This thesis presents and discusses recent optical low-temperature experiments on disordered NbN, granular Al thin-films, and the heavy-fermion compound CeCoIn5, offering a unified picture of quantum-critical superconductivity. It provides a concise introduction to the respective theoretical models employed to interpret the experimental results, and guides readers through in-depth calculations supplemented with supportive figures in order to both retrace the interpretations and span the bridge between experiment and state-of-the art theory.

At the heart of modern power electronics converters are power semiconductor switching devices. The emergence of wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductor devices, including silicon carbide and gallium nitride, promises power electronics converters with higher efficiency, smaller size, lighter weight, and lower cost than converters using the established silicon-based devices. However, WBG devices pose new challenges for converter design and require more careful characterization, in particular due to their fast switching speed and more stringent need for protection. Characterization of Wide Bandgap Power Semiconductor Devices presents comprehensive methods with examples for the characterization of this important class of power devices. After an introduction, the book covers pulsed static characterization; junction capacitance characterization; fundamentals of dynamic characterization; gate drive for dynamic characterization; layout design and parasitic management; protection design for double pulse test; measurement and data processing for dynamic characterization; cross-talk consideration; impact of three-phase system; and topology considerations.

This book provides an introduction to quantum cascade lasers, including the basic underlying models used to describe the device. It aims at giving a synthetic view of the topic including the aspects of the physics, the technology, and the use of the device. It should also provide a guide for the application engineer to use this device in systems. The book is based on lecture notes of a class given for Masters and beginning PhD students. The idea is to provide an introduction to the new and exciting developments that intersubband transitions have brought to the use of the mid-infrared and terahertz region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The book provides an introductory part to each topic so that it can be used in a self-contained way, while references to the literature will allow deeper studies for further research.

Dispersion dynamics are developed from the stable wave packet in wave mechanics. They are used first in a physical treatment of creation and annihilation, and then applied to measurements in high temperature superconductivity. The dynamics require that the negative energy solution to relativity equations implies negative rest mass in the antiparticle. Diracs positive mass for his first order equation is inconsistent with dispersion dynamics. The processing of the ceramic cuprates links the superconductivity not to the isotope effect, as in low temperature superconductors, but to chemical holes in the planar HiTc ceramics. The Hall coefficient is negative in the former case, but positive in the latter -- even though the Lorentz force can act on neither voids nor immobile ionic nuclei. Interpretation of the coefficient is an old anomaly. In fact, whether in metals, in p-type semiconductors or in HiTc ceramics, the carriers are all negatively charged. Dispersion dynamics show that the positive coefficient is a consequence of negative second derivatives in the dispersion of conduction bands in semiconductors, in certain metals and in high temperature superconductors.Existing data from HiTc compounds, especially data from processing, are reinterpreted to show how chemical and physical holes are formed. The holes that are evident in the Hall effect at normal temperatures are readily available to bond with electron pairs at lower temperatures for superconductivity. Wave functions in dispersion dynamics show how the conduction is non-resistive. The book contrasts the two types of superconductivity while uniting the mechanism in them for non-resistive behaviour.

This book describes the state-of-the-art in energy efficient, fault-tolerant embedded systems. It covers the entire product lifecycle of electronic systems design, analysis and testing and includes discussion of both circuit and system-level approaches. Readers will be enabled to meet the conflicting design objectives of energy efficiency and fault-tolerance for reliability, given the up-to-date techniques presented.

As the rules of global Internet develop and evolve, digital trade has risen in prominence on the global trade and economic agenda, but multilateral trade agreements have not kept pace with the complexities of the digital economy. The economic impact of the Internet is estimated to be $4.2 trillion in 2016, making it the equivalent of the fifth-largest national economy. According to one source, the volume of global data flows grew 45-fold from 2005 to 2014, faster than international trade or financial flows. Congress has an important role to play in shaping global digital trade policy, from oversight of agencies charged with regulating cross-border data flows to shaping and considering legislation to implement new trade rules and disciplines through ongoing trade negotiations, and also working with the executive branch to identify the right balance between digital trade and other policy objectives, including privacy and national security. This book discusses the role of digital trade in the U.S. economy, barriers to digital trade, digital trade agreement provisions, and other selected policy issues. It also discusses the digital economy and cross-border trade, and U.S. semiconductor manufacturing.

