Influence of binder solvent on carbon-layer structure in electrical-double-layer capacitors

Porous activated-carbons with a large surface-area have been the most common materials for electrical-double-layer capacitors (EDLCs). These carbons having a wide pore distribution ranges from micropores to macropores in conjunction with a random pore connection that facilitates the high specific-capacitance values. Pore distribution plays a central role in controlling the capacitance value of EDLCs, since electrolyte distribution inside the active material mainly depends on the pore distribution. This has a direct influence on the distribution of resistance and capacitance values within the electrode. As a result, preparation of electrodes remains a vital issue in realising high-performance EDLCs. Generally, carbon materials along with some binders are dispersed into a solvent and coated onto the current collectors. This study examines the role of binder solvents used for the carbon-ink preparation on the microstructure of the electrodes and the consequent performance of the EDLCs. It is observed that the physical properties of the binder solvent namely its dielectric constant, viscosity and boiling point have important role in determining the pore-size distribution as well as the microstructure of electrodes which influence their specific capacitance values.

Compensator Design for Closed Loop Hall-Effect Current Sensors

Closed loop current sensors used in power electronics applications are expected to have high bandwidth and minimal measurement transients. In this paper, a closed loop compensated Hall-effect current sensor is modeled. The model is used to tune the sensor's compensator. Analytical expression of step response is used to evaluate the performance of the PI compensator in the current sensor. This analysis is used to devise a procedure to design parameters of the PI compensator for fast dynamic response and for small dynamic error. A prototype current sensor is built in the laboratory. Simulations using the model are compared with experimental results to validate the model and to study the variation in performance with compensator parameters. The performance of the designed PI compensator for the sensor is compared with a commercial current sensor. The measured bandwidth of the designed current sensor is above 200 kHz, which is comparable to commercial standards. Implementation issues of PI compensator using operational amplifiers are also addressed.

Studies on thin film based flexible gold electrode arrays for resistivity imaging in electrical impedance tomography

Practical phantoms are essential to assess the electrical impedance tomography (EIT) systems for their validation, calibration and comparison purposes. Metal surface electrodes are generally used in practical phantoms which reduce the SNR of the boundary data due to their design and development errors. Novel flexible and biocompatible gold electrode arrays of high geometric precision are proposed to improve the boundary data quality in EIT. The flexible gold electrode arrays are developed on flexible FR4 sheets using thin film technology and practical gold electrode phantoms are developed with different configurations. Injecting a constant current to the phantom boundary the surface potentials are measured by a LabVIEW based data acquisition system and the resistivity images are reconstructed in EIDORS. Boundary data profile and the resistivity images obtained from the gold electrode phantoms are compared with identical phantoms developed with stainless steel electrodes. Surface profilometry, microscopy and the impedance spectroscopy show that the gold electrode arrays are smooth, geometrically precised and less resistive. Results show that the boundary data accuracy and image quality are improved with gold electrode arrays. Results show that the diametric resistivity plot (DRP), contrast to noise ratio (CNR), percentage of contrast recovery (PCR) and coefficient of contrast (COC) of reconstructed images are improved in gold electrode phantoms. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Harmonic Analysis of DC-Link Capacitor Current in Sinusoidally Modulated Neutral-Point-Clamped Inverter

The voltage ripple and power loss in the DC-capacitor of a voltage source inverter depend on the harmonic currents flowing through the capacitor. This paper presents double Fourier series based harmonic analysis of DC capacitor current in a three-level neutral point clamped inverter, modulated with sine-triangle PWM. The analytical results are validated experimentally on a 5-kVA three-level inverter prototype. The results of the analysis are used for predicting the power loss in the DC capacitor.

The effect of Se doping on spectroscopic and electrical properties of GeTe

Selenium doped thin films of GeTe alloys were investigated for their structural modifications by X-ray Diffraction, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman Spectroscopy. The band gap increase from 0.69 to 1.10 eV with increasing Se addition signifies the possibility of band gap tuning in the material. Disorder decreases, band widens and conductivity saturates about 0.20 at.% of Se addition. Structural changes are explained by the bond theory of solids. The as-deposited films are amorphous and 0.50 at.% Se alloy forms a homogeneous amorphous phase with a mixture of Ge-Se and Te-Se bonds. The XPS core level spectra and Raman spectra investigation clearly indicate the formation of Ge-Se, GeTe2 and Te-Se bonds with Se addition. Crystallization temperature is found to be increasing with Se and the 0.10 at.% Se alloy is found to have a higher resistance contrast compared to other Se concentration alloys. Up to 0.10 at.% of Se addition can enhance GeTe phase change memory properties. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Study on Rotor Current Waveforms in an Inverter-fed Induction Motor Drive During Overmodulation

Overmodulation introduces low-order harmonics in the output voltage of a voltage source inverter. This paper presents the effects of low-order harmonics in the stator voltage on the rotor currents of an induction motor. Rotor current waveforms are presented for various operating zones in overmodulation, including six-step mode. Harmonic spectra of stator and rotor currents are compared in six-step mode of operation. Pulsating torque is evaluated at various depths of modulation during overmodulation.

