Improvements in reverse breakdown characteristics of THz GaAs Schottky barrier varactor based on metal–brim structure

The excellent reverse breakdown characteristics of Schottky barrier varactor(SBV) are crucially required for the application of high power and high efficiency multipliers. The SBV with a novel Schottky structure named metal–brim is fabricated and systemically evaluated. Compared with normal structure, the reverse breakdown voltage of the new type SBV improves from -7.31V to -8.75V. The simulation of the Schottky metal–brim SBV is also proposed. Three factors,namely distribution of leakage current, the electric field, and the area of space charge region are mostly concerned to explain the physical mechanism. Schottky metal–brim structure is a promising approach to improve the reverse breakdown voltage and reduce leakage current by eliminating the accumulation of charge at Schottky electrode edge.     

?erenkov-radiation-type second-harmonic generation in nonlinear-optical photoconducting polymers based on self-organized quasi-phase matching

?erenkov-radiation-type second-harmonic generation was observed in a nonlinear-optical photoconducting polymer thin-film waveguide. Quasi-phase matching was self-organized by a refractive-index grating gradually formed under illumination by a guided fundamental wave. The polymer used was composed of nonlinear-optical 4(?) -nitrobenzylidene-3-acetamino-4-methoxyaniline, photosensitizing and electron-transporting 2, 4, 7-trinitro-9-fluorenone, and hole-transporting and photoconductive N -vinylcarbazole in matrix poly(methyl methacrylate).     

Charge storage characteristics in Al/AlN/Si metal–insulator–semiconductor structure based on deep traps in AlN layer

Charge storage characteristics in an Al/AlN/p-Si metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) structure have been investigated by capacitance–voltage and long-term capacitance measurements. Good program/erase behavior is observed in the AlN/Si structure, which is attributed to the trapping and detrapping of charges in deep traps of the AlN layer. In the long-term retention mode, a clear memory window is found 2000 s after removing a program/erase voltage of ±3 V, indicating good charge retention capability of the MIS structure. Further investigation shows that for a program pulse width of 500 ms, the charge storage does not occur when the pulse amplitude is smaller than a threshold value of ∼1 V. The trapped charge density increases linearly with increase of the pulse amplitude (>1 V) and tends to saturate at 2.5 V. With increasing program pulse width, the trapped charged density increases a little more than logarithmically. PACS 73.40.Kp; 72.20.Jv; 71.55.Eq     

Plasmonic modulator based on gain-assisted metal–semiconductor–metal waveguide

We investigate plasmonic modulators with gain material to be implemented as ultra-compact and ultra-fast active nanodevices in photonic integrated circuits. We analyze metal–semiconductor–metal (MSM) waveguides with InGaAsP-based active material layers as ultra-compact plasmonic modulators. The modulation is performed by changing the gain of the core, that results in different transmittance through the waveguides. A MSM waveguide enables high field localization and therefore high modulation speed. Bulk semiconductor, quantum wells and quantum dots, arranged in either horizontal or vertical layout, are considered as the core of the MSM waveguide. Dependences on the waveguide core size and gain values of various active materials are studied. The designs consider also practical aspects like n- and p-doped layers and barriers in order to obtain close to reality results. The effective propagation constants in the MSM waveguides are calculated numerically. Their changes in the switching process are considered as a figure of merit. We show that a MSM waveguide with electrical current control of the gain incorporates compactness and deep modulation along with having a reasonable level of transmittance.     

