Abstract: An electro-optical system includes a voltage supply device, an active polarizing layer, a retarding layer, and a reflective layer. The active polarizing layer is electrically coupled to the voltage supply device. The active polarizing layer is configured to switch back and forth between a non-polarized state and a polarized state as the voltage supply device supplies varying levels of voltage. The retarding layer is configured to alter the polarization state of light traveling through it. The reflective layer is positioned adjacent to the retarding layer.

Abstract: Provided is a composition comprising: (a) a principal phase that is provided by a layered mixed metal oxide having a rocksalt structure belonging to the R-3m space group; the layered mixed metal oxide comprising the following component elements: 45 to 55 atomic % lithium; 20 to 55 atomic % of one or more transition metals selected from the group consisting of chromium, manganese, iron, nickel, cobalt, and combinations thereof; and 0 to 25 atomic % of one or more additional dopant elements selected from the group consisting of: magnesium, calcium, strontium, titanium, zirconium, vanadium, copper, ruthenium, zinc, molybdenum, boron, aluminium, gallium, tin, lead, bismuth, lanthanum, cerium, gadolinium and europium; wherein said atomic % is expressed as a % of total atoms of said layered oxide, excluding oxygen; (b) a minor phase that is provided by a metal oxide that does not have the crystal structure of the layered mixed metal oxide, the minor phase comprising one or more of the transition metals contained in

Abstract: A method of processing a thin film structure comprising: providing a thin film structure comprising a stack of two or more thin film layers supported on a surface of a substrate, the stack having a depth orthogonal to the substrate surface; and forming a cut through the depth of the stack by using a direct write laser technique to scan a laser beam along a scan path covering an area of a desired cut line on a surface of the stack to ablate material of the stack along the cut line and through the depth of the stack at least to the surface of the substrate; wherein the direct write laser technique is implemented using an ultrashort pulsed laser outputting pulses with a duration of 1000 femtoseconds or less, at a wavelength in the range of 100 to 1500 nm, and delivering a fluence in the range of 50 to 100,000 mJ/cm2

Abstract: An electro-optical system includes a voltage supply device, an active polarizing layer, a retarding layer, and a reflective layer. The active polarizing layer is electrically coupled to the voltage supply device. The active polarizing layer is configured to switch back and forth between a non-polarized state and a polarized state as the voltage supply device supplies varying levels of voltage. The retarding layer is configured to alter the polarization state of light traveling through it. The reflective layer is positioned adjacent to the retarding layer.

Abstract: Disclosed is an improved approach to implement and handle promotion optimization by an enterprise software application. Promotion optimization functionality is provided to permit customer controlled rules to be processed for the promotions. The promotion optimization functionality in some embodiments include adding exclusions sets, improving the buy-down calculation, increased flexibility when entering event costs, better support for different causal types, and/or new parameters that provide greater flexibility.

Abstract: A process for increasing the active surface area of at least one electrode having a surface comprising a group VIII metal in an electrochemical cell, which also comprises at least one balancing electrode and an aqueous electrolyte which comprises nitrate ions, which comprises applying a sweeping voltage across the electrodes at a rate of at least 0.2 V/s, the sweeping voltage being from a lower voltage which is between the voltage at which hydrogen evolution occurs and ?0.7 V to an upper voltage which is between ?0.2 V and +0.3 V, all of the above voltages being with reference to a standard calomel reference electrode (VSCE).

Abstract: In a vapour deposition method which can be used to deposit mixtures of materials in progressively varying amounts on a substrate (1) and which can be used for a variety of purposes, but is of especial value in combinatorial chemistry, the path of the vaporised material from the source (3) to the substrate (1) is partially interrupted by a mask (5), the positioning of the mask in a plane parallel to the plane defined by the substrate (1) being such that the material is deposited on the substrate (1) in a thickness which increases substantially continuously in a direction along the substrate (1).

Abstract: A process for increasing the active surface area of at least one electrode having a surface comprising a group VIII metal in an electrochemical cell, which also comprises at least one balancing electrode and an aqueous electrolyte which comprises nitrate ions, which comprises applying a sweeping voltage across the electrodes at a rate of at least 0.2 V/s, the sweeping voltage being from a lower voltage which is between the voltage at which hydrogen evolution occurs and −0.7 V to an upper voltage which is between −0.2 V and +0.3 V, all of the above voltages being with reference to a standard calomel reference electrode (VSCE).