Production of doped ZnO powders for varistor applications using sol-gel techniques

The electrical behaviour of ZnO varistors is controlled by the characteristics of the ceramic microstructure which depends strongly on the properties of the initial powder. This paper describes a study of the effect of different chemical methods to synthesise doped ZnO powders. The ceramic powders were synthesised by the following routes: a) classical mixing of oxides (for comparison purposes), b) aqueous solution of inorganic salts and c) hydrolysis and polycondensation of metalorganic compounds in an organic solvent. The physicochemical characteristics of these powders were evaluated using a scanning electron microscope and thermoanalytical instrumentation. Standard spray drying technology was used to pelletise the powders to obtain an agglomerated powder suitable for uniaxial pressing. The discs were sintered in an electric furnace under air atmosphere using several temperature programmes. The ceramic microstructure was characterised using SEM and X-ray diffraction. The effects of powder processing route on sintering and microstructural development are discussed. Powders prepared by the metalorganic route exhibited somewhat lower sintering temperatures than conventional powders. However, the rate of sintering was slower for metalorganic and aqueous solution powders. These observations were related to powder morphology. The ZnO–Bi₂O₃–CoO system exhibited the best varistor characteristics as it was expected, whereas the binary systems supported much lower voltages at low currents than ternary systems.     

Simple versatile shearing interferometer suitable for measurements on a microscopic scale

Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) behave differently from massive samples. Conventional testing and inspection techniques usually fail at the microscale. Recently there has been an increasing interest in the application of optical techniques for microstructure testing, because they are high-resolution, non-contact, full-field, fast and relatively inexpensive. New interferometric systems, which are suitable for microscopic optical metrology, are of interest for engineering and industrial applications.A modified electronic speckle pattern shearing interferometer (ESPSI) with a very simple shearing device has been designed for metrology applications on the microscale. The shearing device consists of two partially reflective glass plates. The reflection coefficients of the coatings are 0.3 and 0.7, respectively. The distance and the tilt between the two glass plates control the size of the shear. A long working distance microscope objective is attached to the CCD camera to form a field of view variable over several millimetres in width. The suitability of the system for microscopic measurements is demonstrated. The capability of the system for phase shifting is also demonstrated. The results obtained are promising for future applications of the ESPSI system for testing and characterisation of MEMS.     

Studies of shrinkage as a result of holographic recording in acrylamide-based photopolymer film

We studied the shrinkage in acrylamide-based photopolymer by measuring the Bragg detuning of transmission diffraction gratings recorded at different slant angles and at different intensities. Transmission diffraction gratings of spatial frequency 1000 lines/mm were recorded in an acrylamide-based photopolymer film having 60±5 μm thickness. We have obtained the grating thickness and the final slant angles from the Bragg curve and hence calculated the shrinkage caused by holographic recording. The shrinkage of the material was evaluated for three different recording intensities 1, 5 and 10 mW/cm², while the total exposure energy was kept constant at 80 mJ/cm². From the experimental results it can be seen that the shrinkage of the material is higher for recording with lower intensities and the corresponding values are 1.9%, 1.3% and 1%.     

The true potential energy curves for different states of SiO and SiS molecules

The true potential energy curves forX ¹ Σ ⁺, a³ π _r,A ¹ π,e ³ Σ ⁻,E ¹ Σ ⁺,c ³ π _i states of astrophysically important molecule SiO, whose spectra were observed in the sunspots, have been constructed using the method of Lakshman and Rao. Dissociation energy and ionization potential have been estimated as 65,350 cm⁻¹ and 92,854 cm⁻¹ respectively and found to be in good agreement with the values cited in literature. The true potential energy curves forX ¹ Σ ⁺,D ¹ π andE ¹ Σ ⁺ states of SiS molecule have been constructed by the same method and its dissociation energy in the ground state has been estimated using Hulburt-Hirschfelder potential function as 54,765 cm⁻¹ in good agreement with 53,250.9 cm⁻¹ given by Herzberg.     

Technique for characterization of dimensional changes in slanted holographic gratings by monitoring the angular selectivity profile

A method has been developed for retrieving the complete angular selectivity profile of transmission holographic gratings in one step. The method is applied to study in real time the shrinkage and changes in the effective optical thickness of a slanted holographic grating recorded in an acrylamide-based photopolymer. It can form the basis of a holographic sensor of analytes that cause a thickness change in the holographic medium. It can also be useful for the study and optimization of holographic recording materials and for quality control during production of holographic optical elements.     

Cationic crosslinking of solid dgeba resins with ytterbium(III) trifluoromethanesulfonate as initiator

Solid bisphenol-A epoxy resin of medium molecular mass was cured using a Lewis acid initiator (ytterbium(III) trifluoromethanesulfonate) in three different proportions (0.5, 1 and 2 phr). A kinetic study was performed in a differential scanning calorimeter. The complete kinetic triplet was determined (activation energy, pre-exponential factor, and integral function of the degree of conversion) for each system. A kinetic analysis was performed with an integral isoconversional procedure (free model), and the kinetic model was determined both with the Coats-Redfern method (the obtained isoconversional value being accepted as the effective activation energy) and through the compensation effect. All the systems followed the same isothermal curing model simulated from non-isothermal ones. The growth-of-nuclei Avrami kinetic model A_3/2 has been proposed as the polymerization kinetic model. The addition of initiator accelerated the reaction especially when 2 phr was added. 0.5 and 1 phr showed very few kinetic differences between them.