There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

I have developed "tennis elbow" from lugging this book around the past four weeks, but it is worth the pain, the effort, and the aspirin. It is also worth the (relatively speaking) bargain price. Including appendixes, this book contains 894 pages of text. The entire panorama of the neural sciences is surveyed and examined, and it is comprehensive in its scope, from genomes to social behaviors. The editors explicitly state that the book is designed as "an introductory text for students of biology, behavior, and medicine," but it is hard to imagine any audience, interested in any fragment of neuroscience at any level of sophistication, that would not enjoy this book. The editors have done a masterful job of weaving together the biologic, the behavioral, and the clinical sciences into a single tapestry in which everyone from the molecular biologist to the practicing psychiatrist can find and appreciate his or

Principles of Neural Science

Preface to the Second Edition. Preface to the First Edition. 1 Introduction. 2 Network Analysis. 2.1 Network Variables. 2.2 Scattering Parameters. 2.3 Short-Circuit Admittance Parameters. 2.4 Open-Circuit Impedance Parameters. 2.5 ABCD Parameters. 2.6 Transmission-Line Networks. 2.7 Network Connections. 2.8 Network Parameter Conversions. 2.9 Symmetrical Network Analysis. 2.10 Multiport Networks. 2.11 Equivalent and Dual Network. 2.12 Multimode Networks. 3 Basic Concepts and Theories of Filters. 3.1 Transfer Functions. 3.2 Lowpass Prototype Filters and Elements. 3.3 Frequency and Element Transformations. 3.4 Immittance Inverters. 3.5 Richards' Transformation and Kuroda Identities. 3.6 Dissipation and Unloaded Quality Factor. 4 Transmission Lines and Components. 4.1 Microstrip Lines. 4.2 Coupled Lines. 4.3 Discontinuities and Components. 4.4 Other Types of Microstrip Lines. 4.5 Coplanar Waveguide (CPW). 4.6 Slotlines. 5 Lowpass and Bandpass Filters. 5.1 Lowpass Filters. 5.2 Bandpass Filters. 6 Highpass and Bandstop Filters. 6.1 Highpass Filters. 6.2 Bandstop Filters. 7 Coupled-Resonator Circuits. 7.1 General Coupling Matrix for Coupled-Resonator Filters. 7.2 General Theory of Couplings. 7.3 General Formulation for Extracting Coupling Coefficient k. 7.4 Formulation for Extracting External Quality Factor Qe. 7.5 Numerical Examples. 7.6 General Coupling Matrix Including Source and Load. 8 CAD for Low-Cost and High-Volume Production. 8.1 Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Tools. 8.2 Computer-Aided Analysis (CAA). 8.3 Filter Synthesis by Optimization. 8.4 CAD Examples. 9 Advanced RF/Microwave Filters. 9.1 Selective Filters with a Single Pair of Transmission Zeros. 9.2 Cascaded Quadruplet (CQ) Filters. 9.3 Trisection and Cascaded Trisection (CT) Filters. 9.4 Advanced Filters with Transmission-Line Inserted Inverters. 9.5 Linear-Phase Filters. 9.6 Extracted Pole Filters. 9.7 Canonical Filters. 9.8 Multiband Filters. 10 Compact Filters and Filter Miniaturization. 10.1 Miniature Open-Loop and Hairpin Resonator Filters. 10.2 Slow-Wave Resonator Filters. 10.3 Miniature Dual-Mode Resonator Filters. 10.4 Lumped-Element Filters. 10.5 Miniature Filters Using High Dielectric-Constant Substrates. 10.6 Multilayer Filters. 11 Superconducting Filters. 11.1 High-Temperature Superconducting (HTS) Materials. 11.2 HTS Filters for Mobile Communications. 11.3 HTS Filters for Satellite Communications. 11.4 HTS Filters for Radio Astronomy and Radar. 11.5 High-Power HTS Filters. 11.6 Cryogenic Package. 12 Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Filters. 12.1 UWB Filters with Short-Circuited Stubs. 12.2 UWB-Coupled Resonator Filters. 12.3 Quasilumped Element UWB Filters. 12.4 UWB Filters Using Cascaded Miniature High- And Lowpass Filters. 12.5 UWB Filters with Notch Band(s). 13 Tunable and Reconfigurable Filters. 13.1 Tunable Combline Filters. 13.2 Tunable Open-Loop Filters without Via-Hole Grounding. 13.3 Reconfigurable Dual-Mode Bandpass Filters. 13.4 Wideband Filters with Reconfigurable Bandwidth. 13.5 Reconfigurable UWB Filters. 13.6 RF MEMS Reconfigurable Filters. 13.7 Piezoelectric Transducer Tunable Filters. 13.8 Ferroelectric Tunable Filters. Appendix: Useful Constants and Data. A.1 Physical Constants. A.2 Conductivity of Metals at 25 C (298K). A.3 Electical Resistivity rho in 10-8 m of Metals. A.4 Properties of Dielectric Substrates. Index.

