Microwave vacuum dryer setup and preliminary drying studies on strawberries and carrots.

A laboratory scale microwave vacuum dryer with the ability to record temporal variation of mass and temperature of a drying product was designed and built. The initial study was set up to investigate the effect of the position of a vacuum pressure control valve at two vacuum pressure levels, 6.5 and 13.3 kPa, with a fixed microwave power input of 1.5 W/g. Then, strawberry halves and carrot cubes (10 x 10 x 10 mm) were used for a preliminary study to investigate the effect on drying product temperature and the effect of input microwave powers (1, 1.5 and 2 W/g) at a fixed level of vacuum pressure (6.5 kPa). The position of the valve which allows air to pass through the vacuum container was found to provide shorter drying time and reduced the occurrence of water vapor condensation. The product temperature at the end stage of drying under continuous microwave mode was too high to ensure quality for both dried strawberry halves and carrot cubes.     

Microwave processing of maple sap to maple syrup and maple syrup products.

A study of the physical process of concentration of maple sap to maple syrup and preparation of maple syrup products by microwave heating is described. Duty cycles of 60, 75 and 100% were used for the microwave application. During the process, some of the drying kinetics are discussed, including the reduction of moisture content with time, the progress of the process in terms of increasing sugar concentration and the power absorbed. Obviously, the rate of water removal was higher in case of the higher duty cycles. The total time required for finishing the syrup was also dependent on the initial mass of the load and the initial sugar content. The products obtained were compared with commercial graded products for the quality and met the highest standards prescribed by the industry. The absence of heat damage or browning of the product was identified as a distinct advantage that could be derived from microwave processing of maple syrup.     

真空干燥参数对TFT栅极光刻性能的影响

液晶显示器薄膜晶体管(TFT)的栅极需经光刻工艺制得.在光刻工艺中,除曝光与显影环节外,光刻胶显影后的关键尺寸(DICD)和锥角(Taper)还受到真空干燥参数的影响.为此,文章以干燥制程的慢抽时间、保压时间和底压为自变量,DICD和Taper为因变量,采用全因子实验,研究了真空干燥制程对光刻胶DICD和Taper的影响.结果表明:慢抽时间和底压产生的影响较小,保压时间则是关键参数:随着保压时间增加,DICD增加、Taper降低.这是因为随着保压时间增加,光刻胶中的溶剂挥发总量增加,光刻胶更致密,显影速度下降,导致DICD增加;同时,光刻胶顶部溶剂挥发量增加,顶部感光剂浓度增加,导致顶部侧向显影程度增加,最终造成光刻胶Taper下降.此外,建立了 DICD和Taper与保压时间的回归方程,可以预测光刻效果,或者由预期的光刻效果反推出所需的保压时间.此工作可为薄膜晶体管光刻产线的参数优化和产品良率提升提供参考.     

微波多模腔体对水性聚氨酯涂膜加热仿真分析

水性聚氨酯为水与高分子聚酯材料的混合材料,工业上采用热风和红外干燥方式对水性聚氨酯材料进行干燥存在干燥效率低同时时间长等问题。为解决在传统干燥过程中存在的问题,本文通过使用有限元方法对水性聚氨酯涂膜在多模微波腔体内进行建模,通过测试并拟合水性高分子聚氨酯乳液介电常数随温度的变化曲线;仿真了微波干燥方式下涂膜的温度分布,获得了涂膜整体平均温度随微波功率的变化仿真结果,确定了在相同的时间内有利于水性聚氨酯涂膜干燥的微波功率,仿真了在该微波功率下涂膜整体温度随时间的动态变化过程。     

Gallium arsenide surface chemistry and surface damage in a chlorine high density plasma etch process

In an effort to monitor ion-driven surface chemistry in the high density plasma etching of GaAs by Cl₂/Ar plasma chemistries, we have applied mass spectrometry and careful substrate temperature control. Etch product chlorides were mass analyzed while the substrate temperature was monitored by optical bandgap thermometry and as pressure (neutral flux), microwave power (ion flux) and rf bias of the substrate (ion energy) were varied. By ensuring that the substrate temperature does not deviate during process variations, the changes in product mass peak intensities are a direct measure of changes in the ionassisted surface chemistry which promotes anisotropic etching. Experimental results show that ion-assisted surface chemistry is optimum when sufficient Cl and Cl⁺ are present in the incident plasma flux. These conditions are met at low coupled microwave powers (<300 W) and low total process pressures (<1.0 mTorr) for input gas mixtures of 25% Cl₂ in Ar. Three mechanistic regions are identified for surface chemistry as a function of incident ion energy: 1) largely thermal chemistry for <50 eV; 2) ion-assisted chemistry for 50–200 eV; and 3) sputtering for >200 eV. Photoreflectance measurements of the surface Fermi level show significant damage for ion energies >75 eV. However, in situ and ex situ surface passivations can recover the surface Fermi level for up to 200 eV ion energies, in good correlation to the onset of sputtering and subsurface damage. Thus, anisotropic, low damage pattern transfer is possible for ion energies between 50 and 200 eV.     

