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Neben der konventionellen Digitalen Subtraktions-Angiografie (DSA) werden insbesondere seit Einführung der Angiografiesysteme mit Flachdetektor-Technologie zunehmend auch Rotationsangiografien und DYNA-CTs durchgeführt. Ziel der Studie ist die Bestimmung der Strahlenexposition für den Untersucher bei DSA-Serien im Vergleich zu Rotationsangiografien an einem biplanen Angiografiesystem unter Berücksichtigung gerätetechnischer Strahlenschutzvorrichtungen. Die Untersuchung erfolgte an einem biplanen Angiographiesystem mit Flachdetektor-Technologie (AxiomArtis dBA, Siemens). Die Strahlenexposition wurde als Ortsdosis in Höhe der Augen, Schilddrüse und Gonaden eines stehenden Untersuchers mit dem Dosimeter UMO LB 123 (Berthold) bestimmt. Alle Messungen wurden sowohl mit als auch ohne deckengeführtes Strahlenschutzschild und Unterkörperschutz mit Aufsatz durchgeführt. Die Messorte wurden in unterschiedlichen Abständen und Winkeln zum Isozentrum gewählt. Der Patient wurde durch ein Alderson-Phantom simuliert. Die Messergebnisse ergaben eine 90%ige Reduzierung der Strahlenexposition des Untersuchers durch die Strahlenschutzvorrichtung am Tisch. Für einen wirksamen Gonadenschutz ist der Aufsatz zum Unterkörperschutz unverzichtbar. Die optimale Schutzwirkung ist nur an der Position des Untersuchers nachweisbar; Personal direkt neben dem Untersucher ist einer bis zu 10mal größeren Strahlenexposition ausgesetzt. Die Strahlenexposition des Untersuchers ist bei der Durchführung einer Rotationsangiografie (8s DS H) auch unter Berücksichtigung aller gerätetechnischen Strahlenschutzvorrichtungen 9 bis 10fach höher, verglichen zu einer DSA-Serie in Standardprojektionen (6s, 3 Bilder/s). Die Strahlenexposition des Untersuchers an einem biplanen Angiografiesystem kann durch gerätetechnische Strahlenschutzvorrichtungen erheblich reduziert werden. Hochdosisprotokolle für Rotationsangiografien sollten auf ihre Notwendigkeit überprüft werden.

Einleitung: Die schnelle Detektion und genaue Beurteilbarkeit (Charakterisierung) von rupturierten, zerebralen Aneurysmen ist entscheidend für die Wahl der adäquaten endovaskulären oder neurochirurgischen Intervention (Therapie), um Patienten mit akuter Subarachnoidalblutung (SAB) eine möglichst gute Prognose zu verschaffen. Es war das Ziel der Studie zu untersuchen, ob und wie weit die Knochensubtraktions-CT-Angiografie (CT-DSA), bereits mit einem relativ alten 16-Kanal-MSCT in der Lage ist die invasive Digitale Subtraktionsangiografie (DSA; Goldstandard) hinsichtlich der Detektion, morphologischer Charakterisierung und letztendlich Therapieentscheidung zu ersetzen und damit den klinischen Pfad dieser Patienten zu beeinflussen. Methodik: Zu diesem Zweck untersuchten wir 116 Patienten mit akuter SAB vor der intrakraniellen Aneurysmatherapie. Die SAB Patienten wurden jeweils erst mit 16-Kanal-MSCT Angiografie und verbesserter, automatisierter Knochensubtraktion untersucht. Der verbesserte CT-DSA Algorithmus beinhaltet eine block- oder scheibenweise Patienten Bewegungskorrektur und eine lokal adaptierbare 3D dilatierte Knochenmaske. Die lokale Adaption der Maske wurde für eine präzisere Knochensubtraktion an der Grenze von Gefäß zu Knochen entwickelt. Danach wurde die konventionelle DSA angewandt. Zwei erfahrene Neuroradiologen beurteilten die CT-DSA und die DSA Daten unabhängig voneinander. Es wurde die Genauigkeit der verbesserten CT-DSA Methode für die Detektion, morphologische Charakterisierung sowie die Vermessung der Aneurysmadimensionen bestimmt. Im Fall von Uneinigkeit wurde ein Ergebnis im Konsens ermittelt. Zudem wurde die Röntgendosis beider Methoden für die Diagnostik von Aneurysmen verglichen. Ergebnisse: Mit der DSA wurden in 71 Patienten 74 Aneurysmen entdeckt. Achtundsechzig Patienten hatten 1 und 3 Patienten zwei Aneurysmen. Mit den CT-DSA Daten konnten 73 der 74 in der DSA delektierten Aneurysmen gefunden werden. Hier hatten 66 Patienten 1 und 4 Patienten 2 Aneurysmen. Mit der CT-DSA wurde noch ein weiteres kleines Aneurysma detektiert. Die Auswertung per Aneurysma, für die Sensitivität, Spezifität, den negativen und positiven Vorhersagewert, zeigte für die CT-DSA jeweils 99% und 100%, sowie 100% und 98%. Für kleine Aneurysmen, ≤3,0 mm betrug die Sensitivität 94%, mit einem 95%-Konfidenzintervall zwischen 73%–99%. Längenmessungen mit der CT-DSA waren ebenso genau wie bei der DSA und stimmten bei kleineren Messungen sogar noch besser überein als bei größeren. Die CT-DSA Fundus/Hals-Verhältnisse lagen mit 0,03 (ca. 2%) unter denen der DSA. Das Dosis-Längen-Produkt für die CT-DSA lag bei 565 mGy × cm ±201 [SD] und für die DSA bei 1.609 mGy × cm ±1.300 [SD]. Diskussion: Die CT-Angiografie mit 16-Kanal-MSCT und modernen