Photo-enhanced field electron emission of cadmium sulfide nanowires

The response of field electron emission of cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanowires (NWs) to visible light has been investigated.It is found that,upon light illumination,the turn-on voltage drops,emission current increases obviously,and the Fowler-Nordheim behavior deviates from a straight line.A process of field emission coupled with semiconducting properties of CdS NWs is proposed.Photon-excited electron transition from the valence band to the conductance band of CdS nanowires increases the quantity of emitting electrons,and the photoemission decreases the effective work function of CdS emitters,which largely enhances the field emission performance.The response of field emission of CdS NWs to light illumination suggests an approach for tuning field emission of semiconductor emitters.

Phase Transformation and Enhancing Electron Field Emission Properties in Microcrystalline Diamond Films Induced by Cu Ion Implantation and Rapid Annealing

Cu ion implantation and subsequent rapid annealing at 500℃ in N2 result in low surface resistivity of 1.611 ohm/sq with high mobility of 290 cm2 V-1S-1 for microcrystalline diamond （MCD） films. Its electrical field emission behavior can be turned on at Eo = 2.6 V/μm, attaining a current density of 19.5μA/cm2 at an applied field of 3.5 V/#m. Field emission scanning electron microscopy combined with Raman and x-ray photoelectron mi- croscopy reveal that the formation of Cu nanoparticles in MCD films can catalytically convert the less conducting disorder/a-C phases into graphitic phases and can provoke the formation of nanographite in the films, forming conduction channels for electron transportation.

Field Emission from a Mixture of Amorphous Carbon and Carbon Nanotubes Films

A mixture of amorphous carbon and carbon nanotubes films was synthesized on stainless steel plates by a micro- wave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition system. The source gases were hydrogen and methane with flow rates of 100 and 16sccm,respectively,with a total pressure of 5.0kPa. The surface morphology and the structure of the films were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and Raman scattering spectroscopy. Field emission properties of as-deposited film were measured in a vacuum room below 5 ×10^ 5 Pa. The experimental results show that the initial turn-on field is 0. 9V/μm; The current density is 4.0mA/cm2 and the emission sites are dense and uniform at an electric field of 3.7V/μm. These results indicate that such a mixture of amorphous carbon and carbon nanotubes films is a promising material for field emission applications.

Electron Field Emission from Patterned Porous Silicon Film

Patterned porous silicon （PS） films were synthesised by using bydrogen ion implantation technique and typical electrochemical anodic etching method.The surface morphology and characteristics of the PS films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）,X-ray diffraction（XRD）,and atomic force microscopy （AFM）.The efficient electron field emission with low turn-on field of about 3.5V/μm was obtained at current density of 0.1μA/cm^2.The electron field emission current density from the patterned PS films reached 1mA/cm^2 under and applied field of about 12.5V/μm.The experimental results show that the patterned PS films are of certain practical significance and are valuable for flat panel displays.

Initiation of vacuum breakdown and failure mechanism of the carbon nanotube during thermal field emission

The carbon nanotube （CNT）-based materials can be used as vacuum device cathodes. Owing to the excellent field emission properties of CNT, it has great potentials in the applications of an explosive field emission cathode. The falling off of CNT from the substrate, which frequently appears in experiments, restricts its application. In addition, the onset time of vacuum breakdown limits the performance of the high-power explosive-emission-cathode-based diode. In this paper, the characteristics of the CNT, electric field strength, contact resistance and the kind of substrate material are varied to study the parameter effects on the onset time of vacuum breakdown and failure mechanism of the CNT by using the finite element method.

Synthesis of ZnO films with a special texture and enhanced field emission properties

ZnO films with special textures ave fabricated on Mo-coated Al2O3 ceramic substrates by the catalyst-free electron beam evaporation method, and the as-deposited films are treated by hydrogen plasma. It is found that the surface morphologies of the films are changed significantly after hydrogen plasma treatment and that the films consist of vertically standing and intersecting nanosheets. A lower turn-on field of 1.2 V/μm and an enhanced current density -0.11 mA/cm2 at 2.47 V/μm are achieved. The low threshold field and the high emission current density are attributed primarily to the unique shape and smaller resistivity of the ZnO nanosheet films.

