Topographical analysis in the SEM using an automatic focusing technique

A novel technique for automated topographical analysis in the SEM has been investigated. It utilizes a 16-bit minicomputer arranged to act as an automatic focusing unit. The computer is coupled to the objective lens of the microscope, by means of a digital to analogue converter, and may regulate the excitation of the lens under program control. Further digital-to-analogue converters allow the computer to act as a programmable scan generator by applying ramp waveforms to the scan amplifiers, permitting the beam to be swept over a small sub-region of the field of interest. The video signal is sampled and applied to an analogue-to-digital converter; the resultant binary numbers are stored in computer memory as an array of values representing relative image intensities within a subregion. A differencing algorithm applied to the collected data allows the level of objective lens excitation to be found at which the sharpness of the image is optimized, and the excitation may be related to the working distance for that subregion through a previous calibration experiment. The sensitivity of the method for detecting small height changes is theoretically of the order of 1 μm.

Technique for wavelength converting a 2.488 Gb/s signal whilst simultaneously monitoring and replacing a wavelength identifying pilot tone

A wavelength conversion device was demonstrated at the bit rate of 2.488 Gb/s with 2R (reamplification and reshaping) regenerative properties. A low frequency pilot tone was removed during the conversion process and a new one added. The wavelength converter is shown to operate well at 10 Gb/s, and tone identification/replacement should also be possible at this data rate.

Spatial emission control of vertical cavity surface emitting lasers to provide bandwidth gain in multimode fibre links using a simple alignment technique

Etched VCSEL sources are reported which avoid bandwidth collapse in multimode fibre using a simple coupling technique to control the launch. These devices have allowed better than over-filled launch bandwidth for alignment tolerances of ±7 microns.

An improved technique to measure axial variation in wall flow along the channels of a diesel particulate filter

A technique to measure wall flow variation in Diesel Particle Filters (DPFs) is described. In a recent paper, it was shown how the flow distribution in DPFs could be measured in a non-destructive manner. This involved measuring the progressive dilution of a tracer gas introduced at the "outlet" channel upstream end. In the present paper, a significant further improvement to this technique is described, in which only a single probe is required, rather than the two of the previous technique. The single, traversable, probe consists of a controllable flow sink, and slightly downstream, a tracer gas supply. By controlling the sink flow rate such that a very small concentration of tracer gas is aspirated into it, the total flow up to that location in the channel is determined. Typical results showing the axial variation in the wall flow for known wall blockage cases are presented. It is suggested that this technique could be used to interpret the soot loading in the filter channels in a non-intrusive way.

Comparison of stabilised/solidified mixes of model drill cuttings based on the North Sea and Red Sea Areas

Following the global stringent legislations regulating the wastes generated from the drilling process of oil exploration and production activities, the management of hazardous drill cuttings has become one of the pressing needs confronting the petroleum industry. Most of the prevalent treatment techniques adopted by oil companies are extremely expensive and/or the treated product has to be landfilled without any potential end-use; thereby rendering these solutions unsustainable. The technique of stabilisation/solidification is being investigated in this research to treat drill cuttings prior to landfilling or for potential re-use in construction products. Two case studies were explored namely North Sea and Red Sea. Given the known difficulties with stabilising/solidifying oils and chlorides, this research made use of model drill cutting mixes based on typical drill cutting from the two case studies, which contained 4.2% and 10.95% average concentrations of hydrocarbons; and 2.03% and 2.13% of chlorides, by weight respectively. A number of different binders, including a range of conventional viz. Portland cement (PC) as well as less-conventional viz. zeolite, or waste binders viz. cement kiln dust (CKD), fly ash and compost were tested to assess their ability to treat the North Sea and Red Sea model drill cuttings. The dry binder content by weight was 10%, 20% and 30%. In addition, raw drill cuttings from one of the North Sea offshore rigs were stabilised/solidified using 30% PC. The characteristics of the final stabilised/solidified product were finally compared to those of thermally treated cuttings. The effectiveness of the treatment using the different binder systems was compared in the light of the aforementioned two contaminants only. A set of physical tests (unconfined compressive strength (UCS)), chemical tests (NRA leachability) and micro-structural examinations (using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD)) were used to evaluate the relative performance of the different binder mixes in treating the drill cuttings. The results showed that the observed UCS covered a wide range of values indicating various feasible end-use scenarios for the treated cuttings within the construction industry. The teachability results showed the reduction of the model drill cuttings to a stable non-reactive hazardous waste, compliant with the UK acceptance criteria for non-hazardous landfills: (a) by most of the 30% and 20% binders for chloride concentrations, and (b) by the 20% and 30% of compost-PC and CKD-PC binders for the Red Sea cuttings. The 20% and 30% compost-PC and CKD-PC binders successfully reduced the leached oil concentration of the North Sea cuttings to inert levels. Copyright 2007, Society of Petroleum Engineers.

