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PVDF-based polymers with polar covalent bonds are next-generation dielectric materials for electric energy storage applications. Several types of PVDF-based polymers, such as homopolymer, copolymers, terpolymers and tetrapolymers, were synthesized by...

High-performance two-stage bipolar cascade 905nm vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) are designed and fabricated. Three different designs are investigated to compare the electrical and optical properties. Experimental results show that the current spreading and thermal problems are important factors affecting the device performance. The device with two oxide apertures accompanied with a $1.5\lambda $ -long active region spacing exhibits a very high slope efficiency of 2.27W/A and a relatively high power conversion efficiency of 52.4%. Such high-performance bipolar cascade VCSELs with 905nm are very important for LiDAR and automotive applications.

Greater than 190 °C continuous wave (CW) lasing is achieved from 905 nm high-efficiency vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs). The maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 46.3% for ${4}~\mu \text{m}$ VCSELs was demonstrated under the ambient temperature of 30 °C. The maximum PCE decreases only 10% of its value from 30 °C to 90 °C, showing stable high-temperature characteristics. The thermal resistances and active region temperatures of the device versus ambient temperature are determined experimentally. Besides, size-dependent thermal characteristics are also analyzed by characterizing the spectral and spatial properties of devices with various apertures. It is found that the higher the ambient temperature is, the less the number of high-order modes is, and single fundamental mode operation can be realized in ${4}~\mu \text{m}$ VCSELs even at a relatively high temperature of 190 °C. The design and characterization of these high-temperature VCSEL devices might present the basis for future laser radar application.

The output characteristics of vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) arrays are largely influenced by temperature. We systematically studied thermal properties in 20-element oxide-confined VCSEL arrays via both theory and experiment. The output power, conversion efficiency, and threshold current dependent on ambient temperatures were measured. According to the relationship of wavelength shift and dissipated power, the device thermal resistance dependent on ambient temperature was obtained. The actual temperature in active region was successfully extracted. A 3-D heat diffusion model was established to simulate temperature distribution accurately.

Implant-defined coherent vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays with an integrated phase shifter that can convert the out-of-phase mode into the in-phase mode were demonstrated. The measured angular full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) from a ${9} \times {9}$ coherent VCSEL array in the far-field lobes is only 0.82°. The intensity of the central lobe is about 2.9 times than that of surrounding sidelobes, showing excellent beam quality. The FWHM of the spectrum of a ${9} \times {9}$ array is only 0.02 nm, showing a single-mode operation. It provides a potential method to fabricate larger in-phase coherent VCSEL arrays. A remaining challenge is enhancing output power via solving the heat problem.

Electrochemical profiles of Lycors radiata, L. aurea, L. sprengeri, L. longituba and L. chinensis were recorded from the embryo tissue of seeds. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) measurements re...

A high-performance terahertz Schottky barrier diode (SBD) with an inverted trapezoidal epitaxial cross-sectional structure featuring high varactor characteristics and reverse breakdown characteristics is reported in this paper. Inductively coupled plasma dry etching and dissolution wet etching are used to define the profile of the epitaxial layer, by which the voltage-dependent variation trend of the thickness of the metal-semiconductor contact depletion layer is modified. The simulation of the inverted trapezoidal epitaxial cross-section SBD is also conducted to explain the physical mechanism of the electric field and space charge region area. Compared with the normal structure, the grading coefficient M increases from 0.47 to 0.52, and the capacitance modulation ratio (C max/C min) increases from 6.70 to 7.61. The inverted trapezoidal epitaxial cross-section structure is a promising approach to improve the variable-capacity ratio by eliminating the accumulation of charge at the Schottky electrode edge. A 190 GHz frequency doubler based on the inverted trapezoidal epitaxial cross-section SBD also shows a doubling efficiency of 35% compared to that 30% of a normal SBD.

The freshness and color quality of postharvest tea leaves can be markedly prolonged and retained by proper preservation measures. Here, we investigated the dynamic changes of chlorophyll and its derivatives in postharvest tea leaves under different low-temperature treatments using natural withering as a control. Chlorophyll decomposition was found closely related with chlorophyllide, pheophorbide, and pheophytin. Low-temperature withering could slow chlorophyll degradation in postharvest tea leaves via significant inhibition on the enzyme activity and gene expression of Mg-dechelatase, chlorophyllase, and pheophorbide a oxygenase. At the initial stage of withering, a significant increase was observed in the chlorophyll content, expression of chlorophyll-synthesis-related enzymes (such as glutamyl-tRNA synthetase, etc.), and chlorophyll synthase activity in newly picked tea leaves. Moreover, an obvious decrease was found in the content of l-glutamate as the foremost precursor substance of chlorophyll synthesis. Hence, our findings revealed that the chlorophyll synthesis reaction was induced by the light-dehydration-stress in the initial withering of tea leaves. This study provides a theoretical basis for exploring preservation technology in actual green tea production.