Knochen-subraktionsalgorithmen ist für die Detektion von zerebralen Aneurysmen bei Patienten mit akuter SAB ebenso genau wie die DSA. Sie erzielt ähnliche Ergebnisse für die Aneurysmamorphologie und -abmessungen. Diese gilt selbst für schädelbasisnahe und kleine Aneurysmen oder bei Patientenbewegung. In Fällen, in denen die erste CT-DSA die Ursache der SAB nicht zeigt, ist es nicht mehr zwingend notwendig eine DSA durchzuführen. Eine zweite CT-DSA ist ausreichend. Weiterhin benötigt die CT-DSA bis zu 65% weniger Röntgendosis für die Diagnose als die DSA. Zudem ist die Diagnose mit der CT-DSA in kürzerer Zeit und für den Patienten risikoärmer, weil nichtinvasiv. Schlussfolgerung: Die CT-DSA mit einem verbesserten Algorithmus, der Bewegungsartefakte und artifizielle Stenosen an der Grenze von Gefäß zu Knochen minimierte, zeigt in Verbindung mit einem 16-Kanal-MSCT eine diagnostische Äquivalenz zur DSA. Diese Tatsache und die zusätzlich deutlich geringere Röntgenstrahlenbelastung sprechen dafür, die DSA Diagnostik bei Patienten mit spontaner SAB durch die schnellere und schonendere CT-DSA zu ersetzten. Damit kann die CT-DSA Therapieentscheidungen schneller, schonender, kostengünstiger und zielgerichteter herbeiführen. Bei der Einführung dieses Verfahrens ist weniger auf die eingesetzte CT-Technologie (16-, 64-, 320-Zeilen oder Zwei-Röhren MSCT) als auf den Einsatz der aktuellsten Knochensubtraktions-Technologie sowie ein angemessenes Training (Erfahrung) des Befunders zu achten.:1 Einleitung 1 1.1 Ätiologie der Subarachnoidalblutung (SAB) 1 1.2 SAB Pathogenese 2 1.3 SAB Epidemiologie 4 1.4 SAB Risikofaktoren 4 1.5 SAB Grading 5 1.6 SAB Letalität 5 1.7 SAB Diagnostik 6 1.7.1 Invasive Digitale Subtraktionsangiografie (DSA) 6 1.7.2 Nichtinvasive Mehrschicht-Computertomografie (CT) 10 1.8 Aneurysma Therapie 15 1.9 Zielsetzung 17 2 Patienten und Methoden 20 2.1 Patienten 20 2.2 Ein – und Ausschlusskriterien 20 2.3 Nativ-CT und CT-DSA 22 2.3.1 Nativ-CT Technik 22 2.3.2 CT-DSA Technik 22 2.3.3 Prototypische, automatisierte CT-DSA Auswertung 24 2.4 Digitale Subtraktionsangiografie (DSA) 27 2.5 Vermessung der Aneurysmen 27 2.6 Vergleich der Messmethoden 29 2.7 Befundungsqualität der Untersucher 29 2.8 Beurteilung der Ergebnisse 29 2.9 Beurteilung der Strahlenbelastung 30 2.10 Statistische Methoden 31 2.10.1 Fallzahlplanung 32 2.10.2 Diagnostische Genauigkeit 33 2.10.3 Methodenvergleich 34 2.10.4 Inter- und Intraobserver-Variabilität 35 3 Ergebnisse 36 3.1 Patienten 36 3.2 Nativ-CT 36 3.3 CT-DSA 36 3.4 DSA - Referenz für die Aneurysmadetektion 42 3.5 Vergleich CT-DSA mit DSA 45 3.5.1 CT-DSA Genauigkeit 45 3.5.1.1 Basierend auf prospektiver DSA 45 3.5.1.2 Basierend auf retrospektiver DSA 47 3.5.2 Aneurysma-Messergebnisse 49 3.5.3 Untersucher und Aneurysma-Konfiguration 59 3.5.4 Röntgendosis 59 3.5.5 Bildinterpretationszeiten 60 4 Diskussion 61 4.1 CT-DSA Genauigkeit für den Aneurysmanachweis 61 4.1.1 Besonderheiten der CT-DSA Anwendung 63 4.1.2 Besonderheit der CT-DSA Prototypen Software 63 4.2. CT-DSA Informationen als alleinige Planungsbasis für neurochirurgische oder endovaskuläre Eingriffe 64 4.3 Robustheit und Reproduzierbarkeit 67 / Background and purpose: Detection and evaluation of ruptured aneurysms is critical for choosing an appropriate endovascular or neurosurgical intervention (therapy) in patients with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Our aim was to assess whether 16-detector row multislice CT (MSCT) bone-subtraction CTA is capable of guiding treatment for cerebral aneurysms in patients with acute SAH and could replace DSA – the current reference standard. Materials and methods: In a prospective study, 116 consecutive patients with SAH were examined with 16–detector row MSCT with an advanced bone-subtraction CTA prototype and DSA before intracranial aneurysm treatment. The advancements of the prototype CT-DSA algorithm were a slab-based patient motion correction and a locally optimized 3D dilated bonemask. The local adaption of the bone mask was designed for more precise bone subtraction at bone-to-vessel interfaces. Two independent neuroradiologists reviewed the bone-subtraction CTA blinded to DSA. The accuracy of the advanced bone-subtraction CTA for aneurysm detection, morphological characterization and the measurement of aneurysm dimensions were determined. In case of disagreement the result was attained in consensus. Additionally the radiation doses of the 2 diagnostic imaging modalities compared. Results: Seventy-one patients (61%) had 74 aneurysms on DSA. Sixty-eight patients had 1 and 3 patients 2 aneurysms. Bone-subtraction CTA detected 73 of these aneurysms. With CT-DSA 66 patients had 1 and 4 patients 2 aneurysms. CT-DSA discovered an additional small aneurysm. On a per-aneurysm basis, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for bone-subtraction CTA were 99%, 100%, and 100% and 98%, respectively. For aneurysms of ≤3 mm, sensitivity was 94% (95% CI, 73%–99%). Length measurements with bone-subtraction CTA were as exact as the DSA measurements and agreed even better for small measurements than for larger ones. CT-DSA dome-to-neck ratios were on average 0.03 smaller (2%) than with DSA. Dose-length product was 565 mGy × cm ±201 [SD] for bone-subtraction CTA and 1.609 mGy × cm ±1.300 [SD ]for DSA.   