Search results for ""Pan Stanford Publishing Pte Ltd""

Nanoelectronics is changing the way the world communicates, and is transforming our daily lives. Continuing Moore’s law and miniaturization of low-power semiconductor chips with ever-increasing functionality have been relentlessly driving R&D of new devices, materials, and process capabilities to meet performance, power, and cost requirements. This book covers up-to-date advances in research and industry practices in nanometrology, critical for continuing technology scaling and product innovation. It holistically approaches the subject matter and addresses emerging and important topics in semiconductor R&D and manufacturing. It is a complete guide for metrology and diagnostic techniques essential for process technology, electronics packaging, and product development and debugging—a unique approach compared to other books. The authors are from academia, government labs, and industry and have vast experience and expertise in the topics presented. The book is intended for all those involved in IC manufacturing and nanoelectronics and for those studying nanoelectronics process and assembly technologies or working in device testing, characterization, and diagnostic techniques.

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This book provides an actual overview of the structure, function, and application of carbohydrate-modifying biocatalysts. Carbohydrates have been disregarded for a long time by the scientific community, mainly due to their complex structure. Meanwhile, the situation changed with increasing knowledge about the key role carbohydrates play in biological processes such as recognition, signal transduction, immune responses, and others. An outcome of research activities in glycoscience is the development of several new pharmaceuticals against serious diseases such as malaria, cancer, and various storage diseases. Furthermore, the employment of carbohydrate-modifying biocatalysts—enzymes as well as microorganisms—will contribute significantly to the development of environmentally friendly processes boosting a shift of the chemical industry from petroleum- to bio-based production of chemicals from renewable resources. The updated content of the second edition of this book has been extended by discussing the current state of the art of using recombinantly expressed carbohydrate-modifying biocatalysts and the synthesis of minicellulosomes in connection with consolidated bioprocessing of lignocellulosic material. Furthermore, a synthetic biology approach for using DAHP-dependent aldolases to catalyze asymmetric aldol reactions is presented.

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This book provides a comprehensive overview of the synthesis and characterization of nanocomposites based on block copolymers. Because of the self-assembly capability of block copolymers for the generation of nanostructures, besides their ability to nanostructure thermosetting matrices such as epoxy and polyester, binary or ternary nanocomposites can be prepared with different nanofillers such as nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes. The book starts with a review on nanocomposites based on block copolymers and nanoparticles synthesized with the use of surfactants, followed by a review on nanocomposites with metallic nanoparticles with polymer brushes and those with carbon nanotubes. A chapter is devoted to binary systems based on block copolymers and nanoparticles synthesized by sol-gel. A review on nanocomposites based on thermosetting matrices nanostructured with block copolymers (amphiphilic or chemically modified) is also presented for both epoxy and polyester resins. The work on ternary systems based on thermosetting matrices, block copolymers, and nanoparticles is presented next. The book concludes with a discussion on nanocomposites based on epoxy and block copolymers with azobenzene groups for optical purposes.

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In recent decades, metrology—an accurate and precise technology of high quality for automotive engines—has garnered a great deal of scientific interest due to its unique advanced soft engineering techniques in design and diagnostics. Used in a variety of scientific applications, these techniques are now widely regarded as safer, more efficient, and more effective than traditional ones. This book compiles and details the cutting-edge research in science and engineering from the Egyptian Metrology Institute (National Institute for Standards) that is revolutionizing advanced dimensional techniques through the development of coordinate and surface metrology.

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Nanotechnology has attracted billions of dollars in venture capital from research institutes, governments, and industries in recent years. Traditional nanofabrication techniques such as CVD, sol–gel, and self-assembly have been intensively studied. However, the electrochemical nanofabrication technique, which offers huge benefits for manufacturing nanomaterials as well as broad applications in industries, has not been given much attention compared with the traditional nanofabrication methods. This book fits the niche of such technology because it summarizes various electrochemical nanofabrication methods and shows their various essential applications in areas such as batteries, sensors, and many future technologies. With the development of nanotechnology and nanomaterials, the arena of electrochemical nanofabrication has expanded significantly. The first edition of this book was drafted in 2009. In 2010, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Prof. Konstantin Novoselov and Prof. Andre Geim from the University of Manchester for their groundbreaking experiments on the two-dimensional material graphene. Three years later, the European Commission launched the European Union’s biggest ever research initiative, the Graphene Flagship, with a budget of 1 billion euros. In light of these developments, this new edition of the book is enriched with the synthesis of graphene-based materials through electrochemical methods, the applications of graphene in lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries, and the use of graphene composites in various sensing platforms. It will be of immense interest to a broad audience in nanotechnology and electrochemistry.