Effect of nitrogen on deposition and field emission properties of boron-doped micro-and nano-crystalline diamond films

In this paper,we report the effect of nitrogen on the deposition and properties of boron doped diamond films synthesized by hot filament chemical vapor deposition.The diamond films consisting of micro-grains(nano-grains) were realized with low(high) boron source flow rate during the growth processes.The transition of micro-grains to nano-grains is speculated to be strongly(weekly) related with the boron(nitrogen) flow rate.The grain size and Raman spectral feature vary insignificantly as a function of the nitrogen introduction at a certain boron flow rate.The variation of electron field emission characteristics dependent on nitrogen is different between microcrystalline and nanocrystalline boron doped diamond samples,which are related to the combined phase composition,boron doping level and texture structure.There is an optimum nitrogen proportion to improve the field emission properties of the boron-doped films.

Field Emission of SiCN Thin Films Bombarded by Ar^+ Ions

SiCN thin films were synthesized by a radio frequency chemical vapor deposition (RFCVD) system on P\|type Si (1 0 0) wafers using C 2 H 4 , SiH 4 and N 2 as raw materials. In order to get rid of the oxygen absorbed on the surface and improve the characteristics of electron field emission, Ar + ions of low energy were used to bombard the samples. The field emission characteristics of SiCN thin films before and after Ar + bombardment were studied in the super vacuum environment of 10 -6 Pa. It was showed that the turn\|on field (defined as the point where the current\|voltage curve shows a sharp increase in the current density) decreased from 38 V/μm before bombardment to 25 V/μm after bombardment. And the maximum emission current density increased from 159.2 to 267.4 μA/cm 2 . The composition before and after Ar + bombardment was compared using X\|ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Our results illustrated that the field emission characteristics were improved after the bombardment of Ar + .

Simulation of Secondary Electron and Backscattered Electron Emission in A6 Relativistic Magnetron Driven by Different Cathode

Prticle-in-cell（PIC） simulations demonstrated that,when the relativistic magnetron with diffraction output（MDO） is applied with a 410 kV voltage pulse,or when the relativistic magnetron with radial output is applied with a 350 kV voltage pulse,electrons emitted from the cathode with high energy will strike the anode block wall.The emitted secondary electrons and backscattered electrons affect the interaction between electrons and RF fields induced by the operating modes,which decreases the output power in the radial output relativistic magnetron by about 15%（10%for the axial output relativistic magnetron）,decreases the anode current by about 5%（5%for the axial output relativistic magnetron）,and leads to a decrease of electronic efficiency by 8%（6%for the axial output relativistic magnetron）.The peak value of the current formed by secondary and backscattered current equals nearly half of the amplitude of the anode current,which may help the growth of parasitic modes when the applied magnetic field is near the critical magnetic field separating neighboring modes.Thus,mode competition becomes more serious.

Acoustical properties of a 3D printed honeycomb structure filled with nanofillers:Experimental analysis and optimization for emerging applications

The novelty of this research lies in the successful fabrication of a 3D-printed honeycomb structure filled with nanofillers for acoustic properties,utilizing an impedance tube setup in accordance with ASTM standard E 1050-12.The Creality Ender-3,a 3D printer,was used for printing the honeycomb structures,and polylactic acid(PLA)material was employed for their construction.The organic,inorganic,and polymeric compounds within the composites were identified using fourier transformation infrared(FTIR)spectroscopy.The structure and homogeneity of the samples were examined using a field emission scanning electron microscope(FESEM).To determine the sound absorption coefficient of the 3D printed honeycomb structure,numerous samples were systematically developed using central composite design(CCD)and analysed using response surface methodology(RSM).The RSM mathematical model was established to predict the optimum values of each factor and noise reduction coefficient(NRC).The optimum values for an NRC of 0.377 were found to be 1.116 wt% carbon black,1.025 wt% aluminium powder,and 3.151 mm distance between parallel edges.Overall,the results demonstrate that a 3Dprinted honeycomb structure filled with nanofillers is an excellent material that can be utilized in various fields,including defence and aviation,where lightweight and acoustic properties are of great importance.

