The microfabrication technologiesfor organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) are essential to the fabrication of the next generation of light-emitting devices. The micro-OLEDs fabricated by room-temperature curing nanoimprint lithography (RTC-NIL) using diamond molds have been investigated. However, light emissions from 10 μm-square-dot OLEDs fabricated by the RTC-NIL method have not been uniform. Therefore, we proposed the fabrication of micro-OLEDs by room-temperature curing nanocontact-print lithography (RTC-NCL) using the diamond-like carbon (DLC) mold. The DLC molds used in RTC-NCL were fabricated by an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) oxygen ion shower with polysiloxane oxide mask in electron beam (EB) lithography technology. The mold patterns are square and rectangle dots which has 10 µm-width, 10 µm-width and50 µm-length, respectively. The height of the patterns is 500 nm. The DLC molds were used to form the insulating layer of polysiloxane in RTC-NCL. We carried out the RTC-NCL process using the DLC mold under the following optimum conditions: 0.1 MPa-pressure for coating DLC mold with polysiloxane film, 2.1 MPa-pressure for transferring polysiloxane from DLC mold pattern to indium tin oxide (ITO) glass substrate. We deposited N, N'-Diphenyl -N, N'-di (m-tolyl)benzidine (TPD) [40 nm-thickness] as hole transport layer / Tris(8-quinolinolato)aluminum (Alq3) [40 nm-thickness] as electron transport layer / Al [200 nm-thickness] as cathode on ITO glass substrateas anode in this order. We succeeded in formation of the insulating layer with square and rectangle dots which has 10 µm-width,10 µm-width and 50 µm-length, and operation of micro-OLEDs by RTC-NIL using DLC molds.

In this work we examine the development of ion beam modified oxide-nitride-oxide structures formed by low-energy (1 keV) implantation of Si, N and Ar ions (1x1016 ions/cm2) into oxide-nitride gate stacks and subsequent wet-oxidation to form the blocking oxide. Transmission electron microscopy indicates that the thickness of the blocking oxide layer is strongly affected by the implantation process going from 1 nm (non-implanted sample) to 4-5 nm (N and Ar implants) and 7.5 nm (Si implant). The Si implanted stacks exhibit the highest attainable memory window (∼ 8.5 V for a 1 ms pulse regime), which involve both electron and hole storage. In contrast the thinner blocking oxide that develops to the nitrogen and argon implanted stacks limits the memory window which is due only to electron trapping. Room temperature charge retention measurements of the programming state reveal that the electron loss rate is faster in samples implanted with Si than N, allowing for a memory window of 1.7 V and 2.5 V respectively after ten years extrapolation. This retention behavior is mainly attributed to the different nature of the traps generated in the implanted materials.

Electrochemical deposition was used to fabricate polycrystalline ZnO thin films in solutions containing zinc nitrate and hexamethylenetetramine. All samples showed intense UV photoluminescence (PL) near the band edge in addition to weak broad bands due to defects. When the source solution was slightly doped with Mg2+ ions, the defect induced emission was significantly suppressed while the UV peak position and intensity remained the same. Auger electron spectroscopy revealed no Mg contents in the films within the detection limit. A possible growth mechanism was proposed, based on the chemical reactivity of Mg and Zn, to interpret the observed PL data, which is supported by samples grown in Ca-doped solutions.

Chitosan (CHIT), a natural biopolymer, has established its applicability in numerous studies including, tissue scaffolds, topical antimicrobial agents, glucose biosensors and drug delivery platforms. Among these applications, biosensors utilizing CHIT has been championed due its excellent film-forming ability, biocompatibility, good adhesion, non-toxicity, and susceptibility to chemical modification due to the presence of plentiful amino groups and hydroxyl groups. The challenge in development of many biosensing materials is that they should offer robust and tunable characteristics (fluorescence, magnetic, thermal, etc.) while remaining biocompatible. In this work, a facile method was developed to synthesize biocompatible hetero-nanoparticles which inherently display multifunctionality based on a few interchangeable components. As an example, we present a system composed of rare earth metal oxide (REMO) nanoparticles, Er doped Y2O3, with the attachment of gold nanostructures using CHIT. The resulting REMO@CHIT@Au0 hybrid nanoparticles are capable of displaying tunable optical properties due to the surface plasmon resonance of the gold nanoparticles useful to photoacoustic applications. An overview of the nanostructure components are given followed by morphological and spectroscopic analyses. The results of the characterizations are the focus of our future work towards the applicability of these systems to biological sensing, detection and contrast agents.

