A Case Study in Design and Verification of Manufacturing System Control Software with Hierarchical Petri Nets

The application of Petrinets is one of the well-known approaches for developing provably error-free control software for manufacturing systems. To evaluate the practicability of available methods and tools for at least medium-sized systems, a case study has been performed to develop modularised control software of a production cell with hierarchical Petri nets, supporting reuse as well as stepwise validation.     

Electrical properties of hafnium silicate films obtained from a single-source MOCVD precursor

In the present work, the potential of hafnium silicate (Hf_xSi_yO₂) films as an alternative gate dielectric to SiO₂ for future technology generations is demonstrated. Thermally stable Hf_xSi_yO₂ films are deposited from a single-source MOCVD precursor. I–V and C–V measurement data are presented and effects of post-deposition annealing on electrical properties are discussed. A 900 °C O₂-anneal shows best results in terms of leakage current characteristics and is, therefore, intensively investigated.     

Diffusion-weighted MRI in sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

Diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) was used in three patients with autopsy-proven sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) to provide a rapid noninvasive way to make this sometimes confusing diagnosis. DWI prompted the diagnosis of CJD at an early stage and appears to be particularly useful for monitoring the progression of the disease. We suggest that patients with suspected CJD and no abnormalities on T2- and proton density-weighted images may have cortical involvement on DWI.     

MusiDB: A personalized search engine for music

The increasing use of structured information on the web demands new ways of searching and integrating data from different sources. In this paper, we focus on the use of unique representations of data objects in terms of public repositories (in this case MusicBrainz) and the use of recommendation mechanisms as a basis for supporting information access. We have implemented a prototypical system with the corresponding functionality in the area of digital music. We discuss the challenges of providing integrated access to structured web resources and the solutions adopted in the MusiDB system.     

Electrical characterization of zirconium silicate films obtained from novel MOCVD precursors

In the present work, the potential of zirconium silicate (ZrSi_xO_y) films as an alternative gate dielectric to SiO₂ for future technology generations is demonstrated. Novel single-source precursors for MOCVD of zirconium silicate were synthesized and ZrSi_xO_y layers were deposited. I–V and C–V measurement data are presented and detected charge trapping phenomena are discussed.     

Die Wilhelm-Ostwald-Medaille der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig

The Wilhelm-Ostwald-Medal is the highest medal which is awarded by the Saxon Academy of Science for outstandig contributions to science or engineering. The medal was donated by the academy in 1978. The article describes the process of donation and the choice of the first prize-winners. In this context the important role played by Kurt Schwabe, president of the academy at that time, was elucidated. Schwabe had done successful research in various branches of physical chemistry and showed a special reverence for Ostwald and his work. In the second part the article follows the list of medalists up to present.

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Herrn Professor Dr. Menso Folkerts zum 60. Geburtstag gewidmet