Cathodoluminescence investigation of silicon nanowires fabricated by thermal evaporation of SiO

Silicon nanowire samples fabricated by thermal evaporation of SiO powder were investigated by Cathodoluminescence. Three main bands were found at low temperatures, namely, peak 1 at about 620–650 nm (2.0–1.91 eV), peak 2 at 920 nm (1.35 eV), and peak 3 at 1280 nm (0.97 eV). An additional broad band (peak 4) in the infrared region with its maximum at ∼1570 nm (0.79 eV) appears at room temperature. The origins of the emission bands are discussed. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Planar optical waveguides prepared in GIL49 and BK7 glass substrates by K+-Na+ ion exchange with the electric field assistance

This report focuses on research into waveguides prepared by K⁺-Na⁺ ion exchange with the help of an electric field, and the subsequent comparison with waveguides prepared by pure thermal ion exchange. The goals of this work were to determine the characteristics of and to address the technological problems associated with waveguides prepared in two types of highly pure optical glass: special soda-lime silica GIL49 glass produced from pure raw materials and commercially prepared borosilicate BK7 glass. An appropriate chemical mixture, KNO₃:Ca(NO₃)₂ in the molar ratio of 41:59, was used as the source of potassium ions. Experiments were conducted at temperatures between 250 and 410°C, and electric field values between 0 and 150 V/mm. The number of modes, depth, profile, and the change in refractive index (Δn) were measured for samples from each type of glass under various technological conditions. All of these parameters can be controlled accurately and repeatedly by the electric field. These experiments have also shown that a particular advantage of these types of pure glass is the low waveguide optical losses (0.1 to 0.2 dB/cm) attainable.     

Silver versus white sheet as a back reflector for microcrystalline silicon solar cells deposited on LPCVD‐ZnO electrodes of various textures

We compare the performance of two back reflector designs on the optoelectrical properties of microcrystalline silicon solar cells. The first one consists of a 5‐µm‐thick low‐pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD)‐ZnO electrode combined with a white sheet; the second one incorporates an Ag reflector deposited on a thin LPCVD‐ZnO layer (with thickness below 200 nm). For this latter design, the optical loss in the nano‐rough Ag reflector can be strongly reduced by smoothing the surface of the thin underlying ZnO layer, by means of an Ar‐plasma treatment. Because of its superior lateral conductivity, the thin‐ZnO/Ag back reflector design provides a higher fill factor than the dielectric back reflector design. When decreasing the roughness of the front electrode with respect to our standard front LPCVD‐ZnO layer, the electrical cell performance is improved; in addition, the implementation of the thin‐ZnO/Ag back reflector leads to a significant relative gain in light trapping. Applying this newly optimized combination of front and back electrodes, the conversion efficiency is improved from 8.9% up to 9.4%, for cells with an active‐layer thickness of only 1.1 µm. We thereby highlight the necessity to optimize simultaneously the front and back electrodes. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Availability of macro and microelements from edible domestic waste fed to sheep

Young Awassi rams fitted with rumen cannula and T-shaped cannulas in duodenum and terminal ileum were used to study net absorption of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, manganese, and copper from edible domestic waste in comparison with a conventional concentrate diet. Mean net absorptions (% of intake) of calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium from edible domestic waste and control diets were 15.3, -.9; 54.4, 37.0; and 46.4, 58.8. The small intestine was the major site for calcium and phosphorus absorption and the rumen for absorption of magnesium. Net absorption of zinc, manganese, and copper was low in both diets, probably as a result of excessive supply and low physiological demands. There was a net gain of manganese and copper and a net loss of zinc in the stomachs. In addition to potential for energy and protein, edible domestic waste supplies macro and microelements for ruminants, and thus, it can be regarded as a complete concentrate diet.     

