Investigation of reliability issues in high power laser diode bar packages

As applications continue to demand increasingly higher optical output power and longer lifetime, thermo-mechanical stresses on dissimilar materials interfaced for packaging pose an ever-growing challenge for the realization of a durable system. Particularly important for an epitaxy-down configuration is the die-attachment interface, which is desired to be defect free and stress managed for reliable optical alignment. A knowledge of the changes in the physical defect density and magnitude of the thermo-mechanical stress present in the active region as a function of the fabrication process and aging is crucial to an understanding of the influence of the process parameters and operating conditions on device performance and reliability. In this study, we investigated high power laser diode array packages aged under various conditions. Microscopic defect analyses of the die attachment interface and device stress were carried out using primarily metallography, scanning electron microscopy, scanning acoustic microscopy, microhardness, and micro-Raman spectroscopy. It was noted that the intermetallic compounds and microscopic physical defects at the die attach interface are detrimental to transient heat transfer, and thus, overall package reliability. Using micro-Raman spectroscopy, we found that tensile stress near the bar-package interface increases with aging for the first few hundred hours and then decreases with further aging.     

Effect of LED Radiation Pattern on BER Performance in Indoor Multipath MIMO-VLC System

The present paper investigates the impact of three radiation patterns of LED namely Lambertian, Batwing, Elliptical on the BER performance of 4 × 4 indoor multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) visible light communication (VLC) system. The BER simulation has been done using LOS and LOS plus first reflection (L-R1) signals for ceiling-mounted and wall-mounted LEDs. For the case of ceiling-mounted LEDs, impulse response and BER have been computed using those radiation patterns at the centre and corner of a room (5 m × 5 m × 3 m). It has been found that LED having Elliptical radiation profile is more suitable for LOS signal when receiver is placed at the centre position whereas, Batwing radiation is suitable for L-R1 signal, both at the centre and corner positions. In the case of wall-mounted LEDs, impulse response and BER have been determined at the centre of the room using LOS and L-R1 signals. The results show that Batwing has least BER using LOS signal due to its wide radiation beam, but for L-R1 signal, the Elliptical profile having its narrow radiation beam has provided better BER performance. The present study shows that the BER in MIMO-VLC system not only depends on the transmitter and receiver position but also on the radiation patterns of LED and higher order reflection signals.

     

Nonalloyed ohmic contacts for high-electron-mobility transistors based on AlGaN/GaN heterostructures

A microwave field-effect transistor with nonalloyed ohmic contacts is fabricated using the technique of regrowing a heavily doped region under the contact metallization by molecular beam epitaxy through a preliminarily formed dielectric mask. The fabricated field-effect transistor with a gate length of 0.18 µm and a total width of 100 µm has a current–amplification cutoff frequency of 66 GHz and ohmic contact resistivity of 0.15-0.18 Ω mm.     

Optimal Location of Energy Efficient DF Relay Node in $$\varvec{\kappa}$$ κ – $$\varvec{\mu }$$ μ Fading Channel

We investigate the optimal location of an adaptive decode and forward relay operating over a \(\kappa\)–\(\mu\) fading channel. The \(\kappa\)–\(\mu\) statistics provides a generalized line-of-sight propagation model which includes fading models like Rayleigh, Nakagami, Rician as special cases. We restrict our analysis to collinear relay placement, i.e. the relay node \((R_n)\) is on the same straight line between the source node \((S_n)\) and the destination node \((D_n)\). In the non-cooperative mode, \(D_n\) accepts only the two-hop transmission via \(R_n\) and discards any direct signal that may be available from \(S_n\). On the other hand, in the cooperative mode, \(D_n\) accepts both the replicas and combine them following either selection combining (SC) or maximum ratio combining (MRC). It is interesting to see that such cooperation does not always lead to energy saving, especially for small \(S_n-D_n\) separation. Also, worth mentioning the fact that MRC may not be optimal from the energy efficiency perspective, and SC can outperform MRC under certain channel conditions. In our paper, we also studied how parameters like spectral efficiency (R), path loss exponent (n), and fading parameters (\(\kappa ,\mu\)) affect the optimal relay placement location.

