Magnetic properties of melt-spun Nd-Pr-Fe-Co-B-V system alloys and their bonded magnets

Melt-spun ribbons of Nd-Pr-Fe-Co-B-V system alloys were prepared by the single-roller rapidquenching method. The effects of composition, wheel velocity and heat treatment on the magnetic properties were investigated. The magnetic properties of their isotropic compression bonded magnets prepared from optimally annealed ribbons also were measured. Remanence (Br) was found to increase with decreasing rare-earth content, and a maximum value of more than 1.0 T was obtained. A maximum energy product of 164.0 kJ/m³ was obtained for (Nd_0.5 Pr_0.5)₉Fe₄Co₈B_7.5 V_1.5 alloy ribbon prepared at a wheel velocity of 17.1 m/s. From TEM observation, the particle size of these ribbons was determined to be between 20 to 30 nm. It is conjectured that the high remanence is obtained by the interaction of these fine particles. The amorphous (Nd_0.5Pr_0.5)₉Fe₇₄Co₈ B_7.5V_1.5 ribbons prepared at a wheel velocity of 20.7 m/s were crystallized by heat treatment, and the optimum annealing condition was found to be at 650°C for 20 min. Its corresponding value of (BH)_max was 146.2 kJ/m³. A maximum energy product of 86.4 kJ/m³ was achieved with (Nd_0.5Pr_0.5)₉Fe₇₄Co₈ B_7.5V_1.5 bonded magnets made from the optimally prepared ribbons.     

Effect of CaO and SiO2 addition on magnetic properties of anisotropic Ba-Zn system W-type hexagonal ferrite magnets

An experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of CaO and SiO₂ addition on the magnetic and physical properties of anisotropic Ba-Zn W-type hexagonal ferrite magnets. It was found that magnetic properties of BaO.2ZnO.8Fe₂O₃ compounds added with CaO and SiO₂ were improved. The optimum conditions of typical specimens are as follows: chemical analysis composition-Ba_0.857 Zn_1.643 Ca_0.150 Si_0.266 Fe²⁺_0.030 Fe³⁺_15.857 O₂₇; semisintering condition-1275°C × 1.0 h in air; sintering condition- 1250°C × in air, magnetic and physical properties are J_m = 0.436 T, J_r = 0.393 T. H_cj = 64.4 kA/m, H_cB = 64.1 kA/m, (BH)_max = 16.1 kJ/m³, T_c = 357°C, H_A = 971 kA/m, K_A = 2.03 × 10⁵ J/m³ and n_B = 33.2 μ_B.     

Magnetic properties of melt-spun Nd-Fe-Co-B-Cu-Nb system alloys and their bonded magnets

Melt-spun ribbons of Nd-Fe-Co-B-Cu-Nb system alloys were prepared by the single roller rapid-quenching method. The effects of composition, wheel velocity and heat-treatment on the magnetic properties were investigated. The magnetic properties of bonded magnets prepared by compression molding of optimally annealed ribbons were also measured. A maximum energy product of 152.1 kJ/m³ was obtained for the Nd₁₁Fe₇₂Co₈B_7.5Cu_0.5Nb_1.0 alloy ribbon prepared at a wheel velocity of 17.1 m/s. From the TEM observation on the above Nd₁₁Fe₇₂Co₈B_7.5Cu_0.5Nb_1.0 ribbon, the particle size of these ribbons was determined to be between 10 and 40 nm. It is conjectured that the high remanence is observed by the magnetic interaction of these fine particles, and it was found that these fine particles were achieved by Nd-Fe-Co-B compound in addition with Nb and Cu at the same time. The amorphous Nd₁₁Fe₇₂Co₈B_7.5Cu_0.5Nb_1.0 ribbons prepared at a wheel velocity of 20.7 m/s were crystallized by heat treatment, and the optimum annealing condition was found to be at 650°C for 15 min. Its corresponding value of (BH)_max is 144.5 kJ/m³. A maximum energy product of 88.1 kJ/m³ was achieved with Nd₁₁Fe₇₂Co₈B_7.5Cu_0.5Nb_1.0 bonded magnets made from the optimally prepared ribbons.     

