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The pandemic has posed an intense threat to the mental health of younger adults. Despite significant efforts in studying various aspects of COVID-19, there is a dearth of evidence on how negative emotions are associated with behaviors. A comparison across associated factors to different negative emotions by means of a unified model is especially missing from the literature. This study was conducted by using the results of a survey conducted across 2,534 students enrolled in 7 states in the US. Various feelings such as sad, irritable, stress and guilt were analyzed in a unified model by means of seemingly unrelated regression (SUR). Questions were asked related to rationally limiting the spread of virus, and questions related to behaviors that seem to be extreme. Irrational behaviors, such as limiting exercise at home due to COVID-19 could be due to experiencing negative emotions, which distort the meaning of events for the students. That behavior, for instance, was found to be positively associated with various negative feelings. In addition, the results highlighted significant differences across emotions in terms of demographic characteristics such as gender and age, and various precautionary actions that students take, such as limiting outdoor activities or limiting social gathering. For instance, it was highlighted while avoiding a large group of people, in spite of its importance in curbing the spread of virus, is negatively associated with various negative emotions, taking a possible nonconsequential precaution of completely limiting all people outside the immediate family result in a higher level of negative emotions. Also, it was found that having a higher body mass index (BMI), self-rated worse health conditions, and limiting outdoor activities have detrimental effects on the mental health of students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a mid-wavelength infrared separate absorption and multiplication avalanche photodiode (SAM-APD) with 100% cut-off wavelength of ~ 5.0 µm at 200 K grown by molecular beam epitaxy was demonstrated. The InAsSb-based SAM-APD device was designed to have electron dominated avalanche mechanism via the band structure engineered multi-quantum well structure based on AlAsSb/GaSb H-structure superlattice and InAsSb material in the multiplication region. The device exhibits a maximum multiplication gain of 29 at 200 K under -14.7 bias voltage. The maximum multiplication gain value for the MWIR SAM-APD increases from 29 at 200 K to 121 at 150 K. The electron and hole impact ionization coefficients were derived and the large difference between their value was observed. The carrier ionization ratio for the MWIR SAM-APD device was calculated to be ~ 0.097 at 200 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this Letter, we report the demonstration of zinc ion-implantation to realize planar mid-wavelength infrared photodetectors based on type-II InAs/InAs1−xSbx superlattices. At 77 K, the photodetectors exhibit a peak responsivity of 0.68 A/W at 3.35 μm, corresponding to a quantum efficiency of 23.5% under Vb = −80 mV, without anti-reflection coating; these photodetectors have a 100% cutoff wavelength of 4.28 μm. With an R0 × A value of 1.53 × 104 Ω cm2 and a dark current density of 1.23 × 10−6 A/cm2 under an applied bias of −80 mV at 77 K, the photodetectors exhibit a specific detectivity of 9.12 × 1011 cm·Hz1/2/W. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a Zn-diffused planar mid-wavelength infrared photodetector based on type-II InAs/InAs1−xSbx superlattices. Both the superlattice growth and Zn diffusion were performed in a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition system. At 77 K, the photodetector exhibits a peak responsivity of 0.70 A/W at 3.65 μm, corresponding to a quantum efficiency of 24% at zero bias without anti-reflection coating, with a 50% cutoff wavelength of 4.28 μm. With an R0A value of 3.2 × 105 Ω cm2 and a dark current density of 9.6 × 10−8 A/cm2 under an applied bias of −20 mV at 77 K, the photodetector exhibits a specific detectivity of 2.9 × 1012 cm Hz1/2/W. At 150 K, the photodetector exhibits a dark current density of 9.1 × 10−6 A/cm2 and a quantum efficiency of 25%, resulting in a detectivity of 3.4 × 1011 cm Hz1/2/W. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report design, growth, and characterization of midwavelength infrared nBn photodetectors based on a type-II InAs/InAs1-xSbx superlattice on a GaSb substrate grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. An InAs/AlAs1-ySby/InAs/InAs1-xSbx superlattice design was used as the large bandgap electron barrier in the photodetectors. At 150 K, the photodetector exhibits a peak responsivity of 1.23 A/W, corresponding to a quantum efficiency of 41% at an applied bias voltage of −100 mV under front-side illumination, with a 50% cut-off wavelength of 4.6 μm. With an R × A of 356 Ω cm2 and a dark current density of 1.6 × 10−4 A/cm2 under an applied bias of −100 mV at 150 K, the photodetector exhibits a specific detectivity of 1.4 × 1011 cm Hz1/2/W. