Studies of suppression of the reflected wave and beam-scanning features of the antenna arrays

This paper describes a two-directional linear scanned design by integrating a short leaky-wave antenna (LWA) with aperture-coupled patch antenna arrays. This architecture proposes a technique not only having the advantage of suppressing the back-lobe due to the reflected wave in the short LWA but also producing two separate linearly scanned beams, each of them radiating in a different region of space (in both the front side and backside of the LWA). In this design, most of the reflected wave of the short LWA is coupled to the patch antenna arrays on the backside of the substrate. The phase of this coupled signal to each antenna element is adjusted by tuning the individual phase shifter in order to control electronically the patch antenna main beam in the cross plane (x<0). Meanwhile, on the front side, the main beam of the short LWA can be simultaneously scanned in the elevation plane (x>0) by changing the operating frequency. Hence, the two linear beam-scanning radiation patterns of individual direction can be created independently, including a narrow beam in the elevation plane (xy plane at x>0) at the front side and a broadside beam in the cross plane (xz plane at x<0) on the backside. The measured results show that the reflected wave of the short LWA in the proposed design is suppressed 8 dB as compared with a traditional short LWA without the aperture-coupled antenna arrays at 10.5 GHz. As a result, this novel architecture provides more flexibility both in the upward elevation plane (H plane) and the downward cross plane (backside-E plane) for possible beam-scanning applications in microwave communications and remote identification.     

Phase-matched four-wave mixing between pumps and signals in a copumped Raman amplifier

We observe four-wave mixing (FWM) between copropagating pumps and signals in a Raman amplifier when the zero-dispersion wavelength of the transmission fiber lies symmetrically between the pump and the signal wavelengths. The resultant FWM products, which grow as they experience Raman gain along the fiber, can degrade the signal's optical signal-to-noise ratio by as much as 10 dB for a Raman ON-OFF gain of 15 dB.     

Effect of thermal annealing on the optical properties and residual stress of graded-index-like films deposited by radio-frequency ion-beam sputtering

Composite films of Ta-Si oxide and graded-index-like films have been realized by using radio-frequency ion-beam sputtering. The influence of thermal annealing on the optical properties and residual stress of single-layer composite films and graded-index-like films has been studied. The residual stress and optical properties of both types of films were more stable than that of the notch filters fabricated from a series of discrete quarter-wave layers made by alternatively stacking high and low index materials after annealing.     

Inorganic Electron Transport Materials in Perovskite Solar Cells

In the past decade, the perovskite solar cell (PSC) has attracted tremendous attention thanks to the substantial efforts in improving the power conversion efficiency from 3.8% to 25.5% for single-junction devices and even perovskite-silicon tandems have reached 29.15%. This is a result of improvement in composition, solvent, interface, and dimensionality engineering. Furthermore, the long-term stability of PSCs has also been significantly improved. Such rapid developments have made PSCs a competitive candidate for next-generation photovoltaics. The electron transport layer (ETL) is one of the most important functional layers in PSCs, due to its crucial role in contributing to the overall performance of devices. This review provides an up-to-date summary of the developments in inorganic electron transport materials (ETMs) for PSCs. The three most prevalent inorganic ETMs (TiO₂, SnO_2, and ZnO) are examined with a focus on the effects of synthesis and preparation methods, as well as an introduction to their application in tandem devices. The emerging trends in inorganic ETMs used for PSC research are also reviewed. Finally, strategies to optimize the performance of ETL in PSCs, effects the ETL has on J–V hysteresis phenomenon and long-term stability with an outlook on current challenges and further development are discussed.     

Rugate filter made with composite thin films by ion-beam sputtering

Composite films of Ta-Si oxide with refractive indices that varied from 1.48 to 2.15 were realized by using rf ion-beam sputtering. All the composite films were amorphous and had a surface roughness of less than 0.3 nm. The inhomogeneity of the composite was discussed, and a rugate filter was designed and fabricated by automatic computer control.     