High temperature superconductors have received a great deal of attention in recent years, due to their potential in device and power applications. This book summarises the materials science and physics of all the most important high temperature superconductors as well as discussing material growth, properties and applications. Part one covers fundamental characteristics of high temperature superconductors and high TC films such as deposition technologies, growth, transport properties and optical conductivity. Part two is concerned with growth techniques and properties of high temperature superconductors, including YBCO, BSCCO and HTSC high TC films, and electron-doped cuprates. Finally, part three describes the various applications of high temperature superconductors, from Josephson junctons and dc-superconductive quantum inference devices (dc-SQUIDs) to microwave filters. With its distinguished editor and international team of contributors, this book is an invaluable resource for those researching high temperature superconductors, in industry and academia. In light of the many recent advances in high temperature superconductors, it will benefit physicists, materials scientists and engineers working in this field, as well as in areas of industrial application, such as electronic devices and power transmission.

Design, build, and test LED-based projects using the Raspberry Pi About This Book Implement real LED-based projects for Raspberry Pi Learn to interface various LED modules such as LEDs, 7-segment, 4-digits 7 segment, and dot matrix to Raspberry Pi Get hands-on experience by exploring real-time LEDs with this project-based book Who This Book Is For This book is for those who want to learn how to build Raspberry Pi projects utilising LEDs, 7 segment, 4-digits 7 segment, and dot matrix modules. You also will learn to implement those modules in real applications, including interfacing with wireless modules and the Android mobile app. However, you don't need to have any previous experience with the Raspberry Pi or Android platforms. What You Will Learn Control LEDs, 7 segments, and 4-digits 7 segment from a Raspberry Pi Expand Raspberry Pi's GPIO Build a countdown timer Build a digital clock display Display numbers and characters on dot matrix displays Build a traffic light controller Build a remote home light control with a Bluetooth low energy module and Android Build mobile Internet-controlled lamps with a wireless module and Android In Detail Blinking LED is a popular application when getting started in embedded development. By customizing and utilising LED-based modules into the Raspberry Pi board, exciting projects can be obtained. A countdown timer, a digital clock, a traffic light controller, and a remote light controller are a list of LED-based inspired project samples for Raspberry Pi. An LED is a simple actuator device that displays lighting and can be controlled easily from a Raspberry Pi. This book will provide you with the ability to control LEDs from Raspberry Pi, starting from describing an idea through designing and implementing several projects based on LEDs, such as, 7-segments, 4-digits 7 segment, and dot matrix displays. Beginning with step-by-step instructions on installation and configuration, this book can either be read from cover to cover or treated as an essential reference companion to your Raspberry Pi. Samples for the project application are provided such as a countdown timer, a digital clock, a traffic light controller, a remote light controller, and an LED-based Internet of Things, so you get more practice in the art of Raspberry Pi development. Raspberry Pi LED Blueprints is an essential reference guide full of practical solutions to help you build LED-based applications. Style and approach This book follows a step-by-step approach to LED-based development for Raspberry Pi, explained in a conversational and easy-to-follow style. Each topic is explained sequentially in the process of building an application, and detailed explanations of the basic and advanced features are included.

Students and researchers looking for a comprehensive textbook on magnetism, magnetic materials and related applications will find in this book an excellent explanation of the field. Chapters progress logically from the physics of magnetism, to magnetic phenomena in materials, to size and dimensionality effects, to applications. Beginning with a description of magnetic phenomena and measurements on a macroscopic scale, the book then presents discussions of intrinsic and phenomenological concepts of magnetism such as electronic magnetic moments and classical, quantum, and band theories of magnetic behavior. It then covers ordered magnetic materials (emphasizing their structure-sensitive properties) and magnetic phenomena, including magnetic anisotropy, magnetostriction, and magnetic domain structures and dynamics. What follows is a comprehensive description of imaging methods to resolve magnetic microstructures (domains) along with an introduction to micromagnetic modeling. The book then explores in detail size (small particles) and dimensionality (surface and interfaces) effects - the underpinnings of nanoscience and nanotechnology that are brought into sharp focus by magnetism. The hallmark of modern science is its interdisciplinarity, and the second half of the book offers interdisciplinary discussions of information technology, magnetoelectronics and the future of biomedicine via recent developments in magnetism. Modern materials with tailored properties require careful synthetic and characterization strategies. The book also includes relevant details of the chemical synthesis of small particles and the physical deposition of ultra thin films. In addition, the book presents details of state-of-the-art characterization methods and summaries of representative families of materials, including tables of properties. CGS equivalents (to SI) are included.