Development of a‐SiOx:H solar cells with very high Voc × FF product

In this study, deposition conditions for making a‐SiO_x:H are investigated systematically in order to obtain a high band gap material. We found that at given optical band gap, a‐SiO_x:H with favorable opto‐electronic properties can be obtained when deposited using low CO₂ flow rates and deposition pressures. We also found that a low radio frequency power density is required in order to limit the effect of ion bombardment on the material properties of i‐a‐SiO_x:H and thereby the solar cell performance. In addition, by decreasing the heater temperature from 300 to 200°C when making the i‐a‐SiO_x:H, the V_oc can be increased. We employed optimized p‐doped and n‐doped a‐SiO_x:H films into the p‐i‐n solar cells, and as a consequence, a high V_oc of over 1 V and high fill factor (FF) are obtained. When depositing on texture‐etched ZnO:Al substrates, a high efficiency a‐SiO_x:H single junction solar cell having a high V_oc × FF product of 0.761 (V_oc: 1.042 V, J_sc: 10.3 mA/cm², FF: 0.73, efficiency: 7.83%) was obtained. The a‐SiO_x:H solar cell shows comparable light degradation characteristics to standard a‐Si:H solar cells. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Photolithographic patterning of conducting polyaniline films via flash welding

In this work, two significant advances in photolithographic patterning of polyaniline (PANI) films are reported. Firstly, flash welding was enhanced through the use of polymeric substrates, enabling complete penetration of the welding of PANI films with thicknesses ranging from 5 to over 14 μm, significantly thicker than reported previously. Masking of parts of the PANI films during flash welding enabled the formation of adjacent conducting and insulating regions as the welding changes the electrical properties of the film. Raman spectroscopy was used to determine the sharpness of these edges, and indicated that the interface between the flash welded and masked regions of the PANI films was typically less than 15 μm wide. Secondly, using longpass filters, light with a wavelength less than 570 nm was found not to contribute to the welding process. This was confirmed by the use of a 635 nm laser diode for welding the PANI films. This novel approach enabled patterning of PANI films using a direct writing technique with a narrow wavelength light source.     

Identification of inorganic improvised explosive devices by analysis of postblast residues using portable capillary electrophoresis instrumentation and indirect photometric detection with a light-emitting diode

A commercial portable capillary electrophoresis (CE) instrument has been used to separate inorganic anions and cations found in postblast residues from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) of the type used frequently in terrorism attacks. The purpose of this analysis was to identify the type of explosive used. The CE instrument was modified for use with an in-house miniaturized light-emitting diode (LED) detector to enable sensitive indirect photometric detection to be employed for the detection of 15 anions (acetate, benzoate, carbonate, chlorate, chloride, chlorite, cyanate, fluoride, nitrate, nitrite, perchlorate, phosphate, sulfate, thiocyanate, thiosulfate) and 12 cations (ammonium, monomethylammonium, ethylammonium, potassium, sodium, barium, strontium, magnesium, manganese, calcium, zinc, lead) as the target analytes. These ions are known to be present in postblast residues from inorganic IEDs constructed from ammonium nitrate/fuel oil mixtures, black powder, and chlorate/perchlorate/sugar mixtures. For the analysis of cations, a blue LED (470 nm) was used in conjunction with the highly absorbing cationic dye, chrysoidine (absorption maximum at 453 nm). A nonaqueous background electrolyte comprising 10 mM chrysoidine in methanol was found to give greatly improved baseline stability in comparison to aqueous electrolytes due to the increased solubility of chrysoidine and its decreased adsorption onto the capillary wall. Glacial acetic acid (0.7% v/v) was added to ensure chrysoidine was protonated and to enhance separation selectivity by means of complexation with transition metal ions. The 12 target cations were separated in less than 9.5 min with detection limits of 0.11-2.30 mg/L (calculated at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3). The anions separation system utilized a UV LED (370 nm) in conjunction with an aqueous chromate electrolyte (absorption maximum at 371 nm) consisting of 10 mM chromium(VI) oxide and 10 mM sodium chromate, buffered with 40 mM tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane at pH 8.05. All 15 target anions were baseline separated in less than 9 min with limits of detection ranging from 0.24 to 1.15 mg/L (calculated at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3). Use of the portable instrumentation in the field was demonstrated by analyzing postblast residues in a mobile laboratory immediately after detonation of the explosive devices. Profiling the ionic composition of the inorganic IEDs allowed identification of the chemicals used in their construction.     

