The relationship between optical guiding and the relative phase infree-electron lasers

The relative phase in this case is defined as the shift in the wavenumber from the vacuum value integrated over the interaction length. The relative phase is studied from the standpoint of the linear stability analysis in both the high- and low-gain regimes, and the qualitative implications in each of these regimes of the relative phase on the refractive guiding of the signal are identical. Specifically, the relative phase is found to be negative at the low-frequency end of the gain band. The relative phase increases with increasing frequency over this band until it turns positive at a frequency approximately 10% below the frequency of peak gain. Thus optical guiding is indicated over a large portion, but not all, of the gain band. The specific example of interest involves the low-gain regime prior to saturation. In this case, it is shown that the analytic result is in substantial agreement with the calculation of the relative phase     

Multisite microprobes for neural recordings

Multisite, passive microprobes have been developed to allow simultaneous recording of action potential activity from multiple neurons at different locations in the brain. The microprobes were fabricated using standard integrated circuit techniques. The probe is a planar structure that consists of gold electrodes sandwiched between two polyimide dielectric layers and bonded to a molybdenum structural support. Windows in the top dielectric layer expose the electrode sites and bonding pads. In two distinct versions of the probe four or six recordings sites, respectively, of approximately 25 microns 2 are arranged on a dagger-shaped structure which can penetrate the pia. The bonding pads and interconnect wires at the probe head are entirely encapsulated in a tubular fixture that is packed with silicone RTV and sealed with epoxy to protect the interconnections from contact with body fluids. The site impedances at 1 kHz are typically between 2 and 4 M omega. Probe lifetimes for continuous immersion in physiological saline solution, as measured by impedance, have exceeded 750 h. The failure mechanism is believed to be due to moisture and ion absorption in the top dielectric layer. In acute neurophysiological experiments using the four site probes, action potential activity was recorded from physiologically identified neurons in the dorsal column nuclei of anesthetized rat.     

Computer-aided analysis of free-running microwave oscillators

The authors present a newly developed free-running steady-state oscillator analysis algorithm suited to large-signal oscillator analysis. Kurokawa's oscillation condition is coupled with the modified nodal admittance form of the circuit equations to avoid degenerate solutions. The algorithm was implemented by using both harmonic balance and frequency-domain spectral balance techniques. It was used in the simulation of monolithically integrated varactor-tuned MESFET oscillator. Good agreement between simulated power and oscillation frequency results was obtained     

On the capacity of a cellular CDMA system

It is shown that, particularly for terrestrial cellular telephony, the interference-suppression feature of CDMA (code division multiple access) can result in a many-fold increase in capacity over analog and even over competing digital techniques. A single-cell system, such as a hubbed satellite network, is addressed, and the basic expression for capacity is developed. The corresponding expressions for a multiple-cell system are derived. and the distribution on the number of users supportable per cell is determined. It is concluded that properly augmented and power-controlled multiple-cell CDMA promises a quantum increase in current cellular capacity     

Millisecond pulsars: nature's most stable clocks

The author describes the role pulsars might play in time and frequency technology. Millisecond pulsars are rapidly rotating neutron stars: some 20 km in diameter, 1.4 times as massive as the Sun, and spinning as fast as several thousand radians per second. Radio noise generated in a pulsar's magnetosphere by a highly beamed process is detectable over interstellar distances, as a periodic sequence of pulses. High-precision comparisons between pulsar time and terrestrial atomic time show that over intervals of several years, some millisecond pulsars have fractional stabilities comparable to those of the best atomic clocks. The author briefly reviews the physics of pulsars, discusses the techniques of pulsar timing measurements, and summarizes the results of careful studies of pulsar stabilities     

A device to measure the cross-sectional area of soft connectivetissues

A device has been designed and fabricated to measure the cross-sectional area of soft connective tissues ex vivo. It consists of two displacement transducers; one sensing tissue thickness and the other sensing width. Outputs are recorded (via an analog to digital interface) using a personal computer. Numerical integration of a thickness versus width plot computes cross-sectional area. This plot also provides a quality check of acquired data. This device has been successfully used in biomechanical studies of rabbit patellar tendons, rat medial collateral ligaments, and dissected specimens of human fascia.     

Electrical and optical feedback in an InGaAs/InP light-amplifyingoptical switch (LAOS)

A circuit model for optical and electrical feedback has been developed to investigate the cause of negative differential resistance (NDR) switching in a series connected heterojunction phototransistor (HPT) light-emitting diode (LED) device. The model considers optical feedback from the light generated in the LED, electrical feedback from the holes thermally emitted over the LED cladding layer, nonlinear gain of the HPT, the Early effect, and leakage resistance. The analysis shows that either electrical or optical feedback can be the dominant cause for the NDR, depending upon their relative strengths. The NDR observed in the devices was caused primarily by electrical feedback since the optical feedback is weak. For low input power, avalanche breakdown appears to initiate the NDR in the devices although avalanching alone cannot cause NDR     

The analysis of solvation in ionic liquids and organic solvents using the Abraham linear free energy relationship

The contentions made in an earlier paper [J Chem Technol Biotechnol 80 : 133–137 (2005)] that the coefficients of the Abraham solvation equation do not provide meaningful information on the molecular properties of ionic liquid solvents is refuted. The objections noted in the earlier paper disappear when the solvation equation model is correctly applied to the experimental data. It is further shown that the coefficients of the Abraham solvation equations can be used to characterize ionic liquids and can be used to select solvents for the solubility of gaseous solutes. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

The TMS320C30 floating-point digital signal processor

The 320C30 is a fast processor with a large memory space and floating-point-arithmetic capabilities. The authors describe the 320C30 architecture in detail, discussing both the internal organization of the device and the external interfaces. They also explain the pipeline structure, addressing software-related issues and constructs, and examine the development tools and support. Finally, they present examples of applications. Some of the major features of the 320C30 are: a 60-ns cycle time that results in execution of over 16 million instructions per second (MIPS) and over 33 million floating-point operations per second (Mflops); 32-bit data buses and 24-bit address buses for a 16M-word overall memory space; dual-access, 4 K×32-bit on-chip ROM and 2 K×32-bit on-chip RAM; a 64×32-bit program cache; a 32-bit integer/40-bit floating-point multiplier and ALU; eight extended-precision registers, eight auxiliary registers, and 23 control and status registers; generally single-cycle instructions; integer, floating-point, and logical operation; two- and three-operand instructions; an on-chip DMA controller; and fabrication in 1-μm CMOS technology and packaging in a 180-pin package. These facilitate FIR (finite impulse response) and IIR (infinite impulse response) filtering, telecommunications and speech applications, and graphics and image processing applications     

Offering customers direct access: Using choice to stimulate competition

The essential elements for a system of customer direct access to electricity supplies are already in place, with protocols for existing pool operation and inter-system coordination, as well as the Western System Power Pool market. Extending our experience with gas and electricity wholesale markets to direct access for large retail electricity customers, then to small customers, is achievable now.