Modulation of electrical transport in calcium cobaltite ceramics and thick films through microstructure control and doping

Ca₃Co₄O₉ is a promising p-type thermoelectric oxide material having intrinsically low thermal conductivity. With low cost and opportunities for automatic large scale production, thick film technologies offer considerable potential for a new generation of micro-sized thermoelectric coolers or generators. Here, based on the chemical composition optimized by traditional solid state reaction for bulk samples, we present a viable approach to modulating the electrical transport properties of screen-printed calcium cobaltite thick films through control of the microstructural evolution by optimized heat-treatment. XRD and TEM analysis confirmed the formation of high-quality calcium cobaltite grains. By creating 2.0 at% cobalt deficiency in Ca_2.7Bi_0.3Co₄O_9+δ, the pressureless sintered ceramics reached the highest power factor of 98.0 μWm^?1 K^-2 at 823 K, through enhancement of electrical conductivity by reduction of poorly conducting secondary phases. Subsequently, textured thick films of Ca_2.7Bi_0.3Co_3.92O_9+δ were efficiently tailored by controlling the sintering temperature and holding time. Optimized Ca_2.7Bi_0.3Co_3.92O_9+δ thick films sintered at 1203 K for 8 h exhibited the maximum power factor of 55.5 μWm^?1 K^-2 at 673 K through microstructure control.     

Diluted chemical bath deposition of CdZnS as prospective buffer layer in CIGS solar cell

In this study, dilute chemical bath deposition technique has been used to deposit CdZnS thin films on soda-lime glass substrates. The structural, morphological, optoelectronic properties of as-grown films have been investigated as a function of different Zn²⁺ precursor concentrations. The X-ray diffractogram of CdS thin-film reveals a peak corresponding to (002) plane with wurtzite structure, and the peak shift has been observed with the increase of the Zn²⁺ concentration upon formation of CdZnS thin film. From morphological studies, it has been revealed that the diluted chemical bath deposition technique provides homogeneous distribution of film on the substrate even at a lower concentration of Zn²⁺. Optical characterization has shown that the transparency of the film is influenced by Zn²⁺ concentration and when the Zn²⁺ concentration is varied from 0 M to 0.0256 M, bandgap values of resulting films range from 2.42 eV to 3.90 eV while. Furthermore, electrical properties have shown that with increasing zinc concentration the resistivity of the film increases. Finally, numerical simulation validates and suggests that CdZnS buffer layer with composition of 0.0032 M Zn²⁺ concentration would be a promising candidate in CIGS solar cell.     

超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法同时检测糕点中6种甜味剂

目的建立超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法同时测定糕点中6种常用合成甜味剂的分析方法。方法选用超纯水作为提取溶剂,涡旋和超声提取后,低温离心,取部分上清液加入正己烷除脂,Waters Atlantis■T3色谱柱、甲醇-5 mmol/L甲酸铵(含0.1%甲酸)作为流动相、亲水亲脂平衡型固相萃取柱HLB(hydrophile-lipophile balance)净化。结果6种甜味剂在质量浓度为10~200 ng/mL的曲线范围内呈良好线性关系,相关系数r均大于0.999,平均加标回收率在85.0%-98.2%之间,相对平均偏差(relative standard deviation,RSD)为1.3%~6.7%。结论该方法具有前处理简单、灵敏度高、检测速度快等优点,适合糖精钠、甜蜜素、三氯蔗糖、阿斯巴甜、阿力甜、纽甜的检测,但不适用于安赛蜜的检测。     

Large domain-wall currents in epitaxial Au/BiFeO3/SrRuO3 thin-film capacitors with modulated oxygen vacancy and wall densities

Large domain wall (DW) conductivity in an insulating ferroelectric plays an important role in the future nanosensors and nonvolatile memories. However, the wall current was usually too small to drive high-speed memory circuits and other agile nanodevices requiring high output-powers. Here, a large domain-wall current of 67.8 μA in a high on/off ratio of ~4460 was observed in an epitaxial Au/BiFeO₃/SrRuO₃ thin-film capacitor with the minimized oxygen vacancy concentration. The studies from read current-write voltage hysteresis loops and piezo-response force microscope images consistently showed remaining of partially unswitched domains after application of an opposite poling voltage that increased domain wall density and wall current greatly. A theoretical model was proposed to explain the large wall current. According to this model, the domain reversal occurs with the appearance of head-to-head and tail-to-tail 180° domain walls (DWs), resulting in the formation of highly conductive wall paths. As the applied voltage increased, the domain-wall number increased to enhance the on-state current, in agreement with the measurements of current-voltage curves. This work paves a way to modulate DW currents within epitaxial Au/BiFeO₃/SrRuO₃ thin-film capacitors through the optimization of both oxygen vacancy and domain wall densities to achieve large output powers of modern domain-wall nanodevices.     

