Size Of Surface Features Research Articles

Enhancement of the response speed of CIGS-based photodetector by Te-doping

Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) based devices are promising candidates for high performance photodetector applications. The present work investigated the effects of Te-doping on the properties of CIGS layers and studied the performance of photodetectors (PDs) fabricated on these films. The films were vacuum evaporated on glass substrates and their morphological, structural and optical properties were evaluated after an annealing step at 550ºC. Morphological data indicated that undoped CIGS films had non-uniform surface features with large grains separated by nanoparticles. Addition of 6.6 % Te improved the morphology and yielded a smoother layer. Further increase in Te concentration showed appreciable reduction in surface feature size and shape. X-ray diffraction patterns showed that increasing the Te amount in CIGS caused a shift in the XRD peaks towards smaller angles pointing to replacement of Se atoms by Te. Peak splitting at higher Te samples suggested a graded structure with Se and Te amounts changing through the thickness of the film. Raman analysis demonstrated formation of CuInGa(Se,Te)2 (CIGST) compound. According to Tauc’s approximation, CIGS films with and without Te atoms possessed two energy band gaps of Eg1 and Eg2 that were in the ranges of 1.10–1.28 eV and 1.16–1.36 eV, respectively. Electrical data obtained from photodetector devices showed a responsivity of 4.44×10−1 A/W and a detectivity of 8.01×107 Jones for Te-free material, while the rise/fall times were measured as 34/148 ms. A much faster response speed of 19/20 ms was reached for devices fabricated on films with 10.2 % Te. This work demonstrated, for the first time, the fabrication low-cost and high-performance metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) type CIGST-based PDs.

Designing Plastrons for Underwater Bubble Capture: From Model Microstructures to Stochastic Nanostructures.

Bubbles and foams are often removed via chemical defoamers and/or mechanical agitation. Designing surfaces that promote chemical-free and energy-passive bubble capture is desirable for numerous industrial processes, including mineral flotation, wastewater treatment, and electrolysis. When immersed, super-liquid-repellent surfaces form plastrons, which are textured solid topographies with interconnected gas domains. Plastrons exhibit the remarkable ability of capturing bubbles through coalescence. However, the two-step mechanics of plastron-induced bubble coalescence, namely, rupture (initiation and location) and subsequent absorption (propagation and drainage) are not well understood. Here, the influence of 1) topographical feature size and 2) gas fraction on bubble capture dynamics is investigated. Smaller feature sizes accelerate rupture while larger gas fractions markedly improve absorption. Rupture is initiated solely on solid domains and is more probable near the edges of solid features. Yet, rupture time becomes longer as solid fraction increases. This counterintuitive behavior represents unexpected complexities. Upon rupture, the bubble's moving liquid-solid contact line influences its absorption rate and equilibrium state. These findings show the importance of rationally minimizing surface feature sizes and contact line interactions for rapid bubble rupture and absorption. This work provides key design principles for plastron-induced bubble coalescence, inspiring future development of industrially-relevant surfaces for underwater bubble capture.

Investigating the Feasibility and Performance of Hybrid Overmolded UHMWPE 3D-Printed PEEK Structural Composites for Orthopedic Implant Applications: A Pilot Study.

Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) components for orthopedic implants have historically been integrated into metal backings by direct-compression molding (DCM). However, metal backings are costly, stiffer than cortical bone, and may be associated with medical imaging distortion and metal release. Hybrid-manufactured DCM UHMWPE overmolded additively manufactured polyetheretherketone (PEEK) structural components could offer an alternative solution, but are yet to be explored. In this study, five different porous topologies (grid, triangular, honeycomb, octahedral, and gyroid) and three surface feature sizes (low, medium, and high) were implemented into the top surface of digital cylindrical specimens prior to being 3D printed in PEEK and then overmolded with UHMWPE. Separation forces were recorded as 1.97-3.86 kN, therefore matching and bettering the historical industry values (2-3 kN) recorded for DCM UHMWPE metal components. Infill topology affected failure mechanism (Type 1 or 2) and obtained separation forces, with shapes having greater sidewall numbers (honeycomb-60%) and interconnectivity (gyroid-30%) through their builds, tolerating higher transmitted forces. Surface feature size also had an impact on applied load, whereby those with low infill-%s generally recorded lower levels of performance vs. medium and high infill strategies. These preliminary findings suggest that hybrid-manufactured structural composites could replace metal backings and produce orthopedic implants with high-performing polymer-polymer interfaces.

