Al2O3-nanodiamond composite coatings with high durability and hydrophobicity prepared by aerosol deposition

We attempted the room-temperature fabrication of Al₂O₃-based nanodiamond (ND) composite coating films on glass substrates by an aerosol deposition (AD) process to improve the anti-scratch and anti-smudge properties of the films. Submicron Al₂O₃ powder capable of fabricating transparent hard coating films was used as a base material for the starting powders, and ND treated by 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (PFOTES) was added to the Al₂O₃ to increase the hydrophobicity and anti-wear properties. The ND powder treated by PFOTES was mixed with the Al₂O₃ powder by ball milling to ratios of 0.01 wt.%, 0.03 wt.%, and 0.05 wt.% ND. The water contact angle (CA) of the Al₂O₃-ND composite coating films was increased as the ND ratio increased, and the maximum water CA among all the films was 110°. In contrast to the water CA, the Al₂O₃-ND composite coating films showed low transmittance values of below 50% at a wavelength of 550 nm due to the strong agglomeration of ND. To prevent the agglomeration of ND, the starting powders were mixed by attrition milling. As a result, Al₂O₃-ND composite coating films were produced that showed high transmittance values of close to 80%, even though the starting powder included 1.0 wt.% ND. In addition, the Al₂O₃-ND composite coating films had a high water CA of 109° and superior anti-wear properties compared to those of glass substrates.     

Triethyl and tributyl phosphite as flame-retarding additives in Li-ion batteries

This study examined the influence of triethyl and tributyl phosphite (TEP and TBP) additives on the electrochemical performance of lithium-ion cells. The cell performance of the TEP- and TBP-containing electrolytes was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry, thermogravimetric analysis, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The flammability of the electrolytes was also investigated by measuring the self-extinguishing time of the electrolytes. The results showed that the TEP and TBP additives suppressed the flammability of the electrolyte, with a significant improvement in cell performance observed for the TEP additive. In addition, TEP and TBP additives improved the thermal stability of the battery and its electrochemical cell performance. Overall, 5 wt% TEP and TBP can be used as a flame-retarding additive to improve the cell performance of Li-ion batteries due to the decrease in cell impedance and SEI formation.     

Saliency detection based on seed propagation in a multilayer graph

Multimedia Tools and Applications - This paper presents a saliency detection algorithm based on the seed propagation in graph representation of image. First, the image is divided into...     

Highly efficient blue organic light-emitting diodes using quantum well-like multiple emissive layer structure

In this study, the properties of blue organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), employing quantum well-like structure (QWS) that includes four different blue emissive materials of 4,4′-bis(2,2′-diphenylyinyl)-1,1′-biphenyl (DPVBi), 9,10-di(naphth-2-yl)anthracene (ADN), 2-(N,N-diphenyl-amino)-6-[4-(N,N-diphenyl amine)styryl]naphthalene (DPASN), and bis(2-methyl-8-quinolinolate)-4-(phenyl phenolato) aluminum (BAlq), were investigated. Conventional QWS blue OLEDs composed of multiple emissive layers and charge blocking layer with lower highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO)-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy level, and devices with triple emissive layers for more significant hole-electron recombination and a wider region for exciton generation were designed. The properties of triple emissive layered blue OLEDs with the structure of indium tin oxide (ITO) /N,N′-diphenyl-N,N′-bis(1-naphthyl-phenyl)-(1,1′-biphenyl)-4,4′-diamine (NPB) (700 Ǻ)/X (100 Ǻ)/BAlq (100 Ǻ)/X (100 Ǻ)/4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (Bphen) (300 Ǻ)/lithium quinolate (Liq) (20 Ǻ)/aluminum (Al) (1,200 Ǻ) (X = DPVBi, ADN, DPASN) were examined. HOMO-LUMO energy levels of DPVBi, ADN, DPASN, and BAlq are 2.8 to 5.9, 2.6 to 5.6, 2.3 to 5.2, and 2.9 to 5.9 eV, respectively. The OLEDs with DPASN/BAlq/DPASN QWS with maximum luminous efficiency of 5.32 cd/A was achieved at 3.5 V.     

A low‐complexity single‐carrier frequency‐division multiple access transmitter

A framework for a computationally efficient single‐carrier frequency‐division multiple access (SC‐FDMA) transmitter is proposed in this paper. Compared with a wide system bandwidth, the uplink allocation for each user is supposed to be relatively small because of multiple user access, which makes each user's signal vector to be sparse. When the localized subcarrier allocation is used for SC‐FDMA, the inverse fast fourier transform can take advantage of the sparse user input vector to reduce its complexity. The analytical and simulation results show that the proposed framework can provide a significant complexity reduction compared with the conventional SC‐FDMA transmitter. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Inhibitory effect of cinnamon essential oils on selected cheese-contaminating fungi (Penicillium spp.) during the cheese-ripening process

The antifungal effects of essential oils (EOs) on cultures of the known cheese fungal contaminants Penicillium spp. were evaluated. Cinnamon leaf and bark EOs were the most effective among 8 EOs tested. The main components of both cinnamon EOs were eugenol, cinnamaldehyde, and linalool. Both inhibited growth of Penicillium spp. at a concentration of 10% v/v (2,000 ppm/mm²) on a lawn cell plate. When tested using 3 commercially available cheese starters, cinnamon EOs showed no effect against the FD-DVS ABT-5 cheese starter. However, growth of lactobacilli was inhibited in the presence of ≥10% (v/v) of leaf and bark EOs for the KAZU 1 starter, and ≥5% (v/v) for the FD-DVS FLORA-DANICA starter. A concentration of 4,000 ppm/mm² of cinnamon EOs completely inhibited growth of the Penicillium spp. that naturally contaminates the surface of Appenzeller cheese.     

Quantitative Evaluation Method for Etch Sidewall Profile of Through‐Silicon Vias (TSVs)

Through‐silicon via (TSV) technology provides much of the benefits seen in advanced packaging, such as threedimensional integrated circuits and 3D packaging, with shorter interconnection paths for homo‐ and heterogeneous device integration. In TSV, a destructive cross‐sectional analysis of an image from a scanning electron microscope is the most frequently used method for quality control purposes. We propose a quantitative evaluation method for TSV etch profiles whereby we consider sidewall angle, curvature profile, undercut, and scallop. A weighted sum of the four evaluated parameters, nominally total score (TS), is suggested for the numerical evaluation of an individual TSV profile. Uniformity, defined by the ratio of the standard deviation and average of the parameters that comprise TS, is suggested for the evaluation of wafer‐to‐wafer variation in volume manufacturing.