Tuning optical properties of ITO films grown by rf sputtering:Effects of oblique angle deposition and thermal annealing

Indium tin oxide(ITO)thin films were prepared using the technique of rf-sputtering with oblique angle deposition(OAD).The films were as-deposited and thermally treated at 250℃.The combination of substrate inclination and annealing was used for modifying morphological and structural properties that lead to changes of the optical properties.The resulting films show morphology of tilted nanocolumn,fissures among columns,and structural changes.The as-deposited films are structurally disordered with an amorphous component and the annealed films are crystallized and more ordered and the film diffractograms correspond to the cubic structure of In2O3.The refractive index could be modified up to 0.3 in as-deposited films and up to 0.15 in annealed films as functions of the inclination angle of the nanocolumns.Similarly,the band gap energy increases up to about 0.4 eV due to the reduction of the microstrain distribution.It is found that the microstrain distribution,which is related to lattice distortions,defects and the presence of fissures in the films,is the main feature that can be engineered through morphological modifications for achieving the adjustment of the optical properties.

Royal Crown Shaped Polarization Insensitive Perfect Metamaterial Absorber for C-, X-, and Ku-Band Applications

This study proposed a new royal crown-shaped polarisation insensitive double negative triple band microwave range electromagnetic metamaterial absorber(MA).The primary purpose of this study is to utilise the exotic characteristics of this perfect metamaterial absorber(PMA)for microwave wireless communications.The fundamental unit cell of the proposed MA consists of two pentagonal-shaped resonators and two inverse C-shaped metallic components surrounded by a split ring resonator(SRR).The bottom thin copper deposit and upper metallic resonator surface are disjoined by an FR-4 dielectric substrate with 1.6 mm thickness.The CST MW studio,a high-frequency electromagnetic simulator has been deployed for numerical simula-tion of the unit cell in the frequency range of 4 to 14 GHz.In the TE mode,the offered MA structure demonstrated three different absorption peaks at 6.85 GHz(C-band),8.87 GHz(X-band),and 12.03 GHz(Ku-band),with 96.82%,99.24%,and 99.43%absorptivity,respectively.The electric field,magnetic field,and surface current distribution were analysed using Maxwell’s-Curl equations,whereas the angle sensitivity was investigated to comprehend the absorption mechanism of the proposed absorber.The numerical results were verified using the Ansys HFSS(high-frequency structure simulator)and ADS(advanced design system)for equivalent circuit models.Moreover,the proposed MA is polarisation and incident angle independent.Hence,the application of this MA can be extended to a great extent,including airborne radar applications,defence,and stealth-coating technology.

Stability analyses of the mass abrasive projectile high-speed penetrating into concrete target. Part Ⅱ: Structural stability analyses

The initial oblique and attacking angles as well as the asymmetrical nose abrasion may lead to bending or even fracture of a projectile,and the penetration efficiency decreases distinctly.The structural stability of a high-speed projectile non-normally penetrating into concrete and the parametric influences involved are analyzed with the mass abrasion taken into account.By considering the symmetrical or asymmetrical nose abrasion as well as the initial oblique and attacking angles,both the axial and the transverse drag forces acting on the projectile are derived.Based on the ideal elastic-plastic yield criterion,an approach is proposed for predicting the limit striking velocity（LSV）that is the highest velocity at which no yielding failure has occurred and the projectile can still maintain its integral structural stability.Furthermore,some particular penetration scenarios are separately discussed in detail.Based on the engineering model for the mass loss and nose-blunting of ogive-nose projectiles established in Part I of this study,the above approach is validated by several high-speed penetration tests.The analysis on parametric influences indicates that the LSV is reduced with an increase in the asymmetrical nose abrasion,thelength-diameter-ratio,and the concrete strength,as well as the oblique and attacking angles.Also,the LSV raises with an increase in the initial caliber-radius-head（CRH）and the dimensionless cartridge thickness of a projectile.

Highly Effective Detection of Amitraz in Honey by Using Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Spectroscopy Coupled with Chemometric Methods

As an effective and universal acaricide, amitraz is widely used on beehives against varroasis caused by the mite Varroa jacobsoni. Its residues in honey pose a great danger to human health. In this study, a sensitive, rapid, and environmentally friendly surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy method (SERS) was developed for the determination of trace amount of amitraz in honey with the use of silver nanorod (AgNR) array substrate. The AgNR array substrate fabricated by an oblique angle deposition technique exhibited an excellent SERS activity with an enhancement factor of -10^7. Density function theory was employed to assign the characteristic peak of amitraz. The detection of amitraz was further explored and amitraz in honey at concentrations as low as 0.08 mg/kg can be identified. Specifically, partial least square regression analysis was employed to correlate the SERS spectra in full-wavelength with Camitraz to afford a multiple-quantitative amitraz predicting model. Preliminary results show that the predicted concentrations of amitraz in honey samples are in good agreement with their real concentrations. Compared with the conventional univariate quantitative model based on single peak’s intensity, the proposed multiple-quantitative predicting model integrates all the characteristic peaks of amitraz, thus offering an improved detecting accuracy and anti-interference ability.

