Fabrication of Pb1‐xSnxTe/PbTe heterojunctions by liquid phase epitaxy

Abstract

Pb_1‐x Sn _x Te epitaxial layers were successfully grown on PbTe substrates by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) technique. The compositions and surface morphology of the epitaxial Pb_1‐x Sn _x Te layers were controlled in the LPE growth, and p‐Pb_1‐x Sn _x Te/n‐PbTe heterodiodes with a good junction‐perfection factor were made.     

Toward multiple maximum power point estimation of photovoltaic systems based on semiconductor theory

Environmental conditions, such as temperature, non‐uniform irradiation, and solar shading, deeply affect the characteristics of photovoltaic (PV) modules in PV‐assisted generation systems. Several local maximum power points (MPPs) are found in the power–voltage curve of PV systems constructed by series/parallel‐connected PV modules under partially shaded conditions. The characteristics of PV systems change unpredictably when multiple MPPs occur, so the actual MPP tracking (MPPT) becomes a difficult task. Conventional MPPT methods for the PV systems under partially shaded conditions cannot quickly find the actual MPP such that the optimal utilization of PV systems cannot be achieved. Based on the p–n junction semiconductor theory, we develop a multipoint direct‐estimation (MPDE) method to directly estimate the multiple MPPs of the PV systems under partially shaded conditions and to cope with the mentioned difficulties. Using the proposed MPDE method, the multiple MPPs of the PV systems under partially shaded conditions can be directly determined from their irradiated current–voltage and power–voltage characteristic curves. The performances of the proposed MPDE method are evaluated by examining the characteristics of multiple MPPs of PV systems with respect to different shading strengths and numbers of the shaded PV modules and also tested using the field data. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed MPDE method can simply and accurately estimate the multiple MPPs of the PV systems under partially shaded conditions. The optimization of MPP control models and the MPPT for PV systems could be achieved promisingly by applying the proposed method. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changes of endothelin-1 and atrial natriuretic peptide during dobutamine stress echocardiography

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that plasma endothelin-1 (ET-1) and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) concentrations in patients with ischemic heart disease are related either to myocardial ischemia or left ventricular (LV) dysfunction during dobutamine stress echocardiography. Plasma concentrations of ET-1 and ANP were measured in three patient groups. Group I (n = 21) patients had normal stress echocardiography and a resting LV ejection fraction (LVEF) of 40% or more. Group II (n = 32) had positive stress echocardiography and a resting LVEF of more than 40%. Group III (n = 18) had positive stress echocardiography with a resting LVEF of less than 40%. All three groups were subjected to thallium 201 scintigraphy and coronary angiography studies. The resting LV end-diastolic pressure was significantly higher in groups II and III than in Group I. The LVEF decreased significantly in group III compared to groups I and II. In the resting state, groups II and III had higher ET-1 concentrations than Group I (p = 0.021 and p = 0.039, respectively). The plasma ANP concentration was higher in group III than in groups I and II (p = 0.005 and p = 0.054, respectively). During peak dobutamine infusion, the ET-1 concentration dropped 8.7% from the baseline in group I, 10.2% in group II, and 10.5% in group III. The ANP concentrations were increased in all three groups but only the increase in Group II reached statistical significance. In conclusion, in patients with suspected ischemic heart disease, the concentrations of ET-1 and ANP may predict significant anatomic and functional coronary artery disease. However, ET-1 does not play a pathophysiologic role during an ischemic attack.     

Application of acoustic metrology for detection of plate thickness change

Dimensional control is one of the most important procedures in the manufacturing process. As the acoustic properties of an object depend closely on the geometry of its structure, the resonant frequencies of a product can be used to monitor its dimensional change. In this paper, the thickness changes of a rectangular plate are studied intensively. Plate thickness is primarily measured by micrometers. This process is tedious and time consuming, especially when the size of the plates is large. Therefore, a technique that can easily monitor thickness change is highly desirable. Through both experimental and theoretical studies, it is found that the technique presented in this paper is sensitive to thickness change, and thickness changes of less than 0.01 mm can be detected. Acoustic metrology appears to be able to provide an alternative for the plate thickness inspection processes.     

Simplified equivalent‐circuit modelling for decoupled and partial decoupled methods in semiconductor device simulation

In this paper, we study the decoupled method which requires less memory on semiconductor device simulation. The decoupled method decouples the three equivalent circuits of semiconductor and solves them sequentially. The three equivalent circuits are formed by formulating the three partial differential equations that describe the electrical behaviour of semiconductor. Since the decoupled method solves one equation in each stage, the decoupled method uses one‐ninth memory space of the coupled method. When decoupling the three equivalent circuits, the decoupled method yields a boundary condition limitation. In order to overcome the limitation, we propose a compromising partial decoupled method which has complete boundary condition and requires four‐ninth memory space of the coupled method. The three methods are compared for computational efficiency and accuracy in the simulation of BJT. The simulation results are identical. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preparation and characterization of mesoporous bioactive glass/polycaprolactone nanofibrous matrix for bone tissues engineering

A polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibrous composite matrix having mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles (MBG) was fabricated using the electrospinning method, and the microstructural, physical and biological properties of the composite matrix were characterized. The fiber diameters of PCL, 5?% MBG/PCL (5?M-PCL) and 10?% MBG/PCL (10?M-PCL) were 575?±?162?nm, 312?±?134?nm and 321?±?144?nm, respectively. The bioactivity of the composite matrix was evaluated by soaking the matrix in 1.5× simulated body fluid; the MBG/PCL matrix showed a better biomineralization capability than did the PCL matrix. The biological performance of the PCL and the MBG/PCL were evaluated using an in vitro culture of MG63 osteoblast-like cells. We found that the cell attachment and proliferation rates were significantly higher on the 10?M-PCL than on the PCL. Moreover, the expression of several genes, including ANX-V, type I collagen and OCN, ALP activity, the deposition of calcium, and the BSP protein, were also significantly higher on 10?M-PCL than PCL. These results indicated that MBG/PCL has the ability to support cell attachment, growth, and differentiation and can also yield high bioactivity. Therefore, MBG/PCL could be potentially applied in bone implants.     

制备方法对氧化石墨烯氧化程度及对Th(IV)、U(VI)吸附的影响

采用Hummers方法、优化Hummers方法及改进Hummers方法合成氧化石墨烯, 并通过FT-IR、TGA、XRD、XPS、SEM以及元素分析等手段对制备产物进行了表征。结果表明, 利用优化Hummers方法制备得到的氧化石墨烯具有较高的氧化程度。三种产物对Th(IV)、U(VI)的等温吸附实验结果表明, 采用优化Hummers方法制备的氧化石墨烯对Th(IV)的最大吸附量为192.3 mg/g, 相比于Hummers方法制备产物的吸附能力提高了38.5%; 对U(VI)的最大吸附量为156.2 mg/g, 吸附能力提高了28.1%, 三种样品对Th(IV)、U(VI)的吸附都更加符合Langmuir等温吸附模型。此外, 考察了优化Hummers方法制备的氧化石墨烯吸附Th(IV)、U(VI)的动力学和热力学参数, 证实氧化石墨烯吸附Th(IV)、U(VI)符合准二级动力学方程, 是自发吸热行为。