Nanostructured silicon-germanium (SiGe) opens up the prospects of novel and enhanced electronic device performance, especially for semiconductor devices. Silicon-germanium (SiGe) nanostructures reviews the materials science of nanostructures and their properties and applications in different electronic devices. The introductory part one covers the structural properties of SiGe nanostructures, with a further chapter discussing electronic band structures of SiGe alloys. Part two concentrates on the formation of SiGe nanostructures, with chapters on different methods of crystal growth such as molecular beam epitaxy and chemical vapour deposition. This part also includes chapters covering strain engineering and modelling. Part three covers the material properties of SiGe nanostructures, including chapters on such topics as strain-induced defects, transport properties and microcavities and quantum cascade laser structures. In Part four, devices utilising SiGe alloys are discussed. Chapters cover ultra large scale integrated applications, MOSFETs and the use of SiGe in different types of transistors and optical devices. With its distinguished editors and team of international contributors, Silicon-germanium (SiGe) nanostructures is a standard reference for researchers focusing on semiconductor devices and materials in industry and academia, particularly those interested in nanostructures.

Autonomic networking aims to solve the mounting problems created by increasingly complex networks, by enabling devices and service-providers to decide, preferably without human intervention, what to do at any given moment, and ultimately to create self-managing networks that can interface with each other, adapting their behavior to provide the best service to the end-user in all situations. This book gives both an understanding and an assessment of the principles, methods and architectures in autonomous network management, as well as lessons learned from, the ongoing initiatives in the field. It includes contributions from industry groups at Orange Labs, Motorola, Ericsson, the ANA EU Project and leading universities. These groups all provide chapters examining the international research projects to which they are contributing, such as the EU Autonomic Network Architecture Project and Ambient Networks EU Project, reviewing current developments and demonstrating how autonomic management principles are used to define new architectures, models, protocols, and mechanisms for future network equipment.

This book is an overview of the strategies to generate high-quality films of one-dimensional semiconductor nanostructures on flexible substrates (e.g., plastics) and the use of them as building blocks to fabricating flexible devices (including electronics, optoelectronics, sensors, power systems). In addition to engineering aspects, the physics and chemistry behind the fabrication and device operation will also be discussed as well. Internationally recognized scientists from academia, national laboratories, and industries, who are the leading researchers in the emerging areas, are contributing exceptional chapters according to their cutting-edge research results and expertise. This book will be an on-time addition to the literature in nanoscience and engineering. It will be suitable for graduate students and researchers as a useful reference to stimulate their research interest as well as facilitate their research in nanoscience and engineering.

With the advent of wavelength routing and dynamic, reconfigurable optical networks, new demands are being made in the design and operation of optical amplifiers. This book provides, for the first time, a comprehensive review of optical amplifier technology in the context of these recent advances in the field. It demonstrates how to manage the trade-offs between amplifier design, network architecture and system management and operation. The book provides an overview of optical amplifiers and reconfigurable networks before examining in greater detail the issues of importance to network operators and equipment manufacturers, including 40G and 100G transmission. Optical amplifier design is fully considered, focusing on fundamentals, design solutions and amplifier performance limitations. Finally, the book discusses other emerging applications for optical amplifiers such as optical networks for high data rate systems, free space systems, long single span links and optical digital networks. This book will be of great value to R&D engineers, network and systems engineers, telecommunications service providers, component suppliers, industry analysts, network operators, postgraduate students, academics and anyone seeking to understand emerging trends in optical networks and the consequent changes in optical amplifier design, features and applications.

This in-depth, detailed reference presents for the first time a comprehensive treatment of recent advances in optical performance monitoring. Written by leading experts in the field, the book provides an overview of recent developments in the area and the role of OPM in future optical systems and networks. Detailed discussions of various advanced techniques are provided to illustrate their principles. FEATURES: Presents the principles and applications of advanced OPM techniques, together with a comparative evaluation of their effectiveness in monitoring individual parameters, such as optical signal-to-noise ratio, chromatic dispersion, and polarization mode dispersion Explains the principles of the various advanced optical signal processing techniques and their applications in OPM Examines the role and applications of OPM in optical networks, including optical transport networks, coherent optical systems, and long-haul optical transmission systems Discusses the current approaches of OPM in the global standard SDH/SONET This book is ideal for technical professionals and researchers who want to understand and evaluate advanced techniques in OPM and their impact on the practical design of next-generation optical systems and networks.

