Radar scattering behavior of estuarine outflow plumes

We present results of dual-polarized radar scattering measurements of the Chesapeake Bay outflow plume. Near-unity polarization ratios (ratios of horizontally polarized radar echoes over vertically polarized ones) are observed in large incidence angle (60/spl deg/ to 80/spl deg/) radar echoes from the outflow plume and its frontal boundary (normally referred to as a front) under strong surface current convergence (0.008-0.02 S/sup -1/), suggesting the existence of steepened and breaking waves in the regions. Cumulative distribution functions of the horizontally polarized radar returns from the front show approximately 90% of the radar echoes are from steepened and breaking waves. Vertically polarized echoes do not show this effect. These experimental results substantiate early modeling investigators' speculation of featured scattering contributing to horizontally polarized radar signatures of oceanic fronts. Our results also suggest that horizontal radar polarization can be used to remotely sense additional hydrodynamic processes such as wave trapping, blocking, and breaking near oceanic fronts better than what is possible with only vertical polarization.     

Analysis of surface roughness and morphology of first-year sea ice melt ponds: implications for microwave scattering

Variations in wind forcing over summer first-year sea ice (FYI) melt ponds occur at hourly to weekly scales and are a significant contributor to microwave backscatter (/spl sigma//spl deg/) variability observed from spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) platforms (e.g., ENVISAT-ASAR and RADARSAT-1). This variability impairs our ability to use SAR to derive information on summer sea ice thermodynamic state and energy balance parameters such as albedo and melt pond fraction. The surface roughness contribution of FYI melt ponds in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago to like-polarized, C-band /spl sigma//spl deg/ estimates is analyzed through a spectral and statistical analysis of surface wave height profiles for varying wind speeds, upwind fetch lengths, and melt pond depths. A unique derivation of melt pond surface wave height spectra is presented based on digital video of melt pond surface wave trains. Significant scale surface roughness was observed even at wind speeds of 3 m/spl middot/s/sup -1/, resulting in small perturbation model estimates of /spl sigma//spl deg/ (HH) ranging from -5 dB at 20/spl deg/ incidence to -22 dB at 50/spl deg/ incidence. Results from a multivariate linear regression analysis show that 53.5% of observed variance in /spl sigma//spl deg/ (HH or VV) can be explained by wind speed, upwind fetch from melt pond edges, and melt pond depth, with no appreciable difference in the relative contribution of explanatory variables. Modeled omnidirectional /spl sigma//spl deg/ as a function of wind speed and incidence angle for 100-m transects collected throughout the melt pond season act to elaborate the role of fetch and depth, as well as the modulating effect of hummocks, on /spl sigma//spl deg/.     

A simplistic incidence angle approach to retrieve the soil moisture and surface roughness at X-band

Nowadays, it is an important point of research to classify the moisture and roughness using microwave data with less complex models. For this purpose, microwave measurements were conducted for observing roughness and soil moisture at X-band (9.5 GHz). These measurements were carried out over a range of incidence angle from 20/spl deg/ to 70/spl deg/ at the step of 5/spl deg/ for both polarizations (i.e., horizontal (H) and vertical (V) polarizations). Surface roughness (i.e., root mean square height) and moisture were varied in controlled conditions. Microwave emissivity has been derived with the measurements of reflectivity from a microwave system. Results show a good angular variation of emissivity with surface roughness and moisture for both polarizations. An algorithm is developed using incidence angle as a modulating factor for retrieving the soil moisture and surface roughness at X-band. A good agreement between observed and retrieved surface roughness (i.e., standard error; SE-0.066 for H-polarization) and soil moisture (SE-0.045 for H-polarization) has been obtained by the proposed model.     

