Visualization of high‐speed phenomena using an acousto‐optic laser deflector

An acousto‐optic laser deflector was used for visualization of high‐speed phenomena, such as shock waves and density perturbations accompanying an impulse discharge, or shock waves generated by laser‐induced breakdown in air. Using a continuous wave laser as the light source, shadowgraphs of shock waves and density perturbations were obtained at shutter speeds down to 1µs. Results showed that shock waves propagated at a speed of 417 m/s in the case of an impulse discharge, and 485 m/s in the case of laser‐induced breakdown. Prebreakdown phenomena such as leaders progressing from the high‐voltage electrode were also visualized. Compared to conventional high‐speed imaging techniques, this method is useful when using a laser light source, since the acousto‐optic crystal can accommodate high‐intensity laser light. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 154(3): 9–15, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20279     

Development of a high‐speed laser interferometer using an acousto‐optic deflector

An acousto‐optic laser deflector was used as a shutter for high‐speed imaging of laser interference fringes using an ordinary CCD camera. The exposure duration was set by the pulse width of the high‐frequency signal applied to the acousto‐optic deflector. Changes in laser interference fringes due to an impulse discharge in air were obtained at an exposure duration of 4 µs. By applying a sequence of high‐frequency signals with different frequency, the beam was deflected to four different angles at different times, allowing four interference images to be captured on a single video frame. This was used for time‐resolved imaging of the interference fringe pattern. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 148(2): 76–83, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20011     

Development of diode‐pumped solid‐state laser HALNA for fusion reactor driver

The diode‐pumped slab laser for inertial fusion energy driver has been demonstrated, which produces the 1053‐nm output energy of 10 J at 10 Hz. The glass slab laser amplifier has been pumped by quasi‐CW 290‐kW AlGaAs laser‐diode arrays at 803 nm. The optical system can compensate for thermal effects by use of zigzag optical propagation, image‐relayed telescope, and 45^° Faraday rotator. The output energy of 10.6 J at 1 Hz with the optical‐to‐optical conversion efficiency of 19.9% has been successfully obtained. Also, the 10‐Hz operation has been performed with an output energy of 5.1 J. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 155(2): 27–35, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20288     

Technologies and applications of Al‐free high‐power laser diodes

We report high‐power technologies in 0.8‐µm Al‐free InGaAsP/InGaP laser diodes. To realize the high‐power operation, the improvement of catastrophic optical mirror damage (COMD) power density level is required. In addition to the use of low surface recombination velocity of Al‐free materials, optimization of waveguide thickness in broad waveguide structure with tensile‐strained barriers and current blocking structure near facets has led to high COMD power density level. Highly stable operation of Al‐free laser diodes with these structures has been obtained over 2500 hours at 2 W from a stripe width of µm. Applications of high‐power laser diodes are also described. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 158(1): 53–59, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20286     

Carrier‐envelope phase‐stabilized chirped‐pulse amplification system

We demonstrated a carrier‐envelope phase (CEP) stabilized chirped‐pulse amplifier system. This amplifier system is composed of grating based pulse‐stretcher and compressor, a regenerative amplifier and a multi‐pass amplifier. We employed a new pulse‐pick‐up method to select CEP stabilized seed pulses. This pulse selection method is different from established practice which is based on pulse train timing, but is based on CEP of seed pulse. We measured amplitude‐to‐phase noise conversion coefficient of microstructure fiber and evaluated the additional out‐of‐loop error of carrier‐envelope offset (CEO) control. We also investigated the effect of beam pointing of the measured fringe shift in self‐referencing spectral interference method. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 157(3): 35–42, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20334 Copyright © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

High‐brightness electron sources for a next‐generation light source based on an energy recovery linac

A high‐brightness electron source of ultrasmall emittance and high average current is one of the most important components for next‐generation light sources based on an energy‐recovery linac (ERL). Such a high‐brightness electron source can be realized by a DC photocathode gun driven by laser pulses tailored in the temporal and spatial dimensions. We propose a novel photocathode based on a quantum cascade laser (QCL). Since the ultrafast response of photoelectron emission from QCL is compatible with the tailored laser pulses, it is a candidate electron source for ERLs. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 177(3): 46–53, 2011; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.21154     

