A novel photogalvanic cell using anthraquinone-2-sulfonate

A photoelectrochemical cell based on the photochemistry of anthraquinone-2-sulfonate (D) has been set up. In the presence of formate at pH 11.0, D on illumination produces D^? or D^2?. In the absence of oxygen, at the platinum electrode the anodic reaction is D^? → D + e, or D^2? → D + 2e, and at the dark electrode the cathodic reaction is O₂ + 2H₂O + 4e → 4OH^?. The open circuit potential of the cell is 500 mV. The short circuit current is 180 μA. The cell has been recycled at least eight times. The efficiency increases with platinized platinum electrode in the dark chamber. The steady current under illumination is 65 μA with the same open circuit voltage of 500 mV. The short circuit current is 250 μA. With a CdS electrode in the illuminated chamber the efficiency is even better. The open circuit voltage is 560 mV. After charging by illumination for 8 h a steady current of 120 μA can be drawn from the cell, with illumination off, for 40 h. The short circuit current is 450 μA. The maximum power output is 4.2 × 10^?6W The cell can be recycled at least four times without any loss in efficiency. Grey deposition on the CdS electrode possibly indicates electrode decomposition.     

Atmospheric microplasma jet: spectroscopic database development and analytical results

This paper presents a developed dielectric-barrier-discharge-based "sniffer" that offers unique characteristics not available from other techniques. It is a portable, highly specific, and sensitive detector that operates at atmospheric pressure. It provides both molecular and elemental information on organic and inorganic gases and particulate aerosols. Measurements were made to electrically characterize the plasma and calculate the energy coupled into the plasma. We created a signature database for diverse chemicals based on the atomic and diatomic emission spectrum that serves to classify the compound and ideally recognize it by composition with the optical emission intensity corresponding to concentration. For some operational regimes and species, emission from OH (A(2)Σ(+)-X(2)Π), CH (A(2)Δ-X(2)Π), and often C(2) (d(3)Π(g)-a(3)Π(u); Swan band system) diatomic radicals is produced. Limits of detection extend to parts per billion (ppb) levels for some species such as decane, 2-decanol, and nitrobenzene. Results are presented for differentiation of classes of organic compounds such as alkanes, aromatics, oxygenates, chlorinated, and nitrogen-containing organic compounds.     

An Improved On-Wafer Measurement Method for PHEMT Modeling for Millimeter Wave Application

An improved on-wafer measurement method by using coaxial calibration instead of on-wafer calibration for PHEMT modeling is proposed in this paper. The advantage is that S-parameters of PHEMT device can be measured on wafer without impedance standard substrate (ISS) after the S-parameters of the microprobes have been determined. Excellent agreement is obtained between on-wafer calibration measurement and coaxial calibration measurements, respectively.     

A new method for pHEMT noise-parameter determination based on 50-/spl Omega/ noise measurement system

A new method for determining the four noise parameters of pseudomorphic high electron-mobility transistors (pHEMTs) based on a 50-/spl Omega/ noise measurement system without a microwave tuner is presented. The noise parameters are determined based on the noise correlation matrix technique by fitting the measured noise figure of the active device. On-wafer experimental verification up to 26 GHz is presented and a comparison with a tuner-based method is given. The scaling rules for noise parameters have also been determined. Good agreement is obtained between simulated and measured results for 2/spl times/20 /spl mu/m, 2/spl times/40 /spl mu/m, and 2/spl times/60 /spl mu/m gatewidth (number of gate fingers /spl times/ unit gatewidth) 0.25-/spl mu/m double-heterojunction /spl delta/-doped pHEMTs.     

Mechanisms of 1D crystal growth in reactive vapor transport: indium nitride nanowires

Indium nitride (InN) nanowire synthesis using indium (In) vapor transport in a dissociated ammonia environment (reactive vapor transport) is studied in detail to understand the nucleation and growth mechanisms involved with the so-called "self-catalysis" schemes. The results show that the nucleation of InN crystal occurs first on the substrate. Later, In droplets are formed on top of the InN crystals because of selective wetting of In onto InN crystals. Further growth via liquid-phase epitaxy through In droplets leads the growth in one dimension (1D), resulting in the formation of InN nanowires. The details about the nucleation and growth aspects within these self-catalysis schemes are rationalized further by demonstrating the growth of heteroepitaxially oriented nanowire arrays on single-crystal substrates and "tree-like" morphologies on a variety of substrates. However, the direct nitridation of In droplets using dissociated ammonia results in the spontaneous nucleation and basal growth of nanowires directly from the In melt surface, which is quite different from the above-mentioned nucleation mechanism with the reactive vapor transport case. The InN nanowires exhibit a band gap of 0.8 eV, whereas the mixed phase of InN and In(2)O(3) nanowires exhibit a peak at approximately 1.9 eV in addition to that at 0.8 eV.     

