Activation of LSCF–YSZ interface by cobalt migration during electrolysis operation in solid oxide electrolysis cells

High-temperature water electrolysis through solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOEC) will play a key role in building a hydrogen economy in the future. However, the delamination between the air electrode and the electrolyte remains a critical issue to be addressed. Previously, it was hypothesized that Co migration may improve the catalytic activity of the SrZrO₃ second phase at the LSCF-YSZ interface, eventually leading to the delamination. In this work, the LSCF-YSZ interfaces sintered at different temperatures were examined in detail. The activation behaviors of the LSCF electrodes upon application with electrolysis current were characterized under different conditions. Further, samples containing purposely added SrZrO₃ interlayer with and without cobalt were fabricated and compared. The activation process is less significant for the sample with cobalt-added SrZrO₃ interlayer than the sample with pure SrZrO₃ layer, supporting the hypothesis that Co migration may lead to the activation behavior.     

Large domain-wall currents in epitaxial Au/BiFeO3/SrRuO3 thin-film capacitors with modulated oxygen vacancy and wall densities

Large domain wall (DW) conductivity in an insulating ferroelectric plays an important role in the future nanosensors and nonvolatile memories. However, the wall current was usually too small to drive high-speed memory circuits and other agile nanodevices requiring high output-powers. Here, a large domain-wall current of 67.8 μA in a high on/off ratio of ~4460 was observed in an epitaxial Au/BiFeO₃/SrRuO₃ thin-film capacitor with the minimized oxygen vacancy concentration. The studies from read current-write voltage hysteresis loops and piezo-response force microscope images consistently showed remaining of partially unswitched domains after application of an opposite poling voltage that increased domain wall density and wall current greatly. A theoretical model was proposed to explain the large wall current. According to this model, the domain reversal occurs with the appearance of head-to-head and tail-to-tail 180° domain walls (DWs), resulting in the formation of highly conductive wall paths. As the applied voltage increased, the domain-wall number increased to enhance the on-state current, in agreement with the measurements of current-voltage curves. This work paves a way to modulate DW currents within epitaxial Au/BiFeO₃/SrRuO₃ thin-film capacitors through the optimization of both oxygen vacancy and domain wall densities to achieve large output powers of modern domain-wall nanodevices.     

Revealing Electrical-Poling-Induced Polarization Potential in Hybrid Perovskite Photodetectors

Despite recent rapid advances in metal halide perovskites for use in optoelectronics, the fundamental understanding of the electrical-poling-induced ion migration, accounting for many unusual attributes and thus performance in perovskite-based devices, remain comparatively elusive. Herein, the electrical-poling-promoted polarization potential is reported for rendering hybrid organic–inorganic perovskite photodetectors with high photocurrent and fast response time, displaying a tenfold enhancement in the photocurrent and a twofold decrease in the response time after an external electric field poling. First, a robust meniscus-assisted solution-printing strategy is employed to facilitate the oriented perovskite crystals over a large area. Subsequently, the electrical poling invokes the ion migration within perovskite crystals, thus inducing a polarization potential, as substantiated by the surface potential change assessed by Kelvin probe force microscopy. Such electrical-poling-induced polarization potential is responsible for the markedly enhanced photocurrent and largely shortened response time. This work presents new insights into the electrical-poling-triggered ion migration and, in turn, polarization potential as well as into the implication of the latter for optoelectronic devices with greater performance. As such, the utilization of ion-migration-produced polarization potential may represent an important endeavor toward a wide range of high-performance perovskite-based photodetectors, solar cells, transistors, scintillators, etc.     

用于厚屏蔽小探测器的蒙特卡罗模拟减方差方法研究

反应堆屏蔽计算中经常出现厚屏蔽、小探测器问题，常规蒙特卡罗方法难以有效解决。基于自动重要抽样（AIS）方法，本文提出了小探测器自动重要抽样(SDAIS)方法，并针对小探测器问题，优化了AIS方法的虚粒子赌分裂算法。该方法在自主开发的蒙特卡罗屏蔽程序MCShield上进行了实现。使用NUREG/CR-6115 PWR基准题验证该方法的正确性和计算效率。结果表明，SDAIS方法可有效地解决厚屏蔽小探测器问题，相比AIS方法及传统的重要性方法，计算效率提升1~2个量级。     

Impedance matching optimization of SiCf/Si3N4–SiOC composites for excellent microwave absorption properties

