RS trigger based relaxation oscillator for temperature measurement circuit

Resistance-to-time converter is always used for digital temperature measurement. An reset-set （RS） trigger based, relaxation oscillator based temperature measurement circuit, which is used to convert the change of thermistor sensor into a frequency signal for later processing, has been presented in this article. The RS trigger, which is composed of two inverters designed with distinct logical transition threshold voltages by changing the metal-oxide-semiconductor （MOS） transistor gains, has the same function as the Schmitt trigger in the relaxation oscillator. The advantage of the RS trigger based Schmitt trigger is that it reduces the dependence to supply voltage, chip temperature, and process variation. This temperature measurement circuit has been applied in a clinical thermometer chip that can measure temperature to an accuracy of better than 0.05 ℃ down to 1.1 V battery voltage. It is fabricated in 0.5 μm double metal single poly complementary MOS （CMOS） process.

RTD’s Relaxation Oscillation Characteristics with Applied Pressure

The relaxation oscillation characteristics of a resonant tunneling diode （RTD） with applied pressure are reported. The oscillation circuit is simulated and designed by Pspice 8. 0, and the measured oscillation frequency is up to 200kHz. Using molecular beam epitaxy （MBE） ,AIAs/lnx Ga1-x As/GaAs double barrier resonant tunneling structures （DBRTS） are grown on （100） semi-insulated （SI） GaAs substrate,and the RTD is processed by Au/Ge/Ni/Au metallization and an airbridge structure. Because of the piezoresistive effect of RTD,with Raman spectrum to measure the applied pressure, the relaxation oscillation characteristics have been studied, which show that the relaxation oscillation frequency has approxi- mately a - 17.9kHz/MPa change.

Simultaneously Suppressing Low-Frequency and Relaxation Oscillation Intensity Noise in a DBR Single-Frequency Phosphate Fiber Laser

Effective multiple optoelectronic feedback circuits for simultaneously suppressing low-frequency and relaxation oscillation intensity noise in a single-frequency phosphate fiber laser are demonstrated. The forward transfer function, which relates the laser output intensity to the pump modulations, is measured and analyzed. A custom two-path feedback system operating at different frequency bands is designed to adjust the pump current directly. The relative intensity noise is decreased by 20dB from 0.2 to 5kHz and over lOdB from 5 to lOkHz. The relaxation oscillation peak is suppressed by 22dB. In addition, a long term （24h） laser instability of less than 0.05% is achieved.

Review of relaxation oscillations in plasma processing discharges

Relaxation oscillations due to plasma instabilities at frequencies ranging from a few Hz to tens of kHz have been observed in various types of plasma processing discharges. Relaxation oscillations have been observed in electropositive capacitive discharges between a powered anode and a metallic chamber whose periphery is grounded through a slot with dielectric spacers. The oscillations of time-varying optical emission from the main discharge chamber show, for example, a high-frequency （- 40 kHz） relaxation oscillation at 13.33Pa, with an absorbed power being nearly the peripheral breakdown power, and a low-frequency （- 3 Hz） oscillation, with an even higher absorbed power. The high-frequency oscillation is found to ignite plasma in the slot, but usually not in the peripheral chamber. The kilohertz oscillations are modelled using an electromagnetic model of the slot impedance, coupled to a circuit analysis of the system including the matching network. The model results are in general agreement with the experimental observations, and indicate a variety of behaviours dependent on the matching conditions. In low-pressure inductive discharges, oscillations appear in the transition between low-density capacitively driven and high-density inductively driven discharges when attaching gases such as SF6 and Ar/SF6 mixtures are used. Oscillations of charged particles, plasma potential, and light, at frequencies ranging from a few Hz to tens of kHz, are seen for gas pressures between 0.133 Pa and 13.33 Pa and discharge powers in a range of 75 1200 W. The region of instability increases as the plasma becomes more electronegative, and the frequency of plasma oscillation increases as the power, pressure, and gas flow rate increase. A volume-averaged （global） model of the kilohertz instability has been developed; the results obtained from the model agree well with the experimental observations.

Current Controlled Relaxation Oscillations in Ge_2Sb_2Te_5-Based Phase Change Memory Devices

The relaxation oscillation of the phase change memory （PCM） devices based on the Ge2Sb2Te5 material is investigated by applying square current pulses. The current pulses with different amplitudes could be accurately given by the independently designed current testing system. The relaxation oscillation across the PCM device could be measured using an oscilloscope. The oscillation duration decreases with time, showing an inner link with the shrinking threshold voltage Vth. However, the relaxation oscillation would not terminate until the remaining voltage Von reaches the holding voltage Vh. This demonstrates that the relaxation oscillation might be controlled by Von. The increasing current amplitudes could only quicken the oscillation velocity but not be able to eliminate it, which indicates that the relaxation oscillation might be an inherent behavior for the PCM cell.