A system for studying effects of microwaves on cells in culture.

An improved design of the fluid-filled waveguide-exposure chamber is described for studying effects of microwave radiation on cells in vitro. The system with a micropipette sample holder may be used as a prototype to isolate the apparent nonthermal factor of microwave radiation on cells in culture from those effects resulting from cell temperature rise. This system also allows more precise calibration of incident and absorbed microwave energies. Compared with control, somatic cells of the Chinese hamster exhibited a lower rate of growth and difference in morphology after 2450 MHz microwave radiation for 20 min at a power density of 500 mW/cm2.     

An investigation of sugar extraction methods and the use of microwave power for date syrup processing: efficiency and color related considerations.

This study investigates the effect of extraction methods on the color of date syrup and the potential use of microwave power for syrup processing. Sugar solutions were extracted from dates by boiling, soaking and blending. Color and sugar content of the extracted solutions were measured, and the percentage of sugar extracted form the total fruit sugar determined. Boiling was found to be the most efficient method of extraction whereby 74% of total samples sugar was extracted. In contrast, only 54.2% of fruit sugar was extracted by blending and 42% by soaking. In addition, solutions extracted by soaking and blending had a foaming problem in the subsequent concentration process. The extraction method had no effect on the product final color. The extracted solution was concentrated using two heating methods: conventional and microwave heating at a 600 W capacity and a frequency of 2450 MHz applied at three power levels: 10, 7, and 6. In the heating process, 180 minutes were needed to achieve a 77% degrees Brix using convective heating, while it took 81, 138, and 166 minutes of microwave heating at power level 10, 7, and 6, respectively to achieve the same concentration. Water activity of the syrup was measured within a sugar content range of 50 to 80% degrees Brix and the sugar concentration at which the product is shelf stable was determined at 76%.     

Rapid Crystallization for Efficient 2D Ruddlesden–Popper (2DRP) Perovskite Solar Cells

Due to the additional introduction of bulky organic ammonium and the competition between bulky organic ammonium and methyl ammonium in 2D Ruddlesden‐Popper (2DRP) perovskite, the crystallization process becomes complicated. Here, it is demonstrated that the rapid crystallization controlled by processing solvents plays an important role in achieving high‐quality 2DRP perovskite films. It is found that the processing solvents, e.g., dimethylacetamide (DMAC), N,N‐dimethylformamide (DMF), and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), with a different polarity and boiling point, have almost no effect on crystal structure and phase distribution but have a remarkable effect on crystallization kinetics, crystal growth orientation, and crystallinity of 2DRP perovskite. Compared to polar aprotic solvent DMF and DMSO with a high boiling point, DMAC with low polarity and a suitable boiling point has a weak coordination to lead and ammonium salts and is easy to escape during solution processing, which is able to accelerate the crystallization rate of 2DRP perovskite. Benefitting from the rapid crystallization enabled high‐quality 2DRP perovskite films, the best‐performing device with improved stability and a power conversion efficiency of 12.15% is obtained using DMAC solvent. These findings may give guidance for solvent engineering for highly efficient 2DRP perovskite solar cells in the future.     

Analog-computer studies on microwave mixing in superconducting weak links

The dc characteristics of superconducting weak links, irradiated by one and two microwave frequencies and the dependence of the absorbed microwave power on the dc current, are evaluated. Within the constant voltage steps, the ac current generated in the weak link is synchronous with the incident microwaves or their mixing products. In the case of two incident microwave frequencies within the constant voltage steps, the dependence of the ratio of power-absorption variation on the impressed dc current at the two frequencies is governed by modified Manley-Rowe equations.     

