Dependence of photoluminescence induced by carbon contamination on GeSi structure

We studied the dependence of photoluminescence induced by carbon contamination on the Ge/GeSi structure. It is found that a carbon and silicon defect complex may be formed in a special structure by opening the in situ high-energy electron diffraction test during growth. There is an important difference in the dependence of photoluminescence on the temperature between the defect complex in our samples and in bulk Si. where the impurity-active center is generated by high-energy electron (about several MeV) irradiation. The quenching temperature of the photoluminescence from the impurity-active center is higher in our Ge/GeSi structure than in bulk Si. The defect complex may serve as an impurity-active center for a possible application in making Si-based light-emitting diodes whose wavelength is around 1.3 mu m in the window of optical communication. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Contamination and distribution of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/F) in agriculture fields in Ya-Er Lake area, China

The contamination and distribution of polychlorinated dibeinizo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) from two agricultural fields of a heavily polluted lake area in China (Ya-Er Lake) are presented. The vertical distribution pattern of total PCDD/Fs in soil cores reveals that the maximum concentration was in the layer of 20-30 cm. The concentrations in the top layer of soil at the two sites were similar (17.48 ng/kg at Site 1 and 18.10 ng/kg at Site 2), but the maximum concentration of Site 1 (120.8 ng/kg) was two times higher than that of Site 2 (64.39 ng/kg). The maximum concentration of PCDD/Fs in mud cores in rice fields (0-50 cm) at Sites 1 and 2 was in the layer of 0-10 cm. The maximum PCDD/F concentration in the top layer in mud at Site 1 (203.1 ng/kg) was higher than that at Site 2: (143.3 ng/kg). Significant correlations were found between the mind PCDD/Fs and the organic carbon content (R = 0.9743, P< 0,05 at Site 1; R = 0.9821, P< 0.05 at Site 2), the two variables being highly correlated (R = 0.9049, P< 0.05, at Site 1; R = 0.9916, P< 0.05 at Site 2). All correlation coefficients were significant at the 95% level. Concentrations were highly correlated with organic carbon, indicating that sorption to organic carbon was the dominant mechanism. Using principal component analysis, the homologue profiles of soil, mud, and plants (rice and radish) were compared. The PCDD/F patterns in plants were found not to be correlated to those in soil and mud. This suggests that atmospheric deposition may be the main source of PCDD/Fs in rice grain. However, mixed exposure involving uptake mechanisms and atmospheric deposition is considered main the source of PCDD/F pollution in radishes. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).

Fabrication of novel double-hetero-epitaxial SOT structure Si/gamma-Al2O3/Si

In this paper, we report the fabrication of Si-based double-hetero-epitaxial silicon on insulator (SOI) structure Si/gamma-Al2O3/Si. Firstly, single crystalline gamma-Al2O3(100) insulator films were grown epitaxially on Si(100) using the sources of TMA (Al(CH3)(3)) and O-2 by very low-pressure chemical vapor deposition. Afterwards, Si(100) epitaxial films were grown on gamma-Al2O3 (100)/Si(100) epi-substrates using a chemical vapor deposition method similar to the silicon on sapphire epitaxial growth. The Si/gamma-Al2O3/Si SOL materials are characterized in detail by reflect high-energy electron diffraction, X-ray diffraction and Auger energy spectrum (AES) techniques. The insulator layer of gamma-Al2O3 has an excellent dielectric property. The leakage current is less than 1 x 10(-10) A/cm(2) when the electric field is below 1.3 MV/ cm. The Si film grown on gamma-Al2O3/Si epi-substrates was single crystalline. Meanwhile, the AES depth profile of the SOL structure shows that the composition of gamma-Al2O3 film is uniform, and the carbon contamination is not observed. Additionally, the gamma-Al2O3/Si epi-substrates are suitable candidates as a platform for a variety of active layers such as GaN, SiC and GeSi. It shows a bright future for microelectronic and optical electronics applications. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Improved purity of long-wavelength InAsSb epilayers grown by melt epitaxy in fused silica boats

In this study, we first present the process of the melt epitaxial (ME) growth method, and the improvement of low-temperature electron mobility of the long-wavelength InAsSb epilayers grown by ME in a fused silica boat. The electrical properties were investigated by van der Pauw measurement at 300 and 77 K. It is seen that the electron mobility of the InAsSb samples grown by graphite boat decreased from 55,700 to 26,600 cm(2)/V s when the temperature was reduced from 300 to 77 K, while for the samples grown by fused silica boat, the electron mobility increased from 52,600 at 300 K to 54,400 cm(2)/V s at 77 K. The electron mobility of 54,400cm(2)/Vs is the best result, so far, for the InAsSb materials with cutoff wavelength of 8-12 mum at 77 K. This may be attributed to the reduction of the carbon contamination by using a fused silica boat instead of a graphite boat. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Electrochemiluminescent determination of glucose with a sol-gel derived ceramic-carbon composite electrode as a renewable optical fiber biosensor

