The Effect of Nanoparticle Shape on the Photocarrier Dynamics and Photovoltaic Device Performance of Poly(3‐hexylthiophene):CdSe Nanoparticle Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells

The charge separation and transport dynamics in CdSe nanoparticle:poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) blends are reported as a function of the shape of the CdSe‐nanoparticle electron acceptor (dot, rod, and tetrapod). For optimization of organic photovoltaic device performance it is crucial to understand the role of various nanostructures in the generation and transport of charge carriers. The sample processing conditions are carefully controlled to eliminate any processing‐related effects on the carrier generation and on device performance with the aim of keeping the conjugated polymer phase constant and only varying the shape of the inorganic nanoparticle acceptor phase. The electrodeless, flash photolysis time‐resolved microwave conductivity (FP‐TRMC) technique is used and the results are compared to the efficiency of photovoltaic devices that incorporate the same active layer. It is observed that in nanorods and tetrapods blended with P3HT, the high aspect ratios provide a pathway for the electrons to move away from the dissociation site even in the absence of an applied electric field, resulting in enhanced carrier lifetimes that correlate to increased efficiencies in devices. The processing conditions that yield optimum performance in high aspect ratio CdSe nanoparticles blended with P3HT result in poorly performing quantum dot CdSe:P3HT devices, indicating that the latter devices are inherently limited by the absence of the dimensionality that allows for efficient, prolonged charge separation at the polymer:CdSe interface.     

Psychophysically derived quantisation model for efficient DWT imagecoding

An efficient method for the optimum quantisation of the luminance and chrominance components for discrete wavelet transform (DWT) still image coding, based on current psychophysical evidence, is described. Its practical application to image compression is presented. This new approach is further supported by experimental work which compares perceived DWT image quality with conventional JPEG-encoding, that is block-based discrete cosine transform (DCT) coding, on the basis of quantisation distortion     

Modeling and Managing State in Distributed Systems: The Role of OGSI and WSRF

We often encounter in distributed systems the need to model, access, and manage state. This state may be, for example, data in a purchase order, service level agreements representing resource availability, or the current load on a computer. We introduce two closely related approaches to modeling and manipulating state within a Web services (WS) framework: the Open Grid Services Infrastructure (OGSI) and WS-Resource Framework (WSRF). Both approaches define conventions on the use of the Web service definition language schema that enable the modeling and management of state. OGSI introduces the idea of a stateful Web service and defines approaches for creating, naming, and managing the lifetime of instances of services; for declaring and inspecting service state data; for asynchronous notification of service state change; for representing and managing collections of service instances; and for common handling of service invocation faults. WSRF refactors and evolves OGSI to exploit new Web services standards, specifically WS-addressing, and to respond to early implementation and application experiences. WSRF retains essentially all of the functional capabilities present in OGSI, while changing some syntax (e.g., to exploit WS-addressing) and also adopting a different terminology in its presentation. In addition, WSRF partitions OGSI functionality into five distinct composable specifications. We explain the relationship between OGSI and WSRF and the related WS-notification specifications, explain the common requirements that both address, and compare and contrast the approaches taken to the realization of those requirements.     

Simple material parameter estimation via terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

A simple and precise method based on fixed-point iteration is used to estimate dielectric parameters using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). The method converges and gives correct parameters when the sample thickness is greater than 200 /spl mu/m at a frequency of 0.1 THz or 20 /spl mu/m at a frequency of 1.0 THz. The technique in validated using measured terahertz data, obtained by probing a sample of high-resistivity silicon.     

The influence of viewing distance on subjective impairment assessment

In this paper, the influence of viewing distance on subjective assessment of the impairment in video sequences is investigated. Subjective tests using the double-stimulus impairment scale variant II (DSIS II) method have been conducted at viewing distances of 5H (where H stands for the screen height) and 3H, respectively. Several statistical measures have been used to analyze the influence, including correlations and ANOVA (analysis of variance) tests. The results reveal that there is a very high correlation between the subjective scores, the variances are similar under the two viewing distances, the means of subjective data at these two viewing distances are the same, and there is no interaction between the viewing distance and the other two factors, i.e., the codec system and the source sequence. Throughout the tests, there is no evidence that a closer viewing distance such as 3H will vary the subjective test result statistically significantly.     

