I–U Characteristics of MOS Structures on Polycrystalline Silicon

Current-voltage (I–U) characteristics of MOS structures on polycrystalline silicon are investigated. A model based on the carrier transport through the traps in the oxide is described to explain the I–U characteristics.Es werden Strom-Spannungs(I–U)-Charakteristiken von MOS-Strukturen auf polykristallinem Silizium untersucht. Ein Modell zur Erklärung der I–U-Charakteristiken wird beschrieben, das auf dem Ladungstransport über Oxidtraps beruht.

PIV studies of large scale structures in the near field of small aspect ratio elliptic jets

The near flow field of small aspect ratio elliptic turbulent free jets (issuing from nozzle and orifice) was experimentally studied using a 2D PIV. Two point velocity correlations in these jets revealed the extent and orientation of the large scale structures in the major and minor planes. The spatial filtering of the instantaneous velocity field using Gaussian convolution kernel shows that while a single large vortex ring circumscribing the jet seems to be present at the exit of nozzle, the orifice jet exhibited a number of smaller vortex ring pairs close to jet exit. The smaller length scale observed in the case of the orifice jet is representative of the smaller azimuthal vortex rings that generate axial vortex field as they are convected. This results in the axis-switching in the case of orifice jet and may have a mechanism different from the self induction process as observed in the case of contoured nozzle jet flow.

Impedance‐frequency characteristics of metal‐oxide‐semiconductor structures on polycrystalline silicon

This paper reports the variations in impedance with frequency of metal‐oxide‐semiconductor (MOS) structures on polycrystalline silicon. The origin of these impedance‐frequency characteristics are qualitatively explained. These characteristics indicate that the MOS structure on polycrystalline silicon can be exploited to realize voltage controlled filters.

Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) for multi-objective design optimization of composite structures

In this paper, we present a generic method/model for multi-objective design optimization of laminated composite components, based on Vector Evaluated Artificial Bee Colony (VEABC) algorithm. VEABC is a parallel vector evaluated type, swarm intelligence multi-objective variant of the Artificial Bee Colony algorithm (ABC). In the current work a modified version of VEABC algorithm for discrete variables has been developed and implemented successfully for the multi-objective design optimization of composites. The problem is formulated with multiple objectives of minimizing weight and the total cost of the composite component to achieve a specified strength. The primary optimization variables are the number of layers, its stacking sequence (the orientation of the layers) and thickness of each layer. The classical lamination theory is utilized to determine the stresses in the component and the design is evaluated based on three failure criteria: failure mechanism based failure criteria, maximum stress failure criteria and the tsai-wu failure criteria. The optimization method is validated for a number of different loading configurations-uniaxial, biaxial and bending loads. The design optimization has been carried for both variable stacking sequences, as well fixed standard stacking schemes and a comparative study of the different design configurations evolved has been presented. Finally the performance is evaluated in comparison with other nature inspired techniques which includes Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Artificial Immune System (AIS) and Genetic Algorithm (GA). The performance of ABC is at par with that of PSO, AIS and GA for all the loading configurations. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Crystal engineering: A brief overview

Crystal structures of organic and metal-organic compounds have been determined in enormous numbers over the past century, and at the time of writing this review, the Cambridge Structural Database has just crossed the half million mark. The possibility of designing a particular crystal packing is, however, of more recent origin and the subject of crystal engineering has addressed this possibility, more or less systematically, during the past 30 years. Crystal engineering demands a detailed and thorough knowledge of intermolecular interactions, which act as the supramolecular glue that binds molecules into crystals. It also requires systematic strategies for the design of a crystal, the architectural blueprint as it were. Finally, this enterprise needs to be geared towards a useful property in that the crystal that is being designed is a functional one. All these features of the subject are directly or indirectly connected with the fact that there is a very large database of known crystal structures that is available to the crystal engineer. This review attempts to briefly survey the current scenario in this expanding subject.

