Thermoelectric Energy Conversion: Materials, Devices, and Systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Gang

2015-01-01

This paper will present a discussion of challenges, progresses, and opportunities in thermoelectric energy conversion technology. We will start with an introduction to thermoelectric technology, followed by discussing advances in thermoelectric materials, devices, and systems. Thermoelectric energy conversion exploits the Seebeck effect to convert thermal energy into electricity, or the Peltier effect for heat pumping applications. Thermoelectric devices are scalable, capable of generating power from nano Watts to mega Watts. One key issue is to improve materials thermoelectric figure- of-merit that is linearly proportional to the Seebeck coefficient, the square of the electrical conductivity, and inversely proportional to the thermal conductivity. Improving the figure-of-merit requires good understanding of electron and phonon transport as their properties are often contradictory in trends. Over the past decade, excellent progresses have been made in the understanding of electron and phonon transport in thermoelectric materials, and in improving existing and identify new materials, especially by exploring nanoscale size effects. Taking materials to real world applications, however, faces more challenges in terms of materials stability, device fabrication, thermal management and system design. Progresses and lessons learnt from our effort in fabricating thermoelectric devices will be discussed. We have demonstrated device thermal-to-electrical energy conversion efficiency ∼10% and solar-thermoelectric generator efficiency at 4.6% without optical concentration of sunlight (Figure 1) and ∼8-9% efficiency with optical concentration. Great opportunities exist in advancing materials as well as in using existing materials for energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy utilization, as well as mobile applications. (paper)

Flexible devices: from materials, architectures to applications

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Mingzhi; Ma, Yue; Yuan, Xin; Hu, Yi; Liu, Jie; Jin, Zhong

2018-01-01

Flexible devices, such as flexible electronic devices and flexible energy storage devices, have attracted a significant amount of attention in recent years for their potential applications in modern human lives. The development of flexible devices is moving forward rapidly, as the innovation of methods and manufacturing processes has greatly encouraged the research of flexible devices. This review focuses on advanced materials, architecture designs and abundant applications of flexible devices, and discusses the problems and challenges in current situations of flexible devices. We summarize the discovery of novel materials and the design of new architectures for improving the performance of flexible devices. Finally, we introduce the applications of flexible devices as key components in real life. Project supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Nos. 2017YFA0208200, 2016YFB0700600, 2015CB659300), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21403105, 21573108), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 020514380107).

Environmental safety issues for semiconductors (research on scarce materials recycling)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Izumi, Shigekazu

2004-01-01

In the 21st century, in the fabrication of various industrial parts, particularly, current and future electronics devices in the semiconductor industry, environmental safety issues should be carefully considered. We coined a new term, environmental safety issues for semiconductors, considering our semiconductor research and technology which include environmental and ecological factors. The main object of this analysis is to address the present situation of environmental safety problems in the semiconductor industry; some of which are: (1) the generation and use of hazardous toxic gases in the crystal growth procedure such as molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), (2) the generation of industrial toxic wastes in the semiconductor process and (3) scarce materials recycling from wastes in the MBE and MOCVD growth procedure

Materials, processes, and environmental engineering network

Science.gov (United States)

White, Margo M.

1993-01-01

The Materials, Processes, and Environmental Engineering Network (MPEEN) was developed as a central holding facility for materials testing information generated by the Materials and Processes Laboratory. It contains information from other NASA centers and outside agencies, and also includes the NASA Environmental Information System (NEIS) and Failure Analysis Information System (FAIS) data. Environmental replacement materials information is a newly developed focus of MPEEN. This database is the NASA Environmental Information System, NEIS, which is accessible through MPEEN. Environmental concerns are addressed regarding materials identified by the NASA Operational Environment Team, NOET, to be hazardous to the environment. An environmental replacement technology database is contained within NEIS. Environmental concerns about materials are identified by NOET, and control or replacement strategies are formed. This database also contains the usage and performance characteristics of these hazardous materials. In addition to addressing environmental concerns, MPEEN contains one of the largest materials databases in the world. Over 600 users access this network on a daily basis. There is information available on failure analysis, metals and nonmetals testing, materials properties, standard and commercial parts, foreign alloy cross-reference, Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) data, and Materials and Processes Selection List data.

Carbon-Nanotube-Based Thermoelectric Materials and Devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blackburn, Jeffrey L. [Chemistry and Nanoscience Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden CO 80401-3305 USA; Ferguson, Andrew J. [Chemistry and Nanoscience Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden CO 80401-3305 USA; Cho, Chungyeon [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A& M University, College Station TX 77843-3003 USA; Grunlan, Jaime C. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A& M University, College Station TX 77843-3003 USA

2018-01-22

Conversion of waste heat to voltage has the potential to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of a number of critical energy sectors, such as the transportation and electricity-generation sectors, and manufacturing processes. Thermal energy is also an abundant low-flux source that can be harnessed to power portable/wearable electronic devices and critical components in remote off-grid locations. As such, a number of different inorganic and organic materials are being explored for their potential in thermoelectric-energy-harvesting devices. Carbon-based thermoelectric materials are particularly attractive due to their use of nontoxic, abundant source-materials, their amenability to high-throughput solution-phase fabrication routes, and the high specific energy (i.e., W g-1) enabled by their low mass. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) represent a unique 1D carbon allotrope with structural, electrical, and thermal properties that enable efficient thermoelectric-energy conversion. Here, the progress made toward understanding the fundamental thermoelectric properties of SWCNTs, nanotube-based composites, and thermoelectric devices prepared from these materials is reviewed in detail. This progress illuminates the tremendous potential that carbon-nanotube-based materials and composites have for producing high-performance next-generation devices for thermoelectric-energy harvesting.

Device and materials modeling in PEM fuel cells

CERN Document Server

Promislow, Keith

2009-01-01

Device and Materials Modeling in PEM Fuel Cells is a specialized text that compiles the mathematical details and results of both device and materials modeling in a single volume. Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells will likely have an impact on our way of life similar to the integrated circuit. The potential applications range from the micron scale to large scale industrial production. Successful integration of PEM fuel cells into the mass market will require new materials and a deeper understanding of the balance required to maintain various operational states. This book contains articles from scientists who contribute to fuel cell models from both the materials and device perspectives. Topics such as catalyst layer performance and operation, reactor dynamics, macroscopic transport, and analytical models are covered under device modeling. Materials modeling include subjects relating to the membrane and the catalyst such as proton conduction, atomistic structural modeling, quantum molecular dynamics, an...

Synaptic electronics: materials, devices and applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuzum, Duygu; Yu, Shimeng; Wong, H-S Philip

2013-09-27

In this paper, the recent progress of synaptic electronics is reviewed. The basics of biological synaptic plasticity and learning are described. The material properties and electrical switching characteristics of a variety of synaptic devices are discussed, with a focus on the use of synaptic devices for neuromorphic or brain-inspired computing. Performance metrics desirable for large-scale implementations of synaptic devices are illustrated. A review of recent work on targeted computing applications with synaptic devices is presented.

Synaptic electronics: materials, devices and applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuzum, Duygu; Yu, Shimeng; Philip Wong, H-S

2013-01-01

In this paper, the recent progress of synaptic electronics is reviewed. The basics of biological synaptic plasticity and learning are described. The material properties and electrical switching characteristics of a variety of synaptic devices are discussed, with a focus on the use of synaptic devices for neuromorphic or brain-inspired computing. Performance metrics desirable for large-scale implementations of synaptic devices are illustrated. A review of recent work on targeted computing applications with synaptic devices is presented. (topical review)

Contact materials for nanowire devices and nanoelectromechanical switches

KAUST Repository

Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

2011-02-01

The impact of contact materials on the performance of nanostructured devices is expected to be signifi cant. This is especially true since size scaling can increase the contact resistance and induce many unseen phenomenon and reactions that greatly impact device performance. Nanowire and nanoelectromechanical switches are two emerging nanoelectronic devices. Nanowires provide a unique opportunity to control the property of a material at an ultra-scaled dimension, whereas a nanoelectromechanical switch presents zero power consumption in its off state, as it is physically detached from the sensor anode. In this article, we specifi cally discuss contact material issues related to nanowire devices and nanoelectromechanical switches.

Environmental materials and interfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-11-01

A workshop that explored materials and interfaces research needs relevant to national environmental concerns was conducted at Pacific Northwest Laboratory. The purposes of the workshop were to refine the scientific research directions being planned for the Materials and Interface Program in the Molecular Science Research Center (MSRC) and further define the research and user equipment to the included as part of the proposed Environmental and Molecular Science Laboratory (EMSL). Three plenary information sessions served to outline the background, objectives, and status of the MSRC and EMSL initiatives; selected specific areas with environmentally related materials; and the status of capabilities and facilities planned for the EMSL. Attention was directed to four areas where materials and interface science can have a significant impact on prevention and remediation of environmental problems: in situ detection and characterization of hazardous wastes (sensors), minimization of hazardous waste (separation membranes, ion exchange materials, catalysts), waste containment (encapsulation and barrier materials), and fundamental understanding of contaminant transport mechanisms. During all other sessions, the participants were divided into three working groups for detailed discussion and the preparation of a written report. The working groups focused on the areas of interface structure and chemistry, materials and interface stability, and materials synthesis. These recommendations and suggestions for needed research will be useful for other researchers in proposing projects and for suggesting collaborative work with MSRC researchers. 1 fig

Thermoelectric materials and devices made therewith

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moore, D.E.

1985-01-01

The disclosed invention includes improved devices and materials for thermoelectric conversion, particularly for operation at temperatures of 300 0 C. and below. Disordered p-type semiconductor elements incorporate compound adjuvants of silver and lead to achieve enhanced ''figure of merit'' values and corresponding increased efficiencies of thermoelectric conversion. Similar results are obtained with disordered n-type elements by employing lowered selenium contents, preferably in combination with cuprous bromide. Improved conversion devices include powder pressed elements from one or both of these materials

Carbon-Nanotube-Based Thermoelectric Materials and Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Blackburn, Jeffrey L; Ferguson, Andrew J; Cho, Chungyeon; Grunlan, Jaime C

2018-03-01

Conversion of waste heat to voltage has the potential to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of a number of critical energy sectors, such as the transportation and electricity-generation sectors, and manufacturing processes. Thermal energy is also an abundant low-flux source that can be harnessed to power portable/wearable electronic devices and critical components in remote off-grid locations. As such, a number of different inorganic and organic materials are being explored for their potential in thermoelectric-energy-harvesting devices. Carbon-based thermoelectric materials are particularly attractive due to their use of nontoxic, abundant source-materials, their amenability to high-throughput solution-phase fabrication routes, and the high specific energy (i.e., W g -1 ) enabled by their low mass. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) represent a unique 1D carbon allotrope with structural, electrical, and thermal properties that enable efficient thermoelectric-energy conversion. Here, the progress made toward understanding the fundamental thermoelectric properties of SWCNTs, nanotube-based composites, and thermoelectric devices prepared from these materials is reviewed in detail. This progress illuminates the tremendous potential that carbon-nanotube-based materials and composites have for producing high-performance next-generation devices for thermoelectric-energy harvesting. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Materials Challenges for High Performance Magnetocaloric Refrigeration Devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Smith, Anders; Bahl, Christian; Bjørk, Rasmus

2012-01-01

Magnetocaloric materials with a Curie temperature near room temperature have attracted signifi cant interest for some time due to their possible application for high-effi ciency refrigeration devices. This review focuses on a number of key issues of relevance for the characterization, performance....... The question of how to evaluate the suitability of a given material for use in a magnetocaloric device is covered in some detail, including a critical assessment of a number of common performance metrics. Of particular interest is which non-magnetocaloric properties need to be considered in this connection....... An overview of several important materials classes is given before considering the performance of materials in actual devices. Finally, an outlook on further developments is presented....

Advances in phosphors based on organic materials for light emitting devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, Kashma; Kumar, Vijay; Kumar, Vinod; Swart, Hendrik C.

2016-01-01

A brief overview is presented in the light emitting diodes (LEDs) based on purely organic materials. Organic LEDs are of great interest to the research community because of their outstanding properties and flexibility. Comparison between devices made using different organic materials and their derivatives with respect to synthetic protocols, characterizations, quantum efficiencies, sensitivity, specificity and their applications in various fields have been discussed. This review also discusses the essential requirement and scientific issues that arise in synthesizing cost-effective and environmental friendly organic LEDs diodes based on purely organic materials. This mini review aims to capture and convey some of the key current developments in phosphors formed by purely organic materials and highlights some possible future applications. Hence, this study comes up with a widespread discussion on the various contents in a single platform. Also, it offers avenues for new researchers for futuristic development in the area.

Test device for measuring permeability of a barrier material

Science.gov (United States)

Reese, Matthew; Dameron, Arrelaine; Kempe, Michael

2014-03-04

A test device for measuring permeability of a barrier material. An exemplary device comprises a test card having a thin-film conductor-pattern formed thereon and an edge seal which seals the test card to the barrier material. Another exemplary embodiment is an electrical calcium test device comprising: a test card an impermeable spacer, an edge seal which seals the test card to the spacer and an edge seal which seals the spacer to the barrier material.

Introduction to organic electronic and optoelectronic materials and devices

CERN Document Server

Sun, Sam-Shajing

2008-01-01

Introduction to Optoelectronic Materials, N. Peyghambarian and M. Fallahi Introduction to Optoelectronic Device Principles, J. Piprek Basic Electronic Structures and Charge Carrier Generation in Organic Optoelectronic Materials, S.-S. Sun Charge Transport in Conducting Polymers, V.N. Prigodin and A.J. Epstein Major Classes of Organic Small Molecules for Electronic and Optoelectronics, X. Meng, W. Zhu, and H. Tian Major Classes of Conjugated Polymers and Synthetic Strategies, Y. Li and J. Hou Low Energy Gap, Conducting, and Transparent Polymers, A. Kumar, Y. Ner, and G.A. Sotzing Conjugated Polymers, Fullerene C60, and Carbon Nanotubes for Optoelectronic Devices, L. Qu, L. Dai, and S.-S. Sun Introduction of Organic Superconducting Materials, H. Mori Molecular Semiconductors for Organic Field-Effect Transistors, A. Facchetti Polymer Field-Effect Transistors, H.G.O. Sandberg Organic Molecular Light-Emitting Materials and Devices, F. So and J. Shi Polymer Light-Emitting Diodes: Devices and Materials, X. Gong and ...

3D printing functional materials and devices (Conference Presentation)

Science.gov (United States)

McAlpine, Michael C.

2017-05-01

The development of methods for interfacing high performance functional devices with biology could impact regenerative medicine, smart prosthetics, and human-machine interfaces. Indeed, the ability to three-dimensionally interweave biological and functional materials could enable the creation of devices possessing unique geometries, properties, and functionalities. Yet, most high quality functional materials are two dimensional, hard and brittle, and require high crystallization temperatures for maximal performance. These properties render the corresponding devices incompatible with biology, which is three-dimensional, soft, stretchable, and temperature sensitive. We overcome these dichotomies by: 1) using 3D printing and scanning for customized, interwoven, anatomically accurate device architectures; 2) employing nanotechnology as an enabling route for overcoming mechanical discrepancies while retaining high performance; and 3) 3D printing a range of soft and nanoscale materials to enable the integration of a diverse palette of high quality functional nanomaterials with biology. 3D printing is a multi-scale platform, allowing for the incorporation of functional nanoscale inks, the printing of microscale features, and ultimately the creation of macroscale devices. This three-dimensional blending of functional materials and `living' platforms may enable next-generation 3D printed devices.

Advanced Materials for Health Monitoring with Skin-Based Wearable Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Han; Abu-Raya, Yasmin Shibli; Haick, Hossam

2017-06-01

Skin-based wearable devices have a great potential that could result in a revolutionary approach to health monitoring and diagnosing disease. With continued innovation and intensive attention to the materials and fabrication technologies, development of these healthcare devices is progressively encouraged. This article gives a concise, although admittedly non-exhaustive, didactic review of some of the main concepts and approaches related to recent advances and developments in the scope of skin-based wearable devices (e.g. temperature, strain, biomarker-analysis werable devices, etc.), with an emphasis on emerging materials and fabrication techniques in the relevant fields. To give a comprehensive statement, part of the review presents and discusses different aspects of these advanced materials, such as the sensitivity, biocompatibility and durability as well as the major approaches proposed for enhancing their chemical and physical properties. A complementary section of the review linking these advanced materials with wearable device technologies is particularly specified. Some of the strong and weak points in development of each wearable material/device are highlighted and criticized. Several ideas regarding further improvement of skin-based wearable devices are also discussed. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Integrated Photonic Devices Incorporating Low-Loss Fluorinated Polymer Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyung-Jong Lee

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Low-loss polymer materials incorporating fluorinated compounds have been utilized for the investigation of various functional optical devices useful for optical communication and optical sensor systems. Since reliability issues concerning the polymer device have been resolved, polymeric waveguide devices have been gradually adopted for commercial application systems. The two most successfully commercialized polymeric integrated optic devices, variable optical attenuators and digital optical switches, are reviewed in this paper. Utilizing unique properties of optical polymers which are not available in other optical materials, novel polymeric optical devices are proposed including widely tunable external cavity lasers and integrated optical current sensors.

Environmental performances of gas pipe materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Nifterik, G.

1996-01-01

In constructing new gas pipelines energy distribution companies are increasingly dealing with the question of which material has the lowest environmental impact. Gastec (Dutch gas research institute) and the 'Centrum voor Milieukunde Leiden' (Centre for Environmental Studies of the University of Leiden) studied and compared the environmental aspects of such materials. The study concerns the entire life cycle from raw materials production through digging and welding or fusion joining to the moment the materials are discarded as waste. 2 figs

Processing device for discharged water from radioactive material handling facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kono, Takao; Kono, Hiroyuki; Yasui, Katsuaki; Kataiki, Koichi.

1995-01-01

The device of the present invention comprises a mechanical floating material-removing means for removing floating materials in discharged water, an ultrafiltration device for separating processed water discharged from the removing means by membranes, a reverse osmotic filtration device for separating the permeated water and a condensing means for evaporating condensed water. Since processed water after mechanically removing floating materials is supplied to the ultrafiltration device, the load applied on the filtering membrane is reduced, to simplify the operation control as a total. In addition, since the amount of resultant condensed water is reduced, and the devolumed condensed water is condensed and dried, the condensing device is made compact and the amount of resultant wastes is reduced. (T.M.)

Devices for SRF material characterization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goudket, Philippe; Xiao, B.; Junginger, T.; Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin

2016-01-01

The surface resistance Rs of superconducting materials can be obtained by measuring the quality factor of an elliptical cavity excited in a transverse magnetic mode (TM010). The value obtained has however to be taken as averaged over the whole surface. A more convenient way to obtain Rs, especially of materials which are not yet technologically ready for cavity production, is to measure small samples instead. These can be easily man ufactured at low cost, duplicated and placed in film deposition and surface analytical tools. A commonly used design for a device to measure Rs consists of a cylindrical cavity excited in a transverse electric (TE110) mode with the sample under test serving as one replaceable endplate. Such a cavity has two drawbacks. For reasonably small samples the resonant frequency will be larger than frequencies of interest concerning SRF application and it requires a reference sample of known Rs. In this article we review several devices which have been designed to overcome these limitations, reaching sub - nΩ resolution in some cases. Some of these devices also comprise a parameter space in frequency and temperature which is inaccessible to standard cavity tests, making them ideal tools to test theoretical surface resistance models.

Progress in high-efficient solution process organic photovoltaic devices fundamentals, materials, devices and fabrication

CERN Document Server

Li, Gang

2015-01-01

This book presents an important technique to process organic photovoltaic devices. The basics, materials aspects and manufacturing of photovoltaic devices with solution processing are explained. Solution processable organic solar cells - polymer or solution processable small molecules - have the potential to significantly reduce the costs for solar electricity and energy payback time due to the low material costs for the cells, low cost and fast fabrication processes (ambient, roll-to-roll), high material utilization etc. In addition, organic photovoltaics (OPV) also provides attractive properties like flexibility, colorful displays and transparency which could open new market opportunities. The material and device innovations lead to improved efficiency by 8% for organic photovoltaic solar cells, compared to 4% in 2005. Both academic and industry research have significant interest in the development of this technology. This book gives an overview of the booming technology, focusing on the solution process fo...

Inorganic Photovoltaics Materials and Devices: Past, Present, and Future

Science.gov (United States)

Hepp, Aloysius F.; Bailey, Sheila G.; Rafaelle, Ryne P.

2005-01-01

This report describes recent aspects of advanced inorganic materials for photovoltaics or solar cell applications. Specific materials examined will be high-efficiency silicon, gallium arsenide and related materials, and thin-film materials, particularly amorphous silicon and (polycrystalline) copper indium selenide. Some of the advanced concepts discussed include multi-junction III-V (and thin-film) devices, utilization of nanotechnology, specifically quantum dots, low-temperature chemical processing, polymer substrates for lightweight and low-cost solar arrays, concentrator cells, and integrated power devices. While many of these technologies will eventually be used for utility and consumer applications, their genesis can be traced back to challenging problems related to power generation for aerospace and defense. Because this overview of inorganic materials is included in a monogram focused on organic photovoltaics, fundamental issues and metrics common to all solar cell devices (and arrays) will be addressed.

Molecular and nanoscale materials and devices in electronics.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Lei; Cao, Lingchao; Liu, Yunqi; Zhu, Daoben

2004-12-13

Over the past several years, there have been many significant advances toward the realization of electronic computers integrated on the molecular scale and a much greater understanding of the types of materials that will be useful in molecular devices and their properties. It was demonstrated that individual molecules could serve as incomprehensibly tiny switch and wire one million times smaller than those on conventional silicon microchip. This has resulted very recently in the assembly and demonstration of tiny computer logic circuits built from such molecular scale devices. The purpose of this review is to provide a general introduction to molecular and nanoscale materials and devices in electronics.

International Conference on Recent Trends in Materials and Devices

CERN Document Server

Rattan, Sunita; Verma, Abhishek

2017-01-01

This book presents the proceedings of the International Conference on Recent Trends in Materials and Devices, which was conceived as a major contribution to large-scale efforts to foster Indian research and development in the field in close collaboration with the community of non-resident Indian researchers from all over the world. The research articles collected in this volume - selected from among the submissions for their intrinsic quality and originality, as well as for their potential value for further collaborations - document and report on a wide range of recent and significant results for various applications and scientific developments in the areas of Materials and Devices. The technical sessions covered include photovoltaics and energy storage, semiconductor materials and devices, sensors, smart and polymeric materials, optoelectronics, nanotechnology and nanomaterials, MEMS and NEMS, as well as emerging technologies.

Sterilization and reprocessing of materials and medical devices--reusability.

Science.gov (United States)

Jayabalan, M

1995-07-01

Problems associated with reprocessing of disposable medical devices such as hemodialysers with resterilization for reuse and changes in material properties with resterilization of polymeric (PVC, polypropylene, polyester, polycarbonate) materials intended for development of disposable devices are reviewed. Reprocessing of hospital supplies, polystyrene microtiter plate and angiographic catheter for reuse is also discussed.

ELECTROKINETIC DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONSOLIDATING POROUS MATERIALS

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2017-01-01

The invention relates to a device and an associated electrokinetic method which allows the pores (superficial and deep) of a porous material to be filled, by forcing the precipitation therein of a product of low solubility in water by creating an electric field which will mobilise the cations...... and anions supplied by previously selected solutions. This method comprises two phases. In the first phase, the pores located at a specified distance from the surface of contact between the porous material and the anodic or cathodic compartment are plugged. In a second phase, the rest of the pores, mainly...... those which are on the surface level, are collapsed. As a result of the designed device and the plugging system contained therein, the porous material is not affected at any moment by chemical alteration processes caused by contact with extreme pH values. This device allows the treatment to be applied...

Photoelectrochemical devices for solar water splitting - materials and challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Chaoran; Moniz, Savio J A; Wang, Aiqin; Zhang, Tao; Tang, Junwang

2017-07-31

It is widely accepted within the community that to achieve a sustainable society with an energy mix primarily based on solar energy we need an efficient strategy to convert and store sunlight into chemical fuels. A photoelectrochemical (PEC) device would therefore play a key role in offering the possibility of carbon-neutral solar fuel production through artificial photosynthesis. The past five years have seen a surge in the development of promising semiconductor materials. In addition, low-cost earth-abundant co-catalysts are ubiquitous in their employment in water splitting cells due to the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). This review commences with a fundamental understanding of semiconductor properties and charge transfer processes in a PEC device. We then describe various configurations of PEC devices, including single light-absorber cells and multi light-absorber devices (PEC, PV-PEC and PV/electrolyser tandem cell). Recent progress on both photoelectrode materials (light absorbers) and electrocatalysts is summarized, and important factors which dominate photoelectrode performance, including light absorption, charge separation and transport, surface chemical reaction rate and the stability of the photoanode, are discussed. Controlling semiconductor properties is the primary concern in developing materials for solar water splitting. Accordingly, strategies to address the challenges for materials development in this area, such as the adoption of smart architectures, innovative device configuration design, co-catalyst loading, and surface protection layer deposition, are outlined throughout the text, to deliver a highly efficient and stable PEC device for water splitting.

III-V semiconductor materials and devices

CERN Document Server

Malik, R J

1989-01-01

The main emphasis of this volume is on III-V semiconductor epitaxial and bulk crystal growth techniques. Chapters are also included on material characterization and ion implantation. In order to put these growth techniques into perspective a thorough review of the physics and technology of III-V devices is presented. This is the first book of its kind to discuss the theory of the various crystal growth techniques in relation to their advantages and limitations for use in III-V semiconductor devices.

Radiation sensitive devices and systems for detection of radioactive materials and related methods

Science.gov (United States)

Kotter, Dale K

2014-12-02

Radiation sensitive devices include a substrate comprising a radiation sensitive material and a plurality of resonance elements coupled to the substrate. Each resonance element is configured to resonate responsive to non-ionizing incident radiation. Systems for detecting radiation from a special nuclear material include a radiation sensitive device and a sensor located remotely from the radiation sensitive device and configured to measure an output signal from the radiation sensitive device. In such systems, the radiation sensitive device includes a radiation sensitive material and a plurality of resonance elements positioned on the radiation sensitive material. Methods for detecting a presence of a special nuclear material include positioning a radiation sensitive device in a location where special nuclear materials are to be detected and remotely interrogating the radiation sensitive device with a sensor.

Nano-Bio Quantum Technology for Device-Specific Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Sang H.

2009-01-01

The areas discussed are still under development: I. Nano structured materials for TE applications a) SiGe and Be.Te; b) Nano particles and nanoshells. II. Quantum technology for optical devices: a) Quantum apertures; b) Smart optical materials; c) Micro spectrometer. III. Bio-template oriented materials: a) Bionanobattery; b) Bio-fuel cells; c) Energetic materials.

Environmental testing techniques for electronics and materials

CERN Document Server

Dummer, Geoffrey W A; Fry, D W; Higinbotham, W

2013-01-01

Environmental Testing Techniques for Electronics and Materials reviews environmental testing techniques for evaluating the performance of electronic equipment, components, and materials. Environmental test planning, test methods, and instrumentation are described, along with the general environmental conditions under which equipment must operate. This book is comprised of 15 chapters and begins by explaining why environmental testing is necessary and describing the environment in which electronics must operate. The next chapter considers how an environmental test plan is designed; the methods

Transmission environmental scanning electron microscope with scintillation gaseous detection device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Danilatos, Gerasimos; Kollia, Mary; Dracopoulos, Vassileios

2015-01-01

A transmission environmental scanning electron microscope with use of a scintillation gaseous detection device has been implemented. This corresponds to a transmission scanning electron microscope but with addition of a gaseous environment acting both as environmental and detection medium. A commercial type of low vacuum machine has been employed together with appropriate modifications to the detection configuration. This involves controlled screening of various emitted signals in conjunction with a scintillation gaseous detection device already provided with the machine for regular surface imaging. Dark field and bright field imaging has been obtained along with other detection conditions. With a progressive series of modifications and tests, the theory and practice of a novel type of microscopy is briefly shown now ushering further significant improvements and developments in electron microscopy as a whole. - Highlights: • Novel scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) with an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) called TESEM. • Use of the gaseous detection device (GDD) in scintillation mode that allows high resolution bright and dark field imaging in the TESEM. • Novel approach towards a unification of both vacuum and environmental conditions in both bulk/surface and transmission mode of electron microscopy

Materials and Reliability Handbook for Semiconductor Optical and Electron Devices

CERN Document Server

Pearton, Stephen

2013-01-01

Materials and Reliability Handbook for Semiconductor Optical and Electron Devices provides comprehensive coverage of reliability procedures and approaches for electron and photonic devices. These include lasers and high speed electronics used in cell phones, satellites, data transmission systems and displays. Lifetime predictions for compound semiconductor devices are notoriously inaccurate due to the absence of standard protocols. Manufacturers have relied on extrapolation back to room temperature of accelerated testing at elevated temperature. This technique fails for scaled, high current density devices. Device failure is driven by electric field or current mechanisms or low activation energy processes that are masked by other mechanisms at high temperature. The Handbook addresses reliability engineering for III-V devices, including materials and electrical characterization, reliability testing, and electronic characterization. These are used to develop new simulation technologies for device operation and ...

Unconventional supercapacitors from nanocarbon-based electrode materials to device configurations.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Lili; Niu, Zhiqiang; Chen, Jun

2016-07-25

As energy storage devices, supercapacitors that are also called electrochemical capacitors possess high power density, excellent reversibility and long cycle life. The recent boom in electronic devices with different functions in transparent LED displays, stretchable electronic systems and artificial skin has increased the demand for supercapacitors to move towards light, thin, integrated macro- and micro-devices with transparent, flexible, stretchable, compressible and/or wearable abilities. The successful fabrication of such supercapacitors depends mainly on the preparation of innovative electrode materials and the design of unconventional supercapacitor configurations. Tremendous research efforts have been recently made to design and construct innovative nanocarbon-based electrode materials and supercapacitors with unconventional configurations. We review here recent developments in supercapacitors from nanocarbon-based electrode materials to device configurations. The advances in nanocarbon-based electrode materials mainly include the assembly technologies of macroscopic nanostructured electrodes with different dimensions of carbon nanotubes/nanofibers, graphene, mesoporous carbon, activated carbon, and their composites. The electrodes with macroscopic nanostructured carbon-based materials overcome the issues of low conductivity, poor mechanical properties, and limited dimensions that are faced by conventional methods. The configurational design of advanced supercapacitor devices is presented with six types of unconventional supercapacitor devices: flexible, micro-, stretchable, compressible, transparent and fiber supercapacitors. Such supercapacitors display unique configurations and excellent electrochemical performance at different states such as bending, stretching, compressing and/or folding. For example, all-solid-state simplified supercapacitors that are based on nanostructured graphene composite paper are able to maintain 95% of the original capacity at

Neutron protection material and neutron protection devices made of such material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ries, W.

1984-01-01

This is concerned with a neutron protection material made of thermoplastic or thermosetting plastic from high molecule hydrocarbon compounds with particularly high hydrogen and carbon contents as braking or shielding material (moderator) for fast neutrons. The plastic can contain boron for absorbing low energy neutrons. The material is used to manufacture foil, plates, pipes, shielding walls, components, bodies for radiation protection equipment, devices and plant and for neutron protection clothes. (orig./HP) [de

A reference device for evaluating the thermal behavior of installed multilayered wall containing a phase change material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pagliolico, S.L.; Sassi, G.; Cascone, Y.; Bongiovanni, R.M.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Thermal analysis of installed wallboards embedding phase change material layer. • Simple devices and real conditions for thermal analysis toward a standardization. • Scanning calorimetric measurements as initial condition for data regression. • Bias correction of calorimetric measurements data by installation factors. • Practical approach to identify a reliable thermal curve for capacitive wallboards. - Abstract: Thermal inertia of lightweight building envelopes can be improved including phase change materials in multilayered wallboards. The thermal modeling of buildings for design purposes needs a robust description of the thermal properties of installed phase change materials. A standard method would improve the thermal characterization of commercial products. The aim of the study is to develop a simple methodology to obtain reliable thermal data for phase change materials integrated in multilayered wallboards. The methodology modifies differential scanning calorimetry measurements on phase change material by installation factors to obtain the apparent specific heat vs. temperature for the wallboard layer embedding phase change material. Simple cubic cells were realized as reference devices to simulate a confined environment. A dynamic model of heat transfer was developed to simulate the thermal behavior of devices. Installation factors were calculated by regression of the monitored temperatures inside and outside the devices operating under real environmental conditions. The apparent specific heat of phase change material, measured by differential scanning calorimetry at different rates, resulted in a spread of curves vs. temperature. Mean curves were used as initial condition for regression. The mean calculation method did not significantly affect the installed resulted curve. A unique curve of apparent specific heat vs. temperature best fit data measured over a wide range of experimental devices and conditions. Good regression

2D materials for renewable energy storage devices: Outlook and challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Sahoo, Ramkrishna; Pal, Anjali; Pal, Tarasankar

2016-11-15

Scientists are looking for cost-effective, clean and durable alternative energy devices. Superior charge storage devices can easily meet the demands of our daily needs. In this respect, a material with suitable dimensions for charge storage devices has been considered to be very important. Improved performance of charge storage devices has been derived from whole-body participation and the best are from 2D materials, which provide a viable and acceptable solution.

Microelectronics to nanoelectronics materials, devices & manufacturability

CERN Document Server

Kaul, Anupama B

2012-01-01

Composed of contributions from top experts, Microelectronics to Nanoelectronics: Materials, Devices and Manufacturability offers a detailed overview of important recent scientific and technological developments in the rapidly evolving nanoelectronics arena.Under the editorial guidance and technical expertise of noted materials scientist Anupama B. Kaul of California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Lab, this book captures the ascent of microelectronics into the nanoscale realm. It addresses a wide variety of important scientific and technological issues in nanoelectronics research and

An afterloading brachytherapy device utilizing thermoplastic material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, T.H.; Gerbi, J.B.; Deibel, F.C.; Khan, F.M.; Priest, J.R.

1989-01-01

An afterloading brachytherapy device for treatment of residual cancer in an enucleated orbit with two cesium-137 sources was designed using a thermoplastic material, Aquaplast. The device consists of a face-mask support held in place with elastic bands around the head and an acrylic afterloading applicator. The device is very easy to make, holds the sources firmly in place, allows full mobility of the patient, and gives excellent dose distribution to the target area. It was easily tolerated by a 7-year-old child during the 50 h of treatment. (author). 3 refs.; 4 figs

Advanced Materials and Devices for Bioresorbable Electronics.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Seung-Kyun; Koo, Jahyun; Lee, Yoon Kyeung; Rogers, John A

2018-05-15

Recent advances in materials chemistry establish the foundations for unusual classes of electronic systems, characterized by their ability to fully or partially dissolve, disintegrate, or otherwise physically or chemically decompose in a controlled fashion after some defined period of stable operation. Such types of "transient" technologies may enable consumer gadgets that minimize waste streams associated with disposal, implantable sensors that disappear harmlessly in the body, and hardware-secure platforms that prevent unwanted recovery of sensitive data. This second area of opportunity, sometimes referred to as bioresorbable electronics, is of particular interest due to its ability to provide diagnostic or therapeutic function in a manner that can enhance or monitor transient biological processes, such as wound healing, while bypassing risks associated with extended device load on the body or with secondary surgical procedures for removal. Early chemistry research established sets of bioresorbable materials for substrates, encapsulation layers, and dielectrics, along with several options in organic and bio-organic semiconductors. The subsequent realization that nanoscale forms of device-grade monocrystalline silicon, such as silicon nanomembranes (m-Si NMs, or Si NMs) undergo hydrolysis in biofluids to yield biocompatible byproducts over biologically relevant time scales advanced the field by providing immediate routes to high performance operation and versatile, sophisticated levels of function. When combined with bioresorbable conductors, dielectrics, substrates, and encapsulation layers, Si NMs provide the basis for a broad, general class of bioresorbable electronics. Other properties of Si, such as its piezoresistivity and photovoltaic properties, allow other types of bioresorbable devices such as solar cells, strain gauges, pH sensors, and photodetectors. The most advanced bioresorbable devices now exist as complete systems with successful demonstrations of

MDOT Materials Laboratories : Environmental Management Plan

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-01

The goal of this EMP was to develop and implement a comprehensive Environmental : Management Plan for MDOT Materials Laboratories. This goal was achieved through : perfonnance of environmental audits to identify potential environmental impacts, and b...

Wood-Derived Materials for Green Electronics, Biological Devices, and Energy Applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Hongli; Luo, Wei; Ciesielski, Peter N; Fang, Zhiqiang; Zhu, J Y; Henriksson, Gunnar; Himmel, Michael E; Hu, Liangbing

2016-08-24

With the arising of global climate change and resource shortage, in recent years, increased attention has been paid to environmentally friendly materials. Trees are sustainable and renewable materials, which give us shelter and oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Trees are a primary resource that human society depends upon every day, for example, homes, heating, furniture, and aircraft. Wood from trees gives us paper, cardboard, and medical supplies, thus impacting our homes, school, work, and play. All of the above-mentioned applications have been well developed over the past thousands of years. However, trees and wood have much more to offer us as advanced materials, impacting emerging high-tech fields, such as bioengineering, flexible electronics, and clean energy. Wood naturally has a hierarchical structure, composed of well-oriented microfibers and tracheids for water, ion, and oxygen transportation during metabolism. At higher magnification, the walls of fiber cells have an interesting morphology-a distinctly mesoporous structure. Moreover, the walls of fiber cells are composed of thousands of fibers (or macrofibrils) oriented in a similar angle. Nanofibrils and nanocrystals can be further liberated from macrofibrils by mechanical, chemical, and enzymatic methods. The obtained nanocellulose has unique optical, mechanical, and barrier properties and is an excellent candidate for chemical modification and reconfiguration. Wood is naturally a composite material, comprised of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Wood is sustainable, earth abundant, strong, biodegradable, biocompatible, and chemically accessible for modification; more importantly, multiscale natural fibers from wood have unique optical properties applicable to different kinds of optoelectronics and photonic devices. Today, the materials derived from wood are ready to be explored for applications in new technology areas, such as electronics, biomedical devices, and energy. The

Wood-Derived Materials for Green Electronics, Biological Devices, and Energy Applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhu, Hongli; Luo, Wei; Ciesielski, Peter N.; Fang, Zhiqiang; Zhu, J. Y.; Henriksson, Gunnar; Himmel, Michael E.; Hu, Liangbing

2016-08-24

With the arising of global climate change and resource shortage, in recent years, increased attention has been paid to environmentally friendly materials. Trees are sustainable and renewable materials, which give us shelter and oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Trees are a primary resource that human society depends upon every day, for example, homes, heating, furniture, and aircraft. Wood from trees gives us paper, cardboard, and medical supplies, thus impacting our homes, school, work, and play. All of the above-mentioned applications have been well developed over the past thousands of years. However, trees and wood have much more to offer us as advanced materials, impacting emerging high-tech fields, such as bioengineering, flexible electronics, and clean energy. Wood naturally has a hierarchical structure, composed of well-oriented microfibers and tracheids for water, ion, and oxygen transportation during metabolism. At higher magnification, the walls of fiber cells have an interesting morphology--a distinctly mesoporous structure. Moreover, the walls of fiber cells are composed of thousands of fibers (or macrofibrils) oriented in a similar angle. Nanofibrils and nanocrystals can be further liberated from macrofibrils by mechanical, chemical, and enzymatic methods. The obtained nanocellulose has unique optical, mechanical, and barrier properties and is an excellent candidate for chemical modification and reconfiguration. Wood is naturally a composite material, comprised of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Wood is sustainable, earth abundant, strong, biodegradable, biocompatible, and chemically accessible for modification; more importantly, multiscale natural fibers from wood have unique optical properties applicable to different kinds of optoelectronics and photonic devices. Today, the materials derived from wood are ready to be explored for applications in new technology areas, such as electronics, biomedical devices, and energy. The

Post-material values and environmental policy change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Watts, N. (International Inst. for Environmental and Society, Berlin, Germany); Wandesforde-Smith, G.

Environmental policy may be particularly suited as a vehicle to articulate post-material values in advanced industrial societies, and recognition of this is likely to prove enormously helpful in future comparative and cross-national research into the origins of environmentalism and the causes of environmental policy change. The paper notes the salient characteristics of post-materialism and the overlap of these with the leading indicators of environmentalism. Possible structural causes for this overlap are noted and opposed to the prevailing socialization explanation for the adoption of post-material and environmental values. To help understand the impact of environmentalism on policy, an idealized development of the movement is sketched. This leads to the description of a set of general factors likely to be related to the way environmentalism finds political expressions in various countries. In the final section, the focus is on what we might want to know about the policy process in order to be able to gauge environmentalist influence on policy outputs. 20 references.

Atomtronics: Material and Device Physics of Quantum Gases

Science.gov (United States)

matter physics to electrical engineering. Our projects title Atomtronics: Material and device physics of quantum gases illustrates the chasm we bridged...starting from therich and fundamental physics already revealed with cold atoms systems, then leading to an understanding of the functional materials

Oxide bipolar electronics: materials, devices and circuits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grundmann, Marius; Klüpfel, Fabian; Karsthof, Robert; Schlupp, Peter; Schein, Friedrich-Leonhard; Splith, Daniel; Yang, Chang; Bitter, Sofie; Von Wenckstern, Holger

2016-01-01

We present the history of, and the latest progress in, the field of bipolar oxide thin film devices. As such we consider primarily pn-junctions in which at least one of the materials is a metal oxide semiconductor. A wide range of n-type and p-type oxides has been explored for the formation of such bipolar diodes. Since most oxide semiconductors are unipolar, challenges and opportunities exist with regard to the formation of heterojunction diodes and band lineups. Recently, various approaches have led to devices with high rectification, namely p-type ZnCo 2 O 4 and NiO on n-type ZnO and amorphous zinc-tin-oxide. Subsequent bipolar devices and applications such as photodetectors, solar cells, junction field-effect transistors and integrated circuits like inverters and ring oscillators are discussed. The tremendous progress shows that bipolar oxide electronics has evolved from the exploration of various materials and heterostructures to the demonstration of functioning integrated circuits. Therefore a viable, facile and high performance technology is ready for further exploitation and performance optimization. (topical review)

Environmental TEM for Materials Research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Thomas Willum

Over the last decades, electron microscopy has played a large role in materials research. The increasing use of particularly environmental transmission electron microscopy (ETEM) in materials science provides new possibilities for investigating nanoscale components at work. Careful experimentation...

Environmental TEM in Materials Research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Thomas Willum; Wagner, Jakob Birkedal

Over the last decades, electron microscopy has played a large role in materials research. The increasing use of particularly environmental transmission electron microscopy (ETEM) in materials science provides new possibilities for investigating nanoscale components at work. Careful experimentation...

Holmium hafnate: An emerging electronic device material

Science.gov (United States)

Pavunny, Shojan P.; Sharma, Yogesh; Kooriyattil, Sudheendran; Dugu, Sita; Katiyar, Rajesh K.; Scott, James F.; Katiyar, Ram S.

2015-03-01

We report structural, optical, charge transport, and temperature properties as well as the frequency dependence of the dielectric constant of Ho2Hf2O7 (HHO) which make this material desirable as an alternative high-k dielectric for future silicon technology devices. A high dielectric constant of ˜20 and very low dielectric loss of ˜0.1% are temperature and voltage independent at 100 kHz near ambient conditions. The Pt/HHO/Pt capacitor exhibits exceptionally low Schottky emission-based leakage currents. In combination with the large observed bandgap Eg of 5.6 eV, determined by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, our results reveal fundamental physics and materials science of the HHO metal oxide and its potential application as a high-k dielectric for the next generation of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor devices.

Oxide materials for spintronic device applications

Science.gov (United States)

Prestgard, Megan Campbell

Spintronic devices are currently being researched as next-generation alternatives to traditional electronics. Electronics, which utilize the charge-carrying capabilities of electrons to store information, are fundamentally limited not only by size constraints, but also by limits on current flow and degradation, due to electro-migration. Spintronics devices are able to overcome these limitations, as their information storage is in the spin of electrons, rather than their charge. By using spin rather than charge, these current-limiting shortcomings can be easily overcome. However, for spintronic devices to be fully implemented into the current technology industry, their capabilities must be improved. Spintronic device operation relies on the movement and manipulation of spin-polarized electrons, in which there are three main processes that must be optimized in order to maximize device efficiencies. These spin-related processes are: the injection of spin-polarized electrons, the transport and manipulation of these carriers, and the detection of spin-polarized currents. In order to enhance the rate of spin-polarized injection, research has been focused on the use of alternative methods to enhance injection beyond that of a simple ferromagnetic metal/semiconductor injector interface. These alternatives include the use of oxide-based tunnel barriers and the modification of semiconductors and insulators for their use as ferromagnetic injector materials. The transport of spin-polarized carriers is heavily reliant on the optimization of materials' properties in order to enhance the carrier mobility and to quench spin-orbit coupling (SOC). However, a certain degree of SOC is necessary in order to allow for the electric-field, gate-controlled manipulation of spin currents. Spin detection can be performed via both optical and electrical techniques. Using electrical methods relies on the conversion between spin and charge currents via SOC and is often the preferred method for

Diamond-shaped electromagnetic transparent devices with homogeneous material parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Tinghua; Huang Ming; Yang Jingjing; Yu Jiang; Lan Yaozhong

2011-01-01

Based on the linear coordinate transformation method, two-dimensional and three-dimensional electromagnetic transparent devices with diamond shape composed of homogeneous and non-singular materials are proposed in this paper. The permittivity and permeability tensors of the transparent devices are derived. The performance and scattering properties of the transparent devices are confirmed by a full-wave simulation. It can physically protect electric devices such as an antenna and a radar station inside, without sacrificing their performance. This work represents important progress towards the practical realization of metamaterial-assisted transparent devices and expands the application of transformation optics.

3D Printing of Living Responsive Materials and Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xinyue; Yuk, Hyunwoo; Lin, Shaoting; Parada, German Alberto; Tang, Tzu-Chieh; Tham, Eléonore; de la Fuente-Nunez, Cesar; Lu, Timothy K; Zhao, Xuanhe

2018-01-01

3D printing has been intensively explored to fabricate customized structures of responsive materials including hydrogels, liquid-crystal elastomers, shape-memory polymers, and aqueous droplets. Herein, a new method and material system capable of 3D-printing hydrogel inks with programed bacterial cells as responsive components into large-scale (3 cm), high-resolution (30 μm) living materials, where the cells can communicate and process signals in a programmable manner, are reported. The design of 3D-printed living materials is guided by quantitative models that account for the responses of programed cells in printed microstructures of hydrogels. Novel living devices are further demonstrated, enabled by 3D printing of programed cells, including logic gates, spatiotemporally responsive patterning, and wearable devices. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Holmium hafnate: An emerging electronic device material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pavunny, Shojan P.; Sharma, Yogesh; Kooriyattil, Sudheendran; Dugu, Sita; Katiyar, Rajesh K.; Katiyar, Ram S.; Scott, James F.

