Recent process of plasma effect in organic solar cells

Due to the compromise between exciton diffusion length and light absorption, the active layer thickness of organic solar cells(OSCs) is limited. As we all know, embedding metal nanostructures into OSCs can improve the performance of OSCs by triggering surface plasma resonance, scattering, and other effect without increasing the physical thickness of light trapping layer. Besides, the plasma response and other roles will distinguish when metal nanostructures are embedded into different position of OSCs, which are equally important to the performance of OSCs. In this paper, the enhancement mechanisms of various metal nanostructures in different layers of OSCs are summarized from the electricity and optics aspects.This review also further highlights the progress of plasma effect and their working mechanism in OSCs,and it is expected to provide more perspective of plasma effect for performance enhancement of OSCs.

Velocity Form Calculations of Generalized Oscillator Strengths for 3s→ (3p, 4p, 5p, 6p) Dipole Transitions of Atomic Sodium in Debye Plasma

In this paper, the generalized oscillator strengths (GOSs) of excitations of atomic sodium from ground state to 2p63s0 (3p, 4p, 5p, 6p) states, immersed in Debye plasma, were calculated by using wavefunctions which were obtained numerically from the restricted Hartree-Fock (RHF) equation. This RHF equation employs the local density approach for exchange interactions including plasma Debye screening. Theoretical RHF and random phase approximation with exchange (RPAE) velocity calculations have shown that the GOSs for excitations to 3 s0(3 p,4 p,5 p,6 p)depend on the plasma Debye screening effects, as shown by the reduction in the GOS amplitude with decreasing Debye length λD. The agreement between the present RPAE V results for the transitions 3 s→3 s0(3 p,4 p,5 p)and the length calculations of Martínez-Flores was satisfactory. Correlation effects were found quite to be significant in the vicinity of the maxima of the GOS of the 3 s→3 s0(4 p,5 p,6 p)excitations by using the RPAE V approach. We note the poor influence of many electron correlations on the GOS of (3 s→3 p)transition with the same principal quantum number. Finally, we comment that the RPAE V calculations are useful in investigating electron correlation effects on the transition GOS of atomic sodium planted in Debye plasma. The present velocity results also reveal that the 3 s→3 s0(5p, 6p)transition GOSs tend to be delocalized due to more significant screening effects at Debye lengths λD=20and 30 a.u. for excited subshells 5p and 6p, respectively. We report here novel results of GOS for 3 s→3 s06ptransition obtained from different Debye lengths.

Effects of a liquid lithium curtain as the first wall in a fusion reactor plasma

This paper explores the effect of a liquid lithium curtain on fusion reactor plasma, such curtain is utilized as the first wall for the engineering outline design of the Fusion Experimental Breeder （FEB-E）. The relationships between the surface temperature of a liquid lithium curtain and the effective plasma charge, fuel dilution and fusion power production have been derived. Results indicate that under normal operation, the evaporation of liquid lithium does not seriously affect the effective plasma charge, but effects on fuel dilution and fusion power are more sensitive. As an example, it has investigated the relationships between the liquid lithium curtain flow velocity and the rise of surface temperature based on operation scenario II of the FEB-E design with reversed shear configuration and high power density. Results show that even if the liquid lithium curtain flow velocity is as low as 0.5 m/s, the effects of evaporation from the liquid lithium curtain on plasma are negligible. In the present design, the sputtering of liquid lithium curtain and the particle removal effects of the divertor are not yet considered in detail. Further studies are in progress, and in this work implication of lithium erosion and divertor physics on fusion reactor operation are discussed.