Smart Antennas with Two-Dimensional Array Configurations for Performance Enhancement of a Joint Detection CDMA Mobile Radio System

Smart antennas for base stations of cellular mobile radio systems offer the potential of system performance enhancement by taking advantage of the directionally inhomogeneous signal reception at the receiver. In this paper, two-dimensional array configurations employed at the uplink receiver of a joint detection CDMA (JD-CDMA) mobile radio system are investigated. This smart antenna concept can be split up into a novel channel estimator and data detector which incorporate explicitely the information of the direction-of-arrival (DOA) of signals emerging from users assigned to the considered base station. Proceeding from channel models that model the directional inhomogeneity of the mobile radio channel with single DOAs, the link level performance of a JD-CDMA mobile radio system using this smart antenna concept is evaluated for the rural propagation environment. The performance evaluation is based on Monte Carlo simulations of data transmission and average bit error rates versus the average signal to noise ratio per net information bit are presented for different array configurations. Although these results should be considered as upper bounds for the link level performance, they reveal the advantages of implementing two-dimensional array configurations at the uplink receiver of a JD-CDMA mobile radio system.     

Charge Transfer Excitons in Polymer/Fullerene Blends: The Role of Morphology and Polymer Chain Conformation

Here, it is shown how carrier recombination through charge transfer excitons between conjugated polymers and fullerene molecules is mainly controlled by the intrachain conformation of the polymer, and to a limited extent by the mesoscopic morphology of the blend. This experimental result is obtained by combining near‐infrared photoluminescence spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy, which are sensitive to charge transfer exciton emission and morphology, respectively. The photoluminescence intensity of the charge transfer exciton is correlated to the degree of intrachain order of the polymer, highlighting an important aspect for understanding and limiting carrier recombination in organic photovoltaics.     

Iron Oxide‐Labeled Collagen Scaffolds for Non‐Invasive MR Imaging in Tissue Engineering

Non‐invasive imaging holds significant potential for implementation in tissue engineering. It can be used to monitor the localization and function of tissue‐engineered implants, as well as their resorption and remodelling. Thus far, however, the vast majority of effort in this area of research have focused on the use of ultrasmall super‐paramagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) nanoparticle‐labeled cells, colonizing the scaffolds, to indirectly image the implant material. Reasoning that directly labeling scaffold materials might be more beneficial (enabling imaging also in the case of non‐cellularized implants), more informative (enabling the non‐invasive visualization and quantification of scaffold degradation), and easier to translate into the clinic (cell‐free materials are less complex from a regulatory point‐of‐view), three different types of USPIO nanoparticles are prepared and incorporated both passively and actively (via chemical conjugation; during collagen crosslinking) into collagen‐based scaffold materials. The amount of USPIO incorporated into the scaffolds is optimized, and correlated with MR signal intensity, showing that the labeled scaffolds are highly biocompatible, and that scaffold degradation can be visualized using MRI. This provides an initial proof‐of‐principle for the in vivo visualization of the scaffolds. Consequently, USPIO‐labeled scaffold materials seem to be highly suitable for image‐guided tissue engineering applications.     

Some aspects on ruggedness of SiC power devices

This article is on effects that can destroy SiC power semiconductor devices. The failure physics in SiC devices are discussed based on the well understood effects in silicon devices. In some device properties, such as surge current, short circuit, static avalanche and dynamic avalanche, SiC has significant possible advantages compared to silicon. For cosmic ray stability, there are no unique results. Regarding thermal mechanical stress on interface materials, SiC is more challenging. The same may hold for electrical stress in passivation layers at the junction termination.     

Low‐noise,low‐voltage,low‐power IF gain controlled amplifiers for wireless communication

Circuit solutions of various types of gain controlled IF amplifiers with digital and analog gain control are described. Advantages and disadvantages of the different solutions are shown. Requirements for lowpower, lowvoltage, low noise, high gain and linearity at high IFfrequencies from the system point of view are worked out. Solutions will be presented to optain optimum performance by technology and circuit design technique for digital wireless telephone systems used for GSM and PCN systems.