Economic evaluation of pregnancy diagnosis in dairy cattle: a decision analysis approach

Cost-benefit evaluations of several pregnancy diagnosis schemes were performed. The strategy using on-farm milk progesterone test on d 19 after service, followed by treatment of nonpregnant cows with prostaglandin, was the most profitable returning $10.50 per cow above the cost of the intervention. An increase in efficiency of detection of estrus of greater than 20% among cows diagnosed nonpregnant and an error rate in pregnancy diagnosis of less than or equal to 3% were needed to ensure profitability. Pregnancy diagnosis by uterine palpation per rectum on d 35 after service, combined with the use of pressure-sensitive mounting devices on nonpregnant cows was the second most profitable strategy and returned $5.10 per cow. An increase in efficiency of detection of estrus of greater than or equal to 20% was required to ensure profitability. Embryonic mortality was also critical and an increase from a baseline value of 10% to 12%, as a result of early uterine palpation, made this scheme unprofitable ($-4.80 per cow). Pregnancy diagnosis by uterine palpation per rectum at 50 or 65 d was less profitable, with a return of $2.50 and $.10 per cow, respectively.     

Effect of surface boundary on neuronal magnetic stimulation

The effect of the surface boundary between free space and a conducting medium on the excitation properties of neurons by magnetic fields are analyzed. The electric field and the spatial derivative of the induced field generated by a coil mounted both parallel and perpendicular to the surface of a semi-infinite conducting medium were calculated using the method of images. An imaginary axon is located in the same relative position from the coil in both configurations and the excitation properties are compared. The calculations are expressed in terms of the activating function for the electrical stimulation of axons. The calculations indicate that the activating function for magnetic stimulation is biphasic as opposed to triphasic for electrical stimulation. The large spatial extent of the magnetically induced electric field compared to the electric field generated by point source electrode suggests a different mode of excitation for neuronal structures in the CNS. The field distribution have been verified experimentally and are important for the understanding of the mechanisms of magnetic stimulation of neural tissue.     

A 22-kHz multibit switched-capacitor sigma-delta D/A converter with92 dB dynamic range

A time- and capacitor-multiplexing technique for use in a highly linear switched-capacitor multibit DAC in sigma-delta data converters is presented. The technique uses subintervals in the sample clock to deliver multiple charge packets to holding capacitors. It avoids distortion effects caused by mismatched capacitors and finite opamp gain. A five-level switched-capacitor DAC using the proposed technique was designed as part of an audio-band multibit sigma-delta D/A converter that achieved a dynamic range of 92 dB and a THD of -93 dB with a low oversampling ratio of 32. No trimming, calibration, or dynamic matching scheme was required. The five-level SC DAC has been fabricated in a 2-μm CMOS process, and testing confirmed the anticipated theoretical results     

Avalanche buildup time of InP/InGaAsP/InGaAs avalanche photodiodes with separate absorption, grading, and multiplication regions

The avalanche buildup time of an avalanche photodiode can be determined from the frequency response of the noise power as a function of the dc multiplication M0. In this paper we report on the first measurements of the avalanche buildup time of InP/InGaAsP/ InGaAs avalanche photodiodes with separate absorption, grading, and multiplication regions (SAGM-APD's). Measurements on several different device structures reveal that the avalanche buildup time (gain-bandwidth product) decreases (increases) with increasing carrier concentration in the multiplication region. The shortest buildup time that we have observed wasM_{0} times 4.2ps which corresponds to a gain-bandwidth Product of 38 GHz.     

Solution of semiconductor equations using a fully adaptive mesh strategy

The letter presents a novel means of mesh adaption when the finite-element method is applied to the semiconductor equations. Using triangular elements it has the ability to avoid obtuse angles while still allowing flexibility in mesh design. The usefulness of the method is demonstrated by a simulation of an MOS device operating at a high drain voltage where generation due to impact ionisation becomes significant.