A sol-gel derived ceramic-carbon composite electrode is used for fabrication of a new type of optical fiber biosensor based on luminol electrochemiluminescence (ECL). The electrode consists of graphite powder impregnated with glucose oxidase in a silicate network. In this configuration, the immobilized enzyme oxidizes glucose to liberate hydrogen peroxide and graphite powder provides percolation conductivity for triggering the ECL between luminol and the liberated hydrogen peroxide. Both of the reactions occur simultaneously on the surface of the composite electrode, thereby the response of the biosensor is very fast. The peak intensity was achieved within only 20 s after glucose injection. In addition, the electrode could be renewed by a simple mechanical polishing step in case of contamination or fouling. The linear range extends from 0.01 to 10 mM for glucose and the detection limit is about 8.16 muM. The renewal repeatability and stability of the biosensor are also investigated in detail.

One century record of contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated biphenyls in core sediments from the southern Yellow Sea

Sixteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 28 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured at a 2-cm interval in a core sample from the middle of the southern Yellow Sea for elucidating their historical variations in inflow and sources. The chronology was obtained using the Pb-210 method. PAHs concentrations decreased generally with depth and two climax values occurred in 14-16 cm and 20-22 cm layers, demonstrating that the production and usage of PAHs might reach peaks in the periods of 1956-1962 and 1938-1944. The booming economy and the navy battles of the Second World War might explain why the higher levels were detected in the two layers. The result of principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that PAHs were primarily owing to the combustion product. Down-cored variation of PCB concentrations was complex. Higher concentrations besides the two peaks being the same as PAHs were detected from 4 to 8 cm, depositing from 1980 to 1992, which probably resulted from the disposal of the out-dated PCB-containing equipment. The average Cl percentage of PCBs detected was similar to that of the mixture of Aroclor 1254 and 1242, suggesting they might origin from the dielectrical and heat-transfer fluid. The total organic carbon (TOC) content played a prevalent role in the adsorption of high molecular weight PAHs (>= 4-ring), while no obvious relationship among total PCBs, the concentration of congeners, and TOC was found.

Pull-in Instability Study of Carbon Nanotube Tweezers Under the Influence of Van der Waals Forces

The pull-in instability of two nanotubes under van der Waals force is studied. The cantilever beam with large deformation model is used. The influence of nanotube parameters such as the interior radius, the gap distance between the two nanotubes, etc, on the pull-in instability is studied. The critical nanotube length is determined for each specific set of nanotube parameters. The Galerkin method is applied to discretize the governing equations, and it shows good convergence.

Experimental investigation of the shear strength of a unidirectional carbon/aluminum composite under dynamic torsional loading

In this paper, the dynamic shear strength of a unidirectional C/A356.0 composite and A356.0 alloy, respectively, are measured with a split Hopkinson torsional bar (SHTB) technique. The results indicate that the carbon fibers make very little contribution to the enhancement of the shear strength of the matrix material. The microscopic inspections on the fracture surface of the composite show a multi-scale zigzag feature. This implies that there is a complicated shear failure mechanism in the unidirectional carbon/aluminum composite.

Laser-surface-alloyed carbon nanotubes reinforced hydroxyapatite composite coatings

Carbon-nanotube sCNTd-reinforced hydroxyapatite composite coatings have been fabricated by laser surface alloying. Microstructural observation using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy showed that a large amount of CNTs remained with their or

Kinetics of Glass Transition and Crystallization in Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Mg-Cu-Gd Bulk Metallic Glass

Mg65 Cu25 Gdlo bulk metallic glass and its carbon nanotube reinforced composite were prepared. Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) was used to investigate the kinetics of glass transition and crystallization processes. The influence of CNTs addition to the glass matrix on the glass transition and crystallization kinetics was studied. It is shown that the kinetic effect on glass transition and crystallization are preserved for both the monothetic glass and its glass composite. Adding CNTs in to the glass matrix reduces the influence of the heating rate on the crystallization process. In addition, the CNTs increase the energetic barrier for the glass transition. This results in the decrease of GFA . The mechanism of the GFA decrease was also discussed.