Effects of Hydrogen Plasma Treatment on the Electrical and Optical Properties of ZnO Films: Identification of Hydrogen Donors in ZnO

Wurtzite ZnO has many potential applications in optoelectronic devices, and the hydrogenated ZnO exhibits excellent photoelectronic properties compared to undoped ZnO; however, the structure of H-related defects is still unclear. In this article, the effects of hydrogen-plasma treatment and subsequent annealing on the electrical and optical properties of ZnO films were investigated by a combination of Hall measurement, Raman scattering, and photoluminescence. It is found that two types of hydrogen-related defects, namely, the interstitial hydrogen located at the bond-centered (H-BC) and the hydrogen trapped at a O vacancy (H-O), are responsible for the n-type background conductivity of ZnO films. Besides introducing two hydrogen-related donor states, the incorporated hydrogen passivates defects at grain boundaries. With increasing annealing temperatures, the unstable H-BC atoms gradually diffuse out of the ZnO films and part of them are converted into H-O, which gives rise to two anomalous Raman peaks at 275 and 510 cm(-1). These results help to clarify the relationship between the hydrogen-related defects in ZnO described in various studies and the free carriers that are produced by the introduction of hydrogen.

Formal specification and refinement of a safe train control function

Motivated by the design and development challenges of the BART case study, an approach for developing and analyzing a formal model for reactive systems is presented. The approach makes use of a domain specific language for specifying control algorithms able to satisfy competing properties such as safety and optimality. The domain language, called SPC, offers several key abstractions such as the state, the profile, and the constraint to facilitate problem specification. Using a high-level program transformation system such as HATS being developed at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, specifications in this modelling language can be transformed to ML code. The resulting executable specification can be further refined by applying generic transformations to the abstractions provided by the domain language. Problem dependent transformations utilizing the domain specific knowledge and properties may also be applied. The result is a significantly more efficient implementation which can be used for simulation and gaining deeper insight into design decisions and various control policies. The correctness of transformations can be established using a rewrite-rule based induction theorem prover Rewrite Rule Laboratory developed at the University of New Mexico.

gcs-ma: a group communication system for mobile agents

Reliable messaging is a key component necessary for mobile agent systems. Current researches focus on reliable one-to-one message delivery to mobile agents. But how to implement a group communication system for mobile agents remains an open issue, which is a powerful block that facilitates the development of fault-tolerant mobile agent systems. In this paper, we propose a group communication system for mobile agents (GCS-MA), which includes totally ordered multicast and membership management functions. We divide a group of mobile agents into several agent clusters,and each agent cluster consists of all mobile agents residing in the same sub-network and is managed by a special module, named coordinator. Then, all coordinators form a ring-based overlay for interchanging messages between clusters. We present a token-based algorithm, an intra-cluster messaging algorithm and an inter-cluster migration algorithm to achieve atomicity and total ordering properties of multicast messages, by building a membership protocol on top of the clustering and failure detection mechanisms. Performance issues of the proposed system have been analysed through simulations. We also describe the application of the proposed system in the context of the service cooperation middleware (SCM) project.

Kinetic study of hydrolysis of xylan and agricultural wastes with hot liquid water

We investigated the kinetics of hot liquid water (HLW) hydrolysis over a 60-min period using a self-designed setup. The reaction was performed within the range 160-220 °C, under reaction conditions of 4.0 MPa, a 1:20 solid:liquid ratio (g/mL), at 500 rpm stirring speed. Xylan was chosen as a model compound for hemicelluloses, and two kinds of agricultural wastes-rice straw and palm shell-were used as typical feedstocks representative of herbaceous and woody biomasses, respectively. The hydrolysis reactions for the three kinds of materials followed a first-order sequential kinetic model, and the hydrolysis activation energies were 65.58 kJ/mol for xylan, 68.76 kJ/mol for rice straw, and 95.19 kJ/mol for palm shell. The activation energies of sugar degradation were 147.21 kJ/mol for xylan, 47.08 kJ/mol for rice straw and 79.74 kJ/mol for palm shell. These differences may be due to differences in the composition and construction of the three kinds of materials. In order to reduce the decomposition of sugars, the hydrolysis time of biomasses such as rice straw and palm shell should be strictly controlled.