Discussion: 16–detector row MSCT with advanced bone-subtraction CTA is as accurate as DSA in detecting cerebral aneurysms after SAH, provides similar information about aneurysm configuration and measures. This is even true for small aneurysms adjacent to bony structures (e.g. the base of the scull) or under patient motion. In SAB patients in whom the initial CT-DSA doesn’t show the root cause of the SAH, a DSA is not imperative any longer. In this case a second CT-DSA is sufficient. Additionally the CT-DSA reduces the average effective radiation dose for vascular diagnostics by 65%. Furthermore the CT-DSA-based diagnosis can be performed in shorter time and at less patient risk due to its non-invasive nature. Conclusion: The advanced CT-DSA algorithm - that minimized patient motion and artificial stenosis at the bone-to-vessel interfaces - in combination with commonly available 16-detector row MSCT demonstrated diagnostic equivalence in comparison to the DSA reference. Diagnostic equivalence in association with dose reduction suggests replacing DSA with the faster and more patient friendly bone-subtraction CTA in the diagnostic work-up of spontaneous SAH. Thus CT-DSA can accelerate targeted therapy decisions more cost effective and at less risk for the patient. Using the latest and appropriate subtraction technology and ensuring adequate training (reader experience) is more relevant than the used CT-technology (16-, 64-, 320-detector row or dual source MSCT) when introducing CT-DSA protocols.:1 Einleitung 1 1.1 Ätiologie der Subarachnoidalblutung (SAB) 1 1.2 SAB Pathogenese 2 1.3 SAB Epidemiologie 4 1.4 SAB Risikofaktoren 4 1.5 SAB Grading 5 1.6 SAB Letalität 5 1.7 SAB Diagnostik 6 1.7.1 Invasive Digitale Subtraktionsangiografie (DSA) 6 1.7.2 Nichtinvasive Mehrschicht-Computertomografie (CT) 10 1.8 Aneurysma Therapie 15 1.9 Zielsetzung 17 2 Patienten und Methoden 20 2.1 Patienten 20 2.2 Ein – und Ausschlusskriterien 20 2.3 Nativ-CT und CT-DSA 22 2.3.1 Nativ-CT Technik 22 2.3.2 CT-DSA Technik 22 2.3.3 Prototypische, automatisierte CT-DSA Auswertung 24 2.4 Digitale Subtraktionsangiografie (DSA) 27 2.5 Vermessung der Aneurysmen 27 2.6 Vergleich der Messmethoden 29 2.7 Befundungsqualität der Untersucher 29 2.8 Beurteilung der Ergebnisse 29 2.9 Beurteilung der Strahlenbelastung 30 2.10 Statistische Methoden 31 2.10.1 Fallzahlplanung 32 2.10.2 Diagnostische Genauigkeit 33 2.10.3 Methodenvergleich 34 2.10.4 Inter- und Intraobserver-Variabilität 35 3 Ergebnisse 36 3.1 Patienten 36 3.2 Nativ-CT 36 3.3 CT-DSA 36 3.4 DSA - Referenz für die Aneurysmadetektion 42 3.5 Vergleich CT-DSA mit DSA 45 3.5.1 CT-DSA Genauigkeit 45 3.5.1.1 Basierend auf prospektiver DSA 45 3.5.1.2 Basierend auf retrospektiver DSA 47 3.5.2 Aneurysma-Messergebnisse 49 3.5.3 Untersucher und Aneurysma-Konfiguration 59 3.5.4 Röntgendosis 59 3.5.5 Bildinterpretationszeiten 60 4 Diskussion 61 4.1 CT-DSA Genauigkeit für den Aneurysmanachweis 61 4.1.1 Besonderheiten der CT-DSA Anwendung 63 4.1.2 Besonderheit der CT-DSA Prototypen Software 63 4.2. CT-DSA Informationen als alleinige Planungsbasis für neurochirurgische oder endovaskuläre Eingriffe 64 4.3 Robustheit und Reproduzierbarkeit 67

Heterogeneous electrocatalysis is the usage of solid materials to decrease the amount of energy needed to produce chemicals using electricity. It is of core importance for modern life, as it enables production of chemicals, such as chlorine gas and sodium chlorate, needed for e.g. materials and pharmaceuticals production. Furthermore, as the need to make a transition to usage of renewable energy sources is growing, the importance for electrocatalysis used for electrolytic production of clean fuels, such as hydrogen, is rising. In this thesis, work aimed at understanding and improving electrocatalysts used for these purposes is presented. A main part of the work has been focused on the selectivity between chlorine gas, or sodium chlorate formation, and parasitic oxygen evolution. An activation of anode surface Ti cations by nearby Ru cations is suggested as a reason for the high chlorine selectivity of the “dimensionally stable anode” (DSA), the standard anode used in industrial chlorine and sodium chlorate production. Furthermore, theoretical methods have