Surface Modification of SiC Nanoparticles with PMMA by Low Temperature Plasma

An investigation into Poly （methyl methacrylate） （PMMA） grafted onto nano-SiC particles is reported in this study. In our experiment, the grafting polymerization reaction is induced by radio frequency （RF） discharge of N2 plasma treatment of the nanosized powder. FTIR （Fourier transform infrared spectrum）, XPS （X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy） and TGA （Thermogravimetric analysis） results reveal that PMMA is grafted onto the surface of silicon carbide powder, and the crystal structure of the silicon carbide powder observed with XRD （X- ray diffraction） spectra is unchanged before and after the plasma graft polymerization.     

Adsorption behavior of uranyl ions onto amino-type adsorbents prepared by radiation-induced graft copolymerization

Amino-type adsorbents(ATAs) were prepared by radiation-induced graft copolymerization of 4-hydroxybutyl acry late glycidyl ether(HB) onto a polyethylene-coated polypropylene(PE/PP) duplex fiber of a non-woven fabric,and modified with different amines of ethylenediamine(EDA),diethylenetriamine(DETA),triethylenetetramine(TETA) and diethylamine(DEA).The adsorption behavior of uranyl ions onto the ATAs was studied in batch experiments.The effects of the contact time,initial concentration of the ions,temperature,and pH value.The salinity were investigated along with the adsorption kinetics and the adsorption isotherms.The kinetic experimental data followed the pseudo second-order kinetic model,and the adsorption isotherms correlated well with the Langmuir model.The ATAs showed good efficiency in adsorbing uranyl ions,with the best saturation adsorption capacity being 64.26 mg g~(-1) for ATA-DETA within 120 min.The temperature dependence of ATADETA was quite abnormal and the quickest behavior was obtained at 25 ℃.ATAs showed good adsorption capacity over a wide pH range of 4.0-8.5,and HCl could be used in the elution process.Salinity of the solution had great effect on the adsorption capacity,3.5%salinity resulted in a 55%loss of capacity from ATA-DETA.The selectivity of ATA-DETA showed an order of:UO_2~(2+)≈Fe~(3+) Zn~(2+) VO_3~- Co~(2+) Ni~(2+).     

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of CrN Films Deposited by Inductively Coupled Plasma Enhanced Radio Frequency Magnetron Sputtering

CrN films have been synthesized on Si（100） wafer by inductively coupled plasma （ICP）-enhanced radio frequency （RF） magnetron sputtering. The effects of ICP power on microstructure, crystal orientation, nanohardness and stress of the CrN films have been investigated. With the increase of ICP power, the current density at substrate increases and the films exhibit denser structure, while the DC self-bias of target and the deposition rate of films decrease. The films change from crystal structure to amorphous structure with the increase of ICP power. The measured nanohardness and the compressive stress of films reach the topmost at ICP power of 150 W and 200 W, respectively. The mechanical properties of films show strong dependence on the crystalline structure and the density influenced by the ICP power.     

Microstructure,Hardness and Corrosion Resistance of ZrN Films Prepared by Inductively Coupled Plasma Enhanced RF Magnetron Sputtering

ZrN fihns were deposited on Si（111） and M2 steel by inductively coupled plasma （ICP）-enhanced RF magnetron sputtering. The effect of ICP power on the microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of ZrN films was investigated. When the ICP power is below 300 W, the ZrN films show a columnar structure. With the increase of ICP power, the texture coefficient （To） of the （111） plane, the nanohardness and elastic modulus of the films increase and reach the maximum at a power of 300 W. As the ICP Power exceeds 300 W, the films exhibit a ZrN and ZrNx mixed crystal structure without columnar grain while the nanohardness and elastic modulus of the films decrease. All the ZrN coated samples show a higher corrosion resistance than that of the bare M2 steel substrate in 3.5% NaCl electrolyte. The nanohardness and elastic modulus mostly depend on the crystalline structure and Tc of ZrN（111）.     

