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In this study, the multi-objective optimization method for thin-wall milling of 6061 aluminum alloy is addressed. The technological parameters including the cutting speed Vc, the feed of tooth fz, and the width of cut ar are considered input variables, while the manufacturing responses are surface roughness Ra, production rate MRR, and flatness deviation FL. The goal is to find the optimum cutting parameters to minimize Ra and FL and maximize MRR, at the same time. To solve this problem, the desirability function approach was used based on Taguchi orthogonal array. Twenty-seven experiments were conducted and the measured data were collected. The mathematical regression models for responses Ra, MRR, and FL were then generated and evaluated by using the analysis of variance method. Then, the multiple objective optimization problems were solved by using the desirability function approach. The optimum cutting parameters set are Vc=120m/min, fz=0.06mm, and ar=0.13131mm, corresponding to Ra=0.1613µm, MRR=17197.45cm3/min, and FL=0.0995mm.

The integration of low frequency vibration with the workpiece can enhance the machining efficiency in die sinking electrical discharge machining. Since the adaptation of vibration increases the complexity in such process, the optimization of the process parameters is very important. In the present work, a research attempt has been made on Taguchi based single- objective optimization of vibration assisted die- sinking electrical discharge machining process while machining SKD61 die steel. The process parameters such as pulse current (I), pulse on- time (TON), pulse off- time (TOF), frequency of vibration (F) have been selected as input factors for investigation. Material removal rate has been chosen as quality indicator. From the experimental investigation, it has been found that material removal rate has been significantly improved by integrating vibration into the workpiece. The optimal combination of process parameters has been found with the accuracy of 6.90%.

It is essential to establish multi-criteria decision-making for computing the optimal process factors required to enhance the performance of the electrical discharge machining (EDM) process. For this purpose, criteria decision-making based on the Taguchi–grey analysis was employed in this study. Several responses such as material removal rates, average surface roughness, microhardness, and average white layer thickness were chosen to evaluate machinability. From the existing factor combinations, the optimum electrical factors that resulted in improved surface performance measures were identified as a peak current of 5 A, gap voltage of 50 V, pulse on time of 18 µs, and pulse off time of 37 µs, with a standard deviation within 4.1%. The maximum high- and low-grade value shows that the peak current affects performance measures, as it is essential in determining the spark energy in the EDM process. Moreover, significantly improved surface performance measures were achieved using the optimal process parameter combinations for the EDM process.

Topological electronic phases exist in a variety of naturally occurring materials but can also be created artificially. We used a cryogenic scanning tunneling microscope to create dimerized chains of identical quantum dots on a semiconductor surface and to demonstrate that these chains give rise to one-dimensional topological phases. The dots were assembled from charged adatoms, creating a confining potential with single-atom precision acting on electrons in surface states of the semiconductor. Quantum coupling between the dots leads to electronic states localized at the ends of the chains, as well as at deliberately created internal domain walls, in agreement with the predictions of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy also reveals deviations from this well-established model manifested in an asymmetric level spectrum and energy shifts of the boundary states. The deviations arise because the dots are charged and hence lead to an onsite potential that varies along the chain. We show that this variation can be mitigated by electrostatic gating using auxiliary charged adatoms, enabling fine-tuning of the boundary states and control of their quantum superposition. The experimental data, which are complemented by theoretical modeling of the potential and the resulting eigenstates, reveal the important role of electrostatics in these engineered quantum structures., 16 pages double-line text plus appendix, 7 figures

Based on the experience acquired early from pioneering work at Stanford University and Thomson-CSF starting in the mid 70s, fiber optic gyro (FOG) R&D began at Photonetics in the late 80s to yield OCTANS, a FOG-based inertial strapdown system providing attitude and gyro compassing, at the end of the 90s. This FOG activity was spun out from Photonetics in October 2000 to create iXsea with only 16 people. The product line was rapidly expanded with PHINS, an inertial-grade INS (Inertial Navigation System) and later with MARINS, a strategic-grade INS, as well as with ASTRIX systems developed for satellites in cooperation with EADS-Astrium (today Airbus Defence & Space). In 2010, iXsea merged with several subsidiaries of its parent company, iXcore, to create iXblue. Among these subsidiaries were iXfiber, a maker of specialty fibers, and Photline, producing lithium-niobate integrated optics, hence allowing iXblue to fully master the key FOG components supply chain. Ten years later, the ‘adventure' is continuing and the former start-up is now quite a significant player in the inertial world, especially for high-grade applications. The cumulated number of high-performance 3-axis systems in service has grown to over 8,000, i.e. more than 25,000 FOG axes, with a bias stability ranging from 30 mdeg/h down to 15 μdeg/h, and an angular random walk (ARW) performance ranging from 8 mdeg/√h down to 40 μdeg/√h depending on the size of their sensing coils (3 m2 to 1000 m2) and on the application!

