Copper planar microcoils applied to magnetic actuation

Recent advances in microtechnology allow realization of planar microcoils. These components are integrated in MEMS as magnetic sensor or actuator. In the latter case, it is necessary to maximize the effective magnetic field which is proportional to the current passing through the copper track and depends on the distance to the generation microcoil. The aim of this work was to determine the optimal microcoil design configuration for magnetic field generation. The results were applied to magnetic actuation, taking into account technological constraints. In particular, we have considered different realistic configurations that involve a magnetically actuated device coupled to a microcoil. Calculations by a semi-analytical method using Matlab software were validated by experimental measurements. The copper planar microcoils are fabricated by UV micromoulding on different substrates: flexible polymer (Kapton^®) and silicate on silicon. They are constituted by a spiral-like continuous track. Their total surface is about 1 mm².     

Study of the effect of water on thermal and operating degradation of BaMgAl10O17: Eu2+ (BAM) blue phosphor

Abstract— From the adsorption and desorption characteristics of water, we showed that water can intercalate into BaMgAl₁₀O₁₇: Eu²⁺ blue phosphor. ESR, XANES, and XPS analyses confirmed that oxidation by water causes thermal degradation of BAM. We also demonstrated that intercalated water accelerates luminance degradation under VUV irradiation and showed oxidation of Eu²⁺ during panel operation by means of μ‐XPS. We concluded that the cause of thermal and operating degradation of BAM is the oxidation of Eu²⁺ due to water.     

The reduction of driving voltage in organic light-emitting devices by inserting step barrier layer

The electron injection and transport in OLEDs have been improved by using a tris-[8-hydroxyquinoline] gallium (Gaq) layer as step barrier between tris-[8-hydroxyquinoline]aluminum (Alq₃) (or 4,7-diphyenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (Bphen)) and 2-t-butyl-9,10-di-(2-naphthyl)anthracene (TBADN). Since the LUMO (lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) of Gaq (2.9 eV) lies in between that of Alq₃ (3.1 eV) (or Bphen (3.0 eV)) and TBADN (2.8 eV), step barrier from Alq₃ (or BPhen) though Gaq to TBADN can be formed. The experimental results indicate that the J–V characteristics of both the electron-only and the complete devices show the increase of the current density in devices with step barrier compared with the devices without step barrier. For electron-only devices, the driving voltage at the current density of 20 mA/cm² is reduced from 7.9 V to 4.9 V for devices with Alq₃, and from 4.2 V to 3.1 V for devices with BPhen, respectively, owing to the introduction of step barrier. For the complete devices, when Gaq step barrier is introduced, at 20 mA/cm², the driving voltage is reduced from 7 V to 5.8 V for devices with Alq₃ and from 6.2 V to 5.1 V for devices with BPhen. It has also been observed that for devices with step barrier layer, the luminance at 200 mA/cm² is increased from 1992 cd/m² to 3281 cd/m² for device with Alq₃, and from 1745 cd/m² to 2876 cd/m² for devices with BPhen, respectively. The highest luminance reaches 3420 cd/m² in devices with Alq₃ as ETL and 3176 cd/m² in devices with BPhen as ETL after the introduction of step barrier. The phenomena are explained by using tunnel theory.     

Nano- and microsized metal oxide thin film gas sensors

Functional micro- and nanosized metal oxide thin film structures are very promising candidate for future gas-sensors. Their reduced size offers an increased surface to volume ratio thus improving sensitivity and sensor performance. Whilst most experimental nanostructures are produced using a bottom-up approach, a top-down sputtering technique for structuring nano-sized gas sensitive metal oxide areas is presented in this letter. Oxidised silicon wafers were used as substrates. The silicon dioxide film of 1 μm thickness was prepared by thermal oxidation in order to insulate the gas sensing elements from the substrate. The sensor chips had an overall size of (1.5 × 1.5) mm² onto which a Ta/Pt film (20/200 nm thickness) was deposited and patterned to act as electrodes, heater and temperature sensor. In a second step micro-scaled tin dioxide layers (60 nm thick, 5 μm width) were deposited by sputtering techniques and photolithographical patterning between the platinum micro-electrodes (4 μm gap). Finally, the width of the stripes was reduced using focused ion beam technology to obtain the desired size and structure. This enables the control of the dimensions of the structures down to the resolution limit of the FIB-system which is about 10 nm. The structural and electrical characterisation of the sensors and their responses during exposure to several test gases including O₂, CO, NO₂ and H₂O are presented as well.     

