Abstract. In this work, Bi2O3 was deposited as a thin film of different thickness (400, 500, and 600 ±20 nm) by using thermal oxidation at 573 K with ambient oxygen of evaporated bismuth (Bi) thin films in a vacuum on glass substrate and on Si wafer to produce n-Bi2O3/p-Si heterojunction. The effect of thickness on the structural, electrical, surface and optical properties of Bi2O3 thin films was studied. XRD analysis reveals that all the as deposited Bi2O3 films show polycrystalline tetragonal structure, with preferential orientation in the (201) direction, without any change in structure due to increase of film thickness. AFM and SEM images are used to investigate the influences of film thickness on surface properties. The optical measurement were taken for the wave length range (400-1100) nm showed that the nature of the optical transition has been direct allowed with average band gap energies varies in the range of (2.9-2.25) eV with change thickness parameter. The extent and nature of transmittance, absorbance, reflectance and optimized band gap of the material assure to utilize it for photovoltaic applications. Hall measurements showed that all the films are n-type. The electrical properties of n-Bi2O3/p-Si heterojunction (HJ) were obtained by I-V (dark and illuminated) and C-V measurement at frequency (10 MHz) at different thickness. The ideality factor saturation current density, depletion width, built-in potential and carrier concentration are characterized under different thickness. The results show these HJ were of abrupt type. The photovoltaic measurements short-circuit current density, open-circuit voltage, fill factor and efficiencies are determined for all samples. Finally thermal oxidation allowed fabrication n-Bi2O3/p-Si heterojunction with different thickness for solar cell application.
Soil improvement has developed as a realistic solution for enhancing soil properties so that structures can be constructed to meet project engineering requirements due to the limited availability of construction land in urban centers. The jet grouting method for soil improvement is a novel geotechnical alternative for problematic soils for which conventional foundation designs cannot provide acceptable and lasting solutions. The paper's methodology was based on constructing pile models using a low-pressure injection laboratory setup built and made locally to simulate the operation of field equipment. The setup design was based on previous research that systematically conducted unconfined compression testing (U.C.Ts.). Th
... Show MoreThis study evaluates the flexural behavior of ultra-thin (50 mm) one‑way reinforced‑concrete (RC) slabs retrofitted with near‑surface mounted (NSM) carbon‑fiber‑reinforced polymer (CFRP) rods under quasi‑static loading. T300‑grade CFRP rods (≈4 mm diameter) were bonded in pre‑cut 7 mm × 7 mm grooves using a two‑part epoxy. As a proof-of-concept experimental baseline, three simply‑supported specimens (1000 mm × 500 mm × 50 mm) were tested in a six‑point bending configuration (four applied loads + two reactions): two conventional controls and one strengthened slab. A load‑control rate of ~15 kN/min was applied; the controls were cycled twice and the strengthened slab four times. Relative to the average of
... Show MoreA simple and highly sensitive cloud point extraction process was suggested for preconcentration of micrograms amount of isoxsuprine hydrochloride (ISX) in pure and pharmaceutical samples. After diazotization coupling of ISX with diazotized sulfadimidine in alkaline medium, the azo-dye product quantitatively extracted into the Triton X-114 rich phase, dissolved in ethanol and determined spectrophotometrically at 490 nm. The suggested reaction was studied with and without extraction and simple comparison between the batch and CPE methods was achieved. Analytical variables including concentrations of reagent, Triton X-114 and base, incubated temperature, and time were carefully studied. Under the selected optimum conditions,
... Show MoreThe present study aims to detect CTX-M-type ESBL from Escherichia coli clinical isolates and to analyze their antibotic susceptibility patterns. One hundred of E. coli isolates were collected from different clinical samples from a tertiary hospital. ESBL positivity was determined by the disk diffusion method. PCR used for amplification of CTX-M-type ESBL produced by E. coli. Out of 100 E. coli isolates, twenty-four isolates (24%) were ESBL-producers. E. coli isolated from pus was the most frequent clinical specimen that produced ESBL (41.66%) followed by urine (34.21%), respiratory (22.23%), and blood (19.05%). After PCR amplification of these 24 isolates, 10 (41.66%) isolates were found to possess CTX-M genes. The CTX-M type ESBL
... Show MoreFace Recognition Systems (FRS) are increasingly targeted by morphing attacks, where facial features of multiple individuals are blended into a synthetic image to deceive biometric verification. This paper proposes an enhanced Siamese Neural Network (SNN)-based system for robust morph detection. The methodology involves four stages. First, a dataset of real and morphed images is generated using StyleGAN, producing high-quality facial images. Second, facial regions are extracted using Faster Region-based Convolutional Neural Networks (R-CNN) to isolate relevant features and eliminate background noise. Third, a Local Binary Pattern-Convolutional Neural Network (LBP-CNN) is used to build a baseline FRS and assess its susceptibility to d
... Show MoreIn the present study, an attempt has been made to experimentally investigate the flexural performance of ten simply supported reinforced concrete gable roof beams, including solid control specimen (i.e., without openings) and nine beams with web openings of different dimensions and configurations. The nine beams with openings have identical reinforcement details. All beams were monotonically loaded to failure under mid-span loading. The main variables were the number of the created openings, the total area of the created openings, and the inclination angle of the posts between openings. Of interest is the load-carrying capacity, cracking resistance and propagation, deformability, failure mode, and strain development that represent the behav
... Show MoreCarbon dioxide geo-sequestration (CGS) into sediments in the form of (gas) hydrates is one proposed method for reducing anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere and, thus reducing global warming and climate change. However, there is a serious lack of understanding of how such CO2 hydrate forms and exists in sediments. We thus imaged CO2 hydrate distribution in sandstone, and investigated the hydrate morphology and cluster characteristics via x-ray micro-computed tomography in 3D in-situ. A substantial amount of gas hydrate (∼17% saturation) was observed, and the stochastically distributed hydrate clusters followed power-law relations with respect to their size distributions and surface area-volume relationships. The layer-
... Show MoreThe research deals with a very important issue that affects women, an important segment of the society. This is because women are the basis of the family and the pillar of the society. Thus, the aim of the research is to examine the level and dimensions of the emotional and existential psychological crisis at the sample of the study. It further aims to investigate the statistical significant difference at the level of (0.05) regarding the feeling of the existential psychological crisis among battered and non-battered women. To reveal the objectives of the study, the researcher applied the existential psychological crisis scale to a sample of (72) women, divided into two groups: (35) battered women, who have been chosen purposefully. Thos
... Show More