Validity of the Kirchhoff approximation for electromagnetic wave scattering from fractal surfaces

Valid application of the Kirchhoff approximation (KA) for scattering from rough surfaces requires that the surface radius of curvature exceed approximately the electromagnetic wavelength /spl lambda/. Fractal surface models have characteristic features on arbitrarily small scales, thereby posing problems in application of the electromagnetic boundary conditions in general as well as in the evaluation of surface radius of curvature pertinent to KA. Experiments and numerical simulations show variations in scattering behavior that are consistent with scattering from progressively smoother surfaces with increasing wavelength, demonstrating surface smoothing effects in the wave-surface interaction. We hypothesize control of KA scattering from fractal surfaces by an effective average radius of curvature as a function of the smallest lateral scale /spl Delta/x contributing to scattering at /spl lambda/. Solution of =/spl lambda/ for /spl lambda/ is one possible method for approximating the limit of KA validity, assuming that /spl Delta/x[/spl lambda/] is known. Investigation of the validity of KA for the calculation of scattering from perfectly conducting Weierstrass-Mandelbrot and fractional Brownian process fractal surface models shows that for both models the region of applicability of KA grows with increases in /spl lambda/ and the Hurst exponent H controlling large-scale roughness. Numerical simulations using the method of moments demonstrate the dependence of /spl Delta/x on /spl lambda/ and the surface parameters.     

On the control of edge diffraction in numerical rough surface scattering using resistive tapering

The use of resistive loading to remove edge effects in electromagnetic scattering from rough surfaces with finite conductivity has been considered. An electric field integral equation formulation using impedance boundary conditions was implemented to model the conductivity of sea water at X band. The resistive loading was added over surface sections within three wavelengths of the modeled edges. A resistive taper synthesized to control the sidelobe level in scattering from flat, perfectly conducting plates proved better able to reduce edge diffraction than a power-law taper of a type that is often used. The calculated scattering from test profiles that model breaking water waves using the resistive loading show good agreement with those found using a reference scattering approach provided that the local grazing angle on the loaded surface section is greater than 20/spl deg/.     

Visual and quantitative evaluation of selected image combination schemes in ultrasound spatial compound scanning

Multi-angle spatial compound images are normally generated by averaging the recorded single-angle images (SAIs). To exploit possible advantages associated with alternative combination schemes, this paper investigates both the effect of number of angles (N/sub /spl theta//) as well as operator (mean, median, mean-excluding-maximum (mem), root-mean-square (rms), geometric mean and maximum) on image quality (tissue delineation and artifacts), speckle signal-to-noise ratio (SNR/sub s/) and contrast. The evaluation is based on in vitro SAI (/spl plusmn/21/spl deg/ in steps of /spl Delta//spl theta/=7/spl deg/) of formalin fixed porcine tissue containing adipose, connective and muscular tissue. Image quality increased with number of angles up to /spl plusmn/14/spl deg/ after which the improvements became debatable. The mem and median operators, which try to render the images more quantitatively correct by suppressing strong echoes from specular reflectors, provide some improvement in this regard. When combining the SAI with the mean operator, the SNR/sub s/ increases-in general-with N/sub /spl theta//. For N/sub /spl theta//=2, the SNR/sub s/ increases with /spl Delta//spl theta/ as expected. When N/sub /spl theta//=7, the highest SNR/sub s/ is obtained for the mem, rms, and geometric mean operators, while the lowest SNR/sub s/ is obtained for the maximum operator. When comparing SNR/sub s/ for adipose and fibrous tissue, the level is close to 1.91 for adipose tissue but only 1.7 for fibrous tissue which contain relatively few organized scattering structures.     

Roughness-enhanced electroluminescence from metal oxide silicon tunneling diodes

An approximate two-order increase in magnitude in electroluminescence was observed for the metal-oxide-silicon tunneling diodes with oxide grown at 900/spl deg/C, as compared to 1000/spl deg/C. The X-ray reflectivity revealed that the oxide grown at 900/spl deg/C has rougher interface than that grown at 1000/spl deg/C. The role of interface roughness can be understood in a model composed of phonons and interface roughness. An external quantum efficiency of /spl sim/10/sup -6/ was obtained using Al electrodes.     

