We investigated the thermal stability of a new ternary amorphous metal thin film, Ta₂.₄Ni₂.₂Si, and assessed its suitability as a Cu diffusion barrier for semiconductor device applications. Transmission electron microscopy was coupled with atom probe tomography to provide a detailed understanding of the atomic-scale evolution of both structure and composition...
We introduce a novel ambient hydrolysis deposition (AHD) methodology that, for the first time, employs sequential water adsorption followed by a hydrolysis reaction to infiltrate tiny SnO2₂ particles inside nanopores of mesoporous carbon in a conformal and controllable manner. The empty space in the SnO2₂/C composites can be adjusted by...
Excess fatty acids and sterols are stored as triacylglycerols and sterol esters in
specialized cellular organelles, called lipid droplets. Understanding what determines the cellular
amount of neutral lipids and their packaging into lipid droplets is of fundamental and
applied interest. Using two species of fission yeast, we show that cycling...
Bismuth oxide thin films were deposited by atomic layer deposition using Bi(OCMe₂ [superscript i]Pr)₃ and H₂O
at deposition temperatures between 90 and 270°C on Si₃N₄, TaN, and TiN substrates. Films were
analyzed using spectroscopic ellipsometry, x-ray diffraction, x-ray reflectivity, high-resolution
transmission electron microscopy, and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. Bi₂O₃ films
deposited...
High-pressure torsion (HPT) is used to investigate the formation of a new metal system by the direct bonding of separate disks of Al and Cu by processing at room temperature under a compressive pressure of 6.0 GPa and with increasing numbers of HPT turns up to 60. A detailed examination...
Despite significant advantages in terms of portability and cost, near-infrared (NIR) gas sensing still remains a great challenge due to its relatively weak overtone absorption from the fundamental vibrational bond absorption at the mid-IR frequency. In this paper, we demonstrated ultra-sensitive NIR gas sensing for carbon dioxide (CO₂) at 1.57...
To improve the deproteinization (DP) efficacy of shrimp shell powders (SSP) for preparing chitin, Serratia marcescens B742 mutants were prepared using 2% diethyl sulfate (DES), UV-irradiation, and/or microwave heating treatments. Both single-stage and multi-stage mutations were investigated for optimizing S. marcescens B742 mutation conditions. Under the optimized mutation conditions (2%...
Air-cathode fabrication is currently a key factor that hinders the scaling up of microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology. A new type of cathode material that contains porous polyethylene (PE) sheet and a blended activated carbon (AC) and highly conductive carbon back (CB) layer was developed for the first time. The...
Arsenic contamination is a serious problem in rice cultivated soils of many developing countries. Hence, it is critical to monitor and control arsenic uptake in rice plants to avoid adverse effects on human health. This study evaluated the feasibility of using reflectance spectroscopy to monitor arsenic in rice plants. Four...