bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Etching Performance Improvement On Semiconductor Silicon Wafers With Redesigned Etching Drum
Authors: Dolah Rozzeta , Musa Hamidon , Amrin Astuty
Published: January 2013

Proses etching atau punaran melibatkan pelbagai tindak balas kimia dan sangat penting dalam menentukan kualiti wafer silikon. Projek ini menyelesaikan masalah utama wafer ketika proses punaran, iaitu keserakan data pembuangan sisa wafer di sepanjang dram punaran. Cecair punaran yang digunakan dalam projek ini terdiri daripada komposisi asid HNO3, HF, and CH3COOH. Dram punaran telah diubahsuai untuk menyelesaikan masalah pembuangan sisa wafer yang rendah di setiap wafer pertama dan terakhir dalam sesuatu kompatmen dram. Tujuan utamanya adalah untuk mengurangkan jurang perbezaan variasi dalam pembuangan sisa wafer, di mana nilai pembuangan silicon adalah rendah berbanding pembuangan silicon wafer di tengah kompatmen. Antara cadangan tersebut adalah menambahkan "kepingan wafer PVC tahan asid" di sebelah wafer pertama dan terakhir dalam setiap kompatmen. Selepas memperoleh keputusan yang memberangsangkan, kepingan PVC tersebut dikekalkan dalam rekabentuk dram yang baru. Sifat wafer pertama dan terakhir dinilaikan untuk memastikan tiada kualiti yang terjejas berbanding wafer-wafer di tengah kompatmen. Morfologi permukaan dan kekasaran wafer (purata kekasaran;Ra dan kekasaran "skewness";Rms) menggunakan mikroskop tujahan atom (AFM) dianalisis untuk dibandingkan dengan dram lama. Keseragaman pembuangan wafer tanpa masalah pembuangan rendah di hujung kompatmen telah diperhatikan. Kata kunci: Proses punaran, permukaan "Micromachining", wafer silicon, pembuangan silicon wafer, kekasaran permukaan wafer silikon Etching process involves various chemical reactions and reflects significantly on the silicon wafer quality. The paper addresses the major problem on wafers during etching that is wafer removal distribution throughout etching drum compartment. The etchant used in this study were the composition of HNO3, HF, and CH3COOH. The etching drum has been redesigned to overcome the lower removal problem at the end of each compartment and to reduce the big disparity in wafer removal distribution. The proposed idea is to install a piece of "circumferential acid resistant PVC wafer" for the remaining empty slot (empty area without wafers) at each end of a compartment. The permanent PVC piece with certain gap at each end is then fabricated for the new drum design. The characteristics of the end wafers are compared with other wafers in the compartment to study the etching difference that leads to this problem. Surface morphology and surface roughness parameters (arithmetic roughness mean; Ra and surface skewness [roughness root mean square]; Rms) using atomic force microscopy (AFM) comparison between old drum design (big wafer gap) and new drum design (smaller gap with additional PVC chip) had been analyzed. The uniformity without lower removal problem at the end compartment is observed in removal distribution graph. Key words: Etching process; surface micromachining; silicon wafer; etching removal; silicon wafer surface roughness
Front End Development Of Optical Tomography And Its Linearity
Authors: Mohd Muji Siti Zarina , Md Yunos Yusri , Abdul Rahim Ruzairi , Rahiman Mohd Hafiz Fazalul
Published: January 2013

Pembangunan bahagian hadapan adalah penting di dalam tomografi optikal. Ia memberikan pandangan pertama tentang bagaimana kebolehpercayaan sistem tomografi kepada pengukurannya. Oleh itu, litar penghantar dan penerima mesti dibina berhati-hati dengan analisis yang baik untuk setiap pemilihan unit komponennya. Kertas kerja ini akan menunjukkan kesan pembangunan litar kepada mutu kelinearannya. Tujuan kertas kerja ini adalah untuk membina litar penghantar dan penerima untuk aplikasi tomografi optikal. Ia dilakukan dengan mendapatkan unit voltan pada bahagian penerima setelah bertindak balas terhadap kewujudan penghalang yang mengganggu laluan cahaya di antara penghantar dan penerima. Reka bentuk eksperimen ini menggunakan penghalang dari jenis yang sama dengan perbezaan saiz di antara 0.5 hingga 3 mm. Daripada keputusan ia menunjukkan lebih besar objek, nilai bagi kehilangan voltan juga akan meningkat. Ini menunjukkan hubungan yang linear di antara kedua-dua parameter.

Kata kunci: Tomografi optikal penghantar; penerima; litar; kelinearan

Front end development is crucial in optical tomography. It gives the first impression on how reliable the tomography system towards its measurement. Therefore, transmitter and receiver circuit must be developed carefully with good analysis for each selection of the component units. This paper will show the effect of circuit development towards linearity performance. The aim of this paper is to construct a transmitter and receiver circuit for optical tomography application. This is done by capturing a voltage unit at the receiver side in response to the existence of obstacle that interrupt the light path between transmitter and receiver. The experiment design uses a same type of obstacle with different sizes between 0.5 until 3mm. From the result it shows the bigger the object the voltage loss value also increasing. This shows a linear relation between both parameters.

