A study of density in electron-cyclotron-resonance plasma

A theory is developed for the density profile of low temperature plasmas confined by applied magnetic field and an experiment of the electron-cyclotron-resonance (ECR) plasma is conducted to compare the theoretical prediction and experimental measurements. Due to a large electron mobility along the magnetic field, electrons move quickly out of the system, leaving ions behind and building a space charge potential, which leads to the ambipolar diffusion of ions. In a steady-state condition, the plasma generation by ionization of neutral molecules is in balance with plasma loss due to the diffusion, leading to the electron temperature equation, which is expressed in terms of the plasma size, chamber pressure, and the ionization energy and cross section of neutrals. The power balance condition leads to the plasma density equation, which is also expressed in terms of the electron temperature, the input microwave power and the chamber pressure. It is shown that the plasma density increases, reaches its peak and decreases, as the chamber pressure increases from a small value (0.1 mTorr). These simple expressions of electron temperature and density provide a scaling law of ECR plasma in terms of system parameters. After carrying out an experimental observation, it is concluded that the theoretical predictions of the electron temperature and plasma density agree remarkably well with experimental data     

Synthesis and characterization of monodisperse magnetic composite particles for magnetorheological fluid materials

Monodisperse magnetic composite particles (MCP) were prepared and characterized for a study of magnetic field-responsive fluids. Magnetic composite particles used are iron oxide-coated polymer composite particles, which were synthesized through in situ coating of iron oxide onto pre-existing polymer particles by the reduction of ferrous fluids. For a uniform and bulk coating of iron oxide, the porous structure was introduced into the substrate polymer particles through a two-step seeded polymerization method. Moreover, surface cyano-functionality was born from acrylonitrile unit of substrate polymer and it played an important role in obtaining successful uniform coating. The structure of the composite particle was analyzed by using a thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) and a X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The magnetization property of the particle was also observed. Then, the rheological properties of monodisperse magnetorheological (MR) suspensions of magnetic composite particles were examined under a magnetic field using a parallel-plate type commercial rheometer. From the rheological measurements, it was found that MR properties of the magnetic composite suspensions are dependent on the iron oxide content and the fluid composition.     

Controlled water flooding of polymer electrolyte fuel cells applying superhydrophobic gas diffusion layer

Water transport is critical to the successful implementation of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC), especially in long-term and dynamic operation in automotives. Liquid water appears in the fuel cells not only from the water generated at the cathode catalyst layer but also as a result of condensation of water vapor from the humidified gases. In this study, we report a simple approach to prepare a superhydrophobic gas diffusion layer by chemical vapor deposition of polydimethylsiloxane without significant change in pore size of gas diffusion layer unlike other approach adding hydrophobic agent such as polytetrafluoroethylene. A superhydrophobic coating on the GDL can be obtained, leading to exceptionally enhanced power performance and stability of PEFC especially at a high current where water transport becomes more critical.     

Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy of advanced reduced-activation alloy (ARAA) in cold‐worked conditions

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - The defects due to cold-rolling deformation in the advanced reduced-activation alloy (ARAA) have been analyzed using positron annihilation...     

Analytical calculations and comparison with numerical data forannular klystrode

The performance of a klystrode is investigated for annular electron beams. Numerical simulations of the output cavity in the klystrode device are carried out by making use of the fully electromagnetic three-dimensional code, HFSS, and the fully electromagnetic, two-and-one-half-dimensional, self-consistent PIC code, MAGIC. In addition, an analytical expression to predict the efficiency and gap-field strength of the device is developed to investigate klystrode performance over a wide range of parameters. This analytical expression for the annular klystrode is developed based on the Maxwell's equations and Newton's second law of motion. The analytical results agree fairly well with data obtained numerically from the MAGIC code. The presented results indicate that the theoretical formula obtained from the analytical calculation may be useful for designing the klystrode microwave tubes     

Graphene supported electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation

Graphene nanosheet was prepared by modified Hummer’s chemical method and utilized as a catalyst support of PtRu nanoparticles for the electro-oxidation of methanol. Home-made graphene nanosheet was clearly characterized by Raman spectroscopy and we applied colloidal method to synthesize with high metal content of 80 wt.% Pt–Ru catalyst, which is extensively clarified by HR-TEM and XRD analysis. 80 wt.% Pt–Ru/graphene nanosheet catalyst showed superior electrochemical activity toward methanol oxidation compared to Pt–Ru/Vulcan XC-72R. It is due to the significant increase of electrochemical active surface area for better catalyst utilization.     

HepG2 Cell Resistance against Camptothecin from a Lysosomal Drug Delivery

A galactose‐appended drug delivery system released camptothecin (CPT) to lysosomes of HepG2 hepatoma cells, resulting in the cell resistance to the anticancer drug. We found that the resistance to CPT is caused by alteration of the drug release from the prodrug in lysosomes, emphasizing that the final delivery locations may critically influence drug efficacy.     

Cubic dispersion relation for a relativistic backward-waveoscillator

The cubic approximation to the dispersion relation for a relativistic backward-wave oscillator is obtained, and the utility and limits of the approximation are presented. The approximation is obtained by Taylor series expansion of the wave admittance in the dispersion relation for the transverse-magnetic and free-streaming modes of a relativistic, thin, hollow, cylindrical electron beam moving along the axis of a disc-loaded waveguide in a strong axial magnetic field. The resulting cubic dispersion relation yields instability growth rates and frequencies which fall off beyond their maximum more sharply with increasing wavenumber than for the complete dispersion relation. The approximation is found to be quite good near the operating points of contemporary high-power relativistic backward-wave oscillators, namely, for relatively long wavelength and small ratio of Budker's parameter to the relativistic gamma factor of the beam     

Operation of cusptron at fundamental and harmonic cyclotronfrequencies

Microwave radiation at the fundamental and harmonic electron cyclotron frequencies generated by a cusptron oscillator is reported. A low-energy, axis-rotating beam of 28-30 kV, 0.8-3.5 A, 4 μs, and 60 pps interacts with a single RF mode, both in a circular cavity and in a six-vane circuit by the negative mass instability. In fundamental and second-harmonic frequency generation with a circular circuit, the independently excited modes are TE₁₁s and TE₂₁s, with radiation power of more than 1.8 kW and an electronic efficiency of approximately 7.5%. Employing a six-vane circuit, microwave radiation of 6.0 GHz (sixth harmonic) and 3.9 GHz (fourth harmonic) is also independently generated with more than 10.4 and 4.0 kW radiation power, respectively. Corresponding electronic efficiencies are approximately 10.0 and 9.5%