Insights into the Second Law of Thermodynamics from Anisotropic Gas-Surface Interactions

Thermodynamic implications of anisotropic gas-surface interactions in a closed molecular flow cavity are examined. Anisotropy at the microscopic scale, such as might be caused by reduced-dimensionality surfaces, is shown to lead to reversibility at the macroscopic scale. The possibility of a self-sustaining nonequilibrium stationary state induced by surface anisotropy is demonstrated that simultaneously satisfies flux balance, conservation of momentum, and conservation of energy. Conversely, it is also shown that the second law of thermodynamics prohibits anisotropic gas-surface interactions in "equilibrium", even for reduced dimensionality surfaces. This is particularly startling because reduced dimensionality surfaces are known to exhibit a plethora of anisotropic properties. That gas-surface interactions would be excluded from these anisotropic properties is completely counterintuitive from a causality perspective. These results provide intriguing insights into the second law of thermodynamics and its relation to gas-surface interaction physics.Comment: 28 pages, 11 figure

Parámetros de procesamiento para varistores basados en ZnO preparados por serigrafía

[EN] Thick film varistors based on the ZnO-Bi2O3-Sb2O3 system have been prepared by screen printing on dense alumina substrates. Different processing parameters like the paste viscosity, burn out and sintering cycles, green and sintered thickness, have been studied to improve the processing of ZnO-based thick film varistors. Starting powders were pre-treated in two different ways in order to control both the Bi-rich liquid phase formation and the excessive volatilization of Bi2O3 during sintering due to the high area/volume ratio of the thick films. Significant changes have been observed in the electrical properties related to the different firing schedule and selection of the starting powders.[ES] Se han preparado varistores basados en el sistema ZnO-Bi2O3-Sb2O3 en forma de lámina gruesa sobre sustratos de alúmina densa. Diferentes parámetros del procesamiento como la viscosidad de la pasta, los ciclos de calcinación y sinterización y el espesor en verde y sinterizado han sido estudiados para mejorar el procesamiento de los varistores basados en ZnO preparados en forma de lámina gruesa. Los polvos de partida fueron pretratados de dos formas diferentes con el objetivo de controlar la formación de la fase líquida rica en bismuto y la excesiva volatilización de Bi2O3 durante la sinterización debida a la alta relación área-volumen de las láminas gruesas. Se han observado cambios significativos en las propiedades eléctricas relacionadas con los diferentes ciclos de calcinado y con la selección de los polvos de partida.This work has been developed within Marie Curie Training Site Ceramos (HPMT-CT-2001-00372) program and CYCYTMAT2004-04843-C02 project.Peer reviewe

Performance comparison of screen-printed piezoelectric structures on porous PZT and alumina substrates

In previous work, screen-printing technology was used to elaborate an integrated piezoelectric structure on a porous substrate [1]. The substrate was chosen to withstand the film sintering temperature which was lowered at 800°C thanks to the addition of PGO to a PZT composition. The acoustical impedance of this substrate is very close to that of the deposited piezoelectric thick film, making it an adequate backing to deliver a short pulse-echo response, but the resonance frequency is lowered. Intermediate functional layers were necessary between the substrate and the piezoelectric layer. The transducer based on a porous PZT structure including a dense barrier layer and a gold rear electrode is used as a reference device. Here, another set of materials is considered as possible candidate to fulfill both functions of substrate and backing: porous alumina associated with a dense alumina barrier layer and platinum rear electrode. Since the thicknesses of these layers is not negligible compared to the wavelength of the first thickness mode of the piezoelectric layer, they have a relatively strong influence on the electroacoustic response. The input acoustic impedance of this stack must be controlled very precisely in order to make it an adequate backing. The damping of the backing is optimized to deliver a relatively short pulse-echo response, without excessive lowering of the resonance frequency. The piezoelectric thick film on alumina substrate has similar properties to the one on porous PZT. A mean thickness around 30 micrometers and a thickness coupling factor around 40% were obtained in both cases. As a result of the damping, the structure resonates at 40 MHz, the anti-resonance of the piezoelectric thick film alone being around 65 MHz. Pulse-echo measurements allows comparison of the performance of the two devices in terms of sensitivity, axial resolution and bandwidth. The results are compared and discussed, showing that the sensitivity/bandwidth trade-offs of the two transducers are significantly different