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Hydrogels are an emerging area of interest in medicine as well as pharmaceutics, and their physico-chemical characterization is fundamental to their practical applications. Compared with synthetic polymers, polysaccharides that are widely present in living organisms and come from renewable sources are extremely advantageous for hydrogel formation. Furthermore, polysaccharides are usually non-toxic and biocompatible and show a number of peculiar physico-chemical properties that make them suitable for a wide variety of biomedical applications. This book bridges the gap between the preparation of hydrogels and their characterization techniques. It aims to offer a valid support that can help the readers find appropriate keys to open the doors to the complex world of polysaccharide hydrogels.

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Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as a new family of nanoporous materials. With an enormous choice of inorganic/organic building blocks, MOFs possess a wide range of surface area, pore size, and functionality and, thus, have been considered versatile materials for many potential applications. This book presents a broad collection of recent modeling studies in the field of MOFs toward potential engineering applications, such as gas storage/separation, carbon capture, catalysis, water purification, and drug delivery.

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Interferometric observations need snapshots of very high time resolution of the order of (i) frame integration of about 100 Hz or (ii) photon-recording rates of several megahertz (MHz). Detectors play a key role in astronomical observations, and since the explanation of the photoelectric effect by Albert Einstein, the technology has evolved rather fast. The present-day technology has made it possible to develop large-format complementary metal oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) and charge-coupled device (CCD) array mosaics, orthogonal transfer CCDs, electron-multiplication CCDs, electron-avalanche photodiode arrays, and quantum-well infrared (IR) photon detectors. The requirements to develop artifact-free photon shot noise-limited images are higher sensitivity and quantum efficiency, reduced noise that includes dark current, read-out and amplifier noise, smaller point-spread functions, and higher spectral bandwidth. This book aims to address such systems, technologies and design, evaluation and calibration, control electronics, scientific applications, and results.One of the fastest growing applications is signal sensing, especially wavefront sensing for adaptive optics and fringe tracking for interferometry, which is important for long-baseline optical interferometry. The coherence time of the atmosphere is a highly variable parameter. Depending upon the high velocity wind, it varies from <1 ms to 0.1 s. The exposure times are to be selected accordingly, to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio, as well as to freeze the fringe pattern. A large-format photon-counting system, which is an essential tool in the application of optical interferometric imaging, allows accurate photon centroiding and provides the dynamic range needed for measurements of source characteristics. The advent of high-quantum efficiency photon-counting systems vastly increases the sensitivity of high-resolution imaging techniques. Such systems raise the hope of making diffraction-limited images of objects as faint as ~15–16 m_v (visual magnitude).This book deals with the fundamentals of the important aspects of high-resolution imaging, such as electromagnetic radiations, particularly, optical wavelengths and their distortions due to optical elements and Earth’s atmosphere while passing through a detector; semiconductor physics; lasers; fiber optics; photon-detection process; photodetectors; charge-transfer devices; photon-counting devices in visible wavelength; radiation detectors in infrared wavelengths; and detecting systems for high energies.

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While the sustainability of our world is being endangered or destroyed by the misguided activities of artificial human entities, real people have begun to expand their moral sympathies sufficiently to prioritize protecting our world’s interests. They have developed a new technology—nanotechnology—that has the potential to advance human society toward a period of long-term sustainability, termed "the Sustainocene." This book comprises chapters by experts in various fields of nanotechnology and in related areas of governance under the theme of how nanotechnology can assist in the creation of the Sustainocene. The book will appeal to anyone involved in nanotechnology, macromolecular science, public policy related to sustainability, renewable energy, and climate change.

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This book explores why cobalt oxides have drawn interest as functional materials due to their peculiar physical properties partially originating from a rich variety of the valence and spin state of cobalt ions. The book starts with the basics of condensed matter physics and advances toward the strong electron correlation system stage. It also provides up-to-date information on topics, such as thermoelectric power, superconductivity, solid oxide fuel cells, and nanostructure effect.

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Energy transport and conversion in nanoscale structures is a rapidly expanding area of science. It looks set to make a significant impact on human life and, with numerous commercial developments emerging, will become a major academic topic over the coming years. Owing to the difficulty in experimental measurement, computational simulation has become a powerful tool in the study of nanoscale energy transport and harvesting.This book provides an introduction to the current computational technology and discusses the applications of nanostructures in renewable energy and the associated research topics. It will be useful for theorists, experimentalists, and graduate-level students who want to explore this new field of research. The book addresses the currently used computational technologies and their applications in study of nanoscale energy transport and conversion. With content relevant to both academic and commercial viewpoints, it will interest researchers and postgraduates as well as consultants in the renewable energy industry.

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The book describes the industrial revolution associated with the implementation of electric power generation by photovoltaics (PV). The book’s editor and contributing authors are among the leading pioneers in PV from its industrial birth in 1954 all the way up to the stormy developments during the first decade of the new century. The book describes the dramatic events in industry between 2009 and 2013 and puts all this into perspective. It concludes that solar power is yet to strengthen its role in technology and in mainstream of the world’s economy.

