Figure Of Merit Research Articles

The influence of the rectangular dielectric grating filling factor on the grating-based sensor’s sensitive element characteristics

The influence of grating filling factor on the spectral sensitivity of sensors, characterized by full width at half maximum (FWHM) and a figure of merit (FOM), operating on the principle of waveguide mode resonance in dielectric gratings formed on a substrate, has been investigated. Resonant wavelengths were determined for varying grating thicknesses and filling factors. Sensitivity values were obtained for normally and obliquely incident plane waves, as well as for Gaussian beams. Additionally, a scaling rule is presented, allowing determination of sensor parameters using a calculator based on identical grating parameters and corresponding resonant wavelengths. This method holds when linear dimensions of the grating and tested wavelengths are scaled proportionally.

Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance of Na0.55CoO2 Ceramics Doped by Transition and Heavy Metal Oxides

Using the solid-state reactions method Na0.55(Co,M)O2 (M = Cr, Ni, Zn, W, and Bi) ceramics were prepared and their crystal structure, microstructure, electrophysical, thermophysical, and thermoelectric properties were studied. Doping of Na0.55CoO2 by transition or heavy metal oxides led to the increase in the grain size of ceramics, a decrease in electrical resistivity and thermal diffusivity values, and a sharp increase in the Seebeck coefficient, which resulted in essential enhancement of their thermoelectric properties. The largest power factor (1.04 mW/(m·K2) at 1073 K) and figure of merit (0.702 at 1073 K) among the studied samples possessed the Na0.55Co0.9Bi0.1O2 compound, which also demonstrated the highest values of the Seebeck coefficient (666 μV/K at 1073 K). The obtained results show that the doping of layered sodium cobaltite by different metal oxides allows for improving its stability, microstructure, and functional properties, which proves the effectiveness of the doping strategy for developing new thermoelectric oxides with enhanced thermoelectric performance.

Adaptivity of a leaf-inspired wind energy harvester with respect to wind speed and direction.

Environmental wind is a random phenomenon in both speed and direction, though it can be forecasted to some extent. An example of that is a gust which is an abrupt, but short-time change in wind speed and direction. Being a free and clean source for small-scale energy scavenging, attraction of wind is rapidly growing in the world of energy harvesters. In this paper, a leaf-like flapping wind energy harvester is introduced as the base structure in which a short-span airfoil is attached to the free end of a double-deck cantilever beam. A flap mechanism inspired by scales on sharks' skin and a tail mechanism inspired by birds' horizontal tail are proposed for integration to the base harvester to make it adaptive with respect to wind speed and direction, respectively. The use of the flap mechanism increases the leaf flapping frequency by +2.1 to +11.5 Hz at wind speeds of 1.5 m/s to 6.0 m/s. Therefore, since the output power of a vibrational harvester is a function of vibration frequency, a figure of merit or an efficiency parameter related to the output power will increase, as well. On the other hand, if there is a misalignment between the harvester's heading and wind direction due to change of the latter one, the harvesting performance deteriorates. Although the base harvester can realign in certain ranges of sideslip angle at each wind speed, when the tail mechanism is integrated into that, it broadens the range of realignable sideslip angles at all the investigated wind speeds by up to 80°.&#xD.

Trade-off analysis between gm/ID and fT of GNR-FETs with single-gate and double-gate device structure

This study examines the operational parameters of field-effect transistors (FETs) using single-gate (SG) and double-gate (DG) graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) within the analog/RF domain. A detailed exploration is conducted through an atomistic pz orbital model, derived from the Hamiltonian of graphene nanoribbons, employing the nonequilibrium Green’s function formalism (NEGF) for analysis. The atomic characteristics of the GNRFETs channel are accurately described by utilizing a tight-binding Hamiltonian with an atomistic pz orbital basis set. The primary focus of the analysis revolves around essential analog/RF parameters such as transconductance, transconductance generation factor (TGF), output resistance, early voltage, intrinsic gain, gate capacitance, cut-off frequency, and transit time. Furthermore, the study assesses the gain frequency product (GFP), transfer frequency product (TFP), and gain transfer frequency product (GTFP) to evaluate the balance between transistor efficiency, gain, and cut-off frequency. The research outcomes indicate that double-gate GNRFETs exhibit superior analog/RF performance in comparison to their single-gate counterparts. However, both types of devices demonstrate cut-off frequencies in the gigahertz range. The extensive data presented in this study provides valuable insights into the characteristics of SG and DG GNRFETs, particularly in terms of the figure-of-merit (FoM) for analog/RF performance, offering a comprehensive analysis of the trade-offs in analog applications. In addition, the analysis has been extended be performing a high-performance hybrid 6T static random-access memory (SRAM) to get the impact in their circuit level variation as well as improvement in their circuit performance.

