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Raw data for pub. "Electrical and Optical Properties of Amorphous SnO2:Ta Films, Prepared by DC and RF Magnetron Sputtering: A Systematic Study of the Influence of the Type of the Reactive Gas"

The performance of Swiss based chemical and pharmaceutical companies regarding their working capital management and its underlying components, namely accounts receivable, inventories and accounts payable differs over time and between the single firms. The calculation of a cash potential for the year 2008 shows that 17 billion CHF is tied up in the companies’ balance sheets if they would realise the Swiss best practice performance. It has also been shown that in recent years Swiss chemical and pharmaceutical companies have a considerably higher working capital level compared to their European and US peers. The managerial implications for the achievement of best practice are the awareness of the top management, efficient processes on the operating level as well as an enhanced collaboration within the company as well as throughout the entire supply chain.

We report a noninvasive fluorescence microscopy method and demonstrate nanometer resolution along the optical axis. The technique is based on the influence of the microscope slide on the angular intensity distribution of fluorescence. Axial positions are determined by measuring the proportion of light emitted below the critical angle of total internal reflection, which behaves in a classical way, and light emitted above the critical angle, which is exponentially dependent on the distance of the fluorophore from the microscope slide.

We demonstrate that a recently developed coating comprised of superhydrophobic silicone nanofilaments can be selectively functionalized to yield well defined micrometer scale patterns of contrasting wettabilites (superhydrophobic/hydrophilic and amphiphobic/amphiphilic). Nanofilament ablation have been performed by near‐ultraviolet (UV) laser at 355 nm and with repetition rate of 10 kHz. This is a highly promising approach for open channel microfluidics and micro array analysis due to its simplicity, chemical and environmental stability of coating and low coast.

Protein adsorption and protein surface interactions have become an important research topic in recent years. Very recently, for example, it has been shown that protein clusters can undergo a surface-induced spreading after adsorption. Such phenomena emphasize the need of a more detailed insight into protein-silica interaction at an atomic level. Therefore, we have studied a model system consisting of a short peptide, a silica slab, and water molecules by means of classical molecular dynamics simulations. The study reveals that, besides of electrostatic interactions caused by the chosen charge distribution, the peptide interacts with the silica surface through formation of direct peptide-surface hydrogen bonds as well as indirect peptide-water-surface hydrogen bonds. The number of created hydrogen bonds varies considerably among the simulated structures. The strength of hydrogen bonding determines the mobility of the peptide on the surface and the internal flexibility of the adsorbed peptide.

The interaction of meso-tetrakis(p-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (TPPS) with bovine serum albumin (BSA) in neutral solution (pH 7.4) has been studied by means of absorption, steady-state fluorescence and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. The formation of TPPS–BSA complex was monitored by spectroscopic characteristic changes in Soret band absorption and fluorescence emission of TPPS. Applying the time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) method, BSA–TPPS interaction was also investigated by the fluorescence lifetime of tryptophan residues in BSA. The results demonstrate that deep UV laser-based fluorescence lifetime microscopy is useful for sensitive identification of protein interaction using intrinsic fluorescence.

For the preparation of high-quality CuInS2 absorber films, two film properties are decisive: large crystallites and compact film morphologies. In this work we investigate the influence of the deposition parameters discharge power and substrate bias, on the morphology and chemical composition of CuInS2 films, which were prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering (radio frequency) in H2S/Ar atmosphere. A lateral concentration distribution along the substrate axis, which is caused by the arrangement the copper and indium cathodes in our sputtering equipment, was used to study the influence of the Cu-to-In ratio on the film growth. At a Cu-to-In ratio of one, which can be adjusted by the discharge powers at the copper and indium target to be positioned at the middle of the substrate, the crystallites in the film are small in size and separated by crevices from each other. In order to achieve compact CuInS2 films, the negative substrate bias was varied systematically (-15V to -150 V). The influence of the ion assistance, i.e. the impact of positive argon ions onto the growing film, was investigated with respect to the chemical composition and the morphology of the films.

For the preparation of high-quality CuInS2 absorber films, two film properties are decisive: large crystallites and compact film morphologies. In this work we investigate the influence of the deposition parameters discharge power and substrate bias, on the morphology and chemical composition of CuInS2 films, which were prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering (radio frequency) in H2S/Ar atmosphere. A lateral concentration distribution along the substrate axis, which is caused by the arrangement the copper and indium cathodes in our sputtering equipment, was used to study the influence of the Cu-to-In ratio on the film growth. At a Cu-to-In ratio of one, which can be adjusted by the discharge powers at the copper and indium target to be positioned at the middle of the substrate, the crystallites in the film are small in size and separated by crevices from each other. In order to achieve compact CuInS2 films, the negative substrate bias was varied systematically (-15V to -150 V). The influence of the ion assistance, i.e. the impact of positive argon ions onto the growing film, was investigated with respect to the chemical composition and the morphology of the films.

We present recent work on a method for depositing silicone nanofilament coatings on surfaces under mild conditions in the gas or solvent phase. The coating shows exceptional properties in an application as a superhydrophobic coating. It can be applied to a variety of substrates, is optically transparent and intrinsically superhydrophobic with typical water contact angles of more than 160° and sliding angles below 20°. It shows exceptional long term stability towards solvents and aqueous solutions of varying pH as well as natural and artificial weathering. We review the coating techniques as well as the results of our studies on the structure and properties of a silicone nanofilament coating.