Nanoporous Layers and the Peculiarities of Their Local Formation on a Silicon Wafer

This review presents the results of the local formation of nanostructured porous silicon (NPSi) on the surface of silicon wafers by anodic etching using a durite intermediate ring. The morphological and crystallographic features of NPSi structures formed on n- and p-type silicon with low and relatively high resistivity have also been investigated. The proposed scheme allows one to experiment with biological objects (for example, stem cells, neurons, and other objects) in a locally formed porous structure located in close proximity to the electronic periphery of sensor devices on a silicon wafer.

Laser Induced Temperature Perturbation on Ultramicroelectrodes: Unsupported Solutions in Nonaqueous Methanol

Temperature dependence studies of electrochemical parameters provide insight into electron transfer processes. In cases where adding excess electrolyte experimental causes complications colloidal systems, organic or biological samples it is preferable to deal with the high resistivity of the medium. We validate the use of unsupported and weakly supported solutions in thermoelectrochemical experiments. The temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficient allows calibration of the steady-state current to measure changes when a continuous wave (CW) ultraviolet laser, λ=325 nm, illuminates an ultramicroelectrode (UME) from the front. Calibrating the steady-state current ratios before and after heating with a thermostatic bath allows temperature measurements within an accuracy of 0.6 K. The solutions are without supporting electrolytes in methanol, a volatile solvent, and we use a model that accurately describes the viscosity and temperature dependence of the solvent. We calculated the temperature and derived an equation to estimate the temperature measurement error. A numeric method yields satisfactory results, considering the changes for both diffusion coefficients and viscosity explicitly, and predict the thermostatic temperature bath, agreeing with the theoretical model's error. In unsupported solutions, the ferrocene diffusion coefficient and the iodide apparent diffusion coefficient follow the expected increase with temperature. Under CW laser illumination ΔT=4±1 K.

Performance Improvement of Aperture Coupled MSA through Si Micromachining

In recent times rectangular patch antenna design has become the most innovative and popular subject due to its advantages, such as being lightweight, conformal, ease to fabricate, low cost and small size. In this paper design of aperture coupled microstrip patch antenna (MSA) on high index semiconductor material coupled with micromachining technique for performance enhancement is discussed. The performance in terms of return loss bandwidth, gain, cross-polarization and antenna efficiency is compared with standard aperture coupled antenna. Micromachining underneath of the patch helps in to reduce the effective dielectric constant, which is desirable for the radiation characteristics of the patch antenna. Improvement 36 percent and 18 percent in return loss bandwidth and gain respectively achieved using micromachined aperture coupled feed patch, which is due to the reduction in losses, suppression of surface waves and substrate modes. In this article along with design, fabrication aspects on Si substrate using MEMS process also discussed. Presented antenna design is proposed antenna can be useful in smart antenna arrays suitable in satellite, radar communication applications. Two topologies at X-band are fabricated and comparison between aperture coupled and micromachined aperture coupled are presented. Index Terms—Microstrip Patch Antenna, Aperture Coupled, Micromachining, High Resistivity Silicon

Superconductor-insulator transitions in three-dimensional indium-oxide at high pressures

Experiments investigating magnetic-field-tuned superconductor-insulator transition (HSIT) mostly focus on two-dimensional material systems where the transition and its proximate ground-state phases, often exhibit features that are seemingly at odds with the expected behavior. Here we present a complementary study of a three-dimensional pressure-packed amorphous indium-oxide (InOx) powder where granularity controls the HSIT. Above a low threshold pressure of ~0.2 GPa, vestiges of superconductivity are detected, although neither a true superconducting transition nor insulating behavior are observed. Instead, a saturation at very high resistivity at low pressure is followed by saturation at very low resistivity at higher pressure. We identify both as different manifestations of anomalous metallic phases dominated by superconducting fluctuations. By analogy with previous identification of the low resistance saturation as a "failed superconductor", our data suggests that the very high resistance saturation is a manifestation of a "failed insulator". Above a threshold pressure of ~6 GPa, the sample becomes fully packed, and superconductivity is robust, with TC tunable with pressure. A quantum critical point at PC~25 GPa marks the complete suppression of superconductivity. For a finite pressure below PC, a magnetic field is shown to induce a HSIT from a true zero-resistance superconducting state to a weakly insulating behavior. Determining the critical field, HC, we show that similar to the 2D behavior, the insulating-like state maintains a superconducting character, which is quenched at higher field, above which the magnetoresistance decreases to its fermionic normal state value.

Detection of Cracks in Clay Soil Using Quasi-3D Electrical Resistivity Tomography Method: Numerical and Experimental Study

Soil cracks affect the geotechnical characteristics of clay soils frequently used in engineered earth structures. In this work, numerical simulation and laboratory tests using Wenner- Schlumberger array of Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) method are adopted to detect soil cracks in compacted clay soil. 3D numerical simulation showed that air-filled cracks have an anomalous high resistivity signature that can be differentiated from the background due to the high resistivity contrast between cracks and the surrounding soil. Depth, geometry, and extension of the simulated cracks are reasonably indicated. At the laboratory scale, quasi-3D ERT experiment was conducted. The results showed that soil resistivity is significantly affected by an artificially introduced crack as the crack forms a barrier that disturbs the flow of electricity in the soil. Similarly, depth, geometry, and extension of the crack are detected. Both numerical and experimental findings demonstrated that ERT method can effectively be used to identify cracking in clay soils. It is suggested that ERT, as a non invasive method, can be adopted with other traditional geotechnical methods for detecting cracks in clay soils.

