DC Mode Research Articles

Performance based algorithms for video bit transmissions

The usage of video content has increased in past ten decades. As a result, increase in usage of commercial video coding standards called High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC/H.265). A self-Adaptive N-depth Context Tree Weighting algorithm (SANDCTW) is proposed to overcome the limitations of Context tree weighting (CTW) method, which applied in CABAC know as Context Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding. This CABAC uses KT estimators and relies on beginning with the Bayesian approach to determine the true distribution of the next symbol to select for data compression. This approach is suitable only if the true distribution is stationary, the proposed SANDCTW that uses discounted KT estimators, which is suitable if the distribution is non-stationary and it reduces the computation and memory cost. Additionally, Block size sustained intra mode detection (BSSIMD) is proposed based on the mass-center and sub-sampling approach. In this approach, all correlation directions about the entire block associated to the intra-prediction mode and DC mode directions determined by using mass-center vector. Then, the modes corresponding to the determined directions selected as the best intra-prediction candidates during the intra-coding process for computing Rate-Distortion Optimization (RDO) with less complexity. The bit rate of 60–70 frames per second (fps) achieved in this technique based on the different block, size. Thus, the bit rate is also reduced significantly compared with the preceding H.265 standard.

Disulfide linkage assignment based on reducing electrochemistry and mass spectrometry using a lead electrode

The study of disulfide linkage is a crucial part of the quality assessment of biopharmaceutical products because disulfide bonds stabilize the tertiary structure of proteins and maintain protein functions. Therefore, a suitable method is highly required for disulfide linkage assignment when nested disulfide bonds formed with closely spaced cysteine residues. A novel approach for disulfide linkage assignment of disulfide-rich peptides and proteins via electrochemical reduction on a lead electrode with mass spectrometry is presented in this paper. The method features partial electrochemical reduction and alkylation of peptides followed by alkylated peptide sequencing based on tandem mass spectrometry. Lead was chosen for the first time as an electrode material for disulfide bond reduction, because it has the advantages of maintenance free (only infrequent polishing needed), easy operation in DC mode, and reusability. Without any special sample preparation and any chemical reduction agents, disulfide bond in peptides can be cleaved rapidly. The new method was successfully tested with two peptides and one protein containing nested disulfide bonds.

Constant <italic>ΔT<sub>j</sub> </italic> Power Cycling Strategy in DC Mode for Top-Metal and Bond-Wire Contacts Degradation Investigations

The study of the impact of junction temperature swings (ΔTj) on degradation mechanisms during power cycling tests (PCTs) requires both a control of the applied thermal stress and a separation of degradation modes. The first requirement can be obtained by using a “constant ΔTj” power cycling strategy that allows to minimize the cross interactions between the influencing factors. The second one is made by using a dedicated power module well suited for targeting only the chips top-side degradations (metallization and bond-wire contacts). In this paper, a constant ΔTj strategy by gate voltage regulation is performed for PCTs in the dc mode. The tested modules are ideally designed for top-metal and bond-wire contacts degradation investigations. From aging indicator on the collector-emitter voltage (VCE), the results clearly show that three regimes of degradation occur systematically at the insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) chips top side, whatever the stress conditions. Moreover, comparative results in “constant ΔTj” and conventional “constant ΔI” PCT strategies have shown that the feedback between stresses and damages encountered in the second strategy is more important for low ΔTj values than for high ΔTj values. In addition, results show that in case of high stresses, the “constant ΔTj” strategy with VGE regulation gives values close to a “constant ΔI” strategy but that the extrapolation toward low values of ΔTj can be questionable for the “constant ΔTj” strategy.

Nanokelvin DC and AC Meissner-transition-edge temperature detectors.

