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Sample records for stimulatory substrate morphology

  1. Mechanisms of the stimulatory effects of rhamnolipid biosurfactant on rice straw hydrolysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Qiuzhuo; He, Guofu; Xu, Yatong [Department of Environmental Science, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Putuo District, Shanghai 200062 (China); Wang, Juan [Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090 (China); Cai, Weimin [Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090 (China); School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China)

    2009-11-15

    Rhamnolipid biosurfactant, as an addition to rice straw hydrolysis bioprocess, could not only stimulate the hydrolysis rate, but also reduce the requirement for large amount of cellulases and promote its recycling process. In this article, through the observation of the changes of cellulases, microorganism, substrate and their mutual functions, the mechanisms of the stimulatory effect of rhamnolipid on rice straw hydrolysis were investigated. The study found that the addition of rhamnolipid increases the activity of {beta}-glucosidase but stabilizes Cel7A activity. The observed results might be the main mechanisms triggering the stimulatory effect of adding biosurfactants on rice straw hydrolysis. Meanwhile, zeta potential of the substrate increased, which could make the resistance of the cell attached to the substrate weaker. This in turn could facilitate easy adhesion and better retention of the microbial cell in the media. Moreover, we discovered that lignin content played an important role in the stimulatory effect of adding rhamnolipid. The adsorption of rhamnolipid biosurfactant prevented unproductive binding of enzymes to lignin. This could be another important mechanism responsible for the stimulatory effects of adding rhamnolipid on rice straw hydrolysis. (author)

  2. Wetting morphologies and their transitions in grooved substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Seemann, Ralf; Bommer, Stefan; Herrmann, Carsten; Michler, Dominik [Experimental Physics, Saarland University, D-66123 Saarbruecken (Germany); Brinkmann, Martin; Herminghaus, Stephan; Khare, Krishnacharya; Kostourou, Konstantina; Gurevich, Evgeny [Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, D-37073 Goettingen (Germany); Law, Bruce M; McBride, Sean, E-mail: r.seemann@physik.uni-saarland.de [Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506 (United States)

    2011-05-11

    When exposed to a partially wetting liquid, many natural and artificial surfaces equipped with complex topographies display a rich variety of liquid interfacial morphologies. In the present article, we focus on a few simple paradigmatic surface topographies and elaborate on the statics and dynamics of the resulting wetting morphologies. It is demonstrated that the spectrum of wetting morphologies increases with increasing complexity of the groove structure. On elastically deformable substrates, additional structures in the liquid morphologies can be observed, which are caused by deformations of the groove geometry in the presence of capillary forces. The emergence of certain liquid morphologies in grooves can be actively controlled by changes in wettability and geometry. For electrically conducting solid substrates, the apparent contact angle can be varied by electrowetting. This allows, depending on groove geometry, a reversible or irreversible transport of liquid along surface grooves. In the case of irreversible liquid transport in triangular grooves, the dynamics of the emerging instability is sensitive to the apparent hydrodynamic slip at the substrate. On elastic substrates, the geometry can be varied in a straightforward manner by stretching or relaxing the sample. The imbibition velocity in deformable grooves is significantly reduced compared to solid grooves, which is a result of the microscopic deformation of the elastic groove material close to the three phase contact line.

  3. Substrate dependent morphologies of self-assembled nanocrystalline manganite films: An atomic force microscopy study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kale, S.N.; Mona, J.; Ganesan, V.; Choudhary, R.J.; Phase, D.M.

    2009-06-01

    Thin films of La 0 .7Sr 0 .3MnO 3 (LSMO) have been deposited on different substrates: Si (001), Al 2 O 3 (AlO) (0001) and LaAlO 3 (LAO) (001), using a pulsed laser deposition system. 100 nm films have been deposited at substrate temperature of 700 deg C and oxygen partial pressure of 400 mTorr. X-Ray diffraction analysis shows a polycrystalline growth of both layers on Si and Al 2 O 3 substrates, while a c-axis oriented growth on LAO substrate. Atomic force microscopy images exhibit interesting island-like morphology of grain size ∼ 250 nm on Si substrate. Similar morphology with much smaller (∼ 150 nm), closely packed islands are seen to grow on AlO substrate. Films on LAO show comparatively a smooth morphology with the grains size less than 100 nm, decorated by characteristic depressions at the grain boundaries. The formation of self-assembled nanostructures can be understood on the basis of film-substrate lattice misfit, strains in the systems and eventual growth of the films to attain energy minimization (author)

  4. Influence of substrate on structural, morphological and optical ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Administrator

    differences in crystallite sizes, microstrain and texture coefficient with respect to the employed substrates. The morphology of ... perties of ZnO thin films, the real effect on the structural ... related to the piezoelectric property, which is an impor- tant issue on ..... ceramics (New York: Springer Berlin Heidelberg) 2nd edn. Bai S N ...

  5. Morphology and transmittance of porous alumina on glass substrate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guo Peitao, E-mail: guopeitao@hotmail.com [Wuhan University of Technology. Wuhan (China); Xia Zhilin [Wuhan University of Technology. Wuhan (China); Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Materials and Application Technology, Xiangtan University, Ministry of Education, Xiangtan (China); Xue Yiyu [Wuhan University of Technology. Wuhan (China); Huang Caihua [China Three Gorges University, Yichang (China); Zhao Lixin [Wuhan University of Technology. Wuhan (China)

    2011-02-01

    The porous optical film has higher threshold of laser-induced damage than densified films, for the study of mechanism of laser-induced damage of porous optical film with ordered pore structure. Porous anodic alumina (PAA) film with high transmittance on glass substrate has been prepared. Aluminum film was deposited on glass substrate by means of resistance and electron beam heat (EBH) evaporation. Porous alumina was prepared in oxalic acid solution under different anodizing conditions. At normal incidence, the optical transmittance spectrum over 300-1000 nm spectra region was obtained by spectrophotometer. SEM was introduced to analysis the morphology of the porous alumina film. The pore aperture increased with the increase of anodizing voltage, which resulted in a rapid decrease of the pore concentration and the optical thickness of porous alumina film. Damage morphology of porous alumina film is found to be typically defects initiated, and the defect is the pore presented on the film.

  6. Morphology of CdSe films prepared by chemical bath deposition: The role of substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simurda, M.; Nemec, P.; Formanek, P.; Nemec, I.; Nemcova, Y.; Maly, P.

    2006-01-01

    We combine optical spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy to study the growth and the structural morphology of CdSe films prepared by chemical bath deposition (CBD) on two considerably different substrates. The films grown on glass are compact and strongly adherent to the substrate. On the contrary, the films deposited on carbon-coated glass (with approx. 20 nm thick amorphous carbon layer) are only loosely adherent to the substrate. Using transmission electron microscopy we revealed that even though the films grown on both substrates are assembled from closely spaced nanocrystals with diameter of about 5 nm, the films morphology on the sub-micrometer scale is considerably different in the two cases. While the films deposited on glass are rather compact, the films prepared on carbon layer have high porosity and are formed by interconnected spheres which size is dependent on the duration of deposition (e.g. 155 nm for 6 h and 350 nm for 24 h). This shows that the choice of the substrate for CBD has a stronger influence on the sub-micrometer film morphology than on the properties of individual nanocrystals forming the film

  7. Effect of Substrate Morphology on Growth and Field Emission Properties of Carbon Nanotube Films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kumar Vikram

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available AbstractCarbon nanotube (CNT films were grown by microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition process on four types of Si substrates: (i mirror polished, (ii catalyst patterned, (iii mechanically polished having pits of varying size and shape, and (iv electrochemically etched. Iron thin film was used as catalytic material and acetylene and ammonia as the precursors. Morphological and structural characteristics of the films were investigated by scanning and transmission electron microscopes, respectively. CNT films of different morphology such as vertically aligned, randomly oriented flowers, or honey-comb like, depending on the morphology of the Si substrates, were obtained. CNTs had sharp tip and bamboo-like internal structure irrespective of growth morphology of the films. Comparative field emission measurements showed that patterned CNT films and that with randomly oriented morphology had superior emission characteristics with threshold field as low as ~2.0 V/μm. The defective (bamboo-structure structures of CNTs have been suggested for the enhanced emission performance of randomly oriented nanotube samples.

  8. Role of substrate morphology in ion induced dewetting of thin solid films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Repetto, Luca, E-mail: luca.repetto@unige.it [Physics Department and Nanomed Labs, Università di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova (Italy); Lo Savio, Roberto [Physics Department and Nanomed Labs, Università di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova (Italy); Šetina Batič, Barbara [Inštitut Za Kovinske Materiale in Tehnologije, Lepi pot 11, 1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia); Firpo, Giuseppe; Valbusa, Ugo [Physics Department and Nanomed Labs, Università di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova (Italy)

    2014-10-01

    Highlights: • We have created by ion bombardment silicon substrates with different topographies. • The substrates have been characterized by ellipsometry, AFM, SEM and EDX. • The substrates have been used for experiments of ion induced Cr films. • We show that different substrate topographies can induce different dewetted patterns. • Substrate topography can favor spinodal dewetting against heterogeneous nucleations. - Abstract: We investigate the role of the substrate morphology in the dewetting of ultrathin chromium films irradiated with 30 keV Ga ions. Silicon surfaces with different roughness were used as substrates for the films. The results of the irradiation experiments and of related simulations indicate that the chromium films can undergo a dewetting-like process through the two standard channels that show up for liquids, namely the spinodal channel, and the dewetting by heterogeneous nucleation. The two processes are competitive, and the prevailing one can be predicted and selected according to the characteristics of the substrate.

  9. Role of substrate morphology in ion induced dewetting of thin solid films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Repetto, Luca; Lo Savio, Roberto; Šetina Batič, Barbara; Firpo, Giuseppe; Valbusa, Ugo

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • We have created by ion bombardment silicon substrates with different topographies. • The substrates have been characterized by ellipsometry, AFM, SEM and EDX. • The substrates have been used for experiments of ion induced Cr films. • We show that different substrate topographies can induce different dewetted patterns. • Substrate topography can favor spinodal dewetting against heterogeneous nucleations. - Abstract: We investigate the role of the substrate morphology in the dewetting of ultrathin chromium films irradiated with 30 keV Ga ions. Silicon surfaces with different roughness were used as substrates for the films. The results of the irradiation experiments and of related simulations indicate that the chromium films can undergo a dewetting-like process through the two standard channels that show up for liquids, namely the spinodal channel, and the dewetting by heterogeneous nucleation. The two processes are competitive, and the prevailing one can be predicted and selected according to the characteristics of the substrate

  10. AFM observation of silk fibroin on mica substrates: morphologies reflecting the secondary structures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamada, Kazushi; Tsuboi, Yasuyuki; Itaya, Akira

    2003-09-01

    Bombyx mori silk fibroin was fixed on mica substrates by cast of aqueous fibroin solutions, and the microscopic morphologies of the samples were revealed by means of atomic force microscopy. By adjusting the method used to prepare the solution, we succeeded in forming quasi-2-dimensional thin films in which a network of fibroin molecules developed over the substrate. The film network consisted of fibroin in a random coil structure. The morphology of the network changed after thermal or methanol treatments, which are known to convert the secondary structure of fibroin from the random coil to the {beta}-sheet type. In both of these cases, the network morphology disappeared and characteristic island-like morphologies appeared. On the other hand, temporally evolving gelation occurred in a fibroin solution due to the formation of {beta}-sheet crystals. Such islands were also observable in a specimen prepared by the cast of the gel-containing solution. Based on these results, it was concluded that the islands consist of {beta}-sheet crystals. Of particular interest is the observation that all of the islands had a common thickness value of 1.3 nm. These morphologies are discussed in terms of the secondary structure of fibroin.

  11. Effect of substrate temperature and deposition rate on the morphology and optical properties of Ti films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Einollahzadeh-Samadi, M.; Dariani, R.S., E-mail: dariani@alzahra.ac.ir

    2013-09-01

    Titanium films are deposited on transparent fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates by DC magnetron sputtering process. Influences imposed by sputtering rate and substrate temperature on surface morphology and optical properties of the deposited Ti films are investigated. We observed that all the sputtered films exhibit uniform and compact surface morphology without peeling and cracking. Morphology of the films is studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The optical properties of the films are investigated using UV–vis spectroscopy. The morphological studies indicate that by increasing the substrate temperature from room temperature to 250 °C and/or decreasing sputtering rate from 660 Å/min to 540 Å/min the surface roughness decreased from 73.4 to 31.0 nm and the grain size increases from 50.76 nm to 163.93 nm. An important effect of the root mean square (RMS) surface roughness and grain size is modification of the films optical properties. In fact, an enhancement of refractive index n for the Ti films deposited at high substrate temperature and/or high deposition rate is observed, that is attributed to reduction of RMS roughness. This effect is attributed to increment of fractional volume which leads to an increase in density of deposited film. Thus, by controlling the sputtering conditions one can reach to the desired morphological and optical properties.

  12. The role of the substrate surface morphology and water in growth of vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pint, Cary; Pheasant, Sean; Nicholas, Nolan; Horton, Charles; Hauge, Robert

    2008-11-01

    Growth of high quality, vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes (carpets) is achieved using a rapid insertion hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HF-CVD) technique. The effect of the substrate morphology on growth is explored by comparing carpets grown on epitaxially polished MgO substrates to those grown on "as-cut", macroscopically rough MgO substrates. Depending on the substrate morphology, we observe differences in both the overall carpet morphology as well as the diameter distribution of nanotubes grown in the carpet based on optical measurements. In addition, we explore the role of water in the growth of carpets on MgO and the conventional Al2O3 coated Si substrates. We find that the addition of a small amount of water is beneficial to the growth rates of the SWNT carpets, enhancing the growth rates by up to eight times.

  13. Ag films deposited on Si and Ti: How the film-substrate interaction influences the nanoscale film morphology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruffino, F.; Torrisi, V.

    2017-11-01

    Submicron-thick Ag films were sputter deposited, at room temperature, on Si, covered by the native SiO2 layer, and on Ti, covered by the native TiO2 layer, under normal and oblique deposition angle. The aim of this work was to study the morphological differences in the grown Ag films on the two substrates when fixed all the other deposition parameters. In fact, the surface diffusivity of the Ag adatoms is different on the two substrates (higher on the SiO2 surface) due to the different Ag-SiO2 and Ag-TiO2 atomic interactions. So, the effect of the adatoms surface diffusivity, as determined by the adatoms-substrate interaction, on the final film morphology was analyzed. To this end, microscopic analyses were used to study the morphology of the grown Ag films. Even if the homologous temperature prescribes that the Ag film grows on both substrates in the zone I described by the structure zone model some significant differences are observed on the basis of the supporting substrate. In the normal incidence condition, on the SiO2/Si surface a dense close-packed Ag film exhibiting a smooth surface is obtained, while on the TiO2/Ti surface a more columnar film morphology is formed. In the oblique incidence condition the columnar morphology for the Ag film occurs both on SiO2/Si and TiO2/Ti but a higher porous columnar film is obtained on TiO2/Ti due to the lower Ag diffusivity. These results indicate that the adatoms diffusivity on the substrate as determined by the adatom-surface interaction (in addition to the substrate temperature) strongly determines the final film nanostructure.

  14. Structural and morphological characterizations of ZnO films grown on GaAs substrates by MOCVD

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Agouram, S.; Zuniga Perez, J.; Munoz-Sanjose, V. [Universitat de Valencia, Departamento de Fisica Aplicada y Electromagnetismo, Burjassot (Spain)

    2007-07-15

    ZnO films were grown on GaAs(100), GaAs(111)A and GaAs(111)B substrates by metal organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD). Diethylzinc (DEZn) and tertiarybutanol (t-butanol) were used as Zn and O precursors, respectively. The influence of the growth temperature and GaAs substrate orientation on the crystalline orientation and morphology of the ZnO grown films has been analysed. Crystallinity of grown films was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD); thickness and morphology of ZnO films were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM results reveal significant differences between morphologies depending on growth temperature but not significant differences were detected on the texture of grown films. (orig.)

  15. Morphology Controlled Fabrication of InN Nanowires on Brass Substrates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huijie Li

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Growth of semiconductor nanowires on cheap metal substrates could pave the way to the large-scale manufacture of low-cost nanowire-based devices. In this work, we demonstrated that high density InN nanowires can be directly grown on brass substrates by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. It was found that Zn from the brass substrates is the key factor in the formation of nanowires by restricting the lateral growth of InN. The nanowire morphology is highly dependent on the growth temperature. While at a lower growth temperature, the nanowires and the In droplets have large diameters. At the elevated growth temperature, the lateral sizes of the nanowires and the In droplets are much smaller. Moreover, the nanowire diameter can be controlled in situ by varying the temperature in the growth process. This method is very instructive to the diameter-controlled growth of nanowires of other materials.

  16. Influence of Surface Roughness and Agitation on the Morphology of Magnetite Films Electrodeposited on Carbon Steel Substrates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soon-Hyeok Jeon

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available In this work, we investigated the effects of surface roughness and agitation on the morphology of magnetite films electrodeposited from alkaline Fe(III-triethanolamine (TEA solutions on carbon steel substrates. The surface roughness of the carbon steel substrates was maintained in the range of 1.64–0.06 μm by using mechanical grinding and polishing methods. The agitation speed was set at 0 and 900 rpm during the electrodeposition process. The particle size and surface roughness value of the magnetite films gradually decreased with decreasing substrate roughness. However, the influence of the substrate roughness on the thickness of the magnetite film was negligible. The morphology of the magnetite film fabricated at 900 rpm appeared to be highly faceted compared to that of the magnetite film produced at 0 rpm. The thickness and surface roughness of the magnetite film significantly increased with the agitation speed, which also significantly affected the electrodeposition efficiency. The effects of substrate surface roughness and agitation on the morphology of magnetite films electrodeposited on carbon steel substrates were also discussed. The obtained results provide critical information for the simulation of magnetite deposits on carbon steel pipes in the secondary systems of nuclear power plants.

  17. Controllable wettability and morphology of electrodeposited surfaces on zinc substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Binyan; Lu, Shixiang, E-mail: shixianglu@bit.edu.cn; Xu, Wenguo, E-mail: wenguoxu60@bit.edu.cn; Cheng, Yuanyuan

    2016-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Superhydrophobic surfaces combining hierarchical micro/nanostructures were fabricated on zinc substrates by etching, electrodeposition of ZnO coatings and annealing. Such superhydrophobic surfaces offer possibilities for chemical, biological, electronic and microfluidic applications. - Highlights: • Superhydrophobic surface was fabricated via electrodeposition of ZnO and annealing. • The ZnO hierarchical micro/nanostructures contribute to the surface superhydrophobicity. • Surface wettability and morphology can be controlled by varying process conditions. • The anti-icing properties and reversible wetting behaviors of the ZnO coatings were studied. - Abstract: Superhydrophobic surfaces combining hierarchical micro/nanostructures were fabricated on zinc substrates by etching in hydrochloric acid solution, electrodeposition of ZnO coatings and subsequent thermal annealing. The optimal coatings were electrodeposited at −1.25 V for 900 s on the etched zinc substrates and then annealed at 200 °C for 60 min, which could achieve a maximum water contact angle of 170 ± 2° and an ultra-low sliding angle of approximately 0°. By conducting SEM and water CA analysis, we found that the morphology and wettability of prepared samples were controllable by the fabrication process. Interestingly, even without any additional modification, the samples prepared under different electrodeposition conditions (including Zn(CH{sub 3}COO){sub 2} concentration from 5 mM to 40 mM and deposition time from 300 s to 1500 s) exhibited superhydrophobic character. The influences of the Zn(CH{sub 3}COO){sub 2} concentration, deposition time, annealing temperature and annealing time on the wetting behaviors were also discussed in detail. Such superhydrophobic surfaces possess long-term stability, and good corrosion resistance as well as self-cleaning ability. In addition, the anti-icing properties of the ZnO films were investigated. These surfaces could be rapidly and

  18. Controllable wettability and morphology of electrodeposited surfaces on zinc substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Binyan; Lu, Shixiang; Xu, Wenguo; Cheng, Yuanyuan

    2016-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Superhydrophobic surfaces combining hierarchical micro/nanostructures were fabricated on zinc substrates by etching, electrodeposition of ZnO coatings and annealing. Such superhydrophobic surfaces offer possibilities for chemical, biological, electronic and microfluidic applications. - Highlights: • Superhydrophobic surface was fabricated via electrodeposition of ZnO and annealing. • The ZnO hierarchical micro/nanostructures contribute to the surface superhydrophobicity. • Surface wettability and morphology can be controlled by varying process conditions. • The anti-icing properties and reversible wetting behaviors of the ZnO coatings were studied. - Abstract: Superhydrophobic surfaces combining hierarchical micro/nanostructures were fabricated on zinc substrates by etching in hydrochloric acid solution, electrodeposition of ZnO coatings and subsequent thermal annealing. The optimal coatings were electrodeposited at −1.25 V for 900 s on the etched zinc substrates and then annealed at 200 °C for 60 min, which could achieve a maximum water contact angle of 170 ± 2° and an ultra-low sliding angle of approximately 0°. By conducting SEM and water CA analysis, we found that the morphology and wettability of prepared samples were controllable by the fabrication process. Interestingly, even without any additional modification, the samples prepared under different electrodeposition conditions (including Zn(CH_3COO)_2 concentration from 5 mM to 40 mM and deposition time from 300 s to 1500 s) exhibited superhydrophobic character. The influences of the Zn(CH_3COO)_2 concentration, deposition time, annealing temperature and annealing time on the wetting behaviors were also discussed in detail. Such superhydrophobic surfaces possess long-term stability, and good corrosion resistance as well as self-cleaning ability. In addition, the anti-icing properties of the ZnO films were investigated. These surfaces could be rapidly and reversibly switched

  19. Interfacial Effects on the Spherulitic Morphology of Isotactic Polystyrene Thin Films on Liquid Substrates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takashi Sasaki

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The influence of interfaces on the morphology of flat spherulites of isotactic polystyrene (iPS grown in thin films on liquid substrates was investigated. Amorphous iPS thin films spin-cast from a solution were annealed for cold crystallization on glycerol and silicone oil (nonsolvents for iPS. The number density of grown spherulites was revealed to be higher on the glycerol substrate than on the silicone oil substrate. This implies that the primary nucleation rate of crystallization is greater at the iPS/glycerol interface than at the iPS/silicone oil interface. The results may be consistent with the previous findings that concern the molecular interaction between atactic polystyrene and nonsolvents at the interface. In some cases, holes were formed in the thin films during the cold crystallization due to dewetting, which also significantly affect the spherulite morphology via, for example, transcrystallization.

  20. Intra-trackway morphological variations due to substrate consistency: the El Frontal dinosaur tracksite (Lower Cretaceous, Spain.

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    Novella L Razzolini

    Full Text Available An ichnological and sedimentological study of the El Frontal dinosaur tracksite (Early Cretaceous, Cameros basin, Soria, Spain highlights the pronounced intra-trackway variation found in track morphologies of four theropod trackways. Photogrammetric 3D digital models revealed various and distinct intra-trackway morphotypes, which reflect changes in footprint parameters such as the pace length, the track length, depth, and height of displacement rims. Sedimentological analyses suggest that the original substrate was non-homogenous due to lateral changes in adjoining microfacies. Multidata analyses indicate that morphological differences in these deep and shallow tracks represent a part of a continuum of track morphologies and geometries produced by a gradient of substrate consistencies across the site. This implies that the large range of track morphologies at this site resulted from similar trackmakers crossing variable facies. The trackways at the El Frontal site present an exemplary case of how track morphology, and consequently potential ichnotaxa, can vary, even when produced by a single trackmaker.

  1. The morphology of coating/substrate interface in hot-dip-aluminized steels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Awan, Gul Hameed; Hasan, Faiz ul

    2008-01-01

    In hot-dip-aluminized (HAD) steels, the morphology and the profile of the interface between the aluminum coating and the substrate steel, are affected both by the composition of the molten aluminum as well as by the composition, and even the microstructure, of the substrate steel. This effect has been investigated using optical and scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The reaction between the steel and the molten aluminum leads to the formation of Fe-Al inter-metallic compounds on the steel surface. The thickness of the inter-metallic compound layer as well as the morphology of the interface between the steel and the interlayer varies with the silicon content of the molten aluminum. In hot-dip-aluminizing with pure aluminum, the interlayer is 'thick' and exhibits a finger-like growth into the steel. With a gradually increasing addition of silicon into the aluminum melt, the thickness of the interlayer decreases while the interface between the interlayer and the substrate gradually becomes 'smoother'. With an increase in the carbon content of the substrate steel the growth of the interlayer into the steel is impeded by the pearlite phase, whereas the ferrite phase appears to dissolve more readily. X-ray diffraction and electron microscopic studies showed that the interlayer formed in samples aluminized in pure aluminum, essentially consisted of orthorhombic Fe 2 Al 5 . It was further observed that the finger-like grains of Fe 2 Al 5 phase exhibited a preferred lattice orientation. With a gradual addition of silicon into the aluminum melt, a cubic phase based on Fe 3 Al also started to form in the interlayer and replaced most of the Fe 2 Al 5

  2. Toward Improved Lifetimes of Organic Solar Cells under Thermal Stress: Substrate-Dependent Morphological Stability of PCDTBT:PCBM Films and Devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Zhe; Ho Chiu, Kar; Shahid Ashraf, Raja; Fearn, Sarah; Dattani, Rajeev; Cheng Wong, Him; Tan, Ching-Hong; Wu, Jiaying; Cabral, João T; Durrant, James R

    2015-10-15

    Morphological stability is a key requirement for outdoor operation of organic solar cells. We demonstrate that morphological stability and lifetime of polymer/fullerene based solar cells under thermal stress depend strongly on the substrate interface on which the active layer is deposited. In particular, we find that the stability of benchmark PCDTBT/PCBM solar cells under modest thermal stress is substantially increased in inverted solar cells employing a ZnO substrate compared to conventional devices employing a PSS substrate. This improved stability is observed to correlate with PCBM nucleation at the 50 nm scale, which is shown to be strongly influenced by different substrate interfaces. Employing this approach, we demonstrate remarkable thermal stability for inverted PCDTBT:PC70BM devices on ZnO substrates, with negligible (humidity exposure as widely reported previously, can also demonstrate enhanced morphological stability. As such we show that the choice of suitable substrate interfaces may be a key factor in achieving prolonged lifetimes for organic solar cells under thermal stress conditions.

  3. Influence of substrate miscut angle on surface morphology and luminescence properties of AlGaN

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kusch, Gunnar; Edwards, Paul R.; Bruckbauer, Jochen; Martin, Robert W.; Li, Haoning; Parbrook, Peter J.; Sadler, Thomas C.

    2014-01-01

    The influence of substrate miscut on Al 0.5 Ga 0.5  N layers was investigated using cathodoluminescence (CL) hyperspectral imaging and secondary electron imaging in an environmental scanning electron microscope. The samples were also characterized using atomic force microscopy and high resolution X-ray diffraction. It was found that small changes in substrate miscut have a strong influence on the morphology and luminescence properties of the AlGaN layers. Two different types are resolved. For low miscut angle, a crack-free morphology consisting of randomly sized domains is observed, between which there are notable shifts in the AlGaN near band edge emission energy. For high miscut angle, a morphology with step bunches and compositional inhomogeneities along the step bunches, evidenced by an additional CL peak along the step bunches, are observed

  4. Analysis of effect of nanoporous alumina substrate coated with polypyrrole nanowire on cell morphology based on AFM topography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Said, Waleed Ahmed; Yea, Cheol-Heon; Jung, Mi; Kim, Hyuncheol; Choi, Jeong-Woo

    2010-05-01

    In this study, in situ electrochemical synthesis of polypyrrole nanowires with nanoporous alumina template was described. The formation of highly ordered porous alumina substrate was demonstrated with Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). In addition, Fourier transform infrared analysis confirmed that polypyrrole (PP) nanowires were synthesized by direct electrochemical oxidation of pyrrole. HeLa cancer cells and HMCF normal cells were immobilized on the polypyrrole nanowires/nanoporous alumina substrates to determine the effects of the substrate on the cell morphology, adhesion and proliferation as well as the biocompatibility of the substrate. Cell adhesion and proliferation were characterized using a standard MTT assay. The effects of the polypyrrole nanowires/nanoporous alumina substrate on the cell morphology were studied by AFM. The nanoporous alumina coated with polypyrrole nanowires was found to exhibit better cell adhesion and proliferation than polystyrene petridish, aluminum foil, 1st anodized and uncoated 2nd anodized alumina substrate. This study showed the potential of the polypyrrole nanowires/nanoporous alumina substrate as biocompatibility electroactive polymer substrate for both healthy and cancer cell cultures applications.

  5. Substrate morphology induced self-organization into carbon nanotube arrays, ropes, and agglomerates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Jia-Qi; Zhang, Qiang; Xu, Guang-Hui; Qian, Wei-Zhong; Wei, Fei

    2008-10-29

    In this paper, hydrophobic carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays, ropes, and agglomerates were synthesized through self-organization on quartz substrates with different micro-structures under the same growth condition. On a flat substrate, a uniform woven structure was formed which resulted in a synchronous growth into an array. When the substrate with 10 µm round concaves distributed on the surface was adopted, the woven structure was sporadic and a CNT cluster was grown in the concave. With further growth, CNT ropes were self-organized. Subsequently, when the substrate consisting of irregular ∼100 nm gaps was used, the initial woven structure was high density, thus resulting in the formation of CNT agglomerates. Study results showed that CNT arrays grown on the flat substrate were of the highest purity and had a contact angle of 153.8 ± 0.9°. Thus, the self-organization behavior among CNTs was in situ modulated by different substrate morphology without further treatments. This provides us with an additional understanding of the self-organization of CNTs during growth, as well as strategies for the controllable synthesis of CNTs with fixed properties.

  6. Substrate morphology induced self-organization into carbon nanotube arrays, ropes, and agglomerates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang Jiaqi; Zhang Qiang; Xu Guanghui; Qian Weizhong; Wei Fei

    2008-01-01

    In this paper, hydrophobic carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays, ropes, and agglomerates were synthesized through self-organization on quartz substrates with different micro-structures under the same growth condition. On a flat substrate, a uniform woven structure was formed which resulted in a synchronous growth into an array. When the substrate with 10 μm round concaves distributed on the surface was adopted, the woven structure was sporadic and a CNT cluster was grown in the concave. With further growth, CNT ropes were self-organized. Subsequently, when the substrate consisting of irregular ∼100 nm gaps was used, the initial woven structure was high density, thus resulting in the formation of CNT agglomerates. Study results showed that CNT arrays grown on the flat substrate were of the highest purity and had a contact angle of 153.8 ± 0.9 0 . Thus, the self-organization behavior among CNTs was in situ modulated by different substrate morphology without further treatments. This provides us with an additional understanding of the self-organization of CNTs during growth, as well as strategies for the controllable synthesis of CNTs with fixed properties.

  7. Slip Morphology of Elastic Strips on Frictional Rigid Substrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sano, Tomohiko G; Yamaguchi, Tetsuo; Wada, Hirofumi

    2017-04-28

    The morphology of an elastic strip subject to vertical compressive stress on a frictional rigid substrate is investigated by a combination of theory and experiment. We find a rich variety of morphologies, which-when the bending elasticity dominates over the effect of gravity-are classified into three distinct types of states: pinned, partially slipped, and completely slipped, depending on the magnitude of the vertical strain and the coefficient of static friction. We develop a theory of elastica under mixed clamped-hinged boundary conditions combined with the Coulomb-Amontons friction law and find excellent quantitative agreement with simulations and controlled physical experiments. We also discuss the effect of gravity in order to bridge the difference in the qualitative behaviors of stiff strips and flexible strings or ropes. Our study thus complements recent work on elastic rope coiling and takes a significant step towards establishing a unified understanding of how a thin elastic object interacts vertically with a solid surface.

  8. Influence of the substrate on the morphological evolution of gold thin films during solid-state dewetting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nsimama, Patrick D.; Herz, Andreas; Wang, Dong; Schaaf, Peter

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Dewetting of thin gold films is faster on TiO_2 than on SiO_2. • Dewetting of thin gold films is faster on amorphous TiO_2 than on crystalline TiO_2. • The kinetics is attributed to the energy of adhesion. • The morphology of thin Au films deposited on TiO_2 substrates is different to those deposited on SiO_2 substrates. • The dewetting activation energy of Au films deposited on crystalline substrates was higher than the activation energy of Au nanofilms deposited on amorphous TiO_2 substrates. - Abstract: The evolution of electron-beam evaporated Au thin films deposited on crystalline TiO_2 (c-TiO_2) and amorphous TiO_2 (a-TiO_2) as well as amorphous SiO_2 substrates are investigated. The kinetic of dewetting is clearly dependent on the type of substrate and is faster on TiO_2 substrates than on SiO_2 substrates. This difference can result from the difference in adhesion energy. Furthermore, the kinetic of dewetting is faster on a-TiO_2 than on c-TiO_2, possibly due to the crystallization of TiO_2 during annealing induced dewetting process. The morphologies of dewetted Au films deposited on crystalline TiO_2 are characterized by branched holes. The XRD patterns of the Au films deposited on TiO_2 substrates constituted peaks from both metallic Au and anatase TiO_2. The activation energy of Au films deposited on crystalline TiO_2 substrates was higher than that that of the films deposited on amorphous TiO_2 substrates.

  9. Surface morphology modelling for the resistivity analysis of low temperature sputtered indium tin oxide thin films on polymer substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yin Xuesong; Tang Wu; Weng Xiaolong; Deng Longjiang

    2009-01-01

    Amorphous or weakly crystalline indium tin oxide (ITO) thin film samples have been prepared on polymethylmethacrylate and polyethylene terephthalate substrates by RF-magnetron sputtering at a low substrate temperature. The surface morphological and electrical properties of the ITO layers were measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and a standard four-point probe measurement. The effect of surface morphology on the resistivity of ITO thin films was studied, which presented some different variations from crystalline films. Then, a simplified film system model, including the substrate, continuous ITO layer and ITO surface grain, was proposed to deal with these correlations. Based on this thin film model and the AFM images, a quadratic potential was introduced to simulate the characteristics of the ITO surface morphology, and the classical Kronig-Penney model, the semiconductor electrical theory and the modified Neugebauer-Webb model were used to expound the detailed experimental results. The modelling equation was highly in accord with the experimental variations of the resistivity on the characteristics of the surface morphology.

  10. Effects of SPORL and dilute acid pretreatment on substrate morphology, cell physical and chemical wall structures, and subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis of lodgepole pine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xinping Li; Xiaolin Luo; Kecheng Li; J.Y. Zhu; J. Dennis Fougere; Kimberley Clarke

    2012-01-01

    The effects of pretreatment by dilute acid and sulfite pretreatment to overcome recalcitrance of lignocellulose (SPORL) on substrate morphology, cell wall physical and chemical structures, along with the subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis of lodgepole pine substrate were investigated. FE-SEM and TEM images of substrate structural morphological changes showed that SPORL...

  11. Ordered to isotropic morphology transition in pattern-directed dewetting of polymer thin films on substrates with different feature heights.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roy, Sudeshna; Mukherjee, Rabibrata

    2012-10-24

    Controlled dewetting of a thin polymer film on a topographically patterned substrate is an interesting approach for aligning isotropic dewetted structures. In this article, we investigate the influence of substrate feature height (H(S)) on the dewetting pathway and final pattern morphology by studying the dewetting of polystyrene (PS) thin films on grating substrates with identical periodicity (λ(P) = 1.5 μm), but H(S) varying between 10 nm and 120 nm. We identify four distinct categories of final dewetted morphology, with different extent of ordering: (1) array of aligned droplets (H(S) ≈ 120 nm); (2) aligned undulating ribbons (H(S) ≈ 70-100 nm); (3) multilength scale structures with coexisting large droplets uncorrelated to the substrate and smaller droplets/ribbons aligned along the stripes (H(S) ≈ 40-60 nm); and (4) large droplets completely uncorrelated to the substrate (H(S) dewetted morphologies and transition across categories remain generically unaltered. We finally show that the structures obtained by dewetting on different H(S) substrates exhibits different levels of hydrophobicity because of combined spatial variation of chemical and topographic contrast along the surface. Thus, the work reported in this article can find potential application in fabricating surfaces with controlled wettability.

  12. The effects of electrospun substrate-mediated cell colony morphology on the self-renewal of human induced pluripotent stem cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maldonado, Maricela; Wong, Lauren Y; Echeverria, Cristina; Ico, Gerardo; Low, Karen; Fujimoto, Taylor; Johnson, Jed K; Nam, Jin

    2015-05-01

    The development of xeno-free, chemically defined stem cell culture systems has been a primary focus in the field of regenerative medicine to enhance the clinical application of pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). In this regard, various electrospun substrates with diverse physiochemical properties were synthesized utilizing various polymer precursors and surface treatments. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs) cultured on these substrates were characterized by their gene and protein expression to determine the effects of the substrate physiochemical properties on the cells' self-renewal, i.e., proliferation and the maintenance of pluripotency. The results showed that surface chemistry significantly affected cell colony formation via governing the colony edge propagation. More importantly, when surface chemistry of the substrates was uniformly controlled by collagen conjugation, the stiffness of substrate was inversely related to the sphericity, a degree of three dimensionality in colony morphology. The differences in sphericity subsequently affected spontaneous differentiation of IPSCs during a long-term culture, implicating that the colony morphology is a deciding factor in the lineage commitment of PSCs. Overall, we show that the capability of controlling IPSC colony morphology by electrospun substrates provides a means to modulate IPSC self-renewal. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Influence of the substrate on the morphological evolution of gold thin films during solid-state dewetting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nsimama, Patrick D. [TU Ilmenau, Institute of Materials Engineering and Institute of Micro- and Nanotechnologies MacroNano, Chair Materials for Electrical Engineering and Electronics, 98693 Ilmenau (Germany); Dar Es Salaam Institute of Technology, P.O. Box 2958, Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania, United Republic of); Herz, Andreas; Wang, Dong [TU Ilmenau, Institute of Materials Engineering and Institute of Micro- and Nanotechnologies MacroNano, Chair Materials for Electrical Engineering and Electronics, 98693 Ilmenau (Germany); Schaaf, Peter, E-mail: peter.schaaf@tu-ilmenau.de [TU Ilmenau, Institute of Materials Engineering and Institute of Micro- and Nanotechnologies MacroNano, Chair Materials for Electrical Engineering and Electronics, 98693 Ilmenau (Germany)

    2016-12-01

    Highlights: • Dewetting of thin gold films is faster on TiO{sub 2} than on SiO{sub 2}. • Dewetting of thin gold films is faster on amorphous TiO{sub 2} than on crystalline TiO{sub 2}. • The kinetics is attributed to the energy of adhesion. • The morphology of thin Au films deposited on TiO{sub 2} substrates is different to those deposited on SiO{sub 2} substrates. • The dewetting activation energy of Au films deposited on crystalline substrates was higher than the activation energy of Au nanofilms deposited on amorphous TiO{sub 2} substrates. - Abstract: The evolution of electron-beam evaporated Au thin films deposited on crystalline TiO{sub 2} (c-TiO{sub 2}) and amorphous TiO{sub 2} (a-TiO{sub 2}) as well as amorphous SiO{sub 2} substrates are investigated. The kinetic of dewetting is clearly dependent on the type of substrate and is faster on TiO{sub 2} substrates than on SiO{sub 2} substrates. This difference can result from the difference in adhesion energy. Furthermore, the kinetic of dewetting is faster on a-TiO{sub 2} than on c-TiO{sub 2}, possibly due to the crystallization of TiO{sub 2} during annealing induced dewetting process. The morphologies of dewetted Au films deposited on crystalline TiO{sub 2} are characterized by branched holes. The XRD patterns of the Au films deposited on TiO{sub 2} substrates constituted peaks from both metallic Au and anatase TiO{sub 2}. The activation energy of Au films deposited on crystalline TiO{sub 2} substrates was higher than that that of the films deposited on amorphous TiO{sub 2} substrates.

  14. Enhancement of methyl tert-butyl ether degradation by the addition of readily metabolizable organic substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Dongzhi; Chen Jianmeng; Zhong Weihong

    2009-01-01

    Supplements with readily metabolizable organic substrates were investigated to increase the biomass and enhance degradation of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) due to the low biomass yield of MTBE which has been one of the factors for low-rate MTBE degradation. The influence of various organic substrates on the rate of aerobic degradation of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) by Methylibium petroleiphilum PM1 was investigated, and only yeast extract (YE), beef extract and tryptone exhibited stimulatory effect. With the concentration of each substrate being 100 mg/L, the average MTBE removal rate could increase to 1.29, 1.20 and 1.04 mg/(L h), respectively, in comparison with 0.71 mg/(L h) when carried out in medium without addition. The stimulatory effects of YE addition, as well as induction period required by MTBE degradation, varied dramatically with the storage conditions, pre-culture medium and concentrations of the inoculums. The extent of stimulatory effects of YE might be closely related to the proportion of induction period in the total time of MTBE-degradation. The removal efficiency increased from about 50% to 90.5% with the addition of YE in a packed-bed reactor loaded with calcium alginate immobilized cells.

  15. A Mutational Analysis of Residues in Cholera Toxin A1 Necessary for Interaction with Its Substrate, the Stimulatory G Protein Gsα

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael G. Jobling

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Pathogenesis of cholera diarrhea requires cholera toxin (CT-mediated adenosine diphosphate (ADP-ribosylation of stimulatory G protein (Gsα in enterocytes. CT is an AB5 toxin with an inactive CTA1 domain linked via CTA2 to a pentameric receptor-binding B subunit. Allosterically activated CTA1 fragment in complex with NAD+ and GTP-bound ADP-ribosylation factor 6 (ARF6-GTP differs conformationally from the CTA1 domain in holotoxin. A surface-exposed knob and a short α-helix (formed, respectively, by rearranging “active-site” and “activation” loops in inactive CTA1 and an ADP ribosylating turn-turn (ARTT motif, all located near the CTA1 catalytic site, were evaluated for possible roles in recognizing Gsα. CT variants with one, two or three alanine substitutions at surface-exposed residues within these CTA1 motifs were tested for assembly into holotoxin and ADP-ribosylating activity against Gsα and diethylamino-(benzylidineamino-guanidine (DEABAG, a small substrate predicted to fit into the CTA1 active site. Variants with single alanine substitutions at H55, R67, L71, S78, or D109 had nearly wild-type activity with DEABAG but significantly decreased activity with Gsα, suggesting that the corresponding residues in native CTA1 participate in recognizing Gsα. As several variants with multiple substitutions at these positions retained partial activity against Gsα, other residues in CTA1 likely also participate in recognizing Gsα.

  16. Data on the detail information of influence of substrate temperature on the film morphology and photovoltaic performance of non-fullerene organic solar cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jicheng; Xie, SuFei; Lu, Zhen; Wu, Yang; Xiao, Hongmei; Zhang, Xuejuan; Li, Guangwu; Li, Cuihong; Chen, Xuebo; Ma, Wei; Bo, Zhishan

    2017-10-01

    This data contains additional data related to the article "Influence of Substrate Temperature on the Film Morphology and Photovoltaic Performance of Non-fullerene Organic Solar Cells" (Jicheng Zhang et al., In press) [1]. Data include measurement and characterization instruments and condition, detail condition to fabricate norfullerene solar cell devices, hole-only and electron-only devices. Detail condition about how to control the film morphology of devices via tuning the temperature of substrates was also displayed. More information and more convincing data about the change of film morphology for active layers fabricated from different temperature, which is attached to the research article of "Influence of Substrate Temperature on the Film Morphology and Photovoltaic Performance of Non-fullerene Organic Solar Cells" was given.

  17. Optical and morphological characterizations of pyronin dye-poly (vinyl alcohol) thin films formed on glass substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meral, Kadem; Arik, Mustafa; Onganer, Yavuz

    2016-01-01

    Thin films of pyronin dye mixed with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) on glass substrate were prepared by using spin-coating technique. The optical and morphological properties of the thin films were studied by UV-Vis., steady-state fluorescence spectroscopies and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The thin films on glass substrate were fabricated at various [PVA]/[dye] (P/D) ratios. Hence, the monomeric and H-aggregates thin films of pyronin dye mixed with PVA were formed as a function of the dye and PVA concentration. It was determined that while the monomeric thin films showed strong fluorescence, the formation of H-aggregates in the thin film caused to decreasing the fluorescence intensity. AFM studies demonstrated that the morphology of the thin film was drastically varied with changing the optical property of the thin film such as monomeric and H-aggregates thin films.

  18. Optical and morphological characterizations of pyronin dye-poly (vinyl alcohol) thin films formed on glass substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meral, Kadem, E-mail: kademm@atauni.edu.tr; Arik, Mustafa, E-mail: marik@tatauni.edu.tr; Onganer, Yavuz, E-mail: yonganer@atauni.edu.tr [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Atatürk University, 25240 Erzurum (Turkey)

    2016-04-18

    Thin films of pyronin dye mixed with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) on glass substrate were prepared by using spin-coating technique. The optical and morphological properties of the thin films were studied by UV-Vis., steady-state fluorescence spectroscopies and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The thin films on glass substrate were fabricated at various [PVA]/[dye] (P/D) ratios. Hence, the monomeric and H-aggregates thin films of pyronin dye mixed with PVA were formed as a function of the dye and PVA concentration. It was determined that while the monomeric thin films showed strong fluorescence, the formation of H-aggregates in the thin film caused to decreasing the fluorescence intensity. AFM studies demonstrated that the morphology of the thin film was drastically varied with changing the optical property of the thin film such as monomeric and H-aggregates thin films.

  19. Formation of different micro-morphologies from VO2 and ZnO crystallization using macro-porous silicon substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salazar-Kuri, U.; Antúnez, E. E.; Estevez, J. O.; Olive-Méndez, Sion F.; Silva-González, N. R.; Agarwal, V.

    2017-05-01

    Square-shaped macropores produced by electrochemical anodization of n- and p-type Si wafers have been used as centers of nucleation to crystallize VO2 and ZnO. Substrate roughness dependent formation of different morphologies is revealed in the form of squared particles, spheres, bars and ribbons in the case of VO2 and hexagonal piles and spheres in the case of ZnO, have been observed.The presence of nano-/micro-metric crystals was studied through field emission scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy mapping. Crystal structure of metal oxides was confirmed by micro-Raman spectroscopy. The growth of the different morphologies has been explained in terms of the surface free energy of a bare Si/SiO2 substrate and its modification originated from the roughness of the surface and of the walls of the porous substrates. This energy plays a crucial role on the minimization of the required energy to induce heterogeneous nucleation and crystal growth. Present work strengthens and provides an experimental evidence of roughness dependent metal oxide crystal growth with well-defined habits from pore corners and rough sides of the pore walls, similar to already reported protein crystals.

  20. Influence of substrate temperature on structural, morphological and electrical properties of PbSe film deposited by radio frequency sputtering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Feng, Wenran, E-mail: fengwenran@bipt.edu.cn [College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing 102617 (China); Beijing Key Lab of Special Elastomer Composite Materials, Beijing 102617 (China); Wang, Xiaoyang [College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029 (China); Chen, Fei [College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing 102617 (China); Beijing Key Lab of Special Elastomer Composite Materials, Beijing 102617 (China); Liu, Wan [College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029 (China); Zhou, Hai; Wang, Shuo; Li, Haoran [College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing 102617 (China); Beijing Key Lab of Special Elastomer Composite Materials, Beijing 102617 (China)

    2015-03-02

    PbSe films were prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering from PbSe slices target under different substrate temperatures (from room temperature to 300 °C). The effect of substrate temperature on structural properties of PbSe thin film was investigated. The surface morphology and the crystal structure of film were determined using field emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffractometry, respectively. It was found that the grain shape changed with substrate temperature. When the substrate temperature was below 250 °C, most of the crystal grains were spherical in shape. For temperatures above 250 °C, the grains transformed to triangle or prismatic ones. Meanwhile, with increasing substrate temperature, the preferential orientation of the film changed from (200) to (220). To figure out the intrinsic mechanisms for this behavior, the texture coefficient, as well as the comparison between surface energy and elastic strain energy was performed. At lower temperature, the film growth was determined by surface energy, which was replaced by strain energy at higher temperature. Therefore, the diversity of crystal structure and morphology of the films at different substrate temperatures occurred. Moreover, the electrical properties of the p-type PbSe films are also quite dependent on substrate temperature. With substrate temperature increased, the electrical resistivity decreased from 1.88 to 0.14 Ω cm, while the carrier concentration increased from 1.74 × 10{sup 18} to 4.08 × 10{sup 19} cm{sup −3} as the mobility was enhanced from 0.54 to 2.21 cm{sup 2}/Vs. - Highlights: • PbSe thin films were deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. • Substrate temperature determines crystal structure of PbSe films. • Transformation behaviors of PbSe films were explained by energy calculations.

  1. The role of seeding in the morphology and wettability of ZnO nanorods films on different substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodríguez, Juan; Onna, Diego; Sánchez, Luis; Marchi, M. Claudia; Candal, Roberto; Ponce, Silvia; Bilmes, Sara A.

    2013-01-01

    Spray pyrolysis (SP) and spray-gel (SG) techniques were used to deposit ZnO seeds on Fluor doped tin oxide glasses (FTO), heated at 350 °C or 130 °C, and PET heated at 90 °C. The effect of seeding on the morphology and wettability of ZnO nanorods (NRs) films grown by wet chemical methods was analyzed. The morphology and wettability of ZnO NRs films depend on the seeding process. SP seeds formed from zinc acetate dissolved in water ethanol mixtures yield vertically aligned ZnO NRs, whose diameters and dispersion size are determined by the ethanol/water ratio in the precursor solution. SG seeds formed from a methanol ZnO sol produce a ring patterned distribution on the FTO substrate. The drying of ZnO sol drops impinging on the substrate produces high density of seeds along a ring yielding textured films with NRs vertically oriented on the rings and multi-oriented outside them. This effect was not observed when ZnO NRs grown onto the ZnO/PET substrate, however rod diameter is related with the density of seeds. This way to control the density and diameter of NRs deposited onto a substrate modify the wettability and opens new possibilities for the design of tailored nanomaterials for photochemical applications. Both type of NRs films showed a strong luminescence emission in the UV and in the blue, associated with surface and intrinsic defects.

  2. The role of seeding in the morphology and wettability of ZnO nanorods films on different substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rodríguez, Juan [Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, P.O. Box 31-139, Lima 31, Perú (Peru); Onna, Diego [DQIAQF-INQUIMAE, FCEyN-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Pab. II, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina); Sánchez, Luis [Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, P.O. Box 31-139, Lima 31, Perú (Peru); Marchi, M. Claudia [DQIAQF-INQUIMAE, FCEyN-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Pab. II, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina); Centro de Microscopias Avanzadas, FCEyN-Universidad ed Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Pab. I, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina); Candal, Roberto, E-mail: rjcandal@gmail.com [DQIAQF-INQUIMAE, FCEyN-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Pab. II, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina); ECyT, 3iA, Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Martín de Irigoyen No 3100 (1650), San Martín, Pcia de Buenos Aires (Argentina); Ponce, Silvia [Universidad de Lima, Av. Javier Prado Este s/n, Monterrico, Lima 33, Perú (Peru); Bilmes, Sara A. [DQIAQF-INQUIMAE, FCEyN-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Pab. II, 1428 Buenos Aires (Argentina)

    2013-08-15

    Spray pyrolysis (SP) and spray-gel (SG) techniques were used to deposit ZnO seeds on Fluor doped tin oxide glasses (FTO), heated at 350 °C or 130 °C, and PET heated at 90 °C. The effect of seeding on the morphology and wettability of ZnO nanorods (NRs) films grown by wet chemical methods was analyzed. The morphology and wettability of ZnO NRs films depend on the seeding process. SP seeds formed from zinc acetate dissolved in water ethanol mixtures yield vertically aligned ZnO NRs, whose diameters and dispersion size are determined by the ethanol/water ratio in the precursor solution. SG seeds formed from a methanol ZnO sol produce a ring patterned distribution on the FTO substrate. The drying of ZnO sol drops impinging on the substrate produces high density of seeds along a ring yielding textured films with NRs vertically oriented on the rings and multi-oriented outside them. This effect was not observed when ZnO NRs grown onto the ZnO/PET substrate, however rod diameter is related with the density of seeds. This way to control the density and diameter of NRs deposited onto a substrate modify the wettability and opens new possibilities for the design of tailored nanomaterials for photochemical applications. Both type of NRs films showed a strong luminescence emission in the UV and in the blue, associated with surface and intrinsic defects.

  3. Structure, surface morphology and electrical properties of evaporated Ni thin films: Effect of substrates, thickness and Cu underlayer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hemmous, M.; Layadi, A.; Guittoum, A.; Souami, N.; Mebarki, M.; Menni, N.

    2014-01-01

    Series of Ni thin films have been deposited by thermal evaporation onto glass, Si(111), Cu, mica and Al 2 O 3 substrates with and without a Cu underlayer. The Ni thicknesses, t, are in the 4 to 163 nm range. The Cu underlayer has also been evaporated with a Cu thickness equal to 27, 52 and 90 nm. The effects of substrate, the Ni thickness and the Cu underlayer on the structural and electrical properties of Ni are investigated. Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy was used to probe the Ni/Substrate and Ni–Cu underlayer interfaces and to measure both Ni and Cu thicknesses. The texture, the strain and the grain size values were derived from X-ray diffraction experiments. The surface morphology is studied by means of a Scanning Electron Microscope. The electrical resistivity is measured by the four point probe. The Ni films grow with the <111> texture on all substrates. The Ni grain sizes D increase with increasing thickness for the glass, Si and mica substrates and decrease for the Cu one. The strain ε is positive for low thickness, decreases in magnitude and becomes negative as t increases. With the Cu underlayer, the growth mode goes through two phases: first, the stress (grain size) increases (decreases) up to a critical thickness t Cr , then stress is relieved and grain size increases. All these results will be discussed and correlated. - Highlights: • The structural and electrical properties of evaporated Ni thin films are studied. • The effect of thickness, substrates and Cu underlayer is investigated. • Texture, grain size, strain and surface morphology are discussed. • Growth modes are described as a function of Ni thickness

  4. Morphology evolution of thin Ni film on MgO(100) substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin, C.; Xu, Y.H.; Naramoto, H.; Wei, P.; Kitazawa, S.; Narumi, K.

    2002-01-01

    Thin Ni films with various thicknesses were deposited onto the MgO(100) single crystal substrate at 400 deg. C. The morphology measured by atomic force microscope shows an apparent correlation with the thickness. The initial 10 A film is composed of small round Ni islands. In the 25 A film, pinholes with narrow size distribution occur, which show local periodic distribution in some regions when the thickness of the film reaches 75 A. The driving force for such a structure is attributed to the elastic strain energy. When the film is about 100 A thick, the pinholes begin to disappear, due to filling by the late-coming atoms and covering of upper islands. (author)

  5. Pulsed Laser Deposition of Zinc Sulfide Thin Films on Silicon: The influence of substrate orientation and preparation on thin film morphology and texture

    OpenAIRE

    Heimdal, Carl Philip J

    2014-01-01

    The effect of orientation and preparation of silicon substrates on the growth morphology and crystalline structure of ZnS thin films deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) has been investigated through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and grazing incidence x-ray diffraction (GIXRD). ZnS thin films were grown on silicon (100) and (111), on HF-treated and untreated silicon (100) as well as substrates coated with Al, Ge and Au. The ZnS films showed entirely different morphologies for ZnS f...

  6. Dendritic cell co-stimulatory and co-inhibitory markers in chronic HCV: An Egyptian study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fouad, Hanan; Raziky, Maissa Saeed El; Aziz, Rasha Ahmed Abdel; Sabry, Dina; Aziz, Ghada Mahmoud Abdel; Ewais, Manal; Sayed, Ahmed Reda

    2013-01-01

    AIM: To assess co-stimulatory and co-inhibitory markers of dendritic cells (DCs) in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected subjects with and without uremia. METHODS: Three subject groups were included in the study: group 1 involved 50 control subjects, group 2 involved 50 patients with chronic HCV infection and group 3 involved 50 HCV uremic subjects undergoing hemodialysis. CD83, CD86 and CD40 as co-stimulatory markers and PD-L1 as a co-inhibitory marker were assessed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Interleukin-10 (IL-10) and hyaluronic acid (HA) levels were also assessed. All findings were correlated with disease activity, viral load and fibrogenesis. RESULTS: There was a significant decrease in co-stimulatory markers; CD83, CD86 and CD40 in groups 2 and 3 vs the control group. Co-stimulatory markers were significantly higher in group 3 vs group 2. There was a significant elevation in PD-L1 in both HCV groups vs the control group. PD-L1 was significantly lower in group 3 vs group 2. There was a significant elevation in IL-10 and HA levels in groups 2 and 3, where IL-10 was higher in group 3 and HA was lower in group 3 vs group 2. HA level was significantly correlated with disease activity and fibrosis grade in group 2. IL-10 was significantly correlated with fibrosis grade in group 2. There were significant negative correlations between co-stimulatory markers and viral load in groups 2 and 3, except CD83 in dialysis patients. There was a significant positive correlation between PD-L1 and viral load in both HCV groups. CONCLUSION: A significant decrease in DC co-stimulatory markers and a significant increase in a DC co-inhibitory marker were observed in HCV subjects and to a lesser extent in dialysis patients. PMID:24282359

  7. Effects of SPORL and dilute acid pretreatment on substrate morphology, cell physical and chemical wall structures, and subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis of lodgepole pine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xinping; Luo, Xiaolin; Li, Kecheng; Zhu, J Y; Fougere, J Dennis; Clarke, Kimberley

    2012-11-01

    The effects of pretreatment by dilute acid and sulfite pretreatment to overcome recalcitrance of lignocellulose (SPORL) on substrate morphology, cell wall physical and chemical structures, along with the subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis of lodgepole pine substrate were investigated. FE-SEM and TEM images of substrate structural morphological changes showed that SPORL pretreatment resulted in fiber separation, where SPORL high pH (4.2) pretreatment exhibited better fiber separation than SPORL low pH (1.9) pretreatment. Dilute acid pretreatment produced very poor fiber separation, consisting mostly of fiber bundles. The removal of almost all hemicelluloses in the dilute acid pretreated substrate did not overcome recalcitrance to achieve a high cellulose conversion when lignin removal was limited. SPORL high pH pretreatment removed more lignin but less hemicellulose, while SPORL low pH pretreatment removed about the same amount of lignin and hemicelluloses in lodgepole pine substrates when compared with dilute acid pretreatment. Substrates pretreated with either SPORL process had a much higher cellulose conversion than those produced with dilute acid pretreatment. Lignin removal in addition to removal of hemicellulose in SPORL pretreatment plays an important role in improving the cellulose hydrolysis of the substrate.

  8. pH and generation dependent morphologies of PAMAM dendrimers on a graphene substrate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gosika, Mounika; Maiti, Prabal K

    2018-03-07

    The adsorption of PAMAM dendrimers at solid/water interfaces has been extensively studied, and is mainly driven by electrostatic and van der Waals interactions between the substrate and the dendrimers. However, the pH dependence of the adsorption driven predominantly by the van der Waals interactions is poorly explored, although it is crucial for investigating the potentiality of these dendrimers in supercapacitors and surface patterning. Motivated by this aspect, we have studied the adsorption behavior of PAMAM dendrimers of generations 2 (G2) to 5 (G5) with pH and salt concentration variation, on a charge neutral graphene substrate, using fully atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. The instantaneous snapshots from our simulations illustrate that the dendrimers deform significantly from their bulk structures. Based on various structural property calculations, we classify the adsorbed dendrimer morphologies into five categories and map them to a phase diagram. Interestingly, the morphologies we report here have striking analogies with those reported in star-polymer adsorption studies. From the fractional contacts and other structural property analyses we find that the deformations are more pronounced at neutral pH as compared to high and low pH. Higher generation dendrimers resist deformation following the deformation trend, G2 > G3 > G4 > G5 at any given pH level. As the adsorption here is mainly driven by van der Waals interactions, we observe no desorption of the dendrimers as the salt molarity is increased, unlike that reported in the electrostatically driven adsorption studies.

  9. Cytosolic sensing of immuno-stimulatory DNA, the enemy within.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhanwani, Rekha; Takahashi, Mariko; Sharma, Sonia

    2018-02-01

    In the cytoplasm, DNA is sensed as a universal danger signal by the innate immune system. Cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) is a cytosolic DNA sensor/enzyme that catalyzes formation of 2'-5'-cGAMP, an atypical cyclic di-nucleotide second messenger that binds and activates the Stimulator of Interferon Genes (STING), resulting in recruitment of Tank Binding Kinase 1 (TBK1), activation of the transcription factor Interferon Regulatory Factor 3 (IRF3), and trans-activation of innate immune response genes, including type I Interferon cytokines (IFN-I). Activation of the pro-inflammatory cGAS-STING-IRF3 response is triggered by direct recognition of the DNA genomes of bacteria and viruses, but also during RNA virus infection, neoplastic transformation, tumor immunotherapy and systemic auto-inflammatory diseases. In these circumstances, the source of immuno-stimulatory DNA has often represented a fundamental yet poorly understood aspect of the response. This review focuses on recent findings related to cGAS activation by an array of self-derived DNA substrates, including endogenous retroviral elements, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and micronuclei generated as a result of genotoxic stress and DNA damage. These findings emphasize the role of the cGAS axis as a cell-intrinsic innate immune response to a wide variety of genomic insults. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  10. Surface morphology of polyethylene glycol films produced by matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE): Dependence on substrate temperature

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rodrigo, K.; Czuba, P.; Toftmann, B.

    2006-01-01

    The dependence of the surface morphology on the substrate temperature during film deposition was investigated for polyethylene glycol (PEG) films by matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE). The surface structure was studied with a combined technique of optical imaging and AFM measurements...

  11. Human aortic endothelial cell morphology influenced by topography of porous silicon substrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Formentín, Pilar; Catalán, Úrsula; Fernández-Castillejo, Sara; Alba, Maria; Baranowska, Malgorzata; Solà, Rosa; Pallarès, Josep; Marsal, Lluís F

    2015-10-01

    Porous silicon has received much attention because of its optical properties and for its usefulness in cell-based biosensing, drug delivery, and tissue engineering applications. Surface properties of the biomaterial are associated with cell adhesion and with proliferation, migration, and differentiation. The present article analyzes the behavior of human aortic endothelial cells in macro- and nanoporous collagen-modified porous silicon samples. On both substrates, cells are well adhered and numerous. Confocal microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were employed to study the effects of porosity on the morphology of the cells. On macroporous silicon, filopodia is not observed but the cell spreads on the surface, increasing the lamellipodia surface which penetrates the macropore. On nanoporous silicon, multiple filopodia were found to branch out from the cell body. These results demonstrate that the pore size plays a key role in controlling the morphology and growth rate of human aortic endothelial cells, and that these forms of silicon can be used to control cell development in tissue engineering as well as in basic cell biology research. © The Author(s) 2015.

  12. Surface morphology of homoepitaxial GaN grown on non- and semipolar GaN substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wernicke, Tim; Hoffmann, Veit; Netzel, Carsten; Knauer, Arne; Weyers, Markus [FBH, Berlin (Germany); Ploch, Simon; Rass, Jens [Institute of Solid State Physics, TU Berlin (Germany); Schade, Lukas; Schwarz, Ulrich [IAF, Freiburg (Germany); Kneissl, Michael [FBH, Berlin (Germany); Institute of Solid State Physics, TU Berlin (Germany)

    2010-07-01

    Recently a number of groups have reported laser diodes in the green spectral range on semi- and nonpolar GaN. Nevertheless the growth process on semipolar surfaces is not well understood. In this study 3.5 {mu} m thick MOVPE grown GaN layers on bulk m-plane, (11 anti 22), (10 anti 12), and (10 anti 11) GaN substrates were investigated. XRD rocking curves exhibit a FWHM of less than 150{sup ''}, indicating excellent crystalline quality. But the surface morphology exhibits hillocks with a height of 1 {mu}m and lateral extension of 150 {mu}m in many cases. Depending on the substrate orientation and the growth temperature different hillock shapes were observed. Morphology and luminescence data point to threading dislocations as formation sources. In QWs the hillock structure is reproduced in the emission intensity and wavelength distribution on (10 anti 11) but not on the m-plane surfaces. The hillocks could be eliminated for the semipolar planes (not for the m-plane) by increasing the reactor pressure and lowering the growth temperature. Hillock free separate confinement laser structures emitting at 405 nm feature a very homogeneous luminescence in micro-PL and show amplified spontaneous emission under high power stripe excitation. Furthermore the In incorporation was found to be highest in QWs on (10 anti 11).

  13. Morphological Evolution of Pit-Patterned Si(001) Substrates Driven by Surface-Energy Reduction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salvalaglio, Marco; Backofen, Rainer; Voigt, Axel; Montalenti, Francesco

    2017-09-01

    Lateral ordering of heteroepitaxial islands can be conveniently achieved by suitable pit-patterning of the substrate prior to deposition. Controlling shape, orientation, and size of the pits is not trivial as, being metastable, they can significantly evolve during deposition/annealing. In this paper, we exploit a continuum model to explore the typical metastable pit morphologies that can be expected on Si(001), depending on the initial depth/shape. Evolution is predicted using a surface-diffusion model, formulated in a phase-field framework, and tackling surface-energy anisotropy. Results are shown to nicely reproduce typical metastable shapes reported in the literature. Moreover, long time scale evolutions of pit profiles with different depths are found to follow a similar kinetic pathway. The model is also exploited to treat the case of heteroepitaxial growth involving two materials characterized by different facets in their equilibrium Wulff's shape. This can lead to significant changes in morphologies, such as a rotation of the pit during deposition as evidenced in Ge/Si experiments.

  14. Effect of radioiodine on stimulatory activity of Graves' immunoglobulins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Atkinson, S.; McGregor, A.M.; Kendall-Taylor, P.; Peterson, M.M.; Smith, B.R.

    1982-01-01

    The effects of 131 I therapy on the activity of thyroid stimulating antibody (TSAb) and thyrotrophin binding inhibiting immunoglobulin (TBII) in nineteen patients with Graves' disease have been studied. Prior to 131 I administration, TSAb was detected in 84%, and TBII in 68% of patients. Following 131 I administration TSAb and TBII were detectable in 100% of patients. The elevation 3 months after treatment of the means of both the TSAb and TBII indices for the group of nineteen patients was highly significant compared with pretreatment values. All the patients went into remission during the course of the study and the TSAb index declined in all patients, becoming undetectable in eleven; TBII also declined in most patients but remained detectable in thirteen. The study furthermore afforded the opportunity for a direct comparison of binding with stimulatory activity. These results show that after 131 I therapy for Graves' hyperthyroidism there is a transient increase in TSAb as well as TBII, followed by a decline, and that the measurement of binding and stimulatory activities are in good general agreement. (author)

  15. Extrinsic morphology of graphene

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Teng

    2011-01-01

    Graphene is intrinsically non-flat and corrugates randomly. Since the corrugating physics of atomically thin graphene is strongly tied to its electronics properties, randomly corrugating morphology of graphene poses a significant challenge to its application in nanoelectronic devices for which precise (digital) control is the key. Recent studies revealed that the morphology of substrate-supported graphene is regulated by the graphene–substrate interaction, thus is distinct from the random intrinsic morphology of freestanding graphene. The regulated extrinsic morphology of graphene sheds light on new pathways to fine tune the properties of graphene. To guide further research to explore these fertile opportunities, this paper reviews recent progress on modeling and experimental studies of the extrinsic morphology of graphene under a wide range of external regulation, including two-dimensional and one-dimensional substrate surface features and one-dimensional and zero-dimensional nanoscale scaffolds (e.g. nanowires and nanoparticles)

  16. Integrating anti-reflection and superhydrophobicity of moth-eye-like surface morphology on a large-area flexible substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Chia-Hsing; Niu, Pei-Lun; Sung, Cheng-Kuo

    2014-01-01

    This paper proposes an ultraviolet nanoimprint lithography (UV-NIL) roll-to-roll (R2R) process with argon and oxygen (Ar–O 2 ) plasma ashing and coating of a dilute perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane (FDTS) layer to fabricate the large-area moth-eye-like surface morphology on a polyethylene terephthalate substrate. By using Maxwell-Garnett's effective medium theory, the optimal dimensions of the moth-eye-like surface morphology was designed and fabricated with UV-NIL R2R process to obtain maximum transmittance ratio. In addition, the base angle (θ = 30.1°) of the moth-eye-like surface morphology was modified with Ar–O 2 plasma ashing and coated with a dilute FDTS layer to possess both superhydrophobic and air-retention properties. This increases both the transmittance ratio of 4% and contact angle to 153°. (paper)

  17. Morphological and Structural Analysis of Nano-hydroxyapatite (n-hap) Coatings Electrodeposited on Titanium Substrate : Effect of Deposition Solution Concentration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nik Norziehana Che Isa; Norjanah Yury; Yusairie Mohd

    2011-01-01

    Various concentration of deposition solutions containing CaCl 2 and NH 4 H 2 PO 4 (with Ca/P ratio equal to 1.67) were used to study the effect of deposition solution concentration on the surface morphology and structure of Hydroxyapatite (HAp) coatings. Each HAp coating was deposited onto Ti substrate by applying a constant potential of 1.5 V (vs Ag/ AgCl) at 80 degree Celsius. The formation of HAp coatings was confirmed by FTIR and XRD analyses. Various morphologies consisting of HAp nanoparticles were produced from different deposition solutions as observed by SEM. The concentration of deposition solution has significantly affected the morphology of n-HAp coatings. (author)

  18. Organometallic Pt precursor on graphite substrate: deposition from SC CO2, reduction and morphology transformation as revealed by SFM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elmanovich, Igor V.; Naumkin, Alexander V.; Gallyamov, Marat O.; Khokhlov, Alexei R.

    2012-01-01

    Organometallic Pt precursor was deposited on model highly oriented pyrolytic graphite substrate from solutions in supercritical carbon dioxide. Morphology transformations during reduction process including real-time observations were studied by scanning force microscopy (SFM). We confirmed that SC CO 2 is a promising mediator in deposition process even for rather hydrophobic supports. SFM data show that thermal decomposition of the PtMe 2 (COD) precursor with subsequent hydrogen post-treatment allows one to obtain rather pure and well-defined Pt nanoparticles with average height above a substrate level of 4.5 ± 0.6 nm.

  19. A study of size dependent structure, morphology and luminescence behavior of CdS films on Si substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaushik, Diksha; Singh, Ragini Raj; Sharma, Madhulika; Gupta, D.K.; Lalla, N.P.; Pandey, R.K.

    2007-01-01

    Size tunable cadmium sulfide (CdS) films deposited by a dip coating technique on silicon (100) and indium tin oxide/glass substrates have been characterized using X-ray diffraction, X-ray reflectivity, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The structural characterization indicated growth of an oriented phase of cadmium sulfide. Transmission electron microscopy used to calculate the particle size indicated narrow size dispersion. The tendency of nanocrystalline CdS films to form ordered clusters of CdS quantum dots on silicon (100) substrate has been revealed by morphological studies using atomic force microscopy. The photoluminescence emission spectroscopy of the cadmium sulfide films has also been investigated. It is shown that the nanocrystalline CdS exhibit intense photoluminescence as compared to the large grained polycrystalline CdS films. The effect of quantum confinement also manifested as a blue shift of photoluminescence emission. It is shown that the observed photoluminescence behavior of CdS is substantially enhanced when the nanocrystallites are assembled on silicon (100) substrate

  20. α/sub i/-3 cDNA encodes the α subunit of G/sub k/, the stimulatory G protein of receptor-regulated K+ channels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Codina, J.; Olate, J.; Abramowitz, J.; Mattera, R.; Cook, R.G.; Birnbaumer, L.

    1988-01-01

    cDNA cloning has identified the presence in the human genome of three genes encoding α subunits of pertussis toxin substrates, generically called G/sub i/. They are named α/sub i/-1, α/sub i/-2 and α/sub i/-3. However, none of these genes has been functionally identified with any of the α subunits of several possible G proteins, including pertussis toxin-sensitive G/sub p/'s, stimulatory to phospholipase C or A 2 , G/sub i/, inhibitory to adenylyl cyclase, or G/sub k/, stimulatory to a type of K + channels. The authors now report the nucleotide sequence and the complete predicted amino acid sequence of human liver α/sub i/-3 and the partial amino acid sequence of proteolytic fragments of the α subunit of human erythrocyte G/sub k/. The amino acid sequence of the proteolytic fragment is uniquely encoded by the cDNA of α/sub i/-3, thus identifying it as α/sub k/. The probable identity of α/sub i/-1 with α/sub p/ and possible roles for α/sub i/-2, as well as additional roles for α/sub i/-1 and α/sub i/-3 (α/sub k/) are discussed

  1. Investigation of microstructure and morphology for the Ge on porous silicon/Si substrate hetero-structure obtained by molecular beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gouder, S.; Mahamdi, R.; Aouassa, M.; Escoubas, S.; Favre, L.; Ronda, A.; Berbezier, I.

    2014-01-01

    Thick porous silicon (PS) buffer layers are used as sacrificial layers to epitaxially grow planar and fully relaxed Ge membranes. The single crystal Ge layers have been deposited by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on PS substrate. During deposition, the pore network of PS layers has been filled with Ge. We investigate the structure and morphology of PS as fabricated and after annealing at various temperatures. We show that the PS crystalline lattice is distorted and expanded in the direction perpendicular to the substrate plane due to the presence of chemisorbed –OH. An annealing at high temperature (> 500 °C), greatly changes the PS morphology and structure. This change is marked by an increase of the pore diameter while the lattice parameter becomes tensily strained in the plane (compressed in the direction perpendicular). The morphology and structure of Ge layers are investigated by transmission electron microscopy, high resolution X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy as a function of the deposition temperature and deposited thickness. The results show that the surface roughness, level of relaxation and Si-Ge intermixing (Ge content) depend on the growth temperature and deposited thickness. Two sub-layers are distinguished: the layer incorporated inside the PS pores (high level of intermixing) and the layer on top of the PS surface (low level of intermixing). When deposited at temperature > 500 °C, the Ge layers are fully relaxed with a top Si 1−x Ge x layer x = 0.74 and a very flat surface. Such layer can serve as fully relaxed ultra-thin SiGe pseudo-substrate with high Ge content. The epitaxy of Ge on sacrificial soft PS pseudo-substrate in the experimental conditions described here provides an easy way to fabricate fully relaxed SiGe pseudo-substrates. Moreover, Ge thin films epitaxially deposited by MBE on PS could be used as relaxed pseudo-substrate in conventional microelectronic technology. - Highlights: • We have developed a rapid and low

  2. Morphology, structure, and electrical properties of YBa2Cu3Ox thin films on tilted NdGaO3 substrates, deposited by DC-sputtering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mozhaev, Peter B.; Kotelyanskii, Iosif M.; Luzanov, Valery A.; Mozhaeva, Julia E.; Donchev, Todor; Mateev, Emil; Nurgaliev, Timur; Bdikin, Igor K.; Narymbetov, Bakhyt Zh.

    2005-01-01

    Thin YBa 2 Cu 3 O x (YBCO) films were deposited using DC-sputtering technique on NdGaO 3 substrates, tilted from (1 1 0) orientation by 0-26 deg . The structure and surface quality of the substrates were carefully characterized to obtain reliable results of thin films deposition. Structural, morphological and electrical properties of the YBCO thin films show three different ranges of inclination angle: vicinal, intermediate and high. In the vicinal range the properties of the film are generally the same as of the standard films deposited on (1 1 0) NdGaO 3 substrate. An increase of the inclination angle to the intermediate range results in a significant improvement of morphology and structural quality of the film. Best electrical parameters are measured for the films of the intermediate range also. Probable reason for such behavior is simultaneous and regular seeding of the film in the joints of facets on the substrate surface. Further increase of inclination angle leads to step bunching and oxygen out-diffusion, destroying both structural and electrical perfection of the tilted-axes YBCO film

  3. Pressure dependence of morphology and phase composition of SiC films deposited by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition on cemented carbide substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu Shengwang, E-mail: bkdysw@yahoo.cn; Fan Pengwei; Tang Weizhong; Li Xiaojing; Hu Haolin; Hei Hongjun; Zhang Sikai; Lu Fanxiu

    2011-11-01

    SiC films were deposited on cemented carbide substrates by employing microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition method using tetramethylsilane (Si(CH{sub 3}){sub 4}) diluted in H{sub 2} as the precursor. Scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and scratching technique were used to characterize morphology, composition, phases present and adhesion of the films. Experimental results show that the deposition pressure has great influence on morphologies and phase composition of the films. In sequence, SiC films with a cauliflower-like microstructure, granular films with terrace-featured SiC particles coexisting with Co{sub 2}Si compound and clusters of nanometer SiC nanoplatelets appear as a function of the deposition pressure. In terms of plasma density and substrate temperature, this sequential appearance of microstructures of SiC films was explained. Adhesion tests showed that among the three types of films studied, the films with the terrace-featured SiC particles have relatively higher adhesion. Such knowledge will be of importance when the SiC films are used as interlayer between diamond films and cemented carbide substrates.

  4. Pressure dependence of morphology and phase composition of SiC films deposited by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition on cemented carbide substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu Shengwang; Fan Pengwei; Tang Weizhong; Li Xiaojing; Hu Haolin; Hei Hongjun; Zhang Sikai; Lu Fanxiu

    2011-01-01

    SiC films were deposited on cemented carbide substrates by employing microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition method using tetramethylsilane (Si(CH 3 ) 4 ) diluted in H 2 as the precursor. Scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and scratching technique were used to characterize morphology, composition, phases present and adhesion of the films. Experimental results show that the deposition pressure has great influence on morphologies and phase composition of the films. In sequence, SiC films with a cauliflower-like microstructure, granular films with terrace-featured SiC particles coexisting with Co 2 Si compound and clusters of nanometer SiC nanoplatelets appear as a function of the deposition pressure. In terms of plasma density and substrate temperature, this sequential appearance of microstructures of SiC films was explained. Adhesion tests showed that among the three types of films studied, the films with the terrace-featured SiC particles have relatively higher adhesion. Such knowledge will be of importance when the SiC films are used as interlayer between diamond films and cemented carbide substrates.

  5. Morphological adaptations in breast cancer cells as a function of prolonged passaging on compliant substrates.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sana Syed

    Full Text Available Standard tissue culture practices involve propagating cells on tissue culture polystyrene (TCP dishes, which are flat, 2-dimensional (2D and orders of magnitude stiffer than most tissues in the body. Such simplified conditions lead to phenotypical cell changes and altered cell behaviors. Hence, much research has been focused on developing novel biomaterials and culture conditions that more closely emulate in vivo cell microenvironments. In particular, biomaterial stiffness has emerged as a key property that greatly affects cell behaviors such as adhesion, morphology, proliferation and motility among others. Here we ask whether cells that have been conditioned to TCP, would still show significant dependence on substrate stiffness if they are first pre-adapted to a more physiologically relevant environment. We used two commonly utilized breast cancer cell lines, namely MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7, and examined the effect of prolonged cell culturing on polyacrylamide substrates of varying compliance. We followed changes in cell adhesion, proliferation, shape factor, spreading area and spreading rate. After pre-adaptation, we noted diminished differences in cell behaviors when comparing between soft (1 kPa and stiff (103 kPa gels as well as rigid TCP control. Prolonged culturing of cells on complaint substrates further influenced responses of pre-adapted cells when transferred back to TCP. Our results have implications for the study of stiffness-dependent cell behaviors and indicate that cell pre-adaptation to the substrate needs consideration.

  6. Extensive jaw mobility in suckermouth armored catfishes (Loricariidae): a morphological and kinematic analysis of substrate scraping mode of feeding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adriaens, Dominique; Geerinckx, Tom; Vlassenbroeck, Jelle; Van Hoorebeke, Luc; Herrel, Anthony

    2009-01-01

    Loricariidae, or suckermouth armored catfishes, possess upper and lower jaws that are ventrally oriented and that bear teeth that touch the substrate from which algae and other food items are scraped. The ventral orientation and the highly specialized morphology of the jaws, characterized by protrusible upper jaws and left-right decoupled lower jaws, are observed in Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus, the species investigated here. Kinematic data of the scraping feeding movements, obtained by external high-speed and x-ray recordings, are used to quantify jaw movement, especially to test for upper jaw mobility and versatility during substrate scraping. Our results show that the mobility of the jaws is indeed high compared with what is standard for catfishes. The upper jaw's ability to perform a substantial degree of rostrocaudal movement is quite unique for catfishes. The ventromedially oriented lower jaws, with the teeth and the coronoid process at opposite sides, display an extensive mobility: they rotate around the suspensorial articulation and around their longitudinal axis, resulting in an extended scraping movement and thereby covering a large surface area. The lower jaws also show a left-right asymmetry in their movements during scraping. Thus, our results suggest that the extreme morphological specializations of the jaws in loricariid catfishes are linked to an increased mobility and functional versatility, allowing these animals to efficiently scrape algae from substrates with irregular surfaces.

  7. Studies on morphology of Langmuir-Blodgett films of stearic acid deposited with different orientation of substrates with respect to compression

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choudhary, Keerti; Manjuladevi, V.; Gupta, R. K., E-mail: raj@pilani.bits-pilani.ac.in [Department of physics, Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani-333031, Rajasthan (India)

    2016-05-06

    The Langmuir monolayer at an air-water interface shows remarkably different surface pressure – area isotherm, when measured with the surface normal of a Wilhemly plate parallel or perpendicular to the direction of compression of the monolayer. Such difference arises due to difference in stress exerted by the monolayer on the plate in different direction. In this article, we report the effect of changing the direction of substrate normal with respect to the compression of the monolayer during Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) film deposition on the morphology of the films. The morphology of the LB film of stearic acid was studied using an atomic force microscope (AFM). The morphology of the LB films was found to be different due to difference in the stress in different directions.

  8. Stability of the stimulatory effect of preirradiation of agricultural plant seeds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seregina, M.T.; Orlov, V.V.; Batygin, N.F.

    1982-01-01

    Three interrelated and interdependent factors are responsible for stability of the results obtained with preirradiation of seeds, they are: quality of seeds to be sowed, irradiation schedule and postirradiation conditions. Should these factors be taken into account one can obtain a stable stimulatory effect. The harvest increments make 10-30% after preirradiation of air-dry seeds

  9. Context-aware modeling of neuronal morphologies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benjamin eTorben-Nielsen

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Neuronal morphologies are pivotal for brain functioning: physical overlap between dendrites and axons constrain the circuit topology, and the precise shape and composition of dendrites determine the integration of inputs to produce an output signal. At the same time, morphologies are highly diverse and variant. The variance, presumably, originates from neurons developing in a densely packed brain substrate where they interact (e.g., repulsion or attraction with other actors in this substrate. However, when studying neurons their context is never part of the analysis and they are treated as if they existed in isolation.Here we argue that to fully understand neuronal morphology and its variance it is important to consider neurons in relation to each other and to other actors in the surrounding brain substrate, i.e., their context. We propose a context-aware computational framework, NeuroMaC, in which large numbers of neurons can be grown simultaneously according to growth rules expressed in terms of interactions between the developing neuron and the surrounding brain substrate.As a proof of principle, we demonstrate that by using NeuroMaC we can generate accurate virtual morphologies of distinct classes both in isolation and as part of neuronal forests. Accuracy is validated against population statistics of experimentally reconstructed morphologies. We show that context-aware generation of neurons can explain characteristics of variation. Indeed, plausible variation is an inherent property of the morphologies generated by context-aware rules. We speculate about the applicability of this framework to investigate morphologies and circuits, to classify healthy and pathological morphologies, and to generate large quantities of morphologies for large-scale modeling.

  10. Catalytic Micromotors Moving Near Polyelectrolyte-Modified Substrates: The Roles of Surface Charges, Morphology, and Released Ions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Mengshi; Zhou, Chao; Tang, Jinyao; Wang, Wei

    2018-01-24

    Synthetic microswimmers, or micromotors, are finding potential uses in a wide range of applications, most of which involve boundaries. However, subtle yet important effects beyond physical confinement on the motor dynamics remain less understood. In this letter, glass substrates were functionalized with positively and negatively charged polyelectrolytes, and the dynamics of micromotors moving close to the modified surfaces was examined. Using acoustic levitation and numerical simulation, we reveal how the speed of a chemically propelled micromotor slows down significantly near a polyelectrolyte-modified surface by the combined effects of surface charges, surface morphology, and ions released from the films.

  11. The role of substrate morphology for the cytokine release profile of immature human primary macrophages

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bartneck, Matthias [Department of Medicine III, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074 Aachen (Germany); Heffels, Karl-Heinz [Department and Chair of Functional Materials in Medicine and Dentistry, University of Würzburg, Pleicherwall 2, 97070 Würzburg (Germany); Bovi, Manfred [Electron Microscopic Facility, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen (Germany); Groll, Jürgen [Department and Chair of Functional Materials in Medicine and Dentistry, University of Würzburg, Pleicherwall 2, 97070 Würzburg (Germany); Zwadlo-Klarwasser, Gabriele [Interdisciplinary Center for Clinical Research and Dept. of Dermatology, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52056 Aachen (Germany)

    2013-12-01

    There is increasing evidence that the physicochemical nature of any given material is a dominant factor for the release of cytokines by innate immune cells, specifically of macrophages, and thus majorly influences their interaction with other cell types. Recently, we could show that the 3D structure of star shaped polytheylene oxide–polypropylene oxide co-polymers (sP(EO-stat-PO))-hydrogel coated substrates has a stronger influence on the release pattern of cytokines after 7 days of culture than surface chemistry. Here, we focused on the analysis of cytokine release over time and a more detailed analysis of cell morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Therefore, we compared different strategies for SEM sample preparation and found that using osmium tetroxide combined with aqua bidest led to best preparation results. For cytokine release we show significant changes from day 3 to day 7 of cell culture. After 3 days, the sP(EO-stat-PO)-coated substrates led to an induction of pro-angiogenic CCL3 and CCL4, and of low amounts of the anti-inflammatory IL10, which declined at day 7. In contrast, pleiotropic IL6 and the pro-inflammatory TNFα and IL1β were expressed stronger at day 7 than at day 3. - Highlights: • Strategies for the preparation of macrophages on hydrogel materials (Fig. 1) • Cytokine release of immature macrophages on the substrates (Fig. 2 and Table 1) • Changes in cytokine release during macrophage maturation (Table 2)

  12. The role of substrate morphology for the cytokine release profile of immature human primary macrophages

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bartneck, Matthias; Heffels, Karl-Heinz; Bovi, Manfred; Groll, Jürgen; Zwadlo-Klarwasser, Gabriele

    2013-01-01

    There is increasing evidence that the physicochemical nature of any given material is a dominant factor for the release of cytokines by innate immune cells, specifically of macrophages, and thus majorly influences their interaction with other cell types. Recently, we could show that the 3D structure of star shaped polytheylene oxide–polypropylene oxide co-polymers (sP(EO-stat-PO))-hydrogel coated substrates has a stronger influence on the release pattern of cytokines after 7 days of culture than surface chemistry. Here, we focused on the analysis of cytokine release over time and a more detailed analysis of cell morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Therefore, we compared different strategies for SEM sample preparation and found that using osmium tetroxide combined with aqua bidest led to best preparation results. For cytokine release we show significant changes from day 3 to day 7 of cell culture. After 3 days, the sP(EO-stat-PO)-coated substrates led to an induction of pro-angiogenic CCL3 and CCL4, and of low amounts of the anti-inflammatory IL10, which declined at day 7. In contrast, pleiotropic IL6 and the pro-inflammatory TNFα and IL1β were expressed stronger at day 7 than at day 3. - Highlights: • Strategies for the preparation of macrophages on hydrogel materials (Fig. 1) • Cytokine release of immature macrophages on the substrates (Fig. 2 and Table 1) • Changes in cytokine release during macrophage maturation (Table 2)

  13. Platelet cytosolic 44-kDa protein is a substrate of cholera toxin-induced ADP-ribosylation and is not recognized by antisera against the α subunit of the stimulatory guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory protein

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Molina Y Vedia, L.M.; Reep, B.R.; Lapetina, E.G.

    1988-01-01

    ADP-ribosylation induced by cholera toxin and pertussis toxin was studied in particulate and cytosolic fractions of human platelets. Platelets were disrupted by a cycle of freezing and thawing in the presence of a hyposmotic buffer containing protease inhibitors. In both fractions, the A subunit of cholera toxin ADP-ribosylates two proteins with molecular masses of 42 and 44 kDa, whereas pertussis toxin ADP-ribosylates a 41-kDa polypeptide. Two antisera against the α subunit of the stimulatory guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory protein recognize only the 42-kDa polypeptide. Cholera toxin-induced ADP-ribosylation of the 42- and 44-kDa proteins is reduced by pretreatment of platelets with iloprost, a prostacyclin analog. The 44-kDa protein, which is substrate of cholera toxin, could be extracted completely from the membrane and recovered in the cytosolic fraction when the cells were disrupted by Dounce homogenization and the pellet was extensively washed. A 44-kDa protein can also be labeled with 8-azidoguanosine 5'-[α- 32 P]triphosphate in the cytosol and membranes. These finding indicate that cholera and pertussis toxins produced covalent modifications of proteins present in particulate and cytosolic platelet fractions. Moreover, the 44-kDa protein might be an α subunit of a guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory protein that is not recognized by available antisera

  14. Growth of InGaN multiple quantum wells and GaN eplilayer on GaN substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Sung-Nam; Paek, H.S.; Son, J.K.; Sakong, T.; Yoon, E.; Nam, O.H.; Park, Y.

    2006-01-01

    We investigated that the surface morphology of GaN epilayers was significantly affected by the surface tilt orientation of GaN substrate. Surface morphologies of GaN epilayers on GaN substrates show three types: mirror, wavy, and hillock. These surface morphologies are dependent on the surface orientation of GaN substrates. It is found that the hillock morphology of GaN epilayer was formed on the GaN substrate with surface tilt orientation less than 0.1 o . As the surface tilt angle increased to 0.35 o , the surface morphology varied from hillock to wavy morphology. Above a surface tilt angle of 0.4 o , surface morphology changed to the mirror-like type morphology. Additionally, these three types of GaN surface morphology also affected the optical quality of GaN epilayers as well as InGaN multiple quantum wells on GaN substrates by non-uniform In incorporation on the different surface morphologies of GaN epilayers

  15. From nanodroplets to continuous films: how the morphology of polyelectrolyte multilayers depends on the dielectric permittivity and the surface charge of the supporting substrate

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Guillaume-Gentil, Orane; Zahn, Raphael; Lindhoud, Saskia; Graf, Norma; Voros, Janos; Zambelli, Tomaso

    2011-01-01

    Using atomic force microscopy, we investigated how the morphology of layer-by-layer deposited polyelectrolyte multilayers is influenced by the physical properties of the supporting substrate. The surface coverage of the assembly and its topography were found to be dependent on the dielectric

  16. Estrogen response of MCF-7 cells grown on diverse substrates and in suspension culture: promotion of morphological heterogeneity, modulation of progestin receptor induction; cell-substrate interactions on collagen gels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pourreau-Schneider, N; Berthois, Y; Mittre, H; Charpin, C; Jacquemier, J; Martin, P M

    1984-12-01

    In this study we observed the incidence of hormone sensitivity in the response of MCF-7 cells to estrogen stimulation when the cells were cultured in different contact environments (hydrophilic plastic, bovine corneal extracellular matrix, type I collagen and in suspension culture). The major purpose was to describe the influence of cell to cell and cell to substrate contacts on the morphological response to estrogen treatment. However, other parameters including growth and induction of progestin receptor were also explored, keeping in mind that the MCF-7 cell line, although representative of normal mammary epithelium in that it contains a similar hormone receptivity, was selected in vitro from a metastatic population in a pleural effusion. Although substrate conditions did not modify growth enhancement by estrogens, progestin receptor levels were significantly higher in three-dimensional spheroid cultures in which cell to cell contacts were optimal due to elimination of basal contact. A careful morphological survey of large surfaces lead to an objective opinion of the overall effect of the hormone treatment on the non-cloned cell line in which a marked heterogeneity in the response of individual cells was observed. In terms of morphofunctional differentiation, the edification of acini with dense microvillus coating was best in suspension culture. When sections were made perpendicular to the plane of cultures on collagen gel rafts two other phenomena were noted: decrease in intercellular junctions, resulting in reduced cell to cell cohesion, and accumulation biodegradation products in the collagen lattice. This suggested a hormone-mediated interaction between the metastatic cells and the fibrillar substrate, collagen I, one of the major constituents of tissue stroma. This estrogen response might be related to the metastatic phenotype and must be distinct from their hormone sensitivity in terms of growth and differentiation since hormone receptivity is generally

  17. Morphological dependent Indium incorporation in InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells structure grown on 4° misoriented sapphire substrate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teng Jiang

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The epitaxial layers of InGaN/GaN MQWs structure were grown on both planar and vicinal sapphire substrates by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. By comparing the epitaxial layers grown on planar substrate, the sample grown on 4° misoriented from c-plane toward m-plane substrate exhibited many variations both on surface morphology and optical properties according to the scanning electronic microscopy and cathodoluminescence (CL spectroscopy results. Many huge steps were observed in the misoriented sample and a large amount of V-shape defects located around the boundary of the steps. Atoms force microscopy images show that the steps were inclined and deep grooves were formed at the boundary of the adjacent steps. Phase separation was observed in the CL spectra. CL mapping results also indicated that the deep grooves could effectively influence the localization of Indium atoms and form an In-rich region.

  18. Effect of substrate temperature on the morphology, structural and optical properties of Zn1-xCoxO thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, S.Y.; Man, B.Y.; Liu, M.; Chen, C.S.; Gao, X.G.; Wang, C.C.; Hu, B.

    2011-01-01

    Zn 1-x Co x O thin films with c-axis preferred orientation were deposited on sapphire (0 0 0 1) by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique at different substrate temperatures in an oxygen-deficient ambient. The effect of substrate temperature on the microstructure, morphology and the optical properties of the Zn 1-x Co x O thin films was studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV-visible-NIR spectrophotometer, fluorescence spectrophotometer. The results showed that the crystallization of the films was promoted as substrate temperature rose. The structure of the samples was not distorted by the Co incorporating into ZnO lattice. The surface roughness of all samples decreased as substrate temperature increased. The Co concentration in the film was higher than in the target. Emission peak near band edge emission of ZnO from the PL spectra of the all samples was quenched because the dopant complexes acted as non-radiative centers. While three emission bands located at 409 nm (3.03 eV), 496 nm (2.5 eV) and 513 nm (2.4 eV) were, respectively, observed from the PL spectra of the four samples. The three emission bands were in relation to Zn interstitials, Zn vacancies and the complex of V O and Zn i (V O Zn i ). The quantity of the Zn interstitials maintained invariable basically, while the quantity of the V O Zn i slightly decreased as substrate temperature increased.

  19. The Stimulatory Effect of Notochordal-Cell Conditioned Medium in a Nucleus Pulposus Explant Culture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Vries, Stefan; Doeselaar, Marina van; Meij, Björn; Tryfonidou, M; Ito, Keita

    2015-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: Notochordal cell-conditioned medium (NCCM) has previously shown to have a stimulatory effect on nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs) and bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) in alginate and pellet cultures. These culture methods provide a different environment than the nucleus pulposus (NP)

  20. The Stimulatory Effect of Notochordal Cell-Conditioned Medium in a Nucleus Pulposus Explant Culture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Vries, Stefan A H; van Doeselaar, Marina; Meij, Björn P; Tryfonidou, Marianna A; Ito, K

    2016-01-01

    Objectives: Notochordal cell-conditioned medium (NCCM) has previously shown to have a stimulatory effect on nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs) and bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) in alginate and pellet cultures. These culture methods provide a different environment than the nucleus pulposus (NP)

  1. Surface morphology and in-plane-epitaxy of SmBa2Cu3O7-δ films on SrTiO3 (001) substrates studied by STM and grazing incidence x-ray diffraction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jiang, Q.D.; Smilgies, D.M.; Feidenhans'l, R.

    1996-01-01

    The surface morphology and in-plane epitaxy of thin films of SmBa(2)Cu3O(7-delta) (Sm-BCO) grown on SrTiO3 (001) substrates with various thicknesses have been investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and grazing incidence x-ray diffraction (GIXRD). As revealed by GIXRD, SmBCO films as ...... films above h(c2), introduction of screw dislocations leads to spiral growth.......The surface morphology and in-plane epitaxy of thin films of SmBa(2)Cu3O(7-delta) (Sm-BCO) grown on SrTiO3 (001) substrates with various thicknesses have been investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and grazing incidence x-ray diffraction (GIXRD). As revealed by GIXRD, SmBCO films...... substrate. Three different types of surface morphology were observed by STM with increasing film thickness h: a) 2D growth for hh(c2). With GIXRD, a density modulation is observed in the films with a thickness below h(c2). For thicker...

  2. Surface morphology of homoepitaxial GaN grown on non- and semipolar GaN substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wernicke, Tim; Ploch, Simon [Institute of Solid State Physics, Technische Universitaet Berlin, Hardenbergstr. 36, 10623 Berlin (Germany); Hoffmann, Veit; Knauer, Arne; Weyers, Markus [Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz Institut fuer Hoechstfrequenztechnik, Gustav-Kirchhoff-Str. 4, 12489 Berlin (Germany); Kneissl, Michael [Institute of Solid State Physics, Technische Universitaet Berlin, Hardenbergstr. 36, 10623 Berlin (Germany); Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz Institut fuer Hoechstfrequenztechnik, Gustav-Kirchhoff-Str. 4, 12489 Berlin (Germany)

    2011-03-15

    GaN layers on bulk m-plane, (11 anti 22), (10 anti 12) and (10 anti 11) GaN substrates were grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. XRD rocking curves have a FWHM of less than 150'', indicating excellent crystalline quality. However in many cases surface morphology exhibits hillocks with a height of 1-2 {mu}m and a lateral extension of 50-200 {mu}m whereas a smooth surface would be desirable for optoelectronic devices. The influence of growth parameters on the surface morphology was studied. The goal was, to constrain the material redistribution, that is necessary to form large hillocks. This was achieved by lowering the adatom diffusion length by a reduction of temperature and an increased reactor pressure. In the case of the (10 anti 11) and (10 anti 12) semipolar planes a reduction of the adatom diffusion length leads to a reduction of hillock density, hillock size and a smoother surface between hillocks. However, the m-plane surface does not react to a reduction of adatom mobility. Even at 890 C and 400 mbar rectangular pyramids cover the surface. In contrast to the other planes, the (11 anti 22) becomes instable, when the adatom diffusion length is reduced. (Copyright copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  3. Effect of Etching on the Optical, Morphological Properties of Ag Thin Films for SERS Active Substrates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Desapogu Rajesh

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Structural, optical, and morphological properties of Ag thin films before and after etching were investigated by using X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis spectrophotometer, and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM. The HNO3 roughened Ag thin films exhibit excellent enhancement features and better stability than pure Ag thin films. Further, the Ag nanostructures are covered with Rhodamine 6G (Rh6G and then tested with surface enhanced raman spectroscopy (SERS for active substrates. Etched Ag films were found to exhibit a strong SERS effect and excellent thermal stability. Hence, the present method is found to be useful in the development of plasmon-based analytical devices, especially SERS-based biosensors.

  4. Stimulatory effect of low dose radionuclide on DNA synthesis and UDS in splenic lymphocytes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu Shoupeng; Yang Zhanshan

    1999-12-01

    To study the stimulatory effect on DNA synthesis and unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) in splenic lymphocytes induced by low dose enriched uranium 235 U. By using 3 H-TdR incorporation assay technique, the DNA replicative synthesis in PHA and LPS stimulated splenic lymphocytes was observed. By using DNA synthesis inhibitor such as hydroxyurea, the UV-induced unscheduled DNA synthesis in splenic lymphocytes occurred. When the injected low dose of enriched uranium 235 u was 0.1 μg/kg body weight, the transformation capacity was elevated for splenic T lymphocytes, simultaneously the stimulative index increased. The UDS of splenic lymphocytes induced by ultra-violate revealed a statistically significant increase by low dose of enriched uranium 235 U at the range of 0.1-20 μg/kg body weight. A stimulatory action of low dose enriched uranium 235 U on DNA replicative synthesis as well as on UV-induced UDS in splenic lymphocytes was detected

  5. Wrinkling of graphene membranes supported by silica nanoparticles on substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamamoto, Mahito; Cullen, William; Fuhrer, Michael; Einstein, Theodore; Department of Physics, University of Maryland Team

    2011-03-01

    The challenging endeavor of modulating the morphology of graphene via a patterned substrate to produce a controlled deformation has great potential importance for strain engineering the electronic properties of graphene. An essential step in this direction is to understand the response of graphene to substrate features of known geometry. Here we employ silica nanoparticles with a diameter of 10-100 nm to uniformly decorate Si O2 and mica substrates before depositing graphene, to promote nanoscale modulation of graphene geometry. The morphology of graphene on this modified substrate is then characterized by atomic force spectroscopy. We find that graphene on the substrate is locally raised by the supporting nanoparticles, and wrinkling propagates radially from the protrusions to form a ridge network which links the protrusions. We discuss the dependence of the wrinkled morphology on nanoparticle diameter and graphene thickness in terms of graphene elasticity and adhesion energy. Supported by NSF-MRSEC, Grant DMR 05-20471

  6. Morphology of PVD films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carr, M.J.; Grotzky, V.K.; Helms, C.J.; Johns, W.L.; Naimon, E.R.; Rafalski, A.L.; Smith, C.J.

    1982-01-01

    Experimental data show that the morphology of PVD chromium coatings is dependent on substrate temperature, deposition rate, and the oxygen content of the chromium source material. For chromium containing about 700-ppM oxygen, a variety of morphologies can form depending on substrate temperature and deposition rate. For chromium contaning 1000 to 2000 ppM of oxygen, porous coatings of the Type IV variety are produced over essentially the full range of temperatures and rates possible with current coating equipment. For chromium containing less than about 400 ppM of oxygen, dense coatings of the Type I variety are produced over the range of temperatures and rates investigated

  7. Effect of film thickness, type of buffer layer, and substrate temperature on the morphology of dicyanovinyl-substituted sexithiophene films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Levin, Alexandr A., E-mail: alexander.levin@iapp.de [Institut fuer Angewandte Photophysik, Technische Universitaet Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Levichkova, Marieta [Institut fuer Angewandte Photophysik, Technische Universitaet Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Heliatek GmbH, 01187 Dresden (Germany); Hildebrandt, Dirk; Klisch, Marina; Weiss, Andre [Heliatek GmbH, 01187 Dresden (Germany); Wynands, David; Elschner, Chris [Institut fuer Angewandte Photophysik, Technische Universitaet Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Pfeiffer, Martin [Heliatek GmbH, 01187 Dresden (Germany); Leo, Karl; Riede, Moritz [Institut fuer Angewandte Photophysik, Technische Universitaet Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany)

    2012-01-31

    The influence of film thickness, type of buffer underlayer, and deposition substrate temperature on the crystal structure, microstructure, and morphology of the films of dicyanovinyl-substituted sexithiophene with four butyl-chains (DCV6T-Bu{sub 4}) is investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray reflectivity methods. A neat Si wafer or a Si wafer covered by a 15 nm buffer underlayer of fullerene C{sub 60} or 9,9-Bis[4-(N,N-bis-biphenyl-4-yl-amino)phenyl]-9H-fluorene (BPAPF) is used as a substrate. The crystalline nature and ordered molecular arrangement of the films are recorded down to 6 nm film thickness. By using substrates heated up to 90 Degree-Sign C during the film deposition, the size of the DCV6T-Bu{sub 4} crystallites in direction perpendicular to the film surface increases up to value of the film thickness. With increasing deposition substrate temperature or film thickness, the DCV6T-Bu{sub 4} film relaxes, resulting in reducing the interplane distances closer to the bulk values. For the films of the same thickness deposited at the same substrate temperature, the DCV6T-Bu{sub 4} film relaxes for growth on Si to BPAPF to C{sub 60}. Thicker films grown at heated substrates are characterized by smaller density, higher roughness and crystallinity and better molecular ordering. A thin (up to about 6 nm-thick) intermediate layer with linear density-gradient is formed at the C{sub 60}/DCV6T-Bu{sub 4} interface for the films with buffer C{sub 60} layer. The XRD pattern of the DCV6T-Bu{sub 4} powder is indexed using triclinic unit cell parameters.

  8. Morphology, structure, and electrical properties of YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub x} thin films on tilted NdGaO{sub 3} substrates, deposited by DC-sputtering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mozhaev, Peter B. [Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics RAS, Moscow 125009 (Russian Federation)]. E-mail: pbmozh@nm.ru; Kotelyanskii, Iosif M. [Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics RAS, Moscow 125009 (Russian Federation); Luzanov, Valery A. [Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics RAS, Moscow 125009 (Russian Federation); Mozhaeva, Julia E. [Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics RAS, Moscow 125009 (Russian Federation); Donchev, Todor [Institute of Electronics BAS, Sofia (Bulgaria); Mateev, Emil [Institute of Electronics BAS, Sofia (Bulgaria); Nurgaliev, Timur [Institute of Electronics BAS, Sofia (Bulgaria); Bdikin, Igor K. [Institute of Solid State Physics RAS, Chernogolovka, Moscow 142432 (Russian Federation); Department of Ceramic and Glass Engineering, CICECO, University of Aveiro, Aveiro 3810-193 (Portugal); Narymbetov, Bakhyt Zh. [Complex Institute of Natural Sciences UzAS, Nukus (Uzbekistan)

    2005-02-15

    Thin YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub x} (YBCO) films were deposited using DC-sputtering technique on NdGaO{sub 3} substrates, tilted from (1 1 0) orientation by 0-26 deg . The structure and surface quality of the substrates were carefully characterized to obtain reliable results of thin films deposition. Structural, morphological and electrical properties of the YBCO thin films show three different ranges of inclination angle: vicinal, intermediate and high. In the vicinal range the properties of the film are generally the same as of the standard films deposited on (1 1 0) NdGaO{sub 3} substrate. An increase of the inclination angle to the intermediate range results in a significant improvement of morphology and structural quality of the film. Best electrical parameters are measured for the films of the intermediate range also. Probable reason for such behavior is simultaneous and regular seeding of the film in the joints of facets on the substrate surface. Further increase of inclination angle leads to step bunching and oxygen out-diffusion, destroying both structural and electrical perfection of the tilted-axes YBCO film.

  9. Peptide-Conjugated Nanoparticles Reduce Positive Co-stimulatory Expression and T Cell Activity to Induce Tolerance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuo, Robert; Saito, Eiji; Miller, Stephen D; Shea, Lonnie D

    2017-07-05

    Targeted approaches to treat autoimmune diseases would improve upon current therapies that broadly suppress the immune system and lead to detrimental side effects. Antigen-specific tolerance was induced using poly(lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles conjugated with disease-relevant antigen to treat a model of multiple sclerosis. Increasing the nanoparticle dose and amount of conjugated antigen both resulted in more durable immune tolerance. To identify active tolerance mechanisms, we investigated downstream cellular and molecular events following nanoparticle internalization by antigen-presenting cells. The initial cell response to nanoparticles indicated suppression of inflammatory signaling pathways. Direct and functional measurement of surface MHC-restricted antigen showed positive correlation with both increasing particle dose from 1 to 100 μg/mL and increasing peptide conjugation by 2-fold. Co-stimulatory analysis of cells expressing MHC-restricted antigen revealed most significant decreases in positive co-stimulatory molecules (CD86, CD80, and CD40) following high doses of nanoparticles with higher peptide conjugation, whereas expression of a negative co-stimulatory molecule (PD-L1) remained high. T cells isolated from mice immunized against myelin proteolipid protein (PLP 139-151 ) were co-cultured with antigen-presenting cells administered PLP 139-151 -conjugated nanoparticles, which resulted in reduced T cell proliferation, increased T cell apoptosis, and a stronger anti-inflammatory response. These findings indicate several potential mechanisms used by peptide-conjugated nanoparticles to induce antigen-specific tolerance. Copyright © 2017 The American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Tuning the architectures of lead deposits on metal substrates by electrodeposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yao Chenzhong; Liu Meng; Zhang Peng; He Xiaohui; Li Gaoren; Zhao Wenxia; Liu Peng; Tong Yexiang

    2008-01-01

    Different morphologies of lead (Pb) deposited on different metal substrates have been prepared via electrochemical deposition in aqueous solution. The morphologies of as-deposited lead were determined by scanning electron microscope (SEM). It is found that the various morphologies of the products are dependent on the electrodeposition conditions, including the deposition current densities, concentration of additives, substrates and deposition time. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) results reveal that all these lead deposits with different morphologies can be assigned to the space group Fm-3m (2 2 5)

  11. Ecomorphology of Astyanax species in streams with different substrates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcela A. Souza

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available In the present study, we assessed the ecomorphology of two species of Astyanax in streams with different substrates found in the Rio São Francisco Basin. The dominant substrate of each stream was defined as either "fine" (0 to 2 mm, "gravel" (2 to 250 mm, "rock" (> 250 mm, or "leaf bank". We analyzed a total of 22 ecomorphological attributes of Astyanax intermedius Eigenmann, 1908 (127 individuals and Astyanax rivularis (Lütken, 1875 (238 individuals adults. We detected significant ecomorphological differences between the populations of A. rivularis and A. intermedius from habitats with different types of substrates. However, the two species did not show the same morphological differences depending on the type of substrate. These results confirmed the hypothesis that individuals from environments with different characteristics may have different ecomorphological patterns. Knowing that morphology is associated with habitat use and available resources, the loss of a resource or a modification in the environment may directly affect the permanence of a species, leading to a loss of morphologic diversity.

  12. 3D Morphology Design for Forward Osmosis

    KAUST Repository

    Shi, Meixia; Printsypar, Galina; Phuoc, Duong; Calo, Victor M.; Iliev, Oleg; Nunes, Suzana Pereira

    2016-01-01

    We propose a multi-scale simulation approach to model forward osmosis (FO) processes using substrates with layered homogeneous morphology. This approach accounts not only for FO setup but also for detailed microstructure of the substrate using

  13. Effects of shell morphology on mechanics of zebra and quagga mussel locomotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peyer, Suzanne M; Hermanson, John C; Lee, Carol Eunmi

    2011-07-01

    Although zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) initially colonized shallow habitats within the North American Great Lakes, quagga mussels (Dreissena bugensis) are becoming dominant in both shallow- and deep-water habitats. Shell morphology differs among zebra, shallow quagga and deep quagga mussels but functional consequences of such differences are unknown. We examined effects of shell morphology on locomotion for the three morphotypes on hard (typical of shallow habitats) and soft (characteristic of deep habitats) sedimentary substrates. We quantified morphology using the polar moment of inertia, a parameter used in calculating kinetic energy that describes shell area distribution and resistance to rotation. We quantified mussel locomotion by determining the ratio of rotational (K(rot)) to translational kinetic energy (K(trans)). On hard substrate, K(rot):K(trans) of deep quagga mussels was fourfold greater than for the other morphotypes, indicating greater energy expenditure in rotation relative to translation. On soft substrate, K(rot):K(trans) of deep quagga mussels was approximately one-third of that on hard substrate, indicating lower energy expenditure in rotation on soft substrate. Overall, our study demonstrates that shell morphology correlates with differences in locomotion (i.e. K(rot):K(trans)) among morphotypes. Although deep quagga mussels were similar to zebra and shallow quagga mussels in terms of energy expenditure on sedimentary substrate, their morphology was energetically maladaptive for linear movement on hard substrate. As quagga mussels can possess two distinct morphotypes (i.e. shallow and deep morphs), they might more effectively utilize a broader range of substrates than zebra mussels, potentially enhancing their ability to colonize a wider range of habitats.

  14. 3D Morphology Design for Forward Osmosis

    KAUST Repository

    Shi, Meixia

    2016-06-06

    We propose a multi-scale simulation approach to model forward osmosis (FO) processes using substrates with layered homogeneous morphology. This approach accounts not only for FO setup but also for detailed microstructure of the substrate using the digitally reconstructed morphology. We fabricate a highly porous block copolymer membrane, which has not been explored for FO heretofore, and use it as the substrate for interfacial polymerization. The substrate has three sub-layers, namely a top layer, a sponge-like middle layer, and a nonwoven fabric layer. We generate a digital microstructure for each layer, and verify them with experimental measurements. The permeability and effective diffusivity of each layer are computed based on their virtual microstructures and used for FO operation in cross-flow setups at the macro scale. The proposed simulation approach predicts accurately the FO experimental data.

  15. Correlation of morphology and barrier properties of thin microwave plasma polymer films on metal substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barranco, V.; Carpentier, J.; Grundmeier, G.

    2004-01-01

    The barrier properties of thin model organosilicon plasma polymers layers on iron are characterised by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Tailored thin plasma polymers of controlled morphology and chemical composition were deposited from a microwave discharge. By the analysis of the obtained impedance diagrams, the evolution of the water uptake φ, coating resistance and polymer capacitance with immersion time were monitored and the diffusion coefficients of the water through the films were calculated. The impedance data correlated well with the chemical structure and morphology of the plasma polymer films with a thickness of less than 100 nm. The composition of the films were determined by means of infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). The morphology of the plasma polymer surface and the interface between the plasma polymer and the metal were characterised using atomic force microscopy (AFM). It could be shown that, at higher pressure, the film roughness increases which is probably due to the adsorption of plasma polymer nanoparticles formed in the plasma bulk and the faster film growth. This leads to voids with a size of a few tens of nanometers at the polymer/metal interface. The film roughness increases from the interface to the outer surface of the film. By lowering the pressure and thereby slowing the deposition rate, the plasma polymers perfectly imitate the substrate topography and lead to an excellent blocking of the metal surface. Moreover, the ratio of siloxane bonds to methyl-silyl groups increases which implies that the crosslink density is higher at lower deposition rate. The EIS data consistently showed higher coating resistance as well as lower interfacial capacitance values and a better stability over time for the film deposited at slower pressure. The diffusion coefficient of water in thin and ultra-thin plasma

  16. Co-stimulatory signaling determines tumor antigen sensitivity and persistence of CAR T cells targeting PSCA+ metastatic prostate cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Priceman, Saul J; Gerdts, Ethan A; Tilakawardane, Dileshni; Kennewick, Kelly T; Murad, John P; Park, Anthony K; Jeang, Brook; Yamaguchi, Yukiko; Yang, Xin; Urak, Ryan; Weng, Lihong; Chang, Wen-Chung; Wright, Sarah; Pal, Sumanta; Reiter, Robert E; Wu, Anna M; Brown, Christine E; Forman, Stephen J

    2018-01-01

    Advancing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered adoptive T cells for the treatment of solid cancers is a major focus in the field of immunotherapy, given impressive recent clinical responses in hematological malignancies. Prostate cancer may be amenable to T cell-based immunotherapy since several tumor antigens, including prostate stem-cell antigen (PSCA), are widely over-expressed in metastatic disease. While antigen selectivity of CARs for solid cancers is crucial, it is problematic due to the absence of truly restricted tumor antigen expression and potential safety concerns with "on-target off-tumor" activity. Here, we show that the intracellular co-stimulatory signaling domain can determine a CAR's sensitivity for tumor antigen expression. A 4-1BB intracellular co-stimulatory signaling domain in PSCA-CARs confers improved selectivity for higher tumor antigen density, reduced T cell exhaustion phenotype, and equivalent tumor killing ability compared to PSCA-CARs containing the CD28 co-stimulatory signaling domain. PSCA-CARs exhibit robust in vivo anti-tumor activity in patient-derived bone-metastatic prostate cancer xenograft models, and 4-1BB-containing CARs show superior T cell persistence and control of disease compared with CD28-containing CARs. Our study demonstrates the importance of co-stimulation in defining an optimal CAR T cell, and also highlights the significance of clinically relevant models in developing solid cancer CAR T cell therapies.

  17. Co-stimulatory signaling determines tumor antigen sensitivity and persistence of CAR T cells targeting PSCA+ metastatic prostate cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Priceman, Saul J.; Gerdts, Ethan A.; Tilakawardane, Dileshni; Kennewick, Kelly T.; Murad, John P.; Park, Anthony K.; Jeang, Brook; Yamaguchi, Yukiko; Urak, Ryan; Weng, Lihong; Chang, Wen-Chung; Wright, Sarah; Pal, Sumanta; Reiter, Robert E.; Brown, Christine E.; Forman, Stephen J.

    2018-01-01

    ABSTRACT Advancing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered adoptive T cells for the treatment of solid cancers is a major focus in the field of immunotherapy, given impressive recent clinical responses in hematological malignancies. Prostate cancer may be amenable to T cell-based immunotherapy since several tumor antigens, including prostate stem-cell antigen (PSCA), are widely over-expressed in metastatic disease. While antigen selectivity of CARs for solid cancers is crucial, it is problematic due to the absence of truly restricted tumor antigen expression and potential safety concerns with “on-target off-tumor” activity. Here, we show that the intracellular co-stimulatory signaling domain can determine a CAR's sensitivity for tumor antigen expression. A 4-1BB intracellular co-stimulatory signaling domain in PSCA-CARs confers improved selectivity for higher tumor antigen density, reduced T cell exhaustion phenotype, and equivalent tumor killing ability compared to PSCA-CARs containing the CD28 co-stimulatory signaling domain. PSCA-CARs exhibit robust in vivo anti-tumor activity in patient-derived bone-metastatic prostate cancer xenograft models, and 4-1BB-containing CARs show superior T cell persistence and control of disease compared with CD28-containing CARs. Our study demonstrates the importance of co-stimulation in defining an optimal CAR T cell, and also highlights the significance of clinically relevant models in developing solid cancer CAR T cell therapies. PMID:29308300

  18. Carbon nanotube substrates and catalyzed hot stamp for polishing and patterning the substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yuhuang [Evanston, IL; Hauge, Robert H [Houston, TX; Schmidt, Howard K [Houston, TX; Kim, Myung Jong [Houston, TX; Kittrell, W Carter [Houston, TX

    2009-09-08

    The present invention is generally directed to catalyzed hot stamp methods for polishing and/or patterning carbon nanotube-containing substrates. In some embodiments, the substrate, as a carbon nanotube fiber end, is brought into contact with a hot stamp (typically at 200-800.degree. C.), and is kept in contact with the hot stamp until the morphology/patterns on the hot stamp have been transferred to the substrate. In some embodiments, the hot stamp is made of material comprising one or more transition metals (Fe, Ni, Co, Pt, Ag, Au, etc.), which can catalyze the etching reaction of carbon with H.sub.2, CO.sub.2, H.sub.2O, and/or O.sub.2. Such methods can (1) polish the carbon nanotube-containing substrate with a microscopically smooth finish, and/or (2) transfer pre-defined patterns from the hot stamp to the substrate. Such polished or patterned carbon nanotube substrates can find application as carbon nanotube electrodes, field emitters, and field emitter arrays for displays and electron sources.

  19. Neurite outgrowth stimulatory effects of culinary-medicinal mushrooms and their toxicity assessment using differentiating Neuro-2a and embryonic fibroblast BALB/3T3

    OpenAIRE

    Phan, Chia-Wei; David, Pamela; Naidu, Murali; Wong, Kah-Hui; Sabaratnam, Vikineswary

    2013-01-01

    Background Mushrooms are not only regarded as gourmet cuisine but also as therapeutic agent to promote cognition health. However, little toxicological information is available regarding their safety. Therefore, the aim of this study was to screen selected ethno-pharmacologically important mushrooms for stimulatory effects on neurite outgrowth and to test for any cytotoxicity. Methods The stimulatory effect of mushrooms on neurite outgrowth was assessed in differentiating mouse neuroblastoma (...

  20. Substrate dependent hierarchical structures of RF sputtered ZnS films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chalana, S. R.; Mahadevan Pillai, V. P.

    2018-05-01

    RF magnetron sputtering technique was employed to fabricate ZnS nanostructures with special emphasis given to study the effect of substrates (quartz, glass and quartz substrate pre-coated with Au, Ag, Cu and Pt) on the structure, surface evolution and optical properties. Type of substrate has a significant influence on the crystalline phase, film morphology, thickness and surface roughness. The present study elucidates the suitability of quartz substrate for the deposition of stable and highly crystalline ZnS films. We found that the role of metal layer on quartz substrate is substantial in the preparation of hierarchical ZnS structures and these structures are of great importance due to its high specific area and potential applications in various fields. A mechanism for morphological evolution of ZnS structures is also presented based on the roughness of substrates and primary nonlocal effects in sputtering. Furthermore, the findings suggest that a controlled growth of hierarchical ZnS structures may be achieved with an ordinary RF sputtering technique by changing the substrate type.

  1. Scalable creation of gold nanostructures on high performance engineering polymeric substrate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Kun; Wang, Pan; Wei, Shiliang; Huang, Yumin; Liu, Xiaobo

    2017-12-01

    The article reveals a facile protocol for scalable production of gold nanostructures on a high performance engineering thermoplastic substrate made of polyarylene ether nitrile (PEN) for the first time. Firstly, gold thin films with different thicknesses of 2 nm, 4 nm and 6 nm were evaporated on a spin-coated PEN substrate on glass slide in vacuum. Next, the as-evaporated samples were thermally annealed around the glass transition temperature of the PEN substrate, on which gold nanostructures with island-like morphology were created. Moreover, it was found that the initial gold evaporation thickness and annealing atmosphere played an important role in determining the morphology and plasmonic properties of the formulated Au NPs. Interestingly, we discovered that isotropic Au NPs can be easily fabricated on the freestanding PEN substrate, which was fabricated by a cost-effective polymer solution casting method. More specifically, monodispersed Au nanospheres with an average size of ∼60 nm were obtained after annealing a 4 nm gold film covered PEN casting substrate at 220 °C for 2 h in oxygen. Therefore, the scalable production of Au NPs with controlled morphology on PEN substrate would open the way for development of robust flexible nanosensors and optical devices using high performance engineering polyarylene ethers.

  2. Surface Morphology Diagram for Cylinder-Forming Block Copolymer Thin Films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Xiaohua; Berry, Brian C.; Yager, Kevin G.; Kim, Sangcheol; Jones, Ronald L.; Satija, Sushil; Pickel, Deanna L.; Douglas, Jack F.; Karim, Alamgir

    2008-01-01

    We investigate the effect of annealing temperature (T), film thickness (hf) on the surface morphology of flow coated films of a cylinder forming block copolymer, poly (styrene-block-methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA). Surface morphology transitions from a perpendicular to a parallel cylinder orientation with respect to the substrate with increasing hf are observed in these model 'frustrated-interaction' films where the substrate interaction is preferential for one of the blocks (PMMA) and nearly neutral for the other interface (polymer-air). In these films a transition occurs from cylinders oriented parallel to the substrate to a mixed or 'hybrid' state where the two orientations coexist followed by a transition to cylinders oriented perpendicularly to the polymer-air interface for larger hf. The characteristic values of hf defining these surface morphological transitions depend on T and we construct a surface morphology diagram as a function of hf and T. The surface morphology diagram is found to depend on the method of film formation (flow coated versus spun cast films) so non-equilibrium effects evidently have a large effect on the surface pattern morphology. In particular, the residual solvent within the film (quantified by neutron reflectivity measurements) in the context of physics of glass-formation can have a large effect on the surface morphology diagram

  3. Time dependency of morphological remodeling of endothelial cells in response to substrate stiffness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goli-Malekabadi, Zahra; Tafazzoli-shadpour, Mohammad; Tamayol, Ali; Seyedjafari, Ehsan

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: Substrate stiffness regulates cellular behavior as cells experience different stiffness values of tissues in the body. For example, endothelial cells (ECs) covering the inner layer of blood vessels are exposed to different stiffness values due to various pathologic and physiologic conditions. Despite numerous studies, cells by time span sense mechanical properties of the substrate, but the response is not well understood. We hypothesized that time is a major determinant influencing the behavior of cells seeded on substrates of varying stiffness. Methods: We monitored cell spreading, internal structure, 3D topography, and the viability of ECs over 24 hours of culture on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates with two different degrees of elastic modulus. Results: Despite significant differences in cell spreading after cell seeding, cells showed a similar shape and internal structure after 24 hours of culture on both soft and stiff substrates. However, 3D topographical images confirmed existence of rich lamellipodia and filopodia around the cells cultured on stiffer PDMS substrates. Conclusion: It was concluded that the response of ECs to the substrate stiffness was time dependent with initial enhanced cellular spreading and viability on stiffer substrates. Results can provide a better comprehension of cell mechanotransduction for tissue engineering applications. PMID:28546952

  4. Inducing morphological changes in lipid bilayer membranes with microfabricated substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Fangjie; Collins, Liam F.; Ashkar, Rana; Heberle, Frederick A.; Srijanto, Bernadeta R.; Collier, C. Patrick

    2016-11-01

    Lateral organization of lipids and proteins into distinct domains and anchoring to a cytoskeleton are two important strategies employed by biological membranes to carry out many cellular functions. However, these interactions are difficult to emulate with model systems. Here we use the physical architecture of substrates consisting of arrays of micropillars to systematically control the behavior of supported lipid bilayers - an important step in engineering model lipid membrane systems with well-defined functionalities. Competition between attractive interactions of supported lipid bilayers with the underlying substrate versus the energy cost associated with membrane bending at pillar edges can be systematically investigated as functions of pillar height and pitch, chemical functionalization of the microstructured substrate, and the type of unilamellar vesicles used for assembling the supported bilayer. Confocal fluorescent imaging and AFM measurements highlight correlations that exist between topological and mechanical properties of lipid bilayers and lateral lipid mobility in these confined environments. This study provides a baseline for future investigations into lipid domain reorganization on structured solid surfaces and scaffolds for cell growth.

  5. Lithography-Free Fabrication of Reconfigurable Substrate Topography For Contact Guidance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pholpabu, Pitirat; Kustra, Stephen; Wu, Haosheng; Balasubramanian, Aditya; Bettinger, Christopher J.

    2014-01-01

    Mammalian cells detect and respond to topographical cues presented in natural and synthetic biomaterials both in vivo and in vitro. Micro- and nano-structures influence the adhesion, morphology, proliferation, migration, and differentiation of many phenotypes. Although the mechanisms that underpin cell-topography interactions remain elusive, synthetic substrates with well-defined micro- and nano-structures are important tools to elucidate the origin of these responses. Substrates with reconfigurable topography are desirable because programmable cues can be harmonized with dynamic cellular responses. Here we present a lithography-free fabrication technique that can reversibly present topographical cues using an actuation mechanism that minimizes the confounding effects of applied stimuli. This method utilizes strain-induced buckling instabilities in bi-layer substrate materials with rigid uniform silicon oxide membranes that are thermally deposited on elastomeric substrates. The resulting surfaces are capable of reversible of substrates between three distinct states: flat substrates (A = 1.53 ± 0.55 nm, Rms = 0.317 ± 0.048 nm); parallel wavy grating arrays (A|| = 483.6 ± 7.8 nm and λ|| = 4.78 ± 0.16 μm); perpendicular wavy grating arrays (A⊥ = 429.3 ± 5.8 nm; λ⊥ = 4.95 ± 0.36 μm). The cytoskeleton dynamics of 3T3 fibroblasts in response to these surfaces was measured using optical microscopy. Fibroblasts cultured on dynamic substrates that are switched from flat to topographic features (FLAT-WAVY) exhibit a robust and rapid change in gross morphology as measured by a reduction in circularity from 0.30 ± 0.13 to 0.15 ± 0.08 after 5 min. Conversely, dynamic substrate sequences of FLAT-WAVY-FLAT do not significantly alter the gross steady-state morphology. Taken together, substrates that present topographic structures reversibly can elucidate dynamic aspects of cell-topography interactions. PMID:25468368

  6. Morphological Study Of Palladium Thin Films Deposited By Sputtering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Salcedo, K L; Rodriguez, C A [Grupo Plasma Laser y Aplicaciones, Ingenieria Fisica, Universidad Tecnologica de Pereira (Colombia); Perez, F A [WNANO, West Virginia University (United States); Riascos, H [Grupo Plasma Laser y Aplicaciones, Departamento de Fisica, Universidad Tecnologica de Pereira (Colombia)

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents a morphological analysis of thin films of palladium (Pd) deposited on a substrate of sapphire (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}) at a constant pressure of 3.5 mbar at different substrate temperatures (473 K, 523 K and 573 K). The films were morphologically characterized by means of an Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM); finding a relation between the roughness and the temperature. A morphological analysis of the samples through AFM was carried out and the roughness was measured by simulating the X-ray reflectivity curve using GenX software. A direct relation between the experimental and simulation data of the Palladium thin films was found.

  7. Morphological Study Of Palladium Thin Films Deposited By Sputtering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salcedo, K L; Rodriguez, C A; Perez, F A; Riascos, H

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents a morphological analysis of thin films of palladium (Pd) deposited on a substrate of sapphire (Al 2 O 3 ) at a constant pressure of 3.5 mbar at different substrate temperatures (473 K, 523 K and 573 K). The films were morphologically characterized by means of an Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM); finding a relation between the roughness and the temperature. A morphological analysis of the samples through AFM was carried out and the roughness was measured by simulating the X-ray reflectivity curve using GenX software. A direct relation between the experimental and simulation data of the Palladium thin films was found.

  8. Synthesis of Vertically Aligned ZnO Nano rods on Various Substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hassan, J.J.; Hassan, Z.; Abu Hassan, H.; Mahdi, M.A.

    2011-01-01

    We successfully synthesized vertically aligned ZnO nano rods on Si, GaN, Sic, Al 2 O 3 , ITO, and quartz substrates using microwave assisted chemical bath deposition (MA-CBD) method. All these types of substrates were seeded with PVA-ZnO nano composites layer prior to the nano rods growth. The effect of substrate type on the morphology of the ZnO nano rods was studied. The diameter of grown ZnO nano rods ranged from 50 nm to 200 nm. Structural quality and morphology of ZnO nano rods were determined by x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, which revealed hexagonal wurtzite structures perpendicular to the substrate along the z-axis in the direction of (002). Photoluminescence measurements of grown ZnO nano rods on all substrates exhibited high UV peak intensity. Raman scattering studies were conducted to estimate the lattice vibration modes. (author)

  9. Investigation of photocatalytic activity of titanium dioxide deposited on metallic substrates by DC magnetron sputtering

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Daviðsdóttir, Svava; Canulescu, Stela; Dirscherl, Kai

    2013-01-01

    The photocatalytic properties of titanium dioxide (TiO2) coating in the anatase crystalline structure deposited on aluminium AA1050 alloy and stainless steel S316L substrates were investigated. The coating was prepared by DC magnetron sputtering. The microstructure and surface morphology of the c......The photocatalytic properties of titanium dioxide (TiO2) coating in the anatase crystalline structure deposited on aluminium AA1050 alloy and stainless steel S316L substrates were investigated. The coating was prepared by DC magnetron sputtering. The microstructure and surface morphology...... sweep voltammetry, impedance measurements. The microstructure and surface morphology of the coating were similar irrespective of the nature of the substrate, while the photocatalytic behaviour was found to vary depending on the substrate type. In general the TiO2 coating on stainless steel was shown...

  10. Effect of splat morphology on the microstructure and dielectric properties of plasma sprayed barium titanate films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pakseresht, A.H., E-mail: amirh_pak@yahoo.com [Center of Ceramic Coatings, Department of Ceramics, Materials and Energy Research Center, PO Box 31787-316, Karaj (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Rahimipour, M.R. [Center of Ceramic Coatings, Department of Ceramics, Materials and Energy Research Center, PO Box 31787-316, Karaj (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Vaezi, M.R. [Department of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Materials and Energy Research Center, PO Box 31787-316, Karaj (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Salehi, M. [Department of Materials Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, PO Box 84156-83111, Isfahan (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • BaTiO{sub 3} splats were collected on the mirror polished substrate for the first time. • There was no amorphous phase in the coating collected on the preheated substrate. • The dielectric coefficient was increased by a factor of 3 for the coatings sprayed on the preheated substrates. - Abstract: In the thermal spray process, the film is built up by impingement of molten droplets onto substrate. Splats are created by flattening and spreading of the impacting droplets. Splat morphology can determine the microstructure, physical and mechanical properties of the coating. In this study, BaTiO{sub 3} films were deposited onto a mirror polished stainless steel substrates kept at three different temperatures (25, 300 and 600 °C). At the elevated temperatures, the substrate surface topography and the desorbtion of adsorbates and condensate at the substrate surface are two important factors which change the morphology of the individual splats, from splash morphology to disk-like shape. Splat morphology can determine deposit microstructure and improve the coating properties. The morphology of individual splats and the films were studied using scanning electron microscopy. Phase formation of the films was analyzed by X-ray diffraction. The surface topography of the substrates with different temperatures was analyzed using atomic force microscopy. Furthermore, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was performed to determine the chemical compositions of the surface substrate. Results indicated that the porosity in the film produced at room temperature was higher than that in the film deposited on the heated substrates. Also, the dielectric coefficient of the films was increased by decreasing the common defects from 120 to 505 for film deposited on as-received and heated substrates, respectively.

  11. Synthesis and characterization of ZnO nanostructures on noble-metal coated substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dikovska, A.Og. [Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 72 Tsarigradsko Chaussee, Sofia 1784 (Bulgaria); Atanasova, G.B. [Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev str., bl. 11, 1113 Sofia (Bulgaria); Avdeev, G.V. [Rostislaw Kaischew Institute of Physical Chemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev str., bl. 11, 1113 Sofia (Bulgaria); Nedyalkov, N.N. [Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 72 Tsarigradsko Chaussee, Sofia 1784 (Bulgaria)

    2016-06-30

    Highlights: • ZnO nanostructures were fabricated on Au–Ag alloy coated silicon substrates by applying pulsed laser deposition. • Morphology of the ZnO nanostructures was related to the Au–Ag alloy content in the catalyst layer. • Increasing the Ag content in Au–Ag catalyst layer changes the morphology of the ZnO nanostructures from nanorods to nanobelts. - Abstract: In this work, ZnO nanostructures were fabricated on noble-metal (Au, Ag and Au–Ag alloys) coated silicon substrates by applying pulsed laser deposition. The samples were prepared at a substrate temperature of 550 °C, an oxygen pressure of 5 Pa, and a laser fluence of 2 J cm{sup −2} – process parameters usually used for deposition of smooth and dense thin films. The metal layer's role is substantial for the preparation of nanostructures. Heating of the substrate changed the morphology of the metal layer and, subsequently, nanoparticles were formed. The use of different metal particles resulted in different morphologies and properties of the ZnO nanostructures synthesized. The morphology of the ZnO nanostructures was related to the Au–Ag alloy's content of the catalyst layer. It was found that the morphology of the ZnO nanostructures evolved from nanorods to nanobelts as the ratio of Au/Ag in the alloy catalyst was varied. The use of a small quantity of Ag in the Au–Ag catalyst (Au{sub 3}Ag) layer resulted predominantly in the deposition of ZnO nanorods. A higher Ag content in the catalyst alloy (AuAg{sub 2}) layer resulted in the growth of a dense structure of ZnO nanobelts.

  12. Osteogenic stimulatory conditions enhance growth and maturation of endothelial cell microvascular networks in culture with mesenchymal stem cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Torbjorn O Pedersen

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available To optimize culture conditions for in vitro prevascularization of tissue-engineered bone constructs, the development of organotypic blood vessels under osteogenic stimulatory conditions (OM was investigated. Coculture of endothelial cells and mesenchymal stem cells was used to assess proangiogenic effects of mesenchymal stem cells on endothelial cells. Four different culture conditions were evaluated for their effect on development of microvascular endothelial cell networks. Mineralization, deposition of extracellular matrix, and perivascular gene expression were studied in OM. After 3 days, endothelial cells established elongated capillary-like networks, and upregulated expression of vascular markers was seen. After 15 days, all parameters evaluated were significantly increased for cultures in OM. Mature networks developed in OM presented lumens enveloped by basement membrane-like collagen IV, with obvious mineralization and upregulated perivascular gene expression from mesenchymal stem cells. Our results suggest osteogenic stimulatory conditions to be appropriate for in vitro development of vascularized bone implants for tissue engineering.

  13. Experimental and simulation study of growth of TiO2 films on different substrates and its applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghogare, Trupti T.; Kartha, Moses J.; Kendre, Subhash D.; Pathan, Habib M.

    2018-04-01

    Monte-Carlo Ballistic Deposition simulations have done on substrates with different initial roughness. The grown films were observed to be porous. The initial growths of the films with seed like initiations are observed for substrate with high initial roughness. In order to confirm this effect TiO2 films were deposited on different substrates using chemical bath deposition. The surface morphological and optical properties were measured using scanning electron microscopy and a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. Flower like porous structure are obtained on glass substrate and continuous porous morphology is formed on ITO substrate. The morphology of the surfaces was successfully reconstructed and the surface porosity was calculated after digitalising images and reconstructed the surfaces. The TiO2 film formed on ITO is observed to be 10% more porous than on the film formed on glass substrate. Diffusion Limited Aggregation simulations with multiple seeds confirms that the observed flower like structure formed are due to the screening effects of the diffusing ion by already deposited particles.

  14. Influence of substrate temperature, growth rate and TCO substrate on the properties of CSS deposited CdS thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schaffner, J., E-mail: jschaffner@surface.tu-darmstadt.de; Feldmeier, E.; Swirschuk, A.; Schimper, H.-J.; Klein, A.; Jaegermann, W.

    2011-08-31

    The growth of CdS thin films by close space sublimation (CSS) has been systematically studied using an ultra-high vacuum system known as DAISY-SOL in order to understand the basic growth mechanisms and their impact on the film properties. Substrate temperature and deposition rate were varied, and the surface properties of the CdS layer were determined by photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) without breaking the vacuum. To analyze the influence of the deposition conditions on the layer morphology and crystallographic structure, the films were further characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The SEM and AFM studies show a correlation between the deposition rate and the film morphology. For high deposition rates, edged grain shapes and smoother surfaces were observed than for low deposition rates. CdS films were deposited onto two different commercially available fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates. XRD studies show that a high <200> texture of the FTO substrate prefers the CdS growth in <0001> orientation of the hexagonal crystal modification.

  15. Palladium clusters deposited on the heterogeneous substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Kun, E-mail: cqdxwk@126.com [College of Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China); Key Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems, Ministry of Education of PRC, Chongqing 400044 (China); Liu, Juanfang, E-mail: juanfang@cqu.edu.cn [College of Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China); Key Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems, Ministry of Education of PRC, Chongqing 400044 (China); Chen, Qinghua, E-mail: qhchen@cqu.edu.cn [College of Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China); Key Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems, Ministry of Education of PRC, Chongqing 400044 (China)

    2016-07-15

    Graphical abstract: The site-exchange between the substrate and cluster atoms can result in the formation of the surface alloys and the reconstruction of the cluster structure before the collision system approaching the thermal equilibrium. The deposited cluster adjusted the atom arrangement as possibly as to match the substrate lattice arrangement from bottom to up. The structural reconstruction is accompanied by the system potential energy minimization. - Highlights: • The deposition process can divide explicitly into three stages: adsorption, collision, relaxation. • The local melt does not emerge inside the substrate during the deposition process. • Surface alloys are formed by the site-exchange between the cluster and substrate atoms. • The cluster reconstructs the atom arrangement following as the substrate lattice arrangement from bottom to up. • The structural reconstruction ability and scope depend on the cluster size and incident energy. - Abstract: To improve the performance of the Pd composite membrane prepared by the cold spraying technology, it is extremely essential to give insights into the deposition process of the cluster and the heterogeneous deposition of the big Pd cluster at the different incident velocities on the atomic level. The deposition behavior, morphologies, energetic and interfacial configuration were examined by the molecular dynamic simulation and characterized by the cluster flattening ratio, the substrate maximum local temperature, the atom-embedded layer number and the surface-alloy formation. According to the morphology evolution, three deposition stages and the corresponding structural and energy evolution were clearly identified. The cluster deformation and penetrating depth increased with the enhancement of the incident velocity, but the increase degree also depended on the substrate hardness. The interfacial interaction between the cluster and the substrate can be improved by the higher substrate local temperature

  16. Impact of x-Linkable Polymer Blends on Phase Morphology and Adhesion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Chun; Wan, Grace; Keene, Ellen; Harris, Joseph; Zhang, Sipei; Anderson, Stephanie; Li Pi Shan, Colin

    Adhesion to dissimilar substrate is highly important to multiple industrial applications such as automotive adhesives, food packaging, transportation etc. Adhesive design has to include components that are affinity to both substrates, e.g. high surface energy polar and low surface non-polar substrates. Typically, these adhesive components are thermodynamically incompatible with each other, leading to macrophase separation and thus adhesive failure. By using functional adhesive components plus some additives, the adhesive can be in-situ cross-linked to prevent the macrophase separation with controlled phase morphology. Herein, we present the study on a cross-linkable adhesive formulation consisting of acrylic emulsion and polyolefin aqueous dispersion with additives for enhancing cross-linking and controlled phase morphologies. Contact angle measurement and ATR-IR spectroscopy are used to characterize the properties of adhesive surface. DMA is used to study the mechanical property of adhesive before and after cross-linking. The detailed phase morphologies are revealed by AFM, SEM and TEM. The resulting adhesive morphologies are correlated with the adhesive performance to establish structure-property relationship.

  17. Quality improvement of organic thin films deposited on vibrating substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paredes, Y.A.; Caldas, P.G.; Prioli, R.; Cremona, M., E-mail: cremona@fis.puc-rio.br

    2011-12-30

    Most of the Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) have a multilayered structure composed of functional organic layers sandwiched between two electrodes. Thin films of small molecules are generally deposited by thermal evaporation onto glass or other rigid or flexible substrates. The interface state between two organic layers in OLED device depends on the surface morphology of the layers and affects deeply the OLED performance. The morphology of organic thin films depends mostly on substrate temperature and deposition rate. Generally, the control of the substrate temperature allows improving the quality of the deposited films. For organic compounds substrate temperature cannot be increased too much due to their poor thermal stability. However, studies in inorganic thin films indicate that it is possible to modify the morphology of a film by using substrate vibration without increasing the substrate temperature. In this work, the effect of the resonance vibration of glass and silicon substrates during thermal deposition in high vacuum environment of tris(8-quinolinolate)aluminum(III) (Alq{sub 3}) and N,N Prime -Bis(naphthalene-2-yl)-N,N Prime -bis(phenyl)-benzidine ({beta}-NPB) organic thin films with different deposition rates was investigated. The vibration used was in the range of hundreds of Hz and the substrates were kept at room temperature during the process. The nucleation and subsequent growth of the organic films on the substrates have been studied by atomic force microscopy technique. For Alq{sub 3} and {beta}-NPB films grown with 0.1 nm/s as deposition rate and using a frequency of 100 Hz with oscillation amplitude of some micrometers, the results indicate a reduction of cluster density and a roughness decreasing. Moreover, OLEDs fabricated with organic films deposited under these conditions improved their power efficiency, driven at 4 mA/cm{sup 2}, passing from 0.11 lm/W to 0.24 lm/W with an increase in their luminance of about 352 cd/m{sup 2

  18. Pattern interpolation in thin films of lamellar, symmetric copolymers on nano-patterned substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Detcheverry, Francois; Nagpal, Umang; Liu, Guoliang; Nealey, Paul; de Pablo, Juan

    2009-03-01

    A molecular model of block copolymer systems is used to conduct a systematic study of the morphologies that arise when thin films of symmetric, lamellar forming block copolymer materials are deposited on nanopatterned surfaces. Over 500 distinct cases are considered. It is found that, in general, three distinct morphologies can arise depending on the strength of the substrate-polymer interactions, the film thickness, and the period of the substrate pattern. The relative stability of those morphologies is determined by direct calculation of the free energy differences. The dynamic propensity of those morphologies to emerge is examined by careful analysis of simulated trajectories. The results of this systematic study are used to interpret recent experimental data for films of polystyrene-PMMA copolymers on chemically nanopatterned surfaces.

  19. Nanostructuration of self-assembled poly(styrene-b-isoprene-b-styrene) block copolymer thin films in a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite substrate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zalakain, Inaki; Ramos, Jose Angel; Fernandez, Raquel; Etxeberria, Haritz; Mondragon, Inaki, E-mail: inaki.mondragon@ehu.e

    2011-01-03

    Highly oriented pyrolitic graphite (HOPG) is a useful substrate to visualize epitaxial formation due to its crystallographic structure. The morphology of a poly(styrene-b-isoprene-b-styrene) block copolymer thin film on a HOPG substrate was investigated by atomic force microscopy. Block copolymer domains generated a morphology with triangular regularity. This arrangement was induced by the HOPG substrate structure due to van der Waals attraction between the HOPG {pi}-conjugated system and aromatic ring of polystyrene domains. However, increasing the film thickness, the substrate effect on the surface morphology decreased. As a consequence, film surfaces showed the coexistence of different structures such as highly aligned cylinders and perforated lamellae. When film thickness exceeded a threshold value, the substrate did not have effect in the surface arrangements and the surface showed a similar morphology to that existing in bulk.

  20. Layered graphene-mica substrates induce melting of DNA origami

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Nathaniel S.; Pham, Phi H. Q.; Crow, Daniel T.; Burke, Peter J.; Norton, Michael L.

    2018-04-01

    Monolayer graphene supported on mica substrates induce melting of cross-shaped DNA origami. This behavior can be contrasted with the case of origami on graphene on graphite, where an expansion or partially re-organized structure is observed. On mica, only well-formed structures are observed. Comparison of the morphological differences observed for these probes after adsorption on these substrates provides insights into the sensitivity of DNA based nanostructures to the properties of the graphene monolayer, as modified by its substrate.

  1. Investigations of morphological changes during annealing of polyethylene single crystals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tian, M.; Loos, J.

    2001-01-01

    The morphological evolution of isolated individual single crystals deposited on solid substrates was investigated during annealing experiments using in situ and ex situ atomic force microscopy techniques. The crystal morphology changed during annealing at temperatures slightly above the original

  2. Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Secreted Sphingosine 1-Phosphate (S1P) Exerts a Stimulatory Effect on Skeletal Myoblast Proliferation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tani, Alessia; Anderloni, Giulia; Pierucci, Federica; Matteini, Francesca; Chellini, Flaminia; Zecchi Orlandini, Sandra; Meacci, Elisabetta

    2014-01-01

    Bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have the potential to significantly contribute to skeletal muscle healing through the secretion of paracrine factors that support proliferation and enhance participation of the endogenous muscle stem cells in the process of repair/regeneration. However, MSC-derived trophic molecules have been poorly characterized. The aim of this study was to investigate paracrine signaling effects of MSCs on skeletal myoblasts. It was found, using a biochemical and morphological approach that sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), a natural bioactive lipid exerting a broad range of muscle cell responses, is secreted by MSCs and represents an important factor by which these cells exert their stimulatory effects on C2C12 myoblast and satellite cell proliferation. Indeed, exposure to conditioned medium obtained from MSCs cultured in the presence of the selective sphingosine kinase inhibitor (iSK), blocked increased cell proliferation caused by the conditioned medium from untreated MSCs, and the addition of exogenous S1P in the conditioned medium from MSCs pre-treated with iSK further increased myoblast proliferation. Finally, we also demonstrated that the myoblast response to MSC-secreted vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) involves the release of S1P from C2C12 cells. Our data may have important implications in the optimization of cell-based strategies to promote skeletal muscle regeneration. PMID:25264785

  3. Compositions of Mg and Se, surface morphology, roughness and Raman property of Zn1-xMgxSeyTe1-y layers grown at various substrate temperatures or dopant transport rates by MOVPE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nishio, Mitsuhiro; Saito, Katsuhiko; Urata, Kensuke; Okamoto, Yasuhiro; Tanaka, Daichi; Araki, Yasuhiro; Abiru, Masakatsu; Mori, Eiichiro; Tanaka, Tooru; Guo, Qixin

    2015-03-01

    The growth of undoped and phosphorus (P)-doped Zn1-xMgxSeyTe1-y layers on (100) ZnTe substrates by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy was carried out. The compositions of Mg and Se, surface morphology, roughness and Raman property were characterized as a function of substrate temperature. Not only the compositions of Mg and Se but also the crystal quality of undoped Zn1-xMgxSeyTe1-y layer strongly depended upon the substrate temperature. Furthermore, the growth of Zn1-xMgxSeyTe1-y layer nearly-lattice-matched to ZnTe substrate was achieved independent of the transport rate of trisdimethylaminophosphorus. Undoped Zn1-xMgxSeyTe1-y layer nearly-lattice-matched to ZnTe led to improvement of surface roughness. On the other hand, P doping brought about deterioration of crystalline quality.

  4. Morphological and electrical properties of self-assembled iron silicide nanoparticles on Si(0 0 1) and Si(1 1 1) substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Molnár, G.; Dózsa, L.; Erdélyi, R.; Vértesy, Z.; Osváth, Z.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Epitaxial iron silicide nanostructures were grown on Si(1 1 1) and Si(0 0 1) substrates. • The size and shape of the particles are the function of the thickness and annealing. • The local current–voltage characteristics were measured by conductive AFM. • The different size and shape nanoparticles show similar I–V characteristics. • The tip current is dominated in few nm size sites, visible in the AFM phase image. - Abstract: Epitaxial iron silicide nanostructures are grown by solid phase epitaxy on Si(0 0 1) and Si(1 1 1), and by reactive deposition epitaxy on Si(0 0 1) substrates. The formation process is monitored by reflection high-energy electron diffraction. The morphology, size, and electrical properties of the nanoparticles are investigated by scanning electron microscopy, by electrically active scanning probe microscopy, and by confocal Raman spectroscopy. The results show that the shape, size, orientation, and density of the nanoobjects can be tuned by self-assembly, controlled by the lattice misfit between the substrates and iron silicides. The size distribution and shape of the grown nanoparticles depend on the substrate orientation, on the initial thickness of the evaporated iron, on the temperature and time of the annealing, and on the preparation method. The so-called Ostwald ripening phenomena, which state that the bigger objects develop at the expense of smaller ones, controls the density of the nanoparticles. Raman spectra show the bigger objects do not contain β-FeSi 2 phase. The different shape nanoparticles exhibit small, about 100 mV barrier compared to the surrounding silicon. The local leakage current of the samples measured by conductive AFM using a Pt coated Si tip is localized in a few nanometers size sites, and the sites which we assume are very small silicide nanoparticles or point defects.

  5. Recent Advances in Controlling the Depositing Morphologies of Inkjet Droplets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Jiazhen; Bao, Bin; He, Min; Zhou, Haihua; Song, Yanlin

    2015-12-30

    Inkjet printing has been widely used in functional material patterning for fabrication of optical/electrical devices. The depositing morphologies of inkjet droplets are critical to the resolution and performance of resulted functional patterns. This review summarizes various strategies to control the depositing morphologies of inkjet droplets, including suppressing and utilizing coffee-ring effect, employing liquid substrates, developing patterned substrates and controlling droplets coalescence. Moreover, the remaining challenges in controlling inkjet droplets are presented, and the broad research and application prospects of controlling nanomaterial patterning by inkjet printing are proposed.

  6. 'Fingerprints' of central stimulatory drug effects by means of quantitative radioelectroencephalography in the rat (tele-stereo-EEG).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dimpfel, W; Spüler, M; Nickel, B; Tibes, U

    1986-01-01

    The new electrophysiological model earlier described as stereo-EEG is extended now to allow recording from the freely moving rat by means of a telemetric device. Chronic implantation of 4 electrodes into the brain allows simultaneous transmission of field potentials from frontal cortex, hippocampus, striatum and reticular formation. Frequency analysis of these potentials results in a drug-specific 'fingerprint' which cannot only be used to compare different chemicals with each other but also to detect onset and time dependence of drug actions. Application of the model to the question if fenetylline has its own intrinsic mode of action or merely develops its stimulatory effect after metabolic separation into its molecular moieties amphetamine and theophylline (prodrug hypothesis) revealed that fenetylline indeed displays its own stimulatory effect to the same extent and at a similar time course as amphetamine and theophylline. The 'fingerprint' as obtained by the analysis of the action of fenetylline in the rat resembles closely that obtained after the application of theophylline with respect to decreased alpha activity, but resembles amphetamine with respect to beta 1 activity. Thus the applied method allows studying structure function relationships as the action of fenetylline seems to reflect both its molecular moieties.

  7. Comparison of solidity and fractal dimension of plasma sprayed splat with different spreading morphologies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Shu-ying; Ma, Guo-zheng, E-mail: magz0209@163.com; Wang, Hai-dou, E-mail: wanghaidou@aliyun.com.cn; He, Peng-fei; Liu, Ming; Wang, Hai-jun; Xu, Bin-shi

    2017-07-01

    Highlights: • The solidification mechanism of the plasma sprayed droplets deposited on substrate preheated with different temperature was discussed. • The solidified morphology of individual splat was detected by image analysis method. • The fractal dimension, solidity, area and perimeter, were employed to characterize the morphology of the splat. • The typical solidification modes of Fe-based alloy droplet could be divided into three types, namely, flower-like splat, splashed splat and disk-like splat, which may be attributed the differences of solidification rate of the droplets and adsorption on the substrates. - Abstract: The paper deals with the quantitative characterization of spreading morphologies of plasma sprayed Fe-based alloy droplets deposited on mirror polished steels with different preheated temperature. The plasma torch was utilized as heat producer. The influence of substrate temperature on the solidification mechanism of molten droplets was investigated. The image analysis method (IMA) was employed to identify single splat from the field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) morphology. The result shows that the substrate preheated temperature has a significant effect on the flattening behavior of molten droplets. With the increment of substrate temperature, the solidification mode of splat changes from flower-like and splashed splat to disk-like splat due to the modification of wettability and cooling velocity between molten droplet and substrate. Compared with area and perimeter, both fractal dimension (FD) and solidity could separately detect the solidification mode of splat to a certain extent, while the FD seems to be more excellent in characterizing irregular morphology of splat in contrast with solidity. However, the combination of FD and solidity is more efficient in classifying solidification mode of splat.

  8. Direct observation of CD4 T cell morphologies and their cross-sectional traction force derivation on quartz nanopillar substrates using focused ion beam technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Dong-Joo; Kim, Gil-Sung; Hyung, Jung-Hwan; Lee, Won-Yong; Hong, Chang-Hee; Lee, Sang-Kwon

    2013-07-01

    Direct observations of the primary mouse CD4 T cell morphologies, e.g., cell adhesion and cell spreading by culturing CD4 T cells in a short period of incubation (e.g., 20 min) on streptavidin-functionalized quartz nanopillar arrays (QNPA) using a high-content scanning electron microscopy method were reported. Furthermore, we first demonstrated cross-sectional cell traction force distribution of surface-bound CD4 T cells on QNPA substrates by culturing the cells on top of the QNPA and further analysis in deflection of underlying QNPA via focused ion beam-assisted technique.

  9. Controlling Film Morphology in Conjugated Polymer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Lee Y.; Munro, Andrea M.; Ginger, David S.

    2009-01-01

    We study the effects of patterned surface chemistry on the microscale and nanoscale morphology of solution-processed donor/acceptor polymer-blend films. Focusing on combinations of interest in polymer solar cells, we demonstrate that patterned surface chemistry can be used to tailor the film morphology of blends of semiconducting polymers such as poly-[2-(3,7-dimethyloctyloxy)-5-methoxy-p-phenylenevinylene] (MDMO-PPV), poly-3-hexylthiophene (P3HT), poly[(9,9-dioctylflorenyl-2,7-diyl)-co-benzothiadiazole)] (F8BT), and poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-co-bis-N,N’-(4-butylphenyl)-bis-N,N’-phenyl-1,4-phenylendiamine) (PFB) with the fullerene derivative, [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). We present a method for generating patterned, fullerene-terminated monolayers on gold surfaces, and use microcontact printing and Dip-Pen Nanolithography (DPN) to pattern alkanethiols with both micro- and nanoscale features. After patterning with fullerenes and other functional groups, we backfill the rest of the surface with a variety of thiols to prepare substrates with periodic variations in surface chemistry. Spin coating polymer:PCBM films onto these substrates, followed by thermal annealing under nitrogen, leads to the formation of structured polymer films. We characterize these films with Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy, and fluorescence microscopy. The surface patterns are effective in guiding phase separation in all of the polymer:PCBM systems investigated, and lead to a rich variety of film morphologies that are inaccessible with unpatterned substrates. We demonstrate our ability to guide pattern formation in films thick enough of be of interest for actual device applications (up to 200 nm in thickness) using feature sizes as small as 100 nm. Finally, we show that the surface chemistry can lead to variations in film morphology on length scales significantly smaller than those used in generating the original surface patterns. The variety of

  10. Compost and vermicompost as nursery pot components: effects on tomato plant growth and morphology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lazcano, C.; Arnold, J.; Tato, A.; Zaller, J. G.; Dominguez, J.

    2009-07-01

    Abstract Post transplant success after nursery stage is strongly influenced by plant morphology. Cultural practices strongly shape plant morphology, and substrate choice is one of the most determining factors. Peat is the most often used amendment in commercial potting substrates, involving the exploitation of non-renewable resources and the degradation of highly valuable peatland ecosystems and therefore alternative substrates are required. Here the feasibility of replacing peat by compost or vermicompost for the production of tomato plants in nurseries was investigated through the study of the effect of increasing proportions of these substrates (0%, 10%, 20%, 50%, 75% and 100%) in target plant growth and morphological features, indicators of adequate post-transplant growth and yield. Compost and vermicompost showed to be adequate substrates for tomato plant growth. Total replacement of peat by vermicompost was possible while doses of compost higher than 50% caused plant mortality. Low doses of compost (10 and 20%) and high doses of vermicompost produced significant increases in aerial and root biomass of the tomato plants. In addition these treatments improved significantly plant morphology (higher number of leaves and leaf area, and increased root volume and branching). The use of compost and vermicompost constitute an attractive alternative to the use of peat in plant nurseries due to the environmental benefits involved but also due to the observed improvement in plant quality. Additional key words: peat moss, plant nursery, soil-less substrate, Solanum lycopersicum L. (Author) 37 refs.

