Transparent Conductive Multilayer Films with Optically Clear Adhesive Interlayer for Touch Panel devices

We synthesized Optically Clear Adhesive (OCA) polymers and tested as an interlayer between two polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films on top of which transparent Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) was deposited. The polymers of OCA was produced from free radical polymerizations by using 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (2-EHA), methyl methacrylate (MMA), Butyl Acrylate (BA), Acrylic Acid (AA) and 2-hydroxy ethyl methacrylate (2-HEMA). Some of fundamental OCA characteristics including Tg, Probe Tack and Peel strength were investigated with the change of MMA and 2-HEMA monomers. The characteristics of ITO coated three layer film were also investigated on the change of RF powder, deposit pressure and heat treatment. These results suggest that the multilayer film using synthesized OCA have the potential to be used in the fabrication of touch panel devices. © 2010 Asian Network for Scientific Informationclose

A reduced moment antiferromagnetic Kondo lattice compound: Ce8N24Ga

We have investigated the antiferromagnetic Kondo lattice compound Ce8Pd24Ga through neutron powder diffraction and zero-field muon spin relaxation measurements. Our neutron diffraction study reveals a commensurate type-C antiferromagnetic structure below TN=3.6 K, with the ordered state magnetic moment of not, vert, similar0.36 ?B/Ce-atom along the cubic left angle bracket1 1 1right-pointing angle bracket direction. The zero-field muon spin relaxation rate exhibits a sharp increase below TN in agreement with antiferromagnetic ordering observed by the neutron diffraction study. The origin of the reduced moment ordering has been discussed in terms of the Kondo effect

Nutrient deficiencies as a risk factor in Taiwanese patients with postherpetic neuralgia

Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is the most common complication of herpes zoster (HZ). The aim of the present study was to compare the nutritional status of PHN patients with that of healthy controls, and then to identify risk factors for PHN using multivariate multiple logistic regressions. In the present cross-sectional study, we prospectively enrolled fifty PHN patients for at least 3 months and fifty healthy controls. We selected nine circulating nutrients including ionised Ca, Zn, retinol, folic acid, vitamin Bp, vitamin C, alpha-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol and lycopene associated with both immunity and the modulation of neuropathic pain, and measured their concentrations in plasma/serum. Concentrations of ionised Ca. Zn, vitamin C and vitamin B(12) were significantly lower in PHN patients than in controls after excluding those patients receiving supplements since the outbreak of HZ. The prevalence of either mild/marginal or severe deficiencies for any of the nine selected circulating nutrients in PHN patients (92%) was much higher than that in controls (46%) (P<0.001). Lower concentrations of vitamin C (<= 45.0 mu mil/1), ionised Ca (<= 1.05 mmol/1) and Zn (<= 0.91 g/l) were found to increase independently the risk of PHN using binary variable (dichotomy) analyses with both PHN patients and controls in a multivariate logistic regression analysis. No significant correlations existed between the risks of PHN and the concentrations of retinol, folic acid, vitamin B(12), lycopene or alpha:gamma-tocopherol ratios. Thus, lower concentrations of circulating nutrients, namely vitamin C, ionised Ca or Zn, are probably a risk factor in Taiwanese patients with PHN

Plasmonic amplification of free-electron evanescent fields

We show experimentally for the first time that free-electron evanescent fields can be amplified by a plasmonic nanolayer in a manner analogous to the way in which optical fields are amplified in the poor-man's superlens. The manipulation of evanescent electromagnetic fields has been a key motivation in the field of plasmonics. However, one class of evanescent field has been excluded from consideration here - the evanescent field of moving free electrons. The electromagnetic energy of free electrons exists in the form of evanescent waves and it can be out-coupled to light only when the electrons are in close proximity to a 'slow-wave medium' or optical inhomogeneity. The former causes the well-known phenomenon of Cerenkov radiation, the latter diffraction or Smith-Purcell radiation. Here, in analogy to the 'poor-man's superlens', wherein the evanescent component of light from an object is restored by a thin silver layer to beat the diffraction limit, we demonstrate the use of an intermediate silver layer to amplify the free-electron evanescent field before it is out-coupled into light by a nano-grating. The presence of a silver layer provides for the excitation of phase-velocity matched surface plasmons, and leads to the amplification of the electrons' evanescent field

Coherent light emission from planar plasmonic metamaterials

We show experimentally that highly localized excitations in planar plasmonic metamaterials drive spatially-coherent, directional, threshold-free light emission, providing a platform for the development of a new generation of nanoscale light sources