Diffusion of indium into cadmium sulphide

The diffusion of In into CdS was studied using optical, microprobe and radiotracer methods over a temperature range from 729 to 1411 K. When diffusion occurred with a large excess of In metal, the diffusion coefficient was found to be linearly proportional to In concentration in the CdS and a sharp, optically observable diffusion front existed. Varying the Cd/In atomic ratio in the metal produced a transition to normal, concentration independent diffusion for Cd/In ratios greater than unity. The diffusion is markedly anisotropic, with fast diffusion perpendicular to the crystal c-direction. Very high values were measured for the diffusion coefficient in the concentration dependent regime (up to 2 × 10^?11m²s^?1) and the mobile specie is thought to be the (InV) complex. The total apparent activation energy was found to be 2.03 and 2.30 eV (perpendicular and parallel to the c-direction respectively) and the anisotropy of the activation energy measured directly was 0.250 eV. On converting the concentration dependent diffusion coefficients to a standard concentration a straight line Arrhenius plot was obtained below 1200 K, which gave an activation energy for defect motion of 1.56 ± 0.12eV perpendicular to the c-direction and 1.81 ± 0.12 eV parallel to the c-direction.     

Hydrothermal Synthesis of Nickel Phosphate Nanorods for High‐Performance Flexible Asymmetric All‐Solid‐State Supercapacitors

Ni₂₀[(OH)₁₂(H₂O)₆][(HPO₄)₈(PO₄)₄]·12H₂O nanorods are successfully synthesized via a one‐pot hydrothermal reaction. A high‐performance flexible asymmetric all‐solid‐state supercapacitor based on the obtained Ni₂₀[(OH)₁₂(H₂O)₆][(HPO₄)₈(PO₄)₄]·12H₂O nanorods (positive electrode) and graphene nanosheets (negative electrode) is successfully assembled. It is the first report of this nanomaterial applied for all‐solid‐state supercapacitors. Interestingly, a maximum volumetric energy density of 0.446 mW h cm^?3 at a current density of 0.5 mA cm^?2 and a maximum power density of 44.1 mW cm^?3 at a current density of 6.0 mA cm^?2 are achieved by the as‐assembled device. What's more, the device also shows excellent mechanical flexibility and little capacitance change after over 5000 charge/discharge cycles at a current density of 0.5 mA cm^?2.     

A measurement of surface diffusion across steps on a curved surface (Pd on W)

The surface diffusion of palladium on the curved part of a tungsten crystal is studied by field electron microscopy. The variation of the local coverage distribution is measured by a probe-hole device on the stepped surface region around (001). The measured data allow a determination of the mass transport surface diffusion coefficient D of Pd on W across atomic steps as a function of temperature, coverage and step density. D has been found (1) to be constant for a given step density and for coverages lower than about 5 × 10¹⁴ Pd adatoms/cm², (2) to increase for higher coverages, and (3) to increase with increasing step density for a given coverage. The activation energy of the process is nearly constant (about 24 kcal/mol) for all coverages up to about 6 × 10¹⁴ adatoms/cm², while the pre-exponential factor of D increases with increasing step density. Interpretation of the results gives some information on the diffusion mechanism.     

Application of a scanning electron microscope in simulating a beta-emission-induced current

The current induced by emission from a thin ⁶³Ni layer is simulated with allowance for the real spectrum of ejected electrons and their angular distribution in Si and GaN. The calculated results are compared with simulation data obtained for a monoenergetic electron beam perpendicular to the semiconductor detector. For both Si and GaN, the ratio between the currents induced by the SEM beam and β emission from ⁶³Ni is demonstrated to be almost completely independent of the diffusion length, if the electron-beam energy of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) is appropriately selected.     