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This book covers electronic and structural properties of light-induced defects, light-induced defect creation processes, and related phenomena in crystalline, amorphous, and microcrystalline semiconductors. It provides a theoretical treatment of recombination-enhanced defect reaction in crystalline semiconductors, particularly GaAs and related materials. It also discusses experimental evidence for this phenomenon. Light-induced defect creation in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) is described in more detail, including its mechanism and experimental results. The subjects treated by the book are important issues from the viewpoints of physics and applications.

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A comprehensive overview, this book focuses on two directions of study: discovery of new effects that take place in magnetic wires and optimization of the magnetic, electrical, and mechanical properties of the wires, taking into account the technological application. The book presents the idea of moving to nanoscale, maintaining the achieved optimal parameters of microwires. While the focus remains on glass-covered wires of micrometer scale, it covers the first steps of the movement to "nano" range as an example of the versatility of the basic effects initially discovered for microscale.

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Nanocomposite materials as a special class of nanostructured materials have recently attracted great interest due to their extraordinary mechanical properties as well as thermal stability and oxidation resistance. The unique structure and exceptional properties make nanocomposite materials a possible alternative to traditional polycrystalline materials, which have met their limits in many recent engineering applications. In particular, nanocomposite coatings synthesized by plasma-assisted deposition processes under highly non-equilibrium conditions provide a high potential for new applications as protective and functional coatings in automotive, aerospace, tooling, electronic, or manufacturing industry.This book provides a comprehensive overview of the synthesis of Si-containing hard nanocomposite coatings based on transition metal nitrides by plasma-based thin film processing. It demonstrates the full versatility of these nanocomposites for low Si-containing coatings tailored with superior mechanical properties and novel high Si-containing nanocomposite coatings with extraordinary thermal stability and resistance against oxidation optimized for high-temperature applications. It pays special attention to understanding growth mechanisms of these structures under specific deposition conditions, structure–property relations, and stability of individual constituents to enhance their functionality for various applications.

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Nanotechnology brings new possibilities for the development of sensors, biosensors, and novel electrochemical bioassays. Nanoscale materials have been extensively used in a wide variety of configurations — as electrode surfaces to promote electrochemical reaction, as "wires" to enzymes connecting their redox centers to electrode surface, as nanobarcodes for biomolecules, or as tags to amplify the signal of a biorecognition event.Nanomaterial-based electrochemical sensors have been used in many areas, including cancer diagnostics and the detection of infectious organisms. This book reviews important achievements in the field of nanomaterial-based electrochemical sensors and biosensors.

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This book illustrates a variety of challenges that bug hunters try to solve. It is an outstanding collection of the insights and expertise of an interdisciplinary group of researchers from all walks of life: virologists, physicians, immunologists, electrochemists, physicists, computer scientists, biotechnologists, epidemiologists, and molecular biologists, all working at the forefront of diagnostics in fields that cross scientific boundaries. Notwithstanding a dire moment as that of the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa that saddens us all, we must more than ever peregrinate across oceans, and take the fight to them, as these invisible and exotic but deadly enemies know no barriers and constantly invade our lives. The coming epidemics and killer pandemics require us to continuously innovate in areas of prevention, detection, and therapy. The present volume focuses on creating virus alerts or hand-held detectors to bring to the field during an epidemic, when possible, or tools for the healthcare worker to rapidly diagnose the patient’s ailment. The authors describe the conventional cell cultures and molecular biology methodologies, while introducing state-of-the-art multidisciplinary biosensors. This book is not a manual, set of protocols, or a textbook; it is a glimpse into the advances of virus diagnostic research. Included are a variety of topics that encompass world health issues, local folklore such as associating outbreaks with witchcraft, problems in getting healthcare workers to the outbreak areas, and insights in viral diagnostic pitfalls.

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The design and synthesis of molecularly or supramolecularly defined interfacial architectures have seen in recent years a remarkable growth of interest and scientific research activities for various reasons. On the one hand, it is generally believed that the construction of an interactive interface between the living world of cells, tissue, or whole organisms and the (inorganic or organic) materials world of technical devices such as implants or medical parts requires proper construction and structural (and functional) control of this organism–machine interface. It is still the very beginning of generating a better understanding of what is needed to make an organism tolerate implants, to guarantee bidirectional communication between microelectronic devices and living tissue, or to simply construct interactive biocompatibility of surfaces in general.This exhaustive book lucidly describes the design, synthesis, assembly and characterization, and bio-(medical) applications of interfacial layers on solid substrates with molecularly or supramolecularly controlled architectures. Experts in the field share their contributions that have been developed in recent years.

