Preparation, patterning and luminescent properties of nanocrystalline Gd2O3:A (A=Eu, Dy, Sm, Er) phosphor films via Pechini sol–gel soft lithography

Nanocrystalline Gd₂O₃:A (A=Eu³⁺, Dy³⁺, Sm³⁺, Er³⁺) phosphor films and their patterning were fabricated by a Pechini sol–gel process combined with a soft lithography. X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy, UV/vis transmission and photoluminescence (PL) spectra as well as lifetimes were used to characterize the resulting films. The results of XRD indicated that the films began to crystallize at 500 °C and that the crystallinity increased with the elevation of annealing temperatures. Uniform and crack free non-patterned phosphor films were obtained by optimizing the composition of the coating sol, which mainly consisted of grains with an average size of 70 nm and a thickness of 550 nm. Using micro-molding in capillaries technique, we obtained homogeneous and defects-free patterned gel and crystalline phosphor films with different stripe widths (5, 10, 20 and 50 μm). Significant shrinkage (50%) was observed in the patterned films during the heat treatment process. The doped rare earth ions (A) showed their characteristic emission in crystalline Gd₂O₃ phosphor films due to an efficient energy transfer from Gd₂O₃ host to them. Both the lifetimes and PL intensity of the rare earth ions increased with increasing the annealing temperature from 500 to 900 °C, and the optimum concentrations for Eu³⁺, Dy³⁺, Sm³⁺, Er³⁺ were determined to be 5, 0.25, 1 and 1.5 mol% of Gd³⁺ in Gd₂O₃ films, respectively.     

Performance characteristics of cascaded delay‐line node architectures in single‐path interconnection networks

Internally buffered multistage interconnection network architectures have been widely used in parallel computer systems and large switching fabrics. Migration from electrical domain to optical domain has raised the necessity of developing node architectures with optical buffers. Cascaded fibre delay line architectures can be seen as possible realizations of output and shared buffering in a 2 × 2‐switching element. These approaches can be used as buffered node architecture in a Banyan like interconnect. In this paper, we investigate and compare these approaches by using simulation methods. Different performance metrics, such as normalized throughput, average packet delay, packet loss rate and buffer utilization have been used under uniform and non‐uniform traffic models. Results show that the TC‐chain node Banyan network offer an improved normalized throughput and average packet delay performances under both traffic models without disrupting first‐in‐first‐out order of arrivals. The switched delay‐line requires fewer switching elements than TC and TTC architectures but at the cost of high packet delay. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Search for high-performance probe-fed stacked patches using optimization

High-performance circular probe-fed stacked patch antenna designs are explored through the use of numerical optimization. New trends are sought to aid understanding and to suggest novel solutions. We describe the optimization technique, present a new design trend relating efficiency and bandwidth to the choice of substrate dielectric, and propose and demonstrate a novel, optimized antenna achieving 33% bandwidth whilst maintaining greater than 80% surface wave efficiency.     

L’optimisation des réseaux cellulaires assistée par ordinateur: le logiciel RNO (Radio Network Optimisation)

Quality of service has become today a major concern for operators of mobile communication networks. The massive development of networks and strong competition between operators has lead to the necessary and daily follow-up of network quality of service, a key factor for its subscriber’s fidelity. This article aims at presenting the optimization methodology and proposes its illustration with a case of RNO (Radio Network Optimisation) software usage, one of the Alcatel optimization toolchain component. After a short presentation of cellular network, the optimization basic principles are described. RNO software and its main functionnalities are then detailed before a last part dedicated to a real case of optimization done with RNO software.     

Polarizational Frequency-Selective Multipath Interference Devices for Millimetric- and Submillimetric-Wave Receivers

Variants are considered of palarizational frequency-selective multipath interference devices for millimetric- and submillimetric- wave receivers. Main expressions are presented that describe their characteristics. Advantages are pointed out of the devices as compared with Fabry-Perot interferometers when solving problems of received frequency-band shaping, heterodyne noise rejection, and signal- and heterodyne-radiation transfer to mixer.     

Bio-layer management in anaerobic membrane bioreactors for wastewater treatment.

Membrane separation technology represents an alternative way to achieve biomass retention in anaerobic bioreactors for wastewater treatment. Due to high biomass concentrations of anaerobic reactors, cake formation is likely to represent a major cause of flux decline. In the presented research, experiments are performed on the effect of biomass concentration and level of gas sparging on the hydraulic capacity of a submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactor. Both parameters significantly affected the hydraulic capacity, with biomass exerting the most pronounced effect. After 50 days of continuous operation the critical flux remained virtually unchanged, despite an increase in membrane resistance, suggesting that biomass characteristics and hydraulic conditions determine the bio-layer formation rather than the membrane's fouling level. The concept of bio-layer management is introduced to describe the programmed combination of actions performed in order to control the formation of biomass layer over membranes.     

Book Reviews: Extensible Middleware

A review of Distributed Infrastructure Support for Electronic Commerce Applications by Hans-Arno Jacobsen.     

Analysis of the interference immunity during reception of ultrawideband chaotic signals in an indoor multipath propagation environment

The models of indoor multipath propagation of wideband and ultrawideband (UWB) signals are considered. Application of these models is recommended by an IEEE working group. In the framework of one of the models corresponding to the line-of-sight conditions, the algorithms for reception of UWB chaotic signals in the presence of reflection from multiple surfaces (echo signals) are proposed and analyzed. The efficiency of reception techniques is estimated from the viewpoint of the error probabilities. Limitations caused by the specific properties of echo signals are revealed, and the methods for improvement of reception quality are discussed.