Nanophotonics has emerged as a major technology and applications domain, exploiting the interaction of light-emitting and light-sensing nanostructured materials. These devices are lightweight, highly efficient, low on power consumption, and are cost effective to produce. The authors of this book have been involved in pioneering work in manufacturing photonic devices from carbon nanotube (CNT) nanowires and provide a series of practical guidelines for their design and manufacture, using processes such as nano-robotic manipulation and assembly methods. They also introduce the design and operational principles of opto-electrical sensing devices at the nano scale. Thermal annealing and packaging processes are also covered, as key elements in a scalable manufacturing process. Examples of applications of different nanowire based photonic devices are presented. These include applications in the fields of electronics (e.g. FET, CNT Schotty diode) and solar energy.

The MEMS (Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems) market returned to growth in 2010. The total MEMS market is worth about $6.5 billion, up more than 11 percent from last year and nearly as high as its historic peak in 2007. MEMS devices are used across sectors as diverse as automotive, aerospace, medical, industrial process control, instrumentation and telecommunications - forming the nerve center of products including airbag crash sensors, pressure sensors, biosensors and ink jet printer heads. Part of the MEMS cluster within the Micro & Nano Technologies Series, this book covers the fabrication techniques and applications of thick film piezoelectric micro electromechanical systems (MEMS). It includes examples of applications where the piezoelectric thick films have been used, illustrating how the fabrication process relates to the properties and performance of the resulting device. Other topics include: top-down and bottom-up fabrication of thick film MEMS, integration of thick films with other materials, effect of microstructure on properties, device performance, etc.

Adhesives are widely used in the manufacture and assembly of electronic circuits and products. Generally, electronics design engineers and manufacturing engineers are not well versed in adhesives, while adhesion chemists have a limited knowledge of electronics. This book bridges these knowledge gaps and is useful to both groups. The book includes chapters covering types of adhesive, the chemistry on which they are based, and their properties, applications, processes, specifications, and reliability. Coverage of toxicity, environmental impacts and the regulatory framework make this book particularly important for engineers and managers alike. The third edition has been updated throughout and includes new sections on nanomaterials, environmental impacts and new environmentally friendly 'green' adhesives. Information about regulations and compliance has been brought fully up-to-date. As well as providing full coverage of standard adhesive types, Licari explores the most recent developments in fields such as: * Tamper-proof adhesives for electronic security devices. * Bio-compatible adhesives for implantable medical devices. * Electrically conductive adhesives to replace toxic tin-lead solders in printed circuit assembly - as required by regulatory regimes, e.g. the EU's Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive or RoHS (compliance is required for all products placed on the European market). * Nano-fillers in adhesives, used to increase the thermal conductivity of current adhesives for cooling electronic devices.

In the era of cyber-physical systems, the area of control of complex systems has grown to be one of the hardest in terms of algorithmic design techniques and analytical tools. The 23 chapters, written by international specialists in the field, cover a variety of interests within the broader field of learning, adaptation, optimization and networked control. The editors have grouped these into the following 5 sections: "Introduction and Background on Control Theory", "Adaptive Control and Neuroscience", "Adaptive Learning Algorithms", "Cyber-Physical Systems and Cooperative Control", "Applications". The diversity of the research presented gives the reader a unique opportunity to explore a comprehensive overview of a field of great interest to control and system theorists. This book is intended for researchers and control engineers in machine learning, adaptive control, optimization and automatic control systems, including Electrical Engineers, Computer Science Engineers, Mechanical Engineers, Aerospace/Automotive Engineers, and Industrial Engineers. It could be used as a text or reference for advanced courses in complex control systems. * Collection of chapters from several well-known professors and researchers that will showcase their recent work * Presents different state-of-the-art control approaches and theory for complex systems * Gives algorithms that take into consideration the presence of modelling uncertainties, the unavailability of the model, the possibility of cooperative/non-cooperative goals and malicious attacks compromising the security of networked teams * Real system examples and figures throughout, make ideas concrete

Integrated Lasers on Silicon provides a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art use of lasers on silicon for photonic integration. The authors demonstrate the need for efficient laser sources on silicon, motivated by the development of on-board/on-chip optical interconnects and the different integration schemes available. The authors include detailed descriptions of Group IV-based lasers, followed by a presentation of the results obtained through the bonding approach (hybrid III-V lasers). The monolithic integration of III-V semiconductor lasers are explored, concluding with a discussion of the different kinds of cavity geometries benchmarked with respect to their potential integration on silicon in an industrial environment.

