A novel method for improving the adhesion strength of the electrodeposited Ni films in MEMS

Adhesion performance of MEMS materials is increasingly important with the widely use of miniaturized devices. This paper proposed a novel method for improving adhesion performance between electrodeposited Ni multi-layers. The new method is to treat the Ni substrate in nickel chloride plating solution by pulse reverse current technique before electrodeposition. The dense oxide film of Ni substrate can be removed effectively by this electrochemical method, meanwhile, the proper roughness of Ni substrate is in favor of epitaxial growth during electrodeposition. Moreover, the Ni film is electrodeposited by the new method with low stress and coarse crystal grain. Consequently, the adhesion performance of Ni films is improved dramatically. The experimental results show that the adhesion performance of Ni film electrodeposited by the new method is about 3 times that of by traditional method.     

Effect of the laser fluence on the surface characterization of β-FeSi2 films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

Single-phase β-FeSi₂ films on silicon (1 0 0) were fabricated by pulse laser deposition. The structure and crystal quality of the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The field scanning electron microscopy showed that the film thickness increases with the increasing of the laser fluence. Moreover, atomic force microscopy observations revealed the changes of surface properties with different laser fluence. Based upon all experimental results, it is found that 7 J/cm² is the most favorable for the formation of β-FeSi₂ thin films.     

Assessment of pulmonary artery stiffness using velocity-encoding magnetic resonance imaging: evaluation of techniques

The loss of pulmonary artery (PA) compliance has significant pathophysiological effect on the right ventricle. Noninvasive and reliable assessment of PA wall stiffness would be an essential determiner of right heart load and a clinically useful factor to assess cardiovascular risk. Two MRI techniques have been proposed for assessing PA stiffness by measuring pulse wave velocity (PWV): transit time (TT) and flow area (QA). However, no data are available that compares the two techniques and evaluates their performance, especially over a wide range of PWV values or at 3.0-T, which is the purpose of the present study. Thirty-three patients with different heart conditions were imaged using optimized high-temporal resolution and high-spatial resolution velocity-encoding MRI sequences. Statistical analysis was conducted to study intermethod, interobserver and intraobserver variabilities. The PWV measurements using TT and QA techniques showed good agreement (P>0.1). The Bland-Altman analysis showed negligible differences between the two methods (mean±S.D.=0.11±0.35 m/s, correlation coefficient r=0.94). The repeated measurements showed low interobserver and intraobserver variabilities, although the S.D. of the differences was larger in the QA technique. The mean±S.D. of the TT/QA measurement differences were −0.05±0.2/0.0±0.36 m/s and 0.02±0.26/0.02±0.39 m/s for the interobserver and intraobserver differences, respectively. In conclusion, each technique has its own advantages and disadvantages. The two techniques result in similar measurements, although the QA method is more subjective due to its dependency on operator intervention.     

Elastodynamic analysis of a thin layer bonded on a visco-elastic medium under combined in-plane and lateral pulse loads

An analytic solution of a thin layer bonded on a visco-elastic medium under the action of in-plane and lateral pulse loads is presented. The analysis is based on double integral transforms with respect to space and time. Representative examples are studied and discussed to determine the influence of the (a) damping and elastic coefficients of visco-elastic medium, and (b) in-plane compression and stretching of the thin layer on wave propagation.     

Effects of experimental imperfections on a spin counting experiment

Spin counting NMR is an experimental technique that allows a determination of the size and time evolution of networks of dipolar coupled nuclear spins. This work reports on an average Hamiltonian treatment of two spin counting sequences and compares the efficiency of the two cycles in the presence of flip errors, RF inhomogeneity, phase transients, phase errors, and offset interactions commonly present in NMR experiments. Simulations on small quantum systems performed using the two cycles reveal the effects of pulse imperfections on the resulting multiple quantum spectra, in qualitative agreement with the average Hamiltonian calculations. Experimental results on adamantane are presented, demonstrating differences in the two sequences in the presence of pulse errors.     

Bit-rate Flexible Picosecond Pulse Width Conversion with All-optical Mono-stable Multivibrator Laser Diode

An optical mono-stable multivibrator laser diode (MM-LD) is realized by using a multi-electrode distributed feedback laser diode. All-optical pulse-width conversion of ultra-short pulses to non-return-to-zero (NRZ) is achieved using an MM-LD. The MM-LD is adopted for a wide range of bit-rates between 2-10 Gbit/s by tuning the DC bias. Data format transformation from 10-Gbit/s return-to-zero optical signals to NRZ optical-signals is achieved with error free operation. Converted optical signals, which have a narrower spectral bandwidth and lower peak power than when input, are transmitted using a 1.3-μm zero dispersion fiber (1.3Aλ₀-SMF).     

一个新的IEC61000-4-2标准ESD电流解析表达式

 分析了两个ESD标准电流波形表达式，并提出一个新的基于脉冲函数来描述ESD标准电流的解析表达式，该表达式符合最新的标准IEC61000-4-2，在零时刻的电流及其微分部为0，且波形与实际测量波形基本吻合。     

脉管制冷机直流机理研究和抑制方法探讨

双向进气脉管制冷机中存在的直流流动不仅增加了冷端换热器的负载 ,降低了脉管制冷机的性能 ,而且还是引起脉管制冷机制冷温度不稳定的一个重要原因。文中从流体网络理论出发 ,分析了直流产生的机理 ,对目前各种抑制方法进行了探讨 ,指出了进一步研究的方向。