LDA + U Study of Induced Half Metallicity in Cr-Doped GaN

Half-metallic ferromagnetism in the Ga_{1 ? x}Cr _x N compound at different concentrations, x = 25, 12.5 and 6.25 %, have been investigated using density functional theory as implemented in code Spanish Initiative for Electronic Simulations with Thousands of Atoms (SIESTA) using LDA + U as exchange-correlation (XC) potential, to find out the possibility of new diluted DMSs. The outcomes reveal that transition metal atom (Cr) doping in GaN induces ferromagnetism. The 3d levels of the TM ion originate a half-metallic gap at the Fermi level in the majority spin channel for all concentrations. Moreover, diluted magnetic semiconductor compounds retain the half-metallic nature at all concentrations, i.e., x = 0.25, 0.125 and 0.0625, with 100 % spin polarization at the Fermi level (E _F). The total magnetic moment of these compounds is due to Cr-3d states, and the existence of a small magnetic moment on Ga and N, non-magnetic atoms, for all doping concentrations is a consequence of p-d hybridization of Cr-d and N-p states. The calculated values of s-d exchange constant N α and p-d exchange constant N βconfirm the ferromagnetic character of the Cr-doped GaN compound.     

Hydrostatic Pressure Effect on Ga<Subscript>0.75</Subscript>Cr<Subscript>0.25</Subscript>As DMS: DFT Study

This paper studies the first-principles calculations of the effect of hydrostatic pressure on the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of Ga_0.75Cr_0.25As dilute magnetic semiconductor in zb (B3) phase. High-pressure behaviour of Ga_0.75Cr_0.25As has been investigated between 0 and 100 GPa. The calculations have been performed using DFT as implemented in code SIESTA using LDA + U as an exchange-correlation (XC) potential. The study of band structures shows half-metallic ferromagnetic nature with 100% spin polarization. Under application of external pressure, the valence band and conduction band are shifted from their positions which lead to modification of electronic structure.     

Improving cache locking performance of modern embedded systems via the addition of a miss table at the L2 cache level

To confer the robustness and high quality of service, modern computing architectures running real-time applications should provide high system performance and high timing predictability. Cache memory is used to improve performance by bridging the speed gap between the main memory and CPU. However, the cache introduces timing unpredictability creating serious challenges for real-time applications. Herein, we introduce a miss table (MT) based cache locking scheme at level-2 (L2) cache to further improve the timing predictability and system performance/power ratio. The MT holds information of block addresses related to the application being processed which cause most cache misses if not locked. Information in MT is used for efficient selection of the blocks to be locked and victim blocks to be replaced. This MT based approach improves timing predictability by locking important blocks with the highest number of misses inside the cache for the entire execution time. In addition, this technique decreases the average delay per task and total power consumption by reducing cache misses and avoiding unnecessary data transfers. This MT based solution is effective for both uniprocessors and multicores. We evaluate the proposed MT-based cache locking scheme by simulating an 8-core processor with 2 levels of caches using MPEG4 decoding, H.264/AVC decoding, FFT, and MI workloads. Experimental results show that in addition to improving the predictability, a reduction of 21% in mean delay per task and a reduction of 18% in total power consumption are achieved for MPEG4 (and H.264/AVC) by using MT and locking 25% of the L2. The MT results in about 5% delay and power reductions on these video applications, possibly more on applications with worse cache behavior. For the FFT and MI (and other) applications whose code fits inside the level-1 instruction (I1) cache, the mean delay per task increases only by 3% and total power consumption increases by 2% due to the addition of the MT.     

A low cost approach for the fabrication of microwave phase shifter on laminates

This paper presents a simple and low cost fabrication approach using extended printed circuit board processing techniques for an electrostatically actuated phase shifter on a common microwave laminate. This approach uses 15 μm thin copper foils for realizing the bridge structures as well as for a spacer. A polymeric thin film deposited by spin coating and patterned using lithographic process is used as a dielectric layer to improve the reliability of the device. The prototype of the phase shifter for X-band operation is fabricated and tested for electrical and electromechanical performance parameters. The realized devices have a figure of merit of 70°/dB for a maximum applied bias potential of 85 V. Since these phase shifters can be conveniently fabricated directly on microwave substrates used for feed distribution networks of phased arrays, the overall addition in cost, dimensions and processing for including these phase shifters in these arrays is minimal.

