Schottky barrier height dependence on the silicon interlayer thickness of Au\Si\-GaAs contacts : chemistry of interface formation study

This work reports on the X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) measurements of the As-rich GaAs(001) surface properties developing due to the different thicknesses of the undoped silicon overlayers. We analyzed the bond nature on the silicon–GaAs interface depending on the silicon thickness which was connected with observed variations in surface Fermi level positions. Further, the Au\Si\-GaAs metal-semiconductor contacts were prepared on the studied structures. Measured changes in the Schottky barrier height for silicon thicknesses till approximately 1 nm are interpreted through the approach of the Schottky barrier height to Schottky limit due to decrease of the interface state densities on the Si\GaAs interface.     

Software-defined radio technology in the problem concerning with the successive sounding of HF ionospheric communication channels

The problem concerning new software-defined radio technology is investigated as applied to the successive sounding of HF ionospheric communication radio channels. The algorithm for quadrature processing of chirp signals subjected to elementwise compression in the frequency domain is developed. It is established that a channel scattering function and a delay power profile are related to a compressed-signal spectrum and their basic parameters. Data on the key characteristic of HF communications modems are presented. The efficiencies of different modems are estimated using the experimental data on channel parameters. It is demonstrated that the aforementioned technology can be used to estimate not only HF communication channel parameters from the pass band of a radio line but also select the optimal one and, furthermore, makes it possible to combine communications and radio sounding systems in the single device.     

Nutritional Calcium Supply Dependent Calcium Balance,Bone Calcification and Calcium Isotope Ratios in Rats

Serum calcium isotopes (δ^44/42Ca) have been suggested as a non-invasive and sensitive Ca balance marker. Quantitative δ^44/42Ca changes associated with Ca flux across body compartment barriers relative to the dietary Ca and the correlation of δ^44/42Ca_Serum with bone histology are unknown. We analyzed Ca and δ^44/42Ca by mass-spectrometry in rats after two weeks of standard-Ca-diet (0.5%) and after four subsequent weeks of standard- and of low-Ca-diet (0.25%). In animals on a low-Ca-diet net Ca gain was 61 ± 3% and femur Ca content 68 ± 41% of standard-Ca-diet, bone mineralized area per section area was 68 ± 15% compared to standard-Ca-diet. δ^44/42Ca was similar in the diets, and decreased in feces and urine and increased in serum in animals on low-Ca-diet. δ^44/42Ca_Bone was higher in animals on low-Ca-diet, lower in the diaphysis than the metaphysis and epiphysis, and unaffected by gender. Independent of diet, δ^44/42Ca_Bone was similar in the femora and ribs. At the time of sacrifice, δ^44/42Ca_Serum inversely correlated with intestinal Ca uptake and histological bone mineralization markers, but not with Ca content and bone mineral density by µCT. In conclusion, δ^44/42Ca_Bone was bone site specific, but mechanical stress and gender independent. Low-Ca-diet induced marked changes in feces, serum and urine δ^44/42Ca in growing rats. δ^44/42Ca_Serum inversely correlated with markers of bone mineralization.     

Modeling the dynamics of the retentivity process of journals among the most authoritative scientific serials

The article examines the process of journal retention over time as the most authoritative sources of scientific papers. Formal concepts of retentivity are introduced, retentivity orders and retentivity directions. The postulates, which are formulated in the article, link the probability of retention to the time interval between the two compared journal lists, to the ratio of the sizes of these lists, as well as to some qualitative characteristics of the journals. A mathematical model of the retentivity process is built on the basis of these postulates. The model is compared with data from the Journal Citation Reports—Science Edition for a 16-year period. The results of this comparison show a high degree of conformity of the model to the real process of retentivity, and reveal important features of this process.     

The impact of sensor parameters on the accuracy of a strapdown inertial vertical gyroscope

The major factors affecting the accuracy and performance of any measuring system are the errors of embedded sensors. In this paper we analyze the impact of sensor parameters on the characteristics of an inertial vertical gyroscope based on the Wiener filter.     

