A way of estimating Stress Intensity Factors is proposed by extending available solutions (solid and crack configurations) to stress fields not considered in available formulations. The accuracy of the proposed estimation is considered with respect to fatigue life assessment and crack shape tracing. It is aimed as very fast initial estimation, in comparison with the use of Finite Elements, in those cases were a high stress gradient is observed: stress concentrations (holes, notches, grooves) or due to surface residual stresses produced by machining techniques or induced –on purpose- to improve fatigue life (for example, by shot-peening), where no SIF solutions are available.

Graded Al-doped ZnO layers, constituted by a mesoporous forest-like system evolving into a compact transparent conductor, were synthesized by Pulsed Laser Deposition with different morphologies to study the correlation with functional properties. Morphology was monitored by Scanning Electron Microscopy images and by measuring the resulting surface roughness. Its effects on electrical conductivity – especially carrier mobility, which significantly decreases with increasing roughness – allow to discuss the limitations in conduction mechanisms. Significant changes in light scattering capability due to variations in morphology are also investigated and discussed to study the correlation between morphology and functional properties.

Qualitative techniques for the detection of graphene on a Si/SiO2 substrate, without the use of sophisticated equipment, are presented. Once calibrated, this technique can be used to detect Single Layer Graphene (SLG) and Few Layer Graphene (FLG) with the use of an inexpensive optical microscope (OM), OM camera system, and image processing software. This technique could be transferred to graphene deposited on other substrates or other 2-D materials with minor updates to mathematical theory.

Quinone/hydroquinone redox couple has been utilized as a source of additional capacitance in typical capacitive energy-storage materials. By generation of functional groups on the carbon electrode surface (grafting) directly from electrolyte there is a possibility to enhance the capacitance value significantly. Hydroxybenzene solutions with different substitution of hydroxyl groups were effectively used for this target. Electrochemical and physicochemical properties of activated carbons have been investigated before and after grafting process.

Effect of Gd substitution at Y-site on the structural and magnetic properties of Y1-xGdxMnO3 (x=0, 0.05) nanoparticles prepared by conventional solid state reaction method has been studied. The structural study using X-ray diffraction pattern indicates the hexagonal structure with P63cm space group for all the samples. The average particle size for all the samples lies in the range of 30-40 nm as confirmed by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy analysis. The change in a and c lattice parameters confirm the substitution of Gd at Y-site. Magnetization versus temperature measurements show enhanced magnetic moment and an increase in Neel temperature with Gd-doping. Spin glass behavior is observed at low temperature in all the samples. Exchange bias effect has been observed at 5 K after field cooling the samples which is ascribed to the formation of antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic (AFM-FM) core-shell structure of the nanoparticles. A significant improvement in the dielectric properties of Gd-doped samples has also been observed.

Doped diamond films grown by chemical vapor techniques has been used to study hydrogen and oxygen terminated diamond. It is known that the electrical characteristics of metal-diamond interface are strongly affected by the diamond surface features. O2 plasma treatment was used as a cleaning procedure for as grown diamond samples leading to changes in the capacitance measurements after treatment. The alteration in the characteristics of the samples can be attributed to the surface adsorbates like hydrogen and water vapor present in the atmosphere. The results indicates that the O2 plasma treatment was effective in cleaning the surface revealing the expected features of a p-type diamond film.

We demonstrate a novel optically tunable photosensitive capacitor (PSC) made from high-purity semi-insulating 4H-SiC. Photosensitive capacitors can provide continuously variable reactive tuning in RF circuitry or enable capacitive-optical sensing applications. Unlike varactors, PSCs often do not require a DC bias voltage to operate. To demonstrate the effect, we fabricated several 1cm x 1cm square photocapacitor devices from bulk material using metal-evaporated Ti/Au contacts using a simple planar parallel-gap geometry. IV curves were taken of the devices using an HP-4145B semiconductor parameter analyzer to verify Schottky behavior as a function of DC bias. The samples were then illuminated with pulsed below-bandgap 470 nm and 590 nm high intensity LED light sources. The resulting data demonstrated an increase in capacitance, Cs, and a drop in resistance, Rs, with increasing optical intensity incident on the device. The observed shifts in both Cs and Rs were repeatable. At a measurement frequency of 33 kHz. Cs increased from its nominal value of 186.7 pF to 575.6 pF while Rs dropped from 150.0 kΩ to 22.4 kΩ. This demonstrates the existence of the photocapacitance effect in high-purity semi-insulating 4H-SiC and thus warrants further investigation. The underlying phenomenon of the effect is suspected to be light interaction with the dominant deep level traps through the Shockley–Read–Hall (SRH) recombination mechanism.

Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) growth were carried out on SiO2/Si substrates using Pt catalysts at different temperatures, from 400°C to 700°C, under various ethanol pressures by an alcohol gas source method, a type of cold-wall chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Raman measurements showed that the optimal ethanol pressure decreased as the growth temperature was reduced, and that SWCNTs grew even at 400°C by optimizing the ethanol pressure to 1×10-5 Pa in a high vacuum system. Compared to the SWCNTs grown from Co catalysts, the diameters of SWCNTs grown from Pt were smaller, irrespective of the growth temperature. In addition, both the SWCNT diameter and the distribution became narrower by reducing the growth temperature and we obtained small-diameter SWCNTs of which the diameters were less than 1 nm using Pt catalysts.

Long-term functionality and stability of neural interfaces with complex geometries is one of the major challenges for chronic clinic applications due to lack of effective encapsulation. We present an encapsulation method that combines atomic layer deposited Al2O3 and Parylene C for encapsulation of biomedical implantable devices, focusing on its application on Utah electrode array based neural interfaces. The alumina and Parylene C bi-layer encapsulated wired Utah electrode array showed relatively stable impedance during the 960 equivalent soaking days at 37 °C in phosphate buffered solution. For the bi-layer coated wireless neural interfaces, the power-up frequency was constantly ∼ 910 MHz and the RF signal strength was stably around -73 dBm during equivalent soaking time of 1044 days at 37 °C (still under soak testing).

In this paper, we present fabrication and characterization of RF sputtered a-IGZO TFTs having a modified etch stopper structure with source/drain contact windows on glass wafers. The effect of annealing time and channel length on device performance in terms of mobility, on/off current ratio, average off current, threshold voltage, and sub threshold slope is reported.

Axial heterostructure nanowires with Si and SiGe segments have been grown using Au metal seed as catalyst by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) via vapor-liquid-solid process (VLS). We report on the effect of growth intervention on the droplet stability which in turn modifies NW morphology and interfacial abruptness. Growth stop of 2 minutes on transition from one material to another have been demonstrated to suppress reservoir effect by Au catalyst. The two SiGe/Si and Si/SiGe heterointerfaces are found to be assymetric. The former being diffused while the latter one is sharp. Furthermore, geometric phase analysis reports elastic deformation at the heterointerface. Nanowire undergoes rotation in both clock and anticlockwise direction at their sidewalls with an angle of 2.5° in order to accommodate this strain.

Active contraction of smooth muscle results in the myogenic response and vasomotion of arteries, which adjusts the blood flow and nutrient supply of the organism. It involves coupled electrobiochemical and chemomechanical processes. This paper presents a new constitutive model to describe the myogenic response of the artery wall under different transmural pressures. The model includes two major components: a cell-level model for the electrobiochemical process, and a tissue-level model for the chemomechanical coupling. The electrochemical model is a lumped Hodgkin-Huxley-type cell membrane model for the nanoscopic ionic currents: calcium, sodium, and potassium. The calculated calcium concentration serves as input for the chemomechanical portion of the model; its molecular binding and the reactions with other enzymes cause the relative sliding of thin and thick filaments of the contractile unit. In the chemomechanical model, a new nonlinear viscoelastic model is introduced to describe the time varying behavior of the smooth muscle. Specifically, this model captures the filament overlap effect, active stress evolution, initial velocity, and elastic recoil in the media layer. Using the proposed constitutive model and a thin-walled equilibrium equation, the myogenic response is calculated for different transmural pressures. The integrated model is able to capture the pressure-diameter relationship incorporating fewer parameters than previous work and with clear physical meanings.

