The manipulation of rectifying contact of Co and nitrogen-doped carbon hierarchical superstructures toward high-performance oxygen reduction reaction

Rational design and construction of oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)electrocatalysts with high activity,good stability,and low price are essential for the practical applications of renewable energy conversion devices,such as metal-air batteries.Electronic modification through constructing metal/semiconductor Schottky heterointerface represents a powerful strategy to enhance the electrochemical performance.Herein,we demonstrate a concept of Schottky electrocatalyst composed of uniform Co nanoparticles in situ anchored on the carbon nanotubes aligned on the carbon nanosheets(denoted as Co@N-CNTs/NSs hereafter)toward ORR.Both experimental findings and theoretical simulation testify that the rectifying contact could impel the voluntary electron flow from Co to N-CNTs/NSs and create an internal electric field,thereby boosting the electron transfer rate and improving the intrinsic activity.As a consequence,the Co@N-CNTs/NSs deliver outstanding ORR activity,impressive long-term durability,excellent methanol tolerance,and good performance as the air-cathode in the Zn-air batteries.The design concept of Schottky contact may provide the innovational inspirations for the synthesis of advanced catalysts in sustainable energy conversion fields.

Supposition of graphene stacks to estimate the contact resistance and conductivity of nanocomposites

In this study,the effects of stacked nanosheets and the surrounding interphase zone on the resistance of the contact region between nanosheets and the tunneling conductivity of samples are evaluated with developed equations superior to those previously reported.The contact resistance and nanocomposite conductivity are modeled by several influencing factors,including stack properties,interphase depth,tunneling size,and contact diameter.The developed model's accuracy is verified through numerous experimental measurements.To further validate the models and establish correlations between parameters,the effects of all the variables on contact resistance and nanocomposite conductivity are analyzed.Notably,the contact resistance is primarily dependent on the polymer tunnel resistivity,contact area,and tunneling size.The dimensions of the graphene nanosheets significantly influence the conductivity,which ranges from 0 S/m to90 S/m.An increased number of nanosheets in stacks and a larger gap between them enhance the nanocomposite's conductivity.Furthermore,the thicker interphase and smaller tunneling size can lead to higher sample conductivity due to their optimistic effects on the percolation threshold and network efficacy.

In situ non-destructive measurement of Josephson junction resistance using fritting contact technique

Conventional four-probe methods for measuring the resistance of Josephson junctions can damage superconducting thin films,making them unsuitable for frequency measurements of superconducting qubits.In this study,we present a custom probe station measurement system that employs the fritting contact technique to achieve in situ,non-destructive measurements of Josephson junction resistance.Our experimental results demonstrate that this method allows for accurate prediction of qubit frequency with an error margin of 17.2 MHz.Moreover,the fritting contact technique does not significantly affect qubit coherence time or the integrity of the superconducting film,confirming its non-destructive nature.This innovative approach provides a dependable foundation for frequency tuning and addressing frequency collision issues,thus supporting the advancement and practical deployment of superconducting quantum computing.

AHFO-based soil water content sensing technology considering soil-sensor thermal contact resistance

The actively heated fiber-optic(AHFO)technology has become emerged as a research focus due to its advantages of distributed,real-time measurement and good durability.These attributes have led to the gradual application of AHFO technology to the water content measurement of in situ soil.However,all existing in situ applications of AHFO technology fail to consider the effect of soilesensor contact quality on water content measurements,limiting potential for the wider application of AHFO technology.To address this issue,the authors propose a method for determining the soilesensor thermal contact resistance based on the principle of an infinite cylindrical heat source.This is then used to establish an AHFO water content measurement technology that considers the thermal contact resistance.The reliability and validity of the new measurement technology are explored through a laboratory test and a field case study,and the spatial-temporal evolution of the soil water content in the case is revealed.The results demonstrate that method for determining the soilesensor thermal contact resistance is highly effective and applicable to all types of soils.This method requires only the moisture content,dry density,and thermal response of the in situ soil to be obtained.In the field case,the measurement error of soil water content between the AHFO method,which takes into account the thermal contact resistance,and the neutron scattering method is only 0.011.The water content of in situ soil exhibits a seasonal variation,with an increase in spring and autumn and a decrease in summer and winter.Furthermore,the response of shallow soils to precipitation and evaporation is significant.These findings contribute to the enhancement of the accuracy of the AHFO technology in the measurement of the water content of in situ soils,thereby facilitating the dissemination and utilization of this technology.

