The effect of Sb on the electrical and magnetic properties of Ni-Zn ferrites prepared by sol-gel autocombustion method

Polycrystalline Ni-Zn ferrites with a well-defined composition of Ni0.4Zn0.6Fe2-xSbxO4 synthesized using sol-gel method. Morphological characterizations on the prepared samples were performed by high resolution transmission electron and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The powders were densified using microwave sintering method. The room temperature complex permittivity (epsilon' and epsilon aEuro(3)) and permeability (mu' and mu aEuro(3)) were measured over a wide frequency range from 1 MHz-1.8 GHz. The real part of permittivity varies as `x' concentration increases and the resonance frequency was observed at much higher frequencies and there is a significant decrease in the loss factor (tan delta). The electrical resistivity and permeability of NiZn ferrites increased with an increase of Sb content. As the concentration of `x' increases from 0 to 0.08 the saturation magnetisation decreases. The saturation magnetization (M-s) a parts per thousand aEuro parts per thousand 52.211 A.m(2)/Kg for x = 0 at room temperature. The room temperature electro paramagnetic resonance (EPR) were studied.

Synthesis of self-light-scattering wrinkle structured ZnO photoanode by sol-gel method for dye-sensitized solar cells

A special morphological zinc oxide (ZnO) photoanode for dye-sensitized solar cell was fabricated by simple sol-gel drop casting technique. This film shows a wrinkled structure resembling the roots of banyan tree, which acts as an effective self scattering layer for harvesting more visible light and offers an easy transport path for photo-injected electrons. These ZnO electrode of low thickness (similar to 5 mu m) gained an enhanced short-circuit current density of 6.15 mA/cm(2), open-circuit voltage of 0.67 V, fill factor of 0.47 and overall conversion efficiency of 1.97 % under 1 sun illumination. This shows a high conversion efficiency and a superior performance than that of ZnO nanoparticle-based photoanode (eta similar to 1.13 %) of high thickness (similar to 8 mu m).

Effect of Ni-Zr codoping on dielectric and magnetic properties of SrFe12O19 via sol-gel route

Nanocrystalline strontium hexaferrites SrFe12-2x (Ni2+-Zr4+)(x)O-19] nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by sal gel process. For densification the powders were sintered at 950 degrees C/4 h. The sintered samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), surface area measurement, and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The lattice parameter a is almost constant but c increased with x upto 0.8 and then decreased. The frequency dependent complex permittivity (epsilon and epsilon `' and permeability (mu' and mu `') and magnetic properties such as saturation magnetization (M-s), coercive field (H-c) were studied. If is observed that saturation magnetization increased gradually from 57.82 emuig to 67.2 emufg as x increased from 0.2 to 0.4 and then decreased from 672 emufg to 31.63 ernufg for x=1.0. In present study, x=0.4 shows high value of M-s 67.2 emu/g. The real part of permittivity (epsilon') remains constant upto a frequency 1 GHz and increases further with an increase of frequency, a resonance and anti resonance peak was observed above 1 GHz for all the samples. In real part of permeability (mu') the relaxation frequency is observed above 1 GHz for all the samples and it is attributed to the domain wall motion. It is well known that the permeability for polycrystalline ferrites can be described as the superposition of two different magnetizing mechanisms: spin rotation and domain wall motion. These low coercive strontium hexaferrites are suitable for magnetic recording applications in hard disks, floppy disks, video tapes, etc. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

High performance sol-gel spin-coated titanium dioxide dielectric based MOS structures

