Electronic transport properties of electrically doped cytosine‐based optical molecular switch with single‐wall carbon nanotube electrodes

This study represents an empirical model of cytosine‐based optical molecular switch. This possible biomolecular switch has been designed using the first principle approach which is based on density functional theory and non‐equilibrium Green''s function. The quantum‐ballistic transport property and current–voltage (I–V) characteristics of cytosine‐based optomolecular switch have been investigated at 25 THz operating frequency. The influence of highest occupied molecular orbital–lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO–LUMO) gaps on the electronic transmission and I–V characteristics has been discussed in detail. The aim of this study is to highlight the minimum conformational change during a single ON–OFF switching cycle. The biomolecule comprises switching behaviour when converts from straightened to twisted form during photo‐excitement. The straightened and twisted forms of the molecule are represented as logic ‘0’ and logic ‘1’, respectively. This p and n regions of this switch has been made using electrical doping process. The current through the twisted form of the cytosine biomolecule is ∼1000 times higher than the straightened form. The maximum switching ratio 62.1 is obtained at 1 V bias. The origin of the switching behaviour of the biomolecule can be interpreted by quantum–ballistic transport model along with HOMO–LUMO gaps.Inspec keywords: ballistic transport, organic compounds, Green''s function methods, ab initio calculations, density functional theory, molecular biophysics, optical switches, single‐wall carbon nanotubes, electrochemical electrodesOther keywords: electrical doping process, cytosine biomolecule, electronic transport properties, single‐wall carbon nanotube electrodes, cytosine‐based optical molecular switch, density functional theory, electronic transmission, HOMO‐LUMO gaps, current–voltage characteristics, biomolecular switching behaviour, quantum–ballistic transport property model, electrically doped cytosine‐based optical molecular switch, first principle approach, nonequilibrium Green''s function, I‐V characteristics, highest occupied molecular orbital–lowest unoccupied molecular orbital gaps, single ON–OFF switching cycle, photoexcitement, frequency 25.0 THz, voltage 1.0 V, C     

Wireless PWM control of a parallel DC-DC buck converter

We demonstrate a new concept for wireless pulse-width modulation (PWM) control of a parallel dc-dc buck converter. It eliminates the need for multiple physical connections of gating/PWM signals among the distributed converter modules. The new scheme relies on radio-frequency (RF) based communication of the PWM control signals from a master to the slave modules. We analyze the system stability and demonstrate the experimental effectiveness of the wireless control scheme for a two-module parallel buck converter for 10-kHz and 20-kHz switching frequencies and for channel lengths of 1.5 and 15ft, respectively. The proposed control concept may lead to easier distributed control implementation of parallel dc-dc converters and distributed power systems, and may lead to redundancy that is achievable using droop method. It may also be used as a backup for wire-based control of parallel converters to provide fault tolerance.     

DV/DT related spurious gate turn-on of bidirectional switches in a high-frequency cycloconverter

We identified a failure mode in a two stage dc/ac converter, comprising a high-frequency dc/ac inverter followed by an ac/ac cycloconverter, both operating at the same switching frequency. The failure-mode is a short-circuit condition, which is a combined effect of the reverse recovery of the MOSFET body diode and simultaneous spurious turn-on of the bidirectional switches of the cycloconverter, owing to a significantly high dv/dt (>2/spl times/10/sup 8/V/ns). A high dv/dt causes appreciable current to flow through the gate-to-drain (Miller) capacitance, thereby producing a significant amount of voltage drop across the external gate resistance. Consequently, the gate-to-source voltage of the power MOSFET may exceed the threshold voltage of the device, which turns the device on. We explain the mechanism for the dv/dt-related gate turn-on and present experimental results to validate the explanation. We also demonstrate, how a two-fold increase in the value of external gate resistance of the inverter switches (to reduce the dv/dt applied to the cycloconverter) reduces the periodicity of the short-circuit condition.     

First principle study of the self‐switching characteristics of the guanine based single optical molecular switch using carbon nanotube electrodes

The switching property of an optical single molecular switch based on a single DNA molecule guanine with a single walled carbon nanotube electrode has been investigated using density functional theory along with non‐equilibrium Green''s function based first principle approach. The semi‐empirical model of this single bio‐molecular switch has been operated at an ultra‐high 25 THz frequency in mid‐UV range. This single bio‐molecule comprises switching activity upon UV photo‐excitation. The influence of the highest occupied molecular orbital and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital gap and the quantum ballistic transmission into the switching activity are discussed in detail in this study. It has been observed that the maximum ON–OFF ratio, i.e. 327 is obtained at +0.8 V bias voltage. Theoretical results show that current through the twisted form is sufficiently larger than the straightened form, which recommends that this structure has smart prospective application in the future generation switching nanotechnology.Inspec keywords: molecular electronic states, density functional theory, ab initio calculations, DNA, organic compounds, molecular electronics, Green''s function methods, molecular biophysics, single‐wall carbon nanotubes, optical switches, orbital calculationsOther keywords: nonequilibrium Green''s function, semiempirical model, single bio‐molecular switch, UV photo‐excitation, lowest unoccupied molecular orbital gap, first principle study, single optical molecular switch, switching property, optical single molecular switch, single DNA molecule guanine, single walled carbon nanotube electrode, density functional theory, highest occupied molecular orbital gap, switching nanotechnology     

