Investigation of the effects of porous layer on the electrical properties of Pt/n-GaN Schottky contacts

This article reports the effects of porosity on the enhancement of the Schottky barrier height (SBH) and reduction of the leakage current of Pt Schottky diode based on n-type GaN. The porous GaN layer in this work was generated by electroless chemical etching under UV illumination. For comparative study, two additional samples, i.e. one as-grown sample and one thermally treated sample, were also prepared. The structural studies showed that the porous GaN sample has a relatively rough surface morphology with slightly broader X-ray diffraction peak of the (0 0 0 2) plane. The current-voltage (I-V) measurements revealed that the electrical characteristics of the Pt Schottky diode were improved significantly by the presence of the porous layer, in which SBH was observed to be enhanced by 27%.     

Investigation of silicon structures with periodically varying porosity by x-ray diffractometry methods

The features of formation of silicon structures with a periodically varying porosity are investigated by X-ray diffractometry. It is revealed that the magnitude of anode current density corresponding to the formation of a layer with higher porosity that is part of a multilayer porous structure also affects the porosity of a second, less porous layer. As time elapses, the single-crystalline matrix of which porous layers consist is amorphized and a structure consisting of amorphous layers with a periodically varying density arises.     

Size Control of Porous Silicon Nanoparticles by Electrochemical Perforation Etching

Size‐controlled porous silicon‐based nanoparticles are prepared by pulsed electrochemical etching of single crystal silicon wafers, followed by ultrasonic fracture of the freestanding porous layer. When high‐current density pulses are applied periodically during the porous layer etching process, a porous multilayer results in which porous layers are separated by thin layers of much higher porosity. Ultrasonic fracture selectively cleaves the porous film along these high‐porosity perforations, providing greater size control and improved yields (by 5x) of the resulting porous nanoparticles. The effect of pulse width and repetition rate is systematically studied: tunability of the average nanoparticle size in the range 160–350 nm is demonstrated.     

Texture based segmentation of epithelial layer from oral histological images

The objective of this paper is to provide a texture based segmentation algorithm for better delineation of the epithelial layer from histological images in discriminating normal and oral sub-mucous fibrosis (OSF). As per literature and oral clinicians, it is established that the OSF initially originates and propagates in the epithelial layer. So, more accurate segmentation of this layer is extremely important for a clinician to make a diagnostic decision. In doing this, Gabor based texture gradient is computed in gray scale images, followed by preprocessing of the microscopic images of oral histological sections. On the other hand, the color gradients of these images are obtained in the transformed Lab color space. Finally, the watershed segmentation is extended to segment the layer based on the combination of texture and color gradients. The segmented images are compared with the ground truth images provided by the oral experts. The segmentation results depict the superiority of the texture based segmentation in comparison to the Otsu's based segmentation in terms of misclassification error. Results are shown and discussed.     

Acoustical impedance models for outdoor ground surfaces

A theory which predicts the acoustical characteristics of rigid porous materials in terms of four physical parameters is used to provide impedance versus frequency models for various types of ground surface. It is found possible to obtain tolerable agreement with measurements of surface normal impedance for grass-covered ground, bare ground and layered forest floor when measured values of flow resistivity and porosity and estimated values of the other two parameters are used. The agreement with measured acoustical data is shown to be superior to that obtainable with the single-parameter, semi-empirical model that is widely used to predict ground effect even when the single parameter is adjusted for best-fit. A low frequency/high flow resistivity approximation is derived in a form that requires the adjustment of only a single parameter when fitting impedance versus frequency data. This model predicts that the real part of the surface normal impedance, or resistance, and imaginary part, or reactance, are equal and decrease as the inverse square root of frequency. The low frequency/high flow resistivity approximation makes possible the derivation of a two-parameter impedance versus frequency model for a medium with a porosity that decreases exponentially with depth. If the two parameters are considered to be adjustable for best-fit, then some measurements of surface impedance are found to be explicable by means of such a model. The low frequency/high flow resistivity approximation is used, together with the assumption of layer thickness small compared with internal wavelength, to derive another simple two-parameter model for grounds that behave acoustically as thin hard-backed porous layers. Examples of the validity of this model are provided. Both of the two-parameter models predict values of reactance which are greater than those of resistance over the audio-frequency range. Methods of adjusting the two parameters of each model in fitting short-range excess-attenuation data are suggested as alternatives to the single-parameter method, and as the basis for predicting ground effect at long range and low frequencies.     