Realization of an ultra-scaled novel Ga2O3 FinFET for sub-terahertz applications

This study involves in-depth simulations focused on gate-electrode and channel-doping engineering in ultra-scaled Ga2O3 FinFETs. Silvaco TCAD software was employed as a simulation tool to explore the suitability of these designs for sub-terahertz applications. The focus of the present study is the simultaneous enhancement in current drivability as well as the reduction in parasitic capacitances without any trade-off, to achieve superior performance for sub-terahertz applications. Along with the analog characteristics of the proposed device, various critical high-frequency figures of merit have also been evaluated. Furthermore, scattering parameters have also been studied with variations in frequency to gain insights into the performance of the proposed device at high frequencies. In addition, a thorough comparison of the proposed device with the conventional device has been carried out. It has been demonstrated that the proposed device is an excellent contender for ultra-high-frequency applications with remarkable high-frequency figures of merit.

Thermoelectric optimization using first principles calculation and single parabolic band model: a case of Ca0.5La0.5−x Bi x MnO3 (x = 0, 0.25)

Conducting optimization calculations for thermoelectric performance can be beneficial in guiding the direction of further experimental work. In our study, we utilize a combination of the first principle, Boltzmann transport and restructured single parabolic band model to investigate the half-doped semiconductors based on manganite. Ca0.5La0.5−x Bi x MnO3 (x = 0, 0.25) as samples shows the power factor (PF) optimum value of 30% and 69% for x = 0 and 0.25, respectively at a temperature of 800 K. In addition, both samples show two to three orders of magnitude smaller lattice thermal conductivity than their electronic thermal conductivity. This excludes complex phononic transport mechanisms from the calculation of the figure of merit (ZT). The ZT calculations of Ca0.5L0.5MnO3 and Ca0.5L0.5−x Bi x MnO3 are corrected by the ratio of the transport relaxation time of electrical conductivity to the transport relaxation time of electronic thermal conductivity by the Lorenz number, resulting in ZT values of 0.063 and 0.327 at a temperature of 800 K, respectively.

Large thermoelectric transport in magnetically coupled CrI3/1T-MoS2 vdW heterostructure via spin–charge interconversion

Low-dimensional materials with prominent thermoelectric (TE) effect play a pivotal role in realizing state-of-the-art nanoscale TE devices. The fusion of TE effect with the magnetism through seamless integration of TE and magnetic materials in the 2D limit offers access to control longitudinal as well as transverse TE properties via magnetic proximity effect. Herein, we design a van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure of metallic 1T-MoS2 with promising TE properties and a layer-dependent magnetic CrI3 material. The result highlights exotic electronic and magnetic configurations of the designed monolayer-CrI3/1T-MoS2 vdW heterostructure, which show magnetically-coupled TE characteristics. The observed remarkable magnetic proximity stems from large magnetic anisotropy energy and spin polarization, which are found to be 2.21 meV Cr−1 and 12.30%, respectively. To this end, the semiconducting CrI3 layer with intrinsic magnetism leads to efficient control and tunability of the observed spin-correlated anomalous Nernst effect. Moreover, a large dimensionless figure of merit of ∼6 and a power factor of ∼3.8×1011/τ∘ Wm−1K−2s−1 near the Fermi level at 300 K endorse the rejuvenated TE effect. The strong relativistic spin–orbit coupling validates the significant correlation of TE properties with intrinsic magnetic configuration. The present study underscores the significance of the magnetic proximity-governed TE effect in vdW heterostructures to engineer low-dimensional TE devices.

