Thermoelectric Properties of NaCo<Subscript>2–<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Fe<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>O<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">y</Emphasis></Subscript>

NaCo₂O₄ has one of the highest figures of merit among all ceramic thermoelectric materials. Because of its large thermopower and low resistivity, the ceramic oxide NaCo₂O₄ is a promising candidate for potential thermoelectric applications. NaCo₂O₄ is, moreover, a ceramic compound with high decomposition temperature and chemical stability in air and it does not contain any toxic elements. Like all 3-d transition ions, Co ions have multiple spin and oxidation states. In this investigation, thermopower and electrical conductivity of NaCo₂O₄ as a function of substitution of Co by Fe ions were measured. Fe substitution for Co causes resistivity to increase, whereas the Seebeck coefficient remained nearly invariant, especially above 330 K. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Strategies for implementing knowledge-based systems

The effective management of knowledge is important for the competitivity of organizations. Rapid technological progress over the last decade has made knowledge-based systems (KBSs) (including expert systems, organizational memory information systems, and other advanced information technology solutions) an integral part of every organization's effort to manage its knowledge assets effectively, KBSs have an important impact on all levels of organizational knowledge: individual, group, organizational, and knowledge links. This paper outlines four generic knowledge processing strategies to guide the implementation of KBSs within organizations. These generic strategies are related both to the level of knowledge assets under consideration and the locus of responsibility for the development of KBS. The different knowledge processing strategies influence the management of knowledge possible within an organization and consequently influence the development of KBS within the organization. The paper also outlines different facilitators and barriers to the four knowledge processing strategies     

Design considerations for p-i-n thyristor structures

An analysis of a high-voltage gate turn-off (GTO) thyristor structure with a double-layered n base (p-i-n structure) is presented. From integration of Poisson's equation, an expression for the forward-blocking voltage at the onset of avalanche breakdown is obtained. Simple design criteria are developed to calculate the optimal thickness and doping density of the n base of a conventional pnpn structure designed for a specific voltage-blocking capability. The same principle is applied to design for the doping densities and thicknesses of the high-resistivity region and the buffer layer of the p-i-n GTO structure. The forward-blocking voltage, as well as the on-state voltage (at a current density of 300 A cm^-2) is predicted for a wide range of base layer thicknesses and doping densities to illustrate the available tradeoff options. Lowest on-state power dissipation for high blocking voltages (>6000 V) is predicted for a doping level of 5×10¹² cm^-3 in the high-resistivity layer     

Impression creep characterization of 90Pb-10Sn microelectronic solder balls at subsolvus and supersolvus temperatures

The creep behavior of Pb-10wt.%Sn, a common high-lead solder used in microelectronic packaging, was studied by impression creep testing of ball-gridarray (BGA) solder balls attached to an organic substrate, both above and below the solvus temperature (408 K). Below the solvus temperature, the solder microstructure consists of roughly equiaxed grains of the Pb-rich solid solution α, which contains <5wt.%Sn in solution, with a coarse dispersion of Sn-rich β precipitates. Here, the creep behavior of the solder is controlled by dislocation climb via dislocation core diffusion, yielding n≈4 and Q≈60 kJ/mole. Above the solvus temperature, where the entire 10wt.%Sn is in solution, the creep mechanism becomes controlled by viscous glide of dislocations, limited by solute drag, with n≈3 and Q≈92 kJ/mole. Based on experimental data, creep equations for the as-reflowed solder in the two temperature regimes are given. Comparison of the present data with those available in the literature showed good agreement with the proposed laws.     

Dynamic queue length thresholds for multiple loss priorities

Buffer management schemes are needed in shared-memory packet switches to regulate the sharing of memory among different output port queues and among traffic classes with different loss priorities. Earlier, we proposed a single-priority scheme called dynamic threshold (DT), in which the maximum permissible queue length is proportional to the unused buffering in the switch. A queue whose length equals or exceeds the current threshold value may accept no new arrivals. We propose, analyze and simulate several ways of incorporating loss priorities into the DT scheme. The analysis models sources as deterministic fluids. We determine how each scheme allocates buffers among the competing ports and loss priority classes under overload conditions. We also note how this buffer allocation induces an allocation of bandwidth among the loss priority classes at each port. We find that minor variations in the DT control law can produce dramatically different resource allocations. Based on this study, we recommend the scheme we call OWA, which gives some buffers and bandwidth to every priority class at every port. Scheme OWA has tunable parameters, which we give rules of thumb for setting. Another scheme, called AWA, is also a good choice. It has an allocation philosophy more akin to strict priority and hence is not tunable     

