The effectiveness of low-emissivity coating on a polymer film
This work describes the effectiveness of low-emissivity (low-E) coating on the polymer film with TiO2/ZnO:Ga/Ag/ZnO:Ga/TiO2 structure and the results of heat monitoring. The characteristics of the coating which determine the reduction of heat loss by the low-E coating are given. Also the results of efficiency calculations for low-E coating are presented, such as resistance to heat transfer, heat savings when installing low-E coating on the polymer film, etc. The heat monitoring is carried out to determine the effectiveness of low-E coating. The results of heat monitoring illustrate the effectiveness of low-E coating.
The base layer effect on the d.c. conductivity and structure of direct current magnetron sputtered thin films of silver
Abstract Many low-emissivity solar-control optical coatings on glass consist of a repeating dielectric–silver–dielectric thin film period. We have investigated the effect of structure of the dielectric base layer on the conductivity, structure, and thermal stability of contiguous silver films up to 500 A thick. All individual layers were deposited by d.c.-magnetron cathode sputtering. Specifically, a detailed comparison of thin films of amorphous zinc stannate with crystalline zinc oxide showed that the latter improves the conductivity of 50–100 A and thicker silver layers. X-Ray diffraction analysis showed that zinc oxide with a preferred basal plane orientation results in the preferred growth of the Ag(111) planes parallel to the float glass substrate. Transmission electron microscopy results support the above observation. The transmission electron microscopy results also indicate that the silver–dielectric interface is of similar quality in both cases, thus eliminating the role of the interface as a major cause of the above difference. Our data on the structure and electrical properties of heat-treated samples suggest that the preferential growth of the silver layer results in its higher thermal stability.
Use of laser scanning confocal microscopy for morphological taxonomy and the potential for digital type specimens (e-types)
The use of laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) for creating taxonomic descriptions of copepods is investigated. A new technique is described, which employs a contour filter to process digital LSCM images, allowing taxonomic information to be quickly and accu- rately distilled into a simple illustration. LSCM allows the imaging of whole specimens, which can be rotated and viewed from any angle—a major benefit over light microscopy. Using this tech- nique, it is suggested that taxonomic descriptions can be rapidly produced in a fraction of the time required to produce similar descriptions using traditional light microscopy and hand drawing techniques. Good staining of specimens is, however, essential to produce accurate descriptions and more research is required in this area. The use of LSCM for morphological taxonomy shows great potential, not only for producing taxonomic descriptions, but also providing a comple - mentary adjunct to traditional type specimens in the form of 3D digital 'e-types' deposited in recognised international databases.