Calculation of transport parameters in KT-1 tokamak edge plasma

The radial profiles of KT-1 tokamak (major radius of 27 cm, minor radius of 4.25 cm, two poloidal stainless-steel limiters) edge plasma parameters are measured using single and triple electric probes. The particle transport parameters are calculated from the measured edge plasma parameters, and the results are analyzed by the simple fluid approximations. The cross-field particle diffusion coefficient (D) in the boundary plasma of the KT-1 is calculated from the density scrape-off length (λ_n) measured by using a triple probe. The particle density and electron temperature fall exponentially in the radial direction with the e-folding length of λ_n=0.13 cm and λ_e=0.41 cm, respectively. From the scrape-off layer (SOL) model, the experimental values of scrape-off length (λ_n) is used to calculate the cross-field diffusion coefficient (D=1.2×10³cm²/s), roughly corresponding to one third of the typical Bohm value. A simple SOL model with the contribution of recombination is introduced to evaluate the Bohm diffusion in the KT-1 tokamak edge plasma. Cross-field heat conductivity calculated from these deduced values is 5.2D in the SOL of KT-1 edge plasma. These results provide the finally certain information for edge particle transport in the KT-1 boundary plasmas.     

Desorption kinetics and directional dependence of the surface diffusion of potassium on stepped W(100) surfaces

Using a surface ionisation ion microscope the desorption parameters and the diffusion constant of potassium were measured on stepped W(100) surfaces. The activation energy of ionic desorption as well as the corresponding prefactor do not depend on the step density; the mean adsorption lifetime τ can be expressed as τ=1.6×10^?14s exp(2.44 eV/kT).Whereas the surface diffusion of potassium on “flat” W(100) and on W(S)-[9(100)×(110)] was found to be isotropic, on W(S)- [5(100)×(110)] and W(S)-[3(100)×(110)] it occurs preferentially parallel to the step direction. The diffusion constant D_∥ for this direction has roughly the same value for all investigated surfaces: D_∥=7.8×10^?2 cm²s^?1 exp(?0.42 eV/kT). For the direction perpendicular to the steps D⊥ depends on the step density, whereby the activation energy as well as the prefactor increase with increasing step density.     

Carbon‐Coated Supraballs of Randomly Packed LiFePO4 Nanoplates for High Rate and Stable Cycling of Li‐Ion Batteries

One of the key strategies used to obtain high‐rate Li‐ion battery is the reduction of the Li‐ion path length inside the active materials and the enhancement of the ionic diffusion outside the active materials. It is demonstrated that electrochemical performance can be improved significantly at high C‐rates using carbon‐coated spherical aggregates or “supraballs” of randomly packed olivine LiFePO₄ (LFP) nanoplates as cathode active materials. 258 nm LFP nanoplates with 30 nm thickness are synthesized through a high‐temperature solvothermal method, in which short lithium‐ion channels are formed perpendicular to the top or bottom planes. These thin nanoplates are formed into carbon‐coated “supraballs” through a spray‐drying and thermal annealing process, in which nanoplates are not stacked but randomly packed due to relatively fast drying. Internal and external nanoplate ion diffusion is therefore enhanced simultaneously due to the optimal molecular crystalline structure and interparticle pore structures of the nanoplates. Indeed, the initial capacity of the carbon‐coated supraballs is 162 mAh g^?1 (173.34 mAh cm^?3) at 0.1 C and more than 80% is retained (≈130.91 mAh g^?1) at 50 C. Furthermore, they offer durable cycling stability (>500 cycles) at 1 C without compromising their capacity.     

pH‐dependent surface‐enhanced Raman scattering observation of sulfanilamide on the silver surface

Monolayers of sulfanilamide on metallic surface can serve as an ideal model for understanding the interaction mechanism between the metal and the sulfanilamide molecule. In the present paper, the surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technique was employed to obtain the SERS spectra of sulfanilamide monolayers formed on the silver surface under different pH values. Assignments of the spectra were carried out with the aid of density functional theory (DFT) calculations (BLYP/6‐311G). It can be found that the adsorption function of sulfanilamide on the silver surface was influenced by the pH value. The fully protonated sulfanilamide molecule adsorbed on the silver surface through N¹³H₂ group and the benzene ring anchored in a relatively perpendicular manner leading to N⁷H₂ and S¹⁰O₂ groups near the surface, while the completely deprotonated sulfanilamide molecule attached on the silver surface via N⁷H₂ and the benzene ring was perpendicular to, and the N¹³H₂ and S¹⁰O₂ groups were far from the silver surface. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Drive-based recording analyses at >800 Gfc/in using shingled recording

