Measuring the lateral charge-carrier mobility in metal-insulator-semiconductor capacitors via Kelvin-probe.

Science.gov (United States)

Milotti, Valeria; Pietsch, Manuel; Strunk, Karl-Philipp; Melzer, Christian

2018-01-01

We report a Kelvin-probe method to investigate the lateral charge-transport properties of semiconductors, most notably the charge-carrier mobility. The method is based on successive charging and discharging of a pre-biased metal-insulator-semiconductor stack by an alternating voltage applied to one edge of a laterally confined semiconductor layer. The charge carriers spreading along the insulator-semiconductor interface are directly measured by a Kelvin-probe, following the time evolution of the surface potential. A model is presented, describing the device response for arbitrary applied biases allowing the extraction of the lateral charge-carrier mobility from experimentally measured surface potentials. The method is tested using the organic semiconductor poly(3-hexylthiophene), and the extracted mobilities are validated through current voltage measurements on respective field-effect transistors. Our widely applicable approach enables robust measurements of the lateral charge-carrier mobility in semiconductors with weak impact from the utilized contact materials.

Measuring the lateral charge-carrier mobility in metal-insulator-semiconductor capacitors via Kelvin-probe

Science.gov (United States)

Milotti, Valeria; Pietsch, Manuel; Strunk, Karl-Philipp; Melzer, Christian

2018-01-01

We report a Kelvin-probe method to investigate the lateral charge-transport properties of semiconductors, most notably the charge-carrier mobility. The method is based on successive charging and discharging of a pre-biased metal-insulator-semiconductor stack by an alternating voltage applied to one edge of a laterally confined semiconductor layer. The charge carriers spreading along the insulator-semiconductor interface are directly measured by a Kelvin-probe, following the time evolution of the surface potential. A model is presented, describing the device response for arbitrary applied biases allowing the extraction of the lateral charge-carrier mobility from experimentally measured surface potentials. The method is tested using the organic semiconductor poly(3-hexylthiophene), and the extracted mobilities are validated through current voltage measurements on respective field-effect transistors. Our widely applicable approach enables robust measurements of the lateral charge-carrier mobility in semiconductors with weak impact from the utilized contact materials.

Study of protein-probe complexation equilibria and protein-surfactant interaction using charge transfer fluorescence probe methyl ester of N,N-dimethylamino naphthyl acrylic acid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mahanta, Subrata; Balia Singh, Rupashree; Bagchi, Arnab [Department of Chemistry University of Calcutta 92, A.P.C. Road, Kolkata 700009 (India); Nath, Debnarayan [Department of Physical Chemistry, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Jadavpur, Kolkata 700 032 (India); Guchhait, Nikhil, E-mail: nguchhait@yahoo.co [Department of Chemistry University of Calcutta 92, A.P.C. Road, Kolkata 700009 (India)

2010-06-15

In this paper, we demonstrate the interaction between intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) probe-Methyl ester of N,N-dimethylamino naphthyl acrylic acid (MDMANA) with bovine serum albumin (BSA) using absorption and fluorescence emission spectroscopy. The nature of probe protein binding interaction, fluorescence resonance energy transfer from protein to probe and time resolved fluorescence decay measurement predict that the probe molecule binds strongly to the hydrophobic cavity of the protein. Furthermore, the interaction of the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) with water soluble protein BSA has been investigated using MDMANA as fluorescenece probe. The changes in the spectral characteristics of charge transfer fluorescence probe MDMANA in BSA-SDS environment reflects well the nature of the protein-surfactant binding interaction such as specific binding, non-cooperative binding, cooperative binding and saturation binding.

Charge-exchange giant resonances as probes of nuclear structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blomgren, J.

2001-09-01

Giant resonances populated in charge-exchange reactions can reveal detailed information about nuclear structure properties, in spite of their apparent featurelessness. The (p,n) and (n,p) reactions - as well as their analog reactions - proceed via the same nuclear matrix element as beta decay. Thereby, they are useful for probing electroweak properties in nuclei, especially for those not accessible to beta decay. The nuclear physics aspects of double beta decay might be investigated in double charge-exchange reactions. detailed nuclear structure information, such as the presence of ground-state correlations, can be revealed via identification of 'first-forbidden' transitions. In addition, astrophysics aspects and halo properties of nuclei have been investigated in charge exchange. Finally, these experiments have questioned our knowledge of the absolute strength of the strong interaction

Characterization of electronic charged states of P-doped Si quantum dots using AFM/Kelvin probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Makihara, Katsunori; Xu, Jun; Ikeda, Mitsuhisa; Murakami, Hideki; Higashi, Seiichiro; Miyazaki, Seiichi

2006-01-01

Phosphorous doping to Si quantum dots was performed by a pulse injection of 1% PH 3 diluted with He during the dot formation on thermally grown SiO 2 from thermal decomposition of pure SiH 4 , and electron charging to and discharging from P-doped Si dots were studied to characterize their electronic charged states using a Kelvin probe technique in atomic force microscopy (AFM). The potential change corresponding to the extraction of one electron from each of the P-doped Si dots was observed after applying a tip bias as low as + 0.2 V while for undoped Si dots, with almost the same size as P-doped Si dots, almost the same amount of the potential change was detectable only when the tip bias was increased to ∼ 1 V. It is likely that, for P-doped Si dots, the electron extraction from the conduction band occurs and results in a positively charged state with ionized P donor

Turn-on fluorescence probes based on pyranine/viologen charge-transfer complexes for the determination of nucleotides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schäferling, Michael, E-mail: Michael.schaeferling@utu.fi; Lang, Thomas; Schnettelker, Annette

2014-10-15

The formation of ground state charge-transfer complexes between pyranine (8-hydroxypyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid) and viologen (paraquat) derivatives is utilized for the design of novel fluoroionophores for the determination of phosphate species, particularly of nucleotides. The strong quenching of the pyranine fluorescence by viologen-type charge transfer acceptors can be countermanded if these are functionalized with triethylammonium groups that serve as recognition elements for phosphate anions. We report on the fluorogenic responses of these water-soluble molecular probes in presence of different phosphates. Absorbance measurements give additional information on the charge transfer complex formation and the interaction with nucleotides. The experimental data show that these aggregates form attractive, simple and versatile fluorescence turn-on probes for nucleoside triphosphates. The reversibility of the fluorescence response is demonstrated by means of an enzymatic model assay using ATPase for the decomposition of adenosine triphosphate. - Highlights: • Pyranine/viologen charge-transfer complexes as molecular probe for ATP recognition. • Fluorescence turn on mechanism. • Selective compared to other nucleotides and phosphate anions. • Fast and reversible response applicable to monitor enzymatic reactions.

Charge Transport in Metal-Molecule-Metal Junctions Probed by Conducting Atomic Force Microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Min Hyung; Song, Hyunwook

2013-01-01

We have demonstrated a proof of intrinsic charge transport properties in alkanedithiol molecular junctions using a multiprobe approach combining a variety of transport techniques. The temperature-independent I(V) behavior and the correct exponential decay of conductance with respect to molecular length shows that the dominant charge transport mechanism is off-resonant tunneling. Length-dependent TVS measurements for the saturated alkane-dithiol series indicate that we did indeed probe a molecular system with CAFM. These results can provide stringent criteria to establish a valid molecular transport junction via a probabilistic measurement technique. In this study, we report a study of charge transport in alkanedithiol SAMs formed in metal-molecule-metal junctions using CAFM in combination with a variety of molecular transport techniques including temperature-and length-variable transport measurements and transition voltage spectroscopy. The main goal of this study is to probe the intrinsic transport properties of component molecules using CAFM, but not parasitic or defect-related effects

Charged ion source with a polarizable probe and with a cyclotron electronic resonance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Briand, P.

1992-01-01

This invention is about ion sources with a polarizable probe able to produce, from neutral atoms, highly charged ions. This source is composed of an hyperfrequency cavity, production means of an axial magnetic field in the cavity, production means of a multipolar radial magnetic field in this cavity, a high frequency inlet, gas input in the cavity, ion extraction means and a polarizable probe in tension to improve gas ionization

Investigations of ultrafast charge dynamics in laser-irradiated targets by a self probing technique employing laser driven protons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahmed, H. [School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen' s University Belfast, BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); Kar, S., E-mail: s.kar@qub.ac.uk [School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen' s University Belfast, BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); Cantono, G. [School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen' s University Belfast, BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); Department of Physics “E. Fermi”, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, 56127 Pisa (Italy); Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, Research Unit Adriano Gozzini, via G. Moruzzi 1, Pisa 56124 (Italy); Nersisyan, G. [School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen' s University Belfast, BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); Brauckmann, S. [Institut für Laser-und Plasmaphysik, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf (Germany); Doria, D.; Gwynne, D. [School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen' s University Belfast, BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); Macchi, A. [Department of Physics “E. Fermi”, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, 56127 Pisa (Italy); Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, Research Unit Adriano Gozzini, via G. Moruzzi 1, Pisa 56124 (Italy); Naughton, K. [School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen' s University Belfast, BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); Willi, O. [Institut für Laser-und Plasmaphysik, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf (Germany); Lewis, C.L.S.; Borghesi, M. [School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen' s University Belfast, BT7 1NN (United Kingdom)

2016-09-01

The divergent and broadband proton beams produced by the target normal sheath acceleration mechanism provide the unique opportunity to probe, in a point-projection imaging scheme, the dynamics of the transient electric and magnetic fields produced during laser-plasma interactions. Commonly such experimental setup entails two intense laser beams, where the interaction produced by one beam is probed with the protons produced by the second. We present here experimental studies of the ultra-fast charge dynamics along a wire connected to laser irradiated target carried out by employing a ‘self’ proton probing arrangement – i.e. by connecting the wire to the target generating the probe protons. The experimental data shows that an electromagnetic pulse carrying a significant amount of charge is launched along the wire, which travels as a unified pulse of 10s of ps duration with a velocity close to speed of light. The experimental capabilities and the analysis procedure of this specific type of proton probing technique are discussed. - Highlights: • Prompt charging of laser irradiated target generates ultra-short EM pulses. • Its ultrafast propagation along a wire was studied by self-proton probing technique. • Self-proton probing technique is the proton probing with one laser pulse. • Pulse temporal profile and speed along the wire were measured with high resolution.

Microscopic studies of the fate of charges in organic semiconductors: Scanning Kelvin probe measurements of charge trapping, transport, and electric fields in p- and n-type devices

Science.gov (United States)

Smieska, Louisa Marion

Organic semiconductors could have wide-ranging applications in lightweight, efficient electronic circuits. However, several fundamental questions regarding organic electronic device behavior have not yet been fully addressed, including the nature of chemical charge traps, and robust models for injection and transport. Many studies focus on engineering devices through bulk transport measurements, but it is not always possible to infer the microscopic behavior leading to the observed measurements. In this thesis, we present scanning-probe microscope studies of organic semiconductor devices in an effort to connect local properties with local device behavior. First, we study the chemistry of charge trapping in pentacene transistors. Working devices are doped with known pentacene impurities and the extent of charge trap formation is mapped across the transistor channel. Trap-clearing spectroscopy is employed to measure an excitation of the pentacene charge trap species, enabling identification of the degradationrelated chemical trap in pentacene. Second, we examine transport and trapping in peryelene diimide (PDI) transistors. Local mobilities are extracted from surface potential profiles across a transistor channel, and charge injection kinetics are found to be highly sensitive to electrode cleanliness. Trap-clearing spectra generally resemble PDI absorption spectra, but one derivative yields evidence indicating variation in trap-clearing mechanisms for different surface chemistries. Trap formation rates are measured and found to be independent of surface chemistry, contradicting a proposed silanol trapping mechanism. Finally, we develop a variation of scanning Kelvin probe microscopy that enables measurement of electric fields through a position modulation. This method avoids taking a numeric derivative of potential, which can introduce high-frequency noise into the electric field signal. Preliminary data is presented, and the theoretical basis for electric field

Spacecraft Charging and the Microwave Anisotropy Probe Spacecraft

Science.gov (United States)

Timothy, VanSant J.; Neergaard, Linda F.

1998-01-01

The Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP), a MIDEX mission built in partnership between Princeton University and the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), will study the cosmic microwave background. It will be inserted into a highly elliptical earth orbit for several weeks and then use a lunar gravity assist to orbit around the second Lagrangian point (L2), 1.5 million kilometers, anti-sunward from the earth. The charging environment for the phasing loops and at L2 was evaluated. There is a limited set of data for L2; the GEOTAIL spacecraft measured relatively low spacecraft potentials (approx. 50 V maximum) near L2. The main area of concern for charging on the MAP spacecraft is the well-established threat posed by the "geosynchronous region" between 6-10 Re. The launch in the autumn of 2000 will coincide with the falling of the solar maximum, a period when the likelihood of a substorm is higher than usual. The likelihood of a substorm at that time has been roughly estimated to be on the order of 20% for a typical MAP mission profile. Because of the possibility of spacecraft charging, a requirement for conductive spacecraft surfaces was established early in the program. Subsequent NASCAP/GEO analyses for the MAP spacecraft demonstrated that a significant portion of the sunlit surface (solar cell cover glass and sunshade) could have nonconductive surfaces without significantly raising differential charging. The need for conductive materials on surfaces continually in eclipse has also been reinforced by NASCAP analyses.

Charging of the Van Allen Probes: Theory and Simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Delzanno, G. L.; Meierbachtol, C.; Svyatskiy, D.; Denton, M.

2017-12-01

The electrical charging of spacecraft has been a known problem since the beginning of the space age. Its consequences can vary from moderate (single event upsets) to catastrophic (total loss of the spacecraft) depending on a variety of causes, some of which could be related to the surrounding plasma environment, including emission processes from the spacecraft surface. Because of its complexity and cost, this problem is typically studied using numerical simulations. However, inherent unknowns in both plasma parameters and spacecraft material properties can lead to inaccurate predictions of overall spacecraft charging levels. The goal of this work is to identify and study the driving causes and necessary parameters for particular spacecraft charging events on the Van Allen Probes (VAP) spacecraft. This is achieved by making use of plasma theory, numerical simulations, and on-board data. First, we present a simple theoretical spacecraft charging model, which assumes a spherical spacecraft geometry and is based upon the classical orbital-motion-limited approximation. Some input parameters to the model (such as the warm plasma distribution function) are taken directly from on-board VAP data, while other parameters are either varied parametrically to assess their impact on the spacecraft potential, or constrained through spacecraft charging data and statistical techniques. Second, a fully self-consistent numerical simulation is performed by supplying these parameters to CPIC, a particle-in-cell code specifically designed for studying plasma-material interactions. CPIC simulations remove some of the assumptions of the theoretical model and also capture the influence of the full geometry of the spacecraft. The CPIC numerical simulation results will be presented and compared with on-board VAP data. This work will set the foundation for our eventual goal of importing the full plasma environment from the LANL-developed SHIELDS framework into CPIC, in order to more accurately

Simulation of Probe Position-Dependent Electron Energy-Loss Fine Structure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oxley, M. P.; Kapetanakis, M. D.; Prange, Micah P.; Varela, M.; Pennycook, Stephen J.; Pantelides, Sokrates T.

2014-03-31

We present a theoretical framework for calculating probe-position-dependent electron energy-loss near-edge structure for the scanning transmission electron microscope by combining density functional theory with dynamical scattering theory. We show how simpler approaches to calculating near-edge structure fail to include the fundamental physics needed to understand the evolution of near-edge structure as a function of probe position and investigate the dependence of near-edge structure on probe size. It is within this framework that density functional theory should be presented, in order to ensure that variations of near-edge structure are truly due to local electronic structure and how much from the diffraction and focusing of the electron beam.

Accurate Extraction of Charge Carrier Mobility in 4-Probe Field-Effect Transistors

KAUST Repository

Choi, Hyun Ho; Rodionov, Yaroslav I.; Paterson, Alexandra F.; Panidi, Julianna; Saranin, Danila; Kharlamov, Nikolai; Didenko, Sergei I.; Anthopoulos, Thomas D.; Cho, Kilwon; Podzorov, Vitaly

2018-01-01

Charge carrier mobility is an important characteristic of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) and other semiconductor devices. However, accurate mobility determination in FETs is frequently compromised by issues related to Schottky-barrier contact resistance, that can be efficiently addressed by measurements in 4-probe/Hall-bar contact geometry. Here, it is shown that this technique, widely used in materials science, can still lead to significant mobility overestimation due to longitudinal channel shunting caused by voltage probes in 4-probe structures. This effect is investigated numerically and experimentally in specially designed multiterminal OFETs based on optimized novel organic-semiconductor blends and bulk single crystals. Numerical simulations reveal that 4-probe FETs with long but narrow channels and wide voltage probes are especially prone to channel shunting, that can lead to mobilities overestimated by as much as 350%. In addition, the first Hall effect measurements in blended OFETs are reported and how Hall mobility can be affected by channel shunting is shown. As a solution to this problem, a numerical correction factor is introduced that can be used to obtain much more accurate experimental mobilities. This methodology is relevant to characterization of a variety of materials, including organic semiconductors, inorganic oxides, monolayer materials, as well as carbon nanotube and semiconductor nanocrystal arrays.

Accurate Extraction of Charge Carrier Mobility in 4-Probe Field-Effect Transistors

KAUST Repository

Choi, Hyun Ho

2018-04-30

Charge carrier mobility is an important characteristic of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) and other semiconductor devices. However, accurate mobility determination in FETs is frequently compromised by issues related to Schottky-barrier contact resistance, that can be efficiently addressed by measurements in 4-probe/Hall-bar contact geometry. Here, it is shown that this technique, widely used in materials science, can still lead to significant mobility overestimation due to longitudinal channel shunting caused by voltage probes in 4-probe structures. This effect is investigated numerically and experimentally in specially designed multiterminal OFETs based on optimized novel organic-semiconductor blends and bulk single crystals. Numerical simulations reveal that 4-probe FETs with long but narrow channels and wide voltage probes are especially prone to channel shunting, that can lead to mobilities overestimated by as much as 350%. In addition, the first Hall effect measurements in blended OFETs are reported and how Hall mobility can be affected by channel shunting is shown. As a solution to this problem, a numerical correction factor is introduced that can be used to obtain much more accurate experimental mobilities. This methodology is relevant to characterization of a variety of materials, including organic semiconductors, inorganic oxides, monolayer materials, as well as carbon nanotube and semiconductor nanocrystal arrays.

Interaction of a ballistic probe with gaseous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kucerovsky, Zden; Greason, William D

2008-01-01

Free-flying metal probes are used to determine charge densities in gaseous media containing free charge or low density plasma. The trajectory of the probe is ensured either by gravity or by propelling the probe to a certain velocity at the launch site. While travelling, the probe charge changes from its launch-site magnitude to that related to the space charge density existing along the trajectory. The degree to which the probe's arrival-site charge magnitude matches the space charge density in the area of interest depends on the probe shape and on the charge exchange processes between the probe body and the medium. The paper studies a probe acting as a free-flying charge carrier in air, and discusses the problems that may lead to an imbalance between the charge collected by the probe in the area of interest and the charge measured at the arrival site. The analysis and the described experiments are of the ballistic type: a small, triboelectrically pre-charged metal probe was propelled on a horizontal path, and the charge carried by the probe was measured at several points along the trajectory by means of contact-free induction rings; the initial and final charges were determined by static Faraday cups. A charge disparity was found under certain conditions, and its degree explained by the effects of the charge carrier potential. The studied probe charges ranged from 10 to 50 nF, and the fly-times needed to cross a one-meter path ranged from 20 to 40 ms. The probe to gas charge exchange experiments and their analysis yielded conditions under which the probe lost approximately 10 % of its charge. The results of our study may be of interest to those who intend to use the free-flying probe technique for the determination of space charge density.

Analysis of Hall Probe Precise Positioning with Cylindrical Permanent Magnet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belicev, P.; Vorozhtsov, A.S.; Vorozhtsov, S.B.

2007-01-01

Precise positioning of a Hall probe for cyclotron magnetic field mapping, using cylindrical permanent magnets, was analyzed. The necessary permanent magnet parameters in order to achieve ±20 μm position precision, were determined. (author)

The positioning device of beam probes for accelerator LUE-200

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Becher, Yu.; Kalmykov, A.V.; Minashkin, M.F.; Sumbaev, A.P.

2011-01-01

The description of a device for the positioning of sliding beam probes which is the part of the beam diagnostic system for the LUE-200 electron linac of IREN installation is presented. The device provides remote control of input-output operation of beam probes of five diagnostic stations established in an accelerating tract and in the beam transportation channel of the accelerator

High-frequency conductivity of optically excited charge carriers in hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon investigated by spectroscopic femtosecond pump–probe reflectivity measurements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

He, Wei [University of Birmingham, School of Physics and Astronomy, Birmingham B15 2TT (United Kingdom); Yurkevich, Igor V. [Aston University, Nonlinearity and Complexity Research Group, Birmingham B4 7ET (United Kingdom); Zakar, Ammar [University of Birmingham, School of Physics and Astronomy, Birmingham B15 2TT (United Kingdom); Kaplan, Andrey, E-mail: a.kaplan.1@bham.ac.uk [University of Birmingham, School of Physics and Astronomy, Birmingham B15 2TT (United Kingdom)

2015-10-01

We report an investigation into the high-frequency conductivity of optically excited charge carriers far from equilibrium with the lattice. The investigated samples consist of hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon films grown on a thin film of silicon oxide on top of a silicon substrate. For the investigation, we used an optical femtosecond pump–probe setup to measure the reflectance change of a probe beam. The pump beam ranged between 580 and 820 nm, whereas the probe wavelength spanned 770 to 810 nm. The pump fluence was fixed at 0.6 mJ/cm{sup 2}. We show that at a fixed delay time of 300 fs, the conductivity of the excited electron–hole plasma is described well by a classical conductivity model of a hot charge carrier gas found at Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution, while Fermi–Dirac statics is not suitable. This is corroborated by values retrieved from pump–probe reflectance measurements of the conductivity and its dependence on the excitation wavelength and carrier temperature. The conductivity decreases monotonically as a function of the excitation wavelength, as expected for a nondegenerate charge carrier gas. - Highlights: • We study high‐frequency conductivity of excited hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon. • Reflectance change was measured as a function of pump and probe wavelength. • Maxwell–Boltzmann transport theory was used to retrieve the conductivity. • The conductivity decreases monotonically as a function of the pump wavelength.

Novel probe of charge symmetry breaking: Deuteron-induced deuteron breakup

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howell, C.R.; Felsher, P.D.; Tornow, W.; Roberts, M.L.; Hanly, J.M.; Weisel, G.J.; Al Ohali, M.; Walter, R.L.; Slaus, I.; Lambert, J.M.; Treado, P.A.; Mertens, G.

1993-01-01

The present paper identifies unique symmetry properties of the rvec d+d→d+p+n breakup reaction that make it an excellent probe for studying charge-symmetry breaking. Measurements were made for two configurations of the ejected particles in the breakup reaction to obtain values of the spin observables A y , A yy , and A zz . These observables are compared for the mirror reactions 2 H(rvec d,dp)n and 2 H(rvec d,dn)p for the two angle pairs (θ d ,φ d ,θ N ,φ N )=(17.0 degree,0 degree,17.0 degree,180 degree) and (17.0 degree,0 degree,34.5 degree,180 degree) for an incident deutron energy of 12 MeV. In addition, spin observables for the 2 H(rvec d,pn)d reaction at θ p =θ n and φ p =φ n +180 degree are shown to provide a particularly good test of charge symmetry. Our A y , A yy , and A zz data for the 2 H(rvec d,pn)d reaction at (θ p ,φ p ,θ n ,φ n )=(17.0 degree,0 degree,17.0 degree,180 degree) are used to illustrate this latter point. Of the ten charge-symmetric sets of observables measured, two were found to differ by 2.5 standard deviations

Charging and heat collection by a positively charged dust grain in a plasma.

Science.gov (United States)

Delzanno, Gian Luca; Tang, Xian-Zhu

2014-07-18

Dust particulates immersed in a quasineutral plasma can emit electrons in several important applications. Once electron emission becomes strong enough, the dust enters the positively charged regime where the conventional orbital-motion-limited (OML) theory can break down due to potential-well effects on trapped electrons. A minimal modification of the trapped-passing boundary approximation in the so-called OML(+) approach is shown to accurately predict the dust charge and heat collection flux for a wide range of dust size and temperature.

Optical patterning of trapped charge in nitrogen-doped diamond

Science.gov (United States)

Jayakumar, Harishankar; Henshaw, Jacob; Dhomkar, Siddharth; Pagliero, Daniela; Laraoui, Abdelghani; Manson, Neil B.; Albu, Remus; Doherty, Marcus W.; Meriles, Carlos A.

2016-08-01

The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centre in diamond is emerging as a promising platform for solid-state quantum information processing and nanoscale metrology. Of interest in these applications is the manipulation of the NV charge, which can be attained by optical excitation. Here, we use two-colour optical microscopy to investigate the dynamics of NV photo-ionization, charge diffusion and trapping in type-1b diamond. We combine fixed-point laser excitation and scanning fluorescence imaging to locally alter the concentration of negatively charged NVs, and to subsequently probe the corresponding redistribution of charge. We uncover the formation of spatial patterns of trapped charge, which we qualitatively reproduce via a model of the interplay between photo-excited carriers and atomic defects. Further, by using the NV as a probe, we map the relative fraction of positively charged nitrogen on localized optical excitation. These observations may prove important to transporting quantum information between NVs or to developing three-dimensional, charge-based memories.

Probing surface charge potentials of clay basal planes and edges by direct force measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Hongying; Bhattacharjee, Subir; Chow, Ross; Wallace, Dean; Masliyah, Jacob H; Xu, Zhenghe

2008-11-18

The dispersion and gelation of clay suspensions have major impact on a number of industries, such as ceramic and composite materials processing, paper making, cement production, and consumer product formulation. To fundamentally understand controlling mechanisms of clay dispersion and gelation, it is necessary to study anisotropic surface charge properties and colloidal interactions of clay particles. In this study, a colloidal probe technique was employed to study the interaction forces between a silica probe and clay basal plane/edge surfaces. A muscovite mica was used as a representative of 2:1 phyllosilicate clay minerals. The muscovite basal plane was prepared by cleavage, while the edge surface was obtained by a microtome cutting technique. Direct force measurements demonstrated the anisotropic surface charge properties of the basal plane and edge surface. For the basal plane, the long-range forces were monotonically repulsive within pH 6-10 and the measured forces were pH-independent, thereby confirming that clay basal planes have permanent surface charge from isomorphic substitution of lattice elements. The measured interaction forces were fitted well with the classical DLVO theory. The surface potentials of muscovite basal plane derived from the measured force profiles were in good agreement with those reported in the literature. In the case of edge surfaces, the measured forces were monotonically repulsive at pH 10, decreasing with pH, and changed to be attractive at pH 5.6, strongly suggesting that the charge on the clay edge surfaces is pH-dependent. The measured force profiles could not be reasonably fitted with the classical DLVO theory, even with very small surface potential values, unless the surface roughness was considered. The surface element integration (SEI) method was used to calculate the DLVO forces to account for the surface roughness. The surface potentials of the muscovite edges were derived by fitting the measured force profiles with the

Electroweak-charged bound states as LHC probes of hidden forces

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Lingfeng; Salvioni, Ennio; Tsai, Yuhsin; Zheng, Rui

2018-01-01

We explore the LHC reach on beyond-the-standard model (BSM) particles X associated with a new strong force in a hidden sector. We focus on the motivated scenario where the SM and hidden sectors are connected by fermionic mediators ψ+,0 that carry SM electroweak charges. The most promising signal is the Drell-Yan production of a ψ±ψ¯ 0 pair, which forms an electrically charged vector bound state ϒ± due to the hidden force and later undergoes resonant annihilation into W±X . We analyze this final state in detail in the cases where X is a real scalar ϕ that decays to b b ¯, or a dark photon γd that decays to dileptons. For prompt X decays, we show that the corresponding signatures can be efficiently probed by extending the existing ATLAS and CMS diboson searches to include heavy resonance decays into BSM particles. For long-lived X , we propose new searches where the requirement of a prompt hard lepton originating from the W boson ensures triggering and essentially removes any SM backgrounds. To illustrate the potential of our results, we interpret them within two explicit models that contain strong hidden forces and electroweak-charged mediators, namely λ -supersymmetry (SUSY) and non-SUSY ultraviolet extensions of the twin Higgs model. The resonant nature of the signals allows for the reconstruction of the mass of both ϒ± and X , thus providing a wealth of information about the hidden sector.

Position Reconstruction and Charge Distribution in LHCb VELO Silicon Sensors

CERN Document Server

Versloot, TW; Akiba, K; Artuso, M; Van Beuzekom, M; Borel, J; Bowcock, TJV; Buytaert, J; Collins, P; Dumps, R; Dwyer, L; Eckstein, D; Eklund, L; Ferro-Luzzi, M; Frei, R; Gersabek M; Haefeli, G; Hennessy, K; Huse, T; Jans, E; John, M; Ketel, TJ; Keune, A; Lastoviicka, T; Mountain, R; Neufeld, N; Parkes, C; Stone, S; Szumlak, T; Tobin, M; Van Lysebetten, A; Viret, S; De Vries, H; Wang, J

2007-01-01

In 2006, a partially equipped LHCb VELO detector half was characterised in a test beam experiment (Alignment Challenge and Detector Commissioning, ACDC3). The position reconstruction and resolution for 2-strip R-sensor clusters was studied as a function of strip pitch and track inclination on the sensor surface. The Charge Density Distribution (CDD) is derived from the weighted charge distribution. It becomes asymmetric for tracks non-perpendicular to the strip surface. It is shown that the asymmetric broadening of the CDD around the track intercept position results in a linear eta-function at higher angles (>6 degrees). The sensor spatial resolution is determined both using a linear weighted mean of strip charges, as well as a third-order polynomial approximation via a eta-correction. The experimental results are in agreement with previous simulations. Future studies are underway to determine the angle and pitch dependent parameters which will be implemented in the LHCb VELO cluster position software tools.

Photo-excited charge collection spectroscopy probing the traps in field-effect transistors

CERN Document Server

Im, Seongil; Kim, Jae Hoon

2013-01-01

Solid state field-effect devices such as organic and inorganic-channel thin-film transistors (TFTs) have been expected to promote advances in display and sensor electronics. The operational stabilities of such TFTs are thus important, strongly depending on the nature and density of charge traps present at the channel/dielectric interface or in the thin-film channel itself. This book contains how to characterize these traps, starting from the device physics of field-effect transistor (FET). Unlike conventional analysis techniques which are away from well-resolving spectral results, newly-introduced photo-excited charge-collection spectroscopy (PECCS) utilizes the photo-induced threshold voltage response from any type of working transistor devices with organic-, inorganic-, and even nano-channels, directly probing on the traps. So, our technique PECCS has been discussed through more than ten refereed-journal papers in the fields of device electronics, applied physics, applied chemistry, nano-devices and materia...

Study of charge reader probes for electret dosemeters; Estudo de sondas leitoras de carga para dosimetros de eletretos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parada, Marco A.; Silva, Nivaldo C. da; Almeida, Adelaide de [Sao Paulo Univ., Ribeirao Preto, SP (Brazil). Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciencias e Letras. Dept. de Fisica e Matematica

2001-07-01

Electrets are insulating materials with a quasi-permanent polarization. It can be made from carnauba wax, Teflon and other materials for several applications as transducers, electrophotography, high efficiency air filters and as radiation dosimeters. Electret dosemeters may be used for {alpha}, {beta}, {gamma}, X, e{sup -} and neutrons radiations with a low construction cost and a simple associated instrumentation. The probe, for charge measurements of the electret dosimeters, is an important device in the experimental set up and its geometry varies according to the geometry of the dosimeter or the scope of the measurements. In this work the development of several probes is described (cylindrical, 1/3 cylindrical and three points probes with different sizes). From the measurements one can demonstrate that cylindrical probe may be used for cylindrical electret geometry, 1/3 cylindrical probe for measurements of directional dependence of the dose and point probe for scanning measurements of plane areas. For high resolution, small point probe may be used and for high sensitivity, the probe-electret distance must be minimized taking account of the Paschen discharge. (author)

Positive, Neutral, and Negative Mass-Charges in General Relativity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Borissova L.

2006-07-01

Full Text Available As shown, any four-dimensional proper vector has two observable projections onto time line, attributed to our world and the mirror world (for a mass-bearing particle, the projections posses are attributed to positive and negative mass-charges. As predicted, there should be a class of neutrally mass-charged particles that inhabit neither our world nor the mirror world. Inside the space-time area (membrane the space rotates at the light speed, and all particles move at as well the light speed. So, the predicted particles of the neutrally mass-charged class should seem as light-like vortices.

ECR plasma diagnostics with Langmuir probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kenez, L.; Biri, S.; Valek, A.

2000-01-01

Complete text of publication follows. An Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) Ion Source is a tool to generate highly charged ions. The ion beam is extracted from the plasma chamber of the ECRIS. Higher charge states and beam intensities are the main objectives of ECR research. The heart of an ion source is the confined plasma which should be well known to reach those objectives. Information about the plasma can be obtained by plasma diagnostics methods. Langmuir probes were successfully used in case of other plasmas, e.g. TOKAMAK. Until last year plasma diagnostics at the ATOMKI ECRIS was performed by X-ray and visible light measurements. While X-ray measurements give global information, the Langmuir probe method can give information on the local plasma parameters. This is an advantage because the local parameters are not known in detail. By Langmuir probe measurements it is possible to get information on plasma density, plasma potential and partly on the electron temperature. From the experimental point of view a Langmuir probe is very simple. However, the precise positioning of the probe in the plasma chamber (HV platform, strong magnetic field, RF waves) is a difficult task. Also the theory of probes is complicated: the ECR plasma is a special one because the confining magnetic field is inhomogeneous, beside hot electrons it contains cold ions with different charge states and it is heated with high frequency EM waves. What can be measured with a probe is a voltage-current (U-I) characteristics. Figure 1 shows a typical U-I curve measured in our lab. As it can be seen in the figure the diagram has three main parts. An ion saturation current region (I.), an electron saturation current region (III.) and a transition region (II.) between them. These measurements were performed using two different power supplies to bias the probe to positive and negative voltage. To perform more precise U-I measurements we need a special power supply which is presently being built in

Local charge trapping in Ge nanoclustersdetected by Kelvin probe force microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kondratenko, S.V., E-mail: kondr@univ.kiev.ua [Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, 64/13 Volodymyrska Str., 01601, Kyiv (Ukraine); Lysenko, V.S. [Institute of Semiconductor Physics, 41 Prospect Nauki, 03028, Kyiv (Ukraine); Kozyrev, Yu. N. [O.O. Chuiko Institute of Surface Chemistry, 17 GeneralaNaumova Str. 03164, Kiev (Ukraine); Kratzer, M. [Institute of Physics, MontanuniversitätLeoben, Franz Josef Str. 18, A-8700, Leoben (Austria); Storozhuk, D.P.; Iliash, S.A. [Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, 64/13 Volodymyrska Str., 01601, Kyiv (Ukraine); Czibula, C. [Institute of Physics, MontanuniversitätLeoben, Franz Josef Str. 18, A-8700, Leoben (Austria); Teichert, C., E-mail: teichert@unileoben.ac.at [Institute of Physics, MontanuniversitätLeoben, Franz Josef Str. 18, A-8700, Leoben (Austria)

2016-12-15

The understanding of local charge trapping on the nanoscale is crucial for the design of novel electronic devices and photodetectors based on SiGe nanoclusters (NCs). Here, the local spatial distribution of the surface potential of the Ge NCs was detected using Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). Different surface potentials between Ge NCs and the wetting layer (WL) surface were detected at room temperature. Changes of the local contact potential differences (CPD) were studied after injection of electrons or holes into single Ge NCs on top of the Si layer using a conductive atomic force microscopy tip. The CPD image contrast was increased after electron injection by applying a forward bias to the n-tip/i-Ge NC/p-Si junction. Injecting holes into a single Ge NC was also accompanied by filling of two-dimensional states in the surrounding region, which is governed by leakage currents through WL or surface states and Coulomb charging effects. A long retention time of holes trapped by the Ge NC was found.

In-flight calibration of mesospheric rocket plasma probes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Havnes, Ove; Hartquist, Thomas W.; Kassa, Meseret; Morfill, Gregor E.

2011-01-01

Many effects and factors can influence the efficiency of a rocket plasma probe. These include payload charging, solar illumination, rocket payload orientation and rotation, and dust impact induced secondary charge production. As a consequence, considerable uncertainties can arise in the determination of the effective cross sections of plasma probes and measured electron and ion densities. We present a new method for calibrating mesospheric rocket plasma probes and obtaining reliable measurements of plasma densities. This method can be used if a payload also carries a probe for measuring the dust charge density. It is based on that a dust probe's effective cross section for measuring the charged component of dust normally is nearly equal to its geometric cross section, and it involves the comparison of variations in the dust charge density measured with the dust detector to the corresponding current variations measured with the electron and/or ion probes. In cases in which the dust charge density is significantly smaller than the electron density, the relation between plasma and dust charge density variations can be simplified and used to infer the effective cross sections of the plasma probes. We illustrate the utility of the method by analysing the data from a specific rocket flight of a payload containing both dust and electron probes.

In-flight calibration of mesospheric rocket plasma probes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Havnes, Ove [Institute for Physics and Technology, University of Tromsoe, N-9037 Tromsoe (Norway); University Studies Svalbard (UNIS), N-9170 Longyearbyen, Svalbard (Norway); Hartquist, Thomas W. [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT (United Kingdom); Kassa, Meseret [Institute for Physics and Technology, University of Tromsoe, N-9037 Tromsoe (Norway); Morfill, Gregor E. [Max-Planck-Institute fuer extraterrestrische Physik, D-85741Garching (Germany)

2011-07-15

Many effects and factors can influence the efficiency of a rocket plasma probe. These include payload charging, solar illumination, rocket payload orientation and rotation, and dust impact induced secondary charge production. As a consequence, considerable uncertainties can arise in the determination of the effective cross sections of plasma probes and measured electron and ion densities. We present a new method for calibrating mesospheric rocket plasma probes and obtaining reliable measurements of plasma densities. This method can be used if a payload also carries a probe for measuring the dust charge density. It is based on that a dust probe's effective cross section for measuring the charged component of dust normally is nearly equal to its geometric cross section, and it involves the comparison of variations in the dust charge density measured with the dust detector to the corresponding current variations measured with the electron and/or ion probes. In cases in which the dust charge density is significantly smaller than the electron density, the relation between plasma and dust charge density variations can be simplified and used to infer the effective cross sections of the plasma probes. We illustrate the utility of the method by analysing the data from a specific rocket flight of a payload containing both dust and electron probes.

In-flight calibration of mesospheric rocket plasma probes.

Science.gov (United States)

Havnes, Ove; Hartquist, Thomas W; Kassa, Meseret; Morfill, Gregor E

2011-07-01

Many effects and factors can influence the efficiency of a rocket plasma probe. These include payload charging, solar illumination, rocket payload orientation and rotation, and dust impact induced secondary charge production. As a consequence, considerable uncertainties can arise in the determination of the effective cross sections of plasma probes and measured electron and ion densities. We present a new method for calibrating mesospheric rocket plasma probes and obtaining reliable measurements of plasma densities. This method can be used if a payload also carries a probe for measuring the dust charge density. It is based on that a dust probe's effective cross section for measuring the charged component of dust normally is nearly equal to its geometric cross section, and it involves the comparison of variations in the dust charge density measured with the dust detector to the corresponding current variations measured with the electron and/or ion probes. In cases in which the dust charge density is significantly smaller than the electron density, the relation between plasma and dust charge density variations can be simplified and used to infer the effective cross sections of the plasma probes. We illustrate the utility of the method by analysing the data from a specific rocket flight of a payload containing both dust and electron probes.

Radiation from Accelerating Electric Charges: The Third Derivative of Position

Science.gov (United States)

Butterworth, Edward

2010-03-01

While some textbooks appear to suggest that acceleration of an electric charge is both a necessary and sufficient cause for the generation of electromagnetic radiation, the question has in fact had an intricate and involved history. In particular, the acceleration of a charge in hyperbolic motion, the behavior of a charge supported against a gravitational force (and its implications for the Equivalence Principle), and a charge accelerated by a workless constraint have been the subject of repeated investigation. The present paper examines specifically the manner in which the third derivative of position enters into the equations of motion, and the implications this has for the emission of radiation. Plass opens his review article with the statement that ``A fundamental property of all charged particles is that electromagnetic energy is radiated whenever they are accelerated'' (Plass 1961; emphasis mine). His treatment of the equations of motion, however, emphasizes the importance of the occurrence of the third derivative of position therein, present in linear motion only when the rate of acceleration is increasing or decreasing. There appears to be general agreement that the presence of a nonzero third derivative indicates that this charge is radiating; but does its absence preclude radiation? This question leads back to the issues of charges accelerated by a uniform gravitational field. We will examine the equations of motion as presented in Fulton & Rohrlich (1960), Plass (1961), Barut (1964), Teitelboim (1970) and Mo & Papas (1971) in the light of more recent literature in an attempt to clarify this question.

Fine frequency tuning of the PHOENIX charge breeder used as a probe for ECRIS plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamy, T.; Angot, J.; Melanie, M.J.; Medard, J.; Sortais, P.; Thuillier, T.; Galata, A.; Koivisto, Hannu; Tarvainen, Olli

2012-01-01

Fine frequency tuning of ECR ion sources is a main issue to optimize the production of multiply charged ion beams. The PHOENIX charge breeder operation has been tested in the range 13.75 - 14.5 GHz with an HF power of about 400 W. The effect of this tuning is analyzed by measuring the multi-ionization efficiency obtained for various characterized injected 1+ ion beams (produced by the 2.45 GHz COMIC source). The 1+/n+ method includes the capture and the multi ionization processes of the 1+ beam and may be considered as a plasma probe. The n+ spectra obtained could be considered, in first approach, as an image of the plasma of the charge breeder. However, in certain conditions it has been observed that the injection of a few hundreds of nA of 1+ ions (i.e.: Xe+) in the plasma of the charge breeder, is able to destroy the charge state distribution of the support gas (i.e.: up to 40 % of O 6+ and O 7+ disappears). The study of this phenomenon will be presented along with plasma potential measurements for various charge states. This study may help to understand the creation (or destruction) of highly charged ions inside an ECRIS. The paper is followed by the slides of the presentation. (authors)

Kelvin probe force microscopy studies of the charge effects upon adsorption of carbon nanotubes and C60 fullerenes on hydrogen-terminated diamond

Science.gov (United States)

Kölsch, S.; Fritz, F.; Fenner, M. A.; Kurch, S.; Wöhrl, N.; Mayne, A. J.; Dujardin, G.; Meyer, C.

2018-01-01

Hydrogen-terminated diamond is known for its unusually high surface conductivity that is ascribed to its negative electron affinity. In the presence of acceptor molecules, electrons are expected to transfer from the surface to the acceptor, resulting in p-type surface conductivity. Here, we present Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) measurements on carbon nanotubes and C60 adsorbed onto a hydrogen-terminated diamond(001) surface. A clear reduction in the Kelvin signal is observed at the position of the carbon nanotubes and C60 molecules as compared with the bare, air-exposed surface. This result can be explained by the high positive electron affinity of carbon nanotubes and C60, resulting in electron transfer from the surface to the adsorbates. When an oxygen-terminated diamond(001) is used instead, no reduction in the Kelvin signal is obtained. While the presence of a charged adsorbate or a difference in work function could induce a change in the KPFM signal, a charge transfer effect of the hydrogen-terminated diamond surface, by the adsorption of the carbon nanotubes and the C60 fullerenes, is consistent with previous theoretical studies.

Ultrafast Charge Photogeneration in MEH-PPV Charge-Transfer Complexes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bakulin, Artem A.; Paraschuk, Dmitry Yu; Pshenichnikov, Maxim S.; van Loosdrecht, Paul H. M.; Corkum, P; DeSilvestri, S; Nelson, KA; Riedle, E; Schoenlein, RW

2009-01-01

Visible-pump - IR-probe spectroscopy is used to study the ultrafast charge dynamics in MEH-PPV based charge-transfer complexes and donor-acceptor blends. Transient anisotropy of the polymer polaron band provides invaluable insights into excitation localisation and charge-transfer pathways.

An intramolecular charge transfer process based fluorescent probe for monitoring subtle pH fluctuation in living cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Mingtai; Du, Libo; Yu, Huan; Zhang, Kui; Liu, Yang; Wang, Suhua

2017-01-01

It is crucial to monitor intracellular pH values and their fluctuation since the organelles of cells have different pH distribution. Herein we construct a new small molecule fluorescent probe HBT-O for monitoring the subtle pH values within the scope of neutral to acid in living cells. The probe exhibited good water solubility, a marked turquoise to olivine emission color change in response to pH, and tremendous fluorescence hypochromatic shift of ∼50nm (1718cm -1 ) as well as the increased fluorescence intensity when the pH value changed from neutral to acid. Thus, the probe HBT-O can distinguish the subtle changes in the range of normal pH values from neutral to acid with significant fluorescence changes. These properties can be attributed to the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) process of the probe upon protonation in buffer solutions at varied pH values. Moreover, the probe was reversible and nearly non-toxic for living cells. Then the probe was successfully used to detect pH fluctuation in living cells by exhibiting different fluorescence colors and intensity. These findings demonstrate that the probe will find useful applications in biology and biomedical research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

SU-G-JeP3-05: Geometry Based Transperineal Ultrasound Probe Positioning for Image Guided Radiotherapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Camps, S; With, P de [University of Technology Eindhoven, Eindhoven (Netherlands); Verhaegen, F [Maastro Clinic, Maastricht (Netherlands); Fontanarosa, D [Philips Research, Eindhoven (Netherlands)

2016-06-15

Purpose: The use of ultrasound (US) imaging in radiotherapy is not widespread, primarily due to the need for skilled operators performing the scans. Automation of probe positioning has the potential to remove this need and minimize operator dependence. We introduce an algorithm for obtaining a US probe position that allows good anatomical structure visualization based on clinical requirements. The first application is on 4D transperineal US images of prostate cancer patients. Methods: The algorithm calculates the probe position and orientation using anatomical information provided by a reference CT scan, always available in radiotherapy workflows. As initial test, we apply the algorithm on a CIRS pelvic US phantom to obtain a set of possible probe positions. Subsequently, five of these positions are randomly chosen and used to acquire actual US volumes of the phantom. Visual inspection of these volumes reveal if the whole prostate, and adjacent edges of bladder and rectum are fully visualized, as clinically required. In addition, structure positions on the acquired US volumes are compared to predictions of the algorithm. Results: All acquired volumes fulfill the clinical requirements as specified in the previous section. Preliminary quantitative evaluation was performed on thirty consecutive slices of two volumes, on which the structures are easily recognizable. The mean absolute distances (MAD) between actual anatomical structure positions and positions predicted by the algorithm were calculated. This resulted in MAD of 2.4±0.4 mm for prostate, 3.2±0.9 mm for bladder and 3.3±1.3 mm for rectum. Conclusion: Visual inspection and quantitative evaluation show that the algorithm is able to propose probe positions that fulfill all clinical requirements. The obtained MAD is on average 2.9 mm. However, during evaluation we assumed no errors in structure segmentation and probe positioning. In future steps, accurate estimation of these errors will allow for better

Comparing Positively and Negatively Charged Distonic Radical Ions in Phenylperoxyl Forming Reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Peggy E; Marshall, David L; Poad, Berwyck L J; Narreddula, Venkateswara R; Kirk, Benjamin B; Trevitt, Adam J; Blanksby, Stephen J

2018-06-04

In the gas phase, arylperoxyl forming reactions play a significant role in low-temperature combustion and atmospheric processing of volatile organic compounds. We have previously demonstrated the application of charge-tagged phenyl radicals to explore the outcomes of these reactions using ion trap mass spectrometry. Here, we present a side-by-side comparison of rates and product distributions from the reaction of positively and negatively charge tagged phenyl radicals with dioxygen. The negatively charged distonic radical ions are found to react with significantly greater efficiency than their positively charged analogues. The product distributions of the anion reactions favor products of phenylperoxyl radical decomposition (e.g., phenoxyl radicals and cyclopentadienone), while the comparable fixed-charge cations yield the stabilized phenylperoxyl radical. Electronic structure calculations rationalize these differences as arising from the influence of the charged moiety on the energetics of rate-determining transition states and reaction intermediates within the phenylperoxyl reaction manifold and predict that this influence could extend to intra-molecular charge-radical separations of up to 14.5 Å. Experimental observations of reactions of the novel 4-(1-carboxylatoadamantyl)phenyl radical anion confirm that the influence of the charge on both rate and product distribution can be modulated by increasing the rigidly imposed separation between charge and radical sites. These findings provide a generalizable framework for predicting the influence of charged groups on polarizable radicals in gas phase distonic radical ions. Graphical Abstract.

Charging effects and surface potential variations of Cu-based nanowires

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nunes, D., E-mail: daniela.gomes@fct.unl.pt [i3N/CENIMAT, Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica (Portugal); Calmeiro, T.R.; Nandy, S.; Pinto, J.V.; Pimentel, A.; Barquinha, P. [i3N/CENIMAT, Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica (Portugal); Carvalho, P.A. [SINTEF Materials and Chemistry, PB 124 Blindern, NO-0314, Oslo (Norway); CeFEMA, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001, Lisboa (Portugal); Walmsley, J.C. [SINTEF Materials and Chemistry, Materials and Nanotechnology, Høgskoleringen 5, 7034 Trondheim (Norway); Fortunato, E., E-mail: emf@fct.unl.pt [i3N/CENIMAT, Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica (Portugal); Martins, R., E-mail: rm@uninova.pt [i3N/CENIMAT, Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica (Portugal)

2016-02-29

The present work reports charging effects and surface potential variations in pure copper, cuprous oxide and cupric oxide nanowires observed by electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). The copper nanowires were produced by wet synthesis, oxidation into cuprous oxide nanowires was achieved through microwave irradiation and cupric oxide nanowires were obtained via furnace annealing in atmospheric conditions. Structural characterization of the nanowires was carried out by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. During the EFM experiments the electrostatic field of the positive probe charged negatively the Cu-based nanowires, which in turn polarized the SiO{sub 2} dielectric substrate. Both the probe/nanowire capacitance as well as the substrate polarization increased with the applied bias. Cu{sub 2}O and CuO nanowires behaved distinctively during the EFM measurements in accordance with their band gap energies. The work functions (WF) of the Cu-based nanowires, obtained by KPFM measurements, yielded WF{sub CuO} > WF{sub Cu} > WF{sub Cu{sub 2O}}. - Highlights: • Charge distribution study in Cu, Cu{sub 2}O and CuO nanowires through electrostatic force microscopy • Structural/surface defect role on the charge distribution along the Cu nanowires • Determination of the nanowire work functions by Kelvin probe force microscopy • Three types of nanowires give a broad idea of charge behavior on Cu based-nanowires.

Study of position resolution for cathode readout MWPC with measurement of induced charge distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiba, J.; Iwasaki, H.; Kageyama, T.; Kuribayashi, S.; Nakamura, K.; Sumiyoshi, T.; Takeda, T.

1983-01-01

A readout technqiue of multiwire proportional chambers by measurement of charges induced on cathode strips, orthogonal to anode wires, requires an algorithm to relate the measured charge distribution to the avalanche position. With given chamber parameters and under the influence of noise, resolution limits depend on the chosen algorithm. We have studied the position resolution obtained by the centroid method and by the charge-ratio method, both using three consecutive cathode strips. While the centroid method uses a single number, the center of gravity of the measured charges, the charge-ratio method uses the ratios of the charges Qsub(i-1)/Qsub(i) and Qsub(i+1)/Qsub(i) where Qsub(i) is the largest. To obtain a given resolution, the charge-ratio method generally allows wider cathode strips and therefore a smaller number of readout channels than the centroid method. (orig.)

Two-dimensional position sensitive silicon photodiode as a charged particle detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kovacevic, K.; Zadro, M.

1999-01-01

A two-dimensional position sensitive silicon photodiode has been tested for measurement of position and energy of charged particles. Position nonlinearity and resolution, as well as energy resolution and ballistic deficit were measured for 5.486 MeV α-particles. The results obtained for different pulse shaping time constants are presented

DNA Immobilization and Hybridization Detection by the Intrinsic Molecular Charge Using Capacitive Field-Effect Sensors Modified with a Charged Weak Polyelectrolyte Layer.