     

Fixed-width confidence interval estimation of the inverse coefficient of variation in a normal population

A sequential procedure is developed in order to construct a confidence interval of “fixed-width and preassigned coverage probability” for the inverse of the coefficient of variation of a normal population. The proposed sequential procedure is proved to be “asymptotically efficient and consistent” in the sense of Chow and Robbins ([1]: Ann. Math. Statist. 36, 457–462 (1965)). Asymptotic distribution of the stopping time is derived.     

Tuning the Operating Band of an Artificial Magnetic Conductor

Journal of Communications Technology and Electronics - Approximate formulas for calculating the coefficient of reflection from an artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) based on a capacitive lattice...     

Periodic Arrays of Magnetoelectrically Excited Double and Single Split-Ring Resonators as Artificial Magnetic Conductors

The amplitude and phase of the reflection coefficient of periodic arrays of electrically conducting elements in the form of double and single split rings are determined for two orientations of these rings, corresponding to magnetic (H) and magnetoelectric (HE) excitation. It is shown that, in the case of the HE-excitation of the rings, the arrays possess the properties of an artificial magnetic conductor or a high-impedance surface. The electric and magnetic fields near the arrays are calculated, and the dependence of the impedance on the distance between the array and the plane in which the impedance is determined is obtained. It is shown that the maximum of the impedance is in close vicinity of the array and can amount to tens of thousands of ohms. The feasibility of implementing a modified Salisbury radio absorber of small thickness by means of such arrays is shown theoretically and experimentally. It is also shown that, under illumination of an array of limited dimensions by a closely placed dipole, the screening effect reaches –30 dB with good matching of the dipole to the feed line (the reflection coefficient in the line is less than –20 dB).     

Prediction and Measurement of Electron Density and Collision Frequency in a Weakly Ionised Pine Fire

Pine litter flame is a weakly ionised medium. Electron-neutral collisions are a dominant form of particle interaction in the flame. Assuming flame electrons to be in thermal equilibrium with neutrals and average electron-neutral collision frequency to be much higher than the plasma frequency, the propagation of microwaves through the flame is predicted to suffer signal intensity loss. A controlled fire burner was constructed where various natural vegetation species could be used as fuel. The burner was equipped with thermocouples and used as a cavity for microwaves with a laboratory quality network analyzer to measure wave attenuation. Electron density and collision frequency were then calculated from the measured attenuation. The parameters are important for numerical prediction of electromagnetic wave propagation in wildfire environments. A controlled pine litter fire with a maximum flame temperature of 1080 K was set in the burner and microwaves (8–10.5 GHz) were caused to propagate through the flame. A microwave signal loss of 1.6–5.8 dB was measured within the frequency range. Based on the measured attenuation, electron density and electron-neutral collision frequency in pine fire were calculated to range from 0.51–1.35?×?10¹⁶ m^?3 and 3.43–5.97?×?10¹⁰ s^?1 respectively.     

Further remarks on sequential estimation of a scale parameter in exponential distributions with an unknown location

The sequential procedure developed by Govindarajulu and Sarkar [Sequential estimation of scale parameter in exponential distributions with unknown location. Utilitas Math.40, 161–178 (1991)] for estimating the scale parameter of an exponential distribution, when the location parameter is unknown, is further analyzed. Generalizing the results of Govindarajulu and Sarkar, the ‘asymptotic risk-efficiency’ of the sequential procedure is established for the general loss function. A simple method of obtaining the asymptotic distribution of the stopping time is given. For the case of quadratic loss function and linear cost of sampling, a much simpler proof for obtaining the second-order approximations for the risk is provided.     

Shielding of Electromagnetic Radiation by an Artificial Magnetic Conductor Based on an Isotropic Composite Material Consisting of Capacitive Gratings

Journal of Communications Technology and Electronics - The characteristics of an artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) based on an anisotropic composite material consisting of capacitive gratings...