Stability for a class of equilibrium solutions to the coagulation-fragmentation equation

We consider the behaviour of solutions to the continuous constant-rate coagulation-fragmentation equation in the vicinity of an equilibrium solution. Semigroup methods are used to show that the governing linear equation for a perturbation epsilon(x,t) has a unique globally defined solution for suitable initial conditions. In addition, Laplace transforms and the method of characteristics lead to an explicit formula for epsilon. The long-term behavior of epsilon is also discussed

Ordered Diamond Nanowire Growth on Mesoporous Silica Oxides Using Hot Filament Chemical Vapour Deposition - A Feasibility Study

The concept of growing ordered diamond nanowires using HFCVD is investigated in this research. Modified mesoporous silicas are synthesized as possible substrates for diamond nanowire growth and their structures are examined using nitrogen porosimmetry. HFCVD is used initially to grow diamond coatings on silicon wafer before the novel use of the technique to attempt the first growth of ordered diamond nanowires using mesoporous silica as a template. The findings of this research show the conditions for growth of diamond using the CVD technique may be, however, outside of the conditions within which the mesoporous silicas are very stable. At a temperature that shows good deposition on flat substrates the results suggest, with a decrease in overall mass of the sample, that there may be a breakdown of the porous structure of the silicas

Innovative teaching of IC design and manufacture using the Superchip platform

In this paper we describe how an intelligent chip architecture has allowed a large cohort of undergraduate students to be given effective practical insight into IC design by designing and manufacturing their own ICs. To achieve this, an efficient chip architecture, the “Superchip”, has been developed, which allows multiple student designs to be fabricated on a single IC, and encapsulated in a standard package without excessive cost in terms of time or resources. We demonstrate how the practical process has been tightly coupled with theoretical aspects of the degree course and how transferable skills are incorporated into the design exercise. Furthermore, the students are introduced at an early stage to the key concepts of team working, exposure to real deadlines and collaborative report writing. This paper provides details of the teaching rationale, design exercise overview, design process, chip architecture and test regime