Microwave backscatter modeling of erg surfaces in the Sahara desert

The Sahara desert includes large expanses of sand dunes called ergs. These dunes are formed and constantly reshaped by prevailing winds. Previous study shows that Saharan ergs exhibit significant radar backscatter (/spl sigma//spl deg/) modulation with azimuth angle (f). We use /spl sigma//spl deg/ measurements observed at various incidence angles and f from the NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT), the SeaWinds scatterometer, the ERS scatterometer (ESCAT), and the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission's Precipitation Radar to model the /spl sigma//spl deg/ response from sand dunes. Observations reveal a characteristic relationship between the backscatter modulation and the dune type, i.e., the number and orientation of the dune slopes. Sand dunes are modeled as a composite of tilted rough facets, which are characterized by a probability distribution of tilt with a mean value, and small ripples on the facet surface. The small ripples are modeled as cosinusoidal surface waves that contribute to the return signal at Bragg angles only. Longitudinal and transverse dunes are modeled with rough facets having Gaussian tilt distributions. The model results in a /spl sigma//spl deg/ response similar to NSCAT and ESCAT observations over areas of known dune types in the Sahara. The response is high at look angles equal to the mean tilts of the rough facets and is lower elsewhere. This analysis provides a unique insight into scattering by large-scale sand bedforms.     

A parameterized surface reflectivity model and estimation of bare-surface soil moisture with L-band radiometer

Soil moisture is an important parameter for hydrological and climatic investigations. Future satellite missions with L-band passive microwave radiometers will significantly increase the capability of monitoring Earth's soil moisture globally. Understanding the effects of surface roughness on microwave emission and developing quantitative bare-surface soil moisture retrieval algorithms is one of the essential components in many applications of geophysical properties in the complex Earth terrain by microwave remote sensing. We explore the use of the integral equation model (IEM) for modeling microwave emission. This model was validated using a three-dimensional Monte Carlo model. The results indicate that the IEM model can be used to simulate the surface emission quite well for a wide range of surface roughness conditions with high confidence. Several important characteristics of the effects of surface roughness on radiometer emission signals at L-band 1.4 GHz that have not been adequately addressed in the current semiempirical surface effective reflectivity models are demonstrated by using IEM-simulated data. Using an IEM-simulated database for a wide range of surface soil moisture and roughness properties, we developed a parameterized surface effective reflectivity model with three typically used correlation functions and an inversion model that puts different weights on the polarization measurements to minimize surface roughness effects and to estimate the surface dielectric properties directly from dual-polarization measurements. The inversion technique was validated with four years (1979-1982) of ground microwave radiometer experiment data over several bare-surface test sites at Beltsville, Maryland. The accuracies in random-mean-square error are within or about 3% for incidence angles from 20/spl deg/ to 50/spl deg/.     

Analysis of the equal-delay topology for transformers and hybrid networks

A complete scattering matrix representation for the ideal equal-delay topology for transformers and hybrid networks is presented. It is shown that while the operation of the hybrid as a 180/spl deg/ power combiner, current balun, or voltage balun is essentially frequency independent, the operation as a 0/spl deg/ power combiner or splitter is not. Instead, the isolation between the 0/spl deg/ and 180/spl deg/ ports is finite and frequency dependent. Moreover, the reflection coefficient at the sum port is nonzero and frequency dependent. These characteristics lead to the conclusion that while the equal-delay 180/spl deg/ power splitter/combiner is fundamentally frequency independent, its 0/spl deg/ counterpart is limited to operation well below the fundamental quarter-wave frequency of the constituent transmission lines. Full three-port scattering parameter representations, which are compatible with the calibration and analysis approach given in the CISPR 16-1 specification, are given for the three fundamental transformer and balun types derivable from the equal-delay hybrid: 1 the Guanella voltage balun, 2 the Guanella current balun, and 3 the 180/spl deg/ power divider or terminated hybrid balun, as specified in the CISPR 16-1 specification.     

