411 research outputs found
Imaging crystal orientations in multicrystalline silicon wafers via photoluminescence
We present a method for monitoring crystal orientations in chemically polished and unpassivated multicrystalline silicon wafers based on band-to-band photoluminescence imaging. The photoluminescence intensity from such wafers is dominated by surface recombination, which is crystal orientation dependent. We demonstrate that a strong correlation exists between the surface energy of different grain orientations, which are modelled based on first principles, and their corresponding photoluminescence intensity. This method may be useful in monitoring mixes of crystal orientations in multicrystalline or so-called “cast monocrystalline” wafers.H. C. Sio acknowledges scholarship support from
BT Imaging and the Australian Solar Institute, and the
Centre for Advanced Microscopy at ANU for SEM access.
This work has been supported by the Australian Research
Council
Carrier de-smearing of photoluminescence images on silicon wafers using the continuity equation
Photoluminescence images of silicon wafers with non-uniform lifetime distribution are often smeared by lateral carrier diffusion. We propose a simple method to de-smear the photoluminescence images by applying the two-dimensional continuity equation. We demonstrate the method on simulated silicon wafers and measured photoluminescence-based lifetime image of multicrystalline silicon wafer. The de-smearing is very effective in recovering the actual lifetime for wafers with gradual changes in lifetime but is less effective around localised recombination centres with high contrast such as grain boundaries and dislocations. The method is sensitive to measurement noise; therefore, the implementation of suitable noise filtering is often critical.This work was supported by the Australian Research
Council and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency
A general moment NRIXS approach to the determination of equilibrium Fe isotopic fractionation factors: application to goethite and jarosite
We measured the reduced partition function ratios for iron isotopes in
goethite FeO(OH), potassium-jarosite KFe3(SO4)2(OH)6, and hydronium-jarosite
(H3O)Fe3(SO4)2(OH)6, by Nuclear Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering (NRIXS,
also known as Nuclear Resonance Vibrational Spectroscopy -NRVS- or Nuclear
Inelastic Scattering -NIS) at the Advanced Photon Source. These measurements
were made on synthetic minerals enriched in 57Fe. A new method (i.e., the
general moment approach) is presented to calculate {\beta}-factors from the
moments of the NRIXS spectrum S(E). The first term in the moment expansion
controls iron isotopic fractionation at high temperature and corresponds to the
mean force constant of the iron bonds, a quantity that is readily measured and
often reported in NRIXS studies.Comment: 38 pages, 2 tables, 8 figures. In press at Geochimica et Cosmochimica
Acta. Appendix C contains new derivations relating the moments of the iron
PDOS to the moments of the excitation probability function measured in
Nuclear Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scatterin
Assessment of ion kinetic effects in shock-driven inertial confinement fusion implosions using fusion burn imaging
The significance and nature of ion kinetic effects in D3He-filled, shock-driven inertial confinement
fusion implosions are assessed through measurements of fusion burn profiles. Over this series of
experiments, the ratio of ion-ion mean free path to minimum shell radius (the Knudsen number,
NK) was varied from 0.3 to 9 in order to probe hydrodynamic-like to strongly kinetic plasma
conditions; as the Knudsen number increased, hydrodynamic models increasingly failed to match
measured yields, while an empirically-tuned, first-step model of ion kinetic effects better captured
the observed yield trends [Rosenberg et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 185001 (2014)]. Here, spatially
resolved measurements of the fusion burn are used to examine kinetic ion transport effects in
greater detail, adding an additional dimension of understanding that goes beyond zero-dimensional
integrated quantities to one-dimensional profiles. In agreement with the previous findings, a comparison
of measured and simulated burn profiles shows that models including ion transport effects
are able to better match the experimental results. In implosions characterized by large Knudsen
numbers (NK3), the fusion burn profiles predicted by hydrodynamics simulations that exclude
ion mean free path effects are peaked far from the origin, in stark disagreement with the experimentally
observed profiles, which are centrally peaked. In contrast, a hydrodynamics simulation that
includes a model of ion diffusion is able to qualitatively match the measured profile shapes.
Therefore, ion diffusion or diffusion-like processes are identified as a plausible explanation of the
observed trends, though further refinement of the models is needed for a more complete and
quantitative understanding of ion kinetic effects
The use of chest ultrasonography in suspected cases of COVID-19 in the emergency department
Aim: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus-specific reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) represents the diagnostic gold standard. We explored the value of chest ultrasonography to predict positivity to SARS-CoV-2 on RT-PCR in suspected COVID-19 cases. Patients & methods: Consecutive patients with suspect COVID-19 were included if they had fever and/or history of cough and/or dyspnea. Lung ultrasound score (LUSS) was computed according to published methods. Results: A total of 76 patients were included. A 3-variable model based on aspartate transaminase (AST) > upper limit of normal, LUSS >12 and body temperature >37.5°C yielded an overall accuracy of 91%. Conclusion: A simple LUSS-based model may represent a powerful tool for initial assessment in suspected cases of COVID-19. The gold standard for diagnosis of COVID-19 is RT-PCR. During a pandemic emergency, it may be useful to identify suspect symptomatic patients who may safely be observed without undergoing testing for COVID-19. In this work, a simple model based on the findings of lung ultrasound, AST levels and fever showed an overall accuracy of 91% to predict the results of RT-PCR
Toxicity of antioxidant supplements in patients with male factor infertility: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Treating oxidative stress through antioxidant therapy has been considered an appealing strategy in the management of male infertility. However, evidence regarding the toxicity of an-tioxidant therapy is controversial. We summarized the available clinical evidence on the toxicity associated with the use of antioxidants in infertile males. A systematic review was performed in March 2021. We included randomized controlled trials evaluating the incidence of adverse events in male patients with infertility receiving antioxidant therapy. Thirteen studies involving 1999 male patients were identified. Antioxidant supplementation in patients with male factor infertility was associated with a statistically significantly increased risk of nausea (Odds Ratio: 2.16, 95% Confidence Interval: 1.05–4.43, p = 0.036), headache (Odds Ratio: 3.05, 95% Confidence Interval: 1.59– 5.85 p = 0.001), and dyspepsia (Odds Ratio: 4.12, 95% Confidence Interval: 1.43–11.85, p = 0.009) compared to a placebo. Treatment discontinuation due to adverse events was not significantly higher in patients taking antioxidants compared to a placebo (Odds Ratio: 2.29, 95% Confidence Interval: 0.76–6.88, p = 0.139). When antioxidant supplementation is considered, a more accurate risk/benefit analysis is warranted
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