In-line Solution Research Articles

Towards an industrial in-line solution for efficient post-treatment of silicon heterojunction solar cells

Light exposure is widely known to enhance the performance of amorphous/crystalline silicon heterojunction (HJT) solar cells and modules. Recently, in an attempt to integrate such effect during cell production, processes involving intense illumination densities were reported. In this work, we develop a fast post-treatment on solar cells from Enel Green Power (EGP), using a LED-based tool specifically designed for HJT cells by Applied Materials and CEA. We investigate key aspects that such post-treatments should fulfil to be a relevant option in industry, including the amplitude of the gain, its stability under extended dark storage, its transferability to the module, and the influence of the post-treatment on the module reliability. Eventually, we also assess other potential side-benefits of the developed post-treatment, such as its influence on the efficiency distribution and on the yield of a fabrication line, as well as its robustness with respect to typical cell evolutions. • A LED-based post-treatment prototype has been developed for HJT cells. • +0.4% abs. efficiency gain is achieved within industry-compatible timeframes. • The gain is shown to be mostly (75%) stable after a slight initial destabilization. • Very good transferability of the gain to the module level is observed. • No warning is reported on the reliability of minimodules made from treated cells.

Evaluation of Cold Roll Forming Strategies for the Production of a High-Strength Aluminum Hat Profile

High-strength aluminum alloys, such as the AA7075 alloy, offer great potential for lightweight construction thanks to their high specific strength. However, high strength and low ductility are a challenge for processing these materials. In our study, three different process routes (T6, W-Temper, O) for roll forming of a hat profile are investigated experimentally and in an FE-simulation. Since the targeted production of the hat profile is hindered due to material failure in T6-condition, inline induction heating and subsequent water spray quenching is used to bring the material to the W-Temper state before roll forming. As a third option, a pre heat treatment is applied to a soft annealed (O) material state. The experimental results show fundamental differences of the forming processes, depending on the tempering condition. The FE-simulation involves the roll forming process for the production of a hat profile and shows a high agreement with the experiments. Finally, the experimental results demonstrate how inline solution annealing by induction heating for the W-Temper process affects the properties and the quality of the profiles produced.

Comparison of in-line and off-line measurement systems using a calibrated industry representative artefact for automotive dimensional inspection

Abstract Manufacturers should understand measurement system performance to identify and control measurement errors due to changes in the quality standard and actionable measurement data in the age of Industry 4.0. This study evaluates the capability of three measurement systems, determining their feature-specific suitability for automotive inspection. A touch-trigger probe CMM and a laser scanner CMM are compared as off-line measurement systems, against a laser radar as an in-line solution. Representative common automotive features were assessed using a calibrated industry artefact. The study shows the laser radar provides the comparable accuracy to off-line systems. If tolerances are smaller than ±1.5 mm, the capabilities of non-contact systems are considerably dependent on the measured feature type. This study provides improved understanding of the non-contact measurement system that would enable automotive manufacturers to implement fast measurement strategy based on feature definition and tolerance limit without reducing the quality of measurement.

An electrostatic in-line charge-state purification system for multicharged ions in the kiloelectronvolt energy range.

The performance of a newly built omega type electrostatic analyzer designed to act as an in-line charge-state purification system for ions in the kiloelectronvolt energy range is reported. The analyzer consists of a set of four consecutive electrostatic 140° concentric cylindrical electrodes enclosed by Matsuda electrodes. This setup was recently tested and validated using O5+, Ar9+, and Xe20+ ion beams at an energy of 14 qkeV at the ARIBE facility. A resolving power of 10.5 and a transmission of 100% of the desired charge state are measured allowing a good purification of incoming ion beams with charge states up to 10+ and a fairly good purification for charge states at least up to 20+. In comparison with other in-line solutions such as the Wien filter, our system has the advantage of being purely electrostatic and therefore lacking common drawbacks as, for example, hysteresis.

