A base-band NDS electrode configuration for HACT devices

Heterostructure Acoustic Charge Transport (HACT) devices have been fabricated with a new nondestructive sense (NDS) electrode structure that provides for the recovery of base-band signals without the use of an integrating capacitor. This electrode structure provides an output signal comprising an RF carrier at the SAW frequency, amplitude modulated by the sampled input signal which has been delayed by a period proportional to the output electrodes distance from the input diode. The output of the NDS electrode structure is subsequently demodulated to provide the base-band signal     

Novel level-identifying circuit for flash multilevel memories

This paper presents a high-speed, small-area circuit specifically designed to identify the levels in the read out operation of a flash multilevel memory. The circuit is based on the analog computation of the Euclidean distance between the current read out from a memory cell and the reference currents that represent the different logic levels. An experimental version of the circuit has been integrated in a standard double-metal 0.7-μm CMOS process with a die area of only 140×100 μm². Operating under a 5-V power supply, this circuit identifies the read-out current of a memory cell, and associates it with the appropriate logic level in 9 ns     

Wideband microstrip array antenna with sidelobe cancellationchannels

An antenna array for wideband operation (up to 70%) is presented. The structure has low windloading area and consists of parallel printed circuit boards (PCB) with microstrip dipoles, feed network and metal fences placed between the PCBs. The low profile, low weight antenna array forms the main beam and three difference patterns for sidelobe cancellation. Experimental results are compared with calculations for both microstrip dipole and array     

High-performance automatic target recognition through data-specificVLSI

Under the Mojave configurable computing project, we have developed a system for achieving high performance on an automatic target recognition (ATR) application through the use of configurable computing technology. The ATR system studied here involves real-time image acquisition from a synthetic aperture radar (SAR). SAR images exhibit statistical properties which can be used to improve system performance. In this paper, the Mojave configurable computing system uses field programmable gate arrays (FPGA's) to implement highly specialized circuits while retaining the flexibility of programmable components. A controller sequences through a set of specialized circuits in response to real-time events. Computer-aided design (CAD) tools have been developed to support the automatic generation of these specialized circuits. The resulting configurable computing system achieves a significant performance advantage over the existing solution, which is based on application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) technology     

Analysis of the deformation of polypropylene hot-tool butt welds

Thin microtomed samples from hot-tool butt welds of polypropylene pipes are subjected to uniaxial tensile stress using a specially built instrumented microtesting machine. The deformation of the interface between the weld and the bulk polymer is measured by an optical method. An analysis of these measurements is carried out using the finite element method, and contours of the effective stress are obtained. There is a steep stress gradient at the junction of the weld flash and the bulk polymer, although the stress concentration factor is relatively low. The stress is essentially constant in the bulk polymer apart from the region near the weld zone. Tests on samples without the weld flash show that the maximum stress occurs within the weld zone. This is consistent with long-term tests on larger samples, where the fracture is found to initiate within the weld. The method of analysis enables the stress-strain response of the weld material to be determined.     

Control of stroma-dependent hematopoiesis by basic fibroblast growth factor: stromal phenotypic plasticity and modified myelopoietic functions

The immunological agglutination reactions of physically absorbed F(ab')2 molecules onto anionic and cationic latex particles have been investigated by means of optical absorbance measurements. These measurements have been conducted under different conditions to determine the most influential factors. Surface F(ab')2 and BSA densities, particle concentration in the reaction medium and polyethylene glycol concentration are some of these factors. Sensitized cationic and anionic latexes differ considerably with respect to their colloidal stability and reactivity. As a general rule, the sensitized cationic latex has a relatively higher colloidal stability and hence, it provides reagents with a better optical response. Less than 0.025 microgram/ml of C-reactive protein has been detected using this particle enhanced optical immunoassay.     

Position-sensitive superheated-liquid-droplet neutron dosimeter

The one-dimensional (1D) position-sensitive superheated-liquid-droplet dosimeter (SLDD) has been fabricated and tested in the laboratory. The 1D SLDD is fabricated from a 9.525-mm OD, 6.35-mm ID, 20-cm long, Plexiglas-walled tube filled with a mixture of superheated-liquid Freon droplets and host medium glycerol. Washer-shaped piezoelectric acoustic transducers are positioned at both ends of the tube; they determine the number and positions of the acoustic events when the superheated-liquid droplets evaporate upon neutron irradiation. The SLDD is irradiated with the ¹³⁷Cs and ⁶⁰Co γ-sources, as well as ²⁵²Cf neutron source to test for its radiation response and spatial resolution. The SLDD based on the Freon-134a superheated-liquid droplets operating at 20°C and 1 atm is found to be ideal for measuring absorbed neutron dose. This study also proves that the positions of the radiation-induced nucleation acoustic events can be linearly determined from the differences in the transmission times received by the acoustic transducers on the 1D SLDD. The spatial resolution of the neutron depth-dose is 1 mm due the finite response time (1 μs) of the piezoelectric acoustic transducers.     

Recent Developments in Equipment and Application of Ion Beam Assisted Thin Film Deposition

Ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) of thin films is still a new technology with respect to the number of applications. A broader industrial application depends on the availability and versatility of facilities which are able to process various kinds of workpieces under appropriate conditions. Recently, IBAD facilities of the second generation were described in literature and are partially commercially available. In the present report such IBAD machines with their special features such as number and kind of ion sources and evaporators are described. Particularly, the set-up of the ALLIGATOR, a versatile IBAD device for coating complex workpieces under ion bombardment with a broad range of ion energies, is described. As an application example, recent results on the treatment of medical implants are discussed. In -vivo tests of coated cardiovascular stents showed that the deposited noble metal films were effective in influencing the corrosivity and thromboresistance of the implant     

Importance of proximal femoral fractures in elderly patients. Results of a prospective study of 61 patients

In a prospective study we found good results concerning postoperative complications (21%), perioperative lethality (3.2%) and lethality during hospital stay (6.5%) after implantation of dynamic hip screws (DHS) in patients with per- and subtrochanteric fractures of the femur. The ability to walk, as well as housing and social care postoperatively and follow-up for at least six months after dismissal demonstrates the importance of these fractures for the elderly. One of three patients needs professional care, 21% at home, 13% in nursing homes. Six months after operation the lethality is nearly 20%, i.e. three times higher than in hospital. These are the essential data for all techniques of osteosynthesis used in patients with these fractures, which could only be documented in prospective studies.