Red-Green-Blue 2D tuneable liquid crystal laser devices

In this paper, we review our recent experimental work on coherent and blue phase liquid crystal lasers.We will present results on thin-film photonic band edge lasing devices using dye-doped low molar mass liquid crystals in self-organised chiral nematic and blue phases. We show that high Q-factor lasers can be achieved in these materials and demonstrate that a single mode output with a very narrow line width can be readily achievable in well-aligned mono-domain samples. Further, we have found that the performance of the laser, i.e. the slope efficiency and the excitation threshold, are dependent upon the physical parameters of the low molar mass chiral nematic liquid crystals. Specifically, slope efficiencies greater than 60% could be achieved depending upon the materials used and the device geometry employed. We will discuss the important parameters of the liquid crystal host/dye guest materials and device configuration that are needed to achieve such high slope efficiencies. Further we demonstrate how the wavelength of the laser can be tuned using an in-plane electric field in a direction perpendicular to the helix axis via a flexoelectric mechanism as well as thermally using thermochromic effects. We will then briefly outline data on room temperature blue phase lasers and further show how liquid crystal/lenslet arrays have been used to demonstrate 2D laser emission of any desired wavelength. Finally, we present preliminary data on LED/incoherent pumping of RG liquid crystal lasers leading to a continuous wave output. © 2009 SPIE.

Jetting behaviour of polymer solutions in drop-on-demand inkjet printing

The jetting of dilute polymer solutions in drop-on-demand printing is investigated. A quantitative model is presented which predicts three different regimes of behaviour depending upon the jet Weissenberg number Wi and extensibility of the polymer molecules. In regime I (Wi < ½) the polymer chains are relaxed and the fluid behaves in a Newtonian manner. In regime II (½ < Wi < L) where L is the extensibility of the polymer chain the fluid is viscoelastic, but the polymer do not reach their extensibility limit. In regime III (Wi > L) the chains remain fully extended in the thinning ligament. The maximum polymer concentration at which a jet of a certain speed can be formed scales with molecular weight to the power of (1-3ν), (1-6ν) and -2ν in the three regimes respectively, where ν is the solvent quality coefficient. Experimental data obtained with solutions of mono-disperse polystyrene in diethyl phthalate with molecular weights between 24 - 488 kDa, previous numerical simulations of this system, and previously published data for this and another linear polymer in a variety of “good” solvents, all show good agreement with the scaling predictions of the model.

Regimes of Polymer Behaviour in Drop-on-Demand Ink-Jetting

Three regimes of fast DoD jetting behaviour for solutions of mono-disperse linear polymers have been linked to the underlying polymer molecular chains and their fully extended length L in good solvents. This allows scaling laws in molecular weight to be predicted and applied to experimental jetting results from different DoD print heads. The higher extensional flows encountered in high speed jetting in viscous solvents can fully stretch linear molecules outside the nozzle, permitting jetting of higher polymer content than for purely elastic behaviour. These results are significant for DoD printing at raised jet speeds and will apply to any DoD print head jetting linear polymer solutions.

On the percussion drilling of SI using a 20W MOPA based YB fiber laser

A study on the nanosecond fiber laser interaction with silicon was performed experimentally for the generation of percussion drilled holes. Single pulse ablation experiments were carried out on mono crystalline 650μm thick Si wafers. Changes of the mass removal mechanism were investigated by varying laser fluence up to 68 J/cm2 and pulse duration from 50 ns to 200 ns. Hole width and depth were measured and surface morphology were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical interferometric profilometry (Veeco NT3300). High speed photography was also used to examine laser generated plasma expansion rates. The material removal rate was found to be influenced by the pulse energy, full pulse duration and pulse peak power. Single pulse ablation depth of 4.42 μm was achieved using a 200 ns pulse of 13.3 J/cm 2, giving a maximum machining efficiency of 31.86 μm per mJ. Holes drilled with an increased fluence but fixed pulse length were deeper, exhibited low recast, but were less efficient than those produced at a lower fluence. The increased peak power in this case led to high levels of plasma and vapour production. The expansion of which, results in a strong driving recoil force, an increase in the rate and volume of melt ejection, and cleaner hole formation. The experimental findings show that for efficient drilling at a given energy, a longer, lower peak power pulse is more desirable than a high peak power short pulse.

Plasma stabilisation of metallic nanoparticles on silicon for the growth of carbon nanotubes

Ammonia (NH 3) plasma pretreatment is used to form and temporarily reduce the mobility of Ni, Co, or Fe nanoparticles on boron-doped mono- and poly-crystalline silicon. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy proves that NH 3 plasma nitrides the Si supports during nanoparticle formation which prevents excessive nanoparticle sintering/diffusion into the bulk of Si during carbon nanotube growth by chemical vapour deposition. The nitridation of Si thus leads to nanotube vertical alignment and the growth of nanotube forests by root growth mechanism. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.

