Accurate tag estimation for dynamic framed-slotted ALOHA in RFID systems

Dynamic Framed-Slotted ALOHA (DFSA) is one of the most popular algorithms to resolve tag collision in RFID systems. In DFSA, it is widely known that the optimal performance is achieved when the frame size is equal to the number of tags. So, a reader dynamically adjusts the next frame size according to the current number of tags. Thus it is important to estimate the number of tags accurately. In this paper, we propose a novel tag estimation method for DFSA. We compare the performance of the proposed method with those of other existing methods. And, simulation results show that our scheme improves the accuracy of tag estimation and the speed of tag identification.     

A Plane-Wave Beam-Steering Lens Design Using Microstrip Switched-Line Phase Shifters

A compact beam-steering lens design appropriate for millimeter-wave and submillimeter-wave applications is experimentally verified with an X-band test model. The lens achieves coupling to plane-wave beams through arrays of patch antennas placed on its two outer surfaces. The isolation between input and output antennas is accomplished by inserting a metal ground plane in the middle of the lens. The two closest patch antennas on the front and the backside are connected together with microstrip circuits that include switched-line phased shifters and interconnecting vias through the lens substrate. Three different X-band 100-element plane-wave microstrip lenses that use passive delay lines instead of actual phase-shifters were fabricated to successfully demonstrate the beam-steering angles of 20 and 40 degrees. From a separate waveguide measurement on the unit-cell element only, the insertion loss of the lens was estimated to be approximately 3.5 dB with bandwidth of 2% at 10 GHz.     

Facile construction of the benzofuran and chromene ring systems via PdII-catalyzed oxidative cyclization

[reaction: see text]. We herein report the development of one-pot procedures for the conversion of allyl aryl ethers to 2-methylbenzofurans (via sequential Claisen rearrangement and oxidative cyclization) and for the conversion of aryl homoallyl ethers to chromenes (via direct oxidative cyclization). It is likely that both reactions proceed via a common Pd-catalyzed pathway involving olefin activation, nucleophilic attack, and beta-hydride elimination.     

Lithium isotope separation on a monobenzo-15-crown-5 resin

A study on the separation of Li isotopes was carried out with a resin having monobenzo-15-crown-5 as a functional group, synthesized by substitution reaction of chloromethylated styrene-DVB copolymer with 4-aminobenzo-15-crown-5. Adsorption properties of the resin for Li⁺ were invesgated with batch method in various solvents and counter anions. Upon column chromatography [0.9 cm (I. D.)×25 cm (height)] using 5% (v/v) H₂O in acetonitrile as an eluent, single separation factor, , 1.053 (±0.005), (⁶Li/⁷Li)resin/ (⁶Li/⁷Li) solution was obtained by the GLUECKAUF method from the elution curve and isotope ratios.     

Hydrophobic Effects of o-Phenanthroline and 2,2′-Bipyridine on Adsorption of Metal(II) Ions onto Silica Gel Surface

The effects of o-phenanthroline and 2,2′-bipyridine on the adsorption of metal(II) (Fe, Co, Ni and Cu) ions onto silica gel surface have been studied. The adsorption is expressed in terms of the measured concentrations of both metal and ligand at equilibrium. Each adsorption of the four metal ions is increased with the presence of the ligands. In addition, adsorption increases slowly with pH at low pH values and then increases rapidly up to near the pK_a value of silica gel (≈6.5). The adsorption of each metal ion at low pH is increased with increased ligand concentration. However, at high pH the adsorptions of Fe(II) and Cu(II) are decreased with increased ligand concentration whereas the adsorptions of Co(II) and Ni(II) are always increased. At low pH values the ligand to metal ratio adsorbed on the silica gel surface is ca. 3:1 while at high pH values it is 1:1, 2:1, and 3:1, corresponding to the initial ligand to metal ion concentration ratio. The addition of ethanol to the phenanthroline-SiO₂ solution results in a decrease in the adsorption of phenanthroline. The effect of ethanol is also observed in the Fe(II)-phenanthroline-SiO₂ system. The behavior of the adsorption is interpreted qualitatively by hydrophobic expulsion, the formation of surface complexes, and electrostatic interaction. It is concluded that hydrophobic expulsion plays an important role in the adsorption of metal ions in the presence of hydrophobic ligands on silica gel surface.     

Conductance studies in a double-bend quantum structure

Transport phenomena in a double-bend quantum structure fabricated in the two-dimensional electron gas of a modulation doped GaAs/AlGaAs structure, are studied experimentally. The structure consists of an electrostatically defined quantum dot with two one-dimensional wires connected on opposite corners of the dot. The current–voltage characteristics of such devices exhibit quantized conductance breakdown (non-linear behavior), conductance variation with confinement, and non-linear and asymmetric behavior at high bias condition. Low temperature conductance of this structure shows evidence of resonant tunneling, while the peaks of the conductance vary with temperature.     

Electric Eel-Inspired Soft Electrocytes for Solid-State Power Systems

As the demand for power systems, including portable ones, is growing at an ever-faster pace, many studies are approaching to discover innovative materials for current battery technology or replace the existing ones with new systems through mimicking living things or nature. Here, a soft, solid-state power storage system featuring electric eel-inspired artificial electric organs capable of converting the chemical potential of an ionic gradient into electricity is introduced. These organs are constructed through the assembly of low and high ion-concentrated zwitterionic gel films with cation- and anion-selective intermembranes, which generate a rechargeable open-circuit voltage of ≈135 mV. Combined use of a chemically synthesized room-temperature ionic liquid and a high-boiling point organic solvent as ion-conducting electrolyte allows electric organs to withstand extreme temperatures ranging from −20 and 100 °C, while the thin and stretchable constituent layers facilitate mechanical flexibility without compromising electrical performance. Scalable integration of electric organs in series and parallel configurations achieves high levels of voltage and current outputs, and employment of origami folding geometry enables on-demand discharge upon self-registered folding, paving the way for portable, high-voltage energy sources in the fields of wearable electronics and soft robotics.     

Enhanced cohesion of photo-oxygenated fullerene films: A new opportunity for lithography

The irradiation of sublimed fullerene (C₆₀ and C₇₀) thin films with ultraviolet light in an oxygen-rich ambient has been found to lead to a substantially increased cohesive energy in the fullerene solid. The decreased solubility and lower vapor pressure of the phototransformed material enables wet (organic solvents) or dry (thermal or photon-induced sublimation) development of photo-defined negative images. One micrometer wide lines with good edge definition are demonstrated. X-ray, infrared, optical absorption, and high performance liquid chromatography reveal that photo-oxygenated C₆₀ retains its fcc crystal structure but with a substantial fraction of the C₆₀ molecules modified with carbonyl (C=O) bonds.     

Electrostatic potential through a circular aperture in a thickconducting plane

The Hankel transform is applied to express the scattered potential in the spectral domain and the boundary conditions are enforced to obtain simultaneous equations for the transmitted potential inside the thick conducting plane. The simultaneous equations are solved to represent the transmitted and scattered potentials in series forms. Numerical computations are performed to illustrate the behavior of polarizability in terms of the aperture size. The numerical comparisons to other available data show excellent agreement. The presented series solution is fast convergent so that it is very efficient for numerical computation     

Capacitance of a slotted conducting wedge

The electrostatic boundary-value problem of a slotted conducting wedge is solved by using the Mellin transform. Eigenfunction expansions are used to represent the fields, and boundary conditions are applied to constitute a set of simultaneous equations. Residue calculus is utilized to obtain a fast convergent series solution. The capacitance of a slotted conducting wedge is evaluated in terms of slot geometries.