Due to the tremendous increase in the amount of digital data, effective large scale data classification is playing an increasingly important role. In active learning algorithms a “classifier” is used to classify the unlabeled data. To ensure reliable performance of the classifier, it must be trained using a number of labeled examples, or the classifier’s...

Crystalline Si has enjoyed spectacular success in the solar cell industry for various reasons including the ability to benefit from technological breakthroughs in the microelectronics industry and the close proximity of the 1.1 eV band gap value of Si to the optimal theoretical 1.3 eV band gap value for which the thermodynamically limited single-cell...

A buck converter is a step down DC/DC converter used in portable electronic devices to convert higher DC voltages to small voltages necessary to function. Lossless load current sensing ability is one of the most desirable features of contemporary current or voltage mode controlled DC/DC converters. Recently, current sensing techniques in DC/DC converters...

There is a continuing need for high-level device security to transfer information on penetrable channels, track the device and data, and encrypt valuable data, whether for national security purposes, intellectual property, or company and individual privacy. Obtaining a unique signature for an integrated circuit can be an excellent tool to achieve...

The hearing threshold is defined as the lowest sound levels that a listener can detect. Finding accurate hearing threshold is one of the critical parameters in hearing loss diagnosis and hearing aid. However, current methods of testing suffer from various problems. One of the main problems is accuracy. Several contributing factors of inaccuracy...

Because of their surface area and porosity, nanoporous materials are one of the most actively sought after materials in the modern technologies. They are finding use in a wide range of applications including microelectronics, medicine, energy storage, water purification, and environmental emissions. There are many differing methods of creating nanoporous...

Alternatives to silicon dioxide and silicon nitride, the traditional dielectric and passivation materials in semiconductor devices, have been the subject of intense research for the past two decades. Alloy compounds whose properties can be tuned via compositional adjustments are of particular interest. These include materials such as silicon oxynitride....

Semiconductors have revolutionized the world of electronics and are found in practically every electronic device currently used. One of the aspects of semiconductor materials that make them so useful is that the behavior of a semiconductor can be easily manipulated through doping. However, with current methods of developing the dopant (SiH3)3P hydride,...

Er-doped silicon and silicon-rich silicon oxide have been investigated extensively for the potentially important applications in Si-compatible photonic devices such as silicon-based lasers, or optical amplifiers, owing to the fact that the emission wavelength of 1.53 µm lies in the minimum loss region of silica-based optical fibers. However the...

As mobile electronics continue to evolve, the need for high-output, long-lasting rechargeable batteries has grown tremendously. Rechargeable lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries have high energy/weight ratios and high charge/discharge efficiencies relative to other rechargeable batteries which make them ideal for modern portable electronics, medical devices,...