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We explore the robustness of a network against failures of vertices or edges where a fraction f of vertices is removed and an overload model based on betweenness is constructed. It is assumed that the load and capacity of vertex i are correlated with its betweenness centrality Bi as and (θ is the strength parameter, α is the tolerance parameter). We model the cascading failures following a local load preferential sharing rule. It is found that there exists a minimal αc when θ is between 0 and 1, and its theoretical analysis is given. The minimal αc characterizes the strongest robustness of a network against cascading failures triggered by removing a random fraction f of vertices. It is realized that the minimal αc increases with the increase of the removal fraction f or the decrease of average degree. In addition, we compare the robustness of networks whose overload models are characterized by degree and betweenness, and find that the networks based on betweenness have stronger robustness against the random removal of a fraction f of vertices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-quality bulk boron carbide (B4C) is successfully prepared at high pressure and high temperature (HPHT) by using B4C powder as a precursor. The as-synthesized B4C possesses a nanosheet structure with a thickness value of 15 nm and a length of several dozen micrometers. Its Vickers hardness value and fracture toughness value are 42.4 GPa and , respectively, which are superior to those of B4C obtained from spark plasma sintering due to its high densification and nanosheet structure. Additionally, it shows good property of oxidation resistance. In air, its oxidation resistance temperature is 1100 °C which is higher than that of diamond under the same test condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two-dimensional model of the silicon NPN monolithic composite transistor is established for the first time by utilizing the semiconductor device simulator, Sentaurus-TCAD. By analyzing the internal distributions of electric field, current density, and temperature of the device, a detailed investigation on the damage process and mechanism induced by high-power microwaves (HPM) is performed. The results indicate that the temperature elevation occurs in the negative half-period and the temperature drop process is in the positive half-period under the HPM injection from the output port. The damage point is located near the edge of the base–emitter junction of T2, while with the input injection it exists between the base and the emitter of T2. Comparing these two kinds of injection, the input injection is more likely to damage the device than the output injection. The dependences of the damage energy threshold and the damage power threshold causing the device failure on the pulse-width are obtained, and the formulas obtained have the same form as the experimental equations, which demonstrates that more power is required to destroy the device if the pulse-width is shorter. Furthermore, the simulation result in this paper has a good coincidence with the experimental result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The instantaneous reversible soft logic upset induced by the electromagnetic interference (EMI) severely affects the performances and reliabilities of complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) inverters. This kind of soft logic upset is investigated in theory and simulation. Physics-based analysis is performed, and the result shows that the upset is caused by the non-equilibrium carrier accumulation in channels, which can ultimately lead to an abnormal turn-on of specific metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) in CMOS inverter. Then a soft logic upset simulation model is introduced. Using this model, analysis of upset characteristic reveals an increasing susceptibility under higher injection powers, which accords well with experimental results, and the influences of EMI frequency and device size are studied respectively using the same model. The research indicates that in a range from L waveband to C waveband, lower interference frequency and smaller device size are more likely to be affected by the soft logic upset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermal failure induced by high power microwave (HPM) in a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) inverter is investigated and its dependence on microwave parameters is discussed in detail. An analytical model of the temperature distribution is established and the relationships between hotspot temperature and pulse width and between hotspot temperature and frequency are predicted, which reveals a more severe rise in temperature under the influence of microwave with longer width and lower frequency. The temperature variation mechanism and the theoretical temperature model are validated and explained by the simulation. Furthermore, variation trend of damage threshold with microwave parameters is derived theoretically, and the conclusions are consistent with simulation results and reported data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The latch-up effect induced by high-power microwave (HPM) in complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) inverter is investigated in simulation and theory in this paper. The physical mechanisms of excess carrier injection and HPM-induced latch-up are proposed. Analysis on upset characteristic under pulsed wave reveals increasing susceptibility under shorter-width pulsed wave which satisfies experimental data, and the dependence of upset threshold on pulse repetitive frequency (PRF) is believed to be due to the accumulation of excess carriers. Moreover, the trend that HPM-induced latch-up is more likely to happen in shallow-well device is proposed.Finally, the process of self-recovery which is ever-reported in experiment with its correlation with supply voltage and power level is elaborated, and the conclusions are consistent with reported experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An electromagnetic pulse (EMP)-induced damage model based on the internal damage mechanism of the GaAs pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (PHEMT) is established in this paper. With this model, the relationships among the damage power, damage energy, pulse width and signal amplitude are investigated. Simulation results show that the pulse width index from the damage power formula obtained here is higher than that from the empirical formula due to the hotspot transferring in the damage process of the device. It is observed that the damage energy is not a constant, which decreases with the signal amplitude increasing, and then changes little when the signal amplitude reaches up to a certain level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The damage effect and mechanism of the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) on the GaAs pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (PHEMT) are investigated in this paper. By using the device simulation software, the distributions and variations of the electric field, the current density and the temperature are analyzed. The simulation results show that there are three physical effects, i.e., the forward-biased effect of the gate Schottky junction, the avalanche breakdown, and the thermal breakdown of the barrier layer, which influence the device current in the damage process. It is found that the damage position of the device changes with the amplitude of the step voltage pulse. The damage appears under the gate near the drain when the amplitude of the pulse is low, and it also occurs under the gate near the source when the amplitude is sufficiently high, which is consistent with the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present the damage effect and mechanism of high power microwave (HPM) on AlGaAs/GaAs pseudomorphic high-electron-mobility transistor (pHEMT) of low-noise amplifier (LNA). A detailed investigation is carried out by simulation and experiment study. A two-dimensional electro-thermal model of the typical GaAs pHEMT induced by HPM is established in this paper. The simulation result reveals that avalanche breakdown, intrinsic excitation, and thermal breakdown all contribute to damage process. Heat accumulation occurs during the positive half cycle and the cylinder under the gate near the source side is most susceptible to burn-out. Experiment is carried out by injecting high power microwave into GaAs pHEMT LNA samples. It is found that the damage to LNA is because of the burn-out at first stage pHEMT. The interiors of the damaged samples are observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). Experimental results accord well with the simulation of our model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high power microwave (HPM) damage effect on the AlGaAs/InGaAs pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (pHEMT) is studied by simulation and experiments. Simulated results suggest that the HPM damage to pHEMT is due to device burn-out caused by the emerging current path and strong electric field beneath the gate. Besides, the results demonstrate that the damage power threshold decreases but the energy threshold slightly increases with the increase of pulse-width, indicating that HPM with longer pulse-width requires lower power density but more energy to cause the damage to pHEMT. The empirical formulas are proposed to describe the pulse-width dependence. Then the experimental data validate the pulse-width dependence and verify that the proposed formula P = 55τ−0.06 is capable of quickly and accurately estimating the HPM damage susceptibility of pHEMT. Finally the interior observation of damaged samples by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) illustrates that the failure mechanism of the HPM damage to pHEMT is indeed device burn-out and the location beneath the gate near the source side is most susceptible to burn-out, which is in accordance with the simulated results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of helium implantation on silicon carbide (SiC) and graphite were studied to reveal the possibility of SiC replacing graphite as plasma facing materials. Pressureless sintered SiC and graphite SMF-800 were implanted with He+ ions of 20 keV and 100 keV at different temperatures and different fluences. The He+ irradiation induced microstructure changes were studied by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new three-dimensional (3D) continuous autonomous system with one parameter and three quadratic terms is presented firstly in this paper. Countless embedded trumpet-shaped chaotic attractors in two opposite directions are generated from the system as time goes on. The basic dynamical behaviors of the strange chaotic system are investigated. Another more complex 3D system with the same capability of generating countless embedded trumpet-shaped chaotic attractors is also put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The damage effect characteristics of GaAs pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (pHEMT) under the irradiation of C band high-power microwave (HPM) is investigated in this paper. Based on the theoretical analysis, the thermoelectric coupling model is established, and the key