High and low frequency relaxation oscillations in a capacitive discharge plasma

Both high and low frequency relaxation oscillations have been observed in an argon capacitive discharge connected to a peripheral grounded chamber through a slot with dielectric spacers. The oscillations, observed from time-varying optical emission of the main discharge chamber, show, for example, a high frequency （46 kHz） relaxation oscillation at 100 mTorr, with an absorbed power near the peripheral breakdown, and a low frequency （2.7-3.7 Hz） oscillation, at a higher absorbed power. The high frequency oscillation is found to ignite a plasma in the slot, but usually not in the periphery. The high frequency oscillation is interpreted by using an electromagnetic model of the slot impedance, combined with the circuit analysis of the system including a matching network. The model is further developed by using a parallel connection of variable peripheral capacitance to analyse the low frequency oscillation. The results obtained from the model are in agreement with the experimental observations and indicate that a variety of behaviours are dependent on the matching conditions.

Influence of Superathermal Electrons oll Central Plasma Relaxation Oscillations during Localized Electron Cyclotron Heating on the HL-1M Tokamak

During initial studies of ECRH in the HL-1M tokamak, non-standard central MHD activities,such as saturated sawtooth, partially saturated sawtooth, double sawtooth, and the strong m = 1 bursts have been observed while changing the heating location, the ECRH power, the plasma density. Complete suppression of sawtooth is achieved for the duration of the ECRH, when the heating power is applied on the high-field side of low-density plasma, and exceeds a threshold value of power. The m = 1 bursts riding on the ramp phase of sawtooth can only be excited when the ECRH location is near the q = 1 surface on the high field side. The conditions under which the various relaxation activities are produced or suppressed are described. Experimental results imply that the energetic electrons generated during ECRH are responsible for the modification/or stabilization/or excitation of the instability. Near the q = 1 surface, the passing electrons play the role of reducing the shear and tending to stabilize the sawtooth activity, while the barely-trapped electrons play the role of enhancing or driving an internal kink instability.

Investigation on the dynamic behaviors of the coupled memcapacitor-based circuits

In this paper, by referring to the concept of coupled memristors （MRs） and considering the flux coupling connection, the constitutive relations for describing the coupled memcapacitors （MCs） are theoretically deduced. The dynamic behaviors of dual coupled MCs in serial and parallel connections are analyzed in terms of identical or opposite polarities for the first time. Based on the derived constitutive relations of the two coupled MCs, the modified relaxation oscillators （ROs） are obtained with the purpose of achieving controllable oscillation frequency and duty cycle. In consideration of different parameter configurations, the experimental investigation is carried out by using practical off-the-shelf circuit components to verify the correction of the theoretical calculation with numerical simulation of the coupled MCs and its application in ROs.

Canard Solutions in a Predator-Prey Model

The canard explosion phenomenon in a predator-prey model with Michaelis-Menten functional response is analyzed in this paper by employing the geometric singular perturbation theory. First, some turning points, such as, fold point, transcritical point, pitchfork point, canard point, are identified;then Hopf bifurcation, relaxation oscillation, together with the canard transition from Hopf bifurcation to relaxation oscillation are discussed.

Revealing the behavior of soliton buildup in a mode-locked laser

Real-time spectroscopy based on an emerging time-stretch technique can map the spectral information of optical waves into the time domain,opening several fascinating explorations of nonlinear dynamics in mode-locked lasers.However,the self-starting process of mode-locked lasers is quite sensitive to environmental perturbation,which causes the transient behaviors of lasers to deviate from the true buildup process of solitons.We optimize the laser system to improve its stability,which suppresses the Q-switched lasing induced by environmental perturbation.We,therefore,demonstrate the first observation of the entire buildup process of solitons in a mode-locked laser,revealing two possible pathways to generate the temporal solitons.One pathway includes the dynamics of raised relaxation oscillation,quasimode-locking stage,spectral beating behavior,and finally the stable single-soliton mode-locking.The other pathway contains,however,an extra transient bound-state stage before the final single-pulse modelocking operation.Moreover,we propose a theoretical model to predict the buildup time of solitons,which agrees well with the experimental results.Our findings can bring real-time insights into ultrafast fiber laser design and optimization,as well as promote the application of fiber laser.

A Four-Element Sensor Array Consisting of Asymmetric Distributed-Feedback Fiber Lasers

A sensor array system formed by arranging four asymmetric distributed-feedback fiber lasers （DFB-FL） in ascending order according to their slope efficiencies was proposed. The output flatness could be effectively improved with the application of asymmetric DFB-FLs. The last element had almost the same output with the others although it obtained the smallest pump power. The relative intensity noise （RIN） and relaxation oscillation frequency of the sensor array were also analyzed. It is found that the relaxation oscillation frequency of a certain DFB-FL was relevant to its relative position in the array. And the RIN of a certain DFB-FL was always affected by the other elements in the array, which was not dependent on the order of their arrangement.

