• Title/Summary/Keyword: total transportation cost

Search Result 273, Processing Time 0.026 seconds

Characteristics and Status of Commercial System for Utilizing MMS in Geospatial Information Construction (공간정보 구축 분야의 모바일 매핑 시스템 활용을 위한 상용 시스템의 특징 및 현황 조사)

  • Park, Joon-Kyu;Um, Dae-Yong
    • Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
    • /
    • v.18 no.10
    • /
    • pp.36-41
    • /
    • 2017
  • The mobile mapping system first introduced at Ohio State University in 1991 is being developed in various forms as sensor technology develops. The mobile mapping system can acquire geospatial information around amoving object quickly using the information gathered using the position and attitude information of the moving object and the data from various sensors. The mobile mapping system can rapidly acquire large amounts of Geospatial information and MMS provides maximum productivity in the same measurement methods as existing GNSS and total stations. Currently, a variety of systems are being launched, mainly by foreign companies, and they are applied to the construction of geospatial information. On the other hand, the application of domestic technology development or production is insufficient. This paper provides basic data for the introduction of a mobile mapping system to geospatial information related business by conducting the status survey and feature analysis of a commercialized system focusing on the ground-based mobile mapping system. The research identified the current status and characteristics of high-priced, low-priced, indoor, and handheld mobile mapping systems based on vehicles and suggest that the recent system development trends are moving toward lowering the unit prices. The mobile mapping system is currently being developed as a platform for the application of geospatial information construction and the launch of low-cost models. The development of data processing technologies, such as automatic matching and the launch of low-cost models, are forming a basis for the application of mobile mapping systems in the field of geospatial information construction.

Effect of Alcohols and Carboxylic Acids on Extraction Characteristics for 1,3-Propanediol by Aqueous Two Phases Systems (수상이성분계에 의한 1,3-프로판디올 추출특성에 대한 알콜과 카르복실산의 영향)

  • Hong, Yeon Ki
    • Korean Chemical Engineering Research
    • /
    • v.51 no.5
    • /
    • pp.575-579
    • /
    • 2013
  • 1,3-Propandiol is a promising chemical which can be produced from fermentation of glycerol because the application of 1,3-propanediol is mainly in the production of bio-polytrimethylene terephthalate (bio-PTT). However, the cost of downstream processes in the biological production of 1,3-propanediol can make a high portion in the total production cost due to the large amount of water and the by-produced carboxylic acids such as succinic, lactic and acetic acids in 1,3-propanediol fermentation broth. In this study, aqueous two-phases systems composed of hydrophilic alcohols and phosphate salts were applied to the recovery of 1,3-propanediol from its artificial aqueous solution. Formation of aqueous biphases in hydrophilic alcohols and phosphate salts was due to the salting-out effect of salts in bottom phase, thereby 1,3-propanediol in bottom phase was moved into top phase. Extraction efficiency for 1,3-propanediol was proportional to the polarity of hydrophilic alcohols and the basicity of salts and the maximum value of extraction efficiency was more than 98%. In the aqueous two-phases systems after extraction, there was no carboxylic acid in top phase. Therefore, it was concluded that the aqueous two-phases systems composed of hydrophilic alcohols and phosphate salts were effective for the selective recovery of 1,3-propanediol without any coextraction of carboxylic acids.

Occupational Injuries Among Construction Workers by Age and Related Economic Loss: Findings From Ohio Workers' Compensation, USA: 2007-2017

