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Joint improvement of the Seebeck coefficient S and conductivity σ is a pressing issue to overcome the limit of the figure of merit ( ZT ) enhancement of thermoelectric materials. This study presents a joint improvement in the ZnO:Al films by tuning the diffusion of Au layer via substrate temperature, using a radio frequency-assisted molecular beam vapor deposition method. The phenomenon occurs in the ZnO:Al films at the room temperature (RT) substrate deposited on a 10 nm Au layer (RT-ZnO:AuAl). The films have a hexagonal wurtzite structure with an in-plane (002) preferred orientation and smooth surface. The resistivity values of the films are at the same magnitude of the transparent conducting oxide (~10 −6  Ω·m). The carrier concentration reaches 2.60 × 10 21  cm −3 for the RT-ZnO:AuAl film. The S is about 29.5 μV/K at 240 °C. Joint improvement of conductivity and Seebeck coefficient makes the PF of the RT-ZnO:AuAl film reaches 3.58 × 10 −5  Wm −1  K −2 , which is two orders of magnitude larger than that of the RT-ZnO:Au film without joint improvement. The results indicate that the higher conductivity originates from the Au layer, in-plane (002) preferred orientation, and the easily excited carriers in the ZnO:Al due to the low binding energy of the Zn 2p electrons. The large S in the film is related to the high effective masses due to the impact of the diffusion of the Au layer on electronic interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An alternative solution for tungsten as a plasma facing material could be the use of W heavy alloys as they are produced commercially by several companies. They consist of up to 97% W and Ni/Fe (or Ni/Cu) admixtures, they are readily machinable and considerably cheaper than bulk tungsten. Their major drawbacks in view of the application in fusion experiments are the rather low melting temperature and their magnetic properties (in case of a Ni/Fe binder phase). In a first step W heavy alloys from two manufacturers were investigated concerning their thermal and magnetic properties and subjected to screening tests and cyclic loading in the high heat flux test facility GLADIS with up to 20 MW m −2 and surface temperatures of up to 2200 °C, showing no macroscopic failure. SEM investigations show a segregation of Ni and Fe at the top surface after the thermal overloading, but no signs of micro-cracking. The long-term behaviour of a W–Ni/Fe tile under plasma and electromagnetic load was investigated in ASDEX Upgrade using its divertor manipulator. The tile was exposed in discharges with record values of injected energy and power. Despite the observed surface modifications (Ni/Fe segregation) the W heavy alloys seem to provide a pragmatic and cost-effective alternative to bulk W tiles in the divertor of ASDEX Upgrade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fused silica is an ideal material for nanofluidic systems due to its extreme purity, chemical inertness, optical transparency, and native hydrophilicity. However, devices requiring embedded electrodes (e.g., for bioanalytical applications) are difficult to realize given the typical high temperature fusion bonding requirements (~1000 °C). In this work, we optimize a two-step plasma activation process which involves an oxygen plasma treatment followed by a nitrogen plasma treatment to increase the fusion bonding strength of fused silica at room temperature. We conduct a parametric study of this treatment to investigate its effect on bonding strength, surface roughness, and microstructure morphology. We find that by including a nitrogen plasma treatment to the standard oxygen plasma activation process, the room temperature bonding strength increases by 70% (0.342 J/m² to 0.578 J/m²). Employing this optimized process, we fabricate and characterize a nanofluidic device with an integrated and dielectrically separated electrode. Our results prove that the channels do not leak with over 1MPa of applied pressure after a 24 h storage time, and the electrode exhibits capacitive behavior with a finite parallel resistance in the upper MΩ range for up to a 6.3Vdc bias. These data thus allow us to overcome the barrier that has barred nanofluidic progress for the last decade, namely, the development of nanometer scale well-defined channels with embedded metallic materials for far-reaching applications such as the exquisite manipulation of biomolecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the International Conference on Cold Fusion (ICCF20) in 2016. Topics include the concern and disappointment in the cold fusion field, framework of electrochemistry, and participation of C. R. Narayanaswamy, ferro-silicon smelting plant in Coimbatore, India which uses electric carbon arc technology for melting and mixing iron and quartz sand.

Norman Collie was Professor of Organic Chemistry and Director of Laboratories at University College London between 1902 and 1928. He was a pioneering mountaineer but was also a prolific inventor; this review focuses on that little-known latter aspect of his activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses findings of a study which examines the factors of uncertainty in excess heat experiments, relating to a law of physics. The study explores the underlying process of thermodynamics on its primary & secondary effects, the principle of least action nuclear process (LANP) theory and nuclear transmutations in metal lattice electrodes. It concludes the role of nuclear transmtations in cold fusion experiments.

This letter demonstrates the feasibility of full room temperature InGaZnO thin-film transistor (TFT) using trilayer gate dielectric on flexible substrate. Through integrating high-κ SiO2/TiO2/SiO2 (STS) gate-stack as well as InGaZnO channel thickness modulation, the resulting flexible indium-gallium-zinc oxide (IGZO)/STS TFTs show low threshold voltage of 0.5 V, small subthreshold swing of 0.129 V/decade, high field effect mobility of 76 cm2/Vs , and good ION/IOFF ratio of 6.7×105, which have the potential for the application of high-resolution flexible display. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A brief introduction of 25 year research on 'cold fusion' in China is presented with address on its five features and the international recognitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]