been used to screen for dopants that can be used to improve the activity and selectivity of DSA, and several promising candidates have been found. Moreover, the connection between the rate of chlorate formation and the rate of parasitic oxygen evolution, as well as the possible catalytic effects of electrolyte contaminants on parasitic oxygen evolution in the chlorate process, have been studied experimentally. Additionally, the properties of a Co-doped DSA have been studied, and it is found that the doping makes the electrode more active for hydrogen evolution. Finally, the hydrogen evolution reaction on both RuO2 and the noble-metal-free electrocatalyst material MoS2 has been studied using a combination of experimental and theoretically calculated X-ray photoelectron chemical shifts. In this way, insight into structural changes accompanying hydrogen evolution on these materials is obtained. / Heterogen elektrokatalys innebär användningen av fasta material för att minska energimängden som krävs för produktion av kemikalier med hjälp av elektricitet. Heterogen elektrokatalys har en central roll i det moderna samhället, eftersom det möjliggör produktionen av kemikalier såsom klorgas och natriumklorat, som i sin tur används för produktion av t ex konstruktionsmaterial och läkemedel. Vikten av användning av elektrokatalys för produktion av förnybara bränslen, såsom vätgas, växer dessutom i takt med att en övergång till användning av förnybar energi blir allt nödvändigare. I denna avhandling presenteras arbete som utförts för att förstå och förbättra sådana elektrokatalysatorer. En stor del av arbetet har varit fokuserat på selektiviteten mellan klorgas och biprodukten syrgas i klor-alkali och kloratprocesserna. Inom ramen för detta arbete har teoretisk modellering av det dominerande anodmaterialet i dessa industriella processer, den så kallade “dimensionsstabila anoden” (DSA), använts för att föreslå en fundamental anledning till att detta material är speciellt klorselektivt. Vi föreslår att klorselektiviteten kan förklaras av en laddningsöverföring från ruteniumkatjoner i materialet till titankatjonerna i anodytan, vilket aktiverar titankatjonerna. Baserat på en bred studie av ett stort antal andra dopämnen föreslår vi dessutom vilka dopämnen som är bäst lämpade för produktion av aktiva och klorselektiva anoder. Med hjälp av experimentella studier föreslår vi dessutom en koppling mellan kloratbildning och oönskad syrgasbildning i kloratprocessen, och vidare har en bred studie av tänkbara elektrolytföroreningar utförts för att öka förståelsen för syrgasbildningen i denna process. Två studier relaterade till elektrokemisk vätgasproduktion har också gjorts. En experimentell studie av Co-dopad DSA har utförts, och detta elektrodmaterial visade sig vara mer aktivt för vätgasutveckling än en standard-DSA. Vidare har en kombination av experimentell och teoretisk röntgenfotoelektronspektroskopi använts för att öka förståelsen för strukturella förändringar som sker i RuO2 och i det ädelmetallfria elektrodmaterialet MoS2 under vätgasutveckling. / <p>QC 20151119</p>

Le coût de la poursuite de la miniaturisation des transistors en-dessous de 14 nm demande l’introductionde techniques moins onéreuses comme l’approche auto-alignée par copolymères à blocs (DSA) combinéeà la lithographie 193 nm. Etudiée principalement pour des motifs de tranchées (pour les FinFETs)ou de cylindres verticaux (pour les trous de contact, c’est ce cas qui nous intéressera), le polystyrène-bpolyméthylmétacrylate(PS-b-PMMA) est un des copolymères à blocs les plus étudiés dans la littérature,et dont la gravure présente de nombreux défis dûs à la similarité chimique des deux blocs PS et PMMA.Proposer une solution à ces défis est l’objet de cette thèse.Dans notre cas où le PS est majoritaire, le principe est d’obtenir par auto-organisation des cylindresverticaux de PMMA dans un masque de PS. Le PMMA est ensuite retiré par solvant ou par plasma,les motifs ainsi révélés dans le PS peuvent être alors transférés en utilisant ce dernier comme masque degravure. Une couche de copolymères statistiques PS-r-PMMA neutralise les affinités du PS/PMMA avecle substrat et permet l’auto-organisation.Un des problèmes majeurs est le contrôle des dimensions ; traditionnellement, le PMMA est retiré paracide acétique et le PS-r-PMMA gravé par plasma d’Ar/O2 qui aggrandit le diamètre des trous (CD)en consommant lattéralement trop de PS. Des temps de recuit acceptables pour l’Industrie donnent ausommet du masque de PS une forme de champignon induisant une dispersion importante des diamètresmesurés (~4-5 nm).Nos travaux montrent que la dispersion de CD peut être corrigée par plasma en facettant le sommetdes motifs. Dans un premier temps, un procédé de retrait du PMMA par plasma