Inclusion of CdSe quantum dots on the P-doped emitter of Si solar cells

We investigated Cadium Selenide quantum dots embedded in the Si solar cell in order to improve the efficiency of conventional Si solar cell. CdSe quantum dots with 3 to approximately 4 nm size were printed on the phospho-silicate glass layer grown over the emitter surface of p-n junction Si solar cells during the phosphorous diffusion process. Ohmic contact was formed by the contribution of nanoparticles at the Si emitter in spite of the existance of phospho-silicate glass layer. The enhanced light absorption due to the quantum dots was ranged from 500 to 600 nm where the CdSe nanodots have the corresponding emission wavelength of 560 nm. The efficiency of reference solar cell with the glass layer was measured to be 1.0% and it was increased to 12.72% for the reference sample without the glass layer. Furthermore, the efficiency of CdSe quantum dot sample was measured to be 13.6%. This indicates that the quantum dots play the roles of both the formation of tunneling channel and the enhancement of the light conversion efficiency in the visible spectral range.     

Capturing and reusing knowledge in engineering change management: A case of automobile development

The development of complex products, such as automobiles, involves engineering changes that frequently require redesigning or altering the products. Although it has been found that efficient management of knowledge and collaboration in engineering changes is crucial for the success of new product development, extant systems for engineering changes focus mainly on storing documents related to the engineering changes or simply automating the approval processes, while the knowledge that is generated from collaboration and decision-making processes may not be captured and managed easily. This consequently limits the use of the systems by the participants in engineering change processes. This paper describes a model for knowledge management and collaboration in engineering change processes, and based on the model, builds a prototype system that demonstrates the model’s strengths. We studied a major Korean automobile company to analyze the automobile industry’s unique requirements regarding engineering changes. We also developed domain ontologies from the case to facilitate knowledge sharing in the design process. For achieving efficient retrieval and reuse of past engineering changes, we used a case-based reasoning (CBR) with a concept-based similarity measure.

Thermal kinetics of color degradation of mulberry fruit extract

The effects of temperature and pH on color degradation kinetics of the mulberry fruit extract were investigated. The absorbance at 510 nm was decreased with increase of heating time, but that at 420 nm was increased with the increase of heating time at 100 degrees C. The change of the browning index (A510/A420) was increased with increase of pH and was lower at pH 2.0 than that at pH 5.0. The browning index variation was adequately described by both the first-order and the zero-order kinetic. However, the zero-order kinetic model was proposed because of the better fit. According to the Arrhenius model, the activation energies for the browning index in the range of 80-100 degrees C for the four different pH values were 30.68 kJ/mol for pH 2.0, 35.87 kJ/mol for pH 3.0, 42.67 kJ/ mol for pH 4.0, and 43.49 kJ/mol for pH 5.0.     

Effect of hydrogen plasma passivation on performance of HIT solar cells

We studied the performance improvement of HIT solar cells by optimizing H₂ plasma exposure and deposition of thin a-S:H layer on c-Si. With increasing H₂ treatment time, the V_OC increases until 80 s and then decreases, indicating the optimum time is 80 s. It is found that the cell performance is almost the same with and without a thin a-Si:H layer when 80 s plasma is treated on the c-Si before i-layer deposition. The conversion efficiency of 14.04% was achieved at the substrate temperature of 160 °C.     

Improvement of linewidth enhancement factor in 1.55-μmmultiple-quantum-well laser diodes

The improvement of the linewidth enhancement factor in complex-coupled laser diode (CC-LD), or loss-coupled, was confirmed by measuring the spontaneous emission spectra below threshold from the sidewall of laser diodes. In addition, the serial resistance of the device was measured. The linewidth enhancement factor is improved by the presence of a light absorbing InGaAs grating for loss coupled distributed-feedback (DFB) laser diode (LD). We report the comparison of the linewidth enhancement factors of Fabry-Perot (FP) LD, conventional DFB-LD, and loss coupled DFB-LDs     

Microfluidic Templated Multicompartment Microgels for 3D Encapsulation and Pairing of Single Cells