Bridging additive and subtractive manufacturing

AbstractAdditive manufacturing with laser powder‐bed fusion (PBF‐LB/M) can generate complex metal parts with a high degree of design freedom, which are already being used in various industries. However, the PBF‐LB/M process faces some limitations in achievable surface quality and feature size. To address these challenges, we have developed a novel hybrid manufacturing approach that combines additive manufacturing via PBF‐LB/M with subtractive manufacturing via ultrafast laser machining. By alternating between additive and subtractive processes, it is possible to not only mitigate the limitations of each process but also to introduce new functionality. This synergistic combination enables the creation of parts with superior surface finishes and deep and narrow internal features that are not possible with a single method alone.

Approximation of Radiative Transfer for Surface Spectral Features

Remote sensing hyperspectral and more generally spectral instruments are common tools to decipher surface features in Earth and Planetary science. While linear mixture is the most common approximation for compounds detection (mineral, water, ice, etc...), the transfer of light in surface and atmospheric medium are highly non-linear. The exact simulation of non-linearities can be estimated at very high numerical cost. Here I propose a very simple non-linear form (that includes the regular linear area mixture) of radiative transfer to approximate surface spectral feature. I demonstrate that this analytical form is able to approximate the grain size and intimate mixture dependence of surface features. In addition, the same analytical form can approximate the effect of Martian mineral aerosols. Unfortunately, Earth aerosols are more complex (water droplet, water ice, soot,...) and are not expected to follow the same trend.

Orientation-dependent fatigue assessment of Ti6Al4V manufactured by L-PBF: Size of surface features and shielding effect

The fatigue behaviour of as-built parts produced by means of Laser-Powder Bed Fusion process (L-PBF) is primarily influenced by the presence of stress raisers on the surface, whose morphology strongly depends on the relative orientation between the surface and the build direction. This study aims to shed light into the factors representing the surface morphology that correlate with the fatigue performance of L-PBF Ti6Al4V specimens manufactured in four different orientations. A Fracture Mechanics-based model based on measurable roughness parameters was employed for the prediction of the fatigue properties in both the finite life and endurance limit regions. The fatigue model considers an initial equivalent defect corresponding to the roughness parameter Rv,max. In addition, it includes a geometric factor F¯ accounting for the shielding present at the roots of the micro-notches which was calculated starting from profile roughness parameters determined by X-ray Computer Tomography (XCT) scans. The predicted stress–life curves show that the adoption of the maximum profile depth Rv,max and the shielding factor F¯ yields precise life predictions considering the effect of the surface orientation.

Formation of Nano- and Micro-Scale Surface Features Induced by Long-Range Femtosecond Filament Laser Ablation.

In this work, we study the characteristics of femtosecond-filament-laser–matter interactions and laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) at a beam-propagation distance up to 55 m. The quantification of the periodicity of filament-induced self-organized surface structures was accomplished by SEM and AFM measurements combined with the use of discrete two-dimensional fast Fourier transform (2D-FFT) analysis, at different filament propagation distances. The results show that the size of the nano-scale surface features increased with ongoing laser filament processing and, further, periodic ripples started to form in the ablation-spot center after irradiation with five spatially overlapping pulses. The effective number of irradiating filament pulses per spot area affected the developing surface texture, with the period of the low spatial frequency LIPSS reducing notably at a high pulse number. The high regularity of the filament-induced ripples was verified by the demonstration of the angle-of-incidence-dependent diffraction of sunlight. This work underlines the potential of long-range femtosecond filamentation for energy delivery at remote distances, with suppressed diffraction and long depth focus, which can be used in biomimetic laser surface engineering and remote-sensing applications.

Multifractal Analysis to Determine the Effect of Surface Topography on the Distribution, Density, Dispersion and Clustering of Differently Organised Coccal-Shaped Bacteria.

The topographic features of surfaces are known to affect bacterial retention on a surface, but the precise mechanisms of this phenomenon are little understood. Four coccal-shaped bacteria, Staphylococcus sciuri, Streptococcus pyogenes, Micrococcus luteus, and Staphylococcus aureus, that organise in different cellular groupings (grape-like clusters, tetrad-arranging clusters, short chains, and diploid arrangement, respectively) were used. These differently grouped cells were used to determine how surface topography affected their distribution, density, dispersion, and clustering when retained on titanium surfaces with defined topographies. Titanium-coated surfaces that were smooth and had grooved features of 1.02 µm-wide, 0.21 µm-deep grooves, and 0.59 µm-wide, 0.17 µm-deep grooves were used. The average contact angle of the surfaces was 91°. All bacterial species were overall of a hydrophobic nature, although M. luteus was the least hydrophobic. It was demonstrated that the 1.02 µm-wide featured surface most affected Strep. pyogenes and S. sciuri, and hence the surfaces with the larger surface features most affected the cells with smaller dimensions. The 0.59 µm featured surface only affected the density of the bacteria, and it may be suggested that the surfaces with the smaller features reduced bacterial retention. These results demonstrate that the size of the topographical surface features affect the distribution, density, dispersion, and clustering of bacteria across surfaces, and this is related to the cellular organisation of the bacterial species. The results from this work inform how surface topographical and bacterial properties affect the distribution, density, dispersion, and clustering of bacterial retention.

