RF Testing on a Mixed Signal Tester

In this paper, testing of radio frequency (RF) devices with mixed-signal testers is discussed. General purpose automatic test equipment (ATE) will be used. In this paper, a more universal test structure utilizing RF building blocks is proposed. A global positioning system (GPS) device is used as an example to illustrate how to develop the RF test plan with this usage. The test plan developed includes fast, cost-effective and dedicated circuitry.

The Effect of γ‐Irradiation on the Structure and Properties of Poly(propylene)/Clay Nanocomposites

The oxidative degradation of PP/OMMT nanocomposites under γ‐irradiation was studied. Changes in structure and properties resulting from γ‐exposure in the range 0–100 kGy were investigated. The results were analyzed by comparing the influence of PP‐g‐MA and pristine OMMT on the oxidation kinetics of neat PP. γ‐Irradiation in the presence of air strongly degraded the properties of PP materials, particularly for radiation doses above 20 kGy. The rate of oxidative degradation of PP/OMMT/PP‐g‐MA nanocomposites was much faster than that of neat PP. This suggests that PP‐g‐MA and pristine OMMT components behave as oxidation catalysts, leading to the formation of free radicals in the polymer matrix.

     

Effect of Hydrothermic Ageing on Dielectric and Mechanical Properties of Rigid Poly(vinyl chloride)

An accelerated hydrothermic ageing (according to N.F.T. 54043 method) was performed on samples of rigid poly(vinyl chloride). The test consisted of sample immersion in boiling water at 100°C for different exposure periods up to 480 h. The samples were removed from the boiling water every two hours for mechanical and dielectric characterization and color test. The dielectric measurements carried out on aged samples, up to 40 h, showed that the permittivity remained almost constant and its value was found to be 2.3 in the range –100 to +62.8°C. However, as the temperature approaches the glass transition (T_g = 88.3°C), the permittivity was observed to increase rapidly. It was also found that the permittivity of aged samples was lower than that of the non‐aged samples. The dielectric loss factor (tan δ) measurements with respect to temperature have confirmed the presence of two relaxations: β at low temperature (around –35°C) and α near the T_g. The combined action of water and temperature reduced the intensity of the corresponding relaxation peaks. The sample color index was evaluated up to 480 h using the SYNMERO scale in order to estimate the degradation extent. Unexpectedly, elongation at break under uniaxial traction remained unaffected by the hydrothermic ageing, meaning that two competing processes were involved simultaneously (sample degradation via chain scission and sample plastification via water absorption).     

Cyclic polymers in good solvents

This paper deals with the effects of excluded volume interactions on the thermodynamic and structural properties of cyclic polymers in good solvents. Several thermodynamic properties are discussed with particular emphasis on excluded volume interactions and their effects on the radii of gyration and the form factors. An empirical model describing the mean square distance between two points along a cyclic polymer is proposed and its predictions compared with those of other models. Comparison between cyclic and linear chain properties highlights the effects of chain closure under good solvent conditions. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

Mechanical Properties of Electron Beam Cured Monomer and Monomer/Liquid Crystal Films

This article reports on mechanical properties of electron beam cured tripropylene glycol diacrylate (TPGDA) and propoxylated glycerol triacrylate (GPTA) films. This study has been motivated by the need to have direct access to those properties for analyzing the thermo‐mechanical behavior and electro‐optical properties of polymer dispersed liquid crystal systems in general, and systems made either of TPGDA or GPTA and low molecular weight liquid crystals in particular. Representative examples of these systems are considered in this work. The effects of the degree of crosslinking on the mechanical strength of the polymer network are analyzed by considering different doses of the electron beam irradiation. As the radiation dose increases, the mechanical strength of the film is enhanced. Addition of a small amount of liquid crystals leads to remarkable plasticizing effects.

Young modulus and rubbery state modulus as a function of EB dose for cured TPGDA films. The filled symbols represent the Young modulus and the open symbols represent the rubbery state modulus. Circles are for pure TPGDA and squares are for TPGDA/E7 mixture with 15 wt.‐% E7.     