damage parameters of the device under typical pulse conditions are predicted, including the damage location, damage power, etc. By the injection effect test and device microanatomy analysis through using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), it is concluded that the gate metal in the first stage of the device is the vulnerable to HPM damage, especially the side below the gate near the source. The damage power in the injection test is about 40 dBm and in good agreement with the simulation result. This work has a certain reference value for microwave damage assessment of pHEMT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Super-clean and super-spherical FGH4095 superalloy powder is produced by the ceramic-free electrode induction-melt inert gas atomization (EIGA) technique. A continuous and steady-state liquid metal flow is achieved at high-frequency (350 kHz) alternating current and high electric power (100 kW). The superalloy is immersed in a high-frequency induction coil, and the liquid metal falling into a supersonic nozzle is atomized by an Ar gas of high kinetic gas energy. Numerical calculations are performed to optimize the structure parameters for the nozzle tip. The undesired oxidation reaction of alloying elements starts at 1000 °C with the reaction originating from the active sites on the powder surfaces, leading to the formation of oxides, MexOy. The role of active sites and kinetic factors associated with the diffusion of oxygen present in the atomization gas streams are also examined. The observed results reveal that the oxidation process occurring at the surface of the produced powders gradually moves toward the core, and that there exists a clear interface between the product layer and the reactant. The present study lays a theoretical foundation for controlling the oxidation of nickel-based superalloy powders from the powder process step. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crucible-free electrode induction melting gas atomization (EIGA) technology is an advanced technology for preparing ultra-clean nickel-based superalloy powders. One of the key issues for fabricating powders with high quality and yield is the consecutive induction melting of a superalloy electrode. The coupling of a superalloy electrode and coil, frequency, output power, and heat conduction are investigated to improve the controllable electrode induction melting process. Numerical simulation results show that when the coil frequency is 400 kHz, the output power is 100 kW, superalloy liquid flow with a diameter of about 5 mm is not consecutive. When the coil frequency is reduced to 40 kHz, the output power is 120 kW, superalloy liquid flow is consecutive, and its diameter is about 7 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the complicated structure of the deflector–jet mechanism, a mathematical model based on the turbulent jet flow theory in the deflector–jet amplifier is proposed. Considering the energy transformation and momentum variation, an equation of the flow velocity distribution at the key fluid region is established to describe the morphological changes of the fluid when it passes through the deflector and jets into the receiver. Moreover, the process is segmented into four stages. According to the research results, the oil enters the deflector and impinges with the side wall. Then one part of the oil’s flow velocity decreases and a high pressure zone is formed by the oil accumulation, the other part of the oil reverses out of the deflector along the side wall. Prior to entering the receiver, the flow is a kind of plane impinging jet. Virtually, the working pressure of the receiver is generated by the impact force, while the high speed fluid flows out of the receiver and forms a violent vortex, which generates negative pressure and causes the oil to be gasified. Compared with the numerical simulation results, the turbulent jet model that can effectively describe the characteristics of the deflector–jet mechanism is accurate. In addition, the calculation results of the prestage pressure characteristic have been verified by experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Powder metallurgy (PM) superalloys are an important class of high temperature structural materials, key to the rotating components of aero engines. In the purview of the present challenges associated with PM superalloys, two novel approaches namely, powder preparation and the innovative spray-forming technique (for making turbine disk) are proposed and studied. Subsequently, advanced technologies like electrode-induction-melting gas atomization (EIGA), and spark-plasma discharge spheroidization (SPDS) are introduced, for ceramic-free superalloy powders. Presently, new processing routes are sought after for preparing finer and cleaner raw powders for disk superalloys. The progress of research in spray-formed PM superalloys is first summarized in detail. The spray-formed superalloy disks specifically exhibit excellent mechanical properties. This paper reviews the recent progress in innovative technologies for PM superalloys, with an emphasis on new ideas and approaches, central to the innovation driving techniques like powder processing and spray forming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxide (a-SiOx:H) is an attractive passivation material to suppress epitaxial growth and reduce the parasitic absorption loss in silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells. In this paper, a-SiOx:H layers on different orientated c-Si substrates are fabricated. An optimal effective lifetime (τeff) of 4743 μs and corresponding implied open-circuit voltage (i Voc) of 724 mV