Chemical Engineering @ChemengFiles.Com

Hot-wire chemical vapor deposition is a promising technique for deposition of thin amorphous, polycrystalline, and epitaxial silicon films for photovoltaic applications. Fundamental questions remain, however, about the gas-phase and surface-kinetic processes involved. To this end, the nature of the wire decomposition process has been studied in detail by use of mass spectrometry. Atomic silicon was the predominant radical formed for wire temperatures above 1500 K, and catalysis was evident for SiH3 production with the use of a new wire. Aged wires appear to produce radicals by a non-catalyzed route and chemical analysis of these wires reveal large quantities of silicon at the surface, consistent with the presence of a silicide layer. This study is the first of its kind to correlate radical desorption kinetics with filament aging for the hot-wire chemical vapor deposition technique.

Threshold ionization mass spectrometry revealed large quantities of the SiH2 radical, attributed to heterogeneous pyrolysis on the walls of the reactor. At dilute (1%) silane pressures of up to 2 Torr, a negligible amount of ions and silicon agglomerates (Si2, Si2H, Si2H6) were detected. Density functional theory calculations reveal an energetically favorable route for the reaction of Si and SiH4, producing Si2H2 and H2. The trace amounts of Si2H2 observed experimentally, however, may suggest that an intermediate spin state transition involved in this reaction is slow under the hot-wire conditions used. Monte Carlo simulations of the hot-wire reactor suggest SiH3 is the predominant growth species under conditions leading to amorphous and polycrystalline growth. The flux of atomic hydrogen, rather than the identity of the precursor, appears to be the more important factor in governing the amorphous-to-microcrystalline transition that occurs upon hydrogen-dilution. Two-dimensional Monte Carlo simulations were used to model a hot-wire reactor for the first time, showing that filament arrays can be used to improve film growth uniformity. Under conditions where agglomerate formation does not occur, continuum simulations predict a maximum growth rate of 10 nm/s for dilute (1%) silane conditions and a rate of 50 nm/s for pure silane.

A study involving the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) gets a molecule that could serve to regenerate neurons. The work, led by the Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona, has achieved a compound that in vitro growing axons of injured neurons in mice. This substance could be used in future to design new drugs that promote axonal regeneration in spinal cord injuries. The work has also engaged the University of Barcelona.

Axons, extensions of nerve cells through which nerve impulses travel, allowing the connection of neuron to neuron and the execution of orders from the brain to the muscles. One of the main problems of the nervous system of an adult is the inability of regenerating axons when they suffer an injury.

This work concerns applications of NMR techniques in metabolic engineering studies. As demonstrated here, NMR is a valuable tool in analyzing intracellular metabolic and energetic states. When combined with growth and fermentation studies, it greatly enhances the understanding of cellular responses to particular genetic modifications.