  • Harpriya Kaur;Steven J. Wurzelbacher;P. Tim Bushnell;Stephen Bertke;Alysha R. Meyers;James W. Grosch;Steven J. Naber;Michael Lampl
    • Safety and Health at Work
    • /
    • v.14 no.4
    • /
    • pp.406-414
    • /
    • 2023
  • Background: This study examined age-group differences in the rate, severity, and cost of injuries among construction workers to support evidence-based worker safety and health interventions in the construction industry. Methods: Ohio workers' compensation claims for construction workers were used to estimate claim rates and costs by age group. We analyzed claims data auto-coded into five event/exposure categories: transportation incidents; slips, trips, and falls (STFs); exposure to harmful substances and environments; contact with objects and equipment (COB); overexertion and bodily reaction. American Community Survey data were used to determine the percentage of workers in each age group. Results: From 2007-2017, among 72,416 accepted injury claims for ~166,000 construction full-time equivalent (FTE) per year, nearly half were caused by COB, followed by STFs (20%) and overexertion (20%). Claim rates related to COB and exposure to harmful substances and environments were highest among those 18-24 years old, with claim rates of 313.5 and 25.9 per 10,000 FTE, respectively. STFs increased with age, with the highest claim rates for those 55-64 years old (94.2 claims per 10,000 FTE). Overexertion claim rates increased and then declined with age, with the highest claim rate for those 35-44 years old (87.3 per 10,000 FTE). While younger workers had higher injury rates, older workers had higher proportions of lost-time claims and higher costs per claim. The total cost per FTE was highest for those 45-54 years old ($1,122 per FTE). Conclusion: The variation in rates of injury types by age suggests that age-specific prevention strategies may be useful.

Building up User-Oriented Road Planning and Design Schemes (국민참여형 도로계획의 수립방향)

  • Kim, Eung-Cheol;Kwon, Young-In;Yun, Seong-Soon;Kang, Jin-Goo
    • Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
    • /
    • v.23 no.5 s.83
    • /
    • pp.47-55
    • /
    • 2005
  • Roads deeply affect the life of people and keep doing an important role to support economic growth of a country. According to the budget plan of the ministry of construction and transportation of Korea, 8.1 trillion won have been allotted for road investment in the year of 2002 which occupy 61% of the transportation infrastructure special account (13.3 trillion won) and 4.7% of the total national budget (1,740 trillion won). It is true that services generated from road investment such as mobility enhancement and increased accessibility have shown positive effects through shortened travel time and decreased vehicle operating cost. However, it is also notable that many negative effects are gradually being discussed and those are nowadays getting severer due to enhanced people interests about road construction, increased concerns on environment and active public involvement that were evoked by traffic accidents, air pollution & noise and destruction of environment. Road construction processes in Korea are normally governed by administrative sectors (suppliers) not by users. These processes ate very weak to accomodate user s needs and community concerns thus easy to fail finalizing a road project without hassles. A public hearing process is supposed to be held in the processes of detailed design step and the environmental impact analysis. However, it is not enough to grab user's needs and community concerns. Increased public involvement frequencies, optimized public involvement timing and enhanced depth of public involvement magnitude are suggested to improve the current poor public involvement schemes in road planning and design processes. The application of these recommended methods to the road planning and design processes may guarantee the change from the current supplier-oriented schemes to the new user-oriented one. Also, this study suggests to reset objectivity and clarity of road construction process, to make conciliation guidelines based on many practical cases that produced good results, to introduce public involvement techniques in a stepwise basis, and to foster the professionals via education and training programs.

A study on the improvement of distribution system by overseas agricultural investment (해외농업투자에 따른 유통체계 개선방안에 관한 연구)