Key words: Optical tomography; transmitter; receiver; circuit; linearity
Eminent Pixel Reconstruction Algorithm For Ultrasonic Tomography
Authors: Nor Ayob Nor Muzakkir , Rahiman Mohd Hafiz Fazalul , Zakaria Zulkarnay , Abdul Rahim Ruzairi , Yaacob Sazali
Published: January 2013

Perisian rekonstruksi imej dan algoritma rekonstruksi imejnya merupakan antara kaedah penting dalam pembangunan sebuah sistem tomografi. Kerta kerja ini akan membentangkan sebuah algoritma rekonstruksi imej untuk sistem ultrasonik tomografi dua–fasa. Algoritma tersebut, dikenali sebagai algoritma Rekonstruksi Piksel Utama (RPU) dirumus berdasarkan algoritma Unjuran Balik Linear (UBL). Algoritma rekonstruksi imej yang baru ini berjaya menyerlahkan piksel berintensiti tinggi daripada piksel–piksel sekeliling di dalam imej keratan rentas yang terhasil. Algoritma RPU kemudian digabungkan pula dengan Penapis Median yang membantu menghilangkan piksel–piksel yang tidak representatif dan membantu meningkatkan mutu rekonstruksi imej. Algoritma ini adalah pilihan yang sesuai berbanding dengan algoritma UBL memandangkan seperti UBL, RPU juga merupakan teknik pengimejan yang mudah tetapi mempunyai kejayaan yang lebih tinggi dalam merekonstruksi distribusi komponen dan mampu memberikan estimasi statistik distribusi komponen dua–fasa yang lebih tepat.

Kata kunci: Algoritma rekonstruksi imej; rekonstruksi piksel utama; tomografi transmisi ultrasonik, aliran dua–fasa; penapis median; distribusi komponen

Image reconstruction software and its image reconstruction algorithm are an important step towards constructing a tomography system. In this paper, description on the introduction of an image reconstruction algorithm for two–phase ultrasonic tomography system is presented. The algorithm, termed as the Eminent Pixel Reconstruction (EPR) algorithm is derived based on the basic Linear Back Projection (LBP) algorithm. This new image reconstruction algorithm successfully highlights high intensity pixels from the surrounding pixels in the cross–section image. The EPR algorithm are then combined with the useful Median Filter which helps eliminate the unrepresentative pixels resulting in reduced noise on the final reconstructed image. The algorithm is also deem as a preferable choice other than the LBP algorithm since like the LBP, EPR is also a straightforward imaging method with higher success of reconstructing the component distribution and provides more accurate statistical estimation capability on the two–phase distribution.

Key words: Image reconstruction algorithm; eminent pixel reconstruction; ultrasonic transmission tomography; two–phase flow; median filter; component distribution
A Comparison Between Linear Backprojection (Transpose) And Layergram Backprojection Methods For Image Reconstruciton In Charged–Couple Device (CCD) Based Optical Tomography
Authors: Idroas Mariani , Sapi’ee Nora Faaria , Ibrahim M.Nasir , Md Zin A.Ridhwan , M.Najib Suhaila
Published: January 2013

Proses pembinaan semula imej untuk tomografi optik berasaskan CCD dengan empat unjuran dibincangkan dalam kertas kerja ini. Deria imej linear CCD yang digunakan dalam projek ini adalah Sony ILX551A yang mempunyai 2048 piksel dengan saiz piksel 14–mikron. Susunan piksel yang digunakan dalam sistem ini adalah gabungan piksel berbentuk oktagon dan segi empat sama untuk memastikan bahawa cahaya merentasi bilangan baris piksel yang sama pada keempat-empat unjuran. Dua kaedah pembinaan semula imej dibincangkan dan dibandingkan dalam kertas kerja ini – kaedah transpose dan kaedah layergram. Kaedah transpose melibatkan pendaraban dan pembalikan matriks manakala kaedah layergram adalah penambahan nilai–nilai attenuation coefficient. Didapati bahawa kaedah layergram menghasilkan imej yang lebih baik daripada kaedah transpose, dari segi kualiti dan kuantiti (nilai α). Namun, kaedah transpose memerlukan masa pemprosesan yang lebih singkat berbanding kaedah layergram.

Kata kunci: Optik; tomografi; CCD; pembinaan semula imej

The image reconstruction process for CCD–based optical tomography with four projections is discussed in this paper. The CCD linear image sensor used in the study is a Sony ILX551A which has 2048 pixels with a pixel size of 14-microns. The pixel arrangement used in the system is a combination of octagonal and square pixels to ensure that light passes through the same number of pixel rows on all four projections. Two image reconstruction methods are discussed and compared in the paper – the transpose method and the layergram method. The transpose method involves the multiplication and inversion of matrices while the layergram method is simply the addition of the values of attenuation coefficients. The layergram method was found to produce better images than the transpose method, qualitatively and quantitatively (values of α). However, the transpose method requires a shorter processing time than the layergram method.

Key words: Optical; tomography; CCD; image reconstruction
Review Of Mass Flow Rate Measurement Methods In Pneumatic Conveyor
Authors: Abdul Rahim Herlina , Rusli Akmal Hayati , Zulkifli Nor Saradatul Akmar
Published: January 2013

Kertas kerja ini menjelaskan beberapa jenis penggunaan penderia untuk mengukur laju aliran pepejal yang mengalir di penghantar pneumatik. Setiap penderia akan menggunakan prinsip yang berbeza tetapi kebanyakan darinya mampu mencapai kesilapan homogen sebanyak 10%. Teknik–teknik ini termasuk penderia kapasitan, penderia elektrostatik, penderia gelombang mikro, penderia radiologi, kombinasi penderia elektrostatik dan digital imej dan lain–lain. Reka bentuk penderiaan harus seragam, maka zarah yang ada dalam kawasan penderiaan akan memberikan hasil yang sama terhadap isyarat mengalir.

Kata kunci: Aliran pepeja; penderia; penghantar pneumatic; kaedah pengukuran

This paper describes several types of sensor use in measuring mass flow rate of solids flowing in pneumatic conveyors. Each sensor will applied different principle but most of them are able to achieve 10% homogeneity error. These sensor techniques include capacitance sensor, electrostatic sensor, microwave sensor, radiological sensor, combination of electrostatic and digital imaging sensor and others. The sensing filed designs need to be uniform, thus particles exist within the sensing field will contribute equally to the flow signal.

