450 research outputs found
Fluidic packaging of microengine and microrocket devices for high pressure and high temperature operation
The fluidic packaging of Power MEMS devices such as the MIT microengine and microrocket requires the fabrication of hermetic seals capable of withstanding temperature in the range 20-600/spl deg/C and pressures in the range 100-300 atm. We describe an approach to such packaging by attaching Kovar metal tubes to a silicon device using glass seal technology. Failure due to fracture of the seals is a significant reliability concern in the baseline process: microscopy revealed a large number of voids in the glass, pre-cracks in the glass and silicon, and poor wetting of the glass to silicon. The effects of various processing and materials parameters on these phenomena were examined. A robust procedure, based on the use of metal-coated silicon substrates, was developed to ensure good wetting. The bending strength of single-tube specimens was determined at several temperatures. The dominant failure mode changed from fracture at room temperature to yielding of the glass and Kovar at 600/spl deg/C. The strength in tension at room temperature was analyzed using Weibull statistics; these results indicate a probability of survival of 0.99 at an operational pressure of 125 atm at room temperature for single tubes and a corresponding probability of 0.9 for a packaged device with 11 joints. The residual stresses were analyzed using the method of finite elements and recommendations for the improvement of packaging reliability are suggested
Critical properties of a continuous family of XY noncollinear magnets
Monte Carlo methods are used to study a family of three dimensional XY
frustrated models interpolating continuously between the stacked triangular
antiferromagnets and a variant of this model for which a local rigidity
constraint is imposed. Our study leads us to conclude that generically weak
first order behavior occurs in this family of models in agreement with a recent
nonperturbative renormalization group description of frustrated magnets.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, minor changes, published versio
Influence of Prolonged Sintering Time on Density and Electrical Properties of Isothermally Sintered Cordierite-based Ceramics
Mechanical activation is a commonly used and relatively fast and inexpensive procedure for sample preparation before the sintering process. Cordierite, a stoichiometric mixture of three different oxides (2MgO center dot 2Al(2)O(3)center dot 5SiO(2)) is a very attractive, widely used high-temperature ceramic material. The mechanical activation of the starting mixtures with 5.00 mass% TiO2 was performed in a high energy ball mill during 10-80 min. The applied compaction pressure before the sintering process was 2t/cm(2), based on our recent investigation. The sintering process was performed at 1350 degrees C for 2h and 4h in air atmosphere. X-ray diffraction was used to analyze the phase composition of non-activated and 80 min activated samples, sintered for 2 and 4h, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy was performed to analyze the microstructure of both compacted and sintered samples. Atomic force microscope was used to investigate the surface of the sintered samples. This paper investigates the influence of prolonged sintering time on the densities of the sintered samples, along with electrical properties
Localization of the paranodal protein Caspr in the mammalian retina
Purpose: The retina has the demanding task of encoding all aspects of the visual scene within the space of one fixation period lasting only a few hundred milliseconds. To accomplish this feat, information is encoded in specialized parallel channels and passed on to numerous central nuclei via the optic nerve. These parallel channels achieve specialization in at least three ways: the synaptic networks in which they participate, the neurotransmitter receptors expressed and the types and locations of ion channels or transporters used. Subcellular localization of receptors, channels and transporters is made yet more complex in the retina by the double duty many retinal processes serve. In the present work, we show that the protein Caspr (Contactin Associated Protein), best known for its critical role in the localization of voltage-gated ion channels at the nodes of Ranvier, is present in several types of retinal neurons including amacrine, bipolar, horizontal, and ganglion cells. Methods: Using standard double label immunofluorescence protocols, we characterized the pattern of Caspr expression in the rodent retina. Results: Caspr labeling was observed through much of the retina, including horizontal, bipolar, amacrine, and ganglion cells. Among amacrine cells, Caspr was observed in AII amacrine cells through co-localization with Parvalbumin and Disabled-1 in rat and mouse retinas, respectively. An additional amacrine cell type containing Calretinin also co-localized with Caspr, but did not co-localize with choline-acetyltransferase. Nearly all cells in the ganglion cell layer contain Caspr, including both displaced amacrine and ganglion cells. In the outer retina, Caspr was co-localized with PKC labeling in rod bipolar cell dendrites. In addition, Caspr labeling was found inside syntaxin-4 'sandwiches' in the outer plexiform layer, most likely indicating its presence in cone bipolar cell dendrites. Finally, Caspr was co-localized in segments of horizontal cell dendrites labeled with Calbindin-D28k. Conclusions: Caspr is best known for its role in organizing the localization of different voltage-gated ion channels in and around nodes of Ranvier. As neuronal processes in the retina often play a dual role involving both input and output, it is possible that the localization of Caspr in the retina will help us decipher the way retinal cells localize ion channels in their processes to increase computational capacity
