Low power 2 x 2 thermo-optic SOI waveguide switch fabricated by anisotropy chemical etching

A 2 x 2 thermo-optic (TO) Mach-Zehnder (MZ) switch based on silicon waveguides with large cross section was designed and fabricated on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer. The multi-mode interferometers (MMI) were used as power splitter and combiner in MZ structure. In order to get smooth interface, anisotropy chemical wet-etching of silicon was used to fabricate the waveguides instead of dry-etching. Additional grooves were introduced to reduce power consumption. The device has a low switching power of 235 mW and a switching speed of 60 mus. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fabrication and analysis of 2x2 thermo-optic SOI waveguide switch with low power consumption and fast response by anisotropy chemical etching

A low power consumption 2 x 2 thermo-optic switch with fast response was fabricated on silicon-on-insulator by anisotropy chemical etching. Blocking trenches were etched on both sides of the phase-shifting arms to shorten device length and reduce power consumption. Thin top cladding layer was grown to reduce power consumption and switching time. The device showed good characteristics, including a low switching power of 145 mW and a fast switching speed of 8 +/- 1 mus, respectively. Two-dimensional finite element method was applied to simulate temperature field in the phase-shifting arm instead of conventional one-dimensional method. According to the simulated result, a new two-dimensional index distribution of phase-shifting arm was determined. Consequently finite-difference beam propagation method was employed to simulate the light propagation in the switch, and calculate the power consumption as well as the switching speed. The experimental results were in good agreement with the theoretical estimations. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of polarization field on formation of two-dimensional electron gas in (0001) and (11(2)over-bar0) plane AlGaN/GaN heterostructures

Photoluminescence (PL) and temperature-dependent Hall effect measurements were carried out in (0001) and (11 (2) over bar0) AlGaN/GaN heterostructures grown on sapphire substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. There are strong spontaneous and piezoelectric electric fields (SPF) along the growth orientation of the (0001) AlGaN/GaN heterostructures. At the same time there are no corresponding SPF along that of the (1120) AlGaN/GaN. A strong PL peak related to the recombination between two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) and photoexcited holes was observed at 3.258 eV at room temperature in (0001) AlGaN/GaN heterointerfaces while no corresponding PL peak was observed in (11 (2) over bar0). The existence of a 2DEG was observed in (0001) AlGaN/GaN multi-layers with a mobility saturated at 6000 cm(2)/V s below 80 K, whereas a much lower mobility was measured in (11 (2) over bar0). These results indicated that the SPF was the main element to cause the high mobility and high sheet-electron-density 2DEG in AlGaN/GaN heterostructures. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The diphasic nc-Si/a-Si : H thin film with improved medium-range order

A series of silicon film samples were prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) near the threshold from amorphous to nanocrystalline state by adjusting the plasma parameters and properly increasing the reactions between the hydrogen plasma and the growing surface. The microstucture of the films was studied by micro-Raman and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The influences of the hydrogen dilution ratio of silane (R-H = [H-2]/[SiH4]) and the substrate temperature (T-s) on the microstructural and photoelectronic properties of silicon films were investigated in detail. With the increase of RH from 10 to 100, a notable improvement in the medium-range order (MRO) of the films was observed, and then the phase transition from amorphous to nanocrystalline phase occurred, which lead to the formation of diatomic hydrogen complex, H-2* and their congeries. With the increase of T-s from 150 to 275 degreesC, both the short-range order and the medium range order of the silicon films are obviously improved. The photoconductivity spectra and the light induced changes of the films show that the diphasic nc-Si/a-Si:H films with fine medium-range order present a broader light spectral response range in the longer wavelength and a lower degradation upon illumination than conventional a-Si:H films. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

UV-B辐射和CO2浓度倍增对树木幼苗次生代谢的影响

为了揭示UV-B辐射（11.66KJ／m2.d）和CO2浓度倍增复合作用对树木幼苗次生代谢产物变化规律及其对生长发育的影响，在室外用开顶箱，对白桦、红皮云杉和红松幼苗进行了模拟研究。结果表明，三种幼苗针叶片酚类含量增幅和变化趋势均不同。白桦类黄酮含量和305nm吸收值变化不大，红皮云杉和红松后期增加明显。白桦总黄酮和邻苯二酚含量增幅大于红皮云杉和红松。白桦和红松Chl和Car含量呈下降趋势，红皮云杉后期略有增加。白桦休眠侧芽极性小的酚类物质增加明显，根系酚类略有增加，枝条酚类无变化。红松越冬侧芽酚类和邻苯二酚含量增加明显。复合处理使三种幼苗PAL活性增加。酚类物质含量与其清除O-2和OH的能力基本成量效关系。单位多酚清除OH能力，红皮云杉＞红松＞白桦；多酚与蛋白质结合能力，白桦＞红松＞红皮云杉；MDA增幅，红松＞白桦＞红皮云杉。三种幼苗SOD活性后期增加明显。邻苯二酚对Chl、SOD、CAT活性和PSII有破坏作用。白桦酚类物质对SOD和CAT活性有破坏作用。复合处理对高生长抑制的程度白桦大于红松，而对红皮云杉影响不显著，体现UV-B和CO2处理的相互抵消作用。白桦根部生物量增加。红松针叶伸长受到抑制。可见，UV-B和CO2处理诱导的次生产物与幼苗生长发育有关。