2015-01-01

We report structural, optical, charge transport, and temperature properties as well as the frequency dependence of the dielectric constant of Ho 2 Hf 2 O 7 (HHO) which make this material desirable as an alternative high-k dielectric for future silicon technology devices. A high dielectric constant of ∼20 and very low dielectric loss of ∼0.1% are temperature and voltage independent at 100 kHz near ambient conditions. The Pt/HHO/Pt capacitor exhibits exceptionally low Schottky emission-based leakage currents. In combination with the large observed bandgap E g of 5.6 eV, determined by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, our results reveal fundamental physics and materials science of the HHO metal oxide and its potential application as a high-k dielectric for the next generation of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor devices

Holmium hafnate: An emerging electronic device material

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pavunny, Shojan P., E-mail: shojanpp@gmail.com, E-mail: rkatiyar@hpcf.upr.edu; Sharma, Yogesh; Kooriyattil, Sudheendran; Dugu, Sita; Katiyar, Rajesh K.; Katiyar, Ram S., E-mail: shojanpp@gmail.com, E-mail: rkatiyar@hpcf.upr.edu [Department of Physics and Institute for Functional Nanomaterials, University of Puerto Rico, P.O. Box 70377, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8377 (United States); Scott, James F. [Department of Physics and Institute for Functional Nanomaterials, University of Puerto Rico, P.O. Box 70377, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8377 (United States); Department of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 OHE (United Kingdom)

2015-03-16

We report structural, optical, charge transport, and temperature properties as well as the frequency dependence of the dielectric constant of Ho{sub 2}Hf{sub 2}O{sub 7} (HHO) which make this material desirable as an alternative high-k dielectric for future silicon technology devices. A high dielectric constant of ∼20 and very low dielectric loss of ∼0.1% are temperature and voltage independent at 100 kHz near ambient conditions. The Pt/HHO/Pt capacitor exhibits exceptionally low Schottky emission-based leakage currents. In combination with the large observed bandgap E{sub g} of 5.6 eV, determined by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, our results reveal fundamental physics and materials science of the HHO metal oxide and its potential application as a high-k dielectric for the next generation of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor devices.

Performance of GPS-devices for environmental exposure assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Beekhuizen, Johan; Kromhout, Hans; Huss, Anke; Vermeulen, Roel

2013-01-01

Integration of individual time-location patterns with spatially resolved exposure maps enables a more accurate estimation of personal exposures to environmental pollutants than using estimates at fixed locations. Current global positioning system (GPS) devices can be used to track an individual's location. However, information on GPS-performance in environmental exposure assessment is largely missing. We therefore performed two studies. First, a commute-study, where the commute of 12 individuals was tracked twice, testing GPS-performance for five transport modes and two wearing modes. Second, an urban-tracking study, where one individual was tracked repeatedly through different areas, focused on the effect of building obstruction on GPS-performance. The median error from the true path for walking was 3.7 m, biking 2.9 m, train 4.8 m, bus 4.9 m, and car 3.3 m. Errors were larger in a high-rise commercial area (median error=7.1 m) compared with a low-rise residential area (median error=2.2 m). Thus, GPS-performance largely depends on the transport mode and urban built-up. Although ~85% of all errors were 50 m. Modern GPS-devices are useful tools for environmental exposure assessment, but large GPS-errors might affect estimates of exposures with high spatial variability.

Illusion thermal device based on material with constant anisotropic thermal conductivity for location camouflage

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, Quanwen; Zhao, Xiaopeng; Meng, Tong; Liu, Cunliang

2016-09-01

Thermal metamaterials and devices based on transformation thermodynamics often require materials with anisotropic and inhomogeneous thermal conductivities. In this study, still based on the concept of transformation thermodynamics, we designed a planar illusion thermal device, which can delocalize a heat source in the device such that the temperature profile outside the device appears to be produced by a virtual source at another position. This device can be constructed by only one kind of material with constant anisotropic thermal conductivity. The condition which should be satisfied by the device is provided, and the required anisotropic thermal conductivity is then deduced theoretically. This study may be useful for the designs of metamaterials or devices since materials with constant anisotropic parameters have great facility in fabrication. A prototype device has been fabricated based on a composite composed by two naturally occurring materials. The experimental results validate the effectiveness of the device.

Nanostructured materials for advanced energy conversion and storage devices

Science.gov (United States)

Aricò, Antonino Salvatore; Bruce, Peter; Scrosati, Bruno; Tarascon, Jean-Marie; van Schalkwijk, Walter

2005-05-01

New materials hold the key to fundamental advances in energy conversion and storage, both of which are vital in order to meet the challenge of global warming and the finite nature of fossil fuels. Nanomaterials in particular offer unique properties or combinations of properties as electrodes and electrolytes in a range of energy devices. This review describes some recent developments in the discovery of nanoelectrolytes and nanoelectrodes for lithium batteries, fuel cells and supercapacitors. The advantages and disadvantages of the nanoscale in materials design for such devices are highlighted.

Device for sampling liquid radioactive materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vlasak, L.

1987-01-01

Remote sampling of radioactive materials in the process of radioactive waste treatment is claimed by the Czechoslovak Patent Document 238599. The existing difficulties are eliminated consisting in a complex remote control of sampling featuring the control of sliding and rotary movements of the sampling device. The new device consists of a vertical pipe with an opening provided with a cover. A bend is provided above the opening level housing flow distributors. A sampling tray is pivoted in the cover. In sampling, the tray is tilted in the vertical pipe space while it tilts back when filled. The sample flows into a vessel below the tray. Only rotary movement is thus sufficient for controlling the tray. (Z.M.)

Ferroelectric devices

CERN Document Server

Uchino, Kenji

2009-01-01

Updating its bestselling predecessor, Ferroelectric Devices, Second Edition assesses the last decade of developments-and setbacks-in the commercialization of ferroelectricity. Field pioneer and esteemed author Uchino provides insight into why this relatively nascent and interdisciplinary process has failed so far without a systematic accumulation of fundamental knowledge regarding materials and device development.Filling the informational void, this collection of information reviews state-of-the-art research and development trends reflecting nano and optical technologies, environmental regulat

Novel material and structural design for large-scale marine protective devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qiu, Ang; Lin, Wei; Ma, Yong; Zhao, Chengbi; Tang, Youhong

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Large-scale protective devices with different structural designs have been optimized. • Large-scale protective devices with novel material designs have been optimized. • Protective devices constructed of sandwich panels have the best anti-collision performance. • Protective devices with novel material design can reduce weight and construction cost. - Abstract: Large-scale protective devices must endure the impact of severe forces, large structural deformation, the increased stress and strain rate effects, and multiple coupling effects. In evaluation of the safety of conceptual design through simulation, several key parameters considered in this research are maximum impact force, energy dissipated by the impactor (e.g. a ship) and energy absorbed by the device and the impactor stroke. During impact, the main function of the ring beam structure is to resist and buffer the impact force between ship and bridge pile caps, which could guarantee that the magnitude of impact force meets the corresponding requirements. The means of improving anti-collision performance can be to increase the strength of the beam section or to exchange the steel material with novel fiber reinforced polymer laminates. The main function of the buoyancy tank is to absorb and transfer the ship’s kinetic energy through large plastic deformation, damage, or friction occurring within itself. The energy absorption effect can be improved by structure optimization or by the use of new sandwich panels. Structural and material optimization schemes are proposed on the basis of conceptual design in this research, and protective devices constructed of sandwich panels prove to have the best anti-collision performance

Non-binary Colour Modulation for Display Device Based on Phase Change Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Hong-Kai; Tong, Hao; Qian, Hang; Hui, Ya-Juan; Liu, Nian; Yan, Peng; Miao, Xiang-Shui

2016-12-01

A reflective-type display device based on phase change materials is attractive because of its ultrafast response time and high resolution compared with a conventional display device. This paper proposes and demonstrates a unique display device in which multicolour changing can be achieved on a single device by the selective crystallization of double layer phase change materials. The optical contrast is optimized by the availability of a variety of film thicknesses of two phase change layers. The device exhibits a low sensitivity to the angle of incidence, which is important for display and colour consistency. The non-binary colour rendering on a single device is demonstrated for the first time using optical excitation. The device shows the potential for ultrafast display applications.

Non-binary Colour Modulation for Display Device Based on Phase Change Materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Hong-Kai; Tong, Hao; Qian, Hang; Hui, Ya-Juan; Liu, Nian; Yan, Peng; Miao, Xiang-Shui

2016-12-19

A reflective-type display device based on phase change materials is attractive because of its ultrafast response time and high resolution compared with a conventional display device. This paper proposes and demonstrates a unique display device in which multicolour changing can be achieved on a single device by the selective crystallization of double layer phase change materials. The optical contrast is optimized by the availability of a variety of film thicknesses of two phase change layers. The device exhibits a low sensitivity to the angle of incidence, which is important for display and colour consistency. The non-binary colour rendering on a single device is demonstrated for the first time using optical excitation. The device shows the potential for ultrafast display applications.

The environmental interactions of tidal and wave energy generation devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frid, Chris; Andonegi, Eider; Depestele, Jochen; Judd, Adrian; Rihan, Dominic; Rogers, Stuart I.; Kenchington, Ellen

2012-01-01

Global energy demand continues to grow and tidal and wave energy generation devices can provide a significant source of renewable energy. Technological developments in offshore engineering and the rising cost of traditional energy means that offshore energy resources will be economic in the next few years. While there is now a growing body of data on the ecological impacts of offshore wind farms, the scientific basis on which to make informed decisions about the environmental effects of other offshore energy developments is lacking. Tidal barrages have the potential to cause significant ecological impacts particularly on bird feeding areas when they are constructed at coastal estuaries or bays. Offshore tidal stream energy and wave energy collectors offer the scope for developments at varying scales. They also have the potential to alter habitats. A diversity of designs exist, including floating, mid-water column and seabed mounted devices, with a variety of moving-part configurations resulting in a unique complex of potential environmental effects for each device type, which are discussed to the extent possible. - Highlights: ► We review the environmental impacts of tidal barrages and fences, tidal stream farms and wave energy capture devices. ► Impacts on habitats, species and the water column, and effects of noise and electromagnetic fields are considered. ► Tidal barrages can cause significant impacts on bird feeding areas when constructed at coastal estuaries or bays. ► Wave energy collectors can alter water column and sea bed habitats locally and over large distances.

The environmental interactions of tidal and wave energy generation devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frid, Chris, E-mail: c.l.j.frid@liv.ac.uk [School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZB (United Kingdom); Andonegi, Eider, E-mail: eandonegi@azti.es [AZTI-Tecnalia, Txatxarramendi ugartea, z/g E-48395 Sukarrieta (Bizkaia) (Spain); Depestele, Jochen, E-mail: jochen.depestele@ilvo.vlaanderen.be [Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research, Ankerstraat 1, B-8400 Oostende (Belgium); Judd, Adrian, E-mail: Adrian.Judd@cefas.co.uk [Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science , Lowestoft Laboratory, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft NR33 0HT United Kingdom (United Kingdom); Rihan, Dominic, E-mail: Dominic.RIHAN@ec.europa.eu [Irish Sea Fisheries Board, P.O. Box 12 Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin (Ireland); Rogers, Stuart I., E-mail: stuart.rogers@cefas.co.uk [Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science , Lowestoft Laboratory, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft NR33 0HT United Kingdom (United Kingdom); Kenchington, Ellen, E-mail: Ellen.Kenchington@dfo-mpo.gc.ca [Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, P.O. Box 1006, Dartmouth Canada, NS B2Y 4A2 (Canada)

2012-01-15

Global energy demand continues to grow and tidal and wave energy generation devices can provide a significant source of renewable energy. Technological developments in offshore engineering and the rising cost of traditional energy means that offshore energy resources will be economic in the next few years. While there is now a growing body of data on the ecological impacts of offshore wind farms, the scientific basis on which to make informed decisions about the environmental effects of other offshore energy developments is lacking. Tidal barrages have the potential to cause significant ecological impacts particularly on bird feeding areas when they are constructed at coastal estuaries or bays. Offshore tidal stream energy and wave energy collectors offer the scope for developments at varying scales. They also have the potential to alter habitats. A diversity of designs exist, including floating, mid-water column and seabed mounted devices, with a variety of moving-part configurations resulting in a unique complex of potential environmental effects for each device type, which are discussed to the extent possible. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We review the environmental impacts of tidal barrages and fences, tidal stream farms and wave energy capture devices. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Impacts on habitats, species and the water column, and effects of noise and electromagnetic fields are considered. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Tidal barrages can cause significant impacts on bird feeding areas when constructed at coastal estuaries or bays. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Wave energy collectors can alter water column and sea bed habitats locally and over large distances.

10 CFR 51.80 - Draft environmental impact statement-materials license.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Draft environmental impact statement-materials license. 51...-Regulations Implementing Section 102(2) Draft Environmental Impact Statements-Materials Licenses § 51.80 Draft environmental impact statement—materials license. (a) The NRC staff will either prepare a draft environmental...

From molecular design and materials construction to organic nanophotonic devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Chuang; Yan, Yongli; Zhao, Yong Sheng; Yao, Jiannian

2014-12-16

CONSPECTUS: Nanophotonics has recently received broad research interest, since it may provide an alternative opportunity to overcome the fundamental limitations in electronic circuits. Diverse optical materials down to the wavelength scale are required to develop nanophotonic devices, including functional components for light emission, transmission, and detection. During the past decade, the chemists have made their own contributions to this interdisciplinary field, especially from the controlled fabrication of nanophotonic molecules and materials. In this context, organic micro- or nanocrystals have been developed as a very promising kind of building block in the construction of novel units for integrated nanophotonics, mainly due to the great versatility in organic molecular structures and their flexibility for the subsequent processing. Following the pioneering works on organic nanolasers and optical waveguides, the organic nanophotonic materials and devices have attracted increasing interest and developed rapidly during the past few years. In this Account, we review our research on the photonic performance of molecular micro- or nanostructures and the latest breakthroughs toward organic nanophotonic devices. Overall, the versatile features of organic materials are highlighted, because they brings tunable optical properties based on molecular design, size-dependent light confinement in low-dimensional structures, and various device geometries for nanophotonic integration. The molecular diversity enables abundant optical transitions in conjugated π-electron systems, and thus brings specific photonic functions into molecular aggregates. The morphology of these micro- or nanostructures can be further controlled based on the weak intermolecular interactions during molecular assembly process, making the aggregates show photon confinement or light guiding properties as nanophotonic materials. By adoption of some active processes in the composite of two or more

Flexible organic electronic devices: Materials, process and applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Logothetidis, Stergios

2008-01-01

The research for the development of flexible organic electronic devices (FEDs) is rapidly increasing worldwide, since FEDs will change radically several aspects of everyday life. Although there has been considerable progress in the area of flexible inorganic devices (a-Si or solution processed Si), there are numerous advances in the organic (semiconducting, conducting and insulating), inorganic and hybrid (organic-inorganic) materials that exhibit customized properties and stability, and in the synthesis and preparation methods, which are characterized by a significant amount of multidisciplinary efforts. Furthermore, the development and encapsulation of organic electronic devices onto flexible polymeric substrates by large-scale and low-cost roll-to-roll production processes will allow their market implementation in numerous application areas, including displays, lighting, photovoltaics, radio-frequency identification circuitry and chemical sensors, as well as to a new generation of modern exotic applications. In this work, we report on some of the latest advances in the fields of polymeric substrates, hybrid barrier layers, inorganic and organic materials to be used as novel active and functional thin films and nanomaterials as well as for the encapsulation of the materials components for the production of FEDs (flexible organic light-emitting diodes, and organic photovoltaics). Moreover, we will emphasize on the real-time optical monitoring and characterization of the growing films onto the flexible polymeric substrates by spectroscopic ellipsometry methods. Finally, the potentiality for the in-line characterization processes for the development of organic electronics materials will be emphasized, since it will also establish the framework for the achievement of the future scientific and technological breakthroughs

Materials growth and characterization of thermoelectric and resistive switching devices

Science.gov (United States)

Norris, Kate J.

In the 74 years since diode rectifier based radar technology helped the allied forces win WWII, semiconductors have transformed the world we live in. From our smart phones to semiconductor-based energy conversion, semiconductors touch every aspect of our lives. With this thesis I hope to expand human knowledge of semiconductor thermoelectric devices and resistive switching devices through experimentation with materials growth and subsequent materials characterization. Metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) was the primary method of materials growth utilized in these studies. Additionally, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD),ion beam sputter deposition, reactive sputter deposition and electron-beam (e-beam) evaporation were also used in this research for device fabrication. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) were the primary characterization methods utilized for this research. Additional device and materials characterization techniques employed include: current-voltage measurements, thermoelectric measurements, x-ray diffraction (XRD), reflection absorption infra-red spectroscopy (RAIRS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), photoluminescence (PL), and raman spectroscopy. As society has become more aware of its impact on the planet and its limited resources, there has been a push toward developing technologies to sustainably produce the energy we need. Thermoelectric devices convert heat directly into electricity. Thermoelectric devices have the potential to save huge amounts of energy that we currently waste as heat, if we can make them cost-effective. Semiconducting thin films and nanowires appear to be promising avenues of research to attain this goal. Specifically, in this work we will explore the use of ErSb thin films as well as Si and InP nanowire networks for thermoelectric applications. First we will discuss the growth of

Medical Devices; Immunology and Microbiology Devices; Classification of the Assayed Quality Control Material for Clinical Microbiology Assays. Final order.

Science.gov (United States)

2017-07-27

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, Agency, or we) is classifying the assayed quality control material for clinical microbiology assays into class II (special controls). The special controls that will apply to the device are identified in this order and will be part of the codified language for the assayed quality control material for clinical microbiology assays' classification. The Agency is classifying the device into class II (special controls) to provide a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness of the device.

Spintronics from materials to devices

CERN Document Server

Felser, Claudia

2013-01-01

Spintronics is an emerging technology exploiting the spin degree of freedom and has proved to be very promising for new types of fast electronic devices. Amongst the anticipated advantages of spintronics technologies, researchers have identified the non-volatile storage of data with high density and low energy consumption as particularly relevant. This monograph examines the concept of half-metallic compounds perspectives to obtain novel solutions and discusses several oxides such as perovskites, double perovskites and CrO2 as well as Heusler compounds. Such materials can be designed and made

10 CFR 51.97 - Final environmental impact statement-materials license.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Final environmental impact statement-materials license. 51...-Regulations Implementing Section 102(2) Final Environmental Impact Statements-Materials Licenses § 51.97 Final environmental impact statement—materials license. (a) Independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI...

Theory-Guided Design of Organic Electro-Optic Materials and Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephanie Benight

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Integrated (multi-scale quantum and statistical mechanical theoretical methods have guided the nano-engineering of controlled intermolecular electrostatic interactions for the dramatic improvement of acentric order and thus electro-optic activity of melt-processable organic polymer and dendrimer electro-optic materials. New measurement techniques have permitted quantitative determination of the molecular order parameters, lattice dimensionality, and nanoscale viscoelasticity properties of these new soft matter materials and have facilitated comparison of theoretically-predicted structures and thermodynamic properties with experimentally-defined structures and properties. New processing protocols have permitted further enhancement of material properties and have facilitated the fabrication of complex device structures. The integration of organic electro-optic materials into silicon photonic, plasmonic, and metamaterial device architectures has led to impressive new performance metrics for a variety of technological applications.

Environmental test program for superconducting materials and devices

Science.gov (United States)

Haertling, Gene; Randolph, Henry; Hsi, Chi-Shiung; Verbelyi, Darren

1991-01-01

This report is divided into two parts. The first dealing with work involved with Clemson University and the second with the results from Westinghouse/Savannah River. Both areas of work involved low noise, low thermal conductivity superconducting grounding links used in the NASA-sponsored Spectroscopy of the Atmosphere using Far Infrared Emission (SAFIRE) Project. Clemson prepared the links from YBa2Cu3O(7-x) superconductor tape that was mounted on a printed circuit board and encapsulated with epoxy resin. The Clemson program includes temperature vs. resistance, liquid nitrogen immersion, water immersion, thermal cycling, humidity, and radiation testing. The evaluation of the links under a long term environmental test program is described. The Savannah River program includes gamma irradiation, vibration, and long-term evaluation. The progress made in these evaluations is discussed.

The Architecture of Colloidal Quantum Dot Solar Cells: Materials to Devices

KAUST Repository

Kramer, Illan J.

2014-01-08

The materials chemistry of Colloidal Quantum Dot (CQDs) suspended in solution and processed into films has provided a foundation onto which useful photovoltaic devices can be built. These active materials offer the benefits of solution processing paired with the flexibility of adjustable bandgaps, tailored to suit a particular need. In parallel with these advances, pursuing device geometries that better leverage the available electronic properties of CQD films has borne fruit in further advancing CQD solar cell performance. For active materials such as CQD films where 1/α, where alpha is the absorption coefficient, is of the same order as the free carrier extraction length, external quantum efficiency (EQE) measurements have proved useful in profiling the effectiveness of each nanometer of device thickness at extracting photogenerated carriers. Because CQD films have the added complications of being made of variable-sized constituent material building blocks as well as being deposited from solution, the nature of charge transport through the films can also be size-dependent and matrix dependent.

Application of Nanostructures in Electrochromic Materials and Devices: Recent Progress

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin Min Wang

2010-11-01

Full Text Available The recent progress in application of nanostructures in electrochromic materials and devices is reviewed. ZnO nanowire array modified by viologen and WO3, crystalline WO3 nanoparticles and nanorods, mesoporous WO3 and TiO2, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene nanotubes, Prussian blue nanoinks and nanostructures in switchable mirrors are reviewed. The electrochromic properties were significantly enhanced by applying nanostructures, resulting in faster switching responses, higher stability and higher optical contrast. A perspective on the development trends in electrochromic materials and devices is also proposed.

Recent Developments in p-Type Oxide Semiconductor Materials and Devices

KAUST Repository

Wang, Zhenwei

2016-02-16

The development of transparent p-type oxide semiconductors with good performance may be a true enabler for a variety of applications where transparency, power efficiency, and greater circuit complexity are needed. Such applications include transparent electronics, displays, sensors, photovoltaics, memristors, and electrochromics. Hence, here, recent developments in materials and devices based on p-type oxide semiconductors are reviewed, including ternary Cu-bearing oxides, binary copper oxides, tin monoxide, spinel oxides, and nickel oxides. The crystal and electronic structures of these materials are discussed, along with approaches to enhance valence-band dispersion to reduce effective mass and increase mobility. Strategies to reduce interfacial defects, off-state current, and material instability are suggested. Furthermore, it is shown that promising progress has been made in the performance of various types of devices based on p-type oxides. Several innovative approaches exist to fabricate transparent complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices, including novel device fabrication schemes and utilization of surface chemistry effects, resulting in good inverter gains. However, despite recent developments, p-type oxides still lag in performance behind their n-type counterparts, which have entered volume production in the display market. Recent successes along with the hurdles that stand in the way of commercial success of p-type oxide semiconductors are presented.

Recent Developments in p-Type Oxide Semiconductor Materials and Devices

KAUST Repository

Wang, Zhenwei; Nayak, Pradipta K.; Caraveo-Frescas, Jesus Alfonso; Alshareef, Husam N.

2016-01-01

The development of transparent p-type oxide semiconductors with good performance may be a true enabler for a variety of applications where transparency, power efficiency, and greater circuit complexity are needed. Such applications include transparent electronics, displays, sensors, photovoltaics, memristors, and electrochromics. Hence, here, recent developments in materials and devices based on p-type oxide semiconductors are reviewed, including ternary Cu-bearing oxides, binary copper oxides, tin monoxide, spinel oxides, and nickel oxides. The crystal and electronic structures of these materials are discussed, along with approaches to enhance valence-band dispersion to reduce effective mass and increase mobility. Strategies to reduce interfacial defects, off-state current, and material instability are suggested. Furthermore, it is shown that promising progress has been made in the performance of various types of devices based on p-type oxides. Several innovative approaches exist to fabricate transparent complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices, including novel device fabrication schemes and utilization of surface chemistry effects, resulting in good inverter gains. However, despite recent developments, p-type oxides still lag in performance behind their n-type counterparts, which have entered volume production in the display market. Recent successes along with the hurdles that stand in the way of commercial success of p-type oxide semiconductors are presented.

Glass solidification material confinement test device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Namiki, Shigekazu.

1997-01-01

In a device for confining glass solidification materials, a pipeline connecting a detection vessel and a detector is formed to have a double walled structure, and air blowing holes are formed on the wall of the inner pipe, and an air supply mechanism is connected to inner and outer pipes for supplying blowing air thereby preventing deposition on the inner pipe wall. The air blowing holes are formed by constituting the pipe by using a porous sintered material and porous portions thereof are defined as the air blowing holes, or holes are formed on the pipe wall made of a metal by machining. A blowing boundary layer is formed by blowing the supplied air along the pipe wall of the inner pipe, by which deposition of the sucked materials to the inner wall of the inner pipe is prevented, and all of the materials sucked from the detection vessel are collected to the detector. In addition, an air exit pipe is formed into a double walled structure so as to be supplied blowing air from the air supply mechanism thereby enabling to prevent deposition of sucked materials more reliably. (N.H.)

Transmission environmental scanning electron microscope with scintillation gaseous detection device.

Science.gov (United States)

Danilatos, Gerasimos; Kollia, Mary; Dracopoulos, Vassileios

2015-03-01

A transmission environmental scanning electron microscope with use of a scintillation gaseous detection device has been implemented. This corresponds to a transmission scanning electron microscope but with addition of a gaseous environment acting both as environmental and detection medium. A commercial type of low vacuum machine has been employed together with appropriate modifications to the detection configuration. This involves controlled screening of various emitted signals in conjunction with a scintillation gaseous detection device already provided with the machine for regular surface imaging. Dark field and bright field imaging has been obtained along with other detection conditions. With a progressive series of modifications and tests, the theory and practice of a novel type of microscopy is briefly shown now ushering further significant improvements and developments in electron microscopy as a whole. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Emerging Semitransparent Solar Cells: Materials and Device Design.

Science.gov (United States)

Tai, Qidong; Yan, Feng

2017-09-01

Semitransparent solar cells can provide not only efficient power-generation but also appealing images and show promising applications in building integrated photovoltaics, wearable electronics, photovoltaic vehicles and so forth in the future. Such devices have been successfully realized by incorporating transparent electrodes in new generation low-cost solar cells, including organic solar cells (OSCs), dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) and organometal halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs). In this review, the advances in the preparation of semitransparent OSCs, DSCs, and PSCs are summarized, focusing on the top transparent electrode materials and device designs, which are all crucial to the performance of these devices. Techniques for optimizing the efficiency, color and transparency of the devices are addressed in detail. Finally, a summary of the research field and an outlook into the future development in this area are provided. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Environmental Evaluation of Building Materials of 5 Slovak Buildings

Science.gov (United States)

Porhincak, Milan; Estokova, Adriana

2013-11-01

Building activity has recently led to the deterioration of environment and has become unsustainable. Several strategies have been introduced in order to minimize consumption of energy and resulting CO2 emissions having their origin in the operational phase. But also other stages of Life Cycle should are important to identify the overall environmental impact of construction sector. In this paper 5 similar Slovak buildings (family houses) were analyzed in terms of environmental performance of building materials used for their structures. Evaluation included the weight of used materials, embodied energy and embodied CO2 and SO2 emissions. Analysis has proven that the selection of building materials is an important factor which influences the environmental profile. Findings of the case study indicated that materials like concrete, ceramic or thermal insulation materials based on polystyrene and mineral wool are ones with the most negative environmental impact.

Analysis of medical device materials with the local electrode atom probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goodman, S.L.; Mengelt, T.J.; Ali, M.; Ulfig, R.M.; Martens, R.M.; Kelly, T.F.; Kostrna, S.L.P.; Kostrna, M.S.; Carmichael, W.J.

2004-01-01

Full text: As medical technology advances towards microsurgical and minimally invasive techniques, there is a drive to produce ever-smaller devices that demand higher material performance and hence enhanced nano and micro-scale control of material structure. These devices are made from stainless steel alloys, Nitinol, titanium, CoCrMo, and non-metals such as pyrolytic carbon and silicon. These applications are made possible due to suitable physical and mechanical properties, good corrosion resistance in biological environments, reasonable biocompatibility, and good manufacturability. With respect to the metals, the nano-structure and composition of the material surface, typically an oxide, is especially critical since biological responses and corrosion occur at the material-environment interface. Thus, there is an increasing need to understand the 3-D structure and composition of metallic biomaterials at the atomic scale. Three-dimensional atom probe microscopy can uniquely provide such atomic-level structural information. In the present study several of these medical device materials were examined. These include a 316L stainless steel alloy which is widely used in implanted spinal fixation devices, bone screws, cardiovascular and neurological stents, a cast CoCrMo acetabular hip cup of a Cormet metal-on-metal Hip Resurfacing System (Corin Group, Cirencester, England) that was rejected for clinical use, Nitinol wires specimens such as are used for stents and guide wires, and low temperature pyrolytic carbon as used in clinical heart valve prosthetics. (author)

Scientific and Technical Challenges in Thermal Transport and Thermoelectric Materials and Devices

KAUST Repository

O'Dwyer, Colm

2017-01-19

This paper considers the state-of-the-art and open scientific and technological questions in thermoelectric materials and devices, from phonon engineering and scattering methods, to new and complex materials and their thermoelectric behavior. The paper also describes recent approaches to create structural and compositional material systems designed to enhance the thermoelectric figure of merit and power factors. We also summarize and contextualize recent advances in the use of superlattice structures and porosity or roughness to influence phonon scattering mechanisms and detail some advances in integrated thermoelectric materials for generators and coolers for thermally stable photonic devices.

Scientific and Technical Challenges in Thermal Transport and Thermoelectric Materials and Devices

KAUST Repository

O'Dwyer, Colm; Chen, Renkun; He, Jr-Hau; Lee, Jaeho; Razeeb, Kafil M.

2017-01-01

This paper considers the state-of-the-art and open scientific and technological questions in thermoelectric materials and devices, from phonon engineering and scattering methods, to new and complex materials and their thermoelectric behavior. The paper also describes recent approaches to create structural and compositional material systems designed to enhance the thermoelectric figure of merit and power factors. We also summarize and contextualize recent advances in the use of superlattice structures and porosity or roughness to influence phonon scattering mechanisms and detail some advances in integrated thermoelectric materials for generators and coolers for thermally stable photonic devices.

Optimisation of oxygen ion transport in materials for ceramic membrane devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Kilner, J A

2007-01-01

Oxygen transport in ceramic oxide materials has received much attention over the past few decades. Much of this interest has stemmed from the desire to construct high temperature electrochemical devices for energy conversion, an example being the solid oxide fuel cell. In order to achieve high performance for these devices, insights are needed in how to achieve optimum performance from the functional components such as the electrolytes and electrodes. This includes the optimisation of oxygen transport through the crystal lattice of electrode and electrolyte materials and across the homogeneous (grain boundary) and heterogeneous interfaces that exist in real devices. Strategies are discussed for the optimisation of these quantities and current problems in the characterisation of interfacial transport are explored.

Nuclear Materials Stewardship Within the DOE Environmental Management Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bilyeu, J. D.; Kiess, T. E.; Gates, M. L.

2002-01-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) Environmental Management (EM) Program has made significant progress in planning disposition of its excess nuclear materials and has recently completed several noteworthy studies. Since establishment in 1997, the EM Nuclear Material Stewardship Program has developed disposition plans for excess nuclear materials to support facility deactivation. All nuclear materials have been removed from the Miamisburg Environmental Management Project (Mound), and disposition planning is nearing completion for the Fernald Environmental Management Project and the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site. Only a few issues remain for materials at the Hanford and Idaho sites. Recent trade studies include the Savannah River Site Canyons Nuclear Materials Identification Study, a Cesium/Strontium Management Alternatives Trade Study, a Liquid Technical Standards Trade Study, an Irradiated Beryllium Reflectors with Tritium study, a Special Performance Assessment Required Trade Study, a Neutron Source Trade Study, and development of discard criteria for uranium. A Small Sites Workshop was also held. Potential and planned future activities include updating the Plutonium-239 storage study, developing additional packaging standards, developing a Nuclear Material Disposition Handbook, determining how to recover or dispose of Pu-244 and U-233, and working with additional sites to define disposition plans for their nuclear materials

Conjugated polymer photovoltaic devices and materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mozer, A.J.; Niyazi, Serdar Sariciftci

2006-01-01

The science and technology of conjugated polymer-based photovoltaic devices (bulk heterojunction solar cells) is highlighted focusing on three major issues, i.e. (i) nano-morphology optimization, (ii) improving charge carrier mobility, (iii) improving spectral sensitivity. Successful strategies towards improved photovoltaic performance are presented using various novel materials, including double-cable polymers, regioregular polymers and low bandgap polymers. The examples presented herein demonstrate that the bulk heterojunction concept is a viable approach towards developing photovoltaic systems by inexpensive solution-based fabrication technologies. (authors)

5th Conference on Aerospace Materials, Processes, and Environmental Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, M. B. (Editor); Stanley, D. Cross (Editor)

2003-01-01

Records are presented from the 5th Conference on Aerospace Materials, Processes, and Environmental Technology. Topics included pollution prevention, inspection methods, advanced materials, aerospace materials and technical standards,materials testing and evaluation, advanced manufacturing,development in metallic processes, synthesis of nanomaterials, composite cryotank processing, environmentally friendly cleaning, and poster sessions.

Stroke rehabilitation: assistive technology devices and environmental modifications following primary rehabilitation in hospital--a therapeutic perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Hanne Vinkel; Lendal, Susie; Schultz-Larsen, Kirsten

2003-01-01

The aim of this article is to describe the need for assistive devices and environmental modifications among long-living stroke survivors and to investigate if the need is continued and growing over time. The study sample of 155 consecutive stroke patients with stroke-related impairment, discharged...... home from three hospitals in Copenhagen from 1996 through 1998, constituted 20% of the total population of stroke survivors in this area. The results showed that 75% of these patients were provided with assistive devices and/or environmental modifications at discharge. Six months after discharge...... be required in order to target stroke survivors' changing needs for assistive devices and environmental modifications....

Science and Emerging Technology of 2D Atomic Layered Materials and Devices

Science.gov (United States)

2017-09-09

AFRL-AFOSR-JP-TR-2017-0067 Science & Emerging Technology of 2D Atomic Layered Materials and Devices Angel Rubio UNIVERSIDAD DEL PAIS VASCO - EUSKAL...DD-MM-YYYY)      27-09-2017 2.  REPORT TYPE      Final 3.  DATES COVERED (From - To)      19 Feb 2015 to 18 Feb 2017 4.  TITLE AND SUBTITLE Science ...reporting documents for AOARD project 144088, “2D Materials and Devices Beyond Graphene Science & Emerging Technology of 2D Atomic Layered Materials and

Organic light emitting device architecture for reducing the number of organic materials

Science.gov (United States)

D'Andrade, Brian [Westampton, NJ; Esler, James [Levittown, PA

2011-10-18

An organic light emitting device is provided. The device includes an anode and a cathode. A first emissive layer is disposed between the anode and the cathode. The first emissive layer includes a first non-emitting organic material, which is an organometallic material present in the first emissive layer in a concentration of at least 50 wt %. The first emissive layer also includes a first emitting organic material. A second emissive layer is disposed between the first emissive layer and the cathode, preferably, in direct contact with the first emissive layer. The second emissive material includes a second non-emitting organic material and a second emitting organic material. The first and second non-emitting materials, and the first and second emitting materials, are all different materials. A first non-emissive layer is disposed between the first emissive layer and the anode, and in direct contact with the first emissive layer. The first non- emissive layer comprises the first non-emissive organic material.

Novel nano materials for high performance logic and memory devices

Science.gov (United States)

Das, Saptarshi

After decades of relentless progress, the silicon CMOS industry is approaching a stall in device performance for both logic and memory devices due to fundamental scaling limitations. In order to reinforce the accelerating pace, novel materials with unique properties are being proposed on an urgent basis. This list includes one dimensional nanotubes, quasi one dimensional nanowires, two dimensional atomistically thin layered materials like graphene, hexagonal boron nitride and the more recently the rich family of transition metal di-chalcogenides comprising of MoS2, WSe2, WS2 and many more for logic applications and organic and inorganic ferroelectrics, phase change materials and magnetic materials for memory applications. Only time will tell who will win, but exploring these novel materials allow us to revisit the fundamentals and strengthen our understanding which will ultimately be beneficial for high performance device design. While there has been growing interest in two-dimensional (2D) crystals other than graphene, evaluating their potential usefulness for electronic applications is still in its infancies due to the lack of a complete picture of their performance potential. The fact that the 2-D layered semiconducting di-chalcogenides need to be connected to the "outside" world in order to capitalize on their ultimate potential immediately emphasizes the importance of a thorough understanding of the contacts. This thesis demonstrate that through a proper understanding and design of source/drain contacts and the right choice of number of MoS2 layers the excellent intrinsic properties of this 2D material can be harvested. A comprehensive experimental study on the dependence of carrier mobility on the layer thickness of back gated multilayer MoS 2 field effect transistors is also provided. A resistor network model that comprises of Thomas-Fermi charge screening and interlayer coupling is used to explain the non-monotonic trend in the extracted field effect

Protection of environmental contamination by radioactive materials and remediation of environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-05-01

This report consisted of the environmental contamination of radioactive and non-radioactive materials. 38 important accident examples of environmental contamination of radioactive materials in the world from 1944 to 2001 are stated. Heavily polluted areas by accidents are explained, for example, Chernobyl, atomic reactor accidents, development of nuclear weapon in USA and USSR, radioactive waste in the sea. The environmental contamination ability caused by using radioactive materials, medical use, operating reactor, disposal, transferring, crashing of airplane and artificial satellite, release are reported. It contains measurements and monitor technologies, remediation technologies of environmental contamination and separation and transmutation of radioactive materials. On the environmental contamination by non-radioactive materials, transformation of the soil contamination in Japan and its control technologies are explained. Protection and countermeasure of environmental contamination of radioactive and non-radioactive materials in Japan and the international organs are presented. There are summary and proposal in the seventh chapter. (S.Y.)

Energy and environmental nanotechnology in conductive paper and textiles

KAUST Repository

Hu, Liangbing

2012-01-01

Paper and textiles have been used ubiquitously in our everyday lives, such as books and newspapers for propagating information, clothing and packaging. In this perspective, we will summarize our recent efforts in exploring these old materials for emerging energy and environmental applications. The motivations and challenges of using paper and textiles for device applications will be discussed. Various types of energy and environmental devices have been demonstrated including supercapacitors, Li-ion batteries, microbial fuel cells and water filters. Due to their unique morphologies, paper and textile-based devices not only can be fabricated with simple processing, but also show outstanding device performance. Being renewable and earth-abundant materials, paper and textiles could play significant roles in addressing future energy and environmental challenges. © 2012 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Applied solid state science advances in materials and device research

CERN Document Server

Wolfe, Raymond

2013-01-01

Applied Solid State Science: Advances in Materials and Device Research, Volume 4 covers articles on single crystal compound semiconductors and complex polycrystalline materials. The book discusses narrow gap semiconductors and solid state batteries. The text then describes the advantages of hot-pressed microcrystalline compacts of oxygen-octahedra ferroelectrics over single crystal materials, as well as heterostructure junction lasers. Solid state physicists, materials scientists, electrical engineers, and graduate students studying the subjects being discussed will find the book invaluable.

A Maturity Grid Assessment Tool for Environmentally Conscious Design in the Medical Device Industry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moultrie, James; Sutcliffe, Laura Francesca Rose; Maier, Anja

2016-01-01

. This intervention tool provides designers and product marketers with insights on how to improve the design of their medical devices and specifically allows consideration of the complex trade-offs between decisions that influence different life-cycle stages. Through the tool, actionable insight is created......The medical device industry is growing increasingly concerned about environmental impact of products. Whilst there are many tools aiming to support environmentally conscious design, they are typically complex to use, demand substantial data collection and are not tailored to the specific needs...... of the medical device sector. This paper reports on the development of a Maturity Grid to address this gap. This novel design tool was developed iteratively through application in five case studies. The tool captures principles of eco-design for medical devices in a simple form, designed to be used by a team...

Environmental risk analysis of hazardous material rail transportation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saat, Mohd Rapik, E-mail: mohdsaat@illinois.edu [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1243 Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory, 205 North Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Werth, Charles J.; Schaeffer, David [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1243 Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory, 205 North Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Yoon, Hongkyu [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87123 (United States); Barkan, Christopher P.L. [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1243 Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory, 205 North Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States)

2014-01-15

Highlights: • Comprehensive, nationwide risk assessment of hazardous material rail transportation. • Application of a novel environmental (i.e. soil and groundwater) consequence model. • Cleanup cost and total shipment distance are the most significant risk factors. • Annual risk varies from $20,000 to $560,000 for different products. • Provides information on the risk cost associated with specific product shipments. -- Abstract: An important aspect of railroad environmental risk management involves tank car transportation of hazardous materials. This paper describes a quantitative, environmental risk analysis of rail transportation of a group of light, non-aqueous-phase liquid (LNAPL) chemicals commonly transported by rail in North America. The Hazardous Materials Transportation Environmental Consequence Model (HMTECM) was used in conjunction with a geographic information system (GIS) analysis of environmental characteristics to develop probabilistic estimates of exposure to different spill scenarios along the North American rail network. The risk analysis incorporated the estimated clean-up cost developed using the HMTECM, route-specific probability distributions of soil type and depth to groundwater, annual traffic volume, railcar accident rate, and tank car safety features, to estimate the nationwide annual risk of transporting each product. The annual risk per car-mile (car-km) and per ton-mile (ton-km) was also calculated to enable comparison between chemicals and to provide information on the risk cost associated with shipments of these products. The analysis and the methodology provide a quantitative approach that will enable more effective management of the environmental risk of transporting hazardous materials.

Environmental risk analysis of hazardous material rail transportation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saat, Mohd Rapik; Werth, Charles J.; Schaeffer, David; Yoon, Hongkyu; Barkan, Christopher P.L.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Comprehensive, nationwide risk assessment of hazardous material rail transportation. • Application of a novel environmental (i.e. soil and groundwater) consequence model. • Cleanup cost and total shipment distance are the most significant risk factors. • Annual risk varies from $20,000 to $560,000 for different products. • Provides information on the risk cost associated with specific product shipments. -- Abstract: An important aspect of railroad environmental risk management involves tank car transportation of hazardous materials. This paper describes a quantitative, environmental risk analysis of rail transportation of a group of light, non-aqueous-phase liquid (LNAPL) chemicals commonly transported by rail in North America. The Hazardous Materials Transportation Environmental Consequence Model (HMTECM) was used in conjunction with a geographic information system (GIS) analysis of environmental characteristics to develop probabilistic estimates of exposure to different spill scenarios along the North American rail network. The risk analysis incorporated the estimated clean-up cost developed using the HMTECM, route-specific probability distributions of soil type and depth to groundwater, annual traffic volume, railcar accident rate, and tank car safety features, to estimate the nationwide annual risk of transporting each product. The annual risk per car-mile (car-km) and per ton-mile (ton-km) was also calculated to enable comparison between chemicals and to provide information on the risk cost associated with shipments of these products. The analysis and the methodology provide a quantitative approach that will enable more effective management of the environmental risk of transporting hazardous materials

Strategy on biological evaluation for biodegradable/absorbable materials and medical devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Chenghu; Luo, Hongyu; Wan, Min; Hou, Li; Wang, Xin; Shi, Yanping

2018-01-01

During the last two decades, biodegradable/absorbable materials which have many benefits over conventional implants are being sought in clinical practices. However, to date, it still remains obscure for us to perform full physic-chemical characterization and biological risk assessment for these materials and related devices due to their complex design and coherent processing. In this review, based on the art of knowledge for biodegradable/absorbable materials and biological risk assessment, we demonstrated some promising strategies to establish and improve the current biological evaluation systems for these biodegradable/absorbable materials and related medical devices.

Variations in daily quality assurance dosimetry from device levelling, feet position and backscatter material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ceylan, Abdurrahman; Cullen, Ashley; Butson, Martin; Yu, Peter K.N.; Alnawaf, Hani

2012-01-01

Daily quality assurance procedures are an essential part of radiotherapy medical physics. Devices such as the Sun Nuclear, DQA3 are effective tools for analysis of daily dosimetry including flatness, symmetry, energy, field size and central axis radiation dose measurement. The DQA3 can be used on the treatment couch of the linear accelerator or on a dedicated table/bed for superficial and orthovoltage x-ray machines. This device is levelled using its dedicated feet. This work has shown that depending on the quantity of backscatter material behind the DQA3 device, the position of the levelling feet can affect the measured central axis dose by up to 1.8 % (250 kVp and 6 MV) and that the introduction of more backscatter material behind the DQA3 can lead to up to 7.2 % (6 MV) variations in measured central axis dose. In conditions where no backscatter material is present, dose measurements can vary up to 1 %. As such this work has highlighted the need to keep the material behind the DQA3 device constant as well as maintaining the accuracy of the feet position on the device to effectively measure the most accurate daily constancy achievable. Results have also shown that variations in symmetry and energy calculations of up to 1 % can occur if the device is not levelled appropriately. As such, we recommend the position of the levelling feet on the device be as close as possible to the device so that a constant distance is kept between the DQA3 and the treatment couch and thus minimal levelling variations also occur. We would also recommend having no extra backscattering material behind the DQA3 device during use to minimise any variations which might occur from these backscattering effects.

Environmental monitoring of low-level radioactive materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jester, W.A.; Yu, C.

1985-01-01

The authors discuss some of the current rationale behind the environmental monitoring of low-level radioactive materials are as follows: Committee 4 of the International commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) defined three broad objectives for environmental monitoring: 1) assessment of the actual or potential exposure of humans to radioactive materials or radiation present in their environment or the estimation of the probable upper limits of such exposure; 2) scientific investigation, sometimes related to the assessment of exposures, sometimes to other objectives; 3) improved public relations. Various regulations have been written requiring environmental monitoring to ensure that the public is not being exposed to excessive amounts of radiation from natural sources or from human activities. An example of the monitoring of natural sources of radiation is a requirement of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Interim Primary Drinking Water Regulations whereby U.S. water supply companies must have drinking water monitored at least once every four years for radionuclides, primarily the naturally occurring radium-226

New Layered Materials and Functional Nanoelectronic Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Jaeeun

This thesis introduces functional nanomaterials including superatoms and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for new layered solids and molecular devices. Chapters 1-3 present how we incorporate superatoms into two-dimensional (2D) materials. Chapter 1 describes a new and simple approach to dope transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) using the superatom Co6Se8(PEt3)6 as the electron dopant. Doping is an effective method to modulate the electrical properties of materials, and we demonstrate an electron-rich cluster can be used as a tunable and controllable surface dopant for semiconducting TMDCs via charge transfer. As a demonstration of the concept, we make a p-n junction by patterning on specific areas of TMDC films. Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 introduce new 2D materials by molecular design of superatoms. Traditional atomic van der Waals materials such as graphene, hexagonal boron-nitride, and TMDCs have received widespread attention due to the wealth of unusual physical and chemical behaviors that arise when charges, spins, and vibrations are confined to a plane. Though not as widespread as their atomic counterparts, molecule-based layered solids offer significant benefits; their structural flexibility will enable the development of materials with tunable properties. Chapter 2 describes a layered van der Waals solid self-assembled from a structure-directing building block and C60 fullerene. The resulting crystalline solid contains a corrugated monolayer of neutral fullerenes and can be mechanically exfoliated. Chapter 3 describes a new method to functionalize electroactive superatoms with groups that can direct their assembly into covalent and non-covalent multi-dimensional frameworks. We synthesized Co6Se8[PEt2(4-C6H4COOH)]6 and found that it forms two types of crystalline assemblies with Zn(NO3)2, one is a three-dimensional solid and the other consists of stacked layers of two-dimensional sheets. The dimensionality is controlled by subtle changes in reaction conditions. CNT

Determination of carbon-14 in environmental level, solid reference materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blowers, Paul, E-mail: paul.blowers@cefas.co.uk [Cefas Lowestoft Laboratory, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR33 0HT (United Kingdom); Caborn, Jane, E-mail: jane.a.caborn@nnl.co.uk [NNL, Springfields, Salwick, Preston, Lancashire, PR4 0XJ (United Kingdom); Dell, Tony [Veterinary Laboratories Agency, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 3NB (United Kingdom); Gingell, Terry [DSTL, Radiation Protection Services, Crescent Road, Alverstoke, Gosport, Hants, PO12 2DL (United Kingdom); Harms, Arvic [National Physical Laboratory, Hampton Road, Teddington, Middlesex, TW11 0LW (United Kingdom); Long, Stephanie [Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, 3 Clonskeagh Square, Clonskeagh Road, Dublin 14, Ireland (United Kingdom); Sleep, Darren [Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4AP (United Kingdom); Stewart, Charlie [UKAEA (Waste Management Group), Chemical Support Services, D1310/14, Dounreay, Thurso, Caithness, KW14 7TZ (United Kingdom); Walker, Jill [Radiocarbon Dating, The Old Stables, East Lockinge, Wantage, Oxon OX12 8QY (United Kingdom); Warwick, Phil E. [GAU-Radioanalytical, National Oceanography Centre Southampton, European Way, Southampton, SO14 3ZH (United Kingdom)

2011-10-15

An intercomparison exercise to determine the {sup 14}C activity concentrations in a range of solid, environmental level materials was conducted between laboratories in the UK. IAEA reference materials, C2, C6 and C7, and an in-house laboratory QA material were dispatched in 2006 to ten laboratories comprising of members of the Analyst Informal Working Group (AIWG) and one other invited party. The laboratories performed the determinations using a number of techniques, and using the results each one was evaluated in terms of levels of precision, sensitivity and limits of detection. The results of the study show that all techniques are capable of successfully analysing {sup 14}C in environmental level materials, however, a shortage of certified environmental reference materials exists. The suitability of the IAEA reference materials and other material for use as reference materials was also assessed.

