Reduced defect recovery in self-ion damaged W due to simultaneous deuterium exposure during annealing

Deuterium (D) plasma exposure during annealing of self-ion damaged tungsten (W) is shown to exhibit reduced defect recovery when compared to annealing without D plasma exposure. In these experiments, samples were first damaged with 20 MeV W ions. Next, samples were annealed either with or without simultaneous D2 plasma exposure. The simultaneous annealed samples were first decorated by D2 plasma at 383 K prior to ramping up to an annealing temperature of 473, 573, 673, or 773 K and held for 1 hour with concurrent plasma exposure. The vacuum annealed samples each had a corresponding temperature history but without D$_2$ plasma treatment. Finally, all samples were exposed to D2 plasma at 383 K to decorate any remaining defects. Nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) and thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) shows that the simultaneous plasma-exposed and annealed samples exhibited virtually no defect recovery at annealing temperatures of up to 673 K, and had higher D retention than found in the vacuum annealed samples. TDS results indicate that only the lowest detrapping energy defects recover at an 773~K anneal for the simultaneous plasma annealed samples, while the vacuum annealed samples showed defect recovery at all anneal temperatures. This experiment clearly demonstrates that D occupied defects can significantly reduce or eliminate defect annealing in W, and is consistent with the existence of synergistic plasma exposure/displacement damage effects in fusion-energy relevant plasma facing materials.

Current – voltage measurements of Al/a-Se/Au Schottky diode solar cells

Schottky Diode (SD) Al/a-Se/Au as a solar cell (SC) was prepared by thermal evaporation technique (TET) on glass thin slide as a substrate under vacuum (10!" mbar). The Schottky Barrier (SB) have been prepared with different thicknesses (300, 500 and 700) nm in room temperature and (343) K annealing temperature. The current-voltage (IV) physical properties of the SB have got rectification properties and approved as a SC. This cell is developed with increased annealing temperatures and thickness of layers of SD. Experience under lighting shows good efficiency (η), which increased linearly with both thickness and annealing temperatures from (0.0318% to 4.064%) and from (0.0318% to 0.4778%). This is for three values of lighting power density (160, 230, 400) 𝑚𝑊/𝑐𝑚# in which the behave is similar. The best efficiency obtained in this work was (15.286)% at a power density of 400 𝑚𝑊/𝑐𝑚# , with thickness 700nm and 343K annealing temperature. Also (12.407)% at 230 𝑚𝑊/𝑐𝑚#, with thickness 500nm for the same annealing temperature.

Molecular and Structure–Properties Comparison of an Anionically Synthesized Diblock Copolymer of the PS-b-PI Sequence and Its Hydrogenated or Sulfonated Derivatives

An approach to obtaining various nanostructures utilizing a well-studied polystyrene-b-poly(isoprene) or PS-b-PI diblock copolymer system through chemical modification reactions is reported. The complete hydrogenation and partial sulfonation to the susceptible carbon double bonds of the PI segment led to the preparation of [polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene-alt-propylene)] as well as [polystyrene-b-poly(sulfonated isoprene-co-isoprene)], respectively. The hydrogenation of the polyisoprene block results in enhanced segmental immiscibility, whereas the relative sulfonation induces an amphiphilic character in the final modified material. The successful synthesis of the pristine diblock copolymer through anionic polymerization and the relative chemical modification reactions were verified using several molecular and structural characterization techniques. The thin film structure–properties relationship was investigated using atomic force microscopy under various conditions such as different solvents and annealing temperatures. Small-angle X-ray scattering was employed to identify the different observed nanostructures and their evolution upon thermal annealing.

Thermal Analysis of Metal-Organic Precursors for Functional Cu:ΝiOx Hole Transporting Layer in Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells: Role of Solution Combustion Chemistry in Cu:ΝiOx Thin Films Processing

Low temperature solution combustion synthesis emerges as a facile method for the synthesis of functional metal oxides thin films for electronic applications. We study the solution combustion synthesis process of Cu:NiOx using different molar ratios (w/o, 0.1 and 1.5) of fuel acetylacetone (Acac) to oxidizer (Cu, Ni Nitrates) as a function of thermal annealing temperatures 150, 200, and 300 °C. The solution combustion synthesis process, in both thin films and bulk Cu:NiOx, is investigated. Thermal analysis studies using TGA and DTA reveal that the Cu:NiOx thin films show a more gradual mass loss while the bulk Cu:NiOx exhibits a distinct combustion process. The thin films can crystallize to Cu:NiOx at an annealing temperature of 300 °C, irrespective of the Acac/Oxidizer ratio, whereas lower annealing temperatures (150 and 200 °C) produce amorphous materials. A detail characterization study of solution combustion synthesized Cu:NiOx, including XPS, UV-Vis, AFM, and Contact angle measurements, is presented. Finally, 50 nm Cu:NiOx thin films are introduced as HTLs within the inverted perovskite solar cell device architecture. The Cu:NiOx HTL annealed at 150 and 200 °C provided PVSCs with limited functionality, whereas efficient triple-cation Cs0.04(MA0.17FA0.83)0.96 Pb(I0.83Br0.17)3-based PVSCs achieved for Cu:NiOx HTLs for annealing temperature of 300 °C.

