Compositionally Graded Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors.

PubMed

Song, Hyun-Cheol; Zhou, Jie E; Maurya, Deepam; Yan, Yongke; Wang, Yu U; Priya, Shashank

2017-09-27

Multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) are widely used in consumer electronics. Here, we provide a transformative method for achieving high dielectric response and tunability over a wide temperature range through design of compositionally graded multilayer (CGML) architecture. Compositionally graded MLCCs were found to exhibit enhanced dielectric tunability (70%) along with small dielectric losses (<2.5%) over the required temperature ranges specified in the standard industrial classifications. The compositional grading resulted in generation of internal bias field which enhanced the tunability due to increased nonlinearity. The electric field tunability of MLCCs provides an important avenue for design of miniature filters and power converters.

Compositionally Graded Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors

DOE PAGES

Song, Hyun-Cheol; Zhou, Jie E.; Maurya, Deepam; ...

2017-09-27

Multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) are widely used in consumer electronics. In this paper, we provide a transformative method for achieving high dielectric response and tunability over a wide temperature range through design of compositionally graded multilayer (CGML) architecture. Compositionally graded MLCCs were found to exhibit enhanced dielectric tunability (70%) along with small dielectric losses (<2.5%) over the required temperature ranges specified in the standard industrial classifications. The compositional grading resulted in generation of internal bias field which enhanced the tunability due to increased nonlinearity. The electric field tunability of MLCCs provides an important avenue for design of miniature filters andmore » power converters.« less

Comparison of Multilayer Dielectric Thin Films for Future Metal-Insulator-Metal Capacitors: Al2O3/HfO2/Al2O3 versus SiO2/HfO2/SiO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Sang-Uk; Kwon, Hyuk-Min; Han, In-Shik; Jung, Yi-Jung; Kwak, Ho-Young; Choi, Woon-Il; Ha, Man-Lyun; Lee, Ju-Il; Kang, Chang-Yong; Lee, Byoung-Hun; Jammy, Raj; Lee, Hi-Deok

2011-10-01

In this paper, two kinds of multilayered metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors using Al2O3/HfO2/Al2O3 (AHA) and SiO2/HfO2/SiO2 (SHS) were fabricated and characterized for radio frequency (RF) and analog mixed signal (AMS) applications. The experimental results indicate that the AHA MIM capacitor (8.0 fF/µm2) is able to provide a higher capacitance density than the SHS MIM capacitor (5.1 fF/µm2), while maintaining a low leakage current of about 50 nA/cm2 at 1 V. The quadratic voltage coefficient of capacitance, α gradually decreases as a function of stress time under constant voltage stress (CVS). The parameter variation of SHS MIM capacitors is smaller than that of AHA MIM capacitors. The effects of CVS on voltage linearity and time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) characteristics were also investigated.

Nanostructured Anodic Multilayer Dielectric Stacked Metal-Insulator-Metal Capacitors.

PubMed

Karthik, R; Kannadassan, D; Baghini, Maryam Shojaei; Mallick, P S

2015-12-01

This paper presents the fabrication of Al2O3/TiO2/Al2O3 metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor using anodization technique. High capacitance density of > 3.5 fF/μm2, low quadratic voltage coefficient of capacitance of < 115 ppm/V2 and a low leakage current density of 4.457 x 10(-11) A/cm2 at 3 V are achieved which are suitable for analog and mixed signal applications. We found that the anodization voltage played a major role in electrical and structural properties of the thin film. This work suggests that the anodization method can offer crystalline multilayer dielectric stack required for high performance MIM capacitor.

JPRS Report, Science & Technology, Japan, 1989 IEMT Symposium.

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-08-24

Yoshida, et al. ] 51* Cu Internal Electrode Multilayer Ceramic Capacitor [ Yasuhiko Hakotani, Seiichi Nakatani , et al. ] 59 Tantalum Oxide...CERAMIC CAPACITOR Yasuhiko Ilakotani, Seiichi Nakatani, Satoru Yuhaku Tsutorau Kishimurü and Toru Ishida Development Research Laboratory Matsushita

Dielectric properties of inorganic fillers filled epoxy thin film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Norshamira, A.; Mariatti, M.

2015-07-01

The demand on the small size and high performance electronics has driven changes in the electronic packaging requirements from discrete capacitor to embedded capacitor. Embedded capacitor can improve electrical performance compared with discrete capacitor. This study aimed to achieve high dielectric of epoxy thin film composite that were targeted for application as embedded capacitor. In this study, inorganic fillers such as Calcium Copper Titanate (CCTO), Iron(III) Oxide (Fe2O3) and Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) were loaded in epoxy system at 5 and 20vol%. Morphology and dielectric properties were investigated to identify the effect of fillers loading and types of fillers on the properties of epoxy thin film composite. Based on the study, CCTO with 20vol% loading was found to have good dielectric properties compared to other type of fillers.

Dielectric properties of inorganic fillers filled epoxy thin film

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Norshamira, A., E-mail: myra.arshad@gmail.com; Mariatti, M., E-mail: mariatti@usm.my

2015-07-22

The demand on the small size and high performance electronics has driven changes in the electronic packaging requirements from discrete capacitor to embedded capacitor. Embedded capacitor can improve electrical performance compared with discrete capacitor. This study aimed to achieve high dielectric of epoxy thin film composite that were targeted for application as embedded capacitor. In this study, inorganic fillers such as Calcium Copper Titanate (CCTO), Iron(III) Oxide (Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}) and Titanium Dioxide (TiO{sub 2}) were loaded in epoxy system at 5 and 20vol%. Morphology and dielectric properties were investigated to identify the effect of fillers loading and types ofmore » fillers on the properties of epoxy thin film composite. Based on the study, CCTO with 20vol% loading was found to have good dielectric properties compared to other type of fillers.« less

Multilayered films of cobalt oxyhydroxide nanowires/manganese oxide nanosheets for electrochemical capacitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Huajun; Tang, Fengqiu; Lim, Melvin; Mukherji, Aniruddh; Yan, Xiaoxia; Wang, Lianzhou; (Max) Lu, Gao Qing

Multilayered films of cobalt oxyhydroxide nanowires (CoOOHNW) and exfoliated manganese oxide nanosheet (MONS) are fabricated by potentiostatic deposition and electrostatic self-assembly on indium-tin oxide coated glass substrates. The morphology and chemical composition of these films are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and the potential application as electrochemical supercapacitors are investigated using cyclic voltammetry and charge-discharge measurements. These ITO/CoOOHNW/MONS multilayered film electrodes exhibit excellent electrochemical capacitance properties, including high specific capacitance (507 F g -1) and long cycling durability (less 2% capacity loss after 5000 charge/discharge cycles). These characteristics indicate that these newly developed films may find important application for electrochemical capacitors.

Nanostructure multilayer dielectric materials for capacitors and insulators

DOEpatents

Barbee, Jr., Troy W.; Johnson, Gary W.

1998-04-21

A capacitor is formed of at least two metal conductors having a multilayer dielectric and opposite dielectric-conductor interface layers in between. The multilayer dielectric includes many alternating layers of amorphous zirconium oxide (ZrO.sub.2) and alumina (Al.sub.2 O.sub.3). The dielectric-conductor interface layers are engineered for increased voltage breakdown and extended service life. The local interfacial work function is increased to reduce charge injection and thus increase breakdown voltage. Proper material choices can prevent electrochemical reactions and diffusion between the conductor and dielectric. Physical vapor deposition is used to deposit the zirconium oxide (ZrO.sub.2) and alumina (Al.sub.2 O.sub.3) in alternating layers to form a nano-laminate.

Nanostructure multilayer dielectric materials for capacitors and insulators

DOEpatents

Barbee, T.W. Jr.; Johnson, G.W.

1998-04-21

A capacitor is formed of at least two metal conductors having a multilayer dielectric and opposite dielectric-conductor interface layers in between. The multilayer dielectric includes many alternating layers of amorphous zirconium oxide (ZrO{sub 2}) and alumina (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}). The dielectric-conductor interface layers are engineered for increased voltage breakdown and extended service life. The local interfacial work function is increased to reduce charge injection and thus increase breakdown voltage. Proper material choices can prevent electrochemical reactions and diffusion between the conductor and dielectric. Physical vapor deposition is used to deposit the zirconium oxide (ZrO{sub 2}) and alumina (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}) in alternating layers to form a nano-laminate. 1 fig.

Fabrication of Solid-State Multilayer Glass Capacitors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wilke, Rudeger H. T.; Brown-Shaklee, Harlan James; Casias, Adrian L.

Alkali-free glasses show immense promise for the development of high-energy density capacitors. The high breakdown strengths on single-layer sheets of glass suggest the potential for improved energy densities over existing state-of-the art polymer capacitors. In this paper, we demonstrate the ability to package thin glass to make solid-state capacitors. Individual layers are bonded using epoxy, leading to capacitors that exhibit stable operation over the temperature range -55 °C to +65 °C. Here, this fabrication approach is scalable and allows for proof testing individual layers prior to incorporation of the stack, providing a blueprint for the fabrication of high-energy density capacitors.

Fabrication of Solid-State Multilayer Glass Capacitors

DOE PAGES

Wilke, Rudeger H. T.; Brown-Shaklee, Harlan James; Casias, Adrian L.; ...

2017-07-31

Alkali-free glasses show immense promise for the development of high-energy density capacitors. The high breakdown strengths on single-layer sheets of glass suggest the potential for improved energy densities over existing state-of-the art polymer capacitors. In this paper, we demonstrate the ability to package thin glass to make solid-state capacitors. Individual layers are bonded using epoxy, leading to capacitors that exhibit stable operation over the temperature range -55 °C to +65 °C. Here, this fabrication approach is scalable and allows for proof testing individual layers prior to incorporation of the stack, providing a blueprint for the fabrication of high-energy density capacitors.

Miniature lowpass filters in low loss 9k7 LTCC

DOE PAGES

Dai, Steve; Hsieh, Lung -Hwa

2015-07-01

DuPont 9k7 low temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) is a low loss, or high quality factor Q, tape system targeting at radio frequency (RF) applications. This paper reports the effect of a critical process parameter, heating rate, on the densification and dielectric properties of the 9k7 LTCC. The role of competing densification and crystallization during the sintering of 9k7 is discussed. The high Q of DuPont 9K7 can be used to improve RF system performance, for example a better receiver noise figure, by designing embedded passive RF components such as inductors, capacitors and filters. As a result, miniaturized multilayer low passmore » filters (LPF) with a wide stopband were fabricated to showcase the technology.« less

Miniature lowpass filters in low loss 9k7 LTCC

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dai, Steve; Hsieh, Lung -Hwa

DuPont 9k7 low temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) is a low loss, or high quality factor Q, tape system targeting at radio frequency (RF) applications. This paper reports the effect of a critical process parameter, heating rate, on the densification and dielectric properties of the 9k7 LTCC. The role of competing densification and crystallization during the sintering of 9k7 is discussed. The high Q of DuPont 9K7 can be used to improve RF system performance, for example a better receiver noise figure, by designing embedded passive RF components such as inductors, capacitors and filters. As a result, miniaturized multilayer low passmore » filters (LPF) with a wide stopband were fabricated to showcase the technology.« less

Miniature low-pass filter in low-loss 9k7 LTCC

DOE PAGES

Dai, Steve Xunhu; Hsieh, Lung -Hwa

2015-09-30

DuPont 9k7 low-temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) is a low-loss, or high-quality-factor Q, tape system targeting at radio frequency (RF) applications. This paper reports on the effect of a critical process parameter, the heating rate, on the densification and dielectric properties of the 9k7 LTCC. The role of competing densification and crystallization during the sintering of 9k7 is discussed. The high Q of DuPont 9K7 can be used to improve RF system performance, for example a better receiver noise figure, by designing embedded passive RF components such as inductors, capacitors and filters. Furthermore, miniaturized multilayer low-pass filters (LPF) with a widemore » stopband were fabricated to showcase the technology.« less

Monolithic ceramic capacitors for high reliability applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thornley, E. B.

1981-01-01

Monolithic multi-layer ceramic dielectric capacitors are widely used in high reliability applications in spacecraft, launch vehicles, and military equipment. Their relatively low cost, wide range of values, and package styles are attractive features that result in high usage in electronic circuitry in these applications. Design and construction of monolithic ceramic dielectric capacitors, defects that can lead to failure, and methods for defect detection that are being incorporated in military specifications are discussed.

A Single-Phase Embedded Z-Source DC-AC Inverter

PubMed Central

Kim, Se-Jin; Lim, Young-Cheol

2014-01-01

In the conventional DC-AC inverter consisting of two DC-DC converters with unipolar output capacitors, the output capacitor voltages of the DC-DC converters must be higher than the DC input voltage. To overcome this weakness, this paper proposes a single-phase DC-AC inverter consisting of two embedded Z-source converters with bipolar output capacitors. The proposed inverter is composed of two embedded Z-source converters with a common DC source and output AC load. Though the output capacitor voltages of the converters are relatively low compared to those of a conventional inverter, an equivalent level of AC output voltages can be obtained. Moreover, by controlling the output capacitor voltages asymmetrically, the AC output voltage of the proposed inverter can be higher than the DC input voltage. To verify the validity of the proposed inverter, experiments were performed with a DC source voltage of 38 V. By controlling the output capacitor voltages of the converters symmetrically or asymmetrically, the proposed inverter can produce sinusoidal AC output voltages. The experiments show that efficiencies of up to 95% and 97% can be achieved with the proposed inverter using symmetric and asymmetric control, respectively. PMID:25133241

A single-phase embedded Z-source DC-AC inverter.

PubMed

Kim, Se-Jin; Lim, Young-Cheol

2014-01-01

In the conventional DC-AC inverter consisting of two DC-DC converters with unipolar output capacitors, the output capacitor voltages of the DC-DC converters must be higher than the DC input voltage. To overcome this weakness, this paper proposes a single-phase DC-AC inverter consisting of two embedded Z-source converters with bipolar output capacitors. The proposed inverter is composed of two embedded Z-source converters with a common DC source and output AC load. Though the output capacitor voltages of the converters are relatively low compared to those of a conventional inverter, an equivalent level of AC output voltages can be obtained. Moreover, by controlling the output capacitor voltages asymmetrically, the AC output voltage of the proposed inverter can be higher than the DC input voltage. To verify the validity of the proposed inverter, experiments were performed with a DC source voltage of 38 V. By controlling the output capacitor voltages of the converters symmetrically or asymmetrically, the proposed inverter can produce sinusoidal AC output voltages. The experiments show that efficiencies of up to 95% and 97% can be achieved with the proposed inverter using symmetric and asymmetric control, respectively.

Directed Self-Assembly of Block Copolymers for High Breakdown Strength Polymer Film Capacitors.

PubMed

Samant, Saumil P; Grabowski, Christopher A; Kisslinger, Kim; Yager, Kevin G; Yuan, Guangcui; Satija, Sushil K; Durstock, Michael F; Raghavan, Dharmaraj; Karim, Alamgir

2016-03-01

Emerging needs for fast charge/discharge yet high-power, lightweight, and flexible electronics requires the use of polymer-film-based solid-state capacitors with high energy densities. Fast charge/discharge rates of film capacitors on the order of microseconds are not achievable with slower charging conventional batteries, supercapacitors and related hybrid technologies. However, the current energy densities of polymer film capacitors fall short of rising demand, and could be significantly enhanced by increasing the breakdown strength (EBD) and dielectric permittivity (εr) of the polymer films. Co-extruded two-homopolymer component multilayered films have demonstrated much promise in this regard showing higher EBD over that of component polymers. Multilayered films can also help incorporate functional features besides energy storage, such as enhanced optical, mechanical, thermal and barrier properties. In this work, we report accomplishing multilayer, multicomponent block copolymer dielectric films (BCDF) with soft-shear driven highly oriented self-assembled lamellar diblock copolymers (BCP) as a novel application of this important class of self-assembling materials. Results of a model PS-b-PMMA system show ∼50% enhancement in EBD of self-assembled multilayer lamellar BCP films compared to unordered as-cast films, indicating that the breakdown is highly sensitive to the nanostructure of the BCP. The enhancement in EBD is attributed to the "barrier effect", where the multiple interfaces between the lamellae block components act as barriers to the dielectric breakdown through the film. The increase in EBD corresponds to more than doubling the energy storage capacity using a straightforward directed self-assembly strategy. This approach opens a new nanomaterial paradigm for designing high energy density dielectric materials.

Directed self-assembly of block copolymers for high breakdown strength polymer film capacitors

DOE PAGES

Samant, Saumil P.; Grabowski, Christopher A.; Kisslinger, Kim; ...

2016-03-04

Emerging needs for fast charge/discharge yet high-power, lightweight, and flexible electronics requires the use of polymer-film-based solid-state capacitors with high energy densities. Fast charge/discharge rates of film capacitors on the order of microseconds are not achievable with slower charging conventional batteries, supercapacitors and related hybrid technologies. However, the current energy densities of polymer film capacitors fall short of rising demand, and could be significantly enhanced by increasing the breakdown strength (E BD) and dielectric permittivity (ε r) of the polymer films. Co-extruded two-homopolymer component multilayered films have demonstrated much promise in this regard showing higher E BD over that ofmore » component polymers. Multilayered films can also help incorporate functional features besides energy storage, such as enhanced optical, mechanical, thermal and barrier properties. In this work, we report accomplishing multilayer, multicomponent block copolymer dielectric films (BCDF) with soft-shear driven highly oriented self-assembled lamellar diblock copolymers (BCP) as a novel application of this important class of self-assembling materials. Results of a model PS- b-PMMA system show ~50% enhancement in E BD of self-assembled multilayer lamellar BCP films compared to unordered as-cast films, indicating that the breakdown is highly sensitive to the nanostructure of the BCP. The enhancement in E BD is attributed to the “barrier effect”, where the multiple interfaces between the lamellae block components act as barriers to the dielectric breakdown through the film. The increase in E BD corresponds to more than doubling the energy storage capacity using a straightforward directed self-assembly strategy. Lastly, this approach opens a new nanomaterial paradigm for designing high energy density dielectric materials.« less

Insulation Resistance Degradation in Ni-BaTiO3 Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Donhang (David)

2015-01-01

Insulation resistance (IR) degradation in Ni-BaTiO3 multilayer ceramic capacitors has been characterized by the measurement of both time to failure and direct-current (DC) leakage current as a function of stress time under highly accelerated life test conditions. The measured leakage current-time dependence data fit well to an exponential form, and a characteristic growth time ?SD can be determined. A greater value of tau(sub SD) represents a slower IR degradation process. Oxygen vacancy migration and localization at the grain boundary region results in the reduction of the Schottky barrier height and has been found to be the main reason for IR degradation in Ni-BaTiO3 capacitors. The reduction of barrier height as a function of time follows an exponential relation of phi (??)=phi (0)e(exp -2?t), where the degradation rate constant ??=??o??(????/????) is inversely proportional to the mean time to failure (MTTF) and can be determined using an Arrhenius plot. For oxygen vacancy electromigration, a lower barrier height phi(0) will favor a slow IR degradation process, but a lower phi(0) will also promote electronic carrier conduction across the barrier and decrease the insulation resistance. As a result, a moderate barrier height phi(0) (and therefore a moderate IR value) with a longer MTTF (smaller degradation rate constant ??) will result in a minimized IR degradation process and the most improved reliability in Ni-BaTiO3 multilayer ceramic capacitors.

Insulation Resistance Degradation in Ni-BaTiO3 Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Donhang David

2015-01-01

Insulation resistance (IR) degradation in NiBaTiO3 multilayer ceramic capacitors has been characterized by the measurement of both time to failure (TTF) and direct current leakage current as a function of stress time under highly accelerated life test conditions. The measured leakage current time dependence data fit well to an exponential form, and a characteristic growth time tau (sub SD) can be determined. A greater value of tau (sub SD) represents a slower IR degradation process. Oxygen vacancy migration and localization at the grain boundary region results in the reduction of the Schottky barrier height and has been found to be the main reason for IR degradation in NiBaTiO3 capacitors. The reduction of barrier height as a function oftime follows an exponential relation of phi (t ) = phi (0) e (exp -2Kt), where 13 the degradation rate constant K Koe (Ek/kT) is inversely proportional to the mean TTF (MTTF) and can be determined using an Arrhenius plot. For oxygen vacancy electromigration, a lower barrier height phi (0) will favor a slow IR degradation process, but a lower phi (0) will also promote electronic carrier conduction across the barrier and decrease the IR. As a result, a moderate barrier height phi (0) (and therefore a moderate IR value) with a longer MTTF (smaller degradation rate constant K) will result in a minimized IR degradation process and the most improved reliability in NiBaTiO3 multilayer ceramic capacitors.

Capacitor Test, Evaluation. and Modeling Within NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Program. "Why Ceramic Capacitors Fracture During Manual Soldering and How to Avoid Failures"

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teverovsky, Alexander

2011-01-01

Presentation discusses: (1) Why Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitors(MLCCs) crack during manual soldering? Workmanship and parts issues. (2) Do existing qualification requirements assure crack-free soldering? MIL-spec Thermal Shock (TS) testing. MIL-spec Resistance to Soldering Heat (RSH) test. (3) What test can assure reliable soldering? Mechanical characteristics of ceramics. Comparison of three TS techniques: LND, TSD, and IWT. (4) Simulation of TS conditions.

Ultra-thin multilayer capacitors.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Renk, Timothy Jerome; Monson, Todd C.

2009-06-01

The fabrication of ultra-thin lanthanum-doped lead zirconium titanate (PLZT) multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) using a high-power pulsed ion beam was studied. The deposition experiments were conducted on the RHEPP-1 facility at Sandia National Laboratories. The goal of this work was to increase the energy density of ceramic capacitors through the formation of a multilayer device with excellent materials properties, dielectric constant, and standoff voltage. For successful device construction, there are a number of challenging requirements including achieving correct stoichiometric and crystallographic composition of the deposited PLZT, as well as the creation of a defect free homogenous film. This report detailsmore » some success in satisfying these requirements, although 900 C temperatures were necessary for PLZT perovskite phase formation. These temperatures were applied to a previously deposited multi-layer film which was then post-annealed to this temperature. The film exhibited mechanical distress attributable to differences in the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of the various layers. This caused significant defects in the deposited films that led to shorts across devices. A follow-on single layer deposition without post-anneal produced smooth layers with good interface behavior, but without the perovskite phase formation. These issues will need to be addressed in order for ion beam deposited MLCCs to become a viable technology. It is possible that future in-situ heating during deposition may address both the CTE issue, and result in lowered processing temperatures, which in turn could raise the probability of successful MLCC formation.« less

The preparation of copper fine particle paste and its application as the inner electrode material of a multilayered ceramic capacitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yonezawa, Tetsu; Takeoka, Shinsuke; Kishi, Hiroshi; Ida, Kiyonobu; Tomonari, Masanori

2008-04-01

Well size-controlled copper fine particles (diameter: 100-300 nm) were used as the inner electrode material of multilayered ceramic capacitors (MLCCs). The particles were dispersed in terpineol to form a printing paste with 50 wt% copper particles. The MLCC precursor modules prepared by the layer-by-layer printing of copper and BaTiO3 particles were cosintered. Detailed observation of the particles, paste, and MLCCs before and after sintering was carried out by electron microscopy. The sintering temperature of Cu-MLCC was as low as 960 °C. The permittivity of these MLCCs was successfully measured with the copper inner layers.

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT)-based thin film capacitors for embedded passive applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Taeyun

Investigations on the key processing parameters and properties relationship for lead zirconate titanate (PZT, 52/48) based thin film capacitors for embedded passive capacitor application were performed using electroless Ni coated Cu foils as substrates. Undoped and Ca-doped PZT (52/48) thin film capacitors were prepared on electroless Ni coated Cu foil by chemical solution deposition. For PZT (52/48) thin film capacitors on electroless Ni coated Cu foil, voltage independent (zero tunability) capacitance behavior was observed. Dielectric constant reduced to more than half of the identical capacitor processed on Pt/SiO2/Si. Dielectric properties of the capacitors were mostly dependent on the crystallization temperature. Capacitance densities of almost 350 nF/cm2 and 0.02˜0.03 of loss tangent were routinely measured for capacitors crystallized at 575˜600°C. Leakage current showed dependence on film thickness and crystallization temperature. From a two-capacitor model, the existence of a low permittivity interface layer (permittivity ˜30) was suggested. For Ca-doped PZT (52/48) thin film capacitors prepared on Pt, typical ferroelectric and dielectric properties were measured up to 5 mol% Ca doping. When Ca-doped PZT (52/48) thin film capacitors were prepared on electroless Ni coated Cu foil, phase stability was influenced by Ca doping and phosphorous content. Dielectric properties showed dependence on the crystallization temperature and phosphorous content. Capacitance density of ˜400 nF/cm2 was achieved, which is an improvement by more than 30% compared to undoped composition. Ca doping also reduced the temperature coefficient of capacitance (TCC) less than 10%, all of them were consistent in satisfying the requirements of embedded passive capacitor. Leakage current density was not affected significantly by doping. To tailor the dielectric and reliability properties, ZrO2 was selected as buffer layer between PZT and electroless Ni. Only RF magnetron sputtering process could yield stable ZrO2 layers on electroless Ni coated Cu foil. Other processes resulted in secondary phase formation, which supports the reaction between PZT capacitor and electroless Ni might be dominated by phosphorous component. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Ni-BaTiO3-Based Base-Metal Electrode (BME) Ceramic Capacitors for Space Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Donhang; Fetter, Lula; Meinhold, Bruce

2015-01-01

A multi-layer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) is a high-temperature (1350C typical) co-fired ceramic monolithic that is composed of many layers of alternately stacked oxide-based dielectric and internal metal electrodes. To make the dielectric layers insulating and the metal electrode layers conducting, only highly oxidation-resistant precious metals, such as platinum, palladium, and silver, can be used for the co-firing of insulating MLCCs in a regular air atmosphere. MLCCs made with precious metals as internal electrodes and terminations are called precious-metal electrode (PME) capacitors. Currently, all military and space-level applications only address the use of PME capacitors.

Strong Photo-Amplification Effects in Flexible Organic Capacitors with Small Molecular Solid-State Electrolyte Layers Sandwiched between Photo-Sensitive Conjugated Polymer Nanolayers

PubMed Central

Lee, Hyena; Kim, Jungnam; Kim, Hwajeong; Kim, Youngkyoo

2016-01-01

We demonstrate strong photo-amplification effects in flexible organic capacitors which consist of small molecular solid-state electrolyte layers sandwiched between light-sensitive conjugated polymer nanolayers. The small molecular electrolyte layers were prepared from aqueous solutions of tris(8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonic acid) aluminum (ALQSA3), while poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) was employed as the light-sensitive polymer nanolayer that is spin-coated on the indium-tin oxide (ITO)-coated poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) film substrates. The resulting capacitors feature a multilayer device structure of PET/ITO/P3HT/ALQSA3/P3HT/ITO/PET, which were mechanically robust due to good adhesion between the ALQSA3 layers and the P3HT nanolayers. Results showed that the specific capacitance was increased by ca. 3-fold when a white light was illuminated to the flexible organic multilayer capacitors. In particular, the capacity of charge storage was remarkably (ca. 250-fold) enhanced by a white light illumination in the potentiostatic charge/discharge operation, and the photo-amplification functions were well maintained even after bending for 300 times at a bending angle of 180o. PMID:26846891

Strong Photo-Amplification Effects in Flexible Organic Capacitors with Small Molecular Solid-State Electrolyte Layers Sandwiched between Photo-Sensitive Conjugated Polymer Nanolayers.

PubMed

Lee, Hyena; Kim, Jungnam; Kim, Hwajeong; Kim, Youngkyoo

2016-02-05

We demonstrate strong photo-amplification effects in flexible organic capacitors which consist of small molecular solid-state electrolyte layers sandwiched between light-sensitive conjugated polymer nanolayers. The small molecular electrolyte layers were prepared from aqueous solutions of tris(8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonic acid) aluminum (ALQSA3), while poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) was employed as the light-sensitive polymer nanolayer that is spin-coated on the indium-tin oxide (ITO)-coated poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) film substrates. The resulting capacitors feature a multilayer device structure of PET/ITO/P3HT/ALQSA3/P3HT/ITO/PET, which were mechanically robust due to good adhesion between the ALQSA3 layers and the P3HT nanolayers. Results showed that the specific capacitance was increased by ca. 3-fold when a white light was illuminated to the flexible organic multilayer capacitors. In particular, the capacity of charge storage was remarkably (ca. 250-fold) enhanced by a white light illumination in the potentiostatic charge/discharge operation, and the photo-amplification functions were well maintained even after bending for 300 times at a bending angle of 180(°).

Method of making dielectric capacitors with increased dielectric breakdown strength

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ma, Beihai; Balachandran, Uthamalingam; Liu, Shanshan

The invention is directed to a process for making a dielectric ceramic film capacitor and the ceramic dielectric laminated capacitor formed therefrom, the dielectric ceramic film capacitors having increased dielectric breakdown strength. The invention increases breakdown strength by embedding a conductive oxide layer between electrode layers within the dielectric layer of the capacitors. The conductive oxide layer redistributes and dissipates charge, thus mitigating charge concentration and micro fractures formed within the dielectric by electric fields.

Charge storage and tunneling mechanism of Ni nanocrystals embedded HfOx film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, H. X.; Zhang, T.; Wang, R. X.; Zhang, Y. Y.; Li, L. T.; Qiu, X. Y.

2016-05-01

A nano-floating gate memory structure based on Ni nanocrystals (NCs) embedded HfOx film is deposited by means of radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. Microstructure investigations reveal that self-organized Ni-NCs with diameters of 4-8 nm are well dispersed in amorphous HfOx matrix. Pt/Ni-NCs embedded HfOx/Si/Ag capacitor structures exhibit voltage-dependent capacitance-voltage hysteresis, and a maximum flat-band voltage shift of 1.5 V, corresponding to a charge storage density of 6.0 × 1012 electrons/cm2, is achieved. These capacitor memory cells exhibit good endurance characteristic up to 4 × 104 cycles and excellent retention performance of 105 s, fulfilling the requirements of next generation non-volatile memory devices. Schottky tunneling is proven to be responsible for electrons tunneling in these capacitors.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Samant, Saumil P.; Grabowski, Christopher A.; Kisslinger, Kim

Emerging needs for fast charge/discharge yet high-power, lightweight, and flexible electronics requires the use of polymer-film-based solid-state capacitors with high energy densities. Fast charge/discharge rates of film capacitors on the order of microseconds are not achievable with slower charging conventional batteries, supercapacitors and related hybrid technologies. However, the current energy densities of polymer film capacitors fall short of rising demand, and could be significantly enhanced by increasing the breakdown strength (E BD) and dielectric permittivity (ε r) of the polymer films. Co-extruded two-homopolymer component multilayered films have demonstrated much promise in this regard showing higher E BD over that ofmore » component polymers. Multilayered films can also help incorporate functional features besides energy storage, such as enhanced optical, mechanical, thermal and barrier properties. In this work, we report accomplishing multilayer, multicomponent block copolymer dielectric films (BCDF) with soft-shear driven highly oriented self-assembled lamellar diblock copolymers (BCP) as a novel application of this important class of self-assembling materials. Results of a model PS-b-PMMA system show ~50% enhancement in E BD of self-assembled multilayer lamellar BCP films compared to unordered as-cast films, indicating that the breakdown is highly sensitive to the nanostructure of the BCP. The enhancement in E BD is attributed to the “barrier effect”, where the multiple interfaces between the lamellae block components act as barriers to the dielectric breakdown through the film. The increase in E BD corresponds to more than doubling the energy storage capacity using a straightforward directed self-assembly strategy. This approach opens a new nanomaterial paradigm for designing high energy density dielectric materials.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Samant, Saumil P.; Grabowski, Christopher A.; Kisslinger, Kim

Emerging needs for fast charge/discharge yet high-power, lightweight, and flexible electronics requires the use of polymer-film-based solid-state capacitors with high energy densities. Fast charge/discharge rates of film capacitors on the order of microseconds are not achievable with slower charging conventional batteries, supercapacitors and related hybrid technologies. However, the current energy densities of polymer film capacitors fall short of rising demand, and could be significantly enhanced by increasing the breakdown strength (E BD) and dielectric permittivity (ε r) of the polymer films. Co-extruded two-homopolymer component multilayered films have demonstrated much promise in this regard showing higher E BD over that ofmore » component polymers. Multilayered films can also help incorporate functional features besides energy storage, such as enhanced optical, mechanical, thermal and barrier properties. In this work, we report accomplishing multilayer, multicomponent block copolymer dielectric films (BCDF) with soft-shear driven highly oriented self-assembled lamellar diblock copolymers (BCP) as a novel application of this important class of self-assembling materials. Results of a model PS- b-PMMA system show ~50% enhancement in E BD of self-assembled multilayer lamellar BCP films compared to unordered as-cast films, indicating that the breakdown is highly sensitive to the nanostructure of the BCP. The enhancement in E BD is attributed to the “barrier effect”, where the multiple interfaces between the lamellae block components act as barriers to the dielectric breakdown through the film. The increase in E BD corresponds to more than doubling the energy storage capacity using a straightforward directed self-assembly strategy. Lastly, this approach opens a new nanomaterial paradigm for designing high energy density dielectric materials.« less

Capacitors with low equivalent series resistance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lakeman, Charles D. E. (Inventor); Fuge, Mark (Inventor); Fleig, Patrick Franz (Inventor)

2011-01-01

An electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) in a coin or button cell configuration having low equivalent series resistance (ESR). The capacitor comprises mesh or other porous metal that is attached via conducting adhesive to one or both the current collectors. The mesh is embedded into the surface of the adjacent electrode, thereby reducing the interfacial resistance between the electrode and the current collector, thus reducing the ESR of the capacitor.

Embedded Touch Sensing Circuit Using Mutual Capacitance for Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode Display

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Young-Ju; Seok, Su-Jeong; Park, Sang-Ho; Kim, Ohyun

2011-03-01

We propose and simulate an embedded touch sensing circuit for active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) displays. The circuit consists of three thin-film transistors (TFTs), one fixed capacitor, and one variable capacitor. AMOLED displays do not have a variable capacitance characteristic, so we realized a variable capacitor to detect touches in the sensing pixel by exploiting the change in the mutual capacitance between two electrodes that is caused by touch. When a dielectric substance approaches two electrodes, the electric field is shunted so that the mutual capacitance decreases. We use the existing TFT process to form the variable capacitor, so no additional process is needed. We use advanced solid-phase-crystallization TFTs because of their stability and uniformity. The proposed circuit detects multi-touch points by a scanning process.

Electrostatically assisted fabrication of silver-dielectric core/shell nanoparticles thin film capacitor with uniform metal nanoparticle distribution and controlled spacing.

PubMed

Li, Xue; Niitsoo, Olivia; Couzis, Alexander

2016-03-01

An electrostatically-assisted strategy for fabrication of thin film composite capacitors with controllable dielectric constant (k) has been developed. The capacitor is composed of metal-dielectric core/shell nanoparticle (silver/silica, Ag@SiO2) multilayer films, and a backfilling polymer. Compared with the simple metal particle-polymer mixtures where the metal nanoparticles (NP) are randomly dispersed in the polymer matrix, the metal volume fraction in our capacitor was significantly increased, owing to the densely packed NP multilayers formed by the electrostatically assisted assembly process. Moreover, the insulating layer of silica shell provides a potential barrier that reduces the tunneling current between neighboring Ag cores, endowing the core/shell nanocomposites with a stable and relatively high dielectric constant (k) and low dielectric loss (D). Our work also shows that the thickness of the SiO2 shell plays a dominant role in controlling the dielectric properties of the nanocomposites. Control over metal NP separation distance was realized not only by variation the shell thickness of the core/shell NPs but also by introducing a high k nanoparticle, barium strontium titanate (BST) of relatively smaller size (∼8nm) compared to 80-160nm of the core/shell Ag@SiO2 NPs. The BST assemble between the Ag@SiO2 and fill the void space between the closely packed core/shell NPs leading to significant enhancement of the dielectric constant. This electrostatically assisted assembly method is promising for generating multilayer films of a large variety of NPs over large areas at low cost. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Switching power pulse system

DOEpatents

Aaland, K.

1983-08-09

A switching system for delivering pulses of power from a source to a load using a storage capacitor charged through a rectifier, and maintained charged to a reference voltage level by a transistor switch and voltage comparator. A thyristor is triggered to discharge the storage capacitor through a saturable reactor and fractional turn saturable transformer having a secondary to primary turn ratio N of n:l/n = n[sup 2]. The saturable reactor functions as a soaker'' while the thyristor reaches saturation, and then switches to a low impedance state. The saturable transformer functions as a switching transformer with high impedance while a load coupling capacitor charges, and then switches to a low impedance state to dump the charge of the storage capacitor into the load through the coupling capacitor. The transformer is comprised of a multilayer core having two secondary windings tightly wound and connected in parallel to add their output voltage and reduce output inductance, and a number of single turn windings connected in parallel at nodes for the primary winding, each single turn winding linking a different one of the layers of the multilayer core. The load may be comprised of a resistive beampipe for a linear particle accelerator and capacitance of a pulse forming network. To hold off discharge of the capacitance until it is fully charged, a saturable core is provided around the resistive beampipe to isolate the beampipe from the capacitance until it is fully charged. 5 figs.

Casting Of Multilayer Ceramic Tapes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Collins, Earl R., Jr.

1991-01-01

Procedure for casting thin, multilayer ceramic membranes, commonly called tapes, involves centrifugal casting at accelerations of 1,800 to 2,000 times normal gravitational acceleration. Layers of tape cast one at a time on top of any previous layer or layers. Each layer cast from slurry of ground ceramic suspended in mixture of solvents, binders, and other components. Used in capacitors, fuel cells, and electrolytic separation of oxygen from air.

Tunable Patch Antennas Using Microelectromechanical Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-05-11

Figure 28, was selected as most suitable to this application. MetalMUMPs is a surface micromachining process with polysilicon , silicon nitride, nickel...yields. MEMS Variable Capacitor Design The MEMS capacitors reported here were an original design that features nickel and polysilicon layers as...the movable plates of a variable parallel plate capacitor. The polysilicon layer was embedded in silicon nitride for electrical isolation and suspended

Embedded Resistors and Capacitors in Organic and Inorganic Substrates

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gerke, Robert David; Ator, Danielle

2006-01-01

Embedded resistors and capacitors were purchased from two technology; organic PWB and inorganic low temperature co-fire ceramic (LTCC). Small groups of each substrate were exposed to four environmental tests and several characterization tests to evaluate their performance and reliability. Even though all passive components maintained electrical performance throughout environmental testing, differences between the two technologies were observed. Environmental testing was taken beyond manufacturers' reported testing, but general not taken to failure. When possible, data was quantitatively compared to manufacturer's data.

A Thermal Runaway Failure Model for Low-Voltage BME Ceramic Capacitors with Defects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teverovsky, Alexander

2017-01-01

Reliability of base metal electrode (BME) multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) that until recently were used mostly in commercial applications, have been improved substantially by using new materials and processes. Currently, the inception of intrinsic wear-out failures in high quality capacitors became much greater than the mission duration in most high-reliability applications. However, in capacitors with defects degradation processes might accelerate substantially and cause infant mortality failures. In this work, a physical model that relates the presence of defects to reduction of breakdown voltages and decreasing times to failure has been suggested. The effect of the defect size has been analyzed using a thermal runaway model of failures. Adequacy of highly accelerated life testing (HALT) to predict reliability at normal operating conditions and limitations of voltage acceleration are considered. The applicability of the model to BME capacitors with cracks is discussed and validated experimentally.

X-ray absorption fine structure analysis of molybdenum added to BaTiO3-based ceramics used for multilayer ceramic capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogata, Yoichiro; Shimura, Tetsuo; Ryu, Minoru; Iwazaki, Yoshiki

2017-04-01

The effect of slight molybdenum doping of perovskite-type BaTiO3-based ceramics on the reliability of a multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) and on the valence state of molybdenum in the BaTiO3-based ceramics has been investigated by highly accelerated lifetime tests and X-ray absorption fine structure analysis. The molybdenum added to the BaTiO3-based ceramics is located at Ti sites and improves the highly accelerated lifetime and lowers the initial dielectric resistivity in MLCCs. Through sintering in a reducing atmosphere, which is an important process in the fabrication of BaTiO3-based MLCCs, the oxidation state of the molybdenum added could be adjusted from +6 to a value close to +4.

A Reliability Model for Ni-BaTiO3-Based (BME) Ceramic Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Donhang

2014-01-01

The evaluation of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) with base-metal electrodes (BMEs) for potential NASA space project applications requires an in-depth understanding of their reliability. The reliability of an MLCC is defined as the ability of the dielectric material to retain its insulating properties under stated environmental and operational conditions for a specified period of time t. In this presentation, a general mathematic expression of a reliability model for a BME MLCC is developed and discussed. The reliability model consists of three parts: (1) a statistical distribution that describes the individual variation of properties in a test group of samples (Weibull, log normal, normal, etc.), (2) an acceleration function that describes how a capacitors reliability responds to external stresses such as applied voltage and temperature (All units in the test group should follow the same acceleration function if they share the same failure mode, independent of individual units), and (3) the effect and contribution of the structural and constructional characteristics of a multilayer capacitor device, such as the number of dielectric layers N, dielectric thickness d, average grain size r, and capacitor chip size S. In general, a two-parameter Weibull statistical distribution model is used in the description of a BME capacitors reliability as a function of time. The acceleration function that relates a capacitors reliability to external stresses is dependent on the failure mode. Two failure modes have been identified in BME MLCCs: catastrophic and slow degradation. A catastrophic failure is characterized by a time-accelerating increase in leakage current that is mainly due to existing processing defects (voids, cracks, delamination, etc.), or the extrinsic defects. A slow degradation failure is characterized by a near-linear increase in leakage current against the stress time; this is caused by the electromigration of oxygen vacancies (intrinsic defects). The two identified failure modes follow different acceleration functions. Catastrophic failures follow the traditional power-law relationship to the applied voltage. Slow degradation failures fit well to an exponential law relationship to the applied electrical field. Finally, the impact of capacitor structure on the reliability of BME capacitors is discussed with respect to the number of dielectric layers in an MLCC unit, the number of BaTiO3 grains per dielectric layer, and the chip size of the capacitor device.

Switching power pulse system

DOEpatents

Aaland, Kristian

1983-01-01

A switching system for delivering pulses of power from a source (10) to a load (20) using a storage capacitor (C3) charged through a rectifier (D1, D2), and maintained charged to a reference voltage level by a transistor switch (Q1) and voltage comparator (12). A thyristor (22) is triggered to discharge the storage capacitor through a saturable reactor (18) and fractional turn saturable transformer (16) having a secondary to primary turn ratio N of n:l/n=n.sup.2. The saturable reactor (18) functions as a "soaker" while the thyristor reaches saturation, and then switches to a low impedance state. The saturable transformer functions as a switching transformer with high impedance while a load coupling capacitor (C4) charges, and then switches to a low impedance state to dump the charge of the storage capacitor (C3) into the load through the coupling capacitor (C4). The transformer is comprised of a multilayer core (26) having two secondary windings (28, 30) tightly wound and connected in parallel to add their output voltage and reduce output inductance, and a number of single turn windings connected in parallel at nodes (32, 34) for the primary winding, each single turn winding linking a different one of the layers of the multilayer core. The load may be comprised of a resistive beampipe (40) for a linear particle accelerator and capacitance of a pulse forming network (42). To hold off discharge of the capacitance until it is fully charged, a saturable core (44) is provided around the resistive beampipe (40) to isolate the beampipe from the capacitance (42) until it is fully charged.

The Investigation of 6mu Biaxially Oriented Polyethylene 2, 6, -Naphthalate As a Possible Dielectric For Pulse Power Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yen, S. P. S.; Lowry, L.; Cygan, P. J.; Jow, T. R.

1993-01-01

The introduction of polythylene -2, 6-Naphthalate (PEN) semicrystalline film with thicknesses of 0.9mu, 1.5mu, 4.0Mu and community. Its unique chemical and high temparterure stability, as well as superior thermo-mechanical properties allow ultra thin ( 2mu) PEN film to be processed into miniature multilayer chip capacitors for surface mount technology (SMT) application that can be used with standard soldering techniques.

Highly Deformable Liquid Embedded Soft-Matter Capacitors and Inductors for Stretchable Electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fassler, Andrew; Majidi, Carmel

2013-03-01

We have developed a family of soft-matter capacitors and inductors that can be stretched to several times their natural length. These circuit elements are composed of microchannels of a liquid-phase Gallium-Indium-Tin alloy (Galinstan) embedded in a soft silicone elastomer (Ecoflex® 00-30). As the elastomer stretches, the embedded liquid channels deform, causing the capacitance and inductance to change monotonically. The relative changes in capacitance and inductance are experimentally measured as a function of stretch in three directions. The relationships found show potential for these devices to be used as strain sensors and tunable electronic filters. Additionally, theoretical predictions derived using finite elasticity kinematics are consistent with these experimentally found relationships.

Investigation of embedded perovskite nanoparticles for enhanced capacitor permittivities.

PubMed

Krause, Andreas; Weber, Walter M; Pohl, Darius; Rellinghaus, Bernd; Verheijen, Marcel; Mikolajick, Thomas

2014-11-26

Growth experiments show significant differences in the crystallization of ultrathin CaTiO3 layers on polycrystalline Pt surfaces. While the deposition of ultrathin layers below crystallization temperature inhibits the full layer crystallization, local epitaxial growth of CaTiO3 crystals on top of specific oriented Pt crystals occurs. The result is a formation of crystals embedded in an amorphous matrix. An epitaxial alignment of the cubic CaTiO3 ⟨111⟩ direction on top of the underlying Pt {111} surface has been observed. A reduced forming energy is attributed to an interplay of surface energies at the {111} interface of both materials and CaTiO3 nanocrystallites facets. The preferential texturing of CaTiO3 layers on top of Pt has been used in the preparation of ultrathin metal-insulator-metal capacitors with 5-30 nm oxide thickness. The effective CaTiO3 permittivity in the capacitor stack increases to 55 compared to capacitors with amorphous layers and a permittivity of 28. The isolated CaTiO3 crystals exhibit a passivation of the CaTiO3 grain surfaces by the surrounding amorphous matrix, which keeps the capacitor leakage current at ideally low values comparable for those of amorphous thin film capacitors.

Multi-layer MOS capacitor based polarization insensitive electro-optic intensity modulator.

PubMed

Qiu, Xiaoming; Ruan, Xiaoke; Li, Yanping; Zhang, Fan

2018-05-28

In this study, a multi-layer metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitor (MLMOSC) polarization insensitive modulator is proposed. The design is validated by numerical simulation with commercial software LUMERICAL SOLUTION. Based on the epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) effect of indium tin oxide (ITO), the device manages to uniformly modulate both the transverse electric (TE) and the transverse magnetic (TM) modes. With a 20μm-long double-layer metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitor (DLMOSC) polarization insensitive modulator, in which two metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) structures are formed by the n-doped Si/HfO 2 /ITO/HfO 2 / n-doped Si stack, the extinction ratios (ERs) of both the TE and the TM modes can be over 20dB. The polarization dependent losses of the device can be as low as 0.05dB for the "OFF" state and 0.004dB for the "ON" state. Within 1dB polarization dependent loss, the device can operate with over 20dB ERs at the S, C, and L bands. The polarization insensitive modulator offers various merits including ultra-compact size, broadband spectrum, and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) compatibility.

High Energy Density and High Temperature Multilayer Capacitor Films for Electric Vehicle Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Treufeld, Imre; Song, Michelle; Zhu, Lei; Baer, Eric; Snyder, Joe; Langhe, Deepak

2015-03-01

Multilayer films (MLFs) with high energy density and high temperature capability (>120 °C) have been developed at Case Western Reserve University. Such films offer a potential solution for electric car DC-link capacitors, where high ripple currents and high temperature tolerance are required. The current state-of-the-art capacitors used in electric cars for converting DC to AC use biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP), which can only operate at temperatures up to 85 °C requiring an external cooling system. The polycarbonate (PC)/poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) MLFs have a higher permittivity compared to that of BOPP (2.3), leading to higher energy density. They have good mechanical stability and reasonably low dielectric losses at 120 °C. Nonetheless, our preliminary dielectric measurements show that the MLFs exhibit appreciable dielectric losses (20%) at 120 °C, which would, despite all the other advantages, make them not suitable for practical applications. Our preliminary data showed that dielectric losses of the MLFs at 120 °C up to 400 MV/m and 1000 Hz originate mostly from impurity ionic conduction. This work is supported by the NSF PFI/BIC Program (IIP-1237708).

Dynamic temperature response of electrocaloric multilayer capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwon, Beomjin; Roh, Im-Jun; Baek, Seung-Hyub; Keun Kim, Seong; Kim, Jin-Sang; Kang, Chong-Yun

2014-05-01

We measure and model the dynamic temperature response of electrocaloric (EC) multilayer capacitors (MLCs) which have been recently highlighted as novel solid-state refrigerators. The MLC temperature responses depend on the operation voltage waveform, thus we consider three types of voltage waveforms, which include square, triangular, and trapezoidal. Further, to implement an effective refrigeration cycle, the waveform frequency and duty cycle should be carefully chosen. First, our model is fitted to the measurements to evaluate an effective EC power and thermal properties, and calculates an effective cooling power for an EC MLC. The prediction shows that for a MLC with a thermal relaxation time for cooling, trc, a square voltage waveform with a duty cycle of 0 < d ≤ 0.3 and a period of trc < P ≤ 1.4trc provides the maximum cooling power. This work will help to improve the implementing methods for EC refrigeration cycles.

Influence of residual thermal stresses and geometric parameters on stress and electric fields in multilayer ceramic capacitors under electric bias

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Wu-Gui; Feng, Xi-Qiao; Nan, Ce-Wen

2008-07-01

The stress and electric fields in multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) under an applied electric bias were investigated by using a three-dimensional finite element model of ferroelectric ceramics. A coupled thermal-mechanical analysis was first made to calculate the residual thermal stress induced by the sintering process, and then a coupled electrical-mechanical analysis was performed to predict the total stress distribution in the MLCCs under a representative applied electric bias. The effects of the number of dielectric layers, the single layer thickness as well as the residual thermal stresses on the total stresses were all examined. The numerical results show that the residual thermal stress induced by the sintering process has a significant influence on the contribution of the total stresses and, therefore, should be taken into account in the design and evaluation of MLCC devices.

Evaluation of Case Size 0603 BME Ceramic Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teverovsky, Alexander A.

2015-01-01

High volumetric efficiency of commercial base metal electrode (BME) ceramic capacitors allows for a substantial reduction of weight and sizes of the parts compared to currently used military grade precious metal electrode (PME) capacitors. Insertion of BME capacitors in space applications requires a thorough analysis of their performance and reliability. In this work, six types of cases size 0603 BME capacitors from three vendors have been evaluated. Three types of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) were designed for automotive industry and three types for general purposes. Leakage currents in the capacitors have been measured in a wide range of voltages and temperatures, and measurements of breakdown voltages (VBR) have been used to assess the proportion and severity of defects in the parts. The effect of soldering-related thermal shock stresses was evaluated by analysis of distributions of VBR for parts in 'as is' condition and after terminal solder dip testing at 350 C. Highly Accelerated Life Testing (HALT) at different temperatures was used to assess the activation energy of degradation of leakage currents and predict behavior of the parts at life test and normal operating conditions. To address issues related to rework and manual soldering, capacitors were soldered onto different substrates at different soldering conditions. The results show that contrary to a common assumption that large-size capacitors are mostly vulnerable to soldering stresses, cracking in small size capacitors does happen unless special measures are taken during assembly processes.

The Significance of Breakdown Voltages for Quality Assurance of Low-Voltage BME Ceramic Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teverovsky, Alexander A.

2014-01-01

Application of thin dielectric, base metal electrode (BME) ceramic capacitors for high-reliability applications requires development of testing procedures that can assure high quality and reliability of the parts. In this work, distributions of breakdown voltages (VBR) in variety of low-voltage BME multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) have been measured and analyzed. It has been shown that analysis of the distributions can indicate the proportion of defective parts in the lot and significance of the defects. Variations of the distributions after solder dip testing allow for an assessment of the robustness of capacitors to soldering-related stresses. The drawbacks of the existing screening and qualification methods to reveal defects in high-value, low-voltage MLCCs and the importance of VBR measurements are discussed. Analysis has shown that due to a larger concentration of oxygen vacancies, defect-related degradation of the insulation resistance (IR) and failures are more likely in BME compared to the precious metal electrode (PME) capacitors.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhu, H. X.; Zhang, T.; Wang, R. X.

A nano-floating gate memory structure based on Ni nanocrystals (NCs) embedded HfO{sub x} film is deposited by means of radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. Microstructure investigations reveal that self-organized Ni-NCs with diameters of 4-8 nm are well dispersed in amorphous HfO{sub x} matrix. Pt/Ni-NCs embedded HfO{sub x}/Si/Ag capacitor structures exhibit voltage-dependent capacitance-voltage hysteresis, and a maximum flat-band voltage shift of 1.5 V, corresponding to a charge storage density of 6.0 × 10{sup 12} electrons/cm{sup 2}, is achieved. These capacitor memory cells exhibit good endurance characteristic up to 4 × 10{sup 4} cycles and excellent retention performance of 10{sup 5} s, fulfilling themore » requirements of next generation non-volatile memory devices. Schottky tunneling is proven to be responsible for electrons tunneling in these capacitors.« less

Self-assembled graphene/azo polyelectrolyte multilayer film and its application in electrochemical energy storage device.

PubMed

Wang, Dongrui; Wang, Xiaogong

2011-03-01

Graphene/azo polyelectrolyte multilayer films were fabricated through electrostatic layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly, and their performance as electrochemical capacitor electrode was investigated. Cationic azo polyelectrolyte (QP4VP-co-PCN) was synthesized through radical polymerization, postpolymerization azo coupling reaction, and quaternization. Negatively charged graphene nanosheets were prepared by a chemically modified method. The LbL films were obtained by alternately dipping a piece of the pretreated substrates in the QP4VP-co-PCN and nanosheet solutions. The processes were repeated until the films with required numbers of bilayers were obtained. The self-assembly and multilayer surface morphology were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, AFM, SEM, and TEM. The performance of the LbL films as electrochemical capacitor electrode was estimated using cyclic voltammetry. Results show that the graphene nanosheets are densely packed in the multilayers and form random graphene network. The azo polyelectrolyte cohesively interacts with the nanosheets in the multilayer structure, which prevents agglomeration of graphene nanosheets. The sheet resistance of the LbL films decreases with the increase of the layer numbers and reaches the stationary value of 1.0 × 10(6) Ω/square for the film with 15 bilayers. At a scanning rate of 50 mV/s, the LbL film with 9 bilayers shows a gravimetric specific capacitance of 49 F/g in 1.0 M Na(2)SO(4) solution. The LbL films developed in this work could be a promising type of the electrode materials for electric energy storage devices.

Failure Modes in Capacitors When Tested Under a Time-Varying Stress

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, David (Donhang)

2011-01-01

Steady step surge testing (SSST) is widely applied to screen out potential power-on failures in solid tantalum capacitors. The test simulates the power supply's on and off characteristics. Power-on failure has been the prevalent failure mechanism for solid tantalum capacitors for decoupling applications. On the other hand, the SSST can also be reviewed as an electrically destructive test under a time-varying stress. It consists of rapidly charging the capacitor with incremental voltage increases, through a low resistance in series, until the capacitor under test is electrically shorted. Highly accelerated life testing (HALT) is usually a time-efficient method for determining the failure mechanism in capacitors; however, a destructive test under a time-varying stress like SSST is even more effective. It normally takes days to complete a HALT test, but it only takes minutes for a time-varying stress test to produce failures. The advantage of incorporating specific time-varying stress into a statistical model is significant in providing an alternative life test method for quickly revealing the failure modes in capacitors. In this paper, a time-varying stress has been incorporated into the Weibull model to characterize the failure modes. The SSST circuit and transient conditions to correctly test the capacitors is discussed. Finally, the SSST was applied for testing polymer aluminum capacitors (PA capacitors), Ta capacitors, and multi-layer ceramic capacitors with both precious metal electrode (PME) and base-metal-electrodes (BME). It appears that testing results are directly associated to the dielectric layer breakdown in PA and Ta capacitors and are independent on the capacitor values, the way the capacitors being built, and the manufactures. The testing results also reveal that ceramic capacitors exhibit breakdown voltages more than 20 times the rated voltage, and the breakdown voltages are inverse proportional to the dielectric layer thickness. The possibility of ceramic capacitors in front-end decoupling applications to block the surge noise from a power supply is also discussed.

Reliability Evaluation of Base-Metal-Electrode (BME) Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors for Space Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, David (Donghang)

2011-01-01

This paper reports reliability evaluation of BME ceramic capacitors for possible high reliability space-level applications. The study is focused on the construction and microstructure of BME capacitors and their impacts on the capacitor life reliability. First, the examinations of the construction and microstructure of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) BME capacitors show great variance in dielectric layer thickness, even among BME capacitors with the same rated voltage. Compared to PME (precious-metal-electrode) capacitors, BME capacitors exhibit a denser and more uniform microstructure, with an average grain size between 0.3 and approximately 0.5 micrometers, which is much less than that of most PME capacitors. The primary reasons that a BME capacitor can be fabricated with more internal electrode layers and less dielectric layer thickness is that it has a fine-grained microstructure and does not shrink much during ceramic sintering. This results in the BME capacitors a very high volumetric efficiency. The reliability of BME and PME capacitors was investigated using highly accelerated life testing (HALT) and regular life testing as per MIL-PRF-123. Most BME capacitors were found to fail· with an early dielectric wearout, followed by a rapid wearout failure mode during the HALT test. When most of the early wearout failures were removed, BME capacitors exhibited a minimum mean time-to-failure of more than 10(exp 5) years. Dielectric thickness was found to be a critical parameter for the reliability of BME capacitors. The number of stacked grains in a dielectric layer appears to play a significant role in determining BME capacitor reliability. Although dielectric layer thickness varies for a given rated voltage in BME capacitors, the number of stacked grains is relatively consistent, typically between 10 and 20. This may suggest that the number of grains per dielectric layer is more critical than the thickness itself for determining the rated voltage and the life expectancy of the BME capacitor. Since BME capacitors have a much smaller grain size than PME capacitors, it is reasonable to predict that BME capacitors with thinner dielectric layers may have an equivalent life expectancy to that of PME capacitors with thicker dielectric layers.

Soft-matter capacitors and inductors for hyperelastic strain sensing and stretchable electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fassler, A.; Majidi, C.

2013-05-01

We introduce a family of soft-matter capacitors and inductors composed of microchannels of liquid-phase gallium-indium-tin alloy (galinstan) embedded in a soft silicone elastomer (Ecoflex® 00-30). In contrast to conventional (rigid) electronics, these circuit elements remain electronically functional even when stretched to several times their natural length. As the surrounding elastomer stretches, the capacitance and inductance of the embedded liquid channels change monotonically. Using a custom-built loading apparatus, we experimentally measure relative changes in capacitance and inductance as a function of stretch in three directions. These experimental relationships are consistent with theoretical predictions that we derive with finite elasticity kinematics.

Thermally tunable VO2-SiO2 nanocomposite thin-film capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Yifei; Narayanachari, K. V. L. V.; Wan, Chenghao; Sun, Xing; Wang, Haiyan; Cooley, Kayla A.; Mohney, Suzanne E.; White, Doug; Duwel, Amy; Kats, Mikhail A.; Ramanathan, Shriram

2018-03-01

We present a study of co-sputtered VO2-SiO2 nanocomposite dielectric thin-film media possessing continuous temperature tunability of the dielectric constant. The smooth thermal tunability is a result of the insulator-metal transition in the VO2 inclusions dispersed within an insulating matrix. We present a detailed comparison of the dielectric characteristics of this nanocomposite with those of a VO2 control layer and of VO2/SiO2 laminate multilayers of comparable overall thickness. We demonstrated a nanocomposite capacitor that has a thermal capacitance tunability of ˜60% between 25 °C and 100 °C at 1 MHz, with low leakage current. Such thermally tunable capacitors could find potential use in applications such as sensing, thermal cloaks, and phase-change energy storage devices.

Failure Modes in Capacitors When Tested Under a Time-Varying Stress

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, David (Donhang)

2011-01-01

Power-on failure has been the prevalent failure mechanism for solid tantalum capacitors in decoupling applications. A surge step stress test (SSST) has been previously applied to identify the critical stress level of a capacitor batch to give some predictability to the power-on failure mechanism [1]. But SSST can also be viewed as an electrically destructive test under a time-varying stress (voltage). It consists of rapidly charging the capacitor with incremental voltage increases, through a low resistance in series, until the capacitor under test is electrically shorted. When the reliability of capacitors is evaluated, a highly accelerated life test (HALT) is usually adopted since it is a time-efficient method of determining the failure mechanism; however, a destructive test under a time-varying stress such as SSST is even more time efficient. It usually takes days or weeks to complete a HALT test, but it only takes minutes for a time-varying stress test to produce failures. The advantage of incorporating a specific time-varying stress profile into a statistical model is significant in providing an alternative life test method for quickly revealing the failure mechanism in capacitors. In this paper, a time-varying stress that mimics a typical SSST has been incorporated into the Weibull model to characterize the failure mechanism in different types of capacitors. The SSST circuit and transient conditions for correctly surge testing capacitors are discussed. Finally, the SSST was applied for testing Ta capacitors, polymer aluminum capacitors (PA capacitors), and multi-layer ceramic (MLC) capacitors with both precious metal electrodes (PME) and base metal electrodes (BME). The test results are found to be directly associated with the dielectric layer breakdown in Ta and PA capacitors and are independent of the capacitor values, the way the capacitors were built, and the capacitors manufacturers. The test results also show that MLC capacitors exhibit surge breakdown voltages much higher than the rated voltage and that the breakdown field is inversely proportional to the dielectric layer thickness. The SSST data can also be used to comparatively evaluate the voltage robustness of capacitors for decoupling applications.

