Oblivious Transfers and Privacy Amplification

Oblivious transfer (OT) is an important primitive in cryptography. In chosen one-out-of-two string OT, a sender offers two strings, one of which the other party, called the receiver, can choose to read, not learning any information about the other string. The sender on the other hand does not obtain any information about the receivers choice. We consider the problem of reducing this primitive to OT for single bits. Previous attempts to doing this were based on self-intersecting codes. We present a new technique for the same task, based on so-called privacy amplification. It is shown that our method has two important advantages over the previous approaches. First, it is more efficient in terms of the number of required realizations of bit OT, and second, the technique even allows for reducing string OT to (apparently) much weaker primitives. An example of such a primitive is universal OT, where the receiver can adaptively choose what type of information he wants to obtain about the two bits sent by the sender subject to the only constraint that some, possibly very small, uncertainty must remain about the pair of bits.     

Enhanced Vertical Charge Transport in a Semiconducting P3HT Thin Film on Single Layer Graphene

The crystallization and electrical characterization of the semiconducting polymer poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) on a single layer graphene sheet is reported. Grazing incidence X‐ray diffraction revealed that P3HT crystallizes with a mixture of face‐on and edge‐on lamellar orientations on graphene compared to mainly edge‐on on a silicon substrate. Moreover, whereas ultrathin (10 nm) P3HT films form well oriented face‐on and edge‐on lamellae, thicker (50 nm) films form a mosaic of lamellae oriented at different angles from the graphene substrate. This mosaic of crystallites with π–π stacking oriented homogeneously at various angles inside the film favors the creation of a continuous pathway of interconnected crystallites, and results in a strong enhancement in vertical charge transport and charge carrier mobility in the thicker P3HT film. These results provide a better understanding of polythiophene crystallization on graphene, and should help the design of more efficient graphene based organic devices by control of the crystallinity of the semiconducting film.     

The Effect of Gradual Fluorination on the Properties of FnZnPc Thin Films and FnZnPc/C60 Bilayer Photovoltaic Cells

Motivated by the possibility of modifying energy levels of a molecule without substantially changing its band gap, the impact of gradual fluorination on the optical and structural properties of zinc phthalocyanine (F_nZnPc) thin films and the electronic characteristics of F_nZnPc/C₆₀ (n = 0, 4, 8, 16) bilayer cells is investigated. UV–vis measurements reveal similar Q‐ and B‐band absorption of F_nZnPc thin films with n = 0, 4, 8, whereas for F₁₆ZnPc a different absorption pattern is detected. A correlation between structure and electronic transport is deduced. For F₄ZnPc/C₆₀ cells, the enhanced long range order supports fill factors of 55% and an increase of the short circuit current density by 18%, compared to ZnPc/C₆₀. As a parameter being sensitive to the organic/organic interface energetics, the open circuit voltage is analyzed. An enhancement of this quantity by 27% and 50% is detected for F₄ZnPc‐ and F₈ZnPc‐based devices, respectively, and is attributed to an increase of the quasi‐Fermi level splitting at the donor/acceptor interface. In contrast, for F₁₆ZnPc/C₆₀ a decrease of the open circuit voltage is observed. Complementary photoelectron spectroscopy, external quantum efficiency, and photoluminescence measurements reveal a different working principle, which is ascribed to the particular energy level alignment at the interface of the photoactive materials.     

Efficiency of Light Outcoupling Structures in Organic Light‐Emitting Diodes: 2D TiO2 Array as a Model System

Organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs) are widely used in research and are established in the industry. The building block nature of organic compounds enables a vast variety of materials. On top of that, there exist many strategies to improve the light outcoupling of OLEDs making a direct comparison of outcoupling technologies difficult. Here, a novel approach is introduced for the evaluation of light outcoupling structures. The new defined “efficiency of light outcoupling structures” (ELOS) clearly determines the effectiveness of the light outcoupling structure by weighting the experimental efficiency enhancement over the theoretical outcoupling gain. It neither depends on cavity design nor on the chosen organic material. The methodology is illustrated for red phosphorescent OLEDs comprising internal and external light outcoupling structures. Assumptions and further uses are discussed with respect to experimental and theoretical handling. In addition, the ELOS is calculated for various outcoupling techniques from literature to demonstrate the universality. Finally, most suitable reference OLEDs are discussed for application of light outcoupling structures. The presented approach enables new possibilities for studying light outcoupling structures and improves their comparability in a highly material‐driven research field.     

