Thermoacoustic Emission from Carbon Nanotubes Imaged by Atomic Force Microscopy

The thermoacoustic effect of isolated single‐wall carbon nanotubes aligned between electrodes is experimentally observed for the first time by imaging the emitted acoustic wave using an atomic force microscopy‐based technique specifically developed for the task. The capability of such a technique for single‐point thermoacoustic measurements is first verified on carbon nanotubes layers with two electrodes for injecting alternate electric current. The technique is then demonstrated to allow the acquisition, simultaneously with the topography, of images reflecting the pressure of the acoustic wave at fixed distance from the sample. Such a capability is used to collect images reflecting the amplitude of acoustic waves generated by isolated nanotubes and nanotube bundles by the thermoacoustic effect.     

Handover management in integrated WLAN and mobile WiMAX networks [recent advances and evolution of WLAN and WMAN standards]

Recently there has been much effort, in both academia and industry, to integrate a plethora of wireless technologies in order to provide ubiquitous broadband access to mobile users. Handover management is still one of the most challenging issues to be solved for seamless integration of wireless networks. This article addresses the integration of IEEE 802.11 WLANs and IEEE 802.16 WMANs, focusing mainly on the handover management aspects. First, we describe architectures, futuristic application scenarios such as the envisioned heterogeneous multihop wireless networks (HMWNs) and moving networks, as well as the related research issues. Second, we present IEEE 802.21, a new emerging standard aimed at providing a framework for media-independent handover (MIH) among heterogeneous networks. Finally, we discuss how the MIH framework can help handover management for the integrated network.     

用于压缩感知的二值化测量矩阵

压缩感知是近年新兴的一种信号处理理论,在一定条件满足的情况下,压缩感知方法可通过远低于 Nyquist 频率的降采样数据以高概率近乎完美地重建原始信号。测量矩阵在压缩感知的整个处理过程中起着非常重 要的作用。本文从恢复算法入手提出二值化测量矩阵,并通过仿真对其性能加以验证。二值化后测量矩阵不仅在 性能上有一定提升,更重要的是可大大降低测量矩阵所需的存储空间以及压缩感知采样、恢复过程的运算量。     

Capacity of practical wireless multihop broadcast networks

In a wireless multihop broadcasting scenario, a number of relay nodes may cooperate the source node in order to improve the capacity of the network. However, the imposition of total energy and maximum hop constraints to this system in a practical setting. In this paper, we study an ad-hoc network with infinitely many nodes and analytically find the number and positions of rebroadcasting relay nodes to achieve the optimal broadcast capacity. The interference due to multiple transmissions in the same geographical area is taken into account. According to the results of this theoretical model, we propose two heuristics, one distributed and one centralized, as suboptimal but practical solutions to the relay selection problem in wireless multihop broadcasting. We discuss the broadcast capacity performances and CSI (channel state information) requirements of these algorithms. The results illustrate that the benefits of peer-assisted broadcasting are more pronounced in the centralized relay selection algorithm when compared to the fully randomized and distributed selection under a realistic system model.     

Nanocasting of Mesoporous In‐TM (TM = Co,Fe, Mn) Oxides: Towards 3D Diluted‐Oxide Magnetic Semiconductor Architectures