Key words: Mass flow rate; sensor; pneumatic conveyor; measurement methods
Design Of An Infrared Tomography System For Detection Of Bubbles
Authors: Hashim Mohamad Aizat , Yunos Yusri , Abdul Rahim Ruzairi , Abdul Rahim Herlina , Mansor Saiful Badri , Nor Ayob Nor Muzakkir
Published: January 2013

Dalam kajian ini, sebuah sistem tomografi menggunakan penderia direka untuk digunakan untuk model paip menegak. Sistem tomografi ini akan digunakan untuk mengira jumlah buih sambil mengukur saiz buih yang terkandung dalam model paip yang diisi dengan air. Sistem ini akan direka bermula dari pemilihan jenis penderia optik sehinggalah ke teknik pemprosesan data. Penderia cahaya infra merah digunakan sebagai sumber cahaya untuk sistem ini. Sifat–sifat beberapa diod foto dikaji dan dibandingkan bagi memilih model yang sesuai untuk sistem ini. Mikro pengawal berfungsi untuk melakukan kerja penukaran isyarat analog ke digital. Beberapa eksperimen telah dijalankan bagi mengenal pasti prestasi sistem penderia tersebut. Hukum Lambert–Beer menyatakan bahawa atenuasi dan penyerapan cahaya berlaku apabila cahaya melintasi bahan yang berlainan. Beberapa eksperimen dijalankan bagi mengetahui sama ada sistem ini mampu mengesan buih dalam paip yang mengandungi air. Data yang diperoleh akan dibandingkan dengan hipotesis yang dibuat mengenai atenuasi dan penyerapan cahaya.

Kata kunci: Tomografi optik; kadar halaju zarah; proses tomografi.

In this study, an optical process tomography with 2 orthogonal projections is being designed to be implemented at a vertical column modelled. The tomography system will be designed from the development of transducer pairs to the data acquisition system implemented. Infrared emitters are being considered as a light source due to the difference of its wavelength with the wavelength of visible light. Photodiodes are being characterized and compared for maximizing its performance when integrated with the system. Microcontrollers are functioned to perform analogue–to–digital conversion. Experiments are being conducted to investigate whether the system is able to detect gas bubbles in the vertical column. The results from the studies will be compared with theoretical hypotheses of light absorption and light attenuation.

Key words: Optical tomography; mass flow rate; process tomography
Performance Analysis Of Wdm Mesh Hierarchical Time Sliced Optical Burst Switched Networks
Authors: Yahaya C. , Shafie A. L. Muhammad , Abu Bakar M. , Hassan E.
Published: January 2013

Although Optical Burst Switching (OBS) is seen as the favored switching technology for near–future all–optical networks, this technology still suffers from high burst drops probability as a result of contention at the buffer–less core node. Many variants of OBS have been proposed to address this issue. In this paper, the performance of a newly proposed OBS variant known as Hierarchical Time Sliced OBS (HiTSOBS) is studied. The evaluation aims at comparing the performance of HiTSOBS, in terms of burst loss probability and delay for different bandwidths in different topologies. Simulation results demonstrate that larger topologies experience higher loss and higher delay. Moreover, the simulation results show that our proposed bandwidth sharing model is good for delay sensitive applications especially at lower and medium load.

Key words: Optical burst switching (OBS); hierarchical time sliced optical burst switching burst loss (HiTSOBS);, contention; burst loss probability (BLP) time slot
Simulation Of Optical Wavelength Filter Using Multimode Interference (MMI) Based On Sol–Gel Derived Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Materials
Authors: Salim Mohd Rashidi , Abdullah Ahmad Sharmi , Nawabjan Amirjan , Ibrahim Mohd Haniff , Mohd Kassim Norazan
Published: January 2013

Simulasi penapis optik untuk 1310nm panjang gelombang dan 1510nm operasi pada pandu gelombang optik planar berdasarkan bahan–bahan baru VTT yang berasal sol–gel menggunakan teknik MMI disajikan dalam tulisan ini. Bahan simulasi telah menunjukkan bahawa, pada prinsipnya, mirip dengan kecekapan penapisan dari bahan lain yang dilaporkan dalam peranti MMI, dalam kes pemusnahan nisbah (ER), ia dicatatkan sebanyak 18.4dB dan 21.6dB untuk panjang gelombang 1310 nm dan 1550 nm, masing–masing. Sementara itu, kehilangan masukan (IL) adalah sekitar 1.43–1.64 dB untuk kedua operasi penapisan. Struktur ini terdiri daripada dua bahagian kaskad MMI, iaitu mekanisma gangguan umum (GI) dan mekanisma gangguan berpasangan (PI). Kelebihan peranti berasaskan MMI dan bahan–bahan yang berasal sol–gel dibahas dalam makalah ini. Prinsip pencorakan sendiri, ciri–ciri bahan yg digunakan dan struktur akhir penapis berasaskan MMI ini juga ada ditunjukkan dalam makalah ini.

Kata kunci: Gelombang pandu optik; penapis gelombang; MMI; mekanisma gangguan umum; mekanisma gangguan berpasangan; mekanisma gangguan; bahan–bahan terbitan sol–gel

Simulation of optical wavelength filter for 1310nm and 1510nm operation on planar optical waveguides based on new VTT sol–gel derived material using Multimode Interference (MMI) technique is presented in this paper. Simulations of the material have demonstrated that in principle, similar filtering efficiency to other materials reported in MMI devices, in terms of extinction ratio (ER), it was simulated to be 18.4 and 21.6 dB for the wavelengths of 1310nm and 1550 nm, respectively. Meanwhile, the simulated insertion loss (IL) is around 1.43–1.64 dB for both filtering operations. The structure consists of two cascaded MMI sections, employing General Interference (GI) and Paired Interference (PI) mechanisms. The advantages of MMI based devices and sol–gel derived materials are discussed in this paper. The self–imaging principle, material characterizations and the final design of MMI based filter structure are also demonstrated in this paper.

