Band offsets of metal oxide contacts on TlBr radiation detectors

Metal oxides are investigated as an alternative to metal contacts on thallium bromide (TlBr) radiation detectors. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies of SnO 2/TlBr and ITO/TlBr devices indicate that a type-II staggered heterojunction forms between TlBr and metal oxides upon contacting. By using the Kraut method of valence band offset (VBO) determination, the VBOs of SnO 2/TlBr and ITO/TlBr heterojunctions are determined to be 1.05 ± 0.17 and 0.70 ± 0.17 eV, respectively. The corresponding conduction band offsets are then found to be 0.13 ± 0.17 and 0.45 ± 0.17 eV, respectively. The I-V response of symmetric In/SnO 2/TlBr and In/ITO/TlBr planar devices is almost Ohmic with a leakage current of less than 2.5 nA at 100 V

Real-time PCR assay and rapid diagnostic tests for the diagnosis of clinically suspected malaria patients in Bangladesh

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>More than 95% of total malaria cases in Bangladesh are reported from the 13 high endemic districts. <it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>and <it>Plasmodium vivax </it>are the two most abundant malaria parasites in the country. To improve the detection and management of malaria patients, the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) has been using rapid diagnostic test (RDT) in the endemic areas. A study was conducted to establish a SYBR Green-based modified real-time PCR assay as a gold standard to evaluate the performance of four commercially-available malaria RDTs, along with the classical gold standard- microscopy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Blood samples were collected from 338 febrile patients referred for the diagnosis of malaria by the attending physician at Matiranga</p> <p>Upazila Health Complex (UHC) from May 2009 to August 2010. Paracheck RDT and microscopy were performed at the UHC. The blood samples were preserved in EDTA tubes. A SYBR Green-based real-time PCR assay was performed and evaluated. The performances of the remaining three RDTs (Falcivax, Onsite Pf and Onsite Pf/Pv) were also evaluated against microscopy and real-time PCR using the stored blood samples.</p> <p>Result</p> <p>In total, 338 febrile patients were enrolled in the study. Malaria parasites were detected in 189 (55.9%) and 188 (55.6%) patients by microscopy and real-time PCR respectively. Among the RDTs, the highest sensitivity for the detection of <it>P. falciparum </it>(including mixed infection) was obtained by Paracheck [98.8%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 95.8-99.9] and Falcivax (97.6%, 95% CI 94.1-99.4) compared to microscopy and real-time PCR respectively. Paracheck and Onsite Pf/Pv gave the highest specificity (98.8%, 95% CI 95.7-99.9) compared to microscopy and Onsite Pf/Pv (98.8, 95% CI 95.8-99.9) compared to real-time PCR respectively for the detection of <it>P. falciparum</it>. On the other hand Falcivax and Onsite Pf/Pv had equal sensitivity (90.5%, 95% CI 69.6-98.8) and almost 100% specificity compared to microscopy for the detection of <it>P. vivax</it>. However, compared to real-time PCR assay RDTs and microscopy gave low sensitivity (76.9%, 95% CI 56.4-91) in detecting of <it>P. vivax </it>although a very high specificity was obtained (99- 100%).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results of this study suggest that the SYBR Green-based real-time PCR assay could be used as an alternative gold standard method in a reference setting. Commercially-available RDTs used in the study are quite sensitive and specific in detecting <it>P. falciparum</it>, although their sensitivity in detecting <it>P. vivax </it>was not satisfactory compared to the real-time PCR assay.</p

A novel approach of electrification of the high rise buildings at dhaka city during load shedding hours

The scope of this paper concentrates on an approach to provide additional power supply by the implementation of the integration of wind turbine and Pico hydro turbine installed at the roof of high rise building. The Pico hydro turbine is installed over the storage tank where the tank is filled with water by the high capacity pump which is installed at the ground floor of the building. In the storage tank of high rise building water is thrown by the pump with a very high velocity which pushes the turbine to make it spin. The spinning of the turbine is turned into electricity by means of a generator and immense amount of wasted kinetic energy of the water is recovered thrown by the pump. The electrical energy created is usually stored in a battery which can then power electrical objects in house, such as appliances and lights. When the storage tank will be filled by water no more power can be extracted from the Pico hydro turbine. A wind turbine could also be installed at the roof of the high rise building with the purpose of acquiring additional power supply as the wind velocity is generally higher at the roof of the building. The electrical power, obtained from both the generators one coupled with the Pico hydro turbine impeller and another with the wind turbine blade can be utilized in houses, offices, and also in the industries. With the integration of Pico hydro turbine and wind turbine more electrical power could be gained. Moreover the major advantage of this system is the elimination of the cost of fuel and it is an eco-friendly clean power generation method. The feasibility of the overall integrated system is analyzed in this research work

InAs FinFETs performance enhancement by superacid surface treatment

In this paper, a post superacid (SA) treatment was proposed to enhance the performance of InAs FinFETs on SiO2/Si substrates. Typically, the subthreshold swing (SS) has reduced from 217 to 170 mV/decade and the transconductance (gm) has increased from 6.44 to 26.5 μS/μm after SA treatment. It was found that the interfacial In2O3 at the InAs/ZrO2 interface was effectively reduced after SA treatment due to the strong protonating nature of the SA solution. As a result, the interface trap density was reduced leading to a pronounced reduction of sheet resistance after SA treatment. The modeling of transfer characteristics indicates that the carrier mobility is enhanced by 5.87.1 folds after SA treatment due to interfacial traps reduction. The results suggest that SA treatment can be potentially extended to other III-V MOSFETs to enhance the device performances

InAs FinFETs performance enhancement by superacid surface treatment

In this paper, a post superacid (SA) treatment was proposed to enhance the performance of InAs FinFETs on SiO2/Si substrates. Typically, the subthreshold swing (SS) has reduced from 217 to 170 mV/decade and the transconductance (gm) has increased from 6.44 to 26.5 μS/μm after SA treatment. It was found that the interfacial In2O3 at the InAs/ZrO2 interface was effectively reduced after SA treatment due to the strong protonating nature of the SA solution. As a result, the interface trap density was reduced leading to a pronounced reduction of sheet resistance after SA treatment. The modeling of transfer characteristics indicates that the carrier mobility is enhanced by 5.87.1 folds after SA treatment due to interfacial traps reduction. The results suggest that SA treatment can be potentially extended to other III-V MOSFETs to enhance the device performances