Archive for December, 2007
Effect of mechanical strain on mobility of polycrystalline silicon thin-film transistors fabricated on stainless steel foil
The effect of uniaxial tensile strain parallel to the channel on mobility of polycrystalline silicon thin-film transistors on stainless steel foil has been investigated. The electron mobility increases by 20% while the hole mobility decreases by 6% as the strain increases to 0.5% and both followed by saturation as the strain increases further. The off current decreases for both types TFTs under strain. All TFTs remained functional at the applied strain of 1.13%.
Diminished Mercury Emission From Water Surfaces by Duckweed (Lemna minor)
Aquatic plants of the family Lemnaceae (generally referred to as duckweeds) are a widely distributed type of floating vegetation in freshwater systems. Under suitable conditions, duckweeds form a dense vegetative mat on the water surface, which reduces light penetration into the water column and decreases the amount of exposed water surface. These two factors would be expected to reduce mercury emission by limiting a) direct photoreduction of Hg(II), b) indirect reduction via coupled DOC photooxidation-Hg(II) reduction, and c) gas diffusion across the water-air interface. Conversely, previous studies have demonstrated transpiration of Hg(0) by plants, so it is therefore possible that the floating vegetative mat would enhance emission via transpiration of mercury vapor. The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether duckweed limits mercury flux to the atmosphere by shading and the formation of a physical barrier to diffusion, or whether it enhances emission from aquatic systems via transpiration of Hg(0).
Deionized water was amended with mercury to achieve a final concentration of approximately 35 ng/L and allowed to equilibrate prior to the experiment. Experiments were conducted in rectangular polystyrene flux chambers with measured UV-B transmittance greater than 60% (spectral cutoff approximately 290 nm). Light was therefore able to penetrate the flux chamber from the sides as well as the top throughout the experiment, limiting the effect of shading by duckweed on the water surface. Flux chambers contained 8L of water with varying percent duckweed cover, and perforated plastic sheeting was used as an abiotic control. Exposures were conducted outside on days with little to no cloud cover. Real time mercury flux was measured using atomic absorption (Mercury Instruments UT-3000). Total solar and ultraviolet radiation, as well as a suite of meteorological parameters, were also measured. Results indicate that duckweed diminishes mercury emission from the water surface as compared to open water controls. Decreases in emission rate varied linearly with percent duckweed cover, with lower fluxes occurring at higher percent cover. Mercury flux in the duckweed treatments as compared to open water treatments decreased from 17% in the lowest percent cover treatment to 67% in the highest percent cover treatment. The observed decrease in mercury emission suggests that duckweed limits emission via the formation of a physical barrier to diffusion.