High-performance single-mode VCSELs in the 1310-nm waveband

High-performance vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) emitting in the 1310-nm waveband are fabricated by bonding AlGaAs-GaAs distributed Bragg reflectors on both sides of a InP-based cavity. A 2-in wafer bonding process is optimized to produce very good on-wafer device parameter uniformity. Carrier injection is implemented via double intracavity contact layers and a tunnel junction. A 1.2-mW single-mode output power is obtained in the temperature range of 20/spl deg/C-80/spl deg/C. Modulation capability at 3.2 Gb/s is demonstrated up to 70/spl deg/C. Overall VCSEL performance complies with the requirements of the 10 GBASE-LX4 IEEE.802.3ae standard, which opens the way for novel applications of VCSELs emitting in the 1310-nm band.     

Design and implementation of a block‐backstepping based tracking control for nonholonomic wheeled mobile robot

This paper presents formulation of a novel block‐backstepping based control algorithm to overcome the challenges posed by the tracking and the stabilization problem for a differential drive wheeled mobile robot (WMR). At first, a two‐dimensional output vector for the WMR has been defined in such a manner that it would decouple the two control inputs and, thereby, allow the designer to formulate the control laws for the two inputs one at a time. Actually, the decoupling has been carried out in a way to convert the system into block‐strict feedback form. Thereafter, block‐backstepping control algorithm has been utilized to derive the expressions of the control inputs for the WMR system. The proposed block‐backstepping technique has further been enriched by incorporating an integral action for enhancing the steady state performance of the overall system. Global asymptotic stability of the overall system has been analyzed using Lyapunov stability criteria. Finally, the proposed control algorithm has been implemented on a laboratory scale differential drive WMR to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control law in real‐time environment. Indeed, the proposed design approach is novel in the sense that it has judiciously exploited the nonholonomic constraint of the WMR to result in a reduced order block‐backstepping controller for the WMR, and thereby, it has eventually yielded a compact expression of the control law that is amenable to real‐time implementation. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Walrasian Equilibrium: Hardness,Approximations and Tractable Instances

We study the complexity issues for Walrasian equilibrium in a special case of combinatorial auction, called single-minded auction, in which every participant is interested in only one subset of commodities. Chen et al. (J. Comput. Syst. Sci. 69(4): 675–687, 2004) showed that it is NP-hard to decide the existence of a Walrasian equilibrium for a single-minded auction and proposed a notion of approximate Walrasian equilibrium called relaxed Walrasian equilibrium. We show that every single-minded auction has a relaxed Walrasian equilibrium that satisfies at least two-thirds of the participants, proving a conjecture posed in Chen et al. (J. Comput. Syst. Sci. 69(4): 675–687, 2004). Motivated by practical considerations, we introduce another concept of approximate Walrasian equilibrium called weak Walrasian equilibrium. We show NP-completeness and hardness of approximation results for weak Walrasian equilibria. In search of positive results, we restrict our attention to the tollbooth problem (Guruswami et al. in Proceedings of the Symposium on Discrete Algorithms (SODA), pp. 1164–1173, 2005), where every participant is interested in a single path in some underlying graph. We give a polynomial time algorithm to determine the existence of a Walrasian equilibrium and compute one (if it exists), when the graph is a tree. However, the problem is still NP-hard for general graphs.     

Flexible coloring

Motivated by reliability considerations in data deduplication for storage systems, we introduce the problem of flexible coloring. Given a hypergraph H and the number of allowable colors k, a flexible coloring of H is an assignment of one or more colors to each vertex such that, for each hyperedge, it is possible to choose a color from each vertex?s color list so that this hyperedge is strongly colored (i.e., each vertex has a different color). Different colors for the same vertex can be chosen for different incident hyperedges (hence the term flexible). The goal is to minimize color consumption, namely, the total number of colors assigned, counting multiplicities. Flexible coloring is NP-hard and trivially approximable, where s is the size of the largest hyperedge, and n is the number of vertices. Using a recent result by Bansal and Khot, we show that if k is constant, then it is UGC-hard to approximate to within a factor of s−ε, for arbitrarily small constant ε>0. Lastly, we present an algorithm with an approximation ratio, where k^′ is number of colors used by a strong coloring algorithm for H.     

Nonlinear state feedback controller design for underactuated mechanical system: A modified block backstepping approach

This paper presents the formulation of a novel block-backstepping based control algorithm to address the stabilization problem for a generalized nonlinear underactuated mechanical system. For the convenience of compact design, first, the state model of the underactuated system has been converted into the block-strict feedback form. Next, we have incorporated backstepping control action to derive the expression of the control input for the generic nonlinear underactuated system. The proposed block backstepping technique has further been enriched by incorporating an integral action additionally for enhancing the steady state performance of the overall system. Asymptotic stability of the overall system has been analyzed using Lyapunov stability criteria. Subsequently, the stability of the zero dynamics has also been analyzed to ensure the global asymptotic stability of the entire nonlinear system at its desired equilibrium point. The proposed control algorithm has been applied for the stabilization of a benchmarked underactuated mechanical system to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control law in real-time environment.     

Properties of p- and n-Type PbTe Microwires for Thermoelectric Devices

In thermopower measurements, microwires fabricated from as-purchased bulk PbTe exhibits p-type behavior between room temperature and ～600 K. At higher temperatures, it undergoes majority carrier inversion and exhibits n-type behavior. We report on the preparation and properties of potassium oxide and Zn-doped PbTe microwires, which exhibit stable p- and n-type behavior, respectively, between room temperature and 725 K. Thermoelectric figures of merit (ZT) are reported for device components prepared from bundles of such p- and n-type microwires in a glass matrix.     

A decision-making approach for energy efficiency improvement in municipal water pumps during water scarcity scenario

Cities in Sub-Saharan Africa suffer from widespread disparities in water supply due to depletion in groundwater and global-warming-induced changes in weather patterns. The offset of water head from the design considerations of water pumping systems has increased energy requirements leading to worsening of the situation with respect to availability of energy and water. Consequently, highly capitalized water supply schemes, which have been designed to meet the demand, are underutilized leading to operational inefficiencies. Robust empirical equations can help detect inefficiencies in water pumping systems, and this paper discusses the equations which were developed by analysing data obtained from various water supply utilities facing water scarcity. These equations provide cost-benefit analysis for decision making in water utilities and can bring about energy efficiency in municipal pumping operations.     

Viscoelastic properties of borax loaded CMC‐g‐cl‐poly(AAm) hydrogel composites and their boron nutrient release behavior

Borax (Na₂B₄O₇, 10.5% Boron) loaded CMC‐g‐cl‐poly(AAm) hydrogel composites were prepared by in situ grafting of acrylamide on to sodium carboxymethyl cellulose in the presence of borax by free radical polymerization technique to develop slow boron (B) delivery device. The composition, morphology, and mechanical properties of synthesized composites were studied by X‐ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, texture analyser, and dynamic shear rheometer. Characterization revealed formation of borate ion ( ) from borax during polymerization reaction leading to extensive crosslinking of cellulosic chains and generation of mechanically strong composite hydrogels. Dynamic release of from the synthesized composites hydrogels followed Fickian diffusion mechanism and composites with high mechanical strength resulted in slow release of B. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43969.