Calibration Curve with Improved Limit of Detection for Cadmium in Soil: An Approach to Minimize the Matrix Effect in Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopic Analysis

The present article describes a working or combined calibration curve in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopic analysis, which is the cumulative result of the calibration curves obtained from neutral and singly ionized atomic emission spectral lines. This working calibration curve reduces the effect of change in matrix between different zone soils and certified soil samples because it includes both the species' (neutral and singly ionized) concentration of the element of interest. The limit of detection using a working calibration curve is found better as compared to its constituent calibration curves (i.e., individual calibration curves). The quantitative results obtained using the working calibration curve is in better agreement with the result of inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectroscopy as compared to the result obtained using its constituent calibration curves.     

Dielectric barrier discharge in needle-to-plane configuration: Model of surface charge relaxation

Relaxation process of surface charge owing to dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in “needle – air gap – polyethylene terephthalate film – plane” configuration is considered. Experimental data of the surface charge relaxation (SCR) are obtained by means of the rotating capacitive probe. Taking into account Gaussian radial distribution of accumulated charge density, effective surface and volume electrical conductivities of a barrier dielectric, phenomenological model of SCR for any dielectric thickness is proposed and exact solutions are obtained. The adequacy of the model is confirmed by the numerical computation. There is a good agreement between the experimental results and the model calculations.     

Optimization of chemical and instrumental parameters in hydride generation laser-induced breakdown spectrometry for the determination of arsenic,antimony, lead and germanium in aqueous samples

A laser induced breakdown spectrometry hyphenated with on-line continuous flow hydride generation sample introduction system, HG-LIBS, has been used for the determination of arsenic, antimony, lead and germanium in aqueous environments. Optimum chemical and instrumental parameters governing chemical hydride generation, laser plasma formation and detection were investigated for each element under argon and nitrogen atmosphere. Arsenic, antimony and germanium have presented strong enhancement in signal strength under argon atmosphere while lead has shown no sensitivity to ambient gas type. Detection limits of 1.1 mg L⁻¹, 1.0 mg L⁻¹, 1.3 mg L⁻¹ and 0.2 mg L⁻¹ were obtained for As, Sb, Pb and Ge, respectively. Up to 77 times enhancement in detection limit of Pb were obtained, compared to the result obtained from the direct analysis of liquids by LIBS. Applicability of the technique to real water samples was tested through spiking experiments and recoveries higher than 80% were obtained. Results demonstrate that, HG-LIBS approach is suitable for quantitative analysis of toxic elements and sufficiently fast for real time continuous monitoring in aqueous environments.     

激光诱导击穿光谱法对钢中夹杂物类型的表征

激光诱导击穿光谱( LIBS)不仅可以对材料整体成分进行分析,还可进行微区及成分分布分析。本实验采用激光诱导击穿光谱对两牌号钢铁样品进行扫描分析,尝试对34CrNiMo6钢中的MnS夹杂物和重轨钢中的Si-Al-Ca-Mg复合夹杂物进行表征。结果表明,34CrNiMo6钢中元素信号的二维强度分布及元素通道合成后,个别位置Mn及S两元素的信号强度同时异常高,可确定试样中存在较多MnS夹杂物;重轨钢中元素的二维强度分布及元素通道合成后,个别位置Si、Ca、Mg及Al元素的信号同时异常高,可确定试样中存在Si-Al-Ca-Mg复合夹杂物。采用扫描电子显微镜/能谱法( SEM/EDS)对上述样品中夹杂物的对比分析结果表明,两种方法对夹杂物类型的判定结果一致。     

An intracloud discharge caused by extensive atmospheric shower

The observational evidence of RB-EAS discharge in a thunderstorm atmosphere is presented. After RB-EAS discharge we name a discharge of a special type developing due to the runaway breakdown (RB) mechanism while an extensive atmosphere shower (EAS) passes through a thundercloud electric field. The observations were fulfilled at the Tien-Shan Mountain Cosmic Ray Station. The widely spread system of oscillation detectors, the special EAS trigger array and the HF radio interferometer were used for measurements.     

Barrier degradation of tunneling magnetoresistance device with MgO barrier and low resistance-area product

MgO barrier degradation is studied in a tunneling magnetoresistance head with low resistance-area product. As the stress current is increased, the resistance is significantly reduced before the barrier breakdown, while the magnetoresistance ratio remains almost unvaried. At the same time, the bias dependence of the resistance becomes less affected by the bias polarity, suggesting that slight degradation occurs at the interface between MgO and the ferromagnetic electrode. Just before the breakdown, the bias dependence shows an increasing tendency, indicating the defect accumulation inside the MgO barrier. The results are helpful for understanding the mechanisms of barrier degradation, which is critical for developing future magnetic tunneling junction devices.     

Scale-Invariant Branch Distribution from a Soluble Stochastic Model

We consider a general model of branch competition that automatically leads to a critical branching configuration. This model is inspired by the 4– expansion of the dielectric breakdown model, but the mechanism of arriving at the critical point may be of relevance to other branching systems as well, such as fractures. The exact solution of this model clarifies the direct renormalization procedure used for the dielectric breakdown model, and demonstrates nonperturbatively the existence of additional irrelevant operators with complex scaling dimensions leading to discrete scale invariance. The anomalous exponents are shown to depend upon the details of branch interaction; we contrast with the branched growth model in which these exponents are universal to lowest order in 1–, and show that the branched growth model includes an inherent branch interaction different from that found in the dielectric breakdown model. We consider stationary and non-stationary regimes, corresponding to different growth geometries in the dielectric-breakdown model.     

Correlation between formation conditions and breakdown voltage of anodic oxide films on aluminum

Two series of samples were investigated: a) aluminum films with a sublayer of tantalum; b) industrial aluminum alloys AMg-2m; D16; AMc; AD-1n. The optimum composition of re-anodizing electrolyte was chosen on the basis of a solution of citric acid and ethylene glycol. The results of investigations of the sparking voltage at re-anodizing for various aluminum alloys and thicknesses of primary porous oxide are presented. The analytical dependence of breakdown voltage value on forming voltage value for alloy AD-1n was obtained. The original design of re-anodizing cell allowing increase of the sparking voltage was developed.     

Delayed breakdown diode and its optimal design for solid state picosecond closing switch

We study a Si-based diode with a p⁺nn⁺ structure for picosecond semiconductor closing switch and discuss the physical process, which underlies the operation principle of high-power closing switch based on a delayed breakdown diode (DBD). From the results of numerical simulations and theoretical analysis, single device has demonstrated reliable operation at 2.3 kV, 89 ps risetime, and high output dV/dt(30 kV/ns). As a contribution to the optimal design, some conclusions about trade-off are drawn by changing structure parameters and physical parameters.     

Production systems with interruptions, arbitrary topology and finite buffers

We consider a production system with finite buffers and arbitrary topology where service time is subject to interruptions in one of three ways, viz. machine breakdown, machine vacations or Npolicy. We develop a unified approximation (analytical) methodology to calculate the throughput of the system using queueing networks together with decomposition, isolation and expansion techniques. The methodology is rigorously tested covering a large experimental region. Orthogonal arrays are used to design the experiments in order to keep the number of experiments manageable. The results obtained using the approximation methodology are compared to the simulation results. The ttests carried out to investigate the differences between the two results show that they are statistically insignificant. Finally, we test the methodology by applying it to several arbitrary topology networks. The results show that the performance of the approximation methodology is consistent, robust and produces excellent results in a variety of experimental conditions.