Integrated Circuits for Broad-Band Communications Systems

Integrated circuits for broad-band communication systems which enable broad-band communication between subscribers require LSI's with a performance concerning speed, complexity, and power dissipation which cannot be fully met by present semiconductor technologies. The requirements for coders and decoders, line transmission circuits, and broad-band switching network elements depend upon the system concept chosen. For one chosen system concept, these requirements are derived. By using a representative model for the development of the demand, characteristic curves for the demand of subscriber-line circuits and for central unit elements are resulting. From these curves the optimum semiconductor technologies, complexities, and design strategies are derived. It can be assumed that the results are rather independent of variations of system concept and introduction models.     

A role for CD4 in peripheral T cell differentiation

A rapid method for the simultaneous determination of cholesterol and its oxidation products as well as alpha-to-copherol and tocopherolquinone in brain subcellular fractions is described. The samples are saponified and extracted with hexane. It is not necessary to remove cholesterol in the sample before analyzing for oxysterols. The hexane extract can be used for the assay of cholesterol compounds by capillary gas chromatography and tocopherol compounds by liquid chromatography using a procedure reported previously. Oxidation of synaptosomes by a mixture of Fe2+ plus ascorbate resulted in the production of 7-keto-, 7 alpha-hydroxy-, 7 beta-hydroxy-, and 5 alpha, 6 alpha-epoxycholesterols. The identities of these products were confirmed with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Cholesterol oxidase treatment did not result in the formation of any of the above compounds. Thus the types and amounts of the products of oxidation of cholesterol were dependent upon the oxidizing agent. Extraction of the oxysterols under milder conditions without saponification using sodium dodecyl sulfate cannot be used since such treatment results in low recovery of oxysterols. Oxidation of synaptosomes by low concentrations of ferrous iron and ascorbate resulted in (i) low levels of oxidation of cholesterol which could be followed by estimating the production of oxysterols and (ii) oxidation of a substantial percentage of alpha-tocopherol. The proposed procedure will be useful in monitoring the oxidation of small quantities of membrane cholesterol in vitro.     

Real structure of partially ordered crystals

Partial order in crystals is a frequently observed phenomenon in minerals and synthetic materials. The partially ordered structures are characterized by low-dimensional order of the real structure. In the case of 1D structures, the ordered units can be described as rods; 2D structures contain ordered layers. The disorder of the real structures is indicated by prominent diffuse scattering in the diffraction patterns of single crystals. No simple method for the quantitative analysis of the diffuse scattering exists, therefore the determination of essential characteristics of the structures is complicated. However, the determination can be facilitated using a combination of different methods, including electron microscopy, computation and X-ray diffraction.     

Investigations of gas-particle-lance flows at high velocity for the injection of solid in melting baths

For the injection of gas and solid into molten masses using lances the situation at the lance outlet is a boundary condition for the mixing in the melting bath and therefore an important parameter for the energy and mass exchanges which take place there. In the scope of the main research programme of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft named “Mischung mit Energie-und Stoffumsatz in schmelzmetallurgischen Systemen”, a mathematical model is to be developed at the Institut für Energieverfahrenstechnik der Technischen Universität Clausthal, which should make it possible to calculate the situation at the outlet of a lance operating with gas and solid, using operational and geometrical parameters (pressure at lance intake, amount of solid, length and diameter of lance) which can be freely chosen.     

Optimization of planar Be-doped InGaAs VCSEL's with two-sidedoutput

Threshold current, output power, wall-plug efficiency and operating voltage of epitaxially grown InGaAs-AlGaAs planar vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL's) are strongly influenced by the electrical and optical properties of the p-doped Bragg reflector. Here we study in some detail the dependence of output behavior on the composition, interface grading, and modulation doping of the Be-doped AlGaAs-GaAs Bragg reflector. Using optimized p-doped mirrors VCSEL's with low threshold current densities of 300 A/cm² , low driving voltages of 1.6 V and high wall-plug efficiencies of 17.6% are obtained. Transverse single-mode emitting devices show a record low emission linewidth of 30 MHz and a linewidth-power product of 2.2 mW·MHz