Undoped amorphous SiNx: H alloy semiconductors: Dependence of electronic properties on composition

The electrical and optical properties of a-SiN_x:H thin films prepared by rf growth-discharge in SiH₄N₂H₂ without B or P doping have been measured for 0 < x ? 0.6. It is observed that the activation energy for extended-state electron conduction as well as the optical gap are unaffected by N content for x ? 0.4. The electron mobility in extended states is improved by as much as a factor of 10 by the N incorporation. There is a rapid conversion from the tetrahedral network to a Si₃N₄ network as x increases above ≈ 0.4.     

A crossed beam and ab initio study of the reaction of atomic boron with ethylene

The reaction of atomic boron, B(2P), with the simplest alkene, C2H4, has been investigated under single collision conditions in crossed beam experiments with mass spectrometric detection. Our experimental data clearly showed that the atomic boron versus hydrogen exchange reaction led to molecule(s) of gross formula C2H3B via bound intermediate(s). According to the experimentally derived fraction of the available energy released as product translational energy, we propose that an important reaction pathways is the one leading to the borirene plus atomic hydrogen and/or the one leading to ethynylborane plus atomic hydrogen. The experimental results are accompanied by electronic structure calculations of the relevant potential energy surface and RRKM estimates of the product branching ratio. According to RRKM calculations, within the limit of complete energy randomization, the three isomers borirene, BH=C=CH2 and BH2-CCH, are all formed, with BH2-CCH being the dominant one. The discrepancies between the trend of the product translational energy distributions and the picture emerging from RRKM estimates are a symptom that a statistical treatment is not warranted for this system.     

Reliability of high-throughput genotyping of whole genome amplified DNA in SNP genotyping studies

Whole genome amplification (wga) of DNA is being widely implemented in many laboratories to extend the life of samples only available in limited quantities for genetic analysis. We determined the reliability of wgaDNA genotypes in three sets of replicates from the same individuals: (i) 23 pairs of genomic DNA (gDNA), (ii) 43 pairs gDNA versus wgaDNA, and (iii) 29 pairs of independently amplified wgaDNA. Amplification was performed using multiple displacement amplification (MDA). Genotyping was successful for both DNA types for 1268 out of 1534 SNPs from 164 cardiovascular candidate genes assayed in a single Illumina panel. Amplified DNA failed for 77 SNPs (6%) that were genotyped successfully with genomic material. Percent of successful SNP calls, and concordance between pairs and kappa statistics (kappa) were determined. A total of 54 110 genotypes from gDNA-wgaDNA pairs were available for concordance analysis. Mean kappa for gDNA-wgaDNA pairs was 0.99. Concordance between gDNA-wgaDNA pairs was higher than amongst wgaDNA pairs (mean kappa for the 29 independently amplified pairs of wgaDNA was 0.95; interquartile range: 0.93-1.00). A statistical analysis of those SNPs which failed to genotype from amplified DNA only revealed that those loci were more likely to be closer to the telomeres and in locally GC-rich sequences. In summary, the MDA method produces wgaDNA samples that can be genotyped using high-throughput technology with a very high reproducibility to the original DNA but with slightly lower call rates. DNA amplification methodologies provide a useful solution for current and future large-scale genetic analyses especially with limited quantities of samples and DNA.     

Modified Lagrangian vortex method with improved boundary conditions for water waves past a thin bottom‐standing barrier

Herein, the modified Lagrangian vortex method (LVM), a hybrid analytical‐numerical algorithm per se, is devised to simulate the process of vortex formation and shedding from the sharp edge of a zero‐thickness vertical plate under linear water‐wave attack. Application of the Helmholtz decomposition facilitates a convenient switch between the inviscid‐ and viscous‐flow models, thereby enabling easy incorporation of vorticity effects into the potential‐flow calculations for the viscous‐dominated region. In evaluating the potential‐flow component, making good use of the quickly convergent technique with singular basis functions, correctly capturing the singular behavior in velocity fields near the tip of the plate, leads to a considerable reduction of computational burdens and to 12‐decimal‐place accuracy. The viscous correction is carried out via the meshless LVM with improved boundary conditions. Comparisons with previously published results show good agreement. Simulations of vortex generation and evolution illuminate the ability of the present method, and provide a supplement to pertinent experimental works. The hybrid scheme proposed herein allows flexibility for the former LVM and convenience in the code development. Such a compromise fits particularly well for the high‐resolution modeling of sharp‐edged vortex shedding without heavy numerical developments. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