Electron‐beam‐pumped light sources using graphite nanoneedle field emitters and Si electron‐transparent films

Sputter‐induced carbon nanoneedle field emitters and Si electron‐transparent films have been developed for electron‐beam‐pumped light sources. The sputter‐induced carbon nanoneedle field emitters exhibited a stable electron emission of 0.1 mA at an average field of 13 V/µm. The 1.5‐µm thick Si electron‐transparent films achieved an electron transmittance of about 60% at an acceleration voltage of 27 kV. An electron‐beam‐pumped light source was demonstrated from the excitation of N₂ gas, and a N₂ gas spectrum was clearly observed. The increase of the beam current is important for increasing the light intensity. Copyright © 2007 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan© 2007 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A new blind source separation method based on fractional lower‐order statistics

We proposed neural network structures related to multilayer feed‐forward networks for performing blind source separation (BSS) based on fractional lower‐order statistics. As alpha stable distribution process has no its second‐ or higher‐order statistics, we modified conventional BSS algorithms so that their capabilities are greatly improved under both Gaussian and lower‐order alpha stable distribution noise environments. We analysed the performances of the new algorithm, including the stability and convergence performance. The analysis is based on the assumption that the additive noise can be modelled as alpha stable process. The simulation experiments and analysis show that the proposed class of networks and algorithms is more robust than second‐order‐statistics‐based algorithm. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Realization of log‐domain high‐order transfer functions using first‐order building blocks and complementary operators

High‐order log‐domain filters could be easily designed by using the functional block diagram (FBD) representation of the corresponding linear prototype and a set of complementary operators. For this purpose, lossy and lossless integrator blocks have been already introduced in the literature. Novel first‐order log‐domain highpass and allpass filter configurations, which are fully compatible with the already published integrator blocks, are introduced in this paper. These are realized using integration and subtraction blocks or a novel differentiation configuration. As a result, a complete set of first‐order building blocks would be available for synthesizing any arbitrary high‐order transfer function. In order to verify the correct operation of the proposed structures, the performance of the introduced highpass filters was evaluated through simulation results. In addition, a fifth‐order log‐domain bandpass filter was designed and simulated using one of the introduced first‐order highpass filter configurations. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Crank‐shaped and Y‐shaped through‐hole interconnections filled with Au‐Sn solder

Crank‐shaped and Y‐shaped through‐hole interconnections (THI) filled with Au‐Sn solder are demonstrated in this study. They are expected to realize a higher‐density wafer‐level package (WLP) for electrical devices including the fields of MEMS (Micro Electro‐Mechanical Systems) and MOEMS (Micro Optical Electro‐Mechanical Systems) compared with conventional WLP using THI consisting of straight through‐holes. In this paper, formation techniques for crank‐shaped and Y‐shaped THI are described. In order to make crank‐shaped and Y‐shaped through‐holes in a substrate, both femtosecond laser irradiation and wet chemical etching are used. Crank‐shaped through‐holes with an 80‐μm opening and 400 μm deep have also been achieved. Gold (Au)‐tin (Sn) solder was filled into the holes using the molten metal suction method (MMSM). Airtightness of the THI was examined using the helium leakage test, and the estimated leakage rate was less than 1.0 × 10^?9 Pa·m³/s, which is sufficient for use in WLP applications. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 179(1): 54–62, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com) . DOI 10.1002/eej.21134     

