Toward Low-Cost,High-Energy Density,and High-Power Density Lithium-Ion Batteries

Reducing cost and increasing energy density are two barriers for widespread application of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles. Although the cost of electric vehicle batteries has been reduced by ~70% from 2008 to 2015, the current battery pack cost ($268/kWh in 2015) is still >2 times what the USABC targets ($125/kWh). Even though many advancements in cell chemistry have been realized since the lithium-ion battery was first commercialized in 1991, few major breakthroughs have occurred in the past decade. Therefore, future cost reduction will rely on cell manufacturing and broader market acceptance. This article discusses three major aspects for cost reduction: (1) quality control to minimize scrap rate in cell manufacturing; (2) novel electrode processing and engineering to reduce processing cost and increase energy density and throughputs; and (3) material development and optimization for lithium-ion batteries with high-energy density. Insights on increasing energy and power densities of lithium-ion batteries are also addressed.     

Relation between the redox state of iron-based nanoparticles and their cytotoxicity toward Escherichia coli

Iron-based nanoparticles have been proposed for an increasing number of biomedical or environmental applications although in vitro toxicity has been observed. The aim of this study was to understand the relationship between the redox state of iron-based nanoparticles and their cytotoxicity toward a Gram-negative bacterium, Escherichia coli. While chemically stable nanoparticles (gammaFe2O3) have no apparent cytotoxicity, nanoparticles containing ferrous and, particularly, zerovalent iron are cytotoxic. The cytotoxic effects appear to be associated principally with an oxidative stress as demonstrated using a mutant strain of E. coli completely devoid of superoxide dismutase activity. This stress can result from the generation of reactive oxygen species with the interplay of oxygen with reduced iron species (Fe(II) and/or Fe(0)) or from the disturbance of the electronic and/or ionic transport chains due to the strong affinity of the nanoparticles for the cell membrane.     

Application of sol gel spin coated yttria-stabilized zirconia layers for the improvement of solid oxide fuel cell electrolytes produced by atmospheric plasma spraying

Due to its high thermal stability and purely oxide ionic conductivity, yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) is the most commonly used electrolyte material for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). Standard electrolyte fabrication techniques for planar SOFCs involve wet ceramic techniques such as tape-casting or screen printing, requiring sintering steps at temperatures above 1300 °C. Plasma spraying (PS) may provide a more rapid and cost efficient method to produce SOFCs without sintering. High-temperature sintering requires long processing times and can lead to oxidation of metal alloys used as mechanical supports, or to detrimental interreactions between the electrolyte and adjacent electrode layers. This study investigates the use of spin coated sol gel derived YSZ precursor solutions to fill the pores present in plasma sprayed YSZ layers, and to enhance the surface area for reaction at the electrolyte-cathode interface, without the use of high-temperature firing steps. The effects of different plasma conditions and sol concentrations and solid loadings on the gas permeability and fuel cell performance have been investigated.     

Use of multiwavelength transmission spectroscopy for the characterization of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts: quantitative interpretation

Combined scattering and absorption properties of suspended particles can be obtained as a function of wavelength by measuring the complete ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectrum. This research reports on the quantitative interpretation of measured UV-vis spectra of Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst suspensions obtained from several commercial sources and evaluated using two different purification techniques. The reproducibility of the measured spectral data was assessed, and the quantitative interpretation of the oocyst spectra in terms of the particle size and the chemical composition of the particles are reported herein. The interpretation model of the spectra is based on light scattering theory, spectral deconvolution techniques, and on the approximation of the wavelength-dependent optical properties of the basic constituents of living organisms. A characteristic set of optical properties for C. parvum oocysts has been determined as a function of wavelength and used for the quantitative interpretation of UV-vis spectra. The results from the spectral deconvolution show quantitative differences among oocyst preparations. These results represent the first step in establishing a set of critical parameters (e.g., oocyst size and chemical composition) necessary for the detection and identification of C. parvum oocysts in water using spectroscopy.     

