Selective epitaxy and lateral overgrowth of 3C-SiC on Si – A review

This review article attempts to present a comprehensive picture of the progress in selective epitaxial growth (SEG) of cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC) to make it a cheap and practical material for high temperature and high power, high frequency and MEMS (Micro Electromechanical Systems) applications. Selective epitaxial growth followed by epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) is a suitable approach to minimize the interfacial defects and other planar defects in case of thin film growth. Different techniques of SEG and its application to Si, GaAs and III–V nitrides are reviewed briefly in the first section of this article. Various SEG techniques like epitaxial lateral overgrowth, pyramidal growth and pendeo epitaxial growth, etc. have been discussed extensively for growing 3C-SiC on Si, together with the characterization of the grown films. The influence of various experimental parameters such as temperature of growth, choice of mask material, influence of an etchant, pattern shape and size, etc. is also discussed. On the basis of these data, it is believed that SEG and related techniques are a promising approach for heteroepitaxial growth of 3C-SiC films useful for devices and MEMS applications.     

IMDD-OFDM系统的低开支、高准确度信道估计方法

提出一种应用于强度调制直接检测光正交频分复用(IMDD-OFDM)传输系统的低开支、高准确度的信道估计算法.该算法充分考虑系统噪声特性,利用梳状导频插入结构,结合符号间平均与子载波间频域线性插值的思想,在低开支导频条件下实现较高的估计准确度.仿真和理论推导结果表明:与传统平均算法和直接线性插值算法相比,基于梳状导频先平均后线性插值的算法估计出来的信道特性更能接近实际信道的.实验结果表明:在误码率为3.8×10~(-3)处,本文所提出的算法仅使用0.78%导频开支即可与使用20%导频开支的平均算法获得相同的接收灵敏度;同时,与传统估计算法相比,该算法与导频开支无关,能较好抗系统中的高斯噪声,获得与真实信道较为接近的估计性能.     

Colour quenching corrections on the measurement of 90Sr through Cerenkov counting

The determination of ⁹⁰Sr through the Cerenkov radiation emitted by its descendant ⁹⁰Y is a well-known method and firmly established in literature. Nevertheless, in order to obtain an accurate result based on a Cerenkov measurement, the experimental work must be extremely rigorous because the efficiency of Cerenkov counting is especially sensitive to the presence of colour. Any traces of colour in the sample produce a decrease in the number of photons detected in the photomultipliers and, therefore, this might cause a diminution in Cerenkov counting efficiency. It is essential not only to detect the effect of colour quenching in the sample but also to correct the decrease in counting efficiency. For this reason, colour quenching correction curves versus counting efficiency are usually done when measuring through Cerenkov counting. One of the most widely used techniques to evaluate colour quenching in these measurements is the channel ratio method, which consists of the measurement of the shift of the spectrum measuring the ratio of counts in two different windows. The selection of the windows for the application of the corrections might have an influence on the quality of the fitting parameters of the correction curves efficiency versus colour quenching degree and hence on the final ⁹⁰Sr result. This work is focused on the calculation of the counting efficiency decrease using the channel ratio method and on obtaining the best fitting correction curve. For this purpose, empirical curves obtained through artificial quenchers have been studied and the results have been tested in real samples. Additionally, given that the Packard Tri-Carb 3170 TR/SL liquid scintillation counter is a novel detector for use in Cerenkov counting, the previous calibration of the Tri-Carb 3170 TR/SL detector, necessary for the measurement of ⁹⁰Sr, is included.     

利用子波变换模拟人眼视觉信息提取过程的研究

由于人类视觉系统在对图象信息进行初级加工过程中表现出由粗到细且能使其局域化的特性,而子波变换恰恰正好具有这样的特性.本文提出了利用DOG函数作为子波基函数,模拟人眼视觉信息提取过程,并给出了两维模拟计算的结果.提出了基于子波变换理论的视觉信息提取通道模型.在文中讨论了这一模型的特点和潜在的应用前景.     

