Development of the Atomic Force Microscopy Research Technique for the Nanostructures on the Vertical Edge of Thin Insulating Film

In this work, a development of a method of a thin insulating film vertical edge visualization of metal-insulator-metal （MIM） memory cells with atomic force microscopy （AFM） using a modified Omicron UHV AFM/STM microscope was performed. This included a development of a technique of the AFM visualization of segments of a vertical edge of thin insulator SiO2 film structures on a conductive substrate, a comparison of AFM topography and current profilograms for the edge profiles, and an Omicron microscope custom upgrade. The latter allowed us to perform the AFM probe positioning to any specific area of the sample in the scanning plane by two coordinates with an order of precision of 1 micrometer. The method is illustrated with the experimental results of AFM investigations of the special MIM structures with comb-type topology, and of the cells of functioning memory matrices with 20 nm thin silicon dioxide film open edge perimeter and TiN lower electrode, including topography/current profilograms. As a conclusion, our ongoing work on the AFM visualization of a complete perimeter of a SiO2 open edge of memory cells with a special new topology with a goal to visualize conductive phase nanoparticles during switching processes is briefly overviewed.

A New Process and Technology for Rapid Prototyping of A μ-Micro Motor

A new process and technology of rapid prototyping for a μ-micro motor is presented as a nontraditional machining and an advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) to be realized by using masks, including the operation principle of the motor, structure design, technique, driven circuit, and quality examination with Raman spectrum. The μ-micro motor is fabricated by the micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) process, the structure design must be considered to fabricate or assembly the parts during machining the motor in the meantime. The research proved that integration of IC (integrated circuit) process and MEMS using masks is effective in obtaining the rapid prototyping manufacturing of the μ-micro motor. With the mature technique to fabricate the motor, there are advantages to produce the motor in short time and with lower cost than before. The motor is a common power source of micro machines in military and civilian applications, for example, applied to micro robot, micro bio medicine, and micro machine. The size of the motor is 190 μm in maximum diameter by 125 μm in height that is bulk machined in array with the number of hundreds of micro motors on a substrate.

Enzyme-free and multiplexed micro RNA detection using micro RNA-initiated DNA molecular motor

In this work,we have developed a sensitive,simple,and enzyme-free assay for detection of micro RNAs(mi RNAs)by means of a DNA molecular motor consisting of two stem-loop DNAs with identical stems and complementary loop domains.In the presence of mi RNA target,it can hybridize with one of the stem-loop DNA to open the stem and to produce a mi RNA/DNA hybrid and a single strand(ss)DNA,the ss DNA will in turn hybridize with another stem-loop DNA and finally form a double strand(ds)DNA to release the mi RNA.One of the stem-loop DNA is double-labeled by a fluorophore/quencher pair with efficiently quenched fluorescence.The formation of ds DNA can produced specific fluorescence signal for mi RNA detection.The released mi RNA will continuously initiate the next hybridization of the two stem-loop DNAs to form a cycle-running DNA molecular motor,which results in great fluorescence amplification.With the efficient signal amplification,as low as 1 pmol/L mi RNA target can be detected and a wide dynamic range from 1 pmol/L to 2 nmol/L is also obtained.Moreover,by designing different stem-loop DNAs specific to different mi RNA targets and labeling them with different fluorophores,multiplexed mi RNAs can be simultaneously detected in one-tube reaction with the synchronous fluorescence spectrum(SFS)technique.

Investigation on ignition characteristics of charring conductive polymers stimulated by electric energy

The arc ignition based on charring conductive polymers has advantages of simple structure,low ignition power consumption and restart capacity,which bringing it broadly application prospect in hybrid propulsion system of micro/nano satellite.In order to optimize the performance of arc ignition system,it is essential to have a deeper understanding of the ignition processes and ignition characteristics of charring conductive polymers.In this paper,the thermal decomposition,electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity characteristics of charring conductive polymers with different conductive additives and matrix materials were comprehensively evaluated.An experimental investigation was conducted to determine the ignition behaviors and characteristics of different charring conductive polymers in a visual ignition combustor.The experiment result showed that the ignition delay and external energy required for ignition are negatively correlated with voltage and initial temperature of the ignition grain,but positively correlated with oxidizer flow velocity.Compared with charring conductive polymers containing multi-walled carbon nanotube,the ignition delay of charring conductive polymers with carbon black is significantly higher and the pyrolysis time is relatively longer.However,the ignition and initial flame propagation of charring conductive polymers with carbon black is more violent and more inclined to carbon particle ignition.Finally,the restart characteristic of different charring conductive polymers was studied.The ignition delay and external energy required for ignition of different charring conductive polymers all reduced with the increasing of the number of ignitions.However,the ignition characteristics would not change a lot after repeated ignition.