Computer-aided inspection center for magnetoimpedance spectroscopy

Principles of measuring magnetoimpedance effect in samples that are intended for constructing electronic circuits that contain sensing elements for detecting weak magnetic fields, including stray fields, are described. Special attention is paid to those existent techniques of measuring magnetoimpedance effect in magnetic structures with distinctly manifested magnetic anisotropy that have already been used in or look promising for systems of magnetic nondestructive testing. The merits and drawbacks of a computer-aided magnetoimpedance-spectroscopy facility that has been designed at Ural Federal University are discussed in detail. The facility is based on an Agilent E4991a impedance analyzer that has been adapted for studying a wide class of magnetic structures.     

3-D Optical Interference Microscopy at the Lateral Resolution

For applications in micro- and nanotechnologies the lateral resolution of optical 3-D microscopes becomes an issue of increasing relevance. However, lateral resolution of 3-D microscopes is hard to define in a satisfying way. Therefore, we first study the measurement capabilities of a highly resolving white-light interference (WLI) microscope close to the limit of lateral resolution. Results of measurements and simulations demonstrate that better lateral resolution seems to be achievable based on the envelope evaluation of a WLI signal. Unfortunately, close to the lateral resolution limit errors in the measured amplitude of micro-structures appear. On the other hand, results of interferometric phase evaluation seem to be strongly low-pass filtered in this case.

Furthermore, the instrument transfer characteristics and the lateral resolution capabilities of WLI instruments are also affected by polarization. TM polarized light is less sensitive to edge diffraction and thus systematic errors can be avoided. However, apart from ghost steps due to fringe order errors, the results of phase evaluation seem to be closer to the real surface topography if TE polarized light is used. The lateral resolution can be further improved by combining WLI and structured illumination microscopy. Since the measured height of rectangular profiles close to the lateral resolution limit is generally too small compared to the real height, we introduce a method based on phase evaluation which characterizes the heights of barely laterally resolved rectangular gratings correctly.     

Application of entropy formulas in detection of denial‐of‐service attacks

The paper compares five entropy formulas (Shannon, Tsallis, Rényi, Bhatia‐Singh, and Ubriaco) and their application in the detection of distributed denial‐of‐service (DDoS) attacks. The Shannon formula has been used extensively for this purpose for more than a decade. The use of the Tsallis and Rényi formulas in this context has also been proposed. Bhatia‐Singh entropy is a novel information metric with promising results in initial applications in this area. Ubriaco proposed an entropy function based on the fractional calculus. In this paper, flow size distribution was used as the input for detection. The type of DDoS attack is SYN flood, and simulation was used to obtain the input dataset. The results show that the Rényi and Bhatia‐Singh detectors perform better than the rest. Rényi and Tsallis performed similarly with respect to the true positive rate, but Rényi had a much lower false positive rate. The Bhatia‐Singh detector had the best true positive rate but a higher false positive rate than Rényi. The Ubriaco detector performed similar to the Shannon detector. With respect to detection delay, Tsallis, Ubriaco, and Shannon produced similar results, with a slight advantage associated with the Ubriaco detector, while Rényi and Bhatia‐Singh had a larger detection delay than the former three.     

Bioinspired 3D Printed Locomotion Devices Based on Anisotropic Friction

Anisotropic friction plays a key role in natural systems, particularly for realizing the purpose of locomotion and strong attachment for the survival of organisms. Of particular interest, here, is the observation that friction anisotropy is promoted numerous times by nature, for example, by wild wheat awn for its targeted and successful seed anchorage and dispersal. Such feature is, however, not fully exploited in man‐made systems, such as microbots, due to technical limitations and lack of full understanding of the mechanisms. To unravel the complex dynamics occurring in the sliding interaction between anisotropic microstructured surfaces, the friction induced by asymmetric plant microstructures is first systematically investigated. Inspired by this, anisotropic polymer microactuators with three‐dimensional (3D) printed microrelieves are then prepared. By varying geometric parameters, the capability of microactuators to generate strong friction anisotropy and controllable motion in remotely stretched cylindrical tubes is investigated. Advanced theoretical models are proposed to understand and predict the dynamic behavior of these synthetic systems and to shed light on the parameters and mechanisms governing their behavior. Finally, a microbot prototype is developed and cargo transportation functions are successfully realized. This research provides both in‐depth understanding of anisotropic friction in nature and new avenues for developing intelligent actuators and microbots.     