Enhancement of liquid treatment efficiency by microwave plasma under flow-induced reduced pressure

A new microwave plasma device system for in-line solution treatment is developed. In this system, the Venturi effect for pressure reduction is utilized for stable and effective plasma production. The decomposition of phenol solution is tested to verify the efficiency of an in-line plasma treatment system, and such a treatment system is confirmed to have a higher decomposition efficiency than our previously developed batch-type treatment system. Increases in phenol decomposition speed and decomposition energy efficiency with increasing solution flow rate are observed, which suggests the suppression of OH radical recombination and the utilization of OH radicals under flowing solution conditions.

Myocardial perfusion cardiovascular magnetic resonance: optimized dual sequence and reconstruction for quantification

BackgroundQuantification of myocardial blood flow requires knowledge of the amount of contrast agent in the myocardial tissue and the arterial input function (AIF) driving the delivery of this contrast agent. Accurate quantification is challenged by the lack of linearity between the measured signal and contrast agent concentration. This work characterizes sources of non-linearity and presents a systematic approach to accurate measurements of contrast agent concentration in both blood and myocardium.MethodsA dual sequence approach with separate pulse sequences for AIF and myocardial tissue allowed separate optimization of parameters for blood and myocardium. A systems approach to the overall design was taken to achieve linearity between signal and contrast agent concentration. Conversion of signal intensity values to contrast agent concentration was achieved through a combination of surface coil sensitivity correction, Bloch simulation based look-up table correction, and in the case of the AIF measurement, correction of T2* losses. Validation of signal correction was performed in phantoms, and values for peak AIF concentration and myocardial flow are provided for 29 normal subjects for rest and adenosine stress.ResultsFor phantoms, the measured fits were within 5% for both AIF and myocardium. In healthy volunteers the peak [Gd] was 3.5 ± 1.2 for stress and 4.4 ± 1.2 mmol/L for rest. The T2* in the left ventricle blood pool at peak AIF was approximately 10 ms. The peak-to-valley ratio was 5.6 for the raw signal intensities without correction, and was 8.3 for the look-up-table (LUT) corrected AIF which represents approximately 48% correction. Without T2* correction the myocardial blood flow estimates are overestimated by approximately 10%. The signal-to-noise ratio of the myocardial signal at peak enhancement (1.5 T) was 17.7 ± 6.6 at stress and the peak [Gd] was 0.49 ± 0.15 mmol/L. The estimated perfusion flow was 3.9 ± 0.38 and 1.03 ± 0.19 ml/min/g using the BTEX model and 3.4 ± 0.39 and 0.95 ± 0.16 using a Fermi model, for stress and rest, respectively.ConclusionsA dual sequence for myocardial perfusion cardiovascular magnetic resonance and AIF measurement has been optimized for quantification of myocardial blood flow. A validation in phantoms was performed to confirm that the signal conversion to gadolinium concentration was linear. The proposed sequence was integrated with a fully automatic in-line solution for pixel-wise mapping of myocardial blood flow and evaluated in adenosine stress and rest studies on N = 29 normal healthy subjects. Reliable perfusion mapping was demonstrated and produced estimates with low variability.

Microstructures and properties of Al–Mg–SI alloy overhead conductor by horizontal continuous casting and continuous extrusion forming process

Al–Mg–Si alloy overhead conductor was prepared by horizontal continuous casting and subsequent continuous extrusion forming. The mechanical properties, electrical conductivity and microstructural evolution of the processed conductor were characterized. It was indicated that improved combined mechanical and electrical conductivity properties were obtained for the processed alloy wires when compared with previously reported results. The enhanced properties were associated with the continuous in-line solution treatment and the refined and homogeneous (sub)grains during horizontal continuous casting and subsequence continuous extrusion forming, as well as a high density of dislocations and finer Mg2Si precipitates formed after drawn and followed by aging at 155°C for 3h.

