Harmonic analysis of GaN-HEMTs at different temperatures and frequencies using Volterra power series

In this study, the detailed harmonic analysis of GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) at different temperatures and frequencies is presented. Volterra power series and multi-dimensional Laplace transform are used as a method. The Volterra power series is also solved up to third degree, and the small signal transfer functions of kernels (H₁, H₂ and H₃) are obtained. The relationship between drain inductance (L_d), gate–source voltage (V_gs), impedance (Z_L) and the effect of frequency (F_r) to the output gain is identified. Besides, the nonlinear gains of H₁, H₂ and H₃ kernels of the GaN-HEMT are obtained. The inverse relationship between the output gains of H₁, H₂ and H₃ kernels are derived. An unsuitable situation has also been identified for sub-carrier inter-modulation systems. In addition, an asymmetric structure is also obtained between the output gain of H₂ and side-band frequencies. The effects of other parameters are carried out for the output gain.     

A High-Precision Quasi-optical Polarizer for Zeeman Splitting Observations

A series of grooved dielectric quarter-wave plates was made for radio astronomical Zeeman splitting observations at millimeter wavelengths. To meet the stringent requirements on reflection and polarization purity, a design method was formulated based on optimization of multiple reflections. The method solves the problem of achieving low reflections for both polarization components while attaining high purity of circular polarization. Several plates have been manufactured, tested, and used successfully for astronomical observations.     

Segmentation of retinal blood vessels by combining the detection of centerlines and morphological reconstruction

This paper presents an automated method for the segmentation of the vascular network in retinal images. The algorithm starts with the extraction of vessel centerlines, which are used as guidelines for the subsequent vessel filling phase. For this purpose, the outputs of four directional differential operators are processed in order to select connected sets of candidate points to be further classified as centerline pixels using vessel derived features. The final segmentation is obtained using an iterative region growing method that integrates the contents of several binary images resulting from vessel width dependent morphological filters. Our approach was tested on two publicly available databases and its results are compared with recently published methods. The results demonstrate that our algorithm outperforms other solutions and approximates the average accuracy of a human observer without a significant degradation of sensitivity and specificity.     

Stepwise Algorithms for Improving the Accuracy of Both Deterministic and Probabilistic Methods in WLAN-based Indoor User Localisation

The performance of three stepwise algorithms designed to improve the accuracy of WLAN-based indoor localisation methods was determined using a robust simulation technique. The majority of WLAN localisation techniques use the receive signal strength indication to estimate a network users location using either a deterministic or a probabilistic approach. Previous work has shown that the rms error of these localisation techniques can be over 5 m, which is unacceptably high for indoor applications. Three different stepwise algorithms, two of which are novel, were simulated across several different test bed layouts in order to determine their effectiveness in reducing the error in the position estimate. Of the three algorithms, the constrained movement algorithm offered the best improvement in accuracy with up to a 40% improvement when using deterministic techniques. For probabilistic tracking, there was minimal improvement in the accuracy.     

Comparing the growth of a molecular semiconductor on amorphous and semi-crystalline polycarbonate substrates

Polymeric substrates are of importance in plastic electronics. However, polymeric surfaces can exhibit different morphologies depending on whether they are amorphous or semi-crystalline. This work focuses on the impact of the surface structure of bisphenol A polycarbonate substrates on the nucleation and growth of a p-type semi-conductor, namely zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc). ZnPc films were deposited under high vacuum at different substrate temperatures on oriented semi-crystalline as well as amorphous substrates of PC. The oriented substrates of PC were prepared by a method combining mechanical rubbing and solvent induced crystallization: the substrates show a periodic and regular alternation of oriented crystalline lamellae. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction shows that the crystalline lamellae of PC have a preferential (a, c) contact plane. Moreover, the substrates show a bilayer structure made of a 60 nm-thick semi-crystalline overlayer atop an amorphous underlayer. UV–vis spectroscopy shows that the polymorphism of the ZnPc films is not modified by the surface structure of the PC substrate (amorphous versus semi-crystalline). However, the statistical analysis of domain size and density versus substrate temperature T_s evidences different apparent activation energies of the growth mechanism. High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy suggests that twinning along a (2 ?1 0) plane accounts for the bifurcations of the in-plane b-axis direction of the ZnPc nanocrystals. On oriented substrates of PC, such bifurcations are partly suppressed by the nanocorrugation of the surface, resulting in larger apparent domain sizes and unidirectional in-plane orientation.     

Particle-based simulation of the interaction between fluid and knitwear

We present a particle-based method to simulate and visualize the interaction of knitwear with fluids. The knitwear is modeled using spring-mass systems and the fluid is modeled using the smoothed particle hydrodynamics method. Two-way coupling is achieved by considering surface tension, capillary, and interparticle forces between the fluid and knitwear. The simulation of fluid and knitwear particles is performed on the graphics processing unit. Photorealistic rendering of knitwear and fluid is achieved by using a hardware-accelerated rasterization-based rendering technique. Our method is able to simulate and visualize the macro- and microstructure of free-form knitwear and reflective and refractive characteristics of the fluid surface.     

Quantitative evaluation of three calibration methods for 3-D freehand ultrasound

In this paper, three different calibration methods for three-dimensional (3-D) freehand ultrasound (US) are evaluated. Calibration is the process of estimating the rigid transformation from US image coordinates to the coordinate system of the tracking sensor mounted onto the probe. Calibration accuracy has an important impact on quantitative studies. Geometrical precision can also be crucial in many interventions and surgery. The proposed evaluation framework relies on a single point phantom and a 3-D US phantom which mimics the US characteristics of human liver. Four quality measures are used: 3-D point localization criterion, distance and volume measurements, and shape based criterion. Results show that during the acquisition procedure, volumetric measurements and shapes of the reconstructed object depend on probe motion used, particularly fan motions for which errors are larger. It is also shown that accurate calibration is essential to obtain reliable quantitative information.     

On‐the‐Spot Immobilization of Quantum Dots,Graphene Oxide,and Proteins via Hydrophobins

Class I hydrophobin Vmh2, a peculiar surface active and versatile fungal protein, is known to self‐assemble into chemically stable amphiphilic films, to be able to change wettability of surfaces, and to strongly adsorb other proteins. Herein, a fast, highly homogeneous and efficient glass functionalization by spontaneous self‐assembling of Vmh2 at liquid–solid interfaces is achieved (in 2 min). The Vmh2‐coated glass slides are proven to immobilize not only proteins but also nanomaterials such as graphene oxide (GO) and quantum dots (QDs). As models, bovine serum albumin labeled with Alexa 555 fluorophore, anti‐immunoglobulin G antibodies, and cadmium telluride QDs are patterned in a microarray fashion in order to demonstrate functionality, reproducibility, and versatility of the proposed substrate. Additionally, a GO layer is effectively and homogeneously self‐assembled onto the studied functionalized surface. This approach offers a quick and simple alternative to immobilize nanomaterials and proteins, which is appealing for new bioanalytical and nanobioenabled applications.