Electromechanical performance comparison for different CMUT element geometries

Conferencia celebrada en Sevilla (España) del 19 al 21 de septiembre del 2012.Different capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs) element geometries and fabrication techniques have been proposed through the years though the questions of which element geometry suits each application best as well as further geometrical, array and design parameter optimization techniques still remain open. This paper proposes a thorough comparison between square, hexagonal and circular CMUT elements and geometries through finite element method (FEM) simulations and provides results comparing their respective electromechanical parameters.Peer reviewe

Coherent spin rotations in open driven double quantum dots

We analyze the charge and spin dynamics in a DC biased double quantum dot driven by crossed DC and AC magnetic fields. In this configuration, spatial delocalization due to inter-dot tunnel competes with intra-dot spin rotations induced by the time dependent magnetic field, giving rise to a complicated time dependent behavior of the tunnelling current. When the Zeeman splitting has the same value in both dots and spin flip is negligible, the electrons remain in the triplet subspace (dark subspace) performing coherent spin rotations and the current does not flow. This electronic trapping is removed either by finite spin relaxation or when the Zeeman splitting is different in each quantum dot. In the first case, our results show that measuring the current will allow to get information on the spin relaxation time. In the last case, we will show that applying a resonant bichromatic magnetic field, the electrons become trapped in a coherent superposition of states and electronic transport is blocked. Then, manipulating AC magnetic fields, electrons are driven to perform coherent spin rotations which can be unambiguously detected by direct measurement of the tunneling current.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures. Extended published versio

Ultrapurification of Silicon for Photovoltaic Applications

The recent explosive growth of Photovoltaics and the relative avidity for silicon of the predominant solar cell technology have resulted in a dramatic change of the polysilicon industry structure. While in the past the polysilicon was manufactured almost exclusively for the semiconductor industry, now more than half of the market is devoted to the solar industry. The different alternative routes to purify silicon for photovoltaic applications are presented in the paper, analysing their advantages and drawbacks. Emphasis is made on the CENTESIL initiative, a new private-public partnership venture promoting a pilot plant that is in an advanced state of construction. The goal is to allow the photovoltaic companies worldwide to count with an independent research centre to help them to establish their own polysilicon plant

GAMES: A new Scenario for Software and Knowledge Reuse

Games are a well-known test bed for testing search algorithms and learning methods, and many authors have presented numerous reasons for the research in this area. Nevertheless, they have not received the attention they deserve as software projects. In this paper, we analyze the applicability of software and knowledge reuse in the games domain. In spite of the need to find a good evaluation function, search algorithms and interface design can be said to be the primary concerns. In addition, we will discuss the current state of the main statistical learning methods and how they can be addressed from a software engineering point of view. So, this paper proposes a reliable environment and adequate tools, necessary in order to achieve high levels of reuse in the games domain

A study of the combustion problems of solid materials at conditions existing in space stations

Combustión of a solid at microgravity conditions at zero or at very small forced flow velocities is in the first place discussed, pointing out that this is the basic process of a fire in a manned spacecraft, in which might exist small air currents originated by the air conditioning equipment or by the motion of the people. Results of an experimental programme carried out in the 23rd ESA Flight campaign 96/12 and utilising a NASA aircraft laboratory, are shown and discussed. Six combustión chambers were utilised provided with video and infrared cameras. Non visible flames in the visual range were originated at two oxygen concentrations, and photographs were taken by means of an infrared camera. Several ignition tests at different oxygen concentrations were performed and flammability limits were obtained. Fíame spread velocities were measured and compared at three different gravity levéis (1 g, ~10"2 g and 10"4 g). A combustión research programme to be carried out in a Texus rocket, already in progress is briefly discussed. Finally, the scope of a complete research programme, which is in the process of being carried out in the NASA combustión module of the International Space Station is briefly resumed

A Density Management Diagram Including Stand Stability and Crown Fire Risk for Pseudotsuga Menziesii (Mirb.) Franco in Spain

A static stand density management diagram was constructed for Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirb.] Franco) plantations in Spain on the basis of 3 equations that were fitted simultaneously by the full information maximum likelihood procedure to data derived from 172 plots measured across the Cantabrian and pre-Pyrenean ranges. The first equation relates quadratic mean diameter to the number of stems per hectare and dominant height. The other 2 equations relate stand volume and stand aboveground biomass to quadratic mean diameter, number of stems per hectare, and dominant height. An estimation of the average slenderness coefficient for the 250 largest trees per hectare and the canopy bulk density were included. The stand density management diagram outlined here enables rapid, straightforward comparisons among different thinning schedules for forest plantations in mountain regions, in which timber production, risk of crown fire, and the risk of damage from wind or snow are considered.Funding for this research was provided by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology through project 1FD97-0585-C03-03S

Vetting and verifying multimodal false information. A challenge for democratic societies

Presentation of the volume 64.Presentación del volumen 64.Presentació del volum 64

Moduli Spaces of Semistable Sheaves on Singular Genus One Curves

We find some equivalences of the derived category of coherent sheaves on a Gorenstein genus one curve that preserve the (semi)-stability of pure dimensional sheaves. Using them we establish new identifications between certain Simpson moduli spaces of semistable sheaves on the curve. For rank zero, the moduli spaces are symmetric powers of the curve whilst for a fixed positive rank there are only a finite number of non-isomorphic spaces. We prove similar results for the relative semistable moduli spaces on an arbitrary genus one fibration with no conditions either on the base or on the total space. For a cycle $E_N$ of projective lines, we show that the unique degree 0 stable sheaves are the line bundles having degree 0 on every irreducible component and the sheaves $\mathcal{O}(-1)$ supported on one irreducible component. We also prove that the connected component of the moduli space that contains vector bundles of rank $r$ is isomorphic to the $r$-th symmetric product of the rational curve with one node.Comment: 26 pages, 4 figures. Added the structure of the biggest component of the moduli space of sheaves of degree 0 on a cycle of projective lines. Final version; to appear en IMRS (International Mathematics Research Notices 2009

Design of an Efficient Interconnection Network of Temperature Sensors

Temperature has become a first class design constraint because high temperatures adversely affect circuit reliability, static power and degrade the performance. In this scenario, thermal characterization of ICs and on-chip temperature monitoring represent fundamental tasks in electronic design. In this work, we analyze the features that an interconnection network of temperature sensors must fulfill. Departing from the network topology, we continue with the proposal of a very light-weight network architecture based on digitalization resource sharing. Our proposal supposes a 16% improvement in area and power consumption compared to traditional approache