Simultaneous enhancement of the efficiency and stability of organic solar cells using PEDOT:PSS grafted with a PEGME buffer layer

We report a simple processing method to simultaneously improve the efficiency and stability of organic solar cells (OSCs). Poly(4-styrene sulfonate)-doped poly(3,4-ethylenedioxy-thiophene (PEDOT:PSS), widely used as hole transport layer (HTL) in OSCs, tends to accelerate the degradation of devices because of its hygroscopic and acidic properties. In this regard, we have modified PEDOT:PSS to reduce its hygroscopic and acidic properties through a condensation reaction between PEDOT:PSS and poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether (PEGME) in order to improve the efficiency and stability of OSCs. As a result, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) increased by 21%, from 2.57% up to 3.11%. A better energy level alignment by the reduced work function of the modified PEDOT:PSS with a highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level of poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) is considered the origin of the improved the efficiency. The half-life of OSCs with PEDOT:PSS modified with PEGME buffer layer also increased up to 3.5 times compared to that of devices with pristine PEDOT:PSS buffer layer.     

Towards a Better Prediction of Cell Settling on Nanostructure Arrays—Simple Means to Complicated Ends

Vertical arrays of nanostructures (NSs) are emerging as promising platforms for probing and manipulating live mammalian cells. The broad range of applications requires different types of interfaces, but cell settling on NS arrays is not yet fully controlled and understood. Cells are both seen to deform completely into NS arrays and to stay suspended like tiny fakirs, which have hitherto been explained with differences in NS spacing or density. Here, a better understanding of this phenomenon is provided by using a model that takes into account the extreme membrane deformation needed for a cell to settle into a NS array. It is shown that, in addition to the NS density, cell settling depends strongly on the dimensions of the single NS, and that the settling can be predicted for a given NS array geometry. The predictive power of the model is confirmed by experiments and good agreement with cases from the literature. Furthermore, the influence of cell‐related parameters is evaluated theoretically and a generic method of tuning cell settling through surface coating is demonstrated experimentally. These findings allow a more rational design of NS arrays for the numerous exciting biological applications where the mode of cell settling is crucial.     

An analytical model for optimizing the performance of graphene based silicon Schottky barrier solar cells

In this paper, a model taking into account the effects of carrier loss mechanisms has been developed. The model simulates the photovoltaic properties of the graphene/n-type silicon Schottky barrier solar cells (G/n-Si_SBSC), and it can reproduce the experimentally determined parameters of the G/n-Si_SBSC. To overcome the low efficiencies of G/n-Si_SBSC, their performances have been optimized by modifying the work function of graphene and Si properties, accounted for variation of its thickness and doping level. The obtained results show that the work function of graphene has the major impact on the device performance. Also, the temperature dependence of the G/n-Si_SBSC performance is investigated.     

Study of metal assisted anisotropic chemical etching of silicon for high aspect ratio in crystalline silicon solar cells

Textured surface is commonly used to enhance the efficiency of silicon solar cells by reducing the overall reflectance and improving the light scattering. In this study, a comparison between isotropic and anisotropic etching methods was investigated. The deep funnel shaped structures with high aspect ratio are proposed for better light trapping with low reflectance in crystalline silicon solar cells. The anisotropic metal assisted chemical etching (MACE) was used to form the funnel shaped structures with various aspect ratios. The funnel shaped structures showed an average reflectance of 14.75% while it was 15.77% for the pillar shaped structures. The average reflectance was further reduced to 9.49% using deep funnel shaped structures with an aspect ratio of 1:1.18. The deep funnel shaped structures with high aspect ratios can be employed for high performance of crystalline silicon solar cells.     

Simultaneous quantification of leukotrienes and hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids in cell culture medium using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

Leukotrienes (LTs) and hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (HETEs) are important bioactive lipid mediators that participate in various pathophysiological processes. To advance understanding of the mechanisms that regulate these mediators in physiological and pathological processes, an analytical method using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry for the simultaneous quantification of LTB₄, LTC₄, LTD₄, LTE₄, 5‐HETE_, 8‐HETE, 12‐HETE and 15‐HETE in cell culture media was developed. A Supel?‐Select HLB solid‐phase extraction cartridge was used for sample preparation. The compounds were separated on a C₁₈ column using gradient elution with acetonitrile–water–formic acid (20:80:0.1, v/v/v) and acetonitrile–formic acid (100:0.1, v/v). The calibration curves of LTB₄, LTD₄, LTE₄ and HETEs were linear in the range of 0.025–10 ng/mL, and the calibration curve of LTC₄ was linear in the range of 0.25–10 ng/mL. Validation assessment showed that the method was highly reliable with good accuracy and precision. The stability of LTs and HETEs was also investigated. Using the developed method, we measured LTs and HETEs in the culture supernatant of the human mast cell line HMC‐1. The present method could facilitate investigations of the mechanisms that regulate the production, release and signaling of LTs and HETEs. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

CO2激光治疗皮肤基底细胞癌14例临床观察

目的 :探求一种简单 ,安全 ,效果好的基底细胞癌的治疗方法。方法 :对 1 4例基底细胞癌患者在局麻下用CO2 激光行基底细胞癌切除术或切除 +气化术。结果 :患者术中、术后出血少 ,伤口恢复快 ,愈合良好 ,疤痕表浅 ,随访未见复发。结论 :CO2 激光用于治疗基底细胞癌效果良好 ,无明显副作用 ,操作简单值得推广。     

乘累加运算器的高性能解决方案

在设计数字信号处理器时我们经常要设计高性能的乘累加运算器，文章详细分析了乘累加运算器的结构，提出了其高性能设计方案并采用标准单元进行了实现，同时提出了DCT运算单元的高性能解决方案。     

Mixed Mode VLSI Implementation of a Neural Associative Memory

A mixed mode digital/analog special purpose VLSI hardware implementation of an associative memory with neural architecture is presented. The memory concept is based on a matrix architecture with binary storage elements holding the connection weights. To enhance the processing speed analog circuit techniques are applied to implement the algorithm for the association. To keep the memory density as high as possible two design strategies are considered. First, the number of transistors per storage element is kept to a minimum. In this paper a circuit technique that uses a single 6-transistor cell for weight storage and analog signal processing is proposed. Second, the device precision has been chosen to a moderate level to save area as much as possible. Since device mismatch limits the performance of analog circuits, the impact of device precision on the circuit performance is explicitly discussed. It is shown that the device precision limits the number of rows activated in parallel. Since the input vector as well as the output vector are considered to be sparsely coded it is concluded, that even for large matrices the proposed circuit technique is appropriate and ultra large scale integration with a large number of connection weights is feasible.     

Proton conductivity of phosphoric acid derivative of fullerene

The proton conductive property of methano [60] fullerene diphosphoric acid has been investigated under various humidity conditions at the temperature range between 15 and 45 °C. It shows proton conductivity as high as 10⁻² S cm⁻¹ at 25 °C under relative humidity of 95%. Thermal analyses including TG–DTA and thermal desorption mass spectroscopy (TDS) confirm that the compound is thermally stable up to 200 °C. Proton conduction of the compound depends very much on humidity or water content. The logarithmic conductivity at 25 °C is increased linearly with increasing relative humidity. The activation energy (E_a) estimated from the slope of log(σT) vs. 1/T is decreased from 1.08 to 0.52 eV, as the relative humidity is increased from 40% to 75%. The humidity dependence of conductivity is discussed in the light of the observed hydration isotherm.