Integration of Seismic Refraction and 2D Electrical Resistivity in Locating Geological Contact

The aim of this research is to locate the geological contact for engineering purpose applying seismic refraction and 2D electrical resistivity method. Resistivity and seismic refraction method was conducted on four survey lines with 3 lines running from NW to SE which about parallel to each other and 40 m apart while the fourth line was running from SW to NE. The 2D resistivity survey used minimum electrode spacing of 5 m and the survey used pole-dipole array with minimum current was 2 mA and maximum was 20 mA. The seismic refraction survey used 5 m geophone spacing with offset shot was + 30 m and - 30 m. Resistivity results generally show the area was divided into two main zones, alluvium with resistivity value of 10 - 800 ohm-m, and granite bedrock with resistivity value of > 2500 ohm-m. There is a geological contact between granite and alluvium. The seismic results show the area consists of two layers. The first layer (top layer) with velocity of 460 - 900 m/s which was alluvium mixed with boulders. The second layer with velocity of 2060 - 3140 m/s with depth 71 - 90 MSL. The thickness of the overburden is 5 - 15 m.

Low specific contact resistivity to graphene achieved by AuGe/Ni/Au and annealing process

Low metal-graphene contact resistance is important in making high-performance graphene devices.In this work,we demonstrate a lower specific contact resistivity of Au0.88Ge0.12/Ni/Au-graphene contact compared with Ti/Au and Ti/Pt/Au contacts.The rapid thermal annealing process was optimized to improve AuGe/Ni/Au contact resistance.Results reveal that both pre- and post-annealing processes are effective for reducing the contact resistance.The specific contact resistivity decreases from 2.5 × 10^-4 to 7.8 × 10^-5 Ω·cm^2 by pre-annealing at 300 ℃ for one hour,and continues to decrease to 9.5 × 10^-7 H·cm2 after post-annealing at 490 ℃ for 60 seconds.These approaches provide reliable means of lowering contact resistance.

Effect of contact thermal resistance on temperature distributions of concrete-filled steel tubes in fire

To predicate the temperature distribution of concrete-filled steel tubes(CFSTs) being exposure to fire,a finite element analysis model was developed using a finite element package,ANSYS.A suggested value of contact thermal resistance was therefore proposed with the supporting of massive numbers of collected test data.Parametric analysis was conducted subsequently towards the cross-sectional temperature distribution of CFST columns in four-side fire,in which the exposure time,width of the cross section,steel ratio were taken into account with considering contact thermal resistance.It was found that contact thermal resistance has little effect on the overall temperature regulation with the exposure time,the width of cross-section or the change of steel ratio.However,great temperature dropping at the concrete adjacent to the contact interface,and gentle temperature increase at steel tube,exist if considering contact thermal resistance.The results of the study are expected to provide theoretical basis for the fire resistance behavior and design of the CFST columns being exposure to fire.

Analysis of sliding electric contact characteristics in augmented railgun based on the combination of contact resistance and sliding friction coefficient

The contact resistance between the armature and rails is an important indicator of the contact characteristics in electromagnetic launches.As the contact resistance depends not only on the contact state but also on the contact stress and temperature,there are some limitations in analyzing the contact characteristics using only the contact resistance.In this paper,the contact characteristics of the augmented railgun are analyzed by the combination of contact resistance and sliding friction coefficient.Firstly,the theoretical calculation model of the contact resistance and friction coefficient of the augmented electromagnetic railgun is established.Then the contact resistance and friction coefficient are calculated by the measured values of the muzzle voltage,rail current and armature displacement.Finally,the contact characteristics are analyzed according to the features of the waveforms of the contact resistance and the friction coefficient,and the analysis conclusions are verified by experimental rail images.The results showed that:the aluminum melt film gradually formed on the contact surface reduces the contact resistance and the friction coefficient;the wear and erosion of the armature cause deterioration of the contact state;after the transition,the reliability of the sliding contact between the armature and rails decreases,resulting in an increase in contact resistance.

Toward High Carrier Mobility and Low Contact Resistance:Laser Cleaning of PMMA Residues on Graphene Surfaces

Poly(methyl methacrylate)(PMMA) is widely used for graphene transfer and device fabrication.However,it inevitably leaves a thin layer of polymer residues after acetone rinsing and leads to dramatic degradation of device performance.How to eliminate contamination and restore clean surfaces of graphene is still highly demanded.In this paper,we present a reliable and position-controllable method to remove the polymer residues on graphene films by laser exposure.Under proper laser conditions,PMMA residues can be substantially reduced without introducing defects to the underlying graphene.Furthermore,by applying this laser cleaning technique to the channel and contacts of graphene fieldeffect transistors(GFETs),higher carrier mobility as well as lower contact resistance can be realized.This work opens a way for probing intrinsic properties of contaminant-free graphene and fabricating high-performance GFETs with both clean channel and intimate graphene/metal contact.

