Epitaxial growth and thermal-conductivity limit of single-crystalline Bi2Se3/In2Se3 superlattices on mica

Nano Research - Thermal transport in superlattices is governed by various phonon-scattering processes. For extracting the phonon-scattering contribution of hetero-interfaces in chalcogenide...     

Tensile Strength Evolution and Damage Mechanisms of Al–Si Piston Alloy at Different Temperatures

The Al–Si piston alloys always bear different temperatures because of its peculiar component structure and service condition. Therefore, the tensile strength, elongation to fracture, and corresponding damage mechanisms of Al12SiCuNiMg piston alloys (ASPA) have been investigated with in situ technique at different temperatures. The tensile properties show two‐stage tendencies: the former stage (25–280 °C) is determined by easily broken phases with inherent brittleness (such as primary Si), and the fracture behavior presents rapid brittle fracture after reaching the critical stress (about 430 MPa, based on in situ technique and the elastic stress field model). The later one (280–425 °C) is dominated by particles debonding and θphase coarsening. The plastic deformation behavior, dynamic recovery, and flow process become more significant on account of thermal activation. The Considère criterion h = K indicates that the transition of damage behaviors from insufficient local strength to insufficient matrix strength and the corresponding failure model shifts from brittle to ductile fracture. Based on the damage mechanisms, the elastic field model and thermal activation relation model have been established to characterize the strength of the ASPA at different temperature ranges.

     

Refractive indices of layers and optical simulations of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells

Cu(In,Ga)Se₂-based solar cells have reached efficiencies close to 23%. Further knowledge-driven improvements require accurate determination of the material properties. Here, we present refractive indices for all layers in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ solar cells with high efficiency. The optical bandgap of Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ does not depend on the Cu content in the explored composition range, while the absorption coefficient value is primarily determined by the Cu content. An expression for the absorption spectrum is proposed, with Ga and Cu compositions as parameters. This set of parameters allows accurate device simulations to understand remaining absorption and carrier collection losses and develop strategies to improve performances.     

Detwinning through migration of twin boundaries in nanotwinned Cu films under in situ ion irradiation

The mechanism of radiation-induced detwinning is different from that of deformation detwinning as the former is dominated by supersaturated radiation-induced defects while the latter is usually triggered by global stress. In situ Kr ion irradiation was performed to study the detwinning mechanism of nanotwinned Cu films with various twin thicknesses. Two types of incoherent twin boundaries (ITBs), so-called fixed ITBs and free ITBs, are characterized based on their structural features, and the difference in their migration behavior is investigated. It is observed that detwinning during radiation is attributed to the frequent migration of free ITBs, while the migration of fixed ITBs is absent. Statistics shows that the migration distance of free ITBs is thickness and dose dependent. Potential migration mechanisms are discussed.     

感兴趣区域的非线性变换多描述编码

介绍一种基于感兴趣区域的非线性变换的多描述图像编码,能够与目前的标准图像压缩算法兼容,对图像的感兴趣区域进行更好的保护。由感兴趣区域的非线性几何变换产生冗余,对图像进行采样形成多描述编码。通过仿真实验,证实当图像在差错信道下传输而丢失描述时,该算法能够使图像感兴趣区域得到更好的恢复。     

缓冲区结构效率分析

I/O设备与CPU的速度不匹配,制约了计算机系统性能的进一步提高。为此,根据计算机体系结构,对缓冲区结构的效率进行分析,使用EDA计算机辅助设计软件QuartusII设计异步双时钟FIFO缓冲区,并对其进行仿真验证及数据记录,通过对数据的分析,证明系统整体效率与FIFO效率密切相关,只有实现FIFO效率的最大化,才能使系统整体效率最大化,同时FIFO效率最大化也只能在完成系统效率最大化的过程中得以实现。     

Measurement of oocyte temporal maturation process by means of a simple optical micro-system

We present a simple optical micro-system used to measure the transmission spectra of oocytes in order to qualify their maturation stage. Two applications of the device are possible: (i) the evaluation of the maturation stages of oocytes, and (ii) the development of a fertilization indicator. For the first application, GV, MI and MII oocytes were also analysed. Transmission spectra allow the 3 maturation stages to be identified but cannot be used to estimate the maturity of an unknown oocyte. Oocytes are subject to continuous development. This is why spectral separation of the 3 maturation stages cannot be made although they can be visually identified. However, the visual observation remains biologist-dependent. We therefore investigated the temporal maturation evolution of the oocytes in terms of transmission spectra and probability analysis. Results show that oocytes to be fertilized should not only be chosen in the MII stage, but also at the right time during the MII stage. This particular aspect requires further investigation. However, spectral measurements could be used as a technique for monitoring the maturation evolution of the oocytes. Fertilized oocytes exhibiting fertilization abnormalities were also tested. The device proved to be an efficient fertilization indicator.     

Flexible H2 sensor fabricated by layer-by-layer self-assembly of thin films of polypyrrole and modified in situ with Pt nanoparticles

A novel flexible H₂ gas sensor was fabricated by the layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembly of a polypyrrole (PPy) thin film on a polyester (PET) substrate. A Pt-based complex was self-assembled in situ on the as-prepared PPy thin film, which was reduced to form a Pt-PPy thin film. Microstructural observations revealed that Pt nanoparticles formed on the surface of the PPy film. The sensitivity of the PPy thin film was improved by the Pt nanoparticles, providing catalytically active sites for H₂ gas molecules. The interfering gas NH₃ affected the limit of detection (LOD) of a targeted H₂ gas in a real-world binary gas mixture. A plausible H₂ gas sensing mechanism involves catalytic effects of Pt particles and the formation of charge carriers in the PPy thin film. The flexible H₂ gas sensor exhibited a strong sensitivity that was greater than that of sensors that were made of Pd-MWCNTs at room temperature.     

INTAMAP: The design and implementation of an interoperable automated interpolation web service

INTAMAP is a Web Processing Service for the automatic spatial interpolation of measured point data. Requirements were (i) using open standards for spatial data such as developed in the context of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), (ii) using a suitable environment for statistical modelling and computation, and (iii) producing an integrated, open source solution. The system couples an open-source Web Processing Service (developed by 52°North), accepting data in the form of standardised XML documents (conforming to the OGC Observations and Measurements standard) with a computing back-end realised in the R statistical environment. The probability distribution of interpolation errors is encoded with UncertML, a markup language designed to encode uncertain data. Automatic interpolation needs to be useful for a wide range of applications and the algorithms have been designed to cope with anisotropy, extreme values, and data with known error distributions. Besides a fully automatic mode, the system can be used with different levels of user control over the interpolation process.