Controlled encapsulation and pairing of single cells within a confined 3D matrix can enable the replication of the highly ordered cellular structure of human tissues. Microgels with independently controlled compartments that can encapsulate cells within separately confined hydrogel matrices would provide precise control over the route of pairing single cells. Here, a one‐step microfluidic method is presented to generate monodisperse multicompartment microgels that can be used as a 3D matrix to pair single cells in a highly biocompatible manner. A method is presented to induce microgels formation on chip, followed by direct extraction of the microgels from oil phase, thereby avoiding prolonged exposure of the microgels to the oil. It is further demonstrated that by entrapping stem cells with niche cells within separate but adjacent compartments of the microgels, it can create complex stem cell niche microenvironments in a controlled manner, which can serve as a useful tool for the study of cell–cell interactions. This microfluidic technique represents a significant step toward high‐throughput single cells encapsulation and pairing for the study of intercellular communications at single cell level, which is of significant importance for cell biology, stem cell therapy, and tissue engineering.     

Paternal and Maternal Information and Communication Technology Usage as Their Very Low Birth Weight Infants Transition Home From the NICU

Little is known about how differently mothers and fathers of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants use information and communication technology (ICT), especially during the vulnerable transition from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to home. This study aims to qualitatively compare and contrast the two groups’ usage of technology. In-depth, semistructured phone interviews were conducted with 25 parents of 16 VLBW infants who had been hospitalized in the NICU. Grounded theory facilitated the understanding of interview data. This article discusses the patterns that emerged around the use of ICT between the two groups and discusses the implications for health information seeking, privacy and misinformation, online social networking, learning technology, choosing a health care provider, and health care communication.     

A Fast and Precise Blind I/Q Mismatch Compensation for Image Rejection in Direct‐Conversion Receiver

In this paper, we propose a new digital blind in‐phase/quadrature‐phase (I/Q) mismatch compensation technique for image rejection in a direct‐conversion receiver (DCR). The proposed image‐rejection circuit adopts DC offset cancellation and a sign‐sign least mean squares (LMS) algorithm with a unique step size adaptation both for a fast and precise I/Q mismatch estimation. In addition, several performance‐optimizing design considerations related to accuracy, speed, and hardware simplicity are discussed. The implementation of the proposed circuit in an FPGA results in an image‐rejection ratio (IRR) of 65 dB, which is the best performance with modulated signals, along with an adaptation time of 0.9 seconds, which is a tenfold increase in the compensation speed as compared to previously reported circuits. The proposed technique will be a promising solution in the area of image rejection to increase both the speed and accuracy of future DCRs.     

Comparison of tribological characteristics between aluminum alloys and polytetrafluoroethylene composites journal bearings under mineral oil lubrication

This study examined the tribological behavior of journal bearings made from polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) composites and aluminum (Al) alloys. The PTFE composite journal bearings consisted of a steel backing with a thickness of 1.6 mm, a middle layer of sintered porous bronze with a thickness of 0.24～0.27 mm, and a surface layer of PTFE filled with fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) powder and carbon fibers with a thickness 0.06～0.14 mm. The other was an aluminum alloy journal bearing consisted of a steel backing with a thickness of 1.5 mm and a surface layer of an Al-6Sn-6Si alloy with a thickness 0.35～0.75 mm. A series of lubrication tests were performed using a journal bearing tester under various normal loads. The tribological properties for each journal bearing were evaluated by measuring the lubricant oil temperature and friction coefficient as a function of the applied normal load. In addition, the chemical compositions and microstructures of the journal bearing materials used in this study was analyzed by inductively coupled plasma (ICP), optical microscopy (OM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The experimental results showed that the Al alloy journal bearings reduce the friction coefficient by 28 % compared to the PTFE composites bearings. In addition, the Al alloy journal bearing worked properly at the maximum load of ～ 8,000 N without adhesion. However, the PTFE composite journal bearings exhibited strong adhesion at the loads ranging from 6300 to 8000 N. This suggests that the Al alloy is a more promising material in journal bearings than PTFE composites.