Performance Evaluation of Composite Electrolyte with GQD for All-Solid-State Lithium Batteries

The use a stabilized lithium structure as cathode material for batteries could be a fundamental alternative in the development of next-generation energy storage devices. However, the lithium structure severely limits battery life causes safety concerns due to the growth of lithium (Li) dendrites during rapid charge/discharge cycles. Solid electrolytes, which are used in high-density energy storage devices and avoid the instability of liquid electrolytes, can be a promising alternative for next-generation batteries. Nevertheless, poor lithium ion conductivity and structural defects at room temperature have been pointed out as limitations. In this study, through the application of a low-dimensional graphene quantum dot (GQD) layer structure, stable operation characteristics were demonstrated based on Li⁺ ion conductivity and excellent electrochemical performance. Moreover, the device based on the modified graphene quantum dots (GQDs) in solid state exhibited retention properties of 95.3% for 100 cycles at 0.5 C and room temperature (RT). Transmission electron microscopy analysis was performed to elucidate the Li⁺ ion action mechanism in the modified GQD/electrolyte heterostructure. The low-dimensional structure of the GQD-based solid electrolyte has provided an important strategy for stably-scalable solid-state lithium battery applications at room temperature. It was demonstrated that lithiated graphene quantum dots (Li-GQDs) inhibit the growth of Li dendrites by regulating the modified Li⁺ ion flux during charge/discharge cycling at current densities of 2.2–5.5 mA cm, acting as a modified Li diffusion heterointerface. A full Li GQD-based device was fabricated to demonstrate the practicality of the modified Li structure using the Li–GQD hetero-interface. This study indicates that the low-dimensional carbon structure in Li–GQDs can be an effective approach for stabilization of solid-state Li matrix architecture.     

Duplex spinel-ZrO2 ceramics

Duplex spinel-ZrO₂ ceramic composites were produced by an emulsion-hot kerosene drying technique. The sintered duplex spinel-ZrO₂ ceramics which had the composition of 55 wt% Al₂O₃-20 wt% ZrO₂-25 wt% MgO, consisted of a spinel matrix, whose grain size was in the range of 1.5 to 2.0 m, and uniformly dispersed zirconia agglomerates having grain sizes ranging from 1.0 to 2.0 m. Zirconia agglomerates began to appear at a temperature of 1500 °C and the duplex spinel-ZrO₂ structure was formed with the weight ratio of Al₂O₃/MgO being within 1.67 to 2.20 and the amount of ZrO₂ addition being within 5 to 25 wt %. The relative density, fracture toughness, flexural strength, and critical temperature difference of the spinel-ZrO₂ composite were 97.8%, 1.98 MPam^0.5, 390 MPa, and 275 °C, respectively.     

Characterization of centrifugally atomized Al-12Si-5Fe-3Cu-1Mg(wt%) alloy powder and extruded rod

The Al-12Si-5Fe-3Cu-1Mg(wt%) alloy was rapidly solidified by centrifugal atomization. The microstructural characteristics of rapidly solidified powder and the microstructure changes with heat treatment were investigated in terms and related to powder size. The microstructures of the powder consisted of dendritic -Al, eutectic phase, Cu-rich phase, and needle-like intermetallic compounds. These phases were much finer than that of ingot cast structure and the size decreased with increasing cooling rate. The X-ray diffraction of the atomized powders revealed the presence of non-equilibrium 3-(AlFeSi) intermetallic phase. This phase appeared to transform to an equilibrium -(AlFeSi) phase by heating at temperatures above 470°C. The extruded rod which was hot extruded at 360°C with an extrusion ratio of 40:1 also revealed the presence of the -(AIFeSi) intermetallic phase. Using DSC, the exothermic peak due to precipitation from the supersaturated -Al matrix was observed in the range of 200–250°C during continuous heating of atomized powder, and the size of the peaks increased with decreasing powder size.     

Magnetic compass fault detection method for GPS/INS/magnetic compass integrated navigation systems

This paper proposes a magnetic compass fault detection method for GPS/INS/Magnetic compass integrated navigation systems. The fault is assumed to be caused by the hard iron and soft iron effect and modeled as an abrupt change in the magnetic compass output. In order to detect the fault, a test statistic related with only azimuth error measurement is determined. When a fault is detected, the GPS/INS/Magnetic compass integrated navigation system is changed into a GPS/INS integrated navigation system mode. In order to show the validity of the proposed method, computer simulation and van testing are carried out. The simulation and van test results show that the proposed navigation system gives more accurate outputs than the GPS/INS/Magnetic compass without the proposed method.     

