A Study about Schottky Barrier Height and Ideality Factor in Thin Film Transistors with Metal/Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Structures Aiming Flexible Electronics Application

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NP) used for the channel region in inverted coplanar setup in Thin Film Transistors (TFT) were the focus of this study. The regions between the source electrode and the ZnO NP and the drain electrode were under investigation as they produce a Schottky barrier in metal-semiconductor interfaces. A more general Thermionic emission theory must be evaluated: one that considers both metal/semiconductor interfaces (MSM structures). Aluminum, gold, and nickel were used as metallization layers for source and drain electrodes. An organic-inorganic nanocomposite was used as a gate dielectric. The TFTs transfer and output characteristics curves were extracted, and a numerical computational program was used for fitting the data; hence information about Schottky Barrier Height (SBH) and ideality factors for each TFT could be estimated. The nickel metallization appears with the lowest SBH among the metals investigated. For this metal and for higher drain-to-source voltages, the SBH tended to converge to some value around 0.3 eV. The developed fitting method showed good fitting accuracy even when the metallization produced different SBH in each metal-semiconductor interface, as was the case for gold metallization. The Schottky effect is also present and was studied when the drain-to-source voltages and/or the gate voltage were increased

A Systematic Review of Music Therapy Practice and Outcomes with Acute Adult Psychiatric In-Patients

PMCID: PMC3732280This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

A Study about Schottky Barrier Height and Ideality Factor in Thin Film Transistors with Metal/Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Structures Aiming Flexible Electronics Application

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NP) used for the channel region in inverted coplanar setup in Thin Film Transistors (TFT) were the focus of this study. The regions between the source electrode and the ZnO NP and the drain electrode were under investigation as they produce a Schottky barrier in metal-semiconductor interfaces. A more general Thermionic emission theory must be evaluated: one that considers both metal/semiconductor interfaces (MSM structures). Aluminum, gold, and nickel were used as metallization layers for source and drain electrodes. An organic-inorganic nanocomposite was used as a gate dielectric. The TFTs transfer and output characteristics curves were extracted, and a numerical computational program was used for fitting the data; hence information about Schottky Barrier Height (SBH) and ideality factors for each TFT could be estimated. The nickel metallization appears with the lowest SBH among the metals investigated. For this metal and for higher drain-to-source voltages, the SBH tended to converge to some value around 0.3 eV. The developed fitting method showed good fitting accuracy even when the metallization produced different SBH in each metal-semiconductor interface, as was the case for gold metallization. The Schottky effect is also present and was studied when the drain-to-source voltages and/or the gate voltage were increased

Diagnosing capillary leak in critically ill patients: development of an innovative scoring instrument for non-invasive detection

Background!#!The concomitant occurrence of the symptoms intravascular hypovolemia, peripheral edema and hemodynamic instability is typically named Capillary Leak Syndrome (CLS) and often occurs in surgical critical ill patients. However, neither a unitary definition nor standardized diagnostic criteria exist so far. We aimed to investigate common characteristics of this phenomenon with a subsequent scoring system, determining whether CLS contributes to mortality.!##!Methods!#!We conducted this single-center, observational, multidisciplinary, prospective trial in two separately run surgical ICUs of a tertiary academic medical center. 200 surgical patients admitted to the ICU and 30 healthy volunteers were included. Patients were clinically diagnosed as CLS or No-CLS group (each N = 100) according to the grade of edema, intravascular hypovolemia, hemodynamic instability, and positive fluid balance by two independent attending physicians with > 10 years of experience in ICU. We performed daily measurements with non-invasive body impedance electrical analysis, ultrasound and analysis of serum biomarkers to generate objective diagnostic criteria. Receiver operating characteristics were used, while we developed machine learning models to increase diagnostic specifications for our scoring model.!##!Results!#!The 30-day mortility was increased among CLS patients (12 vs. 1%, P = 0.002), while showing higher SOFA-scores. Extracellular water was increased in patients with CLS with higher echogenicity of subcutaneous tissue [29(24-31) vs. 19(16-21), P < 0.001]. Biomarkers showed characteristic alterations, especially with an increased angiopoietin-2 concentration in CLS [9.9(6.2-17.3) vs. 3.7(2.6-5.6)ng/mL, P < 0.001]. We developed a score using seven parameters (echogenicity, SOFA-score, angiopoietin-2, syndecan-1, ICAM-1, lactate and interleukin-6). A Random Forest prediction model boosted its diagnostic characteristics (AUC 0.963, P < 0.001), while a two-parameter decision tree model showed good specifications (AUC 0.865).!##!Conclusions!#!Diagnosis of CLS in critically ill patients is feasible by objective, non-invasive parameters using the CLS-Score. A simplified two-parameter diagnostic approach can enhance clinical utility. CLS contributes to mortality and should, therefore, classified as an independent entity.!##!Trial registration!#!German Clinical Trials Registry (DRKS No. 00012713), Date of registration 10/05/2017, www.drks.de