A process algebraic approach to the specification and analysis ofresource-bound real-time systems

Recently, significant progress has been made in the development of timed process algebras for the specification and analysis of real-time systems. This paper describes a timed process algebra called ACSR, which supports synchronous timed actions and asynchronous instantaneous events. Timed actions are used to represent the usage of resources and to model the passage of time. Events are used to capture synchronization between processes. To be able to specify real systems accurately, ACSR supports a notion of priority that can be used to arbitrate among timed actions competing for the use of resources and among events that are ready for synchronization. The paper also includes a brief overview of other timed process algebras and discusses similarities and differences between them and ACSR     

A theoretical and numerical analysis of the measured equation ofinvariance

The measured equation of invariance (MEI) has been previously introduced to efficiently and accurately handle the boundary truncation for finite methods. The present authors give a theoretical analysis that provides several important insights into the capabilities of the MEI. From the numerical study, they can explain why the MEI works better than one would expect. Both the theoretical and the numerical analyses demonstrate that the accuracy of the solution is dependent on the electrical size of the geometry as well as the distance between the mesh boundary and the geometry. From the analysis, the authors propose a new set of metrons that is less sensitive to the excitation than the previously proposed sinusoidal metrons     

A partitioning technique for the finite element solution ofelectromagnetic scattering from electrically large dielectric cylinders

A finite element partitioning scheme has been developed to reduce the computational costs of modeling electrically large geometries. In the partitioning scheme, the cylinder is divided into many sections. The finite element method is applied to each section independent of the other sections, and then the solutions in each section are coupled through the use of the tangential field continuity conditions between adjacent sections. Since the coupling matrix is significantly smaller than the original finite element matrix, it is expected that both the CPU time and memory costs can be significantly reduced. The partitioning scheme is coupled to the bymoment method to account for the boundary truncation. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the method     

Ultrahigh and controllable drain current peak-to-valley ratio innegative resistance field-effect transistors with a strained InGaAschannel

Negative resistance field-effect transistor (NERFET) devices using either strained InGaAs or unstrained GaAs channel layers have been fabricated. The strained InGaAs channel NERFET's show strong negative differential resistance and large drain current peak-to-valley ratio. The peak-to-valley ratio of the InGaAs channel NERFET is more than 3000 at room temperature and larger than one million (10⁶) at 77 K. The peak-to-valley ratio is controllable by adjusting the collector voltage     

P-N double quantum well resonant interband tunneling diode withpeak-to-valley current ratio of 144 at room temperature

The current-voltage characteristics of the P-N double quantum well resonant interband tunneling (RIT) diodes in InAlAs-InGaAs system have been improved in this letter. The peak-to-valley current ratio (PVCR) is as high as 144 at room temperature. As we know, this is the highest room temperature PVCR ever reported in any tunneling devices. Moreover, the influence of the central barrier thickness varying from 10 Å to 30 Å on the device characteristics is also studied     

Integration of mobile vehicles for automated material handlingusing Profibus and IEEE 802.11 networks

This paper focuses on a method to integrate mobile devices such as a mobile robot, automated guided vehicle, and unmanned container transporter to form an automated material handling system. In this paper, the stationary devices are connected via a Profibus network while the mobile devices are communicating via an IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN. In order to integrate these two networks, a protocol converter is developed on a PC platform that runs two interacting processes with shared internal buffers. The protocol converter performs a role of translator between two different protocols by converting the format of a data frame. In addition to this basic conversion function, the protocol converter has a virtual polling algorithm to reduce the uncertainty involved in accessing the wireless network. Finally, the integrated network. of Profibus and IEEE 802.11 is experimentally evaluated for its data latency and throughput, which shows the feasibility of the Profibus-IEEE 802.11 network for industrial applications involving mobile devices     

Metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors with InAlGaP capping and buffer layers