The design and operation of a new clapboard-type internal circulating fluidized-bed gasifier

The design and operation of a new clapboard-type internal circulating fluidized-bed gasifier is proposed in this article. By arranging the clapboard in the bed, the gasifier is thus divided into two regions, which are characterized by different fluidization velocities. The bed structure is designed so that it can guide the circulating flow passing through the two regions, and therefore the feedstock particles entrained in the flow experience longer residence time. The experimental results based on the present new design, operating in the temperature range of 790 degrees C-850 degrees C, indicate that the gas yield is from 1.6-1.9 Nm(3)/kg feedstock, the gas enthalpies are 5,345 kJ/Nm(3) for wood chip and 4,875 kJ/m(3) for rice husk, and a gasification efficiency up to 75% can be obtained.

BIODIESEL PRODUCTION FROM DIFFERENT FEEDSTOCKS IN PILOT SCALE SYSTEM

In this study, the preparations of biodiesel from three different feedstocks, including rapeseed oil, high acidified Chinese wood oil and trap grease, were carried out in a pilot scale of 200 t yr(-1) biodiesel production system. The optimum operating conditions for transesterification of rapeseed oil in plug flow reactor were found to be as follows: the catalyst dosage is 1.2 wt%; the retention time is about 17 min; the bed temperature is 65 degrees C; the oil/methanol ratio is 1:6; the content of methyl ester is 96.33% under these conditions. A kind of ion exchange resin, a solid acid catalyst, filled in the fixed bed reactor was used as the esterification catalyst for the pretreating of high acidified oil. The acid value of Chinese wood oil could be reduced from 7 to 0.8 mg KOH.g(-1) after 88 min, the optimum operating conditions were obtained as follow: molar ratio of methanol to oil is about 6:1, the temperature of the fixed bed, 65 degrees C and the retention time, about 88 min. Also a kind of acidified oil, namely trap grease, with the acid value being 114 mg KOH.g(-1) could be equally converted to a good biodiesel product through this system. Generally, the refined biodiesel product generated through this system could meet China #0 Biodiesel Standard, as well as Germany Biodiesel Standard for most indexes. It indicates that the designed process in this system has a good adaptability for different kinds of oil.

Hydrogen-rich gas production from biomass air and oxygen/steam gasification in a downdraft gasifier

Biomass gasification is an important method to obtain renewable hydrogen, However, this technology still stagnates in a laboratory scale because of its high-energy consumption. In order to get maximum hydrogen yield and decrease energy consumption, this study applies a self-heated downdraft gasifier as the reactor and uses char as the catalyst to study the characteristics of hydrogen production from biomass gasification. Air and oxygen/steam are utilized as the gasifying agents. The experimental results indicate that compared to biomass air gasification, biomass oxygen/steam gasification improves hydrogen yield depending on the volume of downdraft gasifier, and also nearly doubles the heating value of fuel gas. The maximum lower heating value of fuel gas reaches 11.11 MJ/ N m(3) for biomass oxygen/steam gasification. Over the ranges of operating conditions examined, the maximum hydrogen yield reaches 45.16 g H-2/kg biomass. For biomass oxygen/steam gasification, the content of H-2 and CO reaches 63.27-72.56%, while the content Of H2 and CO gets to 52.19-63.31% for biomass air gasification. The ratio of H-2/CO for biomass oxygen/steam gasification reaches 0.70-0.90, which is lower than that of biomass air gasification, 1.06-1.27. The experimental and comparison results prove that biomass oxygen/steam gasification in a downdraft gasifier is an effective, relatively low energy consumption technology for hydrogen-rich gas production.