     

Quantification of crustal geotherms along with their error bounds for seismically active regions of India: A Matlab toolbox

Determination of the thermo-mechanical structure of the crust for seismically active regions using available geophysical and geological data is of great importance. The most important feature of the intraplate earthquakes in the Indian region are that the seismicity occurs within the entire crust. In Latur region of India an earthquake occurred in the upper crust. In such situations, quantifying the uncertainties in seismogenic depths becomes very important. The stochastic heat conduction equation has been solved for different sets of boundary conditions, an exponentially decreasing radiogenic heat generation and randomness in thermal conductivity. Closed form analytical expressions for mean and variance in the temperature depth distribution have been used and an automatic formulation has been developed in Matlab for computing and plotting the thermal structure. The Matlab toolbox presented allows us to display the controlling thermal parameters on the screen directly, and plot the subsurface thermal structure along with its error bounds. The software can be used to quantify the thermal structure for any given region and is applied here to the Latur earthquake region of India.     

Asymptotic Stability of Cohen–Grossberg BAM Neutral Type Neural Networks with Distributed Time Varying Delays

This paper is concerned with the problem of asymptotic stability of neutral type Cohen–Grossberg BAM neural networks with discrete and distributed time-varying delays. By constructing a suitable Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional (LKF), reciprocal convex technique and Jensen’s inequality are used to delay-dependent conditions are established to analysis the asymptotic stability of Cohen–Grossberg BAM neural networks with discrete and distributed time-varying delays. These stability conditions are formulated as linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) which can be easily solved by various convex optimization algorithms. Finally numerical examples are given to illustrate the usefulness of our proposed method.     

The interaction between skill, postures, forces and back pain in wool handling

Wool handling is an important rural occupation where workers process 200 or more fleeces daily, separating them into various quality components. Loads and postures they experience carry substantial risk of low back pain (LBP). Although a formal skill training structure exists, interaction with loads and LBP is unknown. We examined whether skill and LBP influenced trunk postures and loads of 60 wool handlers representing 3 skill levels. LBP prevalence ranged from 20% for junior (lowest skill) to 45% for open class (highest skill) wool handlers. Open class wool handlers demonstrated increased lateral bend and more axially twisted postures, generating greater medio-lateral shear forces and lateral bend and axial twist moments. LBP was associated with open class wool handlers spending more time in severe axially twisted postures. These findings suggest that skill-based training needs to be reviewed to reduce the quantity of axially twisted posture which may help reduce the prevalence of LBP in this workforce.     

Sensitivity compensating nonlinear control: Exact model based approach

A novel sensitivity compensating nonlinear control (SCNC) approach is proposed within generic model control (GMC) framework for processes exhibiting input sensitivity. The proposed approach consists of defining a new process, control law and set point such that the determined control action drives the original process to its desired set point. External reset feedback (ERF), used to compensate for input saturation, is extended to higher relative degree systems as extended ERF (EERF), and is incorporated in the context of SCNC approach. The proposed control algorithms are evaluated by application to an open-loop unstable CSTR control problem and a multi-product semi-batch polymerization reactor temperature control problem. The present study illustrates the versatility of the proposed SCGMC schemes compared to the basic GMC schemes in terms of output tracking and smoother input profiles. SCNC can be extended to other nonlinear model based controllers where the control law can be expressed analytically.     

Optimum operating conditions for an adsorption cryocooler: a case of activated carbon + nitrogen system

Adsorption cryocoolers are among the possible options for obtaining cryogenic temperatures, in particular for small cooling capacity applications such as cooling of infra red detectors. They need to be optimized for liquid yield. The performance of thermal compressors therein pivots around the adsorption characteristics of the adsorbent + adsorbate combination and how effectively one could pack requisite amounts of adsorbent into a given volume of the compressor housing. In addition, the overall performance of the cooler is a function of limits of operating temperatures and pressures across the compressor. This paper proposes a performance indicator—the product of liquid yield and the uptake efficiency of the compressor—and evaluates its values for various possible operating conditions for one specimen of activated carbon. It is shown that there is a limited domain of operation and that there is a condition of best performance within that domain.