Annealing characteristics of amorphous silicon alloy solar cells irradiated with 1.00 MeV protons

Amorphous Si:H and amorphous Si sub x, Ge sub (1-x):H solar cells were irradiated with 1.00 MeV proton fluences in the range of 1.00E14 to 1.25E15 cm (exp -2). Annealing of the short circuit current density was studied at 0, 22, 50, 100, and 150 C. Annealing times ranged from an hour to several days. The measurements confirmed that annealing occurs at 0 C and the initial characteristics of the cells are restored by annealing at 200 C. The rate of annealing does not appear to follow a simple nth order reaction rate model. Calculations of the short-circuit current density using quantum efficiency measurements and the standard AM1.5 global spectrum compare favorably with measured values. It is proposed that the degradation in J sub sc with irradiation is due to carrier recombination through the fraction of D (o) states bounded by the quasi-Fermi energies. The time dependence of the rate of annealing of J sub sc does appear to be consistent with the interpretation that there is a thermally activated dispersive transport mechanism which leads to the passivation of the irradiation induced defects

Annealing characteristics of irradiated hydrogenated amorphous silicon solar cells

It was shown that 1 MeV proton irradiation with fluences of 1.25E14 and 1.25E15/sq cm reduces the normalized I(sub SC) of a-Si:H solar cell. Solar cells recently fabricated showed superior radiation tolerance compared with cells fabricated four years ago; the improvement is probably due to the fact that the new cells are thinner and fabricated from improved materials. Room temperature annealing was observed for the first time in both new and old cells. New cells anneal at a faster rate than old cells for the same fluence. From the annealing work it is apparent that there are at least two types of defects and/or annealing mechanisms. One cell had improved I-V characteristics following irradiation as compared to the virgin cell. The work shows that the photothermal deflection spectroscopy (PDS) and annealing measurements may be used to predict the qualitative behavior of a-Si:H solar cells. It was anticipated that the modeling work will quantitatively link thin film measurements with solar cell properties. Quantitative predictions of the operation of a-Si:H solar cells in a space environment will require a knowledge of the defect creation mechanisms, defect structures, role of defects on degradation, and defect passivation and annealing mechanisms. The engineering data and knowledge base for justifying space flight testing of a-Si:H alloy based solar cells is being developed

Identification of suitable biomarkers for stress and emotion detection for future personal affective wearable sensors

Skin conductivity (i.e., sweat) forms the basis of many physiology-based emotion and stress detection systems. However, such systems typically do not detect the biomarkers present in sweat, and thus do not take advantage of the biological information in the sweat. Likewise, such systems do not detect the volatile organic components (VOC’s) created under stressful conditions. This work presents a review into the current status of human emotional stress biomarkers and proposes the major potential biomarkers for future wearable sensors in affective systems. Emotional stress has been classified as a major contributor in several social problems, related to crime, health, the economy, and indeed quality of life. While blood cortisol tests, electroencephalography and physiological parameter methods are the gold standards for measuring stress; however, they are typically invasive or inconvenient and not suitable for wearable real-time stress monitoring. Alternatively, cortisol in biofluids and VOCs emitted from the skin appear to be practical and useful markers for sensors to detect emotional stress events. This work has identified antistress hormones and cortisol metabolites as the primary stress biomarkers that can be used in future sensors for wearable affective systems

A rare telson anomaly in \u3cem\u3eParabuthus liosoma\u3c/em\u3e (Ehrenberg, 1828) (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

A rare anomaly of telson vesicle with two functional aculei is observed and discussed in a Parabuthus liosoma (Ehrenberg, 1828) specimen collected from Jizan, Saudi Arabia

MAT-745: THE EFFECT OF GROUND GRANULATED BLAST FURNACE SLAG AND SILICA FUME ON THE DURABILITY OF HIGH PERFORMANCE CONCRETE IN BRIDGE DECKS

High-performance concrete typically has a low water to cementing materials ratio (w/cm), high binder content and may contain high levels of supplementary cementitious materials. The effects of ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and silica fume (SF) on the durability of HPC were investigated. In this study, HPC mixtures at 0.33 w/cm were made with two sources of blended cements containing 8% SF mixed with 25 and 50% GGBFS replacements by mass of cement. The compressive strength, drying shrinkage, thermal deformation and transport properties were tested. The preliminary test results have shown that increased fineness of the blended cement enhances the transport and mechanical properties), but results in increased early age thermal deformation, drying shrinkage, leading to increased cracking potential

Quantum Trajectory Analysis of the Two-Mode Three-Level Atom Microlaser

We consider a single atom laser (microlaser) operating on three-level atoms interacting with a two-mode cavity. The quantum statistical properties of the cavity field at steady state are investigated by the quantum trajectory method which is a Monte Carlo simulation applied to open quantum systems. It is found that a steady state solution exists even when the detailed balance condition is not guaranteed. The differences between a single mode microlaser and a two-mode microlaser are highlighted. The second-order correlation function g^2(T) of a single mode is studied and special attention is paid to the one-photon trapping state, for which a simple formula is derived for its correlation function. We show the effects of the velocity spread of the atoms used to pump the microlaser cavity on the second-order correlation function, trapping states, and phase transitions of the cavity field