Using a priori information to improve soil moisture retrieval from ENVISAT ASAR AP data in semiarid regions

This paper presents a retrieval algorithm that estimates spatial and temporal distribution of volumetric soil moisture content, at an approximate depth of 5 cm, using multitemporal ENVISAT Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) alternating polarization images, acquired at low incidence angles (i.e., from 15/spl deg/ to 31/spl deg/). The algorithm appropriately assimilates a priori information on soil moisture content and surface roughness in order to constrain the inversion of theoretical direct models, such as the integral equation method model and the geometric optics model. The a priori information on soil moisture content is obtained through simple lumped water balance models, whereas that on soil roughness is derived by means of an empirical approach. To update prior estimates of surface parameters, when no reliable a priori information is available, a technique based solely on the use of multitemporal SAR information is proposed. The developed retrieval algorithm is assessed on the Matera site (Italy) where multitemporal ground and ASAR data were simultaneously acquired in 2003. Simulated and experimental results indicate the possibility of attaining an accuracy of approximately 5% in the retrieved volumetric soil moisture content, provided that sufficiently accurate a priori information on surface parameters (i.e., within 20% of their whole variability range) is available. As an example, multitemporal soil moisture maps at watershed scale, characterized by a spatial resolution of approximately 150 m, are derived and illustrated in the paper.     

Propagation modeling of MIMO multipolarized fixed wireless channels

This paper addresses the extension of a stochastic geometry-based scattering model to multipolarized transmissions. The initial approach is based on a geometrical distribution of obstacles derived from known power-delay profiles. Each scattering process is statistically described by a matrix reflection coefficient corresponding to dual-polarization states. Ultimately, the model allows us to simulate the effects of the range on K-factor, delay-spread, Doppler spectrum, channel correlations and capacity, branch power ratio, and cross-polar discrimination. Simulation results are compared with existing measurements at 2.5 GHz. The proposed model is then used to investigate various dual-polarization 2 /spl times/ 2 multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) schemes such as 0/spl deg//90/spl deg/ or /spl plusmn/45/spl deg/, as well as to optimize the design of multipolarized MIMO schemes.     

Fabrication of niobium titanium nitride thin films with high superconducting transition temperatures and short penetration lengths

We report a systematic study of the superconducting and normal state properties of reactively sputtered Nb/sub 0.62/Ti/sub 0.38/N thin films deposited on thermally oxidized Si wafers. The superconducting transition temperature (T/sub c/) was found to increase from 12 K for films prepared on unheated substrates to over 16 K for films prepared on substrates maintained at 450/spl deg/C. A Nb buffer layer was found to improve T/sub c/ by /spl sim/0.5 K for growths at lower substrate temperatures. The films fabricated at 450/spl deg/C have an amply smooth surface (1.5/spl plusmn/0.25 nm root mean square roughness), a sufficiently high T/sub c/, and sufficiently small penetration depth (200/spl plusmn/20 nm at 10 K) to be useful as ground planes and electrodes for current-generation 10 K rapid single-flux quantum circuit technology.     

Large-scale inverse Ku-band backscatter modeling of sea ice

Polar sea ice characteristics provide important inputs to models of several geophysical processes. Microwave scatterometers are ideal for monitoring these regions due to their sensitivity to ice properties and insensitivity to atmospheric distortions. Many forward electromagnetic scattering models have been proposed to predict the normalized radar cross section (/spl sigma//spl deg/) from sea ice characteristics. These models are based on very small scale ice features and generally assume that the region of interest is spatially homogeneous. Unfortunately, spaceborne scatterometer footprints are very large (5-50 km) and usually contain very heterogeneous mixtures of sea ice surface parameters. In this paper, we use scatterometer data in a large-scale inverse modeling experiment. Given the limited data resolution, we adopt a simple geometric optics forward-scattering model to analyze surface and volume scattering contributions to observed Ku-band signatures. A model inversion technique based on recursive optimization of an objective function is developed. The result is a least squares estimate of three surface parameters: the power reflection coefficient at nadir, the rms surface slope, and the volume scattering albedo. Simulations demonstrate the performance of the method in the presence of noise. The inverse model is implemented using Ku-band image reconstructed data collected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration scatterometer. The results are used to analyze and interpret /spl sigma//spl deg/ phenomena occurring in the Antarctic and the Arctic.     