Oblique angle deposition and its applications in plasmonics

Plasmonics based on localized surface plasmon resonance （LSPR） has found many exciting appli- cations recently. Those applications usually require a good morphological and structural control of metallic nanostructures. Oblique angle deposition （OAD） has been demonstrated as a powerful technique for various plasmonic applications due to its advantages in controlling the size, shape, and composition of metallic nanostructures. In this review, we focus on the fabrication of metallic nanostructures by OAD and their applications in plasmonics. After a brief introduction to OAD technique, recent progress of applying OAD in fabricating noble metallic nanostructures for LSPR sensing, surface-enhanced Raman scattering, surface-enhanced infrared absorption, metal-enhanced fluorescence, and metamaterials, and their corresponding properties are reviewed. The future requirements for OAD plasmonics applications are also discussed.

Characterizing a liquid crystal spatial light modulator at oblique incidence angles using the self-interference method

The phase modulation characteristics of a reflective liquid crystal （LC） spatial light modulator （SLM） under oblique incidence are studied by using our proposed self-interference method. The experimental setup of the method is very simple and has good robustness to mechanical vibrations. By changing the gray value of the combined grayscale loaded on the LC-SLM, different sheared fringe patterns, generated by the interference between the constant phase-modulated beam and the ＋1-order diffracted beam of the blazed grating, can be obtained. The amount of phase modulation of the LC-SLM is obtained by subtracting the phase of the two side lobes in the frequency domain. By turning the turntable where the SLM is mounted, the phase modulation characteristics at different incident angles can be measured. The experimental results show that the phase modulation curves do not change significantly with the small angle. When the angle is large （i.e. larger than 10°）, the phase modulation curves become different, especially for the high gray levels. With the increase of the incident angle, the phase modulation depth is reduced. The results indicate that the incident angle plays an important role in the performance of the phase modulation of an LC-SLM.

The Impingement Heat Transfer Data of Inclined Jet in Cooling Applications: A Review

On the impingement heat transfer data,the experimental studies of air and liquid jets impingement to the flat surfaces were collected and critically reviewed.The oblique impingements of both single circular and planar slot jets were considered in particular.The review focused on the surface where the jet impingement cooling technique was utilized.The nozzle exit Reynolds numbers based on the hydraulic diameter varied in the range of 1,500–52,000.The oblique angles relative to the plane surface and the dimensionless jet-to-plate spacing vary in the range of 15°–90°and 2–12 respectively.The review suggested that the magnitude of maximum heat transfer shifted more for air jets compared with the liquid jets.The drop in the inclination angle and the jet-to-plate separation led to the increase in the asymmetry of heat transfer distribution.The displacement of maximum Nusselt number(heat transfer)locations was found to be sensitive to the inclination angle and the smaller jet-to-plate distance.Also,the Nusselt number correlations proposed by various researchers were discussed and compared with the results of the cited references.

Monolithic integration of nanorod arrays on microfluidic chips for fast and sensitive one-step immunoassays

Here,we present integrated nanorod arrays on microfluidic chips for fast and sensitive flow-through immunoassays of physiologically relevant macromolecules.Dense arrays of Au nanorods are easily fabricated through one-step oblique angle deposition,which eliminates the requirement of advanced lithography methods.We report the utility of this plasmonic structure to improve the detection limit of the cardiac troponin I(cTnI)assay by over 6x 105-fold,reaching down to 33.9fg mL^(-1)(-1.4fM) compared with an identical assay on glass substrates.Through monolithic integration with microfluidic elements,the device enables a flow-through assay for quantitative detection of cTnI in the serum with a detection sensitivity of 6.9 pg mL^(-1)(-0.3 pM)in<6 min,which was 4000 times lower than conventional glass devices.This ultrasensitive detection arises from the large surface area for antibody conjugation and metal-enhanced fluorescent signals through plasmonic nanostructures.Moreover,due to the parallel arrangement of flow paths,simultaneous detection of multiple cancer biomarkers,including prostate-specific antigen and carcinoembryonic antigen,has been fulfilled with increased signal-to-background ratios.Given the high performance of this assay,together with its simple fabrication process that is compatible with standard mass manufacturing techniques,we expect that the prepared integrated nanorod device can bring on-site point-of-care diagnosis closer to reality.