Structure,mechanical and corrosion properties of DC reactive magnetron sputtered aluminum nitride (AlN) hard coatings on mild steel substrates

Aluminum nitride (AlN) coatings of about 2 μm thick were deposited on mild steel (MS) by means of direct current (DC) reactive magnetron sputtering. AlN coatings were prepared in an Ar + N₂ gas mixture and their crystal structure, microstructure, and topography were analyzed by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. XRD revealed that the films are polycrystalline in nature and have a hexagonal wurtzite structure with a predominant peak observed along the (002) plane. SEM and AFM images showed the presence of continuously covered pebble like spherical grains on the surface. These coatings showed lower coefficient of friction and excellent wear resistance compared to the bare MS substrate. The potentiodynamic polarization studies showed lower corrosion current density and higher polarization resistance for the AlN/MS structure than the uncoated MS substrate.     

Investigation on synthesis, pressureless sintering and hot pressing of chromium diboride

Experimental investigations were carried out on synthesis of chromium diboride through boron carbide reduction of Cr₂O₃. The products obtained were characterized by X-ray diffraction and the process optimized to prepare single-phase CrB₂ powder. Densification of CrB₂ was investigated by pressureless sintering and hot pressing. A maximum of 93% ρ_th was obtained by pressureless sintering at 1850 °C after a prolonged duration of 360 min. However, near theoretical density was achieved by hot pressing at 1600 °C and 35 MPa pressure for 2 h. The hardness and fracture toughness of fully dense CrB₂ was measured as 22 GPa and 3.5 MPa m^1/2, respectively. The mode of fracture in pressureless sintered samples is intergranular whereas that in hot pressed is transgranular.     

Degradation of DC characteristics of InGaAs/InP singleheterojunction bipolar transistors under electron irradiation

The effects of high-energy (~1 MeV) electron irradiation on the dc characteristics of InGaAs/InP single heterojunction bipolar transistors (SHBT's) are investigated. The device characteristics do not show any significant change for electron doses <10¹⁵/cm². For higher doses, devices show a decrease in collector current, a degradation of common-emitter current gain, an increase in collector saturation voltage and an increase in the collector output conductance. A simple SPICE-like device model is developed to describe the dc characteristics of SHBT's. The model parameters extracted from the measured dc characteristics of the devices before and after irradiation are used to get an insight into the physical mechanisms responsible for the degradation of the devices     

Performance of a Multiple-Antenna Multiple-Equalizer System for a CDMA Indoor Wireless System

A multiple-antenna multiple-equalizer (MAME) system for interferencesuppression in some code-division multiple-access (CDMA) indoor wirelesssystems is investigated. The MAME system offers enhanced interferencesuppression capabilities over existing approaches under certain conditions andcan thus increase system capacity. The details of the MAME system arediscussed and the unique features of this work as compared with many otherstudies on space-time processing are explained using spectral correlation anddiversity domain concepts. The effects of the number of antennas, tap spacingof the equalizers, spectral correlation, and diversity domains are discussedusing simulation results. Adaptation performance results are also presentedand a recently proposed quasi-Newton algorithm is recommended for use in theMAME system. Decision-directed equalization results are also studied undervarious conditions and bit-error rate results are presented. Simulationresults illustrate that the MAME system can offer enhanced interferencesuppression capabilities in CDMA indoor wireless systems.     

Air permeability of multilayer woven fabric systems

A model to predict the air permeability of a multilayer woven fabric system from the air permeability and construction parameters of a single fabric has been developed. A new factor to account for the distortion of the threads in the fabric due to the flow of air through the layers of the fabric is proposed. This model incorporates the fabric cover factor (determined using an image‐processing method) and the proposed distortion factor (determined based on yarn linear density and fabric structure). The performance of the proposed model has been successfully validated by using it to predict the air permeability of other multilayer woven fabric systems and comparing it to experimentally determined values. The model can thus be used as a valuable tool in the engineering design of multilayer woven structures with desired air permeability performance requirements.