Ku-band backscatter from the Cowlitz River: Bragg scattering with and without rain

Ku-band backscatter from the Cowlitz River in southwestern Washington State was measured for incidence angles from 0/spl deg/ to 80/spl deg/. The measurements were made for light-wind conditions with and without rain. In rain-free conditions, Bragg scattering was the dominant scattering mechanism for both horizontal (HH) and vertical (VV) polarizations out to 75/spl deg/, beyond which the SNR dropped very low at HH. When a light rain was falling on the river, the cross section increased substantially at moderate incidence angles. Doppler spectra taken during rain showed that VV polarized backscatter is primarily from Bragg scattering from ring waves, while HH polarization scatters from both ring waves and stationary splash products, depending on the incidence angle. From the VV polarized measurements, surface wave height spectrum for ring waves is inferred for light rains. Finally, a change in spectral properties was observed when rain changed to hail.     

Converting baluns into broad-band impedance-transforming 180/spl deg/ hybrids

A technique for converting baluns into 180/spl deg/ hybrids by adding an in-phase power splitter is presented in this paper. Incorporating the broad-band antiphase and in-phase power splitting characteristics of the balun and power splitter results in a 180/spl deg/ hybrid with broad-band characteristics. This technique also provides a means of achieving perfect matching and output isolation for three-port lossless baluns. Applying this technique to a Marchand balun will result in a broad-band impedance-transforming 180/spl deg/ hybrid. Simple design equations based on the scattering matrix are presented. These theoretical results are validated by an experimental 180/spl deg/ hybrid using a coupled line Marchand balun. It achieves amplitude balance of 0.5 dB and phase balance of less than 5/spl deg/ from 1.2 to 3.2 GHz.     

Semi-empirical model of the ensemble-averaged differential Mueller matrix for microwave backscattering from bare soil surfaces

A semi-empirical model of the ensemble-averaged differential Mueller matrix for microwave backscattering from bare soil surfaces is presented. Based on existing scattering models and data sets measured by polarimetric scatterometers and the JPL AirSAR, the parameters of the co-polarized phase-difference probability density function, namely the degree of correlation /spl alpha/ and the co-polarized phase-difference /spl sigmav/, in addition to the backscattering coefficients /spl sigma//sub /spl nu//spl nu///sup 0/,/spl sigma//sub hh//sup 0/ and /spl sigma//sub /spl nu/h//sup 0/, are modeled empirically in terms of the volumetric soil moisture content m/sub /spl nu// and the surface roughness parameters ks and kl, where k=2/spl pi/f/c, s is the rms height and l is the correlation length. Consequently, the ensemble-averaged differential Mueller matrix (or the differential Stokes scattering operator) is specified completely by /spl sigma//sub /spl nu//spl nu///sup 0/,/spl sigma//sub hh//sup 0/,/spl sigma//sub /spl nu/h//sup 0/,/spl alpha/, and /spl zeta/.     

Incidence angle dependence of the statistical properties of C-band HH-polarization backscattering signatures of the Baltic Sea ice