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Nanoscale materials are showing great promise in various electronic, optoelectronic, and energy applications. Silicon (Si) has especially captured great attention as the leading material for microelectronic and nanoscale device applications. Recently, various silicides have garnered special attention for their pivotal role in Si device engineering and for the vast potential they possess in fields such as thermoelectricity and magnetism. The fundamental understanding of Si and silicide material processes at nanoscale plays a key role in achieving device structures and performance that meet real-world requirements and, therefore, demands investigation and exploration of nanoscale device applications. This book comprises the theoretical and experimental analysis of various properties of silicon nanocrystals, research methods and techniques to prepare them, and some of their promising applications.

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The book places nanotechnology’s emergence within a broad historical and contemporary global context while developing and testing an interpretive framework through which to assess nanotechnology’s claims. It clarifies the nature of global engagement with nanotechnology research and development, revealing surprising scenarios, unacknowledged by most mainstream commentators. The book concludes by exploring a range of perspectives from Thailand and Australia about nanotechnology’s foreseen implications for global inequity.

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Superconductors (SCs) are attractive materials in all respects for any community. They provide a deep insight into the physical properties of the condensed matters and also have useful applications as ultra-low-power-dissipation systems that can help resolve the present energy problems. In particular, the recent advancement of carbon-based new superconductors (CNSCs) is significant. Before 2004, the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of carbon-based SCs was below 1 K, except in fullerene clusters. However, in 2004, a Russian group discovered that diamond highly doped with boron could be an SC at Tc = 4 K. The following year, a group from Cambridge found that calcium-intercalated graphite could be an SC with Tc = 11.5 K. In 2006 and 2008, the editor’s group from Japan also discovered that carbon nanotubes could be SCs at Tc = 12 K. Since then, research on CNSCs has increased notably.A small mass of carbon can produce high phonon frequency and high Debye temperature. Combining these with other specified properties of CNSCs (such as one-dimensional electronic states) is highly expected to open doors to high-Tc superconductivity like those of CuO2- and Fe-based SCs, which were the only SCs to show Tc > 40 K in the past. CNSCs, such as diamond, graphite, carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, and others, are a very attractive field of research, and this book is the first to describe their basic physics and the recent advances toward high Tc in this field.

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This is the first text to be written on the topic of Self-Field Theory (SFT), a new mathematical description of physics distinct from quantum field theory, the physical theory of choice by physicists at the present time. SFT is a recent development that has evolved from the classical electromagnetics of the electron’s self-fields that were studied by Abraham and Lorentz in 1903-04. Due to its bi-spinorial motions for particles and fields that obviate uncertainty, SFT is capable of obtaining closed-form solution for all atomic structures rather than the probabilistic solutions of QFT.

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The fast developing field of nanomedicine uses a broad variety of materials to serve as delivery systems for drugs, genes, and diagnostic agents. This book is the first attempt to put under one cover all major available information about these materials, both still on experimental levels and already applied in patients.

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The challenge of providing adequate power on an indefinite basis without causing long-term damage to the environment requires a versatile means of energy conversion and storage. As such, electrical energy storage is becoming more vital today than at any time in human history. Electrochemical systems, such as batteries, supercapacitors, fuel cells, and photoelectrochemical cells, can help meet this objective. Future generations of rechargeable lithium batteries will be required to power portable electronic devices, store electricity from renewable sources, and serve as a vital component to pursuing electric mobility in the future to reduce fossil fuel demand and mitigate environmental issues. In this context, engineering of new materials, especially at the nanoscale, has become imperative to achieve enhanced energy and power density to meet the future challenges of energy storage. This book outlines the state of the art of nanoscale aspects of advanced energy storage devices, such as lithium-ion batteries, including microbatteries and electrochemical supercapacitors. It focuses on various fundamental issues related to device performance of various positive and negative electrode materials, with special reference to their nanoscale advantages. It also includes fundamentals and processing techniques with regard to synthesis, characterization, physical, and electrochemical properties, and applications of nanoscale materials pertaining to advanced electrochemical power sources. A variety of advanced nanomaterials, such as transition metal oxides, phosphates, silicates, and conversion electrodes, together with some special nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes, nanorods, and mesoporous carbons are discussed by many notable authorities in the field.

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This volume introduces, in a coherent and comprehensive fashion, the Pan Stanford Series on Nanobiotechnology by defining and reviewing the major sectors of nanobiotechnology and nanobiosciences with respect to the most recent developments. It covers the basic principles and main applications of nanobiotechnology as an emerging field at the frontiers of biotechnology and nanotechnology, with contributions from leading scientists active in their respective specialties.

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In this book, internationally recognized researchers give a state-of-the-art overview of the electronic device architectures required for the nano-CMOS era and beyond. The book covers the fundamental limits of core CMOS, improving scaling by the introduction of new materials or processes, multigates and multichannels, and quantum computing.