Key words: Optical waveguide; wavelength filter; MMI; general interference mechanism; paired interference mechanism; interference mechanisms; sol–gel derived material
Solar Concentrators In Malaysia: Towards The Development Of Low Cost Solar Photovoltaic Systems
Authors: Sukki Firdaus Muhammad , Iniguez Roberto Ramirez , Mcmeekin Scott G. , Stewart Brian G. , Clive Barry
Published: January 2013

Solar energy has become a matter of global attention in the past few years. This paper explores the use and benefit of solar concentrators in the solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. First, a short literature review of previous research on the usage of solar concentrators in improving solar PV system performance and reducing the cost of implementation is presented. This is followed by an overview of SolarBrane, an example of a Building Integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system which uses an optical concentrator in the solar PV design. An optimised design of the SolarBrane is also discussed afterwards. A financial benefit study is conducted to compare the average return of investment of using the optimised SolarBrane and traditional solar PV installed in Malaysia’s environment. SolarBrane has proven to be a good alternative to achieve costeffective solar PV system. The financial analysis simulated under the new Malaysian Feed–In Tariff scheme indicates that the optimised SolarBrane could potentially reduce the initial cost of implementation by 40% and generate higher return, close to 20%, when compared to traditional solar PV systems.

Key words: Solar photovoltaic; solar concentrator; solarBrane; dielectric totally internally reflecting concentrator; financial analysis
Generation Of Quantum Codes Using Up And Down Link Optical Solition
Authors: Amiri I. S. , Afroozeh A. , Ali J. , Yupapin P. P.
Published: January 2013

In this study, a system of continuous variable quantum code via a wavelength router is presented. The optical Kerr type nonlinearity in the nonlinear microring resonator (NMRR) induces the chaotic behavior. In this proposed system chaotic signals are generated by an optical soliton or Gaussian pulse within a NMRR system. Large bandwidth signals of optical soliton are generated by the input pulse propagating within the MRRs, which is allowed to form the continuous wavelength or frequency with large tunable channel capacity. Therefore, distinguished up and down links of wavelength or frequency pulses can be generated by using localized spatial soliton via a quantum router and networks. These selected up and down links pulses are more suitable to generate high secured quantum codes because of the greater free spectral range (FSR). The continuous quantum codes can be generated by using the polarization control unit and beam splitter, incorporating into the MRRs. In this work, frequency band of 10.7 MHz and 16 MHz and wavelengths of 206.9 nm, 1.448 μm, 2.169 μm and 2.489 μm can be obtained for QKD by using input optical soliton and Gaussian beam.

Key words: Nonlinear microring resonator (NMRR); up and down links optical soliton, quantum codes
Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Sol–Gel Materials For Optical Waveguide Application
Authors: Abdullah Ahmad Sharmi , Nawabjan Amirjan , Mohd Kassim Norazan , Ibrahim Mohd Haniff , Abdul Malek Mohamad Zahid
Published: January 2013

Pandu gelombang optik jalur berasaskan bahan–bahan sol–gel organik–bukan organic (hybrid) direka, disimulasi dan dibentuk. Bahan–bahan sol–gel hybrid tersebut disediakan daripada vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES), tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) dan tetrabutoxytitanate (TTBu) malalui kaedah pemprosesan sol–gel. Pandu gelombang optik tersebut telah dibentuk di atas lapisan quartz menggunakan kaedah penyalutan berputar, lithografi langsung, dan goresan kimia basah. Beberapa lapisan sol telah dibentuk demi mendapatkan struktur pandu gelombang dengan ketebalan yang sesuai untuk laluan mod cahaya sebagaimana diperolehi daripada simulasi. Kebolehan pandu gelombang untuk memandu cahaya pada panjang gelombang 1550 nm telah dicirikan mengunakan kaedah direct end–face fiber butt–coupling. Struktur fizikal pandu gelombang tersebut telah diperhatikan melalui mikroskop berkuasa tinggi. Keputusan yang diperolehi menunjukkan bahawa bahan yang dicadangkan boleh digunakan dalam aplikasi pemanduan gelombang optik pada panjang gelombang 1550 nm. Simulasi menunjukkan bahawa pandu gelombang jalur satu mod dapat direalisasikan jika ketebalan dan kelebaran pandu gelombang tersebut berada pada suatu julat nilai tertentu. Julat nilai tersebut dapat diperolehi melalui pengawalan parameter–parameter penyalutan berputar dan pembentukan mikro. Kualiti keratan rentas yang baik juga diperhatikan telah diperolehi melalui kaedah pembelahan semulajadi.

Kata kunci: Pemprosesan sol–gel; bahan organik–bukan organic; pandu gelombang jalur

Ridge optical waveguides based on organic–inorganic (hybrid) sol–gel materials were designed, simulated and fabricated. The hybrid sol–gel materials were synthesized from vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES), tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and tetrabutoxytitanate (TTBu) precursors by means of sol–gel processing technique. The optical waveguides were fabricated on quartz substrate using spin coating, direct photolithography, and wet chemical etching techniques. Multiple layers of sol were deposited so as to obtain waveguide structure with suitable thickness for mode propagation such as acquired from the simulation. Waveguiding ability of the ridge optical waveguides at 1550 nm wavelength was characterized using direct end–face fiber butt–coupling method. Physical structure of the waveguides was observed through high power microscope. Observation showed that the proposed material possesses the ability for waveguiding application at the wavelength of 1550 nm. Simulation showed that a single mode ridge optical waveguide could be realized provided that the structure thickness and width are within certain range. The range is attainable through proper control of spin coating and micropatterning parameters. Acceptable end–face quality resulted from natural cleaving process was also discovered.

