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At least 1,369 records · Page 76

Enhancing Photocarrier Bulk Lifetime with Defect Engineering of Polycrystalline Passivated-Contact n-Cz Photovoltaic Devices

We study the photocarrier lifetime evolution of n-Cz Si material throughout the processing sequence for polycrystalline passivated contact devices. We show that a high temperature annealing pretreatment (known as Tabula Rasa) has a clear effect on enhancing bulk lifetimes of n-Cz Si. We further this development by integrating such defect engineering into the lower-temperature annealing of passivated contact. By applying oxidizing ambient gases during these anneals we report a photocarrier lifetime enhancement over an N 2 environment. This enhancement is exhibited in a 1-sun iV OC of 735 mV when annealed in O 2 rather than 708 mV in N 2.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Electron and hole partial specific resistances: a framework to understand contacts to solar cells

In order to understand how contacts influence the performance of solar cells, we previously developed and presented the concept of partial specific resistances: for each contact of a solar cell, we defined voltage-dependent specific resistances to electrons and to holes. Although the connection between these partial specific resistances and the cell performance metrics at open circuit (iV oc and V oc ) is straightforward, the relationship becomes more complex when current flows out of the cell, in particular at the maximum power point. In the present work, we investigate the dependence of these hole and electron specific resistances on implied voltage. We show that the shapes of these curves-and not simply the resistance values at the maximum power point, which do not correspond to the same injection level in every cell-dictate the cell efficiency.

Onno, Arthur↗

Absence of clinical disease and contact transmission of HPAI H5NX clade 2.3.4.4 from North America in experimentally infected pigs

Background In the fall of 2014, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) subtype H5N8 clade 2.3.4.4 was introduced into North America by migrating waterfowl from Asia where, through reassortment, novel HPAI H5N2 and H5N1 viruses emerged. Objectives Assess the susceptibility of pigs to HPAI H5N1, H5N2, and H5N8 clade 2.3.3.3 from North America. Methods Pigs and trachea explants were inoculated with a representative panel of H5NX clade 2.3.4.4 HPAI viruses from North America. Nasal swabs, BALF, and sera were collected to assess replication and transmission in challenged and direct contact pigs by RRT‐PCR, virus isolation, hemagglutination inhibition, and ELISA. Results Limited virus replication was restricted to the lower respiratory tract of challenged pigs, though absent in the nasal passages and trachea cultures, as determined by RRT‐PCR in all samples. Seroconversion of inoculated pigs was detected by NP ELISA but was not reliably detected by antigen‐specific hemagglutination inhibition. Boost with adjuvanted virus was required for the production of neutralizing antibodies to assess cross‐reactivity between wild‐type avian strains. All RRT‐PCR and serology tests were negative for contact animals indicating a failure of transmission from primary inoculated pigs. Conclusions H5NX clade 2.3.4.4 strains can replicate in the lower respiratory tract of swine upon high titer inoculation, though appear to be incapable of replication in swine nasal epithelium in vivo or ex vivo in trachea explants in culture. Infected pigs did not produce high levels of serum antibodies following infection. Collectively, our data show HPAI H5NX clade 2.3.4.4 viruses to be poorly adapted for replication and transmission in swine.

H5↗

Novel Experimental Study of Fabric Drying Using Direct-Contact Ultrasonic Vibration

Here, fabric drying is an energy-intensive process, which generally involves blowing hot dry air across tumbling wet fabric to facilitate evaporation and moisture removal. Most of the energy supplied is used to overcome the enthalpy of vaporization for water. Although this process tends to be inefficient, it is fairly simple and forms the basis for the majority of existing clothes dryer technology today. To address the relatively low efficiency, a new method of drying called “direct contact ultrasonic fabric drying” is proposed. The process involves using high-frequency vibration introduced by piezoelectric transducers, which are in contact with wet fabric. The vibration is used to extract water droplets from the fabric mechanically. In this study, a total of 24 individual transducers are used in a module to dry a 142 cm 2 sized fabric. The performance characterization of this single module has enabled successful scale-up of the system to a midscale prototype dryer, which can be used to ultrasonically dry clothing-sized fabric (~750 cm 2 ). The first-generation ultrasonic fabric dryer fabricated uses as little as 17% of the energy needed by traditional evaporation-based drying techniques. In addition to experimental data, this paper presents the results of a kinetic and scaling analysis that provides some important insights into ultrasonic drying.