continu de H2N2 a étédéveloppé afin de s’affranchir des problèmes induits par l’acide acétique et les plasmas à base d’O2. Cecia permis de révéler des défauts d’organisation non rapportés dans la littérature à notre connaissance : desfilms de PS de quelques nanomètres peuvent aléatoirement se trouver dans le domaine du PMMA et ainsibloquer la gravure de certains cylindres. Afin de graver ces défauts sans perdre le contrôle des dimensions,un procédé composé d’un bain d’acide acétique et d’un plasma synchronisé pulsé de H2N2 à faible rapportde cycle et à forte énergie de bombardement a été mis au point. Il permet de retirer le PMMA, facetterle sommet du PS (ce qui réduit la dispersion de CD à moins de 2 nm), graver les défauts et la couche deneutralisation tout en limitant l’agrandissement des trous à moins d’un nanomètre. La dernière difficultévient des dimensions agressives et du rapport d’aspect important des trous de contact gravés. Afin delimiter la gravure latérale et la consommation des masques, des couches de passivation sont déposées surles flancs des motifs pendant la gravure mais à des échelles inférieures à 15 nm, ces couches de quelquesnanomètres sont trop épaisses et nuisent au contrôle des dimensions. Les plasmas doivent être alors moinspolymérisants et la création d’oxydes sur les flancs par ajout d’O2 doit être évitée.Enfin, les techniques de détermination des dimensions à partir d’images SEM ne sont plus assezrobustes à ces échelles. Afin d’en améliorer la robustesse, des algorithmes de reconstruction d’image etd’anti-aliasing ont été implémentés. / Shrinking transistor’s dimensions below 14 nm is so expensive that lower-cost complementary techniquessuch as Directed Self-Assembly (DSA) combined with 193 nm-lithography are currently beingdeveloped. Either organized as trenches for the FinFET’s fin or vertical cylinders for contact holes(which is our case study), Polystyrene-b-polymethylmetacrylate (PS-b-PMMA) is a well-studied blockcopolymer but introduces challenging etching issues due to the chemical similarities between the PS andPMMA blocks. The aim of this thesis is to overcome those etching challenges.In our case where PS is the dominant phase, the principle of DSA is to obtain through self-assemblya pattern of vertical cylinders of PMMA inside a mask constituted of PS. PMMA is then removed eitherby solvent or plasma, revealing the patterns in the PS mask, which will be used as an etching mask forpattern transfer. In order to allow self-assembly, a thin brush layer of random copolymers PS-r-PMMAis used to neutralize the affinity of each phase with the substrate.One of the main issues with DSA is the control of the dimensions (CD control): usually, PMMAis dissolved in acetic acid bath and the brush layer is etched by an Ar/O2 plasma which increasesdramatically the pore’s diameter (CD) by laterally etching the PS. Short duration of thermal annealingsuitable for the Industry induces some “mushroom” shape at the top of the mask which consequentlyincreases the measured CD dispersion (~ 4-5 nm).Our work shows that CD uniformity can be corrected by faceting the top of the patterns throughplasma etching. As a first step, a dry-etch process for PMMA based on H2N2 chemistry has beendeveloped in order to free ourselves from acetic-acid’s and O2-based plasma’s issues. As far as we know,the discovered kind of defects has never been reported in the literature: few nanometer-thick films madeof PS can randomly be found in the PMMA’s domain, thus delaying the etching of random cylinders. Inorder to etch those defects without loosing the CD control, an other process constituted of an acetic acidbath followed by a synchronously-pulsed H2N2 plasma at low duty cycle and high bias power has beendeveloped. This process removes PMMA, facets the top of the PS features (decreasing CD dispersionbelow 2 nm), etches both the defects mentionned above and the brush layer without increasing thepores’ diameters by more than one nanometer. One last etching challenge comes from the aggressivedimensions and the high aspect ratio of the contact holes. In order to limit the lateral etching and themask consumption overall, passivation’s layer are usually deposed on the sidewall of the features duringthe etching process, but at dimensions below 15 nm, those layers are too thick and cause a CD control lossthough they are only few-nanometer thick. The polymerization’s capacity of plasmas has to be loweredat this scale and oxidized layer’s formation by adding O2 to the plasma chemistry has to be avoided.Last but not least, the techniques based on SEM images to determine the pore’s dimensions are notrobust enough at those scales. In order to gain in robustness, image reconstruction and anti-aliasingalgorithm have been implemented.