Preparation and performance of cellulose acetate/polyethyleneimine blend microfiltration membranes and their applications

A modified microfiltration membrane has been prepared by blending a matrix polymer with a functional polymer. Cellulose acetate (CA) was blended with polyethyleneimine (PEI), which was then crosslinked by polyisocyanate, in a mixture of solvents. In the membrane, PEI can supply coupling sites for ligands in affinity separation or be used as ligands for metal chelating, removal of endotoxin or ion exchange. The effects of the time of phase inversion induced by water vapor, blended amount of PEI and amount of crosslinking agent on membrane performance were investigated. The prepared blend membranes have specific surface area of 12.04-24.11 m(2)/g and pure water flux (PWF) of 10-50 ml/cm(2) min with porosity of 63-75%. The membranes, made of 0.15 50 wt.% PEI/CA ratio and 0.5 crosslinking agent/PEI ratio, were applied to adsorbing Cu2+ and bovine serum albumin (BSA) individually. The maximum adsorption capacity of Cu2+ ion on the blend membrane is 7.42 mg/g dry membrane. The maximum adsorption capacities of BSA on the membranes with and without chelating Cu2+ ion are 86.6 and 43.8 mg/g dry membrane, respectively. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Prediction of soil organic carbon partition coefficients by soil column liquid chromatography

To avoid the limitation of the widely used prediction methods of soil organic carbon partition coefficients (K-OC) from hydrophobic parameters, e.g., the n-octanol/water partition coefficients (K-OW) and the reversed phase high performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) retention factors, the soil column liquid chromatographic (SCLC) method was developed for K-OC prediction. The real soils were used as the packing materials of RP-HPLC columns, and the correlations between the retention factors of organic compounds on soil columns (k(soil)) and K-OC measured by batch equilibrium method were studied. Good correlations were achieved between k(soil) and K-OC for three types of soils with different properties. All the square of the correlation coefficients (R-2) of the linear regression between log k(soi) and log K-OC were higher than 0.89 with standard deviations of less than 0.21. In addition, the prediction of K-OC from K-OW and the RP-HPLC retention factors on cyanopropyl (CN) stationary phase (k(CN)) was comparatively evaluated for the three types of soils. The results show that the prediction of K-OC from k(CN) and K-OW is only applicable to some specific types of soils. The results obtained in the present study proved that the SCLC method is appropriate for the K-OC prediction for different types of soils, however the applicability of using hydrophobic parameters to predict K-OC largely depends on the properties of soil concerned. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Preparation and characterization of PtSn/C anode electrocatalysts for direct ethanol fuel cell

Highly active PtSn/C catalyst was prepared by a polyol method. The catalyst was reduced in H-2/Ar atmosphere at 600 degreesC for 2 h in order to obtain different metallic phase. TEM images show uniform dispersion of spherical metal nanoparticles with average diameters of 1.8 and 3.9 nm for the as-prepared and treated catalysts, respectively. UV-vis spectrophotometry is employed to monitor the preparation process and the results indicate that Pt-Sn complex formed once the precursors of Pt and Sn were mixed together. The structure properties of the samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction. The results show that after reduction, the catalyst tends to form PtSn alloy. TPR experiment results show that Sn exists in multivalent state in the as-prepared sample while only zero-valence Sn was detected in the treated sample, while it could not be excluded that the multivalent tin existed in the treated sample. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) technique and single direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC) tests indicate that the as-prepared catalyst possesses superior catalytic activity for ethanol oxidation to the treated sample. The results suggest that Pt and multivalent Sn are the active species for ethanol oxidation. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Calorimetric study on two biphenyl liquid crystals

The molar heat capacities of the two biphenyl liquid crystals, 3BmFF and 3BmFFXF3, with a purity of 99.7 mol% have been precisely measured by a fully automated precision adiabatic calorimeter in the temperature range between T = 80 and 350 K. Nematic phase-liquid phase transitions were found between T = 297 K and 300 K with a peak temperature of T-peak = (298.071 +/- 0.089) K for 3BmFF, and between T = 316 and 319 K with a peak temperature of T-peak = (315.543 +/- 0.043) K for 3BmFFXF3. The molar enthalpy (Delta(trs)H(m)) and entropy (Delta(trs)S(m)) corresponding to these phase transitions have been determined by means of the analysis of the heat capacity curves, which are (15.261 +/- 0.023) U mol(-1) and (51.202 +/- 0.076) J K-1 mol(-1) for 3BmFF, (31.624 +/- 0.066) kJ mol(-1) and (100.249 +/- 0.212) J K-1 mol(-1) for 3BmFFXF3, respectively. The real melting points (TI) and the ideal melting points (TO) with no impurities of the two compounds have been obtained from the fractional melting method to be (298.056 +/- 0.018) K and (298.165 +/- 0.038) K for 3BmFF, (315.585 +/- 0.043) K and (315.661 +/- 0.044) K for 3BmFFXF3, respectively. In addition, the transitions of these two biphenyl liquid crystals from nematic phase to liquid phase have further been investigated by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) technique; the repeatability and reliability for these phase transitions were verified. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Thermodynamic studies of monuron

