Use of Spectral Clustering Combined with Normalized Cuts (N-Cuts) in an Iterative k-Means Clustering Framework (NKSC) for Superpixel Segmentation with Contour Adherence

Superpixel segmentation methods are generally used as a pre-processing step to speed up image processing tasks. They group the pixels of an image into homogeneous regions while trying to respect existing contours. In this paper, we propose a fast Superpixels segmentation algorithm with Contour Adherence using spectral clustering, combined with normalized cuts in an iterative k-means clustering framework. It produces compact and uniform superpixels with low computational costs. Normalized cut is adapted to measure the color similarity and space proximity between image pixels. We have used a kernel function to estimate the similarity metric. Kernel function maps the pixel values and coordinates into a high dimensional feature space. The objective functions of weighted K-means and normalized cuts share the same optimum point in this feature space. So it is possible to optimize the cost function of normalized cuts by iteratively applying simple K-means clustering algorithm. The proposed framework produces regular and compact superpixels that adhere to the image contours. On segmentation comparison benchmarks it proves to be equally well or better than the state-of-the-art super pixel segmentation algorithms in terms of several commonly used evaluation metrics in image segmentation. In addition, our method is computationally very efficient and its computational complexity is linear.     

Temperature-dependent short-channel parameters of FinFETs

The remarkable development and continual proliferation of research in the nanotechnology field have led to improvement in the efficiency of elementary devices. To improve their performance, the parameters of such devices can be scaled down while optimizing their characteristics. However, this simultaneously results in degraded switching characteristics and the appearance of short-channel effects. Multigate-based fin-shaped field-effect transistors (FinFETs) represent a new option to address all these problems. However, thermal failure of FinFET devices under nominal operating conditions is an important issue in the design and implementation of high-speed semiconductor devices. It is also seen that bulk FinFETs exhibit better thermal performance compared with silicon-on-insulator FinFETs. In the work presented herein, various FinFET characteristics including the subthreshold swing, drain-induced barrier lowering, threshold voltage, and drain current were investigated as functions of temperature. The (effective) channel length is larger than the physical gate length (in off-state) due to the undoped underlap regions. This paper also discusses the effects of drain, source, and gate overlap.     

Development of a novel proton conducting fuel cell based on a Ni‐YSZ support

A new proton conducting fuel cell design based on the BZCYYb electrolyte is studied in this research. In high‐performance YSZ‐based SOFCs, the Ni‐YSZ support plays a key role in providing required electrical properties and robust mechanical behavior. In this study, this well‐established Ni‐YSZ support is used to maintain the proton conducting fuel cell integrity. The cell is in a Ni‐YSZ (375 μm support)/Ni‐BZCYYb (20 μm anode functional layer)/BZCYYb (10 μm electrolyte)/LSCF‐BZCYYb (25 μm cathode) configuration. Maximum power density values of 166, 218, and 285 mW/cm² have been obtained at 600°C, 650°C, and 700°C, respectively. AC impedance spectroscopy results show values of 2.17, 1.23, and 0.76 Ω·cm² at these temperatures where the main resistance contributor above 600°C is ohmic resistance. Very fine NiO and YSZ powders were used to achieve a suitable sintering shrinkage which can enhance the electrolyte sintering. During cosintering of the support and BZCYYb electrolyte layers, the higher shrinkage of the support layer led to compressive stress in the electrolyte, thereby enhancing its densification. The promising results of the current study show that a new generation of proton conducting fuel cells based on the chemically and mechanically robust Ni‐YSZ support can be developed which can improve long‐term performance and reduce fabrication costs of proton conducting fuel cells.     

Network-Wide Optimal Scheduling of Transit Systems Using Genetic Algorithms

The primary objective of any transit system is to provide a better level of service to its passengers. One of the good measures of level of service is the waiting time of passengers during their journey. The waiting time consists of an initial waiting time (the time a passenger waits to board a vehicle at his or her point of origin) and a transfer time (the time a passenger waits at a transfer station while transferring from one vehicle to another). An efficient schedule minimizes the overall transfer time (TT) of passengers transferring between different routes as well as the initial waiting time (IWT) of the passengers waiting to board the vehicle at their point of origin. This paper uses genetic algorithm (GA)—a search and optimization procedure—to find optimal/near-optimal schedules of vehicles in a transit network. The main advantage of using GA is that the transit network scheduling problem can be reformulated in a manner that is computationally more efficient than the original problem. Further, the coding aspect of GA inherently takes care of most of the constraints associated with the scheduling problem. Results from a number of test problems show that GAs are able to find optimal/near-optimal schedules with minimal computational resources.     

Genetic Algorithms for Optimal Urban Transit Network Design

This article attempts to highlight the effectiveness of genetic algorithm (GA)–based procedures in solving the urban transit network design problem (UTNDP). The article analyzes why traditional methods have problems in solving the UTNDP. The article also suggests procedures to alleviate these problems using GA–based optimization technique. The thrust of the article is three–fold: (1) to show the effectiveness of GAs in solving the UTNDP, (2) to identify features of the UTNDP that make it a difficult problem for traditional techniques, and (3) to suggest directions, through the presentation of GA–based methodologies for the UTNDP, for the development of GA–based procedures for solving other optimization problems having features similar to the UTNDP.     

