Long Duration Persistent Photocurrent in 3 nm Thin Doped Indium Oxide for Integrated Light Sensing and In-Sensor Neuromorphic Computation

Miniaturization and energy consumption by computational systems remain major challenges to address. Optoelectronics based synaptic and light sensing provide an exciting platform for neuromorphic processing and vision applications offering several advantages. It is highly desirable to achieve single-element image sensors that allow reception of information and execution of in-memory computing processes while maintaining memory for much longer durations without the need for frequent electrical or optical rehearsals. In this work, ultra-thin (<3 nm) doped indium oxide (In₂O₃) layers are engineered to demonstrate a monolithic two-terminal ultraviolet (UV) sensing and processing system with long optical state retention operating at 50 mV. This endows features of several conductance states within the persistent photocurrent window that are harnessed to show learning capabilities and significantly reduce the number of rehearsals. The atomically thin sheets are implemented as a focal plane array (FPA) for UV spectrum based proof-of-concept vision system capable of pattern recognition and memorization required for imaging and detection applications. This integrated light sensing and memory system is deployed to illustrate capabilities for real-time, in-sensor memorization, and recognition tasks. This study provides an important template to engineer miniaturized and low operating voltage neuromorphic platforms across the light spectrum based on application demand.     

Multi-response optimization of Nd:YAG laser cutting parameters of Ti-6Al-4V superalloy sheet

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - This study proposes a multi-response optimization approach for the Nd: YAG laser cutting parameters of titanium superalloy sheet (Ti-6Al-4V). The...     

A review on growth optimization of spray pyrolyzed Cu2ZnSnS4 chalcogenide absorber thin film

The progress of solar cell technology in the development of clean and economic quaternary compound copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS)‐based absorber thin films using the spray pyrolysis technique are presented in this review. CZTS (Cu₂ZnSnS₄) is the only potential competitor for the existing solar thin film absorbing materials owing to its environment‐friendly Earth abundant constituents. Even though different nonvacuum thin film technologies have been developed for the large area fabrication of this nontoxic absorber material, spray pyrolysis technique offers more versatility in changing the process parameters which has a direct impact on the cell efficiency. It can be used for depositing a wide variety of materials even with complex composition with good crystallinity, and the method has the advantage of being flexible and straightforward to design and can be quickly adopted for extensive area deposition. A survey on the effects of experimental conditions as well as the nature of precursors on the structural, morphological, electrical, and optical properties on the spray pyrolyzed CZTS thin films is discussed in detail. This analysis certainly could provide a potential to obtain new insights in the fabrication of high‐efficiency CZTS‐based solar cells and to launch it into the commercial market to satisfy the ever‐growing future energy demand.     

Lipid extraction from natural plant source of Adenanthera pavonina using mixed solvent by superheated extractor

The lipid content was extracted from the saga seed by superheated condition and soxhlet apparatus. The mixture of hexane, chloroform and methanol was utilized as a mixed solvent for these extraction operations. Different parameters such as different solvent, temperature, mean particle size and solvent flow have been examined. The optimized lipid extraction was achieved as 26.2 wt% by using superheated condition from the saga seed powder at 90 °C for 120min. Then the fatty acids profile of the optimized Adenanthera pavonina oil were analyzed by gas chromatography. Unsaturated fatty acid was high as 83.7% compared with saturated fatty acid barely 15.4% by relative.     

Polyethers with phosphate pendant groups by monomer activated anionic ring opening polymerization: Syntheses,characterization and their lithium-ion conductivities

This paper describes the preparations and lithium-ion conductivities of various solid polymer electrolytes for potential use in high-energy density lithium-ion batteries. The ring opening polymerization of epoxides (M1–M6), catalyzed by Zn(II), Cu(II) and Cd(II) complexes in the presence of tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB), yielded polyethers (P1–P6) in which phosphates were attached as pendant groups. A reaction condition where Zn(II) catalyst used slightly excess to TBAB increased the polymerization rate remarkably and yielded the polyethers with higher molar masses in a short time. These polymerizations proceeded following a “monomer activated anionic ring opening polymerization” mechanism. These living like polymerizations also progressed according to “formation of polymer chain per initiator” model. The solid-state lithium-ion conductivities of these polymers were examined using lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI). The conductivity of one of the solid polymer electrolytes with 40 wt% of LiTFSI was 5.2 × 10⁻⁵ S cm⁻¹ at room temperature and 2.9 × 10⁻⁴ S cm⁻¹ at 80 °C.     

Role of ceramic reinforcement in composite polymer electrolyte

Composite polymer electrolytes were prepared from PEO (polyethylene oxide), lithium perchlorate (LiClO₄), and with three different dielectric reinforcements such as lead zirconium titanate (PZT)‐12000, barium titanate (BT)‐1000, and Alumina (Al₂O₃)‐6. Differential scanning calorimetry and X‐ray diffractometry were employed to reveal the crystalline nature of the electrolytes. The conductivity of the composite polymer electrolytes were measured by impedance spectrometry. Among the three systems, PZT reinforced composite exhibits maximum ionic conductivity of 2.9 × 10⁻⁵ S/cm at room temperature. The ionic conductivity of the polymer composites increases with increase in dielectric constant of the reinforcement. The composite with alumina reinforcement displayed strongly modified properties with very weak temperature dependence of conductivity. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:42–46, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Structural alterations in the workpiece by ultrasonic drilling

The surface integrity of glass workpieces in ultrasonic drilling was investigated. X-ray diffraction studies on glass workpieces drilled by ultrasonic machining revealed the apparent formation of a layer of crystalline material on the surface of the holes drilled, a hitherto unreported phenomenon.     

The error performance of Gray encoded QPSK and 8-PSK schemes in afading channel with cochannel interference

Closed-form BER (bit error rate) expressions are derived for Gray-encoded QPSK (quadrature phase shift keying) and 8-PSK schemes using coherent detection in a slow Rayleigh fading narrowband channel with fading cochannel interference. Earlier work has been limited to deriving the approximate BER using the canonical Stein (1961) receiver concept. The symbol error rate (SER) for the QPSK scheme is also derived. The desired signal and the cochannel interferer are both PSK signals, modulated by different baseband pulses with identical signaling rate     

Optimal Distributed Location Management in Mobile Networks

An important issue in the design of future Personal Communication Services (PCS) networks is the efficient management of location information. In this paper, we consider a distributed database architecture for location management in which update and query loads of the individual databases are balanced. We obtain lower bounds to the worst-case delay in locating a mobile user, to the average delay, and to the call blocking probability. We then propose a dynamic location management algorithm that meets these lower bounds. The optimality of this algorithm with respect to these three performance measures, as well as simplicity, make it an appealing candidate for distributed location management in PCS networks.     

Anatase-brookite mixed phase nano TiO2 catalyzed homolytic decomposition of ammonium nitrate

Compared to the conventional ammonium perchlorate based solid rocket propellants, burning of ammonium nitrate (AN) based propellants produce environmentally innocuous combustion gases. Application of AN as propellant oxidizer is restricted due to low reactivity and low energetics besides its near room temperature polymorphic phase transition. In the present study, anatase-brookite mixed phase TiO₂ nanoparticles (∼10 nm) are synthesized and used as catalyst to enhance the reactivity of the environmental friendly propellant oxidizer ammonium nitrate. The activation energy required for the decomposition reactions, computed by differential and non-linear integral isoconversional methods are used to establish the catalytic activity. Presumably, the removal of NH₃ and H₂O, known inhibitors of ammonium nitrate decomposition reaction, due to the surface reactions on active surface of TiO₂ changes the decomposition pathway and thereby the reactivity.