High-kappa TiO2 thin films have been fabricated using cost effective sol-gel and spin-coating technique on p-Si (100) wafer. Plasma activation process was used for better adhesion between TiO2 films and Si. The influence of annealing temperature on the structure-electrical properties of titania films were investigated in detail. Both XRD and Raman studies indicate that the anatase phase crystallizes at 400 degrees C, retaining its structural integrity up to 1000 degrees C. The thickness of the deposited films did not vary significantly with the annealing temperature, although the refractive index and the RMS roughness enhanced considerably, accompanied by a decrease in porosity. For electrical measurements, the films were integrated in metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) structure. The electrical measurements evoke a temperature dependent dielectric constant with low leakage current density. The Capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics of the films annealed at 400 degrees C exhibited a high value of dielectric constant (similar to 34). Further, frequency dependent C-V measurements showed a huge dispersion in accumulation capacitance due to the presence of TiO2/Si interface states and dielectric polarization, was found to follow power law dependence on frequency (with exponent `s'=0.85). A low leakage current density of 3.6 x 10(-7) A/cm(2) at 1 V was observed for the films annealed at 600 degrees C. The results of structure-electrical properties suggest that the deposition of titania by wet chemical method is more attractive and cost-effective for production of high-kappa materials compared to other advanced deposition techniques such as sputtering, MBE, MOCVD and AID. The results also suggest that the high value of dielectric constant kappa obtained at low processing temperature expands its scope as a potential dielectric layer in MOS device technology. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DLTS analysis of amphoteric interface defects in high-TiO2 MOS structures prepared by sol-gel spin-coating

High-kappa TiO2 thin films have been fabricated from a facile, combined sol-gel spin - coating technique on p and n type silicon substrate. XRD and Raman studies headed the existence of anatase phase of TiO2 with a small grain size of 18 nm. The refractive index `n' quantified from ellipsometry is 2.41. AFM studies suggest a high quality, pore free films with a fairly small surface roughness of 6 angstrom. The presence of Ti in its tetravalent state is confirmed by XPS analysis. The defect parameters observed at the interface of Si/TiO2 were studied by capacitance - voltage (C - V) and deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). The flat - band voltage (V-FB) and the density of slow interface states estimated are -0.9, -0.44 V and 5.24x10(10), 1.03x10(11) cm(-2); for the NMOS and PMOS capacitors, respectively. The activation energies, interface state densities and capture cross -sections measured by DLTS are E-V + 0.30, E-C - 0.21 eV; 8.73x10(11), 6.41x10(11) eV(-1) cm(-2) and 5.8x10(-23), 8.11x10(-23) cm(2) for the NMOS and PMOS structures, respectively. A low value of interface state density in both P-and N-MOS structures makes it a suitable alternate dielectric layer for CMOS applications. And also very low value of capture cross section for both the carriers due to the amphoteric nature of defect indicates that the traps are not aggressive recombination centers and possibly can not contribute to the device operation to a large extent. (C) 2015 Author(s).

High-kappa TiO2 Thin Film Prepared by Sol-Gel Spin-Coating Method

High-k TiO2 thin film on p-type silicon substrate was fabricated by a combined sol-gel and spin coating method. Thus deposited titania film had anatase phase with a small grain size of 16 nm and surface roughness of congruent to 0.6 nm. The oxide capacitance (C-ox), flat band capacitance (C-FB), flat band voltage (V-FB), oxide trapped charge (Q(ot)), calculated from the high frequency (1 MHz) C-V curve were 0.47 nF, 0.16 nF, -0.91 V, 4.7x10(-12) C, respectively. As compared to the previous reports, a high dielectric constant of 94 at 1 MHz frequency was observed in the devices investigated here and an equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) was 4.1 nm. Dispersion in accumulation capacitance shows a linear relationship with AC frequencies. Leakage current density was found in acceptable limits (2.1e-5 A/cm(2) for -1 V and 5.7e-7 A/cm(2) for +1 V) for CMOS applications.

High-kappa TiO2 Thin Film Prepared by Sol-Gel Spin-Coating Method

High-k TiO2 thin film on p-type silicon substrate was fabricated by a combined sol-gel and spin coating method. Thus deposited titania film had anatase phase with a small grain size of 16 nm and surface roughness of congruent to 0.6 nm. The oxide capacitance (C-ox), flat band capacitance (C-FB), flat band voltage (V-FB), oxide trapped charge (Q(ot)), calculated from the high frequency (1 MHz) C-V curve were 0.47 nF, 0.16 nF, -0.91 V, 4.7x10(-12) C, respectively. As compared to the previous reports, a high dielectric constant of 94 at 1 MHz frequency was observed in the devices investigated here and an equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) was 4.1 nm. Dispersion in accumulation capacitance shows a linear relationship with AC frequencies. Leakage current density was found in acceptable limits (2.1e-5 A/cm(2) for -1 V and 5.7e-7 A/cm(2) for +1 V) for CMOS applications.

Investigations into the structural and down-shifting and up-conversion luminescence properties of Ba2Na1-3xErxNb5O15 (0 <= x <= 0.06) nanocrystalline phosphor synthesized via sol-gel route

The present work deals with the structural and efficient down-shifting (DS) and up-conversion (UC) luminescence properties of erbium ion (Er3+) doped nanocrystalline barium sodium niobate (Ba2Na1-3xErxNb5O15, where x = 0, 0.02, 0.04 and 0.06) powders synthesized via novel citrate-based sol-gel route. The monophasic nature of the title compound was confirmed via x-ray powder diffraction followed by FT-IR studies. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) facilitated the establishment of the nanocrystalline phase and the morphology of the crystallites. The Kubelka-Munk function, based on diffused reflectance studies and carried out on nano-sized crystallites, was employed to obtain the optical band-gap. The synthesized nanophosphor showed efficient DS/PL-photoluminescence and UC luminescence properties, which have not yet been reported so far in this material. The material emits intense DS green emission on excitation with 378 nm radiation. Interestingly, the material gives intense UC emission in the visible region dominated by green emission and relatively weak red emission on 976 nm excitation (NIR laser excitation). Such a dual-mode emitting nanophosphor could be very useful in display devices and for many other applications.

Investigations on structural, magnetic and electronic structure of Gd-doped ZnO nanostructures synthesized using sol-gel technique

GdxZn1-xO (x = 0, 0.02, 0.04 and 0.06) nanostructures have been synthesized using sol-gel technique and characterized to understand their structural and magnetic properties. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show that Gd (0, 2, 4 and 6 %)-doped ZnO nanostructures crystallized in the wurtzite structure having space group C3(v) (P6(3)mc). Photoluminescence and Raman studies of Gd-doped ZnO powder show the formation of singly ionized oxygen vacancies. X-ray absorption spectroscopy reveals that Gd replaces the Zn atoms in the host lattice and maintains the crystal symmetry with slight lattice distortion. Gd L-3-edge spectra reveal charge transfer between Zn and Gd dopant ions. O K-edge spectra also depict the charge transfer through the oxygen bridge (Gd-O-Zn). Weak magnetic ordering is observed in all Gd-doped ZnO samples.

Optical and Morphological Properties of Sol Gel derived Titanium dioxide Films

Titanium oxide (Titania) thin films were synthesized on different substrates via the sol-gel dip-coating method using alkoxide solution. Some selected samples were also prepared with different percentage of Lead (Pb). The influence of Pb addition in precursor sol on the optical properties of titanium dioxide thin films was studied. The optical transmittance in the visible region has increased with increase in weight percentage of lead. The refractive index was slightly decreased with Pb addition. Crystallization of these coatings was achieved through thermal annealing at temperatures above 400 degrees C. The structural properties and surface morphology of the crystallized coatings were studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy. Increase in average grain size from 250 nm to 350 nm with increase in Pb concentration is observed. Films were appeared to more coarse with increase in Pb addition. An increase in Pb addition resulted increase in average roughness from 12 nm to 25 nm.

Determinación de la implementación de buenas prácticas pecuarias, para el proceso de rastreabilidad de carne en fincas ganaderas de "El Coral", Chontales

Este trabajo se llevó a cabo en el Municipio de “El Coral”, localizado al sureste de la ciudad de Managua. Los objetivos del presente estudio fueron: a) Elaborar el Protocolo de Buenas Prácticas Pecuarias; b) Determinar el grado de cumplimento de BPP en fincas ganaderas del municipio de “El Coral”; y c) Elaborar una estrategia para la implementación del programa de rastreabilidad de carne bovina. La metodología utilizada para el primer objetivo consistió en una revisión de fuentes secundarias y una encuesta a personal clave en tres aspectos de los ítems del Manual de BPP y se abordó tres aspectos: si están de acuerdo con cada ítem, si es exigible y si tienen otro ítem que agregar al protocolo; en el caso del segundo objetivo consistió en un diagnóstico modificado de PROGANIC, con preguntas cerradas aplicado a 70 fincas y su procesamiento en un programa de cómputo Excel; y en el caso del tercer objetivo se aplico una matriz de estrategia para la determinación del rol y proceso de implementación. Se obtuvo como resultado de 29 personas claves que fueron encuestadas, 55 (98%) de los 56 (100%) ítems en total del protocolo propuesto obtuvieron un consenso positivo de parte de los encuestados, para que estos ítem fueran aplicados en el diagnóstico de finca y se resulto un “Protocolo de BPP” de 50 ítem en total, de un total de 72 ítem que tenia el “Manual de BPP de la producción primaria” de la resolución 117-2004 de la Asamblea Nacional. El diagnóstico practicado a 70 fincas ganaderas que representan el 21% del municipio, mostró que el 100% de las fincas ganaderas no cumplen con las BPP definidas en el protocolo de BPP, siendo 9 ítems sobre manejo los que más afectan el no cumplimiento de las BPP. El resultado de la matriz de estrategia muestra que se debe organizar, definir el rol y establecer un mecanismo para la implementación del sistema de rastreabilidad de carne bovina en “El Coral”. Se concluye: a) El “Protocolo de Buenas Prácticas Pecuarias” aplicado en este estudio es apropiado y valido para fincas ganaderas; b) Ninguna de las fincas ganaderas cumple con las BPP para fincas ganaderas; d) Las principales causas de la no aplicación de las BPP son: el desconocimiento de las mismas; la falta de asistencia técnica directa y el bajo incentivo de la producción y e) la principal estrategia para la implementación del programa de rastreabilidad en el municipio, es la sensibilización a todos los actores locales que participaran en el programa.

Evaluacion del efecto de anabolicos de crecimiento (Zeranol over, Overmax L.A. Premium y Zeranol implante) en novillos de engorde en un periodo de cien dias en la finca El Rastro, El Coral, Chontales

Para el estudio se utilizaron 68 novillos producto del cruce de la raza Pardo Suizo x Brahman con un peso inicial de 230 ± 33 kg, con el objetivo de evaluar el efecto de tres tratamientos anabólicos sobre la ganancia de peso total en pastoreo libre durante un periodo de 100 días, siendo los tratamientos los siguientes: T 1 (Zeranol implante: Zeranol Over®), T2 (Zeranol Over® formulación tixotrópico), T3. (Overmax® LA Premium: Zeranol + ivermectina 3.15%), comparado con el T4 Testigo o Control (Sin implante). A los animales pesados y organizados en tres grupos con características semejantes, se les aplicó los tratamientos y cada grupo estuvo conformado por 17 novillos; de igual manera, fueron desparasitados con Vermectina La Premium 3. 15 %, a razón de 1ml por cada 50 kg de peso vivo (kg p.v), antes de aplicar los agentes anabólicos. Se determinó el incremento en peso a partir del peso final e inicial, y se calculó la Ganancia Media Diaria (GMD) en cada uno de los tratamientos. Para el diseño de dos vías se utilizó el test de Fisher (Análisis de Varianza) y el Test de Friedman, y categorización estadística mediante la Mínima Diferencia Significativa (DMS, P=O.OS). El análisis estadístico determinó efecto altamente significativo (P=O.OOl) en la GMD, en donde la GMD fue de 739, 624, 590 y de 536 gramos para los tratamientos T3 (Overeas® LA Premium: Zeranol + ívermectina), TI (Zeranol implante: Zeranol Over®), T2 (Zeranol Over'l formulación tixotrópica) y el Control, respectivamente. El implante Overmax® LA Premium (Zeranol+ivermectina3.15%) superó en más de 27 % al tratamiento sin implante, siendo este el tratamiento de mayor rentabilidad, con 83.43 dólares en ganancia de peso por animal, y una relación Beneficio/Costo de 1.27 por cada unidad monetaria invertida.

Estimación de la mineralización neta de nitrogeno del suelo en sistemas agroforestales y a pleno sol en el cultivo del cafe (Coffea arabica L.) en el Pacifico de Nicaragua, departamento de Carazo

Se estimó la producción neta de nitrógeno mineral a partir de la mineralización de la materia orgánica en sistemas agroforestales con café (Coffea arabicaL.), así como en el sistema a pleno sol, en los sitios tanto calle como en hilera. La evaluación se llevó a cabo al final de la estación seca en marzo del 2004, en la zona sudoeste de Nicaragua, en el Departamento de Carazo. La variedad de cafeto establecida en la finca seleccionada fue Costa Rica 95. La especie de sombra incorporada fue Madero Negro [Gliricidia sepium (Jacquin) Kunth ex Walpers]. Se realizó la caracterización de las propiedades físicas y químicas del suelo Andisol de los sistemas evaluados. Las muestras del suelo de los sistemas examinados en el experimento se incubaron bajo condiciones de laboratorio a una temperatura constante de 30°C, se mantuvo la humedad de las mismas a capacidad de campo y se determinó la cantidad neta de nitrógeno mineral producida durante los 30 días del estudio. Al finalizar el experimento, los resultados obtenidos mostraron que el sistema Sombra con Fertilizante (SF) incorporó mayor cantidad de biomasa y de nitrógeno que los otros sistemas inspeccionados. Los sistemas Sombra con Fertilizante y Pleno Sol con Fertilizante (PSF) presentaron los mayores contenidos de nitrógeno mineral en ambos sitios de muestreo; sin embargo, en el sistema Sombra sin Fertilizante (SSF) se mineralizó la mayor cantidad de nitrógeno orgánico en los sitios muestreados. A los 0-20 cm de profundidad del muestreo, en el sitio Hilera, el amonio mostró mayor contenido en los todos los sistemas, no así el nitrato, que mostró mayor contenido en el sitio Calle, que, además, fue la forma dominante del contenido total de nitrógeno mineral.

Piezoelectricity Of Zno Films Prepared By Sol-Gel Method

ZnO piezoelectric thin films were prepared on crystal substrate Si(111) by sol-gel technology, then characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The ZnO films characterized by X-ray diffraction are highly oriented in (002) direction with the growing of the film thickness. The morphologies, roughness and grain size of ZnO film investigated by AFM show that roughness and grain size of ZnO piezoelectric films decrease with the increase of the film thickness. The roughness dimension is 2.188-0.914 nm. The piezoelectric coefficient d(33) was investigated with a piezo-response force microscope (PFM). The results show that the piezoelectric coefficient increases with the increase of thickness and (002) orientation. When the force reference is close to surface roughness of the films, the piezoelectric coefficient measured is inaccurate and fluctuates in a large range, but when the force reference is big, the piezoelectric coefficient d(33) changes little and ultimately keeps constant at a low frequency.

Evaluación de indicadores agroecológicos en el cultivo del café (Coffea arabica L.) var. CATRENIC, bajo riego complementario por goteo a pleno sol y micro aspersión bajo sombra, San Marcos, Carazo, Nicaragua, 2013-2014

El cultivo de café es uno de los principal es rubro s de exportación de Nicaragua, el cual aporta el 33.6 % del Producto Interno Bruto, y que se encuentra vulnerable ante la amenaza de l cambio climático al igual que todos los ecosistemas en el mundo. El objetivo de la presente investigación fue analizar el comportamiento de los indicadores agroecológicos de sostenibilidad en el cultivo de café, bajo riego complementario en la Finca San Dionisio, municipio de San Marcos, Carazo , Nicaragua. Se estableció un diseño de Bloques Completo al Azar (BCA) unifactorial para riego por goteo y un Diseño Completo al Azar (DCA) unifactorial para las técnicas de riego por micro aspersión, a todas las variables se les realizo un ANDEVA y la prueba de rango s múltiples de Tukey (α=0.05), las variables evaluadas afectaron Índice de área foliar, el mejor tratamiento fue el riego encima del café y la lámina de 30 mm, Derrame productivo, Nudos potenciales, Nudos productivos, Longitud de bandola encontrando difere ncias estadísticas siendo superior los tratamientos con riego en comparación al testigo, calidad física del grano de café no mostraron efecto significativos e n los tratamientos evaluados, en la variable rendimiento los tratamientos que obtuvieron los mayor es resultados fueron la lámina de 20 mm (1 428.73 kg ha - 1 ) y riego en la superficie 0.25 m del suelo con (1 304.57 kg ha - 1 ) , los indicadores agroecológicos salud del cultivo y calidad del suelo se obtuvieron promedios superiores a 7 por encima del umbral a groecológico en el tratamiento riego por micro aspersión bajo sombra y el presupuesto parcial, relación beneficio costo de cada uno de los tratamientos se obtuvieron en el testigo.