Coaxially bifocal liquid crystal lens with switchable optical aperture

An electrically tunable liquid crystal (LC) lens with dual hole-patterned electrodes is demonstrated. When the LC lens is operated at low voltages, the dual hole-patterned electrodes with different diameters impart the lens with a coaxial bifocal characteristic. At high voltages, the proposed LC lens functions as a conventional lens with a single focal length but with a switchable optical aperture. The demonstrated LC lens is free of disclination lines because of the presence of voltage-assisted high pretilt angles created from the upmost hole-patterned electrode with small diameter.     

A liquid crystal microlens obtained with a non-uniform electric field

A homogeneously aligned nematic liquid crystal cell with a hole-patterned electrode and with an indium-tin oxide (ITO-) coated counter-electrode has been prepared. A non-uniform electric field can be produced by the asymmetrical electrode structure. The liquid crystal director can be reoriented by applying a voltage across the electrodes, and this produces an axially symmetrical profile of the refractive index. This liquid crystal cell is expected to have a lens effect and so its optical properties have been investigated. The profile of the output light intensity was measured by using a detecting system with an optical fibre. Some relationships between the lens properties, the diameter of the hole and the thickness of the liquid crystal layer have been examined. The liquid crystal cell becomes a convex (converging) lens with a relatively low voltage. A focal length of several millimetres can be obtained by applying voltages of 3-4 V. As the applied voltage increases, the focal length becomes longer, and the cell changes to a concave (diverging) lens when a high voltage is applied (≳ 20 V). These properties are discussed from the viewpoint of the director orientation effects resulting from the non-uniform electric fields in the cell.     

A liquid crystal microlens obtained with a non-uniform electric field

Abstract

A homogeneously aligned nematic liquid crystal cell with a hole-patterned electrode and with an indium-tin oxide (ITO-) coated counter-electrode has been prepared. A non-uniform electric field can be produced by the asymmetrical electrode structure. The liquid crystal director can be reoriented by applying a voltage across the electrodes, and this produces an axially symmetrical profile of the refractive index. This liquid crystal cell is expected to have a lens effect and so its optical properties have been investigated. The profile of the output light intensity was measured by using a detecting system with an optical fibre. Some relationships between the lens properties, the diameter of the hole and the thickness of the liquid crystal layer have been examined. The liquid crystal cell becomes a convex (converging) lens with a relatively low voltage. A focal length of several millimetres can be obtained by applying voltages of 3-4 V. As the applied voltage increases, the focal length becomes longer, and the cell changes to a concave (diverging) lens when a high voltage is applied (? 20 V). These properties are discussed from the viewpoint of the director orientation effects resulting from the non-uniform electric fields in the cell.     

A multifunctional blue phase liquid crystal lens based on multi-electrode structure

A blue phase liquid crystal (BPLC) lens with multifunction using multi-electrode structure and a dielectric layer with high dielectric constant is proposed. The refractive index of the BPLC can be changed flexibly in different regions. Some functional or technical requirements such as switch between positive and negative lenses can be achieved. The lens reveals a good parabolic refractive index distribution and focus adjustment capacity simultaneously. The applied voltage on the electrodes is regular and computable. To decrease the applied voltage of the proposed lens with a large diameter, a drive-type adopted Fresnel lens is introduced.     

A polarisation-independent blue-phase liquid crystal lens array using gradient electrodes

A polarisation-independent blue-phase liquid crystal lens array using gradient electrodes is proposed. A high dielectric constant layer helps to smoothen out the horizontal electric field and reduce the operating voltage. With gradient electrodes and a planar top electrode, gradient electric fields are generated and lens-like phase profile is obtained. When the applied voltage is changed, the focal length of the lens can be tuned from ∞ to 5.94 mm. Besides, the simulation results show that the lens is insensitive to polarisation while keeping parabolic-like profile.     

Single electro-optic curve for RGB colours in blue-phase liquid crystal display

The double-layer penetration electrode structure is proposed to obtain the low-operating voltage blue-phase liquid crystal display (BPLCD) with single electro-optic curve for red-green-blue (RGB) colours in every pixel, which is more suitable for the field-sequential-colour display. The different influences of electrode’s parameters and driving methods on the electro-optical properties of the proposed BPLCD are investigated. The results demonstrate that the operating voltage can be reduced from 53.80 V to 23.00 V for red colour. Besides, the coincident voltage-dependent transmittance curves for RGB colours are obtained by adjusting the applied voltage of sub-electrode. Thus, RGB lights can pass through every pixel with single electro-optic curve, which is good for resolution enhancement and single gamma driving. Besides, the maximum gamma shift of the proposed BPLCD is less than 0.1099 at 60° polar angle for the red colour, and the gamma shift difference between red and blue colours is only 0.0542. If the high dielectric constant material is used as the protrusion, the operating voltage can be further decreased, which is close to that of the BPLCD with wall-shaped electrode structure.     