Systematic Analysis of the Improvements in Magnetic Resonance Microscopy with Ferroelectric Composite Ceramics

The spatial resolution and signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) attainable in magnetic resonance microscopy (MRM) are limited by intrinsic probe losses and probe–sample interactions. In this work, the possibility to exceed the SNR of a standard solenoid coil by more than a factor‐of‐two is demonstrated theoretically and experimentally. This improvement is achieved by exciting the first transverse electric mode of a low‐loss ceramic resonator instead of using the quasi‐static field of the metal‐wire solenoid coil. Based on theoretical considerations, a new probe for microscopy at 17 T is developed as a dielectric ring resonator made of ferroelectric/dielectric low‐loss composite ceramics precisely tunable via temperature control. Besides the twofold increase in SNR, compared with the solenoid probe, the proposed ceramic probe does not cause static‐field inhomogeneity and related image distortion.     

Fabrication of buried microfluidic channels with observation windows using femtosecond laser photoablation and parylene-C coating

We developed an advanced method for fabricating microfluidic structures comprising channels and inputs/outputs buried within a silicon wafer based on single level lithography. We etched trenches into a silicon substrate, covered these trenches with parylene-C, and selectively opened their bottoms using femtosecond laser photoablation, forming channels and inputs/outputs by isotropic etching of silicon by xenon difluoride vapors. We subsequently sealed the channels with a second parylene-C layer. Unlike in previously published works, this entire process is conducted at ambient temperature to allow for integration with complementary metal oxide semiconductor devices for smart readout electronics. We also demonstrated a method of chip cryo-cleaving with parylene presence that allows for monitoring of the process development. We also created an observation window for in situ visualization inside the opaque silicon substrate by forming a hole in the parylene layer at the silicon backside and with local silicon removal by xenon difluoride vapor etching. We verified the microfluidic chip performance by forming a segmented flow of a fluorescein solution in an oil stream. This proposed technique provides opportunities for forming simple microfluidic systems with buried channels at ambient temperature.     

The effects of IT-related attributional style in voluntary technology training

IT training is firmly established as a key condition that influences successful technology adoption, yet little is known about factors that can affect voluntary training participation. We evaluate the predictive value of IT-related attributional style in relation to the intention to participate in voluntary training in the context of a mandatory enterprise resource planning system rollout. We find that individual IT-related attributional style is highly predictive of the intention to participate.     

Robust Single Molecule Magnet Monolayers on Graphene and Graphite with Magnetic Hysteresis up to 28 K

The chemical functionalization of fullerene single molecule magnet Tb₂@C₈₀(CH₂Ph) enables the facile preparation of robust monolayers on graphene and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite from solution without impairing their magnetic properties. Monolayers of endohedral fullerene functionalized with pyrene exhibit magnetic bistability up to a temperature of 28 K. The use of pyrene terminated linker molecules opens the way to devise integration of spin carrying units encapsulated by fullerene cages on graphitic substrates, be it single-molecule magnets or qubit candidates.     

Rapid and phase pure synthesis of microporous copper silicate (CuSH–1Na) with 12-ring channel system

Phase pure sample of the microporous copper silicate CuSH–1Na has been obtained by simplified hydrothermal method without using additives (H₂O₂ and Na₂HPO₄). Ion exchange of Na⁺ by Cs⁺, Ca²⁺ and Sr²⁺ ions showed that the structure can suffer partial replacement of the charge compensating cations. Ion exchange with Cs⁺ resulted in distinct dehydration while the ion exchange with Sr²⁺ increased the total amount of water. Water content in the Ca-exchanged sample is comparable to the as-synthesized sodium phase. Raman spectroscopy revealed that the divalent cations as Ca²⁺ and Sr²⁺ induce stronger local structural deformations than the monovalent Cs⁺. These structural changes have been also followed by the refined lattice distortions. Magnetic analyses showed that CuSH–1Na presents a very weak ferromagnetic interaction along the Cu²⁺ chains with a nearly vanishing Curie–Weiss temperature. This magnetic coupling is associated with super-super-exchange interactions through Cu–Na–O–Na–Cu paths. Antiferromagnetic coupling, attributed to inter-chains super-super-exchange interactions, competes with the ferromagnetic one and prevails at the lowest temperature.