Based upon a superconducting transition edge sensor (TES), the Meissner-TES is a relatively new type of high resolution cryogenic thermometer which employs the magnetic transition of a superconductor to measure temperature. We have improved the signal-to-noise for DC sensing by a factor of 30 compared to our prior effort and developed a new AC mode which uses an oscillating magnetic field and a lock-in technique with much lower magnetic noise than the DC mode. The thermometer was tuned in situ over a range of operating temperatures 10-50 times larger than the transition width of the superconductor, using an applied persistent magnetic field. The DC mode can have sensitivity better than 1 nK for 100 s averaging, and the AC mode has sensitivity better than 120 nK for very small applied magnetic fields near 14 nT and 100 s averaging. The Meissner-TES can be applied to high resolution temperature control, high sensitivity infrared sensing, optical power scale realization, and the study of temperature-dependent phase transitions.

Effect of Surface Properties on Corrosion Resistance of ZK60 Mg Alloy Microarc Oxidation Coating

Microarc oxidation (MAO) is performed on ZK60 magnesium alloy at 250–400 V. For this paper, a direct current (dc), unipolar (UP), and bipolar (BP) power modes are used to produce a dense and uniform oxide coating that increases the corrosion resistance of ZK60 alloy. The compositions and microstructures of the oxide coatings that are formed using different working parameters are determined by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The corrosion resistance of the coatings is evaluated in a 3.5 wt% NaCl solution using potentiodynamic polarization tests. The average roughness is then measured. The results show that the mode of the applied power (dc, UP, and BP modes) has a significant effect on the coating’s morphology and corrosion resistance. For the same pulsed-power supply, the number of pores in the coating decreases as the applied voltage is increased and the average pore size increases so cracks gradually appear. The ZK60 magnesium alloy that is prepared at 400 V using BP power has the least porosity and the best corrosion resistance.

Upgrade of a low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope for electron-spin resonance.

Electron spin resonance with a scanning tunneling microscope (ESR-STM) combines the high energy resolution of spin resonance spectroscopy with the atomic scale control and spatial resolution of STM. Here we describe the upgrade of a helium-3 STM with a 2D vector-field magnet (Bz = 8.0 T, Bx = 0.8 T) to an ESR-STM. The system is capable of delivering radio frequency (RF) power to the tunnel junction at frequencies up to 30 GHz. We demonstrate magnetic field-sweep ESR for the model system TiH/MgO/Ag(100) and find a magnetic moment of (1.004 ± 0.001) μB. Our upgrade enables to toggle between a DC mode, where the STM is operated with the regular control electronics, and an ultrafast-pulsed mode that uses an arbitrary waveform generator for pump-probe spectroscopy or reading of spin-states. Both modes allow for simultaneous radiofrequency excitation, which we add via a resistive pick-off tee to the bias voltage path. The RF cabling from room temperature to the 350 mK stage has an average attenuation of 18 dB between 5 and 25 GHz. The cable segment between the 350 mK stage and the STM tip presently attenuates an additional 34-3 +5 dB from 10 to 26 GHz and 38-2 +3 dB between 20 and 30 GHz. We discuss our transmission losses and indicate ways to reduce this attenuation. We finally demonstrate how to synchronize the arrival times of RF and DC pulses coming from different paths to the STM junction, a prerequisite for future pulsed ESR experiments.

Low-temperature impedance spectroscopic analyses of ceramic electrodes based on Mo and Co co-doped SnO2

Low resistive electrodes based on Co and Mo co-doped SnO2 were prepared by the conventional solid-state reaction and sintered at 1250?C for 2 h. Concentration of Co2O3 precursor was unchanged (1mol%), while MoO3 was varied (0.25, 0.50 to 0.75mol%) to promote conductivity. The structural and microstructural characterization revealed that the samples have a rutile-type structure without secondary phases and large rutile grains with low porosity. Electrical measurements on DC mode have shown a semiconductor behaviour of the SnO2 samples doped with 0.25 and 0.75 at.% of Mo at temperatures below 50K, indicating their suitability for low-temperature electronic applications. Impedance measurements indicate reduced energy barriers of less than 1meV formed between highly conductive crystallites for the SnO2 samples doped with 0.25 and 0.75 at.% of Mo. The sample with Mo content of 0.50 at.% presented a higher energy barrier at a few hundredths of eV, with space charges at the crystallite boundaries.