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two terminal extended short wavelength infrared heterojunction phototransistor based on type-II InAs/AlSb/GaSb on a GaSb substrate is designed, fabricated, and investigated. With the base thickness of 40 nm, the device exhibited a 100% cut-off wavelength of ∼2.3 μm at 300 K. The saturated peak responsivity value is 320.5 A/W at 300 K, under front-side illumination without any antireflection coating. A saturated optical gain of 245 at 300 K was measured. At the same temperature, the device exhibited a collector dark current density (at unity optical gain) and a DC current gain of 7.8 × 10−3 A/cm2 and 1100, respectively. The device exhibited a saturated dark current shot noise limited specific detectivity of 4.9 × 1011 cm·Hz1/2/W at 300 K which remains constant over a broad range of wavelengths and applied biases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human beings’ welfare is closely related to their social relationships, and lack of that relationship could result in social isolation and loneliness. Various types of loneliness have been discussed in the literature, but a sense of loneliness before death has received no attention. Thus, this study is conducted to better understand the mechanism and nature of that type of loneliness. The response of this study was “Do you worry that you may be alone when you are dying?”. After highlighting the most important features, to examine the true associations between various factors and a sense of loneliness, the pairwise interactions across various variables were considered. It was found, for instance, while attending religious service, having higher subjective life condition, and being older are negatively associated with the response, belief that success depends on God and higher income are positively associated with that feeling. Also, while married people are less worried about loneliness before death, this interacts with a myriad of factors. Similarly, positive associations were found across responses and a higher concern that those close with us won’t be with us, or those who we care about might not remember us after death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the operation of p-type side gate junctionless silicon transistor (SGJLT) in accumulation region through experimental measurements and 3-D TCAD simulation results. The variation of electric field components, carrier’s concentration and valence band edge energy towards the accumulation region is explored with the aim of finding the origin of SGJLT performance in the accumulation operational condition.Design/methodology/approach The device is fabricated by atomic force microscopy nanolithography on silicon-on-insulator wafer. The output and transfer characteristics of the device are obtained using 3-D Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD) Sentaurus software and compared with experimental measurement results. The advantages of AFM nanolithography in contact mode and Silicon on Insulator (SOI) technology were implemented to fabricate a simple structure which exhibits the behaviour of field effect transistors. The device has 200-nm channel length, 100-nm gate gap and 4 μm for the distance between the source and drain contacts. The characteristics of the fabricated device were measured using an Agilent HP4156C semiconductor parameter analyzer (SPA). A 3-D TCAD Sentaurus tool is used as the simulation platform. The Boltzmann statistics is adopted because of the low doping concentration of the channel. Hydrodynamic model is taken to be as the main transport model for all simulations, and the quantum mechanical effects are ignored. A doping dependent Masetti mobility model was also included as well as an electric field dependent model with Shockley–Read–Hall (SRH) carrier recombination/generation.Findings We have obtained that the device is a normally on state device mainly because of the lack of work functional difference between the gate and the channel. Analysis of electric field components’ variation, carrier’s concentration and valence band edge energy reveals that increasing the negative gate voltage drives the device into accumulation region; however, it is unable to increase the drain current significantly. The positive slope of the hole quasi-Fermi level in the accumulation region presents mechanism of carriers’ movement from source to drain. The influence of electric field because of drain and gate voltage on charge distribution explains a low increasing of the drain current when the device operates in accumulation regime.Originality/value The proposed side gate junctionless transistors simplify the fabrication process, because of the lack of gate oxide and physical junctions, and implement the atomic force microscopy nanolithography for fabrication process. The optimized structure with lower gap between gate and channel and narrower channel would present the output characteristics near the ideal transistors for next generation of scaled-down devices in both accumulation and depletion region. The presented findings are verified through experimental measurements and simulation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Si nanowires (SiNWs) as building blocks for nanostructured materials and nanoelectronics have attracted much attention due to their major role in device fabrication. In the present work a top-down fabrication approach as atomic force microscope (AFM) nanolithography was performed on Si on insulator (SOI) substrate to fabricate a single crystal p-type SiNW. To draw oxide patterns on top of the SOI substrate local anodic oxidation was carried out by AFM in contact mode. After the oxidation procedure, an optimized solution of 30 wt.