with high hydrogen dilution for biological applications is addressed. A root mean square roughness less than 1 nm was measured via atomic force microscopy for an area of 25 μm{sup 2}. Structural analysis was done using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in the middle infrared region. It was found that under the deposition conditions, the formation of Si–C bonds is promoted. Electrical dark conductivity measurements were performed to evaluate the effect of high hydrogen dilution and to find the relation between carrier transport properties and the structural arrangement. Conductivities of the order of 10{sup −7} to 10{sup −9} S/cm at room temperature for methane–silane gas flow ratio from 0.35 to 0.85 were achieved, respectively. UV-visible spectra were used to obtain the optical band gap and the Tauc parameter. Optical band gap as wide as 3.55 eV was achieved in the regime of high carbon incorporation. Accordingly, deposition under low power density and high hydrogen dilution reduces the roughness, improves the structure of the network, and stabilizes the film properties as a greater percentage of carbon is incorporated. The biofunctionalization of a-Si{sub x}C{sub 1−x}:H surfaces with NH{sub 2}-terminated self-assembled monolayers was obtained through silanization with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane. This knowledge opens a window for the inclusion of these a-Si{sub x}C{sub 1−x}:H thin films in devices such as biosensors.

  5. Assessing sub-Saharan Erythrina for efficacy: traditional uses, biological activities and phytochemistry.

    OpenAIRE

    Kone , Witabouna Mamidou; Solange , Kakou-Ngazoa E; Dosso , Mireille

    2011-01-01

    International audience; The genus Erythrina comprises more than 100 species, widely distributed in tropical and subtropical areas. In Africa, 31 wild species and 14 cultivated species have been described. In sub-Saharan Africa, Erythrina species are used to treat frequent parasitic and microbial diseases, inflammation, cancer, wounds. The rationale of these traditional uses in African traditional medicine was established by screening several species for biological activities. Promising activi...

  6. Comparison in processing routes by copper mold casting injection and suction in the Cu{sub 46}Zr{sub 42}Al{sub 7}Y{sub 5} vitreous alloy; Comparacao entre as rotas de processamento por fundicao com injecao e com succao da liga vitrea Cu{sub 46}Zr{sub 42}Al{sub 7}Y{sub 5}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Batalha, W.; Aliaga, L.C.R.; Bolfarini, C.; Botta, W.J.; Kiminami, C.S. [Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos (UFSCar), SP (Brazil). Departamento de Engenharia de Materiais

    2014-07-01

    To expand the application of glassy metals, the development of processing routes and compositions that allow the production of parts with dimensions of millimeters or even centimeters, is very important. The present work aims the contribution to the technological development of processing routes for the production of Cu-based bulk metallic glasses. Wedge-shaped samples of Cu{sub 46}Zr{sub 42}Al{sub 7}Y{sub 5} (atom percent) chemical composition were processed using copper mold casting by suction and injection. Characterization was made combining scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. The critical amorphous thickness obtained by those two different routes was carefully observed. The suction route allow obtaining the best results with critical amorphous thickness about 8 mm. This result was analyzed considering the different extrinsic parameters to the glass forming ability of the alloy. (author)

  7. Temperature stability of c-axis oriented LiNbO{sub 3}/SiO{sub 2}/Si thin film layered structures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tomar, Monika [Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of Delhi, Delhi (India)]. E-mail: mtomar@physics.du.ac.in; monikatomar@rediffmail.com; Gupta, Vinay; Mansingh, Abhai; Sreenivas, K. [Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of Delhi, Delhi (India)

    2001-08-07

    Theoretical calculations have been performed for the temperature stability of the c-axis oriented LiNbO{sub 3} thin film layered structures on passivated silicon (SiO{sub 2}/Si) substrate with and without a non-piezoelectric SiO{sub 2} overlayer. The phase velocity, electromechanical coupling coefficient and temperature coefficient of delay (TCD) have been calculated. The thicknesses of various layers have been determined for optimum SAW performance with zero TCD. The presence of a non-piezoelectric SiO{sub 2} overlayer on LiNbO{sub 3} film is found to significantly enhance the coupling coefficient. The optimized results reveal that a high coupling coefficient of K{sup 2}=3.45% and a zero TCD can be obtained in the SiO{sub 2}/LiNbO{sub 3}/SiO{sub 2}/Si structure with a 0.235{lambda} thick LiNbO{sub 3} layer sandwiched between 0.1{lambda} thick SiO{sub 2} layers. (author)

  8. Transverse peltier effect in Pb-Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} multilayer structures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reitmaier, Christina; Walther, Franziska; Kyarad, Amir; Lengfellner, Hans [University of Regensburg (Germany)

    2009-07-01

    Metal-semiconductor multilayer structures show, according to model calculations, large anisotropy in their electrical and thermal transport properties. Multilayer stacks consisting of alternating layers of Pb and n-type Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and prepared by a heating procedure displayed large thermoelectric anisotropy up to {delta}S{approx}200 {mu} V/K, depending on the thickness ratio p=d{sub BiTe}/d{sub Pb}, where d{sub BiTe} and d{sub Pb} are the thicknesses of Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and Pb layers, respectively. From multilayer stacks, tilted samples with layers inclined with respect to the sample surface where obtained by cutting stacks obliquely to the stack axis. Non-zero off-diagonal elements in the Seebeck-tensor describing the thermopower of tilted samples allow for the occurance of a transverse Peltier effect. Experimental results demonstrate cooling by the transverse Peltier effect and are compared to model calculations.

  9. Repair of full-thickness articular cartilage defects by cultured mesenchymal stem cells transfected with the transforming growth factor {beta}{sub 1} gene

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guo Xiaodong [Department of Orthopaedics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022 (China); Zheng Qixin [Department of Orthopaedics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022 (China); Yang Shuhua [Department of Orthopaedics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022 (China); Shao Zengwu [Department of Orthopaedics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022 (China); Yuan Quan [Department of Orthopaedics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022 (China); Pan Zhengqi [Department of Orthopaedics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022 (China); Tang Shuo [Department of Orthopaedics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022 (China); Liu Kai [Department of Orthopaedics, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022 (China); Quan Daping [Institute of Polymer Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275 (China)

    2006-12-15

    Articular cartilage repair remains a clinical and scientific challenge with increasing interest focused on the combined techniques of gene transfer and tissue engineering. Transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-{beta}{sub 1}) is a multifunctional molecule that plays a central role in promotion of cartilage repair, and inhibition of inflammatory and alloreactive immune response. Cell mediated gene therapy can allow a sustained expression of TGF-{beta}{sub 1} that may circumvent difficulties associated with growth factor delivery. The objective of this study was to investigate whether TGF-{beta}{sub 1} gene modified mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) could enhance the repair of full-thickness articular cartilage defects in allogeneic rabbits. The pcDNA{sub 3}-TGF-{beta}{sub 1} gene transfected MSCs were seeded onto biodegradable poly-L-lysine coated polylactide (PLA) biomimetic scaffolds in vitro and allografted into full-thickness articular cartilage defects in 18 New Zealand rabbits. The pcDNA{sub 3} gene transfected MSCs/biomimetic scaffold composites and the cell-free scaffolds were taken as control groups I and II, respectively. The follow-up times were 2, 4, 12 and 24 weeks. Macroscopical, histological and ultrastructural studies were performed. In vitro SEM studies found that abundant cartilaginous matrices were generated and completely covered the interconnected pores of the scaffolds two weeks post-seeding in the experimental groups. In vivo, the quality of regenerated tissue improved over time with hyaline cartilage filling the chondral region and a mixture of trabecular and compact bone filling the subchondral region at 24 weeks post-implantation. Joint repair in the experimental groups was better than that of either control group I or II, with respect to: (1) synthesis of hyaline cartilage specific extracellular matrix at the upper portion of the defect; (2) reconstitution of the subchondral bone at the lower portion of the defect and (3) inhibition of

  10. Analysis of thick brain sections by obverse-reverse computer microscopy: application of a new, high clarity Golgi-Nissl stain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glaser, E M; Van der Loos, H

    1981-08-01

    Exceptionally clear Golgi-Nissl sections of 300 micron thickness have been morphometrically studied by light microscopy using oil immersion objectives. The clarity results from a new variation of a staining procedure that combines Golgi and Nissl images in one section. A viewing technique has been developed that permits a histologic preparation to be examined from its obverse (or normally viewed) side and its reverse (or under) side. The technique was designed for use with a computer microscope but can be employed with any light microscope whose stage position can be measured within 100 micron. Sections thicker than 300 micron can be studied dependent on the working distance of the objective lens, provided that the clarity of the material permits it.

  11. Controllable synthesis of Zn{sub 2}TiO{sub 4}-carbon core/shell nanofibers with high photocatalytic performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Peng [Center for Advanced Optoelectronic Functional Materials Research, and Key Laboratory of UV Light-Emitting Materials and Technology of Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, 5268 Renmin Street, Changchun 130024 (China); Shao, Changlu, E-mail: clshao@nenu.edu.cn [Center for Advanced Optoelectronic Functional Materials Research, and Key Laboratory of UV Light-Emitting Materials and Technology of Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, 5268 Renmin Street, Changchun 130024 (China); Zhang, Mingyi; Guo, Zengcai; Mu, Jingbo; Zhang, Zhenyi; Zhang, Xin; Liang, Pingping; Liu, Yichun [Center for Advanced Optoelectronic Functional Materials Research, and Key Laboratory of UV Light-Emitting Materials and Technology of Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, 5268 Renmin Street, Changchun 130024 (China)

    2012-08-30

    Graphical abstract: We describe a controllable route to synthesize Zn{sub 2}TiO{sub 4}-carbon core/shell nanofibers with different thickness of carbon layers (from 2 to 8 nm) as high efficiency photocatalysts. Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Synthesis of Zn{sub 2}TiO{sub 4}-carbon nanofibers with different thickness of carbon layers. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Zn{sub 2}TiO{sub 4}-carbon NFs showed photocatalytic activity for the degradation of Rhodamine B. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Easy photocatalyst separation and reuse. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A general way to fabricate other carbon-coated core/shell photocatalysts. - Abstract: Zn{sub 2}TiO{sub 4}-carbon core/shell nanofibers (Zn{sub 2}TiO{sub 4}-C NFs) with different thickness of carbon layers (from 2 to 8 nm) were fabricated by combining the electrospinning technique and hydrothermal method. The results showed that a uniform carbon layer was formed around the electrospun Zn{sub 2}TiO{sub 4} nanofiber (Zn{sub 2}TiO{sub 4} NFs). By adjusting the hydrothermal fabrication parameters, the thickness of carbon layer varied linearly with the concentration of glucose. Furthermore, the core/shell structure formed between Zn{sub 2}TiO{sub 4} and carbon enhanced the charge separation of pure Zn{sub 2}TiO{sub 4} under ultraviolet excitation, as evidenced by photoluminescence spectra. The photocatalytic studies revealed that the Zn{sub 2}TiO{sub 4}-C NFs exhibited enhanced photocatalytic efficiency of photodegradation of Rhodamine B (RB) compared with the pure Zn{sub 2}TiO{sub 4} NFs under ultraviolet excitation, which might be attributed to the high separation efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes based on the synergistic effect between carbon and Zn{sub 2}TiO{sub 4}. Notably, the Zn{sub 2}TiO{sub 4}-C NFs could be recycled easily by sedimentation without a decrease of the photocatalytic activity.

  12. Aspects of the SrO-CuO-TiO<sub>2sub> Ternary System Related to the Deposition of SrTiO<sub>3sub> and Copper-Doped SrTiO<sub>3sub> Thin-Film Buffer Layers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ayala, Alicia [Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2004-12-20

    YBa<sub>2sub>Cu>3sub>O>27-δsub> (YBCO) coated conductors are promising materials for large-scale superconductivity applications. One version of a YBCO coated conductor is based on ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) of magnesium oxide (MgO) onto polycrystalline metal substrates. SrTiO<sub>3sub> (STO) is often deposited by physical vapor deposition (PVD) methods as a buffer layer between the YBCO and IBAD MgO due to its chemical stability and lattice mismatch of only ~1.5% with YBCO. In this work, some aspects of the stability of STO with respect to copper (Cu) and chemical solution deposition of STO on IBAD MgO templates were examined. Solubility limits of Cu in STO were established by processing Cu-doped STO powders by conventional bulk preparation techniques. The maximum solubility of Cu in STO was ~1% as determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Rietveld refinements of x-ray diffraction (XRD) data. XRD analysis, performed in collaboration with NIST, on powder compositions on the STO/SrCuO<sub>2sub> tie line did not identify any ternary phases. SrCu<sub>0.10sub>T>0.90sub>Oy> buffer layers were prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and CSD on IBAD MgO flexible metallic textured tapes. TEM analysis of a ~100 nm thick SrCu<sub>0.10sub>Ti>0.90sub>Oy> buffer layer deposited by PLD showed a smooth Cu-doped STO/MgO interface. A ~600 nm thick YBCO film, deposited onto the SrCu<sub>0.10sub>Ti>0.90sub>Oy> buffer by PLD, exhibited a T<sub>c> of 87 K and critical current density (J<sub>c>) of ~1 MA/cm2. STO and Cu-doped STO thin films by CSD were ~30 nm thick. The in plane alignment (FWHM) after deposition of the STO improved by ~1° while it degraded by ~2° with the SrCu<sub>0.05sub>TiOy> buffer. YBCO was deposited by PLD on the STO and SrCu<sub>0.05sub>TiOy> buffers. The in plane alignment (FWHM) of the YBCO with the STO buffer layer

  13. 3 micron spectrophotometry of Comet Halley - Evidence for water ice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bregman, Jesse D.; Tielens, A. G. G. M.; Witteborn, Fred C.; Rank, David M.; Wooden, Diane

    1988-01-01

    Structure has been observed in the 3-3.6 micron preperihelion spectrum of Comet Halley consistent with either an absorption band near 3.1 microns or emission near 3.3 microns. The results suggest that a large fraction of the water molecules lost by the comet are initially ejected in the form of small ice particles rather than in the gas phase.

  14. Pengaruh Temperatur, Waktu, dan Aditif Dalam Pembuatan Zircon Micronized

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sajima

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Research on temperature, time and additives effects on milling process in micronized-zircon production has been conducted. The production of zircon micronized started from sorting process on mining products then followed by beneficiation, roasting, leaching, dryng and milling processes. The results showed that the optimum conditions of the roasting process was at the temperature of 425 °C, in 25 minutes and using 4% additives. In these conditions, micronized zircon (2 µm obtained as much as 92.10% in10 minutes milling time.

  15. Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of ZrO<sub>2sub> thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Saravanan, Kolandaivelu [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

    1993-12-09

    Amorphous ZrO<sub>2sub> thin films were deposited in an inductively coupled PECVD system using a Zr β-diketonate, Zr(C<sub>11sub>H>19sub>O>2sub>)>4sub>, as the precursor. The deposits were air annealed at 900C for 5 min to get pure, single phase, oriented, polycrystalline α-ZrO<sub>2sub>. Feasibility of using 2 different types of reactors was investigated. The inductively heated horizontal reactor depositions at 600C had a lower deposition rate and the films were non-uniform in thickness with a columnar structure. The resistively heated vertical reactor depositions at 350C had a higher deposition rate and the films were more uniform in thickness with a fine grained microstructure. The statistical design was demonstrated as an effective technique to analyze the effect of process conditions on the rate of deposition and relative (h00) orientation. The factorial design was used to quantify the two responses in terms of the process variables and their mutual interactions. The statistical design for rate of deposition was found to correlate with the trends observed in classical design.

  16. Comparison of Pre-operative Central Corneal Thickness in Pediatric Cataract Cases versus Normal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, S.; Ali, M.; Zaheer, N.

    2014-01-01

    Objective: To compare the pre-operative central corneal thickness (CCT) in paediatric cataract patients with reference to normal control group. Study Design: A case control study. Place and Duration of Study: Paediatric Ophthalmology Clinic of Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital (ASTEH), Rawalpindi, from November 2009 to May 2010. Methodology: The study included 116 subjects with equal number of cases and controls. Demographic profile of all the subjects was noted followed by history and detailed ophthalmic examination. CCT was measured using an ultrasonic pachymeter (model Pac Scan 300). The mean of three measurements from the central cornea were recorded in microns. Results were analyzed using SPSS version 17.0. Results: Mean CCT values of the cases was 566.83 +- 37.646 microns while the control group had a mean CCT of 535.81 +- 24.466 microns. Difference between the CCT values of the two groups was highly significant (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Eyes with congenital cataracts have greater CCT values as compared to normal paediatric population. This factor must be kept in mind while interpreting intra-ocular pressure in such patients. (author)

  17. Sub-microanalysis of solid samples with near-field enhanced atomic emission spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiaohua; Liang, Zhisen; Meng, Yifan; Wang, Tongtong; Hang, Wei; Huang, Benli

    2018-03-01

    A novel approach, which we have chosen to name it as near-field enhanced atomic emission spectroscopy (NFE-AES), was proposed by introducing a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) system into a laser-induced breakdown spectrometry (LIBS). The near-field enhancement of a laser-illuminated tip was utilized to improve the lateral resolution tremendously. Using the hybrid arrangement, pure metal tablets were analyzed to verify the performance of NFE-AES both in atmosphere and in vacuum. Due to localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), the incident electromagnetic field is enhanced and confined at the apex of tip, resulting in sub-micron scale ablation and elemental emission signal. We discovered that the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the spectral resolution obtained in vacuum condition are better than those acquired in atmospheric condition. The quantitative capability of NFE-AES was demonstrated by analyzing Al and Pb in Cu matrix, respectively. Submicron-sized ablation craters were achieved by performing NFE-AES on a Si wafer with an Al film, and the spectroscopic information from a crater of 650 nm diameter was successfully obtained. Due to its advantage of high lateral resolution, NFE-AES imaging of micro-patterned Al lines on an integrated circuit of a SIM card was demonstrated with a sub-micron lateral resolution. These results reveal the potential of the NFE-AES technique in sub-microanalysis of solids, opening an opportunity to map chemical composition at sub-micron scale.

  18. Influence of tantalum underlayer on magnetization dynamics in Ni{sub 81}Fe{sub 19} films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kwon, Jae Hyun; Deorani, Praveen; Yoon, Jungbum; Yang, Hyunsoo, E-mail: eleyang@nus.edu.sg [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and NUSNNI, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576 (Singapore); Hayashi, Masamitsu [National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba 305–0047 (Japan)

    2015-07-13

    The effect of tantalum (Ta) underlayer is investigated in Ni{sub 81}Fe{sub 19} thin films for magnetization dynamics. The damping parameters extracted from spin wave measurements increase systematically with increasing Ta thickness, whereas the damping parameters from ferromagnetic resonance measurements are found to be weakly dependent on the Ta thickness. The difference is attributed to propagating properties of spin wave and short spin diffusion length in Ta. The group velocity of spin waves is found to be constant for different Ta thicknesses, and nonreciprocity of spin waves is not affected by the Ta thickness. The experimental observations are supported by micromagnetic simulations.

  19. Toxic assessment of urban atmospheric particle-bound PAHs: Relevance of composition and particle size in Barcelona (Spain)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mesquita, Sofia Raquel; Drooge, Barend L. van; Reche, Cristina; Guimarães, Laura; Grimalt, Joan O.; Barata, Carlos; Piña, Benjamin

    2014-01-01

    Zebrafish embryotoxicity and dioxin-like activity levels were tested for particulate air samples from an urban background site in Barcelona (Spain). Samples were collected during 14 months, and maximal values for both biological activities corresponded to samples collected during late autumn months, correlating with elevated PAH levels. Vehicle and combustion emissions appeared as the potentially most toxic sources, whereas total PM mass and mineral content appeared to be poor predictors of the biological activity of the samples. Samples simultaneously collected at different particle size cut-offs (10, 2.5, and 1 μm) did not differ significantly in dioxin-like PAH levels and biological activity, indicating that the sub-micron particle fraction (PM 1 ) concentrated essentially all observed toxicity. Our results support the need for a tighter control on sub-micron particle emissions and show that total PM mass and, particularly, PM 10 , may not fully characterize the toxic potential of air samples. Highlights: • Dioxin-like activity was found in all air particle samples collected in Barcelona. • 50% of the samples showed different levels of fish embryotoxicity. • Toxic effects associated to PAHs and linked to vehicle and combustion emissions. • The toxicity was not correlated to PM mass or mineral content. • The sub-micron particle fraction PM 1 concentrated essentially all observed toxicity. -- In vivo toxic effects associated to sub-micron urban air particles from combustion and vehicle emissions

  20. NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of AVHRR Daily and Monthly Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT) over Global Oceans, Version 3.0

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The product is the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) at 0.63 micron, which is retrieved from NOAA PATMOS-x level-2B orbital radinace and cloud CDR products. The...

  1. Structural and magnetic properties of CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4}/NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} core/shell nanocomposite prepared by the hydrothermal method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sattar, A.A. [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, 11566 Abbasia, Cairo (Egypt); EL-Sayed, H.M., E-mail: h_m_elsaid@hotmail.com [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, 11566 Abbasia, Cairo (Egypt); ALsuqia, Ibrahim [Department of Physics, Faculty of Education and Applied Science, Hajjah University, Alshahli, Hajjah (Yemen)

    2015-12-01

    CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4}/NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} core/shell magnetic nanocomposite was synthesized by using hydrothermal method.The analysis of XRD indicated the coexistence of CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4}, NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4}as core/shell composite. The core/shell structure of the composite sample has been confirmed by HR-TEM images, EDX and FT-IR measurements. The size of obtained core/shell nanoparticles was 17 nm in core diameter and about 3 nm in shell thickness. The magnetization measurements showed that both the coercive field and the saturation magnetization of the resulting core/shell nanocomposite were slightly decreased compared to those of the CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} core but the thermal stability is of the magnetization parameter was enhanced. Furthermore, superparamagnetic phase is established at temperatures higher than the room temperature. The results were discussed in terms of the surface pinning and the magnetic interaction at the interface between the core and shell. - Highlights: • CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4}/NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} core/shell could be prepared by hydrothermal method. • The structural analysis proved the formation of NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} shell with thickness 3 nm. • The thermal stability of M{sub s} and H{sub c} is enhanced due to the presence of NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} as a shell. • Super paramagnetic transition is confirmed and the effective magnetic anisotropy was calculated.

  2. Fabrication of full high-T sub c superconducting YBa sub 2 Cu sub 3 O sub 7 sub - sub x trilayer junctions using a polishing technique

    CERN Document Server

    Kuroda, K; Takami, T; Ozeki, T

    2003-01-01

    We have successfully fabricated full high-T sub c superconducting YBa sub 2 Cu sub 3 O sub 7 sub - sub x (YBCO)/PrBa sub 2 Cu sub 3 O sub 7 sub - sub x (PBCO)/YBCO trilayer junctions, which have a simple device structure, such as a Pb-alloy-based Josephson tunneling junction. It has been demonstrated that a polishing technique is extremely useful in the fabrication process: it is effective in smoothing a coarse surface and gentling the slopes of the edges, or decreasing the slope angles. Owing to the polishing technique, the PBCO barrier layer and the upper YBCO layer have been notably thinned: the thicknesses of these layers are 10 nm and 250 nm, respectively. Junctions with the dimensions of 5 mu m x 5 mu m showed resistively shunted junction-like current-voltage curves with a typical critical current density of 110 A/cm sup 2 at 4.2 K. Furthermore, the operation of superconducting quantum interference devices has been demonstrated. (author)

  3. The Carnegie Hubble Program: The Leavitt Law at 3.6 microns and 4.5 microns in the Large Magellanic Cloud

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scowcroft, Victoria; Freedman, Wendy L.; Madore, Barry F.; Monson, Andrew J.; Persson, S. E.; Seibert, Mark; Rigby, Jane R.; Sturch, Laura

    2011-01-01

    The Carnegie Hubble Program (CHP) is designed to improve the extragalactic distance scale using data from the post-cryogenic era of Spitzer. The ultimate goal is a determination of the Hubble constant to an accuracy of 2%. This paper is the first in a series on the Cepheid population of the Large Magellanic Cloud, and focuses on the period-luminosity relations (Leavitt laws) that will be used, in conjunction with observations of Milky Way Cepheids, to set the slope and zero-point of the Cepheid distance scale in the mid-infrared. To this end, we have obtained uniformly-sampled light curves for 85 LMC Cepheids, having periods between 6 and 140 days. Period- luminosity and period-color relations are presented in the 3.6 micron and 4.5 micron bands. We demonstrate that the 3.6 micron band is a superb distance indicator. The cyclical variation of the [3.6]-[4.5] color has been measured for the first time. We attribute the amplitude and phase of the color curves to the dissociation and recombination of CO molecules in the Cepheid s atmosphere. The CO affects only the 4.5 micron flux making it a potential metallicity indicator.

  4. GeO{sub x} interfacial layer scavenging remotely induced by metal electrode in metal/HfO{sub 2}/GeO{sub x}/Ge capacitors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Taehoon; Jung, Yong Chan; Seong, Sejong; Ahn, Jinho, E-mail: jhahn@hanyang.ac.kr [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Sung Bo [Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Research Institute of Advanced Materials (RIAM), Seoul National University, Seoul 08826 (Korea, Republic of); Park, In-Sung, E-mail: parkis77@hanyang.ac.kr [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763 (Korea, Republic of); Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763 (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-07-11

    The metal gate electrodes of Ni, W, and Pt have been investigated for their scavenging effect: a reduction of the GeO{sub x} interfacial layer (IL) between HfO{sub 2} dielectric and Ge substrate in metal/HfO{sub 2}/GeO{sub x}/Ge capacitors. All the capacitors were fabricated using the same process except for the material used in the metal electrodes. Capacitance-voltage measurements, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and electron energy loss spectroscopy were conducted to confirm the scavenging of GeO{sub x} IL. Interestingly, these metals are observed to remotely scavenge the interfacial layer, reducing its thickness in the order of Ni, W, and then Pt. The capacitance equivalent thickness of these capacitors with Ni, W, and Pt electrodes are evaluated to be 2.7 nm, 3.0 nm, and 3.5 nm, and each final remnant physical thickness of GeO{sub x} IL layer is 1.1 nm 1.4 nm, and 1.9 nm, respectively. It is suggested that the scavenging effect induced by the metal electrodes is related to the concentration of oxygen vacancies generated by oxidation reaction at the metal/HfO{sub 2} interface.

  5. Optimization of La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3} thin film by pulsed laser deposition for spin injection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jain, Sourabh, E-mail: sourabhjain@ee.iitb.ac.in [Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai-400076 (India); Sharma, Himanshu [Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai-400076 (India); Kumar Shukla, Amit [Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai-400076 (India); Tomy, C.V. [Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai-400076 (India); Palkar, V.R.; Tulapurkar, Ashwin [Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai-400076 (India)

    2014-09-01

    We have investigated low temperature magnetic properties of La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3} (LSMO) thin films on SrTiO{sub 3} (STO) substrate deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). We observed a large change in the Curie temperature T{sub C} when the LSMO film thickness is reduced from 4 nm (T{sub C}∼280 K) to 2 nm (T{sub C} ∼100 K), which is a result of high strain present at the STO–LSMO interface. The presence of the strain is confirmed by a grazing angle X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique where a particular peak is shifted away from the bulk peak position as we decrease the thickness. In a LSMO/Pb[Zr{sub y}Ti{sub 1−y}]O{sub 3} (PZT)/LSMO magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ), these LSMO thin films can be used for spin injection into the tunnel barrier. Here spin current can be manipulated by changing the strain present at the LSMO–PZT interface by using piezoelectric properties of PZT.

  6. Status of 2 micron laser technology program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Storm, Mark

    1991-01-01

    The status of 2 micron lasers for windshear detection is described in viewgraph form Theoretical atmospheric and instrument system studies have demonstrated that the 2.1 micron Ho:YAG lasers can effectively measure wind speeds in both wet and dry conditions with accuracies of 1 m/sec. Two micron laser technology looks very promising in the near future, but several technical questions remain. The Ho:YAG laser would be small, compact, and efficient, requiring little or no maintenance. Since the Ho:YAG laser is laser diode pumped and has no moving part, the lifetime of this laser would be directly related to the diode laser lifetimes which can perform in excess of 10,000 hours. Efficiencies of 3 to 12 percent are expected, but laser demonstrations confirming the ability to Q-switch this laser are required. Coherent laser operation has been demonstrated for both the CW and Q-switched lasers.

  7. Interfacial charge-induced polarization switching in Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Pb(Zr,Ti)O{sub 3} bi-layer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Yu Jin; Park, Min Hyuk; Jeon, Woojin; Kim, Han Joon; Moon, Taehwan; Lee, Young Hwan; Kim, Keum Do; Hyun, Seung Dam; Hwang, Cheol Seong, E-mail: cheolsh@snu.ac.kr [Department of Materials Science & Engineering and Inter-University Semiconductor Research Center, College of Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-744 (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-12-14

    Detailed polarization switching behavior of an Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Pb(Zr,Ti)O{sub 3} (AO/PZT) structure is examined by comparing the phenomenological thermodynamic model to the experimental polarization–voltage (P-V) results. Amorphous AO films with various thicknesses (2–10 nm) were deposited on the polycrystalline 150-nm-thick PZT film. The thermodynamic calculation showed that the transition from the ferroelectric-like state to the paraelectric-like state with increasing AO thickness occurs at ∼3 nm thickness. This paraelectric-like state should have exhibited a negative capacitance effect without permanent polarization switching if no other adverse effects are involved. However, experiments showed typical ferroelectric-like hysteresis loops where the coercive voltage increased with the increasing AO thickness, which could be explained by the carrier injection through the thin AO layer and trapping of the carriers at the AO/PZT interface. The fitting of the experimental P-V loops using the thermodynamic model considering the depolarization energy effect showed that trapped charge density was ∼±0.1 Cm{sup −2} and critical electric field at the Pt electrode/AO interface, at which the carrier transport occurs, was ∼±10 MV/cm irrespective of the AO thickness. Energy band model at each electrostatic state along the P-V loop was provided to elucidate correlation between macroscopic polarization and internal charge state of the stacked films.

  8. Surface passivation of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} nanoparticles with Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} via atomic layer deposition in a rotating fluidized bed reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Duan, Chen-Long; Deng, Zhang; Cao, Kun [State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan, Hubei 430074 (China); Yin, Hong-Feng [Ningbo Institute of Material Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315201 (China); Shan, Bin [State Key Laboratory of Material Processing and Die and Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan, Hubei 430074 (China); Chen, Rong, E-mail: rongchen@mail.hust.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan, Hubei 430074 (China)

    2016-07-15

    Iron(II,III) oxide (Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}) nanoparticles have shown great promise in many magnetic-related applications such as magnetic resonance imaging, hyperthermia treatment, and targeted drug delivery. Nevertheless, these nanoparticles are vulnerable to oxidation and magnetization loss under ambient conditions, and passivation is usually required for practical applications. In this work, a home-built rotating fluidized bed (RFB) atomic layer deposition (ALD) reactor was employed to form dense and uniform nanoscale Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} passivation layers on Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} nanoparticles. The RFB reactor facilitated the precursor diffusion in the particle bed and intensified the dynamic dismantling of soft agglomerates, exposing every surface reactive site to precursor gases. With the aid of in situ mass spectroscopy, it was found that a thicker fluidization bed formed by larger amount of particles increased the residence time of precursors. The prolonged residence time allowed more thorough interactions between the particle surfaces and the precursor gas, resulting in an improvement of the precursor utilization from 78% to nearly 100%, even under a high precursor feeding rate. Uniform passivation layers around the magnetic cores were demonstrated by both transmission electron microscopy and the statistical analysis of Al mass concentrations. Individual particles were coated instead of the soft agglomerates, as was validated by the specific surface area analysis and particle size distribution. The results of thermogravimetric analysis suggested that 5 nm-thick ultrathin Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} coatings could effectively protect the Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} nanoparticles from oxidation. The x-ray diffraction patterns also showed that the magnetic core crystallinity of such passivated nanoparticles could be well preserved under accelerated oxidation conditions. The precise thickness control via ALD maintained the saturation magnetization at 66.7 emu/g with a 5 nm-thick Al{sub

  9. Thickness dependence of the triplet spin-valve effect in superconductor-ferromagnet heterostructures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lenk, Daniel; Zdravkov, Vladimir I.; Kehrle, Jan; Obermeier, Guenther; Krug von Nidda, Hans-Albrecht; Mueller, Claus; Horn, Siegfried; Tidecks, Reinhard [Institut fuer Physik, Universitaet Augsburg (Germany); Morari, Roman [Institut fuer Physik, Universitaet Augsburg (Germany); D. Ghitsu Institute of Electronic Engineering and Nanotechnologies ASM, Kishinev (Moldova, Republic of); Sidorenko, Anatolie S. [D. Ghitsu Institute of Electronic Engineering and Nanotechnologies ASM, Kishinev (Moldova, Republic of); Tagirov, Lenar [Solid State Physics Department, Kazan Federal University (Russian Federation)

    2015-07-01

    We investigated the triplet spin-valve effect in nanoscale layered S/F{sub 1}/N/F{sub 2}/AF heterostructures with varying F{sub 1}-layer thickness (where S=Nb is a singlet superconducting, F{sub 1}=Cu{sub 41}Ni{sub 59} and F{sub 2}=Co a ferromagnetic, and N a normal-conducting, non-magnetic layer). The theory predicts a long-range, odd-in-frequency triplet component of superconductivity at non-collinear alignment of the magnetizations of F{sub 1} and F{sub 2}. This triplet component exhausts the singlet state and, thus, lowers the superconducting transition temperature, T{sub c}, yielding a global minimum of T{sub c} close to the perpendicular mutual orientations of the magnetizations. We found an oscillating decay of T{sub c} suppression, due to the generation of the triplet component, with increasing F{sub 1} layer thickness, which we discuss in the framework of recent theories.