Numerical Investigation of Flow Fields in Inductively Coupled Plasma Wind Tunnels

Numerical simulations of 10 kW and 110 kW inductively coupled plasma （ICP） wind tunnels were carried out to study physical properties of the flow inside the ICP torch and vacuum chamber with air as tile working gas. Two-dimensional compressible axisymmetric Navier- Stokes （N-S） equations that took into account 11 species and 49 chemical reactions of air, were solved. A heat source model was used to describe the heating phenomenon instead of solving the electromagnetic equations. In the vacuum chamber, a four-temperature model was coupled with N-S equations. Numerical results for tile 10 kW ICP wind tunnel are presented and discussed in detail as a representative case. It was found that the plasma flow in the vacuum chamber tended to be in local thermoehemical equilibrium. To study the influence of operation conditions on the flow field, simulations were carried out for different chamber pressures and/or input powers. The computational results for the above two ICP wind tunnels were compared with corresponding experimental data. The computational and experimental results agree well, therefore the flow fields of ICP wind tunnels can be clearly understood.     

Surface Modification of Polyethylene by Heparin for Improvement of Antithrombogenicity

The purpose of this paper was to enhance blood compatibility of polyethylene （PE） film. PE film pretreated by argon plasma was subjected to ultraviolet （UV） -induced graft polymerization with Acrylic acid（AAc） （AAc-grafted PE films, PE-g-PAAc） without photo-initiator, then heparin was covalently immobilized on the PE surface （PE-g-HPAAc）. The surface properties and microstructure of PE-g-PAAc and PE-g-HPAAc were studied by static contact angle measurement, atomic force microscope （AFM）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） and Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy （ATR-FTIR）. It was confirmed that AAc and heparin were successfully immobilized onto the surface of PE film. Results of platelet adhesion experiments indicated that the antithrombogenicity of the modified PE film was remarkably improved.     

Optical Emission Spectroscopic Studies of ICP Ar Plasma

The ion line of 434.8 nm and atom line of 419.8 nm of Ar plasma produced by an inductively coupled plasma （ICP） were measured by optical emission spectroscopy and the influences from the working gas pressure, radio-frequency （RF） power and different positions in the discharge chamber on the line intensities were investigated in this study. It was found that the intensity of Ar atom line increased firstly and then saturated with the increase of the pressure. The line intensity of Ar^＋, on the other hand, reached a maximum value and then decreased along with the pressure. The intensity of the line in an RF discharge also demonstrated a jumping mode and a hysteresis phenomenon with the RF power. When the RF power increased to 400 W, the discharge jumped from the E-mode to the H-mode where the line intensity of Ar atom demonstrated a sudden increase, while the intensity of Ar^＋ ion only changed slightly. If the RF power decreased from a high value, e.g., 1000 W, the discharge would jump from the H-mode back to the E-mode at a power of 300 W. At this time the intensities of Ar and Ar^＋ lines would also decrease sharply. It was also noticed in this paper that the intensity of the ion line depended on the detective location in the chamber, namely at the bottom of the chamber the line was more intense than that in the middle of the chamber, but less intense than at the top, which is considered to be related to the capacitance coupling ability of the ICP plasma in different discharge areas.     

Enhanced Work Function of Al-Doped Zinc-Oxide Thin Films by Oxygen Inductively Coupled PlasmaTreatment简

Al-doped zinc-oxide （AZO） thin films treated by oxygen and chlorine inductively coupled plasma （ICP） were compared. Kelvin probe （KP） and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） were employed to characterize the effect of treatment. The results of KP measurement show that the surface work function of AZO thin films can increase up to 5.92 eV after oxygen ICP （O-ICP）＇s treatment, which means that the work function was increased by at least 1.1 eV. However, after the treatment of chlorine ICP （CI-ICP）, the work function increased to 5.44 eV, and the increment was 0.6 eV. And 10 days later, the work function increment was still 0.4 eV after O-ICP＇s treatment, while the work function after Cl-ICP＇s treatment came back to the original value only after 48 hours. The XPS results suggested that the O-ICP treatment was more effective than CI-ICP for enhancing the work function of AZO films, which is well consistent with KP results.     