Science.gov (United States)

Bronder, Thomas S; Poghossian, Arshak; Scheja, Sabrina; Wu, Chunsheng; Keusgen, Michael; Mewes, Dieter; Schöning, Michael J

2015-09-16

Miniaturized setup, compatibility with advanced micro- and nanotechnologies, and ability to detect biomolecules by their intrinsic molecular charge favor the semiconductor field-effect platform as one of the most attractive approaches for the development of label-free DNA chips. In this work, a capacitive field-effect EIS (electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor) sensor covered with a layer-by-layer prepared, positively charged weak polyelectrolyte layer of PAH (poly(allylamine hydrochloride)) was used for the label-free electrical detection of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) immobilization and hybridization. The negatively charged probe single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) molecules were electrostatically adsorbed onto the positively charged PAH layer, resulting in a preferentially flat orientation of the ssDNA molecules within the Debye length, thus yielding a reduced charge-screening effect and a higher sensor signal. Each sensor-surface modification step (PAH adsorption, probe ssDNA immobilization, hybridization with complementary target DNA (cDNA), reducing an unspecific adsorption by a blocking agent, incubation with noncomplementary DNA (ncDNA) solution) was monitored by means of capacitance-voltage and constant-capacitance measurements. In addition, the surface morphology of the PAH layer was studied by atomic force microscopy and contact-angle measurements. High hybridization signals of 34 and 43 mV were recorded in low-ionic strength solutions of 10 and 1 mM, respectively. In contrast, a small signal of 4 mV was recorded in the case of unspecific adsorption of fully mismatched ncDNA. The density of probe ssDNA and dsDNA molecules as well as the hybridization efficiency was estimated using the experimentally measured DNA immobilization and hybridization signals and a simplified double-layer capacitor model. The results of field-effect experiments were supported by fluorescence measurements, verifying the DNA-immobilization and hybridization event.

Method and apparatus for positioning a beam of charged particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Michail, M.S.; Woodard, O.C.; Yourke, H.S.

1975-01-01

A beam of charged particles is stepped from one predetermined position to another to form a desired pattern on a semiconductor wafer. There is a dynamic correction for the deviation of the actual position of the beam from its predetermined position, so that the beam is applied to the deviated position rather than the predetermined position. Through the location of four registration marks, the writing field is precisely defined. Writing fields may be interconnected by the sharing of registration marks, enabling the construction of chips which are larger than a single writing field. (auth)

Sheath-lens probe for negative ion detection in reactive plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stamate, E.; Sugai, H.; Takai, O.; Ohe, K.

2004-01-01

A method that allows easy and inexpensive detection of negative ions is introduced. The method is based upon the electrostatic lens effect of the sheath layer evolving to a positively biased planar probe that focuses the negative charges to distinct regions on the surface. Trajectories of negative ions inside the sheath are obtained after computing the potential and electric field distribution by solving in three dimensions the nonlinear Poisson equation. The negative ions' flux to square and disk probes is developed in Ar/SF 6 and O 2 plasmas. The method allows negative ion detection with sensitivity higher than that of Langmuir probes

Cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of positively charged chitosan gold nanoparticles in human lung adenocarcinoma cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, Seon Young; Jang, Soo Hwa [Seoul National University, Laboratory of Veterinary Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Institute for Veterinary Science (Korea, Republic of); Park, Jin; Jeong, Saeromi; Park, Jin Ho; Ock, Kwang Su [Soongsil University, Department of Chemistry (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Kangtaek [Yonsei University, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (Korea, Republic of); Yang, Sung Ik [Kyung Hee University, College of Environment and Applied Chemistry (Korea, Republic of); Joo, Sang-Woo, E-mail: sjoo@ssu.ac.kr [Soongsil University, Department of Chemistry (Korea, Republic of); Ryu, Pan Dong; Lee, So Yeong, E-mail: leeso@snu.ac.kr [Seoul National University, Laboratory of Veterinary Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Institute for Veterinary Science (Korea, Republic of)

2012-12-15

Cellular uptake, cytotoxicity, and mechanisms of cytotoxicity of the positively charged Au nanoparticles (NPs) were examined in A549 cells, which are one of the most characterized pulmonary cellular systems. Positively charged Au NPs were prepared by chemical reduction using chitosan. The dimension and surface charge of Au NPs were examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering, and zeta potential measurements. The uptake of Au NPs into A549 cells was also monitored using TEM and dark-field microscopy (DFM) and z-stack confocal microRaman spectroscopy. DFM live cell imaging was also performed to monitor the entry of chitosan Au NPs in real time. The cytotoxic assay, using both methylthiazol tetrazolium and lactate dehydrogenase assays revealed that positively charged Au NPs decreased cell viability. Flow cytometry, DNA fragmentation, real-time PCR, and western blot analysis suggest that positively charged chitosan Au NPs provoke cell damage through both apoptotic and necrotic pathways.

Cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of positively charged chitosan gold nanoparticles in human lung adenocarcinoma cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Seon Young; Jang, Soo Hwa; Park, Jin; Jeong, Saeromi; Park, Jin Ho; Ock, Kwang Su; Lee, Kangtaek; Yang, Sung Ik; Joo, Sang-Woo; Ryu, Pan Dong; Lee, So Yeong

2012-01-01

Cellular uptake, cytotoxicity, and mechanisms of cytotoxicity of the positively charged Au nanoparticles (NPs) were examined in A549 cells, which are one of the most characterized pulmonary cellular systems. Positively charged Au NPs were prepared by chemical reduction using chitosan. The dimension and surface charge of Au NPs were examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering, and zeta potential measurements. The uptake of Au NPs into A549 cells was also monitored using TEM and dark-field microscopy (DFM) and z-stack confocal microRaman spectroscopy. DFM live cell imaging was also performed to monitor the entry of chitosan Au NPs in real time. The cytotoxic assay, using both methylthiazol tetrazolium and lactate dehydrogenase assays revealed that positively charged Au NPs decreased cell viability. Flow cytometry, DNA fragmentation, real-time PCR, and western blot analysis suggest that positively charged chitosan Au NPs provoke cell damage through both apoptotic and necrotic pathways.

Energy distribution extraction of negative charges responsible for positive bias temperature instability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ren Shang-Qing; Yang Hong; Wang Wen-Wu; Tang Bo; Tang Zhao-Yun; Wang Xiao-Lei; Xu Hao; Luo Wei-Chun; Zhao Chao; Yan Jiang; Chen Da-Peng; Ye Tian-Chun

2015-01-01

A new method is proposed to extract the energy distribution of negative charges, which results from electron trapping by traps in the gate stack of nMOSFET during positive bias temperature instability (PBTI) stress based on the recovery measurement. In our case, the extracted energy distribution of negative charges shows an obvious dependence on energy, and the energy level of the largest energy density of negative charges is 0.01 eV above the conduction band of silicon. The charge energy distribution below that energy level shows strong dependence on the stress voltage. (paper)

Charging of dust grains in a plasma with negative ions

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Su-Hyun; Merlino, Robert L.

2006-05-01

The effect of negative ions on the charging of dust particles in a plasma is investigated experimentally. A plasma containing a very low percentage of electrons is formed in a single-ended SF6 is admitted into the vacuum system. The relatively cold (Te≈0.2eV ) readily attach to SF6 molecules to form SF6- negative ions. Calculations of the dust charge indicate that for electrons, negative ions, and positive ions of comparable temperatures, the charge (or surface potential) of the dust can be positive if the positive ion mass is smaller than the negative ion mass and if ɛ, the ratio of the electron to positive ion density, is sufficiently small. The K+ positive ions (mass 39amu) and SF6- negative ions (mass 146amu), and also utilizes a rotating cylinder to dispense dust into the plasma column. Analysis of the current-voltage characteristics of a Langmuir probe in the dusty plasma shows evidence for the reduction in the (magnitude) of the negative dust charge and the transition to positively charged dust as the relative concentration of the residual electrons is reduced. Some remarks are offered concerning experiments that could become possible in a dusty plasma with positive grains.

Restoring the lattice of Si-based atom probe reconstructions for enhanced information on dopant positioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Breen, Andrew J; Moody, Michael P; Ceguerra, Anna V; Gault, Baptiste; Araullo-Peters, Vicente J; Ringer, Simon P

2015-12-01

The following manuscript presents a novel approach for creating lattice based models of Sb-doped Si directly from atom probe reconstructions for the purposes of improving information on dopant positioning and directly informing quantum mechanics based materials modeling approaches. Sophisticated crystallographic analysis techniques are used to detect latent crystal structure within the atom probe reconstructions with unprecedented accuracy. A distortion correction algorithm is then developed to precisely calibrate the detected crystal structure to the theoretically known diamond cubic lattice. The reconstructed atoms are then positioned on their most likely lattice positions. Simulations are then used to determine the accuracy of such an approach and show that improvements to short-range order measurements are possible for noise levels and detector efficiencies comparable with experimentally collected atom probe data. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Positive zeta potential of a negatively charged semi-permeable plasma membrane

Science.gov (United States)

Sinha, Shayandev; Jing, Haoyuan; Das, Siddhartha

2017-08-01

The negative charge of the plasma membrane (PM) severely affects the nature of moieties that may enter or leave the cells and controls a large number of ion-interaction-mediated intracellular and extracellular events. In this letter, we report our discovery of a most fascinating scenario, where one interface (e.g., membrane-cytosol interface) of the negatively charged PM shows a positive surface (or ζ) potential, while the other interface (e.g., membrane-electrolyte interface) still shows a negative ζ potential. Therefore, we encounter a completely unexpected situation where an interface (e.g., membrane-cytosol interface) that has a negative surface charge density demonstrates a positive ζ potential. We establish that the attainment of such a property by the membrane can be ascribed to an interplay of the nature of the membrane semi-permeability and the electrostatics of the electric double layer established on either side of the charged membrane. We anticipate that such a membrane property can lead to such capabilities of the cell (in terms of accepting or releasing certain kinds of moieties as well regulating cellular signaling) that was hitherto inconceivable.

Probe Techniques. Introductory Remarks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Emeleus, K. G. [School of Physics and Applied Mathematics, Queen' s University, Belfast (United Kingdom)

1968-04-15

In this brief introduction to the session on probes, the history of theii development is first touched on briefly. Reference is then made to the significance of the work to be described by Medicus, for conductivity and recombination calculations, and by Lam and Su, for a wide range of medium and higher pressure plasmas. Finally, a number of other probe topics are mentioned, including multiple probes; probes in electronegative plasmas; resonance probes; probes in noisy discharges; probes as oscillation detectors; use of probes where space-charge is not negligible. (author)

Reward Devaluation: Dot-Probe Meta-Analytic Evidence of Avoidance of Positive Information in Depressed Persons

Science.gov (United States)

Winer, E. Samuel; Salem, Taban

2015-01-01

Cognitive theories of depression and anxiety have traditionally emphasized the role of attentional biases in the processing of negative information. The dot-probe task has been widely used to study this phenomenon. Recent findings suggest that biased processing of positive information might also be an important aspect of developing psychopathological symptoms. However, despite some evidence suggesting persons with symptoms of depression and anxiety may avoid positive information, many dot-probe studies have produced null findings. The present review used conventional and novel meta-analytic methods to evaluate dot-probe attentional biases away from positive information and, for comparison, toward negative information, in depressed and anxious individuals. Results indicated that avoidance of positive information is a real effect exhibiting substantial evidential value among persons experiencing psychopathology, with individuals evidencing primary symptoms of depression clearly demonstrating this effect. Different theoretical explanations for these findings are evaluated, including those positing threat-processing structures, even-handedness, self-regulation, and reward devaluation, with the novel theory of reward devaluation emphasized and expanded. These novel findings and theory suggest that avoidance of prospective reward helps to explain the cause and sustainability of depressed states. Suggestions for future research and methodological advances are discussed. PMID:26619211

Detection of the position and cross-section of a tokamak plasma with magnetic probes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aikawa, Hiroshi; Ogata, Atsushi; Suzuki, Yasuo

1977-02-01

The position and cross-sectional shape of a Tokamak plasma are obtained analytically from magnetic probe signals, taking into consideration the toroidal effect. Multipole moment analysis of the plasma current density, introducing the vertical asymmetry, shows the horizontal and vertical displacements and the elliptical deviation. The error in the measurement is estimated by means of the least square method. The observed error is proportional to the error of setting the probes, and inversely proportional to the square root of the number of probes. (auth.)

Charged Lifshitz black hole and probed Lorentz-violation fermions from holography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luo, Cheng-Jian, E-mail: rocengeng@hotmail.com [Department of Physics, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330031 (China); Center for Relativistic Astrophysics and High Energy Physics, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031 (China); Kuang, Xiao-Mei, E-mail: xmeikuang@gmail.com [Instituto de Física, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Casilla 4059, Valparaíso (Chile); Shu, Fu-Wen, E-mail: shufuwen@ncu.edu.cn [Department of Physics, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330031 (China); Center for Relativistic Astrophysics and High Energy Physics, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031 (China)

2017-06-10

We analytically obtain a new charged Lifshitz solution by adding a non-relativistic Maxwell field in Hořava–Lifshitz gravity. The black hole exhibits an anisotropic scaling between space and time (Lifshitz scaling) in the UV limit, while in the IR limit, the Lorentz invariance is approximately recovered. We introduce the probed Lorentz-violation fermions into the background and holographically investigate the spectral properties of the dual fermionic operator. The Lorentz-violation of the fermions will enhance the peak and correspond larger fermi momentum, which compensates the non-relativistic bulk effect of the dynamical exponent (z). For a fixed z, when the Lorentz-violation of fermions increases to a critical value, the behavior of the low energy excitation goes from a non-Fermi liquid type to a Fermi liquid type, which implies a kind of phase transition.

The relation of electrode voltages to charge position in SLC arc and final focus beam position monitors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fordham, C.

1989-01-01

The position of a charged particle beam can be measured with a Beam Position Monitor (BPM) by converting the voltages induced on its array of electrodes into a position offset from the array's center. Most of the BPMs in the Arcs and Final Focus of the SLC use four stripline electrodes arranged symmetrically around the beam; normalized voltage differences are calculated as the difference divided by the sum of voltages on opposite electrode pairs. The resulting number is multiplied by a conversion factor, denoted in this paper as S b , to give the offset (in millimeters) of the charge from the center of the BPM. Prior to installation in the beam line, the BPMs were calibrated with a charge pulse on a rod. Owing to geometric effects which will be discussed later, a different conversion factor had to be used for calibration. It will be denoted here by S r . This paper gives the results of calculations and measurements of S r and S b for Arc and Final Focus BPMs. This paper also describes the relevant physical properties of the several types of BPMs and calculations of the expected scale factors, the measurement methods used, and gives the results of measurements, which are compared with the theoretical expectations. 2 refs., 18 figs., 7 tabs

Redox Probing Study of the Potential Dependence of Charge Transport Through Li2O2

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knudsen, Kristian Bastholm; Luntz, Alan C.; Jensen, Søren Højgaard

2015-01-01

-of-the-art Liion technologies and the demand placed on batteries by technologies such as electrical vehicles. Here we present a redox probing study of the charge transfer across the main deposition product lithium peroxide, Li2O2, in the Li−O2 battery using outer-sphere redox shuttles. The change in heterogeneous......In the field of energy storage devices the pursuit for cheap, high energy density, reliable secondary batteries is at the top of the agenda. The Li−O2 battery is one of the possible technologies that, in theory, should be able to close the gap, which exists between the present state...... electron transfer exchange rate as a function of the potential and the Li2O2 layer thickness (∼depth-of-discharge) was determined using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The attenuation of the electron transfer exchange rate with film thickness is dependent on the probing potential, providing...

Method of improving heterogeneous oil reservoir polymer flooding effect by positively-charged gel profile control

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Ling; Xia, Huifen

2018-01-01

The project of polymer flooding has achieved great success in Daqing oilfield, and the main oil reservoir recovery can be improved by more than 15%. But, for some strong oil reservoir heterogeneity carrying out polymer flooding, polymer solution will be inefficient and invalid loop problem in the high permeability layer, then cause the larger polymer volume, and a significant reduction in the polymer flooding efficiency. Aiming at this problem, it is studied the method that improves heterogeneous oil reservoir polymer flooding effect by positively-charged gel profile control. The research results show that the polymer physical and chemical reaction of positively-charged gel with the residual polymer in high permeability layer can generate three-dimensional network of polymer, plugging high permeable layer, and increase injection pressure gradient, then improve the effect of polymer flooding development. Under the condition of the same dosage, positively-charged gel profile control can improve the polymer flooding recovery factor by 2.3∼3.8 percentage points. Under the condition of the same polymer flooding recovery factor increase value, after positively-charged gel profile control, it can reduce the polymer volume by 50 %. Applying mechanism of positively-charged gel profile control technology is feasible, cost savings, simple construction, and no environmental pollution, therefore has good application prospect.

2D position sensitive microstrip sensors with charge division along the strip Studies on the position measurement error

CERN Document Server

Bassignana, D; Fernandez, M; Jaramillo, R; Lozano, M; Munoz, F.J; Pellegrini, G; Quirion, D; Vila, I; Vitorero, F

2013-01-01

Position sensitivity in semiconductor detectors of ionizing radiation is usually achieved by the segmentation of the sensing diode junction in many small sensing elements read out separately as in the case of conventional microstrips and pixel detectors. Alternatively, position sensitivity can be obtained by splitting the ionization signal collected by one single electrode amongst more than one readout channel with the ratio of the collected charges depending on the position where the signal was primary generated. Following this later approach, we implemented the charge division method in a conventional microstrip detector to obtain position sensitivity along the strip. We manufactured a proofof-concept demonstrator where the conventional aluminum electrodes were replaced by slightly resistive electrodes made of strongly doped poly-crystalline silicon and being readout at both strip ends. Here, we partially summarize the laser characterization of this first proof-of-concept demonstrator with special emphasis ...

Effect of a Dual Charge on the DNA-Conjugated Redox Probe on DNA Sensing by Short Hairpin Beacons Tethered to Gold Electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kékedy-Nagy, László; Shipovskov, Stepan; Ferapontova, Elena E

2016-08-16

Charges of redox species can critically affect both the interfacial state of DNA and electrochemistry of DNA-conjugated redox labels and, as a result, the electroanalytical performance of those systems. Here, we show that the kinetics of electron transfer (ET) between the gold electrode and methylene blue (MB) label conjugated to a double-stranded (ds) DNA tethered to gold strongly depend on the charge of the MB molecule, and that affects the performance of genosensors exploiting MB-labeled hairpin DNA beacons. Positively charged MB binds to dsDNA via electrostatic and intercalative/groove binding, and this binding allows the DNA-mediated electrochemistry of MB intercalated into the duplex and, as a result, a complex mode of the electrochemical signal change upon hairpin hybridization to the target DNA, dominated by the "on-off" signal change mode at nanomolar levels of the analyzed DNA. When MB bears an additional carboxylic group, the negative charge provided by this group prevents intimate interactions between MB and DNA, and then the ET in duplexes is limited by the diffusion of the MB-conjugated dsDNA (the phenomenon first shown in Farjami , E. ; Clima , L. ; Gothelf , K. ; Ferapontova , E. E. Anal. Chem. 2011 , 83 , 1594 ) providing the robust "off-on" nanomolar DNA sensing. Those results can be extended to other intercalating redox probes and are of strategic importance for design and development of electrochemical hybridization sensors exploiting DNA nanoswitchable architectures.

PEPTIDE SOLUBILITY, STRUCTURE AND CHARGE POSITION EFFECT ON ADSORPTION BY ALUMINIUM HYDROXIDE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mary Trujillo

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Solubility, structure and position of charges in a peptide antigen sequence can be mentioned as being amongst the basic features of adsorption. In order to study their effect on adsorption, seven analogue series were synthesized from a MSP-1 peptide sequence by systematically replacing each one of the positions in the peptide sequence by aspartic acid, glutamic acid, serine, alanine, asparagine, glutamine or lysine. Such modifications in analogue peptide sequences showed a non-regular tendency regarding solubility and adsorption data. Aspartic acid and Glutamic acid analogue series showed great improvements in adsorption, especially in peptides where Lysine in position 6 and Arginine in position 13 were replaced. Solubility of position 5 analogue was greater than the position 6 analogue in Aspartic acid series; however, the position 6 analogue showed best adsorption results whilst the Aspartic acid in position 5 analogue showed no adsorption in the same conditions. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance structural analysis revealed differences in the -helical structureextension between these analogues. The Aspartic acid in position 6, located in the polar side of the helix, may allow this analogueto fit better onto the adsorption regions suggesting that the local electrostatic charge is responsible for this behavior.

Charging of dust grains in a plasma with negative ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Su-Hyun; Merlino, Robert L.

2006-01-01

The effect of negative ions on the charging of dust particles in a plasma is investigated experimentally. A plasma containing a very low percentage of electrons is formed in a single-ended Q machine when SF 6 is admitted into the vacuum system. The relatively cold Q machine electrons (T e ≅0.2 eV) readily attach to SF 6 molecules to form SF 6 - negative ions. Calculations of the dust charge indicate that for electrons, negative ions, and positive ions of comparable temperatures, the charge (or surface potential) of the dust can be positive if the positive ion mass is smaller than the negative ion mass and if ε, the ratio of the electron to positive ion density, is sufficiently small. The Q machine plasma is operated with K + positive ions (mass 39 amu) and SF 6 - negative ions (mass 146 amu), and also utilizes a rotating cylinder to dispense dust into the plasma column. Analysis of the current-voltage characteristics of a Langmuir probe in the dusty plasma shows evidence for the reduction in the (magnitude) of the negative dust charge and the transition to positively charged dust as the relative concentration of the residual electrons is reduced. Some remarks are offered concerning experiments that could become possible in a dusty plasma with positive grains

Flexible position probe assembly

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmitz, J.J.

1977-01-01

The combination of a plurality of tubular transducer sections and a flexible supporting member extending through the tubular transducer sections forms a flexible elongated probe of a design suitable for monitoring the level of an element, such as a nuclear magnetically permeable control rod or liquid. 3 claims, 23 figures

Charge dynamics of 57Fe probe atoms in La2Li0.5Cu0.5O4

Science.gov (United States)

Presniakov, I. A.; Sobolev, A. V.; Rusakov, V. S.; Moskvin, A. S.; Baranov, A. V.

2018-06-01

The objective of this study is to characterize the electronic state and local surrounding of 57Fe Mössbauer probe atoms within iron-doped layered perovskite La2Li0.5Cu0.5O4 containing transition metal in unusual formal oxidation states "+3". An approach based on the qualitative energy diagrams analysis and the calculations within the cluster configuration interaction method have been developed. It was shown that a large amount of charge is transferred via Cu-O bonds from the O: 2p bands to the Cu: 3d orbitals and the ground state is dominated by the d9L configuration ("Cu2+-O-" state). The dominant d9L ground state for the (CuO6) sublattice induces in the environment of the 57Fe probe cations a charge transfer Fe3+ + O-(L) → Fe4+ + O2-, which transforms "Fe3+" into "Fe4+" state. The experimental spectra in the entire temperature range 77-300 K were described with the use of the stochastic two-level model based on the assumption of dynamic equilibrium between two Fe3+↔Fe4+ valence states related to the iron atom in the [Fe(1)O4]4- center. The relaxation frequencies and activation energies of the corresponding charge fluctuations were estimated based on Mössbauer data. The results are discussed assuming a temperature-induced change in the electronic state of the [CuO4]5- clusters in the layered perovskite.

Development of a Sweetness Sensor for Aspartame, a Positively Charged High-Potency Sweetener

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masato Yasuura

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Taste evaluation technology has been developed by several methods, such as sensory tests, electronic tongues and a taste sensor based on lipid/polymer membranes. In particular, the taste sensor can individually quantify five basic tastes without multivariate analysis. However, it has proven difficult to develop a sweetness sensor, because sweeteners are classified into three types according to the electric charges in an aqueous solution; that is, no charge, negative charge and positive charge. Using membrane potential measurements, the taste-sensing system needs three types of sensor membrane for each electric charge type of sweetener. Since the commercially available sweetness sensor was only intended for uncharged sweeteners, a sweetness sensor for positively charged high-potency sweeteners such as aspartame was developed in this study. Using a lipid and plasticizers, we fabricated various lipid/polymer membranes for the sweetness sensor to identify the suitable components of the sensor membranes. As a result, one of the developed sensors showed responses of more than 20 mV to 10 mM aspartame and less than 5 mV to any other taste. The responses of the sensor depended on the concentration of aspartame. These results suggested that the developed sweetness sensor had high sensitivity to and high selectivity for aspartame.

Development of a sweetness sensor for aspartame, a positively charged high-potency sweetener.

Science.gov (United States)

Yasuura, Masato; Tahara, Yusuke; Ikezaki, Hidekazu; Toko, Kiyoshi

2014-04-23

Taste evaluation technology has been developed by several methods, such as sensory tests, electronic tongues and a taste sensor based on lipid/polymer membranes. In particular, the taste sensor can individually quantify five basic tastes without multivariate analysis. However, it has proven difficult to develop a sweetness sensor, because sweeteners are classified into three types according to the electric charges in an aqueous solution; that is, no charge, negative charge and positive charge. Using membrane potential measurements, the taste-sensing system needs three types of sensor membrane for each electric charge type of sweetener. Since the commercially available sweetness sensor was only intended for uncharged sweeteners, a sweetness sensor for positively charged high-potency sweeteners such as aspartame was developed in this study. Using a lipid and plasticizers, we fabricated various lipid/polymer membranes for the sweetness sensor to identify the suitable components of the sensor membranes. As a result, one of the developed sensors showed responses of more than 20 mV to 10 mM aspartame and less than 5 mV to any other taste. The responses of the sensor depended on the concentration of aspartame. These results suggested that the developed sweetness sensor had high sensitivity to and high selectivity for aspartame.

Development and testing of an ion probe for tightly-bunched particle beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ngo, M.; Pasour, J.

1996-06-01

Many high-energy physics experiments require a high-quality and well-diagnosed charged-particle beam (CPB). Precise knowledge of beam size, position, and charge distribution is often crucial to the success of the experiment. It is also important in many applications that the diagnostic used to determine the beam parameters be nonintercepting and nonperturbing. This requirement rules out many diagnostics, such as wire scanners, thin foils which produce Cerenkov or transition radiation, and even some rf cavity diagnostics. Particularly difficult to diagnose are tightly-focused (r{sub b} << 1 mm), short-duration (psec) beams, such as those in state-of-the-art or next-generation particle colliders. In this paper we describe an ion probe that is capable of penetrating the space-charge field of densely bunched CPBs without perturbation, thereby enabling the measurement of the microstructure of the bunch. This diagnostic probe uses a finely-focused stream of ions to interact with the CPB. Related techniques have been discussed in the literature. In fact, the present work evolved from an electron deflection diagnostic for CPBs that we previously described. A similar electron probe was tested even earlier at TRIUMF and in the Former Soviet Union. Electron probes have also been used to measure plasma sheaths and potentials and the neutralization of heavy ion beams. Also, Mendel has used an ion beam (22 keV He{sup +}) to probe rapidly varying fields in plasmas. The probe ions are injected across the beam tube and into the path of the high-energy CPB. The ions are deflected by the CPB, and the direction and magnitude of the deflection are directly related to the spatial and temporal charge distribution of the CPB. Easily-resolved deflections can be produced by microbunches having total charge on the order of a nCoul and pulse durations of a few psec. The deflected ions are monitored with a suitable detector, in this case a microchannel plate capable of detecting single ions.

Femtosecond Pump-Push-Probe and Pump-Dump-Probe Spectroscopy of Conjugated Polymers: New Insight and Opportunities.

Science.gov (United States)

Kee, Tak W

2014-09-18

Conjugated polymers are an important class of soft materials that exhibit a wide range of applications. The excited states of conjugated polymers, often referred to as excitons, can either deactivate to yield the ground state or dissociate in the presence of an electron acceptor to form charge carriers. These interesting properties give rise to their luminescence and the photovoltaic effect. Femtosecond spectroscopy is a crucial tool for studying conjugated polymers. Recently, more elaborate experimental configurations utilizing three optical pulses, namely, pump-push-probe and pump-dump-probe, have been employed to investigate the properties of excitons and charge-transfer states of conjugated polymers. These studies have revealed new insight into femtosecond torsional relaxation and detrapping of bound charge pairs of conjugated polymers. This Perspective highlights (1) the recent achievements by several research groups in using pump-push-probe and pump-dump-probe spectroscopy to study conjugated polymers and (2) future opportunities and potential challenges of these techniques.

RESONANT X-RAY SCATTERING AS A PROBE OF ORBITAL AND CHARGE ORDERING

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

NELSON, C.S.; HILL, J.P.; GIBBS, D.

2002-01-01

Resonant x-ray scattering is a powerful experimental technique for probing orbital and charge ordering. It involves tuning the incident photon energy to an absorption edge of the relevant ion and observing scattering at previously 'forbidden' Bragg peaks, and it allows high-resolution, quantitative studies of orbital and charge order--even from small samples. Further, resonant x-ray scattering from orbitally ordered systems exhibits polarization- and azimuthal-dependent properties that provide additional information about the details of the orbital order that is difficult, or impossible, to obtain with any other technique. In the manganites, the sensitivity to charge and orbital ordering is enhanced when the incident photon energy is tuned near the Mn K absorption edge (6.539 keV), which is the lowest energy at which a 1s electron can be excited into an unoccupied state. In this process, the core electron is promoted to an intermediate excited state, which decays with the emission of a photon. The sensitivity to charge ordering is believed to be due to the small difference in K absorption edges of the Mn 3+ and Mn 4+ sites. For orbital ordering, the sensitivity arises from a splitting--or difference in the weight of the density of states [239]--of the orbitals occupied by the excited electron in the intermediate state. In the absence of such a splitting, there is no resonant enhancement of the scattering intensity. In principle, other absorption edges in which the intermediate state is anisotropic could be utilized, but the strong dipole transition to the Mn 4p levels--and their convenient energies for x-ray diffraction--make the K edge well-suited to studies of manganites. The Mn 4p levels are affected by the symmetry of the orbital ordering, which makes the technique sensitive to the orbital degree of freedom. Therefore resonant x-ray scattering can be used to obtain important quantitative information concerning the details of this electronic order. Two

Triboelectricity: macroscopic charge patterns formed by self-arraying ions on polymer surfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Burgo, Thiago A L; Ducati, Telma R D; Francisco, Kelly R; Clinckspoor, Karl J; Galembeck, Fernando; Galembeck, Sergio E

2012-05-15

Tribocharged polymers display macroscopically patterned positive and negative domains, verifying the fractal geometry of electrostatic mosaics previously detected by electric probe microscopy. Excess charge on contacting polyethylene (PE) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) follows the triboelectric series but with one caveat: net charge is the arithmetic sum of patterned positive and negative charges, as opposed to the usual assumption of uniform but opposite signal charging on each surface. Extraction with n-hexane preferentially removes positive charges from PTFE, while 1,1-difluoroethane and ethanol largely remove both positive and negative charges. Using suitable analytical techniques (electron energy-loss spectral imaging, infrared microspectrophotometry and carbonization/colorimetry) and theoretical calculations, the positive species were identified as hydrocarbocations and the negative species were identified as fluorocarbanions. A comprehensive model is presented for PTFE tribocharging with PE: mechanochemical chain homolytic rupture is followed by electron transfer from hydrocarbon free radicals to the more electronegative fluorocarbon radicals. Polymer ions self-assemble according to Flory-Huggins theory, thus forming the experimentally observed macroscopic patterns. These results show that tribocharging can only be understood by considering the complex chemical events triggered by mechanical action, coupled to well-established physicochemical concepts. Patterned polymers can be cut and mounted to make macroscopic electrets and multipoles.

Charge correlations as a probe of nuclear disassembly

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kreutz, P.; Pochodzalla, J.; Schuettauf, A.; Tucholski, A.; Bouissou, P.; Leray, S.; Seidel, W.; Begemann-Blaich, M.; Hubele, J.; Kunde, G.J.; Lindenstruth, V.; Liu, Z.; Lynen, U.; Meijer, R.J.; Milkau, U.; Mueller, W.F.J.; Ogilvie, C.A.; Sann, H.; Trautmann, W.

1992-03-01

We have studied multi-fragment decays of Au projectiles after collision with C, Al, Cu and Pb targets at a bombarding energy of 600 MeV/nucleon. We examine the correlations between the charges emitted in these reactions. These correlations are given as a function of the total charge in bound fragments, Z bound , at forward angles, which is a measure of the violence of the collision and can be related to the impact parameter. The charge distributions have been fit by a power law and the extracted τ parameter exhibits a minimum as a function of Z bound . We observe a strong reduction in the maximum charge, Z max , of the event with decreasing Z bound . For those events where Z max is less than half Z bound , the relative sizes of the two largest charges within the event cover the full spectrum of possibilities. The charge-Dalitz plots indicate that the multi-fragmentation events are not an extension of symmetric fission reactions. The event-by-event charge moments are examined to measure the size of the charge fluctuations. All of the charge correlations are independent of the target when plotted as a function of Z bound . The results are compared to both nuclear statistical and percolation calculations. The model predictions differ from each other, establishing that the observables are sensitive to how the available phase space is populated. The sequential nuclear model predicts too asymmetric a decay, while the simultaneous model predicts too symmetrical a break-up. The percolation model, which was adjusted to reproduce the mean multiplicity of fragments and the size of Z max , correctly predicts the charge fluctuations. (orig.)

A two-dimensional position sensitive gas chamber with scanned charge transfer readout

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gomez, F. E-mail: faustgr@usc.es; Iglesias, A.; Lobato, R.; Mosquera, J.; Pardo, J.; Pena, J.; Pazos, A.; Pombar, M.; Rodriguez, A

2003-10-21

We have constructed and tested a two-dimensional position sensitive parallel-plate gas ionization chamber with scanned charge transfer readout. The scan readout method described here is based on the development of a new position-dependent charge transfer technique. It has been implemented by using gate strips perpendicularly oriented to the collector strips. This solution reduces considerably the number of electronic readout channels needed to cover large detector areas. The use of a 25 {mu}m thick kapton etched circuit allows high charge transfer efficiency with a low gating voltage, consequently needing a very simple commutating circuit. The present prototype covers 8x8 cm{sup 2} with a pixel size of 1.27x1.27 mm{sup 2}. Depending on the intended use and beam characteristics a smaller effective pixel is feasible and larger active areas are possible. This detector can be used for X-ray or other continuous beam intensity profile monitoring.

A two-dimensional position sensitive gas chamber with scanned charge transfer readout

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomez, F.; Iglesias, A.; Lobato, R.; Mosquera, J.; Pardo, J.; Pena, J.; Pazos, A.; Pombar, M.; Rodriguez, A.

2003-01-01

We have constructed and tested a two-dimensional position sensitive parallel-plate gas ionization chamber with scanned charge transfer readout. The scan readout method described here is based on the development of a new position-dependent charge transfer technique. It has been implemented by using gate strips perpendicularly oriented to the collector strips. This solution reduces considerably the number of electronic readout channels needed to cover large detector areas. The use of a 25 μm thick kapton etched circuit allows high charge transfer efficiency with a low gating voltage, consequently needing a very simple commutating circuit. The present prototype covers 8x8 cm 2 with a pixel size of 1.27x1.27 mm 2 . Depending on the intended use and beam characteristics a smaller effective pixel is feasible and larger active areas are possible. This detector can be used for X-ray or other continuous beam intensity profile monitoring

Small interfering RNA delivery through positively charged polymer nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dragoni, Luca; Cesana, Alberto; Moscatelli, Davide; Ferrari, Raffaele; Morbidelli, Massimo; Lupi, Monica; Falcetta, Francesca; Ubezio, Paolo; D’Incalci, Maurizio

2016-01-01

Small interfering RNA (siRNA) is receiving increasing attention with regard to the treatment of many genetic diseases, both acquired and hereditary, such as cancer and diabetes. Being a high molecular weight (MW) polyanion, siRNA is not able to cross a cell membrane, and in addition it is unstable in physiological conditions. Accordingly, a biocompatible nanocarrier able to deliver siRNA into cells is needed. In this work, we synthesized biocompatible positively charged nanoparticles (NPs) following a two-step process that involves ring opening polymerization (ROP) and emulsion free radical polymerization (EFRP). Firstly, we proved the possibility of fine tuning the NPs’ characteristics (e.g. size and surface charge) by changing the synthetic process parameters. Then the capability in loading and delivering undamaged siRNA into a cancer cell cytoplasm has been shown. This latter process occurs through the biodegradation of the polymer constituting the NPs, whose kinetics can be tuned by adjusting the polymer’s MW. Finally, the ability of NPs to carry siRNA inside the cells in order to inhibit their target gene has been demonstrated using green flourescent protein positive cells. (paper)

Dual Mechanism of an Intramolecular Charge Transfer (ICT)-FRET-Based Fluorescent Probe for the Selective Detection of Hydrogen Peroxide.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Xiao; Xu, Xiaoyi; Qiao, Dan; Yin, Zheng; Shang, Luqing

2017-12-14

A dual-mechanism intramolecular charge transfer (ICT)-FRET fluorescent probe for the selective detection of H 2 O 2 in living cells has been designed and synthesized. This probe used a coumarin-naphthalimide hybrid as the FRET platform and a boronate moiety as the recognition group. Upon the addition of H 2 O 2 , the probe exhibited a redshifted (73 nm) fluorescence emission, and the ratio of fluorescence intensities at λ=558 and 485 nm (F 558 /F 485 ) shifted notably (up to 100-fold). Moreover, there was a good linearity (R 2 =0.9911) between the ratio and concentration of H 2 O 2 in the range of 0 to 60 μm, with a limit of detection of 0.28 μm (signal to noise ratio (S/N)=3). This probe could also detect enzymatically generated H 2 O 2 . Importantly, it could be used to visualize endogenous H 2 O 2 produced by stimulation from epidermal growth factor. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Characterization of positional errors and their influence on micro four-point probe measurements on a 100 nm Ru film

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjær, Daniel; Hansen, Ole; Østerberg, Frederik Westergaard

2015-01-01

Thin-film sheet resistance measurements at high spatial resolution and on small pads are important and can be realized with micrometer-scale four-point probes. As a result of the small scale the measurements are affected by electrode position errors. We have characterized the electrode position...... errors in measurements on Ru thin film using an Au-coated 12-point probe. We show that the standard deviation of the static electrode position error is on the order of 5 nm, which significantly affects the results of single configuration measurements. Position-error-corrected dual......-configuration measurements, however, are shown to eliminate the effect of position errors to a level limited either by electrical measurement noise or dynamic position errors. We show that the probe contact points remain almost static on the surface during the measurements (measured on an atomic scale) with a standard...

MOSFET Electric-Charge Sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Paul A., Jr.

1988-01-01

Charged-particle probe compact and consumes little power. Proposed modification enables metal oxide/semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) to act as detector of static electric charges or energetic charged particles. Thickened gate insulation acts as control structure. During measurements metal gate allowed to "float" to potential of charge accumulated in insulation. Stack of modified MOSFET'S constitutes detector of energetic charged particles. Each gate "floats" to potential induced by charged-particle beam penetrating its layer.

Investigation of ferromagnetic spinel semiconductors by hyperfine interactions of implanted nuclear probes

CERN Document Server

Samokhvalov, V; Dietrich, M; Schneider, F; Tiginyanu, I M; Tsurkan, V; Unterricker, S

2003-01-01

The semiconducting ferromagnetic spinel compounds CdCr//2Se //4, CdCr //2S//4, HgCr//2Se//4 and CuCr//2Se//4 (metallic) were investigated by the perturbed angular correlations (PAC) method with the radioactive probes **1**1**1In, **1**1**1**mCd, **1**1**1Ag, **1**1**7Cd, **1**9**9**mHg and **7**7Br. The probes were implanted at the ISOLDE on-line separator (CERN-Geneva) into single crystals. From the time dependence of the PAC spectra and the measured hyperfine interaction parameters: electric field gradient and magnetic hyperfine field, the probe positions and the thermal behavior of the probes could be determined. Cd, Ag and Hg are substituted at the A-site, In at the A- and B-site in the semiconducting compounds and Br at the anion position. Electric and magnetic hyperfine fields were used as test quantities for theoretical charge and spin density distributions of LAPW calculations (WIEN97).

Novel probe for determining the size and position of a relativistic electron beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Orzechowski, T.J.; Koehler, H.; Edwards, W.; Nelson, M.; Marshall, B.

1984-01-01

In order to determine the size and position of a relativistic electron beam inside the wiggler magnetic field of a Free Electron Laser (FEL), we have developed a new probe which intercepts the electron beam on a high Z target and monitors the resulting bremsstrahlung radiation. The probe is designed to move along the entire three meters of the wiggler. This FEL is designed to operate in the microwave region (2 to 8 mm) and the interaction region is an oversized waveguide with a cross section 3 cm x 9.8 cm. The axial probe moves inside this waveguide. The probe stops the electron beam on a Tantalum target and the resulting x-rays are scattered in the forward direction. A scintillator behind the beam stop reacts to the x-rays and emits visible light in the region where the x-rays strike. An array of fiber optics behind the scintillator transmits the visible light to a Reticon camera system which images the visible pattern from the scintillator. Processing the optical image is done by digitizing and storing the image and/or recording the image on video tape. Resolution and performance of this probe will be discussed

Measurements of H-atom density by a catalytic probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vesel, A.; Drenik, A.; Mozetic, M.

2006-01-01

One of the important plasma parameters in tokamaks is the density of neutral hydrogen atoms which can be measured by catalytic probes. The method is based on the catalytic recombination of H atoms on the metal surface. In order to prevent a substantial drain of atoms by the probe, it should be made as small as possible. But still this effect can not be neglected. Therefore a study of the influence of a catalytic probe on the H-atom density was performed. The source of neutral H-atoms was inductively coupled RF hydrogen plasma. The gas from the discharge vessel was leaked to an experimental chamber through a narrow tube with the diameter of 5 mm and the length of 6 cm. Charged particles created in the discharge vessel were recombined on the walls of the narrow tube, so that the gas entering the experimental chamber was a mixture of hydrogen atoms and molecules only. The density of H-atoms in the experimental chamber was measured with two nickel catalytic probes. One probe was at fixed position and the other one was made movable. A change in the probe signal of the fixed probe was measured versus the position of the movable probe. The measurements were performed at the pressures between 10 Pa and 200 Pa and at two different RF powers 200 W and 300 W. It was found that the density of neutral hydrogen atoms was reduced for about 20% due to the presence of the probe. This result was independent from the pressure in the experimental chamber. (author)

Light emission probing quantum shot noise and charge fluctuations at a biased molecular junction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schneider, N.L.; Lu, Jing Tao; Brandbyge, M.

2012-01-01

The emission of plasmonic light from a single C60 molecule on Cu(111) is probed in a scanning tunneling microscope from the weak-coupling, tunneling range to strong coupling of the molecule to the electrodes at contact. At positive sample voltage the photon yield decreases owing to shot...

Investigation of the electrochemical and electrocatalytic behavior of positively charged gold nanoparticle and L-cysteine film on an Au electrode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Lingyan; Yuan Ruo; Chai Yaqing; Li Xuelian

2007-01-01

Positively charged gold nanoparticle (positively charged nano-Au), which was prepared, characterized by ξ-potential and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used in combination with L-cysteine to fabricate a modified electrode for electrocatalytic reaction of biomolecules. Compared with electrodes modified by negatively charged gold nanoparticle/L-cysteine, or L-cysteine alone, the electrode modified by the positively charged gold nanoparticle/L-cysteine exhibited excellent electrochemical behavior toward the oxidation of biomolecules such as ascorbic acid, dopamine and hydrogen peroxide. Moreover, the proposed mechanism for electrocatalytic response of positively charged gold nanoparticle was discussed. The immunosensor showed a specific to ascorbic acid in the range 5.1 x 10 -7 -6.7 x 10 -4 M and a low detection limit of 1.5 x 10 -7 M. The experimental results demonstrate that positively charged gold nanoparticle have more efficient electrocatalytic reaction than negatively charged gold nanoparticle, which opens up new approach for fabricating sensor

The impact of irradiation induced specimen charging on microanalysis in a scanning electron microscope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stevens-Kalceff, M.A.

2003-01-01

which reproducibly evolve as a function of electron beam irradiation exposure. Complementary KPM and CL studies directly link the micro-segregation of defects with the highly localised irradiation induced electric field. It is important to consider the possibility of irradiation induced micro-modification of poorly conducting specimens when using charged beam micro-analytical techniques. Localised positive/ negative charging may increase/ reduce the effective energy of electrons incident on the specimen. The volume of specimen probed may also change as a result of charging induced effects. Both the radial diameter of the interaction volume and maximum penetration depth of the incident are influenced by the accumulation of charge in the subsurface interaction volume of specimen during electron irradiation. This research is funded by the Australian Research Council. Technical support from the Electron Microscope Unit at the University of New South Wales, Australia and W. Kalceff is also gratefully acknowledged. Copyright (2003) Australian Microbeam Analysis Society

Laser-pump/X-ray-probe experiments with electrons ejected from a Cu(111) target: space-charge acceleration.

Science.gov (United States)

Schiwietz, G; Kühn, D; Föhlisch, A; Holldack, K; Kachel, T; Pontius, N

2016-09-01

A comprehensive investigation of the emission characteristics for electrons induced by X-rays of a few hundred eV at grazing-incidence angles on an atomically clean Cu(111) sample during laser excitation is presented. Electron energy spectra due to intense infrared laser irradiation are investigated at the BESSY II slicing facility. Furthermore, the influence of the corresponding high degree of target excitation (high peak current of photoemission) on the properties of Auger and photoelectrons liberated by a probe X-ray beam is investigated in time-resolved pump and probe measurements. Strong electron energy shifts have been found and assigned to space-charge acceleration. The variation of the shift with laser power and electron energy is investigated and discussed on the basis of experimental as well as new theoretical results.

Temperature Dependence of Charge Localization in High-Mobility, Solution-Crystallized Small Molecule Semiconductors Studied by Charge Modulation Spectroscopy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meneau, Aurélie Y. B.; Olivier, Yoann; Backlund, Tomas

2016-01-01

In solution-processable small molecule semiconductors, the extent of charge carrier wavefunction localization induced by dynamic disorder can be probed spectroscopically as a function of temperature using charge modulation spectroscopy (CMS). Here, it is shown based on combined fi eld-effect tran......In solution-processable small molecule semiconductors, the extent of charge carrier wavefunction localization induced by dynamic disorder can be probed spectroscopically as a function of temperature using charge modulation spectroscopy (CMS). Here, it is shown based on combined fi eld......-effect transistor and CMS measurements as a function of temperature that in certain molecular semiconductors, such as solution-processible pentacene, charge carriers become trapped at low temperatures in environments in which the charges become highly localized on individual molecules, while in some other molecules...

Development and testing of an ion probe for tightly-bunched particle beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ngo, M.; Pasour, J.

1996-06-01

Many high-energy physics experiments require a high-quality and well-diagnosed charged-particle beam (CPB). Precise knowledge of beam size, position, and charge distribution is often crucial to the success of the experiment. It is also important in many applications that the diagnostic used to determine the beam parameters be nonintercepting and nonperturbing. This requirement rules out many diagnostics, such as wire scanners, thin foils which produce Cerenkov or transition radiation, and even some rf cavity diagnostics. Particularly difficult to diagnose are tightly-focused (r b + ) to probe rapidly varying fields in plasmas. The probe ions are injected across the beam tube and into the path of the high-energy CPB. The ions are deflected by the CPB, and the direction and magnitude of the deflection are directly related to the spatial and temporal charge distribution of the CPB. Easily-resolved deflections can be produced by microbunches having total charge on the order of a nCoul and pulse durations of a few psec. The deflected ions are monitored with a suitable detector, in this case a microchannel plate capable of detecting single ions

Jumbo Space Environment Simulation and Spacecraft Charging Chamber Characterization

Science.gov (United States)

2015-04-09

probes for Jumbo. Both probes are produced by Trek Inc. Trek probe model 370 is capable of -3 to 3kV and has an extremely fast, 50µs/kV response to...changing surface potentials. Trek probe 341B is capable of -20 to 20kV with a 200 µs/kV response time. During our charging experiments the probe sits...unlimited. 12 REFERENCES [1] R. D. Leach and M. B. Alexander, "Failures and anomalies attributed to spacecraft charging," NASA RP-1375, Marshall Space

Probing surface states in PbS nanocrystal films using pentacene field effect transistors: controlling carrier concentration and charge transport in pentacene.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Byoungnam; Whitham, Kevin; Bian, Kaifu; Lim, Yee-Fun; Hanrath, Tobias

2014-12-21

We used a bilayer field effect transistor (FET) consisting of a thin PbS nanocrystals (NCs) film interfaced with vacuum-deposited pentacene to probe trap states in NCs. We interpret the observed threshold voltage shift in context of charge carrier trapping by PbS NCs and relate the magnitude of the threshold voltage shift to the number of trapped carriers. We explored a series of NC surface ligands to modify the interface between PbS NCs and pentacene and demonstrate the impact of interface chemistry on charge carrier density and the FET mobility in a pentacene FET.

Impact of ultrasound probe pressure on uterine positional displacement in gynecologic cancer patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baker, Mariwan; Juhler-Nøttrup, Trine; Behrens, Claus F.

2014-01-01

Aim: The aim of this study was to quantify the uterine positional displacement induced by ultrasound probe pressure on a phantom and address the daily uterine motion in a healthy volunteer. Materials & methods: The phantom mimics the female pelvic region. The incorporated organs were subjected to...

Decay characteristics of electronic charged states of Si quantum dots as evaluated by an AFM/Kelvin probe technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishitani, Junichiro; Makihara, Katsunori; Ikeda, Mitsuhisa; Murakami, Hideki; Higashi, Seiichiro; Miyazaki, Seiichi

2006-01-01

Si quantum dots (Si-QDs) with an areal dot density of 8 x 10 11 cm -2 on SiO 2 have been prepared by the thermal decomposition of monosilane to characterize charged states of Si-QDs using AFM/Kelvin probe force microscopy (KFM). The temporal changes in the surface potential induced by electron charging and discharging at Si-QDs covered with a ∼ 2-nm-thick oxide layer have been measured. In electron charging and discharging at Si-QDs, a Rh-coated AFM tip was electrically biased in the range of - 5 to 5 V and scanned on the sample surface in a tapping mode. The surface potential changes on Si-QDs by electron injection and extraction were observable, while no potential change was detected elsewhere. The surface potential of charged Si-QDs decays with time at rates depending on charge injection conditions. The observed decay characteristics can be interpreted in terms of discharging of stored electrons in Si-QDs due to electron tunneling through the bottom oxide to the substrate and neutralization of stored holes due to recombination with electrons tunneling from the substrates. The defect generation in oxide is likely to be responsible for a fairly slow decay as observed in the case of electron extraction by the tip bias as high as + 4.8 V with respect to p-Si(100)

Positively charged microporous ceramic membrane for the removal of Titan Yellow through electrostatic adsorption.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Xiuting; Li, Na; Zhu, Mengfu; Zhang, Lili; Deng, Yu; Deng, Cheng

2016-06-01

To develop a depth filter based on the electrostatic adsorption principle, positively charged microporous ceramic membrane was prepared from a diatomaceous earth ceramic membrane. The internal surface of the highly porous ceramic membrane was coated with uniformly distributed electropositive nano-Y2O3 coating. The dye removal performance was evaluated through pressurized filtration tests using Titan Yellow aqueous solution. It showed that positively charged microporous ceramic membrane exhibited a flow rate of 421L/(m(2)·hr) under the trans-membrane pressure of 0.03bar. Moreover it could effectively remove Titan Yellow with feed concentration of 10mg/L between pH3 to 8. The removal rate increased with the enhancement of the surface charge properties with a maximum rejection of 99.6%. This study provides a new and feasible method of removing organic dyes in wastewater. It is convinced that there will be a broad market for the application of charged ceramic membrane in the field of dye removal or recovery from industry wastewater. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Conductive scanning probe microscopy of the semicontinuous gold film and its SERS enhancement toward two-step photo-induced charge transfer and effect of the supportive layer

Science.gov (United States)

Sinthiptharakoon, K.; Sapcharoenkun, C.; Nuntawong, N.; Duong, B.; Wutikhun, T.; Treetong, A.; Meemuk, B.; Kasamechonchung, P.; Klamchuen, A.

