A serious game architecture for green mobility

Good driving behavior is a significant factor for road safety and green mobility. A countermeasure to overcome the coarse driving behavior and a methodology to captivate optimal driving traits are discussed in this work. For which, the serious games concept was exploited to improvise the driver performance by deploying diversified game logics (scores, incentives and live game for performance evolution) on a smartphone-based user interface. The application was tested in ASTA ZERO (Active Safety Test Area) in Sweden. The tests comprised of variations (good and bad driving behavior) in driving pattern for analyzing the impact of the application on the driver performance

Gold Nanoparticles Self-Assembled onto Passivated Glass Substrates: Tuning the Transition from 2D to 1D Structures

In this work, we investigate the chemical conditions for inducing a self-organized growth of 2D and ID structures of gold nanoparticles (NPs), 50 nm diameter tri-sodium citrate stabilized, assembled onto chemically modified glass substrates through 3-Aminopropyltriethatoxysilane. The aggregation process of the nanoparticles on the silanised surface has been controlled by optimizing the concentration limit, immersion time and annealing process of NPs. A recipe to obtain the appropriate electrical charge conditions necessary for inducing the dimensionality transition of the organized nanostructures from 2D to ID has been determined through the comparison between two deposition routes employing different polar solvents (water and ethanol). The self-organized growth of gold NPs into structures of different dimensionality has been extensively investigated by Atomic Force Microscopy and discussed

Driving the Self Assembly of Gold Nanoparticle Structures using Highly Oriented PTFE Templates

We present a non-conventional, low cost and simple approach for patterning gold nanoparticles (NPs) using highly oriented PolyTetraFluoroEthylene (HOPTFE) macromolecular segments on glass substrates. Transparent and stable HOPTFE templates for NP self-assembly were prepared by sliding unidirectionally a PTFE rod across a glass substrate at a fixed temperature with a constant pressure. Gold NPs, 50 nm nominal core diameter stabilized by citrate and octanethiol, have been assembled onto HOPTFE macromolecular segments using two different procedures. The first method is based on the drop casting of octanethiol capped NPs to obtain a growth of 1-D structures onto HOPTFE ridges. The second method exploits the functionalization of the glass substrate using (3-Aminopropyl)-triethatoxysilane (APTES) in order to induce the formation of 2-D structures between HOPTFE ridges. The self organized nanostructures and their morphological features have been investigated using AFM. The core size distribution of gold NPs was analyzed from TEM images

Fabrication of Field Effect Transistors based on carbon nanotubes made by LASER ablation

We report results obtained performing the fabrication of a back gate Field Effect Transistor that uses a rope of single wall nanotubes as channel. Nanotubes were made using the LASER ablation technique and they were characterized using micro-RAMAN spectroscopy, SEM and AFM imaging. A self-assembly method based on a high frequency electric field was used to direct the placement of nanotube ropes between source and drain gold electrodes made by low cost standard microlithographic techniques. Measurements of the electrical transport in the nanotube ropes depending on the applied gate voltage are reported

Patterning surface oxide nanostructures using Atomic Force Microscope local anodic oxidation

We show how the analysis of the current detected during the fabrication of titanium oxide dots by AFM local anodic oxidation allows the determination of the optimal duration of bias voltage for obtaining nanostructures with higher aspect ratio. Experimental conditions to fabricate oxide dots and lines are discussed. Finally, we demonstrate that proper values of scan rate and period of a pulsed bias voltage enables the selective oxidation of dots and lines. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Atomic Force Microscope Nanolithography on Titanium: Influence of the Anodic Voltage Waveform on the Formation of Oxide Nanodots

We investigate the effect of different voltage waveforms on the growth of titanium oxide nanodots using Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) nanolithography. The resulting oxide features are compared by taking into account the current data detected during oxidation under the application of constant and linear ramp voltages. The experimental analysis of current waveforms during oxidation upon a constant bias voltage gives quantitative criteria to reduce space charge effects. The use of ramp voltages gives higher flexibility on the control of volume and aspect ratio of oxide features by varying the duty cycle

Neural networks on a transputer array

The paper addresses the problem of the efficient simulation of neural networks on parallel machines. First, the computationally most efficient neural algorithms capturing the functionality of the network are searched for. Then their implementations on a given concurrent machine (a transputer array programmed in Occam) is presented and discussed. Single-layer networks, described by the additive, or Hopfield, model are considered.. Results of the solution of optimization problems (analog/digital conversion and the traveling salesman problem) are given

Langmuir films of thiolated gold nanoparticles transferred onto functionalized substrate: 2-D local organization

The aim of this work is to fabricate ordered arrays of thiolated gold nanoparticles grafted through electrically conductive molecular tethers onto gold electrodes. Dodecanethiol-capped gold nanoparticles were synthesized in a two-phase liquid\u2013liquid system. Cluster size selection by the vapor transfer technique was repeatedly performed in order to obtain a narrow nanoparticle core diameter distribution that peaked around 2 nm. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging of drop cast films prepared onto carbon-coated grids allowed us to assess the performance of each fractionalization process step and the corresponding particle aggregation behavior. A 1,4-benzenedimethanethiol self-assembled film onto hetero-epitaxial gold on mica has been chosen as a grafting substrate for sizeselected gold nanocluster films. Using an air, room temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), the behavior of drop cast and Langmuir nanocluster films onto this substrate was investigated. Better results in terms of adhesion and 2-D aggregation were obtained in the case of Langmuir films. This performance has been further enhanced by application of the multi-step creep method during the Langmuir film making

Direct transfer of CVD Grown Transparent SWCNT Networks from Growth Substrate to Polymer

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are one of the most interesting materials for transparent conductive films. In this work, we show our latest results on growth of transparent nanotube networks on quartz and silicon dioxide, and a new process to make a solid-tosolid direct transfer of these networks on a polycarbonate film to obtain, at room temperature, a conductive transparent material

Investigating Schottky Barrier Effects in Carbon nanotube Field Effect Transistors

The paper addresses the issue of Schottky barrier effects in carbon Nanotube field effect transistors and outlines some solutions to tackle such problem. Microfabricated test patterns have been designed to allow the deposition in a controlled way of single wall nanotubes between different couples of source and drain electrodes in a backgate device architecture. Current\u2010voltage characteristics depending on the back gate applied voltage have been recorded and briefly discussed. Through a proper exploitation of ad\u2010hoc developed contact arrays for CNFET fabrication, a strategy for the direct measurement of metal\u2010CN and CN\u2010CN junction characteristics has been described. \ua9 2005 American Institute of Physic