Hydrothermal Barium Titanate Thin-Film Characteristics and their Suitability as Decoupling Capacitors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Raj, P. Markondeya; Lee, Baik-Woo; Kang, Nam-Kee

System integration and miniaturization demands are driving integrated thin film capacitor technologies towards ultrahigh capacitance densities for noise-free power supply, power conversion and efficient power management. Hydrothermal route can deposit crystalline ferroelectric films at low temperatures of less than 150 C. It is hence an attractive route for integrating high permittivity thin film capacitors on organic, silicon or flex substrates. However, hydrothermal films are not commercialized so far because of their inferior insulation characteristics. Embedded hydroxyl groups are attributed to be the cause for high leakage currents, temperature dependent properties and lower Breakdown Voltages (BDVs). This paper discusses the dielectricmore » characteristics such as capacitance density, leakage currents and Temperature Coefficient of Capacitance (TCC) of hydrothermal barium titanate films and correlates them to the embedded water and OH groups, film morphology, stoichiometry and crystallinity. With thermal treatment, majority of the OH groups can be removed leading to improved insulation characteristics. The room temperature I-V characteristics agreed with ionic conduction models for films baked at 160 C while higher baking temperatures of above 300 C resulted in Poole-Frenkel type conduction. A brief perspective is provided on the suitability of hydrothermal thin film capacitors for power supply applications.« less

Multilayered nano-architecture of variable sized graphene nanosheets for enhanced supercapacitor electrode performance.

PubMed

Biswas, Sanjib; Drzal, Lawrence T

2010-08-01

The diverse physical and chemical aspects of graphene nanosheets such as particle size surface area and edge chemistry were combined to fabricate a new supercapacitor electrode architecture consisting of a highly aligned network of large-sized nanosheets as a series of current collectors within a multilayer configuration of bulk electrode. Capillary driven self-assembly of monolayers of graphene nanosheets was employed to create a flexible, multilayer, free-standing film of highly hydrophobic nanosheets over large macroscopic areas. This nanoarchitecture exhibits a high-frequency capacitative response and a nearly rectangular cyclic voltammogram at 1000 mV/s scanning rate and possesses a rapid current response, small equivalent series resistance (ESR), and fast ionic diffusion for high-power electrical double-layer capacitor (EDLC) application.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Song, Hyun-Cheol; Zhou, Jie E.; Maurya, Deepam

Multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) are widely used in consumer electronics. In this paper, we provide a transformative method for achieving high dielectric response and tunability over a wide temperature range through design of compositionally graded multilayer (CGML) architecture. Compositionally graded MLCCs were found to exhibit enhanced dielectric tunability (70%) along with small dielectric losses (<2.5%) over the required temperature ranges specified in the standard industrial classifications. The compositional grading resulted in generation of internal bias field which enhanced the tunability due to increased nonlinearity. The electric field tunability of MLCCs provides an important avenue for design of miniature filters andmore » power converters.« less

High Frequency Analog LSI Development.

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-11-12

made to incorporate more optimal values through appropriate series or parallel connection of the four capacitors embedded on chip. The use of SPICE-2...collector of Q4 to about 50Q with some inductive reactance at the output. An external capacitor in series with the chip output serves as a DC block...by Under authority of CE Holland, Head CD Pierson, Jr, Head Advanced Applications Electronics Engineering Division and Sciences Department / f

Enhancement of electroluminescence from embedded Si quantum dots/SiO2multilayers film by localized-surface-plasmon and surface roughening.

PubMed

Li, Wei; Wang, Shaolei; Hu, Mingyue; He, Sufeng; Ge, Pengpeng; Wang, Jing; Guo, Yan Yan; Zhaowei, Liu

2015-07-03

In this paper, we prepared a novel structure to enhance the electroluminescence intensity from Si quantum dots/SiO2multilayers. An amorphous Si/SiO2 multilayer film was fabricated by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition on a Pt nanoparticle (NP)-coated Si nanopillar array substrate. By thermal annealing, an embedded Si quantum dot (QDs)/SiO2 multilayer film was obtained. The result shows that electroluminescence intensity was significantly enhanced. And, the turn-on voltage of the luminescent device was reduced to 3 V. The enhancement of the light emission is due to the resonance coupling between the localized-surface-plasmon (LSP) of Pt NPs and the band-gap emission of Si QDs/SiO2 multilayers. The other factors were the improved absorption of excitation light and the increase of light extraction ratio by surface roughening structures. These excellent characteristics are promising for silicon-based light-emitting applications.

Enhancement of electroluminescence from embedded Si quantum dots/SiO2multilayers film by localized-surface-plasmon and surface roughening

PubMed Central

Li, Wei; Wang, Shaolei; Hu, Mingyue; He, Sufeng; Ge, Pengpeng; Wang, Jing; Guo, Yan Yan; Zhaowei, Liu

2015-01-01

In this paper, we prepared a novel structure to enhance the electroluminescence intensity from Si quantum dots/SiO2multilayers. An amorphous Si/SiO2 multilayer film was fabricated by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition on a Pt nanoparticle (NP)-coated Si nanopillar array substrate. By thermal annealing, an embedded Si quantum dot (QDs)/SiO2 multilayer film was obtained. The result shows that electroluminescence intensity was significantly enhanced. And, the turn-on voltage of the luminescent device was reduced to 3 V. The enhancement of the light emission is due to the resonance coupling between the localized-surface-plasmon (LSP) of Pt NPs and the band-gap emission of Si QDs/SiO2 multilayers. The other factors were the improved absorption of excitation light and the increase of light extraction ratio by surface roughening structures. These excellent characteristics are promising for silicon-based light-emitting applications. PMID:26138830

Interfacial and electrical properties of InGaAs metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitor with TiON/TaON multilayer composite gate dielectric

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, L. S.; Xu, J. P.; Liu, L.; Lu, H. H.; Lai, P. T.; Tang, W. M.

2015-03-01

InGaAs metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors with composite gate dielectric consisting of Ti-based oxynitride (TiON)/Ta-based oxynitride (TaON) multilayer are fabricated by RF sputtering. The interfacial and electrical properties of the TiON/TaON/InGaAs and TaON/TiON/InGaAs MOS structures are investigated and compared. Experimental results show that the former exhibits lower interface-state density (1.0 × 1012 cm-2 eV-1 at midgap), smaller gate leakage current (9.5 × 10-5 A/cm2 at a gate voltage of 2 V), larger equivalent dielectric constant (19.8), and higher reliability under electrical stress than the latter. The involved mechanism lies in the fact that the ultrathin TaON interlayer deposited on the sulfur-passivated InGaAs surface can effectively reduce the defective states and thus unpin the Femi level at the TaON/InGaAs interface, improving the electrical properties of the device.

Active voltage contrast imaging of cross-sectional surface of multilayer ceramic capacitor using helium ion microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakai, C.; Ishida, N.; Masuda, H.; Nagano, S.; Kitahara, M.; Ogata, Y.; Fujita, D.

2016-08-01

We studied active voltage contrast (AVC) imaging using helium ion microscopy (HIM). We observed secondary electron (SE) images of the cross-sectional surface of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) with and without a voltage applied to the internal electrodes. When no voltage was applied, we obtained an image reflecting the material contrast between the Ni internal electrode region and the BaTiO3 dielectric region of the cross-sectional surface of the MLCC. When a voltage was applied, the electrical potential difference between the grounded and the positively biased internal electrodes affected the contrast (voltage contrast). Moreover, attenuation of the SE intensity from the grounded to the positively biased internal electrodes was observed in the dielectric region. Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) measurements of the contact potential difference (CPD) were performed on the same sample. By using the AVC image from the HIM observation and the CPD image from the KPFM measurement, we could quantitatively evaluate the electrical potential. We think that the results of this study will lead to an expansion in the number of applications of HIM.

Multilayer capacitor suitable for substrate integration and multimegahertz filtering

DOEpatents

Ngo, Khai D. T.

1990-01-01

A multilayer capacitor comprises stacked, spaced-apart electrodes of sheet form, dielectric layers between the electrodes, and first and second groups of spaced-apart conductive vias extending transversely of the sheet-form electrodes and through aligned holes in the dielectric layers. Alternate electrodes are instantaneously positive, and the remaining electrodes are instantaneously negative. Each via of the first group is electrically connected to the positive electrodes and passes insulatingly through the negative electrodes. Similarly, each via of the second group is electrically connected to the negative electrodes and passes insulatingly through the positive electrodes. Each via has, in the plane of the electrodes, a cross-sectional form in the shape of an elongated rib of greater length than width. The elongated ribs of the first group are disposed in a first plurality of rows with their lengths in spaced-apart, aligned relationship, and the ribs of the second group are disposed in a second plurality of rows with their lengths in spaced-apart, aligned relationship. The first plurality of rows is disposed substantially orthogonally with respect to the second plurality of rows.

Size Dependence of Residual Thermal Stresses in Micro Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors by Using Finite Element Unit Cell Model Including Strain Gradient Effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, W. G.; Xiong, C. A.; Wu, X. G.

2013-11-01

The residual thermal stresses induced by the high-temperature sintering process in multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) are investigated by using a finite-element unit cell model, in which the strain gradient effect is considered. The numerical results show that the residual thermal stresses depend on the lateral margin length, the thickness ratio of the dielectrics layer to the electrode layer, and the MLCC size. At a given thickness ratio, as the MLCC size is scaled down, the peak shear stress reduces significantly and the normal stresses along the length and thickness directions change slightly with the decrease in the ceramic layer thickness t d as t d > 1 μm, but as t d < 1 μm, the normal stress components increase sharply with the increase in t d. Thus, the residual thermal stresses induced by the sintering process exhibit strong size effects and, therefore, the strain gradient effect should be taken into account in the design and evaluation of MLCC devices

A highly active PtCu3 intermetallic core-shell, multilayered Pt-skin, carbon embedded electrocatalyst produced by a scale-up sol-gel synthesis.

PubMed

Bele, M; Jovanovič, P; Pavlišič, A; Jozinović, B; Zorko, M; Rečnik, A; Chernyshova, E; Hočevar, S; Hodnik, N; Gaberšček, M

2014-11-07

We present a novel, scaled-up sol-gel synthesis which enables one to produce 20 g batches of highly active and stable carbon supported PtCu3 nanoparticles as cathode materials for low temperature fuel cell application. We confirm the presence of an ordered intermetallic phase underneath a multilayered Pt-skin together with firm embedment of nanoparticles in the carbon matrix.

Copper drift in high-dielectric-constant tantalum oxide thin films under bias temperature stress

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jain, Pushkar; Juneja, Jasbir S.; Mallikarjunan, A.; Rymaszewski, E. J.; Lu, T.-M.

2006-04-01

The use of high-dielectric-constant (high-κ) materials for embedded capacitors is becoming increasingly important. Tantalum oxide (Ta2O5) is a prominent candidate as a high-κ material for embedded capacitor use. Metal drift in Ta2O5 (κ˜25) was investigated by bias temperature stress and triangular voltage sweep testing techniques on metal/Ta2O5/SiO2/Si structures. At a temperature of 300°C and 0.75MV/cm bias conditions, Al, Ta, and Ti do not diffuse in Ta2O5, but Cu clearly showed a drift. The Cu drift is attributed to the lack of a stable Cu oxide which can limit Cu ion generation and penetration.

Insulation Resistance and Leakage Currents in Low-Voltage Ceramic Capacitors with Cracks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teverovsky, Alexander A.

2014-01-01

Measurement of insulation resistance (IR) in multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) is considered a screening technique that ensures the dielectric is defect-free. This work analyzes the effectiveness of this technique for revealing cracks in ceramic capacitors. It is shown that absorption currents prevail over the intrinsic leakage currents during standard IR measurements at room temperature. Absorption currents, and consequently IR, have a weak temperature dependence, increase linearly with voltage (before saturation), and are not sensitive to the presence of mechanical defects. In contrary, intrinsic leakage currents increase super-linearly with voltage and exponentially with temperature (activation energy is in the range from 0.6 eV to 1.1 eV). Leakage currents associated with the presence of cracks have a weaker dependence on temperature and voltage compared to the intrinsic leakage currents. For this reason, intrinsic leakage currents prevail at high temperatures and voltages, thus masking the presence of defects.

Insulation Resistance and Leakage Currents in Low-Voltage Ceramic Capacitors with Cracks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teverovsky, Alexander A.

2016-01-01

Measurement of insulation resistance (IR) in multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) is considered a screening technique that ensures the dielectric is defect-free. This work analyzes the effectiveness of this technique for revealing cracks in ceramic capacitors. It is shown that absorption currents prevail over the intrinsic leakage currents during standard IR measurements at room temperature. Absorption currents, and consequently IR, have a weak temperature dependence, increase linearly with voltage (before saturation), and are not sensitive to the presence of mechanical defects. In contrary, intrinsic leakage currents increase super-linearly with voltage and exponentially with temperature (activation energy is in the range from 0.6 eV to 1.1 eV). Leakage currents associated with the presence of cracks have a weaker dependence on temperature and voltage compared to the intrinsic leakage currents. For this reason, intrinsic leakage currents prevail at high temperatures and voltages, thus masking the presence of defects.

Preparation of TiO2/boron-doped diamond/Ta multilayer films and use as electrode materials for supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Chao; Li, Hongji; Li, Cuiping; Li, Mingji; Qu, Changqing; Yang, Baohe

2015-12-01

We report nanostructured TiO2/boron-doped diamond (BDD)/Ta multilayer films and their electrochemical performances as supercapacitor electrodes. The BDD films were grown on Ta substrates using electron-assisted hot filament chemical vapor deposition. Ti metal layers were deposited on the BDD surfaces by radio frequency magnetron sputtering, and nanostructured TiO2/BDD/Ta thin films were prepared by electrochemical etching and thermal annealing. The successful formation of TiO2 and Ta layered nanostructures was demonstrated using scanning electron and transmission electron microscopies. The electrochemical responses of these electrodes were evaluated by examining their use as electrical double-layer capacitors, using cyclic voltammetry, and galvanostatic charge/discharge and impedance measurements. When the TiO2/BDD/Ta film was used as the working electrode with 0.1 M Na2SO4 as the electrolyte, the capacitor had a specific capacitance of 5.23 mF cm-2 at a scan rate of 5 mV s-1 for a B/C ratio of 0.1% w/w. Furthermore, the TiO2/BDD/Ta film had improved electrochemical stability, with a retention of 89.3% after 500 cycles. This electrochemical behavior is attributed to the quality of the BDD, the surface roughness and electrocatalytic activities of the TiO2 layer and Ta nanoporous structures, and the synergies between them. These results show that TiO2/BDD/Ta films are promising as capacitor electrodes for special applications.

Physical and Electrical Characterization of Aluminum Polymer Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, David (Donghang)

2010-01-01

Conductive polymer aluminum capacitor (PA capacitor) is an evolution of traditional wet electrolyte aluminum capacitors by replacing liquid electrolyte with a solid, highly conductive polymer. On the other hand, the cathode construction in polymer aluminum capacitors with coating of carbon and silver epoxy for terminal connection is more like a combination of the technique that solid tantalum capacitor utilizes. This evolution and combination result in the development of several competing capacitor construction technologies in manufacturing polymer aluminum capacitors. The driving force of this research on characterization of polymer aluminum capacitors is the rapid progress in IC technology. With the microprocessor speeds exceeding a gigahertz and CPU current demands of 80 amps and more, the demand for capacitors with higher peak current and faster repetition rates bring conducting polymer capacitors to the center o( focus. This is because this type of capacitors has been known for its ultra-low ESR and high capacitance. Polymer aluminum capacitors from several manufacturers with various combinations of capacitance, rated voltage, and ESR values were obtained and tested. The construction analysis of the capacitors revealed three different constructions: conventional rolled foil, the multilayer stacking V-shape, and a dual-layer sandwich structure. The capacitor structure and its impact on the electrical characteristics has been revealed and evaluated. A destructive test with massive current over stress to fail the polymer aluminum capacitors reveals that all polymer aluminum capacitors failed in a benign mode without ignition, combustion, or any other catastrophic failures. The extraordinary low ESR (as low as 3 mOMEGA), superior frequency independence reported for polymer aluminum capacitors have been confirmed. For the applications of polymer aluminum capacitors in space programs, a thermal vacuum cycle test was performed. The results, as expected, show no impact on the electrical characteristics of the capacitors. The breakdown voltage of polymer capacitors has been evaluated using a steady step surge test. Initial results show the uniform distribution in the breakdown voltage for polymer aluminum capacitors. Polymer aluminum capacitors with a combination of very high capacitance, extraordinary low ESR, excellent frequency stability, and non-ignite benign failure mode make it a niche fit in space applications for both today and future. Polymer capacitors are apparently also the best substitutes of the currently used MnO2-based tantalum capacitors in the low voltage range. However, some critical aspects are still to be addressed in the next phase of the investigation for PA capacitors. These include the long term reliability test of 125 C dry life and 85 C/85%RH humidity, the failure mechanism and de-rating, the radiation tolerance, and the high temperature performance. All of the above requires the continuous NEPP funding and support.

Piezoelectric and Electrostrictive Materials for Transducer Applications.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-05-01

Engineering, May 1984. "Characteristics of Japanese Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors" Kevin Dietz B.S. Ceramic Science and Engineering, May 1984. "Leucite...Proer es." Waer Res Bull. I 8) 1007-19 � ,’ Kimura. K Dot. S Nanam . and T Kawamura. ’A New Pietoeiectntc ’k E. Newntuam. 0 P Skinner. and L. E

Surface modification of titanium substrates with silver nanoparticles embedded sulfhydrylated chitosan/gelatin polyelectrolyte multilayer films for antibacterial application.

PubMed

Li, Wen; Xu, Dawei; Hu, Yan; Cai, Kaiyong; Lin, Yingcheng

2014-06-01

To develop Ti implants with potent antibacterial activity, a novel "sandwich-type" structure of sulfhydrylated chitosan (Chi-SH)/gelatin (Gel) polyelectrolyte multilayer films embedding silver (Ag) nanoparticles was coated onto titanium substrate using a spin-assisted layer-by-layer assembly technique. Ag ions would be enriched in the polyelectrolyte multilayer films via the specific interactions between Ag ions and -HS groups in Chi-HS, thus leading to the formation of Ag nanoparticles in situ by photo-catalytic reaction (ultraviolet irradiation). Contact angle measurement and field emission scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were employed to monitor the construction of Ag-containing multilayer on titanium surface, respectively. The functional multilayered films on titanium substrate [Ti/PEI/(Gel/Chi-SH/Ag) n /Gel] could efficiently inhibit the growth and activity of Bacillus subtitles and Escherichia coli onto titanium surface. Moreover, studies in vitro confirmed that Ti substrates coating with functional multilayer films remained the biological functions of osteoblasts, which was reflected by cell morphology, cell viability and ALP activity measurements. This study provides a simple, versatile and generalized methodology to design functional titanium implants with good cyto-compatibility and antibacterial activity for potential clinical applications.

Thin Film Multilayer Conductor/Ferroelectric Tunable Microwave Components for Communication Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miranda, Felix A.; Romanofsky, Robert R.; VanKeuls, Frederick W.; Mueller, Carl H.; Treece, Randolph E.; Rivkin, Tania V.

1997-01-01

High Temperature Superconductor/Ferroelectric (HTS/FE ) thin film multilayered structures deposited onto dielectric substrates are currently being investigated for use in low loss, tunable microwave components for satellite and ground based communications. The main goal for this technology is to achieve maximum tunability while keeping the microwave losses as low as possible, so as to avoid performance degradation when replacing conventional technology (e.g., filters and oscillators) with HTS/FE components. Therefore, for HTS/FE components to be successfully integrated into current working systems, full optimization of the material and electrical properties of the ferroelectric films, without degrading those of the HTS film; is required. Hence, aspects such as the appropriate type of ferroelectric and optimization of the deposition conditions (e.g., deposition temperature) should be carefully considered. The tunability range as well as the microwave losses of the desired varactor (i.e., tunable component) are also dependent on the geometry chosen (e.g., parallel plate capacitor, interdigital capacitor, coplanar waveguide, etc.). In addition, the performance of the circuit is dependent on the location of the varactor in the circuit and the biasing circuitry. In this paper, we will present our results on the study of the SrTiO3/YBa2Cu3O(7-delta)/LaAl03 (STO/YBCO/LAO) and the Ba(x)Sr(1-x)TiO3/YBa2Cu3O(7-delta)/LaAl03(BSTO/YBCO/ILAO) HTS/FE multilayered structures. We have observed that the amount of variation of the dielectric constant upon the application of a dc electric field is closely related to the microstructure of the film. The largest tuning of the STO/YBCO/LAO structure corresponded to single-phased, epitaxial STO films deposited at 800 C and with a thickness of 500 nm. Higher temperatures resulted in interfacial degradation and poor film quality, while lower deposition temperatures resulted in films with lower dielectric constants, lower tunabilities, and higher losses. For STO/LAO multilayer structures having STO film of similar quality we have observed that interdigital capacitor configurations allow for higher tunabilities and lower losses than parallel plate configurations, but required higher dc voltage. Results on the use of these geometries in working microwave components such as filters and stabilizing resonators for local oscillators (LO) will be discussed.

A new method for achieving enhanced dielectric response over a wide temperature range

DOE PAGES

Maurya, Deepam; Sun, Fu -Chang; Pamir Alpay, S.; ...

2015-10-19

We report a novel approach for achieving high dielectric response over a wide temperature range. In this approach, multilayer ceramic heterostructures with constituent compositions having strategically tuned Curie points (TC) were designed and integrated with varying electrical connectivity. Interestingly, these multilayer structures exhibited different dielectric behavior in series and parallel configuration due to variations in electrical boundary conditions resulting in the differences in the strength of the electrostatic coupling. The results are explained using nonlinear thermodynamic model taking into account electrostatic interlayer interaction. We believe that present work will have huge significance in design of high performance ceramic capacitors.

A new method for achieving enhanced dielectric response over a wide temperature range

PubMed Central

Maurya, Deepam; Sun, Fu-Chang; Pamir Alpay, S.; Priya, Shashank

2015-01-01

We report a novel approach for achieving high dielectric response over a wide temperature range. In this approach, multilayer ceramic heterostructures with constituent compositions having strategically tuned Curie points (TC) were designed and integrated with varying electrical connectivity. Interestingly, these multilayer structures exhibited different dielectric behavior in series and parallel configuration due to variations in electrical boundary conditions resulting in the differences in the strength of the electrostatic coupling. The results are explained using nonlinear thermodynamic model taking into account electrostatic interlayer interaction. We believe that present work will have huge significance in design of high performance ceramic capacitors. PMID:26477391

Reliability Evaluation of Base-Metal-Electrode Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors for Potential Space Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, David (Donhang); Sampson, Michael J.

2011-01-01

Base-metal-electrode (BME) ceramic capacitors are being investigated for possible use in high-reliability spacelevel applications. This paper focuses on how BME capacitors construction and microstructure affects their lifetime and reliability. Examination of the construction and microstructure of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) BME capacitors reveals great variance in dielectric layer thickness, even among BME capacitors with the same rated voltage. Compared to PME (precious-metal-electrode) capacitors, BME capacitors exhibit a denser and more uniform microstructure, with an average grain size between 0.3 and 0.5 m, which is much less than that of most PME capacitors. BME capacitors can be fabricated with more internal electrode layers and thinner dielectric layers than PME capacitors because they have a fine-grained microstructure and do not shrink much during ceramic sintering. This makes it possible for BME capacitors to achieve a very high capacitance volumetric efficiency. The reliability of BME and PME capacitors was investigated using highly accelerated life testing (HALT). Most BME capacitors were found to fail with an early avalanche breakdown, followed by a regular dielectric wearout failure during the HALT test. When most of the early failures, characterized with avalanche breakdown, were removed, BME capacitors exhibited a minimum mean time-to-failure (MTTF) of more than 105 years at room temperature and rated voltage. Dielectric thickness was found to be a critical parameter for the reliability of BME capacitors. The number of stacked grains in a dielectric layer appears to play a significant role in determining BME capacitor reliability. Although dielectric layer thickness varies for a given rated voltage in BME capacitors, the number of stacked grains is relatively consistent, typically around 12 for a number of BME capacitors with a rated voltage of 25V. This may suggest that the number of grains per dielectric layer is more critical than the thickness itself for determining the rated voltage and the life expectancy of the BME capacitor. The leakage current characterization and the failure analysis results suggest that most of these early avalanche failures are due to the extrinsic minor construction defects introduced during fabrication of BME capacitors. The concentration of the extrinsic defects must be reduced if the BME capacitors are considered for high reliability applications. There are two approaches that can reduce or prevent the occurrence of early failure in BME capacitors: (1) to reduce the defect concentration with improved processing control; (2) to prevent the use of BME capacitors under harsh external stress levels so that the extrinsic defects will never be triggered for a failure. In order to do so appropriate dielectric layer thickness must be determined for a given rated voltage.

Mechanical Testing of MLCCs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teverovsky, Alexander A.

2016-01-01

Cracking of multilayer ceramic capacitors, MLCCs, remains a serious problem for space systems. This problem increases substantially for large size capacitors and in cases when manual soldering is involved or the system experiences mechanical shock or vibration. In any case, a fracture occurs when the sum of external and internal mechanical stresses exceeds the strength of the part. To reduce the probability of cracking, the level of stress should be reduced, e.g. by optimizing the assembly workmanship and rules for board design, and the strength of the parts increased by selecting the most mechanically robust capacitors. The latter might possibly be achieved by selecting MLCCs based on the in-situ measurements of mechanical characteristics using four types of tests: flexural strength, hardness, fracture toughness, and flex bend testing. Note that military specifications MIL-PRF-123 and MIL-PRF-55681 do not have requirements for mechanical testing of the parts. However, specifications for automotive industry components employ two types of mechanical tests: beam load (break strength) test per AEC-Q200-003 and board flex test per AEC-Q200-005. A recent military specification for thin dielectric capacitors, MIL-PRF-32535, has one mechanical test, board flex testing, that is similar to AEC-Q200-005. The purpose of this report was assessment of the efficiency of different mechanical tests for selection robust capacitors and comparison of mechanical characteristics of Base Metal Electrode (BME) and Precious Metal Electrode (PME) capacitors. The report has three parts related to the first three mechanical tests mentioned above.

Active voltage contrast imaging of cross-sectional surface of multilayer ceramic capacitor using helium ion microscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sakai, C., E-mail: SAKAI.Chikako@nims.go.jp; Ishida, N.; Masuda, H.

2016-08-01

We studied active voltage contrast (AVC) imaging using helium ion microscopy (HIM). We observed secondary electron (SE) images of the cross-sectional surface of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) with and without a voltage applied to the internal electrodes. When no voltage was applied, we obtained an image reflecting the material contrast between the Ni internal electrode region and the BaTiO{sub 3} dielectric region of the cross-sectional surface of the MLCC. When a voltage was applied, the electrical potential difference between the grounded and the positively biased internal electrodes affected the contrast (voltage contrast). Moreover, attenuation of the SE intensity from themore » grounded to the positively biased internal electrodes was observed in the dielectric region. Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) measurements of the contact potential difference (CPD) were performed on the same sample. By using the AVC image from the HIM observation and the CPD image from the KPFM measurement, we could quantitatively evaluate the electrical potential. We think that the results of this study will lead to an expansion in the number of applications of HIM.« less

Effect of Inner Electrode on Reliability of (Zn,Mg)TiO3-Based Multilayer Ceramic Capacitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Wen‑His; Su, Chi‑Yi; Lee, Ying Chieh; Yang, Jackey; Yang, Tong; PinLin, Shih

2006-07-01

In this study, different proportions of silver-palladium alloy acting as the inner electrode were adopted to a (Zn,Mg)TiO3-based multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) sintered at 925 °C for 2 h to evaluate the effect of the inner electrode on reliability. The main results show that the lifetime is inversely proportional to Ag content in the Pd/Ag inner electrode. Ag+1 diffusion into the (Zn,Mg)TiO3-based MLCC during cofiring at 925 °C for 2 h and Ag+1 migration at 140 °C against 200 V are both responsible for the short lifetime of the (Zn,Mg)TiO3-based MLCC, particularly the latter factor. A (Zn,Mg)TiO3-based MLCC with high Ag content in the inner electrode Ag/Pd=99/01 exhibits the shortest lifetime (13 h), and the effect of Ag+1 migration is markedly enhanced when the activation energy of the (Zn,Mg)TiO3 dielectric is greatly lowered due to the excessive formation of oxygen vacancies and the semiconducting Zn2TiO4 phase when Ag+ substitutes for Zn+2 during co-firing.

Electrochemical properties for high surface area and improved electrical conductivity of platinum-embedded porous carbon nanofibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

An, Geon-Hyoung; Ahn, Hyo-Jin; Hong, Woong-Ki

2015-01-01

Four different types of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) for electrical double-layer capacitors (EDLCs), porous and non-porous CNFs with and without Pt metal nanoparticles, are synthesized by an electrospinning method and their performance in electrical double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) is characterized. In particular, the Pt-embedded porous CNFs (PCNFs) exhibit a high specific surface area of 670 m2 g-1, a large mesopore volume of 55.7%, and a low electrical resistance of 1.7 × 103. The synergistic effects of the high specific surface area with a large mesopore volume, and superior electrical conductivity result in an excellent specific capacitance of 130.2 F g-1, a good high-rate performance, superior cycling durability, and high energy density of 16.9-15.4 W h kg-1 for the performance of EDLCs.

Preparation and properties of sol-gel derived PZT thin films for decoupling capacitor applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwartz, R. W.; Dimos, D.; Lockwood, S. J.; Torres, V. M.

The use of ceramic thin films as decoupling capacitors offers the possibility of capacitor integration within the integrated circuit (IC) package and, potentially, directly onto the IC itself. Since these configurations minimize series inductance, higher operational speeds are possible. In the present study, the authors have investigated the dielectric and leakage characteristics of sol-gel PZT films. For compositions near the morphotropic phase boundary, dielectric constants of 1000, and loss tangents of about 0.02, are observed. The current-voltage behavior of the capacitors is characterized by a non-linear response, and significant asymmetry in both the leakage and breakdown characteristics as a function of bias sign is observed. Breakdown fields for PZT 53/47 thin films are typically approximately 800 kV/cm at 25 C. The authors have also studied the effects of La and Nb dopant additions and alternate firing strategies on film leakage characteristics. Donor doping at 2 - 5 mol % lowers leakage currents by a factor of 10(exp 3). For films prepared by a multilayering approach, firing each layer to crystallization results in leakage currents that are a factor of 10(exp 2) lower than films prepared by the standard process.

Characteristics of the Energetic Igniters Through Integrating B/Ti Nano-Multilayers on TaN Film Bridge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, YiChao; Shi, Wei; Jiang, HongChuan; Cai, XianYao; Deng, XinWu; Xiong, Jie; Zhang, WanLi

2015-05-01

The energetic igniters through integrating B/Ti nano-multilayers on tantalum nitride (TaN) ignition bridge are designed and fabricated. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) results show that nitrogen content has a great influence on the crystalline structure and TCR. TaN films under nitrogen ratio of 0.99 % exhibit a near-zero TCR value of approximately 10 ppm/°C. The scanning electron microscopy demonstrates that the layered structure of the B/Ti multilayer films is clearly visible with sharp and smooth interfaces. The electrical explosion characteristics employing a capacitor discharge firing set at the optimized charging voltage of 45 V reveal an excellent explosion performance by (B/Ti) n /TaN integration film bridge with small ignition delay time, high explosion temperature, much more bright flash of light, and much large quantities of the ejected product particles than TaN film bridge.

Electrical and ferroelectric properties of RF sputtered PZT/SBN on silicon for non-volatile memory applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Prashant; Jha, Rajesh Kumar; Singh, Rajat Kumar; Singh, B. R.

2018-02-01

We report the integration of multilayer ferroelectric film deposited by RF magnetron sputtering and explore the electrical characteristics for its application as the gate of ferroelectric field effect transistor for non-volatile memories. PZT (Pb[Zr0.35Ti0.65]O3) and SBN (SrBi2Nb2O9) ferroelectric materials were selected for the stack fabrication due to their large polarization and fatigue free properties respectively. Electrical characterization has been carried out to obtain memory window, leakage current density, PUND and endurance characteristics. Fabricated multilayer ferroelectric film capacitor structure shows large memory window of 17.73 V and leakage current density of the order 10-6 A cm-2 for the voltage sweep of -30 to +30 V. This multilayer gate stack of PZT/SBN shows promising endurance property with no degradation in the remnant polarization for the read/write iteration cycles upto 108.

High speed transient sampler

DOEpatents

McEwan, T.E.

1995-11-28

A high speed sampler comprises a meandered sample transmission line for transmitting an input signal, a straight strobe transmission line for transmitting a strobe signal, and a plurality of sampling gates along the transmission lines. The sampling gates comprise a four terminal diode bridge having a first strobe resistor connected from a first terminal of the bridge to the positive strobe line, a second strobe resistor coupled from the third terminal of the bridge to the negative strobe line, a tap connected to the second terminal of the bridge and to the sample transmission line, and a sample holding capacitor connected to the fourth terminal of the bridge. The resistance of the first and second strobe resistors is much higher than the signal transmission line impedance in the preferred system. This results in a sampling gate which applies a very small load on the sample transmission line and on the strobe generator. The sample holding capacitor is implemented using a smaller capacitor and a larger capacitor isolated from the smaller capacitor by resistance. The high speed sampler of the present invention is also characterized by other optimizations, including transmission line tap compensation, stepped impedance strobe line, a multi-layer physical layout, and unique strobe generator design. A plurality of banks of such samplers are controlled for concatenated or interleaved sample intervals to achieve long sample lengths or short sample spacing. 17 figs.

High speed transient sampler

DOEpatents

McEwan, Thomas E.

1995-01-01

A high speed sampler comprises a meandered sample transmission line for transmitting an input signal, a straight strobe transmission line for transmitting a strobe signal, and a plurality of sampling gates along the transmission lines. The sampling gates comprise a four terminal diode bridge having a first strobe resistor connected from a first terminal of the bridge to the positive strobe line, a second strobe resistor coupled from the third terminal of the bridge to the negative strobe line, a tap connected to the second terminal of the bridge and to the sample transmission line, and a sample holding capacitor connected to the fourth terminal of the bridge. The resistance of the first and second strobe resistors is much higher than the signal transmission line impedance in the preferred system. This results in a sampling gate which applies a very small load on the sample transmission line and on the strobe generator. The sample holding capacitor is implemented using a smaller capacitor and a larger capacitor isolated from the smaller capacitor by resistance. The high speed sampler of the present invention is also characterized by other optimizations, including transmission line tap compensation, stepped impedance strobe line, a multi-layer physical layout, and unique strobe generator design. A plurality of banks of such samplers are controlled for concatenated or interleaved sample intervals to achieve long sample lengths or short sample spacing.

Experimentally validated finite element model of electrocaloric multilayer ceramic structures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smith, N. A. S., E-mail: nadia.smith@npl.co.uk, E-mail: maciej.rokosz@npl.co.uk, E-mail: tatiana.correia@npl.co.uk; Correia, T. M., E-mail: nadia.smith@npl.co.uk, E-mail: maciej.rokosz@npl.co.uk, E-mail: tatiana.correia@npl.co.uk; Rokosz, M. K., E-mail: nadia.smith@npl.co.uk, E-mail: maciej.rokosz@npl.co.uk, E-mail: tatiana.correia@npl.co.uk

2014-07-28

A novel finite element model to simulate the electrocaloric response of a multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) under real environment and operational conditions has been developed. The two-dimensional transient conductive heat transfer model presented includes the electrocaloric effect as a source term, as well as accounting for radiative and convective effects. The model has been validated with experimental data obtained from the direct imaging of MLCC transient temperature variation under application of an electric field. The good agreement between simulated and experimental data, suggests that the novel experimental direct measurement methodology and the finite element model could be used to supportmore » the design of optimised electrocaloric units and operating conditions.« less

Humidity Steady State Low Voltage Testing of MLCCs (Based on NESC Technical Assessment Report)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sampson, Mike; Brusse, Jay; Teverovsky, Alexander

2011-01-01

Review of the low voltage reduced Insulation Resistance (IR) failure phenomenon in Multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs)and NASA approaches to contend with this risk. 1. Analyze published materials on root cause mechanisms. 2. Investigate suitability of current test methods to assess MLCC lots for susceptibility. 3. Review current NASA parts selection and application guidelines in consideration of benefits vs. disadvantages.

Intrinsic Mechanisms of Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor Failure.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-04-01

Properties on the Electric Transport in ABO Perovskites ", Phys. 3Stat. Sol. (a) 75, 143 (1983). [10] S. A. Long and R. N. Blumenthal, "Ti-Rich...Bauerle, "Influence Ed.), John Wiley and Sons (1981). of Bulk and Interface Properties on the Electric Transport in ABO Perovskites ", Phys. Stat. Sol...48 4. THERMOELECTRIC MEASUREMENTS ..... .............. .. 51 5. OTHER STUDIES ........ .................... 60 5.1 Impedance Dispersion

X-Ray Standing Waves on Surfaces

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-01-01

dependent distributional changes of iodine on Pt 6.3 X-ray standing wave study of a Langmuir - Blodgett multilayer film 7. Conclusions 8. Acknowledgments...4B. 6.3 X-ray standing wave study of a Langmuir - Blodgett multilayer film As mentioned previously the total external reflection condition occurs...for a Zn atom layer embedded in the top arachidate bilayer of a Langmuir - Blodgett (LB) multilayer film which was deposited on the surface of a gold

Some Aspects of the Failure Mechanisms in BaTiO3-Based Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, David Donhang; Sampson, Michael J.

2012-01-01

The objective of this presentation is to gain insight into possible failure mechanisms in BaTiO3-based ceramic capacitors that may be associated with the reliability degradation that accompanies a reduction in dielectric thickness, as reported by Intel Corporation in 2010. The volumetric efficiency (microF/cm3) of a multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) has been shown to not increase limitlessly due to the grain size effect on the dielectric constant of ferroelectric ceramic BaTiO3 material. The reliability of an MLCC has been discussed with respect to its structure. The MLCCs with higher numbers of dielectric layers will pose more challenges for the reliability of dielectric material, which is the case for most base-metal-electrode (BME) capacitors. A number of MLCCs manufactured using both precious-metal-electrode (PME) and BME technology, with 25 V rating and various chip sizes and capacitances, were tested at accelerated stress levels. Most of these MLCCs had a failure behavior with two mixed failure modes: the well-known rapid dielectric wearout, and so-called 'early failures." The two failure modes can be distinguished when the testing data were presented and normalized at use-level using a 2-parameter Weibull plot. The early failures had a slope parameter of Beta >1, indicating that the early failures are not infant mortalities. Early failures are triggered due to external electrical overstress and become dominant as dielectric layer thickness decreases, accompanied by a dramatic reduction in reliability. This indicates that early failures are the main cause of the reliability degradation in MLCCs as dielectric layer thickness decreases. All of the early failures are characterized by an avalanche-like breakdown leakage current. The failures have been attributed to the extrinsic minor construction defects introduced during fabrication of the capacitors. A reliability model including dielectric thickness and extrinsic defect feature size is proposed in this presentation. The model can be used to explain the Intel-reported reliability degradation in MLCCs with respect to the reduction of dielectric thickness. It can also be used to estimate the reliability of a MLCC based on its construction and microstructure parameters such as dielectric thickness, average grain size, and number of dielectric layers. Measures for preventing early failures are also discussed in this document.

De-embedding technique for accurate modeling of compact 3D MMIC CPW transmission lines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pohan, U. H.; KKyabaggu, P. B.; Sinulingga, E. P.

2018-02-01

Requirement for high-density and high-functionality microwave and millimeter-wave circuits have led to the innovative circuit architectures such as three-dimensional multilayer MMICs. The major advantage of the multilayer techniques is that one can employ passive and active components based on CPW technology. In this work, MMIC Coplanar Waveguide(CPW)components such as Transmission Line (TL) are modeled in their 3D layouts. Main characteristics of CPWTL suffered from the probe pads’ parasitic and resonant frequency effects have been studied. By understanding the parasitic effects, then the novel de-embedding technique are developed accurately in order to predict high frequency characteristics of the designed MMICs. The novel de-embedding technique has shown to be critical in reducing the probe pad parasitic significantly from the model. As results, high frequency characteristics of the designed MMICs have been presented with minimumparasitic effects of the probe pads. The de-embedding process optimises the determination of main characteristics of Compact 3D MMIC CPW transmission lines.

Raman Monte Carlo simulation for light propagation for tissue with embedded objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Periyasamy, Vijitha; Jaafar, Humaira Bte; Pramanik, Manojit

2018-02-01

Monte Carlo (MC) stimulation is one of the prominent simulation technique and is rapidly becoming the model of choice to study light-tissue interaction. Monte Carlo simulation for light transport in multi-layered tissue (MCML) is adapted and modelled with different geometry by integrating embedded objects of various shapes (i.e., sphere, cylinder, cuboid and ellipsoid) into the multi-layered structure. These geometries would be useful in providing a realistic tissue structure such as modelling for lymph nodes, tumors, blood vessels, head and other simulation medium. MC simulations were performed on various geometric medium. Simulation of MCML with embedded object (MCML-EO) was improvised for propagation of the photon in the defined medium with Raman scattering. The location of Raman photon generation is recorded. Simulations were experimented on a modelled breast tissue with tumor (spherical and ellipsoidal) and blood vessels (cylindrical). Results were presented in both A-line and B-line scans for embedded objects to determine spatial location where Raman photons were generated. Studies were done for different Raman probabilities.

Ge nanocrystals embedded in ultrathin Si3N4 multilayers with SiO2 barriers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahariqushchi, R.; Gundogdu, Sinan; Aydinli, A.

2017-04-01

Multilayers of germanium nanocrystals (NCs) embedded in thin films of silicon nitride matrix separated with SiO2 barriers have been fabricated using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). SiGeN/SiO2 alternating bilayers have been grown on quartz and Si substrates followed by post annealing in Ar ambient from 600 to 900 °C. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) as well as Raman spectroscopy show good crystallinity of Ge confined to SiGeN layers in samples annealed at 900 °C. Strong compressive stress for SiGeN/SiO2 structures were observed through Raman spectroscopy. Size, as well as NC-NC distance were controlled along the growth direction for multilayer samples by varying the thickness of bilayers. Visible photoluminescence (PL) at 2.3 and 3.1 eV with NC size dependent intensity is observed and possible origin of PL is discussed.

Direct Observation of Surface Potential Distribution in Insulation Resistance Degraded Acceptor-Doped BaTiO3 Multilayered Ceramic Capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Kootak; Lee, Tae Hyung; Suh, Jun Min; Park, Jae-Sung; Kwon, Hyung-Soon; Choi, Jaeho; Jang, Ho Won

2018-05-01

Insulation resistance (IR) degradation in BaTiO3 is a key issue for developing miniaturized multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) with high capacity. Despite rapid progress in BaTiO3-based MLCCs, the mechanism of IR degradation is still controversial. In this study, we demonstrate the Al doping effect on IR degradation behavior of BaTiO3 MLCCs by electrical measurements and scanning Kelvin probe microscopy (SKPM). As the Al doping concentration in BaTiO3 increases, IR degradation of MLCCs seems to be suppressed from electrical characterization results. However, SKPM results reveal that the conductive regions near the cathode become lager with Al doping after IR degradation. The formation of conducting regions is attributed to the migration of oxygen vacancies, which is the origin of IR degradation in BaTiO3, in dielectric layers. These results imply that acceptor doping in BaTiO3 solely cannot suppress the IR degradation in MLCC even though less asymmetric IR characteristics and IR degradation in MLCCs with higher Al doping concentration are observed from electrical characterization. Our results strongly suggest that observing the surface potential distribution in IR degraded dielectric layers using SKPM is an effective method to unravel the mechanism of IR degradation in MLCCs.

Base-Metal Electrode-Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors: Past, Present and Future Perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kishi, Hiroshi; Mizuno, Youichi; Chazono, Hirokazu

2003-01-01

Multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) production and sales figures are the highest among fine-ceramic products developed in the past 30 years. The total worldwide production and sales reached 550 billion pieces and 6 billion dollars, respectively in 2000. In the course of progress, the development of base-metal electrode (BME) technology played an important role in expanding the application area. In this review, the recent progress in MLCCs with BME nickel (Ni) electrodes is reviewed from the viewpoint of nonreducible dielectric materials. Using intermediate-ionic-size rare-earth ion (Dy2O3, Ho2O3, Er2O3, Y2O3) doped BaTiO3 (ABO3)-based dielectrics, highly reliable Ni-MLCCs with a very thin layer below 2 μm in thickness have been developed. The effect of site occupancy of rare-earth ions in BaTiO3 on the electrical properties and microstructure of nonreducible dielectrics is studied systematically. It appears that intermediate-ionic-size rare-earth ions occupy both A- and B-sites in the BaTiO3 lattice and effectively control the donor/acceptor dopant ratio and microstructural evolution. The relationship between the electrical properties and the microstructure of Ni-MLCCs is also presented.

Metal-ferroelectric-metal capacitor based persistent memory for electronic product code class-1 generation-2 uhf passive radio-frequency identification tag

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, Bongno; Sung, Man Young; Yeon, Sujin; Oh, Hyun S.; Kwon, Yoonjoo; Kim, Chuljin; Kim, Kyung-Ho

2009-03-01

With the circuits using metal-ferroelectric-metal (MFM) capacitor, rf operational signal properties are almost the same or superior to those of polysilicon-insulator-polysilicon, metal-insulator-metal, and metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors. In electronic product code global class-1 generation-2 uhf radio-frequency identification (RFID) protocols, the MFM can play a crucial role in satisfying the specifications of the inventoried flag's persistence times (Tpt) for each session (S0-S3, SL). In this paper, we propose and design a new MFM capacitor based memory scheme of which persistence time for S1 flag is measured at 2.2 s as well as indefinite for S2, S3, and SL flags during the period of power-on. A ferroelectric random access memory embedded RFID tag chip is fabricated with an industry-standard complementary MOS process. The chip size is around 500×500 μm2 and the measured power consumption is about 10 μW.

An Overview of High-k Oxides on Hydrogenated-Diamond for Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Capacitors and Field-Effect Transistors.

PubMed

Liu, Jiangwei; Koide, Yasuo

2018-06-04

Thanks to its excellent intrinsic properties, diamond is promising for applications of high-power electronic devices, ultraviolet detectors, biosensors, high-temperature tolerant gas sensors, etc. Here, an overview of high- k oxides on hydrogenated-diamond (H-diamond) for metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors and MOS field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) is demonstrated. Fabrication routines for the H-diamond MOS capacitors and MOSFETs, band configurations of oxide/H-diamond heterointerfaces, and electrical properties of the MOS and MOSFETs are summarized and discussed. High- k oxide insulators are deposited using atomic layer deposition (ALD) and sputtering deposition (SD) techniques. Electrical properties of the H-diamond MOS capacitors with high- k oxides of ALD-Al₂O₃, ALD-HfO₂, ALD-HfO₂/ALD-Al₂O₃ multilayer, SD-HfO₂/ALD-HfO₂ bilayer, SD-TiO₂/ALD-Al₂O₃ bilayer, and ALD-TiO₂/ALD-Al₂O₃ bilayer are discussed. Analyses for capacitance-voltage characteristics of them show that there are low fixed and trapped charge densities for the ALD-Al₂O₃/H-diamond and SD-HfO₂/ALD-HfO₂/H-diamond MOS capacitors. The k value of 27.2 for the ALD-TiO₂/ALD-Al₂O₃ bilayer is larger than those of the other oxide insulators. Drain-source current versus voltage curves show distinct pitch-off and p -type channel characteristics for the ALD-Al₂O₃/H-diamond, SD-HfO₂/ALD-HfO₂/H-diamond, and ALD-TiO₂/ALD-Al₂O₃/H-diamond MOSFETs. Understanding of fabrication routines and electrical properties for the high- k oxide/H-diamond MOS electronic devices is meaningful for the fabrication of high-performance H-diamond MOS capacitor and MOSFET gas sensors.

Characteristics of the Energetic Igniters Through Integrating B/Ti Nano-Multilayers on TaN Film Bridge.

PubMed

Yan, YiChao; Shi, Wei; Jiang, HongChuan; Cai, XianYao; Deng, XinWu; Xiong, Jie; Zhang, WanLi

2015-12-01

The energetic igniters through integrating B/Ti nano-multilayers on tantalum nitride (TaN) ignition bridge are designed and fabricated. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) results show that nitrogen content has a great influence on the crystalline structure and TCR. TaN films under nitrogen ratio of 0.99 % exhibit a near-zero TCR value of approximately 10 ppm/°C. The scanning electron microscopy demonstrates that the layered structure of the B/Ti multilayer films is clearly visible with sharp and smooth interfaces. The electrical explosion characteristics employing a capacitor discharge firing set at the optimized charging voltage of 45 V reveal an excellent explosion performance by (B/Ti) n /TaN integration film bridge with small ignition delay time, high explosion temperature, much more bright flash of light, and much large quantities of the ejected product particles than TaN film bridge.

Development of advanced polymer nanocomposite capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mendoza, Miguel

The current development of modern electronics has driven the need for new series of energy storage devices with higher energy density and faster charge/discharge rate. Batteries and capacitors are two of the most widely used energy storage devices. Compared with batteries, capacitors have higher power density and significant higher charge/discharge rate. Therefore, high energy density capacitors play a significant role in modern electronic devices, power applications, space flight technologies, hybrid electric vehicles, portable defibrillators, and pulse power applications. Dielectric film capacitors represent an exceptional alternative for developing high energy density capacitors due to their high dielectric constants, outstanding breakdown voltages, and flexibility. The implementation of high aspect ratio dielectric inclusions such as nanowires into polymer capacitors could lead to further enhancement of its energy density. Therefore, this research effort is focused on the development of a new series of dielectric capacitors composed of nanowire reinforced polymer matrix composites. This concept of nanocomposite capacitors combines the extraordinary physical and chemical properties of the one-dimension (1D) nanoceramics and high dielectric strength of polymer matrices, leading to a capacitor with improved dielectric properties and energy density. Lead-free sodium niobate (NaNbO3) and lead-containing lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate (0.65PMN-0.35PT) nanowires were synthesized following hydrothermal and sol-gel approaches, respectively. The as-prepared nanowires were mixed with a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) matrix using solution-casting method for nanocomposites fabrication. The dielectric constants and breakdown voltages of the NaNbO3/PVDF and 0.65PMN-0.35PT/PVDF nanocomposites were measured under different frequency ranges and temperatures in order to determine their maximum energy (J/cm3) and specific (J/g) densities. The electrical properties of the synthesized nanoceramics were compared with commercially available barium titanate (BaTiO3) and lead zirconate titanate Pb(ZrxTi1-x)O3 powders embedded into a PVDF matrix. The resulting dielectric film capacitors represent an excellent alternative energy storage device for future high energy density applications.

Titanium-tungsten nanocrystals embedded in a SiO(2)/Al(2)O(3) gate dielectric stack for low-voltage operation in non-volatile memory.

PubMed

Yang, Shiqian; Wang, Qin; Zhang, Manhong; Long, Shibing; Liu, Jing; Liu, Ming

2010-06-18

Titanium-tungsten nanocrystals (NCs) were fabricated by a self-assembly rapid thermal annealing (RTA) process. Well isolated Ti(0.46)W(0.54) NCs were embedded in the gate dielectric stack of SiO(2)/Al(2)O(3). A metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitor was fabricated to investigate its application in a non-volatile memory (NVM) device. It demonstrated a large memory window of 6.2 V in terms of flat-band voltage (V(FB)) shift under a dual-directional sweeping gate voltage of - 10 to 10 V. A 1.1 V V(FB) shift under a low dual-directional sweeping gate voltage of - 4 to 4 V was also observed. The retention characteristic of this MOS capacitor was demonstrated by a 0.5 V memory window after 10(4) s of elapsed time at room temperature. The endurance characteristic was demonstrated by a program/erase cycling test.

Influence of the composite material thermal expansion on embedded highly birefringent polymer microstructured optical fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

SzelÄ g, M.; Lesiak, P.; Kuczkowski, M.; Domański, A. W.; Woliński, T. R.

2013-05-01

Results of our research on embedded highly birefringent polymer microstructured fibers are presented. A composite material sample with fibers embedded between two layers of a multi-layer composite structure is fabricated and characterized. Temperature sensitivities of the polymer fibers are measured in a free space and compared with the fibers embedded in the composite material. It appeared that highly birefringent polymer microstructured fibers exhibit a strong increase in temperature sensitivity when embedded in the composite material, which is due to the stress-induced changes in birefringence created by thermally-induced strain.

Identity and Inner-City Youth: Beyond Ethnicity and Gender.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heath, Shirley Brice, Ed.; McLaughlin, Milbrey W., Ed.

How ethnic identity and gender figure in building the embedded identities of youth in different contexts is examined, focusing on the self-concepts of inner-city youth. The voices of urban youth argue that their embedded identities, or multilayered self-conceptions, represent far more than simple labels of ethnic or racial membership. After an…

The fictitious force method for efficient calculation of vibration from a tunnel embedded in a multi-layered half-space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hussein, M. F. M.; François, S.; Schevenels, M.; Hunt, H. E. M.; Talbot, J. P.; Degrande, G.

2014-12-01

This paper presents an extension of the Pipe-in-Pipe (PiP) model for calculating vibrations from underground railways that allows for the incorporation of a multi-layered half-space geometry. The model is based on the assumption that the tunnel displacement is not influenced by the existence of a free surface or ground layers. The displacement at the tunnel-soil interface is calculated using a model of a tunnel embedded in a full space with soil properties corresponding to the soil in contact with the tunnel. Next, a full space model is used to determine the equivalent loads that produce the same displacements at the tunnel-soil interface. The soil displacements are calculated by multiplying these equivalent loads by Green's functions for a layered half-space. The results and the computation time of the proposed model are compared with those of an alternative coupled finite element-boundary element model that accounts for a tunnel embedded in a multi-layered half-space. While the overall response of the multi-layered half-space is well predicted, spatial shifts in the interference patterns are observed that result from the superposition of direct waves and waves reflected on the free surface and layer interfaces. The proposed model is much faster and can be run on a personal computer with much less use of memory. Therefore, it is a promising design tool to predict vibration from underground tunnels and to assess the performance of vibration countermeasures in an early design stage.

Morphology control of anisotropic BaTiO 3 and BaTiOF 4 using organic-inorganic interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masuda, Yoshitake; Tanaka, Yuki; Gao, Yanfeng; Koumoto, Kunihito

2009-01-01

We proposed a novel concept for morphology control of barium titanate precursor to fabricate platy particles. Organic molecules play an essential role in the crystallization of BaTiOF 4 to synthesize multi-needle particles, polyhedron particles or platy particles in an aqueous solution. Precursors were successfully transformed to barium titanate single phase by annealing. Platy barium titanate precursor particles are expected for future multilayer ceramic capacitors.

Radio-frequency characteristic variation of interdigital capacitor having multilayer graphene of various widths

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Hee-Jo; Hong, Young-Pyo

2018-03-01

In this paper, a radio-frequency circuit model of an interdigital capacitor (IDC) with a multilayer graphene (MLG) width variation is proposed. The circuit model with three sample configurations, i.e., a bare IDC, IDC-MLG with a width of 5 μm, and IDC-MLG with a width of 20 μm, is constructed via a fitted method based on the measured samples. The simulated results of the circuit model are validated through the RF characteristics, e.g., the capacitance and the self-resonance frequency, of the measured samples. From the circuit model, all samples show not only a similar capacitance behavior but also an identical self-resonance frequency of 10 GHz. Moreover, the R, L, and C values of MLG with a 5 μm width (MLG with a 20 μm width) alone are approximately 0.8 kΩ (0.5 kΩ), 0.5 nH (0.9 nH), and 0.3 pF (0.1 pF), respectively. As a result, we find that the simulated results are in good agreement with RF characteristics of the measured samples. In the future, we expect that the proposed circuit model of an IDC with MLG will offer assistance with performance predictions of diverse IDC-based 2D material applications, such as biosensors and gas sensors, as well as supercapacitors.

Preparation and electrical properties of Cr 2O 3 gate insulator embedded with Fe dot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yokota, Takeshi; Kuribayashi, Takaaki; Murata, Shotaro; Gomi, Manabu

2008-09-01

We investigated the electrical properties of a metal (Au)/insulator (magneto-electric materials: Cr 2O 3)/magnetic materials (Fe)/tunnel layer (Cr 2O 3)/semiconductor (Si) capacitor. This capacitor shows the typical capacitance-voltage ( C- V) properties of an Si-MIS capacitor with hysteresis depending on the Fe dispersibility which is determined by the deposition condition. The C- V curve of the only sample having a 0.5 nm Fe layer was seen to have a hysteresis window with a clockwise trace, indicating that electrons have been injected into the ultra-thin Fe layer. The samples having Fe layers of other thicknesses show a counterclockwise trace, which indicates that the film has mobile ionic charges due to the dispersed Fe. These results indicated that the charge-injection site, which works as a memory, in the Cr 2O 3 can be prepared by Fe insertion, which is deposited using well-controlled conditions. The results also revealed the possibility of an MIS capacitor containing both ferromagnetic materials and an ME insulating layer in a single system.

Floating gate memory with charge storage dots array formed by Dps protein modified with site-specific binding peptides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamitake, Hiroki; Uenuma, Mutsunori; Okamoto, Naofumi; Horita, Masahiro; Ishikawa, Yasuaki; Yamashita, Ichro; Uraoka, Yukiharu

2015-05-01

We report a nanodot (ND) floating gate memory (NFGM) with a high-density ND array formed by a biological nano process. We utilized two kinds of cage-shaped proteins displaying SiO2 binding peptide (minTBP-1) on their outer surfaces: ferritin and Dps, which accommodate cobalt oxide NDs in their cavities. The diameters of the cobalt NDs were regulated by the cavity sizes of the proteins. Because minTBP-1 is strongly adsorbed on the SiO2 surface, high-density cobalt oxide ND arrays were obtained by a simple spin coating process. The densities of cobalt oxide ND arrays based on ferritin and Dps were 6.8 × 1011 dots cm-2 and 1.2 × 1012 dots cm-2, respectively. After selective protein elimination and embedding in a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitor, the charge capacities of both ND arrays were evaluated by measuring their C-V characteristics. The MOS capacitor embedded with the Dps ND array showed a wider memory window than the device embedded with the ferritin ND array. Finally, we fabricated an NFGM with a high-density ND array based on Dps, and confirmed its competent writing/erasing characteristics and long retention time.

I-V and C-V Characterization of a High-Responsivity Graphene/Silicon Photodiode with Embedded MOS Capacitor.

PubMed

Luongo, Giuseppe; Giubileo, Filippo; Genovese, Luca; Iemmo, Laura; Martucciello, Nadia; Di Bartolomeo, Antonio

2017-06-27

We study the effect of temperature and light on the I-V and C-V characteristics of a graphene/silicon Schottky diode. The device exhibits a reverse-bias photocurrent exceeding the forward current and achieves a photoresponsivity as high as 2.5 A / W . We show that the enhanced photocurrent is due to photo-generated carriers injected in the graphene/Si junction from the parasitic graphene/SiO₂/Si capacitor connected in parallel to the diode. The same mechanism can occur with thermally generated carriers, which contribute to the high leakage current often observed in graphene/Si junctions.

Method for Fabricating and Packaging an M.Times.N Phased-Array Antenna

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Xu, Xiaochuan (Inventor); Chen, Yihong (Inventor); Chen, Ray T. (Inventor); Subbaraman, Harish (Inventor)

2017-01-01

A method for fabricating an M.times.N, P-bit phased-array antenna on a flexible substrate is disclosed. The method comprising ink jet printing and hardening alignment marks, antenna elements, transmission lines, switches, an RF coupler, and multilayer interconnections onto the flexible substrate. The substrate of the M.times.N, P-bit phased-array antenna may comprise an integrated control circuit of printed electronic components such as, photovoltaic cells, batteries, resistors, capacitors, etc. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Origin of colossal dielectric response of CaCu3Ti4O12 studied by using CaTiO3/CaCu3Ti4O12/CaTiO3 multilayer thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitsugi, Masakazu; Asanuma, Shutaro; Uesu, Yoshiaki; Fukunaga, Mamoru; Kobayashi, Wataru; Terasaki, Ichiro

2007-06-01

To elucidate the origin of the colossal dielectric response (CDR) of CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO), multilayer thin films of CCTO interposed in insulating CaTiO3 (CTO) were synthesized using a pulsed laser deposition technique. The capacitance C of CTO/CCTO/CTO films with different layer thicknesses is measured. After removing the capacitance of CTO by extrapolating C to zero CTO thickness, the real part of dielectric constant of CCTO is estimated to be 329-435, which is much smaller than the reported value for CCTO thin films. This fact indicates that the CDR of CCTO is extrinsic and originates from an internal barrier layer capacitor.

Simulation of cooling efficiency via miniaturised channels in multilayer LTCC for power electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pietrikova, Alena; Girasek, Tomas; Lukacs, Peter; Welker, Tilo; Müller, Jens

2017-03-01

The aim of this paper is detailed investigation of thermal resistance, flow analysis and distribution of coolant as well as thermal distribution inside multilayer LTCC substrates with embedded channels for power electronic devices by simulation software. For this reason four various structures of internal channels in the multilayer LTCC substrates were designed and simulated. The impact of the volume flow, structures of channels, and power loss of chip was simulated, calculated and analyzed by using the simulation software Mentor Graphics FloEFDTM. The structure, size and location of channels have the significant impact on thermal resistance, pressure of coolant as well as the effectivity of cooling power components (chips) that can be placed on the top of LTCC substrate. The main contribution of this paper is thermal analyze, optimization and impact of 4 various cooling channels embedded in LTCC multilayer structure. Paper investigate, the effect of volume flow in cooling channels for achieving the least thermal resistance of LTCC substrate that is loaded by power thermal chips. Paper shows on the impact of the first chips thermal load on the second chip as well as. This possible new technology could ensure in the case of practical realization effective cooling and increasing reliability of high power modules.

Direct-Write Laser Grayscale Lithography for Multilayer Lead Zirconate Titanate Thin Films.

PubMed

Benoit, Robert R; Jordan, Delaney M; Smith, Gabriel L; Polcawich, Ronald G; Bedair, Sarah S; Potrepka, Daniel M

2018-05-01

Direct-write laser grayscale lithography has been used to facilitate a single-step patterning technique for multilayer lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films. A 2.55- -thick photoresist was patterned with a direct-write laser. The intensity of the laser was varied to create both tiered and sloped structures that are subsequently transferred into multilayer PZT(52/48) stacks using a single Ar ion-mill etch. Traditional processing requires a separate photolithography step and an ion mill etch for each layer of the substrate, which can be costly and time consuming. The novel process allows access to buried electrode layers in the multilayer stack in a single photolithography step. The grayscale process was demonstrated on three 150-mm diameter Si substrates configured with a 0.5- -thick SiO 2 elastic layer, a base electrode of Pt/TiO 2 , and a stack of four PZT(52/48) thin films of either 0.25- thickness per layer or 0.50- thickness per layer, and using either Pt or IrO 2 electrodes above and below each layer. Stacked capacitor structures were patterned and results will be reported on the ferroelectric and electromechanical properties using various wiring configurations and compared to comparable single layer PZT configurations.