A template-free, more environmentally friendly approach for glass micro-texturing

Micron and nanometer size textured silicate glass surfaces are of interest in consumer electronics, photovoltaics, and biosensing applications. Typically, texturing glass surfaces requires applying a patterned mask or a pre-etching treatment (e.g. sandblasting) on the glass substrate, followed by a mask transferring or etching process using a fluoride-containing compound. The major challenges of such a process are the complexity and cost of masking, and the safety and environmental concerns around the usage and disposal of hydrofluoric acid. Here, we describe a template-free method to construct micron-sized and submicron-sized texture on isotropic glass surfaces in one step. The new texturing mechanisms are well supported by experimental data and peridynamic simulations. With this novel strategy, the etchant uses fluoride-free chemicals such as citric acid to texture silicate glass. Etchant concentration, etch temperature, time, and additives are the primary parameters that dictate the texturing process. Surface feature size and depth can be independently controlled by tuning the leaching and chemical polishing process. We hope this study can trigger more research on novel and more environmentally friendly texturing of isotropic materials.

Microstructure and corrosion behavior of AlCrTiV-X (X = Cu, Mo, CuMo) high-entropy alloy films in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution

In this work, the microstructure and corrosion behavior in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution, of AlCrTiV-based high-entropy alloy (HEA) films with Cu, Mo, and Cu/Mo, prepared by DC magnetron sputtering, are investigated. The results indicate that all these HEA films are composed of a single BCC phase, but with different lattice constant and different surface topographies. The AlCrTiV, AlCrTiVCu, and AlCrTiVMo HEA films display the surface with tetrahedral nanoparticles, but the AlCrTiVCuMo HEA film shows the surface with near-spherical nanoparticles. Among these HEA films, the AlCrTiVCu HEA film shows the best corrosion-resistance, owing to the dense surface morphology and relatively small surface feature size, but the AlCrTiVCuMo HEA film with the minimum surface feature size has the worst corrosion-resistance, which is due to the obvious holes on its surface and the relatively low content of Al and Cr elements. However, these four HEA films all show a better corrosion-resistance than 304SS, explained by the formation of stable oxides comprising of Al2O3, Cr2O3, etc.

Numerical Correction of In Situ AFM-SECM Measurements.

Mass-transport-limited catalysis and membrane transport can be characterized by concentration profiles surrounding active surfaces. Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) is a tool that has been used to measure concentration profiles; however, the presence and geometry of the tip can distort these profiles due to hindered diffusion, which in turn alters chemical behavior at the catalytic surface. To fully characterize the behavior of surface features such as catalytic sites, it is essential to account for and analytically remove the effect of tip presence. In this work, atomic force microscopy-based SECM (AFM-SECM) measurements over poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) and gold electrode surfaces are used to measure negative and positive-feedback approach curves, respectively. By inversely fitting these approach curves with a finite element method (FEM) model, we derive kinetic and geometric tip parameters that characterize the effect of tip presence. Tip effects may be removed in the model to estimate concentration profiles and reaction properties for the case where no tip is present. A maximum 120% increase in the concentration at one tip radii above the surface is observed due to the presence of the tip, where the concentration field is compressed vertically, in proportion to surface feature size and tip separation. Conical AFM-SECM tips, with a higher ratio of tip height to the base size, introduce less concentration distortion than disk-shaped AFM-SECM tips.

Electrolyte Jet Machining (EJM) of antibacterial surfaces

Electrolyte Jet Machining (EJM) has been performed on stainless steel surfaces with the aim of reducing bacterial retention through the generation of nanoscale surface morphology. Following initial EJM experiments aimed at investigating the influence of machining depth, machining speed and current density on the resulting surface roughness, three characteristic surfaces were produced with a current density of 10–18 A/cm2 and a machining speed of 0.8–8 mm/s to obtain an arithmetic mean height (Sa) of 0.5–0.74 μm and a density of peaks (Spd) of 0.25–1.26 μm−1. Relatively large differences between the three surfaces in terms of Spd allowed thorough investigation into the effects of surface feature size on bacterial retention to be performed. Reductions in the order of 90% compared to control samples were achieved for gram-positive Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus across the entire tested parameter range (Spd = 0.25–1.26 μm−1), while reductions in the order of 99% were achieved for gram-negative Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa for surfaces characterized by Spd > 1 μm−1. Not only do the results call attention to EJM as an innovative technology for producing antibacterial surfaces, they also highlight important differences in the behavior of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria in relation to EJM-textured surfaces with nanoscale surface morphology.

