Analysis of Temperature Effect in Quadruple Gate Nano-scale FinFET

Silicon - Quadruple gate FinFET is a promising candidate among other multi-gate MOS devices due to it’s better scalability and higher short channel effect suppression capability in advanced...     

Electrical Conductivity of Graphene Composites with In and In-Ga Alloy

Samples of composites of graphene with indium or indium-gallium alloy as the matrix were prepared by a process of spreading exfoliated graphene oxide on the foils, repeatedly folding and rolling. The foils were intermittently annealed and the process repeated by addition of more graphene oxide. Indium flux was used to remove any indium or gallium oxide. The samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction, and optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Electrical resistivity and temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) were measured using a four-probe method in the temperature range of 260 K to 340 K, and the results were used to determine the volume fraction of graphene from effective mean-field analysis. The volume fraction of graphene remained between 0.11 and 0.14 in samples of In with graphene and between 0.12 and 0.13 in samples of In-Ga with graphene. The results indicate that the electrical resistivity and the TCR of the composite were reduced by the addition of graphene. The resistivity of graphene remained between 1.19 × 10⁻⁶ ohm cm and 1.87 × 10⁻⁶ ohm cm in all samples and was thus almost independent of the matrix composition. The electrical resistivity of graphene was found to be an order of magnitude smaller than that of indium or the indium-gallium alloy.     

Biodegradation of Chemically Modified Jute Fibers

Degradation of lignocellulosic fibers such as untreated jute fibers and those treated with an alkaline solution of neem oil and phenolic resin are studied by monitoring enzyme activities during burial of fibers within a compost of organic soil and animal refuse. Results indicate that biodegradation of fibers is dominated initially by enzymatic hydrolysis of hemicellulose and amorphous cellulose and subsequently by crystalline cellulose degradation. For neem oil and phenolic resin treated fibers, the degradation of hemicelluloses and cellulose were found to proceed at a remarkably slower rate compared to untreated fibers due to relative nonavailability of degradable matter.     

Synthesis and characterization of quaternary ammonium PEGDA dendritic copolymer networks for water disinfection

Quaternary ammonium compounds are some of the most widely used antimicrobial agents for various medical applications due to their low toxicity and broad spectrum antimicrobial activity. Various generations of poly(ethyleneglycol)diacrylate (PEGDA) based dendrimers were synthesized by Michael addition reaction of PEGDA with ethylene diamine and diethyl amine. The percentage yield of different generation of dendrimers were 70%, 66%, 60%, and 85% for G1.0 (=), G1.5 (NH₂), G2.0 (=), and G2.5 (=, NEt₂), respectively. Synthesized dendrimers were also copolymerized with ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate by free radical bulk polymerization at room temperature using ammonium persulphate/N,N,N′,N′‐tetramethyl ethylenediamine as a redox initiator system to form dendritic copolymer networks. These networks were quaternized with hydrochloric acid by continuously refluxing at 40°C for 6 h. Dendrimers and quaternized dendritic copolymer networks were characterized by ¹HNMR, FTIR, Differential scanning calorimetry, Thermogravimetric analysis, Scanning electron microscope, swelling, and leaching studies. Synthesized quaternary ammonium dendritic copolymer networks were found to be biostable and insoluble in water and capable of killing both Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria when contaminated water was treated with them. It was also observed that antimicrobial efficiency of dendritic copolymer networks increases with the increase in nitrogen atoms in the copolymer. The dendritic copolymer network with 16 quaternary ammonium groups (G2.5 (=, NEt₂): EGDMA QHCl) were highly efficient to disinfect 10 mL bacterial solution of 2000 cfu/mL within 2 min even at a very low concentration of 0.005 g/mL. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Fibrinogen Replacement Therapy for Traumatic Coagulopathy: Does the Fibrinogen Source Matter?