  11. Fabrication and Corrosion Resistance of Superhydrophobic Hydroxide Zinc Carbonate Film on Aluminum Substrates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jin Liang

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Superhydrophobic hydroxide zinc carbonate (HZC films were fabricated on aluminum substrate through a convenient in situ deposition process. Firstly, HZC films with different morphologies were deposited on aluminum substrates through immersing the aluminum substrates perpendicularly into aqueous solution containing zinc nitrate hexahydrate and urea. Secondly, the films were then modified with fluoroalkylsilane (FAS: CH3(CF26(CH23Si(OCH33 molecules by immersing in absolute ethanol solution containing FAS. The morphologies, hydrophobicity, chemical compositions, and bonding states of the films were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM, water contact angle measurement (CA, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS, respectively. It was shown by surface morphological observation that HZC films displayed different microstructures such as microporous structure, rose petal-like structure, block-shaped structure, and pinecone-like structure by altering the deposition condition. A highest water contact angle of 156.2° was obtained after FAS modification. Moreover, the corrosion resistance of the superhydrophobic surface on aluminum substrate was investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS measurements. The EIS measurements’ results revealed that the superhydrophobic surface considerably improved the corrosion resistance of aluminum.

  12. Influence of the substrate texture on the structural and electrochemical properties of sputtered LiCoO2 thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, Ki-Taek; Cho, Gyu-Bong; Kim, Ki-Won; Nam, Tae-Hyun; Jeong, Hyo-Min; Huh, Sun-Chul; Chung, Han-Shik; Noh, Jung-Pil

    2013-01-01

    LiCoO 2 thin films were fabricated on textured and annealed STS304 substrates by direct current magnetron sputtering method. The effects of the substrate texture on the structural and electrochemical properties of the LiCoO 2 thin film deposited on both the substrates have been investigated. The crystal structures and surface morphologies of the deposited films were analyzed by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Based on the XRD analysis, the LiCoO 2 thin film deposited on the textured substrate was found to exhibit (003) preferred orientation, while the film deposited on annealed substrate exhibited (104) preferred orientation. In addition, SEM analysis revealed that the film deposited on the textured substrate showed a smooth morphology. On the other hand, the film deposited on the annealed substrate exhibited a very rough surface morphology, which resulted in a higher surface area. Consequently, the initial discharge capacity of the film deposited on the annealed substrate was higher than that of the film deposited on the textured substrate. The film deposited on the textured substrate exhibited a good cyclic performance compared to the film deposited on the annealed substrate. - Highlights: • The sputtered LiCoO 2 thin films were influenced by the substrate texture. • The film deposited on the annealed substrate exhibited (104) preferred orientation. • The film deposited on the textured substrate exhibited a good cyclic performance

  13. AFM imaging and fractal analysis of surface roughness of AlN epilayers on sapphire substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dallaeva, Dinara, E-mail: dinara.dallaeva@yandex.ru [Brno University of Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication, Physics Department, Technická 8, 616 00 Brno (Czech Republic); Ţălu, Ştefan [Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of AET, Discipline of Descriptive Geometry and Engineering Graphics, 103-105 B-dul Muncii Street, Cluj-Napoca 400641, Cluj (Romania); Stach, Sebastian [University of Silesia, Faculty of Computer Science and Materials Science, Institute of Informatics, Department of Biomedical Computer Systems, ul. Będzińska 39, 41-205 Sosnowiec (Poland); Škarvada, Pavel; Tománek, Pavel; Grmela, Lubomír [Brno University of Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication, Physics Department, Technická 8, 616 00 Brno (Czech Republic)

    2014-09-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • We determined the complexity of 3D surface roughness of aluminum nitride layers. • We used atomic force microscopy and analyzed their fractal geometry. • We determined the fractal dimension of surface roughness of aluminum nitride layers. • We determined the dependence of layer morphology on substrate temperature. - Abstract: The paper deals with AFM imaging and characterization of 3D surface morphology of aluminum nitride (AlN) epilayers on sapphire substrates prepared by magnetron sputtering. Due to the effect of temperature changes on epilayer's surface during the fabrication, a surface morphology is studied by combination of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and fractal analysis methods. Both methods are useful tools that may assist manufacturers in developing and fabricating AlN thin films with optimal surface characteristics. Furthermore, they provide different yet complementary information to that offered by traditional surface statistical parameters. This combination is used for the first time for measurement on AlN epilayers on sapphire substrates, and provides the overall 3D morphology of the sample surfaces (by AFM imaging), and reveals fractal characteristics in the surface morphology (fractal analysis)

  14. Iron films deposited on porous alumina substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamada, Yasuhiro, E-mail: yyasu@rs.kagu.tus.ac.jp; Tanabe, Kenichi; Nishida, Naoki [Tokyo University of Science (Japan); Kobayashi, Yoshio [The University of Electro-Communications (Japan)

    2016-12-15

    Iron films were deposited on porous alumina substrates using an arc plasma gun. The pore sizes (120 – 250 nm) of the substrates were controlled by changing the temperature during the anodic oxidation of aluminum plates. Iron atoms penetrated into pores with diameters of less than 160 nm, and were stabilized by forming γ-Fe, whereas α-Fe was produced as a flat plane covering the pores. For porous alumina substrates with pore sizes larger than 200 nm, the deposited iron films contained many defects and the resulting α-Fe had smaller hyperfine magnetic fields. In addition, only a very small amount of γ-Fe was obtained. It was demonstrated that the composition and structure of an iron film can be affected by the surface morphology of the porous alumina substrate on which the film is grown.

  15. Growth and properties of ZnO films on polymeric substrate by spray pyrolysis method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kriisa, Merike; Kärber, Erki [Department of Materials Science, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086 Tallinn (Estonia); Krunks, Malle, E-mail: malle.krunks@ttu.ee [Department of Materials Science, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086 Tallinn (Estonia); Mikli, Valdek [Centre for Materials Research, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086 Tallinn (Estonia); Unt, Tarmo; Kukk, Mart; Mere, Arvo [Department of Materials Science, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086 Tallinn (Estonia)

    2014-03-31

    The growth of ZnO layers deposited by spray pyrolysis on polymeric substrate was studied. Zinc acetate precursor solution was sprayed onto preheated polyimide (PI) and glass reference substrates at 380 °C. The structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of the layers were measured by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, optical spectroscopy and van der Pauw and Hall method. ZnO:In layers could be grown on PI when deposited onto undoped ZnO layer acting as a buffer layer on PI. Independent of the substrate type, the ZnO/ZnO:In bilayer showed a mixed morphology from smooth canvas-like surface to large scrolled belt grains dependent on buffer layer morphology. Due to the formation of scrolled belts, the ZnO:In layer shows no preferential orientation, yet the preferred orientation of the ZnO buffer crystallites is (100) plane parallel to the substrate. The bilayers deposited on PI exhibit high light scattering capability (haze factor of 85–95% in the spectral region of 350–1500 nm). The resistivity of the ZnO:In film in bilayer on PI is 4.4 × 10{sup −2} Ω cm mainly due to low carrier mobility of 1.5 cm{sup 2}/Vs, the carrier concentration is 10{sup 20} cm{sup −3}. - Highlights: • ZnO:In layers were grown on polyimide substrate by spray pyrolysis. • The buffer layer morphology is controlled by the layer thickness and spray rate. • ZnO/ZnO:In bilayer morphology is dependent on the surface of buffer layer. • Rough buffer layer leads to rough bilayer with scrolled belts (diameter of 2–6 μm). • Due to scrolled belts layers show no preferential growth yet highly scatter light.

  16. Microstructure of pulsed-laser deposited PZT on polished and annealed MGO substrates

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    King, S.L.; Coccia, L.G.; Gardeniers, Johannes G.E.; Boyd, I.W.

    1996-01-01

    Thin films of Lead-Zirconate-Titanate (PZT) have been grown by pulsed-laser-deposition (PLD) onto polished MgO substrates both with and without pre-annealing. The surface morphology of polished MgO substrates, which are widely used for deposition, is examined by AFM. Commercially available,

  17. Novel morphology of chemical vapor deposited diamond films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tang, C.J. [I3N and Department of Physics, University of Aveiro (Portugal); Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Advanced Functional Materials and Department of Physics, Changshu Institute of Technology, Changshu (China); TEMA and Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Aveiro (Portugal); Fernandes, A.J.S.; Abe, I.; Pinto, J.L. [I3N and Department of Physics, University of Aveiro (Portugal); Gracio, J. [TEMA and Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Aveiro (Portugal); Buijnsters, J.G. [Institute for Molecules and Materials (IMM), Radboud University Nijmegen (Netherlands)

    2010-04-15

    We have obtained simultaneously nanocrystalline and {l_brace}100{r_brace} faceted large-grained polycrystalline diamond films not only on different substrates but also on the same substrate in only one deposition run using a novel approach for substrate arrangement. Furthermore, interesting unusual morphologies and microstructures composed by non-faceted nanostructures and terminated with large smooth {l_brace}100{r_brace} facet-like belt are found near the edges of the top square sample. The morphology variation is likely caused by the so called edge effect, where a strong variation in temperature is also present. We have modelled the temperature distribution on the substrates by computer simulations using the finite element method. The novel feature, namely the coexistence of oval non-faceted nanocrystalline diamond grains and large smooth {l_brace}100{r_brace} facet-like belt in one diamond grain, is in the transition from {l_brace}100{r_brace} faceted polycrystalline diamond to cauliflower-like nanocrystalline diamond. The formation mechanism is discussed based on the temperature analysis and other simulation results described in the literature. (copyright 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  18. Properties of nickel films growth by radio frequency magnetron sputtering at elevated substrate temperatures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Muslim, Noormariah, E-mail: 14h8702@ubd.edu.bn [Centre for Advanced Material and Energy Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong BE1410 (Brunei Darussalam); Soon, Ying Woan [Centre for Advanced Material and Energy Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong BE1410 (Brunei Darussalam); Physical and Geological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong BE1410 (Brunei Darussalam); Lim, Chee Ming; Voo, Nyuk Yoong [Centre for Advanced Material and Energy Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong BE1410 (Brunei Darussalam)

    2016-08-01

    Pure nickel (Ni) thin films of thicknesses of 100 nm were deposited on glass substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering at a power of 100 W and at various substrate temperatures i.e., room temperature, 100, 200, and 300 °C. The crystalline structure, surface topography, surface morphology, electrical resistivity, and optical properties of the deposited films were studied. The properties of the Ni films could be controlled by altering the substrate temperature. Specifically, the films featured a face-centered cubic crystalline structure with predominant (111) crystallite orientation at all the substrate temperatures employed, as observed from the X-ray diffraction analysis. Films deposited at substrate temperatures greater than 200 °C additionally displayed crystalline (200) and (220) diffraction peaks. The surface morphology analysis revealed that the grain size of the Ni thin films increased with increasing substrate temperatures employed. This increase was accompanied with a decrease in the resistivity of the Ni films. The surface roughness of the films increased with increasing substrate temperatures employed, as observed from the atomic force microscopy analysis. - Highlights: • RF magnetron sputtering is a good alternative method to deposit Ni films. • Properties of Ni films could be controlled simply by tuning substrate temperatures. • Crystallite size and surface roughness increased with substrate temperatures. • Electrical resistivity reduced with increasing substrate temperatures. • Optical properties also changed with substrate temperatures.

  19. Improved electrochemical properties of morphology-controlled titania/titanate nanostructures prepared by in-situ hydrothermal surface modification of self-source Ti substrate for high-performance supercapacitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banerjee, Arghya Narayan; Anitha, V C; Joo, Sang W

    2017-10-16

    Ti substrate surface is modified into two-dimensional (2D) TiO 2 nanoplatelet or one-dimensional (1D) nanorod/nanofiber (or a mixture of both) structure in a controlled manner via a simple KOH-based hydrothermal technique. Depending on the KOH concentration, different types of TiO 2 nanostructures (2D platelets, 1D nanorods/nanofibers and a 2D+1D mixed sample) are fabricated directly onto the Ti substrate surface. The novelty of this technique is the in-situ modification of the self-source Ti surface into titania nanostructures, and its direct use as the electrochemical microelectrode without any modifications. This leads to considerable improvement in the interfacial properties between metallic Ti and semiconducting TiO 2 . Since interfacial states/defects have profound effect on charge transport properties of electronic/electrochemical devices, therefore this near-defect-free interfacial property of Ti-TiO 2 microelectrode has shown high supercapacitive performances for superior charge-storage devices. Additionally, by hydrothermally tuning the morphology of titania nanostructures, the electrochemical properties of the electrodes are also tuned. A Ti-TiO 2 electrode comprising of a mixture of 2D-platelet+1D-nanorod structure reveals very high specific capacitance values (~7.4 mF.cm -2 ) due to the unique mixed morphology which manifests higher active sites (hence, higher utilization of the active materials) in terms of greater roughness at the 2D-platelet structures and higher surface-to-volume-ratio in the 1D-nanorod structures.

  20. Studies on the Optical Properties and Surface Morphology of Cobalt Phthalocyanine Thin Films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benny Joseph

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Thin films of Cobalt Phthalocyanine (CoPc are fabricated at a base pressure of 10-5 m.bar using Hind-Hivac thermal evaporation plant. The films are deposited on to glass substrates at various temperatures 318, 363, 408 and 458K. The optical absorption spectra of these thin films are measured. The present studies reveal that the optical band gap energies of CoPc thin films are almost same on substrate temperature variation. The structure and surface morphology of the films deposited on glass substrates of temperatures 303, 363 and 458K are studied using X-ray diffractograms and Scanning Electron Micrographs (SEM, which show that there is a change in the crystallinity and surface morphology due to change in the substrate temperatures. Full width at half maximum (FWHM intensity of the diffraction peaks is also found reduced with increasing substrate temperatures. Scanning electron micrographs show that these crystals are needle like, which are interconnected at high substrate temperatures. The optical band gap energy is almost same on substrate temperature variation. Trap energy levels are also observed for these films.

  1. Simultaneous formation of multiscale hierarchical surface morphologies through sequential wrinkling and folding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yu; Sun, Qingyang; Xiao, Jianliang

    2018-02-01

    Highly organized hierarchical surface morphologies possess various intriguing properties that could find important potential applications. In this paper, we demonstrate a facile approach to simultaneously form multiscale hierarchical surface morphologies through sequential wrinkling. This method combines surface wrinkling induced by thermal expansion and mechanical strain on a three-layer structure composed of an aluminum film, a hard Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film, and a soft PDMS substrate. Deposition of the aluminum film on hard PDMS induces biaxial wrinkling due to thermal expansion mismatch, and recovering the prestrain in the soft PDMS substrate leads to wrinkling of the hard PDMS film. In total, three orders of wrinkling patterns form in this process, with wavelength and amplitude spanning 3 orders of magnitude in length scale. By increasing the prestrain in the soft PDMS substrate, a hierarchical wrinkling-folding structure was also obtained. This approach can be easily extended to other thin films for fabrication of multiscale hierarchical surface morphologies with potential applications in different areas.

  2. Influence of substrates on nitrogen removal performance and microbiology of anaerobic ammonium oxidation by operating two UASB reactors fed with different substrate levels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang Chongjian; Zheng Ping; Hu Baolan; Chen Jianwei; Wang Caihua

    2010-01-01

    Both ammonium and nitrite act as substrates as well as potential inhibitors of anoxic ammonium-oxidizing (Anammox) bacteria. To satisfy demand of substrates for Anammox bacteria and to prevent substrate inhibition simultaneously; two strategies, namely high or low substrate concentration, were carefully compared in the operation of two Anammox upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors fed with different substrate concentrations. The reactor working at relatively low influent substrate concentration (NO 2 - N, 240 mg-N L -1 ) was shown to avoid the inhibition caused by nitrite and free ammonia. Using the strategy of low substrate concentration, a record super high volumetric nitrogen removal rate of 45.24 kg-N m -3 day -1 was noted after the operation of 230 days. To our knowledge, such a high value has not been reported previously. The evidence from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that the morphology and ultrastructure of the Anammox cells in both the reactor enrichments was different.

  3. Influence of substrates on nitrogen removal performance and microbiology of anaerobic ammonium oxidation by operating two UASB reactors fed with different substrate levels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tang Chongjian [Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029 (China); Zheng Ping, E-mail: pzheng@zju.edu.cn [Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029 (China); Hu Baolan; Chen Jianwei; Wang Caihua [Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029 (China)

    2010-09-15

    Both ammonium and nitrite act as substrates as well as potential inhibitors of anoxic ammonium-oxidizing (Anammox) bacteria. To satisfy demand of substrates for Anammox bacteria and to prevent substrate inhibition simultaneously; two strategies, namely high or low substrate concentration, were carefully compared in the operation of two Anammox upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors fed with different substrate concentrations. The reactor working at relatively low influent substrate concentration (NO{sub 2}{sup -}N, 240 mg-N L{sup -1}) was shown to avoid the inhibition caused by nitrite and free ammonia. Using the strategy of low substrate concentration, a record super high volumetric nitrogen removal rate of 45.24 kg-N m{sup -3} day{sup -1} was noted after the operation of 230 days. To our knowledge, such a high value has not been reported previously. The evidence from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that the morphology and ultrastructure of the Anammox cells in both the reactor enrichments was different.

  4. Confinement induced ordering in dewetting of ultra-thin polymer bilayers on nanopatterned substrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhandaru, Nandini; Das, Anuja; Mukherjee, Rabibrata

    2016-01-14

    We report the dewetting of a thin bilayer of polystyrene (PS) and poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) on a topographically patterned nonwettable substrate comprising an array of pillars, arranged in a square lattice. With a gradual increase in the concentration of the PMMA solution (Cn-PMMA), the morphology of the bottom layer changes to: (1) an aligned array of spin dewetted droplets arranged along substrate grooves at very low Cn-PMMA; (2) an interconnected network of threads surrounding each pillar at intermediate Cn-PMMA; and (3) a continuous bottom layer at higher Cn-PMMA. On the other hand the morphology of the PS top layer depends largely on the nature of the pre-existing bottom layer, in addition to Cn-PS. An ordered array of PMMA core-PS shell droplets forms right after spin coating when both Cn-PMMA and Cn-PS are very low. Bilayers with all other initial configurations evolve during thermal annealing, resulting in a variety of ordered structures. Unique morphologies realized include laterally coexisting structures of the two polymers confined within the substrate grooves due to initial rupture of the bottom layer on the substrate followed by a squeezing flow of the top layer; an array of core-shell and single polymer droplets arranged in an alternating order etc., to highlight a few. Such structures cannot be fabricated by any stand-alone lithography technique. On the other hand, in some cases the partially dewetted bottom layer imparts stability to an intact top PS layer against dewetting. Apart from ordering, under certain specific conditions significant miniaturization and downsizing of dewetted feature periodicity and dimension as compared to dewetting of a single layer on a flat substrate is observed. With the help of a morphology phase diagram we show that ordering is achieved over a wide combination of Cn-PMMA and Cn-PS, though the morphology and dewetting pathway differs significantly with variation in the thickness of the individual layers.

  5. Preparation of MgO Films as Buffer Layers by Laser-ablation at Various Substrate Temperatures

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    LI Ling; WANG Chuanbin; WANG Fang; SHEN Qiang; ZHANG Lianmeng

    2011-01-01

    MgO thin films were deposited on Si(100) substrates by laser ablation under various substrate temperatures (Tsub),expecting to provide a candidate buffer layer for the textured growth of functional perovskite oxide films on Si substrates.The effect of Tsub on the preferred orientation,crystallinity and surface morphology of the films was investigated.MgO films in single-phase were obtained at 473-973 K.With increasing Tsub,the preferred orientation of the films changed from (200) to (111).The crystallinity and surface morphology was different too,depending on Tsub·At Tsub=673 K,the MgO film became uniform and smooth,exhibiting high crystallinity and a dense texture.

  6. Stimulatory effect of undecylenic acid on mouse osteoblast differentiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Myung Hee; Shim, Ki Shuk; Lee, Su-Ui; Kim, Young Sup; Min, Yong Ki; Kim, Seong Hwan

    2010-04-01

    Natural compounds with bone-forming (or anabolic) activity have been recently focused on in bone research. The present study investigated the effect of undecylenic acid (UA) on osteoblast differentiation in mouse osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 subclone 4 cells and primary mouse calvarial cells. Low concentrations of UA (up to 5 microM) exhibited no cytotoxicity and significantly increased the expression and activity of alkaline phosphatase (early differentiation marker of osteoblast) and calcium deposition with the induction of expression of the osteocalcin gene in both cells. Interestingly, at low concentration of UA, the induction of NF-kappaB p65 translocation into nucleus and the up-regulation of AP-1 and NFATc1 transcript levels were also observed, suggesting that the stimulatory effect of UA on osteoblast differentiation could be mediated through the activation of transcription factors. Additionally, although the patterns of UA-induced activation of MAP kinases (JNK and p38) were not completely consistent with the increase of both ALP activity and calcium deposition by UA, MAP kinases might be partially involved in the biological function of UA during the early and late stages of osteoblast differentiation. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  7. Chemically Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes as Substrates for Neuronal Growth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Hui; Ni, Yingchun; Montana, Vedrana; Haddon, Robert C.; Parpura, Vladimir

    2009-01-01

    We report the use of chemically modified carbon nanotubes as a substrate for cultured neurons. The morphological features of neurons that directly reflect their potential capability in synaptic transmission are characterized. The chemical properties of carbon nanotubes are systematically varied by attaching different functional groups that confer known characteristics to the substrate. By manipulating the charge carried by functionalized carbon nanotubes we are able to control the outgrowth and branching pattern of neuronal processes. PMID:21394241

  8. The adhesion and tribology analysis of polycrystalline diamond coated on Si3N4 substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamzah, E.; Purniawan, A.

    2007-01-01

    Cauliflower and octahedral structure of polycrystalline diamond was deposited on silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 ) substrate by microwave plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition (MPACVD). In our earlier work, the effects of deposition parameters namely, % Methane (CH 4 ) diluted in hydrogen (H 2 ), microwave power and chamber pressure on surface morphology were studied. In the present work the polycrystalline diamond coating adhesion and tribology behaviour were investigated. Rockwell C hardness tester and pin-on-disk tribometer were used to determine the adhesion and tribology properties on diamond coating, respectively. The morphology of the diamond before and after indentation was observed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Based on the adhesion analysis results, it was found that octahedral morphology has better adhesion than cauliflower structure. It was indicated by few cracks and less peel-off than cauliflower structure of polycrystalline diamond after indentation. Based on tribology analysis, polycrystalline diamond coated on substrate has better tribology properties than uncoated substrate. (author)

  9. Influence factors of human T lymphocyte co-stimulatory effect in vitro

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Jianhua; Su Liaoyuan; Tong Jian; Xue Lian

    2000-01-01

    Objective: Effects of CD3 McAb, CD28 McAb, PHA and low-dose γ-ray irradiation on T lymphocytes were investigated to explore factors of influencing T cell signals transduction. Method: Using CD3 McAb and CD28 McAb mimicking as the first and the second signals, and using PHA and low dose γ-rays irradiation as stimulatory factors in T cell activation, the influences of these factors and the two signals on human lymphocyte proliferation response were studied with 3 H-thymidine incorporation. Results: Lymphocyte proliferation response occurred when the two signals were treated co-stimulation or within certain intervals (within 40h). PHA and 10 cGy γ-rays irradiation can also activate lymphocytes to proliferate. However, each of the two signals alone did not activate lymphocytes to proliferate. Conclusion: CD3 McAb, CD28 McAb, PHA and low-dose γ-rays irradiation could stimulate T lymphocyte proliferation, which is an important aspect in cellular immune regulation

  10. Radiation hormesis. Stimulatory effects of low level ionizing radiation on plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kinoshita, Shigenobu; Masui, Hisashi; Yoshida, Shigeo; Murata, Isao [Osaka Univ., Suita (Japan). Faculty of Engineering

    1999-04-01

    Recently, the study for radiation hormesis has been executed against animals and plants; subharmful doses of radiation may evoke a stimulatory response in any organism. We executed irradiating experiments of dry seeds with fusion (D-T) neutron, fission neutron, cobalt-60 gamma-ray and investigated existence of the radiation hormesis effects by measuring germination, the length of a stalk and the total weight of a seed leaf on the 7th day after starting cultivation. And we estimated radiation hormesis effects by relative effectiveness, the ratio of the mean value of measurement subjects for the irradiated group to that of non-irradiated group. In relation to Raphanus sativus, the hormesis effects on seed leaf growth from irradiated seeds have only turned up in seed groups irradiated by the fusion (D-T) neutron. We have confirmed that absorbed dose range which revealed the effects is from 1 cGy to 10 Gy and the increasing rate is from 5 percent to 25 percent against a control group. (author)

  11. Morphology determination of small particles by electron microscopy and electrical conduction measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Robrieux, B.; Desrousseaux, G.; Renou, A.; Gillet, M.

    1989-01-01

    In this paper, we show that it is possible to deduce the actual morphology of small particle condensed onto an insulator by combining the granularity analysis from electron micrographs and the electrical sheet conductance of the deposit on its substrate. Assuming the particles are truncated ellipsoids, we determine the excentricity and the contact angle with the substrate for Au on amorphous carbon and MgO substrates. (orig.)

  12. The effect of the In concentration on the surface morphology of InGaAs-GaAs heterostructures grown by MBE on GaAs substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gómez-Barojas, E; Serrano-Rojas, R M; Rodríguez-Moreno, M A; Santamaría-Juárez, G; Silva-González, R; a. Sección, San Luis Potosí, S. L. P., 78100 (Mexico))" data-affiliation=" (Instituto de Investigación en Comunicación Óptica. Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Av. Karakorum 1470, Col. Lomas Altas 4a. Sección, San Luis Potosí, S. L. P., 78100 (Mexico))" >Vidal-Borbolla, M A

    2014-01-01

    A set of 3 heterostructures were formed by 10 periods of InGaAs-GaAs epitaxially grown on GaAs substrate by means of a molecular beam epitaxial system. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) cross section images at high magnification show that the heterostructures present good periodicity. SEM micrographs of the surface morphology chemically etched show the coalescence effect of In due to an unequal etching rate of In and GaAs. Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) depth profiles show that the first GaAs layers in the 3 samples are off-stoichiometric and that the alloy layers present In square and triangular depth profiles

  13. Effect of substrate temperature on the morphological, structural, and optical properties of RF sputtered Ge1−x Snx films on Si substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mahmodi, H; Hashim, M R

    2017-01-01

    In this study, Ge 1−x Sn x alloy films are co-sputtered on Si(100) substrates using RF magnetron sputtering at different substrate temperatures. Scanning electron micrographs, atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy, and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) are conducted to investigate the effect of substrate temperature on the structural and optical properties of grown GeSn alloy films. AFM results show that RMS surface roughness of the films increases from 1.02 to 2.30 nm when raising the substrate temperature. This increase could be due to Sn surface segregation that occurs when raising the substrate temperature. Raman spectra exhibits the lowest FWHM value and highest phonon intensity for a film sputtered at 140 °C. The spectra show that decreasing the deposition temperature to 140 °C improves the crystalline quality of the alloy films and increases nanocrystalline phase formation. The results of Raman spectra and XPS confirm Ge–Sn bond formation. The optoelectronic characteristics of fabricated metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors on sputtered samples at room temperature (RT) and 140 °C are studied in the dark and under illumination. The sample sputtered at 140 °C performs better than the RT sputtered sample. (paper)

  14. α-Glucosidase and pancreatic lipase inhibitory activities and glucose uptake stimulatory effect of phenolic compounds from Dendrobium formosum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prachyaporn Inthongkaew

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT A methanol extract from the whole plant of Dendrobium formosum Roxb. ex Lindl., Orchidaceae, showed inhibitory potential against α-glucosidase and pancreatic lipase enzymes. Chromatographic separation of the extract resulted in the isolation of twelve phenolic compounds. The structures of these compounds were determined through analysis of NMR and HR-ESI-MS data. All of the isolates were evaluated for their α-glucosidase and pancreatic lipase inhibitory activities, as well as glucose uptake stimulatory effect. Among the isolates, 5-methoxy-7-hydroxy-9,10-dihydro-1,4-phenanthrenequinone (12 showed the highest α-glucosidase and pancreatic lipase inhibitory effects with an IC50 values of 126.88 ± 0.66 µM and 69.45 ± 10.14 µM, respectively. An enzyme kinetics study was conducted by the Lineweaver-Burk plot method. The kinetics studies revealed that compound 12 was a non-competitive inhibitor of α-glucosidase and pancreatic lipase enzymes. Moreover, lusianthridin at 1 and 10 µg/ml and moscatilin at 100 µg/ml showed glucose uptake stimulatory effect without toxicity on L6 myotubes. This study is the first report on the phytochemical constituents and anti-diabetic and anti-obesity activities of D. formosum.

  15. Mapping the Complex Morphology of Cell Interactions with Nanowire Substrates Using FIB-SEM

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wierzbicki, Rafal; Købler, Carsten; Jensen, Mikkel Ravn Boye

    2013-01-01

    Using high resolution focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) we study the details of cell-nanostructure interactions using serial block face imaging. 3T3 Fibroblast cellular monolayers are cultured on flat glass as a control surface and on two types of nanostructured scaffold...... substrates made from silicon black (Nanograss) with low- and high nanowire density. After culturing for 72 hours the cells were fixed, heavy metal stained, embedded in resin, and processed with FIB-SEM block face imaging without removing the substrate. The sample preparation procedure, image acquisition...

  16. Effect of sintering temperature on the morphology and mechanical properties of PTFE membranes as a base substrate for proton exchange membrane

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nor Aida Zubir

    2002-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports the development of PTFE membranes as the base substrates for producing proton exchange membrane by using radiation-grafting technique. An aqueous dispersion of PTFE, which includes sodium benzoate, is cast in order to form suitable membranes. The casting was done by usinga pneumatically controlled flat sheet membrane-casting machine. The membrane is then sintered to fuse the polymer particles and cooled. After cooling process, the salt crystals are leached from the membrane by dissolution in hot bath to leave a microporous structure, which is suitable for such uses as a filtration membrane or as a base substrate for radiation grafted membrane in PEMFC. The effects of sintering temperature on the membrane morphology and tensile strength were investigated at 350oC and 385oC by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM and EX 20, respectively. The pore size and total void space are significantly smaller at higher sintering temperature employed with an average pore diameter of 11.78 nm. The tensile strength and tensile strain of sintered PTFE membrane at 385oC are approximately 19.02 + 1.46 MPa and 351.04 + 23.13 %, respectively. These results were indicated at 385oC, which represents significant improvements in tensile strength and tensile strain, which are nearly twice those at 350oC.

  17. Quantification of Valleys of Randomly Textured Substrates as a Function of Opening Angle: Correlation to the Defect Density in Intrinsic nc-Si:H.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Do Yun; Hänni, Simon; Schüttauf, Jan-Willem; van Swaaij, René A C M M; Zeman, Miro

    2016-08-17

    Optical and electrical properties of hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) solar cells are strongly influenced by the morphology of underlying substrates. By texturing the substrates, the photogenerated current of nc-Si:H solar cells can increase due to enhanced light scattering. These textured substrates are, however, often incompatible with defect-less nc-Si:H growth resulting in lower Voc and FF. In this study we investigate the correlation between the substrate morphology, the nc-Si:H solar-cell performance, and the defect density in the intrinsic layer of the solar cells (i-nc-Si:H). Statistical surface parameters representing the substrate morphology do not show a strong correlation with the solar-cell parameters. Thus, we first quantify the line density of potentially defective valleys of randomly textured ZnO substrates where the opening angle is smaller than 130° (ρdrops. It is also observed that ρdefect increases following a power law dependence of ρ<130. This result is attributed to more frequently formed defective regions for substrates having higher ρ<130.

  18. Evolution effects of the copper surface morphology on the nucleation density and growth of graphene domains at different growth pressures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hedayat, Seyed Mahdi [Transport Phenomena & Nanotechnology Lab., School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Karimi-Sabet, Javad, E-mail: j_karimi@alum.sharif.edu [NFCRS, Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Shariaty-Niassar, Mojtaba, E-mail: mshariat@ut.ac.ir [Transport Phenomena & Nanotechnology Lab., School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2017-03-31

    Highlights: • Manipulation of the Cu surface morphology in a wide range by electropolishing treatment. • Comparison of the nucleation density of graphene at low pressure and atmospheric pressure CVD processes. • Controlling the evolution of the Cu surface morphology inside a novel confined space. • Growth of large-size graphene domains. - Abstract: In this work, we study the influence of the surface morphology of the catalytic copper substrate on the nucleation density and the growth rate of graphene domains at low and atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD and APCVD) processes. In order to obtain a wide range of initial surface morphology, precisely controlled electropolishing methods were developed to manipulate the roughntreess value of the as-received Cu substrate (RMS = 30 nm) to ultra-rough (RMS = 130 nm) and ultra-smooth (RMS = 2 nm) surfaces. The nucleation and growth of graphene domains show obviously different trends at LPCVD and APCVD conditions. In contrast to APCVD condition, the nucleation density of graphene domains is almost equal in substrates with different initial roughness values at LPCVD condition. We show that this is due to the evolution of the surface morphology of the Cu substrate during the graphene growth steps. By stopping the surface sublimation of copper substrate in a confined space saturated with Cu atoms, the evolution of the Cu surface was impeded. This results in the reduction of the nucleation density of graphene domains up to 24 times in the pre-smoothed Cu substrates at LPCVD condition.

  19. Evolution effects of the copper surface morphology on the nucleation density and growth of graphene domains at different growth pressures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hedayat, Seyed Mahdi; Karimi-Sabet, Javad; Shariaty-Niassar, Mojtaba

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Manipulation of the Cu surface morphology in a wide range by electropolishing treatment. • Comparison of the nucleation density of graphene at low pressure and atmospheric pressure CVD processes. • Controlling the evolution of the Cu surface morphology inside a novel confined space. • Growth of large-size graphene domains. - Abstract: In this work, we study the influence of the surface morphology of the catalytic copper substrate on the nucleation density and the growth rate of graphene domains at low and atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD and APCVD) processes. In order to obtain a wide range of initial surface morphology, precisely controlled electropolishing methods were developed to manipulate the roughntreess value of the as-received Cu substrate (RMS = 30 nm) to ultra-rough (RMS = 130 nm) and ultra-smooth (RMS = 2 nm) surfaces. The nucleation and growth of graphene domains show obviously different trends at LPCVD and APCVD conditions. In contrast to APCVD condition, the nucleation density of graphene domains is almost equal in substrates with different initial roughness values at LPCVD condition. We show that this is due to the evolution of the surface morphology of the Cu substrate during the graphene growth steps. By stopping the surface sublimation of copper substrate in a confined space saturated with Cu atoms, the evolution of the Cu surface was impeded. This results in the reduction of the nucleation density of graphene domains up to 24 times in the pre-smoothed Cu substrates at LPCVD condition.

  20. Growth and characterization of AlxGa1-xN LEO substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paek, H.S.; Sakong, T.; Lee, S.N.; Son, J.K.; Ryu, H.Y.; Nam, O.H.; Park, Y.

    2006-01-01

    We have studied the effect of Al composition on the properties of Al x Ga 1-x N LEO substrates. Al x Ga 1-x N LEO substrates were prepared on stripe-patterned 2μm-thick undoped GaN/sapphire substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. To investigate the dislocation and crack density, and the surface morphology of Al x Ga 1-x N LEO substrates with different Al compositions, photoluminescence and optical microscope were used. At a 1% of Al composition, we obtained crack-free and mirror-like substrates having a low dislocation density of ∼1E6cm -2 . We expect considerable reduction in threshold current density to be achieved from blue-violet laser diodes grown on Al x Ga 1-x N LEO substrates because of the increased optical gain, as compared to the laser diodes grown on Al-free LEO substrates

  1. Influence of substrate and film thickness on polymer LIPSS formation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cui, Jing; Nogales, Aurora; Ezquerra, Tiberio A. [Instituto de Estructura de la Materia (IEM-CSIC), Serrano 121, Madrid 28006 (Spain); Rebollar, Esther, E-mail: e.rebollar@csic.es [Instituto de Química Física Rocasolano (IQFR-CSIC), Serrano 119, Madrid 28006 (Spain)

    2017-02-01

    Highlights: • The estimation of temperature upon pulse accumulation shows that a small positive offset is caused by each individual pulse. • Number of pulses needed for LIPSS formation in PS thin films depends on polymer thickness. • Thermal conductivity and diffusivity of supporting substrate influence the onset for LIPSS formation and their quality. • Quality of LIPSS is affected by the substrate optical properties. - Abstract: Here we focus on the influence of both, substrate and film thickness on polymer Laser Induced Periodic Surface Structures (LIPSS) formation in polymer films. For this aim a morphological description of ripples structures generated on spin-coated polystyrene (PS) films by a linearly polarized laser beam with a wavelength of 266 nm is presented. The influence of different parameters on the quality and characteristics of the formed laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) was investigated. We found that well-ordered LIPSS are formed either on PS films thinner than 200 nm or thicker than 400 nm supported on silicon substrates as well as on thicker free standing films. However less-ordered ripples are formed on silicon supported films with intermediate thicknesses in the range of 200–380 nm. The effect of the thermal and optical properties of the substrate on the quality of LIPSS was analyzed. Differences observed in the fluence and number of pulses needed for the onset of surface morphological modifications is explained considering two main effects which are: (1) The temperature increase on polymer surface induced by the action of cumulative laser irradiation and (2) The differences in thermal conductivity between the polymer and the substrate which strongly affect the heat dissipation generated by irradiation.

  2. Size- and morphology-dependent optical properties of ZnS:Al one-dimensional structures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zeng, Xianghua, E-mail: xhzeng@yzu.edu.cn; Yan, Shunjun; Cui, Jieya; Liu, Hongfei; Dong, Jing; Xia, Weiwei; Zhou, Min; Chen, Haitao [Yangzhou University, School of Physics Science and Technology & Institute of Optoelectronic Technology (China)

    2015-04-15

    Typical morphology substrates can improve the efficiency of surface-enhanced Raman scattering; the need for SERS substrates of controlled morphology requires an extensive study. In this paper, one-dimensional ZnS:Al nanostructures with the width of approximately 300 nm and the length of tens um, and micro-scale structures with the width of several um and the length of tens um were synthesized via thermal evaporation on Au-coated silicon substrates and were used to study their size effects on Raman scattering and photoluminescent spectra. The photoluminescence spectra reveal the strongest green emission at a 5 at% Al source, which originates from the Al-dopant emission. The Raman spectra reveal that the size and morphology of the ZnS:Al nanowires greatly influences the Raman scattering, whereas the Al-dopant concentration has a lesser effect on the Raman scattering. The observed Raman scattering intensity of the saw-like ZnS:Al nanowires with the width of tens nm was eight times larger than that of the bulk sample. The enhanced Raman scattering can be regarded as multiple scattering and weak exciton—phonon coupling. The branched one-dimensional nanostructure can be used as an ideal substrate to enhance Raman scattering.

  3. Electric field stimulation through a substrate influences Schwann cell and extracellular matrix structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Hieu T.; Wei, Claudia; Chow, Jacqueline K.; Nguy, Lindsey; Nguyen, Hieu K.; Schmidt, Christine E.

    2013-08-01

    Objective. Electric field (EF) stimulation has been used to cue cell growth for tissue engineering applications. In this study, we explore the electrical parameters and extracellular mechanisms that elicit changes in cell behavior when stimulated through the substrate. Approach. Rat Schwann cell morphology was compared when exposed to EF through the media or a conductive indium tin oxide substrate. Ionic and structural effects were then analyzed on Matrigel and collagen I, respectively. Main results. When stimulating through media, cells had greater alignment perpendicular to the EF with higher current densities (106 mA cm-2 at 245 mV mm-1), and reached maximum alignment within 8 h. Stimulation through the substrate with EF (up to 110 mV mm-1) did not affect Schwann cell orientation, however the EF caused extracellular matrix (ECM) coatings on substrates to peel away, suggesting EF can physically change the ECM. Applying alternating current (ac) 2-1000 Hz signals through the media or substrate both caused cells to flatten and protrude many processes, without preferential alignment. Matrigel exposed to a substrate EF of 10 mV mm-1 for 2 h had a greater calcium concentration near the cathode, but quickly dissipated when the EF was removed. Schwann cells seeded 7 d after gels were exposed to substrate EF still aligned perpendicular to the EF direction. Microscopy of collagen I exposed to substrate EF shows alignment and bundling of fibrils. Significance. These findings demonstrate EF exposure can control Schwann cell alignment and morphology, change ECM bulk/surface architecture, and align ECM structures.

  4. Sonochemically synthesized Ag nanoparticles as a SERS active substrate and effect of surfactant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dar, Nitzan, E-mail: n58987012@mail.ncku.edu.tw [Department of Material Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101 Taiwan (China); Chen, Kuang-Yu [Department of Material Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101 Taiwan (China); Nien, Yung-Tang, E-mail: ytnien@nfu.edu.tw [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Formosa University, Huwei, Yunlin 63201, Taiwan (China); Perkas, Nina [Institute of nanotechnology and advanced materials, Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002 (Israel); Gedanken, Aharon, E-mail: Aharon.Gedanken@biu.ac.il [Institute of nanotechnology and advanced materials, Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002 (Israel); Chen, In-Gann, E-mail: ingann@mail.ncku.edu.tw [Department of Material Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101 Taiwan (China)

    2015-03-15

    Highlights: • Solid state Ag SERS active substrates were sonochemically synthesized. • High intensity SERS spectra of both crystal violet and rhodamine 6G were observed. • We discovered that PVP aided synthesized substrates showed higher SERS intensity. - Abstract: Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) enables the detection of substances at low concentrations using silver or gold nanostructure. The SERS technique has many applications, such as environmental detection and biosensing. Sonochemistry is an excellent and cheap deposition technique for coating substrates in a form of nanostructure at ambient temperature. It can also be utilized to prepare large SERS substrates. Here, we used the advantages of sonochemistry to deposit solid SERS substrates immobilized on GaN nanostructure. Morphology was studied by scanning electron microscopy. The elemental composition and the spatial distribution were examined by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The crystal structure and atomic presence was confirmed by X-ray diffraction. SERS substrates were examined with the analytes crystal violet (10{sup −5} M) and rhodamine 6G (10{sup −6} M), they showed prominent characteristic peaks. We discovered that the SERS intensity of poly-vinyl-pyrrolidinone aided sonochemical deposition of Ag nanoparticles was increased. The reason for the effect is morphological changes of the Ag nanoparticles. Smaller nanoparticles were fabricated, which increase their SERS intensity.

  5. Effects of substrate material on carbon films grown by laser molecular beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, M.; Xu, X.Y.; Man, B.Y.; Kong, D.M.; Xu, S.C.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► We prepared tri-layers by laser molecular beam epitaxy (LMBE) on sapphire substrate. ► We found that the formation of the graphene film has a strong relation to the structure and properties of the substrate. ► The different carbon film formation mechanism of the buffer layers can affect the morphology of the film. - Abstract: The carbon thin films were grown on different substrates with different buffer layers by laser molecular beam epitaxy (LMBE) with a high purity graphite carbon target. A UV pulsed KrF excimer laser with a wavelength of 248 nm was used as laser source. The structure, surface morphology and other properties of the carbon thin films were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results show that the properties of the carbon thin films and the formation of the graphene film have a strong relation to the structure and properties of the substrate. The substrate with a hexagonal wurtzite structure which is similar to the hexagonal honeycomb structure of the carbon atoms arranged in the graphene is more beneficial for the formation of the graphene thin film. In our experiment conditions, the carbon films grown on sapphire substrates with different buffer layers have an ordered structure and a smooth surface, and form high quality tri-layer graphene films.

  6. Deciphering cellular morphology and biocompatibility using polymer microarrays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pernagallo, Salvatore; Unciti-Broceta, Asier; DIaz-Mochon, Juan Jose; Bradley, Mark

    2008-01-01

    A quantitative and qualitative analysis of cellular adhesion, morphology and viability is essential in understanding and designing biomaterials such as those involved in implant surfaces or as tissue-engineering scaffolds. As a means to simultaneously perform these studies in a high-throughput (HT) manner, we report a normalized protocol which allows the rapid analysis of a large number of potential cell binding substrates using polymer microarrays and high-content fluorescence microscopy. The method was successfully applied to the discovery of optimal polymer substrates from a 214-member polyurethane library with mouse fibroblast cells (L929), as well as simultaneous evaluation of cell viability and cellular morphology. Analysis demonstrated high biocompatibility of the binding polymers and permitted the identification of several different cellular morphologies, showing that specific polymer interactions may provoke changes in cell shape. In addition, SAR studies showed a clear correspondence between cellular adhesion and polymer structure. The approach can be utilized to perform multiple experiments (up to 1024 single experiments per slide) in a highly reproducible manner, leading to the generation of vast amounts of data in a short time period (48-72 h) while reducing dramatically the quantities of polymers, reagents and cells used

  7. Functionalization of nanotextured substrates for enhanced identification of metastatic breast cancer cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mansur, Nuzhat; Raziul Hasan, Mohammad; Kim, Young-tae; Iqbal, Samir M.

    2017-09-01

    Metastasis is the major cause of low survival rates among cancer patients. Once cancer cells metastasize, it is extremely difficult to contain the disease. We report on a nanotextured platform for enhanced detection of metastatic cells. We captured metastatic (MDA-MDB-231) and non-metastatic (MCF-7) breast cancer cells on anti-EGFR aptamer modified plane and nanotextured substrates. Metastatic cells were seen to change their morphology at higher rates when captured on nanotextured substrates than on plane substrates. Analysis showed statistically different morphological behaviors of metastatic cells that were very pronounced on the nanotextured substrates. Several distance matrices were calculated to quantify the dissimilarity of cell shape change. Nanotexturing increased the dissimilarity of the metastatic cells and as a result the contrast between metastatic and non-metastatic cells increased. Jaccard distance measurements found that the shape change ratio of the non-metastatic and metastatic cells was enhanced from 1:1.01 to 1:1.81, going from plane to nanotextured substrates. The shape change ratio of the non-metastatic to metastatic cells improved from 1:1.48 to 1:2.19 for the Hausdorff distance and from 1:1.87 to 1:4.69 for the Mahalanobis distance after introducing nanotexture. Distance matrix analysis showed that nanotexture increased the shape change ratios of non-metastatic and metastatic cells. Hence, the detectability of metastatic cells increased. These calculated matrices provided clear and explicit measures to discriminate single cells for their metastatic state on functional nanotextured substrates.

  8. Substrate Curvature Regulates Cell Migration -A Computational Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Xiuxiu; Jiang, Yi

    Cell migration in host microenvironment is essential to cancer etiology, progression and metastasis. Cellular processes of adhesion, cytoskeletal polymerization, contraction, and matrix remodeling act in concert to regulate cell migration, while local extracellular matrix architecture modulate these processes. In this work we study how stromal microenvironment with native and cell-derived curvature at micron-meter scale regulate cell motility pattern. We developed a 3D model of single cell migration on a curved substrate. Mathematical analysis of cell morphological adaption to the cell-substrate interface shows that cell migration on convex surfaces deforms more than on concave surfaces. Both analytical and simulation results show that curved surfaces regulate the cell motile force for cell's protruding front through force balance with focal adhesion and cell contraction. We also found that cell migration on concave substrates is more persistent. These results offer a novel biomechanical explanation to substrate curvature regulation of cell migration. NIH 1U01CA143069.

  9. Experimental investigation on photoelectric properties of ZAO thin film deposited on flexible substrate by magnetron sputtering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hao, Ming; Liu, Kun; Liu, Xinghua; Wang, Dongyang; Ba, Dechun; Xie, Yuanhua; Du, Guangyu; Ba, Yaoshuai

    2016-12-01

    Transparent conductive ZAO (Zinc Aluminum Oxide) films on flexible substrates have a great potential for low-cost mass-production solar cells. ZAO thin films were achieved on flexible PET (polyethylene terephthalate) substrates by RF magnetron sputtering technology. The surface morphology and element content, the transmittance and the sheet resistance of the films were measured to determine the optical process parameters. The results show that the ZAO thin film shows the best parameters in terms of photoelectric performance including sputtering power, working pressure, sputtering time, substrate temperature (100 W, 1.5 Pa, 60 min, 125 °C). The sheet resistance of 510 Ω and transmittance in visible region of 92% were obtained after characterization. Surface morphology was uniform and compact with a good crystal grain.

  10. Possible stimulatory effect of quercetin on secretion of selected pituitary hormones

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eva Tušimová

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Quercetin is found in various types of foods such as apples, red onions, grapes, berries, citrus fruits, cherries, broccoli, tea etc. It is characterized by antioxidative, anti-carcinogenic, bacteriostatic and anti-inflammatory effects on the animal organism. The aim of our study was to examine its effect on endocrine system of the rabbit in vivo. Twenty healthy adult female rabbits were divided into four groups (control group and three experimental groups. Various concentrations of quercetin (10, 100 and 1000 µg/kg body weight were intramuscularly administrated to rabbits in experimental groups during 30 days. A sensitive, biochemical method, ELISA was used to determine the concentrations of selected hormones (follicle-stimulating hormone - FSH, luteinizing hormone – LH, prolactin – PRL after 30 days of administration. Non-significant differences between groups were found after application of different quercetin concentrations. Stimulatory effect was observed on FSH secretion by higher dose of quercetin. Similarly, LH and PRL increased at concentration 100 µg/kg and 1000 µg/kg. Our results indicate the possible effect of quercetin on secretion of selected pituitary hormones.

  11. Surfactant-assisted synthesis of Ag nanostructures and their self-assembled films on copper and aluminum substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhuo Yujiang; Sun Wendong; Dong Lihong; Chu Ying

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, silver nanostructures with controlled morphologies, such as plates, rods, belts, sheets and their self-assembled films have been prepared on copper and aluminum substrates by a surfactant-assisted colloidal chemical method. The X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and the selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns indicated that the Ag nanostructures grew on the substrates with cubic symmetry and single-crystalline in nature. An oriented attachment with surfactant-assisted mechanism and a cooperative effect of surfactant and chloride ion on the morphology of Ag nanostructures were investigated systematically and synthetically.

  12. Cellular Morphology-Mediated Proliferation and Drug Sensitivity of Breast Cancer Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ryota Domura

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The interpretation of the local microenvironment of the extracellular matrix for malignant tumor cells is in intimate relation with metastatic spread of cancer cells involving the associated issues of cellular proliferation and drug responsiveness. This study was aimed to assess the combination of both surface topographies (fiber alignments and different stiffness of the polymeric substrates (poly(l-lactic acid and poly(ε-caprolactone, PLLA and PCL, respectively as well as collagen substrates (coat and gel to elucidate the effect of the cellular morphology on cellular proliferation and drug sensitivities of two different types of breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7. The morphological spreading parameter (nucleus/cytoplasm area ratio induced by the anthropogenic substrates has correlated intimately with the cellular proliferation and the drug sensitivity the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50 of cancer cells. This study demonstrated the promising results of the parameter for the evaluation of cancer cell malignancy.

  13. Cellular Morphology-Mediated Proliferation and Drug Sensitivity of Breast Cancer Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Domura, Ryota; Sasaki, Rie; Ishikawa, Yuma; Okamoto, Masami

    2017-06-06

    The interpretation of the local microenvironment of the extracellular matrix for malignant tumor cells is in intimate relation with metastatic spread of cancer cells involving the associated issues of cellular proliferation and drug responsiveness. This study was aimed to assess the combination of both surface topographies (fiber alignments) and different stiffness of the polymeric substrates (poly(l-lactic acid) and poly(ε-caprolactone), PLLA and PCL, respectively) as well as collagen substrates (coat and gel) to elucidate the effect of the cellular morphology on cellular proliferation and drug sensitivities of two different types of breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7). The morphological spreading parameter (nucleus/cytoplasm area ratio) induced by the anthropogenic substrates has correlated intimately with the cellular proliferation and the drug sensitivity the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) of cancer cells. This study demonstrated the promising results of the parameter for the evaluation of cancer cell malignancy.

  14. Surface morphology of amorphous germanium thin films following thermal outgassing of SiO2/Si substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Valladares, L. de los Santos; Dominguez, A. Bustamante; Llandro, J.; Holmes, S.; Quispe, O. Avalos; Langford, R.; Aguiar, J. Albino; Barnes, C.H.W.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Annealing promotes outgassing of SiO 2 /Si wafers. • Outgassing species embed in the a-Ge film forming bubbles. • The density of bubbles obtained by slow annealing is smaller than by rapid annealing. • The bubbles explode after annealing the samples at 800 °C. • Surface migration at higher temperatures forms polycrystalline GeO 2 islands. - Abstract: In this work we report the surface morphology of amorphous germanium (a-Ge) thin films (140 nm thickness) following thermal outgassing of SiO 2 /Si substrates. The thermal outgassing was performed by annealing the samples in air at different temperatures from 400 to 900 °C. Annealing at 400 °C in slow (2 °C/min) and fast (10 °C/min) modes promotes the formation of bubbles on the surface. A cross sectional view by transmission electron microscope taken of the sample slow annealed at 400 °C reveals traces of gas species embedded in the a-Ge film, allowing us to propose a possible mechanism for the formation of the bubbles. The calculated internal pressure and number of gas molecules for this sample are 30 MPa and 38 × 10 8 , respectively. Over an area of 22 × 10 −3 cm 2 the density of bubbles obtained at slow annealing (9 × 10 3 cm −2 ) is smaller than that at rapid annealing (6.4 × 10 4 cm −2 ), indicating that the amount of liberated gas in both cases is only a fraction of the total gas contained in the substrate. After increasing the annealing temperature in the slow mode, bubbles of different diameters (from tens of nanometers up to tens of micrometers) randomly distribute over the Ge film and they grow with temperature. Vertical diffusion of the outgas species through the film dominates the annealing temperature interval 400–600 °C, whereas coalescence of bubbles caused by lateral diffusion is detected after annealing at 700 °C. The bubbles explode after annealing the samples at 800 °C. Annealing at higher temperatures, such as 900 °C, leads to surface migration of the

  15. Surface morphology of erbium silicide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lau, S.S.; Pai, C.S.; Wu, C.S.; Kuech, T.F.; Liu, B.X.

    1982-01-01

    The surface of rare-earth silicides (Er, Tb, etc.), formed by the reaction of thin-film metal layers with a silicon substrate, is typically dominated by deep penetrating, regularly shaped pits. These pits may have a detrimental effect on the electronic performance of low Schottky barrier height diodes utilizing such silicides on n-type Si. This study suggests that contamination at the metal-Si or silicide-Si interface is the primary cause of surface pitting. Surface pits may be reduced in density or eliminated entirely through either the use of Si substrate surfaces prepared under ultrahigh vacuum conditions prior to metal deposition and silicide formation or by means of ion irradiation techniques. Silicide layers formed by these techniques possess an almost planar morphology

  16. Astragalar Morphology of Selected Giraffidae.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikos Solounias

    Full Text Available The artiodactyl astragalus has been modified to exhibit two trochleae, creating a double pullied structure allowing for significant dorso-plantar motion, and limited mediolateral motion. The astragalus structure is partly influenced by environmental substrates, and correspondingly, morphometric studies can yield paleohabitat information. The present study establishes terminology and describes detailed morphological features on giraffid astragali. Each giraffid astragalus exhibits a unique combination of anatomical characteristics. The giraffid astragalar morphologies reinforce previously established phylogenetic relationships. We find that the enlargement of the navicular head is a feature shared by all giraffids, and that the primitive giraffids possess exceptionally tall astragalar heads in relation to the total astragalar height. The sivatheres and the okapi share a reduced notch on the lateral edge of the astragalus. We find that Samotherium is more primitive in astragalar morphologies than Palaeotragus, which is reinforced by tooth characteristics and ossicone position. Diagnostic anatomical characters on the astragalus allow for giraffid species identifications and a better understanding of Giraffidae.

  17. Interfacial interactions between calcined hydroxyapatite nanocrystals and substrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okada, Masahiro; Furukawa, Keiko; Serizawa, Takeshi; Yanagisawa, Yoshihiko; Tanaka, Hidekazu; Kawai, Tomoji; Furuzono, Tsutomu

    2009-06-02

    Interfacial interactions between calcined hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanocrystals and surface-modified substrates were investigated by measuring adsorption behavior and adhesion strength with a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and a contact-mode atomic force microscope (AFM), respectively. The goal was to develop better control of HAp-nanocrystal coatings on biomedical materials. HAp nanocrystals with rodlike or spherical morphology were prepared by a wet chemical process followed by calcination at 800 degrees C with an antisintering agent to prevent the formation of sintered polycrystals. The substrate surface was modified by chemical reaction with a low-molecular-weight compound, or graft polymerization with a functional monomer. QCM measurement showed that the rodlike HAp nanocrystals adsorbed preferentially onto anionic COOH-modified substrates compared to cationic NH2- or hydrophobic CH3-modified substrates. On the other hand, the spherical nanocrystals adsorbed onto NH2- and COOH-modified substrates, which indicates that the surface properties of the HAp nanocrystals determined their adsorption behavior. The adhesion strength, which was estimated from the force required to move the nanocrystal in contact-mode AFM, on a COOH-grafted substrate prepared by graft polymerization was almost 9 times larger than that on a COOH-modified substrate prepared by chemical reaction with a low-molecular-weight compound, indicating that the long-chain polymer grafted on the substrate mitigated the surface roughness mismatch between the nanocrystal and the substrate. The adhesion strength of the nanocrystal bonded covalently by the coupling reaction to a Si(OCH3)-grafted substrate prepared by graft polymerization was approximately 1.5 times larger than that when adsorbed on the COOH-grafted substrate.

  18. Impact of structure and morphology of nanostructured ceria coating on AISI 304 oxidation kinetics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aadhavan, R.; Suresh Babu, K.

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Ceria coating reduced the oxidation kinetics of AISI304 by 3–4 orders. • Lower deposition rate (0.1 Å/s) resulted in dense and uniform coating. • Substrate temperature of 100 °C provided coating with smaller crystallite size. • Surface morphology of the coating has strong influence in oxidation protection. - Abstract: Nanostructured ceria-based coatings are shown to be protective against high-temperature oxidation of AISI 304 due to the dynamics of oxidation state and associated defects. However, the processing parameters of deposition have a strong influence in determining the structural and morphological aspects of ceria. The present work focuses on the effect of variation in substrate temperature (50–300 °C) and deposition rate (0.1–50 Å/s) of ceria in electron beam physical vapour evaporation method and correlates the changes in structure and morphology to high-temperature oxidation protection. Unlike deposition rate, substrate temperature exhibited a profound influence on crystallite size (7–18 nm) and oxygen vacancy concentration. Upon isothermal oxidation at 1243 K for 24 h, bare AISI 304 exhibited a linear mass gain with a rate constant of 3.0 ± 0.03 × 10"−"3 kg"2 m"−"4 s"−"1 while ceria coating lowered the kinetics by 3–4 orders. Though the thickness of the coating was kept constant at 2 μm, higher deposition rate offered one order lower protection due to the porous nature of the coating. Variation in the substrate temperature modulated the porosity as well as oxygen vacancy concentration and displayed the best protection for coatings deposited at moderate substrate temperature. The present work demonstrates the significance of selecting appropriate processing parameters to obtain the required morphology for efficient high-temperature oxidation protection.

  19. Impact of structure and morphology of nanostructured ceria coating on AISI 304 oxidation kinetics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aadhavan, R.; Suresh Babu, K., E-mail: sureshbabu.nst@pondiuni.edu.in

    2017-07-31

    Highlights: • Ceria coating reduced the oxidation kinetics of AISI304 by 3–4 orders. • Lower deposition rate (0.1 Å/s) resulted in dense and uniform coating. • Substrate temperature of 100 °C provided coating with smaller crystallite size. • Surface morphology of the coating has strong influence in oxidation protection. - Abstract: Nanostructured ceria-based coatings are shown to be protective against high-temperature oxidation of AISI 304 due to the dynamics of oxidation state and associated defects. However, the processing parameters of deposition have a strong influence in determining the structural and morphological aspects of ceria. The present work focuses on the effect of variation in substrate temperature (50–300 °C) and deposition rate (0.1–50 Å/s) of ceria in electron beam physical vapour evaporation method and correlates the changes in structure and morphology to high-temperature oxidation protection. Unlike deposition rate, substrate temperature exhibited a profound influence on crystallite size (7–18 nm) and oxygen vacancy concentration. Upon isothermal oxidation at 1243 K for 24 h, bare AISI 304 exhibited a linear mass gain with a rate constant of 3.0 ± 0.03 × 10{sup −3} kg{sup 2} m{sup −4} s{sup −1} while ceria coating lowered the kinetics by 3–4 orders. Though the thickness of the coating was kept constant at 2 μm, higher deposition rate offered one order lower protection due to the porous nature of the coating. Variation in the substrate temperature modulated the porosity as well as oxygen vacancy concentration and displayed the best protection for coatings deposited at moderate substrate temperature. The present work demonstrates the significance of selecting appropriate processing parameters to obtain the required morphology for efficient high-temperature oxidation protection.

  20. Experimental investigation on photoelectric properties of ZAO thin film deposited on flexible substrate by magnetron sputtering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hao, Ming [School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Northeastern University, 3-11 WenHua Rd., 319#, Shenyang, 110004 (China); Liu, Kun, E-mail: kliu@mail.neu.edu.cn [School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Northeastern University, 3-11 WenHua Rd., 319#, Shenyang, 110004 (China); Liu, Xinghua [Hubei Aerospace Industry Technology Academe Special Vehicle Technology Center, Wuhan (China); Wang, Dongyang; Ba, Dechun; Xie, Yuanhua; Du, Guangyu; Ba, Yaoshuai [School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Northeastern University, 3-11 WenHua Rd., 319#, Shenyang, 110004 (China)

    2016-12-01

    Highlights: • ZAO thin films were deposited on PET substrate. • A set of experimental parameters were systematically investigated. • Change rule of film photoelectric properties was obtained. • ZAO films with optimal properties were obtained at our working conditions. - Abstract: Transparent conductive ZAO (Zinc Aluminum Oxide) films on flexible substrates have a great potential for low-cost mass-production solar cells. ZAO thin films were achieved on flexible PET (polyethylene terephthalate) substrates by RF magnetron sputtering technology. The surface morphology and element content, the transmittance and the sheet resistance of the films were measured to determine the optical process parameters. The results show that the ZAO thin film shows the best parameters in terms of photoelectric performance including sputtering power, working pressure, sputtering time, substrate temperature (100 W, 1.5 Pa, 60 min, 125 °C). The sheet resistance of 510 Ω and transmittance in visible region of 92% were obtained after characterization. Surface morphology was uniform and compact with a good crystal grain.

  1. Experimental investigation on photoelectric properties of ZAO thin film deposited on flexible substrate by magnetron sputtering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hao, Ming; Liu, Kun; Liu, Xinghua; Wang, Dongyang; Ba, Dechun; Xie, Yuanhua; Du, Guangyu; Ba, Yaoshuai

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • ZAO thin films were deposited on PET substrate. • A set of experimental parameters were systematically investigated. • Change rule of film photoelectric properties was obtained. • ZAO films with optimal properties were obtained at our working conditions. - Abstract: Transparent conductive ZAO (Zinc Aluminum Oxide) films on flexible substrates have a great potential for low-cost mass-production solar cells. ZAO thin films were achieved on flexible PET (polyethylene terephthalate) substrates by RF magnetron sputtering technology. The surface morphology and element content, the transmittance and the sheet resistance of the films were measured to determine the optical process parameters. The results show that the ZAO thin film shows the best parameters in terms of photoelectric performance including sputtering power, working pressure, sputtering time, substrate temperature (100 W, 1.5 Pa, 60 min, 125 °C). The sheet resistance of 510 Ω and transmittance in visible region of 92% were obtained after characterization. Surface morphology was uniform and compact with a good crystal grain.

  2. Root development during soil genesis: effects of root-root interactions, mycorrhizae, and substrate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salinas, A.; Zaharescu, D. G.

    2015-12-01

    A major driver of soil formation is the colonization and transformation of rock by plants and associated microbiota. In turn, substrate chemical composition can also influence the capacity for plant colonization and development. In order to better define these relationships, a mesocosm study was set up to analyze the effect mycorrhizal fungi, plant density and rock have on root development, and to determine the effect of root morphology on weathering and soil formation. We hypothesized that plant-plant and plant-fungi interactions have a stronger influence on root architecture and rock weathering than the substrate composition alone. Buffalo grass (Bouteloua dactyloides) was grown in a controlled environment in columns filled with either granular granite, schist, rhyolite or basalt. Each substrate was given two different treatments, including grass-microbes and grass-microbes-mycorrhizae and incubated for 120, 240, and 480 days. Columns were then extracted and analyzed for root morphology, fine fraction, and pore water major element content. Preliminary results showed that plants produced more biomass in rhyolite, followed by schist, basalt, and granite, indicating that substrate composition is an important driver of root development. In support of our hypothesis, mycorrhizae was a strong driver of root development by stimulating length growth, biomass production, and branching. However, average root length and branching also appeared to decrease in response to high plant density, though this trend was only present among roots with mycorrhizal fungi. Interestingly, fine fraction production was negatively correlated with average root thickness and volume. There is also slight evidence indicating that fine fraction production is more related to substrate composition than root morphology, though this data needs to be further analyzed. Our hope is that the results of this study can one day be applied to agricultural research in order to promote the production of crops

  3. Ice films follow structure zone model morphologies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cartwright, Julyan H.E.; Escribano, Bruno; Sainz-Diaz, C. Ignacio

    2010-01-01

    Ice films deposited at temperatures of 6-220 K and at low pressures in situ in a cryo-environmental scanning electron microscope show pronounced morphologies at the mesoscale consistent with the structure zone model of film growth. Water vapour was injected directly inside the chamber at ambient pressures ranging from 10 -4 Pa to 10 2 Pa. Several different substrates were used to exclude the influence of their morphology on the grown films. At the lowest temperatures the ice, which under these conditions is amorphous on the molecular scale, shows the mesoscale morphologies typical of the low-temperature zones of the structure zone model (SZM), including cauliflower, transition, spongelike and matchstick morphologies. Our experiments confirm that the SZM is independent of the chemical nature of the adsorbate, although the intermolecular interactions in water (hydrogen bonds) are different to those in ceramics or metals. At higher temperatures, on the other hand, where the ice is hexagonal crystalline on the molecular scale, it displays a complex palmlike morphology on the mesoscale.

  4. Ice films follow structure zone model morphologies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cartwright, Julyan H.E. [Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, CSIC-Universidad de Granada, E-18071 Granada (Spain); Escribano, Bruno, E-mail: bruno.escribano.salazar@gmail.co [Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, CSIC-Universidad de Granada, E-18071 Granada (Spain); Sainz-Diaz, C. Ignacio [Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, CSIC-Universidad de Granada, E-18071 Granada (Spain)

    2010-04-02

    Ice films deposited at temperatures of 6-220 K and at low pressures in situ in a cryo-environmental scanning electron microscope show pronounced morphologies at the mesoscale consistent with the structure zone model of film growth. Water vapour was injected directly inside the chamber at ambient pressures ranging from 10{sup -4} Pa to 10{sup 2} Pa. Several different substrates were used to exclude the influence of their morphology on the grown films. At the lowest temperatures the ice, which under these conditions is amorphous on the molecular scale, shows the mesoscale morphologies typical of the low-temperature zones of the structure zone model (SZM), including cauliflower, transition, spongelike and matchstick morphologies. Our experiments confirm that the SZM is independent of the chemical nature of the adsorbate, although the intermolecular interactions in water (hydrogen bonds) are different to those in ceramics or metals. At higher temperatures, on the other hand, where the ice is hexagonal crystalline on the molecular scale, it displays a complex palmlike morphology on the mesoscale.

  5. Structural and morphological properties of GaN buffer layers grown by ammonia molecular beam epitaxy on SiC substrates for AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Corrion, A. L.; Poblenz, C.; Wu, F.; Speck, J. S.

    2008-01-01

    The impact of growth conditions on the surface morphology and structural properties of ammonia molecular beam epitaxy GaN buffers layers on SiC substrates was investigated. The threading dislocation (TD) density was found to decrease with decreasing NH 3 :Ga flux ratio, which corresponded to an increase in surface roughness and reduction in residual compressive lattice mismatch stress. Furthermore, the dislocation density and compressive stress decreased for increasing buffer thickness. TD inclination was proposed to account for these observations. Optimized surface morphologies were realized at high NH 3 :Ga flux ratios and were characterized by monolayer-high steps, spiral hillocks, and pyramidal mounds, with rms roughness of ∼1.0 nm over 2x2 μm 2 atomic force microscopy images. Smooth surface morphologies were realized over a large range of growth temperatures and fluxes, and growth rates of up to 1 μm/h were achieved. TD densities in the buffers as low as 3x10 9 cm -2 were demonstrated. These buffers were highly insulating and were used in recently reported AlGaN/GaN HEMTs with power densities of >11 W/mm at 4 and 10 GHz

  6. Analysis of current-driven oscillatory dynamics of single-layer homoepitaxial islands on crystalline conducting substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dasgupta, Dwaipayan; Kumar, Ashish; Maroudas, Dimitrios

    2018-03-01

    We report results of a systematic study on the complex oscillatory current-driven dynamics of single-layer homoepitaxial islands on crystalline substrate surfaces and the dependence of this driven dynamical behavior on important physical parameters, including island size, substrate surface orientation, and direction of externally applied electric field. The analysis is based on a nonlinear model of driven island edge morphological evolution that accounts for curvature-driven edge diffusion, edge electromigration, and edge diffusional anisotropy. Using a linear theory of island edge morphological stability, we calculate a critical island size at which the island's equilibrium edge shape becomes unstable, which sets a lower bound for the onset of time-periodic oscillatory dynamical response. Using direct dynamical simulations, we study the edge morphological dynamics of current-driven single-layer islands at larger-than-critical size, and determine the actual island size at which the migrating islands undergo a transition from steady to time-periodic asymptotic states through a subcritical Hopf bifurcation. At the highest symmetry of diffusional anisotropy examined, on {111} surfaces of face-centered cubic crystalline substrates, we find that more complex stable oscillatory states can be reached through period-doubling bifurcation at island sizes larger than those at the Hopf points. We characterize in detail the island morphology and dynamical response at the stable time-periodic asymptotic states, determine the range of stability of these oscillatory states terminated by island breakup, and explain the morphological features of the stable oscillating islands on the basis of linear stability theory.

  7. Fabrication and morphology of uniaxially aligned perylenediimide nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Machida, Shinjiro; Tanikatsu, Makoto; Itaya, Akira; Ikeda, Noriaki

    2017-06-01

    Uniaxial alignment of crystalline nanowires consisting of N,N‧-dioctyl-3,4,9,10-perylenedicarboximide (PTCDI-C8) was achieved on poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) layers prepared by friction transfer method on a glass substrate. The nanowires were formed by spin-coating a trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) solution of PTCDI-C8 on the PTFE layers and were further grown under TFA vapor atmosphere. The morphology of the PTCDI-C8 nanowires were characterized using atomic force microscope (AFM) and fluorescence optical microscope with changing the dye concentration in the spin coating solution, annealing time in the TFA vapor, and substrate materials. The nanowires prepared on the PTFE layer on a silica-coated silicon or a mica substrate did not grow so well as those on the glass substrate. This result suggests that the surface roughness would affect the PTFE layer and the growth of the PTCDI nanowires.

  8. Structure and photoluminescence properties of ZnS films grown on porous Si substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Cai-feng; Hu, Bo; Yi, Hou-hui; Li, Wei-bing

    2011-11-01

    ZnS films were deposited on porous silicon (PS) substrates with different porosities. With the increase of PS substrate porosity, the XRD diffraction peak intensity decreases and the surface morphology of the ZnS films becomes rougher. Voids appear in the films, due to the increased roughness of PS structure. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the samples before and after deposition of ZnS were measured to study the effect of substrate porosity on the luminescence properties of ZnS/PS composites. As-prepared PS substrates emit strong red light. The red PL peak of PS after deposition of ZnS shows an obvious blueshift. As PS substrate porosity increases, the trend of blueshift increases. A green emission at about 550 nm was also observed when the porosity of PS increased, which is ascribed to the defect-center luminescence of ZnS. The effect of annealing time on the structural and luminescence properties of ZnS/PS composites were also studied. With the increase of annealing time, the XRD diffraction peak intensity and the self-activated luminescence intensity of ZnS increase, and, the surface morphology of the ZnS films becomes smooth and compact. However, the red emission intensity of PS decreases, which was associated with a redshift. White light emission was obtained by combining the luminescence of ZnS with the luminescence of PS.

  9. Various compositions containing organic substrates to produce Eugenia uniflora L. seedlings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Licielo Romero Vieira

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The use of substrates formulated with agro-industrial residues, such as coconut shell fiber, sawdust, and carbonized rice husk, is among the sustainable alternatives to decrease the production costs of seedlings of plant species. This study aimed to evaluate the use of various substrates for obtaining high quality Eugenia uniflora L. seedlings. The experiment was conducted at the Federal University of Pampa (UNIPAMPA – Campus in São Gabriel, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, by sowing directly into 200 cm3 polypropylene tubes, testing various substrates (50% commercial substrate Plantmax® + 50% rice husk; commercial substrate Plantmax®; 50% commercial substrate Plantmax® + 50% coconut shell fiber; and 50% commercial substrate Plantmax® + 50% sawdust. Every 3 days, the number of emerged seedlings was evaluated and, after 180 days, the following morphological features were analyzed: shoot height, stem diameter, number of leaves, root and total fresh weight, shoot, root, and total dry weight, and Dickson’s quality index. The results indicate that all substrates were suitable for Eugenia uniflora emergence, but that containing 50% commercial substrate Plantmax® + 50% sawdust provided a delay in the emergence of this Myrtaceae; also, substrates containing 50% commercial substrate Plantmax® + 50% husk rice and 50% commercial substrate Plantmax® + 50% coconut shell fiber showed to be satisfactory for the growth of Eugenia uniflora seedlings.

  10. Stretched inverse opal colloid crystal substrates-induced orientation of fibroblast

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Y C; Tang, Z M; Feng, Z Q; Xie, Z Y; Gu, Z Z

    2010-01-01

    Recently, there has been increasing interest in studying the interaction between mammalian cells and nanometer-sized structures. However, the effect of nanostructures on cell behavior, such as cell morphology and alignment, is still largely unknown. Inverse opal colloid crystal substrates, which can be stretched to produce nano-scale pore structures of different degrees of orientation, serve as a convenient model system to study the effect of nanotopography on cell morphology and cell alignment. In this work, we fabricated inverse opal colloidal crystal films that were either unstretched or stretched to three, four or six times their original length, producing pore structures of increasing degree of orientation. Human dermal fibroblast-fetal (HDF-f) cells were seeded and cultured on these four types of substrates. The results from fluorescence microscopy and scanning electron microscopy indicated that cells showed the highest degree of alignment when cultured on inverse opal colloid crystal films that were stretched the most (six times original length). The results also demonstrated that the orientation of nanostructures could affect both the morphology and growth direction of fibroblasts. The ability to control the direction of cell growth through the engineering of nanostructures could have important applications in tissue engineering, especially for tissues with anisotropic structures, such as cardiac muscle, blood vessel, tendon and ligament.

  11. Stretched inverse opal colloid crystal substrates-induced orientation of fibroblast

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Y C; Tang, Z M; Feng, Z Q; Xie, Z Y; Gu, Z Z, E-mail: gu@seu.edu.c [State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096 (China)

    2010-06-01

    Recently, there has been increasing interest in studying the interaction between mammalian cells and nanometer-sized structures. However, the effect of nanostructures on cell behavior, such as cell morphology and alignment, is still largely unknown. Inverse opal colloid crystal substrates, which can be stretched to produce nano-scale pore structures of different degrees of orientation, serve as a convenient model system to study the effect of nanotopography on cell morphology and cell alignment. In this work, we fabricated inverse opal colloidal crystal films that were either unstretched or stretched to three, four or six times their original length, producing pore structures of increasing degree of orientation. Human dermal fibroblast-fetal (HDF-f) cells were seeded and cultured on these four types of substrates. The results from fluorescence microscopy and scanning electron microscopy indicated that cells showed the highest degree of alignment when cultured on inverse opal colloid crystal films that were stretched the most (six times original length). The results also demonstrated that the orientation of nanostructures could affect both the morphology and growth direction of fibroblasts. The ability to control the direction of cell growth through the engineering of nanostructures could have important applications in tissue engineering, especially for tissues with anisotropic structures, such as cardiac muscle, blood vessel, tendon and ligament.

  12. Quantitative assessment of cancer cell morphology and motility using telecentric digital holographic microscopy and machine learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lam, Van K; Nguyen, Thanh C; Chung, Byung M; Nehmetallah, George; Raub, Christopher B

    2018-03-01

    The noninvasive, fast acquisition of quantitative phase maps using digital holographic microscopy (DHM) allows tracking of rapid cellular motility on transparent substrates. On two-dimensional surfaces in vitro, MDA-MB-231 cancer cells assume several morphologies related to the mode of migration and substrate stiffness, relevant to mechanisms of cancer invasiveness in vivo. The quantitative phase information from DHM may accurately classify adhesive cancer cell subpopulations with clinical relevance. To test this, cells from the invasive breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cell line were cultured on glass, tissue-culture treated polystyrene, and collagen hydrogels, and imaged with DHM followed by epifluorescence microscopy after staining F-actin and nuclei. Trends in cell phase parameters were tracked on the different substrates, during cell division, and during matrix adhesion, relating them to F-actin features. Support vector machine learning algorithms were trained and tested using parameters from holographic phase reconstructions and cell geometric features from conventional phase images, and used to distinguish between elongated and rounded cell morphologies. DHM was able to distinguish between elongated and rounded morphologies of MDA-MB-231 cells with 94% accuracy, compared to 83% accuracy using cell geometric features from conventional brightfield microscopy. This finding indicates the potential of DHM to detect and monitor cancer cell morphologies relevant to cell cycle phase status, substrate adhesion, and motility. © 2017 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry. © 2017 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry.

  13. Morphology evolution of PS-b-PDMS block copolymer and its hierarchical directed self-assembly on block copolymer templates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasappa, Sozaraj; Schulte, Lars; Borah, Dipu

    2018-01-01

    Cylinder-forming polystyrene-block-polydimethylsiloxane (PS-b-PDMS, 27.2k-b-11.7k, SD39) block copolymer having a total molecular weight of 39 kg mol−1 was exploited to achieve in-plane morphologies of lines, dots and antidots. Brush-free self-assembly of the SD39 on silicon substrates was invest...... substrates provides a simplified method for surface nanopatterning, templated growth of nanomaterials and nanofabrication....... the pattern into the underlying substrate. Directed self-assembly and hierarchical directed self-assembly on block copolymer templates for confinement of dots was successfully demonstrated. The strategy for achieving multiple morphologies using one BCP by mere choice of the annealing solvents on unmodified...

  14. The Effect of Glancing Angle Deposition Conditions on the Morphology of a Silver Nanohelix Array

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi-Jun Jen

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Silver nanohelices were grown on smooth substrates using glancing angle deposition and substrate cooling. Various nanohelix arrays were deposited under different deposition conditions—different deposition rates, substrate spin rates, deposition angles, and substrate temperatures. The effect of deposition conditions on the morphology of each nanohelix array in terms of pitch angle, pitch length, wire diameter, and radius of curvature was investigated. The dependence of circular dichroism on the size of the nanohelix arrays was also measured and demonstrated.

