Class AB regulated cascode current memory cell

The presented sampled-current memory cell demonstrates class AB operation where the bipolar input current magnitude may exceed twice the quiescent bias current even though full cascode regulation is maintained. Calculation of the necessary safety margin to accommodate process tolerances is shown to be simplified compared with the standard regulated cascode cell     

Gestaltung der nächsten Inkarnation von Business Intelligence

The body of knowledge generated by Business Intelligence (BI) research is constantly extended by a stream of heterogeneous technological and organizational innovations. This paper shows how these can be bundled to a new vision for BI that is aligned with new requirements coming from socio-technical macro trends. The building blocks of the vision come from five research strings that have been extracted from an extensive literature review: BI and Business Process Management, BI across enterprise borders, new approaches of dealing with unstructured data, agile and user-driven BI, and new concepts for BI governance. The macro trend of the diffusion of cyber-physical systems is used to illustrate the argumentation. The realization of this vision comes with an array of open research questions and requires the coordination of research initiatives from a variety of disciplines. Due to the embedded nature of the addressed topics within general research areas of the Information Systems (IS) discipline and the linking pins that come with the underlying Dynamic Capabilities Approach such research provides a contribution to IS.     

A monolithically integrated 190-GHz SiGe push-push oscillator

In this letter, we present a fully monolithically integrated G-band push-push oscillator. The device is fabricated in a production-near SiGe:C bipolar technology. The transistors used in this work show a maximum transit frequency f/sub T/= 200GHz and a maximum frequency of oscillation fmax= 275GHz. The passive circuitry is realized by integrated transmission-line components, metal-insulator-metal (MIM)-capacitors and TaN resistors. The frequency of the output signal can be tuned between 183.3GHz and 190.5GHz, the maximum output power of the oscillator is -4.5dBm and the measured minimum single sideband phase noise is -73dBc/Hz at 1-MHz offset frequency. This represents the highest output frequency for oscillators using heterojunction bipolar transistor technology and published up to now.     

Approximating Wardrop equilibria with finitely many agents

We present efficient algorithms for computing approximate Wardrop equilibria in a distributed and concurrent fashion. Our algorithms are exexuted by a finite number of agents each of which controls the flow of one commodity striving to balance the induced latency over all utilised paths. The set of allowed paths is represented by a DAG. Our algorithms are based on previous work on policies for infinite populations of agents. These policies achieve a convergence time which is independent of the underlying network and depends mildly on the latency functions. These policies can neither be applied to a finite set of agents nor can they be simulated directly due to the exponential number of paths. Our algorithms circumvent these problems by computing a randomised path decomposition in every communication round. Based on this decomposition, flow is shifted from overloaded to underloaded paths. This way, our algorithm can handle exponentially large path collections in polynomial time. Our algorithms are stateless, and the number of communication rounds depends polynomially on the approximation quality and is independent of the topology and size of the network. Supported by DFG grant Vo889/1–3 and by DFG through German excellence cluster UMIC at RWTH Aachen. Supported by the DFG GK/1298 “AlgoSyn”. Supported in part by the the EU within the 6th Framework Programme under contract 001907 (DELIS) and by DFG through German excellence cluster UMIC at RWTH Aachen. A preliminary version of this work has appeared in [14].     

Proteolysis of reconstituted goat whey fermented by Streptococcus thermophilus in co‐culture with commercial probiotic Lactobacillus strains

Reconstituted goat whey was fermented with the starter Streptococcus thermophilus TA‐40 in co‐culture with four probiotic adjuncts (independent treatments): Lactobacillus casei BGP93 (T1), Lactobacillus paracasei BGP1 (T2), Lb. paracasei LPC37 (T3) and Lactobacillus rhamnosus LR32 (T4). Lactobacillus populations were higher than 7 log cfu/mL after fermentation and storage. Proteolysis increased significantly (P < 0.05) during fermentation in all trials. Relative amount of low‐molecular‐weight protein fractions (<6.5 kDa) increased in goat whey trials with T1, T3 and T4 during fermentation and storage. The goat whey powder was considered a potential substrate for starter and probiotic cultures, which raised the opportunities to upgrade this by‐product into a functional food.     

Desing and self-test for switched-current building blocks

This switched-current memory cell with a built-in self-test option serves as a building block for a range of analog functions. As an example application, the authors present a divide-by-two circuit for reference signal generation in algorithmic A/D converters. They also describe two self-test approaches for these building blocks and evaluate their effectiveness. The self-test functions are easy to apply, require very little overhead, and result in fault coverage up to 95% for shorts and 60% for open circuits. Analysis reveals that 100% testability may not be achievable in a cost-effective way for mixed-signal circuits     

Low friction composite coating of CrxSiy/MoS2 on steel

The manufacture of the system tool steel/intermediate layer of Cr_xSi_y/low friction MoS₂ film was achieved by r.f. magnetron sputtering. The substrate material was X100CrMoV51 with a surface roughness of R_z<100 nm and average roughness of R_a<10 nm. The intermediate layers of Cr₃Si, CrSi, and CrSi₂ varied in film thickness between 150 and 300 nm, and the MoS₂ film was 300 or 600 nm thick. The films, deposited without a substrate heating, were amorphous, as shown by X-ray diffraction, and homogeneous in chemical composition (determined by secondary ion mass spectrometry and Auger electron spectroscopy). The Cr_xSi_y films corresponded in chemical composition to that of the target material but the low friction MoS_1.86 film (examined by ESMA) was understoichiometric. The oxygen content was below the detection limit of less than 5 at.%, as is shown in the Auger electron spectroscopy measurements. The tribological pin-on-disk experiments were carried out with ceramic, cemented carbide, stainless steel and with coated steel as the pin material. These experiments showed a significant effect of the chemical composition of the intermediate layer on the tribological behaviour of the multilayer film. The pin-on-disk tests were carried out under the following standard conditions: load, 5 N; feed, 0.1 m s^-1; temperature, 22°C; relative humidity 40%. The layer system Cr₃Si/MoS₂ showed the best values, with the disk undergoing 5000 rev and the pin covering a sliding distance of 9 m. These values decreased with increasing silicon content in the intermediate layer. Thinner films yielded the same relationships with smaller absolute values. The friction coefficients μ are independent of the film thickness: 0.05 for MoS₂, 0.07 for CrSi₂/MoS₂, 0.09 for CrSi/MoS₂ and 0.1 for Cr₃Si/MoS₂.