Growth and shape control of disks by bending and extension

Differential growth of thin elastic bodies furnishes a surprisingly simple explanation of the complex and intriguing shapes of many biological systems, such as plant leaves and organs. Similarly, inelastic strains induced by thermal effects or active materials in layered plates are extensively used to control the curvature of thin engineering structures. Such behaviour inspires us to distinguish and to compare two possible modes of differential growth not normally compared to each other, in order to reveal the full range of out-of-plane shapes of an initially flat disk. The first growth mode, frequently employed by engineers, is characterised by direct bending strains through the thickness, and the second mode, mainly apparent in biological systems, is driven by extensional strains of the middle surface. When each mode is considered separately, it is shown that buckling is common to both modes, leading to bistable shapes: growth from bending strains results in a double-curvature limit at buckling, followed by almost developable deformation in which the Gaussian curvature at buckling is conserved; during extensional growth, out-of-plane distortions occur only when the buckling condition is reached, and the Gaussian curvature continues to increase. When both growth modes are present, it is shown that, generally, larger displacements are obtained under in-plane growth when the disk is relatively thick and growth strains are small, and vice versa. It is also shown that shapes can be mono-, bi-, tri- or neutrally stable, depending on the growth strain levels and the material properties: furthermore, it is shown that certain combinations of growth modes result in a free, or natural, response in which the doubly curved shape of disk exactly matches the imposed strains. Such diverse behaviour, in general, may help to realise more effective actuation schemes for engineering structures. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ni(Pt)-silicide contacts on CMOS devices: Impact of substrate nature and Pt concentration on the phase formation

Ni silicides used as contacts in source/drain and gate of advanced CMOS devices were analyzed by atom probe tomography (APT) at atomic scale. These measurements were performed on 45 nm nMOS after standard self-aligned silicide (salicide) process using Ni(5 at.% Pt) alloy. After the first annealing (RTA1), δ-Ni2Si was the only phase formed on gate and source/drain while, after the second annealing (RTA2), two different Ni silicides have been formed: NiSi on the gate and δ-Ni2Si on the source and drain. This difference between source/drain and gate regions in nMOS devices has been related to the Si substrate nature (poly or mono-crystalline) and to the size of the contact. In fact, NiSi seems to have difficulties to nucleate in the narrow source/drain contact on mono-crystalline Si. The results have been compared to analysis performed on 28 nm nMOS where the Pt concentration is higher (10 at.% Pt). In this case, θ-Ni2Si is the first phase to form after RTA1 and NiSi is then formed at the same time on source (or drain) and gate after RTA2. The absence of the formation of NiSi from δ-Ni 2Si/Si(1 0 0) interface compared to θ-Ni2Si/Si(1 0 0) interface could be related to the difference of the interface energies. The redistributions of As and Pt in different silicides and interfaces were measured and discussed. In particular, it has been evidenced that Pt redistributions obtained on both 45 and 28 nm MOS transistors correspond to respective Pt distributions measured on blanket wafers. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Self-organization of spinal reflexes involving homonymous, antagonist and synergistic interactions

Recent results in spinal research are challenging the historical view that the spinal reflexes are mostly hardwired and fixed behaviours. In previous work we have shown that three of the simplest spinal reflexes could be self-organised in an agonist-antagonist pair of muscles. The simplicity of these reflexes is given from the fact that they entail at most one interneuron mediating the connectivity between afferent inputs and efferent outputs. These reflexes are: the Myotatic, the Reciprocal Inibition and the Reverse Myotatic reflexes. In this paper we apply our framework to a simulated 2D leg model actuated by six muscles (mono- and bi-articular). Our results show that the framework is successful in learning most of the spinal reflex circuitry as well as the corresponding behaviour in the more complicated muscle arrangement. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.

The application of SnS nanoparticles to bulk heterojunction solar cells

Tin mono-sulphide (SnS) nanoparticles were synthesized by a facile method. Reactions producing narrow size distribution SnS nanoparticles with the diameter of 5.0-10 nm were carried out in an ethylene glycol solution at 150 degrees C for 24 h. Bulk heterojunction solar cells with the structure of indium tin oxide (ITO)/polyethylenedioxythiophene polystyrenesulphonate (PEDOT PSS)/SnS polymer/Al were fabricated by blending the nanoparticles with a conjugated polymer to form the active layer for the first time. Current density-voltage characterization of the devices showed that due to the addition of SnS nanoparticles to the polymer film, the device performance can be dramatically improved, compared with that of the pristine polymer solar cells. (c) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.