Low-temperature process in growing carbon nanotube

Nickel particles, converted from film by microwave hydrogen plasma at a low temperature of 250 °C, were used as the catalyst for growing carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Low-temperature process is desirable for CNT application in flat panel display industry. We found that the processing pressure and microwave power can greatly influence the nickel particle size and density. The processing pressure during pretreatment affects the CNT to be grown or not at all. The microwave power affects the particle size of the catalyst and the diameter of the grown CNT. It was also found that after pretreatment, the diameter of the grown CNT is proportional to the catalyst particle size. The threshold electric field of CNT field emission was found reduced as the diameter of the CNT became smaller.     

Room‐Temperature Meniscus Coating of >20% Perovskite Solar Cells: A Film Formation Mechanism Investigation

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are ideally fabricated entirely via a scalable solution process at low temperatures to realize the promise of simple manufacturing, low‐cost processing, compatibility with flexible substrates, and perovskite‐based tandem solar cells. However, high‐quality photoactive perovskite thin films under those processing conditions is a challenge. Here, a laminar air‐knife‐assisted room‐temperature meniscus coating approach that enables one to control the drying kinetics during the solidification process and achieve high‐quality perovskite films and solar cells is devised. Moreover, this approach offers a solid model platform for in situ UV–vis and microscopic investigation of the perovskite film drying kinetics, which provide rich insights correlating the degree of supersaturation, the nucleation, and growth rate during the kinetic drying process, and ultimately, the film morphology and performance of the solar cell devices. Manufacturing friendly, antisolvent‐free room‐temperature coating of hysteresis‐free PSCs with a power conversion efficiency of 20.26% for 0.06 cm² and 18.76% for 1 cm² devices is demonstrated.     

改善隧道式微波干燥设备均匀性的研究

隧道式微波设备在干燥过程中存在物料温度不均匀的问题.本文采用在现有隧道式微波干燥设备中增加热风机,结合热风干燥温度均匀的优势,选用生物质颗粒作为研究对象,将热风干燥技术和微波干燥技术联合使用,从而改善微波设备干燥不均匀的现象.     

微波、红外及蒸汽法干燥木材的综合实验研究

研究了微波能干燥山毛榉、短波红外干燥松木、高温高速喷射黄杨木、长波远红外干燥榆木及传统的蒸汽法干燥水青冈，即5种不同供热方式的干燥动力学规律。建立了非稳态干燥经方程并分析了主要影响因素。也讨论了干燥质量与能耗。结果表明以低温远红外干燥优质节能。只要提供合适的能量微波加热干燥与辅助提取亦有广阔的前景。     

微波在煤泥低温脱水提质的应用研究

利用微波能对煤泥低温脱水提质,探讨了微波干燥的影响因素;分析了微波干燥对煤泥性质的影响;寻求煤泥资源化利用的途径。微波时间、功率和煤泥形状、质量对微波干燥效果影响显著。在微波作用下,煤中水分的蒸发过程分三个阶段:煤加热,外在水分减少,内在水分减少,因而干燥速度较快。烘干重量为200g,水分25%的煤样所需时间不超过700s。试验表明:干燥200s后,煤样温度可达110℃;600s后,温度可达240℃。不仅蒸发了水,也排出了挥发成分。煤泥在微波低温干燥条件下具有较好的脱水效果,干燥后煤泥的含水率和热值提升幅度均达到了预期目标,证明了微波在煤泥干燥提质方面应用的可行性。煤泥微波脱水后,由于微波加热在加热物料内形成的特殊传热传质机理,煤泥内部的矿物盐等会在煤泥表面积聚,形成"硬壳",煤泥不易粉化、破碎,且水分回吸不明显,有助于后续运输和利用。     

Selective bonding and encapsulation for wafer-level vacuum packaging of MEMS and related micro systems

A laser-assisted bonding technique is demonstrated for low temperature region selective processing. A continuous wave carbon dioxide (CO₂) laser (λ=10.6 μm) is used for solder (Pb37/Sn63) bonding of metallized silicon substrates (chips or wafers) for MEMS applications. Laser-assisted selective heating of silicon led to the reflow of an electroplated, or screen-printed, intermediate solder layer which produced silicon–solder–silicon joints. The bonding process was performed on fixtures in a vacuum chamber at an air pressure of 10⁻³ Torr to achieve fluxless soldering and vacuum encapsulation. The bonding temperature at the sealing ring was controlled to be close to the reflow temperature of the solder. Pull test results showed that the joint was sufficiently strong. Helium leak testing showed that the leak rate of the package met the requirements of MIL-STD-883E under optimized bonding conditions and bonded packages survived thermal shock testing. The testing, based on a design of experiments method, indicated that both laser incident power and scribe velocity significantly influenced bonding results. This novel method is especially suitable for encapsulation and vacuum packaging of chips or wafers containing MEMS and other micro devices with low temperature budgets, where managing stress distribution is important. Further, released and encapsulated devices on the sealed wafers can be diced without damaging the MEMS devices at wafer level.     

