Simple, low-cost, subsystem fabrication

We have successfully developed a simple and low-cost 1.9-GHz, 25-W power amplifier by using only one prematched 50-mm PHEMT with external matching circuits on a FR-4 PCB. As the output stage integrated with other driver stages and dc control circuits, a completed four-stage power-amplifier subsystem is also demonstrated. When operating at 38.5-dBm output power with /spl pi//4-DQPSK signal, the proposed power amplifier subsystem shows low distortion, with better than 75-dBc ACPR (adjacent-channel leakage power ratio) at 600 kHz and 79-dBc ACPR at 900 kHz offset from the center frequency, and is suitable for PHS 500-mW base-station applications.     

Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Lower-Polymerized Polyphenols in Oolong Tea

This study investigated the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of the fractionated tea extract, a lower-polymerized polyphenol-rich extract ultrafiltrated from oolong tea. The amounts of total polyphenols, flavonoids and condensed tannin were enriched in fractionated tea extract compared to oolong tea. Furthermore, fractionated tea extract was a stronger scavenger of nitric oxide and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryhydrazyl radicals than oolong tea. When lipopolysaccharide-treated RAW264.7 macrophages were co-incubated with both tea extracts (500 μg/mL) or (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (100 μg/mL) for 16 h, all samples (oolong tea, fractionated tea extract, and (-)-epigallocatechin gallate) suppressed nitric oxide production by 60, 48, and 46%, respectively, and the suppression was due to nitric oxide-scavenging. However, only fractionated tea extract lowered the proportion of phospholipid arachidonic acid and type II-cyclooxygenase expression, thereby decreasing PGE₂ synthesis by 29%. In conclusion, fractionated tea extract was rich in potent antioxidant substances capable of inhibiting the production of pro-inflammatory mediators.     

Misalignment inspection of multilayer PCBs with an automated X-ray machine vision system

In recent times, multilayer printed circuit boards (PCBs) have been extensively applied in the electronics industry owing to their high capacities for complex and densely packed circuit layouts arranged in a limited space. The inspection of fabricated multilayer PCBs is thus important in order to ensure quality control and improve the fabrication process. In this paper, an automated X-ray machine vision system was developed exclusively for the inspection of the layer-to-layer misalignment of laminated multilayer PCBs. Based on a mechatronics system and X-ray image processing techniques, an automated misalignment inspection process was established. Experiments meant to inspect three critical layer-to-layer misalignment modes, expansion, contraction, and offset, found within ten-layer PCB samples, were conducted to test the feasibility of the developed machine inspection system. The experimental results show that the developed X-ray machine vision system, combined with the automated misalignment inspection process, was able to undertake misalignment inspection of certain multilayer PCBs.     

A fully matched high linearity 2-W PHEMT MMIC power amplifier for 3.5 GHz applications

A 2-W monolithic microwave integrated circuit power amplifier, operating between 3.3 and 3.8GHz by implementing AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs pseudomorphic high electronic mobility transistor for the applications of wideband code division multiple access, wireless local loop, and multichannel multipoint distribution service, is demonstrated. This two-stage amplifier is designed to fully match 50/spl Omega/ input and output impedances. With a dual-bias configuration, the amplifier possesses the characteristics of 30.4dB small-signal gain and 34dBm 1-dB gain compression power with 37.1% power added efficiency. Moreover, with a single carrier output power level of 24dBm, high linearity with a 43.5-dBm third-order intercept point operating at 3.5GHz is also achieved.     

Uncoupling micromachined-based piezoelectric accelerometer performance from a sensor structure transfer function

A smart structure technology for autonomous gain and phase tailoring was adapted to develop a new accelerometer that possesses both an excellent low-frequency response and a high operational bandwidth. The freedom associated with the uncoupling of the gain and phase tailoring to an accelerometer-based structure transfer function can be shown to vastly expand the performance area of traditional accelerometers. We used free-fall detection to demonstrate this newly found capability with its wide applicability to portable devices and which is perceived as extremely difficult to pursue for magnetic disk drives. A micromachined accelerometer was developed to demonstrate the expanded applicability of this innovative concept that integrates smart structure technology to accelerometer design. Both theoretical derivations and experimental verification of this new class of accelerometers are detailed in this paper.     

