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A passive visible spectroscopic diagnostic which may measure the profiles of line emission and continuum radiation simultaneously is first installed on HL-2A tokamak. The line-integrated brightness profiles nearly covering the whole plasma cross section are measured with the spatial resolution of 2.7 cm and temporal resolution of 10 ms. The absolute intensity calibration and relative sensitivity calibration among all the channels have been provided for this diagnostic. Graphite tiles to face the collective lens are installed on the inner vessel wall, which reduces the influence of wall reflection on the optical measurements. A local relatively-low temperature region, located at the plasma edge above the mid-plane and caused by plasma-baffle interaction, is confirmed by this diagnostic. The increase of the line-averaged Z ¯ e f f during auxiliary heating discharge is mainly due to the inward impurity transport. Assumed Zeff with flat profiles in Ohmic and NBI discharges, the line-integrated electron density profiles measured by the visible bremsstrahlung are in good agreement with the ones measured by the FIR interferometer.

While it is well known that inclusions (gaseous, fluid or solid) in a solid matrix would migrate under the driving force of a temperature gradient and the inclusion morphology is strongly affected by the material anisotropy, the influence of material anisotropy on the thermal migration of inclusions is still not clear. Via including an interfacial energy anisotropy into a phase field model of void migration driven by a temperature gradient, here we show that the interfacial energy anisotropy brings nontrivial effects on the void migration behavior. On the one hand, the void deformation during migration depends on the orientation of the anisotropy. On the other hand, a transverse velocity of the void appears if there is a misalignment between the symmetry axis of the anisotropy and the global temperature gradient direction. Such a transverse motion is due to the fact that the thermal diffusion flow becomes asymmetrically distributed around the void surface if the temperature gradient direction does not coincide with the symmetry axis of the anisotropy. The effects of the void size, the anisotropy parameter, and the thermal conductivity difference between the void and the matrix are discussed.

Background/Introduction Patients with a history of cardiovascular disease are considered at high risk for cardiovascular (CV) events. Existing studies have indicated that a high proportion of patients developed secondary or tertiary atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) events within a relatively short period of time. However, the whole picture regarding when and how these subsequent CV events occur is not well understood, particularly in Asia. Purpose To estimate the incidences, characteristics and mortality of subsequent ASCVD events among those with new-onset ASCVD events (index events). Methods We utilized National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan to identify patients with new-onset ASCVD events (index events), and further categorized them into those with incident coronary heart disease (CHD), cerebrovascular disease (CBVD) and peripheral artery disease (PAD) during 2012–2014. Re-admission due to ASCVD after the index event, defined as subsequent ASCVD event, was our main outcome of interest. All subsequent ASCVD events within 3-year period after the index ASCVD events were identified. Particularly, we intended to sequentially identify first and second subsequent ASCVD events. Descriptive statistics regarding proportion of developing subsequent ASCVD events as well as the type of subsequent ASCVD events were estimated. We also used Kaplan-Meier method to estimate crude survival curve of all-cause mortality following each subsequent ASCVD event. Results We identified 97,321, 120,914 and 14,794 patients with new-onset CHD, CBVD and PAD, respectively. The proportion of developing subsequent events increased with sequence of events occurred (for the first three subsequent event, the proportions of developing subsequent event were: 22.5, 25.6 and 30.9% for CHD, 21.0, 26.2 and 32.4% for CBVD, and 40.2, 41.4 and 43.6% for PAD). The majority of patients had the same type of ASCVD for their subsequent events to the primary event (proportions of having the same ASCVD type of subsequent event to the primary event ranged: 66–81% for CHD, 80–84% for CBVD, and 76–78% for PAD). The 1-year readmission rates increased if patients encountered more subsequent events. Among patients with new-onset CHD, the 1-year readmission rates following new-onset events, first subsequent events and second subsequent events were 43.1%, 47.6% and 55.3%, respectively. More subsequent events also worsened the survival. The 1-year survival rates following new-onset CHD events, first subsequent events and second subsequent events were 85.9%, 84.3% and 79.8%, respectively. Similar trend was observed for CBVD and PAD patients as well. Conclusions Compared with new-onset ASCVD events, subsequent ASCVD events posed a heavier disease burden in terms of readmission and mortality. These results highlighted the importance of prevention of secondary or tertiary ASCVD events. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Private company. Main funding source(s): Amgen Taiwan Limited

In ASDEX Upgrade hybrid discharges, it is found that an externally applied n = 1 field preferentially distorts the plasma in the core, leading to significant flow damping there and elsewhere across the plasma radius. MARS-F/Q modeling of a neoclassical toroidal viscous NTV) torque that results from an amplified internal kink-type displacement in the plasma core is qualitatively consistent with the measured internal displacements, beta dependence, and rotation damping. Sensitivity studies indicate that the internal kink response and the resulting core flow damping critically depend on the plasma equilibrium pressure, the initial flow speed, the coil phasing and the proximity of q0 to 1. No appreciable flow damping is found for a βN plasma. A relatively slower initial toroidal flow results in a stronger core flow damping, due to the enhanced NTV torque. Weaker flow damping is achieved as q0 is assumed to be farther away from 1. Finally, a systematic coil phasing scan finds the strongest (weakest) flow damping occurring at the coil phasing of approximately 20 (200) degrees, quantitatively agreeing with experiments. This study points to the important role played by the internal kink response in plasma core flow damping in high-beta hybrid scenario plasmas such as that foreseen for ITER.

In the present paper, we systematically investigate the nonlinear evolution of the resistive kink mode in the low resistivity plasma in Tokamak geometry. We find that the aspect ratio of the initial equilibrium can significantly influence the critical resistivity for plasmoid formation. With the aspect ratio of 3/1, the critical resistivity can be one magnitude larger than that in cylindrical geometry due to the strong mode–mode coupling. We also find that the critical resistivity for plasmoid formation η crit decreases with increasing plasma viscosity in the moderately low resistivity regime. Due to the geometry of Tokamaks, the critical resistivity for plasmoid formation increases with the increasing radial location of the resonant surface.

The substrate orientation can affect the stray grain formation in laser remelted single crystal superalloys. A systematic investigation on the effect of substrate orientation on stray grain susceptibility was performed by varying laser scanning directions on three most conventional crystallographic planes (001), (011), and (111). We found that the scanning direction has a drastic effect on stray grain formation in (011) and (111) planes but shows less impact in (001) plane. The comparison of different planes reveals that the stray gain susceptibility in (011) plane is the weakest whereas that in (111) plane is the strongest. This can be attributed to the lower volume fraction of the local stray grains on the (011) plane. Our results show that stray grain can be depressed most effectively if a laser repair is performed in (011) plane along [100] direction, which can provide an in-depth insight into the mechanism of how to avoid stray grain formation in the future laser repair of single crystal components.

In this work, hetero-structured SnO/rGO nanocomposites were synthesized by hydrothermal method using GO raw materials prepared by Hummers’ method. The crystal structures, morphologies and microstructures of SnO/rGO nanocomposites were detailedly characterized. Moreover, the gas sensors based on SnO/rGO nanocomposites displayed a high response of 4.76 toward 5 ppm ethanol at 170 °C with a fast response time of ~20 s, even a relatively high response ~2.26 to 400 ppb ethanol. Series of analysis indicated that these excellent performances could be originated from three aspects: 1) the formed p-p hetero-junctions between SnO and rGO that separated the carriers, 2) the high conductivity of rGO components that facilitated the transport of electrons, and 3) the functional groups (such as C O and COOH) on rGO that enhanced for the absorption sensing of ethanol.

The flowerlike Sn doped ZnO nanostructures were synthesized by a cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)-assisted hydrothermal process at low temperature (150 °C). The morphology and structure of sample were characterized by XRD, EDS, XPS, SEM and TEM analysis. The results indicate that the sample is well crystallized wurtzite hexagonal phase of ZnO, and preferentially grows up along [0001] direction. The possible formation mechanism of flowerlike ZnO nanostructures is proposed. Moreover, the sensor based on flowerlike ZnO nanostructures exhibits enhanced sensing performances to acetone at 300 °C. The response is up to 600 when the sensor is exposed to 100 ppm acetone. The response and recovery times are about 24 and 8 s, respectively. These results demonstrate that the Sn doped ZnO nanoflowers can be used as the sensing materials for fabricating high performance acetone sensor.

In this study, graphene oxide (GO) sheets were synthesized by using a modified Hummers׳ method and Offeman׳s method. The GO was mixed with ZnSe prepared using various amounts of N 2 H 4 at a ratio of 1:1 to form precursors. The ZnSe/graphene nanocomposites were synthesized under hydrothermal conditions (180 °C; 12 h) from the previous precursor. The obtained ZnSe/graphene photocatalysts were characterized by UV–vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation was evaluated in a methylene blue (MB) dye degradation reaction in the aqueous phase. The results show that the ZnSe–N 2 H 4 reacted with the GO, possibly because the N 2 H 4 contained in the ZnSe reduced the GO to graphene and formed a ZnSe/graphene nanocomposite. The GN-5-mL ZnSe nanocomposite prepared in this study could degrade more than 90% of the MB in 2 h and almost completely degrade the MB in 4 h under visible-light irradiation. The degradation efficiency of the ZnSe/graphene nanocomposite was 99.6% after 6 h of visible light irradiation; the pseudo-first-order reaction rate constant of the ZnSe/graphene nanocomposite was 1.27 h −1 .

Background B-cell lymphomas are a diverse group of hematological neoplasms with differential etiology and clinical trajectories. Increased insights in the etiology and the discovery of prediagnostic markers have the potential to improve the clinical course of these neoplasms. Methods We investigated in a prospective study global gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 263 incident B-cell lymphoma cases, diagnosed between 1 and 17 years after blood sample collection, and 439 controls, nested within two European cohorts. Results Our analyses identified only transcriptomic markers for specific lymphoma subtypes; few markers of multiple myeloma (N = 3), and 745 differentially expressed genes in relation to future risk of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The strongest of these associations were consistently found in both cohorts and were related to (B-) cell signaling networks and immune system regulation pathways. CLL markers exhibited very high predictive abilities of disease onset even in cases diagnosed more than 10 years after blood collection. Conclusions This is the first investigation on blood cell global gene expression and future risk of B-cell lymphomas. We mainly identified genes in relation to future risk of CLL that are involved in biological pathways, which appear to be mechanistically involved in CLL pathogenesis. Many but not all of the top hits we identified have been reported previously in studies based on tumor tissues, therefore suggesting that a mixture of preclinical and early disease markers can be detected several years before CLL clinical diagnosis.

CdS buffer layers deposited by chemical bath deposition (CBD) have been used in high-efficiency Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells. In view of the harmful environmental impact of Cd due to high amount of Cd compound waste from large scale solar cell production, Cd-free buffer layers should be developed. In this work CBD method was used to deposit nanocrystalline zinc sulfide (ZnS) thin films for CIGS solar cell. The growth behavior containing deposit morphology, growth rate, structure and optical properties of ZnS thin films within 100 nm thick is investigated by a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), atomic force microscope (AFM) and ultraviolet visible light spectroscope (UV/VIS). The FE-SEM morphologies showed that the impact, even and dense ZnS films were deposited on soda lime glass from solution contained high concentration ratio of thiourea. The TEM diffraction patterns and XRD patterns revealed that ZnS films were nanocrystallines, of which FCC (111) phase dominated. The growth rate and transmittance of ZnS thin films are 0.88 nm/min and over 80%, respectively. The ZnS/CIGS/FTO structure and Al:ZnO/ZnO/ZnS structure in CIGS solar cell formed by wet processes showed good heterointerfaces.

