With digital equipment becoming increasingly networked, either on wired or wireless networks, for personal and professional use alike, distributed software systems have become a crucial element in information and communications technologies. The study of these systems forms the core of the ARLES' work, which is specifically concerned with defining new system software architectures, based on the use of emerging networking technologies. In this context, we concentrate on the study of distributed systems which bring to life the vision of ubiquitous computing systems, also known as ambient intelligence.

반도체 공정 overview

http://www.cdi-electrosorption.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Porada-et-al.-2013-Review-on-the-Science-and-Technology-of-Water-Desalination-by-Capacitive-Deionization.pdf

Review on the science and technology of water desalination by capacitive deionization

Membranes with unprecedented solvent permeance and high retention of dissolved solutes are needed to reduce the energy consumed by separations in organic liquids We used controlled interfacial polymerization to form free-standing polyamide nanofilms less than 10 nanometers in thickness, and incorporated them as separating layers in composite membranes Manipulation of nanofilm morphology by control of interfacial reaction conditions enabled the creation of smooth or crumpled textures; the nanofilms were sufficiently rigid that the crumpled textures could withstand pressurized filtration, resulting in increased permeable area Composite membranes comprising crumpled nanofilms on alumina supports provided high retention of solutes, with acetonitrile permeances up to 112 liters per square meter per hour per bar This is more than two orders of magnitude higher than permeances of commercially available membranes with equivalent solute retention

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/348/6241/1347.full.pdf

Sub–10 nm polyamide nanofilms with ultrafast solvent transport for molecular separation

Capacitive deionization (CDI) is an emerging technology for the facile removal of charged ionic species from aqueous solutions, and is currently being widely explored for water desalination applications. The technology is based on ion electrosorption at the surface of a pair of electrically charged electrodes, commonly composed of highly porous carbon materials. The CDI community has grown exponentially over the past decade, driving tremendous advances via new cell architectures and system designs, the implementation of ion exchange membranes, and alternative concepts such as flowable carbon electrodes and hybrid systems employing a Faradaic (battery) electrode. Also, vast improvements have been made towards unraveling the complex processes inherent to interfacial electrochemistry, including the modelling of kinetic and equilibrium aspects of the desalination process. In our perspective, we critically review and evaluate the current state-of-the-art of CDI technology and provide definitions and performance metric nomenclature in an effort to unify the fast-growing CDI community. We also provide an outlook on the emerging trends in CDI and propose future research and development directions.

/pdf/water-desalination-via-capacitive-deionization-what-is-it-p45le9ivut.pdf

Water desalination via capacitive deionization : What is it and what can we expect from it?

Tissue-engineered skin is now a reality. For patients with extensive full-thickness burns, laboratory expansion of skin cells to achieve barrier function can make the difference between life and death, and it was this acute need that drove the initiation of tissue engineering in the 1980s. A much larger group of patients have ulcers resistant to conventional healing, and treatments using cultured skin cells have been devised to restart the wound-healing process. In the laboratory, the use of tissue-engineered skin provides insight into the behaviour of skin cells in healthy skin and in diseases such as vitiligo, melanoma, psoriasis and blistering disorders.

Progress and opportunities for tissue-engineered skin

A study of HMDSO/O2 plasma deposits using a high-sensitivity and -energy resolution XPS instrument: curve fitting of the Si 2p core level

The aim of this paper is twofold: first to report on the lateral and vertical characterisation of a surface chemical gradient of carboxylic-acid functionality and second, to demonstrate the use of said gradient to probe the passive adsorption of immunoglobulin G (IgG) as a function of the density of surface carboxylic-acid groups. A surface chemical gradient of carboxylic-acid functionality was fabricated by the plasma copolymerisation of octadiene (OD) and acrylic acid (AA). The plasma-polymerised gradient was over 12 mm, with 2 mm of plasma-polymerised OD at one end and 2 mm of plasma-polymerised AA at the other. By means of linescan angle resolved x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ARXPS) it is shown precisely how acid functionality varies from the 2 mm position (OD end) on the gradient to the 10 mm position (AA end). By recording data from 16 angles at each of the 25 sampling points along the gradient, it is shown that the surface gradient also changes vertically, most notably in the thickness of the plasma polymer. At the OD end the plasma-polymerised layer is 6.3 nm thick, while at the AA end the plasma-polymerised layer is 5 nm. More subtle changes in chemistry through the plasma-polymerised layer are shown at the 7.5 and 10 mm points. An identical gradient is used to probe IgG adsorption along the length of the gradient. ARXPS is used to monitor the nitrogen Is (N1s) signal at 25 points, the N1s signal being unique to adsorbed IgG. It is demonstrated that IgG adsorbs in far greater amount (IgG per unit area) at the OD end, and the amount of adsorbed IgG decreases along the length of the gradient. It is estimated that >200 ng/cm 2 adsorbed at the OD, while at the AA the amount adsorbed was <20 ng/cm 2 .