Half-symmetric cavity tunable microelectromechanical VCSEL withsingle spatial mode

A new class of microelectromechanically tunable vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers with a half-symmetric cavity structure is described. The cavity is realized by inducing a curvature (R~320 μm) in the top movable dielectric mirror. The microcavity forces lasing oscillations in a single fundamental spatial mode of approximately 6 μm despite the 20 μm electrical aperture of the device. The device wavelength was tunable from 863 to 833 nm under a 13-V voltage swing. The device operates in a single fundamental mode with sidemode supression ratio of >20 dB throughout the tuning range     

A new cryogenic CMOS readout structure for infrared focal planearray

A new current readout structure for the infrared (IR) focal-plane-array (FPA), called the switch-current integration (SCI) structure, is presented in this paper. By applying the share-buffered direct-injection (SBDI) biasing technique and off focal-plane-array (off-FPA) integration capacitor structure, a high-performance readout interface circuit for the IR FPA is realized with a pixel size of 50×50 μm². Moreover, the correlated double sampling (CDS) stage and dynamic discharging output stage are utilized to improve noise and speed performance of the readout structure under low power dissipation. In experimental SCI readout chip has been designed and fabricated in 0.8-μm double-poly-double-metal (DPDM) n-well CMOS technology. The measurement results of the fabricated readout chip at 77 K with 4 and 8 V supply voltages have successfully verified both the readout function and the performance improvement. The fabricated chip has a maximum charge capacity of 1.12×10⁸ electrons, a maximum transimpedance of 1×10⁹ Ω, and an active power dissipation of 30 mW. The proposed CMOS SCI structure can be applied to various cryogenic IR FPA's     

Analysis of phase-matching conditions in flexural-wave modulatedfiber Bragg grating

Effective refractive indexes of the core mode and various cladding modes of a tapered single-mode step-index fiber were calculated for identifying the cladding modes of phase matching for coupling with the core mode, caused by a prewritten Bragg grating together with an applied flexural wave (microbending) in the tapered region. With these coupling mechanisms, the previously reported reflection wavelength switching could be well interpreted. Between the core mode and a cladding mode, the Bragg grating caused contradirectional coupling and the flexural wave resulted in codirectional coupling of either first- or second-order diffraction. Meanwhile, the period of the acoustic-induced flexural wave was calibrated to be a few hundreds of micrometers. Based on the phase-matching calculations, the relationship between cladding radius and flexural wave period with a chosen wavelength for reflection switching was provided. Such design considerations should be helpful in implementing wavelength switches, based on flexural wave modulation of fiber Bragg grating (FBG), for the applications of wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) fiber communications     

The growth of porous ZnO nanowires by thermal oxidation of ZnS nanowires

The growth of porous ZnO nanowires (NWs) via phase transformation of ZnS NWs at 500-850 degrees C in air was studied. The ZnS NWs were first synthesized by thermal evaporation of ZnS powder at 1100 degrees C in Ar. On subsequent annealing at 500 degrees C in air, discrete ZnO epilayers formed on the surface of ZnS NWs. At 600 degrees C, polycrystalline ZnO and the crack along the (0001) interface between the ZnO epilayer and ZnS NW were observed. At 700-750 degrees C ZnS NWs transformed to ZnO NWs, meanwhile nanopores and interfacial cracks were observed in the ZnO NWs. Two factors, the evaporation of SO2 and SO3 and the stress induced by the incompatible structure at the interface of ZnO epilayer and ZnS NW, can be responsible for the formation of porous ZnO NWs from ZnS NW templates on annealing at 700-750 degrees C in air. Rapid growth of ZnO at 850 degrees C could heal the pores and cracks and thus resulted in the well-crystallized ZnO NWs.     

Advanced planning and scheduling for TFT-LCD color filter fab with multiple lines

Intense global competition and declining profit have caused most thin film transistor liquid crystal display manufacturers to increase their competitiveness by improving productivity and reducing cycle times. An advanced planning and scheduling (APS) system was developed with Microsoft Visual Basic for Application to automatically generate production schedules for a color filter fab with multiple lines. This system can assign orders to production lines, plan order release time, and balance the equipment loading. Both forward scheduling and backward scheduling were used in APS. Experimental results indicated that APS can significantly reduce manual scheduling time while maintaining the quality of scheduling results. Compared to manual operations, it can save more than 87 % of scheduling time and the quickness is especially important when rescheduling is needed due to production uncertainties such as equipment breakdown or material shortage. Production controllers can use this APS to generate initial schedule and make adjustment based on experience.