Balmer Hα,Hβ and Hγ Spectral Lines Intensities in High-Power RF Hydrogen Plasmas

Hα（Balmer-alpha）, Hβ （Balmer-beta） and Hγ （Balmer-gamma） spectral line inten- sities in atomic hydrogen plasma are investigated by using a high-power RF source. The intensities of the Hα, Hβ and Hγ spectral lines are detected by increasing the input power （0-6 kW） of ICPs （inductively coupled plasmas）. With the increase of net input power, the intensity of Hα im- proves rapidly （0-2 kW）, and then reaches its dynamic equilibrium; the intensities of Hβ can be divided into three processes： obvious increase （0-2 kW）, rapid increase （2-4 kW）, almost constant （4-6 kW）; while the intensities of Hγ increase very slowly. The energy levels of the excited hydro- gen atoms and the splitting energy levels produced by an obvious Stark effect play an important role in the results.     

Development of Data Acquisition Card Driver for ICRH System on EAST

Presented in this paper is the development of the driver for the data acquisition card with a peripheral component interconnection （PCI） local bus on the ion cyclotron range of frequency heating （1CRH） system. The driver is mainly aimed at the embedded VxWorks system （real-time operating system） which is widely used in various fields of real-time systems. An efficient way is employed to develop this driver, which will advance the real-time control of the ICRH system on the experimental advanced superconductor tokamak （EAST）. The driver is designed using the TORNADO integrated development environment （IDE）, and implemented in C plus language. The details include the hardware configuration, analogue/digital （A/D） and digital/analogue （D/A） conversion, input and output （I/O） operation of the driver to support over five cards. The data acquisition card can be manipulated in a low-level program and meet the requirements of A/D conversion and D/A outputs.     

Simultaneous Oxidization of NOx and SO2 by a New Non-thermal Plasma Reactor Enhanced by Catalyst and Additive

The non-thermal plasma as one of the most promising technologies for removing NOx and SO2 has attrm~ted much attention. In this study, a new plasma reactor combined with catalyst and additive was developed to effectively oxidize and remove NOx and SO2 in the flue gas. The experimental results showed that TiO2 could improve the oxidation efficiency of SO2 in the case of applying plasma while having a negative effect on the oxidation process of NO and NOx. With the addition of NH3, the oxidation rates of NOx, NO and SO2 were slightly increased. However, the effect of adding NH3 on NOx oxidation was negative when the temperature was above 200℃.     

Role of Ion Beam Irradiation and Annealing Effect on the Deposition of AlON Nanolayers by Using Plasma Focus Device

AlON nanolayers are synthesized on Al substrate by the irradiation of energetic nitrogen ions using plasma focusing. Samples are exposed to multiple （5, 10, 15, 20 and 25） focus shots. Ion energy and ion number density range from 80 keV to 1.4 MeV and 5.6×10^19 m^- 3 to 1.3×10^19 m ^-3, respectively. Moreover, the effect of continuous annealing （473 K and 523 K） on an AlN surface layer synthesized with 25 focus shots is also examined. The main features of the X-ray diffraction （XRD） patterns with increasing focus shots are： （i） variation in the crystallinity of AlN along （111）, （200） and （311） planes, （ii） increasing average crystallite size of AlN （111） plane, and （iii） stress relaxation observed in AlN （111） and （200） planes. The crystallinity of AlN surface layer is comparatively better at 473 K annealing temperature. A broadened diffraction peak related to an aluminium oxide phase showing weak crystallinity is observed for 15 focus shots while non-bounded oxides are present in all other deposited layers. Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR） analysis confirm the presence of AlN and Al203 for the surface layer annealed at 473 K temperature. Raman analysis shows that the overlapping of AlN and Al2Oa results in the development of residual stresses. Scanning electron microscope （SEM） results demonstrate that the formation of rounded grains （range from 20 nm to 200 nm） and variations in their microstructures features depend on the increasing number of focus shots. Decomposition of larger clusters into smaller ones is observed.     