% KOH with 10 vol.% IPA for wet etching at 63 °C was applied to extract the nanostructure. The fabricated SiNW had 70–85 nm full width at half maximum width, 90 nm thickness and 4 μm length. The SiNW was simulated using Sentaurus 3D software with the exact same size of the fabricated device. I–V characterization of the SiNW was measured and compared with simulation results. Using simulation results variation of carrier's concentrations, valence band edge energy and recombination generation rate for different applied voltage were investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of two important geometrical parameters, namely the thickness and source/drain extensions on the performance of low doped p-type double lateral gate junctionless transistors (DGJLTs). The three dimensional Technology Computer-Aided Design simulation is implemented to calculate the characteristics of the devices with different thickness and source/drain extension and based on that, the parameters such as threshold voltage, transconductance and resistance in saturation region are analyzed. In addition, simulation results provide a physical explanation for the variation of device characteristics given by the variation of geometric parameters, mainly based on investigation of the electric field components and the carries density variation. It is shown that, the variation of the carrier density is the main factor which affects the characteristics of the device when the device's thickness is varied. However, the electric field is mainly responsible for variation of the characteristics when the source/drain extension is changed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fabrication of Double gate (DG) and Single gate (SG) Junctionless silicon nanowire transistor (JLSNWT) was investigated in this research. The transistors used silicon nanowire patterned on lightly doped (105 cm-3) p-type silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer fabricated with an atomic force microscope (AFM) nanolithography technique. The top Si layer has a thickness of 90 nm and a resistivity (p) of 13.5-22.5 Ω cm. The modified RCA method implemented for sample preparation. The local anodic oxidation (LAO) followed by two wet etching steps, KOH etching for Si removal and HF etching for oxide removal, have implemented to reach the structures. The writing speed and applied tip voltage were held in 0.6 μm/s and 8.5 volt respectively. Scan speed was held in 1.0 |im/s. The etching processes were elaborately optimized by 30% wt. KOH + 10% vol. IPA in appropriate time, temperature and humidity. The structure is a gated resistor turned off based on a pinch-off effect principle, when essential positive gate voltage is applied and made a sufficiently large barrier in the gating region. Negative gate voltage is unable to make significant effect on drain current to drive the device into accumulation mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multi-gate n-type In0.53Ga0.47As MOSFET is fabricated using gate-first self-aligned method and air-bridge technology. The devices with different gate lengths were fabricated with the Al2O3 oxide layer with the thickness of 8 nm. In this letter, impact of gate length variation on device parameter such as threshold voltage, high and low voltage transconductance, subthreshold swing and off current are investigated at room temperature. Scaling the gate length revealed good enhancement in all investigated parameters but the negative shift in threshold voltage was observed for shorter gate lengths. The high drain current of 1.13 A/mm and maximum extrinsic transconductance of 678 mS/mm with the field effect mobility of 364 cm2/Vs are achieved for the gate length and width of 0.2 µm and 30µm, respectively. The source/drain overlap length for the device is approximately extracted about 51 nm with the leakage current in order of 10−8 A. The results of RF measurement for cut-off and maximum oscillation frequency for devices with different gate lengths are compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we have investigated the characteristics and transport features of junctionless lateral gate transistors via measurement and simulations. The transistor is fabricated using an atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanolithography technique on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer. This work develops our previous examination of the device operation by using 3D numerical simulations to offer a better understanding of the origin of the transistor operation. We compare the experimental measurements and simulation results in the transfer characteristic and drain conductance. We also explore the behavior of the device in on and off states based on the variation of majority and minority carriers' density, electric-field components, and recombination/generation