A kind of giant magnetostrictive rotary actuator (GMRA) based on inchworm motion is designed in this paper, which can realize high precision rotation motion in large scale and high speed. Applying a series of square wave signals in strict order, the clamping mechanism and driving mechanism of the actuator are alternately operating to realize high precision stepping rotation motion. Finite element method (FEM) is used to analyze the mechanical property of GMRA, suggesting that the designed structure possesses enough mechanical strength. To test the overall performance of the designed actuator, a prototype is fabricated and a series of experiments are conducted. The results indicate that the actuator can function well under driving voltage between 2 V and 4.5 V with driving frequency no higher than 160 Hz. The minimal and maximum stepping angles are 124.2μrad and 308.5μrad respectively. The peak angular velocity and output torque can reach 57.75 mrad/s and 250 N·mm respectively. The experimental consequences prove that the designed actuator can produce highly precise output under different currents and frequencies.

A high-performance terahertz Schottky barrier diode (SBD) with a film-supported single mesa structure featuring a low structural parasitic with extremely low dielectric loss is reported in this brief. The fabricated substrate-free SBD is supported with a 2–3 µm polymer film using a low parasitic coupling capacitor of about 0.12 fF. It significantly reduces the electromagnetic coupling effect between the anode and cathode pads by 90% compared with the traditional structure of the same size. To reduce the Schottky junction capacitance at the anode, a submicron T-junction process is used with a low junction capacitance of 0.15 fF. The cutoff frequency calculated by the total capacitance of the diode is up to 4 THz. The substrate-free terahertz monolithic integration circuit based on this film-supported single mesa SBD has better performance in reducing the circuit dielectric loss, exhibiting a remarkable potential for high-frequency applications.

In this paper, a new method for the parameter extraction of Schottky barrier diode (SBD) is presented to eliminate the influence of parasitic parameters on the intrinsic capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics of the Schottky diodes at high frequencies. The method is divided into the de-embedding and parameter extraction, including six auxiliary configurations and, is referred tos as Two-step Six-configuration Parameter Extraction Method (TSPEM). Compared to the traditional junction capacitance extraction method, this method can extract the value of junction capacitance at higher frequencies with higher accuracy. At the same time, compared to the other de-embedding methods, this method shows better performance in de-embedding the contributions of parasitic structures from the transmission line measurements. The intrinsic junction capacitances obtained by this method and the three-dimensional (3-D) electromagnetic model are combined to form a diode simulation model, which accurately characterizes the capacitance characteristics of the SBD. It was verified with a 200 GHz double frequency multiplier, and the simulation results and measurement results showed good consistency.

The stratospheric pathway is a major driver of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) impacts on mid-latitude tropospheric circulation and winter weather. The weak vortex induced by El Niño conditions has been shown to increase the risk of cold spells, especially over Eurasia, but its role for North American winters is less clear. This study involved idealized experiments with the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model to examine how the weak winter vortex induced by extreme El Niño events is linked to North American coldness in spring. Contrary to the expected mid-latitude cooling associated with a weak vortex, extreme El Niño events do not lead to North American cooling overall, with daily cold extremes actually decreasing, especially in Canada. The expected cooling is absent in most of North America because of the advection of warmer air masses guided by an enhanced ridge over Canada and a trough over the Aleutian Peninsula. This pattern persists in spring as a result of the trapping of stationary waves from the polar stratosphere and troposphere, implying that the stratospheric influence on North America is sensitive to regional downward wave activities.

Inspired by data comics, this paper introduces a novel format for reporting controlled studies in the domain of human-computer interaction (HCI). While many studies in HCI follow similar steps in explaining hypotheses, laying out a study design, and reporting results, many of these decisions are buried in blocks of dense scientific text. We propose leveraging data comics as study reports to provide an open and glanceable view of studies by tightly integrating text and images, illustrating design decisions and key insights visually, resulting in visual narratives that can be compelling to non-scientists and researchers alike. Use cases of data comics study reports range from illustrations for non-scientific audiences to graphical abstracts, study summaries, technical talks, textbooks, teaching, blogs, supplementary submission material, and inclusion in scientific articles. This paper provides examples of data comics study reports alongside a graphical repertoire of examples, embedded in a framework of guidelines for creating comics reports which was iterated upon and evaluated through a series of collaborative design sessions.

