Different imaging techniques for investigation of treatment effects on various substrate surfaces

The different imaging techniques were used for measurement of the properties changes on substrate surfaces. In this paper we report about testing various treatment on different substrates following investigation and characterization of the advantages/disadvantages of these methods for future applications. We usually used flexible materials such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and poly-carbonate (PC) for treatment. We also used glass substrate and aluminum oxide (Al2O3) to determine the efficiency of oxide plasma etching. As imaging techniques mainly atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle measurement and a special method for examination of layer adhesion known as a scratch test were used

Unexpectedly fast transfer of positron-emittable artificial substrate into N-terminus of peptide/protein mediated by wild-type L/F-tRNA-protein transferase

This article demonstrates the fastest enzymatic introduction of a positron emission tomography (PET) probe into acceptor peptides/proteins. It is site-specifically introduced at the basic N-terminus of the acceptors by using L/F-transferase in combination with aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase, namely the NEXT-A/PET reaction. Estimated from kinetic analysis, the transfer efficiency of O-(2-fluoromethyl)-L-tyrosine as an artificial amino acid PET probe mediated by the wild-type transferase is almost as good as that of the natural substrate, phenylalanine

Controlled Growth, Patterning and Placement of Carbon Nanotube Thin Films

Controlled growth, patterning and placement of carbon nanotube (CNT) thin films for electronic applications are demonstrated. The density of CNT films is controlled by optimizing the feed gas composition as well as the concentration of growth catalyst in a chemical vapor deposition process. Densities of CNTs ranging from 0.02 CNTs/{\mu}m^2 to 1.29 CNTs/{\mu}m^2 are obtained. The resulting pristine CNT thin films are then successfully patterned using either pre-growth or post-growth techniques. By developing a layered photoresist process that is compatible with ferric nitrate catalyst, significant improvements over popular pre-growth patterning methods are obtained. Limitations of traditional post-growth patterning methods are circumvented by selective transfer printing of CNTs with either thermoplastic or metallic stamps. Resulting as-grown patterns of CNT thin films have edge roughness (< 1 {\mu}m) and resolution (< 5 {\mu}m) comparable to standard photolithography. Bottom gate CNT thin film devices are fabricated with field-effect mobilities up to 20 cm^2/Vs and on/off ratios of the order of 10^3. The patterning and transfer printing methods discussed here have a potential to be generalized to include other nanomaterials in new device configurations

Pathway to the PiezoElectronic Transduction Logic Device

The information age challenges computer technology to process an exponentially increasing computational load on a limited energy budget - a requirement that demands an exponential reduction in energy per operation. In digital logic circuits, the switching energy of present FET devices is intimately connected with the switching voltage, and can no longer be lowered sufficiently, limiting the ability of current technology to address the challenge. Quantum computing offers a leap forward in capability, but a clear advantage requires algorithms presently developed for only a small set of applications. Therefore, a new, general purpose, classical technology based on a different paradigm is needed to meet the ever increasing demand for data processing.Comment: in Nano Letters (2015

Active and passive component embedding into low-cost plastic substrates aimed at smart system applications

The technology development for a low-cost, roll-to-roll compatible chip embedding process is described in this paper. Target applications are intelligent labels and disposable sensor patches. Two generations of the technology are depicted. In the first version of the embedding technology, the chips are embedded in an adhesive layer between a copper foil and a PET film. While this results in a very thin (< 200 µm) and flexible system, the single-layer routing and the incompatibility with passive components restricts the application of this first generation. The double-sided circuitry embedding technology is an extension of the single-sided, foil-based chip embedding, where the PET film is replaced by a second metal foil. To obtain sufficient mechanical strength and to further reduce cost, the adhesive film is replaced by a substrate material which is compatible with the chip embedding concept. Both versions of the foil-based embedding technology are very versatile, as they are compatible with a broad range of polymer materials, for which the specifications can be tuned to the final application