Structure and properties of high power impulse magnetron sputtering and DC magnetron sputtering CrN and TiN films deposited in an industrial scale unit

Deposition of complex shaped or round-symmetric samples requires multi-fold substrate rotations during deposition or multiple cathode arrangements. The present paper investigates the influence of the high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HIPIMS) and DC magnetron sputtering (DCMS) process on the mechanical and tribological properties as well as the resulting structure of CrN and TiN coatings using static (0-fold) and dynamic (1-, 2- and 3-fold) depositions in an industrial scale unit. Furthermore, to increase the deposition rate without losing the high ion density in the plasma a hybrid HIPIMS/DCMS deposition technique is investigated. The results demonstrate the advantage of the HIPIMS technique when using multi-fold substrate rotation during deposition as it enables depositions of CrN_HIPIMS and TiN_HIPIMS coatings with hardness values around 23 and 35 GPa, respectively, compared with around 15 GPa for CrN_DCMS and TiN_DCMS coatings. Hardness values of 35 GPa for TiN_DCMS coatings prepared with substrate rotations could only be obtained when introducing an additional anode or using a multilayered CrN_HIPIMS/TiN_DCMS base layer as a template.Based on our results we can conclude that especially for up-scaling and multi-fold substrate rotations the HIPIMS process offers an improved performance as compared to DCMS.     

Medizin als gesellschaftliche Praxis, sozialwissenschaftliche Empirie und ethische Reflexion: ein Vorschlag für eine soziologisch aufgeklärte Medizinethik

Definition of the problem The central focus of Empirical Ethics is the study of the social and cultural aspects inherent in medical practice. Arguments This approach distinguishes between the scientific-cognitive aspects and the cultural-normative aspects of medicine, which would conventionally be investigated separately by the social sciences. When however medicine is conceived of as social practice, the sharp distinction between scientific medicine, culturally normative aspects and ethical reflection becomes less distinct. Conclusion We suggest combining ethical reflection and empirical research in multiple stages. In this case, social scientific analyses would provide an initial framework for understanding medical practices and a foundation for further ethical investigations, which would then allow for a sociological critique.     

Determination of selected organophosphate esters in the aquatic environment of Austria

Organophosphate esters are used in multitude of applications such as flame retardants, plasticizers and lubricants. In recent years concerns have been raised in regards to the environmental impact of some of the more commonly used phosphoric acid triesters, because many of them are toxic and persistent. Liquid-liquid extraction and ultrasound-assisted solvent extraction followed by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry detection (LC-MS/MS) were used for the determination of nine priority organophosphate esters in waste and surface water, as well as in sediment samples for first time in Austria. Recoveries ranged from 63% to 94% in water and from 74 to 104% in sediment with estimated quantification limits between 2.6 and 7.9 ng/l in surface water, 4.1 and 13 ng/l in effluent waste water, and between 0.48 and 11 microg/kg in sediment. The validated method was applied to determine the occurrence of the selected organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs) and plasticizers in the aquatic environment of Austria. The impact of the discharge of waste water treatment plants into the receiving water bodies was also studied.     

Acoustic backing in 3-D integration of CMUT with front-end electronics

Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs) have shown promising qualities for medical imaging. However, there are still some problems to be investigated, and some challenges to overcome. Acoustic backing is necessary to prevent SAWs excited in the surface of the silicon substrate from affecting the transmit pattern from the array. In addition, echoes resulting from bulk waves in the substrate must be removed. There is growing interest in integrating electronic circuits to do some of the beamforming directly below the transducer array. This may be easier to achieve for CMUTs than for traditional piezoelectric transducers. We will present simulations showing that the thickness of the silicon substrate and thicknesses and acoustic properties of the bonding material must be considered, especially when designing highfrequency transducers. Through simulations, we compare the acoustic properties of 3-D stacks bonded with three different bonding techniques; solid-liquid interdiffusion (SLID) bonding, direct fusion bonding, and anisotropic conductive adhesives (ACA). We look at a CMUT array with a center frequency of 30 MHz and three silicon wafers underneath, having a total silicon thickness of 100 μm. We find that fusion bonding is most beneficial if we want to prevent surface waves from damaging the array response, but SLID and ACA are also promising if bonding layer thicknesses can be reduced.     

Zur Auslegung von § 25 Abs 3 sbg BGG

Gleich zwei neue Wege beschreitet der VwGH bei der Auslegung des § 25 Abs 3 sbg BGG aus Anlass eines Beschwerdeverfahrens. Einerseits zieht er mittels einer auch dem Gleichheitsgrundsatz Rechnung tragenden systematischen Interpretation § 33 Abs 3 sbg ROG 1998 – eine an sich für die Bebauungsplanung geltende Norm – für die Frage der Abstandsrelevanz von Giebelbereichen bei anderen "nicht traditionellen" Dachformen als Satteld?chern heran. Dies zu Recht, wie die Autoren meinen. Andererseits versucht der VwGH, den Begriff des "natürlichen" bzw "gewachsenen" Gel?ndes nach dem sbg BGG zu konkretisieren und findet dafür eine L?sung im Inkrafttretenszeitpunkt des sbg BGG, quasi als "Versteinerungszeitpunkt". Letzteres vermag die Autoren nicht zu überzeugen.