In this paper, in order to develop a low silver content lead-free solder with good overall properties, a newly designed solder alloys of Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu-20Bi-xCe type, with addition of varying amounts of rare earth Ce (0.05 mass%, 0.1 mass% and 0.2 mass%) were studied. The melting temperature of Sn-0.3Ag- 0.7Cu can be decreased substantially through addition of 20 mass% Bi; while the segregation of Bi element in the microstructure of the as-cast alloys can be relieved by micro-alloying with trace amount of rare earth Ce. Besides, aging treatments (160?C held for 6 h) of these solder alloys imply that appropriate amount of Ce addition can not only depress the diffusion induced aggregation of Bi in the microstructure but promote the homogenization during annealing. Compared with Bi-free Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu solder, Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu- 20Bi exhibits better wettability. More excitingly, the wetting property of Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu-20Bi can be further improved by doping little amounts of Ce, especially 0.5 mass%, in which case the spreading area of the solder can be increased to the largest extent. On the whole, the present study reveals that Sn-0.3Ag-0.7Cu- 20Bi-xCe (x=0.05-0.1) is a promising lead-free solder candidate considering the microstructure, melting temperature and wetting properties.

An electroless Ni–P film was first deposited on a spiegel-iron plate and then annealed by an Nd:YAG pulsed wave laser. In order to obtain the optimal laser annealing parameters for maximizing the hardness and minimizing the surface roughness of electroless Ni–P films, the Taguchi method and grey system theory were used to analyze the experimental data. The electroless Ni–P film was also characterized by scanning electron microscopy for the morphology, and transmission electron microscopy for the microstructure and crystal structure. The results showed that the hardness and the surface roughness of electroless Ni–P films can be, at the same time, improved to 50.8% and 68%, respectively, by the laser annealing with the optimal parameters.

Silicon oxide (SiO(subscript x)) nanowires are generally grown on Si substrate under the catalysis of Au in N2 atmosphere at elevated temperatures. Because the price of Au metal is quite high, Fe metal is then used to replace a part of Au for catalyzing the growth of SiO(subscript x) nanowires. The results show that the Fe film can be used as the diffusion barrier of Au. SiO(subscript x) nanowires are grown on Au/Fe/Si substrate at 1030℃. Under the catalysis of Fe/Au, the efficiency for the growth of SiO(subscript x) nanowires is promoted.

Electroless Ni-Cu-P deposits were deposited on the Si substrate in a basic hypophosphite-type plating bath. The effects of pH value and the metal source composition, Ni and Cu, in the plating bath on the kinetics of the Ni-Cu-P deposition were studied. The electroless Ni-Cu-P deposits were characterized by a scanning electron microscope, a transmission electron microscope, an energy dispersive X-ray spectroscope, and an X-ray diffractometer. The results showed that the pH value of the plating bath had no obvious effect on the morphology and composition of electroless Ni-Cu-P deposits. However, the composition of the metal source, Ni and Cu, in the plating bath had great effect on the kinetics of electroless Ni-Cu-P deposition.

A substrate with Ni/Ti/Si structure was used to grow vertical carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with a graphite film over CNT tops by thermal chemical vapor deposition with CH4 gas as carbon source. The carbon nanotubes and the substrate were characterized by a field emission scanning electron microscope for the morphologies, a transmission electron microscope for the microstructures, a Raman spectrograph for the crystallinity, and an Auger electron spectrometer for the depth distribution of elements. The result shows that when the thickness ratio of Ni layer to Ti layer in substrate is about 1, a graphite film with relatively good quality can be formed on the CNT tops.

The Taguchi method was used to obtain the optimum electrodeposition parameters for the synthesis of the CuInSe 2 thin film for solar cells. The parameters consist of annealing temperature, current density, CuCl 2 concentration, FeCl 3 concentration, H 2 SeO 3 concentration, TEA amount, pH value, and deposition time. The experiments were carried out according to an L 18 (2 1 3 7 ) table. An X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) were respectively used to analyze the phases and observe the microstructure and the grain size of the CuInSe 2 film before and after annealing treatment. The results showed that the CuInSe 2 phase was deposited with a preferred plane (112) parallel to the substrate surface. The optimum parameters are as follows: current density, 7 mA/cm 2 ; CuCl 2 concentration, 10 mM; FeCl 3 concentration, 50 mM; H 2 SeO 3 concentration, 15 mM; TEA amount, 0 mL; pH value, 1.65; deposition time, 10 min; and annealing temperature, 500°C.

Aims: The objective of this study was to assess the significance of ulcer size for the survival of gastric cancer patients. Methods: A total of 260 patients with ulcerative gastric cancer who had undergone curative resection were reviewed. The diameter of the malignant ulcer was measured. Patients were divided into group U1 (≤3 cm) and group U2 (>3 cm) according to the diameter of the ulcer. The prognostic significance of ulcer size was assessed by uni- and multivariate analyses. Results: Patient survival was correlated with age, gender, tumor location, tumor size, ulcer size, serosal invasion, node involvement and synchronism distant metastasis. The 5-year overall survival rate in U1 patients was 84.3% as compared with 67.5% in U2 patients (p < 0.001), and the 5-year recurrence-free survival rates were 82.9% for group U1 and 62.5% for group U2 (p = 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that ulcer size is an independently significant predictive factor for survival rates (overall: hazard ratio 1.222, p = 0.003; recurrence-free: hazard ratio 1.205, p = 0.006). Conclusion: Ulcer size might be a potential indicator for advanced disease and the use of minimal local treatments must be considered carefully in larger ulcer size patients.

In this work, an electroless CoWP film deposited on a silicon substrate as a diffusion barrier for electroless Cu and silicon has been studied. Four different Cu 120 nm/CoWP/Si stacked samples with 30, 60, 75, and 100 nm electroless CoWP films were prepared and annealed in a rapid thermal annealing (RTA) furnace at 300°C to 800°C for 5 min. The failure behavior of the electroless CoWP film in the Cu/CoWP/Si sample and the effect of CoWP film thickness on the diffusion barrier properties have been investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and sheet resistance measurements. The composition of the electroless CoWP films was 89.4 at.% Co, 2.4 at.% W, and 8.2 at.% P, as determined by energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS). A 30 nm electroless CoWP film can prevent copper penetration up to 500°C, and a 75 nm electroless CoWP film can survive at least up to 600°C. Therefore, increasing the thickness of electroless CoWP films effectively increases the failure temperature of the Cu/CoWP/Si samples. The observations of SEM and TEM show that interdiffusion of the copper and cobalt causes the failure of the electroless CoWP diffusion barriers in Cu/CoWP/Si during thermal annealing.

A Cu–Zn alloy with about 30 wt.% Zn was used as substrate for the growth of nanosized zinc oxides (ZnO). Before growth of ZnO, a Ni layer was coated on the substrate by electrodeposition technique. This Ni layer was used as a barrier against the diffusion of Zn and as a promoter for the growth of nanosized ZnO. The variables for the ZnO growth contained current density and time for electrodeposition of Ni layer, growth temperature, growth time, mixed gas flow rate, gas ratio of O2/CH4, flow rate of N2 gas for carrying H2O vapor, and temperature of water for producing H2O vapor. The nanosized ZnOs were characterized by a scanning electron microscope for morphology and an energy dispersive X-ray spectroscope for composition. The Taguchi method was used to find the optimum parameters for optimizing the growth of nanosized ZnOs. The result showed that the optimum conditions are: 6 A/dm2 of electrodeposition current density, 30 s of electrodeposition time, 800 °C of growth temperature, 30 min of growth time, 100 sccm of mixed gas flow rate, 1:2 of O2/CH4 ratio, 300 sccm of N2 gas, and 55 °C of water.

In this work a novel method for the growth of Zinc Oxide nanowire was provided. The ZnO nanowires were grown on Ni/Cu–Zn/SiO 2 /Si substrate in H 2 O/ O 2 /CH 4 atmosphere. The substrate was prepared by the following steps. The Si chip was first grown a SiO 2 layer on its surface in air at 1000 °C for 15 min in a general furnace. On this SiO 2 layer a layer of Cu–Zn alloy with about 30 wt.% Zn and a Ni layer were then successively coated using sputtering deposition technique. The Cu–Zn alloy layer was used as the source of Zn and the Ni layer acted as a promoter for the growth of ZnO nanowires. The ZnO nanowire was characterized by a scanning electron microscope for morphology, a transmission electron microscope for microstructure and phase structure. A mechanism for the ZnO nanowire growth on Ni/Cu–Zn/SiO 2 /Si substrate was also proposed.