Bonded aircraft repairs under variable amplitude fatigue loading and at low temperatures

Bonded repairs can replace mechanically fastened repairs for aircraft structures. Compared to mechanical fastening, adhesive bonding provides a more uniform and efficient load transfer into the patch, and can reduce the risk of high stress concentrations caused by additional fastener holes necessary for riveted repairs. Previous fatigue tests on bonded Glare (glass‐reinforced aluminium laminate) repairs were performed at room temperature and under constant amplitude fatigue loading. However, the realistic operating temperature of ?40 °C may degrade the material and will cause unfavourable thermal stresses. Bonded repair specimens were tested at ?40 °C and other specimens were tested at room temperature after subjecting them to temperature cycles. Also, tests were performed with a realistic C‐5A Galaxy fuselage fatigue spectrum at room temperature. The behaviour of Glare repair patches was compared with boron/epoxy ones with equal extensional stiffness. The thermal cycles before fatigue cycling did not degrade the repair. A constant temperature of ?40 °C during the mechanical fatigue load had a favourable effect on the fatigue crack growth rate. Glare repair patches showed lower crack growth rates than boron/epoxy repairs. Finite element analyses revealed that the higher crack growth rates for boron/epoxy repairs are caused by the higher thermal stresses induced by the curing of the adhesive. The fatigue crack growth rate under spectrum loading could be accurately predicted with stress intensity factors calculated by finite element modelling and cycle‐by‐cycle integration that neglected interaction effects of the different stress amplitudes, which is possible because stress intensities at the crack tip under the repair patch remain small. For an accurate prediction it was necessary to use an effective stress intensity factor that is a function of the stress ratio at the crack tip R_{crack tip} including the thermal stress under the bonded patch.     

Analytical and experimental study of load attractions and fatigue crack growths in two-sided bonded repairs

With an increasing use of bonded composite patches for repairing fatigue and other damage on metallic aircraft structures, a research program under the sponsorship of the US Air Force Research Laboratory has been conducted for the advancement of this bonded composite technology. Through this research program, analytical methods for design and analysis of bonded patches have been developed and integrated into a PC-based computer code called CRAS (Composite Repair of Aircraft Structure) software. These analytical methods are reviewed briefly in this paper and they are validated with test results.     

Temperature profiles and heat dissipation in capillary electrophoresis

While temperature control is usually employed in capillary electrophoresis (CE) to aid heat dissipation and provide acceptable precision, internal electrolyte temperatures are almost never measured. In principle, this limits the accuracy, repeatability, and method robustness. This work presents a fundamental study that combines the development of new equations characterizing temperature profiles in CE with a new method of temperature determination. New equations were derived from first principles relating the mean, axial, and inner wall electrolyte temperatures (T(Mean), T(Axis), T(Wall)). T(Mean) was shown to occur at a distance 1/ radical3 times the internal radius of the capillary from the center of the capillary and to be a weighted average of (2/3)T(Axis) and (1/3)T(Wall). Conductance (G) and electroosmotic mobility (mu(EOF)) can be used to determine T(Mean) and T(Wall), respectively. Extrapolation of curves of mu(EOF) versus power per unit length (P/L) at different temperatures was used to calibrate the variation of mu(EOF) with temperature (T), free from Joule heating effects. mu(EOF) increased at 2.22%/ degrees C. The experimentally determined temperatures using mu(EOF) agreed to within 0.2 degrees C with those determined using G. The accuracy of G measurements was confirmed independently by measuring the electrical conductivity (kappa) of the bulk electrolyte over a range of temperatures and by calculating the variation of G with T from the Debye-Hückel-Onsager equation. T(Mean) was found to be up to 20 degrees C higher than the external temperature under typical conditions using active air-cooling and a 74.0-microm-internal diameter (di) fused-silica capillary. A combination of experimentally determined and calculated temperatures enables a complete temperature profile for a fused-silica capillary to be drawn and the thickness of the stationary air layer to be determined. As an example, at P/L = 1.00 Wm(-1), the determined radial temperature difference across the electrolyte was 0.14 degrees C; the temperature difference across the fused-silica wall was 0.17 degrees C, across the poly(imide) coating was 0.13 degrees C, and across the stationary air layer was 2.33 degrees C.     

On-chip contactless four-electrode conductivity detection for capillary electrophoresis devices

In this contribution, a capillary electrophoresis microdevice with an integrated on-chip contactless four-electrode conductivity detector is presented. A 6-cm-long, 70-microm-wide, and 20-microm-deep channel was etched in a glass substrate that was bonded to a second glass substrate in order to form a sealed channel. Four contactless electrodes (metal electrodes covered by 30-nm silicon carbide) were deposited and patterned on the second glass substrate for on-chip conductivity detection. Contactless conductivity detection was performed in either a two- or a four-electrode configuration. Experimental results confirmed the improved characteristics of the four-electrode configuration over the classical two-electrode detection setup. The four-electrode configuration allows for sensitive detection for varying carrier-electrolyte background conductivity without the need for adjustment of the measurement frequency. Reproducible electrophoretic separations of three inorganic cations (K+, Na+, Li+) and six organic acids are presented. Detection as low as 5 microM for potassium was demonstrated.     

An Integrated Bonded Repair System: A Reliable Means of Giving New Life to Aging Airframes

The application of bonded composite repairs to restore cracked or corroded metallic airframes has seen rapid expansion recently, following twenty years of technology development. However, the lack of standardized bonded repair methods and certification concepts impedes wider application of the technique. Existing bonded repair technologies are maturing rapidly, but several specialities (design and analysis, surface preparation, installation, inspection, training and certification) must be integrated into a seamless package before civil and military airworthiness authorities will embrace bonded 'crack patching.' This paper outlines efforts by the United States Air Force to develop an integrated system to allow aircraft maintenance engineers to cover the complete life cycle of a bonded repair. The successful construction of this integrated system will speed the widespread acceptance of the technology and help to assure the continued airworthiness of the aging aircraft fleet.