SiC fiber reinforced ceramic matrix composites (SiC_f-CMCs) are considered to be one of the most promising materials in the electromagnetic (EM) stealth of aero-engines, which is expected to achieve strong absorption and broad-band performance. Multiscale structural design was applied to SiC_f/Si₃N₄–SiOC composites by construction of micro/nanoscale heterogeneous interfaces and macro double-layer impedance matching structure. SiC_f/Si₃N₄–SiOC composites were fabricated by using SiC fibers with different conductivities and SiOC–Si₃N₄ matrices with gradient impedance structures to improve impedance matching effectively. Owing to its unique structure, SiC_f/Si₃N₄–SiOC composites (A3-composites) achieved excellent EM wave absorption performance with a minimum reflection coefficient (RC_min) of ?25.1 dB at 2.45 mm and an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 4.0 GHz at 2.85 mm in X-band. Moreover, double-layer SiC_f/Si₃N₄–SiOC with an improved impedance matching structure obtained an RC_min of ?56.9 dB and an EAB of 4.2 GHz at 3.00 mm, which means it can absorb more than 90% of the EM waves in the whole X-band. The RC is less than ?8 dB at 2.6–2.8 mm from RT to 600 °C in the whole X-band, displaying excellent high-temperature absorption performance. The results provide a new design opinion for broad-band EM absorbing SiC_f-CMCs at high temperatures.     

Annular‐ring slot antenna designs with circular polarization radiation

The design of a microstrip‐fed annular‐ring slot antenna (ARSA) with circular polarization (CP) radiation is initially studied. To obtain CP radiation with broad 3‐dB axial ratio (AR) bandwidth that can cover the WiMAX 2.3 GHz (2305–2320 MHz, 2345–2360 MHz) and WLAN 2.4 GHz (2400–2480 MHz) bands, a novel technique of extending an inverted L‐shaped slot from the bottom section of the annular‐ring is proposed. To suppress the harmonic modes induced by the CP ARSA, the technique of integrating a defected ground structure into the annular‐ring slot is further introduced. From the measured results, 10‐dB impedance bandwidth and 3‐dB AR bandwidth of 44.86 and 9.68% were achieved by the proposed harmonic suppressed CP ARSA. Furthermore, average gain and radiation efficiency of ～4.7 dBic and 71%, respectively, were also exhibited across the bands of interest. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 25:337–345, 2015.     

A Multiscale-Porous Anion Exchange Membrane for Convenient and Scalable Electrokinetic Concentration of Cationic Species

A device able to electrokinetically concentrate cationic samples has many potential medical and industrial applications, but until now has remained undeveloped due to the lack of a commercial anion-permselective material leading to a prohibitively complex fabrication procedure. Herein, a novel multiscale-porous anion exchange membrane (MP-AEM) that enables the convenient and scalable electrokinetic concentration of cationic species is proposed. A mechanically enhanced multiscale-porous structure with a solid framework is realized by adopting polyester resin as an additive to overcome the intrinsic limitations of the AEM material. The scalable MP-AEM-embedded electrokinetic concentrator is devised based on the peculiar properties of the MP-AEM that for allow both ion and fluid transport. With the MP-AEM, the concentrator is fabricated in a highly streamlined manner consisting only of a simple insertion and assembly. The concentration performance of the MP-AEM-embedded electrokinetic concentrator is demonstrated with a positively charged fluorescent dye and a fluorescein-labeled protein, and the results show enrichment factors of 250 and 500, respectively. The MP-AEM makes cationic electrokinetic concentration more accessible and scalable, thereby enabling further progress in a wide range of fields.     

海面油膜的偏振反射特性仿真实验

为了给海面溢油污染识别检测提供理论基础,根据菲涅尔反射公式的偏振反射系数,结合偏振双向反射率因子和粗糙海面的概率密度分布函数,建立了完善的pBRDF模型,仿真在不同太阳入射角度、不同探测器观测角度以及不同海面风速风向等条件下海水和油膜的偏振反射分布函数。结果表明:海水和油膜太阳天顶角为53°和56°时P偏振反射率分别为1.0×10^-5和2.5×10^-5,S偏振反射率随着太阳天顶角的增加而增加;海面风速越大偏振反射率峰值越小;海面风向只改变pBRDF的空间位置;海水和油膜线偏振度空间分布有明显差异。搭建实验平台相机以40°拍摄时,得出海水和油膜的线偏振度分别在0.2~0.4, 0.5~0.7之间,同时表明利用偏振探测获取目标场景的偏振度和偏振角图可提高图像质量。     

一种改进型自适应加权模糊均值滤波算法

针对原有的自适应加权模糊均值AWFM滤波器对局部噪声幅度估计不足的缺点。提出了一种新的改进型自适应加权模糊均值MAWFM滤波算法。该算法采用了一种新的模糊检测方法，可以同时检测各个像素点的正负向噪声幅度，从而能够建立一种新的自适应的模糊信号空间，以适应噪声在各个图像局部的变化。实验结果表明，MAWFM滤波器比以前的AWFM滤波器及传统的中值滤波器均有较优越的性能。