A low‐voltage band‐gap reference circuit with second‐order analyses

A new band‐gap reference (BGR) circuit employing sub‐threshold current is proposed for low‐voltage operations. By employing the fraction of V_BE and the sub‐threshold current source, the proposed BGR circuit with chip area of 0.029mm² was fabricated in the standard 0.18µm CMOS triple‐well technology. It generates reference voltage of 170 mV with power consumption of 2.4µW at supply voltage of 1 V. The agreement between simulation and measurement shows that the variations of reference voltage are 1.3 mV for temperatures from ?20 to 100^°C, and 1.1 mV per volt for supply voltage from 0.95 to 2.5 V, respectively. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magnetic properties of iron-based materials (nitrogen interstitially modified 1:12 compounds and Fe3B-Nd) for low rare-earth bonded magnets

Hard magnetic properties of nitrogen interstitially modified NdM_xFe_12-xN_y compounds and Fe₃B-based ultra-fine crystalline Nd? Fe? Co? T? B alloys of low Nd content of 3 to 5 at. % are studied. The nitrogen-modified compounds have been prepared via the rapid solidification route and the mechanical alloying route both followed by gas nitrogenation using N₂. The Fe₃B-based materials have been prepared by means of rapid solidification and crystallization treatment. The latter materials appear promising as the base material for high-remanence, easy-to-magnetize bonded magnets with small temperature coefficients of remanence. Typical magnetic properties of compaction isotropic bonded magnets produced from this material are B_r = 0.80 T, H_cJ = 350 kA/m, and (BH)_max = 60.5 kJ/m³.     

Nd–Fe–B thick films prepared at the high deposition rate of 90 µm/h

After a postannealing process, the magnetic properties of pulsed laser deposition (PLD)‐made Nd–Fe–B film magnets prepared at the deposition rate of 20–90 µm/h showed constant values, and the average values of H_c, B_r and (BH)_max were 1050 kA/m, 0.6 T, and 60 kJ/m³, respectively. The obtained results were comparable to those previously reported. In conclusion, it was found that a maximum deposition rate of 90 µm/h could be achieved without deterioration of magnetic and mechanical properties. © 2007 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Dielectric breakdown properties of polylactic acid with β‐crystalline chitin

β‐Crystalline chitin was added to polylactic acid (PLA), and this PLA was then heat treated at 100 °C for 1 min. The crystallinity of the heat‐treated PLA increased to more than 40%, and its crystallization speed also increased significantly. Furthermore, the temperature dependence of the dielectric breakdown strength (E_B) was checked, and it was found that at a temperature of 80 °C, the E_B value of the PLA with chitin was around 1.8 times greater than that of the PLA without chitin. © 2011 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

An ultra‐thin oxide sub‐1 V CMOS bandgap voltage reference

This paper presents a sub‐1 V CMOS bandgap voltage reference that accounts for the presence of direct tunneling‐induced gate current. This current increases exponentially with decreasing oxide thickness and is especially prevalent in traditional (non‐high‐κ/metal gate) ultra‐thin oxide CMOS technologies (t_ox < 3 nm), where it invalidates the simplifying design assumption of infinite gate resistance. The developed reference (average temperature coefficient, T_{C_AVG}, of 22.5 ppm/°C) overcomes direct tunneling by employing circuit techniques that minimize, balance, and cancel its effects. It is compared to a thick‐oxide voltage reference (T_{C_AVG} = 14.0 ppm/°C) as a means of demonstrating that ultra‐thin oxide MOSFETs can achieve performance similar to that of more expensive thick(er) oxide MOSFETs and that they can be used to design the analog component of a mixed‐signal system. The reference was investigated in a 65 nm CMOS technology with a nominal V_DD of 1 V and a physical oxide thickness of 1.25 nm. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microwave dielectric properties of Na<Superscript>+</Superscript> and M<Superscript>3+</Superscript>-doped Ba(Mg<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>W<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>)O<Subscript>3</Subscript> ceramics