Extended sources radiation and laplace type integral representation: Application to wave propagation above and within layered media

In has been shown that the sound field reflected by the plane boundary of a layered ground can always be described by a specularly reflected wave, and layer potentials. Despite its generality, this representation is not quite suitable for numerical computation. Dealing with a very simple case, Weyl, and later on Ingard and Thomasson, proposed a representation of the solution in which the layer potential terms are replaced by the sum of surface wave and a Laplace type integral. Such an integral is very convenient for numerical purposes. In this paper, it is shown that this kind of representation can be obtained for a very wide class of sound propagation problems above or within layered media: a half-space bounded by a locally reacting surface, a finite layer of porous medium, a porous medium with depth-varying porosity, a thin elastic plate; wave propagation in shallow water with an impedance bottom. Many other applications could be developed.     

Study of the microporosity in nanoporous carbon films by small-angle X-ray scattering

The structural difference in the microporous structures of nanoporous carbon films is revealed by small-angle X-ray scattering; it consists in a higher porosity of the layers formed from the titanium carbide. The pore shape is shown to be equiaxed. Pores 20 Å in diameter mainly contribute to the porosity of the nanoporous carbon films. The characteristics of the porous structure of the nanoporous carbon layers synthesized from the titanium or silicon carbide are found using small-angle X-ray scattering. The porous structure is shown to consist of two size fractions of equiaxed pores 10 and 40 Å in radius. The porosity of the films is mainly contributed by the pores of the small size fraction; their fraction is 46 or 10% for the layers synthesized from the titanium or silicon carbide, respectively.     

Morphological and optical properties changes in nanocrystalline Si (nc-Si) deposited on porous aluminum nanostructures by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition for Solar energy applications

Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy was used to determine the electrical band gap of nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) deposited by plasma enhancement chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) on porous alumina structure by fitting the experimental spectra using a model based on the quantum confinement of electrons in Si nanocrystallites having spherical and cylindrical forms. This model permits to correlate the PL spectra to the microstructure of the porous aluminum silicon layer (PASL) structure. The microstructure of aluminum surface layer and nc-Si films was systematically studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD). It was found that the structure of the nanocrystalline silicon layer (NSL) is dependent of the porosity (void) of the porous alumina layer (PAL) substrate. This structure was performed in two steps, namely the PAL substrate was prepared using sulfuric acid solution attack on an Al foil and then the silicon was deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) on it. The optical constants (n and k as a function of wavelength) of the deposited films were obtained using variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) in the UV-vis-NIR regions. The SE spectrum of the porous aluminum silicon layer (PASL) was modeled as a mixture of void, crystalline silicon and aluminum using the Cauchy model approximation. The specific surface area (SSA) was estimated and was found to decrease linearly when porosity increases. Based on this full characterization, it is demonstrated that the optical characteristics of the films are directly correlated to their micro-structural properties.     

多孔材料内部结构的微CT扫描仪分析

本文介绍使用微CT扫描仪对样品进行扫描和图像重构的原理,以蛋糕为样品使用CT对多孔材料的内部结构进行研究,包括样品的孔隙率及其变化,水在大孔内的分布,空腔的三维重构图像和样品内部其它微细特征。结果表明, 浸水的样品在干燥后,骨架收缩,部分孔的尺寸明显增大,孔隙率增加,而没有浸水的蛋糕在干燥前后结构变化不大。文章表明,对于孔径大于几十微米的多孔性材料,使用文中的微CT扫描仪可以有效地对它们进行内部结构的研究。     

Underground Storage of Natural Gas in Hydrate State: Primary Injection Stage

The paper is devoted to simulation of the initial stage of natural gas hydrate underground storage: gas injection into aquifer just below permafrost rocks. It is based on the mathematical model of multiphase non-isothermal real gas and water flow in porous media. The model takes into account the transformation of gas and water into hydrate at certain temperature, which depends on gas flow pressure. The dynamics of hydrate and water saturation as well as the pressure and temperature fields in a reservoir with given porosity, permeability, and initial values of pressure, temperature and water saturation were studied. An implicit finite-difference scheme is used to approximate the original boundary-value problem. The finite-difference equations are solved using simple iteration and sweeping algorithms. Several examples of calculations corresponding to real cases are given. Calculations have revealed that the final result strongly depends on the combination of porosity and permeability of a reservoir.     