Multiscale Modelling and Analysis on the Heavy-duty Hydrostatic Journal Bearing for a Precision Press Machine

The present study aims to predict the performance of hydrostatic journal bearings during steady-state operation through multiscale modelling and analysis. An innovative multiscale modelling approach is presented for numerical modelling and analysis of the hydrostatic journal bearing as configured and designed, particularly for the precision press machine. With the challenging environment for journal bearings under hydrostatic pressures and surface features, elastic modulus of oil and viscosity-temperature characteristics are often neglected while against heavy-loading and precision engineering requirement. This research takes into account of oil elastic modulus and viscosity-temperature characteristics to investigate the intrinsic relationship between the pressures within the hydrostatic bearing and its surface texture, feature size and locations being considered. This paper concludes with a further discussion on the potential and application of the approach in precision engineering.

Cell Interactions with Size-Controlled Colloidal Monolayers: Toward Improved Coatings in Bone Tissue Engineering.

The surface structure of biomaterials is of key importance to controlits interactions with biological environments. Industrial fabrication and coating processes often introduce particulate nanostructures at implant surfaces. Understanding the cellular interaction with particle-based surface topologies and feature sizes in the colloidal length scale therefore offers the possibility to improve the biological response of synthetic biomaterials. Here, surfaces with controlled topography and regular feature sizes covering the relevant length scale of particulate coatings (100-1000 nm) are fabricated by colloidal templating. Using fluorescent microscopy, WST assay, and morphology analysis, results show that adhesion and attachment of bone-marrow derived murine stromal cells (ST2) are strongly influenced by the surface feature size while geometric details play an insignificant role. Quantitative analysis shows enhanced cell adhesion, spreading, viability, and activity when surface feature size decreases below 200 nm compared to flat surfaces, while larger feature sizes are detrimental to cell adhesion. Kinetic studies reveal that most cells on surfaces with larger features lose contact with the substrate over time. This study identifies colloidal templating as a simple method for creating highly defined model systems to investigate complex cell functions and provides design criteria for the choice of particulate coatings on commercial implant materials.

Effect of Polymer Demixed Nanotopographies on Bacterial Adhesion and Biofilm Formation.

As the current global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) persists, developing alternatives to antibiotics that are less susceptible to resistance is becoming an urgent necessity. Recent advances in biomaterials have allowed for the development and fabrication of materials with discrete surface nanotopographies that can deter bacteria from adhering to their surface. Using binary polymer blends of polystyrene (PS), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and polycaprolactone (PCL) and varying their relative concentrations, PS/PCL, PS/PMMA and PCL/PMMA polymer demixed thin films were developed with nanoisland, nanoribbon and nanopit topographies. In the PS/PCL system, PS segregates to the air-polymer interface, with the lower solubility PCL preferring the substrate-polymer interface. In the PS/PMMA and PCL/PMMA systems, PMMA prefers the air-polymer interface due to its greater solubility and lower surface energy. The anti-adhesion efficacy of the demixed films were tested against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA14). PS/PCL and PCL/PMMA demixed films showed a significant reduction in cell counts adhered on their surfaces compared to pure polymer control films, while no reduction was observed in the counts adhered on PS/PMMA demixed films. While the specific morphology did not affect the adhesion, a relationship between bacterial cell and topographical surface feature size was apparent. If the surface feature was smaller than the cell, then an anti-adhesion effect was observed; if the surface feature was larger than the cell, then the bacteria preferred to adhere.

Effect of water on the electrodeposition of copper on nickel in deep eutectic solvents

ABSTRACTMost studies of metal electrodeposition in ionic liquids dry the electrolyte thoroughly, as water is thought to be detrimental. In some cases, water has a beneficial effect on deposit morphology. The electrodeposition of copper has been studied in 1ChCl: 2EG-water mixtures. It is shown here that the presence of water increases the apparent brightness of the deposit due to changes in the electrodeposit surface feature size, up to a water content of approximately 20 wt-%. This study characterises speciation and mass transport in solution, and shows that diffusion can be controlled independently of speciation. It is shown that there is an optimal water content, which is thought to originate from formation of a bi-continuous micro-emulsion phase in DES-water mixtures. Additionally, the copper species remains in a predominantly ionic medium at low water content but moves to an aqueous environment when water is the main component.