Identification of Parameters of Remote Elements of Electrical Circuits

The article solves the problem of identifying nonlinear resistive elements that are part of a complex electric circuit. The special case of a circuit with one nonlinear resistor is considered, when the poles of the nonlinear element are inaccessible to the observer. Such elements are called remote. In the studied chain there is at least one pair of nodes available for experimental research. The influence of topology on the conditions under which the task of identification can be solved by experimental study of the electric circuit in the DC mode is considered. A numerical example is given. The results of this article can be used in engineering practice and in the educational process.

Fluidic Bypass Structures for Improving the Robustness of Liquid Scanning Probes.

We aim to improve operational robustness of liquid scanning probes. Two main failure modes to be addressed are an obstruction of the flow path of the processing liquid and a deviation from the desired gap distance between probe and sample. We introduce a multi-functional design element, a microfluidic bypass channel, which can be operated in dc and in ac mode, each preventing one of the two main failure modes. In dc mode, the bypass channel is filled with liquid and exhibits resistive behavior, enabling the probe to passively react to an obstruction. In the case of an obstruction of the flow path, the processing liquid is passively diverted through the bypass to prevent its leakage and to limit the buildup of high pressure levels. In ac mode, the bypass is filled with gas and has capacitive characteristics, allowing the gap distance between the probe and the sample to be monitored by observing a phase shift in the motion of two gas-liquid interfaces. For a modulation of the input pressure at 4 Hz, significant changes of the phase shift were observed up to a gap distance of 25 μm. The presented passive design element counters both failure modes in a simple and highly compatible manner. Liquid scanning probes enabling targeted interfacing with biological surfaces are compatible with a wide range of workflows and bioanalytical applications. An improved operational robustness would facilitate rapid and widespread adoption of liquid scanning probes in research as well as in diagnostics.

Multifunctional materials based on the double-perovskite organic-inorganic hybrid (CH3NH3)2[KCr(CN)6] showing switchable dielectric, magnetic, and semiconducting behaviour.

Herein, we have synthesised and characterised a novel organic-inorganic hybrid crystal, [CH3NH3]2KCr(CN)6 (MACr). Thermal analysis (DSC, TGA-DTA) indicates one structural phase transition (PT) at 450 K. The modified equation of the tolerance factor, t, was used to estimate the theoretical PT temperature for a crystal with Mn(iii). According to the X-ray diffraction experiment, in the low-temperature (LT) phase, the solid-to-solid PT is described by the monoclinic space group C2/c. The creation of the ferroelastic domain structure in phase II was proved on the basis of the observation under a polarising microscope. The crystals of MACr and its isomorphous analogues with Fe(iii) and Co(iii) appeared to be semiconducting materials in the LT phase. The type of PT is order-disorder and occurs between "low" (ordered-frozen) and "high" (orientationally disordered) dielectric states. Dielectric spectroscopy was used to characterise the switching properties of the dipole moments in the vicinity of the PTs. The magnetic properties of the MACr hybrid were investigated in DC and AC modes. The DC data show a sizeable weak exchange interaction between the nearest Cr(iii) centres in the crystal lattice. The AC susceptibility data confirm a slow magnetic relaxation in the applied DC field with two relaxation channels. The low-frequency relaxation time is very long as τLF = 1.4(1) s at T = 2.0 K. The organic-inorganic hybrid, described above, can be considered a rare example of multifunctional materials which exhibit dielectric, magnetic, and conductive activities.