Mixing powder into dielectric fluid in electrical discharge machining (PMEDM) is a very interesting technological solution in current research. This method has the highest efficiency in simultaneously improving the productivity and quality of a machined surface. In this study, material removal rate (MRR), surface roughness (SR), and the micro-hardness of a machined surface (HV) in electrical discharge machining of die steels in dielectric fluid with mixed powder were optimized simultaneously using the Taguchi–TOPSIS method. The process parameters used in the study included workpiece materials (SKD61, SKD11, SKT4), electrode materials (copper, graphite), electrode polarity, pulse-on time, pulse-off time, current, and titanium powder concentration. Some interaction pairs among the process parameters were also used to evaluate the effect on the optimal results. The results showed that MRR and HV increased and SR decreased when Ti powder was mixed into the dielectric fluid in EDM. Factors such as powder concentration, electrode material, electrode polarity, and pulse-off time were found to be significant in the optimal indicator (C*) and the S/N ratio of C*. Powder concentration was also found to be the most significant factor; its contribution to C* was 50.90%, and S/N ratio of C* was 51.46%. The interactions of the powder concentration and certain process parameters for C* were found to be largest. The optimum quality characteristics were MRR = 38.79 mm3/min, SR = 2.71 μm, and HV = 771 HV. The optimal parameters were verified by experiment, and its accuracy was good (max error ≈13.38%). The finished machined surface under optimum conditions was also analyzed. The machined surface quality under optimum conditions was good. In addition, the results of the study showed the TOPSIS limitations of TOPSIS in a multi-criteria optimization problem.

International audience; Non-covalent functionalization of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) allows the combination of the remarkable physical properties of these one-dimensional systems with the properties of the functional molecules and, at the same time, modifies the physico-chemical properties of nanotubes for specific applications. The use of functionalized carbon nanotubes in electronics often requires the deposition of the nanotubes on a substrate, and eventually an annealing step, which can modify their properties due to molecule-surface interactions. Using scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) and classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations we studied the physical properties of carbon nanotubes functionalized with porphyrin derivatives and discuss the effect of physisorption and sample annealing on the nanotube surface. The results reveal that the functionalized parts exhibit non periodic structure with a significant modification of the local density of states. The coverage degree, can be estimated from STM images. When the sample is annealed, STM data clearly show an unwrapping of the functionalizing species leading to a lowering of the coverage degree. In addition, periodic structures were observed that correspond to the surfactants originally present in the CNT sample, revealing that the surfactants are still present in such functionalized nanotubes. These results provide information on the structure and properties of polymer functionalized nanotubes and the effect of substrate interaction and sample annealing that can markedly modify the structure and properties of the functionalized nanotubes.

The combination of graphene with molecules offers promising opportunities to achieve new functionalities. In these hybrid structures, interfacial charge transfer plays a key role in the electronic properties and thus has to be understood and mastered. Using scanning tunneling microscopy and ab initio density functional theory calculations, we show that combining nitrogen doping of graphene with an electric field allows for a selective control of the charge state in a molecular layer on graphene. On pristine graphene, the local gating applied by the tip induces a shift of the molecular levels of adsorbed molecules and can be used to control their charge state. Ab initio calculations show that under the application of an electric field, the hybrid molecule/graphene system behaves like an electrostatic dipole with opposite charges in the molecule and graphene sub-units that are found to be proportional to the electric field amplitude, which thereby controls the charge transfer. When local gating is combined with nitrogen doping of graphene, the charging voltage of molecules on nitrogen is greatly lowered. Consequently, applying the proper electric field allows one to obtain a molecular layer with a mixed charge state, where a selective reduction is performed on single molecules at nitrogen sites.

We created hexagonal rings on a semiconductor surface by atom manipulation in a scanning tunneling microscope (STM). Our measurements reveal the generic level structure of a quantum ring, including its single ground state and doubly degenerate excited states. The ring shape leads to a periodic potential modulation and thereby a perturbation of the level structure that can be understood in analogy to band gap formation in a one-dimensional periodic potential. The modulation can be enhanced or inverted by further adding or removing atoms with the STM tip. Our results demonstrate the possibility of designing and controlling electron dynamics in a tunable periodic potential, holding promise for the construction of two-dimensional artificial lattices on a semiconductor surface.

International audience; The ability to trap adatoms with an organic molecule on a surface has been used to obtain a range of molecular functionalities controlled by the choice of the molecular trapping site and local deprotonation. The tetraphenylporphyrin molecule used in this study contains three types of trapping sites: two carbon rings (phenyl and pyrrole) and the center of a macrocycle. Catching a gold adatom on the carbon rings leads to an electronic doping of the molecule, whereas trapping the adatom at the macrocycle center with single deprotonation leads to a molecular rotor and a second deprotonation leads to a molecular jumper. We call " atom trapping chemistry " the control of the structure, electronic, and dynamical properties of a molecule achieved by trapping metallic atoms with a molecule on a surface. In addition to the examples previously described, we show that more complex structures can be envisaged.