L'utilisation de technologies sans fil ne cesse de s'accroitre depuis quelques annees. Or plusieurs pays souffrent deja d'une « penurie de spectre radio ». Il est urgent de redefinir la politique d'allocation et d'utilisation du spectre radio. Plusieurs campagnes de mesures ont montrees que le spectre alloue n'est pas utilise partout et tout le temps, laissant donc apparaitre des « trous dans le spectre ». Pour permettre une viabilite reelle de nouvelles regles de regulation, de nouveaux algorithmes de partage du spectre entre les utilisateurs et les systemes radios sont necessaires. Dans cette these, nous proposons des algorithmes innovants d'allocation dynamique du spectre. Les scenarios envisages sont constitues de plusieurs utilisateurs (utilisant des radios cognitives) se partageant l'acces a plusieurs canaux radios de façon opportuniste. Nous proposons un nouvel algorithme d'acces radio pour la couche mac, et reservant des ressources radio pour la voie montante. Cet algorithme peut etre utilise pour des systemes bases sur de l'ofdm (ex. : reseaux locaux sans fil). Dans notre algorithme (base sur de l'ofdma), les utilisateurs collaborent pour negocier l'acces a plusieurs ressources radio, en utilisant un mecanisme de contention distribue et collaboratif. Nous utilisons une adaptation de la meta heuristique d' « intelligence en essaim » inspiree des insectes sociaux. Cela confere a notre methode : flexibilite, robustesse et scalabilite, dans l'allocation spectrale. Nos resultats montrent le potentiel de telles methodes collaboratives et distribuees pour resoudre le probleme de l'allocation flexible de spectre pour les prochaines generations de systemes sans fil.

Information security in the present era is becoming very important in communication and data storage. Data transferred from one party to another over an insecure channel (e.g., Internet) can be protected by cryptography. The encrypting technologies of traditional and modern cryptography are usually used to avoid the message from being disclosed. Public-key cryptography usually uses complex mathematical computations to scramble the message. / A digital signature is an important public-key primitive that performs the function of conventional handwritten signatures for entity authentication, data integrity, and non-repudiation, especially within the electronic commerce environment. Currently, most conventional digital signature schemes are based on mathematical hard problems. These mathematical algorithms require computers to perform the heavy and complex computations to generate and verify the keys and signatures. In 1995, Naor and Shamir proposed a visual cryptography (VC) for binary images. VC has high security and requires simple computations. The purpose of this thesis is to provide an alternative to the current digital signature technology. We introduce a new digital signature scheme based on the concept of a non-expansion visual cryptography. A visual digital signature scheme is a method to enable visual verification of the authenticity of an image in an insecure environment without the need to perform any complex computations. We proposed scheme generates visual shares and manipulates them using the simple Boolean operations OR rather than generating and computing large and long random integer values as in the conventional digital signature schemes currently in use.

