Biomimetic Thermal-sensitive Multi-transform Actuator

Controllable and miniaturised mechanical actuation is one of the main challenges facing various emerging technologies, such as soft robotics, drug delivery systems, and microfluidics. Here we introduce a simple method for constructing actuating devices with programmable complex motions. Thermally responsive hydrogels based on poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) and its functionalized derivatives (f-PNIPAM) were used to control the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) or the temperature at which the gel volume changes. Techniques for ultra-violet crosslinking the monomer solutions were developed to generate gel sheets with controllable crosslink density gradients that allowed bending actuation to specified curvatures by heating through the LCST. Simple molding processes were then used to construct multi-transform devices with complex shape changes, including a bioinspired artificial flower that shows blossoming and reverse blossoming with a change in temperature

Microstructure of Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 Nanofiber with Metal Nitrates in Electrospinning Precursor

Electrospun NiZn ferrite nanofibers have great potential due to their one-dimensional structure and electrical properties, but they have a low reproducibility resulting from many process confounders, so much research effort is needed to achieve optimized process control. For structure control, the viscosity of the precursor solution is a likely parameter. One solution is to use polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) and metal nitrate to obtain the desired viscosity by increasing the nitrate content, even if the polymer content is decreased. Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 ferrite nanofiber was electrospun with various precursor conditions. Fifteen different precursor solutions, with a content of five polymers and three metal nitrates, were prepared, with precursor solutions composed of Fe(NO3)2·9H2O, Ni(NO3)2·6H2O, Zn(NO3)2·6H2O, polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), and N,N-dimethylmethanamide. The fiber diameter changed from the lowest, of 62.41 nm, to 417.54 nm. This study shows that the average diameter can be controlled using the metal nitrate concentration without a difference in crystal structure when PVP is used. In a 24.0 mmol metal nitrate precursor solution, the process yield was improved to 140% after heat treatment. There was also no significant difference in the crystal structure and morphology. This system reduces the cost of raw materials for electrospinning and increases the process yield of NiZn ferrite nanofibers

Magnetic Properties of NiZn Ferrite Nanofibers Prepared by Electrospinning

When the size of a material is decreased to the nanoscale, the effects of forces that are not influential on a macroscopic scale become increasingly important and the electronic structure is improved. The material then exhibits significantly different physical and chemical properties than in the bulk state. The smaller the size of the material, the more exposure it receives to the nano effects, and the physical properties can be changed via size control. In this study, Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 ferrite nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning, and the sizes of the prepared samples were controlled to ensure different average diameters by controlling the polymer concentration of the precursor solution. Field emission scanning electron microscope images showed that the samples had average diameters of 224 to 265 nm. The single crystal phase of Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 and the different crystallite sizes of 13 to 20 nm were confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. The magnetization behavior of the samples was measured using a vibrating sample magnetometer and the result confirmed that the samples had different magnetic properties, according to the diameter and crystallite size of the nanofibers. This study suggests that control of magnetic properties and excellent electrical conductivity in a one-dimensional nanostructure can be positively applied to improve the performance of a filler for the electromagnetic-interference shielding film

Enhanced Optical Output Power of Tunnel Junction GaN-Based Light Emitting Diodes with Transparent Conducting Al and Ga-Codoped ZnO Thin Films

High quality Al and Ga-codoped ZnO (AGZO) thin films were successfully deposited both on sapphire substrates and GaN-based light emitting diodes (LED) with a tunnel junction (TJ) layer by using the radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique at room temperature. The AGZO thin films grown on sapphire substrate showed high transparency (96.3% at 460 nm) and low resistivity (6.8 x 10(-4) Omega cm). The AGZO thin films deposited on the GaN-based LED with a TJ layer exhibited weak ohmic behavior although it improved slightly with the annealing. The optical output power of the TJ GaN-based LED with an AGZO transparent conducting layer was about 12.6mW at 20 mA, and the external quantum efficiency was 23.0%. These values are approximately 1.7 times larger than that of the TJ GaN-based LED with a conventional Ni/Au layer. (C) 2010 The Japan Society of Applied Physicclose3

Ge(2)Sb(2)Te(5) confined structures and integration of 64Mb phase-change random access memory

Phase-change random access memory is considered a potential challenger for conventional memories, such as dynamic random access memory and flash memory due to its numerous advantages. Nevertheless, high reset current is the ultimate problem in developing high-density phase-change random access memory (PRAM). We focus on the adoption of Ge(2)Sb(2)Te(5) confined structures to achieve lower reset currents. By changing from a normal to a GST confined structure, the reset current drops to as low as 0.8 mA. Eventually, our integrated 64 Mb PRAM based on 0.18 mu m CMOS technology offers a large sensing margin: R(reset) similar to 200 k Omega and R(set) similar to 2 k Omega, as well as reasonable reliability: an endurance of 1.0 x 10(9) cycles and a retention time of 2 years at 85 degrees C

Highly reliable ring-type contact for high-density phase change memory

An advanced bottom electrode contact (BEC) was successfully developed for reliable high-density 256Mb phase-change random access memory (PRAM) using a ring-type contact scheme. This advanced ring-type BEC was prepared by depositing very thin TiN films inside a contact hole, after which core dielectrics were uniformly filled into the TiN-deposited contact hole. Using this novel contact scheme, it was possible to reduce reset current while maintaining a low set resistance and a uniform cell distribution. Thus, it has been clearly demonstrated that the use of the ring-type contact technology is very feasible for high-density PRAM beyond 256 Mb