The Einstein relation in nanostructured materials: simplified theory and suggestion for experimental determination

An attempt is made to study the Einstein relation for the diffusivity–mobility ratio (DMR) in quantum wells (QWs) and quantum well wires (QWWs) of tetragonal compounds on the basis of a newly formulated electron energy spectrum taking into account the combined influences of the anisotropies in effective electron mass, the spin–orbit splitting, and the presence of crystal field splitting, respectively. The results for quantum-confined III–V compounds form a special case of our generalized analysis. The DMR has also been studied for QWs and QWWs of II–VI and IV–VI materials. Taking QWs and QWWs of CdGeAs₂, InAs, CdS and PbSe as examples, it was found that the DMR increases with increasing carrier statistics and decreasing film thickness respectively in various oscillatory manners emphasizing the influence of dimensional quantizations and the energy band constants in different cases. An experimental method of determining the DMR in nanostructures with arbitrary dispersion laws has also been suggested and the present simplified analysis is in agreement with the suggested relationship. The well-known results for nanostructures with parabolic energy bands have also been obtained as special cases from this generalized analysis under certain limiting conditions.     

激光结晶a-Si:H SOI离子注入和快速退火

本文对激光结晶a-Si∶H SOI结构砷注入和快速退火行为作了研究.a-Si∶H激光结晶有Lp-LCR,OD,FCR-2,FCR-1四个结晶区.用剖面电镜观察了结晶区的结构.扩展电阻测量表明Lp-LCR区中有两种扩散机制,即杂质在晶粒体内扩散和沿缺陷扩散.OD区中有三种扩散形式,除有上述两种以外,还有沿缺陷的扩散.首次比较了沿晶界和缺陷的扩散速度.     

A dynamic linear programming approach to market allocation of renewable resources in the italian energy system: The case of solar thermal and biogas technologies

In Italy solar thermal energy and energy from biogas are two possible means of reducing dependence on energy imports. Using a multiperiod LP model (MARKAL) the authors assessed the likely potential of both technologies under various circumstances. The study covered the period 1980–2005, in five segments of five years. It focused only on the subsystem of the energy end-uses which can be substituted for by solar thermal and biogas technologies. The overall non-renewable sources which can be saved in 20 years by these technologies total 450 PJ (1 PJ = 10^{1 5} J) if the fuel prices rise at 0 per cent average annual, 1450 PJ if the fuel prices rise at 4.2 per cent average annual, 1860 PJ if the fuel prices rise at 7.2 per cent average annual and 3780 PJ if the fuel prices rise at 15 per cent average annual. However the most competitive technologies appear to be solar water heaters used mainly in the private and commercial sectors and biogas systems used mainly in the agricultural sector. The study was carried out by APRE under ENEA (formerly CNEN) contract and was intended to serve as an analytical basis for establishing an overall development and demonstration strategy for end-use renewable technologies in Italy.     

Hydrogen production in solar reactors

The present work summarizes the recent activities of our laboratory in the field of solar-aided hydrogen production with structured monolithic solar reactors. This reactor concept, “transferred” from the well-known automobile exhaust catalytic after-treatment systems, employs ceramic supports optimized to absorb effectively solar radiation and develop sufficiently high temperatures, that are coated with active materials capable to perform/catalyze a variety of “solar-aided” reactions for the production of hydrogen such as water splitting or natural gas reforming. Our work evolves in an integrated approach starting from the synthesis of active powders tailored to particular hydrogen production reactions, their deposition upon porous absorbers, testing of relevant properties of merit such as thermomechanical stability and hydrogen yield and finally to the design, operation simulation and performance optimization of structured monolithic solar hydrogen production reactors. This approach, among other things, has culminated to the world's first closed, solar-thermochemical cycle in operation that is capable of continuous hydrogen production employing entirely renewable and abundant energy sources and raw materials – solar energy and water, respectively – without any CO₂ emissions and holds, thus, a significant potential for large-scale, emissions-free hydrogen production, particularly for regions of the world that lack indigenous resources but are endowed with ample solar energy.     

The principles of information processing based on the numerical solution of the nonlinear heat-conduction problem. Pt. 1. The three-dimensional discrete mathematical model

A three-dimensional solution of the direct problem of heat conduction when a linear pulsed heat source acts in the plane of contact of two semibounded bodies is presented. The solution is obtained by the method of finite differences. An example of the modeling is considered. __________ Translated from Izmeritel’naya Tekhnika, No. 10, pp. 42–45, October, 2007.     

A novel technique to prepare LiNbO3 at low temperature

Fresh niobium hydroxide was first precipitated from NbF₅ solution using an aqueous ammonium hydroxide under basic conditions. Then a simple procedure of mixing lithium and niobium hydroxides together and heating at a low temperature (400 °C) produced pure ultrafine single phase LiNbO₃ (LN). In the literature, this is the lowest temperature so far reported on the formation of LN. The phase content and lattice parameters are determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The average particle size and morphology were studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM).