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Now showing 1 - 10 of 12
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    Actively Tunable Collective Localized Surface Plasmons by Responsive Hydrogel Membrane
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2019) Quilis, Nestor Gisbert; van Dongen, Marcel; Venugopalan, Priyamvada; Kotlarek, Daria; Petri, Christian; Cencerrado, Alberto Moreno; Stanescu, Sorin; Herrera, Jose Luis Toca; Jonas, Ulrich; Möller, Martin; Mourran, Ahmed; Dostalek, Jakub
    Collective (lattice) localized surface plasmons (cLSP) with actively tunable and extremely narrow spectral characteristics are reported. They are supported by periodic arrays of gold nanoparticles attached to a stimuli-responsive hydrogel membrane, which can on demand swell and collapse to reversibly modulate arrays period and surrounding refractive index. In addition, it features a refractive index-symmetrical geometry that promotes the generation of cLSPs and leads to strong suppression of radiative losses, narrowing the spectral width of the resonance, and increasing of the electromagnetic field intensity. Narrowing of the cLSP spectral band down to 13 nm and its reversible shifting by up to 151 nm is observed in the near infrared part of the spectrum by varying temperature and by solvent exchange for systems with a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-based hydrogel membrane that is allowed to reversibly swell and collapse in either one or in three dimensions. The reported structures with embedded periodic gold nanoparticle arrays are particularly attractive for biosensing applications as the open hydrogel structure can be efficiently post-modified with functional moieties, such as specific ligands, and since biomolecules can rapidly diffuse through swollen polymer networks. © 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
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    Diode-pumped Alexandrite laser for next generation satellite-based earth observation lidar
    (Wien [u.a.] : Springer, 2019) Strotkamp, Michael; Munk, Alexander; Jungbluth, Bernd; Hoffmann, Hans-Dieter; Höffner, Josef
    In this work, the design of a diode-pumped Alexandrite ring laser in Q-switched single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) operation for a spaceborne lidar mission is presented. The laser is pumped by a self-developed fiber-coupled laser diode pump device and yields a pulse energy of 1.7 mJ at a repetition rate of 500 Hz with an excellent beam quality of M2 < 1.1. By seeding the resonator with a narrow band diode laser, SLM operation with a linewidth of approximately 10 MHz is achieved. The electro-optical efficiency of 2% is the highest achieved for all Alexandrite lasers in SLM operation and reasonable for space operation. The performance analysis as well as benchmarking with the space-qualified mounting technology points out the TRL and the remaining effort for the development of the technology. An estimation of the requirements for a spaceborne resonance lidar mission underlines the suitability of such a lidar system with a diode-pumped Alexandrite laser as the beam source.
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    Vibrations of a laboratory-scale gas-stirred ladle with two eccentric nozzles and multiple sensors
    ([Singapore] : Springer Singapore, 2019) Alia, Najib; Pylvänäinen, Mika; Visuri, Ville-Valtteri; John, Volker; Ollila, Seppo
    During ladle stirring, a gas is injected into the steel bath to generate a mixing of the liquid steel. The optimal process control requires a reliable measurement of the stirring intensity, for which the induced ladle wall vibrations have proved to be a potential indicator. An experimental cold water ladle with two eccentric nozzles and eight mono-axial accelerometers was thus investigated to measure the vibrations. The effect of the sensors’ positions with respect to the gas plugs on the vibration intensity was analyzed, and experimental data on several points of the ladle were collected for future numerical simulations. It is shown that the vibration root-mean-square values depend not only on process parameters, such as gas flow rate, water, and oil heights, but also on the radial and axial positions of the sensors. The vibration intensity is clearly higher, close to the gas plumes, than in the opposite side. If one of the nozzles is clogged, the vibration intensity close to the clogged nozzle drops drastically (−36 to −59%), while the vibrations close to the normal operating nozzle are hardly affected. Based on these results, guidelines are provided for an optimized vibration-based stirring.
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    Screening of Different Carbon Nanotubes in Melt-Mixed Polymer Composites with Different Polymer Matrices for Their Thermoelectrical Properties
    (Basel : MDPI, 2019-12-7) Krause, Beate; Barbier, Carine; Levente, Juhasz; Klaus, Maxim; Pötschke, Petra
    The aim of this study is to reveal the influences of carbon nanotube (CNT) and polymer type as well as CNT content on electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient (S), and the resulting power factor (PF) and figure of merit (ZT). Different commercially available and laboratory made CNTs were used to prepare melt-mixed composites on a small scale. CNTs typically lead to p-type composites with positive S-values. This was found for the two types of multi-walled CNTs (MWCNT) whereby higher Seebeck coefficient in the corresponding buckypapers resulted in higher values also in the composites. Nitrogen doped MWCNTs resulted in negative S-values in the buckypapers as well as in the polymer composites. When using single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs) with a positive S-value in the buckypapers, positive (polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC), poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), and poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT)) or negative (polyamide 66 (PA66), polyamide 6 (PA6), partially aromatic polyamide (PARA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)) S-values were obtained depending on the matrix polymer and SWCNT type. The study shows that the direct production of n-type melt-mixed polymer composites from p-type commercial SWCNTs with relatively high Seebeck coefficients is possible. The highest Seebeck coefficients obtained in this study were 66.4 µV/K (PBT/7 wt % SWCNT Tuball) and −57.1 µV/K (ABS/0.5 wt % SWCNT Tuball) for p-and n-type composites, respectively. The highest power factor and ZT of 0.28 µW/m·K2 and 3.1 × 10−4, respectively, were achieved in PBT with 4 wt % SWCNT Tuball.
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    Laboratory setup for extreme ultraviolet coherence tomography driven by a high-harmonic source
    (Melville, NY : American Inst. of Physics, 2019) Nathanael, Jan; Wünsche, Martin; Fuchs, Silvio; Weber, Thomas; Abel, Johann J.; Reinhard, Julius; Wiesner, Felix; Hübner, Uwe; Skruszewicz, Slawomir J.; Paulus, Gerhard G.; Rödel, Christian
    We present a laboratory beamline dedicated to nanoscale subsurface imaging using extreme ultraviolet coherence tomography (XCT). In this setup, broad-bandwidth extreme ultraviolet (XUV) radiation is generated by a laser-driven high-harmonic source. The beamline is able to handle a spectral range of 30-130 eV and a beam divergence of 10 mrad (full width at half maximum). The XUV radiation is focused on the sample under investigation, and the broadband reflectivity is measured using an XUV spectrometer. For the given spectral window, the XCT beamline is particularly suited to investigate silicon-based nanostructured samples. Cross-sectional imaging of layered nanometer-scale samples can be routinely performed using the laboratory-scale XCT beamline. A depth resolution of 16 nm has been achieved using the spectral range of 36-98 eV which represents a 33% increase in resolution due to the broader spectral range compared to previous work. © 2019 Author(s).
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    A Light-Driven Microgel Rotor
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2019) Zhang, Hang; Koens, Lyndon; Lauga, Eric; Mourran, Ahmed; Möller, Martin
    The current understanding of motility through body shape deformation of micro-organisms and the knowledge of fluid flows at the microscale provides ample examples for mimicry and design of soft microrobots. In this work, a 2D spiral is presented that is capable of rotating by non-reciprocal curling deformations. The body of the microswimmer is a ribbon consisting of a thermoresponsive hydrogel bilayer with embedded plasmonic gold nanorods. Such a system allows fast local photothermal heating and nonreciprocal bending deformation of the hydrogel bilayer under nonequilibrium conditions. It is shown that the spiral acts as a spring capable of large deformations thanks to its low stiffness, which is tunable by the swelling degree of the hydrogel and the temperature. Tethering the ribbon to a freely rotating microsphere enables rotational motion of the spiral by stroboscopic irradiation. The efficiency of the rotor is estimated using resistive force theory for Stokes flow. This research demonstrates microscopic locomotion by the shape change of a spiral and may find applications in the field of microfluidics, or soft microrobotics.
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    Lattice matched Volmer–Weber growth of Fe3Si on GaAs(001) - the influence of the growth rate
    (Bristol : IOP Publ., 2019) Jenichen, B.; Cheng, Z.; Hanke, M.; Herfort, J.; Trampert, A.
    We investigate the formation of lattice matched single-crystalline Fe3Si/GaAs(001) ferromagnet/semiconductor hybrid structures by Volmer-Weber island growth, starting from the epitaxial growth of isolated Fe3Si islands up to the formation of continuous films as a result of island coalescence. We find coherent defect-free layers exhibiting compositional disorder near the Fe3Si/GaAs - interface for higher growth rates, whereas they are fully ordered for lower growth rates. © 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd.
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    Energy conservation and harvesting in wireless sensor networks
    (London : Hindawi, 2019) Stojcev, Mile; Stamenkovic, Zoran; Dimitrijevic, Bojan
    [No abstract available]
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    Analysis of Human Breath by Millimeter-Wave/Terahertz Spectroscopy
    (Basel : MDPI, 2019) Rothbart, Nick; Holz, Olaf; Koczulla, Rembert; Schmalz, Klaus; Hübers, Heinz-Wilhelm
    Breath gas analysis is a promising tool for medical research and diagnosis. A particularly powerful technological approach is millimeter-wave/terahertz (mmW/THz) spectroscopy, because it is a very sensitive and highly selective technique. In addition, it offers the potential for compact and affordable sensing systems for wide use. In this work, we demonstrate the capability of a mmW/THz spectrometer for breath analysis. Samples from three volunteers and a sample from ambient air were analyzed with respect to 31 different molecular species. High-resolution absorption spectra were measured by scanning two absorption lines from each species. Out of the 31, a total of 21 species were detected. The results demonstrate the potential of mmW/THz spectroscopy for breath analysis. © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
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    Fiber Vector Bend Sensor Based on Multimode Interference and Image Tapping
    (Basel : MDPI, 2019) Zhang, Ziyang; Rahman, Aashia; Fiebrandt, Julia; Wang, Yu; Sun, Kai; Luo, Jiajun; Madhav, Kalaga; Roth, Martin M.
    A grating-less fiber vector bend sensor is demonstrated using a standard single mode fiber spliced to a multimode fiber as a multimode interference device. The ring-shaped light intensity distribution at the end of the multimode fiber is subject to a vector transition in response to the fiber bend. Instead of comprehensive imaging processing for the analysis, the image can be tapped out by a seven-core fiber spliced to the other end of the multimode fiber. The seven-core fiber is further guided to seven single mode fibers via a commercial fan-out device. By comparing the relative light intensities received at the seven outputs, both the bend radius and its direction can be determined. Experiment has shown that a slight bend displacement of 10 µm over a 1.2-cm-long multimode fiber in the X direction (bend angle of 0.382 ◦ ) causes a distinctive power imbalance of 4.6 dB between two chosen outputs (numbered C4 and C7). For the same displacement in the Y direction, the power ratio between the previous two outputs C4 and C7 remains constant, while the imbalance between another pair (C3 and C4) rises significantly to 7.0 dB. © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.