A 3-GHz 70-mb SRAM in 65-nm CMOS technology with integrated column-based dynamic power supply

Column-based dynamic power supply has been integrated into a high-frequency 70-Mb SRAM design that is fabricated on a high-performance 65-nm CMOS technology. The fully synchronized design achieves a 3-GHz operating frequency at 1.1-V power supply. The power supply at SRAM cell array is dynamically switched between two different voltage levels during READ and WRITE operations. Silicon measurement has proven this method to be effective in achieving both good cell READ and WRITE margins, while lowering the overall SRAM leakage power consumption.     

A spline wavelet finite‐element method in structural mechanics

The wavelet‐based methods are powerful to analyse the field problems with changes in gradients and singularities due to the excellent multi‐resolution properties of wavelet functions. Wavelet‐based finite elements are often constructed in the wavelet space where field displacements are expressed as a product of wavelet functions and wavelet coefficients. When a complex structural problem is analysed, the interface between different elements and boundary conditions cannot be easily treated as in the case of conventional finite‐element methods (FEMs). A new wavelet‐based FEM in structural mechanics is proposed in the paper by using the spline wavelets, in which the formulation is developed in a similar way of conventional displacement‐based FEM. The spline wavelet functions are used as the element displacement interpolation functions and the shape functions are expressed by wavelets. The detailed formulations of typical spline wavelet elements such as plane beam element, in‐plane triangular element, in‐plane rectangular element, tetrahedral solid element, and hexahedral solid element are derived. The numerical examples have illustrated that the proposed spline wavelet finite‐element formulation achieves a high numerical accuracy and fast convergence rate. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination Of The Phase Current Waveform For A Disc‐Type Axial‐Flux Wheel Motor

An optimal design of the driving current pattern for a disc‐type axial‐flux brushless DC wheel motor of an electric vehicle is proposed in this paper. The electro‐magnetic dynamic model of the motor is established with magnetic circuits, describing the relationship between the output torque and excitation current. The optimal current pattern, in terms of magnitude and phase angle, is then obtained by maximizing the output torque with respect to the rotor shift. Compared with the traditional three‐phase‐on current pattern of fixed 120–degree phase shift, both the average torque and efficiency with the driving current of an optimal advanced switching angle are seen to be improved under various loading conditions. The motor performance with the optimal driving waveform is simulated and verified by experiments.     

The high‐speed measurement of a partial area imaging system applied to photoresist development processing

Abstract

Among the parameters that affect photolithography, the most important are exposure and development time which affect the coating photoresist characteristics. This study further researches the relationship between the exposure and development time using a high speed image inspection system, and the relationship between the development time and photoresist depth using a Scanning Probe Microscope (SPM). A partial scan CCD camera and high speed frame capture card were used to obtain the photoresist development processing parameters. The experimental results verified that this imaging system provides an economical and effective method for producing a micro‐photo‐etched product. It is expected that these experiments can also offer some good references useful in the micro electro mechanical industrial field.     

Analytical study of wave‐induced nearshore currents

Abstract

Nearshore circulation, produced by a wave‐induced radiation stress gradient, forms different circulation patterns under different wave characteristics and topographical conditions. A more general equation was deduced on the orthogonal curvilinear coordinate system to unify the diversities among related theories and to investigate the nearshore circulation on an arc‐shaped coast. The results show that circulation patterns depend on the flow torque factor which is in turn determined by both the wave characteristics and the topographical conditions. Due to the differences of this torque factor, the straight coast and the arc‐shaped coast will produce different circulation patterns.     

A note on a plane creeping corner flow

Abstract

A simple method of similarity transformation is formulated to analyze a two‐dimensional creeping corner flow. By this peculiar transformation, governing equations for the plane velocity are reduced to a pair of ordinary differential equations. With a particular selection of appropriate boundary conditions, the field variables of velocity, pressure, vorticity, and stream function are obtained analytically. A special case with constant velocity at one boundary is explored. The salient characteristics of this example are used to compare with previous investigations. The present study shows that both approaches provide exactly the same solutions. A very interesting feature is that the velocity components in the coordinate system are independent of the radial direction.     