Determination of carbon-14 in environmental level, solid reference materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blowers, Paul; Caborn, Jane; Dell, Tony; Gingell, Terry; Harms, Arvic; Long, Stephanie; Sleep, Darren; Stewart, Charlie; Walker, Jill; Warwick, Phil E.

2011-01-01

An intercomparison exercise to determine the 14 C activity concentrations in a range of solid, environmental level materials was conducted between laboratories in the UK. IAEA reference materials, C2, C6 and C7, and an in-house laboratory QA material were dispatched in 2006 to ten laboratories comprising of members of the Analyst Informal Working Group (AIWG) and one other invited party. The laboratories performed the determinations using a number of techniques, and using the results each one was evaluated in terms of levels of precision, sensitivity and limits of detection. The results of the study show that all techniques are capable of successfully analysing 14 C in environmental level materials, however, a shortage of certified environmental reference materials exists. The suitability of the IAEA reference materials and other material for use as reference materials was also assessed.

Evaluating Graphene as a Channel Material in Spintronic Logic Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Anugrah, Yoska

Spintronics, a class of devices that exploit the spin properties of electrons in addition to the charge properties, promises the possibility for nonvolatile logic and memory devices that operate at low power. Graphene is a material in which the spin orientation of electrons can be conserved over a long distance, which makes it an attractive channel material in spintronics devices. In this dissertation, the properties of graphene that are interesting for spintronics applications are explored. A robust fabrication process is described for graphene spin valves using Al2O3 tunnel tunnel barriers and Co ferromagnetic contacts. Spin transport was characterized in both few-layer exfoliated and single-layer graphene, and spin diffusion lengths and spin relaxation times were extracted using the nonlocal spin valve geometry and Hanle measurements. The effect of input-output asymmetry on the spin transport was investigated. The effect of an applied drift electric field on spin transport was investigated and the spin diffusion length was found to be tunable by a factor of 8X (suppressed to 1.6 microm and enhanced to 13 microm from the intrinsic length of 4.6 microm using electric field of +/-1800 V/cm). A mechanism to induce asymmetry without excess power dissipation is also described which utilizes a double buried-gate structure to tune the Fermi levels on the input and output sides of a graphene spin logic device independently. It was found that different spin scattering mechanisms were at play in the two halves of a small graphene strip. This suggests that the spin properties of graphene are strongly affected by its local environment, e.g. impurities, surface topography, defects. Finally, two-dimensional materials beyond graphene have been explored as spin channels. One such material is phosphorene, which has low spin-orbit coupling and high mobility, and the interface properties of ferromagnets (cobalt and permalloy) with this material were explored. This work could

Transmission electron microscopy of InP-based compound semiconductor materials and devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chu, S.N.G.

1990-01-01

InP/InGaAsP-based heteroepitaxial structures constitute the major optoelectronic devices for state-of-the-art long wavelength optical fiber communication system.s Future advanced device structures will require thin heteroepitaxial quantum wells and superlattices a few tens of angstrom or less in thickness, and lateral dimensions ranging from a few tens angstrom for quantum dots and wires to a few μm in width for buried heterostructure lasers. Due to the increasing complexity of the device structure required by band-gap engineering, the performance of these devices becomes susceptible to any lattice imperfections present in the structure. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), therefore, becomes the most important technique in characterizing the structural integrity of these materials. Cross-section transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) not only provides the necessary geometric information on the device structure; a careful study of the materials science behind the observed lattice imperfections provides directions for optimization of both the epitaxial growth parameters and device processing conditions. Furthermore, for device reliability studies, TEM is the only technique that unambiguously identifies the cause of device degradation. In this paper, the authors discuss areas of application of various TEM techniques, describe the TEM sample preparation technique, and review case studies to demonstrate the power of the TEM technique

Processing method and device for iodine adsorbing material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watanabe, Shin-ichi; Shiga, Reiko.

1997-01-01

An iodine adsorbing material adsorbing silver compounds is reacted with a reducing gas, so that the silver compounds are converted to metal silver and stored. Then, the silver compounds are not melted or recrystallized even under a highly humid condition, accordingly, peeling of the adsorbed materials from a carrier can be prevented, and the iodine adsorbing material can be stored stably. Since the device is disposed in an off gas line for discharging off gases from a nuclear power facility, the iodine adsorbing material formed by depositing silver halides to the carrier is contained, and a reducing or oxidizing gas is supplied to the vessel as required, and silver halides can be converted to metal silver or the metal silver can be returned to silver halide. (T.M.)

Smart Materials Meet Multifunctional Biomedical Devices: Current and Prospective Implications for Nanomedicine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giada Graziana Genchi

2017-12-01

Full Text Available With the increasing advances in the fabrication and in monitoring approaches of nanotechnology devices, novel materials are being synthesized and tested for the interaction with biological environments. Among them, smart materials in particular provide versatile and dynamically tunable platforms for the investigation and manipulation of several biological activities with very low invasiveness in hardly accessible anatomical districts. In the following, we will briefly recall recent examples of nanotechnology-based materials that can be remotely activated and controlled through different sources of energy, such as electromagnetic fields or ultrasounds, for their relevance to both basic science investigations and translational nanomedicine. Moreover, we will introduce some examples of hybrid materials showing mutually beneficial components for the development of multifunctional devices, able to simultaneously perform duties like imaging, tissue targeting, drug delivery, and redox state control. Finally, we will highlight challenging perspectives for the development of theranostic agents (merging diagnostic and therapeutic functionalities, underlining open questions for these smart nanotechnology-based devices to be made readily available to the patients in need.

Organic materials and devices for detecting ionizing radiation

Science.gov (United States)

Doty, F Patrick [Livermore, CA; Chinn, Douglas A [Livermore, CA

2007-03-06

A .pi.-conjugated organic material for detecting ionizing radiation, and particularly for detecting low energy fission neutrons. The .pi.-conjugated materials comprise a class of organic materials whose members are intrinsic semiconducting materials. Included in this class are .pi.-conjugated polymers, polyaromatic hydrocarbon molecules, and quinolates. Because of their high resistivities (.gtoreq.10.sup.9 ohmcm), these .pi.-conjugated organic materials exhibit very low leakage currents. A device for detecting and measuring ionizing radiation can be made by applying an electric field to a layer of the .pi.-conjugated polymer material to measure electron/hole pair formation. A layer of the .pi.-conjugated polymer material can be made by conventional polymer fabrication methods and can be cast into sheets capable of covering large areas. These sheets of polymer radiation detector material can be deposited between flexible electrodes and rolled up to form a radiation detector occupying a small volume but having a large surface area. The semiconducting polymer material can be easily fabricated in layers about 10 .mu.m to 100 .mu.m thick. These thin polymer layers and their associated electrodes can be stacked to form unique multi-layer detector arrangements that occupy small volume.

Review of multi-layered magnetoelectric composite materials and devices applications

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Zhaoqiang; PourhosseiniAsl, MohammadJavad; Dong, Shuxiang

2018-06-01

Multiferroic materials with the coexistence of at least two ferroic orders, such as ferroelectricity, ferromagnetism, or ferroelasticity, have recently attracted ever-increasing attention due to their potential for multifunctional device applications, including magnetic and current sensors, energy harvesters, magnetoelectric (ME) random access memory and logic devices, tunable microwave devices, and ME antenna. In this article, we provide a review of the recent and ongoing research efforts in the field of multi-layered ME composites. After a brief introduction to ME composites and ME coupling mechanisms, we review recent advances in multi-layered ME composites as well as their device applications based on the direct ME effect, magnetic sensors in particular. Finally, some remaining challenges and future perspective of ME composites and their engineering applications will be discussed.

Effect of environmental enrichment devices on behaviors of single- and group-housed squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus)

Science.gov (United States)

Spring, S. E.; Clifford, J. O.; Tomko, D. L.

1997-01-01

Squirrel monkeys display an interest in novel places, habituate to new situations, and spend most of their daily activity in the wild in large groups engaging in feeding behaviors over a broad area. Captivity limits these behaviors and consequently may disrupt normal social organizations. In captivity, squirrel monkeys may exhibit stereotypical behaviors that are believed to indicate decreased psychologic well-being. When a monkey's behavior can be made to approach that seen in the wild, and stereotypical behaviors are minimal, it is assumed that psychologic well-being is adequate. Environmental enrichment devices have been used to address the Animal Welfare Act requirement that psychologic well-being of captive nonhuman primates be considered. The purpose of the study reported here was to examine whether various environmental enrichment devices improve the psychologic well-being of captive squirrel monkeys. In the study, we used behavioral observation to quantify the effectiveness of several environmental enrichment devices for reducing stereotypical behaviors in squirrel monkeys housed alone or in groups. Analysis of our results revealed that the environmental enrichment devices did not affect the expression of normal or stereotypical behaviors, but that the type of housing did.

Some limitations on processing materials in acoustic levitation devices

Science.gov (United States)

Oran, W. A.; Witherow, W. K.; Ross, B. B.; Rush, J. E.

1979-01-01

The spot heating of samples, suspended in an acoustic field, was investigated to determine if the technique could be used to process materials. A single axis resonance device operating in air at 25 C with an rms pressure maximum of 160 to 170 db was used in the experiments. The heat flow from a hot object suspended in a levitation node is dominated by the effects of the field, with the heat loss approximately 20 times larger than that due to natural convection. The acoustic forces which suspend the body at a node also serve to eject the heated air. The coupling between the locally heated region around the body and the acoustic field results in instabilities in both the pressure wave and force field. The investigations indicated the extreme difficulties in developing a materials processing device based on acoustic/spot heating for use in a terrestrial environment.

Factors that influence the tribocharging of pulverulent materials in compressed-air devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Das, S; Medles, K; Mihalcioiu, A; Beleca, R; Dragan, C; Dascalescu, L [Laboratory of Aerodynamic Studies, University of Poitiers, University Institute of Technology, Angouleme, 16021 (France)], E-mail: ldascalescu@iutang.univ-poitiers.fr

2008-12-01

Tribocharging of pulverulent materials in compressed-air devices is a typical multi-factorial process. This paper aims at demonstrating the interest of using the design of experiments methodology in association with virtual instrumentation for quantifying the effects of various process varaibles and of their interactions, as a prerequisite for the development of new tribocharging devices for industrial applications. The study is focused on the tribocharging of PVC powders in compressed-air devices similar to those employed in electrostatic painting. A classical 2 full-factorial design (3 factors at two levels) was employed for conducting the experiments. The response function was the charge/mass ratio of the material collected in a modified Faraday cage, at the exit of the tribocharging device. The charge/mass ratio was found to increase with the injection pressure and the vortex pressure in the tribocharging device, and to decrease with the increasing of the feed rate. In the present study an in-house design of experiments software was employed for statistical analysis of experimental data and validation of the experimental model.

Factors that influence the tribocharging of pulverulent materials in compressed-air devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Das, S; Medles, K; Mihalcioiu, A; Beleca, R; Dragan, C; Dascalescu, L

2008-01-01

Tribocharging of pulverulent materials in compressed-air devices is a typical multi-factorial process. This paper aims at demonstrating the interest of using the design of experiments methodology in association with virtual instrumentation for quantifying the effects of various process varaibles and of their interactions, as a prerequisite for the development of new tribocharging devices for industrial applications. The study is focused on the tribocharging of PVC powders in compressed-air devices similar to those employed in electrostatic painting. A classical 2 full-factorial design (3 factors at two levels) was employed for conducting the experiments. The response function was the charge/mass ratio of the material collected in a modified Faraday cage, at the exit of the tribocharging device. The charge/mass ratio was found to increase with the injection pressure and the vortex pressure in the tribocharging device, and to decrease with the increasing of the feed rate. In the present study an in-house design of experiments software was employed for statistical analysis of experimental data and validation of the experimental model.

Latest advances in supercapacitors: from new electrode materials to novel device designs.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Faxing; Wu, Xiongwei; Yuan, Xinhai; Liu, Zaichun; Zhang, Yi; Fu, Lijun; Zhu, Yusong; Zhou, Qingming; Wu, Yuping; Huang, Wei

2017-11-13

Notably, many significant breakthroughs for a new generation of supercapacitors have been reported in recent years, related to theoretical understanding, material synthesis and device designs. Herein, we summarize the state-of-the-art progress toward mechanisms, new materials, and novel device designs for supercapacitors. Firstly, fundamental understanding of the mechanism is mainly focused on the relationship between the structural properties of electrode materials and their electrochemical performances based on some in situ characterization techniques and simulations. Secondly, some emerging electrode materials are discussed, including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), MXenes, metal nitrides, black phosphorus, LaMnO 3 , and RbAg 4 I 5 /graphite. Thirdly, the device innovations for the next generation of supercapacitors are provided successively, mainly emphasizing flow supercapacitors, alternating current (AC) line-filtering supercapacitors, redox electrolyte enhanced supercapacitors, metal ion hybrid supercapacitors, micro-supercapacitors (fiber, plane and three-dimensional) and multifunctional supercapacitors including electrochromic supercapacitors, self-healing supercapacitors, piezoelectric supercapacitors, shape-memory supercapacitors, thermal self-protective supercapacitors, thermal self-charging supercapacitors, and photo self-charging supercapacitors. Finally, the future developments and key technical challenges are highlighted regarding further research in this thriving field.

Tm2+ luminescent materials for solar radiation conversion devices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van der Kolk, E.

2015-01-01

A solar radiation conversion device is described that comprises a luminescent Tm 2+ inorganic material for converting solar radiation of at least part of the UV and/or visible and/or infra red solar spectrum into infrared solar radiation, preferably said infrared solar radiation having a wavelength

Organic Light-Emitting Transistors: Materials, Device Configurations, and Operations.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Congcong; Chen, Penglei; Hu, Wenping

2016-03-09

Organic light-emitting transistors (OLETs) represent an emerging class of organic optoelectronic devices, wherein the electrical switching capability of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) and the light-generation capability of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are inherently incorporated in a single device. In contrast to conventional OFETs and OLEDs, the planar device geometry and the versatile multifunctional nature of OLETs not only endow them with numerous technological opportunities in the frontier fields of highly integrated organic electronics, but also render them ideal scientific scaffolds to address the fundamental physical events of organic semiconductors and devices. This review article summarizes the recent advancements on OLETs in light of materials, device configurations, operation conditions, etc. Diverse state-of-the-art protocols, including bulk heterojunction, layered heterojunction and laterally arranged heterojunction structures, as well as asymmetric source-drain electrodes, and innovative dielectric layers, which have been developed for the construction of qualified OLETs and for shedding new and deep light on the working principles of OLETs, are highlighted by addressing representative paradigms. This review intends to provide readers with a deeper understanding of the design of future OLETs. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Consumer mechatronics: a challenging playground for transducing materials and devices

Science.gov (United States)

Skjolstrup, Carl E.; Vonsild, Asbjorn L.

2003-03-01

The authors of this article are characterised by having a background within robotics technology, and have within the last 2-3 years moved into a material & process dominated environment. The authors are among other things responsible within LEGO Company; an internationally known toy developer and producer, for identification, prioritisation and procurement of new technological opportunities within materials, processes and devices providing new functionalities for the LEGO product.

Fiber-based wearable electronics: a review of materials, fabrication, devices, and applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Wei; Shu, Lin; Li, Qiao; Chen, Song; Wang, Fei; Tao, Xiao-Ming

2014-08-20

Fiber-based structures are highly desirable for wearable electronics that are expected to be light-weight, long-lasting, flexible, and conformable. Many fibrous structures have been manufactured by well-established lost-effective textile processing technologies, normally at ambient conditions. The advancement of nanotechnology has made it feasible to build electronic devices directly on the surface or inside of single fibers, which have typical thickness of several to tens microns. However, imparting electronic functions to porous, highly deformable and three-dimensional fiber assemblies and maintaining them during wear represent great challenges from both views of fundamental understanding and practical implementation. This article attempts to critically review the current state-of-arts with respect to materials, fabrication techniques, and structural design of devices as well as applications of the fiber-based wearable electronic products. In addition, this review elaborates the performance requirements of the fiber-based wearable electronic products, especially regarding the correlation among materials, fiber/textile structures and electronic as well as mechanical functionalities of fiber-based electronic devices. Finally, discussions will be presented regarding to limitations of current materials, fabrication techniques, devices concerning manufacturability and performance as well as scientific understanding that must be improved prior to their wide adoption. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Comparative environmental life cycle assessment of composite materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Vegt, O.M.; Haije, W.G.

1997-12-01

The aim of the present study is to compare and quantify the environmental impact of three rotorblades made of different materials and to establish which stage in the life cycle contributes most. The life cycle of a product can be represented by the production phase, including depletion of raw materials (mining) and production (machining) of products, the utilisation phase, including use of energy, maintenance and cleaning, and the disposal phase, including landfill, incineration, recycling, etc. The environmental impact of a product is not only determined by the materials selected but also by the function of the product itself. E.g. when natural fibres are applied in vehicles as a substitution for metals the environmental impact in the use phase will be reduced due to a lower energy consumption caused by a lower car weight. The influence on the environmental impact of the production phase must also be taken into account. The material relation between the production phase and the use phase and the disposal phase is complicated. In general the lifetime of a product use phase can be extended (positive aspect), e.g. by application of a coating onto the surface. Due to the coating the product can not easily be recycled, which is a negative aspect. The three types of composites used in the rotorblade of the wind energy converter considered in this study are: flaxfibre reinforced epoxy, carbon fibre reinforced epoxy and glassfibre reinforced polyester. The assessment is performed using the computer program Simapro 3, which is based on the Dutch CML method for the environmental life-cycle assessment of products using the Eco-Indicator 95 evaluation method. The CML method defines five phases for an LCA: goal definition and scoping; inventory; classification; impact assessment; and improvement analysis. The improvement analysis is not part of this work. Performing an LCA is a time-consuming process due to the detailed information that is required. In chapter five some

Environmentally assisted cracking of LWR materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chopra, O.K.; Chung, H.M.; Kassner, T.F.; Shack, W.J.

1995-12-01

Research on environmentally assisted cracking (EAC) of light water reactor materials has focused on (a) fatigue initiation in pressure vessel and piping steels, (b) crack growth in cast duplex and austenitic stainless steels (SSs), (c) irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) of austenitic SSs, and (d) EAC in high- nickel alloys. The effect of strain rate during different portions of the loading cycle on fatigue life of carbon and low-alloy steels in 289 degree C water was determined. Crack growth studies on wrought and cast SSs have been completed. The effect of dissolved-oxygen concentration in high-purity water on IASCC of irradiated Type 304 SS was investigated and trace elements in the steel that increase susceptibility to intergranular cracking were identified. Preliminary results were obtained on crack growth rates of high-nickel alloys in water that contains a wide range of dissolved oxygen and hydrogen concentrations at 289 and 320 degree C. The program on Environmentally Assisted Cracking of Light Water Reactor Materials is currently focused on four tasks: fatigue initiation in pressure vessel and piping steels, fatigue and environmentally assisted crack growth in cast duplex and austenitic SS, irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking of austenitic SSs, and environmentally assisted crack growth in high-nickel alloys. Measurements of corrosion-fatigue crack growth rates (CGRs) of wrought and cast stainless steels has been essentially completed. Recent progress in these areas is outlined in the following sections

Flexible Organic Electronics in Biology: Materials and Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Liao, Caizhi; Zhang, Meng; Yao, Mei Yu; Hua, Tao; Li, Li; Yan, Feng

2015-12-09

At the convergence of organic electronics and biology, organic bioelectronics attracts great scientific interest. The potential applications of organic semiconductors to reversibly transmit biological signals or stimulate biological tissues inspires many research groups to explore the use of organic electronics in biological systems. Considering the surfaces of movable living tissues being arbitrarily curved at physiological environments, the flexibility of organic bioelectronic devices is of paramount importance in enabling stable and reliable performances by improving the contact and interaction of the devices with biological systems. Significant advances in flexible organic bio-electronics have been achieved in the areas of flexible organic thin film transistors (OTFTs), polymer electrodes, smart textiles, organic electrochemical ion pumps (OEIPs), ion bipolar junction transistors (IBJTs) and chemiresistors. This review will firstly discuss the materials used in flexible organic bioelectronics, which is followed by an overview on various types of flexible organic bioelectronic devices. The versatility of flexible organic bioelectronics promises a bright future for this emerging area. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Evaluation of the performance characteristics of radon and radon-daughter concentration measurement devices under controlled environmental conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pearson, M.D.

1989-04-01

The Technical Measurements Center (TMC) conducted a study to expose 10 radon and 7 radon-daughter concentration measurement devices in the DOE/GJPO Radon/Radon-Daughter Environmental Chamber for a series of 24 controlled-environment tests. The tests evaluated the devices' response to temperature, relative humidity, dew point, condensation-nuclei concentration, radon-daughter/radon equilibrium ratio, and non-uniform radon and radon-daughter concentration. Devices were evaluated for linear response as a function of concentration. In addition to response to environmental parameters, the evaluation included determining the utility of the devices in providing reasonable assurance of compliance with the radon and radon-daughter concentration standards for DOE remedial action programs. This reasonable assurance criterion is based on a coefficient of variation of 25 percent for devices deployed for year-long measurements and a coefficient of variation of 18 percent for devices deployed for intermittent sampling. 39 refs., 65 figs., 33 tabs

Novel Polymeric Dielectric Materials for the Additive Manufacturing of Microwave Devices

Science.gov (United States)

O'Keefe, Shamus E.

The past decade has seen a rapid increase in the deployment of additive manufacturing (AM) due to the perceived benefits of lower cost, higher quality, and a smaller environmental footprint. And while the hardware behind most of AM processes is mature, the study and development of material feedstock(s) are in their infancy, particularly so for niche areas. In this dissertation, we look at novel polymeric materials to support AM for microwave devices. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the benefits of AM, followed by the specific motivation for this work, and finally a scope defining the core objectives. Chapter 2 delves into a higher-level background of dielectric theory and includes a brief overview of the two common dielectric spectroscopy techniques used in this work. The remaining chapters, summarized below, describe experiments in which novel polymeric materials were developed and their microwave dielectric properties measured. Chapter 3 describes the successful synthesis of polytetrafluroethylene (PTFE)/polyacrylate (PA) core-shell nanoparticles and their measured microwave dielectric properties. PTFE/PA core-shell nanoparticles with spherical morphology were successfully made by aerosol deposition followed by a brief annealing. The annealing temperature is closely controlled to exceed the glass transition (Tg) of the PA shell yet not exceed the Tg of the PTFE core. Furthermore, the annealing promotes coalescence amongst the PA shells of neighboring nanoparticles and results in the formation of a contiguous PA matrix that has excellent dispersion of PTFE cores. The measured dielectric properties agree well with theoretical predictions and suggest the potential of this material as a feedstock for AM microwave devices. Chapter 4 delves into the exploration of various polyimide systems with the aim of replacing the PA in the previously studied PTFE/PA core-shell nanoparticles. Fundamental relationships between polymer attributes (flexibility/rigidity and

Study on Automatic Solar Heat Insulated and Cooling Device of Car

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen Gui-Yue

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In view of the common device for heat insulated and cooling of car, an improved new scheme which drove by solar energy is put forward. In this study, the transmission device are arranged inside the automobile, the thin-film solar is composited into the heat insulated and cooling material. Thus, the whole device can be driven by the energy from the photovoltaic conversion, which is clear and zero-pollution. The theoretical energy consumptions and preventable gas emissions are calculated to verify the environmental savings of the device. The results show that it has promising application prospect since it is not only environmentally friendly but also save and convenient as compared to the conventional device.

Synthesis of organic EL materials with cyano group and evaluation of emission characteristics in organic EL devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Dong Uk

1999-01-01

Nobel electroluminescent materials, polymer material, PU-BCN and low molar mass material, D-BCN with the same chromophores were designed and synthesized. A molecular structure of chromophore was composed of bisstyrylbenzene derivative with cyano groups as electron injection and transport and phenylamine groups as hole injection and transport. Device structures with PU-BCN and D-BCN as an emission layer were fabricated, which were a single-layer device(SL), Indium-tin oxide(ITO)/emission layer/MgAg, and two kinds of double-layer devices which were composed of ITO/emission layer/oxadiazole derivative/MgAg as a DL-E device and ITO/triphenylamine derivative/emission layer/MgAg as a DL-H device. The two emission materials, PU-BCN and D-BCN with the same emission-chromophore were evaluated as having excellent performance of charge injection and transport and revealed almost the same emission characteristics in high current density. EL emission maximum peaks of two material were detected at about 640 nm wavelength of red emission region

Space Environmental Effects on Candidate Solar Sail Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, David L.; Nehls, Mary; Semmel, Charles; Hovater, Mary; Gray, Perry; Hubbs, Whitney; Wertz, George

2004-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) continues research into the utilization of photonic materials for spacecraft propulsion. Spacecraft propulsion, using photonic materials, will be achieved using a solar sail. A solar sail operates on the principle that photons, originating from the sun, impart pressure to the sail and therefore provide a source for spacecraft propulsion. The pressure imparted ot a solar sail can be increased, up to a factor of two, if the sun-facing surface is perfectly reflective. Therefore, these solar sails are generally composed of a highly reflective metallic sun-facing layer, a thin polymeric substrate and occasionally a highly emissive back surface. Near term solar sail propelled science missions are targeting the Lagrange point 1 (L1) as well as locations sunward of L1 as destinations. These near term missions include the Solar Polar Imager and the L1 Diamond. The Environmental Effects Group at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) continues to actively characterize solar sail material in preparation for these near term solar sail missions. Previous investigations indicated that space environmental effects on sail material thermo-optical properties were minimal and would not significantly affect the propulsion efficiency of the sail. These investigations also indicated that the sail material mechanical stability degrades with increasing radiation exposure. This paper will further quantify the effect of space environmental exposure on the mechanical properties of candidate sail materials. Candidate sail materials for these missions include Aluminum coated Mylar, Teonex, and CP1 (Colorless Polyimide). These materials were subjected to uniform radiation doses of electrons and protons in individual exposures sequences. Dose values ranged from 100 Mrads to over 5 Grads. The engineering performance property responses of thermo-optical and mechanical properties were characterized

Monitoring of biofilm formation on different material surfaces of medical devices using hyperspectral imaging method

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Do-Hyun; Kim, Moon S.; Hwang, Jeeseong

2012-03-01

Contamination of the inner surface of indwelling (implanted) medical devices by microbial biofilm is a serious problem. Some microbial bacteria such as Escherichia coli form biofilms that lead to potentially lifethreatening infections. Other types of medical devices such as bronchoscopes and duodenoscopes account for the highest number of reported endoscopic infections where microbial biofilm is one of the major causes for these infections. We applied a hyperspectral imaging method to detect biofilm contamination on the surface of several common materials used for medical devices. Such materials include stainless steel, titanium, and stainless-steeltitanium alloy. Potential uses of hyperspectral imaging technique to monitor biofilm attachment to different material surfaces are discussed.

Molten core material holding device in a nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakamura, Hisashi; Tanaka, Nobuo; Takahashi, Katsuro.

1985-01-01

Purpose: To improve the function of cooling to hold molten core materials in a molten core material holding device. Constitution: Plenum structures are formed into a pan-like configuration, in which liners made of metal having high melting point and relatively high heat conductivity such as tantalum, tungsten, rhenium or alloys thereof are integrally appended to hold and directly cool the molten reactor core materials. Further, a plurality of heat pipes, passing through the plenum structures, facing the cooling portion thereof to the coolants at the outer side and immersing the heating portion into the molten core materials fallen to deposit in the inner liners are disposed radially. Furthermore, heat pipes embodded in the plenum structure are disposed in the same manner below the liners. Thus, the plenum structures and the molten reactor core materials can be cooled at a high efficiency. (Seki, T.)

Biological and environmental reference materials in CENAM.

Science.gov (United States)

Arvizu-Torres, R; Perez-Castorena, A; Salas-Tellez, J A; Mitani-Nakanishi, Y

2001-06-01

Since 1994, when the NIST/NOAA Quality Assurance Program in Chemical Measurements was discussed in Queretaro, CENAM, the National Measurement Institute (NMI) of Mexico, has become involved in the development of reference materials. In the field of biological and environmental reference materials, in particular, the NORAMET collaboration program with NIST and NRC, and the North-American Environmental Cooperation signed among three free-trade treaty organizations, have greatly helped the development of the materials metrology program in the newly established CENAM. This paper describes some particularly significant efforts of CENAM in the development of biological and environmental reference materials, on the basis of inter-comparison studies organized with local and governmental environmental agencies of Mexico. In the field of water pollution CENAM has developed a practical proficiency testing (PT) scheme for field laboratories, as a part of registration by local government in the metropolitan area, according to the Mexican Ecological Regulation. The results from these eight PTs in the last 5 years have demonstrated that this scheme has helped ensure the reliability of analytical capability of more than 50 field laboratories in three states, Mexico, D.F., and the States of Mexico and Queretaro. Similar experience has been obtained for more than 70 service units of stack emission measurements in the three states in 1998 and 1999, as a result of the design of a PT scheme for reference gas mixtures. This PT scheme has been accomplished successfully by 30 analytical laboratories who provide monitoring services and perform research on toxic substances (Hg, methylmercury, PCB, etc.) in Mexico. To support these activities, reference samples have been produced through the NIST SRMs, and efforts have been made to increase CENAM's capability in the preparation of primary reference materials in spectrometric solutions and gas mixtures. Collaboration among NMIs has also

Micro- and nanofluidic systems in devices for biological, medical and environmental research

Science.gov (United States)

Evstrapov, A. A.

2017-11-01

The use of micro- and nanofluidic systems in modern analytical instruments allow you to implement a number of unique opportunities and achieve ultra-high measurement sensitivity. The possibility of manipulation of the individual biological objects (cells, bacteria, viruses, proteins, nucleic acids) in a liquid medium caused the development of devices on microchip platform for methods: chromatographic and electrophoretic analyzes; polymerase chain reaction; sequencing of nucleic acids; immunoassay; cytometric studies. Development of micro and nano fabrication technologies, materials science, surface chemistry, analytical chemistry, cell engineering have led to the creation of a unique systems such as “lab-on-a-chip”, “human-on-a-chip” and other. This article discusses common in microfluidics materials and methods of making functional structures. Examples of integration of nanoscale structures in microfluidic devices for the implementation of new features and improve the technical characteristics of devices and systems are shown.

Proceedings of the 4th Conference on Aerospace Materials, Processes, and Environmental Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Griffin, D. E. (Editor); Stanley, D. C. (Editor)

2001-01-01

The next millennium challenges us to produce innovative materials, processes, manufacturing, and environmental technologies that meet low-cost aerospace transportation needs while maintaining US leadership. The pursuit of advanced aerospace materials, manufacturing processes, and environmental technologies supports the development of safer, operational, next-generation, reusable, and expendable aeronautical and space vehicle systems. The Aerospace Materials, Processes, and Environmental Technology Conference (AMPET) provided a forum for manufacturing, environmental, materials, and processes engineers, scientists, and managers to describe, review, and critically assess advances in these key technology areas.

Plasma processing of soft materials for development of flexible devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Setsuhara, Yuichi; Cho, Ken; Takenaka, Kosuke; Shiratani, Masaharu; Sekine, Makoto; Hori, Masaru

2011-01-01

Plasma-polymer interactions have been studied as a basis for development of next-generation processing of flexible devices with soft materials by means of low-damage plasma technologies (soft materials processing technologies). In the present article, interactions between argon plasmas and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films have been examined for investigations of physical damages induced by plasma exposures to the organic material via chemical bonding-structure analyses using hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HXPES) together with conventional X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The PET film has been selected as a test material for investigations in the present study not merely because of its specific applications, such as a substrate material, but because PET is one of the well defined organic materials containing major components in a variety of functional soft materials; C-C main chain, CH bond, oxygen functionalities (O=C-O bond and C-O bond) and phenyl group. Especially, variations of the phenyl group due to argon plasma exposures have been investigated in the present article in order to examine plasma interactions with π-conjugated system, which is in charge of electronic functions in many of the π-conjugated electronic organic materials to be utilized as functional layer for advanced flexible device formations. The PET films have been exposed to argon plasmas sustained via inductive coupling of RF power with low-inductance antenna modules. The HXPES analyses exhibited that the degradations of the oxygen functionalities and the phenyl group in the deeper regions up to 50 nm from the surface of the samples were insignificant indicating that the bond scission and/or the degradations of the chemical bonding structures due to photoirradiation from the plasma and/or surface heating via plasma exposure were relatively insignificant as compared with damages in the vicinity of the surface layers.

The development of an enhanced strain measurement device to support testing of radioactive material packages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uncapkher, W.L.; Arviso, M.

1995-01-01

Radioactive material package designers use structural testing to verify and demonstrate package performance. A major part of evaluating structural response is the collection of reliable instrumentation measurement data. Over the last four decades, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has been actively involved in the development, testing, and evaluation of measurement devices for a broad range of applications, resulting in the commercialization of several measurement devices commonly used today. SNL maintains an ongoing program sponsored by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to develop and evaluate measurement devices to support testing of packages used to transport radioactive or hazardous materials. The development of the enhanced strain measurement device is part of this program

Spintronic materials and devices based on antiferromagnetic metals

OpenAIRE

Wang, Y.Y.; Song, C.; Zhang, J.Y.; Pan, F.

2017-01-01

In this paper, we review our recent experimental developments on antiferromagnet (AFM) spintronics mainly comprising Mn-based noncollinear AFM metals. IrMn-based tunnel junctions and Hall devices have been investigated to explore the manipulation of AFM moments by magnetic fields, ferromagnetic materials and electric fields. Room-temperature tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance based on IrMn as well as FeMn has been successfully achieved, and electrical control of the AFM exchange spring i...

10 CFR 1.41 - Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... Environmental Management Programs. (a) The Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management...) The Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs— (1) Plans and directs... 10 Energy 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental...

Thermo-fluidic devices and materials inspired from mass and energy transport phenomena in biological system

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Jian XIAO; Jing LIU

2009-01-01

Mass and energy transport consists of one of the most significant physiological processes in nature, which guarantees many amazing biological phenomena and activ-ities. Borrowing such idea, many state-of-the-art thermo-fluidic devices and materials such as artificial kidneys, carrier erythrocyte, blood substitutes and so on have been successfully invented. Besides, new emerging technologies are still being developed. This paper is dedicated to present-ing a relatively complete review of the typical devices and materials in clinical use inspired by biological mass and energy transport mechanisms. Particularly, these artificial thermo-fluidic devices and materials will be categorized into organ transplantation, drug delivery, nutrient transport, micro operation, and power supply. Potential approaches for innovating conventional technologies were discussed, corresponding biological phenomena and physical mechan-isms were interpreted, future promising mass-and-energy-transport-based bionic devices were suggested, and prospects along this direction were pointed out. It is expected that many artificial devices based on biological mass and energy transport principle will appear to better improve vari-ous fields related to human life in the near future.

Environmental aspects of the use of materials for solar water heaters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van der Leun, C.J.; De Jager, D.

1994-10-01

The study on the title subject has been carried out in order to apply the results in new designs and to improve the production of solar water heating systems. Attention is paid to solar water heaters that are under development and solar water heaters that are commercially available in the Netherlands. Use has been made of a IVAM-developed product analysis method. For seven solar water heater concepts, that were on the market or under development in the Netherlands in 1992, the applied amounts of materials have been inventorized. Data on the environmental effects of the production of these materials are outlined and aggregated on the level of the components and the systems. Based on those data, environmental profiles are drafted, comprising 'effect scores' on 9 environmental criteria. However, the environmental 'effect scores' are not reliable enough to determine the most important factors in order to identify options to reduce the negative environmental effects. Data on the energy consumption of the production of relevant materials are available and reliable. The solar water heaters, considered in this report, do not show large differences for that matter. It appears that the amounts of air pollution, water pollution and waste flow from the production of materials for solar water heaters are no reasons to further reduce environmental effects of the production. It is recommended to focus on the reduction of material quantities and to increase the quantity of recycled material. Also it is recommended that manufacturers of solar boilers set up a take-back system. 43 tabs., 1 appendix, 56 refs

OLED Fundamentals: Materials, Devices, and Processing of Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blochwitz-Nimoth, Jan; Bhandari, Abhinav; Boesch, Damien; Fincher, Curtis R.; Gaspar, Daniel J.; Gotthold, David W.; Greiner, Mark T.; Kido, Junji; Kondakov, Denis; Korotkov, Roman; Krylova, Valentina A.; Loeser, Falk; Lu, Min-Hao; Lu, Zheng-Hong; Lussem, Bjorn; Moro, Lorenza; Padmaperuma, Asanga B.; Polikarpov, Evgueni; Rostovtsev, Vsevolod V.; Sasabe, Hisahiro; Silverman, Gary; Thompson, Mark E.; Tietze, Max; Tyan, Yuan-Sheng; Weaver, Michael; Xin , Xu; Zeng, Xianghui

2015-05-26

What is an organic light emitting diode (OLED)? Why should we care? What are they made of? How are they made? What are the challenges in seeing these devices enter the marketplace in various applications? These are the questions we hope to answer in this book, at a level suitable for knowledgeable non-experts, graduate students and scientists and engineers working in the field who want to understand the broader context of their work. At the most basic level, an OLED is a promising new technology composed of some organic material sandwiched between two electrodes. When current is passed through the device, light is emitted. The stack of layers can be very thin and has many variations, including flexible and/or transparent. The organic material can be polymeric or composed small molecules, and may include inorganic components. The electrodes may consist of metals, metal oxides, carbon nanomaterials, or other species, though of course for light to be emitted, one electrode must be transparent. OLEDs may be fabricated on glass, metal foils, or polymer sheets (though polymeric substrates must be modified to protect the organic material from moisture or oxygen). In any event, the organic material must be protected from moisture during storage and operation. A control circuit, the exact nature of which depends on the application, drives the OLED. Nevertheless, the control circuit should have very stable current control to generate uniform light emission. OLEDs can be designed to emit a single color of light, white light, or even tunable colors. The devices can be switched on and off very rapidly, which makes them suitable for displays or for general lighting. Given the amazing complexity of the technical and design challenges for practical OLED applications, it is not surprising that applications are still somewhat limited. Although organic electroluminescence is more than 50 years old, the modern OLED field is really only about half that age – with the first high

Counterpropagating wave acoustic particle manipulation device for the effective manufacture of composite materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Scholz, Marc-S; Drinkwater, Bruce W; Llewellyn-Jones, Thomas M; Trask, Richard S

2015-10-01

An ultrasonic assembly device exhibiting broadband behavior and a sacrificial plastic frame is described. This device is used to assemble a variety of microscopic particles differing in size, shape, and material into simple patterns within several host fluids. When the host fluid is epoxy, the assembled materials can be cured and the composite sample extracted from the sacrificial frame. The wideband performance means that within a single device, the wavelength can be varied, leading to control of the length scale of the acoustic radiation force field. We show that glass fibers of 50 μm length and 14 μm diameter can be assembled into a series of stripes separated by hundreds of microns in a time of 0.3 s. Finite element analysis is used to understand the attributes of the device which control its wideband characteristics. The bandwidth is shown to be governed by the damping produced by a combination of the plastic frame and the relatively large volume of the fluid particle mixture. The model also reveals that the acoustic radiation forces are a maximum near the substrate of the device, which is in agreement with experimental observations. The device is extended to 8-transducers and used to assemble more complex particle distributions.

Experimental model of the device for detection of nuclear cycle materials by photoneutron technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bakalyarov, A.M.; Karetnikov, M.D.; Kozlov, K.N.; Lebedev, V.I.; Meleshko, E.A.; Obinyakov, B.A.; Ostashev, I.E.; Tupikin, N.A.; Yakovlev, G.V.

2007-01-01

The inherent complexity of sea container control makes them potentially dangerous for smuggling nuclear materials. The experts believe that only active technologies based on recording the products of induced radiation from sensitive materials might solve the problem. The paper reports on the experimental model of the device on the basis of the electron LINAC U-28 for detection of nuclear materials by photonuclear technology. The preliminary numerical optimization of output units (converter, filter, collimator) for shaping the bremsstrahlung was carried out. The setup of experimental device and initial results of recording the prompt and delayed fission products are discussed

'No touch' technologies for environmental decontamination: focus on ultraviolet devices and hydrogen peroxide systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Weber, David J; Kanamori, Hajime; Rutala, William A

2016-08-01

This article reviews 'no touch' methods for disinfection of the contaminated surface environment of hospitalized patients' rooms. The focus is on studies that assessed the effectiveness of ultraviolet (UV) light devices, hydrogen peroxide systems, and self-disinfecting surfaces to reduce healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). The contaminated surface environment in hospitals plays an important role in the transmission of several key nosocomial pathogens including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus spp., Clostridium difficile, Acinetobacter spp., and norovirus. Multiple clinical trials have now demonstrated the effectiveness of UV light devices and hydrogen peroxide systems to reduce HAIs. A limited number of studies have suggested that 'self-disinfecting' surfaces may also decrease HAIs. Many studies have demonstrated that terminal cleaning and disinfection with germicides is often inadequate and leaves environmental surfaces contaminated with important nosocomial pathogens. 'No touch' methods of room decontamination (i.e., UV devices and hydrogen peroxide systems) have been demonstrated to reduce key nosocomial pathogens on inoculated test surfaces and on environmental surfaces in actual patient rooms. Further UV devices and hydrogen peroxide systems have been demonstrated to reduce HAI. A validated 'no touch' device or system should be used for terminal room disinfection following discharge of patients on contact precautions. The use of a 'self-disinfecting' surface to reduce HAI has not been convincingly demonstrated.

Device Innovation and Material Challenges at the Limits of CMOS Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Solomon, P. M.

2000-08-01

Scaling of the predominant silicon complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology is finally approaching an end after decades of exponential growth. This review explores the reasons for this limit and some of the strategies available to the semiconductor industry to continue the technology extension. Evolutionary change to the silicon transistor will be pursued as long as possible, with increasing demands being placed on materials. Eventually new materials such a silicon-germanium may be used, and new device topologies such as the double-gated transistor may be employed. These strategies are being pursued in research organizations today. It is likely that planar technology will reach its limit with devices on the 10-nm scale, and then the third dimension will have to be exploited more efficiently to achieve further performance and density improvements.

Performance evaluation of a thermoelectric energy harvesting device using various phase change materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elefsiniotis, A; Becker, T; Kiziroglou, M E; Wright, S W; Toh, T T; Mitcheson, P D; Yeatman, E M; Schmid, U

2013-01-01

This paper compares the performance of a group of organic and inorganic phase change materials for a heat storage thermoelectric energy harvesting device. The device consists of thermoelectric generators and a closed container filled with a phase change material. One side of the generators is mounted on the aircraft fuselage and the other to the thermal mass. The group of inorganic and organic phase change materials was tested across two temperature ranges. These ranges are defined as ''positive'' and ''negative'', with the former being a sweep from +35°C to −5°C and the latter being a sweep from +5°C to −35°C. The performance in terms of electrical energy output and power produced is examined in detail for each group of materials

Materials Lifecycle and Environmental Consideration at NASA

Science.gov (United States)

Clark-Ingram, Marceia

2010-01-01

The aerospace community faces tremendous challenges with continued availability of existing material supply chains during the lifecycle of a program. Many obsolescence drivers affect the availability of materials: environmental safety ahd health regulations, vendor and supply economics, market sector demands,and natural disasters. Materials selection has become increasingly more critical when designing aerospace hardware. NASA and DoD conducted a workshop with subject matter experts to discuss issues and define solutions for materials selections during the lifecycle phases of a product/system/component. The three primary lifecycle phases were: Conceptualization/Design, Production & Sustainment, and End of life / Reclamation. Materials obsolescence and pollution prevention considerations were explored for the aforementioned lifecycle phases. The recommended solutions from the workshop are being presented.

Chemical Fingerprinting of Materials Developed Due To Environmental Issues

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Doris A.; McCool, A. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

This paper presents viewgraphs on chemical fingerprinting of materials developed due to environmental issues. Some of the topics include: 1) Aerospace Materials; 2) Building Blocks of Capabilities; 3) Spectroscopic Techniques; 4) Chromatographic Techniques; 5) Factors that Determine Fingerprinting Approach; and 6) Fingerprinting: Combination of instrumental analysis methods that diagnostically characterize a material.

NATO Advanced Study Institute on Nondestructive Evaluation of Semiconductor Materials and Devices

CERN Document Server

1979-01-01

From September 19-29, a NATO Advanced Study Institute on Non­ destructive Evaluation of Semiconductor Materials and Devices was held at the Villa Tuscolano in Frascati, Italy. A total of 80 attendees and lecturers participated in the program which covered many of the important topics in this field. The subject matter was divided to emphasize the following different types of problems: electrical measurements; acoustic measurements; scanning techniques; optical methods; backscatter methods; x-ray observations; accele­ rated life tests. It would be difficult to give a full discussion of such an Institute without going through the major points of each speaker. Clearly this is the proper task of the eventual readers of these Proceedings. Instead, it would be preferable to stress some general issues. What came through very clearly is that the measurements of the basic scientists in materials and device phenomena are of sub­ stantial immediate concern to the device technologies and end users.

Preservice Teachers' Experiences on Accessing Course Materials Using Mobile Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Unal, Zafer; Unal, Aslihan

2014-01-01

This study investigates and reports the first time experiences of mobile device users accessing the course materials on both the web and mobile version of course management system (Web Moodle & Mobile Moodle) during an online course offered at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg College of Education.

Improvement of Students’ Environmental Literacy by Using Integrated Science Teaching Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Suryanti, D.; Sinaga, P.; Surakusumah, W.

2018-02-01

This study aims to determine the improvement of student environmental literacy through the use of integrated science teaching materials on pollution topics. The research is used weak experiment method with the one group pre-test post-test design. The sample of the study were junior high school students in Bandung amounted to 32 people of 7th grade. Data collection in the form of environmental literacy test instrument consist of four components of environmental literacy that is (1) Knowledge, (2) Competencies (Cognitive Skill), (3) Affective and (4) Environmentally Responsible Behavior. The results show that the student’s environmental literacy ability is improved after using integrated science teaching materials. An increase in the medium category is occurring in the knowledge (N-gain=46%) and cognitive skill (N-gain=31%), while the increase in the low category occurs in the affective component (N-gain=25%) and behaviour (N-gain=24%). The conclusions of this study as a whole the improvement of students’ environmental literacy by using integrated science teaching material is in the medium category (N-gain=34%).

Device for the generation of homogeneous dose distributions in irradiated materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leonhardt, J.; Schulze, H.; Boes, J.; Decker, U.; Schmidt, J.