2018-05-01

The semicontinuous gold film, enabling various electronic applications including development of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate, is investigated using conductive atomic force microscopy (CAFM) and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) to reveal and investigate local electronic characteristics potentially associated with SERS generation of the film material. Although the gold film fully covers the underlying silicon surface, CAFM results reveal that local conductivity of the film is not continuous with insulating nanoislands appearing throughout the surface due to incomplete film percolation. Our analysis also suggests the two-step photo-induced charge transfer (CT) play the dominant role in the enhancement of SERS intensity with strong contribution from free electrons of the silicon support. Silicon-to-gold charge transport is illustrated by KPFM results showing that Fermi level of the gold film is slightly inhomogeneous and far below the silicon conduction band. We propose that inhomogeneity of the film workfunction affecting chemical charge transfer between gold and Raman probe molecule is associated with the SERS intensity varying across the surface. These findings provide deeper understanding of charge transfer mechanism for SERS which can help in design and development of the semicontinuous gold film-based SERS substrate and other electronic applications.

Position readout by charge division in large two-dimensional detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alberi, J.L.

1976-10-01

The improvement in readout spatial resolution for charge division systems with subdivided readout electrodes has been analyzed. This readout forms the position and sum signals by a linear, unambiguous analogue summation technique. It is shown that the readout resolution is a function of only electrode capacitance and shaping parameters. The line width improves as 1/N/sup 1 / 2 /, where N is the number of electrode subdivisions

Position of probe determines prognostic information of brain tissue PO2 in severe traumatic brain injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Ponce, Lucido L; Pillai, Shibu; Cruz, Jovany; Li, Xiaoqi; Julia, H; Gopinath, Shankar; Robertson, Claudia S

2012-06-01

Monitoring brain tissue PO2 (PbtO2) is part of multimodality monitoring of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, PbtO2 measurement is a sampling of only a small area of tissue surrounding the sensor tip. To examine the effect of catheter location on the relationship between PbtO2 and neurological outcome. A total of 405 patients who had PbtO2 monitoring as part of standard management of severe traumatic brain injury were studied. The relationships between probe location and resulting PbtO2 and outcome were examined. When the probe was located in normal brain, PbtO2 averaged 30.8 ± 18.2 compared with 25.6 ± 14.8 mm Hg when placed in abnormal brain (P < .001). Factors related to neurological outcome in the best-fit logistic regression model were age, PbtO2 probe position, postresuscitation motor Glasgow Coma Scale score, and PbtO2 trend pattern. Although average PbtO2 was significantly related to outcome in univariate analyses, it was not significant in the final logistic model. However, the interaction between PbtO2 and probe position was statistically significant. When the PbtO2 probe was placed in abnormal brain, the average PbtO2 was higher in those with a favorable outcome, 28.8 ± 12.0 mm Hg, compared with those with an unfavorable outcome, 19.5 ± 13.7 mm Hg (P = .01). PbtO2 and outcome were not related when the probe was placed in normal-appearing brain. These results suggest that the location of the PbtO2 probe determines the PbtO2 values and the relationship of PbtO2 to neurological outcome.

Electro-mechanical probe positioning system for large volume plasma device

Science.gov (United States)

Sanyasi, A. K.; Sugandhi, R.; Srivastava, P. K.; Srivastav, Prabhakar; Awasthi, L. M.

2018-05-01

An automated electro-mechanical system for the positioning of plasma diagnostics has been designed and implemented in a Large Volume Plasma Device (LVPD). The system consists of 12 electro-mechanical assemblies, which are orchestrated using the Modbus communication protocol on 4-wire RS485 communications to meet the experimental requirements. Each assembly has a lead screw-based mechanical structure, Wilson feed-through-based vacuum interface, bipolar stepper motor, micro-controller-based stepper drive, and optical encoder for online positioning correction of probes. The novelty of the system lies in the orchestration of multiple drives on a single interface, fabrication and installation of the system for a large experimental device like the LVPD, in-house developed software, and adopted architectural practices. The paper discusses the design, description of hardware and software interfaces, and performance results in LVPD.

μ+SR spectroscopy: the positive muon as a magnetic probe in solids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brewer, J.H.; Fleming, D.G.; Crowe, K.M.; Johnson, R.F.; Patterson, B.D.; Portis, A.M.; Gygax, F.N.; Schenck, A.

1974-06-01

Through its asymmetric decay, the positive muon acts as a sensitive detector of the interactions of its spin with the medium in which it comes to rest. Development of the μ + SR spectroscopy technique is described, and recent applications of the μ + as a probe are discussed. Results for hyperfine fields in ferromagnets and impurity states in nonmetals are presented with suggestions for future studies. 6 figures

Directional rolling of positively charged nanoparticles along a flexibility gradient on long DNA molecules.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Suehyun; Joo, Heesun; Kim, Jun Soo

2018-01-31

Directing the motion of molecules/colloids in any specific direction is of great interest in many applications of chemistry, physics, and biological sciences, where regulated positioning or transportation of materials is highly desired. Using Brownian dynamics simulations of coarse-grained models of a long, double-stranded DNA molecule and positively charged nanoparticles, we observed that the motion of a single nanoparticle bound to and wrapped by the DNA molecule can be directed along a gradient of DNA local flexibility. The flexibility gradient is constructed along a 0.8 kilobase-pair DNA molecule such that local persistence length decreases gradually from 50 nm to 40 nm, mimicking a gradual change in sequence-dependent flexibility. Nanoparticles roll over a long DNA molecule from less flexible regions towards more flexible ones as a result of the decreasing energetic cost of DNA bending and wrapping. In addition, the rolling becomes slightly accelerated as the positive charge of nanoparticles decreases due to a lower free energy barrier of DNA detachment from charged nanoparticle for processive rolling. This study suggests that the variation in DNA local flexibility can be utilized in constructing and manipulating supramolecular assemblies of DNA molecules and nanoparticles in structural DNA nanotechnology.

Validation of double Langmuir probe in-orbit performance onboard a nano-satellite

Science.gov (United States)

Tejumola, Taiwo Raphael; Zarate Segura, Guillermo Wenceslao; Kim, Sangkyun; Khan, Arifur; Cho, Mengu

2018-03-01

Many plasma measurement systems have been proposed and used onboard different satellites to characterize space plasma. Most of these systems employed the technique of Langmuir probes either using the single or double probes methods. Recent growth of lean satellites has positioned it on advantage to be used for space science missions using Langmuir probes because of its simplicity and convenience. However, single Langmuir probes are not appropriate to be used on lean satellites because of their limited conducting area which leads to spacecraft charging and drift of the instrument's electrical ground during measurement. Double Langmuir probes technique can overcome this limitation, as a measurement reference in relation to the spacecraft is not required. A double Langmuir probe measurement system was designed and developed at Kyushu Institute of Technology for HORYU-IV satellite, which is a 10 kg, 30 cm cubic class lean satellite launched into Low Earth Orbit on 17th February 2016. This paper presents the on-orbit performance and validation of the double Langmuir probe measurement using actual on-orbit measured data and computer simulations.

Electron beam patterning for writing of positively charged gold colloidal nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Zafri, Hadar; Azougi, Jonathan; Girshevitz, Olga; Zalevsky, Zeev; Zitoun, David

2018-02-01

Synthesis at the nanoscale has progressed at a very fast pace during the last decades. The main challenge today lies in precise localization to achieve efficient nanofabrication of devices. In the present work, we report on a novel method for the patterning of gold metallic nanoparticles into nanostructures on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer. The fabrication makes use of relatively accessible equipment, a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and wet chemical synthesis. The electron beam implants electrons into the insulating material, which further anchors the positively charged Au nanoparticles by electrostatic attraction. The novel fabrication method was applied to several substrates useful in microelectronics to add plasmonic particles. The resolution and surface density of the deposition were tuned, respectively, by the electron energy (acceleration voltage) and the dose of electronic irradiation. We easily achieved the smallest written feature of 68 ± 18 nm on SOI, and the technique can be extended to any positively charged nanoparticles, while the resolution is in principle limited by the particle size distribution and the scattering of the electrons in the substrate. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Simulation of the interaction of positively charged beams and electron clouds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markovik, Aleksandar

2013-01-01

The incoherent (head-tail) effect on the bunch due to the interaction with electron clouds (e-clouds) leads to a blow up of the transverse beam size in storage rings operating with positively charged beams. Even more the e-cloud effects are considered to be the main limiting factor for high current, high-brightness or high-luminosity operation of future machines. Therefore the simulation of e-cloud phenomena is a highly active field of research. The main focus in this work was set to a development of a tool for simulation of the interaction of relativistic bunches with non-relativistic parasitic charged particles. The result is the Particle-In-Cell Program MOEVE PIC Tracking which can track a 3D bunch under the influence of its own and external electromagnetic fields but first and foremost it simulates the interaction of relativistic positively charged bunches and initially static electrons. In MOEVE PIC Tracking the conducting beam pipe can be modeled with an arbitrary elliptical cross-section to achieve more accurate space charge field computations for both the bunch and the e-cloud. The simulation of the interaction between positron bunches and electron clouds in this work gave a detailed insight of the behavior of both particle species during and after the interaction. Further and ultimate goal of this work was a fast estimation of the beam stability under the influence of e-clouds in the storage ring. The standard approach to simulate the stability of a single bunch is to track the bunch particles through the linear optics of the machine by multiplying the 6D vector of each particle with the transformation matrices describing the lattice. Thereby the action of the e-cloud on the bunch is approximated by a pre-computed wake kick which is applied on one or more points in the lattice. Following the idea of K.Ohmi the wake kick was pre-computed as a two variable function of the bunch part exiting the e-cloud and the subsequent parts of a bunch which receive a

Chemical reactions induced and probed by positive muons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ito, Yasuo

1990-01-01

The application of μ + science, collectively called μSR, but encompassing a variety of methods including muon spin rotation, muon spin relaxation, muon spin repolarization, muon spin resonance and level-crossing resonance, to chemistry is introduced emphasizing the special aspects of processes which are 'induced and probed' by the μ + itself. After giving a general introduction to the nature and methods of muon science and a short history of muon chemistry, selected topics are given. One concerns the usefulness of muonium as hydrogen-like probes of chemical reactions taking polymerization of vinyl monomers and reaction with thiosulphate as examples. Probing solitons in polyacetylene induced and probed by μ + is also an important example which shows the unique nature of muonium. Another important topic is 'lost polarization'. Although this term is particular to muonium. Another important topic is 'lost polarization'. Although this term is particular to muon chemistry, the chemistry underlining the phenomenon of lost polarization has an importance to both radiation and hot atom chemistries. (orig.)

Probing the Relation Between Charge Transport and Supramolecular Organization Down to Ångström Resolution in a Benzothiadiazole‐Cyclopentadithiophene Copolymer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Niedzialek, Dorota; Lemaur, Vincent; Dudenko, Dmytro

2013-01-01

Molecular modeling shows that longitudinal displacement of the backbones by a couple of ångströms has a profound impact on the electronic coupling mediating charge transport in a conjugated copolymer. These changes can be probed by monitoring the calculated X-ray scattering patterns and NMR chemi...... chemical shifts as a function of sliding of the polymer chains and comparing them to experiment....

Position-sensitive X-ray detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hendrix, J.

1982-01-01

An overview is given of the different types of position-sensitive X-ray detectors used in kinetic studies of biological molecule state changes using X-ray diffraction with synchrotron radiation as a probe. The detector requirements and principles of operation of proportional counters are outlined. Multiwire proportional chamber systems and their readout techniques are described. Other detectors discussed include a drift chamber type detector, microchannel plates, charge-couple devices and, for high count rates, an integrating TV-detector. (U.K.)

The interactions of the HELIOS probe with the solar wind plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Voigt, G.H.; Isensee, U.; Maassberg, H.

1981-08-01

HELIOS solar probe disturbs the solar wind plasma in the near vicinity. Around the probe, a space charge cloud is formed due to strong photoelectron emission and fade out of solar wind particles. The conducting and isolating parts of the surface are differently charged. These effects result in a very complex potential structure in the vicinity of the probe and on the surface. The interactions of the HELIOS probe with the solar wind plasma are described by models based on kinetic theory of plasma. The combination of these models yields an entire and consistent representation of the spacecraft charging and the potential structure. Electron spectra measured by plasma experiment E1 are analysed and compared with results of the theoretical models. (orig.) [de

Spin excitations in the quasi-two-dimensional charge-ordered insulator α -(BEDT-TTF ) 2I3 probed via 13C NMR

Science.gov (United States)

Ishikawa, Kyohei; Hirata, Michihiro; Liu, Dong; Miyagawa, Kazuya; Tamura, Masafumi; Kanoda, Kazushi

2016-08-01

The spin excitations from the nonmagnetic charge-ordered insulating state of α -(BEDT-TTF ) 2I3 at ambient pressure have been investigated by probing the static and low-frequency dynamic spin susceptibilities via site-selective nuclear magnetic resonance at 13C sites. The site-dependent values of the shift and the spin-lattice relaxation rate 1 /T1 below the charge-ordering transition temperature (TCO≈135 K ) demonstrate a spin density imbalance in the unit cell, in accord with the charge-density ratio reported earlier. The shift and 1 /T1 show activated temperature dependence with a static (shift) gap ΔS≈47 -52 meV and a dynamic (1 /T1 ) gap ΔR≈40 meV . The sizes of the gaps are well described in terms of a localized spin model, where spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic dimer chains are weakly coupled with each other.

Inversion of membrane surface charge by trivalent cations probed with a cation-selective channel.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurnev, Philip A; Bezrukov, Sergey M

2012-11-13

We demonstrate that the cation-selective channel formed by gramicidin A can be used as a reliable sensor for studying the multivalent ion accumulation at the surfaces of charged lipid membranes and the "charge inversion" phenomenon. In asymmetrically charged membranes with the individual leaflets formed from pure negative and positive lipids bathed by 0.1 M CsCl solutions the channel exhibits current rectification, which is comparable to that of a typical n/p semiconductor diode. We show that even at these highly asymmetrical conditions the channel conductance can be satisfactorily described by the electrodiffusion equation in the constant field approximation but, due to predictable limitations, only when the applied voltages do not exceed 50 mV. Analysis of the changes in the voltage-dependent channel conductance upon addition of trivalent cations allows us to gauge their interactions with the membrane surface. The inversion of the sign of the effective surface charge takes place at the concentrations, which correlate with the cation size. Specifically, these concentrations are close to 0.05 mM for lanthanum, 0.25 mM for hexaamminecobalt, and 4 mM for spermidine.

Computer simulation of charged fusion-product trajectories and detection efficiency expected for future experiments within the COMPASS tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwiatkowski, Roch; Malinowski, Karol; Sadowski, Marek J

2014-01-01

This paper presents results of computer simulations of charged particle motions and detection efficiencies for an ion-pinhole camera of a new diagnostic system to be used in future COMPASS tokamak experiments. A probe equipped with a nuclear track detector can deliver information about charged products of fusion reactions. The calculations were performed with a so-called Gourdon code, based on a single-particle model and toroidal symmetry. There were computed trajectories of fast ions (> 500 keV) in medium-dense plasma (n e  < 10 14  cm −3 ) and an expected detection efficiency (a ratio of the number of detected particles to that of particles emitted from plasma). The simulations showed that charged fusion products can reach the new diagnostic probe, and the expected detection efficiency can reach 2 × 10 −8 . Based on such calculations, one can determine the optimal position and orientation of the probe. The obtained results are of importance for the interpretation of fusion-product images to be recorded in future COMPASS experiments. (paper)

Protecting a Diamond Quantum Memory by Charge State Control.

Science.gov (United States)

Pfender, Matthias; Aslam, Nabeel; Simon, Patrick; Antonov, Denis; Thiering, Gergő; Burk, Sina; Fávaro de Oliveira, Felipe; Denisenko, Andrej; Fedder, Helmut; Meijer, Jan; Garrido, Jose A; Gali, Adam; Teraji, Tokuyuki; Isoya, Junichi; Doherty, Marcus William; Alkauskas, Audrius; Gallo, Alejandro; Grüneis, Andreas; Neumann, Philipp; Wrachtrup, Jörg

2017-10-11

In recent years, solid-state spin systems have emerged as promising candidates for quantum information processing. Prominent examples are the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond, phosphorus dopants in silicon (Si:P), rare-earth ions in solids, and V Si -centers in silicon-carbide. The Si:P system has demonstrated that its nuclear spins can yield exceedingly long spin coherence times by eliminating the electron spin of the dopant. For NV centers, however, a proper charge state for storage of nuclear spin qubit coherence has not been identified yet. Here, we identify and characterize the positively charged NV center as an electron-spin-less and optically inactive state by utilizing the nuclear spin qubit as a probe. We control the electronic charge and spin utilizing nanometer scale gate electrodes. We achieve a lengthening of the nuclear spin coherence times by a factor of 4. Surprisingly, the new charge state allows switching of the optical response of single nodes facilitating full individual addressability.

Kelvin probe force microscopy from single charge detection to device characterization

CERN Document Server

Glatzel, Thilo

2018-01-01

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the methods and variety of Kelvin probe force microscopy, including technical details. It also offers an overview of the recent developments and numerous applications, ranging from semiconductor materials, nanostructures and devices to sub-molecular and atomic scale electrostatics. In the last 25 years, Kelvin probe force microscopy has developed from a specialized technique applied by a few scanning probe microscopy experts into a tool used by numerous research and development groups around the globe. This sequel to the editors’ previous volume “Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy: Measuring and Compensating Electrostatic Forces,” presents new and complementary topics. It is intended for a broad readership, from undergraduate students to lab technicians and scanning probe microscopy experts who are new to the field.

Negative and positive magnetoresistance in bilayer graphene: Effects of weak localization and charge inhomogeneity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Yungfu; Bae, Myung-Ho; Chialvo, Cesar; Dirks, Travis; Bezryadin, Alexey; Mason, Nadya

2011-01-01

We report measurements of magnetoresistance in bilayer graphene as a function of gate voltage (carrier density) and temperature. We examine multiple contributions to the magnetoresistance, including those of weak localization (WL), universal conductance fluctuations (UCF), and inhomogeneous charge transport. A clear WL signal is evident at all measured gate voltages (in the hole doped regime) and temperature ranges (from 0.25 to 4.3 K), and the phase coherence length extracted from the WL data does not saturate at low temperatures. The WL data is fit to demonstrate that the electron-electron Nyquist scattering is the major source of phase decoherence. A decrease in UCF amplitude with increase in gate voltage and temperature is shown to be consistent with a corresponding decrease in the phase coherence length. In addition, a weak positive magnetoresistance at higher magnetic fields is observed, and attributed to inhomogeneous charge transport. -- Research highlights: → Weak localization theory describes low-field magnetoresistance in bilayer graphene. → Electron-electron Nyquist scattering limits phase coherence in bilayer graphene. → Positive magnetoresistance reveals charge inhomogeneity in bilayer graphene.

Reduction of digital errors of digital charge division type position-sensitive detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uritani, A.; Yoshimura, K.; Takenaka, Y.; Mori, C.

1994-01-01

It is well known that ''digital errors'', i.e. differential non-linearity, appear in a position profile of radiation interactions when the profile is obtained with a digital charge-division-type position-sensitive detector. Two methods are presented to reduce the digital errors. They are the methods using logarithmic amplifiers and a weighting function. The validities of these two methods have been evaluated mainly by computer simulation. These methods can considerably reduce the digital errors. The best results are obtained when both methods are applied. ((orig.))

Projectile- and charge-state-dependent electron yields from ion penetration of solids as a probe of preequilibrium stopping power

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rothard, H.; Schou, Jørgen; Groeneveld, K.-O.

1992-01-01

Kinetic electron-emission yields gamma from swift ion penetration of solids are proportional to the (electronic) stopping power gamma approximately Beta-S*, if the preequilibrium evolution of the charge and excitation states of the positively charged ions is taken into account. We show...... by investigating the "transport factor" beta, the energy spectrum of directly ejected recoil electrons and the evolution of ionic charge state inside solids. Estimates of the energy-loss fraction leading to electron emission and the effective charges of the ions near the surface allow a quantitative description...

Charged Particle Radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morris, Chris

2004-01-01

The Coulomb multiple scattering of charged particles as they pass through material allows them to be used as a radiographic probe. This forms the basis for a new kind of radiography that is finding application where conventional x-ray radiography is limited by flux or backgrounds. Charged-particle radiography is providing a versatile new probe that has advantages over conventional x-ray radiography for some unique application. Proton radiography has been used to make quantitative motion pictures of high explosive driven experiments and proves to be of great value for radiographing experiments that mock up nuclear weapon primaries for stockpile certification. By taking advantage of magnetic lens to magnify images and by using the very bright beams that can be made with electrons, charged-particle radiography may be useful for studying the fine spatial detail and very fast motion in laser driven implosion experiments at the National Ignition Facility. Finally, radiographs can be made using cosmic-ray muons for searching vehicles and cargo containers for surreptitious cargo of high z materials such as uranium or plutonium.

Versatile robotic probe calibration for position tracking in ultrasound imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bø, Lars Eirik; Hofstad, Erlend Fagertun; Lindseth, Frank; Hernes, Toril A N

2015-01-01

Within the field of ultrasound-guided procedures, there are a number of methods for ultrasound probe calibration. While these methods are usually developed for a specific probe, they are in principle easily adapted to other probes. In practice, however, the adaptation often proves tedious and this is impractical in a research setting, where new probes are tested regularly. Therefore, we developed a method which can be applied to a large variety of probes without adaptation. The method used a robot arm to move a plastic sphere submerged in water through the ultrasound image plane, providing a slow and precise movement. The sphere was then segmented from the recorded ultrasound images using a MATLAB programme and the calibration matrix was computed based on this segmentation in combination with tracking information. The method was tested on three very different probes demonstrating both great versatility and high accuracy. (paper)

Versatile robotic probe calibration for position tracking in ultrasound imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Eirik Bø, Lars; Fagertun Hofstad, Erlend; Lindseth, Frank; Hernes, Toril A. N.

2015-05-01

Within the field of ultrasound-guided procedures, there are a number of methods for ultrasound probe calibration. While these methods are usually developed for a specific probe, they are in principle easily adapted to other probes. In practice, however, the adaptation often proves tedious and this is impractical in a research setting, where new probes are tested regularly. Therefore, we developed a method which can be applied to a large variety of probes without adaptation. The method used a robot arm to move a plastic sphere submerged in water through the ultrasound image plane, providing a slow and precise movement. The sphere was then segmented from the recorded ultrasound images using a MATLAB programme and the calibration matrix was computed based on this segmentation in combination with tracking information. The method was tested on three very different probes demonstrating both great versatility and high accuracy.

Microporous nano-MgO/diatomite ceramic membrane with high positive surface charge for tetracycline removal.

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Xian; Liu, Zhimeng; Deng, Cheng; Zhu, Mengfu; Wang, Deyin; Li, Kui; Deng, Yu; Jiang, Mingming

2016-12-15

A novel microporous nano-MgO/diatomite ceramic membrane with high positive surface charge was prepared, including synthesis of precursor colloid, dip-coating and thermal decomposition. Combined SEM, EDS, XRD and XPS studies show the nano-MgO is irregularly distributed on the membrane surface or pore walls and forms a positively charged nano coating. And the nano-MgO coating is firmly attached to the diatomite membrane via SiO chemical bond. Thus the nano-MgO/diatomite membrane behaves strong electropositivity with the isoelectric point of 10.8. Preliminary filtration tests indicate that the as-prepared nano-MgO/diatomite membrane could remove approximately 99.7% of tetracycline in water through electrostatic adsorption effect. The desirable electrostatic property enables the nano-MgO/diatomite membrane to be a candidate for removal of organic pollutants from water. And it is convinced that there will be a great application prospect of charged ceramic membrane in water treatment field. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bulk-Like Electrical Properties Induced by Contact-Limited Charge Transport in Organic Diodes: Revised Space Charge Limited Current

KAUST Repository

Xu, Guangwei; Gao, Nan; Lu, Congyan; Wang, Wei; Ji, Zhuoyu; Bi, Chong; Han, Zhiheng; Lu, Nianduan; Yang, Guanhua; Li, Yuan; Liu, Qi; Li, Ling; Liu, Ming

2018-01-01

, the charge transport properties of organic diodes are usually characterized by probing the current–voltage (I–V) curves of the devices. However, to unveil the landscape of the underlying potential/charge distribution, which essentially determines the I

The Effect of Charge at the Surface of Silver Nanoparticles on Antimicrobial Activity against Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria: A Preliminary Study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abbaszadegan, A.; Ghahramani, Y.; Nabavizadeh, M.; Gholami, A.; Hemmateenejad, I.; Dorostkar, S.; Sharghi, H.

2014-01-01

The bactericidal efficiency of various positively and negatively charged silver nanoparticles has been extensively evaluated in literature, but there is no report on efficacy of neutrally charged silver nanoparticles. The goal of this study is to evaluate the role of electrical charge at the surface of silver nanoparticles on antibacterial activity against a panel of microorganisms. Three different silver nanoparticles were synthesized by different methods, providing three different electrical surface charges (positive, neutral, and negative). The antibacterial activity of these nanoparticles was tested against gram-positive (i.e., Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans, and Streptococcus pyogenes) and gram-negative (i.e., Escherichia coli and Proteus vulgaris) bacteria. Well diffusion and micro-dilution tests were used to evaluate the bactericidal activity of the nanoparticles. According to the obtained results, the positively-charged silver nanoparticles showed the highest bactericidal activity against all microorganisms tested. The negatively charged silver nanoparticles had the least and the neutral nanoparticles had intermediate antibacterial activity. The most resistant bacteria were Proteus vulgaris. We found that the surface charge of the silver nanoparticles was a significant factor affecting bactericidal activity on these surfaces. Although the positively charged nanoparticles showed the highest level of effectiveness against the organisms tested, the neutrally charged particles were also potent against most bacterial species.

Charge dividing mechanism in position-sensitive detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radeka, V.; Rehak, P.

1978-01-01

A complete charge-division mechanism, including both the diffusion and the electromagnetic wave propagation on resistive electrodes, is presented. The charge injected into such a transmission line divides between the two ends according to the ratio of resistances and independently of the value of the line resistance, of the propagation mechanism and of the distribution of inductance and capacitance along the line. The shortest charge division time is achieved for Rl = 2π (L/C)/sup 1/2), where R, L, C are resistance, inductance and capacitance per unit length and l is the length of the line

Plasma diagnostics by electron guns and electric field probes on ISEE-1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pedersen, A.

1982-01-01

The use of electron guns to control the potential of a satellite with conductive surfaces is discussed with reference to the results of the ISEE-1 satellite experiment. The two electron guns carried by the satellite can emit electrons with energies up to 48 eV, and the emitted electron current has a maximum value of 0.5-1.0 mA. The satellite potential, with or without gun operation, can be measured with reference to one or two spherical electric field probes positioned on booms at a distance of 36 m from the satellite. The probes are biased with a negative current from a high-impedance source to be slightly positive (0.5-1.0 V) relative to the plasma, and the spacecraft is normally several volts more positive and can be further positively charged by operating the electron gun. Plasma diagnostics can be carried out by appropriate sweeps of gun currents and energy of emitted electrons to obtain information about density and characteristic energy of ambient electrons. 9 references

Electrical resistivity probes

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Ki Ha; Becker, Alex; Faybishenko, Boris A.; Solbau, Ray D.

2003-10-21

A miniaturized electrical resistivity (ER) probe based on a known current-voltage (I-V) electrode structure, the Wenner array, is designed for local (point) measurement. A pair of voltage measuring electrodes are positioned between a pair of current carrying electrodes. The electrodes are typically about 1 cm long, separated by 1 cm, so the probe is only about 1 inch long. The electrodes are mounted to a rigid tube with electrical wires in the tube and a sand bag may be placed around the electrodes to protect the electrodes. The probes can be positioned in a borehole or on the surface. The electrodes make contact with the surrounding medium. In a dual mode system, individual probes of a plurality of spaced probes can be used to measure local resistance, i.e. point measurements, but the system can select different probes to make interval measurements between probes and between boreholes.

Study of electric field distorted by space charges under positive lightning impulse voltage

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zezhong; Geng, Yinan

2018-03-01

Actually, many insulation problems are related to electric fields. And measuring electric fields is an important research topic of high-voltage engineering. In particular, the electric field distortion caused by space charge is the basis of streamer theory, and thus quantitatively measuring the Poisson electric field caused by space charge is significant to researching the mechanism of air gap discharge. In this paper, we used our photoelectric integrated sensor to measure the electric field distribution in a 1-m rod-plane gap under positive lightning impulse voltage. To verify the reliability of this quantitative measurement, we compared the measured results with calculated results from a numerical simulation. The electric-field time domain waveforms on the axis of the 1-m rod-plane out of the space charge zone were measured with various electrodes. The Poisson electric fields generated by space charge were separated from the Laplace electric field generated by applied voltages, and the amplitudes and variations were measured for various applied voltages and at various locations. This work also supplies the feasible basis for directly measuring strong electric field under high voltage.

Probing nuclear correlations with pion-nucleus double charge exchange

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ginocchio, J.N.

1988-01-01

In this paper we have calculated the lowest order pion double charge reaction mechanism using shell model wavefunctions of medium weight nuclei. We have the sequential reaction mechanism in which the pion undergoes two single-charge exchange scatterings on the valence neutrons. The distortion of the incoming, intermediate, and outgoing pion are included. The closure approximation is made for the intermediate states with an average excitation energy used in the pion propagator. The double-charge exchange is assumed to take place on the valence nucleons which are assumed to be in one spherical shell model orbital. 34 refs., 5 figs., 3 tabs

Probing the Surface Charge on the Basal Planes of Kaolinite Particles with High-Resolution Atomic Force Microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, N; Andersson, M P; van den Ende, D; Mugele, F; Siretanu, I

2017-12-19

High-resolution atomic force microscopy is used to map the surface charge on the basal planes of kaolinite nanoparticles in an ambient solution of variable pH and NaCl or CaCl 2 concentration. Using DLVO theory with charge regulation, we determine from the measured force-distance curves the surface charge distribution on both the silica-like and the gibbsite-like basal plane of the kaolinite particles. We observe that both basal planes do carry charge that varies with pH and salt concentration. The silica facet was found to be negatively charged at pH 4 and above, whereas the gibbsite facet is positively charged at pH below 7 and negatively charged at pH above 7. Investigations in CaCl 2 at pH 6 show that the surface charge on the gibbsite facet increases for concentration up to 10 mM CaCl 2 and starts to decrease upon further increasing the salt concentration to 50 mM. The increase of surface charge at low concentration is explained by Ca 2+ ion adsorption, while Cl - adsorption at higher CaCl 2 concentrations partially neutralizes the surface charge. Atomic resolution imaging and density functional theory calculations corroborate these observations. They show that hydrated Ca 2+ ions can spontaneously adsorb on the gibbsite facet of the kaolinite particle and form ordered surface structures, while at higher concentrations Cl - ions will co-adsorb, thereby changing the observed ordered surface structure.

On a possibility of creation of positive space charge cloud in a system with magnetic insulation of electrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goncharov, A.A.; Dobrovol'skii, A.M.; Dunets, S.P.; Evsyukov, A.N.; Protsenko, I.M.

2009-01-01

We describe a new approach for creation an effective, low-cost, low-maintenance axially symmetric plasma optical tools for focusing and manipulating high-current beams of negatively charged particles, electrons and negative ions. This approach is based on fundamental plasma optical concept of magnetic insulation of electrons and non-magnetized positive ions providing creation of controlled uncompensated cloud of the space charge. The axially symmetric electrostatic plasma optical lens is well-known and well developed tool where this concept is used successfully. This provides control and focusing high-current positive ion beams in wide range of parameters. Here for the first time we present optimistic experimental results describing the application of an idea of magnetic insulation of electrons for generation of the stable cloud of positive space charge by focusing onto axis the converging stream of heavy ions produced by circular accelerator with closed electron drift. The estimations of a maximal concentration of uncompensated cloud of positive ions are also made

Probing the Importance of Charge Flux in Force Field Modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Sedghamiz, Elaheh; Nagy, Balazs; Jensen, Frank

2017-08-08

We analyze the conformational dependence of atomic charges and molecular dipole moments for a selection of ∼900 conformations of peptide models of the 20 neutral amino acids. Based on a set of reference density functional theory calculations, we partition the changes into effects due to changes in bond distances, bond angles, and torsional angles and into geometry and charge flux contributions. This allows an assessment of the limitations of fixed charge force fields and indications for how to design improved force fields. The torsional degrees of freedom are the main contribution to conformational changes of atomic charges and molecular dipole moments, but indirect effects due to change in bond distances and angles account for ∼25% of the variation. Charge flux effects dominate for changes in bond distances and are also the main component of the variation in bond angles, while they are ∼25% compared to the geometry variations for torsional degrees of freedom. The geometry and charge flux contributions to some extent produce compensating effects.

Probing lipid membrane electrostatics

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yi

The electrostatic properties of lipid bilayer membranes play a significant role in many biological processes. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is highly sensitive to membrane surface potential in electrolyte solutions. With fully characterized probe tips, AFM can perform quantitative electrostatic analysis of lipid membranes. Electrostatic interactions between Silicon nitride probes and supported zwitterionic dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) bilayer with a variable fraction of anionic dioleoylphosphatidylserine (DOPS) were measured by AFM. Classical Gouy-Chapman theory was used to model the membrane electrostatics. The nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann equation was numerically solved with finite element method to provide the potential distribution around the AFM tips. Theoretical tip-sample electrostatic interactions were calculated with the surface integral of both Maxwell and osmotic stress tensors on tip surface. The measured forces were interpreted with theoretical forces and the resulting surface charge densities of the membrane surfaces were in quantitative agreement with the Gouy-Chapman-Stern model of membrane charge regulation. It was demonstrated that the AFM can quantitatively detect membrane surface potential at a separation of several screening lengths, and that the AFM probe only perturbs the membrane surface potential by external field created by the internai membrane dipole moment. The analysis yields a dipole moment of 1.5 Debye per lipid with a dipole potential of +275 mV for supported DOPC membranes. This new ability to quantitatively measure the membrane dipole density in a noninvasive manner will be useful in identifying the biological effects of the dipole potential. Finally, heterogeneous model membranes were studied with fluid electric force microscopy (FEFM). Electrostatic mapping was demonstrated with 50 nm resolution. The capabilities of quantitative electrostatic measurement and lateral charge density mapping make AFM a unique and powerful

Charge densities and charge noise in mesoscopic conductors

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

This generalization leads to a local Wigner–Smith life-time matrix. Keywords. Density ... Of interest is the charge distribution in such a conductor and ..... is the transmission probability of the scattering problem without absorption if .... as a voltage probe which has its potential adjusted in such a way that there is no net current.

Positive column of a glow discharge in neon with charged dust grains (a review)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Polyakov, D. N., E-mail: cryolab@ihed.ras.ru; Shumova, V. V.; Vasilyak, L. M. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Joint Institute for High Temperatures (Russian Federation)

2017-03-15

The effect of charged micron-size dust grains (microparticles) on the electric parameters of the positive column of a low-pressure dc glow discharge in neon has been studied experimentally and numerically. Numerical analysis is carried out in the diffusion-drift approximation with allowance for the interaction of dust grains with metastable neon atoms. In a discharge with a dust grain cloud, the longitudinal electric field increases. As the number density of dust grains in an axisymmetric cylindrical dust cloud rises, the growth of the electric field saturates. It is shown that the contribution of metastable atoms to ionization is higher in a discharge with dust grains, in spite of the quenching of metastable atoms on dust grains. The processes of charging of dust grains and the dust cloud are considered. As the number density of dust grains rises, their charge decreases, while the space charge of the dust cloud increases. The results obtained can be used in plasma technologies involving microparticles.

Positive column of a glow discharge in neon with charged dust grains (a review)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Polyakov, D. N.; Shumova, V. V.; Vasilyak, L. M.

2017-01-01

The effect of charged micron-size dust grains (microparticles) on the electric parameters of the positive column of a low-pressure dc glow discharge in neon has been studied experimentally and numerically. Numerical analysis is carried out in the diffusion-drift approximation with allowance for the interaction of dust grains with metastable neon atoms. In a discharge with a dust grain cloud, the longitudinal electric field increases. As the number density of dust grains in an axisymmetric cylindrical dust cloud rises, the growth of the electric field saturates. It is shown that the contribution of metastable atoms to ionization is higher in a discharge with dust grains, in spite of the quenching of metastable atoms on dust grains. The processes of charging of dust grains and the dust cloud are considered. As the number density of dust grains rises, their charge decreases, while the space charge of the dust cloud increases. The results obtained can be used in plasma technologies involving microparticles.

Adsorption of a cationic dye molecule on polystyrene microspheres in colloids: effect of surface charge and composition probed by second harmonic generation.

Science.gov (United States)

Eckenrode, Heather M; Jen, Shih-Hui; Han, Jun; Yeh, An-Gong; Dai, Hai-Lung

2005-03-17

Nonlinear optical probe, second harmonic generation (SHG), of the adsorption of the dye molecule malachite green (MG), in cationic form at pH polystyrene microspheres in aqueous solution is used to study the effect of surface charge and composition on molecular adsorption. Three types of polystyrene microspheres with different surface composition are investigated: (1) a sulfate terminated, anionic surface, (2) a neutral surface without any functional group termination, and (3) an amine terminated, cationic surface. The cationic dye was found to adsorb at all three surfaces, regardless of surface charge. The adsorption free energies, DeltaG's, measured for the three surfaces are -12.67, -12.39, and -10.46 kcal/mol, respectively, with the trend as expected from the charge interactions. The adsorption density on the anionic surface, where attractive charge-charge interaction dominates, is determined by the surface negative charge density. The adsorption densities on the neutral and cationic surfaces are on the other hand higher, perhaps as a result of a balance between minimizing repulsive charge interaction and maximizing attractive molecule-substrate and intermolecular interactions. The relative strength of the SH intensity per molecule, in combination of a model calculation, reveals that the C(2) axis of the MG molecule is nearly perpendicular to the surface on the anionic surface and tilts away from the surface norm when the surface is neutral and further away when cationic. Changing the pH of the solution may alter the surface charge and subsequently affect the adsorption configuration and SH intensity.

$\\beta$- decay of $^{58}$Zn. A critical test for the charge-exchange reaction as a probe for the $\\beta$- decay strength distribution

CERN Multimedia

2002-01-01

% IS353 \\\\ \\\\ Due to its importance in fundamental physics and astrophysics, a great effort both theoretically and experimentally is devoted to study Gamow Teller (GT)-strength. The GT-strength and its distribution play a key role in late stellar evolution. During the pre-supernova core-collapse of massive stars, the electron capture and nuclear $\\beta$ -decay determine the electron-to-baryon ratio, which influences the infall dynamics and the mass of the final core. The cross-section of the charge-exchange reaction at forward angles with energies above 100~MeV is expected to be proportional to the squares of Fermi and GT matrix elements. This proportionality should provide a Q-value free method to probe the weak interaction strength and renormalization effects in nuclei. Thus charge-exchange reactions are often used to determine the experimental GT-strength. However, the connection between the GT-strength and the cross-section of the charge-exchange reaction is partially model-dependent and the question aris...

Label-free biosensing with functionalized nanopipette probes.

Science.gov (United States)

Umehara, Senkei; Karhanek, Miloslav; Davis, Ronald W; Pourmand, Nader

2009-03-24

Nanopipette technology can uniquely identify biomolecules such as proteins based on differences in size, shape, and electrical charge. These differences are determined by the detection of changes in ionic current as the proteins interact with the nanopipette tip coated with probe molecules. Here we show that electrostatic, biotin-streptavidin, and antibody-antigen interactions on the nanopipette tip surface affect ionic current flowing through a 50-nm pore. Highly charged polymers interacting with the glass surface modulated the rectification property of the nanopipette electrode. Affinity-based binding between the probes tethered to the surface and their target proteins caused a change in the ionic current due to a partial blockade or an altered surface charge. These findings suggest that nanopipettes functionalized with appropriate molecular recognition elements can be used as nanosensors in biomedical and biological research.

Effect of positively charged particles on sputtering damage of organic electro-luminescent diodes with Mg:Ag alloy electrodes fabricated by facing target sputtering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kouji Suemori

2017-04-01

Full Text Available We investigated the influence of the positively charged particles generated during sputtering on the performances of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs with Mg:Ag alloy electrodes fabricated by sputtering. The number of positively charged particles increased by several orders of magnitude when the target current was increased from 0.1 A to 2.5 A. When a high target current was used, many positively charged particles with energies higher than the bond energy of single C–C bonds, which are typically found in organic molecules, were generated. In this situation, we observed serious OLED performance degradation. On the other hand, when a low target current was used, OLED performance degradation was not observed when the number of positively charged particles colliding with the organic underlayer increased. We concluded that sputtering damage caused by positively charged particles can be avoided by using a low target current.

Response of an electrostatic probe for a right cylindrical spacer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rerup, T; Crichton, George C; McAllister, Iain Wilson

1994-01-01

During the last decade many experimental studies of surface charge phenomena have been undertaken employing right cylindrical spacers. Measurement of the surface charge was performed using small electrostatic field probes to scan across the dielectric surface. Charges are electrostatically induced...

Positively versus negatively charged moral emotion expectancies in adolescence: the role of situational context and the developing moral self.

Science.gov (United States)

Krettenauer, Tobias; Johnston, Megan

2011-09-01

The study analyses adolescents' positively charged versus negatively charged moral emotion expectancies. Two hundred and five students (M= 14.83 years, SD= 2.21) participated in an interview depicting various situations in which a moral norm was either regarded or transgressed. Emotion expectancies were assessed for specific emotions (pride, guilt) as well as for overall strength and valence. In addition, self-importance of moral values was measured by a questionnaire. Results revealed that positively charged emotion expectancies were more pronounced in contexts of prosocial action than in the context of moral transgressions, whereas the opposite was true for negatively charged emotions. At the same time, expectations of guilt and pride were substantially related to the self-importance of moral values. ©2010 The British Psychological Society.

Direct Probing of Carrier Behavior in Electroluminescence Indium-Zinc-Oxide/N,N '-Di-[(1-naphthyl)-N,N '-diphenyl]-(1,1'-biphenyl)-4,4'-diamine/Tris(8-hydroxy-quinolinato)aluminum(III)/LiF/Al Diode by Time-Resolved Optical Second-Harmonic Generation

Science.gov (United States)

Taguchi, Dai; Zhang, Le; Li, Jun; Weis, Martin; Manaka, Takaaki; Iwamoto, Mitsumasa

2011-04-01

By using electric-field-induced second-harmonic generation (EFISHG) measurement, we probed charging and discharging in an α-NPD/Alq3 organic light-emitting diode [α-NPD, N,N '-di-[(1-naphthyl)-N,N '-diphenyl]-(1,1'-biphenyl)-4,4'-diamine; Alq3, tris(8-hydroxy-quinolinato)aluminum(III)] while electroluminescence response was monitored. The EFISHG measurement showed that excessive positive charges accumulated at the α-NPD/Alq3 interface in the charging process, accompanying electroluminescence (EL) radiation, and the accumulated excess positive charges disappeared in the discharging process before the EL decayed. Note that the EL radiation was smooth and strong under the high voltage application, while the EL decayed in a similar way. The Maxwell-Wagner model analysis showed no-dependence of the accumulated excessive positive charge on the applied external voltage, suggesting that electrons and holes injected from the opposite electrodes for EL radiation balanced at the interface. The EFISHG measurement will be useful as a direct way to probe carrier behaviors in organic EL devices.

Positively charged phosphorus as a hydrogen bond acceptor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Anne Schou; Du, Lin; Kjærgaard, Henrik Grum

2014-01-01

Phosphorus (P) is an element that is essential to the life of all organisms, and the atmospheric detection of phosphine suggests the existence of a volatile biogeochemical P cycle. Here, we investigate the ability of P to participate in the formation of OH···P hydrogen bonds. Three bimolecular......-stretching frequency red shifts and quantum chemical calculations, we find that P is an acceptor atom similar in strength to O and S and that all three P, O, and S atoms are weaker acceptors than N. The quantum chemical calculations show that both H and P in the OH···P hydrogen bond have partial positive charges......, as expected from their electronegativities. However, the electrostatic potentials show a negative potential area on the electron density surface around P that facilitates formation of hydrogen bonds....

Probing charge transfer during metal-insulator transitions in graphene-LaAlO3/SrTiO3 systems

Science.gov (United States)

Aliaj, I.; Sambri, A.; Miseikis, V.; Stornaiuolo, D.; di Gennaro, E.; Coletti, C.; Pellegrini, V.; Miletto Granozio, F.; Roddaro, S.

2018-06-01

Two-dimensional electron systems (2DESs) at the interface between LaAlO3 (LAO) and SrTiO3 (STO) perovskite oxides display a wide class of tunable phenomena ranging from superconductivity to metal-insulator transitions. Most of these effects are strongly sensitive to surface physics and often involve charge transfer mechanisms, which are, however, hard to detect. In this work, we realize hybrid field-effect devices where graphene is used to modulate the transport properties of the LAO/STO 2DES. Different from a conventional gate, graphene is semimetallic and allows us to probe charge transfer with the oxide structure underneath the field-effect electrode. In LAO/STO samples with a low initial carrier density, graphene-covered regions turn insulating when the temperature is lowered to 3 K, but conduction can be restored in the oxide structure by increasing the temperature or by field effect. The evolution of graphene's electron density is found to be inconsistent with a depletion of LAO/STO, but it rather points to a localization of interfacial carriers in the oxide structure.

Direct quantification of negatively charged functional groups on membrane surfaces

KAUST Repository

Tiraferri, Alberto

2012-02-01

Surface charge plays an important role in membrane-based separations of particulates, macromolecules, and dissolved ionic species. In this study, we present two experimental methods to determine the concentration of negatively charged functional groups at the surface of dense polymeric membranes. Both techniques consist of associating the membrane surface moieties with chemical probes, followed by quantification of the bound probes. Uranyl acetate and toluidine blue O dye, which interact with the membrane functional groups via complexation and electrostatic interaction, respectively, were used as probes. The amount of associated probes was quantified using liquid scintillation counting for uranium atoms and visible light spectroscopy for the toluidine blue dye. The techniques were validated using self-assembled monolayers of alkanethiols with known amounts of charged moieties. The surface density of negatively charged functional groups of hand-cast thin-film composite polyamide membranes, as well as commercial cellulose triacetate and polyamide membranes, was quantified under various conditions. Using both techniques, we measured a negatively charged functional group density of 20-30nm -2 for the hand-cast thin-film composite membranes. The ionization behavior of the membrane functional groups, determined from measurements with toluidine blue at varying pH, was consistent with published data for thin-film composite polyamide membranes. Similarly, the measured charge densities on commercial membranes were in general agreement with previous investigations. The relative simplicity of the two methods makes them a useful tool for quantifying the surface charge concentration of a variety of surfaces, including separation membranes. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.

Label-Free Platform for MicroRNA Detection Based on the Fluorescence Quenching of Positively Charged Gold Nanoparticles to Silver Nanoclusters.

Science.gov (United States)

Miao, Xiangmin; Cheng, Zhiyuan; Ma, Haiyan; Li, Zongbing; Xue, Ning; Wang, Po

2018-01-16

A novel strategy was developed for microRNA-155 (miRNA-155) detection based on the fluorescence quenching of positively charged gold nanoparticles [(+)AuNPs] to Ag nanoclusters (AgNCs). In the designed system, DNA-stabilized Ag nanoclusters (DNA/AgNCs) were introduced as fluorescent probes, and DNA-RNA heteroduplexes were formed upon the addition of target miRNA-155. Meanwhile, the (+)AuNPs could be electrostatically adsorbed on the negatively charged single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) or DNA-RNA heteroduplexes to quench the fluorescence signal. In the presence of duplex-specific nuclease (DSN), DNA-RNA heteroduplexes became a substrate for the enzymatic hydrolysis of the DNA strand to yield a fluorescence signal due to the diffusion of AgNCs away from (+)AuNPs. Under the optimal conditions, (+)AuNPs displayed very high quenching efficiency to AgNCs, which paved the way for ultrasensitive detection with a low detection limit of 33.4 fM. In particular, the present strategy demonstrated excellent specificity and selectivity toward the detection of target miRNA against control miRNAs, including mutated miRNA-155, miRNA-21, miRNA-141, let-7a, and miRNA-182. Moreover, the practical application value of the system was confirmed by the evaluation of the expression levels of miRNA-155 in clinical serum samples with satisfactory results, suggesting that the proposed sensing platform is promising for applications in disease diagnosis as well as the fundamental research of biochemistry.

Onset of turbulence induced by electron nonthermality in a complex plasma in presence of positively charged dust grains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susmita Sarkar

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper onset of turbulence has been detected from the study of non linear dust acoustic wave propagation in a complex plasma considering electrons nonthermal and equilibrium dust charge positive. Dust grains are charged by secondary electron emission process. Our analysis shows that increase in electron nonthermality makes the grain charging process faster by reducing the magnitude of the nonadiabaticity induced pseudo viscosity. Consequently nature of dust charge variation changes from nonadiabatic to adiabatic one. For further increase of electron nonthermality, this pseudo viscosity becomes negative and hence generates a turbulent grain charging behaviour. This turbulent grain charging phenomenon is exclusively the outcome of this nonlinear study which was not found in linear analysis.

Bulk-Like Electrical Properties Induced by Contact-Limited Charge Transport in Organic Diodes: Revised Space Charge Limited Current

KAUST Repository

Xu, Guangwei

2018-02-22

Charge transport governs the operation and performance of organic diodes. Illuminating the charge-transfer/transport processes across the interfaces and the bulk organic semiconductors is at the focus of intensive investigations. Traditionally, the charge transport properties of organic diodes are usually characterized by probing the current–voltage (I–V) curves of the devices. However, to unveil the landscape of the underlying potential/charge distribution, which essentially determines the I–V characteristics, still represents a major challenge. Here, the electrical potential distribution in planar organic diodes is investigated by using the scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy technique, a method that can clearly separate the contact and bulk regimes of charge transport. Interestingly, by applying to devices based on novel, high mobility organic materials, the space-charge-limited-current-like I–V curves, which are previously believed to be a result of the bulk transport, are surprisingly but unambiguously demonstrated to be caused by contact-limited conduction. A model accounting is developed for the transport properties of both the two metal/organic interfaces and the bulk. The results indicate that pure interface-dominated transport can indeed give rise to I–V curves similar to those caused by bulk transport. These findings provide a new insight into the charge injection and transport processes in organic diodes.

Studies of the pulse charge of lead-acid batteries for PV applications. Part I. Factors influencing the mechanism of the pulse charge of the positive plate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kirchev, A.; Perrin, M.; Lemaire, E.; Karoui, F.; Mattera, F. [Commissariat de l' Energie Atomique, Institut National de l' Energie Solaire, INES-RDI, Parc Technologique de Savoie Technolac, 50 Avenue du Lac Leman, 73377 Le Bourget du Lac Cedex (France)

2008-02-15

The mechanism of the positive plate charge in pulse regime was studied in model lead-acid cells with one positive and two negative plates (8 Ah each) and Ag/Ag{sub 2}SO{sub 4} reference electrodes. The results showed that the evolution of the electrode potential is much slower on the positive plate than on the negative plate. Regardless of this fact, the calculated capacitive current of charge and self-discharge of the electrochemical double layer (EDL) during the 'ON' and 'OFF' half-periods of the pulse current square waves is comparable with the charge current amplitude. The result is due to the high values of the EDL on the surface of the lead dioxide active material. The influence of different factors like state of charge, state of health, pulse frequency, current amplitude and open circuit stay before the polarization was discussed. The previously determined optimal frequency of 1 Hz was associated with a maximum in the average double layer current on frequency dependence. The average double layer current is also maximal at SOC between 75 and 100%. The exchange of the constant current polarization with pulse polarization does not change substantially the mechanism and the overvoltage of the oxygen evolution reaction on the positive plate. The mechanism of the self-discharge of the EDL was also estimated analyzing long-time PPP transients (up to 2 h). It was found that when the PPP is lower than 1.2 V the preferred mechanism of EDL self-discharge is by coupling with the lead sulphate oxidation reaction. At higher values of PPP the EDL self-discharge happens via oxygen evolution. The high faradic efficiency of the pulse charge is due to the chemical oxidation of the Pb(II) ions by the O atoms and OH radicals formed at the oxygen evolution both during the 'ON' and 'OFF' periods. (author)

Positively charged polymers modulate the fate of human mesenchymal stromal cells via ephrinB2/EphB4 signaling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilenia De Luca

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Understanding the mechanisms by which mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs interact with the physical properties (e.g. topography, charge, ζ-potential, and contact angle of polymeric surfaces is essential to design new biomaterials capable of regulating stem cell behavior. The present study investigated the ability of two polymers (pHM1 and pHM3 with different positive surface charge densities to modulate the differentiation of MSCs into osteoblast-like phenotype via cell-cell ephrinB2/EphB4 signaling. Although pHM1 promoted the phosphorylation of EphB4, leading to cell differentiation, pHM3, characterized by a high positive surface charge density, had no significant effect on EphB4 activation or MSCs differentiation. When the MSCs were cultured on pHM1 in the presence of a forward signaling blocking peptide, the osteoblast differentiation was compromised. Our results demonstrated that the ephrinB2/EphB4 interaction was required for MSCs differentiation into an osteoblast-like phenotype and that the presence of a high positive surface charge density altered this interaction.