In this study, phase evolution, microstructure, and microwave dielectric properties of (Ba_0.98Na_0.02)(Mg_0.48M³⁺_0.02W_0.5)O₃ (M³⁺?=?Al, Ga, Sc, In, Yb, Y, Dy, Gd, and Sm) ceramics sintered at 1700 °C for 1 h were investigated. All the compounds exhibited an ordered cubic perovskite structure. Regardless of the ionic radius of the doped M³⁺ ions, BaWO₄ was detected as the secondary phase in all the compounds. The field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) images revealed a dense microstructure in all the compounds, except in the Al-doped compound, which exhibited an insufficient grain growth. The large and irregularly shaped grains indicated that the liquid phase sintering occurred. Splitting of the A_1g(O) mode was observed in the Raman spectra of large M³⁺ ion-doped compounds. Splitting of the F_2g modes did not occur and the bands were sharp, indicating that the cubic symmetry was retained. As the ionic radius of the doped M³⁺ ions increased, the dielectric constant (ε_r) increased slightly. The compounds doped with M³⁺?=?Sc, In, Yb, and Y exhibited a very high quality factor (Q?×?f₀) in the range of 250,000 ~ 280,000 GHz. In the case of the compounds doped with M³⁺?=?Al, Ga, Sc, In, Yb, Y, and Dy, the value of the temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (τ_f) was in the range of ?24 ~ ?19 ppm/°C, while the Gd and Sm-doped compounds exhibited positive values of 2.8 and 31.2 ppm/°C, respectively. The dielectric constant, quality factor, and temperature coefficient of resonant frequency of the In-doped compound, i.e., (Ba_0.98Na_0.02)(Mg_0.48In_0.02W_0.5)O₃, were 18.7, 286,557 GHz, and???24.4 ppm/°C, respectively.     

High‐tuning‐range CMOS band‐pass IF filter based on a low‐Q cascaded biquad optimization technique

A design procedure for high‐order continuous‐time intermediate‐frequency band‐pass filters based on the cascade of low‐Q biquadratic cells is presented. The approach is well suited for integrated‐circuit fabrication, as it takes into account the maximum capacitance spread dictated by the available technology and maximum acceptable sensitivity to component variations. A trade‐off between noise and maximum linear range is also met. A novel, wide‐tuning‐range transconductor topology is also described. Based on these results, a 10‐pole band‐pass filter for a code division multiple‐access satellite receiver has been designed and tested. The filter provides tunable center frequency (f₀) from 10 to 70 MHz and exhibits a 28‐MHz bandwidth around f₀ = 70 MHz with more than 39‐dB attenuation at f₀/2 and 2f₀. Third‐order harmonic rejection is higher than 60 dB for a 1‐Vpp 70‐MHz input, and equivalent output noise is lower than 1 mV_rms. The circuit is fabricated in a 0.25‐µm complementary metal oxide semiconductor process, and the core consumes 12 mA from a 2.5‐V supply, offering the best current/pole ratio figure. The die area resulted to be 0.9 × 1.1 mm². Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magnetic properties of PLD‐fabricated ND‐Fe‐B film magnets and their applications to millimeter‐size motors

We succeeded in depositing 200‐ to 300‐µm‐thick Nd‐Fe‐B film magnets with (BH)_max of approximately 55 kJ/m³ on Fe substrates by the PLD method. In addition, we confirmed that a millimeter‐size motor, which was prepared from the obtained film, rotates at 15,160 rpm under a no‐load test. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 159(2): 1–6, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20215     

A gain/efficiency‐enhanced bidirectional switched‐capacitor DC‐DC converter

A closed‐loop gain/efficiency‐enhanced bidirectional switched‐capacitor converter (BSCC) is proposed by combining an adaptive‐conversion‐ratio (ACR) phase generator and pulse‐width‐modulation (PWM) controller for bidirectional step‐up/down DC‐DC conversion and regulation. For realizing gain‐enhanced, the power part consists of one m_c‐stage cell and one n_c‐stage cell in cascade between low‐voltage (LV) and high‐voltage (HV) sides to boost HV voltage into m_c × n_c times voltage of LV source at most, or convert LV voltage into 1/(m_c × n_c) times voltage of HV source at most. For realizing efficiency‐enhanced, the ACR idea with adapting stage number m, n is built in the phase generator to obtain a suitable step‐up/down gain: m × n or 1/(m × n) (m = 1, 2, …, m_c, n = 1, 2, …, n_c). Further, the output regulation and robustness to source/loading variation can be enhanced by PWM on the LV/HV sides. Some theoretical analysis and control design are included as: modeling, steady‐state analysis, conversion ratio, efficiency, capacitance selection, and control design. Finally, the performance of this scheme is verified experimentally on a BSCC prototype, and all results are illustrated to show the efficacy of this scheme. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of Activation Energies and Electric Dipole Moment of In‐Plane Highly Electrically Conductive Hetero‐C12TCNQ/C20 LB Films Using Thermally Stimulated Current

