Photorefractive organic polymer system functionalized with a nonlinear optical chromophore boronate derivative

Photoconducting polymers doped with nonlinear optical chromophores have emerged as efficient and inexpensive photorefractive (PR) materials. These materials show promise for applications in dynamic volume holography, image formation, optical processing, reversible data storage, correlation, etc.

Recently, PR polymer composites have gained a great amount of at

Microstructural characterization of BaTiO3 thin films prepared by RF-Magnetron sputtering using sintered targets from high energy ball milled powders

The electronic and optical characteristics of barium titanate (BT) ferroelectric ceramics are of great interest for industrial uses and when grown as thin films they can easily be integrated into modern circuitry. These thin films are commonly prepared by RF- magnetron sputtering using a commercially available BT target as the ma

Environmental groups around the world have been campaigning for years to replace lead-containing solders and protective layers on electronic components with non-hazardous metals and alloys. In response, the European Union (EU) will ban the use of lead (and five other hazardous substances) in all electrical and electronic equipment sold in EU nations starting in July 2006. U.S. manufacturers must comply with this requirement in order to market their products overseas.

However, pure ele

The Technologies Research Centre, Ikerlan, is leading the Var Trainer European project, which consists of developing training simulators for handling machinery aimed at workers in the construction sector to avoid risks in the workplace. This initiative is promoted by associations of construction companies and manufacturers from six European countries.

Accidents in the workplace, particularly concentrated on the construction sector, are a cause for concern for public and private agents

Given the right support, there could be 5-10 million fuel cell vehicles globally by 2020…

The time horizon for the Hydrogen Economy is long – it is at least 20 years away for developed countries. But long term change requires short term change…

China, India and Brazil have already developed active programmes of research on hydrogen fuel cells, which are tailored to their own needs and development goals…

By developing their hydrogen roadmaps now, de

Potentially fatal side-effect may be preventable, new study suggests

Topoisomerase II inhibitors are among the most successful chemotherapy drugs used to treat human cancer. But a small percentage of patients treated with these agents recover from their initial malignancy only to develop a second cancer, leukemia.
Researchers at UC Davis Cancer Center have shed new light on this poorly understood process. In a study to be published in the Nov. 22 issue of the journal Leuke

In what promises to be an important advance, researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara have developed a novel laser by bonding optical gain layers directly to a silicon laser cavity. This hybrid laser offers an alternative to silicon Raman lasers and is an order of magnitude shorter. The laser is optically pumped, operates in continuous wave mode, and only needs 30 mW of input pump power.

This evanescent silicon laser demonstration is the first step toward an electrica

Massive variations in electrical conductivity observed for amorphous carbon thin films

A great deal of work has been done into understanding the physical properties of amorphous carbon (a-C). These studies have found the relative ratio of different carbon phases strongly determines the physical properties of the material.

In this work, published in AZojomo*, by B. Rebollo-Plata, R. Lozada-Morales, R. Palomino-Merino, J. A. Dávila-PintLe, O. Portillo-Moreno, O. Zelaya

Echoes of a “hydrogen economy” are reverberating across the country, but a number of roadblocks stand in the way. One of the biggest, experts say, is the high cost of manufacturing fuel cells. A new research project at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute aims to tackle the challenge of mass production by using robots to assemble fuel cell stacks.

The project, which will combine the resources of Rensselaer’s Flexible Manufacturing Center (FMC) and Center for Automation Techno

Heraeus Launches the new VARIUS® System

Heraeus Noblelight GmbH, a company within the worldwide precious metals- and technology organisation Heraeus, will be represented at SOLARIA 2005 in Cologne by its Original Hanau SunCare Division. Original Hanau SunCare is the specialist for tanning lamps and UV technology for sunbeds. At SOLARIA, Original Hanau SunCare is launching the innovative VARIUS system, a system which offers high pressure output in a compact and flexible package.

Mechanical engineers at Purdue University have demonstrated a new method for analyzing the components of automotive suspension systems in work aimed at improving the performance, reducing the weight and increasing the durability of suspensions.

The researchers have demonstrated that their method can be used to show precisely how a part’s performance is changed by damage and also how its changing performance affects other parts in the suspension.

Findings are de

The University of the West of England (UWE) and Management Process Systems (MPS) have been awarded a grant of over £68,000 from the Department of Trade and Industry to form a new Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP). The project’s aim is to develop an innovative way of calculating the costs and benefits of collaborative and workflow IT business support systems in the construction industry.

The construction industry is worth £57 billion in the UK alone, but many construction project

Phosphate tungsten bronzes have been tested as cathodes in electrochemical lithium insertion cells

Since their discovery in 1830 the tungsten bronzes have been extensively studied due to their interesting chemical, electrical and optical properties. An interesting structural feature at the molecular level is the presence of long, empty tunnels. These tunnels can have other ions inserted into them to enhance and alter the properties of the base material.

This study, publis

Structural and chemical compositions of Si-Al Oxy-Nitride coatings altered through the use of reactive DC magnetron sputtering

Sialons are ceramics possessing chemical inertness, good thermal shock resistance, and excellent mechanical properties that are retained up to high temperatures. These properties mean sialon systems have found considerable applications in engineering.

Sialons are almost never found as natural minerals and sialon powders must be synthesized. They are

The best response to a building emergency is a fast and informed one. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is working with the building industry as well as the public safety and information technology communities to achieve both objectives.

NIST researchers are studying how “intelligent” building systems can be used by firefighters, police and other first responders to accurately assess emergency conditions in real-time. One of the biggest problems faced by

Solar research at PSI takes a leap into the future today with the opening of the High-flux Solar Simulator. With this new instrument scientists will be able to carry out experiments under extremely high temperatures, independent of the weather.

The Laboratory for Solar Technology at PSI and the Professorship in Renewable Energy Carriers at ETHZ are jointly conducting research in high-temperature thermo-chemical processes to efficiently transform concentrated solar energy into sto