1985-01-01

The invention has been directed at a device for the generation of homogeneous dose distributions in materials irradiated by charged particles. This device can be applied to the initiation of radiation-chemical reactions in solids, of cross-linking and vulcanizing reactors, of crystal defect annealings, etc. A movable absorber (e.g. a wedge or a solid of revolution) which periodically changes the energy of particles striking the specimen has been installed in the beam hole of the beam generating system

Application of Green Environmentally Friendly Materials in Food Packaging

OpenAIRE

Jixia Li

2017-01-01

With social development, requirements on the spiritual and material life have increased. However, some environmental issues appear, for example, in food packaging. Application of environment-friendly materials in food packaging has been more and more attractive. This study analyses the characteristics of degradable food packaging material and the existing problems, proposes the manufacturing of food packaging with poly(lactic acid)/nanocrystalline cellulose composite material, tests its therm...

Space Environmental Effects on Materials and Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Sabbann, Leslie M.

2009-01-01

The Materials and Processes (M&P) Branch of the Structural Engineering Division at Johnson Space Center (JSC) seeks to uphold the production of dependable space hardware through materials research, which fits into NASA's purpose of advancing human exploration, use, and development of space. The Space Environmental Effects projects fully support these Agency goals. Two tasks were assigned to support M&P. Both assignments were to further the research of material behavior outside of Earth's atmosphere in order to determine which materials are most durable and safe to use in space for mitigating risks. One project, the Materials on International Space Station Experiments (MISSE) task, was to compile data from International Space Station (ISS) experiments to pinpoint beneficial space hardware. The other project was researching the effects on composite materials of exposure to high doses of radiation for a Lunar habitat project.

Background radioactivity in environmental materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maul, P.R.; O'Hara, J.P.

1989-01-01

This paper presents the results of a literature search to identify information on concentrations of 'background' radioactivity in foodstuffs and other commonly available environmental materials. The review has concentrated on naturally occurring radioactivity in foods and on UK data, although results from other countries have also been considered where appropriate. The data are compared with established definitions of a 'radioactive' substance and radionuclides which do not appear to be adequately covered in the literature are noted. (author)

Electronic and optoelectronic materials and devices inspired by nature

Science.gov (United States)

Meredith, P.; Bettinger, C. J.; Irimia-Vladu, M.; Mostert, A. B.; Schwenn, P. E.

2013-03-01

Inorganic semiconductors permeate virtually every sphere of modern human existence. Micro-fabricated memory elements, processors, sensors, circuit elements, lasers, displays, detectors, etc are ubiquitous. However, the dawn of the 21st century has brought with it immense new challenges, and indeed opportunities—some of which require a paradigm shift in the way we think about resource use and disposal, which in turn directly impacts our ongoing relationship with inorganic semiconductors such as silicon and gallium arsenide. Furthermore, advances in fields such as nano-medicine and bioelectronics, and the impending revolution of the ‘ubiquitous sensor network’, all require new functional materials which are bio-compatible, cheap, have minimal embedded manufacturing energy plus extremely low power consumption, and are mechanically robust and flexible for integration with tissues, building structures, fabrics and all manner of hosts. In this short review article we summarize current progress in creating materials with such properties. We focus primarily on organic and bio-organic electronic and optoelectronic systems derived from or inspired by nature, and outline the complex charge transport and photo-physics which control their behaviour. We also introduce the concept of electrical devices based upon ion or proton flow (‘ionics and protonics’) and focus particularly on their role as a signal interface with biological systems. Finally, we highlight recent advances in creating working devices, some of which have bio-inspired architectures, and summarize the current issues, challenges and potential solutions. This is a rich new playground for the modern materials physicist.

New Materials and Device Designs for Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

Science.gov (United States)

O'Brien, Barry Patrick

Research and development of organic materials and devices for electronic applications has become an increasingly active area. Display and solid-state lighting are the most mature applications and, and products have been commercially available for several years as of this writing. Significant efforts also focus on materials for organic photovoltaic applications. Some of the newest work is in devices for medical, sensor and prosthetic applications. Worldwide energy demand is increasing as the population grows and the standard of living in developing countries improves. Some studies estimate as much as 20% of annual energy usage is consumed by lighting. Improvements are being made in lightweight, flexible, rugged panels that use organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), which are particularly useful in developing regions with limited energy availability and harsh environments. Displays also benefit from more efficient materials as well as the lighter weight and ruggedness enabled by flexible substrates. Displays may require different emission characteristics compared with solid-state lighting. Some display technologies use a white OLED (WOLED) backlight with a color filter, but these are more complex and less efficient than displays that use separate emissive materials that produce the saturated colors needed to reproduce the entire color gamut. Saturated colors require narrow-band emitters. Full-color OLED displays up to and including television size are now commercially available from several suppliers, but research continues to develop more efficient and more stable materials. This research program investigates several topics relevant to solid-state lighting and display applications. One project is development of a device structure to optimize performance of a new stable Pt-based red emitter developed in Prof Jian Li's group. Another project investigates new Pt-based red, green and blue emitters for lighting applications and compares a red/blue structure with a red

Development and evaluation of measurement devices used to support testing of radioactive material transportation packages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uncapher, W.L.; Ammerman, D.J.; Stenberg, D.R.; Bronowski, D.R.; Arviso, M.

1992-01-01

Radioactive material package designers use structural testing to verify and demonstrate package performance. A major part of evaluating structural response is the collection of instrumentation measurement data. Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has an ongoing program to develop and evaluate measurement devices to support testing of radioactive material packages. Measurement devices developed in support of this activity include evaluation channels, ruggedly constructed linear variable differential transformers, and piezoresistive accelerometers with enhanced measurement capabilities. In addition to developing measurement devices, a method has been derived to evaluate accelerometers and strain gages for measurement repeatability, ruggedness, and manufacturers' calibration data under both laboratory and field conditions. The developed measurement devices and evaluation technique will be discussed and the results of the evaluation will be presented

The environmental interactions of tidal and wave energy generation devices

OpenAIRE

Frid, C.; Andonegi, E.; Depestele, J.; Judd, A.; Rihan, D.; Rogers, S.I.; Kenchington, E.

2012-01-01

Global energy demand continues to grow and tidal and wave energy generation devices can provide a significant source of renewable energy. Technological developments in offshore engineering and the rising cost of traditional energy means that offshore energy resources will be economic in the next few years. While there is now a growing body of data on the ecological impacts of offshore wind farms, the scientific basis on which to make informed decisions about the environmental effects of other...

The environmental and medical geochemistry of potentially hazardous materials produced by disasters

Science.gov (United States)

Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Morman, Suzette A.; Meeker, G.P.; Hoefen, Todd M.; Hageman, Philip L.; Wolf, Ruth E.

2014-01-01

Many natural or human-caused disasters release potentially hazardous materials (HM) that may pose threats to the environment and health of exposed humans, wildlife, and livestock. This chapter summarizes the environmentally and toxicologically significant physical, mineralogical, and geochemical characteristics of materials produced by a wide variety of recent disasters, such as volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and extreme storms, spills of mining/mineral-processing wastes or coal extraction by-products, and the 2001 attacks on and collapse of the World Trade Center towers. In describing these characteristics, this chapter also illustrates the important roles that geochemists and other earth scientists can play in environmental disaster response and preparedness. In addition to characterizing in detail the physical, chemical, and microbial makeup of HM generated by the disasters, these roles also include (1) identifying and discriminating potential multiple sources of the materials; (2) monitoring, mapping, and modeling dispersal and evolution of the materials in the environment; (3) understanding how the materials are modified by environmental processes; (4) identifying key characteristics and processes that influence the materials' toxicity to exposed humans and ecosystems; (5) estimating shifts away from predisaster environmental baseline conditions; and (6) using geochemical insights learned from past disasters to help estimate, prepare for, and increase societal resilience to the environmental and related health impacts of future disasters.

Efficient light-emitting devices based on platinum-complexes-anchored polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane materials

KAUST Repository

Yang, Xiaohui

2010-08-24

The synthesis, photophysical, and electrochemical characterization of macromolecules, consisting of an emissive platinum complex and carbazole moieties covalently attached to a polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) core, is reported. Organic light-emitting devices based on these POSS materials exhibit a peak external quantum efficiency of ca. 8%, which is significantly higher than that of the analogous devices with a physical blend of the platinum complexes and a polymer matrix, and they represent noticeable improvement in the device efficiency of solution-processable phosphorescent excimer devices. Furthermore, the ratio of monomer and excimer/aggregate electroluminescent emission intensity, as well as the device efficiency, increases as the platinum complex moiety presence on the POSS macromolecules decreases. © 2010 American Chemical Society.

Carbon-Based Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries, Electrochemical Capacitors, and Their Hybrid Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Fei; Pham, Duy Tho; Lee, Young Hee

2015-07-20

A rapidly developing market for portable electronic devices and hybrid electrical vehicles requires an urgent supply of mature energy-storage systems. As a result, lithium-ion batteries and electrochemical capacitors have lately attracted broad attention. Nevertheless, it is well known that both devices have their own drawbacks. With the fast development of nanoscience and nanotechnology, various structures and materials have been proposed to overcome the deficiencies of both devices to improve their electrochemical performance further. In this Review, electrochemical storage mechanisms based on carbon materials for both lithium-ion batteries and electrochemical capacitors are introduced. Non-faradic processes (electric double-layer capacitance) and faradic reactions (pseudocapacitance and intercalation) are generally explained. Electrochemical performance based on different types of electrolytes is briefly reviewed. Furthermore, impedance behavior based on Nyquist plots is discussed. We demonstrate the influence of cell conductivity, electrode/electrolyte interface, and ion diffusion on impedance performance. We illustrate that relaxation time, which is closely related to ion diffusion, can be extracted from Nyquist plots and compared between lithium-ion batteries and electrochemical capacitors. Finally, recent progress in the design of anodes for lithium-ion batteries, electrochemical capacitors, and their hybrid devices based on carbonaceous materials are reviewed. Challenges and future perspectives are further discussed. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Effect on the insulation material of a MOSFET device submitted to a standard diagnostic radiation beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Magalhaes, C M S; Dos Santos, L A P; Souza, D do N; Maia, A F

2010-01-01

MOSFET electronic devices have been used for dosimetry in radiology and radiotherapy. Several communications show that due to the radiation exposure defects appear on the semiconductor crystal lattice. Actually, the structure of a MOSFET consists of three materials: a semiconductor, a metal and an insulator between them. The MOSFET is a quadripolar device with a common terminal: gate-source is the input; drain-source is the output. The gate controls the electrical current passing through semiconductor medium by the field effect because the silicon oxide acts as insulating material. The proposal of this work is to show some radiation effects on the insulator of a MOSFET device. A 6430 Keithley sub-femtoamp SourceMeter was used to verify how the insulating material layer in the structure of the device varies with the radiation exposure. We have used the IEC 61267 standard radiation X-ray beams generated from a Pantak industrial unit in the radiation energy range of computed tomography. This range was chosen because we are using the MOSFET device as radiation detector for dosimetry in computed tomography. The results showed that the behaviour of the electrical current of the device is different in the insulator and semiconductor structures.

Specialists meeting on properties of primary circuit structural materials including environmental effects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1977-07-01

The Specialists Meeting on Properties of Primary Circuit Structural Materials of LMFBRs covered the following topics: overview of materials program in different countries; mechanical properties of materials in air; fracture mechanics studies - component related activities; impact of environmental influences on mechanical properties; relationship of material properties and design methods. The purpose of the meeting was to provide a forum for exchange of information on structural materials behaviour in primary circuit of fast breeder reactors. Special emphasis was placed on environmental effects such as influence of sodium and irradiation on mechanical properties of reactor materials.

Specialists meeting on properties of primary circuit structural materials including environmental effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1977-01-01

The Specialists Meeting on Properties of Primary Circuit Structural Materials of LMFBRs covered the following topics: overview of materials program in different countries; mechanical properties of materials in air; fracture mechanics studies - component related activities; impact of environmental influences on mechanical properties; relationship of material properties and design methods. The purpose of the meeting was to provide a forum for exchange of information on structural materials behaviour in primary circuit of fast breeder reactors. Special emphasis was placed on environmental effects such as influence of sodium and irradiation on mechanical properties of reactor materials

Investigation of Emerging Materials for Optoelectronic Devices Based on III-Nitrides

KAUST Repository

Mumthaz Muhammed, Mufasila

2018-01-01

performance due to dislocation defects, remains an obstacle to their further improvement. In this dissertation, I present a significant enhancement of III-nitride devices based on emerging materials. A promising substrate, (-201)-oriented β-Ga2O3 with unique

Highly efficient quantum dot-based photoconductive THz materials and devices

Science.gov (United States)

Rafailov, E. U.; Leyman, R.; Carnegie, D.; Bazieva, N.

2013-09-01

We demonstrate Terahertz (THz) signal sources based on photoconductive (PC) antenna devices comprising active layers of InAs semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) on GaAs. Antenna structures comprised of multiple active layers of InAs:GaAs PC materials are optically pumped using ultrashort pulses generated by a Ti:Sapphire laser and CW dualwavelength laser diodes. We also characterised THz output signals using a two-antenna coherent detection system. We discuss preliminary performance data from such InAs:GaAs THz devices which exhibit efficient emission of both pulsed and continuous wave (CW) THz signals and significant optical-to-THz conversion at both absorption wavelength ranges, <=850 nm and <=1300 nm.

Environmentally Benign Stab Detonators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gash, A E

2006-07-07

The coupling of energetic metallic multilayers (a.k.a. flash metal) with energetic sol-gel synthesis and processing is an entirely new approach to forming energetic devices for several DoD and DOE needs. They are also practical and commercially viable manufacturing techniques. Improved occupational safety and health, performance, reliability, reproducibility, and environmentally acceptable processing can be achieved using these methodologies and materials. The development and fielding of this technology will enhance mission readiness and reduce the costs, environmental risks and the necessity of resolving environmental concerns related to maintaining military readiness while simultaneously enhancing safety and health. Without sacrificing current performance, we will formulate new impact initiated device (IID) compositions to replace materials from the current composition that pose significant environmental, health, and safety problems associated with functions such as synthesis, material receipt, storage, handling, processing into the composition, reaction products from testing, and safe disposal. To do this, we will advance the use of nanocomposite preparation via the use of multilayer flash metal and sol-gel technologies and apply it to new small IIDs. This work will also serve to demonstrate that these technologies and resultant materials are relevant and practical to a variety of energetic needs of DoD and DOE. The goal will be to produce an IID whose composition is acceptable by OSHA, EPA, the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Resource Recovery Act, etc. standards, without sacrificing current performance. The development of environmentally benign stab detonators and igniters will result in the removal of hazardous and toxic components associated with their manufacturing, handling, and use. This will lead to improved worker safety during manufacturing as well as reduced exposure of Service personnel during their storage and or use in operations. The

A protocol for lifetime energy and environmental impact assessment of building insulation materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shrestha, Som S.; Biswas, Kaushik; Desjarlais, Andre O.

2014-01-01

This article describes a proposed protocol that is intended to provide a comprehensive list of factors to be considered in evaluating the direct and indirect environmental impacts of building insulation materials, as well as detailed descriptions of standardized calculation methodologies to determine those impacts. The energy and environmental impacts of insulation materials can generally be divided into two categories: (1) direct impact due to the embodied energy of the insulation materials and other factors and (2) indirect or environmental impacts avoided as a result of reduced building energy use due to addition of insulation. Standards and product category rules exist, which provide guidelines about the life cycle assessment (LCA) of materials, including building insulation products. However, critical reviews have suggested that these standards fail to provide complete guidance to LCA studies and suffer from ambiguities regarding the determination of the environmental impacts of building insulation and other products. The focus of the assessment protocol described here is to identify all factors that contribute to the total energy and environmental impacts of different building insulation products and, more importantly, provide standardized determination methods that will allow comparison of different insulation material types. Further, the intent is not to replace current LCA standards but to provide a well-defined, easy-to-use comparison method for insulation materials using existing LCA guidelines. - Highlights: • We proposed a protocol to evaluate the environmental impacts of insulation materials. • The protocol considers all life cycle stages of an insulation material. • Both the direct environmental impacts and the indirect impacts are defined. • Standardized calculation methods for the ‘avoided operational energy’ is defined. • Standardized calculation methods for the ‘avoided environmental impact’ is defined

High Performance Lead--free Piezoelectric Materials

OpenAIRE

Gupta, Shashaank

2013-01-01

Piezoelectric materials find applications in number of devices requiring inter-conversion of mechanical and electrical energy.  These devices include different types of sensors, actuators and energy harvesting devices. A number of lead-based perovskite compositions (PZT, PMN-PT, PZN-PT etc.) have dominated the field in last few decades owing to their giant piezoresponse and convenient application relevant tunability. With increasing environmental concerns, in the last one decade, focus has be...

Artificial radioactivity in the environmental samples as IAEA reference materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salagean, M.; Pantelica, A.

1998-01-01

Radioactivity levels of 110m Ag, 241 Am, 60 Co, 134 Cs, 137 Cs, 106 Ru, 125 Sb in some biological and environmental materials have been determined by gamma-ray spectrometry in the frame of 15 intercomparison runs organized by IAEA during 1986-1995. The investigated materials were polluted by various nuclear activities, as follows: 1. Nuclear experiments: IAEA-367, sediment collected in 1982 at the Enewetak Atoll (Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean). This atoll was used by the USA during 1948-1958 to test nuclear devices; IAEA-368, sediment collected in June 1989 from the Pacific Ocean at the Mururoa Atoll. Since 1966 this atoll has been used by France to test different nuclear devices. 2. Nuclear installations: IAEA-134, cockle flesh of Cardium edule collected in March 1991 from the Irish Sea (Morecambe Bay), England, about 45 km S-E of Sellafield radioactive discharge; IAEA-135, sediment collected in July 1991 in Lune Estuary-England. This area is influenced by the radioactive discharges of the nuclear installations of Sellafield; IAEA-326, soil collected in 1990 in the region of Kursk Atomic Power Plant (Russia). 3. Nuclear accidents (Chernobyl): IAEA-306, sediment collected in the Baltic Sea during October-November 1986; IAEA-307, seaplant Posidonia oceanica, collected in October 1986 in Mediterranean Sea along the shore, in the vicinity of the Principality of Monaco; IAEA-308, mixed seaweeds collected in October 1986 in Mediterranean Sea along the shore, in the vicinity of the Principality of Monaco; IAEA-156, clover collected during the summer harvest 1986 in Austria; IAEA-321, milk powder collected in autumn 1987 from a processing plant in Europe; IAEA-352, tuna fish flesh collected in April 1988 in the Western Mediterranean Sea; IAEA-373, grass collected from Kiev region during the summer harvest 1990; IAEA-375, soil collected in July 1990 from Brjansk region, Russia; IAEA-300, sediment collected in July 1992 in Bothnian Sea (Baltic Sea). 4

Advanced materials and processes for polymer solar cell devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Martin Helgesen; Søndergaard, Roar; Krebs, Frederik C

2010-01-01

The rapidly expanding field of polymer and organic solar cells is reviewed in the context of materials, processes and devices that significantly deviate from the standard approach which involves rigid glass substrates, indium-tin-oxide electrodes, spincoated layers of conjugated polymer/fullerene...... be performing less than the current state-of-the-art in their present form but that may have the potential to outperform these pending a larger investment in effort....

Efficient prion disease transmission through common environmental materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Pritzkow, Sandra; Morales, Rodrigo; Lyon, Adam; Concha-Marambio, Luis; Urayama, Akihiko; Soto, Claudio

2018-03-02

Prion diseases are a group of fatal neurodegenerative diseases associated with a protein-based infectious agent, termed prion. Compelling evidence suggests that natural transmission of prion diseases is mediated by environmental contamination with infectious prions. We hypothesized that several natural and man-made materials, commonly found in the environments of wild and captive animals, can bind prions and may act as vectors for disease transmission. To test our hypothesis, we exposed surfaces composed of various common environmental materials ( i.e. wood, rocks, plastic, glass, cement, stainless steel, aluminum, and brass) to hamster-adapted 263K scrapie prions and studied their attachment and retention of infectivity in vitro and in vivo Our results indicated that these surfaces, with the sole exception of brass, efficiently bind, retain, and release prions. Prion replication was studied in vitro using the protein misfolding cyclic amplification technology, and infectivity of surface-bound prions was analyzed by intracerebrally challenging hamsters with contaminated implants. Our results revealed that virtually all prion-contaminated materials transmitted the disease at high rates. To investigate a more natural form of exposure to environmental contamination, we simply housed animals with large contaminated spheres made of the different materials under study. Strikingly, most of the hamsters developed classical clinical signs of prion disease and typical disease-associated brain changes. Our findings suggest that prion contamination of surfaces commonly present in the environment can be a source of disease transmission, thus expanding our understanding of the mechanisms for prion spreading in nature. © 2018 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

10 CFR 32.74 - Manufacture and distribution of sources or devices containing byproduct material for medical use.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Manufacture and distribution of sources or devices... SPECIFIC DOMESTIC LICENSES TO MANUFACTURE OR TRANSFER CERTAIN ITEMS CONTAINING BYPRODUCT MATERIAL Generally Licensed Items § 32.74 Manufacture and distribution of sources or devices containing byproduct material for...

Hybrid Solar Cells: Materials, Interfaces, and Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Mariani, Giacomo; Wang, Yue; Kaner, Richard B.; Huffaker, Diana L.

Photovoltaic technologies could play a pivotal role in tackling future fossil fuel energy shortages, while significantly reducing our carbon dioxide footprint. Crystalline silicon is pervasively used in single junction solar cells, taking up 80 % of the photovoltaic market. Semiconductor-based inorganic solar cells deliver relatively high conversion efficiencies at the price of high material and manufacturing costs. A great amount of research has been conducted to develop low-cost photovoltaic solutions by incorporating organic materials. Organic semiconductors are conjugated hydrocarbon-based materials that are advantageous because of their low material and processing costs and a nearly unlimited supply. Their mechanical flexibility and tunable electronic properties are among other attractions that their inorganic counterparts lack. Recently, collaborations in nanotechnology research have combined inorganic with organic semiconductors in a "hybrid" effort to provide high conversion efficiencies at low cost. Successful integration of these two classes of materials requires a profound understanding of the material properties and an exquisite control of the morphology, surface properties, ligands, and passivation techniques to ensure an optimal charge carrier generation across the hybrid device. In this chapter, we provide background information of this novel, emerging field, detailing the various approaches for obtaining inorganic nanostructures and organic polymers, introducing a multitude of methods for combining the two components to achieve the desired morphologies, and emphasizing the importance of surface manipulation. We highlight several studies that have fueled new directions for hybrid solar cell research, including approaches for maximizing efficiencies by controlling the morphologies of the inorganic component, and in situ molecular engineering via electrochemical polymerization of a polymer directly onto the inorganic nanowire surfaces. In the end, we

Hibiscus fiber carbon for fuel cell device material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nanik Indayaningsih; Anne Zulfia; Dedi Priadi; Suprapedi

2010-01-01

The objective of this research is carbon of hibiscus fibers for the application as basic material of fuel cell device. The carbon is made using a pyrolysis process in inert gas (nitrogen) for 1 hour at temperature of 500 °C, 700 °C and 900 °C. The X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Impedance-Capacitance-Resistance-meter are used to find out the microstructure, morphology and electrical properties respectively. The results of the experiment showed that the carbon had a structure of amorphous, and as the semiconductor material the electrical conductivity was 5 x 10"-"5 S.cm"-"1 to 4.9 x 10"-"5 S.cm"-"1 increasing in accordance with the pyrolysis temperature. The morphology resembled to plaited mats constructed by porous fibers having width of 50 µm to 300 µm, thickness of 25 µm to 35 µm, and the porous size of 0.5 µm to 5 µm. This morphology enables carbon to be applied as a candidate for a basic material of the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell. (author)

Electronic and optoelectronic materials and devices inspired by nature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meredith, P; Schwenn, P E; Bettinger, C J; Irimia-Vladu, M; Mostert, A B

2013-01-01

Inorganic semiconductors permeate virtually every sphere of modern human existence. Micro-fabricated memory elements, processors, sensors, circuit elements, lasers, displays, detectors, etc are ubiquitous. However, the dawn of the 21st century has brought with it immense new challenges, and indeed opportunities—some of which require a paradigm shift in the way we think about resource use and disposal, which in turn directly impacts our ongoing relationship with inorganic semiconductors such as silicon and gallium arsenide. Furthermore, advances in fields such as nano-medicine and bioelectronics, and the impending revolution of the ‘ubiquitous sensor network’, all require new functional materials which are bio-compatible, cheap, have minimal embedded manufacturing energy plus extremely low power consumption, and are mechanically robust and flexible for integration with tissues, building structures, fabrics and all manner of hosts. In this short review article we summarize current progress in creating materials with such properties. We focus primarily on organic and bio-organic electronic and optoelectronic systems derived from or inspired by nature, and outline the complex charge transport and photo-physics which control their behaviour. We also introduce the concept of electrical devices based upon ion or proton flow (‘ionics and protonics’) and focus particularly on their role as a signal interface with biological systems. Finally, we highlight recent advances in creating working devices, some of which have bio-inspired architectures, and summarize the current issues, challenges and potential solutions. This is a rich new playground for the modern materials physicist. (review article)

Incorporation of Novel Nanostructured Materials into Solar Cells and Nanoelectronic Devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rodriguez, Rene; Pak, Joshua; Holland, Andrew; Hunt, Alan; Bitterwolf, Thomas; Qiang, You; Bergman, Leah; Berven, Christine; Punnoose, Alex; Tenne, Dmitri

2011-11-11

Each of the investigators on this project has had significant accomplishments toward the production of semiconductor nanoparticles, particles, and thin films and attempts to incorporate these materials into photovoltaics or sensors; to use them for improving fluorescence diagnostics; or to employ them as cancer fighting agents. The synthesis and characterization of the nanomaterials, and more recently the device construction and testing of these materials, have been the subject of several publications and presentations by team members. During the course of the investigations, several students were fully involved as part of their graduate and undergraduate training. The nature of these projects in material development dictates that the students have gained significant experience in a diverse array of material-related topics.

Environmental stability study of holographic solar spectrum splitting materials

Science.gov (United States)

Chrysler, Benjamin D.; Ayala Pelaez, Silvana; Wu, Yuechen; Vorndran, Shelby D.; Kostuk, Raymond K.

2016-09-01

In this study the impact of outdoor temperature variations and solar illumination exposure on spectral filter material and holographic optical elements is examined. Although holographic components have been shown to be useful for solar spectrum splitting designs, relatively little quantitative data exist to demonstrate the extent to which these materials can withstand outdoor conditions. As researchers seek to investigate practical spectrum splitting designs, the environmental stability of holographic materials should be considered as an important factor. In the experiment presented, two holographic materials, Covestro Bayfol HX photopolymer and dichromated gelatin, and 3M reflective polymer filter materials are exposed to outdoor conditions for a period of several months. The environmental effect on absorption, spectral and angular bandwidth, peak efficiency, and Bragg matching conditions for the holograms are examined. Spectral bandwidth and transmittance of the 3M reflective filter material are also monitored. Holographic gratings are recorded, measured, and mounted on glass substrates and then sealed with a glass cover plate. The test samples are then mounted on a photovoltaic panel to simulate realistic temperature conditions and placed at an outdoor test facility in Tucson, Arizona. A duplicate set of holograms and 3M filter material is stored as a control group and periodically compared over the test period.

Recent developments in the field of environmental reference materials at the JRC Ispra.

Science.gov (United States)

Muntau, H

2001-06-01

The production of reference materials for environmental analysis started in the Joint Research Centre at Ispra/Italy in 1972 with the objective of later certification by the BCR, but for obvious budget reasons only a fraction of the total production achieved at Ispra ever reached certification level, although all materials were produced according to the severe quality requirements requested for certified reference materials. Therefore, the materials not destinated to certification are in growing demand as inter-laboratory test materials and as laboratory reference materials, for internal quality control, e.g., by control charts. The history of reference material production within the Joint Research Centre is briefly reviewed and the latest additions described. New developments such as micro-scale reference materials intended for analytical methods requiring sample intakes at milligram or sub-milligram level and therefor not finding supply on the reference material market, and "wet" environmental reference materials, which meet more precisely the "real-world" environmental analysis conditions, are presented and the state-of-the-art discussed.

Fuels and Materials Examination Facility: Environmental assessment, Hanford site, Richland, Washington: Environmental assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-07-01

The Fuels and Materials Examination Facility (FMEF) and the High Performance Fuel Laboratory (HPFL) were originally proposed to be constructed as separate facilities in the 400 Area of the Hanford Site near Richland, Washington. The environmental effects of these two facilities were described and evaluated in the FMEF Environmental Assessment and the HPFL Final Environmental Impact Statement, ERDA-1550. For economic reasons, the two facilities will no longer be built as separate facilities. The FMEF facility plans have been modified to incorporate some of the features of the proposed HPFL facility while retaining essentially all of the capabilities of the original FMEF proposal. The purpose of this document is to update the FMEF Environmental Assessment to appropriately reflect addition of certain HPFL features into the FMEF facility and to assess the environmental affects of the facility which resulted from inclusion of HPFL features into the FMEF facility

Research trend in thermally stimulated current method for development of materials and devices in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Iwamoto, Mitsumasa; Taguchi, Dai

2018-03-01

Thermally stimulated current (TSC) measurement is widely used in a variety of research fields, i.e., physics, electronics, electrical engineering, chemistry, ceramics, and biology. TSC is short-circuit current that flows owing to the displacement of charges in samples during heating. TSC measurement is very simple, but TSC curves give very important information on charge behaviors. In the 1970s, TSC measurement contributed greatly to the development of electrical insulation engineering, semiconductor device technology, and so forth. Accordingly, the TSC experimental technique and its analytical method advanced. Over the past decades, many new molecules and advanced functional materials have been discovered and developed. Along with this, TSC measurement has attracted much attention in industries and academic laboratories as a way of characterizing newly discovered materials and devices. In this review, we report the latest research trend in the TSC method for the development of materials and devices in Japan.

Coated silicon comprising material for protection against environmental corrosion

Science.gov (United States)

Hazel, Brian Thomas (Inventor)

2009-01-01

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, an article is disclosed. The article comprises a gas turbine engine component substrate comprising a silicon material; and an environmental barrier coating overlying the substrate, wherein the environmental barrier coating comprises cerium oxide, and the cerium oxide reduces formation of silicate glass on the substrate upon exposure to corrodant sulfates.

The Materials Used and the Pupils Involved in Environmental Studies and Environmental Science at GCE 'O' and 'A' Level.

Science.gov (United States)

Gayford, Christopher

1984-01-01

Discusses types of students and materials and resources used in O- and A-level environmental studies and environmental science courses. Indicates that these subjects are very susceptable to the attitudes of teachers (as shown by their willingness to produce satisfactory materials) and by the motivation of students. (JN)

Reactive ion etching of polymer materials for an energy harvesting device

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Fei; Bertelsen, Christian Vinther; Skands, Gustav

2012-01-01

In this paper, we have demonstrated deep reactive ion etching (RIE) of two MEMS compatible polymer materials CYTOP and TOPAS, which may be useful for energy harvesting devices. The CYTOP polymer was patterned and used as the electret for the following corona charging while the TOPAS polymer...

Wood-derived materials for green electronics, biological Devices, and energy applications

Science.gov (United States)

Hongli Zhu; Wei Luo; Peter N. Ciesielski; Zhiqiang Fang; Junyong Zhu; Gunnar Henriksson; Michael E. Himmel; Liangbing Hu

2016-01-01

With the arising of global climate change and resource shortage, in recent years, increased attention has been paid to environmentally friendly materials. Trees are sustainable and renewable materials, which give us shelter and oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Trees are a primary resource that human society depends upon every day, for example,...

Magnetic Shape Memory Alloys as smart materials for micro-positioning devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Hubert

2012-10-01

Full Text Available In the field of microrobotics, actuators based on smart materials are predominant because of very good precision, integration capabilities and high compactness. This paper presents the main characteristics of Magnetic Shape Memory Alloys as new candidates for the design of micromechatronic devices. The thermo-magneto-mechanical energy conversion process is first presented followed by the adequate modeling procedure required to design actuators. Finally, some actuators prototypes realized at the Femto-ST institute are presented, including a push-pull bidirectional actuator. Some results on the control and performances of these devices conclude the paper.

Organic and Hybrid Organic Solid-State Photovoltaic Materials and Devices

Science.gov (United States)

2014-03-06

extraction with minimization of electron -hole recombination, resistive losses, down conversions and so on and on device processing. Meeting the...the establishment of multiple feedback loops through Mexico/US video conferencing (including all students) needed to capitalize on the high degree of...PCBM) as electron acceptor material. The cells were not optimized in active layer preparation conditions such as solvent, thickness, annealing, or

Superconducting devices and materials. A literature survey issued quarterly, January-March 1980

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olien, N.A.

1980-01-01

An extensive bibliography, i.e., over 200 pages of articles from 18 US and foreign journals, on superconducting devices and materials is presented. An author index is included. Upcoming conferences related to cryogenic research are listed

Overview of environmental materials degradation in light-water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shaaban, H.I.; Wu, P.

1986-08-01

This report provides a brief overview of analyses and conclusions reported in published literature regarding environmentally induced degradation of materials in operating light-water reactors. It is intended to provide a synopsis of subjects of concern rather than to address a licensing basis for any newly discovered problems related to reactor materials

Environmental Impacts from Photovoltaic Solar Cells Made with Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes.

Science.gov (United States)

Celik, Ilke; Mason, Brooke E; Phillips, Adam B; Heben, Michael J; Apul, Defne

2017-04-18

An ex-ante life cycle inventory was developed for single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) PV cells, including a laboratory-made 1% efficient device and an aspirational 28% efficient four-cell tandem device. The environmental impact of unit energy generation from the mono-Si PV technology was used as a reference point. Compared to monocrystalline Si (mono-Si), the environmental impacts from 1% SWCNT was ∼18 times higher due mainly to the short lifetime of three years. However, even with the same short lifetime, the 28% cell had lower environmental impacts than mono-Si. The effects of lifetime and efficiency on the environmental impacts were further examined. This analysis showed that if the SWCNT device efficiency had the same value as the best efficiency of the material under comparison, to match the total normalized impacts of the mono- and poly-Si, CIGS, CdTe, and a-Si devices, the SWCNT devices would need a lifetime of 2.8, 3.5, 5.3, 5.1, and 10.8 years, respectively. It was also found that if the SWCNT PV has an efficiency of 4.5% or higher, its energy payback time would be lower than other existing and emerging PV technologies. The major impacts of SWCNT PV came from the cell's materials synthesis.

Environmental effect of structural solutions and building materials to a building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haapio, Appu; Viitaniemi, Pertti

2008-01-01

The field of building environmental assessment tools has become a popular research area over the past decade. However, how the service life of a building affects the results of the environmental assessment of a building has not been emphasised previously. The aim of this study is to analyse how different structural solutions and building materials affect the results of the environmental assessment of a whole building over the building's life cycle. Furthermore, how the length of the building's service life affects the results is analysed. The environmental assessments of 78 single-family houses were calculated for this study. The buildings have different wall insulations, claddings, window frames, and roof materials, and the length of the service life varies from 60 years up to 160 years. The current situation and the future of the environmental assessment of buildings are discussed. In addition, topics for further research are suggested; for example, how workmanship affects the service life and the environmental impact of a building should be studied

Creating Active Device Materials for Nanoelectronics Using Block Copolymer Lithography.

Science.gov (United States)

Cummins, Cian; Bell, Alan P; Morris, Michael A

2017-09-30

The prolonged and aggressive nature of scaling to augment the performance of silicon integrated circuits (ICs) and the technical challenges and costs associated with this has led to the study of alternative materials that can use processing schemes analogous to semiconductor manufacturing. We examine the status of recent efforts to develop active device elements using nontraditional lithography in this article, with a specific focus on block copolymer (BCP) feature patterning. An elegant route is demonstrated using directed self-assembly (DSA) of BCPs for the fabrication of aligned tungsten trioxide (WO₃) nanowires towards nanoelectronic device application. The strategy described avoids conventional lithography practices such as optical patterning as well as repeated etching and deposition protocols and opens up a new approach for device development. Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) silsesquioxane (SSQ)-based trenches were utilized in order to align a cylinder forming poly(styrene)- block -poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PS- b -P4VP) BCP soft template. We outline WO₃ nanowire fabrication using a spin-on process and the symmetric current-voltage characteristics of the resulting Ti/Au (5 nm/45 nm) contacted WO₃ nanowires. The results highlight the simplicity of a solution-based approach that allows creating active device elements and controlling the chemistry of specific self-assembling building blocks. The process enables one to dictate nanoscale chemistry with an unprecedented level of sophistication, forging the way for next-generation nanoelectronic devices. We lastly outline views and future research studies towards improving the current platform to achieve the desired device performance.

Creating Active Device Materials for Nanoelectronics Using Block Copolymer Lithography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cian Cummins

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The prolonged and aggressive nature of scaling to augment the performance of silicon integrated circuits (ICs and the technical challenges and costs associated with this has led to the study of alternative materials that can use processing schemes analogous to semiconductor manufacturing. We examine the status of recent efforts to develop active device elements using nontraditional lithography in this article, with a specific focus on block copolymer (BCP feature patterning. An elegant route is demonstrated using directed self-assembly (DSA of BCPs for the fabrication of aligned tungsten trioxide (WO3 nanowires towards nanoelectronic device application. The strategy described avoids conventional lithography practices such as optical patterning as well as repeated etching and deposition protocols and opens up a new approach for device development. Nanoimprint lithography (NIL silsesquioxane (SSQ-based trenches were utilized in order to align a cylinder forming poly(styrene-block-poly(4-vinylpyridine (PS-b-P4VP BCP soft template. We outline WO3 nanowire fabrication using a spin-on process and the symmetric current-voltage characteristics of the resulting Ti/Au (5 nm/45 nm contacted WO3 nanowires. The results highlight the simplicity of a solution-based approach that allows creating active device elements and controlling the chemistry of specific self-assembling building blocks. The process enables one to dictate nanoscale chemistry with an unprecedented level of sophistication, forging the way for next-generation nanoelectronic devices. We lastly outline views and future research studies towards improving the current platform to achieve the desired device performance.

Surface Modification for Improved Design and Functionality of Nanostructured Materials and Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Keiper, Timothy Keiper

Progress in nanotechnology is trending towards applications which require the integration of soft (organic or biological) and hard (semiconductor or metallic) materials. Many applications for functional nanomaterials are currently being explored, including chemical and biological sensors, flexible electronics, molecular electronics, etc., with researchers aiming to develop new paradigms of nanoelectronics through manipulation of the physical properties by surface treatments. This dissertation focuses on two surface modification techniques important for integration of hard and soft materials: thermal annealing and molecular modification of semiconductors. First, the effects of thermal annealing are investigated directly for their implication in the fundamental understanding of transparent conducting oxides with respect to low resistivity contacts for electronic and optoelectronic applications and the response to environmental stimuli for sensing applications. The second focus of this dissertation covers two aspects of the importance of molecular modification on semiconductor systems. The first of these is the formation of self-assembled monolayers in patterned arrays which leads explicitly to the directed self-assembly of nanostructures. The second aspect concerns the modification of the underlying magnetic properties of the preeminent dilute magnetic semiconductor, manganese-doped gallium arsenide. Tin oxide belongs to a class of materials known as transparent conducting oxides which have received extensive interest due to their sensitivity to environmental stimuli and their potential application in transparent and flexible electronics. Nanostructures composed of SnO2 have been demonstrated as an advantageous material for high performance, point-of-care nanoelectronic sensors, capable of detecting and distinguishing gaseous or biomolecular interactions on unprecedented fast timescales. Through bottom-up fabrication techniques, binary oxide nanobelts synthesized

GaN and ZnO-based materials and devices

CERN Document Server

2012-01-01

The AlInGaN and ZnO materials systems have proven to be one of the scientifically and technologically important areas of development over the past 15 years, with applications in UV/visible optoelectronics and in high-power/high-frequency microwave devices. The pace of advances in these areas has been remarkable and the wide band gap community relies on books like the one we are proposing to provide a review and summary of recent progress.

Quasi-optic millimeter-wave device application of liquid crystal material by using porous PMMA matrix

Science.gov (United States)

Nose, T.; Watanabe, Y.; Kon, A.; Ito, R.; Honma, M.

2018-02-01

Recently, millimeter-waves (MMWs) have become indispensable for application in next-generation high-speed wireless communication i.e., 5G, in addition to conventional applications such as in automobile collision avoidance radars and airport security inspection systems. Some manageable devices to control MMW propagation will be necessary with the development of this new technology field. We believe that liquid crystal (LC) devices are one of the major candidates for such applications because it is known that LC materials are excellent electro-optic materials. However, as the wavelength of MMWs is extremely longer than the optics region, extremely thick LC layers are necessary if we choose the quasioptic approach to attain LC MMW control devices. Therefore, we adopt a PDLC structure to attain the extremely thick LC layers by using porous (polymethyl methacrylate) PMMA materials, which can be easily obtained using a solvent consisting of a mixture of ethanol/water and a little heating. In this work, we focus on Fresnel lens, which is an important quasi-optic device for MMW application, to introduce a tunable property by using LC materials. Here, we adopt the thin film deposition method to obtain a porous PMMA matrix with the aim of obtaining final composite structure based on the Fresnel substrate. First, the fundamental material properties of porous PMMA are investigated to control the microscopic porous structure. Then, the LC-MMW Fresnel lens substrate is prepared using a 3D printer, and the fundamental MMW focusing properties of the prototype composite Fresnel structure are investigated.

Comparative Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Bio-Based Fibre Reinforcement Materials for Wind Turbine Blades

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Corona, Andrea; Markussen, Christen Malte; Birkved, Morten

2015-01-01

and flax/carbon, flax/glass mixed fibres) are compared in terms of environmental sustainability. Applying one of the most recent life cycle impact assessment methods, we demonstrate that the environmental sustainability of natural fibre based composite materials is similar or even lower, within certain...... turbines have therefore partially been focused on substitution of conventional fibre materials with bio-fibres assuming that this substitution was in the better for the environment and human health. The major question is if this material substitution, taking into account a multitude of environmental impact...... reinforcement materials. Since the environmental burden of the resin in addition is comparable to that of the fibres (especially in terms human health related impacts), the higher resin demand counterbalances the environmental sustainability improvements, obtained with the application of natural fibres....

A study of radiation vulnerability of ferroelectric material and devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coiec, Y.M.; Musseau, O.; Leray, J.L.

1994-01-01

The radiation effects on ferroelectric material and devices are presented, based on commercially available samples. After recalling the background, effects in ferroelectric PZT capacitors are presented, concerning dose, neutrons and fatigue associated with dose effects. Physical implications and interpretations are sketched. In a second stage, effects are studied at the complete non-volatile RAM device level. Vulnerability in dose, dose rate and neutron fluence of commercial 4 kbit ferroelectric RAM is addressed. 64 kbit results are mentioned in dose rate. These results are compared to previously published data from other manufacturers or laboratories and supplement them. In the appendix, equivalence between rad(Si) and rad (PZT) is discussed in the case of low energy ''10 keV Aracor'' x-rays and 60 Co gamma rays

Preliminary Finding from a New Device for Monitoring Performance and Environmental Factors in the Field

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Lieberman, Harris

2000-01-01

.... This paper will introduce a new device, the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine vigilance monitor, which was developed for assessment of human performance in an automated, continuous manner in the field...

Characterization of Candidate Solar Sail Material Exposed to Space Environmental Effects

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, David; Hovater, Mary; Hubbs, Whitney; Wertz, George; Hollerman, William; Gray, Perry

2003-01-01

Solar sailing is a unique form of propulsion where a spacecraft gains momentum from incident photons. Solar sails are not limited by reaction mass and provide continual acceleration, reduced only by the lifetime of the lightweight film in the space environment and the distance to the Sun. Once thought to be difficult or impossible, solar sailing has come out of science fiction and into the realm of possibility. Any spacecraft using this method would need to deploy a thin sail that could be as large as many kilometers in extent. The availability of strong, ultra lightweight, and radiation resistant materials will determine the future of solar sailing. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is concentrating research into the utilization of ultra lightweight materials for spacecraft propulsion. The Space Environmental Effects Team at MSFC is actively characterizing candidate solar sail material to evaluate the thermo-optical and mechanical properties after exposure to space environmental effects. This paper will describe the exposure of candidate solar sail materials to emulated space environmental effects including energetic electrons, combined electrons and Ultraviolet radiation, and hypervelocity impact of irradiated solar sail material. This paper will describe the testing procedure and the material characterization results of this investigation.

Selection of environmental sustainable fiber materials for wind turbine blades - a contra intuitive process?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Birkved, M.; Corona, A. [Technical Univ. of Denmark. DTU Management Engineering, Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark); Markussen, C.M.; Madsen, Bo [Technical Univ. of Denmark. DTU Wind Energy, Risoe Campus, Roskilde (Denmark)

2013-09-01

Over the recent decades biomaterials have been marketed successfully supported by the common perception that biomaterials and environmental sustainability de facto represents two sides of the same coin. The development of sustainable composite materials such as blades for small-scale wind turbines have thus partially been focused on the substitution of conventional fiber materials with bio-fibers. The major question is if this material substitution actually, is environmental sustainable. In order to assess a wide pallet of environmental impacts and taking into account positive and negative environmental trade-offs over the entire life-span of composite materials, life cycle assessment (LCA) can be applied. In the present case study, four different types of fibers (carbon, glass, flax and carbon/flax mixture) are compared in terms of environmental sustainability and cost. Applying one of the most recent life cycle impact assessment methods, it is demonstrated that the environmental sustainability of the mixed carbon/flax fiber based composite material is better than that of the flax fibers alone. This observation may be contra-intuitive, but is mainly caused by the fact that the bio-material resin demand is by far exceeding the resin demand of the conventional fibers, and since the environmental burden of the resin is comparable to that of the fibers, resin demand is in terms of environmental sustainability important. On the other hand is the energy demand and associated environmental impacts in relation to the production of the carbon and glass fibers considerable compared to the impacts resulting from resin production. The ideal fiber solution, in terms of environmental sustainability, is hence the fiber composition having the lowest resin demand and lowest overall energy demand. The optimum environmental solution hence turns out to be a 70:30 flax:carbon mix, thereby minimizing the use of carbon fibers and resin. On top of the environmental sustainability

Survey of reference materials. V. 2: Environmentally related reference materials for trace elements, nuclides and microcontaminants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-05-01

The present report presently contains over 250 reference materials with trace element and organic contaminant information on fuel, geological and mineral, anthropogenic disposal, soil reference and miscellaneous reference materials. Not included in the current report is information on most biological and environmental reference materials with trace element, stable isotope, radioisotope and organic contaminant information. 8 refs, tabs

Phase-change materials for non-volatile memory devices: from technological challenges to materials science issues

Science.gov (United States)

Noé, Pierre; Vallée, Christophe; Hippert, Françoise; Fillot, Frédéric; Raty, Jean-Yves

2018-01-01

Chalcogenide phase-change materials (PCMs), such as Ge-Sb-Te alloys, have shown outstanding properties, which has led to their successful use for a long time in optical memories (DVDs) and, recently, in non-volatile resistive memories. The latter, known as PCM memories or phase-change random access memories (PCRAMs), are the most promising candidates among emerging non-volatile memory (NVM) technologies to replace the current FLASH memories at CMOS technology nodes under 28 nm. Chalcogenide PCMs exhibit fast and reversible phase transformations between crystalline and amorphous states with very different transport and optical properties leading to a unique set of features for PCRAMs, such as fast programming, good cyclability, high scalability, multi-level storage capability, and good data retention. Nevertheless, PCM memory technology has to overcome several challenges to definitively invade the NVM market. In this review paper, we examine the main technological challenges that PCM memory technology must face and we illustrate how new memory architecture, innovative deposition methods, and PCM composition optimization can contribute to further improvements of this technology. In particular, we examine how to lower the programming currents and increase data retention. Scaling down PCM memories for large-scale integration means the incorporation of the PCM into more and more confined structures and raises materials science issues in order to understand interface and size effects on crystallization. Other materials science issues are related to the stability and ageing of the amorphous state of PCMs. The stability of the amorphous phase, which determines data retention in memory devices, can be increased by doping the PCM. Ageing of the amorphous phase leads to a large increase of the resistivity with time (resistance drift), which has up to now hindered the development of ultra-high multi-level storage devices. A review of the current understanding of all these

NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Advanced Materials and Technologies for Micro/Nano-Devices, Sensors and Actuators

CERN Document Server

Gusev, Evgeni; Dideikin, Arthur

2010-01-01

The main goal of this book is to review recent progress and current status of MEMS/NEMS technologies and devices. Several important areas are discussed: history of research in the field, device physics, examples of sucessful applications, sensors, materials and processing aspects. The authors who have contributed to the book represent a diverse group of leading scientists from academic, industrial and governmental labs worldwide who bring a broad array of backgrounds such as device physics, technologists, electrical and mechanical engineering, surface chemistry and materials science). The contributions to this book are accessible to both expert scientists and engineers who need to keep up with leading edge research, and newcomers to the field who wish to learn more about the exciting basic and applied research issues relevant to micromechanical devices and technologies.