Au nanoparticles for SERS: Temperature-controlled nanoparticle morphologies and their Raman enhancing properties

Quasi-fractal gold nanoparticles can be synthesized via a modified and temperature controlled procedure initially used for the synthesis of star-like gold nanoparticles. The surface features of nanoparticles lead to improved enhancement of Raman scattering intensity of analyte molecules due to the increased number of sharp surface features possessing numerous localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR). The LSPR is affected by the size and shape of surface features as well as inter-nanoparticle interactions, as these affect the oscillation modes of electrons on the nanoparticle surfaces. The effect of the particle morphologies on the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and on the surface-enhancing capabilities of these nanoparticles is explored by comparing different nanoparticle morphologies and concentrations. We show that in a fixed nanoparticle concentration regime, quasi-fractal gold nanoparticles (gold nanocaltrop) provide the highest level of surface enhancement, whereas spherical nanoparticles provide the largest enhancement in a fixed gold concentration regime. The presence of highly branched features enables these nanoparticles to couple with a laser wavelength, despite having no strong absorption band and hence no single surface plasmon resonance. This cumulative LSPR may allow these nanoparticles to be used in a variety of applications in which laser wavelength flexibility is beneficial, such as in medical imaging applications where fluorescence at short laser wavelengths may be coupled with non-fluorescing long laser wavelengths for molecular sensing.

Surface damage and threshold determination of Ge–As–Se glasses in femtosecond pulsed laser micromachining

AbstractGe–As–Se chalcogenide glasses were prepared and the surface damage characteristics under femtosecond laser irradiation were experimentally investigated. Femtosecond laser beams with different power intensities, focusing depths, pulse repetition rates, and pulse numbers were employed to determine the damage thresholds of the samples. The surface morphologies and feature sizes of the damage craters were studied with regard to laser energy density to evaluate the damage circumstances of the glasses. The generation of the surface damage was also recorded by using different numbers of pulses. Results showed that the damage area increased monotonically with the laser power at low energy density and tended to saturation when reaching a critical value. According to the linear circumstances of laser energy density on the damage crater area, the average damage thresholds of the Ge–As–Se glasses with different repetition rates and pulse numbers were obtained. Results showed that the damage threshold decreased with the increase in pulse repetition rate and number of pulse.

Simple Law for Third-Body Friction.

A key difficulty to understanding friction is that many physical mechanisms contribute simultaneously. Here we investigate third-body frictional dynamics in a model experimental system that eliminates first-body interaction, wear, and fracture, and concentrates on the elastic interaction between sliding blocks and third bodies. We simultaneously visualize the particle motion and measure the global shear force. By systematically increasing the number of foreign particles, we find that the frictional dissipation depends only on the size ratio between surface asperities and the loose particles, irrespective of the particle's size or the surface's roughness. When the particles are comparable in size to the surface features, friction increases linearly with the number of particles. For particles smaller than the surface features, friction grows sublinearly with the number of particles. Our findings suggest that matching the size of surface features to the size of potential contaminants may be a good strategy for reliable lubrication.

Accelerated bone formation by biphasic calcium phosphate with a novel sub-micron surface topography.

Osteoinductive calcium phosphate (CaP) bone grafts have equivalent performance to autografts in repairing critical-size bone defects. The osteoinductive potential of CaP is linked to the size of the surface topographical features. In the present study, two novel biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) bone grafts were synthesised with either sub-micron- (BCP<µm) or micron-scale (BCPµm) needle-shaped surface topography and compared to dimensionally similar tricalcium phosphate (TCP) with grain-shaped surface structures (TCP<µm and TCPµm). To clarify the possible function of the surface morphology (needle-like vs. grain-like) in initiating bone formation, the four CaP test materials were physicochemically characterised and implanted for 12 weeks in the dorsal muscle of beagles. The sub-micron needle-shaped topography of BCP<µm triggered earlier bone formation (3-6 weeks) as compared to the grain-shaped surface topography of TCP<µm, which formed bone at 6-9 weeks. After 12 weeks, the amount of induced bone formation in both materials was equivalent, based on histomorphometry. The micron-sized needle-shaped surface topography of BCPµm led to limited formation of new bone tissue, whereas its counterpart, TCPµm with grain-shaped surface topography, failed to trigger de novo bone formation. The relative strength of the parameters affecting CaP-driven bone induction was as follows: surface feature size > surface feature morphology > substrate chemistry. BCP materials with needle-shaped sub-micron surface topography gave rise to accelerated bone formation and slower rate of resorption than a comparable TCP. These characteristics may be translated to improve bone healing in orthotopic defects.