Negative Transconductance Heterojunction Organic Transistors and their Application to Full‐Swing Ternary Circuits

Multivalued logic (MVL) computing could provide bit density beyond that of Boolean logic. Unlike conventional transistors, heterojunction transistors (H‐TRs) exhibit negative transconductance (NTC) regions. Using the NTC characteristics of H‐TRs, ternary inverters have recently been demonstrated. However, they have shown incomplete inverter characteristics; the output voltage (V_OUT) does not fully swing from V_DD to G_ND. A new H‐TR device structure that consists of a dinaphtho[2,3‐b:2′,3′‐f]thieno[3,2‐b]thiophene (DNTT) layer stacked on a PTCDI‐C13 layer is presented. Due to the continuous DNTT layer from source to drain, the proposed device exhibits novel switching behavior: p‐type off/p‐type subthreshold region /NTC/ p‐type on. As a result, it has a very high on/off current ratio (≈10⁵) and exhibits NTC behavior. It is also demonstrated that an array of 36 of these H‐TRs have 100% yield, a uniform on/off current ratio, and uniform NTC characteristics. Furthermore, the proposed ternary inverter exhibits full V_DD‐to‐G_ND swing of V_OUT with three distinct logic states. The proposed transistors and inverters exhibit hysteresis‐free operation due to the use of a hydrophobic gate dielectric and encapsulating layers. Based on this, the transient operation of a ternary inverter circuit is demonstrated for the first time.     

Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition: A Versatile Tool for Various Device Applications

Advances in device technology have been accompanied by the development of new types of materials and device fabrication methods. Considering device design, initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) inspires innovation as a platform technology that extends the application range of a material or device. iCVD serves as a versatile tool for surface modification using functional thin film. The building of polymeric thin films from vapor phase monomers is highly desirable for the surface modification of thermally sensitive substrates. The precise control of thin film thicknesses can be achieved using iCVD, creating a conformal coating on nano‐, and micro‐structured substrates such as membranes and microfluidics. iCVD allows for the deposition of polymer thin films of high chemical functionality, and thus, substrate surfaces can be functionalized directly from the iCVD polymer film or can selectively gain functionality through chemical reactions between functional groups on the substrate and other reactive molecules. These beneficial aspects of iCVD can spur breakthroughs in device fabrication based on the deposition of robust and functional polymer thin films. This review describes significant implications of and recent progress made in iCVD‐based technologies in three fields: electronic devices, surface engineering, and biomedical applications.

     

Reduction of DNA Folding by Ionic Liquids and Its Effects on the Analysis of DNA–Protein Interaction Using Solid‐State Nanopore

DNA folding is not desirable for solid‐state nanopore techniques when analyzing the interaction of a biomolecule with its specific binding sites on DNA since the signal derived from the binding site could be buried by a large signal from the folding of DNA nearby. To resolve the problems associated with DNA folding, ionic liquids (ILs), which are known to interact with DNA through charge–charge and hydrophobic interactions are employed. 1‐n‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium chloride (C₄mim) is found to be the most effective in lowering the incident of DNA folding during its translocation through solid‐state nanopores (4–5 nm diameter). The rate of folding signals from the translocation of DNA–C₄mim is decreased by half in comparison to that from the control bare DNA. The conformational changes of DNA upon complexation with C₄mim are further examined using atomic force microscopy, showing that the entanglement of DNA which is common in bare DNA is not observed when treated with C₄mim. The stretching effect of C₄mim on DNA strands improves the detection accuracy of nanopore for identifying the location of zinc finger protein bound to its specific binding site in DNA by lowering the incident of DNA folding.     

Solubilities, Vapor Pressures, and Heat Capacities of the Water + Lithium Bromide + Lithium Nitrate + Lithium Iodide + Lithium Chloride System

The optimum mole ratio of lithium salts in the H₂O + LiBr + LiNO₃ + LiI + LiCl system was experimentally determined to be LiBr : LiNO₃ : LiI : LiCl = 5 : 1 : 1 : 2. The solubilities were measured at temperatures from 252.02 to 336.75 K. Regression equations on the solubility data were obtained with a least-squares method. Average absolute deviations of the calculated values from the experimental data were 0.15% at temperatures <285.18 K and 0.05% at temperatures 285.18 K. The vapor pressures were measured at concentrations ranging from 50.0 to 70.0 mass% and at temperatures from 330.13 to 434.88 K. The experimental data were correlated with an Antoine-type equation, and the average absolute deviation of the calculated values from the experimental data was 2.25%. The heat capacities were measured at concentrations from 50.0 to 65.0 mass% and temperatures from 298.15 to 328.15 K. The average absolute deviation of the values calculated by the regression equation from the experimental data was 0.24%.     

