Metallic Triple Beam Resonator with Thick-film Printed Drive and Pickup

A triple beam resonator fabricated in 430S17 stainless steel with thick-film piezoelectric elements to drive and detect the vibrations is presented. The resonator substrate was fabricated by a simultaneous, double-sided photochemical etching technique and the thick-film piezoelectric elements were deposited by a standard screen-printing process. The combination of these two batch-fabrication processes provides the opportunity for mass production of the device at low cost. The resonator, a dynamically balanced triple beam tuning fork (TBTF) structure 23.5 mm long and 6.5 mm wide, has a favoured mode at 4.96 kHz with a Q-factor of 3630 operating in air

Low-power, low-penalty, flip-chip integrated, 10Gb/s ring-based 1V CMOS photonics transmitter

Modulation with 7.5dB transmitter penalty is demonstrated from a novel 1.5Vpp differential CMOS driver flip-chip integrated with a Si ring modulator, consuming 350fJ/bit from a single 1V supply at bit rates up to 10Gb/s

Topological Modes in Dual Lattice Models

Lattice gauge theory with gauge group $Z_{P}$ is reconsidered in four dimensions on a simplicial complex $K$. One finds that the dual theory, formulated on the dual block complex $\hat{K}$, contains topological modes which are in correspondence with the cohomology group $H^{2}(\hat{K},Z_{P})$, in addition to the usual dynamical link variables. This is a general phenomenon in all models with single plaquette based actions; the action of the dual theory becomes twisted with a field representing the above cohomology class. A similar observation is made about the dual version of the three dimensional Ising model. The importance of distinct topological sectors is confirmed numerically in the two dimensional Ising model where they are parameterized by $H^{1}(\hat{K},Z_{2})$.Comment: 10 pages, DIAS 94-3

Phase 1 - Evaluation of a Functional Interconnect System for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

This project is focused on evaluating the suitability of materials and complex multi-materials systems for use as solid oxide fuel cell interconnects. ATI Allegheny Ludlum has generated promising results for interconnect materials which incorporate modified surfaces. Methods for producing these surfaces include cladding, which permits the use of novel materials, and modifications via unique thermomechanical processing, which allows for the modification of materials chemistry. The University of Pittsburgh is assisting in this effort by providing use of their in-place facilities for dual atmosphere testing and ASR measurements, along with substantial work to characterize post-exposure specimens. Carnegie Mellon is testing interconnects for chromia scale spallation resistance using macro-scale and nano-scale indentation tests. Chromia spallation can increase electrical resistance to unacceptable levels and interconnect systems must be developed that will not experience spallation within 40,000 hours at operating temperatures. Spallation is one of three interconnect failure mechanisms, the others being excessive growth of the chromia scale (increasing electrical resistance) and scale evaporation (which can poison the cathode). The goal of indentation fracture testing at Carnegie Mellon is to accelerate the evaluation of new interconnect systems (by inducing spalls at after short exposure times) and to use fracture mechanics to understand mechanisms leading to premature interconnect failure by spallation. Tests include bare alloys from ATI and coated systems from DOE Laboratories and industrial partners, using ATI alloy substrates. West Virginia University is working towards developing a cost-effective material for use as a contact material in the cathode chamber of the SOFC. Currently materials such as platinum are well suited for this purpose, but are cost-prohibitive. For the solid-oxide fuel cell to become a commercial reality it is imperative that lower cost components be developed. Based on the results obtained to date, it appears that sterling silver could be an inexpensive, dependable candidate for use as a contacting material in the cathode chamber of the solid-oxide fuel cell. Although data regarding pure silver samples show a lower rate of thickness reduction, the much lower cost of sterling silver makes it an attractive alternative for use in SOFC operation

Low-voltage Ge avalanche photodetector for highly sensitive 10Gb/s Si photonic receivers

We demonstrate low-voltage germanium waveguide avalanche photodetectors (APD) with gain-bandwidth product of 88GHz. A 7.1dB sensitivity improvement is demonstrated for an APD wire-bonded to a 10Gb/s CMOS transimpedance amplifier, at -6.2V APD bias

Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Carbon-Based Graded Coatings

The paper presents research on coatings with advanced architecture, composed of a Cr/Cr2N ceramic/metal multilayer and graded carbon layers with varying properties from Cr/a-C:H to a-C:N. The microstructure of the coatings was analysed using transmission electron microscopy and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy, the mechanical properties were tested by nanoindentation, spherical indentation, and scratch testing, and tribological tests were also conducted. The proper selection of subsequent layers in graded coatings allowed high hardness and fracture resistance to be obtained as well as good adhesion to multilayers. Moreover, these coatings have higher wear resistance than single coatings and a friction coefficient equal to 0.25

Chandra and Suzaku observations of the Be/X-ray star HD110432

We present an analysis of a pointed 141 ks Chandra high resolution transmission gratings observation of the Be X-ray emitting star HD110432, a prominent member of the gamma Cas analogs. The Chandra lightcurve shows a high variability but its analysis fails to detect any coherent periodicity up to a frequency of 0.05 Hz. The analysis of the Chandra HETG spectrum shows that, to correctly describe the spectrum, three model components are needed. Two of those components are optically thin thermal plasmas of different temperatures (kT~8-9 and 0.2-0.3 keV respectively). Two different models seem to describe well the third component. One possibility is a third hot optically thin thermal plasma at kT=16-21 keV with an Fe abundance Z~0.3Zo, definitely smaller than for the other two thermal components. Alternatively, the third component can be described by a powerlaw with a photon index Gamma=1.56. In either case, the Chandra HETG spectrum establishes that each one of these components must be modified by distinct absorption columns. The analysis of a non contemporaneous 25 ks Suzaku observation shows the presence of a hard tail extending up to at least 33 keV. The Suzaku spectrum is described with the sum of two components: an optically thin thermal plasma at kT ~ 9 keV and a very hot second plasma with kT ~33 keV or, alternatively, a powerlaw with photon index Gamma=1.58. The analysis of the Si XIII and S XV He like triplets present in the Chandra spectrum point to a very dense (n_e ~ 10^13 cm^-3) plasma located either close to the stellar surface (r<3R_*) of the Be star or, alternatively, very close (r ~1.5R_WD) to the surface of a (hypothetical) WD companion. We argue, however, that the available data supports the first scenario.Comment: 13 pages, 21 Figures. Accepted for publication in Ap