42 ENGINEERING↗

An Analytical Solution for the Initiation and Early Progression of Fretting Wear in Spherical Contacts

Abstract This article derives analytical solutions to calculate the wear volume at the initiation of fretting motion and its early progression over the first few oscillation cycles. The Archard-based model considers a deformable hemisphere that is contact with a deformable flat block. The material pairs investigated are special alloys, the Inconel 617/Incoloy 800H, and Inconel 617/Inconel 617. The analytical study begins with a unidirectional frictional sliding contact, where the local interfacial sliding distance and the nominal sliding distance at the initiation of gross slip are derived. The obtained analytical expressions for unidirectional sliding are then used to derive the corresponding wear volume for the initiation and early progression of gross slip and the wear volume for a general fretting cycle under elastic conditions. These analytical derivations are all verified by the finite element analysis (FEA). The FEA method and the analytical solutions render virtually identical results for both similar and dissimilar material pairs. The effects of plasticity on the wear volume under elastic–plastic conditions are also investigated. It is found that the fretting wear volumes obtained from the FEA simulations, which include plasticity, are close to those obtained from the analytical expressions for purely elastic regimes. All the results are presented in normalized forms, which can be easily generalized and applied to three-dimensional fretting wear of other material pairs.

Engineering↗

Effects of Water Contamination on Micropitting and Rolling Contact Fatigue of Bearing Steels

Abstract In this research, the effects of water contamination in oil were investigated on two kinds of failures that occur in bearing steel: micropitting and rolling contact fatigue. Whereas the presence of water in the oil had little effect on the generation of surface wear in these experiments, increases in the occurrences of micropitting and rolling contact fatigue were observed due to the presence of either dissolved or free water in lubricants. Additionally, the presence of white etching matter at crack interfaces was observed and evaluated. The experimental results showed that water content can be considered as a significant factor that accelerates the formation of micropitting and fatigue cracks in rolling bearings.

Engineering↗

Effects of chemical intermixing on electrical and thermal contact conductances at metallized bismuth and antimony telluride interfaces

Tailoring electrical and thermal contact conductivities (Σ{sub c} and Γ{sub c}) across metallized pnictogen chalcogenide interfaces is key for realizing efficient thermoelectric devices. The authors report that Cu, Ni, Ti, and Ta diffusion and interfacial telluride formation with n-Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and p-Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3} influence both Σ{sub c} and Γ{sub c}. Cu metallization yields the highest Γ{sub c} and the lowest Σ{sub c}, correlating with maximal metal diffusion and copper telluride formation. Ni diffuses less and yields the highest Σ{sub c} with Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3} due to p-type nickel telluride formation, which diminishes Σ{sub c} improvement with n-Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} interfaces. Ta and Ti contacts yield the lowest properties similar to that in Ni-metallized structures. These correlations between interfacial diffusion and phase formation on electronic and thermal transport properties will be important for devising suitable metallization for thermoelectric devices.

42 ENGINEERING↗

TU-E-201-03: Eye Lens Dosimetry in Radiotherapy Using Contact Lens-Shaped Applicator

