A 20-Gb/s silicon bipolar 1:4-demultiplexer IC

This paper presents a 20-Gb/s 1:4-demultiplexer for future fiber-optic transmission systems. It uses an 0.4-μm emitter double polysilicon 21-GHz f_T Si bipolar foundry process. This is the highest data rate of a 1:4-DEMUX reported so far in any technology. The 1:4-DEMUX features a tree-type architecture with one frequency divider and a channel switch circuit. The circuit design was carefully optimized to achieve high speed and moderate power dissipation. It consumes 1.4 W with a single -4.5-V supply     

Effect of water inlet velocity on thermal stratification in a mantled hot water storage tank

Thermal stratification in a mantled hot water storage tank is analysed numerically for different water inlet velocities. The aim is to obtain higher thermal stratification and supply hot water for usage as long as possible. Twelve different water inlet velocities to the hot water storage tank are considered. The numerical method is validated by comparing its results against experimental and numerical results from the literature. It turned out that the results obtained from the numerical analysis have shown very good agreements with the results from previous works. As a result, the water temperature in the tank increases with the increase of the water inlet velocities to the mantle but this increment is not proportional. After a period of operation of 7.2 h, which corresponds to the average sunshine duration in Turkey, temperature increments of 6.5 and 35 K have been estimated for the hot water inlet velocities of 0.01 and 0.3 m s^?1, respectively, at a radial distance of 0.1 m and a height of 1 m inside the storage tank. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Photoswitching of Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals Using Unsymmetrical Chiral Thioindigo Dopants: Photoinduced Inversion of the Sign of Spontaneous Polarization

A new unsymmetrical chiral thioindigo dopant 6‐[(R,R)‐2,3‐difluorooct‐1‐yloxy]‐5′‐nitro‐6′‐[(R)‐2‐octyloxy]thioindigo ( 4 ) designed to photoinvert the sign of spontaneous polarization (P_S) in a ferroelectric chiral smectic C (SmC*) liquid crystal was prepared using a synthetic approach previously developed in our laboratory. In this new “ambidextrous” design, the (R)‐2‐octyloxy side‐chain is sterically coupled to the thioindigo core and induces a positive P_S, whereas the (R,R)‐2,3‐difluorooctyloxy side‐chain is decoupled from the core and induces a larger negative P_S. In the trans form, this dopant induces a negative polarization in the SmC host (+)‐4‐(4‐methylhexyloxy)phenyl 4‐decyloxybenzoate ( PhB ). Irradiation of a 1 mol‐% mixture of 4 in PhB at λ = 510 nm caused a sign inversion of P_S, from –0.88 to +0.42 nC cm^–2 at T – T_C = –5 °C, which is consistent with an increase in the polarization power of the coupled 2‐octyloxy/thioindigo unit over that of the 2,3‐difluorooctyloxy unit, due to the increase in transverse dipole moment of the thioindigo core upon trans–cis photoisomerization. The P_S sign inversion was confirmed by a surface‐stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal photoswitching experiment. Spectroscopic measurements on films of the doped liquid crystal mixtures showed that trans–cis photoisomerization is gradually suppressed with increasing dopant mole fraction, possibly as a result of increased dopant aggregation.