A double-layer current conduction model for high-κ gate dielectric materials with interfacial oxide or silicate layer

The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) structures with hafnium oxide as the gate dielectric film were studied. Sharp shifts from a low-voltage ohmic regime to a tunneling conduction were observed in the high-voltage range. The paper demonstrates that this behavior can be described very well with a double-layer dielectric model. Excellent fittings of the experimental curves were obtained and the related key structural and physical parameters were obtained. The model fitting further suggests the optimal annealing conditions for preparing the hafnium oxide films.     

Effect of polymerization conditions on o‐phenylenediamine and o‐phenetidine oxidative copolymers

A series of new o‐phenylenediamine (OPD)/o‐phenetidine (PHT) copolymers with partly phenazine‐like structures has been successfully synthesized at three polymerization temperatures by chemically oxidative polymerization in four different polymerization media. The molecular structures and properties of the resulting OPD/PHT polymers were investigated by IR, UV–vis and high‐resolution ¹H NMR spectroscopies, and DSC, in order to ascertain the effect of reaction temperature, comonomer ratio and acid medium. The copolymerization mechanism of OPD with PHT monomers has been proposed. It is found that the statistical OPD/PHT copolymer obtained at a temperature of 118 °C has a higher degree of polymerization than that obtained at 12–17 °C. The OPD content in the copolymers calculated from NMR spectroscopic analysis is higher than that in the feed OPD content, whereas the OPD content calculated from element analysis is slightly lower than the feed OPD content. It can be predicted that denitrogenation takes place in the OPD units during the polymerization process at OPD/PHT molar ratios of 90/10 and 100/0. These OPD/PHT copolymers exhibit a much better solubility than the OPD homopolymer, hence suggesting an incorporation of PHT units into the phenazine structure of the homopolymer. The thermal behavior of the copolymers was also studied. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Nd3+ Doped Silicate Glass Photonic Crystal Fiber with Random Hole Distributions

The fabrication of one kind of large core area Nd3 doped silicate glass photonic crystal fiber, and demonstration of the fiber's waveguidence properties were reported. This fiber owns a random air hole distribution in the cladding. The measured minimum loss of this kind of fiber is 10 dB·m-1 at 660 nm. These fibers can sustain only a single mode at least over wavelength ranging from 660 nm to 980 nm.     

Fixed point theorems on fuzzy normed linear spaces

In this paper, definitions of strongly fuzzy convergent sequence, l-fuzzy weakly convergent sequence and l-fuzzy weakly compact set are given in a fuzzy normed linear space. The concepts of fuzzy normal structure, fuzzy non-expansive mapping, uniformly convex fuzzy normed linear space are introduced and fixed point theorems for fuzzy non-expansive mappings are proved.     

Near-wall porosity characteristics of fixed beds packed with wood chips

Packed beds of fuel wood chips are commonly found in thermal conversion processes such as combustion or gasification. Wood chips in particular are mostly used as fuel for small-scale domestic heating boilers but also for commercial-scale combustion units. The characterization of spatial voidage distribution inside the wood chip beds is of great importance for flow and reactor modelling. This study focuses on the radial porosity variations of cylindrical beds of three different types of commercially available wood chips including chips classified as G30 size class. The conventional technique of consolidating packed beds with a resin was chosen as the experimental procedure. The radial voidage distribution in different cylindrical beds is determined by image analysis of sections of the solidified packings. Additionally, a packing of monosized spheres was investigated in order to assess the selected procedure in comparison with widely available literature data for spheres. The results are discussed and summarized in a mathematical expression correlating the radial voidage distribution depending on average wood chip size, packing core porosity and dimensionless distance from the tube wall.     

Electrooptic studies on polymer‐dispersed liquid‐crystal composite films. III. Poly(methyl methacrylate‐co‐butyl acrylate)/E7 and poly(methyl methacrylate‐co‐butyl acrylate)/E8 composites

Composite films composed of poly(methyl methacrylate‐co‐butyl acrylate) (PMMABA) and nematic‐type liquid crystals E7 and E8 (commercial products from E. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany) were prepared through solvent casting in chloroform. The morphology and electrooptic responses were studied. Scanning electron microscopy observations showed that the liquid‐crystal phase (E7 or E8), as larger, elongated, interconnected cavities, was continuously embedded in a spongelike PMMABA matrix. At a specific level of the liquid‐crystal (E7 or E8) loading (30/70 wt %), the effects of the voltage, temperature, and frequency of an applied alternating‐current electric field on the transmittance of the composite films were measured with a He–Ne laser (wavelength = 632.8 nm). The results were interpreted in terms of the aggregation structure, interfacial interaction, and solubility of the liquid crystal in the matrix polymer. The results indicated that, under these experimental conditions, the output could be controlled to a desired level by the selection of suitable liquid crystals to prepare polymer‐dispersed liquid‐crystal, electrooptic, active composite films with a response time of the order of only milliseconds or less. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2008     