Electrochemical reduction of metal oxides in molten salts for nuclear reprocessing

This thesis examines the electrochemical reduction of metal oxides in molten salts for nuclear reprocessing applications. The objective of this research is to characterise and understand the direct electrochemical reduction of UO₂ to U metal in a LiCl-KCl molten salt eutectic, as part of the nuclear pyroprocessing scheme, following a similar approach to the FFC Cambridge for the reduction of TiO₂ to Ti metal. The voltammetric behaviour of reduction processes of metal oxides were evaluated using electroanalytical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry on different precursor types, such as thermally grown thin oxide films, metallic cavity electrodes, and ‘a fluidised cathode’, a novel process that was developed within this work. Material was characterised before and after the electroanalytical experiments using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Predominance phase diagrams, using recent thermodynamic data, for metal-molten salt systems, relating the potential to the negative logarithm of the activity of O²⁻ ions (E-pO²⁻), were produced for the range of spent nuclear materials in both LiCl-KCl and NaCl-KCl. The bulk of this research was on investigating the electrochemical reduction of WO₃ to W metal. Tungsten was selected as a chemical surrogate for uranium to investigate specific process parameters. Nonetheless, tungsten is an important and desirable refractory metal, and the electrochemical route for producing it of high purity might prove viable. The electrochemical reduction of UO₂ to U metal using the fluidised cathode process was investigated. Voltammetry studies were conducted, and alongside a predominance diagram that was constructed, the reaction path-way was studied, and a Faradaic efficiency was established. The fluidised cathode is a robust, three-phase, high efficiency process. It was studied here for the electrochemical reduction of WO₃ and UO₂, however, it is likely applicable for other spent fuel oxides, and in the production of refractory metals

Relativistic shape invariant potentials

Dirac equation for a charged spinor in electromagnetic field is written for special cases of spherically symmetric potentials. This facilitates the introduction of relativistic extensions of shape invariant potential classes. We obtain the relativistic spectra and spinor wavefunctions for all potentials in one of these classes. The nonrelativistic limit reproduces the usual Rosen-Morse I & II, Eckart, Poschl-Teller, and Scarf potentials.Comment: Corrigendum: The last statement above equation (1) is now corrected and replaced by two new statement

Coating of Polyvinylchloride for Reduced Cell / Bacterial Adhesion and Antibacterial Properties

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)A Polyvinylchloride surface was modified by coating a biocompatible, hydrophilic and antibacterial polymer by a mild surface modification method. The surface was first activated and then functionalized, followed by coating with polymer. The surface functionality was evaluated using cell adhesion, bacterial adhesion and bacterial viability for polymers with antibacterial properties. 3T3 mouse fibroblast cells were used for cell adhesion, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus were used for bacterial adhesion in the first study, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus were used for bacterial adhesion and antibacterial activity in the second study. Chapter 2 reports how we synthesized, immobilized and evaluated a novel hydrophilic polymer with anti-fouling properties onto surface of polyvinylchloride via an effective and mild surface coating technique. The polyvinylchloride surface was first activated by azidation as well as amination, and then tethering a newly synthesized hydrophilic and biocompatible polyvinylpyrrolidone having pendent reactive succinimide functionality onto the surface. Results show that the coated hydrophilic polymer significantly reduced the 3T3 fibroblast cell adhesion as well as the adhesion of the three bacterial species. Chapter 3 reports how we prepared, immobilized and evaluated an antibacterial and anti-fouling polymer onto polyvinylchloride surface following an efficient and simple method of surface modification. The surface coated with a terpolymer constructed with N-vinylpyrrolidone, 3,4-Dichloro-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone derivative and succinimide residue was evaluated with cell adhesion, bacterial adhesion and bacterial viability. Surface adhesion was evaluated with 3T3 mouse fibroblast cells and two bacterial species. Also, antibacterial activity was evaluated by bacterial viability assay with the two bacterial species. Results showed that the polymer-modified polyvinylchloride surface exhibited significantly decreased 3T3 fibroblast cell adhesion and bacterial adhesion. Furthermore, the modified polyvinylchloride surfaces exhibited significant antibacterial functions by inhibiting bacterial growth with bactericidal activity. Altogether, we have successfully modified the surface of polyvinylchloride using a novel efficient and mild surface coating technique. The first hydrophilic polymer-coated polyvinylchloride surface significantly reduced cell adhesion as well as adhesion of three bacterial species. The second hydrophilic and antibacterial polymer-coated polyvinylchloride surface demonstrated significant antibacterial functions by inhibiting bacterial growth and killing bacteria in addition to significantly reduced 3T3 fibroblasts and bacterial adhesions