Air stability of PTCDI‐C13‐based n‐OFETs on polymer interfacial layers

This Letter reports the novel use of poly(9‐vinylcarbazole) (PVK) as a dielectric interfacial layer for n‐type organic field‐effect transistors (n‐OFETs). With PVK, both the air stability and electron mobility of N,N′‐ditridecylperylene‐3,4,9,10‐tetracarboxylic diimide (PTCDI‐C13)‐based OFETs were improved. Among the PVKs with different weight‐average molecular weight (M_w), PVK with high M_w showed good performance. The high glass transition temperature of PVK enabled thermal post annealing of the active layer, which resulted in a high electron mobility of 0.61 cm²/Vs. This mobility was maintained at 90% and 59% after 4 days and 105 days in air, respectively. The PVK interfacial layer reduced the trapped charges in the PTCDI‐C13‐based n‐OFET for air‐exposure and caused a decrease in the threshold voltage shift.

     

Bifurcation and disaggregation in urban/regional spatial modelling: A technical note

Using the Lowry-Garin model as an example, we illustrate the complexity of bifurcation and aggregation issues in urban/regional spatial systems. As a first step, a disaggregate version of the Lowry-Garin model is formulated. Then the general conditions for bifurcation are identified in terms of disaggregate labor-force participation rate, population-serving ratio and accessibility indices. Physical interpretation of these conditions is also given.     

Large Eddy Simulations of a piloted lean premix jet flame using finite-rate chemistry

A Large Eddy Simulation (LES) model capable of accurately representing finite-rate chemistry effects in turbulent premixed combustion is presented. The LES computations use finite-rate chemistry and implicit LES combustion modelling to simulate an experimentally well-documented lean-premixed jet flame stabilized by a stoichiometric pilot. The validity of the implicit LES assumption is discussed and criteria are expressed in terms of subgrid scale Damköhler and Karlovitz numbers. Simulation results are compared to experimental data for velocity, temperature and species mass fractions of CH₄, CO and OH. The simulation results highlight the validity and capability of the present approach for the flame and in general the combustion regime examined. A sensitivity analysis to the choice of the finite-rate chemistry mechanism is reported, this analysis indicates that the one and two-step global reaction mechanisms evaluated fail to capture the reaction layer with sufficient accuracy, while a 20-species skeletal mechanism reproduces the experimental observations accurately including the key finite-rate chemistry indicators CO and OH. The LES results are shown to be grid insensitive and that the grid resolution within the bounds examined is far less important compared to the sensitivity of the finite-rate chemistry representation. The results are analyzed in terms of the flame dynamics and it is shown that intense small scale mixing (high Karlovitz number) between the pilot and the jet is an important mechanism for the stabilization of the flame.     

Polymer electrolytes—relaxation and transport properties

Relaxations in polymer electrolytes were studied in poly(ethylene oxide) and epoxidized natural rubbers both filled with lithium perchlorate. Impedance relaxation was investigated over a wide range of salt concentration at room temperature. Imaginary part of impedance as a function of frequency exhibits generally one maximum and one minimum. These two extreme values rule properties in the DC limit. They can be related to transport properties and degree of dissociation. It turns out that DC conductivity is dominantly ruled by transport coefficient.     

Output-sensitive results on convex hulls,extreme points,and related problems

We use known data structures for ray-shooting and linear-programming queries to derive new output-sensitive results on convex hulls, extreme points, and related problems. We show that thef-face convex hull of ann-point setP in a fixed dimensiond≥2 can be constructed in time; this is optimal if for some sufficiently large constantK. We also show that theh extreme points ofP can be computed in time. These results are then applied to produce an algorithm that computes the vertices of all the convex layers ofP inO(n ^2−γ) time for any constant . Finally, we obtain improved time bounds for other problems including levels in arrangements and linear programming with few violated constraints. In all of our algorithms the input is assumed to be in general position. This research was supported by a Killam Predoctoral Fellowship and an NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship.     

Ultrasonic transducers using electron-irradiated vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene copolymers

Single-element, planar transducers have been fabricated using electron-irradiated poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) 80/20 mol% copolymers with different electron dosage. Electrical field-induced strain response of copolymer film with 100 Mrad dosage has been studied at 5 kHz and the electrostrictive coefficient was calculated. The transmitting response of the air-backing and epoxy-backing transducers was evaluated with the application of high DC bias voltages. Clear ultrasonic amplitudes and high frequency spectrum (>20 MHz) were observed when driven from a standard ultrasonic voltage source through a decoupling circuit. It has also showed that larger generation of ultrasonic waves will be induced under high DC bias field, which is due to the increase of induced d(33) piezoelectric coefficient. Two different polar bias voltages, positive and negative, were applied to the transducers and inverse waveforms were received, which was coincident with the theoretical analysis of the strain response of electrostrictive film.     

Substrate-tuned boson localization in superfluid (4)He films

We have studied the influence of the substrate on superfluidity in thin 4He films. The inert coverage, the amount of nonsuperfluid 4He localized by the substrate, is found to scale with the well depth of the 4He-substrate interaction potential for six different substrates. Although the inert coverages for these substrates differ by more than a factor of 4, the phase boundary in the temperature-coverage plane is found to have a universal shape.     

Dual-axes confocal microscopy with post-objective scanning and low-coherence heterodyne detection

We present a dual-axes confocal microscope that employs postobjective scanning and low-coherence heterodyne detection to collect vertical cross-sectional images from biological tissue with high axial resolution, reduced noise from scattered light, deep tissue penetration, and a large dynamic range. This architecture can be scaled down to millimeter dimensions with microelectromechanical systems technology for performance of in vivo optical biopsy.     

Acceleration and mitigation of carrier‐induced degradation in p‐type multi‐crystalline silicon

Recently, a new carrier‐induced defect has been reported in multi‐crystalline silicon (mc‐Si), and has been shown to be particularly detrimental to the performance of passivated emitter and rear contact (PERC) cells. Under normal conditions, this defect can take years to fully form. This Letter reports on the accelerated formation and subsequent passivation of this carrier‐induced defect through the use of high illumination intensity and elevated temperatures resulting in passivation within minutes. The process was tested on industrial mc‐Si PERC solar cells, where degradation after a 100 hour stability test was suppressed to only 0.1% absolute compared to 2.1% for non‐treated cells. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Radicals in skew polynomial and skew Laurent polynomial rings

We provide a general procedure for characterizing radical-like functions of skew polynomial and skew Laurent polynomial rings under grading hypotheses. In particular, we are able to completely characterize the Wedderburn and Levitzki radicals of skew polynomial and skew Laurent polynomial rings in terms of ideals in the coefficient ring. We also introduce the T-nilpotent radideals, and perform similar characterizations.