A method and apparatus for reducing as-deposited and metastable defects relative to amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin films, its alloys and devices fabricated therefrom that include heating an earth shield positioned around a cathode in a parallel plate plasma chemical vapor deposition chamber to control a temperature of a showerhead in the deposition chamber in the range of 350° C. to 600° C. An anode in the deposition chamber is cooled to maintain a temperature in the range of 50° C. to 450° C. at the substrate that is positioned at the anode. In the apparatus, a heater is embedded within the earth shield and a cooling system is embedded within the anode.

A power generation system that includes: a ceramic element including a ferroelectric ceramic having a Curie temperature of 90° C. or lower and a space charge polarization; and a power extraction device that extracts power from the ceramic element when a temporal temperature change exceeding the Curie temperature is applied to the ferroelectric ceramic.

A monolithically integrated, tunable infrared pixel comprises a combined broadband detector and graphene-enabled tunable metasurface filter that operate as a single solid-state device with no moving parts. Functionally, tunability results from the plasmonic properties of graphene that are acutely dependent upon the carrier concentration within the infrared. Voltage induced changes in graphene's carrier concentration can be leveraged to change the metasurface filter's transmission thereby altering the “colors” of light reaching the broadband detector and hence its spectral responsivity. The invention enables spectrally agile infrared detection with independent pixel-to-pixel spectral tunability.

The present invention relates to a pressure signal detection circuit and a pressure signal detection method in which a pyroelectric signal from a piezoelectric film is suppressed. More specifically, the pressure signal detection circuit receives input of an input signal from a piezoelectric film, differentiates the input signal for signal component analysis of the input signal, outputs the signal analysis value of the input signal based on the differential value, removes offset of the input signal by using the signal component analysis value, integrates the input signal, and outputs a pressure input signal value from which a heat input signal value is removed.

The invention provides novel latexes of particles of vinylidene fluoride/trifluoroethylene copolymers possessing a more ordered ferroelectric crystalline phase, and hence improved ferro-, pyro-, and piezo-electric properties, and a method for manufacturing the same by emulsion polymerization in the presence of certain cyclic fluorosurfactants.

An apparatus and method, the apparatus including a charge carrier wherein the charge carrier includes a continuous three dimensional framework including a plurality of cavities throughout the framework; sensor material provided throughout the charge carrier; wherein the sensor material is configured to transduce a detected input and change conductivity of the charge carrier in dependence of the detected input.

A Method for producing a microsystem (1) with pixels includes: producing a thermal silicon oxide layer on the surface of a silicon wafer as a base layer (5) by oxidation of the silicon wafer; producing a silicon oxide thin layer on the base layer as a carrier layer (6)by thermal deposition; producing a platinum layer on the carrier layer by thermal deposition, whereby an intermediate product is produced; cooling the intermediate product to room temperature; pixel-like structuring of the platinum layer by removing surplus areas of the platinum layer, whereby bottom electrodes (8, 12) of the pixels (7, 8) are formed in pixel shape on the carrier layer in remaining areas; removing material on the side of the silicon wafer facing away from the base layer, so a frame (3) remains and a membrane (4) formed by the base layer and the carrier layer is spanned by the frame.

An electrocaloric element for a heat transfer system includes an electrocaloric material of a copolymer of (i) vinylidene fluoride, and (ii) an addition polymerization monomer that is larger than vinylidene fluoride and includes a substituent more electronegative than chlorine. Electrodes are disposed on opposite surfaces of the electrocaloric material, and an electric power source is configured to provide voltage to the electrodes. The system also includes a first thermal flow path between the electrocaloric material and a heat sink, and a second thermal flow path between the electrocaloric material and a heat source.

A high-performance Microbolometer that incorporates vanadium oxide (VOx) along with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) or graphene. This Microbolometer, which uses a microbridge comprising Si3N4 and VOx, provides low noise and high dynamic range longwave infrared (LWIR) band detection. Addition of CNTs/graphene provides a high level of performance [low 1/f noise, noise equivalent temperature difference (NETD), and thermal time constant] due to the high temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) of these materials.

A residual stress in a PZT type ferroelectric film 12 formed on a substrate body 11 by a sol-gel process is −14 MPa to −31 MPa, and the ferroelectric film 12 is crystal oriented in a (100) plane.