Incidence angle dependence of three statistical parameters-the mean of the backscattering coefficient (/spl sigma//spl deg/), standard deviation, and autocorrelation coefficient of texture (/spl sigma//sub T/ and /spl rho//sub T/)-of the C-band horizontal-horizontal (HH) polarization backscattering signatures of the Baltic Sea ice are investigated using RADARSAT ScanSAR Narrow images and helicopter-borne Helsinki University of Technology Scatterometer (HUTSCAT) data. The analysis of the large amount of data shows that the relationship between the mean /spl sigma//spl deg/ in decibel scale and the incidence angle in the range from 19/spl deg/ to 46/spl deg/ is usually well described by a linear model. In general, the RADARSAT and HUTSCAT results agree with each other, and they are also supported by theoretical backscattering model calculations; the more deformed the ice, the smaller the slope between /spl sigma//spl deg/ and the incidence angle, and the higher the moisture content of snow or ice, the larger the slope. The derived /spl sigma//spl deg/ incidence angle dependencies can be used to roughly compensate the /spl sigma//spl deg/ incidence angle variation in the SAR images to help their visual and automated classification. The variability of /spl sigma//sub T/ and /spl rho//sub T/ with the increasing incidence angle is insignificant compared to the variability within each ice type. Their average changes with the incidence angle are so small that, in practice, their trends do not need to be compensated. The results of this study can be utilized when developing classification algorithms for the RADARSAT ScanSAR and ENVISAT HH-polarization Wide Swath images of the Baltic Sea ice.     

Investigations regarding the maskless pendeo-epitaxial growth of GaN films prior to coalescence

Pendeo-epitaxy employs lateral growth from etched seed forms to achieve a marked reduction in dislocation density in a material. In this research, high-resolution X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy of GaN stripes and the laterally grown wings confirmed transmission electron microscopy results regarding the reduction in dislocations in the latter regions. Micro-Raman and X-ray diffraction measurements showed the wings to be tilted /spl les/0.15/spl deg/ due to tensile stresses in the stripes induced primarily by the mismatch in the coefficients of thermal expansion between the GaN stripe and the SiC substrate. A strong, low-temperature D/spl deg/X peak at /spl ap/3.466 eV with a FWHM of /spl les/300 /spl mu/eV was measured in the wing material by micro-photoluminescence. Films grown at 1020/spl deg/C exhibited similar vertical [0001] and lateral [112~0] growth rates. Increasing the growth temperature increased the latter due to the higher thermal stability of the (112~0) GaN and initiated growth of spiral hillocks on the (0001) surface of the stripes. The latter were due to adatom diffusion to heterogeneous steps previously nucleated at the intersections of pure screw or mixed dislocations. The (112~0) surface was atomically smooth under all growth conditions with a root mean square roughness value of 0.17 nm.     

Nanoscale Thermal Transport and Microrefrigerators on a Chip

In this paper we review recent advances in nanoscale thermal and thermoelectric transport with an emphasis on the impact on integrated circuit (IC) thermal management. We will first review thermal conductivity of low-dimensional solids. Experimental results have shown that phonon surface and interface scattering can lower thermal conductivity of silicon thin films and nanowires in the sub-100-nm range by a factor of two to five. Carbon nanotubes are promising candidates as thermal vias and thermal interface materials due to their inherently high thermal conductivities of thousands of W/mK and high mechanical strength. We then concentrate on the fundamental interaction between heat and electricity, i.e., thermoelectric effects, and how nanostructures are used to modify this interaction. We will review recent experimental and theoretical results on superlattice and quantum dot thermoelectrics as well as solid-state thermionic thin-film devices with embedded metallic nanoparticles. Heat and current spreading in the three-dimensional electrode configuration, allow removal of high-power hot spots in IC chips. Several III-V and silicon heterostructure integrated thermionic (HIT) microcoolers have been fabricated and characterized. They have achieved cooling up to 7 /spl deg/C at 100 /spl deg/C ambient temperature with devices on the order of 50 /spl mu/m in diameter. The cooling power density was also characterized using integrated thin-film heaters; values ranging from 100 to 680 W/cm/sup 2/ were measured. Response time on the order of 20-40 ms has been demonstrated. Calculations show that with an improvement in material properties, hot spots tens of micrometers in diameter with heat fluxes in excess of 1000 W/cm/sup 2/ could be cooled down by 20 /spl deg/C-30 /spl deg/C. Finally we will review some of the more exotic techniques such as thermotunneling and analyze their potential application to chip cooling.