The series Topics in Current Chemistry Collections presents critical reviews from the journal Topics in Current Chemistry organized in topical volumes. The scope of coverage is all areas of chemical science including the interfaces with related disciplines such as biology, medicine and materials science. The goal of each thematic volume is to give the non-specialist reader, whether in academia or industry, a comprehensive insight into an area where new research is emerging which is of interest to a larger scientific audience. Each review within the volume critically surveys one aspect of that topic and places it within the context of the volume as a whole. The most significant developments of the last 5 to 10 years are presented using selected examples to illustrate the principles discussed. The coverage is not intended to be an exhaustive summary of the field or include large quantities of data, but should rather be conceptual, concentrating on the methodological thinking that will allow the non-specialist reader to understand the information presented. Contributions also offer an outlook on potential future developments in the field.

This book features works from world-class experts from academia, industry, and national agencies from across the world focusing on a wide spectrum of automotive fields covering in-vehicle signal processing, driver modeling, systems and safety. The essays collected in this volume present cutting-edge studies on safety, driver behavior, infrastructure, and human-to-vehicle interfaces.

How do you protect electrical systems from high energy electromagnetic pulses? This book is designed for researchers who wish to design toughned systems against EMPs from high altitude sources. It discusses numerous factors affecting the strength of EMPs as well as their impact on electronic components, devices and power electrical equipment. This book includes practical protection methods and means for evaluating their effectiveness.

This thesis presents the first successful realization of a compact, low-noise, and few-cycle light source in the mid-infrared wavelength region. By developing the technology of pumping femtosecond chromium-doped II-VI laser oscillators directly with the emission of broad-stripe single-emitter laser diodes, coherent light was generated with exceptionally low amplitude noise - crucial for numerous applications including spectroscopy at high sensitivities. Other key parameters of the oscillator's output, such as pulse duration and output power, matched and even surpassed previous state-of-the-art systems. As a demonstration of its unique capabilities, the oscillator's powerful output was used to drive - without further amplification - the nonlinear generation of coherent mid-infrared light spanning multiple octaves. The resulting table-top system uniquely combines high brilliance and ultrabroad spectral bandwidth in the important mid-infrared spectral range. The rapid development of this technology is comprehensively and lucidly documented in this PhD thesis. Together with a thorough review of literature and applications, and an extensive analysis of the theoretical foundations behind ultrafast laser oscillators, the thesis will serve as a valuable reference for the construction of a new generation of mid-infrared light sources.

The "Handbook of Thin Film Deposition" is a comprehensive reference focusing on thin film technologies and applications used in the semiconductor industry and the closely related areas of thin film deposition, thin film micro properties, photovoltaic solar energy applications, new materials for memory applications and methods for thin film optical processes. In a major restructuring, this edition of the handbook lays the foundations with an up-to-date treatment of lithography, contamination and yield management, and reliability of thin films. The established physical and chemical deposition processes and technologies are then covered, the last section of the book being devoted to more recent technological developments such as microelectromechanical systems, photovoltaic applications, digital cameras, CCD arrays, and optical thin films.

A practical survey of thin film technologies aimed at engineers and managers involved in all stages of the process: design, fabrication, quality assurance and applications.
Covers core processes and applications in the semiconductor industry and new developments in the photovoltaic and optical thin film industries.
The new edition takes covers the transition taking place in the semiconductor world from Al/SiO2 to copper interconnects with low-k dielectrics.
Written by acknowledged industry experts from key companies in the semiconductor industry including Intel and IBM.
Foreword by Gordon E. Moore, co-founder of Intel and formulator of the renowned Moore s Law relating to the technology development cycle in the semiconductor industry.
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This book evaluates the influence of process variations (e.g. work-function fluctuations) and radiation-induced soft errors in a set of logic cells using FinFET technology, considering the 7nm technological node as a case study. Moreover, for accurate soft error estimation, the authors adopt a radiation event generator tool (MUSCA SEP3), which deals both with layout features and electrical properties of devices. The authors also explore four circuit-level techniques (e.g. transistor reordering, decoupling cells, Schmitt Trigger, and sleep transistor) as alternatives to attenuate the unwanted effects on FinFET logic cells. This book also evaluates the mitigation tendency when different levels of process variation, transistor sizing, and radiation particle characteristics are applied in the design. An overall comparison of all methods addressed by this work is provided allowing to trace a trade-off between the reliability gains and the design penalties of each approach regarding the area, performance, power consumption, single event transient (SET) pulse width, and SET cross-section.

