A Study of the Thallium- and Bismuth-based High-temperature Superconductors in the Framework of the Generalized BCS Equations

Presented here in the framework of the generalized BCS equations??which are based on multiple phonon exchanges for the formation of Cooper pairs (CPs)??is continuation of a study carried out earlier for MgB₂ Nb₃Sn and YBCO. Addressed now are the principal members of the Tl- and Bi-based high-T _c superconductors. For any of these, with the input of any two parameters from the set {critical temperature, two gaps}, and the Debye temperature, it is shown that one can calculate the remaining parameter. This is similar to what normal BCS equations achieve for a simple superconductor. Further, we show that these equations lead to upper bounds on the gap- and the T _c -values of a HTSC, beyond which one must invoke 2/3-phonon mechanism for the formation of CPs. Our considerations suggest the interesting possibility that senior members of the said families of cuprates may be three-gap SCs.     

Dielectric properties of iron doped calcium copper titanate,CaCu<Subscript>3</Subscript>Ti<Subscript>3.9</Subscript>Fe<Subscript>0.1</Subscript>O<Subscript>12</Subscript> ceramic

Dielectric properties of iron doped CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂ (CCTO), viz. CaCu₃Ti_3.9Fe_0.1O₁₂ (CCTFO) prepared by a novel semi-wet route have been investigated. X-ray diffraction of powder sintered at 900 °C show formation of single phase solid solution. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) confirmed the presence of CuO rich phase at grain boundaries of CCTFO. Nature of dielectric relaxation observed above room temperature is studied using complex plane impedance analysis and modulus spectroscopy. It has been found that out of the two relaxations reported earlier above room temperature, one occurring at lower temperature is due to grainboundaries interfacial polarization.     

Synthesis,characterization and application of biopolymer-ionic liquid composite membranes

Biopolymer composite membranes based on chitosan doped with an ionic liquid (IL) 1-ethyl 3-methylimidazolium thiocyanate (EMImSCN) have been developed and characterized. The doped ionic liquid films show remarkable enhancement in ionic conductivity (σ). The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction studies (XRD) affirmed the composite nature, good incorporation of ionic liquid and reduction in crystallinity of films, respectively. The interaction between ionic liquid, chitosan and iodide polymer electrolyte matrix was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry. The fabricated dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) using this new biopolymer electrolyte membranes shows promising performance.     

DG integrated multistage distribution system expansion planning

In this paper, a framework is presented to solve the problem of multistage distribution system expansion planning in which installation and/or reinforcement of substations, feeders and distributed generation units are taken into consideration as possible solutions for system capacity expansion. The proposed formulation considers investment, operation, and outage costs of the system. The expansion methodology is based on pseudo-dynamic procedure. A combined genetic algorithm (GA) and optimal power flow (OPF) is developed as an optimization tool to solve the problem. The performance of the proposed approach is assessed and illustrated by numerical studies on a typical distribution system.     

The impact of single-wafer processing on semiconductor manufacturing

In this paper, we have described the importance of single-wafer processing (SWP) in semiconductor manufacturing. As compared to batch processing, reduced cycle time, better control of surface and interface properties, and reduced defect densities are some of the attractive features of SWP. We have provided the example of new SWP tools that have the answers to address virtually all process integration issues in dealing with new materials as well as conventional materials in ultra small dimensions. Driven by reduced I/O pitches, and emergence of system-on-chip, system-in-package or system-on-package as the driver of semiconductor growth, SWP tools have started to play an important role in the surface cleaning in IC assembly and packaging. Global acceptance of SWP in manufacturing can address the supply chain problem of the semiconductor industry.     

A QoS Aware Resource Placement Approach Inspired on the Behavior of the Social Spider Mating Strategy in the Cloud Environment

Wireless Personal Communications - The efficient management of resource sharing plays a crucial role in the cloud execution environment. The constraints such as heterogeneity and dynamic nature of...     

Ultra Wideband Co-planer Microstrip Patch Antenna for Wireless Applications

In this paper, a comparative study of co-planar gap coupled rectangular and elliptical microstrip patch antenna is presented. It is analyzed by using circuit theory concept. The proposed antennas show ultra wideband operations which depend on dimensions of the patches, gap between them as well as air gap thickness. It is observed that the performance of gap coupled elliptical patch antenna is better than that of rectangular patch antenna while the area of rectangular and elliptical patches is same. The bandwidth of proposed rectangular patch antenna is found to be 50.7 % with average gain of 6.5 dBi while for elliptical patch antenna the bandwidth and gain further improves up to 57.6 % and 9.5 dBi respectively. The theoretical results are in good agreement with the simulated results obtained from IE3D simulation software.     

Exploiting WiMAX for covert transmission of secret data over fading channel

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is the broadband wireless access technique that provides rapid broadband services to domestic and enterprise users. Owing to the broadcast characteristic of the WiMAX system, transmitted data security is crucial, particularly when the messages are confidential. In this work, exploiting of WiMAX to convey sensitive secret information is presented. In the first phase, we exploited conventional WiMAX (fast Fourier transform [FFT]‐WiMAX), and in the second phase, we propose a wavelet packet transform (WPT)–based WiMAX for covert communication. The quality evaluation of both covert transmission models (FFT‐WiMAX and WPT‐WiMAX) over the fading channel is done in this work. The experimental outcomes of the proposed WPT‐WiMAX covert transmission system reveal a significant enhancement in error rate (bit error rate) and peak signal‐to‐noise ratio for a given signal‐to‐noise ratio.