Technologies, Volume 4, Issue 1 (March 2016) – 10 articles

The definition of the ampere will change in the next few years. This electrical base unit of the S.I. will be redefined by fixing the value of the charge quantum, i.e., the electron charge e. As a result electron pumps will become the natural device for the mise en pratique of this new ampere. In the last years semiconductor electron pumps have emerged as the most advanced systems, both in terms of speed and precision. Another figure of merit for a metrological device would be its ability to be predictible and shared. For that reason a mature fabrication process would certainly be an advantage. In this article we present electron pumps made within a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) research facility on 300 mm silicon-on-insulator wafers, using advanced microelectronics tools and processes. We give an overview of the whole integration scheme and emphasize the fabrication steps which differ from the normal CMOS route. Full article

The methodology of life-cycle assessment was applied in order to evaluate the environmental performance of a hypothetical Saskatchewan lignite-fueled Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) electricity generation, with and without pre-combustion carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture from a full life-cycle perspective. The emphasis here is placed on environmental performance associated with air contaminants of the comparison between IGCC systems (with and without CO₂ capture) and a competing lignite pulverized coal-fired electricity generating station in order to reveal which technology offers the most positive environmental effects. Moreover, ambient air pollutant modeling was also conducted by using American Meteorological Society/Environmental Protection Agency Regulatory Model (AERMOD) air dispersion modeling to determine the ground-level concentration of pollutants emitted from four different electricity generating stations. This study assumes that all stations are located close to Estevan. The results showed a significant reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and acidification potential by applying both post-combustion and pre-combustion CO₂ capture processes. The GHG emissions were found to have reduced by 27%–86%, and IGCC systems were found to compare favorably to pulverized coal systems. However, in other environmental impact categories, there are multiple environmental trade-offs depending on the capture technology used. In the case of post-combustion capture, it was observed that the environmental impact category of eutrophication potential, summer smog, and ozone depletion increased due to the application of the CO₂ capture process and the surface mining coal operation. IGCC systems, on the other hand, showed the same tendency as the conventional coal-fired electricity generation systems, but to a lesser degree. This is because the IGCC system is a cleaner technology that produces lower pollutant emission levels than the electricity generating station; thus, the benefits of capture are reduced on a comparative basis. The results from air dispersion analysis showed that the maximum ground-level concentrations of pollutants from all electricity generating stations are in compliance with all air quality standards, except for Co, Pb and Ni. The IGCC with capture revealed the lowest nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) ground-level concentration compared to all other scenarios. Moreover, IGCC systems both with and without pre-combustion CO₂ capture revealed no ground-level concentration of trace elements. This is because the IGCC system operates with an acid gas cleaning process that removes most of the trace contaminants from the syngas. Full article

Nano-structuring using laser direct writing technology has shown great potential for industrial applications. A novel application of water droplets to this technology is proposed in this paper. With a hydrophobic layer and a controlled substrate temperature, a layer of randomly distributed water droplets with a high contact angle is formed on the substrate. These liquid droplets can be used as lenses to enhance the laser intensity at the bottom of the droplets. As a result, nanoscale holes can be fabricated on the substrate by controlling the laser energy density. We successfully fabricated holes with a diameter of 600 nm at a substrate temperature of 12 ^∘C and a power density of 1.2 × 10⁸ W/cm² in our experiments. We also found that the hole diameter was around a ninth of the water droplet diameter. Meanwhile, the machined holes are not affected much by the focal length of the lens, but a hole with less than 100 nm in diameter at the center was observed. Full article

The drilling of copper using a dual-pulse femtosecond laser with wavelength of 800 nm, pulse duration of 120 fs and a variable pulse separation time (0.1–150 ps) is investigated theoretically. A one-dimensional two-temperature model with temperature-dependent material properties is considered, including dynamic optical properties and the thermal-physical properties. Rapid phase change and phase explosion models are incorporated to simulate the material ablation process. Numerical results show that under the same total laser fluence of 4 J/cm², a dual-pulse femtosecond laser with a pulse separation time of 30–150 ps can increase the ablation depth, compared to the single pulse. The optimum pulse separation time is 85 ps. It is also demonstrated that a dual pulse with a suitable pulse separation time for different laser fluences can enhance the ablation rate by about 1.6 times. Full article