Considerando a crescente contaminação da água e os vários problemas ao meio ambiente e a saúde humana decorrentes dessa contaminação, os produtos farmacêuticos e de higiene pessoal, como antibióticos e outros, constituem uma grande preocupação, pois não são completamente removidos nos sistemas de tratamento de esgoto, além de serem resistentes à biodegradação. Antibióticos como a tetraciclina (TeC), por exemplo, são excretados em grande parte eliminados pela urina e/ou fezes, sendo cada vez mais detectados em uma grande variedade de matrizes ambientais, causando inúmeros efeitos tais como, alergias e aumento da resistência de bactérias. Assim, esse estudo visou a degradação da TeC em meio de urina artificial por método eletroquímico utilizando um ânodo dimensionalmente estável (ADE), o qual foi selecionado pela alta concentração de cloreto no meio. Foram realizados estudos de densidade de corrente e pH inicial, avaliando a concentração remanescente de TeC, creatinina, uréia e COT e, comparando os resultados com os obtidos em meio aquoso contendo NaCl 0,1 mol L-1. A TeC sofreu degradação eletroquímica devido à eletrogeração de espécies oxidantes de cloro ativo a partir do cloreto presente no meio. O decaimento da concentração da TeC ajustou-se ao modelo de cinética de pseudo-primeira ordem e aumentou como o aumento da densidade de corrente aplicada. O tratamento eletroquímico pode ser realizado em valores de pH próximos ao neutro, em que a TeC na forma aniônica e a espécie HOCl, favorecem a degradação, mesmo na presença de EDTA. A creatinina e a uréia interferem no processo eletroquímico, fazendo com que a degradação da TeC apresente velocidades de reação mais baixas e o consumo energético do processo seja mais elevado do que em meio aquoso contendo NaCl. / Considering the increase contamination of water and various environmental and human health problems resulting from this contamination, the pharmaceuticals and personal care products, such as antibiotics, etc., constitute a major concern because they are not removed completely from the sewage treatment systems, and they are resistant to biodegradation. Antibiotics such as tetracycline (TeC), for example, are largely excreted in the urine and/or feces increasingly being detected in a wide variety of environmental matrices and causing numerous effects such as allergies and increasing resistance to bacteria. Thus, this study aimed in degradation TeC amid in artificial urine medium by electrochemical method using a dimensionally stable anode (DSA), which has been selected from a highly concentrated chloride in the medium. The studies were resulted from current density and initial pH by assessing the remaining concentration of TeC, creatinine, urea and TOC and comparing the results with those obtained in an aqueous medium containing NaCl 0,1 mol L-1. It was observed that, TeC undergoes electrochemical degradation due to the electrogeneration of oxidizing species of active chlorine from the chloride present in the medium. The decaing of TeC concentration was adjusted to a pseudo-first order kinetic model and increased as current density was increased. It was also observed that the electrochemical treatment may be performed on pH close to the neutral, wherein the anionic form TEC species and HOCl favor degradation, even in the presence of EDTA. The presence of creatinine and urea interfere in the electrochemical process, causing the degradation of TeC to present lowers reaction rates and highers energy consumption in the process than in aqueous medium containing NaCl.

Este trabalho apresenta a preparação e caracterização de eletrodos de óxidos do tipo ânodos dimensionalmente estáveis (ADE) de composição nominal Ti/Ru0,3Ti0,7O2, modificados pela adição de metais em sua superfície. A introdução de um metal modulador permitiu alterar de forma significativa o comportamento eletroquímico de todo o recobrimento. A modificação do ADE foi realizada através de eletrodeposição de Pt e PbO2 e de deposição química de catalisadores nanodivididos (Pt e Pt-Ni). O objetivo desta preparação foi modular as propriedades dos ânodos visando melhorar as propriedades eletrocatalíticas e a resistência mecânica e com isto, introduzir uma nova classe de materiais para aplicá-los na eletrooxidação de formaldeído, acetaldeído e ácido oxálico. Para caracterizar os eletrodos foram utilizadas as técnicas de microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV), espectroscopia de energia dispersiva de raios X (EDX), voltametria cíclica (VC), eletrólises com acompanhamento por cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência (CLAE), espectrometria de massas eletroquímica diferencial (DEMS). Os experimentos com DEMS foram realizados na Universidade de Poitiers, França. As micrografias e as análises de EDX mostraram que o rutênio concentra-se em pequenas ?ilhas? na camada de óxidos e a modificação com platina, eletrodepositada ou depositada quimicamente, ocorre preferencialmente nas regiões ricas em rutênio. O eletrodepósito de PbO2 apresentou uma distribuição mais uniforme sobre toda a camada de óxido. As eletrólises foram realizadas aplicando um programa de pulsos de potenciais. Os resultados mostraram que a eficiência para formação do produto mais oxidado (CO2) está intimamente ligada à quantidade e distribuição da platina adicionada na superfície do ADE. Os eletrodos mais eficientes foram os de composições nominais: Ti/ADE modificado com eletrodeposição de Pt (100 ?g cm-2) e Ti/ADE modificado com deposição química do catalisador nanodividido de Pt-Ni (1:1) (60 ?g cm-2). Estes resultados foram confirmados pelos experimentos utilizando DEMS. O eletrodo Ti/ADE modificado com eletrodeposição de PbO2 (100 ?g cm-2) apresentou uma melhora na eficiência eletrocatalítica em relação ao ADE, porém inferior aos eletrodos modificados com platina. O desempenho do ADE na oxidação das pequenas moléculas orgânicas foi estudado em comparação com um eletrodo de platina eletrodepositada diretamente