Probe Storage

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gemelli, Marcellino; Abelmann, Leon; Engelen, Johannes Bernardus Charles; Khatib, M.G.; Koelmans, W.W.; Zaboronski, Olog; Campardo, Giovanni; Tiziani, Federico; Laculo, Massimo

2011-01-01

This chapter gives an overview of probe-based data storage research over the last three decades, encompassing all aspects of a probe recording system. Following the division found in all mechanically addressed storage systems, the different subsystems (media, read/write heads, positioning, data

Response of an annular electrostatic probe for a right cylindrical spacer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johansson, Torben; MacAllister, I. W.

2002-01-01

The response of an annular electrostatic probe mounted in an electrode is examined with reference to a right cylindrical spacer. The study involves using the probe λ function to derive characteristic parameters. These parameters enable the response of the probe to different charge distributions...

Long-Term Charge/Discharge Cycling Stability of MnO2 Aqueous Supercapacitor under Positive Polarization

KAUST Repository

Ataherian, Fatemeh; Wu, Nae-Lih

2011-01-01

The long-term charge/discharge cycling stability of MnO 2 electrode under positive polarization in aqueous KCl electrolyte has been studied over different potential windows spanning from the open circuit potential to varied higher-end potential

Neutrons as a probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iizumi, Masashi

1993-01-01

As an introduction to the symposium a brief overview will be given about the features of neutrons as a probe. First it will be pointed out that the utilization of neutrons as a probe for investigating the structural and dynamical properties of condensed matters is a benign gift eventuated from the release of atomic energy initiated by Enrico Fermi exactly half century ago. Features of neutrons as a probe are discussed in accordance with the four basic physical properties of neutrons as an elementary particle; (1) no electric charge (the interaction with matter is nuclear), (2) the mass of neutron is 1 amu, (3) spin is 1/2 and (4) neutrons have magnetic dipole moment. Overview will be given on the uniqueness of neutrons as a probe and on the variety in the way they are used in the wide research area from the pure science to the industrial applications. (author)

Polarization Energies at Organic–Organic Interfaces: Impact on the Charge Separation Barrier at Donor–Acceptor Interfaces in Organic Solar Cells

KAUST Repository

Ryno, Sean

2016-05-31

We probe the energetic landscape at a model pentacene/fullerene-C60 interface to investigate the interactions between positive and negative charges, which are critical to the processes of charge separation and recombination in organic solar cells. Using a polarizable force field, we find that polarization energy, i.e. the stabilization a charge feels due to its environment, is larger at the interface than in the bulk for both a positive and a negative charge. The combination of the charge being more stabilized at the interface and the Coulomb attraction between the charges, results in a barrier to charge separation at the pentacene-C60 interface that can be in excess of 0.7 eV for static configurations of the donor and acceptor locations. However, the impact of molecular motions, i.e., the dynamics, at the interface at room temperature results in a distribution of polarization energies and in charge separation barriers that can be significantly reduced. The dynamic nature of the interface is thus critical, with the polarization energy distributions indicating that sites along the interface shift in time between favorable and unfavorable configurations for charge separation.

SIG XX - A generation of intelligent gamma ray probes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rusu, Al.; Bartos, D.; Constantin, F.; Caragheopol, Gh.; Cruceru, I.; Lupu, A.; Serbina, L.

2003-01-01

Nowadays, the radioprotection activities are governed by the ALARA principle. To comply with, we have decided to use scintillators, due to their high efficiency. The surface mounted devices allow the design of the entire gross gamma ray measuring system into a volume of about 0.5 liters. The microcontrollers having an EPROM of 4k bytes offer the opportunity to run resident programmes dedicated to: data acquisition, local processing, data transmission, and system supervising. Such an intelligence is embedded into SIG XX probes. By designing an array of such probes, one can easily obtain a portal monitor, an area monitor and so on, each of them under the the control of a PC. A few modifications may transform an intelligent probe into a portable instrument for radioprotection. In such a case, to make the probe shorter, replacing the photomultiplier by a photodiode, is an attractive goal. To reach it, a dedicated charge preamplifier has to be developed. The works and results on SIG XX probes and charge preamplifier are reported. (authors)

SIG XX - a generation of intelligent gamma ray probes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rusu, Al.; Bartos, D.; Constantin, F.; Caragheopol, Gh; Cruceru, I.; Lupu, A.; Serbina, L.

2005-01-01

Full text: Nowadays, the radioprotection activities are governed by the ALARA principle. To comply with, we have decided to use scintillators, due to their large efficiency. The surface mounted devices allow the design of the entire gross gamma ray measuring system into a volume of about 0.5 liters. The microcontrollers having an EPROM of 4k bytes offer the opportunity to run resident programmes dedicated to data acquisition, local processing, data communication, system supervising. Such an intelligence is embedded into SIG XX probes. By designing an array of such probes, one can easily obtain a portal monitor, an area monitor and so on, each of them under the the control of a PC. A few modifications may transform an intelligent probe into a portable instrument for radioprotection. In such a case, to make the probe shorter, replacing the photomultiplier by a photodiode, is an attractive goal. To reach it, a dedicated charge preamplifier has to be developed. The works and results on SIG XX probes and charge preamplifier are reported. (author)

Probing the Solar Interior

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 3; Issue 3. Probing the Solar Interior Hearing the Heartbeats of the Sun. Ashok Ambastha. General ... Author Affiliations. Ashok Ambastha1. Joint In-Charge Udaipur Solar Observatory Physical Research laboratory P.O. Box No. 198 Udaipur 313 001, India ...

Graphene quantum dots probed by scanning tunneling microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morgenstern, Markus; Freitag, Nils; Nent, Alexander; Nemes-Incze, Peter; Liebmann, Marcus [II. Institute of Physics B and JARA-FIT, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen (Germany)

2017-11-15

Scanning tunneling spectroscopy results probing the electronic properties of graphene quantum dots are reviewed. After a short summary of the study of squared wave functions of graphene quantum dots on metal substrates, we firstly present data where the Landau level gaps caused by a perpendicular magnetic field are used to electrostatically confine electrons in monolayer graphene, which are probed by the Coulomb staircase revealing the consecutive charging of a quantum dot. It turns out that these quantum dots exhibit much more regular charging sequences than lithographically confined ones. Namely, the consistent grouping of charging peaks into quadruplets, both, in the electron and hole branch, portrays a regular orbital splitting of about 10meV. At low hole occupation numbers, the charging peaks are, partly, additionally grouped into doublets. The spatially varying energy separation of the doublets indicates a modulation of the valley splitting by the underlying BN substrate. We outline that this property might be used to eventually tune the valley splitting coherently. Afterwards, we describe graphene quantum dots with multiple contacts produced without lithographic resist, namely by local anodic oxidation. Such quantum dots target the goal to probe magnetotransport properties during the imaging of the corresponding wave functions by scanning tunneling spectroscopy. (copyright 2017 by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

New aspect of critical nonlinearly charged black hole

Science.gov (United States)

Hendi, S. H.; Taghadomi, Z. S.; Corda, C.

2018-04-01

The motion of a point charged particle moving in the background of the critical power Maxwell charged AdS black holes in a probe approximation is studied. The extended phase space, where the cosmological constant appears as a pressure, is regarded and the effective potential is investigated. At last, the mass-to-charge ratio and the large q limit are studied.

Charging of insulators by multiply-charged-ion impact probed by slowing down of fast binary-encounter electrons

Science.gov (United States)

de Filippo, E.; Lanzanó, G.; Amorini, F.; Cardella, G.; Geraci, E.; Grassi, L.; La Guidara, E.; Lombardo, I.; Politi, G.; Rizzo, F.; Russotto, P.; Volant, C.; Hagmann, S.; Rothard, H.

2010-12-01

The interaction of ion beams with insulators leads to charging-up phenomena, which at present are under investigation in connection with guiding phenomena in nanocapillaries with possible application in nanofocused beams. We studied the charging dynamics of insulating foil targets [Mylar, polypropylene (PP)] irradiated with swift ion beams (C, O, Ag, and Xe at 40, 23, 40, and 30 MeV/u, respectively) via the measurement of the slowing down of fast binary-encounter electrons. Also, sandwich targets (Mylar covered with a thin Au layer on both surfaces) and Mylar with Au on only one surface were used. Fast-electron spectra were measured by the time-of-flight method at the superconducting cyclotron of Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (LNS) Catania. The charge buildup leads to target-material-dependent potentials of the order of 6.0 kV for Mylar and 2.8 kV for PP. The sandwich targets, surprisingly, show the same behavior as the insulating targets, whereas a single Au layer on the electron and ion exit side strongly suppresses the charging phenomenon. The accumulated number of projectiles needed for charging up is inversely proportional to electronic energy loss. Thus, the charging up is directly related to emission of secondary electrons.

Charging of insulators by multiply-charged-ion impact probed by slowing down of fast binary-encounter electrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Filippo, E.; Lanzano, G.; Cardella, G.; Amorini, F.; Geraci, E.; Grassi, L.; Politi, G.; La Guidara, E.; Lombardo, I.; Rizzo, F.; Russotto, P.; Volant, C.; Hagmann, S.; Rothard, H.

2010-01-01

The interaction of ion beams with insulators leads to charging-up phenomena, which at present are under investigation in connection with guiding phenomena in nanocapillaries with possible application in nanofocused beams. We studied the charging dynamics of insulating foil targets [Mylar, polypropylene (PP)] irradiated with swift ion beams (C, O, Ag, and Xe at 40, 23, 40, and 30 MeV/u, respectively) via the measurement of the slowing down of fast binary-encounter electrons. Also, sandwich targets (Mylar covered with a thin Au layer on both surfaces) and Mylar with Au on only one surface were used. Fast-electron spectra were measured by the time-of-flight method at the superconducting cyclotron of Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (LNS) Catania. The charge buildup leads to target-material-dependent potentials of the order of 6.0 kV for Mylar and 2.8 kV for PP. The sandwich targets, surprisingly, show the same behavior as the insulating targets, whereas a single Au layer on the electron and ion exit side strongly suppresses the charging phenomenon. The accumulated number of projectiles needed for charging up is inversely proportional to electronic energy loss. Thus, the charging up is directly related to emission of secondary electrons.

Measuring momentum for charged particle tomography

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, Christopher; Fraser, Andrew Mcleod; Schultz, Larry Joe; Borozdin, Konstantin N.; Klimenko, Alexei Vasilievich; Sossong, Michael James; Blanpied, Gary

2010-11-23

Methods, apparatus and systems for detecting charged particles and obtaining tomography of a volume by measuring charged particles including measuring the momentum of a charged particle passing through a charged particle detector. Sets of position sensitive detectors measure scattering of the charged particle. The position sensitive detectors having sufficient mass to cause the charged particle passing through the position sensitive detectors to scatter in the position sensitive detectors. A controller can be adapted and arranged to receive scattering measurements of the charged particle from the charged particle detector, determine at least one trajectory of the charged particle from the measured scattering; and determine at least one momentum measurement of the charged particle from the at least one trajectory. The charged particle can be a cosmic ray-produced charged particle, such as a cosmic ray-produced muon. The position sensitive detectors can be drift cells, such as gas-filled drift tubes.

Influence of unharmonic changes of plasma potential on the Langmuir probe characteristics for a grounded probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Surda, V.

1990-01-01

A theory is presented of the deformation of Langmuir probe characteristics by the presence of a.c. plasma potential oscillations at the space charge layer around the probe, making allowance for the fundamental frequency and the second harmonic. It is applicable particularly to the determination of the electron temperature in actual high-frequency discharges with a Maxwellian electron energy distribution. The effect of an a.c. signal on the ion current is also treated. (author). 8 figs., 14 refs

Measurement of extent of intense ion beam charge neutralization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Engelko, V [Efremov Institute of Electrophysical Apparatus, St. Petersburg (Russian Federation); Giese, H; Schalk, S [Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (Germany). INR

1997-12-31

Various diagnostic tools were employed to study and optimize the extent of space charge neutralization in the pulsed intense proton beam facility PROFA, comprising Langmuir probes, capacitive probes, and a novel type of the three electrode collector. The latter does not only allow us to measure ion and electron beam current densities in a high magnetic field environment, but also to deduce the density spectrum of the beam electrons. Appropriate operating conditions were identified to attain a complete space charge neutralisation. (author). 5 figs., 4 refs.

Charged particle detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hagen, R.D.

1975-01-01

A device for detecting the emission of charged particles from a specimen is described. The specimen is placed within an accumulator means which statically accumulates any charged particles emitted from the specimen. The accumulator means is pivotally positioned between a first capacitor plate having a positive electrical charge and a second capacitor plate having a negative electrical charge. The accumulator means is attracted to one capacitor plate and repelled from the other capacitor plate by an amount proportional to the amount and intensity of charged particles emitted by the specimen. (auth)

Charge degree of freedom as a sensitive probe for fission mechanism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yokoyama, A.; Baba, H.; Takahashi, N.; Duh, M.C.; Saito, T.

1997-01-01

The role of the charge degree of freedom in the heavy-ion-induced fission was investigated by carrying out a systematic analysis of radiochemically observed charge distribution in the fission of 238 U with 12 C ions of the incident energy between 85 and 140 MeV, particularly in connection with the energy given to the compound system. The charge distribution was found to follow essentially identical systematics as those which govern the light-ion fission except for the extremely weak energy dependence of the most probable charge Z p . That is, values of the derivative of Z p with respect to the energy were found to be quite small, or nearly zero, in the heavy-ion fission as compared to those of the light-ion fission. According to an analysis combining the derivatives of Z p and fission neutron data, it was deduced that the excess energy given to the fused system was spent completely in the form of pre-scission neutrons and hence the number of post-scission neutrons remained constant as in the case of light-ion fission. The observed charge distribution was reproduced under the conditions that the relaxation of the charge degree of freedom be very fast and that the separation between the two potential fragments at the moment when the charge degree of freedom has been frozen is determined by using Viola's systematics on the fragment kinetic energy. (author)

Spherical ion oscillations in a positive polarity gridded inertial-electrostatic confinement device

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bandara, R.; Khachan, J. [Plasma Physics, School of Physics, University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales 2006 (Australia)

2013-07-15

A pulsed, positive polarity gridded inertial electrostatic confinement device has been investigated experimentally, using a differential emissive probe and potential traces as primary diagnostics. Large amplitude oscillations in the plasma current and plasma potential were observed within a microsecond of the discharge onset, which are indicative of coherent ion oscillations about a temporarily confined excess of recirculating electron space charge. The magnitude of the depth of the potential well in the established virtual cathode was determined using a differential emissive Langmuir probe, which correlated well to the potential well inferred from the ion oscillation frequency for both hydrogen and argon experiments. It was found that the timescale for ion oscillation dispersion is strongly dependent on the neutral gas density, and weakly dependent on the peak anode voltage. The cessation of the oscillations was found to be due to charge exchange processes converting ions to high velocity neutrals, causing the abrupt de-coherence of the oscillations through an avalanche dispersion in phase space.

Spherical ion oscillations in a positive polarity gridded inertial-electrostatic confinement device

Science.gov (United States)

Bandara, R.; Khachan, J.

2013-07-01

A pulsed, positive polarity gridded inertial electrostatic confinement device has been investigated experimentally, using a differential emissive probe and potential traces as primary diagnostics. Large amplitude oscillations in the plasma current and plasma potential were observed within a microsecond of the discharge onset, which are indicative of coherent ion oscillations about a temporarily confined excess of recirculating electron space charge. The magnitude of the depth of the potential well in the established virtual cathode was determined using a differential emissive Langmuir probe, which correlated well to the potential well inferred from the ion oscillation frequency for both hydrogen and argon experiments. It was found that the timescale for ion oscillation dispersion is strongly dependent on the neutral gas density, and weakly dependent on the peak anode voltage. The cessation of the oscillations was found to be due to charge exchange processes converting ions to high velocity neutrals, causing the abrupt de-coherence of the oscillations through an avalanche dispersion in phase space.

Screening model for nanowire surface-charge sensors in liquid

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Martin Hedegård; Mortensen, Asger; Brandbyge, Mads

2007-01-01

The conductance change of nanowire field-effect transistors is considered a highly sensitive probe for surface charge. However, Debye screening of relevant physiological liquid environments challenge device performance due to competing screening from the ionic liquid and nanowire charge carriers....

Quantum size correction to the work function and centroid of excess charge in positively ionized simple metal clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Payami, M.

2004-01-01

In this work, we have shown the important role of the finite-size correction to the work function in predicting the correct position of the centroid of excess charge in positively charged simple metal clusters with different r s values (2≤ r s ≥ 7). For this purpose, firstly we have calculated the self-consistent Kohn-Sham energies of neutral and singly-ionized clusters with sizes 2≤ N ≥100 in the framework of local spin-density approximation and stabilized jellium model as well as simple jellium model with rigid jellium. Secondly, we have fitted our results to the asymptotic ionization formulas both with and without the size correction to the work function. The results of fittings show that the formula containing the size correction predict a correct position of the centroid inside the jellium while the other predicts a false position, outside the jellium sphere

Four-probe measurements with a three-probe scanning tunneling microscope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salomons, Mark; Martins, Bruno V. C.; Zikovsky, Janik; Wolkow, Robert A.

2014-01-01

We present an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) three-probe scanning tunneling microscope in which each probe is capable of atomic resolution. A UHV JEOL scanning electron microscope aids in the placement of the probes on the sample. The machine also has a field ion microscope to clean, atomically image, and shape the probe tips. The machine uses bare conductive samples and tips with a homebuilt set of pliers for heating and loading. Automated feedback controlled tip-surface contacts allow for electrical stability and reproducibility while also greatly reducing tip and surface damage due to contact formation. The ability to register inter-tip position by imaging of a single surface feature by multiple tips is demonstrated. Four-probe material characterization is achieved by deploying two tips as fixed current probes and the third tip as a movable voltage probe

Four-probe measurements with a three-probe scanning tunneling microscope

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Salomons, Mark [National Institute for Nanotechnology, National Research Council of Canada, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2M9 (Canada); Martins, Bruno V. C.; Zikovsky, Janik; Wolkow, Robert A., E-mail: rwolkow@ualberta.ca [National Institute for Nanotechnology, National Research Council of Canada, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2M9 (Canada); Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E1 (Canada)

2014-04-15

We present an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) three-probe scanning tunneling microscope in which each probe is capable of atomic resolution. A UHV JEOL scanning electron microscope aids in the placement of the probes on the sample. The machine also has a field ion microscope to clean, atomically image, and shape the probe tips. The machine uses bare conductive samples and tips with a homebuilt set of pliers for heating and loading. Automated feedback controlled tip-surface contacts allow for electrical stability and reproducibility while also greatly reducing tip and surface damage due to contact formation. The ability to register inter-tip position by imaging of a single surface feature by multiple tips is demonstrated. Four-probe material characterization is achieved by deploying two tips as fixed current probes and the third tip as a movable voltage probe.

Four-probe measurements with a three-probe scanning tunneling microscope.

Science.gov (United States)

Salomons, Mark; Martins, Bruno V C; Zikovsky, Janik; Wolkow, Robert A

2014-04-01

We present an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) three-probe scanning tunneling microscope in which each probe is capable of atomic resolution. A UHV JEOL scanning electron microscope aids in the placement of the probes on the sample. The machine also has a field ion microscope to clean, atomically image, and shape the probe tips. The machine uses bare conductive samples and tips with a homebuilt set of pliers for heating and loading. Automated feedback controlled tip-surface contacts allow for electrical stability and reproducibility while also greatly reducing tip and surface damage due to contact formation. The ability to register inter-tip position by imaging of a single surface feature by multiple tips is demonstrated. Four-probe material characterization is achieved by deploying two tips as fixed current probes and the third tip as a movable voltage probe.

Systematic spatial bias in DNA microarray hybridization is caused by probe spot position-dependent variability in lateral diffusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Steger, Doris; Berry, David; Haider, Susanne; Horn, Matthias; Wagner, Michael; Stocker, Roman; Loy, Alexander

2011-01-01

The hybridization of nucleic acid targets with surface-immobilized probes is a widely used assay for the parallel detection of multiple targets in medical and biological research. Despite its widespread application, DNA microarray technology still suffers from several biases and lack of reproducibility, stemming in part from an incomplete understanding of the processes governing surface hybridization. In particular, non-random spatial variations within individual microarray hybridizations are often observed, but the mechanisms underpinning this positional bias remain incompletely explained. This study identifies and rationalizes a systematic spatial bias in the intensity of surface hybridization, characterized by markedly increased signal intensity of spots located at the boundaries of the spotted areas of the microarray slide. Combining observations from a simplified single-probe block array format with predictions from a mathematical model, the mechanism responsible for this bias is found to be a position-dependent variation in lateral diffusion of target molecules. Numerical simulations reveal a strong influence of microarray well geometry on the spatial bias. Reciprocal adjustment of the size of the microarray hybridization chamber to the area of surface-bound probes is a simple and effective measure to minimize or eliminate the diffusion-based bias, resulting in increased uniformity and accuracy of quantitative DNA microarray hybridization.

Secondary charging effects due to icy dust particle impacts on rocket payloads

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Kassa

2012-03-01

Full Text Available We report measurements of dust currents obtained with a small probe and a larger probe during the flight of the ECOMA-4 rocket through the summer polar mesosphere. The payload included two small dust probes behind a larger dust probe located centrally at the front. For certain phases of the payload rotation, the current registered by one of the small dust probes was up to 2 times the current measured with the larger probe, even though the effective collection area of the larger probe was 4 times that of the small one. We analyze the phase dependence of the currents and their difference with a model based on the assumption that the small probe was hit by charged dust fragments produced in collisions of mesospheric dust with the payload body. Our results confirm earlier findings that secondary charge production in the collision of a noctilucent cloud/Polar Summer Mesospheric Echo (NLC/PMSE dust particle with the payload body must be several orders of magnitude larger than might be expected from laboratory studies of collisions of pure ice particles with a variety of clean surfaces. An important consequence is that for some payload configurations, one should not assume that the current measured with a detector used to study mesospheric dust is simply proportional to the number density of ambient dust particles. The higher secondary charge production may be due to the NLC/PMSE particles containing multiple meteoric smoke particles.

The propagation of GPS signals through electrically charged plumes

Science.gov (United States)

Méndez Harper, J.; Steffes, P. G.; Dufek, J.

2017-12-01

Probing the interior dynamics of eruptive columns using electrostatic processes generated within the flows themselves has garnered much interest in the recent years. Indeed, large eruptions are often accompanied by brilliant displays of lightning, testifying to the high potentials that can be accumulated by a diverse set of electrification mechanisms. Unfortunately, lightning on its own cannot be used as a general remote sensing tool because not all volcanic eruptions produce spark discharges. As pointed out by McNutt and Williams, 2010, only 30-35% of volcanoes maintain lightning storms. The absence of lightning in two thirds of all eruptions indicates that most volcanoes produce flows with 1) inefficient or limited granular charging processes or 2) dynamics that do not promote the charge separation that sets up coherent electric fields needed for lightning. Yet, even if the prerequisites for spark discharges are not met, it is difficult to argue for plumes which are completely electrostatically neutral. The problems permeating passive electromagnetic sensing may be overcome through the use of active methods which involve interrogating charged volcanic plumes with electromagnetic radiation. The scattering of electromagnetic waves has been a common method to retrieve the physical properties of collections of particles, specifically those which cannot be accessed directly. By modifying the standard Mie formulation, Klavcka et al., 2007 showed that surface charge may influence the extinction properties of grains if such particles are much smaller than the wavelength of the incident radiation. Based on this model, we posit that the properties of charged clouds of particles can be readily assessed using robust, existing infrastructure-the Global Positioning System. In the present work, we numerically explore the manner in which electrostatic charge on particles affect the propagation of electromagnetic waves through volcanic plumes. We show that, for the range of

Electromechanical response of amorphous LaAlO3 thin film probed by scanning probe microscopies

Science.gov (United States)

Borowiak, Alexis S.; Baboux, Nicolas; Albertini, David; Vilquin, Bertrand; Saint Girons, Guillaume; Pelloquin, Sylvain; Gautier, Brice

2014-07-01

The electromechanical response of a 3 nm thick amorphous LaAlO3 layer obtained by molecular beam epitaxy has been studied using scanning probe microscopies. Although this kind of sample is not ferroelectric due to its amorphous nature, the resulting images are identical to what is generally obtained on truly ferroelectric samples probed by piezoresponse force microscopy: domains of apparently opposite polarisation are detected, and perfect, square shaped hysteresis loops are recorded. Moreover, written patterns are stable within 72 h. We discuss in the general case the possible origins of this behaviour in terms of charge injection, ionic conduction and motion of oxygen vacancies. In the case presented in this paper, since the writing process has been conducted with applied voltages lower than the injection threshold measured by conductive atomic force Microscopy, allowing to withdraw the hypothesis of charge injection in the sample, we propose that a bistable distribution of oxygen vacancies is responsible for this contrast.

Electromechanical response of amorphous LaAlO3 thin film probed by scanning probe microscopies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borowiak, Alexis S.; Baboux, Nicolas; Albertini, David; Gautier, Brice; Vilquin, Bertrand; Saint Girons, Guillaume; Pelloquin, Sylvain

2014-01-01

The electromechanical response of a 3 nm thick amorphous LaAlO 3 layer obtained by molecular beam epitaxy has been studied using scanning probe microscopies. Although this kind of sample is not ferroelectric due to its amorphous nature, the resulting images are identical to what is generally obtained on truly ferroelectric samples probed by piezoresponse force microscopy: domains of apparently opposite polarisation are detected, and perfect, square shaped hysteresis loops are recorded. Moreover, written patterns are stable within 72 h. We discuss in the general case the possible origins of this behaviour in terms of charge injection, ionic conduction and motion of oxygen vacancies. In the case presented in this paper, since the writing process has been conducted with applied voltages lower than the injection threshold measured by conductive atomic force Microscopy, allowing to withdraw the hypothesis of charge injection in the sample, we propose that a bistable distribution of oxygen vacancies is responsible for this contrast.

Simulation study of signal formation in position sensitive planar p-on-n silicon detectors after short range charge injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peltola, T.; Eremin, V.; Verbitskaya, E.; Härkönen, J.

2017-01-01

Segmented silicon detectors (micropixel and microstrip) are the main type of detectors used in the inner trackers of Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments at CERN. Due to the high luminosity and eventual high fluence of energetic particles, detectors with fast response to fit the short shaping time of 20–25 ns and sufficient radiation hardness are required. Charge collection measurements carried out at the Ioffe Institute have shown a reversal of the pulse polarity in the detector response to short-range charge injection. Since the measured negative signal is about 30–60% of the peak positive signal, the effect strongly reduces the CCE even in non-irradiated detectors. For further investigation of the phenomenon the measurements have been reproduced by TCAD simulations. As for the measurements, the simulation study was applied for the p-on-n strip detectors similar in geometry to those developed for the ATLAS experiment and for the Ioffe Institute designed p-on-n strip detectors with each strip having a window in the metallization covering the p + implant, allowing the generation of electron-hole pairs under the strip implant. Red laser scans across the strips and the interstrip gap with varying laser diameters and Si-SiO 2 interface charge densities ( Q f ) were carried out. The results verify the experimentally observed negative response along the scan in the interstrip gap. When the laser spot is positioned on the strip p + implant the negative response vanishes and the collected charge at the active strip increases respectively. The simulation results offer a further insight and understanding of the influence of the oxide charge density in the signal formation. The main result of the study is that a threshold value of Q f , that enables negligible losses of collected charges, is defined. The observed effects and details of the detector response for different charge injection positions are discussed in the context of Ramo's theorem.

Simulation study of signal formation in position sensitive planar p-on-n silicon detectors after short range charge injection

Science.gov (United States)

Peltola, T.; Eremin, V.; Verbitskaya, E.; Härkönen, J.

2017-09-01

Segmented silicon detectors (micropixel and microstrip) are the main type of detectors used in the inner trackers of Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments at CERN. Due to the high luminosity and eventual high fluence of energetic particles, detectors with fast response to fit the short shaping time of 20-25 ns and sufficient radiation hardness are required. Charge collection measurements carried out at the Ioffe Institute have shown a reversal of the pulse polarity in the detector response to short-range charge injection. Since the measured negative signal is about 30-60% of the peak positive signal, the effect strongly reduces the CCE even in non-irradiated detectors. For further investigation of the phenomenon the measurements have been reproduced by TCAD simulations. As for the measurements, the simulation study was applied for the p-on-n strip detectors similar in geometry to those developed for the ATLAS experiment and for the Ioffe Institute designed p-on-n strip detectors with each strip having a window in the metallization covering the p+ implant, allowing the generation of electron-hole pairs under the strip implant. Red laser scans across the strips and the interstrip gap with varying laser diameters and Si-SiO2 interface charge densities (Qf) were carried out. The results verify the experimentally observed negative response along the scan in the interstrip gap. When the laser spot is positioned on the strip p+ implant the negative response vanishes and the collected charge at the active strip increases respectively. The simulation results offer a further insight and understanding of the influence of the oxide charge density in the signal formation. The main result of the study is that a threshold value of Qf, that enables negligible losses of collected charges, is defined. The observed effects and details of the detector response for different charge injection positions are discussed in the context of Ramo's theorem.

Quantum size correction to the work function and the centroid of excess charge in positively ionized simple metal clusters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Payami

2003-12-01

Full Text Available  In this work, we have shown the important role of the finite-size correction to the work function in predicting the correct position of the centroid of excess charge in positively charged simple metal clusters with different values . For this purpose, firstly we have calculated the self-consistent Kohn-Sham energies of neutral and singly-ionized clusters with sizes in the framework of local spin-density approximation and stabilized jellium model (SJM as well as simple jellium model (JM with rigid jellium. Secondly, we have fitted our results to the asymptotic ionization formulas both with and without the size correction to the work function. The results of fittings show that the formula containing the size correction predict a correct position of the centroid inside the jellium while the other predicts a false position, outside the jellium sphere.

Label-free biosensing with functionalized nanopipette probes

OpenAIRE

Umehara, Senkei; Karhanek, Miloslav; Davis, Ronald W.; Pourmand, Nader

2009-01-01

Nanopipette technology can uniquely identify biomolecules such as proteins based on differences in size, shape, and electrical charge. These differences are determined by the detection of changes in ionic current as the proteins interact with the nanopipette tip coated with probe molecules. Here we show that electrostatic, biotin-streptavidin, and antibody-antigen interactions on the nanopipette tip surface affect ionic current flowing through a 50-nm pore. Highly charged polymers interacting...

Simulation study on discrete charge effects of SiNW biosensors according to bound target position using a 3D TCAD simulator.

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, In-Young; Jang, Hyeri; Lee, Jieun; Moon, Hyunggeun; Seo, Sung Min; Kim, Dae Hwan

2012-02-17

We introduce a simulation method for the biosensor environment which treats the semiconductor and the electrolyte region together, using the well-established semiconductor 3D TCAD simulator tool. Using this simulation method, we conduct electrostatic simulations of SiNW biosensors with a more realistic target charge model where the target is described as a charged cube, randomly located across the nanowire surface, and analyze the Coulomb effect on the SiNW FET according to the position and distribution of the target charges. The simulation results show the considerable variation in the SiNW current according to the bound target positions, and also the dependence of conductance modulation on the polarity of target charges. This simulation method and the results can be utilized for analysis of the properties and behavior of the biosensor device, such as the sensing limit or the sensing resolution.

Simulation study on discrete charge effects of SiNW biosensors according to bound target position using a 3D TCAD simulator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, In-Young; Moon, Hyunggeun; Jang, Hyeri; Lee, Jieun; Kim, Dae Hwan; Seo, Sung Min

2012-01-01

We introduce a simulation method for the biosensor environment which treats the semiconductor and the electrolyte region together, using the well-established semiconductor 3D TCAD simulator tool. Using this simulation method, we conduct electrostatic simulations of SiNW biosensors with a more realistic target charge model where the target is described as a charged cube, randomly located across the nanowire surface, and analyze the Coulomb effect on the SiNW FET according to the position and distribution of the target charges. The simulation results show the considerable variation in the SiNW current according to the bound target positions, and also the dependence of conductance modulation on the polarity of target charges. This simulation method and the results can be utilized for analysis of the properties and behavior of the biosensor device, such as the sensing limit or the sensing resolution. (paper)

Positioning Reduction of Deep Space Probes Based on VLBI Tracking

Science.gov (United States)

Qiao, S. B.

2011-11-01

) Investigate the application of Kalman filter to the positioning reduction of deep space probes and develop related software systems. In summary, the progress in this dissertation is made in the positioning reduction of deep space probes tracked by VLBI concerning the algorithm study, software development, real observation processing and so on, while a further study is still urgent and arduous.

Flight calibration of compensated and uncompensated pitot-static airspeed probes and application of the probes to supersonic cruise vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Webb, L. D.; Washington, H. P.

1972-01-01

Static pressure position error calibrations for a compensated and an uncompensated XB-70 nose boom pitot static probe were obtained in flight. The methods (Pacer, acceleration-deceleration, and total temperature) used to obtain the position errors over a Mach number range from 0.5 to 3.0 and an altitude range from 25,000 feet to 70,000 feet are discussed. The error calibrations are compared with the position error determined from wind tunnel tests, theoretical analysis, and a standard NACA pitot static probe. Factors which influence position errors, such as angle of attack, Reynolds number, probe tip geometry, static orifice location, and probe shape, are discussed. Also included are examples showing how the uncertainties caused by position errors can affect the inlet controls and vertical altitude separation of a supersonic transport.

Squeezing out hydrated protons: low-frictional-energy triboelectric insulator charging on a microscopic scale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikolaus Knorr

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Though triboelectric charging of insulators is common, neither its mechanism nor the nature of the charge is well known. Most research has focused on the integral amount of charge transferred between two materials upon contact, establishing, e.g., a triboelectric series. Here, the charge distribution of tracks on insulating polymer films rubbed by polymer-covered pointed swabs is investigated in high resolution by Kelvin probe force microscopy. Pronounced bipolar charging was observed for all nine rubbing combinations of three different polymers, with absolute surface potentials of up to several volts distributed in streaks along the rubbing direction and varying in polarity on μm-length scales perpendicular to the rubbing direction. Charge densities increased considerably for rubbing in higher relative humidity, for higher rubbing loads, and for more hydrophilic polymers. The ends of rubbed tracks had positively charged rims. Surface potential decay with time was strongly accelerated in increased humidity, particularly for polymers with high water permeability. Based on these observations, a mechanism is proposed of triboelectrification by extrusions of prevalently hydrated protons, stemming from adsorbed and dissociated water, along pressure gradients on the surface by the mechanical action of the swab. The validity of this mechanism is supported by explanations given recently in the literature for positive streaming currents of water at polymer surfaces and by reports of negative charging of insulators tapped by accelerated water droplets and of potential built up between the front and the back of a rubbing piece, observations already made in the 19th century. For more brittle polymers, strongly negatively charged microscopic abrasive particles were frequently observed on the rubbed tracks. The negative charge of those particles is presumably due in part to triboemission of electrons by polymer chain scission, forming radicals and negatively

Atomic charges of sulfur in ionic liquids: experiments and calculations.

Science.gov (United States)

Fogarty, Richard M; Rowe, Rebecca; Matthews, Richard P; Clough, Matthew T; Ashworth, Claire R; Brandt, Agnieszka; Corbett, Paul J; Palgrave, Robert G; Smith, Emily F; Bourne, Richard A; Chamberlain, Thomas W; Thompson, Paul B J; Hunt, Patricia A; Lovelock, Kevin R J

2017-12-14

Experimental near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectra, X-ray photoelectron (XP) spectra and Auger electron spectra are reported for sulfur in ionic liquids (ILs) with a range of chemical structures. These values provide experimental measures of the atomic charge in each IL and enable the evaluation of the suitability of NEXAFS spectroscopy and XPS for probing the relative atomic charge of sulfur. In addition, we use Auger electron spectroscopy to show that when XPS binding energies differ by less than 0.5 eV, conclusions on atomic charge should be treated with caution. Our experimental data provides a benchmark for calculations of the atomic charge of sulfur obtained using different methods. Atomic charges were computed for lone ions and ion pairs, both in the gas phase (GP) and in a solvation model (SMD), with a wide range of ion pair conformers considered. Three methods were used to compute the atomic charges: charges from the electrostatic potential using a grid based method (ChelpG), natural bond orbital (NBO) population analysis and Bader's atoms in molecules (AIM) approach. By comparing the experimental and calculated measures of the atomic charge of sulfur, we provide an order for the sulfur atoms, ranging from the most negative to the most positive atomic charge. Furthermore, we show that both ChelpG and NBO are reasonable methods for calculating the atomic charge of sulfur in ILs, based on the agreement with both the XPS and NEXAFS spectroscopy results. However, the atomic charges of sulfur derived from ChelpG are found to display significant, non-physical conformational dependence. Only small differences in individual atomic charge of sulfur were observed between lone ion (GP) and ion pair IL(SMD) model systems, indicating that ion-ion interactions do not strongly influence individual atomic charges.

Electromechanical response of amorphous LaAlO{sub 3} thin film probed by scanning probe microscopies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Borowiak, Alexis S.; Baboux, Nicolas; Albertini, David; Gautier, Brice, E-mail: brice.gautier@insa-lyon.fr [Institut des nanotechnologies de Lyon (INL), Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon, Université de Lyon, UMR CNRS 5270, 7 Avenue Capelle, F-69621 Villeurbanne Cedex (France); Vilquin, Bertrand; Saint Girons, Guillaume; Pelloquin, Sylvain [Institut des nanotechnologies de Lyon (INL), Ecole Centrale de Lyon, Université de Lyon, UMR CNRS 5270, 36 Avenue Guy de Collongues, F-69134 Ecully Cedex (France)

2014-07-07

The electromechanical response of a 3 nm thick amorphous LaAlO{sub 3} layer obtained by molecular beam epitaxy has been studied using scanning probe microscopies. Although this kind of sample is not ferroelectric due to its amorphous nature, the resulting images are identical to what is generally obtained on truly ferroelectric samples probed by piezoresponse force microscopy: domains of apparently opposite polarisation are detected, and perfect, square shaped hysteresis loops are recorded. Moreover, written patterns are stable within 72 h. We discuss in the general case the possible origins of this behaviour in terms of charge injection, ionic conduction and motion of oxygen vacancies. In the case presented in this paper, since the writing process has been conducted with applied voltages lower than the injection threshold measured by conductive atomic force Microscopy, allowing to withdraw the hypothesis of charge injection in the sample, we propose that a bistable distribution of oxygen vacancies is responsible for this contrast.

Current-Voltage and Floating-Potential characteristics of cylindrical emissive probes from a full-kinetic model based on the orbital motion theory

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xin; Sánchez-Arriaga, Gonzalo

2018-02-01

To model the sheath structure around an emissive probe with cylindrical geometry, the Orbital-Motion theory takes advantage of three conserved quantities (distribution function, transverse energy, and angular momentum) to transform the stationary Vlasov-Poisson system into a single integro-differential equation. For a stationary collisionless unmagnetized plasma, this equation describes self-consistently the probe characteristics. By solving such an equation numerically, parametric analyses for the current-voltage (IV) and floating-potential (FP) characteristics can be performed, which show that: (a) for strong emission, the space-charge effects increase with probe radius; (b) the probe can float at a positive potential relative to the plasma; (c) a smaller probe radius is preferred for the FP method to determine the plasma potential; (d) the work function of the emitting material and the plasma-ion properties do not influence the reliability of the floating-potential method. Analytical analysis demonstrates that the inflection point of an IV curve for non-emitting probes occurs at the plasma potential. The flat potential is not a self-consistent solution for emissive probes.

Modulation of Charge Recombination in CsPbBr3 Perovskite Films with Electrochemical Bias

KAUST Repository

Scheidt, Rebecca A

2017-11-13

The charging of mesoscopic TiO2 layer in a metal halide perovskite solar cell can influence the overall power conversion efficiency. By employing CsPbBr3 films deposited on a mesoscopic TiO2 film, we have succeeded in probing the influence of electrochemical bias on the charge carrier recombination process. The transient absorption spectroscopy experiments conducted at different applied potentials indicate a decrease in the charge carrier lifetimes of CsPbBr3 as we increase the potential from -0.6 V to + 0.6 V vs. Ag/AgCl. The charge carrier lifetime increased upon reversing the applied bias, thus indicating the reversibility of the photoresponse to charging effects. The ultrafast spectroelectrochemical experiments described here offer a convenient approach to probe the charging effects in perovskite solar cells.

Modulation of Charge Recombination in CsPbBr3 Perovskite Films with Electrochemical Bias.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheidt, Rebecca A; Samu, Gergely F; Janáky, Csaba; Kamat, Prashant V

2018-01-10

The charging of a mesoscopic TiO 2 layer in a metal halide perovskite solar cell can influence the overall power conversion efficiency. By employing CsPbBr 3 films deposited on a mesoscopic TiO 2 film, we have succeeded in probing the influence of electrochemical bias on the charge carrier recombination process. The transient absorption spectroscopy experiments conducted at different applied potentials indicate a decrease in the charge carrier lifetimes of CsPbBr 3 as we increase the potential from -0.6 to +0.6 V vs Ag/AgCl. The charge carrier lifetime increased upon reversing the applied bias, thus indicating the reversibility of the photoresponse to charging effects. The ultrafast spectroelectrochemical experiments described here offer a convenient approach to probe the charging effects in perovskite solar cells.

Microscopic gate-modulation imaging of charge and field distribution in polycrystalline organic transistors

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuoka, Satoshi; Tsutsumi, Jun'ya; Kamata, Toshihide; Hasegawa, Tatsuo

2018-04-01

In this work, a high-resolution microscopic gate-modulation imaging (μ-GMI) technique is successfully developed to visualize inhomogeneous charge and electric field distributions in operating organic thin-film transistors (TFTs). We conduct highly sensitive and diffraction-limit gate-modulation sensing for acquiring difference images of semiconducting channels between at gate-on and gate-off states that are biased at an alternate frequency of 15 Hz. As a result, we observe unexpectedly inhomogeneous distribution of positive and negative local gate-modulation (GM) signals at a probe photon energy of 1.85 eV in polycrystalline pentacene TFTs. Spectroscopic analyses based on a series of μ-GMI at various photon energies reveal that two distinct effects appear, simultaneously, within the polycrystalline pentacene channel layers: Negative GM signals at 1.85 eV originate from the second-derivative-like GM spectrum which is caused by the effect of charge accumulation, whereas positive GM signals originate from the first-derivative-like GM spectrum caused by the effect of leaked gate fields. Comparisons with polycrystalline morphologies indicate that grain centers are predominated by areas with high leaked gate fields due to the low charge density, whereas grain edges are predominantly high-charge-density areas with a certain spatial extension as associated with the concentrated carrier traps. Consequently, it is reasonably understood that larger grains lead to higher device mobility, but with greater inhomogeneity in charge distribution. These findings provide a clue to understand and improve device characteristics of polycrystalline TFTs.

Ground Simulations of Near-Surface Plasma Field and Charging at the Lunar Terminator

Science.gov (United States)

Polansky, J.; Ding, N.; Wang, J.; Craven, P.; Schneider, T.; Vaughn, J.

2012-12-01

Charging in the lunar terminator region is the most complex and is still not well understood. In this region, the surface potential is sensitively influenced by both solar illumination and plasma flow. The combined effects from localized shadow generated by low sun elevation angles and localized wake generated by plasma flow over the rugged terrain can generate strongly differentially charged surfaces. Few models currently exist that can accurately resolve the combined effects of plasma flow and solar illumination over realistic lunar terminator topographies. This paper presents an experimental investigation of lunar surface charging at the terminator region in simulated plasma environments in a vacuum chamber. The solar wind plasma flow is simulated using an electron bombardment gridded Argon ion source. An electrostatic Langmuir probe, nude Faraday probes, a floating emissive probe, and retarding potential analyzer are used to quantify the plasma flow field. Surface potentials of both conducting and dielectric materials immersed in the plasma flow are measured with a Trek surface potential probe. The conducting material surface potential will simultaneously be measured with a high impedance voltmeter to calibrate the Trek probe. Measurement results will be presented for flat surfaces and objects-on-surface for various angles of attack of the plasma flow. The implications on the generation of localized plasma wake and surface charging at the lunar terminator will be discussed. (This research is supported by the NASA Lunar Advanced Science and Exploration Research program.)

Direct probing of electron and hole trapping into nano-floating-gate in organic field-effect transistor nonvolatile memories

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cui, Ze-Qun; Wang, Shun; Chen, Jian-Mei; Gao, Xu; Dong, Bin, E-mail: wangsd@suda.edu.cn, E-mail: chilf@suda.edu.cn, E-mail: bdong@suda.edu.cn; Chi, Li-Feng, E-mail: wangsd@suda.edu.cn, E-mail: chilf@suda.edu.cn, E-mail: bdong@suda.edu.cn; Wang, Sui-Dong, E-mail: wangsd@suda.edu.cn, E-mail: chilf@suda.edu.cn, E-mail: bdong@suda.edu.cn [Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials and Devices, Institute of Functional Nano and Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123 (China)

2015-03-23

Electron and hole trapping into the nano-floating-gate of a pentacene-based organic field-effect transistor nonvolatile memory is directly probed by Kelvin probe force microscopy. The probing is straightforward and non-destructive. The measured surface potential change can quantitatively profile the charge trapping, and the surface characterization results are in good accord with the corresponding device behavior. Both electrons and holes can be trapped into the nano-floating-gate, with a preference of electron trapping than hole trapping. The trapped charge quantity has an approximately linear relation with the programming/erasing gate bias, indicating that the charge trapping in the device is a field-controlled process.

Direct probing of electron and hole trapping into nano-floating-gate in organic field-effect transistor nonvolatile memories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cui, Ze-Qun; Wang, Shun; Chen, Jian-Mei; Gao, Xu; Dong, Bin; Chi, Li-Feng; Wang, Sui-Dong

2015-01-01

Electron and hole trapping into the nano-floating-gate of a pentacene-based organic field-effect transistor nonvolatile memory is directly probed by Kelvin probe force microscopy. The probing is straightforward and non-destructive. The measured surface potential change can quantitatively profile the charge trapping, and the surface characterization results are in good accord with the corresponding device behavior. Both electrons and holes can be trapped into the nano-floating-gate, with a preference of electron trapping than hole trapping. The trapped charge quantity has an approximately linear relation with the programming/erasing gate bias, indicating that the charge trapping in the device is a field-controlled process

Ultrafast photoinduced charge separation in metal-semiconductor nanohybrids.

Science.gov (United States)

Mongin, Denis; Shaviv, Ehud; Maioli, Paolo; Crut, Aurélien; Banin, Uri; Del Fatti, Natalia; Vallée, Fabrice

2012-08-28

Hybrid nano-objects formed by two or more disparate materials are among the most promising and versatile nanosystems. A key parameter in their properties is interaction between their components. In this context we have investigated ultrafast charge separation in semiconductor-metal nanohybrids using a model system of gold-tipped CdS nanorods in a matchstick architecture. Experiments are performed using an optical time-resolved pump-probe technique, exciting either the semiconductor or the metal component of the particles, and probing the light-induced change of their optical response. Electron-hole pairs photoexcited in the semiconductor part of the nanohybrids are shown to undergo rapid charge separation with the electron transferred to the metal part on a sub-20 fs time scale. This ultrafast gold charging leads to a transient red-shift and broadening of the metal surface plasmon resonance, in agreement with results for free clusters but in contrast to observation for static charging of gold nanoparticles in liquid environments. Quantitative comparison with a theoretical model is in excellent agreement with the experimental results, confirming photoexcitation of one electron-hole pair per nanohybrid followed by ultrafast charge separation. The results also point to the utilization of such metal-semiconductor nanohybrids in light-harvesting applications and in photocatalysis.

The 16th Werner Brandt Workshop on charged particle penetration phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-05-01

This report contains viewgraphs on the following topics: impact parameter dependence of charge transfer and energy loss; nonlinear dynamical response of the electron gas: comparison of some simple theories; stopping of ultrarelativistic ions in solids (33.2-TeV 108 Pb); collective excitation in reduced dimensionality; collective states in atoms and cluster; plasmon coupling with external probes; atomic collisions with antiprotons; layer-number scaling in ultra-thin film stopping and energetics; atom-surface scattering under classical conditions; nonlinear effect of sweeping-out electrons in stopping power and electron emission in cluster impacts; electron emission from fast grazing collisions of ions with silicon surfaces; electron emission from ultra-thin carbon foils by kiV ions; Auger rates for highly charged ions in metals; Auger and plasmon assisted neutralization at surfaces; low energy ( + and F - ions transmission through condensed layers of water: enhancement and attenuation processes; charge transfer for H interacting with Al: atomic levels and linewidths; scattered projectile angular and charge state distributions for grazing collisions of multicharged ions with metal and insulator single crystal targets; the prolate hyperboloidat model in scanning probe microscopy; scanning probe microscopy of large biomolecules; microcantilever sensors; solution of the Fokker-Planck equation for electron transport using analytic spatial moments; and effective charge parametrization for z = 3-17 projectiles in composite targets

The noise analysis and optimum filtering techniques for a two-dimensional position sensitive orthogonal strip gamma ray detector employing resistive charge division

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerber, M.S.; Muller, D.W.

1976-01-01

The analysis of an orthogonal strip, two-dimensional position sensitive high purity germanium gamma ray detector is discussed. Position sensitivity is obtained by connecting each electrode strip on the detector to a resistor network. Charge, entering the network, divides in relation to the resistance between its entry point and the virtual earth points of the charge sensitive preamplifiers located at the end of each resistor network. The difference of the voltage pulses at the output of each preamplifier is proportional to the position at which the charge entered the resistor network and the sum of the pulse is proportional to the energy of the detected gamma ray. The analysis and spatial noise resolution is presented for this type of position sensitive detector. The results of the analysis show that the position resolution is proportional to the square root of the filter amplifier's output pulse time constant and that for energy measurement the resolution is maximized at the filter amplifier's noise corner time constant. The design of the electronic noise filtering system for the prototype gamma ray camera was based on the mathematical energy and spatial resolution equations. For the spatial channel a Gaussian trapezoidal filtering system was developed. Gaussian filtering was used for the energy channel. The detector noise model was verified by taking rms noise measurements of the filtered energy and spatial pulses from resistive readout charge dividing detectors. These measurements were within 10% of theory. (Auth.)

Numerical model of operation of the Langmuir probe under intermediate pressure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dudin, S.V.

1996-01-01

The technique of a Langmuir probe is known reasonably well. However, despite plenty of work devoted to calculation of currents on the probe inserted into plasma, a theory does not at present exist which would allow calculation of plasma parameters at any size of the probe and pressure of the working gas. While the theory of a probe in absence of collisions is developed rather in detail by Bernstain and Rabinovich, Laframboise, Allen, and others, there is no rigorous theory which describes a probe under high pressure of a gas. As for intermediate pressure, the theories are absent. Solution of the problem is in this case considerably complicated because of non-local dependence of density of charged particles on potential or electric field strength that means unusability of hydrodynamic approach and necessity of application of the kinetic theory. To fill in this gap the author has developed a numerical model of ion kinetics in a near-boundary layer of a Langmuir probe, inserted into a weakly-ionized gas-discharge plasma, in a range of intermediate pressure of a neutral gas as well as at any ratio between thickness of the layer of space charge and radius of the probe. On the base of results of modeling, practical technique of processing of pore characteristics at intermediate pressure is developed: (i) a technique of calculation of density of ions; (2) a technique of division of a probe current on electron and ion part

Elaboration of Stable and Antibody Functionalized Positively Charged Colloids by Polyelectrolyte Complexation between Chitosan and Hyaluronic Acid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramona C. Polexe

2013-07-01

Full Text Available In this study, we describe the elaboration of multifunctional positively charged polyelectrolyte complex (PEC nanoparticles, designed to be stable at physiological salt concentration and pH, for effective targeted delivery. These nanoparticles were obtained by charge neutralization between chitosan (CS as polycation and hyaluronic acid (HA as polyanion. We showed that the course of the complexation process and the physico-chemical properties of the resulting colloids were impacted by (i internal parameters such as the Degree of Acetylation (DA, i.e., the molar ration of acetyl glucosamine residues and molar mass of CS, the HA molar mass and (ii external parameters like the charge mixing ratio and the polymer concentrations. As a result, nonstoichiometric colloidal PECs were obtained in water or PBS (pH 7.4 and remained stable over one month. The polymer interactions were characterized by thermal analysis (DSC and TGA and the morphology was studied by scanning electron microscopy. A model antibody, anti-ovalbumine (OVA immunoglobulin A (IgA was sorbed on the particle surface in water and PBS quantitatively in 4 h. The CS-HA/IgA nanoparticles average size was between 425–665 nm with a positive zeta potential. These results pointed out that CS-HA can be effective carriers for use in targeted drug delivery.