are obtained on 〈100〉-orientated c-Si wafers. While τeff of 2429 μs and i Voc of 699 mV are achieved on 〈111〉-orientated substrate. The FTIR and XPS results indicate that the a-SiOx:H network consists of SiOx (Si-rich), Si– OH, Si– O– SiHx, SiO2≡Si– Si, and O3 ≡S– Si. A passivation evolution mechanism is proposed to explain the different passivation results on different c-Si wafers. By modulating the a-SiOx:H layer, the planar silicon heterojunction solar cell can achieve an efficiency of 18.15%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural, mechanical and electronic properties of W1−xZrx (x = 0.0625, 0.125, 0.1875, 0.25, 0.5) are systematically investigated by means of first-principles calculation. The total-energy calculations demonstrate that the W–Zr binary substitutional solid solution remaining bcc structure can be formed at an atom level. In addition, the derived bulk modulus (B), shear modulus (G), Youngʼs modulus (E) for each of W–Zr alloys decrease gradually with the increase of Zr concentration, suggesting that W alloying with higher Zr concentration becomes softer than pure W metal. Based on the mechanical characteristic B/G ratio, Poissonʼs ratio υ and Cauchy pressure , all W1−xZrx alloys are regarded as ductile materials. The ductility for each of those materials is improved with the increase of Zr concentration. The calculated density of states indicates that the ductility of W1−xZrx is due to the fact that the bonding in the alloy becomes more metallic through increasing the Zr concentration in tungsten. These results provide incontrovertible evidence for the fact that Zr has a significant influence on the properties of W. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have the ideal structure to be used as templates for nanomaterials, especially for nanowires, and the tungsten nanowire is an important nanomaterial that is used as a strengthening phase. Therefore, we have proposed to apply mesoporous CNT (mCNT) as a template to prepare tungsten nanowires. However, the tungsten precursor should fill the hollow tube of mCNT firstly, and very few related studies have been reported. In this paper, we have systematically studied the filling process of ammonium metatungstate (AMT) aqueous solution. The results reveal that owing to the mesopores in the mCNT sidewall, the AMT can be encapsulated into the tube at room temperature (RT) and we can fully fill it without destroying the structure. In addition, vibration and solute concentration are also important factors. Besides, the mesoporous sidewall and hollow tubular core structure of mCNT are prerequisites to realize full filling. Furthermore, tungsten nanowires have been obtained after reduction of AMT in mCNTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WC nanorods or WC nanodots are prepared via an easy, shape-controllable and large-scale preparation technique. Results reveal that each of the WC nanorods and WC nanodots has a peroxidase-like activity. Besides, the peroxidase-like activity of WC is the first time to be demonstrated. The catalytic efficiency of WC nanorods is much higher than that of WC nanodots and chemical condition range of WC can be wider than that of WC, which indicates that WC is likely to be used as artificial mimetic peroxidase or in-situ amplified colorimetric immunoassay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large scale tungsten nanowires and tungsten nanodots are prepared in a controllable way. The preparation is based on mechanisms of chemical vapor transportation and phase transformation during the reduction of ammonium metatungstate (AMT) in H2. The AMT is first encapsulated into the hollow core of nanostructured carbon with hollow macroporous core/mesoporous shell (NC-HMC/MS) and forms nanorods, which are the precursors of both tungsten nanowires and tungsten nanodots. Just by controlling H2 flow rate and heating rate in the reduction process, the AMT nanorods could turn into nanowires (under low rate condition) or nanodots (under high rate condition). Besides, via heat treatment at 1200 °C, the as-obtained nano-sized tungsten could convert into W2C nanorods or WC nanodots respectively. Furthermore, the diameter of the as-obtained tungsten or tungsten carbide is confined within 50 nm by the NC-HMC/MS, and no agglomeration appears in the obtained nanomaterials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An investigation of low temperature hot corrosion is carried out on a spray-formed nickel-based superalloy FGH100 pre-coated with Na2SO4-NaCl at 700 °C for 100 h. Mass gain measurement, x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy are used to study the corrosion behavior. Results reveal that corrosion behavior follows a sequence, that is, first rapidly proceeding, then gradually slowing down, and finally forming an outer layer composed of different types of oxides and an inner layer mainly comprised of sulfides. In-depth analysis reveals that the hot corrosion of FGH100 is a combined effect of oxidation-sulfidation and transfer of oxides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amphotericin B is a very effective antifungal drug, but it has an adverse reaction to the membrane of mammals’ cells. The interaction between AmB and cholesterol (Chol) causes the formation of pores on the membrane to destroy its integrity. In particular, AmB has a significant effect on the permeability of membrane for K+ ions. It has been reported that Na+ ions and Ca2+ ions may have some influence on the interaction between amphotericin B and lipid molecules. In this work, the effects of these metal cations on the physical state and intermolecular interaction of the