Optimal design of the multiple-apertures-GaN-based vertical HEMTs with $$\hbox {SiO}_{2}$$ current blocking layer

Gallium nitride (GaN) based vertical high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) is very crucial for high power applications. Combination of advantageous material properties of GaN for high speed applications and novel vertical structure makes this device very beneficial for high power application. To improve the device performance especially in high drain bias condition, a novel GaN based vertical HEMT with silicon dioxide \((\hbox {SiO}_{2})\) current blocking layer (CBL) was reported recently. In this paper, effects of the thickness of CBL layer and the aperture length on the electrical and breakdown characteristics of GaN vertical HEMTs with \(\hbox {SiO}_{2}\) CBL are simulated by using two-dimensional quantum-mechanically corrected device simulation. Intensive numerical study on the device enables us to optimize and conclude that devices with \(0.5\hbox {-}\upmu \hbox {m}\)-thick \(\hbox {SiO}_{2}\) layer and \(1\hbox {-}\upmu \hbox {m}\)-long aperture will be beneficial considerations to improve the device performance. Notably, using the multiple apertures can effectively reduce the on-state conducting resistance of the device. On increasing the number of apertures, the drain current is increased but the breakdown voltage is decreased. Therefore, device with four apertures is taken as an optimized result. The maximum drain current of 84 mA at \(\hbox {V}_\mathrm{G}= 1\,\hbox {V}\) and \(\hbox {V}_\mathrm{D}= 30\,\hbox {V}\), and the breakdown voltage of 480 V have been achieved for the optimized device.     

Recognition of undercut features and parting surface of moulded parts using polyhedron face adjacency graph

An injection or die-casting mould is an assembly of parts containing an impression into which molten material is injected. In this article, the undercuts present in mould parts are divided into basically two parts: completely visible and partially visible. A graph-based approach is proposed to identify these undercuts even for the free form objects. Unlike conventional graph based methods a new polyhedron face adjacency graph (PFAG) is proposed with the key concept of visibility of undercuts by using Bezier surface. A rule-based approach is also discussed to automatically generate an optimal parting surfaceof irregular moulded parts. Since the generation of parting surface plays an important and effective role in mould – die design, thus it is essential to develop a simple and robust algorithm based on proposed methodology, which can effectively tackle the problem. Different case studies show that the proposed method can recognize various undercut features without much difficulty.     

Molecular delivery to cells facilitated by corona ion deposition

A novel method of inducing the delivery of nonpermeant molecules to the cytosol of cells is presented in this paper. Corona discharge in air was utilized to produce ions that in turn were deposited onto the liquid surface of media containing cultured cells. Murine B16 melanoma cells were used to demonstrate the molecular delivery of fluorescent dye calcein, the drug bleomycin, and a nucleic acid stain SYTOX-green. None of these molecules penetrate cells with intact membranes. Following the corona treatment, cells were observed to admit significant quantities of these molecules from the culture media, relative to control samples. Further, greater than 95% viability of treated cells was observed by Trypan Blue assay. This method may provide an attractive alternative to electroporation where a physical contact between electrodes and cells is needed to deliver molecules to the cytosol.     

GATE Teamware: a web-based, collaborative text annotation framework

This paper presents GATE Teamware—an open-source, web-based, collaborative text annotation framework. It enables users to carry out complex corpus annotation projects, involving distributed annotator teams. Different user roles are provided (annotator, manager, administrator) with customisable user interface functionalities, in order to support the complex workflows and user interactions that occur in corpus annotation projects. Documents may be pre-processed automatically, so that human annotators can begin with text that has already been pre-annotated and thus making them more efficient. The user interface is simple to learn, aimed at non-experts, and runs in an ordinary web browser, without need of additional software installation. GATE Teamware has been evaluated through the creation of several gold standard corpora and internal projects, as well as through external evaluation in commercial and EU text annotation projects. It is available as on-demand service on GateCloud.net, as well as open-source for self-installation.     