Effects of Interphase Modification and Biaxial Orientation on Dielectric Properties of Poly(ethylene terephthalate)/Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) Multilayer Films.

PubMed

Yin, Kezhen; Zhou, Zheng; Schuele, Donald E; Wolak, Mason; Zhu, Lei; Baer, Eric

2016-06-01

Recently, poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)-based multilayer films have demonstrated enhanced dielectric properties, combining high energy density and high dielectric breakdown strength from the component polymers. In this work, further enhanced dielectric properties were achieved through interface/interphase modulation and biaxial orientation for the poly(ethylene terephthalate)/poly(methyl methacrylate)/poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) [PET/PMMA/P(VDF-HFP)] three-component multilayer films. Because PMMA is miscible with P(VDF-HFP) and compatible with PET, the interfacial adhesion between PET and P(VDF-HFP) layers should be improved. Biaxial stretching of the as-extruded multilayer films induced formation of highly oriented fibrillar crystals in both P(VDF-HFP) and PET, resulting in improved dielectric properties with respect to the unstretched films. First, the parallel orientation of PVDF crystals reduced the dielectric loss from the αc relaxation in α crystals. Second, biaxial stretching constrained the amorphous phase in P(VDF-HFP) and thus the migrational loss from impurity ions was reduced. Third, biaxial stretching induced a significant amount of rigid amorphous phase in PET, further enhancing the breakdown strength of multilayer films. Due to the synergistic effects of improved interfacial adhesion and biaxial orientation, the PET/PMMA/P(VDF-HFP) 65-layer films with 8 vol % PMMA exhibited optimal dielectric properties with an energy density of 17.4 J/cm(3) at breakdown and the lowest dielectric loss. These three-component multilayer films are promising for future high-energy-density film capacitor applications.

High Temperature DC Bus Capacitor Cost Reduction & Performance Improvements

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yializis, Angelo; Taylor, Ralph S.

The goal of this DOE program is to develop high temperature, high energy density, lower cost DC- Link capacitors, for inverters used in electric drive vehicles. Most electric motors in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (“HEVs”), Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles (“PHVs”) and Electric Vehicles (“EVs”) are driven with variable AC voltage supplied by an inverter/converter power module that converts the DC battery voltage to three-phase AC voltage. A key component of the inverter circuit is the DC- Link capacitor used to minimize ripple current, voltage fluctuation, and transient suppression. The DC-Link capacitor is one of the largest, costliest, and most failure-prone components inmore » today’s electric drive invertersystems. The principal weakness of present day DC- Link capacitors is their reliance on a low temperature thermoplastic polypropylene (“PP”) film dielectric. PP is the dielectric of choice for inverter capacitor applications due to its high breakdown strength and low dissipation factor. Major limitations of metallized PP film capacitors include volumetric efficiency, performance under high thermal loads and cost. The latter is especially effectual at lower voltage applications (400V) where PP films with a thickness of about 2.5 m are required that are costly to process. Metallized PP capacitors also do not meet the traditional “under-the-hood” requirements for automotive electronics. The standard temperature requirement for most passive components in the automotive industry has been 125ºC and it is evolving to 140°C. The industry has addressed this problem by reducing the ambient temperature specification for PP capacitors from 125ºC to 105ºC, and also by placing the capacitors on a water-cooled bus bar to extend their life and reliably. The supply chain for the production of PP capacitors is, for the most part, horizontally integrated. It includes the producer of the PP film, the toll metallizer, that deposits a patterned aluminum conductor onto the PP film, and the capacitor producer that winds the metallized film, forms electrical connections, and packages the capacitor (some large capacitor OEMs also metallize their films). The horizontal nature of the supply chain is principally due to the very high capital costs required to integrate the film production process as well as the corresponding depreciation costs. The result is that hundreds of capacitor OEMs use the same base films and capacitor products vary mainly in the way they are wound, formed and packaged, with little or no ability to innovate. Sigma Technologies (“Sigma”) has developed a disruptive process for producing polymer dielectric capacitors that overcome the limitations of PP film capacitors. Metallized self-supported films are replaced with deposited polymer dielectrics, metallized in-line with the polymer deposition process. Highly cross linked, high temperature polymers are formed, that have a thickness as low as 0.1μm, a wide range of dielectric constants and breakdown strength higher than that of PP. The supply chain for producing such capacitors is reduced to a single step performed by the capacitor OEM, in which aluminum wire and a liquid monomer are introduced into a machine to create a large area bulk capacitor material. Polymer Multi-Layer (PML) capacitors are produced by depositing 1000s of dielectric and aluminum electrode on a rotating process drum, forming a nanolaminate “mother capacitor” material, that is segmented and processed into individual capacitor elements. The PML process combines the conventional stepsof a) polymer dielectric formation, b) electrode deposition, and c) winding the capacitor, into a single continuous process performed in a single machine. This allows for complete vertical integration of the capacitor production process, where the capacitor OEM has complete control the dielectric chemistry, the polymer thickness and the electrode metallization process. Sigma partnered with Delphi Automotive Systems (“Delphi”) and Oak Ridge National Labs (“ORNL”) to respond to a DOE Vehicle Technologies Office solicitation to develop a DC-Link capacitor with reduced cost, lower volume and superior thermal properties. The major objectives of the development program included: • Optimization of the polymer dielectric to meet an 140ºC operating environment • Improvements to Sigma’s PML capacitor pilot line to allow the production of sample quantities of DC-Link capacitors • Evaluation of the thermal properties of the PML capacitors • Development of a thermal model to predict capacitor performance under various operating conditions • Electrical and environmental evaluation of PML capacitors based on AEC Q200 standard • Development of a package for PML capacitors • Development of a business plan to transition the PML capacitor technology into production.« less

Floating-gate memory based on an organic metal-insulator-semiconductor capacitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

William, S.; Mabrook, M. F.; Taylor, D. M.

2009-08-01

A floating gate memory element is described which incorporates an evaporated gold film embedded in the gate dielectric of a metal-insulator-semiconductor capacitor based on poly(3-hexylthiophene). On exceeding a critical amplitude in the voltage sweep, hysteresis is observed in the capacitance-voltage (C-V) and current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the device. The anticlockwise hysteresis in C-V is consistent with strong electron trapping during the positive cycle but little hole trapping during the negative cycle. We argue that the clockwise hysteresis observed in the negative cycle of the I-V plot, arises from leakage of trapped holes through the underlying insulator to the control gate.

500 C Electronic Packaging and Dielectric Materials for High Temperature Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Liang-yu; Neudeck, Philip G.; Spry, David J.; Beheim, Glenn M.; Hunter, Gary W.

2016-01-01

High-temperature environment operable sensors and electronics are required for exploring the inner solar planets and distributed control of next generation aeronautical engines. Various silicon carbide (SiC) high temperature sensors, actuators, and electronics have been demonstrated at and above 500C. A compatible packaging system is essential for long-term testing and application of high temperature electronics and sensors. High temperature passive components are also necessary for high temperature electronic systems. This talk will discuss ceramic packaging systems developed for high temperature electronics, and related testing results of SiC circuits at 500C and silicon-on-insulator (SOI) integrated circuits at temperatures beyond commercial limit facilitated by these high temperature packaging technologies. Dielectric materials for high temperature multilayers capacitors will also be discussed. High-temperature environment operable sensors and electronics are required for probing the inner solar planets and distributed control of next generation aeronautical engines. Various silicon carbide (SiC) high temperature sensors, actuators, and electronics have been demonstrated at and above 500C. A compatible packaging system is essential for long-term testing and eventual applications of high temperature electronics and sensors. High temperature passive components are also necessary for high temperature electronic systems. This talk will discuss ceramic packaging systems developed for high electronics and related testing results of SiC circuits at 500C and silicon-on-insulator (SOI) integrated circuits at temperatures beyond commercial limit facilitated by high temperature packaging technologies. Dielectric materials for high temperature multilayers capacitors will also be discussed.

Multilayer Coextrusion of Polymer Composites to Develop Organic Capacitors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mondy, L.; Mrozek, R.; Rao, R.

Multilayer coextrusion is applied to produce a tape containing layers of alternating electrical properties to demonstrate the potential for using coextrusion to manufacture capacitors. To obtain the desired properties, we develop two filled polymer systems, one for conductive layers and one for dielectric layers. We describe numerical models used to help determine the material and processing parameters that impact processing and layer stability. These models help quantify the critical ratios of densities and viscosities of the two layers to maintain stable layers, as well as the effect of increasing the flow rate of one of the two materials. The conductingmore » polymer is based on polystyrene filled with a blend of low-melting-point eutectic metal and nickel particulate filler, as described by Mrozek et al. (2010). The appropriate concentrations of fillers are determined by balancing measured conductivity with processability in a twin screw extruder. Based on results of the numerical models and estimates of the viscosity of emulsions and suspensions, a dielectric layer composed of polystyrene filled with barium titanate is formulated. Despite the fact that the density of the dielectric filler is less than the metallic filler of the conductive phase, as well as rheological measurements that later showed that the dielectric formulation is not an ideal match to the viscosity of the conductive material, the two materials can be successfully coextruded if the flow rates of the two materials are not identical. A measurable capacitance of the layered structure is obtained.« less

Multilayer Coextrusion of Polymer Composites to Develop Organic Capacitors

DOE PAGES

Mondy, L.; Mrozek, R.; Rao, R.; ...

2015-05-29

Multilayer coextrusion is applied to produce a tape containing layers of alternating electrical properties to demonstrate the potential for using coextrusion to manufacture capacitors. To obtain the desired properties, we develop two filled polymer systems, one for conductive layers and one for dielectric layers. We describe numerical models used to help determine the material and processing parameters that impact processing and layer stability. These models help quantify the critical ratios of densities and viscosities of the two layers to maintain stable layers, as well as the effect of increasing the flow rate of one of the two materials. The conductingmore » polymer is based on polystyrene filled with a blend of low-melting-point eutectic metal and nickel particulate filler, as described by Mrozek et al. (2010). The appropriate concentrations of fillers are determined by balancing measured conductivity with processability in a twin screw extruder. Based on results of the numerical models and estimates of the viscosity of emulsions and suspensions, a dielectric layer composed of polystyrene filled with barium titanate is formulated. Despite the fact that the density of the dielectric filler is less than the metallic filler of the conductive phase, as well as rheological measurements that later showed that the dielectric formulation is not an ideal match to the viscosity of the conductive material, the two materials can be successfully coextruded if the flow rates of the two materials are not identical. A measurable capacitance of the layered structure is obtained.« less

Effects of microstructural defects on the performance of base-metal multilayer ceramic capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samantaray, Malay M.

Multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), owing to their processing conditions, can exhibit microstructure defects such as electrode porosity and roughness. The effect of such extrinsic defects on the electrical performance of these devices needs to be understood in order to achieve successful miniaturization into the submicron dielectric layer thickness regime. Specifically, the presence of non-planar and discontinuous electrodes can lead to local field enhancements while the relative morphologies of two adjacent electrodes determine variations in the local dielectric thickness. To study the effects of electrode morphologies, an analytical approach is taken to calculate the electric field enhancement and leakage current with respect to an ideal parallel-plate capacitor. Idealized electrode defects are used to simulate the electric field distribution. It is shown that the electrode roughness causes both the electric field and the leakage current to increase with respect to that of the ideal flat parallel-plate capacitor. Moreover, finite element methods are used to predict electric field enhancements by as high as 100% within capacitor structures containing rough interfaces and porosity. To understand the influence of microstructural defects on field distributions and leakage current, the real three-dimensional microstructure of local regions in MLCCs are reconstructed using a serial-sectioning technique in the focused ion beam. These microstructures are then converted into a finite element model in order to simulate the perturbations in electric field due to the presence of electrode defects. The electric field is three times the average value, and this leads to increase in current density of these devices. It is also shown that increasing sintering rates of MLCCs leads to improved electrode morphology with smoother more continuous electrodes, which in turn leads to a decrease in electric field enhancement and calculated leakage current density. To simulate scaling effects, the dielectric layer thickness is reduced from 2.0mum to 0.5mum in the three-dimensional microstructure keeping the same electrode morphology. It is seen that the effect of microstructure defects is more pronounced as one approaches thinner layers, leading to higher local electric field concentrations and a concomitant drop in insulation resistance. It is also seen that the electric field values are as high as 3.8 times the average field in termination regions due the disintegrated structure of the electrodes. In order to assess the effect of microstructure on MLCC performance, two sets of multilayer capacitors subjected to two vastly different sintering rates of 150ºC/hr and 3000ºC/hr are compared for their electrical properties. Capacitors with higher electrode continuity exhibit proportionally higher capacitance, provided the grain size distributions are similar. From the leakage current measurements, it is found that the Schottky barrier at the electrode-dielectric interface controls the conduction mechanism. This barrier height is calculated to be 1.06 eV for slow-fired MLCCs and was 1.15 for fast-fired MLCCs. This shows that high concentration of electrode defects cause field perturbations and subsequent drop in the net Schottky barrier height. These results are further supported by frequency-dependent impedance measurements. With temperature dependence behavior of current-voltage trends we note that below temperatures of 135°C, the conduction is controlled by interfacial effects, whereas at higher temperatures it is consistent with bulk-controlled space charge limited current for the samples that are highly reoxidized. The final part of this work studies the various aspects of the initial stages of degradation of MLCCs. MLCCs subjected to unipolar and bipolar degradation are studied for changes in microstructure and electrical properties. With bipolar degradation studies new insights into degradation are gained. First, the ionic accumulation with oxygen vacancies at cathodes is only partially reversible. This has implications on the controlling interface with electronic conduction. Also, it is shown that oxygen vacancy accumulation near the cathodes leads to a drop in insulation resistance. The capacitance also increases with progressive steps of degradation due to the effective thinning of dielectric layer. The reduction in interfacial resistance is also confirmed by impedance analysis. Finally, it is observed that on degradation, the dominant leakage current mechanism changes from being controlled by cathodic injection of electrons to being controlled by their anodic extraction. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

ZrO2 Layer Thickness Dependent Electrical and Dielectric Properties of BST/ZrO2/BST Multilayer Thin Films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sahoo, S. K.; Misra, D.; Agrawal, D. C.

2011-01-01

Recently, high K materials play an important role in microelectronic devices such as capacitors, memory devices, and microwave devices. Now a days ferroelectric barium strontium titanate [Ba{sub x}Sr{sub 1-x}TiO{sub 3}, (BST)] thin film is being actively investigated for applications in dynamic random access memories (DRAM), field effect transistor (FET), and tunable devices because of its properties such as high dielectric constant, low leakage current, low dielectric loss, and high dielectric breakdown strength. Several approaches have been used to optimize the dielectric and electrical properties of BST thin films such as doping, graded compositions, and multilayer structures. We have found thatmore » inserting a ZrO{sub 2} layer in between two BST layers results in a significant reduction in dielectric constant, loss tangent, and leakage current in the multilayer thin films. Also it is shown that the properties of multilayer structure are found to depend strongly on the sublayer thicknesses. In this work the effect of ZrO{sub 2} layer thickness on the dielectric, ferroelectric as well as electrical properties of BST/ZrO{sub 2}/BST multilayer structure is studied. The multilayer Ba{sub 0.8}Sr{sub 0.2}TiO{sub 3}/ZrO{sub 2}/Ba{sub 0.8}Sr{sub 0.2}TiO{sub 3} film is deposited by a sol-gel process on the platinized Si substrate. The thickness of the middle ZrO{sub 2} layer is varied while keeping the top and bottom BST layer thickness as fixed. It is observed that the dielectric constant, dielectric loss tangent, and leakage current of the multilayer films reduce with the increase of ZrO{sub 2} layer thickness and hence suitable for memory device applications. The ferroelectric properties of the multilayer film also decrease with the ZrO{sub 2} layer thickness.« less

Interface Properties of Atomic-Layer-Deposited Al2O3 Thin Films on Ultraviolet/Ozone-Treated Multilayer MoS2 Crystals.

PubMed

Park, Seonyoung; Kim, Seong Yeoul; Choi, Yura; Kim, Myungjun; Shin, Hyunjung; Kim, Jiyoung; Choi, Woong

2016-05-11

We report the interface properties of atomic-layer-deposited Al2O3 thin films on ultraviolet/ozone (UV/O3)-treated multilayer MoS2 crystals. The formation of S-O bonds on MoS2 after low-power UV/O3 treatment increased the surface energy, allowing the subsequent deposition of uniform Al2O3 thin films. The capacitance-voltage measurement of Au-Al2O3-MoS2 metal oxide semiconductor capacitors indicated n-type MoS2 with an electron density of ∼10(17) cm(-3) and a minimum interface trap density of ∼10(11) cm(-2) eV(-1). These results demonstrate the possibility of forming a high-quality Al2O3-MoS2 interface by proper UV/O3 treatment, providing important implications for their integration into field-effect transistors.

Characterizing the Performance of the Wheel Electrostatic Spectrometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johansen, Michael R.; Mackey, P. J.; Holbert, E.; Calle, C. I.; Clements, J. S.

2013-01-01

Insulators need to be discharged after each wheel revolution. Sensor responses repeatable within one standard deviation in the noise of the signal. Insulators may not need to be cleaned after each revolution. Parent Technology- Mars Environmental Compatibility Assessment/Electrometer Electrostatic sensors with dissimilar cover insulators Protruding insulators tribocharge against regolith simulant Developed for use on the scoop for the 2001 Mars Odyssey lander Wheel Electrostatic Spectrometer Embedded electrostatic sensors in prototype Martian rover wheel If successful, this technology will enable constant electrostatic testing on Mars Air ionizing fan used to neutralize the surface charge on cover insulators . WES rolled on JSClA lunar simulant Control experiment -Static elimination not conducted between trials -Capacitor discharged after each experiment Charge neutralization experiment -Static elimination conducted between trials -Capacitor discharged after each experiment. Air ionizing fan used on insulators after each wheel revolution Capacitor discharged after each trial Care was taken to roll WES with same speed/pressure Error bars represent one standard deviation in the noise of e ach sensor

Stress evolution of Ge nanocrystals in dielectric matrices.

PubMed

Bahariqushchi, Rahim; Raciti, Rosario; Kasapoğlu, Ahmet Emre; Gür, Emre; Sezen, Meltem; Kalay, Eren; Mirabella, Salvatore; Aydinli, A

2018-05-04

Germanium nanocrystals (Ge NCs) embedded in single and multilayer silicon oxide and silicon nitride matrices have been synthesized using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition followed by conventional furnace annealing or rapid thermal processing in N 2 ambient. Compositions of the films were determined by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The formation of NCs under suitable process conditions was observed with high resolution transmission electron microscope micrographs and Raman spectroscopy. Stress measurements were done using Raman shifts of the Ge optical phonon line at 300.7 cm -1 . The effect of the embedding matrix and annealing methods on Ge NC formation were investigated. In addition to Ge NCs in single layer samples, the stress on Ge NCs in multilayer samples was also analyzed. Multilayers of Ge NCs in a silicon nitride matrix separated by dielectric buffer layers to control the size and density of NCs were fabricated. Multilayers consisted of SiN y :Ge ultrathin films sandwiched between either SiO 2 or Si 3 N 4 by the proper choice of buffer material. We demonstrated that it is possible to tune the stress state of Ge NCs from compressive to tensile, a desirable property for optoelectronic applications. We also observed that there is a correlation between the stress and the crystallization threshold in which the compressive stress enhances the crystallization, while the tensile stress suppresses the process.

Stress evolution of Ge nanocrystals in dielectric matrices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahariqushchi, Rahim; Raciti, Rosario; Emre Kasapoğlu, Ahmet; Gür, Emre; Sezen, Meltem; Kalay, Eren; Mirabella, Salvatore; Aydinli, A.

2018-05-01

Germanium nanocrystals (Ge NCs) embedded in single and multilayer silicon oxide and silicon nitride matrices have been synthesized using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition followed by conventional furnace annealing or rapid thermal processing in N2 ambient. Compositions of the films were determined by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The formation of NCs under suitable process conditions was observed with high resolution transmission electron microscope micrographs and Raman spectroscopy. Stress measurements were done using Raman shifts of the Ge optical phonon line at 300.7 cm-1. The effect of the embedding matrix and annealing methods on Ge NC formation were investigated. In addition to Ge NCs in single layer samples, the stress on Ge NCs in multilayer samples was also analyzed. Multilayers of Ge NCs in a silicon nitride matrix separated by dielectric buffer layers to control the size and density of NCs were fabricated. Multilayers consisted of SiN y :Ge ultrathin films sandwiched between either SiO2 or Si3N4 by the proper choice of buffer material. We demonstrated that it is possible to tune the stress state of Ge NCs from compressive to tensile, a desirable property for optoelectronic applications. We also observed that there is a correlation between the stress and the crystallization threshold in which the compressive stress enhances the crystallization, while the tensile stress suppresses the process.

Ionic Driven Embedment of Hyaluronic Acid Coated Liposomes in Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Films for Local Therapeutic Delivery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayward, Stephen L.; Francis, David M.; Sis, Matthew J.; Kidambi, Srivatsan

2015-10-01

The ability to control the spatial distribution and temporal release of a therapeutic remains a central challenge for biomedical research. Here, we report the development and optimization of a novel substrate mediated therapeutic delivery system comprising of hyaluronic acid covalently functionalized liposomes (HALNPs) embedded into polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) platform via ionic stabilization. The PEM platform was constructed from sequential deposition of Poly-L-Lysine (PLL) and Poly(Sodium styrene sulfonate) (SPS) “(PLL/SPS)4.5” followed by adsorption of anionic HALNPs. An adsorption affinity assay and saturation curve illustrated the preferential HALNP deposition density for precise therapeutic loading. (PLL/SPS)2.5 capping layer on top of the deposited HALNP monolayer further facilitated complete nanoparticle immobilization, cell adhesion, and provided nanoparticle confinement for controlled linear release profiles of the nanocarrier and encapsulated cargo. To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate the successful embedment of a translatable lipid based nanocarrier into a substrate that allows for temporal and spatial release of both hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs. Specifically, we have utilized our platform to deliver chemotherapeutic drug Doxorubicin from PEM confined HALNPs. Overall, we believe the development of our HALNP embedded PEM system is significant and will catalyze the usage of substrate mediated delivery platforms in biomedical applications.

SmNiO3/NdNiO3 thin film multilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Girardot, C.; Pignard, S.; Weiss, F.; Kreisel, J.

2011-06-01

Rare earth nickelates RENiO3 (RE =rare earth), which attract interest due to their sharp metal-insulator phase transition, are instable in bulk form due to the necessity of an important oxygen pressure to stabilize Ni in its 3+ state of oxidation. Here, we report the stabilization of RE nickelates in [(SmNiO3)t/(NdNiO3)t]n thin film multilayers, t being the thickness of layers alternated n times. Both bilayers and multilayers have been deposited by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. The multilayer structure and the presence of the metastable phases SmNiO3 and NdNiO3 are evidenced from by x-ray and Raman scattering. Electric measurements of a bilayer structure further support the structural quality of the embedded RE nickelate layers.

High ambient contrast ratio OLED and QLED without a circular polarizer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Guanjun; Zhu, Ruidong; Tsai, Yi-Shou; Lee, Kuo-Chang; Luo, Zhenyue; Lee, Yuh-Zheng; Wu, Shin-Tson

2016-08-01

A high ambient contrast ratio display device using a transparent organic light emitting diode (OLED) or transparent quantum-dot light-emitting diode (QLED) with embedded multilayered structure and absorber is proposed and its performance is simulated. With the help of multilayered structure, the device structure allows almost all ambient light to get through the display device and be absorbed by the absorber. Because the reflected ambient light is greatly reduced, the ambient contrast ratio of the display system is improved significantly. Meanwhile, the multilayered structure helps to lower the effective refractive index, which in turn improves the out-coupling efficiency of the display system. Potential applications for sunlight readable flexible and rollable displays are emphasized.

Anomalous effects on radiation detectors and capacitance measurements inside a modified Faraday cage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milián-Sánchez, V.; Mocholí-Salcedo, A.; Milián, C.; Kolombet, V. A.; Verdú, G.

2016-08-01

We present experimental results showing certain anomalies in the measurements performed inside a modified Faraday cage of decay rates of Ra-226, Tl-204 and Sr-90/I-90, of the gamma spectrum of a Cs-137 preparation, and of the capacitance of both a class-I multilayer ceramic capacitor and of the interconnection cable between the radiation detector and the scaler. Decay rates fluctuate significantly up to 5% around the initial value and differently depending on the type of nuclide, and the spectrum photopeak increases in 4.4%. In the case of the capacitor, direct capacitance measurements at 100 Hz, 10 kHz and 100 kHz show variations up to 0.7%, the most significant taking place at 100 Hz. In the case of the interconnection cable, the capacitance varies up to 1%. Dispersion also tends to increase inside the enclosure. However, the measured capacitance variations do not explain the variations observed in decay rates.

Low-loss microelectrodes fabricated using reverse-side exposure for a tunable ferroelectric capacitor application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, Yong-Kyu; Stevenson Kenney, J.; Hunt, Andrew T.; Allen, Mark G.

2006-02-01

Narrowly spaced thick microelectrodes are fabricated using a self-aligned multiple reverse-side exposure scheme for an improved quality-factor tunable ferroelectric capacitor. The microelectrodes are fabricated on a functional substrate—a thin film ferroelectric (barium strontium titanate, BST; BaxSr1-xTiO3) coated sapphire substrate, which has an electric-field-dependent dielectric property providing tuning functionality, as well as UV transparency permitting an additional degree of freedom in photolithography steps. The microelectrode process has been applied to interdigitated capacitor fabrication, where a critical challenge is maintaining narrow gaps between electrodes for high tunability, while simultaneously forming thick electrodes to minimize conductor loss. A single mask, self-aligned reverse-side exposure through the transparent substrate achieves both these goals. A single-finger test capacitor with an electrode gap of 1.2 µm and an electrode thickness of 2.2 µm is fabricated and characterized. Tunability (T = 100 × (C0 - Cbias)/C0) of 33% at 10 V has been achieved at 100 kHz. The 2.2 µm thick structure shows improvement of Q-factor compared to that of a 0.1 µm thick structure. To demonstrate the scalability of this process, a 102-finger interdigitated capacitor is fabricated and characterized at 100 kHz and 1 GHz. The structure is embedded in a 25 µm thick epoxy resin SU-8 for passivation. A quality factor decrease of 15-25%, tunability decrease of 2-3% and capacitance increase of 6% are observed due to the expoxy resin after passivation. High frequency performance of the capacitor has been measured to be 15.9 pF of capacitance, 28.1% tunability at 10 V and a quality factor of 16 (at a 10 V dc bias) at 1 GHz.

Layer-by-layer self-assembled multilayer films composed of graphene/polyaniline bilayers: high-energy electrode materials for supercapacitors.

PubMed

Sarker, Ashis K; Hong, Jong-Dal

2012-08-28

Multilayer assemblies of uniform ultrathin film electrodes with good electrical conductivity and very large surface areas were prepared for use as electrochemical capacitors. A layer-by-layer self-assembly approach was employed in an effort to improve the processability of highly conducting polyaniline (PANi) and chemically modified graphene. The electrochemical properties of the multilayer film (MF-) electrodes, including the sheet resistance, volumetric capacitance, and charge/discharge ratio, were determined by the morphological modification and the method used to reduce the graphene oxide (GO) to reduced graphene oxide (RGO) in the multilayer films. The PANi and GO concentrations could be modulated to control the morphology of the GO monolayer film in the multilayer assemblies. Optical ellipsometry was used to determine the thickness of the GO film in a single layer (1.32 nm), which agreed well with the literature value (~1.3 nm). Hydroiodic acid (HI), hydrazine, or pyrolysis were tested for the reduction of GO to RGO. HI was found to be the most efficient technique for reducing the GO to RGO in the multilayer assemblies while minimizing damage to the virgin state of the acid-doped PANi. Ultimately, the MF-electrode, which could be optimized by fine-tuning the nanostructure and selecting a suitable reduction method, exhibited an excellent volumetric capacitance, good cycling stability, and a rapid charge/discharge rate, which are required for supercapacitors. A MF-electrode composed of 15 PANi/RGO bilayers yielded a volumetric capacitance of 584 F/cm(3) at a current density of 3.0 A/cm(3). Although this value decreased exponentially as the current density increased, approaching a value of 170 F/cm(3) at 100 A/cm(3), this volumetric capacitance is one of the best yet reported for the other carbon-based materials. The intriguing features of the MF-electrodes composed of PANi/RGO multilayer films offer a new microdimensional design for high energy storage devices for use in small portable electronic devices.

Amplitude-Stabilized Oscillator for a Capacitance-Probe Electrometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blaes, Brent R.; Schaefer, Rembrandt T.

2012-01-01

A multichannel electrometer voltmeter that employs a mechanical resonator maintained in sustained amplitude-stabilized oscillation has been developed for the space-based measurement of an Internal Electrostatic Discharge Monitor (IESDM) sensor. The IESDM is new sensor technology targeted for integration into a Space Environmental Monitor (SEM) subsystem used for the characterization and monitoring of deep dielectric charging on spacecraft. Creating a stable oscillator from the mechanical resonator was achieved by employing magnetic induction for sensing the resonator s velocity, and forcing a current through a coil embedded in the resonator to produce a Lorentz actuation force that overcomes the resonator s dissipative losses. Control electronics employing an AGC loop provide conditions for stabilized, constant amplitude harmonic oscillation. The prototype resonator was composed of insulating FR4 printed-wireboard (PWB) material containing a flat, embedded, rectangular coil connected through flexure springs to a base PWB, and immersed in a magnetic field having two regions of opposite field direction generated by four neodymium block magnets. In addition to maintaining the mechanical movement needed for the electrometer s capacitor-probe transducer, this oscillator provides a reference signal for synchronous detection of the capacitor probe s output signal current so drift of oscillation frequency due to environmental effects is inconsequential.

Fabrication of multilayered Ge nanocrystals embedded in SiO xGeN y films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Fei; Green, Martin A.; Conibeer, Gavin; Cho, Eun-Chel; Huang, Yidan; Perez-Wurfl, Ivan; Flynn, Chris

2008-09-01

Multilayered Ge nanocrystals embedded in SiO xGeN y films have been fabricated on Si substrate by a (Ge + SiO 2)/SiO xGeN y superlattice approach, using a rf magnetron sputtering technique with a Ge + SiO 2 composite target and subsequent thermal annealing in N 2 ambient at 750 °C for 30 min. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement indicated the formation of Ge nanocrystals with an average size estimated to be 5.4 nm. Raman scattering spectra showed a peak of the Ge-Ge vibrational mode downward shifted to 299.4 cm -1, which was caused by quantum confinement of phonons in the Ge nanocrystals. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that Ge nanocrystals were confined in (Ge + SiO 2) layers. This superlattice approach significantly improved both the size uniformity of Ge nanocrystals and their uniformity of spacing on the 'Z' growth direction.

Microfabricated bragg waveguide

DOEpatents

Fleming, James G.; Lin, Shawn-Yu; Hadley, G. Ronald

2004-10-19

A microfabricated Bragg waveguide of semiconductor-compatible material having a hollow core and a multilayer dielectric cladding can be fabricated by integrated circuit technologies. The microfabricated Bragg waveguide can comprise a hollow channel waveguide or a hollow fiber. The Bragg fiber can be fabricated by coating a sacrificial mandrel or mold with alternating layers of high- and low-refractive-index dielectric materials and then removing the mandrel or mold to leave a hollow tube with a multilayer dielectric cladding. The Bragg channel waveguide can be fabricated by forming a trench embedded in a substrate and coating the inner wall of the trench with a multilayer dielectric cladding. The thicknesses of the alternating layers can be selected to satisfy the condition for minimum radiation loss of the guided wave.

In situ self-sacrificed template synthesis of vanadium nitride/nitrogen-doped graphene nanocomposites for electrochemical capacitors.

PubMed

Liu, Hong-Hui; Zhang, Hong-Ling; Xu, Hong-Bin; Lou, Tai-Ping; Sui, Zhi-Tong; Zhang, Yi

2018-03-15

Vanadium nitride and graphene have been widely used as pseudo-capacitive and electric double-layer capacitor electrode materials for electrochemical capacitors, respectively. However, the poor cycling stability of vanadium nitride and the low capacitance of graphene impeded their practical applications. Herein, we demonstrated an in situ self-sacrificed template method for the synthesis of vanadium nitride/nitrogen-doped graphene (VN/NGr) nanocomposites by the pyrolysis of a mixture of dicyandiamide, glucose, and NH 4 VO 3 . Vanadium nitride nanoparticles of the size in the range of 2 to 7 nm were uniformly embedded into the nitrogen-doped graphene skeleton. Furthermore, the VN/NGr nanocomposites with a high specific surface area and pore volume showed a high specific capacitance of 255 F g -1 at 10 mV s -1 , and an excellent cycling stability (94% capacitance retention after 2000 cycles). The excellent capacitive properties were ascribed to the excellent conductivity of nitrogen-doped graphene, high surface area, high pore volume, and the synergistic effect between vanadium nitride and nitrogen-doped graphene.

Multilayer mounting for long-term light sheet microscopy of zebrafish.

PubMed

Weber, Michael; Mickoleit, Michaela; Huisken, Jan

2014-02-27

Light sheet microscopy is the ideal imaging technique to study zebrafish embryonic development. Due to minimal photo-toxicity and bleaching, it is particularly suited for long-term time-lapse imaging over many hours up to several days. However, an appropriate sample mounting strategy is needed that offers both confinement and normal development of the sample. Multilayer mounting, a new embedding technique using low-concentration agarose in optically clear tubes, now overcomes this limitation and unleashes the full potential of light sheet microscopy for real-time developmental biology.

Multilayer Mounting for Long-term Light Sheet Microscopy of Zebrafish

PubMed Central

Weber, Michael; Mickoleit, Michaela; Huisken, Jan

2014-01-01

Light sheet microscopy is the ideal imaging technique to study zebrafish embryonic development. Due to minimal photo-toxicity and bleaching, it is particularly suited for long-term time-lapse imaging over many hours up to several days. However, an appropriate sample mounting strategy is needed that offers both confinement and normal development of the sample. Multilayer mounting, a new embedding technique using low-concentration agarose in optically clear tubes, now overcomes this limitation and unleashes the full potential of light sheet microscopy for real-time developmental biology. PMID:24637614

Realistic absorption coefficient of each individual film in a multilayer architecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cesaria, M.; Caricato, A. P.; Martino, M.

2015-02-01

A spectrophotometric strategy, termed multilayer-method (ML-method), is presented and discussed to realistically calculate the absorption coefficient of each individual layer embedded in multilayer architectures without reverse engineering, numerical refinements and assumptions about the layer homogeneity and thickness. The strategy extends in a non-straightforward way a consolidated route, already published by the authors and here termed basic-method, able to accurately characterize an absorbing film covering transparent substrates. The ML-method inherently accounts for non-measurable contribution of the interfaces (including multiple reflections), describes the specific film structure as determined by the multilayer architecture and used deposition approach and parameters, exploits simple mathematics, and has wide range of applicability (high-to-weak absorption regions, thick-to-ultrathin films). Reliability tests are performed on films and multilayers based on a well-known material (indium tin oxide) by deliberately changing the film structural quality through doping, thickness-tuning and underlying supporting-film. Results are found consistent with information obtained by standard (optical and structural) analysis, the basic-method and band gap values reported in the literature. The discussed example-applications demonstrate the ability of the ML-method to overcome the drawbacks commonly limiting an accurate description of multilayer architectures.

Characterization of N-doped multilayer graphene grown on 4H-SiC (0001)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Arezki, Hakim, E-mail: hakim.arezki@lgep.supelec.fr; Jaffré, Alexandre; Alamarguy, David

Large-area graphene film doped with hetero-atoms is of great interest for a wide spectrum of nanoelectronics applications, such as field effect devices, super capacitors, fuel cells among many others. Here, we report the structural and electronic properties of nitrogen doped multilayer graphene on 4H-SiC (0001). The incorporation of nitrogen during the growth causes an increase in the D band on the Raman signature indicating that the nitrogen is creating defects. The analysis of micro-Raman mapping of G, D, 2D bands shows a predominantly trilayer graphene with a D band inherent to doping and inhomogeneous dopant distribution at the step edges.more » Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) indicates an n type work function (WF) of 4.1 eV. In addition, a top gate FET device was fabricated showing n-type I-V characteristic after the desorption of oxygen with high electron and holes mobilities.« less

Characterization of casein and poly-l-arginine multilayer films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szyk-Warszyńska, Lilianna; Kilan, Katarzyna; Socha, Robert P.

2014-06-01

Thin films containing casein appear to be a promising material for coatings used in the medical area to promote biomineralization. alfa- and beta-casein and poly-L-arginine multilayer films were formed by the layer-by layer technique and their thickness and mass were analyzed by ellipsometry and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D). We investigated the effect of the type of casein used for the film formation and of the polyethyleneimine anchoring layer on the thickness and mass of adsorbed films. The analysis of the mass of films during their post-treatment with the solutions of various ionic strength and pH provided the information concerning films stability, while the XPS elemental analysis confirmed binding of calcium ions by the casein embedded in the multilayers.

Enhanced dielectric properties due to space charge-induced interfacial polarization in multilayer polymer films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Xinyue; Tseng, Jung-Kai; Treufeld, Imre

We report that with the recent advancement of power electronics, polymer film capacitors have become increasingly important. However, the low temperature rating (up to 85 °C) and low energy density (5 J cm -3 at breakdown) of state-of-the-art biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films have been limiting factors for advanced power electronics. Based on our recent work, multilayer films (MLFs), which consist of a high energy density polymer [e.g., poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)] and a high breakdown/low loss polymer [e.g., polycarbonate (PC)], have shown potential to achieve high energy density (13–17 J cm -3), enhanced breakdown strength, high temperature tolerance, and lowmore » loss simultaneously. In this study, the dielectric properties of PC/PVDF 50/50 32- and 256-layer (32L and 256L) films were investigated. The breakdown strength of the 32L film was as high as 800 MV m -1 at room temperature, as compared to 600 MV m -1 of PVDF and 750 MV m-1 of PC. The temperature rating of the 32L film reached 120 °C, higher than that of BOPP. In addition, it was observed that the 32L film with thicker PC layers exhibited a higher breakdown strength and a lower DC conductivity than the 256L film with thinner PC layers at elevated temperatures. These differences were attributed to the difference in the interfacial polarization of space charges, which was further verified by thermally stimulated depolarization current spectroscopy. In conclusion, we conclude that interfacial polarization endows MLFs with the desirable dielectric properties for next generation film capacitors.« less

Enhanced dielectric properties due to space charge-induced interfacial polarization in multilayer polymer films

DOE PAGES

Chen, Xinyue; Tseng, Jung-Kai; Treufeld, Imre; ...

2017-09-15

We report that with the recent advancement of power electronics, polymer film capacitors have become increasingly important. However, the low temperature rating (up to 85 °C) and low energy density (5 J cm -3 at breakdown) of state-of-the-art biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films have been limiting factors for advanced power electronics. Based on our recent work, multilayer films (MLFs), which consist of a high energy density polymer [e.g., poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)] and a high breakdown/low loss polymer [e.g., polycarbonate (PC)], have shown potential to achieve high energy density (13–17 J cm -3), enhanced breakdown strength, high temperature tolerance, and lowmore » loss simultaneously. In this study, the dielectric properties of PC/PVDF 50/50 32- and 256-layer (32L and 256L) films were investigated. The breakdown strength of the 32L film was as high as 800 MV m -1 at room temperature, as compared to 600 MV m -1 of PVDF and 750 MV m-1 of PC. The temperature rating of the 32L film reached 120 °C, higher than that of BOPP. In addition, it was observed that the 32L film with thicker PC layers exhibited a higher breakdown strength and a lower DC conductivity than the 256L film with thinner PC layers at elevated temperatures. These differences were attributed to the difference in the interfacial polarization of space charges, which was further verified by thermally stimulated depolarization current spectroscopy. In conclusion, we conclude that interfacial polarization endows MLFs with the desirable dielectric properties for next generation film capacitors.« less

High-Performance Li-Ion Capacitor Based on an Activated Carbon Cathode and Well-Dispersed Ultrafine TiO2 Nanoparticles Embedded in Mesoporous Carbon Nanofibers Anode.

PubMed

Yang, Cheng; Lan, Jin-Le; Liu, Wen-Xiao; Liu, Yuan; Yu, Yun-Hua; Yang, Xiao-Ping

2017-06-07

A novel Li-ion capacitor based on an activated carbon cathode and a well-dispersed ultrafine TiO 2 nanoparticles embedded in mesoporous carbon nanofibers (TiO 2 @PCNFs) anode was reported. A series of TiO 2 @PCNFs anode materials were prepared via a scalable electrospinning method followed by carbonization and a postetching method. The size of TiO 2 nanoparticles and the mesoporous structure of the TiO 2 @PCNFs were tuned by varying amounts of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) to increase the energy density and power density of the LIC significantly. Such a subtle designed LIC displayed a high energy density of 67.4 Wh kg -1 at a power density of 75 W kg -1 . Meanwhile, even when the power density was increased to 5 kW kg -1 , the energy density can still maintain 27.5 Wh kg -1 . Moreover, the LIC displayed a high capacitance retention of 80.5% after 10000 cycles at 10 A g -1 . The outstanding electrochemical performance can be contributed to the synergistic effect of the well-dispersed ultrafine TiO 2 nanoparticles, the abundant mesoporous structure, and the conductive carbon networks.

Evaluation of the local homogeneity fluctuation of sinter of the small chip size MLCCs by means of mid-infrared spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsuzuku, Koichiro; Hagiwara, Tomoya; Takeoka, Shunsuke; Ikemoto, Yuka

2008-05-01

Vibration bands of dielectric ceramics appear at a mid-infrared (MIR) and those position and shape are changed owing to change environment of crystal lattice. Therefore, micro-focus MIR spectroscopy is a one of useful tool to evaluate very small size capacitor (e.g. smaller than 0.5 mm in chip size). Very small size multi-layer capacitor: MLCC are one of very important device to produce high quality electrical products such as cell phone, etc. Quality and reliability of MLCC are corresponding to not only average dielectric properties but also local fluctuation of them. Furthermore, local fluctuation of dielectric properties of MLCC could evaluate with MIR spectroscopy. It is possible to obtain a satisfied MIR spectrum from small size samples performed by a micro-focus spectrometer combined with synchrotron radiation as a high luminance light source at beam line BL43IR of SPring-8. From the above result, it is possible to evaluate the degree of homogeneity by comparing the shape change of Ti-O peak on IR spectra.

Large heat flux in electrocaloric multilayer capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faye, Romain; Strozyk, Hervé; Dkhil, Brahim; Defay, Emmanuel

2017-11-01

Multi layer capacitors (MLCs) are considered the most promising refrigerant elements for the design and development of electrocaloric cooling devices. Recently, the heat transfer of these MLCs has been considered. However, the heat exchange with the surrounding environment has been poorly addressed. In this work, we measure by infrared thermography the temperature change versus time in four different heat exchange configurations. Depending on the configurations, Newtonian and non-Newtonian regimes with their corresponding Biot number are determined, providing useful thermal characteristics. Indeed, in the case of large area thermal pad contacts, heat transfer coefficients up to 3400 W · m-2 · K-1 were obtained, showing that the standard (non-optimised) MLCs already reach the needs for designing efficient prototypes. We also determined the ideal Brayton cooling power in case of thick wires contact that varied between 3.4 mW and 9.8 mW for operating frequencies varying from 0.25 Hz to 1 Hz. While only heat conduction was considered here, our work provides some design rules for improving heat exchanges in future devices.

An Electromagnetic/Capacitive Composite Sensor for Testing of Thermal Barrier Coatings

PubMed Central

Ren, Yuan; Pan, Mengchun; Chen, Dixiang; Tian, Wugang

2018-01-01

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) can significantly reduce the operating temperature of the aeroengine turbine blade substrate, and their testing technology is very urgently demanded. Due to their complex multi-layer structure, it is hard to evaluate TBCs with a single function sensor. In this paper, an electromagnetic/capacitive composite sensor is proposed for the testing of thermal barrier coatings. The dielectric material is tested with planar capacitor, and the metallic material is tested with electromagnetic coils. Then, the comprehensive test and evaluation of thermal barrier coating system can be realized. The sensor is optimized by means of theoretical and simulation analysis, and the interaction between the planar capacitor and the electromagnetic coil is studied. The experimental system is built based on an impedance analyser and multiplex unit to evaluate the performance of the composite sensor. The transimpedances and capacitances are measured under different coating parameters, such as thickness and permittivity of top coating as well as bond layer conductivity. The experimental results agree with the simulation analysis, and the feasibility of the sensor is proved. PMID:29783746

Programmable Gain Amplifiers with DC Suppression and Low Output Offset for Bioelectric Sensors

PubMed Central

Carrera, Albano; de la Rosa, Ramón; Alonso, Alonso

2013-01-01

DC-offset and DC-suppression are key parameters in bioelectric amplifiers. However, specific DC analyses are not often explained. Several factors influence the DC-budget: the programmable gain, the programmable cut-off frequencies for high pass filtering and, the low cut-off values and the capacitor blocking issues involved. A new intermediate stage is proposed to address the DC problem entirely. Two implementations were tested. The stage is composed of a programmable gain amplifier (PGA) with DC-rejection and low output offset. Cut-off frequencies are selectable and values from 0.016 to 31.83 Hz were tested, and the capacitor deblocking is embedded in the design. Hence, this PGA delivers most of the required gain with constant low output offset, notwithstanding the gain or cut-off frequency selected. PMID:24084109

Active multilayered capsules for in vivo bone formation

PubMed Central

Facca, S.; Cortez, C.; Mendoza-Palomares, C.; Messadeq, N.; Dierich, A.; Johnston, A. P. R.; Mainard, D.; Voegel, J.-C.; Caruso, F.; Benkirane-Jessel, N.

2010-01-01

Interest in the development of new sources of transplantable materials for the treatment of injury or disease has led to the convergence of tissue engineering with stem cell technology. Bone and joint disorders are expected to benefit from this new technology because of the low self-regenerating capacity of bone matrix secreting cells. Herein, the differentiation of stem cells to bone cells using active multilayered capsules is presented. The capsules are composed of poly-L-glutamic acid and poly-L-lysine with active growth factors embedded into the multilayered film. The bone induction from these active capsules incubated with embryonic stem cells was demonstrated in vitro. Herein, we report the unique demonstration of a multilayered capsule-based delivery system for inducing bone formation in vivo. This strategy is an alternative approach for in vivo bone formation. Strategies using simple chemistry to control complex biological processes would be particularly powerful, as they make production of therapeutic materials simpler and more easily controlled. PMID:20160118

Coupled Molecular Switching Processes in Ordered Mono- and Multilayers of Stimulus-Responsive Rotaxanes on Gold Surfaces

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Interfaces provide the structural basis for function as, for example, encountered in nature in the membrane-embedded photosystem or in technology in solar cells. Synthetic functional multilayers of molecules cooperating in a coupled manner can be fabricated on surfaces through layer-by-layer self-assembly. Ordered arrays of stimulus-responsive rotaxanes undergoing well-controlled axle shuttling are excellent candidates for coupled mechanical motion. Such stimulus-responsive surfaces may help integrate synthetic molecular machines in larger systems exhibiting even macroscopic effects or generating mechanical work from chemical energy through cooperative action. The present work demonstrates the successful deposition of ordered mono- and multilayers of chemically switchable rotaxanes on gold surfaces. Rotaxane mono- and multilayers are shown to reversibly switch in a coupled manner between two ordered states as revealed by linear dichroism effects in angle-resolved NEXAFS spectra. Such a concerted switching process is observed only when the surfaces are well packed, while less densely packed surfaces lacking lateral order do not exhibit such effects. PMID:25782057

Multi-layer robot skin with embedded sensors and muscles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomar, Ankit; Tadesse, Yonas

2016-04-01

Soft artificial skin with embedded sensors and actuators is proposed for a crosscutting study of cognitive science on a facial expressive humanoid platform. This paper focuses on artificial muscles suitable for humanoid robots and prosthetic devices for safe human-robot interactions. Novel composite artificial skin consisting of sensors and twisted polymer actuators is proposed. The artificial skin is conformable to intricate geometries and includes protective layers, sensor layers, and actuation layers. Fluidic channels are included in the elastomeric skin to inject fluids in order to control actuator response time. The skin can be used to develop facially expressive humanoid robots or other soft robots. The humanoid robot can be used by computer scientists and other behavioral science personnel to test various algorithms, and to understand and develop more perfect humanoid robots with facial expression capability. The small-scale humanoid robots can also assist ongoing therapeutic treatment research with autistic children. The multilayer skin can be used for many soft robots enabling them to detect both temperature and pressure, while actuating the entire structure.

Charging/discharging behavior and mechanism of silicon quantum dots embedded in amorphous silicon carbide films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, Xixing; Zeng, Xiangbin; Zheng, Wenjun; Liao, Wugang; Feng, Feng

2015-01-01

The charging/discharging behavior of Si quantum dots (QDs) embedded in amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiCx) was investigated based on the Al/insulating layer/Si QDs embedded in a-SiCx/SiO2/p-Si (metal-insulator-quantum dots-oxide-silicon) multilayer structure by capacitance-voltage (C-V) and conductance-voltage (G-V) measurements. Transmission electron microscopy and Raman scattering spectroscopy measurements reveal the microstructure and distribution of Si QDs. The occurrence and shift of conductance peaks indicate the carrier transfer and the charging/discharging behavior of Si QDs. The multilayer structure shows a large memory window of 5.2 eV at ±8 V sweeping voltage. Analysis of the C-V and G-V results allows a quantification of the Coulomb charging energy and the trapped charge density associated with the charging/discharging behavior. It is found that the memory window is related to the size effect, and Si QDs with large size or low Coulomb charging energy can trap two or more electrons by changing the charging voltage. Meanwhile, the estimated lower potential barrier height between Si QD and a-SiCx, and the lower Coulomb charging energy of Si QDs could enhance the charging and discharging effect of Si QDs and lead to an enlarged memory window. Further studies of the charging/discharging mechanism of Si QDs embedded in a-SiCx can promote the application of Si QDs in low-power consumption semiconductor memory devices.

A functional protein retention and release multilayer with high stability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nie, Kun; An, Qi; Zhang, Yihe

2016-04-01

Effective and robust interfacial protein retention lies at the heart of the fabrication of protein-based functional interfaces, which is potentially applicable in catalysis, medical therapy, antifouling, and smart devices, but remains challenging due to the sensitive nature of proteins. This study reports a general protein retention strategy to spatial-temporally confine various types of proteins at interfacial regions. The proteins were preserved in mesoporous silica nanoparticles embedded in covalently woven multilayers. It is worth noting that the protein retention strategy effectively preserves the catalytic capabilities of the proteins, and the multilayer structure is robust enough to withstand the bubbling catalytic reactions and could be repeatedly used due to conservation of proteins. The spatiotemporal retention of proteins could be adjusted by varying the number of capping layers. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the protein-loaded interfacial layers could not only be used to construct catalytic-active interfaces, but also be integrated as the power-generating unit to propel a macroscopic floating device.Effective and robust interfacial protein retention lies at the heart of the fabrication of protein-based functional interfaces, which is potentially applicable in catalysis, medical therapy, antifouling, and smart devices, but remains challenging due to the sensitive nature of proteins. This study reports a general protein retention strategy to spatial-temporally confine various types of proteins at interfacial regions. The proteins were preserved in mesoporous silica nanoparticles embedded in covalently woven multilayers. It is worth noting that the protein retention strategy effectively preserves the catalytic capabilities of the proteins, and the multilayer structure is robust enough to withstand the bubbling catalytic reactions and could be repeatedly used due to conservation of proteins. The spatiotemporal retention of proteins could be adjusted by varying the number of capping layers. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the protein-loaded interfacial layers could not only be used to construct catalytic-active interfaces, but also be integrated as the power-generating unit to propel a macroscopic floating device. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: UV-vis spectra of the substrate covered by only polymeric (PAH/PAA)5/(PAH/DAS)5 multilayers, UV-vis spectra of the covalently cross-linked (PAH/SiO2 NP)5/(PAH/DAS)5 hybrid multilayers and (CAT/PAH)5/(PAH/DAS)5 films. TEM of the mesoporous silica. See DOI: 10.1039/c6nr01671e

Permeability Evolution of Propped Artificial Fractures in Green River Shale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiang; Feng, Zijun; Han, Gang; Elsworth, Derek; Marone, Chris; Saffer, Demian; Cheon, Dae-Sung

2017-06-01

This paper compares the evolution of permeability with effective stress in propped fractures in shale for native CH4 compared with that for sorbing CO2, slightly sorbing N2 and non-sorbing He. We examine the response for laboratory experiments on artificial propped fractures in Green River Shale to explore mechanisms of proppant embedment and fracture diagenesis. Split cylindrical specimens sandwich a proppant bead-pack at a constant confining stress of 20 MPa and with varied pore pressure. Permeability and sorption characteristics are measured with the pulse transient method. To explore the effect of swelling and embedment on fracture surface geometry, we measure the evolution of conductivity characteristics for different proppant geometries (single layer vs. multilayer), gas saturation and specimen variation in order to simulate both production and enhanced gas recovery. The resulting morphology of embedment is measured by white light interferometry and characterized via surface roughness parameter of mean, maximum and root-mean-square amplitudes. For both strongly (CO2, CH4) and slightly adsorptive gases (N2), the permeability first decreases with an increase in gas pressure due to swelling before effective stress effects dominate above the Langmuir pressure threshold. CO2 with its highest adsorption affinity produces the lowest permeability among these three gas permeants. Monolayer propped specimens show maximum swelling and lowered k/k 0 ratio and increased embedment recorded in the surface roughness relative to the multilayered specimens. Permeabilities measured for both injection and depletion cycles generally overlap and are repeatable with little hysteresis. This suggests the dominant role of reversible swelling over irreversible embedment. Gas permeant composition and related swelling have an important effect on the permeability evolution of shales.

Material parameters from frequency dispersion simulation of floating gate memory with Ge nanocrystals in HfO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palade, C.; Lepadatu, A. M.; Slav, A.; Lazanu, S.; Teodorescu, V. S.; Stoica, T.; Ciurea, M. L.

2018-01-01

Trilayer memory capacitors with Ge nanocrystals (NCs) floating gate in HfO2 were obtained by magnetron sputtering deposition on p-type Si substrate followed by rapid thermal annealing at relatively low temperature of 600 °C. The frequency dispersion of capacitance and resistance was measured in accumulation regime of Al/HfO2 gate oxide/Ge NCs in HfO2 floating gate/HfO2 tunnel oxide/SiOx/p-Si/Al memory capacitors. For simulation of the frequency dispersion a complex circuit model was used considering an equivalent parallel RC circuit for each layer of the trilayer structure. A series resistance due to metallic contacts and Si substrate was necessary to be included in the model. A very good fit to the experimental data was obtained and the parameters of each layer in the memory capacitor, i.e. capacitances and resistances were determined and in turn the intrinsic material parameters, i.e. dielectric constants and resistivities of layers were evaluated. The results are very important for the study and optimization of the hysteresis behaviour of floating gate memories based on NCs embedded in oxide.

Memristor comprising film with comb-like structure of nanocolumns of metal oxide embedded in a metal oxide matrix

DOEpatents

Driscoll, Judith L; Lee, ShinBuhm; Jia, Quanxi

2015-05-12

Films having a comb-like structure of nanocolumns of Sm.sub.2O.sub.3 embedded in a SrTiO.sub.3 formed spontaneously on a substrate surface by pulsed laser deposition. In an embodiment, the nanocolumns had a width of about 20 nm with spaces between nanocolumns of about 10 nm. The films exhibited memristive behavior, and were extremely uniform and tunable. Oxygen deficiencies were located at vertical interfaces between the nanocolumns and the matrix. The substrates may be single-layered or multilayered.

Design and characterization of a single channel two-liquid capacitor and its application to hyperelastic strain sensing.

PubMed

Liu, Shanliangzi; Sun, Xiaoda; Hildreth, Owen J; Rykaczewski, Konrad

2015-03-07

Room temperature liquid-metal microfluidic devices are attractive systems for hyperelastic strain sensing. These liquid-phase electronics are intrinsically soft and retain their functionality even when stretched to several times their original length. Currently two types of liquid metal-based strain sensors exist for in-plane measurements: single-microchannel resistive and two-microchannel capacitive devices. With a winding serpentine channel geometry, these sensors typically have a footprint of about a square centimeter. This large footprint of an individual device limits the number of sensors that can be embedded into, for example, electronic fabric or skin. In this work we introduce an alternative capacitor design consisting of two liquid metal electrodes separated by a liquid dielectric material within a single straight channel. Using a liquid insulator instead of a solid elastomer enables us to tailor the system's capacitance by selecting high or low dielectric constant liquids. We quantify the effects of the electrode geometry including the diameter, spacing, and meniscus shape as well as the dielectric constant of the insulating liquid on the overall system's capacitance. We also develop a procedure for fabricating the two-liquid capacitor within a single straight polydiemethylsiloxane channel and demonstrate that this device can have about 25 times higher capacitance per sensor's base area when compared to two-channel liquid metal capacitors. Lastly, we characterize the response of this compact device to strain and identify operational issues arising from complex hydrodynamics near liquid-liquid and liquid-elastomer interfaces.

Three-phase Fe3O4/MWNT/PVDF nanocomposites with high dielectric constant for embedded capacitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Haiyun; Fu, Qiong; Luo, Jiangqi; Zhao, Dongmei; Luo, Laihui; Li, Weiping

2017-06-01

To get the dielectric material with a high dielectric constant and low dielectric loss, the modified multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT-S) and ferroferric oxide (Fe3O4) particles were embedded into polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) to fabricate the Fe3O4/MWNT-S/PVDF ternary composites. The maximum dielectric constant of these composites can be up to 3490 at a very low filler fraction, and dielectric loss can be suppressed below 0.5. The small amount of the second filler (Fe3O4) can accelerate the formation of a percolation conductive network and improve the interfacial polarization. Therefore, the excellent dielectric properties can be achieved at low loading of fillers.

High-performance free-standing capacitor electrodes of multilayered Co9S8 plates wrapped by carbonized poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate)/reduced graphene oxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Tinghui; Li, Yali; Liu, Dequan; Gu, Yipeng; Qin, Shengchun; Guo, Xin; Guo, Hui; Ding, Yongqiang; Liu, Qiming; Chen, Qiang; Li, Junshuai; He, Deyan

2018-03-01

In this paper, a free-standing electrode structure composed of multilayered Co9S8 plates wrapped by carbonized poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate)/reduced graphene oxide (PEDOT:PSS/rGO) layers is introduced. Excellent supercapacitive behaviors, especially long cycling stability at high current densities are delivered owing to the synergetic effects of stable electrical contact between the active material and carbonized PEDOT:PSS/rGO due to the wrapped configuration, efficient charge exchange between the multilayered Co9S8 plates and electrolyte, improved electrical conductance by rGO, and plenty of voids for accommodating volume changes. For the optimized electrode (starting materials: 0.5 mL PEDOT:PSS, 1.0 mL GO (6.0 mg mL-1) and 10.0 mg Co(OH)2), a specific capacitance of about 788.9 F g-1 at 1.0 A g-1 and good cycling stability of over 100% of the initial capacitance (∼488.6 F g-1) after 10000 cycles at a current density of 15.0 A g-1 can be achieved. The assembled asymmetric supercapacitor based on the optimized electrode//active carbon exhibits an energy density of ∼19.6 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 400.9 W kg-1.

Enhanced inductance in laminated multilayer magnetic planar inductor for sensitive magnetic field detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yao; Wen, Yumei; Song, Fapeng; Li, Ping; Yu, Shumin

2018-04-01

The authors reported laminated multilayer magnetic planar inductors for sensitive magnetic field detection, which consist of two serially connected sandwich planar inductors (i.e., FeCuNbSiB/micro planar coil/FeCuNbSiB/micro planar coil/FeCuNbSiB). When ac current is applied to coils, the greatly increased inductance by the incorporated high permeability magnetic material and enlarged mutual-inductance among coils significantly improve the sensor sensitivity to the dc magnetic field. The demagnetizing field is also found to affect the performance severely when the shape and the number of magnetic layers vary. The investigation indicates that the proposed laminate can provide an inductance ratio of 665% at the frequency of 1 kHz. By connecting the sensor with a capacitor, the sensor output with varying dc magnetic fields is obtained by tuning the resonant frequency shift. The study indicates that the proposed sensor can provide a sensitivity of about 3.57 kHz/Oe with a resolution of 28 nT between 2 Oe and 60 Oe, which outperforms most of the magnetic sensors with frequency shifting output.

Deposition of thin silicon layers on transferred large area graphene

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lupina, Grzegorz, E-mail: lupina@ihp-microelectronics.com; Kitzmann, Julia; Lukosius, Mindaugas

2013-12-23

Physical vapor deposition of Si onto transferred graphene is investigated. At elevated temperatures, Si nucleates preferably on wrinkles and multilayer graphene islands. In some cases, however, Si can be quasi-selectively grown only on the monolayer graphene regions while the multilayer islands remain uncovered. Experimental insights and ab initio calculations show that variations in the removal efficiency of carbon residuals after the transfer process can be responsible for this behavior. Low-temperature Si seed layer results in improved wetting and enables homogeneous growth. This is an important step towards realization of electronic devices in which graphene is embedded between two Si layers.

Eeonomer 200F®: A High-Performance Nanofiller for Polymer Reinforcement—Investigation of the Structure, Morphology and Dielectric Properties of Polyvinyl Alcohol/Eeonomer-200F® Nanocomposites for Embedded Capacitor Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deshmukh, Kalim; Ahamed, M. Basheer; Deshmukh, Rajendra R.; Sadasivuni, Kishor Kumar; Ponnamma, Deepalekshmi; Pasha, S. K. Khadheer; AlMaadeed, Mariam Al-Ali; Polu, Anji Reddy; Chidambaram, K.

2017-04-01

In the present study, Eeonomer 200F® was used as a high-performance nanofiller to prepare polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based nanocomposite films using a simple and eco-friendly solution casting technique. The prepared PVA/Eeonomer nanocomposite films were further investigated using various techniques including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, polarized optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and mechanical testing. The dielectric behavior of the nanocomposites was examined over a broad frequency range from 50 Hz to 20 MHz and temperatures ranging from 40°C to 150°C. A notable improvement in the thermal stability of the PVA was observed with the incorporation of Eeonomer. The nanocomposites also demonstrated improved mechanical properties due to the fine dispersion of the Eeonomer, and good compatibility and strong interaction between the Eeonomer and the PVA matrix. A significant improvement was observed in the dielectric properties of the PVA upon the addition of Eeonomer. The nanocomposites containing 5 wt.% Eeonomer exhibited a dielectric constant of about 222.65 (50 Hz, 150°C), which was 18 times that of the dielectric constant (12.33) of neat PVA film under the same experimental conditions. These results thus indicate that PVA/Eeonomer nanocomposites can be used as a flexible high-k dielectric material for embedded capacitor applications.