Simulation of Electron-Beam Generating Plasma at Atmospheric Pressure

As electron-beam generating plasma is widely applied, the software tool EGS4 （Electron-Gamma Shower） was used to simulate the transmission and energy deposition of electron-beam in air. The simulation results indicated that the range of the electron-beam was inversely proportional to the gas pressure in a wide range of gas pressure, and the electron-beam of 200 keV could generate a plasma with a density 10^11 cm^-3 in air of latm. In addition, the energy distribution of the beam-electron and plasma density profile produced by the beam were achieved.     

Density and temperature of fermions and bosons from quantum fluctuations

A novel method to determine the density and temperature of a system constituted by fermions and/or bosons is proposed based on quantum fluctuations. For fermions system, the results in the limit where the reached temperature T is small and where there is no constraint for the reached temperature T compared to the Fermi energy ~f at a given density p are given, respectively. Quadrupole and multiplicity fluctuation relations are derived in terms of T/6f. We compared the two set results in the limit when Tis much smaller compared to Fermi energy Cf and they are consistent, as expected. The classical limit is also obtained for high temperatures and low densities. For bosons system, quadrupole and multiplicity fluctuations using Landau＇s theory of fluctuations near the critical point for a Bose-Einstein condensate （BEC） at a given density p are derived. As an example, we apply our approach to heavy ion collisions using the Constrained Molecular Dynamics model （CoMD） which includes the fermionic statistics. The multiplicity fluctuation quenching for fermions is found in the model and confirmed by experimental data. To reproduce the available experimental data better, we propose a modification of the collision term in the approach to include the possibility of ct-a collisions. The relevant Bose-Einstein factor in the collision term is properly taken into account. This approach increases the yields of bosons relative to fermions closer to data. Boson fluctuations become larger than one as expected.     

Effect of Cold Plasma Treatment on Seed Germination and Growth of Wheat简

This study investigated the effect of cold helium plasma treatment on seed germina- tion, growth and yield of wheat. The effects of different power of cold plasma on the germination of treated wheat seeds were studied. We found that the treatment of 80 W could significantly improve seed germination potential （6.0%） and germination rate （6.7%） compared to the control group. Field experiments were carried out for wheat seeds treated with 80 W cold plasma. Com- pared with the control, plant height （20.3%）, root length （9.0%） and fresh weight （21.8%） were improved significantly at seedling stage. At booting stage, plant height, root length, fresh weight, stem diameter, leaf area and leaf thickness of the treated plant were respectively increased by 21.8%, 11.0%, 7.0%, 9.0%, 13.0% and 25.5%. At the same time, the chlorophyll content （9.8%）, nitrogen （10.0%） and moisture content （10.0%） were higher than those of the control, indicating that cold plasma treatment could promote the growth of wheat. The yield of treated wheat was 7.55 t-ha-1, 5.89% more than that of the control. Therefore, our results show that cold plasma has important application prospects for increasing wheat yield.     

Mechanical Properties of Thermoplastic Polyurethanes Laminated Glass Treated by Acid Etching Combined with Cold Plasma

To overcome the problem of interlaminar delamination of thermoplastic polyurethane laminated glass, silicate glass was etched with hydrofluoric acid and thermoplastic polyurethane was then treated with cold plasma. Compared with the untreated samples, the interlaminar shear strength of acid etching samples, cold plasma-treated samples and acid etching combined with cold plasma-treated samples increased by 97%, 84% and 341%, respectively. Acid etching combined with cold plasma-treated samples exhibited a higher flexural strength and strain as compared with the untreated samples. The impact energy of acid etching samples, cold plasmatreated samples and acid etching combined with cold plasma-treated samples increased by 8.7%, 8.1% and 11.6%, respectively, in comparison with the untreated samples. FT-IR analysis showed that a large number of -C-O, CO N and CO O C groups appeared on the surface of cold plasma-treated thermoplastic polyurethane, which resulted in the formation of hydrogen bonds. SEM results showed that some pittings formed on the surface of the silicate glass treated by acid etching, which resulted in the formation of a three-dimensional interface structure between tile silicate glass and polyurethane. Hydrogen bonds combined with the three-dimensional interface between silicate glass and polyurethanes co-improved the mechanical properties of thermoplastic polyurethanes laminated glass.     

