On Critical Stability of Three Quantum Charges Interacting Through Delta Potentials

We consider three one-dimensional quantum, charged and spinless particles interacting through delta potentials. We derive sufficient conditions which guarantee the existence of at least one bound state.     

Polygonal approximation for image segmentation

A new learning model for real-time, grey-level image segmentation is presented. The model gives excellent results for images with different shapes.     

A Graphene Field-Effect Device

In this letter, a top-gated field-effect device (FED) manufactured from monolayer graphene is investigated. Except for graphene deposition, a conventional top-down CMOS-compatible process flow is applied. Carrier mobilities in graphene pseudo-MOS structures are compared to those obtained from the top-gated Graphene-FEDs. The extracted values exceed the universal mobility of silicon and silicon-on-insulator MOSFETs     

Breakdown behavior of GaAs/AlGaAs HBTs

Avalanche breakdown behavior at the collector junction of the GaAs/AlGaAs HBT (heterojunction bipolar transistor) has been studied. Junction breakdown characteristics displaying hard breakdown, soft breakdown, and negative resistance breakdown behavior were observed and are interpreted by analysis of localized microplasma effects, uniform microplasma-free behavior, and associated current gain measurements. Light emission from the collector-base junction of the GaAs/AlGaAs HBT was observed and used to investigate breakdown uniformity. Using a simple punchthrough breakdown model, the theoretical breakdown curves at different collector doping concentrations and thicknesses were computed and found to be in agreement with maximum breakdown voltages measured from devices displaying the most uniform junction breakdown. The serious current gain degradation of GaAs/AlGaAs HBTs at low current densities was analyzed in connection with the measurement of a large collector-emitter breakdown voltage. The unexpected functional relationship between the collector-emitter breakdown voltage and collector-base breakdown voltage is explained by the absence of a hole-feedback effect for devices not exhibiting transistor action     

Maximization of Good Chips Per Wafer by Optimization of Memory Redundancy

In the optimization of the number of good chips per wafer, yield is obviously one key factor. It plays the major role in the manufacturing phase, as at this time circuit design and chip area cannot be modified. In the design phase, however, chip area as the second factor defining good chips per wafer can still be influenced. If there are no strong relationships between yield and chip area, both can be optimized independently. In some cases, however, there are such strong relationships, and an optimum of yield gain versus area growth has to be found. Maybe the most important example where strong relationships between area and yield have to be considered is the estimation of optimum memory redundancy. In this paper, we will review and discuss relationships between yield and area and present methods for optimization of good chips per wafer, with special focus on the optimization of memory redundancy     

Microprocessor testability

As the level of microprocessor complexity increases to several hundred thousand transistors for a single-chip machine, it is becoming very difficult to test commercially available designs to the level of fault coverage desired by some customers. In order to achieve near 100-percent coverage of single stuck-at faults, future microprocessors must be designed with special testing features (designed for testability). The authors describe the testing problem for microprocessors, including the various methods of generating test sets and their application by the user. A survey of the testability features of some of today's commercially available microprocessors is presented. Suggestions for testability features for future-generation microprocessors are also discussed     

Probability of error for selection diversity as a function of dwelltime

An expression is derived for the probability of error of an N th-order selection diversity system for the case where the receiver is forced to swell on one channel for several symbols before being allowed to make a decision regarding the best channel. It is found that the time-varying nature of a fading channel causes significant degradation of the probability of error when the dwell time becomes longer than about 10% of the inverse of the fading bandwidth of the channel. The onset of degradation is a function of the signal-to-noise ratio and of the order of diversity. Specific probabilities of error are calculated for differential phase-shift keyed modulation (DPSK). However, the calculations can be done for any other modulation technique     

QRS feature extraction using linear prediction

This communication proposes a method called linear prediction (a high performant technique in digital speech processing) for analyzing digital ECG signals. There are several significant properties indicating that ECG signals have an important feature in the residual error signal obtained after processing by Durbin's linear prediction algorithm. This communication also indicates that the prediction order need not be more than two for fast arrhythmia detection. The ECG signal classification puts an emphasis on the residual error signal. For each ECG's QRS complex, the feature for recognition is obtained from a nonlinear transformation which transforms every residual error signal to a set of three states pulse-code train relative to the original ECG signal. The pulse-code train has the advantage of easy implementation in digital hardware circuits to achieve automated ECG diagnosis. The algorithm performs very well in feature extraction in arrhythmia detection. Using this method, our studies indicate that the PVC (premature ventricular contraction) detection has at least a 92 percent sensitivity for MIT/BIH arrhythmia database.     

Strain-induced modification of magnetic structure and new magnetic phases in rare-earth epitaxial films

Rare earths exhibit complex magnetic phase diagrams resulting from the competition between various contributions to the magnetic energy: exchange, anisotropy and magnetostriction. The epitaxy of a rare-earth film on a substrate induces (i) a clamping to the substrate and (ii) pseudomorphic strains. Both these effects are shown to lead to modifications of the magnetic properties in (0 0 1)Dy, (0 0 1)Tb and (1 1 0)Eu films. In Dy and Tb films, spectacular variations of the Curie temperature have been evidenced. Additionally, Tb films exhibit a new large wavelength magnetic modulation. In Eu films, one of the helical magnetic domains disappears at low temperature whereas the propagation vectors of the other helices are tilted. The link between structural and magnetic properties is underlined via magnetoelastic models. Moreover, molecular beam epitaxy permits the growth of Sm in a metastable dhcp phase. The magnetic structure of dhcp Sm has been elucidated for the first time. In this review, neutron scattering is shown to be a powerful technique to reveal the magnetic structures of rare-earth films.