FERMAT: FPGA energy reduction method by approximation theory

The Journal of Supercomputing - Today’s field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) offer a significant computational power and are commonly used in modern commercial digital designs. However,...     

Instability analysis of bi-axial micro-scanner under electromagnetic actuation including small scale and damping effects

Microsystem Technologies - The objective of this work is to create an analytical framework to study the problem of instability and squeezed film damping in bi-axial micro-scanners under...     

A new approach in producing metal bellows by local arc heating: a parametric study

Recently, dieless forming processes have been introduced to prevent the high costs of dies and tools. Local heating and axial compression process is an innovative method for producing metal bellows. In this research, producing metal bellows using simultaneous local electric arc heating and axial compression has been explained and investigated. SUS304 tubes with an outer diameter of 19 mm and a thickness of 1 mm have been employed to implement the tests. Various parameters could affect the process. Among these parameters, effects of applied displacement and device current, influencing convolution shape, thickness, and required forming force, are studied experimentally. It is found that the height, radius, and angle of the convolution and also the forming force could be controlled by alteration of these parameters. Furthermore, the result of buckling test showed that energy absorption capacity of the manufactured metal bellow has been increased in comparison to a typical tube. This method could be a suitable alternative for induction local heating and can reduce the high equipment costs.     

Numerical and experimental investigation of central cavity formation in aluminum during forward extrusion process

In the presented paper central cavity formation during the forward extrusion of commercially pure aluminum was investigated. For this purpose finite element analysis was utilized for simulation of this defect. The experimental tests were carried out on commercially pure aluminum. A good agreement between finite element simulations and experimental tests verified the adaptability of finite element simulations with the real process conditions. Taguchi method was performed for classifying the simulations regarding to consider synergistic parameters. The parameters include reduction of area, friction coefficient and die angle. Critical thickness, the representative waste material, was presented as a new criterion for optimizing the parametric study. By utilizing the Analyze Taguchi design, critical thickness was optimized and the effect of each parameter was recognized for different levels. In addition, the best levels with the minimum waste material were gained in which friction coefficient, die angle and reduction of area were 0.2, 5° and 20%, respectively. Also the amount of waste material was forecasted by just about 2% errors without FEA by Taguchi method.     

Quantum circuit physical design methodology with emphasis on physical synthesis

In our previous works, we have introduced the concept of “physical synthesis” as a method to consider the mutual effects of quantum circuit synthesis and physical design. While physical synthesis can involve various techniques to improve the characteristics of the resulting quantum circuit, we have proposed two techniques (namely gate exchanging and auxiliary qubit selection) to demonstrate the effectiveness of the physical synthesis. However, the previous contributions focused mainly on the physical synthesis concept, and the techniques were proposed only as a proof of concept. In this paper, we propose a methodological framework for physical synthesis that involves all previously proposed techniques along with a newly introduced one (called auxiliary qubit insertion). We will show that the entire flow can be seen as one monolithic methodology. The proposed methodology is analyzed using a large set of benchmarks. Experimental results show that the proposed methodology decreases the average latency of quantum circuits by about 36.81 % for the attempted benchmarks.     

A droplet-based microfluidic platform for rapid immobilization of quantum dots on individual magnetic microbeads

Quantum dots (QDs) provide opportunities for the development of bioassays, biosensors, and drug delivery strategies. Decoration of the surface of QDs offers unique functions such as resistance to non-specific adsorption, selective binding to target molecules, and cellular uptake. The quality of decoration has substantial impact on the functionality of modified QDs. Single-phase microfluidic devices have been demonstrated for decorating QDs with biological molecules. The device substrate can serve as a solid-phase reaction platform, with a limitation being difficulty in the realization of reproducible decoration at high density of coverage of QDs. Magnetic beads (MBs) have been explored as an alternative form of solid-phase reaction platform for decorating QDs. As one example, controlled decoration to achieve unusually high density can be realized by first coating MBs with QDs, followed by the addition of molecules such as DNA oligonucleotides. Uniformity and high density of coatings on QDs have been obtained using MBs for solid-phase reactions in bulk solution, with the further advantage that the MBs offer simplification of procedural steps such as purification. This study explores the use of a droplet microfluidic platform to achieve solid-phase decoration of MBs with QDs, offering control of local reaction conditions beyond that available in bulk solution reactions. A microchannel network with a two-junction in-series configuration was designed and optimized to co-encapsulate one single 1 µm MB and many QDs into individual droplets. The microdroplet became the reaction vessel, and enhanced conjugation through the confined environment and fast mixing. A high density of QDs was coated onto the surface of single MB even when using a low concentration of QDs. This approach quickly produced decorated MBs, and significantly reduced QD waste, ameliorating the need to remove excess QDs. The methodology offers a degree of precision to control conjugation processes that cannot be attained in bulk synthesis methods. The proposed droplet microfluidic design can be widely adopted for nanomaterial synthesis using solid-phase assays.     

Dynamic instability analysis of doubly clamped cylindrical nanowires in the presence of Casimir attraction and surface effects using modified couple stress theory

The dynamic instability of free-standing size-dependent nanowires by considering the Casimir forceand surface effects is investigated in the following research work. The study is carried out for nanosystemswith circular cross section and cylinder–plate geometry for which the governing equation of motion is derivedbased on the Gurtin–Murdoch model and modified couple stress theory. Two methods including the proximityforce approximation for small separations and Dirichlet asymptotic approximation for large separations areutilized to formulate the Casimir attraction of a free-standing cylinder–plate geometry. To solve the complexnonlinear problem faced in this work, a stepwise numerical procedure is developed and the effects of lengthscale parameter, surface energy and vacuum fluctuations on the dynamic instability and adhesion time ofnanowires are studied. Based on the obtained results, the phase portrait of Casimir-induced nanowires showsperiodic and homoclinic orbits.