Effect of thermal treatment on ZnO substrate for epitaxial growth

ZnO is a highly efficient photon emitter, and has optical and piezoelectric properties that are attractive for a variety of applications in sensors and potentially optoelectronic devices such as emitters. Due to its identical stacking order and close lattice match to GaN, it is also being developed as a substrate material for GaN epitaxy. However, the surface finish of the ZnO is such that much of the damage induced by sawing and follow up mechanical polishing remains. We developed a thermal treatment method to eliminate surface damage on the 0 face of ZnO (0 0 0 1) to prepare it for epitaxial growth. Atomic force microscopy images of ZnO (0 0 0 1) annealed at 1050 °C for 3 h etc. show that residual scratches from mechanical polishing are removed and atomically flat, terrace-like surfaces are attained. In addition, low-temperature photoluminescence and high-resolution X-ray diffraction measurements have been employed to investigate the effect of annealing on ZnO substrates.     

Current distribution, resistance, and inductance forsuperconducting strip transmission lines

A method for the calculation of the current distribution, resistance, and inductance matrices for a system of coupled superconducting transmission lines having finite rectangular cross-section is presented. These calculations allow accurate characterization of both high-T_c and low-T _c superconducting strip transmission lines. For a single stripline geometry with finite ground planes, the current distribution, resistance, inductance, and kinetic inductance are calculated as functions of the penetration depth for various film thicknesses. These calculations are then used to determine the penetration depth for Nb, NbN, and YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x superconducting thin films from the measured temperature dependence of the resonant frequency of a stripline resonator. The calculations are also used to convert measured temperature dependence of the quality factor to the intrinsic surface resistance as a function of temperature for an Nb stripline resonator     

Maximum power density for an endoreversible carnot heat engine

An analysis using maximum power-density criteria has been carried out for an endoreversible Carnot heat engine. The results have been compared with known results on maximum power analysis. The design parameters at maximum power density lead to smaller and more efficient endoreversible Carnot heat engines than those working at maximum power output.     

Chemical composition and nutritional quality of tehineh (sesame butter)

The chemical composition and nutritional quality of tehineh, a paste of dehulled roasted sesame seeds, from Saudi Arabia and other countries, were studied. Results showed 24.7% protein, 58.9% fat, 2.3% fiber, 3.0% ash and <1.0% moisture. The tehineh contained relatively high amounts (mg/100 g) of P (692), Mg (362), Fe (7.19), Cu (1.96), Mn (1.46) and Zn (7.82) and low amounts of Ca (61) and Se (0.05). Gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) analysis of the oil revealed percentages of 42.4 for oleic, 39.7 for linoleic, 9.8 for palmitic and 6.4 for stearic acid. Lysine was the only limiting amino acid with a chemical score of 64, while the sulphur-containing amino acids (methionine + cystine) and tryptophan were present in amounts exceeding the requirement of the FAO/WHO (1973) reference protein. The in vitro protein digestibility (IVPD) value of 83.3% and the calculated protein efficiency ratio (C-PER), 2.14, were slightly higher than those of sesame seeds and both values were lower than the IVPD and C-PER of 90.0% and 2.50, respectively, for ANRC casein.     

Low-loss high power RF switching using multifinger AlGaN/GaN MOSHFETs

We demonstrate a novel RF switch based on a multifinger AlGaN/GaN MOSHFET. Record high saturation current and breakdown voltage, extremely low gate leakage current and low gate capacitance of the III-N MOSHFETs make them excellent active elements for RF switching. Using a single element test circuit with 1-mm wide multifinger MOSHFET we achieved 0.27 dB insertion loss and more than 40 dB isolation. These parameters can be further improved by impedance matching and by using submicron gate devices. The maximum switching power extrapolated from the results for 1A/mm 100 /spl mu/m wide device exceeds 40 W for a 1-mm wide 2-A/mm MOSHFET.     

Compact WLAN disc antennas

A novel conical beam patch antenna design, suitable for local area network applications, uses a central cylindrical connection from the disc to ground to achieve a large reduction in resonant size. Results on efficiency, bandwidth, and pattern are reported for several prototypes.