Madan M. Rehani, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston Methods for Eye Lens Dosimetry and Studies On Lens Opacities with Interventionalists Radiation induced cataract is a major threat among staff working in interventional suites. Nearly 16 million interventional procedures are performed annually in USA. Recent studies by the principal investigator’s group, primarily among interventional cardiologists, on behalf of the International Atomic Energy Agency, show posterior subcapsular (PSC) changes in the eye lens in 38–53% of main operators and 21–45% of support staff. These changes have potential to lead to cataract in future years, as per information from A-Bomb survivors. The International Commission on Radiological Protection has reduced dose limit for staff by a factor of 7.5 (from 150 mSv/y to 20 mSv/y). With increasing emphasis on radiation induced cataracts and reduction in threshold dose for eye lens, there is a need to implement strategies for estimating eye lens dose. Unfortunately eye lens dosimetry is at infancy when it comes to routine application. Various approaches are being tried namely direct measurement using active or passive dosimeters kept close to eyes, retrospective estimations and lastly correlating patient dose in interventional procedures with staff eye dose. The talk will review all approaches available and ongoing active research in this area, as well as data from surveys done in Europe on status of eye dose monitoring in interventional radiology and nuclear medicine. The talk will provide update on how good is Hp(10) against Hp(3), estimations from CTDI values, Monte Carlo based simulations and current status of eye lens dosimetry in USA and Europe. The cataract risk among patients is in CT examinations of the head. Since radiation induced cataract predominantly occurs in posterior sub-capsular (PSC) region and is thus distinguishable from age or drug related cataracts and is also preventable, actions on awareness can lead to avoidance or even prevention. Learning Objectives: To understand recent changes in eye lens dose limits and thresholds for tissue reactions To understand different approaches to dose estimation for eye lens To learn about challenges in eye lens opacities among staff in interventional fluoroscopy Di Zhang, Toshiba America Medical Systems, Tustin, CA, USA Eye lens radiation dose from brain perfusion CT exams CT perfusion imaging requires repeatedly exposing one location of the head to monitor the uptake and washout of iodinated contrast. The accumulated radiation dose to the eye lens can be high, leading to concerns about potential radiation injury from these scans. CTDIvol assumes continuous z coverage and can overestimate eye lens dose in CT perfusion scans where the table do not increment. The radiation dose to the eye lens from clinical CT brain perfusion studies can be estimated using Monte Carlo simulation methods on voxelized patient models. MDCT scanners from four major manufacturers were simulated and the eye lens doses were estimated using the AAPM posted clinical protocols. They were also compared to CTDIvol values to evaluate the overestimation from CTDIvol. The efficacy of eye lens dose reduction techniques such as tilting the gantry and moving the scan location away from the eyelens were also investigated. Eye lens dose ranged from 81 mGy to 279 mGy, depending on the scanner and protocol used. It is between 59% and 63% of the CTDIvol values reported by the scanners. The eye lens dose is significantly reduced when the eye lenses were not directly irradiated. CTDIvol should not be interpreted as patient dose; this study has shown it to overestimate dose to the eye lens. These results may be used to provide more accurate estimates of actual dose to ensure that protocols are operated safely below thresholds. Tilting the gantry or moving the scanning region further away from the eyes are effective for reducing lens dose in clinical practice. These actions should be considered when they are consistent with the clinical task and patient anatomy. Learning Objectives: To become familiar with method of eye dose estimation for patient in specific situation of brain perfusion CT To become familiar with level of eye lens radiation doses in patients undergoing brain perfusion MDCT To understand methods for reducing eye lens dose to patient Jong Min Park, Department of Radiation Oncology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea Eye lens dosimetry in radiotherapy using contact lens-shaped applicator Dose calculation accuracy of commercial treatment planning systems is relatively low at shallow depths. Therefore, in-vivo measurements are often performed in the clinic to verify delivered doses to eye lens which are located at shallow depth. Current in-vivo dosimetry for eye lens during radiotherapy is generally performed with small in-vivo dosimeters on the surface of patient eyelid. Since this procedure potentially contains considerable uncertainty, a contact lens-shaped applicator made of acrylic (lens applicator) was developed for in-vivo measurements of eye lens dose during radiotherapy to reduce uncertainty. The lens applicator allows the insertion of commercially available metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) dosimeters. Computed tomography (CT) images of an anthropomorphic phantom with and without the lens applicator were acquired. A total of 20 VMAT plans were delivered to an anthropomorphic phantom and the doses with the lens applicator and the doses at the surface of the eyelid were measured using both micro and standard MOSFET dosimeters. The differences in measured dose at the surface of the eyelid from the calculated lens dose were acquired. The differences between the measured and the calculated doses at the lens applicator, as well as the differences between the measured and the calculated doses at the surface of the eyelid were acquired. The statistical significance of the differences was analyzed. The average difference between the measured and the calculated dose with the lens applicator was 16.8 % ± 10.4 % with a micro MOSFET dosimeter and 16.6 % ± 10.9% with a standard MOSFET dosimeter. The average difference without the lens applicator was 35.9% ± 41.5% with micro MOSFET dosimeter and 42.9% ± 52.2% with standard MOSFET dosimeter. The maximum difference with micro MOSFET dosimeter was 46% with the applicator and 188.4% without the applicator. For the standard MOSFET dosimeter, the maximum difference was 44.4% with the applicator and 246.4% without the applicator. The lens applicator allowed reduction of the differences between the calculated and the measured dose during in-vivo measurement for the eye lens as compared to in-vivo measurement at the surface of the eyelid. Learning Objectives: To understand limitations of dose calculation with commercial treatment planning system for eye lens during radiotherapy To learn about current in-vivo dosimetry methods for eye lens in the clinic To understand limitations of in-vivo dosimetry for eye lens during radiotherapy Di Zhang is an employee of Toshiba America Medical Systems.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Boosting contact sliding and wear protection via atomic intermixing and tailoring of nanoscale interfaces