A packaging technique for silicon MEMS strain sensors on steel

A packaging technique suited to applying MEMS strain sensors realized on a silicon chip to a steel flat surface is described. The method is based on adhesive bonding of the silicon chip rear surface on steel using two types of glue normally used for standard piezoresistive strain sensors (Mbond200/ 600), using direct wire bonding of the chip to a Printed Circuit Board, also fixed on steel. In order to protect the sensor from the external environment, and to improve the MEMS performance, the silicon chip is encapsulated with a metal cap hermetically sealed-off under vacuum condition with a vacuum adhesive in which the bonding wires are also protected from possible damage. In order to evaluate the mechanical coupling of the silicon chip with the bar and thestress transfer extent to the silicon surface, commercial strain sensors have been applied on the chip glued on a steel bar in alaboratory setup able to generate strain by inflection, yielding a stress transfer around 70% from steel to silicon. © 2008 IEEE.

Novel dual transient temperature modulation technique for multi-vapour detection

Here we present a novel signal processing technique for a square wave thermally-modulated carbon black/polymer composite chemoresistor. The technique consists of only two mathematical operations: summing the off-transient and on-transient conductance signals; and subtracting the steady-state conductance signal. A single carbon black/polyvinylpyrrolidone composite chemo -resistor was fabricated and used to demonstrate the validity of the technique. Classification of water, methanol and ethanol vapours was successfully performed using only the peak time of the resultant curves. Quantification of the different vapours was also possible using the height of the peaks, because it was linearly proportional to concentration. This technique does not require zero-gas calibration and thus is superior to previously reported methods. ©2009 IEEE.

Probing biomolecular interaction forces using an anharmonic acoustic technique for selective detection of bacterial spores

Receptor-based detection of pathogens often suffers from non-specific interactions, and as most detection techniques cannot distinguish between affinities of interactions, false positive responses remain a plaguing reality. Here, we report an anharmonic acoustic based method of detection that addresses the inherent weakness of current ligand dependant assays. Spores of Bacillus subtilis (Bacillus anthracis simulant) were immobilized on a thickness-shear mode AT-cut quartz crystal functionalized with anti-spore antibody and the sensor was driven by a pure sinusoidal oscillation at increasing amplitude. Biomolecular interaction forces between the coupled spores and the accelerating surface caused a nonlinear modulation of the acoustic response of the crystal. In particular, the deviation in the third harmonic of the transduced electrical response versus oscillation amplitude of the sensor (signal) was found to be significant. Signals from the specifically-bound spores were clearly distinguishable in shape from those of the physisorbed streptavidin-coated polystyrene microbeads. The analytical model presented here enables estimation of the biomolecular interaction forces from the measured response. Thus, probing biomolecular interaction forces using the described technique can quantitatively detect pathogens and distinguish specific from non-specific interactions, with potential applicability to rapid point-of-care detection. This also serves as a potential tool for rapid force-spectroscopy, affinity-based biomolecular screening and mapping of molecular interaction networks. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.