  10. Method for measuring energy-input inhomogeneities in electroionization CO/sub 2/-lasers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Borovkov, V V; Kornilov, V G; Sukhanov, L V; Chelpanov, V I

    1987-08-01

    A Michelson interferometer at a wavelength of 0.63 micron was used to measure optical inhomogeneities due to variations of the polarizability of the molecular components in CO/sub 2/-laser mixtures under vibrational excitation in a nonself-sustained electric discharge. It is suggested that the observed effect can be used for the noninertial and noncontact diagnostics of energy-input distribution over the cross section of the active medium of an electroionization CO/sub 2/-laser. Results are presented for N/sub 2/-He, CO/sub 2/-He, CO/sub 2/-N/sub 2/-He, and CO/sub 2/-He mixtures. 10 references.

  11. Comparative studies on the biology and filarial susceptibility of selected blood-feeding and autogenous Aedes togoi sub-colonies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anuluck Junkum

    2003-06-01

    Full Text Available Blood-feeding and autogenous sub-colonies were selected from a laboratory, stock colony of Aedes togoi, which was originally collected from Koh Nom Sao, Chanthaburi province, Southeast Thailand. Comparative biology and filarial susceptibility between the two sub-colonies (blood-feeding: F11, F13; autogeny: F38, F40 were investigated to evaluate their viability and vectorial capacity. The results of comparison on biology revealed intraspecific differences, i.e., the average egg deposition/gravid female (F11/F38; F13/F40, embryonation rate (F13/F40, hatchability rate (F11/F38; F13/F40, egg width (F11/F38, wing length of females (F13/F40, and wing length and width of males (F11/F38 in the blood-feeding sub-colony were significantly greater than that in the autogenous sub-colony; and egg length (F11/F38 and width (F13/F40, and mean longevity of adult females (F11/F38 and males (F13/F40 in the blood-feeding sub-colony were significantly less than that in the autogenous sub-colony. The results of comparison on filarial susceptibility demonstrated that both sub-colonies yielded similar susceptibilities to Brugia malayi [blood-feeding/autogeny = 56.7% (F11/53.3%(F38, 60%(F13/83.3%(F40] and Dirofilaria immitis [blood-feeding/autogeny = 85.7%(F11/75%(F38, 45%(F13/29.4%(F40], suggesting autogenous Ae. togoi sub-colony was an efficient laboratory vector in study of filariasis.

  12. Study of structural and transport properties of nanostructured CeO{sub 2}, Ce{sub 1-x}Ru{sub x}O{sub 2} and Ce{sub 1-x}In{sub x}O{sub 2} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rangel, R.; Chavez-Chavez, L. [Division de Estudios de Posgrado, Facultad de Ingenieria Quimica, Universidad Michoacana de S.N.H. (Mexico); Martinez, E. [Centro de Investigacion en Materiales Avanzados, S.C. (CIMAV), Nuevo Leon (Mexico); Bartolo-Perez, P. [Departamento de Fisica Aplicada, CINVESTAV-IPN, Merida, Yucatan (Mexico)

    2012-06-15

    The present work reports for the first time thin films prepared from Ce{sub 1-x}M{sub x}O{sub 2-{delta}} (M = Ru, In) solid solutions for application as gas sensors. The CeO{sub 2}, Ce{sub 0.95}Ru{sub 0.05}O{sub 2} and Ce{sub 0.95}In{sub 0.05}O{sub 2} thin films were prepared by means of the RF sputtering process onto Si (111) substrates. The deposition conditions were carried out at 500 C varying the deposition time. Targets were prepared via sol-gel process starting from C{sub 6}H{sub 9}O{sub 6}In, Ru{sub 3}(CO){sub 12} and Ce(C{sub 2}H{sub 3}O{sub 2}){sub 3} . 1.5H{sub 2}O compounds and using a ceramic method to consolidate them. The samples were characterized by means of XRD, SEM, and AFM. Their thickness was measured using a profilometer. The results herein obtained regarding the microstructure and transport properties indicate that these materials can be used as gas sensors. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  13. Growth of anodic films on compound semiconductor electrodes: InP in aqueous (NH sub 4) sub 2 S

    CERN Document Server

    Buckley, D N

    2002-01-01

    Film formation on compound semiconductors under anodic conditions is discussed. The surface properties of InP electrodes were examined following anodization in a (NH sub 4) sub 2 S electrolyte. The observation of a current peak in the cyclic voltammetric curve was attributed to selective etching of the substrate and a film formation process. AFM images of samples anodized in the sulfide solution revealed surface pitting. Thicker films formed at higher potentials exhibited extensive cracking as observed by optical and electron microscopy, and this was explicitly demonstrated to occur ex situ rather than during the electrochemical treatment. The composition of the thick film was identified as In sub 2 S sub 3 by EDX and XPS. The measured film thickness varies linearly with the charge passed, and comparison between experimental thickness measurements and theoretical estimates for the thickness indicate a porosity of over 70 %. Cracking is attributed to shrinkage during drying of the highly porous film and does n...

  14. Dependence of vortex phase transitions in mesoscopic Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCuO{sub 8} superconductor at tilted magnetic fields

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dolz, M I; Pastoriza, H, E-mail: mdolz@cab.cnea.gov.a, E-mail: hernan@cab.cnea.gov.a [Centro Atomico Bariloche, Comision Nacional de Energa Atomica and CONICET, R8402AGP S. C. de Bariloche (Argentina)

    2009-03-01

    A micron sized single crystal of the superconductor Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCuO{sub 8} was studied using silicon mechanical micro-oscillators at various tilt angles of the dc magnetic field with respect to the c axis of the sample. Different phases of the vortex matter were detected by measuring changes in the value and sign of the oscillator resonant frequency variation with temperature. We could explain the change in the sign of this variation at high temperatures as the transition from the 2D liquid of decoupled pancakes to a reversible 3D vortex lattice. The data indicates that this transition only depends on the magnetic field perpendicular to the superconducting layers while the dissipation involved in this process depends on the component parallel to them.

  15. Interface properties of bilayer structure Alq{sub 3}/Fe{sub 65}Co{sub 35}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Zhen, E-mail: wangzhen@chd.edu.cn [Department of Applied Physics, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710064 (China); Xu, Chunlong; Wang, Jinguo; Chang, Qiaoli [Department of Applied Physics, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710064 (China); Zuo, Yalu; Xi, Li [Key Laboratory for Magnetism and Magnetic Materials of Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000 (China)

    2015-04-01

    Highlights: • Bilayer structure of Alq{sub 3}/FeCo was fabricated in a dual ultra high vacuum chamber. • Organic layer reacts partially with the FeCo film. • Electronic injection barrier is 0.76 eV in the interface. • The induced uniaxial anisotropy appears in Alq{sub 3}/FeCo. - Abstract: The interface between the organic and magnetic electrodes is a fundamental problem in organic spintronics devices. Therefore, bilayer structure of Alq{sub 3}/FeCo was fabricated in a dual ultra high vacuum chamber. The electronic structure of Alq{sub 3}–FeCo interface has been studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy with Argon ion etching technique. It was found that organic layer reacts partially with the FeCo film, forming complex binding of metallic carbide and/or oxidation state in the interfacial region. Electronic injection barrier is 0.76 eV in the interface. The structural variation of the contact region is proposed to be one of the possible factors resulting in spin-injection failure. The magnetic properties of FeCo film with different thicknesses on glass substrate and Alq{sub 3} layer are also investigated. The induced uniaxial anisotropy only presents in 3 nm FeCo thickness for glass/FeCo, while it appears in 3–5 nm FeCo for Alq{sub 3}/FeCo.

  16. Effect of direct current density on microstructure of tungsten coating electroplated from Na{sub 2}WO{sub 4}-WO{sub 3}-NaPO{sub 3} system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jiang, Fan, E-mail: jiangfan1109@163.com; Zhang, Yingchun, E-mail: zycustb@163.com; Sun, Ningbo, E-mail: suningbo682@163.com; Liu, Zhi’ang, E-mail: zhiang_001@163.com

    2014-10-30

    Highlights: • Tungsten coatings were electroplated from the Na{sub 2}WO{sub 4}-WO{sub 3}-NaPO{sub 3} melt. • Tungsten coating comprised a tooth-like layer and a columnar growth layer. • The average grain size increases as increasing current density. • (2 1 1) Orientation is favored most likely for samples obtained at various durations. • The growth rate of tungsten crystal nucleus is higher than the nucleation rate. - Abstract: Pure tungsten coating with body-centered cubic (bbc) structure was successfully electrodeposited from Na{sub 2}WO{sub 4}-WO{sub 3}-NaPO{sub 3} molten salt at 1153 K in atmosphere. The coatings comprised an inner layer of tooth-like grains and an outer layer of columnar grains with a thin diffusion layer of tungsten in the Cu substrate. The effects of current density and electrodeposition duration on the morphology and microstructure of the coatings were investigated in this paper. With increasing of current density from 50 to 80 mA cm{sup −2}, the grain size of the tungsten coating increased from 7.01 μm to 12.44 μm. With the increase of the current density, the thickness of the coating changed from 25.92 μm to 34.40 μm, and then dropped to 29.72 μm. The preferred orientation of the coatings changed from (2 2 0) to (2 1 1). With the increasing of duration, the grain size and thickness of tungsten coatings increased while the (2 1 1) favored orientation dot not changed. Because of the low current efficiency at long duration of direct current electrodeposition, it should not be suitable for the electroplating of thick tungsten coating.

  17. UN{sub 2−x} layer formed on uranium metal by glow plasma nitriding

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Long, Zhong [China Academy of Engineering Physics, P.O. Box 919-71, Mianyang 621907 (China); Hu, Yin [Science and Technology on Surface Physics and Chemistry Laboratory, P.O. Box 718-35, Mianyang 621907 (China); Chen, Lin [China Academy of Engineering Physics, P.O. Box 919-71, Mianyang 621907 (China); Luo, Lizhu [Science and Technology on Surface Physics and Chemistry Laboratory, P.O. Box 718-35, Mianyang 621907 (China); Liu, Kezhao, E-mail: liukz@hotmail.com [Science and Technology on Surface Physics and Chemistry Laboratory, P.O. Box 718-35, Mianyang 621907 (China); Lai, Xinchun, E-mail: lai319@yahoo.com [Science and Technology on Surface Physics and Chemistry Laboratory, P.O. Box 718-35, Mianyang 621907 (China)

    2015-01-25

    Highlights: • We used a very simple method to prepare nitride layer on uranium metal surface. • This modified layer is nitrogen-rich nitride, which should be written as UN{sub 2−x}. • TEM images show the nitride layer is composed of nano-sized grains. • XPS analysis indicates there is uranium with abnormal low valence in the nitride. - Abstract: Glow plasma nitriding is a simple and economical surface treatment method, and this technology was used to prepare nitride layer on the surface of uranium metal with thickness of several microns. The composition and structure of the nitride layer were analyzed by AES and XRD, indicating that this modified layer is nitrogen-rich uranium nitride, which should be written as UN{sub 2−x}. TEM images show the nitride layer is composed of nano-sized grains, with compact structure. And XPS analysis indicates there is uranium with abnormal low valence existing in the nitride. After the treated uranium storage in air for a long time, oxygen just entered the surface several nanometers, showing the nitride layer has excellent oxidation resistance. The mechanism of nitride layer formation and low valence uranium appearance is discussed.

  18. Impact-disrupted gunshot residue: A sub-micron analysis using a novel collection protocol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Spathis

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The analysis of gunshot residue (GSR has played an integral role within the legal system in relation to shooting cases. With a characteristic elemental composition of lead, antimony, barium, and a typically discriminative spheroidal morphology, the presence and distribution of GSR can aid in firearm investigations. In this experiment, three shots of low velocity rim-fire ammunition were fired over polished silicon collection substrates placed at six intervals over a 100 cm range. The samples were analysed using a Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscope (FEG-SEM in conjunction with an X-flash Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX detector, allowing for GSR particle analyses of composition and structure at the sub-micron level. The results of this experiment indicate that although classic spheroidal particles are present consistently throughout the entire range of samples their sizes vary significantly, and at certain distances from the firearm particles with an irregular morphology were discerned, forming “impact-disrupted” GSR particles, henceforth colloquially referred to as “splats”. Upon further analysis, trends with regards to the formation of these splat particles were distinguished. An increase in splat frequency was observed starting at 10 cm from the firearm, with 147 mm−2 splat density, reaching a maximal flux at 40 cm (451 mm−2, followed by a gradual decrease to the maximum range sampled. Moreover, the structural morphology of the splats changes throughout the sampling range. At the distances closest to the firearm, molten-looking particles were formed, demonstrating the metallic residues were in a liquid state when their flight path was disrupted. However, at increased distances-primarily where the discharge plume was at maximum dispersion and moving away from the firearm, the residues have had time to cool in-fight resulting in semi-congealed and solid particles that subsequently disrupted upon impact, forming more

  19. Influence of TiO{sub 2} incorporation in HfO{sub 2} and Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} based capacitor dielectrics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kukli, Kaupo [University of Helsinki, Department of Chemistry, P.O. Box 55, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki (Finland)]. E-mail: Kaupo.Kukli@helsinki.fi; Ritala, Mikko [University of Helsinki, Department of Chemistry, P.O. Box 55, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki (Finland); Leskelae, Markku [University of Helsinki, Department of Chemistry, P.O. Box 55, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki (Finland); Sundqvist, Jonas [Qimonda Dresden GmbH and Co. OHG, Koenigsbruecker Strasse 180, 01099 Dresden (Germany); Oberbeck, Lars [Qimonda Dresden GmbH and Co. OHG, Koenigsbruecker Strasse 180, 01099 Dresden (Germany); Heitmann, Johannes [Qimonda Dresden GmbH and Co. OHG, Koenigsbruecker Strasse 180, 01099 Dresden (Germany); Schroeder, Uwe [Qimonda Dresden GmbH and Co. OHG, Koenigsbruecker Strasse 180, 01099 Dresden (Germany); Aarik, Jaan [University of Tartu, Institute of Physics, Taehe 4, 51010 Tartu (Estonia); Aidla, Aleks [University of Tartu, Institute of Physics, Taehe 4, 51010 Tartu (Estonia)

    2007-06-04

    Atomic layer deposition was applied to fabricate metal oxide films on planar substrates and also in deep trenches with appreciable step coverage. Atomic layer deposition of Ru electrodes was realized on planar substrates. Electrical and structural behaviour of HfO{sub 2}-TiO{sub 2} and Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}-TiO{sub 2} nanolaminates and mixtures as well as Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} films were evaluated. The lowest leakage current densities with the lowest equivalent oxide thickness were achieved in mixed Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}-TiO{sub 2} films annealed at 700 deg. C, compared to all other films in as-deposited state as well as annealed at 900 deg. C. The highest permittivities in this study were measured on HfO{sub 2}-TiO{sub 2} nanolaminates.

  20. Surface morphology analysis of nanostructured (Ba sub x , Sr sub 1 sub - sub x)TiO sub 3 thin films using fractal method

    CERN Document Server

    Hong, K J; Choi, W K; Cho, J C

    2003-01-01

    Based on the fractal theory, this paper uses scanning electron microscopy images to investigate the roughness characteristics of nanostructured (Ba Sr)TiO sub 3 thin films by sol-gel methods. The percentage grain area, surface fractal dimensions and 3D image are evaluated using image analysis methods. The thickness of the (Ba Sr)TiO sub 3 thin films was 260-280 nm. The surface fractal dimensions were increased with strontium doping, and grain area, were decreased with it. The fractal dimension and the grain areas of the (Ba sub 0 sub . sub 7 Sr sub 0 sub . sub 3)TiO sub 3 thin films were 1.81 and 81%. Based on the image analysis, the roughness height of 3D images as 256 levels was about 3 nm and its distribution was about 35-40% for the (Ba sub 0 sub . sub 8 Sr sub 0 sub . sub 2)TiO sub 3 and (Ba sub 0 sub . sub 7 Sr sub 0 sub . sub 3)TiO sub 3 thin films. The roughness height of the BST thin films was distributed from 35% to 40% ranging from 3 nm to 4 nm. By increasing the strontium doping, the roughness hei...

  1. A New Generation Fiber Optic Probe: Characterization of Biological Fluids, Protein Crystals and Ophthalmic Diseases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ansari, Rafat R.; Suh, Kwang I.

    1996-01-01

    A new fiber optic probe developed for determining transport properties of sub-micron particles in fluids experiments in a microgravity environment has been applied to characterize particulate dispersions/suspensions in various challenging environments which have been hitherto impossible. The probe positioned in front of a sample delivers a low power light (few nW - 3mW) from a laser and guides the light which is back scattered by the suspended particles through a receiving optical fiber to a photo detector and to a digital correlator. The probe provides rapid determination of macromolecular diffusivities and their respective size distributions. It has been applied to characterize various biological fluids, protein crystals, and ophthalmic diseases.

  2. Synthesis and properties of ZnFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} replica with biological hierarchical structure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Hongyan; Guo, Yiping, E-mail: ypguo@sjtu.edu.cn; Zhang, Yangyang; Wu, Fen; Liu, Yun; Zhang, Di, E-mail: zhangdi@sjtu.edu.cn

    2013-09-20

    Highlights: • ZFO replica with hierarchical structure was synthesized from butterfly wings. • Biotemplate has a significant impact on the properties of ZFO material. • Our method opens up new avenues for the synthesis of spinel ferrites. -- Abstract: ZnFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} replica with biological hierarchical structure was synthesized from Papilio paris by a sol–gel method followed by calcination. The crystallographic structure and morphology of the obtained samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscope, and transmittance electron microscope. The results showed that the hierarchical structures were retained in the ZFO replica of spinel structure. The magnetic behavior of such novel products was measured by a vibrating sample magnetometer. A superparamagnetism-like behavior was observed due to nanostructuration size effects. In addition, the ZFO replica with “quasi-honeycomb-like structure” showed a much higher specific capacitance of 279.4 F g{sup −1} at 10 mV s{sup −1} in comparison with ZFO powder of 137.3 F g{sup −1}, attributing to the significantly increased surface area. These results demonstrated that ZFO replica is a promising candidate for novel magnetic devices and supercapacitors.

  3. Effects of strain on the magnetic and transport properties of the epitaxial La{sub 0.5}Ca{sub 0.5}MnO{sub 3} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zarifi, M. [Department of Physics, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Kameli, P., E-mail: kameli@cc.iut.ac.ir [Department of Physics, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Ehsani, M.H. [Department of Physics, Semnan University, Semnan 35195-363 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Ahmadvand, H.; Salamati, H. [Department of Physics, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111 (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2016-12-15

    The epitaxial strain can considerably modify the physical properties of thin films compared to the bulk. This paper reports the effects of substrate-induced strain on La{sub 0.5}Ca{sub 0.5}MnO{sub 3} (LCMO) thin films, grown on (100) SrTiO{sub 3} (STO) and LaAlO{sub 3} (LAO) substrates by pulsed laser deposition technique. Transport and magnetic properties were found to be strongly dependent on strain type. It is also shown that compressive (tensile) strain leads to the increase (decrease) in the magnetization of the films. Moreover, it was observed that all LCMO films deposited on both LAO and STO substrates behave as an insulator, but LCMO/LAO thin films with compressive strain have lower resistivity than LCMO/STO thin films with tensile strain. Applying magnetic field to LCMO/STO thin films with thickness of 25 and 50 nm leads to very small change in the resistivity, while the effects of magnetic field on the sample with thickness of 125 nm leads to an insulator–metal transition. For LCMO/LAO thin films, the magnetic field has a strong impact on the resistivity of samples. The results show that the magnetoresistance (MR) is enhanced by increasing film thickness for LCMO/LAO samples, due to the relatively stronger phase separation. For LCMO/STO thin films MR is drastically decreased by reduction of film thickness, which is attributed to the enhancement of the charge–orbital order (CO–O) accompanying the complex spin order (the so-called CE type). The changes of the antiferromagnetic structure from the CE to C type and the enhancement of the CE type could be attributed to the in-plane compressive and tensile strain, respectively. - Highlights: • Epitaxial La{sub 0.5}Ca{sub 0.5}MnO{sub 3} thin films, grown on (100) SrTiO{sub 3} and LaAlO{sub 3} substrates. • The compressive strain leads to the increase in the magnetization of the films. • The tensile strain leads to the decrease in the magnetization of the films. • The magnetoresistance is enhanced by

  4. Effect of substrate thickness on ejection of phenylalanine molecules adsorbed on free-standing graphene bombarded by 10 keV C{sub 60}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Golunski, M. [Institute of Physics, Jagiellonian University, ul. Lojasiewicza 11, 30-348 Krakow (Poland); Verkhoturov, S.V.; Verkhoturov, D.S.; Schweikert, E.A. [Department of Chemistry, Texas A& M University, College Station, TX 77840 (United States); Postawa, Z., E-mail: zbigniew.postawa@uj.edu.pl [Institute of Physics, Jagiellonian University, ul. Lojasiewicza 11, 30-348 Krakow (Poland)

    2017-02-15

    Highlights: • Substrate thickness has a prominent effect on the molecular ejection mechanism. • Collisions with projectile atoms leads to molecular ejection at thin substrates. • Interactions with deforming graphene sheet ejects molecules from thicker substrates. • Probability of fragmentation process decreases with the graphene substrate thickness. - Abstract: Molecular dynamics computer simulations have been employed to investigate the effect of substrate thickness on the ejection mechanism of phenylalanine molecules deposited on free-standing graphene. The system is bombarded from the graphene side by 10 keV C{sub 60} projectiles at normal incidence and the ejected particles are collected both in transmission and reflection directions. It has been found that the ejection mechanism depends on the substrate thickness. At thin substrates mostly organic fragments are ejected by direct collisions between projectile atoms and adsorbed molecules. At thicker substrates interaction between deforming topmost graphene sheet and adsorbed molecules becomes more important. As this process is gentle and directionally correlated, it leads predominantly to ejection of intact molecules. The implications of the results to a novel analytical approach in Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry based on ultrathin free-standing graphene substrates and a transmission geometry are discussed.

  5. Synthesis and characterization of monodisperse, mesoporous, and magnetic sub-micron particles doped with a near-infrared fluorescent dye

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Le Guevel, Xavier; Nooney, Robert; McDonagh, Colette; MacCraith, Brian D.

    2011-01-01

    Recently, multifunctional silica nanoparticles have been investigated extensively for their potential use in biomedical applications. We have prepared sub-micron monodisperse and stable multifunctional mesoporous silica particles with a high level of magnetization and fluorescence in the near infrared region using an one-pot synthesis technique. Commercial magnetite nanocrystals and a conjugated-NIR-dye were incorporated inside the particles during the silica condensation reaction. The particles were then coated with polyethyleneglycol to stop aggregation. X-ray diffraction, N 2 adsorption analysis, TEM, fluorescence and absorbance measurements were used to structurally characterize the particles. These mesoporous silica spheres have a large surface area (1978 m 2 /g) with 3.40 nm pore diameter and a high fluorescence in the near infrared region at λ=700 nm. To explore the potential of these particles for drug delivery applications, the pore accessibility to hydrophobic drugs was simulated by successfully trapping a hydrophobic ruthenium dye complex inside the particle with an estimated concentration of 3 wt%. Fluorescence imaging confirmed the presence of both NIR dye and the post-grafted ruthenium dye complex inside the particles. These particles moved at approximately 150 μm/s under the influence of a magnetic field, hence demonstrating the multifunctionality and potential for biomedical applications in targeting and imaging. - Graphical Abstract: Hydrophobic fluorescent Ruthenium complex has been loaded into the mesopores as a surrogate drug to simulate drug delivery and to enhance the multifunctionality of the magnetic NIR emitting particles. Highlights: → Monodisperse magnetic mesoporous silica particles emitting in the near infrared region are obtained in one-pot synthesis. → We prove the capacity of such particles to uptake hydrophobic dye to mimic drug loading. → Loaded fluorescent particles can be moved under a magnetic field in a microfluidic

  6. Solar-Powered, Micron-Gap Thermophotovoltaics for MEO Applications, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The proposed innovation is an InGaAs-based, radiation-tolerant, micron-gap thermophotovoltaic (MTPV) technology. The use of a micron wide gap between the radiation...

  7. Characteristic and non-characteristic X-ray yields produced from thick Ti element by sub-relativistic electrons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yadav, Namita; Kumar, Sunil; Bhatt, Pragya; Singh, Raj; Singh, B.K.; Shanker, R.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► The X-ray spectra of a thick Ti element by 10–25 keV electron impact are obtained. ► Measured Ti K α yields are found to be in good agreement with PWBA theory. ► Doubly differential bremsstrahlung yields agree reasonably with MC simulation. ► Average value of the ratio K α /(K α + K β ) of Ti is found to be 0.881 ± 0.003. -- Abstract: Measurements are performed to study the electron impact energy dependence of doubly differential bremsstrahlung yields (DDBY) and of characteristic Ti K α line yields produced from sub-relativistic electrons (10–25 keV) colliding with a thick Ti (Z = 22) target. The emitted radiation is detected by a Si-PIN photo-diode detector with energy resolution (FWHM) of 180 eV at 5.9 keV. The measured data of DDBY are compared with the results predicted by Monte-Carlo (MC) simulations using the general purpose PENELOPE code. A reasonable agreement is found between experimental and simulation results within the experimental uncertainty of measurements of 12%. Characteristic Ti K α yields are obtained for the considered impact energy range and they are compared with the existing theoretical results. A good agreement is found between the present measurements and the theoretical calculations. Furthermore, data are presented for impact energy dependence of the ratio K α /(K α + K β ) of a thick Ti target under impact of 10–25 keV electrons. The ratio shows a very weak dependence on impact energy in the studied range. The average value of the ratio is found to be 0.881 ± 0.003.

  8. Effect of ZrO{sub 2} particle on the performance of micro-arc oxidation coatings on Ti6Al4V

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Hong; Sun, Yezi; Zhang, Jin, E-mail: zhangjin@ustb.edu.cn

    2015-07-01

    Highlights: • An anti-oxidation TiO{sub 2}/ZrO{sub 2} composite coating on Ti6Al4V alloy was prepared using micro-arc oxidation technology by adding ZrO{sub 2} particles in single phosphoric acid solution. • The composite coating displays excellent anti-oxidation characteristic at 700 °C in the air. • The concentration of ZrO{sub 2} particles not only influences the roughness and thickness of the coating, but the morphologies, phase composition, oxidation resistance and wear resistance. - Abstract: This paper investigates the effect of ZrO{sub 2} particle on the oxidation resistance and wear properties of coatings on a Ti6Al4V alloy generated using the micro-arc oxidation (MAO) technique. Different concentrations micron ZrO{sub 2} particles were added in phosphate electrolyte and dispersed by magnetic stirring apparatus. The composition of coating was characterized using X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive spectrum, and the morphology was examined using SEM. The high temperature oxidation resistance of the coating sample at 700 °C was investigated. Sliding wear behaviour was tested by a wear tester. The results showed that the coating consisted of ZrTiO{sub 4}, ZrO{sub 2}, TiO{sub 2}. With ZrO{sub 2} particle addition, the ceramic coating's forming time reduced by the current dynamic curve. It was shown that the addition of ZrO{sub 2} particles (3 g/L, 6 g/L) expressed an excellent oxidation resistance at 700 °C and wear resistance.

  9. Choroidal Thickness Analysis in Patients with Usher Syndrome Type 2 Using EDI OCT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colombo, L; Sala, B; Montesano, G; Pierrottet, C; De Cillà, S; Maltese, P; Bertelli, M; Rossetti, L

    2015-01-01

    To portray Usher Syndrome type 2, analyzing choroidal thickness and comparing data reported in published literature on RP and healthy subjects. Methods. 20 eyes of 10 patients with clinical signs and genetic diagnosis of Usher Syndrome type 2. Each patient underwent a complete ophthalmologic examination including Best Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure (IOP), axial length (AL), automated visual field (VF), and EDI OCT. Both retinal and choroidal measures were measured. Statistical analysis was performed to correlate choroidal thickness with age, BCVA, IOP, AL, VF, and RT. Comparison with data about healthy people and nonsyndromic RP patients was performed. Results. Mean subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) was 248.21 ± 79.88 microns. SFCT was statistically significant correlated with age (correlation coefficient -0.7248179, p patients (p = 0.2138). Conclusions. Our study demonstrated in vivo choroidal thickness reduction in patients with Usher Syndrome type 2. These data are important for the comprehension of mechanisms of disease and for the evaluation of therapeutic approaches.

  10. An investigation on silar Cu(In{sub 1-x}Al{sub x})Se{sub 2} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dhanam, M. [PG and Research, Department of Physics, Kongunadu Arts and Science College, Coimbatore 641029 (India); Kavitha, B., E-mail: kavitha_48@yahoo.co.in [PG and Research, Department of Physics, Kongunadu Arts and Science College, Coimbatore 641029 (India); Velumani, S. [Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados del I.P.N.(CINVESTAV) (Mexico)

    2010-10-25

    Cu(In{sub 1-x}Al{sub x})Se{sub 2} [CIAS] thin films were prepared for the first time by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction [SILAR] method with two different dipping cycles. The thickness of the films was measured by gravimetric technique. The structural, morphological, compositional, optical transition and electrical investigation of SILAR CIAS thin films with respect to two different dipping cycles have been discussed in this paper.

  11. MnFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} as a gas sensor towards SO{sub 2} and NO{sub 2} gases

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rathore, Deepshikha, E-mail: deep.nano@gmail.com; Mitra, Supratim [Department of Natural Sciences, NIIT University, Neemrana, Rajasthan 301705 (India)

    2016-05-06

    The chemical co-precipitation method was used to synthesize MnFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanoparticles. Single cubic phase formation of nanoparticles was confirmed by X-ray diffraction technique. The average particle size of MnFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanoparticles was found to be 10.7 nm using Scherrer formula. The ultrafine powder of MnFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanoparticles was pressed to design pellet of 10 mm diameter and 1mm thickness. Copper electrodes have been deposited on the surface of pellet using silver paste in the form of capacitor. Fabricated gas sensing device of MnFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanoparticles was tested towards SO{sub 2} and NO{sub 2} gases. Cole-Cole plot of MnFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} was investigated with the help of electrochemical workstation. The performance of the sensors including sensitivity, response and recovery time was also determined. It was observed that the MnFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanoparticles are more sensible for NO{sub 2} gas as compared to SO{sub 2} gas.