High‐efficiency UV LEDs using quaternary InAlGaN

High‐efficiency ultraviolet (UV) light sources are very attractive for application to the medical field, white lighting, high‐density memories, and so on. We have demonstrated that 300‐ to 370‐nm UV emission is considerably enhanced by the introduction of several percent of In into AlGaN due to an In‐segregation effect. We fabricated 310‐nm‐band UV LEDs with quaternary InAlGaN emitting layers on a sapphire substrate and obtained submilliwatt output power. We also fabricated 350‐nm‐band InAlGaN‐based quantum‐well LEDs on GaN substrates in order to eliminate the effects of threading dislocations. The maximum UV output power obtained was as high as 7.4 mW under room‐temperature CW operation. The maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) was 1.1% with an injection current of 50 mA, which is the highest EQE ever obtained for 350‐nm‐band UV LEDs with top‐emission geometry. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 157(3): 43–51, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20287 Copyright © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Quasi‐analytic steady‐state solution of VCSEL rate equations including spatial hole burning and carrier diffusion losses

We propose a new set of equations describing a cylindrical vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) cavity under CW operation, based on the rate equations including lateral carrier diffusion. The only numerical step in the calculation consists in finding the roots of a polynomial expression. This model enables a quasi‐instantaneous calculation of the laser's light‐current characteristic, including such effects as spatial hole burning, current spreading, inhomogeneous optical intensity distribution, and diffusion losses. An analysis of the VCSELs threshold current and differential quantum efficiency is proposed, which illustrates the interplay between injected current profile and diffusion coefficient. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vertical‐type organic device using thin‐film ZnO transparent electrode

We propose a double heterojunction organic light‐emitting diode (OLED) using a zinc oxide (ZnO) film, which works as a transparent and electron injection layer. The crystal structure of the ZnO films as a function of Ar/O₂ flow ratio and the basic characteristics of the OLED depending on the ZnO sputtering conditions are investigated. Excellent characteristics of the novel OLED were obtained, as high as 470 cd/m² at 22 V and 7.6 mA/cm². The results obtained here demonstrate that the vertical organic light‐emitting transistor (OLET) using a ZnO layer as an electron injection layer is promising as a key element for flexible sheet displays. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 158(2): 49–55, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20151     

Modeling of noise and distortion associated with ultra‐high‐speed modulation of VCSEL with slow‐light feedback

This paper presents numerical modeling on the noise properties and signal distortion associated with millimeter‐frequency modulation of vertical‐cavity surface‐emitting laser (VCSEL) under with a transverse‐coupled cavity. The study is based on a time‐delay rate equation model that takes into account the multiple round trips in the feedback cavity and the optical loss and phase delay in each round trip. Strong slow‐light feedback is found to boost the modulation bandwidth to frequencies approaching 70 GHz and induce resonance modulation due to photon–photon resonance (PPR) over passbands centered on frequencies reaching 90 GHz. We show that the relative intensity noise of the VCSEL with resonance modulation is enhanced when the noise frequency approaches the corresponding PPR frequency VCSEL. The same effect applies for the VCSEL with extended carrier‐photon resonance (CPR) at the CPR frequency. The low‐frequency part is characterized by flat (white) noise of level nearly equal to −140 dB/Hz. The second‐harmonic distortion (2HD) values are smaller than −10 dB under small‐signal modulation and increase to lower than −5 dB when the modulation index becomes 0.3. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Low‐cost laser disdrometer with the capability of hydrometeor imaging

Precision of microwave precipitation remote sensing is ensured by studying different hydrometeor classes (raindrops, snowflakes, graupel, and so on), shapes, and drop size distribution (DSD). Recently, DSD estimates and hydrometeor classification algorithms using polarimetric radars were proposed. These algorithm developments require a validation tool providing in situ hydrometeor measurement. We are working toward the development of a low‐cost, light‐weight, and disposable ballooning hydrometeor imaging probe with DSD measurement capabilities. This paper describes the performance of a new line‐scanning laser hydrometeor imaging probe (called PROBE) and validates the DSD using a commercially available impact‐type disdrometer. PROBE captures raindrop images with 0.125 mm horizontal resolution and more than six slices at the 33‐kHz slice rate, providing a reasonable raindrop diameter. DSD validation shows that PROBE acquires adequate DSD shapes during every 2‐min interval. These results demonstrate PROBE's performance in hydrometeor imaging and DSD measurement capabilities in a rainfall. © 2012 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A single‐stage high power‐factor bridgeless AC‐LED driver for lighting applications