  15. Large-scale uniform ZnO tetrapods on catalyst free glass substrate by thermal evaporation method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alsultany, Forat H., E-mail: foratusm@gmail.com [School of Physics, USM, 11800 Penang (Malaysia); Hassan, Z. [Institute of Nano-Optoelectronics Research and Technology Laboratory (INOR), USM, 11800 Penang (Malaysia); Ahmed, Naser M. [School of Physics, USM, 11800 Penang (Malaysia)

    2016-07-15

    Highlights: • Investigate the growth of ZnO-Ts on glass substrate by thermal evaporation method. • Glass substrate without any catalyst or a seed layer. • The morphology was controlled by adjusting the temperature of the material and the substrate. • Glass substrate was placed vertically in the quartz tube. - Abstract: Here, we report for the first time the catalyst-free growth of large-scale uniform shape and size ZnO tetrapods on a glass substrate via thermal evaporation method. Three-dimensional networks of ZnO tetrapods have needle–wire junctions, an average leg length of 2.1–2.6 μm, and a diameter of 35–240 nm. The morphology and structure of ZnO tetrapods were investigated by controlling the preparation temperature of each of the Zn powder and the glass substrate under O{sub 2} and Ar gases. Studies were carried out on ZnO tetrapods using X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, UV–vis spectrophotometer, and a photoluminescence. The results showed that the sample grow in the hexagonal wurtzite structure with preferentially oriented along (002) direction, good crystallinity and high transmittance. The band gap value is about 3.27 eV. Photoluminescence spectrum exhibits a very sharp peak at 378 nm and a weak broad green emission.

  16. Modification of Bi:YIG film properties by substrate surface ion pre-treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shaposhnikov, A.N.; Prokopov, A.R.; Karavainikov, A.V.; Berzhansky, V.N.; Mikhailova, T.V.; Kotov, V.A.; Balabanov, D.E.; Sharay, I.V.; Salyuk, O.Y.; Vasiliev, M.; Golub, V.O.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Effects of substrates ion beam treatment on magnetoptical properties Bi:YIG films. • Substrate surface damage results in sign inversion of the magneto-optical effects. • Atomically smooth films growth takes place on low energy ions treated substrates. • High energy ions treatment results in selective nucleation mechanism of the growth. - Abstract: The effect of a controlled ion beam pre-treatment of (1 1 1)-oriented Gd 3 Ga 5 O 12 substrates on the magneto-optical properties and surface morphology of the ultrathin bismuth-substituted yttrium–iron garnet films with a composition Bi 2.8 Y 0.2 Fe 5 O 12 was studied. It has been shown that the observed sign inversion of magneto-optical effects (Faraday rotation and magnetic circular dichroism) observed in films that were deposited on the GGG substrate pre-treated by 1 keV and 4 keV Ar + ion beams is a result of the substrate surface amorphization caused by the ion bombardment

  17. Crystalline hydroxyapatite coatings synthesized under hydrothermal conditions on modified titanium substrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suchanek, Katarzyna; Bartkowiak, Amanda; Gdowik, Agnieszka; Perzanowski, Marcin; Kąc, Sławomir; Szaraniec, Barbara; Suchanek, Mateusz; Marszałek, Marta

    2015-06-01

    Hydroxyapatite coatings were successfully produced on modified titanium substrates via hydrothermal synthesis in a Ca(EDTA)(2-) and (NH4)2HPO4 solution. The morphology of modified titanium substrates as well as hydroxyapatite coatings was studied using scanning electron microcopy and phase identification by X-ray diffraction, and Raman and FTIR spectroscopy. The results show that the nucleation and growth of hydroxyapatite needle-like crystals with hexagonal symmetry occurred only on titanium substrates both chemically and thermally treated. No hydroxyapatite phase was detected on only acid etched Ti metal. This finding demonstrates that only a particular titanium surface treatment can effectively induce the apatite nucleation under hydrothermal conditions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Micro-nano zinc oxide film fabricated by biomimetic mineralization: Designed architectures for SERS substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Fei; Guo, Yue; Wang, Yunxin; Song, Wei; Zhao, Bing

    2018-05-01

    In this study, we have investigated the effect of the surface morphologies of the zinc oxide (ZnO) substrates on surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). During synthetic process, the self-assembly monolayers (SAMs) with different terminal groups are used as templates to induce the nucleation and growth of Zn(NO3)2·6H2O crystals, then different morphologies micro-nano ZnO powders are obtained by annealing Zn(NO3)2·6H2O crystals at 450 °C. The products obtained at different conditions are characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectra. The as-prepared ZnO micro-sized particles have been used the efficient Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates, and the SERS signals of 4-mercaptopyridine (Mpy) probe molecules are much influenced by the morphologies of the ZnO structures. Results indicated that the more (0001) facets appear in the of ZnO morphology, the greater degree of charge-transfer (PCT) for the SERS enhancement on the surface of semiconductors is achieved. The chemical interaction between ZnO structures and Mpy molecules plays a very important role in the SERS enhancement.

  19. Buffer free MOCVD growth of GaN on 4H-SiC: Effect of substrate treatments and UV-photoirradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Losurdo, Maria; Giangregorio, Maria M.; Bruno, Giovanni [Institute of Inorganic Methodologies and of Plasmas, IMIP-CNR and INSTM UdR Bari, via Orabona, 4, 70126 Bari (Italy); Kim, Tong-Ho; Choi, Soojeong; Brown, April [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27709 (United States)

    2006-05-15

    GaN has been grown directly on the Si-face 4H-SiC(0001) substrates using remote plasma-assisted metalorganic chemical vapour deposition (RP-MOCVD) with UV-light irradiation. The effects of substrate pre-treatments and UV-photoirradiation of the growth surface on GaN nucleation and film morphology are investigated. Optical data from spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements and morphological data show an improvement in nucleation and material quality with UV-light irradiation. (copyright 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  20. Growth on elastic silicone substrate elicits a partial myogenic response in periodontal ligament derived stem cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Pelaez

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The processes of cellular differentiation and phenotypic maintenance can be influenced by stimuli from a variety of different factors. One commonly overlooked factor is the mechanical properties of the growth substrate in which stem cells are maintained or differentiated down various lineages. Here we explored the effect that growth on an elastic silicone substrate had on the myogenic expression and cytoskeletal morphology of periodontal ligament derived stem cells. Cells were grown on either collagen I coated tissue culture polystyrene plates or collagen I coated elastic silicone membranes for a period of 4 days without further induction from soluble factors in the culture media. Following the 4-day growth, gene expression and immunohistochemical analysis for key cardiomyogenic markers was performed along with a morphological assessment of cytoskeletal organization. Results show that cells grown on the elastic substrate significantly upregulate key markers associated with contractile activity in muscle tissues. Namely, the myosin light chain polypeptides 2 and 7, as well as the myosin heavy chain polypeptide 7 genes underwent a statistically significant upregulation in the cells grown on elastic silicone membranes. Similarly, the cells on the softer elastic substrate stained positive for both sarcomeric actin and cardiac troponin t proteins following just 4 days of growth on the softer material. Cytoskeletal analysis showed that substrate stiffness had a marked effect on the organization and distribution of filamentous actin fibers within the cell body. Growth on silicone membranes produced flatter and shorter cellular morphologies with filamentous actin fibers projecting anisotropically throughout the cell body. These results demonstrate how crucial the mechanical properties of the growth substrate of cells can be on the ultimate cellular phenotype. These observations highlight the need to further optimize differentiation protocols to enhance

  1. Crystalline hydroxyapatite coatings synthesized under hydrothermal conditions on modified titanium substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suchanek, Katarzyna; Bartkowiak, Amanda; Gdowik, Agnieszka; Perzanowski, Marcin; Kąc, Sławomir; Szaraniec, Barbara; Suchanek, Mateusz; Marszałek, Marta

    2015-01-01

    Hydroxyapatite coatings were successfully produced on modified titanium substrates via hydrothermal synthesis in a Ca(EDTA) 2− and (NH 4 ) 2 HPO 4 solution. The morphology of modified titanium substrates as well as hydroxyapatite coatings was studied using scanning electron microcopy and phase identification by X-ray diffraction, and Raman and FTIR spectroscopy. The results show that the nucleation and growth of hydroxyapatite needle-like crystals with hexagonal symmetry occurred only on titanium substrates both chemically and thermally treated. No hydroxyapatite phase was detected on only acid etched Ti metal. This finding demonstrates that only a particular titanium surface treatment can effectively induce the apatite nucleation under hydrothermal conditions. - Highlights: • Bioactivation of titanium substrate by chemical and heat treatments • Precipitation of hydroxyapatite on modified titanium plates • Hydrothermal crystallization of hydroxyapatite by chelate decomposition method

  2. Crystalline hydroxyapatite coatings synthesized under hydrothermal conditions on modified titanium substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Suchanek, Katarzyna, E-mail: Katarzyna.Suchanek@ifj.edu.pl [The Henryk Niewodniczański Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Radzikowskiego Street 152, 31-342 Krakow (Poland); Bartkowiak, Amanda [The Henryk Niewodniczański Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Radzikowskiego Street 152, 31-342 Krakow (Poland); Gdowik, Agnieszka [Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow (Poland); Perzanowski, Marcin [The Henryk Niewodniczański Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Radzikowskiego Street 152, 31-342 Krakow (Poland); Kąc, Sławomir [Faculty of Metals Engineering and Industrial Computer Science, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewica 30, 30-059 Krakow (Poland); Szaraniec, Barbara [Department of Biomaterials, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow (Poland); Suchanek, Mateusz [Department of Chemistry and Physics, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Mickiewicza 21, 31-120 Krakow (Poland); Marszałek, Marta [The Henryk Niewodniczański Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Radzikowskiego Street 152, 31-342 Krakow (Poland)

    2015-06-01

    Hydroxyapatite coatings were successfully produced on modified titanium substrates via hydrothermal synthesis in a Ca(EDTA){sup 2−} and (NH{sub 4}){sub 2}HPO{sub 4} solution. The morphology of modified titanium substrates as well as hydroxyapatite coatings was studied using scanning electron microcopy and phase identification by X-ray diffraction, and Raman and FTIR spectroscopy. The results show that the nucleation and growth of hydroxyapatite needle-like crystals with hexagonal symmetry occurred only on titanium substrates both chemically and thermally treated. No hydroxyapatite phase was detected on only acid etched Ti metal. This finding demonstrates that only a particular titanium surface treatment can effectively induce the apatite nucleation under hydrothermal conditions. - Highlights: • Bioactivation of titanium substrate by chemical and heat treatments • Precipitation of hydroxyapatite on modified titanium plates • Hydrothermal crystallization of hydroxyapatite by chelate decomposition method.

  3. Influence of deposition parameters on morphological properties of biomedical calcium phosphate coatings prepared using electrostatic spray deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leeuwenburgh, S.C.G.; Wolke, J.G.C.; Schoonman, J.; Jansen, J.A.

    2005-01-01

    In order to deposit biomedical calcium phosphate (CaP) coatings with a defined surface morphology, the electrostatic spray deposition (ESD) technique was used since this technique offers the possibility to deposit ceramic coatings with a variety of surface morphologies. A scanning electron microscopical study was performed in order to investigate the influence of several deposition parameters on the final morphology of the deposited coatings. The chemical characteristics of the coatings were studied by means of X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Regarding the chemical coating properties, the results showed that the coatings can be described as crystalline carbonate apatite coatings, a crystal phase which is similar to the mineral phase of bone and teeth. The morphology of CaP coatings, deposited using the ESD technique, was strongly dependent on the deposition parameters. By changing the nozzle-to-substrate distance, the precursor liquid flow rate and the deposition temperature, coating morphologies were deposited, which varied from dense to highly porous, reticular morphologies. The formation of various morphologies was the result of an equilibrium between the relative rates of CaP solute precipitation/reaction, solvent evaporation and droplet spreading onto the substrate surface

  4. In situ fabrication of AgI films on various substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zheng, Z.; Liu, A.R.; Wang, S.M.; Huang, B.J.; Ma, X.M.; Zhao, H.X.; Li, D.P.; Zhang, L.Z.

    2008-01-01

    A facile solution-phase chemical route is developed to directly construct silver iodide (AgI) films/crystals on various substrates including silver foil, silicon wafer and glass, etc. The resulting AgI films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The AgI films with different morphologies can be obtained by controlling the reaction parameters. This method is a simple and fast way for in situ deposition of AgI crystals/films on different substrates. These films may be applied in chemical sensing systems and solid-state batteries as solid electrolytes

  5. Rock-dwelling lizards exhibit less sensitivity of sprint speed to increases in substrate rugosity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collins, Clint E; Self, Jessica D; Anderson, Roger A; McBrayer, Lance D

    2013-06-01

    Effectively moving across variable substrates is important to all terrestrial animals. The effects of substrates on lizard performance have ecological ramifications including the partitioning of habitat according to sprinting ability on different surfaces. This phenomenon is known as sprint sensitivity, or the decrease in sprint speed due to change in substrate. However, sprint sensitivity has been characterized only in arboreal Anolis lizards. Our study measured sensitivity to substrate rugosity among six lizard species that occupy rocky, sandy, and/or arboreal habitats. Lizards that use rocky habitats are less sensitive to changes in substrate rugosity, followed by arboreal lizards, and then by lizards that use sandy habitats. We infer from comparative phylogenetic analysis that forelimb, chest, and tail dimensions are important external morphological features related to sensitivity to changes in substrate rugosity. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  6. Effects of substrate pretreatments on diamond synthesis for Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} based ceramics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shibuya, Y. [Prefectural Industrial Research Inst., Shizuoka (Japan); Takaya, M. [Chiba Institute of Technology, Tsudanuma 2-chome, Narashino-shi, 275 (Japan)

    1998-07-08

    Diamond synthesis for Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} ceramics after various substrate pretreatments has been carried out by the microwave-plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method using a mixture of methane and hydrogen gases. Four types of pretreatments for various substrates were performed as follows: scratching with diamond powder (I), applying O{sub 2}-C{sub 2}H{sub 2} combustion flames (II), polishing with alumina (III), and platinum vapor deposition (IV). The products deposited on the substrate were examined with micro-Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and an X-ray diffractometer (XRD). It was found that the application of O{sub 2}-C{sub 2}H{sub 2} flames as a pretreatment of the substrate in diamond synthesis was suitable, because a higher density of diamond nucleation could be obtained, and a film-like diamond could be formed on the surface in a shorter time than without applying them. The diamond could be synthesized on the surface for all four types of substrate pretreatments performed in the present study. The effects of the substrate pretreatments on the surface morphology of grown diamond were that a film-like diamond for (I) or (II), a particle-like diamond for (III) and a particle and/or a film-like diamond for (IV) were formed on the surface. The surface morphology of grown diamond depended very much on the substrate temperature under deposition. (orig.) 18 refs.

  7. Anisotropic MoS2 Nanosheets Grown on Self-Organized Nanopatterned Substrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martella, Christian; Mennucci, Carlo; Cinquanta, Eugenio; Lamperti, Alessio; Cappelluti, Emmanuele; Buatier de Mongeot, Francesco; Molle, Alessandro

    2017-05-01

    Manipulating the anisotropy in 2D nanosheets is a promising way to tune or trigger functional properties at the nanoscale. Here, a novel approach is presented to introduce a one-directional anisotropy in MoS 2 nanosheets via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) onto rippled patterns prepared on ion-sputtered SiO 2 /Si substrates. The optoelectronic properties of MoS 2 are dramatically affected by the rippled MoS 2 morphology both at the macro- and the nanoscale. In particular, strongly anisotropic phonon modes are observed depending on the polarization orientation with respect to the ripple axis. Moreover, the rippled morphology induces localization of strain and charge doping at the nanoscale, thus causing substantial redshifts of the phonon mode frequencies and a topography-dependent modulation of the MoS 2 workfunction, respectively. This study paves the way to a controllable tuning of the anisotropy via substrate pattern engineering in CVD-grown 2D nanosheets. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  8. Influence of copper on morphologic properties of roots of Vicia faba

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kostal, L

    1973-01-01

    Relatively few papers deal with anatomic-morphological changes taking place due to deficiency or toxical influence of copper. There are few papers relating to the influence of higher copper concentrations on morphological properties. Comparative studies investigating copper toxicity have not been worked out in detail. Experiments determining toxicity have been carried out on different substrates. This substrate is very important since there is the question of the bond of copper with various substances, which are found in substrate and which reduce, to a certain extent, the toxicity of copper. Maximum toxicity can be found out in aqueous and sand cultures. High toxicity of copper ions depends, to a large extent, on the stability of its complex compounds, which results in the stability of copper to separate other metals from different compounds. In this way copper inactivates enzymes and various biologically active substances. The problem of toxicity has been widely studied. The author considers the concentration of 0.5 mg Cu/l is a limit of copper toxicity with oat, whereas the concentration of 0.25 mg is toxical for the sprouts of citruses. It is obvious that the limit of toxicity cannot be exactly determined since there are several factors involved (sort of plant, use of cultivation method etc.) This paper was aimed at finding out the influence of higher copper concentrations on morphological changes of roots, stem and leaves of bean Vicia faba.

  9. Study of structural and morphological properties of thermally evaporated Sn{sub 2}Sb{sub 6}S{sub 11} thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ben Mehrez, N., E-mail: najia.benmehrez@gmail.com [Université Tunis El Manar, Laboratoire de Photovoltaïque et Matériaux Semi-conducteurs, ENIT, BP 37, Le belvédère, 1002 Tunis (Tunisia); Khemiri, N. [Université Tunis El Manar, Laboratoire de Photovoltaïque et Matériaux Semi-conducteurs, ENIT, BP 37, Le belvédère, 1002 Tunis (Tunisia); Kanzari, M. [Université Tunis El Manar, Laboratoire de Photovoltaïque et Matériaux Semi-conducteurs, ENIT, BP 37, Le belvédère, 1002 Tunis (Tunisia); Institut Préparatoire aux Etudes d’Ingénieurs de Tunis Montfleury, Université de Tunis (Tunisia)

    2016-10-01

    In this study, we report the structural and morphological properties of the new material Sn{sub 2}Sb{sub 6}S{sub 11} thin films prepared on glass substrates by vacuum thermal evaporation at various substrate temperatures (30, 60, 100, 140, 180 and 200 °C). Sn{sub 2}Sb{sub 6}S{sub 11} ingot was synthesized by the horizontal Bridgman technique. The structural properties of Sn{sub 2}Sb{sub 6}S{sub 11} powder were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy. The films were characterized for their structural properties by using XRD. All films were polycrystalline in nature. The variations of the structural parameters of the films with the substrate temperature were investigated. The results show that the crystallite sizes increase as the substrate temperature increases. The morphological properties of the films were analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The roughness and the topography of the surface of the films strongly depend on the substrate temperature. - Highlights: • Sn{sub 2}Sb{sub 6}S{sub 11} powder was successfully synthesized by the horizontal Bridgman technique. • Sn{sub 2}Sb{sub 6}S{sub 11} films were grown by thermal evaporation at different substrate temperatures. • Structural properties of Sn{sub 2}Sb{sub 6}S{sub 11} powder were investigated. • The effect of the substrate temperature on structural and morphological of Sn{sub 2}Sb{sub 6}S{sub 11} films properties was studied.

  10. Impact of structure and morphology of nanostructured ceria coating on AISI 304 oxidation kinetics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aadhavan, R.; Suresh Babu, K.

    2017-07-01

    Nanostructured ceria-based coatings are shown to be protective against high-temperature oxidation of AISI 304 due to the dynamics of oxidation state and associated defects. However, the processing parameters of deposition have a strong influence in determining the structural and morphological aspects of ceria. The present work focuses on the effect of variation in substrate temperature (50-300 °C) and deposition rate (0.1-50 Å/s) of ceria in electron beam physical vapour evaporation method and correlates the changes in structure and morphology to high-temperature oxidation protection. Unlike deposition rate, substrate temperature exhibited a profound influence on crystallite size (7-18 nm) and oxygen vacancy concentration. Upon isothermal oxidation at 1243 K for 24 h, bare AISI 304 exhibited a linear mass gain with a rate constant of 3.0 ± 0.03 × 10-3 kg2 m-4 s-1 while ceria coating lowered the kinetics by 3-4 orders. Though the thickness of the coating was kept constant at 2 μm, higher deposition rate offered one order lower protection due to the porous nature of the coating. Variation in the substrate temperature modulated the porosity as well as oxygen vacancy concentration and displayed the best protection for coatings deposited at moderate substrate temperature. The present work demonstrates the significance of selecting appropriate processing parameters to obtain the required morphology for efficient high-temperature oxidation protection.

  11. Prostate Cancer Cell Growth: Stimulatory Role of Neurotensin and Mechanism of Inhibition by Flavonoids as Related to Protein Kinase C

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    cell lines (NCI-N417, NCI-H345, NCI-N592) were found to convert exogenous NT into the fragments NT1 –8 and NT9–13, reflecting the presence of...secrete NT. However, exogenous NT was degraded primarily to NT1 –11, consistent with the presence of neutral endopeptidase 3.4.24.11 in these cells . This...TITLE: Prostate Cancer Cell Growth: Stimulatory Role of Neurotensin and Mechanism of Inhibition by Flavonoids as Related to Protein Kinase C

  12. Fabrication of SrGe2 thin films on Ge (100), (110), and (111) substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Imajo, T.; Toko, K.; Takabe, R.; Saitoh, N.; Yoshizawa, N.; Suemasu, T.

    2018-01-01

    Semiconductor strontium digermanide (SrGe2) has a large absorption coefficient in the near-infrared light region and is expected to be useful for multijunction solar cells. This study firstly demonstrates the formation of SrGe2 thin films via a reactive deposition epitaxy on Ge substrates. The growth morphology of SrGe2 dramatically changed depending on the growth temperature (300-700 °C) and the crystal orientation of the Ge substrate. We succeeded in obtaining single-oriented SrGe2 using a Ge (110) substrate at 500 °C. Development on Si or glass substrates will lead to the application of SrGe2 to high-efficiency thin-film solar cells.

  13. CONICAL EQUIPOTENTIAL SUBSTRATE FOR LIQUID METAL SOURCES

    OpenAIRE

    Kubby , J.; Siegel , B.

    1986-01-01

    Morphological changes that occur at an ion bombarded surface as a result of erosion by sputtering can be utilized for the machining of cylindrically symmetric submicron structures. Such structuring has produced tungsten field emitters of conical configuration with variable cone half angle. A conical equipotential surface with an included half angle of 49.3° would be a useful emitter substrate for experiments designed to produce an equilibrium conical interface to a conducting fluid in an appl...

  14. Synthesis of LSM films deposited by dip-coating on YSZ substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Conceicao, Leandro da; Souza, Mariana M.V.M.; Ribeiro, Nielson F.P.

    2010-01-01

    The dip-coating process was used to deposit films of La 0.7 Sr 0. 3MnO 3 (LSM) used as cathode in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). In this study we evaluated the relationship between the deposition parameters such as speed of withdrawal and number of deposited layers of LSM film on a substrate of 8% YSZ commercial, and structural properties, such as thickness and formation of cracks. The structure and morphology of the films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). With parameters set the film had good adhesion to the substrate with a thickness around 10 μm, showing possible adherence problems when more than one layer is deposited on the substrate. (author)

  15. Functional morphology of the hallucal metatarsal with implications for inferring grasping ability in extinct primates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodenberger, Katherine E; Boyer, Doug M; Orr, Caley M; Jacobs, Rachel L; Femiani, John C; Patel, Biren A

    2015-03-01

    Primate evolutionary morphologists have argued that selection for life in a fine branch niche resulted in grasping specializations that are reflected in the hallucal metatarsal (Mt1) morphology of extant "prosimians", while a transition to use of relatively larger, horizontal substrates explains the apparent loss of such characters in anthropoids. Accordingly, these morphological characters-Mt1 torsion, peroneal process length and thickness, and physiological abduction angle-have been used to reconstruct grasping ability and locomotor mode in the earliest fossil primates. Although these characters are prominently featured in debates on the origin and subsequent radiation of Primates, questions remain about their functional significance. This study examines the relationship between these morphological characters of the Mt1 and a novel metric of pedal grasping ability for a large number of extant taxa in a phylogenetic framework. Results indicate greater Mt1 torsion in taxa that engage in hallucal grasping and in those that utilize relatively small substrates more frequently. This study provides evidence that Carpolestes simpsoni has a torsion value more similar to grasping primates than to any scandentian. The results also show that taxa that habitually grasp vertical substrates are distinguished from other taxa in having relatively longer peroneal processes. Furthermore, a longer peroneal process is also correlated with calcaneal elongation, a metric previously found to reflect leaping proclivity. A more refined understanding of the functional associations between Mt1 morphology and behavior in extant primates enhances the potential for using these morphological characters to comprehend primate (locomotor) evolution. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Substrate Dependence of the Freezing Dynamics of Supercooled Water Films: A High-Speed Optical Microscope Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pach, E; Rodriguez, L; Verdaguer, A

    2018-01-18

    The freezing of supercooled water films on different substrates was investigated using a high-speed camera coupled to an optical microscope, obtaining details of the freezing process not described in the literature before. We observed the two well known freezing stages (fast dendritic growth and slow freezing of the water liquid left after the dendritic growth), but we separated the process into different phenomena that were studied separately: two-dimensional dendrite growth on the substrate interface, vertical dendrite growth, formation and evolution of ice domains, trapping of air bubbles and freezing of the water film surface. We found all of these processes to be dependent on both the supercooling temperature and the substrate used. Ice dendrite (or ice front) growth during the first stage was found to be dependent on thermal properties of the substrate but could not be unequivocally related to them. Finally, for low supercooling, a direct relationship was observed between the morphology of the dendrites formed in the first stage, which depends on the substrate, and the roughness and the shape of the surface of the ice, when freezing of the film was completed. This opens the possibility of using surfaces and coatings to control ice morphology beyond anti-icing properties.

  17. Impact of surface morphology of Si substrate on performance of Si/ZnO heterojunction devices grown by atomic layer deposition technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hazra, Purnima; Singh, Satyendra Kumar; Jit, Satyabrata

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, the authors have investigated the structural, optical, and electrical characteristics of silicon nanowire (SiNW)/zinc oxide (ZnO) core–shell nanostructure heterojunctions and compared their characteristics with Si/ZnO planar heterojunctions to investigate the effect of surface morphology of Si substrate in the characteristics of Si/ZnO heterojunction devices. In this work, ZnO thin film was conformally deposited on both p-type 〈100〉 planar Si substrate and substrate with vertically aligned SiNW arrays by atomic layer deposition (ALD) method. The x-ray diffraction spectra show that the crystalline structures of Si/ZnO heterojunctions are having (101) preferred orientation, whereas vertically oriented SiNW/ZnO core–shell heterojunctions are having (002)-oriented wurtzite crystalline structures. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of Si/ZnO heterojunctions show a very sharp single peak at 377 nm, corresponding to the bandgap of ZnO material with no other defect peaks in visible region; hence, these devices can have applications only in UV region. On the other hand, SiNW/ZnO heterojunctions are having band-edge peak at 378 nm along with a broad emission band, spreading almost throughout the entire visible region with a peak around 550 nm. Therefore, ALD-grown SiNW/ZnO heterojunctions can emit green and red light simultaneously. Reflectivity measurement of the heterojunctions further confirms the enhancement of visible region peak in the PL spectra of SiNW/ZnO heterojunctions, as the surface of the SiNW/ZnO heterojunctions exhibits extremely low reflectance ( 20%). The current–voltage characteristics of both Si/ZnO and SiNW/ZnO heterojunctions are measured with large area ohmic contacts on top and bottom of the structure to compare the electrical characteristics of the devices. Due to large surface to-volume ratio of SiNW/ZnO core–shell heterojunction devices, the output current rating is about 130 times larger compared to their planar

  18. Impact of surface morphology of Si substrate on performance of Si/ZnO heterojunction devices grown by atomic layer deposition technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hazra, Purnima; Singh, Satyendra Kumar [Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Motilal Neheru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad 211004 (India); Jit, Satyabrata, E-mail: sjit.ece@itbhu.ac.in [Department of Electronics Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi 221005 (India)

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, the authors have investigated the structural, optical, and electrical characteristics of silicon nanowire (SiNW)/zinc oxide (ZnO) core–shell nanostructure heterojunctions and compared their characteristics with Si/ZnO planar heterojunctions to investigate the effect of surface morphology of Si substrate in the characteristics of Si/ZnO heterojunction devices. In this work, ZnO thin film was conformally deposited on both p-type 〈100〉 planar Si substrate and substrate with vertically aligned SiNW arrays by atomic layer deposition (ALD) method. The x-ray diffraction spectra show that the crystalline structures of Si/ZnO heterojunctions are having (101) preferred orientation, whereas vertically oriented SiNW/ZnO core–shell heterojunctions are having (002)-oriented wurtzite crystalline structures. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of Si/ZnO heterojunctions show a very sharp single peak at 377 nm, corresponding to the bandgap of ZnO material with no other defect peaks in visible region; hence, these devices can have applications only in UV region. On the other hand, SiNW/ZnO heterojunctions are having band-edge peak at 378 nm along with a broad emission band, spreading almost throughout the entire visible region with a peak around 550 nm. Therefore, ALD-grown SiNW/ZnO heterojunctions can emit green and red light simultaneously. Reflectivity measurement of the heterojunctions further confirms the enhancement of visible region peak in the PL spectra of SiNW/ZnO heterojunctions, as the surface of the SiNW/ZnO heterojunctions exhibits extremely low reflectance (<3%) in the visible wavelength region compared to Si/ZnO heterojunctions (>20%). The current–voltage characteristics of both Si/ZnO and SiNW/ZnO heterojunctions are measured with large area ohmic contacts on top and bottom of the structure to compare the electrical characteristics of the devices. Due to large surface to-volume ratio of SiNW/ZnO core–shell heterojunction devices, the

  19. Nitridation effects of Si(1 1 1) substrate surface on InN nanorods grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Feng, Shan [Faculty of Materials Science and Chemistry, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074 (China); Tan, Jin, E-mail: jintan_cug@163.com [Faculty of Materials Science and Chemistry, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074 (China); Engineering Research Center of Nano-Geomaterials of Ministry of Education, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074 (China); Li, Bin; Song, Hao; Wu, Zhengbo; Chen, Xin [Faculty of Materials Science and Chemistry, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074 (China)

    2015-02-05

    Graphical abstract: The morphology evolution of InN nanorods in samples (g)–(i). The alignment of InN nanorods is improved and the deviation angle distribution narrows down with increase in nitriding time. It suggests that extending the nitriding time can enhance the vertical orientation of InN nanorods. - Highlights: • InN nanorods were grown on surface nitrided Si(1 1 1) substrate using PAMBE system. • Nitridation of substrate surface has a strong effect on morphology of InN nanorods. • InN nanorods cannot be formed with 1 min nitridation of Si(1 1 1) substrate. • Increasing nitriding time will increase optimum growth temperature of InN nanorods. • Increasing nitriding time can enhance vertical orientation of InN nanorods. - Abstract: The InN nanorods were grown on Si(1 1 1) substrate by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE) system, with a substrate nitridation process. The effect of nitriding time of Si(1 1 1) substrate on morphology, orientation and growth temperature of InN nanorods was characterized via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The deviation angle of InN nanorods was measured to evaluate the alignment of arrays. The results showed that InN nanorods could not be formed with 1 min nitridation of Si(1 1 1) substrate, but they could be obtained again when the nitriding time was increased to more than 10 min. In order to get aligned InN nanorods, the growth temperature needed to increase with longer nitriding time. The vertical orientation of InN nanorods could be enhanced with increase in nitriding time. The influence of the substrate nitridation on the photoluminescence (PL) spectra of InN nanorods has been investigated.

  20. Lateral overgrowth of diamond film on stripes patterned Ir/HPHT-diamond substrate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yan-Feng; Chang, Xiaohui; Liu, Zhangcheng; Liu, Zongchen; Fu, Jiao; Zhao, Dan; Shao, Guoqing; Wang, Juan; Zhang, Shaopeng; Liang, Yan; Zhu, Tianfei; Wang, Wei; Wang, Hong-Xing

    2018-05-01

    Epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) of diamond films on patterned Ir/(0 0 1)HPHT-diamond substrates have been carried out by microwave plasma CVD system. Ir/(0 0 1)HPHT-diamond substrates are fabricated by photolithographic and magnetron sputtering technique. The morphology of the as grown ELO diamond film is characterized by optical microscopy and scanning electronic microscopy. The quality and stress of the ELO diamond film are investigated by surface etching pit density and micro-Raman spectroscopy. Two ultraviolet photodetectors are fabricated on ELO diamond area and non-ELO diamond area prepared on same substrate, and that one on ELO diamond area indicates better photoelectric properties. All results indicate quality of ELO diamond film is improved.

  1. Morphology of Diamond Layers Grown on Different Facets of Single Crystal Diamond Substrates by a Microwave Plasma CVD in CH4-H2-N2 Gas Mixtures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Evgeny E. Ashkinazi

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Epitaxial growth of diamond films on different facets of synthetic IIa-type single crystal (SC high-pressure high temperature (HPHT diamond substrate by a microwave plasma CVD in CH4-H2-N2 gas mixture with the high concentration (4% of nitrogen is studied. A beveled SC diamond embraced with low-index {100}, {110}, {111}, {211}, and {311} faces was used as the substrate. Only the {100} face is found to sustain homoepitaxial growth at the present experimental parameters, while nanocrystalline diamond (NCD films are produced on other planes. This observation is important for the choice of appropriate growth parameters, in particular, for the production of bi-layer or multilayer NCD-on-microcrystalline diamond (MCD superhard coatings on tools when the deposition of continuous conformal NCD film on all facet is required. The development of the film morphology with growth time is examined with SEM. The structure of hillocks, with or without polycrystalline aggregates, that appear on {100} face is analyzed, and the stress field (up to 0.4 GPa within the hillocks is evaluated based on high-resolution mapping of photoluminescence spectra of nitrogen-vacancy NV optical centers in the film.

  2. Spot morphology of non-contact printed protein molecules on non-porous substrates with a range of hydrophobicities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mujawar, L.H.; Norde, W.; Amerongen, van A.

    2013-01-01

    Non-contact inkjet printing technology is one of the most promising tools for producing microarrays. The quality of the microarray depends on the type of the substrate used for printing biomolecules. Various porous and non-porous substrates have been used in the past, but due to low production cost

  3. Modification of Bi:YIG film properties by substrate surface ion pre-treatment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shaposhnikov, A.N.; Prokopov, A.R.; Karavainikov, A.V.; Berzhansky, V.N.; Mikhailova, T.V. [Taurida National V.I. Vernadsky University, Vernadsky Avenue, 4, Simferopol, 95007 (Ukraine); Kotov, V.A. [V.A. Kotelnikov Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics, RAS, 11 Mohovaya Street, Moscow, 125009 (Russian Federation); Balabanov, D.E. [Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudny, 141700 (Russian Federation); Sharay, I.V.; Salyuk, O.Y. [Institute of Magnetism, NAS of Ukraine, 03142, Kiev (Ukraine); Vasiliev, M. [Electron Science Research Institute, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup 6027 (Australia); Golub, V.O., E-mail: v_o_golub@yahoo.com [Institute of Magnetism, NAS of Ukraine, 03142, Kiev (Ukraine)

    2014-07-01

    Highlights: • Effects of substrates ion beam treatment on magnetoptical properties Bi:YIG films. • Substrate surface damage results in sign inversion of the magneto-optical effects. • Atomically smooth films growth takes place on low energy ions treated substrates. • High energy ions treatment results in selective nucleation mechanism of the growth. - Abstract: The effect of a controlled ion beam pre-treatment of (1 1 1)-oriented Gd{sub 3}Ga{sub 5}O{sub 12} substrates on the magneto-optical properties and surface morphology of the ultrathin bismuth-substituted yttrium–iron garnet films with a composition Bi{sub 2.8}Y{sub 0.2}Fe{sub 5}O{sub 12} was studied. It has been shown that the observed sign inversion of magneto-optical effects (Faraday rotation and magnetic circular dichroism) observed in films that were deposited on the GGG substrate pre-treated by 1 keV and 4 keV Ar{sup +} ion beams is a result of the substrate surface amorphization caused by the ion bombardment.

  4. Atomic force microscopy and nanoindentation investigation of polydimethylsiloxane elastomeric substrate compliancy for various sputtered thin film morphologies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maji, Debashis; Das, Soumen

    2018-03-01

    Crack free electrically continuous metal thin films over soft elastomeric substrates play an integral part in realization of modern day flexible bioelectronics and biosensors. Under nonoptimized deposition conditions, delamination, and/or cracking of the top film as well as the underlying soft substrate hinders optimal performance of these devices. Hence it is very important to understand and control not only the various deposition factors like power, time, or deposition pressure but also investigate the various interfacial physics playing a critical role in assuring thin film adhesion and substrate compliancy. In the present study, various nanomechanical information of the underlying substrate, namely, crack profile, average roughness, Young's modulus, and adhesion force were studied for uncracked and cracked polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surfaces along with pristine and conventional plasma treated PDMS samples as control. Quantification of the above parameters were done using three-dimensional surface profiler, scanning electron microscopy, nanoindentation, and atomic force microscopy techniques to elucidate the modulus range, average roughness, and adhesion force. Comparative analysis with control revealed remarkable similarity between increased modulus values, increased surface roughness, and reduced adhesion force accounting for reduced substrate compliancy and resulting in film cracking or buckling which are critical for development of various bioflexible devices. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 106A: 725-737, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Epitaxial growth of AlN on single crystal Mo substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Okamoto, Koichiro; Inoue, Shigeru; Nakano, Takayuki; Kim, Tae-Won; Oshima, Masaharu; Fujioka, Hiroshi

    2008-01-01

    We have grown AlN films on single-crystalline Mo(110), (100), and (111) substrates using a low temperature pulsed laser deposition (PLD) growth technique and investigated their structural properties. Although c-axis oriented AlN films grow on Mo(100), the films contain 30 o rotated domains due to the difference in the rotational symmetry between AlN(0001) and Mo(100). AlN films with only poor crystalline quality grow on Mo(111) substrates, probably due to the poor surface morphology and high reactivity of the substrates. On the other hand, single crystal AlN films grow epitaxially on Mo(110) substrates with an in-plane relationship of AlN[11-20] // Mo[001]. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction or electron backscattered diffraction analysis has revealed that neither in-plane 30 deg. rotated domains nor cubic phase domains exist in the AlN films. X-ray reflectivity measurements have revealed that the heterointerface between AlN and Mo prepared by PLD at 450 deg. C is quite abrupt. These results indicate that PLD epitaxial growth of AlN on single crystal Mo substrates is quite promising for the fabrication of future high frequency filter devices

  6. Epitaxial growth of AlN on single crystal Mo substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Okamoto, Koichiro; Inoue, Shigeru [Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-8505 (Japan); Nakano, Takayuki; Kim, Tae-Won [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST) KSP east 301, 3-2-1 Sakado, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, 213-0012 (Japan); Oshima, Masaharu [Department of Applied Chemistry, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656 (Japan); Fujioka, Hiroshi [Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-8505 (Japan); Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST) KSP east 301, 3-2-1 Sakado, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, 213-0012 (Japan)], E-mail: hfujioka@iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp

    2008-06-02

    We have grown AlN films on single-crystalline Mo(110), (100), and (111) substrates using a low temperature pulsed laser deposition (PLD) growth technique and investigated their structural properties. Although c-axis oriented AlN films grow on Mo(100), the films contain 30{sup o} rotated domains due to the difference in the rotational symmetry between AlN(0001) and Mo(100). AlN films with only poor crystalline quality grow on Mo(111) substrates, probably due to the poor surface morphology and high reactivity of the substrates. On the other hand, single crystal AlN films grow epitaxially on Mo(110) substrates with an in-plane relationship of AlN[11-20] // Mo[001]. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction or electron backscattered diffraction analysis has revealed that neither in-plane 30 deg. rotated domains nor cubic phase domains exist in the AlN films. X-ray reflectivity measurements have revealed that the heterointerface between AlN and Mo prepared by PLD at 450 deg. C is quite abrupt. These results indicate that PLD epitaxial growth of AlN on single crystal Mo substrates is quite promising for the fabrication of future high frequency filter devices.

  7. Analyzing the LiF thin films deposited at different substrate temperatures using multifractal technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yadav, R.P. [Department of Physics, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, UP 211002 (India); Dwivedi, S., E-mail: suneetdwivedi@gmail.com [K Banerjee Centre of Atmospheric and Ocean Studies, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, UP 211002 (India); Mittal, A.K. [Department of Physics, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, UP 211002 (India); K Banerjee Centre of Atmospheric and Ocean Studies, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, UP 211002 (India); Kumar, Manvendra [Nanotechnology Application Centre, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, UP 211002 (India); Pandey, A.C. [K Banerjee Centre of Atmospheric and Ocean Studies, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, UP 211002 (India); Nanotechnology Application Centre, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, UP 211002 (India)

    2014-07-01

    The Atomic Force Microscopy technique is used to characterize the surface morphology of LiF thin films deposited at substrate temperatures 77 K, 300 K and 500 K, respectively. It is found that the surface roughness of thin film increases with substrate temperature. The multifractal nature of the LiF thin film at each substrate temperature is investigated using the backward two-dimensional multifractal detrended moving average analysis. The strength of multifractility and the non-uniformity of the height probabilities of the thin films increase as the substrate temperature increases. Both the width of the multifractal spectrum and the difference of fractal dimensions of the thin films increase sharply as the temperature reaches 500 K, indicating that the multifractility of the thin films becomes more pronounced at the higher substrate temperatures with greater cluster size. - Highlights: • Analyzing LiF thin films using multifractal detrended moving average technique • Surface roughness of LiF thin film increases with substrate temperature. • LiF thin films at each substrate temperature exhibit multifractality. • Multifractility becomes more pronounced at the higher substrate temperatures.

  8. The nigrostriatal dopamine system of aging GFRα-1 heterozygous mice: neurochemistry, morphology and behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaman, Vandana; Boger, Heather A.; Granholm, Ann-Charlotte; Rohrer, Baerbel; Moore, Alfred; Buhusi, Mona; Gerhardt, Greg A.; Hoffer, Barry J.; Middaugh, Lawrence D.

    2009-01-01

    Given the established importance of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in maintaining dopaminergic neurotransmitter systems, the nigrostriatal system and associated behaviors of mice with genetic reduction of its high-affinity receptor, GDNF receptor (GFR)α-1 (GFRα-1+/−), were compared with wild-type controls. Motor activity and the stimulatory effects of a dopamine (DA) D1 receptor agonist (SKF 82958) were assessed longitudinally at 8 and 18 months of age. Monoamine concentrations and dopaminergic nerve terminals in the striatum and the number of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN) were assessed. The results support the importance of GFRα-1 in maintaining normal function of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system, with deficits being observed for GFRα-1+/− mice at both ages. Motor activity was lower and the stimulatory effects of the DA agonist were enhanced for the older GFRα-1+/− mice. DA in the striatum was reduced in the GFRα-1+/− mice at both ages, and tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cell numbers in the SN were reduced most substantially in the older GFRα-1+/− mice. The combined behavioral, pharmacological probe, neurochemical and morphological measures provide evidence of abnormalities in GFRα-1+/− mice that are indicative of an exacerbated aging-related decline in dopaminergic system function. The noted deficiencies, in turn, suggest that GFRα-1 is necessary for GDNF to maintain normal function of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system. Although the precise mechanism(s) for the aging-related changes in the dopaminergic system remain to be established, the present study clearly establishes that genetic reductions in GFRα-1 can contribute to the degenerative changes observed in this system during the aging process. PMID:18973577

  9. Culture of Iris Pigment Epithelial Cells on Expanded-Polytetrafluroethylene (ePTFE Substrates for the Treatment of Age-Related Macular Degeneration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S Nian

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Transplantation of an intact differentiated retinal pigment epithelial (RPE cell layer may provide a means to treat Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD. However, harvesting RPE cells can be a technically complicated procedure. Our current work aimed to prepare intact differentiated iris pigment epithelial (IPE cell layers, which are easy to obtain and have the same embryonic origin and similar properties as RPE cells, on ePTFE substrates for transplantation purposes to rescue deteriorated photoreceptors in AMD. Methods: IPE cells isolated from rat eyes were seeded on different substrates, including fibronectin n-heptylamine (HA ePTFE substrates, HA ePTFE substrates, ePTFE substrates and fibronectin tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS as control. Cell number and morphology were assessed at each time interval. The formation of tight junction was examined by immunostaining of junction proteins. Results: An obvious increasing trend of cell number was observed in IPE cells on fibronectin n-heptylamine (HA ePTFE substrate, exhibiting heavy pigmentation and epithelial morphology. At Day 28, tight junction formation was indicated by cell-cell junctional proteins along cell borders. Conclusion: Harvested IPE cells cultured on fibronectin HA-ePTFE substrates can differentiate and form a cell monolayer that may be suitable for transplantation.

  10. Experimental Investigation of Terminal Fans Prograding on a Salt Substrate: 3-d Physical Experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chatmas, E.; Kim, W.

    2015-12-01

    Interactions between geologic features and a mobile substrate layer are present in several passive margin locations throughout the world. Deformation of a substrate layer is primarily due to differential loading of sediment and results in complexities within the morphology and subsequently the stratigraphic record. By using simplified scaled tank experiments, we investigated the relationship between substrate deformation and fan evolution in a fluvial-dump-wind-redistribution setting. In this system, sediment is being eroded from a mountain range and creating terminal fans; fluvial channels form off of the fan body and the deposited fluvial sediment is the source for an aeolian dune field. Several past experimental studies have focused on how deltas and dunes are affected on when deposited on a salt substrate, however terminal fans and channel formation off of fans have not been thoroughly investigated. The current experiments focused on which variables are the most significant in controlling fan growth, channel initiation and channel behavior on the salt substrate. Our experimental basin is 120 cm long, 60 cm wide and 30 cm tall. The materials used for a suite of five experiments involved a polymer polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as the deformable substrate analog and 100-μm quartz sand. By isolating certain variables such as substrate thickness, basin slope and sediment discharge we are able to see how terminal fans and channels are affected in different settings. The experimental results show that 1) increase in substrate thickness increased the amount of subsidence around the fan body, limiting sediment transport to channels off of the toe of the fan, 2) a higher basin slope increased the number of channels formed and increased sinuosity and width variations of channels over distance, and 3) a higher sediment discharge rate on a thin substrate allowed for the farthest downstream fan deposits. Preliminary results show that channel behavior and fan morphology is

  11. Influence of substrate temperature on properties of MgF2 coatings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu Hua; Qi Hongji; Cui Yun; Shen Yanming; Shao Jianda; Fan Zhengxiu

    2007-01-01

    Thermal boat evaporation was employed to prepare MgF 2 single-layer coatings upon both JGS1 and UBK7 substrates at different substrate temperatures. Microstructure, transmittance and residual stress of these coatings were measured by X-ray diffraction, spectrophotometer, and optical interferometer, respectively. Measurement of laser induced damage threshold (LIDT) of the samples was performed at 355 nm, 8 ns pulses. The results showed that high substrate temperature was beneficial to crystallization of the film. Above 244 deg. C, the refractive index increased gradually with the substrate temperature rising. Whereas, it was exceptional at 210 deg. C that the refractive index was higher than those deposited at 244 and 277 deg. C. The tensile residual stresses were exhibited in all MgF 2 films, but not well correlated with the substrate temperature. In addition, the stresses were comparatively smaller upon JGS1 substrates. A tendency could be seen that the LIDTs reached the highest values at about 244 deg. C, and the films upon JGS1 had higher LIDTs than those upon UBK7 substrates at the same temperature. Meanwhile, the damage morphologies showed that the laser damage of the coating resulted from an absorbing center at the film-substrate interface. The features of the damages were displayed by an absorbing center dominated model. Furthermore, the reason of the difference in LIDT values was discussed in detail

  12. Effects of substrates on biofilm formation observed by atomic force microscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oh, Y.J.; Lee, N.R.; Jo, W.; Jung, W.K.; Lim, J.S.

    2009-01-01

    Formation of biofilm is known to be strongly dependent on substrates including topography, materials, and chemical treatment. In this study, a variety of substrates are tested for understanding biofilm formation. Sheets of aluminum, steel, rubber, and polypropylene have been used to examine their effects on formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm. In particular, the morphological variation, transition, and adhesiveness of biofilm were investigated through local measurement by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Mechanism of removing biofilm from adhering to substrate is also analyzed, thus the understanding of the mechanism can be potentially useful to prevent the biofilm formation. The results reveal that formation of biofilm can remain on rough surface regardless of substrates in hot water, which may easily induce extra-polymeric substances detachment from bacterial surface. By probing using AFM, local force-distance characterization of extra-cellular materials extracted from the bacteria can exhibit the progress of the biofilm formation and functional complexities.

  13. Effect of substrate temperature on the optical, structural and morphological properties of In{sub 2}Se{sub 3} thin films grown by a two-step process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Clavijo, J; Gordillo, G [Departamento de Fisica, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota (Colombia); Romero, E, E-mail: jiclavijop@unal.edu.c, E-mail: erromerom@unal.edu.c, E-mail: ggordillog@unal.edu.c

    2009-05-01

    Polycrystalline gamma - In{sub 2}Se{sub 3} thin films with adequate properties to use them as buffer layer in solar cells, were grown on corning glass substrates using a novel procedure which includes the formation of the alpha- In{sub 2}Se{sub 3} phase in a first step followed by thermal annealing in Se ambient to activate the formation of the gamma- In{sub 2}Se{sub 3} phase. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements revealed that the substrate temperature strongly affects the phase in which the indium selenide films grow; at substrate temperatures of around 300{sup 0}C the indium selenide grow in the alpha-In{sub 2}Se{sub 3} phase, whereas the samples deposited at temperatures between 300 and 550{sup 0}C grow with a mixture of the alpha-In{sub 2}Se{sub 3} and gamma-In{sub 2}Se{sub 3} phases. The alpha-In{sub 2}Se{sub 3} samples change into the gamma-In{sub 2}Se{sub 3} phase when subjected to heat treatment around 550{sup 0}C in Se ambient. Spectrophotometric measurements also revealed that the phase in which the indium selenide films grow, significantly affects the optical gap Eg. Eg values of 1.47 eV and 2.11 eV were determined for the alpha-In{sub 2}Se{sub 3} and gamma-In{sub 2}Se{sub 3} films respectively, indicating that this gamma-In{sub 2}Se{sub 3} compound has better properties to perform as buffer layer in thin film solar cells. The effect of substrate temperature on the structural, optical and morphological properties was investigated using XRD, spectral transmittance and atomic force microscope (AFM) measurements. Theoretical simulation of the XRD pattern carried out with the help of the PowderCell package, allowed us to identify the phases associated to the X-Ray reflections, with a good degree of confidence.

  14. Morphology captures diet and locomotor types in rodents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verde Arregoitia, Luis D; Fisher, Diana O; Schweizer, Manuel

    2017-01-01

    To understand the functional meaning of morphological features, we need to relate what we know about morphology and ecology in a meaningful, quantitative framework. Closely related species usually share more phenotypic features than distant ones, but close relatives do not necessarily have the same ecologies. Rodents are the most diverse group of living mammals, with impressive ecomorphological diversification. We used museum collections and ecological literature to gather data on morphology, diet and locomotion for 208 species of rodents from different bioregions to investigate how morphological similarity and phylogenetic relatedness are associated with ecology. After considering differences in body size and shared evolutionary history, we find that unrelated species with similar ecologies can be characterized by a well-defined suite of morphological features. Our results validate the hypothesized ecological relevance of the chosen traits. These cranial, dental and external (e.g. ears) characters predicted diet and locomotion and showed consistent differences among species with different feeding and substrate use strategies. We conclude that when ecological characters do not show strong phylogenetic patterns, we cannot simply assume that close relatives are ecologically similar. Museum specimens are valuable records of species' phenotypes and with the characters proposed here, morphology can reflect functional similarity, an important component of community ecology and macroevolution.

  15. Self-assembly of gas-phase synthesized magnesium nanoparticles on room temperature substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Venturi, F; Calizzi, M; Pasquini, L; Bals, S; Perkisas, T

    2015-01-01

    Magnesium nanoparticles (NPs) with initial size in the 10–50 nm range were synthesized by inert gas condensation under helium flow and deposited on room temperature substrates. The morphology and crystal structure of the NPs ensemble were investigated as a function of the deposition time by complementary electron microscopy techniques, including high resolution imaging and chemical mapping. With increasing amount of material, strong coarsening phenomena were observed at room temperature: small NPs disappeared while large faceted NPs developed, leading to a 5-fold increase of the average NPs size within a few minutes. The extent of coarsening and the final morphology depended also on the nature of the substrate. Furthermore, large single-crystal NPs were seen to arise from the self-organization of primary NPs units, providing a mechanism for crystal growth. The dynamics of the self-assembly process involves the basic steps of NPs sticking, diffusion on substrate, coordinated rotation and attachment/coalescence. Key features are the surface energy anisotropy, reflected by the faceted shape of the NPs, and the low melting point of the material. The observed phenomena have strong implications in relation to the synthesis and stability of nanostructures based on Mg or other elements with similar features. (paper)

  16. Surface morphology of amorphous germanium thin films following thermal outgassing of SiO{sub 2}/Si substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Valladares, L. de los Santos, E-mail: ld301@cam.ac.uk [Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Cambridge, J.J. Thomson Ave., Cambridge CB3 0HE (United Kingdom); Dominguez, A. Bustamante [Laboratorio de Cerámicos y Nanomateriales, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Apartado Postal 14-0149, Lima (Peru); Llandro, J.; Holmes, S. [Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Cambridge, J.J. Thomson Ave., Cambridge CB3 0HE (United Kingdom); Quispe, O. Avalos [Laboratorio de Cerámicos y Nanomateriales, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Apartado Postal 14-0149, Lima (Peru); Langford, R. [Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Cambridge, J.J. Thomson Ave., Cambridge CB3 0HE (United Kingdom); Aguiar, J. Albino [Laboratório de Supercondutividade e Materiais Avançados, Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, 50670-901, Recife (Brazil); Barnes, C.H.W. [Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Cambridge, J.J. Thomson Ave., Cambridge CB3 0HE (United Kingdom)

    2014-10-15

    Highlights: • Annealing promotes outgassing of SiO{sub 2}/Si wafers. • Outgassing species embed in the a-Ge film forming bubbles. • The density of bubbles obtained by slow annealing is smaller than by rapid annealing. • The bubbles explode after annealing the samples at 800 °C. • Surface migration at higher temperatures forms polycrystalline GeO{sub 2} islands. - Abstract: In this work we report the surface morphology of amorphous germanium (a-Ge) thin films (140 nm thickness) following thermal outgassing of SiO{sub 2}/Si substrates. The thermal outgassing was performed by annealing the samples in air at different temperatures from 400 to 900 °C. Annealing at 400 °C in slow (2 °C/min) and fast (10 °C/min) modes promotes the formation of bubbles on the surface. A cross sectional view by transmission electron microscope taken of the sample slow annealed at 400 °C reveals traces of gas species embedded in the a-Ge film, allowing us to propose a possible mechanism for the formation of the bubbles. The calculated internal pressure and number of gas molecules for this sample are 30 MPa and 38 × 10{sup 8}, respectively. Over an area of 22 × 10{sup −3} cm{sup 2} the density of bubbles obtained at slow annealing (9 × 10{sup 3} cm{sup −2}) is smaller than that at rapid annealing (6.4 × 10{sup 4} cm{sup −2}), indicating that the amount of liberated gas in both cases is only a fraction of the total gas contained in the substrate. After increasing the annealing temperature in the slow mode, bubbles of different diameters (from tens of nanometers up to tens of micrometers) randomly distribute over the Ge film and they grow with temperature. Vertical diffusion of the outgas species through the film dominates the annealing temperature interval 400–600 °C, whereas coalescence of bubbles caused by lateral diffusion is detected after annealing at 700 °C. The bubbles explode after annealing the samples at 800 °C. Annealing at higher temperatures, such as

  17. Controlling the nanoscale morphology of organic films deposited by polyatomic ions

    CERN Document Server

    Hanley, L; Fuoco, E R; Ahu-Akin, F; Wijesundara, M B J; Li, Maozhen; Tikhonov, A; Schlossman, M

    2003-01-01

    Hyperthermal polyatomic ion beams can be used to fabricate thin film nanostructures with controlled morphology. Several experiments are described in which mass-selected and non-mass-selected polyatomic ion beams are used to create nanometer thick films with controlled surface and buried interface morphologies. Fluorocarbon and thiophenic films are grown on silicon wafers and/or polystyrene from 5 to 200 eV C sub 3 F sub 5 sup + or C sub 4 H sub 4 S sup + ions, respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray reflectivity, and scanning electron microscopy are utilized to analyze the morphology and chemistry of these films. Polyatomic ions are found to control film morphology on the nanoscale through variation of the incident ion energy, ion structure and/or substrate.

  18. Tailoring the nanoscale morphology of HKUST-1 thin films via codeposition and seeded growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brower, Landon J; Gentry, Lauren K; Napier, Amanda L; Anderson, Mary E

    2017-01-01

    Integration of surface-anchored metal-organic frameworks (surMOFs) within hierarchical architectures is necessary for potential sensing, electronic, optical, or separation applications. It is important to understand the fundamentals of film formation for these surMOFs in order to develop strategies for their incorporation with nanoscale control over lateral and vertical dimensions. This research identified processing parameters to control the film morphology for surMOFs of HKUST-1 fabricated by codeposition and seeded deposition. Time and temperature were investigated to observe film formation, to control film thickness, and to tune morphology. Film thickness was investigated by ellipsometry, while film structure and film roughness were characterized by atomic force microscopy. Films formed via codeposition resulted in nanocrystallites anchored to the gold substrate. A dynamic process at the interface was observed with a low density of large particulates (above 100 nm) initially forming on the substrate; and over time these particulates were slowly replaced by the prevalence of smaller crystallites (ca. 10 nm) covering the substrate at a high density. Elevated temperature was found to expedite the growth process to obtain the full range of surface morphologies with reasonable processing times. Seed crystals formed by the codeposition method were stable and nucleated growth throughout a subsequent layer-by-layer deposition process. These seed crystals templated the final film structure and tailor the features in lateral and vertical directions. Using codeposition and seeded growth, different surface morphologies with controllable nanoscale dimensions can be designed and fabricated for integration of MOF systems directly into device architectures and sensor platforms.

  19. Tailoring the nanoscale morphology of HKUST-1 thin films via codeposition and seeded growth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Landon J. Brower

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Integration of surface-anchored metal-organic frameworks (surMOFs within hierarchical architectures is necessary for potential sensing, electronic, optical, or separation applications. It is important to understand the fundamentals of film formation for these surMOFs in order to develop strategies for their incorporation with nanoscale control over lateral and vertical dimensions. This research identified processing parameters to control the film morphology for surMOFs of HKUST-1 fabricated by codeposition and seeded deposition. Time and temperature were investigated to observe film formation, to control film thickness, and to tune morphology. Film thickness was investigated by ellipsometry, while film structure and film roughness were characterized by atomic force microscopy. Films formed via codeposition resulted in nanocrystallites anchored to the gold substrate. A dynamic process at the interface was observed with a low density of large particulates (above 100 nm initially forming on the substrate; and over time these particulates were slowly replaced by the prevalence of smaller crystallites (ca. 10 nm covering the substrate at a high density. Elevated temperature was found to expedite the growth process to obtain the full range of surface morphologies with reasonable processing times. Seed crystals formed by the codeposition method were stable and nucleated growth throughout a subsequent layer-by-layer deposition process. These seed crystals templated the final film structure and tailor the features in lateral and vertical directions. Using codeposition and seeded growth, different surface morphologies with controllable nanoscale dimensions can be designed and fabricated for integration of MOF systems directly into device architectures and sensor platforms.

  20. Chiral Orientation of Skeletal Muscle Cells Requires Rigid Substrate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ninghao Zhu

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Reconstitution of tissue morphology with inherent left–right (LR asymmetry is essential for tissue/organ functions. For skeletal muscle, the largest tissue in mammalian organisms, successful myogenesis requires the regulation of the LR asymmetry to form the appropriate muscle alignment. However, the key factor for reproducing the LR asymmetry of skeletal tissues in a controllable, engineering context remains largely unknown. Recent reports indicate that cell chirality may underlie the LR development in tissue morphogenesis. Here, we report that a rigid substrate is required for the chirality of skeletal muscle cells. By using alternating micropatterned cell-adherent and cell-repellent stripes on a rigid substrate, we found that C2C12 skeletal muscle myoblasts exhibited a unidirectional tilted orientation with respect to the stripe boundary. Importantly, such chiral orientation was reduced when soft substrates were used instead. In addition, we demonstrated the key role of actin stress fibers in the formation of the chiral orientation. This study reveals that a rigid substrate is required for the chiral pattern of myoblasts, paving the way for reconstructing damaged muscle tissue with inherent LR asymmetry in the future.

  1. Effects of substrate temperature, substrate orientation, and energetic atomic collisions on the structure of GaN films grown by reactive sputtering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schiaber, Ziani S.; Lisboa-Filho, Paulo N.; Silva, José H. D. da [Universidade Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Bauru, São Paulo 17033-360 (Brazil); Leite, Douglas M. G. [Universidade Federal de Itajubá, UNIFEI, Itajubá, Minas Gerais 37500-903 (Brazil); Bortoleto, José R. R. [Universidade Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Sorocaba, São Paulo 18087-180 (Brazil)

    2013-11-14

    The combined effects of substrate temperature, substrate orientation, and energetic particle impingement on the structure of GaN films grown by reactive radio-frequency magnetron sputtering are investigated. Monte-Carlo based simulations are employed to analyze the energies of the species generated in the plasma and colliding with the growing surface. Polycrystalline films grown at temperatures ranging from 500 to 1000 °C clearly showed a dependence of orientation texture and surface morphology on substrate orientation (c- and a-plane sapphire) in which the (0001) GaN planes were parallel to the substrate surface. A large increase in interplanar spacing associated with the increase in both a- and c-parameters of the hexagonal lattice and a redshift of the optical bandgap were observed at substrate temperatures higher than 600 °C. The results showed that the tensile stresses produced during the film's growth in high-temperature deposition ranges were much larger than the expected compressive stresses caused by the difference in the thermal expansion coefficients of the film and substrate in the cool-down process after the film growth. The best films were deposited at 500 °C, 30 W and 600 °C, 45 W, which corresponds to conditions where the out diffusion from the film is low. Under these conditions the benefits of the temperature increase because of the decrease in defect density are greater than the problems caused by the strongly strained lattice that occurr at higher temperatures. The results are useful to the analysis of the growth conditions of GaN films by reactive sputtering.

  2. Growth of carbon nanotubes by Fe-catalyzed chemical vapor processes on silicon-based substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angelucci, Renato; Rizzoli, Rita; Vinciguerra, Vincenzo; Fortuna Bevilacqua, Maria; Guerri, Sergio; Corticelli, Franco; Passini, Mara

    2007-03-01

    In this paper, a site-selective catalytic chemical vapor deposition synthesis of carbon nanotubes on silicon-based substrates has been developed in order to get horizontally oriented nanotubes for field effect transistors and other electronic devices. Properly micro-fabricated silicon oxide and polysilicon structures have been used as substrates. Iron nanoparticles have been obtained both from a thin Fe film evaporated by e-gun and from iron nitrate solutions accurately dispersed on the substrates. Single-walled nanotubes with diameters as small as 1 nm, bridging polysilicon and silicon dioxide “pillars”, have been grown. The morphology and structure of CNTs have been characterized by SEM, AFM and Raman spectroscopy.

  3. Neurite outgrowth stimulatory effects of culinary-medicinal mushrooms and their toxicity assessment using differentiating Neuro-2a and embryonic fibroblast BALB/3T3.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phan, Chia-Wei; David, Pamela; Naidu, Murali; Wong, Kah-Hui; Sabaratnam, Vikineswary

    2013-10-11

    Mushrooms are not only regarded as gourmet cuisine but also as therapeutic agent to promote cognition health. However, little toxicological information is available regarding their safety. Therefore, the aim of this study was to screen selected ethno-pharmacologically important mushrooms for stimulatory effects on neurite outgrowth and to test for any cytotoxicity. The stimulatory effect of mushrooms on neurite outgrowth was assessed in differentiating mouse neuroblastoma (N2a) cells. Neurite length was measured using Image-Pro Insight processor system. Neuritogenesis activity was further validated by fluorescence immunocytochemical staining of neurofilaments. In vitro cytotoxicity was investigated by using mouse embryonic fibroblast (BALB/3T3) and N2a cells for any embryo- and neuro-toxic effects; respectively. Aqueous extracts of Ganoderma lucidum, Lignosus rhinocerotis, Pleurotus giganteus and Grifola frondosa; as well as an ethanol extract of Cordyceps militaris significantly (p effects following 24 h exposure of N2a and 3T3 cells to mushroom extracts. Our results indicate that G. lucidum, L. rhinocerotis, P. giganteus, G. frondosa and C. militaris may be developed as safe and healthy dietary supplements for brain and cognitive health.

  4. The analysis of adhesion failure between Ni-coating and sintered NdFeB substrate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hengxiu, Y; Yong, D; Zhenlun, S, E-mail: yanghengxiu@nimte.ac.cn [Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 315201 (China)

    2011-01-01

    Ni-coating was widely used to protect the sintered NdFeB magnet from corrosion by Watt electro-deposition solution. However, the protection failure always occurs due to poor adhesion strength between Ni-coating and NdFeB substrate. In present work, the adhesion strength of the Ni-coating on NdFeB substrate was measured by vertical tensile method to strip Ni-coating from NdFeB substrate. The results revealed that the adhesion failure was occurred in the side of the NdFeB substrate due to a weak zone sometimes shown cracks located inside of NdFeB substrate, rather than in the interface between Ni-coating and NdFeB substrate. Comparing with cross section morphology of NdFeB magnet after pretreatment, it is concluded that the crack could be formed during the electro-deposition process. The effect of the pH value of bath on adhesion strength indicated that the crack could be induced due to electrochemical hydrogenation of NdFeB substrate during electro-deposition.

  5. Lithium secondary batteries: Role of polymer cathode morphology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naoi, Katsuhiko; Osaka, Tetsuya; Owens, Boone B.

    1988-06-01

    Electrically conducting polymers have been utilized both as the cathode and as the electrolyte element of Li secondary cells. Polymer cathodes were limited in their suitability for batteries because of the low energy content associated with low levels of doping and the inclusion of complex ionic species in the cathode. Recent studies have indicated that doping levels up to 100 percent can be achieved in polyanilene. High doping levels in combination with controlled morphologies have been found to improve the energy and rate capabilities of polymer cathodes. A morphology-modifying technique was utilized to enhance the charge/discharge characteristics of Li/liquid electrolyte polypyrrole cells. The polymer is electropolymerized in a preferred orientation morphology when the substrate is first precoated with an insulating film of nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR). Modification of the kinetic behavior of the electrode results from variations in the chemical composition of the NBR.

  6. Morphologically tuned 3D/1D rutile TiO{sub 2} hierarchical hybrid microarchitectures engineered by one-step surfactant free hydrothermal method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maria John, Maria Angelin Sinthiya [Crystal Growth and Thin Film Laboratory, Department of Physics and Nanotechnology, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, SRM University, Kattankulathur 603203, Tamil Nadu (India); Ramamurthi, K., E-mail: ramamurthi.k@ktr.srmuniv.ac.in [Crystal Growth and Thin Film Laboratory, Department of Physics and Nanotechnology, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, SRM University, Kattankulathur 603203, Tamil Nadu (India); Sethuraman, K. [School of Physics, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai 625021, Tamil Nadu (India); Ramesh Babu, R. [Crystal Growth and Thin Film Laboratory, School of Physics, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli 620024, Tamil Nadu (India)

    2017-05-31

    Highlights: • TiO{sub 2} 1D-NRs are tuned to 3D/1D-HHMs by increasing growth temperature-first report. • TiO{sub 2} seeded glass substrates are used to reduce the lattice mismatch of TiO{sub 2} HHMs. • Growth temperature influences the structural, morphological and optical properties. • Possible growth mechanism is proposed for morphological changes. - Abstract: Present investigation reports on the surfactant free hydrothermal synthesize of the morphologically tuned hierarchical hybrid rutile titanium oxide (TiO{sub 2}) microarchitectures showing three dimensional microflower structures and cook pine tree like structures on the one dimensional nanorods formed over TiO{sub 2} seed layer coated glass substrates by tuning growth temperature. TiO{sub 2} seed layer of ∼100 nm thick was coated on the glass substrates employing sol–gel spin coating method and then rutile TiO{sub 2} microarchitectures were synthesized on the TiO{sub 2} seed layer by one-step surfactant free hydrothermal method. Deposited samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy techniques. Influence of the growth temperature on the crystallinity, morphology and optical properties along with the growth mechanism to achieve hierarchical microarchitectures was investigated. Present work revealed that the structural, morphological and optical properties of the TiO{sub 2} hierarchical microarchitectures strongly depend on the growth temperature. Further we proposed a model for the cause to effect possible morphological changes of rutile TiO{sub 2} microarchitectures as a function of growth temperatures on the TiO{sub 2} seeded glass substrates.

  7. Stimulatory effects of neuronally released norepinephrine on renin release in vitro

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Matsumura, Yasuo; Kawazoe, Shinka; Ichihara, Toshio; Shinyama, Hiroshi; Kageyama, Masaaki; Morimoto, Shiro (Osaka Univ. of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Japan))

    1988-10-01

    Extracellular high potassium inhibits renin release in vitro by increasing calcium concentrations in the juxtaglomerular cells. The authors found that the decreased response of renin release from rat kidney cortical slices in high potassium solution changed to a strikingly increased one in the presence of nifedipine at doses over 10{sup {minus}6} M. They then examined the stimulatory effect of extracellular high potassium in the presence of nifedipine on renin release. The enhancement of release was significantly suppressed either by propranolol or by metoprolol but not by prazosin. High potassium plus nifedipine-induced increase in renin release was markedly attenuated by renal denervation. The enhancing effect was not observed when the slices were incubated in calcium-free medium. Divalent cations such as Cd{sup 2+}, Co{sup 2+}, and Mn{sup 2+} blocked this enhancement in a concentration-dependent manner. High potassium elicited an increase in {sup 3}H efflux from the slices preloaded with ({sup 3}H)-norepinephrine. The increasing effect was not influenced by nifedipine but was abolished by the removal of extracellular calcium or by the addition of divalent cations. These observations suggest to us that the high potassium plus nifedipine-induced increase in renin release from the slices is mediated by norepinephrine derived from renal sympathetic nerves and that this neuronally released norepinephrine stimulates renin release via activation of {beta}-adrenoceptors.

  8. Substrate-Based Noble-Metal Nanomaterials: Shape Engineering and Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hajfathalian, Maryam

    Nanostructures have potential for use in state-of-the-art applications such as sensing, imaging, therapeutics, drug delivery, and electronics. The ability to fabricate and engineer these nanoscale materials is essential for the continued development of such devices. Because the morphological features of nanomaterials play a key role in determining chemical and physical properties, there is great interest in developing and improving methods capable of controlling their size, shape, and composition. While noble nanoparticles have opened the door to promising applications in fields such as imaging, cancer targeting, photothermal treatment, drug delivery, catalysis and sensing, the synthetic processes required to form these nanoparticles on surfaces are not well-developed. Herein is a detailed account on efforts for adapting established solution-based seed-mediated synthetic protocols to structure in a substrate-based platform. These syntheses start by (i) defining heteroepitaxially oriented nanostructured seeds at site-specific locations using lithographic or directed-assembly techniques, and then (ii) transforming the seeds using either a solution or vapor phase processing route to activate kinetically- or thermodynamically-driven growth modes, to arrive at nanocrystals with complex and useful geometries. The first series of investigations highlight synthesis-routes based on heterogeneous nucleation, where templates serve as nucleation sites for metal atoms arriving in the vapor phase. In the first research direction, the vapor-phase heterogeneous nucleation of Ag on Au was carried out at high temperatures, where the Ag vapor was sourced from a sublimating foil onto adjacent Au templates. This process transformed both the composition and morphology of the initial Au Wulff-shaped nanocrystals to a homogeneous AuAg nanoprism. In the second case, the vapor-phase heterogeneous nucleation of Cu atoms on Au nanocrystal templates was investigated by placing a Cu foil next

  9. New Horizons in Enhancing the Proliferation and Differentiation of Neural Stem Cells Using Stimulatory Effects of the Short Time Exposure to Radiofrequency Radiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eghlidospour, M; Mortazavi, S M J; Yousefi, F; Mortazavi, S A R

    2015-09-01

    Mobile phone use and wireless communication technology have grown explosively over the past decades. This rapid growth has caused widespread global concern about the potential detrimental effects of this technology on human health. Stem cells generate specialized cell types of the tissue in which they reside through normal differentiation pathways. Considering the undeniable importance of stem cells in modern medicine, numerous studies have been performed on the effects of ionizing and non-ionizing radiation on cellular processes such as: proliferation, differentiation, cell cycle and DNA repair processes. We have conducted extensive studies on beneficial (stimulatory) or detrimental biological effects of exposure to different sources of electromagnetic fields such as mobile phones, mobile phone base stations, mobile phone jammers, radar systems, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems and dentistry cavitrons over the past years. In this article, recent studies on the biological effects of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation in the range of radiofrequency (RF) on some important features of stem cells such as their proliferation and differentiation are reviewed. Studies reviewed in this paper indicate that the stimulatory or inhibitory effects of RF radiation on the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells depend on various factors such as the biological systems, experiment conditions, the frequency and intensity of RF and the duration of exposure.

  10. On the optical, structural, and morphological properties of ZrO2 and TiO2 dip-coated thin films supported on glass substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cueto, Luisa F.; Sanchez, Enrique; Torres-Martinez, Leticia M.; Hirata, Gustavo A.

    2005-01-01

    This article reports the optical and morphological properties of dip-coated TiO 2 and ZrO 2 thin films on soda-lime glass substrates by metal-organic decomposition (MOD) of titanium IV and zirconium IV acetylacetonates respectively. Thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (DTA-TG) were performed on the precursor powders, indicating pure TiO 2 anatase and tetragonal ZrO 2 phase formation. Phase crystallization processes took place in the range of 300-500 deg. C for anatase and of 410-500 deg. C for ZrO 2 . Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) was used to confirm precursor bidentate ligand formation with keno-enolic equilibrium character. Deposited films were heated at different temperatures, and their structural, optical and morphological properties were studied by grazing-incidence X-ray Diffraction (GIXRD) and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Ultraviolet Visible Spectroscopy (UV-Vis), and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) respectively. Film thinning and crystalline phase formation were enhanced with increasing temperature upon chelate decomposition. The optimum annealing temperature for both pure anatase TiO 2 and tetragonal ZrO 2 thin films was found to be 500 deg. C since solid volume fraction increased with temperature and film refractive index values approached those of pure anatase and tetragonal zirconia. Conditions for clean stoichiometric film formation with an average roughness value of 2 nm are discussed in terms of material binding energies indicated by XPS analyses, refractive index and solid volume fraction obtained indirectly by UV-Vis spectra, and crystalline peak identification provided by GIXRD

  11. Dense and porous titanium substrates with a biomimetic calcium phosphate coating

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ribeiro, A.A., E-mail: aantunesr@yahoo.com.br [Powder Technology Laboratory, Materials Processing and Characterization Division, National Institute of Technology, No. 82 Venezuela Avenue, Room 602, 20081-312 Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Balestra, R.M. [Powder Technology Laboratory, Materials Processing and Characterization Division, National Institute of Technology, No. 82 Venezuela Avenue, Room 602, 20081-312 Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Rocha, M.N. [Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Program, COPPE, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, P.O. Box 68505, 21941-972 Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Peripolli, S.B. [Materials Metrology Division, National Institute of Metrology, Normalization and Quality, No. 50 Nossa Senhora das Gracas Street, Building 3, 25250-020 Duque de Caxias, RJ (Brazil); Andrade, M.C. [Polytechnic Institute of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro State University, s/n, Alberto Rangel Street, 28630-050 Nova Friburgo, RJ (Brazil); Pereira, L.C. [Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Program, COPPE, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, P.O. Box 68505, 21941-972 Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Oliveira, M.V. [Powder Technology Laboratory, Materials Processing and Characterization Division, National Institute of Technology, No. 82 Venezuela Avenue, Room 602, 20081-312 Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

    2013-01-15

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A biomimetic coating method with simplified solution is proposed. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Titanium substrates are submitted to chemical and heat treatments. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Titanium substrates are coated with biocompatible calcium phosphate phases. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The simplified solution shows potential to be applied as a coating technique. - Abstract: The present work studied a biomimetic method using a simplified solution (SS) with calcium and phosphorus ions for coating titanium substrates, in order to improve their bioactivity. Commercially pure titanium dense sheet, microporous and macroporous titanium samples, both produced by powder metallurgy, were treated in NaOH solution followed by heat-treating and immersed in SS for 7, 14 or 21 days. The samples characterization was performed by quantitative metallographic analysis, confocal scanning optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy and low angle X-ray diffraction. The results showed coatings with calcium phosphate precipitation in all samples, with globular or plate-like morphology, typical of hydroxyapatite and octacalcium phosphate, respectively, indicating that the solution (SS) has potential for coating titanium substrates. In addition, the different surfaces of substrates had an effect on the formed calcium phosphate phase and thickness of coatings, depending on the substrate type and imersion time in the simplified solution.

  12. Tailoring the morphology of electrodeposited ZnO and its photoluminescence properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, H.; Mollar, M.; Marí, B.

    2011-01-01

    High density ZnO columnar films with well-aligned and well-perpendicular to the surface of film were electrodeposited on ITO substrates by using an electrolyte consisting of a mix of water and organic solvent namely dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). The effect of mixing ratio of water and DMSO on the growth of film has been examined critically. SEM images have shown that well-oriented ZnO quasi-nano columns were formed perpendicular to the substrate. At the same time we found there are three kinds of competitions for growth of ZnO crystalmorphology i.e. column, rod and needle like. The needle like morphology has high density with well-aligned structure. The reasons for the growth of films of different morphology and their photoluminescence (PL) properties have been presented and discussed. It has been found that the three-dimensional (3D) ordered ZnO structure exhibits high intensity PL band which may shift their position and intensity with the varying conditions of depositions.

  13. Porous Silicon Covered with Silver Nanoparticles as Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) Substrate for Ultra-Low Concentration Detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kosović, Marin; Balarin, Maja; Ivanda, Mile; Đerek, Vedran; Marciuš, Marijan; Ristić, Mira; Gamulin, Ozren

    2015-12-01

    Microporous and macro-mesoporous silicon templates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates were produced by anodization of low doped p-type silicon wafers. By immersion plating in AgNO3, the templates were covered with silver metallic film consisting of different silver nanostructures. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs of these SERS substrates showed diverse morphology with significant difference in an average size and size distribution of silver nanoparticles. Ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared (UV-Vis-NIR) reflection spectroscopy showed plasmonic absorption at 398 and 469 nm, which is in accordance with the SEM findings. The activity of the SERS substrates was tested using rhodamine 6G (R6G) dye molecules and 514.5 nm laser excitation. Contrary to the microporous silicon template, the SERS substrate prepared from macro-mesoporous silicon template showed significantly broader size distribution of irregular silver nanoparticles as well as localized surface plasmon resonance closer to excitation laser wavelength. Such silver morphology has high SERS sensitivity that enables ultralow concentration detection of R6G dye molecules up to 10(-15) M. To our knowledge, this is the lowest concentration detected of R6G dye molecules on porous silicon-based SERS substrates, which might even indicate possible single molecule detection.

