Sharif Digital Repository

The spin-polarized transport is investigated in a new type of magnetic tunnel junction which consists of two ferromagnetic electrodes separated by a magnetic barrier and a nonmagnetic metallic spacer. Based on the transfer matrix method and the nearly-free-electron approximation the dependence of the tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) and electron-spin polarization on the nonmagnetic layer thickness and the applied bias voltage are studied theoretically. The TMR and spin polarization show an oscillatory behaviour as a function of the spacer thickness and the bias voltage. The oscillations originate from the quantum well states in the spacer, while the existence of the magnetic barrier gives rise... 

The nanocrystallization process of amorphous Fe73.5Si13.5B9Nb3Cu 1 was investigated by active screen plasma nitriding (ASPN) treatment at temperatures ranging from 410 °C to 560 °C for 3 h in two gas mixtures of 75% N2-25% H2 and 25% N2-75% H2 at 5 mbar atmosphere. The amorphous ribbons were then annealed under vacuum at the same time and temperatures mentioned above. The structure of the samples was analyzed using various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Microhardness measurements, electrical resistivity and Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) were used to study mechanical, electrical and magnetic... 

In this paper, we propose a circuit model for two-dimensional arrays of metallic square holes located on a homogeneous substrate, in order to propose a new scheme containing this type of metamaterials to obtain transparent electrodes with simultaneous terahertz transparency and low electrical resistance. The results of the introduced circuit model, which is a fully analytical model with explicit expressions, are in almost complete agreement with the full-wave simulations. Thanks to this analytical model, we can employ standard binomial matching transformer in order to minimize the reflected power from the structure at a desired frequency. Furthermore, taking advantage of this model, we... 

Background: Glucose sensors have been extensively researched in patent studies and manufactured a tool for clinical diabetes diagnosis. Although some kinds of electrochemical enzymatic glucose sensors have been commercially successful, there is still room for improvement, in selectivity and reliability of these sensors. Because of the intrinsic disadvantages of enzymes, such as high fabrication cost and poor stability, non-enzymatic glucose sensors have recently been promoted as next generation diagnostic tool due to their relatively low cost, high stability, prompt response, and accuracy. Objective: In this research, a novel free standing and binder free non-enzymatic electrochemical sensor... 

Upset resistance dissimilar welding of aluminium and copper narrow rods was performed. Effect of the interface characteristics was studied on the joint mechanical and electrical properties. Upset resistance welding (URW) was successful for production of joints with high strength and electrical conductivity between aluminium and copper rods. Reaction layer at the joint interface was composed of the Al2Cu cellular phase and lamellar eutectic structure of α-Al and Al2Cu. Enhancement of the welding current and decrease in the upset force increased the reaction layer thickness and strength of the joint. URW had no significant detrimental effect on the electrical conductivity of the weld zone.... 

During recent years, many investigations have been carried out to determine how to select different materials for the making of Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and bio-MEMS. The NiTi shape memory alloy thin film has been much regarded as a promising candidate for MEMS due. to its unique shape memory effect and high energy output. In this research, NiTi thin film was fabricated using a sputtering technique from separate elemental Ni and Ti targets. The characterizations of the deposited films were, investigated using different analysis techniques, such as Field Emission SEM, DSC, XR.D, electrical resistivity measurement and nanoindentation. © Sharif University of Technology, June 2009... 

The input current of a nonlinear transmission line (NLTL), driven by a step voltage pulse, was analyzed theoretically. As specific results of the analysis, two basic parameters of NLTLs were formulated for the first time: the energy injected to NLTLs and their characteristic impedance. The energy delivered to an NLTL by a square voltage source, with a series resistance of RS, is given by a closed-form formula, which depends on the NLTL parameters and the input pulse characteristics. Considering the importance of the problem of the determining the injected energy content in a wide variety of the different applications of NLTLs, the obtained result will be of great importance, facilitating the... 

A high-power short-pulse generator based on the diode step recovery phenomenon and high repetition rate discharges in a two-electrode gas discharge tube is presented. The proposed circuit is simple and low cost and driven by a low-power source. A full analysis of this generator is presented which, considering the nonlinear behavior of the gas tube, predicts the waveform of the output pulse. The proposed method has been shown to work properly by implementation of a kW-range prototype. Experimental measurements of the output pulse characteristics showed a rise time of 3.5 ns, with pulse repetition rate of 2.3 kHz for a 47-Ω load. The input peak power was 2.4 W, which translated to about... 

Nonlinear transmission lines (NLTLs) are passive networks with the capability of modulating baseband pulses. These networks are used for generating RF pulses at high-power levels. NLTLs have a unique performance in high-power RF pulse generation among all the generators based on the solid-state technology. A high-power rectangular pulse is injected to the line, gradually evolved into an oscillatory pulse while propagating through the network, and finally, in the form of a high-power RF pulse, is delivered to the load. Properly terminating an NLTL, in order to transfer the maximum available RF power to the load, is an important problem. In this paper, an accurate analysis is presented, which... 

Drift step recovery diodes (DSRDs) have a special place in high-power short-pulse generation. In this paper, a cascaded configuration of two DSRD-based high-power short-pulse generators with gas discharge switches was used. The high-power pulses generated in the first stage feed the second stage in order to generate shorter pulses with higher peak powers. A prototype was implemented based on this idea. In the first stage, 1.2-kV pulses were generated from a 50-V power supply. At the output of the second stage, 2.1-kV pulses with a repetition rate of more than 50 Hz were obtained. The output peak voltage was limited by the breakdown voltage of the used DSRD. Repetitive pulses with 4-ns rise... 