  12. The oxidative potential and biological effects induced by PM{sub 10} obtained in Mexico City and at a receptor site during the MILAGRO Campaign

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Quintana, Raul [Instituto Nacional de Cancerologia, Mexico City (Mexico); Serrano, Jesus [Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City (Mexico); Gomez, Virginia [Instituto de Quimica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City (Mexico); Foy, Benjamin de [Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO (United States); Miranda, Javier [Instituto de Fisica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City (Mexico); Garcia-Cuellar, Claudia [Instituto Nacional de Cancerologia, Mexico City (Mexico); Vega, Elizabeth [Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo, Mexico City (Mexico); Vazquez-Lopez, Ines [Instituto Nacional de Cancerologia, Mexico City (Mexico); Molina, Luisa T. [Molina Center for Energy and the Environment, CA (United States); Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (United States); Manzano-Leon, Natalia [Instituto Nacional de Cancerologia, Mexico City (Mexico); Rosas, Irma [Centro de Ciencias de la Atmosfera, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City (Mexico); Osornio-Vargas, Alvaro R., E-mail: osornio@ualberta.ca [Instituto Nacional de Cancerologia, Mexico City (Mexico); Department of Paediatrics, University of Alberta, 1048 RTF, 8308 114 St, Edmonton, AB T6G 2V2 (Canada)

    2011-12-15

    As part of a field campaign that studied the impact of Mexico City pollution plume at the local, sub-regional and regional levels, we studied transport-related changes in PM{sub 10} composition, oxidative potential and in vitro toxicological patterns (hemolysis, DNA degradation). We collected PM{sub 10} in Mexico City (T{sub 0}) and at a suburban-receptor site (T{sub 1}), pooled according to two observed ventilation patterns (T{sub 0} {yields} T{sub 1} influence and non-influence). T{sub 0} samples contained more Cu, Zn, and carbon whereas; T{sub 1} samples contained more of Al, Si, P, S, and K (p < 0.05). Only SO{sub 4}{sup -2} increased in T{sub 1} during the influence periods. Oxidative potential correlated with Cu/Zn content (r = 0.74; p < 0.05) but not with biological effects. T{sub 1} PM{sub 10} induced greater hemolysis and T{sub 0} PM{sub 10} induced greater DNA degradation. Influence/non-influence did not affect oxidative potential nor biological effects. Results indicate that ventilation patterns had little effect on intrinsic PM{sub 10} composition and toxicological potential, which suggests a significant involvement of local sources. - Highlights: > Transport-related changes in PM{sub 10} composition, oxidative potential and in vitro toxicity were studied. > Cu, Zn, and carbon levels were predominant in urban PM{sub 10}; receptor site PM{sub 10} was rich in soil elements. > SO{sub 4}{sup -2} was the only component increased in PM{sub 10} from the receptor during the influence periods. > PM{sub 10} oxidative potential correlates with Cu/Zn content but not with studied biological effects. > Ventilation patterns had little effect on PM{sub 10} composition and toxicity. - Mexico City ventilation patterns had little effect on the intrinsic PM{sub 10} composition and toxicological potential, which suggests a significant involvement of local sources as opposed to downwind transport.

  13. Enhanced dielectric properties of thin Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} films grown on 65 nm SiO{sub 2}/Si

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kolkovsky, Vl.; Kurth, E.; Kunath, C. [IPMS Fraunhofer, Dresden, Maria-Reiche Str. 2, 01109 Dresden (Germany)

    2016-12-15

    The structural and electrical properties of Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5}/65 nm SiO{sub 2} structures with different thicknesses of Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} varying in the range of 0-260 nm are investigated. We find that the stack structures grown by the magnetron sputtering technique and annealed at 1220 K in O and Ar atmosphere show one of the highest dielectric constant of Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5}(about 64) among those previously reported in the literature. The structure of the annealed polycrystalline Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} films is orthorhombic, as obtained from X-ray diffraction measurements and we do not observe any preferential orientation of the annealed films. The Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} films contain positively charged defects which become mobile at around 400 K and they are tentatively correlated with the oxygen vacancies. The leakage current in the stack structures is a factor of 20 higher compared to that in thin layers with 65 nm SiO{sub 2}. The conduction mechanism in the stack structures can be described by the Fowler-Nordheim model with a barrier height that decreases slightly (<10%) as a function of the thickness of the films. (copyright 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  14. ALD Produced B{sub 2}O{sub 3}, Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} and TiO{sub 2} Coatings on Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3} Burnable Poison Nanoparticles and Carbonaceous TRISO Coating Layers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weimer, Alan

    2012-11-26

    This project will demonstrate the feasibility of using atomic layer deposition (ALD) to apply ultrathin neutron-absorbing, corrosion-resistant layers consisting of ceramics, metals, or combinations thereof, on particles for enhanced nuclear fuel pellets. Current pellet coating technology utilizes chemical vapor deposition (CVD) in a fluidized bed reactor to deposit thick, porous layers of C (or PyC) and SiC. These graphitic/carbide materials degrade over time owing to fission product bombardment, active oxidation, thermal management issues, and long-term irradiation effects. ALD can be used to deposit potential ceramic barrier materials of interest, including ZrO{sub 2}, Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}:ZrO{sub 2} (YSZ), Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, and TiO{sub 2}, or neutron-absorbing materials, namely B (in BN or B{sub 2}O{sub 3}) and Gd (in Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3}). This project consists of a two-pronged approach to integrate ALD into the next-generation nuclear plant (NGNP) fuel pellet manufacturing process:

  15. Airborne spectrophotometry of Comet Halley from 5 to 9 microns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campins, H.; Bregman, J. D.; Witteborn, F. C.; Wooden, D. H.; Rank, D. M.; Cohen, M.; Allamandola, Louis J.; Tielens, Alexander G. G. M.

    1986-01-01

    Spectrophotometry from 5 to 9 microns (resolution = 0.02) of comet Halley was obtained from the Kuiper Airborne Observatory on 1985 Dec. 12.1 and 1986 April 8.6 and 10.5 UT. Two spectral features are apparent in all the observations, one from 5.24 to 5.6 microns, and the silicate emission feature which has an onset between 7 and 8 microns. There is no evidence for the 7.5 microns feature observed by the Vega 1 spacecraft; the large difference between the areal coverage viewed from the spacecraft and the airplane may explain the discrepancy. Color temperatures significantly higher than a blackbody indicate that small particles are abundant in the coma. Significant spatial and temporal variations in the spectrum show trends similar to those observed from the ground.

  16. Defect investigations of micron sized precipitates in Al alloys

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Klobes, B; Korff, B; Balarisi, O; Eich, P; Haaks, M; Kohlbach, I; Maier, K; Sottong, R [Helmholtz-Institut fuer Strahlen- und Kernphysik, Nussallee 14-16, D-53115 Bonn (Germany); Staab, T E M, E-mail: klobes@hiskp.uni-bonn.de [Fraunhofer ISC, Neunerplatz 2, D-97082 Wuerzburg (Germany)

    2011-01-01

    A lot of light aluminium alloys achieve their favourable mechanical properties, especially their high strength, due to precipitation of alloying elements. This class of age hardenable Al alloys includes technologically important systems such as e.g. Al-Mg-Si or Al-Cu. During ageing different precipitates are formed according to a specific precipitation sequence, which is always directed onto the corresponding intermetallic equilibrium phase. Probing the defect state of individual precipitates requires high spatial resolution as well as high chemical sensitivity. Both can be achieved using the finely focused positron beam provided by the Bonn Positron Microprobe (BPM) in combination with the High Momentum Analysis (HMA). Employing the BPM, structures in the micron range can be probed by means of the spectroscopy of the Doppler broadening of annihilation radiation (DBAR). On the basis of these prerequisites single precipitates of intermetallic phases in Al-Mg-Si and Al-Cu, i.e. Mg{sub 2}Si and Al{sub 2}Cu, were probed. A detailed interpretation of these measurements necessarily relies on theoretical calculations of the DBAR of possible annihilation sites. These were performed employing the DOPPLER program. However, previous to the DBAR calculation the structures, which partly contain vacancies, were relaxed using the ab-initio code SIESTA, i.e. the atomic positions in presence of a vacancy were recalculated.

  17. Intrinsic Rashba-like splitting in asymmetric Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3}/Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3} heterogeneous topological insulator films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Xiaofei; Guo, Wanlin, E-mail: wlguo@nuaa.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control for Mechanical Structures and Key Laboratory for Intelligent Nano Materials and Devices (MOE), Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016 (China)

    2014-08-25

    We show by density functional theory calculations that asymmetric hetero-stacking of Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3}/Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3} films can modulate the topological surface states. Due to the structure inversion asymmetry, an intrinsic Rashba-like splitting of the conical surface bands is aroused. While such splitting in homogeneous Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3}-class topological insulators can be realized in films with more than three quintuple layers under external electric fields, the hetero-stacking breaks the limit of thickness for preserving the topological nature into the thinnest two quintuple layers. These results indicate that the hetero-stacking can serve as an efficient strategy for spin-resolved band engineering of topological insulators.

  18. Facile synthesis of Ca{sub 0.68}Si{sub 9}Al{sub 3}(ON){sub 16}:Eu{sup 2+} microbelts mat with the enhanced fluorescence and mechanical performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhao, Hailei; Cui, Bo [State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620 (China); Wang, Hongzhi, E-mail: wanghz@dhu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620 (China); Zhang, Qinghong [Engineering Research Center of Advanced Glasses Manufacturing Technology, MOE, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620 (China); Li, Yaogang, E-mail: yaogang_li@dhu.edu.cn [Engineering Research Center of Advanced Glasses Manufacturing Technology, MOE, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620 (China)

    2016-01-15

    Yellow-emitting phosphor mat consisting of Ca{sub 0.68}Si{sub 9}Al{sub 3}(ON){sub 16}:Eu{sup 2+} microbelts was prepared by electrospinning and subsequent nitridation. The as-prepared fiber precursor is smooth and uniform with diameter of 800 to 900 nm. After removing organic templates and nitridation, the morphology of the fiber is well retained and thus a smooth microbelts phosphor mat was obtained. X-ray diffraction and the photoluminescence (PL) spectra reveals that a relatively pure Ca{sub 0.68}Si{sub 9}Al{sub 3}(ON){sub 16} phase and the highest spectral intensity could be obtained at a relatively low temperature of 1500 °C and Eu{sup 2+} doping molar concentration of 0.1. The excitation spectra exhibits a broad band, ranging from 300 to 550 nm, which could be excited by blue LED chip at room temperature. The emission spectra of all exhibits a single broad band in the 400 to 700 nm region, with the maximum intensity always being at 580 nm. The Ca{sub 0.68}Si{sub 9}Al{sub 3}(ON){sub 16}:Eu{sup 2+} microbelts phosphor mat has the bending strength about 4.5 MPa with a photoluminescence quantum yield as high as 65%. By employing it as yellow phosphor, a high-performance warm white LED could be fabricated with low correlated color temperature (2985 K), high-color-rendering index (Ra=86) and luminous efficacy of 129.5 lm W{sup −1}. Different color temperatures also could be tuned by employing microbelts phosphor mats with different thicknesses. - Graphical abstract: Yellow-emitting phosphor mat consisting of Ca{sub 0.68}Si{sub 9}Al{sub 3}(ON){sub 16}:Eu{sup 2+} microbelts fibers were prepared by electrospinning the fiber precursor and subsequent nitridation. Because the good mechanical strength it could be utilized to realize LEDs remote packaging. By employing it as yellow phosphor, a high-performance warm white LED could be fabricated. Different color temperatures also could be tuned by employing microbelts phosphor mats with different thicknesses

  19. Generalized method for computation of true thickness and x-ray intensity information in highly blurred sub-millimeter bone features in clinical CT images.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pakdel, Amirreza; Robert, Normand; Fialkov, Jeffrey; Maloul, Asmaa; Whyne, Cari

    2012-12-07

    In clinical computed tomography (CT) images, cortical bone features with sub-millimeter (sub-mm) thickness are substantially blurred, such that their thickness is overestimated and their intensity appears underestimated. Therefore, any inquiry of the geometry or the density of such bones based on these images is severely error prone. We present a model-based method for estimating the true thickness and intensity magnitude of cortical and trabecular bone layers at localized regions of complex shell bones down to 0.25 mm. The method also computes the width of the corresponding point spread function. This approach is applicable on any CT image data, and does not rely on any scanner-specific parameter inputs beyond what is inherently available in the images themselves. The method applied on CT intensity profiles of custom phantoms mimicking shell-bones produced average cortical thickness errors of 0.07 ± 0.04 mm versus an average error of 0.47 ± 0.29 mm in the untreated cases (t(55) = 10.92, p ≪ 0.001)). Similarly, the average error of intensity magnitude estimates of the method were 22 ± 2.2 HU versus an error of 445 ± 137 HU in the untreated cases (t(55) = 26.48, p ≪ 0.001)). The method was also used to correct the CT intensity profiles from a cadaveric specimen of the craniofacial skeleton (CFS) in 15 different regions. There was excellent agreement between the corrections and µCT intensity profiles of the same regions used as a 'gold standard' measure. These results set the groundwork towards restoring cortical bone geometry and intensity information in entire image data sets. This information is essential for the generation of finite element models of the CFS that can accurately describe the biomechanical behavior of its complex thin bone structures.

  20. Preparation and characterization of sub-20 nm Cu{sub X}@Ag{sub 1} core-shell nanoparticles by changing concentration of silver precursor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chee, Sang-Soo; Lee, Jong-Hyun, E-mail: pljh@snut.ac.kr

    2017-01-01

    Ultrafine Ag-coated Cu (Cu@Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) less than 20 nm in diameter were prepared. After synthesizing ultrafine Cu NPs using a solvothermal method to serve as the core particles, Cu@Ag NPs were fabricated with different initial Ag precursor concentrations, resulting in different thicknesses, densities, and uniformities of Ag shells. The average thickness and density of the Ag shell increased with increasing initial Ag precursor concentration in a Cu:Ag atomic ratio from 6:1 to 1:1. However, excessive Ag precursor concentrations induced homogeneous nucleation and growth of surplus fine pure NPs. Ag dewetting behavior and Cu oxidation in the Cu{sub 4}@Ag{sub 1} NPs were observed, they occurred during heating at 200 and 250 °C, respectively. The electrical resistivities of sintered Cu{sub 4}@Ag{sub 1} films decreased with increasing temperature from 200 to 240 °C. The resistivity after washing the OA and sintering for 60 min at 240 °C in air was measured to be 4.96 × 10{sup −3} Ω cm. The film was sintered in nitrogen using the ink containing non-washed Cu{sub 4}@Ag{sub 1} NPs indicated the lower resistivity of 2.70 × 10{sup −3} Ω cm owing to the non-oxidation atmosphere, although the chemically capped oleylamine in the core-shell NPs hindered the sintering behavior. - Highlights: • Ultrafine Ag-coated Cu nanoparticles less than 20 nm in diameter were fabricated. • Different Ag precursor concentrations influenced thickness and density of Ag shell. • Excessive Ag precursor concentrations induced formation of surplus fine pure NPs. • Ag dewetting behavior and Cu oxidation in Cu{sub 4}@Ag{sub 1} nanoparticles were observed. • Electrical resistivities of sintered Cu{sub 4}@Ag{sub 1} films were 2.70–4.96 × 10{sup −3} Ω cm.

  1. Sensitivity enhancement of surface plasmon resonance sensor based on graphene-MoS{sub 2} hybrid structure with TiO{sub 2}-SiO{sub 2} composite layer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maurya, J.B.; Prajapati, Y.K. [Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Electronics and Communication Engineering Department, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh (India); Singh, V. [Banaras Hindu University, Department of Physics, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh (India); Saini, J.P. [Bundelkhand Institute of Engineering and Technology, Electronics and Communication Engineering Department, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh (India)

    2015-11-15

    In this paper, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor based on graphene-MoS{sub 2} hybrid structure with composite layer of TiO{sub 2}-SiO{sub 2} is presented. The angular interrogation method is used for the analysis of reflected light from the sensor. For the calculation of the sensitivity, first of all the thicknesses of TiO{sub 2}, SiO{sub 2} and gold layers are optimized for the monolayer graphene and MoS{sub 2}. Thereafter, at these optimum thicknesses the reflectance curves are plotted for different sensor structure and comparison of change in resonance angle is made among these structures. It is observed that the sensitivity of the graphene-MoS{sub 2}-based sensor is enhanced by 9.24 % with respect conventional SPR sensor. The sensitivity is further enhanced by including TiO{sub 2}-SiO{sub 2} composite layer between prism base and metal layer and observed that the enhanced sensitivity for this sensor is 12.82 % with respect to conventional SPR sensor and 3.28 % with respect to graphene-MoS{sub 2}-based SPR sensor. At the end of this paper, the variation of the sensitivity and minimum reflectance is plotted with respect to sensing layer refractive index at the optimum thickness of all the layers and optimum number of MoS{sub 2} and graphene layers. It is also observed that four layers of MoS{sub 2} and monolayer graphene are best selection for the maximum enhancement of the sensitivity. (orig.)

  2. Phase-Separated, Epitaxial, Nanostructured LaMnO<sub>3sub>+MgO Composite Cap Layer Films for Propagation of Pinning Defects in YBa<sub>2sub>Cu>3sub>O>7-xsub> Coated Conductors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wee, Sung Hun [ORNL; Shin, Junsoo [ORNL; Cantoni, Claudia [ORNL; Meyer III, Harry M [ORNL; Cook, Sylvester W [ORNL; Zuev, Yuri L [ORNL; Specht, Eliot D [ORNL; Xiong, Xuming [ORNL; Paranthaman, Mariappan Parans [ORNL; Selvamanickam, V. [SuperPower Incorporated, Schenectady, New York; Goyal, Amit [ORNL

    2009-01-01

    Nanostructural modulation in the cap layer used in coated conductors can be a potential source for nucleating microstructural defects into the superconducting layer for improving the flux-pinning. We report on the successful fabrication of phase separated, epitaxial, nanostructured films comprised of LaMnO{sub 3} (LMO) and MgO via pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on biaxially-textured MgO metallic templates with a LMO buffer layer. Scanning Auger compositional mapping and transmission electron microscopy cross sectional images confirm the nanoscale, spatial modulation corresponding to the nanostructured phase separation in the film. YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-{delta}} films (0.8 {micro}m thick) grown using PLD on such phase separated, nanostructured cap layers show reduced field dependence of the critical current density with an ? value of -0.38 (in J{sub c}-H{sup -{alpha}}).

  3. Fabrication and characterization of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} /Si composite nanodome structures for high efficiency crystalline Si thin film solar cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Ruiying, E-mail: ryzhang2008@sinano.ac.cn [Key lab of nanodevices and applications, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Division of nano-devices and related materials, Suzhou Institute of Nano-tech and Nano-bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, 215123 (China); State Key Laboratory of Functional Materials for Informatics, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 865 Changning Road, Shanghai 200050 China (China); Zhu, Jian; Zhang, Zhen; Wang, Yanyan; Qiu, Bocang [Key lab of nanodevices and applications, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Division of nano-devices and related materials, Suzhou Institute of Nano-tech and Nano-bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, 215123 (China); Liu, Xuehua; Zhang, Jinping; Zhang, Yi [Platform for Characterization & Test, Suzhou Institute of Nano-tech and Nano-bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, 215123 (China); Fang, Qi; Ren, Zhong [Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology, Yatton, Bristol, BS49 4AP (United Kingdom); Bai, Yu [School of Nano-Science and Nano-Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Suzhou, 215123 (China)

    2015-12-15

    We report on our fabrication and characterization of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Si composite nanodome (CND) structures, which is composed of Si nanodome structures with a conformal cladding Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} layer to evaluate its optical and electrical performance when it is applied to thin film solar cells. It has been observed that by application of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}thin film coating using atomic layer deposition (ALD) to the Si nanodome structures, both optical and electrical performances are greatly improved. The reflectivity of less than 3% over the wavelength range of from 200 nm to 2000 nm at an incident angle from 0° to 45° is achieved when the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} film is 90 nm thick. The ultimate efficiency of around 27% is obtained on the CND textured 2 μm-thick Si solar cells, which is compared to the efficiency of around 25.75% and 15% for the 2 μm-thick Si nanodome surface-decorated and planar samples respectively. Electrical characterization was made by using CND-decorated MOS devices to measure device’s leakage current and capacitance dispersion. It is found the electrical performance is sensitive to the thickness of the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} film, and the performance is remarkably improved when the dielectric layer thickness is 90 nm thick. The leakage current, which is less than 4x10{sup −9} A/cm{sup 2} over voltage range of from -3 V to 3 V, is reduced by several orders of magnitude. C-V measurements also shows as small as 0.3% of variation in the capacitance over the frequency range from 10 kHz to 500 kHz, which is a strong indication of surface states being fully passivated. TEM examination of CND-decorated samples also reveals the occurrence of SiO{sub x} layer formed between the interface of Si and the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} film, which is thin enough that ensures the presence of field-effect passivation, From our theoretical and experimental study, we believe Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} coated CND structures is a truly viable approach to achieving higher device

  4. The impact of ScO{sub x}N{sub y} interlayers on unintentional doping and threading dislocations in GaN

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhu, T; Moram, M A; Rao, D V Sridhara; Li, H; Kappers, M J; Oliver, R A, E-mail: tz234@cam.ac.u [Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ (United Kingdom)

    2010-02-01

    To reduce the threading dislocation density in (0001) GaN grown on c-plane sapphire, a series of samples have been grown using scandium oxynitride (ScO{sub x}N{sub y}) interlayers (ILs) on AlN-on-sapphire templates. Scanning capacitance microscopy (SCM) has been employed to investigate the unintentional doping in GaN with varying ScO{sub x}N{sub y} IL thicknesses. The use of ScO{sub x}N{sub y} ILs decreases the threading dislocation density. An unintentionally n-doped layer has been identified by SCM close to the GaN/ScO{sub x}N{sub y} interface. The average width of this conductive layer has been quantified and found to increase as the ScO{sub x}N{sub y} IL thickness increases up to 13 nm.

  5. Emission control of odour and N{sub 2}O from a mechanical biological pretreatment; Geruchsstoffe und N{sub 2}O im Abgas einer mechanisch-biologischen Abfallbehandlungsanlage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cuhls, C.; Clemens, J. [Gesellschaft fuer Wissenstransfer, Bonn (Germany); Stockinger, J.; Doedens, H. [Hannover Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Siedlungswasserwirtschaft und Abfalltechnik

    2002-04-01

    Within the mechanical biological pretreatment (MBP) the aerobic treatment of waste is the major source of gaseous emissions. So far, the exhaust air has been treated by biofilters. But biofilters may act as a source of nitric and nitrous oxide (NO and N{sub 2}O) formed by excess ammonia (NH{sub 3}) and cannot oxidize methane (CH{sub 4}). As a consequence, biofilters may not be suitable to match the demands of the 30. Immission Ordinance (BImSchV). Thermal oxidation is able to keep total carbon below the new thresholds. NH{sub 3} is transformed to NO and NO{sub 2} uring the thermal oxidation. Depending on the oxidation temperature N{sub 2}O may be formed. When exhaust air was treated by scrubbing with mineral acid, N{sub 2}O, NO{sub x} and odour emissions were reduced. Four different teams measured odour concentrations in the treated air. There were differences of factor 10 between the results even when the teams analysed the same sample with the same olfactometer. These results suggest to improve the methodology of odour measurements at least for this application. (orig.)

  6. Effects of thickness on the statistical properties of the Barkhausen noise in amorphous films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Santi, L. [Departamento de Fisica, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, 97105-900, Santa Maria, RS (Brazil); Bohn, F. [Departamento de Fisica, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, 97105-900, Santa Maria, RS (Brazil); Viegas, A.D.C. [Departamento de Fisica, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, 97105-900, Santa Maria, RS (Brazil); Durin, G. [Istituto Elettrotecnico Nazionale Galileo Ferraris, Turin (Italy); Magni, A. [Istituto Elettrotecnico Nazionale Galileo Ferraris, Turin (Italy); Bonin, R. [Istituto Elettrotecnico Nazionale Galileo Ferraris, Turin (Italy); Zapperi, S. [Istituto dei Sistemi Complessi-CNR, Roma (Italy); Sommer, R.L. [Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Fisicas, 22290-180, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)]. E-mail: sommer@cbpf.br

    2006-10-01

    The statistical properties of the Barkhausen noise (BN) in thin amorphous films are studied as a function of both the nominal composition and the thickness. BN was observed in single films with nominal compositions Fe{sub 73.5}Cu{sub 1}Nb{sub 3}Si{sub 22.5-x}B{sub x} (with x=4 and 9) in the thickness range 20nm-5{mu}m. The distributions of Barkhausen jump sizes and duration times were obtained and fitted to power laws with critical exponents {tau}=1.25+/-0.05 and {alpha}=1.60+/-0.05, respectively.

  7. A comparative study of charge trapping in HfO{sub 2}/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} and ZrO{sub 2}/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} based multilayered metal/high-k/oxide/Si structures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Spassov, D., E-mail: d_spassov@abv.bg [Institute of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Tzarigradsko Chaussee 72, Sofia 1784 (Bulgaria); Skeparovski, A. [Institute of Physics, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University “Ss. Cyril and Methodius”, Arhimedova 3, 1000 Skopje (Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of); Paskaleva, A. [Institute of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Tzarigradsko Chaussee 72, Sofia 1784 (Bulgaria); Novkovski, N. [Institute of Physics, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University “Ss. Cyril and Methodius”, Arhimedova 3, 1000 Skopje (Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of)

    2016-09-01

    The electrical properties of multilayered HfO{sub 2}/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/HfO{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2} and ZrO{sub 2}/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/ZrO{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2} metal-oxide semiconductor capacitors were investigated in order to evaluate the possibility of their application in charge-trapping non-volatile memory devices. The stacks were deposited by reactive radiofrequency magnetron sputtering on Si substrates with thermal SiO{sub 2} with a thickness ranging from 2 to 5 nm. Both types of stacks show negative initial oxide charge and its density is higher for HfO{sub 2}-based structures. Memory window up to 6V at sweeping voltage range of ± 16V was obtained for HfO{sub 2}-based stacks. The hysteresis in these structures is mainly due to a trapping of electrons injected from the Si substrate. The charge-trapping properties of ZrO{sub 2}-based samples are compromised by the high leakage currents and the dielectric breakdown. The conduction through the capacitors at low applied voltages results from hopping of thermally excited electrons from one isolated state to another. The energy depth of the traps participating in the hopping conduction was determined as ~ 0.7 eV for the HfO{sub 2}-based layers and ~ 0.6 eV for ZrO{sub 2}-based ones, originating from negatively charged oxygen vacancies. At high electric fields, the current voltage characteristics were interpreted in terms of space charge limited currents, Fowler–Nordheim tunneling, Schottky emission, and Poole–Frenkel mechanism. The charge retention characteristics do not depend on the thickness of the tunnel SiO{sub 2}. - Highlights: • Sputtered HfO{sub 2}/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/HfO{sub 2} and ZrO{sub 2}/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/ZrO{sub 2} charge-trapping layers were studied. • HfO{sub 2}/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/HfO{sub 2} stacks show memory window up to 6 V and good retention times. • Negatively charged oxygen vacancies were identified as main defects in the stacks. • Electrical breakdown compromise the charge-trapping properties

  8. Local rhombohedral symmetry in Tb{sub 0.3}Dy{sub 0.7}Fe{sub 2} near the morphotropic phase boundary

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ma, Tianyu, E-mail: maty@zju.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Novel Materials for Information Technology of Zhejiang Province, Cyrus Tang Center for Sensor Materials and Applications, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027 (China); Ferroic Physics Group, National Institute for Materials Science, 1-2-1 Sengen, Tsukuba 305-0047, Ibaraki (Japan); Liu, Xiaolian; Pan, Xingwen; Li, Xiang; Jiang, Yinzhu; Yan, Mi, E-mail: mse-yanmi@zju.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Novel Materials for Information Technology of Zhejiang Province, Cyrus Tang Center for Sensor Materials and Applications, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027 (China); Li, Huiying; Fang, Minxia [Multi-disciplinary Materials Research Center, Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710049 (China); Ren, Xiaobing, E-mail: ren.xiaobing@nims.go.jp [Ferroic Physics Group, National Institute for Materials Science, 1-2-1 Sengen, Tsukuba 305-0047, Ibaraki (Japan); Multi-disciplinary Materials Research Center, Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710049 (China)

    2014-11-10

    The recently reported morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) in a number of giant magnetostrictive materials (GMMs) has drawn considerable interest to the local symmetry/structure near MPB region of these materials. In this letter, by in-situ X-ray diffraction and AC magnetic susceptibility measurements, we show that Tb{sub 0.3}Dy{sub 0.7}Fe{sub 2}, the typical composition of Terfenol-D GMMs, has coexistence of rhombohedral and tetragonal phases over a wide temperature range in the vicinity of MPB. High resolution transmission electron microscopy provides direct evidence for local rhombohedral symmetry of the ferromagnetic phase and reveals regular-shaped nanoscale domains below 10 nm. The nano-sized structural/magnetic domains are hierarchically inside a single micron-sized stripe-like domain with the same average magnetization direction. Such domain structures are consistent with the low magnetocrystalline anisotropy and easy magnetic/structural domain switching under magnetic field, thus generating large magnetostriction at low field.

  9. Conducting, magnetic polyaniline/Ba{sub 0.25}Sr{sub 0.75} Fe{sub 11}(Ni{sub 0.5}Mn{sub 0.5})O{sub 19} nanocomposite: Fabrication, characterization and application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ezzati, S. Noushin, E-mail: sn.ezzati@iau-saveh.ac.ir [Young Researchers and Elite Club, Saveh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Saveh (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Rabbani, Mahboubeh [Department of Chemistry, Iran University of Science and Technology, Narmak, Tehran 16846-13114 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Leblanc, Roger M. [Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124 (United States); Asadi, Ebadullah, E-mail: ebadasadi@gmail.com [Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124 (United States); Department of Chemistry, Amirkabir University of Technology, P. O. Box: 15875-4413, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Ezzati, S. Mohammad H. [Young Researchers and Elite Club, Saveh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Saveh (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Rahimi, Rahmatollah [Department of Chemistry, Iran University of Science and Technology, Narmak, Tehran 16846-13114 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Azodi-Deilami, Saman [Young Researchers and Elite Club, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2015-10-15

    In this contribution, Ni/Mn doped Barium Strontium Ferrite nanoparticles (Ba{sub 0.25}Sr{sub 0.75}Fe{sub 11}(Ni{sub 0.5}Mn{sub 0.5})O{sub 19}) and conducting polyaniline/Ba{sub 0.25}Sr{sub 0.75}Fe{sub 11}(Ni{sub 0.5}Mn{sub 0.5})O{sub 19} nanocomposite were fabricated successfully through sol–gel method and in-situ polymerization technique, respectively. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis (EDX), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Mössbauer spectroscopic measurements and Fourier transform infrared spectroscope (FT-IR) analyses were adopted to confirm the composition, morphology and structure of materials. The obtained results revealed the formation of hexagonal M-type rod-shape ferrite with average particle size of about 45 nm (according to XRD data, using Debye–Scherre formula). The saturation magnetization of ferrite nanoparticles and PANI/Ferrite nanocomposite reported 44.03 and 9.85 emu/g, respectively, using vibrant sample magnetometer (VSM). Standard four-point-probe technique was employed to measure the conductivity of samples. Also optical characteristic of samples was examined by means of UV–Vis and Diffuse Reflectance Spectra (DRS) techniques which proved the formation of conducting coating of emeraldine on the surface of magnetic nanoparticles. Also the UV–vis studies indicated that the ferrite nanoparticles have an optical band gap of 1.8 eV while the values of 1.65 and 2.66 eV obtained for PANI/Ferrite nanocomposite. Finally, the microwave absorption properties of prepared nanoferrite and nanocomposite at different thicknesses (2, 3 and 4 mm) were determined at the X-band (8–12 GHz) using vector network analyzer (VNA). In this study, minimum reflection loss of −21.68 dB and maximum available bandwidth of 4.8 GHz were obtained for PANI/Ferrite (20 wt% ferrite) at the frequency of 10.6 GHz. The results suggested the fabricated nanocomposite could be a suitable candidate for

  10. Compatibility of yttria (Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}) with liquid lithium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mitsuyama, Takaaki; Yoneoka, Toshiaki; Terai, Takayuki; Tanaka, Satoru [Tokyo Univ. (Japan). Faculty of Engineering

    1996-10-01

    Compatibility of Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} sintered specimens with liquid lithium was tested at 773K. No configuration change was observed with a slight increase of thickness for 1419 hr. Lithium-yttrium complex oxide (LiYO{sub 2}) was formed on the surface, and the inner part changed to gray or black nonstoichiometric Y{sub 2}O{sub 3-X} with lower electrical resistibility. It is concluded that Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} has a possibility as a ceramic coating material for liquid blankets if it can be made into a dense coating on the surface of piping materials. (author)

  11. In Situ Investigations of Li-MoS<sub>2sub> with Planar Batteries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wan, Jiayu [Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering; Bao, Wenzhong [Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering and Dept. of Physics; Liu, Yang [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT); Dai, Jiaqi [Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering; Shen, Fei [Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering; Zhou, Lihui [Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering; Cai, Xinghan [Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States). Dept. of Physics; Urban, Daniel [Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering; Li, Yuanyuan [Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering; Jungjohann, Katherine [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT); Fuhrer, Michael S. [Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States). Dept. of Physics; Monash Univ., Melbourne, VIC (Australia). School of Physics; Hu, Liangbing [Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering

    2014-11-25

    For this study, a planar microbattery that enables various in situ measurements of lithiation of 2D materials on the individual-flake scale is developed. A large conductivity increase of thick MoS<sub>2sub> crystallite lithiation due to the formation of a percolative Mo nanoparticle network embedded in a Li<sub>2sub>S matrix is observed. The nanoscale study leads to the development of a novel charging strategy for batteries that largely improves the capacity and cycling performance confirmed in bulk MoS<sub>2sub>/Li coin cells.