Poly(vinylidene fluoride)-La(0.5)Sr(0.5)CoO(3-δ) composites: the influence of LSCO particle size on the structure and dielectric properties.

PubMed

Deepa, K S; Shaiju, P; Sebastian, M T; Gowd, E Bhoje; James, J

2014-08-28

Dielectric composites composed of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and La0.5Sr0.5CoO3-δ (LSCO) with high permittivity, low loss and high breakdown strength have been developed. The effects of particle size of LSCO (fine (∼250 nm) and coarse (∼3 μm)) on the phase crystallization of PVDF and dielectric properties of polymer-LSCO composites are studied. The inclusion of fine LSCO into PVDF readily favours the formation of polar crystals (β and γ-phases), which makes the composite suitable for both electromechanical and high charge storage embedded capacitor applications. Moreover, the addition of fine LSCO particles also increases the overall crystallization rate as well as the melting point of PVDF. The composite containing fine LSCO particles gave a percolation threshold at about 25 volume percentage, while that with coarse particles did not show any percolation even at very high volume percentage. As a result of fine LSCO particle loading, the composite exhibited a relative permittivity (εr) of ∼600, a conductivity of 2.7 × 10(-7) S cm(-1), a dielectric loss (tan δ) of 0.7 at 1 kHz and a breakdown voltage of 100 V even at 20 volume percentage of a filler, demonstrating promising applications in the embedded capacitors.

Phase transformation in SiOx/SiO₂ multilayers for optoelectronics and microelectronics applications.

PubMed

Roussel, M; Talbot, E; Pratibha Nalini, R; Gourbilleau, F; Pareige, P

2013-09-01

Due to the quantum confinement, silicon nanoclusters (Si-ncs) embedded in a dielectric matrix are of prime interest for new optoelectronics and microelectronics applications. In this context, SiO(x)/SiO₂ multilayers have been prepared by magnetron sputtering and subsequently annealed to induce phase separation and Si clusters growth. The aim of this paper is to study phase separation processes and formation of nanoclusters in SiO(x)/SiO₂ multilayers by atom probe tomography. Influences of the silicon supersaturation, annealing temperature and SiO(x) and SiO₂ layer thicknesses on the final microstructure have been investigated. It is shown that supersaturation directly determines phase separation regime between nucleation/classical growth and spinodal decomposition. Annealing temperature controls size of the particles and interface with the surrounding matrix. Layer thicknesses directly control Si-nc shapes from spherical to spinodal-like structures. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optical and structural characterization of Ge clusters embedded in ZrO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agocs, E.; Zolnai, Z.; Rossall, A. K.; van den Berg, J. A.; Fodor, B.; Lehninger, D.; Khomenkova, L.; Ponomaryov, S.; Gudymenko, O.; Yukhymchuk, V.; Kalas, B.; Heitmann, J.; Petrik, P.

2017-11-01

The change of optical and structural properties of Ge nanoclusters in ZrO2 matrix have been investigated by spectroscopic ellipsometry versus annealing temperatures. Radio-frequency top-down magnetron sputtering approach was used to produce the samples of different types, i.e. single-layers of pure Ge, pure ZrO2 and Ge-rich-ZrO2 as well as multi-layers stacked of 40 periods of 5-nm-Ge-rich-ZrO2 layers alternated by 5-nm-ZrO2 ones. Germanium nanoclusters in ZrO2 host were formed by rapid-thermal annealing at 600-800 °C during 30 s in nitrogen atmosphere. Reference optical properties for pure ZrO2 and pure Ge have been extracted using single-layer samples. As-deposited multi-layer structures can be perfectly modeled using the effective medium theory. However, annealed multi-layers demonstrated a significant diffusion of elements that was confirmed by medium energy ion scattering measurements. This fact prevents fitting of such annealed structure either by homogeneous or by periodic multi-layer models.

Embedded feature ranking for ensemble MLP classifiers.

PubMed

Windeatt, Terry; Duangsoithong, Rakkrit; Smith, Raymond

2011-06-01

A feature ranking scheme for multilayer perceptron (MLP) ensembles is proposed, along with a stopping criterion based upon the out-of-bootstrap estimate. To solve multi-class problems feature ranking is combined with modified error-correcting output coding. Experimental results on benchmark data demonstrate the versatility of the MLP base classifier in removing irrelevant features.

Criteria for selecting electrodes for electrical stimulation: theoretical and practical considerations.

PubMed

Brummer, S B; Robblee, L S; Hambrecht, F T

1983-01-01

Smaller, more charge-intensive electrodes are needed for "safe" stimulation of the nervous system. In this paper we review critical concepts and the state of the art in electrodes. Control of charge density and charge balance are essential to avoid tissue electrolysis. Chemical criteria for "safe" stimulation are reviewed ("safe" is equated with "chemically reversible"). An example of a safe, but generally impractical, charge-injection process is double-layer charging. The limit here is the onset of irreversible faradaic processes. More charge can be safely injected with so-called "capacitor" electrodes, such as porous intermixtures of Ta/Ta2O5. BaTiO3 has excellent dielectric properties and may provide a new generation of capacitor electrodes. Faradaic charge injection is usually partially irreversible since some of the products escape into the solution. With Pt, up to 400 muc/cm2 real area can be absorbed by faradaic reactions of surface-adsorbed species, but a small part is lost due to metal dissolution. The surface of "activated" Ir is covered with a multilayer hydrated oxide. Charge injection occurs via rapid valence change within this oxide. Little or no metal dissolution is observed, and gassing limits are not exceeded even under stringent conditions.

Generating an AC amplitude magnetic flux density value up to 150 μT at a frequency up to 100 kHz

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ulvr, Michal; Polonský, Jakub

2017-05-01

AC magnetic field analyzers with a triaxial coil probe are widely used by health and safety professionals, in manufacturing, and in service industries. For traceable calibration of these analyzers, it is important to be able to generate a stable, homogeneous reference AC magnetic flux density (MFD). In this paper, the generating of AC amplitude MFD value of 150 μT by single-layer Helmholtz type solenoid, described in previous work, was expanded up to a frequency of 100 kHz using the effect of serial resonance. A programmable capacitor array has been developed with a range of adjustable values from 50 pF to 51225 pF. In addition, the multi-layer search coil with a nominal area turns value of 1.3m2, used for adjusting AC MFD in the solenoid, has been modified by a transimpedance amplifier for use in a wider frequency range than up to 3 kHz. The possibility of using the programmable capacitor array up to 150 kHz has also been tested. An AC amplitude MFD value of 150 μT can be generated with expanded uncertainty better than 0.6% up to 100 kHz.

Electrically Small Folded Slot Antenna Utilizing Capacitive Loaded Slot Lines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scardelletti, Maximilian C.; Ponchak, George E.; Merritt, Shane; Minor, John S.; Zorman, Christian A.

2007-01-01

This paper presents an electrically small, coplanar waveguide fed, folded slot antenna that uses capacitive loading. Several antennas are fabricated with and without capacitive loading to demonstrate the ability of this design approach to reduce the resonant frequency of the antenna, which is analogous to reducing the antenna size. The antennas are fabricated on Cu-clad Rogers Duriod(TM) 6006 with multilayer chip capacitors to load the antennas. Simulated and measured results show close agreement, thus, validating the approach. The electrically small antennas have a measured return loss greater than 15 dB and a gain of 5.4, 5.6, and 2.7 dBi at 4.3, 3.95, and 3.65 GHz, respectively.

Rocket Propulsion 21 Steering Committee Meeting (RP21) NASA In-Space Propulsion Update

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klem, Mark

2015-01-01

In-house Support of NEXT-C Contract Status Thruster NEXT Long Duration Test post-test destructive evaluation in progress Findings will be used to verify service life models identify potential design improvements Cathode heater fabrication initiated for cyclic life testing Thruster operating algorithm definition verification initiated to provide operating procedures for mission users High voltage propellant isolator life test voluntarily terminated after successfully operating 51,200 h Power processor unit (PPU) Replaced all problematic stacked multilayer ceramic dual inline pin capacitors within PPU Test bed Rebuilt installed discharge power supply primary power board Completed full functional performance characterization Final test report in progress Transferred PPU Testbed to contractor to support prototype design effort.

Dielectric properties of Ni-coated BaTiO/sub 3-/PMMA composite.

PubMed

Park, Jung Min; Lee, Hee Young; Kim, Jeong-Joo; Park, Eun Tae; Chung, Yul-Kyo

2008-05-01

Dielectric properties of Ni-coated BaTiO(3)-PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) composite were studied from an embedded capacitor application viewpoint. Volume loading of up to 50% was attempted, and the results were compared with uncoated BaTiO(3)-PMMA composite. Ni-coating on BaTiO(3) powder was found to greatly improve the dielectric properties of the composite, especially the dielectric constant value. K values of about 100 with temperature-stable X7E characteristics were realized.

Wave propagation of carbon nanotubes embedded in an elastic medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Natsuki, Toshiaki; Hayashi, Takuya; Endo, Morinobu

2005-02-01

This paper presents analytical models of wave propagation in single- and double-walled carbon nanotubes, as well as nanotubes embedded in an elastic matrix. The nanotube structures are treated within the multilayer thin shell approximation with the elastic properties taken to be those of the graphene sheet. The double-walled nanotubes are coupled together through the van der Waals force between the inner and outer nanotubes. For carbon nanotubes embedded in an elastic matrix, the surrounding elastic medium can be described by a Winkler model. Tube wave propagation of both symmetrical and asymmetrical modes can be analyzed based on the present elastic continuum model. It is found that the asymmetrical wave behavior of single- and double-walled nanotubes is significantly different. The behavior is also different from that in the surrounding elastic medium.

Effect of magnetization boundary condition on cavity magnon polariton of YIG thin film.

PubMed

Jiang, H H; Xiao, Y; Hu, C M; Guo, H; Xia, K

2018-06-22

Motivated by recent studies of cavity magnon polariton (CMP), we extended a previous theoretical work to generalize microwave transmission calculation with various magnetization boundary condition of YIG thin film embedded in cavity. It is found that numerical implementation given in this paper can be easily applied to other magnetization boundary condition and extended to magnetic multilayers. Numerical results show that ferromagnetic resonance mode of microwave transmission spectrum, which is absent in previous calculation, can be recovered by altering the pinning condition of surface spins. The demonstrated reliability of our theory opens attractive perspectives for studying CMP of thin film with complicated surface magnetization distribution and magnetic multilayers.

Numerical Analysis of Deflections of Multi-Layered Beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biliński, Tadeusz; Socha, Tomasz

2015-03-01

The paper concerns the rheological bending problem of wooden beams reinforced with embedded composite bars. A theoretical model of the behaviour of a multi-layered beam is presented. The component materials of this beam are described with equations for the linear viscoelastic five-parameter rheological model. Two numerical analysis methods for the long-term response of wood structures are presented. The first method has been developed with SCILAB software. The second one has been developed with the finite element calculation software ABAQUS and user subroutine UMAT. Laboratory investigations were conducted on sample beams of natural dimensions in order to validate the proposed theoretical model and verify numerical simulations. Good agreement between experimental measurements and numerical results is observed.

Effect of magnetization boundary condition on cavity magnon polariton of YIG thin film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, H. H.; Xiao, Y.; Hu, C. M.; Guo, H.; Xia, K.

2018-06-01

Motivated by recent studies of cavity magnon polariton (CMP), we extended a previous theoretical work to generalize microwave transmission calculation with various magnetization boundary condition of YIG thin film embedded in cavity. It is found that numerical implementation given in this paper can be easily applied to other magnetization boundary condition and extended to magnetic multilayers. Numerical results show that ferromagnetic resonance mode of microwave transmission spectrum, which is absent in previous calculation, can be recovered by altering the pinning condition of surface spins. The demonstrated reliability of our theory opens attractive perspectives for studying CMP of thin film with complicated surface magnetization distribution and magnetic multilayers.

An embedding structure of the cross-tail CSs and its relation to the ion composition according to MAVEN observations in the Martian magnetotai

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grigorenko, E. E.; Shuvalov, S. D.; Malova, H. V.; Zelenyi, L. M.

2017-12-01

The multilayered (embedded) Current Sheets (CS) are often observed in the Earth's magnetotail. Simulations based on quasi-adiabatic dynamics of different ion components showed that the observed embedding structures can be reconstructed by taking into account the net electric currents carried by ions with different masses and, thus, with different gyroradii. The last determines the spatial scales of the corresponding current layers. The embedding can be quantitatively described by the ratio of the magnetic field value at the edges of a thin embedded layer Bext to the value of the magnetic field outside a thick CS, B0. For the Earth's magnetotail it was shown that there is a relation between the Bext/B0 and the relative densities of heavy and light ion components. In the Martian magnetotail the embedding feature is also often observed in the cross-tail CS formed by the draping of the IMF field lines. The analysis of 100 CS crossings by MAVEN spacecraft showed that in the Martian magnetotail the relation between the embedding characteristics and ion composition is similar to the one observed in the Earth's magnetotail and the spatial scales of the embedded layers are defined by the gyroradii of the current carrying ion component.

Effect of BST film thickness on the performance of tunable interdigital capacitors grown by MBE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyers, Cedric J. G.; Freeze, Christopher R.; Stemmer, Susanne; York, Robert A.

2017-12-01

Voltage-tunable, interdigital capacitors (IDCs) were fabricated on Ba0.29Sr0.71TiO3 grown by hybrid molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). In this growth technique, we utilize the metal-organic precursor titanium tetraisopropoxide rather than solid-source Ti as with conventional MBE. Two samples of varying BaxSr(1-x)TiO3 (BST) thicknesses were fabricated and analyzed. High-quality, epitaxial Pt electrodes were deposited by sputtering from a high-purity Pt target at 825 °C. The Pt electrodes were patterned and etched by argon ion milling, passivated with reactively sputtered SiO2, and then metallized with lift-off Ti/Au. The fabricated devices consisted of two-port IDCs embedded in ground-signal-ground, coplanar waveguide (CPW) transmission lines to enable radio-frequency (RF) probing. The sample included open and thru de-embedding structures to remove pad and CPW parasitic impedances. Two-port RF scattering (S) parameters were measured from 100 MHz to 40 GHz while DC bias was stepped from 0 V to 100 V. The IDCs exhibit a high zero-bias radio-frequency (RF) quality factor (Q) approaching 200 at 1 GHz and better than 2.3:1 capacitance tuning for the 300-nm-thick sample. Differences in the Q(V) and C(V) response with varying thicknesses indicate that unknown higher order material phenomena are contributing to the loss and tuning characteristics of the material.

A Wireless, Passive Sensor for Quantifying Packaged Food Quality.

PubMed

Tan, Ee Lim; Ng, Wen Ni; Shao, Ranyuan; Pereles, Brandon D; Ong, Keat Ghee

2007-09-05

This paper describes the fabrication of a wireless, passive sensor based on aninductive-capacitive resonant circuit, and its application for in situ monitoring of thequality of dry, packaged food such as cereals, and fried and baked snacks. The sensor ismade of a planar inductor and capacitor printed on a paper substrate. To monitor foodquality, the sensor is embedded inside the food package by adhering it to the package'sinner wall; its response is remotely detected through a coil connected to a sensor reader. Asfood quality degrades due to increasing humidity inside the package, the paper substrateabsorbs water vapor, changing the capacitor's capacitance and the sensor's resonantfrequency. Therefore, the taste quality of the packaged food can be indirectly determined bymeasuring the change in the sensor's resonant frequency. The novelty of this sensortechnology is its wireless and passive nature, which allows in situ determination of foodquality. In addition, the simple fabrication process and inexpensive sensor material ensure alow sensor cost, thus making this technology economically viable.

Reversible Li-ion conversion reaction for a Ti xGe alloy in a Ti/Ge multilayer

DOE PAGES

Chen, Xiao; Fister, Tim T.; Esbenshade, Jennifer; ...

2017-02-13

Group IV inter-metallics electrochemically alloy with Li with stoichiometries as high as Li 4.4M (M=Si, Ge, Sn or Pb). Furthermore, this provides the second highest known specific capacity (after pure lithium metal) for lithium ion batteries, but the dramatic volume change during cycling greatly limits their use as anodes in Li-ion batteries. We describe an approach to overcome this limitation by constructing electrodes using a Ge/Ti multilayer architecture. In operando X-ray reflectivity and ex situ transmission electron microscopy are used to characterize the hetero-layer structure at various lithium stoichiometries along a lithiation/delithiation cycle. The as-deposited multilayer spontaneously forms a one-dimensionalmore » Ti xGe/Ti/Ti xGe core-shell planar structure embedded in a Ge matrix. The interfacial Ti xGe alloy is observed to be electrochemically active and exhibits reversible phase separation (i.e. a conversion reaction). Including the germanium components, the overall multilayer structure exhibits a 2.3-fold reversible vertical expansion and contraction and is shown to have improved capacity and capacity retention with respect to a Ge film with equivalent active material thickness.« less

Reversible Li-Ion Conversion Reaction for a TixGe Alloy in a Ti/Ge Multilayer.

PubMed

Chen, Xiao; Fister, Tim T; Esbenshade, Jennifer; Shi, Bing; Hu, Xianyi; Wu, Jinsong; Gewirth, Andrew A; Bedzyk, Michael J; Fenter, Paul

2017-03-08

Group IV intermetallics electrochemically alloy with Li with stoichiometries as high as Li 4.4 M (M = Si, Ge, Sn, or Pb). This provides the second highest known specific capacity (after pure lithium metal) for lithium-ion batteries, but the dramatic volume change during cycling greatly limits their use as anodes in Li-ion batteries. We describe an approach to overcome this limitation by constructing electrodes using a Ge/Ti multilayer architecture. In operando X-ray reflectivity and ex situ transmission electron microscopy are used to characterize the heterolayer structure at various lithium stoichiometries along a lithiation/delithiation cycle. The as-deposited multilayer spontaneously forms a one-dimensional Ti x Ge/Ti/Ti x Ge core-shell planar structure embedded in a Ge matrix. The interfacial Ti x Ge alloy is observed to be electrochemically active and exhibits reversible phase separation (i.e., a conversion reaction). Including the germanium components, the overall multilayer structure exhibits a 2.3-fold reversible vertical expansion and contraction and is shown to have improved capacity and capacity retention with respect to a Ge film with equivalent active material thickness.

The fabrication of nanopatterns with Au nanoparticles-embedded micelles via nanoimprint lithography.

PubMed

Lee, Jung-Pil; Kim, Eun-Uk; Koh, Haeng-Deog; Kang, Nam-Goo; Jung, Gun-Young; Lee, Jae-Suk

2009-09-09

We fabricated nanopatterns with Au nanoparticles-embedded micelles (Au-micelles) by self-assembly of block copolymers via nanoimprint lithography. The micelle structure prepared by self-assembled block copolymers was used as a template for the synthesis of Au nanoparticles (Au NPs). Au NPs were synthesized in situ inside the micelles of polystyrene-block-poly(2-vinylpyridine) (PS- b-P2VP). Au-micelles were arranged on the trenches of the polymer template, which was imprinted by nanoimprint lithography. The fabrication of line-type and dot-type nanopatterns was carried out by the combined method. In addition, multilayer nanopatterns of the Au-micelles were also proposed.

Heat resistive dielectric multi-layer micro-mirror array in epitaxial lateral overgrowth gallium nitride.

PubMed

Huang, Chen-Yang; Ku, Hao-Min; Liao, Wei-Tsai; Chao, Chu-Li; Tsay, Jenq-Dar; Chao, Shiuh

2009-03-30

Ta2O5 / SiO2 dielectric multi-layer micro-mirror array (MMA) with 3mm mirror size and 6mm array period was fabricated on c-plane sapphire substrate. The MMA was subjected to 1200 degrees C high temperature annealing and remained intact with high reflectance in contrast to the continuous multi-layer for which the layers have undergone severe damage by 1200 degrees C annealing. Epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) of gallium nitride (GaN) was applied to the MMA that was deposited on both sapphire and sapphire with 2:56 mm GaN template. The MMA was fully embedded in the ELO GaN and remained intact. The result implies that our MMA is compatible to the high temperature growth environment of GaN and the MMA could be incorporated into the structure of the micro-LED array as a one to one micro backlight reflector, or as the patterned structure on the large area LED for controlling the output light.

Synergistic Enhancement of Enzyme Performance and Resilience via Orthogonal Peptide-Protein Chemistry Enabled Multilayer Construction.

PubMed

Zhang, Xue-Jian; Wang, Xiao-Wei; Sun, Jiaxing; Su, Chao; Yang, Shuguang; Zhang, Wen-Bin

2018-05-16

Protein immobilization is critical to utilize their unique functions in diverse applications. Herein, we report that orthogonal peptide-protein chemistry enabled multilayer construction can facilitate the incorporation of various folded structural domains, including calmodulin in different states, affibody and dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR). An extended conformation is found to be the most advantageous for steady film growth. The resulting protein thin films exhibit sensitive and selective responsive behaviors to bio-signals (Ca2+, TFP, NADPH, etc.) and fully maintain the catalytic activity of DHFR. The approach is applicable to different substrates such as hydrophobic gold and hydrophilic silica microparticles. The DHFR enzyme can be immobilized onto silica microparticles with tunable amounts. The multi-layer set-up exhibits a synergistic enhancement of DHFR activity with increasing number of bilayers and also makes the embedded DHFR more resilient to lyophilization. Therefore, this is a convenient and versatile method for protein immobilization with potential benefits of synergistic enhancement in enzyme performance and resilience.

Development of Flexible Multilayer Circuits and Cables

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barnes, Kevin N.; Bryant, Robert; Holloway, Nancy; Draughon, Fred

2005-01-01

A continuing program addresses the development of flexible multilayer electronic circuits and associated flexible cables. This development is undertaken to help satisfy aerospace-system-engineering requirements for efficient, lightweight electrical and electronic subsystems that can fit within confined spaces, adhere to complexly shaped surfaces, and can be embedded within composite materials. Heretofore, substrate layers for commercial flexible circuitry have been made from sheets of Kapton (or equivalent) polyimide and have been bonded to copper conductors and to other substrate layers by means of adhesives. The substrates for the present developmental flexible circuitry are made from thin films of a polyimide known as LaRC(TM)-SI. This polyimide is thermoplastic and, therefore, offers the potential to eliminate delamination and the need for adhesives. The development work undertaken thus far includes experiments in the use of several techniques of design and fabrication (including computer-aided design and fabrication) of representative flexible circuits. Anticipated future efforts would focus on multilayer bonding, fabrication of prototypes, and overcoming limitations.

Integration of SrBi2Ta2O9 thin films for high density ferroelectric random access memory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wouters, D. J.; Maes, D.; Goux, L.; Lisoni, J. G.; Paraschiv, V.; Johnson, J. A.; Schwitters, M.; Everaert, J.-L.; Boullart, W.; Schaekers, M.; Willegems, M.; Vander Meeren, H.; Haspeslagh, L.; Artoni, C.; Caputa, C.; Casella, P.; Corallo, G.; Russo, G.; Zambrano, R.; Monchoix, H.; Vecchio, G.; Van Autryve, L.

2006-09-01

Ferroelectric random access memory (FeRAM) is an attractive candidate technology for embedded nonvolatile memory, especially in applications where low power and high program speed are important. Market introduction of high-density FeRAM is, however, lagging behind standard complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) because of the difficult integration technology. This paper discusses the major integration issues for high-density FeRAM, based on SrBi2Ta2O9 (strontium bismuth tantalate or SBT), in relation to the fabrication of our stacked cell structure. We have worked in the previous years on the development of SBT-FeRAM integration technology, based on a so-called pseudo-three-dimensional (3D) cell, with a capacitor that can be scaled from quasi two-dimensional towards a true three-dimensional capacitor where the sidewalls will importantly contribute to the signal. In the first phase of our integration development, we integrated our FeRAM cell in a 0.35μm CMOS technology. In a second phase, then, possibility of scaling of our cell is demonstrated in 0.18μm technology. The excellent electrical and reliability properties of the small integrated ferroelectric capacitors prove the feasibility of the technology, while the verification of the potential 3D effect confirms the basic scaling potential of our concept beyond that of the single-mask capacitor. The paper outlines the different material and technological challenges, and working solutions are demonstrated. While some issues are specific to our own cell, many are applicable to different stacked FeRAM cell concepts, or will become more general concerns when more developments are moving into 3D structures.

Characteristics of Reduced Graphene Oxide Quantum Dots for a Flexible Memory Thin Film Transistor.

PubMed

Kim, Yo-Han; Lee, Eun Yeol; Lee, Hyun Ho; Seo, Tae Seok

2017-05-17

Reduced graphene oxide quantum dot (rGOQD) devices in formats of capacitor and thin film transistor (TFT) were demonstrated and examined as the first trial to achieve nonambipolar channel property. In addition, through a gold nanoparticle (Au NP) layer embedded between the rGOQD active channel and dielectric layer, memory capacitor and TFT performances were realized by capacitance-voltage (C-V) hysteresis and gate program, erase, and reprogram biases. First, capacitor structure of the rGOQD memory device was constructed to examine memory charging effect featured in hysteretic C-V behavior with a 30 nm dielectric layer of cross-linked poly(vinyl alcohol). For the intervening Au NP charging layer, self-assembled monolayer (SAM) formation of the Au NP was executed to utilize electrostatic interaction by a dip-coating process under ambient environments with a conformal fabrication uniformity. Second, the rGOQD memory TFT device was also constructed in the same format of the Au NPs SAMs on a flexible substrate. Characteristics of the rGOQD TFT output showed novel saturation curves unlike typical graphene-based TFTs. However, The rGOQD TFT device reveals relatively low on/off ratio of 10 1 and mobility of 5.005 cm 2 /V·s. For the memory capacitor, the flat-band voltage shift (ΔV FB ) was measured as 3.74 V for ±10 V sweep, and for the memory TFT, the threshold voltage shift (ΔV th ) by the Au NP charging was detected as 7.84 V. In summary, it was concluded that the rGOQD memory device could accomplish an ideal graphene-based memory performance, which could have provided a wide memory window and saturated output characteristics.

Localized temperature stability of low temperature cofired ceramics

DOEpatents

Dai, Steven Xunhu

2013-11-26

The present invention is directed to low temperature cofired ceramic modules having localized temperature stability by incorporating temperature coefficient of resonant frequency compensating materials locally into a multilayer LTCC module. Chemical interactions can be minimized and physical compatibility between the compensating materials and the host LTCC dielectrics can be achieved. The invention enables embedded resonators with nearly temperature-independent resonance frequency.

A flexible electrostatic kinetic energy harvester based on electret films of electrospun nanofibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Y.; Capo-Chichi, M.; Leprince-Wang, Y.; Basset, P.

2018-01-01

This paper reports a paper-based electrostatic kinetic energy harvester (e-KEH) implementing multilayered electret films based on electrospun nanofibrous material. It is the first time that a fully flexible electret-based e-KEH is reported. The proposed electret, PVDF-PTFD nanofibrous covered by Parylene C, has a faster stabilization of surface potential than a planar thin film of Parylene C, and a higher stability of charge storage. With a maximum force of 0.5 N and a 3-layer electret, the device capacitance increases from 25 to 100 pF during a pressing operation. Working with the optimal resistive load of 16 MΩ, the device pressed manually delivers a peak instantaneous power up to 45.6 μW and an average energy of 54 nJ/stroke, corresponding to a peak instantaneous power density of 7.3 μW cm-2 and an average energy density of 8.6 nJ cm-2/stroke. Within 450 manual strokes, a 10 nF capacitor is charged up to 8.5 V by the prototype through a full-wave diode bridge. On a 1 μF capacitor, the energy delivery of 9.9 nJ/stroke has been obtained with a 10 Hz pressing movement excited by a vibrator with a maximum force of 0.5 N.

A Study on Dielectric Properties of Cadmium Sulfide-Zinc Sulfide Core-Shell Nanocomposites for Application as Nanoelectronic Filter Component in the Microwave Domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Devi, Jutika; Datta, Pranayee

2018-07-01

Complex permittivities of cadmium sulfide (CdS), zinc sulfide (ZnS), and of cadmium sulfide-zinc sulfide (CdS/ZnS) core-shell nanoparticles embedded in a polyvinyl alcohol matrix (PVA) were measured in liquid phase using a VectorNetwork Analyzer in the frequency range of 500 MHz-10 GHz. These nanocomposites are modeled as an embedded capacitor, and their electric field distribution and polarization have been studied using COMSOL Multiphysics software. By varying the thickness of the shell and the number of inclusions, the capacitance values were estimated. It was observed that CdS, ZnS and CdS/ZnS core-shell nanoparticles embedded in a polyvinyl alcohol matrix show capacitive behavior. There is a strong influence of the dielectric properties in the capacitive behavior of the embedded nanocapacitor. The capping matrix, position and filling factors of nanoinclusions all affect the capacitive behavior of the tested nanocomposites. Application of the CdS, ZnS and CdS/ZnS core-shell nanocomposite as the passive low-pass filter circuit has also been investigated. From the present study, it has been found that CdS/ZnS core-shell nanoparticles embedded in PVA matrix are potential structures for application as nanoelectronic filter components in different areas of communication.

A Study on Dielectric Properties of Cadmium Sulfide-Zinc Sulfide Core-Shell Nanocomposites for Application as Nanoelectronic Filter Component in the Microwave Domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Devi, Jutika; Datta, Pranayee

2018-03-01

Complex permittivities of cadmium sulfide (CdS), zinc sulfide (ZnS), and of cadmium sulfide-zinc sulfide (CdS/ZnS) core-shell nanoparticles embedded in a polyvinyl alcohol matrix (PVA) were measured in liquid phase using a VectorNetwork Analyzer in the frequency range of 500 MHz-10 GHz. These nanocomposites are modeled as an embedded capacitor, and their electric field distribution and polarization have been studied using COMSOL Multiphysics software. By varying the thickness of the shell and the number of inclusions, the capacitance values were estimated. It was observed that CdS, ZnS and CdS/ZnS core-shell nanoparticles embedded in a polyvinyl alcohol matrix show capacitive behavior. There is a strong influence of the dielectric properties in the capacitive behavior of the embedded nanocapacitor. The capping matrix, position and filling factors of nanoinclusions all affect the capacitive behavior of the tested nanocomposites. Application of the CdS, ZnS and CdS/ZnS core-shell nanocomposite as the passive low-pass filter circuit has also been investigated. From the present study, it has been found that CdS/ZnS core-shell nanoparticles embedded in PVA matrix are potential structures for application as nanoelectronic filter components in different areas of communication.

Characterization of multifunctional structural capacitors for embedded energy storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Yirong; Sodano, Henry A.

2009-12-01

Multifunctional composites are a class of materials that combine structural and other functionalities such as sensing, actuation, energy harvesting, and vibration control in order to maximize structural performance while minimizing weight and complexity. Among all the multifunctional composites developed so far, piezoelectric composites have been widely studied due to the high coupling of energy between the electrical and mechanical domains and the inherently high dielectric constant. Several piezoelectric fiber composites have been developed for sensing and actuation applications; however, none of the previously studied composites fully embed all components of an energy storage device as load bearing members of the structure. A multifunctional fiber that can be embedded in a composite material to perform sensing and actuation has been recently developed [Y. Lin and H. A. Sodano, Adv. Funct. Mater. 18, 592 (2008)], in addition to providing load bearing functionality. The design was achieved by coating a common structural fiber, silicon carbide, with a barium titanate piezoelectric shell, and poling the active material radically by employing the structural fiber as one of the electrodes. The silicon carbide core fiber also carries external mechanical loading to protect the brittle barium titanate shell from fracture. The excellent piezoelectric and dielectric properties of the barium titanate material make the active structural fiber an outstanding candidate for converting and storing ambient mechanical energy into electrical energy to power other electric devices in the system. This paper focuses on the characterization of energy storage capability of the multifunctional fiber provided by the dielectric properties of the barium titanate shell. The capacitances of the multifunctional fibers with four different aspect ratios are tested and compared with the theoretical expressions for the cylindrical capacitor, while the breakdown voltages of the multifunctional fibers are tested according to American Society for Testing and Materials standards (ASTM D 149-97a). The stored energy is calculated from the testing results and the best aspect ratio for energy storage application can be determined. The resulting capacitive fiber is shown to have an energy density approximately two orders of magnitude higher than structural capacitors in the literature.

Evaluation of a recycling process for printed circuit board by physical separation and heat treatment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fujita, Toyohisa, E-mail: tfujita@sys.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp; Ono, Hiroyuki; Dodbiba, Gjergj

Highlights: • The parts mounted on printed circuit board (PCB) were liberated by underwater explosion and mechanical crushing. • The crushed PCB without surface-mounted parts was carbonized under inert atmosphere at 873 K to recover copper. • The multi-layered ceramic capacitors including nickel was carbonized at 873 K to recover nickel by the magnetic separation. • The tantalum powders were recovered from the molded resins by heat treatment at 723 and 823 K in air atmosphere and screening. • Energy and treatment cost of new process increased, however, the environmental burden decreased comparing conventional one. - Abstract: Printed circuit boardsmore » (PCBs) from discarded personal computer (PC) and hard disk drive were crushed by explosion in water or mechanical comminution in order to disintegrate the attached parts. More parts were stripped from PCB of PC, composed of epoxy resin; than from PCB of household appliance, composed of phenol resin. In an attempt to raise the copper grade of PCB by removing other components, a carbonization treatment was investigated. The crushed PCB without surface-mounted parts was carbonized under a nitrogen atmosphere at 873–1073 K. After screening, the char was classified by size into oversized pieces, undersized pieces and powder. The copper foil and glass fiber pieces were liberated and collected in undersized fraction. The copper foil was liberated easily from glass fiber by stamping treatment. As one of the mounted parts, the multi-layered ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), which contain nickel, were carbonized at 873 K. The magnetic separation is carried out at a lower magnetic field strength of 0.1 T and then at 0.8 T. In the +0.5 mm size fraction the nickel grade in magnetic product was increased from 0.16% to 6.7% and the nickel recovery is 74%. The other useful mounted parts are tantalum capacitors. The tantalum capacitors were collected from mounted parts. The tantalum-sintered bodies were separated from molded resins by heat treatment at 723–773 K in air atmosphere and screening of 0.5 mm. Silica was removed and 70% of tantalum grade was obtained after more than 823 K heating and separation. Next, the evaluation of Cu recycling in PCB is estimated. Energy consumption of new process increased and the treatment cost becomes 3 times higher comparing the conventional process, while the environmental burden of new process decreased comparing conventional process. The nickel recovery process in fine ground particles increased energy and energy cost comparing those of the conventional process. However, the environmental burden decreased than the conventional one. The process for recovering tantalum used more heat for the treatment and therefore the energy consumption increased by 50%, when comparing with conventional process. However, the market price for tantalum is very large; the profit for tantalum recovery is added. Also the environmental burden decreased by the recycling of tantalum recovery. Therefore, the tantalum recovery is very important step in the PCB recycling. If there is no tantalum, the consumed energy and treatment cost increase in the new process, though the environmental burden decreases.« less

Better Educated, but Not Equal: Women between General Education, VET, the Labour Market and the Family in Germany

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kraus, Katrin

2006-01-01

The article uses a multi-layered approach to analyse the situation of women in vocational and education training, embedding it systematically in the development of general education, the labour market and the family in Germany. It reconstructs the development in these four sectors of society with a special emphasis on the past 30 years. The…

Delamination Defect Detection Using Ultrasonic Guided Waves in Advanced Hybrid Structural Elements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Fei; Qi, Kevin ``Xue''; Rose, Joseph L.; Weiland, Hasso

2010-02-01

Nondestructive testing for multilayered structures is challenging because of increased numbers of layers and plate thicknesses. In this paper, ultrasonic guided waves are applied to detect delamination defects inside a 23-layer Alcoa Advanced Hybrid Structural plate. A semi-analytical finite element (SAFE) method generates dispersion curves and wave structures in order to select appropriate wave structures to detect certain defects. One guided wave mode and frequency is chosen to achieve large in-plane displacements at regions of interest. The interactions of the selected mode with defects are simulated using finite element models. Experiments are conducted and compared with bulk wave measurements. It is shown that guided waves can detect deeply embedded damages inside thick multilayer fiber-metal laminates with suitable mode and frequency selection.

Role of the inversion layer on the charge injection in silicon nanocrystal multilayered light emitting devices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tondini, S.; Dipartimento di Fisica, Informatica e Matematica, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 213/a, 41125 Modena; Pucker, G.

2016-09-07

The role of the inversion layer on injection and recombination phenomena in light emitting diodes (LEDs) is here studied on a multilayer (ML) structure of silicon nanocrystals (Si-NCs) embedded in SiO{sub 2}. Two Si-NC LEDs, which are similar for the active material but different in the fabrication process, elucidate the role of the non-radiative recombination rates at the ML/substrate interface. By studying current- and capacitance-voltage characteristics as well as electroluminescence spectra and time-resolved electroluminescence under pulsed and alternating bias pumping scheme in both the devices, we are able to ascribe the different experimental results to an efficient or inefficient minoritymore » carrier (electron) supply by the p-type substrate in the metal oxide semiconductor LEDs.« less

Three-dimensional self-organization of crystalline gold nanoparticles in amorphous alumina

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jin Chunming; Zhou Honghui; Wei Wei

Multilayered heterostructures containing gold nanoparticles embedded in amorphous alumina matrices were deposited on silicon (001) substrates using pulsed laser deposition. The three-dimensional ordering of gold nanoparticles within these multilayered heterostructures was investigated using cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy and image Fourier transformation. Self-organization of gold nanoparticles along the vertical direction was observed in films grown at 20 and at 320 deg. C. Self-organization occurred by means of two different growth modes; both vertically correlated growth (top-on-top) and anticorrelated growth (top-on-middle) mechanisms were observed. The results of these studies suggest that the driving force for vertical ordering in this material is relatedmore » to the long-range elastic interactions among the nanoparticles within the growing films.« less

Highly stable thin film transistors using multilayer channel structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nayak, Pradipta K.; Wang, Zhenwei; Anjum, D. H.; Hedhili, M. N.; Alshareef, H. N.

2015-03-01

We report highly stable gate-bias stress performance of thin film transistors (TFTs) using zinc oxide (ZnO)/hafnium oxide (HfO2) multilayer structure as the channel layer. Positive and negative gate-bias stress stability of the TFTs was measured at room temperature and at 60 °C. A tremendous improvement in gate-bias stress stability was obtained in case of the TFT with multiple layers of ZnO embedded between HfO2 layers compared to the TFT with a single layer of ZnO as the semiconductor. The ultra-thin HfO2 layers act as passivation layers, which prevent the adsorption of oxygen and water molecules in the ZnO layer and hence significantly improve the gate-bias stress stability of ZnO TFTs.

Methods of Using a Magnetic Field Response Sensor Within Closed, Electrically Conductive Containers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodward, Stanley E.; Taylor, Bryant D.

2010-01-01

Magnetic field response sensors are a class of sensors that are powered via oscillating magnetic fields, and when electrically active, respond with their own magnetic fields with attributes dependent upon the magnitude of the physical quantity being measured. A magnetic field response recorder powers and interrogates the magnetic sensors [see Magnetic-Field-Response Measurement- Acquisition System, NASA Tech Briefs Vol. 30, No, 6 (June 2006, page 28)]. Electrically conductive containers have low transmissivity for radio frequency (RF) energy and thus present problems for magnetic field response sensors. It is necessary in some applications to have a magnetic field response sensor s capacitor placed in these containers. Proximity to conductive surfaces alters the inductance and capacitance of the sensors. As the sensor gets closer to a conductive surface, the electric field and magnetic field energy of the sensor is reduced due to eddy currents being induced in the conductive surface. Therefore, the capacitors and inductors cannot be affixed to a conductive surface or embedded in a conductive material. It is necessary to have a fixed separation away from the conductive material. The minimum distance for separation is determined by the desired sensor response signal to noise ratio. Although the inductance is less than what it would be if it were not in proximity to the conductive surface, the inductance is fixed. As long as the inductance is fixed, all variations of the magnetic field response are due to capacitance changes. Numerous variations of inductor mounting can be utilized, such as providing a housing that provides separation from the conductive material as well as protection from impact damage. The sensor can be on the same flexible substrate with a narrow throat portion of the sensor between the inductor and the capacitor, Figure 1. The throat is of sufficient length to allow the capacitor to be appropriately placed within the container and the inductor placed outside the container. The throat is fed through the orifice in the container wall (e.g., fuel tank opening) and connects to the inductor and capacitor via electrical leads to form a closed circuit, Figure 2. Another embodiment is to have the inductor and capacitor fabricated as separate units. In this embodiment, the inductor is mounted external to the container, and the capacitor is mounted internal to the container, Figure 1. Electrical leads are fed through the orifice to connect the inductor and capacitor, Figure 2. When a container holding multiple sensors is made of a conductive material, an antenna can be placed internal to the container. An internal antenna allows all components of the sensors to reside inside the container. The antenna must be separated from the container wall s conductive surface. Additionally, the inductors must be maintained in a fixed position relative to and separated from the container

Organic memory capacitor device fabricated with Ag nanoparticles.

PubMed

Kim, Yo-Han; Jung, Sung Mok; Hu, Quanli; Kim, Yong-Sang; Yoon, Tae-Sik; Lee, Hyun Ho

2011-07-01

In this study, it is demonstrated that an organic memory structure using pentacene and citrate-stabilized silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) as charge storage elements on dielectric SiO2 layer and silicon substrate. The Ag NPs were synthesized by thermal reduction method of silver trifluoroacetate with oleic acid. The synthesized Ag NPs were analyzed with high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) for their crystalline structure. The capacitance versus voltage (C-V) curves obtained for the Ag NPs embedded capacitor exhibited flat-band voltage shifts, which demonstrated the presence of charge storages. The citrate-capping of the Ag NPs was confirmed by ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) and Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. With voltage sweeping of +/-7 V, a hysteresis loop having flatband voltage shift of 7.1 V was obtained. The hysteresis loop showed a counter-clockwise direction. In addition, electrical performance test for charge storage showed more than 10,000 second charge retention time. The device with Ag NPs can be applied to an organic memory device for flexible electronics.

A Wireless, Passive Sensor for Quantifying Packaged Food Quality

PubMed Central

Tan, Ee Lim; Ng, Wen Ni; Shao, Ranyuan; Pereles, Brandon D.; Ong, Keat Ghee

2007-01-01

This paper describes the fabrication of a wireless, passive sensor based on an inductive-capacitive resonant circuit, and its application for in situ monitoring of the quality of dry, packaged food such as cereals, and fried and baked snacks. The sensor is made of a planar inductor and capacitor printed on a paper substrate. To monitor food quality, the sensor is embedded inside the food package by adhering it to the package's inner wall; its response is remotely detected through a coil connected to a sensor reader. As food quality degrades due to increasing humidity inside the package, the paper substrate absorbs water vapor, changing the capacitor's capacitance and the sensor's resonant frequency. Therefore, the taste quality of the packaged food can be indirectly determined by measuring the change in the sensor's resonant frequency. The novelty of this sensor technology is its wireless and passive nature, which allows in situ determination of food quality. In addition, the simple fabrication process and inexpensive sensor material ensure a low sensor cost, thus making this technology economically viable. PMID:28903195

Analysis of Multilayered Printed Circuit Boards using Computed Tomography

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-05-01

complex PCBs that present a challenge for any testing or fault analysis. Set-to- work testing and fault analysis of any electronic circuit require...Electronic Warfare and Radar Division in December 2010. He is currently in Electro- Optic Countermeasures Group. Samuel works on embedded system design...and software optimisation of complex electro-optical systems, including the set to work and characterisation of these systems. He has a Bachelor of

Magneto-ionic effect in CoFeB thin films with in-plane and perpendicular-to-plane magnetic anisotropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baldrati, L.; Tan, A. J.; Mann, M.; Bertacco, R.; Beach, G. S. D.

2017-01-01

The magneto-ionic effect is a promising method to control the magnetic properties electrically. Charged mobile oxygen ions can easily be driven by an electric field to modify the magnetic anisotropy of a ferromagnetic layer in contact with an ionic conductor in a solid-state device. In this paper, we report on the room temperature magneto-ionic modulation of the magnetic anisotropy of ultrathin CoFeB films in contact with a GdOx layer, as probed by polar micro-Magneto Optical Kerr Effect during the application of a voltage across patterned capacitors. Both Pt/CoFeB/GdOx films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and Ta/CoFeB/GdOx films with uniaxial in-plane magnetic anisotropy in the as-grown state exhibit a sizable dependence of the magnetic anisotropy on the voltage (amplitude, polarity, and time) applied across the oxide. In Pt/CoFeB/GdOx multilayers, it is possible to reorient the magnetic anisotropy from perpendicular-to-plane to in-plane, with a variation of the magnetic anisotropy energy greater than 0.2 mJ m-2. As for Ta/CoFeB/GdOx multilayers, magneto-ionic effects still lead to a sizable variation of the in-plane magnetic anisotropy, but the anisotropy axis remains in-plane.

Analysis of the transfer function for layered piezoelectric ultrasonic sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gutiérrrez-Reyes, E.; García-Segundo, C.; García-Valenzuela, A.; Reyes-Ramírez, B.; Gutiérrez-Juárez, G.; Guadarrama-Santana, A.

2017-06-01

We model theoretically the voltage response to an acoustic pulse of a multilayer system forming a low noise capacitive sensor including a Polyvinylidene Fluoride piezoelectric film. First we model a generic piezoelectric detector consisting of a piezoelectric film between two metallic electrodes that are the responsible to convert the acoustic signal into a voltage signal. Then we calculate the pressure-to-voltage transfer function for a N-layer piezo-electric capacitor detector, allowing to study the effects of the electrode and protective layers thickness in typical layered piezoelectric sensors. The derived transfer function, when multiplied by the Fourier transform of the incident acoustic pulse, gives the voltage electric response in the frequency domain. An important concern regarding the transfer function is that it may have zeros at specific frequencies, and thus inverting the voltage Fourier transform of the pulse to recover the pressure signal in the time domain is not always, in principle, possible. Our formulas can be used to predict the existence and locations of such zeroes. We illustrate the use of the transfer function by predicting the electric signal generated at a multilayer piezoelectric sensor to an ultrasonic pulse generated photoacoustically by a laser pulse at a three media system with impedance mismatch. This theoretical calculations are compared with our own experimental measurements.

Circular polarization beam splitter that uses frustrated total internal reflection by an embedded symmetric achiral multilayer coating.

PubMed

Azzam, R M A; De, A

2003-03-01

A symmetric achiral trilayer structure, which consists of a high-index center layer sandwiched between two identical low-index films and embedded in a high-index prism, is designed to produce equal and opposite quarter-wave retardation in reflection and transmission and equal throughput for the p and s polarization at oblique incidence. Such a device splits a beam of incident linearly polarized light into two orthogonally circularly polarized components of equal power that travel in different directions. A visible (633-nm) design that operates at a 60 degree angle of incidence and an infrared (10.6-microm) 45 degree cube design are presented. The spectral and angular sensitivities of the device are also considered.

Analysis of folded pulse forming line operation.

PubMed

Domonkos, M T; Watrous, J; Parker, J V; Cavazos, T; Slenes, K; Heidger, S; Brown, D; Wilson, D

2014-09-01

A compact pulse forming line (CPFL) concept based on a folded transmission line and high-breakdown strength dielectric was explored through an effort combining proof-of-principle experiments with electromagnetic modeling. A small-scale folded CPFL was fabricated using surface-mount ceramic multilayer capacitors. The line consisted of 150 capacitors close-packed in parallel and delivered a 300 ns flat-top pulse. The concept was carried to a 10 kV class device using a polymer-ceramic nanocomposite dielectric with a permittivity of 37.6. The line was designed for a 161 ns FWHM length pulse into a matched load. The line delivered a 110 ns FWHM pulse, and the pulse peak amplitude exceeded the matched load ideal. Transient electromagnetic analysis using the particle-in-cell code ICEPIC was conducted to examine the nature of the unexpected pulse shortening and distortion. Two-dimensional analysis failed to capture the anomalous behavior. Three-dimensional analysis replicated the pulse shape and revealed that the bends were largely responsible for the pulse shortening. The bends not only create the expected reflection of the incident TEM wave but also produce a non-zero component of the Poynting vector perpendicular to the propagation direction of the dominant electromagnetic wave, resulting in power flow largely external to the PFL. This analysis explains both the pulse shortening and the amplitude of the pulse.

Analysis of folded pulse forming line operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Domonkos, M. T.; Watrous, J.; Parker, J. V.; Cavazos, T.; Slenes, K.; Heidger, S.; Brown, D.; Wilson, D.

2014-09-01

A compact pulse forming line (CPFL) concept based on a folded transmission line and high-breakdown strength dielectric was explored through an effort combining proof-of-principle experiments with electromagnetic modeling. A small-scale folded CPFL was fabricated using surface-mount ceramic multilayer capacitors. The line consisted of 150 capacitors close-packed in parallel and delivered a 300 ns flat-top pulse. The concept was carried to a 10 kV class device using a polymer-ceramic nanocomposite dielectric with a permittivity of 37.6. The line was designed for a 161 ns FWHM length pulse into a matched load. The line delivered a 110 ns FWHM pulse, and the pulse peak amplitude exceeded the matched load ideal. Transient electromagnetic analysis using the particle-in-cell code ICEPIC was conducted to examine the nature of the unexpected pulse shortening and distortion. Two-dimensional analysis failed to capture the anomalous behavior. Three-dimensional analysis replicated the pulse shape and revealed that the bends were largely responsible for the pulse shortening. The bends not only create the expected reflection of the incident TEM wave but also produce a non-zero component of the Poynting vector perpendicular to the propagation direction of the dominant electromagnetic wave, resulting in power flow largely external to the PFL. This analysis explains both the pulse shortening and the amplitude of the pulse.

Perfect absorption in 1D photonic crystal nanobeam embedded with graphene/Al2O3 multilayer stack

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Hanqing; Zha, Song; Liu, Peiguo; Zhou, Xiaotian; Bian, Li-an

2018-05-01

We exploit the concept of critical coupling to graphene based chip-integrated applications and numerically demonstrate that a perfect absorption (PA) absorber in the near-infrared can be obtained by graphene/Al2O3 multilayer stack (GAMS) critical coupling with a resonant cavity in the 1D photonic crystal nanobeam (PCN). The key point is dynamically matching the coupling rate of incident light wave to the cavity with the absorbing rate of GAMS via electrically modulating the chemical potential of graphene. Simulation results show that the radius of GAMS as well as the thickness of Al2O3 layer are closely connected with the performance of perfect absorption. These results may provide potential applications in the high-density integrated optical devices, photolectric transducers, and laser pulse limiters.

Fault geometry and mechanics of marly carbonate multilayers: An integrated field and laboratory study from the Northern Apennines, Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giorgetti, C.; Collettini, C.; Scuderi, M. M.; Barchi, M. R.; Tesei, T.

2016-12-01

Sealing layers are often represented by sedimentary sequences characterized by alternating strong and weak lithologies. When involved in faulting processes, these mechanically heterogeneous multilayers develop complex fault geometries. Here we investigate fault initiation and evolution within a mechanical multilayer by integrating field observations and rock deformation experiments. Faults initiate with a staircase trajectory that partially reflects the mechanical properties of the involved lithologies, as suggested by our deformation experiments. However, some faults initiating at low angles in calcite-rich layers (θi = 5°-20°) and at high angles in clay-rich layers (θi = 45°-86°) indicate the important role of structural inheritance at the onset of faulting. With increasing displacement, faults develop well-organized fault cores characterized by a marly, foliated matrix embedding fragments of limestone. The angles of fault reactivation, which concentrate between 30° and 60°, are consistent with the low friction coefficient measured during our experiments on marls (μs = 0.39), indicating that clay minerals exert a main control on fault mechanics. Moreover, our integrated analysis suggests that fracturing and faulting are the main mechanisms allowing fluid circulation within the low-permeability multilayer, and that its sealing integrity can be compromised only by the activity of larger faults cutting across its entire thickness.

Tunable ferroelectric meta-material phase shifter embedded inside low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tork, Hossam S.

This dissertation describes electrically tunable microwave devices utilizing low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) and thick film via filled with the ferroelectric materials barium strontium titanate (BST) and barium zirconate titanate (BZT). Tunable ferroelectric capacitors, zero meta-material phase shifters, and tunable meta-material phase shifters are presented. Microwave phase shifters have many applications in microwave devices. They are essential components for active and passive phased array antennas and their most common use is in scanning phased array antennas. They are used in synthetic aperture radars (SAR), low earth orbit (LEO) communication satellites, collision warning radars, and intelligent vehicle highway systems (IVHS), in addition to various other applications. Tunable ferroelectric materials have been investigated, since they offer the possibility of lowering the total cost of phased arrays. Two of the most promising ferroelectric materials in microwave applications are BST and BZT. The proposed design and implementation in this research introduce new types of tunable meta-material phase shifters embedded inside LTCC, which use BST and BZT as capacitive tunable dielectric material controlled by changing the applied voltage. This phase shifter has the advantages of meta-material structures, which produce little phase error and compensation while having the simultaneous advantage of using LTCC technology for embedding passive components that improve signal integrity (several signal lines, power planes, and ground planes) by using different processes like via filling, screen printing, laminating and firing that can be produced in compact sizes at a low cost. The via filling technique was used to build tunable BST, BZT ferroelectric material capacitors to control phase shift. Finally, The use of the proposed ferroelectric meta-material phase shifter improves phase shifter performance by reducing insertion loss in both transmitting and receiving directions for phased array antennas, reducing phase error, improving figure of merit (FOM) and phase shifter tunability around center frequency, and also enables the integration of the phase shifters with the microwave circuits on one substrate, thus substantially reducing the size, mass, and cost of the antennas.

Analysis and experimental study on the strain transfer mechanism of an embedded basalt fiber-encapsulated fiber Bragg grating sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zhenglin; Wang, Yuan; Sun, Yangyang; Zhang, Qinghua; You, Zewei; Huang, Xiaodi

2017-01-01

The precision of the encapsulated fiber optic sensor embedded into a host suffers from the influences of encapsulating materials. Furthermore, an interface transfer effect of strain sensing exists. This study uses an embedded basalt fiber-encapsulated fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor as the research object to derive an expression in a multilayer interface strain transfer coefficient by considering the mechanical properties of the host material. The direct impact of the host material on the strain transfer at an embedded multipoint continuous FBG (i.e., multiple gratings written on a single optical fiber) monitoring strain sensor, which was self-developed and encapsulated with basalt fiber, is studied to present the strain transfer coefficients corresponding to the positions of various gratings. The strain transfer coefficients of the sensor are analyzed based on the experiments designed for this study. The error of the experimental results is ˜2 μɛ when the strain is at 60 μɛ and below. Moreover, the measured curves almost completely coincide with the theoretical curves. The changes in the internal strain field inside the embedded structure of the basalt fiber-encapsulated FBG strain sensor could be easily monitored. Hence, important references are provided to measure the internal stress strain of the sensor.

Simple coil-powering techniques for generating 10KA/m alternating magnetic field at multiple frequencies using 0.5KW RF power for magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piao, Daqing; Sun, Tengfei; Ranjan, Ashish

2017-02-01

Alternating magnetic field (AMF) configurable at a range of frequencies is a critical need for optimization of magnetic nanoparticle based hyperthermia, and for their application in targeted drug delivery. Currently, most commercial AMF devices including induction heaters operate at one factory-fixed frequency, thereby limiting customized frequency configuration required for triggered drug release at mild hyperthermia (40-42°C) and ablations (>55°C). Most AMF devices run as an inductor-capacitor resonance network that could allow AMF frequencies to be changed by changing the capacitor bank or the coil looped with it. When developing AMF inhouse, the most expensive component is usually the RF power amplifier, and arguably the most critical step of building a strong AMF field is impedance-matched coupling of RF power to the coolant-cooled AMF coil. AMF devices running at 10KA/m strength are quite common, but generating AMF at that level of field strength using RF power less than 1KW has remained challenging. We practiced a few techniques for building 10KA/m AMFs at different frequencies, by utilizing a 0.5KW 80-800KHz RF power amplifier. Among the techniques indispensable to the functioning of these AMFs, a simple cost-effective technique was the tapping methods for discretely or continuously adjusting the position of an RF-input-tap on a single-layer or the outer-layer of a multi-layer AMF coil for maximum power coupling into the AMF coil. These in-house techniques when combined facilitated 10KA/m AMF at frequencies of 88.8 KHz and higher as allowed by the inventory of capacitors using 0.5KW RF power, for testing heating of 10-15nm size magnetic particles and on-going evaluation of drug-release by low-level temperature-sensitive liposomes loaded with 15nm magnetic nanoparticles.

Research Update: Polyimide/CaCu3Ti4O12 nanofiber functional hybrid films with improved dielectric properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yang; Wang, Ziyu; Ding, Yi; Lu, Zhihong; Sun, Haoliang; Li, Ya; Wei, Jianhong; Xiong, Rui; Shi, Jing; Liu, Zhengyou; Lei, Qingquan

2013-11-01

This work reports the excellent dielectric properties of polyimide (PI) embedded with CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) nanofibers. The dielectric behaviors were investigated over a frequency of 100 Hz-1 MHz. It is shown that embedding CCTO nanofibers with high aspect ratio (67) is an effective means to enhance the dielectric permittivity and reduce the percolation threshold. The dielectric permittivity of PI/CCTO nanofiber composites is 85 with 1.5 vol.% loading of filler, also the dielectric loss is only 0.015 at 100 Hz. Monte Carlo simulation was used to investigate the percolation threshold of CCTO nanofibers reinforced polyimide matrix by using excluded volume theory and soft, hard-core models. The results are in good agreement with the percolation theory and the hard-core model can well explain the percolation phenomena in PI/CCTO nanofiber composites. The dielectric properties of the composites will meet the practical requirements for the application in high dielectric constant capacitors and high energy density materials.

Enhanced dielectric performance of three phase percolative composites based on thermoplastic-ceramic composites and surface modified carbon nanotube

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yang; Sun, Haoliang; Zhu, Benpeng; Wang, Ziyu; Wei, Jianhong; Xiong, Rui; Shi, Jing; Liu, Zhengyou; Lei, Qingquan

2015-01-01

Three-phase composites were prepared by embedding CaCu3Ti4O12(CCTO) nanoparticles and Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube (MWNT) into polyimide (PI) matrix via in-situ polymerization. The dependences of electric and dielectric properties of the resultant composites on volume fractions of filler and frequency were investigated. The dielectric permittivity of PI/CCTO-surface modified MWNT (MWNT-S) composite reached as high as 252 at 100 Hz at 0.1 vol. % filler (MWNT-S), which is about 63 times higher than that of pure PI. Also the dielectric loss is only 0.02 at 100 Hz. The results are in good agreement with the percolation theory. It is shown that embedding high aspect ratio MWNT-S in PI/CCTO composites is an effective means to enhance the dielectric permittivity and reduce the percolation threshold. The dielectric properties of the composites will meet the practical requirements for the application in high dielectric constant capacitors and high energy density materials.

Highly conductive porous Na-embedded carbon nanowalls for high-performance capacitive deionization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Liang; Hu, Yun Hang

2018-05-01

Highly conductive porous Na-embedded carbon nanowalls (Na@C), which were recently invented, have exhibited excellent performance for dye-sensitized solar cells and electric double-layer capacitors. In this work, Na@C was demonstrated as an excellent electrode material for capacitive deionization (CDI). In a three-electrode configuration system, the specific capacity of the Na@C electrodes can achieve 306.4 F/g at current density of 0.2 A/g in 1 M NaCl, which is higher than that (235.2 F/g) of activated carbon (AC) electrodes. Furthermore, a high electrosorption capacity of 8.75 mg g-1 in 100 mg/L NaCl was obtained with the Na@C electrodes in a batch-mode capacitive deionization cell. It exceeds the electrosorption capacity (4.08 mg g-1) of AC electrodes. The Na@C electrode also showed a promising cycle stability. The excellent performance of Na@C electrode for capacitive deionization (CDI) can be attributed to its high electrical conductivity and large accessible surface area.

Enhanced charge storage capability of Ge/GeO(2) core/shell nanostructure.

PubMed

Yuan, C L; Lee, P S

2008-09-03

A Ge/GeO(2) core/shell nanostructure embedded in an Al(2)O(3) gate dielectrics matrix was produced. A larger memory window with good data retention was observed in the fabricated metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) capacitor for Ge/GeO(2) core/shell nanoparticles compared to Ge nanoparticles only, which is due to the high percentage of defects located on the surface and grain boundaries of the GeO(2) shell. We believe that the findings presented here provide physical insight and offer useful guidelines to controllably modify the charge storage properties of indirect semiconductors through defect engineering.

A Hydrogen-Evolving Hybrid-Electrolyte Battery with Electrochemical/Photoelectrochemical Charging from Water Oxidation.

PubMed

Jin, Zhaoyu; Li, Panpan; Xiao, Dan

2017-02-08

Decoupled hydrogen and oxygen production were successfully embedded into an aqueous dual-electrolyte (acid-base) battery for simultaneous energy storage and conversion. A three-electrode configuration was adopted, involving an electrocatalytic hydrogen-evolving electrode as cathode, an alkaline battery-type or capacitor-type anode as shuttle, and a charging-assisting electrode for electro-/photoelectrochemically catalyzing water oxidation. The conceptual battery not only synergistically outputs electricity and chemical fuels with tremendous specific energy and power densities, but also supports various approaches to be charged by pure or solar-assisted electricity. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Electro-Active Polymer Based Soft Tactile Interface for Wearable Devices.

PubMed

Mun, Seongcheol; Yun, Sungryul; Nam, Saekwang; Park, Seung Koo; Park, Suntak; Park, Bong Je; Lim, Jeong Mook; Kyung, Ki-Uk

2018-01-01

This paper reports soft actuator based tactile stimulation interfaces applicable to wearable devices. The soft actuator is prepared by multi-layered accumulation of thin electro-active polymer (EAP) films. The multi-layered actuator is designed to produce electrically-induced convex protrusive deformation, which can be dynamically programmable for wide range of tactile stimuli. The maximum vertical protrusion is and the output force is up to 255 mN. The soft actuators are embedded into the fingertip part of a glove and front part of a forearm band, respectively. We have conducted two kinds of experiments with 15 subjects. Perceived magnitudes of actuator's protrusion and vibrotactile intensity were measured with frequency of 1 Hz and 191 Hz, respectively. Analysis of the user tests shows participants perceive variation of protrusion height at the finger pad and modulation of vibration intensity through the proposed soft actuator based tactile interface.

