One MEMS Design Tool with Maximal Six Design Flows

This paper presents one MEMS design tool with total six design flows, which makes it possible that the MEMS designers are able to choose the most suitable design flow for their specific devices. The design tool is divided into three levels and interconnected by six interfaces. The three levels are lumped-element model based system level, finite element analysis based device level and process level, which covers nearly all modeling and simulation functions for MEMS design. The six interfaces are proposed to automatically transmit the design data between every two levels, thus the maximal six design flows could be realized. The interfaces take the netlist, solid model and layout as the data inlet and outlet for the system, device and process level respectively. The realization of these interfaces are presented and verified by design examples, which also proves that the enough flexibility in the design flow can really increase the design efficiency.Comment: Submitted on behalf of EDA Publishing Association (http://irevues.inist.fr/EDA-Publishing

Electrochemical polymerisation of phenol in aqueous solution on a Ta/PbO2 anode

This paper deals with the treatment of aqueous phenol solutions using an electrochemical technique. Phenol can be partly eliminated from aqueous solution by electrochemically initiated polymerisation. Galvanostatic electrolyses of phenol solutions at concentration up to 0.1 mol dm−3 were carried out on a Ta/PbO2 anode. The polymers formed are insoluble in acidic medium but soluble in alkaline. These polymers were filtered and then dissolved in aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide (1 mol dm−3). The polymers formed were quantified by total organic carbon (TOC) measurement. It was found that the conversion of phenol into polymers increases as a function of initial concentration, anodic current density, temperature, and solution pH. The percentage of phenol polymerised can reach 15%

Impact of different factors on the risk perceptions of employees in container shipping companies: a case study of Taiwan

This paper attempts to investigate the impact of several factors on the risk perception of the employees in container shipping companies. The investigation is conducted through an empirical study using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) based on the Taiwan container shipping companies as a case study. The data were collected through a questionnaire survey in which the respondents were required to indicate their details (e.g. work experience, position, and department, etc.) and perceived risk factors in relation to container shipping logistics operations. The study reveals that work experience has a significant impact on the perception of risks in aspects of financial loss and safety and security incident related loss. It is notable that the respondents whose work experience is less than 10 years have a significantly higher perception of risks than the others. The study also shows that the size of company impacts on risk perceptions in respect of financial loss and safety and security incident related loss. In addition, employees’ position and their company type do not affect respondents’ risk perception

Translation from Classical Two-Way Automata to Pebble Two-Way Automata

We study the relation between the standard two-way automata and more powerful devices, namely, two-way finite automata with an additional "pebble" movable along the input tape. Similarly as in the case of the classical two-way machines, it is not known whether there exists a polynomial trade-off, in the number of states, between the nondeterministic and deterministic pebble two-way automata. However, we show that these two machine models are not independent: if there exists a polynomial trade-off for the classical two-way automata, then there must also exist a polynomial trade-off for the pebble two-way automata. Thus, we have an upward collapse (or a downward separation) from the classical two-way automata to more powerful pebble automata, still staying within the class of regular languages. The same upward collapse holds for complementation of nondeterministic two-way machines. These results are obtained by showing that each pebble machine can be, by using suitable inputs, simulated by a classical two-way automaton with a linear number of states (and vice versa), despite the existing exponential blow-up between the classical and pebble two-way machines

Spin-Orbit-Induced Orbital Excitations in Sr2RuO4 and Ca2RuO4: A Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering Study

High-resolution resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) at the oxygen K-edge has been used to study the orbital excitations of Ca2RuO4 and Sr2RuO4. In combination with linear dichroism X-ray absorption spectroscopy, the ruthenium 4d-orbital occupation and excitations were probed through their hybridization with the oxygen p-orbitals. These results are described within a minimal model, taking into account crystal field splitting and a spin-orbit coupling \lambda_{so}=200~meV. The effects of spin-orbit interaction on the electronic structure and implications for the Mott and superconducting ground states of (Ca,Sr)2RuO4 are discussed.Comment: accepted in PRB 201

