Interfacial morphology and friction properties of thin PEO and PEO/PAA blend films

The scanning force microscope (SFM) was used to investigate morphology of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) blend. The effect of solvent and dewetting in surface structure of PEO film was reported. The results manifested that the crystallization of PEO could be suppressed completely in ultrathin region via using chloroform as a solvent, and the branched-like crystallization was recovered after dewetting. Also, the effect of thickness, the ratio of PEO/PAA and dewetting in surface morphology of PEO-PAA blend films were investigated. These results showed that the crystallization was highly dependent on the ratio of PEO/PAA and the thickness of blend film. Furthermore, we assembled the PEO/PAA layer-by-layer film by spin-casting method for the first time, which exhibited highly efficiency. As a complementary tool, we also used lateral force microscopy (LFM) to explore surface information of these films. The result was indicative of interfacial constraints in ultrathin region, and also was supported by the results showing the spin-casting PEO/PAA blends rather than heterogeneous mixture.     

A novel method for improving the adhesion strength of the electrodeposited Ni films in MEMS

Adhesion performance of MEMS materials is increasingly important with the widely use of miniaturized devices. This paper proposed a novel method for improving adhesion performance between electrodeposited Ni multi-layers. The new method is to treat the Ni substrate in nickel chloride plating solution by pulse reverse current technique before electrodeposition. The dense oxide film of Ni substrate can be removed effectively by this electrochemical method, meanwhile, the proper roughness of Ni substrate is in favor of epitaxial growth during electrodeposition. Moreover, the Ni film is electrodeposited by the new method with low stress and coarse crystal grain. Consequently, the adhesion performance of Ni films is improved dramatically. The experimental results show that the adhesion performance of Ni film electrodeposited by the new method is about 3 times that of by traditional method.     

Conversion efficiency enhanced photovoltaic device with nanohole arrays in antireflection coating layer

In this paper, the authors introduce an enhanced photovoltaic device with nanohole arrays only in its antireflection coating. These nanoholes can improve light trapping efficiency as well as photoelectric conversion efficiency of the device. The authors analyze the light absorption of the devices with nanohole arrays by Finite-Difference Time Domain method and calculate the photoelectric conversion efficiency. The results show that the nanohole arrays can improve the light trapping more efficiently than the Si₃N₄ antireflection coating, especially, in 400-600 nm spectral range. Nanohole arrays with different characteristic parameters were fabricated in the antireflection coating layer of a Φ200 μm Si detector by using focused-ion beam system. With the optimized nanohole arrays, the enhancements factor of the experimental sample's photoelectric conversion efficiency is ~ 16% within the 400-600 nm spectral range and ~ 10% within the 400-1100 nm spectral range.     

冷藏陈列柜相变蓄冷搁架的强化传热特性研究

为了降低冷藏陈列柜在融霜过程中食品温度的上升和改善柜内温度场分布,设计了带有相变蓄冷材料的热管型搁架,研究其传热性能。结果发现:热管改善了蓄冷搁架前后方向的传热性能,但左右两侧温度分布不均匀。针对此问题提出了在蓄冷搁架内添加肋片进行强化传热,研究结果表明:在蓄冷搁架中添加肋片可以使搁架温度场均匀性得到改善,显著提高蓄冷搁架的蓄冷速率。     

Photogreying of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanoparticles

Photogreying, the change in brightness on UV irradiation in the absence of oxygen, of TiO₂ nanoparticulate dispersions is shown to depend on the nature of the liquid, consistent with a surface reaction. Measurements on a series of TiO₂ particles (mainly 75×10 nm) dispersed in, e.g., alkyl benzoate correlate well with those on the same TiO₂’s dispersed in a second liquid (e.g. propan-2-ol). Photogreying in propan-2-ol is paralleled by photocatalytic-oxidation activity, indicating a common origin – UV-generation of charge carriers. Further, photogreying parallels Ti³⁺ formation. Hence, although appearance and the visible spectra of photogreyed particles both differ from those of Ti³⁺ in ≤10 nm colloidal TiO₂, we suggest that photogreying is caused by capture of UV excited electrons to form Ti³⁺. Surface treatment reduces photogreying, and we speculate that differences between uncoated samples reflect differences in the number of potentially reducible Ti’s.     