Comparison of thin epitaxial film silicon photovoltaics fabricated on monocrystalline and polycrystalline seed layers on glass

We fabricate thin epitaxial crystal silicon solar cells on display glass and fused silica substrates overcoated with a silicon seed layer. To confirm the quality of hot‐wire chemical vapor deposition epitaxy, we grow a 2‐µm‐thick absorber on a (100) monocrystalline Si layer transfer seed on display glass and achieve 6.5% efficiency with an open circuit voltage (V_OC) of 586 mV without light‐trapping features. This device enables the evaluation of seed layers on display glass. Using polycrystalline seeds formed from amorphous silicon by laser‐induced mixed phase solidification (MPS) and electron beam crystallization, we demonstrate 2.9%, 476 mV (MPS) and 4.1%, 551 mV (electron beam crystallization) solar cells. Grain boundaries likely limit the solar cell grown on the MPS seed layer, and we establish an upper bound for the grain boundary recombination velocity (S_GB) of 1.6x10⁴ cm/s. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Self‐Assembly of Nanoparticle‐Spiked Pillar Arrays for Plasmonic Biosensing

Plasmonic biosensors have demonstrated superior performance in detecting various biomolecules with high sensitivity through simple assays. Scaled‐up, reproducible chip production with a high density of hotspots in a large area has been technically challenging, limiting the commercialization and clinical translation of these biosensors. A new fabrication method for 3D plasmonic nanostructures with a high density, large volume of hotspots and therefore inherently improved detection capabilities is developed. Specifically, Au nanoparticle‐spiked Au nanopillar arrays are prepared by utilizing enhanced surface diffusion of adsorbed Au atoms on a slippery Au nanopillar arrays through a simple vacuum process. This process enables the direct formation of a high density of spherical Au nanoparticles on the 1 nm‐thick dielectric coated Au nanopillar arrays without high‐temperature annealing, which results in multiple plasmonic coupling, and thereby large effective volume of hotspots in 3D spaces. The plasmonic nanostructures show signal enhancements over 8.3 × 10⁸‐fold for surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy and over 2.7 × 10²‐fold for plasmon‐enhanced fluorescence. The 3D plasmonic chip is used to detect avian influenza‐associated antibodies at 100 times higher sensitivity compared with unstructured Au substrates for plasmon‐enhanced fluorescence detection. Such a simple and scalable fabrication of highly sensitive 3D plasmonic nanostructures provides new opportunities to broaden plasmon‐enhanced sensing applications.     

Outage analysis of selection diversity over Rayleigh fading channels with multiple co-channel interferers

In this paper an approach to the performance analysis of signal-to-interference (SIR) based selection combining (SC) operating over the Rayleigh fading channels experiencing an arbitrary number of multiple, Rayleigh co-channel interferers is presented. We have presented a general analysis of multibranch SC where each branch experiences an arbitrary number of multiple equal power co-channel interferers. Useful closed form expressions are derived for the probability density function (PDF) and cumulative distribution function (CDF) at the output of the combiner. Also an outage analysis is performed in order to show the effects of the number of multiple interferers, diversity order and input SIR unbalance to the system performances.     

Switchable Supercapacitors with Transistor‐Like Gating Characteristics (G‐Cap)

A novel three‐electrode electrolyte supercapacitor (electric double‐layer capacitor [EDLC]) architecture in which a symmetrical interdigital “working” two‐electrode micro‐supercapacitor array (W‐Cap) is paired with a third “gate” electrode that reversibly depletes/injects electrolyte ions into the system controlling the “working” capacity effectively is described. All three electrodes are based on precursor‐derived nanoporous carbons with well‐defined specific surface area (735 m² g^?1). The interdigitated architecture of the W‐Cap is precisely manufactured using 3D printing. The W‐Cap operating with a proton conducting PVA/H₂SO₄‐hydrogel electrolyte and high capacitance (6.9 mF cm^?2) can be repeatedly switched “on” and “off”. By applying a low DC bias potential (?0.5 V) at the gate electrode, the AC electroadsorption in the coupled interdigital nanoporous carbon electrodes of the W‐Cap is effectively suppressed leading to a stark capacity drop by two orders of magnitude from an “on” to an “off” state. The switchable micro‐supercapacitor is the first of its kind. This general concept is suitable for implementing a broad range of nanoporous materials and advanced electrolytes expanding its functions and applications in future. The integration of intelligent functions into EDLC devices has extensive implications for diverse areas such as capacitive energy management, microelectronics, iontronics, and neuromodulation.     

