Energy-efficiency improvements for optical access

This article discusses novel approaches to improve energy efficiency of different optical access technologies, including time division multiplexing passive optical network (TDM-PON), time and wavelength division multiplexing PON (TWDM-PON), point-to-point (PTP) access network, wavelength division multiplexing PON (WDM-PON), and orthogonal frequency division multiple access PON (OFDMA-PON). These approaches include cyclic sleep mode, energy-efficient bit interleaving protocol, power reduction at component level, or frequency band selection. Depending on the target optical access technology, one or a combination of different approaches can be applied

Study of Thick CZT Detectors for X-ray and Gamma-Ray Astronomy

CdZnTe (CZT) is a wide bandgap II-VI semiconductor developed for the spectroscopic detection of X-rays and {\gamma}-rays at room temperature. The Swift Burst Alert Telescope is using an 5240 cm2 array of 2 mm thick CZT detectors for the detection of 15-150 keV X-rays from Gamma-Ray Bursts. We report on the systematic tests of thicker (\geq 0.5 cm) CZT detectors with volumes between 2 cm3 and 4 cm3 which are potential detector choices for a number of future X-ray telescopes that operate in the 10 keV to a few MeV energy range. The detectors contacted in our laboratory achieve Full Width Half Maximum energy resolutions of 2.7 keV (4.5%) at 59 keV, 3 keV (2.5%) at 122 keV and 4 keV (0.6%) at 662 keV. The 59 keV and 122 keV energy resolutions are among the world-best results for \geq 0.5 cm thick CZT detectors. We use the data set to study trends of how the energy resolution depends on the detector thickness and on the pixel pitch. Unfortunately, we do not find clear trends, indicating that even for the extremely good energy resolutions reported here, the achievable energy resolutions are largely determined by the properties of individual crystals. Somewhat surprisingly, we achieve the reported results without applying a correction of the anode signals for the depth of the interaction. Measuring the interaction depths thus does not seem to be a pre-requisite for achieving sub-1% energy resolutions at 662 keV.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figure

Interactions and Scaling in a Disordered Two-Dimensional Metal

We show that a non-Fermi liquid state of interacting electrons in two dimensions is stable in the presence of disorder and is a perfect conductor, provided the interactions are sufficiently strong. Otherwise, the disorder leads to localization as in the case of non-interacting electrons. This conclusion is established by examining the replica field theory in the weak disorder limit, but in the presence of arbitrary electron-electron interaction. Thus, a disordered two-dimensional metal is a perfect metal, but not a Fermi liquid.Comment: 4 pages, RevTe

Survey Design to Unravel Freight Transportation Demand of Establishments in Cities

Freight transportation serves the vital role of fulfilling the goods demand of residents in cities, yet little is known about the mechanisms that generate freight movements and their impact on traffic. Even though technology may allow us to better trace real-time movements, establishment surveys are still important to collect data on strategic and tactical freight transportation decisions. Leveraging state-of-art knowledge, a survey was specifically designed to investigate freight travel demand. This paper shows the preparation, execution and data processing of a survey on establishments in Singapore. Analysis of the survey data allows us to explain variations in delivery, such as, the types of supplier, the size and frequency of goods deliveries, and the timing of deliveries

Multiple case-study analysis of quality management practices within UK Six Sigma and non-Six Sigma manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises

This paper examines multiple case-study analysis of quality management practices within UK Six Sigma and non-Six Sigma manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises

Harvesting low-grade heat energy using thermo-osmotic vapour transport through nanoporous membranes

Low-grade heat from sources below 100 ∘C offers a vast quantity of energy. The ability to extract this energy, however, is limited with existing technologies as they are not well-suited to harvest energy from sources with variable heat output or with a small temperature difference between the source and the environment. Here, we present a process for extracting energy from low-grade heat sources utilizing hydrophobic, nanoporous membranes that trap air within their pores when submerged in a liquid. By driving a thermo-osmotic vapour flux across the membrane from a hot reservoir to a pressurized cold reservoir, heat energy can be converted to mechanical work. We demonstrate operation of air-trapping membranes under hydraulic pressures up to 13 bar, show that power densities as high as 3.53 ± 0.29 W m−2 are achievable with a 60 ∘C heat source and a 20 ∘C heat sink, and estimate the efficiency of a full-scale system. The results demonstrate a promising process to harvest energy from low-temperature differences (<40 ∘C) and fluctuating heat sources

Emergent Multi-flavor QED3 at the Plateau Transition between Fractional Chern Insulators: Applications to graphene heterostructures

Recent experiments in graphene heterostructures have observed Chern insulators - integer and fractional Quantum Hall states made possible by a periodic substrate potential. Here we study theoretically the competition between different Chern insulators, which can be tuned by the amplitude of the periodic potential, leads to a new family of quantum critical points described by QED$_3$-Chern-Simons theory. At these critical points, $N_f$ flavors of Dirac fermions interact through an emergent U$(1)$ gauge theory at Chern-Simons level $K$, and remarkably, the entire family (with any $N_f$ or $K$) can be realized at special values of the external magnetic field. Transitions between particle-hole conjugate Jain states realize "pure" QED$_3$ in which multiple flavors of Dirac fermion interact with a Maxwell U$(1)$ gauge field. The multi-flavor nature of the critical point leads to an emergent SU$(N_f)$ symmetry. Specifically, at the transition from a $\nu=$1/3 to 2/3 quantum Hall state, the emergent SU(3) symmetry predicts an octet of charge density waves with enhanced susceptibilities, which is verified by DMRG numerical simulations on microscopic models applicable to graphene heterostructures. We propose experiments on Chern insulators that could resolve open questions in the study of 2+1 dimensional conformal field theories and test recent duality inspired conjectures.Comment: 16 pages + refs, 6 figure

Spin-Phonon Coupling in Iron Pnictide Superconductors

The magnetic moment in the parent phase of the iron-pnictide superconductors varies with composition even when the nominal charge of iron is unchanged. We propose the spin-lattice coupling due to the magneto-volume effect as the primary origin of this effect, and formulate a Landau theory to describe the dependence of the moment to the Fe-As layer separation. We then compare the superconductive critical temperature of doped iron pnictides to the local moment predicted by the theory, and suggest that the spin-phonon coupling may play a role in the superconductivity of this compound

S-matrix approach to quantum gases in the unitary limit II: the three-dimensional case

A new analytic treatment of three-dimensional homogeneous Bose and Fermi gases in the unitary limit of negative infinite scattering length is presented, based on the S-matrix approach to statistical mechanics we recently developed. The unitary limit occurs at a fixed point of the renormalization group with dynamical exponent z=2 where the S-matrix equals -1. For fermions we find T_c /T_F is approximately 0.1. For bosons we present evidence that the gas does not collapse, but rather has a critical point that is a strongly interacting form of Bose-Einstein condensation. This bosonic critical point occurs at n lambda^3 approximately 1.3 where n is the density and lambda the thermal wavelength, which is lower than the ideal gas value of 2.61.Comment: 26 pages, 16 figure