不同封装光纤低温测温性能研究

基于拉曼散射的分布式光纤温度传感器由于具有抗电磁干扰、耐高压、可连续测温等优点,在超导电缆及相关超导电力装置中具有潜在应用场景.在超导电缆低温运行环境中,常规光纤封装材料耐低温性能差,其收缩变形会降低光纤测温性能甚至破坏光纤结构.本文对低温下不同封装光纤测温性能展开研究,选择四种光纤样品,在77～287 K温度区间内对其进行了稳态和动态温度测量实验,分析了低温下不同封装材料、结构和厚度等因素对光纤测温性能的影响,给出了适用于液氮低温测温的光纤封装材料和结构,实验验证了聚烯烃紧套光纤在时间和空间上连续测温的可行性.     

Polarographic Behaviour and Determination of Kinetic Parameters of Lead-Pamoate Complex in Dimethyl Sulfoxide

The polarography of lead ion in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was investigated in the DMSO concentration range 0–80 vol.%. The complex species identified were Pb₂(DMSO)⁴⁺₃, Pb(DMSO)²⁺₃ and Pb(DMSO)²⁺₆ in [DMSO]<10 vol.%, 10< [DMSO]<43 vol.% and [DMSO]>43 vol.%, respectively. In the presence of pamoic acid, the reduction of lead ion in DMSO was two-electron reversible diffusion-controlled at pH≤6.0, but it became irreversible at pH>6.0. The complex species identified was Pb(D_m)₂(P_m)₃(OH)^6? at pH>6.0. The rate constants of electro-reduction and electro-oxidation, activation energies were determined. The hydrolysis constants of lead ion in dimethyl sulfoxide concentration 40–70 vol.% at pH 4.5–6.0 were found to be of the order of 10^?6. The stability constants of the Pb(DMSO)²⁺₃ and Pb(DMSO)²⁺₀ were also determined to be of the orders of 10¹ and 10⁵, respectively.     

An improvement of tilted AlN for shear and longitudinal acoustic wave

This study investigates c-axis tilted aluminum nitride (AlN) piezoelectric films for the improvement of both shear and longitudinal acoustic wave resonances. Solidly-mounted resonator (SMR) structure is adopted for the applications of high frequency wireless communications and high sensitivity sensors. As to the piezoelectric layer, c-axis tilted AlN has the capability to excite the dual-mode resonances, namely, the longitudinal and shear mode resonances. In this study, SMR devices made with a seven-layer molybdenum/silicon dioxide (Mo/SiO₂) Bragg reflector and the c-axis tilted AlN are carried out. A conventional off-axis sputtering technique is applied to grow the tilted AlN. The outcome frequency responses show dual resonant characteristics. However, the longitudinal resonance fades away with the AlN c-axis tilted angle, and the quality factor of the longitudinal resonance decreases. Consequently, we make an improvement by tilting the off-center substrates toward the sputtering source and successfully enhance the longitudinal resonance while preserving the shear resonance at the same time. Not only the shear resonance for the liquid-based sensing application, but also an outstanding longitudinal resonance could be obtained. The practicability of the dual-mode resonator is extended.     

Efficiency decomposition in network data envelopment analysis: A relational model

Traditional studies in data envelopment analysis (DEA) view systems as a whole when measuring the efficiency, ignoring the operation of individual processes within a system. This paper builds a relational network DEA model, taking into account the interrelationship of the processes within the system, to measure the efficiency of the system and those of the processes at the same time. The system efficiency thus measured more properly represents the aggregate performance of the component processes. By introducing dummy processes, the original network system can be transformed into a series system where each stage in the series is of a parallel structure. Based on these series and parallel structures, the efficiency of the system is decomposed into the product of the efficiencies of the stages in the series and the inefficiency slack of each stage into the sum of the inefficiency slacks of its component processes connected in parallel. With efficiency decomposition, the process which causes the inefficient operation of the system can be identified for future improvement. An example of the non-life insurance industry in Taiwan illustrates the whole idea.