4H-SiC MESFET工艺中的高温氧化及介质淀积技术

采用自主开发的4H-SiC高温氧化技术,并结合低压化学气相淀积方法,在器件表面形成较为致密的氧化层,降低了器件的反向泄漏电流,提高了器件的击穿电压,同时也提高了器件的输出功率及功率增益,为器件长期稳定可靠工作奠定了工艺基础。采用此技术后,单胞20 mm左右栅宽器件在2 GHz脉冲条件下(脉冲宽度300μs,占空比10%)输出功率达78 W,比原工艺的器件输出功率提高了20 W以上,功率增益提高了1.5 dB,达到8.9 dB左右,功率附加效率也从23%提升到32%,初步显示了该工艺技术在制备4H-SiC微波功率器件中的优势。     

微波激励CO_2激光器表面波放电特性的分析

提出一种放电结构和理论模型，对表面波发生器的表面波放电等离子体特性进行了分析。在给定的工作气压、注入微波功率及所吸收的外场功率情况下，利用这一理论可以求出放电管内电子密度、电子温度以及微波电场强度的绝对值和径向分布。分析表明，这种放电结构很适于ＣＯ２激光器高效率的微波激励。     

Drying and color characteristics of coriander foliage using convective thin-layer and microwave drying

Heat sensitive properties (aromatic, medicinal, color) provide herbs and spices with their high market value. In order to prevent extreme loss of heat sensitive properties when drying herbs, they are normally dried at low temperatures for longer periods of time to preserve these sensory properties. High energy consumption often results from drying herbs over a long period. Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L., Umbelliferae) was dehydrated in two different drying units (thin layer convection and microwave dryers) in order to compare the drying and final product quality (color) characteristics. Microwave drying of the coriander foliage was faster than convective drying. The entire drying process took place in the falling rate period for both microwave and convective dried samples. The drying rate for the microwave dried samples ranged from 42.3 to 48.2% db/min and that of the convective dried samples ranged from 7.1 to 12.5% db/min. The fresh sample color had the lowest L value at 26.83 with higher L values for all dried samples. The results show that convective thin layer dried coriander samples exhibited a significantly greater color change than microwave dried coriander samples. The color change index values for the microwave dried samples ranged from 2.67 to 3.27 and that of the convective dried samples varied from 4.59 to 6.58.     

Microwave plasma oxidation of silicon

The stringent requirements of the next generation of VLSI will force the temperature of IC processing to a lower regime. One of the most important areas is the formation of gate and field dielectrics. Dopant re-distribution, stacking fault and dislocation generation as well as bird's-beak problems can be eliminated or minimized by low temperature oxygen microwave plasma anodization. This paper describes our investigation in the low pressure, low temperature oxidation of silicon using this technique. Oxidation rate dependence on anodization current, time, orientation, plasma power and temperature are measured. Properties of the plasma oxide was characteristized by thickness uniformity, refractive index, infrared absorption and C-V measurement. Discussion on the species responsible for the oxidation, the transport mechanisms and the factors that could affect the kinetics of the growth are presented. We conclude that the technique looks promising for the future.     

Laminated Perovskite Photovoltaics: Enabling Novel Layer Combinations and Device Architectures

High‐efficiency perovskite‐based solar cells can be fabricated via either solution‐processing or vacuum‐based thin‐film deposition. However, both approaches limit the choice of materials and the accessible device architectures, due to solvent incompatibilities or possible layer damage by vacuum techniques. To overcome these limitations, the lamination of two independently processed half‐stacks of the perovskite solar cell is presented in this work. By laminating the two half‐stacks at an elevated temperature (≈90 °C) and pressure (≈50 MPa), the polycrystalline perovskite thin‐film recrystallizes and the perovskite/charge transport layer (CTL) interface forms an intimate electrical contact. The laminated perovskite solar cells with tin oxide and nickel oxide as CTLs exhibit power conversion efficiencies of up to 14.6%. Moreover, they demonstrate long‐term and high‐temperature stability at temperatures of up to 80 °C. This freedom of design is expected to access both novel device architectures and pairs of CTLs that remain usually inaccessible.