Since the introduction of perpendicular recording, conventional perpendicular scaling has enabled the hard disk drive industry to deliver products ranging from ∼130 to well over 500 Gb/in² in a little over 4 years. The incredible areal density growth spurt enabled by perpendicular recording is now endangered by an inability to effectively balance writeability with erasure effects at the system level. Shingled magnetic recording (SMR) offers an effective means to continue perpendicular areal density growth using conventional heads and tuned media designs. The use of specially designed edge-write head structures (also known as ‘corner writers’) should further increase the AD gain potential for shingled recording. In this paper, we will demonstrate the drive-based recording performance characteristics of a shingled recording system at areal densities in excess of 800 Gb/in² using a conventional head.Using a production drive base, developmental heads/media and a number of sophisticated analytical routines, we have studied the recording performance of a shingled magnetic recording subsystem. Our observations confirm excellent writeability in excess of 400 ktpi and a perpendicular system with acceptable noise balance, especially at extreme ID and OD skews where the benefits of SMR are quite pronounced. We believe that this demonstration illustrates that SMR is not only capable of productization, but is likely the path of least resistance toward production drive areal density closer to 1 Tb/in² and beyond.     

Improper hydrogen bonding and motional narrowing in binary mixtures of 2‐ and 3‐bromopyridine in methanol probed by polarized Raman study and DFT calculations

A concentration‐dependent Raman study of the ν(C Br) stretching and trigonal bending modes of 2‐ and 3‐Br‐pyridine (2Br‐p and 3Br‐p) in CH₃OH was performed at different mole fractions of the reference molecule, 2Br‐p/3Br‐p, from 0.1 to 0.9 in order to understand the origin of blue/red wavenumber shifts of the vibrational modes due to hydrogen‐bond formation. The appearance of additional Raman bands in these binary systems at ∼617 cm⁻¹in the case of 2Br‐p and at ∼618 cm⁻¹ in the case of 3Br‐p compared to neat bromopyridine derivatives were attributed to specific hydrogen‐bonded complexes formed in the mixtures. The interpretation of experimental results is supported by density functional calculations on optimized geometries and vibrational wavenumbers of 2Br‐p and 3Br‐p and a series of hydrogen‐bonded complexes with methanol. The parameters obtained from these calculations were used for a qualitative explanation of the blue/red shifts. The wavenumber shifts and linewidth changes for the ν(C Br) stretching and trigonal bending modes as a function of concentration reveal that the caging effects leading to motional narrowing and diffusion‐causing line broadening are simultaneously operative, in addition to the blue shift caused due to hydrogen bonding. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterization of ferric ions diffusion in Fricke gel dosimeters by using inverse problem techniques

Diffusion of ferric ions in ferrous sulfate (Fricke) gels represents one of the main drawbacks of some radiation detectors, such as Fricke gel dosimeters. In practice, this disadvantage can be overcome by prompt dosimeter analysis, and constraining strongly the time between irradiation and analysis, implementing special dedicated protocols aimed at minimizing signal blurring due to diffusion effects. This work presents a novel analytic modeling and numerical calculation approach of diffusion coefficients in Fricke gel radiation sensitive materials. Samples are optically analyzed by means of visible light transmission measurements by capturing images with a charge-coupled device camera provided with a monochromatic filter corresponding to the XO-infused Fricke solution absorbance peak. Dose distributions in Fricke gels are suitably delivered by assessing specific initial conditions further studied by periodical sample image acquisitions. Diffusion coefficient calculations were performed using a set of computational algorithms based on inverse problem formulation. Although 1D approaches to the diffusion equation might provide estimations of the diffusion coefficient, it should be calculated in the 2D framework due to the intrinsic bi-dimensional characteristics of Fricke gel layers here considered as radiation dosimeters. Thus a suitable 2D diffusion model capable of determining diffusion coefficients was developed by fitting the obtained algorithm numerical solutions with the corresponding experimental data. Comparisons were performed by introducing an appropriate functional in order to analyze both experimental and numerical values. Solutions to the second-order diffusion equation are calculated in the framework of a dedicated method that incorporates finite element method. Moreover, optimized solutions can be attained by gradient-type minimization algorithms. Knowledge about diffusion coefficient for a Fricke gel radiation detector is helpful in accounting for effects regarding elapsed time between dosimeter irradiation and further analysis. Hence, corrections might be included in standard dependence of optical density differences and actual, non-diffused, absorbed dose distributions. The obtained values for ferric ion diffusion coefficient are around 0.65 mm² h^?1, being in good agreement with previous works corresponding to similar Fricke gel dosimeter compositions. Therefore, more accurate 2D and 3D dose mapping might be attained, thus constituting valuable improvements in Fricke gel dosimetry, and parallely a high precision method of diffusion modeling and calculation has been developed.     