Optimization of the material flow in a manufacturing plant by use of artificial bee colony algorithm

To survive in today’s competitive global market, companies must perform strategic changes in order to increase productivity, eliminating wasted materials, time, and effort. This study will examine how to optimize the time and effort required to supply raw material to different production lines in a manufacturing plant in Juarez, Mexico by minimizing the distance an operator must travel to distribute material from a warehouse to a set of different production lines with corresponding demand. The core focus of this study is similar to that of the Vehicle Routing Problem in that it is treated as a combinatorial optimization problem. The artificial bee colony algorithm is applied in order to find the optimal distribution of material with the aim of establishing a standard time for this duty by examining how this is applied in a local manufacturing plant. Results show that using this approach may be convenient to set standard times in the selected company.     

Broadening the Scope of Hypermedia Principles

Hypermedia systems have been implemented for such a wide range of applications that one must wonder whether their principles should not be included among the building blocks of computer environments themselves. In this paper, we argue that this would indeed be desirable and present a model on which such extension could be based.

After a brief review of hypermedia principles and the terminology used in this paper, we give examples of several computer applications in which hypermedia already are or could advantageously be used. We then suggest that most computer applications would greatly benefit if hypermedia were extended from isolated applications to a system-wide facility and that this could substantially simplify implementation of new hypermedia applications. This claim is then generalized and it is shown that extending hypermedia concepts to the organization of the computer environment itself --- the file system --- and to the user interface would make computer environments more flexible and easier to use.

We then list the main characteristics of such a ‘hyperenvironment’ and conclude the paper with an outline of its implementation model and an example.     

SmartK: Smart cards in operating systems at kernel level

A smart card is a tamper-resistant miniature computer that performs some basic computations on input a secret information. So far, smart cards have been widely used for securing many digital transactions (e.g., pay television, ATM machines).We focus on the implementation of operating system security services leveraging on smart cards. This very challenging feature allows one to personalize some functionalities of the operating system by simply changing a smart card. Current solutions for integrating smart card features in operating system services require at least a partial execution of some of the operating system functionalities at “user level”. Unfortunately, system functionalities built on top of components lying at both kernel and user levels may negatively affect the overall system security, due to the introduction of multiple points of failure.In this work, we present the design and implementation of SmartK: a framework that integrates features of smart cards uniquely in the Linux kernel. In order to validate our approach, we propose a host of enhancements to the Linux operating system built on top of SmartK: 1) in-kernel clients' authentication with Kerberos; 2) execution of trusted code; 3) key management in secure network filesystems.In particular, we present an experimental Linux OS distribution (SalSA), which addresses the security issues related to downloading packages and to updating an operating system through the Internet.     

Enabling Interoperability among Grid Meta-Schedulers

The goal of Grid computing is to integrate the usage of computer resources from cooperating partners in the form of Virtual Organizations (VO). One of its key functions is to match jobs to execution resources efficiently. For interoperability between VOs, this matching operation occurs in resource brokering middleware, commonly referred to as the meta-scheduler or meta-broker. In this paper, we present an approach to a meta-scheduler architecture, combining hierarchical and peer-to-peer models for flexibility and extensibility. Interoperability is further promoted through the introduction of a set of protocols, allowing meta-schedulers to maintain sessions and exchange job and resource state using Web Services. Our architecture also incorporates a resource model that enables an efficient resource matching across multiple Virtual Organizations, especially where the compute resources and state are dynamic. Experiments demonstrate these new functional features across three distributed organizations (BSC, FIU, and IBM), that internally use different job scheduling technologies, computing infrastructure and security mechanisms. Performance evaluations through actual system measurements and simulations provide the insights on the architecture’s effectiveness and scalability.     

Static and dynamic characteristics of antiparallel diode as part of switching power module

A numerical simulation of the operation of a fast antiparallel diode in the switching power module of an autonomous voltage inverter is carried out. The time of turning off the transient and the static and transient heat losses in the diode are calculated as a function of the electrophysical parameters of the semiconductor diode structure.