rate of carriers in the active region of the device. We show that the device is a normally on device that can force the current through a depleted region ( off state) and uses bulk conduction instead of surface conduction. We also found that due to the lateral gate design, low-doped channel, and lack of the gate oxide the electrostatic squeezing of the channel effectively forces the device into the off state, but the current improvement by accumulation of carriers is not significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this letter, we investigate the fabrication of Silicon nanostructure patterned on lightly doped (1015 cm−3) p-type silicon-on-insulator by atomic force microscope nanolithography technique. The local anodic oxidation followed by two wet etching steps, potassium hydroxide etching for silicon removal and hydrofluoric etching for oxide removal, are implemented to reach the structures. The impact of contributing parameters in oxidation such as tip materials, applying voltage on the tip, relative humidity and exposure time are studied. The effect of the etchant concentration (10% to 30% wt) of potassium hydroxide and its mixture with isopropyl alcohol (10%vol. IPA ) at different temperatures on silicon surface are expressed. For different KOH concentrations, the effect of etching with the IPA admixture and the effect of the immersing time in the etching process on the structure are investigated. The etching processes are accurately optimized by 30%wt. KOH +10%vol. IPA in appropriate time, temperature, and humidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zinc sulphide (ZnS) nanoparticles were synthesized via simple, rapid and energy efficient microwave technique. The obtained nanoparticles were found to possess a cubic structure with an average particle size of less than 5 nm. By changing the microwave irradiationtime from 5 to 30 min, the average size of nanoparticles increased and a broader size distribution was obtained. The degree of crystallinity also increased with increasing irradiation time and reached to maximum at 25 min and then fell by rising further the irradiation time. The absorption spectra of prepared ZnS nanoparticles revealed a blue shift in the band gap energy with respect to the bulk counterpart owing to the quantum confinement effect. The photoluminescence study showed the emission intensity increased with increasing the irradiation time up to 25 min due to the increment in crystallinity of the obtained nanoparticles. Further study indicated that the microwave irradiation time has also influenced the electrical properties of nanoparticles, so that the DC conductivity increased from 1.08×10-6 to 1.67×10-4 S/m for irradiation time of 5-25min and decreased to 1.74×10-6 S/m for further irradiation time at 30 min. The dielectric constant showed a power law dispersion with no observed peak for all samples with different irradiation times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• High performance T2SLs-based heterojunction phototransistors were demonstrated. • The HPT exhibits an optical gain of 345.3 at 1.6 μm at room temperature. • A −3 dB cut-off frequency of 5.1 GHz was achieved at 150 K for the HPT. In this study, a comprehensive analysis of the n-p-n infrared heterojunction phototransistors (HPTs) based on Type-II superlattices has been demonstrated. Different kinds of Type-II superlattices were carefully chosen for the emitter, base, and collector to improve the optical performance. The effects of different device parameters include emitter doping concentration, base doping concentration, base thickness and energy bandgap difference between emitter and base on the optical gain of the HPTs have been investigated. By scaling the base thickness to 20 nm, the HPT exhibits an optical gain of 345.3 at 1.6 μm at room temperature. For a 10 μm diameter HPT device, a −3 dB cut-off frequency of 5.1 GHz was achieved under 20 V at 150 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resonant cavity enhanced heterojunction phototransistor based on InAs/GaSb/AlSb type-II superlattice grown by molecular beam epitaxy has been demonstrated. The resonant wavelength was designed to be at near 1.9 μm wavelength range at room temperature. An eleven-pair lattice matched GaSb-AlAsSb quarter-wavelength Bragg reflector was used in the RCE-HPT to enhance the photoresponse. The device showed the wavelength selectivity and a cavity enhancement of the responsivity at 1.9 μm at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• High-speed T2SLs based heterojunction phototransistors have been demonstrated. • The influence of different parameters on device performance has been investigated. • The trade-off between the high-speed performance and optical gain has been showed. In this study, high speed performance of heterojunction phototransistors (HPTs) based on InAs/GaSb/AlSb type-II superlattice with 30 nm base thickness and 50% cut-off wavelength of 2.0 μm at room temperature are demonstrated. We studied the relationship between −3 dB cut-off frequency of these HPT versus mesa size, applied bias, and collector layer thickness. For 8 μm diameter circular mesas HPT devices with a 0.5 μm collector layer, under 20 V