In the present work we report the synthesis of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) films by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and the effect of sulfur annealing on structure, composition, morphological and optical characterization of CZTS thin films. Raman spectra of the films exhibited the characteristics peaks of Kesterite structure. However, annealing caused to transfer the films from amorphous state into crystalline state. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images revealed that as-deposited film exhibited a crack free, smooth, densely packed and homogeneous surface which was changed to rigid granular appearance after annealing. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) determined the compositions of the CZTS thin films which was near stoichiometry for the annealed samples. Ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectra showed the band gap of as-deposited film was 1.60 eV which was decreased to 1.40 eV after annealing.

Gas phase-optimized structures are used to assemble an ab initio molecular dynamics simulation of plutonium (IV) solvated in water. Hydrolysis is observed, and results are compared to experimental EXAFS data.

While simulation time is insufficient to be conclusive, evidence suggests that the 7-coordinate singly-hydrolysed complex, [Pu (OH) (OH2)6]3+, is most stable in our simulated environment. Energetic differences between the gas-phase optimised structure and the prevalent dynamic simulation structure are shown to be relatively small.

3D stacked (or uncorrelated) multilayer graphene (s-MLG) is investigated as a potential material platform for carbon-based on-chip interconnects. S-MLG samples are prepared by repeatedly transferring and stacking the large-area CVD-grown graphene monolayers, followed by wire patterning and oxygen plasma etching of graphene. We observed superior wire conduction of s-MLG over that of monolayer graphene or ABAB-stacked multilayer graphene. Further reduction of s-MLG resistivity is anticipated with increasing number of stacked layers. Electrical stress-induced doping technique is used to engineer the Dirac point, as well as to reduce graphene-to-metal contact resistance, improving the overall performance metrics of the s-MLG system. Breakdown experiments show that the current-carrying capacity of s-MLG is significantly enhanced as compared with that of monolayer graphene.

In this study, we present a small-size implantable RF antenna (biosensor) which is made of fully biocompatible material, cubic silicon carbide. Silicon Carbide is one of the few semiconducting materials that combine biocompatibility and sensing potentiality. The hypothesis of a SiC based antenna, to be used for glucose monitoring, is that the changes in the medium surrounding the antenna affect the antenna properties such as input impedance and resonance frequency, and these changes can be used to estimate the patient’s plasma glucose level. An all-SiC patch antenna has been designed, simulated and fabricated with a target frequency of operation of 10 GHz. A Cu patch antenna was fabricated on SiC to serve as a reference antenna. The all-SiC antenna was realized by growing a poly-crystalline 3C-SiC film using CVD on a thick oxide layer that had been coated with poly-Si to serve as a growth template. A semi-insulating 4H-SiC substrate was used to minimize RF losses during operation.

Multipotential mesenchymal stromal stem cells (MMSSC) are an excellent model for testing of the toxicity and biocompatibility of natural-tissue-engineering scaffolds (extracellular matrix). Such studies allow prediction of the behavior of implanted materials in the human. In the present work, testing of a three-dimensional prototype of a smart material – nitinol (the intermetallic phase NiTi) – to evaluate chemotaxis and biocompatibility was conducted.

Porous samples were synthesized by the selective laser sintering (SLS) method, establishing different surface conditions in the samples. The surface microstructure and roughness were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy. The results revealed the clear influence of the surface roughness on stem cell proliferation, morphology, and adhesion. The NiTi samples were well tolerated by the cells but the number of focal contacts decreased with increasing porosity. The proliferation speed was 0.694 doubling/day in the control group and 0.532 doubling/day for the NiTi group. Whereas the control group showed immature and actively divided stem cells, cell growth to enormous sizes (i.e., rapid aging) and a fall in fission activity in the proximity of an external irritant (viz., the NiTi scaffold) was observed.

Articular cartilage is a low-friction, load-bearing tissue located at jointsurfaces. It experiences static and dynamic forces including shear,compression and tension. We investigate the relationship between structureand function by measuring the osmotic and mechanical properties in cartilagelayers as a function of the distance from the articular surface. Atomicforce microscopy is used to probe the mechanical properties at high spatialresolution. The mechanical measurements are complemented by osmotic swellingpressure observations made on the same samples using a novel tissueosmometer. The results show that the osmotic modulus significantly dependson the distance from the articular surface. Its value is highest in the deepzone and lowest in the middle zone.

