Refractive index and thickness analysis of natural silicon dioxide film growing on silicon with variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry

The refractive index and thickness of SiO2 thin films naturally grown on Si substrates were determined simultaneously within the wavelength range of 220-1100 nm with variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry. Different angles of incidence and wavelength ranges were chosen to enhance the analysis sensitivity for more accurate results. Several optical models describing the practical SiO2-Si system were investigated, and best results were obtained with the optical model, including an interface layer between SiO2 and Si, which proved the existence of the interface layer in this work as described in other publications.

Effects of physical parameter range on dimensionless variable sensitivity in water flooding reservoirs

The similarity criterion for water flooding reservoir flows is concerned with in the present paper. When finding out all the dimensionless variables governing this kind of flow, their physical meanings are subsequently elucidated. Then, a numerical approach of sensitivity analysis is adopted to quantify their corresponding dominance degree among the similarity parameters. In this way, we may finally identify major scaling law in different parameter range and demonstrate the respective effects of viscosity, permeability and injection rate.

Effects of physical parameter range on dimensionless variable sensitivity in water flooding reservoirs

The similarity criterion for water flooding reservoir flows is concerned with in the present paper. When finding out all the dimensionless variables governing this kind of flow, their physical meanings are subsequently elucidated. Then, a numerical approach of sensitivity analysis is adopted to quantify their corresponding dominance degree among the similarity parameters. In this way, we may finally identify major scaling law in different parameter range and demonstrate the respective effects of viscosity, permeability and injection rate.

Variable power singular interface elements for a crack normal to the bimaterial interface

Zero thickness crack tip interface elements for a crack normal to the interface between two materials are presented. The elements are shown to have the desired r(lambda-1) (0 < lambda < 1) singularity in the stress field at the crack tip and are compatible with other singular elements. The stiffness matrices of the quadratic and cubic interface element are derived. Numerical examples are given to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed interface elements for a crack perpendicular to the bimaterial interface.

The effect of variable currents on internal solitary waves

The effect of variable currents on internal solitary waves is described within the context of a variable coefficient Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation, and the approximate slowly varying, solitary-wave solution of this equation. The general theory which leads to the variable coefficient KdV equation is described; a derivation for the special case when the solitary wave and the current are aligned in the same direction is given in the Appendix. Using further simplifications and approximations, a number of analytical expressions are obtained for the variation in the solitary wave amplitude resulting from variable shear in the basic current or from when the basic current is a depth-independent flow which is a simple representation of a geostrophic current, tidal flow or inertial wave.

Distributions of temperature, velocity and viscosity at symmetrical axis of cylindrical plume in earth's mantle with variable viscosity

The parameters at the symmetrical axis of a cylindrical plume characterize the strength of this plume and provide a boundary condition which must be given to investigate the structure of a plume. For Newtonian fluid with a temperature-and pressure-dependence viscosity, an asymptotical solution of hydrodynamic equations at the symmetrical axis of the plume is found in the present paper. The temperature, upward velocity and viscosity at the symmetrical axis have been obtained as functions of depth, The calculated results have been given for two typical sets of Newtonian rheological parameters. The results obtained show that the temperature distribution along the symmetrical axis is nearly independent of the theological parameters. The upward velocity at the symmetrical axis, however, is strongly dependent on the rheological parameters.

Regenerative amplifier with continuously variable pulse duration used in an optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification laser system for synchronous pumping

A Nd:glass regenerative amplifier has been set up to generate the pumping pulse with variable pulse width for an optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) laser system. Each pulse of the pulse train from a cw self-mode-locking femtosecond Ti:sapphire oscillator is stretched to approximate to300 ps at 1062 nm to be split equally and injected into a nonlinear crystal and the Nd:glass regenerative amplifier, as the chirped signal pulse train and the seed pulse train of the pumping laser system, respectively. By adjusting the cavity length of the regenerative amplifier directly, the width of amplified pulse could be varied continuously from approximate to300 ps to approximate to3 ns. The chirped signal pulse for the OPCPA laser system and the seed pulse for the pumping laser system come from the same oscillator, so that the time jitter between the signal pulse and the pumping pulse in optical parametric amplification stages could be <10 ps. (C) 2003 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

An improved method for the extraction of low molecular weight organic acids in variable charge soils

Due to specific adsorption to variable charge soils, low molecular weight organic acids (LMWOAs) have not been sufficiently extracted, even if common extractants, such as water and 0.1 M sodium hydroxide (NaOH), were employed. In this work, the method for extracting LMWOAs in soils with 0.1 M NaOH was improved for variable charge soils; e.g. 1.0 M potassium fluoride (KF) with pH 4.0 was applied as an extractant jointed with 0.1 M NaOH based on its stronger ability to change the electrochemical properties of variable charge soils by specific adsorption. With the proposed method, the recoveries of oxalic, tartaric, malic, citric and fumaric acids were increased from 83 4, 93 1, 22 2, 63 +/- 5 and 84 +/- 3% to 98 +/- 2, 100 +/- 2, 85 +/- 2, 90 +/- 2 and 89 +/- 2%, respectively, compared with NaOH alone. Simultaneously, the LMWOAs in Agri-Udic Ferrosol with field moisture were measured with a satisfactory result.

