Silicon heterojunction solar cells with up to 26.81% efficiency achieved by electrically optimized nanocrystalline-silicon hole contact layers

Silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells have reached high power conversion efficiency owing to their effective passivating contact structures. Improvements in the optoelectronic properties of these contacts can enable higher device efficiency, thus further consolidating the commercial potential of SHJ technology. Here we increase the...

Assessing facial weakness in myasthenia gravis with facial recognition software and deep learning

Objective: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease leading to fatigable muscle weakness. Extra-ocular and bulbar muscles are most commonly affected. We aimed to investigate whether facial weakness can be quantified automatically and used for diagnosis and disease monitoring. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed video...

The Covariation of Color and Orange Fluorescence Instabilities in Yellow Sapphires

In recent years, some sapphires were found to fade in sunlight and to increase their color after UV irradiation. This unstable color phenomenon is attributed to the photochromism of corundum. The photochromic effect seriously affects the grading and evaluation of sapphires, although its mechanism is still uncertain. Here, we performed a set...

Elevated physical weathering exceeds chemical weathering of clays during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum in the continental Bighorn Basin (Wyoming, USA)

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) global warming event at ∼56 million years before present changed catchment weathering and erosion. Increased chemical weathering of silicate minerals is thought to be an important process removing CO₂ from the atmosphere. However, changes in clay mineralogy can often be explained by...

Deep learning-based design model for suction caissons on clay

Predicting the non-linear loading response is the key to the design of suction caissons. This paper presents a systematic study to explore the applicability of deep learning techniques in foundation design. Firstly, a series of three-dimensional finite element simulations was performed, covering a wide range of embedment ratios and different...

Assessment of Parkinson's Disease Severity from Videos Using Deep Architectures

Parkinson's disease (PD) diagnosis is based on clinical criteria, i.e., bradykinesia, rest tremor, rigidity, etc. Assessment of the severity of PD symptoms with clinical rating scales, however, is subject to inter-rater variability. In this paper, we propose a deep learning based automatic PD diagnosis method using videos to assist the...

A 200Gb/s PAM-4 Transmitter with Hybrid Sub-Sampling PLL in 28nm CMOS Technology

This paper presents a complete 200Gb/s PAM-4 transmitter (TX) in 28nm CMOS technology. The transmitter features a hybrid sub-sampling PLL (SSPLL) with a delta-sigma (?S) modulator, clock distribution network with flexible timing control, and data path with a hybrid 5-tap Feed-Forward Equalizer (FFE) and T-coil for bandwidth extension. The...

Effect of rice straw powder on properties of one-part alkali-activated slag

One-part alkali-activated slag (AAS) as a binder material has a promising application in the construction industry. The properties of one-part AAS incorporating agricultural wastes have been seldom studied. In this paper, the fresh and hardened properties of one-part AAS with the addition of rice straw powder (RSP) were investigated. The...

A Ring-Oscillator Sub-Sampling PLL With Hybrid Loop Using Generator-Based Design Flow

We present a ring-oscillator-based sub-sampling phase-locked loop (PLL) using a generator-based design flow. A hybrid loop with a delta-sigma ($\Delta \Sigma$) modulator is applied to reduce the loop filter (LF) area and the control ripple. The generator automatically produces the ring oscillator and PLL to meet the provided specifications. The...

Clutter-Contaminated Signal Recovery in Spectral Domain for Polarimetric Weather Radar

The use of spectral polarimetric filters in the range-Doppler domain shows great promise for clutter mitigation in weather radar applications. One limitation of these filters is that they cannot deal with situations in which ground clutter and precipitation overlap. In this letter, we propose a new signal recovery technique based on kriging in...

Development of spectral-phenological features for deep learning to understand Spartina alterniflora invasion

Invasive Spartina alterniflora (S. alterniflora), a native riparian species in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, has led to serious degradation to the ecosystem and biodiversity as well as economic losses since it was introduced to China in 1979. Although multi-temporal remote sensing offers unique capability to monitor S. alterniflora over large...

Generating sparse self-supporting wireframe models for 3D printing using mesh simplification

Wireframe models are becoming a popular option in 3D printing. Generating sparse wireframe models using classic mesh simplification methods leads to models that require a lot of support structures in the layer-upon-layer additive process. In this paper we present a mesh simplification method that takes into account the overhang angle....

Cross section-based hollowing and structural enhancement

Recently, 3D printing has become a powerful tool for personal fabrication. However, the price of some materials is still high which limits its applications in home users. To optimize the volume of the model, while not largely affecting the strength of the objects, researchers propose algorithms to divide the model with different kinds of...

Enhanced Optical Performance of BaMgAl₁₀O₁₇: Eu²⁺ Phosphor by a Novel Method of Carbon Coating

Many strategies have been adopted to improve thermal degradation of phosphors. Because of the stability and high transmittance of graphene, here we report a novel method of carbon coating on BaMgAl₁₀O₁₇:Eu²⁺ (BAM) phosphor particles through chemical vapor deposition. The chemical composition, microstructure,...

Tunable Luminescence of CeAl11O18 Based Phosphors by Replacement of (AlO)+ by (SiN)+ and Co-Doping with Eu

A series of Si-N or Eu-Li doped CeAl11O18 and CeAl12O18N phosphors are prepared by solid–state reaction. Their structure and luminescence are researched carefully. Si-N doping with the concentration less than 8% can be successfully dissolved into CeAl11O18 crystal lattice and doesn't change the matrix structure, only resulting in crystal lattice...

Groundwater–surface water interactions, vegetation dependencies and implications for water resources management in the semi-arid Hailiutu River catchment, China – a synthesis

During the last decades, large-scale land use changes took place in the Hailiutu River catchment, a semi-arid area in northwest China. These changes had significant impacts on the water resources in the area. Insights into groundwater and surface water interactions and vegetation-water dependencies help to understand these impacts and formulate...