Fast and accurate metrology of multi-layered ceramic materials by an automated boundary detection algorithm developed for optical coherence tomography data

PubMed Central

Ekberg, Peter; Su, Rong; Chang, Ernest W.; Yun, Seok Hyun; Mattsson, Lars

2014-01-01

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is useful for materials defect analysis and inspection with the additional possibility of quantitative dimensional metrology. Here, we present an automated image-processing algorithm for OCT analysis of roll-to-roll multilayers in 3D manufacturing of advanced ceramics. It has the advantage of avoiding filtering and preset modeling, and will, thus, introduce a simplification. The algorithm is validated for its capability of measuring the thickness of ceramic layers, extracting the boundaries of embedded features with irregular shapes, and detecting the geometric deformations. The accuracy of the algorithm is very high, and the reliability is better than 1 µm when evaluating with the OCT images using the same gauge block step height reference. The method may be suitable for industrial applications to the rapid inspection of manufactured samples with high accuracy and robustness. PMID:24562018

Phase-controlled synthesis of α-NiS nanoparticles confined in carbon nanorods for High Performance Supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Chencheng; Ma, Mingze; Yang, Jun; Zhang, Yufei; Chen, Peng; Huang, Wei; Dong, Xiaochen

2014-11-01

A facile and phase-controlled synthesis of α-NiS nanoparticles (NPs) embedded in carbon nanorods (CRs) is reported by in-situ sulfurating the preformed Ni/CRs. The nanopore confinement by the carbon matrix is essential for the formation of α-NiS and preventing its transition to β-phase, which is in strong contrast to large aggregated β-NiS particles grown freely without the confinement of CRs. When used as electrochemical electrode, the hybrid electrochemical charge storage of the ultrasmall α-NiS nanoparticels dispersed in CRs is benefit for the high capacitor (1092, 946, 835, 740 F g-1 at current densities of 1, 2, 5, 10 A g-1, respectively.). While the high electrochemical stability (approximately 100% retention of specific capacitance after 2000 charge/discharge cycles) is attributed to the supercapacitor-battery electrode, which makes synergistic effect of capacitor (CRs) and battery (NiS NPs) components rather than a merely additive composite. This work not only suggests a general approach for phase-controlled synthesis of nickel sulfide but also opens the door to the rational design and fabrication of novel nickel-based/carbon hybrid supercapacitor-battery electrode materials.

Phase-controlled synthesis of α-NiS nanoparticles confined in carbon nanorods for high performance supercapacitors.

PubMed

Sun, Chencheng; Ma, Mingze; Yang, Jun; Zhang, Yufei; Chen, Peng; Huang, Wei; Dong, Xiaochen

2014-11-14

A facile and phase-controlled synthesis of α-NiS nanoparticles (NPs) embedded in carbon nanorods (CRs) is reported by in-situ sulfurating the preformed Ni/CRs. The nanopore confinement by the carbon matrix is essential for the formation of α-NiS and preventing its transition to β-phase, which is in strong contrast to large aggregated β-NiS particles grown freely without the confinement of CRs. When used as electrochemical electrode, the hybrid electrochemical charge storage of the ultrasmall α-NiS nanoparticels dispersed in CRs is benefit for the high capacitor (1092, 946, 835, 740 F g(-1) at current densities of 1, 2, 5, 10 A g(-1), respectively.). While the high electrochemical stability (approximately 100% retention of specific capacitance after 2000 charge/discharge cycles) is attributed to the supercapacitor-battery electrode, which makes synergistic effect of capacitor (CRs) and battery (NiS NPs) components rather than a merely additive composite. This work not only suggests a general approach for phase-controlled synthesis of nickel sulfide but also opens the door to the rational design and fabrication of novel nickel-based/carbon hybrid supercapacitor-battery electrode materials.

Phase-controlled synthesis of α-NiS nanoparticles confined in carbon nanorods for High Performance Supercapacitors

PubMed Central

Sun, Chencheng; Ma, Mingze; Yang, Jun; Zhang, Yufei; Chen, Peng; Huang, Wei; Dong, Xiaochen

2014-01-01

A facile and phase-controlled synthesis of α-NiS nanoparticles (NPs) embedded in carbon nanorods (CRs) is reported by in-situ sulfurating the preformed Ni/CRs. The nanopore confinement by the carbon matrix is essential for the formation of α-NiS and preventing its transition to β-phase, which is in strong contrast to large aggregated β-NiS particles grown freely without the confinement of CRs. When used as electrochemical electrode, the hybrid electrochemical charge storage of the ultrasmall α-NiS nanoparticels dispersed in CRs is benefit for the high capacitor (1092, 946, 835, 740 F g−1 at current densities of 1, 2, 5, 10 A g−1, respectively.). While the high electrochemical stability (approximately 100% retention of specific capacitance after 2000 charge/discharge cycles) is attributed to the supercapacitor-battery electrode, which makes synergistic effect of capacitor (CRs) and battery (NiS NPs) components rather than a merely additive composite. This work not only suggests a general approach for phase-controlled synthesis of nickel sulfide but also opens the door to the rational design and fabrication of novel nickel-based/carbon hybrid supercapacitor-battery electrode materials. PMID:25394517

An Overview of Communications Technology and Development Efforts for 2015 SBIR Phase I

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, Hung D.; Steele, Gynelle C.

2017-01-01

This report highlights innovative SBIR 2015 Phase I projects specifically addressing areas in Communications Technology and Development which is one of six core competencies at NASA Glenn Research Center. There are fifteen technologies featured with emphasis on a wide spectrum of applications such as novel solid state lasers for space-based water vapor dial; wide temperature, high voltage and energy density capacitors for aerospace exploration; instrument for airborne measurement of carbonyl sulfide; high-power tunable seed laser for methane Lidar transmitter; ROC-rib deployable ka-band antenna for nanosatellites; a SIC-based microcontroller for high-temperature in-situ instruments and systems; improved yield, performance and reliability of high-actuator-count deformable mirrors; embedded multifunctional optical sensor system; switching electronics for space-based telescopes with advanced AO systems; integrated miniature DBR laser module for Lidar instruments; and much more. Each article in this booklet describes an innovation, technical objective, and highlights NASA commercial and industrial applications. space-based water vapor dial; wide temperature, high voltage and energy density capacitors foraerospace exploration; instrument for airborne measurement of carbonyl sulfide; high-power tunable seed laser formethane Lidar transmitter; ROC-rib deployable ka-band antenna for nanosatellites.

Fluoroalkylsilane-Modified Textile-Based Personal Energy Management Device for Multifunctional Wearable Applications.

PubMed

Guo, Yinben; Li, Kerui; Hou, Chengyi; Li, Yaogang; Zhang, Qinghong; Wang, Hongzhi

2016-02-01

The rapid development of wearable electronics in recent years has brought increasing energy consumption, making it an urgent need to focus on personal energy harvesting, storage and management. Herein, a textile-based personal energy management device with multilayer-coating structure was fabricated by encapsulating commercial nylon cloth coated with silver nanowires into polydimethylsiloxane using continuous and facile dip-coating method. This multilayer-coating structure can not only harvest mechanical energy from human body motion to power wearable electronics but also save energy by keeping people warm without losing heat to surroundings and wasting energy to heat empty space and inanimate objects. Fluoroalkylsilanes (FAS) were grafted onto the surface of the film through one single dip-coating process to improve its energy harvesting performance, which has hardly adverse effect to heat insulation and Joule heating property. In the presence of FAS modification, the prepared film harvested mechanical energy to reach a maximum output power density of 2.8 W/m(2), charged commercial capacitors and lighted LEDs, showing its potential in powering wearable electronics. Furthermore, the film provided 8% more thermal insulation than normal cloth at 37 °C and efficiently heated to 40 °C within 4 min when applied the voltage of only 1.5 V due to Joule heating effect. The high flexibility and stability of the film ensures its wide and promising application in the wearable field.

Multilayer thin films with compositional PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3/Bi1.5Zn1.0Nb1.5O7 layers for tunable applications

PubMed Central

Yu, Shihui; Li, Lingxia; Zhang, Weifeng; Sun, Zheng; Dong, Helei

2015-01-01

The dielectric properties and tunability of multilayer thin films with compositional PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3/Bi1.5Zn1.0Nb1.5O7 (PZT/BZN) layers (PPBLs) fabricated by pulsed laser deposition on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrate have been investigated. Dielectric measurements indicate that the PZT/BZN bilayer thin films exhibit medium dielectric constant of about 490, low loss tangent of 0.017, and superior tunable dielectric properties (tunability = 49.7% at 500 kV/cm) at a PZT/BZN thickness ratio of 3, while the largest figure of merit is obtained as 51.8. The thickness effect is discussed with a series connection model of bilayer capacitors, and the calculated dielectric constant and loss tangent are obtained. Furthermore, five kinds of thin–film samples comprising single bilayers, two, three, four and five PPBLs were also elaborated with the final same thickness. The four PPBLs show the largest dielectric constant of ~538 and tunability of 53.3% at a maximum applied bias field of 500 kV/cm and the lowest loss tangent of ~0.015, while the largest figure of merit is 65.6. The results indicate that four PPBLs are excellent candidates for applications of tunable devices. PMID:25960043

Novel Spiral-Like Electrode Structure Design for Realization of Two Modes of Energy Harvesting.

PubMed

Chen, Lin; Guo, Hengyu; Xia, Xiaona; Liu, Guanlin; Shi, Haofei; Wang, Mingjun; Xi, Yi; Hu, Chenguo

2015-08-05

A planar spiral-like electrodes (PSE) based triboelectric generator has been designed for harvesting rotary mechanical energy to translate into electricity. The performance of the PSE-triboelectric generator with different cycles of spiral-like electrode strip at different rotating speeds is investigated, which demonstrates the open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current of 470 V and 9.0 μA at rotating speed of 500 r/min with three cycles. In addition, a novel coaxially integrated multilayered PSE-triboelectric generator is built, which can enhance the output of the power effectively. The short-circuit current, the open-circuit voltage, and output power reach to 41.55 μA, 500 V, and 11.73 mW, respectively, at rotating speed of 700 r/min. The output power of the multilayered PSE-triboelectric generator can drive 200 LEDs connected in antiparallel and charge a 110 μF commercial capacitor to 6 V in 23 s. Besides, due to the spiral-like electrode structure, the PSE-generator can work simultaneously in the modes of triboelectricity and electromagnetic induced electricity by sticking a small magnet on the rotating disk. The electromagnetic induced output power reaches to 21 μW at a loading resistance of 2 Ω at a rotating rate of 200 r/min. The spiral-like electrode structure not only broadens the electrode structure design but also adds a new function to the electrode.

Capacitor assembly and related method of forming

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Lili; Tan, Daniel Qi; Sullivan, Jeffrey S.

A capacitor assembly is disclosed. The capacitor assembly includes a housing. The capacitor assembly further includes a plurality of capacitors disposed within the housing. Furthermore, the capacitor assembly includes a thermally conductive article disposed about at least a portion of a capacitor body of the capacitors, and in thermal contact with the capacitor body. Moreover, the capacitor assembly also includes a heat sink disposed within the housing and in thermal contact with at least a portion of the housing and the thermally conductive article such that the heat sink is configured to remove heat from the capacitor in a radialmore » direction of the capacitor assembly. Further, a method of forming the capacitor assembly is also presented.« less

Exchange bias of Ni nanoparticles embedded in an antiferromagnetic IrMn matrix.

PubMed

Kuerbanjiang, Balati; Wiedwald, Ulf; Haering, Felix; Biskupek, Johannes; Kaiser, Ute; Ziemann, Paul; Herr, Ulrich

2013-11-15

The magnetic properties of Ni nanoparticles (Ni-NPs) embedded in an antiferromagnetic IrMn matrix were investigated. The Ni-NPs of 8.4 nm mean diameter were synthesized by inert gas aggregation. In a second processing step, the Ni-NPs were in situ embedded in IrMn films or SiOx films under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions. Findings showed that Ni-NPs embedded in IrMn have an exchange bias field HEB = 821 Oe at 10 K, and 50 Oe at 300 K. The extracted value of the exchange energy density is 0.06 mJ m(-2) at 10 K, which is in good accordance with the results from multilayered thin film systems. The Ni-NPs embedded in SiOx did not show exchange bias. As expected for this particle size, they are superparamagnetic at T = 300 K. A direct comparison of the Ni-NPs embedded in IrMn or SiOx reveals an increase of the blocking temperature from 210 K to around 400 K. The coercivity of the Ni-NPs exchange coupled to the IrMn matrix at 10 K is 8 times larger than the value for Ni-NPs embedded in SiOx. We studied time-dependent remanent magnetization at different temperatures. The relaxation behavior is described by a magnetic viscosity model which reflects a rather flat distribution of energy barriers. Furthermore, we investigated the effects of different field cooling processes on the magnetic properties of the embedded Ni-NPs. Exchange bias values fit to model calculations which correlate the contribution of the antiferromagnetic IrMn matrix to its grain size.

Approaches of multilayer overlay process control for 28nm FD-SOI derivative applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duclaux, Benjamin; De Caunes, Jean; Perrier, Robin; Gatefait, Maxime; Le Gratiet, Bertrand; Chapon, Jean-Damien; Monget, Cédric

2018-03-01

Derivative technology like embedded Non-Volatile Memories (eNVM) is raising new types of challenges on the "more than Moore" path. By its construction: overlay is critical across multiple layers, by its running mode: usage of high voltage are stressing leakages and breakdown, and finally with its targeted market: Automotive, Industry automation, secure transactions… which are all requesting high device reliability (typically below 1ppm level). As a consequence, overlay specifications are tights, not only between one layer and its reference, but also among the critical layers sharing the same reference. This work describes a broad picture of the key points for multilayer overlay process control in the case of a 28nm FD-SOI technology and its derivative flows. First, the alignment trees of the different flow options have been optimized using a realistic process assumptions calculation for indirect overlay. Then, in the case of a complex alignment tree involving heterogeneous scanner toolset, criticality of tool matching between reference layer and critical layers of the flow has been highlighted. Improving the APC control loops of these multilayer dependencies has been studied with simulations of feed-forward as well as implementing new rework algorithm based on multi-measures. Finally, the management of these measurement steps raises some issues for inline support and using calculations or "virtual overlay" could help to gain some tool capability. A first step towards multilayer overlay process control has been taken.

Three-dimensional imaging for precise structural control of Si quantum dot networks for all-Si solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kourkoutis, Lena F.; Hao, Xiaojing; Huang, Shujuan; Puthen-Veettil, Binesh; Conibeer, Gavin; Green, Martin A.; Perez-Wurfl, Ivan

2013-07-01

All-Si tandem solar cells based on Si quantum dots (QDs) are a promising approach to future high-performance, thin film solar cells using abundant, stable and non-toxic materials. An important prerequisite to achieve a high conversion efficiency in such cells is the ability to control the geometry of the Si QD network. This includes the ability to control both, the size and arrangement of Si QDs embedded in a higher bandgap matrix. Using plasmon tomography we show the size, shape and density of Si QDs, that form in Si rich oxide (SRO)/SiO2 multilayers upon annealing, can be controlled by varying the SRO stoichiometry. Smaller, more spherical QDs of higher densities are obtained at lower Si concentrations. In richer SRO layers ellipsoidal QDs tend to form. Using electronic structure calculations within the effective mass approximation we show that ellipsoidal QDs give rise to reduced inter-QD coupling in the layer. Efficient carrier transport via mini-bands is in this case more likely across the multilayers provided the SiO2 spacer layer is thin enough to allow coupling in the vertical direction.All-Si tandem solar cells based on Si quantum dots (QDs) are a promising approach to future high-performance, thin film solar cells using abundant, stable and non-toxic materials. An important prerequisite to achieve a high conversion efficiency in such cells is the ability to control the geometry of the Si QD network. This includes the ability to control both, the size and arrangement of Si QDs embedded in a higher bandgap matrix. Using plasmon tomography we show the size, shape and density of Si QDs, that form in Si rich oxide (SRO)/SiO2 multilayers upon annealing, can be controlled by varying the SRO stoichiometry. Smaller, more spherical QDs of higher densities are obtained at lower Si concentrations. In richer SRO layers ellipsoidal QDs tend to form. Using electronic structure calculations within the effective mass approximation we show that ellipsoidal QDs give rise to reduced inter-QD coupling in the layer. Efficient carrier transport via mini-bands is in this case more likely across the multilayers provided the SiO2 spacer layer is thin enough to allow coupling in the vertical direction. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Electron tomography reconstruction movies. See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr01998e

Optical control of capacitance in a metal-insulator-semiconductor diode with embedded metal nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mikhelashvili, V.; Ankonina, G.; Kauffmann, Y.; Atiya, G.; Kaplan, W. D.; Padmanabhan, R.; Eisenstein, G.

2017-06-01

This paper describes a metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) capacitor with flat capacitance voltage characteristics and a small quadratic voltage capacitance coefficient. The device characteristics resemble a metal-insulator-metal diode except that here the capacitance depends on illumination and exhibits a strong frequency dispersion. The device incorporates Fe nanoparticles (NPs), mixed with SrF2, which are embedded in an insulator stack of SiO2 and HfO2. Positively charged Fe ions induce dipole type traps with an electronic polarization that is enhanced by photogenerated carriers injected from the substrate and/or by inter nanoparticle exchange of carriers. The obtained characteristics are compared with those of five other MIS structures: two based on Fe NPs, one with and the other without SrF2 sublayers. Additionally, devices contain Co NPs embedded in SrF2 sublayers, and finally, two structures have no NPs, with one based on a stack of SiO2 and HfO2 and the other which also includes SrF2. Only structures containing Fe NPs, which are incorporated into SrF2, yield a voltage independent capacitance, the level of which can be changed by illumination. These properties are essential in radio frequency/analog mixed signal applications.

Ray-optical theory of broadband partially coherent emission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Epstein, Ariel; Tessler, Nir; Einziger, Pinchas D.

2013-04-01

We present a rigorous formulation of the effects of spectral broadening on emission of partially coherent source ensembles embedded in multilayered formations with arbitrarily shaped interfaces, provided geometrical optics is valid. The resulting ray-optical theory, applicable to a variety of optical systems from terahertz lenses to photovoltaic cells, quantifies the fundamental interplay between bandwidth and layer dimensions, and sheds light on common practices in optical analysis of statistical fields, e.g., disregarding multiple reflections or neglecting interference cross terms.

MUSIC imaging method for electromagnetic inspection of composite multi-layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodeghiero, Giacomo; Ding, Ping-Ping; Zhong, Yu; Lambert, Marc; Lesselier, Dominique

2015-03-01

A first-order asymptotic formulation of the electric field scattered by a small inclusion (with respect to the wavelength in dielectric regime or to the skin depth in conductive regime) embedded in composite material is given. It is validated by comparison with results obtained using a Method of Moments (MoM). A non-iterative MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) imaging method is utilized in the same configuration to locate the position of small defects. The effectiveness of the imaging algorithm is illustrated through some numerical examples.

Coexistence of high performance resistance and capacitance memory based on multilayered metal-oxide structures

PubMed Central

Yan, Z. B.; Liu, J. -M.

2013-01-01

The Au/DyMnO3/Nb:SrTiO3/Au stack was demonstrated to be not only a high performance memristor but also a good memcapacitor. The switching time is below 10 ns, the retention is longer than 105 s, and the change ratio of resistance (or capacitance) is larger than 100 over the 108 switching cycles. Moreover, this stack has a broad range of intermediate states that are tunable by the operating voltages. It is indicated that the memory effects originate from the Nb:SrTiO3/Au junction where the barrier profile is electrically modulated. The serial connected Au/DyMnO3/Nb:SrTiO3 stack behaves as a high nonlinear resistor paralleling with a capacitor, which raises the capacitance change ratio and enhances the memory stability of the device. PMID:23963467

Optimizing the switching time for 400 kV SF6 circuit breakers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ciulica, D.

2018-01-01

This paper presents real-time voltage and current analysis for optimizing the wave switching point of the circuit breaker SF6. Circuit Breaker plays an important role in power systems. It provides protection for equipment in embedded stations in transport networks. SF6 Circuit Breaker is very important equipment in Power Systems, which is used for up to 400 kV due to its excellent performance. The controlled switching is used to eliminate transient modes and electrodynamic and dielectric charges in the network at manual switching of capacitor, shunt reactors and power transformers. These effects reduce the reliability and lifetime of the equipment installed on the network, or may lead to erroneous protection.

Biologically inspired multi-layered synthetic skin for tactile feedback in prosthetic limbs.

PubMed

Osborn, Luke; Nguyen, Harrison; Betthauser, Joseph; Kaliki, Rahul; Thakor, Nitish

2016-08-01

The human body offers a template for many state-of-the-art prosthetic devices and sensors. In this work, we present a novel, sensorized synthetic skin that mimics the natural multi-layered nature of mechanoreceptors found in healthy glabrous skin to provide tactile information. The multi-layered sensor is made up of flexible piezoresistive textiles that act as force sensitive resistors (FSRs) to convey tactile information, which are embedded within a silicone rubber to resemble the compliant nature of human skin. The top layer of the synthetic skin is capable of detecting small loads less than 5 N whereas the bottom sensing layer responds reliably to loads over 7 N. Finite element analysis (FEA) of a simplified human fingertip and the synthetic skin was performed. Results suggest similarities in behavior during loading. A natural tactile event is simulated by loading the synthetic skin on a prosthetic limb. Results show the sensors' ability to detect applied loads as well as the ability to simulate neural spiking activity based on the derivative and temporal differences of the sensor response. During the tactile loading, the top sensing layer responded 0.24 s faster than the bottom sensing layer. A synthetic biologically-inspired skin such as this will be useful for enhancing the functionality of prosthetic limbs through tactile feedback.

Metal oxide multilayer hard mask system for 3D nanofabrication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Zhongmei; Salmi, Emma; Vehkamäki, Marko; Leskelä, Markku; Ritala, Mikko

2018-02-01

We demonstrate the preparation and exploitation of multilayer metal oxide hard masks for lithography and 3D nanofabrication. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) and focused ion beam (FIB) technologies are applied for mask deposition and mask patterning, respectively. A combination of ALD and FIB was used and a patterning procedure was developed to avoid the ion beam defects commonly met when using FIB alone for microfabrication. ALD grown Al2O3/Ta2O5/Al2O3 thin film stacks were FIB milled with 30 keV gallium ions and chemically etched in 5% tetramethylammonium hydroxide at 50 °C. With metal evaporation, multilayers consisting of amorphous oxides Al2O3 and Ta2O5 can be tailored for use in 2D lift-off processing, in preparation of embedded sub-100 nm metal lines and for multilevel electrical contacts. Good pattern transfer was achieved by lift-off process from the 2D hard mask for micro- and nano-scaled fabrication. As a demonstration of the applicability of this method to 3D structures, self-supporting 3D Ta2O5 masks were made from a film stack on gold particles. Finally, thin film resistors were fabricated by utilizing controlled stiction of suspended Ta2O5 structures.

Formation of Multilayer Cu Islands Embedded beneath the Surface of Graphite: Characterization and Fundamental Insights

DOE PAGES

Lii-Rosales, Ann; Han, Yong; Evans, James W.; ...

2018-02-06

Here in this paper, we present an extensive experimental study of the conditions under which Cu forms encapsulated islands under the top surface layers of graphite, as a result of physical vapor deposition of Cu on argon-ion-bombarded graphite. When the substrate is held at 800 K during deposition, conditions are optimal for formation of encapsulated multilayer Cu islands. Deposition temperatures below 600 K favor adsorbed Cu clusters, while deposition temperatures above 800 K favor a different type of feature that is probably a single-layer intercalated Cu island. The multilayer Cu islands are characterized with respect to size and shape, thicknessmore » and continuity of the graphitic overlayer, relationship to graphite steps, and stability in air. The experimental techniques are scanning tunneling microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. We also present an extensive study using density functional theory to compare stabilities of a wide variety of configurations of Cu atoms, Cu clusters, and Cu layers on/under the graphite surface. The only configuration that is significantly more stable under the graphite surface than on top of it, is a single Cu atom. This analysis leads us to conclude that formation of encapsulated Cu islands is kinetically driven, rather than thermodynamically driven.« less

Formation of Multilayer Cu Islands Embedded beneath the Surface of Graphite: Characterization and Fundamental Insights

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lii-Rosales, Ann; Han, Yong; Evans, James W.

Here in this paper, we present an extensive experimental study of the conditions under which Cu forms encapsulated islands under the top surface layers of graphite, as a result of physical vapor deposition of Cu on argon-ion-bombarded graphite. When the substrate is held at 800 K during deposition, conditions are optimal for formation of encapsulated multilayer Cu islands. Deposition temperatures below 600 K favor adsorbed Cu clusters, while deposition temperatures above 800 K favor a different type of feature that is probably a single-layer intercalated Cu island. The multilayer Cu islands are characterized with respect to size and shape, thicknessmore » and continuity of the graphitic overlayer, relationship to graphite steps, and stability in air. The experimental techniques are scanning tunneling microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. We also present an extensive study using density functional theory to compare stabilities of a wide variety of configurations of Cu atoms, Cu clusters, and Cu layers on/under the graphite surface. The only configuration that is significantly more stable under the graphite surface than on top of it, is a single Cu atom. This analysis leads us to conclude that formation of encapsulated Cu islands is kinetically driven, rather than thermodynamically driven.« less

Predicting multicellular function through multi-layer tissue networks

PubMed Central

Zitnik, Marinka; Leskovec, Jure

2017-01-01

Abstract Motivation: Understanding functions of proteins in specific human tissues is essential for insights into disease diagnostics and therapeutics, yet prediction of tissue-specific cellular function remains a critical challenge for biomedicine. Results: Here, we present OhmNet, a hierarchy-aware unsupervised node feature learning approach for multi-layer networks. We build a multi-layer network, where each layer represents molecular interactions in a different human tissue. OhmNet then automatically learns a mapping of proteins, represented as nodes, to a neural embedding-based low-dimensional space of features. OhmNet encourages sharing of similar features among proteins with similar network neighborhoods and among proteins activated in similar tissues. The algorithm generalizes prior work, which generally ignores relationships between tissues, by modeling tissue organization with a rich multiscale tissue hierarchy. We use OhmNet to study multicellular function in a multi-layer protein interaction network of 107 human tissues. In 48 tissues with known tissue-specific cellular functions, OhmNet provides more accurate predictions of cellular function than alternative approaches, and also generates more accurate hypotheses about tissue-specific protein actions. We show that taking into account the tissue hierarchy leads to improved predictive power. Remarkably, we also demonstrate that it is possible to leverage the tissue hierarchy in order to effectively transfer cellular functions to a functionally uncharacterized tissue. Overall, OhmNet moves from flat networks to multiscale models able to predict a range of phenotypes spanning cellular subsystems. Availability and implementation: Source code and datasets are available at http://snap.stanford.edu/ohmnet. Contact: jure@cs.stanford.edu PMID:28881986

Evaluation of substrate noise suppression method to mitigate crosstalk among trough-silicon vias

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Araga, Yuuki; Kikuchi, Katsuya; Aoyagi, Masahiro

2018-04-01

Substrate noise from a single through-silicon via (TSV) and the noise attenuation by a substrate tap and a guard ring are clarified. A CMOS test vehicle is designed, and 6-µm-diameter TSVs are manufactured on a 20-µm-thick silicon substrate by the via-last method. An on-chip waveform-capturing circuitry is embedded in the test vehicle to capture transient waveforms of substrate noise. The embedded waveform-capturing circuitry demonstrates small and local noise propagation. Experimental results show increased substrate noise level induced by TSVs and the effectiveness of the substrate tap and guard ring for mitigating the crosstalk among TSVs. An analytical model to explain substrate noise propagation is developed to validate experimental results. Results obtained using the substrate model with a multilayer mesh shows good consistency with experimental results, indicating that the model can be used for examination of noise suppression methods.

Study of optical and luminescence properties of silicon — semiconducting silicide — silicon multilayer nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galkin, N. G.; Galkin, K. N.; Dotsenko, , S. A.; Goroshko, D. L.; Shevlyagin, A. V.; Chusovitin, E. A.; Chernev, I. M.

2017-01-01

By method of in situ differential spectroscopy it was established that at the formation of monolayer Fe, Cr, Ca, Mg silicide and Mg stannide islands on the atomically clean silicon surface an appearance of loss peaks characteristic for these materials in the energy range of 1.1-2.6 eV is observed. An optimization of growth processes permit to grow monolithic double nanoheterostructures (DNHS) with embedded Fe, Cr and Ca nanocrystals, and also polycrystalline DNHS with NC of Mg silicide and Mg stannide and Ca disilicide. By methods of optical spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy it was shown that embedded NC form intensive peaks in the reflectance spectra at energies up to 2.5 eV and Raman peaks. In DNS with β-FeSi2 NC a photoluminescence and electroluminescence at room temperature were firstly observed.

Capacitor-Chain Successive-Approximation ADC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cunningham, Thomas

2003-01-01

A proposed successive-approximation analog-to-digital converter (ADC) would contain a capacitively terminated chain of identical capacitor cells. Like a conventional successive-approximation ADC containing a bank of binary-scaled capacitors, the proposed ADC would store an input voltage on a sample-and-hold capacitor and would digitize the stored input voltage by finding the closest match between this voltage and a capacitively generated sum of binary fractions of a reference voltage (Vref). However, the proposed capacitor-chain ADC would offer two major advantages over a conventional binary-scaled-capacitor ADC: (1) In a conventional ADC that digitizes to n bits, the largest capacitor (representing the most significant bit) must have 2(exp n-1) times as much capacitance, and hence, approximately 2(exp n-1) times as much area as does the smallest capacitor (representing the least significant bit), so that the total capacitor area must be 2(exp n) times that of the smallest capacitor. In the proposed capacitor-chain ADC, there would be three capacitors per cell, each approximately equal to the smallest capacitor in the conventional ADC, and there would be one cell per bit. Therefore, the total capacitor area would be only about 3(exp n) times that of the smallest capacitor. The net result would be that the proposed ADC could be considerably smaller than the conventional ADC. (2) Because of edge effects, parasitic capacitances, and manufacturing tolerances, it is difficult to make capacitor banks in which the values of capacitance are scaled by powers of 2 to the required precision. In contrast, because all the capacitors in the proposed ADC would be identical, the problem of precise binary scaling would not arise.

ZIF-8 Cooperating in TiN/Ti/Si Nanorods as Efficient Anodes in Micro-Lithium-Ion-Batteries.

PubMed

Yu, Yingjian; Yue, Chuang; Lin, Xionggui; Sun, Shibo; Gu, Jinping; He, Xu; Zhang, Chuanhui; Lin, Wei; Lin, Donghai; Liao, Xinli; Xu, Binbin; Wu, Suntao; Zheng, Mingsen; Li, Jing; Kang, Junyong; Lin, Liwei

2016-02-17

Zeolite imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) nanoparticles embedded in TiN/Ti/Si nanorod (NR) arrays without pyrolysis have shown increased energy storage capacity as anodes for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). A high capacity of 1650 μAh cm(-2) has been achieved in this ZIF-8 composited multilayered electrode, which is ∼100 times higher than the plain electrodes made of only silicon NR. According to the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) characterizations, the improved diffusion of lithium ions in ZIF-8 and boosted electron/Li(+) transfer by the ZIF-8/TiN/Ti multilayer coating are proposed to be responsible for the enhanced energy storage ability. The first-principles calculations further indicate the favorable accessibility of lithium with appropriate size to diffuse in the open pores of ZIF-8. This work broadens the application of ZIF-8 to silicon-based LIBs electrodes without the pyrolysis and provides design guidelines for other metal-organic frameworks/Si composite electrodes.

3D Printing: 3D Printing of Conductive Complex Structures with In Situ Generation of Silver Nanoparticles (Adv. Mater. 19/2016).

PubMed

Fantino, Erika; Chiappone, Annalisa; Roppolo, Ignazio; Manfredi, Diego; Bongiovanni, Roberta; Pirri, Candido Fabrizio; Calignano, Flaviana

2016-05-01

On page 3712, E. Fantino, A. Chiappone, and co-workers fabricate conductive 3D hybrid structures by coupling the photo-reduction of metal precursors with 3D printing technology. The generated structures consist of metal nanoparticles embedded in a polymer matrix shaped into complex multilayered architectures. 3D conductive structures are fabricated with a digital light-processing printer incorporating silver salt into photocurable formulations. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Infant-mortality testing of high-energy-density capacitors used on Nova

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Merritt, B.T.; Whitham, K.

1983-01-01

Nova is a solid-state large laser for inertial-confinement fusion research. Its flashlamps are driven by a 60-MJ capacitor bank. Part of this bank is being built with high-energy-density capacitors, 52-..mu..F, 22 kV, 12.5 kJ. A total of 2645 of these capacitors have been purchased from two manufacturers. Each capacitor was infant-mortality tested. The first test consisted of a high-potential test, bushing-to-case, since these capacitors have dual bushings. Then the capacitors were discharged 500 times with circuit conditions approximating the capacitors normal flashlamp load. Failure of either of these tests or if the capacitor was leaking was cause for rejection.

Modification of WS2 nanosheets with controllable layers via oxygen ion irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Honglian; Yu, Xiaofei; Chen, Ming; Qiao, Mei; Wang, Tiejun; Zhang, Jing; Liu, Yong; Liu, Peng; Wang, Xuelin

2018-05-01

As one kind of two-dimensional materials, WS2 nanosheets have drawn much attention with different kinds of research methods. Yet ion irradiation method was barely used for WS2 nanosheets. In this paper, the structure, composition and optical band gap (Eg) of the multilayer WS2 films deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method on sapphire substrates before and after oxygen ion irradiation with different energy and fluences were studied. Precise tailored layer-structures and a controllable optical band gap of WS2 nanosheets were achieved after oxygen ion irradiation. The results shows higher energy oxygen irradiation changed the shape from triangular shaped grains to irregular rectangle shape but did not change 2H-WS2 phase structure. The intensity of E2g1 (Г) and A1g (Г) modes decreased and have small shifts after oxygen ion irradiation. The peak frequency difference between the E2g1 (Г) and A1g (Г) modes (Δω) decreased after oxygen ion irradiation, and this result indicates the number of layers decreased after oxygen ion irradiation. The Eg decreased with the increase of the energy and the fluence of oxygen ions. The number of layers, thickness and optical band gap changed after ion irradiation with different ion fluences and energies. The results proposed a new strategy for precise control of multilayer nanosheets and demonstrated the high applicability of ion irradiation in super-capacitors, field effect transistors and other applications.

Large-area growth of multi-layer hexagonal boron nitride on polished cobalt foils by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

PubMed Central

Xu, Zhongguang; Tian, Hao; Khanaki, Alireza; Zheng, Renjing; Suja, Mohammad; Liu, Jianlin

2017-01-01

Two-dimensional (2D) hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), which has a similar honeycomb lattice structure to graphene, is promising as a dielectric material for a wide variety of potential applications based on 2D materials. Synthesis of high-quality, large-size and single-crystalline h-BN domains is of vital importance for fundamental research as well as practical applications. In this work, we report the growth of h-BN films on mechanically polished cobalt (Co) foils using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Under appropriate growth conditions, the coverage of h-BN layers can be readily controlled by growth time. A large-area, multi-layer h-BN film with a thickness of 5~6 nm is confirmed by Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. In addition, the size of h-BN single domains is 20~100 μm. Dielectric property of as-grown h-BN film is evaluated by characterization of Co(foil)/h-BN/Co(contact) capacitor devices. Breakdown electric field is in the range of 3.0~3.3 MV/cm, which indicates that the epitaxial h-BN film has good insulating characteristics. In addition, the effect of substrate morphology on h-BN growth is discussed regarding different domain density, lateral size, and thickness of the h-BN films grown on unpolished and polished Co foils. PMID:28230178

Investigation of sacrificial layer and building block for layered nanofabrication (LNF)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shih, Ting-Yu

Layered Nanoscale Fabrication (LNF) is a "bottom-up" procedure that uses multiple layers to build 3-dimensional nanoscale structures. Here, in this dissertation, several candidates for sacrificial layers were explored, The thermal stability of gold nanoparticles and simple patterns are also reported. In order to obtain information on layer thickness and film quality; the samples were characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and ellipsometry. Octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) was first investigated for use as a sacrificial layer and we studied filth growth by targeted self-replication of silane multilayers with and without the presence of thiolated gold nanoparticles on silicon oxide substrates. The particles adhered to the substrate during layer grafting. The film grew selectively on the substrate, without covering the particles. AFM was used to investigate the growth mechanism and the process of embedding the nanoparticles. OTS multilayer films up to 9 layers were grown in a linear, bilayer-by bilayer mode, free of islands and defects. We also report on studies of monolayer and multilayer formation of Methyl-11-dimethylmonochlorosilyl-undecanoate films. Flat multilayers up to 3-layers thick were grown. AFM was used to measure the height of an observable "edge" of the multilayer film and this provides and independent determination of the MOSUD layer height of 1.5 nm: However, the particles detached from the surface when we attempted to grow multilayer. One strategy of linking the particles to form 2D arrays, thermal activation in ambient air, was investigated. The morphological properties of flaked nanoparticles and structures on silicon oxide substrates before and after heating were characterized by using AFM. For widely separated 5 nm gold nanoparticles height decreased over 50% at 600 °C. Further heating to 630 °C caused most particles to completely disappear, with small amount of particle residue left on the surface. Particles positioned near to other particles first formed a neck-like structure at 570 °C and then deformed into one wide particle with tail-shape residue at 650 °C. Clusters of Au nanoparticles rearranged and became one large collide with particles residues left on the surface at 630 °C.

A solid dielectric gated graphene nanosensor in electrolyte solutions.

PubMed

Zhu, Yibo; Wang, Cheng; Petrone, Nicholas; Yu, Jaeeun; Nuckolls, Colin; Hone, James; Lin, Qiao

2015-03-23

This letter presents a graphene field effect transistor (GFET) nanosensor that, with a solid gate provided by a high- κ dielectric, allows analyte detection in liquid media at low gate voltages. The gate is embedded within the sensor and thus is isolated from a sample solution, offering a high level of integration and miniaturization and eliminating errors caused by the liquid disturbance, desirable for both in vitro and in vivo applications. We demonstrate that the GFET nanosensor can be used to measure pH changes in a range of 5.3-9.3. Based on the experimental observations and quantitative analysis, the charging of an electrical double layer capacitor is found to be the major mechanism of pH sensing.

Unified random access memory (URAM) by integration of a nanocrystal floating gate for nonvolatile memory and a partially depleted floating body for capacitorless 1T-DRAM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryu, Seong-Wan; Han, Jin-Woo; Kim, Chung-Jin; Kim, Sungho; Choi, Yang-Kyu

2009-03-01

This paper describes a unified memory (URAM) that utilizes a nanocrystal SOI MOSFET for multi-functional applications of both nonvolatile memory (NVM) and capacitorless 1T-DRAM. By using a discrete storage node (Ag nanocrystal) as the floating gate of the NVM, high defect immunity and 2-bit/cell operation were achieved. The embedded nanocrystal NVM also showed 1T-DRAM operation (program/erase time = 100 ns) characteristics, which were realized by storing holes in the floating body of the SOI MOSFET, without requiring an external capacitor. Three-bit/cell operation was accomplished for different applications - 2-bits for nonvolatility and 1-bit for fast operation.

A Power-Efficient Wireless Capacitor Charging System Through an Inductive Link

PubMed Central

Lee, Hyung-Min; Ghovanloo, Maysam

2014-01-01

A power-efficient wireless capacitor charging system for inductively powered applications has been presented. A bank of capacitors can be directly charged from an ac source by generating a current through a series charge injection capacitor and a capacitor charger circuit. The fixed charging current reduces energy loss in switches, while maximizing the charging efficiency. An adaptive capacitor tuner compensates for the resonant capacitance variations during charging to keep the amplitude of the ac input voltage at its peak. We have fabricated the capacitor charging system prototype in a 0.35-μm 4-metal 2-poly standard CMOS process in 2.1 mm2 of chip area. It can charge four pairs of capacitors sequentially. While receiving 2.7-V peak ac input through a 2-MHz inductive link, the capacitor charging system can charge each pair of 1 μF capacitors up to ±2 V in 420 μs, achieving a high measured charging efficiency of 82%. PMID:24678284

A Power-Efficient Wireless Capacitor Charging System Through an Inductive Link.

PubMed

Lee, Hyung-Min; Ghovanloo, Maysam

2013-10-01

A power-efficient wireless capacitor charging system for inductively powered applications has been presented. A bank of capacitors can be directly charged from an ac source by generating a current through a series charge injection capacitor and a capacitor charger circuit. The fixed charging current reduces energy loss in switches, while maximizing the charging efficiency. An adaptive capacitor tuner compensates for the resonant capacitance variations during charging to keep the amplitude of the ac input voltage at its peak. We have fabricated the capacitor charging system prototype in a 0.35- μ m 4-metal 2-poly standard CMOS process in 2.1 mm 2 of chip area. It can charge four pairs of capacitors sequentially. While receiving 2.7-V peak ac input through a 2-MHz inductive link, the capacitor charging system can charge each pair of 1 μ F capacitors up to ±2 V in 420 μ s, achieving a high measured charging efficiency of 82%.

Embedding Carbon Fibre Structures in Metal Matrixes for Additive Manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frostevarg, Jan; Robertson, Stephanie; Benavides, Vicente; Soldatov, Alexander

It is possible to reinforce structures and components using carbon fibres for applications in electronics and medicine, but most commonly used in reinforcing resin fibre composites for personal protection equipment and light weight constructions. Carbon fibres act as stress redistributors while having increased electrical and thermal conductivities. These properties could also be utilized in metal matrixes, if the fibres are properly fused to the metal and the structure remains intact. Another recently developed high potential carbon structure, carbon nanotube- (CNT) yarns, has similar but even greater mechanical properties than common carbon fibres. Via laser cladding, these reinforcing materials could be used in a plethora of applications, either locally (or globally) as surface treatments or as structural reinforcements using multi-layer laser cladding (additive manufacturing). The challenges of embedding carbon fibres or CNT-yarns in a CuAl mixture and SnPb solder wire using lasers are here investigated using high speed imaging and SEM. It is revealed that the carbon fibres have very high buoyancy in the molten metal and quickly degrades when irradiated by the laser. Wetting of the fibres is shown to be improved by a Tungsten coating and embedding of the structures after processing are evaluated using SEM and Raman spectroscopy.

Atomic Force Microscopy Studies of Functional and Dysfunctional Pulmonary Surfactant Films. I. Micro- and Nanostructures of Functional Pulmonary Surfactant Films and the Effect of SP-A

PubMed Central

Zuo, Yi Y.; Keating, Eleonora; Zhao, Lin; Tadayyon, Seyed M.; Veldhuizen, Ruud A. W.; Petersen, Nils O.; Possmayer, Fred

2008-01-01

Monolayers of a functional pulmonary surfactant (PS) can reach very low surface tensions well below their equilibrium value. The mechanism by which PS monolayers reach such low surface tensions and maintain film stability remains unknown. As shown previously by fluorescence microscopy, phospholipid phase transition and separation seem to be important for the normal biophysical properties of PS. This work studied phospholipid phase transitions and separations in monolayers of bovine lipid extract surfactant using atomic force microscopy. Atomic force microscopy showed phospholipid phase separation on film compression and a monolayer-to-multilayer transition at surface pressure 40–50 mN/m. The tilted-condensed phase consisted of domains not only on the micrometer scale, as detected previously by fluorescence microscopy, but also on the nanometer scale, which is below the resolution limits of conventional optical methods. The nanodomains were embedded uniformly within the liquid-expanded phase. On compression, the microdomains broke up into nanodomains, thereby appearing to contribute to tilted-condensed and liquid-expanded phase remixing. Addition of surfactant protein A altered primarily the nanodomains and promoted the formation of multilayers. We conclude that the nanodomains play a predominant role in affecting the biophysical properties of PS monolayers and the monolayer-to-multilayer transition. PMID:18212010

Promising applications of graphene and graphene-based nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Bich Ha; Hieu Nguyen, Van

2016-06-01

The present article is a review of research works on promising applications of graphene and graphene-based nanostructures. It contains five main scientific subjects. The first one is the research on graphene-based transparent and flexible conductive films for displays and electrodes: efficient method ensuring uniform and controllable deposition of reduced graphene oxide thin films over large areas, large-scale pattern growth of graphene films for stretchble transparent electrodes, utilization of graphene-based transparent conducting films and graphene oxide-based ones in many photonic and optoelectronic devices and equipments such as the window electrodes of inorganic, organic and dye-sensitized solar cells, organic light-emitting diodes, light-emitting electrochemical cells, touch screens, flexible smart windows, graphene-based saturated absorbers in laser cavities for ultrafast generations, graphene-based flexible, transparent heaters in automobile defogging/deicing systems, heatable smart windows, graphene electrodes for high-performance organic field-effect transistors, flexible and transparent acoustic actuators and nanogenerators etc. The second scientific subject is the research on conductive inks for printed electronics to revolutionize the electronic industry by producing cost-effective electronic circuits and sensors in very large quantities: preparing high mobility printable semiconductors, low sintering temperature conducting inks, graphene-based ink by liquid phase exfoliation of graphite in organic solutions, and developing inkjet printing technique for mass production of high-quality graphene patterns with high resolution and for fabricating a variety of good-performance electronic devices, including transparent conductors, embedded resistors, thin-film transistors and micro supercapacitors. The third scientific subject is the research on graphene-based separation membranes: molecular dynamics simulation study on the mechanisms of the transport of molecules, vapors and gases through nanopores in graphene membranes, experimental works investigating selective transport of different molecules through nanopores in single-layer graphene and graphene-based membranes toward the water desalination, chemical mixture separation and gas control. Various applications of graphene in bio-medicine are the contents of the fourth scientific subject of the review. They include the DNA translocations through nanopores in graphene membranes toward the fabrication of devices for genomic screening, in particular DNA sequencing; subnanometre trans-electrode membranes with potential applications to the fabrication of very high resolution, high throughput nanopore-based single-molecule detectors; antibacterial activity of graphene, graphite oxide, graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide; nanopore sensors for nucleic acid analysis; utilization of graphene multilayers as the gates for sequential release of proteins from surface; utilization of graphene-based electroresponsive scaffolds as implants for on-demand drug delivery etc. The fifth scientific subject of the review is the research on the utilization of graphene in energy storage devices: ternary self-assembly of ordered metal oxide-graphene nanocomposites for electrochemical energy storage; self-assembled graphene/carbon nanotube hybrid films for supercapacitors; carbon-based supercapacitors fabricated by activation of graphene; functionalized graphene sheet-sulfure nanocomposite for using as cathode material in rechargeable lithium batteries; tunable three-dimensional pillared carbon nanotube-graphene networks for high-performance capacitance; fabrications of electrochemical micro-capacitors using thin films of carbon nanotubes and chemically reduced graphenes; laser scribing of high-performance and flexible graphene-based electrochemical capacitors; emergence of next-generation safe batteries featuring graphene-supported Li metal anode with exceptionally high energy or power densities; fabrication of anodes for lithium ion batteries from crumpled graphene-encapsulated Si nanoparticles; liquid-mediated dense integration of graphene materials for compact capacitive energy storage; scalable fabrication of high-power graphene micro-supercapacitors for flexible and on-chip energy storage; superior micro-supercapacitors based on graphene quantum dots; all-graphene core-sheat microfibres for all-solid-state, stretchable fibriform supercapacitors and wearable electronic textiles; micro-supercapacitors with high electrochemical performance based on three-dimensional graphene-carbon nanotube carpets; macroscopic nitrogen-doped graphene hydrogels for ultrafast capacitors; manufacture of scalable ultra-thin and high power density graphene electrochemical capacitor electrodes by aqueous exfoliation and spray deposition; scalable synthesis of hierarchically structured carbon nanotube-graphene fibers for capacitive energy storage; phosphorene-graphene hybrid material as a high-capacity anode material for sodium-ion batteries. Beside above-presented promising applications of graphene and graphene-based nanostructures, other less widespread, but perhaps not less important, applications of graphene and graphene-based nanomaterials, are also briefly discussed.

Assembly of purple membranes on polyelectrolyte films.

PubMed

Saab, Marie-belle; Estephan, Elias; Cloitre, Thierry; Legros, René; Cuisinier, Frédéric J G; Zimányi, László; Gergely, Csilla

2009-05-05

The membrane protein bacteriorhodopsin in its native membrane bound form (purple membrane) was adsorbed and incorporated into polyelectrolyte multilayered films, and adsorption was in situ monitored by optical waveguide light-mode spectroscopy. The formation of a single layer or a double layer of purple membranes was observed when adsorbed on negatively or positively charged surfaces, respectively. The purple membrane patches adsorbed on the polyelectrolyte multilayers were also evidenced by atomic force microscopy images. The driving forces of the adsorption process were evaluated by varying the ionic strength of the solution as well as the purple membrane concentration. At high purple membrane concentration, interpenetrating polyelectrolyte loops might provide new binding sites for the adsorption of a second layer of purple membranes, whereas at lower concentrations only a single layer is formed. Negative surfaces do not promote a second protein layer adsorption. Driving forces other than just electrostatic ones, such as hydrophobic forces, should play a role in the polyelectrolyte/purple membrane layering. The subtle interplay of all these factors determines the formation of the polyelectrolyte/purple membrane matrix with a presumably high degree of orientation for the incorporated purple membranes, with their cytoplasmic, or extracellular side toward the bulk on negatively or positively charged polyelectrolyte, respectively. The structural stability of bacteriorhodopsin during adsorption onto the surface and incorporation into the polyelectrolyte multilayers was investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in attenuated total reflection mode. Adsorption and incorporation of purple membranes within polyelectrolyte multilayers does not disturb the conformational majority of membrane-embedded alpha-helix structures of the protein, but may slightly alter the structure of the extramembraneous segments or their interaction with the environment. This high stability is different from the lower stability of the predominantly beta-sheet structures of numerous globular proteins when adsorbed onto surfaces.

49 CFR 173.176 - Capacitors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 49 Transportation 2 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Capacitors. 173.176 Section 173.176 Transportation... PACKAGINGS Non-bulk Packaging for Hazardous Materials Other Than Class 1 and Class 7 § 173.176 Capacitors. (a) Capacitors, including capacitors containing an electrolyte that does not meet the definition of any hazard...

49 CFR 173.176 - Capacitors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 49 Transportation 2 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Capacitors. 173.176 Section 173.176 Transportation... PACKAGINGS Non-bulk Packaging for Hazardous Materials Other Than Class 1 and Class 7 § 173.176 Capacitors. (a) Capacitors, including capacitors containing an electrolyte that does not meet the definition of any hazard...

Facile preparation of graphene by high-temperature electrolysis and its application in supercapacitor.

PubMed

Jiao, Chen-Xu; Xing, Bao-Yan; Zhao, Jian-Guo; Geng, Yu; Li, Zuo-Peng

2014-01-01

Graphene is well known owing to its astonishing properties: stronger than diamond, more conductive than copper and more flexible than rubber. Because of its potential uses in industry, researchers have been searching for less toxicity ways to make graphene in large amount with lower cost. We demonstrated an efficient method to prepare graphene by high temperature electrolysis technique. High resolution scanning electron microscopy and raman spectroscopy were used to characterize the microstructure of graphene. Graphene was assembled into the supercapacitor and its performance of electrochemical capacitor was investigated by constant current charge and discharge, cyclic voltammetry and AC impedance. The results showed that the micro-morphology of the prepared graphene was multilayer and it was favorable when the electrolytic voltage was 1.5 V. When the current density is 1 mA/cm(2), the specific capacitance of the graphene supercapacitor can reach 78.01 F/g in 6 mol/L KOH electrolyte, which was an increase of 114% compared with 36.43 F/g of conventional KOH electrolyte.

Improving yield and performance in ZnO thin-film transistors made using selective area deposition.

PubMed

Nelson, Shelby F; Ellinger, Carolyn R; Levy, David H

2015-02-04

We describe improvements in both yield and performance for thin-film transistors (TFTs) fabricated by spatial atomic layer deposition (SALD). These improvements are shown to be critical in forming high-quality devices using selective area deposition (SAD) as the patterning method. Selective area deposition occurs when the precursors for the deposition are prevented from reacting with some areas of the substrate surface. Controlling individual layer quality and the interfaces between layers is essential for obtaining good-quality thin-film transistors and capacitors. The integrity of the gate insulator layer is particularly critical, and we describe a method for forming a multilayer dielectric using an oxygen plasma treatment between layers that improves crossover yield. We also describe a method to achieve improved mobility at the important interface between the semiconductor and the gate insulator by, conversely, avoiding oxygen plasma treatment. Integration of the best designs results in wide design flexibility, transistors with mobility above 15 cm(2)/(V s), and good yield of circuits.

1985 Annual Conference on Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects, 22nd, Monterey, CA, July 22-24, 1985, Proceedings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, C. W. (Editor)

1985-01-01

Basic mechanisms of radiation effects in structures and materials are discussed, taking into account the time dependence of interface state production, process dependent build-up of interface states in irradiated N-channel MOSFETs, bias annealing of radiation and bias induced positive charges in n- and p-type MOS capacitors, hole removal in thin-gate MOSFETs by tunneling, and activation energies of oxide charge recovery in SOS or SOI structures after an ionizing pulse. Other topics investigated are related to radiation effects in devices, radiation effects in integrated circuits, spacecraft charging and space radiation effects, single-event phenomena, hardness assurance and radiation sources, SGEMP/IEMP phenomena, EMP phenomena, and dosimetry and energy-dependent effects. Attention is given to a model of the plasma wake generated by a large object, gate charge collection and induced drain current in GaAs FETs, simulation of charge collection in a multilayer device, and time dependent dose enhancement effects on integrated circuit transient response mechanisms.

High energy density and efficiency achieved in nanocomposite film capacitors via structure modulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, Yi; Shen, Zhong-Hui; Shen, Yang; Lin, Yuanhua; Nan, Ce-Wen

2018-03-01

Flexible dielectric polymer films with high energy storage density and high charge-discharge efficiency have been considered as promising materials for electrical power applications. Here, we design hierarchical structured nanocomposite films using nonlinear polymer poly(vinylidene fluoride-HFP) [P(VDF-HFP)] with inorganic h-boron nitride (h-BN) nanosheets by electrospinning and hot-pressing methods. Our results show that the addition of h-BN nanosheets and the design of the hierarchical multilayer structure in the nanocomposites can remarkably enhance the charge-discharge efficiency and energy density. A high charge-discharge efficiency of 78% and an energy density of 21 J/cm3 can be realized in the 12-layered PVDF/h-BN nanocomposite films. Phase-field simulation results reveal that the spatial distribution of the electric field in these hierarchical structured films affects the charge-discharge efficiency and energy density. This work provides a feasible route, i.e., structure modulation, to improve the energy storage performances for nanocomposite films.

Effect of forming gas annealing on the degradation properties of Ge-based MOS stacks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aguirre, F.; Pazos, S.; Palumbo, F. R. M.; Fadida, S.; Winter, R.; Eizenberg, M.

2018-04-01

The influence of forming gas annealing on the degradation at a constant stress voltage of multi-layered germanium-based Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor capacitors (p-Ge/GeOx/Al2O3/High-K/Metal Gate) has been analyzed in terms of the C-V hysteresis and flat band voltage as a function of both negative and positive stress fields. Significant differences were found for the case of negative voltage stress between the annealed and non-annealed samples, independently of the stressing time. It was found that the hole trapping effect decreases in the case of the forming gas annealed samples, indicating strong passivation of defects with energies close to the valence band existing in the oxide-semiconductor interface during the forming gas annealing. Finally, a comparison between the degradation dynamics of Germanium and III-V (n-InGaAs) MOS stacks is presented to summarize the main challenges in the integration of reliable Ge-III-V hybrid devices.

1985 Annual Conference on Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects, 22nd, Monterey, CA, July 22-24, 1985, Proceedings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, C. W.

1985-12-01

Basic mechanisms of radiation effects in structures and materials are discussed, taking into account the time dependence of interface state production, process dependent build-up of interface states in irradiated N-channel MOSFETs, bias annealing of radiation and bias induced positive charges in n- and p-type MOS capacitors, hole removal in thin-gate MOSFETs by tunneling, and activation energies of oxide charge recovery in SOS or SOI structures after an ionizing pulse. Other topics investigated are related to radiation effects in devices, radiation effects in integrated circuits, spacecraft charging and space radiation effects, single-event phenomena, hardness assurance and radiation sources, SGEMP/IEMP phenomena, EMP phenomena, and dosimetry and energy-dependent effects. Attention is given to a model of the plasma wake generated by a large object, gate charge collection and induced drain current in GaAs FETs, simulation of charge collection in a multilayer device, and time dependent dose enhancement effects on integrated circuit transient response mechanisms.

Physical and Electrical Characterization of Aluminum Polymer Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, David; Sampson, Michael J.

2010-01-01

Polymer aluminum capacitors from several manufacturers with various combinations of capacitance, rated voltage, and ESR values were physically examined and electrically characterized. The physical construction analysis of the capacitors revealed three different capacitor structures, i.e., traditional wound, stacked, and laminated. Electrical characterization results of polymer aluminum capacitors are reported for frequency-domain dielectric response at various temperatures, surge breakdown voltage, and other dielectric properties. The structure-property relations in polymer aluminum capacitors are discussed.

Physical and Electrical Characterization of Polymer Aluminum Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, David; Sampson, Michael J.

2010-01-01

Polymer aluminum capacitors from several manufacturers with various combinations of capacitance, rated voltage, and ESR values were physically examined and electrically characterized. The physical construction analysis of the capacitors revealed three different capacitor structures, i.e., traditional wound, stacked, and laminated. Electrical characterization results of polymer aluminum capacitors are reported for frequency-domain dielectric response at various temperatures, surge breakdown voltage, and other dielectric properties. The structure-property relations in polymer aluminum capacitors are discussed.

PRECISION INTEGRATOR FOR MINUTE ELECTRIC CURRENTS

DOEpatents

Hemmendinger, A.; Helmer, R.J.

1961-10-24

An integrator is described for measuring the value of integrated minute electrical currents. The device consists of a source capacitor connected in series with the source of such electrical currents, a second capacitor of accurately known capacitance and a source of accurately known and constant potential, means responsive to the potentials developed across the source capacitor for reversibly connecting the second capacitor in series with the source of known potential and with the source capacitor and at a rate proportional to the potential across the source capacitor to maintain the magnitude of the potential across the source capacitor at approximately zero. (AEC)

Investigation of Tantalum Wet Slug Capacitor Failures in the Apollo Telescope Mount Charger Battery Regulator Modules

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, J. F.; Wiedeman, D. H.

1973-01-01

This investigation describes the capacitor failures and to identify the cause of the failure mechanism. Early failures were thought to have happened because of age and/or abuse since the failed capacitors were dated 1967. It is shown that all 1967 capacitors were replaced with 1972 capacitors.

High Temperature Evaluation of Tantalum Capacitors - Test 1

DOE Data Explorer

Cieslewski, Grzegorz

2014-09-28

Tantalum capacitors can provide much higher capacitance at high-temperatures than the ceramic capacitors. This study evaluates selected tantalum capacitors at high temperatures to determine their suitability for you in geothermal field. This data set contains results of the first test where three different types of capacitors were evaluated at 260C.

Effect of Compressive Stresses on Leakage Currents in Microchip Tantalum Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teverovsky, Alexander

2012-01-01

Microchip tantalum capacitors are manufactured using new technologies that allow for production of small size capacitors (down to EIA case size 0402) with volumetric efficiency much greater than for regular chip capacitors. Due to a small size of the parts and leadless design they might be more sensitive to mechanical stresses that develop after soldering onto printed wiring boards (PWB) compared to standard chip capacitors. In this work, the effect of compressive stresses on leakage currents in capacitors has been investigated in the range of stresses up to 200 MPa. Significant, up to three orders of magnitude, variations of currents were observed after the stress exceeds a certain critical level that varied from 10 MPa to 180 MPa for capacitors used in this study. A stress-induced generation of electron traps in tantalum pentoxide dielectric is suggested to explain reversible variations of leakage currents in tantalum capacitors. Thermo-mechanical characteristics of microchip capacitors have been studied to estimate the level of stresses caused by assembly onto PWB and assess the risk of stress-related degradation and failures. Keywords: tantalum capacitors, leakage current, soldering, reliability, mechanical stress.

A new method of optimal capacitor switching based on minimum spanning tree theory in distribution systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, H. W.; Pan, Z. Y.; Ren, Y. B.; Wang, J.; Gan, Y. L.; Zheng, Z. Z.; Wang, W.

2018-03-01

According to the radial operation characteristics in distribution systems, this paper proposes a new method based on minimum spanning trees method for optimal capacitor switching. Firstly, taking the minimal active power loss as objective function and not considering the capacity constraints of capacitors and source, this paper uses Prim algorithm among minimum spanning trees algorithms to get the power supply ranges of capacitors and source. Then with the capacity constraints of capacitors considered, capacitors are ranked by the method of breadth-first search. In term of the order from high to low of capacitor ranking, capacitor compensation capacity based on their power supply range is calculated. Finally, IEEE 69 bus system is adopted to test the accuracy and practicality of the proposed algorithm.