Realization of the Energy Saving of the Environmental Examination Device Temperature Control System in Consideration of Temperature Characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Onogaki, Hitoshi; Yokoyama, Shuichi

The temperature control of the environmental examination device has loss of the energy consumption to cool it while warming it. This paper proposed a tempareture control system method with energy saving for the enviromental examination device without using cooling in consideration of temperature characteristics.

Chalcogenide Glass Radiation Sensor; Materials Development, Design and Device Testing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mitkova, Maria; Butt, Darryl; Kozicki, Michael; Barnaby, Hugo

2013-04-30

For many decades, various radiation detecting material have been extensively researched, to find a better material or mechanism for radiation sensing. Recently, there is a growing need for a smaller and effective material or device that can perform similar functions of bulkier Geiger counters and other measurement options, which fail the requirement for easy, cheap and accurate radiation dose measurement. Here arises the use of thin film chalcogenide glass, which has unique properties of high thermal stability along with high sensitivity towards short wavelength radiation. The unique properties of chalcogenide glasses are attributed to the lone pair p-shell electrons, which provide some distinctive optical properties when compared to crystalline material. These qualities are derived from the energy band diagram and the presence of localized states in the band gap. Chalcogenide glasses have band tail states and localized states, along with the two band states. These extra states are primarily due to the lone pair electrons as well as the amorphous structure of the glasses. The localized states between the conductance band (CB) and valence band (VB) are primarily due to the presence of the lone pair electrons, while the band tail states are attributed to the Van der Waal's forces between layers of atoms [1]. Localized states are trap locations within the band gap where electrons from the valence band can hop into, in their path towards the conduction band. Tail states on the other hand are locations near the band gap edges and are known as Urbach tail states (Eu). These states are occupied with many electrons that can participate in the various transformations due to interaction with photons. According to Y. Utsugi et. al.[2], the electron-phonon interactions are responsible for the generation of the Urbach tails. These states are responsible for setting the absorption edge for these glasses and photons with energy near the band gap affect these states. We have

Solar Sail Material Performance Property Response to Space Environmental Effects

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, David L.; Semmel, Charles; Hovater, Mary; Nehls, Mary; Gray, Perry; Hubbs, Whitney; Wertz, George

2004-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) continues research into the utilization of photonic materials for spacecraft propulsion. Spacecraft propulsion, using photonic materials, will be achieved using a solar sail. A solar sail operates on the principle that photons, originating from the sun, impart pressure to the sail and therefore provide a source for spacecraft propulsion. The pressure imparted to a solar sail can be increased, up to a factor of two, if the sun-facing surface is perfectly reflective. Therefore, these solar sails are generally composed of a highly reflective metallic sun-facing layer, a thin polymeric substrate and occasionally a highly emissive back surface. Near term solar sail propelled science missions are targeting the Lagrange point 1 (Ll) as well as locations sunward of L1 as destinations. These near term missions include the Solar Polar Imager and the L1 Diamond. The Environmental Effects Group at NASA s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) continues to actively characterize solar sail material in preparation for these near term solar sail missions. Previous investigations indicated that space environmental effects on sail material thermo-optical properties were minimal and would not significantly affect the propulsion efficiency of the sail. These investigations also indicated that the sail material mechanical stability degrades with increasing radiation exposure. This paper will further quantify the effect of space environmental exposure on the mechanical properties of candidate sail materials. Candidate sail materials for these missions include Aluminum coated Mylar[TM], Teonex[TM], and CPl (Colorless Polyimide). These materials were subjected to uniform radiation doses of electrons and protons in individual exposures sequences. Dose values ranged from 100 Mrads to over 5 Grads. The engineering performance property responses of thermo-optical and mechanical properties were

Do single-use medical devices containing biopolymers reduce the environmental impacts of surgical procedures compared with their plastic equivalents?

Science.gov (United States)

Unger, Scott R; Hottle, Troy A; Hobbs, Shakira R; Thiel, Cassandra L; Campion, Nicole; Bilec, Melissa M; Landis, Amy E

2017-01-01

Background While petroleum-based plastics are extensively used in health care, recent developments in biopolymer manufacturing have created new opportunities for increased integration of biopolymers into medical products, devices and services. This study compared the environmental impacts of single-use disposable devices with increased biopolymer content versus typically manufactured devices in hysterectomy. Methods A comparative life cycle assessment of single-use disposable medical products containing plastic(s) versus the same single-use medical devices with biopolymers substituted for plastic(s) at Magee-Women's Hospital (Magee) in Pittsburgh, PA and the products used in four types of hysterectomies that contained plastics potentially suitable for biopolymer substitution. Magee is a 360-bed teaching hospital, which performs approximately 1400 hysterectomies annually. Results There are life cycle environmental impact tradeoffs when substituting biopolymers for petroplastics in procedures such as hysterectomies. The substitution of biopolymers for petroleum-based plastics increased smog-related impacts by approximately 900% for laparoscopic and robotic hysterectomies, and increased ozone depletion-related impacts by approximately 125% for laparoscopic and robotic hysterectomies. Conversely, biopolymers reduced life cycle human health impacts, acidification and cumulative energy demand for the four hysterectomy procedures. The integration of biopolymers into medical products is correlated with reductions in carcinogenic impacts, non-carcinogenic impacts and respiratory effects. However, the significant agricultural inputs associated with manufacturing biopolymers exacerbate environmental impacts of products and devices made using biopolymers. Conclusions The integration of biopolymers into medical products is correlated with reductions in carcinogenic impacts, non-carcinogenic impacts and respiratory effects; however, the significant agricultural inputs associated

Photonic devices based on black phosphorus and related hybrid materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vitiello, M.S.; Viti, L.

2016-01-01

Artificial semiconductor heterostructures played a pivotal role in modern electronic and photonic technologies, providing a highly effective means for the manipulation and control of carriers, from the visible to the far-infrared, leading to the development of highly efficient devices like sources, detectors and modulators. The discovery of graphene and the related fascinating capabilities have triggered an unprecedented interest in devices based on inorganic two-dimensional (2D) materials. Amongst them, black phosphorus (BP) recently showed an extraordinary potential in a variety of applications across micro-electronics and photonics. With an energy gap between the gapless graphene and the larger gap transition metal dichalcogenides, BP can form the basis for a new generation of high-performance photonic devices that could be specifically engineered to comply with different applications, like transparent saturable absorbers, fast photocounductive switches and low noise photodetectors, exploiting its peculiar electrical, thermal and optical anisotropy. This paper will review the latest achievements in black-phosphorus–based THz photonics and discuss future perspectives of this rapidly developing research field.

Carbon nanotubes for gas detection: materials preparation and device assembly

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terranova, M L; Lucci, M; Orlanducci, S; Tamburri, E; Sessa, V; Reale, A; Carlo, A Di

2007-01-01

An efficient sensing device for NH 3 and NO x detection has been realized using ordered arrays of single-walled C nanotubes deposited onto an interdigitated electrode platform operating at room temperature. The sensing material has been prepared using several chemical-physical techniques for purification and positioning of the nanotubes inside the electrode gaps. In particular, both DC and AC fields have been applied in order to move and to align the nanostructures by electrophoresis and dielectrophoresis processes. We investigated the effects of different voltages applied to a gate contact on the back side of the substrate on the performances of the device and found that for different gas species (NH 3 , NO x ) a constant gate bias increases the sensitivity for gas detection. Moreover, in this paper we demonstrate that a pulsed bias applied to the gate contact facilitates the gas interaction with the nanotubes, either reducing the absorption times or accelerating the desorption times, thus providing a fast acceleration and a dramatic improvement of the time dependent behaviour of the device

Electrospinning for advanced energy and environmental applications

CERN Document Server

Cavaliere, Sara

2015-01-01

Electrospinning for Advanced Energy and Environmental Applications delivers a state-of-the-art overview of the use of electrospun fibers in energy conversion and storage, as well as in environmental sensing and remediation. Featuring contributions from leading experts in electrospinning and its specific applications, this book: Introduces the electrospinning technique and its origins, outlining achievable one-dimensional (1D) nanoscaled materials and their various applications Discusses the use of electrospun materials in energy devices, including low- and high-temperature fuel cells, hydrogen storage, dye-sensitized solar cells, lithium-ion batteries, and supercapacitors Explores environmental applications of electrospun fibers, such as the use of electrospinning-issued materials in membranes for water and air purification, as well as in sensors and biosensors for pollution control Beneficial to both academic and industrial audiences, Electrospinning for Advanced Energy and Environmental Applications present...

Leaching of spent fuel in the presence of environmental material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Lous, Karine

1997-01-01

The aim of this work is the study of the alteration kinetics of spent fuels and the making of a status of the radioactivity released by spent fuels in conditions of direct disposal in deep underground. A system has been fitted inside a shielded cell to study the leaching by synthetic groundwater of fuel powder irradiated at 60 GWJ.tU -1 in the presence of environmental material (clay or granite) at 40 bars and 90 deg. C. This system allows to reach and keep reductive conditions characteristic of the redox conditions of a deep geological repository. The preparation of calibrated spent fuel powders and the recovery of the activity fixed by the environmental materials has required the implementation of specific procedures. Similar experiments have been performed in parallel with Simfuel in a controlled area. A first series of experiments has been carried out in 4 environments for each fuel. Important sorption phenomena take place in the environmental materials and the actinide concentrations stabilize rapidly at low values: 10 -8 mol/l for U, 10 -12 mol/l for Pu and 10 -13 -10 -14 mol/l for Cm. The activity released by 90 Sr at the end of each experiment is about two times higher in the presence of clay than in the presence of granite. The average alteration rates are of about 0.2 mg.m -2 /day in the presence of granite and 0.4 to 0.6 mg.m -2 /day in the presence of clay. They are comparable to those reported in the literature for reducing conditions. Such tests are necessary to determine the leaching rate of spent fuels in reducing conditions and in the absence of environmental materials in order to show the possible effects of these materials. (J.S.)

Recent Progress of Textile-Based Wearable Electronics: A Comprehensive Review of Materials, Devices, and Applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Heo, Jae Sang; Eom, Jimi; Kim, Yong-Hoon; Park, Sung Kyu

2018-01-01

Wearable electronics are emerging as a platform for next-generation, human-friendly, electronic devices. A new class of devices with various functionality and amenability for the human body is essential. These new conceptual devices are likely to be a set of various functional devices such as displays, sensors, batteries, etc., which have quite different working conditions, on or in the human body. In these aspects, electronic textiles seem to be a highly suitable possibility, due to the unique characteristics of textiles such as being light weight and flexible and their inherent warmth and the property to conform. Therefore, e-textiles have evolved into fiber-based electronic apparel or body attachable types in order to foster significant industrialization of the key components with adaptable formats. Although the advances are noteworthy, their electrical performance and device features are still unsatisfactory for consumer level e-textile systems. To solve these issues, innovative structural and material designs, and novel processing technologies have been introduced into e-textile systems. Recently reported and significantly developed functional materials and devices are summarized, including their enhanced optoelectrical and mechanical properties. Furthermore, the remaining challenges are discussed, and effective strategies to facilitate the full realization of e-textile systems are suggested. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Towards Efficient Spectral Converters through Materials Design for Luminescent Solar Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

McKenna, Barry; Evans, Rachel C

2017-07-01

Single-junction photovoltaic devices exhibit a bottleneck in their efficiency due to incomplete or inefficient harvesting of photons in the low- or high-energy regions of the solar spectrum. Spectral converters can be used to convert solar photons into energies that are more effectively captured by the photovoltaic device through a photoluminescence process. Here, recent advances in the fields of luminescent solar concentration, luminescent downshifting, and upconversion are discussed. The focus is specifically on the role that materials science has to play in overcoming barriers in the optical performance in all spectral converters and on their successful integration with both established (e.g., c-Si, GaAs) and emerging (perovskite, organic, dye-sensitized) cell types. Current challenges and emerging research directions, which need to be addressed for the development of next-generation luminescent solar devices, are also discussed. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Transparent conductors based on microscale/nanoscale materials for high performance devices

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Tongchuan

Transparent conductors are important as the top electrode for a variety of optoelectronic devices, including solar cells, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), at panel displays, and touch screens. Doped indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films are the predominant transparent conductor material. However, ITO thin films are brittle, making them unsuitable for the emerging flexible devices, and suffer from high material and processing cost. In my thesis, we developed a variety of transparent conductors toward a performance comparable with or superior to ITO thin films, with lower cost and potential for scalable manufacturing. Metal nanomesh (NM), hierarchical graphene/metal microgrid (MG), and hierarchical metal NM/MG materials were investigated. Simulation methods were used as a powerful tool to predict the transparency and sheet resistance of the transparent conductors by solving Maxwell's equations and Poisson's equation. Affordable and scalable fabrication processes were developed thereafter. Transparent conductors with over 90% transparency and less than 10 O/square sheet resistance were successfully fabricated on both rigid and flexible substrates. Durability tests, such as bending, heating and tape tests, were carried out to evaluate the robustness of the samples. Haze factor, which characterizes how blurry a transparent conductor appears, was also studied in-depth using analytical calculation and numerical simulation. We demonstrated a tunable haze factor for metal NM transparent conductors and analyzed the principle for tuning the haze factor. Plasmonic effects, excited by some transparent conductors, can lead to enhanced performance in photovoltaic devices. We systematically studied the effect of incorporating metal NM into ultrathin film silicon solar cells using numerical simulation, with the aid of optimization algorithms to reduce the optimization time. Mechanisms contributing to the enhanced performance were then identified and analyzed. Over 72% enhancement in short

High performance yellow organic electroluminescent devices by doping iridium(III) complex into host materials with stepwise energy levels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cui, Rongzhen; Zhou, Liang, E-mail: zhoul@ciac.ac.cn; Jiang, Yunlong; Li, Yanan; Zhao, Xuesen; Zhang, Hongjie, E-mail: hongjie@ciac.ac.cn

2015-10-15

In this work, we aim to further improve the electroluminescent (EL) performances of a yellow light-emitting iridium(III) complex by designing double light-emitting layers (EMLs) devices having stepwise energy levels. Compared with single-EML devices, these designed double-EML devices showed improved EL efficiency and brightness attributed to better balance in carriers. In addition, the stepwise distribution in energy levels of host materials is instrumental in broadening the recombination zone, thus delaying the roll-off of EL efficiency. Based on the investigation of carriers' distribution, device structure was further optimized by adjusting the thickness of deposited layers. Finally, yellow EL device (Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.446, 0.542)) with maximum current efficiency, power efficiency and brightness up to 78.62 cd/A (external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 21.1%), 82.28 lm/W and 72,713 cd/m{sup 2}, respectively, was obtained. Even at the high brightness of 1000 cd/m{sup 2}, EL efficiency as high as 65.54 cd/A (EQE=17.6%) can be retained. - Highlights: • Yellow electroluminescent devices were designed and fabricated. • P-type and n-type materials having stepwise energy levels were chosen as host materials. • Better balance of holes and electrons causes the enhanced efficiencies. • Improved carriers' trapping suppresses the emission of host material.

A study of radiation vulnerability of ferroelectric material and devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coic, Y M; Musseau, O; Leray, J L [CEA Centre d` Etudes de Bruyeres-le-Chatel, 91 (France)

1994-12-31

The radiation effects on ferroelectric material and devices are presented, based on commercially available samples. After recalling the background, effects in ferroelectric PZT capacitors are presented, concerning dose, neutrons and fatigue associated with dose effects. Physical implications and interpretations are sketched. In a second stage, effects are studied at the complete non-volatile RAM device level. Vulnerability in dose, dose rate and neutron fluence of commercial 4 kbit ferroelectric RAM is addressed. 64 kbit results are mentioned in dose rate. These results are compared to previously published data from other manufacturers or laboratories and supplement them. In the appendix, equivalence between rad (Si) and rad (PZT) is discussed in the case of low energy ``10 keV Aracor`` s-rays and {sup 60}Co gamma rays. (author). 24 refs., 11 figs., 7 tabs.

A study of radiation vulnerability of ferroelectric material and devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coic, Y.M.; Musseau, O.; Leray, J.L.

1994-01-01

The radiation effects on ferroelectric material and devices are presented, based on commercially available samples. After recalling the background, effects in ferroelectric PZT capacitors are presented, concerning dose, neutrons and fatigue associated with dose effects. Physical implications and interpretations are sketched. In a second stage, effects are studied at the complete non-volatile RAM device level. Vulnerability in dose, dose rate and neutron fluence of commercial 4 kbit ferroelectric RAM is addressed. 64 kbit results are mentioned in dose rate. These results are compared to previously published data from other manufacturers or laboratories and supplement them. In the appendix, equivalence between rad (Si) and rad (PZT) is discussed in the case of low energy ''10 keV Aracor'' s-rays and 60 Co gamma rays. (author). 24 refs., 11 figs., 7 tabs

Increasing carbon and material productivity through environmental tax reform

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ekins, Paul; Pollitt, Hector; Summerton, Philip; Chewpreecha, Unnada

2012-01-01

Environmental tax reform (ETR), a shift in taxation towards environmental taxes, has been implemented on a small scale in a number of European countries. This paper first gives a short review of the literature about ETR. An Appendix briefly describes the model used for a modelling exercise to explore, through scenarios with low and high international energy prices, the implications of a large-scale ETR in the European Union, sufficient to reach the EU's emission reduction targets for 2020. The paper then reports the results of the exercise. The ETR results in increased carbon and materials, but reduced labour, productivity, with the emission reductions distributed across all sectors as a reduction in the demand for all fossil fuels. There are also small GDP increases for most, but not all, EU countries for all the scenarios, and for the EU as a whole. Both the environmental and macroeconomic outcomes are better with low than with high energy prices, because the former both increases the scale of the ETR required to reach the targets, and reduces the outflow of foreign exchange to pay for energy imports. ETR emerges from the exercise as an attractive and cost-effective policy for environmental improvement. - Highlights: ► European experience with environmental tax reform (ETR) is reviewed. ► Scenarios which meet EU carbon emission targets are modelled. ► The ETR results in increased carbon and materials, but reduced labour, productivity. ► There are small GDP increases for most, but not all, EU countries. ► ETR emerges as an attractive and cost-effective environmental policy.

Narcissism, Materialism, and Environmental Ethics in Business Students

Science.gov (United States)

Bergman, Jacqueline Z.; Westerman, James W.; Bergman, Shawn M.; Westerman, Jennifer; Daly, Joseph P.

2014-01-01

We investigate the relationships between narcissism, materialism, and environmental ethics in undergraduate business students. Data were collected from business students (n = 405) at an Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business-accredited business school at a comprehensive state university. Results indicate that narcissism has an…

Design, modeling and utilization of thermoelectrical materials and devices in energy systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chen, Min

Thermoelectric generators can convert waste heat that abounds in modern societies into electricity in an environmentally-friendly and reliable manner, and many applications of thermoelectric devices can be envisaged. The research of this PhD dissertation focuses thermoelectric generator modeling...... at a device level as well as its applications in energy systems. The purpose is to introduce the use of thermoelectric generator into energy systems, and to indicate the impact of implementing thermoelectric generator on the design and operation of energy systems. For this purpose, this dissertation produces...... numerical models as versatile simulation tools to identify speci c optimum design criteria for thermoelectric generators used in various associated thermal and electrical systems, so that the generation performance can be improved due to the optimum system design....

Materials, Processes, and Facile Manufacturing for Bioresorbable Electronics: A Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Xiaowei; Shou, Wan; Mahajan, Bikram K; Huang, Xian; Pan, Heng

2018-05-07

Bioresorbable electronics refer to a new class of advanced electronics that can completely dissolve or disintegrate with environmentally and biologically benign byproducts in water and biofluids. They have provided a solution to the growing electronic waste problem with applications in temporary usage of electronics such as implantable devices and environmental sensors. Bioresorbable materials such as biodegradable polymers, dissolvable conductors, semiconductors, and dielectrics are extensively studied, enabling massive progress of bioresorbable electronic devices. Processing and patterning of these materials are predominantly relying on vacuum-based fabrication methods so far. However, for the purpose of commercialization, nonvacuum, low-cost, and facile manufacturing/printing approaches are the need of the hour. Bioresorbable electronic materials are generally more chemically reactive than conventional electronic materials, which require particular attention in developing the low-cost manufacturing processes in ambient environment. This review focuses on material reactivity, ink availability, printability, and process compatibility for facile manufacturing of bioresorbable electronics. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Sensor devices comprising a metal-organic framework material and methods of making and using the same

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Alan X.; Chang, Chih-hung; Kim, Ki-Joong; Chong, Xinyuan; Ohodnicki, Paul R.

2018-05-29

Disclosed herein are embodiments of sensor devices comprising a sensing component able to determine the presence of, detect, and/or quantify detectable species in a variety of environments and applications. The sensing components disclosed herein can comprise MOF materials, plasmonic nanomaterials, or combinations thereof. In an exemplary embodiment, light guides can be coupled with the sensing components described herein to provide sensor devices capable of increased NIR detection sensitivity in determining the presence of detectable species, such as gases and volatile organic compounds. In another exemplary embodiment, optical properties of the plasmonic nanomaterials combined with MOF materials can be monitored directly to detect analyte species through their impact on external conditions surrounding the particle or as a result of charge transfer to and from the plasmonic material as a result of interactions with the plasmonic material and/or the MOF material.

Environmental impacts of the transportation of radioactive materials in urban areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finley, N.C.; Taylor, J.M.; Daniel, S.L.; Ericson, D.M. Jr.

1980-01-01

Radioactive material transport in urban areas is investigated and the specific urban features which influence environmental impacts are addressed. These features include the geographic and demographic make-up, and vehicular population and transportation patterns in the area. Previous efforts have not identified a most important population exposure pathway or group. This assessment examines several pathways and a number of urban specific population groups to evaluate their relative significance. In addition, because different causative events contribute to the overall environmental impacts, this assessment addresses four of these: incident free transport, vehicular accidents, human errors, and sabotage or malevolent acts. Not only does radioactive material transport produce radiological and economic consequences but also it can have social impacts. The objective of this study is to examine both the quantitative environmental impacts of radioactive material transport in urban areas and the more subjective social effects of this process. The social impacts assessment was performed by Battelle Human Affairs Research Centers, Seattle, Washington and their conclusions are only summarized here

Improving Device Efficiencies in Organic Photovoltaics through the Manipulation of Device Architectures and the Development of Low-Bandgap Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Rice, Andrew Hideo

Over the past two decades, vast amounts of research have been conducted in the pursuit of suitable organic semiconductors to replace inorganic materials in electronic applications due to their advantages of being lightweight, flexible, and solution-processible. However, before organic photovoltaics (OPVs) can be truly competitive and commercially viable, their efficiencies must be improved significantly. In this examination, we pursue higher efficiency OPVs in two different ways. Our attempts focus on 1) altering the microstructure of devices to improve charge dissociation, charge transport, and our understanding of how these devices function, and 2) tailoring materials to achieve optimal band gaps and energy levels for use in organic electronics. First, we demonstrate how the vertical morphology of bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells, with an active layer consisting of self-assembled poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) nanowires and (6,6)-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), can be beneficially influenced. Most device fabrication routes using similar materials employ an annealing step to influence active layer morphology, but this process can create an unfavorable phase migration where P3HT is driven toward the cathode. In contrast, we demonstrate devices that exhibit an increase in relative fullerene concentration at the top of the active layer by introducing the donor phase as a solid nanowire in the active layer solution and altering the pre-spin drying time. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and conductive and photoconductive atomic force microscopy (cAFM and pcAFM) provide detailed information about how the surface of the active layer can be influenced; this is done by tracking the concentration and alignment of P3HT and PCBM domains. Using this new procedure, devices are made with power conversion efficiencies surpassing 2%. Additionally, we show that nanowires grown in the presence of the fullerene perform differently than those that are grown and

Sustainability of earth building materials - Environmental product declarations as an instrument of competition in building material industry

OpenAIRE

Schroeder, Horst; Lemke, Manfred

2015-01-01

[EN] The evaluation of the building process in terms of their environmental impact in all life cycle phases of a building leads to the key principle of sustainable building: the analysis of the life cycle of the materials used in a building. The goal of this analysis is to reduce waste and keep the environmental impact as low as possible by “closing” the cycle. During an inventory, the entire life cycle is assessed. This includes the sourcing and extracting of the raw material, the use of the...

Application of Green Environmentally Friendly Materials in Food Packaging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jixia Li

2017-11-01

Full Text Available With social development, requirements on the spiritual and material life have increased. However, some environmental issues appear, for example, in food packaging. Application of environment-friendly materials in food packaging has been more and more attractive. This study analyses the characteristics of degradable food packaging material and the existing problems, proposes the manufacturing of food packaging with poly(lactic acid/nanocrystalline cellulose composite material, tests its thermal and mechanical properties, and applies it to the design of food packaging. The results demonstrate that the thermal and mechanical properties of the material could satisfy the requirements of food packaging and that the material is applicable to the design of food packaging in the future. This work provides a reference for the application of green, environment-friendly materials in the design of food packaging.

Device Performance of the Mott InsulatorDevice Performance of the Mott Insulator LaVO3 as a Photovoltaic Material

KAUST Repository

Wang, Lingfei

2015-06-22

Searching for solar-absorbing materials containing earth-abundant elements with chemical stability is of critical importance for advancing photovoltaic technologies. Mott insulators have been theoretically proposed as potential photovoltaic materials. In this paper, we evaluate their performance in solar cells by exploring the photovoltaic properties of Mott insulator LaVO3 (LVO). LVO films show an indirect band gap of 1.08 eV as well as strong light absorption over a wide wavelength range in the solar spectrum. First-principles calculations on the band structure of LVO further reveal that the d−d transitions within the upper and lower Mott-Hubbard bands and p−d transitions between the O 2p and V 3d band contribute to the absorption in visible and ultraviolet ranges, respectively. Transport measurements indicate strong carrier trapping and the formation of polarons in LVO. To utilize the strong light absorption of LVO and to overcome its poor carrier transport, we incorporate it as a light absorber in solar cells in conjunction with carrier transporters and evaluate its device performance. Our complementary experimental and theoretical results on such prototypical solar cells made of Mott-Hubbard transition-metal oxides pave the road for developing light-absorbing materials and photovoltaic devices based on strongly correlated electrons.

Environmentally sound management of hazardous waste and hazardous recyclable materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smyth, T.

2002-01-01

Environmentally sound management or ESM has been defined under the Basel Convention as 'taking all practicable steps to ensure that hazardous wastes and other wastes are managed in a manner which will protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects which may result from such wastes'. An initiative is underway to develop and implement a Canadian Environmentally Sound Management (ESM) regime for both hazardous wastes and hazardous recyclable materials. This ESM regime aims to assure equivalent minimum environmental protection across Canada while respecting regional differences. Cooperation and coordination between the federal government, provinces and territories is essential to the development and implementation of ESM systems since waste management is a shared jurisdiction in Canada. Federally, CEPA 1999 provides an opportunity to improve Environment Canada's ability to ensure that all exports and imports are managed in an environmentally sound manner. CEPA 1999 enabled Environment Canada to establish criteria for environmentally sound management (ESM) that can be applied by importers and exporters in seeking to ensure that wastes and recyclable materials they import or export will be treated in an environmentally sound manner. The ESM regime would include the development of ESM principles, criteria and guidelines relevant to Canada and a procedure for evaluating ESM. It would be developed in full consultation with stakeholders. The timeline for the development and implementation of the ESM regime is anticipated by about 2006. (author)

Modelling transport of waste material leachate in soils in support of environmental standards

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Eijkeren JCH; Aalbers TG; de Wilde PGM

1992-01-01

In the Netherlands a process of defining environmental standards is going on. These standards serve to protect the environment at the one hand, and to stimulate the reuse of rest-materials, e.g. ash from blast-furnaces, as building materials at the other hand. In order to come to an environmental

The physics of degradation in engineered materials and devices fundamentals and principles

CERN Document Server

Swingler, Jonathan

2015-01-01

Degradation is apparent in all things and is fundamental to both manufactured and natural objects. It is often described by the second law of thermodynamics, where entropy, a measure of disorder, tends to increase with time in a closed system. Things age! This concise reference work brings together experts and key players engaged in the physics of degradation to present the background science, current thinking and developments in understanding, and gives a detailed account of emerging issues across a selection of engineering applications. The work has been put together to equip the upper level undergraduate student, postgraduate student, as well as the professional engineer and scientist, in the importance of physics of degradation. The aim of The Physics of Degradation in Engineered Materials and Devices is to bridge the gap between published textbooks on the fundamental science of degradation phenomena and published research on the engineering science of actual fabricated materials and devices. A history o...

Molecular materials and devices: developing new functional systems based on the coordination chemistry approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Toma Henrique E.

2003-01-01

Full Text Available At the onset of the nanotechnology age, molecular designing of materials and single molecule studies are opening wide possibilities of using molecular systems in electronic and photonic devices, as well as in technological applications based on molecular switching or molecular recognition. In this sense, inorganic chemists are privileged by the possibility of using the basic strategies of coordination chemistry to build up functional supramolecular materials, conveying the remarkable chemical properties of the metal centers and the characteristics of the ancillary ligands. Coordination chemistry also provides effective self-assembly strategies based on specific metal-ligand affinity and stereochemistry. Several molecular based materials, derived from inorganic and metal-organic compounds are focused on this article, with emphasis on new supramolecular porphyrins and porphyrazines, metal-clusters and metal-polyimine complexes. Such systems are also discussed in terms of their applications in catalysis, sensors and molecular devices.

Finding Environmental Knowledge in SCUBA-Based Textual Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Gündogdu, Cemal; Aygün, Yalin; Ilkim, Mehmet

2018-01-01

As marine environments within the adventure domain are future key-settings for recreational SCUBA diving experience, SCUBA-based textual materials should provide insight into environmental knowledge that is well connected to the novice divers' behaviour and attitude. This research is concerned with a major recreational SCUBA diver manual for…

Nanowire transistors physics of devices and materials in one dimension

CERN Document Server

Colinge, Jean-Pierre

2016-01-01

From quantum mechanical concepts to practical circuit applications, this book presents a self-contained and up-to-date account of the physics and technology of nanowire semiconductor devices. It includes a unified account of the critical ideas central to low-dimensional physics and transistor physics which equips readers with a common framework and language to accelerate scientific and technological developments across the two fields. Detailed descriptions of novel quantum mechanical effects such as quantum current oscillations, the metal-to-semiconductor transition and the transition from classical transistor to single-electron transistor operation are described in detail, in addition to real-world applications in the fields of nanoelectronics, biomedical sensing techniques, and advanced semiconductor research. Including numerous illustrations to help readers understand these phenomena, this is an essential resource for researchers and professional engineers working on semiconductor devices and materials in ...

Environmentally Benign and Permanent Modifications to Prevent Biofouling on Marine and Hydrokinetic Devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zheng Zhang

2012-04-19

Semprus Biosciences is developing environmentally benign and permanent modifications to prevent biofouling on Marine and Hydrokinetic (MHK) devices. Biofouling, including growth on external surfaces by bacteria, algae, barnacles, mussels, and other marine organisms, accumulate quickly on MHK devices, causing mechanical wear and changes in performance. Biofouling on crucial components of hydrokinetic devices, such as rotors, generators, and turbines, imposes substantial mass and hydrodynamic loading with associated efficiency loss and maintenance costs. Most antifouling coatings leach toxic ingredients, such as copper and tributyltin, through an eroding process, but increasingly stringent regulation of biocides has led to interest in the development of non-biocidal technologies to control fouling. Semprus Biosciences research team is developing modifications to prevent fouling from a broad spectrum of organisms on devices of all shapes, sizes, and materials for the life of the product. The research team designed and developed betaine-based polymers as novel underwater coatings to resist the attachment of marine organisms. Different betaine-based monomers and polymers were synthesized and incorporated within various coating formulations. The formulations and application methods were developed on aluminum panels with required adhesion strength and mechanical properties. The coating polymers were chemically stable under UV, hydrolytic and oxidative environments. The sulfobetaine formulations are applicable as nonleaching and stable underwater coatings. For the first time, coating formulations modified with highly packed sulfobetaine polymers were prepared and demonstrated resistance to a broad spectrum of marine organisms. Assays for comparing nonfouling performance were developed to evaluate protein adsorption and bacteria attachment. Barnacle settlement and removal were evaluated and a 60-day field test was performed. Silicone substrates including a commercial

Optimization of material/device parameters of CdTe photovoltaic for solar cells applications

Science.gov (United States)

Wijewarnasuriya, Priyalal S.

2016-05-01

Cadmium telluride (CdTe) has been recognized as a promising photovoltaic material for thin-film solar cell applications due to its near optimum bandgap of ~1.5 eV and high absorption coefficient. The energy gap is near optimum for a single-junction solar cell. The high absorption coefficient allows films as thin as 2.5 μm to absorb more than 98% of the above-bandgap radiation. Cells with efficiencies near 20% have been produced with poly-CdTe materials. This paper examines n/p heterostructure device architecture. The performance limitations related to doping concentrations, minority carrier lifetimes, absorber layer thickness, and surface recombination velocities at the back and front interfaces is assessed. Ultimately, the paper explores device architectures of poly- CdTe and crystalline CdTe to achieve performance comparable to gallium arsenide (GaAs).

Nanocrystalline silicon as the light emitting material of a field emission display device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biaggi-Labiosa, A; Sola, F; Resto, O; Fonseca, L F; Gonzalez-BerrIos, A; Jesus, J De; Morell, G

2008-01-01

A nanocrystalline Si-based paste was successfully tested as the light emitting material in a field emission display test device that employed a film of carbon nanofibers as the electron source. Stable emission in the 550-850 nm range was obtained at 16 V μm -1 . This relatively low field required for intense cathodoluminescence (CL) from the PSi paste may lead to longer term reliability of both the electron emitting and the light emitting materials, and to lower power consumption. Here we describe the synthesis, characterization, and analyses of the light emitting nanostructured Si paste and the electron emitting C nanofibers used for building the device, including x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Raman spectroscopy. The corresponding spectra and field emission curves are also shown and discussed

Applied solid state science advances in materials and device research

CERN Document Server

Wolfe, Raymond

2013-01-01

Applied Solid State Science: Advances in Materials and Device Research, Volume 1 presents articles about junction electroluminescence; metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) physics; ion implantation in semiconductors; and electron transport through insulating thin films. The book describes the basic physics of carrier injection; energy transfer and recombination mechanisms; state of the art efficiencies; and future prospects for light emitting diodes. The text then discusses solid state spectroscopy, which is the pair spectra observed in gallium phosphide photoluminescence. The extensive studies

Bifunctional electroluminescent and photovoltaic devices using bathocuproine as electron-transporting material and an electron acceptor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, L.L.; Li, W.L.; Li, M.T.; Chu, B.

2007-01-01

Electroluminescence (EL) devices, using 4, 4',4''-tris (2-methylphenyl- phenylamino) triphenylamine (m-MTDATA) as hole-transporting material and bathocuproine (BCP) as an electron-transporting material, were fabricated, which emitted bright green light peaked at 520 nm instead of the emission of m-MTDATA or BCP. It was attributed to the exciplex formation and emission at the interface of m-MTDATA and BCP. EL performance was significantly enhanced by a thin mixed layer (5 nm) of m-MTDATA and BCP inserted between the two organic layers of the original m-MTDATA/BCP bilayer device. The trilayer device showed maximum luminance of 1,205 cd/m 2 at 8 V. At a luminance of 100 cd/m 2 , the power efficiency is 1.64 cd/A. Commission International De L'Eclairoge (CIE) color coordinates of the output spectrum of the devices at 8 V are x=0.244 and y=0.464. These devices also showed photovoltaic (PV) properties, which were sensitive to UV light. The PV diode exhibits high open-circuit voltage (V oc ) of 2.10 V under illumination of 365 nm UV light with 2 mW/cm 2 . And the short-circuit current (I sc ) of 92.5x10 -6 A/cm 2 , fill factor (FF) of 0.30 and power conversion efficiency (η e ) of 2.91% are respectively achieved. It is considered that strong exciplex emission in an EL device is a good indicator of efficient charge transfer at the organic interface, which is a basic requirement for good PV performance. Both the bilayer and trilayer devices showed EL and PV properties, suggesting their potential use as multifunction devices

Nanotemplated platinum fuel cell catalysts and copper-tin lithium battery anode materials for microenergy devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rohan, J.F., E-mail: james.rohan@tyndall.ie [Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork, Lee Maltings, Cork (Ireland); Hasan, M.; Holubowitch, N. [Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork, Lee Maltings, Cork (Ireland)

2011-11-01

Highlights: > Anodic Aluminum oxide formation on Si substrate. > High density nanotemplated Pt catalyst on Si for integrated energy and electronics. > CuSn alloy deposition from a single, high efficiency methanesulfonate plating bath. > Nanotemplated CuSn Li anode electrodes with high capacity retention. - Abstract: Nanotemplated materials have significant potential for applications in energy conversion and storage devices due to their unique physical properties. Nanostructured materials provide additional electrode surface area beneficial for energy conversion or storage applications with short path lengths for electronic and ionic transport and thus the possibility of higher reaction rates. We report on the use of controlled growth of metal and alloy electrodeposited templated nanostructures for energy applications. Anodic aluminium oxide templates fabricated on Si for energy materials integration with electronic devices and their use for fuel cell and battery materials deposition is discussed. Nanostructured Pt anode catalysts for methanol fuel cells are shown. Templated CuSn alloy anodes that possess high capacity retention with cycling for lithium microbattery integration are also presented.

Development of an elution device for ViroCap virus filters.

Science.gov (United States)

Fagnant, Christine Susan; Toles, Matthew; Zhou, Nicolette Angela; Powell, Jacob; Adolphsen, John; Guan, Yifei; Ockerman, Byron; Shirai, Jeffry Hiroshi; Boyle, David S; Novosselov, Igor; Meschke, John Scott

2017-10-19

Environmental surveillance of waterborne pathogens is vital for monitoring the spread of diseases, and electropositive filters are frequently used for sampling wastewater and wastewater-impacted surface water. Viruses adsorbed to electropositive filters require elution prior to detection or quantification. Elution is typically facilitated by a peristaltic pump, although this requires a significant startup cost and does not include biosafety or cross-contamination considerations. These factors may pose a barrier for low-resource laboratories that aim to conduct environmental surveillance of viruses. The objective of this study was to develop a biologically enclosed, manually powered, low-cost device for effectively eluting from electropositive ViroCap™ virus filters. The elution device described here utilizes a non-electric bilge pump, instead of an electric peristaltic pump or a positive pressure vessel. The elution device also fully encloses liquids and aerosols that could contain biological organisms, thereby increasing biosafety. Moreover, all elution device components that are used in the biosafety cabinet are autoclavable, reducing cross-contamination potential. This device reduces costs of materials while maintaining convenience in terms of size and weight. With this new device, there is little sample volume loss due to device inefficiency, similar virus yields were demonstrated during seeded studies with poliovirus type 1, and the time to elute filters is similar to that required with the peristaltic pump. The efforts described here resulted in a novel, low-cost, manually powered elution device that can facilitate environmental surveillance of pathogens through effective virus recovery from ViroCap filters while maintaining the potential for adaptability to other cartridge filters.

Graphene and Carbon Quantum Dot-Based Materials in Photovoltaic Devices: From Synthesis to Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Paulo, Sofia; Palomares, Emilio; Martinez-Ferrero, Eugenia

2016-01-01

Graphene and carbon quantum dots have extraordinary optical and electrical features because of their quantum confinement properties. This makes them attractive materials for applications in photovoltaic devices (PV). Their versatility has led to their being used as light harvesting materials or selective contacts, either for holes or electrons, in silicon quantum dot, polymer or dye-sensitized solar cells. In this review, we summarize the most common uses of both types of semiconducting materials and highlight the significant advances made in recent years due to the influence that synthetic materials have on final performance. PMID:28335285

Environmentally benign silicon solar cell manufacturing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsuo, Y.S. [National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States); Gee, J.M. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States); Menna, P. [National Agency for New Technologies Energy and Environment, Portici (Italy); Strebkov, D.S.; Pinov, A.; Zadde, V. [Intersolarcenter, Moscow (Russian Federation)

1998-09-01

The manufacturing of silicon devices--from polysilicon production, crystal growth, ingot slicing, wafer cleaning, device processing, to encapsulation--requires many steps that are energy intensive and use large amounts of water and toxic chemicals. In the past two years, the silicon integrated-circuit (IC) industry has initiated several programs to promote environmentally benign manufacturing, i.e., manufacturing practices that recover, recycle, and reuse materials resources with a minimal consumption of energy. Crystalline-silicon solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, which accounted for 87% of the worldwide module shipments in 1997, are large-area devices with many manufacturing steps similar to those used in the IC industry. Obviously, there are significant opportunities for the PV industry to implement more environmentally benign manufacturing approaches. Such approaches often have the potential for significant cost reduction by reducing energy use and/or the purchase volume of new chemicals and by cutting the amount of used chemicals that must be discarded. This paper will review recent accomplishments of the IC industry initiatives and discuss new processes for environmentally benign silicon solar-cell manufacturing.

Effect of interface of electronics devices constructed with different materials to X-ray

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mu Weibing; Chen Panxun

2003-01-01

The behavior of X-ray nearby interface which is constructed with different materials is introduced in this paper. And the affect to electronics devices of this behavior is analyzed, the affect factors of four interfaces are calculated by Monte-Carlo method

76 FR 44489 - Medical Devices; Neurological Devices; Classification of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-07-26

... is an external device that delivers transcranial repetitive pulsed magnetic fields of sufficient... premarket notification, prior to marketing the device, which contains information about the rTMS system they... significant effect on the human environment. Thus, neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental...

Binary copper oxide semiconductors: From materials towards devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meyer, B.K.; Polity, A.; Reppin, D.; Becker, M.; Hering, P.; Klar, P.J.; Sander, T.; Reindl, C.; Benz, J.; Eickhoff, M.; Heiliger, C.; Heinemann, M. [1. Physics Institute, Justus-Liebig University of Giessen (Germany); Blaesing, J.; Krost, A. [Institute of Experimental Physics (IEP), Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg (Germany); Shokovets, S. [Institute of Physics, Ilmenau University of Technology (Germany); Mueller, C.; Ronning, C. [Institute of Solid State Physics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany)

2012-08-15

Copper-oxide compound semiconductors provide a unique possibility to tune the optical and electronic properties from insulating to metallic conduction, from bandgap energies of 2.1 eV to the infrared at 1.40 eV, i.e., right into the middle of the efficiency maximum for solar-cell applications. Three distinctly different phases, Cu{sub 2}O, Cu{sub 4}O{sub 3}, and CuO, of this binary semiconductor can be prepared by thin-film deposition techniques, which differ in the oxidation state of copper. Their material properties as far as they are known by experiment or predicted by theory are reviewed. They are supplemented by new experimental results from thin-film growth and characterization, both will be critically discussed and summarized. With respect to devices the focus is on solar-cell performances based on Cu{sub 2}O. It is demonstrated by photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) that the heterojunction system p-Cu{sub 2}O/n-AlGaN is much more promising for the application as efficient solar cells than that of p-Cu{sub 2}O/n-ZnO heterojunction devices that have been favored up to now. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Feed Materials Production Center annual environmental report for calendar 1989

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dugan, T.A.; Gels, G.L.; Oberjohn, J.S.; Rogers, L.K.

1990-10-01

The mission of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Feed Materials Production Center (FMPC) has been to process uranium for United States' defense programs. On July 10, 1989, the FMPC suspended production operations, but remains on standby for certain segments of production. The FMPC also manages the storage of some radioactive and hazardous materials. As part of its operations, the FMPC continuously monitors the environment to determine that it is operating within federal and state standards and guidelines regarding emission of radioactive and nonradioactive materials. Data collected from the FMPC monitoring program are used to calculate estimates of radiation dose for residents due to FMPC operations. For 1989, the estimate of dose through the air pathway, excluding radon, indicated that people in the area were exposed to less than 6% of the DOE guideline established to protect the public from radiation exposure. When radon emissions are included, the dose from FMPC operations during 1989 was less than 22% of the annual background radiation dose in the Greater Cincinnati area. This report is a summary of FMPC's environmental activities and monitoring program for 1989. An Environmental Compliance Self-Assessment presents the FMPC's efforts to comply with environmental regulations through June 1990. 44 refs., 48 figs.

Evaluating the Environmental Dimension of Material Efficiency Strategies Relating to the Circular Economy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stuart Walker

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Material efficiency is a key element of new thinking to address the challenges of reducing impacts on the environment and of resource scarcity, whilst at the same time meeting service and functionality demands on materials. Directly related to material efficiency is the concept of the Circular Economy, which is based on the principle of optimising the utility embodied in materials and products through the life-cycle. Although materials such as steel, on account of high recycling rates at end-of-life, are amongst the most ‘circular’ of manufactured materials, significant opportunities for greater material efficiency exist, which are yet to be widely implemented. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA is commonly used to assess the environmental benefits of recovering and recycling materials through the manufacturing supply chain and at end-of-life. Using an example taken from renewable energy generation, this paper explores the correlation between product circularity and the environmental case for strategies designed to improve material efficiency. An LCA-based methodology for accounting for the recovery and reuse of materials from the supply chain and at end-of-life is used as the basis for calculating the carbon footprint benefits of five material efficiency scenarios. The results are compared with a number of proposed material circularity indicators. Two conclusions from this exercise are that (i LCA methodologies based around end-of-life approaches are well placed for quantifying the environmental benefits of material efficiency and circular economy strategies and (ii when applying indicators relating to the circularity of materials these should also be supported by LCA-based studies.

Shirley Basin Uranium Mill. Environmental report to accompany source material license application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1975-12-01

This document summarizes all of the environmental monitoring conducted by Utah. This Environmental Report consequently supplements and updates the information presented in the Source Material License application of August 18, 1970 and the Final Environmental Statement (FES) of December 1974. Water and air quality, liquid waste management, soil/vegetation monitoring, and reclamation are covered

Radioecological implementation of 'environmental friendly' materials alumosilicate origin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stojanovic, M.; Milojkovic, J.; Grubisic, M.; Iles, D.

2009-01-01

The problem of modern civilization is radionuclide contamination of soil, especially in Serbia.There was NATO aggression when were used munitions with depleted uranium, and after that waste material was deposed on the inhabited and mostly fertile soil. Having in mind that not all activities have been taken that would permanently eliminate the consequences of this radionuclide, means that entering depleted uranium in the food chain is a real danger now. Solving this problem requires a holistic approach including the application of safe and effective 'environmental friendly' materials that are economical, locally available and easily applicable. Our investigations have included testing the efficiency of natural and modified with domestic origin aluminosilicate materials, zeolite, phosphate, bentonite and diatomite for in situ remediation of soil. (author) [sr

Physical concepts of materials for novel optoelectronic device applications II: Device physics and applications; Proceedings of the Meeting, Aachen, Federal Republic of Germany, Oct. 28-Nov. 2, 1990

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Razeghi, M.