The chemical doping of graphene is a promising route to improve the performances of graphene-based devices through enhanced chemical reactivity, catalytic activity, or transport characteristics. Understanding the interaction of molecules with doped graphene at the atomic scale is therefore a leading challenge to be overcome for the development of graphene-based electronics and sensors. Here, we use scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy to study the electronic interaction of pristine and nitrogen-doped graphene with self-assembled tetraphenylporphyrin molecules. We provide an extensive measurement of the electronic structure of single porphyrins on Au(111), thus revealing an electronic decoupling effect of the porphyrins adsorbed on graphene. A tip-induced switching of the inner hydrogen atoms of porphyrins, first identified on Au(111), is observed on graphene, allowing the identification of the molecular conformation of porphyrins in the self-assembled molecular layer. On nitrogen-doped graphene, a local modification of the charge transfer around the nitrogen sites is evidenced via a downshift of the energies of the molecular elecronic states. These data show how the presence of nitrogen atoms in the graphene network modifies the electronic interaction of organic molecules with graphene. These results provide a basic understanding for the exploitation of doped graphene in molecular sensors or nanoelectronics.

International audience; Free-base porphyrin molecules offer appealing options to tune the interaction with their environment via the manipulation of their inner hydrogen atoms and molecular conformation. Using scanning tunneling microscopy we show, through a systematic study, that the molecular conformation, electronic gap, wave function, and molecule-substrate interaction are modified by hydrogen switch or removal. Experimental results in combination with ab initio calculations provide an understanding of the underlying physical process.

After the discovery of graphene and its consequences in the field of nanoscience and nanomaterials, there has been a growing interest in 2D materials and also their vertical stacking due to unique properties and potential applications.[1] For instance, it was shown the transport properties of exfoliated graphene supported by hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) could approach the intrinsic graphene limits.[2] Nevertheless, studying the structural properties of 2D materials and 2D heterostructures is crucial to understand their physical and chemical properties. Our motivations have been to exploit state of the art aberration-corrected high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to study the structure and electronic properties of graphene (G), h-BN and G/h-BN heterostructures. HRTEM analyses were conducted with a JEOL ARM microscope equipped together with a cold FEG, an aberration corrector for the objective lens and a One view camera (Gatan). Notably, we used high-speed atomic-scale imaging to study with unprecedented dynamics (up to 25 fps) the nucleation and growth mechanisms of triangular holes in h-BN under beam irradiation (Figure 1). The direct observation of B and N atom sputtering and surface reconstruction processes allow understanding how the triangular shape and orientation of holes are maintained during the growth. Interestingly, by studying the effects of the electron dose and the number of BN layers, we demonstrate that these atomic-scale processes are simultaneously driven by kinetic and thermodynamic effects. Further works are in progress to study the stability of h-BN/G stacking under electron-beam irradiation. STM analyses were carried out with low temperature STM at 4 K, on 2D heterostructures that consist in a few layers of graphene doped with nitrogen on thick exfoliated flakes of BN deposited on SiO2. Remarkably, we show that STM allows identifying and characterizing ionization defects within the BN flakes below the graphene layers (Figure 2). This study opens new avenues to probe the electronic interactions between this two stacked materials. Keywords: hexagonal boron nitride; aberration-corrected TEM; electron beam irradiation; van der walls heterostructures

This article describes the significant roles of process parameters in the deposition of graphene films via cobalt-catalyzed decomposition of methane diluted in hydrogen using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The influence of growth temperature (700–850 °C), molar concentration of methane (2%–20%), growth time (30–90 s), and microwave power (300–400 W) on graphene thickness and defect density is investigated using Taguchi method which enables reaching the optimal parameter settings by performing reduced number of experiments. Growth temperature is found to be the most influential parameter in minimizing the number of graphene layers, whereas microwave power has the second largest effect on crystalline quality and minor role on thickness of graphene films. The structural properties of PECVD graphene obtained with optimized synthesis conditions are investigated with Raman spectroscopy and corroborated with atomic-scale characterization performed by high-resolution transmission electron micr...

Preparation of colloidal gold conjugated antibodies specific for influenza A/H5N1 and its use in developing a virus A/H5N1 rapid diagnostic kit is presented. Colloidal gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were prepared through citrate reduction. Single chain antibodies specific to H5N1 (scFv7 and scFv24) were produced using pTI2+ vector and E. coli strain HB2151. These antibodies were purified by affinity chromatography technique employing HiTrap Chelating HP columns pre-charged with Ni2+. The method for preparation of antibody‐colloidal gold conjugate was based on electrostatic force binding antibody with colloidal gold. The effect of factors such as pH and concentration of antibody has been quantitatively analyzed using spectroscopic methods after adding 1wt% NaCl which induced AuNP aggregation. The morphological study by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the average size of the spherical AuNPs was 23nm with uniform sizes. The spectroscopic properties of colloidal AuNPs showed the typical surface plasmon resonance band at 523nm in UV-visible spectrum. The optimal pH of conjugated colloidal gold was found between 8.0 and 10.0. The activity of synthesized antibody labeled AuNPs for detection of H5N1 flu virus was checked by dot blot immunological method. The results confirmed the ability in detection of the A/H5N1 virus of the prepared antibody labeled gold particles and opened up the possibility of using them in manufacturing rapid detection kit for this virus.