Key words: Sol–gel processing; organic–inorganic material; ridge optical waveguide
Cross–Layer Relay Selection For Cooperative Relay System In IEEE 802.16j Network
Authors: Ahmad Zamani Anis Izzati , Mohd Imam Ma’AROF Nurul Nazirah , Nor Yusof Farah Buthainah , Satiman Nurulashikin , Syed Yusof Sharifah Kamilah , Fisal Norsheila
Published: January 2013

The IEEE 802.16j amendment has been developed to improve the performance of the IEEE 802.16e standard in terms of its network capacity and coverage area via employment of relay stations. An optional feature of cooperative relay has been initiated to fully utilize multihop network environment. This work focuses on the selection of cooperative relay path/paths through cross–layer approach to forward data from source to destination. The selection scheme jointly considers the signal–to–noise ratio (SNR) from physical (PHY) layer and buffer status from medium access control (MAC) layer. The SNR of the communication link between the base–station and the mobile station has to be compared to a certain threshold before making decision on the optimal cooperative relaying mode. Numerical and simulation results show that cooperative relaying improves the throughput and delay of the IEEE 802.16j system. In addition, the average transmission time of cooperative relay system decreases when the parameter from the MAC layer is considered in the relay selection scheme.

Key words: Cooperative relay, IEEE 802.16j, relay selection, cross–layer design
Simulation Of Soliton Amplification In Micro Ring Resonator For Optical Communication
Authors: Afroozeh A. , Amiri I. S. , Bahadoran M. , Ali J. , Yupapin P. P.
Published: January 2013

A system consisting of a series of micro ring resonator (MRR) is proposed. Optical dark and bright soliton pulses propagating through the nonlinear waveguides are amplified. This system can be used in long distance communication system. The dark and bright soliton is input into the designed system. The nonlinear effect contributes to segregation of continuous soliton pulse into smaller pulses. In this way large bandwidth of optical signals can be obtained. The power amplification occurs when the soliton propagates along the MRRs systems. In this research the concern is the generation of amplified pulse of optical dark and bright soliton while propagating in the MRR device. Simulated results show the amplification of bright soliton in which the input power increases from 0.6 W to 10.9331 W and 7.684 W at the trapped wavelength of 1520.428 nm and 1519.912 nm respectively.

Key words: Optical soliton; dark soliton; bright soliton; soliton amplification
Impact Of Sustainable Development Education At Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)
Authors: Zolfagharian Samaneh , Nourbakhsh Mehdi , Irizarry Javier , Gheisari Masoud , Zakaria Rozana
Published: January 2013

The aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of education and training on promoting knowledge of sustainable living and engineering. This study was carried out during a sustainability workshop, which aimed to encourage students to cooperate in developing Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) as a sustainable campus. The data was collected through a survey to measure the level of knowledge and awareness of the students before and after attending the workshop. The collected data was evaluated based on the Kirkpatrick method and its levels of assessments namely attendance satisfaction and learning. The results showed significant differences on students’ knowledge, awareness, and attitudes toward sustainable living prior an after the course.

Key words: Education; sustainable development; environmental awareness; sustainability; sustainable training
Upgrading Of Pyrolysis Oil Into Diesel-Like Fuel Oil: Comparison Between In-Situ And Ex-Situ Test Rig
Authors: Shukur Zarina , Fabil Norasikin , Mohd. Noah Shahrul Azman , Salim Juhana
Published: January 2013

Minyak yang terhasil dari proses pirolisis ditingkatkan kepada produk menyerupai petroleum memandangkan produk sebegini lebih mudah diterima dalam struktur tenaga sedia ada. Dalam kajian ini, proses peningkatan minyak pirolisis yang terhasil daripada pirolisis sarung tangan getah telah dijalankan menggunakan dua unit pelantar pengujian yang dikenali sebagai pelantar pengujian in-situ dan ex-situ. Proses peningkatan ini menggunakan katalis zeolit. Kajian menggunakan pelantar pengujian in-situ mendapati bahawa komposisi kimia minyak adalah tidak berubah daripada minyak pirolisis asal. Ini adalah disebabkan kandungan kelembapan dan juga saiz makro molekul yang besar yang menghalang capaian ke kation di dalam zeolit. Sebaliknya, lebih banyak akuas yang terhasil yang terdiri daripada fenol dan asid karbosilik. Kajian peningkatan minyak menggunakan pelantar pengujian ex-situ menghasilkan minyak berwarna kuning. Ini menunjukkan minyak asal telah dinyahoksida melalui tindakan zeolit lalu menghasilkan sebatian hidrokarbon lurus yang bersamaan dengan kandungan minyak diesel. Sebatian utama masih tetap 1, asid 2-Benzenedicarboxylic, bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester. Walaupun minyak pirolisis boleh dipertingkatkan menjadi diesel, tetapi penghasilan secara keseluruhannya adalah rendah.

Kata kunci: Pirolisis; peningkatan; bahan api; diesel; zeolite

Upgrading of pyrolysis oil to petrochemical products is favorable as these products are more easily accepted in the existing energy infrastructure. Pyrolysis oil derived from pyrolyzing examination rubber gloves was catalytically upgraded over zeolite using two different rigs namely in-situ test rig and ex-situ test rig. In the in-situ test rig, chemical composition of the upgraded oil was similar to the black thermal pyrolysis oil. This is due to the presence of moisture in the primary pyrolysis gas, as well as due to the macromolecular structure of the ester compounds that prohibit entrance into the cation site of the zeolite. Meanwhile, upgrading of pyrolysis oil in the ex-situ test rig produced yellow colour oil. Polyaromatic hydrocarbon compounds of 3-ring and 4-ring benzene compounds were absent in this upgraded oil. It was observed that the pyrolysis oil was de-oxygenated by the action of the zeolites resulting in straight chain hydrocarbons that emulate diesel fuel. The main composition of the upgraded oil remained to be 1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester. Although the black pyrolysis oil can be upgraded, but the yield of diesel-like fuel oil reduced considerably.