Impedance/thermally stimulated depolarization current and microstructural relations at interfaces in degraded perovskite dielectrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Wei-En

In this work, a detailed investigation of electrical degradation has been performed on a model perovskite dielectric, Fe-doped SrTiO3 in both single and polycrystalline forms. In the single crystals, three different types of relaxation process were identified by TSDC, namely dipolar orientation of Fe'Ti-VÖ complexes, trap charges of FexTi-VÖ , and ionic space charge with the mobile VÖ . The energetics and concentrations of these are monitored as a function of the degradation process. Furthermore, IS is used to model the mechanisms that are spatially redistributed owning to the migration of VÖ towards the cathodic region of the crystal. Through modeling all the complex impedance Z*, modulus M*, admittance Y* and capacitance C*, an equivalent circuit model can be developed and key contributors to the IS can be identified. From this it is considered that the cathodic region changes to a conduction mechanism that is both band electron and polaron controlled. The major change during the degradation is to the polaron conduction pathways. Due to the nature of low polaron hopping mobility in this model system, the conductivity from both conductions become comparable providing that the calculated polaron concentration is around 5 order greater than that of band electron. The spatial dimension of the distributed conduction mechanisms is also modeled through the I.S. analysis. Excellent agreement is obtained between the IS data and the EELS data, where ≈30 microm of conducting region is developed at the cathode, and a corresponding high oxygen vacancy concentration on the order of 10 19/cm3 is obtained after degradation. Other than those relaxation mechanisms identified in the Fe-doped SrTiO 3 single crystal system, an extra relaxation mechanism was found in the polycrystalline systems and was attributed to the relaxation of oxygen vacancies across grain boundaries. Using the initial rise method of TSDC, the activation energies estimated for the relaxation of defect dipoles, the in-grain oxygen vacancies pile up at grain boundaries, and relaxation of oxygen vacancies across grain boundaries are 0.73+/-0.03, 0.86+/-0.07, and 1.1+/-0.09 eV, respectively. An ionic demixing model is applied to account for the evolution of TSDC spectra and to explain changes to the leakage behavior of the degraded samples. In the case of the polycrystalline system, it is suggested that a strong degradation to the insulation resistance occurs when oxygen vacancies migrate across grain boundaries and start to pile up at the cathode region of metallic electrodes. Prior to that point, the vacancies accumulate at partial blocking grain boundaries in each of the crystallites. For the TSDC studies in Ni-BaTiO3 MLCCs, besides two pyroelectric peaks released from the ferroelectric core and shell phase regions, an additional two peaks above the core Curie temperature were ascribed to the relaxation of two types of oxygen vacancy motions, in grain and across grain boundary oxygen vacancy transportation. Activation energies calculated for in grain and across grain boundary oxygen vacancy peaks are 1.06+/-0.05 and 1.24+/-0.08 eV, respectively. Another important multi-layer capacitive device is the so-called COG capacitor. In designing COG capacitors, high field break down properties are required at elevated temperatures above 85°C. A source of the electrical breakdown could be the depopulation of trapped charge. Therefore the trapped charge energies and concentrations in COG capacitors were investigated. The capacitor's MnO content was found to strongly influence the trapped charge concentration as measured by TSDC. TSDC to electrolytic capacitors was also demonstrated. It is shown that TSDC technique can be a powerful tool to understand underlying defect properties which are not manifested in traditional electrical measurements such as I-V measurement. Electrolytic capacitors based on tantalum oxide are often limited in their performance at high fields and high temperatures due to trapped charges. It is known that leakage is often controlled by Poole-Frankel conduction mechanisms in Ta2O5 electrolytic capacitors. It is determined through I-V measurements that the leakage current indeed follows the Poole-Frenkel conduction characteristic under high field. A parallel TSDC study also confirms at high field and high temperature trapped charge phenomenon. Through the use of TSDC, a new high voltage Poole--Frenkel mechanism at highest field range, >64V, in this study was discovered. It is concluded that TSDC is one of best techniques for capacitor characterization, and recommended other TSDC methods that could be extended to enhance our understanding of structure-property-processing relations in capacitor characterization. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Self-assembled biomimetic antireflection coatings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Linn, Nicholas C.; Sun, Chih-Hung; Jiang, Peng; Jiang, Bin

2007-09-01

The authors report a simple self-assembly technique for fabricating antireflection coatings that mimic antireflective moth eyes. Wafer-scale, nonclose-packed colloidal crystals with remarkable large hexagonal domains are created by a spin-coating technology. The resulting polymer-embedded colloidal crystals exhibit highly ordered surface modulation and can be used directly as templates to cast poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) molds. Moth-eye antireflection coatings with adjustable reflectivity can then be molded against the PDMS master. The specular reflection of replicated nipple arrays matches the theoretical prediction using a thin-film multilayer model. These biomimetic films may find important technological application in optical coatings and solar cells.

Numerical modeling of runback water on ice protected aircraft surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Al-Khalil, Kamel M.; Keith, Theo G., Jr.; Dewitt, Kenneth J.

1992-01-01

A numerical simulation for 'running wet' aircraft anti-icing systems is developed. The model includes breakup of the water film, which exists in regions of direct impingement, into individual rivulets. The wetness factor distribution resulting from the film breakup and the rivulet configuration on the surface are predicted in the numerical solution procedure. The solid wall is modeled as a multilayer structure and the anti-icing system used is of the thermal type utilizing hot air and/or electrical heating elements embedded with the layers. Details of the calculation procedure and the methods used are presented.

Research into the use of pyrolytic oxides and polymers for the fabrication of thin film high energy capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nevin, J. H.

1983-01-01

Construction, capacitance and dissipation factor, and electrode materials for single layer capacitors are discussed. Basic construction, phosphosilicate glass, ten layer capacitors, twenty layer capacitors, stress measurements, buffered oxide layers, and 30 layer capacitors are also discussed. Spin-on phosphosilicate glass is addressed. Polymers as dielectric materials are also considered.

A 800 kV compact peaking capacitor for nanosecond generator.

PubMed

Jia, Wei; Chen, Zhiqiang; Tang, Junping; Chen, Weiqing; Guo, Fan; Sun, Fengrong; Li, Junna; Qiu, Aici

2014-09-01

An extremely compact high voltage peaking capacitor is developed. The capacitor has a pancake structure with a diameter of 315 mm, a thickness of 59 mm, and a mass of 6.1 kg. The novel structural design endows the capacitor with a better mechanical stability and reliability under hundreds of kilovolts pulse voltage and an inner gas pressure of more than 1.5 MPa. The theoretical value of the capacitor self-inductance is near to 17 nH. Proved by series of electrical experiments, the capacitor can endure a high-voltage pulse with a rise time of about 20 ns, a half-width duration of around 25 ns, and an amplitude of up to 800 kV in a single shot model. When the capacitor was used in an electromagnetic pulse simulator as a peaking capacitor, the rise time of the voltage pulse can be reduced from 20 ns to less than 3 ns. The practical value of the capacitor's inductance deduced from the experimental date is no more than 25 nH.

Thickness Dependent Structural and Dielectric Properties of Calcium Copper Titanate Thin Films Produced by Spin-Coating Method for Microelectronic Devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thiruramanathan, P.; Sankar, S.; Marikani, A.; Madhavan, D.; Sharma, Sanjeev K.

2017-07-01

Calcium copper titanate (CaCu3Ti4O12, CCTO) thin films have been deposited on platinized silicon [(111)Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si] substrate through a sol-gel spin coating technique and annealed at 600-900°C with a variation of 100°C per sample for 3 h. The activation energy for crystalline growth, as well as optimal annealing temperature (900°C) of the CCTO crystallites was studied by x-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). Thickness dependent structural, morphological, and optical properties of CCTO thin films were observed. The field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) verified that the CCTO thin films are uniform, fully covered, densely packed, and the particle size was found to be increased with film thickness. Meanwhile, quantitative analysis of dielectric properties (interfacial capacitance, dead layers, and bulk dielectric constant) of CCTO thin film with metal-insulator-metal (M-I-M) structures has been investigated systematically using a series capacitor model. Room temperature dielectric properties of all the samples exhibit dispersion at low frequencies, which can be explained based on Maxwell-Wagner two-layer models and Koop's theory. It was found that the 483 nm thick CCTO film represents a high dielectric constant ( ɛ r = 3334), low loss (tan δ = 3.54), capacitance ( C = 4951 nF), which might satisfy the requirements of embedded capacitor.

Humidity Testing of PME and BME Ceramic Capacitors with Cracks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teverovsky, Alexander A.; Herzberger, Jaemi

2014-01-01

Cracks in ceramic capacitors are one of the major causes of failures during operation of electronic systems. Humidity testing has been successfully used for many years to verify the absence of cracks and assure quality of military grade capacitors. Traditionally, only precious metal electrode (PME) capacitors were used in high reliability applications and the existing requirements for humidity testing were developed for this type of parts. With the advance of base metal electrode (BME) capacitors, there is a need for assessment of the applicability of the existing techniques for the new technology capacitors. In this work, variety of different PME and BME capacitors with introduced cracks were tested in humid environments at different voltages and temperatures. Analysis of the test results indicates differences in the behavior and failure mechanisms for BME and PME capacitors and the need for different testing conditions.

A compact 100 kV high voltage glycol capacitor.

PubMed

Wang, Langning; Liu, Jinliang; Feng, Jiahuai

2015-01-01

A high voltage capacitor is described in this paper. The capacitor uses glycerol as energy storage medium, has a large capacitance close to 1 nF, can hold off voltages of up to 100 kV for μs charging time. Allowing for low inductance, the capacitor electrode is designed as coaxial structure, which is different from the common structure of the ceramic capacitor. With a steady capacitance at different frequencies and a high hold-off voltage of up to 100 kV, the glycol capacitor design provides a potential substitute for the ceramic capacitors in pulse-forming network modulator to generate high voltage pulses with a width longer than 100 ns.

The design and implementation of on-line monitoring system for UHV compact shunt capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tao, Weiliang; Ni, Xuefeng; Lin, Hao; Jiang, Shengbao

2017-08-01

Because of the large capacity and compact structure of the UHV compact shunt capacitor, it is difficult to take effective measures to detect and prevent the faults. If the fault capacitor fails to take timely maintenance, it will pose a threat to the safe operation of the system and the life safety of the maintenance personnel. The development of UHV compact shunt capacitor on-line monitoring system can detect and record the on-line operation information of UHV compact shunt capacitors, analyze and evaluate the early fault warning signs, find out the fault capacitor or the capacitor with fault symptom, to ensure safe and reliable operation of the system.

Polyvinylidene fluoride film as a capacitor dielectric

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dematos, H. V.

1981-01-01

Thin strips of polyvinylidene fluoride film (PVDF) with vacuum deposited electrodes were made into capacitors by conventional winding and fabrication techniques. These devices were used to identify and evaluate the performance characteristics offered by the PVDF in metallized film capacitors. Variations in capacitor parameters with temperature and frequence were evaluated and compared with other dielectric films. Their impact on capacitor applications is discussed.

Evaluation of Polymer Hermetically Sealed Tantalum Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teverovsky, Alexander A.

2014-01-01

Polymer cathode tantalum capacitors have lower ESR (equivalent series resistance) compared to other types of tantalum capacitors and for this reason have gained popularity in the electronics design community. Their use allows improved performance of power supply systems along with substantial reduction of size and weight of the components used. However, these parts have poor thermal stability and can degrade in humid environments. Polymer hermetically sealed (PHS) capacitors avoid problems related to environmental degradation of molded case parts and can potentially replace current wet and solid hermetically sealed capacitors. In this work, PHS capacitors manufactured per DLA LAM DWG#13030 are evaluated for space applications. Several lots of capacitors manufactured over period from 2010 to 2014 were tested for the consistency of performance, electrical and thermal characteristics, highly accelerated life testing, and robustness under reverse bias and random vibration conditions. Special attention was given to analysis of leakage currents and the effect of long-term high temperature storage on capacitors in as is condition and after hermeticity loss. The results show that PHS capacitors might be especially effective for low-temperature applications or for system requiring a cold start-up. Additional screening and qualification testing have been recommended to assure the necessary quality of capacitors for space projects.

2017 NEPP Tasks Update for Ceramic and Tantalum Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teverovsky, Alexander A.

2017-01-01

This presentation gives an overview of current NEPP tasks on ceramic and tantalum capacitors and plans for the future. It includes tasks on leakage currents, gas generation and case deformation in wet tantalum capacitors; ESR degradation and acceleration factors in MnO2 and polymer cathode capacitors. Preliminary results on the effect of moisture on degradation of reverse currents in MnO2 tantalum capacitors are discussed. Latest results on mechanical characteristics of MLCCs and modeling of degradation of leakage currents in BME capacitors with defects are also presented.

Single-poly EEPROM cell with lightly doped MOS capacitors

DOEpatents

Riekels, James E [New Hope, MN; Lucking, Thomas B [Maple Grove, MN; Larsen, Bradley J [Mound, MN; Gardner, Gary R [Golden Valley, MN

2008-05-27

An Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM) memory cell and a method of operation are disclosed for creating an EEPROM memory cell in a standard CMOS process. A single polysilicon layer is used in combination with lightly doped MOS capacitors. The lightly doped capacitors employed in the EEPROM memory cell can be asymmetrical in design. Asymmetrical capacitors reduce area. Further capacitance variation caused by inversion can also be reduced by using multiple control capacitors. In addition, the use of multiple tunneling capacitors provides the benefit of customized tunneling paths.

Electrically Variable or Programmable Nonvolatile Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shangqing, Liu; NaiJuan, Wu; Ignatieu, Alex; Jianren, Li

2009-01-01

Electrically variable or programmable capacitors based on the unique properties of thin perovskite films are undergoing development. These capacitors show promise of overcoming two important deficiencies of prior electrically programmable capacitors: Unlike in the case of varactors, it is not necessary to supply power continuously to make these capacitors retain their capacitance values. Hence, these capacitors may prove useful as components of nonvolatile analog and digital electronic memories. Unlike in the case of ferroelectric capacitors, it is possible to measure the capacitance values of these capacitors without changing the values. In other words, whereas readout of ferroelectric capacitors is destructive, readout of these capacitors can be nondestructive. A capacitor of this type is a simple two terminal device. It includes a thin film of a suitable perovskite as the dielectric layer, sandwiched between two metal or metal oxide electrodes (for example, see Figure 1). The utility of this device as a variable capacitor is based on a phenomenon, known as electrical-pulse-induced capacitance (EPIC), that is observed in thin perovskite films and especially in those thin perovskite films that exhibit the colossal magnetoresistive (CMR) effect. In EPIC, the application of one or more electrical pulses that exceed a threshold magnitude (typically somewhat less than 1 V) gives rise to a nonvolatile change in capacitance. The change in capacitance depends on the magnitude duration, polarity, and number of pulses. It is not necessary to apply a magnetic field or to cool the device below (or heat it above) room temperature to obtain EPIC. Examples of suitable CMR perovskites include Pr(1-x)Ca(x)MnO3, La(1-x)S-r(x)MnO3,and Nb(1-x)Ca(x)MnO3. Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an EPIC capacitor connected to a circuit that can vary the capacitance, measure the capacitance, and/or measure the resistance of the capacitor.

Three-dimensional structural damage localization system and method using layered two-dimensional array of capacitance sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Curry, Mark A (Inventor); Senibi, Simon D (Inventor); Banks, David L (Inventor)

2010-01-01

A system and method for detecting damage to a structure is provided. The system includes a voltage source and at least one capacitor formed as a layer within the structure and responsive to the voltage source. The system also includes at least one sensor responsive to the capacitor to sense a voltage of the capacitor. A controller responsive to the sensor determines if damage to the structure has occurred based on the variance of the voltage of the capacitor from a known reference value. A method for sensing damage to a structure involves providing a plurality of capacitors and a controller, and coupling the capacitors to at least one surface of the structure. A voltage of the capacitors is sensed using the controller, and the controller calculates a change in the voltage of the capacitors. The method can include signaling a display system if a change in the voltage occurs.

Au Nanoparticle Sub-Monolayers Sandwiched between Sol-Gel Oxide Thin Films

PubMed Central

Della Gaspera, Enrico; Menin, Enrico; Sada, Cinzia

2018-01-01

Sub-monolayers of monodisperse Au colloids with different surface coverage have been embedded in between two different metal oxide thin films, combining sol-gel depositions and proper substrates functionalization processes. The synthetized films were TiO2, ZnO, and NiO. X-ray diffraction shows the crystallinity of all the oxides and verifies the nominal surface coverage of Au colloids. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of the metal nanoparticles is affected by both bottom and top oxides: in fact, the SPR peak of Au that is sandwiched between two different oxides is centered between the SPR frequencies of Au sub-monolayers covered with only one oxide, suggesting that Au colloids effectively lay in between the two oxide layers. The desired organization of Au nanoparticles and the morphological structure of the prepared multi-layered structures has been confirmed by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analyses that show a high quality sandwich structure. The multi-layered structures have been also tested as optical gas sensors. PMID:29538338

Fabrication of three-dimensional polymer quadratic nonlinear grating structures by layer-by-layer direct laser writing technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bich Do, Danh; Lin, Jian Hung; Diep Lai, Ngoc; Kan, Hung-Chih; Hsu, Chia Chen

2011-08-01

We demonstrate the fabrication of a three-dimensional (3D) polymer quadratic nonlinear (χ(2)) grating structure. By performing layer-by-layer direct laser writing (DLW) and spin-coating approaches, desired photobleached grating patterns were embedded in the guest--host dispersed-red-1/poly(methylmethacrylate) (DR1/PMMA) active layers of an active-passive alternative multilayer structure through photobleaching of DR1 molecules. Polyvinyl-alcohol and SU8 thin films were deposited between DR1/PMMA layers serving as a passive layer to separate DR1/PMMA active layers. After applying the corona electric field poling to the multilayer structure, nonbleached DR1 molecules in the active layers formed polar distribution, and a 3D χ(2) grating structure was obtained. The χ(2) grating structures at different DR1/PMMA nonlinear layers were mapped by laser scanning second harmonic (SH) microscopy, and no cross talk was observed between SH images obtained from neighboring nonlinear layers. The layer-by-layer DLW technique is favorable to fabricating hierarchical 3D polymer nonlinear structures for optoelectronic applications with flexible structural design.

Fabrication of three-dimensional polymer quadratic nonlinear grating structures by layer-by-layer direct laser writing technique.

PubMed

Do, Danh Bich; Lin, Jian Hung; Lai, Ngoc Diep; Kan, Hung-Chih; Hsu, Chia Chen

2011-08-10

We demonstrate the fabrication of a three-dimensional (3D) polymer quadratic nonlinear (χ(2)) grating structure. By performing layer-by-layer direct laser writing (DLW) and spin-coating approaches, desired photobleached grating patterns were embedded in the guest-host dispersed-red-1/poly(methylmethacrylate) (DR1/PMMA) active layers of an active-passive alternative multilayer structure through photobleaching of DR1 molecules. Polyvinyl-alcohol and SU8 thin films were deposited between DR1/PMMA layers serving as a passive layer to separate DR1/PMMA active layers. After applying the corona electric field poling to the multilayer structure, nonbleached DR1 molecules in the active layers formed polar distribution, and a 3D χ(2) grating structure was obtained. The χ(2) grating structures at different DR1/PMMA nonlinear layers were mapped by laser scanning second harmonic (SH) microscopy, and no cross talk was observed between SH images obtained from neighboring nonlinear layers. The layer-by-layer DLW technique is favorable to fabricating hierarchical 3D polymer nonlinear structures for optoelectronic applications with flexible structural design.

Light dosimetry for focused and defocused beam irradiation in multi-layered tissue models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrova, Kremena S.; Stoykova, Elena V.

2006-09-01

Treatment of acupuncture points, trigger points, joint inflammations in low level laser therapy as well as various applications of lasers for treatment of soft tissues in dental medicine, require irradiation by a narrow converging laser beam. The aim of this study is to compare light delivery produced by focused or defocused narrow beam irradiation in a multi-layered skin tissue model at increasing depth of the target. The task is solved by 3-D Monte-Carlo simulation for matched and mismatched refractive indices at the tissue/ambient medium interface. The modeled light beams have a circular cross-section at the tissue entrance with uniform or Gaussian intensity distribution. Three are the tissue models used in simulation : i) a bloodless skin layer; ii) a bloodless skin layer with embedded scattering object; iii) a skin layer with small blood vessels of varying size, which are modeled as infinite cylinders parallel to the tissue surface located at different depths. Optical properties (absorption coefficient, scattering coefficient, anisotropy factor, g, and index of refraction) of different tissue constituents are chosen from the literature.

Breaking the Ice

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

Electro-Expulsive Separation System, a low power electro-thermal deicer, was invented by Leonard A. Haslim from the Ames Research Center, who was named 1988 NASA Inventor of the Year for his work. Sold under license by Dataproducts New England, Inc., it consists of an elastic, rubber-like deicer boot on the wing's leading edge with copper ribbons embedded in it. Conductors are separated by slits in between and parallel to the ribbons. When the system is switched on, a bank of capacitors in the power supply discharges into the conductors which induces the conductor pairs to repel each other. This results in a powerful force causing the slit voids to expand explosively, removing ice on the wing. EESS is more flexible, more effective, and easier to maintain than previous systems. Potential ship, bridge and industrial applications are under study.

The Application of Perfluorocarbons as Impregnants for Plastic Film Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mauldin, G. H.

1981-01-01

A liquid impregnated, plastic film (wet) capacitor was developed that is thought to be the most reliable and space efficient capacitor of any type ever produced for high voltage, pulse discharge service. The initial design stores five times the energy of a premium quality dry capacitor of equivalent energy and reliability. The technology, as well as a production capacitor design using this technology are described.

Super miniaturization of film capacitor dielectrics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lavene, B.

1981-01-01

The alignment of the stable electrical characteristics of film capacitors in the physical dimensions of ceramic and tantalum capacitors are discussed. The reliability of polycarbonate and mylar capacitors are described with respect to their compatibility with military specifications. Graphic illustrations are presented which show electrical and physical comparisons of film, ceramic, and tantalum capacitors. The major focus is on volumetric efficiency, weight reduction, and electrical stability.

Low-cost carbon thick-film strain sensors for implantable applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gutierrez, Christian A.; Meng, Ellis

2010-09-01

The suitability of low-cost carbon thick-film strain sensors embedded within a biomedical grade silicone rubber (Silastic® MDX4-4210) for implantable applications is investigated. These sensors address the need for robust cost-effective implantable strain sensing technology for the closed loop operation of function-restoring neural prosthetic systems. Design, fabrication and characterization of the sensors are discussed in the context of the application to strain/fullness measurements of the urinary bladder as part of the neuroprosthetic treatment of lower urinary tract dysfunction. The fabrication process, utilizing off-the-shelf screen-printing materials, is convenient and cost effective while achieving resolutions down to 75 µm. This method can also be extended to produce multilayer embedded devices by superposition of different screen-printable materials. Uniaxial loading performance, temperature dependence and long-term soak testing are used to validate suitability for implantation while proof-of-concept operation (up to 40% strain) is demonstrated on a bench-top latex balloon bladder model.

Immobilized TiO2 nanoparticles produced by flame spray for photocatalytic water remediation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bettini, Luca Giacomo; Diamanti, Maria Vittoria; Sansotera, Maurizio; Pedeferri, Maria Pia; Navarrini, Walter; Milani, Paolo

2016-08-01

Anatase/rutile mixed-phase titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalysts in the form of nanostructured powders with different primary particle size, specific surface area, and rutile content were produced from the gas-phase by flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) starting from an organic solution containing titanium (IV) isopropoxide as Ti precursor. Flame spray-produced TiO2 powders were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and BET measurements. As-prepared powders were mainly composed of anatase crystallites with size ranging from 7 to 15 nm according to the synthesis conditions. TiO2 powders were embedded in a multilayered fluoropolymeric matrix to immobilize the nanoparticles into freestanding photocatalytic membranes. The photocatalytic activity of the TiO2-embedded membranes toward the abatement of hydrosoluble organic pollutants was evaluated employing the photodegradation of rhodamine B in aqueous solution as test reaction. The photoabatement rate of best performing membranes significantly overcomes that of membranes produced by the same method and incorporating commercial P25-TiO2.

Analysis of the Henze precipitate from the blood cells of the ascidian Phallusia mammillata

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ciancio, Aurelio; Scippa, Silvia; Nette, Geoffrey; De Vincentiis, Mario

The Henze precipitate, a peculiar blue-green microparticulate obtained by lysis of the blood cells of the ascidian Phallusia mammillata (Protochordata), was investigated with atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray microanalysis. The precipitate was collected from the Henze solution, an unstable red-brown product obtained by treating blood with distilled water, whose degradation yields a characteristic blue-green product. The microparticulates measured 50-100 µm in diameter and appeared irregular in shape. SEM examination showed smooth, roughly round boundaries. The microparticulate surface examined with AFM appeared as an irregular matrix formed by 70-320-nm-wide mammillate composites, including and embedding small (500-800 nm wide) crystal-like multilayered formations. X- ray analysis showed that the elements present in these same precipitates were mainly C, Si, Al and O. The microparticulate composition appeared close to those of natural waxes or lacquers, embedding amorphous silicates and/or other Si-Al components. The unusual occurrence of Si in ascidian blood and its role are discussed.

Performance of thin-film ferroelectric capacitors for EMC decoupling.

PubMed

Li, Huadong; Subramanyam, Guru

2008-12-01

This paper studied the effects of thin-film ferroelectrics as decoupling capacitors for electromagnetic compatibility applications. The impedance and insertion loss of PZT capacitors were measured and compared with the results from commercial off-the-shelf capacitors. An equivalent circuit model was extracted from the experimental results, and a considerable series resistance was found to exist in ferroelectric capacitors. This resistance gives rise to the observed performance difference around series resonance between ferroelectric PZT capacitors and normal capacitors. Measurements on paraelectric (Ba,Sr)TiO(3)-based integrated varactors do not show this significant resistance. Some analyses were made to investigate the mechanisms, and it was found that it can be due to the hysteresis in the ferroelectric thin films.

The moving plate capacitor paradox

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, B. R.; Abbott, D.; Parrondo, J. M. R.

2000-03-01

For the first time we describe an apparent paradox concerning a moving plate capacitor driven by thermal noise from a resistor. A demon restores the plates of the capacitor to their original position, only when the voltage across the capacitor is small—hence only small forces are present for the demon to work against. The demon has to work harder than this to avoid the situation of perpetual motion, but the question is how? We explore the concept of a moving plate capacitor, driven by noise, a step further by examining the case where the restoring force on the capacitor plates is provided by a simple spring, rather than some unknown demon. We display simulation results with interesting behavior, particularly where the capacitor plates collide with each other.

High frequency, high power capacitor development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White, C. W.; Hoffman, P. S.

1983-03-01

A program to develop a special high energy density, high power transfer capacitor to operate at frequency of 40 kHz, 600 V rms at 125 A rms plus 600 V dc bias for space operation. The program included material evaluation and selection, a capacitor design was prepared, a thermal analysis performed on the design. Fifty capacitors were manufactured for testing at 10 kHz and 40 kHz for 50 hours at Industrial Electric Heating Co. of Columbus, Ohio. The vacuum endurance test used on environmental chamber and temperature plate furnished by Maxwell. The capacitors were energized with a special power conditioning apparatus developed by Industrial Electric Heating Co. Temperature conditions of the capacitors were monitored by IEHCo test equipment. Successful completion of the vacuum endurance test series confirmed achievement of the main goal of producing a capacitor or reliable operation at high frequency in an environment normally not hospitable to electrical and electronic components. The capacitor developed compared to a typical commercial capacitor at the 40 kHz level represents a decrease in size and weight by a factor of seven.

High frequency, high power capacitor development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

White, C. W.; Hoffman, P. S.

1983-01-01

A program to develop a special high energy density, high power transfer capacitor to operate at frequency of 40 kHz, 600 V rms at 125 A rms plus 600 V dc bias for space operation. The program included material evaluation and selection, a capacitor design was prepared, a thermal analysis performed on the design. Fifty capacitors were manufactured for testing at 10 kHz and 40 kHz for 50 hours at Industrial Electric Heating Co. of Columbus, Ohio. The vacuum endurance test used on environmental chamber and temperature plate furnished by Maxwell. The capacitors were energized with a special power conditioning apparatus developed by Industrial Electric Heating Co. Temperature conditions of the capacitors were monitored by IEHCo test equipment. Successful completion of the vacuum endurance test series confirmed achievement of the main goal of producing a capacitor or reliable operation at high frequency in an environment normally not hospitable to electrical and electronic components. The capacitor developed compared to a typical commercial capacitor at the 40 kHz level represents a decrease in size and weight by a factor of seven.

Particulate and aerosol detector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wortman, J. J.; Donovan, R. P.; Brooks, A. D.; Monteith, L. K.; Kinard, W. H.; Oneil, R. L. (Inventor)

1976-01-01

A device is described for counting aerosols and sorting them according to either size, mass or energy. The component parts are an accelerator, a capacitor sensor and a readout. The accelerator is a means for accelerating the aerosols toward the face of the capacitor sensor with such force that they partially penetrate the capacitor sensor, momentarily discharging it. The readout device is a means for counting the number of discharges of the capacitor sensor and measuring the amplitudes of these different discharges. The aerosols are accelerated by the accelerator in the direction of the metal layer with such force that they penetrate the metal and damage the oxide layers, thereby allowing the electrical charge on the capacitor to discharge through the damaged region. Each incident aerosol initiates a discharge path through the capacitor in such a fashion as to vaporize the conducting path. Once the discharge action is complete, the low resistance path no longer exists between the two capacitor plates and the capacitor is again able to accept a charge. The active area of the capacitor is reduced in size by the damaged area each time a discharge occurs.

Multilayer polyelectrolyte films functionalized by insertion of defensin: a new approach to protection of implants from bacterial colonization.

PubMed

Etienne, O; Picart, C; Taddei, C; Haikel, Y; Dimarcq, J L; Schaaf, P; Voegel, J C; Ogier, J A; Egles, C

2004-10-01

Infection of implanted materials by bacteria constitutes one of the most serious complications following prosthetic surgery. In the present study, we developed a new strategy based on the insertion of an antimicrobial peptide (defensin from Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes) into polyelectrolyte multilayer films built by the alternate deposition of polyanions and polycations. Quartz crystal microbalance and streaming potential measurements were used to follow step by step the construction of the multilayer films and embedding of the defensin within the films. Antimicrobial assays were performed with two strains: Micrococcus luteus (a gram-positive bacterium) and Escherichia coli D22 (a gram-negative bacterium). The inhibition of E. coli D22 growth at the surface of defensin-functionalized films was found to be 98% when 10 antimicrobial peptide layers were inserted in the film architecture. Noticeably, the biofunctionalization could be achieved only when positively charged poly(l-lysine) was the outermost layer of the film. On the basis of the results of bacterial adhesion experiments observed by confocal or electron microscopy, these observations could result from the close interaction of the bacteria with the positively charged ends of the films, which allows defensin to interact with the bacterial membrane structure. These results open new possibilities for the use of such easily built and functionalized architectures onto any type of implantable biomaterial. The modified surfaces are active against microbial infection and represent a novel means of local host protection.

Leakage Currents in Low-Voltage PME and BME Ceramic Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teverovsky, Alexander

2015-01-01

Introduction of BME capacitors to high-reliability electronics as a replacement for PME capacitors requires better understanding of changes in performance and reliability of MLCCs to set justified screening and qualification requirements. In this work, absorption and leakage currents in various lots of commercial and military grade X7R MLCCs rated to 100V and less have been measured to reveal difference in behavior of PME and BME capacitors in a wide range of voltages and temperatures. Degradation of leakage currents and failures in virgin capacitors and capacitors with introduced cracks has been studied at different voltages and temperatures during step stress highly accelerated life testing. Mechanisms of charge absorption, conduction and degradation have been discussed and a failure model in capacitors with defects suggested.

Method of manufacturing a shapeable short-resistant capacitor

DOEpatents

Taylor, Ralph S.; Myers, John D.; Baney, William J.

2013-04-02

A method that employs a novel combination of conventional fabrication techniques provides a ceramic short-resistant capacitor that is bendable and/or shapeable to provide a multiple layer capacitor that is extremely compact and amenable to desirable geometries. The method allows thinner and more flexible ceramic capacitors to be made. The method includes forming a first thin metal layer on a substrate; depositing a thin, ceramic dielectric layer over the metal layer; depositing a second thin metal layer over the dielectric layer to form a capacitor exhibiting a benign failure mode; and separating the capacitor from the substrate. The method may also include bending the resulting capacitor into a serpentine arrangement with gaps between the layers that allow venting of evaporated electrode material in the event of a benign failure.

Layer-by-layer self-assembly of micro-capsules for the magnetic activation of semi-permeable nano-shells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prouty, Malcolm D.

2007-12-01

Layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly has demonstrated broad perspectives for encapsulating, and the controllable delivery, of drugs. The nano-scale polymer layers have the capability of material protection. Magnetic nanoparticles have great potential to be applied with LbL technology to achieve both "focusing" of the encapsulated drugs to a specific location followed by "switching" them on to release the encapsulated drugs. In this work, Phor21-betaCG(ala), dextran, and dexamethasone were used as model drugs. Encapsulation of these drugs with layer-by-layer self-assembly formed biolnano robotic capsules for controlled delivery and drug release. Silica nanoparticles coated with polyelectrolyte layers of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) or gelatin B, along with an oppositely charged peptide drug (Phor2l-betaCG(ala)), were prepared using LbL self-assembly and confirmed using QCM and zeta potential measurements. The peptide drug was assembled as a component of the multilayer walls. The release kinetics of the embedded peptide were determined. Up to 18% of the embedded Phor21-betaCG(ala) was released from the CMC multilayers over a period of 28 hours. The release was based on physiological conditions, and an external control mechanism using magnetic nanoparticles needed to be developed. Magnetic permeability control experiments were setup by applying LbL self-assembly on MnCO3 micro-cores to fabricate polyelectrolyte microcapsules embedded with superparamagnetic gold coated cobalt (Co Au) nanoparticles. An alternating magnetic field was applied to the microcapsules to check for changes in permeability. Permeability experiments were achieved by adding fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) labeled dextran to the microcapsule solution. Before an alternating magnetic field was applied, the capsules remained impermeable to the FITC-dextran; however, after an alternating magnetic field was applied for 30 minutes, approximately 99% of the capsules were filled with FITC-dextran, showing that the Co Au embedded microcapsules were indeed "switched on" using an alternating magnetic field. LbL assembly was then applied to encapsulate micronized dexamethasone with biocompatible polyelectrolytes such as protamine sulfate C, chondroitin sulfate sodium salt, and gelatin B, along with a layer of superparamagnetic nanoparticles. The biocompatible polymers were used to retain and protect the vulnerable drug. In vitro drug release kinetics were investigated according to different environmental factors such as temperature and pH. An external oscillating magnetic field was applied to "switch on" and accelerate the drug release. The results were compared to those without applying a magnetic field.

Nanostructured Electrode Materials for Electrochemical Capacitor Applications.

PubMed

Choi, Hojin; Yoon, Hyeonseok

2015-06-02

The advent of novel organic and inorganic nanomaterials in recent years, particularly nanostructured carbons, conducting polymers, and metal oxides, has enabled the fabrication of various energy devices with enhanced performance. In this paper, we review in detail different nanomaterials used in the fabrication of electrochemical capacitor electrodes and also give a brief overview of electric double-layer capacitors, pseudocapacitors, and hybrid capacitors. From a materials point of view, the latest trends in electrochemical capacitor research are also discussed through extensive analysis of the literature and by highlighting notable research examples (published mostly since 2013). Finally, a perspective on next-generation capacitor technology is also given, including the challenges that lie ahead.

PLL jitter reduction by utilizing a ferroelectric capacitor as a VCO timing element.

PubMed

Pauls, Greg; Kalkur, Thottam S

2007-06-01

Ferroelectric capacitors have steadily been integrated into semiconductor processes due to their potential as storage elements within memory devices. Polarization reversal within ferroelectric capacitors creates a high nonlinear dielectric constant along with a hysteresis profile. Due to these attributes, a phase-locked loop (PLL), when based on a ferroelectric capacitor, has the advantage of reduced cycle-to-cycle jitter. PLLs based on ferroelectric capacitors represent a new research area for reduction of oscillator jitter.

Rough Electrode Creates Excess Capacitance in Thin-Film Capacitors

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

The parallel-plate capacitor equation is widely used in contemporary material research for nanoscale applications and nanoelectronics. To apply this equation, flat and smooth electrodes are assumed for a capacitor. This essential assumption is often violated for thin-film capacitors because the formation of nanoscale roughness at the electrode interface is very probable for thin films grown via common deposition methods. In this work, we experimentally and theoretically show that the electrical capacitance of thin-film capacitors with realistic interface roughness is significantly larger than the value predicted by the parallel-plate capacitor equation. The degree of the deviation depends on the strength of the roughness, which is described by three roughness parameters for a self-affine fractal surface. By applying an extended parallel-plate capacitor equation that includes the roughness parameters of the electrode, we are able to calculate the excess capacitance of the electrode with weak roughness. Moreover, we introduce the roughness parameter limits for which the simple parallel-plate capacitor equation is sufficiently accurate for capacitors with one rough electrode. Our results imply that the interface roughness beyond the proposed limits cannot be dismissed unless the independence of the capacitance from the interface roughness is experimentally demonstrated. The practical protocols suggested in our work for the reliable use of the parallel-plate capacitor equation can be applied as general guidelines in various fields of interest. PMID:28745040

Rough Electrode Creates Excess Capacitance in Thin-Film Capacitors.

PubMed

Torabi, Solmaz; Cherry, Megan; Duijnstee, Elisabeth A; Le Corre, Vincent M; Qiu, Li; Hummelen, Jan C; Palasantzas, George; Koster, L Jan Anton

2017-08-16

The parallel-plate capacitor equation is widely used in contemporary material research for nanoscale applications and nanoelectronics. To apply this equation, flat and smooth electrodes are assumed for a capacitor. This essential assumption is often violated for thin-film capacitors because the formation of nanoscale roughness at the electrode interface is very probable for thin films grown via common deposition methods. In this work, we experimentally and theoretically show that the electrical capacitance of thin-film capacitors with realistic interface roughness is significantly larger than the value predicted by the parallel-plate capacitor equation. The degree of the deviation depends on the strength of the roughness, which is described by three roughness parameters for a self-affine fractal surface. By applying an extended parallel-plate capacitor equation that includes the roughness parameters of the electrode, we are able to calculate the excess capacitance of the electrode with weak roughness. Moreover, we introduce the roughness parameter limits for which the simple parallel-plate capacitor equation is sufficiently accurate for capacitors with one rough electrode. Our results imply that the interface roughness beyond the proposed limits cannot be dismissed unless the independence of the capacitance from the interface roughness is experimentally demonstrated. The practical protocols suggested in our work for the reliable use of the parallel-plate capacitor equation can be applied as general guidelines in various fields of interest.

Low inductance power electronics assembly

DOEpatents

Herron, Nicholas Hayden; Mann, Brooks S.; Korich, Mark D.; Chou, Cindy; Tang, David; Carlson, Douglas S.; Barry, Alan L.

2012-10-02

A power electronics assembly is provided. A first support member includes a first plurality of conductors. A first plurality of power switching devices are coupled to the first support member. A first capacitor is coupled to the first support member. A second support member includes a second plurality of conductors. A second plurality of power switching devices are coupled to the second support member. A second capacitor is coupled to the second support member. The first and second pluralities of conductors, the first and second pluralities of power switching devices, and the first and second capacitors are electrically connected such that the first plurality of power switching devices is connected in parallel with the first capacitor and the second capacitor and the second plurality of power switching devices is connected in parallel with the second capacitor and the first capacitor.

Note: Compact high voltage pulse transformer made using a capacitor bank assembled in the shape of primary.

PubMed

Shukla, Rohit; Banerjee, Partha; Sharma, Surender K; Das, Rashmita; Deb, Pankaj; Prabaharan, T; Das, Basanta; Adhikary, Biswajit; Verma, Rishi; Shyam, Anurag

2011-10-01

The experimental results of an air-core pulse transformer are presented, which is very compact (<10 Kg in weight) and is primed by a capacitor bank that is fabricated in such a way that the capacitor bank with its switch takes the shape of single-turn rectangular shaped primary of the transformer. A high voltage capacitor assembly (pulse-forming-line capacitor, PFL) of 5.1 nF is connected with the secondary of transformer. The transformer output voltage is 160 kV in its second peak appearing in less than 2 μS from the beginning of the capacitor discharge. The primary capacitor bank can be charged up to a maximum of 18 kV, with the voltage delivery of 360 kV in similar capacitive loads.

Thermodynamic energy exchange in a moving plate capacitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, B. R.; Abbott, D.; Parrondo, J. M. R.

2001-09-01

In this paper we describe an apparent paradox concerning a moving plate capacitor driven by thermal noise from a resistor. The plates are attracted together, but a demon restores the plates of the capacitor to their original position when the voltage across the capacitor is small—hence only small forces are present for the demon to work against. The demon has to work harder than this to avoid the situation of perpetual motion, but the open question is how? This is unsolved, however we explore the concept of a moving plate capacitor by examining the case where it is still excited by thermal noise, but where the restoring force on the capacitor plates is provided by a simple spring rather than some unknown demon. We display simulation results with interesting behavior, particularly where the capacitor plates collide with each other.

Comparative Study of Hydrogen- and Deuterium-Induced Degradation of Ferroelectric (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O3 Capacitors Using Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Measurement.

PubMed

Takada, Yoko; Okamoto, Naoki; Saito, Takeyasu; Yoshimura, Takeshi; Fujimura, Norifumi; Higuchi, Koji; Kitajima, Akira; Shishido, Rie

2016-10-01

Ferroelectric (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O 3 (PLZT) capacitors were fabricated with Pt, Al:ZnO (AZO), or Sn:In 2 O 3 (ITO) top electrodes. Hydrogen- or deuterium-induced degradation was investigated for the three capacitors by annealing in a 3% H 2 /balance N 2 or 3% D 2 /balance N 2 ambient environment at 200 °C and 1 torr. The remnant polarization of all capacitors decreased after annealing in both H 2 and D 2 ambient after 45 min, and the remnant polarization of the Pt/PLZT/Pt capacitor significantly decreased after 45-min annealing compared with that of the AZO/PLZT/Pt and ITO/PLZT/Pt capacitors, even though the initial remnant polarization for the Pt/PLZT/Pt capacitor was larger. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry showed slight differences in hydrogen content for the three different capacitors after H 2 annealing. In contrast, the deuterium content of the Pt/PLZT/Pt and AZO/PLZT/Pt or ITO/PLZT/PT capacitors was significantly different after deuterium annealing. Deuterium depth profiles for the Pt/PLZT/Pt capacitor after annealing showed that deuterium conformally exists in the PLZT layer of the Pt/PLZT/Pt capacitor, and deuterium accumulation under the Pt bottom electrode was also observed. This result suggests that diffusion of deuterium in Pt was much higher than that in PLZT. AZO and ITO top electrodes could act as a hydrogen barrier layer for ferroelectric films.

Iodine encapsulation in CNTs and its application for electrochemical capacitor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Taniguchi, Y.; Ishii, Y.; Al-zubaidi, A.

2016-07-06

We report the experimental results for new type electrochemical capacitor using iodine redox reaction in single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). It was found that the energy density of the present redox capacitor using SWCNTs is almost three times larger than that of the normal electric double layer capacitor.

Practical Active Capacitor Filter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shuler, Robert L., Jr. (Inventor)

2005-01-01

A method and apparatus is described that filters an electrical signal. The filtering uses a capacitor multiplier circuit where the capacitor multiplier circuit uses at least one amplifier circuit and at least one capacitor. A filtered electrical signal results from a direct connection from an output of the at least one amplifier circuit.

High Energy Density Capacitors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2010-07-01

BEEST Project: Recapping is developing a capacitor that could rival the energy storage potential and price of today’s best EV batteries. When power is needed, the capacitor rapidly releases its stored energy, similar to lightning being discharged from a cloud. Capacitors are an ideal substitute for batteries if their energy storage capacity can be improved. Recapping is addressing storage capacity by experimenting with the material that separates the positive and negative electrodes of its capacitors. These separators could significantly improve the energy density of electrochemical devices.

A computationally efficient software application for calculating vibration from underground railways

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hussein, M. F. M.; Hunt, H. E. M.

2009-08-01

The PiP model is a software application with a user-friendly interface for calculating vibration from underground railways. This paper reports about the software with a focus on its latest version and the plans for future developments. The software calculates the Power Spectral Density of vibration due to a moving train on floating-slab track with track irregularity described by typical values of spectra for tracks with good, average and bad conditions. The latest version accounts for a tunnel embedded in a half space by employing a toolbox developed at K.U. Leuven which calculates Green's functions for a multi-layered half-space.

Nanostructured Electrode Materials for Electrochemical Capacitor Applications

PubMed Central

Choi, Hojin; Yoon, Hyeonseok

2015-01-01

The advent of novel organic and inorganic nanomaterials in recent years, particularly nanostructured carbons, conducting polymers, and metal oxides, has enabled the fabrication of various energy devices with enhanced performance. In this paper, we review in detail different nanomaterials used in the fabrication of electrochemical capacitor electrodes and also give a brief overview of electric double-layer capacitors, pseudocapacitors, and hybrid capacitors. From a materials point of view, the latest trends in electrochemical capacitor research are also discussed through extensive analysis of the literature and by highlighting notable research examples (published mostly since 2013). Finally, a perspective on next-generation capacitor technology is also given, including the challenges that lie ahead. PMID:28347044

Actuatable capacitive transducer for quantitative nanoindentation combined with transmission electron microscopy

DOEpatents

Warren, Oden L.; Asif, S. A. Syed; Cyrankowski, Edward; Kounev, Kalin

2010-09-21

An actuatable capacitive transducer including a transducer body, a first capacitor including a displaceable electrode and electrically configured as an electrostatic actuator, and a second capacitor including a displaceable electrode and electrically configured as a capacitive displacement sensor, wherein the second capacitor comprises a multi-plate capacitor. The actuatable capacitive transducer further includes a coupling shaft configured to mechanically couple the displaceable electrode of the first capacitor to the displaceable electrode of the second capacitor to form a displaceable electrode unit which is displaceable relative to the transducer body, and an electrically-conductive indenter mechanically coupled to the coupling shaft so as to be displaceable in unison with the displaceable electrode unit.-

Actuatable capacitive transducer for quantitative nanoindentation combined with transmission electron microscopy

DOEpatents

Warren, Oden L; Asif, Syed Amanula Syed; Cyrankowski, Edward; Kounev, Kalin

2013-06-04

An actuatable capacitive transducer including a transducer body, a first capacitor including a displaceable electrode and electrically configured as an electrostatic actuator, and a second capacitor including a displaceable electrode and electrically configured as a capacitive displacement sensor, wherein the second capacitor comprises a multi-plate capacitor. The actuatable capacitive transducer further includes a coupling shaft configured to mechanically couple the displaceable electrode of the first capacitor to the displaceable electrode of the second capacitor to form a displaceable electrode unit which is displaceable relative to the transducer body, and an electrically-conductive indenter mechanically coupled to the coupling shaft so as to be displaceable in unison with the displaceable electrode unit.

Development of Electrochemical Supercapacitors for EMA Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kosek, John A.; Dunning, Thomas; LaConti, Anthony B.

1996-01-01

A limitation of the typical electrochemical capacitor is the maximum available power and energy density, and an improvement in capacitance per unit weight and volume is needed. A solid-ionomer electrochemical capacitor having a unit cell capacitance greater than 2 F/sq cm and a repeating element thickness of 6 mils has been developed. This capacitor could provide high-current pulses for electromechanical actuation (EMA). Primary project objectives were to develop high-capacitance particulates, to increase capacitor gravimetric and volumetric energy densities above baseline and to fabricate a 10-V capacitor with a repeating element thickness of 6 mils or less. Specific EMA applications were identified and capacitor weight and volume projections made.

High power density capacitor and method of fabrication

DOEpatents

Tuncer, Enis

2012-11-20

A ductile preform for making a drawn capacitor includes a plurality of electrically insulating, ductile insulator plates and a plurality of electrically conductive, ductile capacitor plates. Each insulator plate is stacked vertically on a respective capacitor plate and each capacitor plate is stacked on a corresponding insulator plate in alignment with only one edge so that other edges are not in alignment and so that each insulator plate extends beyond the other edges. One or more electrically insulating, ductile spacers are disposed in horizontal alignment with each capacitor plate along the other edges and the pattern is repeated so that alternating capacitor plates are stacked on alternating opposite edges of the insulator plates. A final insulator plate is positioned at an extremity of the preform. The preform may then be drawn to fuse the components and decrease the dimensions of the preform that are perpendicular to the direction of the draw.

Asymmetric Supercapacitor for Long-Duration Power Storage

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rangan, Krishnaswamy K.; Sudarshan, Tirumalai S.

2012-01-01

A document discusses a project in which a series of novel hybrid positive electrode materials was developed and tested in asymmetric capacitors with carbon negative electrodes. The electrochemical performance of the hybrid capacitors was characterized by cyclic voltammetry and a DC charge/discharge test. The hybrid capacitor exhibited ideal capacitor behavior with an extended operating voltage of 1.6 V in aqueous electrolyte, and energy density higher than activated carbon-based supercapacitors. Nanostructured MnO2 is a promising material for electrochemical capacitors (ECS) because of its low cost, environmentally friendly nature, and reasonably high specific capacitance. The charge capacity of the capacitors can be further improved by increasing the specific surface area of the MnO2 electrode material. The power density and space radiation stability of the capacitors can be enhanced by coating the MnO2 nanoparticles with conducting polymers. The conducting polymer coating also helps in radiation-hardening the ECS.

Tradeoff between magnet volume and tuning capacitor in a free piston Stirling engine power generation system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Z. X.; Nasar, S. A.; Rosswurm, Mark

This paper presents the criteria in selecting the size of the tuning capacitor, and the cost tradeoff between magnet volume and tuning capacitor in a free piston Stirling engine power generation system. The permissible range of capacitor size corresponding to different magnet volume, in order to prevent magnet demagnetization and stabilize the operation of the system, is determined. Within the permissible range suitable capacitor size may be selected to compensate the inductive load of the system to improve the overall power factor. If the capacitor size is not in the permissible range, there would exist a danger of losing magnet strength, or unstable operation of the engine that would destroy the engine due to unbounded amplitude of piston oscillations. The theory developed is then applied to a practical system, and the cost tradeoff between magnet volume and capacitor is studied.

Thermodynamic energy exchange in a moving plate capacitor.

PubMed

Davis, B. R.; Abbott, D.; Parrondo, J. M. R.

2001-09-01

In this paper we describe an apparent paradox concerning a moving plate capacitor driven by thermal noise from a resistor. The plates are attracted together, but a demon restores the plates of the capacitor to their original position when the voltage across the capacitor is small-hence only small forces are present for the demon to work against. The demon has to work harder than this to avoid the situation of perpetual motion, but the open question is how? This is unsolved, however we explore the concept of a moving plate capacitor by examining the case where it is still excited by thermal noise, but where the restoring force on the capacitor plates is provided by a simple spring rather than some unknown demon. We display simulation results with interesting behavior, particularly where the capacitor plates collide with each other. (c) 2001 American Institute of Physics.

Deformation of Cases in High Capacitance Value Wet Tantalum Capacitors under Environmental Stresses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teverovsky, Alexander

2016-01-01

Internal gas pressure in hermetic wet tantalum capacitors is created by air, electrolyte vapor, and gas generated by electrochemical reactions at the electrodes. This pressure increases substantially with temperature and time of operation due to excessive leakage currents. Deformation of the case occurs when the internal pressure exceeds pressure of the environments and can raise significantly when a part operates in space. Contrary to the cylinder case wet tantalum capacitors that have external sealing by welding and internal sealing provided by the Teflon bushing and crimping of the case, no reliable internal sealing exists in the button case capacitors. Single seal design capacitors are used for high capacitance value wet tantalum capacitors manufactured per DLA L&M drawings #04003, 04005, and 10011, and require additional analysis to assure their reliable application in space systems. In this work, leakage currents and case deformation of button case capacitors were measured during different environmental test conditions. Recommendations for derating, screening and qualification testing are given. This work is a continuation of a series of NEPP reports related to quality and reliability of wet tantalum capacitors.

Cracking Problems and Mechanical Characteristics of PME and BME Ceramic Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teverovsky, Alexander

2018-01-01

Most failures in MLCCs are caused by cracking that create shorts between opposite electrodes of the parts. A use of manual soldering makes this problem especially serious for space industry. Experience shows that different lots of ceramic capacitors might have different susceptibility to cracking under manual soldering conditions. This simulates a search of techniques that would allow revealing capacitors that are most robust to soldering-induced stresses. Currently, base metal electrode (BME) capacitors are introduced to high-reliability applications as a replacement of precious metal electrode (PME) parts. Understanding the difference in the susceptibility to cracking between PME and BME capacitors would facilitate this process. This presentation gives a review of mechanical characteristics measured in-situ on MLCCs that includes flexural strength, Vickers hardness, indentation fracture toughness, and the board flex testing and compare characteristics of BME and PME capacitors. A history case related to cracking in PME capacitors that caused flight system malfunctions and mechanisms of failure are considered. Possible qualification tests that would allow evaluation of the resistance of MLCCs to manual soldering are suggested and perspectives related to introduction of BME capacitors discussed.

Reversing-counterpulse repetitive-pulse inductive storage circuit

DOEpatents

Honig, Emanuel M.

1987-01-01

A high-power reversing-counterpulse repetitive-pulse inductive storage and transfer circuit includes an opening switch, a main energy storage coil, a counterpulse capacitor and a small inductor. After counterpulsing the opening switch off, the counterpulse capacitor is recharged by the main energy storage coil before the load pulse is initiated. This gives the counterpulse capacitor sufficient energy for the next counterpulse operation, although the polarity of the capacitor's voltage must be reversed before that can occur. By using a current-zero switch as the counterpulse start switch, the capacitor is disconnected from the circuit (with a full charge) when the load pulse is initiated, preventing the capacitor from depleting its energy store by discharging through the load. After the load pulse is terminated by reclosing the main opening switch, the polarity of the counterpulse capacitor voltage is reversed by discharging the capacitor through a small inductor and interrupting the discharge current oscillation at zero current and peak reversed voltage. The circuit enables high-power, high-repetition-rate operation with reusable switches and features total control (pulse-to-pulse) over output pulse initiation, duration, repetition rate, and, to some extent, risetime.

Reversing-counterpulse repetitive-pulse inductive storage circuit

DOEpatents

Honig, E.M.

1984-06-05

A high power reversing-counterpulse repetitive-pulse inductive storage and transfer circuit includes an opening switch, a main energy storage coil, a counterpulse capacitor and a small inductor. After counterpulsing the opening switch off, the counterpulse capacitor is recharged by the main energy storage coil before the load pulse is initiated. This gives the counterpulse capacitor sufficient energy for the next counterpulse operation, although the polarity of the capacitor's voltage must be reversed before that can occur. By using a current-zero switch as the counterpulse start switch, the capacitor is disconnected from the circuit (with a full charge) when the load pulse is initiated, preventing the capacitor from depleting its energy store by discharging through the load. After the load pulse is terminated by reclosing the main opening switch, the polarity of the counterpulse capacitor voltage is reversed by discharging the capacitor through a small inductor and interrupting the discharge current oscillation at zero current and peak reversed voltage. The circuit enables high-power, high-repetition-rate operation with reusable switches and features total control (pulse-to-pulse) over output pulse initiation, duration, repetition rate, and, to some extent, risetime.

Physicochemical assessment criteria for high-voltage pulse capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Darian, L. A.; Lam, L. Kh.

2016-12-01

In the paper, the applicability of decomposition products of internal insulation of high-voltage pulse capacitors is considered (aging is the reason for decomposition products of internal insulation). Decomposition products of internal insulation of high-voltage pulse capacitors can be used to evaluate their quality when in operation and in service. There have been three generations of markers of aging of insulation as in the case with power transformers. The area of applicability of markers of aging of insulation for power transformers has been studied and the area can be extended to high-voltage pulse capacitors. The research reveals that there is a correlation between the components and quantities of markers of aging of the first generation (gaseous decomposition products of insulation) dissolved in insulating liquid and the remaining life of high-voltage pulse capacitors. The application of markers of aging to evaluate the remaining service life of high-voltage pulse capacitor is a promising direction of research, because the design of high-voltage pulse capacitors keeps stability of markers of aging of insulation in high-voltage pulse capacitors. It is necessary to continue gathering statistical data concerning development of markers of aging of the first generation. One should also carry out research aimed at estimation of the remaining life of capacitors using markers of the second and the third generation.

High voltage pulse generator

DOEpatents

Fasching, George E.

1977-03-08

An improved high-voltage pulse generator has been provided which is especially useful in ultrasonic testing of rock core samples. An N number of capacitors are charged in parallel to V volts and at the proper instance are coupled in series to produce a high-voltage pulse of N times V volts. Rapid switching of the capacitors from the paralleled charging configuration to the series discharging configuration is accomplished by using silicon-controlled rectifiers which are chain self-triggered following the initial triggering of a first one of the rectifiers connected between the first and second of the plurality of charging capacitors. A timing and triggering circuit is provided to properly synchronize triggering pulses to the first SCR at a time when the charging voltage is not being applied to the parallel-connected charging capacitors. Alternate circuits are provided for controlling the application of the charging voltage from a charging circuit to be applied to the parallel capacitors which provides a selection of at least two different intervals in which the charging voltage is turned "off" to allow the SCR's connecting the capacitors in series to turn "off" before recharging begins. The high-voltage pulse-generating circuit including the N capacitors and corresponding SCR's which connect the capacitors in series when triggered "on" further includes diodes and series-connected inductors between the parallel-connected charging capacitors which allow sufficiently fast charging of the capacitors for a high pulse repetition rate and yet allow considerable control of the decay time of the high-voltage pulses from the pulse-generating circuit.

Evaluating the performance of microbial fuel cells powering electronic devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dewan, Alim; Donovan, Conrad; Heo, Deukhyoun; Beyenal, Haluk

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) is capable of powering an electronic device if we store the energy in an external storage device, such as a capacitor, and dispense that energy intermittently in bursts of high-power when needed. Therefore its performance needs to be evaluated using an energy-storing device such as a capacitor which can be charged and discharged rather than other evaluation techniques, such as continuous energy dissipation through a resistor. In this study, we develop a method of testing microbial fuel cell performance based on storing energy in a capacitor. When a capacitor is connected to a MFC it acts like a variable resistor and stores energy from the MFC at a variable rate. In practice the application of this method to testing microbial fuel cells is very challenging and time consuming; therefore we have custom-designed a microbial fuel cell tester (MFCT). The MFCT evaluates the performance of a MFC as a power source. It uses a capacitor as an energy storing device and waits until a desired amount of energy is stored then discharges the capacitor. The entire process is controlled using an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) board controlled by a custom-written computer program. The utility of our method and the MFCT is demonstrated using a laboratory microbial fuel cell (LMFC) and a sediment microbial fuel cell (SMFC). We determine (1) how frequently a MFC can charge a capacitor, (2) which electrode is current-limiting, (3) what capacitor value will allow the maximum harvested energy from a MFC, which is called the "optimum charging capacitor value," and (4) what capacitor charging potential will harvest the maximum energy from a MFC, which is called the "optimum charging potential." Using a LMFC we find that (1) the time needed to charge a 3-F capacitor from 0 to 500 mV is 108 min, (2) the optimum charging capacitor value is 3 F, and (3) the optimum charging potential is 300 mV. Using a SMFC we find that (1) the time needed to charge a 3-F capacitor from 0 to 500 mV is 5 min, (2) the optimum charging capacitor value is 3 F, and (3) the optimum charging potential is 500 mV. Our results demonstrate that the developed method and the MFCT can be used to evaluate and optimize energy harvesting when a MFC is used with a capacitor to power wireless sensors monitoring the environment.

On-chip and freestanding elastic carbon films for micro-supercapacitors

DOE PAGES

Huang, Peihua; Lethien, C.; Pinaud, S.; ...

2016-02-11

Integration of electrochemical capacitors with silicon-based electronics is a major challenge, limiting energy storage on a chip. We describe a wafer-scale process for manufacturing strongly adhering carbide-derived carbon films and interdigitated micro-supercapacitors with embedded titanium carbide current collectors, fully compatible with current microfabrication and silicon-based device technology. Capacitance of those films reaches 410 farads per cubic centimeter/200 millifarads per square centimeter in aqueous electrolyte and 170 farads per cubic centimeter/85 millifarads per square centimeter in organic electrolyte. We also demonstrate preparation of self-supported, mechanically stable, micrometer-thick porous carbon films with a Young’s modulus of 14.5 gigapascals, with the possibility ofmore » further transfer onto flexible substrates. Lastly, these materials are interesting for applications in structural energy storage, tribology, and gas separation.« less

On-chip and freestanding elastic carbon films for micro-supercapacitors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huang, Peihua; Lethien, C.; Pinaud, S.

Integration of electrochemical capacitors with silicon-based electronics is a major challenge, limiting energy storage on a chip. We describe a wafer-scale process for manufacturing strongly adhering carbide-derived carbon films and interdigitated micro-supercapacitors with embedded titanium carbide current collectors, fully compatible with current microfabrication and silicon-based device technology. Capacitance of those films reaches 410 farads per cubic centimeter/200 millifarads per square centimeter in aqueous electrolyte and 170 farads per cubic centimeter/85 millifarads per square centimeter in organic electrolyte. We also demonstrate preparation of self-supported, mechanically stable, micrometer-thick porous carbon films with a Young’s modulus of 14.5 gigapascals, with the possibility ofmore » further transfer onto flexible substrates. Lastly, these materials are interesting for applications in structural energy storage, tribology, and gas separation.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ma, Beihai; Balachandran, Uthamalingam

The invention provides a stacked capacitor configuration comprising subunits each with a thickness of as low as 20 microns. Also provided is combination capacitor and printed wire board wherein the capacitor is encapsulated by the wire board. The invented capacitors are applicable in micro-electronic applications and high power applications, whether it is AC to DC or DC to AC, or DC to DC.

Two Theorems on Dissipative Energy Losses in Capacitor Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newburgh, Ronald

2005-01-01

This article examines energy losses in charge motion in two capacitor systems. In the first charge is transferred from a charged capacitor to an uncharged one through a resistor. In the second a battery charges an originally uncharged capacitor through a resistance. Analysis leads to two surprising general theorems. In the first case the fraction…

The Two-Capacitor Problem Revisited: A Mechanical Harmonic Oscillator Model Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Keeyung

2009-01-01

The well-known two-capacitor problem, in which exactly half the stored energy disappears when a charged capacitor is connected to an identical capacitor, is discussed based on the mechanical harmonic oscillator model approach. In the mechanical harmonic oscillator model, it is shown first that "exactly half" the work done by a constant applied…

Tunable circuit for tunable capacitor devices

DOEpatents

Rivkina, Tatiana; Ginley, David S.

2006-09-19

A tunable circuit (10) for a capacitively tunable capacitor device (12) is provided. The tunable circuit (10) comprises a tunable circuit element (14) and a non-tunable dielectric element (16) coupled to the tunable circuit element (16). A tunable capacitor device (12) and a method for increasing the figure of merit in a tunable capacitor device (12) are also provided.

Dynamics of a Liquid Dielectric Attracted by a Cylindrical Capacitor

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nardi, Rafael; Lemos, Nivaldo A.

2007-01-01

The dynamics of a liquid dielectric attracted by a vertical cylindrical capacitor are studied. Contrary to what might be expected from the standard calculation of the force exerted by the capacitor, the motion of the dielectric is different depending on whether the charge or the voltage of the capacitor is held constant. The problem turns out to…

Stable gas-dielectric capacitors of 5- and 10-pF values

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Small, G.W.; McGregor, M.C.; Lee, R.D.

1989-04-01

The authors discuss the development of gas-dielectric capacitors of 5 and 10 pF. With Zerodur as the structural material, the capacitors are stable with time, have small temperature and voltage coefficients, and have been used successfully as traveling standards. A relatively large sensitivity to ionizing radiation is observed in these capacitors.

