Temperature measurements using fiber optic polarization interferometer

A novel measurement method of temperature based on the phenomena that the phase difference between principle polarization states in the optical retarder is function of temperature is described. The polarization state of optical beam is changed as it passes through the optical retarder, which depends on the temperature. The temperature of optical retarder is determined by comparison of the power difference between principal polarization states. We demonstrate successfully the temperature measurement by using a polarization maintaining fiber as the optical retarder. With a 100 mm length of the fiber optic retarder, the change rate of phase difference on temperature was 0.236 rad/°C and the measurement error was ±0.038°C over the temperature range of −2.6 – +3.4°C. With a 11.5 mm length of the fiber optic retarder, the change rate of phase difference on temperature was 0.021 rad/°C and the measurement error was ±0.79°C over the temperature range of −8.5 – +86.5°C.     

Temperature effect on deposition rate of silicon nitride films

Temperature effects on deposition rate of silicon nitride films were characterized by building a neural network prediction model. The silicon nitride films were deposited by using a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition system and process parameter effects were systematically characterized by 2⁶⁻¹ fractional factorial experiment. The process parameters involved include a radio frequency power, pressure, temperature, SiH₄, N₂, and NH₃ flow rates. The prediction performance of generalized regression neural network was drastically improved by optimizing multi-valued training factors using a genetic algorithm. Several 3D plots were generated to investigate parameter effects at various temperatures. Predicted variations were experimentally validated. The temperature effect on the deposition rate was a complex function of parameters but N₂ flow rate. Larger decreases in the deposition rate with the temperature were only noticed at lower SiH₄ (or higher NH₃) flow rates. Typical effects of SiH₄ or NH₃ flow rate were only observed at higher or lower temperatures. A comparison with the refractive index model facilitated a selective choice of either SiH₄ or NH₃ for process optimization.     

Characterization of the variation of the material properties in a freestanding inhomogeneous thin film

This Letter presents a new technique for measuring the variation of the material properties along the thickness in a freestanding inhomogeneous thin film. The analytical results reveal a simple relation between the material properties and the set of cut-off frequencies of Lamb waves. The influence of the graded properties on the variation of cut-off frequencies in three different kinds of models, including artificial FGM model, sub-surface damage model, and nano-porous thin film model, is discussed. These results provide theoretical guidance for characterizing the material property variations of MEMS/NEMS.     

Structural and electrical properties of core–shell structured GaP nanowires with outer Ga2O3 oxide layers

This paper presents a review of our current experimental research on GaP nanowires grown by a vapor deposition method. Their structural, electrical, opto-electric transport, and gas-adsorption properties are reviewed. Our structural studies showed that a GaP nanowire consisted of a core–shell structure with a single-crystalline GaP core and an outer Ga₂O₃ layer. The individual GaP nanowires exhibited n-type field effects. Their electron mobilities were in the range of about 6 to 22 cm²/V s at room temperature. When the nanowires were illuminated with an ultraviolet light source, an abrupt increase of conductance occurred resulting from carrier generation in the nanowire and de-adsorption of adsorbed OH^- or O₂ ^- ions on the Ga₂O₃ surface shell. Using an intrinsic Ga₂O₃ shell layer as a gate dielectric, top-gated GaP nanowire field-effect transistors were fabricated and characterized. Like other metal oxide nanowires, the carrier concentration and mobility of GaP nanowires were significantly affected by the surface molecular adsorption of OH or O₂. The GaP nanowire devices were fabricated as sensors for NO₂, NH₃, and H₂ gases by using a simple metal decoration technique. PACS 73.63.-b; 72.80.Ey; 85.35.-p     

Electrophoretic separation of gold nanoparticles according to bifunctional molecules‐induced charge and size

Gold nanospheres modified with bifunctional molecules have been separated and characterized by using agarose gel electrophoresis as well as optical spectroscopy and electron microscopy. The electrophoretic mobility of a gold nanosphere capped with 11‐mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA) has been found to depend on the number of MUA molecules per gold nanosphere, indicating that it increases with the surface charge of the nanoparticle. The extinction spectrum of gold nanospheres capped with MUA at an MUA molecules per gold nanosphere value of 1000 and connected via 1,6‐hexanedithiol (HDT) decreases by 33% in magnitude and shifts to the red as largely as 22 nm with the increase of the molar ratio of HDT to MUA (R_HM). Gold nanospheres capped with MUA and connected via HDT have been separated successfully using gel electrophoresis and characterized by measuring reflectance spectra of discrete electrophoretic bands directly in the gel and by monitoring transmission electron microscope images of gold nanoparticles collected from the discrete bands. Electrophoretic mobility has been found to decrease substantially with the increment of HDT to MUA, indicating that the size of aggregated gold nanoparticles increases with the concentration of HDT.     

