Integrated InP polarization converters based on half-ridge structure are studied numerically. We demonstrate that the fabrication tolerance of the half-ridge structure can be extended significantly by introducing a slope at the ridge side and optimizing the thickness of the residual InGaAsP layer. High polarization conversion over 90% is achieved with the broad range of the waveguide width from...

The aging behavior is investigated for thin films of atactic polystyrene through measurements of complex electric capacitance. During isothermal aging process the real part of the electric capacitance increases with aging time, while the imaginary part decreases with aging time. This result suggests that the aging time dependence of the real and imaginary parts are mainly associated with change...

Current methodologies used for the inference of thin film stress through curvature measurement are strictly restricted to stress and curvature states that are assumed to remain uniform over the entire film/substrate system. These methodologies have recently been extended to a single layer of thin film deposited on a substrate subjected to the non-uniform misfit strain in the thin film. Such met...

Combined plasmonic nanocrystals and metal–organic framework thin-films are fabricated for sensing gases in the near-infrared range. This nanocomposite thin-film shows a highly sensitive response in near-infrared absorption, which is attributed to preconcentration of gas molecules in metal–organic framework pores causing close proximity to the electromagnetic fields at the plasmonic nanocrystal ...

Acoustic wave sensors have been widely used for detection of various chemical and biological species in liquid media. We report an improved binding of Protein A and IgG molecules on QCM biosensors by modifying the gold surface of the quartz crystal with a 35 nm polystyrene film followed by an acidic treatment. The frequency shifts due to the binding of the Protein A and IgG were 220 and 282 Hz,...

Photovoltaic (PV) technology is one of two modes of energy generation which utilize solar energy as its source. The rooftops of buildings can be utilized for solar power generation using this technology, and are considered to be highly promising sites for urban PV installations due to land space limitations. However, to properly plan such installations decision makers would need to have detaile...

Thin-film diamond has many potential applications in electronics and optoelectronics, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), wear-resistant coatings, thermal management, and other areas owing to its exceptional electronic, optical, mechanical, chemical/tribological, and thermal properties, respectively. However, challenges in the integration of thin-film diamond with other materials continue to...

The influence of transverse surface roughness on EHL characteristics has been investigated numerically using an extensive set of full EHL line contact simulations for shear-thinning lubricants under pure sliding condition. The shear-thinning behavior of lubricant is modeled using Carreau viscosity equation along with Doolittle-Tait equation for lubricant compressibility. The surface roughness i...

Knowledge of temperature-time curve for a certain time interval is needed in many scientific, medical and industrial applications. In some applications, however, the recorded temperature values in monitored time should be read wirelessly. Both requirements are defined especially for the transport of biological active substances. This set was applied in case study for continuous temperature data...

I describe extended gradings of open topological field theories in two dimensions in terms of skew categories, proving a result which alows one to translate between the formalism of graded open 2d TFTs and equivariant cyclic categories. As an application of this formalism, I describe the open 2d TFT of graded D-branes in Landau-Ginzburg models in terms of an equivariant cyclic structure on the ...