Enhanced effect of plasma on catalytic reduction of CO2 to CO with hydrogen over Au/CeO2 at low temperature

In terms of the reaction of COreduction to CO with hydrogen, COconversion is very low at low temperature due to the limitation of thermodynamic equilibrium（TE）. To overcome this limitation, plasma catalytic reduction of COto CO in a catalyst-filled dielectric barrier discharge（DBD） reactor is studied. An enhanced effect of plasma on the reaction over Au/CeOcatalysts is observed. For both the conventionally catalytic（CC） and plasma catalytic（PC, Pin= 15 W） reactions under conditions of 400 °C, H/CO= 1,200 SCCM, GHSV = 12,000 mL·gcat·h, COconversions over Au/CeOreach 15.4% and 25.5% due to the presence of Au, respectively, however, those over CeOare extremely low and negligible. Moreover,COconversion over Au/CeOin the PC reaction exceeds 22.4% of the TE conversion. Surface intermediate species formed on the catalyst samples during the reactions are determined by in-situ temperatureprogrammed decomposition（TPD） technique. Interestingly, it disclosed that in the PC reaction, the formation of formate intermediate is enhanced by plasma, and the acceleration by plasma in the decomposition of formate species is much greater than that in the formation of formate species on Au/CeO. Enhancement factor is introduced to quantify the enhanced effect of plasma. Lower reactor temperature, higher gas hourly space velocity（GHSV）, and lower molar ratio of H/COwould be associated with larger enhancement factor.

Influence of air pressure on mechanical effect of laser plasma shock wave

The influence of air pressure on mechanical effect of laser plasma shock wave in a vacuum chamber produced by a Nd：YAG laser has been studied. The laser pulses with pulse width of 10ns and pulse energy of about 320mJ at 1.06μm wavelength is focused on the aluminium target mounted on a ballistic pendulum, and the air pressure in the chamber changes from 2.8 × 10^ 3 to 1.01 × 10^5pa. The experimental results show that the impulse coupling coefficient changes as the air pressure and the distance of the target from focus change. The mechanical effects of the plasma shock wave on the target are analysed at different distances from focus and the air pressure.

Resonant magneto-optical Kerr effect induced by hybrid plasma modes in ferromagnetic nanovoids

With nanovoids buried in Co films, resonant structures were observed in spectra of polar magneto-optical Kerr effect（MOKE）, where both a narrow bandwidth and high intensity were acquired. Through changing the thickness of Co films and the lattice of voids, different optical modes were introduced. For a very shallow array of voids, the resonant MOKE was induced by Ag plasma edge resonance, for deeper ones, hybrid plasma modes, such as void plasmons in the voids, surface lattice plasmons between the voids, and the co-action of them, etc. resulted in resonant MOKE. We found that resonant MOKE resulted from the void plasmons resonance which possesses the narrowest bandwidth for the lowest absorption of voids. The simulated electromagnetic field（EF） distribution consolidated different effects of these three optical modes on resonant MOKE modulation. Such resonant polar MOKE possesses high sensitivity, which might pave the way to on-chip MO devices.

A Review on Chemical Effects in Aqueous Solution induced by Plasma with Glow Discharge

Chemical effects in different aqueous solutions induced by plasma with glow discharge electrolysis (GDE) and contact glow discharge electrolysis (CGDE) are described in this paper. The experimental and discharge characteristics are also reviewed. These are followed by a discussion of their mechanisms of both anodic and cathodic CGDE..

Improving the energy efficiency of surface dielectric barrier discharge devices for plasma nitric oxide conversion utilizing active flow control

Improving energy efficiency in plasma NO removal is a critical issue.When the surface dielectric barrier discharge(SDBD)device is considered as a combination of multiple plasma actuators,the induced plasma aerodynamic effect cannot be ignored,which can affect the mass transfer,then affect the chemical reactions.Five SDBD devices with different electrode arrangements are studied for NO conversion.They correspond to different flow patterns.We find that the energy efficiency in an SDBD device with a common structure(Type 1)is 28%lower than that in SDBD devices with a special arrangement(Types 2–5).Two reasons may explain the results.First,fewer active species are produced in Type 1 because the development of discharge is hindered by the mutually exclusive electric field forces caused by the symmetrically distributed charged particles.Second,the plasma wind induced by the plasma actuator can enhance the mass and heat transfer.The mixing of reactants and products is better in Types 2–5 than Type 1 due to higher turbulence kinetic energy.

