PdSi based ohmic contact on n-InP

The electrical and microstructural properties of the PdSi based ohmic contacts on n-InP are discussed in the research. A low specific contact resistance of 2.25 × 10⁻⁶ Ω cm² is obtained on Au/Si/Pd/n-InP contact after rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at 450 °C for 30 s. The low contact resistance can be maintained at the order of 10⁻⁶ Ω cm² even up to 500 °C annealing. From the Auger analysis, it is found that both the outdiffusion of In and the indiffusion of Si into the InP surface occurred at the ohmic contact sample. The formation of the Pd₃Si compound lowered the barrier of the contact. The reactions between Pd and InP of the contact, forming In vacancies, and leading the doping of Si to the InP contact interface.     

Independency of Fe ions in hemoglobin on immunomagnetic reduction assay

Immunomagnetic reduction (IMR), which involves measuring the reduction in the ac magnetic susceptibility of magnetic reagents, is due to the association between bio-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles and target bio-molecules. This has been demonstrated for assaying proteins in solutions free of Fe ions, such as serum. In this work, the validity of IMR assay for samples rich in Fe ions like hemoglobin (Hb) is investigated. According to the results, there is no magnetic signal contributed by Fe-ion-rich Hb. Furthermore, the results show a high sensitivity in assaying hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) by using IMR.     

Dispersion Stability and Transport of Nanohybrids through Porous Media

Single-walled carbon nanotube-silica nanohybrid particles are a very promising material that could be used for enhanced oil recovery because of their interfacial activity. To demonstrate the basic principle, aqueous nanohybrid particle dispersions were evaluated by looking at the effect of pH, surfactant, and polymer. The results showed that pH did not have significant effect on the dispersion stability of nanohybrid particles. Although surfactant could improve the dispersion stability, it reduced the interfacial activity of the nanohybrid particles, causing them to stay in the aqueous phase. The best nanohybrid particle dispersion stability was found upon polymer addition, where the dispersions were stable for more than a week even at low polymer concentration (50?ppm). One-dimensional sand-pack studies were performed to evaluate the flow of the nanohybrid particles through porous media. The results showed that most of the nanohybrid particles (>99%) could pass through a column packed with glass beads while a measurable fraction of the particles was retained in the column packed with crushed Berea. When the columns contained a residual saturation of decane, additional nanohybrid particles were retained at the oil/water interface in both glass beads and crushed Berea sand media. The sand pack studies showed that not only can the nanohybrid particles flow through porous media but also about half of the particles injected will go the O/W interface when the porous medium contains a residual saturation of hydrocarbon, where they could be used to support a catalytic conversion of components of the oil in reservoirs.     

Effect of pH on the formation and combustion process of sol-gel auto-combustion derived NiZn ferrite/SiO2 composites

A nitrate-citrate-silica gel was prepared from metallic nitrates, citric acid, and silica powder by sol-gel process, and it was further used to synthesize Ni_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄/5wt% SiO₂ nanocomposites by auto-combustion. The effect of pH on the formation of NiZn ferrite/SiO₂ and thermal properties of gel precursors was studied by XRD, IR, EPR, TGA and DTA techniques. The results revealed that the ratio of the citrate ion to the nitrate ion is directly related to the pH of the solution. The pH in the starting solution affects the combustion process, and then determines the particle size of the as-synthesized powder. The EPR parameters (peak-to-peak linewidth, g factor, and spin number) increased with increasing pH, whereas the spin-spin relaxation time (T₂) decreased. The thermal stability and enthalpy of the decomposition process in air decreased with increasing pH, whereas the enthalpy in nitrogen increased. Moreover, the activation energy (E_a) of thermo-oxidative degradation of the gel precursor at pH 3 was much lower than the gel precursor at pH 5 and 7, and that increased with increasing pH.     

Magnetic force signal of vortex creation in type-II superconducting thin films

The possibility of the formation of a vortex in thin film due to the field of magnetic dipole moment when a point dipole is vertically approaching the surface of a thin film is discussed. Calculations are performed for certain discrete values of the critical position of the point dipole for creating the vortex in the thin film and the equilibrium positions of the vortex, both of which depend on the strength of magnetic dipole moment. The creation of a new single vortex in the thin film causes an abrupt change in the vertical force.     

Multi-sweep asynchronous parallel successive overrelaxation for the nonsymmetric linear complementarity problem

Convergence is established for themulti-sweep asynchronous parallel successive overrelaxation (SOR) algorithm for thenonsymmetric linear complementarity problem. The algorithm was originally introduced in [4] for the symmetric linear complementarity problem. Computational tests show the superiority of the multi-sweep asynchronous SOR algorithm over its single-sweep counterpart on both symmetric and nonsymmetric linear complementarity problems.This material is based on research supported by National Science Foundation Grants CCR-8723091 and DCR-8521228, and Air Force Office of Scientific Research Grants AFOSR-86-0172 and AFOSR-86-0124.     

Mössbauer Spectra of the Complexes of Iron(II) Bichloride with Monoacetyl and 1, 1′-Diacetylferrocence Thiosemicarbazone

Complexes of iron(II) dichloride with monoacetyl and 1, 1′-diacetylferrocence thiosemicarbazone have been prepared and characterized by means of optical spectra and magnetic measurement, and these structures have been investigated by Mössbauer spectra. It is inferred that the structures for iron(II) complexets of monoacetylferrocence thiosemicarbazone and 1, 1′-diacetylbis (thiosemicarbazone) are monomer and polymer respectively.     

The better tag remains unseen

One of the most crucial steps in protein structure determination by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is the preparation of highly concentrated and well behaving protein samples. Here we present a system of modular tags which allows for high level expression, sophisticated purification of full-length protein, and solubility enhancement while keeping the amount of additional resonances low. This system consists of two different expression constructs and utilizes the tight binding of human calmodulin (hCaM) to the calmodulin binding peptide (CBP), which has already been used as a purification tag.     

Sesquiterpenoids‐Related Metabolites from the Soft Coral Sinularia sp.

Two new sesquiterpenoids, sinularioperoxide E ( 1 ), ethyl 5‐[(2′S,5′E)‐2′, 6′‐dimethylocta‐5′,7′‐dienyl]furan‐3‐carboxylate ( 3 ), and a new C₁₁ terpenoid‐related carboxylic acid, (3S,6E)‐3,7‐dimethyl‐nona‐6,8‐dienoic acid ( 2 ) were isolated from a Formosan soft coral Sinularia sp. The structures of 1‐3 were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analyses and by comparison of the spectral data with those of the related metabolites.     

Selective encapsulation of volatile and reactive methyl iodide

A simple organic molecular container can selectively encapsulate the volatile and highly reactive MeI through hydrogen-bonding interactions in solution. The remarkable encapsulation of MeI without self-methylation of the container appears to be determined by the complementary binding sites and the rigidity of the hydrogen-bonding array constrained by the molecular framework.