Monuron (C9H11ClN2O; N,N-dimethyl-N'-(4-chlorophenyl) urea, CAS 150-68-5) was synthesized and the heat capacities of the compound were measured in the temperature range from 79 to 385 K with a high precision automated adiabatic calorimeter. No phase transition or thermal anomaly was observed in this range. The enthalpy and entropy data of the compound relative to the reference temperature 298.15 K were derived based on the heat capacity data. The thermodynamic properties of the compound were further investigated through DSC and TG analysis. The melting point, the molar enthalpy, and entropy of fusion were determined to be 447.6 +/- 0.1 K, 29.3 +/- 0.2 kJ mol(-1), and 65.4 J K-1 mol(-1), respectively. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Molecular dynamics and control following excitation with an ultra-short intense laser pulse

Vibronic excitations of the tri-atomic molecule OClO (A(2)A(2)(nu(1), nu(2), nu(3)) <-- (XB1)-B-2 (0, 0, 0)) with weak and strong ultra-short laser fields are studied within full quantum wavepacket dynamics in hyperspherical coordinates. Different dynamics is observed following excitation with laser pulses of different intensities. With a strong laser pulse, many vibrational states are excited and a spatially more localised wavepacket arises. The numerical results show that the population of different vibrational states of the wavepacket on the excited potential energy surface is altered by the intensity of the laser pulse. The numerical results also suggest a related effect on the phase of the wavepacket. These interesting phenomena can be understood by an analysis of the corresponding results for two model diatomic molecules. The possible physical mechanisms of control of chemical processes using strong laser fields are discussed. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Discrimination of Type 2 diabetic patients from healthy controls by using metabonomics method based on their serum fatty acid profiles

Metabonomics, the study of metabolites and their roles in various disease states, is a novel methodology arising from the post-genomics era. This methodology has been applied in many fields, including work in cardiovascular research and drug toxicology. In this study, metabonomics method was employed to the diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) based on serum lipid metabolites. The results suggested that serum fatty acid profiles determined by capillary gas chromatography combined with pattern recognition analysis of the data might provide an effective approach to the discrimination of Type 2 diabetic patients from healthy controls. And the applications of pattern recognition methods have improved the sensitivity and specificity greatly. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Study of urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine as a biomarker of oxidative DNA damage in diabetic nephropathy patients

Increased oxidative stress induced by hyperglycemia may contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetic complications. Urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) has been reported to serve as a sensitive biomarker of oxidative DNA damage and also of oxidative stress. This article studied oxidative DNA damage in patients with diabetic nephropathy and in healthy control subjects by urinary 8-OHdG evaluations. Contents of 8-OHdG in urine were analyzed by capillary electrophoresis with end-column amperometric detection (CE-AD) after a single-step solid-phase extraction (SPE). Levels of urinary 8-OHdG in diabetic nephropathy patients with macroalbuminuria was significant higher than in control subjects (5.72 +/- 6.89 mumol/mol creatinine versus 2.33 +/- 2.83 mumol/mol creatinine, P = 0.018). A significant difference of 24 h urinary 8-OHdG excretions exists between the patients with macroalbuminuria and the patients with nonnoalbuminuria (19.2 +/- 16.8 mug/24 h versus 8.1 +/- 1.7 mug/24 h, P = 0.015). There was a positive correlation between urinary excretion of 8-OHdG and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA(1)c) (r = 0.287, P = 0.022). A weak correlation exists between the levels of 8-OHdG and triglyceride (r = 0.230, P = 0.074). However, the urinary 8-OHdG contents are not correlated with blood pressure and total cholesterol. The increased excretion of urinary 8-OHdG is seen as indicating an increased systemic level of oxidative DNA damage in diabetic nephropathy patients. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Separation of acidic and basic compounds in capillary electrochromatography with polymethacrylate-based monolithic columns

Methacrylate-based monolithic columns with electroosmotic flow (EOF) or very weak EOF are prepared by in situ copolymerization in the presence of a porogen in fused-silica capillaries pretreated with a bifunctional reagent. Satisfactory separations of acidic and basic compounds on the column with EOF at either low or high pH are achieved, respectively. With sulfonic groups as dissociation functionalities, sufficient EOF mobility still remains as high as 1.74 x 10(-4) cm(2) s(-1) V-1 at low pH. Under this condition, seven acidic compounds are readily separated within 5.7 min. Moreover, at high pH, the peak shape of basic compounds is satisfactory without addition of any masking amines into running mobile phase since the secondary interaction between the basic compounds and the monolithic stationary phase are minimized at high pH. Reversed-phase mechanism for both acidic and basic compounds is observed under investigated separation conditions. In addition, possibilities of acidic and basic compound separations on a monolithic column with extremely low EOF are discussed. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.