Effect of wall conductances on hydromagnetic flow and heat transfer in a rotating channel

Summary Wall conductance effects on the hydromagnetic flow and heat transfer between two parallel plates in a rotating frame of reference has been studied when the liquid is permeated by a transverse magnetic field. An exact solution of the governing equations has been obtained. It is found that the velocity, current density and the temperature depend only on the sum of the wall conductances ₁ + ₂ = but magnetic field depends on the individual values of ₁ and ₂, where ₁ and ₂ are respectively the wall conductance ratios of the upper and lower walls.

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Einfluß der Wandleitfähigkeit auf die hydromagnetische Strömung und den Wärmeübergang in einem rotierenden Kanal

Zusammenfassung In der Arbeit wird der Einfluß der Leitfähigkeit der Wände auf die MHD-Strömung sowie auf den Wärmeübergang untersucht für den Fall, daß sich das zähe Medium zwischen zwei rotierenden Platten befindet und ein Magnetfeld parallel zur Rotationsachse angelegt wird. Es wird eine exakte Lösung des Problems gegeben. Es zeigt sich, daß die Geschwindigkeit, die Stromdichte und die Temperatur nur von der Summe der Leitfähigkeiten der Wände + ₂ = abhängen, dagegen hängt die magnetische Feldstärke von den individuellen Werten ₁ und ₂ ab, wobei ₁ und ₂ die Leitfähigkeiten der oberen bzw. unteren Wand bezeichnen.

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With 5 Figures     

Risk identification and scoring in early-lifecycle concurrent engineering teams

Due to the highly constrained schedules and budgets that NASA missions must contend with, the identification and management of cost, schedule and risks in the earliest stages of the lifecycle is critical. At the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, it is the concurrent engineering teams that first address these items in a systematic manner. Foremost of these concurrent engineering teams is Team X. Started in 1995, Team X has carried out over 1,000 studies, dramatically reducing the time and cost involved, and has been the model for other concurrent engineering teams both within NASA and throughout the larger aerospace community. The ability to do integrated risk identification and assessment was first introduced into Team X in 2001. In this paper, we describe how the Team X risk process is evolving, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches.     

Effect of ambient relative humidity and surface modification on the charge decay properties of polymer powders in powder coating

Back corona on a powder layer deposited via the electrostatic powder-coating process using corona guns has a strong influence on the corrosion resistance and appearance of cured powder films. The presence of the back corona is often evidenced by orange peel, micro-dents, and pinholes on the film surface. The surface resistivity of the sprayed powder governs the charge decay process and, hence, the onset of back corona. The polymer powders used in powder coating are highly resistive, with surface resistivity often greater than 10/sup 15/ /spl Omega///spl square/. Surface resistivity can be altered by the adsorption of moisture on the surfaces of the powder particles. The objectives of this research were: (1) investigate the effect of decreasing surface resistivity on the appearance of the powder-coated film and (2) enhance hydrophilic properties of polymer powder by plasma treatment. By changing the relative humidity (RH) of powder during the spraying process, it was observed that the surface resistivity could be lowered by orders of magnitude. For example, the surface resistivity for an acrylic powder decreased from 2.96/spl times/10/sup 13/ /spl Omega///spl square/ at 25% RH to 9.6/spl times/10/sup 11/ /spl Omega///spl square/ at 70% RH. The plasma treatment of this powder further improved its charge decay properties. The effects of variation of RH on the appearance of powder-coated panels surface layer are presented for an acrylic polymer powder. The film texture has been characterized by microstructural surface analysis using an optical scanning instrument. Methods of plasma and corona treatments of the powder for increasing moisture adsorption on the surface and decreasing surface resistivity are discussed along with analysis of surface morphology using the atomic force microscope.     

Growth and characterization of n-type InP/InGaAs quantum well infrared photodetectors for response at 8.93 µm

We present experimental results on the growth and characterization of n-type InGaAs/InP quantum-well intersubband photodetectors for use at 8.93 μm. High-quality InGaAs/InP multiple quantum wells were grown by gas source molecular beam expitaxy, and then characterized by double-crystal x-ray diffraction and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. Based upon the structural parameters determined by these methods, the photocurrent response spectra were simulated using a six-band effective bond-orbital model. The theoretical results are in excellent agreement with experimental data. Additional important device characteristics such as dark current, spectral response, and absolute responsivity are also presented.     

Identification of mass fractal in chemically synthesized ZnS quantum dots

Zinc sulphide quantum dots chemically capped with thioglycerol having two different sizes have been synthesized. The particles have a disordered sphalerite structure and are slightly contracted by 1% against the bulk. Small angle X-ray scattering investigations reveal that powders of these nanocrystallites are mass fractals that aggregate via a reaction-limited process to form irregular but rather dense networks with a fractal dimensionality of D _f = 2.7 and 2.1, respectively.