Diagnostic study of the roughness surface effect of zirconium on the third-order nonlinear-optical properties of thin films based on zinc oxide nanomaterials

Zinc oxide (ZnO) and zirconium doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Zr) thin films were deposited by reactive chemical pulverization spray pyrolysis technique on heated glass substrates at 500 °C using zinc and zirconium chlorides as precursors. Effects of zirconium doping agent and surface roughness on the nonlinear optical properties were investigated in detail using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and third harmonic generation (THG) technique. The best value of nonlinear optical susceptibility χ(3) was obtained from the doped films with less roughness. A strong third order nonlinear optical susceptibility χ(3) = 20.12 × 10−12 (esu) of the studied films was found for the 3% doped sample

Influence of Roughness Surfaces on Third-Order Nonlinear-Optical Properties of Erbium-Doped Zinc Oxide Thin Films

ABSTRACT Zinc oxide (ZnO) and erbium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Er) thin films were deposited on heated glass substrates using the spray pyrolysis technique. Third-order nonlinear-optical properties of the thin films have been investigated using the third harmonic generation (THG) at wavelength of 1064 nm in picosecond regime. The dependence of third-order nonlinear susceptibility and transmission characteristics on the thin films roughness has been evaluated. Third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility (χ(3)) values of the studied materials were in the remarkable range of 10−2 esu. The morphologic properties of the deposited films have been analyzed using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) and the luminescence properties by cathodoluminescence (CL). A correlation between optical properties and structural properties is given

Roughness effect on photoluminescence of cerium doped zinc oxide thin films

Undoped and cerium doped zinc oxide thin films have been prepared by spray pyrolysis technique. The influence of Ce as doping agent on the optical and nonlinear optical properties was carefully investigated using transmission, X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and third harmonic generation (THG). It has been found a deep correlation between the surface roughness and the optical properties. In fact the roughness deteriorates the luminescence and nonlinear response, in a sense that the highest luminescence intensity and nonlinear susceptibility χ(3) are obtained for the smoothest layer.Doped layers are characterized with a high visible luminescence, attributed to cerium transitions, and susceptibilities in the range of 6.38 × 10−13 esu

Investigating the Willingness to Pay for a Contributory National Health Insurance Scheme in Saudi Arabia:A Cross-sectional Stated Preference Approach

Background: The Saudi Healthcare System is universal, financed entirely from government revenue principally derived from oil, and is ‘free at the point of delivery’ (non-contributory). However, this system is unlikely to be sustainable in the medium to long term. This study investigates the feasibility and acceptability of healthcare financing reform by examining households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for a contributory national health insurance scheme. Methods: Using the contingent valuation method, a pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 1187 heads of household in Jeddah province over a 5-month period. Multi-stage sampling was employed to select the study sample. Using a double-bounded dichotomous choice with the follow-up elicitation method, respondents were asked to state their WTP for a hypothetical contributory national health insurance scheme. Tobit regression analysis was used to examine the factors associated with WTP and assess the construct validity of elicited WTP. Results: Over two-thirds (69.6%) indicated that they were willing to participate in and pay for a contributory national health insurance scheme. The mean WTP was 50 Saudi Riyal (US$13.33) per household member per month. Tobit regression analysis showed that household size, satisfaction with the quality of public healthcare services, perceptions about financing healthcare, education and income were the main determinants of WTP. Conclusions: This study demonstrates a theoretically valid WTP for a contributory national health insurance scheme by Saudi people. The research shows that willingness to participate in and pay for a contributory national health insurance scheme depends on participant characteristics. Identifying and understanding the main influencing factors associated with WTP are important to help facilitate establishing and implementing the national health insurance scheme. The results could assist policy-makers to develop and set insurance premiums, thus providing an additional source of healthcare financing

Household health-seeking behaviour in Khartoum, Sudan: The willingness to pay for public health services if these services are of good quality

In this paper, we analyse the extent of willingness to pay for good quality public health services in relation to the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of respondents. The analysis was carried out by way of a household survey conducted in Khartoum, Sudan in 2001. We studied willingness to pay by means of a contingent valuation method. A logistic regression model was used for the statistical analysis. The results show that the overall percentage of people who are willing to pay for good quality public health services is either 80% or 75% depending on whether respondents already pay for these services (group 1) or not (group 2). They show that although the two groups are willing to pay for good quality public health services, the demographic characteristics that affect the willingness to pay differ between the two groups. The results of the logistic regression analysis for each group are remarkably similar. We conclude that if the quality of services is improved, reasonable fees could be set. This supports the continuity of the policy to recover costs because virtually the majority of the households would be willing to pay reasonable fees. Keywords: Willingness to pay; Public health services; Good quality; Contingent valuation; LRM; Suda

Do Micro Health Insurance Units Need Capital or Reinsurance? A Simulated Exercise to Examine Different Alternatives*

The purpose of this article is to provide a technical discussion of capital loading that “micro health insurance units” (MIUs) must add to the premium to maintain financial sustainability. MIUs offer benefit packages and require prepayment, that is, they create a rudimentary community-based health insurance for poor people in low-income countries. We broke up the 2001 data set of a health insurer containing upward of 1.3 million insureds into 535 “virtual MIUs”; and running 1,005 iterations, we got a data yield of 537,675 virtual MIUs. Capital loading levels increased steeply with decreasing group size and higher confidence levels. The impact of group size remains strong even with groups of 25,000 plus, and is stronger than the impact of changes in confidence levels. We discuss options to correct size-related premium bias through government subsidies, and conclude that reinsurance is cheaper than capital loading and a preferable solution for governments compared to other alternatives. The Geneva Papers (2006) 31, 739–761. doi:10.1057/palgrave.gpp.2510107