Effets d’un trou métallisé sur les caractéristiques de rayonnement d’une antenne plaque microruban alimentée par une ligne coaxiale à travers le plan de masse

Effects of the via-hole implementation on radiation characteristics of a microstrip patch antenna are computed on an EM resolver based upon integral equations and numerically solved by moment method. Coaxial feed and via-holes are considered as integral parts of the antenna so that after an accurate modeling of the incident field, induced effects of the holes are naturally accounted for. Results show that for some locations, the via-hole effects on the radiation characteristics are negligeable. Such predictions suggest solutions for various problems of practical interest in industrial applications of this new technology.     

Interfacial Strain Gradients Control Nanoscale Domain Morphology in Epitaxial BiFeO3 Multiferroic Films

Domain switching pathways fundamentally control performance in ferroelectric thin film devices. In epitaxial bismuth ferrite (BiFeO₃) films, the domain morphology is known to influence the multiferroic orders. While both striped and mosaic domains have been observed, the origins of the latter have remained unclear. Here, it is shown that domain morphology is defined by the strain profile across the film–substrate interface. In samples with mosaic domains, X‐ray diffraction analysis reveals strong strain gradients, while geometric phase analysis using scanning transmission electron microscopy finds that within 5 nm of the film–substrate interface, the out‐of‐plane strain shows an anomalous dip while the in‐plane strain is constant. Conversely, if uniform strain is maintained across the interface with zero strain gradient, striped domains are formed. Critically, an ex situ thermal treatment, which eliminates the interfacial strain gradient, converts the domains from mosaic to striped. The antiferromagnetic state of the BiFeO₃ is also influenced by the domain structure, whereby the mosaic domains disrupt the long‐range spin cycloid. This work demonstrates that atomic scale tuning of interfacial strain gradients is a powerful route to manipulate the global multiferroic orders in epitaxial films.     

Microwave Sintering and Optical Properties of Sm3+-Activated KSrPO4 Phosphors

The microwave sintering and photoluminescence properties of KSr_1?x PO₄:xSm³⁺ phosphors have been investigated. KSrPO₄ phosphates activated by various concentrations of Sm³⁺ ions (x = 0.007, 0.009, 0.01, 0.03) were microwave sintered at 1200°C for 3 h under air atmosphere. x-Ray diffraction patterns showed that all phosphor samples exhibited a single phase without any extraneous phases. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that the particle size increased with the Sm³⁺ concentration and that the particle morphology was fine and uniform. The photoluminescence results showed that a concentration quenching effect occurred when the concentration of Sm³⁺ ions reached x = 0.01. Decay time measurement results showed that the lifetime decreased gradually from 3.12 ms to 2.34 ms as the Sm³⁺ concentration increased. All the chromaticity (x, y) values of the microwave-sintered KSrPO₄:Sm³⁺ phosphors were located in the red region (0.57, 0.41).     

Impact of Blend Morphology on Interface State Recombination in Bulk Heterojunction Organic Solar Cells

This work is a reinvestigation of the impact of blend morphology and thermal annealing on the electrical performance of regioregular‐P3HT:PC₆₀BM bulk heterojunction organic solar cells. The morphological, structural, and electrical properties of the blend are experimentally investigated with atomic force microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, and time‐of‐flight measurements. Current–voltage characteristics of photodiode devices are measured in the dark and under illumination. Finally, the existence of exponential electronic band tails due to gap states is experimentally confirmed by measuring the device spectral response in the subband gap regime. This method reveals the existence of a large density of gap states, which is partially and systematically reduced by thermal annealing. When the band tails are properly accounted for in the drift and diffusion simulations, experimentally measured charge transport characteristics, under both dark and illuminated conditions and as a function of annealing time, can be satisfactorily reproduced. This work further confirms the critical impact of tails states on the performance of solar cells.     