Finite element analysis of type IV cracking in 2.25Cr–1Mo steel weldment based on micro-mechanistic approach

Creep studies were carried out on 2.25Cr–1Mo steel base metal and its fusion-welded weldments at 823?K over the stress range 100–240?MPa. The weldment possessed lower creep rupture strength than the base metal due to type IV failure at the outer edge of the heat-affected zone (HAZ). Premature failure of the weldment was associated with pronounced creep cavitation accompanied with localized creep deformation in the soft intercritical region of the HAZ that was sandwiched between relatively higher creep deformation-resistant microstructural regions. The cavitation was associated with coarse intergranular precipitates in the intercritical region of the HAZ. The type IV cracking in the intercritical region of the HAZ was found to initiate deep inside the weldment and propagate towards the specimen surface. Finite element analysis of stress and strain distributions across the weldment was carried out considering the micro-mechanical strength inhomogeneity across it to explain the observed features of type IV cracking. The estimated higher von-Mises and principal stresses deep inside the intercritical region of the HAZ of the weldment led to the localized creep deformation and preferential cavity nucleation and growth, resulting in type IV failure of the weldment. The role of intergranular precipitate particles in the intercritical region of the HAZ in facilitating creep cavity nucleation by the exhaustion of creep ductility of the material close to the precipitate was corroborated from finite element analysis of stress and strain distribution around the precipitates.     

Investigation on the electronic transport properties of MgS nanotube based molecular devices – a first-principles study

The electronic transport properties of pure MgS nanotube based molecular devices, Mn-substituted nanotubes and Se-substituted nanotubes are investigated using density functional theory. The state of the art of this work is to study the transport properties of MgS nanotubes with substitution impurities across electrodes. The electronic transport properties are discussed in terms of device density of states and transmission spectrum of MgS nanotubes. The effects of Mn substitution and Se substitution in nanotubes are studied. The major contribution to density of states arises only from p orbitals in MgS nanotubes. The substitution effect and bias voltages also have influence in the density of states. The transmission spectrum provides information about the transmission of electrons along the nanotube. The information provided in this work gives a clear vision to fine-tune MgS nanostructures with improved transport property in nanoelectronic device fabrication.     

Exploring positron characteristics utilizing two new positron–electron correlation schemes based on multiple electronic structure calculation methods

We make a gradient correction to a new local density approximation form of positron–electron correlation. The positron lifetimes and affinities are then probed by using these two approximation forms based on three electronic-structure calculation methods, including the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave(FLAPW) plus local orbitals approach,the atomic superposition(ATSUP) approach, and the projector augmented wave(PAW) approach. The differences between calculated lifetimes using the FLAPW and ATSUP methods are clearly interpreted in the view of positron and electron transfers. We further find that a well-implemented PAW method can give near-perfect agreement on both the positron lifetimes and affinities with the FLAPW method, and the competitiveness of the ATSUP method against the FLAPW/PAW method is reduced within the best calculations. By comparing with the experimental data, the new introduced gradient corrected correlation form is proved to be competitive for positron lifetime and affinity calculations.     

A surface-plasmon-polariton wavelength splitter based on a metal–insulator–metal waveguide

A surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) wavelength splitter based on a metal–insulator–metal waveguide with multiple teeth is proposed. Using the transfer-matrix method, a plasmonic band gap is identified in the multiple-toothed structure, and the splitting wavelength of the SPP splitter can be easily adapted by adjusting the widths of the teeth and the gaps. The proposed wavelength splitter is further verified through finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations, in which SPPs with incident wavelengths of 756 nm and 892 nm are successfully split and guided in opposite directions in the waveguide, with extinction ratios of 30 dB and 29 dB, respectively.     

New design of triplexer based on metal–insulator–metal plasmonic ring resonators

In this work, we propose a new design of all-optical triplexer based on of metal–insulator–metal（MIM） plasmonic waveguide structures and ring resonators. By adjusting the radii of ring resonators and the gap distance, certain wavelengths can be filtered out and the crosstalk of each channel can also be reduced. The numerical results show that the proposed MIM plasmonic waveguide structure can really function as an optical triplexer with respect to the three wavelengths, that is, 1310, 1490, and 1550 nm, respectively. It can be widely used as the fiber access network element for multiplexer–demultiplexer wavelength selective in fiber-to-the-home communication systems with transmission efficiency higher than 90%. It can also be a potential key component in the applications of the biosensing systems.     

