Algorithms for automatic measurement of SIS-type hysteretic underdamped Josephson junction’s parameters by current-voltage characteristics

Some electrical parameters of the SIS-type hysteretic underdamped Josephson junction(JJ)can be measured by its current-voltage characteristics(IVCs).Currents and voltages at JJ are commensurate with the intrinsic noise level of measuring instruments.This leads to the need for multiple measurements with subsequent statistical processing.In this paper,the digital algorithms are proposed for the automatic measurement of the JJ parameters by IVC.These algorithms make it possible to implement multiple measurements and check these JJ parameters in an automatic mode with the required accuracy.The complete sufficient statistics are used to minimize the root-mean-square error of parameter measurement.A sequence of current pulses with slow rising and falling edges is used to drive JJ,and synchronous current and voltage readings at JJ are used to realize measurement algorithms.The algorithm performance is estimated through computer simulations.The significant advantage of the proposed algorithms is the independence from current source noise and intrinsic noise of current and voltage meters,as well as the simple implementation in automatic digital measuring systems.The proposed algorithms can be used to control JJ parameters during mass production of superconducting integrated circuits,which will improve the production efficiency and product quality.

The Nonideality Coefficient of Current-Voltage Characteristics for Asymmetric p-n-Junctions in a Microwave Field

It is shown that the nonideality coefficient m actually depends on the electron temperature Te, and the hole temperature Th. We get more general expression for the nonideality coefficient, taking into account the concentration of electrons and holes, as well as their temperature, coefficient and diffusion length, the temperature of the phonons, the applied voltage, and the height of the potential barrier.

Biotechnical system based on fuzzy logic prediction for surgical risk classification using analysis of current-voltage characteristics of acupuncture points

Objective:This study aimed to develop expert fuzzy logic model to assist physicians in the prediction of postoperative complications of prostatic hyperplasia before surgery.Methods:A method for classification of surgical risks was developed.The effect of rotation of the current–voltage characteristics at biologically active points(acupuncture points)was used for the formation of classifier descriptors.The effect determined reversible and non-reversible changes in electrical resistance at acupuncture points with periodic exposure to a sawtooth probe current.Then,the developed method was tested on the prediction of the success of surgical treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia.Results:Input descriptors were obtained from collected data including current-voltage characteristics of 5 acupuncture points and composed of 27 arrays feeding in the model.The maximum diagnostic sensitivity of the classifier for the success of a surgical operation in the control sample was 88%and for testing data set prediction accuracy was 97%.Conclusion:The use of tuples of current-voltage characteristic descriptors of acupuncture points in the classifiers could be used to predict the success of surgical treatment with satisfactory accuracy.The model can be a valuable tool to support physicians’diagnosis.

Nonlinear current-voltage characteristics originated from phase segregation and micro-cracks in polycrystalline La_(0.67)Ba_(0.33)MnO_3

Polycrystalline La0.67Ba0.33MnO3 bulk samples were annealed in flowing 95%Ar：5%H2 （AH） mixed gas at 973 K for different time respectively. The influence of the annealing time on the current-voltage properties was systematically investigated. Linear current-voltage characteristics were observed in the as-prepared and the 10 h annealed samples, and nonlinear current-voltage characteristics was found in the 100 h annealed sample. At the same time, segregation of impurity phase and micro-cracks were found on the surfaces of the 100 h annealed samples, which was testified to be Ba ion impurity. Analysis showed that the changes of electronic properties were caused by barium ion im-purities and micro-cracks in the 100 h annealed sample.

NONLINEAR CURRENT-VOLTAGE CHARACTERISTICS OF CONDUCTIVE POLYETHYLENE COMPOSITES WITH CARBON BLACK FILLED PET MICROFIBRILS

Current-voltage electrical behavior of in situ microfibrillar carbon black （CB）/poly（ethylene terephthalate） （PET）/polyethylene （PE） （m-CB/PET/PE） composites with various CB concentrations at ambient temperatures was studied under a direct-current electric field. The current-voltage （l-V） curves exhibited nonlinearity beyond a critical value of voltage. The dynamic random resistor network （DRRN） model was adopted to semi-qualitatively explain the nonlinear conduction behavior of m-CB/PET/PE composites. Macroscopic nonlinearity originated from the interfacial interactions between CB/PET micro fibrils and additional conduction channels. Combined with the special conductive networks, an illustration was proposed to interpret the nonlinear 1-V characteristics by a field emission or tunneling mechanism between CB particles in the CB/PET micro fibers intersections.