In this work carbon nanotubes were first grown on copper substrate by chemical vapor deposition method. The Sn deposits were then deposited on the surface of as-grown carbon nanotubes by three different methods: electroplating, electroless plating and displacing methods. The Sn deposits on CNTs surface were characterized by both scanning electron microscope and field emission scanning electron microscope. The compositions of Sn deposits were analyzed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscope. The results showed that both electroless plating and displacing deposits can but the electroplating deposits cannot cover on the surface of CNTs. Besides C, Sn, Ni and Pd, the electroless deposits also contain element of oxygen and the displacing deposits also contain elements of copper and oxygen.

Nanosized ZnOs were synthesized on the surface of α brass coated a film of nickel catalyst at 500–700 °C under atmosphere of O 2 and CH 4 gases. The nanosized ZnOs have shapes including pillar, leaf, sheet and rod, which were determined by the synthesis temperature and the flow rates of O 2 and CH 4 gases. The nanosized ZnOs were characterized by electron microscopy including transmission electron microscope for crystal structure, morphology and high resolution images, both field emission scanning electron microscope and scanning electron microscope for morphology, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscope equipped in electron microscope for chemical composition. A mechanism was proposed for the growth of nanosized ZnO obtained in this work.

In this work, the effect of tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) film as capping layer on the agglomeration of copper film and the appearance of copper silicide was studied. Both samples of Cu 100 nm/ITO 10 nm/Si and ITO 20 nm/Cu 100 nm/ITO 10 nm/Si were prepared by sputtering deposition. After annealing in a rapid thermal annealing (RTA) furnace at various temperatures for 5 min in vacuum, the samples were characterized by four probe measurement for sheet resistance, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis for phase identification, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for surface morphology and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for microstructure. The results show that the sample with ITO capping layer is a good diffusion barrier between copper and silicon at least up to 750 °C, which is 100 °C higher than that of the sample without ITO capping layer. The failure temperature of the sample with ITO capping layer is about 800 °C, which is 100 °C higher than that of the sample without ITO capping layer. The ITO capping layer on Cu/ITO/Si can obstacle the agglomeration of copper film and the appearance of Cu 3 Si phase.

Ni-P-SiC composite coatings were prepared under a given bath composition and operation parameters of electroless plating. The tribological properties of the Ni-P-SiC composite coatings after annealing at 400°C for 1 h were tested in rolling/sliding contact under boundary lubrication condition using a two-roller tribometer. The measurement contained friction coefficient, contact surface temperature, contact electrical resistance, and wear rate of the Ni-P-SiC composite coatings under various slide to roll ratios, loads, and rolling speeds. For the simultaneous examination of the effect of the chosen parameters on the tribological properties of the Ni-P-SiC composite coatings, an orthogonal regression experimental design method was used.

In this work the small amounts of NiSO4 was added to a basic electroless plating bath of CoSO4 with Na2H2PO2 as reducing agent for the deposition of Co–Ni–P film on a silicon substrate. The initial growth behavior, containing plating rate, chemical composition, crystal structure, surface morphology and micro-structure, of the electroless plating film was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results showed that the growth morphology variation of the Co–Ni–P films deposited in the basic CoSO4 + small amounts of NiSO4 bath is the same as that of Co–P film deposited in the basic CoSO4 bath, the plating rate of the Co–Ni–P film is much more rapid than that of the Co–P film, the Ni/Co wt.% in the Co–Ni–P film is greatly larger than that in the plating bath, and the structure of as-deposited film is crystalline at first stage and later stage.

The growth behavior containing deposit morphology, growth rate, activation energy, and growth mechanism of copper on silicon substrate, especially at the initial stage, in the electroless plating process was studied. Copper was deposited on the surface of the silicon substrate in an electroless plating bath containing formalin (CH2O 37vol%) as a reducing agent at a pH value of 12.5 and a temperature of 50-75°C. The copper deposit was characterized using a field emission scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope. The results showed that after the activation process, nanoscale Pd particles were distributed evenly on the surface of the silicon; in the deposition process, copper first nucleated at locations not only near the Pd particles but also between the Pd particles: the growth rate of electroless Cu ranged from 0.517 nm/s at 50°C to 1.929 nm/s at 75°C. The activation energy of electroless Cu on Si was 52.97 kJ/mol.