Asymmetric source/drain offset structure for reduced leakage current in polycrystalline‐silicon thin‐film transistors

Abstract— An asymmetric source/drain offset structured (AOS) polycrystalline‐silicon (poly‐Si) thin‐film transistor (TFT) has ben developed by employing alternating magnetic‐field‐enhanced rapid thermal annealing (AMFERTA). The realized AOS poly‐Si TFT, with long drain‐side offset length L_Off1 and short source‐side offset length L_Off2, considerably suppresses leakage current without sacrificing ON‐current. The offset regions of the AOS TFT are naturally lightly doped due to the diffusion of n⁺ ions by AMFERTA crystallization. The fabrication process of the AOS TFT does not require any additional offset mask step or doping process. Experimental results show that the leakage current is considerably suppressed when the drain‐side offset length L_Off1 is larger than 1.25 μm.     

Characterization of RF sputtered thin film potassium sodium niobate (KNN) with silicon and nickel electrodes

A low cost recipe for thin film deposition of Potassium Sodium Niobate, (Na,K)NbO₃ (KNN) is pursued. The use of expensive noble metals as electrodes was avoided and instead highly doped silicon was used for both the structural layer and the bottom electrode. Nickel was used for the top electrode. In order to evaluate the outcome, the films were studied in terms of stoichiometry, crystal structure and leakage current density. RF sputtering of thin films of KNN at room temperature was successfully done. Proper crystal structure (Perovskite structure) was achieved after post deposition annealing. Though the leakage current density exhibited high dependency on the polarity of the applied voltage, a leakage current density of 1 × 10⁻⁶ A/cm² at 100 kV/cm was measured. A stoichiometry study revealed that the relative ratio of the volatile elements (Na and K) in the samples was within the acceptable range, however, a total loss of about 25–33 % was observed.

     

CO oxidation catalyzed by silicon carbide (SiC) monolayer: A theoretical study

Developing metal−free catalysts for CO oxidation has been a key scientific issue in solving the growing environmental problems caused by CO emission. In this work, the potential of the silicon carbide (SiC) monolayer as a metal−free catalyst for CO oxidation was systematically explored by means of density functional theory (DFT) computations. Our results revealed that CO oxidation reaction can easily proceed on SiC nanosheet, and a three-step mechanism was proposed: (1) the coadsorption of CO and O₂ molecules, followed by (2) the formation of the first CO₂ molecule, and (3) the recovery of catalyst by a second CO molecule. The last step is the rate−determining one of the whole catalytic reaction with the highest barrier of 0.65 eV. Remarkably, larger curvature is found to have a negative effect on the catalytic performance of SiC nanosheet for CO oxidation. Therefore, our results suggested that flat SiC monolayer is a promising metal-free catalyst for CO oxidation.     

Estimating northern peatland CO2 exchange from MODIS time series data

Studies using satellite sensor-derived data as input to models for CO₂ exchange show promising results for closed forest stands. There is a need for extending this approach to other land cover types, in order to carry out large-scale monitoring of CO₂ exchange. In this study, three years of eddy covariance data from two peatlands in Sweden were averaged for 16-day composite periods and related to data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and modeled photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD). Noise in the time series of MODIS 250 m vegetation indices was reduced by using double logistic curve fits. Smoothed normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) showed saturation during summertime, and the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) generally gave better results in explaining gross primary productivity (GPP). The strong linear relationships found between GPP and the product of EVI and modeled PPFD (R² = 0.85 and 0.76) were only slightly stronger than for the product of EVI and MODIS daytime 1 km land surface temperature (LST) (R² = 0.84 and 0.71). One probable reason for these results is that several controls on GPP were related to both modeled PPFD and daytime LST. Since ecosystem respiration (ER) was largely explained by diurnal LST in exponential relationships (R² = 0.89 and 0.83), net ecosystem exchange (NEE) was directly related to diurnal LST in combination with the product of EVI and modeled PPFD in multiple exponential regressions (R² = 0.81 and 0.73). Even though the R² values were somewhat weaker for NEE, compared to GPP and ER, the RMSE values were much lower than if NEE would have been estimated as the sum of GPP and ER. The overall conclusion of this study is that regression models driven by satellite sensor-derived data and modeled PPFD can be used to estimate CO₂ fluxes in peatlands.     