基于动电效应的震电测井方法研究进展*

与双电层和孔隙流体渗流有关的声波-电磁场耦合效应(动电耦合波)在油气储层勘探、地震电磁场等领域有着潜在应用价值。该文简述动电耦合波在理论模型以及井孔动电耦合波的实验测量、模拟计算方面的研究进展,并对油气储层测井领域进一步的动电耦合波研究进行了展望。基于动电信号的探测方法同时接收声波和电磁场两类信号,可避免单一类别信号方法的不足。实验获得了岩心的动电耦合系数,但其表征的孔隙岩石物理性质还有待进一步认识。基于耦合控制方程,开展了震电波场的计算和分析。结果表明,声源激发后,可接收到伴随声波的电磁信号和早于声波的电磁首波。这两类信号都既对影响声波特性的岩石模量、孔隙度和渗透率等参数敏感,又与电导率等岩石电学性质密切相关。非饱和岩石动电耦合波理论和基于动电耦合波的参数反演方法等问题有待进一步研究。     

Outdoor ground impedance models

Many models for the acoustical properties of rigid-porous media require knowledge of parameter values that are not available for outdoor ground surfaces. The relationship used between tortuosity and porosity for stacked spheres results in five characteristic impedance models that require not more than two adjustable parameters. These models and hard-backed-layer versions are considered further through numerical fitting of 42 short range level difference spectra measured over various ground surfaces. For all but eight sites, slit-pore, phenomenological and variable porosity models yield lower fitting errors than those given by the widely used one-parameter semi-empirical model. Data for 12 of 26 grassland sites and for three beech wood sites are fitted better by hard-backed-layer models. Parameter values obtained by fitting slit-pore and phenomenological models to data for relatively low flow resistivity grounds, such as forest floors, porous asphalt, and gravel, are consistent with values that have been obtained non-acoustically. Three impedance models yield reasonable fits to a narrow band excess attenuation spectrum measured at short range over railway ballast but, if extended reaction is taken into account, the hard-backed-layer version of the slit-pore model gives the most reasonable parameter values.     

梯度穿缝型双孔隙率多孔材料的吸声性能

在传统单一孔隙率多孔材料中引入宏观尺度的周期性梯度穿缝结构设计,构造出梯度穿缝型双孔隙率多孔材料,其包含多孔材料基体微孔尺度与穿缝尺度两个尺度。采用分层等效的理论建模方法,将复杂梯度渐变问题变为多层均匀等效层叠加问题。针对不同特征尺寸的多孔材料薄层,分别采用低、高两种渗透率对比度双孔隙率理论,给出了其等效密度和动态压缩系数,再应用传递矩阵方法得到了相邻薄层之间的声压和质点速度传递关系并求得其表面声阻抗,从而建立了梯度穿缝型双孔隙率多孔材料的吸声理论模型。发展了多尺度材料声学有限元数值模型,在所考虑的100~3000 Hz频段范围内数值模拟结果完全吻合理论模型结果。理论与模拟分析了多尺度结构参数对双孔隙率多孔材料吸声性能的影响,结果表明引入多尺度梯度结构设计能够显著提高单一孔隙率多孔材料的吸声性能,且穿缝尺度比穿缝梯度影响更为显著;精细数值模拟获得的声压和能量密度分布云图揭示了多尺度结构设计的吸声增强机制。该工作可用于指导双孔隙率多孔材料的多尺度结构设计,从而提高多孔材料的中低频吸声性能。      

Computational modeling of cerebral diffusion-application to stroke imaging

Water diffusion within the structure of a brain extracellular space is analyzed numerically for various diffusion parameters of brain tissue namely extracellular space porosity and tortuosity. An algorithm for predicting diffusion pattern of water molecules within human brain considering the mechanics of water diffusion within porous media is developed. The extracellular space is modeled as a homogeneous porous medium with uniform porosity and permeability. Discretization of the fluid flow, heat transfer and mass transport equations is achieved using a finite element scheme based on the Galerkin method of weighted residuals. Concentration maps are developed in this study for various clinical conditions. The effect of the space porosity and the turtousity on the heat and mass transport within the extracellular space are found to be significant. The results presented in this work play an important role in producing more effective imaging techniques for brain injury based on the apparent diffusion coefficient.     