This paper proposes an effective method for improving the processing quality and speed of Moire pattern segmentation. The method involves using quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization(QPSO) based on two-dimensional (2D) entropy theory.First, the beat phenomena generated by grating interference, also called a Moire pattern fringe, areextracted through FFT filtering. Subsequently, the fringe is segmented by two thresholds with maximized 2D entropy based on a QPSO algorithm. Verifying the experimental results showed that the proposed approach enabled obtaining an improved segmentation quality, fast computing performance, and favorable convergent effects. Keywords-Moire pattern; segmentation; binarization; twodimensional entropy; QPSO

In this work a thin film of electroless Ni was deposited on the surface of commercial acrylic spheres about 4 μm in size. After the acrylic spheres were cleaned, sensitized and activated successively, they were put into an acid plating bath containing sodium hypophosphite as reducing agent for the electroless Ni deposition. The acrylic spheres with a film of Ni deposit were molded into a cold set resin and ground and polished to form a cross section for observation. The thickness of the Ni film was measured and the state of the adhesion of Ni film to the surface of the acrylic sphere was observed by a scanning electron microscope. The results showed that the Ni film deposited in a plating bath with pH 4.2 can tightly adhere on the surface of the acrylic sphere due to the compressive stress of the Ni film. The thickness of the Ni film on the acrylic sphere can reach about 0.35 μm in 3 min of deposition time at 50–70 °C of plating temperature. The activation energy of electroless Ni deposition in plating bath with pH 4.2 is about 28.50 kJ/mole. The acrylic spheres with a layer of electroless Ni film deposited by the method proposed in this work can be further applied to anisotropic conductive adhesives in flip chip package.

In this work the effect of tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) film thickness on the diffusion barrier between silicon and copper was studied. Four different Cu (100 nm)/ITO/Si samples with 10, 20, 40 and 60 nm ITO were prepared by sputtering deposition. After annealing in a rapid thermal annealing furnace at various temperatures for 5 min, samples were characterized by four probe measurement for sheet resistance, X-ray diffraction analysis for phase identification, Scanning electron microscopy for surface morphology and transmission electron microscopy for microstructure. The results show that the ITO films of 20, 40 and 60 nm are good diffusion barriers between copper and silicon at least up to 700 °C and the failure temperature of samples with 20, 40 and 60 nm ITO is about 750 °C, which are 50 K higher than the sample with 10 nm ITO. The failure of samples are chiefly due to the agglomeration of copper film.

The interface structure between the Si and NiSi2 epitaxially grown on the ((average)1 12) Si substrate was studied using high resolution transmission electron microscopy and computer image simulation. The results showed that the interface between Si and NiSi2 epitaxially grown on the ((average)1 12) Si substrate has six different types: Type A NiSi2 ((average)1 1 1)/((average)1 1 1) Si, type A NiSi2 (001)/(001) Si, type B NiSi2 (1 (average)1 (average)1)/(1 (average)1 1) Si, type B NiSi2 ((average)1 12)/(1 (average)1 2) Si, type B NiSi2 (2 (average)2 1)/(001) Si, and type B NiSi2 (1 (average)1(average)4)1 (1 (average)1 0) Si. And there are one or more different atomic structures for one type of interface.

The sensitization, activation, nucleation and growth of electroless Ni–P deposition on silicon in an acid plating bath with sodium hydrophosphite as reducing agent and sodium succinate as complexing agent were studied by transmission electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The results show that a continuous polycrystalline SnCl2 film was formed on the silicon surface in the sensitization process, and small crystalline Pd particles were dispersedly produced on SnCl2 film in the activation process. In the initial deposition stage, the small Ni–P particles had already emerged on the silicon surface in a deposition time of less than 2 s. When Ni–P particles grew, their size increased but their number decreased, and they later developed into a columnar structure. The deposition rate of the electroless Ni–P deposit increased as the pH value and the temperature of the plating bath increased (from 1.36 to 29.66 μm/h). The activation energy of the electroless Ni–P deposition on silicon increased as the pH value of the plating bath decreased (from 68.8 to 79.4 kJ/mol).

