N-Type Field-Effect Transistors Using Multiple Mg-Doped ZnO Nanorods

Nanorod field-effect transistors (FETs) that use multiple Mg-doped ZnO nanorods and a SiO₂ gate insulator were fabricated and characterized. The use of multiple nanorods provides higher on-currents without significant degradation in threshold voltage shift and subthreshold slopes. It has been observed that the on-currents of the multiple ZnO nanorod FETs increase approximately linearly with the number of nanorods, with on-currents of ~1 muA per nanorod and little change in off-current (~4times10^-12). The subthreshold slopes and on-off ratios typically improve as the number of nanorods within the device channel is increased, reflecting good uniformity of properties from nanorod to nanorod. It is expected that Mg dopants contribute to high n-type semiconductor characteristics during ZnO nanorod growth. For comparison, nonintentionally doped ZnO nanorod FETs are fabricated, and show low conductivity to compare with Mg-doped ZnO nanorods. In addition, temperature-dependent current-voltage characteristics of single ZnO nanorod FETs indicate that the activation energy of the drain current is very low (0.05-0.16 eV) at gate voltages both above and below threshold     

Grating Couplers Fabricated by Electron-Beam Lithography for Coupling Free-Space Light Into Nanophotonic Devices

Grating couplers with nanoscale periodicity have been fabricated on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates by electron beam lithography and reactive ion etching. A versatile experimental apparatus has been implemented to measure the efficiency of these gratings in coupling free-space radiation into planar waveguides. This coupling efficiency has been measured as a function of grating depth and the angle and wavelength of incident radiation. Coupling efficiencies of at least 5% and as high as 20% are demonstrated for wavelengths in the vicinity of 1550 nm and incident angles around 45deg.     

Pulse-Width Dependence in Current-Driven Magnetization Reversal Using GaMnAs-Based Double-Barrier Magnetic Tunnel Junction

We have investigated the current pulse width dependence on current-driven magnetization reversal in double-barrier structures using GaMnAs-based magnetic tunneling junctions (MTJ) in order to clarify the origin of low threshold current density for current-driven magnetization reversal. Comparing with the case of single-barrier MTJ, the pulse-width dependence reveals that threshold current density is reduced by double-barrier MTJ. We confirmed that the threshold current density in the order of 10⁴ A/cm² is estimated considering the effect of current pulse width.     

An Inductively Coupled Lamb Wave Transducer

Wafer-type piezoelectric transducers are effective transducers for the excitation and detection of ultrasonic Lamb waves in plate-like structures. Such transducers are, however, vulnerable to corrosion and physical damage when mounted in exposed locations. In this paper we describe an inductively coupled Lamb wave transducer that eliminates the need for direct electrical connections. Signals are coupled into and out of the transducer using two probe coils. In this paper we explore the operation of inductively coupled transducers both analytically and experimentally. Finite-element analysis is used to determine inductances and the coupling constant, and electrical circuit analysis to determine the transfer function and its dependence on the gap between the probe coils and the transducer. Experiments show that return signals of millivolt amplitude are obtained when the transducer is excited with 10-V amplitude pulses. These transducers are suitable for permanent mounting on structures to be monitored for cracks or flaws     

Towards Testing Product Line Architectures

A product line architecture is a single specification capturing the overall architecture of a series of closely related products. Its structure consists of a set of mandatory elements and a set of variation points. Whereas mandatory elements are part of the architecture of every product in the product line architecture, variation points precisely define the dimensions along which the architectures of individual products differ from each other.The increased use of product line architectures in today's software development projects poses several challenges for existing testing techniques. In this paper we discuss those challenges and discuss what we believe are opportunities for addressing them.     

Interlaboratory ring test of time-resolved fluoroimmunoassays for zeranol and alpha-zearalenol and comparison with zeranol test kits.

Many zeranol immunoassay test kits cross-react with toxins formed by naturally occurring Fusarium spp. fungi, leading to false-positive screening results. This paper describes the evaluation and application of recently published, dry reagent time-resolved fluoroimmunoassays (TR-FIA) for zeranol and the toxin alpha-zearalenol. A ring test of bovine urine fortified with zeranol and/or alpha-zearalenol in four European Union National Reference Laboratories demonstrated that the TR-FIA tests were accurate and robust. The alpha-zearalenol TR-FIA satisfactorily quantified alpha-zearalenol in urine fortified at 10-30 ng ml(-1). The specificity-enhanced zeranol TR-FIA accurately quantified zeranol in the range 2-5 ng ml(-1) and gave no false-positive results in blank urine, even in the presence of 30 ng ml(-1) alpha-zearalenol. Zeranol TR-FIA specificity was demonstrated further by analysing incurred zeranol-free urine samples containing natural Fusarium spp. toxins. The TR-FIA yielded no false-positive results in the presence of up to 22 ng ml(-1) toxins. The performance of four commercially available zeranol immunoassay test kits was more variable. Three kits produced many false-positive results. One kit produced only one potential false-positive using a protocol that was longer than that of the TR-FIA. These TR-FIAs will be valuable tools to develop inspection criteria to distinguish illegal zeranol abuse from contamination arising from in vivo metabolism of Fusarium spp. toxins.     

Working memory in mild Alzheimer's disease and early Parkinson's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) impair working memory (WM). It is unclear, however, whether the deficits seen early in the course of these diseases are similar. To address this issue, the authors compared the performance of 22 patients with mild AD, 20 patients with early PD and without dementia, and 112 control participants on tests of inhibition, short-term memory, and 2 commonly administered tests of WM. The results suggest that although mild AD and early PD both impair WM, the deficits may be related to the interruption of different processes that contribute to WM performance. Early PD disrupted inhibitory processes, whereas mild AD did not. The WM deficits seen in patients with AD may be secondary to deficits in other cognitive capacities, including semantic memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Kinetic Study on Absorption of SO2 and NOX with Acidic NaClO2 Solutions Using the Spraying Column

The operating conditions of this study are close to the typical operating conditions of flue gas desulfurization system in coal-fired power plants. The aim of this study is to investigate the absorption kinetics of SO2 and NO from simulated flue gas into an aqueous solution of acidic sodium chlorite using a bench-scale spraying column. The range of absorption rates measured in this study is between 1.91×10?11 and 9.59×10?10?mol?s?1?cm?2. The range of rate constants measured in this study is between 1.32×107 and 1.21×108?(L?mol?1)1.9?s?1, and the average rate constant is 6.16×107?(L?mol?1)1.9?s?1. The activation energy and frequency factor are 129 Kcal/mol (53.97 KJ/mol) and 6.93×1016?[(L/mol)1.9/s], respectively.