Potential profile and photovoltaic effect in nanoscale lateral pn junction observed by Kelvin probe force microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nowak, Roland; Moraru, Daniel; Mizuno, Takeshi; Jablonski, Ryszard; Tabe, Michiharu

2014-01-01

Nanoscale pn junctions have been investigated by Kelvin probe force microscopy and several particular features were found. Within the depletion region, a localized noise area is observed, induced by temporal fluctuations of dopant states. Electronic potential landscape is significantly affected by dopants with ground-state energies deeper than in bulk. Finally, the effects of light illumination were studied and it was found that the depletion region shifts its position as a function of light intensity. This is ascribed to charge redistribution within the pn junction as a result of photovoltaic effect and due to the impact of deepened-level dopants. - Highlights: • In pn nano-junctions, temporal potential fluctuations are found in depletion layer. • Fluctuations are due to frequent capture and emission of free carriers by dopants. • Depletion layer position shifts as a function of the intensity of irradiated light. • The depletion layer shifts are due to changes of deep-level dopants' charge states

Aligned ion implantation using scanning probes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Persaud, A.

2006-01-01

A new technique for precision ion implantation has been developed. A scanning probe has been equipped with a small aperture and incorporated into an ion beamline, so that ions can be implanted through the aperture into a sample. By using a scanning probe the target can be imaged in a non-destructive way prior to implantation and the probe together with the aperture can be placed at the desired location with nanometer precision. In this work first results of a scanning probe integrated into an ion beamline are presented. A placement resolution of about 120 nm is reported. The final placement accuracy is determined by the size of the aperture hole and by the straggle of the implanted ion inside the target material. The limits of this technology are expected to be set by the latter, which is of the order of 10 nm for low energy ions. This research has been carried out in the context of a larger program concerned with the development of quantum computer test structures. For that the placement accuracy needs to be increased and a detector for single ion detection has to be integrated into the setup. Both issues are discussed in this thesis. To achieve single ion detection highly charged ions are used for the implantation, as in addition to their kinetic energy they also deposit their potential energy in the target material, therefore making detection easier. A special ion source for producing these highly charged ions was used and their creation and interactions with solids of are discussed in detail. (orig.)

Aligned ion implementation using scanning probes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Persaud, A

2006-12-12

A new technique for precision ion implantation has been developed. A scanning probe has been equipped with a small aperture and incorporated into an ion beamline, so that ions can be implanted through the aperture into a sample. By using a scanning probe the target can be imaged in a non-destructive way prior to implantation and the probe together with the aperture can be placed at the desired location with nanometer precision. In this work first results of a scanning probe integrated into an ion beamline are presented. A placement resolution of about 120 nm is reported. The final placement accuracy is determined by the size of the aperture hole and by the straggle of the implanted ion inside the target material. The limits of this technology are expected to be set by the latter, which is of the order of 10 nm for low energy ions. This research has been carried out in the context of a larger program concerned with the development of quantum computer test structures. For that the placement accuracy needs to be increased and a detector for single ion detection has to be integrated into the setup. Both issues are discussed in this thesis. To achieve single ion detection highly charged ions are used for the implantation, as in addition to their kinetic energy they also deposit their potential energy in the target material, therefore making detection easier. A special ion source for producing these highly charged ions was used and their creation and interactions with solids of are discussed in detail. (orig.)

The charge spectrum of positive ions in a hydrogen aurora

Science.gov (United States)

Lynch, J.; Pulliam, D.; Leach, R.; Scherb, F.

1976-01-01

An auroral ion charge spectrometer was flown into a hydrogen aurora on a Javelin sounding rocket launched from Churchill, Manitoba. The instrument contained an electrostatic analyzer which selected particles with incident energy per unit charge up to 20 keV/charge and an 80-kV power supply which accelerated these ions onto an array of solid state detectors. Ions tentatively identified as H(+), He(+2), and O(+) were detected from 225 to 820 km in altitude. The experiment did not discriminate between H(+) and He(+), or between O(+), N(+), and C(+). Upper limits of highly charged heavy ion abundances have been set at 20% of the He(+2) and 0.15% of the H(+). It is concluded that both terrestrial and solar wind sources play significant roles in auroral ion precipitation.

Device for positioning ultrasonic probes and/or television cameras on the outer surface of reactor pressure vessels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zipser, R.; Dose, G.F.

1977-01-01

The device makes possible periodical in-service inspections of welding seams and material of a reactor pressure vessel without local human presence. A 'support ring' encloses the pressure vessel in a horizontal plane with free space. It is vertically moved up and down in the space between pressure vessel and thermal shield by means of tackles. At a control desk placed in a protected area its movement is controlled and its vertical position is indicated. A 'rotating track' with its own drive is rotating remote-controlled on the 'support ring'. By a combination of the vertical with the rotating movement, an ultrasonic probe placed removably on the 'rotating hack', or a television camera will be brought to any position on the cylindrical circumference of the pressure vessel. Special devices extend the radius of action, in upward direction for inspecting the welding seams of the coolant nozzles, and in downward direction for the inspection of welds on the hemispherical bottom of the pressure vessel or on the outlet pipe nozzle placed there. The device remains installed during reactor operation, but is moved down to the lower horizontal surface of the thermal shield. Parts which are sensible to radiation like probes or television cameras and special devices will then be removed respectively mounted before beginning an inspection compaign. This position may be reached by the lower access in the biological shield and through an opening in the horizontal surface of the thermal shield. (HP) [de

Guided assembly of nanoparticles on electrostatically charged nanocrystalline diamond thin films

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Verveniotis Elisseos

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract We apply atomic force microscope for local electrostatic charging of oxygen-terminated nanocrystalline diamond (NCD thin films deposited on silicon, to induce electrostatically driven self-assembly of colloidal alumina nanoparticles into micro-patterns. Considering possible capacitive, sp2 phase and spatial uniformity factors to charging, we employ films with sub-100 nm thickness and about 60% relative sp2 phase content, probe the spatial material uniformity by Raman and electron microscopy, and repeat experiments at various positions. We demonstrate that electrostatic potential contrast on the NCD films varies between 0.1 and 1.2 V and that the contrast of more than ±1 V (as detected by Kelvin force microscopy is able to induce self-assembly of the nanoparticles via coulombic and polarization forces. This opens prospects for applications of diamond and its unique set of properties in self-assembly of nano-devices and nano-systems.

SFG and SPR Study of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Film Assembly on Positively Charged Surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Sanghun; Weidner, Tobias; Wagner, Matthew; Castner, David

2012-02-01

This study uses sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensing to investigate the structure of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) films formed on positively charged and hydrophilic surfaces. The SPR signals show a good surface coverage suggesting that full monolayer coverage is reached at 1 mM. SFG spectra of SDS adsorbed exhibits well resolved CH3 peaks and OH peaks. At both 0.2 mM and 1 mM SDS concentration the intensity of both the CH3 and OH peaks decreased close to background levels. We found that the loss of SFG signal at 0.2 mM occurs at this concentration independent of surface charge density. It is more likely that the loss of signal is related to structural inhomogeneity induced by a striped phase - stand-up phase transition. This is supported by a distinct change of the relative SFG phase between CH3/OH near 0.2 mM. The second intensity minimum might be related to charge compensation effects. We observed a substrate dependence for the high concentration transition. We also observed distinct SFG signal phase changes for water molecules associated with SDS layers at different SDS solution concentrations indicating that the orientation of bound water changed with SDS surface structure.

Summary of the working group on penetrating probes in collider experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ludlam, T.

1984-01-01

The penetrating probes are discussed for detection and measurement of signals which carry information directly from the interior of a quark-gluon plasma. These probes include muons, electron pairs, photons, and, at very high energies, jets. Research needed in the area of the detectors required for these measurements, specifically charged particle tracking detectors, is discussed

Studies on the Electrical Characteristics of a DC Glow Discharge by Using Langmuir Probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Safaai, S. S.; Yap, S. L.; Wong, C. S.; Muniandy, S. V.; Smith, P. W.

2010-01-01

Electrical characteristics of a DC glow discharge are studied with the aim of determining the suitable parameters for stable operation of the dusty plasma system. The presence of dust particles in plasma significantly alters the charged particle equilibrium in the plasma and leads to various phenomena. Argon plasma produced by DC glow discharge is investigated with a further goal of studying dusty plasma phenomena. The discharge system has two disc-shaped parallel plate electrodes. The electrodes are enclosed in a large cylindrical stainless steel chamber filled with argon gas. Two important physical parameters affecting the condition of the discharge are the gas pressure and the inter-electrode distance. A single Langmuir probe based on the Keithley source meter is used to determine the electron temperature of the positive column. A custom designed probe is employed to determine the potential distribution between the electrodes during the discharge. The I-V characteristic curve and the Langmuir probe measurement are then used to determine the electron energy distribution of the glow discharge plasma.

Charge Asymmetric Cosmic Rays as a probe of Flavor Violating Asymmetric Dark Matter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Masina, Isabella; Sannino, Francesco

2011-01-01

The recently introduced cosmic sum rules combine the data from PAMELA and Fermi-LAT cosmic ray experiments in a way that permits to neatly investigate whether the experimentally observed lepton excesses violate charge symmetry. One can in a simple way determine universal properties of the unknown...... component of the cosmic rays. Here we attribute a potential charge asymmetry to the dark sector. In particular we provide models of asymmetric dark matter able to produce charge asymmetric cosmic rays. We consider spin zero, spin one and spin one-half decaying dark matter candidates. We show that lepton...... flavor violation and asymmetric dark matter are both required to have a charge asymmetry in the cosmic ray lepton excesses. Therefore, an experimental evidence of charge asymmetry in the cosmic ray lepton excesses implies that dark matter is asymmetric....

Probing ultrafast carrier tunneling dynamics in individual quantum dots and molecules

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mueller, Kai; Bechtold, Alexander; Kaldewey, Timo; Zecherle, Markus; Wildmann, Johannes S.; Bichler, Max; Abstreiter, Gerhard; Finley, Jonathan J. [Walter Schottky Institut and Physik-Department, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Am Coulombwall 4, 85748, Garching (Germany); Ruppert, Claudia; Betz, Markus [Experimentelle Physik 2, TU Dortmund, 44221, Dortmund (Germany); Krenner, Hubert J. [Lehrstuhl fuer Experimentalphysik 1 and Augsburg Centre for Innovative Technologies (ACIT), Universitaet Augsburg, Universitaetsstr 1, 86159, Augsburg (Germany); Villas-Boas, Jose M. [Instituto de Fisica, Universidade Federal de Uberlandia, 38400-902, Uberlandia, MG (Brazil)

2013-02-15

Ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy is employed to directly monitor the tunneling of charge carriers from single and vertically coupled quantum dots and probe intra-molecular dynamics. Immediately after resonant optical excitation, several peaks are observed in the pump-probe spectrum arising from Coulomb interactions between the photogenerated charge carriers. The influence of few-Fermion interactions in the photoexcited system and the temporal evolution of the optical response is directly probed in the time domain. In addition, the tunneling times for electrons and holes from the QD nanostructure are independently determined. In polarization resolved measurements, near perfect Pauli-spin blockade is observed in the spin-selective absorption spectrum as well as stimulated emission. While electron and hole tunneling from single quantum dots is shown to be well explained by the WKB formalism, for coupled quantum dots pronounced resonances in the electron tunneling rate are observed arising from elastic and inelastic electron tunneling between the different dots. (copyright 2012 by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

An Adaptive Langmuir Probe for CubeSats and Explorers

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — We propose to build an Adaptive Langmuir Probe (ALP) for CubeSats designed to mitigate spacecraft charging unique to small platforms. This project builds a new...

Label-Free Potentiometry for Detecting DNA Hybridization Using Peptide Nucleic Acid and DNA Probes

Science.gov (United States)

Goda, Tatsuro; Singi, Ankit Balram; Maeda, Yasuhiro; Matsumoto, Akira; Torimura, Masaki; Aoki, Hiroshi; Miyahara, Yuji

2013-01-01

Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) has outstanding affinity over DNA for complementary nucleic acid sequences by forming a PNA-DNA heterodimer upon hybridization via Watson-Crick base-pairing. To verify whether PNA probes on an electrode surface enhance sensitivity for potentiometric DNA detection or not, we conducted a comparative study on the hybridization of PNA and DNA probes on the surface of a 10-channel gold electrodes microarray. Changes in the charge density as a result of hybridization at the solution/electrode interface on the self-assembled monolayer (SAM)-formed microelectrodes were directly transformed into potentiometric signals using a high input impedance electrometer. The charge readout allows label-free, reagent-less, and multi-parallel detection of target oligonucleotides without any optical assistance. The differences in the probe lengths between 15- to 22-mer dramatically influenced on the sensitivity of the PNA and DNA sensors. Molecular type of the capturing probe did not affect the degree of potential shift. Theoretical model for charged rod-like duplex using the Gouy-Chapman equation indicates the dominant effect of electrostatic attractive forces between anionic DNA and underlying electrode at the electrolyte/electrode interface in the potentiometry. PMID:23435052

Label-Free Potentiometry for Detecting DNA Hybridization Using Peptide Nucleic Acid and DNA Probes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuji Miyahara

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Peptide nucleic acid (PNA has outstanding affinity over DNA for complementary nucleic acid sequences by forming a PNA-DNA heterodimer upon hybridization via Watson-Crick base-pairing. To verify whether PNA probes on an electrode surface enhance sensitivity for potentiometric DNA detection or not, we conducted a comparative study on the hybridization of PNA and DNA probes on the surface of a 10-channel gold electrodes microarray. Changes in the charge density as a result of hybridization at the solution/electrode interface on the self-assembled monolayer (SAM-formed microelectrodes were directly transformed into potentiometric signals using a high input impedance electrometer. The charge readout allows label-free, reagent-less, and multi-parallel detection of target oligonucleotides without any optical assistance. The differences in the probe lengths between 15- to 22-mer dramatically influenced on the sensitivity of the PNA and DNA sensors. Molecular type of the capturing probe did not affect the degree of potential shift. Theoretical model for charged rod-like duplex using the Gouy-Chapman equation indicates the dominant effect of electrostatic attractive forces between anionic DNA and underlying electrode at the electrolyte/electrode interface in the potentiometry.

Magnetically filtered Faraday probe for measuring the ion current density profile of a Hall thruster

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rovey, Joshua L.; Walker, Mitchell L.R.; Gallimore, Alec D.; Peterson, Peter Y.

2006-01-01

The ability of a magnetically filtered Faraday probe (MFFP) to obtain the ion current density profile of a Hall thruster is investigated. The MFFP is designed to eliminate the collection of low-energy, charge-exchange (CEX) ions by using a variable magnetic field as an ion filter. In this study, a MFFP, Faraday probe with a reduced acceptance angle (BFP), and nude Faraday probe are used to measure the ion current density profile of a 5 kW Hall thruster operating over the range of 300-500 V and 5-10 mg/s. The probes are evaluated on a xenon propellant Hall thruster in the University of Michigan Large Vacuum Test Facility at operating pressures within the range of 4.4x10 -4 Pa Xe (3.3x10 -6 Torr Xe) to 1.1x10 -3 Pa Xe (8.4x10 -6 Torr Xe) in order to study the ability of the Faraday probe designs to filter out CEX ions. Detailed examination of the results shows that the nude probe measures a greater ion current density profile than both the MFFP and BFP over the range of angular positions investigated for each operating condition. The differences between the current density profiles obtained by each probe are attributed to the ion filtering systems employed. Analysis of the results shows that the MFFP, operating at a +5 A solenoid current, provides the best agreement with flight-test data and across operating pressures

Development of the temperature measurement device for the positive ion insensitive to the probe contamination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minami, Shigeyuki; Tsutsumi, Shiro; Takeya, Yoshio

1978-01-01

The contamination effect to the d.c. probe in the plasma diagnostics is quite serious in the low density plasma. It causes the distortion or hysterisis curves on the probe characteristics. In order to escape it, for the Langmuir probe measurements, methods of high speed sweeping of probe voltage and using the cleaned probe are reported. In this paper, we dealed with the results of experimental examinations of the possibilities and the limitation of the application of above sweeping to the ion temperature measurement. The essential difficulties of the ion parameter measurements to the d.c. probe of the electrons that very small signal currents and the strong capacitance of the electrodes makes the large time constant, is solved by the use of the neutralization circuits. By this neutralization, high speed voltage sweeping can be possible, and high time resolution of the parameters can be obtained. Using this merits, when the probe is boarded on the space craft, this high space resolution of this probe has additive merits about the possibilities of the aspect measurements of plasma flow and the probe. It is concluded that the high scan rate ion trap is useful of the space craft to the erronious probing by the use of uncleaned probe. (author)

Charge dividing mechanism on resistive electrode in position-sensitive detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radeka, V.; Rehak, P.

1978-10-01

A complete charge-division mechanism, including both the diffusion and the electromagnetic wave propagation on resistive electrodes, is presented. The charge injected into such a transmission line divides between the two ends according to the ratio of resistancies and independently of the value of the line resistance, of the propagation mechanism and of the distribution of inductance and capacitance along the line. The shortest charge division time is achieved for Rl = 2π (L/C) 1 / 2 , where R, L, C are resistance, inductance and capacitance per unit length and l is the length of the line

Lithium position and occupancy fluctuations in a cathode during charge/discharge cycling of lithium-ion battery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, N.; Yu, D.; Zhu, Y.; Wu, Y.; Peterson, V. K.

2012-01-01

Lithium-ion batteries are undergoing rapid development to meet the energy demands of the transportation and renewable energy-generation sectors. The capacity of a lithium-ion battery is dependent on the amount of lithium that can be reversibly incorporated into the cathode. Neutron diffraction provides greater sensitivity towards lithium relative to other diffraction techniques. In conjunction with the penetration depth afforded by neutron diffraction, the information concerning lithium gained in a neutron diffraction study allows commercial lithium-ion batteries to be explored with respect to the lithium content in the whole cathode. Furthermore, neutron diffraction instruments featuring area detectors that allow relatively fast acquisitions enable perturbations of lithium location and occupancy in the cathode during charge/discharge cycling to be determined in real time. Here, we present the time, current, and temperature dependent lithium transfer occurring within a cathode functioning under conventional charge-discharge cycling. The lithium location and content, oxygen positional parameter, and lattice parameter of the Li 1+y Mn 2 0 4 cathode are measured and linked to the battery's charge/discharge characteristics (performance). We determine that the lithium-transfer mechanism involves two crystallographic sites, and that the mechanism differs between discharge and charge, explaining the relative ease of discharging (compared with charging) this material. Furthermore, we find that the rate of change of the lattice is faster on charging than discharging, and is dependent on the lithium insertion/ extraction processes (e.g. dependent on how the site occupancies evolve). Using in situ neutron diffraction data the atomic-scale understanding of cathode functionality is revealed, representing detailed information that can be used to direct improvements in battery performance at both the practical and fundamental level.

Time-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques for the study of interfacial charge dynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neppl, Stefan, E-mail: sneppl@lbl.gov; Gessner, Oliver

2015-04-15

Highlights: • Ultrafast interfacial charge transfer is probed with atomic site specificity. • Femtosecond X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy using a free electron laser. • Efficient and flexible picosecond X-ray photoelectron pump–probe scheme using synchrotron radiation. - Abstract: X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is one of the most powerful techniques to quantitatively analyze the chemical composition and electronic structure of surfaces and interfaces in a non-destructive fashion. Extending this technique into the time domain has the exciting potential to shed new light on electronic and chemical dynamics at surfaces by revealing transient charge configurations with element- and site-specificity. Here, we describe prospects and challenges that are associated with the implementation of picosecond and femtosecond time-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy at third-generation synchrotrons and X-ray free-electron lasers, respectively. In particular, we discuss a series of laser-pump/X-ray-probe photoemission experiments performed on semiconductor surfaces, molecule-semiconductor interfaces, and films of semiconductor nanoparticles that demonstrate the high sensitivity of time-resolved XPS to light-induced charge carrier generation, diffusion and recombination within the space charge layers of these materials. Employing the showcase example of photo-induced electronic dynamics in a dye-sensitized semiconductor system, we highlight the unique possibility to probe heterogeneous charge transfer dynamics from both sides of an interface, i.e., from the perspective of the molecular electron donor and the semiconductor acceptor, simultaneously. Such capabilities will be crucial to improve our microscopic understanding of interfacial charge redistribution and associated chemical dynamics, which are at the heart of emerging energy conversion, solar fuel generation, and energy storage technologies.

Electron-beam-charged dielectrics: Internal charge distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Beers, B. L.; Pine, V. W.

1981-01-01

Theoretical calculations of an electron transport model of the charging of dielectrics due to electron bombardment are compared to measurements of internal charge distributions. The emphasis is on the distribution of Teflon. The position of the charge centroid as a function of time is not monotonic. It first moves deeper into the material and then moves back near to the surface. In most time regimes of interest, the charge distribution is not unimodal, but instead has two peaks. The location of the centroid near saturation is a function of the incident current density. While the qualitative comparison of theory and experiment are reasonable, quantitative comparison shows discrepancies of as much as a factor of two.

Comparison of two threshold detection criteria methodologies for determination of probe positivity for intraoperative in situ identification of presumed abnormal 18F-FDG-avid tissue sites during radioguided oncologic surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Chapman, Gregg J; Povoski, Stephen P; Hall, Nathan C; Murrey, Douglas A; Lee, Robert; Martin, Edward W

2014-09-13

Intraoperative in situ identification of (18)F-FDG-avid tissue sites during radioguided oncologic surgery remains a significant challenge for surgeons. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the 1.5-to-1 ratiometric threshold criteria method versus the three-sigma statistical threshold criteria method for determination of gamma detection probe positivity for intraoperative in situ identification of presumed abnormal (18)F-FDG-avid tissue sites in a manner that was independent of the specific type of gamma detection probe used. From among 52 patients undergoing appropriate in situ evaluation of presumed abnormal (18)F-FDG-avid tissue sites during (18)F-FDG-directed surgery using 6 available gamma detection probe systems, a total of 401 intraoperative gamma detection probe measurement sets of in situ counts per second measurements were cumulatively taken. For the 401 intraoperative gamma detection probe measurement sets, probe positivity was successfully met by the 1.5-to-1 ratiometric threshold criteria method in 150/401 instances (37.4%) and by the three-sigma statistical threshold criteria method in 259/401 instances (64.6%) (P < 0.001). Likewise, the three-sigma statistical threshold criteria method detected true positive results at target-to-background ratios much lower than the 1.5-to-1 target-to-background ratio of the 1.5-to-1 ratiometric threshold criteria method. The three-sigma statistical threshold criteria method was significantly better than the 1.5-to-1 ratiometric threshold criteria method for determination of gamma detection probe positivity for intraoperative in situ detection of presumed abnormal (18)F-FDG-avid tissue sites during radioguided oncologic surgery. This finding may be extremely important for reshaping the ongoing and future research and development of gamma detection probe systems that are necessary for optimizing the in situ detection of radioisotopes of higher-energy gamma photon emissions used during radioguided oncologic surgery.

Surface charging, discharging and chemical modification at a sliding contact

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Singh, Shailendra Vikram; Kusano, Yukihiro; Morgen, Per

2012-01-01

Electrostatic charging, discharging, and consequent surface modification induced by sliding dissimilar surfaces have been studied. The surface-charge related phenomena were monitored by using a home-built capacitive, non-contact electrical probe, and the surface chemistry was studied by X...... are also able to comment on the behavior and the charge decay time in the ambient air-like condition, once the sliding contact is discontinued. XPS analysis showed a marginal deoxidation effect on the polyester disks due to the charging and discharging of the surfaces. Moreover, these XPS results clearly...

Toward quantitative prediction of charge mobility in organic semiconductors: tunneling enabled hopping model.

Science.gov (United States)

Geng, Hua; Peng, Qian; Wang, Linjun; Li, Haijiao; Liao, Yi; Ma, Zhiying; Shuai, Zhigang

2012-07-10

A tunneling-enabled hopping mechanism is proposed, providing a pratical tool to quantitatively assess charge mobility in organic semiconductors. The paradoxical phenomena in TIPS-pentacene is well explained in that the optical probe indicates localized charges while transport measurements show bands of charge. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Hardware and software systems for the determination of charged particle parameters in low pressure plasmas using impedance-tuned Langmuir probes

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Yuancai; Marcus, R. Kenneth

1997-12-01

A computer-controlled, impedance-tuned Langmuir probe data acquisition system and processing software package have been designed for the diagnostic study of low pressure plasmas. The combination of impedance-tuning and a wide range of applied potentials (± 100 V) provides a versatile system, applicable to a variety of analytical plasmas without significant modification. The automated probe system can be used to produce complete and undistorted current-voltage (i-V) curves with extremely low noise over the wide potential range. Based on these hardware and software systems, it is possible to determine all of the important charged particle parameters in a plasma; electron number density ( ne), ion number density ( ni), electron temperature ( Te), electron energy distribution function (EEDF), and average electron energy (). The complete data acquisition system and evaluation software are described in detail. A LabView (National Instruments Corporation, Austin, TX) application program has been developed for the Apple Macintosh line of microcomputers to control all of the operational aspects of the Langmuir probe experiments. The description here is mainly focused on the design aspects of the acquisition system with the targets of extremely low noise and reduction of the influence of measurement noise in the calculation procedures. This is particularly important in the case of electron energy distribution functions where multiple derivatives are calculated from the obtained i-V curves. A separate C-language data processing program has been developed and is included here to allow the reader to evaluate data obtained with the described hardware, or any i-V data imported in tab separated variable format. Both of the software systems are included on a Macintosh formatted disk for their use in other laboratories desiring these capabilities.

Humic acid adsorption onto cationic cellulose nanofibers for bioinspired removal of copper( ii ) and a positively charged dye

KAUST Repository

Sehaqui, H.

2015-01-01

© The Royal Society of Chemistry. Waste pulp residues are herein exploited for the synthesis of a sorbent for humic acid (HA), which is a major water pollutant. Cellulose pulp was etherified with a quaternary ammonium salt in water thereby introducing positive charges onto the surface of the pulp fibers, and subsequently mechanically disintegrated into high surface area cellulose nanofibers (CNF). CNF with three different charge contents were produced and their adsorption capacity towards HA was investigated with UV-spectrophotometry, quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation, and ζ-potential measurements. Substantial coverage of the CNF surface with HA in a wide pH range led to a reversal of the positive ζ-potentials of CNF suspensions. The HA adsorption capacity and the kinetics of HA uptake were found to be promoted by both acidic pH conditions and the surface charge content of CNF. It is suggested that HA adsorption onto CNF depends on electrostatic interactions between the two components, as well as on the conformation of HA. At pH ∼ 6, up to 310 mg g^-1 of HA were adsorbed by the functionalized CNF, a substantially higher capacity than that of previously reported HA sorbents in the literature. It is further shown that CNF-HA complexes could be freeze-dried into "soil-mimicking" porous foams having good capacity to capture Cu(ii) ions and positive dyes from contaminated water. Thus, the most abundant natural polymer, i.e., cellulose could effectively bind the most abundant natural organic matter for environmental remediation purpose.

Experimental validation of calculated atomic charges in ionic liquids

Science.gov (United States)

Fogarty, Richard M.; Matthews, Richard P.; Ashworth, Claire R.; Brandt-Talbot, Agnieszka; Palgrave, Robert G.; Bourne, Richard A.; Vander Hoogerstraete, Tom; Hunt, Patricia A.; Lovelock, Kevin R. J.

2018-05-01

A combination of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy has been used to provide an experimental measure of nitrogen atomic charges in nine ionic liquids (ILs). These experimental results are used to validate charges calculated with three computational methods: charges from electrostatic potentials using a grid-based method (ChelpG), natural bond orbital population analysis, and the atoms in molecules approach. By combining these results with those from a previous study on sulfur, we find that ChelpG charges provide the best description of the charge distribution in ILs. However, we find that ChelpG charges can lead to significant conformational dependence and therefore advise that small differences in ChelpG charges (<0.3 e) should be interpreted with care. We use these validated charges to provide physical insight into nitrogen atomic charges for the ILs probed.

Characterization of four different bipolar charging devices for nanoparticle charge conditioning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kallinger, Peter; Steiner, Gerhard; Szymanski, Wladyslaw W.

2012-01-01

Well-defined charge conditioning of nanoparticles is a prerequisite for a number of particle measuring techniques. We investigated two different soft X-ray devices (custom-built and TSI advanced aerosol neutralizer) an AC-corona discharge device (MSP electrical ionizer) and a radioactivity based Am-241 charger as a reference. Electrical mobility size distributions of positive and negative ions created in all devices were determined and their applicability for particle charging examined. The mobility spectra of the positive ions were found to be quite comparable for all chargers with a mean mobility of 1.50–1.60 cm 2 V −1 s −1 , whereas the spectra of the negative ions show differences in morphology leading to a broader range of mean mobilities (1.68–2.09 cm 2 V −1 s −1 ). However, results confirm that under the selected experimental conditions the charge equilibrium related to bipolar diffusion charging process was obtained in all charging devices.

Unbinding Transition of Probes in Single-File Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Bénichou, Olivier; Démery, Vincent; Poncet, Alexis

2018-02-01

Single-file transport, arising in quasi-one-dimensional geometries where particles cannot pass each other, is characterized by the anomalous dynamics of a probe, notably its response to an external force. In these systems, the motion of several probes submitted to different external forces, although relevant to mixtures of charged and neutral or active and passive objects, remains unexplored. Here, we determine how several probes respond to external forces. We rely on a hydrodynamic description of the symmetric exclusion process to obtain exact analytical results at long times. We show that the probes can either move as a whole, or separate into two groups moving away from each other. In between the two regimes, they separate with a different dynamical exponent, as t1 /4. This unbinding transition also occurs in several continuous single-file systems and is expected to be observable.

International Conference on Spin Observables of Nuclear Probes

CERN Document Server

Goodman, Charles; Walker, George; Spin Observables of Nuclear Probes

1988-01-01

The proceedings of the "International Conference on Spin Observables of Nuclear Probes" are presented in this volume. This conference was held in Telluride, Colorado, March 14 -17, 1988, and was the fourth in the Telluride series of nuclear physics conferences. A continuing theme in the Telluride conference series has been the complementarity of various intermediate-energy projectiles for elucidating the nucleon-nucleon interaction and nuclear structure. Earlier conferences have contributed significantly to an understanding of spin currents in nuclei, in particular the distribution of Gamow-Teller strength using charge-exchange reactions. The previous conference on "Antinucleon and Nucleon Nucleus Interactions" compared nuclear information from tra­ tional probes to recent results from antinucleon reactions. The 1988 conference on Spin Observables of Nuclear Probes, put special emphasis on spin observables and brought together experts using spin information to probe nuclear structure. Spin observabl...

Research on Urban Road Traffic Congestion Charging Based on Sustainable Development

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Sun

Traffic congestion is a major problem which bothers our urban traffic sustainable development at present. Congestion charging is an effective measure to alleviate urban traffic congestion. The paper first probes into several key issues such as the goal, the pricing, the scope, the method and the redistribution of congestion charging from theoretical angle. Then it introduces congestion charging practice in Singapore and London and draws conclusion and suggestion that traffic congestion charging should take scientific plan, support of public, public transportation development as the premise.

Selective Coherent Excitation of Charged Density Waves

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tsvetkov, A.A.; Sagar, D.M.; Loosdrecht, P.H.M. van; Marel, D. van der

2003-01-01

Real time femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy is used to study collective and single particle excitations in the charge density wave state of the quasi-1D metal, blue bronze. Along with the previously observed collective amplitudon excitation, the spectra show several additional coherent features.

A fast scanning probe for DIII--D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watkins, J.G.; Salmonson, J.; Moyer, R.; Doerner, R.; Lehmer, R.; Schmitz, L.; Hill, D.N.

1992-01-01

A fast reciprocating probe has been developed for DIII--D which can penetrate the separatrix during H mode with up to 5 MW of NBI heating. The probe has been designed to carry various sensor tips into the scrape-off layer at a velocity of 3 m/s and dwell motionless for a programmed period of time. The driving force is provided by a pneumatic cylinder charged with helium to facilitate greater mass flow. The first series of experiments have been done using a Langmuir probe head with five graphite tips to measure radial profiles of n e , T e , φ f , n e , and φ f . The amplitude and phase of the fluctuating quantities are measured by using specially constructed vacuum compatible 5-kV coaxial transmission lines which allow us to extend the measurements into the MHz range. TTZ ceramic bearings and fast stroke bellows were also specially designed for the DIII--D probe. Initial measurements will be presented

Direct observation of ultrafast long-range charge separation at polymer–fullerene heterojunctions

KAUST Repository

Provencher, Franç oise; Bé rubé , Nicolas; Parker, Anthony W.; Greetham, Gregory M.; Towrie, Michael; Hellmann, Christoph; Cô té , Michel; Stingelin, Natalie; Silva, Carlos; Hayes, Sophia C.

2014-01-01

In polymeric semiconductors, charge carriers are polarons, which means that the excess charge deforms the molecular structure of the polymer chain that hosts it. This results in distinctive signatures in the vibrational modes of the polymer. Here, we probe polaron photogeneration dynamics at polymer:fullerene heterojunctions by monitoring its time-resolved resonance-Raman spectrum following ultrafast photoexcitation. We conclude that polarons emerge within 300 fs. Surprisingly, further structural evolution on ≤50-ps timescales is modest, indicating that the polymer conformation hosting nascent polarons is not significantly different from that near equilibrium. We interpret this as suggestive that charges are free from their mutual Coulomb potential because we would expect rich vibrational dynamics associated with charge-pair relaxation. We address current debates on the photocarrier generation mechanism at molecular heterojunctions, and our work is, to our knowledge, the first direct probe of molecular conformation dynamics during this fundamentally important process in these materials. © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

Direct observation of ultrafast long-range charge separation at polymer–fullerene heterojunctions

KAUST Repository

Provencher, Françoise

2014-07-01

In polymeric semiconductors, charge carriers are polarons, which means that the excess charge deforms the molecular structure of the polymer chain that hosts it. This results in distinctive signatures in the vibrational modes of the polymer. Here, we probe polaron photogeneration dynamics at polymer:fullerene heterojunctions by monitoring its time-resolved resonance-Raman spectrum following ultrafast photoexcitation. We conclude that polarons emerge within 300 fs. Surprisingly, further structural evolution on ≤50-ps timescales is modest, indicating that the polymer conformation hosting nascent polarons is not significantly different from that near equilibrium. We interpret this as suggestive that charges are free from their mutual Coulomb potential because we would expect rich vibrational dynamics associated with charge-pair relaxation. We address current debates on the photocarrier generation mechanism at molecular heterojunctions, and our work is, to our knowledge, the first direct probe of molecular conformation dynamics during this fundamentally important process in these materials. © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

Study of correlations of positive and negative charged particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, Y.; Chan, C.H.; Dong, B.L.; Duthie, J.G.; Gregory, J.C.; Hayashi, T.; Yokomi, H.; Christl, M.J.; Derrickson, J.H.; Eby, P.B.; Fountain, W.F.; Parnell, T.A.; Roberts, F.E.; Nagamiya, S.; Dake, S.; Tominaga, T.; Fuki, M.; Iyono, A.; Ogata, T.; Miyamura, O.

1991-01-01

Particle correlations of the central collision events of 32 S + Pb at 200 GeV/AMU have been studied by utilizing a Magnetic-Interferomagnetic-Emulsion-Chamber (MAGIC) detector. Particle angles, momentum, and charge-signs are measured for all produced charged tracks for each event. Two-particle correlation functions, C 2 = dN (vertical strokep 1 - p 2 vertical stroke = q)/dp 1 dp 2 , for (++), (--) and (+-) particles are examined. A source radius around 4 - 6 fm is observed for overall identical particle correlations, while unexpected short-range correlations of unlike-sign pairs are observed in the high rapidity region. An analysis of unlike-sign pairs in terms of resonance decays indicated that a large amount (40% relative to pions) of η or ω mesons (decaying into 3 π), or of scalar iso-scalar σ mesons (decaying into 2 π) would be required to explain some of the data. Multi-particle charge-sign clusters are recognized; however, their 'run-test' and 'conjugate-test' show small deviations from statistical fluctuations. (orig.)

Pump laser-induced space-charge effects in HHG-driven time- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oloff, L.-P., E-mail: oloff@physik.uni-kiel.de; Hanff, K.; Stange, A.; Rohde, G.; Diekmann, F.; Bauer, M.; Rossnagel, K., E-mail: rossnagel@physik.uni-kiel.de [Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, D-24098 Kiel (Germany)

2016-06-14

With the advent of ultrashort-pulsed extreme ultraviolet sources, such as free-electron lasers or high-harmonic-generation (HHG) sources, a new research field for photoelectron spectroscopy has opened up in terms of femtosecond time-resolved pump-probe experiments. The impact of the high peak brilliance of these novel sources on photoemission spectra, so-called vacuum space-charge effects caused by the Coulomb interaction among the photoemitted probe electrons, has been studied extensively. However, possible distortions of the energy and momentum distributions of the probe photoelectrons caused by the low photon energy pump pulse due to the nonlinear emission of electrons have not been studied in detail yet. Here, we systematically investigate these pump laser-induced space-charge effects in a HHG-based experiment for the test case of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite. Specifically, we determine how the key parameters of the pump pulse—the excitation density, wavelength, spot size, and emitted electron energy distribution—affect the measured time-dependent energy and momentum distributions of the probe photoelectrons. The results are well reproduced by a simple mean-field model, which could open a path for the correction of pump laser-induced space-charge effects and thus toward probing ultrafast electron dynamics in strongly excited materials.

Colorimetric method for determination of bisphenol A based on aptamer-mediated aggregation of positively charged gold nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Jingyue; Li, Ying; Bie, Jiaxin; Guo, Jiajia; Luo, Yeli; Shen, Fei; Sun, Chunyan; Jiang, Wei

2015-01-01

A sensitive, specific and rapid colorimetric aptasensor for the determination of the plasticizer bisphenol A (BPA) was developed. It is based on the use of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) that are positively charged due to the modification with cysteamine which is cationic at near-neutral pH values. If aptamers are added to such AuNPs, aggregation occurs due to electrostatic interactions between the negatively-charged aptamers and the positively-charged AuNPs. This results in a color change of the AuNPs from red to blue. If a sample containing BPA is added to the anti-BPA aptamers, the anti-BPA aptamers undergo folding via an induced-fit binding mechanism. This is accompanied by a conformational change, which prevents the aptamer-induced aggregation and color change of AuNPs. The effect was exploited to design a colorimetric assay for BPA. Under optimum conditions, the absorbance ratio of A 527 /A 680 is linearly proportional to the BPA concentration in the range from 35 to 140 ng∙mL −1 , with a detection limit of 0.11 ng∙mL −1 . The method has been successfully applied to the determination of BPA in spiked tap water and gave recoveries between 91 and 106 %. Data were in full accordance with results obtained from HPLC. This assay is selective, easily performed, and in our perception represents a promising alternative to existing methods for rapid quantification of BPA. (author)

Self-force as probe of internal structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Isoyama, Soichiro; Poisson, Eric

2012-01-01

The self-force acting on a (scalar or electric) charge held in place outside a massive body contains information about the body's composition, and can therefore be used as a probe of internal structure. We explore this theme by computing the (scalar or electromagnetic) self-force when the body is a spherical ball of perfect fluid in hydrostatic equilibrium, under the assumption that its rest-mass density and pressure are related by a polytropic equation of state. The body is strongly self-gravitating, and all computations are performed in exact general relativity. The dependence on internal structure is best revealed by expanding the self-force in powers of r -1 0 , with r 0 denoting the radial position of the charge outside the body. To the leading order, the self-force scales as r -3 0 and depends only on the square of the charge and the body's mass; the leading self-force is universal. The dependence on internal structure is seen at the next order, r -5 0 , through a structure factor that depends on the equation of state. We compute this structure factor for relativistic polytropes, and show that for a fixed mass, it increases linearly with the body's radius in the case of the scalar self-force, and quadratically with the body's radius in the case of the electromagnetic self-force. In both cases we find that for a fixed mass and radius, the self-force is smaller if the body is more centrally dense, and larger if the mass density is more uniformly distributed. (paper)

Development and use of thin film composite based positively charged nanofiltration membranes in separation of aqueous streams and nuclear effluents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dey, T.K.; Bindal, R.C.; Prabhakar, S.; Tewari, P.K.

2010-01-01

A new, positively charged, thin film composite (TFC) type nanofiltration membrane has been developed and studied for its use in various aqueous stream separations. The membrane, containing fixed quaternary ammonium moieties, was developed by insitu interfacial polymerization of a functionalized amine (polyethyleneimine) and terephthaloyl chloride on a suitable base membrane. The nature of the charge on the membrane was established by ATR FT IR spectroscopy and was estimated by determination of its ion exchange capacity. The membrane was tested for its performance in single solute feed systems containing salts of various combinations of univalent and bivalent ions (NaCl, Na 2 SO 4 , CaCl 2 and MgSO 4 ) in test cell as well as in 2512 spiral modules. The membrane gave differential separation profile for these solutes with high rejection for CaCl 2 and low rejection for Na 2 SO 4 due to positive charge on the membrane and the type of charge constituting the salts. The membrane was also used for separation of simulated effluent solution containing uranyl nitrate in combination with ammonium nitrate which is a common effluent generated in nuclear industry. Here also the membrane gave differential separation profile for uranyl nitrate and ammonium nitrate in their mixture by concentrating the former salt and passing the later. This helped separation of these two solutes in the mixture into two different streams. (author)

Study of charge-carrier relaxation in a disordered organic semiconductor by simulating impedance spectroscopy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mesta, M.; Cottaar, J.; Coehoorn, R.; Bobbert, P.A.

2014-01-01

Impedance spectroscopy is a very sensitive probe of nonstationary charge transport governed by charge-carrier relaxation in devices of disordered organic semiconductors. We simulate impedance spectroscopy measurements of hole-only devices of a polyfluorene-based disordered organic semiconductor by

Charge and pairing dynamics in the attractive Hubbard model: Mode coupling and the validity of linear-response theory

Science.gov (United States)

Bünemann, Jörg; Seibold, Götz

2017-12-01

Pump-probe experiments have turned out as a powerful tool in order to study the dynamics of competing orders in a large variety of materials. The corresponding analysis of the data often relies on standard linear-response theory generalized to nonequilibrium situations. Here we examine the validity of such an approach for the charge and pairing response of systems with charge-density wave and (or) superconducting (SC) order. Our investigations are based on the attractive Hubbard model which we study within the time-dependent Hartree-Fock approximation. In particular, we calculate the quench and pump-probe dynamics for SC and charge order parameters in order to analyze the frequency spectra and the coupling of the probe field to the specific excitations. Our calculations reveal that the "linear-response assumption" is justified for small to moderate nonequilibrium situations (i.e., pump pulses) in the case of a purely charge-ordered ground state. However, the pump-probe dynamics on top of a superconducting ground state is determined by phase and amplitude modes which get coupled far from the equilibrium state indicating the failure of the linear-response assumption.

Effect of scanning in the supine and prone positions on dilation of air-charged colon in CTVC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ye Jing; Chen Junkun; Zhang Zongjun; Wang Junpeng; Gao Dazhi

2003-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the effect of scanning in the supine and prone positions on dilation of air-charged colon in CT virtual colonoscopy (CTVC). Methods: Thirty cases underwent CTVC scanning in both the supine and prone positions immediately before colonoscopy, and the dilation of each intestine was graded. The differences of colon dilation in different positions were compared. Results: In supine and prone position, there were 26 (17.3%) and 22 (14.7%) insufficient dilating colon segments, respectively, and only 5 (3.3%) insufficient dilating colon segments in double positions. 15(50.0%) and 13(43.3%) colons dilated insufficiently in supine and prone position, respectively, and decreased to 5 (16.7%) in double positions. The dilation of rectum, sigmoid colon, and transverse colon had significant difference in different positions. Conclusion: When performing CTVC, it is highly necessary to scan in both the supine and prone positions in order to ensure the sufficient dilation of colon. In supine position, the dilation of transverse colon is better, while the dilation of rectum and sigmoid colon in prone position is superior to that in supine position

Design study of beam position monitors for measuring second-order moments of charged particle beams

Science.gov (United States)

Yanagida, Kenichi; Suzuki, Shinsuke; Hanaki, Hirofumi

2012-01-01

This paper presents a theoretical investigation on the multipole moments of charged particle beams in two-dimensional polar coordinates. The theoretical description of multipole moments is based on a single-particle system that is expanded to a multiparticle system by superposition, i.e., summing over all single-particle results. This paper also presents an analysis and design method for a beam position monitor (BPM) that detects higher-order (multipole) moments of a charged particle beam. To calculate the electric fields, a numerical analysis based on the finite difference method was created and carried out. Validity of the numerical analysis was proven by comparing the numerical with the analytical results for a BPM with circular cross section. Six-electrode BPMs with circular and elliptical cross sections were designed for the SPring-8 linac. The results of the numerical calculations show that the second-order moment can be detected for beam sizes ≧420μm (circular) and ≧550μm (elliptical).

Balance functions: Multiplicity and transverse momentum dependence of the charge dependent correlations in ALICE

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(CDS)2078856; Snellings, Raimond; Christakoglou, Panos

The measurement of charge-dependent correlations between positively and negatively charged particles as a function of pseudorapidity and azimuthal angle, known as the balance functions, provide insight to the properties of matter created in high-energy collisions. The balance functions are argued to probe the creation time of the particles and are also sensitive to the collective motion of the system. In this thesis, I present the results of the measured balance functions in p--Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02~TeV obtained with the ALICE detector at the LHC. The results are compared with balance functions measured in pp and Pb--Pb collisions at √s=7~TeV and √sNN = 2.76~TeV$, respectively. The width of the balance functions in both pseudorapidity and azimuthal angle for non-identified charged particles decreases with increasing multiplicity in all three systems, for particles with low transverse momentum value pT < 2~GeV/c. For higher values of transverse momentum the balance functions become narrower and...

Global quantity for dyons with various charge distributions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koh, I.G.; Kim, Y.

1980-06-01

The spatial volume integral of Tr *F F characterizes the dyons globally. This integral is investigated for the dyons with various electric and magnetic charge distributions, which can be probed by the scattering of the test particle in these dyon fields. (author)

Analysis of charge-dependent azimuthal correlations with HADES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kornas, Frederic [TU Darmstadt (Germany); Selyuzhenkov, Ilya [GSI (Germany); Galatyuk, Tetyana [TU Darmstadt (Germany); GSI (Germany); Collaboration: HADES-Collaboration

2016-07-01

Charge-dependent azimuthal correlations relative to the reaction plane have been proposed as a probe in the search for the chiral magnetic effect in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. These type of correlations have been measured at the RHIC BES by STAR and at the LHC by ALICE. This contribution discusses two charged particle correlations with respect to the reaction plane measured with high statistic sample of Au+Au collisions at 1.23 AGeV collected by HADES. The Forward wall detector allows to reconstruct the reaction plane using the spectator fragments. The status of the analysis with protons and charged pions will be presented.

Fabrication of beam diagnostic components for Superconducting Cyclotron at Kolkata

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roy, S.; Bhattacharya, S.; Das, T.; Bhattacharyya, T.K.; Pal, S.; Pal, G.; Mallik, C.; Bhandari, R.K.

2009-01-01

The viewer probe and main probe are used for determining the position and current of charged particles as it is accelerated inside the superconducting cyclotron. The viewer probe is used to visually observe the shape of the charged particle beam inside the cyclotron with the help of a borescope. The main probe measures the distribution of charged particles. The viewer probe and main probe are bellow sealed. They can be positioned with an accuracy of 0.5 mm at different radii within the superconducting cyclotron. M9 slit is placed after the exit flange of the cyclotron. It determines the position of the beam leaving the cyclotron. The beam line has slits, faraday cup, beam viewers, collimators, etc. for beam diagnostics. This paper presents the mechanical design and details of beam diagnostic components. (author)

(p,n) and (n,p) reactions as probes of isovector giant monopole resonances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Auerbach, N.; Bowman, J.D.; Franey, M.A.; Love, W.G.

1983-01-01

Nucleon charge exchange reactions are explored as prospective probes of isovector giant monopole resonances. Using charge exchange transition densities based on random-phase approximation sum rules, distorted wave impulse approximation calculations are made for the (p,n) and (n,p) reactions exciting the isovector giant monopole resonances in several nuclei at bombarding energies of 120 and 800 MeV. Based on our calculations, the charge exchange reactions at 800 MeV appear more promising

Colorimetric and dynamic light scattering detection of DNA sequences by using positively charged gold nanospheres: a comparative study with gold nanorods

Science.gov (United States)

Pylaev, T. E.; Khanadeev, V. A.; Khlebtsov, B. N.; Dykman, L. A.; Bogatyrev, V. A.; Khlebtsov, N. G.

2011-07-01

We introduce a new genosensing approach employing CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide)-coated positively charged colloidal gold nanoparticles (GNPs) to detect target DNA sequences by using absorption spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering. The approach is compared with a previously reported method employing unmodified CTAB-coated gold nanorods (GNRs). Both approaches are based on the observation that whereas the addition of probe and target ssDNA to CTAB-coated particles results in particle aggregation, no aggregation is observed after addition of probe and nontarget DNA sequences. Our goal was to compare the feasibility and sensitivity of both methods. A 21-mer ssDNA from the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 HIV-1 U5 long terminal repeat (LTR) sequence and a 23-mer ssDNA from the Bacillus anthracis cryptic protein and protective antigen precursor (pagA) genes were used as ssDNA models. In the case of GNRs, unexpectedly, the colorimetric test failed with perfect cigar-like particles but could be performed with dumbbell and dog-bone rods. By contrast, our approach with cationic CTAB-coated GNPs is easy to implement and possesses excellent feasibility with retention of comparable sensitivity—a 0.1 nM concentration of target cDNA can be detected with the naked eye and 10 pM by dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements. The specificity of our method is illustrated by successful DLS detection of one-three base mismatches in cDNA sequences for both DNA models. These results suggest that the cationic GNPs and DLS can be used for genosensing under optimal DNA hybridization conditions without any chemical modifications of the particle surface with ssDNA molecules and signal amplification. Finally, we discuss a more than two-three-order difference in the reported estimations of the detection sensitivity of colorimetric methods (0.1 to 10-100 pM) to show that the existing aggregation models are inconsistent with the detection limits of about 0.1-1 pM DNA and that

Use of Langmuir probe for analysis of charged particles in metal vapour generated by electron beam heating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dikshit, B; Bhatia, M S

2008-01-01

During electron beam evaporation of metal, a certain fraction of the vapor is ionized due to various processes such as Saha ionization and electron impact. These charge particles constitute a plasma which expands along with the vapour. To know about parameters of this plasma viz. electron temperature, electron density, plasma potential, we have used a disc type Langmuir probe inside the plasma. The measured electron temperature was found to be about ∼0.15eV (1740K) and measured plasma potential was ∼1V. The low value of electron temperature as compared to the source temperature, established that plasma cools significantly while traversing the distance between the source and the point of measurement. Again as the electron temperature was approximately same as the ion temperature of the vapor (expected to be same as kinetic temperature of vapor for collisional flow), we concluded that a kind of equilibrium had been established in the plasma. Finally, various processes responsible for ionization of the vapor are discussed and it was found that both Saha ionization and electron impact processes play important role in ionization of the uranium vapor generated by electron beam heating

Position dependence of charge collection in prototype sensors for the CMS pixel detector

CERN Document Server

Rohe, Tilman; Chiochia, Vincenzo; Cremaldi, Lucien M; Cucciarelli, Susanna; Dorokhov, Andrei; Konecki, Marcin; Prokofiev, Kirill; Regenfus, Christian; Sanders, David A; Son Seung Hee; Speer, Thomas; Swartz, Morris

2004-01-01

This paper reports on the sensor R&D activity for the CMS pixel detector. Devices featuring several design and technology options have been irradiated up to a proton fluence1 of 1 multiplied by 10**1**5 n //e//q/cm**2 at the CERN PS. Afterward, they were bump bonded to unirradiated readout chips and tested using high energy pions in the H2 beam line of the CERN SPS. The readout chip allows a nonzero suppressed full analogue readout and therefore a good characterization of the sensors in terms of noise and charge collection properties. The position dependence of signal is presented and the differences between the two sensor options are discussed. 20 Refs.

