Lateral space-charge effects on ballistic electron transport across graded heterojunctions

Hot electron transport across graded compound semiconductor heterojunctions has been explored using a two-dimensional formulation of the self-consistent ensemble Monte Carlo method. The Al_xGa_1-xAs/GaAs heterojunction imbedded into a vertical field effect transistor with two ohmic contacts (source, drain) and two lateral Schottky gates has been used as an example. Lateral space charges modulated by the gates are shown to control ballistic injection of electrons over the heterojunction under steady state conditions. The transient response to a gate pulse is found to be determined by carrier transit from the heavily doped source contact region into the channel. A conceptual one-dimensional section model is used to explain the Monte Carlo results.     

Accelerated wear testing with a microfabricated surface to evaluate the lubrication ability of biomolecules on polyethylene

Wear of ultrahigh‐molecular‐weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and wear‐particle‐induced osteolysis and bone resorption are the major factors causing the failure of total joint replacements. It is feasible to improve the lubrication and reduce the wear of artificial joints. We need further understanding of the lubrication mechanism of the synovial fluid. The objective of this study is to evaluate the lubricating ability of three major components in the synovial fluid: albumin, globulin, and phospholipids. An accelerated wear testing procedure in which UHMWPE is rubbed against a microfabricated surface with controlled asperities has been developed to evaluate the lubrication behavior. An analysis of the wear particle dimensions and wear amount of the tests has provided insights for comparing their lubrication performance. It is concluded that the presence of biomolecules at the articulating interface may reduce friction. A higher concentration of a biological lubricant leads to a decrease in the wear particle width. In addition, in combination with the wear results and mechanical analysis, the roles of individual biomolecules contributing to friction and wear at the articulating interface are discussed. These results can help us to identify the role of the biomolecules in the boundary lubrication of artificial joints, and further development of lubricating additives for artificial joints may be feasible. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Effects and properties of poly(arylene ether benzonitrile)s of various molecular weights blended with sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)

Poly(arylene ether benzonitrile) (PAEBN) was synthesized with 2,6‐dichlorobenzonitrile and biphenol. PAEBNs with various molecular weights (MWs), 1,640,000 and 185,000 g/mol, were synthesized by control of the stoichiometry of the monomers and were blended with sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK). The effects of MW on the water uptake, swelling, methanol permeability, and proton conductivity of the SPEEK/PAEBN blend membranes were investigated. The molecular mobility of the SPEEK/PAEBN blends was also examined in this study. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Roll‐to‐roll UV embossing process applied for light bar‐based sub‐wavelength gratings for backlight

This study proposes a roll‐to‐roll process‐based sub‐wavelength grating, which is attached on a light bar to turn the side‐lit red/green/blue (620, 520, and 450 nm) incident rays into a uniformly and normally output white light with high illuminance from the light bar's surface. On the basis of the rigorous coupling wave analysis, the relationship between the first‐order transmission/reflection efficiency and the pitch of the gratings with different shapes was analyzed. The optimal design can effectively reduce the coupling length and enhance the white color balance for display applications.     

System supports for protocol and application adaptation in vertical handoffs

In overlay networks, the network characteristics before and after a vertical handoff would be drastically different. Consequently, in this paper, we propose an end‐to‐end based scheme to support protocol and application adaptation in vertical handoffs. First, we proposed a Vertical‐handoff Aware TCP, called VA‐TCP. VA‐TCP can identify the packet losses caused by vertical handoffs. If segments losses are due to vertical handoffs, VA‐TCP only retransmits the missing segments but does not invoke the congestion control procedure. Moreover, VA‐TCP dynamically estimates the bandwidth and round‐trip time in a new network. Based on the estimated bandwidth and round‐trip time, VA‐TCP adjusts its parameters to respond to the new network environment. Second, during a vertical handoff, applications also need to be adapted accordingly. Therefore, we design a programming interface that allows applications to be notified upon and adapt to changing network environments. To support our interface, we utilize the signal mechanism to achieve kernel‐to‐user notification. Nevertheless, signals cannot carry information. Thus, we implement the shared memory mechanism between applications and the kernel to facilitate parameters exchange. Finally, we also provide a handoff‐aware CPU scheduler so that tasks that are interested in the vertical‐handoff event are given preference over other processes to attain a prompt response for new network conditions. We have implemented a prototype system on the Linux kernel 2.6. From the experimental results, our proposed protocol and application adaptation mechanisms are shown to effectively improve the performance of TCP and applications during vertical handoffs. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

NMR studies on vortices in rotating3He-A

NMR measurements are reported on rotating³He-A in a long cylindrical geometry of 5 mm diameter at a liquid pressure of 29.3 bar and in axial magnetic fields of 14.2, 28.4, and 56.9 mT. At 28.4 mT, NMR studies are also reported in fields inclined by 25° and 90° from the axis of rotation. The frequency shift, the width, and the intensity of the spin wave modes localized on the soft vortex cores, as well as the additional broadening of the main NMR line during rotation, were measured as a function of temperature, angular velocity , magnetic field intensity, and its inclination angle. Also observed were a critical angular velocity of vortex formation, hysteretic behavior in the number of vortices when comparing accelerating rotation to decelerating, and metastable vortex densities, presumably a vortex tangle after rapid oscillatory acceleration. The results can be understood in terms of the continuous 4 vortices first proposed by Seppälä and Volovik.     

NMR experiments on the superfluid phases of3He in restricted geometries

We report transverse cw NMR measurements on the superfluid phases of³He at temperatures between 3 and 0.7 mK. Nuclear demagnetization of copper was used for refrigeration. For thermometry we employed pulsed NMR on platinum powder immersed in the liquid. The measurements on³He were carried out in two NMR coil assemblies in which the liquid was confined between parallel Mylar foils with separations of 0.37 mm and 4 µm. The transition temperatureT _c was measured at pressures between 32 bars and the saturated vapor pressure; a pressure-independent increase of 11% was observed inT _c with respect to earlier data obtained with the same apparatus. We found that our temperature scale is not proportional to that used in La Jolla. In the 4-µm stack we observe a reduction in the B A transition temperature. In our measurements on the orientational anisotropy of the B phase we found qualitative agreement with the theory of Brinkman et al. We also measured the longitudinal resonance frequencies of the A and B phases between 32 bars and the polycritical point. In the 4-µm stack we found a negative NMR shift in the A phase when the field was oriented perpendicular to the Mylar plates, in agreement with the prediction of Takagi. The static susceptibility X_B of the B phase was measured as a function of temperature at 18.7 and 29 bars; its low-temperature limiting value was observed to be (0.33±0.02)_XN , independent of pressure. We use our data to estimate the strong coupling corrections to the size of the energy gap. The initial slope of the reduced gap in the A phase, _A/T _c , was found to increase by 25% when the pressure increased from 21.1 bars to the melting curve, whereas in the low-temperature limit _B(0)/T _c was found to be independent of pressure and close to its weak coupling value.