The impact of SONET digital cross-connect system architecture ondistributed restoration

The viability of distributed control restoration using digital cross-connect systems (DCS) depends on its capability for restoring services within specified time requirements, and its economics for providing restoration compared to other alternatives. The authors report a Bellcore study for the impact of the DCS architecture on distributed restoration. This study concludes that currently proposed distributed control DCS self-healing schemes may not meet the 2 second restoration objective for large metropolitan local exchange carrier's networks, regardless of the distributed algorithm used, if the present DCS system architecture which uses serial message processing and serial path cross-connection remains unchanged. They also discuss several DCS architecture enhancement options, including a parallel processing/cross-connect DCS architecture, which may improve the service restoration time     

Detection of hydrogen using multi-walled carbon-nanotube yarns coated with nanocrystalline Pd and Pd/Pt layered structures

Robust and flexible chemiresistors fabricated from multi-walled carbon nanotube yarns decorated with nanocrystalline Pd (Pd-MWCNTs) were used to detect hydrogen from 20 parts per million (ppm) and above in nitrogen at room temperature. With the chemiresistors fabricated by introducing a layer of Pt on Pd (Pt–Pd-MWCNTs), the lower limit of detection (LLD) was found to extend down to 5 ppm. It is shown that the observed response to hydrogen is a resultant of two mechanisms, namely, the formation of the hydrides of Pd and nanoscopic gap closing which leads to opposing changes in resistance in the composite yarns. A deviation from the Sievert’s law is observed at concentrations above 100 ppm and is attributed to the presence of these competing mechanisms. In air, the LLD was found to be 2000 ppm for the Pd-MWCNT chemiresistor and 400 ppm for the Pt–Pd-MWCNT chemiresistor. The Pt–Pd-MWCNT chemiresistor showed excellent response and recovery characteristics in air. For Pd-MWCNT chemiresistor, the nanoscopic gap-closing mechanism became prominent at concentrations below ～1000 ppm and allowed the detection of hydrogen down to 200 ppm in air using negative changes in resistance.     

Study of Temperature Dependence of Electrode–Glass Ceramic Interface Using Impedance Spectroscopy

The electrical behavior of strontium titanate borosilicate glass ceramics (SrO.TiO₂- 2SiO₂.B₂O₃) with additives K₂O, La₂O₃, CoO and Nb₂O₅ was studied by using Impedance Spectroscopy as a function of temperature and composition. An equivalent circuit model having three parallel RC's connected in series with a capacitor C₄ could represent the data well. By comparing the complex modulus plots with simulated ones and looking at the values of the time constants these RC's were attributed to represent crystalline, glassy and glass-crystal interface regions of the glass- ceramic whereas C₄ represented the glass-ceramic sample and contact electrode interface. When the glass ceramic sample contained only SrTiO₃ crystalline phase and the remaining glassy matrix, the interface capacitance showed an Arrhenius type of nature with an activation energy (0.11 ± 0.04) eV and when the glass- ceramic sample contained number of crystalline phases no clear cut trend appeared. These findings are useful in selecting suitable electrodes for applications as well as in deciding upon experimental techniques for measurement of dielectric constants of materials.     

Amorphous carbonated apatite formation on diamond-like carbon containing titanium oxide

Thin films of diamond-like carbon (DLC) containing titanium oxide (DLC-TiO_x, x ≤ 2) were synthesized using a pulsed DC metal–organic plasma activated chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results confirmed the presence of TiO₂ on the surface of the films. The compressive stress, elastic modulus and hardness of the films decreased with increasing Ti content. The water contact angle reduced from 62° for DLC to 45° for DLC-TiO_x films containing 13.3 at.% of Ti. The biomimetic growth of amorphous carbonated apatite on the DLC-TiO_x in simulated body fluid (SBF) was found and dependent on the Ti content of the film. UV light exposure prior to immersion in SBF increased the growth rate of apatite formation significantly as a result of increased hydrophilicity of the surface.     

Electronic spectra of VO2+ in some tutton salts

Optical absorption spectra of VO²⁺ in ammonium magnesium sulphate hexahydrate, potassium magnesium sulphate hexahydrate and potassium zinc sulphate hexahydrate single crystals have been studied. The observed bands in all three crystals have been attributed to the VO²⁺ ion in C_4v symmetry. The octahedral and tetragonal field parameters and the molecular orbital coefficients have been evaluated.     