Recently, it was proposed that graphene membranes could act as impermeable atomic structures to standard gases. For some other applications, a higher level of porosity is needed, and the so-called Porous Graphene (PG) and Biphenylene Carbon (BPC) membranes are good candidates to effectively work as selective sieves. In this work we have used classical molecular dynamics simulations to study the dynamics of membrane permeation of He and Ar atoms and possible selectivity effects. For the graphene membranes we did not observe any leakage through the membrane and/or membrane/substrate interface until a critical pressure limit, then a sudden membrane detachment occurs. PG and BPC membranes are not impermeable as graphene ones, but there are significant energy barriers to diffusion depending on the atom type. Our results show that this kind of porous membranes can be effectively used as selective sieves for pure and mixtures of gases.

A layered composite coating material with favorable properties for application as a transparent conductor is presented. It is composed of layers of three nanoscopic materials, namely zinc oxide nanoparticles, single wall nanotubes, and graphene oxide nanosheets. The electrically conducting layer consists of single wall nanotubes (SWNTs). The layer of zinc oxide nanoparticles acts as a primer. It increases the adhesion and the stability of the films against mechanical stresses. The top layer of graphene oxide enhances the conductivity of such coatings. Such three-layer composite coatings show better conductivity (without compromising transparency) and improved mechanical stability compared to pure SWNT films. The processes used in the preparation of such coatings are easily scalable.

Flash-lamp annealing (FLA) has been investigated for the crystallization of a 60 nm amorphous silicon (a-Si) layer deposited by PECVD on display glass. Input factors to the FLA system included lamp intensity and pulse duration. Conditions required for crystallization included use of a 100 nm SiO2 capping layer, and substrate heating resulting in a surface temperature ∼ 460 °C. An irradiance threshold of ∼ 20 kW/cm2 was established, with successful crystallization achieved at a radiant exposure of 5 J/cm2, as verified using variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (VASE) and Raman spectroscopy. Nickel-enhanced crystallization (NEC) using FLA was also investigated, with results suggesting an increase in crystalline volume. Different combinations of furnace annealing and FLA were studied for crystallization and activation of samples implanted with boron and phosphorus. Boron activation demonstrated a favorable response to FLA, achieving a resistivity ρ < 0.01 Ω•cm. Phosphorus activation by FLA resulted in a resistivity ρ ∼ 0.03 Ω•cm.

The interest for surface patterning presents a fast increasing in the last few years due to several factors ranging from miniaturization trends and sensor design to worries about the absorption of carcinogenic molecules on inhalable particles. Although the existence of a vast literature regarding the self-assembly and patterning of nanoparticles on different types of surfaces, it remains unclear the dynamics and main mechanisms behind the formation and maintenance of two-dimensional symmetric patterns of small molecules on top of surfaces. In this contribution, we report initial results on an investigation on the similarities between the well-known Abrikosov hexagonal lattices in superconductors, and the spontaneous formation of hexagonal patterns of some small polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on top of a graphitic surface. In order to attest our results, some experimental results from literature are compared to the obtained results.

The effective incorporation of dopant species into ZnO host structure should induce changes in its physical and chemical properties enabling the establishment of novel multi-functional properties. Doping with transition metal ions and the subsequent exchange interaction between available spins of the magnetic species are expected to induce a ferromagnetic behavior. This ferromagnetic functionality will enable the application of this material in data storage and spintronics-based devices. The present research addresses the study of the effect of the oxidationstate of Fe species and the influence of the annealing atmosphere on the structural and functional properties of nanocrystalline ZnO-based powders.

Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) is a serious and costly clinical problem. Specifically, receiving mechanical ventilation for over 24 hours increases the risk of VAP and is associated with high morbidity, mortality and medical costs. Cost effective endotracheal tubes (ETTs) that are resistant to bacterial infection could help prevent this problem. The objective of this study was to determine differences in the growth of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) on nanomodified and unmodified polyvinyl chloride (PVC) ETTs under dynamic airway conditions. PVC ETTs were modified to have nanometer surface features by soaking them in Rhizopus arrhisus, a fungal lipase. Twenty-four hour experiments (supported by computational models) showed that air flow conditions within the ETT influenced both the location and concentration of bacterial growth on the ETTs especially within areas of tube curvature. More importantly, experiments revealed a 1.5 log reduction in the total number of S. aureus on the novel nanomodified ETTs compared to the conventional ETTs after 24 hours of air flow. This dynamic study showed that lipase etching can create nano-rough surface features on PVC ETTs that suppress S. aureus growth and, thus, may provide clinicians with an effective and inexpensive tool to combat VAP.