Heterojunction DDR THz IMPATT diodes based on AlxGa1-xN/GaN material system

Simulation studies are made on the large-signal RF performance and avalanche noise properties of heterojunction double-drift region (DDR) impact avalanche transit time (IMPATT) diodes based on Al_xGa_1-xN/GaN material system designed to operate at 1.0 THz frequency. Two different heterojunction DDR structures such as n-Al_0.4Ga_0.6N/p-GaN and n-GaN/p-Al_0.4Ga_0.6N are proposed in this study. The large-signal output power, conversion efficiency and noise properties of the heterojunction DDR IMPATTs are compared with homojunction DDR IMPATT devices based on GaN and Al_0.4Ga_0.6N. The results show that the n-Al_0.4Ga_0.6N/p-GaN heterojunction DDR device not only surpasses the n-GaN/p-Al_0.4Ga_0.6N DDR device but also homojunction DDR IMPATTs based on GaN and Al_0.4Ga_0.6N as regards large-signal conversion efficiency, power output and avalanche noise performance at 1.0 THz.     

Component analysis of some chemical parameters influencing the stability of DDVP in sea‐sediments along the east coast of India

The component analysis of some chemical parameters such as half‐life period, pH, salinity, total organic carbon (TOC), clay mineral concentration (Kaolinite, Illite, Montmorrillonite) and the elemental concentrations (Al, Fe, Ti) showed that only three components collectively retained 98% of variation of the original data. The first component carries maximum co‐variance with salinity and TOC, the second component is due to clay‐montmorrillonite, and the third component is attributed to TOC and Fe. The first component accounted for 69%, the second 28% and the third for 3% of total variation. The impact of TOC on the stability of pesticide, DDVP is much more pronounced by its negative covariance with the half life period as revealed by the first principal component.     

Effect of Polysaccharides on the Properties of the Mucoadhesive Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Multicore–Shell Microparticles

This study discusses about the effect of polysaccharides (agar, gum tragacanth, and guar gum) on the properties of the core (organogel)–shell [poly(vinyl alcohol)] microparticles. The size, swelling, and mucoadhesive properties of the poly(vinyl alcohol) microparticles were altered in the presence of the polysaccharides. Thermal analysis confirmed the presence of organogels within the microparticles. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the presence of the polysaccharides within the microparticles. The microparticles were biocompatible in nature. Drug release indicated that an alteration in the shell composition can be used for altering drug release. Ciprofloxacin-loaded microparticles showed sufficient antimicrobial efficiency.     

Profile of Triacylglycerols,Phenols, and Vitamin E of Manjari Medika Grape Seed Oil and Cake: Introducing a Novel Indian Variety

The aim of the study is to investigate the biochemical composition of grapeseed oil and cake from an unexplored Indian grape‐juice cultivar, Manjari Medika (MM). The composition of oil and residual seed cake is evaluated using various chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. The findings demonstrate that the vitamin E content of MM‐seed oil (1.15–1.35 g kg^?1) is distinctively higher than the Codex standard, suggesting its superior quality as an edible oil. The predominant triacylglycerols include trilinolein (LLL, 43%), dilinoleoyl‐stearylglycerol (LSL, 19%), and dilinoleoyl‐palmitoylglycerol (LLP, 11%), which are earlier recognized as natural antioxidants. The seed‐cake is rich in polyphenols including acylated anthocyanins (e.g., pelargonidin‐3‐O‐coumaroyl glucoside) and certain other flavonoids (e.g., catechin). The profile of phytonutrients in MM seed‐oil and cake is significantly superior to its seeded female parent and two other widely cultivated wine‐grape varieties. In brief, the studied by‐products of this new grape‐juice cultivar can be an important source of high‐value ingredients for use in food supplements, nutraceuticals, and functional foods. Practical applications: This study reports the phytochemical profile of the seed‐oil and seed cake derived from a newly developed grape variety, Manjari Medika. High contents of selective antioxidants: lipids, vitamin E, and phenols in the seed‐oil and cake with health benefits suggest their potential for use in nutraceutical and functional foods. These byproducts can be utilised as ingredients of functional foods and nutraceuticals (e.g., grape seed oil capsule) and also as raw materials in food supply chains (e.g., for production of grape cookies or cake). MM can also be utilized as a colorant in the food industry.     