Axial ratio bandwidth improvement of compact planar monopole antenna with dual-band and dual-sense

A small size, dual-band and dual-sense monopole antenna is proposed to improve the axial ratio bandwidth (ARBW). The proposed antenna is considered on a low-cost lossy FR4 substrate with parasitic strips (PSs) and partial ground plane of half guided wavelength dimensions. The dimension of the antenna in terms of wavelength is $\mathbf{0.27}{\mathit{\lambda }}_{\mathbf{0}}\mathit{\times }\mathbf{0.29}{\mathit{\lambda }}_{\mathbf{0}}\mathit{\times }\mathbf{0.02}{\mathit{\lambda }}_{\mathbf{0}}$, where ${\mathit{\lambda }}_{\mathbf{0}}$ is the wavelength at the lowest resonant frequency. The circularly polarized (CP) mode is created for strong orthogonal electric fields ${\mathit{E}}_{\mathit{X}}$ and ${\mathit{E}}_{\mathit{Y}}$. The obtained phase difference (PD) between two electric fields ${\mathit{E}}_{\mathit{X}}$ and ${\mathit{E}}_{\mathit{Y}}$ is varied from ${\mathbf{86}}^{°}$ to ${\mathbf{96}}^{°}$ under ARBW. The achieved ARBW is 3.68–3.8 GHz, 4.84–12.58 GHz, and impedance bandwidth (IBW) is 3.51–3.82 GHz and 4.28–15 GHz. The applications of the proposed antenna are International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for 5G, C-band IEEE 802.11a wireless local area network (WLAN) at 5 GHz (5.15–5.825 GHz) and X-band wireless systems.     

Filter for biomedical imaging and image processing

Image filtering techniques have numerous potential applications in biomedical imaging and image processing. The design of filters largely depends on the a priori, knowledge about the type of noise corrupting the image. This makes the standard filters application specific. Widely used filters such as average, Gaussian, and Wiener reduce noisy artifacts by smoothing. However, this operation normally results in smoothing of the edges as well. On the other hand, sharpening filters enhance the high-frequency details, making the image nonsmooth. An integrated general approach to design a finite impulse response filter based on Hebbian learning is proposed for optimal image filtering. This algorithm exploits the interpixel correlation by updating the filter coefficients using Hebbian learning. The algorithm is made iterative for achieving efficient learning from the neighborhood pixels. This algorithm performs optimal smoothing of the noisy image by preserving high-frequency as well as low-frequency features. Evaluation results show that the proposed finite impulse response filter is robust under various noise distributions such as Gaussian noise, salt-and-pepper noise, and speckle noise. Furthermore, the proposed approach does not require any a priori knowledge about the type of noise. The number of unknown parameters is few, and most of these parameters are adaptively obtained from the processed image. The proposed filter is successfully applied for image reconstruction in a positron emission tomography imaging modality. The images reconstructed by the proposed algorithm are found to be superior in quality compared with those reconstructed by existing PET image reconstruction methodologies.     

Influence of surface scattering on the anomalous conductance plateaus in an asymmetrically biased InAs/In(0.52)Al(0.48)As quantum point contact

We study of the appearance and evolution of several anomalous (i.e., G < G(0) D 2e(2)/h) conductance plateaus in an In(0.52)Al(0.48)As/InAs quantum point contact (QPC). This work was performed at T = 4:2 K as a function of the offset bias ΔV(G) between the two in-plane gates of the QPC. The number and location of the anomalous conductance plateaus strongly depend on the polarity of the offset bias. The anomalous plateaus appear only over an intermediate range of offset bias of several volts. They are quite robust, being observed over a maximum range of nearly 1 V for the common sweep voltage applied to the two gates. These results are interpreted as evidence for the sensitivity of the QPC spin polarization to defects (surface roughness and impurity (dangling bond) scattering) generated during the etching process that forms the QPC side walls. This assertion is supported by non-equilibrium Green function simulations of the conductance of a single QPC in the presence of dangling bonds on its walls. Our simulations show that a spin conductance polarization as high as 98% can be achieved despite the presence of dangling bonds. The maximum in is not necessarily reached where the conductance of the channel is equal to 0:5G(0).     

Structural and photoluminescence studies of Eu3+ doped zinc oxide nanorods prepared by precipitation method

Trivalent europium doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Eu3+) nanocrystals were synthesized via room temperature chemical co-precipitation and they were systematically characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The as-synthesized samples were found to have hexagonal wurtzite coexisted with the intermediate Zn5(OH)8Cl2·H2O phase, while the single hexagonal phase was facilitated due to the calcinations. The as obtained samples were broadly composed of nanoflakes while the highly crystalline nanorods were formed due to low temperature annealing of the as-synthesized samples. The crystallite size of the nanoflakes and nanorods (40-90 nm) were extracted from the XRD pattern which was found to be consistent with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements. The photolumi-nescence (PL) spectra of nanophosphors showed bright red and orange emissions at 618 and 594 nm respectively with efficient broad blue green emission spectrum due to ZnO lattice. Further, a good energy transfer process from ZnO host to Eu3+ was observed in PL emission and excitation spectra of Eu3+ doped ZnO ions. In all, the present nanophosphors were found to have great potentiality for bio-applications.