Although existing nanometer CMOS technology is expected to remain dominant for the next decade, new non-classical devices are being developed as the potential replacements of silicon CMOS, in order to meet the ever-present demand for faster, smaller, more efficient integrate circuits. Many new devices are based on novel emerging materials such as one-dimensional carbon nanotubes and two-dimensional graphene, non-graphene two-dimensional materials, and transition metal dichalcogenides. Such devices use on/off operations based on quantum mechanical current transport, and so their design and fabrication require an understanding of the electronic structures of materials and technologies. Moreover, new electronic design automation (EDA) tools and techniques need to be developed based on integrating devices from emerging novel material-based technologies. The aim of this book is to explore the materials and design requirements of these emerging integrated circuit technologies, and to outline their prospective applications. It will be useful for academics and research scientists interested in future directions and developments in design, materials and applications of novel integrated circuit technologies, and for research and development professionals working at the cutting edge of integrated circuit development.

Electromechanical Coupling Theory, Methodology and Applications for High-Performance Microwave Equipment Electromechanical Coupling Theory, Methodology, and Applications for High-Performance Microwave Equipment is an authoritative and up-to-date guide to the structural, mechanical, and electrical aspects of electromechanical coupling. Addressing control, electromagnetism, and structural engineering, this comprehensive reference covers the electromechanical coupling of high-performance microwave electronic equipment (MEE), such as antennas, radar, large radio telescopes, and telecommunication and navigation equipment. The book is divided into four main sections, beginning with an introduction to electromechanical coupling (EMC) theory and a detailed description of the multi-field coupling model (MFCM) and the influence mechanism (IM) of nonlinear factors of antenna-servo-feeder systems on performance. Subsequent sections discuss MFCM- and IM-based design methodology, EMC-based measurement and testing, computer software for coupling analysis and design of electronic equipment, and various engineering applications of EMC theory and the IM of typical electronic equipment. In addition, the book: Discusses information and data transfer in electromagnetic fields, mechanical and structural deformation fields, and temperature fields Explains how high-performance microwave electronic equipment differs from traditional mechanical equipment Addresses EMC-based and general design-vector based optimization of electronic equipment design Describes applications such as a gun-guided radar system for warships and a large-diameter antenna for moon exploration Includes evaluation criteria to validate MFCM/IM design theory and methodology Electromechanical Coupling Theory, Methodology, and Applications for High-Performance Microwave Equipment is essential reading for circuit designers, microwave engineers, researchers working with high-frequency microwave engineering, and engineers working with integrated circuits in radar, communications, IoT, antenna engineering, and remote sensing.

Industrial automation is driving the development of robot manipulators in various applications, with much of the research effort focussed on flexible manipulators and their advantages compared to their rigid counterparts. This book reports recent advances and new developments in the analysis and control of these robot manipulators. After a general overview of flexible manipulators the book introduces a range of modelling and simulation techniques based on the Lagrange equation formulation, parametric approaches based on linear input/output models using system identification techniques, neuro-modelling approaches, and numerical techniques for dynamic characterisation using finite difference and finite element techniques. Control techniques are then discussed, including a range of open-loop and closed-loop control techniques based on classical and modern control methods including neuro and iterative control, and a range of soft-computing control techniques based on fuzzy logic, neural networks, and evolutionary and bio-inspired optimisation paradigms. Finally the book presents SCEFMAS, a software environment for analysis, design, simulation and control of flexible manipulators. Flexible Robot Manipulators is essential reading for advanced students of robotics, mechatronics and control engineering and will serve as a source of reference for research in areas of modelling, simulation and control of dynamic flexible structures in general and, specifically, of flexible robotic manipulators.