发光层厚度对联苯乙烯衍生物蓝色有机发光器件性能的影响

本文制备了联苯乙烯衍生物(4, 4'-bis(2, 2'-diphenylvinyl)-1, 1'-biphenyl, DPVBi) 为发光层的蓝色有机电致发光器件. 器件性能随发光层厚度变化而变. 在DPVBi厚度为10---50 nm范围内, 同样电流密度下器件亮度及效率随DPVBi厚度增加先增后减, 40 nm时最佳, 最高亮度达到15840 cd/m², 最高外量子效率达到3.2%, 器件色坐标(Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) co-ordinates) 为(0.15, 0.15). DPVBi厚度超过40 nm时器件发光光谱出现红移而致色度变差, 其原因可归于微腔效应所致. 同时, 通过实验结果分析表明DPVBi中激子扩散长度位于20---30 nm范围.     

Nonlinear effects in white-noise driven spatial diffusion: General analytical results and probabilities of exceeding threshold

We consider a general nonlinear diffusion, typified by those deriving from Fitzhugh-Nagumo or Hindmarsh-Rose models of nerve-cell dynamics, perturbed also by 2-parameter white noise. In order to investigate the effects of the nonlinearity, we find for general boundary conditions the mean to order ?² and the four-point covariance to order ?³. The derivations involve multiple stochastic integrals in the plane. The mean and variance of the state variable are thus obtained and may be used to estimate the probabilities that a threshold value is exceeded as a function of space and time. A numerical example is given for a space-time white-noise driven diffusion with a cubic nonlinearity. From the asymptotic form of the covariance the spectral density of the process can also be obtained.     

High performance Zn–Sn–O thin film transistors with Cu source/drain electrode

Zn–Sn–O (ZTO) thin film transistors (TFTs) were fabricated with a Cu source/drain electrode. Although a reasonably high mobility (μ_FE) of 13.2 cm²/Vs was obtained for the ZTO TFTs, the subthreshold gate swing (SS) and threshold voltage (V_th) of 1.1 V/decade and 9.1 V, respectively, were inferior. However, ZTO TFTs with Ta film inserted as a diffusion barrier, exhibited improved SS and V_th values of 0.48 V/decade and 3.0 V, respectively as well as a high μ_FE value of 18.7 cm²/Vs. The improvement in the Ta‐inserted device was attributed to the suppression of Cu lateral diffusion into the ZTO channel region. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Nucleation, growth and properties of Co nanostructures electrodeposited on n-Si(1 1 1)

In the present work, cobalt thin films deposited directly on n-Si(1 1 1) surfaces by electrodeposition in Watts bath have been investigated. The electrochemical deposition and properties of deposits were studied using cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry (CA), ex situ atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and alternating gradient field magnetometer (AGFM) techniques. The nucleation and growth kinetics at the initial stages of Co studied by current transients indicate a 3D island growth (Volmer-Weber); it is characterized by an instantaneous nucleation mechanism followed by diffusion limited growth. According to this model, the estimated nucleus density and diffusion coefficient are on the order of magnitude of 10⁶ cm⁻² and 10⁻⁵ cm² s⁻¹, respectively. AFM characterization of the deposits shows a granular structure of the electrodeposited layers. XRD measurements indicate a small grain size with the presence of a mixture of hcp and fcc Co structures. The hysteresis loops with a magnetic field in the parallel and perpendicular direction and showed that the easy magnetization axis of Co thin film is in the film plane.     

Surface diffusion of Pd and Au on W single crystal planes: II. Anisotropy of Pd surface diffusion due to the influence of substrate structure

Large anisotropy effects have been observed for the spreading of Pd on W single crystal planes exhibiting regular step structures. The spreading rate was studied as function of step density and step direction at temperatures around 1000 K. The terraces had always (110) orientation. Step densities as low as 3.3 × 10⁴cm^?1 corresponding to an average terrace width of 3000 Å already cause enhanced spreading rates parallel to the step direction. Steps parallel to the [001] direction showed the largest promoting action. The rate perpendicular to steps does not depend markedly on step density. The diffusion behaviour on the “step free” (110) plane turned out to be isotropic. A model is proposed which assumes the mass transport to occur in the second Pd layer. The increase of the diffusion rate along steps is correlated with the much larger density of diffusing atoms in step sites as compared to terrace sites due to the difference in binding energy.     