We first fabricated a p-type single-crystalline SiNW array as the core by statistic electroless metal deposition (SEMD) method[1]. This structure exhibits per excellent absorption efficiency without increasing the diffusion path, indicating 1.75 times greater performance than Si-based planar solar cells under the same condition[2]. Next, we employed a method of spin-on dopant (SOD) to fabricate an n-type layer as an external thin shell, which benefits to decouple the absorption of light from charge transport by allowing lateral diffusion of minority carriers to the p-n junction rather than many microns away as in Si bulk solar cells, and is suitable for our SiNW array with a hydrophilic surface. Finally, our SiNW-based solar cell possesses strong broadband absorption and low reflection from visible light to near IR, in which the highly light trapping mechanism stems from the effective medium theory (EMT) to demonstrate only less than 3% of total reflectance in the range of 500-1100 nm. It also shows conversion efficiency improvement of 20% compared with the planar single-crystalline Si solar cell by the same fabrication processes. The proposed novel photovoltaic device by our core-shell SiNW array revolutionizes the current architecture of solar cells, promising niche points of (1) better absorption, (2) self-antireflection, and (3) low-cost process.

A fabrication technology for high-quality, device-grade microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si) thin film with a higher deposition rate has been required to reduce the production cost of amorphous silicon (a-Si)/μc-Si tandem modules. Localized Plasma Confinement CVD (LPC-CVD) has been proposed as one solution to this problem. It was found that this CVD is suitable for the deposition of high crystalline fractions and (220) orientation in the development of small-to-medium-size substrates. Since then, we have been developing high-rate deposition technology for production-size substrates by using the essence of LPC-CVD and evaluation techniques for μc-Si materials and plasma. A stabilized module efficiency of 11.1% was reported with a very high deposition rate on a production-size substrate. To improve conversion efficiency, we have been focusing on elemental technologies as well as high-rate deposition technology. Stabilized conversion efficiency of 12.2% for small-size cells (1 cm2) and stabilized module conversion efficiency of 10.7% for production-size substrates were achieved.

We report the microstructures and dielectric properties of Ca1-x Srx Cu3Ti4O12 (C1-x Sx CTO, 0≤x≤1) ceramics sintered at the various sintering temperatures ranging from 1000 to 1060˚C in air. The linear increase in lattice parameter in C1-x Sx CTO (0≤x≤1) ceramics is observable for the full range of substitution. However, the second phases of SrTiO3 and CuO start to occur from the composition of x=0.8, implying that a stoichiometric SrCu3Ti4O12 (SCTO) compound may not exist. While the C0.6S0.4CTO and C0.4S0.6CTiO samples exhibit relatively lower dielectric constant (εr ) of ∼40,000 below 1 kHz, the CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) and SCTO show the extremely high εr values of ~120,000 and ∼180,000, respectively. Complex impedance (Z*) and modulus (M*) spectroscopy revealed that the capacitance (C) and resistivity (ρ) values of grain boundary in all samples are much higher than those of grains.

Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) is a standard technique used in many medical and biological applications. It involves the detection of transient fluorescent signals coming from the different fluorescent proteins that work in the visible range of the spectrum. Common fluorescent emissions come from the cyan/yellow fluorophores that emit respectively, at 470 nm and 588 nm. In this paper we use optical filters based on multilayered a-SiC:H heterostructures to detect optical signals at these wavelengths. The advantage of this type of sensor is that it does not rely on mechanical parts; it is compact and cost effective. The transducer consists of two heterostructures based on a-SiC:H/a-Si:H optimized for the detection of the fluorescence emissions at wavelengths 470 nm (cyan) and 588 nm (yellow). Both front and back structures were designed to optimize the detection at these wavelengths. Results show that the device photocurrent signal measured under reverse bias and using appropriate steady state optical bias, allows the separate detection of the cyan and yellow fluorescence signals.

Tantalum carbide is a technologically important material for use in ultra-high temperatures and corrosive environments. In this report, we describe the scalability of a low temperature solvothermal method for the preparation of this useful material. X-ray diffraction shows phase-pure powders with no change in average crystallite size or compound stoichiometry compared to synthesis in smaller batches, remaining at 25 nm and 0.94 respectively. Dynamic light scattering shows a slight decrease in particle size distribution with scale-up. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) in air shows a decrease in surface species on the powders, but the powders oxidize at a lower temperature when scaling the synthesis. Mass spectrometry performed alongside TGA in a helium atmosphere reveals that water is the most abundant species on the surface of the powders, but oxygen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen are also detected. Oxygen analysis reveals that the oxygen content of the powders is high (>6%). The oxygen source and methods of decreasing oxygen content are discussed. Initial sintering trials were performed and demonstrate the need for further powder processing.