  12. Thermoelectric power of Bi and Bi{sub 1{minus}x}Sb{sub x} alloy thin films and superlattices grown by MBE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cho, S; DiVenere, A; Wong, G K; Ketterson, J B; Meyer, J R; Hoffman, C A

    1997-07-01

    The authors have measured the thermoelectric power (TEP) of MBE-grown epitaxial Bi and Bi{sub 1{minus}x} alloy thin films and superlattices as a function of temperature in the range 20--300 K. They have observed that the TEP of a Bi thin film of 1 {micro}m thickness is in good agreement with the bulk single crystal value and that the TEPs for superlattices with 400 {angstrom} and 800 {angstrom} Bi well thicknesses are enhanced over the bulk values. For x = 0.072 and 0.088 in Bi{sub 1{minus}x}Sb{sub x} thin films showing semiconducting behavior, TEP enhancement was observed by a factor of two. However as Bi or Bi{sub 1{minus}x}Sb{sub x} well thickness decreases in superlattice geometry, the TEP decreases, which may be due to unintentional p-type doping.

  13. Sub-micron-scale femtosecond laser ablation using a digital micromirror device

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mills, B; Feinaeugle, M; Sones, C L; Eason, R W; Rizvi, N

    2013-01-01

    Commercial digital multimirror devices offer a cheap and effective alternative to more expensive spatial light modulators for ablation via beam shaping. Here we present femtosecond laser ablation using the digital multimirror device from an Acer C20 Pico Digital Light Projector and show ablation of complex features with feature sizes ranging from sub-wavelength (400 nm) up to ∼30 µm. Simulations are presented that have been used to optimize and understand the experimentally observed resolution. (paper)

  14. Evolution of the electronic structure of C{sub 60}/La{sub 0.67}Sr{sub 0.33}MnO{sub 3} interface

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xie, Haipeng; Niu, Dongmei, E-mail: mayee@csu.edu.cn, E-mail: ygao@pas.rochester.edu; Lyu, Lu; Zhang, Hong; Zhang, Yuhe; Liu, Peng [Institute of Super-Microstructure and Ultrafast Process in Advanced Materials, School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410083 (China); Wang, Peng; Wu, Di [National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures and Department of Physics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); Gao, Yongli, E-mail: mayee@csu.edu.cn, E-mail: ygao@pas.rochester.edu [Institute of Super-Microstructure and Ultrafast Process in Advanced Materials, School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410083 (China); Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627 (United States)

    2016-01-04

    The evolution of the electronic structure at the interface between fullerene (C{sub 60}) and La{sub 0.67}Sr{sub 0.33}MnO{sub 3} (LSMO) has been investigated with ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy. There is a 0.61 eV barrier for the electrons to be injected from LSMO to C{sub 60}. The energy bands keep bending upward with increasing C{sub 60} thickness. A total energy bending of 0.72 eV is observed, changing the C{sub 60} film from n-type to p-type. The n-p transition is ascribed to the diffusion of oxygen from LSMO to C{sub 60} which subsequently strips electrons from C{sub 60}, making the latter p-type. Our results suggest a buffer layer be inserted between the LSMO and C{sub 60} to lower the interface electron barrier and prevent deterioration of the C{sub 60} film in related spintronic devices.

  15. The epitaxial growth and interfacial strain study of VO{sub 2}/MgF{sub 2} (001) films by synchrotron based grazing incidence X-ray diffraction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fan, L.L. [Key Laboratory for Advanced Technology in Environmental Protection of Jiangsu Province, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng 224051 (China); National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029 (China); Chen, S. [National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029 (China); Liu, Q.H. [Science and Technology on Electro-optical Information Security Control Laboratory, Tianjin 300300 (China); Liao, G.M.; Chen, Y.L.; Ren, H. [National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029 (China); Zou, C.W., E-mail: czou@ustc.edu.cn [National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029 (China)

    2016-09-05

    High quality VO{sub 2} films with different thickness were epitaxially grown on MgF{sub 2} (001) substrates by oxide molecular beam epitaxy method. The evolution of interfacial strain was investigated by synchrotron based grazing incidence X-ray diffraction. By adjusting the incidence angles, the penetration depth of X-ray in VO{sub 2} film could be controlled and the thickness-depend lattice distortion in the epitaxial VO{sub 2} film was investigated. Due to the lattice mismatching, the pronounced tensile strain was observed in ultra-thin VO{sub 2} film. As the film thickness increasing, the interfacial strain relaxed gradually and became fully relaxed for thick VO{sub 2} films. Combined with the electric transport measurement, it was revealed that the phase transition temperature of ultra-thin VO{sub 2} film decreased greatly. The effect of interfacial strain induced phase transition modulation and the intrinsic mechanism was systematically discussed. - Highlights: • We prepared high quality VO{sub 2} epitaxial films on MgF{sub 2} (001) substrates by oxide molecular beam epitaxy method. • Synchrotron radiation grazing incidence X-ray diffraction was employed to detect evolution of strain along depth profile. • Based on a classic band structure model, the mechanism of strain controlled phase transition of VO{sub 2} was discussed.

  16. Thickness-dependent spontaneous dewetting morphology of ultrathin Ag films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Krishna, H; Favazza, C [Department of Physics, Washington University in St Louis, MO 63130 (United States); Sachan, R; Strader, J; Kalyanaraman, R [Department of Material Science and Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 (United States); Khenner, M, E-mail: ramki@utk.edu [Department of Mathematics, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY 42101 (United States)

    2010-04-16

    We show here that the morphological pathway of spontaneous dewetting of ultrathin Ag films on SiO{sub 2} under nanosecond laser melting is dependent on film thickness. For films with thickness h of 2 nm {<=} h {<=} 9.5 nm, the morphology during the intermediate stages of dewetting consisted of bicontinuous structures. For films with 11.5 nm {<=} h {<=} 20 nm, the intermediate stages consisted of regularly sized holes. Measurement of the characteristic length scales for different stages of dewetting as a function of film thickness showed a systematic increase, which is consistent with the spinodal dewetting instability over the entire thickness range investigated. This change in morphology with thickness is consistent with observations made previously for polymer films (Sharma and Khanna 1998 Phys. Rev. Lett. 81 3463-6; Seemann et al 2001 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 13 4925-38). Based on the behavior of free energy curvature that incorporates intermolecular forces, we have estimated the morphological transition thickness for the intermolecular forces for Ag on SiO{sub 2}. The theory predictions agree well with observations for Ag. These results show that it is possible to form a variety of complex Ag nanomorphologies in a consistent manner, which could be useful in optical applications of Ag surfaces, such as in surface enhanced Raman sensing.

  17. Tunable colorimetric performance of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}-YAG:Ce{sup 3+} eutectic crystal by Ce{sup 3+} concentration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sai, Qinglin, E-mail: saiql@siom.ac.cn; Xia, Changtai, E-mail: xia_ct@siom.ac.cn

    2017-06-15

    Ce-doped Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}-YAG eutectics with different percentage of Ce were successfully grown by the optical floating zone technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to investigate the structure. The results show that they have typical eutectic structure of interpenetrating sapphire and garnet phases with the tens of microns lamella spacing. The photoluminescence spectra of the eutectics showed that they have wide excitation band, and samples with 1.6 mol% Ce-doped has the highest emission intensity. The eutectic-packaged LED has high luminous efficiency and its color can be modulated by changing Ce concentration. The results reveal that Ce-doped Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}-YAG eutectic is a promising phosphor for white LED applications.

  18. Surface crystallization in a Li{sub 2}O-ZrO{sub 2}-SiO{sub 2}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} glass; Cristalizacao de superficie em vidro do sistema Li{sub 2}O-ZrO{sub 2}-SiO{sub 2}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oliveira, Antonio Pedro Novaes de; Teixeira, Alexandre Henrique Bortolotto; Venturelli, Hugo Henrique, E-mail: bortolotto_teixeira@yahoo.com.br, E-mail: venturellihugo@gmail.com, E-mail: antonio.pedro@ufsc.br [Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (VITROCER/PGMAT/UFSC), Florianopolis, SC (Brazil). Laboratorio de Materiais Vitroceramicos; Montedo, Oscar Rubem Klegues, E-mail: oscar.rkm@gmail.com [Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense (CERTEC/PPGCEM/UNESC), Criciuma, SC (Brazil). Grupo de Pesquisa em Ceramica Tecnica

    2017-04-15

    Growth kinetics of crystallized surface layer in a LZSA glass composition, 11.7Li{sub 2}O·12.6ZrO{sub 2}·68.6SiO{sub 2}·7.1Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} (wt%), was studied. For the production of the LZSA glass, it was used commercial raw materials (Li{sub 2}CO{sub 3}, ZrSiO{sub 4}, SiO{sub 2}, Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}) which were mixed and melted at 1550 °C for 120 min and then poured into a metallic mold. Samples of the obtained glass were cut and subjected to heat treatments at different temperatures (825 - 925 °C) and times (30 - 150 min) for formation and growth of crystalline layer. Cross-sections of the heat-treated samples were ground and polished such that images of the formed crystallized layers could be visualized and measured by microscopy. Results showed that it is possible to obtain LZSA glasses with crystallized layers formed by β-spodumene, zircon and lithium silicate, which present thicknesses between 13 and 665 μ and grow at rates varying from 0.4 to 4.8 μm/min in the studied temperature range. (author)

  19. Oxygen vacancy induced magnetization switching in Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} epitaxial ultrathin films on GaAs(100)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huang, Zhaocong, E-mail: zhaocong.huang@gmail.com [Department of Physics, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189 (China); Spintronics and Nanodevice Laboratory, Department of Electronics, University of York, York YO10 5DD (United Kingdom); School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096 (China); Chen, Qian; Zhai, Ya, E-mail: yazhai@seu.edu.cn, E-mail: jlwang@seu.edu.cn; Wang, Jinlan, E-mail: yazhai@seu.edu.cn, E-mail: jlwang@seu.edu.cn [Department of Physics, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189 (China); Xu, Yongbing [Spintronics and Nanodevice Laboratory, Department of Electronics, University of York, York YO10 5DD (United Kingdom); Wang, Baoping [School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096 (China)

    2015-05-04

    The magnetic and transport properties of half metallic Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}, which are sensitive to the stoichiometry, are the key issue for applications in spintronics. An anomalous enlargement of the saturation magnetic moment is found in a relatively thick sample of epitaxial Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} film by post-growth oxidation method. The investigation of the thickness dependence of magnetic moment suggests that the enhanced magnetism moment may come from the existence of oxygen vacancies. First-principles calculations reveal that with oxygen vacancies in Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} crystal the spin of Fe ions in the tetrahedron site near the vacancy is much easier to switch parallel to the Fe ions in the octahedron site by temperature disturbance, supported by the temperature dependence of magnetic moment of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} films in experiment.

  20. Preferential orientation relationships in Ca{sub 2}MnO{sub 4} Ruddlesden-Popper thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lacotte, M.; David, A.; Prellier, W., E-mail: wilfrid.prellier@ensicaen.fr [Laboratoire CRISMAT, CNRS UMR 6508, ENSICAEN, Université de Basse-Normandie, 6 Bd Maréchal Juin, F-14050 Caen Cedex 4 (France); Rohrer, G. S.; Salvador, P. A. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213 (United States)

    2015-07-28

    A high-throughput investigation of local epitaxy (called combinatorial substrate epitaxy) was carried out on Ca{sub 2}MnO{sub 4} Ruddlesden-Popper thin films of six thicknesses (from 20 to 400 nm), all deposited on isostructural polycrystalline Sr{sub 2}TiO{sub 4} substrates. Electron backscatter diffraction revealed grain-over-grain local epitaxial growth for all films, resulting in a single orientation relationship (OR) for each substrate-film grain pair. Two preferred epitaxial ORs accounted for more than 90% of all ORs on 300 different microcrystals, based on analyzing 50 grain pairs for each thickness. The unit cell over unit cell OR ([100][001]{sub film} ∥ [100][001]{sub substrate}, or OR1) accounted for approximately 30% of each film. The OR that accounted for 60% of each film ([100][001]{sub film} ∥ [100][010]{sub substrate}, or OR2) corresponds to a rotation from OR1 by 90° about the a-axis. OR2 is strongly favored for substrate orientations in the center of the stereographic triangle, and OR1 is observed for orientations very close to (001) or to those near the edge connecting (100) and (110). While OR1 should be lower in energy, the majority observation of OR2 implies kinetic hindrances decrease the frequency of OR1. Persistent grain over grain growth and the absence of variations of the OR frequencies with thickness implies that the growth competition is finished within the first few nm, and local epitaxy persists thereafter during growth.

  1. Co{sub 100−x}Fe{sub x} magnetic thick films prepared by electrodeposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aguirre, M. del C., E-mail: carmenaguirre@famaf.unc.edu.ar [Instituto de Física Enrique Gaviola-Conicet-Facultad de Matemática, Astronomía y Física, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Ciudad Universitaria, 5000 Córdoba (Argentina); Farías, E. [Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Ciudad Universitaria, 5000 Córdoba (Argentina); Abraham, J.; Urreta, S.E. [Facultad de Matemática, Astronomía y Física, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Ciudad Universitaria, 5000 Córdoba (Argentina)

    2015-04-05

    Highlights: • Low iron containing films are compact, with rounded, relatively uniform surfaces. • Larger Fe contents exhibit nanowall networks covering the surface. • Coercivity in the out of plane configuration is larger than in the easy axis direction. • Co-rich films nucleate and grow by a 3DP diffusion controlled mechanism. • For equiatomic Fe{sub 50}Co{sub 50} films, nucleation tends to become instantaneous. - Abstract: Co–Fe films are grown onto plane pre-treated Cu foils; the effects of the alloy composition on the morphology and the crystal texture of the electrodeposited films and their anisotropic magnetic hysteresis properties are explored. Nucleation and crystallization mechanisms in these Co-rich layers are also investigated with pulse-reverse plating techniques, using the first cathodic pulse current–time transients. In the diffusion controlled regime the deposition mechanism is found to involve progressive nucleation with three-dimensional (3D) growth, except for the equiatomic Fe{sub 50}Co{sub 50} solution where nucleation tends to become instantaneous. The different morphologies and size scales observed are described and correlated with coercivity. The films are electrodeposited onto electrochemically pre-treated Cu substrates from feeds of nominal Fe/Co mol ratios between 0/100 and 50/50. The composition of the deposited layers, as determined by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, are quite close to the nominal values. Cyclic voltammetry determinations exhibit only a single reduction process on the cathode, indicating that a unique (Co{sub 100−x}Fe{sub x}) phase grows. Depending on composition and on the substrate pre-treatment, these layers exhibit textures with features of different sizes. X ray diffraction patterns indicate that the nanostructures with Fe contents above 20 at.% crystallize in a body-centered cubic cell, while samples with Fe contents below this value are fcc. Regarding the effect of composition on the

  2. Balloon observations of galactic and extragalactic objects at 100 microns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffmann, W. F.

    1972-01-01

    Recent far-infrared balloon-borne instruments have yielded observations of a number of bright sources at 100 microns. Many of these coincide with HII regions where molecular line emision has been detected. There is some indication of 100 micron emission which does not coincide with radio measurements.

  3. Central Corneal Thickness Measurements in Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy Patients: A Controlled Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jabaly-Habib, Haneen; Naftali, Modi; Habib, George

    2014-01-01

    Purpose. To measure central corneal thickness (CCT) in patients with history of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). Patients and Methods. Patients older than 40 years with a history of NAION (group 1) were prospectively evaluated including full eye examination and central corneal thickness (CCT) pachymetry. Patients with a history of intraocular surgery, corneal disease, glaucoma, and contact lens wear were excluded. Measurements were also performed in a gender and age matched control group (group 2). Results. Thirty-one eyes of 31 NAION patients in group 1 were included and 30 eyes of 30 participants in group 2. There were 15 men in group 1 and 9 in group 2 (P = 0.141), and mean age of the patients was 59 ± 10 years in group 1 versus 61 ± 11 years in group 2 (P = 0.708). Mean CCT was 539 ± 30 microns in group 1 and 550 ± 33 microns in group 2 (P = 0.155). Conclusion. Patients with NAION have no special characteristic of CCT in contrast to the crowded optic disc known to be a significant anatomic risk factor for NAION. More studies should be carried out to investigate CCT and other structure related elements in NAION patients. PMID:24804080

  4. Reusable bi-directional 3ω sensor to measure thermal conductivity of 100-μm thick biological tissues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lubner, Sean D.; Choi, Jeunghwan; Wehmeyer, Geoff; Waag, Bastian; Mishra, Vivek; Natesan, Harishankar; Bischof, John C.; Dames, Chris

    2015-01-01

    Accurate knowledge of the thermal conductivity (k) of biological tissues is important for cryopreservation, thermal ablation, and cryosurgery. Here, we adapt the 3ω method—widely used for rigid, inorganic solids—as a reusable sensor to measure k of soft biological samples two orders of magnitude thinner than conventional tissue characterization methods. Analytical and numerical studies quantify the error of the commonly used "boundary mismatch approximation" of the bi-directional 3ω geometry, confirm that the generalized slope method is exact in the low-frequency limit, and bound its error for finite frequencies. The bi-directional 3ω measurement device is validated using control experiments to within ±2% (liquid water, standard deviation) and ±5% (ice). Measurements of mouse liver cover a temperature ranging from -69 °C to +33 °C. The liver results are independent of sample thicknesses from 3 mm down to 100 μm and agree with available literature for non-mouse liver to within the measurement scatter.

  5. Study on the Heating Behavior of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}-Embedded Thermoplastic Polyurethane Adhesive Film via Induction heating

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bae, Duck Hwan; Shon, Min Young [Pukyong National University, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Oh, Sang Taek; Kim, Gu Ni [Korea Institute of Footwear and Leather Technology, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-08-15

    The heating behavior of thermoplastic polyurethane adhesive (TPU) embedded by nanometer or micrometer Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} particle is examined by induction heating. The effects of the size and the amount of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} particle, TPU film thickness, and input power of the induction heater were examined on heating behaviors of TPU. The quantity of heat generated in the TPU films increased with the amount of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} particles, film thickness, or input power. On the other hand, the quantity of heat generation of TPU is decreased with increasing Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} size. We confirmed that the mechanism of hysteresis led to heat loss in the nanometer and micrometer-sized Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} particles, and it was the key controller of the quantity of heat generated in the Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} particle-embedded TPU films by induction heating.

  6. Multilayer As{sub 2}Se{sub 3}/GeS{sub 2} quarter wave structures for photonic applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Todorov, R; Tasseva, J; Babeva, Tz; Petkov, K, E-mail: rossen@clf.bas.b [Institute of Optical Materials and Technologies ' Acad. J. Malinowski' , Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Str., bl.109, 1113 Sofia (Bulgaria)

    2010-12-22

    The optical properties of single layers from As{sub 2}Se{sub 3} and GeS{sub 2}, double-layered stack and quarter-wave multilayer structure consisting of alternating layers from both materials are investigated. For modelling of multilayer coating the thickness dependence of the refractive index of single coatings from both materials is studied. The particularities and scope of application of different spectrophotometric methods for calculation of optical parameters of thin chalcogenide layers are discussed for film thickness, d, in the range {lambda}/25-1.5{lambda} ({lambda} being the operating wavelength). Having acquired the knowledge of optical parameters (refractive index, n, and extinction coefficient, k) of the single layers, we designed and produced a one-dimensional photonic crystal with fundamental reflection band at {lambda} = 850 nm. It was shown that the photoinduced changes of the refractive index of thin chalcogenide films can be used for enhancement of the optical contrast of both materials.

  7. Growth of ultrathin twin-free b-oriented YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7} {sub –} {sub x} films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stepantsov, E. A., E-mail: stepantsov@ns.crys.ras.ru [Russian Academy of Sciences, Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography, Federal Scientific Research Centre “Crystallography and Photonics,” (Russian Federation); Arpaia, R.; Lombardi, F. [Chalmers University of Technology, Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience (Sweden)

    2017-01-15

    Twin-free b-oriented YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7–x} films with a thickness less than 40 nm have been epitaxially grown on (100)SrLaGaO{sub 4} crystals. Based on the temperature dependence of resistance, the onset temperature of the transition to the superconducting state is found to be 90 K; the transition width is 4 K. The film growth has been performed in two stages. A (100)PrBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7–x} buffer layer was previously grown on a (100)SrLaGaO{sub 4} substrate by rf magnetron sputtering in an Ar–O{sub 2} gas mixture at a continuous and monotonic increase in temperature from 660 to 830°C. The main YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7–x} film was grown on the buffer layer surface by pulsed laser deposition in an oxygen medium at a fixed temperature (800°C). The above processes were implemented in different chambers, which were connected by a vacuum channel for transporting samples. Both films were grown in situ, without contacting atmosphere in all growth stages. An X-ray diffraction study has shown that the YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7–x} films are single-crystal and free of precipitates of other phases and domains of other orientations.

  8. Sub-Grid Modeling of Electrokinetic Effects in Micro Flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, C. P.

    2005-01-01

    Advances in micro-fabrication processes have generated tremendous interests in miniaturizing chemical and biomedical analyses into integrated microsystems (Lab-on-Chip devices). To successfully design and operate the micro fluidics system, it is essential to understand the fundamental fluid flow phenomena when channel sizes are shrink to micron or even nano dimensions. One important phenomenon is the electro kinetic effect in micro/nano channels due to the existence of the electrical double layer (EDL) near a solid-liquid interface. Not only EDL is responsible for electro-osmosis pumping when an electric field parallel to the surface is imposed, EDL also causes extra flow resistance (the electro-viscous effect) and flow anomaly (such as early transition from laminar to turbulent flow) observed in pressure-driven microchannel flows. Modeling and simulation of electro-kinetic effects on micro flows poses significant numerical challenge due to the fact that the sizes of the double layer (10 nm up to microns) are very thin compared to channel width (can be up to 100 s of m). Since the typical thickness of the double layer is extremely small compared to the channel width, it would be computationally very costly to capture the velocity profile inside the double layer by placing sufficient number of grid cells in the layer to resolve the velocity changes, especially in complex, 3-d geometries. Existing approaches using "slip" wall velocity and augmented double layer are difficult to use when the flow geometry is complicated, e.g. flow in a T-junction, X-junction, etc. In order to overcome the difficulties arising from those two approaches, we have developed a sub-grid integration method to properly account for the physics of the double layer. The integration approach can be used on simple or complicated flow geometries. Resolution of the double layer is not needed in this approach, and the effects of the double layer can be accounted for at the same time. With this

  9. Enhanced photocatalytic activity towards degradation and H{sub 2} evolution over one dimensional TiO{sub 2}@MWCNTs heterojunction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Xiao [CAS Key Laboratory of Standardization and Measurement for Nanotechnology, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190 (China); Key Laboratory of Luminescence and Optical Information of the Ministry of Education Institute of Optoelectronics Technology, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044 (China); Cao, Shuang; Wu, Zhijiao [CAS Key Laboratory of Standardization and Measurement for Nanotechnology, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190 (China); Zhao, Suling, E-mail: slzhao@bjtu.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Luminescence and Optical Information of the Ministry of Education Institute of Optoelectronics Technology, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044 (China); Piao, Lingyu, E-mail: piaoly@nanoctr.cn [CAS Key Laboratory of Standardization and Measurement for Nanotechnology, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190 (China)

    2017-04-30

    Highlights: • One dimensional TiO{sub 2}@MWCNTs core-shell photocatalyst constructed. • The TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles are highly dispersed on the MWCNTs. • The layer thickness adjusted for different nanocomposites. • The 1D heterojunction enhancing electron transfers. - Abstract: With the distinct electronic and optical properties, multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are identified as an outstanding catalyst support, which can effectively improve the performance of the TiO{sub 2} photocatalysts. Herein, the unique one dimensional TiO{sub 2}@MWCNTs nanocomposites have been prepared by a facile hydrothermal method. The TiO{sub 2} coating layers are extremely uniform and the thickness is adjustable for different nanocomposites. XPS measurements confirm that intimate electronic interactions are existed between MWCNTs and TiO{sub 2} via interfacial Ti−O−C bond and the photoluminescence intensity of the TiO{sub 2}@MWCNTs nanocomposites are effectively quenched compared with pure TiO{sub 2}, suggesting the fast electron transfer rates. The thickness of TiO{sub 2} coating layers of the TiO{sub 2}@MWCNTs nanocomposites plays a significant role in the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants, such as methylene blue (MB) and Rhodamine B (RhB), and photocatalytic H{sub 2} evolution from water. Due to the formation of one dimensional heterojunction of TiO{sub 2}@MWCNTs nanocomposites and the positive synergistic effect between TiO{sub 2} and carbon nanotubes, it is found that the photocatalytic activity of the system is significantly improved.

  10. Biological H{sub 2} from syngas and from H{sub 2}O

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weaver, P.; Maness, P.C.; Markov, S.; Martin, S. [National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)

    1996-10-01

    The two stand-alone objectives of the research are to economically produce neat H{sub 2} in the near term from biomass (thermally gasified to syngas) and in the mid term from H{sub 2}O using cyanobacteria or algae with an oxygen-tolerant bacterial hydrogenase. Photosynthetic bacteria have four different terminal enzymes that mediate their H{sub 2} metabolisms-nitrogenase, uptake hydrogenase, fermentative hydrogenase, and carbon monoxide-linked hydrogenase. Each has been microbiologically and biochemically examined for their potential to specifically generate H{sub 2} in large-scale processes. Based on measurements of maximal activities, stabilities, energy requirements, equilibria, and partial pressures of the H{sub 2} producing reactions, the CO-linked hydrogenase is easily the most suited for practical applications. The enzyme mediates H{sub 2} production from CO at rates up to 1.5 mmol/min/g cell dry weight at near ambient temperature and pressure. Hydrogen can be produced and evolved at linear rates up to at least 2 atmospheres of partial pressure (100% CO). The rate-limiting step with high cell density suspensions is the mass transfer of CO into the aqueous phase. Bioreactor designs have been examined which enhance the mass transfer. Hollow-fiber bioreactors with bacterial cells immobilized on the fiber surfaces evolve H{sub 2} at ambient pressure at rates of about 0.3-0.7 mmol/min/g cdw. One such reactor has been producing H{sub 2} from CO continuously for 9 months with only occasional changes of liquid medium. A trickle-filter reactor with bacteria immobilized on beads removed from a bulk water phase and a pumped-bubble coil reactor with bacteria in suspension are also being examined.

  11. Bench-scale testing of a micronized magnetite, fine-coal cleaning process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Suardini, P.J. [Custom Coals, International, Pittsburgh, PA (United States)

    1995-11-01

    Custom Coals, International has installed and is presently testing a 500 lb/hr. micronized-magnetite, fine-coal cleaning circuit at PETC`s Process Research Facility (PRF). The cost-shared project was awarded as part of the Coal Preparation Program`s, High Efficiency Preparation Subprogram. The project includes design, construction, testing, and decommissioning of a fully-integrated, bench-scale circuit, complete with feed coal classification to remove the minus 30 micron slimes, dense medium cycloning of the 300 by 30 micron feed coal using a nominal minus 10 micron size magnetite medium, and medium recovery using drain and rinse screens and various stages and types of magnetic separators. This paper describes the project circuit and goals, including a description of the current project status and the sources of coal and magnetite which are being tested.

  12. Development, Validation, and Potential Enhancements to the Second-Generation Operational Aerosol Product at the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stowe, Larry L.; Ignatov, Alexander M.; Singh, Ramdas R.

    1997-01-01

    A revised (phase 2) single-channel algorithm for aerosol optical thickness, tau(sup A)(sub SAT), retrieval over oceans from radiances in channel 1 (0.63 microns) of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) has been implemented at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service for the NOAA 14 satellite launched December 30, 1994. It is based on careful validation of its operational predecessor (phase 1 algorithm), implemented for NOAA 14 in 1989. Both algorithms scale the upward satellite radiances in cloud-free conditions to aerosol optical thickness using an updated radiative transfer model of the ocean and atmosphere. Application of the phase 2 algorithm to three matchup Sun-photometer and satellite data sets, one with NOAA 9 in 1988 and two with NOAA 11 in 1989 and 1991, respectively, show systematic error is less than 10%, with a random error of sigma(sub tau) approx. equal 0.04. First results of tau(sup A)(sub SAT) retrievals from NOAA 14 using the phase 2 algorithm, and from checking its internal consistency, are presented. The potential two-channel (phase 3) algorithm for the retrieval of an aerosol size parameter, such as the Junge size distribution exponent, by adding either channel 2 (0.83 microns) from the current AVHRR instrument, or a 1.6-microns channel to be available on the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission and the NOAA-KLM satellites by 1997 is under investigation. The possibility of using this additional information in the retrieval of a more accurate estimate of aerosol optical thickness is being explored.

  13. Yttrium-enriched YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub x} thin films for coated conductors fabricated by pulsed laser deposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khoryushin, Alexey V., E-mail: khoryushin@ya.ru [Department of Physics, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark); Mozhaev, Peter B.; Mozhaeva, Julia E.; Andersen, Niels H. [Department of Physics, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark); Grivel, Jean-Claude [Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical University of Denmark, DK-4000 Roskilde (Denmark); Hansen, Jørn Bindslev; Jacobsen, Claus S. [Department of Physics, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark)

    2013-02-14

    Highlights: ► YBCO films were fabricated by PLD from targets of various elemental compositions. ► The Y-enriched films contain yttria nanoparticles which provide efficient pinning. ► The best film has 5.5× higher j{sub c}(5 T,50 K) = 2.6MA/cm{sup 2} comparing with a reference film. ► The Y-enriched films remain c-oriented up to 500 nm. ► Films demonstrate no j{sub c} suppression with thickness and remarkable stability with time. -- Abstract: The effects of excess yttria on the structural and electrical properties of the YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub x} (YBCO) thin films are studied. The films were deposited on (LaAlO{sub 3}){sub 0.3}–(Sr{sub 2}AlTaO{sub 8}){sub 0.7} substrates by pulsed laser ablation from targets with different elemental composition. An increase of yttrium content of the target leads to formation of porous films with significantly improved current-carrying capabilities. Structural studies of these films reveal presence of yttria nanoparticles embedded into the YBCO matrix. The highest obtained critical current density in an external magnetic field of 5 T was 2.6 MA/cm{sup 2} at 50 K and 9.4 MA/cm{sup 2} at 20 K. The fabricated Y-enriched YBCO films remain c-oriented at least up to 600 nm thickness with no significant suppression of the critical current density.