Flavonoids from Pueraria mirifica roots and quantitative analysis using HPLC

The flavonoids, wighteone (1), naringenin (2), genistein (3), isoliquiritigenin (4), daidzein (5), daidzin (6), genistein-8-C-β-d-apiofuranosyl-(1→6)-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (7), ambocin (8), and genistin (9) were isolated from roots of Pueraria mirifica. Chemical structures of the compounds were determined based on spectroscopic data analysis. Flavonoids 1, 2, 4, 7, and 8 were isolated for the first time. The contents of 6 flavonoids in P. mirifica roots was determined to be 2.5±0.01 (1), 14.8±0.09 (3), 18.6±0.18 (5), 17.3±0.11 (6), 10.4±0.05 (7), and 6.0±0.02 (9) mg/kg, respectively, using HPLC.     

Electrochromic nanostructures grown on a silicon nanowire template

Vertically grown Si nanowires were prepared as a nanotemplate for conducting polymers. Electrochromic (EC) PEDOT (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)) layer was successfully grown on Si nanowires by electrochemical polymerization method to form PEDOT nanowires having average wall thickness of approximately 60nm. As-prepared conductive nanowire electrode was applied to a low voltage working EC device by fabricating an all solid state EC device. The EC properties of the device were enhanced in the nanowire structure, showing reversible fast optical transition by applying +/-2V. The response time (t(R)) of the EC device from the PEDOT grown on Si nanowires was approximately 0.7s, which was much faster than that from PEDOT film coated on ITO glass electrochemically (t(R)=1.9s).     

Passive prandtl-meyer expansion flow with homogeneous condensation

Prandtl-Meyer expansion flow with homogeneous condensation is investigated experimentally and by numerical computations. The steady and unsteady periodic behaviors of the diabatic shock wave due to the latent heat released by condensation are considered with a view of technical application to the condensing flow through steam turbine blade passages. A passive control method using a porous wall and cavity underneath is applied to control the diabatic shock wave. Two-dimensional, compressible Navier-Stokes with the nucleation rate equation are numerically solved using a third-order TVD (Total Variation Diminishing) finite difference scheme. The computational results reproduce the measured static pressure distributions in passive and no passive Prandtl-Meyer expansion flows with condensation. From both the experimental and computational results, it is found that the magnitude of steady diabatic shock wave can be considerably reduced by the present passive control method. For no passive control, it is found that the diabatic shock wave due to the heat released by condensation oscillates periodically with a frequency of 2.40 kHz. This unsteady periodic motion of the diabatic shock wave can be completely suppressed using the present passive control method.     

Mechanical characterization of micro/nanoscale structures for MEMS/NEMS applications using nanoindentation techniques

Mechanical properties of micro/nanoscale structures are needed to design reliable micro/nanoelectromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS). Micro/nanomechanical characterization of bulk materials of undoped single-crystal silicon and thin films of undoped polysilicon, SiO(2), SiC, Ni-P, and Au have been carried out. Hardness, elastic modulus and scratch resistance of these materials were measured by nanoindentation and microscratching using a nanoindenter. Fracture toughness was measured by indentation using a Vickers indenter. Bending tests were performed on the nanoscale silicon beams, microscale Ni-P and Au beams using a depth-sensing nanoindenter. It is found that the SiC film exhibits higher hardness, elastic modulus and scratch resistance as compared to other materials. In the bending tests, the nanoscale Si beams failed in a brittle manner with a flat fracture surface. The notched Ni-P beam showed linear deformation behavior followed by abrupt failure. The Au beam showed elastic-plastic deformation behavior. FEM simulation can well predict the stress distribution in the beams studied. The nanoindentation, scratch and bending tests used in this study can be satisfactorily used to evaluate the mechanical properties of micro/nanoscale structures for use in MEMS/NEMS.     

Impact collapse characteristics of CF/Epoxy composite tubes for light-weights

This paper investigates the collapse characteristics of CF/Epoxy composite tubes subjected to axial loads as changing interlaminar number and outer ply orientation angle. The tubes are aften used for automobiles, aerospace vehicles, trains, ships, and elevators. We have performed static and dynamic impact collapse tests by a way of building impact test machine with vertical air-compression. It is fanad that CF/Epoxy tube of the 6 interlaminar number (C-type) with 90° outer orientation angle and trigger absorbed more energy than the other tubes (A, B and D types). Also collapse mode depended upon outer orientation angle of CF/Epoxy tubes and loading type as well ; typical collapse modes of CF/Epoxy tubes are wedged, splayed and fragmentcl.