Low-noise 0.78 μm-band laser diode unit containing Faradayrotator

A small, low-noise 0.78 μm-band laser diode unit, containing a Faraday rotator which suppresses optical feedback, was developed. Stable low-noise characteristics were realised within the 3 mW to 10 mW output power. Greater than 40 dB signal/noise ratio was obtained in an optical video disc with this unit     

Soybean and milk proteins modified by transglutaminase improves chicken sausage texture even at reduced levels of phosphate

Consumer demands for poultry processed meats have increased due to low fat content. In this experiment, chicken sausages were manufactured with various biopolymers prepared from soybean protein, casein, whey protein isolate (WPI), mixtures of soybean protein and casein, and soybean protein and WPI. The extent of various biopolymer formations was determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and high performance liquid chromatography. Cross-linking soybean protein and casein or WPI by transglutaminase provided biopolymers with improved heat stability and emulsifying property. Shear force of chicken sausages were measured to evaluate the addition of biopolymer on the hardness in the presence of 0.05 or 0.2% sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP). The texture of chicken sausages was improved by the addition of such biopolymers even in the presence of 0.05% STPP. These results suggested that chicken sausage texture was improved by the formation of network structures that contribute to hardness of sausage gels with the addition of biopolymers. Thus, addition of biopolymers in the manufacture of chicken sausages may permit reduction in phosphate content without loss in texture.     

Antireflection coating formed by plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor deposition for terahertz-frequency germanium optics

A method of manufacturing optical coatings for germanium optics used at terahertz frequencies has been developed. The various optical coatings used at terahertz frequencies are difficult to manufacture conventionally because these coatings must be as thick as several tens of micrometers, which is far thicker than those used in the optical region. One way to overcome this problem is to form a silicon oxide layer through plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor deposition, with silane (SiH4) as a source gas. Using this method, I formed 21-microm-thick silicon oxide films as antireflection (AR) layers for germanium optics and obtained low reflection at 1.7 THz (wavelength, lambda = 175 microm). This method is easily applied to large-aperture optics and micro-optics as well as to optics with a complex surface form. The AR coatings can also be formed for photoconductive detectors made from germanium doped with gallium at a low temperature (160 degrees C); this low temperature ensures that the doped impurities in the germanium do not diffuse. Fabrication of optical coatings upon substrates that have refractive indices of 3.84-11.7 may also be possible by control of the refractive indices of the deposited layers.     

Observation of photocurrent generation in electrodeposited zinc oxide layers

Wurtzite zinc oxide (ZnO) films with band gap energy of about 3.3 eV were deposited onto conductive substrates by electrodeposition from a simple aqueous zinc nitrate solution at 335 K. The films showed optical transmission around 70% in the visible light region. The electrical resistance showed a strong dependence on cathodic potential. The decrease in electrical resistance could be observed with light irradiation irrespective of the cathodic potential and was attributed to the excitation of electrons from valence band to conduction band by light with wavelength below 375 nm. A photocurrent of about 0.10 A was generated for a cell composed of Ag electrode/Au/ZnO/NESA glass substrate under conditions of irradiation by sunlight.     

Numerical analysis method for the RC and geological structures subjected to extreme loading by energetic materials

This paper proposes and demonstrates a numerical simulation method suitable to analyze the local damage and dynamic response of the structures composed of the reinforced concrete (RC) and/or the geological materials subjected to extremely severe loading by the energetic material like high explosives (HE).     

Design and evaluation of robot patient for nursing skill training in patient transfer

We developed a robot patient for patient transfer training for simulating a patient’s performance during patient transfer and for enabling nurses to practice their nursing skills on it. To realize the robot patient, we focused on addressing the problems of designing its limb actions to enable it to respond to nurses’ operations. RC servos and electromagnetic brakes were installed in the joints to enable the robot to simulate a patient’s limb actions, such as embracing and remaining standing. To enable the robot to automatically respond to nurses’ operations, an identification method for these operations was developed that used voice commands and the features of the limbs’ posture measured by angle sensors installed in the robot’s joints. The robot patient’s performance was examined by a control test in which four experienced nursing teachers performed patient transfer with the robot patient and a human-simulated patient. The results revealed that the robot patient could successfully simulate the actions of a patient’s limbs according to the nursing teachers’ operations and that it is suitable for nursing skill training.     

Traffic characteristics of LEOS-based global personalcommunications networks

The authors present important traffic issues in a low earth orbit satellite-based global personal communications network. The article gives an overview of the characteristics of tomorrow's personal communications networks from a subscriber traffic viewpoint. Selection of multiple access scheme as well as traffic modeling in such systems is discussed, and effects of natural, unbalanced global communications traffic on the performance of the system are distinguished     

Role of adsorbed iodine into poly(vinyl alcohol) films drawn in KI/I2 solution

We have investigated the microstructure of the poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) films using small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS and WAXS, respectively) techniques. The samples were uniaxially drawn in water or KI/I₂ aqueous solution and then dried in an air-oven at 333 K for 1 h prior to SAXS and WAXS measurements. It was found that for the films drawn in KI/I₂ solution PVA chains in the microfibrillar structure are more extended upon the film drawing compared to the case of the films drawn in pure water, which is resulted from the correlation function analysis on the SAXS data. Adsorbed iodines into the film were anticipated to act as junction points between the microfibrils via the formation of the PVA-iodine complexes.     

Oxidation and stress relief in air at room temperature of amorphous silicon hydrogenated in a glow discharge

Glow-discharge-hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si : H) was found to be oxidized in the following two ways after exposing to air at room temperature; first, thin oxide films grew uniformly on the a-Si : H, slowly with increase of exposure time; secondly, oxide with a columnar morphology grew rapidly with the increase of exposure time and the cross section of the columnar oxide was small. Mechanical stress caused by the differences of the thermal expansion coefficient and the crystallographical structure between the a-Si : H and substrates was relieved with the increase in the amount of the columnar oxide.