applied bias voltage, we achieved a −3 dB cut-off frequency of 2.8 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high operating temperature mid-wavelength infrared pBn photodetector based on the type-II InAs/InAsSb superlattice on a GaSb substrate has been demonstrated. At 150 K, the photodetector exhibits a peak responsivity of 1.48 A/W, corresponding to a quantum efficiency of 47% at −50 mV applied bias under front-side illumination, with a 50% cutoff wavelength of 4.4 µm. With an R × A of 12 783 Ω cm2 and a dark current density of 1.16 × 10−5 A/cm2 under −50 mV applied bias, the photodetector exhibits a specific detectivity of 7.1 × 1011 cm Hz1/2/W. At 300 K, the photodetector exhibits a dark current density of 0.44 A/cm2 and a quantum efficiency of 39%, resulting in a specific detectivity of 2.5 × 109 cm Hz1/2/W. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the growth and characterization of mid-wavelength infrared type-II InAs/InAs1−xSbx superlattice photodiodes on GaSb substrates grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. At 150 K, the 50% cut-off wavelength is 5.0 μm, the dark current density is 3.3 × 10−4 A/cm2 under −20 mV bias, and the peak responsivity is 1.76 A/W corresponding to a quantum efficiency of 55% without anti-reflection coating. A specific detectivity of 1.2 × 1011 cm Hz1/2/W is achieved at 4.0 μm under −20 mV bias at 150 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of nanoengineered metallic complex mediums in the monitoring of urine is investigated in this study. As to the mediums used, nanoscaled thin films comprised of (i) copper nanohelix structures of two different numbers of helical turns and (ii) columnar thin films of copper nanorods of two different slanting angles grown over planar glass surface – a dielectric medium – are taken into account. Turbadar–Kretschmann–Raether (TKR) configuration is used to couple light with the metallic nanoengineered thin films, and the absorption spectra are monitored corresponding to two different optical wavelengths. The void regions in nanoengineered metallic films are filled up with urine as the analyte, which causes to alter the constitutive properties, resulting thereby shifts in the peaks in absorption spectra. Prominent shifts in absorption peaks corresponding to nanoengineered mediums infiltrated with urine essentially confirm prudent optical sensing characteristics of the devices under consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this research,a novel chromium-iron oxide (Cr 2 Fe 6 O 12 ) nanoparticle with rhombohedral symmetry was prepared by a simple thermal treatment method.Heat treatment was conducted using an electric cylinder furnace in an air atmosphere at temperatures between 773 and 923 K, where the produced chromium-ironoxide nanoparticles had different crystallite sizes ranging from 9 to 20 nm. The products were well characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), X-ray analysis (EDXA), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The samples demonstrated a magnetic behavior with unpaired electron spins, which was confirmed by using vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study reports the simple synthesis of MFe2O4 (where M=Zn, Mn and Co) nanostructures by a thermal treatment method, followed by calcination at various temperatures from 723 to 873K. Poly(vinyl pyrrolidon) (PVP) was used as a capping agent to stabilize the particles and prevent them from agglomeration. The pyrolytic behaviors of the polymeric precursor were analyzed by use of simultaneous thermo-gravimetry analyses (TGA) and derivative thermo-gravimetry (DTG) analyses. The characterization studies were conducted by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) confirmed the presence of metal oxide bands for all the calcined samples. Magnetic properties were demonstrated by a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), which displayed that the calcined samples exhibited different types of magnetic behavior. The present study also substantiated that magnetic properties of ferrite nanoparticles prepared by the thermal treatment method, from viewing microstructures of them, can be explained as the results of the two important factors: cation distribution and impurity phase of α-Fe2O3. These two factors are subcategory of the preparation method which is related to macrostructure of ferrite. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy showed the existence of unpaired electrons ZnFe2O4 and MnFe2O4 nanoparticles while it did not exhibit resonance signal for CoFe2O4 nanoparticles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

By introducing a double barrier design, a high performance InAs/InAsSb type-II superlattice mid-wavelength infrared photodetector has been demonstrated. The photodetector exhibits a cut-off wavelength of ~4.50 µm at 150 K. At 150 K and −120 mV applied bias, the photodetector exhibits a dark current density of 1.21 × 10−5 A/cm2, a quantum efficiency of 45% at peak responsivity (~3.95 µm), and a specific detectivity of 6.9 × 1011 cm·Hz1/2/W. The photodetector shows background-limited operating temperature up to 160 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