1991-01-01

The present conference on physical concepts for materials for novel optoelectronic device applications encompasses the device physics and applications including visible, IR, and far-IR sources, optoelectronic quantum devices, the physics and applications of high-Tc superconducting materials, photodetectors and modulators, and the electronic properties of heterostructures. Other issues addressed include semiconductor waveguides for optical switching, wide band-gap semiconductors, Si and Si-Ge alloys, transport phenomena in heterostructures and quantum wells, optoelectronic integrated circuits, nonlinear optical phenomena in bulk and multiple quantum wells, and optoelectronic technologies for microwave applications. Also examined are optical computing, current transport in charge-injection devices, thin films of YBaCuO for electronic applications, indirect stimulated emission at room temperature in the visible range, and a laser with active-element rectangular geometry

Magnetically responsive (nano) composites as perspective materials for environmental technology applications

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Šafařík, Ivo; Šafaříková, Miroslava

-, č. 0 (2010), s. 85-90 R&D Projects: GA MPO(CZ) 2A-1TP1/094; GA MŠk OC09052 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60870520 Keywords : magnetically responsive materials * ( nano )biocomposites * environmental technology Subject RIV: JI - Composite Materials

Advanced Energy Storage Devices: Basic Principles, Analytical Methods, and Rational Materials Design

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jilei; Wang, Jin; Xu, Chaohe; Li, Chunzhong; Lin, Jianyi

2017-01-01

Abstract Tremendous efforts have been dedicated into the development of high‐performance energy storage devices with nanoscale design and hybrid approaches. The boundary between the electrochemical capacitors and batteries becomes less distinctive. The same material may display capacitive or battery‐like behavior depending on the electrode design and the charge storage guest ions. Therefore, the underlying mechanisms and the electrochemical processes occurring upon charge storage may be confusing for researchers who are new to the field as well as some of the chemists and material scientists already in the field. This review provides fundamentals of the similarities and differences between electrochemical capacitors and batteries from kinetic and material point of view. Basic techniques and analysis methods to distinguish the capacitive and battery‐like behavior are discussed. Furthermore, guidelines for material selection, the state‐of‐the‐art materials, and the electrode design rules to advanced electrode are proposed. PMID:29375964

Nanomaterials for environmental studies: Classification, reference material issues, and strategies for physico-chemical characterisation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stone, Vicki; Nowack, Bernd; Baun, Anders; Brink, Nico van den; Kammer, Frank von der; Dusinska, Maria; Handy, Richard; Hankin, Steven; Hasselloev, Martin; Joner, Erik; Fernandes, Teresa F.

2010-01-01

NanoImpactNet is a European Commission Framework Programme 7 (FP7) funded project that provides a forum for the discussion of current opinions on nanomaterials in relation to human and environmental issues. In September 2008, in Zurich, a NanoImpactNet environmental workshop focused on three key questions: 1.What properties should be characterised for nanomaterials used in environmental and ecotoxicology studies? 2.What reference materials should be developed for use in environmental and ecotoxicological studies? 3.Is it possible to group different nanomaterials into categories for consideration in environmental studies? Such questions have been, at least partially, addressed by other projects/workshops especially in relation to human health effects. Such projects provide a useful basis on which this workshop was based, but in this particular case these questions were reformulated in order to focus specifically on environmental studies. The workshop participants, through a series of discussion and reflection sessions, generated the conclusions listed below. The physicochemical characterisation information identified as important for environmental studies included measures of aggregation/agglomeration/dispersability, size, dissolution (solubility), surface area, surface charge, surface chemistry/composition, with the assumption that chemical composition would already be known. There is a need to have test materials for ecotoxicology, and several substances are potentially useful, including TiO 2 nanoparticles, polystyrene beads labelled with fluorescent dyes, and silver nanoparticles. Some of these test materials could then be developed into certified reference materials over time. No clear consensus was reached regarding the classification of nanomaterials into categories to aid environmental studies, except that a chemistry-based classification system was a reasonable starting point, with some modifications. It was suggested, that additional work may be required

Nanomaterials for environmental studies: Classification, reference material issues, and strategies for physico-chemical characterisation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stone, Vicki, E-mail: v.stone@napier.ac.uk [School of Life Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, 10 Colinton Road, Edinburgh EH10 5DT (United Kingdom); Nowack, Bernd [Materials, Products and the Environment Group, Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research, Lerchenfeldstrasse 5 CH - 9014 St. Gallen (Switzerland); Baun, Anders [Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, NanoDTU, Building 113, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark); Brink, Nico van den [Alterra, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen (Netherlands); Kammer, Frank von der [Department of Environmental Geosciences, Vienna University, Althanstrasse 14, Wien 1090 (Austria); Dusinska, Maria [Health Effects Laboratory, Centre for Ecological Economics, Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), Instituttveien, 18, 2027 Kjeller (Norway); Handy, Richard [University of Plymouth, Davy Building, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA (United Kingdom); Hankin, Steven [Institute of Occupational Medicine, Research Avenue North, Riccarton, Edinburgh EH14 4AP (United Kingdom); Hasselloev, Martin [Department of Chemistry, Environmental Nanoparticle Research Group, Goeteborg University, SE-412 96 Goeteborg (Sweden); Joner, Erik [Bioforsk Soil and Environment, Fredrik A Dahls vei 20, N-1432 Aas (Norway); Fernandes, Teresa F. [School of Life Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, 10 Colinton Road, Edinburgh EH10 5DT (United Kingdom)

2010-03-01

NanoImpactNet is a European Commission Framework Programme 7 (FP7) funded project that provides a forum for the discussion of current opinions on nanomaterials in relation to human and environmental issues. In September 2008, in Zurich, a NanoImpactNet environmental workshop focused on three key questions: 1.What properties should be characterised for nanomaterials used in environmental and ecotoxicology studies? 2.What reference materials should be developed for use in environmental and ecotoxicological studies? 3.Is it possible to group different nanomaterials into categories for consideration in environmental studies? Such questions have been, at least partially, addressed by other projects/workshops especially in relation to human health effects. Such projects provide a useful basis on which this workshop was based, but in this particular case these questions were reformulated in order to focus specifically on environmental studies. The workshop participants, through a series of discussion and reflection sessions, generated the conclusions listed below. The physicochemical characterisation information identified as important for environmental studies included measures of aggregation/agglomeration/dispersability, size, dissolution (solubility), surface area, surface charge, surface chemistry/composition, with the assumption that chemical composition would already be known. There is a need to have test materials for ecotoxicology, and several substances are potentially useful, including TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles, polystyrene beads labelled with fluorescent dyes, and silver nanoparticles. Some of these test materials could then be developed into certified reference materials over time. No clear consensus was reached regarding the classification of nanomaterials into categories to aid environmental studies, except that a chemistry-based classification system was a reasonable starting point, with some modifications. It was suggested, that additional work may be

Bifunctional electroluminescent and photovoltaic devices using bathocuproine as electron-transporting material and an electron acceptor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, L.L. [Key Laboratory of the Excited States Process, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130033 (China); Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039 (China); Institute of Functional Material Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024 (China); Li, W.L. [Key Laboratory of the Excited States Process, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130033 (China)]. E-mail: wllioel@yahoo.com.cn; Li, M.T. [Key Laboratory of the Excited States Process, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130033 (China); Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039 (China); Chu, B. [Key Laboratory of the Excited States Process, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130033 (China)

2007-01-15

Electroluminescence (EL) devices, using 4, 4',4''-tris (2-methylphenyl- phenylamino) triphenylamine (m-MTDATA) as hole-transporting material and bathocuproine (BCP) as an electron-transporting material, were fabricated, which emitted bright green light peaked at 520 nm instead of the emission of m-MTDATA or BCP. It was attributed to the exciplex formation and emission at the interface of m-MTDATA and BCP. EL performance was significantly enhanced by a thin mixed layer (5 nm) of m-MTDATA and BCP inserted between the two organic layers of the original m-MTDATA/BCP bilayer device. The trilayer device showed maximum luminance of 1,205 cd/m{sup 2} at 8 V. At a luminance of 100 cd/m{sup 2}, the power efficiency is 1.64 cd/A. Commission International De L'Eclairoge (CIE) color coordinates of the output spectrum of the devices at 8 V are x=0.244 and y=0.464. These devices also showed photovoltaic (PV) properties, which were sensitive to UV light. The PV diode exhibits high open-circuit voltage (V {sub oc}) of 2.10 V under illumination of 365 nm UV light with 2 mW/cm{sup 2}. And the short-circuit current (I {sub sc}) of 92.5x10{sup -6} A/cm{sup 2}, fill factor (FF) of 0.30 and power conversion efficiency ({eta} {sub e}) of 2.91% are respectively achieved. It is considered that strong exciplex emission in an EL device is a good indicator of efficient charge transfer at the organic interface, which is a basic requirement for good PV performance. Both the bilayer and trilayer devices showed EL and PV properties, suggesting their potential use as multifunction devices.

Compression device for feeding a waste material to a reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Paul M.; Faller, Kenneth M.; Bauer, Edward J.

2001-08-21

A compression device for feeding a waste material to a reactor includes a waste material feed assembly having a hopper, a supply tube and a compression tube. Each of the supply and compression tubes includes feed-inlet and feed-outlet ends. A feed-discharge valve assembly is located between the feed-outlet end of the compression tube and the reactor. A feed auger-screw extends axially in the supply tube between the feed-inlet and feed-outlet ends thereof. A compression auger-screw extends axially in the compression tube between the feed-inlet and feed-outlet ends thereof. The compression tube is sloped downwardly towards the reactor to drain fluid from the waste material to the reactor and is oriented at generally right angle to the supply tube such that the feed-outlet end of the supply tube is adjacent to the feed-inlet end of the compression tube. A programmable logic controller is provided for controlling the rotational speed of the feed and compression auger-screws for selectively varying the compression of the waste material and for overcoming jamming conditions within either the supply tube or the compression tube.

The environmental suitability of industrial secondary products used as covering materials in landfills

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laine-Ylijoki, J.; Wahlstroem, M.; Maekelae, E.

2001-01-01

The industrial secondary products and landmasses polluted in a minor way can be used as coverings and sealing materials and also restricted in the ground construction of landfills. By using suitable secondary products, natural materials can be reduced. Substitutes are needed due to the fact that the availability of natural materials is poor in many areas. The presented project is a part of the Streams technology programme financed by Tekes. It includes the development of the measuring methods to study the environmental suitability of industrial secondary products, which will be used as covering materials of landfills. Based on the results, a handbook addressing the environmental suitability procedure will be compiled

The Structural Engineering Strategy for Photonic Material Research and Device Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yalin Lu

2007-01-01

Full Text Available A new structural engineering strategy is introduced for optimizing the fabrication of arrayed nanorod materials, optimizing superlattice structures for realizing a strong coupling, and directly developing nanophotonic devices. The strategy can be regarded as “combinatorial” because of the high efficiency in optimizing structures. In this article, this strategy was applied to grow ZnO nanorod arrays, and to develop a new multifunctional photodetector using such nanorod arrays, which is able to simultaneously detect power, energy, and polarization of an incident ultraviolet radiation. The strategy was also used to study the extraordinary dielectric behavior of relaxor ferroelectric lead titanate doped lead magnesium niobate heterophase superlattices in the terahertz frequencies, in order to investigate their dielectric polariton physics and the potential to be integrated with tunable surface resonant plasmonics devices.

Graphene and Carbon Quantum Dot-Based Materials in Photovoltaic Devices: From Synthesis to Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sofia Paulo

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Graphene and carbon quantum dots have extraordinary optical and electrical features because of their quantum confinement properties. This makes them attractive materials for applications in photovoltaic devices (PV. Their versatility has led to their being used as light harvesting materials or selective contacts, either for holes or electrons, in silicon quantum dot, polymer or dye-sensitized solar cells. In this review, we summarize the most common uses of both types of semiconducting materials and highlight the significant advances made in recent years due to the influence that synthetic materials have on final performance.

Printable organic and inorganic materials for flexible electrochemical devices

Science.gov (United States)

Wojcik, Pawel Jerzy

The growing demand of consumer printed electronics such as smart cards, smart packaging, automotive displays, electronic paper and others led to the increased interest in fully printed electrochemical devices. These components are expected to be developed based on printed thin films derived from cheap and widely accessible compounds. This dissertation presents the long stretch of technical research that was performed to realize printed energy efficient concepts such as electrochromic displays and smart-windows. Within this broad theme, the presented study had a number of specific objectives, however, the overall aim was to develop low-cost material systems (i.e. printable mixtures) at a lab-scale, which would be compatible with large-scale roll-to-roll processing. Presented results concern three main topics: (i) dual-phase inorganic electrochromic material processed at low temperature, (ii) enhancement in electrochromic performance via metaloxide nanoparticles engineering, and (iii) highly conductive and mechanically stable solid-state electrolyte. First two topics are related to crystallographic structure of metal-oxide films derived from sol-gel precursor, which is shown to be critical for electrochemical performance. The proposed method of microstructure control enables development of electrochromic films which outperform their amorphous or nanocrystalline analogues presented in the state-of-the-art due to their superior chemical and physical properties. Developed materials and processes resulted in electrochemical devices exhibiting optical density on the level of 0.82 and switching time shorter than 3 seconds, reaching performance at practical level. Third topic concerns a new concept of solid state electrolyte based on plastic crystal doped with lithium salt, dispersed in a thermosetting polymer resin network. This soft matter printable electrolyte meets requirements for electrochromic applications, exhibiting ionic conductivities of 10. -6 - 10. -4 S cm-1 at

Organic material reducing device in nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minakata, Noriyuki; Takada, Takao

1998-01-01

A total organic carbon (TOC) removing device is disposed between a filtration device and a desalting device or between a condensator and the desalting device disposed to a radioactive liquid waste processing facility or a condensate cleaning system of a BWR type nuclear reactor. Since the removing ratio of the TOC removing device is generally high if impurities are not contained, and ionic ingredients are formed after decomposition, TOC can be decomposed and removed more efficiently and removal in a short period of time can be expected by disposing the TOC device downstream of the filtration device or a condensator to be disposed instead of the filtration device and upstream of the desalting device. Then, further enhanced effect can be expected, if two series of the TOC removing line and the bypass line are disposed between the filtration device or the condensator and the desalting device so as to enable selection of processed liquids. (T.M.)

Investigation of Emerging Materials for Optoelectronic Devices Based on III-Nitrides

KAUST Repository

Muhammed, Mufasila Mumthaz

2018-03-11

III-nitride direct bandgap semiconductors have attracted significant research interest due to their outstanding potential for modern optoelectronic and electronic applications. However, the high cost of III-nitride devices, along with low performance due to dislocation defects, remains an obstacle to their further improvement. In this dissertation, I present a significant enhancement of III-nitride devices based on emerging materials. A promising substrate, (-201)-oriented β-Ga2O3 with unique properties that combine high transparency and conductivity, is used for the first time in the development of high-quality vertical III-nitride devices, which can be cost-effective for large-scale production. In addition, hybridizing GaN with emerging materials, mainly perovskite, is shown to extend the functionality of III-nitride applications. As a part of this investigation, high-performance and high-responsivity fast perovskite/GaN-based UV-visible broadband photodetectors were developed. State-of-the-art GaN epilayers grown on (-201)-oriented β-Ga2O3 using AlN and GaN buffer layers are discussed, and their high optical quality without using growth enhancement techniques is demonstrated. In particular, a low lattice mismatch (⁓4.7%) between GaN and the substrate results in a low density of dislocations ~4.8Å~107 cm−2. To demonstrates the effect of (-201)-oriented β-Ga2O3 substrate on the quality of III-nitride alloys, high-quality ternary alloy InxGa1−xN film is studied, followed by the growth of high quality InxGa1−xN/GaN single and multiple quantum wells (QWs). The optical characterization and carrier dynamics by photoluminescence (PL) and time-resolved PL measurements were subsequently performed. Lastly, to investigate the performance of a vertical emitting device based on InGaN/GaN multiple QWs grown on (-201)-oriented β-Ga2O3 substrate, high-efficiency vertical-injection emitting device is developed and extensively investigated. The conductive nature of

Environmental, economic and social analysis of materials for doors and windows in Sri Lanka

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abeysundra, U.G. Yasantha; Babel, Sandhya; Sharp, Alice [Environmental Technology Program, Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology (SIIT), Thammasat University, P.O. Box 22, Pathumthani 12121 (Thailand); Gheewala, Shabbir [The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment, King Mongkut' s University of Technology, School of Energy and Materials Building, Bangkok 10140 (Thailand)

2007-05-15

This paper compares the environmental, economic and social impacts of two types of doors and windows (elements), namely timber and aluminum taking into consideration the life cycle perspective. These elements are widely used for the buildings in Sri Lanka. Thus, it will help in the decision-making process when selecting materials for these elements. Major materials used for these elements are timber, brass, glass, paint, aluminum, rubber, steel and PVC boards. Environmental burdens associated with these materials are analyzed in terms of embodied energy, and environmental impacts that are relevant to Sri Lanka, such as global warming (GWP), acidification (ACP) and nutrient enrichment (NEP). Economic analysis is done using market prices of materials and affordability for those materials. Social concerns such as thermal comfort, good interior (aesthetics), ability to construct fast, and durability are analyzed based on the data collected through the questionnaires and also, interviews with the stakeholders of the buildings such as engineers, architects, building contractors and building users. It was found that timber elements are superior to aluminum elements in environmental scores (GWP, ACP and NEP). On economic score, also, timber elements are better. But on social score, aluminum elements are better than timber. It was also found that the higher the recycling percentage of aluminum, the higher the environmental favorability of the aluminum. (author)

Device for Detection of Explosives, Nuclear and Other Hazardous Materials in Luggage and Cargo Containers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuznetsov, Andrey; Evsenin, Alexey; Osetrov, Oleg; Vakhtin, Dmitry; Gorshkov, Igor

2009-01-01

Device for detection of explosives, radioactive and heavily shielded nuclear materials in luggage and cargo containers based on Nanosecond Neutron Analysis/Associated Particles Technique (NNA/APT) is under construction. Detection module consists of a small neutron generator with built-in position-sensitive detector of associated alpha-particles, and several scintillator-based gamma-ray detectors. Explosives and other hazardous chemicals are detected by analyzing secondary high-energy gamma-rays from reactions of fast neutrons with materials inside a container. The same gamma-ray detectors are used to detect unshielded radioactive and nuclear materials. An array of several neutron detectors is used to detect fast neutrons from induced fission of nuclear materials. Coincidence and timing analysis allows one to discriminate between fission neutrons and scattered probing neutrons. Mathematical modeling by MCNP5 and MCNP-PoliMi codes was used to estimate the sensitivity of the device and its optimal configuration. Comparison of the features of three gamma detector types--based on BGO, NaI and LaBr 3 crystals is presented.

Device for Detection of Explosives, Nuclear and Other Hazardous Materials in Luggage and Cargo Containers

Science.gov (United States)

Kuznetsov, Andrey; Evsenin, Alexey; Gorshkov, Igor; Osetrov, Oleg; Vakhtin, Dmitry

2009-12-01

Device for detection of explosives, radioactive and heavily shielded nuclear materials in luggage and cargo containers based on Nanosecond Neutron Analysis/Associated Particles Technique (NNA/APT) is under construction. Detection module consists of a small neutron generator with built-in position-sensitive detector of associated alpha-particles, and several scintillator-based gamma-ray detectors. Explosives and other hazardous chemicals are detected by analyzing secondary high-energy gamma-rays from reactions of fast neutrons with materials inside a container. The same gamma-ray detectors are used to detect unshielded radioactive and nuclear materials. An array of several neutron detectors is used to detect fast neutrons from induced fission of nuclear materials. Coincidence and timing analysis allows one to discriminate between fission neutrons and scattered probing neutrons. Mathematical modeling by MCNP5 and MCNP-PoliMi codes was used to estimate the sensitivity of the device and its optimal configuration. Comparison of the features of three gamma detector types—based on BGO, NaI and LaBr3 crystals is presented.

Phosphorescent Organic Light-Emitting Devices: Working Principle and Iridium Based Emitter Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emil J. W. List

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Even though organic light-emitting device (OLED technology has evolved to a point where it is now an important competitor to liquid crystal displays (LCDs, further scientific efforts devoted to the design, engineering and fabrication of OLEDs are required for complete commercialization of this technology. Along these lines, the present work reviews the essentials of OLED technology putting special focus on the general working principle of single and multilayer OLEDs, fluorescent and phosphorescent emitter materials as well as transfer processes in host materials doped with phosphorescent dyes. Moreover, as a prototypical example of phosphorescent emitter materials, a brief discussion of homo- and heteroleptic iridium(III complexes is enclosed concentrating on their synthesis, photophysical properties and approaches for realizing iridium based phosphorescent polymers.

Reusing Recycling Material as Teaching Strategy to Strengthen Environmental Values

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yudit Zaida del Carmen Alarcón de Palma

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The study was centered interest implement recycling reuse the material as a teaching strategy to strengthen environmental students “Adolfo Moreno” National Basic School Barinitas parish, municipality Bolivar, Barinas state values. School Year 2014 - 2015. The study was based on the paradigm of qualitative research and research in action type. From this point of view, the study focuses on participatory action this mode, it is limited in so-called field layouts. The study its characteristics was fulfilled in the following phases: diagnosis, planning, implementation, evaluation and systematization. Finally, it can be noted that the implementation of teaching strategies reuse recycle material for strengthening environmental students "Adolfo Moreno" National Basic School values; They will be incorporating parents and guardians as well as various educational actors to implement the activities involved in the proposal which seeks to change attitudes to improve through practical actions management standards and conservation practices to achieve an environmental change in institution through technical, theoretical and practical knowledge to strengthen the benefit of recyclables properly handle procedures.

Environmental Survey preliminary report, Feed Materials Production Center, Fernald, Ohio

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1987-03-01

This report presents the preliminary findings from the first phase of the environmental survey of the United States Department of Energy (DOE) Feed Materials Production Center (FMPC), conducted June 16 through 27, 1986. The survey is being conducted by an interdisciplinary team of environmental specialists, led and managed by the Office of Environment, Safety and Health's Office of Environmental Audit. Individual team components are being supplied by a private contractor. The objective of the survey is to identify environmental problems and areas of environmental risk associated with the FMPC. The survey covers all environmental media and all areas of environmental regulation. It is being performed in accordance with the DOE Environmental Survey Manual. This phase of the survey involves the review of existing site environmental data, observations of the operations carried on at FMPC, and interviews with site personnel. The survey team developed a Sampling and Analysis Plan to assist in further assessing certain of the environmental problems identified during its onsite activities. The Sampling and Analysis Plan will be executed by a DOE national laboratory or a support contractor. When completed, the results will be incorporated into the FMPC Environmental Survey Interim Report. The Interim Report will reflect the final determinations of the FMPC survey. 41 refs., 20 figs., 25 tabs.

Trends in the Use of Supplementary Materials in Environmental Science Journals

Science.gov (United States)

Kenyon, Jeremy; Sprague, Nancy R.

2014-01-01

Our research examined the use of supplementary materials in six environmental science disciplines: atmospheric sciences, biology, fisheries, forestry, geology, and plant sciences. Ten key journals were selected from each of these disciplines and the number of supplementary materials, such as data files or videos, in each issue was noted over a…

Artificial Synaptic Devices Based on Natural Chicken Albumen Coupled Electric-Double-Layer Transistors

OpenAIRE

Wu, Guodong; Feng, Ping; Wan, Xiang; Zhu, Liqiang; Shi, Yi; Wan, Qing

2016-01-01

Recent progress in using biomaterials to fabricate functional electronics has got growing attention for the new generation of environmentally friendly and biocompatible electronic devices. As a kind of biological material with rich source, proteins are essential natural component of all organisms. At the same time, artificial synaptic devices are of great significance for neuromorphic systems because they can emulate the signal process and memory behaviors of biological synapses. In this repo...

Materials for Photovoltaic Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Dimova-Malinovska, Doriana

Energy priorities are changing nowadays. As mankind will probably have to face energy crisis, factors such as energy independence, energy security, stability of energy supply and the variety of energy sources become much more vital these days. Photovoltaics is exceptional compared to other renewable sources of energy due to its wide opportunity to gain energetic and environmental benefits. An overview of the present state of knowledge of the materials aspects of photovoltaic cells will be given, and new semiconductor materials, including nanomaterials, with potential for application in photovoltaic devices will be identified.

Assessing environmental effects on organic materials in cultural heritage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boyatzis, Stamatis; Ioakimoglou, Eleni; Facorellis, Yorgos

2015-01-01

Under the auspices of INVENVORG (Thales Research Funding Program – NRSF), and within a holistic approach for assessing environmental effects on organic materials in cultural heritage (CH) artefacts, the effect of artificial ageing on elemental and molecular damage and their effects...... on the structural integrity of bone was investigated. Metapodial roe deer bone samples were artificially aged under humidity and atmospheres of sulfur and nitrogen oxides in room temperature. Elemental micro-analysis of bone material through SEM-EDX and molecular investigations through FTIR and Raman spectroscopy...

Analysis of Embodied Environmental Impacts of Korean Apartment Buildings Considering Major Building Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seungjun Roh

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Because the reduction in environmental impacts (EIs of buildings using life-cycle assessment (LCA has been emphasized as a practical strategy for the sustainable development of the construction industry, studies are required to analyze not only the operational environmental impacts (OEIs of buildings, but also the embodied environmental impacts (EEIs of building materials. This study aims to analyze the EEIs of Korean apartment buildings on the basis of major building materials as part of research with the goal of reducing the EIs of buildings. For this purpose, six types of building materials (ready-mixed concrete, reinforcement steel, concrete bricks, glass, insulation, and gypsum for apartment buildings were selected as major building materials, and their inputs per unit area according to the structure types and plans of apartment buildings were derived by analyzing the design and bills of materials of 443 apartment buildings constructed in South Korea. In addition, a life-cycle scenario including the production, construction, maintenance, and end-of-life stage was constructed for each major building material. The EEIs of the apartment buildings were quantitatively assessed by applying the life-cycle inventory database (LCI DB and the Korean life-cycle impact assessment (LCIA method based on damage-oriented modeling (KOLID, and the results were analyzed.

Proceedings of the second national seminar on new materials research and nanotechnology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joseph John, N.

2013-01-01

The contents of the presentations cover new materials, advanced materials, biomaterials, carbon nanomaterials, computational material science, diamond and diamond related materials, electronic materials, ferroelectric materials, fiber optics, fluorescent materials, functional materials, inorganic materials, lasers materials processing, laser and plasma technology, luminescence materials, magnetic and superconducting materials, materials for defence applications, mesoporous materials, materials for solar energy and energy storing devices, NLO materials, organic materials/electronics, photonic materials, piezoelectric materials, semiconductor materials, smart materials, nanomaterials and composites, nanoelectronics and spintronics, environment and nanotechnology, nano environmental devices, nano fluids, nanobiotechnology, nanomedicine, nanomagnetism, nanopharmacy, sensors, nano sensors/actuatoes, nanotechnology for hill area development, simulation and modeling of nanodevices, crystals, crystal growth, crystal growth methods, characterization techniques, crystal defects, liquid crystals, optoelectronic crystals, polymers, polymer composites, nano polymers, spectroscopy, thin films, deposition, characterization, applications and ultrasonics. Papers relevant to INIS are indexed separately. (author)

Tungsten as First Wall Material in Fusion Devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaufmann, M.

2006-01-01

In the PLT tokamak with a tungsten limiter strong cooling of the central plasma was observed. Since then mostly graphite has been used as limiter or target plate material. Only a few tokamaks (limiter: FTU, TEXTOR; divertor: Alcator C-Mod, ASDEX Upgrade) gained experience with high-Z-materials. With the observed strong co- deposition of tritium together with carbon in JET and as a result of design studies of fusion reactors, it became clear that in the long run tungsten is the favourite for the first-wall material. Tungsten as a plasma facing material requires intensive research in all areas, i.e. in plasma physics, plasma wall-interaction and material development. Tungsten as an impurity in the confined plasma reveals considerable differences to carbon. Strong radiation at high temperatures, in connection with mostly a pronounced inward drift forms a particular challenge. Turbulent transport plays a beneficial role in this regard. The inward drift is an additional problem in the pedestal region of H-mode plasmas in ITER-like configurations. The erosion by low energy hydrogen atoms is in contrast to carbon small. However, erosion by fast particles from heating measures and impurity ions, accelerated in the sheath potential, play an important role in the case of tungsten. Radiation by carbon in the plasma boundary reduces the load to the target plates. Neon or Argon as substitutes will increase the erosion of tungsten. So far experiments have demonstrated that in most scenarios the tungsten content in the central plasma can be kept sufficiently small. The material development is directed to the specific needs of existing or future devices. In ASDEX Upgrade, which will soon be a divertor experiment with a complete tungsten first-wall, graphite tiles are coated with tungsten layers. In ITER, the solid tungsten armour of the target plates has to be castellated because of its difference in thermal expansion compared to the cooling structure. In a reactor the technical

NATO Advanced Study Institute on Scanning Probe Microscopy : Characterization, Nanofabrication and Device Application of Functional Materials

CERN Document Server

Vilarinho, Paula Maria; Kingon, Angus; Scanning Probe Microscopy : Characterization, Nanofabrication and Device Application of Functional Materials

2005-01-01

As the characteristic dimensions of electronic devices continue to shrink, the ability to characterize their electronic properties at the nanometer scale has come to be of outstanding importance. In this sense, Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) is becoming an indispensable tool, playing a key role in nanoscience and nanotechnology. SPM is opening new opportunities to measure semiconductor electronic properties with unprecedented spatial resolution. SPM is being successfully applied for nanoscale characterization of ferroelectric thin films. In the area of functional molecular materials it is being used as a probe to contact molecular structures in order to characterize their electrical properties, as a manipulator to assemble nanoparticles and nanotubes into simple devices, and as a tool to pattern molecular nanostructures. This book provides in-depth information on new and emerging applications of SPM to the field of materials science, namely in the areas of characterisation, device application and nanofabrica...

Optimization of Materials and Interfaces for Spintronic Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Billy

In recent years' Spintronic devices have drawn a significant amount of research attention. This interest comes in large part from their ability to enable interesting and new technology such as Spin Torque Transfer Random Access Memory or improve existing technology such as High Signal Read Heads for Hard Disk Drives. For the former we worked on optimizing and improving magnetic tunnel junctions by optimizing their thermal stability by using Ta insertion layers in the free layer. We further tried to simplify the design of the MTJ stack by attempting to replace the Co/Pd multilayer with CoPd alloy. In this dissertation, we detail its development and examine the switching characteristics. Lastly we look at a highly spin polarized material, Fe2MnGe, for optimizing Hard Drive Disk read heads.

Miniaturized supercapacitors: key materials and structures towards autonomous and sustainable devices and systems

Science.gov (United States)

Soavi, Francesca; Bettini, Luca Giacomo; Piseri, Paolo; Milani, Paolo; Santoro, Carlo; Atanassov, Plamen; Arbizzani, Catia

2016-09-01

Supercapacitors (SCs) are playing a key role for the development of self-powered and self-sustaining integrated systems for different fields ranging from remote sensing, robotics and medical devices. SC miniaturization and integration into more complex systems that include energy harvesters and functional devices are valuable strategies that address system autonomy. Here, we discuss about novel SC fabrication and integration approaches. Specifically, we report about the results of interdisciplinary activities on the development of thin, flexible SCs by an additive technology based on Supersonic Cluster Beam Deposition (SCBD) to be implemented into supercapacitive electrolyte gated transistors and supercapacitive microbial fuel cells. Such systems integrate at materials level the specific functions of devices, like electric switch or energy harvesting with the reversible energy storage capability. These studies might open new frontiers for the development and application of new multifunction-energy storage elements.

Two spruce shoot candidate reference materials from the German environmental specimen bank

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Backhaus, F.; Bagschik, U.; Burow, M.; Froning, M.; Mohl, C.; Ostapczuk, P.; Rossbach, M.; Schladot, J.D.; Stoeppler, M.; Waidmann, E.; Byrne, A.R.; Zeisler, R.

1994-01-01

Two new materials are introduced that might serve as useful aids for the harmonisation of analytical results. Spruce shoots, cryogenically homogenized and characterized for 50 elements from two sampling sites of the German Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB) are presented as possible third generation reference materials that might also act as calibrating materials in speciation analysis. (author)

Functions, Use and Effects of Embedded Support Devices in Printed Distance Learning Materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Martens, Rob; And Others

1996-01-01

To support distance learning, printed materials for the course are enriched with embedded support devices (ESD) such as schemes, illustrations, examples, questions, or margin texts. Results of 3 studies involving 900 Dutch university students indicated that students used and appreciated ESD, and that they led to better study results. (SLD)

Plasma facing device of thermonuclear device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sumita, Hideo; Ioki, Kimihiro.

1993-01-01

The present invention improves integrity of thermal structures of a plasma facing device. That is, in the plasma facing device, an armour block portion from a metal cooling pipe to a carbon material comprises a mixed material of the metal as the constituent material of the cooling pipe and ceramics. Then, the mixing ratio of the composition is changed continuously or stepwise to suppress peakings of remaining stresses upon production and thermal stresses upon exertion of thermal loads. Accordingly, thermal integrity of the structural materials can further be improved. In this case, a satisfactory characteristic can be obtained also by using ceramics instead of carbon for the mixed material, and the characteristic such as heat expansion coefficient is similar to that of the armour tile. (I.S.)

Biological and environmental reference materials for trace elements, nuclides and organic microcontaminants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cortes Toro, E.; Parr, R.M.; Clements, S.A.

1990-01-01

This report has been produced from a database on analytical reference materials of biological and environmental origin, which is maintained at the International Atomic Energy Agency. It is an updated version of an earlier report, published in 1985, which focussed mainly on reference materials for trace elements. In the present version of the report, reference materials for trace elements still constitute the major part of the data; however, information is also now included on a number of other selected analytes of relevance to IAEA programmes, i.e. radionuclides, stable isotopes and organic microcontaminants. The database presently contains 2,694 analyte values for 117 analytes in 116 biological and 77 environmental (non-biological) reference materials produced by 20 different suppliers. Additional information on the cost of the material, the unit size supplied, (weight or volume), and the minimum weight of material recommended for analysis is also provided (if available to the authors). It is expected that this report will help analysts to select the reference material that matches as closely as possible, with respect to matrix type and concentrations of the analytes of interest, the ''real'' samples that are to be analysed. Refs, 12 tabs

Minimizing material damage using low temperature irradiation

Science.gov (United States)

Craven, E.; Hasanain, F.; Winters, M.

2012-08-01

Scientific advancements in healthcare driven both by technological breakthroughs and an aging and increasingly obese population have lead to a changing medical device market. Complex products and devices are being developed to meet the demands of leading edge medical procedures. Specialized materials in these medical devices, including pharmaceuticals and biologics as well as exotic polymers present a challenge for radiation sterilization as many of these components cannot withstand conventional irradiation methods. The irradiation of materials at dry ice temperatures has emerged as a technique that can be used to decrease the radiation sensitivity of materials. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of low temperature irradiation on a variety of polymer materials, and over a range of temperatures from 0 °C down to -80 °C. The effectiveness of microbial kill is also investigated under each of these conditions. The results of the study show that the effect of low temperature irradiation is material dependent and can alter the balance between crosslinking and chain scission of the polymer. Low temperatures also increase the dose required to achieve an equivalent microbiological kill, therefore dose setting exercises must be performed under the environmental conditions of use.

Forced intrusion of water and aqueous solutions in microporous materials: from fundamental thermodynamics to energy storage devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Fraux, Guillaume; Coudert, François-Xavier; Boutin, Anne; Fuchs, Alain H

2017-12-07

We review the high pressure forced intrusion studies of water in hydrophobic microporous materials such as zeolites and MOFs, a field of research that has emerged some 15 years ago and is now very active. Many of these studies are aimed at investigating the possibility of using these systems as energy storage devices. A series of all-silica zeolites (zeosil) frameworks were found suitable for reversible energy storage because of their stability with respect to hydrolysis after several water intrusion-extrusion cycles. Several microporous hydrophobic zeolite imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) also happen to be quite stable and resistant towards hydrolysis and thus seem very promising for energy storage applications. Replacing pure water by electrolyte aqueous solutions enables to increase the stored energy by a factor close to 3, on account of the high pressure shift of the intrusion transition. In addition to the fact that aqueous solutions and microporous silica materials are environmental friendly, these systems are thus becoming increasingly interesting for the design of new energy storage devices. This review also addresses the theoretical approaches and molecular simulations performed in order to better understand the experimental behavior of nano-confined water. Molecular simulation studies showed that water condensation takes place through a genuine first-order phase transition, provided that the interconnected pores structure is 3-dimensional and sufficiently open. In an extreme confinement situations such as in ferrierite zeosil, condensation seem to take place through a continuous supercritical crossing from a diluted to a dense fluid, on account of the fact that the first-order transition line is shifted to higher pressure, and the confined water critical point is correlatively shifted to lower temperature. These molecular simulation studies suggest that the most important features of the intrusion/extrusion process can be understood in terms of equilibrium

Influence of Nitrogen Doping on Device Operation for TiO2-Based Solid-State Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Photo-Physics from Materials to Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin Wang

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (ssDSSC constitute a major approach to photovoltaic energy conversion with efficiencies over 8% reported thanks to the rational design of efficient porous metal oxide electrodes, organic chromophores, and hole transporters. Among the various strategies used to push the performance ahead, doping of the nanocrystalline titanium dioxide (TiO2 electrode is regularly proposed to extend the photo-activity of the materials into the visible range. However, although various beneficial effects for device performance have been observed in the literature, they remain strongly dependent on the method used for the production of the metal oxide, and the influence of nitrogen atoms on charge kinetics remains unclear. To shed light on this open question, we synthesized a set of N-doped TiO2 nanopowders with various nitrogen contents, and exploited them for the fabrication of ssDSSC. Particularly, we carefully analyzed the localization of the dopants using X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS and monitored their influence on the photo-induced charge kinetics probed both at the material and device levels. We demonstrate a strong correlation between the kinetics of photo-induced charge carriers probed both at the level of the nanopowders and at the level of working solar cells, illustrating a direct transposition of the photo-physic properties from materials to devices.

ICP-MS applications for the analysis of geological materials and environmental samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bendl, J.

1997-01-01

This work deals with applications of inductively coupled plasma - mass spectrometry applications for the analysis of geological materials and environmental samples. There are instrumentation, calibration, alternatives of sample introduction, interferences, trace elements analysis, rare earth elements and uranium and thorium, precious metals, isotopic analysis and environmental analysis discussed

Memory Device and Nanofabrication Techniques Using Electrically Configurable Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Ascenso Simões, Bruno

Development of novel nanofabrication techniques and single-walled carbon nanotubes field configurable transistor (SWCNT-FCT) memory devices using electrically configurable materials is presented. A novel lithographic technique, electric lithography (EL), that uses electric field for pattern generation has been demonstrated. It can be used for patterning of biomolecules on a polymer surface and patterning of resist as well. Using electrical resist composed of a polymer having Boc protected amine group and iodonium salt, Boc group on the surface of polymer was modified to free amine by applying an electric field. On the modified surface of the polymer, Streptavidin pattern was fabricated with a sub-micron scale. Also patterning of polymer resin composed of epoxy monomers and diaryl iodonium salt by EL has been demonstrated. Reaction mechanism for electric resist configuration is believed to be induced by an acid generation via electrochemical reduction in the resist. We show a novel field configurable transistor (FCT) based on single-walled carbon nanotube network field-effect transistors in which poly (ethylene glycol) crosslinked by electron-beam is incorporated into the gate. The device conductance can be configured to arbitrary states reversibly and repeatedly by applying external gate voltages. Raman spectroscopy revealed that evolution of the ratio of D- to G-band intensity in the SWCNTs of the FCT progressively increases as the device is configured to lower conductance states. Electron transport studies at low temperatures showed a strong temperature dependence of the resistance. Band gap widening of CNTs up to ˜ 4 eV has been observed by examining the differential conductance-gate voltage-bias voltage relationship. The switching mechanism of the FCT is attributed a structural transformation of CNTs via reversible hydrogenation and dehydrogenations induced by gate voltages, which tunes the CNT bandgap continuously and reversibly to non-volatile analog values

The determination of technetium-99 in environmental materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harvey, B.R.; Ibbett, R.D.; Williams, K.J.; Lovett, M.B.

1991-01-01

The Aquatic Environment Protection Division of the Directorate of Fisheries Research (DFR), Lowestoft carries out analyses, on a routine basis, for a considerable range of radionuclides in a wide variety of environmental materials. Technetium-99 is included in the list of radionuclides for which analysis is regularly carried out as part of the DFR monitoring programme. Its determination is inevitably somewhat labour-intensive and over the years the procedures used have changed to accommodate increasing demands for information on the environmental behaviour of the nuclide. Reliable analytical procedures for the radiochemical separation and assaying of 99 Tc are thus important. Radiometric and gravimetric analyses described in this publication have been developed over a substantial period of time and have given excellent results in international intercomparison exercises. (author)

Advances in superconductivity: new materials, critical currents and devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pinto, R.; Malik, S.K.; Grover, A.K.; Ayyub, P.

1997-01-01

The discovery of superconductivity in the cuprates produced an explosive growth in research, driven by the quest for higher and higher superconducting transition temperatures. In the initial stages, the excitement was tremendous both in the physical sciences and in engineering. However, the complexity of the new materials on the one hand, and the absence of a viable theory on the other, have made further developments much more difficult. It is to be expected therefore, that the early excitement and the subsequent rapid advances have paved the way for more systematic and detailed studies of all aspects of superconductivity. The International Symposium was intended to provide a forum to review the progress in selected areas in superconductivity. The emphasis was on experimental and theoretical studies of the new superconductors, advances in the theoretical understanding, progress in studies of flux pinning and vortex dynamics which affect critical currents, and developments of novel material synthesis methods. Recent developments in the twin areas of thin films and devices were extensively discussed during the symposium. Papers relevant to INIS are indexed separately

The reliability of mercury analysis in environmental materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heinonen, J.; Suschny, O.

1973-01-01

Mercury occurs in nature in its native elemental as well as in different mineral forms. It has been mined for centuries and is used in many branches of industry, agriculture and medicine. Mercury is very toxic to man and reports of poisoning due to the presence of the element in fish and shellfish caught at Minamata and Niigata, Japan have led not only to local investigations but to multi-national research into the sources and the levels of mercury in the environment. The concentrations at which the element has to be determined in these studies are extremely small, usually of the order of a few parts in 10 9 parts of environmental material. Few analytical techniques provide the required sensitivity for analysis at such low concentrations, and only two are normally used for mercury: neutron activation analysis and atomic absorption photometry. They are also the most convenient end points of various separation schemes for different organic mercury compounds. Mercury analysis at the ppb-level is beset with many problems: volatility of the metal and its compounds, impurity of reagents, interference by other elements and many other analytical difficulties may influence the results. To be able to draw valid conclusions from the analyses it is necessary to know the reliability attached to the values obtained. To assist laboratories in the evaluation of their analytical performance, the International Atomic Energy Agency through its own laboratory at Seibersdorf already organised in 1967 an intercomparison of mercury analysis in flour. Based on the results obtained at that time, a whole series of intercomparisons of mercury determinations in nine different environmental materials was undertaken in 1971. The materials investigated included corn and wheat flour, spray-dried animal blood serum, fish solubles, milk powder, saw dust, cellulose, lacquer paint and coloric material

The reliability of mercury analysis in environmental materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heinonen, J.; Suschny, O

1973-01-01

Mercury occurs in nature in its native elemental as well as in different mineral forms. It has been mined for centuries and is used in many branches of industry, agriculture and medicine. Mercury is very toxic to man and reports of poisoning due to the presence of the element in fish and shellfish caught at Minamata and Niigata, Japan have led not only to local investigations but to multi-national research into the sources and the levels of mercury in the environment. The concentrations at which the element has to be determined in these studies are extremely small, usually of the order of a few parts in 10{sup 9} parts of environmental material. Few analytical techniques provide the required sensitivity for analysis at such low concentrations, and only two are normally used for mercury: neutron activation analysis and atomic absorption photometry. They are also the most convenient end points of various separation schemes for different organic mercury compounds. Mercury analysis at the ppb-level is beset with many problems: volatility of the metal and its compounds, impurity of reagents, interference by other elements and many other analytical difficulties may influence the results. To be able to draw valid conclusions from the analyses it is necessary to know the reliability attached to the values obtained. To assist laboratories in the evaluation of their analytical performance, the International Atomic Energy Agency through its own laboratory at Seibersdorf already organised in 1967 an intercomparison of mercury analysis in flour. Based on the results obtained at that time, a whole series of intercomparisons of mercury determinations in nine different environmental materials was undertaken in 1971. The materials investigated included corn and wheat flour, spray-dried animal blood serum, fish solubles, milk powder, saw dust, cellulose, lacquer paint and coloric material.

Insulation Cork Boards—Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of an Organic Construction Material

Science.gov (United States)

Silvestre, José D.; Pargana, Nuno; de Brito, Jorge; Pinheiro, Manuel D.; Durão, Vera

2016-01-01

Envelope insulation is a relevant technical solution to cut energy consumption and reduce environmental impacts in buildings. Insulation Cork Boards (ICB) are a natural thermal insulation material whose production promotes the recycling of agricultural waste. The aim of this paper is to determine and evaluate the environmental impacts of the production, use, and end-of-life processing of ICB. A “cradle-to-cradle” environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed according to International LCA standards and the European standards on the environmental evaluation of buildings. These results were based on site-specific data and resulted from a consistent methodology, fully described in the paper for each life cycle stage: Cork oak tree growth, ICB production, and end-of-life processing-modeling of the carbon flows (i.e., uptakes and emissions), including sensitivity analysis of this procedure; at the production stage—the modeling of energy processes and a sensitivity analysis of the allocation procedures; during building operation—the expected service life of ICB; an analysis concerning the need to consider the thermal diffusivity of ICB in the comparison of the performance of insulation materials. This paper presents the up-to-date “cradle-to-cradle” environmental performance of ICB for the environmental categories and life-cycle stages defined in European standards. PMID:28773516

Insulation Cork Boards-Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of an Organic Construction Material.

Science.gov (United States)

Silvestre, José D; Pargana, Nuno; de Brito, Jorge; Pinheiro, Manuel D; Durão, Vera

2016-05-20

Envelope insulation is a relevant technical solution to cut energy consumption and reduce environmental impacts in buildings. Insulation Cork Boards (ICB) are a natural thermal insulation material whose production promotes the recycling of agricultural waste. The aim of this paper is to determine and evaluate the environmental impacts of the production, use, and end-of-life processing of ICB. A "cradle-to-cradle" environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed according to International LCA standards and the European standards on the environmental evaluation of buildings. These results were based on site-specific data and resulted from a consistent methodology, fully described in the paper for each life cycle stage: Cork oak tree growth, ICB production, and end-of-life processing-modeling of the carbon flows ( i.e. , uptakes and emissions), including sensitivity analysis of this procedure; at the production stage-the modeling of energy processes and a sensitivity analysis of the allocation procedures; during building operation-the expected service life of ICB; an analysis concerning the need to consider the thermal diffusivity of ICB in the comparison of the performance of insulation materials. This paper presents the up-to-date "cradle-to-cradle" environmental performance of ICB for the environmental categories and life-cycle stages defined in European standards.

