Stability of Hydrogenated Amorphous Carbon thin films for application in Electronic Devices

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.In this study, hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films are investigated for electronic applications as an insulating layer. a-C:H films were deposited using radio frequency-Plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (RF-PECVD) technique at room temperature. For the first time, the properties of a-C:H films as a function of annealing temperature is investigated, with a focus on their electrical and optical properties. This study shows that a-C:H films are stable up to 450ºC. This investigation will facilitate the use of a-C:H films as an insulating layer where the semiconductor active layers are deposited at higher temperatures (e.g. amorphous silicon deposited around 300ºC for thin film transistor TFTs). In addition to understanding the electrical and optical properties of annealed a-C:H films, we have further explored and studied its suitability in Flash-type memory devices. Various forms of diamond-like carbon are considered to have a high chemical resistance; no extensive data are available in the literature on this subject. The stability of a-C: H thin films with various reactive chemicals, commonly used in organic/printable electronic devices, is also investigated in this work. The findings may provide opportunities for adoption/integration of a-C:H in hybrid organic-inorganic electronic devices

A study of Selenium nanoparticles as Charge Storage Element for Flexible semi-transparent memory Devices

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Flexible Semi-Transparent electronic memory would be useful in coming years for integrated flexible transparent electronic devices. However, attaining such flexibility and semi-transparency leads to the boundaries in material composition. Thus, impeding processing speed and device performance. In this work, we present the use of inorganic stable selenium nanoparticles (Se-NPs) as a storage element and hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) as an insulating layer in two terminal non-volatile physically flexible and semi-transparent capacitive memory devices (2T-NMDs). Furthermore, a-C:H films can be deposited at very low temperature (<40° C) on a variety of substrates (including many kinds of plastic substrates) by an industrial technique called Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (PECVD) which is available in many existing fabrication labs. Self-assembled Se-NPs has several unique features including deposition at room temperature by simple vacuum thermal evaporation process without the need for further optimisation. This facilitates the fabrication of memory on a flexible substrate. Moreover, the memory behavior of the Se-NPs was found to be more distinct than those of the semiconductor and metal nanostructures due to higher work function compared to the commonly used semiconductor and metal species. The memory behavior was observed from the hysteresis of current-voltage (I–V) measurements while the two distinguishable electrical conductivity states (“0” and “1”) were studied by current-time (I-t) measurements

Tensile strength of woven yarn kenaf fiber reinforced polyester composites

This paper presents the tensile strength of woven kenaf fiber reinforced polyester composites. The as-received yarn kenaf fiber is weaved and then aligned into specific fiber orientations before it is hardened with polyester resin. The composite plates are shaped according to the standard geometry and uni-axially loaded in order to investigate the tensile responses. Two important parameters are studied such as fiber orientations and number of layers. According to the results, it is shown that fiber orientations greatly affected the ultimate tensile strength but it is not for modulus of elasticity for both types of layers. It is estimated that the reductions of both ultimate tensile strength and Young’s modulus are in the range of 27.7-30.9% and 2.4-3.7% respectively, if the inclined fibers are used with respect to the principal axis

Creating Electrical Bistability Using Nano-bits – Application in 2-Terminal Memory Devices

This is an Open Access article.Intensive research is currently underway to exploit the highly interesting properties of nano-bits (“nano-sized particles and molecules”) for optical, electronic and other applications. The basis of these unique properties is the small-size of these structures which result in quantum mechanical phenomena and interesting surface properties. The small molecules and/or nano-particles are selected in such a way so that it can create an internal electric in the nano-composite. We define a nanocomposite is an admixture of small molecules and/or nano-particles and a polymer. We have demonstrated the internal electric field in our devices, made from nano-bits (nano-particles and/or molecules) and insulating materials, can contribute to the electrical bistability i.e. two conductive states

Two Terminal Non-volatile Memory Devices using Diamond-like Carbon and Silicon Nanostructures

This work illustrates a novel device for storing electronic charge and works as a nonvolatile memory device. It is fabricated using an industrial technique and consists of silicon nanostructures and diamond like carbon (DLC) as a memory element and an ultra-thin barrier layer respectively. Both the silicon nanostructures and the DLC have been deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) technique. The nanostructures are sandwiched between two DLC layers. To understand the ability of silicon nanostructures to store electronic charge currentvoltage (I-V) and current-time (I-t) measurements were carried out. The memory effect is noted as the difference between the two electrical conductivity states (low ‘‘0’’ and high ‘‘1’’)

Analyzing the Prospect of Hybrid Energy in the Cement Industry of Pakistan, Using HOMER Pro

Cement manufacturing is one of the most energy-intensive industries in the world. Most of the cost of producing cement is accounted for in terms of fuel consumption and power expenditure. Thermal power plants are a significant contributor to electricity generation in countries such as Pakistan. They are, however, inherently inefficient, and environmentally unfriendly. In this paper, the authors investigated the possibility of delivering hybrid energy to Pakistani cement plants. Five cement plants—Askari Cement Plant, Wah (ACPW); Bestway Cement Plant, Kalar Kahar (BCPKK); Bestway Cement Plant, Farooqia (BCPF); Bestway Cement Plant, Hattar (BCPH); and DG Cement Plant, Chakwal (DGCPC)—were selected. The possibility of implementing the four off-grid hybrid energy models (HEMs) was investigated for the intended cement plants, using HOMER Pro software. A multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) was carried out, based on objectives including the net present cost (NPC), the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. HEM-1 was comprised of PV, converter, and a fuel cell. HEM-2 had only a diesel generator, and acted as a base case in this study. HEM-3 had solar panels and a battery-converter system. In HEM-4, diesel generators, PV, and converters were considered. Based on the NPC, the optimal model was HEM-4, having a 0.249 USD/KWh LCOE in islanded systems. The NPC and operating costs were USD 540 M and USD 32.5 M per year, respectively, with a 29.80% reduction in the CO2 emissions compared to the base case. Based on the GHG emission, HEM-1 and HEM-3 were the best models, with 0% GHG emissions. The results confirmed that the proposed HEMs can sustainably provide electricity for 24 h a day to the sites under consideration, with minimum objectives