We report on diffusion behavior for ion implanted indium and silver atoms in ZnO crystals. Both In and Ag ions were implanted at room temperature at 7-10° relative to c-axis to avoid channeling effects during implantation. In ions were implanted at four different energies (40, 100, 200, and 350 keV, respectively) and doses (4.20×1013, 6.70×1013, 8.10×1013 and 3.10×1014 /cm2, respectively), resulting in a total dose of 5 ×1014 /cm2. For another set of ZnO samples, Ag ions were implanted at energies 30, 75, 150, and 350 keV at doses 3.3×1013, 4.2×1013, 8.3×1013 and 3.4×1014 /cm2, respectively, to reach a total dose of 5×1014 /cm2. Both In and Ag implants resulted in a uniform concentration profile of the implanted dopants from surface to depth ~ 150 nm. The samples were annealed for 30 minutes at temperatures between 850-1050 °C in an oxygen gas flow. The distributions of In and Ag atoms, either aligned or nonaligned along the crystalline directions, were measured by Rutherford backscattering combined with ion channeling. The diffusivities for nonaligned (interstitial) and aligned (substitutional) dopants atoms were determined to vary with annealing temperature via the Arrhenius relationship. The diffusion activation energies (Ea) along the <10-11> direction for substitutional impurity atoms were lower than those for interstitial dopants atoms e.g., in the case of In, Ea ~ 1.52 eV for <10-11> aligned In atoms and Ea ~ 2.61 eV for interstitial In atoms between <10-11> atomic rows and in the case of Ag, Ea ~ 1.77 eV for the interstitial Ag atoms between the <10-11> atomic rows and 1.11 eV for <10-11> aligned Ag atoms. The diffusion activation energies showed a different trend for the two dopants as measured along the <0001> crystalline direction. For Ag implanted in ZnO, the activation energy of Ea ~ 0.91 eV for the aligned Ag atoms along <0001> direction and Ea ~ 1.55 eV were found for the interstitial Ag atoms, whereas in the case of In along the <0001> direction, the interstitial In was found to migrate with a higher activation energy (Ea ~ 1.78 eV) than the substitutional In (Ea ~1.42 eV). These results will be compared with first-principle calculations for understanding the energetics of defect formation and migration in both n- and p-type doping cases.

We reported continuous depositions of grahene films on copper foils with A4 width using roll-to-toll microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MWPCVD) technique. A pair of winder and unwinder was built into an MWPCVD apparatus. Surface-wave plasma enabled us to deposit large-area graphene film (substrate stage is of 480 mm x 300 mm) at temperatures below 400 ºC. In Raman spectra, G- and G’-band attributed to graphene were obtained. In addition, Dand D’-band originated from defects and/or edges were detected. These results suggested that the obtained graphene films consisted of flake boundaries and defects. After the transferring graphene onto the polyethylene terephthalate film, uniform transmittance and sheet resistance were confirmed.

Patterned micro- and nanowires of several compositions in the solution series of BixTey were electrochemically deposited using Electroplate and Lift (E&L) Lithography on Ultrananocrystalline Diamond (UNCD) templates. The composition of the deposited BixTey wires was controlled by mixing saturated solutions of bismuth nitrate and tellurium in various ratios in the electroplating bath. All wires were electroplated via pulsed depositions at -1.4V vs. the saturated calomel electrode (SCE). The morphology and composition of all wires were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). In general, the BixTey wires were fine-grained and brittle, often fracturing during the liftoff process. By contrast, wires containing less than 5% Te are smooth, and strong enough to support their own weight without a supporting medium for a length of over 100 times the wire diameter.

Selection of appropriate sites for disposal of radioactive waste, especially high level waste and spent nuclear fuel, is a controversial task, not only from technological but also from societal point of view. A key part of the nuclear facility development is public consultation before the siting, construction and operation of the new repository. All decisions on these issues should be made in clear and transparent manner. The involvement of the local community from the very beginning of planning process may avoid faults and misunderstandings resulting in social objections and organized protests in future. To enhance the public participation in decision-making process several approaches of communication with the society were elaborated in the countries with well-developed nuclear power industry. Special models for communicating with stakeholders to build the acceptance and confidence concerning the radioactive waste management may be also helpful for Poland – the country entering the nuclear energy pathway. An effort to adapt the RISCOM Process developed in Sweden and also implemented in Czech Republic, to Polish conditions will be made in the scope of the EC-FP 7 IPPA project.