Ba0.8Sr0.2TiO3–CoFe2O4 (BST–CFO) multilayered composite films were prepared on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates via a sol–gel method and spin-coating technique. Microstructures, electric property, magnetic property and magnetoelectric (ME) property of the composites were studied. Results show that the composite films calcined at 750 °C have BST and CFO phases and no obvious impurity phases were detected. Further, the composite films exhibit layered structures and a transition layer which is composed of interfacial delamination exists at the interface between BST and CFO layers. Ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties were simultaneously observed in the films, evidencing the coexistence of the ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties. Furthermore, the saturation magnetization value of the composite film is lower than that of the pure CFO film derived by the same processing as a result of the effect of the nonferromagnetic BST layers. Also, ferroelectric hysteresis loops reveal that the saturated polarization and remanent polarization of the composite film are lower than those of the pure BST films. In addition, the composite film exhibits a strong ME effect, which makes the composite film attractive for technological applications as devices.

ZnO:Al thin films deposited on transparent TPT substrates by magnetron sputtering were etched in acetic acid solution. The effects of etching solution concentration and etching time on the structure and properties of ZnO:Al films were investigated. The obtained films had a hexagonal structure and a highly preferred orientation with the c-axis perpendicular to the substrate. The ZAO film etched in 1% acetic acid solution for 10 s had a pyramidal structure and an enhanced light scattering ability, the average transmittance and reflectance in the visible region were 72% and 26% respectively, the sheet resistance was 260 Ω/□. Both transmittance and reflectance of the films decreased as the etching solution concentration and etching time increasing. Etching had a negative effect on the conductive properties of ZAO films. The lowest sheet resistance was 120 Ω/□ for the ZAO film without etching.

Aluminum doped ZnO thin films (ZnO:Al) deposited on flexible substrates are suitable to be used as transparent conductive oxide (TCO) thin films in solar cells because of the excellent optical and electrical properties. TPT films are a kind of composite materials and are usually used as encapsulation material of solar panels. In this paper, ZnO:Al film was firstly deposited on transparent TPT substrate by RF magnetron sputtering. The structural, optical, and electrical properties of the film were investigated by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), UV–visible spectrophotometer, as well as Hall Effect Measurement System. Results revealed that the obtained film had a hexagonal structure and a highly preferred orientation with the c-axis perpendicular to the substrate. Also, the film showed a high optical transmittance over 80% in the visible region and a resistivity of about 3.03 × 10− 1 Ω·cm.

The specific membrane capacitance and conductance of mammalian cells reflect the surface morphological complexities and barrier functions of cell membrane, respectively, and could potentially respond to cell physiological and pathological changes in a measurable manner. In this study, an electrokinetic system was developed by using negative dielectrophoretic force (nDEP force) assisted positioning and electroroation (ROT) measurement. Numerical simulations regarding the geometric model of the electrode were performed primarily for the electric field analysis. The dielectric responses of membrane for apoptotic HL-60 cells induced by bufalin were detected. The membrane capacitance of the cells was found to fall from an initial value of 15.6 ± 0.9 mF/cm2 to 6.4 ± 0.6 mF/cm2 after a 48 h treatment with 10 nM bufalin. However, the membrane conductance remained almost constant at (2.25 ± 1.1) × 103 S/m2 during the first 12 h of bufalin treatment and then increased distinctly to (4.2 ± 1.3) × 103 S/m2 thereafter. Scan electron microscopy (SEM) studies of the cells revealed a decreased complexity in cell membrane morphology following bufalin treatments, suggesting that the observed changes in the membrane capacitance was dominated by the alterations of cell surface structures. The results demonstrate that the ROT technique gives a quantitative analysis of the toxic damage by chemicals to cells and can be exploited in the testing and development of new pharmaceuticals and active cell agents.