An alternating‐current light‐emitting diode (AC‐LED) driver is implemented between the grid and lamp to eliminate the disadvantages of a directly grid‐tied AC‐LED lamp. In order to highlight the benefits of AC‐LED technology, a single‐stage converter with few components is adopted. A high power‐factor single‐stage bridgeless AC/AC converter is proposed with higher efficiency, greater power factor, less harmonics to pass IEC 61000‐3‐2 class C, and better regulation of output current. The brightness and flicker frequency issues caused by a low‐frequency sinusoidal input are surpassed by the implementation of a high‐frequency square‐wave output current. In addition, the characteristics of the proposed circuit are discussed and analyzed in order to design the AC‐LED driver. Finally, some simulation and experimental results are shown to verify this proposed scheme. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modeling and real‐time simulation of UPFC

We have developed a digital real‐time simulator of Power Electronics Controllers, so‐called FACTS (Flexible AC Transmission Systems) Controllers and/or Custom Power by using MATLAB^TM/SIMULINK^TM and dSPACE^TM System. This paper describes the modeling and the calculation accuracy of a UPFC (Unified Power Flow Controller) model. Hence, the developed simulator operates at a large time step, in order to improve simulation accuracy, a correction processing of the switching delay is implemented into the UPFC model. Calculation accuracy of the real‐time UPFC model is at the same level as EMTDC^TM results. We confirm stable operation of the developed UPFC model by connecting a commercial real‐time digital simulator (RTDS^TM). © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 155(1): 19–26, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20200     

Performance of a laser disdrometer with hydrometeor imaging capabilities and fall velocity estimates for snowfall

A low‐cost laser disdrometer (LLD), which is a type of high‐speed line‐image scanner, has been developed and calibrated for raindrops. The disdrometer measures hydrometeor's particle‐size distribution (PSD) and fall velocities, as well as record hydrometeor images. Hydrometeor imaging is advantageous for hydrometeor classification. All hydrometeor types, raindrops, graupels, snowflakes, and ice crystals, can mix with snowfall. Snowfall sensing requires a wide sensing light sheet to capture large‐sized snowflakes. Accordingly, a new LLD equipped with a 35‐mm sensing light sheet has been developed. This paper demonstrates and evaluates the new drisdrometer's snowfall‐evaluation performance. The wide sensing light sheet captures images of large‐sized (14 mm) snowflakes reasonably well, and the PSD and the fall velocities correlate with those measured with the commercially available Parsivel laser disdrometer. © 2016 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Magnetic properties of Pr‐Fe‐Co‐V‐W‐Si‐B system exchange spring magnets

The melt‐spun ribbons of Pr‐Fe‐Co‐V‐W‐Si‐B system alloys were prepared by single roller rapid‐quenching method. The effects of composition, surface velocity, and heat treatment on the magnetic properties were investigated. The P₉sFe₇₁Co₈V_0.5W_0.5Si_0.5B_10.5 alloy ribbons prepared at a surface velocity of 12.5 m/s were crystallized by heat treatment, and the optimum heat‐treatment condition was found to be at 575°C for 3 min, for which the magnetic properties were (BH)_max = 136.1 kJ/m³, J_r = 0.93 T, H_cJ = 652.2 kA/m, and H_cB = 528.3 kA/m. The temperature coefficients of J_r and H_cJ for the ribbons crystallized from melt‐spun ribbons of Pr₉Fe₇₁Co₈V_0.5W_0.5Si_0.5B_10.5 alloy were α(J_r)_ave = ?0.057%/°C and α(H_cJ) = ?0.450%/°C. The value of (B)_max for the compression molding Pr₉Fe₇₁Co₈V_0.5W_0.5Si_0.5B_10.5 isotropic bonded magnet prepared by using the ribbons annealed at 575°C for 3 min is 80.0 kJ/m³, and the density is 6.24 Mg/m³. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 157(3): 10–16, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20211 Copyright © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.