Insulation Cork Boards—Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of an Organic Construction Material

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José D. Silvestre

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Envelope insulation is a relevant technical solution to cut energy consumption and reduce environmental impacts in buildings. Insulation Cork Boards (ICB are a natural thermal insulation material whose production promotes the recycling of agricultural waste. The aim of this paper is to determine and evaluate the environmental impacts of the production, use, and end-of-life processing of ICB. A “cradle-to-cradle” environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA was performed according to International LCA standards and the European standards on the environmental evaluation of buildings. These results were based on site-specific data and resulted from a consistent methodology, fully described in the paper for each life cycle stage: Cork oak tree growth, ICB production, and end-of-life processing-modeling of the carbon flows (i.e., uptakes and emissions, including sensitivity analysis of this procedure; at the production stage—the modeling of energy processes and a sensitivity analysis of the allocation procedures; during building operation—the expected service life of ICB; an analysis concerning the need to consider the thermal diffusivity of ICB in the comparison of the performance of insulation materials. This paper presents the up-to-date “cradle-to-cradle” environmental performance of ICB for the environmental categories and life-cycle stages defined in European standards.

Lanthanum Gadolinium Oxide: A New Electronic Device Material for CMOS Logic and Memory Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shojan P. Pavunny

2014-03-01

Full Text Available A comprehensive study on the ternary dielectric, LaGdO3, synthesized and qualified in our laboratory as a novel high-k dielectric material for logic and memory device applications in terms of its excellent features that include a high linear dielectric constant (k of ~22 and a large energy bandgap of ~5.6 eV, resulting in sufficient electron and hole band offsets of ~2.57 eV and ~1.91 eV, respectively, on silicon, good thermal stability with Si and lower gate leakage current densities within the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS specified limits at the sub-nanometer electrical functional thickness level, which are desirable for advanced complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS, bipolar (Bi and BiCMOS chips applications, is presented in this review article.

Li4 Ti5 O12 Anode: Structural Design from Material to Electrode and the Construction of Energy Storage Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zhijie; Li, Honsen; Wu, Langyuan; Lu, Xiaoxia; Zhang, Xiaogang

2018-03-01

Spinel Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 , known as a zero-strain material, is capable to be a competent anode material for promising applications in state-of-art electrochemical energy storage devices (EESDs). Compared with commercial graphite, spinel Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 offers a high operating potential of ∼1.55 V vs Li/Li + , negligible volume expansion during Li + intercalation process and excellent thermal stability, leading to high safety and favorable cyclability. Despite the merits of Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 been presented, there still remains the issue of Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 suffering from poor electronic conductivity, manifesting disadvantageous rate performance. Typically, a material modification process of Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 will be proposed to overcome such an issue. However, the previous reports have made few investigations and achievements to analyze the subsequent processes after a material modification process. In this review, we attempt to put considerable interest in complete device design and assembly process with its material structure design (or modification process), electrode structure design and device construction design. Moreover, we have systematically concluded a series of representative design schemes, which can be divided into three major categories involving: (1) nanostructures design, conductive material coating process and doping process on material level; (2) self-supporting or flexible electrode structure design on electrode level; (3) rational assembling of lithium ion full cell or lithium ion capacitor on device level. We believe that these rational designs can give an advanced performance for Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 -based energy storage device and deliver a deep inspiration. © 2018 The Chemical Society of Japan & Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

New Development of Membrane Base Optoelectronic Devices

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Leon Hamui

2017-12-01

Full Text Available It is known that one factor that affects the operation of optoelectronic devices is the effective protection of the semiconductor materials against environmental conditions. The permeation of atmospheric oxygen and water molecules into the device structure induces degradation of the electrodes and the semiconductor. As a result, in this communication we report the fabrication of semiconductor membranes consisting of Magnesium Phthalocyanine-allene (MgPc-allene particles dispersed in Nylon 11 films. These membranes combine polymer properties with organic semiconductors properties and also provide a barrier effect for the atmospheric gas molecules. They were prepared by high vacuum evaporation and followed by thermal relaxation technique. For the characterization of the obtained membranes, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM, and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS were used to determine the chemical and microstructural properties. UV-ViS, null ellipsometry, and visible photoluminescence (PL at room temperature were used to characterize the optoelectronic properties. These results were compared with those obtained for the organic semiconductors: MgPc-allene thin films. Additionally, semiconductor membranes devices have been prepared, and a study of the device electronic transport properties was conducted by measuring electrical current density-voltage (J-V characteristics by four point probes with different wavelengths. The resistance properties against different environmental molecules are enhanced, maintaining their semiconductor functionality that makes them candidates for optoelectronic applications.

Tomographic Environmental Sections for Environmental Mitigation Devices in Historical Centers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberta Cocci Grifoni

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Urban heat waves and the overall growing trend in the annual global temperature underline the importance of urban/architectural resilience and the need to reduce energy consumption. By designing urban voids, it is possible to create thermodynamic buffers, i.e., bubbles of controlled atmosphere that act as mediators between the natural and built environments, between the human body and the surrounding air, between meteorology and physiology (meteorological architecture. Multiple small actions in the urban fabric’s open spaces, such as replacing dark pavements or inserting vegetation and green spaces, are intended to improve outdoor comfort conditions and therefore the resilience of the city itself. This not only benefits the place’s quality, which is intrinsic to the new project, but also the insulating capacity of buildings, which are relieved of an external heat load. The design emphasis therefore changes from solid structures to the climate and weather conditions, which are invisible but perceivable. To design and control these constructed atmopheres, tomographic sections processed with computational fluid dynamics software (tomographic environmental section, TENS becomes necessary. It allows the effects of an extreme event on an outdoor environment to be evaluated in order to establish the appropriate (adaptive climate mitigation devices, especially in historical centers where energy retrofits are often discouraged. By fixing boundary conditions after a local intervention, the virtual environment can be simulated and then "sliced" to analyze initial values and verify the design improvements.

Environmental effects associated with the transportation of radioactive material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McClure, J.D.; Pope, R.B.; Yoshimura, H.R.

1979-01-01

The primary aim of this paper has been to describe some of the background information concerning nuclear materials transportation systems, accident statistics, accident severities, and test information - all of which when combined yield an environmental statement of the risks associated with the transportation of radioactive materials. The results of the ultimate risk analysis are expressed in terms of numbers of fatalities and, in that sense at least, tend to be an absolute measure of risk. When these risks are compared with other accepted societal risks, the relative risks associated with radioactive material transportation can be established. This information can be used to make decisions at the governmental level and to inform an interested public about these risks. It can be concluded that the risks associated with the transportation of radioactive material are low relative to the other risks that society has already accepted

A Next-Generation Hard X-Ray Nanoprobe Beamline for In Situ Studies of Energy Materials and Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Maser, Jörg; Lai, Barry; Buonassisi, Tonio; Cai, Zhonghou; Chen, Si; Finney, Lydia; Gleber, Sophie-Charlotte; Jacobsen, Chris; Preissner, Curt; Roehrig, Chris; Rose, Volker; Shu, Deming; Vine, David; Vogt, Stefan

2014-01-01

The Advanced Photon Source is developing a suite of new X-ray beamlines to study materials and devices across many length scales and under real conditions. One of the flagship beamlines of the APS upgrade is the In Situ Nanoprobe (ISN) beamline, which will provide in situ and operando characterization of advanced energy materials and devices under varying temperatures, gas ambients, and applied fields, at previously unavailable spatial resolution and throughput. Examples of materials systems include inorganic and organic photovoltaic systems, advanced battery systems, fuel cell components, nanoelectronic devices, advanced building materials and other scientifically and technologically relevant systems. To characterize these systems at very high spatial resolution and trace sensitivity, the ISN will use both nanofocusing mirrors and diffractive optics to achieve spots sizes as small as 20 nm. Nanofocusing mirrors in Kirkpatrick-Baez geometry will provide several orders of magnitude increase in photon flux at a spatial resolution of 50 nm. Diffractive optics such as zone plates and/or multilayer Laue lenses will provide a highest spatial resolution of 20 nm. Coherent diffraction methods will be used to study even small specimen features with sub-10 nm relevant length scale. A high-throughput data acquisition system will be employed to significantly increase operations efficiency and usability of the instrument. The ISN will provide full spectroscopy capabilities to study the chemical state of most materials in the periodic table, and enable X-ray fluorescence tomography. In situ electrical characterization will enable operando studies of energy and electronic devices such as photovoltaic systems and batteries. We describe the optical concept for the ISN beamline, the technical design, and the approach for enabling a broad variety of in situ studies. We furthermore discuss the application of hard X-ray microscopy to study defects in multi-crystalline solar cells, one

Irradiation devices for fusion reactor materials results obtained from irradiated lithium aluminate at the OSIRIS reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lefevre, F.; Thevenot, G.; Rasneur, B.; Botter, F.

1986-06-01

Studies about controlled fusion reactor of the Tokamak type require the examination of the radiation effects on the behaviour of various potential materials. Thus, in the first part of this paper, are presented the devices adapted to these materials studies and used in the OSIRIS reactor. In a second part, is described an experiment of irradiation ceramics used as candidates for breeding material and are given the first results

Environmental Issues in the Didactic Materials in Schools in Republic of Serbia

Science.gov (United States)

Maravic, Milutin; Ivkovic, Sonja; Segedinac, Mirjana; Adamov, Jasna

2014-01-01

The main task of the examination is to establish environmental issues in the didactic materials for primary and secondary school in Republic of Serbia. Environmental issues in the secondary school curriculum in Serbia, according to the current educational curricula and educational programs, is limited to general subjects (chemistry and biology…

Environmental life cycle assessment of railway bridge materials using UHPFRC

Science.gov (United States)

Bizjak, Karmen Fifer; Šajna, Aljoša; Slanc, Katja; Knez, Friderik

2016-10-01

The railway infrastructure is a very important component of the world's total transportation network. Investment in its construction and maintenance is significant on a global scale. Previously published life cycle assessment (LCA) studies performed on road and rail systems very seldom included infrastructures in detail, mainly choosing to focus on vehicle manufacturing and fuel consumption. This article presents results from an environmental study for railway steel bridge materials for the demonstration case of the Buna Bridge in Croatia. The goal of these analyses was to compare two different types of remediation works for railway bridges with different materials and construction types. In the first part, the environmental impact of the classical concrete bridge construction was calculated, whereas in the second one, an alternative new solution, namely, the strengthening of the old steel bridge with ultra-high-performance fibre-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) deck, was studied. The results of the LCA show that the new solution with UHPFRC deck gives much better environmental performance. Up to now, results of LCA of railway open lines, railway bridges and tunnels have been published, but detailed analyses of the new solution with UHPFRC deck above the old bridge have not previously been performed.

The Structural Characterisation of Risk in the R&D Process of Functional Raw Materials for Electronic Devices

OpenAIRE

Chikamori, Yoji; Nasu, Seigo

2017-01-01

The electronic materials and electronics device industries remain important to Japan in spite of the general decline of the Japanese electronics industry. There is risk and uncertainty when developing functional materials in the electronics industry. However, studies examining the uncertainty and risk variables in the development of functional materials are scarce. This study examines incremental research and development (R&D) developed for raw functional materials for electronics. Our analys...

Sustainable manufacturing: Effect of material selection and design on the environmental impact in the manufacturing process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harun, Mohd Hazwan Syafiq; Salaam, Hadi Abdul; Taha, Zahari

2013-01-01

The environmental impact of a manufacturing process is also dependent on the selection of the material and design of a product. This is because the manufacturing of a product is directly connected to the amount of carbon emitted in consuming the electrical energy for that manufacturing process. The difference in the general properties of materials such as strength, hardness and impact will have significant effect on the power consumption of the machine used to complete the product. In addition the environmental impact can also be reduced if the proposed designs use less material. In this study, an LCA tool called Eco-It is used. Evaluate the environmental impact caused by manufacturing simple jig. A simple jig with 4 parts was used as a case study. Two experiments were carried out. The first experiment was to study the environmental effects of different material, and the second experiment was to study the environmental impact of different design. The materials used for the jig are Aluminium and mild steel. The results showed a decrease in the rate of carbon emissions by 60% when Aluminium is use instead from mild steel, and a decrease of 26% when the-design is modified

Surface Modifications of Polymeric Materials for Application in Artificial Heart and Circulatory Assist Devices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Feijen, J.; Engbers, G.H.M.; Terlingen, J.G.A.; van Delden, C.J.; Poot, A.A.; Vaudaux, P.; Akutsu, Tetsuzo; Koyanagi, Hitoshi

1996-01-01

Several methods have been developed to modify the surfaces of materials used in artificial hearts and circulatory assist devices to suppress the host response, especially with respect to the occurrence of clotting, cellular damage, and infections. In this review, special attention is paid to

Flexible robotic entry device for a nuclear materials production reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heckendorn, F.M. II.

1988-01-01

The Savannah River Laboratory has developed and is implementing a flexible robotic entry device (FRED) for the nuclear materials production reactors now operating at the Savannah River Plant (SRP). FRED is designed for rapid deployment into confinement areas of operating reactors to assess unknown conditions. A unique smart tether method has been incorporated into FRED for simultaneous bidirectional transmission of multiple video/audio/control/power signals over a single coaxial cable. This system makes it possible to use FRED under all operating and standby conditions, including those where radio/microwave transmissions are not possible or permitted, and increases the quantity of data available

The environmental assessment of nuclear materials disposition options: A transportation perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilson, R.K.; Clauss, D.B.; Moyer, J.W.

1994-01-01

The US Department of Energy has undertaken a program to evaluate and select options for the long-term storage and disposition of fissile materials declared surplus to defense needs as a result of the end of the Cold War. The transport of surplus fissile material will be an important and highly visible aspect of the environmental impact studies and other planning documents required for implementation of the disposition options. This report defines the roles and requirements for transportation of fissile materials in the program, and discusses an existing methodology for determining the environmental impact in terms of risk. While it will be some time before specific alternatives are chosen that will permit the completion of detailed risk calculations, the analytical models for performing the probabilistic risk assessments already exist with much of the supporting data related to the transportation system. This report summarizes the various types of data required and identifies sources for that data

Rapid deposition process for zinc oxide film applications in pyroelectric devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsiao, Chun-Ching; Yu, Shih-Yuan

2012-01-01

Aerosol deposition (AD) is a rapid process for the deposition of films. Zinc oxide is a low toxicity and environmentally friendly material, and it possesses properties such as semiconductivity, pyroelectricity and piezoelectricity without the poling process. Therefore, AD is used to accelerate the manufacturing process for applications of ZnO films in pyroelectric devices. Increasing the temperature variation rate in pyroelectric films is a useful method for enhancing the responsivity of pyroelectric devices. In the present study, a porous ZnO film possessing the properties of large heat absorption and high temperature variation rate is successfully produced by the AD rapid process and laser annealing for application in pyroelectric devices. (paper)

Efficient blue-green and green electroluminescent devices obtained by doping iridium complexes into hole-block material as supplementary light-emitting layer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Liang [State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022 (China); Zheng, Youxuan, E-mail: yxzheng@mail.nju.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, Nanjing National Laboratory of Microstructures, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); Deng, Ruiping; Feng, Jing; Song, Mingxing; Hao, Zhaomin [State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022 (China); Zhang, Hongjie, E-mail: hongjie@ciac.jl.cn [State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022 (China); Zuo, Jinglin; You, Xiaozeng [State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, Nanjing National Laboratory of Microstructures, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China)

2014-04-15

In this work, organic electroluminescent (EL) devices with dominant and supplementary light-emitting layers (EMLs) were designed to further improve the EL performances of two iridium{sup III}-based phosphorescent complexes, which have been reported to provide EL devices with slow EL efficiency roll-off. The widely used hole-block material 2,2′,2''-(1,3,5-Benzinetriyl)-tris(1-phenyl-1-H-benzimidazole) (TPBi) was selected as host material to construct the supplementary EML. Compared with single-EML devices, double-EMLs devices showed higher EL efficiencies, higher brightness, and lower operation voltage attributed to wider recombination zone and better balance of carriers. In addition, the insertion of supplementary EML is instrumental in facilitating carriers trapping, thus improving the color purity. Finally, high performance blue-green and green EL devices with maximum current efficiencies of 35.22 and 90.68 cd/A, maximum power efficiencies of 26.36 and 98.18 lm/W, and maximum brightness of 56,678 and 112,352 cd/m{sup 2}, respectively, were obtained by optimizing the doping concentrations. Such a device design strategy extends the application of a double EML device structure and provides a chance to simplify device fabrication processes. -- Highlights: • Electroluminescent devices with supplementary light-emitting layer were fabricated. • Doping concentrations and thicknesses were optimized. • Better balance of holes and electrons causes the enhanced efficiency. • Improved carrier trapping suppresses the emission of host material.

Study of the space environmental effects on spacecraft engineering materials

Science.gov (United States)

Obrien, Susan K.; Workman, Gary L.; Smith, Guy A.

1995-01-01

The space environment in which the Space Station Freedom and other space platforms will orbit is truly a hostile environment. For example, the current estimates of the integral fluence for electrons above 1 Mev at 2000 nautical miles is above 2 x 10(exp 10) electrons/sq cm/day. and the proton integral fluence is above 1 x 109 protons/sq cm/day. At the 200 - 400 nautical miles, which is more representative of the altitude which will provide the environment for the Space Station, each of these fluences will be proportionately less; however, the data indicates that the radiation environment will obviously have an effect on structural materials exposed to the environment for long durations. The effects of this combined environment is the issue which needs to be understood for the long term exposure of structures in space. In order to better understand the effect of these hostile phenomena on spacecraft, several types of studies are worth performing in order to simulate at some level the effect of the environment. For example the effect of protons and electrons impacting structural materials are easily simulated through experiments using the Van de Graff and Pelletron accelerators currently housed in the Environmental Effects Facility at MSFC. Proton fluxes with energies of 700 Kev-2.5 Mev can be generated and used to impinge on sample targets to determine the effects of the particles. Also the Environmental Effects Facility has the capability to generate electron beams with energies from 700 Kev to 2.5 Mev. These facilities will be used in this research to simulate space environmental effects from energetic particles. Ultraviolet radiation, particularly in the ultraviolet (less than 400 nm wavelength) is less well characterized at this time. The Environmental Effects Facility has a vacuum system dedicated to studying the effects of ultraviolet radiation on specific surface materials. This particular system was assembled in a previous study (NAS8-38609) in order to

Reference materials and their role in quality assurance in environmental monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cortes, Eduardo

2002-01-01

The importance of a good and routine quality control procedure for the analyses of environmental samples is presented. The use of Reference Materials as one simple procedure for validating analytical methodologies and determining the accuracy of analytical data is emphasized. The quality of the reference materials is also discussed as well as their selection and correct use. The convenience of preparing 'in-house' reference materials is discussed and attention is called to relevant aspects to be considered. An example of the preparation of a reference material is presented and some aspects of the procedure are discussed. (author)

Efficiency of raw materials. Relief of the economy, environmental protection; Rohstoffeffizienz. Wirtschaft entlasten, Umwelt schonen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2010-11-15

In the contribution under consideration, the Federal Statistical Office (Wiesbaden, Federal Republic of Germany) and the Federal Environmental Agency (Dessau-Rosslau, Federal Republic of Germany) present actual data and analyses from environmentally economic total computations. In Germany, the use of raw materials became more efficient. Thus, 580 tons of raw materials per million Euro of gross domestic product were needed in the year 2008, while still 680 tons of raw materials were needed in the year 2000. The economical handling of natural resources relieves the environment and enables economic chances for individual companies and national economy. The lowering of environmental effects is to be in the focus of withdrawal and use of raw materials. This requires a stronger reduction of the consumption of raw materials. Savings potentials and an increased efficiency must be aspired in the short and medium term. The politics must create suitable incentives and framework conditions. The contribution under consideration presents new activities and strategies in order to achieve these targets.

Diamond: a material for acoustic devices

OpenAIRE

MORTET, Vincent; WILLIAMS, Oliver; HAENEN, Ken

2008-01-01

Diamond has been foreseen to replace silicon for high power, high frequency electronic applications or for devices that operates in harsh environments. However, diamond electronic devices are still in the laboratory stage due to the lack of large substrates and the complexity of diamond doping. On another hand, surface acoustic wave filters based on diamond are commercially available. Diamond is especially suited for acoustic applications because of its exceptional mechanical properties. The ...

Use of Silicon Carbide as Beam Intercepting Device Material: Tests, Issues and Numerical Simulations

CERN Document Server

Delonca, M; Gil Costa, M; Vacca, A

2014-01-01

Silicon Carbide (SiC) stands as one of the most promising ceramic material with respect to its thermal shock resistance and mechanical strengths. It has hence been considered as candidate material for the development of higher performance beam intercepting devices at CERN. Its brazing with a metal counterpart has been tested and characterized by means of microstructural and ultrasound techniques. Despite the positive results, its use has to be evaluated with care, due to the strong evidence in literature of large and permanent volumetric expansion, called swelling, under the effect of neutron and ion irradiation. This may cause premature and sudden failure, and can be mitigated to some extent by operating at high temperature. For this reason limited information is available for irradiation below 100°C, which is the typical temperature of interest for beam intercepting devices like dumps or collimators. This paper describes the brazing campaign carried out at CERN, the results, and the theoretical and numeric...

Design of a test device for subjecting materials to high strain rates: with application in nuclear area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Todesco, Sergio R.; Mucsi, Cristiano S.; Rossi, Jesualdo L., E-mail: sergio.todesco@usp.br, E-mail: csmucsi@ipen.br, E-mail: jelrossi@ipen.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2015-07-01

This paper presents a design of a device to gather characteristic data of materials subjected to high strain rates, this device named after the eminent English engineer Sir Bertram Hopkinson 'Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar', from here will be designated SHPB. More specifically, this work is inseparably linked to the development of packing for transportation of highly radioactive substances as a part to the general scope of a CAPES project in partnership with the CCTM Materials Department of IPEN, Institute of Energy and Nuclear Research, linked to the University of Sao Paulo. The development of the device is part of a scope, and collection of data necessary for the design and construction of this packing. The SHPB device can be divided into two parts, the first part concerning the mechanical design. The second, data collection that is indeed the challenging part of the device, and proper tests. The present paper, specifically, will only deals with the mechanical design of the device, importantly, divided into two parts, the size of the bars, which are the impact bar, the input bar, and the output bar, and the size of the impact device. The sizing of the bars involve knowledge of the concept of elastic waves in solid media for the length of the bars to serve as a wave-guide, which will cause a deformation of the specimen, and enables recording of these waves for data analysis. The impact device must be robust enough to produce the stress wave to deform the specimen, but not to plastically deform the bars, which have to continue throughout the test within the elastic range. (author)

Design of a test device for subjecting materials to high strain rates: with application in nuclear area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Todesco, Sergio R.; Mucsi, Cristiano S.; Rossi, Jesualdo L.

2015-01-01

This paper presents a design of a device to gather characteristic data of materials subjected to high strain rates, this device named after the eminent English engineer Sir Bertram Hopkinson 'Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar', from here will be designated SHPB. More specifically, this work is inseparably linked to the development of packing for transportation of highly radioactive substances as a part to the general scope of a CAPES project in partnership with the CCTM Materials Department of IPEN, Institute of Energy and Nuclear Research, linked to the University of Sao Paulo. The development of the device is part of a scope, and collection of data necessary for the design and construction of this packing. The SHPB device can be divided into two parts, the first part concerning the mechanical design. The second, data collection that is indeed the challenging part of the device, and proper tests. The present paper, specifically, will only deals with the mechanical design of the device, importantly, divided into two parts, the size of the bars, which are the impact bar, the input bar, and the output bar, and the size of the impact device. The sizing of the bars involve knowledge of the concept of elastic waves in solid media for the length of the bars to serve as a wave-guide, which will cause a deformation of the specimen, and enables recording of these waves for data analysis. The impact device must be robust enough to produce the stress wave to deform the specimen, but not to plastically deform the bars, which have to continue throughout the test within the elastic range. (author)

Solution-Processed Environmentally Friendly Ag2S Colloidal Quantum Dot Solar Cells with Broad Spectral Absorption

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viktor A. Öberg

2017-10-01

Full Text Available A facile heat-up synthesis route is used to synthesize environmentally friendly Ag2S colloidal quantum dots (CQDs that are applied as light absorbing material in solid state p-i-n junction solar cell devices. The as-synthesized Ag2S CQDs have an average size of around 3.5 nm and exhibit broad light absorption covering ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared wavelength regions. The solar cell devices are constructed with a device architecture of FTO/TiO2/Ag2S CQDs/hole transport material (HTM /Au using a solution-processed approach. Different HTMs, N2,N2,N2′,N2′,N7,N7,N7′,N7′-octakis(4-methoxyphenyl-9,9′-spirobi(9H-fluorene-2,2′,7,7′ tetramine (spiro-OMeTAD, poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl (P3HT, and poly((2,3-bis(3-octyloxyphenyl-5,8-quinoxalinediyl-2,5-thiophenediyl TQ1 are studied for maximizing the device photovoltaic performance. The solar cell device with P3HT as a hole transport material gives the highest performance and the solar cell exhibit broad spectral absorption. These results indicate that Ag2S CQD have high potential for utilization as environmentally friendly light absorbing materials for solar cell application and that the hole transport material is critical to maximize the solar cell photovoltaic performance.

Tribo-functionalizing Si and SU8 materials by surface modification for application in MEMS/NEMS actuator-based devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, R A; Satyanarayana, N; Sinha, S K; Kustandi, T S

2011-01-01

Micro/nano-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS/NEMS) are miniaturized devices built at micro/nanoscales. At these scales, the surface/interfacial forces are extremely strong and they adversely affect the smooth operation and the useful operating lifetimes of such devices. When these forces manifest in severe forms, they lead to material removal and thereby reduce the wear durability of the devices. In this paper, we present a simple, yet robust, two-step surface modification method to significantly enhance the tribological performance of MEMS/NEMS materials. The two-step method involves oxygen plasma treatment of polymeric films and the application of a nanolubricant, namely perfluoropolyether. We apply the two-step method to the two most important MEMS/NEMS structural materials, namely silicon and SU8 polymer. On applying surface modification to these materials, their initial coefficient of friction reduces by ∼4-7 times and the steady-state coefficient of friction reduces by ∼2.5-3.5 times. Simultaneously, the wear durability of both the materials increases by >1000 times. The two-step method is time effective as each of the steps takes the time duration of approximately 1 min. It is also cost effective as the oxygen plasma treatment is a part of the MEMS/NEMS fabrication process. The two-step method can be readily and easily integrated into MEMS/NEMS fabrication processes. It is anticipated that this method will work for any kind of structural material from which MEMS/NEMS are or can be made.

Tribo-functionalizing Si and SU8 materials by surface modification for application in MEMS/NEMS actuator-based devices

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, R. A.; Satyanarayana, N.; Kustandi, T. S.; Sinha, S. K.

2011-01-01

Micro/nano-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS/NEMS) are miniaturized devices built at micro/nanoscales. At these scales, the surface/interfacial forces are extremely strong and they adversely affect the smooth operation and the useful operating lifetimes of such devices. When these forces manifest in severe forms, they lead to material removal and thereby reduce the wear durability of the devices. In this paper, we present a simple, yet robust, two-step surface modification method to significantly enhance the tribological performance of MEMS/NEMS materials. The two-step method involves oxygen plasma treatment of polymeric films and the application of a nanolubricant, namely perfluoropolyether. We apply the two-step method to the two most important MEMS/NEMS structural materials, namely silicon and SU8 polymer. On applying surface modification to these materials, their initial coefficient of friction reduces by ~4-7 times and the steady-state coefficient of friction reduces by ~2.5-3.5 times. Simultaneously, the wear durability of both the materials increases by >1000 times. The two-step method is time effective as each of the steps takes the time duration of approximately 1 min. It is also cost effective as the oxygen plasma treatment is a part of the MEMS/NEMS fabrication process. The two-step method can be readily and easily integrated into MEMS/NEMS fabrication processes. It is anticipated that this method will work for any kind of structural material from which MEMS/NEMS are or can be made.

Raw materials for the energy supply of the future. Geology, markets, environmental influences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hagelueken, Christian; Thauer, Rudolf K.; Buchholz, Peter; Gutzmer, Jens; Littke, Ralf; Angerer, Gerhard; Wellmer, Friedrich-Wilhelm

2015-01-01

More and more metals are needed to expand modern energy technologies, but we can not completely dispense with fossil raw materials and biomass in the near future either. Are the incidence of the conversion of energy sources sufficient? The analysis of the academy project ''Energy Systems of the Future'' (ESYS) comes to the conclusion that geologically enough raw materials are available. The challenge, however, is to make the supply safe, affordable and environmentally and socially compatible. The analysis explains the mechanisms of action on the global commodity markets and identifies supply risks. These include, for example, sudden demand on the international markets as well as the unequal distribution of the world's raw material reserves. This is followed by the analysis approaches, in order to recognize warning signals for potential raw material bottlenecks in time, to develop evasive strategies and to secure the raw material supply for the energy turnarounds. For example, the expansion of recycling can help to reduce the dependence on metal imports. In mining, on the other hand, innovative technologies have to be developed in order to improve the exploration and utilization of the deposits. By establishing binding environmental and social standards, the extraction of raw materials could also become more sustainable. The analysis also highlights the importance of bioenergy and fossil raw materials, such as oil and natural gas, for energy generation. The authors describe the advantages and disadvantages of these energy carriers and the measures that can be used to reduce environmental pollution such as greenhouse gas emissions. [de

Materials challenges for repeatable RF wireless device reconfiguration with microfluidic channels

Science.gov (United States)

Griffin, Anthony S.; Sottos, Nancy R.; White, Scott R.

2018-03-01

Recently, adaptive wireless devices have utilized displacement of EGaIn within microchannels as an electrical switching mechanism to enable reconfigurable electronics. Device reconfiguration using EGaIn in microchannels overcomes many challenges encountered by more traditional reconfiguration mechanisms such as diodes and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Reconfiguration using EGaIn is severely limited by undesired permanent shorting due to retention of the liquid in microchannels caused by wetting and rapid oxide skin formation. Here, we investigate the conditions which prevent repeatable electrical switching using EGaIn in microchannels. Initial contact angle tests of EGaIn on epoxy surfaces demonstrate the wettability of EGaIn on flat surfaces. SEM cross-sections of microchannels reveal adhesion of EGaIn residue to channel walls. Micro-computed tomography (microCT) scans of provide volumetric measurements of EGaIn remaining inside channels after flow cycling. Non-wetting coatings are proposed as materials based strategy to overcome these issues in future work.

Steps Towards Industrialization of Cu–III–VI2Thin‐Film Solar Cells:Linking Materials/Device Designs to Process Design For Non‐stoichiometric Photovoltaic Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Hsueh‐Hsin; Sharma, Poonam; Letha, Arya Jagadhamma; Shao, Lexi; Zhang, Yafei; Tseng, Bae‐Heng

2016-01-01

The concept of in‐line sputtering and selenization become industrial standard for Cu–III–VI2 solar cell fabrication, but still it's very difficult to control and predict the optical and electrical parameters, which are closely related to the chemical composition distribution of the thin film. The present review article addresses onto the material design, device design and process design using parameters closely related to the chemical compositions. Its variation leads to change in the Poisson equation, current equation, and continuity equation governing the device design. To make the device design much realistic and meaningful, we need to build a model that relates the opto‐electrical properties to the chemical composition. The material parameters as well as device structural parameters are loaded into the process simulation to give a complete set of process control parameters. The neutral defect concentrations of non‐stoichiometric CuMSe2 (M = In and Ga) have been calculated under the specific atomic chemical potential conditions using this methodology. The optical and electrical properties have also been investigated for the development of a full‐function analytical solar cell simulator. The future prospects regarding the development of copper–indium–gallium–selenide thin film solar cells have also been discussed. PMID:27840790

Steps Towards Industrialization of Cu-III-VI2Thin-Film Solar Cells:Linking Materials/Device Designs to Process Design For Non-stoichiometric Photovoltaic Materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Huey-Liang; Chang, Hsueh-Hsin; Sharma, Poonam; Letha, Arya Jagadhamma; Shao, Lexi; Zhang, Yafei; Tseng, Bae-Heng

2016-10-01

The concept of in-line sputtering and selenization become industrial standard for Cu-III-VI 2 solar cell fabrication, but still it's very difficult to control and predict the optical and electrical parameters, which are closely related to the chemical composition distribution of the thin film. The present review article addresses onto the material design, device design and process design using parameters closely related to the chemical compositions. Its variation leads to change in the Poisson equation, current equation, and continuity equation governing the device design. To make the device design much realistic and meaningful, we need to build a model that relates the opto-electrical properties to the chemical composition. The material parameters as well as device structural parameters are loaded into the process simulation to give a complete set of process control parameters. The neutral defect concentrations of non-stoichiometric CuMSe 2 (M = In and Ga) have been calculated under the specific atomic chemical potential conditions using this methodology. The optical and electrical properties have also been investigated for the development of a full-function analytical solar cell simulator. The future prospects regarding the development of copper-indium-gallium-selenide thin film solar cells have also been discussed.

Plasma facing materials and components for future fusion devices - development, characterization and performance under fusion specific loading conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Linke, J. [Forschungszentrum Juelich (Germany). Inst. fuer Plasmaphysik

2006-04-15

The plasma exposed components in existing and future fusion devices are strongly affected by the plasma material interaction processes. These mechanisms have a strong influence on the plasma performance; in addition they have major impact on the lifetime of the plasma facing armour and the joining interface between the plasma facing material (PFM) and the heat sink. Besides physical and chemical sputtering processes, high heat quasi-stationary fluxes during normal and intense thermal transients are of serious concern for the engineers who develop reliable wall components. In addition, the material and component degradation due to intense fluxes of energetic neutrons is another critical issue in D-T-burning fusion devices which requires extensive RandD. This paper presents an overview on the materials development and joining, the testing of PFMs and components, and the analysis of the neutron irradiation induced degradation.

Plasma facing materials and components for future fusion devices - development, characterization and performance under fusion specific loading conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linke, J.

2006-01-01

The plasma exposed components in existing and future fusion devices are strongly affected by the plasma material interaction processes. These mechanisms have a strong influence on the plasma performance; in addition they have major impact on the lifetime of the plasma facing armour and the joining interface between the plasma facing material (PFM) and the heat sink. Besides physical and chemical sputtering processes, high heat quasi-stationary fluxes during normal and intense thermal transients are of serious concern for the engineers who develop reliable wall components. In addition, the material and component degradation due to intense fluxes of energetic neutrons is another critical issue in D-T-burning fusion devices which requires extensive RandD. This paper presents an overview on the materials development and joining, the testing of PFMs and components, and the analysis of the neutron irradiation induced degradation

Environmentally Sustainable Construction Products and Materials – Assessment of release

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wahlström, Margareta; Laine-Yliijoki, Jutta; Järnström, helena

The construction sector consumes yearly about half of all natural resourcesextracted in Europe and their transformation into building products has huge energy demands. Therefore the focus of today’s environmental policy is on the building end-of-life scenarios and material efficiency. Here waste...... hardly any construction product is designed keeping recycling/reuse in mind, the “Design for theEnvironment” -concept is one of the key steps towards increased recycling and reuse and thereby towards minimal environmental impacts. This project has been carried out by VTT with cooperation with the Danish...

Environmental Effects on ISS Materials Aging (1998 to 2008)

Science.gov (United States)

Alred, John; Dasgupta, Rajib; Koontz, Steve; Soares, Carlos; Golden, John

2009-01-01

The performance of ISS spacecraft materials and systems on prolonged exposure to the low- Earth orbit (LEO) space flight are reported in this paper. In-flight data, flight crew observations, and the results of ground-based test and analysis directly supporting programmatic and operational decision-making are described. The space flight environments definitions (both natural and induced) used for ISS design, material selection, and verification testing are shown, in most cases, to be more severe than the actual flight environment accounting, in part, for the outstanding performance of ISS as a long mission duration spacecraft. No significant ISS material or system failures have been attributed to spacecraft-environments interactions. Nonetheless, ISS materials and systems performance data is contributing to our understanding of spacecraft material interactions with the spaceflight environment so as to reduce cost and risk for future spaceflight projects and programs. Orbital inclination (51.6 deg) and altitude (nominally near 360 km) determine the set of natural environment factors affecting the functional life of materials and systems on ISS. ISS operates in an electrically conducting environment (the F2 region of Earth s ionosphere) with well-defined fluxes of atomic oxygen, other charged and neutral ionospheric plasma species, solar UV, VUV, and x-ray radiation as well as galactic cosmic rays, trapped radiation, and solar cosmic rays. The LEO micrometeoroid and orbital debris environment is an especially important determinant of spacecraft design and operations. The magnitude of several environmental factors varies dramatically with latitude and longitude as ISS orbits the Earth. The high latitude orbital environment also exposes ISS to higher fluences of trapped energetic electrons, auroral electrons, solar cosmic rays, and galactic cosmic rays than would be the case in lower inclination orbits, largely as a result of the overall shape and magnitude of the

Experimental investigation of the effect of thermal hysteresis in MnFeP1-x Asx materials applied in an AMR device

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

von Moos, Lars; Nielsen, Kaspar Kirstein; Engelbrecht, Kurt

2012-01-01

The magnetocaloric material series MnFeP1-xAsx, exhibiting a 1st order phase transition are possibly good candidates for magnetic refrigeration devices operating at room temperature (Brück et al., 2005). These materials have intrinsic hysteresis (thermal and magnetic) and the impact...... (AMR) test device (Bahl et al., 2008) with a flat plate regenerator of a single Curie temperature (TC) material. We find that the maximum adiabatic entropy change does not depend on the thermal history of the material, but the peak temperature is shifted 1.5 K for fields up to 1.5 T when measured...... of this on magnetic refrigeration devices has not yet been thoroughly investigated in the literature. Here, the thermal hysteretic magnetocaloric properties are studied using vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) and how this influences actual refrigeration performance, using an established active magnetic regenerator...

Application of radiochemical separation procedures to environmental and biological materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eakins, J D [UKAEA Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell. Environmental and Medical Sciences Div.

1984-06-15

The measurement of low levels of radionuclides in environmental and biological materials often depends on separation of the nuclide of interest from a bulky matrix containing interfering radioelements. In such case, however sophisticated and elegant the counting technique, the quality of the final data will

Fate and transport of fragrance materials in principal environmental sinks.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiaolei; Brar, Satinder Kaur; Yan, Song; Tyagi, Rajeshwar Dayal; Surampalli, Rao Y

2013-10-01

Fragrance materials are widely present in the environment, such as air, water, and soil. Concerns have been raised due to the increasing utilization and suspected impact on human health. The bioaccumulating property is considered as one of the causes of the toxicity to human beings. The removal of fragrance materials from environmental sinks has not been paid enough attention due to the lack of regulation and research on their toxicity. This paper provides systematic information on how fragrance materials are transferred to the environment, how do they affect human lives, and what is their fate in water, wastewater, wastewater sludge, and soil. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Topological Material-Based Spin Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Minhao; Wang, Xuefeng

Three-dimensional topological insulators have insulating bulk and gapless helical surface states. One of the most fascinating properties of the metallic surface states is the spin-momentum helical locking. The giant current-driven torques on the magnetic layer have been discovered in TI/ferromagnet bilayers originating from the spin-momentum helical locking, enabling the efficient magnetization switching with a low current density. We demonstrated the current-direction dependent on-off state in TIs-based spin valve devices for memory and logic applications. Further, we demonstrated the Bi2Se3 system will go from a topologically nontrivial state to a topologically trivial state when Bi atoms are replaced by lighter In atoms. Here, topologically trivial metal (BixIny)2 Se3 with high mobility also facilitates the realization of its application in multifunctional spintronic devices.

Safety Features of Material and Personnel Movement Devices. Module SH-25. Safety and Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Center for Occupational Research and Development, Inc., Waco, TX.

This student module on safety features of material and personnel movement devices is one of 50 modules concerned with job safety and health. This module covers safe conditions and operating practices for conveyors, elevators, escalators, moving walks, manlifts, forklifts, and motorized hand trucks. Following the introduction, 10 objectives (each…

Carbon material based microelectromechanical system (MEMS): Fabrication and devices

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Wenjun

This PhD dissertation presents the exploration and development of two carbon materials, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and carbon fiber (CF), as either key functional components or unconventional substrates for a variety of MEMS applications. Their performance in three different types of MEMS devices, namely, strain/stress sensors, vibration-powered generators and fiber solar cells, were evaluated and the working mechanisms of these two non-traditional materials in these systems were discussed. The work may potentially enable the development of new types of carbon-MEMS devices. Carbon nanotubes were selected from the carbon family due to several advantageous characteristics that this nanomaterial offers. They carry extremely high mechanical strength (Ey=1TPa), superior electrical properties (current density of 4x109 A/cm2), exceptional piezoresistivity (G=2900), and unique spatial format (high aspect ratio hollow nanocylinder), among other properties. If properly utilized, all these merits can give rise to a variety of new types of carbon nanotube based micro- and nanoelectronics that can greatly fulfill the need for the next generation of faster, smaller and better devices. However, before these functions can be fully realized, one substantial issue to cope with is how to implement CNTs into these systems in an effective and controllable fashion. Challenges associated with CNTs integration include very poor dispersibility in solvents, lack of melting/sublimation point, and unfavorable rheology with regard to mixing and processing highly viscous, CNT-loaded polymer solutions. These issues hinder the practical progress of CNTs both in a lab scale and in the industrial level. To this end, a MEMS-assisted electrophoretic deposition technique was developed, aiming to achieve controlled integration of CNT into both conventional and flexible microsystems at room temperature with a relatively high throughput. MEMS technology has demonstrated strong capability in developing

Degradation of OLEDs devices: study methods and solutions

OpenAIRE

Santoro, Elena

2016-01-01

2014 - 2015 The fast technological evolution of our world requests the necessity to make this development sustainable. In order to achieve this goal more relevance has been given to the energy consumption and environmental impact of the modern society consumerism. These considerations point out the need to increase the effort in research of unconventional materials, new concept and system architecture for devices that could help to overcome these challenges. Nanotechnologies offer th...

Environmental life cycle assessment of railway bridge materials using UHPFRC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bizjak Karmen Fifer

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The railway infrastructure is a very important component of the world’s total transportation network. Investment in its construction and maintenance is significant on a global scale. Previously published life cycle assessment (LCA studies performed on road and rail systems very seldom included infrastructures in detail, mainly choosing to focus on vehicle manufacturing and fuel consumption. This article presents results from an environmental study for railway steel bridge materials for the demonstration case of the Buna Bridge in Croatia. The goal of these analyses was to compare two different types of remediation works for railway bridges with different materials and construction types. In the first part, the environmental impact of the classical concrete bridge construction was calculated, whereas in the second one, an alternative new solution, namely, the strengthening of the old steel bridge with ultra-high-performance fibre-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC deck, was studied. The results of the LCA show that the new solution with UHPFRC deck gives much better environmental performance. Up to now, results of LCA of railway open lines, railway bridges and tunnels have been published, but detailed analyses of the new solution with UHPFRC deck above the old bridge have not previously been performed.

Degradability of Polymers for Implantable Biomedical Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Lyu, SuPing; Untereker, Darrel

2009-01-01

Many key components of implantable medical devices are made from polymeric materials. The functions of these materials include structural support, electrical insulation, protection of other materials from the environment of the body, and biocompatibility, as well as other things such as delivery of a therapeutic drug. In such roles, the stability and integrity of the polymer, over what can be a very long period of time, is very important. For most of these functions, stability over time is desired, but in other cases, the opposite–the degradation and disappearance of the polymer over time is required. In either case, it is important to understand both the chemistry that can lead to the degradation of polymers as well as the kinetics that controls these reactions. Hydrolysis and oxidation are the two classes of reactions that lead to the breaking down of polymers. Both are discussed in detail in the context of the environmental factors that impact the utility of various polymers for medical device applications. Understanding the chemistry and kinetics allows prediction of stability as well as explanations for observations such as porosity and the unexpected behavior of polymeric composite materials in some situations. In the last part, physical degradation such interfacial delamination in composites is discussed. PMID:19865531

Methods of forming semiconductor devices and devices formed using such methods

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, Robert V; Rodriguez, Rene G; Pak, Joshua

2013-05-21

Single source precursors are subjected to carbon dioxide to form particles of material. The carbon dioxide may be in a supercritical state. Single source precursors also may be subjected to supercritical fluids other than supercritical carbon dioxide to form particles of material. The methods may be used to form nanoparticles. In some embodiments, the methods are used to form chalcopyrite materials. Devices such as, for example, semiconductor devices may be fabricated that include such particles. Methods of forming semiconductor devices include subjecting single source precursors to carbon dioxide to form particles of semiconductor material, and establishing electrical contact between the particles and an electrode.

Quantitative materials analysis of micro devices using absorption-based thickness measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sim, L M; Wog, B S; Spowage, A C

2006-01-01

Preliminary work in designing an X-ray inspection machine with the capability of providing quantitative thickness analysis based on absorption measurements has been demonstrated. This study attempts to use the gray levels data to investigate the nature and thickness of occluded features and materials within devices. The investigation focused on metallic materials essential to semiconductor and MEMS technologies such as tin, aluminium, copper, silver, iron and zinc. The materials were arranged to simulate different feature thicknesses and sample geometries. The X-ray parameters were varied in-order to modify the X-ray energy spectrum with the aim of optimising the measurement conditions for each sample. The capability of the method to resolve differences in thicknesses was found to be highly dependent on the material. The thickness resolution with aluminium was the poorest due to its low radiographic density. The thickness resolutions achievable for silver and tin were significantly better and of the order of 0.015 mm and 0.025 mm respectively. From the linear relationship between the X-ray attenuation and sample thickness established, the energy dependent linear attenuation coefficient for each material was determined for a series of specific energy spectra. A decrease in the linear attenuation coefficient was observed as the applied voltage and thickness of the material increased. The results provide a platform for the development of a novel absorption-based thickness measurement system that can be optimised for a range of industrial applications

Feasibility study on consolidation of Fernald Environmental Management Project depleted uranium materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

In 1991, the DOE made a decision to close the FMPC located in Fernald, Ohio, and end its production mission. The site was renamed FEMP to reflect Fernald's mission change from uranium production to environmental restoration. As a result of this change, the inventory of strategic uranium materials maintained at Fernald by DOE DP will need to be relocated to other DOE sites. Although considered a liability to the Fernald Plant due to its current D and D mission, the FEMP DU represents a potentially valuable DOE resource. Recognizing its value, it may be important for the DOE to consolidate the material at one site and place it in a safe long-term storage condition until a future DOE programmatic requirement materializes. In August 1995, the DOE Office of Nuclear Weapons Management requested, Lockheed Martin Energy Systems (LMES) to assess the feasibility of consolidating the FEMP DU materials at the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR). This feasibility study examines various phases associated with the consolidation of the FEMP DU at the ORR. If useful short-term applications for the DU fail to materialize, then long-term storage (up to 50 years) would need to be provided. Phases examined in this report include DU material value; potential uses; sampling; packaging and transportation; material control and accountability; environmental, health and safety issues; storage; project management; noneconomic factors; schedule; and cost

Torsional Shear Device for Testing the Dynamic Properties of Recycled Material

Science.gov (United States)

Gabryś, Katarzyna; Sas, Wojciech; Soból, Emil; Głuchowski, Andrzej

2016-12-01

From the viewpoint of environmental preservation and effective utilization of resources, it is beneficial and necessary to reuse wastes, for example, concrete, as the recycled aggregates for new materials. In this work, the dynamic behavior of such aggregates under low frequency torsional loading is studied. Results show that the properties of such artificial soils match with those reported in the literature for specific natural soils.