Numerical comparison on the characteristics between backward and bi-directionally pumped DFRAs in hybrid Raman/EDFAs

The characteristics of broadband backward and bi-directionally pumped distributed fiber Raman amplifiers (DFRAs) in hybrid Raman/erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (HFAs) configuration are compared numerically based on noise-nonlinear figure (NNF) when standard single mode fiber (SMF) and non-zero dispersionshifted fiber (NZDSF) are considered. It is found that achievable NNF in optimized bi-directionally pumped HFAs is about 1.2 dB (or 1.7 dB) higher than that in backward pumped HFAs for SMF (or NZDSF), and better characteristics can be achieved by using NZDSF rather than SMF for long haul transmission.     

Existence detection of blanket jamming based on fractal characteristics in FRFT domain北大核心CSCD

This paper addresses the existence detection of blanket jamming based on fractal features in fractional Fourier transform （FRET） domain. Firstly, the existences of fractal features of three typical jamming signals are analyzed, and box dimension and information dimension are employed to describe fractal features quantitatively. Then the differences of fractal characteristics between blanket jamming and white Gaussian noise （WGN） in FRFT domain are described, and a detector to detect the jamming is proposed. At last, simulations are done to verify that the algorithm is effective preferable.     

Experimental research for direction of arrival estimation based on signal phase matching principle

In order to test the validity of signal phase matching principle (SPMP) applied to direction of arrival (DOA) estimation, experiments are carried out at a reservoir using 16 sensors array. Two kinds of method, Least Square Method for Signal Matching principle (LSMSPM) and singular value decomposition method for signal matching principle (SVDSPM), are used for DOA estimation. Their performances were analyzed and compared with MUSIC and conventional beam-forming (CBF) method. The results show that the 3 dB beam width obtained by SPMP is 1/4 to 1/7 as much as that obtained by CBF and 1/2 to 1/3 by MUSIC method. In addition, LSMSPM and SVDSPM are available for multi-sources DOA estimation and high resolution DOA estimation, which demonstrates that DOA estimation by SPMP method is better than that by MUSIC and CBF method.     

Emission characteristics of plasma based on xenon–rubidium bromide mixture

Luminescence spectra of a longitudinal pulse-periodic discharge in xenon mixture with rubidium bromide vapors (Xe–RbBr) are studied experimentally at low pressures. The conditions leading to the appearance of intense bands of ultraviolet radiation of exciplex XeBr* molecules in the spectral interval between 200 and 400 nm are found. The highest yield of UV radiation of XeBr* molecules is achieved when the temperature of discharge-tube walls is equal to 750°C. A maximum power of UV radiation from the entire plasma volume as high as 4.8 W is obtained.     

A dynamically adaptive wavelet approach to stochastic computations based on polynomial chaos – capturing all scales of random modes on independent grids

In stochastic computations, or uncertainty quantification methods, the spectral approach based on the polynomial chaos expansion in random space leads to a coupled system of deterministic equations for the coefficients of the expansion. The size of this system increases drastically when the number of independent random variables and/or order of polynomial chaos expansions increases. This is invariably the case for large scale simulations and/or problems involving steep gradients and other multiscale features; such features are variously reflected on each solution component or random/uncertainty mode requiring the development of adaptive methods for their accurate resolution. In this paper we propose a new approach for treating such problems based on a dynamically adaptive wavelet methodology involving space-refinement on physical space that allows all scales of each solution component to be refined independently of the rest. We exemplify this using the convection–diffusion model with random input data and present three numerical examples demonstrating the salient features of the proposed method. Thus we establish a new, elegant and flexible approach for stochastic problems with steep gradients and multiscale features based on polynomial chaos expansions.     