Inspired by data comics, this paper introduces a novel format for reporting controlled studies in the domain of human-computer interaction (HCI). While many studies in HCI follow similar steps in explaining hypotheses, laying out a study design, and reporting results, many of these decisions are buried in blocks of dense scientific text. We propose leveraging data comics as study reports to provide an open and glanceable view of studies by tightly integrating text and images, illustrating design decisions and key insights visually, resulting in visual narratives that can be compelling to non-scientists and researchers alike. Use cases of data comics study reports range from illustrations for non-scientific audiences to graphical abstracts, study summaries, technical talks, textbooks, teaching, blogs, supplementary submission material, and inclusion in scientific articles. This paper provides examples of data comics study reports alongside a graphical repertoire of examples, embedded in a framework of guidelines for creating comics reports which was iterated upon and evaluated through a series of collaborative design sessions.

Giant magnetostrictive materials (GMMs) have broad application prospects in the field of servo valves, but the giant magnetostrictive actuator (GMA) has problems such as large loss and severe heat generation, which affect the output effect and accuracy. To solve these problems, this paper designs a stacked giant magnetostrictive actuator (SGMA) and analyzes the magnetic circuit and magnetic field distribution of the SGMA. Based on the magnetic field analysis and the Jiles&ndash, Atherton model, we analyze the SGMA magnetization model, simplify the traditional model, and give a solution for the simplified model using the Runge&ndash, Kutta method. We analyze the eddy current loss of the SGMA, and according to Bessel&rsquo, s equation and the Kelvin function, we calculate the relationship among eddy current loss, GMM rod radius, and magnetic field frequency. By analyzing the inherent hysteresis of GMMs, a hysteresis loss model of the SGMA is established in this paper. We also calculate the coil impedance and obtain the coil loss model. Based on the loss model, the SGMA cooling system is designed. Based on the above analysis, we design a SGMA prototype, set-up the corresponding experimental platform, and conduct the necessary experiments. The experimental results show that the SGMA responds well to different signals, but as frequency increases, attenuation, deformation, and hysteresis become more pronounced, which verifies the amplitude and phase changes caused by various losses in the theoretical analysis. The experiment also observes the temperature rise of the oil-cooled SGMA at different frequencies, indicating that the cooling system can effectively control the temperature change of the SGMA, which validates the foregoing analysis.

The present work proposes a 180&ndash, 225 GHz broadband frequency doubler monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) based on a novel Schottky barrier diode (SBD) terminal structure denoted as a Schottky metal-brim (SMB). Compared with an MMIC adopting the conventional SBD terminal structure, preliminary measurements show that the maximum output power of the MMIC adopting the SMB structure increases from 0.216 mW at 206 GHz to 0.914 mW at 208 GHz. Analysis of the nonlinear current&ndash, voltage and capacitance&ndash, voltage characteristics of the two terminal structures based on an extended one-dimensional drift-diffusion model, indicates that the SMB structure provides significantly better conversion efficiency than the conventional SBD structure by eliminating the accumulation of charge and additional current paths near the Schottky electrode edge. It provides a feasible scheme for the optimization of MMIC applications requiring high power and high efficiency.

Giant magnetostrictive actuators (GMA) are widely used in the field of servo valves, but the displacement of GMA is limited, which renders meeting the requirements of large flow direct-drive electro-hydraulic servo valves (DDV) difficult. In order to solve these problems, this study proposes a double-row bow-type micro-displacement amplifier (DBMA), used to increase output displacement of GMA to meet the requirements. This study, by static analysis, analyzes the force of a flexure hinge based on theoretical mechanics and material mechanics, derives the stiffness matrix of the flexure hinge by the influence coefficient method, establishes the pseudo-rigid model, and derives the amplification ratio of a DBMA. Also, by kinetic analysis, using Castigliano&rsquo, s second theorem, a formula of equivalent stiffness and natural frequency of DBMA were derived and the influences of different parameters on them were analyzed, respectively. After that, we analyzed the amplifier using finite element method (FEM) simulation software and verified the model by manufacturing a prototype and building a test system. Theoretical calculations and experimental results showed that the amplification ratio of the DBMA fluctuated between 15.43 and 16.25. The natural frequency was about 305 Hz to 314 Hz and the response bandwidth was up to 300 Hz. The error among the theoretical, simulated, and experimental values was within 8%, supporting the accuracy of the model.