Nanostructured CexZn1-xO thin films: Influence of Ce doping on the structural, optical and electrical properties

Thin films of CexZn1-xO thin films were deposited on glass substrates at 400 degrees C by nebulizer spray pyrolysis technique. Ce doping concentration (x) was varied from 0 to 10%, in steps of 2.5%. X-ray diffraction reveals that all the films have polycrystalline nature with hexagonal crystal structure and high preferential orientation along (002) plane. Optical parameters such as; transmittance, band gap energy, refractive index (n), extinction coefficient (k), complex dielectric constants (epsilon(r), epsilon(i)) and optical conductivity (sigma(r), sigma(i)) have been determined and discussed with respect to Ce concentration. All the films exhibit transmittance above 80% in the wavelength range from 330 to 2500 nm. Optical transmission measurements indicate the decrease of direct band gap energy from 3.26 to 3.12 eV with the increase of Ce concentration. Photoluminescence spectra show strong near band edge emission centered similar to 398 nm and green emission centered similar to 528 nm with excitation wavelength similar to 350 nm. High resolution scanning electron micrographs indicate the formation of vertical nano-rod like structures on the film surface with average diameter similar to 41 nm. Electrical properties of the Ce doped ZnO film have been studied using ac impedance spectroscopy in the frequency range from 100 Hz-1 MHz at different temperatures. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Temperature dependent magnetic ordering and electrical transport behavior of nano zinc ferrite from 20 to 800 K

The nano ZnFe2O4 compound was prepared by eco-friendly hydrothermal method. The characterization of the sample for its structure, morphology and composition were done by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic light scattering, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, zeta surface profiler and UV-Visible spectroscopy studies. The PXRD measurement reveals that the compound shows spinel cubic phase belong Fd (3) over barm (227) space group. Morphology of the compound from SEM and surface profile shows nearly spherical agglomerated particles with well defined grains and grain boundaries. The material shows the semiconducting behavior with E-g of 2.3 eV at room temperature (RT). The variation in the magnetic ordering was observed for wide range of temperature. The compound behaves like a soft magnetic material with ferrimagnetic at various temperatures except at RT. Both magnetic and EPR studies supports the superparamagnetic behavior of the the sample. The DC conductivity, dielectric and AC conductivity behavior of the 1000 degrees C pellets sintered for 2 h shows good frequency dependent transport properties. The present study facilitate in selecting the suitable materials for the nanoelectronics and spintronic applications. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Projection Error Propagation-based Regularization (PEPR) method for resistivity reconstruction in Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT)

A novel Projection Error Propagation-based Regularization (PEPR) method is proposed to improve the image quality in Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT). PEPR method defines the regularization parameter as a function of the projection error developed by difference between experimental measurements and calculated data. The regularization parameter in the reconstruction algorithm gets modified automatically according to the noise level in measured data and ill-posedness of the Hessian matrix. Resistivity imaging of practical phantoms in a Model Based Iterative Image Reconstruction (MoBIIR) algorithm as well as with Electrical Impedance Diffuse Optical Reconstruction Software (EIDORS) with PEPR. The effect of PEPR method is also studied with phantoms with different configurations and with different current injection methods. All the resistivity images reconstructed with PEPR method are compared with the single step regularization (STR) and Modified Levenberg Regularization (LMR) techniques. The results show that, the PEPR technique reduces the projection error and solution error in each iterations both for simulated and experimental data in both the algorithms and improves the reconstructed images with better contrast to noise ratio (CNR), percentage of contrast recovery (PCR), coefficient of contrast (COC) and diametric resistivity profile (DRP). (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Structural, thermal and electrical properties of poly(methyl methacrylate)/CaCu3Ti4O12 composite sheets fabricated via melt mixing

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) composites were fabricated via melt mixing followed by hot pressing technique. These were characterized using X-ray diffraction, thermo gravimetric, thermo mechanical, differential scanning calorimetry, fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Impedance analyser for their structural, thermal and dielectric properties. Composites were found to have better thermal stability than that of pure PMMA. However, there was no significant difference in the glass transition (T (g) ) temperature between the polymer and the composite. The appearance of additional vibrational frequencies in the range 400-600 cm(-1) in FTIR spectra indicated a possible interaction between PMMA and CCTO. The composite, with 38 vol% of CCTO (in PMMA), exhibited remarkably low dielectric loss at high frequencies and the low-frequency relaxation is attributed to the interfacial polarization/MWS effect. The origin of AC conductivity particularly in the high-frequency region was attributed to the electronic polarization.