  • Sun, Il-Suck;Lee, Dong-Ok
    • Journal of Distribution Science
    • /
    • v.8 no.3
    • /
    • pp.17-26
    • /
    • 2010
  • Recently concerns have been raised due to the unbalanced supply of crops: the price of crops has been unstable and at one point the price went up so high that the word Agflation(agriculture+ inflation) was coined. Korea, in particular, is a small-sized country and needs to secure the stable supply of crops by investing in the produce importation at a national level. Investment in foreign produce importation is becoming more important as a measure for sufficient supply of crops, limited supply of domestic crops, weakened farming conditions worldwide, as well as recent changes in the use of crops due to the development of bio-fuels, influence of carbon emission on crops, the price increase in crops, and influx of foreign hot money. However, there are many problems with investing in foreign produce importation: lack of support from the government; lack of farming information and technology; difficulty in securing the capital; no immediate pay-off from the investment and insufficient management. Although foreign produce is originally more price-competitive than domestic produce, it loses its competiveness in the process of importation (due to high tariffs) and poor distribution system, which makes it difficult to sell in Korea. Therefore, investment in foreign produce importation is being questioned for feasibility; to make it possible, foreign produce must maintain the price-competitiveness. Especially, harvest of agricultural products depends on natural and geographical conditions of each country and those products have indigenous properties, so distribution system according to import and export of agricultural products should be treated more carefully than that of other industries. Distribution costs are differentiated into each item and include cost of sorting and wrapping, cost of wrapping materials, cost of domestic transport, cost of international transport and cost of clearing customs for import and export. So transporting and storing agricultural products generates considerable costs compared with other products. Also, due to upgrade of dietary life, needs for stability, taste and visible quality toward food including agricultural products are being raised and wrong way of storage causes decomposition of food and loss of freshness, making the storage more difficult than that in room temperature, so storage and transport in distribution of agricultural products needs specialty. In addition, because lack of specialty in distribution and circulation such as storage and wrapping does not solve limit factors in distance, the distribution and circulation has been limited to a form of import and export within short-distant region. Therefore, need for distribution out-sourcing which can satisfy specialty in managing distribution and circulation and it is needed to establish more effective distribution system. However, existing distribution system of agricultural products is exposed to various problems including problems in distribution channel, making distribution and strategy for distribution and those problems are as follows. First, in case of investment in overseas agricultural industry, stable supply of the products is difficult because areas of production are dispersed widely and influenced by outer factors due to including overseas distribution channels. Also, at the aspect of quality, standardization of products is difficult, distribution system is quite complicated and unreasonable due to long distribution channels according to international trade and financial and institutional support is not enough. Especially, there are quite a lot of ineffective factors including multi level distribution process, dramatic gap between production cost and customer's cost, lack of physical distribution facilities and difficulties in storage and transport due to lack of wrapping containers. Besides, because import and export of agricultural products has been manages under the company's own distribution according to transaction contract between manufacturers and exporting company, efficiency is low due to excessive investment in fixed costs and lack of specialty in dealing with agricultural products causes fall of value of products, showing the limit to lose price-competitiveness. Especially, because lack of specialty in distribution and circulation such as storage and wrapping does not solve limit factors in distance, the distribution and circulation has been limited to a form of import and export within short-distant region. Therefore, need for distribution out-sourcing which can satisfy specialty in managing distribution and circulation and it is needed to establish more effective distribution system. Second, among tangible and intangible services which promote the efficiency of the whole distribution, a function building distribution environment which includes distribution information, system for standard and inspection, distribution finance, system for diversification of risks, education and training, distribution administration and tax system is wanted. In general, such a function building distribution environment is difficult to be changed and supplement innovatively because its effect compared with investment does not appear immediately despite of its necessity. Especially, in case of distribution of agricultural products, as a function of collecting and distributing is performed individually through various channels, the importance of distribution information and standardization is getting more focus due to the problem of repetition of work and lack of specialty. Also, efficient management of distribution is quite difficult due to lack of professionals in distribution, so support to professional education is needed. Third, though effort to keep self-sufficiency ratio of staple food, rice is regarded as important at the government level, level of dependency on overseas of others crops is high. Therefore, plan for stable securing food resources aside from staple food is also necessary. Especially, governmental organizations of agricultural products distribution in Korea are production-centered and have unreasonable structure whose function at the aspect of distribution and consumption is quite insufficient. And development of new distribution channels which can deal with changes in distribution environment and they do not achieve actual results of strategy for distribution due to non-positive strategy for price distribution. That is, it implies the possibility that base for supply will become vulnerable because it does not mediate appropriate interests on total distribution channels such as manufacturers, wholesale dealers and vendors by emphasizing consumer protection excessively in the distribution of agricultural products. Therefore, this study examined fundamental concept and actual situation for our investment to overseas agriculture, drew necessities, considerations, problems, etc. of overseas agricultural investment and suggested improvements at the level of distribution for price competitiveness of agricultural products cultivated in overseas under five aspects; government's indirect support, distribution's modernization and distribution information function's strengthening, government's political support for distribution facility, transportation route, load and unloading works' improvement, price competitiveness' securing, professional manpower's cultivation by education and training, etc. Here are some suggestions for foreign produce importation. First, the government should conduct a survey on the current distribution channels and analyze the situation to establish a measure for long-term development plans. By providing each agricultural area with a guideline for planning appropriate production of crops, the government can help farmers be ready for importation, and prevent them from producing same crops all at the same time. Government can sign an MOU with the foreign government and promote the importation so that the development of agricultural resources can be stable and steady. Second, the government can establish a strategy for an effective distribution system by providing farmers and agriculture-related workers with the distribution information such as price, production, demand, market structure and location, feature of each crop, and etc. In order for such distribution system to become feasible, the government needs to reconstruct the current distribution system, designate a public organization for providing distribution information and set the criteria for level of produce quality, trade units, and package units. Third, the government should provide financial support and a policy to seek an efficient distribution channel for foreign produce to be delivered fresh: the government should expand distribution facilities (for selecting, packaging, storing, and processing) and transportation vehicles while modernizing old facilities. There should be another policy to improve the efficiency of unloading, and to lower the cost of distribution. Fourth, it is necessary to enact a new law covering exceptional cases for importing produce in order to maintain the price competitiveness; currently the high tariffs is keeping the imported produce from being distributed domestically. However, the new adjustment should be made carefully within the WTO regulations since it can create a problem from giving preferential tariffs. The government can also simplify the distribution channels in order to reduce the cost in the distribution process. Fifth, the government should educate distributors to raise the efficiency and to modernize the distribution system. It is necessary to develop human resources by educating people regarding the foreign agricultural environment, the produce quality, management skills, and by introducing some successful cases in advanced countries.