Cholesterol/ Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (Chol/DPPC) monolayer with and without AmB have been investigated. The addition of AmB induces the change of physical state of the lipid monolayer from liquid-gel phase to liquid phase. Different metal cations could influence the phase transition of the AmB-lipid monolayer. The K+ ions and Ca2+ ions make the obvious phase transition disappear. However, the presence of Na+ ions has little influence on the phase transition of the AmB-lipid monolayer. The addition of AmB and the presence of different metal cations weaken the attractive force on the monolayers. After addition of AmB, the force between the molecules is the strongest in the environment of K+ ions, thus is the weakest in the environment of Ca2+ ions, which may be due to the distribution of these metal cations inside and outside of cells. A large number of K+ ions distribute inside of the cells, thus most of Na+ and Ca2+ ions exist out of the cells. Hence, it may be possible that when AmB molecules are out of the cells, the reaction between the drug and lipid molecules is weaker than that inside the cells. These results may have a great reference value for further studying the toxicity mechanism of AmB and the influence of metal cations on the membrane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorous-doped hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon oxide (n-nc-SiOx:H) films are prepared via radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RF-PECVD). Increasing deposition power during n-nc-SiOx:H film growth process can enhance the formation of nanocrystalline and obtain a uniform microstructure of n-nc-SiOx:H film. In addition, in 20s interval before increasing the deposition power, high density small grains are formed in amorphous SiOx matrix with higher crystalline volume fraction (Ic) and have a lower lateral conductivity. This uniform microstructure indicates that the higher Ic can leads to better vertical conductivity, lower refractive index, wider optical band-gap. It improves the back reflection in a-Si:H/a-SiGe:H tandem solar cells acting as an n-nc-SiOx:H back reflector prepared by the gradient power during deposition. Compared with the sample with SiOx back reflector, with a constant power used in deposition process, the sample with gradient power SiOx back reflector can enhance the total short-circuit current density (Jsc) and the initial efficiency of a-Si:H/a-SiGe:H tandem solar cells by 8.3% and 15.5%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deposited billet of a new type powder metallurgy (PM) superalloy FGH4095M for use in turbine disk manufacturing has been fabricated using spray forming technology. The metallurgical quality of the deposited billet was analyzed in terms of density, texture, and grain size. Comparative research was done on the microstructure and mechanical properties between the flat disk preform prepared with hot isostatic pressing (HIP) and the same alloy forgings prepared with HIP followed by isothermal forging (IF). The results show that the density of the spray-formed and nitrogen-atomized deposit billet is above 99% of the theoretical density, indicating a compact structure. The grains are uniform and fine. The billet has weak texture with a random distribution in the spray deposition direction and perpendicular to the direction of deposition. A part of atomizing nitrogen exists in the preform in the form of carbonitride. Nitrogen-induced microporosity causes the density reduction of the preform. Compared with the process of HIP+IF, the superalloy FGH4095M after HIP has better mechanical properties at both room temperature and high temperature. The sizes of the γ′ phase are finer in microstructure of the preform after HIP in comparison with the forgings after HIP+IF. This work shows that SF+HIP is a viable processing route for FGH4095M as a turbine-disk material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ablation under oxyacetylene torch with heat flux of 4186.8 (10% kW/m2 for 20 s was performed to evaluate the ablation resistance of C/C–SiC composites fabricated by chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) combined with liquid silicon infiltration (LSI) process. The results indicated that C/C–SiC composites present a better ablation resistance than C/C composites without doped SiC. The doped SiC and the ablation products SiO2 derived from it play key roles in ablation process. Bulk quantities of SiO2 nanowires with diameter of 80 nm–150 nm and length of tens microns were observed on the surface of specimens after ablation. The growth mechanism of the SiO2 nanowires was interpreted with a developed vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) driven by the temperature gradient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid helium bubbles were directly observed in the helium ion implanted tungsten (W), by different transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques at room temperature. The diameters of these solid helium bubbles range from 1 nm to 8 nm in diameter with the mean bubble size about 3 nm. The selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and fast Fourier transform (FFT) images revealed that solid helium bubbles possess body-centered cubic (bcc) structure with a lattice constant of 0.447 nm. High-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) images further confirmed the existence of helium bubble in tungsten. The present findings provide an atomic level view of the microstructure evolution of helium in the materials, and revealed the existence of solid helium bubbles in materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]