In the face of today's environmental and economic challenges, doomsayers preach that the only way to stave off disaster is for humans to reverse course: to de-industrialize, re-localize, ban the use of modern energy sources, and forswear prosperity. But in this provocative and optimistic rebuke to the catastrophists, Robert Bryce shows how innovation and the inexorable human desire to make things Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper is providing consumers with Cheaper and more abundant energy, Faster computing, Lighter vehicles, and myriad other goods. That same desire is fostering unprecedented prosperity, greater liberty, and yes, better environmental protection.Utilizing on-the-ground reporting from Ottawa to Panama City and Pittsburgh to Bakersfield, Bryce shows how we have, for centuries, been pushing for Smaller Faster solutions to our problems. From the vacuum tube, mass-produced fertilizer, and the printing press to mobile phones, nanotech, and advanced drill rigs, Bryce demonstrates how cutting-edge companies and breakthrough technologies have created a world in which people are living longer, freer, healthier, lives than at any time in human history.The push toward Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper is happening across multiple sectors. Bryce profiles innovative individuals and companies, from long-established ones like Ford and Intel to upstarts like Aquion Energy and Khan Academy. And he zeroes in on the energy industry, proving that the future belongs to the high power density sources that can provide the enormous quantities of energy the world demands.The tools we need to save the planet aren't to be found in the technologies or lifestyles of the past. Nor must we sacrifice prosperity and human progress to ensure our survival. The catastrophists have been wrong since the days of Thomas Malthus. This is the time to embrace the innovators and businesses all over the world who are making things Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper.

Materials Characterization Using Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) Methods discusses NDT methods and how they are highly desirable for both long-term monitoring and short-term assessment of materials, providing crucial early warning that the fatigue life of a material has elapsed, thus helping to prevent service failures. Materials Characterization Using Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) Methods gives an overview of established and new NDT techniques for the characterization of materials, with a focus on materials used in the automotive, aerospace, power plants, and infrastructure construction industries. Each chapter focuses on a different NDT technique and indicates the potential of the method by selected examples of applications. Methods covered include scanning and transmission electron microscopy, X-ray microtomography and diffraction, ultrasonic, electromagnetic, microwave, and hybrid techniques. The authors review both the determination of microstructure properties, including phase content and grain size, and the determination of mechanical properties, such as hardness, toughness, yield strength, texture, and residual stress.

Through expanded intelligence, the use of robotics has fundamentally transformed a variety of fields, including manufacturing, aerospace, medical, social services, and agriculture. Providing successful techniques in robotic design allows for increased autonomous mobility, which leads to a greater productivity level. Novel Design and Applications of Robotics Technologies provides innovative insights into the state-of-the-art technologies in the design and development of robotic technologies and their real-world applications. The content within this publication represents the work of interactive learning, microrobot swarms, and service robots. It is a vital reference source for computer engineers, robotic developers, IT professionals, academicians, and researchers seeking coverage on topics centered on the application of robotics to perform tasks in various disciplines.

Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) Systems refer to the latest development in computer microchips which are created by integrating hundreds of thousands of transistors into one chip. Emerging research in this area has the potential to uncover further applications for VSLI technologies in addition to system advancements. Design and Modeling of Low Power VLSI Systems analyzes various traditional and modern low power techniques for integrated circuit design in addition to the limiting factors of existing techniques and methods for optimization. Through a research-based discussion of the technicalities involved in the VLSI hardware development process cycle, this book is a useful resource for researchers, engineers, and graduate-level students in computer science and engineering.

The rheological properties of magnetorheological (MR) materials, such as their viscosity and dynamic modulus, can be tuned or controlled by changing the intensity of the magnetic field using appropriate control schemes. Thanks to their robustness, performance and smart properties, numerous studies have been undertaken on the development of new MR materials, and microscopic and macroscopic modelling approaches. Novel applications include engine mounts and clutch systems in the automotive industry, shock absorbing safety devices for cockpit seats in aerospace, and shock absorption from movement in semi-active human prosthetic legs. This book introduces magnetorheological fluids and elastomers, and explores their material properties, related modelling techniques and applications in turn. The book offers insights into the relationships between the properties and characterisation of MR materials and their current and future applications, making it useful reading for researchers, engineers and graduate students who work in the field of smart materials and structures.

Semiconductor Nanowires: Part B, and Volume 94 in the Semiconductor and Semimetals series, focuses on semiconductor nanowires.

The book systematically introduces smart power system design and its infrastructure, platform and operating standards. It focuses on multi-objective optimization and illustrates where the intelligence of the system lies. With abundant project data, this book is a practical guideline for engineers and researchers in electrical engineering, as well as power network designers and managers in administration.