Sidekick compilation with xDSL

Traditionally, compiler researchers either conduct experiments within an existing production compiler or develop their own prototype compiler; both options come with trade-offs. On one hand, prototyping in a production compiler can be cumbersome, as they are often optimized for program compilation speed at the expense of software simplicity and development speed. On the other hand, the transition from a prototype compiler to production requires significant engineering work. To bridge this gap, we introduce the concept of sidekick compiler frameworks, an approach that uses multiple frameworks that interoperate with each other by leveraging textual interchange formats and declarative descriptions of abstractions. Each such compiler framework is specialized for specific use cases, such as performance or prototyping. Abstractions are by design shared across frameworks, simplifying the transition from prototyping to production. We demonstrate this idea with xDSL, a sidekick for MLIR focused on prototyping and teaching. xDSL interoperates with MLIR through a shared textual IR and the exchange of IRs through an IR Definition Language. The benefits of sidekick compiler frameworks are evaluated by showing on three use cases how xDSL impacts their development: teaching, DSL compilation, and rewrite system prototyping. We also investigate the trade-offs that xDSL offers, and demonstrate how we simplify the transition between frameworks using the IRDL dialect. With sidekick compilation, we envision a future in which engineers minimize the cost of development by choosing a framework built for their immediate needs, and later transitioning to production with minimal overhead

A neutron trigger detector for pulsed neutron sources

A variety of experiments investigating properties of neutrons can be performed at pulsed source facilities like the research reactor TRIGA Mainz. A typical problem faced by these experiments is the non-availibility of a reliable facility-provided trigger signal in coincidence with the neutron production. Here we present the design and implementation of a neutron pulse detector that provides a coincident trigger signal for experimental timing with a relative precision of 4.5 ms.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figure

Photoelectrolytic oxidation of organic species at mesoporous tungsten trioxide film electrodes under visible light illumination

Operation of a photoelectrolyser fitted with a semitransparent semiconducting WO3 film photoanode is described. Due to its band-gap energy of 2.5 eV, the photoresponse of the WO3 electrode extends into the blue part of the visible spectrum up to 500 nm. The WO3 photoanode exhibits particularly high incident photon-to-current efficiencies for the oxidation of several organic species with the maximum occurring at ca. 400 nm. Experiments conducted under simulated AM 1.5 solar illumination demonstrated efficient photodegradation of a variety of organic chemicals including small organic molecules as well as EDTA and anthraquinonic Acid Blue 80 dye. Although, due to the inherent mass transport limitations, the described device appears best suited to the treatment of industrial wastewater containing from 100 ppm to few g L−1 of impurities, almost complete removal of organic carbon was observed in several photoelectrolysis runs. This is apparently associated with the concomitant photooxidation of sulphate-based supporting electrolyte resulting in the formation of a powerful chemical oxidant-persulphate

Electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol on platinum microparticles in polypyrrole

The oxidation of methanol on gold electrodes modified with polypyrrole and platinum is reported. These electrodes were characterized by cyclic voltammetry and by 12h polarizations in methanol solutions. They were found to give higher currents and lower rates of drift than electrodes of platinum and platinized gold. The effect of varying the amount of platinum deposited is also discussed