Fibrinogen is the first coagulation protein to reach critically low levels during traumatic haemorrhage. There have been no differential effects on clinical outcomes between the two main sources of fibrinogen replacement: cryoprecipitate and fibrinogen concentrate (Fg-C). However, the constituents of these sources are very different. The aim of this study was to determine whether these give rise to any differences in clot stability that may occur during trauma haemorrhage. Fibrinogen deficient plasma (FDP) was spiked with fibrinogen from cryoprecipitate or Fg-C. A panel of coagulation factors, rotational thromboelastography (ROTEM), thrombin generation (TG), clot lysis and confocal microscopy were performed to measure clot strength and stability. Increasing concentrations of fibrinogen from Fg-C or cryoprecipitate added to FDP strongly correlated with Clauss fibrinogen, demonstrating good recovery of fibrinogen (r² = 0.99). A marked increase in Factor VIII, XIII and α₂-antiplasmin was observed in cryoprecipitate (p < 0.05). Increasing concentrations of fibrinogen from both sources were strongly correlated with ROTEM parameters (r² = 0.78–0.98). Cryoprecipitate therapy improved TG potential, increased fibrinolytic resistance and formed more homogeneous fibrin clots, compared to Fg-C. In summary, our data indicate that cryoprecipitate may be a superior source of fibrinogen to successfully control bleeding in trauma coagulopathy. However, these different products require evaluation in a clinical setting.     

Uncertainty in microscale gas damping: Implications on dynamics of capacitive MEMS switches

Effects of uncertainties in gas damping models, geometry and mechanical properties on the dynamics of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) capacitive switch are studied. A sample of typical capacitive switches has been fabricated and characterized at Purdue University. High-fidelity simulations of gas damping on planar microbeams are developed and verified under relevant conditions. This and other gas damping models are then applied to study the dynamics of a single closing event for switches with experimentally measured properties. It has been demonstrated that although all damping models considered predict similar damping quality factor and agree well for predictions of closing time, the models differ by a factor of two and more in predicting the impact velocity and acceleration at contact. Implications of parameter uncertainties on the key reliability-related parameters such as the pull-in voltage, closing time and impact velocity are discussed. A notable effect of uncertainty is that the nominal switch, i.e. the switch with the average properties, does not actuate at the mean actuation voltage. Additionally, the device-to-device variability leads to significant differences in dynamics. For example, the mean impact velocity for switches actuated under the 90%-actuation voltage (about 150 V), i.e. the voltage required to actuate 90% of the sample, is about 129 cm/s and increases to 173 cm/s for the 99%-actuation voltage (of about 173 V). Response surfaces of impact velocity and closing time to five input variables were constructed using the Smolyak sparse grid algorithm. The sensitivity analysis showed that impact velocity is most sensitive to the damping coefficient whereas the closing time is most affected by the geometric parameters such as gap and beam thickness.     

Compatibility studies on solution of polymer blends by viscometric and phase‐separation technique

Solution blending of polystyrene (PS) and natural rubber (NR) was carried out in toluene and chloroform to determine the compatibility. Experimental evidence for the compatibility of these blends was derived from viscometric and phase‐separation studies. The viscometric method was based on the intrinsic viscosities of transfer of polymer in pure and “mixed” solvents. The compatibility of these blends based on the heat of mixing was also examined theoretically. All the experimental and theoretical evidence show that the blends are incompatible at the compositions studied. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 77: 880–889, 2000     

Compatibilizing effect of poly(styrene)‐block‐poly(isoprene) copolymers in heterogeneous poly(styrene)/natural rubber blends

Compatibility of poly(styrene) (PS)/natural rubber (NR) blend is improved by the addition of diblock copolymer of poly(styrene) and cis‐poly(isoprene) (PS‐b‐PI). The compatibilizing effect has been investigated as a function of block copolymer molecular weight, composition and concentration. The effect of homopolymer molecular weight, processing conditions and mode of addition on the morphology of the dispersed phase have also been investigated by means of optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. A sharp decrease in phase dimensions is observed with the addition of a few percent of block copolymers. The effect levels off at higher concentrations. The leveling off could be an indication of interfacial saturation. For concentrations below the critical value, the particle size reduction is linear with copolymer volume fraction and agrees well with the prediction of Noolandi and Hong. The addition of the block copolymer improves the mechanical properties of the blend. An attempt is made to correlate the mechanical properties with the morphology of the blends. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry