Epitaxial designs for maximizing efficiency in resonant tunnelling diode based terahertz emitters

We discuss the modelling of high current density InGaAs/AlAs/InP resonant tunneling diodes to maximize their efficiency as THz emitters. A figure of merit which contributes to the wall plug efficiency, the intrinsic resonator efficiency, is used for the development of epitaxial designs. With the contribution of key parameters identified, we analyze the limitations of accumulated stress to assess the manufacturability of such designs. Optimal epitaxial designs are revealed, utilizing thin barriers, with a wide and shallow quantum well that satisfies the strained layer epitaxy constraint. We then assess the advantages to epitaxial perfection and electrical characteristics provided by devices with a narrow InAs sub-well inside a lattice-matched InGaAs alloy. These new structures will assist in the realization of the next-generation submillimeter emitters

Non-destructive characterization of thin layer resonant tunnelling diodes

We present an advanced nondestructive characterization scheme for high current density AlAs/InGaAs resonant tunneling diodes pseudomorphically grown on InP substrates. We show how low-temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy (LT-PL) and high-resolution X-ray diffractometry (HR-XRD) are complementary techniques to increase the confidence of the characterized structure. The lattice-matched InGaAs is characterized and found to be of high quality. We discuss the inclusion of an undoped “copy” well (C-well) in terms of enhancements to HR-XRD and LT-PL characterization and quantify the improved precision in determining the structure. As a consequence of this enhanced precision in the determination of physical structure, the AlAs barriers and quantum well (QW) system are found to contain nonideal material interfaces. Their roughness is characterized in terms of the full width to half-maximum of the split LT-PL emission peaks, revealing a ±1 atomic sheet variance to the QW width. We show how barrier asymmetry can be detected through fitting of both optical spectra and HR-XRD rocking curves

Resonant Tunnelling Diodes for Next Generation THz Systems

Resonant tunnelling diodes (RTDs) are a strong candidate for future wireless communications in the THz spectrum (sub-millimetre waves), offering compact, roomtemperature operation with the potential to exceed the bit transfer rate mandated by the 12G-SDI standard, using a single wireless link. A free-space RTD emitter operating at 353GHz is described. The fabrication process consists of a dual-pass I-line photolithography & etch technique using an air bridge, allowing low resistivity ohmic contacts, and accurate control of desired device area. With extrinsic circuit elements taken into account, the intrinsic semiconductor efficiency is analysed to investigate structural improvements for radiative efficiency. Such optimised structures are presented, and then characterised after being epitaxially grown with commercially viable metal-organic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE) reactors. A combination of low temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy, X-Ray diffractometry, and transmission electron microscopy attest the quality of the new material. We end with a suggestion for the next steps to exceed technological readiness levels of 8, and use monolithic RTD emitters as components in new systems

Public Participation in Public Policy Process – Case Study in Seven Counties from North-Western Region of Romania

Public participation is an ever significant notion of modern governance. In the light of lower levelsof citizen turnout at elections, contemporarydemocracies face a growing and complex problemof legitimacy. In this sense, in the last decademore and more governments around Europe andUSA turn to new strategies and plans to reach thecommunity they represent and encourage activeparticipation in solving community problems. It isin this note that the present pilot study “Initiativesand Design of Public Policy” was conducted, aimingto evaluate the level of public participation of fourprofessional categories (lawyers, doctors, teachersand managers) in the design and formulation ofpolicy proposals and identify the factors thatinfluence their level of involvement. The studywas conducted in seven counties in the North-Western Region of Romania using a conveniencesample of 250 individuals. Data gathered showsthat involvement is low in all four categories withlawyers topping the list surprisingly. Moreover wehave identified certain drawbacks about currentlegal framework for sustaining public involvementwhich negatively affects the level of publicparticipation. Even though the data is provisionaland is representative only for the study populationthe results are in line with other studies on thismatter which show little public participation in thepolicy process.</p

The Mass Media Influence on the Impact of Health Policy

<p>The theme of this study is a distinct examination of the issues regarding health policy, social representations and mass media. The analysis of the mass media influence on the impact of health policy leads to a portrayal of the related programs and the way they are received by citizens through mass media. Owing to the mass media quality to be an indicator of democracy it is very important to study its role in setting people daily agenda considering how it is able to maintain and create trends merely through recurrent messages. The issues frequently conveyed by media industry influences citizens’ interest with regard to community, producing effects on public policy. We must bear in mind that the more persistent in media they are, the more relevant for community this issues will be. The authors of the study put forward a method through which diverse programmes can be analysed. A comparative analysis of mass media and citizens’ social representations and its findings provide information about the influence between them. According to agenda setting theory and many international studies on health policy the authors conclude that mass media institution highly influence the impact of the health policy in health. Moreover, it is important to mention that the impact refers to all the stages of a policy-making: beginning with the problem identification and ending with the evaluation of the implementation process.</p