  14. Doped polymer electrodes for high performance ferroelectric capacitors on plastic substrates

    KAUST Repository

    Khan, M. A.

    2012-10-03

    Flexible ferroelectric capacitors with doped polymer electrodes have been fabricated on plastic substrates with performance as good as metal electrodes. The effect of doping on the morphology of polymer electrodes and its impact on device performance have been studied. Improved fatigue characteristics using doped and undoped poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) electrodes versus metal electrodes are observed. It is shown that the polymer electrodes follow classical ferroelectric and dielectric responses, including series resistance effects. The improved device characteristics obtained using highly conducting doped PEDOT:PSS suggest that it may be used both as an electrode and as global interconnect for all-polymer transparent circuits on flexible substrates.

  15. The effect of a slight mis-orientation angle of c-plane sapphire substrate on surface and crystal quality of MOCVD grown GaN thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Seong-Woo; Suzuki, Toshimasa [Nippon Institute of Technology, 4-1 Gakuendai, Miyashiro, Saitama, 345-8501 (Japan); Aida, Hideo [NAMIKI Precision Jewel Co. Ltd., 3-8-22 Shinden, Adachi-ku, Tokyo, 123-8511 (Japan)

    2004-09-01

    The effect of a slight mis-orientation of c-plane sapphire substrate on the surface morphology and crystal quality of GaN thin films grown by MOCVD has been investigated. The mis-orientation angle of vicinal c-plane sapphire substrate was changed within the range of 0.00(zero)-1.00(one) degree, and the experimental results were compared with those on just angle (zero degree) c-plane sapphire substrate. The surface morphology and crystal quality were found to be very sensitive to mis-orientation angle. Consequently, the mis-orientation angle was optimized to be 0.15 . (copyright 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  16. Effects of Culture Substrate Made of Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid Microgels on Osteogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhuojun Dai

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAM-based polymers and gels are widely known and studied for their thermoresponsive property. In the biomaterials category, they are regarded as a potential cell culture substrate, not only because of their biocompatibility, but also their special character of allowing controlled detachment of cells via temperature stimulus. Previous research about PNIPAM-based substrates mostly concentrated on their effects in cell adhesion and proliferation. In this study, however, we investigate the influence of the PNIPAM-based substrate on the differentiation capacity of stem cells. Especially, we choose P(NIPAM-AA microgels as a culture dish coating and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs are cultured on top of the microgels. Interestingly, we find that the morphology of MSCs changes remarkably on a microgel-coated surface, from the original spindle form to a more stretched and elongated cell shape. Accompanied by the alternation in morphology, the expression of several osteogenesis-related genes is elevated even without inducing factors. In the presence of full osteogenic medium, MSCs on a microgel substrate show an enhancement in the expression level of osteopontin and alizarin red staining signals, indicating the physical property of substrate has a direct effect on MSCs differentiation.

  17. Silver-coated Si nanograss as highly sensitive surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tang, Jing; Kuo, Huei Pei; Hu, Min; Li, Zhiyong; Williams, R.S. [Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, Information and Quantum Systems Laboratory, Palo Alto, CA (United States); Ou, Fung Suong [Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, Information and Quantum Systems Laboratory, Palo Alto, CA (United States); Rice University, Department of Applied Physics, Houston, TX (United States); Stickle, William F. [Hewlett-Packard Company, Advanced Diagnostic Lab, Corvallis, OR (United States)

    2009-09-15

    We created novel surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates by metalization (Ag) of Si nanograss prepared by a Bosch process which involves deep reactive ion etching of single crystalline silicon. No template or lithography was needed for making the Si nanograss, thus providing a simple and inexpensive method to achieve highly sensitive large-area SERS substrates. The dependence of the SERS effect on the thickness of the metal deposition and on the surface morphology and topology of the substrate prior to metal deposition was studied in order to optimize the SERS signals. We observed that the Ag-coated Si nanograss can achieve uniform SERS enhancement over large area ({proportional_to}1 cm x 1 cm) with an average EF (enhancement factor) of 4.2 x 10{sup 8} for 4-mercaptophenol probe molecules. (orig.)

  18. Morphology of self-catalyzed GaN nanowires and chronology of their formation by molecular beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galopin, E; Largeau, L; Patriarche, G; Travers, L; Glas, F; Harmand, J C

    2011-01-01

    GaN nanowires are synthesized by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on Si(111) substrates. The strong impact of the cell orientation relative to the substrate on the nanowire morphology is shown. To study the kinetics of growth, thin AlN markers are introduced periodically during NW growth. These markers are observed in single nanowires by transmission electron microscopy, giving access to the chronology of the nanowire formation and to the time evolution of the nanowire morphology. A long delay precedes the beginning of nanowire formation. Then, their elongation proceeds at a constant rate. Later, shells develop on the side-wall facets by ascending growth of layer bunches which first agglomerate at the nanowire foot.

  19. Effects of substrate temperature and post-deposition anneal on properties of evaporated cadmium telluride films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bacaksiz, E.; Basol, B.M.; Altunbas, M.; Novruzov, V.; Yanmaz, E.; Nezir, S.

    2007-01-01

    The effects of substrate temperature and post-deposition heat treatment steps on the morphology, structural, optical and electrical properties of thin film CdTe layers grown by vacuum evaporation were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques were employed to study the structural changes. It was observed that the grain sizes and morphologies of as-deposited layers were similar for substrate temperatures of - 173 deg. C and - 73 deg. C. However, CdTe films produced at a substrate temperature of 27 deg. C had substantially larger grain size and clearly facetted morphology. Annealing at 200-400 deg. C in air did not cause any appreciable grain growth in any of the films irrespective of their growth temperature. However, annealing at 400 deg. C reduced faceting in all cases and initiated fusing between grains. XRD studies showed that this behavior after annealing at 400 deg. C coincided with an onset of a degree of randomization in the originally strong (111) texture of the as-grown layers. Optical band gap measurements showed sharpening of the band-edge upon annealing at 400 deg. C and a band gap value in the range of 1.46-1.49 eV. Resistivity measurements indicated that annealing at 400 deg. C in air forms a highly resistive compensated CdTe film. All results point to 400 deg. C to be a critical annealing temperature at which optical, structural and electrical properties of CdTe layers start to change

  20. Structural colors of the SiO2/polyethyleneimine thin films on poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jia, Yanrong; Zhang, Yun; Zhou, Qiubao; Fan, Qinguo; Shao, Jianzhong

    2014-01-01

    The SiO 2 /polyethyleneimine (PEI) films with structural colors on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) substrates were fabricated by an electrostatic self-assembly method. The morphology of the films was characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy. The results showed that there was no distinguishable multilayered structure found of SiO 2 /PEI films. The optical behaviors of the films were investigated through the color photos captured by a digital camera and the color measurement by a multi-angle spectrophotometer. Different hue and brightness were observed at various viewing angles. The structural colors were dependent on the SiO 2 particle size and the number of assembly cycles. The mechanism of the structural colors generated from the assembled films was elucidated. The morphological structures and the optical properties proved that the SiO 2 /PEI film fabricated on PET substrate formed a homogeneous inorganic/organic SiO 2 /PEI composite layer, and the structural colors were originated from single thin film interference. - Highlights: • SiO 2 /PEI thin films were electrostatic self-assembled on PET substrates. • The surface morphology and optical behavior of the film were investigated. • The structural colors varied with various SiO 2 particle sizes and assembly cycles. • Different hue and lightness of SiO 2 /PEI film were observed at various viewing angles. • Structural color of the SiO 2 /PEI film originated from single thin film interference

  1. Optically transparent boron-doped nanocrystalline diamond films for spectroelectrochemical measurements on different substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sobaszek, M.; Bogdanowicz, R.; Pluciński, J.; Siuzdak, K.; Skowroński, Ł.

    2016-01-01

    Fabrication process of optically transparent boron nanocrystalline diamond (B- NCD) electrode on silicon and quartz substrate was shown. The B-NCD films were deposited on the substrates using Microwave Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (MWPACVD) at glass substrate temperature of 475 °C. A homogenous, continuous and polycrystalline surface morphology with high sp 3 content in B-NCD films and film thickness depending from substrate in the range of 60-300 nm was obtained. The high refraction index and transparency in visible (VIS) wavelength range was achieved. Moreover, cyclic voltammograms (CV) were recorded to determine reaction reversibility at the B-NCD electrode. CV measurements in aqueous media consisting of 1 mM K 3 [Fe(CN) 6 ] in 0.5 M Na 2 SO 4 demonstrated relatively fast kinetics expressed by a redox peak splitting below 503 mV for B-NCD/silicon and 110 mv for B-NCD/quartz

  2. Effects of surface morphology on the optical and electrical properties of Schottky diodes of CBD deposited ZnO nanostructures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mwankemwa, Benard S.; Akinkuade, Shadrach; Maabong, Kelebogile; Nel, Jackie M.; Diale, Mmantsae

    2018-04-01

    We report on effect of surface morphology on the optical and electrical properties of chemical bath deposited Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures. ZnO nanostructures were deposited on the seeded conducting indium doped tin oxide substrate positioned in three different directions in the growth solution. Field emission scanning electron microscopy was used to evaluate the morphological properties of the synthesized nanostructures and revealed that the positioning of the substrate in the growth solution affects the surface morphology of the nanostructures. The optical absorbance, photoluminescence and Raman spectroscopy of the resulting nanostructures are discussed. The electrical characterization of the Schottky diode such as barrier height, ideality factor, rectification ratios, reverse saturation current and series resistance were found to depend on the nanostructures morphology. In addition, current transport mechanism in the higher forward bias of the Schottky diode was studied and space charge limited current was found to be the dominant transport mechanism in all samples.

  3. Optimization of surface morphology and scattering properties of TCO/AIT textured glass front electrode for thin film solar cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Addonizio, M.L., E-mail: marialuisa.addonizio@enea.it; Fusco, L.; Antonaia, A.; Cominale, F.; Usatii, I.

    2015-12-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Aluminium induced texture (AIT) method has been used for obtaining highly textured glass substrates. • The effect of wet etch step on morphological and optical properties has been analyzed. • The morphology features have been optimized in order to obtain the best scattering properties. • Different ZnO surface textures, depending on the underlying glass substrate structures, are obtained. • The effect of different glass texture on optical confinement has been tested in a-Si:H devices. - Abstract: Aluminium induced texture (AIT) method has been used for obtaining highly textured glass substrate suitable for silicon based thin film solar cell technology. Wet etch step parameters of AIT process have been varied and effect of different etchants and different etching times on morphological and optical properties has been analyzed. The resulting morphology features (shape, size distribution, inclination angle) have been optimized in order to obtain the best scattering properties. ZnO:Ga (GZO) films have been deposited by sputtering technique on AIT-processed glass. Two different ZnO surface morphologies have been obtained, strongly depending on the underlying glass substrate morphology induced by different etching times. Very rough and porous texture (σ{sub rms} ∼ 150 nm) was obtained on glass etched 2 min showing cauliflower-like structure, whereas a softer texture (σ{sub rms} ∼ 78 nm) was obtained on glass etched 7 min giving wider and smoother U-shaped craters. The effect of different glass textures on optical confinement has been tested in amorphous silicon based p-i-n devices. Devices fabricated on GZO/high textured glass showed a quantum efficiency enhancement due to both an effective light trapping phenomenon and an effective anti-reflective optical behaviour. Short etching time produce smaller cavities (<1 μm) with deep U-shape characterized by high roughness, high inclination angle and low autocorrelation

  4. Electromagnetic Modelling of Raman Enhancement from Nanoscale Structures as a Means to Predict the Efficacy of SERS Substrates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richard J. C. Brown

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available The requirement to optimise the balance between signal enhancement and reproducibility in surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS is stimulating the development of novel substrates for enhancing Raman signals. This paper describes the application of finite element electromagnetic modelling to predict the Raman enhancement produced from a variety of SERS substrates with differently sized, spaced and shaped morphologies with nanometre dimensions. For the first time, a theoretical comparison between four major generic types of SERS substrate (including metal nanoparticles, structured surfaces, and sharp tips has been performed and the results are presented and discussed. The results of the modelling are consistent with published experimental data from similar substrates.

  5. Effect of substrate rotation on domain structure and magnetic relaxation in magnetic antidot lattice arrays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mallick, Sougata; Mallik, Srijani; Bedanta, Subhankar

    2015-01-01

    Microdimensional triangular magnetic antidot lattice arrays were prepared by varying the speed of substrate rotation. The pre-deposition patterning has been performed using photolithography technique followed by a post-deposition lift-off. Surface morphology taken by atomic force microscopy depicted that the growth mechanism of the grains changes from chain like formation to island structures due to the substrate rotation. Study of magnetization reversal via magneto optic Kerr effect based microscopy revealed reduction of uniaxial anisotropy and increase in domain size with substrate rotation. The relaxation measured under constant magnetic field becomes faster with rotation of the substrate during deposition. The nature of relaxation for the non-rotating sample can be described by a double exponential decay. However, the relaxation for the sample with substrate rotation is well described either by a double exponential or a Fatuzzo-Labrune like single exponential decay, which increases in applied field

  6. A CMOS-compatible silicon substrate optimization technique and its application in radio frequency crosstalk isolation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Chen; Liao Huailin; Huang Ru; Wang Yangyuan

    2008-01-01

    In this paper, a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible silicon substrate optimization technique is proposed to achieve effective isolation. The selective growth of porous silicon is used to effectively suppress the substrate crosstalk. The isolation structures are fabricated in standard CMOS process and then this post-CMOS substrate optimization technique is carried out to greatly improve the performances of crosstalk isolation. Three-dimensional electro-magnetic simulation is implemented to verify the obvious effect of our substrate optimization technique. The morphologies and growth condition of porous silicon fabricated have been investigated in detail. Furthermore, a thick selectively grown porous silicon (SGPS) trench for crosstalk isolation has been formed and about 20dB improvement in substrate isolation is achieved. These results demonstrate that our post-CMOS SGPS technique is very promising for RF IC applications. (cross-disciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

  7. Stimulatory action of itopride hydrochloride on colonic motor activity in vitro and in vivo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsubouchi, Tadashi; Saito, Takaharu; Mizutani, Fujie; Yamauchi, Toshie; Iwanaga, Yuji

    2003-08-01

    We investigated the effects of itopride hydrochloride (itopride, N-[4-[2-(dimethylamino)ethoxy]benzyl]-3,4-dimethoxybenzamide hydrochloride), a gastroprokinetic agent, on the colonic motor activity in vitro and in vivo, in comparison with benzamides, cisapride hydrate (cisapride), and mosapride citrate (mosapride). Itopride stimulated both peristaltic and segmental motility induced by applying intraluminal pressure to the isolated guinea pig colon. Although cisapride and mosapride enhanced the segmental motility, they markedly reduced the peristaltic motility. In conscious dogs with implanted strain gauge force transducers, itopride stimulated contractile activity in the gastrointestinal tract from the stomach to the colon. Cisapride stimulated contractile activity in the gastric antrum, ileum, and ascending colon. Mosapride stimulated contractile activity only in the gastric antrum and ileum. In guinea pigs and rats, itopride accelerated colonic luminal transit. On the other hand, cisapride and mosapride failed to enhance colonic transit. These results demonstrate that itopride has a stimulatory action on colonic peristalsis, propelling colonic luminal contents, different from that of cisapride and mosapride. Therefore, itopride may be a useful drug for the treatment of functional bowel disorders such as functional constipation.

  8. Stimulatory effect of low dose radiation on the immune function in tumor-bearing mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Ying; Li Xiujuan; Li Xiuyi; Liu Shuzheng

    1999-01-01

    Objective: The author aims at investigating the effect of whole body irradiation (WBI) with low dose radiation on immune function in tumor-bearing mice. Methods: C57BL/6J mine implanted with Lewis lung carcinoma cells in the right thighs were used as an experimental animal model. WBI with 75 mGy X-rays was given at the 10 th day after implantation and immunological parameters were detected 18 hours after irradiation. The immunological parameters included the spontaneous incorporation of 3 H-TdR into thymocytes, the number of splenocytes, the reaction of splenocytes to ConA and LPS, the splenic production of IL-2, the cytotoxic activities of natural killer (NK) and lymphokine activated killer cells (LAK) as well as specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). Results: The immunological parameters of irradiated tumor-bearing mice were significantly increased compared with those of sham-irradiated tumor-bearing mice (P<0.05∼0.01). Conclusion: Low dose radiation could significantly increase the immune function of tumor-bearing mice, and this stimulatory effect may be of some potential significance in tumor therapy

  9. Characterization of a biomimetic coating on dense and porous titanium substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rocha, M.N. da; Pereira, L.C. [Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-Graduacao de Engenharia (PEMM/COPPE/UFRJ), RJ (Brazil). Programa de Engenharia Metalurgica e de Materiais; Ribeiro, A.A.; Oliveira, M.V. de, E-mail: marize.varella@int.gov.b [Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia (INT), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Andrade, M.C. de [Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (IPRJ/UERJ), Nova Friburgo, RJ (Brazil). Inst. Politecnico

    2010-07-01

    Bioactive materials have been studied as coatings on bioinert subtracts. Thus, it is possible to combine the bioactivity of materials such as calcium phosphate with the excellent mechanical properties of metals. Titanium (Ti) implants can be bioactivated by a biomimetic precipitation method. This study introduces a biomimetic method under a simplified solution (SS) with calcium and phosphorus ions. As substrates, commercially pure Ti sheet and micro-porous Ti samples produced by powder metallurgy were used. The substrates were submitted to chemical and heat treating and then immersed in the SS for 7, 14, 21 days. Surface roughness was evaluated by confocal scanning optical microscopy. Coating characterization was performed by scanning electron microscopy and high resolution X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed calcium phosphate crystal morphologies observed in all samples, which was confirmed by XRD phase identifications. These results reveal the solution potential for coating Ti substrates. (author)

  10. Characterization of a biomimetic coating on dense and porous titanium substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rocha, M.N. da; Pereira, L.C.; Andrade, M.C. de

    2010-01-01

    Bioactive materials have been studied as coatings on bioinert subtracts. Thus, it is possible to combine the bioactivity of materials such as calcium phosphate with the excellent mechanical properties of metals. Titanium (Ti) implants can be bioactivated by a biomimetic precipitation method. This study introduces a biomimetic method under a simplified solution (SS) with calcium and phosphorus ions. As substrates, commercially pure Ti sheet and micro-porous Ti samples produced by powder metallurgy were used. The substrates were submitted to chemical and heat treating and then immersed in the SS for 7, 14, 21 days. Surface roughness was evaluated by confocal scanning optical microscopy. Coating characterization was performed by scanning electron microscopy and high resolution X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed calcium phosphate crystal morphologies observed in all samples, which was confirmed by XRD phase identifications. These results reveal the solution potential for coating Ti substrates. (author)

  11. Wetting behaviour of lead-free Sn-based alloys on Cu and Ni substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amore, S.; Ricci, E.; Borzone, G.; Novakovic, R.

    2008-01-01

    The present work was carried out in the framework of the study of new lead-free solder alloys for technical applications in electronic devices. In the focus of this characterisation the wetting behaviour of several Sn-rich alloys belonging to the In-Sn, Au-Sn and Cu-Sn systems has been studied by measuring the contact angle variations on Cu and Ni substrates as a function of time and temperature. The interface between the alloy and the substrate has been analysed by the use of optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry in order to study the reaction between the alloy and the solid substrate and the possible formation of different compounds at the interface. A remarkable effect of the two different substrates on the behaviour of the contact angle as a function of temperature and on the morphology of the interface between the liquid solder and the solid substrate was observed for the In-Sn and Cu-Sn, while the Au-Sn system shows a very similar wetting behaviour on Cu and Ni

  12. Molecular beam epitaxial growth and characterization of GaSb layers on GaAs (0 0 1) substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Yanbo; Zhang Yang; Zhang Yuwei; Wang Baoqiang; Zhu Zhanping; Zeng Yiping

    2012-01-01

    We report on the growth of GaSb layers on GaAs (0 0 1) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). We investigate the influence of the GaAs substrate surface treatment, growth temperature, and V/III flux ratios on the crystal quality and the surface morphology of GaSb epilayers. Comparing to Ga-rich GaAs surface preparation, the Sb-rich GaAs surface preparation can promote the growth of higher-quality GaSb material. It is found that the crystal quality, electrical properties, and surface morphology of the GaSb epilayers are highly dependent on the growth temperature, and Sb/Ga flux ratios. Under the optimized growth conditions, we demonstrate the epitaxial growth of high quality GaSb layers on GaAs substrates. The p-type nature of the unintentionally doped GaSb is studied and from the growth conditions dependence of the hole concentrations of the GaSb, we deduce that the main native acceptor in the GaSb is the Ga antisite (Ga Sb ) defect.

  13. Morphological modification of TiC by laser irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baechli, A.; Blatter, A.

    1991-01-01

    The technique of laser quenching has been applied to TiC coatings on cemented carbide WC/Co material. In contrast to the original columnar morphology of TiC prepared by chemical vapour deposition, the laser-processed surface is isotropic and flat. With the proper parameters a smooth interface is formed and the TiC is alloyed to the substrate. The chemical composition as well as the beneficial tribological properties can be preserved. (orig.)

  14. Cellular and humoral immuno-stimulatory effects of diagnostic doses of X-rays in BALB/c mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mortazavi, S.M.J.; Jafar-Zadeh, A.; Khosravi, M.H.; Mehdipour, L.A.; Behnejad, B.B.

    2006-01-01

    Objective: The immunosuppressive effects of high doses of ionizing radiation have long been known, while researchers know less about the effects of low dose radiation on the immune system. Recently, in human and experimental animal models it has been reported that low dose radiation may have immuno-stimulatory effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of low doses of diagnostic doses of X-rays on cell mediated and humoral immune responses in a Balb/c animal model. Materials and Methods: Using a conventional Villa radiography machine, three groups of male Balb/c mice were exposed one, two and three times to 30 mGy of X-rays. The measured surface dose was equal to the dose of a single view lateral lumbar radiography. Two to four hours after irradiation, the delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) and humoral responses to sheep red blood cell (SRBC) were measured and compared to the responses of sham and control groups. Results: The mean titer of anti-SRBC antibodies in two-times irradiated (74.66± 26.12 ) and three-times irradiated (128 ± 70.1) groups were significantly higher than those of non-irradiated (26.66 ± 8.26) or sham irradiated (28.8 ± 20.86) group (p<0.001). However, no significant differences were observed between the mean titer of anti-SRBC antibodies in one-time irradiated (22.4 ± 8.76) and either non-irradiated or sham irradiated groups. Similarly, comparing DTH responses showed that the differences between either two-times irradiated (12.2 ± 3.9 ) or three times-irradiated (6.9 ± 3.7) and non-irradiated (4 ± 0.2) or sham irradiated (4.3 ± 3) groups was statistically significant (p<0.001). Conclusion: Theses results show that two-times and three-times irradiated mice demonstrate significant stimulatory effects on both DTH and antibody responses. However, one-time irradiated animals did not exhibit any bio- positive effect on DTH and humoral responses. Moreover, no statistically significant difference was observed between the DTH

  15. Effect of substrate properties and thermal annealing on the resistivity of molybdenum thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmid, U.; Seidel, H.

    2005-01-01

    In this study, the influence of substrate properties (e.g. roughness characteristics and chemical composition) on the electrical resistivity of evaporated molybdenum thin films is investigated as a function of varying parameters, such as film thickness (25-115 nm) and post-deposition annealing with temperatures up to T PDA = 900 deg. C. A thermally oxidized silicon wafer with very low surface roughness was used as one substrate type. In contrast, a low temperature co-fired ceramics substrate with a glass encapsulant printed in thick film technology is the representative for rough surface morphology. The electrical resistivity follows the prediction of the size effect up to T PDA = 600 deg. C independent of substrate nature. On the silicon-based substrate, the thickness-independent portion of the film resistivity ρ g in the 'as deposited' state is about 29 times higher than the corresponding bulk value for a mono-crystalline sample. Thin films of this refractory metal on the SiO 2 /Si substrate exhibit an average grain size of 4.9 nm and a negative temperature coefficient of resistivity (TCR). On the glass/ceramic-based substrate, however, ρ g is half the value as compared to that obtained on the SiO 2 /Si substrate and the TCR is positive

  16. Structure and Morphology Effects on the Optical Properties of Bimetallic Nanoparticle Films Laser Deposited on a Glass Substrate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. O. Kucherik

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Moving nanosecond laser system is used for laser-assisted thermodiffusion deposition of metallic nanoparticles from water-based colloidal solutions. The results obtained for both gold and silver nanoparticles show that film morphology strongly depends on laser scanning speed and the number of passages. We show, furthermore, the possibility of producing bimetallic Au:Ag thin films by laser irradiation of the mixed solutions. As a result of several laser scans, granular nanometric films are found to grow with a well-controlled composition, thickness, and morphology. By changing laser scanning parameters, film morphology can be varied from island structures to quasi-periodic arrays. The optical properties of the deposited structures are found to depend on the film composition, thickness, and mean separation between the particles. The transparency spectra of the deposited films are shown to be defined by their morphology.

  17. One-step controllable fabrication of superhydrophobic surfaces with special composite structure on zinc substrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ning, Tao; Xu, Wenguo; Lu, Shixiang

    2011-09-01

    Stable superhydrophobic platinum surfaces have been effectively fabricated on the zinc substrates through one-step replacement deposition process without further modification or any other post-treatment procedures. The fabrication process was controllable, which could be testified by various morphologies and hydrophobic properties of different prepared samples. By conducting SEM and water CA analysis, the effects of reaction conditions on the surface morphology and hydrophobicity of the resulting surfaces were carefully studied. The results show that the optimum condition of superhydrophobic surface fabrication depends largely on the positioning of zinc plate and the concentrations of reactants. When the zinc plate was placed vertically and the concentration of PtCl(4) solution was 5 mmol/L, the zinc substrate would be covered by a novel and interesting composite structure. The structure was composed by microscale hexagonal cavities, densely packed nanoparticles layer and top micro- and nanoscale flower-like structures, which exhibit great surface roughness and porosity contributing to the superhydrophobicity. The maximal CA value of about 171° was obtained under the same reaction condition. The XRD, XPS and EDX results indicate that crystallite pure platinum nanoparticles were aggregated on the zinc substrates in accordance with a free deposition way. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Significantly improved surface morphology of N-polar GaN film grown on SiC substrate by the optimization of V/III ratio

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Gaoqiang; Zhang, Yuantao; Yu, Ye; Yan, Long; Li, Pengchong; Han, Xu; Chen, Liang; Zhao, Degang; Du, Guotong

    2018-04-01

    In this paper, N-polar GaN films with different V/III ratios were grown on vicinal C-face SiC substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. During the growth of N-polar GaN film, the V/III ratio was controlled by adjusting the molar flow rate of ammonia while keeping the trimethylgallium flow rate unchanged. The influence of the V/III ratio on the surface morphology of N-polar GaN film has been studied. We find that the surface root mean square roughness of N-polar GaN film over an area of 20 × 20 μm2 can be reduced from 8.13 to 2.78 nm by optimization of the V/III ratio. Then, using the same growth conditions, N-polar InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were grown on the rough and the smooth N-polar GaN templates, respectively. Compared with the LED grown on the rough N-polar GaN template, dramatically improved interface sharpness and luminescence uniformity of the InGaN/GaN MQWs are achieved for the LED grown on the smooth N-polar GaN template.

  19. Fabrication of non-hexagonal close packed colloidal array on a substrate by transfer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banik, Meneka; Mukherjee, Rabibrata

    Self-organized colloidal arrays find application in fabrication of solar cells with advanced light management strategies. We report a simple spincoating based approach for fabricating two dimensional colloidal crystals with hexagonal and non-hexagonal close packed assembly on flat and nanopatterned substrates. The non-HCP arrays were fabricated by spin coating the particles onto soft lithographically fabricated substrates. The substrate patterns impose directionality to the particles by confining them within the grooves. We have developed a technique by which the HCP and non-HCP arrays can be transferred to any surface. For this purpose the colloidal arrays were fabricated on a UV degradable PMMA layer, resulting in transfer of the particles on UV exposure. This allows the colloidal structures to be transported across substrates irrespective of their surface energy, wettability or morphology. Since the particles are transferred without exposing it to any kind of chemical or thermal environment, it can be utilized for placing particles on top of thin film solar cells for improving their absorption efficiency.

  20. Photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence of YVO{sub 4}:Sm{sup 3+} thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition method with various substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Hyun Kyoung; Chung, Jong Won; Moon, Byung Kee; Choi, Byung Chun; Jeong, Jung Hyun [Pukyong National University, Dept. of Physics, Busan (Korea); Yi, Soung-Soo [Silla University, Dept. of Electronic Material Engineering, Busan (Korea); Kim, Jung Hwan [Dongeui University, Dept. of Physics, Busan (Korea)

    2008-08-15

    YVO{sub 4}:Sm{sup 3+} films have been deposited on different substrates using pulsed laser deposition method. The films were deposited on fused silica, MgO(100), Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}(0001), and Si(100) substrates. The crystallinity and surface morphology of the films were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM), respectively. The films grown on the different substrates have different crystallinity and morphology. The full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of (200) peak are 0.20, 0.14, 0.12, and 0.18 for fused silica, MgO(100), Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}(0001), and Si(100), respectively. The crystallite size, estimated by using Scherrer's formula, of phosphors grown on fused silica, MgO(100), Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}(0001), and Si(100) was about 7.25, 10.08, 11.88, and 8.14 nm, respectively and it has a maximum at 11.88 nm for the thin film grown on Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}(0001). The photoluminescence and the cathodoluminescence spectra were measured at room temperature using a luminescence spectrometer and the emitted radiation was dominated by the red emission peak at 602 nm radiated from the transition of {sup 4}G{sub 5/2}{yields}{sup 6}H{sub 7/2}. YVO{sub 4}:Sm{sup 3+} films have maximum PL intensity for the films grown on the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}(0001) substrate and the brightness of the films were higher 1.3, 2.9, and 5.0 times in comparison with that of the YVO{sub 4}:Sm{sup 3+} films grown on MgO(100), fused silica, and Si (100) substrates, respectively. The crystallinity, surface morphology and luminescence spectra of thin-film phosphors were highly dependent on substrates. (orig.)

  1. Growth of bi- and tri-layered graphene on silicon carbide substrate via molecular dynamics simulation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Min, Tjun Kit; Yoon, Tiem Leong [School of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang (Malaysia); Lim, Thong Leng [Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Multimedia University, Melaka Campus, 75450 Melaka (Malaysia)

    2015-04-24

    Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation with simulated annealing method is used to study the growth process of bi- and tri-layered graphene on a 6H-SiC (0001) substrate via molecular dynamics simulation. Tersoff-Albe-Erhart (TEA) potential is used to describe the inter-atomic interactions among the atoms in the system. The formation temperature, averaged carbon-carbon bond length, pair correlation function, binding energy and the distance between the graphene formed and the SiC substrate are quantified. The growth mechanism, graphitization of graphene on the SiC substrate and characteristics of the surface morphology of the graphene sheet obtained in our MD simulation compare well to that observed in epitaxially grown graphene experiments and other simulation works.

  2. Nano rough micron patterned titanium for directing osteoblast morphology and adhesion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabrina Puckett

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Sabrina Puckett, Rajesh Pareta, Thomas J WebsterDivision of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI, USAAbstract: Previous studies have demonstrated greater functions of osteoblasts (bone-forming cells on nanophase compared with conventional metals. Nanophase metals possess a biologically inspired nanostructured surface that mimics the dimensions of constituent components in bone, including collagen and hydroxyapatite. Not only do these components possess dimensions on the nanoscale, they are aligned in a parallel manner creating a defined orientation in bone. To date, research has yet to evaluate the effect that organized nanosurface features can have on the interaction of osteoblasts with material surfaces. Therefore, to determine if surface orientation of features can mediate osteoblast adhesion and morphology, this study investigated osteoblast function on patterned titanium substrates containing alternating regions of micron rough and nano rough surfaces prepared by novel electron beam evaporation techniques. This study was also interested in determining whether or not the size of the patterned regions had an effect on osteoblast behavior and alignment. Results indicated early controlled osteoblast alignment on these patterned materials as well as greater osteoblast adhesion on the nano rough regions of these patterned substrates. Interestingly, decreasing the width of the nano rough regions (from 80 µm to 22 µm on these patterned substrates resulted in a decreased number of osteoblasts adhering to these areas. Changes in the width of the nano rough regions also resulted in changes in osteoblast morphology, thus, suggesting there is an optimal pattern dimension that osteoblasts prefer. In summary, results of this study provided evidence that aligned nanophase metal features on the surface of titanium improved early osteoblast functions (morphology and adhesion promising for their long term functions, criteria necessary to improve

  3. Trade-off between Photon Management Efficacy and Material Quality in Thin-Film Solar Cells on Nanostructured Substrates of High Aspect Ratio Structures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alan H. Chin

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Although texturing of the transparent electrode of thin-film solar cells has long been used to enhance light absorption via light trapping, such texturing has involved low aspect ratio features. With the recent development of nanotechnology, nanostructured substrates enable improved light trapping and enhanced optical absorption via resonances, a process known as photon management, in thin-film solar cells. Despite the progress made in the development of photon management in thin-film solar cells using nanostructures substrates, the structural integrity of the thin-film solar cells deposited onto such nanostructured substrates is rarely considered. Here, we report the observation of the reduction in the open circuit voltage of amorphous silicon solar cells deposited onto a nanostructured substrate with increasing areal number density of high aspect ratio structures. For a nanostructured substrate with the areal number density of such nanostructures increasing in correlation with the distance from one edge of the substrate, a correlation between the open circuit voltage reduction and the increase of the areal number density of high aspect ratio nanostructures of the front electrode of the small-size amorphous silicon solar cells deposited onto different regions of the substrate with graded nanostructure density indicates the effect of the surface morphology on the material quality, i.e., a trade-off between photon management efficacy and material quality. This observed trade-off highlights the importance of optimizing the morphology of the nanostructured substrate to ensure conformal deposition of the thin-film solar cell.

  4. Influence of substrate on structural, morphological and optical properties of TiO2 thin films deposited by reaction magnetron sputtering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xinghua Zhu

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Titanium dioxide (TiO2 films have been prepared by DC reaction magnetron sputtering technique on different substrates (glass, SiO2, platinum electrode-Pt, Silicon-Si. X-ray diffraction (XRD patterns showed that all TiO2 films were grown along the preferred orientation of (110 plane. Samples on Si and Pt substrates are almost monophasic rutile, however, samples on glass and SiO2 substrates accompanied by a weak anatase structure. Atomic force microscopy (AFM images revealed uniform grain distribution except for films on Pt substrates. Photoluminescence (PL spectra showed obvious intrinsic emission band, but films on glass was accompanied by a distinct defect luminescence region. Raman spectroscopy suggested that all samples moved to high wavenumbers and films on glass moved obviously.

  5. Pulsed laser deposited KY3F10: Ho3+ thin films: Influence of target to substrate

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Debelo, NG

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The influence of target to substrate distance (dts) on the structural, morphological and photoluminescence (PL) properties of commercially obtained KY3F10 : Ho3+ phosphor thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition is investigated for dts values...

  6. Magnetic field effects on coating deposition rate and surface morphology coatings using magnetron sputtering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Yu-Sen; Huang, Wesley

    2010-01-01

    Chromium nitride coatings exhibit superior hardness, excellent wear and oxidation resistance, and are widely applied in the die and mold industries. The aim of this study was to investigate magnetic field effects on the deposition rate and surface morphology of chromium nitride coatings deposited by magnetron sputtering. Four types of magnetic field configurations, including the magnetron sputtering system, SNSN, SNNN, and intermediate magnetron modification, are discussed in this paper. SKD11 cold work die steel and a silicon (100) chip were used as substrates in the chromium nitride depositions. The process parameters, such as target current, substrate bias, and the distance between the substrate and target, are at fixed conditions, except for the magnetic arrangement type. The experimental results showed that the deposition rates of the four types of magnetic field configurations were 1.06, 1.38, 1.67 and 1.26 µm h −1 , respectively. In these cases, the SNNN type performs more than 58% faster than the unbalanced magnetron configuration does for the deposition rate. The surface morphology of chromium nitride films was also examined by SEM and is discussed in this paper

  7. Synergistic effect of cellulase and xylanase during hydrolysis of natural lignocellulosic substrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Hui-Ting; Gao, Yuan; Yang, Yi-Min; Xiao, Wen-Jing; Liu, Shi-Hui; Xia, Wu-Cheng; Liu, Zi-Lu; Yi, Li; Jiang, Zheng-Bing

    2016-11-01

    Synergistic combination of cellulase and xylanase has been performed on pre-treated substrates in many previous studies, while few on natural substrates. In this study, three unpretreated lignocellulosic substrates were studied, including corncob, corn stover, and rice straw. The results indicated that when the mixed cellulase and xylanase were applied, reducing sugar concentrations were calculated as 19.53, 15.56, and 17.35mg/ml, respectively, based on the 3,5 dinitrosalicylic acid (DNS) method. Compared to the treatment with only cellulose, the hydrolysis yields caused by mixed cellulase and xylanase were improved by 133%, 164%, and 545%, respectively. In addition, the conversion yield of corncob, corn stover, and rice straw by cellulase-xylanase co-treatment reached 43.9%, 48.5%, and 40.2%, respectively, based on HPLC analysis, which confirmed the synergistic effect of cellulase-xylanase that was much higher than either of the single enzyme treatment. The substrate morphology was also evaluated to explore the synergistic mechanism of cellulase-xylanase. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Structural, optical and morphological properties of Ga1-xMnxAs thin films deposited by magnetron sputtering for spintronic device applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bernal, M.E.; Dussan, A.; Mesa, F.

    2012-01-01

    In this work, GaMnAs alloy materials were deposited on 7059 Corning glass and GaAs (1 0 0) substrates via RF magnetron sputtering technique. A concentration of Mn about 0.28 was obtained by Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The substrate temperature was changed from 440 to 520 °C and layer thicknesses between 172 and 514 nm were obtained. Characterization by atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffraction were performed to determinate surface morphology and crystal structure, respectively. From transmittance spectral measurements we were able to determine optical constants: band gap energy (E g ), absorption coefficient (α), and refraction index (n). A correlation between morphological properties and substrate type was also studied. Diluted magnetic semiconductors like GaMnAs are considered among promising materials for the development of new spin-electronic devices.

  9. Out-of-substrate plane orientation control of thin YBa2Cu3O x films on NdGaO3 tilted-axes substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mozhaev, Peter B.; Mozhaeva, Julia E.; Bdikin, Igor K.; Kotelyanskii, Iosif M.; Lusanov, Valery A.; Hansen, Jorn Bindslev; Jacobsen, Claus S.; Kholkin, Andrey L.

    2006-01-01

    Epitaxial heterostructures YBa 2 Cu 3 O x (YBCO)/CeO 2 /NdGaO 3 were prepared on tilted-axes NdGaO 3 substrates using laser ablation technique. Morphology, crystal structure and electrical properties of the obtained films were characterized. The seeding mechanisms are affected by the tilt angle, resulting in superior YBCO films on NdGaO 3 substrates in an intermediate range of tilt angles of 6-14 o . The introduction of CeO 2 layer leads to change of the YBCO film orientation: at low deposition rate c-oriented films are formed, while at high deposition rates the film grows with c-axis tilted along the [1 1 0] NdGaO 3 direction. Bi-epitaxial films and structures were prepared by removal of part of the CeO 2 layer using ion-beam milling

  10. ZnO Nanowires Synthesized by Vapor Phase Transport Deposition on Transparent Oxide Substrates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taylor Curtis

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Zinc oxide nanowires have been synthesized without using metal catalyst seed layers on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO substrates by a modified vapor phase transport deposition process using a double-tube reactor. The unique reactor configuration creates a Zn-rich vapor environment that facilitates formation and growth of zinc oxide nanoparticles and wires (20–80 nm in diameter, up to 6 μm in length, density <40 nm apart at substrate temperatures down to 300°C. Electron microscopy and other characterization techniques show nanowires with distinct morphologies when grown under different conditions. The effect of reaction parameters including reaction time, temperature, and carrier gas flow rate on the size, morphology, crystalline structure, and density of ZnO nanowires has been investigated. The nanowires grown by this method have a diameter, length, and density appropriate for use in fabricating hybrid polymer/metal oxide nanostructure solar cells. For example, it is preferable to have nanowires no more than 40 nm apart to minimize exciton recombination in polymer solar cells.

  11. Superhydrophobic Ag decorated ZnO nanostructured thin film as effective surface enhanced Raman scattering substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jayram, Naidu Dhanpal; Sonia, S.; Poongodi, S.; Kumar, P. Suresh; Masuda, Yoshitake; Mangalaraj, D.; Ponpandian, N.; Viswanathan, C.

    2015-11-01

    The present work is an attempt to overcome the challenges in the fabrication of super hydrophobic silver decorated zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructure thin films via thermal evaporation process. The ZnO nanowire thin films are prepared without any surface modification and show super hydrophobic nature with a contact angle of 163°. Silver is further deposited onto the ZnO nanowire to obtain nanoworm morphology. Silver decorated ZnO (Ag@ZnO) thin films are used as substrates for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) studies. The formation of randomly arranged nanowire and silver decorated nanoworm structure is confirmed using FESEM, HR-TEM and AFM analysis. Crystallinity and existence of Ag on ZnO are confirmed using XRD and XPS studies. A detailed growth mechanism is discussed for the formation of the nanowires from nanobeads based on various deposition times. The prepared SERS substrate reveals a reproducible enhancement of 3.082 × 107 M for Rhodamine 6G dye (R6G) for 10-10 molar concentration per liter. A higher order of SERS spectra is obtained for a contact angle of 155°. Thus the obtained thin films show the superhydrophobic nature with a highly enhanced Raman spectrum and act as SERS substrates. The present nanoworm morphology shows a new pathway for the construction of semiconductor thin films for plasmonic studies and challenges the orderly arranged ZnO nanorods, wires and other nano structure substrates used in SERS studies.

  12. Directed ordering of phase separated domains and dewetting of thin polymer blend films on a topographically patterned substrate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhandaru, Nandini; Karim, Alamgir; Mukherjee, Rabibrata

    2017-07-21

    Substrate pattern guided self-organization of ultrathin and confined polymeric films on a topographically patterned substrate is a useful approach for obtaining ordered meso and nano structures over large areas, particularly if the ordering is achieved during film preparation itself, eliminating any post-processing such as thermal or solvent vapor annealing. By casting a dilute solution of two immiscible polymers, polystyrene (PS) and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), from a common solvent (toluene) on a topographically patterned substrate with a grating geometry, we show the formation of self-organized meso patterns with various degrees of ordering. The morphology depends on both the concentration of the dispensed solution (C n ) and the blend composition (R B ). Depending on the extent of dewetting during spin coating, the final morphologies can be classified into three distinct categories. At a very low C n the solution dewets fully, resulting in isolated polymer droplets aligned along substrate grooves (Type 1). Type 2 structures comprising isolated threads with aligned phase separated domains along each substrate groove are observed at intermediate C n . A continuous film (Type 3) is obtained above a critical concentration (C n *) that depends on R B . While the extent of ordering of the domains gradually diminishes with an increase in film thickness for Type 3 patterns, the size of the domains remains much smaller than that on a flat substrate, resulting in significant downsizing of the features due to the lateral confinement imposed on the phase separation process by the topographic patterns. Finally, we show that some of these structures exhibit excellent broadband anti-reflection (AR) properties.

  13. The plumber's nightmare: a new morphology in block copolymer-ceramic nanocomposites and mesoporous aluminosilicates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finnefrock, Adam C; Ulrich, Ralph; Toombes, Gilman E S; Gruner, Sol M; Wiesner, Ulrich

    2003-10-29

    A novel cubic bicontinuous morphology is found in polymer-ceramic nanocomposites and mesoporous aluminosilicates that are derived by an amphiphilic diblock copolymer, poly(isoprene-b-ethylene oxide) (PI-b-PEO), used as a structure-directing agent for an inorganic aluminosilicate. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) was employed to unambiguously identify the Im(-)3m crystallographic symmetry of the materials by fitting individual Bragg peak positions in the two-dimensional X-ray images. Structure factor calculations, in conjunction with results from transmission electron microscopy, were used to narrow the range of possible structures consistent with the symmetry and showed the plumber's nightmare morphology to be consistent with the data. The samples are made by deposition onto a substrate that imposes a strain field, generating a lattice distortion. This distortion is quantitatively analyzed and shown to have resulted in shrinkage of the crystallites by approximately one-third in a direction perpendicular to the substrate, in both as-made composites and calcined ceramic materials. Finally, the observation of the bicontinuous block-copolymer-derived hybrid morphology is discussed in the context of a pseudo-ternary morphology diagram and compared to existing studies of ternary phase diagrams of amphiphiles in a mixture of two solvents. The calcined mesoporous materials have potential applications in the fields of catalysis, separation technology, and microelectronics.

  14. AFM measurements of adhesive forces between carbonaceous particles and the substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Tianqi [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology of Tsinghua University, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology, Key Laboratory of Advanced Reactor Engineering and Safety of Ministry of Education, Beijing 100084 (China); Peng, Wei, E-mail: pengwei@tsinghua.edu.cn [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology of Tsinghua University, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology, Key Laboratory of Advanced Reactor Engineering and Safety of Ministry of Education, Beijing 100084 (China); Shen, Ke [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology of Tsinghua University, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology, Key Laboratory of Advanced Reactor Engineering and Safety of Ministry of Education, Beijing 100084 (China); Yu, Suyuan, E-mail: suyuan@tsinghua.edu.cn [Center for Combustion Energy, Key Laboratory for Thermal Science and Power Engineering of Ministry of Educations, Department of Thermal Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

    2015-11-15

    Highlights: • Adhesive force of spherical carbonaceous particle MCMBs and HTR-10 graphite matrix debris were measured for the first time. • The measured equivalent works of adhesion were much smaller than the ideal values. • The shape factor and the particle morphology reduce the adhesive force. • The adhesion effect does not change directly with the asperity size. - Abstract: Graphite dust is carbonaceous particles generated during operation of High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors (HTR). Graphite dust resuspension is the key behavior associated with HTR source term analyses and environmental safety assessment. The adhesive force is the key factor that determines the resuspension rate. The present study used an atomic force microscope (AFM) to measure the adhesive force between a single carbonaceous particle and the substrate. The measurements were performed on mica, graphite IG110 and Inconel 800H. The prepared “probe cantilevers” were mesocarbon microbeads (MCMB), fuel element debris from HTR-10 and graphite NBG18. The equivalent work of adhesion was derived from the measured adhesive force and calculated based on substrate profile approximation and the JKR theoretical model. The measured work was smaller than the ideal work of adhesion, most likely due to the rough particle morphology and the rough substrate surface. Additionally, a shape factor imposes a constraint on the lateral deformation of the particles. Furthermore, surface roughness could reduce the adhesive force some depending on the particle size. Once the particle was too small to be trapped into a trough, the adhesive force would not be further reduced.

  15. AFM measurements of adhesive forces between carbonaceous particles and the substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Tianqi; Peng, Wei; Shen, Ke; Yu, Suyuan

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Adhesive force of spherical carbonaceous particle MCMBs and HTR-10 graphite matrix debris were measured for the first time. • The measured equivalent works of adhesion were much smaller than the ideal values. • The shape factor and the particle morphology reduce the adhesive force. • The adhesion effect does not change directly with the asperity size. - Abstract: Graphite dust is carbonaceous particles generated during operation of High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors (HTR). Graphite dust resuspension is the key behavior associated with HTR source term analyses and environmental safety assessment. The adhesive force is the key factor that determines the resuspension rate. The present study used an atomic force microscope (AFM) to measure the adhesive force between a single carbonaceous particle and the substrate. The measurements were performed on mica, graphite IG110 and Inconel 800H. The prepared “probe cantilevers” were mesocarbon microbeads (MCMB), fuel element debris from HTR-10 and graphite NBG18. The equivalent work of adhesion was derived from the measured adhesive force and calculated based on substrate profile approximation and the JKR theoretical model. The measured work was smaller than the ideal work of adhesion, most likely due to the rough particle morphology and the rough substrate surface. Additionally, a shape factor imposes a constraint on the lateral deformation of the particles. Furthermore, surface roughness could reduce the adhesive force some depending on the particle size. Once the particle was too small to be trapped into a trough, the adhesive force would not be further reduced.

  16. Diamond-like carbon films deposited on three-dimensional shape substrate model by liquid electrochemical technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    He, Y.Y.; Zhang, G.F.; Zhao, Y.; Liu, D.D.; Cong, Y.; Buck, V.

    2015-01-01

    Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were deposited on three-dimensional (3D) shape substrate model by electrolysis of 2-propanol solution at low temperature (60 °C). This 3D shape model was composed of a horizontally aligned stainless steel wafer and vertically aligned stainless steel rods. Morphology and microstructure of the films were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy, respectively. The results suggested there were only differences in film uniformity and thickness for two kinds of samples. The hydrogenated amorphous carbon films deposited on horizontally aligned substrate were smooth and homogeneous. And the film thickness of DLC films gained on the vertical substrates decreased along vertical direction. It is believed that bubble formation could enhance nucleation on the wetted capillary area. This experiment shows that deposition of DLC films by liquid phase deposition on 3D shape conductive substrates is possible. - Highlights: • DLC film is expected to be deposited on complex surface/shape substrate. • DLC film is deposited on 3D shape substrate by liquid electrochemical method. • Horizontal substrate is covered by smooth and homogeneous DLC films. • Film thickness decreases along vertical direction due to boiling effect

  17. Diamond-like carbon films deposited on three-dimensional shape substrate model by liquid electrochemical technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    He, Y.Y. [Institute of Nano-photonics, School of Physics and Materials Engineering, Dalian Nationalities University, 116600 Dalian (China); Zhang, G.F. [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, 116024, Dalian China (China); Zhao, Y.; Liu, D.D. [Institute of Nano-photonics, School of Physics and Materials Engineering, Dalian Nationalities University, 116600 Dalian (China); Cong, Y., E-mail: congyan@ciomp.ac.cn [Institute of Nano-photonics, School of Physics and Materials Engineering, Dalian Nationalities University, 116600 Dalian (China); Buck, V. [Thin Film Technology Group, Faculty of Physics, University Duisburg-Essen and CeNIDE, 47057 Duisburg (Germany)

    2015-09-01

    Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were deposited on three-dimensional (3D) shape substrate model by electrolysis of 2-propanol solution at low temperature (60 °C). This 3D shape model was composed of a horizontally aligned stainless steel wafer and vertically aligned stainless steel rods. Morphology and microstructure of the films were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy, respectively. The results suggested there were only differences in film uniformity and thickness for two kinds of samples. The hydrogenated amorphous carbon films deposited on horizontally aligned substrate were smooth and homogeneous. And the film thickness of DLC films gained on the vertical substrates decreased along vertical direction. It is believed that bubble formation could enhance nucleation on the wetted capillary area. This experiment shows that deposition of DLC films by liquid phase deposition on 3D shape conductive substrates is possible. - Highlights: • DLC film is expected to be deposited on complex surface/shape substrate. • DLC film is deposited on 3D shape substrate by liquid electrochemical method. • Horizontal substrate is covered by smooth and homogeneous DLC films. • Film thickness decreases along vertical direction due to boiling effect.

  18. Tailoring of the morphology and chemical composition of thin organosilane microwave plasma polymer layers on metal substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grundmeier, G.; Thiemann, P.; Carpentier, J.; Shirtcliffe, N.; Stratmann, M

    2004-01-01

    The growth of thin microwave organosilicon plasma polymers on model zinc surfaces was investigated as a function of the film thickness and the oxygen partial pressure during film deposition. The evolution of the topology of the film was studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The nano- and micro-roughness was investigated at the inner and the outer surfaces of the plasma polymers. A special etching procedure was developed to reveal the underside of the plasma polymer and thereby its inner surface. Rough films contained voids at the interface, which reduced the polymer/metal contact area. The increase in oxygen partial pressure led to a smoother film growth with a perfect imitation of the substrate topography at the interface. The chemical structure of the films was determined by infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy (ToF-SIMS). ToF-SIMS at the outer and the inner surface of the plasma polymers showed that the density of methylsilyl groups increases in the outer surface layer of the plasma polymer and depends on the oxygen partial pressure. The chemical composition of the films could be altered to pure SiO{sub 2} without changing the morphology by using oxygen-plasma post-treatment. This was proved by means of IRRAS and AFM. Chemistry and topology of the films were correlated with the apparent water contact angle. It was found that a linear relationship exists between the nanoscopic roughness of the plasma polymer and the static contact angle of water. Superposition of a nanoscopic roughness of the metal surface and the nanoscopic roughness of methylsilyl-rich films led to ultra-hydrophobic films with water contact angles up to 160 deg.

  19. Electrical characteristic of spin coated Fe-Porphyrin on Cu substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Utari, E-mail: utari@ugm.ac.id [Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Sebelas Maret, Jl. Ir. Sutami 36A Kentingan Surakarta 57126 (Indonesia); Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Bulaksumur BLS 21 Yogyakarta 55281 (Indonesia); Kusumandari,; Purnama, Budi, E-mail: bpurnama@mipa.uns.ac.id [Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Sebelas Maret, Jl. Ir. Sutami 36A Kentingan Surakarta 57126 (Indonesia); Mudasir [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Bulaksumur BLS 21 Yogyakarta 55281 (Indonesia); Abraha, Kamsul [Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Bulaksumur BLS 21 Yogyakarta 55281 (Indonesia)

    2016-06-17

    This paper describes the electrical-characteristics of Fe-Porphyrin thin films on Cu substrates. The thin layer samples used were deposited by spin coating methods on Cu-substrates at room temperature with and without induced magnetic field in the plane direction of the surface films. Fe-porphyrin was dissolved in chloroform and mixed with a magnetic stirrer for 60 min at a rotational speed of 200 rpm. The experimental results show that the mobility carrier charge of the Fe-Porphyrin layer with induced magnetic field during deposition has lower value than that without induced magnetic field case. The decrease of the mobility can be attribute to the change of the surface morphology in Fe-porphyrin films by means of increase in the nano-granular/nano-molecular size caused by the induce magnetic field.

  20. Thin Bioactive Zn Substituted Hydroxyapatite Coating Deposited on Ultrafine Grained Titanium Substrate: Structure Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prosolov, Konstantin A.; Belyavskaya, Olga A.; Muehle, Uwe; Sharkeev, Yurii P.

    2018-02-01

    Nanocrystalline Zn substituted hydroxyapatite coatings were deposited by radiofrequency magnetron sputtering on the surface of ultrafine-grained titanium substrates. Cross section transmission electron microscopy provided information about the morphology and texture of the thin film while in-column energy dispersive X-ray analysis confirmed the presence of Zn in the coating. The Zn substituted hydroxyapatite coating was formed by an equiaxed polycrystalline grain structure. Effect of substrate crystallinity on the structure of deposited coating is discussed. An amorphous TiO2 sublayer of 8 nm thickness was detected in the interface between the polycrystalline coating and the Ti substrate. Its appearance in the amorphous state is attributed to prior to deposition etching of the substrate and subsequent condensation of oxygen-containing species sputtered from the target. This layer contributes to the high coating-to-substrate adhesion. The major P-O vibrational modes of high intensity were detected by Raman spectroscopy. The Zn substituted hydroxyapatite could be a material of choice when antibacterial osteoconductive coating with a possibility of withstanding mechanical stress during implantation and service is needed.

  1. Thin Bioactive Zn Substituted Hydroxyapatite Coating Deposited on Ultrafine-Grained Titanium Substrate: Structure Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Konstantin A. Prosolov

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Nanocrystalline Zn-substituted hydroxyapatite coatings were deposited by radiofrequency magnetron sputtering on the surface of ultrafine-grained titanium substrates. Cross-section transmission electron microscopy provided information about the morphology and texture of the thin film while in-column energy dispersive X-ray analysis confirmed the presence of Zn in the coating. The Zn-substituted hydroxyapatite coating was formed by an equiaxed polycrystalline grain structure. Effect of substrate crystallinity on the structure of deposited coating is discussed. An amorphous TiO2 sublayer of 8-nm thickness was detected in the interface between the polycrystalline coating and the Ti substrate. Its appearance in the amorphous state is attributed to prior to deposition etching of the substrate and subsequent condensation of oxygen-containing species sputtered from the target. This layer contributes to the high coating-to-substrate adhesion. The major P–O vibrational modes of high intensity were detected by Raman spectroscopy. The Zn-substituted hydroxyapatite could be a material of choice when antibacterial osteoconductive coating with a possibility of withstanding mechanical stress during implantation and service is needed.

  2. Substrate effect on the growth of monolayer dendritic MoS2 on LaAlO3 (100) and its electrocatalytic applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Cong; Zhang, Yu; Ji, Qingqing; Shi, Jianping; Chen, Zhaolong; Zhou, Xiebo; Fang, Qiyi; Zhang, Yanfeng

    2016-09-01

    In accommodating the rapid development of two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has become a powerful tool for their batch production with desirable characteristics, such as high crystal quality, large domain size, and tunable domain shape. The crystallinity and morphology of the growth substrates usually play a crucial role in the CVD synthesis of high-quality monolayer MoS2, a kind of 2D layered material which has ignited huge interest in nanoelectronics, optoelectronics and energy harvesting, etc. Herein, by utilizing a low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) system, we demonstrate a regioselective synthesis of monolayer MoS2 on the corrugated single-crystal LaAlO3 (100) with twin crystal domains induced by the second-order phase transition. Unique dendritic morphologies with tunable nucleation densities were obtained in different regions of the undulated substrate, presenting a strong substrate modulation effect. Interestingly, the exposure of abundant active edge sites along with the rather high nucleation density makes the monolayer dendritic MoS2 a good electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), particularly featured by a rather high exchange current density (70.4 μA cm-2). Furthermore, uniform monolayer MoS2 films can also be obtained and transferred to arbitrary substrates. We believe that this work provides a new growth system for the controllable synthesis of 2D layered materials with unique dendritic morphologies, as well as its great application potential in energy conversion and harvesting.

  3. Probing neural cell behaviors through micro-/nano-patterned chitosan substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sung, Chun-Yen; Yang, Chung-Yao; Yeh, J Andrew; Chen, Wen-Shiang; Wang, Yang-Kao; Cheng, Chao-Min

    2015-01-01

    In this study, we describe the development of surface-modified chitosan substrates to examine topographically related Neuro-2a cell behaviors. Different functional groups can be modified on chitosan surfaces to probe Neuro-2a cell morphology. To prepare chitosan substrates with micro/nano-scaled features, we demonstrated an easy-to-handle method that combined photolithography, inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching, Ag nanoparticle-assisted etching, and solution casting. The results show that Neuro-2a cells preferred to adhere to a flat chitosan surface rather than a nanotextured chitosan surface as evidenced by greater immobilization and differentiation, suggesting that surface topography is crucial for neural patterning. In addition, we developed chitosan substrates with different geometric patterns and flat region depth; this allowed us to re-arrange or re-pattern Neuro-2a cell colonies at desired locations. We found that a polarity-induced micropattern provided the most suitable surface pattern for promoting neural network formation on a chitosan substrate. The cellular polarity of single Neuro-2a cell spreading correlated to a diamond-like geometry and neurite outgrowth was induced from the corners toward the grooves of the structures. This study provide greater insight into neurobiology, including neurotransmitter screening, electrophysiological stimulation platforms, and biomedical engineering. (paper)

  4. A liquid-like model for the morphology evolution of ion bombarded thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Repetto, L., E-mail: luca.repetto@unige.it [Department of Physics and Nanomed Labs, Università di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova (Italy); Lo Savio, R. [Department of Physics and Nanomed Labs, Università di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova (Italy); Šetina Batič, B. [Inštitut Za Kovinske Materiale in Tehnologije, Lepi pot 11, 1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia); Firpo, G.; Angeli, E.; Valbusa, U. [Department of Physics and Nanomed Labs, Università di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova (Italy)

    2015-07-01

    Thin solid films exposed to ion irradiation exhibit a peculiar evolution that can differ substantially from what is observed for bulk samples. The phenomenology of the patterns that self-organize on the substrate is very rich, with morphologies that display several degrees of order upon the modification of initial film characteristics and irradiation parameters. This richness paves the way for the fabrication of novel functional surfaces, but it is also an indication of the complexity of the underlying driving mechanisms. A remarkable simplification for the comprehension of these phenomena can come from the noteworthy similarity of the obtained patterns with those showing up when liquids dewet from their substrates. Here, we analyze the possibility to apply a liquid-like model to explain the morphology evolution of ion bombarded thin films for the whole phenomenology showing up in experiments. In establishing this connection between liquids and ion bombarded thin films, we propose to use also for liquids the insight gained for our system with recent experiments that stress the importance of the substrate topography for the selection of the dewetting mechanism. If confirmed, this result would lead to a reconsideration of the importance of capillary waves in spinodal dewetting, and will help to understand the low reproducibility of the related experimental results.

  5. Cell behavior on microparticles with different surface morphology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang Sha; Fu Xiaobing

    2010-01-01

    Microparticles can serve as substrates for cell amplification and deliver the cell aggregation to the site of the defect for tissue regeneration. To develop favorable microparticles for cell delivery application, we fabricated and evaluated three types of microparticles that differ in surface properties. The microparticles with varied surface morphology (smooth, pitted and multicavity) were created from chemically crosslinked gelatin particles that underwent various drying treatments. Three types of microparticles were characterized and assessed in terms of the cell behavior of human keratinocytes and fibroblasts seeded on them. The cells could attach, spread and proliferate on all types of microparticles but spread and populated more slowly on the microparticles with smooth surfaces than on those with pitted or multicavity surfaces. Microparticles with a multicavity surface demonstrated the highest cell attachment and growth rate. Furthermore, cells tested on microparticles with a multicavity surface exhibited better morphology and induced the earlier formation of extracellular-based cell-microparticle aggregation than those on microparticles with other surface morphology (smooth and pitted). Thus, microparticles with a multicavity surface show promise for attachment and proliferation of cells in tissue engineering.

  6. Nonlinear optical parameters of nanocrystalline AZO thin film measured at different substrate temperatures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jilani, Asim, E-mail: asim.jilane@gmail.com [Centre of Nanotechnology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia); Abdel-wahab, M.Sh [Centre of Nanotechnology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia); Materials Science and Nanotechnology Department, Faculty of Postgraduate Studies for Advanced Sciences, Beni -Suef University, Beni-Suef (Egypt); Al-ghamdi, Attieh A. [Centre of Nanotechnology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia); Dahlan, Ammar sadik [Department of architecture, faculty of environmental design, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia); Yahia, I.S. [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha (Saudi Arabia); Nano-Science & Semiconductor Labs, Department of Physics, Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University, Roxy, 11757 Cairo (Egypt)

    2016-01-15

    The 2.2 wt% of aluminum (Al)-doped zinc oxide (AZO) transparent and preferential c-axis oriented thin films were prepared by using radio frequency (DC/RF) magnetron sputtering at different substrate temperature ranging from room temperature to 200 °C. For structural analysis, X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Atomic Force Electron Microscope (AFM) was used for morphological studies. The optical parameters such as, optical energy gap, refractive index, extinction coefficient, dielectric loss, tangent loss, first and third order nonlinear optical properties of transparent films were investigated. High transmittance above 90% and highly homogeneous surface were observed in all samples. The substrate temperature plays an important role to get the best transparent conductive oxide thin films. The substrate temperature at 150 °C showed the growth of highly transparent AZO thin film. Energy gap increased with the increased in substrate temperature of Al doped thin films. Dielectric constant and loss were found to be photon energy dependent with substrate temperature. The change in substrate temperature of Al doped thin films also affect the non-liner optical properties of thin films. The value of χ{sup (3)} was found to be changed with the grain size of the thin films that directly affected by the substrate temperature of the pure and Al doped ZnO thin films.

  7. Comparative of fibroblast and osteoblast cells adhesion on surface modified nanofibrous substrates based on polycaprolactone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharifi, Fereshteh; Irani, Shiva; Zandi, Mojgan; Soleimani, Masoud; Atyabi, Seyed Mohammad

    2016-12-01

    One of the determinant factors for successful bioengineering is to achieve appropriate nano-topography and three-dimensional substrate. In this research, polycaprolactone (PCL) nano-fibrous mat with different roughness modified with O 2 plasma was fabricated via electrospinning. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of plasma modification along with surface nano-topography of mats on the quality of human fibroblast (HDFs) and osteoblast cells (OSTs)-substrate interaction. Surface properties were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), contact angle, Fourier-transformation infrared spectroscopy. We evaluated mechanical properties of fabricated mats by tensile test. The viability and proliferation of HDFs and OSTs on the substrates were followed by 3-[4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT). Mineralization of the substrate was determined by alizarin red staining method and calcium content of OSTs was determined by calcium content kit. Cells morphology was studied by SEM analysis. The results revealed that the plasma-treated electrospun nano-fibrous substrate with higher roughness was an excellent designed substrate. A bioactive topography for stimulating proliferation of HDFs and OSTs is to accelerate the latter's differentiation time. Therefore, the PCL substrate with high density and major nano-topography were considered as a bio-functional and elegant bio-substrate for tissue regeneration applications.

  8. Comparison of the quality of single-crystal diamonds grown on two types of seed substrates by MPCVD

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Yun; Guo, Yanzhao; Lin, Liangzhen; Zheng, Yuting; Hei, Lifu; Liu, Jinlong; Wei, Junjun; Chen, Liangxian; Li, Chengming

    2018-06-01

    Microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) was used to grow single-crystal diamonds on two types of single-crystal diamond seed substrates prepared by high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods. The quality of diamonds grown on the different seed substrates was compared. Fluorescence characteristics showed that the sectors of the HPHT seed substrates were obviously partitioned. Raman and absorption spectra showed that the CVD seed substrate produced higher-quality crystals with fewer nitrogen impurities. X-ray topography showed that the HPHT seed substrate had obvious growth sector boundaries, inclusions, dislocations, and stacking faults. The polarization characteristics of HPHT seed substrate were obvious, and the stress distribution was not uniform. When etching HPHT and CVD seed substrates using the same parameters, the etching morphology and extent of different growth sectors of the two substrates differed. Although extended defects were inevitably formed at the interface and propagated in the CVD layer, the dislocation density of a 1 mm-thick CVD layer grown on a CVD seed substrate was only half that of a 1 mm-thick CVD layer grown on an HPHT seed substrate. Therefore, the use of CVD seed substrate enabled the growth of a relatively higher-quality CVD single-crystal diamond.

  9. Metastability and relaxation in tensile SiGe on Ge(001) virtual substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frigerio, Jacopo; Lodari, Mario; Chrastina, Daniel; Mondiali, Valeria; Isella, Giovanni; Bollani, Monica

    2014-01-01

    We systematically study the heteroepitaxy of SiGe alloys on Ge virtual substrates in order to understand strain relaxation processes and maximize the tensile strain in the SiGe layer. The degree of relaxation is measured by high-resolution x-ray diffraction, and surface morphology is characterized by atomic force microscopy. The results are analyzed in terms of a numerical model, which considers dislocation nucleation, multiplication, thermally activated glide, and strain-dependent blocking. Relaxation is found to be sensitive to growth rate and substrate temperature as well as epilayer misfit and thickness, and growth parameters are found which allow a SiGe film with over 4 GPa of tensile stress to be obtained.

  10. Stimulatory and cytotoxic effects of beryllium on proliferation of mouse spleen lymphocytes in vitro

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Price, R.J.; Skilleter, D.N.

    1985-01-01

    Low concentrations (1-5 ..mu..M) of beryllium (Be) salts were weakly mitogenic to mouse spleen cells in vitro as measured by an hydroxyurea-sensitive 2-3fold increase in pulse labelled (/sup 3/H)-thymidine incorporation into lymphocyte DNA. It is proposed the activation may be induced by a direct interaction of Be/sup 2 +/ with the lymphocyte membranes. Higher concentrations of Be/sup 2 +/ (5-20 ..mu..M) produced a gradual loss of the stimulatory response, possibly as the result of either a limited cytotoxic effect or by the established property of intracellularly-accumulated Be/sup 2 +/ to inhibit cell division. In contrast, Concanavalin A-stimulated lymphocyte mitogenesis was markedly decreased by a 20-h-preincubation of splenocytes with micromolar concentrations of Be/sup 2 +/, whereas similar pretreatment with lower concentrations (0.1 ..mu..M) actually enchanced the subsequent proliferative response. In both cases, supplementary addition of 0.1-1% peritoneal macrophages increased the level of Concanavalin A stimulation. It is concluded, therefore, that inhibition of the proliferative response to accessory cell-dependent mitogens may result from a dose-dependent destruction by Be/sup 2 +/ of the macrophage/adherent cell population.

  11. Structural and optical properties of ZnO rods hydrothermally formed on polyethersulfone substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shin, Chang Mi; Jang, Jin Tak; Kim, Chang Yong; Ryu, Hyuk Hyun [Inje University, Gimhae (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Won Jae [Dong-Eui University, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Chang, Ji Ho [Korea Maritime University, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Son, Chang Sik [Silla University, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Hee Lack [Pukyong National University, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-06-15

    Various unique ZnO morphologies, such as cigar-like and belt-like structures and microrod and nanorod structures, were formed on flexible polyethersulfone (PES) substrates by using a low temperature hydrothermal route. The structural properties of ZnO depended highly on the precursor concentration. The effect of a thin ZnO seed layer deposited the on PES substrate by using atomic layer deposition on the structural and the optical properties of ZnO hydrothermally grown on the ZnO seed layer/PES substrates was studied. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and photoluminescence (PL) measurements were employed to analyze the characteristics of hydrothermally-grown ZnO. The diameter of the ZnO nanorods grown on the ZnO seed layer/PES substrates increased with increasing precursor concentration from 0.025 to 0.125 M due to the Ostwald ripening process. ZnO hydrothermally-grown on the ZnO seed layer/PES substrates at a low precursor concentration showed better structural properties than ZnO formed without a seed layer. Well-formed ZnO nanorods deposited on the ZnO seed layer/PES substrates showed two PL peaks, one in the ultraviolet and the other in the visible region, whereas horizontally positioned ZnO formed on the PES substrate in the absence of a seed layer emitted only one broad PL peak in the violet region. The ZnO grown on PES substrates in this work can be used as high-quality transparent electrodes for solar cells fabricated on flexible substrates.

  12. Structural and optical properties of ZnO rods hydrothermally formed on polyethersulfone substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shin, Chang Mi; Jang, Jin Tak; Kim, Chang Yong; Ryu, Hyuk Hyun; Lee, Won Jae; Chang, Ji Ho; Son, Chang Sik; Choi, Hee Lack

    2012-01-01

    Various unique ZnO morphologies, such as cigar-like and belt-like structures and microrod and nanorod structures, were formed on flexible polyethersulfone (PES) substrates by using a low temperature hydrothermal route. The structural properties of ZnO depended highly on the precursor concentration. The effect of a thin ZnO seed layer deposited the on PES substrate by using atomic layer deposition on the structural and the optical properties of ZnO hydrothermally grown on the ZnO seed layer/PES substrates was studied. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and photoluminescence (PL) measurements were employed to analyze the characteristics of hydrothermally-grown ZnO. The diameter of the ZnO nanorods grown on the ZnO seed layer/PES substrates increased with increasing precursor concentration from 0.025 to 0.125 M due to the Ostwald ripening process. ZnO hydrothermally-grown on the ZnO seed layer/PES substrates at a low precursor concentration showed better structural properties than ZnO formed without a seed layer. Well-formed ZnO nanorods deposited on the ZnO seed layer/PES substrates showed two PL peaks, one in the ultraviolet and the other in the visible region, whereas horizontally positioned ZnO formed on the PES substrate in the absence of a seed layer emitted only one broad PL peak in the violet region. The ZnO grown on PES substrates in this work can be used as high-quality transparent electrodes for solar cells fabricated on flexible substrates.

  13. Strain mediated adatom stripe morphologies on Cu<111> simulated

    OpenAIRE

    Kappus, Wolfgang

    2012-01-01

    Substrate strain mediated adatom configurations on Cu surfaces have been simulated in a coverage range up to nearly 1 monolayer. Interacting adatoms occupy positions on a triangular lattice in two dimensions. The elastic interaction is taken from earlier calculations, short range effects are added for comparison. Dependent on the coverage different morphologies are observed: Superlattices of single adatoms in the 0.04 ML region, ordered adatom clusters in the 0.1 ML region, elongated islands ...

  14. Electron confinement in thin metal films. Structure, morphology and interactions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dil, J.H.

    2006-05-15

    This thesis investigates the interplay between reduced dimensionality, electronic structure, and interface effects in ultrathin metal layers (Pb, In, Al) on a variety of substrates (Si, Cu, graphite). These layers can be grown with such a perfection that electron confinement in the direction normal to the film leads to the occurrence of quantum well states in their valence bands. These quantum well states are studied in detail, and their behaviour with film thickness, on different substrates, and other parameters of growth are used here to characterise a variety of physical properties of such nanoscale systems. The sections of the thesis deal with a determination of quantum well state energies for a large data set on different systems, the interplay between film morphology and electronic structure, and the influence of substrate electronic structure on their band shape; finally, new ground is broken by demonstrating electron localization and correlation effects, and the possibility to measure the influence of electron-phonon coupling in bulk bands. (orig.)

  15. Evaluation and Optimization of Paper-Based SERS Substrate for Potential Label-Free Raman Analysis of Seminal Plasma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zufang Huang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Characterization and optimization of paper SERS substrate were performed in detail, in which morphologies and distribution of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs on the paper substrate pretreated with different concentrations of NaCl and the subsequent soaking with colloidal AgNPs for different period of time were evaluated. Our results show that both NaCl concentration and soaking time with AgNPs have a significant influence on SERS enhancement, showing that an optimal EF of 2.27 × 107 was achieved when the paper substrate was treated with 20 mM NaCl and one-hour soak with AgNPs. Moreover, seminal plasma (SP was specifically selected to evaluate the performance of paper-based SERS substrate for potential clinical detection and diagnosis. The optimization of the paper SERS substrate demonstrates potential applications in reliable on-site detection of SP and clinical diagnosis of fertility-related diseases as well.

  16. Effect of Substrates on the Photoelectrochemical Reduction of Water over Cathodically Electrodeposited p-Type Cu2O Thin Films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shyamal, Sanjib; Hajra, Paramita; Mandal, Harahari; Singh, Jitendra Kumar; Satpati, Ashis Kumar; Pande, Surojit; Bhattacharya, Chinmoy

    2015-08-26

    In this study, we demonstrate development of p-Cu2O thin films through cathodic electrodeposition technique at constant current of 0.1 mA/cm(2) on Cu, Al, and indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates from basic CuSO4 solution containing Triton X-100 as the surfactant at 30-35 °C. The optical and morphological characterizations of the semiconductors have been carried out using UV-vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Raman spectroscopy. The band gap energy of ∼2.1 eV is recorded, whereas SEM reveals that the surface morphology is covered with Cu2O semiconductors. XRD analyses confirm that with change in substrate, the size of Cu2O "cubic" crystallites decreases from ITO to Al to Cu substrates. Photoelectrochemical characterizations under dark and illuminated conditions have been carried out through linear sweep voltammetry, chronoamperometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic analysis. The photoelectrochemical reduction of water (H2O → H2) in pH 4.9 aqueous solutions over the different substrates vary in the order of Cu > Al > ITO. The highest current of 4.6 mA/cm(2) has been recorded over the Cu substrate even at a low illumination of 35 mW/cm(2), which is significantly higher than the values (2.4 mA/cm(2) on Au coated FTO or 4.07 mA/cm(2) on Cu foil substrate at an illumination of 100 mW/cm(2)) reported in literature.

  17. Controlling the morphology of side chain liquid crystalline block copolymer thin films through variations in liquid crystalline content.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verploegen, Eric; Zhang, Tejia; Jung, Yeon Sik; Ross, Caroline; Hammond, Paula T

    2008-10-01

    In this paper, we describe methods for manipulating the morphology of side-chain liquid crystalline block copolymers through variations in the liquid crystalline content. By systematically controlling the covalent attachment of side chain liquid crystals to a block copolymer (BCP) backbone, the morphology of both the liquid crystalline (LC) mesophase and the phase-segregated BCP microstructures can be precisely manipulated. Increases in LC functionalization lead to stronger preferences for the anchoring of the LC mesophase relative to the substrate and the intermaterial dividing surface. By manipulating the strength of these interactions, the arrangement and ordering of the ultrathin film block copolymer nanostructures can be controlled, yielding a range of morphologies that includes perpendicular and parallel cylinders, as well as both perpendicular and parallel lamellae. Additionally, we demonstrate the utilization of selective etching to create a nanoporous liquid crystalline polymer thin film. The unique control over the orientation and order of the self-assembled morphologies with respect to the substrate will allow for the custom design of thin films for specific nanopatterning applications without manipulation of the surface chemistry or the application of external fields.

  18. Cobalt coatings: deposition on a nickel substrate and electrocatalytic activity for alkaline water electrolysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brossard, L. (Inst. de Recherche d' Hydro-Quebec (IREQ), Varennes, Quebec (Canada))

    1992-02-01

    The deposition of cobalt on a nickel substrate in 30 wt% KOH aqueous solution containing dissolved cobalt was investigated. The effect of the applied cathodic current density (i{sub a}) and the dissolved-cobalt concentration in the electrolyte on the deposition rate suggests that the rate-determining step is the diffusion of the dissolved cobalt in the solution. The faradic efficiency of the cobalt deposition reaction and the coating morphology are linked to i{sub a}, while the evolution rate of both oxygen and hydrogen in 30 wt% KOH at 70degC is dependent on the coating morphology. (orig.).

  19. Comparison study of ITO thin films deposited by sputtering at room temperature onto polymer and glass substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guillen, C.; Herrero, J.

