Thin film coatings for new generation infrared thermal picture synthesising devices

The usefulness of infrared imaging devices has been proved by the continuous marketing of such products for more than 10 years. The need to produce thermal images with high apparent temperature values (600-800 deg. C) in the 3-5 micron waveband, mean that the operating temperature of the device pixels must be high. Such high temperature operation compromises the lifetime and switching speed of the pixels. It is hence desired that the real temperature of the pixels is kept as low as possible to achieve the desired apparent temperature. This requires coating the pixels with a high emissivity coating in the infrared. Current devices have multi-layer double resonating cavity interference structures built on their top surface. These structures enhance the emissivity of the pixels to a value around 50%. However, the manufacturing of such structures on top of the delicate pixels is time intensive and involves many delicate processes, which increase the probability of device failure during manufacture. The work presented in this thesis aims at achieving a simple and quick process that will provide the pixels with a single high emissivity coating. The process is carried out using standard cleanroom equipment with the coating aimed at being than one micron thick, and being able to withstand the operating temperatures of the pixel under ambient atmospheres. The work concludes with an optimised sputter-deposition process of two coatings with a combined thickness of 7000A, followed by annealing at 700 deg. C. This process achieves a coating with an emissivity of 84%. The work also describes the deposition of a thermally stable SiC coating which is highly transparent in the infrared. (author)SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN041625 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

A total evidence analysis of the phylogeny of hatchet-faced treefrogs (Anura: Hylidae: Sphaenorhynchus)

The Neotropical hylid genus Sphaenorhynchus includes 15 species of small, greenish treefrogs widespread in the Amazon and Orinoco basins, and in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. Although some studies have addressed the phylogenetic relationships of the genus with other hylids using a few exemplar species, its internal relationships remain poorly understood. In order to test its monophyly and the relationships among its species, we performed a total evidence phylogenetic analysis of sequences of three mitochondrial and three nuclear genes, and 193 phenotypic characters from all species of Sphaenorhynchus. Our results support the monophyly of Sphaenorhynchus with molecular and phenotypic evidence, with S. pauloalvini as the earliest diverging taxon, followed by S. carneus, as the sister taxon of all remaining species of the genus. We recognize three species groups in Sphaenorhynchus (the S. lacteus, S. planicola and S. platycephalus groups), to facilitate its taxonomic study; only three species (S. carneus, S. pauloalvini and S. prasinus) remain unassigned to any group. Sequence data were not available for only two species (S. bromelicola and S. palustris) for which we scored phenotypic data; wildcard behaviour was detected only in S. bromelicola nested inside the S. platycephalus group. On the basis of the resulting phylogenetic hypothesis, we discuss the evolution of oviposition site and a number of phenotypic characters that could be associated with heterochronic events in the evolutionary history of this group.Fil: de Araujo Vieira, Katyuscia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Blotto Acuña, Boris Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentina. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Confalonieri, Ulisses. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Baptista Haddad, Célio Fernando. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Faivovich, Julián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Grant, Taran. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasi

CMS Physics Technical Design Report: Addendum on High Density QCD with Heavy Ions

This report presents the capabilities of the CMS experiment to explore the rich heavy-ion physics programme offered by the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The collisions of lead nuclei at energies $\sqrt{s_{NN}}= 5.5\,{\rm TeV}$ , will probe quark and gluon matter at unprecedented values of energy density. The prime goal of this research is to study the fundamental theory of the strong interaction \u2014 Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) \u2014 in extreme conditions of temperature, density and parton momentum fraction (low- x ). This report covers in detail the potential of CMS to carry out a series of representative Pb-Pb measurements. These include "bulk" observables, (charged hadron multiplicity, low p T inclusive hadron identified spectra and elliptic flow) which provide information on the collective properties of the system, as well as perturbative probes such as quarkonia, heavy-quarks, jets and high p T hadrons which yield "tomographic" information of the hottest and densest phases of the reaction