Characterization of doped single-wall carbon nanotubes by Raman spectroscopy

Single-wall carbon nanotubes were grown by thermal chemical vapor deposition using either boron- or nitrogen-containing feedstocks or both. Carrier doping was evidenced by hardenings of the G band in Raman spectra, and the estimated carrier concentration reached ∼0.4%. In the G′ and D band spectra, a doping-induced component was observed at the high- or low-energy side of the original one. However, the appearance of the new component did not always coincide with the carrier doping. The doped SWCNTs often show radial breathing mode peaks in the off-resonance region, indicating a defect-induced modification of absorption spectrum.     

Construction of simulation model for spray flash desalination system

This paper describes a simulation model for a spray flash desalination system which makes fresh water from sea water by using the temperature difference between warm surface sea water and cool deep sea water. The spray flash desalination system can be modeled by using the energy conservation law and the mass conservation law. Simulation results of the model are compared with the experimental results and show the accuracy of the proposed simulation model. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 170(4): 9–17, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20975     

FIDAS: Detailed subchannel analysis code based on the three-fluid and three-field model

The Film Dryout Analysis Code in Subchannels, FIDAS, has been developed with the main objective of predicting dryout and post-dryout heat transfer in a channel and in rod bundles. In FIDAS, two-phase flow consisting of continuous liquid film, continuous vapor and entrained droplets is modeled by a three-fluid, three-field representation of 12 field equations, i.e. three continuity, three energy and six momentum equations. FIDAS can predict dryout without any empirical CHF correlations by introducing annular flow modeling and the ‘film dryout criterion’. Experiments on film flow characteristics, subchannel flow and enthalpy distributions, dryout and post-dryout heat transfer in tubes and rod bundles were analyzed to demonstrate the performance of FIDAS. The predictions of FIDAS are in close agreement with the experiments.     

Examination of the dual‐band microwave wireless access system using radio on fiber technique

The Radio on Fiber (ROF) technique has great potential in wireless communication systems. In this paper, we report on a fundamental examination of microwave wireless access systems based on Radio on Fiber. First, we designed and constructed examination systems by applying dual band (2.4 and 5 GHz) multiservice transmission systems and confirmed that there was sufficient performance through a transmission experiment. Then, application of FP‐LD (Fabry Perot Laser Diode) was considered in order to reduce the system cost, and for the most part degradation of the transmission characteristics was not observed when FP‐LD was used. Finally, a BIDI (bidirectional) module which integrated LD and PD within one package was made to further reduce costs. By measuring the transmission performance, applying the BIDI module to ROF systems was shown to be effective. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 160(4): 32–40, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20471     

Gene subset selection in kernel-induced feature space

This paper proposes a new filter approach to gene subset selection for kernel-based classifiers. We derive kernel forms of several well-known class separability criteria, and gene subset selection based on the kernelized criteria is applied to microarray cancer classification problems. The performance of our proposed strategy is compared in experiments with those of the conventional filter approach as well as gene ranking methods.     

Stability of Skutterudite Thermoelectric Materials

By multifilling with La, Ba, Ga, Ti, Yb, Ca, Al, and In, the dimensionless figure of merit ZT of filled skutterudites has been improved in this work. ZT reached 0.75 for p-type (La,Ba,Ga,Ti) _x (Fe,Co)₄Sb₁₂ (x = 0.8 to 1.0) and 1.0 for n-type (Yb,Ca,Al,Ga,In) _y (Co,Fe)₄Sb₁₂ (y = 0.7 to 0.9). After annealing at 873 K for 180 h, 300 h, 710 h, 1000 h, and 5000 h in vacuum, the Seebeck coefficient S and the electrical resistivity ρ of the samples increased while the thermal conductivity λ decreased with increasing annealing time. As a result, the ZT values of both p- and n-type skutterudites remained unchanged or were slightly improved, demonstrating the excellent thermal stability of these skutterudites.     

Real-time monitoring of luciferase-tagged Cronobacter sakazakii in reconstituted infant milk formula

The aim of this study was to examine the potential of using a lux-tagged Cronobacter sakazakii strain to monitor growth of the bacterium in various liquids. C. sakazakii was transformed with plasmid p16S lux, and integration of the plasmid at the desired site on the chromosome was confirmed by PCR. The growth of the lux-tagged strain was similar to that of the non-lux-tagged strain, and the integrated plasmid was stable when cells were cultured in the absence of antibiotic. Growth of the lux-tagged strain was monitored in real time in Luria-Bertani broth, skim milk, and infant milk formula by using both the Luminoskan luminometer and the Xenogen IVIS imager. Bioluminescence could be detected when the lux-tagged strain was cocultured with other bacteria. The effect of monocaprylin and nisin on the growth of C. sakazakii in milk was monitored by measuring bioluminescence. In conclusion, growth of a lux-tagged C. sakazakii can be monitored in real time in both clear and opaque liquids by measuring bioluminescence. lux-tagged C. sakazakii strains could be potentially used in high-throughput assays to monitor the effects of various infant milk formula compositions on growth of the bacterium.     

Nano-strip grating lines self-organized by a high speed scanning CW laser

After a laser annealing experiment on Si wafer, we found an asymmetric sheet resistance on the surface of the wafer. Periodic nano-strip grating lines (nano-SGLs) were self-organized along the trace of one-time scanning of the continuous wave (CW) laser. Depending on laser power, the nano-trench formed with a period ranging from 500 to 800 nm with a flat trough between trench structures. This simple method of combining the scanning laser with high scanning speed of 300 m min(-1) promises a large area of nanostructure fabrication with a high output. As a demonstration of the versatile method, concentric circles were drawn on silicon substrate rotated by a personal computer (PC) cooling fan. Even with such a simple system, the nano-SGL showed iridescence from the concentric circles.