EFFECT OF ACUPUNCTURE ON PLASMA GLUCOSE LEVEL IN HUMAN VOLUNTEERS

Objective To observe the changes of plasma glucose level (PGL) in human volunteers after acupuncture. Methods Seventy-seven human volunteers were taken up from the acupuncture clinic. All of them were non-diabetic subjects. Electroacupuncture at acupoints Zhongwan (中脘CV 12) and Guanyuan (关元CV 4) was given for 20 minutes. Venous blood was collected before acupuncture and 10 minutes after completion of acupuncture. All cases were at four hours abstinence from food before doing acupuncture. Results Plasma glucose level varied 5 mg% or more in 62 cases (80.51%) and only those were considered for computation. PGL increased in cases who had generally plasma glucose level below 90 mg% before acupuncture; and PGL decreased in cases who had plasma glucose 90 mg% or above. In 10 control cases there was no variation of the considerable level of 5 mg% in any case. Conclusion Bi-directional variation of PGL after acupuncture indicates that acupuncture can be used to maintain optimum PGL through endogenous mechanism, suggesting that it is applicable in controlling hyperglycemia in diabetes mellitus patients.

The effect of gas additives on reactive species and bacterial inactivation by a helium plasma jet

In this paper,the influences of gas doping(O2,N2,Air)on the concentrations of reactive species and bactericidal effects induced by a He plasma jet are studied.Firstly,results show that gas doping causes an increase in voltage and a decrease in current compared with the pure He discharge under the same discharge power,which might be attributed to the different chemical characteristics of O2 and N2 and verified by the changes in the gaseous reactive species shown in the optical emission spectroscopy(OES)and Fourier transform infrared(FTIR)spectroscopy.Secondly,the concentrations of aqueous reactive oxygen species(ROS)and reactive nitrogen species(RNS)are tightly related to the addition of O2 and N2 into the working gas.The concentrations of aqueous NO-2 and NO-3 significantly increase while the concentrations of aqueous ROS decrease with the admixture of N2.The addition of O2 has little effect on the concentrations of NO-2 and NO-3 and pH values;however,the addition of O2 increases the concentration of O-2 and deceases the concentrations of H2O2 and OH.Finally,the results of bactericidal experiments demonstrate that the inactivation efficiency of the four types of plasma jets is He+O2>He+Air>He>He+N2,which is in accordance with the changing trend of the concentration of aqueous O.-2 Simultaneously to the better understanding of the formation and removal mechanisms of reactive species in the plasma–liquid interaction,these results also prove the effectiveness of regulating the concentrations of aqueous reactive species and the bacteria inactivation effects by gas doping.

Clinical Application of Monitoring Glomerular Filtration Rate and Effective Renal Plasma Flow

Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and effective renal plasma flow (ERPF) were measured by SPECT in 172 patients (192 times) with renal impairment due to various diseases and also in 18 normal controls. The results suggest that GFR and ERPF are sensitive and efficient renal function indicators in monitoring the change of the disease and assessing therapeutic effect. However, they should be checked carefully because of many factors affect the resutls of the measurement.

Gravitational Effects on Plasma Waves in Environment of Sun and Neutron Star

Local plasma phenomena in environment of Sun are observed closely by spacecrafts in recent years. We provide a new method to apply general relativity to astro-plasma physics in small local area. The relativistic dispersion relations of Langmuir, electromagnetic and cyclotron waves are obtained. The red shifts of Langmuir and cyclotron frequencies are given analytically. A new equilibrium velocity distribution of particles soaked in local gravitational field is suggested. The gravitational effect of a neutron star is also estimated.

Plasma-screening effects on positronium formation

Plasma-screening effects on positronium （Ps） formation for positron-hydrogen collisions in a Debye plasma environ- ment is further investigated using the screening approximation model with the inclusion of the modified structure of Ps. More accurate Ps formation cross sections （n = 1,2） are obtained for various Debye lengths from the Ps formation thresh- olds to 50 eV. The influence of considering modified bound-state wave functions and eigenenergies for the Ps is found to result in the reduction of the Ps formation cross sections at low energies, whereas it cannot counteract the enhancement of the Ps formation by the Debye screening.

