Wave breaking is the main mechanism that dissipates energy from ocean waves by wind. Its effects on the frequency spectrum cause a downshift of the spectral peak and dissipation of the total energy of the spectrum. Various reduced-form wave breaking models have been developed to capture wave breaking in envelope-based wave evolution equations for perturbed plane-wave systems, but their applicability to waves with a continuous spectrum has not been examined. In this paper we perform modified nonlinear Schrödinger equation simulations to study four existing wave breaking models and compare the results with new experimental data for breaking unidirectional wave groups. We first compare the different wave breaking models for perturbed plane-wave simulations and then examine their potential extension to waves with a continuous spectrum. We find that most existing models are able to model breaking in perturbed plane waves, but none produce the correct spectral dissipation for focused wave groups. We propose a modification to the breaking model by Kato and Oikawa [J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 64, 4660 (1995)0031-901510.1143/JPSJ.64.4660] in order to model breaking in focused wave groups. The modified model incorporates both a breaking criterion, which activates and deactivates the dissipation term proposed by Kato and Oikawa, and a heuristic spectral weighting function that is obtained by fitting to experimental data. The modified model also predicts breaking in perturbed plane waves well.

The cyan-emitting BaSi₂O₂N₂:Eu²⁺ phosphor is a promising narrow-band and high-efficiency luminescent material used in wide-color-gamut white light-emitting diodes (wLEDs). However, its serious degradation under thermal attacks hinders its practical applications and needs to be improved. Herein, we proposed to deposit a nano-sized Al₂O₃ film around each BaSi₂O₂N₂:Eu²⁺ particle through atomic layer deposition (ALD) in a fluidized bed reactor to improve its thermal stability. Thermal gravimetric analysis results showed that the Al₂O₃ layer with a thickness of only 11 nm had an obvious anti-oxidization effect, by which the oxidation temperature in air of the Al₂O₃ coated phosphor was largely increased from ∼550 to ∼750 °C. Moreover, the Al₂O₃ coated phosphor remained 93% of its luminescence intensity in comparison to 73% of the uncoated one when degraded under water-steam at 200 °C for 24 h. The oxidization of both the BaSi₂O₂N₂ host matrix and the doped Eu²⁺ ions was reduced by the Al₂O₃ layer. Meanwhile, the wLEDs fabricated with the Al₂O₃ coated phosphor showed a luminous flux of 3 times higher than that of the uncoated one when aged under 100 mA for 300 h. The greatly improved thermal degradation property of BaSi₂O₂N₂:Eu²⁺ phosphor and the reliability of the wLEDs indicate that the ALD approach could be a feasible route to produce uniform and nano layers on phosphors and enhance their stability.

3D integration has well-developed for traditional CMOS technology operating at room temperature, but few studies have been performed for cryogenic applications such as quantum computers. In this paper, a wafer-to-wafer bonding of superconductive joints based on niobium nitride (NbN) is performed to demonstrate the possibility of 3D integration of superconducting chips. The NbN thin films are deposited by magnetron sputtering. Its high critical temperature (15.2 K) is achieved by optimizing the sputtering recipe in terms of N₂ flow rate and discharge voltage. Wafer-level bumping is bonded by the thermo-compression method. The sheet resistance of the thin film and the contact resistance of the joints are measured by the Greek-cross (4-point Kelvin method) and daisy chain structures at cryogenic temperature, respectively. Direct-bonding wafers with NbN superconductive joints avoid using adhesive layers and the bonding interface could still present superconducting electrical connections in a cryogenic environment above 4 K, which will allow us to use a smaller and high-cooling power cryostat. The contribution of this work could lead to the fabrication of multi-layered superconducting chip that operates beneficially in cryogenic temperature, which is essential in building scalable quantum processors.

Operations and maintenance of offshore wind turbines (OWTs) play an important role in the development of offshore wind farms. Compared with operations, maintenance is a critical element in the levelized cost of energy, given the practical constraints imposed by offshore operations and the relatively high costs. The effects of maintenance on the life cycle of an offshore wind farm are highly complex and uncertain. The selection of maintenance strategies influences the overall efficiency, profit margin, safety, and sustainability of offshore wind farms. For an offshore wind project, after a maintenance strategy is selected, schedule planning will be considered, which is an optimization problem. Onsite maintenance will involve complex marine operations whose efficiency and safety depend on practical factors. Moreover, negative environmental impacts due to offshore maintenance deserve attention. To address these issues, this paper reviews the state-of-the-art research on OWT maintenance, covering strategy selection, schedule optimization, onsite operations, repair, assessment criteria, recycling, and environmental concerns. Many methods are summarized and compared. Limitations in the research and shortcomings in industrial development of OWT operations and maintenance are described. Finally, promising areas are identified with regard to future studies of maintenance strategies.