  • PDF

The Health and Dietary management of Impaired elderly by ADL in Gyeonggi, Korea (ADL에 의한 도움필요 노인의 건강과 식생활관리 -경기지역 농촌노인을 중심으로-)

  • Rhie Seung-Gyo;Choi Mi-Yong;Won Hyang-Rye
    • The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
    • /
    • v.17 no.3
    • /
    • pp.159-174
    • /
    • 2006
  • The purpose of this study is to provide information searching for health promotion, nutrition improvement, and health care of the impaired elderly by ADL(Activity of Daily Living) and IADL(Instrumental Activity of Daily Living). The subjects were divided into the Assistant Needed Group and No Assistant Needed Group for living in line with the responses of ADL(10 items like dressing, washing, move etc.) and IADL(10 items like housekeeping, using transportation, shopping, Phone call etc.). Survey was made for health behavior, health risk habit, dietary management status and diet intake by 24 hr-recall and questionnaire method. 242 subjects were collected in 12 cities or Gun districts in Gyeonggi Province, S. Korea. Survey was carried out by regional home extension workers using interview method. Statistical analyses were made using SAS (Version 8.1). Chi-Square Tests and General Linear Models. The subjects of impaired ADL elderly was 26.5% and it composed 30% of the total male and 22.2% of the total female. The demographic status of the impaired ADL elderly showed no difference from that of the normal elders, elementary school educated (73.4%), with spouse (43.8%) or with adult children(37.5%), using monthly living cost of 500-1,000 thousand won(35.9%). Mean age was 74.05 years compared to 72.25 years of normal elders. However, there was no significant difference from the normal and impaired ADL group, regular exercise(60.0%), with walking (90.0%), no-smoke(54.7%) and no-drink(48.4%). Kind of disease was not different from the one in impaired and normal group, with cardiovascular disease(32.3%), with diabetes mellitus(8.1%), joint lumbago neuralgia(32.3%) and osteoporosis(9.7%). Gastrointestinal complaints of the impaired ADL group were nausea(57.8%), chronic indigestion (23.4%), constipation (14,0%) and vomiting(3.7%). Sleeping time required for the impaired was longer than that for the normal group by 10hours(4.7%) or 8-10hours(20.3%), which consisted 1.7% and 16.6% respectively. Nutrient intake of the impaired ADL group was low compared to normal range elders: Energy(1260kca1), Protein(52.75g). There was gender difference in nutrient intake; the male impaired group showed no significant difference from the normal group but it was significantly lower in female impaired group. These results suggest that low quality of life and low economic status of the impaired ADL elderly require congregate meal in village hall to cover the lack of side dishe variety. And nutrition education program including community assistance would be required for the impaired ADL elderly together with the sufficient food and exercise practice. By operating nutrition education program, the impaired ADL elderly would maintain more enhanced quality of life and ameliorate the ADL capability.