Modeling and application of thermal contact resistance of ball screws

Aiming at determining the thermal contact resistance of ball screws,a new analytical method combining the minimum excess principle with the MB fractal theory is proposed to estimate thermal contact resistance of ball screws considering microscopic fractal characteristics of contact surfaces.The minimum excess principle is employed for normal stress analysis.Moreover,the MB fractal theory is adopted for thermal contact resistance.The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated by self-designed experiment.The comparison between theoretical and experimental results demonstrates that thermal contact resistance of ball screws can be obtained by the proposed method.On this basis,effects of fractal parameters on thermal contact resistance of ball screws are discussed.Moreover,effects of the axial load on thermal contact resistance of ball screws are also analyzed.The conclusion can be drawn that the thermal contact resistance decreases along with the fractal dimension D increase and it increases along with the scale parameter G increase,and thermal contact resistance of ball screws is retained almost constant along with axial load increase before the preload of the right nut turns into zero in value.The application of the proposed method is also conducted and validated by the temperature measurement on a self-designed test bed.

Experimental investigation of high temperature thermal contact resistance with interface material

Thermal contact resistance plays a very important role in heat transfer efficiency and thermomechanical coupling response between two materials,and a common method to reduce the thermal contact resistance is to fill a soft interface material between these two materials.A testing system of high temperature thermal contact resistance based on INSTRON 8874 is established in the present paper,which can achieve 600 C at the interface.Based on this system,the thermal contact resistance between superalloy GH600 material and three-dimensional braid C/C composite material is experimentally investigated,under different interface pressures,interface roughnesses and temperatures,respectively.At the same time,the mechanism of reducing the thermal contact resistance with carbon fiber sheet as interface material is experimentally investigated.Results show that the present testing system is feasible in the experimental research of high temperature thermal contact resistance.

Influence of thermal contact resistance on dynamic response of bilayered saturated porous strata

Porous materials can be found in a variety of geophysical and engineering applications.The existence of thermal contact resistance at the interface between bilayered saturated porous strata would result in a significant temperature difference at the interface.An attempt is made to study the thermo-hydro-mechanical coupling dynamic response of bilayered saturated porous strata with thermal contact resistance and elastic wave impedance.The corresponding analytical solutions for the dynamic response of bilayered saturated porous strata under a harmonic thermal load are derived by the operator decomposition method,and their rationality is verified by comparing them with existing solutions.The influences of thermal contact resistance,thermal conductivity ratio,and porosity ratio on the dynamic response of bilayered saturated porous strata are systematically investigated.Outcomes disclose that with the increase of thermal contact resistance,the displacement,pore water pressure and stress decrease gradually,and the temperature jump at the interface between two saturated porous strata increases.

Analysis of the Correlation between the Level of Contact Degradation and the Dynamic Resistance Curve in Circuit Breakers

The DRM （dynamic contact resistance measurement） in high voltage circuit breakers is a manner of evaluating the internal ageing condition of the chamber. DRM is similar to static contact resistance measurement testing, but instead of measuring a single value when the breaker contacts are closed （static value）, the ohmic resistance is measured at various contact positions, from the beginning of the contact opening until a complete separation of the contacts. The relationship between the contact resistances of the new circuit breaker and the ageing circuit breaker in operation provides subsidy for the evaluation of both the main and arcing contact conditions. This research aims to analyze the correlation between the various levels of degradation of the contacts and the configuration of the DRM curve. This work considers curve samples from new acceleration tests. breaker chamber contacts and different levels of degradation by

Nondestructive measurement of thermal contact resistance for the power vertical double-diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor

To obtain thermal contact resistance（TCR） between the vertical double-diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor（VDMOS） and the heat sink, we derived the relationship between the total thermal resistance and the contact force imposed on the VDMOS. The total thermal resistance from the chip to the heat sink is measured under different contact forces, and the TCR can be extracted nondestructively from the derived relationship. Finally, the experimental results are compared with the simulation results.