Device for detecting imminent failure of high-dielectric stress capacitors. [Patent application

DOEpatents

McDuff, G.G.

1980-11-05

A device is described for detecting imminent failure of a high-dielectric stress capacitor utilizing circuitry for detecting pulse width variations and pulse magnitude variations. Inexpensive microprocessor circuitry is utilized to make numerical calculations of digital data supplied by detection circuitry for comparison of pulse width data and magnitude data to determine if preselected ranges have been exceeded, thereby indicating imminent failure of a capacitor. Detection circuitry may be incorporated in transmission lines, pulse power circuitry, including laser pulse circuitry or any circuitry where capacitors or capacitor banks are utilized.

A Battery Powered, 200-KW Rapid Capacitor Charger for a Portable Railgun in Burst Mode Operation At 3 RPS

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-06-01

A BATTERY POWERED, 200-KW RAPID CAPACITOR CHARGER FOR A PORTABLE RAILGUN IN BURST MODE OPERATION AT 3 RPS ∗ Raymond Allen and Jesse Neri Plasma... capacitor bank of a low velocity railgun system for countermeasure deployment from aircraft and watercraft. The goal is charge a 15-mF capacitor bank to...In order for this railgun to fire in a burst mode at 3 RPS, a rapid capacitor charger is required. The initial specifications required the rapid

Testing and failure analysis to improve screening techniques for hermetically sealed metallized film capacitors for low energy applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

Effective screening techniques are evaluated for detecting insulation resistance degradation and failure in hermetically sealed metallized film capacitors used in applications where low capacitor voltage and energy levels are common to the circuitry. A special test and monitoring system capable of rapidly scanning all test capacitors and recording faults and/or failures is examined. Tests include temperature cycling and storage as well as low, medium, and high voltage life tests. Polysulfone film capacitors are more heat stable and reliable than polycarbonate film units.

Switched-capacitor isolated LED driver

DOEpatents

Sanders, Seth R.; Kline, Mitchell

2016-03-22

A switched-capacitor voltage converter which is particularly well-suited for receiving a line voltage from which to drive current through a series of light emitting diodes (LEDs). Input voltage is rectified in a multi-level rectifier network having switched capacitors in an ascending-bank configuration for passing voltages in uniform steps between zero volts up to full received voltage V.sub.DC. A regulator section, operating on V.sub.DC, comprises switched-capacitor stages of H-bridge switching and flying capacitors. A current controlled oscillator drives the states of the switched-capacitor stages and changes its frequency to maintain a constant current to the load. Embodiments are described for isolating the load from the mains, utilizing an LC tank circuit or a multi-primary-winding transformer.

A standard model eye with micro scale multilayer structure for ophthalmic optical coherence tomography equipment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Zhenggang; Ding, Zengqian; Hu, Zhixiong; Wen, Tao; Qiao, Wen; Liu, Wenli

2016-10-01

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been widely applied in diagnosis of eye diseases during the last 20 years. Differing from traditional two-dimension imaging technologies, OCT could also provide cross-sectional information of target tissues simultaneously and precisely. As well known, axial resolution is one of the most critical parameters impacting the OCT image quality, which determines whether an accurate diagnosis could be obtained. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the axial resolution of an OCT equipment. Phantoms always play an important role in the standardization and validation process. Here, a standard model eye with micro-scale multilayer structure was custom designed and manufactured. Mimicking a real human eye, analyzing the physical characteristic of layer structures of retina and cornea in-depth, appropriate materials were selected by testing the scattering coefficient of PDMS phantoms with difference concentration of TiO2 or BaSO4 particles. An artificial retina and cornea with multilayer-films which have a thickness of 10 to 60 micrometers for each layer were fabricated using spin coating technology. Considering key parameters of the standard model eye need to be traceable as well as accurate, the optical refractive index and layer structure thicknesses of phantoms were verified by utilizing Thickness Monitoring System. Consequently, a standard OCT model eye was obtained after the retinal or corneal phantom was embedded into a water-filled model eye which has been fabricated by 3D printing technology to simulate ocular dispersion and emmetropic refraction. The eye model was manufactured with a transparent resin to simulate realistic ophthalmic testing environment, and most key optical elements including cornea, lens and vitreous body were realized. By investigating with a research and a clinical OCT system respectively, the OCT model eye was demonstrated with similar physical properties as natural eye, and the multilayer film measurement provided an effective method to rapidly evaluate the axial resolution of ophthalmic OCT devices.

Modeling of an intelligent pressure sensor using functional link artificial neural networks.

PubMed

Patra, J C; van den Bos, A

2000-01-01

A capacitor pressure sensor (CPS) is modeled for accurate readout of applied pressure using a novel artificial neural network (ANN). The proposed functional link ANN (FLANN) is a computationally efficient nonlinear network and is capable of complex nonlinear mapping between its input and output pattern space. The nonlinearity is introduced into the FLANN by passing the input pattern through a functional expansion unit. Three different polynomials such as, Chebyschev, Legendre and power series have been employed in the FLANN. The FLANN offers computational advantage over a multilayer perceptron (MLP) for similar performance in modeling of the CPS. The prime aim of the present paper is to develop an intelligent model of the CPS involving less computational complexity, so that its implementation can be economical and robust. It is shown that, over a wide temperature variation ranging from -50 to 150 degrees C, the maximum error of estimation of pressure remains within +/- 3%. With the help of computer simulation, the performance of the three types of FLANN models has been compared to that of an MLP based model.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rovang, Dean C.; Lamppa, Derek C.; Cuneo, Michael Edward

We have successfully integrated the capability to apply uniform, high magnetic fields (10–30 T) to high energy density experiments on the Z facility. This system uses an 8-mF, 15-kV capacitor bank to drive large-bore (5 cm diameter), high-inductance (1–3 mH) multi-turn, multi-layer electromagnets that slowly magnetize the conductive targets used on Z over several milliseconds (time to peak field of 2–7 ms). This system was commissioned in February 2013 and has been used successfully to magnetize more than 30 experiments up to 10 T that have produced exciting and surprising physics results. These experiments used split-magnet topologies to maintain diagnosticmore » lines of sight to the target. We then describe the design, integration, and operation of the pulsed coil system into the challenging and harsh environment of the Z Machine. We also describe our plans and designs for achieving fields up to 20 T with a reduced-gap split-magnet configuration, and up to 30 T with a solid magnet configuration in pursuit of the Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion concept.« less

Direct electrocaloric measurement of 0.9Pb(Mg{sub 1/3}Nb{sub 2/3})O{sub 3}-0.1PbTiO{sub 3} films using scanning thermal microscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Crossley, S.; Nair, B.; Kar-Narayan, S.

2016-01-18

We show that scanning thermal microscopy can measure reversible electrocaloric (EC) effects in <40 μm-thick ceramic films of the relaxor ferroelectric 0.9Pb(Mg{sub 1/3}Nb{sub 2/3})O{sub 3}-0.1PbTiO{sub 3}, with the substrate present. We recorded roughly the same non-adiabatic temperature change (±0.23 K) for a thinner film that was driven harder than a thicker film (±31 V μm{sup −1} across 13 μm versus ±11 V μm{sup −1} across 38 μm), because the thicker film lay relatively closer to the substantially larger adiabatic values that we predicted by thermodynamic analysis of electrical data. Film preparation was compatible with the fabrication of EC multilayer capacitors, and therefore our measurement method maymore » be exploited for rapid characterisation of candidate films for cooling applications.« less

Piezoelectric energy harvester under parquet floor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bischur, E.; Schwesinger, N.

2011-03-01

The design, fabrication and testing of piezoelectric energy harvesting modules for floors is described. These modules are used beneath a parquet floor to harvest the energy of people walking over it. The harvesting modules consist of monoaxial stretched PVDF-foils. Multilayer modules are built up as roller-type capacitors. The fabrication process of the harvesting modules is simple and very suitable for mass production. Due to the use of organic polymers, the modules are characterized by a great flexibility and the possibility to create them in almost any geometrical size. The energy yield was determined depending on the dynamic loading force, the thickness of piezoelectric active material, the size of the piezoelectric modules, their alignment in the walking direction and their position on the floor. An increase of the energy yield at higher loading forces and higher thicknesses of the modules was observed. It was possible to generate up to 2.1mWs of electric energy with dynamic loads of 70kg using a specific module design. Furthermore a test floor was assembled to determine the influence of the size, alignment and position of the modules on the energy yield.

NEPP Evaluation of Automotive Grade Tantalum Chip Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sampson, Mike; Brusse, Jay

2018-01-01

Automotive grade tantalum (Ta) chip capacitors are available at lower cost with smaller physical size and higher volumetric efficiency compared to military/space grade capacitors. Designers of high reliability aerospace and military systems would like to take advantage of these attributes while maintaining the high standards for long-term reliable operation they are accustomed to when selecting military-qualified established reliability tantalum chip capacitors (e.g., MIL-PRF-55365). The objective for this evaluation was to assess the long-term performance of off-the-shelf automotive grade Ta chip capacitors (i.e., manufacturer self-qualified per AEC Q-200). Two (2) lots of case size D manganese dioxide (MnO2) cathode Ta chip capacitors from 1 manufacturer were evaluated. The evaluation consisted of construction analysis, basic electrical parameter characterization, extended long-term (2000 hours) life testing and some accelerated stress testing. Tests and acceptance criteria were based upon manufacturer datasheets and the Automotive Electronics Council's AEC Q-200 qualification specification for passive electronic components. As-received a few capacitors were marginally above the specified tolerance for capacitance and ESR. X-ray inspection found that the anodes for some devices may not be properly aligned within the molded encapsulation leaving less than 1 mil thickness of the encapsulation. This evaluation found that the long-term life performance of automotive grade Ta chip capacitors is generally within specification limits suggesting these capacitors may be suitable for some space applications.

Physicochemical assessment criteria for high-voltage pulse capacitors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Darian, L. A., E-mail: LDarian@rambler.ru; Lam, L. Kh.

In the paper, the applicability of decomposition products of internal insulation of high-voltage pulse capacitors is considered (aging is the reason for decomposition products of internal insulation). Decomposition products of internal insulation of high-voltage pulse capacitors can be used to evaluate their quality when in operation and in service. There have been three generations of markers of aging of insulation as in the case with power transformers. The area of applicability of markers of aging of insulation for power transformers has been studied and the area can be extended to high-voltage pulse capacitors. The research reveals that there is amore » correlation between the components and quantities of markers of aging of the first generation (gaseous decomposition products of insulation) dissolved in insulating liquid and the remaining life of high-voltage pulse capacitors. The application of markers of aging to evaluate the remaining service life of high-voltage pulse capacitor is a promising direction of research, because the design of high-voltage pulse capacitors keeps stability of markers of aging of insulation in high-voltage pulse capacitors. It is necessary to continue gathering statistical data concerning development of markers of aging of the first generation. One should also carry out research aimed at estimation of the remaining life of capacitors using markers of the second and the third generation.« less

Powder based superdielectric materials for novel Capacitor design

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-06-01

SUPERDIELECTRIC MATERIALS FOR NOVEL CAPACITOR DESIGN by Clayton W. Petty June 2017 Thesis Advisor: Jonathan Phillips Second Reader: Anthony...thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE POWDER-BASED SUPERDIELECTRIC MATERIALS FOR NOVEL CAPACITOR DESIGN 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 6. AUTHOR(S) Clayton W...unlimited. POWDER-BASED SUPERDIELECTRIC MATERIALS FOR NOVEL CAPACITOR DESIGN Clayton W. Petty Lieutenant, Junior Grade, United States Navy B.S

The tantalum-cased tantalum capacitor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moynihan, J. D.

1977-01-01

Tantalum-cased tantalum capacitors were tested with regard to temperature stability, capacitance ratio, surge current capabilities, shock, vibration, and thermal shock. They were found to be superior to the conventional wet slug tantalum capacitor cased in silver, since they are more resistant to sulfuric acid. The tantalum-cased tantalum capacitors are widely accepted for use in critical electronic equipment because of their excellent performance and reliability.

Effect of an Additional, Parallel Capacitor on Pulsed Inductive Plasma Accelerator Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Polzin, Kurt A.; Sivak, Amy D.; Balla, Joseph V.

2011-01-01

A model of pulsed inductive plasma thrusters consisting of a set of coupled circuit equations and a one-dimensional momentum equation has been used to study the effects of adding a second, parallel capacitor into the system. The equations were nondimensionalized, permitting the recovery of several already-known scaling parameters and leading to the identification of a parameter that is unique to the particular topology studied. The current rise rate through the inductive acceleration coil was used as a proxy measurement of the effectiveness of inductive propellant ionization since higher rise rates produce stronger, potentially better ionizing electric fields at the coil face. Contour plots representing thruster performance (exhaust velocity and efficiency) and current rise rate in the coil were generated numerically as a function of the scaling parameters. The analysis reveals that when the value of the second capacitor is much less than the first capacitor, the performance of the two-capacitor system approaches that of the single-capacitor system. In addition, as the second capacitor is decreased in value the current rise rate can grow to be twice as great as the rise rate attained in the single capacitor case.

Reversing-counterpulse repetitive-pulse inductive storage circuit

DOEpatents

Honig, E.M.

1987-02-10

A high-power reversing-counterpulse repetitive-pulse inductive storage and transfer circuit includes an opening switch, a main energy storage coil, a counterpulse capacitor and a small inductor. After counterpulsing the opening switch off, the counterpulse capacitor is recharged by the main energy storage coil before the load pulse is initiated. This gives the counterpulse capacitor sufficient energy for the next counterpulse operation, although the polarity of the capacitor's voltage must be reversed before that can occur. By using a current-zero switch as the counterpulse start switch, the capacitor is disconnected from the circuit (with a full charge) when the load pulse is initiated, preventing the capacitor from depleting its energy store by discharging through the load. After the load pulse is terminated by reclosing the main opening switch, the polarity of the counterpulse capacitor voltage is reversed by discharging the capacitor through a small inductor and interrupting the discharge current oscillation at zero current and peak reversed voltage. The circuit enables high-power, high-repetition-rate operation with reusable switches and features total control (pulse-to-pulse) over output pulse initiation, duration, repetition rate, and, to some extent, risetime. 10 figs.

Stretchable Dual-Capacitor Multi-Sensor for Touch-Curvature-Pressure-Strain Sensing.

PubMed

Jin, Hanbyul; Jung, Sungchul; Kim, Junhyung; Heo, Sanghyun; Lim, Jaeik; Park, Wonsang; Chu, Hye Yong; Bien, Franklin; Park, Kibog

2017-09-07

We introduce a new type of multi-functional capacitive sensor that can sense several different external stimuli. It is fabricated only with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films and silver nanowire electrodes by using selective oxygen plasma treatment method without photolithography and etching processes. Differently from the conventional single-capacitor multi-functional sensors, our new multi-functional sensor is composed of two vertically-stacked capacitors (dual-capacitor). The unique dual-capacitor structure can detect the type and strength of external stimuli including curvature, pressure, strain, and touch with clear distinction, and it can also detect the surface-normal directionality of curvature, pressure, and touch. Meanwhile, the conventional single-capacitor sensor has ambiguity in distinguishing curvature and pressure and it can detect only the strength of external stimulus. The type, directionality, and strength of external stimulus can be determined based on the relative capacitance changes of the two stacked capacitors. Additionally, the logical flow reflected on a tree structure with its branches reaching the direction and strength of the corresponding external stimulus unambiguously is devised. This logical flow can be readily implemented in the sensor driving circuit if the dual-capacitor sensor is commercialized actually in the future.

Materials for electrochemical capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simon, Patrice; Gogotsi, Yury

2008-11-01

Electrochemical capacitors, also called supercapacitors, store energy using either ion adsorption (electrochemical double layer capacitors) or fast surface redox reactions (pseudo-capacitors). They can complement or replace batteries in electrical energy storage and harvesting applications, when high power delivery or uptake is needed. A notable improvement in performance has been achieved through recent advances in understanding charge storage mechanisms and the development of advanced nanostructured materials. The discovery that ion desolvation occurs in pores smaller than the solvated ions has led to higher capacitance for electrochemical double layer capacitors using carbon electrodes with subnanometre pores, and opened the door to designing high-energy density devices using a variety of electrolytes. Combination of pseudo-capacitive nanomaterials, including oxides, nitrides and polymers, with the latest generation of nanostructured lithium electrodes has brought the energy density of electrochemical capacitors closer to that of batteries. The use of carbon nanotubes has further advanced micro-electrochemical capacitors, enabling flexible and adaptable devices to be made. Mathematical modelling and simulation will be the key to success in designing tomorrow's high-energy and high-power devices.

Materials for electrochemical capacitors.

PubMed

Simon, Patrice; Gogotsi, Yury

2008-11-01

Electrochemical capacitors, also called supercapacitors, store energy using either ion adsorption (electrochemical double layer capacitors) or fast surface redox reactions (pseudo-capacitors). They can complement or replace batteries in electrical energy storage and harvesting applications, when high power delivery or uptake is needed. A notable improvement in performance has been achieved through recent advances in understanding charge storage mechanisms and the development of advanced nanostructured materials. The discovery that ion desolvation occurs in pores smaller than the solvated ions has led to higher capacitance for electrochemical double layer capacitors using carbon electrodes with subnanometre pores, and opened the door to designing high-energy density devices using a variety of electrolytes. Combination of pseudo-capacitive nanomaterials, including oxides, nitrides and polymers, with the latest generation of nanostructured lithium electrodes has brought the energy density of electrochemical capacitors closer to that of batteries. The use of carbon nanotubes has further advanced micro-electrochemical capacitors, enabling flexible and adaptable devices to be made. Mathematical modelling and simulation will be the key to success in designing tomorrow's high-energy and high-power devices.

Electronic Power System Application of Diamond-Like Carbon Films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wu, Richard L. C.; Kosai, H.; Fries-Carr, S.; Weimer, J.; Freeman, M.; Schwarze, G. E.

2003-01-01

A prototype manufacturing technology for producing high volume efficiency and high energy density diamond-like carbon (DLC) capacitors has been developed. Unique dual ion-beam deposition and web-handling systems have been designed and constructed to deposit high quality DLC films simultaneously on both sides of capacitor grade aluminum foil and aluminum-coated polymer films. An optimized process, using inductively coupled RF ion sources, has been used to synthesize electrically robust DLC films. DLC films are amorphous and highly flexible, making them suitable for the production of wound capacitors. DLC capacitors are reliable and stable over a wide range of AC frequencies from 20 Hz to 1 MHz, and over a temperature range from .500 C to 3000 C. The compact DLC capacitors offer at least a 50% decrease in weight and volume and a greater than 50% increase in temperature handling capability over equal value capacitors built with existing technologies. The DLC capacitors will be suitable for high temperature, high voltage, pulsed power and filter applications.

MEMS fabrication and frequency sweep for suspending beam and plate electrode in electrostatic capacitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Jianxiong; Song, Weixing

2018-01-01

We report a MEMS fabrication and frequency sweep for a high-order mode suspending beam and plate layer in electrostatic micro-gap semiconductor capacitor. This suspended beam and plate was designed with silicon oxide (SiO2) film which was fabricated using bulk silicon micromachining technology on both side of a silicon substrate. The designed semiconductor capacitors were driven by a bias direct current (DC) and a sweep frequency alternative current (AC) in a room temperature for an electrical response test. Finite element calculating software was used to evaluate the deformation mode around its high-order response frequency. Compared a single capacitor with a high-order response frequency (0.42 MHz) and a 1 × 2 array parallel capacitor, we found that the 1 × 2 array parallel capacitor had a broader high-order response range. And it concluded that a DC bias voltage can be used to modulate a high-order response frequency for both a single and 1 × 2 array parallel capacitors.

Fast repetition rate (FRR) flasher

DOEpatents

Kolber, Zbigniew; Falkowski, Paul

1997-02-11

A fast repetition rate (FRR) flasher suitable for high flash photolysis including kinetic chemical and biological analysis. The flasher includes a power supply, a discharge capacitor operably connected to be charged by the power supply, and a flash lamp for producing a series of flashes in response to discharge of the discharge capacitor. A triggering circuit operably connected to the flash lamp initially ionizes the flash lamp. A current switch is operably connected between the flash lamp and the discharge capacitor. The current switch has at least one insulated gate bipolar transistor for switching current that is operable to initiate a controllable discharge of the discharge capacitor through the flash lamp. Control means connected to the current switch for controlling the rate of discharge of the discharge capacitor thereby to effectively keep the flash lamp in an ionized state between Successive discharges of the discharge capacitor. Advantageously, the control means is operable to discharge the discharge capacitor at a rate greater than 10,000 Hz and even up to a rate greater than about 250,000 Hz.

Apparatus and method for pyroelectric power conversion

DOEpatents

Olsen, Randall B.

1984-01-01

Apparatus and method for converting heat to electrical energy by the use of one or more capacitors having temperature dependent capacitance. The capacitor is cycled between relatively high and relatively low temperatures by successive thermal contact with relatively high and relatively low temperature portions of a heat transfer medium having a temperature gradient therein. Upon heating of the capacitor, the capacitance thereof is reduced, so that a charge therein is caused to expand into associated external circuitry in which it is available to do electrical work. The capacitor is then cooled and recharged and the cycle is repeated. The electrical output of the capacitor results from the regenerative delivery of heat to and removal of heat from the capacitor by the heat transfer medium, and efficient conversion of heat to electric energy is thereby effected.

Guidelines for the selection and application of tantalum electrolytic capacitors in highly reliable equipment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holladay, A. M.

1978-01-01

Guidelines are given for the selection and application of three types of tantalum electrolytic capacitors in current use in the design of electrical and electronic circuits for space flight missions. In addition, the guidelines supplement requirements of existing military specifications used in the procurement of capacitors. A need exists for these guidelines to assist designers in preventing some of the recurring, serious problems experienced with tantalum electrolytic capacitors in the recent past. The three types of capacitors covered by these guidelines are; solid, wet foil, and tantalum cased wet slug.

Capacitor Technologies, Applications and Reliability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1981-01-01

Various aspects of capacitor technologies and applications are discussed. Major emphasis is placed on: the causes of failures; accelerated testing; screening tests; destructive physical analysis; applications techniques; and improvements in capacitor capabilities.

Data-adaptive harmonic spectra and multilayer Stuart-Landau models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chekroun, Mickaël D.; Kondrashov, Dmitri

2017-09-01

Harmonic decompositions of multivariate time series are considered for which we adopt an integral operator approach with periodic semigroup kernels. Spectral decomposition theorems are derived that cover the important cases of two-time statistics drawn from a mixing invariant measure. The corresponding eigenvalues can be grouped per Fourier frequency and are actually given, at each frequency, as the singular values of a cross-spectral matrix depending on the data. These eigenvalues obey, furthermore, a variational principle that allows us to define naturally a multidimensional power spectrum. The eigenmodes, as far as they are concerned, exhibit a data-adaptive character manifested in their phase which allows us in turn to define a multidimensional phase spectrum. The resulting data-adaptive harmonic (DAH) modes allow for reducing the data-driven modeling effort to elemental models stacked per frequency, only coupled at different frequencies by the same noise realization. In particular, the DAH decomposition extracts time-dependent coefficients stacked by Fourier frequency which can be efficiently modeled—provided the decay of temporal correlations is sufficiently well-resolved—within a class of multilayer stochastic models (MSMs) tailored here on stochastic Stuart-Landau oscillators. Applications to the Lorenz 96 model and to a stochastic heat equation driven by a space-time white noise are considered. In both cases, the DAH decomposition allows for an extraction of spatio-temporal modes revealing key features of the dynamics in the embedded phase space. The multilayer Stuart-Landau models (MSLMs) are shown to successfully model the typical patterns of the corresponding time-evolving fields, as well as their statistics of occurrence.

Antimicrobial coatings on polyethylene terephthalate based on curcumin/cyclodextrin complex embedded in a multilayer polyelectrolyte architecture.

PubMed

Shlar, Ilya; Droby, Samir; Rodov, Victor

2018-04-01

Bacterial contamination is a growing concern worldwide. The aim of this work was to develop an antimicrobial coating based on curcumin-cyclodextrin inclusion complex and using polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film as a support matrix. After a pre-treatment aimed to provide sufficient electric charge to the PET surface, it was electrostatically coated with repeated multilayers comprising alternately deposited positively-charged poly-l-lysine (PLL) and negatively-charged poly-l-glutamic acid (PLGA) and carboxymethyl-β-cyclodextrin (CMBCD). The coatings had an architecture (PLL-PLGA) 6 -(PLL-PLGA-PLL-CMBCD) n , with the number of repeated multilayers n varying from 5 to 20. The CMBCD molecules were either covalently cross-linked using carbodiimide crosslinker chemistry or left unbound. The surface morphology, structure and elemental composition of the coatings were analysed by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. To impart antimicrobial properties to the coatings they were loaded with a natural phenolic compound curcumin forming inclusion complexes with β-cyclodextrin. The non-cross-linked coatings showed bactericidal activity towards Escherichia coli in the dark, and this activity was further enhanced upon illumination with white light. Curcumin was released from the non-cross-linked coatings into an aqueous medium in the form of cyclodextrin inclusion complex. After the cross-linking, the coating lost its dark antimicrobial activity but retained the photodynamic properties. Stabilized cross-linked curcumin-loaded coatings can serve a basis for developing photoactivated antimicrobial surfaces controlling bacterial contamination and spread. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Three-dimensional imaging for precise structural control of Si quantum dot networks for all-Si solar cells.

PubMed

Kourkoutis, Lena F; Hao, Xiaojing; Huang, Shujuan; Puthen-Veettil, Binesh; Conibeer, Gavin; Green, Martin A; Perez-Wurfl, Ivan

2013-08-21

All-Si tandem solar cells based on Si quantum dots (QDs) are a promising approach to future high-performance, thin film solar cells using abundant, stable and non-toxic materials. An important prerequisite to achieve a high conversion efficiency in such cells is the ability to control the geometry of the Si QD network. This includes the ability to control both, the size and arrangement of Si QDs embedded in a higher bandgap matrix. Using plasmon tomography we show the size, shape and density of Si QDs, that form in Si rich oxide (SRO)/SiO2 multilayers upon annealing, can be controlled by varying the SRO stoichiometry. Smaller, more spherical QDs of higher densities are obtained at lower Si concentrations. In richer SRO layers ellipsoidal QDs tend to form. Using electronic structure calculations within the effective mass approximation we show that ellipsoidal QDs give rise to reduced inter-QD coupling in the layer. Efficient carrier transport via mini-bands is in this case more likely across the multilayers provided the SiO2 spacer layer is thin enough to allow coupling in the vertical direction.

Dopamine-assisted fixation of drug-loaded polymeric multilayers to osteoarticular implants for tuberculosis therapy.

PubMed

Li, Dan; Li, Litao; Ma, Yunlong; Zhuang, Yaping; Li, Dawei; Shen, Hong; Wang, Xing; Yang, Fei; Ma, Yuanzheng; Wu, Decheng

2017-03-28

Currently, the major issues in the treatment of osteoarticular tuberculosis (TB) after implant placement are low drug concentration at the infected focus and drug resistance resulting from the long-term chemotherapy. The application of drug-loaded polymeric multilayers on implantable devices offers a promising solution to the problems. Herein, a poly(ethylene glycol)-based hydrogel film embedded with isoniazid (INH)-loaded alginate microparticles was fixed to Ti implants via adhesive polydopamine, subsequently capped by poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) membranes for the sustained and localized delivery of the anti-TB drug. The antibacterial efficacy of the released INH was confirmed by a 4.5 ± 0.8 cm inhibition zone formed in the fourth week after inoculation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The INH-loaded Ti implants showed no toxicity to the osteoblast cell and provided a consistent drug release for nearly one week in vitro. The release profile in vivo showed a high local concentration and low systemic exposure. The local INH concentration could be kept higher than its minimum inhibitory concentration over a period of 8 weeks, which proves that it is a promising strategy to improve the severe osteoarticular TB treatment.

A difference in using atomic layer deposition or physical vapour deposition TiN as electrode material in metal-insulator-metal and metal-insulator-silicon capacitors.

PubMed

Groenland, A W; Wolters, R A M; Kovalgin, A Y; Schmitz, J

2011-09-01

In this work, metal-insulator-metal (MIM) and metal-insulator-silicon (MIS) capacitors are studied using titanium nitride (TiN) as the electrode material. The effect of structural defects on the electrical properties on MIS and MIM capacitors is studied for various electrode configurations. In the MIM capacitors the bottom electrode is a patterned 100 nm TiN layer (called BE type 1), deposited via sputtering, while MIS capacitors have a flat bottom electrode (called BE type 2-silicon substrate). A high quality 50-100 nm thick SiO2 layer, made by inductively-coupled plasma CVD at 150 degrees C, is deposited as a dielectric on top of both types of bottom electrodes. BE type 1 (MIM) capacitors have a varying from low to high concentration of structural defects in the SiO2 layer. BE type 2 (MIS) capacitors have a low concentration of structural defects and are used as a reference. Two sets of each capacitor design are fabricated with the TiN top electrode deposited either via physical vapour deposition (PVD, i.e., sputtering) or atomic layer deposition (ALD). The MIM and MIS capacitors are electrically characterized in terms of the leakage current at an electric field of 0.1 MV/cm (I leak) and for different structural defect concentrations. It is shown that the structural defects only show up in the electrical characteristics of BE type 1 capacitors with an ALD TiN-based top electrode. This is due to the excellent step coverage of the ALD process. This work clearly demonstrates the sensitivity to process-induced structural defects, when ALD is used as a step in process integration of conductors on insulation materials.

The Effects of Self-Discharge on the Performance of Symmetric Electric Double-Layer Capacitors and Active Electrolyte-Enhanced Supercapacitors: Insights from Modeling and Simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ike, Innocent S.; Sigalas, Iakovos; Iyuke, Sunny E.

2017-02-01

The effects of self-discharge on the performance of symmetric electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) and active electrolyte-enhanced supercapacitors were examined by incorporating self-discharge into electrochemical capacitor models during charging and discharging. The sources of self-discharge in capacitors were side reactions or redox reactions and several impurities and electric double-layer (EDL) instability. The effects of self-discharge during capacitor storage was negligible since it took a fully charged capacitor a minimum of 14.0 days to be entirely discharged by self-discharge in all conditions studied, hence self-discharge in storage condition can be ignored. The first and second charge-discharge cycle energy efficiencies η_{{{{E}}1}} and η_{{{{E}}2}} of a capacitor of electrode effective conductivity α1 = 0.05 S/cm with only EDL instability self-discharge with current density J_{{VR}} = 1.25 × 10-3 A/cm2 were 72.33% and 72.34%, respectively. Also, energy efficiencies η_{{{{E}}1}} and η_{{{{E}}2}} of a similar capacitor with both side reactions and redox reactions and EDL instability self-discharges with current densities J_{{VR}} = 0.00125 A/cm2 and J_{{{{VR}}1}} = 0.0032 A/cm2 were 38.13% and 38.14% respectively, compared with 84.24% and 84.25% in a similar capacitor without self-discharge. A capacitor with only EDL instability self-discharge and that with both side reactions and redox reactions and EDL instability self-discharge lost 9.73 Wh and 28.38 Wh of energy, respectively, through self-discharge during charging and discharging. Hence, EDLCs charging and discharging time is significantly dependent on the self-discharge rate which are too large to be ignored.

Benjamin Franklin and the dissectible capacitor: his observations might surprise you

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Glenn S.

2017-11-01

Although he is best known as an American statesman, Benjamin Franklin also made important contributions to electrical science in the mid-18th century. At the time, the Leyden jar, the first capacitor, had just been invented, and Franklin performed experiments to determine the source of the spark and shock that occurred on discharge of the jar. In these experiments, he used Leyden jars and Franklin squares (parallel-plate capacitors) that could be disassembled and reassembled. These devices later became known as dissectible capacitors. One of the more interesting results Franklin obtained was that an electrified capacitor containing a dielectric could be disassembled, the electrodes discharged, and the capacitor reassembled without sacrificing its ability to produce a spark and shock. This result is contrary to what one expects from today’s theory for capacitors involving ideal dielectrics (those possessing polarization and no other special properties such as surface effects): all charge is on the electrodes, and once they are discharged the capacitor is no longer electrified. During the years since Franklin’s observations, additional experiments have been performed and various explanations offered for the cause of Franklin’s results. In this paper, we first review the details for Franklin’s experiments, and then we describe a very simple experiment that can be performed today with a parallel-plate capacitor that gives results similar to Franklin’s. Next we discuss the experiments of Addenbrooke and Zeleny, performed in the first half of the 20th century, which provide plausible explanations for Franklin’s observations. Finally we describe the relationship of Franklin’s dissectible parallel-plate capacitor to another important 18th century invention—Volta’s generator of static electricity, the electrophorus.

Imaging of endodontic biofilms by combined microscopy (FISH/cLSM - SEM).

PubMed

Schaudinn, C; Carr, G; Gorur, A; Jaramillo, D; Costerton, J W; Webster, P

2009-08-01

Scanning electron microscopy is a useful imaging approach for the visualization of bacterial biofilms in their natural environments including their medical and dental habitats, because it allows for the exploration of large surfaces with excellent resolution of topographic features. Most biofilms in nature, however, are embedded in a thick layer of extracellular matrix that prevents a clear identification of individual bacteria by scanning electron microscopy. The use of confocal laser scanning microscopy on the other hand in combination with fluorescence in situ hybridization enables the visualization of matrix embedded bacteria in multi-layered biofilms. In our study, fluorescence in situ hybridization/confocal laser scanning microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were applied to visualize bacterial biofilm in endodontic root canals. The resulting fluorescence in situ hybridization /confocal laser scanning microscopy and scanning electron microscopy and pictures were subsequently combined into one single image to provide high-resolution information on the location of hidden bacteria. The combined use of scanning electron microscopy and fluorescence in situ hybridization / confocal laser scanning microscopy has the potential to overcome the limits of each single technique.

Apparatus and method for pyroelectric power conversion

DOEpatents

Olsen, R.B.

1984-01-10

Apparatus and method for converting heat to electrical energy by the use of one or more capacitors having temperature dependent capacitance are disclosed. The capacitor is cycled between relatively high and relatively low temperatures by successive thermal contact with relatively high and relatively low temperature portions of a heat transfer medium having a temperature gradient therein. Upon heating of the capacitor, the capacitance thereof is reduced, so that a charge therein is caused to expand into associated external circuitry in which it is available to do electrical work. The capacitor is then cooled and recharged and the cycle is repeated. The electrical output of the capacitor results from the regenerative delivery of heat to and removal of heat from the capacitor by the heat transfer medium, and efficient conversion of heat to electric energy is thereby effected. 12 figs.

Ferroelectric thin-film capacitors and piezoelectric switches for mobile communication applications.

PubMed

Klee, Mareike; van Esch, Harry; Keur, Wilco; Kumar, Biju; van Leuken-Peters, Linda; Liu, Jin; Mauczok, Rüdiger; Neumann, Kai; Reimann, Klaus; Renders, Christel; Roest, Aarnoud L; Tiggelman, Mark P J; de Wild, Marco; Wunnicke, Olaf; Zhao, Jing

2009-08-01

Thin-film ferroelectric capacitors have been integrated with resistors and active functions such as ESD protection into small, miniaturized modules, which enable a board space saving of up to 80%. With the optimum materials and processes, integrated capacitors with capacitance densities of up to 100 nF/mm2 for stacked capacitors combined with breakdown voltages of 90 V have been achieved. The integration of these high-density capacitors with extremely high breakdown voltage is a major accomplishment in the world of passive components and has not yet been reported for any other passive integration technology. Furthermore, thin-film tunable capacitors based on barium strontium titanate with high tuning range and high quality factor at 1 GHz have been demonstrated. Finally, piezoelectric thin films for piezoelectric switches with high switching speed have been realized.

The virtual infinite capacitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yona, Guy; Weiss, George

2017-01-01

We define the virtual infinite capacitor (VIC) as a nonlinear capacitor that has the property that for an interval of the charge Q (the operating range), the voltage V remains constant. We propose a lossless approximate realisation for the VIC as a simple circuit with two controllers: a voltage controller acts fast to maintain the desired terminal voltage, while a charge controller acts more slowly and maintains the charge Q in the desired operating range by influencing the incoming current. The VIC is useful as a filter capacitor for various applications, for example, power factor compensators (PFC), as we describe. In spite of using small capacitors, the VIC can replace a very large capacitor in applications that do not require substantial energy storage. We give simulation results for a PFC working in critical conduction mode with a VIC for output voltage filtering.

Electric Field Simulation of Surge Capacitors with Typical Defects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Chenmeng; Mao, Yuxiang; Xie, Shijun; Zhang, Yu

2018-03-01

The electric field of power capacitors with different typical defects in DC working condition and impulse oscillation working condition is studied in this paper. According to the type and location of defects and considering the influence of space charge, two-dimensional models of surge capacitors with different typical defects are simulated based on ANSYS. The distribution of the electric field inside the capacitor is analyzed, and the concentration of electric field and its influence on the insulation performance are obtained. The results show that the type of defects, the location of defects and the space charge all affect the electric field distribution inside the capacitor in varying degrees. Especially the electric field distortion in the local area such as sharp corners and burrs is relatively larger, which increases the probability of partial discharge inside the surge capacitor.

Optimal Capacitor Bank Capacity and Placement in Distribution Systems with High Distributed Solar Power Penetration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hodge, Brian S; Mather, Barry A; Cho, Gyu-Jung

Capacitor banks have been generally installed and utilized to support distribution voltage during period of higher load or on longer, higher impedance, feeders. Installations of distributed energy resources in distribution systems are rapidly increasing, and many of these generation resources have variable and uncertain power output. These generators can significantly change the voltage profile across a feeder, and therefore when a new capacitor bank is needed analysis of optimal capacity and location of the capacitor bank is required. In this paper, we model a particular distribution system including essential equipment. An optimization method is adopted to determine the best capacitymore » and location sets of the newly installed capacitor banks, in the presence of distributed solar power generation. Finally we analyze the optimal capacitor banks configuration through the optimization and simulation results.« less

Apparatus and method for recharging a string a avalanche transistors within a pulse generator

DOEpatents

Fulkerson, E. Stephen

2000-01-01

An apparatus and method for recharging a string of avalanche transistors within a pulse generator is disclosed. A plurality of amplification stages are connected in series. Each stage includes an avalanche transistor and a capacitor. A trigger signal, causes the apparatus to generate a very high voltage pulse of a very brief duration which discharges the capacitors. Charge resistors inject current into the string of avalanche transistors at various points, recharging the capacitors. The method of the present invention includes the steps of supplying current to charge resistors from a power supply; using the charge resistors to charge capacitors connected to a set of serially connected avalanche transistors; triggering the avalanche transistors; generating a high-voltage pulse from the charge stored in the capacitors; and recharging the capacitors through the charge resistors.

Reaching state-of-the art requirements for MIM capacitors with a single-layer anodic Al2O3 dielectric and imprinted electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hourdakis, Emmanouel; Nassiopoulou, Androula G.

2017-07-01

Metal-Insulator-Metal (MIM) capacitors with a high capacitance density and low non-linearity coefficient using a single-layer dielectric of barrier-type anodic alumina (Al2O3) and an imprinted bottom Al electrode are presented. Imprinting of the bottom electrode aimed at increasing the capacitor effective surface area by creating a three-dimensional MIM capacitor architecture. The bottom Al electrode was only partly nanopatterned so as to ensure low series resistance of the MIM capacitor. With a 3 nm thick anodic Al2O3 dielectric, the capacitor with the imprinted electrode showed a 280% increase in capacitance density compared to the flat electrode capacitor, reaching a value of 20.5 fF/μm2. On the other hand, with a 30 nm thick anodic Al2O3 layer, the capacitance density was 7.9 fF/μm2 and the non-linearity coefficient was as low as 196 ppm/V2. These values are very close to reaching all requirements of the last International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors for MIM capacitors [ITRS, http://www.itrs2.net/2013-itrs.html for ITRS Roadmap (2013)], and they are achieved by a single-layer dielectric instead of the complicated dielectric stacks of the literature. The obtained results constitute a real progress compared to previously reported results by our group for MIM capacitors using imprinted electrodes.

Multi-electrode double layer capacitor having single electrolyte seal and aluminum-impregnated carbon cloth electrodes

DOEpatents

Farahmandi, C. J.; Dispennette, J. M.; Blank, E.; Kolb, A. C.

1999-05-25

A single cell, multi-electrode high performance double layer capacitor includes first and second flat stacks of electrodes adapted to be housed in a closeable two-part capacitor case which includes only a single electrolyte seal. Each electrode stack has a plurality of electrodes connected in parallel, with the electrodes of one stack being interleaved with the electrodes of the other stack to form an interleaved stack, and with the electrodes of each stack being electrically connected to respective capacitor terminals. A porous separator sleeve is inserted over the electrodes of one stack before interleaving to prevent electrical shorts between the electrodes. The electrodes are made by folding a compressible, low resistance, aluminum-impregnated carbon cloth, made from activated carbon fibers, around a current collector foil, with a tab of the foils of each electrode of each stack being connected in parallel and connected to the respective capacitor terminal. The height of the interleaved stack is somewhat greater than the inside height of the closed capacitor case, thereby requiring compression of the interleaved electrode stack when placed inside of the case, and thereby maintaining the interleaved electrode stack under modest constant pressure. The closed capacitor case is filled with an electrolytic solution and sealed. A preferred electrolytic solution is made by dissolving an appropriate salt into acetonitrile (CH[sub 3]CN). In one embodiment, the two parts of the capacitor case are conductive and function as the capacitor terminals. 32 figs.

Method of making a multi-electrode double layer capacitor having single electrolyte seal and aluminum-impregnated carbon cloth electrodes

DOEpatents

Farahmandi, C. Joseph; Dispennette, John M.; Blank, Edward; Kolb, Alan C.

2002-09-17

A single cell, multi-electrode high performance double layer capacitor includes first and second flat stacks of electrodes adapted to be housed in a closeable two-part capacitor case which includes only a single electrolyte seal. Each electrode stack has a plurality of electrodes connected in parallel, with the electrodes of one stack being interleaved with the electrodes of the other stack to form an interleaved stack, and with the electrodes of each stack being electrically connected to respective capacitor terminals. A porous separator is positioned against the electrodes of one stack before interleaving to prevent electrical shorts between the electrodes. The electrodes are made by folding a compressible, low resistance, aluminum-impregnated carbon cloth, made from activated carbon fibers, around a current collector foil, with a tab of the foils of each electrode of each stack being connected in parallel and connected to the respective capacitor terminal. The height of the interleaved stack is somewhat greater than the inside height of the closed capacitor case, thereby requiring compression of the interleaved electrode stack when placed inside of the case, and thereby maintaining the interleaved electrode stack under modest constant pressure. The closed capacitor case is filled with an electrolytic solution and sealed. A preferred electrolytic solution is made by dissolving an appropriate salt into acetonitrile (CH.sub.3 CN). In one embodiment, the two parts of the capacitor case are conductive and function as the capacitor terminals.

Multi-electrode double layer capacitor having single electrolyte seal and aluminum-impregnated carbon cloth electrodes

DOEpatents

Farahmandi, C Joseph [San Diego, CA; Dispennette, John M [Oceanside, CA; Blank, Edward [San Diego, CA; Kolb, Alan C [Rancho Santa Fe, CA

1999-05-25

A single cell, multi-electrode high performance double layer capacitor includes first and second flat stacks of electrodes adapted to be housed in a closeable two-part capacitor case which includes only a single electrolyte seal. Each electrode stack has a plurality of electrodes connected in parallel, with the electrodes of one stack being interleaved with the electrodes of the other stack to form an interleaved stack, and with the electrodes of each stack being electrically connected to respective capacitor terminals. A porous separator sleeve is inserted over the electrodes of one stack before interleaving to prevent electrical shorts between the electrodes. The electrodes are made by folding a compressible, low resistance, aluminum-impregnated carbon cloth, made from activated carbon fibers, around a current collector foil, with a tab of the foils of each electrode of each stack being connected in parallel and connected to the respective capacitor terminal. The height of the interleaved stack is somewhat greater than the inside height of the closed capacitor case, thereby requiring compression of the interleaved electrode stack when placed inside of the case, and thereby maintaining the interleaved electrode stack under modest constant pressure. The closed capacitor case is filled with an electrolytic solution and sealed. A preferred electrolytic solution is made by dissolving an appropriate salt into acetonitrile (CH.sub.3 CN). In one embodiment, the two parts of the capacitor case are conductive and function as the capacitor terminals.

Multi-electrode double layer capacitor having single electrolyte seal and aluminum-impregnated carbon cloth electrodes

DOEpatents

Farahmandi, C. Joseph; Dispennette, John M.; Blank, Edward; Kolb, Alan C.

1999-01-19

A single cell, multi-electrode high performance double layer capacitor includes first and second flat stacks of electrodes adapted to be housed in a closeable two-part capacitor case which includes only a single electrolyte seal. Each electrode stack has a plurality of electrodes connected in parallel, with the electrodes of one stack being interleaved with the electrodes of the other stack to form an interleaved stack, and with the electrodes of each stack being electrically connected to respective capacitor terminals. A porous separator sleeve is inserted over the electrodes of one stack before interleaving to prevent electrical shorts between the electrodes. The electrodes are made by folding a compressible, low resistance, aluminum-impregnated carbon cloth, made from activated carbon fibers, around a current collector foil, with a tab of the foils of each electrode of each stack being connected in parallel and connected to the respective capacitor terminal. The height of the interleaved stack is somewhat greater than the inside height of the closed capacitor case, thereby requiring compression of the interleaved electrode stack when placed inside of the case, and thereby maintaining the interleaved electrode stack under modest constant pressure. The closed capacitor case is filled with an electrolytic solution and sealed. A preferred electrolytic solution is made by dissolving an appropriate salt into acetonitrile (CH.sub.3 CN). In one embodiment, the two parts of the capacitor case are conductive and function as the capacitor terminals.

Ruthenium Oxide Electrochemical Super Capacitor Optimization for Pulse Power Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Merryman, Stephen A.; Chen, Zheng

2000-01-01

Electrical actuator systems are being pursued as alternatives to hydraulic systems to reduce maintenance time, weight and costs while increasing reliability. Additionally, safety and environmental hazards associated with the hydraulic fluids can be eliminated. For most actuation systems, the actuation process is typically pulsed with high peak power requirements but with relatively modest average power levels. The power-time requirements for electrical actuators are characteristic of pulsed power technologies where the source can be sized for the average power levels while providing the capability to achieve the peak requirements. Among the options for the power source are battery systems, capacitor systems or battery-capacitor hybrid systems. Battery technologies are energy dense but deficient in power density; capacitor technologies are power dense but limited by energy density. The battery-capacitor hybrid system uses the battery to supply the average power and the capacitor to meet the peak demands. It has been demonstrated in previous work that the hybrid electrical power source can potentially provide a weight savings of approximately 59% over a battery-only source. Electrochemical capacitors have many properties that make them well-suited for electrical actuator applications. They have the highest demonstrated energy density for capacitive storage (up to 100 J/g), have power densities much greater than most battery technologies (greater than 30kW/kg), are capable of greater than one million charge-discharge cycles, can be charged at extremely high rates, and have non-explosive failure modes. Thus, electrochemical capacitors exhibit a combination of desirable battery and capacitor characteristics.

Multi-electrode double layer capacitor having single electrolyte seal and aluminum-impregnated carbon cloth electrodes

DOEpatents

Farahmandi, C.J.; Dispennette, J.M.; Blank, E.; Kolb, A.C.

1999-01-19

A single cell, multi-electrode high performance double layer capacitor includes first and second flat stacks of electrodes adapted to be housed in a closeable two-part capacitor case which includes only a single electrolyte seal. Each electrode stack has a plurality of electrodes connected in parallel, with the electrodes of one stack being interleaved with the electrodes of the other stack to form an interleaved stack, and with the electrodes of each stack being electrically connected to respective capacitor terminals. A porous separator sleeve is inserted over the electrodes of one stack before interleaving to prevent electrical shorts between the electrodes. The electrodes are made by folding a compressible, low resistance, aluminum-impregnated carbon cloth, made from activated carbon fibers, around a current collector foil, with a tab of the foils of each electrode of each stack being connected in parallel and connected to the respective capacitor terminal. The height of the interleaved stack is somewhat greater than the inside height of the closed capacitor case, thereby requiring compression of the interleaved electrode stack when placed inside of the case, and thereby maintaining the interleaved electrode stack under modest constant pressure. The closed capacitor case is filled with an electrolytic solution and sealed. A preferred electrolytic solution is made by dissolving an appropriate salt into acetonitrile (CH{sub 3}CN). In one embodiment, the two parts of the capacitor case are conductive and function as the capacitor terminals. 32 figs.

Effects of electrodes on the properties of sol-gel PZT based capacitors in FeRAM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Ming-Ming; Jia, Ze; Ren, Tian-Ling

2009-05-01

The effects of electrodes on the properties of capacitors applied in ferroelectric random access memories (FeRAM) are investigated in this work. Pt and Ir are used as bottom and top electrodes (BE and TE), respectively, in sol-gel Pb(Zr xTi 1-x)O 3 (PZT) based capacitors. Bottom electrodes are found to play a dominant role in the properties of PZT films and capacitors. Capacitors using Pt as bottom electrode have larger remnant polarization (2Pr) than those using Ir which may result from the different orientations of PZT films. The higher Schottky barrier, more dense film and smaller roughness are believed to be the reasons for the better leakage performance of capacitors using Pt as bottom electrodes. Different vacancies types and interface conditions are believed to be the main reasons for the better fatigue (less than 10% initial 2Pr loss after 10 11 fatigue cycles) and better imprint properties of TE/PZT/Ir capacitors. Top electrodes are found to have smaller impact on the properties of capacitors compared with bottom electrodes. A decrease in 2Pr is found when Ir is used as top electrode instead of Pt for PZT/Pt, which is believed to be caused by the stress resulting from lattice mismatch. The different thermal processes that top and bottom electrodes suffered are believed to be the reason for the different impacts they have on capacitors.

Enhancement of the Si p-n diode NIR photoresponse by embedding β-FeSi2 nanocrystallites.

PubMed

Shevlyagin, A V; Goroshko, D L; Chusovitin, E A; Galkin, K N; Galkin, N G; Gutakovskii, A K

2015-10-05

By using solid phase epitaxy of thin Fe films and molecular beam epitaxy of Si, a p(+)-Si/p-Si/β-FeSi2 nanocrystallites/n-Si(111) diode structure was fabricated. Transmission electron microscopy data confirmed a well-defined multilayered structure with embedded nanocrystallites of two typical sizes: 3-4 and 15-20 nm, and almost coherent epitaxy of the nanocrystallites with the Si matrix. The diode at zero bias conditions exhibited a current responsivity of 1.7 mA/W, an external quantum efficiency of about 0.2%, and a specific detectivity of 1.2 × 10(9) cm × Hz(1/2)/W at a wavelength of 1300 nm at room temperature. In the avalanche mode, the responsivity reached up to 20 mA/W (2% in terms of efficiency) with a value of avalanche gain equal to 5. The data obtained indicate that embedding of β-FeSi2 nanocrystallites into the depletion region of the Si p-n junction results in expansion of the spectral sensitivity up to 1600 nm and an increase of the photoresponse by more than two orders of magnitude in comparison with a conventional Si p-n junction. Thereby, fabricated structure combines advantage of the silicon photodiode functionality and simplicity with near infrared light detection capability of β-FeSi2.

HIGH VOLTAGE GENERATOR

DOEpatents

Schwemin, A.J.

1959-03-17

A generator is presented for producing relatively large currents at high voltages. In general, the invention comprises a plurality of capacitors connected in series by a plurality of switches alternately disposed with the capacitors. The circuit is mounted for movement with respect to contact members and switch closure means so that a load device and power supply are connected across successive numbers of capacitors, while the other capacitors are successively charged with the same power supply.

Thin film integrated capacitors with sputtered-anodized niobium pentoxide dielectric for decoupling applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacob, Susan

Electronics system miniaturization is a major driver for high-k materials. High-k materials in capacitors allow for high capacitance, enabling system miniaturization. Ta2O5 (k˜24) has been the dominant high-k material in the electronic industry for decoupling capacitors, filter capacitors, etc. In order to facilitate further system miniaturization, this project has investigated thin film integrated capacitors with Nb2O5 dielectric. Nb2O 5 has k˜41 and is a potential candidate for replacing Ta2O5. But, the presence of suboxides (NbO2 and NbO) in the dielectric deteriorates the electrical properties (leakage current, thermal instability of capacitance, etc.). Also, the high oxygen solubility of niobium results in oxygen diffusion from the dielectric to niobium metal, if any is present. The major purpose of this project was to check the ability of NbN as a diffusion barrier and fabricate thermally stable niobium capacitors. As a first step to produce niobium capacitors, the material characterizations of reactively sputtered Nb2O5 and NbN were done. Thickness and film composition, and crystal structures of the sputtered films were obtained and the deposition parameters for the desired stoichiometry were found. Also, anodized Nb2O5 was characterized for its stoichiometry and thickness. To study the effect of nitrides on capacitance and thermal stability, Ta2O5 capacitors were initially fabricated with and without TaN. The results showed that the nitride does not affect the capacitance, and that capacitors with TaN are stable up to 150°C. In the next step, niobium capacitors were first fabricated with anodized dielectric and the oxygen diffusion issues associated with capacitor processing were studied. Reactively sputtered Nb2O5 was anodized to form complete Nb2O5 (with few oxygen vacancies) and NbN was used to sandwich the dielectric. The capacitor fabrication was not successful due to the difficulties in anodizing the sputtered dielectric. Another method, anodizing reactively sputtered Nb2O5 and a thin layer of sputtered niobium metal yielded high yield (99%) capacitors. Capacitors were fabricated with and without NbN and the results showed 93% decrease in leakage for a capacitor with ˜2000 A dielectric when NbN was present in the structure. These capacitors could withstand 20 V and showed 2.7 muA leakage current at 5 V. These results were obtained after thermal storage at 100°C and 150°C in air for 168 hours at each temperature. Two set of experiments were performed using Ta2O5 dielectric: one to determine the effect of anodization end point on the thickness (capacitance) and the second to determine the effect of boiling the dielectric on functional yield. The anodization end point experiment showed that the final current of anodization along with the anodizing voltage determines the anodic oxide thickness. The lower the current, the thicker the films produced by anodization. Therefore, it was important to specify the final current along with the anodization voltage for oxide growth rate. The capacitors formed with boiled wafers showed better functional yield 3 out of 5 times compared with the unboiled wafer. Niobium anodization was studied for the Nb--->Nb 2O5 conversion ratio and the effect of anodization bath temperature on the oxide film; a color chart was prepared for thicknesses ranging from 1900 A - 5000 A. The niobium metal to oxide conversion ratio was found to change with temperature.

Synthesis of high-performance Li4Ti5O12 and its application to the asymmetric hybrid capacitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Byunggwan; Yoon, Jung Rag

2013-11-01

In this work, granule Li4Ti5O12 was successfully synthesized by spray drying a precursor slurry, followed by the solid-state reaction method. The precursor slurry was prepared from a solution of lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) in deionized water. A hybrid capacitor was fabricated which comprised a granule Li4Ti5O12 anode and activated carbon cathode. For comparison, an electrical double-layer capacitor (EDLC) cell was fabricated by using activated carbon electrodes in the same way. The electrochemical performance of the hybrid capacitor and the EDLC was characterized by constant current charge/discharge curves and cycle performance testing. The electrochemical testing results showed that the capacitance of the hybrid capacitor is approximately 2.5 times higher than that of the EDLC. Furthermore, the capacitance of the EDLC and the hybrid capacitor barely decreased after 1,000 cycles. The results of this study demonstrate that the hybrid capacitor has the advantages of the high rate capability of a supercapacitor (EDLC) and high battery capacity.

Capacitor blocks for linear transformer driver stages.

PubMed

Kovalchuk, B M; Kharlov, A V; Kumpyak, E V; Smorudov, G V; Zherlitsyn, A A

2014-01-01

In the Linear Transformer Driver (LTD) technology, the low inductance energy storage components and switches are directly incorporated into the individual cavities (named stages) to generate a fast output voltage pulse, which is added along a vacuum coaxial line like in an inductive voltage adder. LTD stages with air insulation were recently developed, where air is used both as insulation in a primary side of the stages and as working gas in the LTD spark gap switches. A custom designed unit, referred to as a capacitor block, was developed for use as a main structural element of the transformer stages. The capacitor block incorporates two capacitors GA 35426 (40 nF, 100 kV) and multichannel multigap gas switch. Several modifications of the capacitor blocks were developed and tested on the life time and self breakdown probability. Blocks were tested both as separate units and in an assembly of capacitive module, consisting of five capacitor blocks. This paper presents detailed design of capacitor blocks, description of operation regimes, numerical simulation of electric field in the switches, and test results.

Fabrication of wound capacitors using flexible alkali-free glass

DOE PAGES

Wilke, Rudeger H. T.; Baker, Amanda; Brown-Shaklee, Harlan; ...

2016-10-01

Here, alkali-free glasses, which exhibit high energy storage densities (~35 J/cc), present a unique opportunity to couple high temperature stability with high breakdown strength, and thus provide an avenue for capacitor applications with stringent temperature and power requirements. Realizing the potential of these materials in kilovolt class capacitors with >1 J/cc recoverable energy density requires novel packaging strategies that incorporate these extremely fragile dielectrics. In this paper, we demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating wound capacitors using 50-μm-thick glass. Two capacitors were fabricated from 2.8-m-long ribbons of thin (50 μm) glass wound into 125-140-mm-diameter spools. The capacitors exhibit a capacitance ofmore » 70-75 nF with loss tangents below 1%. The wound capacitors can operate up to 1 kV and show excellent temperature stability to 150 °C. By improving the end terminations, the self-resonance can be shifted to above 1 MHz, indicating that these materials may be useful for pulsed power applications with microsecond discharge times.« less

Space Vehicle Power System Comprised of Battery/Capacitor Combinations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Camarotte, C.; Lancaster, G. S.; Eichenberg, D.; Butler, S. M.; Miller, J. R.

2002-01-01

Recent improvements in energy densities of batteries open the possibility of using electric rather that hydraulic actuators in space vehicle systems. However, the systems usually require short-duration, high-power pulses. This power profile requires the battery system to be sized to meet the power requirements rather than stored energy requirements, often resulting in a large and inefficient energy storage system. Similar transient power applications have used a combination of two or more disparate energy storage technologies. For instance, placing a capacitor and a battery side-by-side combines the high energy density of a battery with the high power performance of a capacitor and thus can create a lighter and more compact system. A parametric study was performed to identify favorable scenarios for using capacitors. System designs were then carried out using equivalent circuit models developed for five commercial electrochemical capacitor products. Capacitors were sized to satisfy peak power levels and consequently "leveled" the power requirement of the battery, which can then be sized to meet system energy requirements. Simulation results clearly differentiate the performance offered by available capacitor products for the space vehicle applications.

Fast repetition rate (FRR) flasher

DOEpatents

Kolber, Z.; Falkowski, P.

1997-02-11

A fast repetition rate (FRR) flasher is described suitable for high flash photolysis including kinetic chemical and biological analysis. The flasher includes a power supply, a discharge capacitor operably connected to be charged by the power supply, and a flash lamp for producing a series of flashes in response to discharge of the discharge capacitor. A triggering circuit operably connected to the flash lamp initially ionizes the flash lamp. A current switch is operably connected between the flash lamp and the discharge capacitor. The current switch has at least one insulated gate bipolar transistor for switching current that is operable to initiate a controllable discharge of the discharge capacitor through the flash lamp. Control means connected to the current switch for controlling the rate of discharge of the discharge capacitor thereby to effectively keep the flash lamp in an ionized state between successive discharges of the discharge capacitor. Advantageously, the control means is operable to discharge the discharge capacitor at a rate greater than 10,000 Hz and even up to a rate greater than about 250,000 Hz. 14 figs.

Determination of effective mechanical properties of a double-layer beam by means of a nano-electromechanical transducer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hocke, Fredrik; Pernpeintner, Matthias; Gross, Rudolf, E-mail: rudolf.gross@wmi.badw.de

We investigate the mechanical properties of a doubly clamped, double-layer nanobeam embedded into an electromechanical system. The nanobeam consists of a highly pre-stressed silicon nitride and a superconducting niobium layer. By measuring the mechanical displacement spectral density both in the linear and the nonlinear Duffing regime, we determine the pre-stress and the effective Young's modulus of the nanobeam. An analytical double-layer model quantitatively corroborates the measured values. This suggests that this model can be used to design mechanical multilayer systems for electro- and optomechanical devices, including materials controllable by external parameters such as piezoelectric, magnetostrictive, or in more general multiferroicmore » materials.« less

A Liquid Optical Phase Shifter with an Embedded Electrowetting Actuator

PubMed Central

Ashtiani, Alireza Ousati; Jiang, Hongrui

2017-01-01

We demonstrate an electrowetting-based liquid optical phase shifter. The phase shifter consists of two immiscible liquid layers with different refractive indices. Sandwiched between the two liquids is a rigid membrane that moves freely along the optical axis and supported by a compliant surround. When applied with a pressure, the thicknesses of both liquid layers change, which induces a difference in optical path, resulting in a phase shift. A miniaturized electrowetting-based actuator is used to produce hydraulic pressure. A multi-layered SU8 bonded structure was fabricated. A phase shift of 171° was observed when the device was incorporated in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and driven with 100 V. PMID:29038640

Vented Capacitor

DOEpatents

Brubaker, Michael Allen; Hosking, Terry Alan

2006-04-11

A technique of increasing the corona inception voltage (CIV), and thereby increasing the operating voltage, of film/foil capacitors is described. Intentional venting of the capacitor encapsulation improves the corona inception voltage by allowing internal voids to equilibrate with the ambient environment.

High voltage generator

DOEpatents

Schwemin, A. J.

1959-03-17

A generator for producing relatively large currents at high voltages is described. In general, the invention comprises a plurality of capacitors connected in series by a plurality of switches alternately disposed with the capacitors. The above-noted circuit is mounted for movement with respect to contact members and switch closure means so that a load device and power supply are connected across successive numbers of capacitors, while the other capacitors are successively charged with the same power supply.

MOSFET and MOS capacitor responses to ionizing radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Benedetto, J. M.; Boesch, H. E., Jr.

1984-01-01

The ionizing radiation responses of metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) field-effect transistors (FETs) and MOS capacitors are compared. It is shown that the radiation-induced threshold voltage shift correlates closely with the shift in the MOS capacitor inversion voltage. The radiation-induced interface-state density of the MOSFETs and MOS capacitors was determined by several techniques. It is shown that the presence of 'slow' states can interfere with the interface-state measurements.