The In Situ Synthesis of Fe(OH)3 Film on Fe Foam as Efficient Anode of Alkaline Supercapacitor Based on a Promising Fe3+/Fe0 Energy Storage Mechanism

Herein, a simple in situ charge/discharge activation strategy is proposed to synthesize Fe(OH)3 film on Fe foam as an efficient anode of supercapacitors. The physical characteristics of electrodes are characterized and the electrochemical energy storage performances are investigated. Importantly, it is demonstrated the as‐synthesized Fe(OH)3@Fe foam electrode adopted a novel Fe³⁺/Fe⁰ redox reaction mechanism for energy storage in alkaline electrolytes. Compared with previously reported Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ mechanisms, the Fe³⁺/Fe⁰ redox couple shows a more promising application value (e.g., higher theoretical‐specific capacitance, excellent conductivity of its reduction state). As for supercapacitor anodes, the electrode achieves high areal capacitance of 5.55–3.94 F cm⁻² at a current range of 20–200 mA cm⁻² and shows good stability for high‐rate and long‐term cycling. The assembled single supercapacitor device gives a high energy density of 11.64–7.43 Wh m⁻² at a power density of 157–1461 W m⁻². More importantly, the as‐adopted in situ activation strategy may also have potential value for synthesizing other transition metal oxide‐based products.     

Development of exploding wire ion source for intense pulsed heavy ion beam accelerator

A Novel exploding wire type ion source device is proposed as a metallic ion source of intense pulsed heavy ion beam (PHIB) accelerator. In the device, multiple shot operations are realized without breaking the vacuum. The basic characteristics of the device are evaluated experimentally with an aluminum wire of diameter 0.2 mm and length 25 mm. A capacitor bank of capacitance 3 μF and a charging voltage of 30 kV was used, and the wire was successfully exploded by a discharge current of 15 kA with a rise time of 5.3 μs. Plasma flux of ion current density around 70 A/cm² was obtained at 150 mm downstream from the device. The drift velocity of ions evaluated by a time-of-flight method was 2.7×10⁴ m/ s, which corresponds to the kinetic energy of 100 eV for aluminum ions. From the measurement of the ion current density distribution, the ion flow is found to be concentrated toward the direction where the ion acceleration gap is placed. From the experiment, the device is found to be acceptable for applying the PHIB accelerator.     

Heterojunction between crystalline silicon and nanocomposite coupled ZnO·SnO2 and optimization of its photovoltaic performance

In this work coupled ZnO·SnO₂ nanocomposite has been used as heterojunction partner to Si for photovoltaic application and its performance is optimized. The interface defect more than 10¹² cm⁻² reduces the short circuit current density, fill factor and efficiency of the device. In addition, the best device performance is observed at the vicinity of 280K. The junction of the device has a dark saturation current density and ideality factor of the order of 10⁻⁴ Acm⁻² and 21 respectively. In addition, four different organic materials are used as back surface field layer (BSL) to the same device and performance is improved. The best conversion efficiency and open circuit voltage as high as 4.1% and 0.591 V respectively are obtained for the device with CuSCN as BSL. Consequently, a range of combined values of the energy band gap and electron affinity of the BSL materials are examined for optimal device performance.     

Characterization of high‐density bit‐patterned media using ultra‐high resolution magnetic force microscopy

Bit‐patterned media at one terabit‐per‐square‐inch (Tb/in²) recording density require a feature size of about 12 nm. The fabrication and characterization of such magnetic nanostructures is still a challenge. In this Letter, we show that magnetic dots can be resolved at 10 nm spacing using magnetic force microscopy (MFM) tips coated with a magnetic film possessing a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA). Compared to MFM tips with no special magnetic anisotropy, MFM tips with PMA can resolve the bits clearly, because of a smaller magnetic interaction volume, enabling a simple technique for characterizing fine magnetic nanostructures. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)