Growth behavior of CVD diamond films with enhanced electron field emission properties over a wide range of experimental parameters

In this study, diamond films were synthesized on silicon substrates by microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition（CVD） over a wide range of experimental parameters. The effects of the microwave power,CH;/H;ratio and gas pressure on the morphology, growth rate, composition, and quality of diamond films were investigated by means of scanning electron microscope（SEM）, X-ray diffraction（XRD）, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS）. A rise of microwave power can lead to an increasing pyrolysis of hydrogen and methane, so that the microcrystalline diamond film could be synthesized at low CH;/H;levels. Gas pressure has similar effect in changing the morphology of diamond films, and high gas pressure also results in dramatically increased grain size. However,diamond film is deteriorated at high CH;/H;ratio due to the abundant graphite content including in the films. Under an extreme condition of high microwave power of 10 kW and high CH;concentration, a hybrid film composed of diamond/graphite was successfully formed in the absence of N;or Ar,which is different from other reports. This composite structure has an excellent measured sheet resistance of 10-100 Ω/Sqr. which allows it to be utilized as field electron emitter. The diamond/graphite hybrid nanostructure displays excellent electron field emission（EFE） properties with a low turn-on field of 2.17 V/μm and β= 3160, therefore it could be a promising alternative in field emission applications.

Design and optimization of a nano-antenna hybrid structure for solar energy harvesting application

A novel hybrid structure with high responsivity and efficiency is proposed based on an L-shaped frame nano-antenna(LSFNA)array for solar energy harvesting application.So,two types of LSFNAs are designed and optimized to enhance the harvesting characteristics of traditional simple electric dipole nano-antenna(SEDNA).The LSFNA geometrical dimensions are optimized to have the best values for the required input impedance at three resonance wavelengths ofλ_(res)=10μm,15μm,and 20μm.Then the LSFNAs with three different sizes are modeled like a planar spiral-shaped array(PSSA).Also,a fractal bowtie nano-antenna is connected with the PSSA in the array gap.This proposed hybrid structure consists of two main elements:(I)Three different sizes of the LSFNAs with two different material types are designed based on the thin-film metal-insulator-metal diodes that are a proper method for infrared energy harvesting.(Ⅱ)The PSSA gap is designed based on the electron field emission proposed by the Fowler-Nordheim theory for the array rectification.Finally,the proposed device is analyzed.The results show that the PSSA not only has an averaged 3-time enhancement in the harvesting characteristics(such as return loss,harvesting efficiency,etc.)than the previously proposed structures but also is a multi-resonance wide-band device.Furthermore,the proposed antenna takes up less space in the electronic circuit and has an easy implementation process.

The influence of four dual-cure resin cements and surface treatment selection to bond strength of fiber post

In this study, we evaluate the influence of post surface pre-treatments on the bond strength of four different cements to glass fiber posts. Eighty extracted human maxillary central incisors and canines were endodontically treated and standardized post spaces were prepared. Four post pre-treatments were tested： （i） no pre-treatment （NS, control）, （ii） sandblasting （SA）, （iii） silanization （SI） and （iv） sandblasting followed by silanization （SS）. Per pre-treatment, four dual-cure resin cements were used for luting posts： DMG LUXACORE Smartmix Dual, Multilink Automix, RelyX Unicem and Panavia F2.0. All the specimens were subjected to micro push-out test. Two-way analysis of variance and Tukey post hoc tests were performed （α=0.05） to analyze the data. Bond strength was significantly affected by the type of resin cement, and bond strengths of RelyX Unicem and Panavia F2.0 to the fiber posts were significantly higher than the other cement groups. Sandblasting significantly increased the bond strength of DMG group to the fiber posts.

Characterization of microstructural features of Tamusu mudstone

Tamusu mudstone formation, located in the Alxa area in western Inner Mongolia, is considered a potential host formation for high-level radioactive waste(HLW) underground disposal in China. In this study, complementary analyses with X-ray diffraction(XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM), mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP), and N_(2) physisorption isotherm were conducted on the Tamusu mudstone to characterize its physical characteristics and microstructural features, such as mineral compositions and pore structure. Several minerals, including carbonates, feldspar, clays and analcime, were identified in Tamusu mudstone by XRD. Images from FE-SEM show that pores in the Tamusu mudstone were dominantly on nanometer scale and generally located within their mineral matrix or at the interface with non-porous minerals. The combination of the MIP and N_2 physisorption curves indicated that the Tamusu mudstone has diverse pore sizes, a porosity varying from 2.34% to 2.84%, and a total pore volume in the range of 0.0065—0.0222 cm^(3)/g with the average pore diameter ranging from 9.6 nm to 19.23 nm. The specific surface area measured by MIP(2.572—5.861 m^(2)/g) was generally higher than that by N_(2) physisorption(1.29—3.04 m^(2)/g), due to the pore network effect, pore shape(e.g. ink-bottle shape), or technique limits. The results related to pore information can be applied as an input in the future to model single-or multi-phase fluid flow and the transport of radionuclides in porous geomedium by migration and diffusion.

