Analyzing the Boundary Thermal Resistance of Epitaxially Grown Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>VAl/W Layers by Picosecond Time-Domain Thermoreflectance

To gain deep insight into the mechanism of phonon scattering at grain boundaries, we investigated the boundary thermal resistance by using picosecond pulsed-laser time-domain thermoreflectance for epitaxially grown W/Fe₂VAl/W films. By using radio-frequency magnetron sputtering, we prepared a series of the three-layer films whose Fe₂VAl thickness ranged from 1 nm to 37 nm. The fine oscillation of reflectivity associated with the top W layer clearly appeared in synchrotron x-ray reflectivity measurements, indicating a less obvious mixture of elements at the boundary. The areal heat diffusion time, obtained from the time-domain thermoreflectance signal in the rear-heating front-detection configuration, reduced rapidly in samples whose Fe₂VAl layer was thinner than 15 nm. The ～ 10% mismatch in lattice constant between Fe₂VAl and W naturally produced the randomly distributed lattice stress near the boundary, causing an effective increase of boundary thermal resistance in the thick samples, but the stress became homogeneous in the thinner layers, which reduced the scattering probability of phonons.     

Highly Improved Sb2S3 Sensitized‐Inorganic–Organic Heterojunction Solar Cells and Quantification of Traps by Deep‐Level Transient Spectroscopy

The light‐harvesting Sb₂S₃ surface on mesoporous‐TiO₂ in inorganic–organic heterojunction solar cells is sulfurized with thioacetamide (TA). The photovoltaic performances are compared before and after TA treatment, and the state of the Sb₂S₃ is investigated by X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and deep‐level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). Although there are no differences in crystallinity and composition, the TA‐treated solar cells exhibit significantly enhanced performance compared to pristine Sb₂S₃‐sensitized solar cells. From DLTS analysis, the performance enhancement is mainly attributed to the extinction of trap sites, which are present at a density of (2–5) × 10¹⁴ cm^?3 in Sb₂S₃, by TA treatment. Through such a simple treatment, the cell records an overall power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.5% through a metal mask under simulated illumination (AM 1.5G, 100 mW cm^–2) with a very high open circuit voltage of 711.0 mV. This PCE is, thus far, the highest reported for fully solid‐state chalcogenide‐sensitized solar cells.     

Anisotropic Hybrid Hydrogels with Superior Mechanical Properties Reminiscent of Tendons or Ligaments

Mimicking the hierarchically anisotropic structure and excellent mechanical properties of natural tissues, such as tendons and ligaments, using biomaterials is challenging. Despite recent achievements with anisotropic hydrogels, limitations remain because of difficulties in achieving both structural and mechanical characteristics simultaneously. A simple approach for fabricating hybrid hydrogels with a hierarchically anisotropic structure and superior mechanical properties that are reminiscent of tendons or ligaments is proposed. Alginate–polyacrylamide double‐network (DN) hydrogels incorporated with high aspect ratio mesoporous silica microparticles are stretched and fixed via subsequent drying and ionic crosslinking to achieve multiscale structures composed of an anisotropically aligned polymer network embedded with aligned microparticles. The mechanical properties of hydrogels can be further controlled by the degree of stretching, quantities, and functional groups of inorganic microparticles, and types of crosslinking cations. The subsequent reswelling results in a high water content (>80%) similar to that of natural tendons while high strength, modulus, and toughness are maintained. The optimized anisotropic hybrid hydrogel exhibits a tensile modulus of 7.2 MPa, strength of 1.3 MPa, and toughness of 1.4 MJ m^?3 even in the swollen state, which is 451‐, 27‐, and 2.2 times higher than that observed in the non‐swollen tough DN hydrogel. This study suggests a new strategy for fabricating anisotropic hydrogels with superior mechanical properties to develop new biomaterials for artificial tendons or ligaments.     

InGaN microring light-emitting diodes

The fabrication and performance of an InGaN light-emitting diode (LED) array based on a microring device geometry is reported. This design has been adopted in order to increase the surface area for light extraction and to minimize losses due to internal reflections and reabsorption. Electrical characteristics of these devices are similar to those of a conventional large-area LED, while the directed light extraction proves to be superior. In fact, these devices are found to be more efficient when operated at higher currents. This may be attributed to improved heat sinking due to the large surface area to volume ratio. The potential applications of these devices are also discussed.     

A transmit MIMO scheme with frequency domain pre-equalization for wireless frequency selective channels

In this paper, we introduce a transmit multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) scheme with frequency domain pre-equalization for a multipath or frequency selective channel. In this scheme, MIMO processing in the frequency domain is performed at the transmitter or base station so that the receiver or mobile station only requires limited processing. This scheme provides high data rates and also inherits from the frequency domain equalization the property of relatively low complexity in severe multipath environments. The MIMO transmit processing is derived by minimizing the minimum mean square errors (MMSE), and expressions for the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio and error probability based on the Gaussian approximation of the interference term are provided. Some important associated issues, such as channel errors and computational complexity, are also investigated. Numerical simulations are also provided and these demonstrate the improved performance of our proposed scheme compared to other transmit MIMO schemes. In particular, they show that the proposed system can attain multipath or frequency diversity of the channel.     

A pre-BLAST-DFE technique for the downlink of frequency-selective fading MIMO channels

In this paper, we propose a pre-Bell Laboratories layered space-time (BLAST)-decision-feedback equalization technique for the downlink of frequency-selective fading multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channels to combat multiple-access interference (MAI) and intersymbol interference (ISI). In our technique, we perform MIMO pre-equalization and prelayered space-time processing at the transmitter or base station, with a simplified receiver at the mobile station that requires only limited signal processing. An important application is in the downlink, so that a simplified mobile station can be constructed. An expression for the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and error probability based on the Gaussian approximation of the output noise term is derived. Performance is investigated by analysis and simulation results. In particular, it is demonstrated that the diversity order of this technique is higher than that of the MIMO orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) with vertical (V)-BLAST and MIMO OFDM with linear transmit preprocessing. It is also noticed that this technique performs better at high SNR values.     

Passive alignment method of polymer PLC devices by using a hot embossing technique

A novel fabrication process using a hot embossing technique has been developed for micromechanical passive alignment of polymer planar lightwave circuit (PLC) devices. With only one step of embossing, single-mode waveguide straight channels and micropedestals for passive aligning are simultaneously defined on a polymer thin film with an accuracy of /spl plusmn/0.5 /spl mu/m. This process reduces the steps for fabricating alignment structures. A fabricated polymer PLC chip and fibers are combined on a v-grooved silicon optical bench (SiOB) in a flip-chip manner. The process provides a coupling loss as low as 0.67 dB per coupling face and a cost-effective packaging solution for various polymer PLC devices.     

Laterally coupled buried heterostructure high-Q ring resonators

All-buried InP-InGaAsP ring resonators laterally coupled to bus waveguides are demonstrated. The buried configurations offer a lower built-in refractive index step along the resonator periphery, which affords enhanced optical coupling coefficients between the waveguides and reduced scattering losses caused by the resonator sidewall imperfections. Very low optical intensity attenuations of 0.4 cm/sup -1/ and coupling-limited quality factors of greater than 10/sup 5/ are observed from 200-/spl mu/m-radii ring resonators. The measured spectral linewidth is as narrow as 0.0145 nm.