Spectral element approach to wave propagation in uncertain beam structures

This paper presents a study on the uncertainty in material parameters of wave propagation responses in metallic beam structures. Special effort is made to quantify the effect of uncertainty in the wave propagation responses at high frequencies. Both the modulus of elasticity and the density are considered uncertain. The analysis is performed using a Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) under the spectral finite element method (SEM). The randomness in the material properties is characterized by three different distributions, the normal, Weibull and extreme value distributions. Their effect on wave propagation in beams is investigated. The numerical study shows that the CPU time taken for MCS under SEM is about 48 times less than for MCS under a conventional one-dimensional finite element environment for 50 kHz loading. The numerical results presented investigate effects of material uncertainties on high frequency modes. A study is performed on the usage of different beam theories and their uncertain responses due to dynamic impulse load. These studies show that even for a small coefficient of variation, significant changes in the above parameters are noticed. A number of interesting results are presented, showing the true effects of uncertainty response due to dynamic impulse load.

Nature inspired optimization techniques for the design optimization of laminated composite structures using failure criteria

The design optimization of laminated composites using naturally inspired optimization techniques such as vector evaluated particle swarm optimization (VEPSO) and genetic algorithms (GA) are used in this paper. The design optimization of minimum weight of the laminated composite is evaluated using different failure criteria. The failure criteria considered are maximum stress (MS), Tsai-Wu (TW) and failure mechanism based (FMB) failure criteria. Minimum weight of the laminates are obtained for different failure criteria using VEPSO and GA for different combinations of loading. From the study it is evident that VEPSO and GA predict almost the same minimum weight of the laminate for the given loading. Comparison of minimum weight of the laminates by different failure criteria differ for some loading combinations. The comparison shows that FMBFC provide better results for all combinations of loading. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advances in the analysis and design of concrete structures, metal containments and liner plate for extreme loads

The material presented in this paper summarizes the progress that has been made in the analysis, design, and testing of concrete structures. The material is summarized in the following documents: 1. Part I - Containment Design Criteria and Loading Combinations - J.D. Stevenson (Stevenson and Associates, Cleveland, Ohio, USA) 2. Part II - Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete Behavior - J. Eibl and M. Curbach (Karlsruhe University, Karlsruhe, Germany) 3. Part III - Concrete Containment Analysis, Design and Related Testing - T.E. Johnson and M.A. Daye (Bechtel Power Corporation, Gaithersburg, Maryland USA) 4. Part IV - Impact and Impulse Loading and Response Prediction - J.D. Riera (School of Engineering - UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil) 5. Part V - Metal Containments and Liner Plate Systems - N.J. Krutzik (Siemens AG, Offenbach Am Main, Germany) 6. Part VI - Prestressed Reactor Vessel Design, Testing and Analysis - J. Nemet (Austrian Research Center, Seibersdorf, Austria) and K.T.S. Iyengar (Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India).

Minimum weight design of fiber-reinforced laminated composite structures with maximum stress and Tsai-Wu failure criteria

In this article, a minimum weight design of carbon/epoxy laminates is carried out using genetic algorithms. New failure envelopes have been developed by the combination of two commonly used phenomenological failure criteria, namely Maximum Stress (MS) and Tsai-Wu (TW) are used to obtain the minimum weight of the laminate. These failure envelopes are the most conservative failure envelope (MCFE) and the least conservative failure envelope (LCFE). Uniaxial and biaxial loading conditions are considered for the study and the differences in the optimal weight of the laminate are compared for the MCFE and LCFE. The MCFE can be used for design of critical load-carrying composites, while the LCFE could be used for the design of composite structures where weight reduction is much more important than safety such as unmanned air vehicles.

Twinning of quasicrystals and related structures

We consider for the first time twinning in quasicrystals and related structures in a systematic manner. The twinning operations are considered in the framework of six-dimensional crystallography. The number of twin variants and the symmetry of twinned aggregates are also discussed. It is shown that essentially two different types of interface can arise between any two twin variants.