Key words: Pyrolysis; upgrading; fuel-oil; diesel; zeolite
The Effects Of Modified Collaborative Strategic Reading (MCSR) Intervention On Reading Performance Among Freshmen In Iran
Authors: Zoghi Masoud , Mustapha Ramlee , Mohd.Maasum Tg.Nor Rizan
Published: January 2013

Tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk menentukan kesan Strategi Pembacaan Kolaboratif yang Diubah suai (MCSR) terhadap kemahiran membaca dalam kalangan pelajar tahun satu di sebuah universiti awam di Iran. Kaedah Kuasi-eksperimen mengunakan ujian-pra-ujian-pos telah dijadikan reka bentuk kajian. Dalam kajian ini, intervensi telah dijalankan terhadap 42 orang pelajar universiti tahun satu di negara Iran. Pelajar tersebut telah menerima intervensi MCSR selama 90 minit seminggu sepanjang enam minggu. Ujian Kefahaman Pembacaan yang dibina oleh pengkaji telah ditadbir sebelum dan selepas intervensi. Persepsi pelajar terhadap MCSR juga dinilai menggunakan soal selidik Opinionnaire®. Dapatan kuantitatif menunjukkan tidak terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan dari aspek kemahiran kefahaman. Walau bagaimanapun, data kualitatif menunjukkan bahawa para peserta kajian menunjukkan sikap yang positif terhadap MCSR. Data juga menunjukkan peserta kajian cenderung kepada kaedah pengajaran yang bersifat komunikatif dan kolaboratif. Justeru, hasil kajian ini menolak pandangan yang mengatakan pelajar tidak gemar terhadap pembelajaran secara kumpulan (kolaboratif).

Kata kunci: Strategi pembacaan kolaboratif yang diubah suai; pemahaman pembacaaan; pembelajaran koperatif; bahasa Inggeris sebagai bahasa asing; Iran

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of a Modified Collaborative Strategic Reading (MCSR) intervention on reading performance among first-year students in a public university in Iran. A quasi-experiment method using a pre-test-post-test design was utilized. The intervention was implemented to 42 Iranian university-level EFL freshmen. The students met once a week and received the MCSR intervention for 90 minutes over six weeks. A researcher-developed reading comprehension test was group administered at the pre- and post-tests. Upon completion of the study, students’ perceptions regarding the MCSR intervention were also evaluated by means of an Opinionnaire®. Quantitative results indicated that participating students did not demonstrate significant gains in reading comprehension skills. However, qualitative evaluation revealed that students did have positive attitudes towards the MCSR intervention. We postulate that the participants may require intervention of considerably greater intensity in terms of instructional dosage than that provided in this research. Additionally, the data show that the students have a strong preference for communicative and cooperative activities and the popular thinking that they might resist group work (because of their long-standing conventional learning tradition) can no longer be true.

Key words: Modified collaborative strategic reading; reading comprehension; cooperative learning; English as foreign language (EFL); Iran
Pengetahuan Pentadbir Sekolah Rendah Tentang Aspek Perundangan Dalam Pendidikan
Authors: Mohd Tahir Lokman , Abd Rahman Mohd Anuar , Pongsu@Baba Roslan
Published: January 2013

Perundangan merupakan elemen penting kepada sesebuah sekolah memandangkan operasi sebuah sekolah kerap melibatkan aspek perundangan. Sehubungan itu, kajian ini dirangka khusus untuk menjawab persoalan sama ada para pentadbir sekolah berpengetahuan tentang aspek perundangan dalam pendidikan. Di samping itu, kajian ini juga cuba meneliti amalannya di sekolah. Sampel kajian terdiri daripada 87 orang pentadbir di 20 buah sekolah rendah terdiri daripada Guru Besar, Guru Penolong Kanan 1, Guru Penolong Kanan Hal Ehwal Murid, Guru Penolong Kanan Kokurikulum, dan Guru Penolong Kanan Petang. Data kajian ini dianalisis dengan menggunakan kaedah kekerapan, peratusan dan min serta pengujian statistik Ujian-t, ANOVA Sehala. Secara umum, hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa keseluruhannya pentadbir memiliki pengetahuan yang tinggi mengenai peraturan dan undang-undang pendidikan dan sentiasa mematuhi garis panduan dan prosedur pengurusan organisasi sekolah. Di samping itu, pentadbir juga didapati sentiasa merujuk kepada akta dan undang-undang pendidikan semasa mengurus sekolah. Namun demikian, pentadbir sekolah sendiri mengakui bahawa mereka kurang diberi pendedahan melalui latihan dan kursus mengenai undang-undang pendidikan. Beberapa cadangan dikemukakan untuk meningkatkan kemampuan pentadbir sekolah dalam bidang perundangan pendidikan.

Kata kunci: Pentadbir sekolah rendah; perundangan pendidikan; literasi undang-undang

Legislation is considered as important element for school organization with the assumption that school operations involved law element. This study was conducted to investigate the primary school administrators’ knowledge about the legislation in education. In addition, this study also identified differences significant of demographic factors, school administrators, legal knowledge, which involves schools and the relationship between demographic factors with knowledge of the legalization. Sample for this study were 87 primary school administrators of 20 schools which were school’s headmasters, Senior Assistant (Administration), Senior Assistant (Student Affairs); Senior Assistant (Co-curriculum) and Senior Assistant (Evening Session). Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics such as frequencies, percentages and mean scores, t-test, one-way ANOVA. Results showed that headmaster have high level of knowledge related the produces, regulation and law in education. In addition, primary school administrators frequently used educational law and legislation as their main source while leading and managing the school. However, school administrators also admitted they were less exposed to courses and workshop related to education legislation. Suggestions were also forwarded to enhance the primary school capabilities related to legislation in education.