Effect of Reactor Structure in DBD for Nonthermal Plasma Processing of NO in N2 at Ambient Temperature

In order to improve dielectric barrier discharge reactor structure, an experimental study was carried out into its effect on nitric oxide (NO) removal. Different structures were distinguished by electrode connection, diameter, material and shape of inner electrode, and dielectric material, respectively. The results show that breakdown voltage is lower when a high voltage is applied to the outer electrode in the coaxial reactor; NO removal efficiency decreases with a smaller inner electrode diameter and increases when tungsten is used as the inner electrode material rather than copper or stainless steel. When the inner electrode is screw shaped, it improves the discharge power and NO removal efficiency. A similar higher NO removal efficiency is found when corundum is used as the dielectric material instead of ceramic or quartz. Therefore, these findings should become the basis for modifications to the electrode structure in order to improve NO removal efficiency.     

Optimal pixel design for low driving, single gamma curve and single cell-gap transflective fringe-field switching liquid crystal display

When a dielectric layer, in-cell retarder (ICR) is formed between the electrode and LC layer to obtain a single-gap transflective fringe-field switching (FFS) display, the driving voltage is highly increased due to the thickness of the dielectric material. In particular, the driving voltage of the transmissive part becomes very high, and goes beyond the driver integrated circuit (IC) range for mobile application because the homogenously aligned liquid crystal director should rotate twice as far as that in the reflective part. The correlation between the driving voltage and electrode structures was investigated. It was found that the problem could be solved by optimisation of the common electrode structure such that the electrode structure changed from a plane to slit shape (in-plane field is mainly used instead of fringe field), realising a high performance FFS transflective display.     

Embedded passivated-electrode insulator-based dielectrophoresis (EπDEP)

Here, we introduce a new technique called embedded passivated-electrode insulator-based dielectrophoresis (EπDEP) for preconcentration, separation, or enrichment of bioparticles, including living cells. This new method combines traditional electrode-based DEP and insulator-based DEP with the objective of enhancing the electric field strength and capture efficiency within the microfluidic channel while alleviating direct contact between the electrode and the fluid. The EπDEP chip contains embedded electrodes within the microfluidic channel covered by a thin passivation layer of only 4 μm. The channel was designed with two nonaligned vertical columns of insulated microposts (200 μm diameter, 50 μm spacing) located between the electrodes (600 μm wide, 600 μm horizontal spacing) to generate nonuniform electric field lines to concentrate cells while maintaining steady flow in the channel. The performance of the chip was demonstrated using Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacterial pathogens in aqueous media. Trapping efficiencies of 100 % were obtained for both pathogens at an applied AC voltage of 50 V peak-to-peak and flow rates as high as 10 μl/min.     

高比能超级电容器的研究进展

与传统蓄电池相比,超级电容器具有高功率密度、长循环寿命和使用温度范围宽等优势,但其能量密度较低.本文对超级电容器的结构、分类以及发展状况进行了简要介绍,重点阐述了本实验室近年来在研制高性能超级电容器方面的相关工作.主要从两个方面来提高超级电容器的能量密度:(1)通过采用中性水系电解液、有机电解液和离子液体提高对称型碳基超级电容器的电压窗口;(2)应用非对称型超级电容器,即一个电极采用具有法拉第赝电容电极材料或电池电极材料,而另一个电极则采用具有双电层电容的电极材料.同时介绍了由锂离子电池电极材料/活性炭作为正极,石墨作为负极组成的锂离子混合型超级电容器.最后,对超级电容器的发展方向进行了展望.     

