Scalable phase extraction methods for phase plane motion estimation

To efficiently compute the phase difference (PD) between two complex numbers, two novel approaches are described. The problem of fast PD computation is central in many applications. As a case study, the main focus is on the phase correlation technique that is used for motion estimation. Starting from the problem statement, the system requirements are dealt with showing how PD requires a remarkable amount of computational resources. Reduced complexity techniques are then proposed and specifically tailored to suit the application needs. Each solution is completely implemented both in 0.25 mum as well as 0.13 mum CMOS. The so-called LUT-ROT exhibits noteworthy figures in terms of area occupation, delay and power dissipation, saving nearly 50% in terms of area and power when compared to recent work on this subject     

Encapsulation and Ostwald Ripening of Au and Au–Cl Complex Nanostructures in Silica Shells

We report a general template strategy for rational fabrication of a new class of nanostructured materials consisting of multicore shell particles. Our approach is demonstrated by encapsulating Au or Pt nanoparticles in silica shells. Other superstructures of these hollow shells, like dimers, trimers, and tetramers can also be formed by nanoparticle‐mediated self‐assembly. We have also used the as‐prepared multicore Au–silica hollow particles to perform the first studies of Ostwald ripening in confined microspace, in which chloride was found to be an efficient mediating ligand. After treatment with aqua regia, Au–Cl complex is formed inside the shell, and is found to be very active under in situ transmission electron microscopy observations while confined in a microcell. This aspect of the work is expected to motivate further in situ studies of confined crystal growth.     

Experimental studies of the bond response of three-wire strands and some influencing parameters

The bond behavior of prestressing strands is of great importance for the capacity of precast prestressed concrete structures. In the present study, the bond behavior of three-wire strands, and some influencing parameters, were examined by means of steel encased pull-through and push-in tests. The three mechanisms: adhesion, friction and other mechanical actions were found to be present at the strand-concrete interface at different slip values. The results from the experiments showed that the micro roughness of the strand surface strongly affected the initial bond response of the strand, that is the adhesion in the interface. The maximum bond capacity of indented three-wire strands was found to be directly connected to the geometric properties of the strand indents. The influence of the concrete strength on the bond capacity of the strand was hard to interpret. However, the density of the concrete matrix was found to be a better parameter for determine the influence of the concrete rather than the compressive strength.     

Magnetic-field-controlled optical transmission in a system of metal diaphragms with apertures and a thin dielectric interlayer

A system comprising two metal diaphragms with holes and a thin dielectric interlayer exhibits magnetic-field-controlled optical transmission. This phenomenon can be used, in particular, for the creation of light modulators.     

Experimental and modeling approaches of MR behaviors under large step strains

Rheological properties of MR fluids under large step strain shear are presented in this paper. The experiments were carried out using a rheometer with parallel-plate geometry. Under the large step strain shear, MR fluids behave as nonlinear viscoelastic properties, where the stress relaxation modulus, G(t, γ), shows a decreasing trend with step strain. The experimental results indicate that G(t, γ) obeys time-strain separability. Thus, a mathematical form based on finite exponential serials is proposed to predict MR behavior. In this model, G(t, γ) is represented as the product of a linear stress relaxation, G(t), and the damping function, h(γ), i.e. G(t, γ)=G(t) h(γ). G(t) is simply represented as a three-parameter exponential serial and h(γ) has a sigmoidal form with two parameters. The parameters are identified by adopting an efficient optimization method proposed by Stango et al. The comparison between the experimental results and the model-predicted values indicates that this mathematical model can accurately predict MR behavior.     

The anisotropic effect of a weak magnetic field on the photoconductivity of C<Subscript>60</Subscript> single crystals

The effect of crystal orientation on the photogeneration of free charge carriers was studied for C₆₀ single crystals in a weak magnetic field. The photoconductivity sharply depends on the orientation of magnetic field with respect to the crystallographic directions, showing a 5–8% increase for seven axes of the C₆₀ crystal.     