Lifetime testing of a MEMS switch with Pt-Pt contact

This paper presents the lifetime testing results of an electrostatically actuated microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) switch with the resistive contact and the active contact breaking mechanism. Moveable electrode of the switch is an aluminium beam with platinum contact bumps located on its bottom surface, which comes in contact with platinum thin-film electrodes. The switch operates in a cold DC mode in a standard laboratory environment. Testing is performed at three levels of the input current: 0.05, 0.5 and 5 mA. The dependence of the resistance in the “on” state on the number of actuation cycles is measured. Resistance of the “fresh” samples is in the range from 150 to 350 Ω. Instability of the resistance is observed during cycling, that is probably related to contamination of the contacts. Lifetime of the switch is limited by the sharp increase of the on-resistance up to 100 MΩ and varies from 2×103 to 5×104 cycles depending on the switch design and the input current.

Fast intra mode decision and fast CU size decision for depth video coding in 3D-HEVC

3D-HEVC is the new coding standard for both texture and associated depth video. In addition to several new coding tools that are designed for texture video with improved coding efficiency, some tools are specified for depth video, such as depth modeling modes (DMMs), segment-wise DC (SDC) mode and depth intra skip mode. This paper proposes techniques that accelerate the encoding of depth video, including a fast intra mode decision and a fast CU size decision. A hierarchical mode decision is proposed for the fast intra mode decision, based on a statistical analysis of mode distribution. The intra mode can be predicted at a very early stage if the hierarchical comparison of the rate–distortion (R–D) cost for selected candidate modes is satisfied for a given condition. For the fast CU size decision, smaller CU sizes are not evaluated if the current CU has the desired properties. The CU size of the collocated texture is also considered to avoid over-splitting of the current depth CU. The experimental results show that the proposed techniques achieve an average 62.5% time saving with 0.81% increase in the bitrate for the synthesized views under the all intra configuration, compared with the reference software HTM 15.0.

The effort of meditation: Cardiac pre-ejection period during first session of focused-attention and open-monitoring meditation

The luminescence modulation based on photochromic reaction is universally applied in anti-counterfeiting applications. In this investigation, the Yb3+ and Ho3+ co-doped Sr2SnO4 ceramics were prepared by a conventional high temperature solid-state reaction. The basic microstructure and optical properties of the ceramics are analyzed. It is found the 280 nm irradiation can induce a photochromic reaction in the Sr2SnO4:xYb3+/Ho3+ ceramics, and the 480 nm irradiation can partially decolor the colored ceramics. Based on the photochromic reaction, the luminescence intensity modulation using the UC and DC modes has been investigated. The luminescence modulation ratio based on DC mode is much higher than that based on UC mode, which is ascribed to the larger absorption of the sample at 435 nm relative to the UC excitation wavelength. The present study results reveal the mechanism of the modulation difference of the UC and DC mode.

A computationally scalable fast intra coding scheme for HEVC video encoder

The High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) adopts 35 intra prediction modes to provide a more precise intra prediction. As a result, HEVC intra coding is much more complex. To provide a flexible solution for battery-powered devices, which include varying power budgets based on battery level, this paper jointly employs statistical distribution of different intra modes, and texture analysis. While the statistical information specifies the most efficient modes for extremely low power budgets, for moderate to high power budgets the best angular modes are predicted by analyzing the residual of the Planar mode, which is demonstrated to represent the dominant edges of the block. Moreover, a scheme is presented that further reduces the complexity by predicting the more important DC and Planar modes using the information provided by the entropy coder. The proposed method imposes almost no computational overhead since it utilizes the existing internal operators of HEVC. Ultimately, an intra prediction scheme with seven predefined levels of complexity is presented that provides coding for various power budgets and devices with various capabilities. The highest level of this scheme provides ~23% total encoding time reduction compared to HM, in all-intra configuration, with only 0.78% penalty on BD-Rate for high end devices. While the lowest level makes encoding possible for extremely low power devices and low battery plans with ~52% time reduction (almost the entire share of intra coding) at the cost of 9.6% BD-Rate, which is shown to be nearly minimal for this level of processing power.