This book includes selected, peer-reviewed contributions from the 2018 International Conference on "Physics and Mechanics of New Materials and Their Applications", PHENMA 2018, held in Busan, South Korea, 9-11 August 2018. Focusing on manufacturing techniques, physics, mechanics, and applications of modern materials with special properties, it covers a broad spectrum of nanomaterials and structures, ferroelectrics and ferromagnetics, and other advanced materials and composites. The authors discuss approaches and methods in nanotechnology; newly developed, environmentally friendly piezoelectric techniques; and physical and mechanical studies of the microstructural and other properties of materials. Further, the book presents a range of original theoretical, experimental and computational methods and their application in the solution of various technological, mechanical and physical problems. Moreover, it highlights modern devices demonstrating high accuracy, longevity and the ability to operate over wide temperature and pressure ranges or in aggressive media. The developed devices show improved characteristics due to the use of advanced materials and composites, opening new horizons in the investigation of a variety of physical and mechanical processes and phenomena.

This book describes the development, functioning, and results of a successful binational program to promote significant scientific advances in Earth-abundant photovoltaics (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP), advanced process/manufacturing technologies, multiscale modeling and reliability testing, and analysis of integrated solar energy systems. SERIIUS is a consortium between India and the United States dedicated to developing new solar technologies and assessing their potential impact in the two countries. The consortium consists of nearly 50 institutions including academia, national laboratories, and industry, with the goal of developing significant new technologies in all areas of solar deployment. In addition, the program focused on workforce development through graduate students, post-doctoral students, and an international exchange program. Particular emphasis was placed on the following efforts: Creating disruptive technologies in PV and CSP through high-impact fundamental and applied research and development (R&D). Identifying and quantifying the critical technical, economic, and policy issues for solar energy development and deployment in India. Overcoming barriers to technology transfer by teaming research institutions and industry in an effective project structure. Building a new platform for binational collaboration using a formalized R&D project structure, along with effective management, coordination, and decision processes. Creating a sustainable network and workforce development program from which to build large collaborations and fostering a collaborative culture and outreach programs. This includes using existing and new methodologies for collaboration based on advanced electronic and web-based communication to facilitate functional international teams. The book summarizes the general lessons learned from these experiences.

This book introduces readers to the characteristic features of electromagnetic phenomena in superconductivity. It first demonstrates not only that the diamagnetism in the superconductivity complies with Maxwell's theory, which was formulated before the discovery of superconductivity, but also that the dominant E-B analogy in the electromagnetism loses perfection without the superconductivity. The book then explores flux pinning, which is responsible for the non-dissipative current in DC, leading to irreversibility in AC. Drawing on Maxwell's work, it also proves theoretically that if there is no energy dissipation in the superconductivity caused by the break in time reversal symmetry, it contradicts the thermodynamic principle of energy conservation - something that had previously only been proved experimentally. Lastly, the book addresses the longitudinal magnetic field effect, and explains how this phenomenon leads to a new development of Maxwell's theory. Featuring numerous appendices to help readers understand the methods of derivation of equations, this book offers students and young scientists an introduction to applied superconductivity, especially in the context of power applications. Presenting the characteristic features of electromagnetic phenomena in superconductivity from basic to advanced topics for applications, the book offers a valuable resource for graduate students and researchers studying superconductivity as well as engineers working in electric utility industry.

In this book, the authors cover the recent progress in the synthesis, characterization and application of various multi-layered carbides, carbonitrides and nitrides. Moreover, the processing and development of MXene-based composites are elaborated, focusing on their applications and performances as transparent conductors in environmental remediation and energy storage systems.

This book presents a collection of "lessons" on various topics commonly encountered in electronic circuit design, including some basic circuits and some complex electronic circuits, which it uses as vehicles to explain the basic circuits they are composed of. The circuits considered include a linear amplifier, oscillators, counters, a digital clock, power supplies, a heartbeat detector, a sound equalizer, an audio power amplifier and a radio. The theoretical analysis has been deliberately kept to a minimum, in order to dedicate more time to a "learning by doing" approach, which, after a brief review of the theory, readers are encouraged to use directly with a simulator tool to examine the operation of circuits in a "virtual laboratory." Though the book is not a theory textbook, readers should be familiar with the basic principles of electronic design, and with spice-like simulation tools. To help with the latter aspect, one chapter is dedicated to the basic functions and commands of the OrCad P-spice simulator used for the experiments described in the book.