Evaluation of Commercial Automotive-Grade BME Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Donhang

2014-01-01

Three Ni-BaTiO3 ceramic capacitor lots with the same specification (chip size, capacitance, and rated voltage) and the same reliability level, made by three different manufacturers, were degraded using highly accelerated life stress testing (HALST) with the same temperature and applied voltage conditions. The reliability, as characterized by mean time to failure (MTTF), differed by more than one order of magnitude among the capacitor lots. A theoretical model based on the existence of depletion layers at grain boundaries and the entrapment of oxygen vacancies has been proposed to explain the MTTF difference among these BME capacitors. It is the conclusion of this model that reliability will not be improved simply by increasing the insulation resistance of a BME capacitor. Indeed, Ni-BaTiO3 ceramic capacitors with a smaller degradation rate constant K will always give rise to a longer reliability life.

Evaluation of Commercial Automotive-Grade BME Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Donhang

2014-01-01

Three Ni-BaTiO3 ceramic capacitor lots with the same specification (chip size, capacitance, and rated voltage) and the same reliability level, made by three different manufacturers, were degraded using highly accelerated life stress testing (HALST) with the same temperature and applied voltage conditions. The reliability, as characterized by mean time to failure (MTTF), differed by more than one order of magnitude among the capacitor lots. A theoretical model based on the existence of depletion layers at grain boundaries and the entrapment of oxygen vacancies has been proposed to explain the MTTF difference among these BME capacitors. It is the conclusion of this model that reliability will not be improved simply by increasing the insulation resistance of a BME capacitor. Indeed, Ni-BaTiO3 ceramic capacitors with a smaller degradation rate constant K will always give rise to a longer reliability life

Towards Prognostics of Electrolytic Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Celaya, Jose R.; Kulkarni, Chetan; Biswas, Gautam; Goegel, Kai

2011-01-01

A remaining useful life prediction algorithm and degradation model for electrolytic capacitors is presented. Electrolytic capacitors are used in several applications ranging from power supplies on critical avionics equipment to power drivers for electro-mechanical actuators. These devices are known for their low reliability and given their criticality in electronics subsystems they are a good candidate for component level prognostics and health management research. Prognostics provides a way to assess remaining useful life of a capacitor based on its current state of health and its anticipated future usage and operational conditions. In particular, experimental results of an accelerated aging test under electrical stresses are presented. The capacitors used in this test form the basis for a remaining life prediction algorithm where a model of the degradation process is suggested. This preliminary remaining life prediction algorithm serves as a demonstration of how prognostics methodologies could be used for electrolytic capacitors.

Catechol-chitosan redox capacitor for added amplification in electrochemical immunoanalysis.

PubMed

Yan, Kun; Liu, Yi; Guan, Yongguang; Bhokisham, Narendranath; Tsao, Chen-Yu; Kim, Eunkyoung; Shi, Xiao-Wen; Wang, Qin; Bentley, William E; Payne, Gregory F

2018-05-22

Antibodies are common recognition elements for molecular detection but often the signals generated by their stoichiometric binding must be amplified to enhance sensitivity. Here, we report that an electrode coated with a catechol-chitosan redox capacitor can amplify the electrochemical signal generated from an alkaline phosphatase (AP) linked immunoassay. Specifically, the AP product p-aminophenol (PAP) undergoes redox-cycling in the redox capacitor to generate amplified oxidation currents. We estimate an 8-fold amplification associated with this redox-cycling in the capacitor (compared to detection by a bare electrode). Importantly, this capacitor-based amplification is generic and can be coupled to existing amplification approaches based on enzyme-linked catalysis or magnetic nanoparticle-based collection/concentration. Thus, the capacitor should enhance sensitivities in conventional immunoassays and also provide chemical to electrical signal transduction for emerging applications in molecular communication. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Advanced Wet Tantalum Capacitors: Design, Specifications and Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teverovsky, Alexander

2016-01-01

Insertion of new types of commercial, high volumetric efficiency wet tantalum capacitors in space systems requires reassessment of the existing quality assurance approaches that have been developed for capacitors manufactured to MIL-PRF-39006 requirements. The specifics of wet electrolytic capacitors is that leakage currents flowing through electrolyte can cause gas generation resulting in building up of internal gas pressure and rupture of the case. The risk associated with excessive leakage currents and increased pressure is greater for high value advanced wet tantalum capacitors, but it has not been properly evaluated yet. This presentation gives a review of specifics of the design, performance, and potential reliability risks associated with advanced wet tantalum capacitors. Problems related to setting adequate requirements for DPA, leakage currents, hermeticity, stability at low and high temperatures, ripple currents for parts operating in vacuum, and random vibration testing are discussed. Recommendations for screening and qualification to reduce risks of failures have been suggested.

Optimal design of high temperature metalized thin-film polymer capacitors: A combined numerical and experimental method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhuo; Li, Qi; Trinh, Wei; Lu, Qianli; Cho, Heejin; Wang, Qing; Chen, Lei

2017-07-01

The objective of this paper is to design and optimize the high temperature metalized thin-film polymer capacitor by a combined computational and experimental method. A finite-element based thermal model is developed to incorporate Joule heating and anisotropic heat conduction arising from anisotropic geometric structures of the capacitor. The anisotropic thermal conductivity and temperature dependent electrical conductivity required by the thermal model are measured from the experiments. The polymer represented by thermally crosslinking benzocyclobutene (BCB) in the presence of boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) is selected for high temperature capacitor design based on the results of highest internal temperature (HIT) and the time to achieve thermal equilibrium. The c-BCB/BNNS-based capacitor aiming at the operating temperature of 250 °C is geometrically optimized with respect to its shape and volume. "Safe line" plot is also presented to reveal the influence of the cooling strength on capacitor geometry design.

Advanced Wet Tantalum Capacitors: Design, Specifications and Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teverovsky, Alexander

2017-01-01

Insertion of new types of commercial, high volumetric efficiency wet tantalum capacitors in space systems requires reassessment of the existing quality assurance approaches that have been developed for capacitors manufactured to MIL-PRF-39006 requirements. The specifics of wet electrolytic capacitors is that leakage currents flowing through electrolyte can cause gas generation resulting in building up of internal gas pressure and rupture of the case. The risk associated with excessive leakage currents and increased pressure is greater for high value advanced wet tantalum capacitors, but it has not been properly evaluated yet. This presentation gives a review of specifics of the design, performance, and potential reliability risks associated with advanced wet tantalum capacitors. Problems related to setting adequate requirements for DPA, leakage currents, hermeticity, stability at low and high temperatures, ripple currents for parts operating in vacuum, and random vibration testing are discussed. Recommendations for screening and qualification to reduce risks of failures have been suggested.

A hybrid power system for unmanned aerial vehicle electromagnetic launcher

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhiren; Wu, Jun; Huang, Shengjun

2018-06-01

According to the UAV electromagnetic catapult with fixed timing, a hybrid energy storage system consist with battery and super capacitor is designed, in order to reduce the volume and weight of the energy storage system. The battery is regarded as the energy storage device and the super capacitor as power release device. Firstly, the battery charges the super capacitor, and then the super capacitor supplies power to electromagnetic catapult separately. The strategy is using the Buck circuit to charge the super capacitor with constant current and using the Boost circuit to make super capacitor provide a stable voltage circuit for electromagnetic catapult. The Simulink simulation results show that the designed hybrid energy storage system can meet the requirements of electromagnetic catapult. Compared with the system powered by the battery alone, the proposed scheme can reduce the number of batteries, and greatly reduce the volume and weight of the energy storage system.

Absorption Voltages and Insulation Resistance in Ceramic Capacitors with Cracks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teverovsky, Alexander

2016-01-01

Time dependence of absorption voltages (Vabs) in different types of low-voltage X5R and X7R ceramic capacitors was monitored for a maximum duration of hundred hours after polarization. To evaluate the effect of mechanical defects on Vabs, cracks in the dielectric were introduced either mechanically or by thermal shock. The maximum absorption voltage, time to roll-off, and the rate of voltage decrease are shown to depend on the crack-related leakage currents and insulation resistance in the parts. A simple model that is based on the Dow equivalent circuit for capacitors with absorption has been developed to assess the insulation resistance of capacitors. Standard measurements of the insulation resistance, contrary to the measurements based on Vabs, are not sensitive to the presence of mechanical defects and fail to reveal capacitors with cracks. Index Terms: Ceramic capacitor, insulation resistance, dielectric absorption, cracking.

Enhanced dielectric constant and fatigue-resistance of PbZr0.4Ti0.6O3 capacitor with magnetic intermetallic FePt top electrode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, B. T.; Zhao, J. W.; Li, X. H.; Zhou, Y.; Bian, F.; Wang, X. Y.; Zhao, Q. X.; Wang, Y. L.; Guo, Q. L.; Wang, L. X.; Zhang, X. Y.

2010-06-01

Both FePt/PbZr0.4Ti0.6O3(PZT)/Pt and Pt/PZT/Pt ferroelectric capacitors have been fabricated on Si substrates. It is found that up to 109 switching cycles, the FePt/PZT/Pt capacitor, measured at 50 kHz, with polarization decreased by 57%, is superior to the Pt/PZT/Pt capacitor by 82%, indicating that an intermetallic FePt top electrode can also improve the fatigue-resistance of a PZT capacitor. Maximum dielectric constants are 980 and 770 for PZT capacitors with FePt and Pt, respectively. This is attributed to the interface effect between PZT film and the top electrode since the interfacial capacitance of FePt/PZT is 3.5 times as large as that of Pt/PZT interface.

High dynamic range charge measurements

DOEpatents

De Geronimo, Gianluigi

2012-09-04

A charge amplifier for use in radiation sensing includes an amplifier, at least one switch, and at least one capacitor. The switch selectively couples the input of the switch to one of at least two voltages. The capacitor is electrically coupled in series between the input of the amplifier and the input of the switch. The capacitor is electrically coupled to the input of the amplifier without a switch coupled therebetween. A method of measuring charge in radiation sensing includes selectively diverting charge from an input of an amplifier to an input of at least one capacitor by selectively coupling an output of the at least one capacitor to one of at least two voltages. The input of the at least one capacitor is operatively coupled to the input of the amplifier without a switch coupled therebetween. The method also includes calculating a total charge based on a sum of the amplified charge and the diverted charge.

Microstructure and dielectric properties of silver-barium titanate nanocomplex materials by wet chemical approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ueno, Shintaro; Sakamoto, Yasunao; Nakashima, Kouichi; Wada, Satoshi

2014-09-01

To develop ceramic capacitors with a high effective dielectric constant, we attempted to fabricate BaTiO3 (BT) complexes with embedded Ag nanoparticles by wet chemical processes. Ag nanoparticle-adsorbed dendritic BT particles, Ag-BT hybrid particles, were synthesized from the sol-gel-derived precursor gel powders containing Ag, Ba, and Ti by hydrothermal treatment. These particles were pressed with BT fillers and TiO2 precursor nanoparticles into green compacts, and then, the green compacts were chemically converted into the Ag/BT nanocomplex compacts in Ba(OH)2 aqueous solution under the hydrothermal condition at 160 °C. The effective dielectric constant of the resultant Ag/BT nanocomplexes increases with an increase in Ag content. The maximal effective dielectric constant of approximately 900 was recorded for the nanocomplex with the Ag content of 10.7 vol %.

Model-based correction for local stress-induced overlay errors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stobert, Ian; Krishnamurthy, Subramanian; Shi, Hongbo; Stiffler, Scott

2018-03-01

Manufacturing embedded DRAM deep trench capacitors can involve etching very deep holes into silicon wafers1. Due to various design constraints, these holes may not be uniformly distributed across the wafer surface. Some wafer processing steps for these trenches results in stress effects which can distort the silicon wafer in a manner that creates localized alignment issues between the trenches and the structures built above them on the wafer. In this paper, we describe a method to model these localized silicon distortions for complex layouts involving billions of deep trench structures. We describe wafer metrology techniques and data which have been used to verify the stress distortion model accuracy. We also provide a description of how this kind of model can be used to manipulate the polygons in the mask tape out flow to compensate for predicted localized misalignments between design shapes from a deep trench mask and subsequent masks.

Atomic layer deposition of high-density Pt nanodots on Al2O3 film using (MeCp)Pt(Me)3 and O2 precursors for nonvolatile memory applications

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Pt nanodots have been grown on Al2O3 film via atomic layer deposition (ALD) using (MeCp)Pt(Me)3 and O2 precursors. Influence of the substrate temperature, pulse time of (MeCp)Pt(Me)3, and deposition cycles on ALD Pt has been studied comprehensively by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Therefore, Pt nanodots with a high density of approximately 2 × 1012 cm-2 have been achieved under optimized conditions: 300°C substrate temperature, 1 s pulse time of (MeCp)Pt(Me)3, and 70 deposition cycles. Further, metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors with Pt nanodots embedded in ALD Al2O3 dielectric have been fabricated and characterized electrically, indicating noticeable electron trapping capacity, efficient programmable and erasable characteristics, and good charge retention. PMID:23413837

Self-powered wireless disposable sensor for welfare application.

PubMed

Douseki, Takakuni; Tanaka, Ami

2013-01-01

A self-powered urinary incontinence sensor consisting of a flexible urine-activated battery and a wireless transmitter has been developed as an application for wireless biosensor networks. The flexible urine-activated battery is embedded in a disposal diaper and makes possible both the sensing of urine leakage and self-powered operation. An intermittent power-supply circuit that uses an electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC) with a small internal resistance suppresses the supply voltage drop due to the large internal resistance of the battery. This circuit supplies the power to a wireless transmitter. A 315-MHz-band wireless transmitter performs low-power operation. To verify the effectiveness of the circuit scheme, we fabricated a prototype sensor system. When 80 cc of urine is poured onto the diaper, the battery outputs a voltage of 1 V; and the sensor can transmit an ID signal over a distance of 5 m.

Fractal serpentine-shaped design for stretchable wireless strain sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Wentao; Cheng, Xiao; Wang, Xiaoming; Zhang, Hailiang

2018-07-01

Stretchable sensors have been widely applied to biological fields due to their unique capacity to integrate with soft materials and curvilinear surfaces. The article presents the fractal serpentine-shaped design for stretchable wireless strain sensor which is operating around 1.6 GHz. The wireless passive LC sensor is formed by a fractal serpentine-shaped inductor coil and a concentric coplanar capacitor. The inductance of the fractal serpentine-shaped coil varies with the deformation of the wireless sensor, and the resonance frequency also varies with the applied strain of the wireless sensor embedded in soft substrate. The 40% stretchability of wireless sensor is verified by finite element analysis (FEA). Strain response of the stretchable wireless sensor has been characterized by experiments and demonstrates high strain responsivity about 6.74 MHz/1%. The stretchable wireless sensor has the potential to be used in biological and wearable applications.

Electrical properties of Bi2Mg2/3Nb4/3O7 (BMN) pyrochlore thin films deposited on Pt and Cu metal at low temperatures for embedded capacitor applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xian, Cheng-Ji; Park, Jong-Hyun; Ahn, Kyung-Chan; Yoon, Soon-Gil; Lee, Jeong-Won; Kim, Woon-Chun; Lim, Sung-Taek; Sohn, Seung-Hyun; Moon, Jin-Seok; Jung, Hyung-Mi; Lee, Seung-Eun; Lee, In-Hyung; Chung, Yul-Kyo; Jeon, Min-Ku; Woo, Seong-Ihl

2007-01-01

200-nm-thick BMN films were deposited on Pt /TiO2/SiO2/Si and Cu /Ti/SiO2/Si substrates at various temperatures by pulsed laser deposition. The dielectric constant and capacitance density of the films deposited on Pt and Cu electrodes show similar tendency with increasing deposition temperature. On the other hand, dielectric loss of the films deposited on Cu electrode varies from 0.7% to 1.3%, while dielectric loss of films on Pt constantly shows 0.2% even though the deposition temperature increases. The low value of breakdown strength in BMN films on Pt compared to films deposited on Cu electrode was attributed to the increase of surface roughness by the formation of secondary phases at interface between BMN films and Pt electrodes.

Quantum-enabled temporal and spectral mode conversion of microwave signals

PubMed Central

Andrews, R. W.; Reed, A. P.; Cicak, K.; Teufel, J. D.; Lehnert, K. W.

2015-01-01

Electromagnetic waves are ideal candidates for transmitting information in a quantum network as they can be routed rapidly and efficiently between locations using optical fibres or microwave cables. Yet linking quantum-enabled devices with cables has proved difficult because most cavity or circuit quantum electrodynamics systems used in quantum information processing can only absorb and emit signals with a specific frequency and temporal envelope. Here we show that the temporal and spectral content of microwave-frequency electromagnetic signals can be arbitrarily manipulated with a flexible aluminium drumhead embedded in a microwave circuit. The aluminium drumhead simultaneously forms a mechanical oscillator and a tunable capacitor. This device offers a way to build quantum microwave networks using separate and otherwise mismatched components. Furthermore, it will enable the preparation of non-classical states of motion by capturing non-classical microwave signals prepared by the most coherent circuit quantum electrodynamics systems. PMID:26617386

Miniaturization of metamaterial electrical resonators at the terahertz spectrum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karamanos, Theodosios D.; Kantartzis, Nikolaos V.

2014-05-01

An efficient methodology for the modification of electrical resonators in order to be readily applicable at the terahertz regime is developed in this paper. To this aim, the proposed miniaturization technique starts from the conventional resonator which, without any change, exhibits the lowest possible electrical resonance for minimum dimensions. Subsequently, a set of interdigital capacitors is embedded in the original structure to increase capaci- tance, while their impact on the main resonance is investigated through computational simulations. Furthermore, to augment the inductance of the initial resonator, and, hence reduce the resonance frequency, the concept of spiral inductor elements is introduced. Again, results for the featured configuration with the additional elements are numerically obtained and all effects due to their presence are carefully examined. Finally, the new alterations are combined together and their in influence on the resonance position and quality is thoroughly studied.

Reliability Modeling Development and Its Applications for Ceramic Capacitors with Base-Metal Electrodes (BMEs)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Donhang

2014-01-01

This presentation includes a summary of NEPP-funded deliverables for the Base-Metal Electrodes (BMEs) capacitor task, development of a general reliability model for BME capacitors, and a summary and future work.

A Simple, Successful Capacitor Lab

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ennis, William

2011-01-01

Capacitors are a fundamental component of modern electronics. They appear in myriad devices and in an enormous range of sizes. Although our students are taught the function and analysis of capacitors, few have the opportunity to use them in our labs.

Two-Capacitor Problem: A More Realistic View.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Powell, R. A.

1979-01-01

Discusses the two-capacitor problem by considering the self-inductance of the circuit used and by determining how well the usual series RC circuit approximates the two-capacitor problem when realistic values of L, C, and R are chosen. (GA)

A measurement technique of time-dependent dielectric breakdown in MOS capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, S. P.

1974-01-01

The statistical nature of time-dependent dielectric breakdown characteristics in MOS capacitors was evidenced by testing large numbers of capacitors fabricated on single wafers. A multipoint probe and automatic electronic visual display technique are introduced that will yield statistical results which are necessary for the investigation of temperature, electric field, thermal annealing, and radiation effects in the breakdown characteristics, and an interpretation of the physical mechanisms involved. It is shown that capacitors of area greater than 0.002 sq cm may yield worst-case results, and that a multipoint probe of capacitors of smaller sizes can be used to obtain a profile of nonuniformities in the SiO2 films.

A light-powered bio-capacitor with nanochannel modulation.

PubMed

Rao, Siyuan; Lu, Shanfu; Guo, Zhibin; Li, Yuan; Chen, Deliang; Xiang, Yan

2014-09-03

An artificial bio-capacitor system is established, consisting of the proton-pump protein proteorhodopsin and a modified alumina nanochannel, inspired by the capacitor-like behavior of plasma membranes realized through the cooperation of ion-pump and ion-channel proteins. Capacitor-like features of this simplified system are realized and identified, and the photocurrent duration time can be modulated by nanochannel modification to obtain favorable square-wave currents. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

40 CFR 761.2 - PCB concentration assumptions for use.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... assume that a capacitor manufactured prior to July 2, 1979, whose PCB concentration is not established contains ≥500 ppm PCBs. Any person may assume that a capacitor manufactured after July 2, 1979, is non-PCB (i.e., capacitor...

Pyrrole-Based Conductive Polymers For Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nagasubramanian, Ganesan; Di Stefano, Salvador

1994-01-01

Polypyrrole films containing various dopant anions exhibit superior capacitance characteristics. Used with nonaqueous electrolytes. Candidate for use in advanced electrochemical double-layer capacitors capable of storing electrical energy at high densities. Capacitors made of these films used in automobiles and pulsed power supplies.

NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) Power Processing Unit (PPU) Capacitor Failure Root Cause Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soeder, James F.; Pinero, Luis; Schneidegger, Robert; Dunning, John; Birchenough, Art

2012-01-01

The NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) project is developing an advanced ion propulsion system for future NASA missions for solar system exploration. A critical element of the propulsion system is the Power Processing Unit (PPU) which supplies regulated power to the key components of the thruster. The PPU contains six different power supplies including the beam, discharge, discharge heater, neutralizer, neutralizer heater, and accelerator supplies. The beam supply is the largest and processes up to 93+% of the power. The NEXT PPU had been operated for approximately 200+ hours and has experienced a series of three capacitor failures in the beam supply. The capacitors are in the same, nominally non-critical location the input filter capacitor to a full wave switching inverter. The three failures occurred after about 20, 30, and 135 hours of operation. This paper provides background on the NEXT PPU and the capacitor failures. It discusses the failure investigation approach, the beam supply power switching topology and its operating modes, capacitor characteristics and circuit testing. Finally, it identifies root cause of the failures to be the unusual confluence of circuit switching frequency, the physical layout of the power circuits, and the characteristics of the capacitor.

NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) Power Processing Unit (PPU) Capacitor Failure Root Cause Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soeder, James F.; Scheidegger, Robert J.; Pinero, Luis R.; Birchenough, Arthur J.; Dunning, John W.

2012-01-01

The NASA s Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) project is developing an advanced ion propulsion system for future NASA missions for solar system exploration. A critical element of the propulsion system is the Power Processing Unit (PPU) which supplies regulated power to the key components of the thruster. The PPU contains six different power supplies including the beam, discharge, discharge heater, neutralizer, neutralizer heater, and accelerator supplies. The beam supply is the largest and processes up to 93+% of the power. The NEXT PPU had been operated for approximately 200+ hr and has experienced a series of three capacitor failures in the beam supply. The capacitors are in the same, nominally non-critical location-the input filter capacitor to a full wave switching inverter. The three failures occurred after about 20, 30, and 135 hr of operation. This paper provides background on the NEXT PPU and the capacitor failures. It discusses the failure investigation approach, the beam supply power switching topology and its operating modes, capacitor characteristics and circuit testing. Finally, it identifies root cause of the failures to be the unusual confluence of circuit switching frequency, the physical layout of the power circuits, and the characteristics of the capacitor.

Protection of MOS capacitors during anodic bonding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schjølberg-Henriksen, K.; Plaza, J. A.; Rafí, J. M.; Esteve, J.; Campabadal, F.; Santander, J.; Jensen, G. U.; Hanneborg, A.

2002-07-01

We have investigated the electrical damage by anodic bonding on CMOS-quality gate oxide and methods to prevent this damage. n-type and p-type MOS capacitors were characterized by quasi-static and high-frequency CV-curves before and after anodic bonding. Capacitors that were bonded to a Pyrex wafer with 10 μm deep cavities enclosing the capacitors exhibited increased leakage current and interface trap density after bonding. Two different methods were successful in protecting the capacitors from such damage. Our first approach was to increase the cavity depth from 10 μm to 50 μm, thus reducing the electric field across the gate oxide during bonding from approximately 2 × 105 V cm-1 to 4 × 104 V cm-1. The second protection method was to coat the inside of a 10 μm deep Pyrex glass cavity with aluminium, forming a Faraday cage that removed the electric field across the cavity during anodic bonding. Both methods resulted in capacitors with decreased interface trap density and unchanged leakage current after bonding. No change in effective oxide charge or mobile ion contamination was observed on any of the capacitors in the study.

Pulse Power Capability Of High Energy Density Capacitors Based on a New Dielectric Material

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winsor, Paul; Scholz, Tim; Hudis, Martin; Slenes, Kirk M.

1999-01-01

A new dielectric composite consisting of a polymer coated onto a high-density metallized Kraft has been developed for application in high energy density pulse power capacitors. The polymer coating is custom formulated for high dielectric constant and strength with minimum dielectric losses. The composite can be wound and processed using conventional wound film capacitor manufacturing equipment. This new system has the potential to achieve 2 to 3 J/cu cm whole capacitor energy density at voltage levels above 3.0 kV, and can maintain its mechanical properties to temperatures above 150 C. The technical and manufacturing development of the composite material and fabrication into capacitors are summarized in this paper. Energy discharge testing, including capacitance and charge-discharge efficiency at normal and elevated temperatures, as well as DC life testing were performed on capacitors manufactured using this material. TPL (Albuquerque, NM) has developed the material and Aerovox (New Bedford, MA) has used the material to build and test actual capacitors. The results of the testing will focus on pulse power applications specifically those found in electro-magnetic armor and guns, high power microwave sources and defibrillators.

Testing and evaluation of different energy storage devices for piezoelectric energy harvesting under road conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gopalakrishnan, Pratheek

The increasing needs in green technology have propelled the rapid development in energy conversion and the advancement of electric energy storage systems. A viable storage technology is needed to store intermittent electrical energy in different electronic applications. In this thesis, recent progress on the chemistry and design of batteries is summarized with their challenges and improvements. Along with that, electrolytic capacitors are also reviewed with their types, advantages and disadvantages of each in short. Super capacitors having higher surface area and thinner dielectrics than conventional capacitors along with hybrid capacitors, are discussed in detail. The potential of a hybrid capacitor, Ni(OH)2/ Active Carbon, compared with Ni-Cd batteries and electrolytic capacitors in the application of energy storage for high way energy harvesting has been explored in this work. Both the battery and the hybrid capacitor has been tested under various experimental conditions and their properties in relation to their chemical compositions are compared. The results obtained from the experiments have been analyzed and the most suitable energy storage devices have been selected with their application potential evaluated before drawing conclusion reported in this thesis.

Physics Based Modeling and Prognostics of Electrolytic Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kulkarni, Chetan; Ceyla, Jose R.; Biswas, Gautam; Goebel, Kai

2012-01-01

This paper proposes first principles based modeling and prognostics approach for electrolytic capacitors. Electrolytic capacitors have become critical components in electronics systems in aeronautics and other domains. Degradations and faults in DC-DC converter unit propagates to the GPS and navigation subsystems and affects the overall solution. Capacitors and MOSFETs are the two major components, which cause degradations and failures in DC-DC converters. This type of capacitors are known for its low reliability and frequent breakdown on critical systems like power supplies of avionics equipment and electrical drivers of electromechanical actuators of control surfaces. Some of the more prevalent fault effects, such as a ripple voltage surge at the power supply output can cause glitches in the GPS position and velocity output, and this, in turn, if not corrected will propagate and distort the navigation solution. In this work, we study the effects of accelerated aging due to thermal stress on different sets of capacitors under different conditions. Our focus is on deriving first principles degradation models for thermal stress conditions. Data collected from simultaneous experiments are used to validate the desired models. Our overall goal is to derive accurate models of capacitor degradation, and use them to predict performance changes in DC-DC converters.

Impedance matching for repetitive high voltage all-solid-state Marx generator and excimer DBD UV sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yonggang; Tong, Liqing; Liu, Kefu

2017-06-01

The purpose of impedance matching for a Marx generator and DBD lamp is to limit the output current of the Marx generator, provide a large discharge current at ignition, and obtain fast voltage rising/falling edges and large overshoot. In this paper, different impedance matching circuits (series inductor, parallel capacitor, and series inductor combined with parallel capacitor) are analyzed. It demonstrates that a series inductor could limit the Marx current. However, the discharge current is also limited. A parallel capacitor could provide a large discharge current, but the Marx current is also enlarged. A series inductor combined with a parallel capacitor takes full advantage of the inductor and capacitor, and avoids their shortcomings. Therefore, it is a good solution. Experimental results match the theoretical analysis well and show that both the series inductor and parallel capacitor improve the performance of the system. However, the series inductor combined with the parallel capacitor has the best performance. Compared with driving the DBD lamp with a Marx generator directly, an increase of 97.3% in radiant power and an increase of 59.3% in system efficiency are achieved using this matching circuit.

Microstrip Antenna Arrays on Multilayer LCP Substrates

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, Dane; Bairavasubramanian, Ramanan; Wang, Guoan; Kingsley, Nickolas D.; Papapolymerou, Ioannis; Tenteris, Emmanouil M.; DeJean, Gerald; Li, RonglLin

2007-01-01

A research and development effort now underway is directed toward satisfying requirements for a new type of relatively inexpensive, lightweight, microwave antenna array and associated circuitry packaged in a thin, flexible sheet that can readily be mounted on a curved or flat rigid or semi-rigid surface. A representative package of this type consists of microwave antenna circuitry embedded in and/or on a multilayer liquid- crystal polymer (LCP) substrate. The circuitry typically includes an array of printed metal microstrip patch antenna elements and their feedlines on one or more of the LCP layer(s). The circuitry can also include such components as electrostatically actuated microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) switches for connecting and disconnecting antenna elements and feedlines. In addition, the circuitry can include switchable phase shifters described below. LCPs were chosen over other flexible substrate materials because they have properties that are especially attractive for high-performance microwave applications. These properties include low permittivity, low loss tangent, low water-absorption coefficient, and low cost. By means of heat treatments, their coefficients of thermal expansion can be tailored to make them more amenable to integration into packages that include other materials. The nature of the flexibility of LCPs is such that large LCP sheets containing antenna arrays can be rolled up, then later easily unrolled and deployed. Figure 1 depicts a prototype three- LCP-layer package containing two four-element, dual-polarization microstrip-patch arrays: one for a frequency of 14 GHz, the other for a frequency of 35 GHz. The 35-GHz patches are embedded on top surface of the middle [15-mil (approx.0.13-mm)-thick] LCP layer; the 14- GHz patches are placed on the top surface of the upper [9-mil (approx. 0.23-mm)-thick] LCP layer. The particular choice of LCP layer thicknesses was made on the basis of extensive analysis of the effects of the thicknesses on cross-polarization levels, bandwidth, and efficiency at each frequency.

Development of a High Energy Density Capacitor for Plasma Thrusters.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-10-01

AD-A091 839 MAXWELL LAOS INC SAN DIEGO CA FIG 81/3 DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGH ENERGY DENSITY CAPACITOR FOR PLASMA THRUS--ETC(U) OCT 80 A RAMRUS FO*611-77...of the program was the investigation of certain capacitor impregnants and their influence on high energy density capacitors which are employed in...PERIOD 1704,60~ 13 DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGH ENERGY DENSITY CAPA- Final Technical Report CITOR FOR PLASMA THRUSTERS July 1977 - May 1980 6 PERFORMING

Flexible and weaveable capacitor wire based on a carbon nanocomposite fiber.

PubMed

Ren, Jing; Bai, Wenyu; Guan, Guozhen; Zhang, Ye; Peng, Huisheng

2013-11-06

A flexible and weaveable electric double-layer capacitor wire is developed by twisting two aligned carbon nanotube/ordered mesoporous carbon composite fibers with remarkable mechanical and electronic properties as electrodes. This capacitor wire exhibits high specific capacitance and long life stability. Compared with the conventional planar structure, the capacitor wire is also lightweight and can be integrated into various textile structures that are particularly promising for portable and wearable electronic devices. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

High Energy Density Capacitors for Pulsed Power Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-07-01

As a result of this effort, the US Military has access to capacitors that are about a third the size and half the cost of the capacitors that were...resistor in terms of shock and vibration, mounting requirements, total volume, system reliability, and cost . All of these parameters were improved...it t tipo ymer m qua y an capac or cons ruc on. Energy Density of 10,000 Shot High Efficiency Pulse Power Capacitors The primary driver was 1 5

Method and Circuit for Injecting a Precise Amount of Charge onto a Circuit Node

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hancock, Bruce R. (Inventor)

2016-01-01

A method and circuit for injecting charge into a circuit node, comprising (a) resetting a capacitor's voltage through a first transistor; (b) after the resetting, pre-charging the capacitor through the first transistor; and (c) after the pre-charging, further charging the capacitor through a second transistor, wherein the second transistor is connected between the capacitor and a circuit node, and the further charging draws charge through the second transistor from the circuit node, thereby injecting charge into the circuit node.

Active energy recovery clamping circuit to improve the performance of power converters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Whitaker, Bret; Barkley, Adam

2017-05-09

A regenerative clamping circuit for a power converter using clamping diodes to transfer charge to a clamping capacitor and a regenerative converter to transfer charge out of the clamping capacitor back to the power supply input connection. The regenerative converter uses a switch connected to the midpoint of a series connected inductor and capacitor. The ends of the inductor and capacitor series are connected across the terminals of the power supply to be in parallel with the power supply.

Evaluation of a recycling process for printed circuit board by physical separation and heat treatment.

PubMed

Fujita, Toyohisa; Ono, Hiroyuki; Dodbiba, Gjergj; Yamaguchi, Kunihiko

2014-07-01

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) from discarded personal computer (PC) and hard disk drive were crushed by explosion in water or mechanical comminution in order to disintegrate the attached parts. More parts were stripped from PCB of PC, composed of epoxy resin; than from PCB of household appliance, composed of phenol resin. In an attempt to raise the copper grade of PCB by removing other components, a carbonization treatment was investigated. The crushed PCB without surface-mounted parts was carbonized under a nitrogen atmosphere at 873-1073 K. After screening, the char was classified by size into oversized pieces, undersized pieces and powder. The copper foil and glass fiber pieces were liberated and collected in undersized fraction. The copper foil was liberated easily from glass fiber by stamping treatment. As one of the mounted parts, the multi-layered ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), which contain nickel, were carbonized at 873 K. The magnetic separation is carried out at a lower magnetic field strength of 0.1T and then at 0.8 T. In the +0.5mm size fraction the nickel grade in magnetic product was increased from 0.16% to 6.7% and the nickel recovery is 74%. The other useful mounted parts are tantalum capacitors. The tantalum capacitors were collected from mounted parts. The tantalum-sintered bodies were separated from molded resins by heat treatment at 723-773 K in air atmosphere and screening of 0.5mm. Silica was removed and 70% of tantalum grade was obtained after more than 823K heating and separation. Next, the evaluation of Cu recycling in PCB is estimated. Energy consumption of new process increased and the treatment cost becomes 3 times higher comparing the conventional process, while the environmental burden of new process decreased comparing conventional process. The nickel recovery process in fine ground particles increased energy and energy cost comparing those of the conventional process. However, the environmental burden decreased than the conventional one. The process for recovering tantalum used more heat for the treatment and therefore the energy consumption increased by 50%, when comparing with conventional process. However, the market price for tantalum is very large; the profit for tantalum recovery is added. Also the environmental burden decreased by the recycling of tantalum recovery. Therefore, the tantalum recovery is very important step in the PCB recycling. If there is no tantalum, the consumed energy and treatment cost increase in the new process, though the environmental burden decreases. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of structure and morphology on thermal and electrical properties of polycarbonate film capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yen, S. P. S.; Lewis, C. R.

Research is reported to identify polycarbonate (PC) film characteristics and fabrication procedures which extend the reliable performance range of PC capacitors to 125 C without derating, and establish quality control techniques and transfer technology to US PC film manufacturers. The approach chosen to solve these problems was to develop techniques for fabricating biaxially oriented (BX) 2 microns or thinner PC film with a low dissipation factor up to 140 C; isotropic dimensional stability; high crystallinity; and high voltage breakdown strength. The PC film structure and morphology was then correlated to thermal and electrical capacitor behavior. Analytical techniques were developed to monitor film quality during capacitor fabrication, and as a result, excellent performance was demonstrated during initial capacitor testing.

Characteristics of Radio-Frequency Circuits Utilizing Ferroelectric Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eskridge, Michael; Gui, Xiao; MacLeod, Todd; Ho, Fat D.

2011-01-01

Ferroelectric capacitors, most commonly used in memory circuits and variable components, were studied in simple analog radio-frequency circuits such as the RLC resonator and Colpitts oscillator. The goal was to characterize the RF circuits in terms of frequency of oscillation, gain, etc, using ferroelectric capacitors. Frequencies of oscillation of both circuits were measured and studied a more accurate resonant frequency can be obtained using the ferroelectric capacitors. Many experiments were conducted and data collected. A model to simulate the experimental results will be developed. Discrepancies in gain and frequency in these RF circuits when conventional capacitors are replaced with ferroelectric ones were studied. These results will enable circuit designers to anticipate the effects of using ferroelectric components in their radio- frequency applications.

Fabrication and Testing of Polyvinylidene Fluoride Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buritz, R. S.

1980-01-01

High energy density capacitors made from metallized polyvinylidene fluoride film were built and tested. Terminations of aluminum-babbitt, tin-babbitt, and all-babbitt were evaluated. All-babbit terminations appeared to be better. The 0.1 microfarad and 2 microfarad capacitors were made of 6 micrometer material. Capacitance, dissipation factor, and insulation resistance measurements were made over the ranges -55 C to 125 C and 10 Hz to 100 kHz. Twelve of forty-one 0.1 microfarad capacitors survived a 5000 hour dc plus ac life test. Under the same conditions, the 2 microfarad capacitors exhibited overheating because of excessive power loss. Some failures occurred after low temperature exposures for 48 hours. No failures were caused by vibration or temperature cycling.

Simulation Analysis of DC and Switching Impulse Superposition Circuit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Chenmeng; Xie, Shijun; Zhang, Yu; Mao, Yuxiang

2018-03-01

Surge capacitors running between the natural bus and the ground are affected by DC and impulse superposition voltage during operation in the converter station. This paper analyses the simulation aging circuit of surge capacitors by PSCAD electromagnetic transient simulation software. This paper also analyses the effect of the DC voltage to the waveform of the impulse voltage generation. The effect of coupling capacitor to the test voltage waveform is also studied. Testing results prove that the DC voltage has little effect on the waveform of the output of the surge voltage generator, and the value of the coupling capacitor has little effect on the voltage waveform of the sample. Simulation results show that surge capacitor DC and impulse superimposed aging test is feasible.

Capacitor-based detection of nuclear magnetization: nuclear quadrupole resonance of surfaces.

PubMed

Gregorovič, Alan; Apih, Tomaž; Kvasić, Ivan; Lužnik, Janko; Pirnat, Janez; Trontelj, Zvonko; Strle, Drago; Muševič, Igor

2011-03-01

We demonstrate excitation and detection of nuclear magnetization in a nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) experiment with a parallel plate capacitor, where the sample is located between the two capacitor plates and not in a coil as usually. While the sensitivity of this capacitor-based detection is found lower compared to an optimal coil-based detection of the same amount of sample, it becomes comparable in the case of very thin samples and even advantageous in the proximity of conducting bodies. This capacitor-based setup may find its application in acquisition of NQR signals from the surface layers on conducting bodies or in a portable tightly integrated nuclear magnetic resonance sensor. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Switching power supply

DOEpatents

Mihalka, A.M.

1984-06-05

The invention is a repratable capacitor charging, switching power supply. A ferrite transformer steps up a dc input. The transformer primary is in a full bridge configuration utilizing power MOSFETs as the bridge switches. The transformer secondary is fed into a high voltage, full wave rectifier whose output is connected directly to the energy storage capacitor. The transformer is designed to provide adequate leakage inductance to limit capacitor current. The MOSFETs are switched to the variable frequency from 20 to 50 kHz to charge a capacitor from 0.6 kV. The peak current in a transformer primary and secondary is controlled by increasing the pulse width as the capacitor charges. A digital ripple counter counts pulses and after a preselected desired number is reached an up-counter is clocked.

ELECTRONIC INTEGRATING CIRCUIT

DOEpatents

Englemann, R.H.

1963-08-20

An electronic integrating circuit using a transistor with a capacitor connected between the emitter and collector through which the capacitor discharges at a rate proportional to the input current at the base is described. Means are provided for biasing the base with an operating bias and for applying a voltage pulse to the capacitor for charging to an initial voltage. A current dividing diode is connected between the base and emitter of the transistor, and signal input terminal means are coupled to the juncture of the capacitor and emitter and to the base of the transistor. At the end of the integration period, the residual voltage on said capacitor is less by an amount proportional to the integral of the input signal. Either continuous or intermittent periods of integration are provided. (AEC)

Investigation into the Effects of Microsecond Power Line Transients on Line-Connected Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Javor, K.

2000-01-01

An investigation was conducted into the effect of power-line transients on capacitors used by NASA and installed on platform primary power inputs to avionics. The purpose was to investigate whether capacitor voltage ratings needs to be derated for expected spike potentials. Concerns had been voiced in the past by NASA suppliers that MIL-STD-461 CS06-like requirements were overly harsh and led to physically large capacitors. The author had previously predicted that electrical-switching spike requirements representative of actual power-line transient potentials, durations. and source impedance would require no derating. This investigation bore out that prediction. It was further determined that traditional low source impedance CS06-like transients also will not damage a capacitor, although the spikes themselves are not nearly as well filtered. This report should be used to allay fears that CS06-like requirements drive capacitor voltage derating. Only that derating required by the relatively long duration transients in power quality specification need concern the equipment designer.

Graphene-Based Flexible and Transparent Tunable Capacitors.

PubMed

Man, Baoyuan; Xu, Shicai; Jiang, Shouzheng; Liu, Aihua; Gao, Shoubao; Zhang, Chao; Qiu, Hengwei; Li, Zhen

2015-12-01

We report a kind of electric field tunable transparent and flexible capacitor with the structure of graphene-Bi1.5MgNb1.5O7 (BMN)-graphene. The graphene films with low sheet resistance were grown by chemical vapor deposition. The BMN thin films were fabricated on graphene by using laser molecular beam epitaxy technology. Compared to BMN films grown on Au, the samples on graphene substrates show better quality in terms of crystallinity, surface morphology, leakage current, and loss tangent. By transferring another graphene layer, we fabricated flexible and transparent capacitors with the structure of graphene-BMN-graphene. The capacitors show a large dielectric constant of 113 with high dielectric tunability of ~40.7 % at a bias field of 1.0 MV/cm. Also, the capacitor can work stably in the high bending condition with curvature radii as low as 10 mm. This flexible film capacitor has a high optical transparency of ~90 % in the visible light region, demonstrating their potential application for a wide range of flexible electronic devices.

A Noise Level Prediction Method Based on Electro-Mechanical Frequency Response Function for Capacitors

PubMed Central

Zhu, Lingyu; Ji, Shengchang; Shen, Qi; Liu, Yuan; Li, Jinyu; Liu, Hao

2013-01-01

The capacitors in high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) converter stations radiate a lot of audible noise which can reach higher than 100 dB. The existing noise level prediction methods are not satisfying enough. In this paper, a new noise level prediction method is proposed based on a frequency response function considering both electrical and mechanical characteristics of capacitors. The electro-mechanical frequency response function (EMFRF) is defined as the frequency domain quotient of the vibration response and the squared capacitor voltage, and it is obtained from impulse current experiment. Under given excitations, the vibration response of the capacitor tank is the product of EMFRF and the square of the given capacitor voltage in frequency domain, and the radiated audible noise is calculated by structure acoustic coupling formulas. The noise level under the same excitations is also measured in laboratory, and the results are compared with the prediction. The comparison proves that the noise prediction method is effective. PMID:24349105

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wilke, Rudeger H. T.; Baker, Amanda; Brown-Shaklee, Harlan

Here, alkali-free glasses, which exhibit high energy storage densities (~35 J/cc), present a unique opportunity to couple high temperature stability with high breakdown strength, and thus provide an avenue for capacitor applications with stringent temperature and power requirements. Realizing the potential of these materials in kilovolt class capacitors with >1 J/cc recoverable energy density requires novel packaging strategies that incorporate these extremely fragile dielectrics. In this paper, we demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating wound capacitors using 50-μm-thick glass. Two capacitors were fabricated from 2.8-m-long ribbons of thin (50 μm) glass wound into 125-140-mm-diameter spools. The capacitors exhibit a capacitance ofmore » 70-75 nF with loss tangents below 1%. The wound capacitors can operate up to 1 kV and show excellent temperature stability to 150 °C. By improving the end terminations, the self-resonance can be shifted to above 1 MHz, indicating that these materials may be useful for pulsed power applications with microsecond discharge times.« less

Voltage control in pulsed system by predict-ahead control

DOEpatents

Payne, Anthony N.; Watson, James A.; Sampayan, Stephen E.

1994-01-01

A method and apparatus for predict-ahead pulse-to-pulse voltage control in a pulsed power supply system is disclosed. A DC power supply network is coupled to a resonant charging network via a first switch. The resonant charging network is coupled at a node to a storage capacitor. An output load is coupled to the storage capacitor via a second switch. A de-Q-ing network is coupled to the resonant charging network via a third switch. The trigger for the third switch is a derived function of the initial voltage of the power supply network, the initial voltage of the storage capacitor, and the present voltage of the storage capacitor. A first trigger closes the first switch and charges the capacitor. The third trigger is asserted according to the derived function to close the third switch. When the third switch is closed, the first switch opens and voltage on the node is regulated. The second trigger may be thereafter asserted to discharge the capacitor into the output load.

Voltage control in pulsed system by predict-ahead control

DOEpatents

Payne, A.N.; Watson, J.A.; Sampayan, S.E.

1994-09-13

A method and apparatus for predict-ahead pulse-to-pulse voltage control in a pulsed power supply system is disclosed. A DC power supply network is coupled to a resonant charging network via a first switch. The resonant charging network is coupled at a node to a storage capacitor. An output load is coupled to the storage capacitor via a second switch. A de-Q-ing network is coupled to the resonant charging network via a third switch. The trigger for the third switch is a derived function of the initial voltage of the power supply network, the initial voltage of the storage capacitor, and the present voltage of the storage capacitor. A first trigger closes the first switch and charges the capacitor. The third trigger is asserted according to the derived function to close the third switch. When the third switch is closed, the first switch opens and voltage on the node is regulated. The second trigger may be thereafter asserted to discharge the capacitor into the output load. 4 figs.

Two integrator loop quadrature oscillators: A review.

PubMed

Soliman, Ahmed M

2013-01-01

A review of the two integrator loop oscillator circuits providing two quadrature sinusoidal output voltages is given. All the circuits considered employ the minimum number of capacitors namely two except one circuit which uses three capacitors. The circuits considered are classified to four different classes. The first class includes floating capacitors and floating resistors and the active building blocks realizing these circuits are the Op Amp or the OTRA. The second class employs grounded capacitors and includes floating resistors and the active building blocks realizing these circuits are the DCVC or the unity gain cells or the CFOA. The third class employs grounded capacitors and grounded resistors and the active building blocks realizing these circuits are the CCII. The fourth class employs grounded capacitors and no resistors and the active building blocks realizing these circuits are the TA. Transformation methods showing the generation of different classes from each other is given in details and this is one of the main objectives of this paper.

A noise level prediction method based on electro-mechanical frequency response function for capacitors.

PubMed

Zhu, Lingyu; Ji, Shengchang; Shen, Qi; Liu, Yuan; Li, Jinyu; Liu, Hao

2013-01-01

The capacitors in high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) converter stations radiate a lot of audible noise which can reach higher than 100 dB. The existing noise level prediction methods are not satisfying enough. In this paper, a new noise level prediction method is proposed based on a frequency response function considering both electrical and mechanical characteristics of capacitors. The electro-mechanical frequency response function (EMFRF) is defined as the frequency domain quotient of the vibration response and the squared capacitor voltage, and it is obtained from impulse current experiment. Under given excitations, the vibration response of the capacitor tank is the product of EMFRF and the square of the given capacitor voltage in frequency domain, and the radiated audible noise is calculated by structure acoustic coupling formulas. The noise level under the same excitations is also measured in laboratory, and the results are compared with the prediction. The comparison proves that the noise prediction method is effective.

Non-contact tamper sensing by electronic means

DOEpatents

Gritton, Dale G.

1993-01-01

A tamper-sensing system for an electronic tag 10 which is to be fixed to a surface 11 of an article 12, the tamper-sensing system comprising a capacitor having two non-contacting, capacitively-coupled elements 16, 19. Fixing of the body to the article will establish a precise location of the capacitor elements 16 and 19 relative to each other. When interrogated, the tag will generate a tamper-sensing signal having a value which is a function of the amount of capacity of the capacitor elements. The precise relative location of the capacitor elements cannot be duplicated if the tag is removed and affixed to a surrogate article having a fiducial capacitor element 19 fixed thereto. A very small displacement, in the order of 2-10 microns, of the capacitor elements relative to each other if the tag body is removed and fixed to a surrogate article will result in the tamper-sensing signal having a different, and detectable, value when the tag is interrogated.

Investigation Into The Effects of Microsecond Power Line Transients On Line-Connected Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Javor, Ken

1999-01-01

An investigation was conducted into the effect of power-line transients on capacitors used by NASA and installed on platform primary power inputs to avionics. The purpose was to investigate whether capacitor voltage rating needs to be derated for expected spike potentials. Concerns had been voiced in the past by NASA suppliers that MIL-STD-461 CS06-like requirements were overly harsh and led to physically large capacitors. The author had previously predicted that electrical-switching spike requirements representative of actual power-line transient potentials, durations and source impedance would require no derating. This investigation bore out that prediction. It was further determined that traditional low source impedance CS06-like transients also will not damage a capacitor, although the spikes themselves are not nearly as well filtered. This report should be used to allay fears that CS06-like requirements drive capacitor voltage derating. Only that derating required by the relatively long duration transients in power quality specification need concern the equipment designer.

High-Temperature Capacitor Polymer Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Daniel; Zhang, Lili; Chen, Qin; Irwin, Patricia

2014-12-01

Film capacitor technology has been under development for over half a century to meet various applications such as direct-current link capacitors for transportation, converters/inverters for power electronics, controls for deep well drilling of oil and gas, direct energy weapons for military use, and high-frequency coupling circuitry. The biaxially oriented polypropylene film capacitor remains the state-of-the-art technology; however, it is not able to meet increasing demand for high-temperature (>125°C) applications. A number of dielectric materials capable of operating at high temperatures (>140°C) have attracted investigation, and their modifications are being pursued to achieve higher volumetric efficiency as well. This paper highlights the status of polymer dielectric film development and its feasibility for capacitor applications. High-temperature polymers such as polyetherimide (PEI), polyimide, and polyetheretherketone were the focus of our studies. PEI film was found to be the preferred choice for high-temperature film capacitor development due to its thermal stability, dielectric properties, and scalability.

Advanced Capacitor with SiC for High Temperature Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsao, B. H.; Ramalingam, M. L.; Bhattacharya, R. S.; Carr, Sandra Fries

1994-07-01

An advanced capacitor using SiC as the dielectric material has been developed for high temperature, high power, and high density electronic components for aircraft and aerospace application. The conventional capacitor consists of a large number of metallized polysulfone films that are arranged in parallel and enclosed in a sealed metal case. However, problems with electrical failure, thermal failure, and dielectric flow were experienced by Air Force suppliers for the component and subsystem for lack of suitable properties of the dielectric material. The high breakdown electrical field, high thermal conductivity, and high temperature operational resistance of SiC compared to similar properties of the conventional ceramic and polymer capacitor would make it a better choice for a high temperature, and high power capacitor. The quality of the SiC film was evaluated. The electrical parameters, such as the capacitance, dissipation factor, equivalent series resistance, and dielectric withstand voltage, were evaluated. The prototypical capacitors are currently being fabricated using SiC film.

AFM characterization of model nuclear fuel oxide multilayer structures modified by heavy ion beam irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hawley, M. E.; Devlin, D. J.; Reichhardt, C. J.; Sickafus, K. E.; Usov, I. O.; Valdez, J. A.; Wang, Y. Q.

2010-10-01

This work explored a potential new model dispersion fuel form consisting of an actinide material embedded in a radiation tolerant matrix that captures fission products (FPs) and is easily separated chemically as waste from the fuel material. To understand the stability of this proposed dispersion fuel form design, an idealized model system composed of a multilayer film was studied. This system consisted of a tri-layer structure of an MgO layer sandwiched between two HfO 2 layers. HfO 2 served as a surrogate fissile material for UO 2 while MgO represented a stable, fissile product (FP) getter that is easily separated from the fissile material. This type of multilayer film structure allowed us to control the size of and spacing between each layer. The films were grown at room temperature by e-beam deposition on a Si(1 1 1) substrate and post-annealed annealing at a range of temperatures to crystallize the HfO 2 layers. The 550 °C annealed sample was subsequently irradiated with 10 MeV Au 3+ ions at a range of fluences from 5 × 10 13 to 3.74 × 10 16 ions/cm 2. Separate single layer constituent films and the substrate were also irradiated at 5 × 10 15 and 8 × 10 14 and 2 × 10 16, respectively. After annealing and irradiation, the samples were characterized using atomic force imaging techniques to determine local changes in microstructure and mechanical properties. All samples annealed above 550 °C cracked. From the AFM results we observed both crack healing and significant modification of the surface at higher fluences.

Characterization of casein and poly-L-arginine multilayer films.

PubMed

Szyk-Warszyńska, Lilianna; Kilan, Katarzyna; Socha, Robert P

2014-06-01

Thin films containing casein appear to be a promising material for coatings used in the medical area to promote biomineralization. α- and β-casein and poly-L-arginine multilayer films were formed by the layer-by layer technique and their thickness and mass were analyzed by ellipsometry and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D). (PLArg/casein) films deposited in 0.15M NaCl exhibit fast (exponential-like) growth of the film thickness with the number of layers. The resulting films were c.a. 10 times thicker than obtained for poly-L-arginine and natural polyanions. We investigated the effect of the type of casein used for the film formation, finding that films with α-casein were slightly thicker than ones with β-casein. The effect of polyethylene imine anchoring layer on the thickness and mass of adsorbed films was similar as for linear polyelectrolyte pairs. Thickness of "wet" films was c.a. two times larger than measured after drying that suggests their large hydration. The analysis of the mass of films during their post-treatment with the solutions of various ionic strength and pH provided the information concerning films stability. Films remain stable in the neutral and weakly basic conditions that includes HEPES buffer, which is widely used in cell culture and biomedical experiments. At the conditions of high ionic strength films swell but their swelling is reversible. Films containing caseins as polyanion appear to be more elastic and the same time more viscous than one formed with polyelectrolyte pairs. XPS elemental analysis confirmed binding of calcium ions by the casein embedded in the multilayers. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Establishment and characterization of immortalized gingival epithelial and fibroblastic cell lines for the development of organotypic cultures.

PubMed

Bao, Kai; Akguel, Baki; Bostanci, Nagihan

2014-01-01

In vitro studies using 3D co-cultures of gingival cells can resemble their in vivo counterparts much better than 2D models that typically only utilize monolayer cultures with short-living primary cells. However, the use of 3D gingival models is still limited through lack of appropriate cell lines. We aimed to establish immortalized cell line models of primary human gingival epithelium keratinocytes (HGEK) and gingival fibroblasts (GFB). Immortalized cell lines (HGEK-16 and GFB-16) were induced by E6 and E7 oncoproteins of human papillomavirus. In addition, 3D multilayered organotypic cultures were formed by embedding GFB-16 cells within a collagen (Col) matrix and seeding of HGEK-16 cells on the upper surfaces. Cell growth was analyzed in both immortalized cell lines and their parental primary cells. The expression levels of cell type-specific markers, i.e. cytokeratin (CK) 10, CK13, CK16, CK18, CK19 for HGEK-16 and Col I and Col II for GFB-16, were evaluated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Expansion of the primary cultures was impeded at early passages, while the transformed immortalized cell lines could be expanded for more than 30 passages. In 3D cultures, immortalized HGEK formed a multilayer of epithelial cells. qRT-PCR showed that cell-specific marker expression in the 3D cultures was qualitatively and quantitatively closer to that in human gingival tissue than to monolayer cultures. These results indicate that immortalized gingival fibroblastic and epithelial cell lines can successfully form organotypic multilayered cultures and, therefore, may be useful tools for studying gingival tissue in vitro. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Method of making a multi-electrode double layer capacitor having single electrolyte seal and aluminum-impregnated carbon cloth electrodes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Farahmandi, C. Joseph; Dispennette, John M.; Blank, Edward

A method of making a double layer capacitior includes first and second flat stacks of electrodes adapted to be housed in a closeable two-part capacitor case which includes only a single electrolyte seal. Each electrode stack has a plurality of electrodes connected in parallel, with the electrodes of one stack being interleaved with the electrodes of the other stack to form an interleaved stack, and with the electrodes of each stack being electrically connected to respective capacitor terminals. A porous separator is positioned against the electrodes of one stack before interleaving to prevent electrical shorts between the electrodes. The electrodesmore » are made by folding a compressible, low resistance, aluminum-impregnated carbon cloth, made from activated carbon fibers, around a current collector foil, with a tab of the foils of each electrode of each stack being connected in parallel and connected to the respective capacitor terminal. The height of the interleaved stack is somewhat greater than the inside height of the closed capacitor case, thereby requiring compression of the interleaved electrode stack when placed inside of the case, and thereby maintaining the interleaved electrode stack under modest constant pressure. The closed capacitor case is filled with an electrolytic solution and sealed. A preferred electrolytic solution is made by dissolving an appropriate salt into acetonitrile (CH.sub.3 CN). In one embodiment, the two arts of the capacitor case are conductive and function as the capacitor terminals.« less

30 CFR 7.64 - Technical requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... voltage that can be applied across an electric contact that discharges a capacitor shall not be greater...) Capacitor discharge. The blasting unit shall include an automatic means to dissipate any electric charge remaining in any capacitor after the blasting unit is deenergized and not in use. (j) Construction. Blasting...

30 CFR 7.64 - Technical requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... voltage that can be applied across an electric contact that discharges a capacitor shall not be greater...) Capacitor discharge. The blasting unit shall include an automatic means to dissipate any electric charge remaining in any capacitor after the blasting unit is deenergized and not in use. (j) Construction. Blasting...

30 CFR 7.64 - Technical requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... voltage that can be applied across an electric contact that discharges a capacitor shall not be greater...) Capacitor discharge. The blasting unit shall include an automatic means to dissipate any electric charge remaining in any capacitor after the blasting unit is deenergized and not in use. (j) Construction. Blasting...

76 FR 23837 - Certain Ceramic Capacitors and Products Containing Same; Notice of the Commission's Final...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-28

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation No. 337-TA-692] Certain Ceramic Capacitors and Products Containing Same; Notice of the Commission's Final Determination of No Violation of Section 337... ceramic capacitors and products containing the same by reason of infringement of various claims of United...

Are the Textbook Writers Wrong about Capacitors?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

French, A. P.

1993-01-01

Refutes a recent article which stated that the standard textbook treatment of two capacitors in series is wrong. States that the calculated capacitance is correct if measured immediately after a dc voltage is applied and that perhaps the effect is due to the choice of materials making up the capacitor. (MVL)

High Energy Density Capacitor Testing for the AFWL SHIVA

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-06-01

eliminate units that are subject to premature failure mechanisms. Actual application in the large parallel capacitor barik will be less demanding than...then the 90% confidence interval for the full 576 capacitor SHIVA barik indicates that the first failure will occur at approximately 50 shots whiCh

Precision capacitor has improved temperature and operational stability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brookshier, W. K.; Lewis, R. N.

1967-01-01

Vacuum dielectric capacitor is fabricated from materials with very low temperature coefficients of expansion. This precision capacitor in the 1000-2000 picofarad range has a near-zero temperature coefficient of capacitance, eliminates ion chamber action caused by air ionization in the dielectric, and minimizes electromagnetic field charging effects.

Electrode/Dielectric Strip For High-Energy-Density Capacitor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yen, Shiao-Ping S.

1994-01-01

Improved unitary electrode/dielectric strip serves as winding in high-energy-density capacitor in pulsed power supply. Offers combination of qualities essential for high energy density: high permittivity of dielectric layers, thinness, and high resistance to breakdown of dielectric at high electric fields. Capacitors with strip material not impregnated with liquid.

10 CFR 431.446 - Small electric motors energy conservation standards and their effective dates.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... full load efficiency Capacitor-start capacitor-run and capacitor-start induction-run Open motors... 10 Energy 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Small electric motors energy conservation standards and... EFFICIENCY PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT Small Electric Motors Energy Conservation...

10 CFR 431.446 - Small electric motors energy conservation standards and their effective dates.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... full load efficiency Capacitor-start capacitor-run and capacitor-start induction-run Open motors... 10 Energy 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Small electric motors energy conservation standards and... EFFICIENCY PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT Small Electric Motors Energy Conservation...

10 CFR 431.446 - Small electric motors energy conservation standards and their effective dates.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... full load efficiency Capacitor-start capacitor-run and capacitor-start induction-run Open motors... 10 Energy 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Small electric motors energy conservation standards and... EFFICIENCY PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT Small Electric Motors Energy Conservation...

Tantalum capacitor behavior under fast transient overvoltages. [circuit protection against lightning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zill, J. A.; Castle, K. D.

1974-01-01

Tantalum capacitors were tested to determine failure time when subjected to short-duration, high-voltage surges caused by lightning strikes. Lightning is of concern to NASA because of possible damage to critical spacecraft circuits. The test was designed to determine the minimum time for tantalum capacitor failure and the amount of overvoltage a capacitor could survive, without permanent damage, in 100 microseconds. All tested exhibited good recovery from the transient one-shot pulses with no failure at any voltage, forward or reverse, in less than 25 microseconds.

Device for detecting imminent failure of high-dielectric stress capacitors

DOEpatents

McDuff, George G.

1982-01-01

A device for detecting imminent failure of a high-dielectric stress capacitor utilizing circuitry for detecting pulse width variations and pulse magnitude variations. Inexpensive microprocessor circuitry is utilized to make numerical calculations of digital data supplied by detection circuitry for comparison of pulse width data and magnitude data to determine if preselected ranges have been exceeded, thereby indicating imminent failure of a capacitor. Detection circuitry may be incorporated in transmission lines, pulse power circuitry, including laser pulse circuitry or any circuitry where capacitors or capactior banks are utilized.

Electrical leakage detection circuit

DOEpatents

Wild, Arthur

2006-09-05

A method is provided for detecting electrical leakage between a power supply and a frame of a vehicle or machine. The disclosed method includes coupling a first capacitor between a frame and a first terminal of a power supply for a predetermined period of time. The current flowing between the frame and the first capacitor is limited to a predetermined current limit. It is determined whether the voltage across the first capacitor exceeds a threshold voltage. A first output signal is provided when the voltage across the capacitor exceeds the threshold voltage.