The activation energies of in‐plane highly electrically conductive 2‐dodecyl‐7,7,8,8‐tetracyanoquinodimethane (C₁₂ TCNQ)/arachidic acid (C₂₀) hetero‐LB films and C₁₂TCNQ homo‐LB films were determined by thermally stimulated current (TSC) measurement. The TSC curves for the upper Al electrode/C₁₂TCNQ/C₂₀/lower Al electrode were nearly of the same shape as those for the upper Al electrode/C₁₂TCNQ/lower Al electrode. The activation energies of the upper Al electrode/C₁₂TCNQ/C₂₀/lower Al electrode and upper Al electrode/C₁₂TCNQ/lower Al electrode were 0.9–1.3 eV at 55–80^°C and 1.6–1.8 eV at 105–120^°C, respectively. The TSC curves for the upper Al electrode/C₁₂TCNQ/C₂₀/lower Al electrode and upper Al electrode/C₁₂TCNQ/lower Al electrode had two peaks at 55–80^°C owing to the depolarization of the electric dipole and two peaks at 105–120^°C owing to the movement of space charges in the C₁₂TCNQ molecule. Copyright © 2008 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Wide‐band dual‐resonance capacitive cross‐coupled divide‐by‐5 injection‐locked frequency divider

A wide locking range divide‐by‐5 injection‐locked frequency divider (ILFD) is proposed and was implemented in the TSMC 0.18‐μm 1P6M CMOS process. Conventional divide‐by‐5 ILFD has limited locking range. The proposed divide‐by‐5 ILFD is based on a capacitive cross‐coupled voltage‐controlled oscillator (VCO) with a dual‐resonance resonator, which is implemented in the divide‐by‐5 ILFD to obtain a wide overlapped locking range. At the drain‐source bias V_DD of 0.9 V and at the incident power of 0 dBm, the measured locking range of the divide‐by‐5 ILFD is 3.2 GHz, from the incident frequency 9.4 to 12.6 GHz, the percentage is 29.09%. The core power consumption is 2.98 mW. The die area is 0.987 × 1.096 mm².     

A switch‐utilization‐improved switched‐inductor switched‐capacitor converter with adapting stage number

A novel closed‐loop switched‐inductor switched‐capacitor converter (SISCC) is proposed by using the pulse‐width‐modulation (PWM) compensation for the step‐up DC–DC conversion/regulation, and together by combining the adaptive‐stage‐number (ASN), control for the higher switch utilization and wider supply voltage range. The power part of SISCC is composed of two cascaded sub‐circuits, including (i) a serial‐parallel switched‐capacitor circuit with n_c pumping capacitors and (ii) a switched‐inductor booster with m_c resonant capacitors, so as to obtain the high step‐up gain of (n_c + 1) × m_c /(1 ? D) at most, where D is the duty cycle of PWM adopted to enhance output regulation as well as robustness to source/loading variation. Besides, the ASN control is presented with adapting the stage number n (n = 0, 1, 2, …, n_c) of pumping capacitors to obtain a flexible gain of (n + 1) × m_c /(1 ? D), and further in order to make the SISCC operating at a properly small duty cycle for improving switch utilization and/or supply voltage range. Some theoretical analysis and control design include formulation, steady‐state analysis, ASN‐based conversion ratio, efficiency, output ripple, stability, inductance and capacitance selection, and control design. Finally, the performance of this scheme is verified experimentally on an ASN‐based SISCC prototype, and all results are illustrated to show the efficacy of this scheme. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Figures‐of‐merit genetic extraction for InGaAs lasers,SiGe low‐noise amplifiers,and ZnSe/Ge/GaAs HBTs

In this paper, we have successfully developed an intellectual parameter‐extraction methodology on the basis of a genetic algorithm (GA), involving the efficient search‐space separation and local‐minima‐convergence prevention schemes. Via an evolutionary simulation tool complemented with appropriate analytic equations, the enhanced approach has been applied to determine the significant figures‐of‐merit (FoMs), including internal quantum efficiency (η_i) as well as transparency current density (J_tr) of semiconductor lasers, minimum noise figure (NF_min) as well as associated available gain (G_A,assoc) of low‐noise amplifiers (LNAs), and DC as well as AC characteristics of heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs). For the first time, demonstrated FoM‐extraction results, which coincide well with the actually measured data, for state‐of‐the‐art InGaAs quantum‐well lasers, advanced SiGe LNAs, and abrupt ZnSe/Ge/GaAs HBTs are simultaneously presented to validate this multi‐parameter analysis and robust optimization. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Energy model based loss‐minimized speed control of induction motor with a full‐order observer

