Multiple resolution analysis of L-band brightness temperature forsoil moisture

Passive microwave Earth observing systems provide coarse resolution data. Heterogeneity in physical characteristics will typically be present within footprints, especially over land. How this affects the development and validation of methods of retrieving soil moisture has not been verified. In this study, aircraft-based 1.4 GHz microwave radiometer data were collected sit several altitudes over test sites where soil moisture was measured concurrently. The use of multiple flightlines at lower altitudes allowed the direct comparison of different spatial resolutions using independent samples over the same ground location. Results showed that the brightness temperature data from 1.4 GHz sensor in this study region provides the same mean values for an area regardless of the spatial resolution of the original data. The relationship between brightness temperature and soil moisture was similar at different resolutions. These results suggest that soil moisture retrieval methods developed using high resolution data can be extrapolated to satellite scales     

Enhanced hydrochloric acid leaching of nickel

Dissolution rates of nickel in hydrochloric acid with and without the presence of thiourea have been studied by means of rotating disc methods with solution analysis. In the absence of thiourea an apparent activation energy value of 61.1 ± 12.1 kJ. mol⁻¹ was determined. Such a high value is inconsistent with a diffusion controlled process and this was supported by the lack of dependency of the dissolution rate on rotational speed. A reaction controlled process is indicated. In 8.4 mol. dm⁻³ hydrochloric acid the thiourea concentration range producing optimum dissolution rates was 10⁻³ to 10⁻² mol. dm⁻³. At 70° C the rate of leaching was enhanced by some 105 %. Tests using radiochemical labelling of the sulphur and of the carbon separately in the thiourea molecule confirmed previous proposals, for cobalt dissolution, that hydrogen sulphide is produced as a by-product of the cathodic depolarisation reaction involving the thiourea and is adsorbed on the metal surface in the molecular state, forming activated anodic sites which enhance anodic dissolution. At the 10⁻¹ mol. dm⁻³ thiourea concentration level stimulation of the nickel dissolution process gave way to its partial inhibition with a maximum diminution at 30°C of 50 %.     

Check! a generic and specific industrial inspection tool

The authors present an overview of an `inspection and control' package to perform automatic quality control of industrial components, specifically electronic circuit boards. This application has grown out of a set of tools designed initially to aid the development of point distribution models (PDMs) and grey-level models (GLMs) pioneered at the Wolfson Image Analysis Unit in Manchester. These models are both generic and specific. Generic, because they can be applied to most image classification problems; specific, because they aim at the full interpretation of the variability of the objects to be modelled. The underlying vision processing techniques are based on statistical pattern matching. Two synergetic approaches have been followed. The system is trained to recognise the components from either their shape or their grey level appearance or both     

S-parameter measurements and microwave applications ofsuperconducting flux flow transistors

Microwave two-port S-parameter measurements and modeling of superconducting flux flow transistors are presented. The transistors, based on the magnetic control of flux flow in any array of high temperature superconducting weak links, exhibit significant available power gain at microwave frequencies (over 20 dB at 7-10 GHz in some devices). The input impedance is largely inductive while the output impedance is both resistive and inductive. It is shown that the characteristics of these devices are useful in numerous applications including matched amplifiers, phase shifters and active impedance convertors     

High-sensitivity fibre-optic accelerometer

A sensitive accelerometer is described, in which single-mode optical fibre is used to detect acceleration induced dimensional changes in a compliant cylinder. The device sensitivity and overall frequency response can be tailored through a suitable choice of the compliant material employed. Sensitivities better than 1000 rad/g (10 m/s2) are exhibited using rubber as the compliant material.     

Measurement of far-infrared laser frequencies from optically pumped CHD/sub 2/OH

A three-laser heterodyne system was used to frequency measure 11 previously observed optically pumped far-infrared (FIR) laser emissions of CHD/sub 2/OH. These newly measured frequencies have fractional uncertainties of /spl plusmn/2/spl times/10/sup -7/ and correspond to laser wavelengths ranging from 47.8 to 238.0 /spl mu/m. The pump laser offset frequency was measured for 15 CHD/sub 2/OH FIR laser emissions.     

Lone‐Pair‐Induced Covalency as the Cause of Temperature‐ and Field‐Induced Instabilities in Bismuth Sodium Titanate

Bismuth sodium titanate (BNT)‐derived materials have seen a flurry of research interest in recent years because of the existence of extended strain under applied electric fields, surpassing that of lead zirconate titanate (PZT), the most commonly used piezoelectric. The underlying physical and chemical mechanisms responsible for such extraordinary strain levels in BNT are still poorly understood, as is the nature of the successive phase transitions. A comprehensive explanation is proposed here, combining the short‐range chemical and structural sensitivity of in situ Raman spectroscopy (under an applied electric field and temperature) with macroscopic electrical measurements. The results presented clarify the causes for the extended strain, as well as the peculiar temperature‐dependent properties encountered in this system. The underlying cause is determined to be mediated by the complex‐like bonding of the octahedra at the center of the perovskite: a loss of hybridization of the 6s² bismuth lone pair interacting with the oxygen p‐orbitals occurs, which triggers both the field‐induced phase transition and the loss of macroscopic ferroelectric order at the depolarization temperature.     

Signal Processing for Biometric Systems [DSP Forum]

This IEEE signal processing magazine (SPM) forum discuses signal processing applications, technologies, requirements, and standardization of biometric systems. The forum members bring their expert insights into issues such as biometric security, privacy, and multibiometric and fusion techniques. The invited forum members are Prof. Anil K. Jain of Michigan State University, Prof. Rama Chellappa of the University of Maryland, Dr. Stark C. Draper of theUniversity of Wisconsin in Madison, Prof. Nasir Memon of Polytechnic University, and Dr. P. Jonathon Phillips of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The moderator of the forum is Dr. Anthony Vetro of Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs, and associate editor of SPM.     

ZnO/ZnSe/ZnTe Heterojunctions for ZnTe-Based Solar Cells

ZnO and ZnSe are proposed as n-type layers in ZnTe heterojunction diodes to overcome problems associated with the n-type doping of ZnTe. The structural properties and electrical characteristics of ZnO/ZnTe and ZnO/ZnSe/ZnTe heterojunctions grown by molecular beam epitaxy on (001) GaAs substrates are presented. ZnO shows a strong preference for c-plane (0001) orientation resulting in a nonepitaxial relationship and high density of rotational domains for growth on ZnTe (001). ZnSe/ZnTe structures demonstrate a (001) epitaxial relationship with high density of {111} stacking faults originating at the heterojunction interface. ZnO/ZnSe/ZnTe heterojunction diodes show excellent diode rectification and clear photovoltaic response with open-circuit voltage of V _OC = 0.8 V.     

High temperature Fabry-Perot probe interrogated with tunable fibre ring laser

A high temperature fibre-optic based probe is described based on a miniature Fabry-Perot with a maximum operating temperature of ~700degC limited by the gold coated fibre transceiver link connecting the optical source to the probe. It was interrogated by a tunable fibre laser which could be linearly or sinusoidally tuned at scanning rates of 2 and 20 kHz, respectively. The transfer function of the system is in the form of channelled spectra rather than the usual interference fringes observed for interferometric sensors. The periodicity of the channelled spectra fringes is governed by the Fabry-Perot free spectral range which is related to the inverse of the probe temperature.