InxGa1−xAs ohmic contacts to n-type GaAs with a tungsten nitride barrier

Significant reduction of the contact resistance of In_0.7Ga_0.3As/Ni/W contacts (which were previously developed by sputtering in our laboratory) was achieved by depositing a W₂N barrier layer between the Ni layer and W layer. The In_0.7Ga_0.3 As/Ni/W₂N/W contact prepared by the radio-frequency sputtering technique showed the lowest contact resistance of 0.2 Ωmm after annealing at 550°C for 10 s. This contact also provided a smooth surface, good reproducibility, and excellent thermal stability at 400°C. The polycrystalline W₂N layer was found to suppress the In diffusion to the contact surface, leading to improvement of the surface morphology and an increase in the total area of the In_xGa−As between metal and the GaAs substrate. These improvements are believed to reduce the contact resistance.     

Recovery of monomers and fillers from high-temperature-vulcanized silicone rubbers—combined effects of solvent, base and fillers

The depolymerization of high-temperature-vulcanized (HTV) silicone rubbers containing filler silica and alumina into cyclosiloxane monomers and spontaneous recovery of fillers were studied. First, HTV silicone rubber was treated with different types of solvents in the presence of KOH to find that a triad mixture of diethylamine, methanol and hexane was appropriate not only to dissolve the silicone rubber to a suspension but also to separate fillers completely by filtration. The filtrate was distilled to remove solvent first and then give pure cyclosiloxane monomers in 76–84% yields. Second, the rubbers were treated with other types of triad mixture of solvents and bases, e.g. tetramethylammonium hydroxide, hexane and diethylamine. After filtration, residue was again treated with the amine and hexane to recover clean fillers in 83–93% yields. Cyclosiloxane monomers were also obtained from the combined filtrates in 67–78% yields.     

Superconductivity in W-containing diamond-like nanocomposite films

Superconductivity in a tungsten-containing carbon-oxide film was reported. The film with 500 nm thickness was deposited onto polycrystalline silicon oxides using chemical vapor deposition and the co-sputtering of a tungsten metal target. The bonding state of the carbon atoms and the macroscopic and microscopic crystal structure of the film were investigated by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy measurements. From the experimental results, we determined that this film essentially had an amorphous structure. The temperature dependence on resistivity was measured in the temperature range of 2–300 K. Resistive superconducting transition was observed at 3.8 K. The dc magnetizations were measured in the temperature range of 1.8–6.5 K. The diamagnetism resulting from a superconductive state was observed below 3.75 K, which is consistent with a resistive superconducting transition. It is thought that the finite sized clusters of the different superconductive transition temperatures cooperatively produce a macroscopic superconducting phenomenon.     

Temperature Dependence of the Raman Spectrum in Lithium Oxide Single Crystal

Temperature dependence of the Raman spectrum of lithium oxide single crystal has been measured over a temperature range of 80 to 1073 K. The frequency shift and the line width of the Raman spectrum in lithium oxide were about 531 and 4.5 cm^-1 at 80 K, respectively. At 1073 K, the frequency shift and the line width attained the values of 464 and 112 cm^-1, respectively. The strong temperature dependence of the frequency shift and line width was compared with data from some crystals with a fluorite structure.     

An effect of microstructure on the interface resistance between a perovskite-type oxide electrode and yttria-stabilized zirconia

The electrode characteristics of perovskite-type oxides, La_0.6Sr_0.4CoO₃ and La_0.6Sr_0.4MnO₃, on ceria-based oxide and stabilized zirconia were analysed by the a.c. impedance method. The ionic conductivities of the electrolyte and electrode conductivities from the a.c. impedance analysis agreed with those obtained from the current interruption and d.c. four-probe methods. Two semicircles from the charge transfer and diffusion processes appeared as the electrode resistance. The relative contribution of these two processes to the overall electrode resistance strongly depended on the microstructure of the electrode. The electrode microstructure could be controlled by the dispersion medium used for the electrode slurry. The La_0.6Sr_0.4MnO₃ electrode coated with n-butyl acetate slurry exhibited the smallest electrode resistance.     