Current-voltage characteristics of light-emitting diodes under optical and electrical excitation

The factors influencing the current-voltage（I-V） characteristics of light-emitting diodes（LEDs） are investigated to reveal the connection of I-V characteristics under optical excitation and those under electrical excitation.By inspecting the I-V curves under optical and electrical excitation at identical injection current,it has been found that the I-V curves exhibit apparent differences in voltage values.Furthermore,the differences are found to originate from the junction temperatures in diverse excitation ways.Experimental results indicate that if the thermal effect of illuminating spot is depressed to an ignorable extent by using pulsed light,the junction temperature will hardly deflect from that under optical excitation,and then the I-V characteristics under two diverse excitation ways will be the same.

Fabrication of an AlAs/In_(0.53)Ga_ ( 0.47)As/InAs Resonant Tunneling Diode on InP Substrate for High-Speed Circuit Applications

A high performance AlAs/In0.53 Ga0.47 As/InAs resonant tunneling diode （RTD） on InP substrate is fabricated by inductively coupled plasma etching. This RTD has a peak-to-valley current ratio （PVCR） of 7. 57 and a peak current density Jp = 39.08kA/cm^2 under forward bias at room temperature. Under reverse bias, the corresponding values are 7.93 and 34.56kA/cm^2 . A resistive cutoff frequency of 18.75GHz is obtained with the effect of a parasitic probe pad and wire. The slightly asymmetrical current-voltage characteristics with a nominally symmetrical structure are also discussed.

A full-coupling model of PN junctions based on the global-domain carrier motions with inclusion of the two metal/semiconductor contacts at endpoints

A full-coupling model on the current-voltage(J-V)characteristics of PN junctions is put forward in the paper by taking into account both the whole junction and the two electrode regions consisting of metal/semiconductor(M/S)contacts.The depletion layer assumption proposed by the Shockley model is discarded.Gauss’law on the electric potential and the electric field is applied in the whole junction region such that the majority-carrier currents inside and outside the P/N barrier region are able to be exactly defined and clearly calculated.Then,the stable continuity equations of the electron and hole currents are established to show the current conversion between minority-and majority-carriers inside the whole PN junction region.By analyzing all the conversion procedure,the J-V characteristics of a PN junction are obtained with good agreement to the experimental results,which are closely dependent on the minority-carrier lifetime and doping concentrations.Obviously,the study on this topic possesses referential significance to mechanically tuning the performance of piezoelectric PN junctions and piezotronic devices.

Fabrication and characteristics of nitrogen-doped nanocrystalline diamond/p-type silicon heterojunction

Nitrogen-doped nanocrystalline diamond films(N-NDFs)have been deposited on p-type silicon(Si)by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition.The reaction gases are methane,hydrogen,and nitrogen without the conventional argon(Ar).The N-NDFs were characterized by X-ray diffraction,Raman spectroscopy,and scanning electron microscopy.The grain sizes are of 8~10 nm in dimension.The N-NDF shows n-type behavior and the corresponding N-NDF/p-Si heterojunction diodes are realized with a high rectification ratio of 102 at^7.8 V,and the current density reaches to1.35 A/cm2 at forward voltage of 8.5 V.The findings suggest that fabricated by CH_4/H_2/N_2 without Ar,the N-NDFs and the related rectifying diodes are favorable for achieving high performance diamond-based optoelectronic devices.

The Langmuir Probe onboard CSES: data inversion analysis method and first results

The Langmuir Probe(LAP), onboard the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite(CSES), has been designed for in situ measurements of bulk parameters of the ionosphere plasma, the first Chinese application of in-situ measurement technology in the field of space exploration. The two main parameters measured by LAP are electron density and temperature. In this paper, a brief description of the LAP and its work mode are provided. Based on characteristics of the LAP, and assuming an ideal plasma environment, we introduce in detail a method used to invert the I-V curve; the data products that can be accessed by users are shown. Based on the LAP data available, this paper reports that events such as earthquakes and magnetic storms are preceded and followed by obvious abnormal changes. We suggest that LAP could provide a valuable data set for studies of space weather, seismic events, and the ionospheric environment.

