A p-channel SMC poly-Si thin film-transistor with a GOLDD structure

We have developed a silicide-mediated crystallization (SMC) polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin film transistor (TFT) with a gate overlapped lightly doped drain (GOLDD) structure. Applying a GOLDD structure to the SMC poly-Si TFT, the off-state leakage current of coplanar TFT is reduced, while the reduction of the on-state current is relatively small. The p-channel poly-Si TFT with a GOLDD structure exhibited a field effect mobility of 50 cm²/V s and an off-state leakage current of 3.8×10⁻¹¹ A/μm at the drain voltage of −5 V and the gate voltage of 10 V.     

Modelling of inherent anisotropy in sedimentary rocks

This paper presents a constitutive relation for modelling the inelastic response of sedimentary rocks. The inherent anisotropy of this class of materials is described by employing a second-order microstructure tensor, whose eigenvectors define the principal material triad. Higher-order dyadic products of this tensor are incorporated in the distribution function, which specifies the directional dependence of strength parameters. The mathematical formulation is applied to model the mechanical characteristics of Tournemire shale. Several triaxial tests are simulated, at various initial confining pressures, for samples tested at different orientation relative to the loading direction. The results are compared with the available experimental data.     

Two mechanisms of ductile fracture: void by void growth versus multiple void interaction

Two distinct mechanisms of crack initiation and advance by void growth have been identified in the literature on the mechanics of ductile fracture. One is the interaction a single void with the crack tip characterizing initiation and the subsequent void by void advance of the tip. This mechanism is represented by the early model of Rice and Johnson and the subsequent more detailed numerical computations of McMeeking and coworkers on a single void interacting with a crack tip. The second mechanism involves the simultaneous interaction of multiple voids on the plane ahead of the crack tip both during initiation and in subsequent crack growth. This mechanism is revealed by models with an embedded fracture process zone, such as those developed by Tvergaard and Hutchinson. While both mechanisms are based on void nucleation, growth and coalescence, the inferences from them with regard to crack growth initiation and growth are quantitatively different. The present paper provides a formulation and numerical analysis of a two-dimensional plane strain model with multiple discrete voids located ahead of a pre-existing crack tip. At initial void volume fractions that are sufficiently low, initiation and growth is approximately represented by the void by void mechanism. At somewhat higher initial void volume fractions, a transition in behavior occurs whereby many voids ahead of the tip grow at comparable rates and their interaction determines initiation toughness and crack growth resistance. The study demonstrates that improvements to be expected in fracture toughness by reducing the population of second phase particles responsible for nucleating voids cannot be understood in terms of trends of one mechanism alone. The transition from one mechanism to the other must be taken into account.     

Analysis of transient response of saturated porous elastic soil under cyclic loading using element-free Galerkin method

A two-dimensional numerical procedure is presented to analyse the transient response of saturated porous elastic soil layer under cyclic loading. The procedure is based on the element-free Galerkin method and incorporated into the periodic conditions (temporal and spatial periodicity). Its shape function is constructed by moving least-square approximants, essential boundary conditions are implemented through Lagrange multipliers and the periodic conditions are implemented through a revised variational formulation. Time domain is discretized through the Crank–Nicolson scheme. Analytical solutions are developed to assess the effectiveness and accuracy of the current procedure in one and two dimensions. For only temporal periodic problems, a one-dimensional transient problem of finite thickness soil layer is analysed for sinusoidal surface loading. For both temporal and spatial periodic problems, a typical two-dimensional wave-induced transient problem with the seabed of finite thickness is analysed. Finally, a moving boundary problem is analysed. It is found that the current procedure is simple, efficient and accurate in predicting the response of soil layer under cyclic loading.     

Properties of the exact wave-type solutions in the theory of stratified flows

The general properties of the wave-type solutions in the theory of internal waves for flows in continuously stratified media are analysed. In addition to the well-known cases of the equivalence of the conditions for the summation of plane non-linear periodic waves and the principle of the superposition of linear waves, the conditions for the existence of wave-type solutions for non-stationary and attached waves in dissipative media are determined. The sets of relations of the physical parameters which can be used as expansion parameters when constructing approximate (asymptotic) solutions of the equations of internal waves in dissipative media are determined.     

Analysis of spectral characteristics for reflective tilted fiber gratings of uniform periods

On the basis of the coupled-mode theory, a detailed investigation of the optical spectral characteristics is presented for uniform tilted fiber gratings. Explicit expressions are derived for the spectral parameters of reflection and transmission spectra. Numerical simulations are carried on to show the dependences of grating spectral responses on the structural parameters, such as tilt angle, grating length, index modulation amplitude and polarization states. The effects of these parameters on shaping the grating spectra are discussed comprehensively. The physical mechanism and intuitive phase-matching vector model are provided to explain the unique behaviors of transmission loss spectra. The results are helpful for providing a better understanding of the spectral behavior of the tilted fiber grating.     

Mechanisms of stress transfer and interface integrity in carbon/epoxy composites under compression loading. Part II: Numerical approach

The finite element method is used to get an insight into the micromechanics of the compressive behaviour of carbon fibre composites. First the developed model is validated with existing experimental data and good agreement between predictions and experiments was found. Then the FE model is used to derive the complete stress field in the fibre and the matrix in the vicinity of a fibre fracture location. It was found that the perturbation of the stress field occurs mainly in the direction transverse to the fibre axis and this could explain the failure modes observed in composites tested in compression. Finally, a parametric study was performed on the effect of matrix modulus and matrix yield stress on the compressive fragmentation process.     

Elasto-plastic analysis of an internally pressurized thick-walled cylinder using a strain gradient plasticity theory

An analytical solution for the stress, strain and displacement fields in an internally pressurized thick-walled cylinder of an elastic strain-hardening plastic material in the plane strain state is presented. A strain gradient plasticity theory is used to describe the constitutive behavior of the material undergoing plastic deformations, whereas the generalized Hooke’s law is invoked to represent the material response in the elastic region. The solution gives explicit expressions for the stress, strain and displacement components. The inner radius of the cylinder enters these expressions not only in non-dimensional forms but also with its own dimensional identity, unlike classical plasticity-based solutions. As a result, the current solution can capture the size (strengthening) effect at the micron scale. The classical plasticity-based solution of the same problem is shown to be a special case of the present solution. Numerical results for the maximum effective stress in the cylinder wall are also provided to illustrate applications of the newly derived solution.     

A nanoindentation study of thick cBN films prepared by chemical vapor deposition

The mechanical properties of high-quality cubic boron nitride (cBN) films were systematically investigated by nanoindentation measurements performed in both cross-sectional and plan-view directions. The large film thickness (∼5 μm) allows the effective ruling out of both substrate and indenter size effects. The hardness and elastic modulus values were found to be 70 and 800 GPa, respectively, which are the highest values ever obtained on cBN films deposited by either PVD or CVD methods so far (comparable to those reported for cBN crystals synthesized by high-pressure high-temperature methods). The variation of hardness across the cBN film thickness was investigated. In conjunction with the transmission electron microscopic observations, the relationship of the hardness measured with the crystallinity and crystal size/grain boundaries was discussed.