Microscopic studies of the influence of main exposure time on parameters of flexographic printing plate produced by digital thermal method

The digital thermal technology of producing flexographic printing plates from photopolymer plates is one of the newest technologies. This technology allows to develop flexographic plates without the use of any solvent. The process of producing flexographic printing plates by the digital thermal method consists of several main stages: back exposure, laser exposure, main exposure, thermal development, post exposure, and light finishing. The studies carried out with the use of optical stereoscopic microscopy allowed to determine the effect of time of main exposure to ultraviolet radiation on the dot area, diameter, and edge factor of halftone dots reproduced on flexographic printing plate produced by the digital thermal method, as well as on the quality of reproducing the surface and on the profiles of free‐standing printing microelements. The results of the microscopic studies performed have allowed to define the criteria of establishing optimum time of main exposure of photopolymer plates used in the digital thermal technology of producing flexographic printing plates. A precise definition of the criteria for determining the optimum time of main exposure will enable to reduce the time‐consuming control tests and to eliminate errors in both the process of manufacturing flexographic printing plates and in the printing process carried out with the use of such plates. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Effect of preparation conditions on the properties of microspheres prepared using an emulsion-solvent extraction process

Methylaluminoxane microspheres were prepared using a hydrocarbon-in-perfluorocarbon-emulsion solvent extraction process. The effect of the preparation conditions on the size of the microspheres was investigated. As expected, the size of the microspheres decreased with increasing stirring speed. At low surfactant concentrations the size of the microspheres was independent of the surfactant concentration. However, the size of the microspheres decreased as the surfactant concentration was further increased. The size of the microspheres was not only affected by the surfactant concentration but also by the volume ratio of the dispersed phase to the continuous phase. At a low volume ratio of the phases the effect of the surfactant on the size of the microspheres was larger than the effect of the increased volume ratio of the phases. At high volume ratios of the phases the effect of the volume ratio of phases on the size of the microspheres became more significant than the effect of the surfactant. A slow solidification increased the formation of non-spherical microspheres.     

High quality GaAs nanowires grown on glass substrates

We report for the first time the growth of GaAs nanowires directly on low-cost glass substrates using atmospheric pressure metal organic vapor phase epitaxy via a vapor-liquid-solid mechanism with gold as catalyst. Substrates used in this work were of float glass type typically seen in household window glasses. Growth of GaAs nanowires on glass were investigated for growth temperatures between 410 and 580 °C. Perfectly cylindrical nontapered nanowires with a growth rate of ~33 nm/s were observed at growth temperatures of 450 and 470 °C, whereas highly tapered pillar-like wires were observed at 580 °C. Nanowires grew horizontally on the glass surface at 410 °C with a tendency to grow in vertically from the substrate as the growth temperature was increased. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the nanowires have a perfect zinc blende structure with no planar structural defects or stacking faults. Strong photoluminescence emission was observed both at low temperature and room temperature indicating a high optical quality of GaAs nanowires. Growth comparison on impurity free fused silica substrate suggests unintentional doping of the nanowires from the glass substrate.     

Effect of concentration and temperature on the properties of the microspheres prepared using an emulsion–solvent extraction process

Methylaluminoaxane (MAO) microspheres of average size smaller than 100 μm were prepared using a solvent extraction process; excess of perfluorocarbon (PFC) was added to the hydrocarbon-in-perfluorocarbon emulsion to solidify the MAO droplets. The effect of the MAO concentration in the dispersed phase, the temperature of the PFC added to the emulsion and the preparation temperature on the size, the size distribution and the morphology of the MAO microspheres was studied. MAO droplets broke up more easily with decreasing dispersed phase viscosity and hence the size of the MAO microspheres decreased. The temperature of the PFC added to the emulsion did not significantly affect the size and the morphology of the MAO microspheres. The size of the MAO microspheres increased with increasing preparation temperature. The main reason for the increased size of the MAO microspheres was the increased coalescence with increasing preparation temperature. In addition the porosity of the MAO microspheres increased with increasing preparation temperature.     

Nonlinear behavior of three-terminal graphene junctions at room temperature

We demonstrate nonlinear behavior in three-terminal T-branch graphene devices at room temperature. A rectified nonlinear output at the center branch is observed when the device is biased by a push-pull configuration. Nonlinearity is assumed to arise from a difference in charge transfer through the metal–graphene contact barrier between two contacts. The sign of the rectification can be altered by changing the carrier type using the back-gate voltage.     