Analysis of the abnormal resistance in AlGaN/GaN heterostructure's ohmic contact tests

Ti/Al/Ti/Au and Ti/Al/Ni/Au ohmic contacts were fabricated on AlGaN/GaN heterostructure under different temperatures of rapid thermal processing （RTP）. Since abnormal resistance values were observed during the contact resistance testing,the surface morphology and contact borders of the samples were analyzed to determine the physical mechanism. Such abnormal phenomenon is found to originate from cracking of the AlGaN layer during RTP,flowing of Ti/Al metallic liquid along the crevices,and continuous reaction of the metallic liquid with AlGaN/GaN. Such processes result in abnormal conduction channels. The possible mechanism of the crevice formation was discussed,and the possible solutions to avoid the crevices were proposed.

A Genetic Algorithm for Simultaneous Determination of Thin Films Thermal Transport Properties and Contact Resistance

A genetic algorithm （GA） was studied to simultaneously determine the thermal transport properties and the contact resistance of thin films deposited on a thick substrate. A pulsed photothermal reflectance （PPR） system was employed for the measurements. The GA was used to extract the thermal properties. Measurements were performed on SiO2 thin films of different thicknesses on silicon substrate. The results show that the GA accompanied with the PPR system is useful for the simultaneous determination of thermal properties of thin films on a substrate.

Improvement of the light output and contact resistance of InGaN-based light-emitting diodes based on tantalum-doped indium tin oxide as p-type electrodes

This paper reports that highly transparent and low resistance tantalum-doped indium tin oxide （Ta-doped ITO） films contacted to p-type GaN have been prepared by the electron-beam evaporation technique. The Ta-doped ITO contacts become Ohmic with a specific contact resistance of $／sim 5.65／times 10^{ - 5}$$／Omega ／cdot$cm$^{2}$ and show the transmittance of $／sim $98% at a wavelength of 440nm when annealed at 500／du. Blue light emitting diodes （LEDs） fabricated with Ta-doped ITO p-type Ohmic contact layers give a forward-bias voltage of 3.21V at an injection current of 20mA. It further shows that the output power of LEDs with Ta-doped ITO contacts is enhanced 62% at 20mA in comparison with that of LEDs with conventional Ni/Au contacts

Study of contact resistance in the design of a pyro-breaker applied in superconducting fusion facility

Pyro-breaker is a fast-responding and high-reliable explosive-driven circuit breaker,which has been applied in several quench protection systems,such as International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor and Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak.As an indispensable back-up switch,Pyro-breaker guarantees the reliability and safety of the system and avoids tremendous loss when quench happens.Electrical contact,a crucial part of an electrical device greatly determines the steady current capacity of a Pyro-breaker.However,due to the complexity of the model and the deficiency knowledge of the microstate of contact areas,an accurate calculation for contact resistance is difficult to acquire.A study of electrical contact in the design of a Pyro-breaker has been presented in this paper.An engineering calculation method is verified with experiments.Parameters are fitted for the presented model,which will be a significant theoretical basis for the future designing.

Contact resistance asymmetry of amorphous indium–gallium–zinc–oxide thin-film transistors by scanning Kelvin probe microscopy

In this work, a method based on scanning Kelvin probe microscopy is proposed to separately extract source/drain（S/D） series resistance in operating amorphous indium–gallium–zinc–oxide（a-IGZO） thin-film transistors. The asymmetry behavior of S/D contact resistance is deduced and the underlying physics is discussed. The present results suggest that the asymmetry of S/D contact resistance is caused by the difference in bias conditions of the Schottky-like junction at the contact interface induced by the parasitic reaction between contact metal and a-IGZO. The overall contact resistance should be determined by both the bulk channel resistance of the contact region and the interface properties of the metalsemiconductor junction.

The Asymmetric Laplace Law for distribution of aluminum contact resistance in spot welding

This paper investigates the distribution of contact resistance of the aluminum alloy in the squeeze stage. A new method of measuring path＇ s resistance is proposed firstly. Contact resistances are calculated accurately by the systems of 5 linear equations and solutions show that three contact resistances are different. The probability density functions of contact resistance in workpiece/workpiece（ W/W） and upper electrode/workpiece（ E/W） show that the curve shape has steeper peak and heavier tail than that of the normal distribution. Non-parameter hypothesis test is performed and the result shows that R2 , R4 reject the normal distribution using chi-square and kolmogoroo statistic D method. Therefore, the Asymmetric Laplace distribution is fitted to empirical distributions and is applied to quantify the influence of random contact resistance. The result illustrates that AL distribution is very close to contact resistance of W/W and upper E/W and normal distribution has some deviation. The paper is helpful to research the initial nugget conditions, weldability and the transient multi-coupling field.