To improve the Schottky contact performance and carrier confinement of GaAs metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors (MSM-PDs), we employed the wide bandgap material, In/sub 0.5/(Al/sub 0.66/Ga/sub 0.34/)/sub 0.5/P, for the capping and buffer layers. We directly evaluated the Schottky contact parameters on the MSM-PD structure. The reverse characteristics of the Schottky contacts were examined by taking into account the Schottky barrier height depended on the electric field in the depletion region, and hence on the applied bias. The ideality factor and Schottky barrier height of Ti-Pt-Au contacts to In/sub 0.5/(Al/sub 0.66/Ga/sub 0.34/)/sub 0.5/P are 1.02 and 1.05 eV, respectively. Extremely low dark currents of 70 and 620 pA were obtained for these MSM-PDs when they were operated at a reverse bias of -10 V at room temperature and at 70/spl deg/C, respectively.     

Manipulation of microenvironment with a built-in electrochemical actuator in proximity of a dissolved oxygen microsensor

Biochemical sensors for continuous monitoring require dependable periodic self diagnosis with acceptable simplicity to check its functionality during operation. An in-situ self-diagnostic technique for a dissolved oxygen microsensor is proposed in an effort to devise an intelligent microsensor system with an integrated electrochemical actuation electrode. With a built-in platinum microelectrode that surrounds the microsensor, two kinds of microenvironments, called the oxygen-saturated or oxygen-depleted phases, can be created by water electrolysis, depending on the polarity. The functionality of the microsensor can be checked during these microenvironment phases. The polarographic oxygen microsensor is fabricated on a flexible polyimide substrate (Kapton) and the feasibility of the proposed concept is demonstrated in a physiological solution. The sensor responds properly during the oxygen-generating and oxygen-depleting phases. The use of these microenvironments for in-situ self-calibration is discussed to achieve functional integration, as well as structural integration, of the microsensor system.     

Extraction of penicillin G from simulated media by an emulsion liquid membrane process

The extraction of penicillin G from simulated media was performed by water/oil/water (w/o/w) emulsion liquid membranes (ELMs) and studied under various operational conditions in a batch system. The degree of extraction achieved was between 80% and 95% under specific conditions. A concentration of greater than nine times the initial concentration of penicillin G in the external phase was obtained in the internal phase. The pH of the internal aqueous solution, containing a basic salt, was theoretically calculated on the basis of the amount of penicillin G transported into the internal phase. The calculated results agreed with the experimental data well and were used to select a suitable type and concentration of a basic salt in the internal phase to give a pH within the range 5 to 8 where penicillin G was stable after the termination of extraction. The extraction of penicillin G was successfully performed by the ELM process with sodium carbonate in the internal phase.     

On the design of multiple key hashing files for concurrent orthogonal range retrieval between two disks

This paper concerns the following problem: given a set of multi-attribute records, a fixed number of buckets and a two-disk system, arrange the records into the buckets and then store the buckets between the disks in such a way that, over all possible orthogonal range queries (ORQs), the disk access concurrency is maximized. We shall adopt the multiple key hashing (MKH) method for arranging records into buckets and use the disk modulo (DM) allocation method for storing buckets onto disks. Since the DM allocation method has been shown to be superior to any other allocation methods for allocating an MKH file onto a two-disk system for answering ORQs, the real issue is knowing how to determine an optimal way for organizing the records into buckets based upon the MKH concept.

A performance formula that can be used to evaluate the average response time, over all possible ORQs, of an MKH file in a two-disk system using the DM allocation method is first presented. Based upon this formula, it is shown that our design problem is related to a notoriously difficult problem, namely the Prime Number Problem. Then a performance lower bound and an efficient algorithm for designing optimal MKH files in certain cases are presented. It is pointed out that in some cases the optimal MKH file for ORQs in a two-disk system using the DM allocation method is identical to the optimal MKH file for ORQs in a single-disk system and the optimal average response time in a two-disk system is slightly greater than one half of that in a single-disk system.