Adsorption of cations onto positively charged surface mesopores.

Science.gov (United States)

Neue, Uwe; Iraneta, Pamela; Gritti, Fabrice; Guiochon, Georges

2013-11-29

Uwe Neue developed a theoretical treatment to account for the adsorption of ions on mesopores of packing materials the walls of which are bonded to ionic ligands but left this work unfinished. We elaborated upon this treatment and refined it, based on the equivalence that he suggested between charged surface particles and a membrane that separates two ionic solutions but is impermeable to one specification. He had written that the electro-chemical potentials in both ionic solutions are equal (Donnan equilibrium). The equilibrium between the surface and the pore concentrations is accounted for by an homogeneous electrostatically modified Langmuir (EML) isotherm model. The theoretical results are presented for four different charge surface concentrations σ0=0, 0.001, 0.002, and 0.003C/m(2), using a phosphate buffer (W(S)pH=2.65) of ionic strength I=10mM. The average pore size, the specific surface area, and the specific pore volume of the stationary phase were Dp=140Å, Sp=182m(2)/g, and Vp=0.70cm(3)/g, respectively. The theoretical results provide the quantitative difference between the ionic strength, the pH, and the concentrations of all the ions in the pores and in the bulk eluent. The theory predicts (1) that the retention times of cations under linear conditions is lower and (2) that their band widths under overloaded conditions for a given retention factor shrinks when the surface charge density σ0 is increased. These theoretical results are in good agreement with experimental results published previously and explain them. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Measurement of surface charges on the dielectric film based on field mills under the HVDC corona wire

Science.gov (United States)

Donglai, WANG; Tiebing, LU; Yuan, WANG; Bo, CHEN; Xuebao, LI

2018-05-01

The ion flow field on the ground is one of the significant parameters used to evaluate the electromagnetic environment of high voltage direct current (HVDC) power lines. HVDC lines may cross the greenhouses due to the restricted transmission corridors. Under the condition of ion flow field, the dielectric films on the greenhouses will be charged, and the electric fields in the greenhouses may exceed the limit value. Field mills are widely used to measure the ground-level direct current electric fields under the HVDC power lines. In this paper, the charge inversion method is applied to calculate the surface charges on the dielectric film according to the measured ground-level electric fields. The advantages of hiding the field mill probes in the ground are studied. The charge inversion algorithm is optimized in order to decrease the impact of measurement errors. Based on the experimental results, the surface charge distribution on a piece of quadrate dielectric film under a HVDC corona wire is studied. The enhanced effect of dielectric film on ground-level electric field is obviously weakened with the increase of film height. Compared with the total electric field strengths, the normal components of film-free electric fields at the corresponding film-placed positions have a higher effect on surface charge accumulation.

Probing thermal evanescent waves with a scattering-type near-field microscope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kajihara, Y; Kosaka, K; Komiyama, S

2011-01-01

Long wavelength infrared (LWIR) waves contain many important spectra of matters like molecular motions. Thus, probing spontaneous LWIR radiation without external illumination would reveal detailed mesoscopic phenomena that cannot be probed by any other measurement methods. Here we developed a scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope (s-SNOM) and demonstrated passive near-field microscopy at 14.5 µm wavelength. Our s-SNOM consists of an atomic force microscope and a confocal microscope equipped with a highly sensitive LWIR detector, called a charge-sensitive infrared phototransistor (CSIP). In our s-SNOM, photons scattered by a tungsten probe are collected by an objective of the confocal LWIR microscope and are finally detected by the CSIP. To suppress the far-field background, we vertically modulated the probe and demodulated the signal with a lock-in amplifier. With the s-SNOM, a clear passive image of 3 µm pitch Au/SiC gratings was successfully obtained and the spatial resolution was estimated to be 60 nm (λ/240). The radiation from Au and GaAs was suggested to be due to thermally excited charge/current fluctuations and surface phonons, respectively. This s-SNOM has the potential to observe mesoscopic phenomena such as molecular motions, biomolecular protein interactions and semiconductor conditions in the future

Probes for dark matter physics

Science.gov (United States)

Khlopov, Maxim Yu.

The existence of cosmological dark matter is in the bedrock of the modern cosmology. The dark matter is assumed to be nonbaryonic and consists of new stable particles. Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) miracle appeals to search for neutral stable weakly interacting particles in underground experiments by their nuclear recoil and at colliders by missing energy and momentum, which they carry out. However, the lack of WIMP effects in their direct underground searches and at colliders can appeal to other forms of dark matter candidates. These candidates may be weakly interacting slim particles, superweakly interacting particles, or composite dark matter, in which new particles are bound. Their existence should lead to cosmological effects that can find probes in the astrophysical data. However, if composite dark matter contains stable electrically charged leptons and quarks bound by ordinary Coulomb interaction in elusive dark atoms, these charged constituents of dark atoms can be the subject of direct experimental test at the colliders. The models, predicting stable particles with charge ‑ 2 without stable particles with charges + 1 and ‑ 1 can avoid severe constraints on anomalous isotopes of light elements and provide solution for the puzzles of dark matter searches. In such models, the excessive ‑ 2 charged particles are bound with primordial helium in O-helium atoms, maintaining specific nuclear-interacting form of the dark matter. The successful development of composite dark matter scenarios appeals for experimental search for doubly charged constituents of dark atoms, making experimental search for exotic stable double charged particles experimentum crucis for dark atoms of composite dark matter.

Electrical Conductivity of Rocks and Dominant Charge Carriers. Part 1; Thermally Activated Positive Holes

Science.gov (United States)

Freund, Friedemann T.; Freund, Minoru M.

2012-01-01

The prevailing view in the geophysics community is that the electrical conductivity structure of the Earth's continental crust over the 5-35 km depth range can best be understood by assuming the presence of intergranular fluids and/or of intragranular carbon films. Based on single crystal studies of melt-grown MgO, magma-derived sanidine and anorthosite feldspars and upper mantle olivine, we present evidence for the presence of electronic charge carriers, which derive from peroxy defects that are introduced during cooling, under non-equilibrium conditions, through a redox conversion of pairs of solute hydroxyl arising from dissolution of H2O.The peroxy defects become thermally activated in a 2-step process, leading to the release of defect electrons in the oxygen anion sublattice. Known as positive holes and symbolized by h(dot), these electronic charge carriers are highly mobile. Chemically equivalent to O(-) in a matrix of O(2-) they are highly oxidizing. Being metastable they can exist in the matrix of minerals, which crystallized in highly reduced environments. The h(dot) are highly mobile. They appear to control the electrical conductivity of crustal rocks in much of the 5-35 km depth range.

Fluorescent and Colorimetric Molecular Recognition Probe for Hydrogen Bond Acceptors

OpenAIRE

Pike, Sarah Jane; Hunter, Christopher Alexander

2018-01-01

The association constants for formation of 1 : 1 complexes between a H-bond donor, 1-naphthol, and a diverse range of charged and neutral H-bond acceptors have been measured using UV/vis absorption and fluorescence emission titrations. The performance of 1-naphthol as a dual colorimetric and fluorescent molecular recognition probe for determining the H-bond acceptor (HBA) parameters of charged and neutral solutes has been investigated in three solvents. The data were employed to establish sel...

Two-dimensional potential and charge distributions of positive surface streamer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, Daiki; Matsuoka, Shigeyasu; Kumada, Akiko; Hidaka, Kunihiko

2009-01-01

Information on the potential and the field profile along a surface discharge is required for quantitatively discussing and clarifying the propagation mechanism. The sensing technique with a Pockels crystal has been developed for directly measuring the potential and electric field distribution on a dielectric material. In this paper, the Pockels sensing system consists of a pulse laser and a CCD camera for measuring the instantaneous two-dimensional potential distribution on a 25.4 mm square area with a 50 μm sampling pitch. The temporal resolution is 3.2 ns which is determined by the pulse width of the laser emission. The transient change in the potential distribution of a positive surface streamer propagating in atmospheric air is measured with this system. The electric field and the charge distributions are also calculated from the measured potential profile. The propagating direction component of the electric field near the tip of the propagating streamer reaches 3 kV mm -1 . When the streamer stops, the potential distribution along a streamer forms an almost linear profile with the distance from the electrode, and its gradient is about 0.5 kV mm -1 .

Accumulation and dissipation of positive charges induced on a PMMA build-up cap of an ionisation chamber by 60Co gamma-ray irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morishita, Y.; Takata, N.

2013-01-01

The signal current from an ionisation chamber with a PMMA build-up cap decreases with irradiation time due to electric fields produced by positive charges induced on the cap. In the present study, it was confirmed that the signal current decreases faster for irradiation using narrower 60 Co gamma-ray beams. This is because the number of secondary electrons that are emitted from surrounding materials and penetrate the build-up cap is smaller in a narrower gamma-ray beam, so that fewer positive charges are neutralised. The ionisation chamber was first subjected to continuous gamma-ray irradiation for 24 h, following which it was irradiated with shorter periodic gamma-ray bursts while measuring the current signal. This allowed the coefficients of positive charge accumulation and dissipation to be determined. It was found that the dissipation coefficient has a large constant value during gamma-ray irradiation and decreases asymptotically to a small value after irradiation is stopped. From the coefficients, the minimum signal current was calculated, which is the value when accumulation and dissipation balance each other under continuous irradiation. The time required for the signal current to recover following irradiation was also calculated. (authors)

Enhanced biomimic bactericidal surfaces by coating with positively-charged ZIF nano-dagger arrays.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Yuan; Zhang, Yugen

2017-10-01

Cicada wing surfaces are covered with dense patterns of nano-pillar structure that prevent bacterial growth by rupturing adhered microbial cells. To mimic the natural nano-pillar structure, we developed a general and simple method to grow metal organic framework (MOF) nano-dagger arrays on a wide range of surfaces. These nano-daggers possess high bactericidal activity, with log reduction >7 for Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. It was hypothesized that the positively-charged ZIF-L nano-dagger surfaces enhance bacterial cell adhesion, facilitating selective and efficient bacteria killing by the rigid and sharp nano-dagger tips. This research provides a safe and clean antimicrobial surface technology which does not require external chemicals and will not cause drug resistance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Design study of beam position monitors for measuring second-order moments of charged particle beams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kenichi Yanagida

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a theoretical investigation on the multipole moments of charged particle beams in two-dimensional polar coordinates. The theoretical description of multipole moments is based on a single-particle system that is expanded to a multiparticle system by superposition, i.e., summing over all single-particle results. This paper also presents an analysis and design method for a beam position monitor (BPM that detects higher-order (multipole moments of a charged particle beam. To calculate the electric fields, a numerical analysis based on the finite difference method was created and carried out. Validity of the numerical analysis was proven by comparing the numerical with the analytical results for a BPM with circular cross section. Six-electrode BPMs with circular and elliptical cross sections were designed for the SPring-8 linac. The results of the numerical calculations show that the second-order moment can be detected for beam sizes ≧420  μm (circular and ≧550  μm (elliptical.

Position statement on ethics, equipoise and research on charged particle radiation therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheehan, Mark; Timlin, Claire; Peach, Ken; Binik, Ariella; Puthenparampil, Wilson; Lodge, Mark; Kehoe, Sean; Brada, Michael; Burnet, Neil; Clarke, Steve; Crellin, Adrian; Dunn, Michael; Fossati, Piero; Harris, Steve; Hocken, Michael; Hope, Tony; Ives, Jonathan; Kamada, Tadashi; London, Alex John; Miller, Robert; Parker, Michael; Pijls-Johannesma, Madelon; Savulescu, Julian; Short, Susan; Skene, Loane; Tsujii, Hirohiko; Tuan, Jeffrey; Weijer, Charles

2014-08-01

The use of charged-particle radiation therapy (CPRT) is an increasingly important development in the treatment of cancer. One of the most pressing controversies about the use of this technology is whether randomised controlled trials are required before this form of treatment can be considered to be the treatment of choice for a wide range of indications. Equipoise is the key ethical concept in determining which research studies are justified. However, there is a good deal of disagreement about how this concept is best understood and applied in the specific case of CPRT. This report is a position statement on these controversies that arises out of a workshop held at Wolfson College, Oxford in August 2011. The workshop brought together international leaders in the relevant fields (radiation oncology, medical physics, radiobiology, research ethics and methodology), including proponents on both sides of the debate, in order to make significant progress on the ethical issues associated with CPRT research. This position statement provides an ethical platform for future research and should enable further work to be done in developing international coordinated programmes of research. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

An easily Prepared Fluorescent pH Probe Based on Dansyl.

Science.gov (United States)

Sha, Chunming; Chen, Yuhua; Chen, Yufen; Xu, Dongmei

2016-09-01

A novel fluorescent pH probe from dansyl chloride and thiosemicarbazide was easily prepared and fully characterized by (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, LC-MS, Infrared spectra and elemental analysis. The probe exhibited high selectivity and sensitivity to H(+) with a pK a value of 4.98. The fluorescence intensity at 510 nm quenched 99.5 % when the pH dropped from 10.88 to 1.98. In addition, the dansyl-based probe could respond quickly and reversibly to the pH variation and various common metal ions showed negligible interference. The recognition could be ascribed to the intramolecular charge transfer caused by the protonation of the nitrogen in the dimethylamino group.

On the calculation of the equivalent circuit for an electrostatic probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alekseev, B.V.; Kotel'nikov, V.A.; Cherepanov, V.V.

1982-01-01

An electric circuit of the probe including a nonlinear element - the layer of a volumetric charge - is considered. Free-molecular and gas dynamical modes are investigated. Calculations of transition processes in the probe circuit are conducted. Characteristic times of formation of the excited zone and the transition process in the circuit are compared. The threshold value of time constant of the circuit at which the transition process in the excited zone can be neglected is determined

Lasers probe the atomic nucleus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eastham, D.

1986-01-01

The article is contained in a booklet on the Revised Nuffield Advanced Physics Course, and concentrates on two techniques to illustrate how lasers probe the atomic nucleus. Both techniques employ resonance fluorescence spectroscopy for obtaining atomic transition energies. The first uses lasers to determine the change in the nuclear charge radius with isotope, the second concerns the use of lasers for ultrasensitive detection of isotopes and elements. The application of lasers in resonance ionization spectroscopy and proton decay is also described. (UK)

[Representation of letter position in visual word recognition process].

Science.gov (United States)

Makioka, S

1994-08-01

Two experiments investigated the representation of letter position in visual word recognition process. In Experiment 1, subjects (12 undergraduates and graduates) were asked to detect a target word in a briefly-presented probe. Probes consisted of two kanji words. The latters which formed targets (critical letters) were always contained in probes. (e.g. target: [symbol: see text] probe: [symbol: see text]) High false alarm rate was observed when critical letters occupied the same within-word relative position (left or right within the word) in the probe words as in the target word. In Experiment 2 (subject were ten undergraduates and graduates), spaces adjacent to probe words were replaced by randomly chosen hiragana letters (e.g. [symbol: see text]), because spaces are not used to separate words in regular Japanese sentences. In addition to the effect of within-word relative position as in Experiment 1, the effect of between-word relative position (left or right across the probe words) was observed. These results suggest that information about within-word relative position of a letter is used in word recognition process. The effect of within-word relative position was explained by a connectionist model of word recognition.

The regiochemical distribution of positive charges along cholesterol polyamine carbamates plays significant roles in modulating DNA binding affinity and lipofection.

Science.gov (United States)

Geall, A J; Eaton, M A; Baker, T; Catterall, C; Blagbrough, I S

1999-10-15

We have quantified the effects of the regiochemical distribution of positive charges along the polyamine moiety in lipopolyamines for DNA molecular recognition. High affinity binding leads to charge neutralisation, DNA condensation and ultimately to lipofection. Binding affinities for calf thymus DNA were determined using an ethidium bromide displacement assay and condensation was detected by changes in turbidity using light scattering. The in vitro transfection competence of cholesterol polyamine carbamates was measured in CHO cells. In the design of DNA condensing and transfecting agents for non-viral gene therapy, the interrelationship of ammonium ions, not just their number, must be considered.

Probing the Selectivity and Protein•Protein Interactions of a Non-Reducing Fungal Polyketide Synthase Using Mechanism-Based Crosslinkers

Science.gov (United States)

Bruegger, Joel; Haushalter, Bob; Vagstad, Anna; Shakya, Gaurav; Mih, Nathan; Townsend, Craig A.; Burkart, Michael D.; Tsai, Shiou-Chuan

2013-01-01

SUMMARY Protein•protein interactions, which often involve interactions between an acyl carrier protein (ACP) and its partner enzymes, are important for coordinating polyketide biosynthesis. However, the nature of such interactions is not well understood, especially in the fungal non-reducing polyketide synthases (NR-PKSs) that biosynthesize toxic and pharmaceutically important polyketides. Here, we employ a mechanism-based crosslinker to successfully probe ACP and ketosynthase (KS) domain interactions in NR-PKSs. We found that crosslinking efficiency is closely correlated with the strength of ACP•KS interactions, and that KS demonstrates strong starter unit selectivity. We further identified positively charged surface residues by KS mutagenesis, which mediate key interactions with the negatively-charged ACP surface. Such complementary/matching contact pairs can serve as “adapter surfaces” for future efforts to generate new polyketides using NR-PKSs. PMID:23993461

Optical transponder DC probe [for pulsed power generator

CERN Document Server

Thompson, M C

1999-01-01

The Atlas Pulse Power, Marx Bank will produce significant electromagnetic interference potential (EMI) via its 192 spark-gaps and trigger systems (36 more spark gaps). The authors have a need to measure DC charge components to a fair degree of accuracy during charge to ensure a safe and balanced system. Isolation from elevated- deck and/or high EMI environments during DC voltage or current measurement has classically been approached using frequency modulation (FM) of an imposed carrier on an optical fiber coupled system. There are shortcomings in most systems that can generally be compensated for by various means. In their application of remote sensing, the power to run this remote probe was a central issue. As such the authors took another approach to monitor the DC charge record for the Atlas' Marx banks. (0 refs).

Electrostatic interactions play an essential role in the binding of oleic acid with α-lactalbumin in the HAMLET-like complex: a study using charge-specific chemical modifications.

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Yongjing; Min, Soyoung; Harte, Níal P; Kirk, Hannah; O'Brien, John E; Voorheis, H Paul; Svanborg, Catharina; Hun Mok, K

2013-01-01

Human α-lactalbumin made lethal to tumor cells (HAMLET) and its analogs are partially unfolded protein-oleic acid (OA) complexes that exhibit selective tumoricidal activity normally absent in the native protein itself. To understand the nature of the interaction between protein and OA moieties, charge-specific chemical modifications of lysine side chains involving citraconylation, acetylation, and guanidination were employed and the biophysical and biological properties were probed. Upon converting the original positively-charged lysine residues to negatively-charged citraconyl or neutral acetyl groups, the binding of OA to protein was eliminated, as were any cytotoxic activities towards osteosarcoma cells. Retention of the positive charges by converting lysine residues to homoarginine groups (guanidination); however, yielded unchanged binding of OA to protein and identical tumoricidal activity to that displayed by the wild-type α-lactalbumin-oleic acid complex. With the addition of OA, the wild-type and guanidinated α-lactalbumin proteins underwent substantial conformational changes, such as partial unfolding, loss of tertiary structure, but retention of secondary structure. In contrast, no significant conformational changes were observed in the citraconylated and acetylated α-lactalbumins, most likely because of the absence of OA binding. These results suggest that electrostatic interactions between the positively-charged basic groups on α-lactalbumin and the negatively-charged carboxylate groups on OA molecules play an essential role in the binding of OA to α-lactalbumin and that these interactions appear to be as important as hydrophobic interactions. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Gastroesophageal reflux: the acid test, scintigraphy or the pH probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seibert, J.J.; Byrne, W.J.; Euler, A.R.; Latture, T.; Leach, M.; Campbell, M.

1983-01-01

The best established technique for diagnosing gastroesophageal reflux in children is the 24 hr esophageal pH probe test. No simultaneous comparison of this technique with radionuclide scans has been reported. Therefore, simultaneous 1 hr pH monitoring and gastroesophageal scintigraphy were performed in 49 infants and children with suspected gastroesophageal reflux. Forty-seven of these patients also were later monitored by the 24 hr pH probe test. Upper gastrointestinal series were performed on all patients. All patients with a positive 1 hr pH monitoring also had positive simultaneous scintigraphy. All patients with positive scintigraphy and pH probe monitoring also had a positive upper gastrointestinal series for reflux. The sensitivity of gastroesophageal scintigraphy, when compared to the 24 hr probe as a standard, was 79%; its specificity was 93%. The sensitivity of the upper gastrointestinal series was 86%, when compared to the 24 hr pH probe test. However, its specificity was only 21%

Spontaneous charged lipid transfer between lipid vesicles.

Science.gov (United States)

Richens, Joanna L; Tyler, Arwen I I; Barriga, Hanna M G; Bramble, Jonathan P; Law, Robert V; Brooks, Nicholas J; Seddon, John M; Ces, Oscar; O'Shea, Paul

2017-10-03

An assay to study the spontaneous charged lipid transfer between lipid vesicles is described. A donor/acceptor vesicle system is employed, where neutrally charged acceptor vesicles are fluorescently labelled with the electrostatic membrane probe Fluoresceinphosphatidylethanolamine (FPE). Upon addition of charged donor vesicles, transfer of negatively charged lipid occurs, resulting in a fluorescently detectable change in the membrane potential of the acceptor vesicles. Using this approach we have studied the transfer properties of a range of lipids, varying both the headgroup and the chain length. At the low vesicle concentrations chosen, the transfer follows a first-order process where lipid monomers are transferred presumably through the aqueous solution phase from donor to acceptor vesicle. The rate of transfer decreases with increasing chain length which is consistent with energy models previously reported for lipid monomer vesicle interactions. Our assay improves on existing methods allowing the study of a range of unmodified lipids, continuous monitoring of transfer and simplified experimental procedures.

Probing active-edge silicon sensors using a high precision telescope

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akiba, K. [Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Artuso, M. [Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY (United States); Beveren, V. van; Beuzekom, M. van; Boterenbrood, H. [Nikhef, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Buytaert, J.; Collins, P.; Dumps, R. [CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, Geneva (Switzerland); Heijden, B. van der [Nikhef, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Hombach, C. [University of Manchester, Manchester, Lancashire (United Kingdom); Hynds, D. [Glasgow University, Glasgow, Lanarkshire (United Kingdom); Hsu, D. [Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY (United States); John, M. [University of Oxford, Oxfordshire (United Kingdom); Koffeman, E. [Nikhef, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Leflat, A. [Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow (Russian Federation); Li, Y. [Tsinghua University, Beijing (China); Longstaff, I.; Morton, A. [Glasgow University, Glasgow, Lanarkshire (United Kingdom); Pérez Trigo, E. [Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Plackett, R. [Diamond Light Source Ltd., Didcot, Oxfordshire (United Kingdom); and others

2015-03-21

The performance of prototype active-edge VTT sensors bump-bonded to the Timepix ASIC is presented. Non-irradiated sensors of thicknesses 100–200 μm and pixel-to-edge distances of 50 μm and 100 μm were probed with a beam of charged hadrons with sub-pixel precision using the Timepix telescope assembled at the SPS at CERN. The sensors are shown to be highly efficient up to a few micrometers from the physical edge of the sensor. The distortion of the electric field lines at the edge of the sensors is studied by reconstructing the streamlines of the electric field using two-pixel clusters. These results are supported by TCAD simulations. The reconstructed streamlines are used to study the field distortion as a function of the bias voltage and to apply corrections to the cluster positions at the edge.

Ultra-thin flexible polyimide neural probe embedded in a dissolvable maltose-coated microneedle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiang, Zhuolin; Yen, Shih-Cheng; Zhang, Songsong; Lee, Chengkuo; Xue, Ning; Sun, Tao; Tsang, Wei Mong; Liao, Lun-De; Thakor, Nitish V

2014-01-01

The ultra-thin flexible polyimide neural probe can reduce the glial sheath growth on the probe body while its flexibility can minimize the micromotion between the probe and brain tissue. To provide sufficient stiffness for penetration purposes, we developed a drawing lithography technology for uniform maltose coating to make the maltose-coated polyimide neural probe become a stiff microneedle. The coating thicknesses under different temperature and the corresponding stiffness are studied. It has been proven that the coated maltose is dissolved by body fluids after implantation for a few seconds. Moreover, carbon nanotubes are coated on the neural probe recording electrodes to improve the charge delivery ability and reduce the impedance. Last but not least, the feasibility and recording characteristic of this ultra-thin polyimide neural probe embedded in a maltose-coated microneedle are further demonstrated by in vivo tests. (paper)

Ultra-thin flexible polyimide neural probe embedded in a dissolvable maltose-coated microneedle

Science.gov (United States)

Xiang, Zhuolin; Yen, Shih-Cheng; Xue, Ning; Sun, Tao; Mong Tsang, Wei; Zhang, Songsong; Liao, Lun-De; Thakor, Nitish V.; Lee, Chengkuo

2014-06-01

The ultra-thin flexible polyimide neural probe can reduce the glial sheath growth on the probe body while its flexibility can minimize the micromotion between the probe and brain tissue. To provide sufficient stiffness for penetration purposes, we developed a drawing lithography technology for uniform maltose coating to make the maltose-coated polyimide neural probe become a stiff microneedle. The coating thicknesses under different temperature and the corresponding stiffness are studied. It has been proven that the coated maltose is dissolved by body fluids after implantation for a few seconds. Moreover, carbon nanotubes are coated on the neural probe recording electrodes to improve the charge delivery ability and reduce the impedance. Last but not least, the feasibility and recording characteristic of this ultra-thin polyimide neural probe embedded in a maltose-coated microneedle are further demonstrated by in vivo tests.

$\\mathcal{C}$, $\\mathcal{P}$, $\\mathcal{T}$ operations and classical point charged particle dynamics

OpenAIRE

Torromé, Ricardo Gallego

2014-01-01

The action of parity inversion, time inversion and charge conjugation operations on several differential equations for a classical point charged particle are described. Moreover, we consider the notion of {\\it symmetrized acceleration} $\\Delta_q$ that for models of point charged electrodynamics is sensitive to deviations from the standard Lorentz force equation. It is shown that $\\Delta_q$ can be observed with current or near future technology and that it is an useful quantity for probing rad...

The Interstellar Ethics of Self-Replicating Probes

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, K.

Robotic spacecraft have been our primary means of exploring the Universe for over 50 years. Should interstellar travel become reality it seems unlikely that humankind will stop using robotic probes. These probes will be able to replicate themselves ad infinitum by extracting raw materials from the space resources around them and reconfiguring them into replicas of themselves, using technology such as 3D printing. This will create a colonising wave of probes across the Galaxy. However, such probes could have negative as well as positive consequences and it is incumbent upon us to factor self-replicating probes into our interstellar philosophies and to take responsibility for their actions.

Angular momentum of an electric charge and magnetically charged black hole

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garfinkle, D. (California Univ., Santa Barbara (USA). Dept. of Physics); Rey, S.J. (California Univ., Santa Barbara (USA). Dept. of Physics Florida Univ., Gainesville, FL (USA). Inst. for Fundamental Theory)

1991-03-21

We find the angular momentum L of a point particle with electric charge e held at a fixed position in the presence of a black hole with magnetic charge g. (For a point charge in the presence of an ordinary magnetic monopole, it is known that L=eg.) The angular momentum does depend on the separation distance between the particle and the black hole; however, L->eg for a large separation. Implications for the cosmic censorship hypothesis, the quantum hairs and other physical situations are discussed. (orig.).

A Charged Particle Veto Wall for the Large Area Neutron Array (LANA)

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, K.; Chajecki, Z.; Anderson, C.; Bromell, J.; Brown, K.; Crosby, J.; Kodali, S.; Lynch, W. G.; Morfouace, P.; Sweany, S.; Tsang, M. B.; Tsang, C.; Brett, J. J.; Swaim, J. L.

2017-09-01

Comparison of neutrons and protons emitted in heavy ion collisions is one of the observables to probe symmetry energy, which is related to the properties of neutron star. In general, neutrons are difficult to measure and neutron detectors are not as easy to use or as widely available as charged particle detectors. Two neutron walls (NW) called LANA exist at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. Although the NSCL NW attains excellent discrimination of γ rays and neutron, it fails to discriminate charged particles from neutrons. To ensure near 100% rejection of charged particles, a Charged Particle Veto Wall (VW) is being jointly built by Michigan State University and Western Michigan University. It will be placed in front of one NW. To increase efficiency in detecting neutrons, the second neutron wall is stacked behind it. In this presentation, I will discuss the design, construction and testing of the VW together with the LANA in preparation of two approved NSCL experiments to probe the density and momentum dependence of the symmetry energy potentials in the equation state of the asymmetric nuclear matter. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. PHY 1565546.

Late time CMB anisotropies constrain mini-charged particles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burrage, C.; Redondo, J.; Ringwald, A. [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Jaeckel, J. [Univ. of Durham, Inst. for Particle Physics Phenomenology (United Kingdom)

2009-09-15

Observations of the temperature anisotropies induced as light from the CMB passes through large scale structures in the late universe are a sensitive probe of the interactions of photons in such environments. In extensions of the Standard Model which give rise to mini-charged particles, photons propagating through transverse magnetic fields can be lost to pair production of such particles. Such a decrement in the photon flux would occur as photons from the CMB traverse the magnetic fields of galaxy clusters. Therefore late time CMB anisotropies can be used to constrain the properties of mini- charged particles. We outline how this test is constructed, and present new constraints on mini-charged particles from observations of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect in the Coma cluster. (orig.)

Spin-coupled charge dynamics in layered manganite crystals

CERN Document Server

Tokura, Y; Ishikawa, T

1998-01-01

Anisotropic charge dynamics has been investigated for single crystals of layered manganites, La sub 2 sub - sub 2 sub x Sr sub 1 sub + sub 2 sub x Mn sub 2 O sub 7 (0.3<=X<=0.5). Remarkable variations in the magnetic structure and in the charge-transport properties are observed by changing the doping level x . A crystal with x = 0.3 behaves like a 2-dimensional ferromagnetic metal in the temperature region between approx 90 K and approx 270 K and shows an interplane tunneling magnetoresistance at lower temperatures which is sensitive to the interplane magnetic coupling between the adjacent MnO sub 2 bilayers. Optical probing of these layered manganites has also clarified the highly anisotropic and incoherent charge dynamics.

Plasma monitoring of the RLVIP-process with a Langmuir probe

Science.gov (United States)

Huber, D.; Hallbauer, A.; Pulker, H. K.

2005-09-01

The aim of this investigation was to study the characteristics of a reactive-low-voltage-high-current-ion-plating plasma and to correlate the observed plasma data with the properties of films deposited under such conditions. A Langmuir probe system (Smart Probe - Scientific Systems) was inserted into a Balzers BAP 800 ion plating plant above the e-gun evaporation source close to the insulated substrate holder. In this position during RLVIP deposition, plasma potential, floating potential, self-bias voltage, electron temperature, ion current density, and particle number density were measured and calculated, respectively. All measurements were performed in dependence of arc current (20-80A) and oxygen partial pressure (1 - 36 x 10-4mbar). With rising arc current the number of charged particles, the self-bias voltage between plasma and substrates as well as the energy of the condensing and bombarding species were increased. These data explain the increase of density, refractive index and mechanical stress of RLVIP-metal-oxide-layers, like Ta2O5 and Nb2O5, deposited with higher arc currents. An increase of gas pressure decreased the energy of the particles and therefore reduced slightly film density and refractive index. However, it improved chemistry and eliminated unwanted residual optical absorption and also decreased compressive mechanical film stress.

Probe DNA-Cisplatin Interaction with Solid-State Nanopores

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Zhi; Hu, Ying; Li, Wei; Xu, Zhi; Wang, Pengye; Bai, Xuedong; Shan, Xinyan; Lu, Xinghua; Nanopore Collaboration

2014-03-01

Understanding the mechanism of DNA-cisplatin interaction is essential for clinical application and novel drug design. As an emerging single-molecule technology, solid-state nanopore has been employed in biomolecule detection and probing DNA-molecule interactions. Herein, we reported a real-time monitoring of DNA-cisplatin interaction by employing solid-state SiN nanopores. The DNA-cisplatin interacting process is clearly classified into three stages by measuring the capture rate of DNA-cisplatin adducts. In the first stage, the negative charged DNA molecules were partially discharged due to the bonding of positive charged cisplatin and forming of mono-adducts. In the second stage, forming of DNA-cisplatin di-adducts with the adjacent bases results in DNA bending and softening. The capture rate increases since the softened bi-adducts experience a lower barrier to thread into the nanopores. In the third stage, complex structures, such as micro-loop, are formed and the DNA-cisplatin adducts are aggregated. The capture rate decreases to zero as the aggregated adduct grows to the size of the pore. The characteristic time of this stage was found to be linear with the diameter of the nanopore and this dynamic process can be described with a second-order reaction model. We are grateful to Laboratory of Microfabrication, Dr. Y. Yao, and Prof. R.C. Yu (Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences) for technical assistance.

Charge gradient microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Roelofs, Andreas; Hong, Seungbum

2018-02-06

A method for rapid imaging of a material specimen includes positioning a tip to contact the material specimen, and applying a force to a surface of the material specimen via the tip. In addition, the method includes moving the tip across the surface of the material specimen while removing electrical charge therefrom, generating a signal produced by contact between the tip and the surface, and detecting, based on the data, the removed electrical charge induced through the tip during movement of the tip across the surface. The method further includes measuring the detected electrical charge.

The AMEMIYA probe. Theoretical background

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belitz, Hans Joahim; Althausen, Bernhard; Uehara, Kazuya; Amemiya, Hiroshi

2010-01-01

The present probe was developed in order to measure the temperature T i of positive ions in the scrape-off layer (SOL) of tokamak where T i is usually larger than the electron temperature Ti so that the presheath in front of the probe need not be considered and the ions reach the probe with the thermal velocity. The axis of the cylindrical probe is placed parallel to the magnetic field. The important parameter are L/a, the ratio of the length to the radius of the cylindrical probe and κ, the ratio of the probe radius to (π/4) 1/2 , where is the mean ion Larmor radius. The ion current densities to the side and the end surfaces are expressed by the double integral, which can give an analytical formula with respect to the value of κ. If two electrodes with different lengths are placed parallel to the magnetic field, the difference of current densities can be reduced to κ and hence to Ti. Some examples of the application of the probe to tokamaks, JFT-2M and Textor, are demonstrated. (author)

NeuroMEMS: Neural Probe Microtechnologies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sam Musallam

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Neural probe technologies have already had a significant positive effect on our understanding of the brain by revealing the functioning of networks of biological neurons. Probes are implanted in different areas of the brain to record and/or stimulate specific sites in the brain. Neural probes are currently used in many clinical settings for diagnosis of brain diseases such as seizers, epilepsy, migraine, Alzheimer’s, and dementia. We find these devices assisting paralyzed patients by allowing them to operate computers or robots using their neural activity. In recent years, probe technologies were assisted by rapid advancements in microfabrication and microelectronic technologies and thus are enabling highly functional and robust neural probes which are opening new and exciting avenues in neural sciences and brain machine interfaces. With a wide variety of probes that have been designed, fabricated, and tested to date, this review aims to provide an overview of the advances and recent progress in the microfabrication techniques of neural probes. In addition, we aim to highlight the challenges faced in developing and implementing ultralong multi-site recording probes that are needed to monitor neural activity from deeper regions in the brain. Finally, we review techniques that can improve the biocompatibility of the neural probes to minimize the immune response and encourage neural growth around the electrodes for long term implantation studies.

Comparing D-branes and black holes with 0- and 6-brane charges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pierre, J.M.

1997-01-01

We consider configurations of D6-branes with a D0-brane charge given by recent work of Taylor and compute interaction potentials with various D-brane probes using a 1-loop open string calculation. These results are compared to a supergravity calculation using the solution given by Sheinblatt of an extremal black hole carrying 0-brane and 6-brane charges. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

Profile measurement of a bent neutron mirror using an ultrahigh precision non-contact measurement system with an auto focus laser probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morita, S; Guo, J; Yamagata, Y; Yamada, N L; Torikai, N; Takeda, S; Furusaka, M

2016-01-01

A bent neutron mirror has been considered as one of the best solutions for focusing neutron beams from the viewpoint of cost-benefit performance. Although the form deviation of the bent profile is expected because of the large spot size, it is difficult to measure due to its geometric limitation. Here, we propose a non-contact measurement system using an auto focus (AF) laser probe on an ultrahigh precision machine tool to precisely evaluate the form deviation of the bent mirror. The AF laser probe is composed of a diode laser, a position sensitive sensor, a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera and a microscope objective lens which is actuated by an electromagnetic motor with 1 nm resolution for position sensing and control. The sensor enables a non-contact profile measurement of a high precision surface without any surface damage in contrast with contact-type ultrahigh precision coordinate measurement machines with ruby styli. In the on-machine measurement system, a personal computer simultaneously acquires a displacement signal from the AF laser probe and 3-axis positional coordinates of the ultrahigh machine tool branched between the linear laser scales and the numerical controller. The acquisition rate of the 4-axis positional data in 1 nm resolution is more than 10 Hz and the simultaneity between the axes is negligible. The profile of a neutron bent mirror was measured from a transparent side using the developed system, and the result proves that the form deviation of the mirror enlarged the the spot size of focused neuron beam. (paper)

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE ELECTROPHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SILICON-SILICON DIOXIDE INTERFACE USING PROBE ELECTROMETRY METHODS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. А. Pilipenko

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction of submicron design standards into microelectronic industry and a decrease of the gate dielectric thickness raise the importance of the analysis of microinhomogeneities in the silicon-silicon dioxide system. However, there is very little to no information on practical implementation of probe electrometry methods, and particularly scanning Kelvin probe method, in the interoperational control of real semiconductor manufacturing process. The purpose of the study was the development of methods for nondestructive testing of semiconductor wafers based on the determination of electrophysical properties of the silicon-silicon dioxide interface and their spatial distribution over wafer’s surface using non-contact probe electrometry methods.Traditional C-V curve analysis and scanning Kelvin probe method were used to characterize silicon- silicon dioxide interface. The samples under testing were silicon wafers of KEF 4.5 and KDB 12 type (orientation <100>, diameter 100 mm.Probe electrometry results revealed uniform spatial distribution of wafer’s surface potential after its preliminary rapid thermal treatment. Silicon-silicon dioxide electric potential values were also higher after treatment than before it. This potential growth correlates with the drop in interface charge density. At the same time local changes in surface potential indicate changes in surface layer structure.Probe electrometry results qualitatively reflect changes of interface charge density in silicon-silicon dioxide structure during its technological treatment. Inhomogeneities of surface potential distribution reflect inhomogeneity of damaged layer thickness and can be used as a means for localization of interface treatment defects.

Backscattering position detection for photonic force microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Volpe, Giovanni; Kozyreff, Gregory; Petrov, Dmitri

2007-01-01

An optically trapped particle is an extremely sensitive probe for the measurement of pico- and femto-Newton forces between the particle and its environment in microscopic systems (photonic force microscopy). A typical setup comprises an optical trap, which holds the probe, and a position sensing system, which uses the scattering of a beam illuminating the probe. Usually the position is accurately determined by measuring the deflection of the forward-scattered light transmitted through the probe. However, geometrical constraints may prevent access to this side of the trap, forcing one to make use of the backscattered light instead. A theory is presented together with numerical results that describes the use of the backscattered light for position detection. With a Mie-Debye approach, we compute the total (incident plus scattered) field and follow its evolution as it is collected by the condenser lenses and projected onto the position detectors and the responses of position sensitive detectors and quadrant photodetectors to the displacement of the probe in the optical trap, both in forward and backward configurations. We find out that in the case of backward detection, for both types of detectors the displacement sensitivity can change sign as a function of the probe size and is null for some critical sizes. In addition, we study the influence of the numerical aperture of the detection system, polarization, and the cross talk between position measurements in orthogonal directions. We finally discuss how these features should be taken into account in experimental designs

Triple-probe method applied to the direct display of plasma parameters in a supersonic flowing continuum plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogram, G.L.; Chang, J.; Hobson, R.M.

1979-01-01

The calibration of electrostatic triple-probe voltage and current response in a supersonic continuum plasma has been carried out using a low-pressure shock tube. The electron temperature T/sub e/ and charge number density N/sub e/ are compared to probe voltage and current response, respectively, for a useful range of plasma parameters (1 13 13 is the nondimensional probe voltage). The dependence of probe response on Debye ratio R/sub p//lambda/sub D/ and various flow parameters was investigated. The probe voltage response was found to depend significantly on the Debye ratio. Expressions for electron temperature determination by triple probe are presented

Angular momentum of an electric charge and magnetically charged black hole

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garfinkle, D.; Rey, Soo-Jong

1990-01-01

We find the angular momentum L of a point particle with electric charge e held at a fixed position in the presence of a black hole with magnetic charge g. (For a point charge in the presence of an of ordinary magnetic monopole, it is known that L = eg). The angular momentum does depend on the separation distance between the particle and the black hole; however, L → eg for a large separation. Implications for the cosmic censorship hypothesis, the quantum hairs and other physical situations are discussed

On the interaction of color charges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alekseev, A.I.; Arbuzov, B.A.

1985-01-01

Potential type solutions of the classical equations of Yang-Mills fields are obtained for the theory with the effective Lagrangian which has been formulated earlier in the framework of QCD with the account for the gluon self-interaction in the infrared region. When we consider the problem of the interaction between the colour source ad a probe colour charge, the chromoelectric solution gives the potential with the Coulomb behaviour at infinity

Quantitative dopant profiling in semiconductors. A new approach to Kelvin probe force microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baumgart, Christine

2012-07-01

Failure analysis and optimization of semiconducting devices request knowledge of their electrical properties. To meet the demands of today's semiconductor industry, an electrical nanometrology technique is required which provides quantitative information about the doping profile and which enables scans with a lateral resolution in the sub-10 nm range. In the presented work it is shown that Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) is a very promising electrical nanometrology technique to face this challenge. The technical and physical aspects of KPFM measurements on semiconductors required for the correct interpretation of the detected KPFM bias are discussed. A new KPFM model is developed which enables the quantitative correlation between the probed KPFM bias and the dopant concentration in the investigated semiconducting sample. Quantitative dopant profiling by means of the new KPFM model is demonstrated by the example of differently structured, n- and p-type doped silicon. Additionally, the transport of charge carriers during KPFM measurements, in particular in the presence of intrinsic electric fields due to vertical and horizontal pn junctions as well as due to surface space charge regions, is discussed. Detailed investigations show that transport of charge carriers in the semiconducting sample is a crucial aspect and has to be taken into account when aiming for a quantitative evaluation of the probed KPFM bias.

Alpha-conotoxin analogs with additional positive charge show increased selectivity towards Torpedo californica and some neuronal subtypes of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kasheverov, I.E.; Zhmak, M.N.; Vulfius, C.A.; Corbacheva, E.V.; Mordvintsev, D.Y.; Utkin, Y.N.; van Elk, R.; Smit, A.B.; Tsetlin, V.I.

2006-01-01

α-Conotoxins from Conus snails are indispensable tools for distinguishing various subtypes of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), and synthesis of α-conotoxin analogs may yield novel antagonists of higher potency and selectivity. We incorporated additional positive charges into α-conotoxins

Intercalation pathway in many-particle LiFePO4 electrode revealed by nanoscale state-of-charge mapping.

Science.gov (United States)

Chueh, William C; El Gabaly, Farid; Sugar, Joshua D; Bartelt, Norman C; McDaniel, Anthony H; Fenton, Kyle R; Zavadil, Kevin R; Tyliszczak, Tolek; Lai, Wei; McCarty, Kevin F

2013-03-13

The intercalation pathway of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) in the positive electrode of a lithium-ion battery was probed at the ∼40 nm length scale using oxidation-state-sensitive X-ray microscopy. Combined with morphological observations of the same exact locations using transmission electron microscopy, we quantified the local state-of-charge of approximately 450 individual LFP particles over nearly the entire thickness of the porous electrode. With the electrode charged to 50% state-of-charge in 0.5 h, we observed that the overwhelming majority of particles were either almost completely delithiated or lithiated. Specifically, only ∼2% of individual particles were at an intermediate state-of-charge. From this small fraction of particles that were actively undergoing delithiation, we conclude that the time needed to charge a particle is ∼1/50 the time needed to charge the entire particle ensemble. Surprisingly, we observed a very weak correlation between the sequence of delithiation and the particle size, contrary to the common expectation that smaller particles delithiate before larger ones. Our quantitative results unambiguously confirm the mosaic (particle-by-particle) pathway of intercalation and suggest that the rate-limiting process of charging is initiating the phase transformation by, for example, a nucleation-like event. Therefore, strategies for further enhancing the performance of LFP electrodes should not focus on increasing the phase-boundary velocity but on the rate of phase-transformation initiation.

Charge Inversion of Phospholipids by Dimetal Complexes for Positive Ion-Mode Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry Analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svane, Simon; Gorshkov, Vladimir; Kjeldsen, Frank

2015-01-01

charges per phosphate group. Three different phosphoinositide phosphates (mono-, di-, and triphosphorylated inositides), a phosphatidic acid, a phosphatidylcholine, a phosphatidylethanolamine, and a phosphatidylglycerol were investigated. The intensities obtained in positive ion-mode of phosphoinositide...... phosphates and phosphatidic acid bound to {LGa2}(5+) were between 2.5- and 116-fold higher than that of the unmodified lipids in the negative ion-mode. Native phosphoinositide ions yielded upon CID in the negative ion-mode predominantly product ions due to losses of H3PO4, PO3(-) and H2O. In comparison, CID...

Developments in Scanning Hall Probe Microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Chouinard, Taras; Chu, Ricky; David, Nigel; Broun, David

2009-05-01

Low temperature scanning Hall probe microscopy is a sensitive means of imaging magnetic structures with high spatial resolution and magnetic flux sensitivity approaching that of a Superconducting Quantum Interference Device. We have developed a scanning Hall probe microscope with novel features, including highly reliable coarse positioning, in situ optimization of sensor-sample alignment and capacitive transducers for linear, long range positioning measurement. This has been motivated by the need to reposition accurately above fabricated nanostructures such as small superconducting rings. Details of the design and performance will be presented as well as recent progress towards time-resolved measurements with sub nanosecond resolution.

Rapid charging of nickel-cadmium accumulators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bruck, F

1972-01-01

Four types of charging of gas-tight Ni-Cd accumulators (a) normal; (b) accelerated; (c) rapid; and (d) ultra-rapid are described. For rapid charging, a built-in temperature sensor cuts off charging current at a prescribed point. In ultra-rapid charging, 50% charge can be attained in 3.5 min. and 25% charge within 50 sec. In the second phase of ultra-rapid charging, a surplus of oxygen is released at the positive electrode and a safety valve is provided for pressure reduction. Characteristic curves are given for various rates of charging and some data on discharge rates is also given.

Charged lepton mixing - an experimental overview

Science.gov (United States)

Rusu, Vadim

2015-04-01

Exploring the flavor sector of the Standard Model has always been a powerful probe in particle physics. Searches for charged leptons mixing, in particular muon decays, effectively pioneered this program almost 100 years ago. Still, even what one might consider, naively, simple questions, like why three lepton generations, are left unanswered. We do know now that neutral leptons (neutrinos) mix. We also know that, in all likelihood, the physics behind charged lepton mixing is also somehow responsible for generating neutrino masses. Not surprisingly, a revived interest in this field is currently under way, with experiments either ongoing or at planning stage throughout the world. The advent of powerful high intensity beams opens up new venues for exploration. Coupled with clever experimental ideas, sensitivities that were previously impossible to attain, are now within reach. I will review here the current status of charged lepton mixing experiments, what should we expect from the next generation projects and my view on how the field will progress in the future.

Make dark matter charged again

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Agrawal, Prateek; Cyr-Racine, Francis-Yan; Randall, Lisa; Scholtz, Jakub, E-mail: prateekagrawal@fas.harvard.edu, E-mail: fcyrraci@physics.harvard.edu, E-mail: randall@physics.harvard.edu, E-mail: jscholtz@physics.harvard.edu [Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

2017-05-01

We revisit constraints on dark matter that is charged under a U(1) gauge group in the dark sector, decoupled from Standard Model forces. We find that the strongest constraints in the literature are subject to a number of mitigating factors. For instance, the naive dark matter thermalization timescale in halos is corrected by saturation effects that slow down isotropization for modest ellipticities. The weakened bounds uncover interesting parameter space, making models with weak-scale charged dark matter viable, even with electromagnetic strength interaction. This also leads to the intriguing possibility that dark matter self-interactions within small dwarf galaxies are extremely large, a relatively unexplored regime in current simulations. Such strong interactions suppress heat transfer over scales larger than the dark matter mean free path, inducing a dynamical cutoff length scale above which the system appears to have only feeble interactions. These effects must be taken into account to assess the viability of darkly-charged dark matter. Future analyses and measurements should probe a promising region of parameter space for this model.

Strongly coupled Coulomb systems with positive dust grains: thermal and UV-induced plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samarian, A.A.

2000-01-01

different materials. Since the calculated values of Γ give an upper estimate, liquid-like structures are most likely to form in thermal plasma. Based on the results of the analysis, it is stated that an increase in the parameter Γ and, accordingly, the formation of plasma-crystal structures in thermal plasma can only occur for positively charged grains. We provide theoretical analysis and experimental measurements of the photoemission charging of dust grains. In our experiments, the photoemission is induced by Ar-eximer lamp. We obtained the charge of isolated grains in vacuum. The particles tested are conducting and non-conducting and 1-15 microns in diameter. The method of grain charge determination is based on analysis of grain trajectories in the known electric field. In our experiment, the trapping of positive dust grains in the anode region of the abnormal DC glow discharge was observed. A conjecture is made that the grains have a positive charge due to photoemission and secondary electron emission. We provide an estimate of the particle charge taking in to account the photoemission and secondary electron emission. The value obtained. Z p =8600e was in good agreement with the value obtained from the probe measurements. The dynamics of the formation of ordered structures of dust grains charged by photoemission under the action of solar radiation under microgravity conditions without the use of electrostatic traps to confine the grains, has been studied experimentally and theoretically. The behaviour of an ensemble of dust under the effect of solar radiation is observed experimentally on board the Mir space station. An analysis and comparison of the results of the experimental and theoretical investigations permit conclusions regarding the possibility of the existence of extended ordered formations of the dust grains charged by photoemission in interplanelary space

A Study of Electrostatic Charge on Insulating Film by Electrostatic Force Microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kikunaga, K; Toosaka, K; Kamohara, T; Sakai, K; Nonaka, K

2011-01-01

Electrostatic charge properties on polypropylene film have been characterized by atomic force microscopy and electrostatic force microscopy. The measurements have been carried out after the polypropylene film was electrified by contact and separation process in an atmosphere of controlled humidity. The negative and positive charge in concave surface has been observed. The correlation between concave surface and charge position suggests that the electrostatic charges could be caused by localized contact. On the other hand, positive charge on a flat surface has been observed. The absence of a relationship between surface profile and charge position suggests that the electrostatic charge should be caused by discharge during the separation process. The spatial migration of other positive charges through surface roughness has been observed. The results suggest that there could be some electron traps on the surface roughness and some potentials on the polypropylene film.

