Data Base Management Systems Panel. Third workshop summary

The discussions and results of a review by a panel of data base management system (DRMS) experts of various aspects of the use of DBMSs within NASA/Office of Space and Terrestrial Applications (OSTA) and related organizations are summarized. The topics discussed included the present status of the use of DBMS technology and of the various ongoing DBMS-related efforts within NASA. The report drafts of a study that seeks to determine the functional requirements for a generalized DBMS for the NASA/OSTA and related data bases are examined. Future problems and possibilities with the use of DBMS technology are also considered. A list of recommendations for NASA/OSTA data systems is included

An efficient parametric algorithm for octree traversal

An octree is a well known hierarchical spatial structure which is widely used in Computer Graphics algorithms. One of the most frequent operations is the computation of the octree voxels intersected by a straight line. This has a number of applications, such as ray-object intersection tests speed-up and visualisation of hierarchical density models by ray-casting. Several methods have been proposed to achieve this goal, which differ in the order in which intersected voxels are visited. In this paper we introduce a new top-down parametric method. The main difference with previously proposed methods is related to descent movements, that is, the selection of a child sub-voxel from the current one. This selection, as the algorithm, is based on the parameter of the ray and comprises simple comparisons. The resulting algorithm is easy to implement, and efficient when compared to other related top-down and bottom-up algorithms for octrees. Finally, a comparison with Kelvin’s method for binary trees is presented

Excitation Enhancement of a Quantum Dot Coupled to a Plasmonic Antenna

Plasmonic antennas are key elements to control the luminescence of quantum emitters. However, the antenna's influence is often hidden by quenching losses. Here, the luminescence of a quantum dot coupled to a gold dimer antenna is investigated. Detailed analysis of the multiply excited states quantifies the antenna's influence on the excitation intensity and the luminescence quantum yield separately

Quintessence and cosmic acceleration

A cosmological model with perfect fluid and self-interacting quintessence field is considered in the framework of the spatially flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) geometry. By assuming that all physical quantities depend on the volume scale factor of the Universe, the general solution of the gravitational field equations can be expressed in an exact parametric form. The quintessence field is a free parameter. With an appropriate choice of the scalar field a class of exact solutions is obtained, with an exponential type scalar field potential fixed via the gravitational field equations. The general physical behavior of the model is consistent with the recent cosmological scenario favored by supernova Type Ia observations, indicating an accelerated expansion of the Universe.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Int. J. Mod. Phys.

Roughness Analysis In Strained Silicon-on-insulator Wires And Films

Strained silicon is used to enhance performance in state-of-the-art CMOS. Under device operating conditions, the effect of strain is to reduce the carrier scattering at the channel by a smoother semiconductor surface. This has never been completely understood. This paper gives first evidence of the variation in surface roughness under realistic strained conditions. At the nanoscale, the SiO2/Si interface roughness is dependent on the scale of observation (self-affinity). To date, there is no experimental study of the SiO2/Si interface roughness scaling with strain. This work presents the effect of uniaxial and biaxial strains on the surface roughness of strained silicon-on-insulator films and wires using atomic force microscopy. Levels of strain ranging from 0% to 2.3%, encompassing those used in present CMOS devices have been investigated. It is shown that the silicon surface is affected by uniaxial and biaxial strains differently. Three surface roughness parameters have been analyzed: root mean square roughness, correlation length, and the Hurst exponent, which is used to describe the scaling behavior of a self-affine surface. The results show that the root mean square roughness decreases (up to ∼ 40%) with increasing tensile strain, whereas the correlation length increases (up to ∼ 63nm/%) with increasing tensile strain. The Hurst exponent also varies with strain and with the undulation wavelength regime (between ∼ 0.8 and 0.2). This dependency explains why some models used to determine the carrier mobility from experiments fit the data better with a Gaussian form, whereas other models fit the data better with an exponential form.11612EPSRC; Engineering and Physical Sciences Research CouncilSong, Y., Zhou, H., Xu, Q., Luo, J., Yin, H., Yan, J., Zhong, H., (2011) J. Electron. Mater., 40, p. 1584Lee, M.L., Fitzgerald, E.A., Bulsara, M.T., Currie, M.T., Lochtefeld, A., (2005) J. Appl. 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