Fabrication of Strain-Relaxed Si<Subscript>1 − <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Ge<Subscript>x</Subscript>/Si(001) Buffer Layers of Low Surface Roughness

The results are presented of the fabrication of strain-relaxed graded Si_{1 − x} Ge_x/Si(001) buffer layers with a maximum Ge fraction of about 0.25 that have a low density of threading dislocations (<10⁶ cm⁻²) and low surface roughness. The buffer layers are grown by atmospheric-pressure hydride CVD. It is found that chemical mechanical polishing can reduce their surface roughness to a level comparable with that of the original Si(001) substrates. It is shown that the polished buffer layers can serve as substrates for MBE-grown SiGe/Si heterostructures.__________Translated from Mikroelektronika, Vol. 34, No. 4, 2005, pp. 243–250.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Vostokov, Drozdov, Krasil’nik, Kuznetsov, Novikov, Perevoshchikov, Shaleev.     

Autoscan: a scan design without external scan inputs or outputs

We propose a design-for-testability technique for synchronous sequential circuits called autoscan. Autoscan uses scan chains similar to conventional scan. However, it gives up the external scan inputs and outputs in order to eliminate the test data volume associated with them. Scan operations under autoscan improve the circuit testability by allowing the circuit state to be modified through shifting. Due to the removal of the scan inputs and outputs, synthesis of scan chains under autoscan does not have to satisfy all the constraints imposed on conventional scan chains. We describe a synthesis procedure for autoscan chains, and demonstrate that autoscan allows us to detect almost all the faults that are detectable using conventional scan. We use random sequences in order to show that sequential test generation is not necessary under autoscan. We also describe a test generation procedure, and discuss the effect of autoscan on fault diagnosis.     

Force criteria of the state of limiting equilibrium of a cracked plate under biaxial loading

We deduce the theoretical formula taking into account the influence of biaxial loading of a plate weakened by a crack on the stress intensity factor K _I. This enables us to compute the characteristic of crack resistance K _c according to the known boundary forces. __________ Translated from Fizyko-Khimichna Mekhanika Materialiv, Vol. 43, No. 6, pp. 14–16, November–December, 2007.     

Results of testing a centrifugal bubble singlet-oxygen generator

The results of parametric tests of a centrifugal bubble singlet-oxygen generator based on the reaction of chlorine with an alkaline hydrogen peroxide solution have been given. The utilization of chlorine grows with bubble-layer height, whereas the relative content of O₂(¹Δ) remains constant. Growth in centrifugal acceleration leads to a more efficient utilization of chlorine. A specific oxygen output of more than 1 mmole·cm⁻²·sec⁻¹ from the bubble layer for a degree of chlorine utilization of ∼95% and a singlet-oxygen yield of more than 50% has been attained. It has been shown that a centrifugal bubble singlet-oxygen generator is an efficient energy source for an oxygen-iodine laser. __________ Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 80, No. 3, pp. 121–128, May–June, 2007.     

Low loss guided wave propagation in a left-handed microstrip structure using dispersive split ring?rod combination metamaterial

Split ring-rod combination metamaterial is used as a substrate material in a microstrip guided wave structure to determine what the effect is of a material with potentially excessive dispersion or loss or both. A Green's function method readily incorporates the metamaterial permittivity and permeability tensor characteristics. Ab initio calculations are performed to obtain the dispersion diagrams of several complex propagation constant modes of the structure. Analytical analysis is done for the design and interpretation of the results, which demonstrate remarkable potential for realistic use in high frequency electronics, while showing modes with extremely low loss bands.     

Singular Trajectories in Multi-Input Time-Optimal Problems: Application to Controlled Mechanical Systems

This paper deals with the time-optimal control problem for a class of control systems which includes controlled mechanical systems with possible dissipation terms. The Lie algebras associated with such mechanical systems have certain special properties. These properties are explored and used in conjunction with the Pontryagin maximum principle to determine the structure of singular extremals and, in particular, time-optimal trajectories. The theory is illustrated by an application to a time-optimal problem for a class of underwater vehicles.     

Development of Free-Electron x-Ray Lasers on the TESLA Test Accelerator (DESY, Germany)

The program for developing free-electron x-ray lasers at TESLA started in 1994. The plan is to use the TESLA test accelerator to develop an x-ray laser with minimum wavelength 0.1–6 nm. The first phase of the project was successfully completed in 2001. At saturation, the laser produces ultrashort 30–100 fsec, gigawatt, radiation pulses. The wavelength can be tuned smoothly over the range 80–120 nm.     

Inference of message sequence charts

Software designers draw message sequence charts for early modeling of the individual behaviors they expect from the concurrent system under design. Can they be sure that precisely the behaviors they have described are realizable by some implementation of the components of the concurrent system? If so, can we automatically synthesize concurrent state machines realizing the given MSCs? If, on the other hand, other unspecified and possibly unwanted scenarios are "implied" by their MSCs, can the software designer be automatically warned and provided the implied MSCs? In this paper, we provide a framework in which all these questions are answered positively. We first describe the formal framework within which one can derive implied MSCs and then provide polynomial-time algorithms for implication, realizability, and synthesis.     

Itemset trees for targeted association querying

Association mining techniques search for groups of frequently co-occurring items in a market-basket type of data and turn these groups into business-oriented rules. Previous research has focused predominantly on how to obtain exhaustive lists of such associations. However, users often prefer a quick response to targeted queries. For instance, they may want to learn about the buying habits of customers that frequently purchase cereals and fruits. To expedite the processing of such queries, we propose an approach that converts the market-basket database into an itemset tree. Experiments indicate that the targeted queries are answered in a time that is roughly linear in the number of market baskets, N. Also, the construction of the itemset tree has O(N) space and time requirements. Some useful theoretical properties are proven.