An architecture framework for an adaptive extensible processor

To improve the performance of embedded processors, an effective technique is collapsing critical computation subgraphs as application-specific instruction set extensions and executing them on custom functional units. The problem with this approach is the immense cost and the long times required to design a new processor for each application. As a solution to this issue, we propose an adaptive extensible processor in which custom instructions (CIs) are generated and added after chip-fabrication. To support this feature, custom functional units are replaced by a reconfigurable matrix of functional units (FUs). A systematic quantitative approach is used for determining the appropriate structure of the reconfigurable functional unit (RFU). We also introduce an integrated framework for generating mappable CIs on the RFU. Using this architecture, performance is improved by up to 1.33, with an average improvement of 1.16, compared to a 4-issue in-order RISC processor. By partitioning the configuration memory, detecting similar/subset CIs and merging small CIs, the size of the configuration memory is reduced by 40%.     

System integration of high voltage electrostatic MEMS actuators

A system integration for High Voltage (HV) electrostatic MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) actuators is introduced on a micro-Printed Circuit Board. The system includes a programmable microcontroller, a programmable DC/DC converter, a multi output HV interface and electrostatic MEMS actuators. The system produces high output voltages (10–300 V) and can control a large variety of MEMS capacitive loads (1 to 50 pF) by combining diverse semiconductor technologies. This system proves that technologies, such as low voltage CMOS of different processes, high voltage DMOS and MEMS, can interact, communicate and even be integrated as a System In Package (SIP), providing significant size and cost reductions. The system was programmed to control electrostatic MEMS actuator. The DC/DC converter was made from components of different technologies and two addressable high voltage CMOS interfaces were fabricated with DALSA's 0.8 μm High Voltage process. A prototype of the global system has been built and tested.     

A study on the efficiency of hardware Trojan detection based on path-delay fingerprinting

Hardware Trojan horses (HTHs) are among the most challenging treats to the security of integrated circuits. Path-delay fingerprinting has shown to be a promising HTH detection approach. However, previous work in this area incurs a large hardware cost or requires expensive testing techniques. Moreover, the relation between technology mapping and the efficiency of delay-based HTH detection have not yet been studied. In this paper, we present a HTH detection method which uses an effective test-vector selection scheme and a path-delay measurement structure. Furthermore, we demonstrate the large impact of technology mapping on the effectiveness of delay-based HTH detection. We also show that delay-based detection methods are highly scalable. In case of choosing an area-driven design strategy, the average HTH detection probability of our approach is about 63%, 78% and 90% if false alarm rate is 0%, 2% and 16%, respectively. However, with modifications in the technology mapping, the results show improvements to 85%, 94% and 99%, at the cost of about 20% area overhead. In addition, the efficiency of our method would not decrease for large benchmarks with thousands of gates.     

Theoretical and practical investigations of copper ion selective electrode with polymeric membrane based on N,N′-(2,2-dimethylpropane-1,3-diyl)-bis(dihydroxyacetophenone)

A novel ion-selective poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) membrane sensor for Cu²⁺ ions based on N,N′-(2,2-dimethylpropane-1,3-diyl)-bis(dihydroxyacetophenone) (NDHA) as a new ionophore was prepared and studied. The best performance was observed for the membrane composition, including 30:65:1:4 (wt%) = PVC:DBP:KTpClPB:NDHA. The electrode showed a good Nernstian slope of 30.0 ± 0.5 mV/decade in a wide linear range activity of 3.0 × 10⁻⁷ to 1.0 × 10⁻² mol dm⁻³ Cu(NO₃)₂ with limit of detection 2.5 × 10⁻⁷. Sensor exhibited a fast response time (t_95% < 10 s) and could be used for about 4 months in the pH range of 3.0–7.4. The proposed potentiometric sensor was found to work satisfactorily in partially non-aqueous media up to 30 (vol%) content of methanol, ethanol and acetone. Applications of this electrode for the determination of copper in real samples, and as an indicator electrode for potentiometric titration of Cu²⁺ ion using EDTA, were reported. In order to predict the extraction ability of NDHA for different metallic ions, the complexes [M(NDHA)] and [M(H₂O)₆] (where M = Cu²⁺, Co²⁺, Hg²⁺, Pb²⁺, Ag⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Mn²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cd²⁺, K⁺ and Al³⁺) were investigated using ab initio theoretical calculations. The metal binding capability was evaluated using the binding energy. Results of our study could be useful for prediction of the extraction power of this Schiff base and could play a guiding role in planning experiments.     

