Next-generation micro-solid oxide fuel cells for portable devices require nanocrystalline thin-film electrolytes in order to allow fuel cell fabrication on chips at a low operation temperature and with high power outputs. In this study, nanocrystalline gadolinia-doped ceria (Ce0.8Gd0.2O1.9!x) thin-film electrolytes are fabricated and their electrical conductivity and thermodynamic stability are...

The initial stage of indium tin oxide (ITO) thin film growth, deposited by reactive thermal evaporation (RTE), was investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements. Five ITO thin films were deposited by RTE of an In:Sn alloy in the presence of added oxygen on heated oxide substrates (Ts=440 K), with film thickness as the deposition variable. Surface imaging as well as statistical a...

Sol-gel copolymer-templated mesoporous silica films with a thickness of 70 nm and interpore spacing of 4.34 nm were fabricated on gold layer covered glass substrates for application as a wavelength-interrogated surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor. The resonance wavelength (λ(R)) of the sensor with a solution sample was determined by absorptiometry at a given incident angle. A comparison betw...

ZnO films consisting of either polydisperse or monodisperse aggregates of nanocrystallites were fabricated and studied as dye-sensitized solar-cell electrodes. The results revealed that the overall energy-conversion efficiency of the cells could be significantly affected by either the average size or the size distribution of the ZnO aggregates. The highest overall energy-conversion efficiency o...

An X-ray microbeam study and a polycrystal finite element model of a 10 10 m2 section of a 1 m thick polycrystalline aluminum film on a silicon substrate are used to investigate the effect of microstructure on thermal stress variability. In the X-ray microbeam study, the grain orientations and deviatoric elastic strain field are measured at the subgrain level in the film during and after two th...

A new miniature interferometer has recently been developed for monitoring the changes of film thickness and refractive index, wherein a semiconductor laser and a photodiode detector are integrated to form a laser/detector hybrid. The laser light is collimated by a lens. When the laser light hits a film, it is reflected twice by the two interfaces between the film and the surrounding mediums. Th...

In this study, the influence of post deposition annealing steps (PDA) on the electrical resistivity of evaporated titanium/platinum thin films on thermally oxidised silicon is investigated. Varying parameters are the impact of thermal loading with maximum temperatures up to TPDA=700 °C and the platinum top layer thickness ranging from 24 nm to 105 nm. The titanium based adhesive film thickness ...

the current methods for treatment of cancers are inadequate and more specific methods such as gene therapy are in progress. among different vehicles, cationic liposomes are frequently used for delivery of genetic material. this investigation aims to prepare and optimize dotap cationic liposomes containing an antisense oligonuclotide (asodn) against protein kinase c alpha in non-small cells lung...

High-quality WS2 film with the single domain size up to 400 μm was grown on Si/SiO2 wafer by atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition. The effects of some important fabrication parameters on the controlled growth of WS2 film have been investigated in detail, including the choice of precursors, tube pressure, growing temperature, holding time, the amount of sulfur powder, and gas flow rate...

We report on conjugated polymer nanoparticles of polyfluorene that were formed to exhibit higher fluorescence quantum efficiency in film (68%) and reduce undesired emission peak wavelength shifts in film (by 20 nm), compared to the solid-state polymer thin film made directly out of the same polymer solution without forming nanoparticles. Using the facile reprecipitation method, solutions of pol...