  • PDF

Legal Relations of the Contract of International Carriage of Goods by Air (국제항공화물운송계약(國際航空貨物運送契約)의 법률관계(法律關係) -화주(貨主)의 권리의무(權利義務)를 중심(中心)으로-)

  • Lee, Kang-Bin
    • The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
    • /
    • v.1
    • /
    • pp.193-222
    • /
    • 1989
  • The purpose of this study is to review the rights and duties of cargo owners, the party to the contract of international carriage of goods by air under the Warsaw Convention System and the IATA conditions. It is generally known that air freight is the most-cost mode of transportation. However, should there be considerations of total distribution cost, the use of air freight leads exporters to be advantageous in physical distribution. The Warsaw Convention System defined and limited the rights and duties of cargo owners and air carriers paticipating in the international carriage of goods, but it does not regulate every aspect of air transportation. Therefore, the unregulated parts are governed by national laws and by individual contracts of carriage. The International Air Transport Association(lATA), a worldwide organization of airlines, has formulated model conditions of contract for the carriage of cargo. These models are not uniformly followed but they serve as a basis for many of the individual standard form of contracts prepared by air carriers. The contract of air carriage of goods is a contract of adhesion, 'the consignor recognizing and accepting the conditions laid down by the carrier'. There are consignors and carriers as the parties to the contract of international carriage of goods. In addition to his basic right, implied in Warsaw Convention Article 18 and 19, to require devery of the goods in good condition and at the date agreed upon, the consignor has the right to dispose the goods in the course of the journey up to the moment when the consignee is entitled to require delivery. If it is impossible to carry out the orders of the consignor, the carrier must so inform him forthwith. The right conferred on the consignor ceases at the moment when that of the consignee begins in accordance with Warsaw Convention Article 13. Nevertheless, if the consignee declines to accept the air waybill or the goods, or if he cannot be communicated with, the consignor resumes his right of disposition. Unless it is otherwise agreed, it is the duty of the carrier to give notice to the consignee as soon as the goods arrive. The consignee is entitled, on arrival of the goods at the place of destination, to require the carrier to hand over to him the air waybill and to deliver the goods to him, on payment of the charges due and on complying with the conditions of carriage set out in the air waybill. The air waybill is supposed to be made out by the consignor. If the carrier makes it out, he is deemed, subject to proof to the contrary, to have done so on behalf of the consignor, whether there is one air waybill or several, each must be made out in three original parts. The first is for the carrier, the second is for the consignee, and the the third is handed to the consignor when the shipment has been accepted. The consignor is responsible for the correctness of the particulars and statement concerning the cargo appearing in the air waybill. Each of the original parts of the air waybill has evidential value and possession of his part is a condition for the exercise by the consignor or consignee of his rights under the contract of carriage. Hague Protocol set forth in Article 9 that nothing in this. Convention prevents the issue of a negotiable air waybill, but Montreal Additional Protocol No. 4 deleted this article. All charges applicable to a shipment are payable in cash at the time of acceptance thereof by the carrier in case of a prepaid shipment or at the time of delivery thereof by the carrier in case of a collect shipment. The carrier shall have lien the cargo for unpaid charges and, in the event of non-payment thereof, shall have the right to dispose of the cargo at public or private sale and pay itself out of the proceeds of such sale any and all such amounts. In conclusion, the Warsaw Convention System has the character of ambiguity in various respects, not only in the part of the forms of documents but also in conditions of contract. Accordingly, the following propositions might be considered: (1) If the carrier does not obey the orders of the consignor for the disposition of the goods without proper reasons, he will be liable strictly for any damage which may be caused thereby to the cargo owner. The special agreement and carrier's conditions of carriage which limit unreasonably the consignor's right of disposition of the goods will be nullified. (2) The instrument of the Warsaw Convention System which is not yet in force(Montreal Additional Protocol No. 4) would considerably simplfy the processing and keeping of computerized records of the carriage. Until this instrument enters into force, the airlines will be faced with practical problems preventing them to substitute computerized data processing techniques for the formal issuance of the documents. Accordingly, Montreal Additional Protocol No. 4 should become effective as soon as posisble. From a practical point of view in the international trade, the issuance of negotiable air waybill should be permitted for the security of the bank.