Cultural Heritage scientists need methodologies to examine Art and Archaeology in order to understand artistic materials and techniques and devise better conservation procedures. This review discusses the most successful and promising applications of Terahertz (THz) technology in Cultural Heritage Science. THz is used in homeland security and for plenty of other industrial sectors and it presents a number of valuable features specifically for the investigation of Art and Archaeology: No radiation risk, low power, non-contact and reflection mode. Recent technical advancements are also making its application fast, mobile and relatively affordable creating a potential for its diffused implementation in museums. While THz is most promising for the investigation of multilayered art, such as paintings, it has been tested on a very large range of artifacts, from manuscripts to mummies and lacquered historical furniture. Full article

The results of an experimental investigation carried out on steel splices bonded by (Carbon-Fiber–Reinforced Polymers) C-FRPs are presented in this paper. The main aim of the study is to examine the influence of different parameters on the type of failure and on the ductility of splices. Different configurations of the specimens were considered, including butt and lapped joints using different arrangements for end anchorage of the bonded C-FRP laminas, such as (i) external bonding; and (ii) anchored jacketing with C-FRP sheets transversally wrapped to the longitudinal axis of the joints. The results in terms of failure modes and response curves are described and discussed, highlighting the potentiality of these types of bonded connections for metal structures. In particular, experimental results showed that (i) the failure modes exhibited by both butt and lapped wrapped splices were substantially similar; (ii) the wrapped anchoring is beneficial in order to achieve large deformations prior to failure, thus allowing a satisfactory ductility, even though a more timely installation process is necessary. Full article

The detailed control achieved over single optically trapped neutral atoms makes them candidates for applications in quantum metrology and quantum information processing. The last few decades have seen different methods developed to optimize the preparation efficiency of single atoms in optical traps. Here we review the near-deterministic preparation of single atoms based on light-assisted collisions and describe how this method can be implemented in different trap regimes. The simplicity and versatility of the method makes it feasible to be employed in future quantum technologies such as a quantum logic device. Full article

A variety of hazardous substances may be generated from the burning materials during fire extinguishing operations, depending on the location, type, and place of the fire. As a result, the fire-extinguishing water may act as a carrier for these nano- and micro-sized fire-born particles, including various types of associated contaminants, and may cause contamination of soil and groundwater resources. While airborne particles from fires have been studied, it is currently not well known what types of nano- and micro-sized contaminants are typically carried by the fire-extinguishing water and how these contaminants can be transported in the natural environment. The main purpose of this study was to increase the understanding about the occurrence and physical and chemical properties of nanoparticles commonly found in discharge water from fire extinguishing operations. The current study was based on collection of original samples from a fire location. A detailed characterization of the particles present in the extinguishing water was performed including both quantification of contaminants associated with the particles (such as metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as well as measurement of properties related to the mobility of these particles through porous media. Such mobility properties include size distributions of the particles and the porous media, surface charges and solution chemistry). Results indicate that metals and PAHs are present in both finer and relatively larger fire-born particles. The particles larger than 11 μm were not mobile in porous media. The mobility of the finer particles (<11 μm) was generally high but was dependent on the solution chemistry. Low mobility of large particles in porous media indicates that a large amount of the contamination can likely be trapped in the top soil layer even though the fire extinguishing water infiltrates. Full article

We report on enhancing the photon-extraction efficiency (PEE) of deterministic quantum dot (QD) microlenses via anti-reflection (AR) coating. The AR-coating deposited on top of the curved microlens surface is composed of a thin layer of Ta₂O₅, and is found to effectively reduce back-reflection of light at the semiconductor-vacuum interface. A statistical analysis of spectroscopic data reveals, that the AR-coating improves the light out-coupling of respective microlenses by a factor of 1.57 ± 0.71, in quantitative agreement with numerical calculations. Taking the enhancement factor into account, we predict improved out-coupling of light with a PEE of up to 50%. The quantum nature of emission from QDs integrated into AR-coated microlenses is demonstrated via photon auto-correlation measurements revealing strong suppression of two-photon emission events with g⁽²⁾(0) = 0.05 ± 0.02. As such, these bright non-classical light sources are highly attractive with respect to applications in the field of quantum cryptography. Full article