Selective Area Growth and Characterization of GaN Nanorods Fabricated by Adjusting the Hydrogen Flow Rate and Growth Temperature with Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition

CaN nanorods are successfully fabricated by adjusting the flow rate ratio of hydrogen （H2）/nitrogen （N2） and growth temperature of the selective area growth （SAG） method with metal organic chemical vapor deposition （MOCVD）. The SAG template is obtained by nanospherical-lens photolithography. It is found that increasing the flow rate of 1-12 will change the CaN crystal shape from pyramid to vertical rod, while increasing the growth temperature will reduce the diameters of GaN rods to nanometer scale. Finally the CaN nanorods with smooth lateral surface and relatively good quality are obtained under the condition that the H2：N2 ratio is 1：1 and the growth temperature is 1030℃. The good crystal quality and orientation of GaN nanorods are confirmed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The cathodoluminescence spectrum suggests that the crystal and optical quality is also improved with increasing the temperature.

Mass Transport of β-Diketonate Precursors for MOCVD of YBa_2Cu_3O_(7-δ) High T_c Superconducting Thin Films

Mass transport of Y(dpm)2 Ba(dpm)5· OH· 2Ho and Cu (dpm)2 by a carrier gas(argon) was theoretically considered and experimentally studied as a function of the system with operating parameters including temperature, carrier gas flow rate and system pressure. The experimental results are in a good agreement with the theoretical prediction. The mechanism of mass transport of these organometallic precursors and their use for YBCO film stoichiometry control and reproducibility are discussed.

Moisture vapor transmission rates of various transparent dressings at different temperatures and humidities

Background Transparent dressings are commonly used to cover central venous catheter sites. However, it has been suggested that they might not allow adequate moisture vapor transmission, resulting in local moistness that promotes bacterial growth. We compared the moisture vapor transmission rates （MVTRs） of different, currently used transparent and traditional gauze dressings. We aimed to determine the MVTRs at different temperatures and humidities. Methods The dressings were used to seal 50-ml plastic centrifuge tubes containing 20 ml deionized water： Tubes in group 1 were covered with 12 layers of ordinary gauze, group 2 with IV3000, group 3 with OPSITE FLEXlGRID, group 4 with 3M HP Tegaderm, and group 5 with 3M Tegaderm. The tubes were placed upright in an artificial climate cabinet, so that the dressings were not touching the water, in order to simulate the conditions of medical dressings in contact with the skin. The average MVTRs were determined under different conditions. MVTRs were also determined with tubes from groups 2-5 laid on their sides, allowing the dressings to touch the water, so simulating contact of the dressings with sweating skin, or wounded skin with exudates. We also calculated the dressings＇ self-reactive abilities by comparing their MVTRs in contact with the water surface with those when not in contact with the water surface. Results Group 1 demonstrated the highest MVTR, followed by groups 2, 4, 3 and 5 under conditions simulating contact of the dressings with normal skin at the following temperatures and humidities： 20℃/30%, 20℃/60%, 20℃/90%, 37℃/30%, 37℃/60% and 37℃/90%. When the relative humidity （RH） increased, the MVTRs decreased. The MVTRs differed significantly among different dressings and RHs： At high temperature （37℃） and high humidity （90%）, the MVTR of the transparent dressings in group 2 was higher than that of group 1 （P 〈0.01）. The reactive MVTR was highest in group 2 （10.2-16.3 times 〉MVTR） while that of group 4 was second highest （2.6-9.6 times 〉MVTR）. Conclusions RH and temperature had significant effects on the MVTRs of different dressings. The IV3000 transparent dressing used in group 2 was as effective as ordinary gauze. These results suggest that increased infection rates due to low MVTRs might not be a problem. The clinical implications of these observations for catheter-related infections need to be further investigated in multicenter studies.

Photothermal materials for efficient solar powered steam generation

Solar powered steam generation is an emerging area in the field o f energy harvest and sustainable technologies.The nano-structured photothermal materials are able to harvest energy from the full solar spectrum and convert it to heat with high efficiency.Moreover,the materials and structures for heat management as well as the mass transportation are also brought to the forefront.Several groups have reported their materials and structures as solutions for high performance devices,a few creatively coupled other physical fields with solar energy to achieve even better results.This paper provides a systematic review on the recent developments in photothermal nanomaterial discovery,material selection,structural design and mass/heat management,as well as their applications in seawater desalination and fresh water production from waste water with free solar energy.It also discusses current technical challenges and likely future developments.This article will help to stimulate novel ideas and new designs for the photothermal materials,towards efficient,low cost practical solar-driven clean water production.

Chloride-based fast homoepitaxial growth of 4H-SiC films in a vertical hot-wall CVD

Chloride-based fast homoepitaxial growth of 4H-SiC epilayers was performed on 4° off-axis 4H-SiC substrates in a home-made vertical hot-wall chemical vapor deposition（CVD） system using H2-SiH4-C2H4-HCl.The effect of the SiH_4/H_2 ratio and reactor pressure on the growth rate of 4H-SiC epilayers has been studied successively.The growth rate increase in proportion to the SiH_4/H_2 ratio and the influence mechanism of chlorine has been investigated.With the reactor pressure increasing from 40 to 100 Torr,the growth rate increased to 52μm/h and then decreased to 47 μm/h,which is due to the joint effect of H_2 and HC1 etching as well as the formation of Si clusters at higher reactor pressure.The surface root mean square（RMS） roughness keeps around 1 nm with the growth rate increasing to 49 μm/h.The scanning electron microscope（SEM）,Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction（XRD） demonstrate that 96.7 μm thick 4H-SiC layers of good uniformity in thickness and doping with high crystal quality can be achieved.These results prove that chloride-based fast epitaxy is an advanced growth technique for 4H-SiC homoepitaxy.

Physical vapor transport crystal growth of ZnO

Zinc oxide（ZnO） has a wide band gap, high stability and a high thermal operating range that makes it a suitable material as a semiconductor for fabricating light emitting diodes（LEDs） and laser diodes, photodiodes, power diodes and other semiconductor devices. Recently, a new crystal growth for producing ZnO crystal boules was developed, which was physical vapor transport（PVT）, at temperatures exceeding 1500 ？C under a certain system pressure. ZnO crystal wafers in sizes up to 50 mm in diameter were produced. The conditions of ZnO crystal growth, growth rate and the quality of ZnO crystal were analyzed. Results from crystal growth and material characterization are presented and discussed. Our research results suggest that the novel crystal growth technique is a viable production technique for producing ZnO crystals and substrates for semiconductor device applications.