Embryonic assembly of auditory circuits: spiral ganglion and brainstem

During early development, peripheral sensory systems generate physiological activity prior to exposure to normal environmental stimuli. This activity is thought to facilitate maturation of these neurons and their connections, perhaps even promoting efficacy or modifying downstream circuitry. In the mammalian auditory system, initial connections form at embryonic ages, but the functional characteristics of these early neural connections have not been assayed. We investigated processes of embryonic auditory development using a whole-head slice preparation that preserved connectivity between peripheral and brainstem stations of the auditory pathway. Transgenic mice expressing fluorescent protein provided observation of spiral ganglion and cochlear nucleus neurons to facilitate targeted electrophysiological recording. Here we demonstrate an apparent peripheral-to-central order for circuit maturation. Spiral ganglion cells acquire action potential-generating capacity at embryonic day 14 (E14), the earliest age tested, and action potential waveforms begin to mature in advance of comparable states for neurons of the ventral cochlear nucleus (VCN) and medial nucleus of the trapezoid body (MNTB). In accordance, auditory nerve synapses in the VCN are functional at E15, prior to VCN connectivity with the MNTB, which occurs at least 1 day later. Spiral ganglion neurons exhibit spontaneous activity at least by E14 and are able to drive third-order auditory brainstem neurons by E17. This activity precedes cochlear-generated wave activity by 4 days and ear canal opening by at least 2 weeks. Together, these findings reveal a previously unknown initial developmental phase for auditory maturation, and further implicate the spiral ganglion as a potential controlling centre in this process.

The Chimeric Approach Reveals That Differences in the TRPV1 Pore Domain Determine Species-specific Sensitivity to Block of Heat Activation

The capsaicin-, heat-, and proton-activated ion channel TRPV1, a member of the transient receptor potential cation channel family is a polymodal nociceptor. For almost a decade, TRPV1 has been explored by the pharmaceutical industry as a potential target for example for pain conditions. Antagonists which block TRPV1 activation by capsaicin, heat, and protons were developed by a number of pharmaceutical companies. The unexpected finding of hyperthermia as an on-target side effect in clinical studies using polymodal TRPV1 antagonists has prompted companies to search for ways to circumvent hyperthermia, for example by the development of modality-selective antagonists. The significant lack of consistency of the pharmacology of many TRPV1 antagonists across different species has been a further obstacle. JYL-1421 for example was shown to block capsaicin and heat responses in human and monkey TRPV1 while it was largely ineffective in blocking heat responses in rat TRPV1. These findings suggested structural dissimilarities between different TRPV1 species relevant for small compound antagonism for example of heat activation. Using a chimeric approach (human and rat TRPV1) in combination with a novel FLIPR-based heat activation assay and patch-clamp electrophysiology we have identified the pore region as being strongly linked to the observed species differences. We demonstrate that by exchanging the pore domains JYL-1421, which is modality-selective in rat can be made modality-selective in human TRPV1 and vice-versa.

The Mitochondrial Citrate/Isocitrate Carrier Plays a Regulatory Role in Glucose-stimulated Insulin Secretion

Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) is mediated in part by glucose metabolism-driven increases in ATP/ADP ratio, but by-products of mitochondrial glucose metabolism also play an important role. Here we investigate the role of the mitochondrial citrate/isocitrate carrier (CIC) in regulation of GSIS. Inhibition of CIC activity in INS-1-derived 832/13 cells or primary rat islets by the substrate analogue 1,2,3-benzenetricarboxylate (BTC) resulted in potent inhibition of GSIS, involving both first and second phase secretion. A recombinant adenovirus containing a CIC-specific siRNA (Ad-siCIC) dose-dependently reduced CIC expression in 832/13 cells and caused parallel inhibitory effects on citrate accumulation in the cytosol. Ad-siCIC treatment did not affect glucose utilization, glucose oxidation, or ATP/ADP ratio but did inhibit glucose incorporation into fatty acids and glucose-induced increases in NADPH/NADP+ ratio relative to cells treated with a control siRNA virus (Ad-siControl). Ad-siCIC also inhibited GSIS in 832/13 cells, whereas overexpression of CIC enhanced GSIS and raised cytosolic citrate levels. In normal rat islets, Ad-siCIC treatment also suppressed CIC mRNA levels and inhibited GSIS. We conclude that export of citrate and/or isocitrate from the mitochondria to the cytosol is an important step in control of GSIS.