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This timely book provides an overview of possible therapeutic applications. The first part of the book highlights general properties of and phenomena observed with nanoparticles, and the subsequent consequences for applications in drug delivery. The second part focuses on the therapeutic approaches that are possible through the use of nanoparticles, with each chapter discussing a specific disease (e.g., diabetes, cancer, inflammation) and the relevant therapeutic approaches based on the design of nanoparticulate drug delivery systems. From this concise book, readers will gain an insight into the basics of nanoparticle preparation and find a more detailed account of what is therapeutically feasible by using nanoparticle approaches.

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This book highlights state-of-the-art qubit implementations in semiconductors and provides an extensive overview of this newly emerging field. Semiconductor nanostructures have huge potential as future quantum information devices as they provide various ways of qubit implementation (electron spin, electronic excitation) as well as a way to transfer quantum information from stationary qubits to flying qubits (photons). Therefore, this book unites contributions from leading experts in the field, reporting cutting-edge results on spin qubit preparation, read-out and transfer. The latest theoretical as well as experimental studies of decoherence in these quantum information systems are also provided. Novel demonstrations of complex flying qubit states and first applications of semiconductor-based quantum information devices are given, too.

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This book presents the material necessary for understanding the physics, operation, design, and performance of modern MOSFETs with nanometer dimensions. It offers a brief introduction to the field and a thorough overview of MOSFET physics, detailing the relevant basics. The authors apply presented models to calculate and demonstrate transistor characteristics, and they include required input data (e.g., dimensions, doping) enabling readers to repeat the calculations and compare their results. The book introduces conventional and novel advanced MOSFET concepts, such as multiple-gate structures or alternative channel materials. Other topics covered include high-k dielectrics and mobility enhancement techniques, MOSFETs for RF (radio frequency) applications, MOSFET fabrication technology.

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Capillary electrophoresis (CE) has become an established method with widespread recognition as an analytical technique of choice in numerous analytical laboratories, including industrial and academic sectors. Pharmaceutical and biochemical research and quality control are the most important CE applications. This book provides a comparative assessment of related techniques on mode selection, method development, detection, and quantitative analysis and estimation of pharmacokinetic parameters and broadens the understanding of modern CE applications, developments, and prospects. It introduces the fundamentals of CE and clearly outlines the procedures used to mitigate several barriers, such as detection limits, signal detection, changing capillary environment, resolution separation of analytes, and hyphenation of mass spectrometry with CE, for a range of analytical problems. Each chapter outlines a specific electrophoretic variant with detailed instructions and some standard operating procedures. In this respect, the book meets its desired goal of rendering assistance to lovers of electrophoresis.

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GaN is considered the most promising material candidate in next-generation power device applications, owing to its unique material properties, for example, bandgap, high breakdown field, and high electron mobility. Therefore, GaN power device technologies are listed as the top priority to be developed in many countries, including the United States, the European Union, Japan, and China.This book presents a comprehensive overview of GaN power device technologies, for example, material growth, property analysis, device structure design, fabrication process, reliability, failure analysis, and packaging. It provides useful information to both students and researchers in academic and related industries working on GaN power devices. GaN wafer growth technology is from Enkris Semiconductor, currently one of the leading players in commercial GaN wafers. Chapters 3 and 7, on the GaN transistor fabrication process and GaN vertical power devices, are edited by Dr. Zhihong Liu, who has been working on GaN devices for more than ten years. Chapters 2 and 5, on the characteristics of polarization effects and the original demonstration of AlGaN/GaN heterojunction field-effect transistors, are written by researchers from Southwest Jiaotong University. Chapters 6, 8, and 9, on surface passivation, reliability, and package technologies, are edited by a group of researchers from the Southern University of Science and Technology of China.

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Materials with superhydrophobic or related properties are one of the most studied subjects from a theoretical point of view and also for the large range of possible applications, for example, anticorrosion, antibacteria, optical devices, and sensors. The study of natural species with special wettability has shown us the importance of surface structures and the surface energy of the resulting surface properties. Various strategies can be used to reproduce superhydrophobic phenomena in the laboratory. General reviews on superhydrophobic properties already exist but, to our knowledge, do not focus on metallic and inorganic materials. Here, we focus especially on the strategies implemented for reaching superhydrophobic or related properties using metallic and inorganic materials. Indeed, these materials present unique properties, for example, thermal and mechanical resistance, chemical and ageing resistance, and optical (transparency, antireflection, photoluminescence) and electrical properties (conducting, semiconducting, insulating). This book will be useful for graduate students of materials chemistry and physics and for researchers in surface science, nanostructures, and bioinspired or biomimetic materials.

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This book is the first in a series compiling highly cited articles in nanomedicine recently. The series is edited by Lajos P. Balogh, a prominent nanotechnology researcher and journal editor. The first book content is about nanotechnology in cancer research. It also includes a wide variety of must-know topics that will appeal to any researcher involved in nanomedicine, macromolecular science, cancer therapy, and drug delivery research. These 31 articles collected here have already acquired more than 3500 citations (i.e., over a hundred on average), highlighting the importance and recognized professional interest of the scientists working in this field.