  14. Structural, transport and microwave properties of 123/sapphire films: Thickness effect

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Predtechensky, MR.; Smal, A.N.; Varlamov, Y.D. [Institute of Thermophysics, Novosibirsk (Russian Federation)] [and others

    1994-12-31

    The effect of thickness and growth conditions on the structure and microwave properties has been investigated for the 123/sapphire films. It has been shown that in the conditions of epitaxial growth and Al atoms do not diffuse from substrate into the film and the films with thickness up to 100nm exhibit the excellent DC properties. The increase of thickness of GdBaCuO films causes the formation of extended line-mesh defects and the increase of the surface resistance (R{sub S}). The low value of surface resistance R{sub S}(75GHz,77K)=20 mOhm has been obtained for the two layer YBaCuO/CdBaCuO/sapphire films.

  15. Thermoelectric properties of In{sub 0.2}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} skutterudites with embedded PbTe or ZnO nanoparticles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chubilleau, C.; Lenoir, B.; Candolfi, C.; Masschelein, P. [Université de Lorraine, CNRS, UMR 7198, Institut Jean Lamour, Parc de Saurupt, 54011 Nancy (France); Dauscher, A., E-mail: anne.dauscher@univ-lorraine.fr [Université de Lorraine, CNRS, UMR 7198, Institut Jean Lamour, Parc de Saurupt, 54011 Nancy (France); Guilmeau, E. [Laboratoire CRISMAT, UMR 6508, 6 boulevard Maréchal Juin, 14050 Caen Cedex (France); Godart, C. [ICMPE-CMTR, CNRS-UMR 7182, 2-8 rue H. Dunant, 94320 Thiais (France)

    2014-03-15

    Highlights: • Fabrication of nanostructured skutterudites ZnO or PbTe/In{sub 0.2}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12.} • Thermal conductivity modeling accounts for experimental results. • Greater lattice thermal conductivity decrease in In{sub 0.2}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} than in CoSb{sub 3}. • A max ZT of 1.05 is obtained at 700 K in a 2 wt% ZnO-containing sample. -- Abstract: Transport properties of the skutterudite compound In{sub 0.2}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} containing ZnO or PbTe nano-sized particles (2–12 wt%) were investigated by means of electrical resistivity, thermopower and thermal conductivity between 5 and 800 K. The composite powders were prepared by freeze-drying the nanoparticles with micron-sized In{sub 0.2}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} powders. Densification was achieved by spark plasma sintering. All composites were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. All the transport coefficients show similar temperature dependences suggesting little influence of the nature, semiconducting or insulating, of the nanoparticles. Both the electrical and the thermal conductivities decrease with increasing the PbTe or ZnO content. The impact of ZnO and PbTe on the thermal conductivity was modelled based on the Debye model taking into account a relaxation time constant reflecting phonon scattering by spherical nanoparticles. A maximum dimensionless figure of merit ZT of 1.05 at 700 K was achieved in a sample containing 2 wt% ZnO, a value quite similar to that of the reference In{sub 0.2}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} compound.

  16. 8- to 13-micron spectrophotometry of Comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feierberg, M. A.; Witteborn, F. C.; Johnson, J. R.; Campins, H.

    1984-01-01

    Spectrophotometry between 8.0 and 13.0 microns at 2 percent spectral resolution is presented for areas in and near the nuclear condensation of Comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock (1983d) on May 11 and 12, 1983. All the spectra can be fit very well by blackbody curves, and no 10-micron silicate emissions are seen. The temperature structure of the coma suggests the presence of small (radii less than 5 microns) dust particles within 150 km of the nucleus and larger ones further out. The change in the spatial distribution of the infrared flux between the two nights suggests that an outburst may have occurred sometime on May 11.

  17. CuInS{sub 2} thin films obtained through the annealing of chemically deposited In{sub 2}S{sub 3}-CuS thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pena, Y., E-mail: yolapm@gmail.com [Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Pedro de Alba S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, 66451, San Nicolas de los Garza, Nuevo Leon (Mexico); Lugo, S. [Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Pedro de Alba S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, 66451, San Nicolas de los Garza, Nuevo Leon (Mexico); Calixto-Rodriguez, M. [Centro de Investigacion en Energia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Privada Xochicalco S/N, Col Centro, 62580, Temixco, Morelos (Mexico); Vazquez, A.; Gomez, I.; Elizondo, P. [Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Pedro de Alba S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, 66451, San Nicolas de los Garza, Nuevo Leon (Mexico)

    2011-01-01

    In this work, we report the formation of CuInS{sub 2} thin films on glass substrates by heating chemically deposited multilayers of copper sulfide (CuS) and indium sulfide (In{sub 2}S{sub 3}) at 300 and 350 deg. C in nitrogen atmosphere at 10 Torr. CIS thin films were prepared by varying the CuS layer thickness in the multilayers with indium sulfide. The XRD analysis showed that the crystallographic structure of the CuInS{sub 2} (JCPDS 27-0159) is present on the deposited films. From the optical analysis it was estimated the band gap value for the CIS film (1.49 eV). The electrical conductivity varies from 3 x 10{sup -8} to 3 {Omega}{sup -1} cm{sup -1} depending on the thickness of the CuS film. CIS films showed p-type conductivity.

  18. Structural Biology Insight for the Design of Sub-type Selective Aurora Kinase Inhibitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarvagalla, Sailu; Coumar, Mohane Selvaraj

    2015-01-01

    Aurora kinase A, B and C, are key regulators of mitosis and are over expressed in many of the human cancers, making them an ideal drug target for cancer chemotherapy. Currently, over a dozen of Aurora kinase inhibitors are in various phases of clinical development. The majority of the inhibitors (VX-680/MK-0457, PHA-739358, CYC116, SNS-314, AMG 900, AT-9283, SCH- 1473759, ABT-348, PF-03814735, R-763/AS-703569, KW-2449 and TAK-901) are pan-selective (isoform non-selective) and few are Aurora A (MLN8054, MLN8237, VX-689/MK5108 and ENMD 2076) and Aurora B (AZD1152 and GSK1070916) sub-type selective. Despite the intensive research efforts in the past decade, no Aurora kinase inhibitor has reached the market. Recent evidence suggests that the sub-type selective Aurora kinase A inhibitor could possess advantages over pan-selective Aurora inhibitors, by avoiding Aurora B mediated neutropenia. However, sub-type selective Aurora kinase A inhibitor design is very challenging due to the similarity in the active site among the isoforms. Structural biology and computational aspects pertaining to the design of Aurora kinase inhibitors were analyzed and found that a possible means to develop sub-type selective inhibitor is by targeting Aurora A specific residues (Leu215, Thr217 and Arg220) or Aurora B specific residues (Arg159, Glu161 and Lys164), near the solvent exposed region of the protein. Particularly, a useful strategy for the design of sub-type selective Aurora A inhibitor could be by targeting Thr217 residue as in the case of MLN8054. Further preclinical and clinical studies with the sub-type selective Aurora inhibitors could help bring them to the market for the treatment of cancer.

  19. Morphology changes in human lung epithelial cells after exposure to diesel exhaust micron sub particles (PM1.0) and pollen allergens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Esposito, V.; Lucariello, A.; Savarese, L.; Cinelli, M.P.; Ferraraccio, F.; Bianco, A.; De Luca, A.; Mazzarella, G.

    2012-01-01

    In the recent literature there has been an increased interest in the effects of particulate matter on the respiratory tract. The objective of this study was to use an in vitro model of type II lung epithelium (A549) to evaluate the cell ability to take up sub-micron PM 1.0 particles (PM 1.0 ), Parietaria officinalis (ALL), and PM 1.0 + ALL together. Morphological analysis performed by Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) showed that PM and ALL interacted with the cell surface, then penetrating into the cytoplasm. Each single treatment was able to point out a specific change in the morphology. The cells treated appear healthy and not apoptotic. The main effect was the increase of: multilamellar bodies, lysosomal enzymes, microvilli, and presence of vesicle/vacuoles containing particles. These observations demonstrate morphological and functional alterations related to the PM 1.0 and P. officinalis and confirm the induction of the inflammatory response in lung cells exposed to the inhalable particles. - Highlights: ► Cell ability to take up PM 1.0 particles, Parietaria officinalis (ALL), PM 1.0 + ALL. ► The cells treated appear healthy and not apoptotic. ► Each single treatment was able to point out a specific change in the morphology. ► Increase of multilamellar bodies lysosomal enzymes microvilli vesicle with particles. ► Induction of inflammatory response in lung cells exposed to the inhalable particles. - The urban environment with the combination of inhalable air pollution and particulate can damage the acinar lung units and activate cells of the immune system.

  20. Stable, easily sintered BaCe{sub 0.5}Zr{sub 0.3}Y{sub 0.16}Zn{sub 0.04}O{sub 3-{delta}} electrolyte-based protonic ceramic membrane fuel cells with Ba{sub 0.5}Sr{sub 0.5}Zn{sub 0.2}Fe{sub 0.8}O{sub 3-{delta}} perovskite cathode

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lin, Bin; Hu, Mingjun; Ma, Jianjun; Meng, Guangyao [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), 96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (China); Jiang, Yinzhu [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), 96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (China); Department of Chemistry, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS (United Kingdom); Tao, Shanwen [Department of Chemistry, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS (United Kingdom)

    2008-09-01

    A stable, easily sintered perovskite oxide BaCe{sub 0.5}Zr{sub 0.3}Y{sub 0.16}Zn{sub 0.04}O{sub 3-{delta}} (BCZYZn) as an electrolyte for protonic ceramic membrane fuel cells (PCMFCs) with Ba{sub 0.5}Sr{sub 0.5}Zn{sub 0.2}Fe{sub 0.8}O{sub 3-{delta}} (BSZF) perovskite cathode was investigated. The BCZYZn perovskite electrolyte synthesized by a modified Pechini method exhibited higher sinterability and reached 97.4% relative density at 1200 C for 5 h in air, which is about 200 C lower than that without Zn dopant. By fabricating thin membrane BCZYZn electrolyte (about 30 {mu}m in thickness) on NiO-BCZYZn anode support, PCMFCs were assembled and tested by selecting stable BSZF perovskite cathode. An open-circuit potential of 1.00 V, a maximum power density of 236 mW cm{sup -2}, and a low polarization resistance of the electrodes of 0.17 {omega} cm{sup 2} were achieved at 700 C. This investigation indicated that proton conducting electrolyte BCZYZn with BSZF perovskite cathode is a promising material system for the next generation solid oxide fuel cells. (author)

  1. Multichannel noninvasive human-machine interface via stretchable µm thick sEMG patches for robot manipulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Ying; Wang, Youhua; Liu, Runfeng; Xiao, Lin; Zhang, Qin; Huang, YongAn

    2018-01-01

    Epidermal electronics (e-skin) emerging in recent years offer the opportunity to noninvasively and wearably extract biosignals from human bodies. The conventional processes of e-skin based on standard microelectronic fabrication processes and a variety of transfer printing methods, nevertheless, unquestionably constrains the size of the devices, posing a serious challenge to collecting signals via skin, the largest organ in the human body. Herein we propose a multichannel noninvasive human-machine interface (HMI) using stretchable surface electromyography (sEMG) patches to realize a robot hand mimicking human gestures. Time-efficient processes are first developed to manufacture µm thick large-scale stretchable devices. With micron thickness, the stretchable µm thick sEMG patches show excellent conformability with human skin and consequently comparable electrical performance with conventional gel electrodes. Combined with the large-scale size, the multichannel noninvasive HMI via stretchable µm thick sEMG patches successfully manipulates the robot hand with eight different gestures, whose precision is as high as conventional gel electrodes array.

  2. Top-gated field-effect LaAlO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3} devices made by ion-irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hurand, S.; Jouan, A.; Feuillet-Palma, C.; Singh, G.; Malnou, M.; Lesueur, J.; Bergeal, N. [Laboratoire de Physique et d' Etude des Matériaux-CNRS-ESPCI ParisTech-UPMC, PSL Research University, 10 Rue Vauquelin - 75005 Paris (France); Lesne, E.; Reyren, N.; Barthélémy, A.; Bibes, M.; Villegas, J. E. [Unité Mixte de Physique CNRS-Thales, 1 Av. A. Fresnel, 91767 Palaiseau (France); Ulysse, C. [Laboratoire de Photonique et de Nanostructures LPN-CNRS, Route de Nozay, 91460 Marcoussis and Universit Paris Sud, 91405 Orsay (France); Pannetier-Lecoeur, M. [DSM/IRAMIS/SPEC - CNRS UMR 3680, CEA Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France)

    2016-02-01

    We present a method to fabricate top-gated field-effect devices in a LaAlO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3} two-dimensional electron gas (2-DEG). Prior to the gate deposition, the realisation of micron size conducting channels in the 2-DEG is achieved by an ion-irradiation with high-energy oxygen ions. After identifying the ion fluence as the key parameter that determines the electrical transport properties of the channels, we demonstrate the field-effect operation. At low temperature, the normal state resistance and the superconducting T{sub c} can be tuned over a wide range by a top-gate voltage without any leakage. A superconductor-to-insulator quantum phase transition is observed for a strong depletion of the 2-DEG.

  3. On the mechanism of nanoparticulate CeO{sub 2} toxicity to freshwater algae

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Angel, Brad M., E-mail: Brad.Angel@csiro.au [Centre for Environmental Contaminants Research, CSIRO Land and Water Flagship, Locked Bag 2007, Kirrawee, NSW 2232 (Australia); Vallotton, Pascal [Digital Productivity Flagship, CSIRO, North Ryde, NSW 1670 (Australia); Apte, Simon C. [Centre for Environmental Contaminants Research, CSIRO Land and Water Flagship, Locked Bag 2007, Kirrawee, NSW 2232 (Australia)

    2015-11-15

    Highlights: • Nanoparticulate CeO{sub 2} less toxic than micron-sized CeO{sub 2}. • UV light filters prevented ROS generation by CeO{sub 2}. • ROS not toxic mechanism: CeO{sub 2} toxicity was similar in presence and absence of ROS. • Strong sorption of nanoparticulate CeO{sub 2} to Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata in synthetic fresh water. • CeO{sub 2} sorption to cells was prevented and toxicity mitigated in the presence of DOC. - Abstract: The factors affecting the chronic (72-h) toxicity of three nanoparticulate (10–34 nm) and one micron-sized form of CeO{sub 2} to the green alga, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata were investigated. To characterise transformations in solution, hydrodynamic diameters (HDD) were measured by dynamic light scatter, zeta potential values by electrophoretic mobility, and dissolution by equilibrium dialysis. The protective effects of humic and fulvic dissolved organic carbon (DOC) on toxicity were also assessed. To investigate the mechanisms of algal toxicity, the CytoViva hyperspectral imaging system was used to visualise algal–CeO{sub 2} interactions in the presence and absence of DOC, and the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was investigated by ‘switching off’ ROS production using UV-filtered lighting conditions. The nanoparticulate CeO{sub 2} immediately aggregated in solution to HDDs measured in the range 113–193 nm, whereas the HDD and zeta potential values were significantly lower in the presence of DOC. Negligible CeO{sub 2} dissolution over the time course of the bioassay ruled out potential toxicity from dissolved cerium. The nanoparticulate CeO{sub 2} concentration that caused 50% inhibition of algal growth rate (IC50) was in the range 7.6–28 mg/L compared with 59 mg/L for micron-sized ceria, indicating that smaller particles were more toxic. The presence of DOC mitigated toxicity, with IC50s increasing to greater than 100 mg/L. Significant ROS were generated in the nanoparticulate CeO{sub 2

  4. Synthesis, formulation of nucleo-equipment and biological studies of the {sup 99m} Tc-MAG{sub 3}; Sintesis, formulacion de nucleo-equipos y estudios biologicos de la {sup 99m} Tc-MAG{sub 3}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reyes H, L; Lezama C, J; Ferro F, G

    1991-10-15

    Technetium-99m-mercaptoacetyl glycylglycylglycine ({sup 99m}Tc-MAG{sub 3}) is introduced to replace o-iodohippurate (OIH) for renal function studies. In this paper we present the synthesis, labelling and biological evaluation of {sup 99m}Tc- MAG{sub 3} prepared in our laboratory. The precursor s-benzoyl-mercaptoacetyl glycyl glycylglycine (Bz-MAG{sub 3} ) was synthesized by condensation of glycylglycylglycine with chloroacetyl chloride to obtain chloroacetyl glycylglycylglycine and this product was condensate with sodium thiobenzoate. The Bz-MAG{sub 3} was characterized by IR and NMR. The labelling with {sup 99m}Tc was carried out at pH 9.0 using stannous chloride as a reducing agent with heating to boiling for 15 min. The benzoyl group is lost in this step, forming {sup 99m}Tc-MAG{sub 3} complex with radiochemical purity of 99%. The biodistribution properties were evaluated in mice and a rapid renal extraction was apparent at the 10 minutes value (51.65% of the injected dose). The radiotracer was administered to 5 patients showing a good biological behavior. Based on these results, the {sup 99m}Tc-MAG{sub 3} is expected to have widespread clinical utility in Mexico. (Author)

  5. Experimental investigation into the effect of substrate clamping on the piezoelectric behaviour of thick-film PZT elements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Torah, R N; Beeby, S P; White, N M [Department of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ (United Kingdom)

    2004-04-07

    This paper details an experimental investigation of the clamping effect associated with thick-film piezoelectric elements printed on a substrate. The clamping effect reduces the measured piezoelectric coefficient, d{sub 33}, of the film. This reduction is due to the influence of the d{sub 31} component in the film when a deformation of the structure occurs, by either the direct or indirect piezoelectric effect. Theoretical analysis shows a reduction in the measured d{sub 33} of 62%, i.e. a standard bulk lead zirconate titanate (PZT)-5H sample with a manufacturer specified d{sub 33} of 593pC/N would fall to 227.8pC/N. To confirm this effect, the d{sub 33} coefficients of five thin bulk PZT-5H samples of 220 {mu}m thickness were measured before and after their attachment to a metallized 96% alumina substrate. The experimental results show a reduction in d{sub 33} of 74% from 529pC/N to 139pC/N. The theoretical analysis was then applied to existing University of Southampton thick-film devices. It is estimated that the measured d{sub 33} value of 131pC/N of the thick-film devices is the equivalent of an unconstrained d{sub 33} of 345pC/N.

  6. Emulsion-phase synthesis of honeycomb-like Mg{sub 5}(OH){sub 2}(CO{sub 3}){sub 4}.4H{sub 2}O micro-spheres and subsequent decomposition to MgO

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gao Guo, E-mail: gaogaoguoguo@yahoo.com.c [Department of Bio-Nano-Science and Engineering, National Key Laboratory of Nano/Micro Fabrication Technology, Key Laboratory for Thin Film and Microfabrication of Ministry of Education, Institute of Micro-Nano Science and Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); Beijing Key Laboratory of Green Reaction Engineering and Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Xiang Lan, E-mail: xianglan@mail.tsinghua.edu.c [Beijing Key Laboratory of Green Reaction Engineering and Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

    2010-04-09

    Herein we report a simple emulsion-phase route for the synthesis of honeycomb-like basic magnesium carbonate (BMC, Mg{sub 5}(OH){sub 2}(CO{sub 3}){sub 4}.4H{sub 2}O) micro-spheres at 80 {sup o}C. Magnesium(II) salts in water are precipitated by sodium carbonate in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). Scanning electron microscopy shows the obtained BMC samples are composed of a lot of micro-spheres (diameter ranging from 8 to 10 {mu}m) which are interweaved by a lot of nano-sized thin sheets (thickness of 20-30 nm and length >1 {mu}m). The BMC micro-spheres prepared by this approach are porous and appear to be hollow structures. The size and shape of BMC are related to the CTAB concentration and temperature. The lower concentration of CTAB resulted in the decrease of the micro-spheres sizes. When the temperature was elevated to 110 {sup o}C, hexagonal tablets (thickness of 20 nm, length of each side varies from 400 to 600 nm) can be prepared. After the calcinations for BMC at 600 {sup o}C for 2 h, BMC are almost completely converted to MgO. Transmission electron microscopy indicates that the obtained MgO samples have a poly-crystalline feature. The possible formation mechanism of BMC micro-spheres has been discussed.

  7. New spectrometric measurement of atmospheric 60 micron emission

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grossmann, K.U.; Barthol, P.; Frings, W.; Hennig, R.; Offermann, D.

    1982-01-01

    Absolute zenith intensities of the atomic oxygen fine structure emission at 63 microns measured above Kiruna, Sweden, on December 9, 1981, in the altitude range of 85 km to 237 km are discussed. The data obtained are compared with theoretical predictions for this emission. For the model intensity calculations, both local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) and non-LTE conditions are assumed. The significance of the 63-micron emission as a cooling mechanism of the thermosphere is briefly discussed. It is noted that the geomagnetic field before and during the flight was very quiet

  8. Removal of Thin Cirrus Path Radiances in the 0.4-1.0 micron Spectral Region Using the 1.375-micron Strong Water Vapor Absorption Channel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Bo-Cai; Kaufman, Yoram J.; Han, Wei; Wiscombe, Warren J.

    1998-01-01

    Through analysis of spectral imaging data acquired with the Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) from an ER-2 aircraft at 20 km altitude during several field programs, it was found that narrow channels near the center of the strong 1.38-micron water vapor band are very sensitive in detecting thin cirrus clouds. Based on this observation from AVIRIS data, a channel centered at 1.375 microns with a width of 30 nm was selected for the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) for remote sensing of cirrus clouds from space. The sensitivity of the 1.375-micron MODIS channel to detect thin cirrus clouds during the day time is expected to be one to two orders of magnitude better than the current infrared emission techniques. As a result, a larger fraction of the satellite data will likely be identified as containing cirrus clouds. In order to make better studies of surface reflectance properties, thin cirrus effects must be removed from satellite images. We have developed an empirical approach for removing/correcting thin cirrus effects in the 0.4 - 1.0 micron region using channels near 1.375 microns. This algorithm will be incorporated into the present MODIS atmospheric correction algorithms for ocean color and land applications and will yield improved MODIS atmospheric aerosol, land surface, and ocean color products.

  9. Study of vortex dynamics with local magnetic relaxation measurements in the superconducting compound Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8}; Etude de la dynamique des vortex par des mesures locales de relaxation magnetique dans le compose supraconducteur Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berry, St

    2000-07-01

    This experimental study of the magnetic field-temperature phase diagram and of the vortex dynamics in high- T{sub c} superconductors focuses on Bismuth-based cuprates: Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8}. In type-II superconductors, mixed state characterized by the presence of vortices (quanta of magnetic flux) is divided by a transition line determined by two features of magnetization loops. For T > 40 K, magnetization loops vs applied field show a step evidence of a first order transition. From 20 to 40 K, a second peak replacing the step correspond to an abrupt increase of irreversibility interpreted as a bulk current. We want to understand the nature of the second peak (thermodynamic or nonequilibrium property) and separate phenomena contributing to irreversibility (flux pinning, geometrical or surface effects). Magnetic measurement techniques are nondestructive and have a resolution of few microns. Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8} single crystals are optimized by localizing defectives regions with a magneto-optic technique for flux imaging and elimination of these regions with a wire saw. Local magnetization loops and relaxation measurements performed with a microscopic Hall probe array allow to distinguish irreversibility sources. The shape of induction profiles indicates which current dominate between surface current and bulk pinning induced current. Two crossover with time and a direct observation of two phases coexistence in induction profiles enlighten phenomena in play. The measured electric field-current density characteristics lead to barrier energy U(j) controlling thermally activated flux motion. Three relations (U(j) (surface, bulk low and high field) explain second peak. (author)

  10. Monte Carlo electron-trajectory simulations in bright-field and dark-field STEM: Implications for tomography of thick biological sections

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sousa, A.A.; Hohmann-Marriott, M.F.; Zhang, G. [Laboratory of Bioengineering and Physical Science, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bldg. 13, Rm. 3N17, 13 South Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892-5766 (United States); Leapman, R.D. [Laboratory of Bioengineering and Physical Science, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bldg. 13, Rm. 3N17, 13 South Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892-5766 (United States)], E-mail: leapmanr@mail.nih.gov

    2009-02-15

    A Monte Carlo electron-trajectory calculation has been implemented to assess the optimal detector configuration for scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) tomography of thick biological sections. By modeling specimens containing 2 and 3 at% osmium in a carbon matrix, it was found that for 1-{mu}m-thick samples the bright-field (BF) and annular dark-field (ADF) signals give similar contrast and signal-to-noise ratio provided the ADF inner angle and BF outer angle are chosen optimally. Spatial resolution in STEM imaging of thick sections is compromised by multiple elastic scattering which results in a spread of scattering angles and thus a spread in lateral distances of the electrons leaving the bottom surface. However, the simulations reveal that a large fraction of these multiply scattered electrons are excluded from the BF detector, which results in higher spatial resolution in BF than in high-angle ADF images for objects situated towards the bottom of the sample. The calculations imply that STEM electron tomography of thick sections should be performed using a BF rather than an ADF detector. This advantage was verified by recording simultaneous BF and high-angle ADF STEM tomographic tilt series from a stained 600-nm-thick section of C. elegans. It was found that loss of spatial resolution occurred markedly at the bottom surface of the specimen in the ADF STEM but significantly less in the BF STEM tomographic reconstruction. Our results indicate that it might be feasible to use BF STEM tomography to determine the 3D structure of whole eukaryotic microorganisms prepared by freeze-substitution, embedding, and sectioning.

  11. Characterization of the yttria-stabilized zirconia thin film electrophoretic deposited on La{sub 0.8}Sr{sub 0.2}MnO{sub 3} substrate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Koho [Department of Mold and Die Engineering, National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences, 415 Chien-Kung Rode, Kaohsiung 80782, Taiwan (China); Shen, Jung-Hsiung [Department of Mold and Die Engineering, National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences, 415 Chien-Kung Rode, Kaohsiung 80782, Taiwan (China); Yang, Kai-Yun [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Chen Kung University, 1 Ta-Hsueh Road, Tainan 70101, Taiwan (China); Hung, I-Ming [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Chen Kung University, 1 Ta-Hsueh Road, Tainan 70101, Taiwan (China); Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Yuan Ze University, 135 Yuan-Tung Road, Chungli, Taoyunn 320, Taiwan (China); Fung, Kuan-Zong [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Chen Kung University, 1 Ta-Hsueh Road, Tainan 70101, Taiwan (China); Wang, Moo-Chin [Faculty of Fragrance and Cosmetics, Kaohsiung Medical University, 100 Shi-Chuan 1st Road, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan (China)]. E-mail: mcwang@kmu.edu.tw

    2007-06-14

    The yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thin films electrophoretic deposited on the La{sub 0.8}Sr{sub 0.2}MnO{sub 3} (LSM) substrate have been characterized by using zeta potential analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The La{sub 2}Zr{sub 2}O{sub 7} (LZ) formed at the interface between the YSZ thin film and LSM substrate, after sintered at 1400 {sup o}C for 52 h, are identified by XRD. The zeta potential of the YSZ particles in pure ethanol-acetone is about 7.8 mV, but when the I{sub 2} concentration is greater than 0.6 g/1, the zeta potential attains a constant value, 46 mV. The relation between deposit weight of the YSZ films and the applied voltage shows a non-linear behavior. Thickness of the YSZ thin film deposited on the LSM substrate by electrophoretic deposition is controlled by a diffusion process. A larger LZ with the thickness of 200 nm is formed at the interface between the YSZ film and the LSM substrate.

  12. Variability of Jupiter's Five-Micron Hot Spot Inventory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yanamandra-Fisher, Padma A.; Orton, G. S.; Wakefield, L.; Rogers, J. H.; Simon-Miller, A. A.; Boydstun, K.

    2012-01-01

    Global upheavals on Jupiter involve changes in the albedo of entire axisymmetric regions, lasting several years, with the last two occurring in 1989 and 2006. Against this backdrop of planetary-scale changes, discrete features such as the Great Red Spot (GRS), and other vortices exhibit changes on shorter spatial- and time-scales. We track the variability of the discrete equatorial 5-micron hot spots, semi-evenly spaced in longitude and confined to a narrow latitude band centered at 6.5degN (southern edge of the North Equatorial Belt, NEB), abundant in Voyager images. Tantalizingly similar patterns were observed in the visible (bright plumes and blue-gray regions), where reflectivity in the red is anti-correlated with 5-microns thermal radiance. Ortiz et al. (1998, GRL, 103) characterized the latitude and drift rates of the hot spots, including the descent of the Galileo probe at the southern edge of a 5-micron hot spot, as the superposition of equatorial Rossby waves, with phase speeds between 99 - 103m/s, relative to System III. We note that the high 5-micron radiances correlate well but not perfectly with high 8.57-micron radiances. Because the latter are modulated primarily by changes in the upper ammonia (NH3) ice cloud opacity, this correlation implies that changes in the ammonia ice cloud field may be responsible for the variability seen in the 5-m maps. During the NEB fade (2011 - early 2012), however, these otherwise ubiquitous features were absent, an atmospheric state not seen in decades. The ongoing NEB revival indicates nascent 5-m hot spots as early as April 2012, with corresponding visible dark spots. Their continuing growth through July 2012 indicates the possit.le re-establishment of Rossby waves. The South Equatorial Belt (SEB) and NEB revivals began similarly with an instability that developed into a major outbreak, and many similarities in the observed propagation of clear regions.

  13. Preparation of tungsten coatings on graphite by electro-deposition via Na{sub 2}WO{sub 4}–WO{sub 3} molten salt system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sun, Ning-bo [School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, 30 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083 (China); Zhang, Ying-chun, E-mail: zycustb@163.com [School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, 30 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083 (China); Jiang, Fan; Lang, Shao-ting [School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, 30 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083 (China); Xia, Min [School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, 30 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083 (China); Institute of Powder Metallurgy and Advanced Ceramics, Southwest Jiaotong University, 111, 1st Section, Northern 2nd Ring Road, Chengdu (China)

    2014-11-15

    Highlights: • Tungsten coatings on graphite were firstly obtained by electro-deposition method via Na{sub 2}WO{sub 4}–WO{sub 3} molten salt system. • Uniform and dense tungsten coatings could be easily prepared in each face of the sample, especially the complex components. • The obtained tungsten coatings are with high purity, ultra-low oxygen content (about 0.022 wt%). • Modulate pulse parameters can get tungsten coatings with different thickness and hardness. - Abstract: Tungsten coating on graphite substrate is one of the most promising candidate materials as the ITER plasma facing components. In this paper, tungsten coatings on graphite substrates were fabricated by electro-deposition from Na{sub 2}WO{sub 4}–WO{sub 3} molten salt system at 1173 K in atmosphere. Tungsten coatings with no impurities were successfully deposited on graphite substrates under various pulsed current densities in an hour. By increasing the current density from 60 mA cm{sup −2} to 120 mA cm{sup −2} an increase of the average size of tungsten grains, the thickness and the hardness of tungsten coatings occurs. The average size of tungsten grains can reach 7.13 μm, the thickness of tungsten coating was in the range of 28.8–51 μm, and the hardness of coating was higher than 400 HV. No cracks or voids were observed between tungsten coating and graphite substrate. The oxygen content of tungsten coating is about 0.022 wt%.