High efficiency all‐GaAs solar cell

The reduction of surface recombination in GaAs solar cells is known to be a major concern for photovoltaic cells designers. A common technique used to reduce this effect is to cover the GaAs surface with a wide band gap window layer, therefore the creation of a heterojunction. To avoid a heterojunction with its inconveniences; interface surface states, poor photon absorption in addition to the technological exigencies, one can use an all‐GaAs solar cell. In this type of structure, a thin highly doped layer is created at the surface known as a front surface field (FSF). The main role of an FSF layer is to reduce the effect of front surface recombination and the enhancement of light‐generated free carriers' collection. This is achieved by the drastic reduction of the effective recombination at the emitter upper boundary. In this work, a simple analytical model is used to simulate the influence of the FSF layer on GaAs solar cell parameters; photocurrent, open circuit voltage and energy conversion efficiency. The effects of the FSF layer doping density and its thickness on the cell performance are discussed by using computed results. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis and characterization of new anthracene-based semi-conducting materials

Two soluble anthracene-based organic materials (BPA-An1 and BPA-An2) have been synthesized and characterized. The optical properties of these π-conjugated systems were investigated by UV–Visible absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies. The optical gaps were estimated from the absorption onsets of the thin polymer films; their values were 3.01 and 2.76?eV for BPA-An1 and BPA-An2, respectively. The PL spectrum of BPA-An2 exhibits a blue emission both in dilute solution and thin film. BPA-An1 showed a blue photoluminescence in dilute solution; in solid film, π–π interactions influence its optical behavior and a green emission was observed. The HOMO and LUMO levels were estimated using cyclic voltammetry analysis. Single-layer devices of the (indium-tin oxide/anthracene-based material/aluminum) configuration have been elaborated and showed relatively low turn-on voltages of 6.2–5.5?V for BPA-An1 and BPA-An2, respectively.     

Evaluation of bit error rate for packet combining with constellation rearrangement

In this paper, we propose a method for evaluation of the bit error rate (BER) for packet combining based on constellation rearrangement (CoRe). Such mapping diversity scheme, adopted in the high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), uses Gray‐mapped constellations and is based on suboptimal accumulation of the reliability metrics generated in each of the transmissions. We present an exact model for the logarithmic likelihood ratios (LLR) obtained by means of the so‐called max‐log approximation, and we show that their conditional probability density functions (pdf) are piecewise Gaussian. We then present the derivation of the uncoded BER and illustrate it with simulation results that confirm our formulation. Finally, we propose simplifications which significantly reduce the complexity of the evaluation method and provide results with a very good accuracy; an extension to transmissions over faded channel is also presented. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Engineered Nanoparticles as Potential Food Contaminants and Their Toxicity to Caco‐2 Cells

Engineered nanoparticles (ENPs), such as metallic or metallic oxide nanoparticles (NPs), have gained much attention in recent years. Increasing use of ENPs in various areas may lead to the release of ENPs into the environment and cause the contamination of agricultural and food products by ENPs. In this study, we selected two important ENPs (zinc oxide [ZnO] and silver [Ag] NPs) as potential food contaminants and investigated their toxicity via an in vitro model using Caco‐2 cells. The physical properties of ENPs and their effects on Caco‐2 cells were characterized by electron microscopy and energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopic (EDS) techniques. Results demonstrate that a significant inhibition of cell viability was observed after a 24‐h of exposure of Caco‐2 cells to 3‐, 6‐, and 12‐mM ZnO NPs or 0.5‐, 1.5‐, and 3‐mM Ag NPs. The noticeable changes of cells include the alteration in cell shape, abnormal nuclear structure, membrane blebbing, and cytoplasmic deterioration. The toxicity of ZnO NPs, but not that of Ag NPs after exposure to simulated gastric fluid, significantly decreased. Scanning transmission electron microscopy shows that ZnO and Ag NPs penetrated the membrane of Caco‐2 cells. EDS results also confirm the presence of NPs in the cytoplasm of the cells. This study demonstrates that ZnO and Ag NPs have cytotoxic effects and can inhibit the growth of Caco‐2 cells.