Topic Review
Ferroelastic Twinning in Minerals
Ferroelastic twinning in minerals is a very common phenomenon. The twin laws follow simple symmetry rules and they are observed in minerals, like feldspar, palmierite, leucite, perovskite, and so forth. The major discovery over the last two decades was that the thin areas between the twins yield characteristic physical and chemical properties, but not the twins themselves. Research greatly focusses on these twin walls (or ‘twin boundaries’); therefore, because they possess different crystal structures and generate a large variety of ‘emerging’ properties. Research on wall properties has largely overshadowed research on twin domains. 
  • 1.5K
  • 15 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Ultrasensitive Magnetic Field Sensors
One of the cutting-edge topics today is the use of magnetic field sensors for applications such as magnetocardiography, magnetotomography, magnetomyography, magnetoneurography, or their application in point-of-care devices. Types of magnetic field sensors include direct current superconducting quantum interference devices, search coil, fluxgate, magnetoelectric, giant magneto-impedance, anisotropic/giant/tunneling magnetoresistance, optically pumped, cavity optomechanical, Hall effect, magnetoelastic, spin wave interferometry, and those based on the behavior of nitrogen-vacancy centers in the atomic lattice of diamond. Current developments of magnetometry in biological diagnostics are revised in review paper DOI: 10.3390/s20061569.
  • 2.7K
  • 11 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Technology
Cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAPP) technology has received substantial attention due to its valuable properties including operational simplicity, low running cost, and environmental friendliness. Several different gases (air, nitrogen, helium, argon) and techniques (corona discharge, dielectric barrier discharge, plasma jet) can be used to generate plasma at atmospheric pressure and low temperature. Plasma treatment is routinely used in materials science to modify the surface properties (e.g., wettability, chemical composition, adhesion) of a wide range of materials (e.g., polymers, textiles, metals, glasses). Moreover, CAPP seems to be a powerful tool for the inactivation of various pathogens (e.g., bacteria, fungi, viruses) in the food industry (e.g., food and packing material decontamination, shelf life extension), agriculture (e.g., disinfection of seeds, fertilizer, water, soil) and medicine (e.g., sterilization of medical equipment, implants). Plasma medicine also holds great promise for direct therapeutic treatments in dentistry (tooth bleaching), dermatology (atopic eczema, wound healing) and oncology (melanoma, glioblastoma).
  • 2.2K
  • 10 Jun 2021
Topic Review
V-HOE Based Solar Concentrators
The fundamental advantages of volume holographic optical elements are very appealing for lightweight and cheap solar concentrators applications and can become a valuable asset that can be integrated into solar panels. 
  • 831
  • 10 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Optical Phase Shifters
Optical phase shifters have the functionality to control the phase of light by a change in the effective refractive index. In a Si photonics platform, it is an essential part composing optical modulators as well as switches in Si photonics. The realization of a silicon optical phase shifter marked a cornerstone for the development of silicon photonics, and it is expected that optical interconnects based on the technology relax the explosive datacom growth in data centers. High-performance silicon optical modulators and switches, integrated into a chip, play a very important role in optical transceivers, encoding electrical signals onto the light at high speed and routing the optical signals, respectively. The development of the devices is continuously required to meet the ever-increasing data traffic at higher performance and lower cost.
  • 6.9K
  • 08 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Wind Turbines Vibration Control
The larger wind turbines are facing higher loads, and the imperatives of mass reduction make them more flexible. Size increase of wind turbines results in higher structural vibrations that reduce the lifetime of the components (blades, main shaft, bearings, generator, gearbox, etc.) and might lead to failure or destruction. Different systems to control the vibration of wind turbines are available, acting either on the tower or directly on the blade.
  • 4.1K
  • 06 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Ion-Exchange
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, ion-exchange process can be defined as “any class of chemical reactions between two substances (each consisting of positively and negatively charged species called ions) that involves an exchange of one or more ionic components”. This is the case, for example, of a multi-component oxide glass immersed – at a given temperature – in a mixture of molten salts containing metal ions (typically nitrates such as silver nitrate AgNO3, potassium nitrate KNO3, copper nitrate Cu(NO3)2, sodium nitrate NaNO3, etc.). Because of the high temperature at which the process occurs and concentration gradient established in proximity of the interface between glass and molten salt, sodium ions Na+ present within the compound glass migrate in the solution and are replaced by cations originally contained in the salt melt (e.g., Ag+, K+, Cu2+, etc.). Due to the different size and polarizability of the ions participating in the process, the glass modifies its network locally in the exchanged regions, with particular reference to its density and, therefore, to its refractive index. This paves the way for the production of graded-index optical components and waveguides, for passive and active integrated optical devices. Furthermore, the K+ – Na+ exchange is the basis for the chemical strengthening of the glass, which allows to obtain mechanically resistant glasses in increasingly thinner thicknesses for applications in smartphone technology and flexible photonics. Finally, the possibility of inducing the formation of noble metal nanoparticles in an ion-exchanged glass following particular thermal post-process techniques allows the realization of new low-cost optical platforms for sensing and photovoltaic applications.
  • 940
  • 31 May 2021
Topic Review
Precise Optical Modulation
Optoelectronic devices which play important roles in high-speed optical fiber networks can offer effective measurement methods for optoelectronic devices including optical modulators and photodetectors. Precise optical signal modulation is required for measurement applications.
  • 599
  • 19 May 2021
Topic Review
Azulene Moiety as Electron Reservoir
The nonalternant aromatic azulene, an isomer of alternant naphthalene, differs from the latter in peculiar properties. The large polarization of the π-electron system over the seven and five rings gives to azulene electrophile property a pronounced tendency to donate electrons to an acceptor, substituted at azulene 1 position. This paper presents cases in which azulene transfers electrons to a suitable acceptor as methylium ions, positive charged heteroaromatics and examples of neutral molecules that can accept electrons. 
  • 1.3K
  • 18 May 2021
Topic Review
AR-HCFs for Sensing Applications
Specialty fibers have enabled a wide range of sensing applications. Particularly, with the recent advancement of anti-resonant effects, specialty fibers with hollow structures offer a unique sensing platform to achieve highly accurate and ultra-compact fiber optic sensors with large measurement ranges. Enabled by the specialty fiber manufacturing industry, AR-HCFs have shown great potential in optical fiber communication and sensing. AR-HCFs have very low transmission loss, optical nonlinearity, and chromatic dispersion over a broad bandwidth. They also have intrinsic advantages of high sensitivity, compact structures, and robust operation. All these remarkable advantages promote diversified sensing applications of AR-HCF. As a functionalized device, it has been extensively used for common parameter sensing, including solid, gas, and liquid.
  • 784
  • 11 May 2021
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