A practical image reconstruction and processing method for symmetrically off-center detector CBCT system

CBCT scanners have been widely used in angiography, radiotherapy guidance, mammography and oral maxillofacial imaging. To cut detector size, reduce manufacturing costs and radiation dose while keeping a reasonable FOV, the flat panel detector can be placed off-center horizontally. This scanning configuration extends the FOV effectively. However, each projection is transversely truncated, bringing errors and artifacts in reconstruction. In this paper, a simple but practical method is proposed for this scanning geometry based on truncation compensation and the modified FDK algorithm. Numerical simulations with jaw phantom were conducted to evaluate the accuracy and practicability of the proposed method. A novel CBCT system for maxillofacial imaging is used for clinical test, which is equipped with an off-center small size flat panel detector. Results show that reconstruction accuracy is acceptable for clinical use, and the image quality appears sufficient for specific diagnostic requirements. It provides a novel solution for clinical CBCT system, in order to reduce radiation dose and manufacturing cost.     

Competition between fusion-evaporation and multifragmentation in central collisions in 58Ni＋4SCa at 25A MeV

The experimental data concerning the 58Ni＋48Ca reaction at Elab（Ni）=25A MeV, collected by using the CHIMERA 4n device, have been analyzed in order to investigate the competition among different reaction mechanisms for central collisions in the Fermi energy domain. As a main criterion for centrality selection we have chosen the flow angle （Snow） method, making an event-by-event analysis that considers the shape of events, as it is determined by the eigenvectors of the experimental kinetic-energy tensor. For the selected central events （8~ow〉60~） some global variables, good to characterize the pattern of central collisions have been constructed. The main features of the reaction products were explored by using different constraints on some of the relevant observables, like mass and velocity distributions and their correlations. Much emphasis was devoted, for central collisions, to the competition between fusion-evaporation processes with subsequent identification of a heavy residue and a possible multifragmentation mechanism of a well defined （if any） transient nuclear system. Dynamical evolution of the system and pre-equilibrium emission were taken into account by simulating the reactions in the framework of transport theories. Different approaches have been envisaged （dynamical stochastic BNV calculations ＋ sequential SIMON code, QMD, CoMD, etc.）. Preliminary comparison of the experimental data with BNV calculations shows reasonable agreement with the assumption of sequential multifragmentation emission in the mass region of IMFs close to the heavy residues. Possible deviations from sequential processes were found for those IMFs in the region of masses intermediate between the mass of heavy residues and the mass of light IMFs. Further simulations are in progress. The experimental analysis will be enriched also by information obtained inspecting the IMF-IMF correlation function, in order to elucidated the nature of space-time decay property of the emitting source associated with events having the largest IMF multiplicity.     

Magnetic Field Improvement in End Region of Rectangular Planar DC Magnetron Based on Particle Simulation

For a rectangular planar direct current （DC） magnetron, anomalous target erosion may occur in the curve-out region and inner side of the curved region. One key factor is that the magnetic field in the end region is weaker than that in the straight region, and another important factor may be that there is a circumferential component of the magnetic field in the curved region. Through a calculation of three-dimensional magnetic field for the rectangular magnetron, a magnet structure shimmed by permanent magnet bars and ferromagnetic bars is proposed to solve the above problems. Through a three-dimensional non-self-consistent particle simulation and the Yamamura/Tawara formula, the target erosion profile could be predicted. The simulation results show that for an improved uniformity in magnetic field, the entire target utilization could be much enhanced.     

Grafting Silane onto Silicate Glass Surface Treated by DBD in Air

Dielectric barrier discharge plasma in air was used to modify glass surface to induce the graft of silane onto the treated surface to increase the possibility of biomolecule immobilization. The plasma treated glass had been characterized by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflection spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） and surface water contact angle measurement. The validity of grafting silane onto glass surface was approved by the analysis of water contact angle measurement, SEM and XPS. The grafted silane content was measured by visible absorption spectroscopy using acid Orange-7. It is shown that the grafting density of silane for glass samples increases significantly after plasma treatment.