Organizational Diagnosis - a Management Tool for Change. Case Study in Satu Mare County Hospital

<p>Most human activities are the product ofcoordinated actions performed by individualsworking as a team rather than individuals workingalone. Thus, the processes through which theyaccomplish their tasks, change, decide andrelate to each other inside an organization isessential. This paper is about the importanceof Organizational Diagnosis in management ofchange. Organizational Diagnosis is an essentialstep in every initiative of change, and with everchanging environment in which flexibility andcreativity are proving to be key values, mostmanagers are interested in questions regardingthe nature of organizational process and structure,human relations, and nature of change. The paperpresents such a case of using organizationaldiagnosis as a management tool in a changeprocess inside a health care organization. Usingthis tool has helped the management team identifythe existing gaps between “what is” and “whatshould be” and has increased the chances of asuccessful change process.</p

A Community-Based Intervention for Increasing Access to Health Information in Rural Settings

The health information needs of people living in rural areas are unmet. We aim to report on the results of the IRIS institutional- and population-level intervention designed to improve access to health information in rural settings. The intervention consisted of three components: equip local libraries with health-related books, train librarians to refer them to locals, and enhance locals’ health information seeking behavior, self-efficacy, and health literacy. Data was collected using a mixed-methods strategy of inquiry in 2010 and 2011 from 822 adult inhabitants from four rural communities in Cluj county, Romania, using a nonrandomized control-group pretest-posttest study design. We used the Kruskal-Walis one-way analysis of variance to determine statistically significant differences between the two study groups.Results show that individuals from rural communities included in the intervention group were more engaged in health information seeking, had higher self-efficacy in reading and understanding health-related materials, and reported higher frequencies of asking about and borrowing books on health themes from the village library as compared to respondents in the control group. As the IRIS initiative made use of available community resources and proposed only several incremental changes within the librarian system, this intervention has a major potential of sustainability and replicability.</p

Informal Payments in the Health Care System - Research, Media and Policy

<p>Informal payments in the health system refer to any payment made outside the legal funding framework. The existence of the phenomenon in Central and Eastern European countries relates to the characteristics of the health systems in the communist period. The analysis is based on three types of data: a set of data gathered from literature review; a second set of data gathered from online media; and a third set of data collected from legislative and public policy. The analysis was pursued using the key words such as informal payment, under-the-table payment, out-of-pocket payment, envelope payment, healthcare corruption, under-the-counter payment. As reflected in the media reports and even publicly recognized by the officials of the Ministry of Health, informal payments are a serious problem of the Romanian healthcare system. Nevertheless, the studies pursued by local researchers are inconsistent with the actual magnitude of the problem. Besides that, there is a serious gap between the findings in this area and the policies intended to reduce the phenomenon.</p

Prediction Over the Evolution of the Health System

<p>The predictive analysis included in the present work begins with identifying the main areas of interest for the future situation of the public health system in Romania, or in any other European state for that matter; these areas of interest relate to the most arduously debated issues, either on a national level or in the proficient institutions of the European Union. However, as previously argued, we consider such an approach to be insufficient for an appropriate description of the potentialities existing at the level of the health systems; accordingly, we consider more relevant the approach of the prediction of future changes by using four variables that have to do, on the one hand, with all the problems of the national systems of public health, and on the other hand, with offering useful information to all states, irrespective of issues such as differences in giving funds, and/or inconsistencies related to the most prominent subjects.</p

Access to Health Information in Rural Settings – The Implementation of the Library’s Law No. 334/2002 in Transylvania, Romania

<p>The purpose of this paper is to assess  the extent to which the Law no. 334/2002 is  implemented in Romania, focusing on the main  points which could facilitate the access to health  information in rural Transylvania. It pursues a cross- sectional design, with a quantitative strategy of  inquiry. The study was conducted in 12 counties  in Transylvania, Romania on a representative  strati fi ed random sample of 216 communes. A  policy analysis framework was created using a  13 dichotomous items chart, operationalized from  the provisions of the law, and calculated on the  basis of one or multiple variables in the dataset.  From the total of 212 communes in the sample,  19 of them (9%), distributed over 9 counties,  did not have a functioning public library at the  time of the interview. Only four of the locations  included in the study complied with at least 10  legal provisions out of the 13 analyzed, while none  complied with all provisions analyzed. Results  showed that the policy is implemented at varying  degrees in rural Transylvania, but a tendency  towards non-compliance is observed, which  would constitute a strong argument for including  developing a comprehensive intervention with a  public policy component in enhancing access to  health information.   </p