    2005-01-01

    Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films have been grown simultaneously onto glass and polymer substrates at room temperature by sputtering from ceramic target. The structure, morphology and electro-optical characteristics of the ITO/glass and ITO/polymer samples have been analyzed by X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, four-point electrical measurements and spectrophotometry. In the selected experimental conditions, the polycrystalline ITO coating shows higher average grain size and higher conductivity, with similar visible transmittance, onto the polymer than onto the glass substrate

  20. Rhenium Alloys as Ductile Substrates for Diamond Thin-Film Electrodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halpern, Jeffrey M; Martin, Heidi B

    2014-02-01

    Molybdenum-rhenium (Mo/Re) and tungsten-rhenium (W/Re) alloys were investigated as substrates for thin-film, polycrystalline boron-doped diamond electrodes. Traditional, carbide-forming metal substrates adhere strongly to diamond but lose their ductility during exposure to the high-temperature (1000°C) diamond, chemical vapor deposition environment. Boron-doped semi-metallic diamond was selectively deposited for up to 20 hours on one end of Mo/Re (47.5/52.5 wt.%) and W/Re (75/25 wt.%) alloy wires. Conformal diamond films on the alloys displayed grain sizes and Raman signatures similar to films grown on tungsten; in all cases, the morphology and Raman spectra were consistent with well-faceted, microcrystalline diamond with minimal sp 2 carbon content. Cyclic voltammograms of dopamine in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) showed the wide window and low baseline current of high-quality diamond electrodes. In addition, the films showed consistently well-defined, dopamine electrochemical redox activity. The Mo/Re substrate regions that were uncoated but still exposed to the diamond-growth environment remained substantially more flexible than tungsten in a bend-to-fracture rotation test, bending to the test maximum of 90° and not fracturing. The W/Re substrates fractured after a 27° bend, and the tungsten fractured after a 21° bend. Brittle, transgranular cleavage fracture surfaces were observed for tungsten and W/Re. A tension-induced fracture of the Mo/Re after the prior bend test showed a dimple fracture with a visible ductile core. Overall, the Mo/Re and W/Re alloys were suitable substrates for diamond growth. The Mo/Re alloy remained significantly more ductile than traditional tungsten substrates after diamond growth, and thus may be an attractive metal substrate for more ductile, thin-film diamond electrodes.

  1. Luminescence and Morphological Properties of GaN Layers Grown on SiC/Si(111) Substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sanchez-Garcia, M.A.; Ristic, J.; Calleja, E. [ISOM and Dpto. Ing. Electronica, ETSI Telecomunicacion, Univ. Politecnica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Perez-Rodriguez, A.; Serre, C.; Romano-Rodriguez, A.; Morante, J.R. [EME - Electronic Materials and Engineering, Department of Electronics, Universidad de Barcelona, Marti i Franques 1, 08028 Barcelona (Spain); Koegler, R.; Skorupa, W. [Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research, Forschungszentrum Rossendorf e.V., 01314 Dresden (Germany); Trampert, A.; Ploog, K.H. [Paul-Drude-Institut fuer Festkoerperelektronik, Hausvogteiplatz 5-7, 10117 Berlin (Germany)

    2002-08-16

    This article describes the fabrication of SiC thin films on top of Si(111) substrates by means of a multiple C-ion implantation and the subsequent growth by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy of GaN layers. The stoichiometry of the top SiC layer is controlled by reactive ion etching. Photoluminescence spectra reveal that all GaN layers are under biaxial tensile strain of thermal origin. The photoluminescence efficiency clearly depends on the stoichiometry of the initial SiC layer and on whether AlN buffer layers are used or not. GaN layers grown directly on bare non-stoichiometric SiC layers exhibit the best photoluminescence efficiency but also a high degree of mosaicity, as measured by X-ray diffraction techniques. The nucleation process involved in the initial stages of the growth leads to the formation of large dislocation-free grains with a high PL efficiency and with a higher tensile strain character. Despite the lack of a perfect monocrystalline SiC substrate lattice, high quality GaN microcrystals are obtained. (Abstract Copyright[2002], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

  2. Multi-scale characterization of surface blistering morphology of helium irradiated W thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, J.J.; Zhu, H.L.; Wan, Q.; Peng, M.J.; Ran, G.; Tang, J.; Yang, Y.Y.; Liao, J.L.; Liu, N.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Multi-scale blistering morphology of He irradiated W film was studied. • This complex morphology was first characterized by wavelet transform approach. - Abstract: Surface blistering morphologies of W thin films irradiated by 30 keV He ion beam were studied quantitatively. It was found that the blistering morphology strongly depends on He fluence. For lower He fluence, the accumulation and growth of He bubbles induce the intrinsic surface blisters with mono-modal size distribution feature. When the He fluence is higher, the film surface morphology exhibits a multi-scale property, including two kinds of surface blisters with different characteristic sizes. In addition to the intrinsic He blisters, film/substrate interface delamination also induces large-sized surface blisters. A strategy based on wavelet transform approach was proposed to distinguish and extract the multi-scale surface blistering morphologies. Then the density, the lateral size and the height of these different blisters were estimated quantitatively, and the effect of He fluence on these geometrical parameters was investigated. Our method could provide a potential tool to describe the irradiation induced surface damage morphology with a multi-scale property

  3. Preparation and characterization of CuO nanostructures on copper substrate as selective solar absorbers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karthick Kumar, S.; Murugesan, S.; Suresh, S.

    2014-01-01

    Selective solar absorber coatings of copper oxide (CuO) on copper substrates are prepared by room temperature oxidation of copper at different alkaline conditions. The surface morphology and structural analyses of the CuO coatings are carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and Raman spectroscopy techniques. XRD and Raman studies indicated the single phase nature and high crystallinity of the prepared CuO nanostructures. Different CuO nanostructures, viz., nanoneedles, nanofibers and nanoparticles are formed at different alkaline conditions. The influence of reaction time on morphology of the CuO nanostructures is also studied. The thermal emittance values of these nanostructured CuO samples are found to be in the range of 6–7% and their solar absorptances are ranged between 84 and 90%. The observed high solar selectivity values (>12.7) suggest that these coatings can be used as selective absorbers in solar thermal gadgets. - Highlights: • Nanostructured CuO thin films on Cu substrate have been prepared by a facile method. • Morphology of the CuO nanostructures varies with reaction pH. • The thin films show high absorptance in the visible region and low thermal emittance. • Multiple absorption in the porous structure leads to high solar absorptance. • Nanostructures posses solar selectivity values >12

  4. Effects of Precursor-Substrate Distances on the Growth of GaN Nanowires

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongbin Cheng

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available GaN nanowires were synthesized through the Ni-catalyzed chemical vapor deposition (CVD method using Ga2O3/GaN mixtures as gallium sources, and precursor-substrate distances were investigated as the important factor for the growth of GaN nanowires. The microstructure, composition, and photoluminescence property were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and photoluminescence spectra. The results showed that single crystalline GaN nanowires with the diameter of about 90 nm and the length up to tens of micrometers had been grown thickly across Si (100 substrates with uniform density. Moreover, the variations of the GaN nanowire morphology, density, and size were largely attributed to substrate positions which would influence Ga precursor density in the carrier gas, the saturation degree of gaseous reactants, and the catalyst activity, respectively, in the fabrication of GaN nanowires by the vapour liquid solid mechanism.

  5. Phase-field model for deposition process of platinum nanoparticles on carbon substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamakawa, S; Hyodo, S; Okazaki-Maeda, K; Kohyama, M

    2008-01-01

    Platinum supported on a carbon carrier is widely used as a catalyst for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. The catalytic activity is significantly affected by the size distribution and morphologies of the platinum particles. The objective of this study is to extend the phase-field approach to describe the formation process of platinum particles onto the substrate. The microstructural evolution of a nanoparticle was represented by the temporal evolution of the field variables related to the platinum concentration, long-range crystallographic ordering and phase transition. First-principles calculations were performed in order to estimate the interaction energies between several different types of platinum clusters and a graphene sheet. The platinum density profile concentrated over the substrate surface led to the formation of three-dimensional islands in accordance with the Volmer-Weber mode of growth. The size distributions of the platinum particles were sensitive to the heterogeneity of the substrate surface and to the competitive nucleation and growth processes

  6. Composition, morphology and mechanical properties of sputtered TiAlN coating

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Budi, Esmar, E-mail: esmarbudi@unj.ac.id [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Jl. Pemuda No. 10, Jakarta 13220 (Indonesia); Razali, M. Mohd. [Faculty of Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Karung Berkunci No. 1752 Pejabat Pos Durian Tunggal 76109 Melaka (Malaysia); Nizam, A. R. Md. [Faculty of Manufacturing Engineering, UniversitiTeknikal Malaysia Melaka, Karung Berkunci No. 1752 Pejabat Pos Durian Tunggal 76109 Melaka (Malaysia)

    2014-03-24

    TiAlN coating was deposited on the tungsten carbide cutting tool by using DC magnetron sputtering system to study the influence of substrate bias and nitrogen flow rate on the composition, morphology and mechanical properties. The negatively substrate bias and nitrogen flow rate was varied from about −79 to −221 V and 30 sccm to 72 sccm, respectively. The coating composition and roughness were characterized by using SEM/EDX and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), respectively. The dynamic ultra micro hardness tester was used to measure the mechanical properties. The coating hardness increases to about 10-12 GPa with an increase of the negatively substrate bias up to − 200 V and it tend to decrease with an increase in nitrogen flow rate up to 70 sccm. The increase of hardness follows the increase of Ti and N content and rms coating roughness.

  7. The morphology and adhesion mechanism of Octopus vulgaris suckers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesca Tramacere

    Full Text Available The octopus sucker represents a fascinating natural system performing adhesion on different terrains and substrates. Octopuses use suckers to anchor the body to the substrate or to grasp, investigate and manipulate objects, just to mention a few of their functions. Our study focuses on the morphology and adhesion mechanism of suckers in Octopus vulgaris. We use three different techniques (MRI, ultrasonography, and histology and a 3D reconstruction approach to contribute knowledge on both morphology and functionality of the sucker structure in O. vulgaris. The results of our investigation are two-fold. First, we observe some morphological differences with respect to the octopus species previously studied (i.e., Octopus joubini, Octopus maya, Octopus bimaculoides/bimaculatus and Eledone cirrosa. In particular, in O. vulgaris the acetabular chamber, that is a hollow spherical cavity in other octopuses, shows an ellipsoidal cavity which roof has an important protuberance with surface roughness. Second, based on our findings, we propose a hypothesis on the sucker adhesion mechanism in O. vulgaris. We hypothesize that the process of continuous adhesion is achieved by sealing the orifice between acetabulum and infundibulum portions via the acetabular protuberance. We suggest this to take place while the infundibular part achieves a completely flat shape; and, by sustaining adhesion through preservation of sucker configuration. In vivo ultrasonographic recordings support our proposed adhesion model by showing the sucker in action. Such an underlying physical mechanism offers innovative potential cues for developing bioinspired artificial adhesion systems. Furthermore, we think that it could possibly represent a useful approach in order to investigate any potential difference in the ecology and in the performance of adhesion by different species.

  8. The morphology and adhesion mechanism of Octopus vulgaris suckers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tramacere, Francesca; Beccai, Lucia; Kuba, Michael; Gozzi, Alessandro; Bifone, Angelo; Mazzolai, Barbara

    2013-01-01

    The octopus sucker represents a fascinating natural system performing adhesion on different terrains and substrates. Octopuses use suckers to anchor the body to the substrate or to grasp, investigate and manipulate objects, just to mention a few of their functions. Our study focuses on the morphology and adhesion mechanism of suckers in Octopus vulgaris. We use three different techniques (MRI, ultrasonography, and histology) and a 3D reconstruction approach to contribute knowledge on both morphology and functionality of the sucker structure in O. vulgaris. The results of our investigation are two-fold. First, we observe some morphological differences with respect to the octopus species previously studied (i.e., Octopus joubini, Octopus maya, Octopus bimaculoides/bimaculatus and Eledone cirrosa). In particular, in O. vulgaris the acetabular chamber, that is a hollow spherical cavity in other octopuses, shows an ellipsoidal cavity which roof has an important protuberance with surface roughness. Second, based on our findings, we propose a hypothesis on the sucker adhesion mechanism in O. vulgaris. We hypothesize that the process of continuous adhesion is achieved by sealing the orifice between acetabulum and infundibulum portions via the acetabular protuberance. We suggest this to take place while the infundibular part achieves a completely flat shape; and, by sustaining adhesion through preservation of sucker configuration. In vivo ultrasonographic recordings support our proposed adhesion model by showing the sucker in action. Such an underlying physical mechanism offers innovative potential cues for developing bioinspired artificial adhesion systems. Furthermore, we think that it could possibly represent a useful approach in order to investigate any potential difference in the ecology and in the performance of adhesion by different species.

  9. ZnO nanocoral reef grown on porous silicon substrates without catalyst

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abdulgafour, H.I.; Yam, F.K.; Hassan, Z.; AL-Heuseen, K.; Jawad, M.J.

    2011-01-01

    Research highlights: → Porous silicon (PS) technology is utilized to grow coral reef-like ZnO nanostructures on the surface of Si substrates. → Flower-like aligned ZnO nanorods are fabricated directly onto the silicon substrates through zinc powder evaporation using a simple thermal evaporation method without a catalyst for comparison. → The PL spectra show that for ZnO nanocoral reefs the UV emission shifts slightly towards lower frequency. → This non-catalyst growth technique on the rough surface of substrates may have potential applications in the fabrication of nanoelectronic and nanooptical devices. - Abstract: Porous silicon (PS) technology is utilized to grow coral reef-like ZnO nanostructures on the surface of Si substrates with rough morphology. Flower-like aligned ZnO nanorods are also fabricated directly onto the silicon substrates through zinc powder evaporation using a simple thermal evaporation method without a catalyst for comparison. The characteristics of these nanostructures are investigated using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, grazing-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), and photoluminescence (PL) measurements of structures grown on both Si and porous Si substrates. The texture coefficient obtained from the XRD spectra indicates that the coral reef-like nanostructures are highly oriented on the porous silicon substrate with decreasing nanorods length and diameter from 800-900 nm to 3.5-5.5 μm and from 217-229 nm to 0.6-0.7 μm, respectively. The PL spectra show that for ZnO nanocoral reefs the UV emission shifts slightly towards lower frequency and the intensity increase with the improvement of ZnO crystallization. This non-catalyst growth technique on the rough surface of substrates may have potential applications in the fabrication of nanoelectronic and nanooptical devices.

  10. ZnO nanocoral reef grown on porous silicon substrates without catalyst

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abdulgafour, H.I., E-mail: hind_alshaikh@yahoo.com [School of Physics, University Sains Malaysia 11800 Penang (Malaysia); Yam, F.K.; Hassan, Z.; AL-Heuseen, K.; Jawad, M.J. [School of Physics, University Sains Malaysia 11800 Penang (Malaysia)

    2011-05-05

    Research highlights: > Porous silicon (PS) technology is utilized to grow coral reef-like ZnO nanostructures on the surface of Si substrates. > Flower-like aligned ZnO nanorods are fabricated directly onto the silicon substrates through zinc powder evaporation using a simple thermal evaporation method without a catalyst for comparison. > The PL spectra show that for ZnO nanocoral reefs the UV emission shifts slightly towards lower frequency. > This non-catalyst growth technique on the rough surface of substrates may have potential applications in the fabrication of nanoelectronic and nanooptical devices. - Abstract: Porous silicon (PS) technology is utilized to grow coral reef-like ZnO nanostructures on the surface of Si substrates with rough morphology. Flower-like aligned ZnO nanorods are also fabricated directly onto the silicon substrates through zinc powder evaporation using a simple thermal evaporation method without a catalyst for comparison. The characteristics of these nanostructures are investigated using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, grazing-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), and photoluminescence (PL) measurements of structures grown on both Si and porous Si substrates. The texture coefficient obtained from the XRD spectra indicates that the coral reef-like nanostructures are highly oriented on the porous silicon substrate with decreasing nanorods length and diameter from 800-900 nm to 3.5-5.5 {mu}m and from 217-229 nm to 0.6-0.7 {mu}m, respectively. The PL spectra show that for ZnO nanocoral reefs the UV emission shifts slightly towards lower frequency and the intensity increase with the improvement of ZnO crystallization. This non-catalyst growth technique on the rough surface of substrates may have potential applications in the fabrication of nanoelectronic and nanooptical devices.

  11. Aligned, isotropic and patterned carbon nanotube substrates that control the growth and alignment of Chinese hamster ovary cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abdullah, Che Azurahanim Che; Asanithi, Piyapong; Brunner, Eric W; Jurewicz, Izabela; Bo, Chiara; Sear, Richard P; Dalton, Alan B [Department of Physics and Surrey Materials Institute, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH (United Kingdom); Azad, Chihye Lewis; Ovalle-Robles, Raquel; Fang Shaoli; Lima, Marcio D; Lepro, Xavier; Collins, Steve; Baughman, Ray H, E-mail: r.sear@surrey.ac.uk [Alan G MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080-3021 (United States)

    2011-05-20

    Here we culture Chinese hamster ovary cells on isotropic, aligned and patterned substrates based on multiwall carbon nanotubes. The nanotubes provide the substrate with nanoscale topography. The cells adhere to and grow on all substrates, and on the aligned substrate, the cells align strongly with the axis of the bundles of the multiwall nanotubes. This control over cell alignment is required for tissue engineering; almost all tissues consist of oriented cells. The aligned substrates are made using straightforward physical chemistry techniques from forests of multiwall nanotubes; no lithography is required to make inexpensive large-scale substrates with highly aligned nanoscale grooves. Interestingly, although the cells strongly align with the nanoscale grooves, only a few also elongate along this axis: alignment of the cells does not require a pronounced change in morphology of the cell. We also pattern the nanotube bundles over length scales comparable to the cell size and show that the cells follow this pattern.

  12. Effect of surface topography and morphology on space charge packets in polyethylene

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Yuanxiang; Wang Yunshan; Sun Qinghua; Wang Ninghua

    2009-01-01

    Polyethylene (PE) is a major kind of internal insulating material. With great progresses of space charge measurement technologies in the last three decades, lots of researches are focused on space charge in PE. The heat pressing and annealing condition of polyethylene affect its morphology obviously. During the heat pressing, the surface of PE forms different surface topographies because of different substrate materials. Surface topography has great relation to the epitaxial crystallization layer and influences the space charge characteristic of PE dramatically. This paper studied the formation process of different surface topographies and their micrographic characters in low density polyethylene (LDPE). pulsed electro-acoustic (PEA) method was used to measure the space charge distribution of samples with different surface topographies and morphologies in LDPE. The effect of surface topography and morphology to space charge packet were studied. The surface topography has great influence on space charge packet polarity and morphology has influence on both movement speed rate and polarity of space charge packet.

  13. A swinging seesaw as a novel model mechanism for time-dependent hormesis under dose-dependent stimulatory and inhibitory effects: A case study on the toxicity of antibacterial chemicals to Aliivibrio fischeri.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Haoyu; Calabrese, Edward J; Zheng, Min; Wang, Dali; Pan, Yongzheng; Lin, Zhifen; Liu, Ying

    2018-08-01

    Hormesis occurs frequently in broadly ranging biological areas (e.g. plant biology, microbiology, biogerontology), toxicology, pharmacology and medicine. While numerous mechanisms (e.g. receptor and pathway mediated pathway responses) account for stimulatory and inhibitory features of hormetic dose responses, the vast majority emphasizes the inclusion of many doses but only one timepoint or use of a single optimized dose that is assessed over a broad range of timepoints. In this paper, a toxicity study was designed using a large number of properly spaced doses with responses determined over a large number of timepoints, which could help us reveal the underlying mechanism of hormesis. We present the results of a dose-time-response study on hormesis using five antibacterial chemicals on the bioluminescence of Aliivibrio fischeri, measuring expression of protein mRNA based on quorum sensing, simulating bioluminescent reaction and analyzing toxic actions of test chemicals. The findings show dose-time-dependent responses conforming to the hormetic dose-response model, while revealing unique response dynamics between agent induced stimulatory and inhibitory effects within bacterial growth phase dynamics. These dynamic dose-time features reveal a type of biological seesaw model that integrates stimulatory and inhibitory responses within unique growth phase, dose and time features, which has faultlessly explained the time-dependent hormetic phenomenon induced by five antibacterial chemicals (characterized by low-dose stimulation and high-dose inhibition). This study offers advances in understanding cellular dynamics, the biological integration of diverse and opposing responses and their role in evolutionary adaptive strategies to chemicals, which can provide new insight into the mechanistic investigation of hormesis. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Power electronics substrate for direct substrate cooling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le, Khiet [Mission Viejo, CA; Ward, Terence G [Redondo Beach, CA; Mann, Brooks S [Redondo Beach, CA; Yankoski, Edward P [Corona, CA; Smith, Gregory S [Woodland Hills, CA

    2012-05-01

    Systems and apparatus are provided for power electronics substrates adapted for direct substrate cooling. A power electronics substrate comprises a first surface configured to have electrical circuitry disposed thereon, a second surface, and a plurality of physical features on the second surface. The physical features are configured to promote a turbulent boundary layer in a coolant impinged upon the second surface.

  15. Entropy-driven crystal formation on highly strained substrates

    KAUST Repository

    Savage, John R.

    2013-05-20

    In heteroepitaxy, lattice mismatch between the deposited material and the underlying surface strongly affects nucleation and growth processes. The effect of mismatch is well studied in atoms with growth kinetics typically dominated by bond formation with interaction lengths on the order of one lattice spacing. In contrast, less is understood about how mismatch affects crystallization of larger particles, such as globular proteins and nanoparticles, where interparticle interaction energies are often comparable to thermal fluctuations and are short ranged, extending only a fraction of the particle size. Here, using colloidal experiments and simulations, we find particles with short-range attractive interactions form crystals on isotropically strained lattices with spacings significantly larger than the interaction length scale. By measuring the free-energy cost of dimer formation on monolayers of increasing uniaxial strain, we show the underlying mismatched substrate mediates an entropy-driven attractive interaction extending well beyond the interaction length scale. Remarkably, because this interaction arises from thermal fluctuations, lowering temperature causes such substrate-mediated attractive crystals to dissolve. Such counterintuitive results underscore the crucial role of entropy in heteroepitaxy in this technologically important regime. Ultimately, this entropic component of lattice mismatched crystal growth could be used to develop unique methods for heterogeneous nucleation and growth of single crystals for applications ranging from protein crystallization to controlling the assembly of nanoparticles into ordered, functional superstructures. In particular, the construction of substrates with spatially modulated strain profiles would exploit this effect to direct self-assembly, whereby nucleation sites and resulting crystal morphology can be controlled directly through modifications of the substrate.

  16. Control of droplet morphology for inkjet-printed TIPS-pentacene transistors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Myung Won; Ryu, Gi Seong; Lee, Young Uk; Pearson, Christopher; Petty, Michael C.; Song, Chung Kun

    2012-01-01

    We report on methods to control the morphology of droplets of 6,13-bis(triisopropyl-silylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS-PEN), which are then used in the fabrication of organic thin film transistors (OTFTs). The grain size and distribution of the TIPS-PEN were found to depend on the temperature of the droplets during drying. The performance of the OTFTs could be improved by heating the substrate and also by changing the relative positions of the inkjet-printed droplets. In our experiments, the optimum substrate temperature was 46 °C in air. Transistors with the TIPS-PEN grain boundaries parallel to the current flow between the source and drain electrodes exhibited charge carrier mobilities of 0.44 ± 0.08 cm2/V s.

  17. Sexual Dimorphisms of Appendicular Musculoskeletal Morphology Related to Social Display in Cuban Anolis Lizards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anzai, Wataru; Cádiz, Antonio; Endo, Hideki

    2015-10-01

    In Anolis lizards, sexual dimorphism has been reported in morphological and ecological traits. Males show larger body size and longer limbs related to territorial combat and courtship display with the dewlap. Although functional-anatomical traits are closely related to locomotor behaviors, differences between sexes in musculoskeletal traits on limbs remain unclear. We explored the relationships among sexual dimorphisms in musculoskeletal morphology, habitat, and locomotor traits in Anolis lizards. Specifically, we examined appendicular musculoskeletal morphology in three species of Cuban Anolis by measuring muscle mass and lengths of moment arms. Through comparisons of crossing locomotion, we found that the runner species possessed larger extensors in hindlimbs, which are advantageous for running, whereas the masses of the humeral and femoral retractors were larger in climber species, allowing these lizards to hold up their bodies and occupy tree substrates. Comparisons between the sexes showed different trends among the three species. Males of A. porcatus, which inhabit narrow branches or leaves, had stronger elbow extensors that maintain the display posture. In contrast, males of A. sagrei, which occupy broad surfaces, did not show sexual differences that affected social display. Moreover, A. bartschi indicated sexual differences despite the absence of dewlapping behavior. Our findings suggest that both sexes show fundamentally similar relationships between muscular morphology and locomotor habits to adapt arboreal or terrestrial substrates, and yet sexual dimorphism in forelimb muscles may additionally affected by male specific display with the dewlap.

  18. Efficiency of vibrational sounding in parasitoid host location depends on substrate density.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischer, S; Samietz, J; Dorn, S

    2003-10-01

    Parasitoids of concealed hosts have to drill through a substrate with their ovipositor for successful parasitization. Hymenopteran species in this drill-and-sting guild locate immobile pupal hosts by vibrational sounding, i.e., echolocation on solid substrate. Although this host location strategy is assumed to be common among the Orussidae and Ichneumonidae there is no information yet whether it is adapted to characteristics of the host microhabitat. This study examined the effect of substrate density on responsiveness and host location efficiency in two pupal parasitoids, Pimpla turionellae and Xanthopimpla stemmator (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), with different host-niche specialization and corresponding ovipositor morphology. Location and frequency of ovipositor insertions were scored on cylindrical plant stem models of various densities. Substrate density had a significant negative effect on responsiveness, number of ovipositor insertions, and host location precision in both species. The more niche-specific species X. stemmator showed a higher host location precision and insertion activity. We could show that vibrational sounding is obviously adapted to the host microhabitat of the parasitoid species using this host location strategy. We suggest the attenuation of pulses during vibrational sounding as the energetically costly limiting factor for this adaptation.

  19. Properties of HTS YBCO thin films deposited on tilted NdGaO3 substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nurgaliev, T.; Donchev, T.; Mateev, E.; Miteva, S.; Mozhaev, P.B.; Mozhaeva, J.E.

    2005-01-01

    Thin YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 films were fabricated by 2-opposed DC magnetron sputtering onto NdGaO 3 substrates, tilted from standard (1 1 0) orientation by 0-26 deg , and their surface morphology and electrical characteristics were investigated. Normal state resistivity (at 295 K) and microwave surface resistance (at 77 K and ∼8 GHz) of the films demonstrated anisotropy, introduced by the tilted substrate, and some improvement of the superconducting parameters of the films was observed at small tilt angles (θ ∼ 1.5-3 deg ). The increase of the microwave surface resistance at high tilt angles for the current tracks, perpendicular to the steps of the substrate, was described in the framework of a simple model, which takes into account the complex conductivity of the film and the weak links between the film terraces

  20. A substrate independent approach for generation of surface gradients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goreham, Renee V. [Mawson Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes 5095 (Australia); Mierczynska, Agnieszka; Pierce, Madelene [Ian Wark Research Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes 5095 (Australia); Short, Robert D.; Taheri, Shima; Bachhuka, Akash; Cavallaro, Alex; Smith, Louise E. [Mawson Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes 5095 (Australia); Vasilev, Krasimir, E-mail: krasimir.vasilev@unisa.edu.au [Mawson Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes 5095 (Australia)

    2013-01-01

    Recently, surface gradients have attracted significant interest for various research and technological applications. In this paper, we report a facile and versatile method for generating surface gradients of immobilized nanoparticles, nanotopography and ligands that is independent from the substrate material. The method consists of first depositing a functional polymer layer on a substrate and subsequent time controlled immersion of this functionalized substrate in solution gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) or poly (styrenesulfonate) (PSS). Chemical characterization by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and morphological analysis by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) show that the density of nanoparticles and the concentration of PSS across the surface increases in a gradient manner. As expected, time of immersion determines the concentration of surface bound species. We also demonstrate the generation of surface gradients of pure nanotopography. This is achieved by depositing a 5 nm thick plasma polymer layer on top of the number density gradient of nanoparticles to achieve a homogeneous surface chemistry. The surface independent approach for generation of surface gradients presented in this paper may open opportunities for a wider use of surface gradient in research and in various technologies. - Highlights: ► We present a substrate independent approach for generation of surface gradients. ► We demonstrate well-defined density gradients of gold and silver nanoparticles. ► We provide an example of pure surface nanotopography gradients. ► We demonstrate concentration gradients of bound ligands.

  1. A substrate independent approach for generation of surface gradients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goreham, Renee V.; Mierczynska, Agnieszka; Pierce, Madelene; Short, Robert D.; Taheri, Shima; Bachhuka, Akash; Cavallaro, Alex; Smith, Louise E.; Vasilev, Krasimir

    2013-01-01

    Recently, surface gradients have attracted significant interest for various research and technological applications. In this paper, we report a facile and versatile method for generating surface gradients of immobilized nanoparticles, nanotopography and ligands that is independent from the substrate material. The method consists of first depositing a functional polymer layer on a substrate and subsequent time controlled immersion of this functionalized substrate in solution gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) or poly (styrenesulfonate) (PSS). Chemical characterization by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and morphological analysis by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) show that the density of nanoparticles and the concentration of PSS across the surface increases in a gradient manner. As expected, time of immersion determines the concentration of surface bound species. We also demonstrate the generation of surface gradients of pure nanotopography. This is achieved by depositing a 5 nm thick plasma polymer layer on top of the number density gradient of nanoparticles to achieve a homogeneous surface chemistry. The surface independent approach for generation of surface gradients presented in this paper may open opportunities for a wider use of surface gradient in research and in various technologies. - Highlights: ► We present a substrate independent approach for generation of surface gradients. ► We demonstrate well-defined density gradients of gold and silver nanoparticles. ► We provide an example of pure surface nanotopography gradients. ► We demonstrate concentration gradients of bound ligands

  2. Effect of modified ITO substrate on electrochromic properties of polyaniline films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leon-Silva, U.; Nicho, M.E.; Cruz-Silva, Rodolfo [Centro de Investigacion en Ingenieria y Ciencias Aplicadas, UAEMor, Av. Universidad 1001, Col. Chamilpa, 62209, Cuernavaca, Morelos (Mexico); Hu, Hailin [Departamento de Materiales Solares, Centro de Investigacion en Energia, UNAM, Av. Xochicalco S/N, Temixco, 62580, Morelos (Mexico)

    2007-09-22

    In this work, we report the morphological and electrochromic properties of electrochemically synthesized polyaniline (PANI) thin films on bare and modified indium-tin oxide (ITO) glass substrates. In the last case, the surface of ITO glass was covered by a self-assembled monolayer of N-phenyl-{gamma}-aminopropyl-trimethoxysilane (PAPTS). Atomic force microscopy images and perfilometry show that smoother and thinner PANI films were grown on PAPTS-modified ITO substrates. PANI-based electrochromic devices (ECDs) were assembled by using a viscous polymeric electrolyte (PE) of LiClO{sub 4} and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) co-dissolved in a mixture of propylene and ethylene carbonate. The architectural design of the devices was glass/ITO/PANI/PE/ITO/glass. A dual ECD was also prepared by collocating a poly(3-methylthiophene) (P3MT) thin film as a complementary electrochromic element. The effect of the PAPTS-modified ITO substrate is reflected in a higher optical transmittance at bleach state and a little less color change at 550 nm of PANI-based ECDs. (author)

  3. Enhancing upconversion emission of Er, Yb co-doped highly transparent YF3 films by synergistic tuning nano-textured morphology and crystallinity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qu, Ming-Hao; Wang, Ru-Zhi; Chen, Yan; Zhang, Ying; Li, Kai-Yu; Zhou, Hua; Yan, Hui

    2014-01-01

    Highly transparent Er, Yb codoped YF 3 upconversion films were successfully prepared by electron beam deposition method. The effects of the substrate temperature on the morphology, crystallinity and emission characteristics of Er, Yb codoped YF 3 films were studied carefully. It was found that the morphology and crystallinity varied from smooth amorphous to root-intertwined polycrystalline structure with the substrate temperature increase. Besides, the emission characteristics of the films can be modulated by the synergy of their surface morphologies and crystallinities. Remarkably, a large enhancement of the upconversion emission, up to five decades while only an insignificant decrease of the optical transmittance (10% at most), was achieved by forming root-intertwined polycrystalline structures. These highly transparent upconversion films may have good potential for enhancing the conversion efficiency of wide band-gap solar cells. -- Highlights: • Er, Yb co-dopedYF 3 upconversion films have been successfully prepared. • The upconversion property can be modulated by morphology and crystallinity. • The upconversion transparent YF 3 films are promising for solar cells applications

  4. Structure and scintillation properties of CsI(Tl) films on Si single crystal substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guo, Lina [State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, School of Optoelectronic Information, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); Liu, Shuang, E-mail: shuangliu@uestc.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, School of Optoelectronic Information, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); Chen, Dejun; Zhang, Shangjian; Liu, Yong; Zhong, Zhiyong [State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, School of Optoelectronic Information, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); Falco, Charles M. [University of Arizona, College of Optical Sciences, AZ 85721 (United States)

    2016-10-30

    Highlights: • We obtained the desired micro-columnar structure of CsI(Tl) films on the orienting Si substrates. • We improved the micro-columnar structure of CsI(Tl) films under the relatively large deposition rate through using the substrate with a pre-deposited CsI nanolayer. • We modeled the interface structures between the CsI(Tl) films with (200) and (310) orientation and Si(111) substrates to explain the preferred orientation of film under the influence of the orienting substrate significantly. • We gained a new spectrum of the CsI(Tl) films peaked at 740 nm wavelength. - Abstract: CsI(Tl) scintillation films fabricated on glass substrates are widely applied for X-ray imaging because their ability to grow in micro-columnar structure and proper emission wavelength matching CCD cameras. But the coupling process between the CsI(Tl) films and Si-based photo detector would cause coupling loss. In this work, CsI(Tl) films were deposited on the orienting Si substrates and the Si substrates covered by the pre-deposited CsI nanolayers. Structure and scintillation properties of films were examined by using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence and radioluminescent spectrum. The films deposited on the orienting Si substrates show the micro-columnar morphology with perfect single crystalline structure and the photoluminescence spectra with bimodal distribution. The performances of the films prepared on the pre-deposited CsI nanolayer, containing micro-columns structure and the light yield are improved.

  5. Structure and scintillation properties of CsI(Tl) films on Si single crystal substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo, Lina; Liu, Shuang; Chen, Dejun; Zhang, Shangjian; Liu, Yong; Zhong, Zhiyong; Falco, Charles M.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • We obtained the desired micro-columnar structure of CsI(Tl) films on the orienting Si substrates. • We improved the micro-columnar structure of CsI(Tl) films under the relatively large deposition rate through using the substrate with a pre-deposited CsI nanolayer. • We modeled the interface structures between the CsI(Tl) films with (200) and (310) orientation and Si(111) substrates to explain the preferred orientation of film under the influence of the orienting substrate significantly. • We gained a new spectrum of the CsI(Tl) films peaked at 740 nm wavelength. - Abstract: CsI(Tl) scintillation films fabricated on glass substrates are widely applied for X-ray imaging because their ability to grow in micro-columnar structure and proper emission wavelength matching CCD cameras. But the coupling process between the CsI(Tl) films and Si-based photo detector would cause coupling loss. In this work, CsI(Tl) films were deposited on the orienting Si substrates and the Si substrates covered by the pre-deposited CsI nanolayers. Structure and scintillation properties of films were examined by using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence and radioluminescent spectrum. The films deposited on the orienting Si substrates show the micro-columnar morphology with perfect single crystalline structure and the photoluminescence spectra with bimodal distribution. The performances of the films prepared on the pre-deposited CsI nanolayer, containing micro-columns structure and the light yield are improved.

  6. Substrate Misorientation Effects On (A1,Ga)As And (Al,Ga)As/GaAs Structures Grown By Molecular Beam Epitaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsui, Raymond K.; Kramer, Gary D.; Curless, J. A.; Peffley, Marilyn S.

    1987-04-01

    (Al,Ga)As layers have rough surface morphologies when deposited under certain growth conditions in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). This leads to poor interfaces between (A1,Ga)- As and GaAs and degraded performance in heterojunction devices. We have observed that by misorienting the substrate slightly from (100), in a manner specific to the growth conditions, smooth (Al,Ga)As layers 3-4 μm thick can be grown at a rate of ≍ 1 μm/h for various AlAs mole fractions, x. Similar conditions for nominal (100) result in a rough, textured morphology. Experiments were carried out using flat substrates of specific misorientations as well as lens-shaped substrates. The lenticular substrates allowed all orientations within 14° of (100) [i.e., out to (511)] to be evaluated in one growth run. Deposition conditions that were varied included x, substrate temperature, and V/III beam flux ratio. Smooth layers obtained using optimal misorientations showed superior optical characteris-tics as determined from low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The 4.2K PL spectra of smooth layers exhibit well-resolved exciton-related peaks, and do not have the deeper-level defect-related peaks observed in the spectra of rough layers. Single quantum well structures with A10.3Ga0.7As barriers and a 100 A-wide GaAs well deposited on mis-oriented substrates also have superior optical properties compared to a structure grown on nominal (100). Such findings may have significant implications for the performance of heterojunction device structures grown by MBE.

  7. Dewetting of thin liquid films on chemically patterned substrates : front propatation along narrow lyophobic stripes and stripe arrays

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brasjen, B.J.; Gu, H.; Darhuber, A.A.

    2013-01-01

    Using experiments and numerical simulations, we investigate the dewetting of thin liquid films on chemically patterned substrates. The patterns consist of long and narrow hydrophobic stripes, separated by larger hydrophilic domains. We characterize the morphology and dynamics of the dewetting front

  8. Using cell-substrate impedance and live cell imaging to measure real-time changes in cellular adhesion and de-adhesion induced by matrix modification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rees, Martin D; Thomas, Shane R

    2015-02-19

    Cell-matrix adhesion plays a key role in controlling cell morphology and signaling. Stimuli that disrupt cell-matrix adhesion (e.g., myeloperoxidase and other matrix-modifying oxidants/enzymes released during inflammation) are implicated in triggering pathological changes in cellular function, phenotype and viability in a number of diseases. Here, we describe how cell-substrate impedance and live cell imaging approaches can be readily employed to accurately quantify real-time changes in cell adhesion and de-adhesion induced by matrix modification (using endothelial cells and myeloperoxidase as a pathophysiological matrix-modifying stimulus) with high temporal resolution and in a non-invasive manner. The xCELLigence cell-substrate impedance system continuously quantifies the area of cell-matrix adhesion by measuring the electrical impedance at the cell-substrate interface in cells grown on gold microelectrode arrays. Image analysis of time-lapse differential interference contrast movies quantifies changes in the projected area of individual cells over time, representing changes in the area of cell-matrix contact. Both techniques accurately quantify rapid changes to cellular adhesion and de-adhesion processes. Cell-substrate impedance on microelectrode biosensor arrays provides a platform for robust, high-throughput measurements. Live cell imaging analyses provide additional detail regarding the nature and dynamics of the morphological changes quantified by cell-substrate impedance measurements. These complementary approaches provide valuable new insights into how myeloperoxidase-catalyzed oxidative modification of subcellular extracellular matrix components triggers rapid changes in cell adhesion, morphology and signaling in endothelial cells. These approaches are also applicable for studying cellular adhesion dynamics in response to other matrix-modifying stimuli and in related adherent cells (e.g., epithelial cells).

  9. Effect of Growth Pressure on Epitaxial Graphene Grown on 4H-SiC Substrates by Using Ethene Chemical Vapor Deposition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shuxian Cai

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The Si(0001 face and C(000-1 face dependences on growth pressure of epitaxial graphene (EG grown on 4H-SiC substrates by ethene chemical vapor deposition (CVD was studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM and micro-Raman spectroscopy (μ-Raman. AFM revealed that EGs on Si-faced substrates had clear stepped morphologies due to surface step bunching. However, This EG formation did not occur on C-faced substrates. It was shown by μ-Raman that the properties of EG on both polar faces were different. EGs on Si-faced substrates were relatively thinner and more uniform than on C-faced substrates at low growth pressure. On the other hand, D band related defects always appeared in EGs on Si-faced substrates, but they did not appear in EG on C-faced substrate at an appropriate growth pressure. This was due to the μ-Raman covering the step edges when measurements were performed on Si-faced substrates. The results of this study are useful for optimized growth of EG on polar surfaces of SiC substrates.

  10. Morphology and molecular orientation of ethyl-substituted dicyanovinyl-sexithiophene films for photovoltaic applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hinrichs, Karsten [Leibniz-Institut fuer Analytische Wissenschaften - ISAS - e.V., Department Berlin, Albert-Einstein-Strasse 9, 12489 Berlin (Germany); Levichkova, Marieta, E-mail: marieta.levichkova@heliatek.com [Institut fuer Angewandte Photophysik, Technische Universitaet Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Wynands, David [Institut fuer Angewandte Photophysik, Technische Universitaet Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Walzer, Karsten [Heliatek GmbH, Treidlerstrasse 3, 01139 Dresden (Germany); Eichhorn, Klaus J. [Leibniz-Institut fuer Polymerforschung Dresden e.V., Hohe Strasse 6, 01069 Dresden (Germany); Baeuerle, Peter [Institut fuer Organische Chemie II und Neue Materialien, Universitaet Ulm, 89081 Ulm (Germany); Leo, Karl; Riede, Moritz [Institut fuer Angewandte Photophysik, Technische Universitaet Dresden, 01062 Dresden (Germany)

    2012-12-15

    Enhancement of the efficiency of organic solar cell devices requires knowledge about the structure of the organic layers involved. Films of the donor material dicyanovinyl-sexithiophene bearing four ethyl side-chains at thiophenes two and five DCV6T-Et(2,2,5,5) (DCV6T-Et) are prepared by thermal evaporation in high vacuum at various thicknesses and substrate temperatures. Infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry is used for determination of the molecular orientation in the thin films grown on room temperature (RT) substrate. From simulation of the IR ellipsometric data, the film thickness and the anisotropic optical constants of the DCV6T-Et films are determined. It is found that the optical constants strongly depend on the film thickness. Different average molecular orientations are determined for a few molecules thin (4 nm) and somewhat thicker (20 nm) films. Furthermore, the evolution of the surface morphology of films deposited at elevated substrate temperatures (80 Degree-Sign C, 100 Degree-Sign C) is studied in comparison to the thick RT-film. Atomic force microscopy images indicate that the growth on heated substrate is accompanied by an increase in grain size and surface roughness of the films. Simultaneously, the measured optical absorption spectra display structured and increased absorption in the red spectral region for the DCV6T-Et films deposited at higher substrate temperatures. The changes in surface topography and optical response relate to improved molecular arrangement induced by the substrate heating. To demonstrate the morphological influence on solar cell performance, we finally discuss DCV6T-Et/C60 planar heterojunction solar cells composed of DCV6T-Et films deposited at different substrate temperatures. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Room temperature (RT) and heated dicyanovinyl-sexithiophene (DCV6T) films Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Different orientations determined by IR ellipsometry for thin and thick RT films Black

  11. Patterning of metallic electrodes on flexible substrates for organic thin-film transistors using a laser thermal printing method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Kun-Tso; Lin, Yu-Hsuan; Ho, Jeng-Rong; Chen, Chih-Kant; Liu, Sung-Ho; Liao, Jin-Long; Cheng, Hua-Chi

    2011-01-01

    We report on a laser thermal printing method for transferring patterned metallic thin films on flexible plastic substrates using a pulsed CO 2 laser. Aluminium and silver line patterns, with micrometre scale resolution on poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrates, are shown. The printed electrodes demonstrate good conductivity and fulfil the properties for bottom-contact organic thin-film transistors. In addition to providing the energy for transferring the film, the absorption of laser light results in a rise in the temperature of the film and the substrate. This also further anneals the film and softens the plastic substrate. Consequently, it is possible to obtain a film with better surface morphology and with its film thickness implanted in part into the plastic surface. This implantation reveals excellent characteristics in adhesion and flexure resistance. Being feasible to various substrates and executable at ambient temperatures renders this approach a potential alternative for patterning metallic electrodes.

  12. Influence of substrate bias voltage on structure and properties of the CrAlN films deposited by unbalanced magnetron sputtering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lv, Yanhong; Ji, Li; Liu, Xiaohong; Li, Hongxuan; Zhou, Huidi; Chen, Jianmin

    2012-02-01

    The CrAlN films were deposited on silicon and stainless steel substrates by unbalanced magnetron sputtering system. The influence of substrate bias on deposition rate, composition, structure, morphology and properties of the CrAlN films was investigated. The results showed that, with the increase of the substrate bias voltage, the deposition rate decreased accompanied by a change of the preferred orientation of the CrAlN film from (2 2 0) to (2 0 0). The grain size and the average surface roughness of the CrAlN films declined as the bias voltage increases above -100 V. The morphology of the films changed from obviously columnar to dense glass-like structure with the increase of the bias voltage from -50 to -250 V. Meanwhile, the films deposited at moderate bias voltage had better mechanical and tribological properties, while the films deposited at higher bias voltage showed better corrosion resistance. It was found that the corrosion resistance improvement was not only attributed to the low pinhole density of the film, but also to chemical composition of films.

  13. Morphological and microstructural characterization of nanostructured pure α-phase W coatings on a wide thickness range

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gordillo, N., E-mail: nuri.gordillo@gmail.com [Instituto de Fusión Nuclear, ETSI de Industriales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, C/José Gutierrez Abascal, 2, E-28006 Madrid (Spain); CEI Campus Moncloa, UCM-UPM, Madrid (Spain); Panizo-Laiz, M. [Instituto de Fusión Nuclear, ETSI de Industriales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, C/José Gutierrez Abascal, 2, E-28006 Madrid (Spain); Tejado, E. [Department of Materials Science, Research Centre on Safety and Durability of Structures and Materials (CISDEM), UPM-CSIC, C/Profesor Aranguren s/n, E-28040 Madrid (Spain); Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Metalúrgicas, CENIM-CSIC, Madrid (Spain); Fernandez-Martinez, I. [Instituto de Energía Solar (IES), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Avenida Complutense s/n, E-28040 Madrid (Spain); Instituto de Microelectrónica de Madrid, IMM-CNM-CSIC, Isaac Newton 8 PTM, Tres Cantos, E-28760 Madrid (Spain); Rivera, A. [Instituto de Fusión Nuclear, ETSI de Industriales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, C/José Gutierrez Abascal, 2, E-28006 Madrid (Spain); Pastor, J.Y. [Department of Materials Science, Research Centre on Safety and Durability of Structures and Materials (CISDEM), UPM-CSIC, C/Profesor Aranguren s/n, E-28040 Madrid (Spain); Castro, C. Gómez de [Departamento de Física de Materiales, Facultad de CC. Químicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, E-28040 Madrid (Spain); and others

    2014-10-15

    Highlights: • Pure α-phase tungsten nanostructures were deposited by DC-magnetron sputtering. • Non-delaminated coatings were achieved at powers ≤50 W. • The coating thicknesses vary from 30 nm up to ∼4.0 μm. • The influence of the substrate on the coating properties was investigated. • We report on the morphological, microstructural and mechanical properties. - Abstract: Nanostructured tungsten (nanoW) coatings have been deposited by DC magnetron sputtering. First, the influence of the sputtering power on the adhesion of the coatings to the substrate was investigated by depositing coatings at powers varying from 30 up to 220 W. Non-delaminated coatings were achieved at powers ≤50 W. Second, the influence of coating thickness on the morphological, microstructural and mechanical properties was investigated for films deposited at 50 W with thicknesses varying from 30 nm up to ∼4.0 μm. SEM images reveal that all the films are highly compact, consisting of nanometer sized columns that grow perpendicular to the substrate. XRD data evidence that films are monophasic, being made of pure α-phase. All coatings show compressive stress and low micro-strain. Nanoindentation tests show that coatings have a hardness higher than that reported for coarse grained W. No significant dependence of the previous properties on coating thickness was observed. Finally, the influence of the substrate on coatings properties was studied, by depositing a W coating at a power of 50 W on a commercial steel substrate: no significant dependence was found.

  14. Influence of sulfurization temperature on Cu2ZnSnS4 absorber layer on flexible titanium substrates for thin film solar cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gokcen Buldu, Dilara; Cantas, Ayten; Turkoglu, Fulya; Gulsah Akca, Fatime; Meric, Ece; Ozdemir, Mehtap; Tarhan, Enver; Ozyuzer, Lutfi; Aygun, Gulnur

    2018-02-01

    In this study, the effect of sulfurization temperature on the morphology, composition and structure of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films grown on titanium (Ti) substrates has been investigated. Since Ti foils are flexible, they were preferred as a substrate. As a result of their flexibility, they allow large area manufacturing and roll-to-roll processes. To understand the effects of sulfurization temperature on the CZTS formation on Ti foils, CZTS films fabricated with various sulfurization temperatures were investigated with several analyses including x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman scattering. XRD measurements showed a sharp and intense peak coming from the (112) planes of the kesterite type lattice structure (KS), which is strong evidence for good crystallinity. The surface morphologies of our thin films were investigated using SEM. Electron dispersive spectroscopy was also used for the compositional analysis of the thin films. According to these analysis, it is observed that Ti foils were suitable as substrates for the growth of CZTS thin films with desired properties and the sulfurization temperature plays a crucial role for producing good quality CZTS thin films on Ti foil substrates.

  15. Effects of metallic nanoparticle doped flux on the interfacial intermetallic compounds between lead-free solder ball and copper substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sujan, G.K.; Haseeb, A.S.M.A.; Afifi, A.B.M.

    2014-01-01

    Lead free solders currently in use are prone to develop thick interfacial intermetallic compound layers with rough morphology which are detrimental to the long term solder joint reliability. A novel method has been developed to control the morphology and growth of intermetallic compound layers between lead-free Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu solder ball and copper substrate by doping a water soluble flux with metallic nanoparticles. Four types of metallic nanoparticles (nickel, cobalt, molybdenum and titanium) were used to investigate their effects on the wetting behavior and interfacial microstructural evaluations after reflow. Nanoparticles were dispersed manually with a water soluble flux and the resulting nanoparticle doped flux was placed on copper substrate. Lead-free Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu solder balls of diameter 0.45 mm were placed on top of the flux and were reflowed at a peak temperature of 240 °C for 45 s. Angle of contact, wetting area and interfacial microstructure were studied by optical microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. It was observed that the angle of contact increased and wetting area decreased with the addition of cobalt, molybdenum and titanium nanoparticles to flux. On the other hand, wettability improved with the addition of nickel nanoparticles. Cross-sectional micrographs revealed that both nickel and cobalt nanoparticle doping transformed the morphology of Cu 6 Sn 5 from a typical scallop type to a planer one and reduced the intermetallic compound thickness under optimum condition. These effects were suggested to be related to in-situ interfacial alloying at the interface during reflow. The minimum amount of nanoparticles required to produce the planer morphology was found to be 0.1 wt.% for both nickel and cobalt. Molybdenum and titanium nanoparticles neither appear to undergo alloying during reflow nor have any influence at the solder/substrate interfacial reaction. Thus, doping of flux

  16. Effects of metallic nanoparticle doped flux on the interfacial intermetallic compounds between lead-free solder ball and copper substrate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sujan, G.K., E-mail: sgkumer@gmail.com; Haseeb, A.S.M.A., E-mail: haseeb@um.edu.my; Afifi, A.B.M., E-mail: amalina@um.edu.my

    2014-11-15

    Lead free solders currently in use are prone to develop thick interfacial intermetallic compound layers with rough morphology which are detrimental to the long term solder joint reliability. A novel method has been developed to control the morphology and growth of intermetallic compound layers between lead-free Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu solder ball and copper substrate by doping a water soluble flux with metallic nanoparticles. Four types of metallic nanoparticles (nickel, cobalt, molybdenum and titanium) were used to investigate their effects on the wetting behavior and interfacial microstructural evaluations after reflow. Nanoparticles were dispersed manually with a water soluble flux and the resulting nanoparticle doped flux was placed on copper substrate. Lead-free Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu solder balls of diameter 0.45 mm were placed on top of the flux and were reflowed at a peak temperature of 240 °C for 45 s. Angle of contact, wetting area and interfacial microstructure were studied by optical microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. It was observed that the angle of contact increased and wetting area decreased with the addition of cobalt, molybdenum and titanium nanoparticles to flux. On the other hand, wettability improved with the addition of nickel nanoparticles. Cross-sectional micrographs revealed that both nickel and cobalt nanoparticle doping transformed the morphology of Cu{sub 6}Sn{sub 5} from a typical scallop type to a planer one and reduced the intermetallic compound thickness under optimum condition. These effects were suggested to be related to in-situ interfacial alloying at the interface during reflow. The minimum amount of nanoparticles required to produce the planer morphology was found to be 0.1 wt.% for both nickel and cobalt. Molybdenum and titanium nanoparticles neither appear to undergo alloying during reflow nor have any influence at the solder/substrate interfacial reaction. Thus, doping

  17. Influence of Electrolyte Composition on the Calcium-Phosphorus compound Coating on Titanium Substrate by Micro-arc Oxidation

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    ZHU Xiu-hong; WANG Cong-zeng; KOU Bin-da; SU Xue-kuan; ZHANG Wen-quan

    2004-01-01

    The compound bioceramic coating containing calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) on titanium alloy substrate was prepared by means of micro-arc oxidation (MAO) treatment. The results show that under the different electrolyte the coating with the color of gray or black and surface morphology of cauliflower or honeycomb, where Ca content and P contain can attain 30% and 20% respectively, can be obtained. Meanwhile, the influences of electrolyte temperature, current density and discharge time on morphology and thickness of coating are also discussed here.

  18. Nano-/micro metallic wire synthesis on Si substrate and their characterization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaur, Jaskiran; Kaur, Harmanmeet; Singh, Surinder; Kanjilal, Dinakar; Chakarvarti, Shiv Kumar

    2014-01-01

    Nano-/micro wires of copper are grown on semiconducting Si substrate using the template method. It involves the irradiation of 8 um thick polymeric layer coated on Si with150 MeV Ni ion beam at a fluence of 2E8. Later, by using the simple technique of electrodeposition, copper nano-/micro wires were grown via template synthesis. Synthesized wires were morphologically characterized using SEM and electrical characterization was carried out by finding I-V plot

  19. Preparation and Surface Analysis of PPY/SDBS Films on Aluminum Substrates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisete C. Scienza

    2001-09-01

    Full Text Available Polypyrrole films were generated on high purity aluminum substrates under anodic polarization from aqueous electrolytes comprised of pyrrole and sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate. The methods employed to characterize the polymer films included scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared and X-photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. PPY/SDBS films revealed nodular morphology with occasional appearing of "dendrites", high level of protonation, excess of counter-anions ([S]/[N] > [N+]/[N] and high degrees of disorder.

  20. Wettability of eutectic NaLiCO3 salt on magnesium oxide substrates at 778 K

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Chuan; Li, Qi; Cao, Hui; Leng, Guanghui; Li, Yongliang; Wang, Li; Zheng, Lifang; Ding, Yulong

    2018-06-01

    We investigated the wetting behavior of a eutectic carbonate salt of NaLiCO3 on MgO substrates at an elevated temperature of 778 K by measuring contact angle with a sessile drop method. Both sintered and non-sintered MgO were prepared and used as the substrates. The sintered substrates were obtained by sintering compacted MgO powders at 500-1300 °C. For comparison purposes, a single crystal MgO substrate was also used in the work. The different sintering temperatures provided MgO substrates with different structures, allowing their effects on salt penetration and hence wettability and surface energy to be investigated. A scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive spectrometry and an atomic force microscope were used to observe the morphology and structures of the MgO substrates as well as the salt penetration. The results showed a good wettability of the carbonate salt on both the sintered and non-sintered MgO substrates and the wettability depended strongly on the structure of the substrates. The non-sintered MgO substrate has a loose surface particle packing with large pores and crevices, leading to significant salt infiltration, and the corresponding contact angle was measured to be ∼25°. The contact angle of the salt on the sintered MgO substrates increased with an increase in the sintering temperature of the MgO substrate, and the contact angle of the salt on the single crystal substrate was the highest at ∼40°. The effect of the sintering temperature for making the MgO substrate could be linked to the surface energy, and the linkage is validated by the AFM measurements of the adhesion forces of the MgO substrates.

  1. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) Sample Preparation of Si(1-x)Gex in c-Plane Sapphire Substrate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hyun Jung; Choi, Sang H.; Bae, Hyung-Bin; Lee, Tae Woo

    2012-01-01

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration-invented X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods, including the total defect density measurement method and the spatial wafer mapping method, have confirmed super hetero epitaxy growth for rhombohedral single crystalline silicon germanium (Si1-xGex) on a c-plane sapphire substrate. However, the XRD method cannot observe the surface morphology or roughness because of the method s limited resolution. Therefore the authors used transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with samples prepared in two ways, the focused ion beam (FIB) method and the tripod method to study the structure between Si1-xGex and sapphire substrate and Si1?xGex itself. The sample preparation for TEM should be as fast as possible so that the sample should contain few or no artifacts induced by the preparation. The standard sample preparation method of mechanical polishing often requires a relatively long ion milling time (several hours), which increases the probability of inducing defects into the sample. The TEM sampling of the Si1-xGex on sapphire is also difficult because of the sapphire s high hardness and mechanical instability. The FIB method and the tripod method eliminate both problems when performing a cross-section TEM sampling of Si1-xGex on c-plane sapphire, which shows the surface morphology, the interface between film and substrate, and the crystal structure of the film. This paper explains the FIB sampling method and the tripod sampling method, and why sampling Si1-xGex, on a sapphire substrate with TEM, is necessary.

  2. Interpreting locomotor biomechanics from the morphology of human footprints.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hatala, Kevin G; Wunderlich, Roshna E; Dingwall, Heather L; Richmond, Brian G

    2016-01-01

    Fossil hominin footprints offer unique direct windows to the locomotor behaviors of our ancestors. These data could allow a clearer understanding of the evolution of human locomotion by circumventing issues associated with indirect interpretations of habitual locomotor patterns from fossil skeletal material. However, before we can use fossil hominin footprints to understand better the evolution of human locomotion, we must first develop an understanding of how locomotor biomechanics are preserved in, and can be inferred from, footprint morphologies. In this experimental study, 41 habitually barefoot modern humans created footprints under controlled conditions in which variables related to locomotor biomechanics could be quantified. Measurements of regional topography (depth) were taken from 3D models of those footprints, and principal components analysis was used to identify orthogonal axes that described the largest proportions of topographic variance within the human experimental sample. Linear mixed effects models were used to quantify the influences of biomechanical variables on the first five principal axes of footprint topographic variation, thus providing new information on the biomechanical variables most evidently expressed in the morphology of human footprints. The footprint's overall depth was considered as a confounding variable, since biomechanics may be linked to the extent to which a substrate deforms. Three of five axes showed statistically significant relationships with variables related to both locomotor biomechanics and substrate displacement; one axis was influenced only by biomechanics and another only by the overall depth of the footprint. Principal axes of footprint morphological variation were significantly related to gait type (walking or running), kinematics of the hip and ankle joints and the distribution of pressure beneath the foot. These results provide the first quantitative framework for developing hypotheses regarding the

  3. Studies on polyurethane adhesives and surface modification of hydrophobic substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krishnamoorthy, Jayaraman

    This thesis work deals with (a) Curing of reactive, hot-melt polyurethane adhesives and (b) Adsorption studies using different interactions. Research on polyurethanes involves characterization of polyurethane prepolymers and a novel mechanism to cure isocyanate-terminated polyurethane prepolymer by a "trigger" mechanism. Curing of isocyanate-terminated polyurethane prepolymers has been shown to be influenced by morphology and environmental conditions such as temperature and relative humidity. Although the initial composition, final morphology and curing kinetics are known, information regarding the intermediate prepolymer mixture is yet to be established. Polyurethane prepolymers prepared by the reaction of diisocyanates with the primary hydroxyls of polyester diol (PHMA) and secondary hydroxyls of polyether diol (PPG) were characterized. The morphology and crystallization kinetics of a polyurethane prepolymer was compared with a blend of PPG prepolymer (the product obtained by the reaction of PPG with diisocyanate) and a PHMA prepolymer (the product obtained by the reaction of PHMA with diisocyanate) to study the effect of copolymer formed in the polyurethane prepolymer on the above-mentioned properties. Although the morphology of the polyurethane prepolymer is determined in the first few minutes of application, the chemical curing of isocyanate-terminated prepolymer occurs over hours to days. In the literature, different techniques are described to follow the curing kinetics. But there is no established technique to control the curing of polyurethane prepolymer. To make the curing process independent of environmental factors, a novel approach using a trigger mechanism was designed and implemented by using ammonium salts as curing agents. Ammonium salts that are stable at room temperature but decompose on heating to yield active hydrogen-containing compounds, NH3 and H2O, were used as 'Trojan horses' to cure the prepolymer chemically. Research on adsorption

  4. Effect of substrate temperature on corrosion performance of nitrogen doped amorphous carbon thin films in NaCl solution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khun, N.W. [School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Liu, E., E-mail: MEJLiu@ntu.edu.s [School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798 (Singapore)

    2009-07-01

    Nitrogen doped amorphous carbon (a-C:N) thin films were deposited on p-Si substrates by DC magnetron sputtering at varying substrate temperature from room temperature (RT) to 300 {sup o}C. The bonding structure, surface morphology and adhesion strength of the a-C:N films were investigated by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), micro-Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and micro-scratch testing. The corrosion behavior of the a-C:N films was evaluated by potentiodynamic polarization test in a 0.6 M NaCl solution. The results indicated that the corrosion resistance of the films depended on the sp{sup 3}-bonded cross-link structure that was significantly affected by the substrate temperature.

  5. Effect of substrate temperature on corrosion performance of nitrogen doped amorphous carbon thin films in NaCl solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khun, N.W.; Liu, E.

    2009-01-01

    Nitrogen doped amorphous carbon (a-C:N) thin films were deposited on p-Si substrates by DC magnetron sputtering at varying substrate temperature from room temperature (RT) to 300 o C. The bonding structure, surface morphology and adhesion strength of the a-C:N films were investigated by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), micro-Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and micro-scratch testing. The corrosion behavior of the a-C:N films was evaluated by potentiodynamic polarization test in a 0.6 M NaCl solution. The results indicated that the corrosion resistance of the films depended on the sp 3 -bonded cross-link structure that was significantly affected by the substrate temperature.

  6. Morphological and optical properties of silicon thin films by PLD

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ayouchi, R.; Schwarz, R.; Melo, L.V.; Ramalho, R.; Alves, E.; Marques, C.P.; Santos, L.; Almeida, R.; Conde, O.

    2009-01-01

    Silicon thin films have been prepared on sapphire substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. The films were deposited in vacuum from a silicon target at a base pressure of 10 -6 mbar in the temperature range from 400 to 800 deg. C. A Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm, 5 ns duration, 10 Hz) at a constant energy density of 2 J x cm -2 has been used. The influence of the substrate temperature on the structural, morphological and optical properties of the Si thin films was investigated. Spectral ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to study the thickness and the surface roughness of the deposited films. Surface roughness values measured by AFM and ellipsometry show the same tendency of increasing roughness with increased deposition temperature

  7. Structural, morphological and optical properties of pulsed laser deposited ZnSe/ZnSeO3 thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassan, Syed Ali; Bashir, Shazia; Zehra, Khushboo; Salman Ahmed, Qazi

    2018-04-01

    The effect of varying laser pulses on structural, morphological and optical behavior of Pulsed Laser Deposited (PLD) ZnSe/ZnSeO3 thin films has been investigated. The films were grown by employing Excimer laser (100 mJ, 248 nm, 18 ns, 30 Hz) at various number of laser pulses i.e. 3000, 4000, 5000 and 6000 with elevated substrate temperature of 300 °C. One film was grown at Room Temperature (RT) by employing 3000 number of laser pulses. In order to investigate the structural analysis of deposited films, XRD analysis was performed. It was observed that the room temperature is not favorable for the growth of crystalline film. However, elevated substrate temperature to 300°C, two phases with preferred orientation of ZnSeO3 (2 1 2) and ZnSe (3 3 1) were identified. AFM and SEM analysis were performed to explore the surface morphology of grown films. Morphological analysis also confirmed the non-uniform film growth at room temperature. At elevated substrate temperature (300 °C), the growth of dendritic rods and cubical crystalline structures are observed for lower number of laser pulses i.e. 3000 and 4000 respectively. With increased number of pulses i.e. 5000 and 6000, the films surface morphology becomes smooth which is confirmed by measurement of surface RMS roughness. Number of grains, skewness, kurtosis and other parameters have been evaluated by statistical analysis. In order to investigate the thickness, and optical properties of deposited films, ellipsometery and UV–Vis spectroscopy techniques were employed. The estimated band gap energy is 2.67 eV for the film grown at RT, whereas band gap values varies from 2.80 eV to 3.01 eV for the films grown at 300 °C with increasing number of laser pulses.

  8. Heating effect of substrate of pulsed laser ablation deposition technique towards the orientation of carbon microstructure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choy, L.S.; Irmawati Ramli; Noorhana Yahya; Abdul Halim Shaari

    2009-01-01

    Full text: Carbon thin film has been successfully deposited by second harmonic Nd:YAG pulsed laser ablation deposition, PLAD. The topology and morphology of the deposited layers was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) whereas emission dispersion X-ray (EDX) was used to determine the existence of elements that constitutes the microstructure. Substrate heated at 500 degree Celsius during the laser ablation showed the most homogenous lollipop microstructure as compared to mainly pillars of microstructure ablated at lower substrate temperature. It is found that this also avoid further diffusion of carbon into catalyst in forming iron carbide. (author)

  9. SERS activity with tenfold detection limit optimization on a type of nanoporous AAO-based complex multilayer substrate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sui, Chaofan; Wang, Kaige; Wang, Shuang; Ren, Junying; Bai, Xiaohong; Bai, Jintao

    2016-03-01

    Most of SERS applications are constricted by heterogeneous hotspots and aggregates of nanostructure, which result in low sensitivity and poor reproducibility of characteristic signals. This work intends to introduce SERS properties of a type of SERS-active substrate, Au-CuCl2-AAO, which is innovatively developed on a porous anodic alumina oxide (AAO) template. Spectral measuring results of Rhodamine 6G (R6G) on this substrate optimized by controlling morphology and gold thickness showed that enhancement factor (2.30 × 107) and detection limit (10-10 M) were both improved and represented better performance than its template AAO. Homogenous hot spots across the region of interest were achieved by scanning SERS intensity distribution for the band at 1505 cm-1 in 5 × 5 μm2 area. Furthermore, the promising SERS activity of the flower-patterned substrate was theoretically explained through simulation of the electromagnetic field distribution. In addition, this SERS substrate is proposed for applications within the field of chemical and biochemical analyses.Most of SERS applications are constricted by heterogeneous hotspots and aggregates of nanostructure, which result in low sensitivity and poor reproducibility of characteristic signals. This work intends to introduce SERS properties of a type of SERS-active substrate, Au-CuCl2-AAO, which is innovatively developed on a porous anodic alumina oxide (AAO) template. Spectral measuring results of Rhodamine 6G (R6G) on this substrate optimized by controlling morphology and gold thickness showed that enhancement factor (2.30 × 107) and detection limit (10-10 M) were both improved and represented better performance than its template AAO. Homogenous hot spots across the region of interest were achieved by scanning SERS intensity distribution for the band at 1505 cm-1 in 5 × 5 μm2 area. Furthermore, the promising SERS activity of the flower-patterned substrate was theoretically explained through simulation of the

  10. Solution growth of microcrystalline silicon on amorphous substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heimburger, Robert

    2010-07-05

    material is proposed. MoSi{sub 2} thin films on glass, produced by annealing near-stoichiometric Mo-Si multilayers, are shown to resist solution contact. Subsequent investigation of feasibility of the vapor-liquid-solid mechanism revealed the success of indium microdroplet formation to be determined by both, the multilayer deposition parameters and the substrate temperature during indium deposition. Steady-state solution growth at 610 C was utilized to enlarge silicon seed crystals to diameters of up to 200 {mu}m. The grown material has been subject of characterization regarding the crystallinity, orientation and purity. Additionally, morphological anomalies are considered. The outgrown material was found to be bound by {l_brace}111{r_brace} facets. Many of these microcrystallites contain at least two twin domains. Twin-assisted growth at formed re-entrant edges promotes high growth rates even at low supersaturation. Additionally, many crystallites exhibit hoppers at the center of their facets. This is explained by a solute concentration inhomogeneity within the diffusion boundary layer of the nutrient solution leading to solute depletion at the facet centers and to morphological instability. The feasibility of the process for growth of microcrystalline silicon on glass has been shown in principle. Nevertheless, limitations exist regarding the achievable crystalline solidity ratio and the size of crystallites grown under stable conditions. (orig.)

  11. Structural and optical properties of Ag-doped copper oxide thin films on polyethylene napthalate substrate prepared by low temperature microwave annealing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Das, Sayantan; Alford, T. L. [Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA and School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287 (United States)

    2013-06-28

    Silver doped cupric oxide thin films are prepared on polyethylene naphthalate (flexible polymer) substrates. Thin films Ag-doped CuO are deposited on the substrate by co-sputtering followed by microwave assisted oxidation of the metal films. The low temperature tolerance of the polymer substrates led to the search for innovative low temperature processing techniques. Cupric oxide is a p-type semiconductor with an indirect band gap and is used as selective absorption layer solar cells. X-ray diffraction identifies the CuO phases. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry measurements confirm the stoichiometry of each copper oxide formed. The surface morphology is determined by atomic force microscopy. The microstructural properties such as crystallite size and the microstrain for (-111) and (111) planes are calculated and discussed. Incorporation of Ag led to the lowering of band gap in CuO. Consequently, it is determined that Ag addition has a strong effect on the structural, morphological, surface, and optical properties of CuO grown on flexible substrates by microwave annealing. Tauc's plot is used to determine the optical band gap of CuO and Ag doped CuO films. The values of the indirect and direct band gap for CuO are found to be 2.02 eV and 3.19 eV, respectively.

  12. Structural characterization of ZnO thin films grown on various substrates by pulsed laser deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Novotný, M; Bulíř, J; Lančok, J; Čížek, J; Kužel, R; Connolly, J; McCarthy, E; Krishnamurthy, S; Mosnier, J-P; Anwand, W; Brauer, G

    2012-01-01

    ZnO thin films were grown by pulsed laser deposition on three different substrates: sapphire (0 0 0 1), MgO (1 0 0) and fused silica (FS). The structure and morphology of the films were characterized by x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy and defect studies were carried out using slow positron implantation spectroscopy (SPIS). Films deposited on all substrates studied in this work exhibit the wurtzite ZnO structure and are characterized by an average crystallite size of 20-100 nm. However, strong differences in the microstructure of films deposited on various substrates were found. The ZnO films deposited on MgO and sapphire single-crystalline substrates exhibit local epitaxy, i.e. a well-defined relation between film crystallites and the substrate. Domains with different orientation relationships with the substrate were found in both films. On the other hand, the film deposited on the FS substrate exhibits fibre texture with random lateral orientation of crystallites. Extremely high compressive in-plane stress of σ ∼ 14 GPa was determined in the film deposited on the MgO substrate, while the film deposited on sapphire is virtually stress-free, and the film deposited on the FS substrate exhibits a tensile in-plane stress of σ ∼ 0.9 GPa. SPIS investigations revealed that the concentration of open-volume defects in the ZnO films is substantially higher than that in a bulk ZnO single crystal. Moreover, the ZnO films deposited on MgO and sapphire single-crystalline substrates exhibit a significantly higher density of defects than the film deposited on the amorphous FS substrate. (paper)

  13. Synthesis and photoluminescence enhancement of nano-PAA-ZnCl_2 with controllable dimension and morphology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Jianguo; Wang, Kaige; Zhou, Yukun; Wang, Shuang; Zhang, Chen; Wang, Guiren

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • One kind of large area nano-PAA-ZnCl_2 composite film is fabricated, its dimension and morphology is controllable. The properties of nano-composite films have been heavily influenced by the concentration of initial ZnCl_2 solution, the depth of nano-PAAM substrate and the growth time of ZnCl_2 crystals. • At room temperature, the nano-PAA-ZnCl_2 film has the same excitation center (335 nm) and emission center (430 nm) as the nano-PAAM substrate, and the PL intensities can be doubly enhanced. • After annealing at 500 °C, the emission peak spectra of the nano-composite films stabilized at 385 nm, 402 nm, and 430 nm. - Abstract: One kind of ZnCl_2 nano-films with controllable dimension and morphology is successfully synthesized on the top surface of nano-porous anodic alumina membrane (nano-PAAM) by self-organized method. The nano-PAA-ZnCl_2 composite films are characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectrometer, and laser confocal Raman spectroscopy. The results indicate that the concentration of initial ZnCl_2 solution, the depth of nano-PAAM substrate and the growth time of ZnCl_2 crystals have important influences on the properties of nano-composite films. Furthermore, the characteristics of nano-composites such as the photoluminescence (PL) spectra are investigated. Compared with the nano-PAAM substrate, at room temperature, all of the nano-PAA-ZnCl_2 composite films have both the same excitation center (335 nm) and emission center (430 nm), no matter what the nano-composite morphologies being; and the PL intensity of nano-PAA-ZnCl_2 composite films are all enhanced and the maximum enhancement is two times; after annealing at 500 °C, the emission spectra of the nano-composite films stabilized at the 385 nm, 402 nm and 430 nm. The research provides a new, simple, economical and practical technology to fabricate nano-PAA composite films with higher luminousintensity.

  14. Constitutive stimulatory G protein activity in limb mesenchyme impairs bone growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karaca, Anara; Malladi, Vijayram Reddy; Zhu, Yan; Tafaj, Olta; Paltrinieri, Elena; Wu, Joy Y; He, Qing; Bastepe, Murat

    2018-05-01

    GNAS mutations leading to constitutively active stimulatory G protein alpha-subunit (Gsα) cause different tumors, fibrous dysplasia of bone, and McCune-Albright syndrome, which are typically not associated with short stature. Enhanced signaling of the parathyroid hormone/parathyroid hormone-related peptide receptor, which couples to multiple G proteins including Gsα, leads to short bones with delayed endochondral ossification. It has remained unknown whether constitutive Gsα activity also impairs bone growth. Here we generated mice expressing a constitutively active Gsα mutant (Gsα-R201H) conditionally upon Cre recombinase (cGsα R201H mice). Gsα-R201H was expressed in cultured bone marrow stromal cells from cGsα R201H mice upon adenoviral-Cre transduction. When crossed with mice in which Cre is expressed in a tamoxifen-regulatable fashion (CAGGCre-ER™), tamoxifen injection resulted in mosaic expression of the transgene in double mutant offspring. We then crossed the cGsα R201H mice with Prx1-Cre mice, in which Cre is expressed in early limb-bud mesenchyme. The double mutant offspring displayed short limbs at birth, with narrow hypertrophic chondrocyte zones in growth plates and delayed formation of secondary ossification center. Consistent with enhanced Gsα signaling, bone marrow stromal cells from these mice demonstrated increased levels of c-fos mRNA. Our findings indicate that constitutive Gsα activity during limb development disrupts endochondral ossification and bone growth. Given that Gsα haploinsufficiency also leads to short bones, as in patients with Albright's hereditary osteodystrophy, these results suggest that a tight control of Gsα activity is essential for normal growth plate physiology. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Formation of Valley Networks in a Cold and Icy Early Mars Climate: Predictions for Erosion Rates and Channel Morphology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cassanelli, J.

    2017-12-01

    Mars is host to a diverse array of valley networks, systems of linear-to-sinuous depressions which are widely distributed across the surface and which exhibit branching patterns similar to the dendritic drainage patterns of terrestrial fluvial systems. Characteristics of the valley networks are indicative of an origin by fluvial activity, providing among the most compelling evidence for the past presence of flowing liquid water on the surface of Mars. Stratigraphic and crater age dating techniques suggest that the formation of the valley networks occurred predominantly during the early geologic history of Mars ( 3.7 Ga). However, whether the valley networks formed predominantly by rainfall in a relatively warm and wet early Mars climate, or by snowmelt and episodic rainfall in an ambient cold and icy climate, remains disputed. Understanding the formative environment of the valley networks will help distinguish between these warm and cold end-member early Mars climate models. Here we test a conceptual model for channel incision and evolution under cold and icy conditions with a substrate characterized by the presence of an ice-free dry active layer and subjacent ice-cemented regolith, similar to that found in the Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys. We implement numerical thermal models, quantitative erosion and transport estimates, and morphometric analyses in order to outline predictions for (1) the precise nature and structure of the substrate, (2) fluvial erosion/incision rates, and (3) channel morphology. Model predictions are compared against morphologic and morphometric observational data to evaluate consistency with the assumed cold climate scenario. In the cold climate scenario, the substrate is predicted to be characterized by a kilometers-thick globally-continuous cryosphere below a 50-100 meter thick desiccated ice-free zone. Initial results suggest that, with the predicted substrate structure, fluvial channel erosion and morphology in a cold early Mars

  16. Self-powered p-NiO/n-ZnO heterojunction ultraviolet photodetectors fabricated on plastic substrates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Md Rezaul Hasan

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available A self-powered ultraviolet (UV photodetector (PD based on p-NiO and n-ZnO was fabricated using low-temperature sputtering technique on indium doped tin oxide (ITO coated plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET substrates. The p-n heterojunction showed very fast temporal photoresponse with excellent quantum efficiency of over 63% under UV illumination at an applied reverse bias of 1.2 V. The engineered ultrathin Ti/Au top metal contacts and UV transparent PET/ITO substrates allowed the PDs to be illuminated through either frontside or backside. Morphology, structural, chemical, and optical properties of sputtered NiO and ZnO films were also investigated.

  17. Self-powered p-NiO/n-ZnO heterojunction ultraviolet photodetectors fabricated on plastic substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hasan, Md Rezaul [Materials Science and Engineering Division, Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 (United States); Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, Virginia 22030 (United States); Xie, Ting; Liu, Guannan [Materials Science and Engineering Division, Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 (United States); Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742 (United States); Barron, Sara C. [Materials Measurement Science Division, Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 (United States); Nguyen, Nhan V. [Semiconductor and Dimensional Metrology Division, Physical Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 (United States); Motayed, Abhishek [Materials Science and Engineering Division, Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 (United States); Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742 (United States); Rao, Mulpuri V. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, Virginia 22030 (United States); Debnath, Ratan, E-mail: ratan.debnath@nist.gov [Materials Science and Engineering Division, Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 (United States)

    2015-10-01

    A self-powered ultraviolet (UV) photodetector (PD) based on p-NiO and n-ZnO was fabricated using low-temperature sputtering technique on indium doped tin oxide (ITO) coated plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates. The p-n heterojunction showed very fast temporal photoresponse with excellent quantum efficiency of over 63% under UV illumination at an applied reverse bias of 1.2 V. The engineered ultrathin Ti/Au top metal contacts and UV transparent PET/ITO substrates allowed the PDs to be illuminated through either frontside or backside. Morphology, structural, chemical, and optical properties of sputtered NiO and ZnO films were also investigated.

  18. Low temperature synthesis of graphene on arbitrary substrates and its transport properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Rong; Akhtar, Meysam; Alruqi, Adel; Jasinski, Jacek; Sumanasekera, Gamini; Department of Physics; Astronomy, University of Louisville Collaboration; Conn CenterRenewable Energy, University of Louisville Collaboration

    Here we report the direct synthesis of uniform and vertically oriented graphene films on multiple substrates including glass, Si/SiO2, and copper foil by radio-frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) using methane as the carbon precursor at relatively low temperatures. Raman spectra of all the samples show characteristic Raman peaks of graphene. The temperature dependence of electrical transport properties such as 4-probe resistance, thermo electrical power and hall mobility were measured for graphene grown on glass substrates at varying temperature from 500 ° C to 700 ° C. The morphological and surface characteristics were also studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). This work demonstrates the potential of low temperature and transfer-free graphene growth for future graphene-based electronic applications.