InAs/GaSb/AlSb type-II superlattice-based photodetectors, with 50% cut-off wavelength of 2.1 $\mu \text{m}$ and a −3 dB cut-off frequency of 4.8 GHz, are demonstrated, for 10 $\mu \text{m}$ diameter circular mesas under 15 V applied reverse bias. A study of the cut-off frequency with applied bias and mesa size was performed to evaluate some of the limiting factors of photodetectors high frequency performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monolithic integration of antimonide (Sb)-based compound semiconductors on Si is in high demand to enrich silicon photonics by extending the detection range to longer infrared wavelengths. In this paper, we have demonstrated the damage-free transfer of large-area (1×1 cm 2) narrow-bandgap Sb-based type-II superlattice (T2SL)-based thin-film materials onto a Si substrate using a combination of wafer-bonding and chemical epilayer release techniques. An array of Sb-based T2SL-based long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) photodetectors with diameters from 100 to 400 μm has been successfully fabricated using standard "top-down" processing technique. The transferred LWIR photodetectors exhibit a cut-off wavelength of ~8.6 μm at 77 K. The dark current density of the transferred photodetectors under 200 mV applied bias at 77 K is as low as 5.7×10 -4 A/cm 2 and the R×A reaches 66.3 Ω·cm 2, exhibiting no electrical degradation compared with reference samples on GaSb native substrate. The quantum efficiency and peak responsivity at 6.75 μm (@77 K, 200 mV) are 46.2% and 2.44 A/W, respectively. The specific detectivity (D*) at 6.75 μm reaches as high as 1.6×10 11 cm·Hz1/2 /W under 200 mV bias at 77 K. Our method opens a reliable pathway to realize high performance and practical Sb-based optoelectronic devices on a Si platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monodispersed spherical CdS nanoparticles embedded into polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) films are synthesized by using an in-situ gamma-irradiation-induced method. The formation mechanism of CdS nanoparticles capped by two united cells of PVA is purposed by means of surrounding the CdS nanoparticles with OH bonds of the PVA chain. CdS nanoparticles are found to possess an unusual orthorhombic structure in monoclinic crystalline PVA. The polymer matrix affords protection from agglomeration and controls the particle size. It is found that the distribution of the prepared nanoparticles increases and a narrower size distribution is observed when the gamma radiation is varied from 10 to 50kGy. While the average size of the nanoparticles is found to be less affected by the variation of the gamma radiation doses. The size range of the synthesized nanoparticles is 14±1nm. The optical absorption spectra of synthesized CdS nanoparticles in a polymer matrix reveal the blue shift in the band gap energy with respect to CdS bulk materials owing to quantum confinement effect. The photoluminescence study of nanocomposite films shows the green emission arising from the crystalline defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyimide/SiO2 composite films were prepared from tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and poly(amic acid) (PAA) based on aromatic diamine (4-aminophenyl sulfone) (4-APS) and aromatic dianhydride (3,3,4,4-benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride) (BTDA) via a sol-gel process in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP). The prepared polyimide/SiO2 composite films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The FTIR results confirmed the synthesis of polyimide (4-APS/BTDA) and the formation of SiO2 particles in the polyimide matrix. Meanwhile, the SEM images showed that the SiO2 particles were well dispersed in the polyimide matrix. Thermal stability and kinetic parameters of the degradation processes for the prepared polyimide/SiO2 composite films were investigated using TGA in N2 atmosphere. The activation energy of the solid-state process was calculated using Flynn-Wall-Ozawa's method without the knowledge of the reaction mechanism. The results indicated that thermal stability and the values of the calculated activation energies increased with the increase of the TEOS loading and the activation energy also varied with the percentage of weight loss for all compositions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A laser ablation technique is applied for synthesis of silver nanoparticles in different concentrations of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) aqueous solution. The ablation of high pure silver plate in the solution is carried out by a nanosecond Q-switched Nd:YAG pulsed laser. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy are implemented to explore the particles sizes. The effects of PVA concentrations on the absorbance of the silver nanoparticles are studied as well, by using a UV-vis spectrophotometer. The preparation process is carried out for deionized water as a reference sample. The comparison of the obtained results with the reference sample shows that the formation efficiency of nanoparticles in PVA is much higher and the sizes of particles are also smaller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]