Bar-coated high-performance organic thin-film transistors based on ultrathin PDFDT polymer with molecular weight independence

We report high-performance organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) with an ultrathin active layer of difluorobenzothiadiazole-dithienosilole copolymer (PDFDT) form by using the wire bar-coating process. The top-gate/bottom contact (TG/BC) OTFTs based on bar-coated PDFDT polymer as channel material and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as gate dielectric show a hole mobility of up to 2.2 cm² V⁻¹s⁻¹ with a current ON/OFF ratio (I_on/I_off) of 10⁴∼10⁵, with the mobility being two times larger than that of the spin-coated PDFDT based OTFTs. The higher mobility of the bar-coated PDFDT polymer films can be attributed to the well-organized fibril structures of the polymer chains. Importantly, two different molecular weight polymers (M_n = 23 and 34 kDa) were employed to conduct these experiments and both batches showed about the same performance, which mitigates the typical batch-to-batch variation in OTFT performance. Furthermore, we explored the operational stability of the bar-coated OTFTs in ambient air and nitrogen environments. The bias-stress and cycling tests between the ON/OFF states of the bar-coated devices showed high stability in both nitrogen and air. Conclusively, here we demonstrate that (i) a simple bar-coating process is a better method to control and obtain good polymer morphology in comparison to spin-coating, and (ii) the PDFDT polymer has great potential to provide good reproducibility and stability in large-area OTFT devices.     

Can self-estimates of body weight and height be used in place of measurements for college students?

A study was conducted to determine how accurately college students can estimate their height and body weight. Four hundred and sixty-nine students (136 females and 333 males) completed a short questionnaire eliciting self-estimates of height and weight, frequency and recency of measuring them, age, and gender. Immediately afterwards, their height and weight were measured. Three hundred and forty-nine subjects were told that they would be measured later; the others were not told that they would be measured. Analysis of the data revealed relatively small absolute errors of estimation (1.00—3.54%); both males and females overestimated height and underestimated weight; females estimated weight less accurately and height more accurately than males; and knowing that one's estimation would be checked by measurement produced slightly more accurate estimations. Simple self-estimates of height and weight are accurate enough to be used in place of measurements.     

Density of metric entropies for linear toral automorphisms

In this article we show that for every linear toral automorphism, including the non-hyperbolic ones, the entropies of ergodic measures form a dense set in the interval from zero to the topological entropy.     

基于信息熵的产品造型风格形成原理与设计决策顺序研究

将信息论方法引入产品造型设计领域,提出通过计算两两造型特征变量的信息系数来分析某种造型风格的形成原理和决策要点:以两种风格的金融机具为例,选取代表性样本,提取风格特征变量,计算各变量的信息熵值和两两信息系数,结果得出了两种风格的形成原理和设计决策顺序。实例证明了该方法的可行性,可以为造型设计提供有效的参考。     

A method for the compound fault diagnosis of gearboxes based on morphological component analysis

An improved morphological component analysis (MCA) method is proposed for the compound fault diagnosis of gearboxes. When gear fault and bearing fault occur simultaneously, the compound fault signal of the gearbox contains meshing components (related to the gear fault) and periodic impulse components (related to the bearing fault). The corresponding fault characteristics can be separated by MCA according to the morphological differences of the components. In the proposed method, the optimal dictionary, which can represent the characteristics of bearing faults, is first selected based on the principle of minimum information entropy. Then, the compound fault signal is decomposed into the meshing component and the periodic impulse component using MCA. Finally, the separated components are subjected to the Hilbert envelope spectrum analysis. The faults of the gear and the bearing can be diagnosed according to the envelope spectra of the separated fault signal components. Simulation and experimental studies validate the effectiveness of the proposed method for the compound fault diagnosis of gearboxes.     

Improvements to the structural condition index (SCI) for pavement structural evaluation at network level

Structural evaluation provides valuable information about the expected behaviour and response of pavements and can be used at the network level of pavement management to prioritise projects. The falling weight deflectometer (FWD) can be used to identify the beginning and end of management sections and group pavement sections with similar structural capacities. The structural condition index (SCI) was developed as a screening tool for the pavement network-level evaluation, and the FWD data are used to determine the SCI. For the successful implementation of the SCI concept at the network level, one of the critical issues is the accuracy of the index. This article evaluates the accuracy of the SCI and also discusses a concept and procedure how to improve the SCI and its algorithm for low-volume flexible pavements. A case study (Texas) illustrates that the original SCI algorithm underestimates the existing structural condition, resulting in overestimated treatments in the pavement maintenance and rehabilitation.     

Liquid phase separation in transition element high entropy alloys

Non-consumable arc melting was used to produce buttons of transition metal (Co-Cu-Fe) high entropy alloys (HEAs) with additions of Al, Cr, Mn, Ni, V or Ti. High resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) capabilities were used for microstructural characterization. It was found that certain HEAs exhibit stable liquid miscibility gaps causing separation into two liquids, namely a Cu-lean liquid, L1, and a Cu-rich liquid, L2. Since, in stable liquid phase separation (LPS) involving Cu, the Cu-rich L2 has a higher density and a lower melting temperature, it sinks to the bottom of the casting. Secondary melt separation was also observed and resulted in small spheres of the minority liquid embedded in the matrix of the first liquid. Additions of Co, Al, Ti, and Ni were found to lower the miscibility gap temperature (T_MG), while additions of Cr, V, and Nb were observed to raise T_MG and enhance stable LPS. Thermodynamic calculations were used to support the experimental results.     

New antenna design approach – 3D polymer printing and metallization. experimental test at 14–18 GHz

This paper proves a new approach for rapid prototyping of radio antennas through 3D printing and chemical metallization. For this purpose, a standard metal pyramidal horn prototype is compared with its 3D printed replica. Three different 3D polymer printers are tested. The printed samples are assessed nondestructively by an X-ray Industrial Computed Tomography (CT) scanner, and then metalized via chemical deposition and chemical-electrochemical deposition. Copper with two different layer thicknesses and nickel materials are deployed and verified as a metallization opportunity. Again the CT scanner, X-ray fluorescent analysis and nanoindentation technique were used to perform the metallization quality estimation. As a result, a qualitative polymer prototype was produced having weight of 13 g – ten times lighter than the original. The prototype was successfully metalized and was able to be soldered. The radio-measurement comparison with the metal original for frequencies 14–18 GHz showed no significant differences. Finally, a simple dynamometric test confirmed the bonding between the metal and the polymer. To the best of our knowledge this is the first known comprehensive analysis of the possibility to print 3D lightweight wideband polymer antenna prototypes with a stable chemical metallization and radio properties very close to the original at 14–18 GHz.