Study on the long‐term thermal‐oxidative aging behavior of polyamide 6

The long‐term thermal‐oxidative aging behavior of polyamide 6 (PA6) was studied by comparison with the stabilized sample in this work. The variation of mechanical properties of the pure and the stabilized samples of PA6 with aging time at 110°C, 130°C, and 150°C were investigated, respectively. The aging mechanism of PA6 under heat and oxygen was studied in terms of the reduced viscosity, crystallization behavior, dynamic mechanical behavior, and chemical composition through the methods of polarized light microscopy (PLM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), X‐ray photoelectron energy spectrum (XPS), and so on. The results indicated that at the initial stage of aging, the molecular crosslinking reaction of PA6 dominated resulting in the increase of the mechanical strength, reduced viscosity, and the glass transition temperature of the sample. And the molecular degradation dominated in the subsequent aging process resulting in the decrease of the melting temperature, the increase of the crystallinity, and the formation of the oxides and peroxides products. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Preparation of monodisperse poly(vinyl alcohol) microspheres by heterogeneous surface saponification and iodine complex formation

Monodisperse poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) microspheres with high molecular weight obtained by suspension polymerization of vinyl acetate were saponified in alkaline aqueous solution to keep their spherical structure. The saponification was restricted on the surface of the PVAc microspheres and obtained particles had skin/core structure. Various poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) microspheres with different diameters and degrees of saponification (DSs) were obtained. The conversion of PVAc to PVA during the heterogeneous surface saponification time were examined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and after 72 h hydrogel type PVA microspheres completely saponified were obtained. The crystal melting temperatures of the microspheres obtained by the saponification were measured a constant value of 238°C irrespective of varying DS, and the peaks became enlarged as reaction time. Iodine complexes were formed in saponified microspheres with DS of 41% and 99% by immersing them in I₂/KI aqueous solution and decomposed by the reduction of I₂ in the complexes to 2I^? using sodium sulfite to confirm whether the skin formed through the saponification was composed of PVA with high VA content. Obviously, characteristic blue color developments owing to I₅^?‐PVA complexes were observed in both saponified regions and a red in the PVAc core. Consequently, it was concluded that the PVA skins formed by heterogeneous surface saponification had high DSs. Such complexes endowed polymeric microspheres a good radiopacity which would be useful in clinical treatment of vascular diseases and were examined by X‐ray irradiation image. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Epoxidation of high trans‐1,4‐polyisoprene and its properties

A new organic‐solvent‐free water‐phase suspension method was used to synthesize partially epoxidized high trans‐1,4‐polyisoprene (TPI) to improve its properties, including oil resistance and wet‐skid resistance. The epoxidation was conducted in an aqueous peracetic acid solution and on the TPI granules prepared by a bulk precipitation method with supported titanium catalyst. The effects of the synthesis conditions, including reaction temperature, reaction time, and pH value, on the epoxy content were investigated. Epoxidized trans‐1,4‐polyisoprene (ETPI) with epoxy contents between 10 and 80% were obtained within 4 h. Both the amorphous and crystalline regions of TPI were epoxidized. The crystallization properties decreased with increasing epoxy content. ETPIs possessed lower mechanical properties than TPI but could be enhanced by vulcanization. The oil resistance and wet‐skid resistance were significantly improved after epoxidation. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Synthesis and characterization of a novel proton‐exchange membrane for fuel cells operating at high temperatures and low humidities

The synthesis of a p‐toluidine/formaldehyde (PTF) resin was performed, and the effects of the molar ratio of the individual monomers and the polymerization conditions on the structure of the PTF resin were studied. Fourier transform infrared and ¹³C‐NMR spectra were used to characterize the PTF. Wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction patterns revealed the crystalline structures of various PTFs. Polarized optical microscopy revealed that the molar ratio of the monomers had a strong effect on the crystalline morphologies. A longer polymerization time turned out a polymer with a higher intrinsic viscosity and molecular weight, which led to differences in the proton conductivity. All of the PTFs showed a higher proton conductivity than a commercial Nafion membrane at 90–100°C and 0% relative humidity. The proton conductivity of the PTF series could be improved by sulfonation with sulfuric acid and could be maintained after blending with polyurethane. Pure methanol could be used as a fuel source because of the insolubility and nonwetting properties of PTF in methanol to increase the output current density for a PTF membrane electrode assembly. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2008