Core@shell strategies to enhance green upconversion emission of LaAlO3:ErIII, YbIII nanoparticles

Seeking enhanced luminescence in upconverter nanoparticles, LAO:ErIII0.01, YbIII0.01, LAO = LaAlO3, with an average diameter of 30–40 nm, was synthesized via a modified Pechini method. Two coating strategies were employed: the first with three layers of 1 % LAO, and the second with LAO:NdIIIx at% (x = 10 or 30) or LAO:NdIIIx at%, YbIIIy at% (x, y = 30, 2 or 30, 20). Characterization included FTIR, UV–Vis diffuse reflectance, TEM, XRD, and photoluminescence. In the first strategy, undoped phase coating maintained the LaAlO3 rhombohedral crystalline structure, enhancing ErIII core emission under 980 nm laser excitation. In the second case, the shell containing YbIII (3 or 20 at%) under laser at 808 nm, favored the increase in the relative emission intensity of the activator, exciting ErIII directly in the core or via the outer NdIII sensitizer. Kinetic measurements fixing excitation at 980 nm and emission at 542.5 nm resulted in ErIII excited state decay values between 56 and 68 μs. The doped shell favored increased excited state lifetimes, exhibiting concentration quenching in the 30 % YbIII condition. Both NdIII presence and its combination with YbIII enhanced green emission compared to the uncoated core. From thermometric studies, the successive depositions of inert layers of LAO contributed to the highest relative thermal sensitivity of 1.79 % K−1 at 305 K, among the systems studied. Therefore, the core@shell strategies were successful in intensifying ErIII emission, both in the green and red regions, and resulted in relevant figures of merit that qualify them for applications in nanothermometry in the biological window.

Supramolecular solvent-based liquid–liquid microextraction (SUPRAS-LLME) of Sudan dyes from food and water samples with HPLC

Utilizing the environmentally friendly technique of supramolecular solvent-based microextraction (SUPRAS-LLME), Sudan I-IV dyes were successfully isolated and enriched from food and natural water samples. The optimization of the microextraction process was carried out by studying the effects of various parameters such as pH (6.0), supramolecular volume (100 μL), tetrahydrofuran (THF) volume (200 μL), ultrasonication temperature (40 °C), and vortex time (1.0 min). Extraction efficiency ranged between 82 % and 109 %, while other analytical parameters such as the limits of detection (LOD) were determined to be 0.23, 0.51, 0.42, and 0.39 μg L−1 for Sudan I, II, III, and IV, respectively. The total figure of merits for the presented SUPRAS-LLME method includes a limits of quantification (LOQ) of 0.78, 1.70, 1.41, and 1.30 μg L−1, a relative standard deviation (RSD%) of 3.4, 6.1, 2.9, and 4.4 (n = 10), a linear range of 5–1000 μg L−1 for all Sudan dyes, a pre-concentration factor (PF) of 15, 10, 10, and 17, and a determination coefficient (R2) of 0.9994, 0.9965, 0.9955, and 0.9946, for Sudan I, II, III, and IV, respectively. The environmental friendliness of the method was confirmed by evaluating the greenness of the method with the AGREE metric tool. A sustainable and environmentally friendly option for the extraction of Sudan dyes from food and water samples is offered by this SUPRAS-LLME method.

A First-Order Noise-Shaping SAR ADC with PVT-Insensitive Closed-Loop Dynamic Amplifier and Two CDACs

This paper presents a first-order noise-shaping (NS) successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC) with a process, (supply) voltage, and temperature (PVT)-insensitive closed-loop integrator and data-weighted averaging (DWA). The use of a cascode floating inverter amplifier (FIA)-type dynamic amplifier with high gain enables an aggressive noise transfer function while minimizing the power consumption associated with the use of an active filter. In the proposed ADC, the residue is generated by a capacitive digital-to-analog converter (CDAC) employing DWA, which is made possible by employing a second CDAC, which operates after the SAR operation is completed. The proposed ADC is designed with a 28 nm CMOS process with 1 V power supply. The simulation results show that the ADC achieves the SNDR of 71.2 dB and power consumption of 228 μW when operated with a sampling rate of 80 MS/s and oversampling ratio (OSR) of 10. The Schreier figure-of-merit (FoM) is 173.6 dB, and Walden FoM is 9.6 fJ/conversion-step.