Mechanical properties of Al/a-C nanocomposite thin films synthesized using a plasma focus device

The Al/a-C nanocomposite thin films are synthesized on Si substrates using a dense plasma focus device with alu- minum fitted anode and operating with CH4/Ar admixture. X-ray diffractometer results confirm the formation of metallic crystalline Al phases using different numbers of focus shots. Raman analyses show the formation of D and G peaks for all thin film samples, confirming the presence of a-C in the nanocomposite thin films. The formation of Al/a-C nanocomposite thin films is further confirmed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. The scanning electron microscope results show that the deposited thin films consist of nanoparticles and their agglomerates. The sizes of th agglomerates increase with increasing numbers of focus deposition shots. The nanoindentation results show the variations in hardness and elastic modulus values of nanocomposite thin film with increasing the number of focus shots. Maximum values of hardness and elastic modulus of the composite thin film prepared using 20 focus shots are found to be about 10.7 GPa and 189.2 GPa, respectively.

Structural and mechanical properties of Al–C–N films deposited at room temperature by plasma focus device

The Al–C–N films are deposited on Si substrates by using a dense plasma focus（DPF） device with aluminum fitted central electrode（anode） and by operating the device with CH_4/N_2 gas admixture ratio of 1：1. XRD results verify the crystalline Al N（111） and Al_3CON（110） phase formation of the films deposited using multiple shots. The elemental compositions as well as chemical states of the deposited Al–C–N films are studied using XPS analysis, which affirm Al–N, C–C, and C–N bonding. The FESEM analysis reveals that the deposited films are composed of nanoparticles and nanoparticle agglomerates. The size of the agglomerates increases at a higher number of focus deposition shots for multiple shot depositions. Nanoindentation results reveal the variation in mechanical properties（nanohardness and elastic modulus）of Al–C–N films deposited with multiple shots. The highest values of nanohardness and elastic modulus are found to be about 11 and 185 GPa, respectively, for the film deposited with 30 focus deposition shots. The mechanical properties of the films deposited using multiple shots are related to the Al content and C–N bonding.

Comparison of rare earths doping(neodymium and samarium) on structural and magnetic properties of Ni-Zn-Bi nanoferrites

Excellent magnetic properties in ferrites are required for high-frequency applications and for wastewater treatment. Thus, the present study shows the comparison of magnetic and structural properties of Nd and Sm substituted Ni-Zn-Bi ferrites with the series Ni_(0.5)Zn_(0.5)Bi_(0.04)Nd_(x)Fe_(1.96-x)O_4(with step size 0.002)and Ni_(0.5)Zn_(0.5)Bi_(0.04)Sm_(x)Fe_(1.96-x)O_4(with step size 0.02) prepared using citrate precursor method. The impact of the substitution of rare earth ions(Nd and Sm) on magnetic properties of the synthesized samples is observed using a vibrating sample magnetometer(VSM). The saturation magnetization values enhance considerably from 52 to 58 emu/g for Nd^(3+)ions and 39 to 57 emu/g for Sm^(3+) ions, thus, making these materials magnetically hard. Further, the higher value of coercivity is also observed ranging from133 to 167 Oe for Nd^(3+)ions and 81 to 155 Oe for Sm^(3+) ions. The shape of hysteresis loops indicates a super paramagnetic and ferromagnetic behavior in the obtained samples. The squareness ratio value is<0.5, suggesting the uniaxial anisotropy of particles and hence, these ferrites are suitable for microwaveabsorbing and in permanent magnetic materials. The X-ray diffraction(XRD) pattern shows the formation of pure cubic crystallites, where, lattice parameters range from 0.840 to 0.839 nm and from 0.838to 0.839 nm for Nd^(3+)and Sm^(3+) ions substitution, respectively. The crystallite size ranges between 28.63to 29.89 nm and 18.33 to 26.23 nm, for substitution of Nd^(3+)and Sm^(3+) ions, respectively. Field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM) shows the formation of homogeneous grains, whereas, energy dispersive spectrometer(EDS) counts describe the purity of the samples. The Sm concentration x = 0.10has the maximum surface area with value of 42.6 m^(2)/g which proves to be having good data storage application due to high surface area. The zero-field cooled(ZFC) and field cooled(FC) data show that Nddoped Ni-Zn-Bi nanoferrites show superparamagnetic behaviour in the room temperature range which makes them suitable for practical applications.

