A switching system based on microcontroller for successive applying of MGT and CPT on MOSFETs

A new, low cost switching system based on PIC 18F4550 microcontroller (MCU), called APL-SM v1.0 system, which enables the successive measuring of both the electrical characteristics in midgap-subthreshold technique (MGT) and charge-pumping currents in charge-pumping technique (CPT) of metal–oxide–semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET), has been developed. The APL-SM v1.0 system, instead of expensive switching matrix which price is considerably higher, could be used for the switching from MGT to CPT and vice versa. Using the appropriate program, the system allows the monitoring of MOSFETs during long time periods, helping the performing of long lasting experiments. The good agreement in the electrical characteristics, as well as in the charge-pumping currents, obtained using ultra low current, high speed Keithley switching matrix (SM) and APL-SM system, was obtained.     

Anatomical analysis of turgescent and semi‐dry resurrection plants: The effect of sample preparation on the sample,resolution, and image quality of X‐ray micro‐computed tomography (μCT)

Computer tomography has been used frequently for the 3‐D visualization of plant anatomical traits but sample preparation has been widely neglected. Without any preparation smaller (i.e., up to 1 × 1 cm²) turgescent or semi‐dry plant samples (especially leaf samples) diminish the image quality of a scan due to gradual water loss and therefore constant movement. A suitable preparation for scans of turgescent and semi‐dry plant samples with a high resolution μCT (<1–5 μm) has to be very thin, heat‐resistant (up to 35°C), have a low attenuation coefficient, and should not alter the water content and structure of the sample. Several agents have been tested, but only a coating with vaseline conserved the water content of a plant sample efficiently. However, water molecules and vaseline both attenuate the X‐ray beam, which decreases the image quality of scans of turgescent or semi‐dry plant samples. Therefore, trade‐offs between the spatial resolution, sample water content, sample size, and image quality have to be considered: larger samples have to be placed further away from the X‐ray tube, which leads to a lower spatial resolution; water and preparation agents attenuate the X‐ray beam, causing low‐quality images which may be accompanied by motion artifacts compared to a scan of a dry sample, where no preparation is necessary. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Fractal substructure of a nanopowder generated by repeated fragmentation and sedimentation: the rôle of the dust

Packings of cohesive nanoparticles, that is nanopowders, may be obtained as the result of repeated fragmentation–reagglomeration cycles (Schwager et al. in Phys Rev Lett 100:218002, 2008) such that the resulting sediment reveals a fractal structure. The size distribution of the fragments after a fragmentation step is a superposition of a narrow distribution of large particles (chunks) whose size is determined by the cutting length and a power-law distribution for small particles, representing scale invariant dust. It was shown that the exponent of the power-law, \(\tau \), is in non-trivial relation to the fractal dimension, \(d_f\), via \(d_f(2-\tau )=1\). This poses the question for the structure of the sediment created by repeated fragmentation–reagglomeration cycles when the dust particles are excluded from the reagglomeration step. We found that even in this case, repeated fragmentation–reagglomeration cycles yield a sediment of fractal structure with slightly reduced fractal dimension while the dust exponent, \(\tau \), remains unchanged.     

Ion Electrodiffusion Governs Silk Electrogelation

Silk electrogelation involves the transition of an aqueous silk fibroin solution to a gel state (E-gel) in the presence of an electric current. The process is based on local pH changes as a result of water electrolysis - generating H(+) and OH(-) ions at the (+) and (-) electrodes, respectively. Silk fibroin has a pI=4.2 and when local pH相似文献   

Formulation of consistent restoring stiffness in ship hydroelastic analysis

In this article, the role of the restoring stiffness, as one of the basic parameters in ship hydroelastic analysis, is brought out. It is formulated using the variational principle and the method of virtual displacements. It is shown that asymmetry of the restoring stiffness is a physical reality. Moreover, it is confirmed that modal variation, still disputed in the relevant literature, has to be taken into account to satisfy the ship’s stability. Consistent stiffness is formulated here by regarding stiffness definition as relation between forces and displacements. Hybrid stiffness known from the literature is wrong since some terms are specified as relation between forces and displacement gradient. Influence of the consistent and symmetrized stiffness matrix, and the hybrid one, on dynamic response is illustrated for a prismatic pontoon and a large container ship. It is found that the latter two matrices do not assure convergence of transfer functions of sectional forces to zero value as the wave frequency approaches zero. The rigid body and elastic responses are compared, and pertinent conclusions are drawn. It is also shown that it is not necessary to use the unified geometric and restoring stiffness for ordinary hydroelastic analysis of ship structures. The consistent formulation of the restoring stiffness matrix will be useful for extending linear potential theory hydrodynamic codes for rigid body analysis to deformable bodies.     

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