A transparent electromagnetic-shielding film based on one-dimensional metal–dielectric periodic structures

In this study, we designed and fabricated optical materials consisting of alternating ITO and Ag layers. This approach is considered to be a promising way to obtain a light-weight, ultrathin and transparent shielding medium, which not only transmits visible light but also inhibits the transmission of microwaves, despite the fact that the total thickness of the Ag film is much larger than the skin depth in the visible range and less than that in the microwave region. Theoretical results suggest that a high dielectric/metal thickness ratio can enhance the broadband and improve the transmittance in the optical range. Accordingly, the central wavelength was found to be red-shifted with increasing dielectric/metal thickness ratio. A physical mechanism behind the controlling transmission of visible light is also proposed. Meanwhile, the electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of the prepared structures was found to exceed 40 dB in the range from 0.1 GHz to 18 GHz, even reaching up to 70 dB at 0.1 GHz, which is far higher than that of a single ITO film of the same thickness.     

Controllable switching ratio in quantum dot/metal–metal oxide nanostructure based non-volatile memory device

In this paper, we report a facile quantum dot/In?CInOx(nanostructure)/quantum dot/In based non-volatile resistive memory device. The solution processed tri-layer structure exhibited bipolar resistive switching with a ratio of 100 between the high-resistance state and low-resistance state. The memory device was stable and functional even after 100,000 cycles of operation and it exhibited good retention characteristics. The ON/OFF switching ratio could be controlled by choosing appropriate metal in the structure. Memory operating mechanism is discussed based on charge trapping in quantum dots with InOx acting as barrier. A comparative study of memory devices consisting of aluminum and titanium in place of indium is presented. The possible reason for the variation in ON/OFF ratio is discussed on the size of the nano-sized grains of the middle metal layer.     

A method to change frictional characteristics based on ultrasonic micro driving technique

In order to reduce friction force and eliminate stick-slip phenomenon of a mechanic system at a low velocity, a method based on the ultrasonic micro driving technique to change the frictional characteristics is proposed. Exciting clockwise and anticlockwise microscopic elliptical motion of driving points on the ultrasonic actuator's two longitudinal bolt-clamped vibrators will generate ultrasonic lubrication action; furthermore, the friction can be actively controlled by adjusting the vibrators' vibrating amplitude. An experimental installation for friction control is designed using aerostatic guide, force sensors and a low speed moment motor. Fuzzy control theory is applied into this system. The experiments indicate the friction force has been reduced largely and the motion of the experimental system is stable. The friction coefficient is only about 0.0053 when the total mass of the ultrasonic actuator and load is 3.8 kg and the motor's driving velocity is 0.5 mm/s.     

Multiferroic based on metal–organic dimers with the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya effect

A magnetoelectric effect has been found at room temperature in a polymer composite—polystyrene–metal–organic manganese dimers with ligands of spatially hindered phenol. It is shown that these metal-organic manganese dimers implement the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction and are weakly ferromagnetic. It is suggested that a new class of high-temperature multiferroics can be created on the basis of such molecular structures.     

Memristance controlling approach based on modification of linear M–q curve

The memristor has broad application prospects in many fields, while in many cases, those fields require accurate impedance control. The nonlinear model is of great importance for realizing memristance control accurately, but the im- plementing complexity caused by iteration has limited the actual application of this model. Considering the approximate linear characteristics at the middle region of the memristance-charge （M-q） curve of the nonlinear model, this paper pro- poses a memristance controlling approach, which is achieved by linearizing the middle region of the M-q curve of the nonlinear memristor, and establishes the linear relationship between memristances M and input excitations so that it can realize impedance control precisely by only adjusting input signals briefly. First, it analyzes the feasibility for linearizing the middle part of the M-q curve of the memristor with a nonlinear model from the qualitative perspective. Then, the lin- earization equations of the middle region of the M-q curve is constructed by using the shift method, and under a sinusoidal excitation case, the analytical relation between the memristance M and the charge time t is derived through the Taylor series expansions. At last, the performance of the proposed approach is demonstrated, including the linearizing capability for the middle part of the M-q curve of the nonlinear model memristor, the controlling ability for memristance M, and the influence of input excitation on linearization errors.