This invited, extended, paper compares and contrasts a number of different near-field (NF) to far-field (FF) transformation algorithms that can be used for the purpose of processing NF data acquired using multi-axis industrial robots. The merits and limitations of these various, commonly encountered algorithms are highlighted with comparison FF data presented across a frequency range spanning 3–15 GHz. Crucially, the paper explores the viability of using mixed mode acquisition geometries when performing antenna gain measurements where, prior to this work, several of the transforms yielded different transform gains, and electrical lengths. Here, we verify that at 8 GHz and above, where truncation effects were minimal, for a circa 30 dBi gain (at 8 GHz) test antenna the FF peaks were in agreement to better than ±0.02 dB, at 3σ irrespective of the acquisition geometry and transform algorithm used. In this invited, extended work, the existing simulation results are augmented with experimental results obtained from planar and spherical NF measurements of a pyramidal horn taken using a dual robotic antenna measurement system and a consistent distributed RF subsystem.

The construction of halloysite spherical capsules (halloysite aerogels) was reported for the first time in our previous work. The excellent performance of the microcapsule in functional carrying was also found in our further research. In this work, the anti-icing surface was fabricated by using halloysite nanotubes and halloysite spherical microcapsules. The fabrication of the anti-icing coating was investigated, and the ice nucleation behavior of droplet on the coating surface was studied. The modified halloysite nanotubes (F-HNTs) and the modified halloysite microcapsules (F-HAs) were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric, and pore size distribution. The results show that the introduction of F-HNTs and F-HAs have successfully formed a micro-nano structure on the coating surface with superhydrophobicity performance. The icing temperature of the coating has decreased 2.3 °C compared with bare glass, and the ice adhesion strength has decreased 82%. According to the ice dynamic mechanics, the ice nucleation rate on the coating is significantly reduced, thus the halloysite microcapsule coating has good icephobic performance.

The calculation of multivariate normal probabilities is of great importance in many statistical and economic applications. In this paper we propose a spherical Monte Carlo method with both theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. We start by writing the multivariate normal probability via an inner radial integral and an outer spherical integral using the spherical transformation. For the outer spherical integral, we apply an integration rule by randomly rotating a predetermined set of well-located points. To find the desired set, we derive an upper bound for the variance of the Monte Carlo estimator and propose a set which is related to the kissing number problem in sphere packings. For the inner radial integral, we employ the idea of antithetic variates and identify certain conditions so that variance reduction is guaranteed. Extensive Monte Carlo simulations on some probabilities confirm these claims.

The successful development of third-order aberration correctors in transmission electron microscopy has seen aberration-corrected electron microscopes evolve from specialist projects, custom built at a small number of sites to common instruments in many modern laboratories. Here we describe some initial results illustrating the two- and three-dimensional (3D) performance of an aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope with a prototype improved aberration corrector designed to also minimize fifth-order aberrations and a new, higher brightness gun. We show that atomic columns separated by 0.63 Å can be resolved and demonstrate detection of single dopant atoms with 3D sensitivity.

Non-overconstrained 3-dof spherical parallel manipulators of a structural type 3-RCC, 3-CCR, 3-CRC are introduced. The mechanism has three limbs that connect in parallel the moving platform to the fixed base. Each limb is an opened kinematic chain made of a sequence of one revolute pair R and two cylindrical pairs C. The orientation of the end-effector is obtained by actuating simultaneously the three limbs. A structural type analysis and synthesis, which is based on the algebraic properties of a Lie group of the displacement set, is employed to find the geometrical conditions for the assembly of these spherical parallel mechanisms and also the structurally singular configurations. Then an enumeration of the structural types is given and remarkable special cases of orientational mechanisms are also described, namely 3-HGR, 3-RGH and 3-HGH.