Very High Volume Aerosol Sampling with a Novel Drum Centrifuge

For chemical analysis of trace compounds, comparatively large amounts of dust have to be collected. If good time resolution is required, very high sampling flow rates are mandatory. The operating principle of the drum centrifuge built to cope with these requirements is based on particle deposition on the inner surface of a porous rotating drum. Due to the rotation, a pressure gradient draws the aerosol into the bore of the axis and from there radially outward through a number of holes into the drum. The aerosol then moves to the periphery of the double-walled drum, which consists of two 0.15-mm-thick metal sheets with 1-mm spacing. Each of these metal sheets is perforated by several rows of small slits resulting in porosity of 16%. The slits in the inner and outer sheet are displaced, so that the particles will be strongly deflected on their way out of the rotating drum. Under the combined action of centrifugal forces and strong streamline deflection in the displaced slits of the two thin-walled drums, the particles are deposited. Flow rate as a function of rpm and collection efficiency as a function of particle size were determined experimentally. For simplicity, only the flow field of two (nonrotating) displaced slits was mathematically analyzed. The resulting 2-D solution of the Navier-Stokes equation was used for deterministic limiting trajectory calculations in the case of large particles. Diffusional motion of small particles was allowed for by Monte Carlo trajectory calculation. The calculated deposition efficiencies agree satisfactorily with the experimental results. At 3000 rpm a flow rate of 1200 m³/hr and efficiencies of 91% for 2.1-μm particles, 75% for 0.6-μm particles, and 48% for 0.04-μm particles were obtained. For easy extraction of the collected particulate matter, the device is equipped with an ultrasonic cleaning bath.     

The flood of the century on the River Oder: effects on the 0+ fish community and implications for floodplain restoration

In summer 1997, the flood of the century occurred on the River Oder in the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany. Effects of the summer flood on the 0+ fish community were evaluated at the Lower Oder in the Polish–German National Park. Fish were collected from different mesohabitats before the flood, at rising water levels and after the flood using Point Abundance Sampling by electrofishing. Flooding caused changes in local 0+ fish assemblages and partly affected the physical habitat structure. Two sandbars were formed by breaches in the dike system, replacing the former uniform river embankments. Under post‐flood conditions, diversity was increased in nearly all mesohabitats. ‘Wash‐out’ of 0+ fish was highest in poorly structured mesohabitats. Effects of the summer flood on eurytopic species were the most pronounced. We suggest that the progeny of rheophilic species were affected to a lesser extent by flooding because of their adaptation to variable flow conditions. Furthermore, rheophilic 0+ fish were able to colonize the newly created mesohabitats and, thus, benefited from the increased habitat heterogeneity after the flood. In this context, implications for floodplain restoration are discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microstructure and creep behaviour of eutectic SnAg and SnAgCu solders

The paper presents creep data, that was gained on specimens of different microstructures. The three specimen types have been flip chip solder joints, pin trough hole solder joints and standard bulk solder specimens. The bulk solder specimen was a dog-bone type specimen (diameter=3 mm, LENGTH=117 mm). The pin trough hole solder joint consisted on a copper wire that was soldered into a hole of a double sided printed circuit board (thickness 1.5 mm). The flip chip solder joint specimen consisted of two silicon chips (4 mm × 4 mm), which were connected by four flip chip joints (one on each corner). SnAg and SnAgCu flip chip bumps (footprint 200 μm × 200 μm, joint height 165–200 μm, centre diameter 90…130 μm) were created by printing solder paste.Constant–load creep tests were carried out on all three specimen types at temperatures between 5 and 70 °C. Creep data was taken for strain rates between 10⁻¹⁰ and 10⁻³ s⁻¹. The specimens were tested in “as cast” condition and after thermal storage.The microstructural properties of the bulk specimens and real solder joints were examined using metallographic sectioning, optical microscopy techniques, and SEM-microprobe analysis. The results of the microstructural analysis were related to the investigated mechanical properties of the solders. Models of SnAg3.5 and SnAg4Cu0.5, that can be used with the ANSYS FEM software package, will be presented.     

Electro-refraction in quantum dots: dependence on lateral size and shape

Photonic switches require low-loss polarization-independent phase-shifting elements. In a composite quantum well, a 0.46-mm phase shifter provides a /spl pi//4 phase shift by combining the quantum confined Stark effect (QCSE) and the carrier depletion effect. We investigate whether the discrete energy levels and the high peak absorption in quantum dots (QDs) provide an opportunity for increasing the electro-refraction. The electro-refraction in strained cylindrical InAs-GaAs QDs is explored using a numerical model based on the 4 /spl times/ 4 Luttinger-Kohn Hamiltonian. The excitonic states are calculated by matrix diagonalization with plane-wave basis states. We observe that the QCSE sharply increases with the height of the QD and is also optimized for small-radius QDs. The QCSE in pyramidal QDs is considerably larger than in a box or cylinders. We find a peak electro-refraction of /spl Delta/n=0.35 in cone-shaped pyramidal QDs, which is a factor of 35 larger than in the quantum-well case. Finally, in the waveguide geometry, we find an electro-refraction of 1.3/spl times/10/sup -2/ at a residual QD absorption of 0.15 dB/cm.     

Solution of Maxwell's equations for log-periodic dipole antennas

A theory of the log-periodic dipole antenna, which is a solution of the antenna boundary-value problem, is presented here. The theory is derived from Maxwell's equations by solving the wave equation in cylindrical coordinates and satisfying all boundary conditions. The theory is not limited to the log-periodic dipole antenna, but can be easily modified and applied to other antenna configurations using parallel linear elements. The radiation coupling between all antenna elements is taken into account; the calculated results show good agreement with the measurements. Current distributions, radiation patterns, and antenna input impedances are considered, and the application of this theory to the problem of optimal log-periodic dipole antennas is presented as well. Such an antenna obtained by numerical computation is discussed in detail.     

Highly rectifying Au-contacts on diamond-on-silicon substrate

Au Schottky diodes have been fabricated on highly oriented diamond (HOD) films, grown on silicon using AC-bias nucleation and microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition. The active layers were selectively grown and doped by solid boron source. High rectification ratios were obtained up to 500°C in a bias voltage range up to ±15 V. A current density of more than 1 A/cm² and a breakdown field strength up to 2.0·10⁶ V/cm for point contacts has been demonstrated