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The rapid development of technology based on metamaterials coupled with the recent introduction of the transformation optics technique provides an unprecedented ability for device designers to manipulate and control the behavior of electromagnetic wave phenomena. Many of the early metamaterial designs, such as negative index materials and electromagnetic bandgap surfaces, were limited to operation only over a very narrow bandwidth. However, recent groundbreaking work reported by several international research groups on the development of broadband metamaterials has opened up the doors to an exciting frontier in the creation of new devices for applications ranging from radio frequencies to visible wavelengths. This book contains a collection of eight chapters that cover recent cutting-edge contributions to the theoretical, numerical, and experimental aspects of broadband metamaterials.

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Graphene has been hailed as a rising star in photonics and optoelectronics. The wonderful optical properties of graphene make possible the multiple functions of signal emission, transmission, modulation, and detection to be realized in one material. This book compiles and details cutting-edge research in graphene photonics, plasmonics, and broadband optoelectronic devices. Particularly, it emphasizes the ability to integrate graphene photonics onto the silicon platform to afford broadband operation in light routing and amplification, which involves components such as the polarizer, the modulator, and the photodetector. It also includes other functions such as a saturable absorber and an optical limiter. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the interrelationship between the operation of these conceptually new photonic devices and the fundamental physics of graphene involved in the interactions between graphene and light.

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The current state and perspectives in natural and life sciences are strongly linked to the development of novel complex organic-inorganic materials at various levels of organization, including semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) and QD-based nanostructures with unique optical and physico-chemical properties. This book provides a comprehensive description of the morphology and main physico-chemical properties of self-assembled inorganic-dye nanostructures as well as some applications in the field of nanotechnology. It crosses disciplines to examine essential nanoassembly principles of QD interaction with organic molecules, excited state dynamics in nanoobjects, theoretical models, and methodologies. Based on ensemble and single-nanoobject detection, the book quantitatively shows (for the first time on a series of nanoassemblies) that surface-mediated processes (formation of trap states) dictate the probability of several of the most interesting and potentially useful photophysical phenomena (FRET- or non-FRET-induced quenching of QD photoluminescence) observed for colloidal QDs and QD–dye nanoassemblies. Further, nanostructures can be generated by nanolithography and thereafter selectively decorated with dye molecules. A similar approach applies to natural nanosized surface heterogeneities.

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Over the past decade, fluorine (19F) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has garnered significant scientific interest in the biomedical research community owing to the unique properties of fluorinated materials and the 19F nucleus. Fluorine has an intrinsically sensitive nucleus for MRI. There is negligible endogenous 19F in the body and thus there is no background signal. Fluorine-containing compounds are ideal tracer labels for a wide variety of MRI applications. Moreover, the chemical shift and nuclear relaxation rate can be made responsive to physiology via creative molecular design. This book is an interdisciplinary compendium that details cutting-edge science and medical research in the emerging field of 19F MRI. Edited by Ulrich Flögel and Eric Ahrens, two prominent MRI researchers, this book will appeal to investigators involved in MRI, biomedicine, immunology, pharmacology, probe chemistry, and imaging physics.

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Plasmonic resonators, composed of metallic micro- and nanostructures, belong to the category of excited-state physics on resonances from gigahertz to petahertz. Dynamical physics is in contrast to ground-state physics, which includes thermal states, and is connected to diverse applications to enhance existing photo-induced effects and phenomena such as plasmon-enhanced photoluminescence and Raman scattering. This book has three main aims: to provide fundamental knowledge on plasmonic resonators, to explain diverse plasmonic resonators, and to stimulate further development in plasmonic resonators. Plasmon-related studies, which are sometimes called plasmonics and include a substantial portion of metamaterials, have shown significant development since the 1980s. The piled-up results are too numerous to study from the beginning, but this book summarizes those results, including the history (past), all the possible types of plasmonic resonators (present), and their wide range of applications (future). It provides the basics of plasmons and resonant physics for undergraduate students, the systematic knowledge on plasmonic resonators for graduate students, and cutting-edge and in-depth information on plasmon-enhancement studies for researchers who are not experts in plasmonics and metamaterials, thereby benefitting a wide range of readers who are interested in the nanotechnology involving metallic nanostructures.

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In the recent decades, laser cooling or optical refrigeration—a physical process by which a system loses its thermal energy as a result of interaction with laser light—has garnered a great deal of scientific interest due to the importance of its applications. Optical solid-state coolers are one such application. They are free from liquids as well as moving parts that generate vibrations and introduce noise to sensors and other devices. They are based on reliable laser diode pump systems. Laser cooling can also be used to mitigate heat generation in high-power lasers.This book compiles and details cutting-edge research in laser cooling done by various scientific teams all over the world that are currently revolutionizing optical refrigerating technology. It includes recent results on laser cooling by redistribution of radiation in dense gas mixtures, three conceptually different approaches to laser cooling of solids such as cooling with anti-Stokes fluorescence, Brillouin cooling, and Raman cooling. It also discusses crystal growth and glass production for laser cooling applications. This book will appeal to anyone involved in laser physics, solid-state physics, low-temperature physics or cryogenics, materials research, development of temperature sensors, or infrared detectors.