Direct bonding with on-wafer metal interconnections

A low temperature direct bonding process with encapsulated metal interconnections was proposed. The process can be realized between silicon wafers or silicon and glass wafers. To establish well-insulated electric connection, sputtered aluminum film was patterned between a bottom thermal SiO₂ and a top PE-SiO₂; the consequential uneven wafer surface was planarized through a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) step. Benefit from this smooth surface finish, direct bonding is achieved at room temperature, and a general yielding rate of more than 95% is obtained. Test results confirmed the reliability of the bonding. The main advantages of this new technology are its electric connectivity, low thermal stress and hermeticity. This process can be utilized for the packaging of micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) devices or the production of SOI wafers with pre-fabricated electrodes and wires.     

Design and simulation of pyroelectric detectors with nanometer size spider-web for low thermal conductance

We report the design and simulation of uncooled pyroelectric detectors which utilizes a nanometer sized mesh or truss to support the suspended detector. Pyroelectric detector is a class of thermal detector in which the change in temperature causes the change in the spontaneous polarization in the sensing material. Ca modified lead titanate (PCT) was selected as the thermometer in the detector because of its high pyroelectric figure of merit. The design and simulation of pyroelectric detectors have been conducted by simulating the structure with Intellisuite™. Finite element method (FEM) was used to simulate the structural and thermal properties of the device. The simulated detectors had a spider web-like structure with each of the strut (ring) of spider web had a width of 100 nm. In the design, the pyroelectric detectors utilized Ni_0.8Cr_0.2 absorber, PCT sensing layer, Ti electrodes, Al₂O₃ structural layer to obtain low thermal conductance between the detector and Si substrate. Three different types of pyroelectric detectors were designed and analyzed. The first design had linear electrode and simple spider web support. The value of the thermal conductance of this detector was found to be 3.98 × 10⁻⁸ W/K. The second design had a longer thermal path than the first one and the thermal conductivity of this device was found to be 2.41 × 10⁻⁸ W/K. High detectivity was obtained by reducing the thermal conductance between the sensing layer and the substrate or the heat sink in the third design. The design was optimized for the best result by modifying the shape, dimension and thickness of various layers namely absorber, electrodes, sensing layer, and struts. The thermal conductance between the sensor and the substrate using the third design was found to be as low as 4.57 × 10⁻⁹ W/K which is significantly lower than previously reported values. The thicknesses of the web structure, web support, electrodes, sensing layer, and absorber of the final structure were 2, 1, 0.5, 2, and 0.2 µm respectively for this value of thermal conductance. The absorber diameter was 50 µm and the diameter of the spider web was 200 µm. A total of 80 struts with 100 nm width were used in the design.

     

Azo‐dye aligning layers for liquid‐crystal cells

Abstract— The photo‐induced alignment of liquid crystal onto a photochemical stable azo‐dye film was studied for liquid‐crystal display (LCD) applications. The photo‐aligning of azo dye takes place due to the pure reorientation of the molecular absorption oscillators perpendicular to the UV‐light polarization. The order parameters S = ?0.4 (80% of the maximum absolute value S_m = ?0.5) was measured at a wavelength of 372 nm from the polarized absorption spectra. The temperature‐stable pretilt angle of 5.3° was obtained by a two‐step exposure of azo‐dye film using normally incident polarized light followed by oblique non‐polarized light. The azimuthal anchoring energy of the photo‐aligned substrate was A_? > 10^?4 J/m², which is of the same magnitude as the anchoring of the rubbed PI layer. The VHR value of the photo‐aligned LC cell was also found to be very high (98–99%) at room temperature and more than 95% at T=80°C. The thermal stability of the photo‐aligned azo‐dye layers is sufficiently high, while UV stability has to be improved, _e.g., by polymerization. The new LCD aligning technology based on photochemical stable azo‐dye layers is envisaged.     

Development and characterization of a microthermoelectric generator with plated copper/constantan thermocouples

This work reports the development and the characterization of a microthermoelectric generator (μTEG) based on planar technology using electrochemically deposited constantan and copper thermocouples on a micro machined silicon substrate with a SiO₂/Si₃N₄/SiO₂ thermally insulating membrane to create a thermal gradient. The μTEG has been designed and optimized by finite element simulation in order to exploit the different thermal conductivity of silicon and membrane in order to obtain the maximum temperature difference on the planar surface between the hot and cold junctions of the thermocouples. The temperature difference was dependent on the nitrogen (N₂) flow velocity applied to the upper part of the device. The fabricated thermoelectric generator presented maximum output voltage and power of 118 mV/cm² and of 1.1 μW/cm², respectively, for a device with 180 thermocouples, 3 kΩ of internal resistance, and under a N₂ flow velocity of 6 m/s. The maximum efficiency (performance) was 2 × 10^?3 μW/cm² K².     