  14. Efficient Regeneration of Physical and Chemical Solvents for CO<sub>2sub> Capture

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tande, Brian [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States); Seames, Wayne [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States); Benson, Steve [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States)

    2013-12-01

    The objective of this project was to evaluate the use of composite polymer membranes and porous membrane contactors to regenerate physical and chemical solvents for capture of carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2sub>) from synthesis gas or flue gas, with the goal of improving the energy efficiency of carbon capture. Both a chemical solvent (typical for a post-combustion capture of CO<sub>2sub> from flue gas) and a physical solvent (typical for pre- combustion capture of CO<sub>2sub> from syngas) were evaluated using two bench-scale test systems constructed for this project. For chemical solvents, polytetrafluoroethylene and polypropylene membranes were found to be able to strip CO<sub>2sub> from a monoethanolamine (MEA) solution with high selectivity without significant degradation of the material. As expected, the regeneration temperature was the most significant parameter affecting the CO<sub>2sub> flux through the membrane. Pore size was also found to be important, as pores larger than 5 microns lead to excessive pore wetting. For physical solvents, polydimethyl-siloxane (PDMS)-based membranes were found to have a higher CO<sub>2sub> permeability than polyvinylalcohol (PVOH) based membranes, while also minimizing solvent loss. Overall, however, the recovery of CO<sub>2sub> in these systems is low – less than 2% for both chemical and physical solvents – primarily due to the small surface area of the membrane test apparatus. To obtain the higher regeneration rates needed for this application, a much larger surface area would be needed. Further experiments using, for example, a hollow fiber membrane module could determine if this process could be commercially viable.

  15. Effects of MeV Si ions bombardment on the thermoelectric generator from SiO{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2} + Cu and SiO{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2} + Au nanolayered multilayer films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Budak, S., E-mail: satilmis.budak@aamu.edu [Department of Electrical Engineering, Alabama A and M University, Normal, AL (United States); Chacha, J., E-mail: chacha_john79@hotmail.com [Department of Electrical Engineering, Alabama A and M University, Normal, AL (United States); Smith, C., E-mail: cydale@cim.aamu.edu [Center for Irradiation of Materials, Alabama A and M University, Normal, AL (United States); Department of Physics, Alabama A and M University, Normal, AL (United States); Pugh, M., E-mail: marcuspughp@yahoo.com [Department of Electrical Engineering, Alabama A and M University, Normal, AL (United States); Colon, T. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Alabama A and M University, Normal, AL (United States); Heidary, K., E-mail: kaveh.heidary@aamu.edu [Department of Electrical Engineering, Alabama A and M University, Normal, AL (United States); Johnson, R.B., E-mail: barry@w4wb.com [Department of Physics, Alabama A and M University, Normal, AL (United States); Ila, D., E-mail: ila@cim.aamu.edu [Center for Irradiation of Materials, Alabama A and M University, Normal, AL (United States); Department of Physics, Alabama A and M University, Normal, AL (United States)

    2011-12-15

    The defects and disorder in the thin films caused by MeV ions bombardment and the grain boundaries of these nanoscale clusters increase phonon scattering and increase the chance of an inelastic interaction and phonon annihilation. We prepared the thermoelectric generator devices from 100 alternating layers of SiO{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2} + Cu multi-nano layered superlattice films at the total thickness of 382 nm and 50 alternating layers of SiO{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2} + Au multi-nano layered superlattice films at the total thickness of 147 nm using the physical vapor deposition (PVD). Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) and RUMP simulation have been used to determine the stoichiometry of the elements of SiO{sub 2}, Cu and Au in the multilayer films and the thickness of the grown multi-layer films. The 5 MeV Si ions bombardments have been performed using the AAMU-Center for Irradiation of Materials (CIM) Pelletron ion beam accelerator to make quantum (nano) dots and/or quantum (quantum) clusters in the multilayered superlattice thin films to decrease the cross plane thermal conductivity, increase the cross plane Seebeck coefficient and cross plane electrical conductivity. To characterize the thermoelectric generator devices before and after Si ion bombardments we have measured Seebeck coefficient, cross-plane electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity in the cross-plane geometry for different fluences.

  16. The effect of oxide shell thickness on the structural, electronic, and optical properties of Si-SiO{sub 2} core-shell nano-crystals: A (time dependent)density functional theory study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nazemi, Sanaz, E-mail: s.nazemi@ut.ac.ir, E-mail: pourfath@ut.ac.ir; Soleimani, Ebrahim Asl [School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran 14395-515 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Pourfath, Mahdi, E-mail: s.nazemi@ut.ac.ir, E-mail: pourfath@ut.ac.ir [School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran 14395-515 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Institute for Microelectronics, Technische Universität Wien, Wien A-1040 (Austria); Kosina, Hans [Institute for Microelectronics, Technische Universität Wien, Wien A-1040 (Austria)

    2016-04-14

    Due to their tunable properties, silicon nano-crystals (NC) are currently being investigated. Quantum confinement can generally be employed for size-dependent band-gap tuning at dimensions smaller than the Bohr radius (∼5 nm for silicon). At the nano-meter scale, however, increased surface-to-volume ratio makes the surface effects dominant. Specifically, in Si-SiO{sub 2} core-shell semiconductor NCs the interfacial transition layer causes peculiar electronic and optical properties, because of the co-existence of intermediate oxidation states of silicon (Si{sup n+}, n = 0–4). Due to the presence of the many factors involved, a comprehensive understanding of the optical properties of these NCs has not yet been achieved. In this work, Si-SiO{sub 2} NCs with a diameter of 1.1 nm and covered by amorphous oxide shells with thicknesses between 2.5 and 4.75 Å are comprehensively studied, employing density functional theory calculations. It is shown that with increased oxide shell thickness, the low-energy part of the optical transition spectrum of the NC is red shifted and attenuated. Moreover, the absorption coefficient is increased in the high-energy part of the spectrum which corresponds to SiO{sub 2} transitions. Structural examinations indicate a larger compressive stress on the central silicon cluster with a thicker oxide shell. Examination of the local density of states reveals the migration of frontier molecular orbitals from the oxide shell into the silicon core with the increase of silica shell thickness. The optical and electrical properties are explained through the analysis of the density of states and the spatial distribution of silicon sub-oxide species.

  17. High-Temperature Corrosion of T92 Steel in N{sub 2}/H{sub 2}O/H{sub 2}S-Mixed Gas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shi, Yuke; Kim, Min Jung; Park, Soon Yong; Abro, M. Ali; Yadav, Poonam; Lee, Dong Bok [Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-06-15

    The ASTM T92 steel was corroded at 600 ℃ and 800 ℃ at 1 atm of N{sub 2}/3.1%H{sub 2}O/2.42%H{sub 2}S-mixed gas. The formed scales were thick and fragile. They consisted primarily of the outer FeS scale and the inner (FeS, FeCr{sub 2}S{sub 4})-mixed scale containing a small amount of the Cr{sub 2}O{sub 3} scale. This indicated that corrosion occurred mainly via sulfidation rather than oxidation due to the H{sub 2}S gas. Since FeS was present throughout the whole scale, T92 steel was non-protective, displaying high corrosion rates.

  18. A Statistical Analysis of Laser Ablated Ba(Sub 0.50)Sr(Sub 0.50)TiO(Sub 3)/LaAlO(Sub 3) Films for Microwave Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romanofsky, R. R.; Varaljay, N. C.; Alterovitz, S. A.; Miranda, F. A.; Mueller, C. M.; VanKeuls, F. W.; Kim, J.; Harshavardhan, K. S.

    2002-01-01

    The NASA Glenn Research Center is constructing a 616 element scanning phased array antenna using thin film Ba(sub x)Sr(sub 1-x)TiO(sub 3) based phase shifters. A critical milestone is the production of 616 identical phase shifters at 19 GHz with [asymptotically equal to]4 dB insertion loss and at least 337.5 deg phase shift with 3 percent bandwidth. It is well known that there is a direct relationship between dielectric tuning and loss due to the Kramers-Kronig relationship and that film crystallinity and strain, affected by the substrate template, play an important role. Ba(sub 0.50)Sr(sub 0.50)TiO (sub 3) films, nominally 400 nm thick, were deposited on 48 0.25 mm thick, 5 cm diameter LaAlO(sub 3) wafers. Although previous results suggested that Mn-doped films on MgO were intrinsically superior in terms of phase shift per unit loss, for this application phase shift per unit length was more important. The composition was selected as a compromise between tuning and loss for room temperature operation (e.g. crystallinity progressively degrades for Ba concentrations in excess of 30 percent). As a prelude to fabricating the array, it was necessary to process, screen, and inventory a large number of samples. Variable angle ellipsometry was used to characterize refractive index and film thickness across each wafer. Microstructural properties of the thin films were characterized using high resolution X-ray diffractometry. Finally, prototype phase shifters and resonators were patterned on each wafer and RE probed to measure tuning as a function of dc bias voltage as well as peak (0 field) permittivity and unloaded Q. The relationship among film quality and uniformity and performance is analyzed. This work presents the first statistically relevant study of film quality and microwave performance and represents a milestone towards commercialization of thin ferroelectric films for microwave applications.

  19. A high resolution atlas of the galactic plane at 12 microns and 25 microns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, Stephan D.; Korte, Rose M.; Sample, Rebecca S.; Kennealy, John P.; Gonsalves, Robert A.

    1994-01-01

    High resolution images of the 12 micron and 25 micron IRAS survey data from each HCON crossing the Galactic Plane are being created for those regions that the original IRAS processing labeled as confused. This encompasses the area within 100 deg longitude of the Galactic Center and within 3 deg to 10 deg of the Plane. The procedures used to create the images preserve the spatial resolution inherent in the IRAS instrument. The images are separated into diffuse and point source components and candidate sources are extracted from the point source image after non-linear spatial sharpening. Fluxes are estimated by convolving the candidate sources with the point response function and cross-correlating with the original point source image. A source is considered real if it is seen on at least two HCON's with a rather generous flux match but a stringent position criterion. A number of fields spanning a range of source densities from low to high have been examined. Initial analysis indicates that the imaging and extraction works quite well up to a source density of about 100 sources per square degree or down to roughly 0.8 Janskys.

  20. Method of producing carbon coated nano- and micron-scale particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perry, W. Lee; Weigle, John C; Phillips, Jonathan

    2013-12-17

    A method of making carbon-coated nano- or micron-scale particles comprising entraining particles in an aerosol gas, providing a carbon-containing gas, providing a plasma gas, mixing the aerosol gas, the carbon-containing gas, and the plasma gas proximate a torch, bombarding the mixed gases with microwaves, and collecting resulting carbon-coated nano- or micron-scale particles.

  1. Optical characterization of YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7−δ} thin film modified gold nanoparticles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Naujok, P.; Katzer, C. [Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Institute of Solid State Physics, Helmholtzweg 5, 07743 Jena (Germany); Schmidl, G., E-mail: gabriele.schmidl@ipht-jena.de [Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (IPHT), Albert-Einstein-Straße 9, 07745 Jena (Germany); Jatschka, J.; Fritzsche, W. [Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (IPHT), Albert-Einstein-Straße 9, 07745 Jena (Germany); Schmidl, F. [Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Institute of Solid State Physics, Helmholtzweg 5, 07743 Jena (Germany)

    2015-12-01

    Highlights: • Different thick YBCO layers allow an active control of particle sizes and density distributions on film surfaces. • The gold volume on the YBCO film surface decreases with increasing YBCO layer thickness. • Combining SEM and dark-field microscopy via image processing. • Clear correlation of scattering spectrum and addressed particles supporting by a new Ti-marker technology. - Abstract: We report on the influence of YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7−δ} (YBCO) thin films on the self-organized formation of gold nanoparticles. A thickness variation of the YBCO film allows one to actively control the size of the particles and their density distribution. In this context, the particle forming process is discussed. The YBCO matrix can be removed in order to reduce the particle density on the substrate. The remaining modified particles can be used in plasmonic applications. Combining scanning electron microscopy and dark-field microscopy permits one to identify a correlation of the measured scattering spectra with the physical properties of each studied particle. A clear assignment of spectrum and particle is supported by a new Ti-marker technology and image processing. Growth parameters allow the scientist to tune the spectral peak position of the plasmon resonance and the spectral bandwidth.

  2. Use of water vapor for suppressing the growth of unstable low-{kappa} interlayer in HfTiO gate-dielectric Ge metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors with sub-nanometer capacitance equivalent thickness

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, J.P. [Department of Electronic Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074 (China); Zou, X. [School of Electromachine and Architecture Engineering, Jianghan University, Wuhan, 430056 (China); Lai, P.T. [Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road (Hong Kong)], E-mail: laip@eee.hku.hk; Li, C.X.; Chan, C.L. [Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road (Hong Kong)

    2009-03-02

    Annealing of high-permittivity HfTiO gate dielectric on Ge substrate in different gases (N{sub 2}, NH{sub 3}, NO and N{sub 2}O) with or without water vapor is investigated. Analysis by transmission electron microscopy indicates that the four wet anneals can greatly suppress the growth of a GeO{sub x} interlayer at the dielectric/Ge interface, and thus decrease interface states, oxide charges and gate leakage current. Moreover, compared with the wet N{sub 2} anneal, the wet NH{sub 3}, NO and N{sub 2}O anneals decrease the equivalent permittivity of the gate dielectric due to the growth of a GeO{sub x}N{sub y} interlayer. Among the eight anneals, the wet N{sub 2} anneal produces the best dielectric performance with an equivalent relative permittivity of 35, capacitance equivalent thickness of 0.81 nm, interface-state density of 6.4 x 10{sup 11} eV{sup -1} cm{sup -2} and gate leakage current of 2.7 x 10{sup -4} A/cm{sup 2} at V{sub g} = 1 V.

  3. Assessing sub-Saharan Erythrina for efficacy: traditional uses, biological activities and phytochemistry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kone, Witabouna Mamidou; Solange, Kakou-Ngazoa E; Dosso, Mireille

    2011-05-15

    The genus Erythrina comprises more than 100 species, widely distributed in tropical and subtropical areas. In Africa, 31 wild species and 14 cultivated species have been described. In sub-Saharan Africa, Erythrina species are used to treat frequent parasitic and microbial diseases, inflammation, cancer, wounds. The rationale of these traditional uses in African traditional medicine was established by screening several species for biological activities. Promising activities were found against bacteria, parasites (Plasmodium), human and phytopathogenic fungi, some of which were multidrug resistant (MDR) micro organisms. Some species also exhibited antioxidant, anti-inflammatory activities and enzymes inhibitory properties. Most of the species chemically investigated were reported to contain flavanones, prenylated isoflavones, isoflavanones and pterocarpans. Some phytochemicals (vogelin B, vogelin C, isowightcone, abyssinin II, derrone) were the active principles as antibacterials, antifungals, antiplasmodials and inhibitors of enzyme borne diseases (PTP1B, HIV protease, DGAT). This review highlights the important role of Erythrina species as sources of lead compounds or new class of phytotherapeutic agents for fighting against major public health (MDR infections, cancer, diabetes, obesity) in sub-Saharan Africa.

  4. Guilt by Association: The 13 micron Dust Feature in Circumstellar Shells and Related Spectral Features

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sloan, G. C.; Kraemer, K. E.; Goebel, J. H.; Price, S. D.

    A study of spectra from the SWS on ISO of optically thin oxygen-rich dust shells shows that the strength of the 13 micron dust emission feature is correlated with the CO2 bands (13--17 microns) and dust emission features at 19.8 and 28.1 microns. SRb variables tend to show stronger 13 micron features than Mira variables, suggesting that the presence of the 13 micron and related features depends on pulsation mode and mass-loss rate. The absence of any correlation to dust emission features at 16.8 and 32 microns makes spinel an unlikely carrier. The most plausible carrier of the 13 micron feature remains crystalline alumina, and we suggest that the related dust features may be crystalline silicates. When dust forms in regions of low density, it may condense into crystalline grain structures.

  5. Performance of La{sub 0.75}Sr{sub 0.25}Cr{sub 0.5}Mn{sub 0.5}O{sub 3-{delta}} perovskite-structure anode material at lanthanum gallate electrolyte for IT-SOFC running on ethanol fuel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huang, Bo; Wang, S.R.; Liu, R.Z.; Ye, X.F.; Nie, H.W.; Sun, X.F.; Wen, T.L. [Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (SICCAS), 1295 Dingxi Road, Shanghai 200050 (China)

    2007-05-01

    Perovskite-structure La{sub 0.75}Sr{sub 0.25}Cr{sub 0.5}Mn{sub 0.5}O{sub 3-{delta}} (LSCM) powders were prepared using a simple combustion process. Thermal analysis was carried out on the perovskite precursor to investigate the oxide-phase formation. The structural phase of the powders was determined by X-ray diffraction. These results showed that the decomposition of the precursors occurs in a two-step reaction and temperatures higher than 1100 C are required for these decomposition reactions. For the electrochemical characterization, LSCM anode materials and (Pr{sub 0.7}Ca{sub 0.3}){sub 0.9}MnO{sub 3} (PCM) cathode materials were screen-printed on two sides of dense La{sub 0.8}Sr{sub 0.2}Ga{sub 0.8}Mg{sub 0.2}O{sub 3} (LSGM) electrolyte layers prepared by tape casting with a thickness of about 600 {mu}m, respectively. The morphology of the screen-printed La{sub 0.75}Sr{sub 0.25}Cr{sub 0.5}Mn{sub 0.5}O{sub 3-{delta}} perovskite thick films (65 {mu}m) was investigated by field emission scanning electron microscope and showed a porous microstructure. In addition, fuel cell tests were carried out using humidified hydrogen or ethanol stream as fuel and oxygen as oxidant. The performance of the conventional electrolyte-supported cell LSCM/LSGM/PCM while operating on humidified hydrogen was modest with a maximum power density of 165, 99 and 62 mW cm{sup -2} at 850, 800 and 750 C, respectively, the corresponding values for the cell while operating on ethanol stream was 160, 101 and 58 mW cm{sup -2}, respectively. Cell stability tests indicate no significant degradation in performance has been observed after 60 h of cell testing when LSCM anode was exposed to ethanol steam at 750 C, suggesting that carbon deposition was limited during cell operation. (author)

  6. Rapid solidification of Ni{sub 50}Nb{sub 28}Zr{sub 22} glass former alloy through suction-casting; Solidificacao rapida da liga formadora de fase amorfa Ni{sub 50}Nb{sub 28}Zr{sub 22} atraves de fundicao em coquilha por succao

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Miyamoto, M.I.; Santos, F.S.; Bolfarini, C.; Botta Filho, W.J.; Kiminami, C.S., E-mail: issao16@gmail.co [Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos (DEMa/UFSCar), SP (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia de Materiais

    2010-07-01

    To select new alloys with high glass forming ability (GFA) to present amorphous structure in millimeter scale, several semi-empirical models have been developed. In the present work, a new alloy, Ni{sub 50}Nb{sub 28}Zr{sub 22}d, was designed based on the combination of topological instability lambda (A) criterion and electronegativity difference ({Delta}e). The alloy was rapidly solidified in a bulk wedge sample by cooper mold suction casting in order to investigate its amorphization. The sample was characterized by the combination of scanning electron microscopy (MEV), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). For the minimum thickness of 200 {mu}m analyzed, it was found that the alloy did not show a totally amorphous structure. Factor such as low cooling rate, existence of oxides on the surface of the elements and presence of oxygen in the atmosphere of equipment did not allowed the achievement of higher amorphous thickness. (author)

  7. Injection and waveguiding properties in SU8 nanotubes for sub-wavelength regime propagation and nanophotonics integration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bigeon, John; Huby, Nolwenn; Duvail, Jean-Luc; Bêche, Bruno

    2014-04-01

    We report photonic concepts related to injection and sub-wavelength propagation in nanotubes, an unusual but promising geometry for highly integrated photonic devices. Theoretical simulation by the finite domain time-dependent (FDTD) method was first used to determine the features of the direct light injection and sub-wavelength propagation regime within nanotubes. Then, the injection into nanotubes of SU8, a photoresist used for integrated photonics, was successfully achieved by using polymer microlensed fibers with a sub-micronic radius of curvature, as theoretically expected from FDTD simulations. The propagation losses in a single SU8 nanotube were determined by using a comprehensive set-up and a protocol for optical characterization. The attenuation coefficient has been evaluated at 1.25 dB mm-1 by a cut-back method transposed to such nanostructures. The mechanisms responsible for losses in nanotubes were identified with FDTD theoretical support. Both injection and cut-back methods developed here are compatible with any sub-micronic structures. This work on SU8 nanotubes suggests broader perspectives for future nanophotonics.

  8. A new attempt of measurement film thickness by x-ray diffractometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kosaka, Masao; Kobayashi, Hideo

    1987-01-01

    In order to make film thickness measurements independent from the property or the structure of the film materials or the substrate, it is needed to adopt instead of directly utilizing the X-ray diffraction intensity, or attenuation information obtained from the substrate or film material, other new methods for measurement. Among the information obtained by X-ray diffraction, if intensity is excluded, others are F.W.H.M. and diffraction angle, only. If it is possible to investigate the film thickness dependency of the diffraction angle, it should be possible to measure the film thickness by diffraction angle. However, since diffraction angle has no film thickness dependency, it cannot be used directly for measurement. However, if we consider the principle of the X-ray diffractometer method, although it may be very slight, the substrate will be eccentric from the revolving center of the goniometer on account of the thickness of the film. If eccentricity occurs, this will cause changes in the diffraction angle. If we set the radius of the goniometer as R, diffraction angle θ, and the eccentricity from the revolving center of the specimen surface X, the deflection angle Δ2θ of 2θ may be expressed by Δ2θ = -2X · COSθ/R Thus, if X is caused by the film thickness, and by measuring the Δ2θ, it will be possible to measure the film thickness. As a result of the experiment, it was found that X-ray diffraction method can be used for the measurement of the film thickness of a few microns or above by utilizing the eccentricity caused by the film thickness. Especially it has the advantage of being able to measure thick films that X-rays will not penetrate, without being influenced by the chemical structure of the film or the substrates. (author)

  9. Orientation and thickness dependence of magnetization at the interfacesof highly spin-polarized manganite thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chopdekar, Rajesh V.; Arenholz, Elke; Suzuki, Y.

    2008-08-18

    We have probed the nature of magnetism at the surface of (001), (110) and (111)-oriented La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3} thin films. The spin polarization of La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3} thin films is not intrinsically suppressed at all surfaces and interfaces but is highly sensitive to both the epitaxial strain state as well as the substrate orientation. Through the use of soft x-ray spectroscopy, the magnetic properties of (001), (110) and (111)-oriented La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3} interfaces have been investigated and compared to bulk magnetometry and resistivity measurements. The magnetization of (110) and (111)-oriented La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3} interfaces are more bulk-like as a function of thickness whereas the magnetization at the (001)-oriented La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3} interface is suppressed significantly below a layer thickness of 20 nm. Such findings are correlated with the biaxial strain state of the La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3} films; for a given film thickness it is the tetragonal distortion of (001) La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3} that severely impacts the magnetization, whereas the trigonal distortion for (111)-oriented films and monoclinic distortion for (110)-oriented films have less of an impact. These observations provide evidence that surface magnetization and thus spin polarization depends strongly on the crystal surface orientation as well as epitaxial strain.

  10. Colossal anisotropic resistivity and oriented magnetic domains in strained La{sub 0.325}Pr{sub 0.3}Ca{sub 0.375}MnO{sub 3} films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jiang, Tao; Yang, Shengwei; Liu, Yukuai; Zhao, Wenbo; Feng, Lei; Li, Xiaoguang, E-mail: lixg@ustc.edu.cn [Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Department of Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026 (China); Zhou, Haibiao; Lu, Qingyou [Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Department of Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026 (China); High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences and University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230031 (China); Hou, Yubin [High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences and University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230031 (China)

    2014-05-19

    Magnetic and resistive anisotropies have been studied for the La{sub 0.325}Pr{sub 0.3}Ca{sub 0.375}MnO{sub 3} films with different thicknesses grown on low symmetric (011)-oriented (LaAlO{sub 3}){sub 0.3}(SrAl{sub 0.5}Ta{sub 0.5}O{sub 3}){sub 0.7} substrates. In the magnetic and electronic phase separation region, a colossal anisotropic resistivity (AR) of ∼10{sup 5}% and an anomalous large anisotropic magnetoresistance can be observed for 30 nm film. However, for 120 nm film, the maximum AR decreases significantly (∼2 × 10{sup 3}%) due to strain relaxation. The colossal AR is strongly associated with the oriented formation of magnetic domains, and the features of the strain effects are believed to be useful for the design of artificial materials and devices.

  11. Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in Co{sub X}Pd{sub 100−X} alloys for magnetic tunnel junctions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Clark, B.D.; Natarajarathinam, A.; Tadisina, Z.R. [Center for Materials for Information Technology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 (United States); Chen, P.J.; Shull, R.D. [National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899 (United States); Gupta, S., E-mail: Sgupta@eng.ua.edu [Center for Materials for Information Technology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 (United States)

    2017-08-15

    Highlights: • CoPd alloy perpendicular anisotropy dependent on composition and thickness. • CIPT results show that TMR tracks with PMA of CoPd. • Potential replacement for Co/Pd multilayers. - Abstract: CoFeB/MgO-based perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions (p-MTJ’s) with high anisotropy and low damping are critical for spin-torque transfer random access memory (STT-RAM). Most schemes of making the pinned CoFeB fully perpendicular require ferrimagnets with high damping constants, a high temperature-grown L1{sub 0} alloy, or an overly complex multilayered synthetic antiferromagnet (SyAF). We report a compositional study of perpendicular Co{sub x}Pd alloy-pinned Co{sub 20}Fe{sub 60}B{sub 20}/MgO based MTJ stacks, grown at moderate temperatures in a planetary deposition system. The perpendicular anisotropy of the Co{sub x}Pd alloy films can be tuned based on the layer thickness and composition. The films were characterized by alternating gradient magnetometry (AGM), energy-dispersive X-rays (EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Current-in-plane tunneling (CIPT) measurements have also been performed on the compositionally varied Co{sub x}Pd MTJ stacks. The Co{sub x}Pd alloy becomes fully perpendicular at approximately x = 30% (atomic fraction) Co. Full-film MTJ stacks of Si/SiO{sub 2}/MgO (13)/Co{sub X}Pd{sub 100−x} (50)/Ta (0.3)/CoFeB (1)/MgO (1.6)/CoFeB (1)/Ta (5)/Ru (10), with the numbers enclosed in parentheses being the layer thicknesses in nm, were sputtered onto thermally oxidized silicon substrates and in-situ lamp annealed at 400 °C for 5 min. CIPT measurements indicate that the highest TMR is observed for the CoPd composition with the highest perpendicular magnetic anisotropy.

  12. Preparation and characterization of sol-gel derived 4%La{sub 2}O{sub 3}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} ceramic membrane on clay-based supports

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ersoy, B. [Afyon Kocatepe Univ., Mining Engineering Dept., AFYON (Turkey); Gunay, V. [TUBITAK-MRC, MCTRI, Gebze-KOCAELI (Turkey)

    2004-07-01

    In this work, {gamma}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} membrane layer (4 wt% La{sub 2}O{sub 3}+96% Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}) was coated on the clay based porous support by using the sol-gel coating. The coating solution was prepared by using boehmite (AlOOH), La-nitrate (La{sub 2}(NO{sub 3}){sub 3}.6H{sub 2}O), PVA, distilled water and HNO{sub 3}. The thickness of the {gamma}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} membrane layer was between 5-7 {mu}m. Two unprocessed clay samples which were supplied from Kutahya and Balikesir regions, were used to produce supports for the membranes. Porosities of the supports were varied from 25 to 40% depending on sintering temperatures. Mean pore diameter of the supports were between 0.01-1{mu}m. The mean pore diameter of 4wt%La{sub 2}O{sub 3} - Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} membrane layer was around 11 nm and total pore area was 113 m{sup 2} / g at 1000 C for 1 hour. (orig.)

  13. Two micron pore size MCP-based image intensifiers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glesener, John; Estrera, Joseph

    2010-02-01

    Image intensifiers (I2) have many advantages as detectors. They offer single photon sensitivity in an imaging format, they're light in weight and analog I2 systems can operate for hours on a single AA battery. Their light output is such as to exploit the peak in color sensitivity of the human eye. Until recent developments in CMOS sensors, they also were one of the highest resolution sensors available. The closest all solid state solution, the Texas Instruments Impactron chip, comes in a 1 megapixel format. Depending on the level of integration, an Impactron based system can consume 20 to 40 watts in a system configuration. In further investing in I2 technology, L-3 EOS determined that increasing I2 resolution merited a high priority. Increased I2 resolution offers the system user two desirable options: 1) increased detection and identification ranges while maintaining field-of-view (FOV) or 2) increasing FOV while maintaining the original system resolution. One of the areas where an investment in resolution is being made is in the microchannel plate (MCP). Incorporation of a 2 micron MCP into an image tube has the potential of increasing the system resolution of currently fielded systems. Both inverting and non-inverting configurations are being evaluated. Inverting tubes are being characterized in night vision goggle (NVG) and sights. The non-inverting 2 micron tube is being characterized for high resolution I2CMOS camera applications. Preliminary measurements show an increase in the MTF over a standard 5 micron pore size, 6 micron pitch plate. Current results will be presented.

  14. Experimental study on neutronics in bombardment of thick targets by high energy proton beams for accelerator-driven sub-critical system

    CERN Document Server

    Guo Shi Lun; Shi Yong Qian; Shen Qing Biao; Wan Jun Sheng; Brandt, R; Vater, P; Kulakov, B A; Krivopustov, M I; Sosnin, A N

    2002-01-01

    The experimental study on neutronics in the target region of accelerator-driven sub-critical system is carried out by using the high energy accelerator in Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, Russia. The experiments with targets U(Pb), Pb and Hg bombarded by 0.533, 1.0, 3.7 and 7.4 GeV proton beams show that the neutron yield ratio of U(Pb) to Hg and Pb to Hg targets is (2.10 +- 0.10) and (1.76 +- 0.33), respectively. Hg target is disadvantageous to U(Pb) and Pb targets to get more neutrons. Neutron yield drops along 20 cm thick targets as the thickness penetrated by protons increases. The lower the energy of protons, the steeper the neutron yield drops. In order to get more uniform field of neutrons in the targets, the energy of protons from accelerators should not be lower than 1 GeV. The spectra of secondary neutrons produced by different energies of protons are similar, but the proportion of neutrons with higher energy gradually increases as the proton energy increases

  15. Substrate-induced dielectric polarization in thin films of lead-free (Sr{sub 0.5}Bi{sub 0.5}){sub 2}Mn{sub 2-x}Ti{sub x}O{sub 6-δ} perovskites grown by pulsed laser deposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Álvarez-Serrano, I., E-mail: ias@ucm.es [Dpto. Química Inorgánica I, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Complutense, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Ruiz de Larramendi, I. [Dpto. Química Inorgánica, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad del País Vasco UPV/EHU, 48080 Bilbao (Spain); López, M.L.; Veiga, M.L. [Dpto. Química Inorgánica I, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Complutense, 28040 Madrid (Spain)

    2017-03-31

    Highlights: • Highly oriented SrBiMn{sub 2-x}Ti{sub x}O{sub 6} thin films are successfully fabricated by PLD. • Thicknesses between 80 and 900 nm depending on x, substrate-type and chamber pressure. • Compositional A-segregation controlled by the STO substrate orientation. • Dielectric response analyzed under impedance and modulus formalisms. • Relaxor phenomena obtained related to NPRs formation and compositional scenario. - Abstract: Thin films of SrBiMn{sub 2-x}Ti{sub x}O{sub 6-δ} have been fabricated by Pulsed Laser Deposition on SrTiO{sub 3} [100] and [111] substrates. Their texture, width, homogeneity and morphology are evaluated by means of XRD, SEM, XPS, whereas complex impedance spectroscopy is employed to analyze their electrical response. The thickness values range between 80 and 900 nm depending on the experimental conditions. The epitaxial growing could be interpreted in terms of two contributions of microstructural origin: a matrix part and some polycrystalline surface formations (hemi-spheres). Texture studies suggest a fiber-type orientated morphology coherently with the Scanning Electron Microscopy images. XPS analyses indicate a segregation regarding A-sublattice cations, which features depend on the substrate orientation. This segregation could be connected to the development of nanopolar regions. Impedance data show the electrical polarization in the samples to be enhanced compared to bulk response of corresponding powdered samples. A relaxor behavior which fits a Vogel-Fulcher law is obtained for x = 0.50 whereas an almost frequency-independent relaxor ferroelectric behavior is registered for the thinnest film of x = 0.25 composition grown on SrTiO{sub 3} [111] substrate. The influence of compositional and structural aspects in the obtained dielectric response is analyzed.