Current-voltage characteristics of structures with a porous silicon layer at adsorption of carbon monoxide

The current-voltage characteristics of structures with a layer of porous silicon of 73% porosity were measured at adsorption of gas (carbon monoxide) at room temperature. Estimations are performed of the height of potential heterobarrier at the interface between porous silicon and p ⁺-type single-crystal silicon, of the perfectness factor and the resistance of a layer of porous silicon in air, in air with 0.4% CO, and in air with 2% CO. Physical causes explaining the experimental data are discussed.     

Study of birefringence in porous silicon layers by IR Fourier spectroscopy

Birefringence in porous silicon layers prepared with different etching currents on a (110) substrate is studied by IR Fourier spectroscopy. The spectra exhibit beats in the intensity of transmitted and reflected radiation due to the summation of the intensities of the ordinary and extraordinary waves interfering in the porous layer. An analysis of the spectra shows the layers to exhibit properties of a negative uniaxial crystal with the optical axis lying in the layer plane. The difference between the refractive indices of the ordinary and extraordinary waves for a layer with a porosity of 80% reaches 18%. The experimental data are in agreement with the calculations based on the effective-medium approximation, which takes into account the anisotropy of silicon nanocrystal arrangement in a porous layer.     

Determination of transport parameters in air-saturated porous materials via reflected ultrasonic waves

An ultrasonic reflectivity method of evaluating the acoustic parameters of porous materials saturated by air (or any other gas) is discussed. The method is based on experimental detection of waves reflected at normal incidence by the first and second interface of the material. This method is based on a temporal model of direct and inverse scattering problems for the propagation of transient ultrasonic waves in a homogeneous isotropic slab of porous material with a rigid frame [Fellah et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 113, 61-73 (2003)]. Generally, the conventional ultrasonic approach can be used to determine tortuosity, and viscous and thermal characteristic lengths via transmitted waves. Porosity cannot be estimated in transmitted mode because of its very weak sensitivity. First interface use of the reflected wave at oblique incidence leads to the determination of porosity and tortuosity [Fellah et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 113, 2424-2433 (2003)] but this is not possible at normal incidence. Using experimental data of reflected waves by the first and second interface at normal incidence simultaneously leads to the determination of porosity, tortuosity, viscous and thermal characteristic lengths. As with the classic ultrasonic approach for characterizing porous material saturated with one gas, both characteristic lengths are estimated individually by assuming a given ratio between them. Tests are performed using weakly resistive industrial plastic foams. Experimental and numerical results, and prospects are discussed.     

3D building reconstruction from aerial CCD image and sparse laser sample data

An approach for 3D building reconstruction automatically based on aerial CCD image and sparse laser scanning sample points is presented in this paper. The geometry shape of a building is shown very clearly in the aerial high-resolution CCD image, so we use Laplacian sharpening operator and threshold segmentation to extract the edges of CCD image first, and then pixel connectivity is used to extract the linear features in the CCD image. Bi-direction projection histogram and line matching are proposed to extract the contours of buildings. The height of the building is determined from sparse laser sample points which are within the contour of the buildings extracted from CCD image; therefore the 3D information of each building is reconstructed. We reconstruct 3D buildings correctly by this approach using real aerial CCD and sparse laser rangefinder data.     

无限流体中孔隙介质圆柱周向导波的传播特性

为研究无限大流体约束的孔隙圆柱中周向导波的传播规律,分析孔隙参数对导波传播特性的影响,建立了无限流体中孔隙介质圆柱的理论模型,利用孔隙介质弹性波动理论,建立了周向导波频散方程,通过数值模拟计算得到无限流体中孔隙介质圆柱的频散曲线,探讨了圆柱半径和孔隙参数对导波传播特性的影响,并对导波的衰减特性进行了分析;通过数值计算,得到了周向导波的时域波形,讨论了孔隙参数对波形的影响.结果表明,孔隙介质圆柱半径的改变影响圆柱尺度,孔隙度的改变影响孔隙介质中体声波的波速,都对周向导波频散曲线产生一定的影响,所得到的频散曲线特征及衰减曲线与时域波形吻合.研究结果对开展无限流体中孔隙介质圆柱的超声无损评价提供了一定的理论参考.     

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterization of stain-etched luminescent porous silicon films

The surface and in-depth chemical nature of the photoluminescent stained Si layer obtained with a novel procedure based on HF/HNO₃ is presented. Oxide-free porous Si surfaces result from controlled preparation, storing and handling of samples, as revealed by parallel X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray-induced Auger electron spectroscopy measurements, coupled with Ar⁺ ion sputtering. The present findings support the model for the porous layer of oxidized samples of Si grains embedded in a silica gel matrix.