Convective Poiseuille flow of Al2O3-EG nanofluid in a porous wavy channel with thermal radiation

In current article, convective Poiseuille boundary layer flow of ethylene glycol (C₂H₆O₂)-based nanofluid with suspended aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) nanoparticles through a porous wavy channel has been examined. The impact of thermal radiation, Ohmic dissipation, electric field, and magnetic fields are also considered. The flow is due to constant pressure gradient in a wavy frame of reference. The governed momentum and thermal boundary layer equations is system of PDE’s, which are converted to system of ODE’s via suitable similarity transformations. The homotopy analysis method is applied to solve the governed flow problem. Convergence of series solutions is inspected through h-curves and residual errors norm, whereas the optimal value of convergence control parameter is obtained by means of genetic algorithm Nelder–Mead approach. The influence of numerous involving parameters like Hartmann number, Grashof number, Eckert number, electric parameter, radiation parameter, and porosity parameter on flow, heat transfer, skin friction coefficient and Nusselt number are illustrated through graphs and discussed briefly.

     

Comparative analysis of methods for determining the metabolic rate in order to provide a balance between man and the environment

The incorrect determination of metabolic rate can be linked to discrepancies between the model of the PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) and real thermal sensation collected in field studies. Aiming to improve the correlation of the PMV model and the real thermal sensation, this work established new values for the metabolic rate: one way being called “calculated” using Newton's Method and the other called "measured" using a metabolic analyzer. Welder's activities were evaluated, through the measurements of environmental and personal variables. New values of metabolic rate were determined for this activity. The values found for the calculated form and the measured one were, respectively, 178.63 and 145.46 W/m², different from the range provided by the table of ISO 8996 (2004) for this activity (75–125 W/m²). In order to verify which of the values of the metabolic rate was closer to the real thermal sensation of PMV, a linear regression was made between the PMV and the real thermal sensation in three ways: S × PMV_tabulated (R² = 0.1749), S × PMV_calculated (R ² = 0.7481) and S × PMV_measured (R² = 0.7854). It was found that the values measured by the instrument gave a higher coefficient of determination which was chosen for the correction of the table. The correction of the table provides a value of M_predicted, that is a value of metabolic rate that corrects the values provided by the tables of ISO 8996 (2004), by means of a correction coefficient. For the welder's activities in a metal-mechanics industry, tabulated values can be multiplied by the correction coefficient 1.4648 in order to minimize inaccuracies. The PMV_predicted, obtained through the M_predicted, when related to the actual thermal sensation, provides a coefficient of determination of 0.7511, thereby improving the model of the PMV.     

Effect of Ge interface control layer on the interfacial and electrical properties of TaYOx thin films on GaAs substrates

Effects of a Ge interface control layer on the electrical properties of RF sputter-deposited TaYO_x on n-GaAs substrates are studied in detail. It is found that the incorporation of an ultrathin Ge layer in between TaYO_x and GaAs substrate improve various electrical parameters such as interface state density, border trap density, frequency dispersion, leakage current density and flat-band shift thereby improving capacitor performance. The trapping of charge carriers in GaAs MOS capacitors during constant voltage stress has also been studied and the increase in gate leakage current observed during electrical stress is estimated and explained by taking into account the build up of trap charges and stress induced trap generation. The cross-section of traps is also estimated to be in the range of 10⁻¹⁸ cm². Such a small value for the capture cross-section implies that the generated traps are neutral centers which are probably responsible for trap-assisted tunneling during voltage stressing.

     

微结构参数对多孔硅层热绝缘性能的影响

研究了多孔硅层厚度,孔隙率以及多孔硅中微晶粒尺寸三个微结构参数对其热绝缘性的影响机制.实验选用p ,p-两种掺杂浓度的硅片基底,采用电化学腐蚀法,通过改变腐蚀时间和腐蚀电流密度获得不同微结构参数的多孔硅层.分别采用显微拉曼光谱法及测量显微镜聚焦法测量了样品的热导率和厚度.研究发现,多孔硅层厚度影响热量传输路径,而孔隙率和微晶粒尺寸通过降低热导率从而使多孔硅的绝热性增强.     