下扬子地区中上二叠统页岩有机孔发育特征

下扬子地区中上二叠统发育一套海陆过渡相页岩,其显微组成与海相页岩存在明显的差异,为了研究该套页岩有机孔的发育特征及影响因素,开展了有机岩石学、扫描电镜、氩离子抛光扫描电镜、气测孔隙度和压汞等相关分析。研究表明,中上二叠统页岩中有机孔整体发育较好,但不同有机质组分中孔隙的发育存在明显的差别,具体表现为镜质体内孔隙发育差,固体沥青内发育少量孤立的孔隙,腐泥质内具有丰富的孔隙。黄铁矿或黏土矿物常与有机质形成有机/矿物复合体,复合体内有机孔普遍发育较好,可能与黄铁矿或黏土矿物促进有机质生烃和分解有关。中上二叠统页岩TOC含量与比表面积之间存在明显的线性正相关性,但与孔隙度之间具有复杂的关系,当w（TOC）<6.16%时,孔隙度随TOC含量的增加而增加,而当w（TOC）>6.16%时,孔隙度普遍较低且与TOC含量之间存在微弱的负相关性。孔径分布特征也揭示高TOC页岩的中—大孔体积明显低于低TOC页岩。页岩孔隙结构发育特征表明,TOC含量越高、固体沥青组分以及贫氢组分的含量越高,这些组分占据的矿物孔隙越多,降低了页岩总的孔隙空间,且TOC含量越高,页岩越易被压实,造成中大孔塌陷,进一步降低了页岩的孔隙度。     

Optical reconstruction of high-speed surface dynamics in an uncontrollable environment

The ability to communicate with our voice can be regarded as the concatenation of the two processes "phonation" and "modulation." These take place in the larynx and palatal and oral region, respectively. During phonation the audible primary voice signal is created by mutual reaction of vocal folds with the exhaled air stream of the lungs. The underlying interactions of masses, fluids and acoustics have yet to be identified and understood. One part of the primary signal's acoustical source are vortex induced vibrations, as e.g., created by the Coand?effect in the air stream. The development of these vorteces is determined by the shape and 3-D movements of the vocal folds in the larynx. Current clinical in vivo research methods for vocal folds do not deliver data of satisfactory quality for fundamental research, e.g., an endoscope is limited to 2-D image information. Based hereupon, a few improved methods have been presented, however delivering only selective 3-D information, either for a single point or a line. This stands in contrast to the 3-D motions of the entire vocal fold surface. More complex imaging methods, such as MRI, do not deliver information in real-time. Thus, it is necessary to develop an easily applicable, more improved examination method, which allows for 3-D data of the vocal folds surfaces to be obtained. We present a method to calibrate a 3-D reconstruction setup including a laser projection system and a high-speed camera. The setup is designed with miniaturization and an in vivo application in mind. The laser projection system generates a divergent grid of 196 laser dots by diffraction gratings. It is calibrated with a planar calibration target through planar homography. In general, the setup allows to reconstruct the topology of a surface at high frame rates (up to 4000 frames per second) and in uncontrollable environments, as e.g., given by the lighting situation (little to no ambient light) and varying texture (e.g., varying grade of reflection) in the human larynx. In particular, this system measures the 3-D vocal fold surface dynamics during phonation. Applied to synthetic data, the calibration is shown to be robust (error approximately 0.5 μm) regarding noise and systematic errors. Experimental data gained with a linear z -stage proved that the system reconstructs the 3-D coordinates of points with an error at approximately 15 μm. The method was applied exemplarily to reconstruct porcine and artificial vocal folds' surfaces during phonation. Local differences such as asymmetry between left and right fold dynamics, as well as global parameters, such as opening and closing speed and maximum displacements, were identified and quantified.