We report, in this paper, the rate constants for electronic quenching of NO (D 2 Σ + , v ′ = 0) by gases He, Ar, Xe, NO, N 2 , O 2 , CO 2 , N 2 O, CF 4 , and SF 6 . The experiments were carried out by exciting the (0, 0) band of the D 2 Σ + –X 2 Π transition at 187.5 nm, and detecting the (0, 2) band fluorescence at 206 nm under various pressures of quenching gases. Based on the derived half quenching pressures and the known radiative lifetime of the excited state, the quenching rate constants were determined. Rate constants are all near gas kinetic and are in the following order: SF 6 > CO 2 > N 2 O > O 2 > NO > N 2 > Xe > CF 4 > He > Ar. Our rate constants are comparable with the existing literature data. For N 2 , the resonant energy transfer between NO (D) and N 2 was investigated. We observed quenching and enhanced fluorescence processes caused by the energy transfer between the excited states. Such pressure dependent processes could cause the disagreement among previous investigators. We also employed the collision complex model to derive the potential well depths of the van der Waals (vdw) complexes. Calculations were made by involving empirical kinetic data for the quenching gases as well as the experimental quenching cross-sections. Results show deep vdw potential wells for NO (D) with the gases studied here. Among all data, the potential well depths for noble gases are smaller compared with other reactive gases. The calculated results are then compared with the experimental well depths of NO(D)Ar.

Interfacial reactions of electroless nickel thin films on blank silicon annealed at 300–900 °C have been studied by both cross-sectional and planview TEM as well as by sheet resistance measurement. Samples were prepared by depositing Ni on (0 0 1)Si substrate by electroless plating deposition followed by annealing to form a silicide. An amorphous interlayer was found in interface between electroless nickel thin films and silicon. The amorphous interlayer blocks the reaction between Ni and Si and change the silicide formation sequence. The epitaxial NiSi 2 was found on electroless plating nickel thin films on silicon at the temperature as low as 300 and 400 °C. The presence of phosphorus in the electroless Ni films and/or amorphous interlayer between electroless Ni films and Si were found to promote the formation of the epitaxial NiSi 2 at low temperature. The dominant phase was NiSi in samples annealed at 500–700 °C. The results have shown that NiSi film formed by electroless plating process has the same resistance property as the NiSi film formed by vacuum plating process. The electroless plating technique can provide a cheap and easy process for forming nickel silicide, and has potentiality of application for the electronic device industries.

The electronic quenching rates of NO(A 2 Σ + , v′=0–2) are measured for the gases He, Ar, Xe, N2, O2, CO2, N2O, and SF6. The variations of the fluorescence intensity were measured for the (0,0), (1,0), and (2,0) bands of the γ band system when the quencher gases were added. The quenching rates were determined by using the Stern–Volmer plots with the known radiative lifetimes of the excited states. The electronic quenching rate constants are fast for the group of gases of O2, CO2, N2O, and SF6, whose quenching rate constants are in the order of 10−10 cm3/s. The quenching rate constants are slow for the group of gases including He, Ar, Xe, and N2 whose rate constants are in the order of 10−14 cm3/s. For the slow group, the quenching rate constants increase rapidly for v′=2 compared with those of v′=0 and 1. The charge transfer model and collision complex model are used to understand the quenching mechanism. For the fast group which mainly consists of gases with positive electron affinities, the charge transfer model adequately describes the mechanism. For the slow quenching group, a theoretical background is provided by consider the coupling of initial and final states in the complex potential surfaces.

The effect of growth temperature (600–750 °C) and growth time on the field emission properties and microstructure of carbon thin films grown using microwave-heated CVD process and Ni as catalyst, was investigated. It was found that the 600 °C, 20 min grown and 650 °C, 10 min grown films consist of mixed carbon nanostructures: mainly amorphous carbon nanowires, and a few of hollow and ‘bamboo-like’ multi-walled carbon nanotubes. To the contrary, as the growth temperature was increased to 700–750 °C, long growth time of 20 min was needed and mainly multi-walled carbon nanotubes of high graphite quality were produced. Field emissions of the 700 and 750 °C grown carbon films show higher turn-on fields of 2.3–3.9 V/μm, as compared to the much lower turn-on fields of