Three-Dimensional Audio-Magnetotelluric Imaging including Surface Topography of the Cimabanshuo Porphyry Copper Deposit, Tibet

Cimabanshuo deposit is a newly discovered porphyry copper (Cu) deposit with giant metallogenic potential, found in the western segment of the Gangdese metallogenic belt, Tibet. The average elevation of the deposit is greater than 5500 m and the terrain on which it is found is steep and complex. Therefore, it is untraversed, and the existing exploration works on it are weak. We used 59 AMT sites belonging to an array covering the main, proven mineralization zone and ore bodies of this deposit for an analysis of its underground electrical structure. Dimensionality and strike analysis revealed the apparent three-dimensional (3D) features near the Cu ore bodies. 3D inversion with topography was conducted for the AMT array data. A large range of high-resistivity anomaly (~500–2000 Ωm) appears beneath the proven Cu mineralization zone and ore bodies, which is interpreted as intrusive rocks with potassic alteration. Although containing chalcopyrite, it is characterized by middle–high resistivity due to a low sulfide content and poor connectivity. Moreover, a series of scattered conductors (~10–300 Ωm) around the Cu ore bodies are distributed in the shallow layer from near the surface to ~200 m, possibly indicating phyllic alteration containing pyritization and connected metal sulfides. The proven ore bodies of Cimabanshuo are mainly located at the junction regions between high-resistivity intrusive rocks and high-conductivity sericitization alteration zones. According to this research, the 3D inversion with topography of AMT data can visually display the 3D distribution of intrusive rocks and alteration zones beneath porphyry Cu deposits in high-elevation regions, and provides a reference for further exploration works.

Tight Jurassic Carbonate Reservoir Characterization and Fluid Typing Identification by Integrating Magnetic Resonance, Elemental Spectroscopy and Micro-Resistivity Image Data in Umm Ross Field, West Kuwait, Case Study

The Middle Marrat reservoir of Jurassic age is a tight carbonate reservoir with vertical and horizontal heterogeneous properties. The variation in lithology, vertical and horizontal facies distribution lead to complicated reservoir characterization which lead to unexpected production behavior between wells in the same reservoir. Marrat reservoir characterization by conventional logging tools is a challenging task because of its low clay content and high-resistivity responses. The low clay content in Marrat reservoirs gives low gamma ray counts, which makes reservoir layer identification difficult. Additionally, high resistivity responses in the pay zones, coupled with the tight layering make production sweet spot identification challenging. To overcome these challenges, integration of data from advanced logging tools like Sidewall Magnetic Resonance (SMR), Geochemical Spectroscopy Tool (GST) and Electrical Borehole Image (EBI) supplied a definitive reservoir characterization and fluid typing of this Tight Jurassic Carbonate (Marrat formation). The Sidewall Magnetic resonance (SMR) tool multi wait time enabled T2 polarization to differentiate between moveable water and hydrocarbons. After acquisition, the standard deliverables were porosity, the effective porosity ratio, and the permeability index to evaluate the rock qualities. Porosity was divided into clay-bound water (CBW), bulk-volume irreducible (BVI) and bulk-volume moveable (BVM). Rock quality was interpreted and classified based on effective porosity and permeability index ratios. The ratio where a steeper gradient was interpreted as high flow zones, a gentle gradient as low flow zones, and a flat gradient was considered as tight baffle zones. SMR logging proved to be essential for the proper reservoir characterization and to support critical decisions on well completion design. Fundamental rock quality and permeability profile were supplied by SMR. Oil saturation was identified by applying 2D-NMR methods, T1/T2 vs. T2 and Diffusion vs. T2 maps in a challenging oil-based mud environment. The Electrical Borehole imaging (EBI) was used to identify fracture types and establish fracture density. Additionally, the impact of fractures to enhance porosity and permeability was possible. The Geochemical Spectroscopy Tool (GST) for the precise determination of formation chemistry, mineralogy, and lithology, as well as the identification of total organic carbon (TOC). The integration of the EBI, GST and SMR datasets provided sweet spots identification and perforation interval selection candidates, which the producer used to bring wells onto production.

Delineating Weak Zones in Limestone based on Borehole Drilling and Electrical Resistivity Tomography

This study is focused on imaging of weak zones in subsurface using borehole and geophysical datasets. These weak zones are present within Jhill limestone of Miocene age across the northern, Karachi. A total of forty-nine core samples were collected from eleven boreholes about 30 m deep within the study area. The core analysis reveals presence of cavities in fractured limestone at shallow and deep levels. The lateral extension and thickness of these weak zones are well imaged by the electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) dataset. The 2D tomographs of the six profiles show variability in the ground resistivity response. The ERT profiles are interpreted using on hand samples collects from boreholes. These tomographs reveal relatively high resistivity values interpreted as intercalation of dry clay and marl beds within limestone. The medium resistivity values suggest presence of clay and sand in highly fractured limestone or surficial dry features. The low resistivity values are interpreted to be originated 24 by the weak zones filled with lithologies having high moisture content within limestone. The collected core samples were analysed for geotechnical parameters. The integration of borehole and ERT datasets delineated weak zones in the northern and central regions, which should be well28 cemented to avoid any geohazard.

Effects of substrate phonon absorption on the resonance behavior of metal-insulator-metal metamaterial terahertz absorbers

We have investigated effects of substrate phonon absorption on the resonance behavior of metal-insulator-metal double layer metamaterial absorbers in the terahertz frequency range. A sharp resonant absorption dip is clearly observed for a metamaterial-on-ground-plane structure fabricated on a GaAs substrate when THz radiation is incident from the surface metamaterials side. However, when the THz is incident from the substrate side to the ground-plane-on-metamaterial structures fabricated on a GaAs substrate, the resonance dip is almost merged into the broad background of acoustic phonon absorption. The resonant absorption is recovered when the GaAs substrate is replaced with a high-resistivity Si substrate.