The Effects of Moisture in Low‐Voltage Organic Field‐Effect Transistors Gated with a Hydrous Solid Electrolyte

The concept of using ion conducting membranes (50–150 μm thick) for gating low‐voltage (1 V) organic field‐effect transistors (OFETs) is attractive due to its low‐cost and large‐area manufacturing capabilities. Furthermore, the membranes can be tailor‐made to be ion conducting in any desired way or pattern. For the electrolyte gated OFETs in general, the key to low‐voltage operation is the electrolyte “insulator” (the membrane) that provides a high effective capacitance due to ionic polarization within the insulator. Hydrous ion conducting membranes are easy to process and readily available. However, the role of the water in combination with the polymeric semiconductor has not yet been fully clarified. In this work electrical and optical techniques are utilized to carefully monitor the electrolyte/semiconductor interface in an ion conducting membrane based OFET. The main findings are that 1) moisture plays a major part in the transistor operation and careful control of both the ambient atmosphere and the potential differences between the electrodes are required for stable and consistent device behavior, 2) the obtained maximum effective capacitance (5 μF cm^?2) of the membrane suggests that the electric double layer is distributed over a broad region within the polyelectrolyte, and 3) electromodulation spectroscopy combined with current–voltage characteristics provide a method to determine the threshold gate voltage from an electrostatic field‐effect doping to a region of (irreversible) electrochemical perturbation of the polymeric semiconductor.     

A foundation for the study of behavior change support systems

The emerging ambient persuasive technology looks very promising for many areas of personal and ubiquitous computing. Persuasive applications aim at changing human attitudes or behavior through the power of software designs. This theory-creating article suggests the concept of a behavior change support system (BCSS), whether web-based, mobile, ubiquitous, or more traditional information system to be treated as the core of research into persuasion, influence, nudge, and coercion. This article provides a foundation for studying BCSSs, in which the key constructs are the O/C matrix and the PSD model. It will (1) introduce the archetypes of behavior change via BCSSs, (2) describe the design process for building persuasive BCSSs, and (3) exemplify research into BCSSs through the domain of health interventions. Recognizing the themes put forward in this article will help leverage the full potential of computing for producing behavioral changes.     

Impacts of using a performance measurement system in supply chain management: a case study

The study examines how the utilisation of a new performance measurement system (PMS) influences supply chain management (SCM) and what kind of impacts the new system has on the performance of the supply chain. The paper utilises a longitudinal research setting where the data was gathered in two semi-structured interview studies after an action research project in which a new measurement system was designed and developed. The findings show how a PMS serves as a catalyst of inter-organisational knowledge transfer and promotes shared learning. The results also show how knowledge transfer and shared learning led to improved performance of the supply chain. The paper contributes by opening up the practical mechanisms through which performance measurement provides value for SCM and by showing how inter-organisational transfer of performance information catalyses learning and performance improvement. The paper looks beyond the design of performance measures and provides a view on the practice of supply chain performance management. The paper illustrates how sharing performance information amongst supply chain companies improves managers’ awareness of shared targets and the status of network operations. This also resulted in improved performance in the studied case network. Overall, the results encourage organisations to engage in network-level performance measurement and share performance information with their network partners.     

Which muscles compromise human locomotor performance with age?

Ageing leads to a progressive decline in human locomotor performance. However, it is not known whether this decline results from reduced joint moment and power generation of all lower limb muscle groups or just some of them. To further our understanding of age-related locomotor decline, we compare the amounts of joint moments and powers generated by lower limb muscles during walking (self-selected), running (4 m s⁻¹) and sprinting (maximal speed) among young, middle-aged and old adults. We find that age-related deficit in ankle plantarflexor moment and power generation becomes more severe as locomotion change from walking to running to sprinting. As a result, old adults generate more power at the knee and hip extensors than their younger counterparts when walking and running at the same speed. During maximal sprinting, young adults with faster top speeds demonstrate greater moments and powers from the ankle and hip joints, but interestingly, not from the knee joint when compared with the middle-aged and old adults. These findings indicate that propulsive deficit of ankle contributes most to the age-related locomotor decline. In addition, reduced muscular output from the hip rather than from knee limits the sprinting performance in older age.     

Performance Evaluation of Adaptive MIMO-OFDM Systems with Limited Feedback Using Measurement Based Channel Models

Performance evaluation of enhanced link adaptation method for MIMO-OFDM systems with limited feedback using measurement based channels and a stochastic channel model is presented in this paper. In particular, impact of practical channel estimation and feedback errors on link performance is analyzed. An adaptive spatial and modulation scheme selection process is based on the effective signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (ESINR). Mutual information effective SINR mapping method is applied for calculating ESINR values due to its capability of accurate estimation of the error rate performance of large variety of MIMO channels. Numerical results show that simple adaptive systems that switch between diversity/multiplexing or beamforming/multiplexing schemes obtain relatively good performance in realistic 2 × 2 MIMO channels. It is also shown that the imperfect channel estimation and feedback errors can have significant impact on the link performance. Furthermore, it is noticed that using the stochastic channel model in performance simulations can give rather pessimistic results compared to true measurement data.