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This handbook (55 chapters) provides a comprehensive roadmap of basic research in nanomedicine as well as clinical applications. However, unlike other texts in nanomedicine, it not only highlights current advances in diagnostics and therapeutics but also explores related issues like nomenclature, historical developments, regulatory aspects, nanosimilars and 3D nanofabrication. While bridging the gap between basic biomedical research, engineering, medicine and law, the handbook provides a thorough understanding of nano’s potential to address (i) medical problems from both the patient and health provider's perspective, and (ii) current applications and their potential in a healthcare setting.

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Thanks to the pioneering works of Ashkin and coworkers, optical tweezers (OTs) have become an invaluable tool for myriad studies throughout the natural sciences. Their success relies on the fact that they can be considered as exceptionally sensitive transducers that are able to resolve pN forces and nm displacements, with high temporal resolution, down to μs. Hence their application to study a wide range of biological phenomena such as measuring the compliance of bacterial tails, the forces exerted by a single motor protein, and the mechanical properties of human red blood cells and of individual biological molecules. The number of articles related to them totals to a whopping 58,000 (source Google Scholar)!Microrheology is a branch of rheology, but it works at micrometer length scales and with microliter sample volumes. Therefore, microrheology techniques have been revealed to be very useful tools for all those rheological/mechanical studies where rare or precious materials are employed, such as in biological and biomedical studies.The aim of this book is to provide a pedagogical introduction to the physics principles governing both the optical tweezers and their application in the field of microrheology of complex materials. This is achieved by following a linear path that starts from a narrative introduction of the "nature of light," followed by a rigorous description of the fundamental equations governing the propagation of light through matter. Moreover, some of the many possible instrumental configurations are presented, especially those that better adapt to perform microrheology measurements. In order to better appreciate the microrheological methods with optical tweezers explored in this book, informative introductions to the basic concepts of linear rheology, statistical mechanics, and the most popular microrheology techniques are also given. Furthermore, an enlightening prologue to the general applications of optical tweezers different from rheological purposes is provided at the end of the book.

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Full-field optical coherence microscopy (FF-OCM) is an imaging technique that provides cross-sectional views of the subsurface microstructure of semitransparent objects. The technology is based on low-coherence interference microscopy, which uses an area camera for en face imaging of the full-field illuminated object. FF-OCM benefits from the lateral imaging resolution of optical microscopy along with the capacity of optical axial sectioning at micrometer-scale resolution. The technique can be employed in diverse applications, in particular for non-invasive examination of biological tissues.This handbook is the first to be entirely devoted to FF-OCM. It is organized into four parts with a total of 21 chapters written by recognized experts and major contributors to the field. After a general introduction to FF-OCM, the fundamental characteristics of the technology are analyzed and discussed theoretically. The main technological developments of FF-OCM for improving the image acquisition speed and for endoscopic imaging are presented in part II. Extensions of FF-OCM for image contrast enhancement or functional imaging are reported in part III. The last part of the book provides an overview of possible applications of FF-OCM in medicine, biology, and materials science.A comprehensive compilation of self-contained chapters written by leading experts, this handbook is a definitive guide to the theoretical analyses, technological developments, and applications of FF-OCM. Using the rich information the book is replete with, a wide range of readers, from scientists and physicists to engineers as well as clinicians and biomedical researchers, can get a handle on the latest major advances in FF-OCM.

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Biomaterials research requires the union of materials scientists, engineers, biologists, biomedical doctors, and surgeons. Societal implications have invoked tremendous interest in this area of research in recent years. What started as a search for strong and durable implant materials has now led to path-breaking developments in tissue engineering, targeted drug delivery, and tissue scaffolds. Viable applications of mesoporous structures, polymer biocomposites, and fibers (synthetic and natural) in the areas of clinical orthopedics, controlled drug delivery, tissue engineering, orthodontics, etc., have emerged as relatively recent concepts. This book presents recent results related to both materials aspects and implant issues. The focus is on structural, magnetic, antibacterial, bioactivity/compatibility, mechanical, and other related properties and the implication of these results on biomedical applications. The book discusses technical problems faced by the surgeon during implant fixation in total hip replacement and the selection of materials based on the patient’s requirement. It also addresses recent advances in implant materials, including the reinforcement and biocompatibility issues.

