Well-aligned ZnO/ZnSe core/shell nanowire arrays with type-II energy alignment are synthesized via a two-step chemical vapor deposition method. Morphology and structure studies reveal a transition layer of wurtzite ZnSe between the wurtzite ZnO core and the cubic ZnSe shell. Type-II interfacial transitions are observed in the spectral region from visible to near infrared in transmission and photoluminescence. More significantly, for the first time, the interfacial transition is shown to extend the photoresponse of the prototype photovoltaic device based on the coaxial nanowire array to a threshold much below the bandgap of either component (3.3 and 2.7 eV, respectively) at 1.6 eV, with an external quantum efficiency of $4% at 1.9 eV and 9.5% at 3 eV. These results represent a major advance towards the realization of all-inorganic type-II heterojunction photovoltaic devices in an optimal device architecture.

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This paper investigates the design of a composite nonlinear feedback (CNF) control law for an overhead crane servo system to improve the transient performance of both displacement tracking of the trolley and anti-sway of the payload. To address the property of underactuation of the overhead crane system, a novel nonlinear function of the CNF control law is specifically proposed to compromise the tracking performance of the trolley and the anti-sway performance of the payload. The performance improvement in both tracking of the trolley and anti-sway of the payload is illustrated with a complete comparison between the CNF control method and the trajectory planning method, which has been proposed in recent literature. The simulation results show that this well-tuned CNF control law can significantly shorten the settling time of the trolley displacement tracking and reduce the sway of the payload.

In winter 2018/2019, southeast coastal China experienced extreme warm temperatures due to a weak East Asian winter monsoon. Based on observations from 10 meteorological stations and reanalysis data, the large-scale circulation patterns associated with this extreme warm winter and the possible driving mechanism of its related sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies are investigated in this study. During this winter, many places in this region reached their highest winter mean temperature record and had more extreme warm days and fewer extreme cold days compared to climatology. According to the circulation patterns during winter 2018/2019, several large-scale circulation conditions associated mainly with the weak East Asian winter monsoon are identified: the eastward shift of the Siberian high and a shallower East Asian trough, which is related to the low blocking frequency over the Aleutian region, are both unfavorable for cold air intrusion southward. Meanwhile, strong low-level southerly wind anomalies over southeast China are related mainly to the 2018/2019 El Niño event. Furthermore, the possible role of SST anomalies over the North Atlantic and tropical western Pacific is examined by using an atmospheric general circulation model, suggesting that both the “tripole pattern” of North Atlantic SST and tropical western Pacific SST anomalies in winter 2018/2019 played a role in influencing the East Asian trough. The combined effect of all these factors seems responsible for this extreme warm winter over southeast coastal China.

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