Key words: Primary school administrators; educational legislation; legal literacy
Kajian Kes Penggunaan Kaedah Pengajaran Dan Pembelajaran Guru Cemerlang Pendidikan Islam (GCPI) Sekolah Bandar Dan Luar Bandar: Satu Kajian Perbandingan
Authors: Jasmi Kamarul Azmi , Tamuri Ab. Halim , Mohd Hamzah Mohd Izham
Published: January 2013

Salah satu ciri pengajaran berkesan ialah kepelbagaian dalam kaedah pengajaran dan pembelajaran di dalam kelas. Kepelbagaian dalam kaedah pengajaran bertujuan untuk memberi pengalaman pengajaran dan pembelajaran yang bermakna kepada para pelajar malah meningkatkan motivasi mereka untuk belajar. Melihat kepada kepentingan penggunaan pengkaedahan ini, maka pengkaji terdorong untuk mengkaji bentuk kaedah pengajaran dan pembelajaran yang diamalkan oleh lapan orang Guru Cemerlang Pendidikan Islam (GCPI) yang mengajar di pelbagai jenis sekolah menengah di luar bandar dan bandar sebagai satu kajian perbandingan. Hasil dapatan data soal selidik menunjukkan bahawa terdapat kecenderungan yang serupa dalam penggunaan kaedah pengajaran dan pembelajaran GCPI di sekolah menengah luar bandar dan bandar. Pada bahagian akhir kertas kerja ini, beberapa cadangan juga dikemukakan bagi meningkatkan penggunaan kaedah pengajaran dan pembelajaran yang lebih pelbagai di sekolah luar bandar dan bandar.

Kata kunci: Kaedah pengajaran dan pembelajaran; motivasi; GCPI

One of the characteristics of effective teaching is the base of various methods in teaching and learning in the classroom. Diversity in teaching tries to bring teaching and learning experience meaningful lastly to increase student’s motivation. Seeing the importance of using this methodology, the researchers try to compelled the nature of teaching and learning methods adopted by the eight Excellent Teachers of Islamic Education (ETIE) who taught in various rural and urban types schools comparative study. The findings shows that there were a similar methods of teaching and learning used ETIE in both rural and urban school to improve student academic performance. Suggestions also forwarded to improve teaching and learning methods use rural and urban schools.

Key words: Methods of teaching and learning; motivation; GCPI
Erosive Wear Of Natural Gas Pipes Due To High Velocity Jet Impact: Physical Examination And Experimental Study
Authors: Majid Z. A. , Mohsin R. , Yusof M. Z.
Published: January 2013

A sequential failure of API 5L X42 (NPS8) carbon steel and SDR 17 medium density polyethylene (MDPE) pipes towards the high pressure water pipe was studied. Pipe’s failed specimen was physically examined and experimental testing was conducted by using high speed water jetting facility towards a similar NPS8 pipe specimen. High pressure water jet impact from leaked water pipe forms highly erosive water–soil slurry and this caused severely damaged on NPS8 carbon steel pipe surface. Thus, causing substantial losses of pipe coating materials and subsequent rapid thinning of pipe body occurred. Furthermore, weaker ground support causes instability to the MDPE pipe and leads to vertical descend towards high speed gas jet region exerted from failed NPS8 pipe. High impact gas jet physically hit the MDPE pipe at its opposite direction causing its rapid erosion.

Key words: Liquid impact erosion; gas jet impact; solid particle impact; water jet impact
Adsorption Of Nonionic Surfactants On Clay Minerals
Authors: Junin Radzuan , Amirian Tahmineh , Idris Ahmad Kamal
Published: January 2013

The adsorption of surfactants from aqueous solutions in porous media is very significant in the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) of oil reservoirs. Surfactant loss due to adsorption on the reservoir rocks weakens the efficiency of the chemical solution injected to decrease the oil–water interfacial tension (IFT). This study investigated the effect of the mineralogical composition of adsorbents on adsorption. Nonionic surfactants were injected into sand packs in which different amounts of clay minerals (kaolinite and illite) were added and compacted in a sand pack holder. The amount of surfactant adsorbed was quantified by subtracting the concentration of surfactants after adsorption from the initial concentration. It was concluded that there is a relationship between the adsorption of nonionic surfactants and the amount of clay mineral in the adsorbents because the quantity of surfactant adsorbed by adsorbents increased when the percentage of clay mineral in the adsorbents increased (from 2 to 8% in the sand packs). The clay mineral illite has a stronger adsorption power for nonionic surfactants than does kaolinite.

Key words: Adsorption, reservoir rock minerals, clay minerals, nonionic surfactants
Effects of Feedstock and Catalyst Concentration on Biodiesel Production
Authors: Ngadi Norzita , Alias Hajar , Ishak Siti Aktar
Published: January 2013

In this study, production of biodiesel from new and used palm and soybean oils was carried out using a transesterification method. The effect of catalyst amount used towards the percentage yield, soap content and heat of combustion of the biodiesel produced was investigated. The soap content and heat combustion of the biodiesel were determined using titration (AOCS
Cc-95) and heat calorimeter bomb (ASTM D240-09), respectively. The results showed that catalyst concentration of 0.5 w/w% gave the best result in terms of yield of biodiesel produced from both palm and soybean oils. However, the quality of biodiesel (i.e. soap content and heat of combustion) produced from palm and soybean oils behaved differently towards catalyst concentration. Overall, both oils (palm and soybean), either new or used oil apparently showed no significant difference in term of yield or qualities of biodiesel produced. This indicates that the used oil has high potential as an economical and practical future source of biodiesel.
A Review of Municipal Solid Waste Management in Malaysia
Authors: Tarmudi Zamali , Abdullah Mohd Lazim , Md Tap Abu Osman
Published: January 2013