In this paper, a loss‐minimization algorithm is developed to achieve maximum efficiency in terms of slip frequency. The optimal value of slip frequency can be obtained by minimizing all controllable losses of the induction motor (IM). The ratio of magnetic energy converted to torque (W_T) to magnetic energy stored in the rotating field (W_q) is defined in terms of slip frequency to obtain an error function that is used to design a controller to achieve the desired speed. Since the energy model of the IM can be expressed by the multi‐input and multi‐output (MIMO) system, an MIMO optimal regulator is proposed to achieve the desired speed with maximum efficiency. To design an optimal regulator, it is necessary to measure all state quantities. But W_T and W_q cannot be measured directly. Therefore, a full‐order observer is proposed to estimate these state quantities. The gains of the observer system are calculated by using the pole placement technique. Consequently, the observer system becomes stable. The performance of the proposed controller and observer system are verified by using simulation. With regard to the simulation results, it can be concluded that the desired speed can be achieved by using the proposed controller and the unknown state quantities can be estimated properly by using the proposed observer system. © 2006 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Preparation and characterization of PZT ferroelectric thin films by plasma enhanced metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

Abstract

PZT thin films with a uniform distribution of components were prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) using Pb(C₂H₅)₄, Z (O-i-C₄H₉)₄, Ti(O-i-C₃H₇)₄, and oxygen. The crystallization of films was occure after annealing in the temperature range between 450 and 550°C under O₂ ambient for 1 hr. The significant change of Pb concentration in PECVD PZT thin films was not observed in the relation to annealing temperature and time. The dielectric constant PECVD PZT thin films increased with the Ti content, showed the maximum value in the vicinity of morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) composition of PZT material, and decreased with the Ti content. The leakage current density of PZT (65/35) thin film of 180 nm in thickness was 3·37 × 10^?7 A/cm² at the applied voltage of 3 V. Remanent polarization increased with increasing of Zr content in the film and coercive field was nearly independent of the composition. The typical values of electrical properties were ε_r = 570, E_c = 90 kV/cm, and P_r = 19 μC/cm² in the PECVD PZT (54/46) thin film of 220 nm in thickness.     

Microstructure and magnetic properties of aerosol‐deposited Sm‐Fe‐N thick films

In this study, the relationship among magnetic properties, Aerosol Deposition (AD) conditions, and microstructures in Sm‐Fe‐N AD films was investigated. The maximum thickness of 145µm was obtained under AD conditions of gas flow rate (gfr)=6liters/min for 10 min. The density of Sm‐Fe‐N films was in the range of 5.43 to 6.24g/cm³, that is, 71 to 81% of the X‐ray density of the Sm₂Fe₁₇N₃ compound reported (7.67g/cm³). The Sm‐Fe‐N AD films showed remanence in the range of 0.38 to 0.42 T, that is, 61 to 68% of that of the Sm‐Fe‐N host powder (0.62 T). The coercivities increased from 1.16 to between 1.74 and 1.79 T after the deposition because the grain size decreased from 1.94µm to 0.32µm. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 158(1): 8–13, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20214     

Insulation characteristics of GIS under nonstandard lightning‐impulse oscillations: Insulation characteristics under single‐frequency oscillations with various frequencies and damping ratios

To improve GIS insulation specifications, it is important to recognize the insulation characteristics under oscillatory overvoltage waveforms occurring in the field. This paper describes investigations of insulation characteristics for single‐frequency oscillatory waveforms with various frequencies and damping ratios. It was found that minimum breakdown voltages (V_min) rose with frequency rising under the same damping condition and V_min rose with damping ratio rising under the same frequency condition. From an analysis of actual breakdown voltage characteristics, the probability of breakdown at a valley of oscillation rose with damping increasing. It was found that the insulation characteristics were treated all‐inclusively based on the characteristics of V_min for rise time or damping time. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 145(3): 43–49, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10156