An Energy-Efficient 12-Bit VCO-Based Incremental Zoom ADC with Fast Phase-Alignment Scheme for Multi-Channel Biomedical Applications

This paper presents a low-power, energy-efficient, 12-bit incremental zoom analog-to-digital converter (ADC) for multi-channel bio-signal acquisitions. The ADC consists of a 7-stage ring voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO)-based incremental ΔΣ modulator (I-ΔΣM) and an 8-bit successive approximation register (SAR) ADC. The proposed VCO-based I-ΔΣM can provide fast phase-alignment of the ring-VCO to reduce the interval settling time; thereby, the I-ΔΣM can accommodate time-division-multiplexed input signals without phase leakage between consecutive measurements. The SAR ADC also adopts splitting unit capacitors that can support VCM-free tri-level switching and prevent invalid states from the phase frequency detector with minimal logic gates and switches. The proposed ADC has been fabricated in a standard 180 nm standard 1P6M CMOS process, exhibiting a 67-dB peak signal-to-noise ratio, a 74-dB dynamic range, and a Walden figure of merit of 19.12 fJ/c-s, while consuming a power of 3.51 μW with a sampling rate of 100 kS/s.

High FoM quad‐band THz perfect metamaterial absorber‐based RI sensor for gas sensing applications

AbstractHere, a novel design of a microstructured quad‐band terahertz metamaterial absorber is presented consisting of a copper‐based merged circular and square split ring resonator‐integrated over a lead glass substrate intended to detect changes in the surrounding medium's refractive index for gas sensing applications through THz spectroscopy. Outstanding performance is shown by the suggested absorber, which achieves a maximum absorption rate of 99.4%, 98.7%, 99.2%, and 99.4%, at resonance frequencies of 8.055 (), 8.423 (), 9.257 (), and 9.507 () THz, respectively. The quality factors (Q‐factors) attained are 201, 129, 298, and 271 for these four absorption bands. The obtained sensitivity values at these four distinct bands are 3898, 2927, 4719, and 4102 GHz per refractive index unit with high figure of merits (FoM) of 97, 95, 152, and 117, respectively, throughout a range of refractive indices from n = 1.00 to n = 1.05 (with a step size of 0.005). The study's novelty lies in its novel design and remarkable ability to excel in gas sensing with high sensitivity and high FoM across not just one but four distinct THz bands. Furthermore, each band demonstrates significantly superior performance in sensitivity, Q‐factor, and FoM, among other parameters compared to prior research in both gas detection and RI monitoring scenarios, hence exhibiting its potential across a wide range of applications.

Double ultraviolet to visible high-Q magnetic plasmon induced reflection with ultralarge Rabi splitting for optical detecting

We theoretically explore double ultraviolet (UV) to visible high-Q magnetic plasmon induced reflections (PIRs) through the coupling between the fundamental magnetic plasmon (MP) mode in single aluminium (Al) nanogroove and the first (second) order surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) launched by periodic nanogroove arrays, which is predicted analytically by a Fano interference model. The ultrastrong coupling effects between MP and SPP with ultralarge Rabi splitting energy up to 868 meV and 842 meV are obtained in the UV and visible ranges. Due to the high Q-factors of the double PIRs, a significant slow light effect is achieved with the group index up to 65 and 77 in the UV and visible ranges, respectively. The double PIRs show the high sensitivity of 510 nm/RIU and the figure of merit (FoM) of 42, and could be used to monitor analyte layer with a few nanometers, suggesting great potential for label-free biosensing.

Enhancement of alpha/beta ratio in NaI:Tl,6Li neutron-gamma scintillators by rare earth co-doping

NaI:Tl,6Li bulk crystals are regarded as promising neutron-gamma (n-γ) scintillators because of low production cost and superior n-γ pulse shape discrimination (PSD) performance. In this work, some rare earth elements (Gd, Y, Lu and Sc) co-doped NaI:Tl,6Li single crystals were grown by the multi-ampoule Bridgman method. It was found that the rare earth co-doping significantly improves the pulse height discrimination (PHD) capability of NaI:Tl,6Li with high alpha/beta (α/β) ratio, approaching to 100%. The optimal α/β ratios achieved for Gd, Y, Lu and Sc co-doped NaI:Tl,6Li are 0.85, 0.93, 0.95, and 0.83, respectively. Electron equivalent energy per neutron interaction is above 3.96 MeV and can be as high as 4.54 MeV, close to the Q value of 4.78 MeV for 6Li(n, α)3H interaction. Moreover, the rare earth co-doped NaI:Tl,6Li crystals still maintain the superior PSD capability with figure of merit (FoM) in the range of 2.1-3.3. These results highlight the great potential of rare-earth co-doped NaI:Tl,6Li crystals serving as high-performance n-γ scintillators.

