Characterization of MBa2Cu3O7-x thin films by Raman microspectroscopy

Thin film embodiments of MBa2Cu3O7-x (MBCO, M = yttrium or a rare-earth metal) prepared by several different deposition methods on a variety of substrates were investigated by Raman microspectroscopy. Several of the unique characterization capabilities of Raman spectroscopy in the analysis of MBCO thin films are highlighted by the results of these investigations. The Raman active phonons of the orthorhombic and tetragonal forms of MBCO that are most useful for characterization of textured MBCO films are diagrammed and discussed. A rapid procedure for qualitative texture mapping of MBCO thin films using Raman microscopy techniques is presented, and a new approach for investigating phase separation at the sub-micrometer level in MBCO thin films based on curve resolution of the MBCO Cu2 phonon is described. The assignment of a particular feature often observed in Raman spectra of MBCO films to cation disorder is reinforced by results of a cation substitution study. The depth of penetration of the laser into MBCO films and the type of information that can be obtained by varying the extent of defocusing of the laser are also discussed.     

Uses of α-Fe2O3 and fly ash as solid adsorbents

Solid adsorbents have shown great promise for control of particulate and non-particulate matter and as gas sensing devices in recent times. In the present study, adsorption of environmental toxic pollutant such as lead ions on solid adsorbents viz. α-Fe₂O₃ and fly ash, are reported. Considerable adsorption was observed on fly ash when compared to α-Fe₂O₃ surface. These studies are characterized by employing solid state and solution studies.     

Load redistribution mechanism in damage tolerant and redundant truss structure

Structural optimization for damage tolerance under various unforeseen damage scenarios is computationally challenging. It couples non-linear progressive failure analysis with sampling based stochastic analysis of random damages. This work shows that analysis of damage tolerance depends on specification of damages, and optimizing a structure under one damage specification can be sensitive to other damages not considered. This work demonstrates the importance of understanding the underlying mechanics that provide damage tolerance in order to develop computationally efficient methods for optimization. Understanding features of load distributions in damage tolerant structures can result in efficient methods for optimization. To understand and identify these features, one compared and contrasted designs with varying degree of damage tolerance. A method to describe load distributions based on principal component analysis is presented. It is found that the number of dominant eigenvalues of principal components in a structure correlates with the number of alternate paths.     

Synthesis of MoO3 and its polyvinyl alcohol nanostructured film

The synthesis of ultrafine MoO₃ through a self-propagating combustion route employing polyethylene glycol as fuel is reported. The precursor molybdenum oxalate is employed in this study for the conversion of the precursor to ultrafine MoO₃ particles. The solvent casting method is adopted for the synthesis of MoO₃ dispersed polyvinyl alcohol nanostructured film (MoO₃-PVA). These synthesized MoO3 and their composite samples are characterized for their structure, morphology, bonding and thermal behaviour by XRD, SEM, IR and DSC techniques, respectively. The distribution of MoO₃ in polyvinyl alcohol gives a crystalline polymer, a compact structure and an increase in glass transition temperature.     

The IA-64 Itanium processor cartridge

The Itanium processor cartridge is a packaging optimization for electrical and thermal performance in a server environment. The 3-in. x 5-in. cartridge contains the Itanium CPU, up to 4 megabytes of level-3 (L3) cache, an innovative power delivery scheme, and an integrated vapor chamber thermal spreading lid for removing power. Cartridges and a chip set can be ganged electrically by means of a glueless bidirectional, multidrop system bus. Power is delivered through a custom connection with separate voltages for the 0.18-micron CPU and 0.25-micron custom cache devices. An I²C serial connection provides access to system management features such as temperature monitoring and cartridge identification information     

Revealing the geology of the Great Nicobar Island,Indian Ocean,by the interpretation of airborne synthetic aperture radar images

A number of new geological structures have been revealed in the Great Nicobar Island, Indian Ocean, from the analysis of airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data. The advantages of SAR images for mapping geological structures over other images for the Great Nicobar Island, the southern most island of Andaman-Nicobar arc, have been highlighted. A visual analysis of lineaments in the southern part of the Great Nicobar Island using SAR and Landsat TM colour composites, TM bands 2, 3, and 4, and TM bands 4, 2 and SAR, reveals a wealth of structural information not shown on previous maps. Other identified features include lithological units derived from landforms, northwest-southeast trending faults, faults trending towards the mouth of Galathea river, the graben valley, and many other new faults. The geological features reported in this work were verified using limited ground checking.     

Editorial: Mobile Networks in the Era of Big Data

Mobile Networks and Applications -