  • PDF

Alternative Tracing Method for Moving Object Using Reference Template in Real-time Image - Focusing on Parking Management System (참조 템플릿 기반 실시간 이동체 영상을 이용한 대안적 탐지 방안 - 주차관리시스템을 대상으로)

  • Joo, Yong Jin;Kang, Lee Seul;Hahm, Chang Hahk
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography
    • /
    • v.32 no.5
    • /
    • pp.495-503
    • /
    • 2014
  • As the number of vehicles has been sharply increases, the significance of safety and effective operation issues in the parking lot is being emphasized, which takes a part of the transportation system. Recently, there have been several studies for the parking management by detecting moving object, however, recognizing numbers of fast-moving vehicles simultaneously in the picture is still a challenging problem. The parking lot in public area, or large-sized buildings has clear parking section, whereas the sensor system is configured to monitor a plurality of parking spaces. Therefore, by considering those parking lots, we suggested to develop the real-time parking availability information system by applying the real-time image processing techniques. with the help of template matching. Following the study, we wanted to provide the alternative method for parking management system through the reference template makers by recognizing movements of parked vehicles with the size and shape, regardless of direct detecting of driving movements. In addition, we evaluated the applicability and performances of the information system, presented in this study, and implemented a prototype system to simulate the parking statuses of each floor. In fat, it was possible to manage and analyze statistics about the total number of parking spaces and the number of vehicles parked through real-time video flames. We expected that the result of the study will be advanced, following the user-friendliness and cost reduction in operating parking management system and giving information by efficient analysis of parking situation.

A Development of SCM Model in Chemical Industry Including Batch Mode Operations (회분식 공정이 포함된 화학산업에서의 공급사슬 관리 모델 개발)

  • Park, Jeung Min;Ha, Jin-Kuk;Lee, Euy Soo
    • Korean Chemical Engineering Research
    • /
    • v.46 no.2
    • /
    • pp.316-329
    • /
    • 2008
  • Recently the increased attention pays on the processing of multiple, relatively low quantity, high value-added products resulted in adoption of batch process in the chemical process industry such as pharmaceuticals, polymers, bio-chemicals and foods. As there are more possibilities of the improvement of operations in batch process than continuous processes, a lot of effort has been made to enhance the productivity and operability of batch processes. But the chemical process industry faces a range of uncertainties factors such as demands for products, prices of product, lead time for the supply of raw materials and in the production, and the distribution of product. And global competition has made it imperative for the process industries to manage their supply chains optimally. Supply chain management aims to integrate plants with their supplier and customers so that they can be managed as a single entity and coordinate all input/output flows (of materials, information) so that products are produced and distributed in the right quantities, to the right locations, and at the right time.The objective of this study is to solve the purchase, distribution, production planning and scheduling problem, which minimizes the total costs of production, inventory, and transportation under uncertainty. And development of SCM model in chemical industry including batch mode operations. Through that, the enterprise can respond to uncertainty. Also integrated process optimal planning and scheduling model for manufacturing supply chain. The result shows that, the advantage of supply chain integration are quality matters seen by customers and suppliers, order schedules, flexibility, cost reduction, and increase in sales and profits. Also, an integration of supply chain (production and distribution system) generates significant savings by trading off the costs associated with the whole, rather than minimizing supply chain costs separately.