Transient mode competition in directly modulated DFB semiconductor laser

A new effect of transient mode competition in directly modulated DFB laser based on equivalent phase-shift （EPS） technique is presented and studied. Since there are multi-order reflections in EPS structure and if the 0th order subgrating is properly de- signed, the transient lasing of 0th order will occur during the rising time of the injection current. As a result, transient mode competition between -lst order （main mode） and 0th order will occur accordingly. This can consume redundant carrier and suppress the transient relaxation oscillation, which may be applied in some areas like on-off switching modulation of DFB semiconductor lasers. As an example, an equivalent n phase shift （n-EPS） is carefully designed to realize the effect. In such a laser the 0th order wavelength is in the margin of the material gain region and the -1st order wavelength is around the gain peak, while the stable single longitudinal mode （SLM） operation of the -lst order is guaranteed. The simulation investigation is performed. Good results with suppressed relaxation oscillation and 1.25 Gb/s directly on-off modulation （32 dB extinction ratio） are demonstrated. We believe it provides a new kind of method for on-off switching with high extinction ratio and weak relaxation oscillation.

Bistability and oscillations in co-repressive synthetic microbial consortia

Background： Synthetic microbial consortia are conglomerations of genetically engineered microbes programmed to cooperatively bring about population-level phenotypes. By coordinating their activity, the constituent strains can display emergent behaviors that are difficult to engineer into isogenic populations. To do so, strains are engineered to communicate with one another through intercellular signaling pathways that depend on cell density. Methods： Here, we used computational modeling to examine how the behavior of synthetic microbial consortia results from the interplay between population dynamics governed by cell growth and internal transcriptional dynamics governed by cell-ceil signaling. Specifically, we examined a synthetic microbial consortium in which two strains each produce signals that down-regulate transcription in the other. Within a single strain this regulatory topology is called a ＂co-repressive toggle switch＂ and can lead to bistability. Results： We found that in co-repressive synthetic microbial consortia the existence and stability of different states depend on population-level dynamics. As the two strains passively compete for space within the colony, their relative fractions fluctuate and thus alter the strengths of intercellular signals. These fluctuations drive the consortium to alternative equilibria. Additionally, if the growth rates of the strains depend on their transcriptional states, an additional feedback loop is created that can generate oscillations. Conclusions： Our findings demonstrate that the dynamics of microbial consortia cannot be predicted from their regulatory topologies alone, but are also determined by interactions between the strains. Therefore, when designing synthetic microbial consortia that use intercellular signaling, one must account for growth variations caused by the production of protein.

Canard explosion,homoclinic and heteroclinic orbits in singularly perturbed generalist predator-prey systems

This paper studies the dynamics of the generalist predator–prey systems modeled in[E.Alexandra,F.Lutscher and G.Seo,Bistability and limit cycles in generalist predator–prey dynamics,Ecol.Complex.14(2013)48–55].When prey reproduces much faster than predator,by combining the normal form theory of slow-fast systems,the geometric singular perturbation theory and the results near non-hyperbolic points developed by Krupa and Szmolyan[Relaxation oscillation and canard explosion,J.Differential Equations174(2)(2001)312–368;Extending geometric singular perturbation theory to nonhyperbolic points—fold and canard points in two dimensions,SIAM J.Math.Anal.33(2)(2001)286–314],we provide a detailed mathematical analysis to show the existence of homoclinic orbits,heteroclinic orbits and canard limit cycles and relaxation oscillations bifurcating from the singular homoclinic cycles.Moreover,on global stability of the unique positive equilibrium,we provide some new results.Numerical simulations are also carried out to support the theoretical results.

Performance of a monolithic Tm:YLF micro laser

We report a monolithic Tm：YLF micro laser in this Letter. In order to improve the relaxation oscillation of the laser, both ends of the crystal are coated, making the Tm：YLF crystal itself a resonant cavity. The micro laser is pumped by a 792 nm laser diode operated in the continuous wave（CW） mode. We obtain maximum output powers of 7.78 and 10.4 W at the total incident power of 43.6 W with focus lenses of 37.5 and 40 mm, respectively,corresponding to the slope efficiencies of 25.6% and 40.0% and the optical–optical conversion efficiencies of 17.8%and 23.8%. It is clear that the amplitude of the relaxation oscillation is smaller and the beam quality is better with the focus length of 37.5 mm; however, the laser with the focus length of 40 mm produces a higher output power and a more stable wavelength centering at 1878.44 nm.