Study of thermal stability of CoSb3 skutterudite by Knudsen effusion mass spectrometry

Thermoelectric materials play an important role in the field of renewable energy for their ability of thermal energy conversion into electricity (thermoelectric generator) and reversibly electric energy conversion into thermal energy (thermoelectric heat pump or Peltier cooling). Doped CoSb₃ based skutterudites represent one of the very promising categories for the development of highly efficient thermoelectric materials for the conversion of waste heat to electricity. The thermoelectric efficiency, however, is closely related to thermal and phase stability as the current materials contain volatile elements (Sb, Sr, Yb, etc.), which can evaporate at operation conditions and thus cause structure changes and damage the thermoelectric properties. For a better understanding of the thermal behaviour of complex multicomponent CoSb₃ based skutterudite systems, a study of the thermal stability of primary CoSb₃ skutterudite is necessary.In this work, the thermal and phase stability of primary CoSb₃ skutterudite prepared by ball milling and hot pressing was investigated using thermal analysis and Knudsen effusion mass spectrometry performed on a Netzsch STA 409 CD/3/403/5/G apparatus, a specially-adapted type of the commercial STA 409 CD - QMS 403/5 Skimmer Coupling Instrument. Results, including data on phase transformations and those from vapour pressure measurements of antimony, supported by measurements of diffusion profiles and microstructure observations are summarized and used for evaluation of the long term thermal stability of the material.     

Stability effect of some organic and inorganic additions in the EMITFSI–LiTFSI nanocomposite electrolytes for lithium-air batteries

Since the EMITFSI/LiTFSI electrolyte possess low viscosity, high ionic conductivity and thermal stability properties, in this study, 1M 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazoliumbis (trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide (EMITFSI)/Lithium bis (trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide (LiTFSI) based electrolytes were studied for Li-air battery cells. A series of electrolytes was studied with organic compound additions of Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). Nano Al₂O₃ particles with 50 nm in size were also used in 1.0 wt% as inorganic additive to provide stability of the polymer added electrolytes. The nanocomposite electrolytes were prepared in a glove box under dry argon atmosphere. Porous electrode, Gas Diffusion Layer (GDL), was used as cathode, a lithium disk was used as anode while glass fiber was used as the separator in ECC-air test cell. The cells were cyclically tested using 0.1 mA/cm² current density over a voltage range of 1.5–4.5 V. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements was applied to investigate the effect of the PVDF/Al₂O₃ and PEO/Al₂O₃ nano additives on the resistivity of the electrolyte. After the electrochemical cycling test, the morphologies of the cathodes (GDL) were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis to determine reaction products and lithium compounds during cycling test.     

Optimization of specific energy consumption for Bomaplex Red CR-L dye removal from aqueous solution by electrocoagulation using Taguchi-neural method

In this investigation, firstly, Taguchi method was applied to determine the optimum specific energy consumption (SEC) for dye removal from aqueous solution by electrocoagulation using aluminum electrodes. An orthogonal array (OA₁₆) experimental design that allows to investigate the simultaneous variations of five parameters (Initial dye concentration, Initial pH of the solution, Supporting electrolyte concentration, Supporting electrolyte type and Current density) having four levels was employed to evaluate the effects of experimental parameters with two replicates. According to Taguchi-neural method, while the optimum conditions that dye removal efficiency equals to 62.71 % were found to be initial dye concentration 600 mg/L, initial pH of the solution 6, supporting electrolyte concentration 7.0 mM, supporting electrolyte type NaCl, and current density 0.10 mA/cm². Under these optimum conditions, energy consumption is 0.38 kW h/m³. Alternatively, it can be said that optimum conditions can be modified as follows supporting electrolyte concentration of 10.0 mM and supporting electrolyte type CaCl₂, for 600 mg/L, initial dye concentration initial pH of the solution 6, and current density 0.10 mA/cm². Under these optimum conditions, SEC and dye removal efficiency are 0.45 kW h/m³ and 69.18 %, respectively.     

Tetrahedrally bonded amorphous carbon for field‐emission displays

Abstract— Field emission from a series of tetrahedrally bonded amorphous‐carbon (ta‐C) films, deposited in a filtered cathodic vacuum arc, has been measured. The threshold field for emission and current densities achievable have been investigated as a function of sp³/sp² bonding ratio and nitrogen content. Typical as‐grown undoped ta‐C films have threshold fields of the order 10–15 V/μm and optimally nitrogen doped films exhibit fields as low as 5 V/μm. In order to gain further understanding of the mechanism of field emission, the films were also subjected to H₂, Ar, and O₂ plasma treatments and were also deposited onto substrates of different work function. The threshold field, emission current, and emission site densities were all significantly improved by the plasma treatment, but little dependence of these properties on work function of the substrate was observed. This suggests that the main barrier to emission in these films is at the front surface.