Stabilizing effect of plasma discharge on bubbling fluidized granular bed

Fluidized beds have been widely used for processing granular materials. In this paper, we study the effect of plasma on the fluidization behavior of a bubbling fluidized bed with an atmospheric pressure plasma discharger. Experiment results show that the bubbling fluidized bed is stabilized with the discharge of plasma. When the discharge current reaches a minimum stabilization current Cms, air bubbles in the bed will disappear and the surface fluctuation is completely suppressed.A simplified model is proposed to consider the effect of electric Coulomb force generated by the plasma. It is found that the Coulomb force will propel the particles to move towards the void area, so that the bubbling fluidized bed is stabilized with a high enough plasma discharge.

Synergistic Effect of Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Pre-Treatment on Alkaline Etching of Polyethylene Terephthalate Fabrics and Films

Dyeing of PET materials by traditional methods presents several problems.Plasma technology has received enormous attention as a solution for the environmental problems related with textile surface modifications,and there has been a rapid development and commercialization of plasma technology over the past decade.In this work,the synergistic effect of atmospheric pressure plasma on alkaline etching and deep coloring of dyeing properties on polyethylene terephthalate（PET）fabrics and films was investigated.The topographical changes of the PET surface were investigated by atomic force microscopy（AFM）images,which revealed a smooth surface morphology of the untreated sample whereas a high surface roughness for the plasma and/or alkaline treated samples.The effects of atmospheric pressure plasma on alkaline etching of the structure and properties of PET were investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry（DSC）,the main objective of performing DSC was to investigate the effect of the plasma pre-treatment on the T_g and T_m.Using a tensile strength tester YG065 H and following a standard procedure the maximum force and elongation at maximum force of PET materials was investigated.Oxygen and argon plasma pre-treatment was found to increase the PET fabric weight loss rate.The color strength of PET fabrics was increased by various plasma pre-treatment times.The penetration of plasma and alkaline reactive species deep into the PET structure results in better dyeability and leaves a significant effect on the K/S values of the plasma pre-treated PET.It indicated that plasma pre-treatment has a great synergistic effect with the alkaline treatment of PET.

Lowering plasma frequency by enhancing the effective mass of electrons: A route to deep sub-wavelength metamaterials

Deep sub-wavelength metamaterials are the key to the further development of practical metamaterials with small volumes and broadband properties. We propose to reduce the electrical sizes of metamaterials down to more sub-wavelength scales by lowering the plasma frequencies of metallic wires. The theoretical model is firstly established by analyzing the plasma frequency of continuous thin wires. By introducing more inductance elements, the effective electron mass can be enhanced drastically, leading to significantly lowered plasma frequencies. Based on this theory, we demonstrate that both the electric and the magnetic plasma frequencies of metamaterials can be lowered significantly and thus the electrical sizes of metamaterials can be reduced to more sub-wavelength scales. This provides an efficient route to deep sub-wavelength metamaterials and will give rigorous impetus for the further development of practical metamaterials.

Effects of Three Typical Resistivity Models on Pulsed Inductive Plasma Acceleration Modeling

The effects of three different typical resistivity models（Spitzer, Z＆L and M＆G） on the performance of pulsed inductive acceleration plasma are studied. Numerical results show that their influences decrease with the increase of the plasma temperature. The significant discriminations among them appear at the plasma temperature lower than 2.5 eV, and the maximum gap of the pulsed inductive plasma accelerated efficiency is approximately 2.5%.Moreover, the pulsed inductive plasma accelerated efficiency is absolutely related to the dynamic impedance parameters, such as voltage, inductance, capacitance and flow rate. However, the distribution of the efficiency as a function of plasma temperature with three resistivity models has nothing to do with the dynamic impedance parameter.

Charging Effect in Plasma Etching Mask of Hole Array

It has already been found that the round shape of holes can be changed into hexagonal shape during plasma etching processes.This work aims to understand the mechanism behind such a shape change using particle simulation method.The distribution of electric field produced by electrons was calculated for different heights from the mask surface.It is found that the field strength reaches its maximum around a hole edge and becomes the weakest between two holes. The field strength is weakened as moving away from the surface.The spatial distribution of this electric field shows obvious hexagonal shape around a hole edge at some distances from the surface. This charging distribution then affects the trajectories of ions that fall on a mask surface so that the round hole edge is etched to become a hexagonal hole edge.The changing of this hole shape will again alter the spatial distribution of electric field to enhance the charging effect dynamically.