Constructing an unbalanced structure toward high working voltage for improving energy density of non-aqueous carbon-based electrochemical capacitors

The energy density of non-aqueous carbon-based electrochemical capacitors(cEC)is mainly determined by the specific capacitance and operational voltage range.In this study,we propose to construct an unbalanced structure to make full use of stable voltage range for improving energy density.The stable voltage range is firstly carefully explored using cyclic voltammetry.Then an unbalanced carbon-based electrochemical capacitor(ucEC)is constructed with an optimized positive electrode to negative electrode weight ratio and voltage range.Its electrochemical performance is comprehensively investigated,including energy density,power density as well as cycle life.The ucEC is capable to deliver an improved energy density up to 64.9 Wh/kg(1.4 times as high as a general cEC)without sacrificing the power density and cycle life.The electrode properties after cycling are also analyzed,illustrating the change of electrode potential caused by unbalanced structure.The proposed structure demonstrates a great potential for improving the energy density at little cost of electrode design and cell configuration.     

Comparison of two types of vertically aligned ZnO NRs for highly efficient polymer solar cells

Vertically aligned ZnO nanorods (NR) are prepared by two different syntheses methods and applied on polymer solar cells (PSCs). The ZnO electrodes work as the electron transport layer with the P3HT:PCBM blend acting as the active material. Several organic blend solution conditions are optimized: concentration, solvent, and deposition speed. The effect of different NR electrode morphologies is analyzed on the solar cell performance and characterized by current–voltage curves and IPCE analyses. The photovoltaic performance of the solar cells was observed to be influenced by many factors, among them infiltration of the organic P3HT:PCBM blend within the ZnO NR layer. The infiltration of the active layer was monitored by cross section SEM and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analyses. Our results show that higher power conversion efficiencies are achieved when shorter NRs lengths are applied. The best power conversion efficiency obtained was 2.0% for a 400 nm ZnO NR electrode. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2013     

Reflective blue phase liquid crystal displays with double-side concave-curved electrodes

Reflective blue phase liquid crystal display (BPLCD) is a promising candidate for field sequential colour displays with reflective liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCoS). However, the issue of high operation voltage still hinders its widespread applications. We propose a reflective BPLCD with double-side concave-curved electrode and research its operation voltage and electro-optic characteristics in simulation, which is compared to the transmissive mode. The effect of double-side electrodes on horizontal electric field and operation voltage is analysed. The improvement of concave-curved electrodes on reflectance is discussed. A reflective BPLCD has two times the optical path difference compared to the transmissive mode. By using double-side concave-curved electrodes, the reflectance increased by 23% and the operation voltage reduced by 32% compared to the traditional in-plane switching mode. This work enables BPLC to be integrated with reflective LCoS.     

电化学双电层电容器用新型炭材料及其应用前景

活性炭是目前使用最为广泛的一种电化学双电层电容器（EDLC）的电极材料,但其固有的缺点制约了EDLC性能的进一步提高。用新型高性能炭电极材料可使EDLC比能量和比功率性能进一步提高。这些新型炭材料包括基于石墨层状结构的纳米门炭,基于碳纳米管阵列结构的毛皮炭,通过高温置换反应制备的骨架炭以及电极可整体成型的纳米孔玻态炭。本文介绍了这些炭材料的电化学特性及其在电化学双电层电容器中的应用,指出用这4种新型炭材料制备EDLC的比能量或比功率性能远高于目前活性炭基EDLC,具有良好的应用前景。     

超级电容器能量密度的提升策略

超级电容器最大的优点是具有优良的脉冲充放电性能和快速充放电性能,同时具有循环寿命长、工作温度范围宽、安全无污染等特性,但能量密度较低. 本文对超级电容器的工作原理、发展状况、缺陷所在和改进方法进行了简要介绍,以本课题组在高比能超级电容器方面的研究工作为主线,结合近几年的文献报道,重点阐述了超级电容器能量密度的提升策略. 主要围绕以下三个方面开展了工作：1）通过将电极材料尺寸纳米化来提高传统电极材料的比容量或开发其他高比容量的电极材料;2）发展具有高电压窗口的离子液体电解液,或利用不同材料在不同电位区间的电容特性构筑不对称电容器,从而提高超级电容器的电压窗口;3）将超级电容器和锂离子电池进行“内部交叉”构筑兼具高能量密度和高功率密度的锂离子混合电容器. 最后,对超级电容器的发展进行了展望.     

