Structural and optical properties of CsI thin films: Influence of film thickness and humidity

Structural and optical studies have been performed on the thermally-evaporated "as-deposited" and "humid air aged" CsI thin films. The structural analysis for both "as-deposited" and "humid air aged" films shows a well-oriented peaks position of (110) and (220) lattice planes with a compressive stress in the films. The crystal quality has been investigated through the structural parameters. The increase in peak intensity as well as sharpness with film thickness implies the improvement of crystallinity. The optical absorbance of CsI films has been analyzed in the wavelength range of 190 nm - 900 nm in order to estimate the band gap energy of the films. Slater's model has also been used to explain the degradation of band gap energy with the increase in crystallite size.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physica B: Condensed Matter Journa

An Internet-based blood pressure monitoring system for patients

We developed a personal blood pressure monitoring system for patients with hypertension or hypotension. The system can be used to measure a patient's blood pressure at home and to transmit the data automatically to a hospital database via the Internet. The accuracy of blood pressure readings using the system was assessed by comparison with readings from a standard digital sphygmomanometer in four subjects. The measurement error for the systolic readings was 1.7-2.7% and for the diastolic readings 2.7-3.2%. The system therefore appears to be a promising means of assessing blood pressure remotely