TiO2--Ta2O5 composite thin films deposited by radio frequency ion-beam sputtering

TiO2--Ta2O5 composite films were prepared by a radio frequency ion-beam sputtering deposition process, and the refractive indices and extinction coefficients of the composite films were found to be between those of the TiO2 and Ta2O5 films. The structure of the as-deposited films was amorphous, and the surface roughness was approximately 0.1 nm. The residual stress of the composite films was less than that of pure TiO2 film. The structure of the composite films after annealing was amorphous, with low surface roughness and slightly increased residual stress. The film containing 6.3% TiO2 displayed better properties than either the pure TiO2 or the pure Ta2O5 film.     

Active dual-beam leaky-wave antenna with asymmetrically scanningcapability

An active microstrip leaky-wave antenna possessing asymmetrically dual-beam scanning capability is demonstrated. An active HEMT up-converter is integrated at the right terminal of the two-terminal feeding microstrip leaky-wave antenna. This approach creates dual-beam asymmetrically scanning radiation patterns. When the right beam is fixed in one position, the other beam can be scanned electronically by varying the IF frequency. The measured results show that when the position of the right beam was fixed (48°), a scanning angle of 22° for the left beam could be achieved as the IF input frequency was varied from 0.7 to 2 GHz (UHF band)     

Two-dimensional scanning leaky-wave antenna by utilizing the phased array

An aperture-fed patch antenna array is connected to the open end of a short leaky-wave antenna (LWA) to demonstrate the two-dimensional beam-scanning capability in this paper. This design not only offers another radiation path of the reflected wave, but also creates another scanning radiation pattern on the back plane of the substrate. The reflected wave of the LWA is equally separated by a power divider, modulated by each varactor-tuned phase shifter, and injected into two radiating aperture-coupled antennas. The operated frequencies are tuned to control the LWA main position in the elevation plane; meanwhile, by tuning the phase difference between two phase shifters, the main beam of the aperture-coupled antenna array can be scanned in the backside E plane. Experimental result shows that the suppression of the reflected wave can be 7 dB at 10.0 GHz with a short LWA length of 6 cm (two wavelengths). The H-plane and backside E-plane scanning radiation patterns have great potential in many applications and provide more flexibility to traditional designs.     

Hypertension incidence after tap-water implementation: a 13-year follow-up study in the arseniasis-endemic area of southwestern Taiwan

Hypertension is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease worldwide. Long-term arsenic exposure has been linked to increased risk for hypertension; however, little is known whether a previous exposure has lingering effects on hypertension after the exposure being reduced significantly for decades. The study cohort was established in 1990 in an arseniasis-endemic area of 3 villages — Homei, Fuhsin, and Hsinming in Putai Township located on the southwestern coast of Taiwan, where residents were exposed to artesian well water (median level = 700 to 930 μg/L) until early 1970s. The original cohort consisted of 490 non-hypertensive residents over 30-yrs-old and 352 of them were successfully followed up in 2002/03. Arsenic concentrations in the artesian well water consumed by residents during 1960s were used to indicate the previous exposure while urinary arsenic species measured in 2002/3 was used to represent current exposure. Hypertension incidences were 27.4, 65.6, and 69.1, per 1000 person-years for men aged 35-49, 50-64, and 65-74 years, respectively being higher than the corresponding rates of 25.1, 46.1, and 57.2 in a community-based longitudinal study. Cancer was the major cause of the total deaths (17/30 = 57%). Diastolic blood pressure was shown to increase with an increased cumulative arsenic ingestion from drinking water (β = 0.27, p < 0.001). The incidence was increased by 2.43-fold in subjects of As(V) ≥ 2.67 μg/g creatinine as compared to those of As(V) < 1.20 μg/g creatinine (the third vs. first tertile; p = 0.047) after adjustment for conventional risk factors. This study suggests that three decades after cessation of drinking artesian well water, residents of the endemic area are still at increased risk for developing hypertension, particularly those who excrete high amounts of As(V).