Friction and wear cause energy wastage and system failure. Usually, thicker overcoats serve to combat such tribological concerns, but in many contact sliding systems, their large thickness hinders active components of the systems, degrades functionality, and constitutes a major barrier for technological developments. While sub-10-nm overcoats are of key interest, traditional overcoats suffer from rapid wear and degradation at this thickness regime. Using an enhanced atomic intermixing approach, we develop a ~7- to 8-nm-thick carbon/silicon nitride (C/SiN x ) multilayer overcoat demonstrating extremely high wear resistance and low friction at all tribological length scales, yielding ~2 to 10 times better macroscale wear durability than previously reported thicker (~20 to 100 nm) overcoats on tape drive heads. We report the discovery of many fundamental parameters that govern contact sliding and reveal how tuning atomic intermixing at interfaces and varying carbon and SiN x thicknesses strongly affect friction and wear, which are crucial for advancing numerous technologies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Contact Challenge of Cattle with Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus Validates the Role of the Nasopharyngeal Epithelium as the Site of Primary and Persistent Infection

The pathogenesis of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) in cattle was investigated through early and late stages of infection by use of an optimized experimental model for controlled contact exposure. Time-limited exposure of cattle to FMDV-infected pigs led to primary FMDV infection of the nasopharyngeal mucosa in both vaccinated and nonvaccinated cattle. In nonvaccinated cattle, the infection generalized rapidly to cause clinical disease, without apparent virus amplification in the lungs prior to establishment of viremia. Vaccinated cattle were protected against clinical disease and viremia; however, all vaccinated cattle were subclinically infected, and persistent infection occurred at similarly high prevalences in both animal cohorts. Infection dynamics in cattle were consistent and synchronous and comparable to those of simulated natural and needle inoculation systems. However, the current experimental model utilizes a natural route of virus exposure and is therefore superior for investigations of disease pathogenesis and host response. Deep sequencing of viruses obtained during early infection of pigs and cattle indicated that virus populations sampled from sites of primary infection were markedly more diverse than viruses from vesicular lesions of cattle, suggesting the occurrence of substantial bottlenecks associated with vesicle formation. These data expand previous knowledge of FMDV pathogenesis in cattle and provide novel insights for validation of inoculation models of bovine FMD studies. IMPORTANCE: Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is an important livestock pathogen that is often described as the greatest constraint to global trade in animal products. The present study utilized a standardized pig-to-cow contact exposure model to demonstrate that FMDV infection of cattle initiates in the nasopharyngeal mucosa following natural virus exposure. Furthermore, this work confirmed the role of the bovine nasopharyngeal mucosa as the site of persistent FMDV infection in vaccinated and nonvaccinated cattle. The critical output of this study validates previous studies that have used simulated natural inoculation models to characterize FMDV pathogenesis in cattle and emphasizes the importance of continued research of the unique virus-host interactions that occur within the bovine nasopharynx. Specifically, vaccines and biotherapeutic countermeasures designed to prevent nasopharyngeal infection of vaccinated animals could contribute to substantially improved control of FMDV.

cattle↗

Strong coupling between a permalloy ferromagnetic contact and helical edge channel in a narrow HgTe quantum well

We experimentally investigate spin-polarized electron transport between a permalloy ferromagnet and the edge of a two-dimensional electron system with band inversion, realized in a narrow, 8 nm wide, HgTe quantum well. In zero magnetic field, we observe strong asymmetry of the edge potential distribution with respect to the ferromagnetic ground lead. This result indicates that the helical edge channel, specific for the structures with band inversion even at the conductive bulk, is strongly coupled to the ferromagnetic side contact, possibly due to the effects of proximity magnetization. This allows selective and spin-sensitive contacting of helical edge states.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Effect of microwave irradiation on the resistance of Au-TiB{sub x}-Ge-Au-n-n{sup +}-n{sup ++}-GaAs(InP) ohmic contacts

Temperature dependences of the contact resistivity {rho}{sub c} of Au-TiB{sub x}-Ge-Au-n-n{sup +}-n{sup ++}(GaAs)-InP ohmic contacts before and after short-term (10 s) microwave treatment have been studied both experimentally and theoretically. It is shown that {rho}{sub c} can decrease after microwave treatment in the entire temperature range of {rho}{sub c} measurements (100-400 K). Good agreement between the theoretical and experimental {rho}{sub c}(T) curves is attained and interpreted on the assumption that the dislocation density in the semiconductor near-surface region is varied as a result of microwave radiation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Spin-polarized currents in the tunnel contact of a normal conductor and a two-dimensional topological insulator