A Simple Model to Determine the Trends of Electric Field Enhanced Water Dissociation in a Bipolar Membrane

This work is concentrated on elucidating the mechanism of the electric field enhanced water dissociation. A simple model was established for the theoretical current-voltage characteristics in water dissociation process on a bipolar membrane based on the existence of a depletion layer and Onsager's theory. Particular attention was given to the influence of applied voltage on depletion thickness and the dissociation constant. The factors on the water splitting process, such as water diffusivity, water content, ion exchange capacity, temperature, relative permittivity, etc. Were adequately analysed based on the derived model equations and several suggestions were proposed for decreasing the applied voltage in practical operation. The water dissociation tests were conducted and compared with both the theoretical calculation and the measured current-voltage curves reported in the literature, which showed a very good prediction to practical current-voltage behavior of a bipolar membrane at high current densities when the splitting of water actually commenced.

Multi-Physics Modeling of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Fueled by Methane and Analysis of Carbon Deposition

Internal reformation of low steam methane fuel is important for the high efficiency and low cost operation of solid oxide fuel cell. Understanding and overcoming carbon deposition is crucial for the technology development. Here a multi-physics model is established for the relevant experimental cells. Balance of electrochemical potentials for the electrochemical reactions, generic rate expression for the methane steam reforming, dusty gas model in a form of Fick＇s model for anode gas transport are used in the model. Excellent agreement between the theoretical and experimental current-voltage relations is obtained, demonstrating the validity of the proposed theoretical model. The steam reaction order in low steam methane reforming reaction is found to be 1. Detailed information about the distributions of physical quantities is obtained by the numerical simulation. Carbon deposition is analyzed in detail and the mechanism for the coking inhibition by operating current is illustrated clearly. Two expressions of carbon activity are analyzed and found to be correct qualitatively, but not quantitatively. The role of anode diffusion layer on reducing the current threshold for carbon removal is also explained. It is noted that the current threshold reduction may be explained quantitatively with the carbon activity models that are only qualitatively correct.

Localized deep levels in Al_xGa_(1-x)N epitaxial films with various Al compositions

By using high-temperature deep-level transient spectroscopy （HT-DLTS） and other electrical measurement techniques, localized deep levels in n-type AlxGal xN epitaxial films with various A1 compositions （x = 0, 0.14, 0.24, 0.33, and 0.43） have been investigated. It is found that there are three distinct deep levels in AlxGal-xN films, whose level position with respect to the conduction band increases as AI composition increases. The dominant defect level with the activation energy deeper than 1.0 eV below the conduction band closely follows the Fermi level stabilization energy, indicating that its origin may be related to the defect complex, including the anti-site defects and divacancies in AlxGa1-xN films.

Vortex pinning and rectification effect in a nanostructured superconducting film with a square array of antidot triplets

We study the stability of vortices pinning and dynamics in a superconducting thin strip containing a square array of antidot triplets by using the nonlinear Ginzburg–Landau(GL)theory.Compared with the regular square array of circular holes,the vortices are no longer pinned inside the circular holes,but instead stabilized at the center of the antidot triplets depending on the geometry parameters.Moreover,the influences of the geometry parameters and the polarity of the applied current on the current–voltage(I–V)characteristics are also studied.The critical current for the sample turning into a normal state becomes smaller when the hole diameter D is smaller and the spacing B between the holes is larger.Due to the asymmetric pinning sites,our numerical simulations demonstrate that the positive and negative rectified voltages appear alternately in the resistive state of the sample under an ac current of square pulses.

Design and Development of a Computer-controlled PV Array Simulator

In this paper,a computer-controlled photovoltaic(PV)array simulator consisted of a synchronous buck DC converter and its associate control software is proposed and developed to simulate the current-voltage(I-V)output characteristics of a real-time PV array with actual loads connected.The main advantage of this simulator is its ability in simulating different types and sizes of arrays under various illumination and temperature conditions.It can replace the actual PV array and perform all the simulations indoor instead of outside field testing.The mathematical model implemented in this system requires minimum manufacturer's data.This system is a very cost effective and reliable laboratory tool to investigate the output characteristics of PV array under various weather conditions,and is helpful for developing new maximum power point tracking(MPPT)algorithms.