提高电容性电化学储能装置能量容量的一些尝试

本文从作者所在的课题组在超级电容器和超级电容电池方向的研究内容为基础,在电极材料和装置层面综述了电容性电化学储能装置的发展. 导电聚合物和过渡金属氧化物分别与碳纳米管复合后的复合物能显著提高前两者作为电容性法拉第储能电极的电容性能. 活性炭和碳黑等一类碳材料则可作为非法拉第储能的电极材料. 通过对超级电容器正负极电容做相应的匹配调整可以提高超级电容器的最大充电电压,从而提高超级电容器的能量容量. 此外,为了与实际设备相匹配,超级电容可以以双极板的方式串联堆积,满足高电压的需求. 超级电容电池作为新一代的电容性电化学储能装置,分别由具有电容性和法拉第电荷储存原理的电极组成,具有高比功率和高比能量的特点,也是近年来的研究热点.     

Rational design of freestanding necklace-like ZnSe with double N-doped carbon layer protection for efficient sodium storage

ZnSe, as a promising electrode material for sodium storage, has a high theoretical capacity, low cost, and excellent physicochemical properties. The poor reaction kinetics and huge volume variation of ZnSe hinder its practical applications. Therefore, in this study, ZnSe electrode materials embedded in carbon nanofibers (ZnSe@NC@NCNFs) were synthesized through electrospinning and selenization using a Zn-based metal-organic framework (Zn-MOF) precursor. During the calcination process, the MOF-derived porous N-doped carbon layer wraps the ZnSe nanoparticles, and the one-dimensional (1D) carbon nanofiber forms a second N-doped carbon protective layer. The interwoven nanofibers can be severed as a freestanding electrode for sodium storage without conductive and binder agents. In situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) demonstrates the formation of irreversible NaZn₁₃ during the initial discharge process, which can act as sodiophilic sites and buffering matrices for subsequent Na⁺ insertion/extraction. The ZnSe@NC@NCNFs exhibit significant electrochemical performance for sodium storage with high reversible capacity and desired rate performance.     

超细氢氧化亚镍的溶胶凝胶法制备及其准电容特性

以聚乙二醇为抑制剂,采用溶胶凝胶法制备了粒径小于200 nm且具有链珠状特殊形态的超细氢氧化亚镍电极材料.伏安特性测试和电化学阻抗测试表明在氢氧化亚镍中掺加适量碳纳米管可以显著改善电极材料的容量特性和阻抗特性,其中碳纳米管质量分数为20％的复合电极其比电容量可以达到320 F&;#8226;g^－1.采用复合电极作为正极,活性炭电极作为负极组成的复合型电化学电容器最大工作电压可以达到1.6 V,具有良好的容量特性和大电流放电特性.恒流充放电测试证明复合型电化学电容器具有高能量密度及高功率放电特性,电容器的峰值功率密度为8.6 W&;#8226;g^－1.当以0.88 W&;#8226;g^－1功率放电时,电容器能量密度可达20.11 W&;#8226;h&;#8226;kg^－1, 当采用3.46 W&;#8226;g^－1的高功率进行放电时,复合型电容器的能量密度仍然能够达到11.11 W&;#8226;h&;#8226;kg^－1.     

A blue-phase liquid crystal lens array based on dual square ring-patterned electrodes

We propose a blue-phase liquid crystal (BPLC) lens array based on dual square ring-patterned electrodes. A high dielectric constant layer is used to smoothen out the horizontal electric field and reduce the operating voltage. By creating a potential difference between the dual square ring-patterned electrodes, gradient electric fields are generated and lens-like phase profile is obtained. Besides, the focal length of the BPLC lens is adjustable with voltage changes and all simulation results indicate that the BPLC lens array is polarisation-insensitive.     

Optimizing Weights of Platinum in the Active Layer of the Cathode of a Hydrogen–Oxygen Fuel Cell with a Solid Polymer Electrolyte

The active layer of the cathode of a hydrogen–oxygen fuel cell with a solid polymer electrolyte is computer simulated. The active mass of the electrode consists of substrate grains (agglomerates of carbon particles with Pt particles embedded into them) and grains of a solid polymer electrolyte (Nafion). The substrate grains presumably contain hydrophobic pores, which facilitate the oxygen penetration into the active mass. A calculation of characteristics of such an electrode focuses on the optimization of platinum weights. The principal parameters of the system are concentration and size of grains of substrate and Nafion, Pt concentration in substrate grains, average diameter of hydrophobic pores in substrate grains, and the electrode polarization. The optimum, at a given electrode polarization, electrochemical activity of the active layer, its thickness, and the platinum weight are calculated. A link between these quantities and principal parameters of the active layer is revealed.