  19. Fabrication and characterization of all-polymer, transparent ferroelectric capacitors on flexible substrates

    KAUST Repository

    Khan, Yasser

    2011-12-01

    All-polymer, transparent ferroelectric devices, based on the functional polymer poly(vinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)], have been fabricated on flexible substrates. The performance of the all-polymer devices was studied and compared to devices with metal electrodes. Specifically, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonic acid) [PEDOT:PSS] and platinum (Pt) electrode effects on the morphology, crystallinity and orientation of P(VDF-TrFE) films were investigated. The devices with PEDOT:PSS electrodes showed similar hysteresis and switching current response compared to Pt electrodes but with tremendously improved fatigue performance. Further, the devices with PEDOT:PSS electrodes showed lower coercive field and better fatigue performance than values reported for other polymer electrodes used with P(VDF-TrFE) on flexible substrates. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Porous-shaped silicon carbide ultraviolet photodetectors on porous silicon substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Naderi, N., E-mail: naderi.phd@gmail.com [Nano-Optoelectronics Research Laboratory, School of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang (Malaysia); Hashim, M.R. [Nano-Optoelectronics Research Laboratory, School of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang (Malaysia)

    2013-03-05

    Highlights: ► Porous-shaped silicon carbide thin film was deposited on porous silicon substrate. ► Thermal annealing was followed to enhance the physical properties of samples. ► Metal–semiconductor-metal ultraviolet detectors were fabricated on samples. ► The effect of annealing temperature on electrical performance of devices was studied. ► The efficiency of photodetectors was enhanced by annealing at elevated temperatures. -- Abstract: A metal–semiconductor-metal (MSM) ultraviolet photodetector was fabricated based on a porous-shaped structure of silicon carbide (SiC). For increasing the surface roughness of SiC and hence enhancing the light absorption effect in fabricated devices, porous silicon (PS) was chosen as a template; SiC was deposited on PS substrates via radio frequency magnetron sputtering. Therefore, the deposited layers followed the structural pattern of PS skeleton and formed a porous-shaped SiC layer on PS substrate. The structural properties of samples showed that the as-deposited SiC was amorphous. Thus, a post-deposition annealing process with elevated temperatures was required to convert its amorphous phase to crystalline phase. The morphology of the sputtered samples was examined via scanning electron and atomic force microscopies. The grain size and roughness of the deposited layers clearly increased upon an increase in the annealing temperature. The optical properties of sputtered SiC were enhanced due to applying high temperatures. The most intense photoluminescence peak was observed for the sample with 1200 °C of annealing temperature. For the metallization of the SiC substrates to fabricate MSM photodetectors, two interdigitated Schottky contacts of Ni with four fingers for each electrode were deposited onto all the porous substrates. The optoelectronic characteristics of MSM UV photodetectors with porous-shaped SiC substrates were studied in the dark and under UV illumination. The electrical characteristics of fabricated

  1. Porous-shaped silicon carbide ultraviolet photodetectors on porous silicon substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naderi, N.; Hashim, M.R.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Porous-shaped silicon carbide thin film was deposited on porous silicon substrate. ► Thermal annealing was followed to enhance the physical properties of samples. ► Metal–semiconductor-metal ultraviolet detectors were fabricated on samples. ► The effect of annealing temperature on electrical performance of devices was studied. ► The efficiency of photodetectors was enhanced by annealing at elevated temperatures. -- Abstract: A metal–semiconductor-metal (MSM) ultraviolet photodetector was fabricated based on a porous-shaped structure of silicon carbide (SiC). For increasing the surface roughness of SiC and hence enhancing the light absorption effect in fabricated devices, porous silicon (PS) was chosen as a template; SiC was deposited on PS substrates via radio frequency magnetron sputtering. Therefore, the deposited layers followed the structural pattern of PS skeleton and formed a porous-shaped SiC layer on PS substrate. The structural properties of samples showed that the as-deposited SiC was amorphous. Thus, a post-deposition annealing process with elevated temperatures was required to convert its amorphous phase to crystalline phase. The morphology of the sputtered samples was examined via scanning electron and atomic force microscopies. The grain size and roughness of the deposited layers clearly increased upon an increase in the annealing temperature. The optical properties of sputtered SiC were enhanced due to applying high temperatures. The most intense photoluminescence peak was observed for the sample with 1200 °C of annealing temperature. For the metallization of the SiC substrates to fabricate MSM photodetectors, two interdigitated Schottky contacts of Ni with four fingers for each electrode were deposited onto all the porous substrates. The optoelectronic characteristics of MSM UV photodetectors with porous-shaped SiC substrates were studied in the dark and under UV illumination. The electrical characteristics of fabricated

  2. The lateral In2O3 nanowires and pyramid networks manipulation by controlled substrate surface energy in annealing evolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shariati, Mohsen; Darjani, Mojtaba

    2016-02-01

    The continuous laterally aligned growth of In2O3 nanocrystal networks extended with nanowire and pyramid connections under annealing influence has been reported. These nanostructures have been grown on Si substrate by using oxygen-assisted annealing process through PVD growth technique. The formation of In2O3 nanocrystals has been achieved by the successive growth of critical self-nucleated condensation in three orientations. The preferred direction was the route between two pyramids especially in the smallest surface energy. The effects of substrate temperature in annealing process on the morphological properties of the as-grown nanostructures were investigated. The annealing technique showed that by controlling the surface energy, the morphology of structures was changed from unregulated array to defined nanostructures; especially nanowires 50 nm in width. The obtained nanostructures also were investigated by the (transmission electron microscopy) TEM, Raman spectrum and the (X-ray diffraction) XRD patterns. They indicated that the self-assembled In2O3 nanocrystal networks have been fabricated by the vapor-solid (VS) growth mechanism. The growth mechanism process was prompted to attribute the relationship among the kinetics parameters, surface diffusion and morphology of nanostructures.

  3. Printed hydrogen sulfide gas sensor on paper substrate based on polyaniline composite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sarfraz, J.; Ihalainen, P.; Määttänen, A.; Peltonen, J.; Lindén, M.

    2013-01-01

    The fabrication of a hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) sensor based on polyaniline (PANI)-metal salt (CuCl 2 ) composite is demonstrated. The sensing film was produced by screen printing and spray coating of the sensing material on interdigitated silver electrodes inkjet-printed on a paper substrate. The H 2 S sensing functionality with respect to pH and metal salt concentration was optimized. In addition, the long term stability and humidity effects on the sensor performance were investigated. The printed chemiresistors showed more than five orders of magnitude change in resistance within 20 min of exposure of 15 ppm H 2 S at room temperature. The relatively fast kinetics and large response of the sensor can be explained by the formation of Cu 2 S and subsequent protonation of PANI. In addition, the relatively large roughness and porosity of the paper substrate offers an increased surface sensing area. - Highlights: • pH, salt concentration, film thickness, cross sensitivity • Printed sensor on paper substrate • Commercial polyaniline against special morphologies

  4. Fabrication and magnetization measurement of Ni thin films on silicon substrate by electrodeposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tang Yang [Key Laboratory of Excited State Process, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 East Nan-Hu Road, Open Economic Zone, Changchun 130033 (China); Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (China); Zhao Dongxu [Key Laboratory of Excited State Process, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 East Nan-Hu Road, Open Economic Zone, Changchun 130033 (China)], E-mail: dxzhao2000@yahoo.com.cn; Shen Dezhen; Zhang Jiying; Li Binghui; Lu Youming; Fan Xiwu [Key Laboratory of Excited State Process, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 East Nan-Hu Road, Open Economic Zone, Changchun 130033 (China)

    2008-02-29

    Ni thin films were electrodeposited on n-Si (100) substrate from the electrolytes containing Ni(CH{sub 3}COO){sub 2} and CH{sub 3}COONH{sub 4} at room temperature. The scanning electron microscope images of the films reveals the uniform distribution of the nickel all over the substrate surface, which illustrates that the fine Ni films on large scales could be obtained through the method of electrodeposition. Vibrating sample magnetometer measurement with the applied field parallel to the surface shows obvious hysteresis loops of the magnetic thin films. The morphology and magnetism of the Ni thin films evolves with the deposition time increasing. The effect of deposition conditions on the properties of the Ni thin films is investigated.

  5. Electrophoretic deposition of graphene oxide reinforced chitosan-hydroxyapatite nanocomposite coatings on Ti substrate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Y Y; Li, M; Liu, Q; Jia, Z J; Xu, X C; Cheng, Y; Zheng, Y F

    2016-03-01

    Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is a facile and feasible technique to prepare functional nanocomposite coatings for application in orthopedic-related implants. In this work, a ternary graphene oxide-chitosan-hydroxyapatite (GO-CS-HA) composite coating on Ti substrate was successfully fabricated by EPD. Coating microstructure and morphologies were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, contact angle test, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. It was found GO-CS surface were uniformly decorated by HA nanoparticles. The potentiodynamic polarization test in simulated body fluid indicated that the GO-CS-HA coatings could provide effective protection of Ti substrate from corrosion. This ternary composite coating also exhibited good biocompatibility during incubation with MG63 cells. In addition, the nanocomposite coatings could decrease the attachment of Staphylococcus aureus.

  6. Chemically Roughened Solid Silver: A Simple, Robust and Broadband SERS Substrate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shavini Wijesuriya

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS substrates manufactured using complex nano-patterning techniques have become the norm. However, their cost of manufacture makes them unaffordable to incorporate into most biosensors. The technique shown in this paper is low-cost, reliable and highly sensitive. Chemical etching of solid Ag metal was used to produce simple, yet robust SERS substrates with broadband characteristics. Etching with ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH and nitric acid (HNO3 helped obtain roughened Ag SERS substrates. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM and interferometry were used to visualize and quantify surface roughness. Flattened Ag wires had inherent, but non-uniform roughness having peaks and valleys in the microscale. NH4OH treatment removed dirt and smoothened the surface, while HNO3 treatment produced a flake-like morphology with visibly more surface roughness features on Ag metal. SERS efficacy was tested using 4-methylbenzenethiol (MBT. The best SERS enhancement for 1 mM MBT was observed for Ag metal etched for 30 s in NH4OH followed by 10 s in HNO3. Further, MBT could be quantified with detection limits of 1 pM and 100 µM, respectively, using 514 nm and 1064 nm Raman spectrometers. Thus, a rapid and less energy intensive method for producing solid Ag SERS substrate and its efficacy in analyte sensing was demonstrated.

  7. Direct growth of cerium oxide nanorods on diverse substrates for superhydrophobicity and corrosion resistance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, Young Jun; Jang, Hanmin; Lee, Kwan-Soo; Kim, Dong Rip

    2015-01-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Cerium oxide nanorods were uniformly grown on diverse substrates. • Changes in growth conditions led to morphology evolution of cerium oxide nanostructures. • The grown cerium oxide nanostructures were single or poly crystalline. • Direct growth of cerium oxide nanorods made the diverse substrates superhydrophobic and anti-corrosive without any surface modifiers. - Abstract: Superhydrophobic surfaces with anti-corrosion properties have attracted great interest in many industrial fields, particularly to enhance the thermal performance of offshore applications such as heat exchangers, pipelines, power plants, and platform structures. Nanostructures with hydrophobic materials have been widely utilized to realize superhydrophobicity of surfaces, and cerium oxide has been highlighted due to its good corrosion resistive and intrinsically hydrophobic properties. However, few studies of direct growth of cerium oxide nanostructures on diverse substrates have been reported. Herein we report a facile hydrothermal method to directly grow cerium oxide nanorods on diverse substrates, such as aluminum alloy, stainless steel, titanium, and silicon. Diverse substrates with cerium oxide nanorods exhibited superhydrophobicity with no hydrophobic modifiers on their surfaces, and showed good corrosion resistive properties in corrosive medium. We believe our method could pave the way for realization of scalable and sustainable corrosion resistive superhydrophobic surfaces in many industrial fields

  8. Direct growth of cerium oxide nanorods on diverse substrates for superhydrophobicity and corrosion resistance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cho, Young Jun; Jang, Hanmin; Lee, Kwan-Soo [School of Mechanical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Dong Rip, E-mail: dongrip@hanyang.ac.kr [School of Mechanical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791 (Korea, Republic of); Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791 (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-06-15

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Cerium oxide nanorods were uniformly grown on diverse substrates. • Changes in growth conditions led to morphology evolution of cerium oxide nanostructures. • The grown cerium oxide nanostructures were single or poly crystalline. • Direct growth of cerium oxide nanorods made the diverse substrates superhydrophobic and anti-corrosive without any surface modifiers. - Abstract: Superhydrophobic surfaces with anti-corrosion properties have attracted great interest in many industrial fields, particularly to enhance the thermal performance of offshore applications such as heat exchangers, pipelines, power plants, and platform structures. Nanostructures with hydrophobic materials have been widely utilized to realize superhydrophobicity of surfaces, and cerium oxide has been highlighted due to its good corrosion resistive and intrinsically hydrophobic properties. However, few studies of direct growth of cerium oxide nanostructures on diverse substrates have been reported. Herein we report a facile hydrothermal method to directly grow cerium oxide nanorods on diverse substrates, such as aluminum alloy, stainless steel, titanium, and silicon. Diverse substrates with cerium oxide nanorods exhibited superhydrophobicity with no hydrophobic modifiers on their surfaces, and showed good corrosion resistive properties in corrosive medium. We believe our method could pave the way for realization of scalable and sustainable corrosion resistive superhydrophobic surfaces in many industrial fields.

  9. Molecular-beam epitaxy on shallow mesa gratings patterned on GaAs(311)A and (100) substrates

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gong, Q.; Nötzel, R.; Schönherr, H.-P.; Ploog, K.H.

    2002-01-01

    We report on the morphology and properties of the surface formed by molecular-beam epitaxy on shallow mesa gratings on patterned GaAs(311)A and GaAs(100). On GaAs(311)A substrates, the corrugated surface formed after GaAs growth on shallow mesa gratings along [011] is composed of monolayer high

  10. Neurite outgrowth stimulatory effects of culinary-medicinal mushrooms and their toxicity assessment using differentiating Neuro-2a and embryonic fibroblast BALB/3T3

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background Mushrooms are not only regarded as gourmet cuisine but also as therapeutic agent to promote cognition health. However, little toxicological information is available regarding their safety. Therefore, the aim of this study was to screen selected ethno-pharmacologically important mushrooms for stimulatory effects on neurite outgrowth and to test for any cytotoxicity. Methods The stimulatory effect of mushrooms on neurite outgrowth was assessed in differentiating mouse neuroblastoma (N2a) cells. Neurite length was measured using Image-Pro Insight processor system. Neuritogenesis activity was further validated by fluorescence immunocytochemical staining of neurofilaments. In vitro cytotoxicity was investigated by using mouse embryonic fibroblast (BALB/3T3) and N2a cells for any embryo- and neuro-toxic effects; respectively. Results Aqueous extracts of Ganoderma lucidum, Lignosus rhinocerotis, Pleurotus giganteus and Grifola frondosa; as well as an ethanol extract of Cordyceps militaris significantly (p < 0.05) promoted the neurite outgrowth in N2a cells by 38.4 ± 4.2%, 38.1 ± 2.6%, 33.4 ± 4.6%, 33.7 ± 1.5%, and 35.8 ± 3.4%; respectively. The IC50 values obtained from tetrazolium (MTT), neutral red uptake (NRU) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assays showed no toxic effects following 24 h exposure of N2a and 3T3 cells to mushroom extracts. Conclusion Our results indicate that G. lucidum, L. rhinocerotis, P. giganteus, G. frondosa and C. militaris may be developed as safe and healthy dietary supplements for brain and cognitive health. PMID:24119256

  11. Evolution of nanodot morphology on polycarbonate (PC) surfaces by 40 keV Ar"+

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goyal, Meetika; Chawla, Mahak; Gupta, Divya; Shekhawat, Nidhi; Sharma, Annu; Aggarwal, Sanjeev

    2016-01-01

    In the present paper we have discussed the effect of 40 keV Ar"+ ions irradiation on nanoscale surface morphology of Polycarbonate (PC) substrate. Specimens were sputtered at off normal incidences of 30°, 40° and 50° with the fluence of 1 × 10"1"6 Ar"+cm"−"2. The topographical behaviour of specimens was studied by using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) technique. AFM study demonstrates the evolution of nano dot morphology on PC specimens on irradiating with 1 × 10"1"6 Ar"+cm"−"2. Average size of dots varied from 37-95 nm in this specified range of incidence while density of dots varied from 0.17-3.0 × 107 dotscm"−"2. Such variations in morphological features have been supported by estimation of ion range and sputtering yield through SRIM simulations.

  12. Homo- and heteroepitaxial growth behavior of upright InAs nanowires on InAs and GaAs substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bauer, Jens; Gottschalch, Volker; Paetzelt, Hendrik [Institut fuer Anorganische Chemie, Universitaet Leipzig, Johannesallee 29, D-04103 Leipzig (Germany); Wagner, Gerald [Institut fuer Kristallographie und Mineralogie, Universitaet Leipzig, Linnestr. 5, D-04103 Leipzig (Germany); Pietsch, Ulrich [Festkoerperphysik, Universitaet Siegen, D-57068 Siegen (Germany)

    2008-07-01

    Semiconductor nanowires (NW) acquire recently attraction because of promising new application fields in electronics and optoelectronic. We applied the vapor-liquid-solid mechanism with gold seeds in combination with low-pressure metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (LP-MOVPE) to achieve replicable InAs NW growth with high growth rates. Since the initial alloying of the gold seeds with the substrate material plays a deciding role for the inceptive NW growth, InAs free standing nanowires were grown on GaAs(111)B substrate as well as on InAs/GaAs(111)B quasi-substrate. The influence of the MOVPE parameters will be discussed with respect to NW morphology and real-structure. A special focus will be set on the heteroepitaxial InAs NW growth on GaAs substrates. Gracing-incidence X-ray studies and transmission electron microscopy investigations revealed the existence of a thin Ga{sub x}In{sub 1-x}As graduated alloy layer with embedded crystalline gold alloy particles at the NW substrate interface. The effect of droplet composition on the VLS growth will be presented in a thermodynamic model.

  13. Investigation of structural, morphological and electrical properties of APCVD vanadium oxide thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Papadimitropoulos, Georgios; Trantalidis, Stelios; Tsiatouras, Athanasios; Vasilopoulou, Maria; Davazoglou, Dimitrios; Kostis, Ioannis

    2015-01-01

    Vanadium oxide films were chemically vapor deposited (CVD) on oxidized Si substrates covered with CVD tungsten (W) thin films and on glass substrates covered with indium tin oxide (ITO) films, using vanadium(V) oxy-tri-isopropoxide (C 9 H 21 O 4 V) vapors. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements showed that the deposited films were composed of a mixture of vanadium oxides; the composition was determined mainly by the deposition temperature and less by the precursor temperature. At temperatures up to 450 C the films were mostly composed by monoclinic VO 2 . Other peaks corresponding to various vanadium oxides were also observed. X-ray microanalysis confirmed the composition of the films. The surface morphology was studied with atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). These measurements revealed that the morphology strongly depends on the used substrate and the deposition conditions. The well-known metal-insulator transition was observed near 75 C for films mostly composed by monoclinic VO 2 . Films deposited at 450 C exhibited two transitions one near 50 C and the other near 60 C possibly related to the presence of other vanadium phases or of important stresses in them. Finally, the vanadium oxide thin films exhibited significant sensory capabilities decreasing their resistance in the presence of hydrogen gas with response times in the order of a few seconds and working temperature at 40 C. (copyright 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  14. Cell response to nanocrystallized metallic substrates obtained through severe plastic deformation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bagherifard, Sara; Ghelichi, Ramin; Khademhosseini, Ali; Guagliano, Mario

    2014-06-11

    Cell-substrate interface is known to control the cell response and subsequent cell functions. Among the various biophysical signals, grain structure, which indicates the repeating arrangement of atoms in the material, has also proved to play a role of significant importance in mediating the cell activities. Moreover, refining the grain size through severe plastic deformation is known to provide the processed material with novel mechanical properties. The potential application of such advanced materials as biomedical implants has recently been evaluated by investigating the effect of different substrate grain sizes on a wide variety of cell activities. In this review, recent advances in biomedical applications of severe plastic deformation techniques are highlighted with special attention to the effect of the obtained nano/ultra-fine-grain size on cell-substrate interactions. Various severe plastic deformation techniques used for this purpose are discussed presenting a brief description of the mechanism for each process. The results obtained for each treatment on cell morphology, adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation, as well as the in vivo studies, are discussed. Finally, the advantages and challenges regarding the application of these techniques to produce multifunctional bio-implant materials are addressed.

  15. Enhancement of the lithium cycling capability using Li–Zn alloy substrate for lithium metal batteries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Chen; Yang, Yifu; Shao, Huixia

    2014-01-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Li-Zn alloy substrate is novelly formed by Li electrodeposition on the Zn substrate precursor. • The coulombic efficiency of Li deposition/stripping on the Li-Zn alloy substrate remains high at 96.7% after 400 cycles. • The SEI film formed during the formation of Li-Zn alloy is stable during Li deposition/stripping cycling on the Li-Zn substrate. • The exchange current density of Li deposition on the Li-Zn substrate is 9.21 × 10 −4 A cm −2 which is nearly eight times larger than that on the Cu substrate. - Abstract: The cycling performance of a Li metal electrode in rechargeable Li batteries is studied using a novelly formed Li–Zn alloy as a substrate. A Zn layer electrodeposited on a Cu disk with ultrasonic assistance is used as a substrate precursor. Li electrodeposition followed to form the Li–Zn alloy. The morphologies of the substrate before and after Li deposition and stripping are investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the electrochemical properties of the substrate are investigated by galvanostatic charge-discharge and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The growth states of solid electrolyte interface (SEI) films of Li deposits on the Li–Zn alloy and Cu surfaces are compared by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS); exchange current densities of Li electrodeposition on Cu, Zn, and Li–Zn alloy substrates are also compared based on tests of constant current pulse deposition. The efficiency of Li deposition/stripping on the Li–Zn alloy substrate remains high at 96.7% after 400 cycles at a current density of 0.1 mA cm −2 and 250 cycles at the current density of 0.2 mA cm −2 . These results can be attributed to the formation of a stable SEI film on the Li–Zn substrate and the high exchange current density of Li deposition and stripping on this substrate. The Li–Zn alloy proposed in this work may be a perfect substrate for enhancing the cycling capability of Li metal electrode

  16. Substrate influence on the magnetoresistance and magnetic order in La0.6Sr0.4MnO3 films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steren, L.B.; Sirena, M.; Guimpel, J.

    2000-01-01

    We report structural, magnetic and transport measurements on La 0.6 Sr 0.4 MnO 3 thin films grown on MgO and TiSrO 3 substrates with thickness varying from 5 to 500 nm. We find that the lattice mismatch between substrates and films affects the morphology and induced-strains of the films. We show that these two different effects strongly influence the ferromagnetic order, the metal-insulator transition, the localization of the current carriers and the magnetoresistance of these materials

  17. Insights into Penicillium roqueforti Morphological and Genetic Diversity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillot, Guillaume; Jany, Jean-Luc; Coton, Monika; Le Floch, Gaétan; Debaets, Stella; Ropars, Jeanne; López-Villavicencio, Manuela; Dupont, Joëlle; Branca, Antoine; Giraud, Tatiana; Coton, Emmanuel

    2015-01-01

    Fungi exhibit substantial morphological and genetic diversity, often associated with cryptic species differing in ecological niches. Penicillium roqueforti is used as a starter culture for blue-veined cheeses, being responsible for their flavor and color, but is also a common spoilage organism in various foods. Different types of blue-veined cheeses are manufactured and consumed worldwide, displaying specific organoleptic properties. These features may be due to the different manufacturing methods and/or to the specific P. roqueforti strains used. Substantial morphological diversity exists within P. roqueforti and, although not taxonomically valid, several technological names have been used for strains on different cheeses (e.g., P. gorgonzolae, P. stilton). A worldwide P. roqueforti collection from 120 individual blue-veined cheeses and 21 other substrates was analyzed here to determine (i) whether P. roqueforti is a complex of cryptic species, by applying the Genealogical Concordance Phylogenetic Species Recognition criterion (GC-PSR), (ii) whether the population structure assessed using microsatellite markers correspond to blue cheese types, and (iii) whether the genetic clusters display different morphologies. GC-PSR multi-locus sequence analyses showed no evidence of cryptic species. The population structure analysis using microsatellites revealed the existence of highly differentiated populations, corresponding to blue cheese types and with contrasted morphologies. This suggests that the population structure has been shaped by different cheese-making processes or that different populations were recruited for different cheese types. Cheese-making fungi thus constitute good models for studying fungal diversification under recent selection. PMID:26091176

  18. Stress-driven lithium dendrite growth mechanism and dendrite mitigation by electroplating on soft substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xu; Zeng, Wei; Hong, Liang; Xu, Wenwen; Yang, Haokai; Wang, Fan; Duan, Huigao; Tang, Ming; Jiang, Hanqing

    2018-03-01

    Problems related to dendrite growth on lithium-metal anodes such as capacity loss and short circuit present major barriers to next-generation high-energy-density batteries. The development of successful lithium dendrite mitigation strategies is impeded by an incomplete understanding of the Li dendrite growth mechanisms, and in particular, Li-plating-induced internal stress in Li metal and its effect on Li growth morphology are not well addressed. Here, we reveal the enabling role of plating residual stress in dendrite formation through depositing Li on soft substrates and a stress-driven dendrite growth model. We show that dendrite growth is mitigated on such soft substrates through surface-wrinkling-induced stress relaxation in the deposited Li film. We demonstrate that this dendrite mitigation mechanism can be utilized synergistically with other existing approaches in the form of three-dimensional soft scaffolds for Li plating, which achieves higher coulombic efficiency and better capacity retention than that for conventional copper substrates.

  19. Investigation of physical properties and surface morphology of Cu nanolayer deposited on glass and (Al, Fe) thin films by DC magnetron sputtering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eslami, P.A. [Islamic Azad Univ., North Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Dept. of Chemistry; Islamic Azad Univ., Tabriz (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Dept. of Science-Applied Chemistry; Laheghi, S.N.; Ghoranneviss, M. [Islamic Azad Univ., Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Plasma Research Center; Moradi, S. [Islamic Azad Univ., Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Dept. of Chemistry; Aberumand, P. [Islamic Azad Univ., Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Science and Research Laboratory Complex

    2008-07-01

    The applications for copper (Cu) thin films with micro or nanostructural dimensions range from catalysis to microelectronic devices. This paper reported on a study in which DC magnetron sputtering was used to coat iron (Fe), copper (Cu) and aluminum (Al) on glass substrate under a particular voltage, time and optimized deposition pressure. The samples were then coated with Cu using the same technique in preparation of different multilayers. Physical properties such as transmission and reflection per cent, magnetic and electrical properties, size and surface morphology were analyzed using data from AFM, XRD, SEM, Four point probe, and magneto resistive spectrophotometers. The study showed that the size, surface morphology and some physical properties of Cu nanolayer depend on substrate materials, surface morphology and physical properties below the nanolayer. Future work will focus on chemical properties such as catalytic and electrochemical properties. Copper nanoparticles will also be synthesized on other materials such as ZnO. 14 refs., 1 tab., 3 figs.

  20. Optical Characterization of SERS Substrates Based on Porous Au Films Prepared by Pulsed Laser Deposition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. V. Strelchuk

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The SERS (surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy substrates based on nanocomposite porous films with gold nanoparticles (Au NPs arrays were formed using the method of the pulsed laser deposition from the back low-energy flux of erosion torch particles on the glass substrate fixed at the target plain. The dependencies of porosity, and morphology of the surface of the film regions located near and far from the torch axis on the laser ablation regime, laser pulses energy density, their number, and argon pressure in the vacuum chamber, were ascertained. The Au NPs arrays with the controllable extinction spectra caused by the local surface plasmon resonance were prepared. The possibility of the formation of SERS substrates for the detection of the Rhodamine 6G molecules with the concentration 10−10 Mol/L with the enhancement factor 4·107 was shown.

  1. Properties of HTS YBCO thin films deposited on tilted NdGaO{sub 3} substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nurgaliev, T. [Laboratory of Superconductivity and Cryoelectronics, Institute of Electronics BAS, 72 Tsarigradsko Chausse, 1784 Sofia (Bulgaria)]. E-mail: timur@ie.bas.bg; Donchev, T. [Laboratory of Superconductivity and Cryoelectronics, Institute of Electronics BAS, 72 Tsarigradsko Chausse, 1784 Sofia (Bulgaria); Mateev, E. [Laboratory of Superconductivity and Cryoelectronics, Institute of Electronics BAS, 72 Tsarigradsko Chausse, 1784 Sofia (Bulgaria); Miteva, S. [Laboratory of Superconductivity and Cryoelectronics, Institute of Electronics BAS, 72 Tsarigradsko Chausse, 1784 Sofia (Bulgaria); Mozhaev, P.B. [Institute of Physics and Technology RAS, Nakhimovsky Ave. 36, 117218 Moscow (Russian Federation); Mozhaeva, J.E. [Institute of Physics and Technology RAS, Nakhimovsky Ave. 36, 117218 Moscow (Russian Federation)

    2005-03-15

    Thin YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7} films were fabricated by 2-opposed DC magnetron sputtering onto NdGaO{sub 3} substrates, tilted from standard (1 1 0) orientation by 0-26 deg , and their surface morphology and electrical characteristics were investigated. Normal state resistivity (at 295 K) and microwave surface resistance (at 77 K and {approx}8 GHz) of the films demonstrated anisotropy, introduced by the tilted substrate, and some improvement of the superconducting parameters of the films was observed at small tilt angles ({theta} {approx} 1.5-3 deg ). The increase of the microwave surface resistance at high tilt angles for the current tracks, perpendicular to the steps of the substrate, was described in the framework of a simple model, which takes into account the complex conductivity of the film and the weak links between the film terraces.

  2. Edge morphology evolution of graphene domains during chemical vapor deposition cooling revealed through hydrogen etching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Haoran; Zhang, Yanhui; Zhang, Yaqian; Chen, Zhiying; Sui, Yanping; Ge, Xiaoming; Yu, Guanghui; Jin, Zhi; Liu, Xinyu

    2016-02-21

    During cooling, considerable changes such as wrinkle formation and edge passivation occur in graphene synthesized on the Cu substrate. Wrinkle formation is caused by the difference in the thermal expansion coefficients of graphene and its substrate. This work emphasizes the cooling-induced edge passivation. The graphene-edge passivation can limit the regrowth of graphene at the domain edge. Our work shows that silicon-containing particles tend to accumulate at the graphene edge, and the formation of these particles is related to cooling. Furthermore, a clear curvature can be observed at the graphene edge on the Cu substrate, indicating the sinking of the graphene edge into the Cu substrate. Both the sinking of the graphene edge and the accumulation of silicon-containing particles are responsible for edge passivation. In addition, two kinds of graphene edge morphologies are observed after etching, which were explained by different etching mechanisms that illustrate the changes of the graphene edge during cooling.

  3. Can they dig it? Functional morphology and semifossoriality among small-eared shrews, genus Cryptotis (Mammalia, Soricidae)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodman, Neal; Gaffney, Sarah A.

    2014-01-01

    Small-eared shrews (Mammalia: Soricidae: Cryptotis), exhibit modifications of the forelimb skeleton that have been interpreted as adaptations for semifossoriality. Most species inhabit remote regions, however, and their locomotory and foraging behaviors remain mostly speculative. To better understand the morphological modifications in the absence of direct observations, we quantified variation in these species by measuring 151 individuals representing 18 species and populations of Cryptotis and two species of moles (Talpidae) for comparison. From our measurements, we calculated 22 indices, most of which have been used previously to characterize substrate use among rodents and other taxa. We analyzed the indices using 1) average percentile ranks, 2) principal components analysis, and 3) cluster analysis. From these analyses, we determined that three basic modes of substrate adaptation are present within Cryptotis: 1) a primarily terrestrial mode, with species that are capable of burrowing, but lack adaptations to increase digging efficiency, 2) a semifossorial mode, with species whose forelimbs bones show strong muscle attachment areas and increased mechanical advantage, and 3) an intermediate mode. In addition to identifying new morphological characters and contributing to our understanding of the functional morphology of soricids, these analyses provide additional insight into the ecology of the species of interest.

  4. Terahertz-radiation generation in low-temperature InGaAs epitaxial films on (100) and (411) InP substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Galiev, G. B., E-mail: galiev-galib@mail.ru [Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Ultra-High Frequency Semiconductor Electronics (Russian Federation); Grekhov, M. M. [National Research Nuclear University “MEPhI” (Russian Federation); Kitaeva, G. Kh. [Moscow State University, Faculty of Physics (Russian Federation); Klimov, E. A.; Klochkov, A. N. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Ultra-High Frequency Semiconductor Electronics (Russian Federation); Kolentsova, O. S. [National Research Nuclear University “MEPhI” (Russian Federation); Kornienko, V. V.; Kuznetsov, K. A. [Moscow State University, Faculty of Physics (Russian Federation); Maltsev, P. P.; Pushkarev, S. S. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Ultra-High Frequency Semiconductor Electronics (Russian Federation)

    2017-03-15

    The spectrum and waveforms of broadband terahertz-radiation pulses generated by low-temperature In{sub 0.53}Ga{sub 0.47}As epitaxial films under femtosecond laser pumping are investigated by terahertz time-resolved spectroscopy. The In{sub 0.53}Ga{sub 0.47}As films are fabricated by molecular-beam epitaxy at a temperature of 200°C under different arsenic pressures on (100)-oriented InP substrates and, for the first time, on (411)A InP substrates. The surface morphology of the samples is studied by atomic-force microscopy and the structural quality is established by high-resolution X-ray diffraction analysis. It is found that the amplitude of terahertz radiation from the LT-InGaAs layers on the (411)A InP substrates exceeds that from similar layers formed on the (100) InP substrates by a factor of 3–5.

  5. Synthesis and photoluminescence enhancement of nano-PAA-ZnCl{sub 2} with controllable dimension and morphology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, Jianguo [State Key Laboratory of Cultivation Base for Photoelectric Technology and Functional Materials, Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology of Shaanxi Province, National Center for International Research of Photoelectric Technology & Nano-functional Materials and Application, Institute of Photonics and Photon-Technology, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069 (China); Physics Department, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069 (China); Wang, Kaige, E-mail: wangkg@nwu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Cultivation Base for Photoelectric Technology and Functional Materials, Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology of Shaanxi Province, National Center for International Research of Photoelectric Technology & Nano-functional Materials and Application, Institute of Photonics and Photon-Technology, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069 (China); Zhou, Yukun; Wang, Shuang; Zhang, Chen [State Key Laboratory of Cultivation Base for Photoelectric Technology and Functional Materials, Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology of Shaanxi Province, National Center for International Research of Photoelectric Technology & Nano-functional Materials and Application, Institute of Photonics and Photon-Technology, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069 (China); Wang, Guiren [State Key Laboratory of Cultivation Base for Photoelectric Technology and Functional Materials, Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology of Shaanxi Province, National Center for International Research of Photoelectric Technology & Nano-functional Materials and Application, Institute of Photonics and Photon-Technology, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069 (China); Mechanical Engineering Department & Biomedical Engineering Program, University of South Carolina, Columbia SC 29208 (United States); and others

    2016-12-30

    Highlights: • One kind of large area nano-PAA-ZnCl{sub 2} composite film is fabricated, its dimension and morphology is controllable. The properties of nano-composite films have been heavily influenced by the concentration of initial ZnCl{sub 2} solution, the depth of nano-PAAM substrate and the growth time of ZnCl{sub 2} crystals. • At room temperature, the nano-PAA-ZnCl{sub 2} film has the same excitation center (335 nm) and emission center (430 nm) as the nano-PAAM substrate, and the PL intensities can be doubly enhanced. • After annealing at 500 °C, the emission peak spectra of the nano-composite films stabilized at 385 nm, 402 nm, and 430 nm. - Abstract: One kind of ZnCl{sub 2} nano-films with controllable dimension and morphology is successfully synthesized on the top surface of nano-porous anodic alumina membrane (nano-PAAM) by self-organized method. The nano-PAA-ZnCl{sub 2} composite films are characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectrometer, and laser confocal Raman spectroscopy. The results indicate that the concentration of initial ZnCl{sub 2} solution, the depth of nano-PAAM substrate and the growth time of ZnCl{sub 2} crystals have important influences on the properties of nano-composite films. Furthermore, the characteristics of nano-composites such as the photoluminescence (PL) spectra are investigated. Compared with the nano-PAAM substrate, at room temperature, all of the nano-PAA-ZnCl{sub 2} composite films have both the same excitation center (335 nm) and emission center (430 nm), no matter what the nano-composite morphologies being; and the PL intensity of nano-PAA-ZnCl{sub 2} composite films are all enhanced and the maximum enhancement is two times; after annealing at 500 °C, the emission spectra of the nano-composite films stabilized at the 385 nm, 402 nm and 430 nm. The research provides a new, simple, economical and practical technology to fabricate nano-PAA composite films with higher

  6. Out-of-substrate plane orientation control of thin YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O {sub x} films on NdGaO{sub 3} tilted-axes substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mozhaev, Peter B. [Institute of Physics and Technology RAS, Moscow 117218 (Russian Federation) and Department of Physics, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, DK-2800 (Denmark)]. E-mail: pbmozh@nm.ru; Mozhaeva, Julia E. [Institute of Physics and Technology RAS, Moscow 117218 (Russian Federation); Department of Physics, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, DK-2800 (Denmark); Bdikin, Igor K. [Institute of Solid State Physics RAS, Chernogolovka, Moscow distr., 142432 (Russian Federation); CICECO, University of Aveiro, Aveiro 3810-193 (Portugal); Kotelyanskii, Iosif M. [Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics RAS, Moscow 125009 (Russian Federation); Lusanov, Valery A. [Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics RAS, Moscow 125009 (Russian Federation); Hansen, Jorn Bindslev [Department of Physics, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, DK-2800 (Denmark); Jacobsen, Claus S. [Department of Physics, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, DK-2800 (Denmark); Kholkin, Andrey L. [CICECO, University of Aveiro, Aveiro 3810-193 (Portugal)

    2006-02-01

    Epitaxial heterostructures YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O {sub x}(YBCO)/CeO{sub 2}/NdGaO{sub 3} were prepared on tilted-axes NdGaO{sub 3} substrates using laser ablation technique. Morphology, crystal structure and electrical properties of the obtained films were characterized. The seeding mechanisms are affected by the tilt angle, resulting in superior YBCO films on NdGaO{sub 3} substrates in an intermediate range of tilt angles of 6-14{sup o}. The introduction of CeO{sub 2} layer leads to change of the YBCO film orientation: at low deposition rate c-oriented films are formed, while at high deposition rates the film grows with c-axis tilted along the [1 1 0] NdGaO{sub 3} direction. Bi-epitaxial films and structures were prepared by removal of part of the CeO{sub 2} layer using ion-beam milling.

  7. Fabrication of anticorrosive multilayer onto magnesium alloy substrates via spin-assisted layer-by-layer technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cai Kaiyong, E-mail: Kaiyong_cai@cqu.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology (Chongqing University), Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China); Sui Xiaojing; Hu Yan [Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology (Chongqing University), Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China); Zhao Li [China National Centre for Biotechnology Development, No. 16, Xi Si Huan Zhong Lu, Haidian District, Beijing 100036 (China); Lai Min; Luo Zhong; Liu Peng; Yang Weihu [Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology (Chongqing University), Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China)

    2011-12-01

    To improve the corrosion resistance of magnesium alloy, we reported a novel approach for the fabrication of anticorrosive multilayers onto AZ91D substrates. The multilayers were composed of poly(ethylene imine) (PEI), poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS) and 8-hydroxyquinoline (8HQ). They were deposited onto AZ91D substrates via a spin-assisted layer-by-layer (LbL) technique. The multilayered structure was stabilized with glutaraldehyde (GA) as crossing linker. It was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Surface morphologies and elemental compositions of the formed anticorrosive multilayers were characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), respectively. The corrosion performance of the multilayer coated AZ91D substrates was characterized by hydrogen evolution. The results of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization measurements suggested that the multilayered coating improved the corrosion resistance of AZ91D substrates. In vitro study revealed that the multilayered coating was cytocompatible. The study provides a potential alternative for the fabrication of corrosion resistant magnesium alloy-based implants. Highlights: {yields} Corrosion protective multilayers have been constructed onto AZ91D substrates via layer by layer technique. {yields} The multilayered structured containing 8-hydroxyquinoline highly improves the corrosion resistance of AZ91D substrates. {yields} The novel multilayered coating is potentially important for developing corrosion resistant magnesium alloy-based implants.

  8. Fabrication of anticorrosive multilayer onto magnesium alloy substrates via spin-assisted layer-by-layer technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cai Kaiyong; Sui Xiaojing; Hu Yan; Zhao Li; Lai Min; Luo Zhong; Liu Peng; Yang Weihu

    2011-01-01

    To improve the corrosion resistance of magnesium alloy, we reported a novel approach for the fabrication of anticorrosive multilayers onto AZ91D substrates. The multilayers were composed of poly(ethylene imine) (PEI), poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS) and 8-hydroxyquinoline (8HQ). They were deposited onto AZ91D substrates via a spin-assisted layer-by-layer (LbL) technique. The multilayered structure was stabilized with glutaraldehyde (GA) as crossing linker. It was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Surface morphologies and elemental compositions of the formed anticorrosive multilayers were characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), respectively. The corrosion performance of the multilayer coated AZ91D substrates was characterized by hydrogen evolution. The results of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization measurements suggested that the multilayered coating improved the corrosion resistance of AZ91D substrates. In vitro study revealed that the multilayered coating was cytocompatible. The study provides a potential alternative for the fabrication of corrosion resistant magnesium alloy-based implants. Highlights: → Corrosion protective multilayers have been constructed onto AZ91D substrates via layer by layer technique. → The multilayered structured containing 8-hydroxyquinoline highly improves the corrosion resistance of AZ91D substrates. → The novel multilayered coating is potentially important for developing corrosion resistant magnesium alloy-based implants.

  9. Enhanced Output Power of PZT Nanogenerator by Controlling Surface Morphology of Electrode.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Woo-Suk; Lee, Won-Hee; Ju, Byeong-Kwon; Yoon, Seok-Jin; Kang, Chong-Yun

    2015-11-01

    Piezoelectric power generation using Pb(Zr,Ti)O3(PZT) nanowires grown on Nb-doped SrTiO3(nb:STO) substrate has been demonstrated. The epitaxial PZT nanowires prepared by a hydrothermal method, with a diameter and length of approximately 300 nm and 7 μm, respecively, were vertically aligned on the substrate. An embossed Au top electrode was applied to maximize the effective power generation area for non-uniform PZT nanowires. The PZT nanogenerator produced output power density of 0.56 μW/cm2 with a voltage of 0.9 V and current of 75 nA. This research suggests that the morphology control of top electrode can be useful to improve the efficiency of piezoelectric power generation.

  10. Correlates between calcaneal morphology and locomotion in extant and extinct carnivorous mammals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panciroli, Elsa; Janis, Christine; Stockdale, Maximilian; Martín-Serra, Alberto

    2017-10-01

    Locomotor mode is an important component of an animal's ecology, relating to both habitat and substrate choice (e.g., arboreal versus terrestrial) and in the case of carnivores, to mode of predation (e.g., ambush versus pursuit). Here, we examine how the morphology of the calcaneum, the 'heel bone' in the tarsus, correlates with locomotion in extant carnivores. Other studies have confirmed the correlation of calcaneal morphology with locomotion behaviour and habitat. The robust nature of the calcaneum means that it is frequently preserved in the fossil record. Here, we employ linear measurements and 2D-geometric morphometrics on a sample of calcanea from eighty-seven extant carnivorans and demonstrate a signal of correlation between calcaneal morphology and locomotor mode that overrides phylogeny. We used this correlation to determine the locomotor mode, and hence aspects of the palaeobiology of, 47 extinct carnivorous mammal taxa, including both Carnivora and Creodonta. We found ursids (bears), clustered together, separate from the other carnivorans. Our results support greater locomotor diversity for nimravids (the extinct 'false sabertooths', usually considered to be more arboreal), than previously expected. However, there are limitations to interpretation of extinct taxa because their robust morphology is not fully captured in the range of modern carnivoran morphology. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. Tuneable nanoparticle-nanofiber composite substrate for improved cellular adhesion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicolini, Ariana M; Toth, Tyler D; Yoon, Jeong-Yeol

    2016-09-01

    This work presents a novel technique using a reverse potential electrospinning mode for fabricating nanoparticle-embedded composites that can be tailored to represent various fiber diameters, surface morphologies, and functional groups necessary for improved cellular adhesion. Polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers were electrospun in both traditional positive (PP) and reverse potential (RP) electrical fields. The fibers were incorporated with 300nm polystyrene (PS) fluorescent particles, which contained carboxyl, amine groups, and surfactants. In the unconventional RP, the charged colloidal particles and surfactants were shown to have an exaggerated effect on Taylor cone morphology and fiber diameter caused by the changes in charge density and surface tension of the bulk solution. The RP mode was shown to lead to a decrease in fiber diameter from 1200±100nm (diameter±SE) for the nanofibers made with PCL alone to 440±80nm with the incorporation of colloidal particles, compared to the PP mode ranging from 530±90nm to 350±50nm, respectively. The nanoparticle-nanofiber composite substrates were cultured with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and evaluated for cellular viability and adhesion for up to 5 days. Adhesion to the nanofibrous substrates was improved by 180±10% with the addition of carboxylated particles and by 480±60% with the functionalization of an RGD ligand compared to the PCL nanofibers. The novel approach of electrospinning in the RP mode with the addition of colloids in order to alter charge density and surface tension could be utilized towards many applications, one being implantable biomaterials and tissue engineered scaffolds as demonstrated in this work. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Silver Eco-Solvent Ink for Reactive Printing of Polychromatic SERS and SPR Substrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dustov, Mavlavi; Golovina, Diana I; Polyakov, Alexander Yu; Goldt, Anastasia E; Eliseev, Andrei A; Kolesnikov, Efim A; Sukhorukova, Irina V; Shtansky, Dmitry V; Grünert, Wolfgang; Grigorieva, Anastasia V

    2018-02-09

    A new reactive ink based on a silver citrate complex is proposed for a photochemical route to surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy active substrates with controllable extinction spectra. The drop-cast test of the ink reveals homogeneous nucleation of silver and colloid particle growth originating directly from photochemical in situ reduction in droplets, while the following evaporation of the deposited ink produces small nano- and micron-size particles. The prepared nanostructures and substrates were accurately characterized by electron microscopy methods and optical extinction spectroscopy. Varying the duration of UV irradiation allows tuning the morphology of individual silver nanoparticles forming hierarchical ring structures with numerous "hot spots" for most efficient Raman enhancement. Raman measurements of probe molecules of rhodamine 6G and methylene blue reached the largest signal enhancement of 10⁶ by the resonance effects.

  13. The role of the substrate in the high energy boron implantation damage recovering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mica, I.; Di Piazza, L.; Laurin, L.; Mariani, M.; Mauri, A.G.; Polignano, M.L.; Ricci, E.; Sammiceli, F.; Spoldi, G.

    2009-01-01

    In this work the role of the Si substrate in the high energy boron implantation damage recovering is studied. The boron implants were carried out in Czochralski grown (1 0 0) polished Si substrates as well as in epitaxial Si layers grown on (1 0 0) Si by chemical vapor deposition. The boron implantation dose was 2 x 10 14 cm -2 and the implantation energy was 600 keV. The recovery annealing was a furnace annealing at 1000 deg. C for 40 min. The defects formed by high energy boron implantation have been observed with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In order to increase the statistics some junctions were formed on the buried p-well and electrically characterized. For the epitaxial wafers it was found that the number and the size of the dislocations change according to the doping of the substrate. For the Czochralski wafers it was found that the morphology and the size of the dislocations change according to the presence of the wafer pre-annealing (whether conventional furnace annealing or Magic Denuded Zone process).

  14. Effects of interfacial alignments on the stability of graphene on Ru(0001) substrate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gao, Lei; Liu, Yanmin; Ma, Tianbao, E-mail: mtb@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn; Shi, Ruoyu; Hu, Yuanzhong; Luo, Jianbin, E-mail: luojb@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

    2016-06-27

    Structure and electronic properties of two-dimensional materials could be tuned by interfacial misfit or orientation angles. However, graphene grown on Ru(0001) substrate usually shows stable moiré superlattice with a periodicity of 3.0 nm indicating an aligned geometry. The reason for the absence of misaligned structure is still unknown. We have performed first-principles calculation to investigate the microstructure and morphology of graphene on Ru(0001) substrate in both aligned and misaligned geometries with rotation angles of 0°, 7.6°, and 23.4°, respectively. Our results indicate that both the graphene corrugation and moiré superlattice periodicity decrease as the rotation angle increases. Meanwhile the interaction energy between graphene and Ru(0001) substrate also becomes weakened with the rotation angle, as the decrease and discretization of intense charge transfer sites at the graphene/Ru interface, which is closely related to the interface stacking structure. Counterintuitively, the strain energy in graphene also increases anomalously with the rotation angle, which is attributed to the highly distorted local deformation of graphene due to the strong but discrete covalent bonding with Ru substrate. The simultaneous increase in both the interaction energy and strain energy in graphene/Ru(0001) heterostructure with rotation angle contributes to the preferred configuration in the aligned state.

  15. Effects of morphological control on the characteristics of vertical-type OTFTs using Alq3.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Young Do; Park, Jong Wook; Kang, In Nam; Oh, Se Young

    2008-09-01

    We have fabricated vertical-type organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) using tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq(3)) as an n-type active material. Vertical-type OTFT using Alq(3) has a layered structure of Al(source electrode)/Alq(3)(active layer)/Al(gate electrode)/Alq(3)(active layer)/ITO glass(drain electrode). Alq(3) thin films containing various surface morphologies could be obtained by the control of evaporation rate and substrate temperature. The effects of the morphological control of Alq(3) thin layer on the grain size and the flatness of film surface were investigated. The characteristics of vertical-type OTFT significantly influenced the growth condition of Alq(3) layer.

  16. Bonding structure and morphology of chromium oxide films grown by pulsed-DC reactive magnetron sputter deposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gago, R., E-mail: rgago@icmm.csic.es [Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, E-28049 Madrid (Spain); Vinnichenko, M. [Fraunhofer-Institut für Keramische Technologien und Systeme IKTS, D-01277 Dresden (Germany); Hübner, R. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden – Rossendorf, Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research, Bautzner Landstraße 400, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Redondo-Cubero, A. [Departamento de Física Aplicada and Centro de Microanálisis de Materiales, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid (Spain)

    2016-07-05

    Chromium oxide (CrO{sub x}) thin films were grown by pulsed-DC reactive magnetron sputter deposition in an Ar/O{sub 2} discharge as a function of the O{sub 2} fraction in the gas mixture (ƒ) and for substrate temperatures, T{sub s}, up to 450 °C. The samples were analysed by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning (SEM) and transmission (TEM) electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES). On unheated substrates, by increasing ƒ the growth rate is higher and the O/Cr ratio (x) rises from ∼2 up to ∼2.5. Inversely, by increasing T{sub s} the atomic incorporation rate drops and x falls to ∼1.8. XRD shows that samples grown on unheated substrates are amorphous and that nanocrystalline Cr{sub 2}O{sub 3} (x = 1.5) is formed by increasing T{sub s}. In amorphous CrO{sub x}, XANES reveals the presence of multiple Cr environments that indicate the growth of mixed-valence oxides, with progressive promotion of hexavalent states with ƒ. XANES data also confirms the formation of single-phase nanocrystalline Cr{sub 2}O{sub 3} at elevated T{sub s}. These structural changes also reflect on the optical and morphological properties of the films. - Highlights: • XANES of CrO{sub x} thin films grown by pulsed-DC reactive magnetron sputtering. • Identification of mixed-valence amorphous CrO{sub x} oxides on unheated substrates. • Promotion of amorphous chromic acid (Cr{sup VI}) by increasing O{sub 2} partial pressure. • Production of single-phase Cr{sub 2}O{sub 3} films by increasing substrate temperature. • Correlation of bonding structure with morphological and optical properties.

  17. Structural, morphological and optical studies of F doped SnO2 thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chandel, Tarun; Thakur, Vikas; Dwivedi, Shailendra Kumar; Zaman, M. Burhanuz; Rajaram, Poolla

    2018-05-01

    Highly conducting and transparent FTO (flourine doped tin Oxide) thin films were grown on the glass substrates using a low cost spray pyrolysis technique. The films were characterized for their structural, morphological and optical studies using XRD, SEM and UV-Vis spectroscopy. XRD studies show that the FTO films crystallize in Tetragonal cassiterite structure. Morphological analysis using SEM show that the films are uniformly covered with spherical grains albeit high in surface roughness. The average optical transmission greater than 80% in the visible region along with the appearance of interference fringes in the transmission curves confirms the high quality of the films. Electrical studies show that the films exhibit sheet resistance below 10 Ω ϒ-1.

  18. Manipulation of morphology and structure of the top of GaAs nanowires grown by molecular-beam epitaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Lixia; Pan, Dong; Yu, Xuezhe; So, Hyok; Zhao, Jianhua

    2017-10-01

    Self-catalyzed GaAs nanowires (NWs) are grown on Si (111) substrates by molecular-beam epitaxy. The effect of different closing sequences of the Ga and As cell shutters on the morphology and structural phase of GaAs NWs is investigated. For the sequences of closing the Ga and As cell shutters simultaneously or closing the As cell shutter 1 min after closing the Ga cell shutter, the NWs grow vertically to the substrate surface. In contrast, when the As cell shutter is closed first, maintaining the Ga flux is found to be critical for the following growth of GaAs NWs, which can change the growth direction from [111] to . The evolution of the morphology and structural phase transition at the tips of these GaAs NWs confirm that the triple-phase-line shift mode is at work even for the growth with different cell shutter closing sequences. Our work will provide new insights for better understanding of the growth mechanism and realizing of the morphology and structure control of the GaAs NWs. Project supported partly by the MOST of China (No. 2015CB921503), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 61504133, 61334006, 61404127), and Youth Innovation Promotion Association, CAS (No. 2017156).

  19. Modification of Surface Roughness and Area of FeCrAl Substrate for Catalytic Converter using Ultrasonic Treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yanuandri Putrasari

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Surface roughness and area play important role especially in deposition and reaction of the catalyst in the catalytic converter substrate. The aim of this paper is to show the modification of surface roughness and area of FeCrAl substrate for catalytic converter using ultrasonic method. The method was conducted by agitating the FeCrAl in 10 minutes 35 kHz ultrasonic cleaning bath. The  surface roughness, morphology, and chemical components of FeCrAl catalytic converter substrate after ultrasonic treatment were analyzed using atomic force microscope (AFM and examined with scanning electron microscope (SEM in combination with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS. The ultrasonic treatment assisted with Al2O3 powders successfully increased the roughness and surface area of FeCrAl better than SiC powders. 

  20. Gold-Gilded Zinc Oxide Nanodiamonds: Plasmonic and Morphological Effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, G. R.; Khan, R. A.

    The novel properties, diverse applications and device performance of nanocomposites can be greatly modulated through astute combination of plasmonic and morphological effects. The biosensing sensitivity, semiconducting capability, photocatalytic efficiency and antibacterial efficacy of ZnO nanostructures can be enhanced by a diamond-like morphology of ZnO via incorporation of plasmonic gold owing to their exceptional specific surface area, outstanding photoluminescence and excellent biocompatibility. Toward the realization of this goal, Au-Zno nanodiamonds have been successfully synthesized by a microwave assisted solution phase route without use of any costly solvents, surfactants, substrates, post-synthesis treatment or hazardous ingredients. It shows the ability to control the concentration of Au nanoparticles in ZnO and the evolution of its growth in diamond shape. The synthesized nanocomposites were characterized by high-resolution measurements such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), diffused reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffractometory (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and the results discussed in detail.

  1. Microstructure evolution during 300 °C storage of sintered Ag nanoparticles on Ag and Au substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paknejad, S.A. [King’s College London, Physics Department, Strand, London WC2R 2LS (United Kingdom); Dumas, G. [Eltek Semiconductors Ltd, Nelson Road Industrial Estate, Dartmouth, Devon TQ6 9LA (United Kingdom); West, G. [Loughborough University, Materials Department, Loughborough LE11 3TU (United Kingdom); Lewis, G. [Eltek Semiconductors Ltd, Nelson Road Industrial Estate, Dartmouth, Devon TQ6 9LA (United Kingdom); Mannan, S.H., E-mail: samjid.mannan@kcl.ac.uk [King’s College London, Physics Department, Strand, London WC2R 2LS (United Kingdom)

    2014-12-25

    Highlights: • Shear strength of pressure-free sintered Ag found to increase during ageing at 300 °C on Ag substrate. • Rapid collapse of void number density after 24 h ageing in the sintered Ag layer. • Higher porosity at edge of joint compared to the middle. • Shear strength of pressure-free sintered Ag decreases during ageing at 300 °C due to high porosity layer growth. • Void free layer and high porosity layer growth explained in terms of atomic diffusion and grain boundary migration. - Abstract: A silver nanoparticle based die attach material was used in a pressure free process to bond 2.5 mm square Ag plated Si die to Ag and Au plated substrates. The assemblies were stored at 300 °C for up to 500 h and the morphology of the sintered Ag and the shear strength were monitored as a function of time. On Ag substrate it was found that die shear strength increased and that the Ag grains grew in size and porosity decreased over time. There was also a clear difference in morphology between sintered Ag at the die edge and centre. On Au substrate, it was observed that the initially high die shear strength decreased with storage time and that voids migrated away from the Ag/Au interface and into the Ag joint. This has led to the formation of a void free layer at the interface followed by a high porosity region, which weakened the joint. The microstructure reveals a high density of grain and twin boundaries which facilitate the Ag and Au atomic diffusion responsible. The grain structure of the plated Au led to diffusion of Au into the Ag via high-angle tilt grain boundaries, and grain boundary migration further dispersed the Au into the Ag layer.

  2. The peculiarity of the formation of zinc films on a glass substrate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tomaev, V. V., E-mail: tvaza@mail.ru [Saint Petersburg State University, 198504, Russia, Saint-Petersburg, Petrodvorets, Universitetskii pr. 26 (Russian Federation); Saint Petersburg Mining University, Russia, 199106, St. Petersburg, V.O., 21-st line, 2 (Russian Federation); Polishchuk, V. A., E-mail: vpvova2010@yandex.ru [St. Petersburg University of Information Technologies, Mechanics, and Optics, 197101, Russia, St. Petersburg, Kronverksky Pr., 49 (Russian Federation); Borisov, E. N., E-mail: enbor@bk.ru [Saint Petersburg State University, 198504, Russia, Saint-Petersburg, Petrodvorets, Universitetskii pr. 26 (Russian Federation)

    2016-06-17

    Thin Nanocrystalline films of the zinc have been fabricated by thermal spraying on the glass substrate. Morphologies and structure of the films had been investigated by the methods X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). It is found that the surface of the films has a different types of the nanocrystals zinc. Were detected intergrowths of two or more the nanocrystals, hexagonal shape. Using the theory of homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation of a new phase, had been evaluated the geometrical and thermodynamic parameters nanocrystals zinc.

  3. Control of persistent photoconductivity in nanostructured InP through morphology design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Monaico, Ed; Postolache, V; Borodin, E; Lupan, O; Tiginyanu, I M; Ursaki, V V; Adelung, R; Nielsch, K

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, we show that long-duration-photoconductivity decay (LDPCD) and persistent photoconductivity (PPC) in porous InP structures fabricated by anodic etching of bulk substrates can be controlled through the modification of the sample morphology. Particularly, the PPC inherent at low temperatures to porous InP layers with the thickness of skeleton walls comparable with pore diameters is quenched in structures consisting of ultrathin walls produced at high anodization voltages. The relaxation of photoconductivity in bulk InP substrates, porous layers, and utrathin membranes is investigated as a function of temperature and excitation power density. The obtained results suggest that PPC in porous InP layers is due to porosity induced potential barriers which hinder the recombination of photoexcited carriers, while the photoconductivity relaxation processes in ultrathin membranes are governed by surface states. (paper)

  4. Piezoelectric materials as stimulatory biomedical materials and scaffolds for bone repair.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tandon, Biranche; Blaker, Jonny J; Cartmell, Sarah H

    2018-04-16

    The process of bone repair and regeneration requires multiple physiological cues including biochemical, electrical and mechanical - that act together to ensure functional recovery. Myriad materials have been explored as bioactive scaffolds to deliver these cues locally to the damage site, amongst these piezoelectric materials have demonstrated significant potential for tissue engineering and regeneration, especially for bone repair. Piezoelectric materials have been widely explored for power generation and harvesting, structural health monitoring, and use in biomedical devices. They have the ability to deform with physiological movements and consequently deliver electrical stimulation to cells or damaged tissue without the need of an external power source. Bone itself is piezoelectric and the charges/potentials it generates in response to mechanical activity are capable of enhancing bone growth. Piezoelectric materials are capable of stimulating the physiological electrical microenvironment, and can play a vital role to stimulate regeneration and repair. This review gives an overview of the association of piezoelectric effect with bone repair, and focuses on state-of-the-art piezoelectric materials (polymers, ceramics and their composites), the fabrication routes to produce piezoelectric scaffolds, and their application in bone repair. Important characteristics of these materials from the perspective of bone tissue engineering are highlighted. Promising upcoming strategies and new piezoelectric materials for this application are presented. Electrical stimulation/electrical microenvironment are known effect the process of bone regeneration by altering the cellular response and are crucial in maintaining tissue functionality. Piezoelectric materials, owing to their capability of generating charges/potentials in response to mechanical deformations, have displayed great potential for fabricating smart stimulatory scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. The growing

  5. Influence of the Hydrothermal Method Growth Parameters on the Zinc Oxide Nanowires Deposited on Several Substrates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Concepción Mejía-García

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We report the synthesis of ZnO nanowires grown on several substrates (PET, glass, and Si using a two-step process: (a preparation of the seed layer on the substrate by spin coating, from solutions of zinc acetate dihydrate and 1-propanol, and (b growth of the ZnO nanostructures by dipping the substrate in an equimolar solution of zinc nitrate hexahydrate and hexamethylenetetramine. Subsequently, films were thermally treated with a commercial microwave oven (350 and 700 W for 5, 20, and 35 min. The ZnO nanowires obtained were characterized structurally, morphologically, and optically using XRD, SEM, and UV-VIS transmission, respectively. XRD patterns spectra revealed the presence of Zn(OH2 on the films grown on glass and Si substrates. A preferential orientation along c-axis directions for films grown on PET substrate was observed. An analysis by SEM revealed that the growth of the ZnO nanowires on PET and glass is better than the growth on Si when the same growth parameters are used. On glass substrates, ZnO nanowires less than 50 nm in diameter and between 200 nm and 1200 nm in length were obtained. The ZnO nanowires band gap energy for the films grown on PET and glass was obtained from optical transmission spectra.

  6. Effect of substrate nature on the electrochemical deposition of calcium-deficient hydroxyapatites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gualdrón-Reyes, A. F.; Domínguez-Vélez, V.; Morales-Morales, J. A.; Cabanzo, R.; Meléndez, A. M.

    2017-01-01

    Calcium phosphates were obtained by reducing nitrate ions to produce hydroxide ions on TiO2/stainless steel and TiO2/titanium electrodes. TiO2 coatings on metallic substrates were prepared by sol-gel dip-coating method. The morphology of deposits was observed by FESEM. Chemical nature of calcium phosphate deposits was identified by Raman micro-spectroscopy and FESEM/EDS microanalysis. Electrochemical behavior of nitrate and nitrite reduction on stainless steel and titanium electrodes was studied by linear sweep voltammetry. In addition, voltammetric study of the calcium phosphate electrodeposition on both electrodes was performed. From these measurements was selected the potential to form a calcium phosphate. A catalytic current associated to nitrate reduction reaction was obtained for stainless steel electrode, leading to significant deposition of calcium phosphate. Ca/P ratio for both substrates was less than 1.67. The formation of calcium deficient hydroxyapatite was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy.

  7. Role of the substrate on the magnetic anisotropy of magnetite thin films grown by ion-assisted deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prieto, Pilar; Prieto, José Emilio; Gargallo-Caballero, Raquel; Marco, José Francisco; Figuera, Juan de la

    2015-01-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • The magnetic anisotropy of magnetite thin films is controlled by the substrate induced microstructure. • Single-crystal oxide substrates induce fourfold in-plane magnetic anisotropy • MgO and SrTiO_3 substrates show the same magnetic behavior despite its different mismatch with Fe_3O_4 films. • Silicon and glass substrates induce in-plane magnetic isotropy and uniaxial anisotropy, respectively. - Abstract: Magnetite (Fe_3O_4) thin films were deposited on MgO (0 0 1), SrTiO_3 (0 0 1), LaAlO_3 (0 0 1) single crystal substrates as well on as silicon and amorphous glass in order to study the effect of the substrate on their magnetic properties, mainly the magnetic anisotropy. We have performed a structural, morphological and compositional characterization by X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy and Rutherford backscattering ion channeling in oxygen resonance mode. The magnetic anisotropy has been investigated by vectorial magneto-optical Kerr effect. The results indicate that the magnetic anisotropy is especially influenced by the substrate-induced microstructure. In-plane isotropy and uniaxial anisotropy behavior have been observed on silicon and glass substrates, respectively. The transition between both behaviors depends on grain size. For LaAlO_3 substrates, in which the lattice mismatch between the Fe_3O_4 films and the substrate is significant, a weak in-plane fourfold magnetic anisotropy is induced. However when magnetite is deposited on MgO (0 0 1) and SrTiO_3 (0 0 1) substrates, a well-defined fourfold in-plane magnetic anisotropy is observed with easy axes along [1 0 0] and [0 1 0] directions. The magnetic properties on these two latter substrates are similar in terms of magnetic anisotropy and coercive fields.

  8. Screen-printed carbon electrode modified on its surface with amorphous carbon nitride thin film: Electrochemical and morphological study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ghamouss, F. [Universite de Nantes, UMR 6006-CNRS, FR-2465-CNRS, Laboratoire d' Analyse isotopique et Electrochimique de Metabolismes (LAIEM) (France); Tessier, P.-Y. [Universite de Nantes, UMR CNRS 6502, Institut des Materiaux Jean Rouxel - IMN Faculte des Sciences and des Techniques de Nantes, 2 rue de la Houssiniere, 44322 Nantes Cedex 3 (France); Djouadi, A. [Universite de Nantes, UMR CNRS 6502, Institut des Materiaux Jean Rouxel - IMN Faculte des Sciences and des Techniques de Nantes, 2 rue de la Houssiniere, 44322 Nantes Cedex 3 (France); Besland, M.-P. [Universite de Nantes, UMR CNRS 6502, Institut des Materiaux Jean Rouxel - IMN Faculte des Sciences and des Techniques de Nantes, 2 rue de la Houssiniere, 44322 Nantes Cedex 3 (France); Boujtita, M. [Universite de Nantes, UMR 6006-CNRS, FR-2465-CNRS, Laboratoire d' Analyse isotopique et Electrochimique de Metabolismes (LAIEM) (France)]. E-mail: mohammed.boujtita@univ-nantes.fr

    2007-04-20

    The surface of a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) was modified by using amorphous carbon nitride (a-CN {sub x}) thin film deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering. Scanning electron microscopy and photoelectron spectroscopy measurements were used to characterise respectively the morphology and the chemical structure of the a-CN {sub x} modified electrodes. The incorporation of nitrogen in the amorphous carbon network was demonstrated by X ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The a-CN {sub x} layers were deposited on both carbon screen-printed electrode (SPCE) and silicon (Si) substrates. A comparative study showed that the nature of substrate, i.e. SPCE and Si, has a significant effect on both the surface morphology of deposited a-CN {sub x} film and their electrochemical properties. The improvement of the electrochemical reactivity of SPCE after a-CN {sub x} film deposition was highlighted both by comparing the shapes of voltammograms and calculating the apparent heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant.

  9. Hydrothermally grown ZnO nanorods on self-source substrate and their field emission

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, J P; Xu, C X; Zhu, G P; Li, X; Cui, Y P; Yang, Y; Sun, X W

    2007-01-01

    Vertically aligned zinc oxide nanorod arrays were grown directly using a zinc foil as both source and substrate in pure water at low temperature by a simple hydrothermal reaction. The morphology and crystal structure of the ZnO nanorod arrays were examined by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction, respectively. The nanorods grew along the [0 0 0 1] direction and were 80 nm in diameter and almost 2 μm in length. Directly employing the zinc foil substrate as cathode, the field emission (FE) of the ZnO nanorods presented a two-stage slope behaviour in a ln(J/E 2 )-1/E plot according to the Fowler-Nordheim equation. The FE behaviour was investigated by considering the action of the defects in ZnO nanorods based on the measurement of the photoluminescence

  10. Nanostructure Formation by controlled dewetting on patterned substrates: A combined theoretical, modeling and experimental study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Liang-Xing; Wang, Ying-Min; Srinivasan, Bharathi Madurai; Asbahi, Mohamed; Yang, Joel K W; Zhang, Yong-Wei

    2016-09-01

    We perform systematic two-dimensional energetic analysis to study the stability of various nanostructures formed by dewetting solid films deposited on patterned substrates. Our analytical results show that by controlling system parameters such as the substrate surface pattern, film thickness and wetting angle, a variety of equilibrium nanostructures can be obtained. Phase diagrams are presented to show the complex relations between these system parameters and various nanostructure morphologies. We further carry out both phase field simulations and dewetting experiments to validate the analytically derived phase diagrams. Good agreements between the results from our energetic analyses and those from our phase field simulations and experiments verify our analysis. Hence, the phase diagrams presented here provide guidelines for using solid-state dewetting as a tool to achieve various nanostructures.

  11. Dynamics of Preferential Substrate Recognition in HIV-1 Protease: Redefining the Substrate Envelope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Özen, Ayşegül; Haliloğlu, Türkan; Schiffer, Celia A.

    2011-01-01

    HIV-1 protease (PR) permits viral maturation by processing the Gag and Gag-Pro-Pol polyproteins. Though HIV-1 PR inhibitors (PIs) are used in combination antiviral therapy, the emergence of drug resistance has limited their efficacy. The rapid evolution of HIV-1 necessitates the consideration of drug resistance in novel drug-design strategies. Drug-resistant HIV-1 PR variants, while no longer efficiently inhibited, continue to efficiently hydrolyze the natural viral substrates. Though highly diverse in sequence, the HIV-1 PR substrates bind in a conserved three-dimensional shape we defined as the “substrate envelope”. We previously showed that resistance mutations arise where PIs protrude beyond the substrate envelope, as these regions are crucial for drug binding but not for substrate recognition. Here, we extend this model by considering the role of protein dynamics in the interaction of HIV-1 PR with its substrates. Seven molecular dynamics simulations of PR-substrate complexes were performed to estimate the conformational flexibility of substrates in their complexes. Interdependency of the substrate-protease interactions may compensate for the variations in cleavage-site sequences, and explain how a diverse set of sequences can be recognized as substrates by the same enzyme. This diversity may be essential for regulating sequential processing of substrates. We also define a dynamic substrate envelope as a more accurate representation of PR-substrate interactions. This dynamic substrate envelope, described by a probability distribution function, is a powerful tool for drug design efforts targeting ensembles of resistant HIV-1 PR variants with the aim of developing drugs that are less susceptible to resistance. PMID:21762811

  12. Morphological Evolution of Gyroid-Forming Block Copolymer Thin Films with Varying Solvent Evaporation Rate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Yi-Hsiu; Lo, Ting-Ya; She, Ming-Shiuan; Ho, Rong-Ming

    2015-08-05

    In this study, we aim to examine the morphological evolution of block copolymer (BCP) nanostructured thin films through solvent evaporation at different rates for solvent swollen polystyrene-block-poly(l-lactide) (PS-PLLA). Interesting phase transitions from disorder to perpendicular cylinder and then gyroid can be found while using a partially selective solvent for PS to swell PS-PLLA thin film followed by solvent evaporation. During the transitions, gyroid-forming BCP thin film with characteristic crystallographic planes of (111)G, (110)G, and (211)G parallel to air surface can be observed, and will gradually transform into coexisting (110)G and (211)G planes, and finally transforms to (211)G plane due to the preferential segregation of constituted block to the surface (i.e., the thermodynamic origin for self-assembly) that affects the relative amount of each component at the air surface. With the decrease on the evaporation rate, the disorder phase will transform to parallel cylinder and then directly to (211)G without transition to perpendicular cylinder phase. Most importantly, the morphological evolution of PS-PLLA thin films is strongly dependent upon the solvent removal rate only in the initial stage of the evaporation process due to the anisotropy of cylinder structure. Once the morphology is transformed back to the isotropic gyroid structure after long evaporation, the morphological evolution will only relate to the variation of the surface composition. Similar phase transitions at the substrate can also be obtained by controlling the ratio of PLLA-OH to PS-OH homopolymers to functionalize the substrate. As a result, the fabrication of well-defined nanostructured thin films with controlled orientation can be achieved by simple swelling and deswelling with controlled evaporation rate.

  13. Porous niobium coatings fabricated with selective laser melting on titanium substrates: Preparation, characterization, and cell behavior

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Sheng [Science and Technology on Power Beam Processes Laboratory, Beijing Aeronautical Manufacturing Technology Research Institute (BAMTRI), Beijing 100024 (China); State Key Lab of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074 (China); Cheng, Xian; Yao, Yao; Wei, Yehui [Department of Stomatology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022 (China); Han, Changjun; Shi, Yusheng [State Key Lab of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074 (China); Wei, Qingsong, E-mail: wqs_xn@163.com [State Key Lab of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074 (China); Zhang, Zhen, E-mail: zhangzhentitanium@163.com [State Key Lab of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074 (China); Department of Stomatology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022 (China)

    2015-08-01

    Nb, an expensive and refractory element with good wear resistance and biocompatibility, is gaining more attention as a new metallic biomaterial. However, the high price of the raw material, as well as the high manufacturing costs because of Nb's strong oxygen affinity and high melting point have limited the widespread use of Nb and its compounds. To overcome these disadvantages, porous Nb coatings of various thicknesses were fabricated on Ti substrate via selective laser melting (SLM), which is a 3D printing technique that uses computer-controlled high-power laser to melt the metal. The morphology and microstructure of the porous Nb coatings, which had pores ranging from 15 to 50 μm in size, were characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The average hardness of the coating, which was measured with the linear intercept method, was 392 ± 37 HV. In vitro tests of the porous Nb coating which was monitored with SEM, immunofluorescence, and CCK-8 counts of cells, exhibited excellent cell morphology, attachment, and growth. The simulated body fluid test also proved the bioactivity of the Nb coating. Therefore, these new porous Nb coatings could potentially be used for enhanced early biological fixation to bone tissue. In addition, this study has shown that SLM technique could be used to fabricate coatings with individually tailored shapes and/or porosities from group IVB and VB biomedical metals and their alloys on stainless steel, Co–Cr, and other traditional biomedical materials without wasting raw materials. - Highlights: • Porous Nb coating was firstly fabricated on Ti substrate by SLM technique. • Morphology, microstructure and hardness of the coating were characterized. • In vitro test of the coating showed good cell attachment, morphology and growth.

  14. Porous niobium coatings fabricated with selective laser melting on titanium substrates: Preparation, characterization, and cell behavior

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Sheng; Cheng, Xian; Yao, Yao; Wei, Yehui; Han, Changjun; Shi, Yusheng; Wei, Qingsong; Zhang, Zhen

    2015-01-01

    Nb, an expensive and refractory element with good wear resistance and biocompatibility, is gaining more attention as a new metallic biomaterial. However, the high price of the raw material, as well as the high manufacturing costs because of Nb's strong oxygen affinity and high melting point have limited the widespread use of Nb and its compounds. To overcome these disadvantages, porous Nb coatings of various thicknesses were fabricated on Ti substrate via selective laser melting (SLM), which is a 3D printing technique that uses computer-controlled high-power laser to melt the metal. The morphology and microstructure of the porous Nb coatings, which had pores ranging from 15 to 50 μm in size, were characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The average hardness of the coating, which was measured with the linear intercept method, was 392 ± 37 HV. In vitro tests of the porous Nb coating which was monitored with SEM, immunofluorescence, and CCK-8 counts of cells, exhibited excellent cell morphology, attachment, and growth. The simulated body fluid test also proved the bioactivity of the Nb coating. Therefore, these new porous Nb coatings could potentially be used for enhanced early biological fixation to bone tissue. In addition, this study has shown that SLM technique could be used to fabricate coatings with individually tailored shapes and/or porosities from group IVB and VB biomedical metals and their alloys on stainless steel, Co–Cr, and other traditional biomedical materials without wasting raw materials. - Highlights: • Porous Nb coating was firstly fabricated on Ti substrate by SLM technique. • Morphology, microstructure and hardness of the coating were characterized. • In vitro test of the coating showed good cell attachment, morphology and growth

  15. Cardiomyocytes from late embryos and neonates do optimal work and striate best on substrates with tissue-level elasticity: metrics and mathematics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Majkut, Stephanie F; Discher, Dennis E

    2012-11-01

    In this review, we discuss recent studies on the mechanosensitive morphology and function of cardiomyocytes derived from embryos and neonates. For early cardiomyocytes cultured on substrates of various stiffnesses, contractile function as measured by force production, work output and calcium handling is optimized when the culture substrate stiffness mimics that of the tissue from which the cells were obtained. This optimal contractile function corresponds to changes in sarcomeric protein conformation and organization that promote contractile ability. In light of current models for myofibillogenesis, a recent mathematical model of striation and alignment on elastic substrates helps to illuminate how substrate stiffness modulates early myofibril formation and organization. During embryonic heart formation and maturation, cardiac tissue mechanics change dynamically. Experiments and models highlighted here have important implications for understanding cardiomyocyte differentiation and function in development and perhaps in regeneration processes.