Microstrip filters for RF/microwave applications

Department of Materials Science, University of Patras, 26504 Rio Patras, Greece, Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute, National Hellenic Research Foundation, 48 Vass. Constantinou Avenue, 116 35 Athens, Greece, Institut de Biologie Moleculaire et Cellulaire, UPR9021 CNRS, Immunologie et Chimie Therapeutiques, 67084 Strasbourg, France, and Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Universita di Trieste, Piazzale Europa 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy

Chemistry of Carbon Nanotubes

Structural polymers are susceptible to damage in the form of cracks, which form deep within the structure where detection is difficult and repair is almost impossible. Cracking leads to mechanical degradation of fibre-reinforced polymer composites; in microelectronic polymeric components it can also lead to electrical failure. Microcracking induced by thermal and mechanical fatigue is also a long-standing problem in polymer adhesives. Regardless of the application, once cracks have formed within polymeric materials, the integrity of the structure is significantly compromised. Experiments exploring the concept of self-repair have been previously reported, but the only successful crack-healing methods that have been reported so far require some form of manual intervention. Here we report a structural polymeric material with the ability to autonomically heal cracks. The material incorporates a microencapsulated healing agent that is released upon crack intrusion. Polymerization of the healing agent is then triggered by contact with an embedded catalyst, bonding the crack faces. Our fracture experiments yield as much as 75% recovery in toughness, and we expect that our approach will be applicable to other brittle materials systems (including ceramics and glasses).

Autonomic healing of polymer composites

Preface.1. Electromagnetic Properties of Materials.2. Microwave Theory and Techniques for Materials Characterization.3. Reflection Methods.4. Transmission/Reflection Methods.5. Resonator Methods.6. Resonant-perturbation Methods.7. Planar-circuit Methods.8. Measurements of Permittivity and Permeability Tensors.9. Measurement of Ferroelectric Materials.10. Microwave Measurement of Chiral Materials.11. Measurement of Microwave Electrical Transport Properties.12. Measurement of Dieletric Properties of Materials at High Temperatures.Index.

Microwave Electronics: Measurement and Materials Characterization

A free-space measurement system operating in the 8.2-40-GHz frequency range is used to measure the reflection and transmission coefficients, S/sub 11/ and S/sub 21/, of planar samples. The complex electric permittivity and the magnetic permeability are calculated from the measured values of S/sub 11/ and S/sub 21/. The measurement system consists of transmit and receive horn lens antennas, a network analyzer, mode transitions, and a computer. Diffraction effects at the edges of the sample are minimized by using spot-focusing lens antennas. Errors due to multiple reflections between antennas via the surface of the sample are corrected by using a free-space TRL (thru, reflect, line) calibration technique. For thin, flexible samples, the sample had to be sandwiched between two half-wavelength (at mid-band) quartz plates to eliminate sagging. Results are reported in the frequency range of 8.6-13.4 GHz for materials such as Teflon, sodium borosilicate glass, and microwave-absorbing materials. >

Free-space measurement of complex permittivity and complex permeability of magnetic materials at microwave frequencies

For measurements of dielectric properties of planar slabs of ceramic and composite materials, the authors have developed a free-space measurement system in the frequency range of 14.5-17.5 GHz. The key components of the measurement system are a pair of spot-focusing horn lens antennas, a network analyzer, and a computer. Because of the far-field focusing ability of horn lens antennas, the free-space measurements can be made at microwave frequencies in a relatively compact and simple measurement setup. The time-domain gating feature of the network analyzer and the thru, reflect, and line calibration technique were used to eliminate the effects of undesirable multiple reflections. The dielectric constants and loss tangents were measured for standard materials such as fused quartz, Teflon, and polyvinylchloride (PVC). Dielectric properties for Teflon and PVC were also measured in a waveguide medium for purposes of comparison with the free-space method. >

A free-space method for measurement of dielectric constants and loss tangents at microwave frequencies

The remarkable mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes, such as high elastic modulus and tensile strength, make them the most ideal and promising reinforcements in substantially enhancing the mechanical properties of resulting polymer/carbon nanotube composites. It is acknowledged that the mechanical properties of the composites are significantly influenced by interfacial interactions between nanotubes and polymer matrices. The current challenge of the application of nanotubes in the composites is hence to determine the mechanical properties of the interfacial region, which is critical for improving and manufacturing the nanocomposites. In this work, a new method for evaluating the elastic properties of the interfacial region is developed by examining the fracture behavior of carbon nanotube reinforced poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrix composites under tension using molecular dynamics simulations. The effects of the aspect ratio of carbon nanotube reinforcements on the elastic properties, i.e. Young's modulus and yield strength, of the interfacial region and the nanotube/polymer composites are investigated. The feasibility of a three-phase micromechanical model in predicting the elastic properties of the nanocomposites is also developed based on the understanding of the interfacial region.

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Mechanical properties of carbon nanotube/polymer composites

Preface. Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) and Radio Frequency MEMS. MEMS Materials and Fabrication Techniques. RF MEMS Switches and Micro Relays. MEMS Inductors and Capacitors. Micromachined RF Filters. Micromachined Phase Shifters. Micromachined Transmission Lines and Components. Micromachined Antennae. Integration and Packaging for RF MEMS Devices. Index.

Vijay K. Varadan

Papers

Microwave Electronics: Measurement and Materials Characterization

Free-space measurement of complex permittivity and complex permeability of magnetic materials at microwave frequencies

A free-space method for measurement of dielectric constants and loss tangents at microwave frequencies

Mechanical properties of carbon nanotube/polymer composites

RF MEMS and their applications