Visible-Light-Induced ortho-Selective Migration on Pyridyl Ring: Trifluoromethylative Pyridylation of Unactivated Alkenes

The photocatalyzed ortho-selective migration on a pyridyl ring has been achieved for the site-selective trifluoromethylative pyridylation of unactivated alkenes. The overall process is initiated by the selective addition of a CF₃ radical to the alkene to provide a nucleophilic alkyl radical intermediate, which enables an intramolecular endo addition exclusively to the ortho-position of the pyridinium salt. Both secondary and tertiary alkyl radicals are well-suited for addition to the C2-position of pyridinium salts to ultimately provide synthetically valuable C2-fluoroalkyl functionalized pyridines. Moreover, the method was successfully applied to the reaction with P-centered radicals. The utility of this transformation was further demonstrated by the late-stage functionalization of complex bioactive molecules.     

Alkaline Stable Anion Exchange Membranes Based on Cross-Linked Poly(arylene ether sulfone) Bearing Dual Quaternary Piperidines for Enhanced Anion Conductivity at Low Water Uptake

Alkaline stable anion exchange membranes based on the cross-linked poly(arylene ether sulfone) grafted with dual quaternary piperidine (XPAES-DP) units were synthesized. The chemical structure of the synthesized PAES-DP was validated using ¹H-NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy. The physicochemical, thermal, and mechanical properties of XPAES-DP membranes were compared with those of two linear PAES based membranes grafted with single piperidine (PAES-P) unit and conventional trimethyl amine (PAES-TM). XPAES-DP membrane showed the ionic conductivity of 0.021 S cm⁻¹ at 40 °C which was much higher than that of PAES-P and PAES-TM because of the possession of more quaternary ammonium groups in the cross-linked structure. This cross-linked structure of the XPAES-DP membrane resulted in a higher tensile strength of 18.11 MPa than that of PAES-P, 17.09 MPa. In addition, as the XPAES-DP membrane shows consistency in the ionic conductivity even after 96 h in 3 M KOH solution with a minor change, its chemical stability was assured for the application of anion exchange membrane fuel cell. The single-cell assembled with XPAES-DP membrane displayed a power density of 109 mWcm⁻² at 80 °C under 100% relative humidity.     

Process Development for the Detoxification of Fermentation Inhibitors from Acid Pretreated Microalgae Hydrolysate

The aim of this study was to remove 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (5-HMF) and furfural, known as fermentation inhibitors, in acid pretreated hydrolysates (APH) obtained from Scenedesmus obliquus using activated carbon. Microwave-assisted pretreatment was used to produce APH containing glucose, xylose, and fermentation inhibitors (5-HMF, furfural). The response surface methodology was applied to optimize key detoxification variables such as temperature (16.5–58.5 °C), time (0.5–5.5 h), and solid–liquid (S-L) ratio of activated carbon (0.6–7.4 w/v%). Three variables showed significant effects on the removal of fermentation inhibitors. The optimum detoxification conditions with the maximum removal of fermentation inhibitors and the minimum loss of sugars (glucose and xylose) were as follows: temperature of 36.6 °C, extraction time of 3.86 h, and S-L ratio of 3.3 w/v%. Under these conditions, removal of 5-HMF, furfural, and sugars were 71.6, 83.1, and 2.44%, respectively, which agreed closely with the predicted values. When the APH and detoxified APH were used for ethanol fermentation by S. cerevisiae, the ethanol produced was 38.5% and 84.5% of the theoretical yields, respectively, which confirmed that detoxification using activated carbon was effective in removing fermentation inhibitors and increasing fermentation yield without significant removal of fermentable sugars.     

Self-induced 1-D molecular chain growth of thiophene on Ge(100)

The adsorption of thiophene on Ge(100) has been studied using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), high-resolution core-level photoemission spectroscopy (HRPES), and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Until now, thiophene is known to react with the Ge(100) dimer through a [4 + 2] cycloaddition reaction at room temperature, similar to the case of thiophene on Si(100). However, we found that thiophene has two adsorption geometries on Ge(100) at room temperature, such as a kinetically favorable Ge-S dative bonding configuration and a thermodynamically stable [4 + 2] cycloaddition adduct. Moreover, our STM results show that under 0.25 ML thiophene molecules preferentially produce one-dimensional molecular chain structures on Ge(100) via the Ge-S dative bonding configuration.