(Invited) Apprehension of Large Coercive Field in Ferroelectric HfO2 Thin Films

A special feature of ferroelectric HfO2 films is that they have large coercive fields (EC), as large as 1 MV/cm and more. A merit of the large coercive field is that a sufficient memory window is attainable even in ultrathin films. For example, a 2-V-memory window is available by 10-nm-thick Hf-Zr-O ferroelectric film. Compared with the conventional ferroelectric oxide capacitors using Pb(Zr, Ti)O3 and SrBi2Ta2O9 that applies around 100-nm-thick films, the ferroelectric HfO2 films contribute to the scaling of film thickness about one order. It is attractive for the development of high-density non-volatile memories integrated on LSI. On the other hand, the large coercive fields of ferroelectric HfO2 films bring serious concerns such as breakdown and endurance in capacitors. In this work, we studied the influence of large coercive fields on the endurance properties of Hf-Zr-O capacitors. Metal-ferroelectric-metal (MFM) capacitors that consist of TaN/Hf-Zr-O/TaN were prepared on heavily doped Si substrates. TaN electrode films were deposited by DC sputtering, using Ta target and mixture gas of Ar and N2. Hf-Zr-O films were prepared by RF sputtering, using HfO2 and ZrO2 targets and Ar gas. The metal composition was adjusted to Hf : Zr=50 : 50, and the thickness is 10 nm. After deposition of the top TaN film, crystallization anneal was processed in a vacuum condition at 700 degree Celsius. Finally, top electrodes were patterned by photolithography and dry etching. Ferroelectric properties of 10-nm-thick Hf-Zr-O capacitors were investigated by the polarization-voltage measurements. The ECvalue of this capacitor was evaluated to be 1 MV/cm. The electrical breakdown by the DC mode was measured to be about 4 MV/cm. Remnant polarization (Pr) and endurance properties of the capacitors are summarized in the figure. The Pr is faint when the applied electric field is less than the EC. The Pr value increases drastically when the electric fields are set between EC and 2xEC, and then gradually saturates over 2xEc. Thus a larger electric field is favorable for the achievement of large and stable polarization. In contrast, the endurance characteristics show a negative trend with the electric field. The endurance cycle as large as 108 was observed when the electric field is 2xEC, but it decreases drastically with the increment of electric field over 2xEC. It indicates that the capacitors are damaged even when the electric field is much lower than the breakdown field. Although a better endurance is expected at electric field lower than 2xEC, it makes a sacrifice of the Pr value and the stability. This trade-off relationship is considered to be a critical hurdle for the application of ferroelectric HfO2 capacitors. This work was supported by JST CREST Grant Number JPMJCR14F2, Japan. Figure 1

Very High Aspect Ratio (AR>10) through Glass Hole (TGH) Filling in Stagnant Condition By Using DC Plating for Advanced Interposer Applications

High aspect ratio (AR) through glass interposer filling has been widely investigated and developed in the recent years. Most efforts put on blind via filling by using the agitation (i.e., air agitation, cathode rotation, paddle agitation, etc.) or periodic pulse reverse (PPR) plating technique to help improvement of filling performance and enhancement of mass transfer of each component in plating electrolyte. However, high aspect ratio through hole filling has been less addressed because the void or seam defects are easily formed in the through hole. In this study, the AR>10 (AR~12) through glass hole filling with defect-free has been successfully demonstrated under stagnant condition, as shown in Figure 1 by using DC mode of fixed current density plating. Based on the operation condition, the equipment design is simple and the lifetime of additives could be long. Furthermore, the thickness difference between Cu overburden (3.51 μm) and dimple (2.88 μm) is around 0.7 μm, implying that the Cu surface is nearly flat, as shown in Figure 2. This achievement is because the additive of leveler could effectively inhibit the Cu deposition on the Cu seed layer surface, but it does not inhibit Cu deposition in the through hole center. Therefore, the butterfly pattern could be formed in the early stage of Cu filling. Besides, the relatively flat Cu surface is beneficial to post Cu removal process, such as expensive CMP process. Figure 1

Discharge and Plasma Characteristics of Pulse-Enhanced Vacuum Arc Evaporation (PEVAE) for Titanium Cathode