Photophysical investigation of the formation of defect levels in P doped ZnO thin films

Zinc oxide (ZnO) offers a major disadvantage of asymmetry doping in terms of reliability, stability, and reproducibility of p-type doping, which is the main hindrance in realization of optoelectronic devices. The problem is even more complicated due to formation of various native defects in unintentionally doped n-type ZnO. The realization of p-type conductivity in doped ZnO requires an in-depth understanding of the formation of an effective shallow acceptor, as well as donor-acceptor compensation. Photophysical properties such as photoconductivity along with photoluminescence (PL) studies have unprecedentedly and effectively been utilized in this work to monitor the evolution of various in-gap defects. Phosphorus (P) doped ZnO thin films have been grown by RF magnetron sputtering under various Ar to O₂ gas ratios to investigate the effect of O₂ on the donor-acceptor compensation by comprehensive photoconductivity measurements supported by the PL studies. Initial elemental analyses indicate presence of abundant zinc vacancies (V_Zn) in O-rich ambience. The results predict that P sits in the zinc (Zn) site rather than the oxygen (O) site causing the formation of P_Zn–2V_Zn acceptor-like defects, which compensates the donor defects in P doped ZnO films. Photocurrent spectra uniquely reveal presence of more oxygen vacancies (V_O) defects states in lower O₂ flow, which gets compensated with an increase in the O₂ flow. Successive photocurrent transients indicate probable presence of more V_O in the films grown with lower O₂ flow and more V_Zn in higher O₂ flow. Overall the photosensitivity measurements clearly present that O-rich ambience expedites the formation of acceptor defects which are compensated, thereby lowering the dark current and enhancing the ultraviolet photosensitivity.     

Enhanced electrochemical performance of LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 via titanium and boron co-doping

Titanium and boron are simultaneously introduced into LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂ to improve the structural stability and electrochemical performance of the material. X-ray diffraction studies reveal that Ti⁴⁺ ion replaces Li⁺ ion and reduces the cation mixing; B³⁺ ion enters the tetrahedron of the transition metal layers and enlarges the distance of the [LiO₆] layers. The co-doped sample has spherical secondary particles with elongated and enlarged primary particles, in which Ti and B elements distribute uniformly. Electrochemical studies reveal the co-doped sample has improved rate performance (183.1 mAh·g^-1 at 1 C and 155.5 mAh·g^-1 at 10 C) and cycle stability (capacity retention of 94.7% after 100 cycles at 1 C). EIS and CV disclose that Ti and B co-doping reduces charge transfer impedance and suppresses phase change of LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O_2.     

Optimized microwave absorption properties by tailoring the morphology of carbon coated TiC nanoparticles by N2 pressure

Increasing the dielectric loss capacity plays an important role in enhancing the electromagnetic absorption performance of materials. It remains a challenge to simultaneously introduce multiple types of dielectric losses in the material. In this work, we show that the atomic and interfacial dipole polarizations can be simultaneously enhanced by substituting N species into both carbon coating layers and bulk TiC lattices of a core-shell TiC@C material. Additionally, substitution of N species results more exposed TiC(111) facets and refines the TiC grain sizes in the bulk material, which is beneficial for enhancing the scattering of the external electromagnetic waves. The maximum reflection loss of the N substituted TiC@C material is measured as ?47.1 dB with an effective absorbing bandwidth of 4.83 GHz at 1.9 mm, which illustrates a valuable way to further tuning the electromagnetic absorption performance of this type of materials.     

毫米波三维异质异构集成技术的进展与应用

三维异质异构集成技术是实现电子信息系统向着微型化、高效能、高整合、低功耗及低成本方向发展的最重要方法,也是决定信息化平台中微电子和微纳系统领域未来发展的一项核心高技术。文章详细介绍了毫米波频段三维异质异构集成技术的优势、近年来的发展趋势以及面临的挑战。利用硅基MEMS 光敏复合薄膜多层布线工艺可实现异质芯片的低损耗互连,同时三维集成高性能封装滤波器、高辐射效率封装天线等无源元件,还能很好地处理布线间的电磁兼容和芯片间的屏蔽问题。最后介绍了一款新型毫米波三维异质异构集成雷达及其在远距离生命体征探测方面的应用。     

Development of an SFMM/CGO composite electrode with stable electrochemical performance at different oxygen partial pressures

This paper carefully evaluates the electrocatalytic activity of Sr₂FeMo_0.5Mn_0.5O₆ (SFMM) double perovskite as a candidate to substitute the state-of-the-art Ni/YSZ fuel electrode. The electrochemical performance of a 40% SFMM/CGO composite electrode was studied in CO/CO₂ and H₂ with different oxygen partial pressure. Two different cell configurations are prepared at a relatively low temperature of 800 °C to increase the electrochemically active surface area. The cell was supported with a 150 μm 10Sc1CeSZ electrolyte in the first configuration. The cell in the second configuration was made by applying a 400 nm thin 8YSZ layer on 150 μm CGO electrolyte to improve the electrolyte ionic conductivity. Improving catalytic activity with increasing oxygen partial pressure is a key characteristic of the developed electrode. The polarization resistance of about 0.34 and 0.56 Ω cm² at 750 °C in 3%H₂O + H₂ and 60% CO/CO₂ makes this electrode a promising candidate for SOCs application.