Effect of Copper on the Carrier Lifetime in Black Silicon

Black silicon is produced by laser annealing of a-Si:H films. During annealing, silicon microstructures are formed on the surface. We use time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy to study the photoconductivity dynamics in black silicon. We find that when a copper film is deposited on top of the a-Si:H layer prior to laser annealing, the carrier lifetime of black silicon is significantly reduced.     

Traffic‐aware downlink power allocation in multiuser OFDM system

Multiuser orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is a promising technology to achieve high uplink/downlink (DL) capacities in the next generation broadband wireless networks such as WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access). In this paper, we investigate the DL adaptive power allocation (APA) in multiuser OFDM system from the perspective of cross‐layer design. Specifically, we formulate APA as an optimization problem with the traffic profile of each user asit a priori knowledge. To solve the optimization problem, we develop a fairness‐constrained optimal prioritized effective throughput (PET) strategy and the corresponding iterative algorithms, aiming at balancing the prioritized effective throughput and the linear or logarithmic user satisfaction‐based fairness. Simulation results show that our proposed APA optimization approach can achieve satisfying performance. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Future Millimeter/Sub–Millimeter Radiometer for Satellite Observation of Ice Clouds

The instrument concept of a future spaceborne millimeter/sub-millimeter radiometer is proposed in this paper for the remote sensing of ice clouds from satellite. The proposed radiometer is expected to operate at a series of frequencies within the millimeter and sub-millimeter wave range from 150 to about 900 GHz. Five frequencies are selected in the atmospheric windows, i.e., 150, 220, 463, 683, 874 GHz, and at each frequency there are two orthogonally polarized channels. Three water vapor channels located close to 183.31 GHz are also included in this instrument, since they can provide water vapor information, which is needed for ice cloud parameter retrieval. To simplify system design and test, a modular design philosophy is followed in the receiver frontend design and two antennas are used separately for the millimeter and sub-millimeter channels. Overall, the instrument requirements can be met with today's technology, except for the channels at the highest frequencies, where the radiometric sensitivity can be larger than the required 1.0 K for the 10 km spatial resolution (2.5 ms integration time). However, this situation can be improved by averaging neighboring pixels in data processing if certain compromise in the spatial resolution can be made at these frequencies.     

Ice detection and classification on an aircraft wing with ultrasonic shear horizontal guided waves

Ice accumulation on airfoils has been identified as a primary cause of many accidents in commercial and military aircraft. To improve aviation safety as well as reduce cost and environmental threats related to aircraft icing, sensitive, reliable, and aerodynamically compatible ice detection techniques are in great demand. Ultrasonic guided-wave-based techniques have been proved reliable for go and no go types of ice detection in some systems including the HALO system, in which the second author of this paper is a primary contributor. In this paper, we propose a new model that takes the ice layer into guided-wave modeling. Using this model, the thickness and type of ice formation can be determined from guided-wave signals. Five experimental schemes are also proposed in this paper based on some unique features identified from the guided- wave dispersion curves. A sample experiment is also presented in this paper, where a 1 mm thick glaze ice on a 2 mm aluminum plate is clearly detected. Quantitative match of the experiment data to theoretical prediction serves as a strong support for future implementation of other testing schemes proposed in this paper.     

Middleware and Metrology for the Pervasive Future

Looks at the data and metrology tools developed by The National Institute of Standards and Technology for the research community, including common middleware for distributed sensor data acquisition and processing.     

Some properties of inn films prepared by reactive evaporation

Some optical and electrical properties of degenerate InN films prepared by a reactive evaporation technique are presented. Thermal stability of these easily dissociated samples is discussed and evidence is presented indicating that the partial pressure of atomic nitrogen rather than diatomic nitrogen is a more fundamental parameter for describing thermal equilibrium. This has important implications for the growth of all group III-nitrides.