A new technique for boosting efficiency of silicon solar cells

A new type of photovoltaic system with higher generation power density has been studied in detail. The feature of the system is a V-shaped module (VSM) with two tilted monocrystalline solar cells. Compared to solar cells in a flat orientation, the VSM enhances external quantum efficiency and leads to an increase of 31% in power conversion efficiency. Due to the VSM technique, short-circuit current density was raised from 24.94 to 33.7mA/cm(2), but both fill factor and open-circuit voltage were approximately unchanged. For the VSM similar results (about 30% increase) were obtained for solar cells fabricated by using mono-crystal line silicon wafers with only conventional background impurities. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A V-shaped module technique for promoting generation photocurrent density of silicon solar cells

A V-shaped solar cell module consists of two tilted mono-crystalline cells [J. Li, China Patent No. 200410007708.6 (March, 2004)]. The angle included between the two tilted cells is 90 degrees. The two cells were fabricated by using polished silicon wafers. The scheme of both-side polished wafers has been proposed to reduce optical loss. Compared to solar cells in a planar way, the V-shaped structure enhances external quantum efficiency and leads to an increase of 15% in generation photocurrent density. The following three kinds of trapped photons are suggested to contribute to the increase: (1) infrared photons converted from visible photons due to a transformation mechanism, (2) photons reflected from top contact metal, and (3) a residual reflection which can not be eliminated by an antireflection coating.

高稳定性安培生物传感器的研制

生物传感器已发展成为一种新型的分析手段，并被广泛应用于临床、环境、食品等领域。本论文从合成新型生物相容性固定化载体、寻找高稳定性的酶及建立新的有机相体系三方面对酶电极进行了研究。主要结果如下：1. 采用有机-无机杂化的方法，首次将无机玻璃材料同高分子水凝胶结合起来，制备了一种新的固定化载体。我们对其制备条件进行了优化，结果表明：正硅酸乙酯与水的最佳比率为1:4，而水凝胶有最佳含量为38.3%。这种掺杂材料一方面春服了两种材料各自的缺点，即溶胶-凝胶陶瓷材料的开裂和水凝胶的溶胀；另一方面保留了水凝胶的生物相容性和无机玻璃的物理刚性、高稳定性等优点。红外、电镜和QCM实验证明，膜中含有大量的羟基和氢键，且两种组分形成互穿网络。另外，当酶分子被包埋于溶胶-凝胶复合膜中后，没有发现酶的泄漏。2. 用此种杂化材料固定了葡萄糖氧化酶、辣根过氧化物酶及酷氨酸酶，制备了薄膜型生物传感器。有机-无机复合膜较薄从而具有短的扩散路径，因此传感器的响应很快。另外，由于杂化膜的高生物相容性和稳定性，这些酶固定后都保持了高的生物活性，故制备的生物传感器具有高的灵敏度和好的稳定性等优点。这些证明溶胶-凝胶掺杂法是制备高稳定的生物传感器的普适方法。3. 通过双水相萃取、Mono-Q柱层析和Butylsuperose疏水层析等纯化步骤，从商品大豆的种皮中提纯了一种高稳性的大豆过氧化物酶。该酶的活力为200 pyrogallol U/mg，大大高于Sigma公司产品（130 pyrogallol U/mg)。此过氧化物酶可在从pH3-10范围内维持其活性，并且显示了不寻常的热稳定性（60 ℃时半衰期为20小时）。我们用此酶首次制备出在酸性条件下可稳定使用的过氧化氢传感器。在低的pH值时，酶电极具有快的响应，高的灵敏度和好的长期稳定性。此酸稳定传感器的提出扩展了生物传感器的应用领域。4. 发展了一种新型的可用于监测惰性有机溶剂的安培传感器。EQCM和电化学实验阐明了其机理：注入的有机溶剂富集底物探针酚，降低了酶膜中酚的浓度，故引起传感器响应的下降。因为电流的下降正比于所加入的有机溶剂的数量，因此可以用安培传感器来定量测定电化学惰性的有机溶剂。对某有机溶剂的灵敏度和检测限依赖于酶载量及固定化载体和底物探针的憎水性。该传感器可以用于废水分析和环境临测，大大地延伸了生物传感器的适用范围。5. 将生物膜与传感器技术结合起来，制备了双层磷脂膜生物传感器。采用浸涂及浇铸等新的固定化方法，将辣根过氧化物酶分别固定到双层及多层磷脂膜中，在玻碳电极上制备了过氧化氢传感器。由于生物膜所带的负电荷能排斥抗坏血酸、尿酸等阴离子物质，从而较大的消除了杂质的干扰。另外由于生物膜在电极表面上为酶提供了生物相容的微环境，故实现了辣根过氧生物酶与玻碳电极之间的直接电子转移，为制备第三代生物传感器奠定了基础。