Schottky Barriers on Layered Anisotropic Semiconductor – WSe₂– with 1000 ÅIndium Metal Thickness

We have studied the forward I-V characteristics of In-pWSe2Schottky barrier diode with 1000 ? indium thickness in the temperature range 140 – 300 K well within the domain of thermionic emission theory with Gaussian distribution of barrier height. However we found some anomalies in the low temperature range below 200 K. Hence we have considered a model that incorporates thermionic emission, generation recombination and tunneling components. The low temperature anomalies observed in the diode parameters were effectively construed in terms of the contribution of these multiple charge transport mechanisms across the interface of the fabricated diodes. Various Schottky diode parameters were also extracted and compared with that of 500 ? metal thickness In-pWSe2 diode.

Facile fabrication of TiO_2 nanoparticle–TiO_2 nanofiber composites by co-electrospinning–electrospraying for dye-sensitized solar cells

We report a facile method for the fabrication of TiO2 nanofiber-nanoparticle composite （FP） via. simulta- neous electrospraying and electrospinning for dye-sensitized solar cell （DSC） applications. The loading of nanoparticles on the fibers is controlled by varying their feed rates during electrospinning. The FP composites having three different particle loading are prepared by the methodology and the FP with the highest particle loading （denoted as FP-3 in the manuscript） showed the best overall efficiency of 9.15% in comparison to the other compositions of the FP （FP-2, 8.15% and FP-1, Z51%, respectively） and nanofibers （F） and nanoparticles （P） separately （7.21 and 7.81, respectively）. All the material systems are characterized by spec- troscopy, microscopy, surface area measurements and the devices are characterized by current-voltage （I-V）, incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency （IPCE）, electrochemical impedance measurements, etc. I-V, dye-loading and reflectance measurements throw light on the overall performance of the DSC devices.

Dynamics of vortex–antivortex pair in a superconducting thin strip with narrow slits

In the framework of phenomenological time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau（TDGL） formalism,the dynamical properties of vortex-antivortex（V-Av） pair in a superconductor film with a narrow slit was studied.The slit position and length can have a great impact not only on the vortex dynamical behavior but also the current-voltage（Ⅰ-Ⅴ） characteristics of the sample.Kinematic vortex lines can be predominated by the location of the slit.In the range of relatively low applied currents for a constant weak magnetic field,kinematic vortex line appears at right or left side of the slit by turns periodically.We found such single-side kinematic vortex line cannot lead to a jump in the Ⅰ-Ⅴ curve.At higher applied currents the phase-slip lines can be observed at left and right sides of the slit simultaneously.The competition between the vortex created at the lateral edge of the sample and the V-Av pair in the slit will result in three distinctly different scenarios of vortex dynamics depending on slit length：the lateral vortex penetrates the sample to annihilate the antivortex in the slit;the V-Av pair in the slit are driven off and expelled laterally;both the lateral vortex and the slit antivortex are depinned and driven together to annihilation in the halfway.

Formation of Large-Volume High-Pressure Plasma in Triode-Configuration Discharge Devices

A ＂plane cathode micro-hollow anode discharge （PCHAD）＂ is studied in comparison with micro-hollow cathode discharge （MHCD）. A new triode-configuration discharge device is also designed for large-volume, high-pressure glow discharges plasma without glow-to-arc transitions, as well as with an anode metal needle, and a cathode of PCHAD. It has a ＂needle-hole＂ sustained glow discharge. Its discharge circuit employs only one power supply circuit with a variable resistor. The discharge experiments have been carried out in the air. The electrical properties and the photoimages in PCHAD, multi-PCHAD and ＂needle-hole＂ sustained discharge have been investigated. The electrical and the optical measurements show that this triode-configuration discharge device can operate stably at high-pressure, in parallel without individual ballasting resistance. And the electron density of the plasma is estimated to be up to 10^12cm^-3. Compared with the twosupply circuit system, this electrode configuration is very simple with lower cost in generating large-volume plasma at high pressures.

Spin-dependent transport induced by magnetization in zigzag graphene nanoribbons coupled to one-dimensional leads

We study spin transport in a zigzag graphene nanoribbon sample with two ferromagnetic strips deposited on the two sides of the ribbon. A tight-binding Hamiltonian was adopted to describe the sample connected to two one- dimensional leads. Our theoretical study shows that the resonance peaks of conductance for the spin-up and spin-down electrons are separated for the parallel configuration of the ferromagnetic strips, while they are not separated for the case of antiparallel configuration. This means that giant magnetoresistance can be produced at particular energies by altering the configurations of the ferromagnetic strips, and the device can be designed as a spin filter.