Accelerated battery-life testing - A concept

Test program, employing empirical, statistical and physical methods, determines service life and failure probabilities of electrochemical cells and batteries, and is applicable to testing mechanical, electrical, and chemical devices. Data obtained aids long-term performance prediction of battery or cell

The effect of low-energy ion-implantation on the electrical transport properties of Si-SiO2 MOSFETs

Using silicon MOSFETs with thin (5nm) thermally grown SiO2 gate dielectrics, we characterize the density of electrically active traps at low-temperature after 16keV phosphorus ion-implantation through the oxide. We find that, after rapid thermal annealing at 1000oC for 5 seconds, each implanted P ion contributes an additional 0.08 plus/minus 0.03 electrically active traps, whilst no increase in the number of traps is seen for comparable silicon implants. This result shows that the additional traps are ionized P donors, and not damage due to the implantation process. We also find, using the room temperature threshold voltage shift, that the electrical activation of donors at an implant density of 2x10^12 cm^-2 is ~100%.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure

Diagnosing pregnancy in sheep : the \u27Scanopreg\u27

The Scanopreg , an ultrasonic machine for diagnosing pregnancy in sheep, is effective as early as eight to nine weeks of pregnancy, and could therefore be a useful management tool

Carbide/nitride grain refined rare earth-iron-boron permanent magnet and method of making

A method of making a permanent magnet wherein 1) a melt is formed having a base alloy composition comprising RE, Fe and/or Co, and B (where RE is one or more rare earth elements) and 2) TR (where TR is a transition metal selected from at least one of Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, W, and Al) and at least one of C and N are provided in the base alloy composition melt in substantially stoichiometric amounts to form a thermodynamically stable compound (e.g. TR carbide, nitride or carbonitride). The melt is rapidly solidified in a manner to form particulates having a substantially amorphous (metallic glass) structure and a dispersion of primary TRC, TRN and/or TRC/N precipitates. The amorphous particulates are heated above the crystallization temperature of the base alloy composition to nucleate and grow a hard magnetic phase to an optimum grain size and to form secondary TRC, TRN and/or TRC/N precipitates dispersed at grain boundaries. The crystallized particulates are consolidated at an elevated temperature to form a shape. During elevated temperature consolidation, the primary and secondary precipitates act to pin the grain boundaries and minimize deleterious grain growth that is harmful to magnetic properties

Traces of the Past: Raising the Allumettières (Matchworkers) in Sites of Collective Remembering

Engaging with historical events, people and places encourages students to envision history as a dynamic process where individual, group, and national identities are reproduced. These types of educational interventions can foster recognition that history—both past events and our records about them—result from a process of authorship. The recent surge of interest amongst history educators and within recent publications of provincial curricula that focus on historical thinking concepts—historical significance, primary source evidence, continuity and change, cause and consequence, historical perspectives, and the ethical dimension of historical interpretations—encourages educators to consider ways to integrate these concepts within their teaching practice. Our case study of the narrative account of the allumettières (matchworkers) of Hull, Quebec is an example of one type of classroom inquiry into local places of remembering that could be taken up in the context of recent developments in, and aspirations for, the history curriculum. Our project invites readers to engage in the historical process of understanding the past within contemporary classrooms by drawing upon a range of interdisciplinary approaches including web-based exhibits and artefacts, visits to historic sites, published accounts and dramatic representations to meet these curriculum expectations

Carbide/nitride grain refined rare earth-iron-boron permanent magnet and method of making

A method of making a permanent magnet wherein 1) a melt is formed having a base alloy composition comprising RE, Fe and/or Co, and B (where RE is one or more rare earth elements) and 2) TR (where TR is a transition metal selected from at least one of Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, W, and Al) and at least one of C and N are provided in the base alloy composition melt in substantially stoichiometric amounts to form a thermodynamically stable compound (e.g. TR carbide, nitride or carbonitride). The melt is rapidly solidified in a manner to form particulates having a substantially amorphous (metallic glass) structure and a dispersion of primary TRC, TRN and/or TRC/N precipitates. The amorphous particulates are heated above the crystallization temperature of the base alloy composition to nucleate and grow a hard magnetic phase to an optimum grain size and to form secondary TRC, TRN and/or TRC/N precipitates dispersed at grain boundaries. The crystallized particulates are consolidated at an elevated temperature to form a shape. During elevated temperature consolidation, the primary and secondary precipitates act to pin the grain boundaries and minimize deleterious grain growth that is harmful to magnetic properties

Electrically-detected magnetic resonance in ion-implanted Si:P nanostructures

We present the results of electrically-detected magnetic resonance (EDMR) experiments on silicon with ion-implanted phosphorus nanostructures, performed at 5 K. The devices consist of high-dose implanted metallic leads with a square gap, into which Phosphorus is implanted at a non-metallic dose corresponding to 10^17 cm^-3. By restricting this secondary implant to a 100 nm x 100 nm region, the EDMR signal from less than 100 donors is detected. This technique provides a pathway to the study of single donor spins in semiconductors, which is relevant to a number of proposals for quantum information processing.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Low temperature heat capacity of Fe_{1-x}Ga_{x} alloys with large magneostriction

The low temperature heat capacity C_{p} of Fe_{1-x}Ga_{x} alloys with large magnetostriction has been investigated. The data were analyzed in the standard way using electron ($\gamma T$) and phonon ($\beta T^{3}$) contributions. The Debye temperature $\Theta_{D}$ decreases approximately linearly with increasing Ga concentration, consistent with previous resonant ultrasound measurements and measured phonon dispersion curves. Calculations of $\Theta_{D}$ from lattice dynamical models and from measured elastic constants C_{11}, C_{12} and C_{44} are in agreement with the measured data. The linear coefficient of electronic specific heat $\gamma$ remains relatively constant as the Ga concentration increases, despite the fact that the magnetoelastic coupling increases. Band structure calculations show that this is due to the compensation of majority and minority spin states at the Fermi level.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure

Low-Temperature Rapid Synthesis and Superconductivity of Fe-Based Oxypnictide Superconductors

we were able to develop a novel method to synthesize Fe-based oxypnictide superconductors. By using LnAs and FeO as the starting materials and a ball-milling process prior to solid-state sintering, Tc as high as 50.7 K was obtained with the sample of Sm 0.85Nd0.15FeAsO0.85F0.15 prepared by sintering at temperatures as low as 1173 K for times as short as 20 min.Comment: 2 pages,2 figures, 1 tabl