Transition metal (Co, Fe, Mn)‐doped In₂O_3?y mesoporous oxides are synthesized by nanocasting using mesoporous silica as hard templates. 3D ordered mesoporous replicas are obtained after silica removal in the case of the In‐Co and In‐Fe oxide powders. During the conversion of metal nitrates into the target mixed oxides, Co, Fe, and Mn ions enter the lattice of the In₂O₃ bixbyite phase via isovalent or heterovalent cation substitution, leading to a reduction in the cell parameter. In turn, non‐negligible amounts of oxygen vacancies are also present, as evidenced from Rietveld refinements of the X‐ray diffraction patterns. In addition to (In_1?xTM_x)₂O_3?y, minor amounts of Co₃O₄, α‐Fe₂O₃, and Mn_xO_y phases are also detected, which originate from the remaining TM cations not forming part of the bixbyite lattice. The resulting TM‐doped In₂O_3?y mesoporous materials show a ferromagnetic response at room temperature, superimposed on a paramagnetic background. Conversely, undoped In₂O_3?y exhibits a mixed diamagnetic‐ferromagnetic behavior with much smaller magnetization. The influence of the oxygen vacancies and the doping elements on the magnetic properties of these materials is discussed. Due to their 3D mesostructural geometrical arrangement and their room‐temperature ferromagnetic behavior, mesoporous oxide‐diluted magnetic semiconductors may become smart materials for the implementation of advanced components in spintronic nanodevices.     

Reversible Amorphous‐to‐Amorphous Transitions in Chalcogenide Films: Correlating Changes in Structure and Optical Properties

Structural transitions in materials are accompanied by appreciable and exploitable changes in physical‐chemical properties. Whereas reversible optically‐driven atomistic changes in crystal‐to‐amorphous transitions are generally known and exploited in applications, the nature of the corresponding polyamorphic transitions between two structurally distinct meta‐stable amorphous phases is an unexplored theme. Direct experimental evidence is reported for the nature of the atomistic changes during fully reversible amorphous‐to‐amorphous switching between two individual states in the non‐crystalline As₅₀Se₅₀ films prepared by pulsed‐laser deposition and consequent changes in optical properties. Combination of surface sensitive X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry show that the near‐bandgap energy illumination and annealing induce reversible switching in the material's structure by local bonding rearrangements. This is accompanied by switching in refractive index between two well‐defined states. Exploiting the pluralism of distinct structural states in a disordered solid can provide new insights into the data storage in emerging optical memory and photonic applications.     

Optical power equalization for multiwavelength fiber-amplifiercascades using periodic inhomogeneous broadening

Inhomogeneously broadened fiber amplifiers inserted periodically in an amplifier cascade are shown to provide significant interchannel power equalization in wavelength-multiplexed systems. Interchannel power variations in a six-amplifier cascade are reduced from 16 dB in a conventional system to about 5 dB when power equalizers are inserted     

Noise performance of a GaAs MESFET as an optical detector and as an optoelectronic mixer in analogue optical links

Noise measurements with a GaAs MESFET employed as a photodetector or as an optoelectronic mixer are reported. Despite its higher noise it is shown that with proper biasing the GaAs MESFET provided a higher carrier-to-noise ratio than a pin photodiode, and as an optoelectronic mixer provided a comparable signal-to-noise ratio to that of a conventional pin and microwave mixer combination. The implications of using GaAs MESFETs in these configurations are discussed.<>     

A random dipole model for spontaneous brain activity

The statistical properties of the EEG and the MEG are described mathematically as the result of randomly distributed dipoles. These dipoles represent the interactions of cortical neurons. For certain dipole distributions, the first- and second-order moments of the electric and magnetic fields are derived analytically. If the dipoles are in a spherical volume conductor and have no preference for any direction, the variance of a differentially measured EEG-signal is only a function of the electrode distance. In this paper, the theoretically derived variance function will be compared with EEG- and MEG-measurements. It is shown that a dipole with a fixed position and a randomly fluctuating amplitude is an adequate model for the alpha-rhythm. An expression for the covariance between the magnetic field and a differentially measured EEG-signal is derived. This covariance is considered as a function of the magnetometer position, and is compared with the measurements of Chapman et al. [23]. The theory can be used to obtain a (spatial) covariance matrix of the background noise, which occurs in evoked potential measurements. Such a covariance matrix can be used to obtain a maximum likelihood estimator of the dipole parameters in evoked potential studies, to evaluate the merits of the so-called "Laplacian derivation," and for the interpolation of electromagnetic data.