Axial Structure of the Field Intensity in Diffusion-Controlled Surface-Wave Produced Plasmas

Surface-wave gas discharges sustained under the conditions of a diffusion controlled regime are studied on the basis of the fluid plasma model. The self-consistent behaviour of the plasma density and of the field intensity along the discharge length is obtained. It is shown that the nonlinearity in the particle balance equation due to stepwise ionisation determines the plasma density in terms of the field intensity and ensures self-consistent behaviour of the wave ? discharge characteristics in a diffusion controlled regime.     

Dynamic programming in sport: a survey of applications

This paper surveys applications of dynamic programming to decisionproblems faced by active participants in sports.     

Design and application of double amplified recirculating ring structure for hybrid fibre buses

The design of a double-parallel amplified recirculating optical delay line utilizing an erbium-doped fibre amplifier for a fibre optical bus is described. This structure is used for amplifying, equalizing and filtering multicarrier signals coming from optoelectronic units attached to fibre couplers. The use of this structure for a hybrid multimode-singlemode fibre bus that includes optoelectronic units for sensors is also demonstrated.     

Bifurcations in the growth process of a vortex sheet in rotating superfluid

Vortex-sheet growth is considered. Broken symmetry bifurcations are found in the growth process. The collective elasticity theory for a well-developed vortex sheet is presented, which is similar to that of smectic liquid crystals. The bifurcations in the limit of a much folded vortex sheet correspond to the Helfrich instability in smectics and cholesterics.     

Future contributions toJournal of Crystallographic and Spectroscopic Research

Future contributions toJournal of Crystallographic and Spectroscopic Research     

Ring resonators with N × M couplers

Multiple-zero multiple-pole optical filter transfer functions may be implemented more efficiently in an integrated optics architecture if higher order N × M optical couplers are utilized. For example, a coherent ring resonator made from two 3×3 couplers offers some advantages over the three mirror Fabry-Perot etalon, which is its analog. To this end we develop the formalism for obtaining the transfer functions and scattering matrices of ring resonators made from two N × M couplers. We then present a methodology for analyzing serial and parallel systems of N × M optical coupler ring resonators.     

Lie symmetries and exact solutions of nonlinear equations of heat conductivity with convection term

The Lie symmetries of nonlinear diffusion equations with convection term are completely described. The Lie ansatzes and exact solutions of a certain nonlinear generalization of the Murray equation are constructed. An example of the family of non-Lie solutions of the Murray equation is given.     

Low-order modeling and dynamic characterization of rapid thermal processing

A low-order model of rapid thermal processing (RTP) of semiconductor wafers is derived. The first-principles nonlinear model describes the static and dynamic thermal behavior of a wafer with approximate spatial temperature uniformity undergoing rapid heating and cooling in a multilamp RTP chamber. The model is verified experimentally for a range of operating temperatures from 400° C to 900° C and pressures of 1 Torr and 1 atmosphere in an inert N₂ environment. Theoretical predictions suggest model validity over a still wider range of operating conditions. One advantage of the low-order model over previous high-order and statistical models is that the proposed model contains a small number of fundamental parameters and functions that, if necessary, are easily identifiable. Furthermore, because of reduced computational complexity, the low-order model can be used in real-time predictive applications including signal processing and process control design. In studying and verifying the model, the dynamic behavior of a semiconductor wafer undergoing rapid temperature changes is characterized. Close comparison between theory and experiment in terms of the wafer eigenvalue and dc gain is demonstrated; the strong nonlinear effects of temperature are shown. Convective heat transfer losses are also examined and are shown to increase with radial position on the wafer.