Orientational and electro-optical properties of liquid crystal aligned with a directly spinnable carbon nanotube web

We investigated the orientational and electro-optical properties of a nematic liquid crystal (LC) aligned with a directly spinnable carbon nanotube (CNT) web functioning both as an electrode and as an alignment layer. The LC molecules were uniformly oriented along the drawing direction of the CNT web and the spatially averaged birefringence was comparable to a rubbed polyimide sample. The CNT web sample also showed smaller residual DC and hysteresis compared to the polyimide sample.     

Direct model-based predictive control scheme without cost function for voltage source inverters with reduced common-mode voltage

This paper presents a direct model-based predictive control scheme for voltage source inverters (VSIs) with reduced common-mode voltages (CMVs). The developed method directly finds optimal vectors without using repetitive calculation of a cost function. To adjust output currents with the CMVs in the range of –V_dc/6 to +V_dc/6, the developed method uses voltage vectors, as finite control resources, excluding zero voltage vectors which produce the CMVs in the VSI within ±V_dc/2. In a model-based predictive control (MPC), not using zero voltage vectors increases the output current ripples and the current errors. To alleviate these problems, the developed method uses two non-zero voltage vectors in one sampling step. In addition, the voltage vectors scheduled to be used are directly selected at every sampling step once the developed method calculates the future reference voltage vector, saving the efforts of repeatedly calculating the cost function. And the two non-zero voltage vectors are optimally allocated to make the output current approach the reference current as close as possible. Thus, low CMV, rapid current-following capability and sufficient output current ripple performance are attained by the developed method. The results of a simulation and an experiment verify the effectiveness of the developed method.     

Gate-controlled low-bias rectifying behaviors in BDC60 molecule

Using first-principles density functional theory and non-equilibrium Greenʼs function formalism for quantum transport calculation, we have investigated the effect of gate voltage on the electronic transport properties of BDC60-based molecular junction. The results show that the transport properties are strongly modulated by the applied gate voltage, and the current–voltage curve displays an obvious rectifying behavior at much low bias region. The mechanism for the rectifying behavior is analyzed by the bias-dependent transmission spectrum, projected density of states, spatial distribution of molecular projected self-consistent Hamiltonian orbitals and voltage drop over the junction.     

Structural,Optical, and Electrical Characteristics of Zinc Oxide and Copper Oxide Films and Their Heterojunctions

In this paper, n-Zinc oxide/p-copper oxide heterojunctions were fabricated by RF-sputtering on indium tin oxide-covered glass substrates. The structural and optical properties of the copper oxide and zinc oxide films were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, scanning electronic microscopy and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. The electrical junction properties were investigated by current–voltage (I–V) characteristics. Additionally, both capacitance (C) and conductance (G) versus frequency (f) measurements were realized at room temperature. The junctions showed a rectifying behavior, and C and G varied with both voltage and frequency.