The costs and benefits in an unusual symbiosis: experimental evidence that bitterling fish (Rhodeus sericeus) are parasites of unionid mussels in Europe

Interspecific symbiotic relationships involve a complex network of interactions, and understanding their outcome requires quantification of the costs and benefits to both partners. We experimentally investigated the costs and benefits in the relationship between European bitterling fish (Rhodeus sericeus) and freshwater mussels that are used by R. sericeus for oviposition. This relationship has hitherto been thought mutualistic, on the premise that R. sericeus use mussels as foster parents of their embryos while mussels use R. sericeus as hosts for their larvae. We demonstrate that R. sericeus is a parasite of European mussels, because it (i) avoids the cost of infection by mussel larvae and (ii) imposes a direct cost on mussels. Our experiments also indicate a potential coevolutionary arms race between bitterling fishes and their mussel hosts; the outcome of this relationship may differ between Asia, the centre of distribution of bitterling fishes, and Europe where they have recently invaded.

Construction and characterization of a novel recombinant single-chain variable fragment antibody against White Spot Syndrome Virus from shrimp

An antibody phage display library against White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) was constructed. After four rounds of panning against WSSV, 192 out of 480 clones displayed WSSV binding activity. One of the positive clones, designated A1, had relatively higher activity specifically binding to WSSV A1-soluble, single-chain fragment variable (scFv) antibody has an affinity constant (K-aff) of 2.02 +/- 0.42 x 10(9) M-1. Dot blot assays showed that A1-soluble scFv could detect WSSV directly from shrimp hemolymph after 24-h feeding infection by WSSV. A1 scFv has potential for the development of a cheap, simple and sensitive diagnostic kit for WSSV in the field. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

A 1,000 Frames/s Programmable Vision Chip with Variable Resolution and Row-Pixel-Mixed Parallel Image Processors

A programmable vision chip with variable resolution and row-pixel-mixed parallel image processors is presented. The chip consists of a CMOS sensor array, with row-parallel 6-bit Algorithmic ADCs, row-parallel gray-scale image processors, pixel-parallel SIMD Processing Element (PE) array, and instruction controller. The resolution of the image in the chip is variable: high resolution for a focused area and low resolution for general view. It implements gray-scale and binary mathematical morphology algorithms in series to carry out low-level and mid-level image processing and sends out features of the image for various applications. It can perform image processing at over 1,000 frames/s (fps). A prototype chip with 64 x 64 pixels resolution and 6-bit gray-scale image is fabricated in 0.18 mu m Standard CMOS process. The area size of chip is 1.5 mm x 3.5 mm. Each pixel size is 9.5 mu m x 9.5 mu m and each processing element size is 23 mu m x 29 mu m. The experiment results demonstrate that the chip can perform low-level and mid-level image processing and it can be applied in the real-time vision applications, such as high speed target tracking.

New type of multimode-interference-type thermo-optic variable optical attenuator

A thermo-optic variable optical attenuator (VOA) based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and multimode-interference coupler is fabricated. Not a single-mode but a multimode waveguide is used as the input and output structures of the optical field, which greatly reduces the coupling loss of the VOA with a normal single-mode fiber. The insertion loss of the fabricated VOA is 2.52 to 2.82 dB at the wavelength of 1520 to 1570 nm. The polarization dependent loss is 0.28 to 0.45 dB at the same wavelength range. Its maximum attenuation range is up to 26.3 dB when its power consumption is 369 mW. The response frequency of the fabricated VOA is about 10 kHz. (C) 2004 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Thermo-optic variable optical attenuator with low power consumption fabricated on silicon-on-insulator by anisotropic chemical etching

A thermo-optic Mach-Zehnder (MZ) variable optical attenuator based on silicon waveguides with a large cross section was designed and fabricated on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer. Multimode interferometers were used as power splitters and combiners in the MZ structure. In order to achieve a smooth interface, anisotropic chemical etching of silicon was used to fabricate the waveguides. Isolating grooves were introduced to reduce power consumption and device length. The device has a low power consumption of 210 mW and a response time of 50 mus. (C) 2004 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.