氧化物气敏半导体与H_2O(g)、O_2(g)及还原性气体相互作用的研究

本文采用自行设计的均速增加加热电压改变元件温度的方法以及动、静态气敏特性测试方法并借助其它测试手段（X光衍射、BET、扫描电流）系统地研究了表面电导控制型SnO_2系元件和体电导控制型γ-Fe_2O_3元件在变温过程中与H_2O(g)、O_2(g)和还原性气体相互作用的规律。实验结果表明：添加剂Al_2O_3、MgO、Pd、Pt和Sb_2O_3均对元件的体电阴均有调制作用。Al_2O_3是以微粒状存在于元件内，它为元件提供了活化中心，提高了元件的灵敏度。而γ-Fe_2O_3具有超微细结构。SnO_2系元件和γ-FeO_3元件取样电压(V_L)与温度（T）的变化关系在空气和惰性气氛中均是非线性的。材料组份不同的元件，其V_L～T变化规律不同。各元件在空气和惰性气氛中的变化，除阻值不同外，其V_L～T变化规律基本相同。综合考虑添加剂(Al_2O_3、MgO)和气氛（空气、惰性气氛、纯氧气）的影响，SnO_2系元件的V_L～T变化规律不仅是由于氧在元件表面上的吸附及吸附状态的不同所引起，很大程度上取决于元件材料的组成和温度对材料内载流子浓度和逐移率的影响。基于对SnO_2系元件的V_L～T变化规律的分析，γ-Fe_2O_3元件V_L随温度的变化也是由于环境中的氧和材料内载流子迁移率随温度的变化所致。SnO_2系元件和γ-Fe_2O_3元件在不同温度所测的V_L～T变化关系表明：SnO_2元件在低温(<72%RH)条件下，具有与干燥空气中相同的V_L～T变化关系；在高温度(>72%RH)的空气中，H_2O(g)的存在对元件低温区(<100 ℃) (200 ℃-400 ℃)的V_L值均有影响，在低温区的V_L值较干燥空气中的V_L值高；中温区的V_L值较干燥空气中的V_L值低。把在约98%RH的空气和氩气中的V_L～T变化曲线比较表明：中温区的实验现象是由于空气中H_2O(g)与O_2(g)共存所致。γ-Fe_2O_3元件在不同温气气氛中的V_L～T变化规律相同，且在元件工作温度（129 ℃～320 ℃）范围内V_L值相同，但均较干燥空气中该条件下的V_L值高。在实验中亦观察到SnO_2元件在温度低于72%RH中长期放置亦可观察到与实验中温度>72%RH条件下相同的V_L～T变化。SnO_2元件在空气和惰性气氛中对还原性气体均有气敏性。而且在惰性气氛中对微量还原性气体（H_2）的灵敏度比在空气中的灵敏度高。掺贵金属Pd或Pt的SnO_2元件在惰性气氛中，当H_2浓度高于8000ppm时，元件电导突变式增加。我们认为SnO_2系元件在空气中检测还原性气体的工作机理是表面化学反应过程；在惰性气氛中其工作机理是表面解离吸附过程。γ-Fe_2O_3元件在空气中对C_4H_(10)具有较高的选择性。但在惰性气氛中对还原性气体不具有气敏性。我们认为环境中氧是体电导控制型气敏元件气敏性不可缺少的中间媒介。其检测机理是微观可逆氧化-还原过程。

蹄蝠科的核型进化：比较染色体涂色、G带和C带分析

：与其姐妹科(菊头蝠科)相比，蹄蝠科的细胞遗传学研究较少。迄今为止，仅少数蹄蝠科几个物种有高分辨率的G带核型报道，且有关该科核型进化的大多数结论都是基于常规Giemsa染色研究而得。该研究利用三叶小蹄蝠的染色体特异探针，通过比较染色体涂色、G和C显带，建立了5种蹄蝠的染色体同源性图谱，并探讨了它们同源染色体间的G和C带异同。结果表明：罗伯逊易位、臂内倒位以及异染色质的扩增可能是蹄蝠科物种核型进化的主要机制。通过对这5种蹄蝠物种及其外群物种之间的同源染色体片段的比较分析，作者推测蹄蝠科的祖先核型并不像先前认为的全由端着丝粒染色体组成, 而应该含有中着丝粒染色体。

A multi-standard active-RC filter with accurate tuning system

A low-power, highly linear, multi-standard, active-RC filter with an accurate and novel tuning architec-ture is presented. It exhibits 1EEE 802. 11a/b/g (9.5 MHz) and DVB-H (3 MHz, 4 MHz) application. The filter exploits digitally-controlled polysilicon resistor banks and a phase lock loop type automatic tuning system. The novel and complex automatic frequency calibration scheme provides better than 4 comer frequency accuracy, and it can be powered down after calibration to save power and avoid digital signal interference. The filter achieves OIP3 of 26 dBm and the measured group delay variation of the receiver filter is 50 ns (WLAN mode). Its dissipation is 3.4 mA in RX mode and 2.3 mA (only for one path) in TX mode from a 2.85 V supply. The dissipation of calibration consumes 2 mA. The circuit has been fabricated in a 0.35μm 47 GHz SiGe BiCMOS technology; the receiver and transmitter filter occupy 0.21 mm~2 and 0.11 mm~2 (calibration circuit excluded), respectively.