An analysis of the performance of a new high-speed single-way analog switch

This paper introduces a new highspeed single-way analog switch which has both highspeed high-resolution mono-direction analog transmission gate function and high-speed digital logic gate function with normal bipolar technology. The analysis of static and transient switching performances as an analog transmission gate is emphasized in the paper. In order to reduce the plug-in effect on high-speed high-resolution systems, an optimum design scheme is also given. This scheme is to achieve accelerated dynamic response with very low bias power dissipation. The analysis of PSPICE simulation as well as the circuit test results confirms the feasibility of the scheme. Now, the circuit has been applied effectively to the designs of novel highspeed A/D and D/A converters.

Behavior of Pentacene Initial Nucleation on Various Dielectrics and Its Effect on Carrier Transport in Organic Field-Effect Transistor

The influence of dielectric surface energy on the initial nucleation and the growth of pentacene films as well as the electrical properties of the pentacene-based field-effect transistors are investigated. We have examined a range of organic and inorganic dielectrics with different surface energies, such as polycarbonate/SiO2, polystyrene/SiO2, and PMMA/SiO2 bi-layered dielectrics and also the bare SiO2 dielectric. Atomic force microscopy measurements of sub-monolayer and thick pentacene films indicated that the growth of pentacene film was in Stranski-Kranstanow growth mode on all the dielectrics. However, the initial nucleation density and the size of the first-layered pentacene islands deposited on different dielectrics are drastically influenced by the dielectric surface energy. With the increasing of the surface energy, the nucleation density increased and thus the average size of pentacene islands for the first mono-layer deposition decreased. The performance of fabricated pentacene-based thin film transistors was found to be highly related to nucleation density and the island size of deposited Pentacene film, and it had no relationship to the final particle size of the thick pentacene film. The field effect mobility of the thin film transistor could be achieved as high as 1.38 cm(2)/Vs with on/off ratio over 3 x 10(7) on the PS/SiO2 where the lowest surface energy existed among all the dielectrics. For comparison, the values of mobility and on/off ratio were 0.42 cm(2)/Vs and 1 x 10(6) for thin film transistor deposited directly on bare SiO2 having the highest surface energy.

长白山阔叶红松林种子雨组成与时空格局

种子雨是森林植物种群更新的主要方式之一，是森林生态系统自我繁衍和恢复的主要手段。为了解长白山阔叶红松林种子雨的组成及其时空变化，参照BCI 50ha 样地技术规范，在长白山阔叶红松林25ha长期监测样地内设置了150个种子收集器，从2006年5月15日到2007年11月8日，每15天收集掉落于收集器中的果实、种子及其相关附属物等。所收到的样品分别鉴定其种类并分为成熟种实、未成熟种实、花絮、果实或种子碎片及其附属物4类，记录各类别的数量，然后分别烘干称重。 研究期间，共收集到11科12属22种木本植物的种子及其它生殖器官残体，包括成熟种实16种，未成熟种实17种，花序12种，翅2种，果实或种子碎片及其附属物10种。累计收集到种实136664粒，其中成熟种实32358粒，占所有种实总数的23.80%。种实数最多的树种是紫椴(Tilia amurensis)，其次为水曲柳(Fraxinus mandshuica)，两个树种种实数占总数的89.54%。种实总重量为3320.93g，其中成熟种实总重量为1242.85g，占37.4%。成熟种实中水曲柳和紫椴的重量最大，其次是色木槭(Acer mono)，假色槭(A. pseudo-sieboldianum)、糠椴(T. mandshuric)和红松(Pinus koraiensis)。 种子雨数量年际变化明显，2006年种子雨密度为1370.25粒/m2，2007年为249.47粒/m2，差异极显著(P<0.001)。但不同年份种子雨的季节动态趋势一致，均有两个明显的大高峰期和一个小高峰期。不同物种种子雨扩散的时间格局大致可以分为“单峰”和“双峰”两种类型，在时间上体现了不同物种的更新策略。 150个收集器均收到了成熟种实，各收集器中的种实数呈偏态分布，种实数在150-250之间的收集器数量最多，共68个，种实数小于50的收集器有5个，种实数大于250的收集器共37个。样地内成熟种实数量及其空间分布差异明显，收集器中种实数在1000个以上的有3个，最多达1511个，聚集分布于样地的西北角；收集器中种实数最少的只有22个种实。种实重量的空间分布与种实数分布一样存在较明显的空间差异，只是差异性相对偏弱一些，且与种实数量的空间分布不一致。