  16. Effect of film thickness, type of buffer layer, and substrate temperature on the morphology of dicyanovinyl-substituted sexithiophene films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Levin, Alexandr A., E-mail: alexander.levin@iapp.de [Institut fuer Angewandte Photophysik, Technische Universitaet Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Levichkova, Marieta [Institut fuer Angewandte Photophysik, Technische Universitaet Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Heliatek GmbH, 01187 Dresden (Germany); Hildebrandt, Dirk; Klisch, Marina; Weiss, Andre [Heliatek GmbH, 01187 Dresden (Germany); Wynands, David; Elschner, Chris [Institut fuer Angewandte Photophysik, Technische Universitaet Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Pfeiffer, Martin [Heliatek GmbH, 01187 Dresden (Germany); Leo, Karl; Riede, Moritz [Institut fuer Angewandte Photophysik, Technische Universitaet Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany)

    2012-01-31

    The influence of film thickness, type of buffer underlayer, and deposition substrate temperature on the crystal structure, microstructure, and morphology of the films of dicyanovinyl-substituted sexithiophene with four butyl-chains (DCV6T-Bu{sub 4}) is investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray reflectivity methods. A neat Si wafer or a Si wafer covered by a 15 nm buffer underlayer of fullerene C{sub 60} or 9,9-Bis[4-(N,N-bis-biphenyl-4-yl-amino)phenyl]-9H-fluorene (BPAPF) is used as a substrate. The crystalline nature and ordered molecular arrangement of the films are recorded down to 6 nm film thickness. By using substrates heated up to 90 Degree-Sign C during the film deposition, the size of the DCV6T-Bu{sub 4} crystallites in direction perpendicular to the film surface increases up to value of the film thickness. With increasing deposition substrate temperature or film thickness, the DCV6T-Bu{sub 4} film relaxes, resulting in reducing the interplane distances closer to the bulk values. For the films of the same thickness deposited at the same substrate temperature, the DCV6T-Bu{sub 4} film relaxes for growth on Si to BPAPF to C{sub 60}. Thicker films grown at heated substrates are characterized by smaller density, higher roughness and crystallinity and better molecular ordering. A thin (up to about 6 nm-thick) intermediate layer with linear density-gradient is formed at the C{sub 60}/DCV6T-Bu{sub 4} interface for the films with buffer C{sub 60} layer. The XRD pattern of the DCV6T-Bu{sub 4} powder is indexed using triclinic unit cell parameters.

  17. Bulk and thick films of the superconducting phase YBa2Cu3O7/sub -//sub y/ made by controlled precipitation and sol-gel processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barboux, P.; Tarascon, J.M.; Greene, L.H.; Hull, G.W.; Bagley, B.G.

    1988-01-01

    The synthesis of high-temperature superconducting oxides using solution chemistry has been investigated and physical properties are compared to ceramics obtained by conventional solid-state reactions. We report on controlled precipitation and sol-gel processes, both of which produce materials with particle sizes smaller than 5 μm. We find that the superconducting properties of the high T/sub c/ ceramics are affected by their manner of preparation, such that the transitions are slightly lower in temperature, but sharper, for samples made by solution rather than solid-state chemistry. The ability to prepare stable viscous gels provides an opportunity for obtaining large areas of superconducting coatings. For thick films on alumina or silicon substrates, contamination from the substrate is shown to be a problem. Finally, we observe that the sol-gel process lowers the synthesis temperature by 100 0 C.ing,

  18. Corneal thickness: measurement and implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ehlers, Niels; Hjortdal, Jesper

    2004-03-01

    The thickness of the cornea was reported in more than 100-year-old textbooks on physiological optics (Helmholtz, Gullstrand). Physiological interest was revived in the 1950s by David Maurice, and over the next 50 years, this 'simple' biological parameter has been studied extensively. Several techniques for its measurement have been described and physiological and clinical significance have been studied. In this review, the different methods and techniques of measurement are briefly presented (optical, ultrasound). While the corneal thickness of many animals are the same over a considerable part of the surface, in the human cornea anterior and posterior curvature are not concentric giving rise to a problem of definition. Based on this the precision and accuracy of determining the central corneal thickness are discussed. Changes in corneal thickness reflects changes in function of the boundary layers, in particular the endothelial barrier. The absolute value of thickness is of importance for the estimation of IOP but also in diagnosis of corneal and systemic disorders. Finally it is discussed to what extent the thickness is a biometric parameter of significance, e.g. in the progression of myopia or in the development of retinal detachment.

  19. Influence of the Efavirenz Micronization on Tableting and Dissolution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucio Mendes Cabral

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to propose an analytical procedure that provides the effects of particle size and surface area on dissolution of efavirenz. Five different batches obtained by different micronization processes and with different particle size distribution and surface area were studied. The preformulation studies and dissolution curves were used to confirm the particle size distribution effect on drug solubility. No polymorphic variety or amorphization was observed in the tested batches and the particle size distribution was determined as directly responsible for the improvement of drug dissolution. The influence of the preparation process on the tablets derived from efavirenz was observed in the final dissolution result in which agglomeration, usually seen in non-lipophilic micronized material, was avoided through the use of an appropriate wet granulation method. For these reasons, micronization may represent one viable alternative for the formulation of brick dust drugs.

  20. Two-Dimensional Photonic Crystals for Sensitive Microscale Chemical and Biochemical Sensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Benjamin L.

    2015-01-01

    Photonic crystals – optical devices able to respond to changes in the refractive index of a small volume of space – are an emerging class of label-free chemical-and bio-sensors. This review focuses on one class of photonic crystal, in which light is confined to a patterned planar material layer of sub-wavelength thickness. These devices are small (on the order of tens to 100s of microns square), suitable for incorporation into lab-on-a-chip systems, and in theory can provide exceptional sensitivity. We introduce the defining characteristics and basic operation of two-dimensional photonic crystal sensors, describe variations of their basic design geometry, and summarize reported detection results from chemical and biological sensing experiments. PMID:25563402

  1. Effect of Sb{sub 2}O{sub 3} on the electrical properties of Ba{sub 0.9}Ca{sub 0.1}Zr{sub 0.1}Ti{sub 0.9}O{sub 3} ceramics fabricated using nanocrystals seed

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Parjansri, P. [Rajamangala University of Technology Krungthep, Physics Division, Faculty of Science and Technology, Bangkok (Thailand); Intatha, U. [Mae Fah Luang University, School of Science, Chiang Rai (Thailand); Guo, R.; Bhalla, A.S. [University of Texas at San Antonio, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, San Antonio, TX (United States); Eitssayeam, S. [Chiang Mai University, Department of Physics and Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai (Thailand); Chiang Mai University, Materials Science Research Center, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai (Thailand)

    2016-09-15

    This work was to investigate the effects of antimony oxide (Sb{sub 2}O{sub 3}) on the electrical properties of Ba{sub 0.9}Ca{sub 0.1}Zr{sub 0.1}Ti{sub 0.9}O{sub 3} (BCZT) ceramics and was prepared by adding 1 mol% of BCZT nanocrystals. The seed is nanocrystals of BCZT which was synthesized by the molten salt method. The ceramics powders were prepared by the mixed oxide method using BaCO{sub 3}, CaCO{sub 3}, ZrO{sub 2}, TiO{sub 2} as starting materials, and the BCZT seed was added as nanocrystal for induce phase transition. They were doped with x mol% Sb{sub 2}O{sub 3} (x = 0.0-0.5). Results indicated that all samples show pure perovskite phase. The Sb{sub 2}O{sub 3} enhanced the electrical properties of the ceramic systems. Excellent values of a dielectric constant (ε {sub r}) at room temperature (T{sub r}) were 4086 with sample of x = 0.5, and at Curie temperature (T{sub c}) was 15,485 for samples with x = 0.1. The highest remnant polarization (P{sub r}), piezoelectric charge coefficient (d{sub 33}), piezoelectric voltage coefficient (g{sub 33}), electromechanical coefficient for planar mode (k{sub p}) and thickness mode (k{sub t}) values were 6.3 μC/cm{sup 2}, 346 pC/N, 15.6 x 10{sup -3} Vm/N, 42 and 41 %, respectively, which were obtained for the sample of x = 0.2 mol% Sb. (orig.)

  2. Selenization of mixed metal oxides for dense and ZnSe-free Cu{sub 2}ZnSnSe{sub 4} absorber films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deng, Yitao; Chen, Guilin; Pan, Bin; Li, JianMin; Jiang, Guoshun; Liu, Weifeng, E-mail: liuwf@ustc.edu.cn; Zhu, Changfei, E-mail: cfzhu@ustc.edu.cn

    2014-04-05

    Highlights: • ZnSe-free CZTSe films with large grains was prepared from mixed oxides nanopraticles. • Appearance of Zn{sub 2}SnO{sub 4} in mixed oxides precursors leads to the absence of ZnSe secondary phrase. • To obtain pure CZTSe phase, different treating temperature was used. -- Abstract: Cu{sub 2}ZnSnSe{sub 4} (CZTSe) films were prepared by direct selenization of Cu{sub 2}O, SnO{sub 2} and Zn{sub 2}SnO{sub 4} precursors. Oxides precursors were prepared by baking hydroxides precipitation. In order to obtain ZnSe-free CZTSe films, Zn{sub 2}SnO{sub 4} was used to replace separated ZnO and SnO{sub 2} as one of the precursors. Through X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), it was found that CZTSe films, with micron-sized dense grains, were obtained in our work. From Raman spectra, it was also found that the ZnSe secondary phase was absent after the selenization. An energy bandgap about 0.86 eV was obtained in our work, which confirmed the Stannite-CZTSe structure.

  3. Biological reduction-deposition and luminescent properties of nanostructured CePO{sub 4}@NaCe(SO{sub 4}){sub 2}(H{sub 2}O) and CePO{sub 4}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, Xiaoniu [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189 (China); Research Institute of Green Construction Materials, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189 (China); Qian, Chunxiang, E-mail: cxqian@seu.edu.cn [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189 (China); Research Institute of Green Construction Materials, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189 (China)

    2016-03-01

    Nano-sized CePO{sub 4}@NaCe(SO{sub 4}){sub 2}(H{sub 2}O) and CePO{sub 4} with hexagonal phase have been prepared by simply varying the reactant P/Ce molar ratio in bacterial liquid. The phase composition of two samples was checked via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses, displaying the presence of CePO{sub 4}@NaCe(SO{sub 4}){sub 2}(H{sub 2}O) and CePO{sub 4} with average crystallite size are 32.34 and 15.61 nm, respectively. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images show that nano-clusters and sphere-like in shape with a narrow diameter distribution were observed in two samples. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) photographs further indicate obtained CePO{sub 4}@NaCe(SO{sub 4}){sub 2}(H{sub 2}O) and CePO{sub 4} nanoparticles correspond to nanosheets and nanorods, respectively. The emission spectra of CePO{sub 4}@NaCe(SO{sub 4}){sub 2}(H{sub 2}O) and CePO{sub 4} display a broad band of 300–380 nm range with the strongest emission at 342 nm in the violet region. - Highlights: • A new method was found to synthesize CePO{sub 4}@NaCe(SO{sub 4}){sub 2}(H{sub 2}O) and CePO{sub 4} nanoparticles. • CePO{sub 4}@NaCe(SO{sub 4}){sub 2}(H{sub 2}O) nanoparticles have good luminescent properties. • Size and luminescent properties of two samples have been studied and compared.

  4. Carrier recombination in tailored multilayer Si/Si{sub 1−x}Ge{sub x} nanostructures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mala, S.A. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102 (United States); Tsybeskov, L., E-mail: tsybesko@njit.edu [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102 (United States); Lockwood, D.J.; Wu, X.; Baribeau, J.-M. [National Research Council, Ottawa, ON, Canada KIA 0R6 (Canada)

    2014-11-15

    Photoluminescence (PL) measurements were performed in Si/Si{sub 1−x}Ge{sub x} nanostructures with a single Si{sub 0.92}Ge{sub 0.08} nanometer-thick layer incorporated into Si/Si{sub 0.6}Ge{sub 0.4} cluster multilayers. Under pulsed laser excitation, the PL decay associated with the Si{sub 0.92}Ge{sub 0.08} nano-layer is found to be nearly a 1000 times faster compared to that in Si/Si{sub 0.6}Ge{sub 0.4} cluster multilayers. A model considering Si/SiGe hetero-interface composition and explaining the fast and slow time-dependent recombination rates is proposed.

  5. Tunneling density of states as a function of thickness in superconductor/ strong ferromagnet bilayers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reymond, S.

    2010-04-29

    We have made an experimental study of the tunneling density of states (DOS) in strong ferromagnetic thin films (CoFe) in proximity with a thick superconducting film (Nb) as a function of d{sub F}, the ferromagnetic thickness. Remarkably, we find that as d{sub F} increases, the superconducting DOS exhibits a scaling behavior in which the deviations from the normal-state conductance have a universal shape that decreases exponentially in amplitude with characteristic length d* {approx} 0.4 nm. We do not see oscillations in the DOS as a function of d{sub F}, as expected from predictions based on the Usadel equations, although an oscillation in T{sub c}(d{sub F}) has been seen in the same materials.

  6. Disorder influence on the magnetic properties of La{sub 0.55}Sr{sub 0.45}MnO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3} superlattices

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haberkorn, N. E-mail: nhaberk@cab.cnea.gov.ar; Sirena, M.; Guimpel, J.; Steren, L.B

    2004-05-01

    The structural and physical properties of La{sub 0.55}Sr{sub 0.45}MnO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3} superlattices grown by magnetron sputtering are studied. Two deposition temperatures and different mismatched substrates and buffer layers were used. The structure was determined by refinement through X-ray diffraction pattern fitting. The results indicate 1 unit cell (u.c.) interdiffusion at the interfaces and a 1 u.c. layer thickness fluctuation, i.e. roughness. In-plane hysteresis loops show the expected ferromagnetic behavior, while the perpendicular-to-plane hysteresis loops show anomalies which could evidence magnetic domain size inhomogeneities and stress.

  7. Spectroscopy of peaks at microwave range for nanostructure SrFe{sub 12}O{sub 19} and NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} ferrite particles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ariaee, Sina, E-mail: sina.ariaee@tabrizu.ac.ir; Mehdipour, Mostafa, E-mail: Mostafa_mehdipour67@yahoo.com; Moradnia, Mina, E-mail: mina.moradnia86@gmail.com

    2017-05-01

    In this paper, (SrFe{sub 12}O{sub 19} and NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4}) nanostructure ferrite particles were synthesized via the co-precipitation of chloride salts utilizing the sodium hydroxide solution. The resulting precursors were heat-treated at 1100 °C for 4 h. After cooling in the furnace, the ferrite powders were pressed at 0.1 MPa and then sintered at 1200 °C for 4 h. The spectroscopy and characterization of peaks at the microwave range (X-band) for the nanostructure ferrite particles were investigated by the ferromagnetic resonance/transmit-line theories and Reflection Loss (RL) plots. The extracted data from these theoretical and experimental results showed that the natural ferromagnetic resonance can be lead to the narrow peaks and the width of the peaks can be related to the periodic effects. Two kinds of peaks were seen for NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} at X-band (8–12 GHz); the narrow peak at (9.8 GHz) was remaining unchanged and consistent while the wide one was shifted from 11 GHz to 8.5 GHz by decreasing the thickness of the samples. These phenomena were also happened for SrFe{sub 12}O{sub 19} samples. The natural resonance was not happened due to the hard magnetic properties of these nano structure particles. - Highlights: • SrFe{sub 12}O{sub 19} and NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanostructure ferrite particles were synthesized via the co-precipitation of chloride salts. • Two kinds of peaks were seen for NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} at X-band (8–12 GHz); these phenomena were also happened for SrFe{sub 12}O{sub 19} samples. • The narrow peaks were remained unchanged and consistent while the wide ones were shifted by decreasing the thickness of the samples. • Characterization procedure was conducted utilizing the ferromagnetic resonance/transmit-line theories and Reflection Loss (RL) plots. • It was concluded that the natural ferromagnetic resonance can be lead to the narrow peaks while the wide ones can be related to the periodic effects.

  8. Graphene-based bimorphs for micron-sized, autonomous origami machines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miskin, Marc Z; Dorsey, Kyle J; Bircan, Baris; Han, Yimo; Muller, David A; McEuen, Paul L; Cohen, Itai

    2018-01-16

    Origami-inspired fabrication presents an attractive platform for miniaturizing machines: thinner layers of folding material lead to smaller devices, provided that key functional aspects, such as conductivity, stiffness, and flexibility, are persevered. Here, we show origami fabrication at its ultimate limit by using 2D atomic membranes as a folding material. As a prototype, we bond graphene sheets to nanometer-thick layers of glass to make ultrathin bimorph actuators that bend to micrometer radii of curvature in response to small strain differentials. These strains are two orders of magnitude lower than the fracture threshold for the device, thus maintaining conductivity across the structure. By patterning 2-[Formula: see text]m-thick rigid panels on top of bimorphs, we localize bending to the unpatterned regions to produce folds. Although the graphene bimorphs are only nanometers thick, they can lift these panels, the weight equivalent of a 500-nm-thick silicon chip. Using panels and bimorphs, we can scale down existing origami patterns to produce a wide range of machines. These machines change shape in fractions of a second when crossing a tunable pH threshold, showing that they sense their environments, respond, and perform useful functions on time and length scales comparable with microscale biological organisms. With the incorporation of electronic, photonic, and chemical payloads, these basic elements will become a powerful platform for robotics at the micrometer scale.

  9. Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of non-epitaxial hexagonal Co{sub 50}Pt{sub 50} thin films prepared at room temperature

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yuan, F.T., E-mail: ftyuan@gmail.com [iSentek Ltd., Advanced Sensor Laboratory, New Taipei City 22101, Taiwan (China); Chang, H.W., E-mail: wei0208@gmail.com [Department of Applied Physics, Tunghai University, Taichung 40704, Taiwan (China); Lee, P.Y.; Chang, C.Y. [Department of Applied Physics, Tunghai University, Taichung 40704, Taiwan (China); Chi, C.C. [Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China); Ouyang, H., E-mail: houyang@mx.nthu.edu.tw [Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China)

    2015-04-15

    Highlights: • In this paper, we propose a non-epitaxially grown PMA thin film of disorder hexagonal Co{sub 50}Pt{sub 50} which can satisfy all the requirements at once. • Although the preparation temperature is at room temperature and no post annealing is required, the film also shows good thermal stability up to 400 °C. • Moreover, the easy-controlling single layer deposition process of the film largely enhances the feasibility of practical production. • Significant PMA is achieved in a wide range of film thickness from 2 nm to 20 nm, which expands the usage form a GMR or TMR magnetic junctions to perpendicular spin polarizer for spin current related engineering. • The presented results may open new opportunities for advanced spintronic devices. - Abstract: Non-epitaxially induced perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) of Co{sub 50}Pt{sub 50} thin films at room temperature (RT) is reported. The CoPt film having a disordered hcp structure shows a magnetocrystalline anisotropy (K{sub u}{sup RT}) of 1–2 × 10{sup 6} erg/cm{sup 3} in a wide range of layer thickness from 2 to 20 nm. K{sub u}{sup RT} of about 1 × 10{sup 6} erg/cm{sup 3} can be preserved after a 400 °C-thermal cycle in the 5-nm-thick sample. Moderate PMA, large thickness range, simple preparation process, low formation temperature but good thermal stability make presented hcp CoPt become a remarkable option for advanced spintronic devices.

  10. Sub-millimeter science with the Heinrich-Hertz-Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dumke, Michael

    The Heinrich-Hertz-Telescope on Mt. Graham, Arizona, is a state-of-the-art single-dish radio telescope for observations in the sub-millimeter wavelength range. It is operated by the Sub-Millimeter Telescope Observatory (SMTO), which is a collaboration between the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn. In this talk I give an overview over the telescope and its instrumentation, and show some examples of forefront research performed by astronomers from both the U.S. and Europe using this instrument. The telescope is located on Mt. Graham, Arizona, at an altitude of 3178 m, which ensures sub-mm weather conditions during a significant amount of available observing time. It has a primary reflector of 10 m diameter, mounted on a carbon fiber backup structure, and is equipped with a corotating enclosure. The surface accuracy of the primary reflector is 12 microns rms, what makes the HHT the most accurate radio telescope ever built. For spectral line observations, SIS receivers covering the frequency range from 200 to 500 GHz are available. Furthermore, a Hot-Electron-Bolometer, developed at the CfA, can be used for spectral line observations above 800 GHz. The continuum receivers are a 4-color bolometer, observing at 1300, 870, 450, and 350 microns, and a 19-channel bolometer array, developed at the MPIfR, which is sensitive around 850 microns. In the last few years, the HHT has been used by several groups to perform astronomical research. The most notable result was the measurement of the CO(9--8) line in Orion at 1.037 THz with the Hot-Electron Bolometer -- the first radioastronomical observation above 1 THz from a ground-based telescope. Several galactic molecular line sources have been mapped in the CO(7--6) line at 806 GHz, and in two fine-structure lines of atomic carbon. A continuum map of the galactic center at 850 microns could be produced using the new 19-channel bolometer array. Even external galaxies, where

  11. Electroplated thick-film cobalt platinum permanent magnets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oniku, Ololade D.; Qi, Bin; Arnold, David P.

    2016-01-01

    The material and magnetic properties of multi-micron-thick (up to 6 μm) L1 0 CoPt magnetic films electroplated onto silicon substrates are investigated as candidate materials for integration in silicon-based microsystems. The influence of various process conditions on the structure and magnetic properties of electroplated CoPt thick-films is studied in order to better understand the complex process/structure/property relationships associated with the electroplated films. Process variables studied here include different seed layers, electroplating current densities (ranging from 25–200 mA/cm 2 ), deposition times (up to 60 min), and post-deposition annealing times and temperatures. Analyses include film morphology, film thickness, composition, surface roughness, grain size, phase volume fractions, and L1 0 ordering parameter. Key correlations are found relating process and structure variations to the extrinsic magnetic properties (remanence, coercivity, squareness, and energy product). Strong hard magnetic properties (B r ~0.8 T, H ci ~800 kA/m, squareness close to 0.9, and BH max of 100 kJ/m 3 ) are obtained for films deposited on Si/TiN/Ti/Cu at current densities of 100 mA/cm 2 , pH of 7, and subsequently annealed at 675 °C for 30 min. - Highlights: • CoPt films plated up to 6 μm thick on silicon substrates. • A1 to L1 0 phase transformation by annealing in forming gas. • Various process–structure–property relationships explored. • Key results: B r ~0.8 T, H ci ~800 kA/m, squareness 0.9, and BH max ~100 kJ/m 3 .

  12. Thickness dependent ferromagnetism in thermally decomposed NiO thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ravikumar, Patta; Kisan, Bhagaban; Perumal, Alagarsamy, E-mail: perumal@iitg.ernet.in

    2016-11-15

    We report the effects of film thickness, annealing temperature and annealing environments on thermal decomposition behavior and resulting magnetic properties of NiO (t=50–300 nm) thin films. All the NiO films were prepared directly on thermally oxidized Si at ambient temperature using magnetron sputtering technique and post annealed at different temperatures (T{sub A}) under vacuum and oxygen atmospheres. As-deposited films exhibit face centered cubic structure with large lattice constant due to strain induced during sputtering process. With increasing T{sub A}, the lattice constant decreases due to the release of strain and thickness dependent thermal decomposition reaction of NiO into Ni has been observed for the NiO films annealed at 500 °C under vacuum condition. As a result, the antiferromagnetic nature of the as-deposited NiO films transforms into ferromagnetic one with dominant thickness dependent ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature. In addition, the existence of both Ni and NiO phases in the annealed NiO films shows noticeable exchange bias under field cooling condition. The behavior of thermal decomposition was not observed for the NiO films annealed under oxygen condition which results in no detectable change in the magnetic properties. The observed results are discussed on the basis of thickness dependent thermal decomposition in NiO films with increasing T{sub A} and changing annealing conditions. - Highlights: • Preparation of highly strained single layer NiO films with different thicknesses. • Study the effects of annealing under different environments on crystal structure. • Understanding the origin of thickness dependent thermal decomposition reaction. • Investigate the role of thermal decomposition reaction on the magnetic properties. • Study the interaction between NiO and Ni phases on the exchange bias mechanism.

  13. Characterization of solar cells for space applications. Volume 11: Electrical characteristics of 2 ohm-cm, 228 micron wraparound solar cells as a function of intensity, temperature, and irradiation. [for solar electric propulsion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anspaugh, B. E.; Beckert, D. M.; Downing, R. G.; Weiss, R. S.

    1980-01-01

    Parametric characterization data on Spectrolab 2 by 4 cm, 2 ohm/cm, 228 micron thick wraparound cell, a candidate for the Solar Electric Propulsion Mission, are presented. These data consist of the electrical characteristics of the solar cell under a wide range of temperature and illumination intensity combinations of the type encountered in space applications.

  14. Compact 2 Micron Seed Laser, Phase II

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This proposal is for the development of innovative compact, high power and extremely reliable 2 micron seed laser using newly developed Tm3+ doped germanate glass...

  15. Sub-micron indent induced plastic deformation in copper and irradiated steel; Deformation plastique induite par l'essai d'indentation submicronique, dans le cuivre et l'acier 316L irradie

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robertson, Ch

    1999-07-01

    In this work we aim to study the indent induced plastic deformation. For this purpose, we have developed a new approach, whereby the indentation curves provides the mechanical behaviour, while the deformation mechanisms are observed thanks to Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). In order to better understand how an indent induced dislocation microstructure forms, numerical modeling of the indentation process at the scale of discrete dislocations has been worked out as well. Validation of this modeling has been performed through direct comparison of the computed microstructures with TEM micrographs of actual indents in pure Cu (001]. Irradiation induced modifications of mechanical behaviour of ion irradiated 316L have been investigated, thanks to the mentioned approach. An important hardening effect was reported from indentation data (about 50%), on helium irradiated 316L steel. TEM observations of the damage zone clearly show that this behaviour is associated with the presence of He bubbles. TEM observations of the indent induced plastic zone also showed that the extent of the plastic zone is strongly correlated with hardness, that is to say: harder materials gets a smaller plastic zone. These results thus clearly established that the selected procedure can reveal any irradiation induced hardening in sub-micron thick ion irradiated layers. The behaviour of krypton irradiated 316L steel is somewhat more puzzling. In one hand indeed, a strong correlation between the defect cluster size and densities on the irradiation temperature is observed in the 350 deg. C - 600 deg. C range, thanks to TEM observations of the damage zone. On the other hand, irradiation induced hardening reported from indentation data is relatively small (about 10%) and shows no dependence upon the irradiation temperature (within the mentioned range). In addition, it has been shown that the reported hardening vanishes following appropriate post-irradiation annealing, although most of the TEM

  16. Scanning thermal microscopy of Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and Yb{sub 0.19}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} thermoelectric films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zeipl, Radek; Remsa, Jan; Kocourek, Tomas [Institute of Physics ASCR v.v.i., Prague (Czech Republic); Jelinek, Miroslav [Institute of Physics ASCR v.v.i., Prague (Czech Republic); Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Kladno (Czech Republic); Vanis, Jan [Institute of Physics ASCR v.v.i., Prague (Czech Republic); Institute of Photonics and Electronics ASCR v.v.i., Prague (Czech Republic); Navratil, Jiri [Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry ASCR v.v.i., Prague (Czech Republic)

    2016-04-15

    Thermal conductivity of thermoelectric Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and Yb{sub 0.19}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} thin nanolayers of different thicknesses prepared by pulsed laser deposition on Si (100) substrates was studied by a scanning thermal microscope working in AC current pulse mode. A sensitivity of the approach is demonstrated on the steep Si substrate-layer boundary made by a Ga+ focused ion beam technique. Transport and thermoelectric properties such as in-plane electrical resistivity and the Seebeck coefficient were studied in temperature range from room temperature up to 200 C. The room temperature thermal conductivity of the layers was estimated from thermoelectric figure of merit that was measured by the Harman technique, in which parameters related to electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient and thermal conductivity are measured at the same place and at the same time with electrical current flowing through the layer. For Yb{sub 0.19}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} and Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} layers, we observed room temperature electrical resistivity of about 7 and 1 mΩcm, the Seebeck coefficient of -112 and -61μVK{sup -1}, thermoelectric figure of merit about 0.04 and 0.13 and we estimated thermal conductivity of about 1.3 and 0.9 WK{sup -1}m{sup -1}, respectively. (orig.)

  17. Evolution of optical constants of silicon dioxide on silicon from ultrathin films to thick films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cai Qingyuan; Zheng Yuxiang; Mao Penghui; Zhang Rongjun; Zhang Dongxu; Liu Minghui; Chen Liangyao, E-mail: yxzheng@fudan.edu.c [Key Laboratory of Micro and Nano Photonic Structures, Ministry of Education, Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433 (China)

    2010-11-10

    A series of SiO{sub 2} films with thickness range 1-600 nm have been deposited on crystal silicon (c-Si) substrates by electron beam evaporation (EBE) method. Variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (VASE) in combination with a two-film model (ambient-oxide-interlayer substrate) was used to determine the optical constants and thicknesses of the investigated films. The refractive indices of SiO{sub 2} films thicker than 60 nm are close to those of bulk SiO{sub 2}. For the thin films deposited at the rate of {approx}1.0 nm s{sup -1}, the refractive indices increase with decreasing thickness from {approx}60 to {approx}10 nm and then drop sharply with decreasing thickness below {approx}10 nm. However, for thin films deposited at the rates of {approx}0.4 and {approx}0.2 nm s{sup -1}, the refractive indices monotonically increase with decreasing thickness below 60 nm. The optical constants of the ultrathin film depend on the morphology of the film, the stress exerted on the film, as well as the stoichiometry of the oxide film.

  18. Cu{sub 2}O/TiO{sub 2} heterostructures on a DVD as easy&cheap photoelectrochemical sensors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zanatta, Michele; Calvillo, Laura; Zheng, Jian; Rizzi, Gian Andrea, E-mail: gianandrea.rizzi@unipd.it; Durante, Christian; Giallongo, Giuseppe; Chirkov, Dymitrov; Colazzo, Luciano; Marega, Carla; Gennaro, Armando; Granozzi, Gaetano

    2016-03-31

    Cu{sub 2}O nanoparticles have been grown by pulse-electrochemical deposition on a Digital Versatile Disk (DVD) which acts as a nanostructured electrode. Prior to Cu{sub 2}O deposition, the silver-coated rectangular-shaped grooves of the disassembled DVD were coated with a TiO{sub 2} thin film by a modified sol–gel method, where oxalic acid is used in place of the usual mineral acids to peptize the precipitated hydrous titania formed from the hydrolysis of titanium iso-propoxide. This procedure leaves no inorganic residues after UV-curing, resulting in a high quality film, mainly composed of TiO{sub 2}-anatase. As demonstrated by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) measurements, the DVD grooves are filled by a 120–130 nm thick TiO{sub 2} film, while the thickness of the TiO{sub 2} deposit on the crests is only ca. 50 nm. This inhomogeneous thickness leads to an inhomogeneous electric field when the DVD is used as an electrode for depositing Cu{sub 2}O nanoparticles, which eventually leads to the growth of Cu{sub 2}O nanoparticles only on the DVD crests. A highly regular and reproducible Cu{sub 2}O/TiO{sub 2} stripe-like heterostructure is obtained where both semiconducting oxides are aside. This system has been characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform (DRIFT) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and photocurrent measurements. A possible use of this easy&cheap electrode as a visible light responsive sensor to water soluble organics in basic solution is suggested. - Highlights: • A commercial DVD is recycled to prepare cheap photo-electrochemical sensors. • The sensing elements are Cu{sub 2}O nanostripes grown on a nanostructured TiO{sub 2} thin film obtained at room temperature. • Water soluble organics can be detected by dissolved O{sub 2} activation with visible light.