na placa de titânio. Os resultados de eletrólise mostraram que o ADE não funciona somente como um substrato inerte e sim auxilia na reação de oxidação, desempenhando um importante papel na eficiência catalítica total destes materiais. / This work presents the preparation and characterization of dimensionally stable anodes (DSA) of nominal composition Ti/Ru0.3Ti0.7O2, modified by the addition of metals to their surface. The introduction of the modulator metal allowed us to change the coating of the electrochemical behavior in a significant way. The DSAâ surface was modified by electrodeposition of Pt and PbO2, and chemical deposition of highly nanodispersive supported catalysts (Pt and Pt-Ni). The objective of this preparation was to modulate the anode properties in order to enhance the electrocatalytic properties and mechanical resistance of these materials. This new class of materials was applied in the electrooxidadtion of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and oxalic acid. The electrode characterization was carried out by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), cyclic voltammetry (CV), long-term electrolysis followed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS) which was performed at the University of Poitiers, France. The micrographs and EDS analyses showed that the ruthenium is concentrated in small ?islands? in the oxide layer, and the modification with platinum, either electrodeposited or chemically deposited, occurs preferable over the ruthenium-rich regions. The PbO2 electrodeposit was more uniformly distributed along the oxide layer. Bulk electrolysis experiments were carried out applying a potentiostatic program. The efficiency toward the formation of the more oxidized compound (CO2) is related with the amount and distribution of the platinum deposited on the DSAâ surface. The most efficient materials were: Ti/ADE modified with electrodeposited Pt (100 ?g cm-2) and Ti/ADE modified with chemically deposited Pt-Ni (1:1) (60 ?g cm-2). Through the DEMS experiments these results were confirmed. The DSAâ modified with PbO2 (100 ?g cm-2) was more efficient than the bare DSAâ. However, the amount of CO2 obtained with the former electrode is still lower than that obtained with the platinum-modified ones. The role of DSAâ on the direct activation of the oxidation of small organic molecules was studied applying an electrode containing the platinum directly electrodeposited over the titanium. The bulk electrolysis results showed that DSAâ is not just an inert substrate since it does play an important role in the overall efficiency of these materials.

<p>In the chlorate process, natural convection arises thanks to the hydrogen evolving cathode. This increases the mass transport of the different species in the chlorate electrolyte. There is a strong connection between mass transport and the kinetics of the electrode reactions. A better knowledge about these phenomena and their interactions is desirable in order to understand e.g. the reasons for deactivation of anode coatings and what process conditions give the longest lifetime and the highest efficiency.</p><p>One of the aims of his work was to understand how the chlorate process has to be run to avoid exceeding the critical anode potential (<em>E</em>_cr) in order to keep the potential losses low and to achieve a long lifetime of the DSAs. At <em>E</em>_cr anodic polarisation curves in chlorate electrolyte bend to higher Tafel slopes, causing increasing potential losses and accelerated ageing of the anode. Therefore the impact on the anode potential and on <em>E</em>_cr of different electrolyte parameters and electrolyte impurities was investigated. Additionally, the work aimed to investigate the impact of an addition of chromate on oxygen evolution and concentration profiles under conditions reminiscent of those in the chlorate process (high ionic strength, 70 °C, ruthenium based DSA, neutral pH), but without chloride in order to avoid hypochlorite formation. For this purpose a model, taking into account mass transport as well as potential- and concentration-dependent electrode reactions and homogeneous reactions was developed. Water oxidation is one of the side reactions considered to decrease the current efficiency in chlorate production. The results from the study increase the understanding of how a buffer/weak base affects a pH dependent electrode reaction in a pH neutral electrolyte in general. This could also throw light on the link between electrode reactions and homogeneous reactions in the chlorate process.</p><p>It was found that the mechanism for chloride oxidation is likely to be the same for potentials below <em>E</em>_cr as well as for potentials above <em>E</em>_cr. This was based on the fact that the apparent reaction order as well as α_a seem to be of the same values even if the anode potential exceeds<em> E</em>_cr. The reason for the higher slope of the polarisation curve above <em>E</em>_cr could then be a potential dependent deactivation of the active sites. Deactivation of active ruthenium sites could occur if ruthenium in a higher oxidation state were inactive for chloride oxidation.</p><p>Concentration gradients of H⁺, OH^-, CrO₄ ^2- and HCrO₄ ^-during oxygen evolution on a rotating disk electrode (RDE) were predicted by simulations. The pH dependent currents at varying potentials calculated by the model were verified in experiments. It was found that an important part of the chromate buffering effect at high current densities occurs in a thin (in the order of nanometers) reaction layer at the anode. From comparisons between the model and experiments a reaction for the chromate buffering has been proposed. Under conditions with bulk pH and chromate concentration similar to those in the chlorate process, the simulations show that the current density for oxygen evolution from OH^- would be approximately 0.1 kA m^-2, which corresponds to about 3% of the total current in chlorate production.</p>