Effect of Electromigration on the Mechanical Performance of Sn-3.5Ag Solder Joints with Ni and Ni-P Metallizations

The effect of moderate electric current density (1 × 10³ to 3 × 10³ A/cm²) on the mechanical properties of Ni-P/Sn-3.5Ag/Ni-P and Ni/Sn-3.5Ag/Ni solder joints was investigated using a microtensile test. Thermal aging was carried out at 160°C for 100 h while the current was passed. The interfacial microstructure and intermetallic compound (IMC) growth were analyzed. It was found that, at these levels of current density, there were no observable voids or hillocks. Samples aged at 160°C without current stressing failed mostly inside the bulk solder with significant prior plastic deformation. The passage of current was found to cause brittle failure of the solder joints and this tendency for brittle failure increased with increasing current density. Fractographic analysis showed that, in most of the electrically stressed samples, fracture occurred at the interface region between the solder and the joining metals. The critical current density that caused brittle fracture was about 2 × 10³ A/cm². Once brittle fracture occurred, the tensile toughness, defined as the energy per unit fractured area, was usually lower than ~5 kJ/m², compared with the case of ductile fracture where this value was typically greater than ~9 kJ/m². When comparing the two types of joint, the brittle failure was found to be more severe with the Ni than with the Ni-P joint. This work also found that the passage of electric current affects the IMC growth rate more significantly in the Ni than in the Ni-P joint. In the case of the Ni joint, the Ni₃Sn₄ IMC at the anode side was appreciably thicker than that formed at the cathode side. However, in the case of electroless Ni-P metallization, this difference was much smaller.     

Micro-irrigation development in India: an analysis of distributional pattern and potential correlates

ABSTRACT

In India, of late, micro-irrigation has received considerable policy focus. However, as of 2017, only about 10% of the potential area is under micro-irrigation. The present study analyzes the pattern and equity issues of distribution of micro-irrigation in India and identifies the potential correlates. The regression analysis reveals that the stage of groundwater development and agro-climatic differences significantly influence the spread of micro-irrigation. The relatively low spread of micro-irrigation in states with over-exploited groundwater needs attention. Overall, the study points to the need to revamp the current micro-irrigation development programmes, which focus excessively on subsidy.     

An accurate and simplified small signal parameter extraction method for GaN HEMT

In this paper, development of a small signal model for 2 × 200 μm GaN HEMT based on the conventional 20-element model is presented. The proposed model presents a direct parameter extraction algorithm, instead of the hybrid optimization approach, that provides simplification, accuracy, and less computational complexity. The extrinsic elements are extracted using a modified cold pinch-off condition while discarding the unwanted forward biasing of the gate. The negative drain to source capacitance C_ds is also observed in the ohmic region (for smaller V_DS). An excellent agreement found between the measured and modeled data for a wide range of frequencies and bias values shows the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The proposed modeling technique is validated with a good agreement between the achieved bias dependency of intrinsic parameter values and the respective theoretical parameter values.     

Circumventing Dedicated Electrolytes in Light‐Emitting Electrochemical Cells

Light‐emitting electrochemical cells (LECs) are devices that utilize efficient ion redistribution to produce high‐efficiency electroluminescence in a simple device architecture. Prototypical polymer LECs utilize three components in the active layer: a luminescent conducting polymer, a salt, and an electrolyte. Similarly, many small‐molecule LECs also utilize an electrolyte to disperse salts. In these systems, the electrolyte is incorporated to efficiently conduct ions and to maintain phase compatibility between all components. However, certain LEC approaches and materials systems enable device operation without a dedicated electrolyte. This review describes the general methods and materials used to circumvent the use of a dedicated electrolyte in LECs. The techniques of synthetically coupling electrolytes, incorporating ionic liquids, and introducing inorganic salts are presented in view of research efforts to date. The use of these techniques in emerging classes of light‐emitting electrochemical cells is also discussed. These approaches have yielded some of the most efficient, long‐lasting, and commercially applicable LECs to date.