Routing multiterminal nets on a hexagonal grid

Channel routing is a vital task in the layout design of VLSI circuits. Multiterminal channel routing is different from two-terminal one. While the later is quite understood, the former still poses the difficulty. In this paper, we investigate the multiterminal channel routing problem in a hexagonal model, whose grid is composed of horizontal tracks, right tracks (with slope +60°), and left tracks (with slope −60°). We present an efficient algorithm for routing multiterminal nets on a channel of width d + 3, where d is the problem density. Furthermore, we can wire the layout produced by the router using four layers and there are no overlaps among different layers. This improves the previous known results [15, 19].     

Improved Gain Characteristics in Er3+-Doped Alumina (Al2O3) Channel Optical Waveguide Amplifiers for WDM Systems

Er3+-doped Al2O3 optical waveguides are analyzed both as single amplifiers and as elements of a 16-channel wavelength division multiplexing transmission system; their performance is compared with that from Er3+-doped SiO2 optical waveguide amplifiers. The amplifier model, based on propagation and population-rate equa tions, includes both uniform and pair-induced up-conversion mechanisms and is solved numerically by combining finite elements and the Runge-Kutta algorithm. The analysis showed that Er3+-doped Al2O3 waveguides exhibit much higher signal gains than Er3+-doped SiO2 waveguides and also that the use of Er3+-doped Al2O3 waveguides reduces the deleterious gain peaking effect, increasing the maximum transmission distance.     

Optimization of plasma-deposited silicon oxinitride films for optical channel waveguides

In view of applications of SiO_xN_y thin films in MOEMS technology, a study of the optomechanical characteristics of the PECVD deposited material are investigated. To optimize the quality of SiO_xN_y layers we establish the relationship between the chemical properties, optical performances, micromechanical stress, and growth parameters of deposited films. To use the SiO_xN_y thin film for the core layer of a strip-loaded waveguide, we propose preparation conditions of SiO_xN_y that offer a low-loss optical waveguide with well-controlled refractive index, based on a low-internal stress multilayer structure.     

Highly Selective Lithium Transport through Crown Ether Pillared Angstrom Channels

Biological ion channels use the synergistic effects of various strategies to realize highly selective ion sieving. For example, potassium channels use functional groups and angstrom-sized pores to discriminate rival ions and enrich target ions. Inspired by this, we constructed a layered crystal pillared by crown ether that incorporates these strategies to realize high Li⁺ selectivity. The pillared channels and crown ether have an angstrom-scale size. The crown ether specifically allows the low-barrier transport of Li⁺. The channels attract and enrich Li⁺ ions by up to orders of magnitude. As a result, our material sieves Li⁺ out of various common ions such as Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ and Al³⁺. Moreover, by spontaneously enriching Li⁺ ions, it realizes an effective Li⁺/Na⁺ selectivity of 1422 in artificial seawater where the Li⁺ concentration is merely 25 μM. We expect this work to spark technologies for the extraction of lithium and other dilute metal ions.     

A Robust (10,3)-a Network Containing Chiral Micropores in the AgI Coordination Polymer of a Bridging Ligand that Provides Three Bidentate Metal-Binding Sites

Framework integrity is retained when water molecules replace the nitromethane molecules in the coordination polymer [Ag(hat)ClO₄]⋅2 CH₃NO₂ (see picture for structure), which are arranged in a helical fashion within the chiral micropores of the three-dimensional [Ag(hat)⁺]_n network with a (10,3)-a topology. Remarkably, this is also the case after subsequent displacement of the water by nitromethane molecules. hat=1,4,5,8,9,12-hexaazatriphenylene.     

一种鲁棒性强的OFDM 水声通信系统*

为了在不同衰落水声信道下实现正交频分复用水声通信,该文提出了一种鲁棒性强的正交频分复用水声通信方案,方案包括编码调制、信道估计和多普勒估计等内容。为了使该系统更稳健,整个信道编码分为两个步骤。首先,循环冗余校验编码器和里德-所罗门编码器用于编码整个数据包,然后循环冗余校验编码器和Turbo 编码器用于编码每个数据帧,其中比特交织编码调制技术用来对抗信道的时变特性。为了得到水声信道估计,使用线性最小均方误差估计器来处理导频数据得到信道估计值。多普勒估计包括帧的多普勒估计和符号的多普勒估计。实验结果表明该系统在不同的衰落信道下都能实现正确的跟踪和译码,系统的鲁棒性能优越。此外,该系统算法计算简单,易于实现,具有良好的工程应用价值。