Synthesis of Cubic Boron Nitride from Boron Nitride Synthesized by Pressure Pyrolysis of Borazine

Cubic BN was synthesized under high-temperature and -pressure conditions from BN powder formed by pressure pyrolysis of borazine below 700°C and 100 MPa. The conversion of BN powder to cubic BN was strongly influenced by the residual hydrogen identified by the BH/BN ratio of IR absorption band. The activation energy for cubic BN synthesis from BN powder-20 mol% AIN was 46 kJ/mol, when the starting BN was synthesized at 250°C. A mixture of BN powder and cubic BN particles was converted to cubic BN in a 100% yield by heat treatment at 1800°C and 6.5 GPa without any catalyst. The presence of cubic BN particles does enhance the conversion to cubic BN from BN powder. The energy required for the transformation of starting BN to cubic BN in the presence of cubic BN seed was 355 kJ/mol.     

Synthesis and Characterization of a SiAION Glass

Homogeneous SiAION glasses containing up to 1 wt% nitrogen were synthesized via a pressureless method with a controlled quench rate and structurally investigated using ²⁷Al and ²⁹Si magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR), Raman, and infrared (IR) spectroscopies. Minor changes occur with the incorporation of nitrogen into the aluminosilicate glass structure as evidenced by modifications to spectra of a nitrogen-free aluminosilicate glass. The ²⁷Al MAS NMR spectrum of the SiAION glass shows the existence of aluminum in 4-,5-, and 6-coordination to oxygen. The ²⁹Si MAS NMR spectra show a distribution of silicon sites in 4-coordination to oxygen. Raman and IR spectra of the SiAION glass show additional features due to incorporation of nitrogen in the structure compared with spectra of nitrogen-free aluminosilicate glasses.     

7W operation of 644 nm wavelength laser diode arrays with index-guided structure

A 7 W operation of a red semiconductor array laser is achieved at a wavelength of 644 nm with high reliability for the first time. The uniform near-field pattern has been obtained by applying index-guided structure to the broad-stripe laser.     

An Improvement Method of Matrix Converter Drives Under Input Voltage Disturbances

While the matrix converter has many advantages that include bidirectional power flow, a size reduction, a long lifetime, and sinusoidal input currents, it is vulnerable to the input voltage disturbances, because it directly exchanges the input voltage to the output voltage. The instantaneous effective power control (IEPC) method has been proposed to compensate the input voltage disturbances, in which the instantaneous effective power is kept constant by controlling input current. However, to date, no method has been proposed to maintain the stability of the system with the IEPC. The purpose of this paper is to propose a method to control the stability of the system with IEPC. First, this paper explains the IEPC theoretically. Next, a model of the system with the IEPC is developed, and stability analyses are conducted. Then, based on the results of the analyses, a stability control method for the system with the IEPC is proposed. Furthermore, the validities of the proposed method are demonstrated by simulation and experiments. Finally, a restart performance of the system after momentary power interruption is discussed. Because the IEPC does not need phase-locked-loop to detect the phase angle of the input voltage, fast restart is expected     

Accurate in situ measurement of peak noise and delay change inducedby interconnect coupling

An accurate in situ noise and delay measurement technique that considers interconnect coupling effects is presented. This paper improves upon previous work by proposing (1) a novel accurate peak detector to measure on-chip crosstalk noise, and (2) in situ measurement structure to characterize the dynamic delay effect. A test chip was fabricated using 0.35-μm process and measured results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique. Noise peak measurements show 40-60 mV (1.8% average) accuracy to simulation results and dynamic delay change curve match well with SPICE. The proposed measurement technique can be used for interconnect model verification and calibration, and has applications to various design automation tools such as noise-aware static timing analysis     

VSATS in Japan

In Japan, private domestic communications satellites, JCSAT and SuperBird, carrying K_u-band transponders, were launched in 1989, and the use of the VSATs started. To expedite a wider use of the VSAT systems, regulations were amended in June 1989 to permit simplified licensing procedures for the VSATs which conformed to technical standards. This contribution describes the usage of VSAT systems in Japan along with the licensing procedures and the technical standards.     

Characterization of germanium implanted Si1−xGex layer

Characterization of a Si_1−xGe_x layer formed by high-dose germanium implantation and subsequent solid phase epitaxy is reported. Properties of this layer are obtained from electrical measurements on diodes and transistors fabricated in this layer. Results are compared with those of the silicon control devices. It was observed that the germanium implantation created considerable defects that are difficult to eliminate with annealing. These defects result in boron deactivation in the p-type regions of the devices, giving rise to larger resistance. Optimization of the device structure and fabrication process is discussed.     

Temperature influence on performance degradation of hydrogenated amorphous silicon solar cells irradiated with protons

This paper reports temperature influence on radiation degradation of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a‐Si : H) solar cells. Degradation behaviors of a‐Si : H solar cells irradiated with protons at 331 K are compared with that at 298 K (room temperature). Variations with time in the post‐irradiation electrical properties are also investigated. It is found that the radiation degradation of the electrical properties at 331 K is significantly smaller than that at room temperature. Also, all the electrical properties (short‐circuit current, open‐circuit voltage, output maximum, and fill factor) recover with time after irradiation even at room temperature. The characteristic time of thermal annealing of short‐circuit current is larger as the temperature is higher. These results indicate that temperature during irradiation and elapsed time from irradiation to measurement is an important parameter for radiation degradation of a‐Si : H solar cells. Therefore, these parameters should be controlled in conducting the ground radiation tests. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Advanced Wireless Access System

The key words for the future telecommunications are personalization, multi-media services and high accessibility to the network. These trends naturally lead to radio media application to access links. In this sense, this paper proposes an advanced wireless access system with a capacity supporting broadband video and data services.Concept of the system can be defined as a new radiocommunication category with advantages of both fixed and mobile systems.The system is designed to transport ATM-based signals using SHF (or EHF) bands to wireless terminals, interconnected with optical fibers at the network side. The basic system configuration is presented as well as examples of system parameters.For radio aspects the maximum service coverages of the radio base stations are calculated based on availability consideration. Preferred frequency bands for actual operation are also discussed.