Battery energy storage systems: Assessment for small-scale renewable energy integration

Concerns arising due to the variability and intermittency of renewable energy sources while integrating with the power grid can be mitigated to an extent by incorporating a storage element within the renewable energy harnessing system. Thus, battery energy storage systems (BESS) are likely to have a significant impact in the small-scale integration of renewable energy sources into commercial building and residential dwelling. These storage technologies not only enable improvements in consumption levels from renewable energy sources but also provide a range of technical and monetary benefits. This paper provides a modelling framework to be able to quantify the associated benefits of renewable resource integration followed by an overview of various small-scale energy storage technologies. A simple, practical and comprehensive assessment of battery energy storage technologies for small-scale renewable applications based on their technical merit and economic feasibility is presented. Software such as Simulink and HOMER provides the platforms for technical and economic assessments of the battery technologies respectively.     

Analysis of gap-free chlorophyll-a data from MODIS in Arabian Sea,reconstructed using DINEOF

ABSTRACT

The chlorophyll-a concentration (chl-a), which is an index of phytoplankton pigment present in the oceans, is considered as a key indicator of health of marine ecosystems that could have direct effect on the human life. In this study, spatial and temporal variability of chl-a in the Arabian Sea (AS) is examined using reconstructed cloud-free ocean colour data for the period 2002–2015. Data Interpolating Empirical Orthogonal Function method is used to reconstruct the missing data. Subsequently, wavelet analysis is applied on the reconstructed data to assess the temporal variability in terms of seasonal, intra-seasonal, and interannual variability of chl-a in the AS. Wavelet analysis clearly depicted the low-frequency, stationary modes or approximation levels inferring the monthly, seasonal, and annual mean of the signal, while the high-frequency, non-stationary modes indicated the local abnormalities. From the analysis of gap-free data, the presence of biennial mode of variability in the northern AS chl-a is observed. The analysis further showed the existence of intra-seasonal oscillations in the northern AS during summer monsoon and single dominant peak during winter monsoon. Chl-a appeared to decline slightly during the entire study period across all the selected regions of the AS. Also, it is observed that chl-a in the northwestern region is highly dynamic than in the other regions of the AS.     

Tuned liquid dampers for multi-storey structure: numerical simulation using a partitioned FSI algorithm and experimental validation

Wind-induced and earthquake-induced vibrations of structures such as super-tall towers and bridges can be efficaciously controlled by tuned liquid dampers (TLDs). This work presents a numerical simulation procedure to study the performance of TLDs–structure system through sigma (\( \sigma \))-transformation-based fluid–structure coupled solver. For this, a ‘C’-based computational code has been developed. The structural equations, which are coupled with the fluid equations in order to achieve the transfer of sloshing forces to structure for damping, are solved by the fourth-order Runge–Kutta method, while the fluid equations are solved using finite-difference-based sigma-transformed algorithm. Different iterative and error schemes are used to optimize the code for larger convergence rate and higher accuracy. For validation, a few experiments are conducted with a three-storey structure using TLDs arrangement. The present numerical results of response of TLD-installed structures match well with the experimental results. The minimum displacement of structure is observed when the resonance condition of the coupled system is achieved through proper tuning of TLDs. Since real-time excitations are random in nature, the performance study of TLDs under random excitation has also been carried out in which the Bretschneider spectrum is used to generate the random input wave.     

Low Cost Communication for High Speed Railway

Wireless Personal Communications - The demand for wireless communication has widely increased in high-speed railway (HSR). The people demand high capacity and efficient communication independent of...     

Carbon nanotubes for biomedical applications

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have many unique physical, mechanical, and electronic properties. These distinct properties may be exploited such that they can be used for numerous applications ranging from sensors and actuators to composites. As a result, in a very short duration, CNTs appear to have drawn the attention of both the industry and the academia. However, there are certain challenges that need proper attention before the CNT-based devices can be realized on a large scale in the commercial market. In this paper, we report the use of CNTs for biomedical applications. The paper describes the distinct physical, electronic, and mechanical properties of nanotubes. The basics of synthesis and purification of CNTs are also reviewed. The challenges associated with CNTs, which remain to be fully addressed for their maximum utilization for biomedical applications, are discussed.