It has been proven that tapering the piezoelectric beam through its length optimizes the power extracted from vibration based energy harvesting. This phenomenon has been investigated by some researchers using semianalytical, finite element and experimental methods. In this paper, an exact analytical solution is presented to calculate the power generated from vibration of exponentially tapered unimorph and bimorph with series and parallel connections. The mass normalized mode shapes of the exponentially tapered piezoelectric beam with tip mass are implemented to transfer the proposed electromechanical coupled equations into modal coordinates. The steady states harmonic solution results are... 

Recent uses of intelligent composites in biomedical appliances aggrandize the necessity of bonding-strength improvement in NiTi/silicone matrix interface. SEM micrographs and pull-out tests are employed to determine the strength of the NiTi/silicone bonds in a flexible composite piece. Greater adhesion strengths are obtained due to the presence of thin oxide layer, surface roughness and frictional forces between the embedded-wires and the contacting phase. Effect of curing treatment on phase transformation temperatures of the wires is determined by electrical resistivity (ER) measurements. Results show that the curing treatment shifts the transition points of the wires towards higher... 

The structural, electrical, magnetic and high frequency properties of Ni-substituted Zn2W-type hexagonal ferrites were investigated for microwave applications. Ferrite powders with chemical compositions Ba0 · 5Sr0.5NixZn2-xFe16O27 (where Ni-substitution was varied from 0.0 to 1.5 with a step size of 0.5) were prepared using sol-gel auto-combustion at 1300 °C. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the single-phase hexagonal ferrite structure. The lengths of both the axis i.e. minor and major (a, c) obtained from hkl values of XRD peaks were decreased with Ni-substitution due to the difference in ionic radius of the substituted metal ions. DC electrical resistivity obtained by two-point... 

Lanthanum chromite coating occupies a noticeable position as a ceramic coating on metallic interconnects in solid oxide fuel cells because of its excellent electrical conductivity, high oxidation resistance and desirable chemical stability in both oxidizing and reducing atmospheres. In the present work, a sol-gel process based on the dip-coating technique was used to prepare dense and uniform coatings on metallic alloy for interconnect application (AISI 430 type). The effect of strontium and calcium doping into lanthanum chromite structure on electrical conductivity and oxidation behavior of the coated sample has been investigated. The oxidation behavior was evaluated by cyclic oxidation... 

In this research, we used the scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) technique to probe the local electrical properties of the surface of meso-porous silicon and its substrate, including local density of states (DOS) in air and in methanol environment to increase our knowledge of sensing phenomena. Meso-porous silicon was prepared on p+-type Si which has high sensitivity toward methanol. Observations revealed that while the surface electrical properties of p+-type Si have not sensible change toward methanol, average local density of state of the porous layer increases after the exposure to methanol especially in the E < EF region. Moreover, large number of surface states is produced in band... 

Porous silicon samples obtained from p+-type silicon wafers were impregnated with Pd by electroless process in different conditions. Scanning electron microscopy was used to study the change in the features of the surface after palladium plating. Results showed how the factors like Pd-salt concentration, HCl concentration, temperature of the electroless solution and the time of process affect on the growth and nucleation of Pd particles. Observations demonstrated that illumination-assisted process and pre-oxidation of the surface before process have drastic effect on the growth of palladium. Variation of the electrical resistance in the presence of diluted hydrogen at room temperature... 

Nonlinear vibration of a microbeam actuated by a suddenly applied voltage with considering the effect of voltage distribution on the beam due to electrical resistivity of beam is investigated. Homotopy perturbation method is implemented to solve the coupled nonlinear partial differential equations of motion. The vibration frequency variation and damping at various resistivities is studied. Considering resistivity, effect of applied voltage and beam length on the frequency shift and damping ratio is analyzed. Findings indicate there exists a jump in frequency shift and damping ratio at a critical resistivity. Variation of critical resistivity with respect to modulus of elasticity and beam... 

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are rapidly becoming recognized as a new alternative to traditional energy conversion systems because of their high energy efficiency. From an ecological perspective, this environmentally friendly technology, which produces clean energy, is likely to be implemented more frequently in the future. However, the current SOFC technology still cannot meet the demands of commercial applications due to temperature constraints and high cost. To develop a marketable SOFC, suppliers have tended to reduce the operating temperatures by a few hundred degrees. The overall trend for SOFC materials is to reduce their service temperature of electrolyte. Meanwhile, it is... 

We have studied the effect of negative chemical pressure in the RuGd 1.5(Ce 0.5-xPr x)Sr 2Cu 2O 10-δ with Pr content of 0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2. This is also investigated using the bond length results obtained from the Rietveld refinement analysis. The c parameter and cell volume increase with x for 0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.15. The width of the resistivity transition also increases with Pr concentration, indicating higher inhomogeneity and oxygen deficiency. The difference in the ionic valences of Pr 3+,4+ and Ce 4+ causing different hole doping, the difference in the ionic radii, and oxygen stoichiometry affect the superconducting transition. The magnetoresistance shows a cusp around 135 K which lies between the... 

Theoretical stability analysis of broadband cascode amplifiers at high frequencies is presented. The stability of the amplifier in the presence of parasitic inductive components is thoroughly investigated. It is shown that the stability can be improved by inserting a series resistance in the gate of common-gate device of the cascode amplifier. To ensure stability, the gate resistance should be selected within specific ranges that are derived analytically. Based on the insights provided by the analyses, several practical design guidelines are given to improve the stability of high-frequency broadband cascode amplifiers. Finally, the derived results are adopted in stabilisation of an X-band...