A study on the characteristics and pervaporation performance of polyamide thin‐film composite membranes with modified polyacrylonitrile as substrate for bioethanol dehydration

To improve the pervaporation performance in separating an aqueous ethanol solution, polyamide thin‐film composite (TFC) membranes (m‐tolidine‐H‐TMC/mPAN) were prepared through the interfacial polymerization reaction between trimesoyl chloride (TMC) and 2,2'‐dimethylbenzidine hydrochloride (m‐tolidine‐H) on the surface of a modified polyacrylonitrile (mPAN) membrane. The effects of the feed ethanol concentration on the pervaporation performance and the durability of m‐tolidine‐H‐TMC/mPAN TFC membranes were investigated. To choose the optimal mPAN membrane as the TFC substrate, the effect of hydrolysis time on the chemical properties and separation performance of an mPAN substrate was also studied. An appropriate hydrolysis time of 15 min was chosen to obtain the mPAN substrate due to the corresponding high permeation flux. The m‐tolidine‐H‐TMC/mPAN TFC membrane exhibited a high pervaporation performance for ethanol dehydration. A positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy experiment was used to estimate the mean free‐volume radius of the m‐tolidine‐H‐TMC polyamide selective layer, which lay between the radii of the water and ethanol molecules. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry     

Dual Bioactivities of Essential Oil Extracted from the Leaves of Artemisia argyi as an Antimelanogenic versus Antioxidant Agent and Chemical Composition Analysis by GC/MS

The study was aimed at investigating the antimelanogenic and antioxidant properties of essential oil when extracted from the leaves of Artemisia argyi, then analyzing the chemical composition of the essential oil. The inhibitory effect of the essential oil on melanogenesis was evaluated by a mushroom tyrosinase activity assay and B16F10 melanoma cell model. The antioxidant capacity of the essential oil was assayed by spectrophotometric analysis, and the volatile chemical composition of the essential oil was analyzed with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The results revealed that the essential oil significantly inhibits mushroom tyrosinase activity (IC₅₀ = 19.16 mg/mL), down-regulates B16F10 intracellular tyrosinase activity and decreases the amount of melanin content in a dose-dependent pattern. Furthermore, the essential oil significantly scavenged 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline- 6-sulphonic acid) ABTS radicals, showed an apparent reduction power as compared with metal-ion chelating activities. The chemicals constituents in the essential oil are ether (23.66%), alcohols (16.72%), sesquiterpenes (15.21%), esters (11.78%), monoterpenes (11.63%), ketones (6.09%), aromatic compounds (5.01%), and account for a 90.10% analysis of its chemical composition. It is predicted that eucalyptol and the other constituents, except for alcohols, in the essential oil may contribute to its antioxidant activities. The results indicated that essential oil extracted from A. argyi leaves decreased melanin production in B16F10 cells and showed potent antioxidant activity. The essential oil can thereby be applied as an inhibitor of melanogenesis and could also act as a natural antioxidant in skin care products.     

Analyzing the decision making process of certifying digital control systems of nuclear power plants

Safety-critical computing systems need regulators’ approval before operation. Such a permit issue process is called “certification”. Digital instrumentation and Control (I&C) certification in the nuclear domain has always been problematic and lengthy. Thus, the certification efficiency has always been a crucial concern to the applicant whose business depends on the regulatory decision. However, to our knowledge, there is little basic research on this topic. This study presents a Regulatory Decision-Making Model aiming at analyzing the characteristics and efficiency influence factors in a generic certification process. This model is developed from a dynamic operational perspective by viewing the certification process as an evidence–confidence conversion process. The proposed model is then applied to previous nuclear digital I&C certification experiences to successfully explain why some cases were successful and some were troublesome. Lessons learned from these cases provide invaluable insights regarding to the regulatory review activity. Furthermore, to utilize the insights obtained from the model, a prototype of a computer-aided licensing support system has been developed to speed up review evidence preparation and manipulation; thus, regulatory review efficiency can be further improved.     

Synthesis,Characterization and Catalytic Activities of Palladium(II) Nitroaryl Complexes

Two palladium(II) nitroaryl complexes trans-[bromo(p-nitrophenyl)bis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(II)] 1 and trans-[bromo(2,4-dinitrophenyl)bis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(II)] 2 have been synthesized. The complexes were characterized by FTIR and NMR (¹H, ¹³C and ³¹P) spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The molecular structure of complex 2, as confirmed by X-ray crystallography, reveals that the Pd atom and its neighboring groups (two PPh₃, Br and phenylene group) lie in a slightly distorted square plane. In the UV–Vis spectra of the complexes 1 and 2, the palladium to aryl charge transfer bands were observed. The emission peaks from the singlet excited states (S₁ → S₀) were observed in the photoluminescence spectra of the complexes. The thermal stability of the complexes has been studied by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). TGA data showed that both complexes are thermally stable up to 200 °C, and complex 1 is more stable than 2. The catalytic efficiency of the new palladium(II) complexes was studied as demonstrated using the Sonogashira coupling reactions with good yields. The experimental results suggest that the Sonogashira coupling reactions can be performed at moderate temperature (50 °C) using these new palladium(II) complexes as catalysts.