A low-power, low-cost infra-red emitter in CMOS technology

In this paper, 1 we present the design and characterization of a low-power low-cost infra-red emitter based on a tungsten micro-hotplate fabricated in a commercial 1-μm SOI-CMOS technology. The device has a 250-μm diameter resistive heater inside a 600-μm diameter thin dielectric membrane. We first present electro-thermal and optical device characterization, long term stability measurements, and then demonstrate its application as a gas sensor for a domestic boiler. The emitter has a dc power consumption of only 70 mW, a total emission of 0.8 mW across the 2.5–15-μm wavelength range, a 50% frequency modulation depth of 70 Hz, and excellent uniformity from device-to-device. We also compare two larger emitters (heater size of 600 and 1800 μm) made in the same technology that have a much higher infra-red emission, but at the detriment of higher power consumption. Finally, we demonstrate that carbon nanotubes can be used to significantly enhance the thermo-optical transduction efficiency of the emitter

Reconocimiento y ejecución de resoluciones extranjeras en el Reglamento de Bruselas I bis

La libre circulación de sentencias se ha convertido en la quinta libertad de la Unión Europea a fin de establecer un espacio de libertad, seguridad y justicia sin fronteras interiores. Este trabajo estudia el sistema de reconocimiento y ejecución de resoluciones en el Reglamento 1215/2012 relativo a la competencia judicial, el reconocimiento y la ejecución de resoluciones judiciales en materia civil y mercantil, mejor conocido como RBI bis, aplicable desde el 10 de enero de 2012. Para ello, se han estudiado los antecedentes del Reglamento, el ámbito de aplicación, los distintos procedimientos para el reconocimiento y la ejecución, las causas de denegación, los efectos de ambas instituciones y los posibles recursos disponibles. Por último se hace una breve referencia sobre los posibles desarrollos futuros encaminados a la creación de una armonización de normas de conflicto o un código básico de Derecho Procesal Europeo

Enhanced spectroscopic gas sensors using in-situ grown carbon nanotubes

In this letter, we present a fully complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) compatible microelectromechanical system thermopile infrared (IR) detector employing vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT) as an advanced nano-engineered radiation absorbing material. The detector was fabricated using a commercial silicon-on-insulator (SOI) process with tungsten metallization, comprising a silicon thermopile and a tungsten resistive micro-heater, both embedded within a dielectric membrane formed by a deep-reactive ion etch following CMOS processing. In-situ CNT growth on the device was achieved by direct thermal chemical vapour deposition using the integrated micro-heater as a micro-reactor. The growth of the CNT absorption layer was verified through scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The functional effects of the nanostructured ad-layer were assessed by comparing CNT-coated thermopiles to uncoated thermopiles. Fourier transform IR spectroscopy showed that the radiation absorbing properties of the CNT adlayer significantly enhanced the absorptivity, compared with the uncoated thermopile, across the IR spectrum (3 μm–15.5 μm). This led to a four-fold amplification of the detected infrared signal (4.26 μm) in a CO2 non-dispersive-IR gas sensor system. The presence of the CNT layer was shown not to degrade the robustness of the uncoated devices, whilst the 50% modulation depth of the detector was only marginally reduced by 1.5 Hz. Moreover, we find that the 50% normalized absorption angular profile is subsequently more collimated by 8°. Our results demonstrate the viability of a CNT-based SOI CMOS IR sensor for low cost air quality monitoring.This work was partly supported through the EU FP7 project SOI-HITS (No. 288481). MTC thanks the Oppenheimer Trust and the EPSRC IAA for their generous financial support.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from AIP at http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/apl/106/19/10.1063/1.4921170

Antidiabetic potential of mucilage fraction extracted from Astragalus gyzensis seeds