This book introduces recent progress in preparation and application of core-shell and yolk-shell structures for attractive design of catalyst materials. Core-shell nanostructures with active core particles covered directly with an inert shell can perform as highly active and selective catalysts with long lifetimes. Yolk-shell nanostructures consisting of catalytically active core particles encapsulated by hollow materials are an emerging class of nanomaterials. The enclosed void space is expected to be useful for encapsulation and compartmentation of guest molecules, and the outer shell acts as a physical barrier to protect the guest molecules from the surrounding environment. Furthermore, the tunability and functionality in the core and the shell regions can offer new catalytic properties, rendering them attractive platform materials for the design of heterogeneous catalysts. This book describes the recent development of such unique nanostructures to design effective catalysts which can lead to new chemical processes. It provides an excellent guide for design and application of core-shell and yolk-shell structured catalysts for a wide range of readers working on design of attractive catalysts, photocatalysts, and electrocatalysts for energy, environmental, and green chemical processes.

This book highlights the fundamental principles of optical fiber technology required for understanding modern high-capacity lightwave telecom networks. Such networks have become an indispensable part of society with applications ranging from simple web browsing to critical healthcare diagnosis and cloud computing. Since users expect these services to always be available, careful engineering is required in all technologies ranging from component development to network operations. To achieve this understanding, this book first presents a comprehensive treatment of various optical fiber structures and diverse photonic components used in optical fiber networks. Following this discussion are the fundamental design principles of digital and analog optical fiber transmission links. The concluding chapters present the architectures and performance characteristics of optical networks.

This book provides a brief research source for optical fiber sensors for energy production and storage systems, discussing fundamental aspects as well as cutting-edge trends in sensing. This volume provides industry professionals, researchers and students with the most updated review on technologies and current trends, thus helping them identify technology gaps, develop new materials and novel designs that lead to commercially viable energy storage systems.

This book offers a concise primer on energy conversion efficiency and the Shockley-Queisser limit in single p-n junction solar cells. It covers all the important fundamental physics necessary to understand the conversion efficiency, which is indispensable in studying, investigating, analyzing, and designing solar cells in practice. As such it is valuable as a supplementary text for courses on photovoltaics, and bridges the gap between advanced topics in solar cell device engineering and the fundamental physics covered in undergraduate courses. The book first introduces the principles and features of solar cells compared to those of chemical batteries, and reviews photons, statistics and radiation as the physics of the source energy. Based on these foundations, it clarifies the conversion efficiency of a single p-n junction solar cell and discusses the Shockley-Queisser limit. Furthermore, it looks into various concepts of solar cells for breaking through the efficiency limit given in the single junction solar cell and presents feasible theoretical predictions. To round out readers' knowledge of p-n junctions, the final chapter also reviews the essential semiconductor physics. The foundation of solar cell physics and engineering provided here is a valuable resource for readers with no background in solar cells, such as upper undergraduate and master students. At the same time, the deep insights provided allow readers to step seamlessly into other advanced books and their own research topics.

This volume presents peer reviewed and selected papers of the International Youth Conference on Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technologies (YETI-2020), held in Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, St. Petersburg on July 10-11, 2020. It discusses current trends and major advances in electronics, telecommunications, optical and information technologies, focusing, in particular, on theoretical and practical aspects of developing novel devices and materials, improving data processing methods and technologies. The conference brings together young researchers and early-career scientists participating in a series of lectures and presentations, establishing contacts with potential partners, sharing new project ideas and starting new collaborations.