Ultra-Thin Double-Walled Carbon Nanotubes： A Novel Nanocontainer for Preparing Atomic Wires

Double-walled carbon nanotubes （DWCNTs） with high graphitization have been synthesized by hydrogen arc discharge. The obtained DWCNTs have a narrow distribution of diameters of both the inner and outer tubes, and more than half of the DWCNTs have inner diameters in the range 0.6-1.0 nm. Field electron emission from a DWCNT cathode to an anode has been measured, and the emission current density of DWCNTs reached 1 A/cm2 at an applied field of about 4.3 V/~tm. After high-temperature treatment of DWCNTs, long linear carbon chains （C-chains） can be grown inside the ultra-thin DWCNTs to form a novel C-chain@DWCNT nanostructure, showing that these ultra-thin DWCNTs are an appropriate nanocontainer for preparing truly one-dimensional nanostructures with one-atom-diameter.

Influence of ash composition on the sintering behavior during pressurized combustion and gasification process

To determine the ash characteristics during fluidized bed combustion and gasification purposes, the investigation of the impacts of chemical composition of Jincheng coal ash on the sintering temperature was conducted. A series of experiments on the sintering behavior at 0.5 MPa was performed using the pressurized pressure-drop technique in the combustion and gasification atmospheres. Meanwhile, the mineral transformations of sintered ash pellets were observed using X-ray diffractometer （XRD） analyzer to better understand the experimental results. In addition, quantitative XRD and field emission scanning electron microscope/energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer （FE-SEM/EDS） analyses of ash samples were used for clarifying the detailed ash melting mechanism. These results show that the addition of Fe203 can obviously reduce the sintering temperatures under gasification atmospheres, and only affect a little the sintering temperature under combustion atmosphere. This may be due to the presence of iron-bearing minerals, which will react with other ash compositions to produce low-melting-point eutectics. The FE-SEM/EDS analyses of ash samples with Fe203 additive show consistent results with the XRD measurements. The CaO and Na20 can reduce the sintering temperatures under both the combustion and gasification atmospheres. This can be also contributed to the formation of low-melting-point eutectics, decreasing the sintering temperature. Moreover, the fluxing minerals, such as magnetite, anhydrite, muscovite, albite and nepheline, contribute mostly to the reduction of the sintering temperature while the feldspar minerals, such as anorthite, gehlenite and sanidine, can react with other minerals to produce low-melting-point eutectics, and thereby reduce the sintering temperatures.

Abrupt change of dielectric properties in mullite due to titanium and strontium incorporation by sol-gel method

Highly crystallized mullite has been achieved at temperatures of 1100℃and 1400℃by sol-gel technique in presence of titanium and strontium ions of different concentrations:G_(0)=0 M,G_(1)=0.002 M,G_(2)=0.01 M,G_(3)=0.02 M,G_(4)=0.1 M,G_(5)=0.2 M and G6=0.5 M.X-ray diffraction(XRD),Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR),field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM),LCR meter characterized the samples.Mullite formation was found to depend on the concentration of the ions.The dielectric properties(dielectric constant,loss tangent and AC conductivity)of the composites have been measured,and their variation with increasing frequency and concentration of the doped metals was investigated.All the experiments were performed at room temperature.The composites showed maximum dielectric constants of 24.42 and 37.6 at 1400℃of 0.01 M concentration for titanium and strontium ions at 2 MHz,respectively.Due to the perfect nature of the doped mullite,it can be used for the fabrication of high charge storing capacitors and also as ceramic capacitors in the pico range.