The objective of the current work is to extract a new mucilage fraction from Astragalus gyzensis Bunge. seeds, which are collected from the El-Oued province (septentrional Algerian Sahara) and evaluated for their antidiabetic potential. The mucilage fraction is obtained using hot water extraction followed by alcoholic precipitation of polysaccharides by cold ethanol (96%). The primary investigation was performed by describing the main structural features of the extract through colorimetric assays, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and thin-layer chromatography analysis using two systems. Biological activity was also monitored by antidiabetic activity by testing the inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes in vitro. The extraction yield was 20.69%. The chemical composition mainly consisted of 78.60±0.29% carbohydrates, among them 63.92±0.67% neutral sugar, 15.78±0.76% uronic acid, 8.08±0.04% proteins and 2.57±0.05% phenolic compounds. The results obtained by thin-layer chromatography analysis showed the dominance of mannose and galactose. Fourier-transform infrared spectrum showed characteristic bands expected galactomannans. The investigations highlighted the antihyperglycemic effect in a dose-dependent manner by the inhibition of the α-amylase enzyme (IC50=0.8±0.005 mg/mL). These factors make it suitable for the industrial application of dietary supplement fiber made for diabetic individuals. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.761853

Les services d’intérêt général dans le Traité constitutionnel de l'Union européenne

La notion de service d’intérêt général (SIG) est très présente dans le Traité constitutionnel. Cette présence est l’aboutissement d’une longue maturation commencée au début de la décennie 1990. Plusieurs étapes scandent cette progression : communication de la Commission sur les SIG en 1996, article 16 du Traité d’Amsterdam, deuxième communication de la Commission en 2001, Livre vert en 2003 puis Livre blanc en 2004. Parallèlement, la Cour de justice des Communautés européennes établissait une jurisprudence importante sur laquelle s’appuyait la Commission pour sa propre réflexion. Bien qu’absentes de la partie I du Traité constitutionnel, les valeurs de l’Union (article I-2) et les objectifs (article I-3) peuvent servir à fonder des objectifs de SIG dans l’Union. L’introduction de la Charte des droits fondamentaux, notamment l’article II-96 sur l’accès aux SIG, est porteuse de développement important ; l’article III-122 qui fixe l’objectif de légiférer transversalement sur les SIG permettra de fixer une doctrine européenne des SIG voire de créer et reconnaître des SIG européens

Le processus d’européanisation des services d’intérêt général dans le contexte de la construction européenne

Après un rappel des missions réalisées par le Comité européen de liaison sur les services d’intérêt général (Celsig) dont il est Animateur, Jean-Claude Boual retrace les grandes étapes de l’européanisation des services d’intérêt général pour se pencher ensuite sur les trois types de démarches liées à leur élaboration à l’échelle de l’UE (législative, relative aux Traités et jurisprudentielle). Pour conclure, il ouvre le débat sur deux questions : celle de la subsidiarité dans le cadre de la construction du marché unique et celle de la définition d’une économie sociale de marché au niveau communautaire

Development of plasmonic MEMS CMOS infrared sensors for occupancy detection

In this paper, we describe the application of novel MEMS CMOS infrared (IR) sensors for developing compact filter-less occupancy detections. Using such sensors we will report the feasibility of this application in terms of the: sensitivity; response time and selectivity with and without the plasmonic structure. Furthermore, we will compare the detection range, field of view and the size of object of these sensors can detect with and without optical lens

A Low-Power, Low-Cost Infra-Red Emitter in CMOS Technology

In this paper, we present the design and characterization of a low-power low-cost infra-red emitter based on a tungsten micro-hotplate fabricated in a commercial 1-μm silicon on insulator-CMOS technology. The device has a 250- μm diameter resistive heater inside a 600- μm diameter thin dielectric membrane. We first present electro-thermal and optical device characterization, long term stability measurements, and then demonstrate its application as a gas sensor for a domestic boiler. The emitter has a dc power consumption of only 70 mW, a total emission of 0.8 mW across the 2.5-15- μm wavelength range, a 50% frequency modulation depth of 70 Hz, and excellent reproducibility from device-to-device. We also compare two larger emitters (heater size of 600 and 1800μ m) made in the same technology that have a much higher infra-red emission, but at the detriment of higher power consumption. Finally, we demonstrate that carbon nanotubes can be used to significantly enhance the thermo-optical transduction efficiency of the emitter