High‐efficiency red‐phosphorescent organic light‐emitting diode with the organic structure of 2‐TNATA/Bebq2:SFC‐411/SFC‐137

Abstract— High‐efficiency and simple‐structured red‐emitting phosphorescent devices based on the hole‐injection layer of 4,4′,4″‐tris(2‐naphthylphenyl‐phenylamino)‐triphenylamine [2‐TNATA] and the emissive layer of bis(10‐hydroxybenzo[h] quinolinato)beryllium complex [Bebq²] doped with SFC‐411 (proprietary red phosphorescent dye) have been researched. The fabricated devices are divided into three types depending on whether or not the hole‐transport layer of N,N′‐bis(1 ‐naphthyl)‐N, N'‐diphenyl‐1,1′‐biphenyl‐4,4′‐diamine [NPB] or the electron‐transport layer of SFC‐137 (proprietary electron transporting material) is included. Among the experimental devices, the best electroluminescent characteristics were obtained for the device with an emission structure of 2‐TNATA/Bebq²:SFC‐411/SFC‐137. In this device, current density and luminance were found to be 200 mA/cm² and 15,000 cd/m² at an applied voltage of 7 V, respectively. Current efficiencies were 15 and 11.6 cd/A under a luminance of 500 and 5000 cd/m². The peak wavelength in the electroluminescent spectral distribution and color coordinates on the Commission Internationale de I'Eclairage (CIE) chart were 628 nm and (0.67, 0.33), respectively.     

Characterization of a novel antibody immobilization combining protein G with parylene-H for surface plasmon resonance immunosensors

Here we present a method for selectively and efficiently immobilizing antibodies to enhance the detection performance of surface plasmon resonance immune-sensors (SPRIs) for diagnostic applications. To improve the performance of antibody arrays, protein G was used as antibody-selective linkage layer with aldehyde functionalized poly-(para-xylylene) film. To estimate the efficiency of antibody immobilization, immunoglobulin G (IgG) was measured using the anti-IgG immobilized SPRIs. To demonstrate the proof-of-concept validation, the signal detected from the IgG using parylene-H film was compared with that of a combination of parylene-H and protein G in SPRIs. The results showed that the detection of IgG on the immobilized anti-IgG layer using the combination of parylene-H and protein G has a larger change of signal than that of using parylene-H layer. These results also imply that the anti-IgG was densely and efficiently immobilized on the modified surface with the linkage layer in a combination with parylene-H and protein G. Therefore, we believe that this combinatorial approach could selectively immobilize the antibodies, and also be applied for detection and diagnosis of immune diseases in the field of many SPRIs applications.     

Enhanced image similarity analysis system in digital pathology

Multimedia Tools and Applications - In digital pathology, image similarity algorithms are used to find cancer in tissue cells from medical images. However, it is very difficult to apply image...     

Studies on a LaF3‐coated MgO protecting layer in AC‐plasma‐display panels

A new protecting layer, a LaF₃‐coated MgO layer, in color AC‐plasma‐display panels (PDPs) was studied in order to overcome the weakness of the conventional single MgO protecting layer. The material characteristics of the new layer were examined by using variations in the deposition process. The display characteristics were also examined by implementing their processes to actual PDPs. It was demonstrated that this method is effective in lowering the firing and sustaining voltages of PDPs and enhancing the brightness of the panel as well.     

HERMES: embedded file system design for A/V application

Embedded systems such as PVR, set-top box, HDTV put unique demand on I/O subsystem design. Underlying software, particularly file system, needs to be elaborately designed so that it can meet tight constraints of consumer electronics platform: performance, price, reliability, and etc. In this work, we develop state-of-art file system elaborately tailored for A/V workload. There are two design objectives in our file system: performance and support for logical level abstraction. For performance, we develop a number of novel features: extent based allocation, single level file structure with block index augmentation scheme, aggressive free block allocation to minimize disk fragmentation, elaborate file system meta data layout, separation of name space data and file data and etc. HERMES enables the user to view file as a collection of semantic units (frame or audio samples). HERMES file system encompasses most of state-of-the-art file system technologies published in preceding works. Via extensive physical experiment, we verify that HERMES file system successfully addresses the original issues: good scalability, predictable I/O latency (minimizing variability in I/O latency), efficient disk head movement and etc. This is the result of harmonious effort of large I/O size, aggressive free block allocation algorithm, data block placement strategy, file organization, layout of HERMES file system and etc. The result of performance experiments indicate that HERMES file system prototype successfully meets the file system constraints for high volume and high bandwidth multimedia application. HERMES file system exhibits superior performance to EXT2 file system (Linux) and XFS file system (SGI).

Cholesterol is critical to the integrity of neuronal porosome/fusion pore

Secretion is one of the most fundamental cellular processes. Porosomes have been demonstrated as the universal secretory machinery in cells. Earlier studies determine the presence of a number of proteins in porosomes, among them the N- and P/Q-type calcium channels, actin, syntaxin-1, synaptotagmin-1, vimentin, the N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor (NSF), the chloride channel CLC-3, and the alpha subunit of the heterotrimeric GTP-binding protein G(o). Studies demonstrate that t-SNAREs localize at the base of porosomes, and directly interact with calcium channels. In the present study, we demonstrate that Syntaxin-1 co-localizes with cholesterol in solubilized synaptosomal membrane preparations. Depletion of cholesterol, results in the dissociation of both Syntaxin-1 and N-type calcium channel from neuronal porosomes. Thus, cholesterol participates as an integral component of the neuronal porosome complex, and is required for its stability.