Risk analysis for container shipping: from a logistics perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore and analyse the risks in container shipping operations from a logistics perspective. In the paper, risks associated with the three flows in logistics − information, physical, and payment flow are identified and analysed. Design/methodology/approach – The use of case study method was first explained and justified. Second, risk identification was started with supporting references, several interviews were then conducted to identify and validate the potential risks in container shipping operations. A questionnaire was deployed to collect related data; and the impacts of the risks were then assessed and ranked using the method of risk mapping. Findings – The paper has identified a total of 35 risk factors and classified them into different categories. The paper has also revealed that the risks associated with physical flows have more serious risk impacts than the other types of risks; however, one of the risk factors associated with information flow (shippers hiding cargo information) is the most significant one among all the factors. Originality/value – Although many studies have been conducted on container shipping operational risks, no studies so far have approached this issue from a perspective that inclusively examines all the possible risks and comprehensively evaluates the relative importance of each of them. This study has identified the risks in container shipping operations, and analysed and ranked the level of these risks. The research further “refines” the findings of some previous studies by placing the risk factors addressed therein in a full “risk picture” which was developed systematically

Magnetic-field-induced spin excitations and renormalized spin gap of the underdoped superconductor La1.895_{1.895}Sr0.105_{0.105}CuO4_{4}

High-resolution neutron inelastic scattering experiments in applied magnetic fields have been performed on La$_{1.895}$Sr$_{0.105}$CuO$_{4}$ (LSCO). In zero field, the temperature dependence of the low-energy peak intensity at the incommensurate momentum-transfer $\mathbf{Q}^{\ }_{\mathrm{IC}}=(0.5,0.5\pm\delta,0),(0.5\pm\delta,0.5,0)$exhibits an anomaly at the superconducting$T^{\}_{c}$ which broadens and shifts to lower temperature upon the application of a magnetic field along the c-axis. A field-induced enhancement of the spectral weight is observed, but only at finite energy transfers and in an intermediate temperature range. These observations establish the opening of a strongly downward renormalized spin gap in the underdoped regime of LSCO. This behavior contrasts with the observed doping dependence of most electronic energy features.Comment: accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

Effect of bilayer coupling on tunneling conductance of double-layer high T_c cuprates

Physical effects of bilayer coupling on the tunneling spectroscopy of high T$_{c}$ cuprates are investigated. The bilayer coupling separates the bonding and antibonding bands and leads to a splitting of the coherence peaks in the tunneling differential conductance. However, the coherence peak of the bonding band is strongly suppressed and broadened by the particle-hole asymmetry in the density of states and finite quasiparticle life-time, and is difficult to resolve by experiments. This gives a qualitative account why the bilayer splitting of the coherence peaks was not clearly observed in tunneling measurements of double-layer high-T$_c$ oxides.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to be published in PR

Numerical Jordan-Wigner approach for two dimensional spin systems

We present a numerical self consistent variational approach based on the Jordan-Wigner transformation for two dimensional spin systems. We apply it to the study of the well known quantum (S=1/2) antiferromagnetic XXZ system as a function of the easy-axis anisotropy \Delta on a periodic square lattice. For the SU(2) case the method converges to a N\'eel ordered ground state irrespectively of the input density profile used and in accordance with other studies. This shows the potential utility of the proposed method to investigate more complicated situations like frustrated or disordered systems.Comment: Revtex, 8 pages, 4 figure

Leptonic Decays of the W-Boson in a Strong Electromagnetic Field

The probability of W-boson decay into a lepton and a neutrino in a strong electromagnetic field is calculated. On the basis of the method for deriving exact solutions to relativistic wave equations for charged particles, an exact analytic expression is obtained for the partial W-decay width at an arbitrary value of the external field strength. It is found that, in the region of comparatively weak fields, field-induced corrections to the standard decay width of the W-boson in a vacuum are about a few percent. In these conditions at first we observe the decrease of the W-boson partial decay width with the increase of the external field strength parameter. At absolute minimum the W-width deviates from the corresponding vacuum value by a factor 0,926. Then with further augmentation of the background field intensity the W-boson decay width grows monotonously. In superstrong fields the partial W-width is greater than the corresponding one in vacuum in a dozen of times.Comment: LaTex file, 19 pages, 2 Postscript figur