Electro-dissolution of 30Nb–Ti alloys in methanolic sulfuric acid—Optimal conditions for electropolishing

The electro-dissolution behaviour of a (30 at.%) Niobium–Titanium (NbTi) alloy in non-aqueous methanolic sulfuric acid solution using the rotating disc electrode (RDE) was ascertained. The optimal condition for electropolishing and the mechanism were proposed. The influence of the rotation rate, process temperature and sulfuric acid concentration on the dissolution kinetics was investigated. The dissolution rate (limiting current) increases linearly with increase in rotation rate and follows a Levich behaviour confirming a mass transport controlled process. The temperature dependence in terms of Arrhenius plot renders an activation energy value of E_a = 16.1 kJ mol⁻¹ for the process. The dissolution rate shows a strong dependence on the sulfuric acid concentration (1 M, 3 M and 5 M). Higher sulfuric acid concentrations lead to decreased dissolution rates (limiting current). The dissolution process is mass transport controlled in all concentrations of sulfuric acid. From an electrochemical perspective, a 3 M sulfuric acid was chosen as optimum owing to better controllability of the material removal rate. The dissolving ions are the probable rate limiting species, indicating a compact salt-film mechanism. The average root mean square (RMS) roughness value for an electropolished surface was approximately 10 nm, which is significantly lower than a mechanically polished surface.     

Glass ceramics containing ferroelectric phases

Glass ceramics prepared by controlled crystallization of glasses produce fine dispersion of crystallites in a glassy matrix. Glasses containing a mjor portion of constituents of a ferroelectric phase produce crystallites of ferroelectric phase in glass through a suitable heat treatment. The amount of network former in the initial glass has a profound influence on its crystallization behaviour and microstructure of the resulting ferroelectric glass ceramics. The value of dielectric constant and the nature of ferroelectric to paraelectric transition depend on the crystallite size and volume fraction of the ferroelectric phase. These glass ceramics are transparent for crystallite size less than 0·1μm and exhibit large quadratic-electro-optic effect.     

The performance of TCP/IP for networks with high bandwidth-delayproducts and random loss

This paper examines the performance of TCP/IP, the Internet data transport protocol, over wide-area networks (WANs) in which data traffic could coexist with real-time traffic such as voice and video. Specifically, we attempt to develop a basic understanding, using analysis and simulation, of the properties of TCP/IP in a regime where: (1) the bandwidth-delay product of the network is high compared to the buffering in the network and (2) packets may incur random loss (e.g., due to transient congestion caused by fluctuations in real-time traffic, or wireless links in the path of the connection). The following key results are obtained. First, random loss leads to significant throughput deterioration when the product of the loss probability and the square of the bandwidth-delay product is larger than one. Second, for multiple connections sharing a bottleneck link, TCP is grossly unfair toward connections with higher round-trip delays. This means that a simple first in first out (FIFO) queueing discipline might not suffice for data traffic in WANs. Finally, while the Reno version of TCP produces less bursty traffic than the original Tahoe version, it is less robust than the latter when successive losses are closely spaced. We conclude by indicating modifications that may be required both at the transport and network layers to provide good end-to-end performance over high-speed WANs     

Selective de-alloying of NiTi by oxochloridation

The systematic modification of a nickel–titanium-alloy by annealing in a complex gas atmosphere was investigated. A mixture of HCl and H₂O in inert argon was chosen. The reaction kinetics was investigated at 600 °C, 700 °C and 800 °C. The reaction kinetics displayed a significant dependence on the temperature. It was monitored by means of a thermogravimetric balance that showed a quasi-parabolic scale growth at 600 °C, a paralinear or so called Tedmon kinetic at 700 °C with a distinct weight maximum after about 35 h, and finally a linear evaporation kinetic at 800 °C. This behaviour is attributed to the concurrent reactions of oxidation, chloridation and evaporation of corrosion products. The kinetics of these reactions is different for the two alloying elements and with respect to the equiatomic composition they are coupled to each other. Cross sections prove that a stochiometric titanium depletion is achieved leading to the formation of a Ni₃Ti layer (d = 50 μm) which is in turn covered by a pure titanium oxide layer (d = 40 μm). The applicability of this technique for tailored surfaces with a high degree of biocompatibility is discussed.