Widely tunable bottom-emitting vertical-cavity SOAs

We present bottom-emitting tunable vertical-cavity semiconductor optical amplifiers (VCSOAs) with an effective wavelength tuning range of >20 nm. These devices utilize a high reflectivity micromechanically tunable Bragg mirror as the back reflector. Compared with our first generation tunable VCSOAs, the bottom-emitting devices exhibit a two-fold increase in the effective tuning range as well as a five-fold reduction in the required tuning voltage.     

Novel T-rail electrodes for substrate removed low-voltage high-speed GaAs/AlGaAs electrooptic modulators

A novel traveling-wave electrode utilizing capacitively loaded T-rail elements was developed for low-voltage high-speed substrate-removed GaAs/AlGaAs electrooptic modulators. Electrodes with varying dimensions were fabricated and characterized. Electrode phase velocity, characteristic impedance, loss coefficient, and capacitive loading were extracted from the measured s-parameters up to 40 GHz. Electrode was also simulated using a finite-element solver. The measured and calculated electrode capacitance values were found to be in excellent agreement, showing that the electrode can be precisely designed. Approaches were outlined to provide a group velocity-matched very high-speed modulator electrode suitable for a low drive-voltage substrate-removed GaAs/AlGaAs electro-optic modulator     

Trellis and convolutional precoding for transmitter-based interference presubtraction

This paper studies the combination of practical trellis and convolution codes with Tomlinson-Harashima precoding (THP) for the presubtraction of multiuser interference that is known at the transmitter but not known at the receiver. It is well known that a straightforward application of THP suffers power, modulo, and shaping losses. This paper proposes generalizations of THP that recover some of these losses. At a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the precoding loss is dominated by the shaping loss, which is about 1.53 dB. To recover shaping loss, a trellis-shaping technique is developed that takes into account the knowledge of a noncausal interfering sequence, rather than just the instantaneous interference. At rates of 2 and 3 bits per transmission, trellis shaping is shown to be able to recover almost all of the 1.53-dB shaping loss. At a low SNR, the precoding loss is dominated by power and modulo losses, which can be as large as 3-4 dB. To recover these losses, a technique that incorporates partial interference presubtraction (PIP) within convolutional decoding is developed. At rates of 0.5 and 0.25 bits per transmission, PIP is able to recover 1-1.5 dB of the power loss. For intermediate SNR channels, a combination of the two schemes is shown to recover both power and shaping losses.     

Viability in chemical engineering systems

Reliability (viability) in chemical engineering plant is considered. It is shown that classical reliability theory does not fully correspond to the reliability of such systems and that the viability of industrial technologies is determined also by the characteristics of the chemical and phase transformations. __________ Translated from Khimicheskoe i Neftegazovoe Mashinostroenie, No. 2, pp. 37–39, February, 2006.     

Contextualizing is not nullifying: Reply to Mills (2005).

In omitting crucial words and sentencees, neglecting relevant citations, and overlooking important distinctions, Jon Mills' (see record 2005-04819-001) critique of relational psychoanalysis significantly misrepresents the authors' viewpoint. This viewpoint seeks to contextualize, but not to nullify, individual worlds of experience and their limiting horizons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Revamping of the process condensate treatment unit. G-43-107M/1 unit at LiNOS Ltd

Increasing attention at oil refineries is being focused on solving environmental problems caused by stiffening of the requirements for emissions of harmful substances into air and water. Advanced technologies that reduce the effect of industrial enterprises on the environment to the minimum are becoming increasingly in demand. Treatment of process wastewaters to remove hydrogen sulfide and ammonia is one such problem of the modern refinery with cat crackers. __________ Translated from Khimiya i Tekhnologiya Topliv i Masel, No. 3, pp. 52–55, May–June, 2006.     

Coats for repair and restoration of stems of oil and gas pipeline valves

Several coats, such as gray cast iron, cast iron alloyed with nickel and copper, nickel-aluminum, Nichrome (nickel-chromium alloy), bronze, etc., have been investigated. Corrosion resistance of coats in a medium based on drilling mud and sodium chloride and sulfate solutions has been checked. Alloyed cast iron admixed with tin-based compounds showed the best results. __________ Translated from Khimicheskoe i Neftegazovoe Mashinostroenie, No. 3, pp. 43–44, March, 2006.     

Modeling and assimilation of root zone soil moisture using remote sensing observations in Walnut Gulch Watershed during SMEX04

Soil moisture status in the root zone is an important component of the water cycle at all spatial scales (e.g., point, field, catchment, watershed, and region). In this study, the spatio-temporal evolution of root zone soil moisture of the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed (WGEW) in Arizona was investigated during the Soil Moisture Experiment 2004 (SMEX04). Root zone soil moisture was estimated via assimilation of aircraft-based remotely sensed surface soil moisture into a distributed Soil-Water-Atmosphere-Plant (SWAP) model. An ensemble square root filter (EnSRF) based on a Kalman filtering scheme was used for assimilating the aircraft-based soil moisture observations at a spatial resolution of 800 m × 800 m. The SWAP model inputs were derived from the SSURGO soil database, LAI (Leaf Area Index) data from SMEX04 database, and data from meteorological stations/rain gauges at the WGEW. Model predictions are presented in terms of temporal evolution of soil moisture probability density function at various depths across the WGEW. The assimilation of the remotely sensed surface soil moisture observations had limited influence on the profile soil moisture. More specifically, root zone soil moisture depended mostly on the soil type. Modeled soil moisture profile estimates were compared to field measurements made periodically during the experiment at the ground based soil moisture stations in the watershed. Comparisons showed that the ground-based soil moisture observations at various depths were within ± 1 standard deviation of the modeled profile soil moisture. Density plots of root zone soil moisture at various depths in the WGEW exhibited multi-modal variations due to the uneven distribution of precipitation and the heterogeneity of soil types and soil layers across the watershed.