Bandwidth limits of luminescent solar concentrators as detectors in free-space optical communication systems

Luminescent solar concentrators(LSCs)have recently emerged as a promising receiver technology in free-space optical communications due to their inherent ability to collect light from a wide field-of-view and concentrate it into small areas,thus leading to high optical gains.Several high-speed communication systems integrating LSCs in their detector blocks have already been demonstrated,with the majority of efforts so far being devoted to maximising the received optical power and the system's field-of-view.However,LSCs may pose a severe bottleneck on the bandwidth of such communication channels due to the comparably slow timescale of the fluorescence events involved,a situation further aggravated by the inherent reabsorption in these systems,and yet,an in-depth study into such dynamic effects remains absent in the field.To fill this gap,we have developed a comprehensive analytical solution that delineates the fundamental bandwidth limits of LSCs as optical detectors in arbitrary free-space optical links,and establishes their equivalence with simple RC low-pass electrical circuits.Furthermore,we demonstrate a time-domain Monte Carlo simulation platform,an indispensable tool in the multiparameter optimisation of LSC-based receiver systems.Our work offers vital insight into LSC system dynamic behaviour and paves the way to evaluate the technology for a wide range of applications,including visible light communications,high-speed video recording,and real-time biological imaging,to name a few.     

Impedance Spectroscopy of Undoped BaTiO3 Ceramics

The electrical properties of ceramic BaTiO₃ were investigated by ac impedance spectroscopy over the ranges 25°-330°C and 0.03 Hz-1 MHz. Results are compared with those obtained from fixed-frequency measurements, at 1 kHz and 100 kHz. Fixed-frequency Curie-Weiss plots show deviations from linearity at temperatures well above t _c. The ac measurements show that grain boundary impedances influence Curie-Weiss plots in two ways: at high temperatures, they increasingly dominate the fixed-frequency permittivities; at lower temperatures, closer to T ^c, the high-frequency permittivity contains a contribution from grain boundary effects. Methods for extraction of bulk and grain boundary capacitances from permittivity and electric modulus complex plane plots are discussed. The importance of selecting the appropriate equivalent circuit to model the impedance response is stressed. A constriction impedance model for the grain boundary in BaTiO₃ ceramics is proposed: the grain boundary capacitance is neither temperature-independent, nor shows Curie-Weiss behavior. The grain boundary is ferroelectric, similar to the grains, but its impedance is modified by either air gaps or high-impedance electrical inhomogeneity in the region of the necks between grains; the activation energy of the constriction grain boundary impedance differs from that of the bulk, suggesting differences in defect states or impurity levels.     

应对智能电网的电源管理设计挑战

讨论了现代化配电网络面临的设计挑战.好的电源管理技术有助于改善配电自动化的系统设计,从而获得更高的能源利用率,改善配电系统的可维护性、预测性维护以及故障检测、隔离,并降低排放.本文介绍了电源管理的新技术,用于改善配电自动化系统设计.     

Austenite Reconstruction Elucidates Prior Grain Size Dependence of Toughness in a Low Alloy Steel

Texture and grain size distribution of the austenite phase at high temperature have distinct effects on the subsequent transformed microstructure and mechanical properties of steel alloys at room temperature. Measurement of austenite at high temperature is not, however, a trivial task especially if orientation maps are desired. Therefore, a technique for determining austenite texture and grain size that was present at high temperature is highly desirable. In this work, we review several pipe samples intended for use as well casing with large variations in toughness and martensitic microstructures at room temperature. Microstructural analysis of the martensite structures could not easily explain these differences due to how martensite forms from austenite. An algorithm was developed to reconstruct the parent austenite at high temperature from martensite microstructure at room temperature. This technique successfully reconstructed orientation maps for the prior austenite in these samples, demonstrating differences in texture, grain orientation spread, and austenite grain size that could account for the differences in mechanical properties.     

From Pencils to Partners: The Next Role of Computation in Building Design

As building information modelling (BIM) software becomes ever more powerful, how will the architect's role be affected? Ian Keough and Anthony Hauck of the AEC Generative Design group at leading software corporation Autodesk present their vision. They argue that the value of building professionals' expertise in advising clients on priorities and choices has never been higher. BIM offers greater guarantees of structural integrity and constructional feasibility, and scalable cloud computing allows numerous factors to be explored simultaneously; but success is only assured if the right parameters are set.     

The nature of defocus fringes in scanning-transmission electron microscope images

Experimental observations have been made of the fringe contrast which appears at the terminating edges of thin objects in defocused, scanning-transmission electron micrographs. In general only a single bright fringe is present and the displacement and width of this fringe was found to vary linearly with defocus, indicating the contrast does not result from simple-Fresnel diffraction. A model for this contrast, based on the refraction of incident electrons by the object edge, is shown to explain the observed results.     

Aerobic mineralization of paperboard materials used in packaging applications

Aerobic mineralization of several different paperboard materials under laboratory‐exposure conditions was studied. A novel respirometer was used to titrimetrically determine the kinetics of gas evolution and the rate of biodegradation was quantified by an empirical rate coefficient k. Various bleached paperboard materials studied showed about the same rate (k = 0.14–0.16 days⁻¹) and a 50–58 weight percent conversion of substrate carbon into carbon dioxide under the conditions used in the study. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 74: 1773–1779, 1999     

Induced Defensive Response of Myrtle Oak to Foliar Insect Herbivory in Ambient and Elevated Co2

The rising level of atmospheric CO2 has stimulated several recent studies attempting to predict the effects of increased CO2 on ecological communities. However, most of these studies have been conducted in the benign conditions of the laboratory and in the absence of herbivores. In the current study, we utilized large octagonal chambers, which enclosed portions of an intact scrub-oak community to investigate the interactive effects of CO2 and insect herbivory on myrtle oak, Quercus myrtifolia. Specifically, we assessed the effects of ambient and elevated CO2 (2x current concentrations) on percent foliar nitrogen, C:N ratio, total relative foliar tannin content, and the presence of leaf damage caused by leaf mining and leaf chewing insects that feed on myrtle oak. Total foliar N declined and C:N ratios increased significantly in oaks in elevated CO2 chambers. The percentages of leaves damaged by either leafminers or leaf chewers tended to be lower in elevated compared to ambient chambers, but they co-occurred on leaves less than expected, regardless of CO2 treatment. Leaves that had been either mined or chewed exhibited a similar wounding or defensive response; they had an average of 25 and 21% higher protein binding ability, which is correlated with tannin concentration, compared to nondamaged control leaves, respectively. While the protein-binding ability (expressed as total percent tannin) of leaves from elevated CO2 was slightly higher than from leaves grown in ambient chambers, this difference was not significant.