High accuracy graphene-based refractive index sensor: Analytical approach

A high-precision graphene-based refractive index (RI) sensor is suggested in this article. Because resonances represent a specific field distribution, optical sensors show a very high sensitivity to environment RI changes. These optical sensors' sensitivity is profoundly subordinate to the materials used in the sensor as well as the sensor structure. The structure of the proposed sensor consists of the following layers, respectively: gold layer, SiO2, graphene and the substance under test (analyte). The transmission line model (TLM) was also fully investigated for this absorber and the inductor and capacitor values related to the simulation were obtained. There was a suitable agreement between the simulation results and TLM. This sensor has nearly perfect absorption and the absorption peak of this sensor in the absorption curve is 99.99 % at 3.24 THz with an average quality factor of 11.39. This absorber-based sensor sensitivity to changing the test medium (analyte) RI is so high that with a very small change in the RI of the analyte, the absorption peak is shifted, and its frequency changes. This sensor sensitivity and figure of merit (FOM) to variation of the analyte RI 726 GHz/RIU 2.69 RIU-1 were acquired, respectively. The characteristics of this sensor can be adjusted by variating the bias voltage exerted on the graphene layer. The Computer Simulation Technology (CST) and Advanced Design System (ADS) software have been used to analyze this structure. This proposed sensor can be used as a good sensor in biomedical applications and early diagnosis of diseases such as leukemia and types of cancer and influenza.

Optical switching with high-Q Fano resonance of all-dielectric metasurface governed by bound states in the continuum

The discovery of bound states in the continuum (BIC) of optical nanostructures has garnered significant research interest and found widespread application in the field of optics, leading to an attractive approach to achieve high-Q (Quality factor) Fano resonance. Herein, an all-dielectric metasurface consisting of four gallium phosphide (Gap) cylinders on the MgF2 substrate is designed and analyzed by the finite element method (FEM). By breaking the symmetry of the plane, specifically by moving the two cylinders to one side, it is possible to achieve a transition from the symmetry-protected BIC to quasi-BIC. This transition enables the excitation of sharp dual-band Fano resonance at wavelengths of 1,045.4 nm and 1,139.6 nm, with the maximum Q factors reaching 1.47 × 104 and 1.28 × 104, respectively. The multipole decomposition and near-field distributions show that these two QBICs are dominated by the electric quadrupole (EQ) and magnetic quadrupole (MQ). Furthermore, bidirectional optical switching can be accomplished by changing the polarization direction of the incident light. As a result, the maximum sensitivity and figure of merit (FOM) are 488.9 nm/RIU and 2.51 × 105 RIU−1, respectively. The results enrich our knowledge about BIC and reveal a platform for the development of high-performance photonics devices such as optical switches and sensors.

Improvement in the opto-thermal performance of Indian standard solar box cooker by novel internal retrofit radiative control

Design intervention for improvement in the performance of a solar cooker is required for its mass adoption and popularization. It has remained stagnant for decades for want of a holistic tool which provides metric for prediction of its cumulative optical and thermal(opto-thermal) performance, cooking type/objectives, techno-economic feasibility and climatic impact/carbon mitigation potential. In this work assessment of effectiveness of novel design intervention through retrofitting of internal radiative control in an Indian solar box cooker, one of the most popular family cookers in India, has been investigated using available tools. The solar cooker, with the minimal design intervention, and negligible cost implication shows an improvement of 6.74%, and 6.86% in the values of figures of merit, F1 and F2, respectively, used for the thermal performance evaluation. Here, the standard test procedure for figures of merit mainly accounts for the thermal aspect of the performance as it excludes the use of external booster reflector. Alternatively, the Cooker opto-thermal ratio (COR), a parameter measuring opto-thermal performance, shows a 1.25-fold increase. The retrofitted reflectors enhance localised targeted absorption and reduce thermal losses, resulting in a 25% improvement in COR. The retrofitting process is simple, and easy; and offers superior performance, favourable economics, and potential for carbon mitigation, making it highly attractive. Also, this work demonstrates COR as a tool with higher resolution enabling analysis of the impact of even minimal design intervention.