Temperature dependent electrical behaviour of Cu2SnS3 films

The temperature dependent electrical properties of the dropcasted Cu2SnS3 films have been measured in the temperature range 140 K to 317 K. The log I versus root V plot shows two regions. The region at lower bias is due to electrode limited Schottky emission and the higher bias region is due to bulk limited Poole Frenkel emission. The ideality factor is calculated from the ln I versus V plot for different temperatures fitted with the thermionic emission model and is found to vary from 6.05 eV to 12.23 eV. This large value is attributed to the presence of defects or amorphous layer at the Ag / Cu2SnS3 interface. From the Richardson's plot the Richardson's constant and the barrier height were calculated. Owing to the inhomogeneity in the barrier heights, the Richardson's constant and the barrier height were also calculated from the modified Richardson's plot. The I-V-T curves were also fitted using the thermionic field emission model. The barrier heights were found to be higher than those calculated using thermionic emission model. From the fit of the I-V-T curves to the field emission model, field emission was seen to dominate in the low temperature range of 140 K to 177 K. The temperature dependent current graphs show two regions of different mechanisms. The log I versus 1000/T plot gives activation energies E-a1 = 0.367095 - 0.257682 eV and E-a2 = 0.038416 - 0.042452 eV. The log ( I/T-2) versus 1000/T graph gives trap depths Phi(o1) = 0.314159 - 0.204752 eV and Phi(o2) = 0.007425- 0.011163 eV. With increasing voltage the activation energy E-a1 and the trap depth Phi(o1) decrease. From the ln (IT1/ 2) versus 1/T-1/ 4 graph, the low temperature region is due to variable range hopping mechanism and the high temperature region is due to thermionic emission. (C) 2014 Author(s).

Electrical switching, SET-RESET, and Raman scattering studies on Ge15Te80-xIn5Agx glasses

Bulk Ge15Te85-xIn5Agx glasses are shown to exhibit electrical switching with switching/threshold voltages in the range of 70-120V for a sample thickness of 0.3 mm. Further, the samples exhibit threshold or memory behavior depending on the ON state current. The compositional studies confirm the presence of an intermediate phase in the range 8 <= x <= 16, revealed earlier by thermal studies. Further, SET-RESET studies have been performed by these glasses using a triangular pulse of 6 mA amplitude (for SET) and 21 mA amplitude (for RESET). Raman studies of the samples after the SET and RESET operations reveal that the SET state is a crystalline phase which is obtained by thermal annealing and the RESET state is the glassy state, similar to the as-quenched samples. It is interesting to note that the samples in the intermediate phase, especially compositions at x = 10, 12, and 14 withstand more set-reset cycles. This indicates compositions in the intermediate phase are better suited for phase change memory applications. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

Film thickness mediated transition in the kinetics of electric current induced flow of thin liquid metal films

Application of high electric-field between two points in a thin metallic film results in liquefaction and subsequent flow of the liquid-film from one electrode to another in a radially symmetric fashion. Here, we report the transition of the flow kinetics driven by the liquid film thickness varying from 3 to 100 nm. The mechanism of the flow behavior is observed to be independent of the film thickness; however, the kinetics of the flow depends on the film thickness and the applied voltage. An analytical model, incorporating viscosity and varying electrical resistivity with film thickness, is developed to explain the experimental observations. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

Effect of post-deposition annealing on composition and electrical properties of dc reactive magnetron sputtered Al2O3 thin films

We have investigated the effect of post- deposition annealing on the composition and electrical properties of alumina (Al2O3) thin films. Al2O3 were deposited on n-type Si < 100 >. substrates by dc reactive magnetron sputtering. The films were subjected to post- deposition annealing at 623, 823 and 1023 K in vacuum. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results revealed that the composition improved with post- deposition annealing, and the film annealed at 1023 K became stoichiometric with an O/Al atomic ratio of 1.49. Al/Al2O3/Si metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) structures were then fabricated, and a correlation between the dielectric constant epsilon(r) and interface charge density Q(i) with annealing conditions were studied. The dielectric constant of the Al2O3 thin films increased to 9.8 with post- deposition annealing matching the bulk value, whereas the oxide charge density decreased to 3.11 x 10(11) cm(-2.) Studies on current-voltage IV characteristics indicated ohmic and Schottky type of conduction at lower electric fields (<0.16 MV cm(-1)) and space charge limited conduction at higher electric fields.

Influence of sputter power on structural and electrical properties of TiO2 films for Al/TiO2/Si gate capacitors

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films were deposited onto p-Si substrates held at room temperature by reactive Direct Current (DC) magnetron sputtering at various sputter powers in the range 80-200W. The as-deposited TiO2 films were annealed at a temperature of 1023K. The post-annealed films were characterized for crystallographic structure, chemical binding configuration, surface morphology and optical absorption. The electrical and dielectric properties of Al/TiO2/p-Si structure were determined from the capacitance-voltage and current-voltage characteristics. X-ray diffraction studies confirmed that the as-deposited films were amorphous in nature. After post-annealing at 1023K, the films formed at lower powers exhibited anatase phase, where as those deposited at sputter powers >160W showed the mixed anatase and rutile phases of TiO2. The surface morphology of the films varied significantly with the increase of sputter power. The electrical and dielectric properties on the air-annealed Al/TiO2/p-Si structures were studied. The effect of sputter power on the electrical and dielectric characteristics of the structure of Al/TiO2/p-Si (metal-insulator-semiconductor) was systematically investigated. Copyright (c) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.