Regenerative polymeric bus architecture for board-level optical interconnects

A scalable multi-channel optical regenerative bus architecture based on the use of polymer waveguides is presented for the first time. The architecture offers high-speed interconnection between electrical cards allowing regenerative bus extension with multiple segments and therefore connection of an arbitrary number of cards onto the bus. In a proof-ofprinciple demonstration, a 4-channel 3-card polymeric bus module is designed and fabricated on standard FR4 substrates. Low insertion losses (≤ -15 dB) and low crosstalk values (< -30 dB) are achieved for the fabricated samples while better than ± 6 μm -1 dB alignment tolerances are obtained. 10 Gb/s data communication with a bit-error-rate (BER) lower than 10-12 is demonstrated for the first time between card interfaces on two different bus modules using a prototype 3R regenerator. © 2012 Optical Society of America.

Local synthesis and alignment of zinc oxide nanowires in aqueous solution using microheaters

A bottom-up technique for synthesizing transversely suspended zinc oxide nanowires (ZnO NWs) under a zinc nitrate (Zn(NO 3) 2· 6H 2O) and hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA, (CH 2) 6·N 4) solution within a microfabricated device is reported in this paper. The device consists of a microheater which is used to initially create an oxidized ZnO seed layer. ZnO NWs are then locally synthesized by the microheater and electrodes embedded within the devices are used to drive electric field directed horizontal alignment of the nanowires within the device. The entire process is carried out at low temperature. This approach has the potential to considerably simplify the fabrication and assembly of ZnO nanowires on CMOS compatible substrates, allowing for the chemical synthesis to be carried out under near-ambient conditions by locally defining the conditions for nanowire growth on a silicon reactor chip. © 2012 IEEE.

Orthorhombic α-moo 3 coatings with lath-shaped morphology developed by SPPS: Applications to super-capacitors

Electrical double-layer capacitors owe their large capacitance to the formation of a double-layer at the electrode/electrolyte interface of high surface area carbon-based electrode materials. Greater electrical energy storage capacity has been attributed to transition metal oxides/nitrides that undergo fast, reversible redox reactions at the electrode surface (pseudo-capacitive behavior) in addition to forming electrical double-layers. Solution Precursor Plasma Spray (SPPS) has shown promise for depositing porous, high surface area transition metal oxides. This investigation explored the potential of SPPS to fabricate a-MoO 3 coatings with micro-structures suitable for use as super-capacitor electrodes. The effects of number of spray passes, spray distance, solution concentration, flow rate and spray velocity on the chemistry and micro-structure of the a-MoO 3 deposits were examined. DTA/TGA, SEM, XRD, and electrochemical analyses were performed to characterize the coatings. The results demonstrate the importance of post-deposition heating of the deposit by subsequent passes of the plasma on the coating morphology. © ASM International.

A polymeric regenerative optical bus for board-level optical interconnections

A scalable polymer waveguide-based regenerative optical bus architecture for use in board-level communications is presented. As a proof-of-principle demonstration, a 4-channel polymer bus formed on a FR4 substrate providing 10 Gb/s/channel data transmission is reported. © 2012 OSA.

4-Channel polymeric optical bus module for board-level optical interconnections

A 4-channel polymeric optical bus module suitable for use in board-level interconnections is presented. Low-loss and low-crosstalk module performance is achieved, while -1 dB alignment tolerances better than ± 8 μm are demonstrated. © 2012 OSA.

The mechanism of high temperature aqueous corrosion of steel

A new model is presented which describes the growth of the duplex layers of Fe3O4 on mild steel in high temperature, deoxygenated, neutral or alkaline aqueous solutions. It is shown that the layers grow by the ingress of water along oxide micropores to the metal-oxide interface and by the rate-limiting outward diffusion of Fe ions along oxide grain boundaries. The new model accounts for the observed temperature-dependence and pH-dependence of the corrosion, the morphology of inner and outer layer crystallites, the segregation of alloying elements, and the location of hydrogen evolution. The model can also be generalized to other steels and alloys. © 1989.

4-channel polymeric optical bus module for board-level optical interconnections

A 4-channel polymeric optical bus module suitable for use in board-levelinterconnections is presented. Low-loss and low-crosstalk module performance is achieved, while-1 dB alignment tolerances better than ± 8 μm are demonstrated. © OSA 2012.