Semi-empirical Density Estimations for Binary,Ternary and Multicomponent Alkali Nitrate–Nitrite Molten Salt Mixtures

For sensible thermal energy storage in Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants, a molten salt mixture of 60 wt% sodium nitrate (NaNO₃) and 40 wt% potassium nitrate (KNO₃), known as Solar Salt, is commonly utilized. The paper presents semi-empirical estimation results of the density of Solar Salt and alternative molten salt mixtures with low melting temperatures in a range from 70 °C to 140 °C. These mixtures are Hitec, HitecXL, LiNO₃–KNO₃–NaNO₃ and a multicomponent mixture. The paper shows that density values of mixtures can be closely predicted from single salt densities. The paper examines different estimation rules for mixtures. The quasilinear volumetric additivity rule (QVAR) is known for ternary reciprocal systems. For the first time, the presented work extends the QVAR to multicomponent mixtures. Temperature-dependent densities of selected salt mixtures of the system Ca,Li,K,Na//NO₂,NO₃ were estimated. Estimations are motivated by a fast and reliable method compared to time-consuming and error-prone measurements of several mixtures.     

Axiomatizing the Monodic Fragment of

As we can show that the two-variable monadic fragment of thefull first-order extension of the propositional branching time logic is not recursively enumerable, we show in thisarticle that the monodic fragment of can be axiomatized.     

Suppression of boron penetration through thin gate oxides by nitrogen implantation into the gate electrode of PMOS devices

PMOS devices with different amounts of nitrogen implanted into the gate electrode before doping with BF₂ implantation and implant anneal were manufactured. The thicknesses of the gate oxides grown in dry oxygen by RTP were 4.1 down to 2.8 nm. The implant anneal was also performed by RTP. The influence of the nitrogen on the penetration of boron ions through the ultra-thin gate oxides into the channel region was investigated by electrical and SIMS measurements. Boron was effectively prevented from diffusion by high nitrogen concentrations at the polysilicon/gate oxide interface without degrading the reliability. In return, increased sheet resistivities and gate depletion have to be taken into account by high nitrogen concentrations within the polysilicon gate electrode.     

A novel PWM control for a bi-directional full-bridge DC–DC converter with smooth conversion mode transitions

A novel CMOS integrated pulse-width modulation (PWM) control circuit allowing smooth transitions between conversion modes in full-bridge based bi-directional DC–DC converters operating at high switching frequencies is presented. The novel PWM control circuit is able to drive full-bridge based DC–DC converters performing step-down (i.e. buck) and step-up (i.e. boost) voltage conversion in both directions, thus allowing charging and discharging of the batteries in mobile systems. It provides smooth transitions between buck, buck-boost and boost modes. Additionally, the novel PWM control loop circuit uses a symmetrical triangular carrier, which overcomes the necessity of using an output phasing circuit previously required in PWM controllers based on sawtooth oscillators. The novel PWM control also enables to build bi-directional DC–DC converters operating at high switching frequencies (i.e. up to 10?MHz and above). Finally, the proposed PWM control circuit also allows the use of an average lossless inductor-current sensor for sensing the average load current even at very high switching frequencies. In this article, the proposed PWM control circuit is modelled and the integrated CMOS schematic is given. The corresponding theory is analysed and presented in detail. The circuit simulations realised in the Cadence Spectre software with a commercially available 0.18?µm mixed-signal CMOS technology from UMC are shown. The PWM control circuit was implemented in a monolithic integrated bi-directional CMOS DC–DC converter ASIC prototype. The fabricated prototype was tested experimentally and has shown performances in accordance with the theory.     

New Aspects in Ferroelectric Energy Sources for Impact Fuzes

In order to find materials with increased specific electrical energy, especially for impact fuzes, the irreversible conversion of mechanical to electrical energy in ferroelectric ceramics of the Pb(Zr₁-_xTi_x) O₃ type with a considerable proportion of zirconium is studied. The depolarization of the ceramics is measured for shock compressions between 0 and 30 kbar. The maximum electrical energy, obtained at about 18 kbar, is of the order of 1.8 J/cm³ with Pb(Zr_0.965Ti_0.035)0³ + 1% Nb₂O₅ and of the order of 0.8 J/cm³ with a Pb(Zr_0.54Ti_0.46)0³ + 1% Nb₂0₅. As an example for application, the initiation of a 3.5 ω bridge wire PETN detonator is described.     

The Kinetics of the Precipitation of Co from Supersaturated Cu-Co Alloy

The kinetics of the precipitation of Co from a supersaturated solid solution of Cu-0.95 at. pct Co was investigated by isochronal annealing applying differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) with heating rates in the range 5 to 20 K min^–1. The corresponding microstructural evolution was investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) in combination with electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). Upon isochronal annealing, spherical Co precipitates of fcc crystal structure form. Kinetic analysis by fitting of a modular phase transformation model to, simultaneously, all DSC curves of variable heating rate measured for Cu-0.95 at. pct Co showed that the precipitation-process mechanism can be described within the framework of this general phase transformation model by continuous nucleation and diffusion-controlled growth. By introducing additional microstructural information (here, the precipitate-particle density), for the first time, values for the separate activation energies of nucleation and growth could be deduced from the transformation kinetics.     

Gallium gradients in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin‐film solar cells

The gallium gradient in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (CIGS) layers, which forms during the two industrially relevant deposition routes, the sequential and co‐evaporation processes, plays a key role in the device performance of CIGS thin‐film modules. In this contribution, we present a comprehensive study on the formation, nature, and consequences of gallium gradients in CIGS solar cells. The formation of gallium gradients is analyzed in real time during a rapid selenization process by in situ X‐ray measurements. In addition, the gallium grading of a CIGS layer grown with an in‐line co‐evaporation process is analyzed by means of depth profiling with mass spectrometry. This gallium gradient of a real solar cell served as input data for device simulations. Depth‐dependent occurrence of lateral inhomogeneities on the µm scale in CIGS deposited by the co‐evaporation process was investigated by highly spatially resolved luminescence measurements on etched CIGS samples, which revealed a dependence of the optical bandgap, the quasi‐Fermi level splitting, transition levels, and the vertical gallium gradient. Transmission electron microscopy analyses of CIGS cross‐sections point to a difference in gallium content in the near surface region of neighboring grains. Migration barriers for a copper‐vacancy‐mediated indium and gallium diffusion in CuInSe₂ and CuGaSe₂ were calculated using density functional theory. The migration barrier for the In_Cu antisite in CuGaSe₂ is significantly lower compared with the Ga_Cu antisite in CuInSe₂, which is in accordance with the experimentally observed Ga gradients in CIGS layers grown by co‐evaporation and selenization processes. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.