This book discusses non-equilibrium quantum many-body dynamics, recently explored in an analog quantum simulator of strongly correlated ultracold atoms. The first part presents a field-theoretical analysis of the experimental observability of the Higgs amplitude mode that emerges as a relativistic collective excitation near a quantum phase transition of superfluid Bose gases in an optical lattice potential. The author presents the dynamical susceptibilities to external driving of the microscopic parameters, taking into account a leading-order perturbative correction from quantum and thermal fluctuations and shows clear signatures of the Higgs mode in these observables. This is the first result that strongly supports the stability of the Higgs mode in three-dimensional optical lattices even in the presence of a spatially inhomogeneous confinement potential and paves the way for desktop observations of the Higgs mode. In the second part, the author applies the semi-classical truncated-Wigner approximation (TWA) to far-from-equilibrium quantum dynamics. Specifically, he considers the recent experiments on quantum-quench dynamics in a Bose-Hubbard quantum simulator. A direct comparison shows remarkable agreement between the numerical results from TWA and the experimental data. This result clearly indicates the potential of such a semi-classical approach in reliably simulating many-body systems using classical computers. The book also includes several chapters providing comprehensive reviews of the recent studies on cold-atomic quantum simulation and various theoretical methods, including the Schwinger-boson approach in strongly correlated systems and the phase-space semi-classical method for far-from-equilibrium quantum dynamics. These chapters are highly recommended to students and young researchers who are interested in semi-classical approaches in non-equilibrium quantum dynamics.

What are the physical mechanisms that underlie the efficient generation and transfer of energy at the nanoscale? Nature seems to know the answer to this question, having optimised the process of photosynthesis in plants over millions of years of evolution. It is conceivable that humans could mimic this process using synthetic materials, and organic semiconductors have attracted a lot of attention in this respect. Once an organic semiconductor absorbs light, bound pairs of electrons with positively charged holes, termed `excitons', are formed. Excitons behave as fundamental energy carriers, hence understanding the physics behind their efficient generation and transfer is critical to realising the potential of organic semiconductors for light-harvesting and other applications, such as LEDs and transistors. However, this problem is extremely challenging since excitons can interact very strongly with photons. Moreover, simultaneously with the exciton motion, organic molecules can vibrate in hundreds of possible ways, having a very strong effect on energy transfer. The description of these complex phenomena is often beyond the reach of standard quantum mechanical methods which rely on the assumption of weak interactions between excitons, photons and vibrations. In this thesis, Antonios Alvertis addresses this problem through the development and application of a variety of different theoretical methods to the description of these strong interactions, providing pedagogical explanations of the underlying physics. A comprehensive introduction to organic semiconductors is followed by a review of the background theory that is employed to approach the relevant research questions, and the theoretical results are presented in close connection with experiment, yielding valuable insights for experimentalists and theoreticians alike.

This book studies the fundamental aspects of many-body physics in quantum systems open to an external world. Recent remarkable developments in the observation and manipulation of quantum matter at the single-quantum level point to a new research area of open many-body systems, where interactions with an external observer and the environment play a major role. The first part of the book elucidates the influence of measurement backaction from an external observer, revealing new types of quantum critical phenomena and out-of-equilibrium dynamics beyond the conventional paradigm of closed systems. In turn, the second part develops a powerful theoretical approach to study the in- and out-of-equilibrium physics of an open quantum system strongly correlated with an external environment, where the entanglement between the system and the environment plays an essential role. The results obtained here offer essential theoretical results for understanding the many-body physics of quantum systems open to an external world, and can be applied to experimental systems in atomic, molecular and optical physics, quantum information science and condensed matter physics.

This book focuses on the calculus of variations, including fundamental theories and applications. This textbook is intended for graduate and higher-level college and university students, introducing them to the basic concepts and calculation methods used in the calculus of variations. It covers the preliminaries, variational problems with fixed boundaries, sufficient conditions of extrema of functionals, problems with undetermined boundaries, variational problems of conditional extrema, variational problems in parametric forms, variational principles, direct methods for variational problems, variational principles in mechanics and their applications, and variational problems of functionals with vector, tensor and Hamiltonian operators. Many of the contributions are based on the authors' research, addressing topics such as the extension of the connotation of the Hilbert adjoint operator, definitions of the other three kinds of adjoint operators, the extremum function theorem of the complete functional, unified Euler equations in variational methods, variational theories of functionals with vectors, modulus of vectors, arbitrary order tensors, Hamiltonian operators and Hamiltonian operator strings, reconciling the Euler equations and the natural boundary conditions, and the application range of variational methods. The book is also a valuable reference resource for teachers as well as science and technology professionals.