  19. Microstructural and compositional analysis of YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-{delta}} films grown by MOCVD before and after GCIB smoothing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hatzistergos, M.S.; Efstathiadis, H.; Reeves, J.L.; Selvamanickam, V.; Allen, L.P.; Lifshin, E.; Haldar, P

    2004-06-15

    The microstructural and compositional evolution of thick (>1 {mu}m) high temperature superconducting YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-x} (YBCO) films grown on single crystal SrTiO{sub 3} substrates by the metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process was investigated by focused ion beam microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and atomic force microscopy. This study showed that as the MOCVD YBCO film thickness increased above 0.5 {mu}m, defects such as second phase particles, pores, and misaligned grains preferentially nucleated and grew at the YBCO surface. A portion of this defective top layer was eliminated from all the samples using a gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) process that first removed material with a focused argon cluster beam. Next, an oxygen cluster beam was used to smooth the surface and re-oxygenate the YBCO. Comparing the critical current (I{sub c}) measured before and after GCIB processing showed that the I{sub c} remained the same, and even improved, when part of the defective top layer was removed. This microstructural and electromagnetic 'dead layer' is believed to be responsible for the overall I{sub c} decrease of MOCVD YBCO films thicker than 0.5 {mu}m.

  20. Inflammatory effects on human lung epithelial cells after exposure to diesel exhaust micron sub particles (PM1.0) and pollen allergens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mazzarella, G.; Esposito, V.; Bianco, A.; Ferraraccio, F.; Prati, M.V.; Lucariello, A.; Manente, L.; Mezzogiorno, A.; De Luca, A.

    2012-01-01

    Asthma is currently defined as a chronic inflammatory disease of the airway. Several evidence indicate that vehicle emissions in cities is correlated with the allergic respiratory diseases. In the present study, we evaluated in the A549 cells the production and release of IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13 after treatment with sub-micron PM 1.0 particles (PM 1.0 ), Parietaria officinalis (ALL), and PM 1.0 + ALL together. Our data demonstrated that PM 1.0 + ALL together exhibited the greatest capacity to induce A549 cells to enhance the expression of IL-4 and IL-5 compared with the only PM 1.0 or ALL treatment. Interestingly, IL-13 that is necessary for allergen-induced airway hyper responsiveness, is increased in cells treated with PM 1.0 + ALL together, but is higher expressed when the cells are treated only with the allergen. Our data support the hypothesis that the urban environment damage the acinar lung units and activates cells of the immune system. - Highlights: ► The genetic factors plays a key role in the development of the asthma. ► Its development can only be made in the presence of specific environmental factors. ► We evaluated in the A549 cells the production and release of IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13. ► IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13 expression increased when the A549 cells are treated with PM 1.0 + ALL together. - The urban environment with the combination of inhalable air pollution and particulate are able to damage the acinar lung units and are able to activate cells of the immune system.

  1. Choroidal Thickness Analysis in Patients with Usher Syndrome Type 2 Using EDI OCT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Colombo

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available To portray Usher Syndrome type 2, analyzing choroidal thickness and comparing data reported in published literature on RP and healthy subjects. Methods. 20 eyes of 10 patients with clinical signs and genetic diagnosis of Usher Syndrome type 2. Each patient underwent a complete ophthalmologic examination including Best Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA, intraocular pressure (IOP, axial length (AL, automated visual field (VF, and EDI OCT. Both retinal and choroidal measures were measured. Statistical analysis was performed to correlate choroidal thickness with age, BCVA, IOP, AL, VF, and RT. Comparison with data about healthy people and nonsyndromic RP patients was performed. Results. Mean subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT was 248.21±79.88 microns. SFCT was statistically significant correlated with age (correlation coefficient −0.7248179, p<0.01. No statistically significant correlation was found between SFCT and BCVA, IOP, AL, VF, and RT. SFCT was reduced if compared to healthy subjects (p<0.01. No difference was found when compared to choroidal thickness from nonsyndromic RP patients (p=0.2138. Conclusions. Our study demonstrated in vivo choroidal thickness reduction in patients with Usher Syndrome type 2. These data are important for the comprehension of mechanisms of disease and for the evaluation of therapeutic approaches.

  2. Radiation Pressure Measurements on Micron Size Individual Dust Grains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbas, M. M.; Craven, P.D.; Spann, J. F.; Tankosic, D.; Witherow, W. K.; LeClair, A.; West, E.; Sheldon, R.; Gallagher, D. L.; Adrian, M. L.

    2003-01-01

    Measurements of electromagnetic radiation pressure have been made on individual silica (SiO2) particles levitated in an electrodynamic balance. These measurements were made by inserting single charged particles of known diameter in the 0.2 micron to 6.82 micron range and irradiating them from above with laser radiation focused to beam-widths of approx. 175-400 micron, at ambient pressures approx. 10(exp -3) to 10(exp -4) torr. The downward displacement of the particle due to the radiation force is balanced by the electrostatic force indicated by the compensating dc potential applied to the balance electrodes, providing a direct measure of the radiation force on the levitated particle. Theoretical calculations of the radiation pressure with a least-squares fit to the measured data yield the radiation pressure efficiencies of the particles, and comparisons with Mie scattering theory calculations provide the imaginary part of the refractive index of silica and the corresponding extinction and scattering efficiencies.

  3. Antimicrobial property, cytocompatibility and corrosion resistance of Zn-doped ZrO{sub 2}/TiO{sub 2} coatings on Ti6Al4V implants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Ruoyun; He, Xiaojing; Gao, Yuee; Zhang, Xiangyu; Yao, Xiaohong, E-mail: xhyao@tyut.edu.cn; Tang, Bin

    2017-06-01

    Zn-doped ZrO{sub 2}/TiO{sub 2} porous coatings (Zn-ZrO{sub 2}/TiO{sub 2}) were prepared on the surface of titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) by a hybrid approach of magnetron sputtering and micro-arc oxidation (MAO). The microstructures, phase constituents and elemental states of the coating were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results demonstrate that the Zn-ZrO{sub 2}/TiO{sub 2} coatings are porous and its thickness is approximately 13 μm. The major phases in the oxidation coating are tetragonal ZrO{sub 2} (t-ZrO{sub 2}), cubic ZrO{sub 2} (c-ZrO{sub 2}) and rutile TiO{sub 2}. XPS result reveals that Zn exists as ZnO in the Zn-ZrO{sub 2}/TiO{sub 2} coatings. The biological experiments indicate that Zn-ZrO{sub 2}/TiO{sub 2} coatings exhibit not only excellent antibacterial property against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), but also favorable cytocompatibility. In addition, the corrosion resistance of the coating is also appreciably improved in the simulated body fluids (SBF), which can ensure better biocompatibility in body fluids. - Highlights: • The porous Zn-ZrO{sub 2}/TiO{sub 2} coatings were successfully prepared by a novel duplex-treatment technique. • Zn-ZrO{sub 2}/TiO{sub 2} coatings possess superior corrosion resistance and excellent antibacterial ability against S. aureus. • Zn-ZrO{sub 2}/TiO{sub 2} coatings can enhance in vitro angiogenesis activity of osteoblastic cells.

  4. Compact 2 Micron Seed Laser, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This proposal is for the development of new compact, high power and extremely reliable 2 micron seed laser using newly developed Tm3+ doped germanate glass fibers,...

  5. Epitaxial strain and its relaxation at the LaAlO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3} interface

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Guozhen, E-mail: guozhen.liu@hotmail.com [Department of Physics, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122 (United States); Research Center for Solid State Physics and Materials, School of Mathematics and Physics, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009 (China); Lei, Qingyu; Wolak, Matthäus A.; Xi, Xiaoxing [Department of Physics, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122 (United States); Li, Qun [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802 (United States); State Key Laboratory for Strength and Vibration of Mechanical Structures, School of Aerospace, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710049 (China); Chen, Long-Qing [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802 (United States); Winkler, Christopher; Sloppy, Jennifer; Taheri, Mitra L. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 (United States)

    2016-08-28

    A series of LaAlO{sub 3} thin films with different thicknesses were deposited by pulsed laser deposition at temperatures from 720 °C to 800 °C. The results from grazing incidence x-ray diffraction and reciprocal space mapping indicate that a thin layer of LaAlO{sub 3} adjacent to the SrTiO{sub 3} substrate remains almost coherently strained to the substrate, while the top layer starts to relax quickly above a certain critical thickness, followed by a gradual relaxation at larger film thickness when they are grown at lower temperatures. The atomic force microscopy results show that the fast relaxation is accompanied by the formation of cracks on the film surface. This can be ascribed to the larger energy release rate when compared with the resistance of LaAlO{sub 3} to cracking, according to calculations from the Griffith fracture theory. For films grown at 720 °C, a drop in sheet resistance by two orders of magnitude is observed when the top layer starts to relax, indicating a relationship between the strain and the conductivity of the two-dimensional electron gas at the LaAlO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3} interface. The strain engineered by growth temperature provides a useful tool for the manipulation of the electronic properties of oxide heterointerfaces.

  6. Structure and corrosion behavior of sputter deposited cerium oxide based coatings with various thickness on Al 2024-T3 alloy substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Yuanyuan [College of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045 (China); Materials Research Center, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO 65409 (United States); Huang, Jiamu, E-mail: huangjiamu@cqu.edu.cn [College of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045 (China); Claypool, James B.; Castano, Carlos E. [Materials Research Center, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO 65409 (United States); O’Keefe, Matthew J., E-mail: mjokeefe@mst.edu [Materials Research Center, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO 65409 (United States)

    2015-11-15

    Highlights: • Crystalline CeO{sub 2} coatings are deposited on Al 2024-T3 alloys by magnetron sputtering. • The crystal size and internal stress both increased with the thickness of CeO{sub 2} coating. • The ∼210 nm thick coating has the highest adhesion strength to the Al alloy substrate. • The ∼900 nm thick coating increased the corrosion resistance two orders of magnitude. • CeO{sub 2} coatings provide good cathodic inhibition for Al alloys by acting as physical barriers. - Abstract: Cerium oxide based coatings from ∼100 to ∼1400 nm in thickness were deposited onto Al 2024-T3 alloy substrates by magnetron sputtering of a 99.99% pure CeO{sub 2} target. The crystallite size of CeO{sub 2} coatings increased from 15 nm to 46 nm as the coating thickness increased from ∼100 nm to ∼1400 nm. The inhomogeneous lattice strain increased from 0.36% to 0.91% for the ∼100 nm to ∼900 nm thick coatings and slightly decreased to 0.89% for the ∼1400 nm thick coating. The highest adhesion strength to Al alloy substrates was for the ∼210 nm thick coating, due to a continuous film coverage and low internal stress. Electrochemical measurements indicated that sputter deposited crystalline CeO{sub 2} coatings acted as physical barriers that provide good cathodic inhibition for Al alloys in saline solution. The ∼900 nm thick CeO{sub 2} coated sample had the best corrosion performance that increased the corrosion resistance by two orders magnitude and lowered the cathodic current density 30 times compared to bare Al 2024-T3 substrates. The reduced defects and exposed surface, along with suppressed charge mobility, likely accounts for the improved corrosion performance as coating thickness increased from ∼100 nm to ∼900 nm. The corrosion performance decreased for ∼1400 nm thick coatings due in part to an increase in coating defects and porosity along with a decrease in adhesion strength.

  7. Scanning micro-Hall probe mapping of magnetic flux distributions and current densities in YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xing, W.; Heinrich, B. [Simon Fraser Univ., British Columbia (Canada); Zhou, H. [CTF Systems, Inc., British Columbia (Canada)] [and others

    1994-12-31

    Mapping of the magnetic flux density B{sub z} (perpendicular to the film plane) for a YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7} thin-film sample was carried out using a scanning micro-Hall probe. The sheet magnetization and sheet current densities were calculated from the B{sub z} distributions. From the known sheet magnetization, the tangential (B{sub x,y}) and normal components of the flux density B were calculated in the vicinity of the film. It was found that the sheet current density was mostly determined by 2B{sub x,y}/d, where d is the film thickness. The evolution of flux penetration as a function of applied field will be shown.

  8. Nanoscale organization of {beta}{sub 2}-adrenergic receptor-Venus fusion protein domains on the surface of mammalian cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vobornik, Dusan; Rouleau, Yanouchka; Haley, Jennifer [Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1A 0R6 (Canada); Bani-Yaghoub, Mahmud [Institute for Biological Sciences, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1A 0R6 (Canada); Taylor, Rod [Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1A 0R6 (Canada); Johnston, Linda J., E-mail: Linda.Johnston@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca [Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1A 0R6 (Canada); Pezacki, John Paul, E-mail: John.Pezacki@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca [Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1A 0R6 (Canada)

    2009-04-24

    Adrenergic receptors are a key component of nanoscale multiprotein complexes that are responsible for controlling the beat rate in a mammalian heart. We demonstrate the ability of near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) to visualize {beta}{sub 2}-adrenergic receptors ({beta}{sub 2}AR) fused to the GFP analogue Venus at the nanoscale on HEK293 cells. The expression of the {beta}{sub 2}AR-Venus fusion protein was tightly controlled using a tetracycline-induced promoter. Both the size and density of the observed nanoscale domains are dependent on the level of induction and thus the level of protein expression. At concentrations between 100 and 700 ng/ml of inducer doxycycline, the size of domains containing the {beta}{sub 2}AR-Venus fusion protein appears to remain roughly constant, but the number of domains per cell increase. At 700 ng/ml doxycycline the functional receptors are organized into domains with an average diameter of 150 nm with a density similar to that observed for the native protein on primary murine cells. By contrast, larger micron-sized domains of {beta}{sub 2}AR are observed in the membrane of the HEK293 cells that stably overexpress {beta}{sub 2}AR-GFP and {beta}{sub 2}AR-eYFP. We conclude that precise chemical control of gene expression is highly advantageous for the use {beta}{sub 2}AR-Venus fusion proteins as models for {beta}{sub 2}AR function. These observations are critical for designing future cell models and assays based on {beta}{sub 2}AR, since the receptor biology is consistent with a relatively low density of nanoscale receptor domains.

  9. Galvanostatic Intermittent Titration and Performance Based Analysis of LiNi<sub>0.5sub>Co>0.2sub> Mn<sub>0.3sub>O>2sub>Cathode

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Verma, Ankit; Smith, Kandler; Santhanagopalan, Shriram; Abraham, Daniel; Yao, Koffi Pierre; Mukherjee, Partha P.

    2017-01-01

    Galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) – a popular method for characterizing kinetic and transport properties of battery electrodes – is predicated on the proper evaluation of electrode active area. LiNi0.5044Co0.1986Mn0.2970O2 (NCM523) material exhibits a complex morphology in which sub-micron primary particles aggregate to form secondary particle agglomerates. This work proposes a new active area formulation for primary/secondary particle agglomerate materials to better mimic the morphology of NCM532 electrodes. This formulation is then coupled with macro-homogeneous models to simulate GITT and half-cell performance of NCM523 electrodes. Subsequently, the model results are compared against the experimental results to refine the area formulation. A single parameter, the surface roughness factor, is proposed to mimic the change in interfacial area, diffusivity and exchange current density simultaneously and detailed modeling results are presented to provide valuable insights into the efficacy of the formulation.

  10. Antimicrobial activity of eumelanin-based hybrids: The role of TiO{sub 2} in modulating the structure and biological performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vitiello, Giuseppe [Department of Chemical, Materials and Production Engineering, University of Naples “Federico II”, p.le V. Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples (Italy); CSGI, Consorzio Interuniversitario per lo Sviluppo dei Sistemi a Grande Interfase, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Florence (Italy); Pezzella, Alessandro [Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples “Federico II” via Cintia 4, 80126 Naples (Italy); Institute for Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials (IPCB), CNR, Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli (Italy); Zanfardino, Anna [Department of Biology, University of Naples “Federico II” via Cintia 4, 80126 Naples (Italy); Silvestri, Brigida [Department of Chemical, Materials and Production Engineering, University of Naples “Federico II”, p.le V. Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples (Italy); Giudicianni, Paola [Istituto di Ricerche sulla Combustione, Centro Nazionale delle Ricerche IRC-CNR, via Claudio, 80125 Napoli (Italy); Costantini, Aniello [Department of Chemical, Materials and Production Engineering, University of Naples “Federico II”, p.le V. Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples (Italy); Varcamonti, Mario [Department of Biology, University of Naples “Federico II” via Cintia 4, 80126 Naples (Italy); Branda, Francesco [Department of Chemical, Materials and Production Engineering, University of Naples “Federico II”, p.le V. Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples (Italy); Luciani, Giuseppina, E-mail: giuseppina.luciani@unina.it [Department of Chemical, Materials and Production Engineering, University of Naples “Federico II”, p.le V. Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples (Italy)

    2017-06-01

    Eco-friendly hybrid Eumelanin-TiO{sub 2} nanostructures, recently obtained through in situ methodology based on hydrothermal route, have shown a striking antimicrobial activity, after exposure to oxidative environment, even under visible light induction condition. Nevertheless, the role of each component in defining the efficacy of these biological properties is far from being clearly defined. Furthermore, the effect of oxidative step on hybrids structure has not yet addressed. This study aims at elucidating the role of the ratio between eumelanin precursor, 5,6-dihydroxyindole-2-carboxylic acid (DHICA), and TiO{sub 2}, for its polymerization in defining morphology and structural organization of TiO{sub 2}-melanin nanostructures. Furthermore, tests on a Gram-negative Escherichia coli DH5α strain under UV irradiation and even visible light allowed to assess the contribution of each component, as well as of the TiO{sub 2}–DHICA charge transfer complex to overall biological performance. Finally, results of biocide characterization were combined with spectroscopic evidences to prove that oxidative treatment induces a marked structural modification in melanin thus enhancing overall antimicrobial efficacy. - Highlights: • Eco-friendly hybrid Eumelanin-TiO{sub 2} nanostructures shows striking antimicrobial activity under visible light. • TiO{sub 2} catalyzes 5,6-dihydroxyindole-2-carboxylic acid (DHICA) polymerization to eumelanin. • Eumelanin precursor/catalyst ratio modulates physico-chemical and structural properties of hybrid nanostructures. • Oxidative treatment increases the reticulation grade of the polymeric chains within the nanoparticles. • Additional oxidative process of the eumelanin pigment strongly improves the antimicrobial activity of hybrids.

  11. Stress evaluation in thin films: Micro-focus synchrotron X-ray diffraction combined with focused ion beam patterning for d{sub o} evaluation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baimpas, Nikolaos, E-mail: nikolaos.baimpas@eng.ox.ac.uk [University of Oxford, Dept. of Engineering Science (United Kingdom); Le Bourhis, Eric [University of Poitiers, Institut P' , Laboratoire de Physique des Matériaux, Poitiers (France); Eve, Sophie [ENSICAEN, CRISMAT, Caen (France); Thiaudière, Dominique [Synchrotron SOLEIL, L' Orme des Merisiers Saint-Aubin, Paris (France); Hardie, Christopher [University of Oxford, Materials Department (United Kingdom); Korsunsky, Alexander M. [University of Oxford, Dept. of Engineering Science (United Kingdom)

    2013-12-31

    Nanocrystalline metallic coatings of sub-micron thickness are widely used in modern microelectronic applications. In X-ray diffraction experiments to determine both the residual and applied stresses in nanocrystalline coatings, one difficult challenge that comes up invariably is the determination of the strain-free lattice spacing d{sub o}. The present study addresses this challenge by using the focused ion beam (FIB) to generate a built-in strain-free reference by patterning (milling) a 50 × 50 μm{sup 2} region of the coating to produce an array of small stress-relieved “islands” ∼ 0.8 × 0.8 μm{sup 2} each. Transmission X-ray diffraction setup was used for data collection at DIFFABS beamline (Synchrotron SOLEIL, France). A 150 nm-thick multi-layered W–Cu nano-composite thin film on polyimide (Kapton®) substrate was studied. The samples were loaded incrementally using a compact uniaxial loading device, and micro-beam diffraction data were collected on and away from the reference array. It was shown experimentally that the “island” array remained approximately strain free throughout the experiment, providing an on-board d{sub o} lattice spacing reference. The changing lattice spacing d in the coating was also monitored away from the array, to deduce the elastic strain evolution during deformation. The results and their implications are presented and discussed. - Highlights: • In situ deformation study of laminate polycrystalline W–Cu thin films • Focused ion beam (FIB) patterning of an array of “islands” on thin films surface • X-ray diffraction on island-patterned region • Constant strain on “islands” independently of the deformation of the substrate.

  12. Tuning magnetic properties of magnetoelectric BiFeO{sub 3}-NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanostructures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Crane, S.P. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)], E-mail: scrane@berkeley.edu; Bihler, C.; Brandt, M.S. [Walter Schottky Institut, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Goennenwein, S.T.B. [Walther-Meissner-Institut, Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Gajek, M. [Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Ramesh, R. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

    2009-02-15

    Multifunctional thin film nanostructures containing soft magnetic materials such as nickel ferrite are interesting for potential applications in microwave signal processing because of the possibility to shrink the size of device architecture and limit device power consumption. An essential prerequisite to future applications of such a system is a firm understanding of its magnetic properties. We show that nanostructures composed of ferrimagnetic NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} pillars in a multiferroic BiFeO{sub 3} matrix can be tuned magnetically by altering the aspect ratio of the pillars by depositing films of varying thickness. Magnetic anisotropy is studied using ferromagnetic resonance, which shows that the uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in the growth direction changes sign upon increasing the film thickness. The magnitude of this anisotropy contribution can be explained via a combination of shape and magnetostatic effects, using the object-oriented micromagnetic framework (OOMMF). The key factors determining the magnetic properties of the films are shown to be the aspect ratio of individual pillars and magnetostatic interactions between neighboring pillars.

  13. Effects of TiO{sub 2} film thickness on photovoltaic properties of dye-sensitized solar cell and its enhanced performance by graphene combination

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Haiyan, E-mail: hyzhang@gdut.edu.cn [School of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center 100#, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Wang, Wenguang; Liu, Hui; Wang, Rong; Chen, Yiming [School of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center 100#, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Wang, Zhiwei [Anhui Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials and Nanostructures Institute of Solid State Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031 (China)

    2014-01-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • DSSC based on TiO{sub 2} film with 8 printing layers showed the highest efficiency. • The photoelectric conversion efficiency of the DSSC increased from 5.52% to 6.49% by graphene combination. • A mechanism for the enhanced performance of the DSSC was proposed. - Abstract: Dye-sensitized solar cells based on TiO{sub 2} films with different printing layers (6-10) were fabricated by screen printing method. The prepared samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and UV–vis absorption spectroscopy. The effects of thickness on the photoelectric conversion performance of the as-fabricated DSSCs were investigated. An optimum photoelectric conversion efficiency of 5.52% was obtained in a DSSC with 8 printing layers. Furthermore, after a moderate amount of graphene was combined with TiO{sub 2}, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the DSSC based on graphene/TiO{sub 2} composite film rose from 5.52% to 6.49%, with an increase of η by 17.6%. The results indicated that graphene not only enhances the transport of electrons from the film to the fluorine doped tin oxide substrates and reduces the charge recombination rate, but also reduces the electrolyte–electrode interfacial resistance, clearly increasing the photoelectric conversion efficiency.

  14. Substrate influence on the magnetoresistance and magnetic order in La{sub 0.6}Sr{sub 0.4}MnO{sub 3} films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Steren, L.B. E-mail: steren@cab.cnea.gov.ar; Sirena, M.; Guimpel, J

    2000-03-01

    We report structural, magnetic and transport measurements on La{sub 0.6}Sr{sub 0.4}MnO{sub 3} thin films grown on MgO and TiSrO{sub 3} substrates with thickness varying from 5 to 500 nm. We find that the lattice mismatch between substrates and films affects the morphology and induced-strains of the films. We show that these two different effects strongly influence the ferromagnetic order, the metal-insulator transition, the localization of the current carriers and the magnetoresistance of these materials.

  15. Towards measurement of the Casimir force between parallel plates separated at sub-mircon distance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Syed Nawazuddin, M.B.; Lammerink, Theodorus S.J.; Wiegerink, Remco J.; Berenschot, Johan W.; de Boer, Meint J.; Elwenspoek, Michael Curt

    2011-01-01

    Ever since its prediction, experimental investigation of the Casimir force has been of great scientific interest. Many research groups have successfully attempted quantifying the force with different device geometries; however measurement of the Casimir force between parallel plates with sub-micron

  16. A facile approach to fabricate of photothermal functional Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@CuS microspheres

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Baolong; Shan, Yan, E-mail: shanyan@qust.edu.cn; Chen, Kezheng, E-mail: kchen@qust.edu.cn

    2017-06-01

    Photothermal functional Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@CuS microspheres have been prepared successfully by a simple chemical deposition method. The adsorption of cetyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide (CTAB) on the magnetic microspheres plays an important role in forming the structure of the composites. The present materials are characterized with XRD, TEM, SEM, FTIR, and UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometer. The results show that Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} microspheres are coated by CuS layer with thickness of 10 nm. The saturation magnetization value of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@CuS core-shell microspheres is 27 emu/g at room temperature and the sample possesses excellent magnetic response in the presence of applied magnetic field. Moreover, these microspheres exhibit good dispersion, suitable size and significant photothermal conversion efficiency up to 20.7% at 808 nm laser irradiation. Fluctuation value of the highest temperature of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@CuS dispersion over four times LASER ON/OFF indicates that photothermal stability of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@CuS microspheres is good. - Highlights: • The Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} microspheres have been coated with CuS and the thickness of CuS layer is about 10 nm. • The Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@CuS microspheres are ferromagnetism, and possess good photothermal conversion efficiency and photostability. • The materials have great potential application for photothermal therapy.

  17. Thin film fabrication and transport properties of the heavy Fermion oxide LiV{sub 2}O{sub 4}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Niemann, Ulrike [Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart (Germany); Hirai, Daigorou [University of Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan); Takagi, Hidenori [Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart (Germany); University of Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan); Institute for Functional Matter and Quantum Technologies, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart (Germany)

    2016-07-01

    The spinel compound LiV{sub 2}O{sub 4} is well-known for its heavy fermion behaviour, although it contains no f-electron bands. This unexpected behaviour has been a subject of several studies, but the origin of it is still not fully understood. In this study, we successfully fabricated single crystalline epitaxial thin film of LiV{sub 2}O{sub 4} on SrTiO{sub 3}, LSAT and MgO substrates, using a pulsed laser deposition technique. By changing film thickness and substrate materials, dimensionality and epitaxial strain was controlled. The formation of an epitaxially grown LiV{sub 2}O{sub 4} phase has been confirmed by X-ray diffraction measurements. LiV{sub 2}O{sub 4} films on MgO were found to be strained, due to the small lattice mismatch, in contrast to fully relaxed films on SrTiO{sub 3}.The heavy fermion behaviour of bulk LiV{sub 2}O{sub 4} at low temperatures is well reproduced in thick enough (∼ 7 nm) films on SrTiO{sub 3} substrates. In contrast, an insulating phase was found in strained LiV{sub 2}O{sub 4} thin films on MgO substrates, revealing the key role of the lattice in stabilising the metallic ground state. In this presentation, we discuss the thin film fabrication and the effect of epitaxial strain on heavy fermion behaviour in LiV{sub 2}O{sub 4}.

  18. High performance protonic ceramic membrane fuel cells (PCMFCs) with Ba{sub 0.5}Sr{sub 0.5}Zn{sub 0.2}Fe{sub 0.8}O{sub 3-{delta}} perovskite cathode

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ding, Hanping; Lin, Bin; Liu, Xingqin; Meng, Guangyao [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), No. 96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei 230026 (China)

    2008-09-15

    Protonic ceramic membrane fuel cells (PCMFCs) based on proton-conducting electrolytes have attracted much attention because of many advantages, such as low activation energy and high energy efficiency. BaZr{sub 0.1}Ce{sub 0.7}Y{sub 0.2}O{sub 3-{delta}} (BZCY7) electrolyte based PCMFCs with stable Ba{sub 0.5}Sr{sub 0.5}Zn{sub 0.2}Fe{sub 0.8}O{sub 3-{delta}} (BSZF) perovskite cathode were investigated. Using thin membrane BZCY7 electrolyte (about 15 {mu}m in thickness) synthesized by a modified Pechini method on NiO-BZCY7 anode support, PCMFCs were assembled and tested by selecting stable BSZF perovskite cathode. An open-circuit potential of 1.015 V, a maximum power density of 486 mW cm{sup -2}, and a low polarization resistance of the electrodes of 0.08 {omega} cm{sup 2} was achieved at 700 C. The results have indicated that BZCY7 proton-conducting electrolyte with BSZF cathode is a promising material system for the next generation solid oxide fuel cells. (author)

  19. Transport properties of LaAlO{sub 3}/SrTiO{sub 3} nanostructures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mueller, Alexander; Minhas, Mohsin; Blaschek, Hans-Helmuth [Institut fuer Physik, Martin-Luther-Universitaet Halle-Wittenberg, 06099 Halle (Saale) (Germany); Schmidt, Georg [Institut fuer Physik, Martin-Luther-Universitaet Halle-Wittenberg, 06099 Halle (Saale) (Germany); Interdisziplinaeres Zentrum fuer Materialwissenschaften, Martin-Luther-Universitaet Halle-Wittenberg, 06099 Halle (Saale) (Germany)

    2015-07-01

    Deposition of thin layers of LaAlO{sub 3} (LAO) on top of a TiO{sub 2} terminated SrTiO{sub 3} (STO) substrate with Pulsed Laser Deposition results in a two dimensional electron gas at the interface. Using PMMA as resist and etch mask this electron gas can be patterned by a standard electron-beam lithography step and subsequent Reactive Ion Etching to remove the LAO. With this process transport structures with minimum dimensions in the sub-micron regime have been fabricated. The structures include gaps of approx. 100 nm width. Transport through the gap is characterized by taking I/V characteristics in a standard four point geometry from room temperature down to 1.5 K. Between 1.5 and 30 K up to a threshold voltage of tens of mV no current is observed. Beyond that threshold voltage the current increases dramatically. Within a few tens of mV the current can increase by up to eight orders of magnitude. The threshold voltage is temperature dependent in a non-monotonic fashion and all I/V curves are free of any hysteresis.

  20. The role of carbonic anhydrase in C<sub>4sub> photosynthesis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Studer, Anthony [Life Sciences Research Foundation, Baltimore, MD (United States)

    2015-10-01

    Current pressures on the global food supply have accelerated the urgency for a second green revolution using novel and sustainable approaches to increase crop yield and efficiency. This proposal outlines experiments to address fundamental questions regarding the biology of C<sub>4sub> photosynthesis, the method of carbon fixation utilized by the most productive food, feed and bioenergy crops. Carbonic anhydrase (CA) has been implicated in multiple cellular functions including nitrogen metabolism, water use efficiency, and photosynthesis. CA catalyzes the first dedicated step in C<sub>4sub> photosynthesis, the hydration of CO<sub>2sub> into bicarbonate, and is potentially rate limiting in C<sub>4sub> grasses. Using insertional mutagenesis, we have generated CA mutants in maize, and propose the characterization of these mutants using phenotypic, physiological, and transcriptomic profiling to assay the plant’s response to altered CA activity. In addition, florescent protein tagging experiments will be employed to study the subcellular localization of CA paralogs, providing critical data for modeling carbon fixation in C<sub>4sub> plants. Finally, I propose parallel experiments in Setaria viridis to explore its relevance as model C<sub>4sub> grass. Using a multifaceted approach, this proposal addresses important questions in basic biology, as well as the need for translation research in response to looming global food challenges.