Cell‐Tethered Ligands Modulate Bone Remodeling by Osteoblasts and Osteoclasts

The goals of the present study are to establish an in vitro co‐culture model of osteoblast and osteoclast function and to quantify the resulting bone remodeling. The bone is tissue engineered using well‐defined silk protein biomaterials in 2D and 3D formats in combination with human cells. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) and glucose‐dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP) are selected because of their roles in bone remodeling for expression in tethered format on human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). The cell‐modified biomaterial surfaces are reconstructed from scanning electron microscopy images into 3D models for quantitative measurement of surface characteristics. Increased calcium deposition and surface roughness are found in 3D surface models of silk protein films remodeled by co‐cultures containing tethered PTH, and decreased surface roughness is found for the films remodeled by tethered GIP co‐cultures. Increased surface roughness is not found in monocultures of hMSCs expressing tethered PTH, suggesting that osteoclast‐osteoblast interactions in the presence of PTH signaling are responsible for the increased mineralization. These data point towards the design of in vitro bone models in which osteoblast‐osteoclast interactions are mimicked for a better understanding of bone remodeling.     

A Review of Three‐Dimensional Resistive Switching Cross‐Bar Array Memories from the Integration and Materials Property Points of View

Issues in the circuitry, integration, and material properties of the two‐dimensional (2D) and three‐dimensional (3D) crossbar array (CBA)‐type resistance switching memories are described. Two important quantitative guidelines for the memory integration are provided with respect to the required numbers of signal wires and sneak current paths. The advantage of 3D CBAs over 2D CBAs (i.e., the decrease in effect memory cell size) can be exploited only under certain limited conditions due to the increased area and layout complexity of the periphery circuits. The sneak current problem can be mitigated by the adoption of different voltage application schemes and various selection devices. These have critical correlations, however, and depend on the involved types of resistance switching memory. The problem is quantitatively dealt with using the generalized equation for the overall resistance of the parasitic current paths. Atomic layer deposition is discussed in detail as the most feasible fabrication process of 3D CBAs because it can provide the device with the necessary conformality and atomic‐level accuracy in thickness control. Other subsidiary issues related to the line resistance, maximum available current, and fabrication technologies are also reviewed. Finally, a summary and outlook on various other applications of 3D CBAs are provided.     

A new method to quantify retention-failed cells of an EEPROM CAST

The cell array stress test (CAST) is a very simple tool to study one of the main issues of Non Volatile Memory reliability: data retention. However, it is not possible to easily quantify and localise the retention-failed cells of a CAST. Thus, a new experimental technique to localize and to quantify retention-failed EEPROM cells into a CAST is presented in this paper. This new technique is based on light emission microscopy; the aim is to observe light emission coming from cells and to localize their position with accuracy on CAST area. It is a visual and non destructive method which validity has been shown on cycled cells after a retention test.     

Vanadium Doping Enhanced Electrochemical Performance of Molybdenum Oxide in Lithium‐Ion Batteries

Molybdenum trioxide (MoO₃) suffers from poor conductivity, a low rate capability, and unsatisfactory cycling stability in lithium‐ion batteries. The aliovalent ion doping may present an effective way to improve the electrochemical performances of MoO₃. Here, it is shown, by first‐principle calculations, that doping MoO₃ with V by 12.5% can modulate significantly electronic structure and provide a small diffusion barrier for enhancing the electrochemical performance of MoO₃. The ultralong Mo_0.88V_0.12O_2.94 nanostructures, which retain the h‐MoO₃ structure and present an exceptionally high conductivity and fast ionic diffusion due to the substitution of V, facilitating lithiation/delithiation behavior, and induce a fine nanosized structure with a reduced volume change are prepared. As a result, the stress and strain are alleviated during the Li‐ion intercalation/deintercalation processes, improving the cycling stability and rate capability. Such a large improvement in the electrochemical properties can be ascribed to the stabilizing effect of V, the small migration energy barrier, and short diffusion path, which arise from the introduction of V into MoO₃. The unique engineering strategy and facile synthesis route open up a new avenue in modifying and developing other species of electrode materials.     

Analyse de la stabilité spectrale d’un laser DFB à trois sauts de phase (3PS-DFB)

The aim of this article is to analyze the spectral stability of the three phase shift distributed feedback (3ps-dfb) laser by using Time domain model (tdm). We have developed a software that simulates static and dynamic properties of distributed feedback (dfb) multi-sections laser at large signal. The best single-mode stability operation up to 18mW of the 3ps-dfb is achieved for three phase shifts at (π, π, π) whatever the phase position. These results showed that the 3ps-dfb laser was a much more suitable structure to realize stable single-mode high-power operation for a coherent optical communication system.