Thermodynamic stability of GaInSb,InAsSb, and GaInP epitaxial films

The miscibility gaps and the critical temperatures of spinodal decomposition of ternary semiconducting Ga-In-Sb, Ga-In-P, and In-As-Sb systems are calculated by taking into account the deformation energy and the effect of plastic relaxation caused by the misfit dislocations. It is shown that taking into consideration elastic energy narrows the ranges of spinodal decomposition and lowers its critical temperature. The introduction of the phenomenological parameter into Matthews-Blakeslee formula makes it possible to reach a satisfactory agreement between theoretically calculated values of critical thickness of epitaxial films and the experimental data.     

Electrochemical synthesis and characterization of chloride doped polyaniline

Chloride doped polyaniline conducting polymer films have been prepared in a protic acid medium (HCl) by potentiodynamic method in an electrochemical cell and studied by cyclic voltammetry and FTIR techniques. The FTIR spectra confirmed Cl^- ion doping in the polymers. The polymerization rate was found to increase with increasing concentration of aniline monomer. But the films obtained at high monomer concentration were rough having a nonuniform flaky polyaniline distribution. Results showed that the polymerization rate did not increase beyond a critical HCl concentration. Cyclic voltammetry suggested that, the oxidation-reduction current increased with an increase in scan rate and that the undoped polyaniline films were not hygroscopic whereas chloride doped polyaniline films were found to be highly hygroscopic.     

On the Feasibility of Growing Pb[(Zn1/3Nb2/3)0.91Ti0.09]O3 Single Crystals

Pb[(Zn_1/3Nb_2/3)_0.91Ti_0.09]O₃ (PZNT91/9) single crystals were grown by two methods: from solution using PbO as a self‐fluxing agent (SC method) and directly from the melt without fluxing (MC method). In both growth methods, an allomeric Pb[(Mg_1/3‐Nb_2/3)_0.69Ti_0.31]O₃ (PMNT69/31) single crystal was used as a seed. X‐ray diffraction patterns of ground crystals showed that phase‐pure perovskite PZNT91/9 single crystals were successfully fabricated by the above two methods. The composition of the crystals obtained by both the SC and MC methods was analyzed using X‐ray fluorescence, which confirmed that the crystal composition is close to the nominal value, although volatilization of PbO and segregation during crystal growth are inevitable. The MC PZNT91/9 crystals exhibit excellent piezoelectric properties, with the piezoelectric constant, d₃₃, in the range of 1800–2200 pC N^–1. This value is comparable to that of the SC crystals. However, the MC crystals show an abnormal dielectric behavior. In contrast with the SC crystals, in the MC crystals a much broader dielectric peak appears in the dielectric response curves, accompanied by a much lower peak temperature of around 105 °C. Furthermore, frequency dispersion is apparent over a much wider temperature range (even more apparent than in pure relaxors), where a large, i.e., about 70 °C, full width at half maximum (FWHM) for the dielectric peaks is observed in the dielectric response. It is speculated that such an unusual phenomenon correlates with defects, microinhomogeneities, and polar regions in the as‐grown MC crystals. The origins of this abnormality have not been interpreted in detail until now. However, optical observation of the domain structure confirms that both the SC and MC crystals possess complex structural states.     

Fabrication of Schottky barrier MOSFETs using self-assembly CoSi2 nanopatterning and spacer gate technologies

A self-assembly patterning method for generation of epitaxial CoSi₂ nanostructures was used to fabricate 50 nm channel-length MOSFETs. The transistors have either a symmetric structure with Schottky source and drain or an asymmetric structure with n⁺-source and Schottky drain. The patterning technique is based on anisotropic diffusion of Co/Si atoms in a strain field during rapid thermal oxidation. The strain field is generated along the edges of a mask consisting of 20 nm SiO₂ and 300 nm Si₃N₄. During rapid thermal oxinitridation (RTON) of the masked silicide structure, a well-defined separation of the silicide layer forms along the edge of the mask. These highly uniform gaps define the channel region of the fabricated device. The separated silicide layers act as metal source and drain. A poly-Si spacer was used as the gate contact. The asymmetric transistor was fabricated by ion implantation into the unprotected CoSi₂ layer and a subsequent out-diffusion process to form the n⁺-source. I–V characteristics of both the symmetric and asymmetric transistor structures have been investigated.