Evaluation of the localized corrosion on Mg electrode surface by electrochemical noise technique

The symmetrical and asymmetrical electrodes made of Mg were studied in 0.1-M NaCl electrolyte adjusted at pH 12. The statistical and wavelet methods were employed for analyzing the electrochemical current noise (ECN) signals. The asymmetric configuration was used for electrochemical detection of filiform corrosion on Mg electrode. The real time scale of the dominant transients of the asymmetric electrodes was detected on the basis of the maximum peak in the SDPS plots. The SDPS values of the real time scale crystals of the ECN signals resulting from asymmetrical electrodes increased with the increase in immersion time due to the onset of filiform corrosion.     

Crystallization Mechanisms and Rates of Cyclopentane Hydrates Formation in Brine

Clathrate hydrates most often grow at the interface between liquid water and another fluid phase (hydrocarbon) acting as a provider for the hydrate guest molecules, and some transfer through this shell is required for the hydrate growth to proceed, thus self‐limiting the reaction rate. An optical microscope and a horizontal reaction cell are utilized to capture the shell growth phenomenology and to estimate the hydrate layer growth rates from sequential pictures. Cyclopentane (CP) is chosen as the hydrate‐forming molecule to obtain hydrates at low pressure. Experimental hydrate layer growth rates are provided for the CP+brine system, using various combinations of salts and degrees of subcooling.     

Wear and friction behavior of Al6061 alloy reinforced with carbon nanotubes

Friction and wear behavior of Al6061 monolithic alloy and 1 wt% CNTs reinforced Al6061 composite prepared through ball milling and spark plasma sintering was investigated. It was found that, under mild wear conditions, the composite displayed lower wear rate and friction coefficient compared to the monolithic alloy. However, for severe wear conditions, the composite displayed higher wear rate and friction coefficient compared to the monolithic alloy. Analysis of worn surfaces revealed that, at lower loads, abrasion was the dominant wear mechanism for both materials. At higher loads, adhesion was found to be dominant for the monolithic alloy while excessive sub-surface fracturing and delamination were mainly observed for the composite. Also, it was clarified that the friction and wear behavior of Al–CNT composites is largely influenced by the applied load and there exists a critical load beyond which CNTs could have a negative impact on the wear resistance of aluminum alloy.     

Quantum circuit physical design methodology with emphasis on physical synthesis

In our previous works, we have introduced the concept of “physical synthesis” as a method to consider the mutual effects of quantum circuit synthesis and physical design. While physical synthesis can involve various techniques to improve the characteristics of the resulting quantum circuit, we have proposed two techniques (namely gate exchanging and auxiliary qubit selection) to demonstrate the effectiveness of the physical synthesis. However, the previous contributions focused mainly on the physical synthesis concept, and the techniques were proposed only as a proof of concept. In this paper, we propose a methodological framework for physical synthesis that involves all previously proposed techniques along with a newly introduced one (called auxiliary qubit insertion). We will show that the entire flow can be seen as one monolithic methodology. The proposed methodology is analyzed using a large set of benchmarks. Experimental results show that the proposed methodology decreases the average latency of quantum circuits by about 36.81 % for the attempted benchmarks.     

Multisecular corrosion behaviour of low carbon steel in anoxic soils: Characterisation of corrosion system on archaeological artefacts

In the context of the prediction of materials behaviour used in the nuclear waste storage, the understanding of iron corrosion mechanisms in anoxic environment is of great importance. Information can be obtained using complementary analytical tools. Interactions between burial soil and archaeological artefacts are studied by performing on site soil measurements. Moreover, archaeological artefacts are studied on transverse sections using a combination of microbeam techniques. The specific interest of this project lies in the study of ferrous thick corrosion layers formed in anoxic environments.