Characterization of the carrot defect in 4H-SiC epitaxial layers

Characterization of the epitaxial defect known as the carrot defect was performed in thick 4H-SiC epilayers. A large number of carrot defects have been studied using different experimental techniques such as Nomarski optical microscopy, KOH etching, cathodoluminescence and synchrotron white beam X-ray topography. This has revealed that carrot defects appear in many different shapes and structures in the epilayers. Our results support the previous assignment of the carrot defect as related to a prismatic stacking fault. However, we have observed carrot defects with and without a visible threading dislocation related etch pit in the head region, after KOH etching. Polishing of epilayers in a few μm steps in combination with etching in molten KOH and imaging using Nomarski optical microscope has been used to find the geometry and origin of the carrot defects in different epilayers. The defects were found to originate both at the epi-substrate interface and during the epitaxial growth. Different sources of the carrot defect have been observed at the epi-substrate interface, which result in different structures and surfaces appearance of the defect in the epilayer. Furthermore, termination of the carrot defect inside the epilayer and the influence of substrate surface damage and growth conditions on the density of carrot defects are studied.     

Low dose measurement with thick gate oxide MOSFETs

The low dose limit and the accuracy of high sensitivity MOS ionizing radiation dosimeters fabricated at LAAS-CNRS are investigated.     

基本变量对失效概率重要性测度分析的新方法

在研究矩独立基本变量对响应分布影响的重要性测度的基础上,定义了基本变量对失效概率的重要性测度. 基本变量对失效概率的重要性测度可以直接全面地给出基本变量对结构安全影响的重要程度,因而该重要性测度将更具有工程指导作用. 文中分析了所定义基本变量对失效概率影响重要性测度的基本性质,并基于鞍点线抽样在求解可靠度时不受随机变量分布形式的限制及其效率和精度较高的优点,提出了求解该重要性测度的鞍点线抽样方法.     

Effect of the Noise Correlation Time on the Stationary Current of Brownian Particle in a Spatially Symmetric Periodic Potential

We investigate the noise-induced transport of Brownian particle in a deterministic spatial symmetrical periodic potential driven by colored cross correlation between a multiplicative white noise and an additive white noise. We derive the general formula of the stationary current. Based on numerical computation, we found that directed motion of the Brownian particles can be induced by the correlation time τ of cross correlation between the multiplicative noise and the additive noise and the current reversal and the direction of the current is controlled by the τ.     

Line integrals and Green's formula on time scales

In this paper we study curves parametrized by a time scale parameter, introduce line delta and nabla integrals along time scale curves, and obtain an analog of Green's formula in the time scale setting.     

Influence of the structure parameters on the gain and noise figure in silicon parametric amplifiers based on SOI Rib waveguides

Gain and Noise figure (NF) characteristics in dual-pump parametric amplifier based on silicon on insulator (SOI) Rib waveguides are numerically investigated in the presence of nonlinear losses. The impact of structure parameters of the silicon optical parametric amplifiers (SOPAs) on the gain and the NF are also analyzed. The results show that both the height and the width of the silicon on insulator (SOI) can affect the gain and the NF of SOPAs. 354 nm bandwidth (3 dB) and 8.135 maximum gain can be achieved by tailoring the structure parameters of the SOI rib waveguides. Moreover, the dispersion and the effective mode area of SOI are also analyzed.     

Noisy scale-free networks

The impact of observational noise on the analysis of scale-free networks is studied. Various noise sources are modeled as random link removal, random link exchange and random link addition. Emphasis is on the resulting modifications for the node-degree distribution and for a functional ranking based on betweenness centrality. The implications for estimated gene-expressed networks for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia are discussed.     

Hydrogen cycling induced diffraction peak broadening in C14 and C15 Laves phases

The diffraction peak broadening induced by hydrogen absorption-desorption cycling has been analyzed in four different Laves phase compounds with the C14 and C15 structures. The broadening is due to strain most probably originating from dislocations generated at the interface between the α and β hydride phases in connection with the cell volume difference between the two phases. It has been shown that it is strongly compound dependent. In the case of the C14 structure, the broadening is large and isotropic, and the latter can be related to the isotropy of the elastic constants of the metallic phase. The broadening is less for the compounds with the C15 structure, which can be related to a possibly softer lattice. Better ageing properties after long-term cycling are predicted for this crystal structure.     

Modulation of synchronization dynamics in a network of self-sustained systems

This paper addresses the combined modulatory effects of non-nearest neighbor oscillators and local injection on synchronized states dynamics with their corresponding stability boundaries in a network of self-sustained systems. The Whittaker method and Floquet theory are used to predict analytically the stability of these states for identical and non-identical coupling parameters. Charts revealing the modulation of synchronized states and their stability boundaries at the second order of interaction in the cases of identical and non-identical coupling parameters are constructed with and without an external signal locally injected in the network. Numerical simulations validate and complement the results of analytical surveys. The limits of the stability regions are numerically explored when a small amount of Gaussian white noise is also injected in the network.     

Enhanced multi-Hoffmann heuristic for efficiently solving real-world assembly line balancing problems in automotive industry

In production systems of automobile manufacturers, multi-variant products are assembled on paced final assembly lines. The assignment of operations to workplaces and workers deter mines the productivity of the manufacturing process. In research, various exact and heuristic solution procedures have been developed for different versions of the so-called assembly line balancing problem.