Effects of backward walking exercise using lower body positive pressure treadmill on knee symptoms and physical function in individuals with knee osteoarthritis: a protocol for RCT

Abstract Objectives The primary aim is to compare the effects of backward walking exercise to forward walking exercise on knee pain, knee functions, and thigh muscle strength in individuals with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis using lower body positive pressure, in addition to mobility functions, balance, and self-reported health status. Methods The study is a single blind randomized clinical trial with two independent groups. This study will enroll 26 participants with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis. The participants will be randomized into either experimental group (backward walking exercise) or control group (forward walking exercise). Both groups will use lower body positive pressure treadmill for walking exercise. Both groups will perform regular conventional exercise and worm-up exercise before walking exercise. The treatment will be three times a week for six weeks. Walking session will be up to 30 min each session. Data collection will be collected during pre- and post- intervention including primary outcomes including numeric pain rating scale (NPRS), knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score (KOOS), and thigh muscle strength test. The secondary outcomes include five times sit to stand test (FTSTS), 3-meter backward walk test (3MBWT), timed up and go test (TUG), four square step test (FSST), functional reach test (FRT), 10-meter walk test (10-MWT), six minute walk test (6MWT), medical outcomes study short form 12 (SF-12), patient health questionnaire -9 (PHQ-9), and rapid assessment of physical activity (RAPA). An independent t-test will be used to evaluate the effect of treatment on the outcome measures. Results Not applicable. Conclusion Using lower body positive pressure may have promising results against knee osteoarthritis. Moreover, walking backward exercise using lower body positive pressure might add more benefits to individuals with knee osteoarthritis and help clinicians in decision making. Trial registration: This study was registered in ClinicalTrails.gov (ID: NCT05585099)

Survey : self-empowered wireless sensor networks security taxonomy, challenges, and future research directions

In the recent past, patient-wearable devices and implantable biosensors revealed exponential growth in digital healthcare, because they have the capability to allow access to information anywhere and every time to improve the life standard of multifarious disease-affected patients followed by healthy people. Following these advantages, digital healthcare demands a secure wireless communication infrastructure for interconnected self-empowered biosensor devices to maintain the trust of patients, doctors, pharmacologists, nursing staff, and other associated stakeholders. Several authentications, privacy, and data preservation schemes had been used in the literature to ensure the security of this emerging technology, but with time, these counteraction prototypes become vulnerable to new security threats, as the hackers work tirelessly to compromise them and steal the legitimate information of user's or disrupt the operation of an employed self-empowered wireless sensor network (SWSN). To discuss the security problems of SWSN applications, in this review article, we have presented a detailed survey of the present literature from 2019 to 2022, to familiarize the readers with different security threats and their counteraction schemes. Following this, we will highlight the pros and cons of these countermeasure techniques in the context of SWSN security requirements to underscore their limitations. Thereafter, we will follow-up on the underlined limitations to discuss the open security challenges of SWSNs that need the concerned authorities' attention. Based on this, we will pave a road map for future research work that could be useful for every individual associated with this technology. For the novelty and uniqueness of this work, we will make a comparative analysis with present survey papers published on this topic to answer the question of reviewers, readers, editors, and students why this article is in time and needed in the presence of rival papers. © 2022 IEEE

A High-Gain and Wideband MIMO Antenna for 5G mm-Wave-Based IoT Communication Networks

In this paper, an antenna with a multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) configuration is demonstrated for mm-wave 5G-based Internet of Things (IoT) applications. The two antenna elements are arranged next to each other to form a two-port antenna system such that significant field decorrelation is achieved. Moreover, a dielectric layer is backed by an eventual multiport system to amend and analyze the radiation characteristics. The overall size of the MIMO configuration is 14 mm × 20 mm, and the operation bandwidth achieves ranges from 16.7 to 25.4 GHz, considering the −10 dB criterion with a maximum isolation of more than −30 dB within the operating band. The peak gain offered by the antenna system is nearly 5.48 dB, and incorporating a dielectric layer provides an increase in the gain value to 8.47 dB. Within the operating band, more than 80% total efficiency is observed, and analysis shows several MIMO performance metrics with favorable characteristics. The compactness of the proposed design with high isolation, improved gain, and wideband features make it a suitable candidate for mm-wave-based 5G applications

Free Space Optics Transmission Performance Enhancement for Sustaining 5G High Capacity Data Services

Enhanced bandwidth issues for 5G system are fruitfully resolved by organizing free space optics (FSO) communication frameworks. The high bandwidth, the maximum number of channel transmission requirements, and high data rate have been boosted during the last years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The online services and digital applications have increased pressure on installed optical network models. In addition, the optical networks with high capacity transmission produce nonlinear distortions, which degrade system efficiency. This paper presents a mixed FSO and fiber network to tackle the factors of nonlinearities and enrich the system capacity and range. Furthermore, the issues related to radio frequency, FSO pointing, and co-channel interference are considered in this work. The theoretical and simulation structures are validated using advanced measuring parameters, such as bit error rate (BER), peak to average power ratio (PAPR), cumulative distribution function (CDF), and outage probability. The nonlinear factors are addressed successfully, and the capacity is developed from current models. Finally, the proposed model&rsquo;s limitations and future direction are discussed in this paper