Performance enhancement of Scanning Electron Microscope using a Deep Convolutional Neural Network

We report noise reduction and image enhancement in Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) imaging while maintaining a Fast-Scan rate during imaging, using a Deep Convolutional Neural Network (D-CNN). SEM images of non-conducting samples without conducting coating always suffer from charging phenomenon, giving rise to SEM images with low contrast or anomalous contrast and permanent damage to the sample. One of the ways to avoid this effect is to use Fast-Scan mode, which suppresses the charging effect fairly well. Unfortunately, this also introduces noise and gives blurred images. The D-CNN has been used to predict relatively noise-free images as obtained from a Slow-Scan from a noisy, Fast-Scan image. The predicted images from D-CNN have the sharpness of images obtained from a Slow-Scan rate while reducing the charging effect due to images obtained from Fast-Scan rates. We show that using the present method, and it is possible to increase the scanning rate by a factor of about seven with an output of image quality comparable to that of the Slow-Scan mode. We present experimental results in support of the proposed method.

Metabolic Control of the FreeStyle Libre System in the Pediatric Population with Type 1 Diabetes Dependent on Sensor Adherence

Aims: To evaluate the relationship between daily sensor scan rates and changes in HbA1c and hypoglycemia in children. Methods: We enrolled 145 paediatric T1D patients into a prospective, interventional study of the impact of the FreeStyle Libre 1 system on measures of glycemic control. Results: HbA1c was higher at lower scan rates, and decreased as the scan rate increased to 15–20 scans, after which it rose at higher scan rates. An analysis of the change in hypoglycemia, based on the number of daily sensor scans, showed there was a significant correlation between daily scan rates and hypoglycemia. Subjects with higher daily scan rates reduced all levels of hypoglycaemia. Conclusions: HbA1c is higher at lower scan rates, and decreases as scan rate increases. Reductions in hypoglycemia were evident in subjects with higher daily scan rates.

Influences of Dielectric Constant and Scan Rate to Hysteresis Effect in Perovskite Solar Cell: Simulation and Experimental Analyses

In this work, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with different transport layers were fabricated to understand the hysteresis phenomenon under a series of scan rates. The experimental results show that the hysteresis phenomenon would be affected by the dielectric constant of transport layers and scan rate significantly. To explain this, a modified Poisson and drift-diffusion solver coupled with a fully time-dependent ion migration model is developed to analyze how the ion migration affects the performance and hysteresis of PSCs. The modeling results show that the most crucial factor in the hysteresis behavior is the built-in electric field of the perovskite. The non-linear hysteresis curves are demonstrated under different scan rates, and the mechanism of the hysteresis behavior is explained. Additionally, other factors contributing to the degree of hysteresis are determined to be the degree of degradation in the perovskite material, the quality of the perovskite crystal, and the materials of the transport layer, which corresponds to the total ion density, carrier lifetime of perovskite, and the dielectric constant of the transport layer, respectively. Finally, it was found that the dielectric constant of the transport layer is a key factor affecting hysteresis in perovskite solar cells.

Supercapacitor with electrodes based on high-purity single-walled carbon nanotubes

We studied a supercapacitor with high purity carbon paper electrodes [1] with a specific gravity of 20 g/m2. The specific capacitance of the electrode during assembly in a coin cell housing with an aqueous 6M KOH electrolyte, at a scan rate of 1 mV/s, is 52 F/g. The specific power is 195.42 W/kg and the specific energy is 0.19 W⋅h/kg at a scan rate of 100 mV/s, which is included in the region of supercapacitors in the Ragone plot.

Modelling of Electrode Size Influence on Electrochemical MHD Processes

The presented article describes a simulation of an electrochemical reaction in a presence of a magnetic field using a custom model implemented into Ansys Fluent. The influence of electrode size and the effect of scan rate is investigated further. The results show that the magnetic field can significantly increase mixing and transport of species towards the electrode, which results in higher obtained current densities. Additionally, this method can be used to control fluid flow in microfluidic devices.