Microstructure of yttric calcium phosphate bioceramic coatings synthesized by laser cladding

The yttric calcium phosphate (CaP) coatings were in situ prepared on pure titanium substrate by laser cladding. The morphologies and phases constitution of CaP coatings were studied by electron probe microanalysis, X-ray diffraction and so on. The bonding state between the coating and the substrate is fine metallurgical combination, and the addition of yttria can fine the structure and increase the tensile strength of the coatings. The X-ray result shows that the coating is composed of the phases of HA, α-Ca₂P₂O₇, β-Ca₂P₂O₇ and CaTiO₃.     

Preparation of well-aligned carbon nanotubes by pyrolysis of phenolic resin in anodic alumina pores

Well-aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) of high quality were synthesized by pyrolysis of phenolic resin at 800 °C in anodic alumina oxide (AAO) pores under argon protection. The innocuous source materials and safe operational conditions permit this method to synthesize well-aligned CNTs in large-scale and low cost. The formation mechanism of the synthesized CNTs is also proposed in this work by a series of visual sketches and is proved with obvious evidence. Firstly, phenolic resin nanotubes form in the template pores through the evaporation of solvent. Heat treatment then transfers these tubes into CNTs.     

Depth and orientational dependencies of MRI T(2) and T(1ρ) sensitivities towards trypsin degradation and Gd-DTPA(2-) presence in articular cartilage at microscopic resolution

Depth and orientational dependencies of microscopic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T(2) and T(1ρ) sensitivities were studied in native and trypsin-degraded articular cartilage before and after being soaked in 1 mM Gd-DTPA(2-) solution. When the cartilage surface was perpendicular to B(0), a typical laminar appearance was visible in T(2)-weighted images but not in T(1ρ)-weighted images, especially when the spin-lock field was high (2 kHz). At the magic angle (55°) orientation, neither T(2)- nor T(1ρ)-weighted image had a laminar appearance. Trypsin degradation caused a depth- and orientational-dependent T(2) increase (4%-64%) and a more uniform T(1ρ) increase at a sufficiently high spin-lock field (55%-81%). The presence of the Gd ions caused both T(2) and T(1ρ) to decrease significantly in the degraded tissue (6%-38% and 44%-49%, respectively) but less notably in the native tissue (5%-10% and 16%-28%, respectively). A quantity Sensitivity was introduced that combined both the percentage change and the absolute change in the relaxation analysis. An MRI experimental protocol based on two T(1ρ) measurements (without and with the presence of the Gd ions) was proposed to be a new imaging marker for cartilage degradation.     

Long period grating cascaded to photonic crystal fiber modal interferometer for simultaneous measurement of temperature and refractive index

We propose and demonstrate a novel and simple dual-parameter measurement scheme based on a cascaded optical fiber device of long-period grating (LPG) and photonic crystal fiber (PCF) modal interferometer. The temperature and refractive index (RI) can be measured simultaneously by monitoring the spectral characteristics of the device. The implemented sensor shows distinctive spectral sensitivities of -30.82 nm/RIU (refractive index unit) and 47.4 pm/°C by the LPG, and 171.96 nm/RIU and 10.4 pm/°C by the PCF modal interferometer. The simultaneous measurement of the temperature and external RI is experimentally demonstrated by the sensor. The temperature shift and RI shift calculated by the sensor matrix agree well with the actual temperature and RI change in the experiment.     

Characteristics of the temperature-tunable Nd:YAG/YVO4 Raman laser

We demonstrate a tunable crystalline Raman laser by varying the temperature of Raman crystal. Nd:YAG and YVO(4) crystals were selected as the laser and Raman gain media, respectively. The center wavelength of this Nd:YAG/YVO(4) Raman laser was tuned over a 0.49 nm range from 1175.76 to 1175.27 nm when the temperature of the Raman crystal was adjusted from 5 °C to 150 °C. The characteristics of this Raman laser including tunability, output power, and beam quality factors (M(2)) dependent on temperature were also studied in this paper.