ZnO nanostructures for e-paper and field emission display applications

  • Sun, X.W.
    • 한국정보디스플레이학회:학술대회논문집
    • /
    • 2008.10a
    • /
    • pp.993-994
    • /
    • 2008
  • Electrochromic (EC) devices are capable of reversibly changing their optical properties upon charge injection and extraction induced by the external voltage. The characteristics of the EC device, such as low power consumption, high coloration efficiency, and memory effects under open circuit status, make them suitable for use in a variety of applications including smart windows and electronic papers. Coloration due to reduction or oxidation of redox chromophores can be used for EC devices (e-paper), but the switching time is slow (second level). Recently, with increasing demand for the low cost, lightweight flat panel display with paper-like readability (electronic paper), an EC display technology based on dye-modified $TiO_2$ nanoparticle electrode was developed. A well known organic dye molecule, viologen, was adsorbed on the surface of a mesoporous $TiO_2$ nanoparticle film to form the EC electrode. On the other hand, ZnO is a wide bandgap II-VI semiconductor which has been applied in many fields such as UV lasers, field effect transistors and transparent conductors. The bandgap of the bulk ZnO is about 3.37 eV, which is close to that of the $TiO_2$ (3.4 eV). As a traditional transparent conductor, ZnO has excellent electron transport properties, even in ZnO nanoparticle films. In the past few years, one-dimension (1D) nanostructures of ZnO have attracted extensive research interest. In particular, 1D ZnO nanowires renders much better electron transportation capability by providing a direct conduction path for electron transport and greatly reducing the number of grain boundaries. These unique advantages make ZnO nanowires a promising matrix electrode for EC dye molecule loading. ZnO nanowires grow vertically from the substrate and form a dense array (Fig. 1). The ZnO nanowires show regular hexagonal cross section and the average diameter of the ZnO nanowires is about 100 nm. The cross-section image of the ZnO nanowires array (Fig. 1) indicates that the length of the ZnO nanowires is about $6\;{\mu}m$. From one on/off cycle of the ZnO EC cell (Fig. 2). We can see that, the switching time of a ZnO nanowire electrode EC cell with an active area of $1\;{\times}\;1\;cm^2$ is 170 ms and 142 ms for coloration and bleaching, respectively. The coloration and bleaching time is faster compared to the $TiO_2$ mesoporous EC devices with both coloration and bleaching time of about 250 ms for a device with an active area of $2.5\;cm^2$. With further optimization, it is possible that the response time can reach ten(s) of millisecond, i.e. capable of displaying video. Fig. 3 shows a prototype with two different transmittance states. It can be seen that good contrast was obtained. The retention was at least a few hours for these prototypes. Being an oxide, ZnO is oxidation resistant, i.e. it is more durable for field emission cathode. ZnO nanotetropods were also applied to realize the first prototype triode field emission device, making use of scattered surface-conduction electrons for field emission (Fig. 4). The device has a high efficiency (field emitted electron to total electron ratio) of about 60%. With this high efficiency, we were able to fabricate some prototype displays (Fig. 5 showing some alphanumerical symbols). ZnO tetrapods have four legs, which guarantees that there is one leg always pointing upward, even using screen printing method to fabricate the cathode.

  • PDF