NANODEV: A Nanoelectronic-Device Simulation Software System

The concept and structure of the NANODEV simulation software are described. NANODEV deals with nanoelectronic devices that exploit single-electron tunneling, resonant tunneling, or quantum interference. It can use both simplified and sophisticated models and enables one to evaluate a wide variety of devices and configurations. The capabilities of NANODEV are illustrated by examples.     

Low supply voltage high-performance CMOS current mirror with low input and output voltage requirements

This paper presents a scheme for the efficient implementation of a low supply voltage continuous-time high-performance CMOS current mirror with low input and output voltage requirements. This circuit combines a shunt input feedback and a regulated cascode output stage to achieve low input resistance and very high output resistance. It can be used as a high-precision current mirror in analog and mixed signal circuits with a power supply close to a transistor's threshold voltage. The proposed current mirror has been simulated and a bandwidth of 40 MHz has been obtained. An experimental chip prototype has been sent for fabrication and has been experimentally verified, obtaining 0.15-V input-output voltage requirements, 100-/spl Omega/ input resistance, and more than 200-M/spl Omega/ (G/spl Omega/ ideally) output resistance with a 1.2-V supply in a standard CMOS technology.     

High-temperature fibre Bragg grating thermometer

The use of gratings written in tin-doped silica fibres as a thermometer for high-temperature applications is described. Measurements up to ~800°C show a significant advantage over conventional fibre gratings. A considerable blue-shift has been observed at high temperatures. If corrections for blue-shift are taken into account, the errors are smaller than ~2°C     

Exact pairwise error probability of space-time codes

We describe a simple technique for the numerical calculation, within any desired degree of accuracy, of the pairwise error probability (PEP) of space-time codes over fading channels. This method applies also to the calculation of E[Q(√ξ)] for any nonnegative random variable ξ whose moment-generating function Φ_ξ(s)=E[exp(-sξ)] is known. Its application to the multiple antenna independent Rayleigh-fading channel and to the Rayleigh block fading channel is discussed, and illustrated by two simple examples     

Phase separation in blends of two homopolymers and a diblock copolymer during film casting

Demixing during film casting of blends of polystyrene, polymethylmethacrylate, and a symmetric diblock copolymer of styrene and methylmethacrylate is discussed. The concentration fluctuations in the homogeneous solutions were calculated in mean field approximation. The structures in the homogeneous and demixed solutions and in the dry films were measured by small-angle x-ray scattering, and the morphologies of the dry films were characterized by transmission electron microscopy. The structure of the dry blends is evidently already pre-formed in solution.     

Viscoelastic properties of amorphous polymers 3: low molecular weight poly(methylphenylsiloxane)

By making creep and recoverable creep measurements of a nearly monodisperse low molecular weight poly(methyl phenyl siloxane) sample, we have found on decreasing temperature towardsT _g that there is continuously a change in the viscoelastic spectrum concomitant with a decrease of the steadystate recoverable compliance. This behavior is exactly the same as previously observed in low molecular weight poly(styrene), proving that this spectacular anomaly in the viscoelasticity of low molecular weight polymers is general and deserves an explanation. Photon correlation spectroscopic measurements performed on the same sample have extended the observation of the viscoelastic response to shorter times and the result corroborates the trend of variation established by the creep data.Dedicated to Prof.Dr. E. W. Fischer on his 65th Birthday. Prof.Dr. Fischer is known for his valuable contribution to fosterine, international collaboration of research in polymer science. This work is an example of his contribution because it would not be possible without him bringing us together. One of us (KLN) would like to take this opportunity to thank Prof. Dr. Fischer for his unwaiving support of the 1st (Crete) and the 2nd (Alicante) International Discussion Meeting on Relaxations in Complex Systems     

Parameters for the inclined-path sensing of molecular hydrogen in the atmosphere by lidar with a YAG:Nd laser

The lidar equation for the vibrational backscattering of neodymium laser radiation and its harmonics by hydrogen molecules is solved numerically. Inclined paths in the atmosphere are investigated with the aim of selecting the transmitter wavelength for detecting the lowest concentrations of hydrogen. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 20–22 (January 1998)     

Electrostatic field of a thin, unclosed spherical shell and a torus

The electrostatic problem for a thin, unclosed spherical shell and a torus is reduced to paired summation equations in the Legendre polynomials by means of formulas relating the spherical and toroidal harmonic functions. The paired equations are transformed to a Fredholm integral equation of the second kind. Formulas are obtained for computing the charges of the conductors in the form of a series in a small parameter. The capacitance is computed for certain geometrical parameters of the conductors. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 1–6 (July 1998)     

Novel level-identifying circuit for flash multilevel memories

This paper presents a high-speed, small-area circuit specifically designed to identify the levels in the read out operation of a flash multilevel memory. The circuit is based on the analog computation of the Euclidean distance between the current read out from a memory cell and the reference currents that represent the different logic levels. An experimental version of the circuit has been integrated in a standard double-metal 0.7-μm CMOS process with a die area of only 140×100 μm². Operating under a 5-V power supply, this circuit identifies the read-out current of a memory cell, and associates it with the appropriate logic level in 9 ns