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Nanobiophysics is a new branch of science that operates at the interface of physics, biology, chemistry, material science, nanotechnology, and medicine. This book is the first one devoted to nanobiophysics and introduces this field with a focus on some selected topics related to the physics of biomolecular nanosystems, including nucleosomal DNA and model lipid membranes, nanobiohybrids involving DNA/RNA and single-walled carbon nanotubes, biomolecules deposited on nanoparticles, and nanostructured surfaces. It describes unique experimental physical methods that are used to study nanosized biostructures. It outlines the applied aspects of nanobiophysics, considering the state of art in the fabrication of two types of sensors: gas sensors, with a focus on breath gas detection, and nanophotonic sensors, with a focus on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon detection in water samples. It also covers the development of nanoscale scaffolds for delivery of therapeutic nucleic acids to cells, which is an important example of the possible application of nanobiophysics researches in nanomedicine.

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As computational hardware continues to develop at a rapid pace, quantitative computations are playing an increasingly essential role in the study of biomolecular systems. One of the most important challenges that the field faces is to develop the next generation of computational models that strike the proper balance of computational efficiency and accuracy, so that the problems of increasing complexity can be tackled in a systematic and physically robust manner. In particular, properly treating intermolecular interactions is fundamentally important for the reliability of all computational models. In this book, contributions by leading experts in the area of biomolecular simulations discuss cutting-edge ideas regarding effective strategies to describe many-body effects and electrostatics at quantum, classical, and coarse-grained levels. The goal of the book is to not only provide an up-to-date snapshot of the current simulation field but also stimulate exchange of ideas across different sub-fields of modern computational (bio)chemistry. The text will be a useful reference for the biomolecular simulation community and help attract talented young students into this exciting frontier of research.

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Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based sensors and actuators have become remarkably popular in the past few decades. Rapid advances have taken place in terms of both technologies and techniques of fabrication of MEMS structures. Wet chemical–based silicon bulk micromachining continues to be a widely used technique for the fabrication of microstructures used in MEMS devices. Researchers all over the world have contributed significantly to the advancement of wet chemical–based micromachining, from understanding the etching mechanism to exploring its application to the fabrication of simple to complex MEMS structures. In addition to its various benefits, one of the unique features of wet chemical–based bulk micromachining is the ability to fabricate slanted sidewalls, such as 45° walls as micromirrors, as well as freestanding structures, such as cantilevers and diaphragms. This makes wet bulk micromachining necessary for the fabrication of structures for myriad applications.This book provides a comprehensive understating of wet bulk micromachining for the fabrication of simple to advanced microstructures for various applications in MEMS. It includes introductory to advanced concepts and covers research on basic and advanced topics on wet chemical–based silicon bulk micromachining. The book thus serves as an introductory textbook for undergraduate- and graduate-level students of physics, chemistry, electrical and electronic engineering, materials science, and engineering, as well as a comprehensive reference for researchers working or aspiring to work in the area of MEMS and for engineers working in microfabrication technology.

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Protein-mediated charge transport is of relevant importance in the design of protein-based electronics and in attaining an adequate level of understanding of protein functioning. This book reviews a variety of experiments devoted to the investigation of charge transport in proteins and presents a unified theoretical model to interpret macroscopic results in terms of the amino acids backbone-structure of the single protein. It aims to serve a broad audience of researchers involved in the field of electrical characterization of biological materials and in the development of new molecular devices based on proteins and also as a reference platform that surveys existing data and presents the basis for future development of a new branch of nano-electronics, which by mixing proteomics, that is, the large-scale study of proteins, particularly their structures and functions, and electronics is introduced here as proteotronics.

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In the area of controlled release of active substances, such as drugs, a strong interest in nanoparticles as carriers of active ingredients has arisen. Some of the active components are extremely hydrophobic, without cellular permeability and susceptible to metabolic degradation. Owing to this, their use is limited. This kind of agent can be transported without any problem through physiological media by using nanoparticles. The size of particles is an important parameter because it governs the efficiency of the delivery system. For this type of application, particles that have a diameter smaller than 1 μm are especially useful. Polymeric nanoparticles that have diameters in the colloidal range are produced by means of polymerization processes in dispersed media. Drugs are taken up into the nanoparticles by adsorption, absorption, or “entrapment," or covalent bonding and they are delivered (release) by desorption, diffusion, polymer degradation, or a combination of these mechanisms. Nanoparticles (including nanogels) that release their contents by external triggering open up new possibilities for therapeutic strategies. External triggering by light, heat, change in pH, or application of ultrasound opens up the possibility to release the material on demand. If only a part of the wall of the nanoparticle (nanocapsule) is responsive, we are dealing with the so-called nanobottles, a nanocontainer with the active substance and a lid on the container that can be "opened" and "closed" by external triggering. This book focuses on responsive nanoparticles and brings together two interesting areas: nanoparticles and responsive polymers. The concept of the book is that of a systematic approach from nanoparticles synthesis via responsive polymers to nanobottles. The second part of the book presents contributions from experts in the field and provides a state-of-the-art overview of the field.

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