  16. Electrophoretic deposition of hydroxyapatite-hexagonal boron nitride composite coatings on Ti substrate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Göncü, Yapıncak; Geçgin, Merve; Bakan, Feray; Ay, Nuran

    2017-10-01

    In this study, commercial pure titanium samples were coated with nano hydroxyapatite-nano hexagonal boron nitride (nano HA-nano hBN) composite by electrophoretic deposition (EPD). The effect of process parameters (applied voltage, deposition time and solid concentration) on the coating morphology, thickness and the adhesion behavior were studied systematically and crack free nano hBN-nano HA composite coating production was achieved for developing bioactive coatings on titanium substrates for orthopedic applications. For the examination of structural and morphological characteristics of the coating surfaces, various complementary analysis methods were performed. For the structural characterization, XRD and Raman Spectroscopy were used while, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) techniques were carried out for revealing the morphological characterization. The results showed that nano HA-nano hBN were successfully deposited on Ti surface with uniform, crack-free coating by EPD. The amounts of hBN in suspension are considered to have no effect on coating thickness. By adding hBN into HA, the morphology of HA did not change and hBN has no significant effect on porous structure. These nanostructured surfaces are expected to be suitable for proliferation of cells and have high potential for bioactive materials. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Non-conventional photocathodes based on Cu thin films deposited on Y substrate by sputtering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Perrone, A. [Department of Mathematics and Physics “E. De Giorgi”, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce (Italy); National Institute of Nuclear Physics and University of Salento, 73100 Lecce (Italy); D’Elia, M. [Department of Mathematics and Physics “E. De Giorgi”, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce (Italy); Gontad, F., E-mail: francisco.gontad@le.infn.it [Department of Mathematics and Physics “E. De Giorgi”, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce (Italy); National Institute of Nuclear Physics and University of Salento, 73100 Lecce (Italy); Di Giulio, M.; Maruccio, G. [Department of Mathematics and Physics “E. De Giorgi”, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce (Italy); Cola, A. [National Council Research, Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems, 73100 Lecce (Italy); Stankova, N.E. [Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1784 Sofia (Bulgaria); Kovacheva, D.G. [Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia (Bulgaria); Broitman, E. [Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping (Sweden)

    2014-07-01

    Copper (Cu) thin films were deposited on yttrium (Y) substrate by sputtering. During the deposition, a small central area of the Y substrate was shielded to avoid the film deposition and was successively used to study its photoemissive properties. This configuration has two advantages: the cathode presents (i) the quantum efficiency and the work function of Y and (ii) high electrical compatibility when inserted into the conventional radio-frequency gun built with Cu bulk. The photocathode was investigated by scanning electron microscopy to determine surface morphology. X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy studies were performed to compare the structure and surface properties of the deposited film. The measured electrical resistivity value of the Cu film was similar to that of high purity Cu bulk. Film to substrate adhesion was also evaluated using the Daimler–Benz Rockwell-C adhesion test method. Finally, the photoelectron performance in terms of quantum efficiency was obtained in a high vacuum photodiode cell before and after laser cleaning procedures. A comparison with the results obtained with a twin sample prepared by pulsed laser deposition is presented and discussed.

  18. Evolution of nanodot morphology on polycarbonate (PC) surfaces by 40 keV Ar{sup +}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goyal, Meetika, E-mail: meetika89@gmail.com; Chawla, Mahak; Gupta, Divya; Shekhawat, Nidhi; Sharma, Annu; Aggarwal, Sanjeev [Department of Physics, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra - 136119 (India)

    2016-05-06

    In the present paper we have discussed the effect of 40 keV Ar{sup +} ions irradiation on nanoscale surface morphology of Polycarbonate (PC) substrate. Specimens were sputtered at off normal incidences of 30°, 40° and 50° with the fluence of 1 × 10{sup 16} Ar{sup +}cm{sup −2}. The topographical behaviour of specimens was studied by using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) technique. AFM study demonstrates the evolution of nano dot morphology on PC specimens on irradiating with 1 × 10{sup 16} Ar{sup +}cm{sup −2}. Average size of dots varied from 37-95 nm in this specified range of incidence while density of dots varied from 0.17-3.0 × 107 dotscm{sup −2}. Such variations in morphological features have been supported by estimation of ion range and sputtering yield through SRIM simulations.

  19. Grip and detachment of locusts on inverted sandpaper substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han Longbao; Wang Zhouyi; Ji Aihong; Dai Zhendong

    2011-01-01

    Locusts (Locusta migratoria manilensis) are characterized by their strong flying and grasping ability. Research on the grasping mechanism and behaviour of locusts on sloping substrates plays an important role in elucidating the mechanics of hexapod locomotion. Data on the maximum angles of slope at which locusts can grasp stably (critical angles of detachment) were obtained from high-speed video recordings at 215 fps. The grasping forces were collected by using two sensors, in situations where all left legs were standing on one and the right legs on the other sensor plate. These data were used to illustrate the grasping ability of locusts on slopes with varying levels of roughness. The grasping morphologies of locusts' bodies and tarsi were observed, and the surface roughness as well as diameters of their claw tips was measured under a microscope to account for the grasping mechanism of these insects on the sloping substrate. The results showed that the claw tips and part of the pads were in contact with the inverted substrate when the mean particle diameter was in the range of 15.3-40.5 μm. The interaction between pads and substrates may improve the stability of contact, and claw tips may play a key role in keeping the attachment reliable. A model was developed to explain the significant effects of the relative size of claw tips and mean particle diameter on grasping ability as well as the observed increase in lateral force (2.09-4.05 times greater than the normal force during detachment) with increasing slope angle, which indicates that the lateral force may be extremely important in keeping the contact reliable. This research lays the groundwork for the probable design and development of biomimetic robotics.

  20. Effects of different needles and substrates on CuInS{sub 2} deposited by electrostatic spray deposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roncallo, S. [Centre for Materials Science and Engineering, Cranfield University, Shrivenham, Swindon, SN6 8LA (United Kingdom); Painter, J.D., E-mail: j.d.painter@cranfield.ac.u [Centre for Materials Science and Engineering, Cranfield University, Shrivenham, Swindon, SN6 8LA (United Kingdom); Healy, M.J.F. [Centre for Materials Science and Engineering, Cranfield University, Shrivenham, Swindon, SN6 8LA (United Kingdom); Ritchie, S.A.; Finnis, M.V. [Department of Engineering Systems and Management, Cranfield University, Shrivenham, Swindon SN6 8LA (United Kingdom); Rogers, K.D. [Cranfield Health, Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL (United Kingdom); Scragg, J.J. [University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY (United Kingdom); Dale, P.J. [Laboratoire Photovoltaique, University of Luxembourg, 41 Rue du Brill, L-4422, Belvaux (Luxembourg); Zoppi, G. [Northumbria Photovoltaics Applications Centre, Northumbria, University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST (United Kingdom)

    2011-03-31

    Copper indium disulphide (CuInS{sub 2}) thin films were deposited using the electrostatic spray deposition method. The effects of applied voltage and solution flow rate on the aerosol cone shape, film composition, surface morphology and current conversion were investigated. The effect of aluminium substrates and transparent fluorine doped tin oxide (SnO{sub 2}:F) coated glass substrates on the properties of as-deposited CuInS{sub 2} films were analysed. An oxidation process occurs during the deposition onto the metallic substrates which forms an insulating layer between the photoactive film and substrate. The effects of two different spray needles on the properties of the as-deposited films were also studied. The results reveal that the use of a stainless steel needle results in contamination of the film due to the transfer of metal impurities through the spray whilst this is not seen for the glass needle. The films were characterised using a number of different analytical techniques such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Rutherford back-scattering and secondary ion mass spectroscopy and opto-electronic measurements.

  1. Morphology and Structural Characterization of Carbon Nanowalls Grown via VHF-PECVD

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akmal Hasanudin, M.; Wahab, Y.; Ismail, A. K.; Zahid Jamal, Z. A.

    2018-03-01

    A 150 MHz very high frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (150 MHz VHF-PECVD) system was utilized to fabricate two-dimensional carbon nanostructure from the mixture of methane and hydrogen. Morphology and structural properties of the grown nanostructure were investigated by FESEM imaging and Raman spectroscopy. Carbon nanowalls (CNW) with dense and wavy-like structure were successfully synthesized. The wavy-like morphology of CNW was found to be more distinct during growth at small electrode spacing and denser with increasing deposition time due to better flux of hydrocarbon radicals to the substrate and higher rate of reaction, respectively. Typical characteristics of CNW were observed from strong D band, narrow bandwidth of G band and single broad peak of 2D band of Raman spectra indicating the presence of disordered nanocrystalline graphite structure with high degree of graphitization.

  2. Effects of Thermal Annealing Upon the Morphology of Polymer-Fullerene Blends

    KAUST Repository

    Verploegen, Eric

    2010-08-18

    Grazing incidence X-ray scattering (GIXS) is used to characterize the morphology of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) thin film bulk heterojunction (BHJ) blends as a function of thermal annealing temperature, from room temperature to 220 °C. A custom-built heating chamber for in situ GIXS studies allows for the morphological characterization of thin films at elevated temperatures. Films annealed with a thermal gradient allow for the rapid investigation of the morphology over a range of temperatures that corroborate the results of the in situ experiments. Using these techniques the following are observed: the melting points of each component; an increase in the P3HT coherence length with annealing below the P3HT melting temperature; the formation of well-oriented P3HT crystallites with the (100) plane parallel to the substrate, when cooled from the melt; and the cold crystallization of PCBM associated with the PCBM glass transition temperature. The incorporation of these materials into BHJ blends affects the nature of these transitions as a function of blend ratio. These results provide a deeper understanding of the physics of how thermal annealing affects the morphology of polymer-fullerene BHJ blends and provides tools to manipulate the blend morphology in order to develop high-performance organic solar cell devices. © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  3. Effects of Thermal Annealing Upon the Morphology of Polymer-Fullerene Blends

    KAUST Repository

    Verploegen, Eric; Mondal, Rajib; Bettinger, Christopher J.; Sok, Seihout; Toney, Michael F.; Bao, Zhenan

    2010-01-01

    Grazing incidence X-ray scattering (GIXS) is used to characterize the morphology of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) thin film bulk heterojunction (BHJ) blends as a function of thermal annealing temperature, from room temperature to 220 °C. A custom-built heating chamber for in situ GIXS studies allows for the morphological characterization of thin films at elevated temperatures. Films annealed with a thermal gradient allow for the rapid investigation of the morphology over a range of temperatures that corroborate the results of the in situ experiments. Using these techniques the following are observed: the melting points of each component; an increase in the P3HT coherence length with annealing below the P3HT melting temperature; the formation of well-oriented P3HT crystallites with the (100) plane parallel to the substrate, when cooled from the melt; and the cold crystallization of PCBM associated with the PCBM glass transition temperature. The incorporation of these materials into BHJ blends affects the nature of these transitions as a function of blend ratio. These results provide a deeper understanding of the physics of how thermal annealing affects the morphology of polymer-fullerene BHJ blends and provides tools to manipulate the blend morphology in order to develop high-performance organic solar cell devices. © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  4. Relating rock avalanche morphology to emplacement processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dufresne, Anja; Prager, Christoph; Bösmeier, Annette

    2015-04-01

    The morphology, structure and sedimentological characteristics of rock avalanche deposits reflect both internal emplacement processes and external influences, such as runout path characteristics. The latter is mainly predisposed by topography, substrate types, and hydrogeological conditions. Additionally, the geological setting at the source slope controls, e.g. the spatial distribution of accumulated lithologies and hence material property-related changes in morphology, or the maximum clast size and amount of fines of different lithological units. The Holocene Tschirgant rock avalanche (Tyrol, Austria) resulted from failure of an intensely deformed carbonate rock mass on the southeast face of a 2,370-m-high mountain ridge. The initially sliding rock mass rapidly fragmented as it moved towards the floor of the Inn River valley. Part of the 200-250 x 106 m3 (Patzelt 2012) rock avalanche debris collided with and moved around an opposing bedrock ridge and flowed into the Ötz valley, reaching up to 6.3 km from source. Where the Tschirgant rock avalanche spread freely it formed longitudinal ridges aligned along motion direction as well as smaller hummocks. Encountering high topography, it left runup ridges, fallback patterns (i.e. secondary collapse), and compressional morphology (successively elevated, transverse ridges). Further evidence for the mechanical landslide behaviour is given by large volumes of mobilized valley-fill sediments (polymict gravels and sands). These sediments indicate both shearing and compressional faulting within the rock avalanche mass (forming their own morphological units through, e.g. in situ bulldozing or as distinctly different hummocky terrain), but also indicate extension of the spreading landslide mass (i.e. intercalated/injected gravels encountered mainly in morphological depressions between hummocks). Further influences on its morphology are given by the different lithological units. E.g. the transition from massive dolomite

  5. Rod-like β-FeSi2 phase grown on Si (111) substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han Ming; Tanaka, Miyoko; Takeguchi, Masaki; Furuya, Kazuo

    2004-01-01

    Pure Fe with coverage of 0.5-2.0 nm was deposited on Si (111) 7x7 surfaces by reactive deposition epitaxy (RDE) in an integrated ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) system. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed that the as-deposited epitaxial phase exhibits rod-like and equilateral triangular morphology. The as-deposited phase was identified as c-FeSi 2 by electron diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. It was found that there exists lattice distortion in epitaxial c-FeSi 2 phase. Upon annealing at 1073 K, the metastable c-FeSi 2 transforms into equilibrium β-FeSi 2 phase, the latter inherits completely the morphology of c-FeSi 2 phase. Based on RDE and subsequent annealing, a new fabrication technique to grow rod-like semiconducting β-FeSi 2 on a Si substrate has been proposed in the present work

  6. Structure, morphology and optical properties of CuInS2 thin films prepared by modulated flux deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guillen, C.; Herrero, J.; Gutierrez, M.T.; Briones, F.

    2005-01-01

    The structure, morphology and optical properties of copper indium sulfide thin films prepared by a novel modulated flux deposition procedure have been investigated for layers from 200 to 400 nm thickness. These polycrystalline CuInS 2 films grown onto glass substrates showed CuAu-like structure, similar to epitaxial CuInS 2 films grown onto monocrystalline substrates, and direct band gap values Eg=1.52-1.55 eV, optimum for single-junction photovoltaic applications. The increase in the layer thickness leads to growth of the average crystallite size and increases slightly the surface roughness and the absorption coefficient

  7. Hydrothermal synthesis of highly crystalline ZnO nanorod arrays: Dependence of morphology and alignment on growth conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Azzez, Shrook A., E-mail: shurouq44@yahoo.com [Institutes of Nano-Optoelectronic Research and Technology Laboratory (INOR), Ministry of Science and Technology, Baghdad (Iraq); Hassan, Z.; Alimanesh, M.; Rasheed, Hiba S.; Sabah, Fayroz A.; Abdulateef, Sinan A. [Institutes of Nano-Optoelectronic Research and Technology Laboratory (INOR), Ministry of Science and Technology, Baghdad (Iraq); Hassan, J. J. [Department of Physics, College of Science, University of Basrah, Basrah (Iraq)

    2016-07-06

    Highly oriented zinc oxide nanorod were successfully grown on seeded p-type silicon substrate by hydrothermal methode. The morphology and the crystallinty of ZnO c-axis (002) arrays were systematically studied using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. The effect of seed layer pre-annealing on nanorods properties was explained according to the nucleation site of ZnO nanoparticles on silicon substrate. In addition, the variation of the equal molarity of zinc nitrate hexahydrate and hexamine concentrations in the reaction vessel play a crucial role related to the ZnO nanorods.

  8. Influence of calcination temperature on the morphology and energy storage properties of cobalt oxide nanostructures directly grown over carbon cloth substrates

    KAUST Repository

    Baby, Rakhi Raghavan

    2013-09-23

    Nanostructured and mesoporous cobalt oxide (Co3O4) nanowire in flower-like arrangements have been directly grown over flexible carbon cloth collectors using solvothermal synthesis for supercapacitor applications. Changes in the morphology and porosity of the nanowire assemblies have been induced by manipulating the calcination temperature (200–300 °C) of the one-dimensional (1-D) structures, resulting in significant impact on their surface area and pseudocapacitive properties. As the calcination temperature increases from 200 to 250 °C, the flower morphology gradually modifies to the point where the electrolyte could access almost all the nanowires over the entire sample volume, resulting in an increase in specific capacitance from 334 to 605 Fg−1, depending on the nanowire electrode morphology. The 300 °C calcination results in the breakdown of the mesoporous morphology and decreases the efficiency of electrolyte diffusion, resulting in a drop in pseudocapacitance after 300 °C. A peak energy density of 44 Wh kg−1 has been obtained at a power density of 20 kW kg−1 for the 250 °C calcined sample.

  9. Influence of calcination temperature on the morphology and energy storage properties of cobalt oxide nanostructures directly grown over carbon cloth substrates

    KAUST Repository

    Baby, Rakhi Raghavan; Chen, Wei; Cha, Dong Kyu; Alshareef, Husam N.

    2013-01-01

    Nanostructured and mesoporous cobalt oxide (Co3O4) nanowire in flower-like arrangements have been directly grown over flexible carbon cloth collectors using solvothermal synthesis for supercapacitor applications. Changes in the morphology and porosity of the nanowire assemblies have been induced by manipulating the calcination temperature (200–300 °C) of the one-dimensional (1-D) structures, resulting in significant impact on their surface area and pseudocapacitive properties. As the calcination temperature increases from 200 to 250 °C, the flower morphology gradually modifies to the point where the electrolyte could access almost all the nanowires over the entire sample volume, resulting in an increase in specific capacitance from 334 to 605 Fg−1, depending on the nanowire electrode morphology. The 300 °C calcination results in the breakdown of the mesoporous morphology and decreases the efficiency of electrolyte diffusion, resulting in a drop in pseudocapacitance after 300 °C. A peak energy density of 44 Wh kg−1 has been obtained at a power density of 20 kW kg−1 for the 250 °C calcined sample.

  10. Substrate system for spray forming

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chu, Men G. (Export, PA); Chernicoff, William P. (Harrisburg, PA)

    2002-01-01

    A substrate system for receiving a deposit of sprayed metal droplets including a movable outer substrate on which the sprayed metal droplets are deposited. The substrate system also includes an inner substrate disposed adjacent the outer substrate where the sprayed metal droplets are deposited on the outer substrate. The inner substrate includes zones of differing thermal conductivity to resist substrate layer porosity and to resist formation of large grains and coarse constituent particles in a bulk layer of the metal droplets which have accumulated on the outer substrate. A spray forming apparatus and associated method of spray forming a molten metal to form a metal product using the substrate system of the invention is also provided.

  11. Morphological and molecular analysis of Fusarium lateritium, the cause of gray necrosis of hazelnut fruit in Italy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vitale, S; Santori, A; Wajnberg, E; Castagnone-Sereno, P; Luongo, L; Belisario, A

    2011-06-01

    Fusarium lateritium is a globally distributed plant pathogen. It was recently reported as the causal agent of nut gray necrosis (NGN) on hazelnut. Isolate characterization within F. lateritium was undertaken to investigate how morphological and molecular diversity was associated with host and geographic origin. Morphological studies combined with inter-simple-sequence repeat (ISSR) analysis, and phylogenetic analyses using translation elongation factor 1α (TEF-1α), β-tubulin genes, and nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences were conducted to resolve relationships among 32 F. lateritium isolates from NGN-affected hazelnut fruit, and 14 from other substrates or 8 from other hosts than hazelnut. Colonies of F. lateritium from hazelnut showed dark grayish-olive differing from the orange-yellow color of all other isolates from other hosts. Generally, isolates from NGN-affected fruit failed to produce sporodochia on carnation leaf agar. The influence of host and substrate on the genetic structure of F. lateritium was supported by ISSR and analyzed with principal coordinates analysis. A relationship between hazelnut and genetic variation was inferred. Phylogenetic analysis of ITS provided limited resolution while TEF-1α and β-tubulin analyses allowed a clear separation between the European and non-European F. lateritium isolates retrieved from GenBank, regardless of host. Though morphological traits of F. lateritium isolates from hazelnut were generally uniform in defining a typical morphogroup, they were not yet phylogenetically defined. In contrast, the typology related to slimy deep orange cultures, due to spore mass, grouped clearly separated from the other F. lateritium isolates and revealed a congruence between morphology and phylogeny.

  12. Mesenchymal stem cell adhesion but not plasticity is affected by high substrate stiffness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janice Kal Van Tam, Koichiro Uto, Mitsuhiro Ebara, Stefania Pagliari, Giancarlo Forte and Takao Aoyagi

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The acknowledged ability of synthetic materials to induce cell-specific responses regardless of biological supplies provides tissue engineers with the opportunity to find the appropriate materials and conditions to prepare tissue-targeted scaffolds. Stem and mature cells have been shown to acquire distinct morphologies in vitro and to modify their phenotype when grown on synthetic materials with tunable mechanical properties. The stiffness of the substrate used for cell culture is likely to provide cells with mechanical cues mimicking given physiological or pathological conditions, thus affecting the biological properties of cells. The sensitivity of cells to substrate composition and mechanical properties resides in multiprotein complexes called focal adhesions, whose dynamic modification leads to cytoskeleton remodeling and changes in gene expression. In this study, the remodeling of focal adhesions in human mesenchymal stem cells in response to substrate stiffness was followed in the first phases of cell–matrix interaction, using poly-ε-caprolactone planar films with similar chemical composition and different elasticity. As compared to mature dermal fibroblasts, mesenchymal stem cells showed a specific response to substrate stiffness, in terms of adhesion, as a result of differential focal adhesion assembly, while their multipotency as a bulk was not significantly affected by matrix compliance. Given the sensitivity of stem cells to matrix mechanics, the mechanobiology of such cells requires further investigations before preparing tissue-specific scaffolds.

  13. The role of bio-physical cohesive substrates on sediment winnowing and bedform development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Leiping; Parsons, Daniel; Manning, Andrew

    2017-04-01

    Existing sediment transport and bedform size predictions for natural open-channel flows in many environments are seriously impeded by a lack of process-based knowledge concerning the dynamics of complex bed sediment mixtures comprising cohesionless sand and biologically-active cohesive muds. A series of flume experiments (14 experimental runs) with different substrate mixtures of sand-clay-EPS (Extracellular Polymeric Substance) are combined with a detailed estuarine field survey (Dee estuary, NW England) to investigate the development of bedform morphologies and characteristics of suspended sediment over bio-physical cohesive substrates. The experimental results indicate that winnowing and sediment sorting can occur pervasively in bio-physical cohesive sediment - flow systems. Importantly however, the evolution of the bed and bedform dynamics, and hence turbulence production, is significantly reduced as bed substrate cohesivity increases. The estuarine subtidal zone survey also revealed that the bio-physical cohesion provided by both the clay and microorganism fractions in the bed plays a significant role in controlling the interactions between bed substrate and sediment suspension, deposition and bedform generation. The work will be presented here concludes by outlining the need to extend and revisit the effects of cohesivity in morphodynamic systems and the sets of parameters presently used in numerical modelling, particularly in the context of the impact of climate change on estuarine and coastal systems.

  14. A comparative study of Co thin film deposited on GaAs (1 0 0) and glass substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharma, A.; Brajpuriya, R.; Tripathi, S.; Jain, D.; Dubey, R.; Shripathi, T.; Chaudhari, S.M.

    2006-01-01

    The structural, magnetic and transport properties of Co/GaAs (1 0 0) and Co/glass thin films have been investigated. The structural measurements reveal the crystalline nature of Co thin film grown on GaAs, while microcrystalline nature in case of glass substrate. The film grown on GaAs shows higher coercivity (49.0 G), lower saturation magnetization (3.65 x 10 -4 ) and resistivity (8 μΩ cm) values as compared to that on glass substrate (22 G, 4.77 x 10 -4 and 18 μΩ cm). The grazing incidence X-ray reflectivity and photoemission spectroscopy results show the interaction between Co and GaAs at the interface, while the Co layer grown on glass remains unaffected. These observed results are discussed and interpreted in terms of different growth morphologies and structures of as grown Co thin film on both substrates

  15. Morphological and microstructural studies on aluminizing coating of carbon steel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Samsu, Zaifol; Othman, Norinsan Kamil; Daud, Abd Razak; Hussein, Hishammuddin [School of Applied Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor (Malaysia)

    2013-11-27

    Hot dip aluminizing is one of the most effective methods of surface protection for steels and is gradually gaining popularity. The morphology and microstructure of an inter-metallic layer form on the surface of low carbon steel by hot dip aluminization treatment had been studied in detail. This effect has been investigated using optical and scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The result shows that the reaction between the steel and the molten aluminium leads to the formation of Fe–Al inter-metallic compounds on the steel surface. X-ray diffraction and electron microscopic studies showed that a two layer coating was formed consisting of an external Al layer and a (Fe{sub 2}Al{sub 5}) inter metallic on top of the substrate after hot dip aluminizing process. The inter-metallic layer is ‘thick’ and exhibits a finger-like growth into the steel. Microhardness testing shown that the intermetallic layer has high hardness followed by steel substrate and the lowest hardness was Al layer.

  16. Dependence of surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) enhancement and spectral quality on the choice of underlying substrate: a closer look at silver (Ag) films prepared by physical vapor deposition (PVD).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Killian, Michelle M; Villa-Aleman, Eliel; Sun, Zhelin; Crittenden, Scott; Leverette, Chad L

    2011-03-01

    Silver (Ag) films of varying thickness were simultaneously deposited using physical vapor deposition (PVD) onto six infrared (IR) substrates (BaF(2), CaF(2), Ge, AMTIR, KRS-5, and ZnSe) in order to correlate the morphology of the deposited film with optimal SEIRA response and spectral band symmetry and quality. Significant differences were observed in the surface morphology of the deposited silver films, the degree of enhancement provided, and the spectral appearance of para-nitrobenzoic acid (PNBA) cast films for each silver-coated substrate. These differences were attributed to each substrate's chemical properties, which dictate the morphology of the Ag film and ultimately determine the spectral appearance of the adsorbed analyte and the magnitude of SEIRA enhancement. Routine SEIRA enhancement factors (EFs) for all substrates were between 5 and 150. For single-step Ag depositions, the following ranking identifies the greatest SEIRA enhancement factor and the maximum absorption of the 1345 cm(-1) spectral marker of PNBA at the optimal silver thickness for each substrate: BaF(2) (EF = 85 ± 19, 0.059 A, 10 nm Ag) > CaF(2) (EF = 75 ± 30, 0.052 A, 10 nm Ag) > Ge (EF = 45 ± 8, 0.019 A, 5 nm Ag) > AMTIR (EF = 38 ± 8, 0.024 A, 15 nm Ag) > KRS-5 (EF = 24 ± 1, 0.015 A, 12 nm Ag) > ZnSe (EF = 9 ± 5, 0.008 A, 8 nm Ag). A two-step deposition provides 59% larger EFs than single-step depositions of Ag on CaF(2). A maximum EF of 147 was calculated for a cast film of PNBA (surface coverage = 341 ng/cm(2)) on a 10 nm two-step Ag film on CaF(2) (0.102 A, 1345 cm(-1) symmetric NO(2) stretching band). The morphology of the two-step Ag film has smaller particles and greater particle density than the single-step Ag film.

  17. Effect of mixture ratios and nitrogen carrier gas flow rates on the morphology of carbon nanotube structures grown by CVD

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Malgas, GF

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports on the growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by thermal Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) and investigates the effects of nitrogen carrier gas flow rates and mixture ratios on the morphology of CNTs on a silicon substrate by vaporizing...

  18. Surface Modification of Polymer Substrates for Biomedical Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oldřich Neděla

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available While polymers are widely utilized materials in the biomedical industry, they are rarely used in an unmodified state. Some kind of a surface treatment is often necessary to achieve properties suitable for specific applications. There are multiple methods of surface treatment, each with their own pros and cons, such as plasma and laser treatment, UV lamp modification, etching, grafting, metallization, ion sputtering and others. An appropriate treatment can change the physico-chemical properties of the surface of a polymer in a way that makes it attractive for a variety of biological compounds, or, on the contrary, makes the polymer exhibit antibacterial or cytotoxic properties, thus making the polymer usable in a variety of biomedical applications. This review examines four popular methods of polymer surface modification: laser treatment, ion implantation, plasma treatment and nanoparticle grafting. Surface treatment-induced changes of the physico-chemical properties, morphology, chemical composition and biocompatibility of a variety of polymer substrates are studied. Relevant biological methods are used to determine the influence of various surface treatments and grafting processes on the biocompatibility of the new surfaces—mammalian cell adhesion and proliferation is studied as well as other potential applications of the surface-treated polymer substrates in the biomedical industry.

  19. The effect of substrate temperature on the microstructural, electrical and optical properties of Sn-doped indium oxide thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raoufi, Davood; Taherniya, Atefeh

    2015-06-01

    In this work, Sn doping In2O3 (ITO) thin films with a thickness of 200 nm were deposited on glass substrates by electron beam evaporation (EBE) method at different substrate temperatures. The crystal structure of these films was studied by X-ray diffraction technique. The sheet resistance was measured by a four-point probe. Van der Pauw method was used to measure carrier density and mobility of ITO films. The optical transmittance spectra were recorded in the wavelength region of 300-800 nm. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) has been used for the surface morphology analysis. The prepared ITO films exhibited body-centered cubic (BCC) structure with preferred orientation of growth along the (2 2 2) crystalline plane. The grain size of the films increases by rising the substrate temperature. Transparency of the films, over the visible light region, is increased with increasing the substrate temperature. It is found that the electrical properties of ITO films are significantly affected by substrate temperature. The electrical resistivity decreases with increasing substrate temperature, whereas the carrier density and mobility are enhanced with an increase in substrate temperature. The evaluated values of energy band gap Eg for ITO films were increase from 3.84 eV to 3.91 eV with increasing the substrate temperatures from 200 °C to 500 °C. The SEM micrographs of the films revealed a homogeneous growth without perceptible cracks with particles which are well covered on the substrate.

  20. Synthesis of hydroxyapatite coatings on metal substrates using a spincasting technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yuan Qiuhua; Sahu, Laxmi Kumari; D'Souza, Nandika A.; Golden, Teresa Diane

    2009-01-01

    Hydroxyapatite coatings on stainless steel substrates were prepared by a simple spincasting technique. Nanosized hydroxyapatite powders were prepared by precipitating in an electrolytic suspension, and then added to a polylactic acid solution for spincasting. The polylactic acid gave enhanced protection from corrosion and inhibited decomposition of the hydroxyapatite coating during the sintering process in air, a significant advantage over other solution processing techniques. Characterization of the phase composition and morphology of the fabricated films on stainless steel was accomplished by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.

  1. Droplet Drying Patterns on Solid Substrates: From Hydrophilic to Superhydrophobic Contact to Levitating Drops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sujata Tarafdar

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This review is devoted to the simple process of drying a multicomponent droplet of a complex fluid which may contain salt or other inclusions. These processes provide a fascinating subject for study. The explanation of the rich variety of patterns formed is not only an academic challenge but also a problem of practical importance, as applications are growing in medical diagnosis and improvement of coating/printing technology. The fundamental scientific problem is the study of the mechanism of micro- and nanoparticle self-organization in open systems. The specific fundamental problems to be solved, related to this system, are the investigation of the mass transfer processes, the formation and evolution of phase fronts, and the identification of mechanisms of pattern formation. The drops of liquid containing dissolved substances and suspended particles are assumed to be drying on a horizontal solid insoluble smooth substrate. The chemical composition and macroscopic properties of the complex fluid, the concentration and nature of the salt, the surface energy of the substrate, and the interaction between the fluid and substrate which determines the wetting all affect the final morphology of the dried film. The range of our study encompasses the fully wetting case with zero contact angle between the fluid and substrate to the case where the drop is levitated in space, so there is no contact with a substrate and angle of contact can be considered as 180°.

  2. Electrophoretic deposition of thin film zirconia electrolyte on non-conducting NiO-YSZ substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Das, Debasish; Basu, Rajendra N.

    2014-01-01

    Eight (8) mol% yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ), an electrolyte material for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), has been deposited onto porous non-conducting NiO-YSZ substrate using electrophoretic deposition technique (EPD) from a stable non-aqueous suspension of YSZ. Normally, EPD cannot be performed on a non-conducting substrate, but, in this present study, YSZ particulate film has been successfully deposited on a non-conducting NiO-YSZ substrate following two different EPD approaches:(a) using a conducting metallic plate on the reverse side of the porous NiO-YSZ anode substrate and (b) using a conducting polymer coated NiO-YSZ substrate. The deposited films are then formed dense coatings of 5-15 μm after sintering at 1400℃ for 6 h in air. Surface and cross-sectional morphologies of green and sintered films deposited by different EPD approaches are investigated using SEM. La 0.65 Sr 0.3 MnO 3 (LSM), a cathode for SOFC, is then screen-printed onto the electrolyte layer of such sintered half cells (anode+electrolyte) prepared by both the above approaches to construct SOFC single cells. A maximum output power density of 0.37 W.cm -2 is obtained using single cells prepared by conducting metallic plate assisted EPD compared to that of 0.73 W.cm -2 for polymer coated at 800℃ using H 2 as fuel and O 2 as oxidant. (author)

  3. Principle of topography-directed inkjet printing for functional micro-tracks in flexible substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keum, Chang-Min; Lee, In-Ho; Park, Hea-Lim; Kim, Chiwoo; Lüssem, Björn; Choi, Jong Sun; Lee, Sin-Doo

    2017-06-01

    We present a general principle of topography-directed (TD) inkjet printing for functional micro-tracks embedded in a flexible elastomer substrate. The essential features of the TD inkjet printing in a micro-structured substrate with periodic grooves and ridges are described in terms of the topographic parameters for the transformation from a single droplet to a filament or an edge-disjoint pattern of ink in the groove. Silver ink, being widely used for producing conductive wires by conventional inkjet printing, is utilized as a testbed in our study. The underlying mechanisms for the spreading and drying processes of ink drops under the topographic compartment can be understood in a two-dimensional parameter space of the aspect ratio of the groove and the contact angle of ink on the substrate. The wetting morphologies of ink droplets are described in an analytical model where the Laplace pressure and the mean curvature at the vapor/ink interface are taken into account. The first principle of the TD inkjet printing would be applicable for constructing a variety of functional micro-tracks with high pattern fidelity from different classes of solutions such as conducting polymers, organic semiconductors, and colloidal nanoparticles.

  4. Substrate dependent physical properties of evaporated CdO thin films for optoelectronic applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Purohit, Anuradha; Chander, S.; Patel, S.L. [Department of Physics, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur-313001 (India); Rangra, K.J. [Sensors and Transducers Group, CSIR-CEERI, Pilani-333031 (India); Dhaka, M.S., E-mail: msdhaka75@yahoo.co.in [Department of Physics, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur-313001 (India)

    2017-06-15

    Highlights: • Substrate dependent physical properties of CdO thin films are carried out. • XRD patterns reveal that the films have cubic structure of space group Fm3m. • Optical direct band gap is found to vary with the substrates. • SEM images show that the films are compact and homogeneous. • I–V characteristics show ohmic behavior of the deposited CdO films. - Abstract: In this study, CdO thin films were grown by e-beam evaporation technique on glass, indium tin oxide (ITO), fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) and silicon (Si) wafer. The deposited films were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–Vis spectrophotometer, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and source meter (current–voltage) for structural, optical, surface morphological, elemental and electrical analysis, respectively. The films have single phase of cubic structure (space group Fm3m) with (200) preferred orientation. The structural parameters viz. inter-planar spacing, grain size, lattice constant, internal strain and dislocation density are calculated and found to vary with the nature of the substrates. The optical band gap was found in the range 2.24–3.95 eV and strongly dependents on the substrates. The SEM analysis shows that the films are compact, homogeneous and have granular structure without any defects like pin holes and cracks. The EDS spectra confirmed the presence of cadmium (Cd) and oxygen (O) in the films deposited on different substrates. The current–voltage characteristics of the films show ohmic behavior.

  5. Fabrication of a Au–polystyrene sphere substrate with three-dimensional nanofeatures for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, Xiaotang; Xu, Zongwei; Li, Kang; Fang, Fengzhou; Wang, Liyang

    2015-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Methods for fabricating three-dimensional nanofeature arrays for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates were explored by combining the self-assembly of nanoscale polystyrene (PS) spheres with subsequent Au film ion sputter coating modulation. The substrate's nanoscale hot-spot features were controlled using the Au coating film thickness regulation and focused ion beam (FIB) nano-patterning regulation methods. Scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy were employed to analyze the substrate morphology and the enhancement mechanism of the three-dimensional SERS substrate. PS microspheres with diameters of 151 nm and 360 nm were coated with Au layers of different thicknesses ranging from 10 nm to 270 nm. The configuration of the Au–PS spheres can be regulated to hexagonal close packing with nanoscale V-shaped slits with a 10 to 20 nm gap pattern. Nanoscale Au particles and clusters with a clear outline covered the surface of the PS spheres, in which the multiple-scale structures increase the specific surface area of the SERS-active substrate. Nanoscale cracks formed on the smaller Au–PS spheres with a diameter of 151 nm, which also exhibited strong SERS activity. The substrate surface temperature regularly increased after Au coating, and the thermal expansion coefficient difference and PS glass transition properties were studied to explain the Au–PS spheres nanofeature configuration development. The fabricated Au–PS spheres SERS feature is a type of three-dimensional and highly ordered array, which can show Raman scattering characteristics by providing a SERS enhancement factor of greater than 107. - Highlights: • Au film coating over PS nanospheres was studied to develop 3D SERS substrate. • The Au–PS sphere can be hexagonal close packing with 10–20 nm nanoscale gaps. • PS glass transition property results in Au–PS sphere nano configuration evolution. • The nanoscale Au clusters with clear outline were

  6. Fabrication of a Au–polystyrene sphere substrate with three-dimensional nanofeatures for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hu, Xiaotang; Xu, Zongwei, E-mail: zongweixu@163.com; Li, Kang; Fang, Fengzhou, E-mail: fzfang@tju.edu.cn; Wang, Liyang

    2015-11-15

    Graphical abstract: Methods for fabricating three-dimensional nanofeature arrays for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates were explored by combining the self-assembly of nanoscale polystyrene (PS) spheres with subsequent Au film ion sputter coating modulation. The substrate's nanoscale hot-spot features were controlled using the Au coating film thickness regulation and focused ion beam (FIB) nano-patterning regulation methods. Scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy were employed to analyze the substrate morphology and the enhancement mechanism of the three-dimensional SERS substrate. PS microspheres with diameters of 151 nm and 360 nm were coated with Au layers of different thicknesses ranging from 10 nm to 270 nm. The configuration of the Au–PS spheres can be regulated to hexagonal close packing with nanoscale V-shaped slits with a 10 to 20 nm gap pattern. Nanoscale Au particles and clusters with a clear outline covered the surface of the PS spheres, in which the multiple-scale structures increase the specific surface area of the SERS-active substrate. Nanoscale cracks formed on the smaller Au–PS spheres with a diameter of 151 nm, which also exhibited strong SERS activity. The substrate surface temperature regularly increased after Au coating, and the thermal expansion coefficient difference and PS glass transition properties were studied to explain the Au–PS spheres nanofeature configuration development. The fabricated Au–PS spheres SERS feature is a type of three-dimensional and highly ordered array, which can show Raman scattering characteristics by providing a SERS enhancement factor of greater than 107. - Highlights: • Au film coating over PS nanospheres was studied to develop 3D SERS substrate. • The Au–PS sphere can be hexagonal close packing with 10–20 nm nanoscale gaps. • PS glass transition property results in Au–PS sphere nano configuration evolution. • The nanoscale Au clusters with clear outline

  7. Modelling substrate specificity and enantioselectivity for lipases and esterases by substrate-imprinted docking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tyagi Sadhna

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Previously, ways to adapt docking programs that were developed for modelling inhibitor-receptor interaction have been explored. Two main issues were discussed. First, when trying to model catalysis a reaction intermediate of the substrate is expected to provide more valid information than the ground state of the substrate. Second, the incorporation of protein flexibility is essential for reliable predictions. Results Here we present a predictive and robust method to model substrate specificity and enantioselectivity of lipases and esterases that uses reaction intermediates and incorporates protein flexibility. Substrate-imprinted docking starts with covalent docking of reaction intermediates, followed by geometry optimisation of the resulting enzyme-substrate complex. After a second round of docking the same substrate into the geometry-optimised structures, productive poses are identified by geometric filter criteria and ranked by their docking scores. Substrate-imprinted docking was applied in order to model (i enantioselectivity of Candida antarctica lipase B and a W104A mutant, (ii enantioselectivity and substrate specificity of Candida rugosa lipase and Burkholderia cepacia lipase, and (iii substrate specificity of an acetyl- and a butyrylcholine esterase toward the substrates acetyl- and butyrylcholine. Conclusion The experimentally observed differences in selectivity and specificity of the enzymes were reproduced with an accuracy of 81%. The method was robust toward small differences in initial structures (different crystallisation conditions or a co-crystallised ligand, although large displacements of catalytic residues often resulted in substrate poses that did not pass the geometric filter criteria.

  8. Direct synthesis of multi-layer graphene film on various substrates by microwave plasma at low temperature

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Hyun Jae [Plasma Technology Research Center, 814-2 Osickdo-dong (SGFEZ), Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do 573-540 (Korea, Republic of); Ahn, Byung Wook; Kim, Tae Yoo; Lee, Jung Woo [School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering, Advanced Materials and Process Research Center (AMPRC), Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746 (Korea, Republic of); Jung, Yong Ho; Choi, Yong Sup [Plasma Technology Research Center, 814-2 Osickdo-dong (SGFEZ), Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do 573-540 (Korea, Republic of); Song, Young Il, E-mail: physein01@skku.edu [School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering, Advanced Materials and Process Research Center (AMPRC), Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746 (Korea, Republic of); Suh, Su Jeong, E-mail: suhsj@skku.edu [School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering, Advanced Materials and Process Research Center (AMPRC), Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746 (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-07-31

    We introduce a possible route for vertically standing multi-layer graphene films (VMGs) on various substrates at low temperature by electron cyclone resonance microwave plasma. VMG films on various substrates, including copper sheet, glass and silicon oxide wafer, were analyzed by studying their structural, electrical, and optical properties. The density and temperature of plasma were measured using Cylindrical Langmuir probe analysis. The morphologies and microstructures of multi-layer graphene were characterized using field emission scattering electron microscope, high resolution transmission electron microscope, and Raman spectra measurement. The VMGs on different substrates at the same experimental conditions synthesized the wrinkled VMGs with different heights. In addition, the transmittance and electrical resistance were measured using ultra-violet visible near-infrared spectroscopy and 4 probe point surface resistance measurement. The VMGs on glass substrate obtained a transmittance of 68.8% and sheet resistance of 796 Ω/square, whereas the VMGs on SiO{sub 2} wafer substrate showed good sheet resistance of 395 Ω/square and 278 Ω/square. The results presented herein demonstrate a simple method of synthesizing of VMGs on various substrates at low temperature for mass production, in which the VMGs can be used in a wide range of application fields for energy storage, catalysis, and field emission due to their unique orientation. - Highlights: • We present for synthesis method of graphene at low temperature on various substrates. • We grow the graphene films at low temperature under of 432 °C. • Structural information of graphene films were studied upon Raman spectroscopy. • Inter-layer spacing of vertically standing graphene relies on synthesis time. • We measured a transmittance and a resistance for graphene films on difference substrate.

  9. Surface morphology of Al0.3Ga0.7N/Al2O3-high electron mobility transistor structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cörekçi, S; Usanmaz, D; Tekeli, Z; Cakmak, M; Ozçelik, S; Ozbay, E

    2008-02-01

    We present surface properties of buffer films (AIN and GaN) and Al0.3Gao.zN/Al2O3-High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) structures with/without AIN interlayer grown on High Temperature (HT)-AIN buffer/Al2O3 substrate and Al2O3 substrate. We have found that the GaN surface morphology is step-flow in character and the density of dislocations was about 10(8)-10(9) cm(-2). The AFM measurements also exhibited that the presence of atomic steps with large lateral step dimension and the surface of samples was smooth. The lateral step sizes are in the range of 100-250 nm. The typical rms values of HEMT structures were found as 0.27, 0.30, and 0.70 nm. HT-AIN buffer layer can have a significant impact on the surface morphology of Al0.3Ga0.7N/Al2O3-HEMT structures.

  10. Effect of substrate nature on the electrochemical deposition of calcium-deficient hydroxyapatites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gualdrón-Reyes, A F; Cabanzo, R; Meléndez, A M; Domínguez-Vélez, V; Morales-Morales, J A

    2017-01-01

    Calcium phosphates were obtained by reducing nitrate ions to produce hydroxide ions on TiO 2 /stainless steel and TiO 2 /titanium electrodes. TiO 2 coatings on metallic substrates were prepared by sol-gel dip-coating method. The morphology of deposits was observed by FESEM. Chemical nature of calcium phosphate deposits was identified by Raman micro-spectroscopy and FESEM/EDS microanalysis. Electrochemical behavior of nitrate and nitrite reduction on stainless steel and titanium electrodes was studied by linear sweep voltammetry. In addition, voltammetric study of the calcium phosphate electrodeposition on both electrodes was performed. From these measurements was selected the potential to form a calcium phosphate. A catalytic current associated to nitrate reduction reaction was obtained for stainless steel electrode, leading to significant deposition of calcium phosphate. Ca/P ratio for both substrates was less than 1.67. The formation of calcium deficient hydroxyapatite was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. (paper)

  11. Structural, morphological and electronic properties of pulsed laser grown Eu2O3 thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Sandeep; Prakash, Ram; Choudhary, R. J.; Phase, D. M.

    2018-05-01

    Herein, we report the growth, structural, morphological and electronic properties of Europium sesquioxide (Eu2O3) thin films on Si [1 0 0] substrate using pulsed laser deposition technique. The films were deposited at ˜750 °C substrate temperature while the oxygen partial pressure (OPP) was varied (vacuum,˜1 mTorr, ˜10 mTorr and ˜300 mTorr). X-ray diffraction results confirm the single phase cubic structure of the film grown at ˜300 mTorr. The XRD results are also supported by the Raman's spectroscopy results. Eu-3d XPS core level spectra confirms the dominant contributions from the "3+" states of Eu in the film.

  12. Effect of RF power and substrate temperature on physical properties of Zr0.8Sn0.2TiO4 films by RF magnetron sputtering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hsu Cheng-Shing; Huang Cheng-Liang

    2001-01-01

    Physical properties of rf-sputtered crystalline (Zr 0.8 Sn 0.2 )TiO 4 (ZST) thin films deposited on n-type Si(100) substrates at different rf powers and substrate temperatures have been investigated. The structural and morphological characteristics analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were found to be sensitive to deposition conditions, such as rf power from 300 W to 400 W and substrate temperature (400degC, 450degC). Highly oriented ZST (111) and (002) perpendicular to the substrate surface were identified at a rf power of 400 W and a substrate temperature of 450degC. The selected-area diffraction pattern showed that the deposited films exhibited a polycrystalline microstructure. The grain size as well as the deposition rate of the film increased with the increase in both the rf power and the substrate temperature. The leakage current decreased with increasing rf power and substrate temperature. As rf power = 400 W and substrate temperature = 450degC, a leakage current of 7.2x10 -11 A was obtained at 1 V. (author)

  13. PREFACE: Cell-substrate interactions Cell-substrate interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gardel, Margaret; Schwarz, Ulrich

    2010-05-01

    One of the most striking achievements of evolution is the ability to build cellular systems that are both robust and dynamic. Taken by themselves, both properties are obvious requirements: robustness reflects the fact that cells are there to survive, and dynamics is required to adapt to changing environments. However, it is by no means trivial to understand how these two requirements can be implemented simultaneously in a physical system. The long and difficult quest to build adaptive materials is testimony to the inherent difficulty of this goal. Here materials science can learn a lot from nature, because cellular systems show that robustness and dynamics can be achieved in a synergetic fashion. For example, the capabilities of tissues to repair and regenerate are still unsurpassed in the world of synthetic materials. One of the most important aspects of the way biological cells adapt to their environment is their adhesive interaction with the substrate. Numerous aspects of the physiology of metazoan cells, including survival, proliferation, differentiation and migration, require the formation of adhesions to the cell substrate, typically an extracellular matrix protein. Adhesions guide these diverse processes both by mediating force transmission from the cell to the substrate and by controlling biochemical signaling pathways. While the study of cell-substrate adhesions is a mature field in cell biology, a quantitative biophysical understanding of how the interactions of the individual molecular components give rise to the rich dynamics and mechanical behaviors observed for cell-substrate adhesions has started to emerge only over the last decade or so. The recent growth of research activities on cell-substrate interactions was strongly driven by the introduction of new physical techniques for surface engineering into traditional cell biological work with cell culture. For example, microcontact printing of adhesive patterns was used to show that cell fate depends

  14. GISAXS view of induced morphological changes in nanostructured CeVO [sub] 4 thin films

    OpenAIRE

    Lučić Lavčević, Magdi; Dubček, Pavo; Bernstorff, Sigrid; Turković, Aleksandra; Orel, Bojan; Crnjak Orel, Zorica

    2015-01-01

    Nanostructured CeVO4 films, designed for applications in electrochemical cells and electrochromic devices, were obtained on glass substrates by the sol-gel process. An analysis of morphological modifications in these films, induced by ultrasonication, annealing, and introduction of lithium ions, was performed, using the grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering technique (GISAXS). The GISAXS results are discussed and related with complementary examinations of the same films in real space...

  15. Hierarchical Ag mesostructures for single particle SERS substrate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, Minwei, E-mail: xuminwei@xjtu.edu.cn; Zhang, Yin

    2017-01-30

    Highlights: • Hierarchical Ag mesostructures with the size of 250, 360 and 500 nm are synthesized via a seed-mediated approach. • The Ag mesostructures present the tailorable size and highly roughened surfaces. • The average enhancement factors for individual Ag mesostructures were estimated to be as high as 10{sup 6}. - Abstract: Hierarchical Ag mesostructures with highly rough surface morphology have been synthesized at room temperature through a simple seed-mediated approach. Electron microscopy characterizations indicate that the obtained Ag mesostructures exhibit a textured surface morphology with the flower-like architecture. Moreover, the particle size can be tailored easily in the range of 250–500 nm. For the growth process of the hierarchical Ag mesostructures, it is believed that the self-assembly mechanism is more reasonable rather than the epitaxial overgrowth of Ag seed. The oriented attachment of nanoparticles is revealed during the formation of Ag mesostructures. Single particle surface enhanced Raman spectra (sp-SERS) of crystal violet adsorbed on the hierarchical Ag mesostructures were measured. Results reveal that the hierarchical Ag mesostructures can be highly sensitive sp-SERS substrates with good reproducibility. The average enhancement factors for individual Ag mesostructures are estimated to be about 10{sup 6}.

  16. Selective growth of vertically aligned Fe-filled carbon nanotubes on oxidized silicon substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moench, I; Kozhuharova-Koseva, R; Ruemmeli, M; Elefant, D; Gemming, T; Kaltofen, R; Leonhardt, A; Schaefer, T; Buechner, B [Leibniz Institute of Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (IFW Dresden), Helmholtzstr. 20, D-01069 Dresden (Germany)

    2007-04-15

    Vertically aligned Fe-filled multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) have been grown selectively on the SiO{sub 2} surfaces of patterned amorphous carbon (a-C)/SiO{sub 2}/Si substrates. Their morphology, structure and magnetic properties have been studied. The a-C patterns were prepared using conventional lithography processes combined with a sputter-deposition of a-C (thickness of 100 nm). The aligned Fe-filled MWNTs were produced by pyrolysis of ferrocene in a CVD reactor with a two zone furnace system and have high filling yield. The encapsulated Fe nanowires grown on the SiO{sub 2} structures of the patterned a-C/SiO{sub 2}/Si substrates have diameters of 10-20 nm and can reach a few micrometers in length. The described method enables the preparation of complex architectures of Fe-filled MWNTs and may be used for future applications based on filled nanotubes.

  17. Correlating yeast cell stress physiology to changes in the cell surface morphology: atomic force microscopic studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Canetta, Elisabetta; Walker, Graeme M; Adya, Ashok K

    2006-07-06

    Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) has emerged as a powerful biophysical tool in biotechnology and medicine to investigate the morphological, physical, and mechanical properties of yeasts and other biological systems. However, properties such as, yeasts' response to environmental stresses, metabolic activities of pathogenic yeasts, cell-cell/cell-substrate adhesion, and cell-flocculation have rarely been investigated so far by using biophysical tools. Our recent results obtained by AFM on one strain each of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe show a clear correlation between the physiology of environmentally stressed yeasts and the changes in their surface morphology. The future directions of the AFM related techniques in relation to yeasts are also discussed.

  18. Microstructure and surface morphology of YSZ thin films deposited by e-beam technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laukaitis, G.; Dudonis, J.; Milcius, D.

    2008-01-01

    In present study yttrium-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thin films were deposited on optical quartz (amorphous SiO 2 ), porous Ni-YSZ and crystalline Alloy 600 (Fe-Ni-Cr) substrates using e-beam deposition technique and controlling technological parameters: substrate temperature and electron gun power which influence thin-film deposition mechanism. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to investigate how thin-film structure and surface morphology depend on these parameters. It was found that the crystallite size, roughness and growth mechanism of YSZ thin films are influenced by electron gun power. To clarify the experimental results, YSZ thin-film formation as well evolution of surface roughness at its initial growing stages were analyzed. The evolution of surface roughness could be explained by the processes of surface mobility of adatoms and coalescence of islands. The analysis of these experimental results explain that surface roughness dependence on substrate temperature and electron gun power non-monotonous which could result from diffusivity of adatoms and the amount of atomic clusters in the gas stream of evaporated material

  19. Tailoring broadband light trapping of GaAs and Si substrates by self-organised nanopatterning

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martella, C.; Chiappe, D.; Mennucci, C.; Buatier de Mongeot, F. [Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Genova, via Dodecaneso 33, I-16146 Genova (Italy)

    2014-05-21

    We report on the formation of high aspect ratio anisotropic nanopatterns on crystalline GaAs (100) and Si (100) substrates exploiting defocused Ion Beam Sputtering assisted by a sacrificial self-organised Au stencil mask. The tailored optical properties of the substrates are characterised in terms of total reflectivity and haze by means of integrating sphere measurements as a function of the morphological modification at increasing ion fluence. Refractive index grading from sub-wavelength surface features induces polarisation dependent anti-reflection behaviour in the visible-near infrared (VIS-NIR) range, while light scattering at off-specular angles from larger structures leads to very high values of the haze functions in reflection. The results, obtained for an important class of technologically relevant materials, are appealing in view of photovoltaic and photonic applications aiming at photon harvesting in ultrathin crystalline solar cells.

  20. High performance ZnO:Al films deposited on PET substrates using facing target sputtering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Tingting; Dong, Guobo; Gao, Fangyuan; Xiao, Yu; Chen, Qiang; Diao, Xungang

    2013-10-01

    ZnO:Al (ZAO) thin films have been deposited on flexible PET substrates using a plasma damage-free facing target sputtering system at room temperature. The structure, surface morphology, electrical and optical properties were investigated as a function of working power. All the samples have a highly preferred orientation of the c-axis perpendicular to the PET substrate and have a high quality surface. With increased working power, the carrier concentration changes slightly, the mobility increases at the beginning and decreases after it reaches a maximum value, in line with electrical conductivity. The figure of merit has been significantly improved with increasing of the working power. Under the optimized condition, the lowest resistivity of 1.3 × 10-3 Ω cm with a sheet resistance of 29 Ω/□ and the relative visible transmittance above 93% in the visible region were obtained.

  1. High performance ZnO:Al films deposited on PET substrates using facing target sputtering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo, Tingting; Dong, Guobo; Gao, Fangyuan; Xiao, Yu; Chen, Qiang; Diao, Xungang

    2013-01-01

    ZnO:Al (ZAO) thin films have been deposited on flexible PET substrates using a plasma damage-free facing target sputtering system at room temperature. The structure, surface morphology, electrical and optical properties were investigated as a function of working power. All the samples have a highly preferred orientation of the c-axis perpendicular to the PET substrate and have a high quality surface. With increased working power, the carrier concentration changes slightly, the mobility increases at the beginning and decreases after it reaches a maximum value, in line with electrical conductivity. The figure of merit has been significantly improved with increasing of the working power. Under the optimized condition, the lowest resistivity of 1.3 × 10 −3 Ω cm with a sheet resistance of 29 Ω/□ and the relative visible transmittance above 93% in the visible region were obtained.

  2. Plateau-Rayleigh Crystal Growth of Nanowire Heterostructures: Strain-Modified Surface Chemistry and Morphological Control in One, Two, and Three Dimensions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Day, Robert W; Mankin, Max N; Lieber, Charles M

    2016-04-13

    One-dimensional (1D) structures offer unique opportunities for materials synthesis since crystal phases and morphologies that are difficult or impossible to achieve in macroscopic crystals can be synthesized as 1D nanowires (NWs). Recently, we demonstrated one such phenomenon unique to growth on a 1D substrate, termed Plateau-Rayleigh (P-R) crystal growth, where periodic shells develop along a NW core to form diameter-modulated NW homostructures with tunable morphologies. Here we report a novel extension of the P-R crystal growth concept with the synthesis of heterostructures in which Ge (Si) is deposited on Si (Ge) 1D cores to generate complex NW morphologies in 1, 2, or 3D. Depositing Ge on 50 nm Si cores with a constant GeH4 pressure yields a single set of periodic shells, while sequential variation of GeH4 pressure can yield multimodulated 1D NWs with two distinct sets of shell periodicities. P-R crystal growth on 30 nm cores also produces 2D loop structures, where Ge (Si) shells lie primarily on the outside (inside) of a highly curved Si (Ge) core. Systematic investigation of shell morphology as a function of growth time indicates that Ge shells grow in length along positive curvature Si cores faster than along straight Si cores by an order of magnitude. Short Ge deposition times reveal that shells develop on opposite sides of 50 and 100 nm Si cores to form straight 1D morphologies but that shells develop on the same side of 20 nm cores to produce 2D loop and 3D spring structures. These results suggest that strain mediates the formation of 2 and 3D morphologies by altering the NW's surface chemistry and that surface diffusion of heteroatoms on flexible freestanding 1D substrates can facilitate this strain-mediated mechanism.

  3. Substrate influence on the magnetoresistance and magnetic order in La{sub 0.6}Sr{sub 0.4}MnO{sub 3} films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

    2000-03-01

    We report structural, magnetic and transport measurements on La{sub 0.6}Sr{sub 0.4}MnO{sub 3} thin films grown on MgO and TiSrO{sub 3} substrates with thickness varying from 5 to 500 nm. We find that the lattice mismatch between substrates and films affects the morphology and induced-strains of the films. We show that these two different effects strongly influence the ferromagnetic order, the metal-insulator transition, the localization of the current carriers and the magnetoresistance of these materials.

  4. Impact of surface morphology on the properties of light emission in InGaN epilayers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kristijonas Uždavinys, Tomas; Marcinkevičius, Saulius; Mensi, Mounir; Lahourcade, Lise; Carlin, Jean-François; Martin, Denis; Butté, Raphaël; Grandjean, Nicolas

    2018-05-01

    Scanning near-field optical microscopy was used to study the influence of the surface morphology on the properties of light emission and alloy composition in InGaN epitaxial layers grown on GaN substrates. A strong correlation between the maps of the photoluminescence (PL) peak energy and the gradient of the surface morphology was observed. This correlation demonstrates that the In incorporation strongly depends on the geometry of the monolayer step edges that form during growth in the step-flow mode. The spatial distribution of nonradiative recombination centers — evaluated from PL intensity maps — was found to strongly anticorrelate with the local content of In atoms in the InGaN alloy.

  5. Growth of cubic GaN on a nitrided AlGaAs (001) substrate by using hydried vapor phase epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, H. J.; Yang, M.; Ahn, H. S.; Kim, K. H.; Yi, J. Y.; Jang, K. S.; Chang, J. H.; Kim, H. S.; Cho, C. R.; Kim, S. W.

    2006-01-01

    GaN layers were grown on AlGaAs (001) substrates by using hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE). Growth parameters such as the nitridation temperature of the AlGaAs substrate and the growth rate of the GaN layer were found to be critical determinants for the growth of cubic GaN layer. Nitridation of the AlGaAs surface was performed in a NH 3 atmosphere at a temperature range of 550 - 700 .deg. C. GaN layers were grown at different growth rates on the nitrided AlGaAs substrates. The surface morphologies and the chemical constituents of the nitrided AlGaAs layers were characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). For the optical and the crystalline characterization of the GaN films, cathodoluminescence (CL) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were carried out.

  6. Inkjet printing of silver citrate conductive ink on PET substrate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nie Xiaolei; Wang Hong; Zou Jing

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► A direct synthesis method of silver conductive film on PET substrate was presented. ► A stable particle-free conductive ink was prepared. ► Formation of silver-amine complex reduced the thermal decomposition temperature. ► Conductive patterns for flexible electronics were fabricated by inkjet printing. ► Silver film on PET substrate possessed highest adhesion rating even without polymer. - Abstract: Direct synthesis of silver conductive film on PET substrate by inkjet printing silver citrate conductive ink was presented in this paper. This kind of conductive ink contained silver citrate as silver precursor, 1,2-diaminopropane as complex agent dissolving the silver salt and methanol and isopropanol as a media adjusting the viscosity and surface tension. The formation of silver-amine complex reduced the decomposition temperature from 180 °C to 135 °C, thus the ink could be cured at relatively low temperature. The film reached the lowest resistivity of 17 μΩ cm after cured at 150 °C for 50 min, 3.1 μΩ cm at 230 °C and possessed high reflection and excellent adhesive property. Electrical conductivity, surface morphology and composition were investigated by four-point probe method, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). It is demonstrated how the cured condition affects the silver film. Moreover, radio-frequency identification (RFID) antenna was fabricated by inkjet printing, which opens up routes for the flexible electronics fabrication.

  7. A signal-substrate match in the substrate-borne component of a multimodal courtship display

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Damian O. ELIAS, Andrew C. MASON, Eileen A. HEBETS

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available The environment can impose strong limitations on the efficacy of signal transmission. In particular, for vibratory communication, the signaling environment is often extremely heterogeneous at very small scales. Nevertheless, natural selection is expected to select for signals well-suited to effective transmission. Here, we test for substrate-dependent signal efficacy in the wolf spider Schizocosa stridulans Stratton 1991. We first explore the transmission characteristics of this important signaling modality by playing recorded substrate-borne signals through three different substrates (leaf litter, pine litter, and red clay and measuring the propagated signal. We found that the substrate-borne signal of S. stridulans attenuates the least on leaf litter, the substrate upon which the species is naturally found. Next, by assessing mating success with artificially muted and non-muted males across different signaling substrates (leaf litter, pine litter, and sand, we explored the relationship between substrate-borne signaling and substrate for mating success. We found that muted males were unsuccessful in obtaining copulations regardless of substrate, while mating success was dependent on the signaling substrate for non-muted males. For non-muted males, more males copulated on leaf litter than any other substrate. Taken together, these results confirm the importance of substrate-borne signaling in S. stridulans and suggest a match between signal properties and signal efficacy – leaf litter transmits the signal most effectively and males are most successful in obtaining copulations on leaf litter [Current Zoology 56 (3: 370–378, 2010].

  8. Topography and nanostructural evaluation of chemically and thermally modified titanium substrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salemi, Hoda; Behnamghader, Aliasghar; Afshar, Abdollah

    2016-10-01

    In this research, the effects of chemical and thermal treatment on the morphological and compositional aspects of titanium substrates and so, potentially, on development of biomimetic bone like layers formation during simulated body fluid (SBF) soaking was investigated. The HF, HF/HNO3 and NaOH solutions were used for chemical treatment and some of alkali-treated samples followed a heat treatment at 600°C. The treated samples before and after soaking were subjected to material characterization tests using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). White light interferometry (WLI) was used to determine the roughness parameters such as Ra, Rq, RKu and Rsk. The significance of the obtained data was assessed using ANOVA variance analysis between all samples. It was observed that the reaction at grain boundaries and sodium titanate intermediate layers play a great role in the nucleation of calcium phosphate layers. Based on the obtained results in this work, the calcium phosphate microstructure deposited on titanium substrates was more affected by chemical modification than surface topography.

  9. Visual fields and eye morphology support color vision in a color-changing crab-spider.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Insausti, Teresita C; Defrize, Jérémy; Lazzari, Claudio R; Casas, Jérôme

    2012-03-01

    Vision plays a major role in many spiders, being involved in prey hunting, orientation or substrate choice, among others. In Misumena vatia, which experiences morphological color changes, vision has been reported to be involved in substrate color matching. Electrophysiological evidence reveals that at least two types of photoreceptors are present in this species, but these data are not backed up by morphological evidence. This work analyzes the functional structure of the eyes of this spider and relates it to its color-changing abilities. A broad superposition of the visual field of the different eyes was observed, even between binocular regions of principal and secondary eyes. The frontal space is simultaneously analyzed by four eyes. This superposition supports the integration of the visual information provided by the different eye types. The mobile retina of the principal eyes of this spider is organized in three layers of three different types of rhabdoms. The third and deepest layer is composed by just one large rhabdom surrounded by dark screening pigments that limit the light entry. The three pairs of secondary eyes have all a single layer of rhabdoms. Our findings provide strong support for an involvement of the visual system in color matching in this spider. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Superhydrophobic ZnAl double hydroxide nanostructures and ZnO films on Al and glass substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    De, Debasis, E-mail: debasis.de@bcrec.ac.in [Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering Department, Dr. B C Roy Engineering College, Durgapur, West Bengal 713206 (India); Sarkar, D.K. [Centre Universitaire de Recherche sur l' Aluminium (CURAL), L' Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 555 Blvd. Université, Chicoutimi, Saguenay, Québec G7H 2B1 (Canada)

    2017-01-01

    Superhydrophobic nanostructured ZnAl: layered double hydroxides (LDHs) and ZnO films have been fabricated on Al and glass substrates, respectively, by a simple and cost effective chemical bath deposition technique. Randomly oriented hexagonal patterned of ZnAl: LDHs thin nanoplates are clearly observed on Al-substrate in the scanning electron microscopic images. The average size of these hexagonal plates is ∼4 μm side and ∼30 nm of thickness. While on the glass substrate, a oriented hexagonal patterned ZnO nanorods (height ∼5 μm and 1 μm diameter) are observed and each rod is further decorated throughout the top few nanometers with several nanosteps. At the top of the nanorod, a perfectly hexagonal patterned ZnO surface with ∼250 nm sides is observed. The tendency to form hexagonal morphological features is due to the hexagonal crystal structure of ZnO confirmed from X-ray diffraction patterns and transmission electron microscopy image. The ZnAl: LDHs and/or ZnO coated substrates have been passivated by using stearic acid (SA) molecules. Infrared spectra of passivated ZnAl: LDHs coated substrates confirm the presence of SA. X-ray diffraction pattern also corroborates the results of infrared spectrum. The contact angle of the as prepared samples is zero. The superhydrophobicity is achieved by observing contact angle of ∼161° with a hysteresis of ∼4° for Al-substrate. On the glass substrate, a higher contact angle of ∼168° with a lower hysteresis of ∼3° is observed. A lower surface roughness of ∼4.93 μm is measured on ZnAl: LDHs surface layer on the Al substrate as compare to a higher surface roughness of 6.87 μm measured on ZnO layer on glass substrate. The superhydrophobicity of passivated nanostructured films on two different substrates is observed due to high surface roughness and low surface energy. - Highlights: • ZnAl: layered double hydroxides (LDHs) nanoplates are fabricated on Al substrate. • ZnO nanorods are fabricated on

  11. Preparation and Characterization of FC Films Coated on PET Substrates by RF Magnetron Sputtering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huang Mei-lin

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Fluorocarbon (FC films were prepared on polyethylene terephthalate (PET plates and PET fabrics respectively by a radiofrequency (RF magnetron sputtering technique using polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE as a target. Scanning electron microscope and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to investigate the morphology, structure and composition of the obtained FC films. The hydrophobicity and uvioresistant properties of the FC film coated fabric were studied. The results show that the FC films were successfully deposited on the PET substrates by a RF magnetron sputtering. The deposited films are made up of four components -CF3, -CF2-, CF- and -C-. The proportions of the four components and surface morphologies of the deposited films vary with the sputtering conditions. Compared with the original fabric samples, the hydrophobicity of the FC film coated fabrics is quite good and improved significantly.

  12. Broadband anti-reflective and water-repellent coatings on glass substrates for self-cleaning photovoltaic cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Xiaoyu; He, Junhui; Liu, Weiyi

    2013-01-01

    Graphical abstract: High performance broadband antireflective and water-repellent coatings were fabricated on glass substrates, which can improve the short-circuit current of solar cells as much as 6.6% in comparison with glass substrates without the coatings. - Highlights: • Broadband anti-reflective and water-repellent coatings were fabricated. • Transmittance increased to 99.0%, significantly higher than that of commercial solar glasses. • The performance of standard solar cells with the AR coating was enhanced as much as 6.6%. - Abstract: High performance broadband antireflective (AR) and water-repellent coatings were fabricated on glass substrates by assembly of silica nanoparticles and polyelectrolytes via the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly technique, followed by calcination and hydrophobic modification. A porous poly(diallyladimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA)/20 nm SiO 2 nanoparticles (S-20) multilayer coating with AR property was prepared first. The maximum transmittance is as high as 99.0%, while that of the glass substrate is only 91.3%. After calcination and hydrophobic modification, the coating became water-repellent while maintaining the good AR property. Such water-repellent AR coatings can improve the short-circuit current of solar cells as much as 6.6% in comparison with glass substrates without the coatings. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe the morphology and thickness of coatings. Transmission spectra and reflection spectra were characterized by UV–vis spectrophotometer. The surface wettability was studied by a contact angle/interface system

  13. Physical properties of lanthanum monosulfide thin films grown on (100) silicon substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cahay, M.; Garre, K.; Wu, X.; Poitras, D.; Lockwood, D. J.; Fairchild, S.

    2006-06-01

    Thin films of lanthanum monosulfide (LaS) have been deposited on Si (100) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The films are golden yellow in appearance with a mirrorlike surface morphology and a sheet resistance around 0.1 Ω/□, as measured using a four-probe measurement technique. The thin films are characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), ellipsometry, and Raman spectroscopy. The root-mean-square variation of (1 μm thick) film surface roughness measured over a 1 μm2 area by AFM was found to be 1.74 nm. XRD analysis of fairly thick films (micrometer size) reveals the growth of the cubic rocksalt structure with a lattice constant of 5.863(7) A˚, which is close to the bulk LaS value. HRTEM images reveal that the films are comprised of nanocrystals separated by regions of amorphous material. Two beam bright field TEM images show that there is a strain contrast in the Si substrate right under the interface with the LaS film and penetrating into the Si substrate. This suggests that there is an initial epitaxial-like growth of the LaS film on the Si substrate that introduces a strain as a result of the 8% lattice mismatch between the film and substrate. Ellipsometry measurements of the LaS films are well characterized by a Drude-Lorentz model from which an electron concentration of about 2.52×1022 cm-3 and a mobility around 8.5 cm2/V s are derived. Typical crystalline LaS features were evident in Raman spectra of the films, but the spectra also revealed their disordered (polycrystalline) nature.

  14. Crystal morphology variation in inkjet-printed organic materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ihnen, Andrew C.; Petrock, Anne M.; Chou, Tsengming; Samuels, Phillip J.; Fuchs, Brian E.; Lee, Woo Y.

    2011-11-01

    The recent commercialization of piezoelectric-based drop-on-demand inkjet printers provides an additive processing platform for producing and micropatterning organic crystal structures. We report an inkjet printing approach where macro- and nano-scale energetic composites composed of cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX) crystals dispersed in a cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) matrix are produced by direct phase transformation from organic solvent-based all-liquid inks. The characterization of printed composites illustrates distinct morphological changes dependent on ink deposition parameters. When 10 pL ink droplets rapidly formed a liquid pool, a coffee ring structure containing dendritic RDX crystals was produced. By increasing the substrate temperature, and consequently the evaporation rate of the pooled ink, the coffee ring structure was mitigated and shorter dendrites from up to ∼1 to 0.2 mm with closer arm spacing from ∼15 to 1 μm were produced. When the nucleation and growth of RDX and CAB were confined within the evaporating droplets, a granular structure containing nanoscale RDX crystals was produced. The results suggest that evaporation rate and microfluidic droplet confinement can effectively be used to tailor the morphology of inkjet-printed energetic composites.

  15. The overall results of a study on the stimulatory effects of topical application of radioactive lantern mantle powder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mortazavi, S.M.J.; Rahmani, M.R.; Rahnama, A.; Saeed-Pour, A.; Nouri, E.; Hosseini, N.; Aghaiee, M.M.

    2007-01-01

    Complete text of publication follows. Background: Over the past 3 years we have studied the bio-stimulatory effects of the topical application of radioactive lantern mantle powder on rats' neck wounds. Poor educated people in some parts of Iran use burned mantles as a wound healing powder to prevent the bleeding and infections caused by injuries. Some lantern mantles contain low levels of radioactive thorium for maximizing the light output, while non-radioactive mantles contain yttrium. Although radioactive lantern mantles present a minimal radiation health hazard, it is generally believed when inhaled or ingested, thorium containing mantle powder, will be dangerous. In this paper the overall bio-stimulatory effects of burned radioactive lantern mantles on wound healing are presented. Materials and Methods: To perform surface area measurement, twenty rats were divided randomly into two groups of 10 animals each. After inducing general anesthesia, full thickness excision wound was made on the dorsal neck in all animals. The 1st group received topical burned radioactive lantern mantle powder at 1st-3rd day after making excision wounds. The 2nd group received non-radioactive lantern mantle powder at the same days. Accurate blind surface measurement of the wounds by transparency tracing was used for assessment of the wound healing at 1st, 3rd, 7th, 10th and 15th days after making wounds. For histological study, 36 male rats randomly divided into two groups of 18 animals each. Full thickness excision wound (314±31.4 mm2) was made on the dorsal neck in all animals after inducing general anesthesia. For the first 3 days, cases received topical application of the radioactive lantern mantle powder while controls received non-radioactive lantern mantle powder. Three, seven and fourteen days after wounding, 6 rats were chosen by random in each group for wound sampling. Finally to measure the tensile strength, an incision was made on the dorsal neck of the rats. Samples were

  16. Effects of RF plasma treatment on spray-pyrolyzed copper oxide films on silicon substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madera, Rozen Grace B.; Martinez, Melanie M.; Vasquez, Magdaleno R., Jr.

    2018-01-01

    The effects of radio-frequency (RF) argon (Ar) plasma treatment on the structural, morphological, electrical and compositional properties of the spray-pyrolyzed p-type copper oxide films on n-type (100) silicon (Si) substrates were investigated. The films were successfully synthesized using 0.3 M copper acetate monohydrate sprayed on precut Si substrates maintained at 350 °C. X-ray diffraction revealed cupric oxide (CuO) with a monoclinic structure. An apparent improvement in crystallinity was realized after Ar plasma treatment, attributed to the removal of residues contaminating the surface. Scanning electron microscope images showed agglomerated monoclinic grains and revealed a reduction in size upon plasma exposure induced by the sputtering effect. The current-voltage characteristics of CuO/Si showed a rectifying behavior after Ar plasma exposure with an increase in turn-on voltage. Four-point probe measurements revealed a decrease in sheet resistance after plasma irradiation. Fourier transform infrared spectral analyses also showed O-H and C-O bands on the films. This work was able to produce CuO thin films via spray pyrolysis on Si substrates and enhancement in their properties by applying postdeposition Ar plasma treatment.

  17. How metal films de-wet substrates-identifying the kinetic pathways and energetic driving forces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McCarty, Kevin F; Hamilton, John C; Thuermer, Konrad; Jones, Frank; Talin, A Alec; Bartelt, Norman C; Sato, Yu; K Schmid, Andreas; Saa, Angela; Figuera, Juan de la; Stumpf, Roland

    2009-01-01

    We study how single-crystal chromium films of uniform thickness on W(110) substrates are converted to arrays of three-dimensional (3D) Cr islands during annealing. We use low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) to directly observe a kinetic pathway that produces trenches that expose the wetting layer. Adjacent film steps move simultaneously uphill and downhill relative to the staircase of atomic steps on the substrate. This step motion thickens the film regions where steps advance. Where film steps retract, the film thins, eventually exposing the stable wetting layer. Since our analysis shows that thick Cr films have a lattice constant close to bulk Cr, we propose that surface and interface stress provide a possible driving force for the observed morphological instability. Atomistic simulations and analytic elastic models show that surface and interface stress can cause a dependence of film energy on thickness that leads to an instability to simultaneous thinning and thickening. We observe that de-wetting is also initiated at bunches of substrate steps in two other systems, Ag/W(110) and Ag/Ru(0001). We additionally describe how Cr films are converted into patterns of unidirectional stripes as the trenches that expose the wetting layer lengthen along the W[001] direction. Finally, we observe how 3D Cr islands form directly during film growth at elevated temperature. The Cr mesas (wedges) form as Cr film steps advance down the staircase of substrate steps, another example of the critical role that substrate steps play in 3D island formation.

  18. Pulsed laser deposition of SiC thin films at medium substrate temperatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Katharria, Y.S.; Kumar, Sandeep; Choudhary, R.J.; Prakash, Ram; Singh, F.; Lalla, N.P.; Phase, D.M.; Kanjilal, D.

    2008-01-01

    Systematic studies of thin silicon carbide (SiC) films deposited on Si (100) substrates using pulsed laser deposition technique at room temperature, 370 deg. C and 480 deg. C are carried out. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed the formation of SiC bonds in the films at these temperatures along with some graphitic carbon clusters. Fourier transform infrared analysis also confirmed the formation of SiC nanocrystallites in the films. Transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction were used to study the structural properties of nanocrystallites formed in the films. Surface morphological analysis using atomic force microscopy revealed the growth of smooth films

  19. Microstructure of epitaxial SrRuO 3 thin films on MgO substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ai, Wan Yong; Zhu, Jun; Zhang, Ying; Li, Yan Rong; Liu, Xing Zhao; Wei, Xian Hua; Li, Jin Long; Zheng, Liang; Qin, Wen Feng; Liang, Zhu

    2006-09-01

    SrRuO 3 thin films have been grown on singular (1 0 0) MgO substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) in 30 Pa oxygen ambient and at a temperature of 400-700 °C. Ex situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) as well as X-ray diffraction (XRD) θ/2 θ scan indicated that the films deposited above 650 °C were well crystallized though they had a rough surface as shown by atom force microscopy (AFM). XRD Φ scans revealed that these films were composed of all three different types of orientation domains, which was further confirmed by the RHEED patterns. The heteroepitaxial relationship between SrRuO 3 and MgO was found to be [1 1 0] SRO//[1 0 0] MgO and 45°-rotated cube-on-cube [0 0 1] SRO//[1 0 0] MgO. These domain structures and surface morphology are similar to that of ever-reported SrRuO 3 thin films deposited on the (0 0 1) LaAlO 3 substrates, and different from those deposited on (0 0 1) SrTiO 3 substrates that have an atomically flat surface and are composed of only the [1 1 0]-type domains. The reason for this difference was ascribed to the effect of lattice mismatch across the film/substrate interface. The room temperature resistivity of SrRuO 3 films fabricated at 700 °C was 300 μΩ cm. Therefore, epitaxial SrRuO 3 films on MgO substrate could serve as a promising candidate of electrode materials for the fabrication of ferroelectric or dielectric films.

  20. Self-Assembled Local Artificial Substrates of GaAs on Si Substrate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frigeri C

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract We propose a self-assembling procedure for the fabrication of GaAs islands by Droplet Epitaxy on silicon substrate. Controlling substrate temperature and amount of supplied gallium is possible to tune the base size of the islands from 70 up to 250 nm and the density from 107 to 109 cm−2. The islands show a standard deviation of base size distribution below 10% and their shape evolves changing the aspect ratio from 0.3 to 0.5 as size increases. Due to their characteristics, these islands are suitable to be used as local artificial substrates for the integration of III–V quantum nanostructures directly on silicon substrate.