Studies on sulfur vulcanization of natural rubber accelerated combinedly with 2-mercaptobenzothiazole and diphenylguanidine both in presence and absence of dicumyl peroxide

Sulfuration of natural rubber (NR) by the binary accelerator 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) and diphenylguanidine (DPG) both in presence and in absence of ZnO and stearic acid with or without dicumylperoxide (DCP) was studied in detail. It was observed that the rate of decomposition of DCP in presence of both MBT and DPG is quite similar to that with MBT alone. The reduction of crosslinking depends also on MBT only. Through DPG has no influence on the decomposition rate, it reacts with MBT during the vulcanization process and suppresses the retardation caused by MBT on the DCP vulcanization. In accordance with the initial additiveness of crosslinking in systems containing DCP, the free sulfur decrease, and the rapidity of crosslink formation the vulcanization process of MBT-DPG-S-NR systems was interpreted in terms of a polar mechanism induced by the complex MSH₂NR′R″. In mixtures containing DCP together with sulfur, MBT, DPG, ZnO, and stearic acid, the initial stage of crosslinking is additive as indicated by a mixed reaction as well as by a methyl iodide treatment of the vulcanizates. Comparison with single accelerators shows a pronounced synergistic effect. This is because of the enhanced activity of the MBT-ZnO-stearic acid complex due to DPG which also induces polar sulfuration of NR by forming the active complex MSH₂NR′R″. In presence of ZnO and stearic acid, DCP cannot increase the net crosslink density but suppresses the reversion so much pronounced in its absence.     

Impact of electrically formed interfacial layer and improved memory characteristics of IrOx/high-κx/W structures containing AlOx,GdOx, HfOx,and TaOx switching materials

Improved switching characteristics were obtained from high-κ oxides AlO_x, GdO_x, HfO_x, and TaO_x in IrO_x/high-κ_x/W structures because of a layer that formed at the IrO_x/high-κ_x interface under external positive bias. The surface roughness and morphology of the bottom electrode in these devices were observed by atomic force microscopy. Device size was investigated using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. More than 100 repeatable consecutive switching cycles were observed for positive-formatted memory devices compared with that of the negative-formatted devices (only five unstable cycles) because it contained an electrically formed interfacial layer that controlled ‘SET/RESET’ current overshoot. This phenomenon was independent of the switching material in the device. The electrically formed oxygen-rich interfacial layer at the IrO_x/high-κ_x interface improved switching in both via-hole and cross-point structures. The switching mechanism was attributed to filamentary conduction and oxygen ion migration. Using the positive-formatted design approach, cross-point memory in an IrO_x/AlO_x/W structure was fabricated. This cross-point memory exhibited forming-free, uniform switching for >1,000 consecutive dc cycles with a small voltage/current operation of ±2 V/200 μA and high yield of >95% switchable with a large resistance ratio of >100. These properties make this cross-point memory particularly promising for high-density applications. Furthermore, this memory device also showed multilevel capability with a switching current as low as 10 μA and a RESET current of 137 μA, good pulse read endurance of each level (>10⁵ cycles), and data retention of >10⁴ s at a low current compliance of 50 μA at 85°C. Our improvement of the switching characteristics of this resistive memory device will aid in the design of memory stacks for practical applications.     

Nonlinear analysis of nuclear coupled density wave instability in time domain for a boiling water reactor core undergoing core-wide and regional modes of oscillations

The objective of the paper is to develop a nuclear coupled thermal-hydraulic model in order to simulate core-wide (in-phase) and regional (out-of-phase) stability analysis in time domain within the limitation of desktop research facility for a boiling water reactor subjected to operational transients. The integrated numerical tool, which is a combination of thermal-hydraulic, neutronic and fuel heat conduction models, is used to analyze a complete boiling water reactor core taking into account the strong nonlinear coupling between the core neutron dynamics and primary circuit thermal-hydraulics via the void-temperature reactivity feedback effects. The integrated model is validated against standard benchmark and published results. Finally, the model is used for various parametric studies and a number of numerical simulations are carried out to investigate core-wide and regional instabilities of the boiling water reactor core with and without the neutronic feedback effects. Results show that the inclusion of neutronic feedback effects has an adverse effect on boiling water reactor core by augmenting the instability at lower power for same inlet subcooling during core-wide mode of oscillations, whereas the instability is being suppressed during regional mode of oscillations in presence of the neutronic feedback. Dominance of core-wide instability over regional mode of oscillations is established for the present case of simulations which indicates that the preclusion of the former will automatically prevent the latter at the existing working condition.     

Landcover classification in MRF context using Dempster-Shafer fusion for multisensor imagery.

This work deals with multisensor data fusion to obtain landcover classification. The role of feature-level fusion using the Dempster-Shafer rule and that of data-level fusion in the MRF context is studied in this paper to obtain an optimally segmented image. Subsequently, segments are validated and classification accuracy for the test data is evaluated. Two examples of data fusion of optical images and a synthetic aperture radar image are presented, each set having been acquired on different dates. Classification accuracies of the technique proposed are compared with those of some recent techniques in literature for the same image data.