Investigating the topological structure of quenched lattice QCD with overlap fermions using a multi-probing approximation

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, You-Hao; Zhang, Jian-Bo; Xiong, Guang-Yi; Chen, Ying; Liu, Chuan; Liu, Yu-Bin; Ma, Jian-Ping

2017-10-01

The topological charge density and topological susceptibility are determined by a multi-probing approximation using overlap fermions in quenched SU(3) gauge theory. Then we investigate the topological structure of the quenched QCD vacuum, and compare it with results from the all-scale topological density. The results are consistent. Random permuted topological charge density is used to check whether these structures represent underlying ordered properties. The pseudoscalar glueball mass is extracted from the two-point correlation function of the topological charge density. We study 3 ensembles of different lattice spacing a with the same lattice volume 163×32. The results are compatible with the results of all-scale topological charge density, and the topological structures revealed by multi-probing are much closer to all-scale topological charge density than those from eigenmode expansion. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (11335001, 11275169, 11075167), It is also supported in part by the DFG and the NSFC (11261130311) through funds provided to the Sino-German CRC 110 "Symmetries and the Emergence of Structure in QCD". This work was also funded in part by National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (2015CB856700)

Thunderstorm Charge Structures Producing Negative Gigantic Jets

Science.gov (United States)

Boggs, L.; Liu, N.; Riousset, J. A.; Shi, F.; Rassoul, H.

2016-12-01

Here we present observational and modeling results that provide insight into thunderstorm charge structures that produce gigantic jet discharges. The observational results include data from four different thunderstorms producing 9 negative gigantic jets from 2010 to 2014. We used radar, very high frequency (VHF) and low frequency (LF) lightning data to analyze the storm characteristics, charge structures, and lightning activity when the gigantic jets emerged from the parent thunderstorms. A detailed investigation of the evolution of one of the charge structures by analyzing the VHF data is also presented. The newly found charge structure obtained from the observations was analyzed with fractal modeling and compared with previous fractal modeling studies [Krehbiel et al., Nat. Geosci., 1, 233-237, 2008; Riousset et al., JGR, 115, A00E10, 2010] of gigantic jet discharges. Our work finds that for normal polarity thunderstorms, gigantic jet charge structures feature a narrow upper positive charge region over a wide middle negative charge region. There also likely exists a `ring' of negative screening charge located around the perimeter of the upper positive charge. This is different from previously thought charge structures of the storms producing gigantic jets, which had a very wide upper positive charge region over a wide middle negative charge region, with a very small negative screening layer covering the cloud top. The newly found charge structure results in leader discharge trees in the fractal simulations that closely match the parent flashes of gigantic jets inside and outside the thundercloud. The previously used charge structures, while vital to the understanding of gigantic jet initiation and the role of charge imbalances inside the cloud, do not produce leader discharge trees that agree with observed gigantic jet discharges.Finally, the newly discovered gigantic jet charge structures are formed near the end of a convective pulse [Meyer et al., JGR, 118

Neutral Probe Beam q-profile measurements in PDX and PBX-M

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kugel, H.W.; Gammel, G.M.; Kaita, R.; Reusch, M.F.; Roberts, D.W.

1988-06-01

Using the Fast Ion Diagnostic Experiment (FIDE) technique, a Neutral Probe Beam (NPB) can be aimed to inject tangentially to a magnetic surface. The resultant ion orbit shifts, due to conservation of canonical toroidal angular momentum, can be measured with a multi-sightline charge-exchange analyzer to yield direct measurements of radial magnetic flux profiles, current density profiles, the radial position of the magnetic axis, flux surface inner and outer edges, q-profiles, and central-q time dependencies. An extensive error analysis was performed on previous PDX q-measurements in circular plasmas and the resulting estimated contributions of various systematic effects are discussed. Preliminary results of fast ion orbit shift measurements at early times in indented PBX-M plasmas are given. Methods for increasing the absolute experimental precision of similar measurements in progress on PBX-M are discussed. 4 refs., 3 figs

The 4-pyridylmethyl ester as a protecting group for glutamic and aspartic acids: 'flipping' peptide charge states for characterization by positive ion mode ESI-MS.

Science.gov (United States)

Garapati, Sriramya; Burns, Colin S

2014-03-01

Use of the 4-pyridylmethyl ester group for side-chain protection of glutamic acid residues in solid-phase peptide synthesis enables switching of the charge state of a peptide from negative to positive, thus making detection by positive ion mode ESI-MS possible. The pyridylmethyl ester moiety is readily removed from peptides in high yield by hydrogenation. Combining the 4-pyridylmethyl ester protecting group with benzyl ester protection reduces the number of the former needed to produce a net positive charge and allows for purification by RP HPLC. This protecting group is useful in the synthesis of highly acidic peptide sequences, which are often beset by problems with purification by standard RP HPLC and characterization by ESI-MS. Copyright © 2014 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Downhole instrument including a flexible probe which can travel freely around bends in a borehole

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dickinson III, B. W. O.

1985-01-01

Bore hole instrument and methods of manufacturing and using the same. The instrument includes an elongated flexible probe which is inserted into a bore hole and can travel freely around bends of relatively short radius in the hole. The probe includes a plurality of sensors, explosive charges or the like which are spaced apart and embedded in a flexible body comprising a mass of cushioning material, with a flexible outer casing of fabric having a high tensile strength. The probe is driven into a bore hole in piston-like fashion, and the flexible body enables the probe to travel freely around bends of relatively short radius. Instrumentation for processing signals from the probe is located at the surface of the earth, and a flexible cable interconnects the instrumentation with the probe

Observation of local fields in ZnO using the 111Cd probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, W.; Komatsuda, S.; Imagawa, E.; Ohkubo, Y.; Yamada, Y.

2011-01-01

The authors prepared the ZnO sample ( 111m Cd-CZO) that contains totally 0.5 at.% of Cd including 111m Cd, and the ZnO sample ( 111m Cd-ICZO) made by doping with 0.5 at.% of In to 111m Cd-CZO, and measured γ-ray perturbed angular correlation (PAC) spectra. They compared these measurement results with the PAC spectra that were observed in the sample ( 111 In-IZO) made by doping with 0.5 at.% of stable In isotope in addition to ( 111 In→) 111 Cd probe, and examined the two characteristics of 111 In-IZO. As for 111 In-IZO, large electric field gradient and late effect due to remarkable EC decay was observed compared with the sample ( 111 In-UZO), where several ppt level of ( 111 In→) 111 Cd probe was solely doped into ZnO. This fact suggests that In atoms and 111 In atoms flocculate locally. When this flocculating condition is made of many In atom groups, several occupation positions of 111 In can be considered, and they cannot form the single frequency component as obtained in the PAC spectra. Therefore, the results of this experiment can be understood that In atoms themselves form the pairs in the nearest position while replacing the lattice positions of Zn. In is generally stable under the condition of three valence, but it can take one valence depending on compounds. Therefore, it can be considered that if In 3+ and In + mixture in this ratio replace Zn 2+ sites, this pairs can exist from the viewpoint of charge balance. (A.O.)

Submicron position-sensitive detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pugatch, V M; Rosenfeld, A B; Litovchenko, P G; Barabash, L I; Nemets, O F; Pavlenko, Yu N; Vasiliev, Yu O [Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Kiev (Ukraine). Inst. for Nuclear Research

1992-08-01

A method has been developed to measure precisely the coordinates of charged particles incident between adjacent strips of a strip detector. The position sensitivity of an inter-strip gap has been studied by means of a pulsed laser beam and irradiation by [alpha]-particles of a [sup 226]Ra-source. The capacitive division of charge generated by the incident particle depends on the position of its track. Its coordinates were determined by two-dimensional amplitude analysis of the charges collected by neighbouring strips. This method of coordinate determination applied to studies of spatial and energy distributions of electromagnetic as well as charged particle beams (including radioactive ion beams) of low intensity could provide the highest level of the precision limited by the track dimensions of charged particles, i.e. percents of a micrometer. (orig.).

First study of the negative binomial distribution applied to higher moments of net-charge and net-proton multiplicity distributions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tarnowsky, Terence J.; Westfall, Gary D.

2013-01-01

A study of the first four moments (mean, variance, skewness, and kurtosis) and their products (κσ 2 and Sσ) of the net-charge and net-proton distributions in Au + Au collisions at √(s NN )=7.7–200 GeV from HIJING simulations has been carried out. The skewness and kurtosis and the collision volume independent products κσ 2 and Sσ have been proposed as sensitive probes for identifying the presence of a QCD critical point. A discrete probability distribution that effectively describes the separate positively and negatively charged particle (or proton and anti-proton) multiplicity distributions is the negative binomial (or binomial) distribution (NBD/BD). The NBD/BD has been used to characterize particle production in high-energy particle and nuclear physics. Their application to the higher moments of the net-charge and net-proton distributions is examined. Differences between κσ 2 and a statistical Poisson assumption of a factor of four (for net-charge) and 40% (for net-protons) can be accounted for by the NBD/BD. This is the first application of the properties of the NBD/BD to describe the behavior of the higher moments of net-charge and net-proton distributions in nucleus–nucleus collisions

The effect of charge on the release kinetics from polysaccharide–nanoclay composites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Buffa, Stefano Del; Grifoni, Emanuele; Ridi, Francesca, E-mail: francesca.ridi@unifi.it; Baglioni, Piero, E-mail: piero.baglioni@unifi.it [University of Florence, Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff” and CSGI (Italy)

2015-03-15

The objective of this study was to integrate inorganic halloysite nanotubes (HNT) with chitosan and hyaluronic acid to obtain hybrid nanocomposites with opposing charges and to investigate their potential in the controlled release of drug model probes. Two oppositely charged polysaccharides, chitosan and hyaluronic acid, were selected for their biocompatibility and their importance in biomedical applications. The high surface area and the hollow nanometric-sized lumen of HNT allowed for the efficient loading of rhodamine 110 and carboxyfluorescein, used as models for oppositely charged drugs. In the case of chitosan, the preparation of the nanocomposite was carried out exploiting the electrostatic interaction between the polymer and HNT in water, while with hyaluronic acid, a covalent functionalization strategy was employed to couple the polymer with the clay. Nanocomposites were characterized with thermal, microscopic, and spectroscopic techniques, and the release kinetics of the model compounds was assessed by fluorescence measurements. The release curves were fitted with a model able to account for the desorption process from the external and the internal halloysite surfaces. The results show that both polymeric coatings alter the release of the probes, indicating a key role of both charge and coating composition on the initial and final amount of released dye, as well as on the rate of the desorption process.

The influence of charge and the distribution of charge in the polar region of phospholipids on the activity of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase.

Science.gov (United States)

Zakim, D; Eibl, H

1992-07-05

Studies of the mechanism of lipid-induced regulation of the microsomal enzyme UDP-glucuronosyltransferase have been extended by examining the influence of charge within the polar region on the ability of lipids to activate delipidated pure enzyme. The effects of net negative charge, of charge separation in phosphocholine, and of the distribution of charge in the polar region of lipids were studied using the GT2p isoform isolated from pig liver. Prior experiments have shown that lipids with net negative charge inhibit the enzyme (Zakim, D., Cantor, M., and Eibl, H. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 5164-5169). The current experiments show that the extent of inhibition on a molar basis increases as the net negative charge increases from -1 to -2. The inhibitory effect of negatively charged lipids is on the functional state of the enzyme and is not due to electrostatic repulsion of negatively charged substrates of the enzyme. Although the inhibitory effect of net negative charge is removed when negative charge is balanced by a positive charge due to a quaternary nitrogen, neutrality of the polar region is not a sufficient condition for activation of the enzyme. In addition to a balance of charge between Pi and the quaternary nitrogen, the distance between the negative and positive charges and the orientation of the dipole created by them are critical for activation of GT2p. The negative and positive charges must be separated by the equivalent of three -CH2- groups for optimal activation by a lipid. Shortening this distance by one -CH2- unit leads to a lipid that is ineffective in activating the enzyme. Reversal of the orientation of the dipole in which the negative charge is on the polymethylene side of the lipid-water interface and the positive charge extends into water also produces a lipid that is not effective for activating GT2p. On the other hand, lipids with phosphoserine as the polar region, which has the "normal" P-N distance but carries a net negative charge, do

Kinetic theory of a spherical probe in a stationary collision-dominated isothermal plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brailsford, A.D.

1977-01-01

Constitutive equations for the charge carrier fluxes in a stationary collision-dominated isothermal plasma surrounding a spherical electrode are derived, from the Boltzmann equation, by a moment method using a two-stream Maxwellian distribution of the type introduced by Lees. In contrast to previous treatments, the constraint of uniform temperature is imposed and its importance emphasized. This condition, together with particle conservation, is shown to necessitate the use of a four-parameter Lees distribution and leads to generalized hydrodynamic equations. These are shown to reduce to conventional flux equations in terms of diffusion and mobility components only when the fields are spatially slowly varying. In addition, boundary conditions are derived by the same formalism. They are formulated for typical physical processes which may be operative at a real probe surface. As an example, the effect of the nonlinearity on the pure diffusion problem is analyzed in detail in the Appendix. A semiquantitative discussion of the current-voltage characteristics for negative probe potentials is also presented. It is shown that the charge carrier distribution around the probe conforms to the ''free-fall'' model only at low probe voltages. Otherwise, the model proposed by Su and Lam holds. The domain covered by the present analysis is determined by the following conditions on the probe radius r/sub p/, mean free path l, and Debye length lambda: (i) l 3 very-much-less-thanlambda 2 r/sub p/, (ii) (e vertical-barphi/sub p/ vertical-barl/kTr/sub p/) 2 /l 2 for l>lambda, where phi/sub p/ is the probe voltage. Analytic approximations to the current-voltage characteristics in both these regimes are presented

Meson theory of charge-dependent nuclear forces. Chapter 10

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henley, E.M.; Miller, G.A.

1979-01-01

Although the charge dependence is a small effect it is a useful probe for nuclear structure and forces details. The authors are primarily concerned with the short-range meson-theoretic origin of these forces. They discuss recent experimental and theoretical advances and give applications and possible tests of the theory. (D.H.)

Spin current induced by a charged tip in a quantum point contact

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shchamkhalova, B.S., E-mail: s.bagun@gmail.com

2017-03-15

We show that the charged tip of the probe microscope, which is widely used in studying the electron transport in low-dimensional systems, induces a spin current. The effect is caused by the spin–orbit interaction arising due to an electric field produced by the charged tip. The tip acts as a spin-flip scatterer giving rise to the spin polarization of the net current and the occurrence of a spin density in the system.

Inspecting Friction Stir Welding using Electromagnetic Probes

Science.gov (United States)

Kinchen, David G.

2004-01-01

A report describes the use of advanced electromagnetic probes to measure the dimensions, the spatial distribution of electrical conductivity, and related other properties of friction stir welds (FSWs) between parts made of the same or different aluminum alloy(s). The probes are of the type described in in another Tech Brief. To recapitulate: A probe of this type is essentially an eddy-current probe that includes a primary (driver) winding that meanders and multiple secondary (sensing) windings that meander along the primary winding. Electrical conductivity is commonly used as a measure of heat treatment and tempering of aluminum alloys, but prior to the development of these probes, the inadequate sensitivity and limited accuracy of electrical-conductivity probes precluded such use on FSWs between different aluminum alloys, and the resolution of those probes was inadequate for measurement of FSW dimensions with positions and metallurgical properties. In contrast, the present probes afford adequate accuracy and spatial resolution for the purposes of measuring the dimensions of FSW welds and correlating spatially varying electrical conductivities with metallurgical properties, including surface defects.

PET-Probe: Evaluation of Technical Performance and Clinical Utility of a Handheld High-Energy Gamma Probe in Oncologic Surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Gulec, Seza A; Daghighian, Farhad; Essner, Richard

2016-12-01

Positron emission tomography (PET) has become an invaluable part of patient evaluation in surgical oncology. PET is less than optimal for detecting lesions PET-positive lesions can be challenging as a result of difficulties in surgical exposure. We undertook this investigation to assess the utility of a handheld high-energy gamma probe (PET-Probe) for intraoperative identification of 18 F-deoxyglucose (FDG)-avid tumors. Forty patients underwent a diagnostic whole-body FDG-PET scan for consideration for surgical exploration and resection. Before surgery, all patients received an intravenous injection of 7 to 10 mCi of FDG. At surgery, the PET-Probe was used to determine absolute counts per second at the known tumor site(s) demonstrated by whole-body PET and at adjacent normal tissue (at least 4 cm away from tumor-bearing sites). Tumor-to-background ratios were calculated. Thirty-two patients (80%) underwent PET-Probe-guided surgery with therapeutic intent in a recurrent or metastatic disease setting. Eight patients underwent surgery for diagnostic exploration. Anatomical locations of the PET-identified lesions were neck and supraclavicular (n = 8), axilla (n = 5), groin and deep iliac (n = 4), trunk and extremity soft tissue (n = 3), abdominal and retroperitoneal (n = 19), and lung (n = 2). PET-Probe detected all PET-positive lesions. The PET-Probe was instrumental in localization of lesions in 15 patients that were not immediately apparent by surgical exploration. The PET-Probe identified all lesions demonstrated by PET scanning and, in selected cases, was useful in localizing FDG-avid disease not seen with conventional PET scanning.

Kelvin probe force microscopy in liquid using electrochemical force microscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liam Collins

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Conventional closed loop-Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM has emerged as a powerful technique for probing electric and transport phenomena at the solid–gas interface. The extension of KPFM capabilities to probe electrostatic and electrochemical phenomena at the solid–liquid interface is of interest for a broad range of applications from energy storage to biological systems. However, the operation of KPFM implicitly relies on the presence of a linear lossless dielectric in the probe–sample gap, a condition which is violated for ionically-active liquids (e.g., when diffuse charge dynamics are present. Here, electrostatic and electrochemical measurements are demonstrated in ionically-active (polar isopropanol, milli-Q water and aqueous NaCl and ionically-inactive (non-polar decane liquids by electrochemical force microscopy (EcFM, a multidimensional (i.e., bias- and time-resolved spectroscopy method. In the absence of mobile charges (ambient and non-polar liquids, KPFM and EcFM are both feasible, yielding comparable contact potential difference (CPD values. In ionically-active liquids, KPFM is not possible and EcFM can be used to measure the dynamic CPD and a rich spectrum of information pertaining to charge screening, ion diffusion, and electrochemical processes (e.g., Faradaic reactions. EcFM measurements conducted in isopropanol and milli-Q water over Au and highly ordered pyrolytic graphite electrodes demonstrate both sample- and solvent-dependent features. Finally, the feasibility of using EcFM as a local force-based mapping technique of material-dependent electrostatic and electrochemical response is investigated. The resultant high dimensional dataset is visualized using a purely statistical approach that does not require a priori physical models, allowing for qualitative mapping of electrostatic and electrochemical material properties at the solid–liquid interface.

Dosimeter charging and/or reading apparatus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fine, L.T.; Jackson, T.P.

1980-01-01

A device is disclosed for charging and/or reading a capacitor associated with an electrometer incorporated in a radiation dosimeter for the purpose of initializing or ''zeroing'', the dosimeter at the commencement of a radiation measurement cycle or reading it at any time thereafter. The dosimeter electrometer has a movable electrode the position of which is indicative of the charge remaining on the dosimeter capacitor and in turn the amount of radiation incident on the dosimeter since it was zeroed. The charging device also includes means for discharging, immediately upon conclusion of the dosimeter capacitor charging operation, stray capacitance inherent in the dosimeter by reason of its mechanical construction. The charge on the stray capacitance, if not discharged at the conclusion of the dosimeter capacitor charging operation, leaks off during the measurement cycle, introducing measurement errors. A light source and suitable switch means are provided for automatically illuminating the movable electrode of the dosimeter electrometer as an incident to charging the dosimeter capacitor to facilitate reading the initial, or ''zero'', position of the movable electrometer electrode after the dosimeter capacitor has been charged and the stray capacitance discharged. Also included is a manually actuatable switch means, which is operable independently of the aforementioned automatic switch means, to energize the lamp and facilitate reading of the dosimeter without charging

Probing active-edge silicon sensors using a high precision telescope

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Akiba, K.; Artuso, M.; van Beveren, V.; van Beuzekom, M.; Boterenbrood, H.; Buytaert, J.; Collins, P.; Dumps, R.; van der Heijden, B.; Hombach, C.; Hynds, D.; Hsu, D.; John, M.; Koffeman, E.; Leflat, A.; Li, Y.; Longstaff, I.; Morton, A.; PérezTrigo, E.; Plackett, R.; Reid, M.M.; Rodríguez Perez, P.; Schindler, H.; Tsopelas, P.; Vázquez Sierra, C.; Wysokiński, M.

2015-01-01

The performance of prototype active-edge VTT sensors bump-bonded to the Timepix ASIC is presented. Non-irradiated sensors of thicknesses 100-200 μm and pixel-to-edge distances of 50 μm and 100 μm were probed with a beam of charged hadrons with sub-pixel precision using the Timepix telescope

Fuel charging machine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uchikawa, Sadao.

1978-01-01

Purpose: To enable continuous fuel discharging and charging steps in a bwr type reactor by effecting positioning only for once by providing a plurality of fuel assembly grippers and their drives co-axially on a rotatable surface. Constitution: A plurality of fuel assembly grippers and their drives are provided co-axially on a rotatable surface. For example, a gripper A, a drive B, a gripper C and a drive D are arranged co-axially in symmetric positions on a disk rotated on rails by wheels and rotational drives. A new fuel in a fuel pool is gripped by the gripper A and transported above the reactor core. Then, the disk is positioned so that the gripper C can grip the spent fuel in the core, and the fuel to be discharged is gripped and raised by the gripper C. Then the disk is rotated by 180 0 and the new fuel in the gripper A is charged into the position from which the old fuel has been discharged and, finally, the discharged fuel is sent to the fuel pool for storage. (Seki, T.)

Space-Charge Experiments at the CERN Proton Synchrotron

CERN Document Server

Franchetti, Giuliano; Hofmann, I; Martini, M; Métral, E; Qiang, J; Ryne, D; Steerenberg, R; CFA Beam Dynamics Workshop “High Intensity and Brightness Hadron Beams”

2005-01-01

Benchmarking of the simulation codes used for the design of the next generation of high beam power accelerators is of paramount importance due to the very demanding requirements on the level of beam losses. This is usually accomplished by comparing simulation results against available theories, and more importantly, against experimental observations. To this aim, a number of well-defined test cases, obtained by accurate measurements made in existing machines, are of great interest. Such measurements have been made in the CERN Proton Synchrotron to probe three space-charge effects: (i) transverse emittance blow-up due to space-charge induced crossing of the integer or half-integer stop-band, (ii) space-charge and octupole driven resonance trapping, and (iii) intensity-dependent emittance transfer between the two transverse planes. The last mechanism is discussed in detail in this paper and compared to simulation predictions.

Fluorescent and colorimetric molecular recognition probe for hydrogen bond acceptors.

Science.gov (United States)

Pike, Sarah J; Hunter, Christopher A

2017-11-22

The association constants for formation of 1 : 1 complexes between a H-bond donor, 1-naphthol, and a diverse range of charged and neutral H-bond acceptors have been measured using UV/vis absorption and fluorescence emission titrations. The performance of 1-naphthol as a dual colorimetric and fluorescent molecular recognition probe for determining the H-bond acceptor (HBA) parameters of charged and neutral solutes has been investigated in three solvents. The data were employed to establish self-consistent H-bond acceptor parameters (β) for benzoate, azide, chloride, thiocyanate anions, a series of phosphine oxides, phosphate ester, sulfoxide and a tertiary amide. The results demonstrate both the transferability of H-bond parameters between different solvents and the utility of the naphthol-based dual molecular recognition probe to exploit orthogonal spectroscopic techniques to determine the HBA properties of neutral and charged solutes. The benzoate anion is the strongest HBA studied with a β parameter of 15.4, and the neutral tertiary amide is the weakest H-bond acceptor investigated with a β parameter of 8.5. The H-bond acceptor strength of the azide anion is higher than that of chloride (12.8 and 12.2 respectively), and the thiocyanate anion has a β value of 10.8 and thus is a significantly weaker H-bond acceptor than both the azide and chloride anions.

Effect of Conjugation Length on Photoinduced Charge-Transfer in π-Conjugated Oligomer-Acceptor Dyads

KAUST Repository

Jiang, Junlin

2017-05-25

A series of -conjugated oligomer-acceptor dyads were synthesized that feature oligo(phenylene ethynylene) (OPE) conjugated backbones end-capped with a naphthalene diimide (NDI) acceptor. The OPE segments vary in length from 4 to 8 phenylene ethynene units (PEn-NDI, where n = 4, 6 and 8). Fluorescence and transient absorption spectroscopy reveals that intramolecular OPE NDI charge transfer dominates the deactivation of excited states of the PEn-NDI oligomers. Both charge separation (CS) and charge recombination (CR) are strongly exothermic (G0CS ~ -1.1 and G0CR ~ -2.0 eV), and the driving forces do not vary much across the series because the oxidation and reduction potentials and singlet energies of the OPEs do not vary much with their length. Bimolecular photoinduced charge transfer between model OPEs that do not contain the NDI acceptors with methyl viologen was studied, and the results reveal that the absorption of the cation radical state (OPE+•) remains approximately constant ( ~ 575 nm) regardless of oligomer length. This finding suggests that the cation radical (polaron) of the OPE is relatively localized, effectively occupying a confined segment of n 4 repeat units in the longer oligomers. Photoinduced intramolecular electron transfer dynamics in the PEn-NDI series was investigated by UV-visible femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy with visible and mid-infrared probes. Charge separation occurs on the 1 – 10 ps timescale, with the rates decreasing slightly with increased oligomer length (βCS ~ 0.15 Å-1). The rate for charge-recombination decreases in the sequence PE4-NDI > PE6-NDI ~ PE8-NDI. The discontinuous distance dependence in the rate for charge recombination may be related to the spatial localization of the positive polaron state in the longer oligomers.

Effect of Conjugation Length on Photoinduced Charge-Transfer in π-Conjugated Oligomer-Acceptor Dyads

KAUST Repository

Jiang, Junlin; Alsam, Amani Abdu; Wang, Shanshan; Aly, Shawkat Mohammede; Pan, Zhenxing; Mohammed, Omar F.; Schanze, Kirk S.

2017-01-01

A series of -conjugated oligomer-acceptor dyads were synthesized that feature oligo(phenylene ethynylene) (OPE) conjugated backbones end-capped with a naphthalene diimide (NDI) acceptor. The OPE segments vary in length from 4 to 8 phenylene ethynene units (PEn-NDI, where n = 4, 6 and 8). Fluorescence and transient absorption spectroscopy reveals that intramolecular OPE NDI charge transfer dominates the deactivation of excited states of the PEn-NDI oligomers. Both charge separation (CS) and charge recombination (CR) are strongly exothermic (G0CS ~ -1.1 and G0CR ~ -2.0 eV), and the driving forces do not vary much across the series because the oxidation and reduction potentials and singlet energies of the OPEs do not vary much with their length. Bimolecular photoinduced charge transfer between model OPEs that do not contain the NDI acceptors with methyl viologen was studied, and the results reveal that the absorption of the cation radical state (OPE+•) remains approximately constant ( ~ 575 nm) regardless of oligomer length. This finding suggests that the cation radical (polaron) of the OPE is relatively localized, effectively occupying a confined segment of n 4 repeat units in the longer oligomers. Photoinduced intramolecular electron transfer dynamics in the PEn-NDI series was investigated by UV-visible femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy with visible and mid-infrared probes. Charge separation occurs on the 1 – 10 ps timescale, with the rates decreasing slightly with increased oligomer length (βCS ~ 0.15 Å-1). The rate for charge-recombination decreases in the sequence PE4-NDI > PE6-NDI ~ PE8-NDI. The discontinuous distance dependence in the rate for charge recombination may be related to the spatial localization of the positive polaron state in the longer oligomers.

On the pathway of photoexcited electrons: probing photon-to-electron and photon-to-phonon conversions in silicon by ATR-IR

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Karabudak, Engin; Yüce, Emre; Schlautmann, Stefan

2012-01-01

Photoexcitation and charge carrier thermalization inside semiconductor photocatalysts are two important steps in solar fuel production. Here, photoexcitation and charge carrier thermalization in a silicon wafer are for the first time probed by a novel, yet simple and user-friendly Attenuated Tota...

Platinated DNA oligonucleotides: new probes forming ultrastable conjugates with graphene oxide

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Feng; Liu, Juewen

2014-05-01

Metal containing polymers have expanded the property of polymers by involving covalently associated metal complexes. DNA is a special block copolymer. While metal ions are known to influence DNA, little is explored on its polymer property when strong metal complexes are associated. In this work, we study cisplatin modified DNA as a new polymer and probe. Out of the complexes formed between cisplatin-A15, HAuCl4-A15, Hg2+-T15 and Ag+-C15, only the cisplatin adduct is stable under the denaturing gel electrophoresis condition. Each Pt-nucleobase bond gives a positive charge and thus makes DNA a zwitterionic polymer. This allows ultrafast adsorption of DNA by graphene oxide (GO) and the adsorbed complex is highly stable. Non-specific DNA, protein, surfactants and thiolated compounds cannot displace platinated DNA from GO, while non-modified DNA is easily displaced in most cases. The stable GO/DNA conjugate is further tested for surface hybridization. This is the first demonstration of using metallated DNA as a polymeric material for interfacing with nanoscale materials.Metal containing polymers have expanded the property of polymers by involving covalently associated metal complexes. DNA is a special block copolymer. While metal ions are known to influence DNA, little is explored on its polymer property when strong metal complexes are associated. In this work, we study cisplatin modified DNA as a new polymer and probe. Out of the complexes formed between cisplatin-A15, HAuCl4-A15, Hg2+-T15 and Ag+-C15, only the cisplatin adduct is stable under the denaturing gel electrophoresis condition. Each Pt-nucleobase bond gives a positive charge and thus makes DNA a zwitterionic polymer. This allows ultrafast adsorption of DNA by graphene oxide (GO) and the adsorbed complex is highly stable. Non-specific DNA, protein, surfactants and thiolated compounds cannot displace platinated DNA from GO, while non-modified DNA is easily displaced in most cases. The stable GO/DNA conjugate

Amine reactivity with charged sulfuric acid clusters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. R. Bzdek

2011-08-01

Full Text Available The distribution of charged species produced by electrospray of an ammonium sulfate solution in both positive and negative polarities is examined using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS. Positively-charged ammonium bisulfate cluster composition differs significantly from negatively-charged cluster composition. For positively-charged clusters all sulfuric acid is neutralized to bisulfate, whereas for negatively-charged clusters the degree of sulfuric acid neutralization is cluster size-dependent. With increasing cluster size (and, therefore, a decreasing role of charge, both positively- and negatively-charged cluster compositions converge toward ammonium bisulfate. The reactivity of negatively-charged sulfuric acid-ammonia clusters with dimethylamine and ammonia is also investigated by FTICR-MS. Two series of negatively-charged clusters are investigated: [(HSO₄(H₂SO_4x]⁻ and [(NH_4x(HSO_4x+1(H₂SO₄₃]⁻. Dimethylamine substitution for ammonia in [(NH_{4 x}(HSO_{4 x+1}(H₂SO₄₃]⁻ clusters is nearly collision-limited, and subsequent addition of dimethylamine to neutralize H₂SO₄ to bisulfate is within one order of magnitude of the substitution rate. Dimethylamine addition to [(HSO₄ (H₂SO_{4 x}]⁻ clusters is either not observed or very slow. The results of this study indicate that amine chemistry will be evident and important only in large ambient negative ions (>m/z 400, whereas amine chemistry may be evident in small ambient positive ions. Addition of ammonia to unneutralized clusters occurs at a rate that is ~2–3 orders of magnitude slower than incorporation of dimethylamine either by substitution or addition

Residual dust charges in discharge afterglow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coueedel, L.; Mikikian, M.; Boufendi, L.; Samarian, A. A.

2006-01-01

An on-ground measurement of dust-particle residual charges in the afterglow of a dusty plasma was performed in a rf discharge. An upward thermophoretic force was used to balance the gravitational force. It was found that positively charged, negatively charged, and neutral dust particles coexisted for more than 1 min after the discharge was switched off. The mean residual charge for 200-nm-radius particles was measured. The dust particle mean charge is about -5e at a pressure of 1.2 mbar and about -3e at a pressure of 0.4 mbar

Origin of the Drude peak and of zero sound in probe brane holography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chi-Fang Chen

2017-11-01

Full Text Available At zero temperature, the charge current operator appears to be conserved, within linear response, in certain holographic probe brane models of strange metals. At small but finite temperature, we analytically show that the weak non-conservation of this current leads to both a collective “zero sound” mode and a Drude peak in the electrical conductivity. This simultaneously resolves two outstanding puzzles about probe brane theories. The nonlinear dynamics of the current operator itself appears qualitatively different.

Photo-induced charge transfer at heterogeneous interfaces: Dye-sensitized tin disulfide, the theory and the experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lanzafame, J.M.

1993-01-01

The study of photo-induced charge transfer is an endeavor that spans the entire industrial period of man's history. Its great importance demands an ever greater understanding of its underlying principles. The work discussed here attempts to probe elementary aspects of the charge transfer process. Investigations into the theory of charge transfer reactions are made in an attempt to isolate the relevant parameters. An analytical discussion is made of a simple Golden Rule type rate equation to describe the transfer kinetics. Then a quantum simulation is carried out to follow the wavefunction propagation as a test of the applicability of the assumptions made in deriving the simpler rate equation. Investigation of charge transfer at surfaces is bet served by the application of ultrafast optical spectroscopies to probe carrier dynamics. A discussion of the properties of the short pulse laser systems employed is included along with a discussion of the different optical spectroscopies available. These tools are then brought to bear upon dye-sensitized SnS 2 , a model system for the study of charge injection processes. The unique properties of the semiconductor are discussed with respect to the charge transfer process. The unique properties of the semiconductor are discussed with respect to the charge transfer process. The optical experiments performed on the dye/SnS 2 systems elucidate the fundamental carrier dynamics and these dynamics are discussed within the theoretical framework to provide a complete picture of the charge transfer kinetics

Integrative Approach with Electrophysiological and Theoretical Methods Reveals a New Role of S4 Positively Charged Residues in PKD2L1 Channel Voltage-Sensing.

Science.gov (United States)

Numata, Tomohiro; Tsumoto, Kunichika; Yamada, Kazunori; Kurokawa, Tatsuki; Hirose, Shinichi; Nomura, Hideki; Kawano, Mitsuhiro; Kurachi, Yoshihisa; Inoue, Ryuji; Mori, Yasuo

2017-08-29

Numerical model-based simulations provide important insights into ion channel gating when experimental limitations exist. Here, a novel strategy combining numerical simulations with patch clamp experiments was used to investigate the net positive charges in the putative transmembrane segment 4 (S4) of the atypical, positively-shifted voltage-dependence of polycystic kidney disease 2-like 1 (PKD2L1) channel. Charge-neutralising mutations (K452Q, K455Q and K461Q) in S4 reduced gating charges, positively shifted the Boltzmann-type activation curve [i.e., open probability (P open )-V curve] and altered the time-courses of activation/deactivation of PKD2L1, indicating that this region constitutes part of a voltage sensor. Numerical reconstruction of wild-type (WT) and mutant PKD2L1-mediated currents necessitated, besides their voltage-dependent gating parameters, a scaling factor that describes the voltage-dependence of maximal conductance, G max . Subsequent single-channel conductance (γ) measurements revealed that voltage-dependence of G max in WT can be explained by the inward-rectifying property of γ, which is greatly changed in PKD2L1 mutants. Homology modelling based on PKD2 and Na V Ab structures suggest that such voltage dependence of P open and γ in PKD2L1 could both reflect the charged state of the S4 domain. The present conjunctive experimental and theoretical approaches provide a framework to explore the undetermined mechanism(s) regulating TRP channels that possess non-classical voltage-dependent properties.

A CCD camera probe for a superconducting cyclotron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marti, F.; Blue, R.; Kuchar, J.; Nolen, J.A.; Sherrill, B.; Yurkon, J.

1991-01-01

The traditional internal beam probes in cyclotrons have consisted of a differential element, a wire or thin strip, and a main probe with several fingers to determine the vertical distribution of the beam. The resolution of these probes is limited, especially in the vertical direction. The authors have developed a probe for their K1200 superconducting cyclotron based on a CCD TV camera that works in a 6 T magnetic field. The camera looks at the beam spot on a scintillating screen. The TV image is processed by a frame grabber that digitizes and displays the image in pseudocolor in real time. This probe has much better resolution than traditional probes. They can see beams with total currents as low as 0.1 pA, with position resolution of about 0.05 mm

Primary Multidrug Resistant Tuberculosis and Utility of Line Probe Assay for Its Detection in Smear-Positive Sputum Samples in a Tertiary Care Hospital in South India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fahmiya Leena Yacoob

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In a high tuberculosis burdened country like India, rapid, cost-effective, and reliable diagnostic tools for tuberculosis are an urgent need of the hour to prevent inappropriate treatment strategies and further spread of resistance. This study aimed to estimate the proportion of new smear-positive tuberculosis cases with primary resistance to rifampicin and/or isoniazid as well as identify the common mutations associated with it. Sputum of 200 newly diagnosed smear-positive cases of 1+ score and above was directly subjected to Line Probe Assay using the GenoType MTBDRplus assay kit. All samples were inoculated onto solid media and 61 samples were inoculated in automated liquid culture also. The Line Probe Assay gave hundred percent interpretable results with 2.5% of the study population showing resistant pattern. Only 1% of the cases were primary multidrug resistant tuberculosis and 1.5% showed isoniazid monoresistance. S531L and C15T were the most common genetic mutations seen for rifampicin and isoniazid resistance, respectively. 40% had absent rpoB wild type 8 band indicating probable silent mutation after clinical correlation. The average turnaround time for Line Probe Assay was far less (3.8 days as compared to solid and liquid cultures (35.6 days and 13.5 days, resp..

Primary Multidrug Resistant Tuberculosis and Utility of Line Probe Assay for Its Detection in Smear-Positive Sputum Samples in a Tertiary Care Hospital in South India.

Science.gov (United States)

Yacoob, Fahmiya Leena; Philomina Jose, Beena; Karunakaran Lelitha, Sarada Devi; Sreenivasan, Sreelatha

2016-01-01

In a high tuberculosis burdened country like India, rapid, cost-effective, and reliable diagnostic tools for tuberculosis are an urgent need of the hour to prevent inappropriate treatment strategies and further spread of resistance. This study aimed to estimate the proportion of new smear-positive tuberculosis cases with primary resistance to rifampicin and/or isoniazid as well as identify the common mutations associated with it. Sputum of 200 newly diagnosed smear-positive cases of 1+ score and above was directly subjected to Line Probe Assay using the GenoType MTBDRplus assay kit. All samples were inoculated onto solid media and 61 samples were inoculated in automated liquid culture also. The Line Probe Assay gave hundred percent interpretable results with 2.5% of the study population showing resistant pattern. Only 1% of the cases were primary multidrug resistant tuberculosis and 1.5% showed isoniazid monoresistance. S531L and C15T were the most common genetic mutations seen for rifampicin and isoniazid resistance, respectively. 40% had absent rpoB wild type 8 band indicating probable silent mutation after clinical correlation. The average turnaround time for Line Probe Assay was far less (3.8 days) as compared to solid and liquid cultures (35.6 days and 13.5 days, resp.).

Surface density dependence of PCR amplicon hybridization on PNA/DNA probe layers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yao, Danfeng; Kim, Junyoung; Yu, Fang

2005-01-01

at an intermediate sodium concentration (approximately 100 mM). These effects were mainly ascribed to the electrostatic cross talk among the hybridized DNA molecules and the secondary structure of PCR amplicons. For the negatively charged DNA probes, the hybridization reaction was subjected additionally to the DNA....../DNA electrostatic barrier, particularly in lower ionic strength range (e.g., 10 approximately 150 mM Na(+)). The electrostatic cross talk was shown to be largely reduced if the PNA probe layer was sufficiently diluted by following a strategic templated immobilization method. As a consequence, a pseudo...

Measurement of Production Properties of Positively Charged Kaons in Proton-Carbon Interactions at 31 GeV/c

CERN Document Server

Abgrall, N.; Anticic, T.; Antoniou, N.; Argyriades, J.; Baatar, B.; Blondel, A.; Blumer, J.; Bogusz, M.; Boldizsar, L.; Bravar, A.; Brooks, W.; Brzychczyk, J.; Bubak, A.; Bunyatov, S.A.; Busygina, O.; Cetner, T.; Choi, K.U.; Christakoglou, P.; Czopowicz, T.; Davis, N.; Diakonos, F.; Di Luise, S.; Dominik, W.; Dumarchez, J.; Engel, R.; Ereditato, A.; Esposito, L.S.; Feofilov, G.A.; Fodor, Z.; Ferrero, A.; Fulop, A.; Garrido, X.; Gazdzicki, M.; Golubeva, M.; Grebieszkow, K.; Grzeszczuk, A.; Guber, F.; Haesler, A.; Hakobyan, H.; Hasegawa, T.; Idczak, R.; Ivanov, Y.; Ivashkin, A.; Kadija, K.; Kapoyannis, A.; Katrynska, N.; Kielczewska, D.; Kikola, D.; Kim, J.H.; Kirejczyk, M.; Kisiel, J.; Kobayashi, T.; Kochebina, O.; Kolesnikov, V.I.; Kolev, D.; Kondratiev, V.P.; Korzenev, A.; Kowalski, S.; Krasnoperov, A.; Kuleshov, S.; Kurepin, A.; Lacey, R.; Lagoda, J.; Laszlo, A.; Lyubushkin, V.V.; Mackowiak-Pawlowska, M.; Majka, Z.; Malakhov, A.I.; Marchionni, A.; Marcinek, A.; Maris, I.; Marin, V.; Matulewicz, T.; Matveev, V.; Melkumov, G.L.; Meregaglia, A.; Messina, M.; Mrowczynski, St.; Murphy, S.; Nakadaira, T.; Nishikawa, K.; Palczewski, T.; Palla, G.; Panagiotou, A.D.; Paul, T.; Peryt, W.; Petukhov, O.; Planeta, R.; Pluta, J.; Popov, B.A.; Posiadala, M.; Pulawski, S.; Rauch, W.; Ravonel, M.; Renfordt, R.; Robert, A.; Rohrich, D.; Rondio, E.; Rossi, B.; Roth, M.; Rubbia, A.; Rybczynski, M.; Sadovsky, A.; Sakashita, K.; Sekiguchi, T.; Seyboth, P.; Shibata, M.; Skrzypczak, E.; Slodkowski, M.; Staszel, P.; Stefanek, G.; Stepaniak, J.; Strabel, C.; Strobele, H.; Susa, T.; Szaflik, P.; Szuba, M.; Tada, M.; Taranenko, A.; Tereshchenko, V.; Tsenov, R.; Turko, L.; Ulrich, R.; Unger, M.; Vassiliou, M.; Veberic, D.; Vechernin, V.V.; Vesztergombi, G.; Wilczek, A.; Wlodarczyk, Z.; Wojtaszek-Szwarc, A.; Yi, J.G.; Yoo, I.K.; Zambelli, L.; Zipper, W.

2012-01-01

Spectra of positively charged kaons in p+C interactions at 31 GeV/c were measured with the NA61/SHINE spectrometer at the CERN SPS. The analysis is based on the full set of data collected in 2007 with a graphite target with a thickness of 4% of a nuclear interaction length. Interaction cross sections and charged pion spectra were already measured using the same set of data. These new measurements in combination with the published ones are required to improve predictions of the neutrino flux for the T2K long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment in Japan. In particular, the knowledge of kaon production is crucial for precisely predicting the intrinsic electron neutrino component and the high energy tail of the T2K beam. The results are presented as a function of laboratory momentum in 2 intervals of the laboratory polar angle covering the range from 20 up to 240 mrad. The kaon spectra are compared with predictions of several hadron production models. Using the published...

Charged Triazole Cross-Linkers for Hyaluronan-Based Hybrid Hydrogels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maike Martini

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Polyelectrolyte hydrogels play an important role in tissue engineering and can be produced from natural polymers, such as the glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan. In order to control charge density and mechanical properties of hyaluronan-based hydrogels, we developed cross-linkers with a neutral or positively charged triazole core with different lengths of spacer arms and two terminal maleimide groups. These cross-linkers react with thiolated hyaluronan in a fast, stoichiometric thio-Michael addition. Introducing a positive charge on the core of the cross-linker enabled us to compare hydrogels with the same interconnectivity, but a different charge density. Positively charged cross-linkers form stiffer hydrogels relatively independent of the size of the cross-linker, whereas neutral cross-linkers only form stable hydrogels at small spacer lengths. These novel cross-linkers provide a platform to tune the hydrogel network charge and thus the mechanical properties of the network. In addition, they might offer a wide range of applications especially in bioprinting for precise design of hydrogels.

Proximity Band Structure and Spin Textures on Both Sides of Topological-Insulator/Ferromagnetic-Metal Interface and Their Charge Transport Probes.

Science.gov (United States)

Marmolejo-Tejada, Juan Manuel; Dolui, Kapildeb; Lazić, Predrag; Chang, Po-Hao; Smidstrup, Søren; Stradi, Daniele; Stokbro, Kurt; Nikolić, Branislav K

2017-09-13

The control of recently observed spintronic effects in topological-insulator/ferromagnetic-metal (TI/FM) heterostructures is thwarted by the lack of understanding of band structure and spin textures around their interfaces. Here we combine density functional theory with Green's function techniques to obtain the spectral function at any plane passing through atoms of Bi 2 Se 3 and Co or Cu layers comprising the interface. Instead of naively assumed Dirac cone gapped by the proximity exchange field spectral function, we find that the Rashba ferromagnetic model describes the spectral function on the surface of Bi 2 Se 3 in contact with Co near the Fermi level E F 0 , where circular and snowflake-like constant energy contours coexist around which spin locks to momentum. The remnant of the Dirac cone is hybridized with evanescent wave functions from metallic layers and pushed, due to charge transfer from Co or Cu layers, a few tenths of an electron-volt below E F 0 for both Bi 2 Se 3 /Co and Bi 2 Se 3 /Cu interfaces while hosting distorted helical spin texture wounding around a single circle. These features explain recent observation of sensitivity of spin-to-charge conversion signal at TI/Cu interface to tuning of E F 0 . Crucially for spin-orbit torque in TI/FM heterostructures, few monolayers of Co adjacent to Bi 2 Se 3 host spectral functions very different from the bulk metal, as well as in-plane spin textures (despite Co magnetization being out-of-plane) due to proximity spin-orbit coupling in Co induced by Bi 2 Se 3 . We predict that out-of-plane tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance in Cu/Bi 2 Se 3 /Co vertical heterostructure can serve as a sensitive probe of the type of spin texture residing at E F 0 .

Inertial Measurement Units-Based Probe Vehicles: Automatic Calibration, Trajectory Estimation, and Context Detection

KAUST Repository

Mousa, Mustafa

2017-12-06

Most probe vehicle data is generated using satellite navigation systems, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), Globalnaya navigatsionnaya sputnikovaya Sistema (GLONASS), or Galileo systems. However, because of their high cost, relatively high position uncertainty in cities, and low sampling rate, a large quantity of satellite positioning data is required to estimate traffic conditions accurately. To address this issue, we introduce a new type of traffic monitoring system based on inexpensive inertial measurement units (IMUs) as probe sensors. IMUs as traffic probes pose unique challenges in that they need to be precisely calibrated, do not generate absolute position measurements, and their position estimates are subject to accumulating errors. In this paper, we address each of these challenges and demonstrate that the IMUs can reliably be used as traffic probes. After discussing the sensing technique, we present an implementation of this system using a custom-designed hardware platform, and validate the system with experimental data.

Inertial Measurement Units-Based Probe Vehicles: Automatic Calibration, Trajectory Estimation, and Context Detection

KAUST Repository

Mousa, Mustafa; Sharma, Kapil; Claudel, Christian G.

2017-01-01

Most probe vehicle data is generated using satellite navigation systems, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), Globalnaya navigatsionnaya sputnikovaya Sistema (GLONASS), or Galileo systems. However, because of their high cost, relatively high position uncertainty in cities, and low sampling rate, a large quantity of satellite positioning data is required to estimate traffic conditions accurately. To address this issue, we introduce a new type of traffic monitoring system based on inexpensive inertial measurement units (IMUs) as probe sensors. IMUs as traffic probes pose unique challenges in that they need to be precisely calibrated, do not generate absolute position measurements, and their position estimates are subject to accumulating errors. In this paper, we address each of these challenges and demonstrate that the IMUs can reliably be used as traffic probes. After discussing the sensing technique, we present an implementation of this system using a custom-designed hardware platform, and validate the system with experimental data.

Role of molecular charge in nucleocytoplasmic transport.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Goryaynov

Full Text Available Transport of genetic materials and proteins between the nucleus and cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells is mediated by nuclear pore complexes (NPCs. A selective barrier formed by phenylalanine-glycine (FG nucleoporins (Nups with net positive charges in the NPC allows for passive diffusion of signal-independent small molecules and transport-receptor facilitated translocation of signal-dependent cargo molecules. Recently, negative surface charge was postulated to be another essential criterion for selective passage through the NPC. However, the charge-driven mechanism in determining the transport kinetics and spatial transport route for either passive diffusion or facilitated translocation remains obscure. Here we employed high-speed single-molecule fluorescence microscopy with an unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution of 9 nm and 400 µs to uncover these mechanistic fundamentals for nuclear transport of charged substrates through native NPCs. We found that electrostatic interaction between negative surface charges on transiting molecules and the positively charged FG Nups, although enhancing their probability of binding to the NPC, never plays a dominant role in determining their nuclear transport mode or spatial transport route. A 3D reconstruction of transport routes revealed that small signal-dependent endogenous cargo protein constructs with high positive surface charges that are destined to the nucleus, rather than repelled from the NPC as suggested in previous models, passively diffused through an axial central channel of the NPC in the absence of transport receptors. Finally, we postulated a comprehensive map of interactions between transiting molecules and FG Nups during nucleocytoplasmic transport by combining the effects of molecular size, signal and surface charge.

Probing Single- to Multi-Cell Level Charge Transport in Geobacter sulfurreducens DL-1

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-08

cell was housed in a Faraday cage , yielding a noise level of o40 fA. All experiments were performed with more than 20 independent measurements across...indicated by purple arrow in Fig. 3a) after recording the stable baseline. To minimize the effect of external voltages and non-invasively probe the

Probing inhibitory effects of nanocrystalline cellulose: inhibition versus surface charge

Science.gov (United States)

Male, Keith B.; Leung, Alfred C. W.; Montes, Johnny; Kamen, Amine; Luong, John H. T.

2012-02-01

NCC derived from different biomass sources was probed for its plausible cytotoxicity by electric cell-substrate impedance sensing (ECIS). Two different cell lines, Spodoptera frugiperda Sf9 insect cells and Chinese hamster lung fibroblast V79, were exposed to NCC and their spreading and viability were monitored and quantified by ECIS. Based on the 50%-inhibition concentration (ECIS50), none of the NCC produced was judged to have any significant cytotoxicity on these two cell lines. However, NCC derived from flax exhibited the most pronounced inhibition on Sf9 compared to hemp and cellulose powder. NCCs from flax and hemp pre-treated with pectate lyase were also less inhibitory than NCCs prepared from untreated flax and hemp. Results also suggested a correlation between the inhibitory effect and the carboxylic acid contents on the NCC.

Theory of a spherical electrostatic probe in a continuum plasma: Analytical models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brailsford, A.D.

1977-01-01

A simple physical model of the charge distribution surrounding a biased spherical probe in a quiescent plasma, suggested by the theory of Su and Lam, is used to rederive the probe current-voltage characteristic. The result is compared with that of a slightly different version due to Kiel and with the exact numerical results of Baum and Chapkis. It is shown that if the ratio of the probe radius to the Debye length of the plasma is greater than or of the order of unity, the model calculation is in excellent agreement with the exact results when the dimensionless probe voltage phi/sup asterisk//sub p/,=vertical-barephi/sub p//kTvertical-bar in standard notation, is greater than 10, for both thick and thin sheaths. The comparison also provides an assessment of the importance of various additional validity criteria encountered in analytical treatments of the problem

Charge asymmetry ratio as a probe of quark flavour couplings of resonant particles at the LHC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kom, Chun-Hay; Stirling, W.J.

2011-01-01

We show how a precise knowledge of parton distribution functions, in particular those of the u and d quarks, can be used to constrain a certain class of New Physics models in which new heavy charged resonances couple to quarks and leptons. We illustrate the method by considering a left-right symmetric model with a W' from a SU(2) R gauge sector produced in quark-antiquark annihilation and decaying into a charged lepton and a heavy Majorana neutrino. We discuss a number of quark and lepton mixing scenarios, and simulate both signals and backgrounds in order to determine the size of the expected charge asymmetry. We show that various quark-W' mixing scenarios can indeed be constrained by charge asymmetry measurements at the LHC, particularly at √(s)=14 TeV. (orig.)

