Effect of the Distribution of Manganese Ions on the Properties of Mn-Doped (Ba,Y)TiO3 PTCR Ceramics

The electrical properties and microstructure of (Ba,Y)TiO₃ PTCR ceramics were studied. The results indicate that the Mn ions increase the intergranular barrier height and produce a high-resistance layer on the grain surface. The temperature-dependent resistances of the grain bulk, surface layer, and grain boundaries, the temperature coefficient of resistance, and the magnitude of the varistor effect were assessed as a function of Mn content.     

Science in High Magnetic Fields: What Could Be Learned?

High magnetic fields are one of the most powerful tools available to scientists for the study, modification and control of matter. This includes the knowledge on correlations effects, interaction mechanisms, structural information and understanding of mesoscopic effects. In this context, a review of recent scientific achievements at the Grenoble High Magnetic Laboratory is given to illustrate, on specific examples, the power of the Magnetic Field probe.     

Structural Changes Induced in Nonstoichiometric Titanium Carbide by High-Temperature Deformation

The microstructure evolution in nonstoichiometric titanium carbide is studied during high-temperature deformation at high strain rates and low strains (shock compression) and at slow strain rates and high strains (superplastic regime). The results demonstrate that high-temperature deformation in a broad range of strain rates offers a means of controlling the microstructure of titanium carbide. By varying deformation conditions, one can obtain materials differing in microstructure and chemical composition, in particular, with equilibrium and nonequilibrium microstructures. Accordingly, the physicochemical properties of such materials also differ.     

Influence of device engineering on the analog and RF performances of SOI MOSFETs

This work presents a systematic comparative study of the influence of various process options on the analog and RF properties of fully depleted (FD) silicon-on-insulator (SOI), partially depleted (PD) SOI, and bulk MOSFET's with gate lengths down to 0.08 /spl mu/m. We introduce the transconductance-over-drain current ratio and Early voltage as key figures of merits for the analog MOS performance and the gain and the transition and maximum frequencies for RF performances and link them to device engineering. Specifically, we investigate the effects of HALO implantation in FD, PD, and bulk devices, of film thickness in FD, of substrate doping in SOI, and of nonstandard channel engineering (i.e., asymmetric Graded-channel MOSFETs and gate-body contacted DTMOS).     

On the physical and logical topology design of large-scale optical networks

We consider the problem of designing a network of optical cross-connects (OXCs) to provide end-to-end lightpath services to large numbers of label switched routers (LSRs). We present a set of heuristic algorithms to address the combined problem of physical topology design (i.e., determine the number of OXCs required and the fiber links among them) and logical topology design (i.e., determine the routing and wavelength assignment for the lightpaths among the LSRs). Unlike previous studies which were limited to small topologies with a handful of nodes and a few tens of lightpaths, we have applied our algorithms to networks with hundreds or thousands of LSRs and with a number of lightpaths that is an order of magnitude larger than the number of LSRs. In order to characterize the performance of our algorithms, we have developed lower bounds which can be computed efficiently. We present numerical results for up to 1000 LSRs and for a wide range of system parameters such as the number of wavelengths per fiber, the number of transceivers per LSR, and the number of ports per OXC. The results indicate that it is possible to build large-scale optical networks with rich connectivity in a cost-effective manner, using relatively few but properly dimensioned OXCs.     

Static energy reduction techniques for microprocessor caches

Microprocessor performance has been improved by increasing the capacity of on-chip caches. However, the performance gain comes at the price of static energy consumption due to subthreshold leakage current in cache memory arrays. This paper compares three techniques for reducing static energy consumption in on-chip level-1 and level-2 caches. One technique employs low-leakage transistors in the memory cell. Another technique, power supply switching, can be used to turn off memory cells and discard their contents. A third alternative is dynamic threshold modulation, which places memory cells in a standby state that preserves cell contents. In our experiments, we explore the energy and performance tradeoffs of these techniques. We also investigate the sensitivity of microprocessor performance and energy consumption to additional cache latency caused by leakage-reduction techniques.     

Failure mode transition and energy dissipation in naturally occurring composites

The microstructural aspects of compressive inelastic deformation in balsa wood are investigated with emphasis on the failure mode transition and its effects on energy dissipation characteristics. The architectural features as well as the composite character of cell wall ultrastructure are discussed in a framework to understand the complex interrelationship between microstructure and macroscopic behavior in this extremely lightweight cellular biocomposite. Based on this discussion and experimental results, it is concluded that the biomimetic approach may prove to be a viable strategy in designing composite structures with high specific energy absorption capacity.     

Fringing in tubular permanent-magnet machines: Part I. Magnetic field distribution, flux linkage, and thrust force

This paper extends an analysis developed for tubular permanent-magnet machines to account for the effect of fringing associated with the finite length of the ferromagnetic armature core. The magnetic field distribution, established by using an analytical technique formulated in the cylindrical coordinate system, provides an accurate means of evaluating the effect of the fringing flux on the thrust force and the back-electromotive force. Finite-element calculations confirm the analytically derived results. In Part II of the paper, the analysis is used to predict the cogging force that results from end effects and to facilitate minimization of the force.     

Effect of anisotropy of tin on thermomechanical behavior of solder joints

Properties of body centered tetragonal tin are highly anisotropic. As a consequence large stresses can develop at the tin grain boundaries due to coefficient of thermal expansion mismatch during temperature excursions. A modeling approach to evaluate the 3D stress states that develop at grain boundaries during thermomechanical fatigue in tin-based solder is presented. Development of significant amounts of stresses in the plane of the grain boundary can cause grain-boundary sliding and surface-relief effects, while those normal to the grain boundary can cause grain-boundary decohesion and cracking.     

The effects of nonlocal impact ionization on the speed of avalanche photodiodes

The nonlocal enhancement in the velocities of charge carriers to ionization is shown to outweigh the opposing effects of dead space, increasing the avalanche speed of short avalanche photodiodes (APDs) over the predictions of a conventional local model which ignores both of these effects. The trends in the measured gain-bandwidth product of two short InAlAs APDs reported in the literature support this result. Relatively large speed benefits are predicted to result from further small reductions in the lengths of short multiplication regions.