Annealing-Induced Morphological Changes in Nanocrystalline Quantum Dots and Their Impact on Charge Transport Properties

The effects of thermal annealing on the morphological and photoconductive properties of cadmium selenide quantum dots coated with zinc sulfide are studied. The results of transmission electron microscopy with in situ annealing show a number of events taking place simultaneously, including aggregation of dots, changes in the size and shape distribution, and reduction in interdot separation. Transient absorption results indicate that there is a small redshift of the spectrum. There is a shortening of the absorption decay lifetimes due to annealing. Higher photocurrents are measured in the annealed compared with unannealed dots at room temperature.     

Photoluminescence and Raman Spectroscopy of Polycrystalline ZnO Nanofibers Deposited by Electrospinning

The technique of electrospinning offers the advantage of growing nanowires in bulk quantities in comparison with traditional methods. We report optical studies of polycrystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) nanofibers (∼100 nm thick and 5 μm long) deposited by electrospinning. Photoluminescence from the nanofibers shows a near-ultraviolet (near-UV) peak corresponding to near-band-edge emission and a strong broad peak in the visible region from oxygen antisite and interstitial defects. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence spectroscopy reveals that different carrier recombination mechanisms are dominant at low temperature. Our Raman spectroscopy results demonstrate that characterization of the quasimodes of longitudinal optical (LO) and transverse optical (TO) phonons present in an ensemble of polycrystalline nanofibers tilted at various angles in addition to the dominant E ₂(high) mode provides a promising technique for assessing the quality of such randomly oriented nanowires.     

Multilayer Hierarchical Model for Mobility Management in IPv6: A Mathematical Exploration

The mobility solution provided by Mobile IPv6 (MIPv6) imposes too much signaling load to the network and enforces large handoff latency to end user. Hierarchical MIPv6 (HMIPv6) on the other hand, is designed by organizing MIPv6 in layered architecture and performs better than MIPv6 in terms of handoff latency and signaling load. Observation shows that, there is still possibility to shrink the handoff latency and the signaling load by further extending HMIPv6 into multiple layers. To explore this possibility of enhanced performance through layered architecture, this paper aimed at mathematical exploration of an N-layered MIPv6 network architecture in order to figure out the optimal levels of hierarchy for mobility management. A widespread analysis is carried out on various parameters such as location update frequency and cost, handoff latency and packet delivery cost. Influence of queuing delay on handoff latency is examined by modeling M/M/1/K queue in the architecture and user mobility is modeled using Markov chain. Analytical investigation reveals that three levels of hierarchy in MIPv6 architecture provide an optimal solution for mobility management.     

Design and performance of the mesh-type high-speed silicon opticalposition-sensitive devices

A high speed optical position-sensitive device (PSD) which was fabricated using a certain structure of the mesh-type resistive layer for reducing the junction capacitance is discussed. Its performance is compared with the conventional type of PSD (CPSD) fabricated by the same technology. The mesh-type high speed PSD (MEPSD) is based on an ion-implanted Si p-i-n structure and has an area of 14×14 mm² with 30-μm strip-width and 125-μm pitch. The temporal response of the MEPSD is found to be improved by a factor of 1.83 times compared to the CPSD. A photosensitivity comparable to that of the CPSD is obtained. Its position linearity for detection is also comparable with that of the CPSD. The performance of the laboratory demonstration devices illustrates the feasibility of the concept for high-speed PSD     

Low-Temperature Processing of PZT Thick Film by Seeding and High-Energy Ball Milling and Studies on Electrical Properties

Lead zirconate titanate thick film with molecular formula PbZr_0.52Ti_0.42O₃ (PZT) was prepared by a modified conventional sol–gel method through seeding and high-energy ball milling, resulting in perovskite phase formation at lower temperatures. The ball-milling time was optimized by keeping the seed particle loading (5 wt.%) constant in the sol–gel solution. This methodology helped in reduction of the crystalline phase formation temperature to 300°C, which is much lower than that reported in the literature (450°C). The well-established perovskite phase was confirmed by x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of PZT films revealed uniform and crystalline microstructure. Film prepared by this methodology showed higher spontaneous polarization (2.22 μC/cm²), higher capacitance (1.17 nF), and low leakage current density (18 μA/cm²). The results obtained from ferroelectric characterization showed a strong correlation with the XRD and SEM results.