Cooperative Impulse Radio Ultra-Wideband Communication Using Coherent and Non-Coherent Detectors: A Review

Ultra-wideband (UWB) is a booming technology in the field of wireless communication. This paper presents a brief idea related to the various coherent and non-coherent IR-UWB detectors. Due to the limitation in transmit power spectral density of UWB system, the major challenges faced by UWB system includes, achieving Quality of Service, system performance and coverage area. So, the combination of UWB system with cooperative communication will not only improve the system performance, but also help in expanding coverage area of signals. A brief review of the work done by various researchers in the field of cooperative impulse radio (IR) UWB communication is also presented in this paper. The working principle and performance analysis of the various coherent and non-coherent IR-UWB detectors using cooperative relay strategies are also discussed at large in this paper. The various fixed cooperative relay strategies used for cooperative UWB communication is Amplify and Forward, Decode and Forward and Detect and Forward. From the simulation results it can be inferred that, even though IR-UWB DTR receiver gives a much better BER performance than IR-UWB ED receiver using both cooperative and non-cooperative strategies, yet ED receiver is preferred because of its less complexity and low power consumption. Future prospects in the field of cooperative IR-UWB communication have also been discussed in this paper.     

Structural and electronic properties of lead nanowires: Ab-initio study

Ab-initio self-consistent study has been performed to analyze the stability of lead nanowires in its six stable configurations like linear, zigzag, triangular, ladder, square and dumbbell. In the present study, the lowest energy structures have been analyzed under the revised Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (revPBE) parameterization of generalized gradient approximation (GGA) potential. The two-atom zigzag shaped atomic configuration with highest binding energy and lowest total energy has been confirmed as the most stable structure out of the six atomic configurations. The electronic band structure and density of states have been discussed in detail with a remarkable observation in case of three-atom triangular lead nanowire having a very small band gap while other configurations are found to be metallic. Bulk modulus, pressure derivatives and lattice parameters for different lead nanowires have also been computed and discussed.     

SPM characterization of pulsed laser deposited nanocrystalline CrN hard coatings

Nanocrystalline CrN coatings, widely required for surface engineering application covering wear and corrosion resistance, need to be investigated for atomic scale morphology, surface roughness, local stiffness, phase uniformity, and homogeneity. Evolution of these properties as a function of thickness need to be studied. In this paper, we have attempted to address these issues through use of a multimode scanning probe microscope (SPM) equipped to carry out Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Atomic Force Acoustic microscopy (AFAM) of Chromium nitride films (100-500 nm thick) on Si prepared under high vacuum by pulsed Laser Ablation using Nd-YAG Q-switched laser. Prior to SPM analysis, the coatings were annealed in N2 atmosphere at 700 degrees C for 30 minutes for improving crystallanity and coating substrate adhesion. The GIXRD patterns of these annealed specimens showed formation of nanocrystalline CrN. Also signature of amorphous phases was seen. The grain size was estimated to be less than 30 nm. Contact mode AFM imaging revealed a roughness value less than 50 nm. Local stiffness values were calculated from AFM force-distance curves. Imaging of frictional force and surface flaws are being investigated by Frictional Force Microscopy (FFM), resonance spectroscopy, and AFAM, respectively. The contrast in AFAM images is seen due to variation in surface elasticity in reference and CrN samples. Stiffness constant and elastic modulus were calculated for both the samples and compared.     

Ammonia volatilization from urea as affected by the addition of iron pyrites and method of application

Laboratory incubations were conducted to determine the ammonia (NH₃) loss from urea as affected by the addition of coarse and ground (fine) pyrites at 1:1, 1:2 and 1:5 urea: pyrite (w/w) ratios and methods of application (surfaceapplication, incorporation and placement). Coarse pyrites (>-2mm) were not effective in reducing NH₃ loss from urea when surface applied even at the highest ratio of pyrite (15.9% vs 18.7% without pyrite). Ground pyrites (0.1–0.25 mm), in 1:1 ratio, had about 5% less NH₃ loss than the urea alone treatment. Higher ratios of pyrites reduced NH₃ loss much more. Ammonia losses were the most with surface-applied urea (18.9%) and the least (13.5%) when placed (2.5 cm) below the soil surface. Addition of ground pyrite to surface-applied urea (1:1 ratio) decreased the loss to 13.2%. Urea+pyrite placed below the soil surface had the least loss (9.8%). Results indicate that combined application of urea and fine pyrite could reduce NH₃ loss.     

Molecular beacon sequence analysis for detecting drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Strictureplasty for treatment of symptomatic intestinal strictures secondary to Crohn's disease is being performed with increasing frequency. To determine the overall clinical results after strictureplasty for Crohn's disease, all patients undergoing this procedure were prospectively studied. Between 6/1/89 and 2/1/97, 57 Crohn's disease patients underwent 60 operations utilizing strictureplasties. A total of 109 strictureplasties were performed (90 Heineke-Mikulicz, 6 Finney, and 13 side-to-side isoperistaltic). The 30-day perioperative morbidity was 12%, with complications being less common for patients undergoing elective versus unscheduled operations (p < 0.002). Recurrence of Crohn's disease requiring operation was seen in seven patients after a mean follow-up of 38 months. The estimated cumulative recurrence rate after 2 years was 15 +/- 6% (+/- standard error) and 22 +/- 10% at 5 years. A recurrence developed at the site of the previous strictureplasty in only five cases. Strictureplasty is a safe, effective means of providing long-term surgical palliation to selected patients with Crohn's disease. Perioperative complication rates are comparable to those seen with standard surgical treatment, and recurrences are not excessive.     

A 90-nm logic technology featuring strained-silicon

A leading-edge 90-nm technology with 1.2-nm physical gate oxide, 45-nm gate length, strained silicon, NiSi, seven layers of Cu interconnects, and low-/spl kappa/ CDO for high-performance dense logic is presented. Strained silicon is used to increase saturated n-type and p-type metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) drive currents by 10% and 25%, respectively. Using selective epitaxial Si/sub 1-x/Ge/sub x/ in the source and drain regions, longitudinal uniaxial compressive stress is introduced into the p-type MOSEFT to increase hole mobility by >50%. A tensile silicon nitride-capping layer is used to introduce tensile strain into the n-type MOSFET and enhance electron mobility by 20%. Unlike all past strained-Si work, the hole mobility enhancement in this paper is present at large vertical electric fields in nanoscale transistors making this strain technique useful for advanced logic technologies. Furthermore, using piezoresistance coefficients it is shown that significantly less strain (/spl sim/5 /spl times/) is needed for a given PMOS mobility enhancement when applied via longitudinal uniaxial compression versus in-plane biaxial tension using the conventional Si/sub 1-x/Ge/sub x/ substrate approach.     

Effect of water of crystallization on synthesis of nanocrystalline ceria by non-hydrolytic method

Nanocrystalline ceria has been synthesized by a non-hydrolytic method using organic solvent and precipitant. The effect of the source compound on final nanocrystalline powder was investigated. The cerium nitrate hexahydrate subjected to different vacuum/thermal treatments to get cerium source compound having different extent of water of crystallization. The nanoceria, synthesized from these compounds was characterized by TGA-MS, XRD, HR-TEM and AFM.