A Non-contact measurement technique to measure micro surface stress and obtain deformation profiles of the order of 1nm in Micro-cantilever based structures by single image Optical Diffraction method

A new method based on analysis of a single diffraction pattern is proposed to measure deflections in micro-cantilever (MC) based sensor probes, achieving typical deflection resolutions of 1nm and surface stress changes of 50 mu N/m. The proposed method employs a double MC structure where the deflection of one of the micro-cantilevers relative to the other due to surface stress changes results in a linear shift of intensity maxima of the Fraunhofer diffraction pattern of the transilluminated MC. Measurement of such shifts in the intensity maxima of a particular order along the length of the structure can be done to an accuracy of 0.01mm leading to the proposed sensitivity of deflection measurement in a typical microcantilever. This method can overcome the fundamental measurement sensitivity limit set by diffraction and pointing stability of laser beam in the widely used Optical Beam Deflection method (OBDM).

Studies in crystal engineering: structure�reactivity correlations of substituted styrylcoumarins and related systems

The solid state photochemical behaviour of 7-hydroxy-4-styrylcoumarin 1 and several of its derivatives and analogues has been investigated. All the compounds with the exception of 7-methoxy-4-styrylcoumarin 2 are photolabile and yield anti-HT dimers. It has been observed that chloro substitution in the systems studied does not lead to the expected beta-packing mode. The photobehaviour of 1 and 2 has been correlated with their crystal structures. Reasons for alpha-packing have been examined. The systematics in the arrangement of the carbonyl group and phenyl group of the close neighbours in the crystals of 1, 2 and a few other cases are presented.

Anomalous X-ray scattering study of local structures in the superionic conducting class (CuI)(0.3)(Cu2O)(0.35)(MoO3)(0.35)

The anomalous X-ray scattering (AXS) method using Cu and Mo K absorption edges has been employed for obtaining the local structural information of superionic conducting glass having the composition (CuI)(0.3)(Cu2O)(0.35)(MoO3)(0.35). The possible atomic arrangements in near-neighbor region of this glass were estimated by coupling the results with the least-squares analysis so as to reproduce two differential intensity profiles for Cu and Mo as well as the ordinary scattering profile. The coordination number of oxygen around Mo is found to be 6.1 at the distance of 0.187 nm. This implies that the MoO6 octahedral unit is a more probable structural entity in the glass rather than MoO4 tetrahedra which has been proposed based on infrared spectroscopy. The pre-peak shoulder observed at about 10 nm(-1) may be attributed to density fluctuation originating from the MoO6 octahedral units connected with the corner sharing linkage, in which the correlation length is about 0.8 nm. The value of the coordination number of I- around Cu+ is estimated as 4.3 at 0.261 nm, suggesting an arrangement similar to that in molten CuI.

Fast algorithm for data exchange in reconfigurable tree structures

This paper presents a fast algorithm for data exchange in a network of processors organized as a reconfigurable tree structure. For a given data exchange table, the algorithm generates a sequence of tree configurations in which the data exchanges are to be executed. A significant feature of the algorithm is that each exchange is executed in a tree configuration in which the source and destination nodes are adjacent to each other. It has been proved in a theorem that for every pair of nodes in the reconfigurable tree structure, there always exists two and only two configurations in which these two nodes are adjacent to each other. The algorithm utilizes this fact and determines the solution so as to optimize both the number of configurations required and the time to perform the data exchanges. Analysis of the algorithm shows that it has linear time complexity, and provides a large reduction in run-time as compared to a previously proposed algorithm. This is well-confirmed from the experimental results obtained by executing a large number of randomly-generated data exchange tables. Another significant feature of the algorithm is that the bit-size of the routing information code is always two bits, irrespective of the number of nodes in the tree. This not only increases the speed of the algorithm but also results in simpler hardware inside each node.