The spin filtering of electrons tunneling from the edge states of a two-dimensional topological insulator into a normal conductor under a magnetic field (external or induced due to proximity to a magnetic insulator) is studied. Calculations are performed for a tunnel contact of finite length between the topological insulator and an electronic multimode quantum strip. It is shown that the flow of tunneling electrons is split in the strip, so that spin-polarized currents arise in its left and right branches. These currents can be effectively controlled by the contact voltage and the chemical potential of the system. The presence of a magnetic field, which splits the spin subbands of the electron spectrum in the strip, gives rise to switching of the spin current between the strip branches.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Optical properties of photodetectors based on single GaN nanowires with a transparent graphene contact

We report the fabrication and optical and electrical characterization of photodetectors for the UV spectral range based on single p–n junction nanowires with a transparent contact of a new type. The contact is based on CVD-grown (chemical-vapor deposition) graphene. The active region of the nitride nanowires contains a set of 30 radial In{sub 0.18}Ga{sub 0.82}N/GaN quantum wells. The structure is grown by metal-organic vaporphase epitaxy. The photodetectors are fabricated using electron-beam lithography. The current–voltage characteristics exhibit a rectifying behavior. The spectral sensitivity of the photodetector is recorded starting from 3 eV and extending far in the UV range. The maximal photoresponse is observed at a wavelength of 367 nm (sensitivity 1.9 mA/W). The response switching time of the photodetector is less than 0.1 s.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Fabrication and Study of Optical Properties of LEDs Based on GaN Micropyramids with a Ni/Au/Graphene Semi-Transparent Contact

The results of studies of technological conditions of formation of LEDs on the basis of an InGaN/GaN micropyramid in the core/shell geometry using a semi-transparent Ni/Au/graphene contact have been presented. The structures have been formed by the method of metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy. The development of the tranfer conditions of large-area graphene obtained by chemical-vapor deposition has allowed the using of it as a contact for current injection. The fabricated LEDs have demonstrated electroluminescence at a wavelength of 520–540 nm. These sources of radiation are of interest for biomedical applications— in particular, for optogenetics.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Search for Pauli exclusion principle violating atomic transitions and electron decay with a p-type point contact germanium detector

Here, a search for Pauli-exclusion-principle-violating K α electron transitions was performed using 89.5 kg-d of data collected with a p-type point contact high-purity germanium detector operated at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility. A lower limit on the transition lifetime of 5.8 × 10 30 s at 90% C.L. was set by looking for a peak at 10.6 keV resulting from the X-ray and Auger electrons present following the transition. A similar analysis was done to look for the decay of atomic K-shell electrons into neutrinos, resulting in a lower limit of 6.8 × 10 30 s at 90% C.L. It is estimated that the Majorana Demonstrator, a 44 kg array of p-type point contact detectors that will search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay of 76 Ge, could improve upon these exclusion limits by an order of magnitude after three years of operation.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Characterization of high-purity germanium detectors with amorphous germanium contacts in cryogenic liquids

For the first time, planar high-purity germanium detectors with thin amorphous germanium contacts were successfully operated directly in liquid nitrogen and liquid argon in a cryostat at the Max-Planck-Institut für Physics in Munich. The detectors were fabricated at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of South Dakota, using crystals grown at the University of South Dakota. They survived long-distance transportation and multiple thermal cycles in both cryogenic liquids and showed reasonable leakage currents and spectroscopic performance. Also discussed are the pros and cons of using thin amorphous semiconductor materials as an alternative contact technology in large-scale germanium experiments searching for physics beyond the Standard Model.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Development of planar P-type point contact germanium detectors for low-mass dark matter searches

The detection of low-energy deposition in the range of sub-eV through ionization using germanium (Ge) with a bandgap of ~ 0.7 eV requires internal amplification of the charge signal. This can be achieved through high electric field that accelerates charge carriers, which can then generate more charge carriers. The minimum electric field required to generate internal charge amplification is derived for different temperatures. We report the development of a planar point contact Ge detector in terms of its fabrication and the measurements of its leakage current and capacitance as a function of applied bias voltage. With the determination of the measured depletion voltage, the field distribution is calculated using GeFiCa, which predicts that the required electric field for internal charge amplification can be achieved in proximity to the point contact. The energy response to an Am-241 source is characterized and discussed. We conclude that such a detector with internal charge amplification can be used to search for low-mass dark matter.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