The Influence of Compaction Pressure on the Density and Electrical Properties of Cordierite-based Ceramics
Due to its characteristics, cordierite, 2MgO center dot 2Al(2)O(3)center dot 5SiO(2), is a high-temperature ceramic material of a great scientific interest. Mechanical activation of the starting mixtures containing 5.00 mass% TiO2 was performed in a high-energy ball mill for 10 minutes. The compaction pressure varied from 0.5 to 6tcm(-2) (49-588 MPa). The sintering process was performed at 1350 degrees C for four hours in the air atmosphere. The phase composition of the activated and sintered samples was analyzed using X-ray diffraction. Scanning electron microscopy was used to analyze the microstructure of both compacted and sintered samples. The authors have investigated the influence of compaction pressure on the sintered samples and their electrical properties
Field-theory results for three-dimensional transitions with complex symmetries
We discuss several examples of three-dimensional critical phenomena that can
be described by Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson theories. We present an
overview of field-theoretical results obtained from the analysis of high-order
perturbative series in the frameworks of the and of the
fixed-dimension d=3 expansions. In particular, we discuss the stability of the
O(N)-symmetric fixed point in a generic N-component theory, the critical
behaviors of randomly dilute Ising-like systems and frustrated spin systems
with noncollinear order, the multicritical behavior arising from the
competition of two distinct types of ordering with symmetry O() and
O() respectively.Comment: 9 pages, Talk at the Conference TH2002, Paris, July 200
Spin Stiffness of Stacked Triangular Antiferromagnets
We study the spin stiffness of stacked triangular antiferromagnets using both
heat bath and broad histogram Monte Carlo methods. Our results are consistent
with a continuous transition belonging to the chiral universality class first
proposed by Kawamura.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figure
Linear solvers for power grid optimization problems: a review of GPU-accelerated linear solvers
The linear equations that arise in interior methods for constrained
optimization are sparse symmetric indefinite and become extremely
ill-conditioned as the interior method converges. These linear systems present
a challenge for existing solver frameworks based on sparse LU or LDL^T
decompositions. We benchmark five well known direct linear solver packages
using matrices extracted from power grid optimization problems. The achieved
solution accuracy varies greatly among the packages. None of the tested
packages delivers significant GPU acceleration for our test cases
Structural and electrical properties of ferroelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) and mechanically activated ZnO nanoparticle composite films
The influence of the mechanical activation of ZnO nanoparticle fillers on the structural and electrical properties of the matrix of poly(vinylidenefluoride)-ZnO (PVDF-ZnO) films was investigated. Transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy analyses showed that mechanical activation in a high energy planetary ball mill reduces the size of ZnO particles. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy revealed that PVDF crystallized predominantly as the gamma-phase. Non-activated ZnO filler reduces the degree of the crystallinity of the matrix and promotes crystallization of alpha-phase of PVDF in the film, while the fillers activated for 5 and 10 min induce crystallization of beta-phase, indicating that mechanical activation of the filler can be used as a general method for fabrication of PVDF composites with increased content of piezoelectric beta-phase crystals. Dielectric spectroscopy measurements show that polymer composite with the high content of beta-phase (with ZnO filler activated for 5 min) exhibits the highest value of dielectric permittivity in 150-400 K range of temperatures. Kinetic analysis shows combined effects of increased surface area and increased concentration of surface defects on the interactions between polymer chains and activated nanoparticles
A model for the formation energies of alanates and boranates
We develop a simple model for the formation energies (FEs) of alkali and
lkaline earth alanates and boranates, based upon ionic bonding between metal
cations and (AlH4)- or (BH4)- anions. The FEs agree well with values obtained
from first principles calculations and with experimental FEs. The model shows
that details of the crystal structure are relatively unimportant. The small
size of the (BH4)- anion causes a strong bonding in the crystal, which makes
boranates more stable than alanates. Smaller alkali or alkaline earth cations
do not give an increased FE. They involve a larger ionization potential that
compensates for the increased crystal bonding.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figure
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