ARXPS characterisation of plasma polymerised surface chemical gradients

Argon plasma treatment and subsequent atmospheric exposure have been used to incorporate new oxygen functionalities at the surface of polystyrene (PS) and polypropylene (PP). High-energy resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has yielded molecular information regarding the site of modification in both polymers. Core level and valence band spectra have been interpreted. We have adopted a simple subtraction process to highlight the changes occurring in the valence band spectra upon treatment. In the case of PS, modification is found to be occurring at ring sites. In PP, modification is thought to be occurring at two sites. We propose that modification at the tertiary carbon site leads to chain scission and subsequent etching, while modification at the methyl side group results in functionalities being incorporated at the polymer surface. These data help to substantiate mechanisms that were previously proposed, based on the accepted mechanisms of cross-linking vs chain scission for these polymers.

Plasma Treatment of Polymers: The Effects of Energy Transfer from an Argon Plasma on the Surface Chemistry of Polystyrene, and Polypropylene. A High-Energy Resolution X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Study

The reduced pressure synthesis of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) with sheet-like morphology has been achieved with the introduction of an amphiphilic triblock copolymer into the oxidant thin film. Addition of the copolymer not only results in an oxidant thin film which remains liquid-like under reduced pressure but also induces structured growth during film formation. PEDOT films were polymerized using the vacuum vapor phase polymerization (VPP) technique, in which we show that maintaining a liquid-like state for the oxidant is essential. The resulting conductivity is equivalent to commercially available indium tin oxide (ITO) with concomitant optical transmission values. PEDOT films can be produced with a variety of thicknesses across a range of substrate materials from plastics to metals to ceramics, with sheet resistances down to 45 Ω/□ (ca. 3400 S·cm–1), and transparency in the visible spectrum of >80% at 65 nm thickness. This compares favorably to ITO and its currently touted replacements.

Polymeric material with metal-like conductivity for next generation organic electronic devices

Argon plasma treatment followed by exposure to
atmospheric oxygen has been used to introduce new
carbon–oxygen functionalities to polymer surfaces. We
report on the treatment of poly(styrene) (PS), low density
poly(ethylene) (LDPE), poly(propylene) (PP) and
poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). Argon plasma-treated
polymer surfaces exhibit a ‘saturation’ level
and a ‘stable’ level of oxygen incorporation.
The former is the maximum amount of oxygen which can be
introduced into the surface. The latter is the maximum level
of oxygen incorporation at which the surface is stable to
both washing with a polymer non-solvent, and ageing with
time. PS exhibits the greatest level of stable oxygen
incorporation followed by LDPE and PP. PET displays very
little stable oxygen incorporation. ‘Stable’
surfaces are characterised by a high selectivity towards
C–O functionalities (>70% for PS at O/C ratio=0.2).
At least 40% of these functionalities have been shown to be
hydroxy groups through chemical derivatisation. The O 1s/O
2s ratio has been used to highlight differences in
modification depths between the hydrocarbon polymers. We
think that the inert gas plasma treatment imparts reactivity
to a surface through an energy transfer process. Our results
are rationalised on the basis of the accepted mechanisms of
cross-linking vs. chain scission for the polymers.

Plasma treatment of polymers Effects of energy transfer from an argon plasma on the surface chemistry of poly(styrene), low density poly(ethylene), poly(propylene) and poly(ethylene terephthalate)

Robert D. Short

Papers

A study of HMDSO/O2 plasma deposits using a high-sensitivity and -energy resolution XPS instrument: curve fitting of the Si 2p core level

ARXPS characterisation of plasma polymerised surface chemical gradients

Plasma Treatment of Polymers: The Effects of Energy Transfer from an Argon Plasma on the Surface Chemistry of Polystyrene, and Polypropylene. A High-Energy Resolution X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Study

Polymeric material with metal-like conductivity for next generation organic electronic devices

Plasma treatment of polymers Effects of energy transfer from an argon plasma on the surface chemistry of poly(styrene), low density poly(ethylene), poly(propylene) and poly(ethylene terephthalate)