Transparent Thin Films of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Self‐Assembled on Polyamide 11 Nanofibers

Electrospun polyamide 11 (PA11) nanofiber films are used as a guide for the deposition of two‐dimensional networks of multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs). This method allows for the manufacturing of transparent and electrically conductive thin films. It is demonstrated that the sheet resistance (Rs) and transmittance (T) decrease, as the films become thicker due to longer electrospinning times or larger fibers. The transmittance could be improved by fusing (melting) the fibers at moderate temperatures or impregnating the film with a resin, showing that light scattering rather than absorption by the MWNTs or the polymer was responsible for a low transmittance. As the number of MWNT deposition cycles increases, the Rs decreases with a constant transmittance. A fused 100 nm film obtained after 10 min of electrospinning of the 2 wt % PA11 solution shows Rs = 154 kΩ sq^?1 and T = 83% after ten MWNT deposition cycles. A 95% transmittance was achieved after removing the polymer fibers by heating the glass plate in air (Rs = 440 kΩ sq^?1 after five MWNT deposition cycles).     

Deployment and future prospects of high performance diagnostics featuring serial I/O (SIO) data acquisition (DAQ) at ASDEX Upgrade

The SIO DAQ concept used at the ASDEX Upgrade fusion experiment features data acquisition from a modular front-end (a modular crate-and-interface-cards concept for analog and digital input and output) over standardized serial lines and via a serial input/output computer interface card (the SIO card) in real-time directly into the main memory of a host computer.Deployment of a series of diagnostics using SIO led to various solutions and configurations for the different requirements. Experience has been gained and lessons learned applying the SIO concept at its technical limits. Requirements for a further development of the SIO concept have been identified, and a performance improvement by a factor of 4–8 beyond its current limits seems achievable. An effort has been started to develop a SIO version 2 (SIO II) featuring upgraded serial links and a more powerful FPGA for merging and forwarding data streams to host computer memory. (Compatibility with the existing SIO (SIO I) front-end system has to be maintained.)This paper presents results achieved and experiences gained in the deployment of SIO I, the status of SIO II development (currently in the prototype phase), and projected enhancements and updates to existing implementations.