Impact of blade shape on the aerodynamic performance and turbulent jet dynamics produced by a ducted rotor

A ducted rotor system was used to produce turbulent jets with a Reynolds number up to 5.97 × 105 and Mach number of 0.222 based on mean streamwise velocity. Three rotors with a diameter of 11.8 cm were manufactured and tested inside a duct with a 1 mm tip clearance at a speed up to 30 000 revolutions per minute (rpm). All rotor blades contain the same aspect ratio of 2.2, a National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics 2410 airfoil, and ideal pitch distribution. However, three different blade planform shapes were used including a rectangular shape with constant chord, trapezoidal shape with a taper ratio of 0.5, and elliptical shape where the trailing edge of the blade is expressed with an elliptical function. The rotor thrust and electric power were measured, and the thrust coefficient and figure of merit was computed. The flow-field produced by the ducted rotors was measured in the near-field using laser Doppler velocimetry techniques. The inflow velocity approximately 3 mm upstream of the rotor blade leading edge was acquired and its significance on blade aerodynamics and performance is analyzed. Time-averaged contours of cross-stream vorticity reveal intense hub and blade tip vortex structures, which are impacted by the shape of the blade, particularly in the blade tip region. Tip vorticity as well as streamwise turbulence intensity and turbulent kinetic energy in this region were mitigated for the rotors with trapezoidal and elliptical blades. However, the turbulent structure of the jet produced by all three rotor blade shapes showed similarity at a mere 2.8 rotor diameters downstream of the rotor. This finding emphasizes the importance of blade design on the near-field dynamics of ducted rotor flows for aircraft propulsion.

First-Principles Simulation and Materials Screening for Spin-Orbit Torque in 2D van der Waals Heterostructures.

Recent advancements in spin-orbit torque (SOT) technology in two-dimensional van der Waals (2D vdW) materials have not only pushed spintronic devices to their atomic limits but have also unveiled unconventional torques and novel spin-switching mechanisms. The vast diversity of SOT observed in numerous 2D vdW materials necessitates a screening strategy to identify optimal materials for torque device performance. However, such a strategy has yet to be established. To address this critical issue, a combination of density functional theory and non-equilibrium Green's function is employed to calculate the SOT in various 2D vdW bilayer heterostructures. This leads to the discovery of three high SOT systems: WTe2/CrSe2, MoTe2/VS2, and NbSe2/CrSe2. Furthermore, a figure of merit that allows for rapid and efficient estimation of SOT is proposed, enabling high-throughput screening of optimal materials and devices for SOT applications in the future.

Pressure influenced electronic phase transition, mechanical, optoelectronic, and transport characteristics of double perovskite Rb2AgSbCl6: A first-principles investigation

In this work, we used density functional theory (DFT) simulations to investigate the structural, elastic, electronic, optical, and transport characteristics of pressure-induced Rb2AgSbCl6. By calculating the octahedral and the tolerance factors, the phase stability has been verified. The calculated formation energy and Gibbs free energy values have demonstrated the thermodynamic stability of the material. The outcomes of the mechanical behavior analysis revealed that the pressure-driven Rb2AgSbCl6 is mechanically stable and sustains ductility as well as anisotropy. Additionally, as the pressure is increased from 0 GPa to 100 GPa, the band gap has been reduced from 2.64 eV to 0 eV. The hydrostatic pressure of 100 GPa was the critical pressure at which the material revealed a metallic nature. The optical properties such as absorbance and optical conductivity shift towards lower energy and comparatively higher at increased pressure with minimal energy loss. The thermoelectric characteristics are examined utilizing the BoltzTraP code at different pressures. The figure of merit (ZT) value was increased from 0.76 to 0.80 with the increase in pressure at room temperature. These characteristics render pressure-influenced Rb2AgSbCl6 favorable candidates for utilization in solar cells as well as thermoelectric devices.