A new device for X-ray Diffraction analyses of irradiated materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valot, Christophe; Blay, Thierry; Caillot, Laurent; Ferroud-Plattet, Marie Pierre

2008-01-01

A new X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) equipment is being implemented in the LECA (Cea - Cadarache) hot laboratory. The device will be dedicated to structural characterization on irradiated fuels, as PWR fuels, transmutation targets and innovative fuels. The paper will present the specific design that was decided in order to reduce the number of components in contaminated volume and to make servicing easier. The analytical performances of this new equipment will be illustrated on some model samples: -) micro-diffraction capabilities will be detailed on heterogeneous material; -) strain and stress analyses on fresh uranium oxide pellets. (authors)

Environmental, economic, and energy impacts of material recovery facilities. A MITE Program evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-10-01

This report documents an evaluation of the environmental, economic, and energy impacts of material recovery facilities (MRFs) conducted under the Municipal Solid Waste Innovative Technology Evaluation (MITE) Program. The MITE Program is sponsored by the US Environmental Protection Agency to foster the demonstration and development of innovative technologies for the management of municipal solid waste (MSW). This project was also funded by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Material recovery facilities are increasingly being used as one option for managing a significant portion of municipal solid waste (MSW). The owners and operators of these facilities employ a combination of manual and mechanical techniques to separate and sort the recyclable fraction of MSW and to transport the separated materials to recycling facilities.

An experimental study addressing the use of geoforensic analysis for the exploitation of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Science.gov (United States)

Wilks, Beth; Morgan, Ruth M; Rose, Neil L

2017-09-01

The use of geoforensic analysis in criminal investigations is continuing to develop, with the diversification of analytical techniques, many of which are semi-automated, facilitating prompt analysis of large sample sets at a relatively low cost. Whilst micro-scale geoforensic analysis has been shown to assist criminal investigations including homicide (Concheri et al., 2011 [1]), wildlife crime (Morgan et al., 2006 [2]), illicit drug distribution (Stanley, 1992 [3]), and burglary (Mildenhall, 2006 [4]), its application to the pressing international security threat posed by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) is yet to be considered. This experimental study simulated an IED supply chain from the sourcing of raw materials through to device emplacement. Mineralogy, quartz grain surface texture analysis (QGSTA) and particle size analysis (PSA) were used to assess whether environmental materials were transferred and subsequently persisted on the different components of three pressure plate IEDs. The research also addressed whether these samples were comprised of material from single or multiple geographical provenances that represented supply chain activity nodes. The simulation demonstrated that material derived from multiple activity nodes, was transferred and persisted on device components. The results from the mineralogy and QGSTA illustrated the value these techniques offer for the analysis of mixed provenance samples. The results from the PSA, which produces a bulk signature of the sample, failed to distinguish multiple provenances. The study also considered how the environmental material recovered could be used to generate information regarding the geographical locations the device had been in contact with, in an intelligence style investigation, and demonstrated that geoforensic analysis has the potential to be of value to international counter-IED efforts. It is a tool that may be used to prevent the distribution of large quantities of devices, by aiding the

Environmental Screening of Electrode Materials for a Rechargeable Aluminum Battery with an AlCl3/EMIMCl Electrolyte

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Linda Ager-Wick Ellingsen

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Recently, rechargeable aluminum batteries have received much attention due to their low cost, easy operation, and high safety. As the research into rechargeable aluminum batteries with a room-temperature ionic liquid electrolyte is relatively new, research efforts have focused on finding suitable electrode materials. An understanding of the environmental aspects of electrode materials is essential to make informed and conscious decisions in aluminum battery development. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the relative environmental performance of electrode material candidates for rechargeable aluminum batteries with an AlCl3/EMIMCl (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride room-temperature ionic liquid electrolyte. To this end, we used a lifecycle environmental screening framework to evaluate 12 candidate electrode materials. We found that all of the studied materials are associated with one or more drawbacks and therefore do not represent a “silver bullet” for the aluminum battery. Even so, some materials appeared more promising than others did. We also found that aluminum battery technology is likely to face some of the same environmental challenges as Li-ion technology but also offers an opportunity to avoid others. The insights provided here can aid aluminum battery development in an environmentally sustainable direction.

Effect of Environmental Variables on the Flammability of Fire Resistant Materials

OpenAIRE

Osorio, Andres Felipe

2014-01-01

This work investigates the effects of external radiation, ambient pressure and microgravity on the flammability limits of fire-resistant (FR) materials. Future space missions may require spacecraft cabin environments different than those used in the International Space Station, 21%O2, 101.3kPa. Environmental variables include flow velocity, oxygen concentration, ambient pressure, micro or partial-gravity, orientation, presence of an external radiant flux, etc. Fire-resistant materials are use...

ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND DISPOSAL OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS AT A RCRA HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Romano, Stephen; Welling, Steven; Bell, Simon

2003-01-01

The use of hazardous waste disposal facilities permitted under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (''RCRA'') to dispose of low concentration and exempt radioactive materials is a cost-effective option for government and industry waste generators. The hazardous and PCB waste disposal facility operated by US Ecology Idaho, Inc. near Grand View, Idaho provides environmentally sound disposal services to both government and private industry waste generators. The Idaho facility is a major recipient of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers FUSRAP program waste and received permit approval to receive an expanded range of radioactive materials in 2001. The site has disposed of more than 300,000 tons of radioactive materials from the federal government during the past five years. This paper presents the capabilities of the Grand View, Idaho hazardous waste facility to accept radioactive materials, site-specific acceptance criteria and performance assessment, radiological safety and environmental monitoring program information

Establishment of a clean laboratory for ultra trace analysis of nuclear materials in safeguards environmental samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanzawa, Yukiko; Magara, Masaaki; Watanabe, Kazuo

2003-01-01

The Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute has established a cleanroom facility with cleanliness of ISO Class 5: the Clean Laboratory for Environmental Analysis and Research (CLEAR). It was designed to be used for the analysis of nuclear materials in environmental samples mainly for the safeguards, in addition to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty verification and research on environmental sciences. The CLEAR facility was designed to meet conflicting requirements of a cleanroom and for handling of nuclear materials according to Japanese regulations, i.e., to avoid contamination from outside and to contain nuclear materials inside the facility. This facility has been intended to be used for wet chemical treatment, instrumental analysis and particle handling. A fume-hood to provide a clean work surface for handling of nuclear materials was specially designed. Much attention was paid to the selection of construction materials for use to corrosive acids. The performance of the cleanroom and analytical background in the laboratory are discussed. This facility has satisfactory specification required for joining the International Atomic Energy Agency Network of Analytical Laboratories. It can be concluded that the CLEAR facility enables analysis of ultra trace amounts of nuclear materials at sub-pictogram level in environmental samples. (author)

A discotic triphenylene dimer as organic hole transporting material for electroluminescence devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mao Huaxiang; He Zhiqun; Wang Junling; Zhang Chunxiu; Xie, Ping; Zhang Rongben

2007-01-01

A triphenylene dimer, an intermediate between a discotic triphenylene molecule and the macromolecule, had been prepared by linking together two triphenylene units via phenylene carbamate linkages, which was formed through a reaction between one 1,4-phenylene diisocyanate and two hydroxyl end groups on flexible substituents of triphenylenes. The dimer exhibited good film-forming property. Its temperature-dependent phase transitions were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry and polarized optical microscopy. Room temperature microstructure of the dimer was analyzed by X-ray diffraction. Charge mobility of the triphenylene dimer was also measured. Our preliminary result using the materials in a sandwich light-emitting device is reported here. It demonstrates that the triphenylene dimer is a promising candidate as a hole transporting material

A study of production of radioactive environmental reference materials used for proficiency testing program in Taiwan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peng, En-Chi; Wang, Jeng-Jong

2013-01-01

To realise radioactive environmental reference materials in Taiwan, seven environmental materials of soil, water, vegetation, meat, airborne particles (filter paper), milk and mushroom samples that are frequently encountered were used to establish the preparation of the reference materials. These seven environmental materials were collected, checked for freedom from radioactivity and prepared according to their properties. The preparation was carried out by using activity about 10–100 times that of the minimum detectable activity (MDA) in routine measurements in the radioactive standard used to spike the inactive material and this standard is traceable to national ionising radioactivity standards (TAF, 2004). To demonstrate sample traceability to the added standard, each sample was carefully measured and its uncertainty evaluated. Based on the recommendations of ISO Guide 35 for evaluation of reference materials and with the above assessment and verification procedures, the uncertainties (k=1) of the spike activity used in making reference materials were: 60 Co≤4.6%, 134 Cs≤4.7%, 137 Cs≤5.0%, total β≤0.6% and 3 H≤1.3%. - Highlights: • Seven kinds environmental materials were used to establish the production of the RMs. • Spiking the traceable standard radioactive source to the blank substance. • Each sample was carefully evaluated for its uncertainty. • The performance of the RMs was estimated with the Proficiency Testing program report. • The ability of the environment RMs in the configuration is quite good

Graphene based 2D-materials for supercapacitors

Science.gov (United States)

Palaniselvam, Thangavelu; Baek, Jong-Beom

2015-09-01

Ever-increasing energy demands and the depletion of fossil fuels are compelling humanity toward the development of suitable electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices to attain a more sustainable society with adequate renewable energy and zero environmental pollution. In this regard, supercapacitors are being contemplated as potential energy storage devices to afford cleaner, environmentally friendly energy. Recently, a great deal of attention has been paid to two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials, including 2D graphene and its inorganic analogues (transition metal double layer hydroxides, chalcogenides, etc), as potential electrodes for the development of supercapacitors with high electrochemical performance. This review provides an overview of the recent progress in using these graphene-based 2D materials as potential electrodes for supercapacitors. In addition, future research trends including notable challenges and opportunities are also discussed.

Graphene based 2D-materials for supercapacitors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Palaniselvam, Thangavelu; Baek, Jong-Beom

2015-01-01

Ever-increasing energy demands and the depletion of fossil fuels are compelling humanity toward the development of suitable electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices to attain a more sustainable society with adequate renewable energy and zero environmental pollution. In this regard, supercapacitors are being contemplated as potential energy storage devices to afford cleaner, environmentally friendly energy. Recently, a great deal of attention has been paid to two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials, including 2D graphene and its inorganic analogues (transition metal double layer hydroxides, chalcogenides, etc), as potential electrodes for the development of supercapacitors with high electrochemical performance. This review provides an overview of the recent progress in using these graphene-based 2D materials as potential electrodes for supercapacitors. In addition, future research trends including notable challenges and opportunities are also discussed. (topical review)

An in situ accelerator-based diagnostic for plasma-material interactions science on magnetic fusion devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartwig, Zachary S; Barnard, Harold S; Lanza, Richard C; Sorbom, Brandon N; Stahle, Peter W; Whyte, Dennis G

2013-12-01

This paper presents a novel particle accelerator-based diagnostic that nondestructively measures the evolution of material surface compositions inside magnetic fusion devices. The diagnostic's purpose is to contribute to an integrated understanding of plasma-material interactions in magnetic fusion, which is severely hindered by a dearth of in situ material surface diagnosis. The diagnostic aims to remotely generate isotopic concentration maps on a plasma shot-to-shot timescale that cover a large fraction of the plasma-facing surface inside of a magnetic fusion device without the need for vacuum breaks or physical access to the material surfaces. Our instrument uses a compact (~1 m), high-current (~1 milliamp) radio-frequency quadrupole accelerator to inject 0.9 MeV deuterons into the Alcator C-Mod tokamak at MIT. We control the tokamak magnetic fields--in between plasma shots--to steer the deuterons to material surfaces where the deuterons cause high-Q nuclear reactions with low-Z isotopes ~5 μm into the material. The induced neutrons and gamma rays are measured with scintillation detectors; energy spectra analysis provides quantitative reconstruction of surface compositions. An overview of the diagnostic technique, known as accelerator-based in situ materials surveillance (AIMS), and the first AIMS diagnostic on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak is given. Experimental validation is shown to demonstrate that an optimized deuteron beam is injected into the tokamak, that low-Z isotopes such as deuterium and boron can be quantified on the material surfaces, and that magnetic steering provides access to different measurement locations. The first AIMS analysis, which measures the relative change in deuterium at a single surface location at the end of the Alcator C-Mod FY2012 plasma campaign, is also presented.

Environmental assessment of wood burning in independent heating devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rogaume, C.; Rogaume, Y.; Zoulalian, A.; Trouve, G.

2009-01-01

An environmental assessment has been achieved on two domestic wood-heating devices, a closed fireplace and an open fireplace which represent 80% of the sale market of wood small-scale combustion units and around 65% of the use of wood-energy in France. Not only deals this study with the atmospheric polluting emissions produced in the exhaust stack, but also with the indoor air quality. Therefore, different pollutants were measured at the emission stage and as indoor air concentrations: carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), volatile organic compounds (VOC), methane (CH 4 ), nitrogen oxides (NO X ), particulate matter with different sizes (PM 10 to PM 0.1 ), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and dioxines and furans. The results concerning indoor air were compared to measurements that showed the influence of residential heating devices. without exhaust duct like an oil stove or a gas stove (space heater) on indoor air quality. Some combustion emission experiments achieved in normal conditions showed that the combustion in open fireplace pollutes more than the combustion in closed fire-place: around 10 times more of PM 2.5 (mass concentration), more than 4 times of total VOC, 1.5 times more of dioxines and furans. On the other hand, the opposite trend was shown for PAH emissions (between 2 and 3 times less depending on the regulations considered). The comparison of the impact of different heating appliances on indoor air quality shows that the rate of CO is the same for all the devices except for the open fireplace which is higher. The CO 2 rate is 10 times higher for the oil stove and 8 times higher for the gas stove than for the fireplaces, which is due to the lack of exhaust duct. The concentration of PM 2.5 is 16 times higher for the open fireplace, 1.6 times higher for the oil stove and 4.4 times higher for the gas stove than the closed fireplace. The percentage of the number distribution of nano-particles, that represents an enhanced health risk

The Contribution of Environmental Siting and Permitting Requirements to the Cost of Energy for Oscillating Water Column Wave Energy Devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Copping, Andrea E. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Geerlofs, Simon H. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Hanna, Luke A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2013-09-01

Responsible deployment of marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) devices in estuaries, coastal areas, and major rivers requires that biological resources and ecosystems be protected through siting and permitting (consenting) processes. Scoping appropriate deployment locations, collecting pre-installation (baseline) and post-installation data all add to the cost of developing MHK projects, and hence to the cost of energy. Under the direction of the U.S. Department of Energy, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory scientists have developed logic models that describe studies and processes for environmental siting and permitting. Each study and environmental permitting process has been assigned a cost derived from existing and proposed tidal, wave, and riverine MHK projects, as well as expert opinion of marine environmental research professionals. Cost estimates have been developed at the pilot and commercial scale. The reference model described in this document is an oscillating water column device deployed in Northern California at approximately 50 meters water depth.

Encapsulation methods for organic electrical devices

Science.gov (United States)

Blum, Yigal D.; Chu, William Siu-Keung; MacQueen, David Brent; Shi, Yijian

2013-06-18

The disclosure provides methods and materials suitable for use as encapsulation barriers in electronic devices. In one embodiment, for example, there is provided an electroluminescent device or other electronic device encapsulated by alternating layers of a silicon-containing bonding material and a ceramic material. The encapsulation methods provide, for example, electronic devices with increased stability and shelf-life. The invention is useful, for example, in the field of microelectronic devices.

2D Material Device Architectures: Process Optimisation and Characterisation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gammelgaard, Lene

to stack two-dimensional crystals with atomically clean interphases, through a procedure termed van der Waals assembly. We have further developed this assembly method with the \\Hot pick-up" method, which enables batch assembly as well as assembly with pre-patterned crystals. Inclusion of pre...... devices. Additionally, the long-term stability of transition metal dichalcogenides has been studied, and the order of the layers has been demonstrated detectable by atomic force microscopy. The encapsulated van der Waals heterostructures give high performance and long-term stability of two......-dimensional layered materials. The integration of pre-patterned layers, postpatterning of van der Waals heterostructures and detection of the layer order enables control { not only of the vertical ordering of atomic layers { but also in the lateral dimension, facilitating fabrication of advanced metamaterials...

Smart electrochemical biosensors: From advanced materials to ultrasensitive devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sadik, Omowunmi A., E-mail: osadik@binghamton.ed [Department of Chemistry, Center for Advanced Sensors and Environmental Monitoring (CASE), State University of New York-Binghamton, P.O. Box 6000, Binghamton, NY 13902 (United States); Mwilu, Samuel K.; Aluoch, Austin [Department of Chemistry, Center for Advanced Sensors and Environmental Monitoring (CASE), State University of New York-Binghamton, P.O. Box 6000, Binghamton, NY 13902 (United States)

2010-05-30

The specificity, simplicity, and inherent miniaturization afforded by advances in modern electronics have allowed electrochemical sensors to rival the most advanced optical protocols. One major obstacle in implementing electrochemistry for studying biomolecular reaction is its inadequate sensitivity. Recent reports however showed unprecedented sensitivities for biomolecular recognition using enhanced electronic amplification provided by new classes of electrode materials (e.g. carbon nanotubes, metal nanoparticles, and quantum dots). Biosensor technology is one area where recent advances in nanomaterials are pushing the technological limits of electrochemical sensitivities, thus allowing for the development of new sensor chemistries and devices. This work focuses on our recent work, based on metal-enhanced electrochemical detection, and those of others in combining advanced nanomaterials with electrochemistry for the development of smart sensors for proteins, nucleic acids, drugs and cancer cells.

Smart electrochemical biosensors: From advanced materials to ultrasensitive devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sadik, Omowunmi A.; Mwilu, Samuel K.; Aluoch, Austin

2010-01-01

The specificity, simplicity, and inherent miniaturization afforded by advances in modern electronics have allowed electrochemical sensors to rival the most advanced optical protocols. One major obstacle in implementing electrochemistry for studying biomolecular reaction is its inadequate sensitivity. Recent reports however showed unprecedented sensitivities for biomolecular recognition using enhanced electronic amplification provided by new classes of electrode materials (e.g. carbon nanotubes, metal nanoparticles, and quantum dots). Biosensor technology is one area where recent advances in nanomaterials are pushing the technological limits of electrochemical sensitivities, thus allowing for the development of new sensor chemistries and devices. This work focuses on our recent work, based on metal-enhanced electrochemical detection, and those of others in combining advanced nanomaterials with electrochemistry for the development of smart sensors for proteins, nucleic acids, drugs and cancer cells.

Survey of currently available reference materials for use in connection with the determination of trace elements in biological and environmental materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muramatsu, Y.; Parr, R.M.

1985-12-01

This report focuses on analytical reference materials which have been developed for use in connection with the determination of toxic and essential trace elements in biomedical and health-related environmental samples. Data are reported on 60 biological and 40 environmental (non-biological) reference materials from 11 suppliers. Certified concentration values (or their equivalents) and non-certified concentration values (or information values) are presented in various tables which are intended to help the user select a reference material that matches as closely as possible (i.e. with respect to matrix type and concentration of the element of interest) the ''real'' samples that are to be analysed. These tables have been generated from a database characterized by the following parameters: total number of reference materials=100; total number of elements recorded=69; total number of concentration values recorded=1771. Also included in the report is information (where available) on the cost of each material, the unit weight or volume supplied, and the minimum weight of material recommended for analysis. (author)

Selection of environmental sustainable fiber materials for wind turbine blades - a contra intuitive process?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Birkved, Morten; Corona, Andrea; Markussen, Christen Malte

2013-01-01

environmental trade-offs over the entire life-span of composite materials, life cycle assessment (LCA) can be applied. In the present case study, four different types of fibers (carbon, glass, flax and carbon/flax mixture) are compared in terms of environmental sustainability and cost. Applying one of the most...... recent life cycle impact assessment methods, it is demonstrated that the environmental sustainability of the mixed carbon/flax fiber based composite material is better than that of the flax fibers alone. This observation may be contra-intuitive, but is mainly caused by the fact that the bio...... impacts in relation to the production of the carbon and glass fibers considerable compared to the impacts resulting from resin production. The ideal fiber solution, in terms of environmental sustainability, is hence the fiber composition having the lowest resin demand and lowest overall energy demand...

Isotope dilution surface ionization mass spectrometry of silver in environmental materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Murozumi, M; Nakamura, S; Suga, K [Muroran Inst. of Tech., Hokkaido (Japan)

1981-03-01

Surface ionization mass spectrometry has been developed to measure isotopic abundances and concentrations of silver in commercial high-purity metals, environmental materials such as rocks and plants, and /sup 109/Ag and /sup 107/Ag spikes. A minute amount of silver is extracted into a dithizone chloroform solution from a nitric acid solution of above samples. After the silver is back-extracted into 6.0 ml of a 7 mol/l HNO/sub 3/ solution, the solution is evaporated to dryness under the nitrogen atmosphere. Silver nitrate thus formed is dissolved in a mixture of 60 ..mu..l of an 0.003% silica gel suspended water and 5 ..mu..l of a 2% phosphoric acid. An aliquot of this solution is applied to the mass spectrometry using a rhenium single filament as an ion emitter. The proposed method can detect the presence of 10/sup -14/ g of silver on the ion emitter, and measure the /sup 109/Ag//sup 107/Ag isotopic ratio in environmental materials with the accuracy of 0.1 -- 0.2% in the coefficient of variation. Isotope dilution mass spectrometry using a /sup 107/Ag spike has revealed the silver concentration in the environmental standard materials, which were prepared by the National Bureau of Standards, U.S.A. and National Institute of Environmental Studies of Japan, as follows; 27.9 +- 0.2 ppb for the Orchard Leaves and 34.3 +- 0.3 ppb in the Pepper Bush. The determined values of silver in the Granodiorite, JG-1, and Basalt, JB-1 powders made by the Geological Survey of Japan are 25.4 +- 0.4 ppb and 41.3 +- 0.1 ppb respectively. Silver concentration in a coastal sea water sample is found to be at the level of 2.5 +- 0.4 ppt.

Standard and reference materials for environmental science. Part 1. Technical memo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cantillo, A.Y.

1995-11-01

This is the fourth edition of the catalog of reference materials suited for use in environmental science, originally compiled in 1986 for NOAA, IOC, and UNEP. The catalog lists more than 1200 reference materials from 28 producers and contains information about their proper use, sources, availability, and analyte concentrations. Indices are included for elements, isotopes, and organic compounds, as are cross references to CAS registry numbers, alternate names, and chemical structures of selected organic compounds.

Standard and reference materials for environmental science. Part 2. Technical memo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cantillo, A.Y.

1995-11-01

This is the fourth edition of the catalog of reference materials suited for use in environmental science, originally compiled in 1986 for NOAA, IOC, and UNEP. The catalog lists more than 1200 reference materials from 28 producers and contains information about their proper use, sources, availability, and analyte concentrations. Indices are included for elements, isotopes, and organic compounds, as are cross references to CAS registry numbers, alternate names, and chemical structures of selected organic compounds.

Torsional Shear Device for Testing the Dynamic Properties of Recycled Material

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabryś Katarzyna

2016-12-01

Full Text Available From the viewpoint of environmental preservation and effective utilization of resources, it is beneficial and necessary to reuse wastes, for example, concrete, as the recycled aggregates for new materials. In this work, the dynamic behavior of such aggregates under low frequency torsional loading is studied. Results show that the properties of such artificial soils match with those reported in the literature for specific natural soils.

Handbook of materials for medical devices

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Davis, J. R

2003-01-01

... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Introduction Chapter 1 Overview of Biomaterials and Their Use in Medical Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Uses for Biomaterials...

EI Scale: an environmental impact assessment scale related to the construction materials used in the reinforced concrete

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gilson Morales

2010-12-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to create EI Scal, an environmental impact assessment scal, related to construction materials used in the reinforced concrete structure production. The main reason for that was based on the need to classify the environmental impact levels through indicators to assess the damage level process. The scale allowed converting information to estimate the environmental impact caused. Indicators were defined trough the requirements and classification criteria of impact aspects considering the eco-design theory. Moreover, the scale allowed classifying the materials and processes environmental impact through four score categories which resulted in a single final impact score. It was concluded that the EI scale could be cheap, accessible, and relevant tool for environmental impact controlling and reduction, allowing the planning and material specification to minimize the construction negative effects caused in the environment.

Measurement of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in environmental matrix standard reference materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stapleton, H.; Schantz, M.; Wise, S. (National Institute of Standards and Technology)

2004-09-15

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a class of emerging contaminants of concern as many studies have now demonstrated that these compounds are bioaccumulative, persistent and increasing in concentration in the environment. PBDEs are being detected in almost every environmental sample examined, and they have even been measured in samples collected in the Arctic, further demonstrating their persistence and potential for long range transport. More and more studies are continuing to examine the fate and transport of these flame retardant compounds in environmental samples and as such, reference materials are needed to provide quality control on these measurements. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) supports a national Standard Reference Material (SRM) program for measurement of organic contaminants such as PCBs, PAHs and chlorinated pesticides in environmental matrices. This current study was undertaken to provide reference measurements for PBDEs in selected SRMs that are currently used by various laboratories throughout the United States. These SRMs include matrices such as marine mammal blubber, lake trout tissue, mussel tissue, sediment, house dust and human serum. We report here reference values for 22 PBDE congeners that have been quantified in these seven types of SRMs.

Stochastic modeling of filtrate alkalinity in water filtration devices: Transport through micro/nano porous clay based ceramic materials

Science.gov (United States)

Clay and plant materials such as wood are the raw materials used in manufacture of ceramic water filtration devices around the world. A step by step manufacturing procedure which includes initial mixing, molding and sintering is used. The manufactured ceramic filters have numerous pores which help i...

Research and development of basic technologies for next generation industries, 'composite materials'. Evaluation on final research and development (interim report); Jisedai sangyo kiban gijutsu kenkyu kaihatsu. Fukugo zairyo (saishu kenkyu kaihatsu hyoka 2)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1989-05-01

Development was made on a technology to evaluate quality of composite materials. Few data are available for environmental resistance of composite materials, whereas identification of environmental deterioration behavior and establishment of a environmental resistance evaluating technology are a significant issue in utilizing these materials as new materials for space, aeronautics, and marine applications in the future. The present research was taken up with objectives to elucidate deterioration behavior of composite materials exposed to special environment in the atmosphere and space and to establish methods for acceleration tests and environmental performance evaluation by using simulated environments equivalent to the natural environment exposure. The former period (fiscal 1982 through 1984) has investigated environmental conditions in the atmosphere and space, prepared standard test specimens, performed design on environmental devices simulating the environmental elements, as well as tests on deterioration due to environmental elements, and systematized the deterioration characteristics to establish composite test conditions. The latter period (fiscal 1985 through 1988) has developed the composite environment testing device based on the result achieved in the former period, elucidated the deterioration behavior under the composite environmental conditions, and performed evaluation tests on the developed composite materials (FRP). (NEDO)

Program and Abstracts of the ninth Joint Uzbek-Korea Symposium Nanoscience: Problems and Prospects on Quantum Functional Materials and Devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zakhidov, E.A.; Kang, T.W.; Mamatkulov, Sh.; Kokhkharov, A.M.; Cho Hak Dong

2010-11-01

The Ninth Joint Uzbek-Korea Symposium on Quantum Functional Materials and Devices was held on November 2-5, 2010 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The purpose of the Symposium is to provide a forum for Uzbekistan and Korean scientists to get together and discuss recent progress and future trends in the rapidly advancing nanoscience and nanotechnology. The symposium will promote an exchange of scientific information and a mutual collaboration. Symposium activities include in-depth coverage on materials grows, physics, characterization, device fabrication and application. The main scientific topics of the symposium: Synthesis of nanomaterials, nanocomposites and nanostructures; Structural, electrical and optical properties; New concepts of devices and related phenomena; Theoretical aspects of nanosciense. (eds.)

SMA foil-based elastocaloric cooling: from material behavior to device engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Bruederlin, F.; Ossmer, H.; Wendler, F.; Miyazaki, S.; Kohl, M.

2017-10-01

The elastocaloric effect associated with the stress-induced first order phase transformation in pseudoelastic shape memory alloy (SMA) films and foils is of special interest for cooling applications on a miniature scale enabling fast heat transfer and high cycling frequencies as well as tunable transformation temperatures. The focus is on TiNi-based materials having the potential to meet the various challenges associated with elastocaloric cooling including large adiabatic temperature change and ultra-low fatigue. The evolution of strain and temperature bands during tensile load cycling is investigated with respect to strain and strain-rate by in situ digital image correlation and infrared thermography with a spatial resolution in the order of 25 µm. Major design issues and challenges in fabrication of SMA film-based elastocaloric cooling devices are discussed including the efficiency of heat transfer as well as force recovery to enhance the coefficient of performance (COP) on the system level. Advanced demonstrators show a temperature span of 13 °C after 30 s, while the COP of the overall device reaches almost 10% of Carnot efficiency.

Radiological environmental impacts from transportation of nuclear materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shuai Zhengqing

1994-01-01

The author describes radiological impacts from transportation of nuclear materials. RADTRAN 4.0 supplied by IAEA was adopted to evaluate radiological consequence of incident-free transportation as well as the radiological risks from vehicular accidents occurring during transportation. The results of calculation show that the collective effective dose equivalent of incident-free transportation to the public and transportation workers is 7.94 x 10 -4 man·Sv. The calculated data suggest that the environmental impacts under normal and assumed accidental conditions are acceptable

Material and Phonon Engineering for Next Generation Acoustic Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Kuo, Nai-Kuei

This thesis presents the theoretical and experimental work related to micromachining of low intrinsic loss sapphire and phononic crystals for engineering new classes of electroacoustic devices for frequency control applications. For the first time, a low loss sapphire suspended membrane was fabricated and utilized to form the main body of a piezoelectric lateral overtone bulk acoustic resonator (LOBAR). Since the metalized piezoelectric transducer area in a LOBAR is only a small fraction of the overall resonant cavity (made out of sapphire), high quality factor (Q) overtones are attained. The experiment confirms the low intrinsic mechanical loss of the transferred sapphire thin film, and the resonators exhibit the highest Q of 5,440 at 2.8 GHz ( f·Q of 1.53.1013 Hz). This is also the highest f·Q demonstrated for aluminum-nitride-(AIN)-based Lamb wave devices to date. Beyond demonstrating a low loss device, this experimental work has laid the foundation for the future development of new micromechanical devices based on a high Q, high hardness and chemically resilient material. The search for alternative ways to more efficiently perform frequency control functionalities lead to the exploration of Phononic Crystal (PnC) structures in AIN thin films. Four unit cell designs were theoretically and experimentally investigated to explore the behavior of phononic bandgaps (PBGs) in the ultra high frequency (UHF) range: (i) the conventional square lattice with circular air scatterer, (ii) the inverse acoustic bandgap (IABG) structure, (iii) the fractal PnC, and (iv) the X-shaped PnC. Each unit cell has its unique frequency characteristic that was exploited to synthesize either cavity resonators or improve the performance of acoustic delay lines. The PBGs operate in the range of 770 MHz to 1 GHz and exhibit a maximum acoustic rejection of 40 dB. AIN Lamb wave transducers (LWTs) were employed for the experimental demonstration of the PBGs and cavity resonances. Ultra

Processing method and processing device for liquid waste containing surface active agent and radioactive material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishi, Takashi; Matsuda, Masami; Baba, Tsutomu; Yoshikawa, Ryozo; Yukita, Atsushi.

1998-01-01

Washing liquid wastes containing surface active agents and radioactive materials are sent to a deaerating vessel. Ozone is blown into the deaerating vessel. The washing liquid wastes dissolved with ozone are introduced to a UV ray irradiation vessel. UV rays are irradiated to the washing liquid wastes, and hydroxy radicals generated by photodecomposition of dissolved ozone oxidatively decompose surface active agents contained in the washing liquid wastes. The washing liquid wastes discharged from the UV ray irradiation vessel are sent to an activated carbon mixing vessel and mixed with powdery activated carbon. The surface active agents not decomposed in the UV ray irradiation vessel are adsorbed to the activated carbon. Then, the activated carbon and washing liquid wastes are separated by an activated carbon separating/drying device. Radioactive materials (iron oxide and the like) contained in the washing liquid wastes are mostly granular, and they are separated and removed from the washing liquid wastes in the activated carbon separating/drying device. (I.N.)

Metasurfaces Based on Phase-Change Material as a Reconfigurable Platform for Multifunctional Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Raeis-Hosseini, Niloufar; Rho, Junsuk

2017-01-01

Integration of phase-change materials (PCMs) into electrical/optical circuits has initiated extensive innovation for applications of metamaterials (MMs) including rewritable optical data storage, metasurfaces, and optoelectronic devices. PCMs have been studied deeply due to their reversible phase transition, high endurance, switching speed, and data retention. Germanium-antimony-tellurium (GST) is a PCM that has amorphous and crystalline phases with distinct properties, is bistable and nonvolatile, and undergoes a reliable and reproducible phase transition in response to an optical or electrical stimulus; GST may therefore have applications in tunable photonic devices and optoelectronic circuits. In this progress article, we outline recent studies of GST and discuss its advantages and possible applications in reconfigurable metadevices. We also discuss outlooks for integration of GST in active nanophotonic metadevices. PMID:28878196

Mixed bi-material electrodes based on LiMn2O4 and activated carbon for hybrid electrochemical energy storage devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cericola, Dario; Novak, Petr; Wokaun, Alexander; Koetz, Ruediger

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Bi-material electrodes for electrochemical hybrid devices were characterized. → Bi-material electrodes have higher specific charge than capacitor electrodes. → Bi-material electrodes have better rate capability than battery electrodes. → Bi-material systems outperform batteries and capacitors in pulsed applications. - Abstract: The performance of mixed bi-material electrodes composed of the battery material, LiMn 2 O 4 , and the electrochemical capacitor material, activated carbon, for hybrid electrochemical energy storage devices is investigated by galvanostatic charge/discharge and pulsed discharge experiments. Both, a high and a low conductivity lithium-containing electrolyte are used. The specific charge of the bi-material electrode is the linear combination of the specific charges of LiMn 2 O 4 and activated carbon according to the electrode composition at low discharge rates. Thus, the specific charge of the bi-material electrode falls between the specific charge of the activated carbon electrode and the LiMn 2 O 4 battery electrode. The bi-material electrodes have better rate capability than the LiMn 2 O 4 battery electrode. For high current pulsed applications the bi-material electrodes typically outperform both the battery and the capacitor electrode.

Solid thin film materials for use in thin film charge-coupled devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lynch, S.J.

1983-01-01

Solid thin films deposited by vacuum deposition were evaluated to ascertain their effectiveness for use in the manufacturing of charge-coupled devices (CCDs). Optical and electrical characteristics of tellurium and Bi 2 Te 3 solid thin films were obtained in order to design and to simulate successfully the operation of thin film (TF) CCDs. In this article some of the material differences between single-crystal material and the island-structured thin film used in TFCCDs are discussed. The electrical parameters were obtained and tabulated, e.g. the mobility, conductivity, dielectric constants, permittivity, lifetime of holes and electrons in the thin films and drift diffusion constants. The optical parameters were also measured and analyzed. After the design was complete, experimental TFCCDs were manufactured and were successfully operated utilizing the aforementioned solid thin films. (Auth.)

Research Progress in MnO2 -Carbon Based Supercapacitor Electrode Materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qun-Zheng; Zhang, Dian; Miao, Zong-Cheng; Zhang, Xun-Li; Chou, Shu-Lei

2018-04-30

With the serious impact of fossil fuels on the environment and the rapid development of the global economy, the development of clean and usable energy storage devices has become one of the most important themes of sustainable development in the world today. Supercapacitors are a new type of green energy storage device, with high power density, long cycle life, wide temperature range, and both economic and environmental advantages. In many industries, they have enormous application prospects. Electrode materials are an important factor affecting the performance of supercapacitors. MnO 2 -based materials are widely investigated for supercapacitors because of their high theoretical capacitance, good chemical stability, low cost, and environmental friendliness. To achieve high specific capacitance and high rate capability, the current best solution is to use MnO 2 and carbon composite materials. Herein, MnO 2 -carbon composite as supercapacitor electrode materials is reviewed including the synthesis method and research status in recent years. Finally, the challenges and future development directions of an MnO 2 -carbon based supercapacitor are summarized. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Improving the Performance of Semiconductor Sensor Devices Using Surface Functionalization

Science.gov (United States)

Rohrbaugh, Nathaniel W.

As production and understanding of III-nitride growth has progressed, this class of material has been used for its semiconducting properties in the fields of computer processing, microelectronics, and LEDs. As understanding of materials properties has advanced, devices were fabricated to be sensitive to environmental surroundings such as pH, gas, or ionic concentration. Simultaneously the world of pharmaceuticals and environmental science has come to the age where the use of wearable devices and active environmental sensing can not only help us learn more about our surroundings, but help save lives. At the crossroads of these two fields work has been done in marrying the high stability and electrical properties of the III-nitrides with the needs of a growing sensor field for various environments and stimuli. Device architecture can only get one so far, and thus the need for well understood surface functionalization techniques has arisen in the field of III-nitride environmental sensing. Many existing schemes for functionalization involve chemistries that may be unfriendly to a biological environment, unstable in solution, or expensive to produce. One possible solution to these issues is the work presented here, which highlights a surface modification scheme utilizing phosphonic acid based chemistry and biomolecular attachment. This dissertation presents a set of studies and experiments quantifying and analyzing the response behaviors of AlGaN/GaN field effect transistor (FET) devices via their interfacial electronic properties. Additional investigation was done on the modification of these surfaces, effects of stressful environmental conditions, and the utility of the phosphonic acid surface treatments. Signals of AlGaN/GaN FETs were measured as IDrain values and in the earliest study an average signal increase of 96.43% was observed when surfaces were incubated in a solution of a known recognition peptide sequence (SVSVGMKPSPRP). This work showed that even without

Materials and devices with applications in high-end organic transistors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeya, J.; Uemura, T.; Sakai, K.; Okada, Y.

2014-01-01

The development of functional materials typically benefits from an understanding of the microscopic mechanisms by which those materials operate. To accelerate the development of organic semiconductor devices with industrial applications in flexible and printed electronics, it is essential to elucidate the mechanisms of charge transport associated with molecular-scale charge transfer. In this study, we employed Hall effect measurements to differentiate coherent band transport from site-to-site hopping. The results of tests using several different molecular systems as the active semiconductor layers demonstrate that high-mobility charge transport in recently-developed solution-crystallized organic transistors is the result of a band-like mechanism. These materials, which have the potential to be organic transistors exhibiting the highest speeds ever obtained, are significantly different from the conventional lower-mobility organic semiconductors with incoherent hopping-like transport mechanisms which were studied in the previous century. They may be categorized as “high-end” organic semiconductors, characterized by their coherent electronic states and high values of mobility which are close to or greater than 10 cm 2 /Vs. - Highlights: • Transport in high-mobility solution-crystallized organic transistors is band-like. • High-end organic semiconductors carry coherent electrons with mobility > 10 cm 2 /Vs. • Hall-effect measurement differentiates coherent band transport from hopping. • We found an anomalous pressure effect in organic semiconductors

The effect of environmental parameters on contaminant uptake by a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

There was also no discernable relationship between pH and contaminants uptake by the sampling devices as was expected with non polar, non-ioniseable solutes. The uptake of compounds with lower molar volumes was most susceptible to the presence oh humic materials. Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental ...

Material insights of HfO2-based integrated 1-transistor-1-resistor resistive random access memory devices processed by batch atomic layer deposition.

Science.gov (United States)

Niu, Gang; Kim, Hee-Dong; Roelofs, Robin; Perez, Eduardo; Schubert, Markus Andreas; Zaumseil, Peter; Costina, Ioan; Wenger, Christian

2016-06-17

With the continuous scaling of resistive random access memory (RRAM) devices, in-depth understanding of the physical mechanism and the material issues, particularly by directly studying integrated cells, become more and more important to further improve the device performances. In this work, HfO2-based integrated 1-transistor-1-resistor (1T1R) RRAM devices were processed in a standard 0.25 μm complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process line, using a batch atomic layer deposition (ALD) tool, which is particularly designed for mass production. We demonstrate a systematic study on TiN/Ti/HfO2/TiN/Si RRAM devices to correlate key material factors (nano-crystallites and carbon impurities) with the filament type resistive switching (RS) behaviours. The augmentation of the nano-crystallites density in the film increases the forming voltage of devices and its variation. Carbon residues in HfO2 films turn out to be an even more significant factor strongly impacting the RS behaviour. A relatively higher deposition temperature of 300 °C dramatically reduces the residual carbon concentration, thus leading to enhanced RS performances of devices, including lower power consumption, better endurance and higher reliability. Such thorough understanding on physical mechanism of RS and the correlation between material and device performances will facilitate the realization of high density and reliable embedded RRAM devices with low power consumption.

Development and Evaluation of English Listening Study Materials for Business People Who Use Mobile Devices: A Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Yamada, Masanori; Kitamura, Satoshi; Shimada, Noriko; Utashiro, Takafumi; Shigeta, Katsusuke; Yamaguchi, Etsuji; Harrison, Richard; Yamauchi, Yuhei; Nakahara, Jun

2011-01-01

This study aims to verify the effectiveness of English language materials using mobile devices for business people in terms of the effect on motivation, overall learning performance, and practical performance in real business situations. We compared the use of materials developed from business English for a sales department in a company…

ZnCdMgSe as a Materials Platform for Advanced Photonic Devices: Broadband Quantum Cascade Detectors and Green Semiconductor Disk Lasers

Science.gov (United States)

De Jesus, Joel

The ZnCdMgSe family of II-VI materials has unique and promising characteristics that may be useful in practical applications. For example they can be grown lattice matched to InP substrates with lattice matched bandgaps that span from 2.1 to 3.5 eV, they can be successfully doped n-type, have a large conduction band offset (CBO) with no intervalley scattering present when strained, they have lower average phonon energies, and the InP lattice constant lies in the middle of the ZnSe and CdSe binaries compounds giving room to experiment with tensile and compressive stress. However they have not been studied in detail for use in practical devices. Here we have identified two types of devices that are being currently developed that benefit from the ZnCdMgSe-based material properties. These are the intersubband (ISB) quantum cascade (QC) detectors and optically pumped semiconductor lasers that emit in the visible range. The paucity for semiconductor lasers operating in the green-orange portion of the visible spectrum can be easily overcome with the ZnCdMgSe materials system developed in our research. The non-strain limited, large CBO available allows to expand the operating wavelength of ISB devices providing shorter and longer wavelengths than the currently commercially available devices. This property can also be exploited to develop broadband room temperature operation ISB detectors. The work presented here focused first on using the ZnCdMgSe-based material properties and parameter to understand and predict the interband and intersubband transitions of its heterostructures. We did this by studying an active region of a QC device by contactless electroreflectance, photoluminescence, FTIR transmittance and correlating the measurements to the quantum well structure by transfer matrix modeling. Then we worked on optimizing the ZnCdMgSe material heterostructures quality by studying the effects of growth interruptions on their optical and optoelectronic properties of

Novel Materials, Processing, and Device Technologies for Space Exploration with Potential Dual-Use Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Hepp, A. F.; Bailey, S. G.; McNatt, J. S.; Chandrashekhar, M. V. S.; Harris, J. D.; Rusch, A. W.; Nogales, K. A.; Goettsche, K. V.; Hanson, W.; Amos, D.;

Some issues on environmental impact report of radioactive material transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Jiaming

2001-01-01

The author puts forward some issues which should be paid attention to when compiling a environmental impact report of radioactive material transport. The main issues discussed are as follows: (1) Optimization analysis for transport routes. (2) Source terms under accident conditions in transport. (3) Precautions against accidents and emergency preparedness. (4) Quality assurance of transport, etc

Mid-infrared materials and devices on a Si platform for optical sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Vivek; Lin, Pao Tai; Patel, Neil; Lin, Hongtao; Li, Lan; Zou, Yi; Deng, Fei; Ni, Chaoying; Hu, Juejun; Giammarco, James; Soliani, Anna Paola; Zdyrko, Bogdan; Luzinov, Igor; Novak, Spencer; Novak, Jackie; Wachtel, Peter; Danto, Sylvain; Musgraves, J David; Richardson, Kathleen; Kimerling, Lionel C; Agarwal, Anuradha M

2014-01-01

In this article, we review our recent work on mid-infrared (mid-IR) photonic materials and devices fabricated on silicon for on-chip sensing applications. Pedestal waveguides based on silicon are demonstrated as broadband mid-IR sensors. Our low-loss mid-IR directional couplers demonstrated in SiNx waveguides are useful in differential sensing applications. Photonic crystal cavities and microdisk resonators based on chalcogenide glasses for high sensitivity are also demonstrated as effective mid-IR sensors. Polymer-based functionalization layers, to enhance the sensitivity and selectivity of our sensor devices, are also presented. We discuss the design of mid-IR chalcogenide waveguides integrated with polycrystalline PbTe detectors on a monolithic silicon platform for optical sensing, wherein the use of a low-index spacer layer enables the evanescent coupling of mid-IR light from the waveguides to the detector. Finally, we show the successful fabrication processing of our first prototype mid-IR waveguide-integrated detectors. PMID:27877641

Quality assurance and reference material requirements and considerations for environmental sample analysis in nuclear forensics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swindle, D.W. Jr.; Perrin, R.E.; Goldberg, S.A.; Cappis, J.

2002-01-01

Full text: High-sensitivity nuclear environmental sampling and analysis techniques have been proven in their ability to verify declared nuclear activities, as well as to assist in the detection of undeclared nuclear activities and facilities. Following the Gulf War, the capability and revealing power of environmental sampling and analysis techniques to support international safeguards was demonstrated and subsequently adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as routine safeguards measures in safeguards inspections and verifications. In addition to having been proved useful in international safeguards, environmental sampling and analysis techniques have demonstrated their utility in identifying the origins of 'orphaned' nuclear material, as well as the origin of intercepted smuggled nuclear material. Today, environmental sampling and analysis techniques are now being applied in six broad areas to support nonproliferation, disarmament treaty verification, national and international nuclear security, and environmental stewardship of weapons production activities. Consequently, more and more laboratories around the world are establishing capabilities or expanding capabilities to meet these growing applications, and as such requirements for quality assurance and control are increasing. The six areas are: 1) Nuclear safeguards; 2) Nuclear forensics/illicit trafficking; 3) Ongoing monitoring and verification (OMV); 4) Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT); 5) Weapons dismantlement/materials disposition; and 6) Research and development (R and D)/environmental stewardship/safety. Application of environmental sampling and analysis techniques and resources to illicit nuclear material trafficking, while embodying the same basic techniques and resources, does have unique requirements for sample management, handling, protocols, chain of custody, archiving, and data interpretation. These requirements are derived from needs of how data from nuclear forensics

Selection of IFE target materials from a safety and environmental perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Latkowski, J. F.; Sanz, J.; Reyes, S.; Gomez del Rio, J.

2001-05-01

Target materials for inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plant designs might be selected for a wide variety of reasons including wall absorption of driver energy, material opacity, cost and ease of fabrication. While each of these issues are of great importance, target materials should also be selected based upon their safety and environmental (S&E) characteristics. The present work focuses on the recycling, waste management and accident dose characteristics of potential target materials. If target materials are recycled so that the quantity is small, isotopic separation may be economically viable. Therefore, calculations have been completed for all stable isotopes for all elements from lithium to polonium. The results of these calculations are used to identify specific isotopes and elements that are most likely to be offensive as well as those most likely to be acceptable in terms of their S&E characteristics.

Organic n-type materials for charge transport and charge storage applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Stolar, Monika; Baumgartner, Thomas

2013-06-21

Conjugated materials have attracted much attention toward applications in organic electronics in recent years. These organic species offer many advantages as potential replacement for conventional materials (i.e., silicon and metals) in terms of cheap fabrication and environmentally benign devices. While p-type (electron-donating or hole-conducting) materials have been extensively reviewed and researched, their counterpart n-type (electron-accepting or electron-conducting) materials have seen much less popularity despite the greater need for improvement. In addition to developing efficient charge transport materials, it is equally important to provide a means of charge storage, where energy can be used on an on-demand basis. This perspective is focused on discussing a selection of representative n-type materials and the efforts toward improving their charge-transport efficiencies. Additionally, this perspective will also highlight recent organic materials for battery components and the efforts that have been made to improve their environmental appeal.