Schottky-Gated Probe-Free ZnO Nanowire Biosensor

KAUST Repository

Yeh, Ping-Hung

2009-12-28

(Figure Presented) A nanowire-based nanosensor for detecting biologically and chemically charged molecules that is probe-free and highly sensitive is demonstrated. The device relies on the nonsymmetrical Schottky contact under reverse bias (see figure) and is much more sensitive than the device based on the symmetric ohmic contact. This approach serves as a guideline for designing more practical chemical and biochemical sensors. © 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

A Study of Correlations Between Identified Charged Hadrons in Hadronic Z0 Decays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burrows, Phil

2000-01-01

The authors present a preliminary study of correlations in rapidity between pairs of identified charged pions, kaons and protons using the entire SLD data sample of 550,000 hadronic Z 0 decays. Short range charge correlations are observed between all combinations of these hadron species, indicating local conservation of quantum numbers and charge ordering in the jet fragmentation process. The rapidity range of this effect is found to be independent of particle momentum. A strong long-range K + -K - correlation is observed at high-momentum and weaker long-range pi + -pi - , pi + -K - p-K - and p anti-p correlations are observed in light flavor events, providing new information on leading particle production in u, d and s jets. The long-range correlations observed in c anti-c and b anti-b events are markedly different and consistent with expectations based on known decay properties of the leading heavy hadrons. In addition, the SLC electron beam polarization is used to tag the quark hemisphere in each event, allowing the first study of rapidities signed such that positive rapidity is along the quark rather than antiquark direction. Distributions of ordered differences in signed rapidity between pairs of particles provide a direct probe of quantum number ordering along the quark-antiquark axis and other new insights into the fragmentation process

Performance of a position sensitive Si(Li) x-ray detector dedicated to Compton polarimetry of stored and trapped highly-charged ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weber, G; Braeuning, H; Hess, S; Maertin, R; Spillmann, U; Stoehlker, Th

2010-01-01

We report on a novel two-dimensional position sensitive Si(Li) detector dedicated to Compton polarimetry of x-ray radiation arising from highly-charged ions. The performance of the detector system was evaluated in ion-atom collision experiments at the ESR storage ringe at GSI, Darmstadt. Based on the data obtained, the polarimeter efficiency is estimated in this work.

Low energy probes of PeV scale sfermions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Altmannshofer, Wolfgang; Harnik, Roni; Zupan, Jure

2013-11-27

We derive bounds on squark and slepton masses in mini-split supersymmetry scenario using low energy experiments. In this setup gauginos are at the TeV scale, while sfermions are heavier by a loop factor. We cover the most sensitive low energy probes including electric dipole moments (EDMs), meson oscillations and charged lepton flavor violation (LFV) transitions. A leading log resummation of the large logs of gluino to sfermion mass ratio is performed. A sensitivity to PeV squark masses is obtained at present from kaon mixing measurements. A number of observables, including neutron EDMs, mu->e transitions and charmed meson mixing, will start probing sfermion masses in the 100 TeV-1000 TeV range with the projected improvements in the experimental sensitivities. We also discuss the implications of our results for a variety of models that address the flavor hierarchy of quarks and leptons. We find that EDM searches will be a robust probe of models in which fermion masses are generated radiatively, while LFV searches remain sensitive to simple-texture based flavor models.

Detection of hepatitis A virus by hybridization with single-stranded RNA probes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xi, J.; Estes, M.K.; Metcalf, T.G.

1987-01-01

An improved method of dot-blot hybridization to detect hepatitis A virus (HAV) was developed with single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) probes. Radioactive and nonradioactive ssRNA probes were generated by in vitro transcription of HAV templates inserted into the plasmid pGEM-1. 32 P-labeled ssRNA probes were at least eightfold more sensitive than the 32 P-labeled double-stranded cDNA counterparts, whereas biotin-labeled ssRNA probes showed a sensitivity comparable with that of the 32 P-labeled double-stranded cDNA counterparts. Hybridization of HAV with the ssRNA probes at high stringency revealed specific reactions with a high signal-to-noise ratio. The differential hybridization reactions seen with probes of positive and negative sense (compared with HAV genomic RNA) were used to detect HAV in clinical and field samples. A positive/negative ratio was introduced as an indicator that permitted an semiquantitative expression of a positive HAV reaction. Good agreement of this indicator was observed with normal stool samples and with HAV-seeded samples. By using this system, HAV was detected in estuarine and freshwater samples collected from a sewage-polluted bayou in Houston and a saltwater tributary of Galveston Bay

Using polarized positrons to probe physics beyond the standard model

Science.gov (United States)

Furletova, Yulia; Mantry, Sonny

2018-05-01

A high intensity polarized positron beam, as part of the JLAB 12 GeV program and the proposed electron-ion collider (EIC), can provide a unique opportunity for testing the Standard Model (SM) and probing for new physics. The combination of high luminosity with polarized electrons and positrons incident on protons and deuterons can isolate important effects and distinguish between possible new physics scenarios in a manner that will complement current experimental efforts. A comparison of cross sections between polarized electron and positron beams will allow for an extraction of the poorly known weak neutral current coupling combination 2C3u - C3d and would complement the proposed plan for a precision extraction of the combination 2C2u - Cd at the EIC. Precision measurements of these neutral weak couplings would constrain new physics scenarios including Leptoquarks, R-parity violating supersymmetry, and electron and quark compositeness. The dependence of the charged current cross section on the longitudinal polarization of the positron beam will provide an independent probe to test the chiral structure of the electroweak interactions. A polarized positron can probe charged lepton flavor violation (CLFV) through a search for e+ → τ+ transitions in a manner that is independent and complementary to the proposed e- → τ- search at the EIC. A positron beam incident on an electron in a stationary nuclear target will also allow for a dark-photon (A') search via the annihilation process e+ + e- → A' + γ.

Development and field practical performance of smart array probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maeda, Kotaro; Shimone, Junri; Akagawa, Junichi; Nagata, Yasuyuki; Harada, Yutaka; Sera, Takehiko; Hirano, Shinro

2011-01-01

In 1999, NEL developed the transmit-receive type ECT array probe for steam generator (SG) tubing, called 'X-probe', in cooperation with foreign firms. Recently NEL has developed the advanced ECT array probe, 'Smart Array Probe', characterized with a significantly improved resolution for circumferential cracks. The doubled channels in the circumferential mode have greatly improved the circumferential resolution of Smart Array Probe. With all the circumferential mode channels on the same circle, there is no need for axial position correction of inspection data. This report describes both the field practical performance and the compliance assessment to a Japanese SG-ECT guideline 'JEAG4208' of Smart Array ECT System, composed of Smart Array Probe, pusher-in-tester 'OMNI-200', and NEL's ECT Analysis System. (author)

Solar Probe ANalyzer for Ions - Laboratory Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Livi, R.; Larson, D. E.; Kasper, J. C.; Korreck, K. E.; Whittlesey, P. L.

2017-12-01

The Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission is a heliospheric satellite that will orbit the Sun closer than any prior mission to date with a perihelion of 35 solar radii (RS) and an aphelion of 10 RS. PSP includes the Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons (SWEAP) instrument suite, which in turn consists of four instruments: the Solar Probe Cup (SPC) and three Solar Probe ANalyzers (SPAN) for ions and electrons. Together, this suite will take local measurements of particles and electromagnetic fields within the Sun's corona. SPAN-Ai has completed flight calibration and spacecraft integration and is set to be launched in July of 2018. The main mode of operation consists of an electrostatic analyzer (ESA) at its aperture followed by a Time-of-Flight section to measure the energy and mass per charge (m/q) of the ambient ions. SPAN-Ai's main objective is to measure solar wind ions within an energy range of 5 eV - 20 keV, a mass/q between 1-60 [amu/q] and a field of view of 2400x1200. Here we will show flight calibration results and performance.

Experiment of bias probe method at NIRS-18 GHz ECR ion source

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jincho, Kaoru; Yamamoto, Mitsugu; Okada, Takanori; Takasugi, Wataru; Sakuma, Tetsuya; Miyoshi, Tomohiro [Accelerator Engineering Corp., Chiba (Japan); Kitagawa, Atsushi; Muramatsu, Masayuki [National Inst. of Radiological Sciences, Chiba (Japan); Biri, Sandor [Institute of Nuclear Research (ATOMKI), Debrecen (Hungary)

2000-11-01

An 18 GHz ECR ion source (NIRS-HEC) has been developed to produce highly charged heavy ions from Ar to Xe. In order to increase the beam intensity of highly charged ion, we tried a technique of supplying cold electrons into the ECR plasma. In this paper, enhancement of the beam intensity is discussed in detail. The bias voltage is applied on the probe to repel cold electrons which flow from a plasma. The output beam current is 130 e{mu}A for Ar{sup 11+}. (J.P.N.)

Experiment of bias probe method at NIRS-18 GHz ECR ion source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jincho, Kaoru; Yamamoto, Mitsugu; Okada, Takanori; Takasugi, Wataru; Sakuma, Tetsuya; Miyoshi, Tomohiro; Kitagawa, Atsushi; Muramatsu, Masayuki; Biri, Sandor

2000-01-01

An 18 GHz ECR ion source (NIRS-HEC) has been developed to produce highly charged heavy ions from Ar to Xe. In order to increase the beam intensity of highly charged ion, we tried a technique of supplying cold electrons into the ECR plasma. In this paper, enhancement of the beam intensity is discussed in detail. The bias voltage is applied on the probe to repel cold electrons which flow from a plasma. The output beam current is 130 eμA for Ar 11+ . (J.P.N.)

Efficient atom localization via probe absorption in an inverted-Y atomic system

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Jianchun; Wu, Bo; Mao, Jiejian

2018-06-01

The behaviour of atom localization in an inverted-Y atomic system is theoretically investigated. For the atoms interacting with a weak probe field and several orthogonal standing-wave fields, their position information can be obtained by measuring the probe absorption. Compared with the traditional scheme, we couple the probe field to the transition between the middle and top levels. It is found that the probe absorption sensitively depends on the detuning and strength of the relevant light fields. Remarkably, the atom can be localized at a particular position in the standing-wave fields by coupling a microwave field to the transition between the two ground levels.

Direct Observation of Individual Charges and Their Dynamics on Graphene by Low-Energy Electron Holography.

Science.gov (United States)

Latychevskaia, Tatiana; Wicki, Flavio; Longchamp, Jean-Nicolas; Escher, Conrad; Fink, Hans-Werner

2016-09-14

Visualizing individual charges confined to molecules and observing their dynamics with high spatial resolution is a challenge for advancing various fields in science, ranging from mesoscopic physics to electron transfer events in biological molecules. We show here that the high sensitivity of low-energy electrons to local electric fields can be employed to directly visualize individual charged adsorbates and to study their behavior in a quantitative way. This makes electron holography a unique probing tool for directly visualizing charge distributions with a sensitivity of a fraction of an elementary charge. Moreover, spatial resolution in the nanometer range and fast data acquisition inherent to lens-less low-energy electron holography allows for direct visual inspection of charge transfer processes.

TORE SUPRA fast reciprocating radio frequency probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, C.E. Jr.; Harris, J.H.; Haste, G.R.; Kwon, M.; Goulding, R.H.; Hoffman, D.J.; Saoutic, B.; Becoulet, A.; Fraboulet, D.; Beaumont, B.; Kuus, H.; Ladurelle, L.; Pascal, J.Y.

1995-01-01

A fast reciprocating ion cyclotron range of frequencies (ICRF) probe was installed and operated on TORE SUPRA during 1992/1993. The body of the probe was originally used on the ATF experiment at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The probe was adapted for use on TORE SUPRA, and mounted on one of the two fast reciprocating probe mounts. The probe consists of two orthogonal single-turn wire loops, mounted so that one loop senses toroidal rf magnetic fields and the other senses poloidal rf magnetic fields. The probe began operation in June, 1993. The probe active area is approximately 5 cm long by 2 cm, and the reciprocating mount has a slow stroke (5 cm/s) of 30 cm and a fast stroke (1.5 m/s) of about 10 cm. The probe was operated at distances from the plasma edge ranging from 30 to -5 cm (i.e., inside the last closed flux surface). The probe design, electronics, calibration, data acquisition, and data processing are discussed. First data from the probe are presented as a function of ICRF power, distance from the plasma, loop orientation, and other plasma parameters. Initial data show parametric instabilities do not play an important role for ICRF in the TORE SUPRA edge and scrape-off-layer (SOL) plasmas. Additionally it is observed that the probe signal has little or no dependence on position in the SOL/plasma edge

Tools for Ultraspecific Probe/Primer Design

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Fofanov, Yurly

2006-01-01

.... Our approach will deliver DNA probes and PCR primers that have an unprecedentedly low probability of false positives or confusion by environmental background, and which resist evasion by threat agent engineering...

Effect of positively charged short peptides on stability of cubic phases of monoolein/dioleoylphosphatidic acid mixtures.

Science.gov (United States)

Masum, Shah Md; Li, Shu Jie; Awad, Tarek S; Yamazaki, Masahito

2005-06-07

To elucidate the stability and phase transition of cubic phases of biomembranes with infinite periodic minimal surface is indispensable from biological and physicochemical aspects. In this report, we investigated the effect of positively charged peptide-3K (LLKKK) and poly(L-lysine) on the phase stability of monoolein (MO) membranes containing negatively charged dioleoylphosphatidic acid (DOPA) (i.e., DOPA/MO membranes) using small-angle X-ray scattering. At first, the effect of peptide-3K on 10% DOPA/90% MO membrane in excess water, which is in the Q229 phase, was investigated. At 3.4 mM peptide-3K, a Q229 to Q230 phase transition occurred, and at >3.4 mM peptide-3K, the membrane was in the Q230 phase. Poly(L-lysine) (M(w) 1K-4K) also induced the Q230 phase, but peptide-2K (LLKK) could not induce it in the same membrane. We also investigated the effect of peptide-3K on the multilamellar vesicle (MLV) of 25% DOPA/75% MO membrane, which is in L(alpha) phase. In the absence of peptide, the spacing of MLV was very large (11.3 nm), but at > or = 8 mM peptide-3K, it greatly decreased to a constant value (5.2 nm), irrespective of the peptide concentration, indicating that peptide-3K and the membranes form an electrostatically stabilized aggregation with low water content. Poly(L-lysine) also decreased greatly the spacing of the 25% DOPA/75% MO MLV, indicating the formation of a similar aggregation. To compare the effects of peptide-3K and poly(L-lysine) with that of osmotic stress on stability of the cubic phase, we investigated the effect of poly(ethylene glycol) with molecular weight 7500 (PEG-6K) on the phase stability of 10% DOPA/90% MO membrane. With an increase in PEG-6K concentration, i.e., with an increase in osmotic stress, the most stable phase changed as follows; Q229 (Schwartz's P surface) --> Q224 (D) --> Q230 (G). On the basis of these results, we discuss the mechanism of the effects of the positively charged short peptides (peptide-3K) and poly

Can quantum probes satisfy the weak equivalence principle?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seveso, Luigi; Paris, Matteo G.A.

2017-01-01

We address the question whether quantum probes in a gravitational field can be considered as test particles obeying the weak equivalence principle (WEP). A formulation of the WEP is proposed which applies also in the quantum regime, while maintaining the physical content of its classical counterpart. Such formulation requires the introduction of a gravitational field not to modify the Fisher information about the mass of a freely-falling probe, extractable through measurements of its position. We discover that, while in a uniform field quantum probes satisfy our formulation of the WEP exactly, gravity gradients can encode nontrivial information about the particle’s mass in its wavefunction, leading to violations of the WEP. - Highlights: • Can quantum probes under gravity be approximated as test-bodies? • A formulation of the weak equivalence principle for quantum probes is proposed. • Quantum probes are found to violate it as a matter of principle.

Can quantum probes satisfy the weak equivalence principle?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seveso, Luigi, E-mail: luigi.seveso@unimi.it [Quantum Technology Lab, Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Milano, I-20133 Milano (Italy); Paris, Matteo G.A. [Quantum Technology Lab, Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Milano, I-20133 Milano (Italy); INFN, Sezione di Milano, I-20133 Milano (Italy)

2017-05-15

We address the question whether quantum probes in a gravitational field can be considered as test particles obeying the weak equivalence principle (WEP). A formulation of the WEP is proposed which applies also in the quantum regime, while maintaining the physical content of its classical counterpart. Such formulation requires the introduction of a gravitational field not to modify the Fisher information about the mass of a freely-falling probe, extractable through measurements of its position. We discover that, while in a uniform field quantum probes satisfy our formulation of the WEP exactly, gravity gradients can encode nontrivial information about the particle’s mass in its wavefunction, leading to violations of the WEP. - Highlights: • Can quantum probes under gravity be approximated as test-bodies? • A formulation of the weak equivalence principle for quantum probes is proposed. • Quantum probes are found to violate it as a matter of principle.

Electrostatic plasma lens for focusing negatively charged particle beams.

Science.gov (United States)

Goncharov, A A; Dobrovolskiy, A M; Dunets, S M; Litovko, I V; Gushenets, V I; Oks, E M

2012-02-01

We describe the current status of ongoing research and development of the electrostatic plasma lens for focusing and manipulating intense negatively charged particle beams, electrons, and negative ions. The physical principle of this kind of plasma lens is based on magnetic isolation electrons providing creation of a dynamical positive space charge cloud in shortly restricted volume propagating beam. Here, the new results of experimental investigations and computer simulations of wide-aperture, intense electron beam focusing by plasma lens with positive space charge cloud produced due to the cylindrical anode layer accelerator creating a positive ion stream towards an axis system is presented.

Electrophysiological correlates of proactive interference in the 'Recent Probes' verbal working memory task.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, John X; Wu, Renhua; Kong, Lingyue; Weng, Xuchu; Du, Yingchun

2010-06-01

Using event-related potentials (ERPs), the present study examined the temporal dynamics of proactive interference in working memory using a recent probes task. Participants memorized and retained a target set of four letters over a short retention interval. They then responded to a recognition probe by judging whether it was from the memory set. ERP waveforms elicited by positive probes compared to those from negative probes showed positive shifts in a fronto-central early N2 component and a parietal late positive component (LPC). The LPC was identified as the electrophysiological signature of proactive interference, as it differentiated between two types of negative probes defined based on whether they were recently encountered. These results indicate that the proactive interference we observed arises from a mismatch between familiarity and contextual information during recognition memory. When considered together with related studies in the literature, the results also suggest that there are different forms of proactive interference associated with different neural correlates. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Position-dependent Effects of Polylysine on Sec Protein Transport*

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Fu-Cheng; Bageshwar, Umesh K.; Musser, Siegfried M.

2012-01-01

The bacterial Sec protein translocation system catalyzes the transport of unfolded precursor proteins across the cytoplasmic membrane. Using a recently developed real time fluorescence-based transport assay, the effects of the number and distribution of positive charges on the transport time and transport efficiency of proOmpA were examined. As expected, an increase in the number of lysine residues generally increased transport time and decreased transport efficiency. However, the observed effects were highly dependent on the polylysine position in the mature domain. In addition, a string of consecutive positive charges generally had a more significant effect on transport time and efficiency than separating the charges into two or more charged segments. Thirty positive charges distributed throughout the mature domain resulted in effects similar to 10 consecutive charges near the N terminus of the mature domain. These data support a model in which the local effects of positive charge on the translocation kinetics dominate over total thermodynamic constraints. The rapid translocation kinetics of some highly charged proOmpA mutants suggest that the charge is partially shielded from the electric field gradient during transport, possibly by the co-migration of counter ions. The transport times of precursors with multiple positively charged sequences, or “pause sites,” were fairly well predicted by a local effect model. However, the kinetic profile predicted by this local effect model was not observed. Instead, the transport kinetics observed for precursors with multiple polylysine segments support a model in which translocation through the SecYEG pore is not the rate-limiting step of transport. PMID:22367204

Position-dependent effects of polylysine on Sec protein transport.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Fu-Cheng; Bageshwar, Umesh K; Musser, Siegfried M

2012-04-13

The bacterial Sec protein translocation system catalyzes the transport of unfolded precursor proteins across the cytoplasmic membrane. Using a recently developed real time fluorescence-based transport assay, the effects of the number and distribution of positive charges on the transport time and transport efficiency of proOmpA were examined. As expected, an increase in the number of lysine residues generally increased transport time and decreased transport efficiency. However, the observed effects were highly dependent on the polylysine position in the mature domain. In addition, a string of consecutive positive charges generally had a more significant effect on transport time and efficiency than separating the charges into two or more charged segments. Thirty positive charges distributed throughout the mature domain resulted in effects similar to 10 consecutive charges near the N terminus of the mature domain. These data support a model in which the local effects of positive charge on the translocation kinetics dominate over total thermodynamic constraints. The rapid translocation kinetics of some highly charged proOmpA mutants suggest that the charge is partially shielded from the electric field gradient during transport, possibly by the co-migration of counter ions. The transport times of precursors with multiple positively charged sequences, or "pause sites," were fairly well predicted by a local effect model. However, the kinetic profile predicted by this local effect model was not observed. Instead, the transport kinetics observed for precursors with multiple polylysine segments support a model in which translocation through the SecYEG pore is not the rate-limiting step of transport.

Synthesis of a new benzanthrone probe for pH determination based on PET and ICT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miladinova, Polya M.

2016-01-01

The synthesis and sensor activity of a novel benzanthrone fluoropore is reported. The system is configured on the “fluoropore–receptor_1–spacer–receptor_2” model able to act as a pH-probe via PET and ICT fluorescence sensing mechanism. The novel probe shows “off-on-off” switching properties under the transition from alkaline to acid media. Keywords: benzanthrone derivative, photoinduced electron transfer (PET), Internal Charge Transfer (ICT), selective pH sensor.

Probing near extremal black holes with D-branes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maldacena, J.

1998-01-01

We calculate the one loop effective action for D-brane probes moving in the presence of near Bogomol close-quote nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield D-branes. The v 2 term agrees with supergravity in all cases and the static force agrees for a five-dimensional black hole with two large charges. It also agrees qualitatively in all the other cases. We make some comments on the M(atrix) theory interpretation of these results. copyright 1998 The American Physical Society

Charge transport problem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, E.P.

1977-01-01

In a recent report (UCID 17346, ''Relativistic Particle Beam in a Semi-Infinite Axially Symmetric conducting channel extending from a perfectly conducting plane,'' Dec. 13, 1976) Cooper and Neil demonstrate that the net charge transported by a beam pulse injected into a channel of finite conductivity equals the charge of the beam itself. The channel is taken to be infinite in the positive z direction, has finite radius and is terminated by a conducting ground plane at z =0. This result is not an obvious one, and it is restricted in its applicability by the special model assumed for the channel. It is the purpose to explain the result of Cooper and Neil in more qualitative terms and to make similar calculations using several other channel models. It must be emphasized that these calculations are not concerned with the fate of the transported charge after the pulse has stopped, but rather with how much charge leaves the ground plane assuming the pulse does not stop

Measurement of plasma potential and electron temperature by ball-pen probes in RFX-MOD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brotankova, J.; Adamek, J.; Stockel, J.; Martines, E.; Spolaore, M.; Cavazzana, R.; Serianni, G.; Vianello, N.; Zuin, M.

2009-01-01

The ball-pen probe (BPP) is an innovative electric probe for direct measurements of the plasma potential. This probe was developed in IPP Prague and it is based on the Katsumata probe concept. Combined measurements of the plasma potential by a BPP and floating potential by a Langmuir probe provide also the value of the electron temperature. First test of the BPP on the RFX-mod reversed field pinch in Padova has been performed in November 2006. The BPP head, made of boron nitride, is equipped with four graphite collectors, which are positioned at four different radial positions h inside four shafts hollow into the probe head. The radial profile of the plasma potential and also the electron temperature were measured

Positively Charged Nanostructured Lipid Carriers and Their Effect on the Dissolution of Poorly Soluble Drugs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyeong-Ok Choi

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study is to develop suitable formulations to improve the dissolution rate of poorly water soluble drugs. We selected lipid-based formulation as a drug carrier and modified the surface using positively charged chitosan derivative (HTCC to increase its water solubility and bioavailability. Chitosan and HTCC-coated lipid particles had higher zeta-potential values than uncoated one over the whole pH ranges and improved encapsulation efficiency. In vitro drug release showed that all NLC formulations showed higher in vitro release efficiency than drug particle at pH 7.4. Furthermore, NLC formulation prepared with chitosan or HTCC represented good sustained release property. The results indicate that chitosan and HTCC can be excellent formulating excipients of lipid-based delivery carrier for improving poorly water soluble drug delivery.

Positively Charged Nanostructured Lipid Carriers and Their Effect on the Dissolution of Poorly Soluble Drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Kyeong-Ok; Choe, Jaehyeog; Suh, Seokjin; Ko, Sanghoon

2016-05-20

The objective of this study is to develop suitable formulations to improve the dissolution rate of poorly water soluble drugs. We selected lipid-based formulation as a drug carrier and modified the surface using positively charged chitosan derivative (HTCC) to increase its water solubility and bioavailability. Chitosan and HTCC-coated lipid particles had higher zeta-potential values than uncoated one over the whole pH ranges and improved encapsulation efficiency. In vitro drug release showed that all NLC formulations showed higher in vitro release efficiency than drug particle at pH 7.4. Furthermore, NLC formulation prepared with chitosan or HTCC represented good sustained release property. The results indicate that chitosan and HTCC can be excellent formulating excipients of lipid-based delivery carrier for improving poorly water soluble drug delivery.

G-stack modulated probe intensities on expression arrays - sequence corrections and signal calibration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fasold Mario

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The brightness of the probe spots on expression microarrays intends to measure the abundance of specific mRNA targets. Probes with runs of at least three guanines (G in their sequence show abnormal high intensities which reflect rather probe effects than target concentrations. This G-bias requires correction prior to downstream expression analysis. Results Longer runs of three or more consecutive G along the probe sequence and in particular triple degenerated G at its solution end ((GGG1-effect are associated with exceptionally large probe intensities on GeneChip expression arrays. This intensity bias is related to non-specific hybridization and affects both perfect match and mismatch probes. The (GGG1-effect tends to increase gradually for microarrays of later GeneChip generations. It was found for DNA/RNA as well as for DNA/DNA probe/target-hybridization chemistries. Amplification of sample RNA using T7-primers is associated with strong positive amplitudes of the G-bias whereas alternative amplification protocols using random primers give rise to much smaller and partly even negative amplitudes. We applied positional dependent sensitivity models to analyze the specifics of probe intensities in the context of all possible short sequence motifs of one to four adjacent nucleotides along the 25meric probe sequence. Most of the longer motifs are adequately described using a nearest-neighbor (NN model. In contrast, runs of degenerated guanines require explicit consideration of next nearest neighbors (GGG terms. Preprocessing methods such as vsn, RMA, dChip, MAS5 and gcRMA only insufficiently remove the G-bias from data. Conclusions Positional and motif dependent sensitivity models accounts for sequence effects of oligonucleotide probe intensities. We propose a positional dependent NN+GGG hybrid model to correct the intensity bias associated with probes containing poly-G motifs. It is implemented as a single-chip based calibration

Charge state distributions from highly charged ions channeled at a metal surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Folkerts, L.; Meyer, F.W.; Schippers, S.

1994-01-01

The vast majority of the experimental work in the field of multicharged ion-surface interactions, to date, has focused on x-ray and particularly on electron emission. These experiments include measurements of the total electron yield, the emission statistics of the electrons, and, most of all, the electron energy distributions. So far, little attention has been paid to the fate of the multicharged projectile ions after the scattering. To our knowledge, the only measurement of the charge state distribution of the scattered ions is the pioneering experiment of de Zwart et al., who measured the total yield of scattered 1+, 2+, and 3+ ions as a function of the primary charge state q (q = 1--11) for 20 key Ne, Ar, and Kr ions after reflection from a polycrystalline tungsten target. Their main finding is the sudden onset of scattered 3+ ions when inner-shell vacancies are present in the primary particles. This suggests that a certain fraction of the inner-shell vacancies survives the entire collision event, and decays via autoionization on the outgoing path. Since the projectiles scattered in the neutral charge state could not be detected in the experiment of de Zwart et al., they were not able to provide absolute charge state fractions. In our present experiment, we focus on the scattered projectiles, measuring both the final charge state and the total scattering angle with a single 2D position sensitive detector (PSD). This method gives us the number of positive, as well as neutral and negative, scattered ions, thus allowing us to extract absolute charge state fractions. Using a well-prepared single Au(110) crystal and a grazing incidence geometry, we were able to observe surface channeling along the [001] channels

Autonomous determination of orbit for probe around asteroids using unscented Kalman filter

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

崔平远; 崔祜涛; 黄翔宇; 栾恩杰

2003-01-01

The observed images of the asteroid and the asteroid reference images are used to obtain the probe-to-asteroid direction and the location of the limb features of the asteroid in the inertial coordinate. These informa-tion in combination with the shape model of the asteroid and attitude information of the probe are utilized to ob-tain the position of the probe. The position information is then input to the UKF which determines the real-timeorbit of the probe. Finally, the autonomous orbit determination algorithm is validated using digital simulation.The determination of orbit using UKF is compared with that using extended Kalman filter (EKF), and the resultshows that UKF is superior to EKF.

An improved hand-held four-detector gamma-probe for radioassisted oncological surgery

CERN Document Server

Dusi, W; Bollini, D; Moroni, C; Ricard, M

2000-01-01

The performance of an improved intraoperative gamma-probe for radioassisted oncological surgery is presented and discussed. The probe is based on a square array of four 5x5 mm sup 2 coplanar CdTe room temperature semiconductor detectors and each detector has an independent read out electronic chain, allowing an original handling of the signal. Therefore, the search for gamma-emission hot points may be carried out in two different, independent ways: (1) Finding out the position of the probe corresponding to the maximum value of the total counting rate, on the basis of a trial and error procedure (typical for the conventional probe; (2) Finding out the position of the probe where both the differences between the counting rate performed by orthogonal, adjacent halves of the array vanish (differential method). This makes the new probe sensitive to the bidimensional gradient of the gamma-ray flux, measured on the scanned plane. Furthermore, the algebraic sign of the difference indicates in which direction the prob...

Holographic QCD with topologically charged domain-wall/membranes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin Fengli; Wu Shangyu

2008-01-01

We study the thermodynamical phase structures of holographic QCD with nontrivial topologically charged domain-wall/membranes which are originally related to the multiple θ-vacua in the large N c limit. We realize the topologically charged membranes as the holographic D6-brane fluxes in the Sakai-Sugimoto model. The D6-brane fluxes couple to the probe D8-D8-bar via Chern-Simon term, and act as the source for the baryonic current density of QCD. We find rich phase structures of the dual meson system by varying asymptotic separation of D8 and D8-bar. Especially, there can be a thermodynamically favored and stable phase of finite baryonic current density. This provides the supporting evidence for the discovery of the topologically charged membranes found in the lattice QCD calculations. We also find a crossover phase with the limiting baryonic current density and temperature which suggest a Hagedorn-like phase transition of meson dissociation.

Fast and direct measurements of the electrical properties of graphene using micro four-point probes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klarskov, M B; Dam, H F; Petersen, D H; Hansen, T M; Loewenborg, A; Booth, T J; Schmidt, M S; Boeggild, P; Lin, R; Nielsen, P F

2011-01-01

We present measurements of the electronic properties of graphene using a repositionable micro four-point probe system, which we show here to have unique advantages over measurements made on lithographically defined devices; namely speed, simplicity and lack of a need to pattern graphene. Measurements are performed in ambient, vacuum and controlled environmental conditions using an environmental scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results are comparable to previous results for microcleaved graphene on silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ). We observe a pronounced hysteresis of the charge neutrality point, dependent on the sweep rate of the gate voltage; and environmental measurements provide insight into the sensor application prospects of graphene. The method offers a fast, local and non-destructive technique for electronic measurements on graphene, which can be positioned freely on a graphene flake.

Sequential electrochemical oxidation and site-selective growth of nanoparticles onto AFM probes.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Haitao; Tian, Tian; Zhang, Yong; Pan, Zhiqiang; Wang, Yong; Xiao, Zhongdang

2008-08-19

In this work, we reported an approach for the site-selective growth of nanoparticle onto the tip apex of an atomic force microscopy (AFM) probe. The silicon AFM probe was first coated with a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) through a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. Subsequently, COOH groups were selectively generated at the tip apex of silicon AFM probes by applying an appropriate bias voltage between the tip and a flat gold electrode. The transformation of methyl to carboxylic groups at the tip apex of the AFM probe was investigated through measuring the capillary force before and after electrochemical oxidation. To prepare the nanoparticle terminated AFM probe, the oxidized AFM probe was then immersed in an aqueous solution containing positive metal ions, for example, Ag+, to bind positive metal ions to the oxidized area (COOH terminated area), followed by chemical reduction with aqueous NaBH 4 and further development (if desired) to give a metal nanoparticle-modified AFM probe. The formation of a metal nanoparticle at the tip apex of the AFM probe was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDXA).

Cooperative Charging Effects of Fibers From Electrospinning of Electrically Dissimilar Polymers

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Schreuder-Gibson, H. L; Gibson, P; Tsai, P; Gupta, P; Wilkes, G

2005-01-01

.... During electrospinning of the PS and PAN polymer solutions, the fibers became positively charged when positive voltage was applied to the solution-filled spinning nozzle and became negatively charged...

The TORE SUPRA fast reciprocating RF probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, C.E. Jr.; Harris, J.H.; Haste, G.R.

1994-01-01

A fast reciprocating ICRF (Ion Cyclotron Range of Frequencies) probe was installed and operated on TORE SUPRA during 1992/1993. The body of the probe was originally used on the ATF experiment at ORNL. The probe was adapted for use on TORE SUPRA, and mounted on one of the two fast reciprocating probe mounts. The probe consists of two orthogonal single-turn wire loops, mounted so that one loop senses toroidal RF magnetic fields and the other senses poloidal RF magnetic fields. The probe began operation in June, 1993. The probe active area is approximately 5 cm long by 2 cm, and the reciprocating mount has a slow stroke (5 cm/sec) of 30 cm by 2 cm, and the reciprocating mount has a slow stroke (5 cm/sec) of 30 cm and a fast stroke (1.5 m/sec) of about 10 cm. The probe was operated at distances from the plasma edge ranging from 30 cm to -5 cm (i.e., inside the last closed flux surface). The probe design, electronics, calibration, data acquisition and data processing are discussed. First data from the probe are presented as a function of ICRF power, distance from the plasma, loop orientation, and other plasma parameters. Initial data shows parametric instabilities do not play an important role for ICRF in the TORE SUPRA edge and scrape-off-layer (SOL) plasmas. Additionally it is observed that the probe signal has little or no dependence on position in the SOL/plasma edge

Effet Hall quantique, liquides de Luttinger et charges fractionnaires

Science.gov (United States)

Roche, Patrice; Rodriguez, V.; Glattli, D. Christian

We review some basic properties of the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect and particularly address the physics of the edge states. The chiral Luttinger liquid properties of the edges are discussed and probed experimentally using transport measurements. Shot noise measurements, which allow determination of the quasiparticle charge are also discussed. To cite this article: P. Roche et al., C. R. Physique 3 (2002) 717-732.

The spherical segmented Langmuir probe in a flowing thermal plasma: numerical model of the current collection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Séran

2005-07-01

Full Text Available The segmented Langmuir probe (SLP has been recently proposed by one of the authors (Lebreton, 2002 as an instrument to derive the bulk velocity of terrestrial or planetary plasmas, in addition to the electron density and temperature that are routinely measured by Langmuir probes. It is part of the scientific payload on the DEMETER micro-satellite developed by CNES. The basic concept of this probe is to measure the current distribution over the surface using independent collectors under the form of small spherical caps and to use the angular anisotropy of these currents to obtain the plasma bulk velocity in the probe reference frame. In order to determine the SLP capabilities, we have developed a numerical PIC (Particles In Cell model which provides a tool to compute the distribution of the current collected by a spherical probe. Our model is based on the simultaneous determination of the charge densities in the probe sheath and on the probe surface, from which the potential distribution in the sheath region can be obtained. This method is well adapted to the SLP problem and has some advantages since it provides a natural control of the charge neutrality inside the simulation box, allows independent mesh sizes in the sheath and on the probe surface, and can be applied to complex surfaces. We present in this paper initial results obtained for plasma conditions corresponding to a Debye length equal to the probe radius. These plasma conditions are observed along the Demeter orbit. The model results are found to be in very good agreement with those published by Laframboise (1966 for a spherical probe in a thermal non-flowing plasma. This demonstrates the adequacy of the computation method and of the adjustable numerical parameters (size of the numerical box and mesh, time step, number of macro-particles, etc. for the considered plasma-probe configuration. We also present the results obtained in the case of plasma flowing with mesothermal conditions

The spherical segmented Langmuir probe in a flowing thermal plasma: numerical model of the current collection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Séran

2005-07-01

Full Text Available The segmented Langmuir probe (SLP has been recently proposed by one of the authors (Lebreton, 2002 as an instrument to derive the bulk velocity of terrestrial or planetary plasmas, in addition to the electron density and temperature that are routinely measured by Langmuir probes. It is part of the scientific payload on the DEMETER micro-satellite developed by CNES. The basic concept of this probe is to measure the current distribution over the surface using independent collectors under the form of small spherical caps and to use the angular anisotropy of these currents to obtain the plasma bulk velocity in the probe reference frame. In order to determine the SLP capabilities, we have developed a numerical PIC (Particles In Cell model which provides a tool to compute the distribution of the current collected by a spherical probe. Our model is based on the simultaneous determination of the charge densities in the probe sheath and on the probe surface, from which the potential distribution in the sheath region can be obtained. This method is well adapted to the SLP problem and has some advantages since it provides a natural control of the charge neutrality inside the simulation box, allows independent mesh sizes in the sheath and on the probe surface, and can be applied to complex surfaces. We present in this paper initial results obtained for plasma conditions corresponding to a Debye length equal to the probe radius. These plasma conditions are observed along the Demeter orbit. The model results are found to be in very good agreement with those published by Laframboise (1966 for a spherical probe in a thermal non-flowing plasma. This demonstrates the adequacy of the computation method and of the adjustable numerical parameters (size of the numerical box and mesh, time step, number of macro-particles, etc. for the considered plasma-probe configuration. We also present the results obtained in the case of plasma flowing with mesothermal conditions

Four-point probe measurements using current probes with voltage feedback to measure electric potentials

Science.gov (United States)

Lüpke, Felix; Cuma, David; Korte, Stefan; Cherepanov, Vasily; Voigtländer, Bert

2018-02-01

We present a four-point probe resistance measurement technique which uses four equivalent current measuring units, resulting in minimal hardware requirements and corresponding sources of noise. Local sample potentials are measured by a software feedback loop which adjusts the corresponding tip voltage such that no current flows to the sample. The resulting tip voltage is then equivalent to the sample potential at the tip position. We implement this measurement method into a multi-tip scanning tunneling microscope setup such that potentials can also be measured in tunneling contact, allowing in principle truly non-invasive four-probe measurements. The resulting measurement capabilities are demonstrated for \

Attraction of likely charged nano-sized grains in dust-electron plasmas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vishnyakov, Vladimir I., E-mail: eksvar@ukr.net [Physical-Chemical Institute for Environmental and Human Protection, Odessa 65082 (Ukraine)

2016-01-15

Dust-electron plasma, which contains only the dust grains and electrons, emitted by them, is studied. Assumption of almost uniform spatial electrons distribution, which deviates from the uniformity only near the dust grains, leads to the grain charge division into two parts: first part is the individual for each grain “visible” charge and the second part is the common charge of the neutralized background. The visible grain charge can be both negative and positive, while the total grain charge is only positive. The attraction of likely charged grains is possible, because the grain interaction is determined by the visible charges. The equilibrium state between attraction and repulsion of grains is demonstrated.

Muons as hyperfine interaction probes in chemistry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghandi, Khashayar, E-mail: kghandi@triumf.ca; MacLean, Amy [Mount Allison University, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry (Canada)

2015-04-15

Spin polarized positive muons injected in matter serve as magnetic probes for the investigation of physical and chemical properties of free radicals, mechanisms of free radical reactions and their formations, and radiation effects. All muon techniques rely on the evolution of spin polarization (of the muon) and in that respect are similar to conventional magnetic resonance techniques. The applications of the muon as a hyperfine probe in several fields in chemistry are described.

Muons as hyperfine interaction probes in chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghandi, Khashayar; MacLean, Amy

2015-01-01

Spin polarized positive muons injected in matter serve as magnetic probes for the investigation of physical and chemical properties of free radicals, mechanisms of free radical reactions and their formations, and radiation effects. All muon techniques rely on the evolution of spin polarization (of the muon) and in that respect are similar to conventional magnetic resonance techniques. The applications of the muon as a hyperfine probe in several fields in chemistry are described

Accurate Charge Densities from Powder Diffraction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bindzus, Niels; Wahlberg, Nanna; Becker, Jacob

Synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction has in recent years advanced to a level, where it has become realistic to probe extremely subtle electronic features. Compared to single-crystal diffraction, it may be superior for simple, high-symmetry crystals owing to negligible extinction effects and minimal...... peak overlap. Additionally, it offers the opportunity for collecting data on a single scale. For charge densities studies, the critical task is to recover accurate and bias-free structure factors from the diffraction pattern. This is the focal point of the present study, scrutinizing the performance...

Surface charge effects in protein adsorption on nanodiamonds.

Science.gov (United States)

Aramesh, M; Shimoni, O; Ostrikov, K; Prawer, S; Cervenka, J

2015-03-19

Understanding the interaction of proteins with charged diamond nanoparticles is of fundamental importance for diverse biomedical applications. Here we present a thorough study of protein binding, adsorption kinetics and structure on strongly positively (hydrogen-terminated) and negatively (oxygen-terminated) charged nanodiamond particles using a quartz crystal microbalance by dissipation and infrared spectroscopy. By using two model proteins (bovine serum albumin and lysozyme) of different properties (charge, molecular weight and rigidity), the main driving mechanism responsible for the protein binding to the charged nanoparticles was identified. Electrostatic interactions were found to dominate the protein adsorption dynamics, attachment and conformation. We developed a simple electrostatic model that can qualitatively explain the observed adsorption behaviour based on charge-induced pH modifications near the charged nanoparticle surfaces. Under neutral conditions, the local pH around the positively and negatively charged nanodiamonds becomes very high (11-12) and low (1-3) respectively, which has a profound impact on the protein charge, hydration and affinity to the nanodiamonds. Small proteins (lysozyme) were found to form multilayers with significant conformational changes to screen the surface charge, while larger proteins (albumin) formed monolayers with minor conformational changes. The findings of this study provide a step forward toward understanding and eventually predicting nanoparticle interactions with biofluids.

Ejecta from single-charge cratering explosions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carlson, R H

1970-05-15

The objective was to obtain experimental data tracing the location of ejecta to its origin within the crater region. The experiment included ten high-explosive spherical charges weighing from 8 to 1000 pounds and detonated in a playa dry lake soil on the Tonopah Test Range. Each event included from 24 to 40 locations of distinctly different tracer material embedded in a plane in the expected crater region. Tracers consisted of glass, ceramic and bugle beads, chopped metal, and plastic wire. Results of this experiment yielded data on tracer dispersion as a function of charge weight, charge burial depth and tracer emplacement position. Tracer pattern parameters such as center-of-tracer mass, range to center-of-tracer mass, and angle to center-of-tracer mass were determined. There is a clear tendency for range (to center-of-tracer mass) and the size of the dispersion pattern to decrease as tracer emplacement depth increases. Increasing tracer emplacement depth and range tends to decrease the area over which tracers are dispersed on the ground surface. Tracers at the same scaled position relative to the charge were deposited closer to the crater (on a scaled basis) as charge weight was increased. (author)

The Role of Shape on Electronic Structure and Charge Transport in Faceted PbSe Nanocrystals

KAUST Repository

Kaushik, Ananth P.; Lukose, Binit; Clancy, Paulette

2014-01-01

We have determined the effect of shape on the charge transport characteristics of nanocrystals. Our study looked at the explicit determination of the electronic properties of faceted nanocrystals that essentially probe the limit of current

Detection of TTV-DNA in PBMC using digoxigenin labelled probe by in situ hybridization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Yang; Qi Qige

2002-01-01

To determine TTV-DNA in PBMC in patients with viral hepatitis, a study of in situ hybridization using digoxigenin labelled probe by PCR method to the TTV ORF1 region was performed on PBMC. Results showed that the detection rate of TTV-DNA using double-stranded probe in TTV-DNA positive group in sera was 58.06 (18/31), and the detection rate of TTV-DNA using double-stranded probe in TTV-DNA negative group in sera was 27.59 (8/29). For TTV-DNA positive group detected by double- stranded probe, then we use negative- stranded probe to detect their replication. The detection rate was 22.2%(4/18). Conclusions: TTV can infect PBMC and replicate in PBMC

Materiality in Probes: Three Perspectives for Co-exploring Patient Democracy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knutz, Eva; Markussen, Thomas; Thomsen, Signe Mårbjerg

2018-01-01

The overall aim of this paper is to increase designers’ understanding of how materiality can be of value in probing. Initially, we position ourselves in relation to existing approaches to probing. Hereafter, we introduce three different theoretical perspectives on materiality in order to make some...

Think positive : phase separation enables a positively charged additive to induce dramatic changes in calcium carbonate morphology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cantaert, B.; Kim, Y.; Ludwig, H.; Nudelman, F.; Sommerdijk, N.A.J.M.; Meldrum, F.C.

2012-01-01

Soluble macromolecules are essential to Nature's control over biomineral formation. Following early studies where macromolecules rich in aspartic and glutamic acid were extracted from nacre, research has focused on the use of negatively charged additives to control calcium carbonate precipitation.

Surface charge effects in protein adsorption on nanodiamonds

Science.gov (United States)

Aramesh, M.; Shimoni, O.; Ostrikov, K.; Prawer, S.; Cervenka, J.

2015-03-01

Understanding the interaction of proteins with charged diamond nanoparticles is of fundamental importance for diverse biomedical applications. Here we present a thorough study of protein binding, adsorption kinetics and structure on strongly positively (hydrogen-terminated) and negatively (oxygen-terminated) charged nanodiamond particles using a quartz crystal microbalance by dissipation and infrared spectroscopy. By using two model proteins (bovine serum albumin and lysozyme) of different properties (charge, molecular weight and rigidity), the main driving mechanism responsible for the protein binding to the charged nanoparticles was identified. Electrostatic interactions were found to dominate the protein adsorption dynamics, attachment and conformation. We developed a simple electrostatic model that can qualitatively explain the observed adsorption behaviour based on charge-induced pH modifications near the charged nanoparticle surfaces. Under neutral conditions, the local pH around the positively and negatively charged nanodiamonds becomes very high (11-12) and low (1-3) respectively, which has a profound impact on the protein charge, hydration and affinity to the nanodiamonds. Small proteins (lysozyme) were found to form multilayers with significant conformational changes to screen the surface charge, while larger proteins (albumin) formed monolayers with minor conformational changes. The findings of this study provide a step forward toward understanding and eventually predicting nanoparticle interactions with biofluids.Understanding the interaction of proteins with charged diamond nanoparticles is of fundamental importance for diverse biomedical applications. Here we present a thorough study of protein binding, adsorption kinetics and structure on strongly positively (hydrogen-terminated) and negatively (oxygen-terminated) charged nanodiamond particles using a quartz crystal microbalance by dissipation and infrared spectroscopy. By using two model proteins

First charge collection and position-precision data on the medium-resistivity silicon strip detectors before and after neutron irradiation up to 2x1014 n/cm2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Zheng; Dezillie, B.; Eremin, V.; Li, C.J.; Verbitskaya, E.

1999-01-01

Test strip detectors of 125 μm, 500 μm, and 1 mm pitches with about 1 cm 2 areas have been made on medium-resistivity silicon wafers (1.3 and 2.7 kΩ cm). Detectors of 500 μm pitch have been tested for charge collection and position precision before and after neutron irradiation (up to 2x10 14 n/cm 2 ) using 820 and 1030 nm laser lights with different beam-spot sizes. It has been found that for a bias of 250 V a strip detector made of 1.3 kΩ cm (300 μm thick) can be fully depleted before and after an irradiation of 2x10 14 n/cm 2 . For a 500 μm pitch strip detector made of 2.7 kΩ cm tested with an 1030 nm laser light with 200 μm spot size, the position reconstruction error is about 14 μm before irradiation, and 17 μm after about 1.7x10 13 n/cm 2 irradiation. We demonstrated in this work that medium resistivity silicon strip detectors can work just as well as the traditional high-resistivity ones, but with higher radiation tolerance. We also tested charge sharing and position reconstruction using a 1030 nm wavelength (300 μm absorption length in Si at RT) laser, which provides a simulation of MIP particles in high-physics experiments in terms of charge collection and position reconstruction

Evaluation of monolayers and mixed monolayers formed from mercaptobenzothiazole and decanethiol as sensing platforms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mary Vergheese, T.; Berchmans, Sheela

2004-01-01

In this investigation, the characterisation of monolayer and mixed monolayers formed from mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) and decanethiol (DT) has been carried out with cyclic voltammetry. The SAMs have been tested for their stability and electron transfer blocking properties. The redox probes used in the present study are [Fe(China) 6 ] 4- , [Ru(NH 3 ) 6 ] 2+ and Cu underpotential deposition (upd). The electron transfer kinetics is investigated in acid and neutral pH range. Electron transfer kinetics is altered by the nature of charge on the redox probe and the charge on the monolayer. Electron transfer kinetics of negatively charged redox probes like ferrocyanide ions is blocked when the surface pK a medium and at pK a >pH medium reversible features is observed for negatively charged probes. An exactly reverse effect is observed in the case of positively charged redox species like [Ru(NH 3 ) 6 ] 2+/3+ . Cu under potential deposition studies reflects the structural integrity and compactness of the SAM layer. The utility of these monolayers and mixed monolayer for selective sensing of dopamine is discussed based on their ability to discriminate between positively and negatively charged redox species at different pH

Concise and Efficient Fluorescent Probe via an Intromolecular Charge Transfer for the Chemical Warfare Agent Mimic Diethylchlorophosphate Vapor Detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Junjun; Fu, Yanyan; Xu, Wei; Fan, Tianchi; Gao, Yixun; He, Qingguo; Zhu, Defeng; Cao, Huimin; Cheng, Jiangong

2016-02-16

Sarin, used as chemical warfare agents (CWAs) for terrorist attacks, can induce a number of virulent effects. Therefore, countermeasures which could realize robust and convenient detection of sarin are in exigent need. A concise charge-transfer colorimetric and fluorescent probe (4-(6-(tert-butyl)pyridine-2-yl)-N,N-diphenylaniline, TBPY-TPA) that could be capable of real-time and on-site monitoring of DCP vapor was reported in this contribution. Upon contact with DCP, the emission band red-shifted from 410 to 522 nm upon exposure to DCP vapor. And the quenching rate of TBPY-TPA reached up to 98% within 25 s. Chemical substances such as acetic acid (HAc), dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP), pinacolyl methylphosphonate (PAMP), and triethyl phosphate (TEP) do not interfere with the detection. A detection limit for DCP down to 2.6 ppb level is remarkably achieved which is below the Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health concentration. NMR data suggested that a transformation of the pyridine group into pyridinium salt via a cascade reaction is responsible for the sensing process which induced the dramatic fluorescent red shift. All of these data suggest TBPY-TPA is a promising fluorescent sensor for a rapid, simple, and low-cost method for DCP detection, which could be easy to prepare as a portable chemosensor kit for its practical application in real-time and on-site monitoring.

Triple top signal as a probe of charged Higgs in a 2HDM

Science.gov (United States)

Patrick, Riley; Sharma, Pankaj; Williams, Anthony G.

2018-05-01

Within the framework of the type-II Two Higgs Doublet Model (2HDM-II) we study the production of three top quarks at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). In the Standard Model the production cross section of three tops is low (≈3 fb), while it is expected to be significant in the 2HDM-II for reasonable choices of the parameters. We study the production of a charged Higgs in association with a top quark, followed by the decays H± →W± A and A → t t bar . We undertake a full detector simulation of the signal, and use simple conservative cuts, focussing on the final states that contain three or more leptons, and exactly one same sign di-lepton pair. Finally, we present the exclusion bounds dependent on charged Higgs and pseudoscalar Higgs masses expected in the near future at the 14 TeV LHC.