Monomer recycling for vulcanized silicone rubbers in the form of cyclosiloxane monomers. Role of acid buffers

The KOH-catalyzed depolymerization of vulcanized silicone rubbers to reproduce cyclosiloxane monomers was studied. First, the depolymerization was carried out in toluene with varying amounts of KOH to find that the yield of monomers first increased and then decreased with the increment of KOH, the highest yield was 65% at the molar ratio KOH/(Si–O) UNITS=0.08. At the molar ratio 0.13 in the absence of solvent, the monomers yield was 46%. However, when an acid buffer such as KH₂PO₄ and KCOOC₆H₄COOH was added after the KOH-catalyzed depolymerization was over, the product yield was increased remarkably to more than 80%.     

Online-Religion in Japan: Websites and Religious Counseling from a Comparative Cross-Cultural Perspective

This article considers the nature of online religion by examining the websites and religious counseling activities conducted by new Japanese religions. Beginning with an overview of the widespread use of the Internet in Japan and its use in religion, the article examines the cultural and social factors that keep the religious use of the Internet from becoming as pervasive in Japan as it is in the U.S. The article then describes a website with elements of online religion and the Internet-based religious counseling services being provided by ministers of the new Shintō-derived religions of Konkōkyō and Tenrikyō. These activities have successfully given some people who need religious assistance access to religious teaching. In concluding, the article examines the reasons for the success of these efforts, as well as the reasons why they have not expanded in scope, in light of the cultural and organizational advantages and disadvantages that affect Internet use.     

A video codec LSI for high-definition TV systems withone-transistor DRAM line memories

A video codec LSI for high-definition television (HDTV) systems has been developed. By using a time-compressed integration encoding technique, it converts a 20.0-MHz bandwidth luminance signal and two 5.0-MHz chrominance signals into a compressed image signal at 48.6-MHz sampling frequency. It is useful in many HDTV application systems, such as 400-Mb/s digital transmission system, a video disk player system, or an analog transmission system. Over 288000 elements, including a 52-kb one-transistor DRAM (dynamic random access memory) line memory specially developed for this LSI, were integrated on a 12.16×12.10-mm² chip. A standard cell layout method and a 1.2-μm CMOS logic LSI process were used     

Beta-thujaplicin zinc chelate induces apoptosis in mouse high metastatic melanoma B16BL6 cells

The cytotoxic effects of beta-thujaplicin and five kinds of metal chelates were examined on mouse melanoma B16BL6 cells by cell viability and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay. Beta-thujaplicin-zinc chelate and beta-thujaplicin-copper chelate had higher cytotoxic effects than beta-thujaplicin, and the 50% effective doses (ED50) of these metal chelates were 12.5 and 25 microM, respectively. In addition, the zinc chelate induced DNA ladder formation in B16BL6 cells, as shown by the DNA fragmentation assay, suggesting that cell death induced by the zinc chelate is apoptosis. The zinc chelate also had a cytotoxic effect and induced DNA fragmentation on other tumor cell lines: HeLa, Meth A, and B16F1 cells, but not on normal human diploid fibroblasts FS-4. These results suggest that beta-thujaplicin-zinc chelate induces apoptotic cell death in various tumor cell lines and is a potent antitumor agent for tumor cells including malignant melanomas.     

Dynamical coherence patterns in neural field model at criticality

Phase synchronization is a mechanism that plays a crucial role in information processing in the brain, and coherence is one of the factors used to evaluate the pairwise degree of phase synchronization. Coherence is also an important measure for examining brain functions because it implies communication and cooperation among neurons. In this work, we study the coherence patterns of spontaneous activity in a neural field model at criticality where a second-order phase transition occurs with special properties that differentiate it from other regions. The results are summarized as follows. First, in high-frequency bands, the system outside the critical region is unable to communicate efficiently via phase synchronization. Second, the dynamical coherence patterns at the criticality show switching between high and low coherence states. Finally, we found that in a very brief period, there is high broadband coherence between some pairs of spatial points. This phenomenon can be observed only in the critical region.