The tremendous increased of municipal solid waste (MSW) generation in most major cities in Malaysia is observed as a main issue recently. This paper reviews the MSW management comprises many issues arises from the past two decades till the present scenario. It briefly discussed the latest definition of the solid waste based on the Solid Waste and Public Cleaning Management Act (Bill 2007). Out of many MSW discussions, this paper also covers the recent status of the MSW generation, the regulations, the trends of MSW generation as well as local research effort which could a wide interest to the researchers and practitioners. It is hoped that this work will provide a ready reference as additional databases on MSW management situation in Malaysia. Thus an appropriate action can be taken by the relevant authority for their future
planning and decision-making purposes.
Using Bayesian Networks to Construct Gene Regulatory Networks from Microarray Data
Authors: Tan Ai Kung , Mohamad Mohd Saberi
Published: January 2013

In this research, Bayesian network is proposed as the model to construct gene regulatory networks from Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell-cycle gene expression dataset and Escherichia coli dataset due to its capability of handling microarray datasets with missing values. The goal of this research is to study and to understand the framework of the Bayesian networks, and then to construct gene regulatory networks from Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell-cycle gene expression dataset and Escherichia coli dataset by developing Bayesian networks using hill-climbing algorithm and Efron’s bootstrap approach and then the performance of the constructed gene networks of Saccharomyces cerevisiae are evaluated and are compared with the previously constructed sub-networks by Dejori [14]. At the end of this research, the gene networks constructed for Saccharomyces cerevisiae not only have achieved high True Positive Rate (more than 90%), but the networks constructed also have discovered more potential interactions between genes. Therefore, it can be concluded that the performance of the gene regulatory networks constructed using Bayesian networks in this research is proved to be better because it can reveal more gene relationships.

Dalam penyelidikan ini, Bayesian network adalah dicadangkan sebagai model untuk membina gene regulatory networks dari kitar sel S. cerevisiae set data disebabkan keupayaannya untuk mengendali set data microarray yang mempunyai nilai-nilai yang hilang. Tujuan penyelidikan ini adalah untuk mempelajari dan memahami rekabentuk untuk Bayesian network, dan kemudian untuk membina gene regulatory networks dari data Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell-cycle gene expression dan data Escherichia coli dengan membina model Bayesian networks dengan menggunakan algoritma hill-climbing serta Efron’s bootstrap approach dan gene networks yang dibina untuk Saccharomyces cerevisiae dibandingkan dengan sub-networks yang dibina oleh Dejori [14]. Pada akhir kajian ini, gene networks yang dibina untuk Saccharomyces cerevisiae bukan sahaja telah mencapai True Positive Rate yang tinggi (lebih dari 90%), tetapi gene networks yang dibina juga telah menemui lebih banyak interaksi berpotensi antara gen. Oleh kerana itu, dapat disimpulkan bahawa prestasi gene networks yang dibina menggunakan Bayesian network dalam kajian ini adalah terbukti lebih baik kerana ia boleh mendedahkan lebih banyak
hubungan antara gen.
Mechanical Design and Analysis of All-terrain Mobile Robot
Authors: Tan Chee Fai , Ng Eng Sia , Din Abdul Talib
Published: January 2013

This paper presents the conceptual mechanical analysis of the all-terrain mobile robot (AMoBo). The locomotion concept for all-terrain mobile robot is based on six independent motorized wheels. The mobile robot has a steering wheel in the front and the rear, and two wheels arranged on a bogie on each side. The front wheel has a spring suspension to guarantee optimal ground contact of all wheels at any time. The steering of the vehicle is realized by synchronizing the steering of the front and rear wheels and the speed difference of the bogie wheels. A prototype AMoBo was designed and fabricated. The developed prototype is about 66 cm in length and 23 cm in height. Testing size results show that the prototype able to overcome obstacles of same height as its wheel diameter and can climb stairs with step height of over 10 cm. Finite element analysis was used to analyse and verify the strength of each critical part of AMoBo. The base plate appeared to be the critical part with the highest shear stress and the lowest safety factor.

Kertas kerja ini membincangkan analisis mekanikal bagi robot mobil semua medan (AMoBo). Konsep gerak alih untuk robot mobil semua medan adalah berdasarkan kepada enam roda yang bermotor. Kenderaan tersebut mempunyai roda kemudi di bahagian hadapan dan belakang, dan dua roda yang diaturkan sebagai bogi di kedua-dua belah. Roda hadapan mempunyai suspensi pegas untuk memastikan sentuhan permukaan yang optimal di setiap roda pada sebarang masa. Kemudi kenderaan diselaraskan dengan kemudi hadapan dan belakang dan juga perbezaan kelajuan pada roda bogie. Prototaip telah direka bentuk dan dihasilkan. Kenderaan yang dibangunakan berukuran sekitar 66 cm panjang dan 23 cm tinggi. Keputusan saiz ujian menunjukkan bahawa ia berupaya mengatasi halangan yang mempunyai ketinggian yang sama dengan diameter rodanya dan mampu memanjat tangga yang mempunyai ketinggian yang melebihi 10 cm. Analisis elemen terhingga telah digunakan untuk menganalisis dan mengesahkan kekuatan setiap bahagian yang kritikal pada AMoBo. Pinggan dasar adalah bahagian kritikal yang mempunyai tegangan ricih yang paling tinggi dan nilai faktor keselamatan yang paling rendah.