This paper reports experimental investigation of the discharge behavior of pulse-enhanced vacuum arc evaporation (PEVAE) with titanium target. The PEVAE discharge was analyzed by optical emission spectroscopy, monitoring of substrate current and the electron probe current at different N2 pressure or arc current, respectively, compared to that of conventional dc arc. The results show that during the PEVAE process the electron probe current was significantly enhanced particularly at a higher pulsed current. An increase of up to more than 1–2 times was observed. Electron emission was substantially enhanced. The substrate current increased linearly with arc current regardless of the dc or PEVAE mode; however, the latter led to a larger current-rise slope. The substrate current with the PEVAE mode was improved to over 7 times. The optical emission spectra of plasma at nitrogen atmosphere showed that the intensities of ion species (e.g., Ti2+, Ti+, N+, N2+) gradually increased with pulsed arc current for the PEVAE mode. Electron temperature derived from Ti+ ion spectra was 0.55–0.6 eV and changed slightly in the PEVAE mode or dc mode. The increase in plasma spectral intensity is caused by the plasma density increase from larger ion density. These results imply that PEVAE may be an effective technique for film deposition of better microstructure and properties due to higher substrate current induced by larger electron emission and plasma density.

Total Ionizing Dose Effects of 55-nm Silicon-Oxide-Nitride-Oxide-Silicon Charge Trapping Memory in Pulse and DC Modes**Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No 616340084, the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences under Grant No 2014101, and the Austrian-Chinese Cooperative R&D Projects of International Cooperation Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences under Grant No 172511KYSB20150006.

The 60Co-γ ray total ionizing dose radiation responses of 55-nm silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) memory cells in pulse mode (programmed/erased with pulse voltage) and dc mode (programmed/erased with direct voltage sweeping) are investigated. The threshold voltage and off-state current of memory cells before and after radiation are measured. The experimental results show that the memory cells in pulse mode have a better radiation-hard capability. The normalized memory window still remains at 60% for cells in dc mode and 76% for cells in pulse mode after 300 krad(Si) radiation. The charge loss process physical mechanisms of programmed SONOS devices during radiation are analyzed.

Hybrid Intraprediction Based on Local and Nonlocal Correlations

In the latest video coding standard, namely, high-efficiency video coding (HEVC), intra coding efficiency is significantly improved by a quadtree partition structure and more intra prediction modes. For intra coding, 35 intra modes are employed including 33 angular intra prediction (AIP) modes that are effective for blocks with strong directions, and a planar mode and a dc mode that are used to predict smooth regions. However, intra prediction in HEVC still cannot handle complicated blocks well. To deal with this problem, this paper proposes a hybrid intra prediction method to improve the intra prediction efficiency. The proposed hybrid intra prediction method consists of three parts: adaptive template matching prediction (ATMP) by exploring nonlocal correlation, combined local and nonlocal prediction by exploring both local correlation for AIP and non-local correlation for ATMP, and combined neighboring modes prediction that can generate smooth prediction by exploring more local correlations. Experimental results suggest that the proposed hybrid intra prediction method achieves 2.8% BD-rate reduction on average for luma compared to HEVC reference software HM-14.0 under all intra main configurations. The gain can be up to 6.9%. When integrated into joint exploration model −1.0, the proposed method still can achieve 1.2% BD-rate reduction for luma.

Magnetron sputtering deposition of ultra-thin metal coatings for the visualization of protein-containing objects of nanometer size by electron microscopy

Electron microscopy is widely used in biological and medical research, enabling to obtain images of the investigated objects with nanometer resolution. Exposure of biological objects under electron beam during the visualization can, however, cause their damage. Destructive effect of the electron beam can be significantly decreased by formation of metal coating on the surface of the objects to be studied. In the present study, an approach for the formation of ultra-thin metal coatings on the surface of protein-containing structures is proposed. Magnetron sputtering in argon plasma in DC mode was employed to form 8 Å-thick tungsten films on the surface of model protein-containing objects— tobacco mosaic virus particles — for their subsequent visualization by electron microscopy.