Role of Disordered Precursor in L10 Phase Formation in FePt-Based Nanocomposite Magnet

In order to prove the usefulness of having a structurally disordered precursor to the formation of FePt L10 phase and to facilitate the co-existence of exchange coupled hard and soft magnetic phases with optimized magnetic properties in various conditions of annealing, a Fe-Pt-Zr-B melt spun alloy has been synthesized and detailed structural and magnetic investigations have been undertaken to probe its phase evolution during annealing. The dynamics of formation of the hard magnetic L10 phase during the gradual disorder–order phase transformation has been monitored by using a complex combination of X-ray diffraction methods and 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy methods, over a wide range of annealing temperatures. Multiple phases co-existing in the annealed sample microstructures, observed in XRD, have been reconfirmed by the Mössbauer spectra analysis and, moreover, accurate quantitative data have been acquired in what concerns the relative abundance of each of the observed crystalline phases in every stage of annealing. It is shown that the formation of the hard magnetic phase, emerging from the chemically disordered precursor, is gradual and occurs via complex mechanisms, involving the presence of a disordered Fe-Zr-B-rich intergranular region which contributes to an increase in the abundance of the L10 phase for higher annealing temperatures. Magnetic measurements have confirmed the good performances of these alloys in terms of coercivity and remanence. These results contribute to the development of these alloys as the next generation of rare earth, free permanent magnets.

Optimization of DNA extraction and amplification of Kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum Hochst. ex Chiov) for molecular identification

Kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum Hochst. ex Chiov) is an important forage containing high crude protein for livestock. Molecular analysis of kikuyu relies on high yields of pure DNA and suitable PCR conditions. This research aimed to extract DNA from kikuyu based on weight of the sample and amplify the DNA of Burangrang accession using specific primers. 100 grams and 200 grams leaves of 3 accessions of kikuyu from Burangrang, Bukit Tunggul, and Tangkuban Perahu were extracted by Qiagen Mini Kit Plant. Concentration and purity of DNA were analyzed by NanoDrop Spectrophotometer 2000. DNA from Burangrang accession was amplified using six specific primers at different annealing temperatures. The result showed that the yield of DNA ranged 2.2 µg/µl to 21.4 µg/µl and the purity (ratio) were 1.08 to 2.01. Bukit Tunggul and Burangrang accession showed the same interaction pattern on the sample weight for concentration and purity. One hundred grams of leaves from Burangrang accession produce the highest concentration and the best purity of DNA, but no difference between other weight and accession. Reproducible amplifiable products were observed in all PCR reactions except primer K2. These results indicated that optimized protocol is suitable for further work on molecular identification of kikuyu.

ANNEALING TEMPERATURES’ EFFECTS ON MICROSTRUCTURE AND OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF Ba0.95Sr0.05TiO3 FILMS

ANNEALING TEMPERATURES’ EFFECTS ON MICROSTRUCTURE AND OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF Ba0.95Sr0.05TiO3 FILMS. Ferroelectric materials, one of which is Barium Strontium Titanate (BST), can be applied for photovoltaic. Ferroelectric films function as the P-type semiconductor in the P-N junction. BST (Ba0.95Sr0.05TiO3) films have been deposited on Pt/Si (111) and quartz substrates via the CSD method prepared by spin coater. The films were annealed at various temperatures of 800 °C, 900 °C, and 1000 °C to observe the annealing temperatures' effects on the microstructure and optical properties of the BST films. From the XRD results, the intensity of diffraction peaks gets higher along with the higher annealing temperature. It thus causes the level of crystallization and the crystal size of the Ba0.95Sr0.05TiO3 films to increase. The morphology results reveal that the grains size of the Ba0.95Sr0.05TiO3 films is getting larger with the higher annealing temperature. The optical properties examined in the Ba0.95Sr0.05TiO3 films include absorbance and bandgap energy values. Values of bandgap energy show a decrease with increasing sintering temperature. The smallest bandgap energy of the Ba0.95Sr0.05TiO3 film is achieved at 1000 °C of 3.20 eV. BST films were annealed at temperature 1000 °C attained from this study can be considered as candidate for a photovoltaic ferroelectric material.