Preparation and characterization of polyurethane microcapsules containing n‐octadecane with styrene‐maleic anhydride as a surfactant by interfacial polycondensation

A series of polyurethane microcapsules containing a phase change material (PCM) of n‐octadecane was successfully synthesized by an interfacial polymerization in aqueous styrene‐maleic anhydride (SMA) dispersion with diethylene triamine (DETA) as a chain extender reacting with toluene‐2,4‐diisocyanate (TDI). The average diameter of microPCMs is in the range of 5–10 μm under the stirring speed of 3000–4000 rpm. Optical and SEM morphologies of microPCMs had ensured that the shell was regularly fabricated with the influence of SMA. FTIR results confirmed that the shell material was polyurethane and the SMA chains associated on core material reacted with TDI forming a part of shell material. The shell thickness was decreasing in the range of 0.31–0.55 μm with the molar ratio of DETA/TDI from 0.84 to 1.35 and the weight of core material increasing from 40 to 80% (wt %). By controlling the weight ratio of PCM as 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80% in microPCMs, it was found using DSC that the T_m and T_c of microPCMs were in the range of 29.8–31.0^oC and 21.1–22.0°C and an obvious phase change had been achieved nearly the same temperature range of that of PCM. The results from release curves of microPCM samples prepared by 1.4, 1.7, and 2.0 g of SMA indicated the release properties were affected by the amount of the dispersant, which attributed to the emulsion effect and shell polymerization structure. The above results suggest that the shell structure of microPCMs can be controlled and the properties of microPCMs determined by shell will perform proper practical usage. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 4996–5006, 2006     

A One‐Kilobit PQR‐CMOS Smart Pixel Array

The photonic quantum ring (PQR) laser is a three dimensional whispering gallery (WG) mode laser and has anomalous quantum wire properties, such as microampere to nanoampere range threshold currents and √T‐dependent thermal red shifts. We observed uniform bottom emissions from a 1‐kb smart pixel chip of a 32×32 InGaAs PQR laser array flip‐chip bonded to a 0.35 µm CMOS‐based PQR laser driver. The PQR‐CMOS smart pixel array, now operating at 30 MHz, will be improved to the GHz frequency range through device and circuit optimization.     

Examination of the role of oxygen in the photografting of methacrylic acid on a polyethylene film with a mixed solvent consisting of water and organic solvents

The photografting of methacrylic acid (MAA) on a linear low‐density polyethylene film (thickness = 30 μm) under air and nitrogen atmospheres was investigated at 60°C in mixed solvents consisting of water and an organic solvent, with xanthone as a photoinitiator. The organic solvents used were acetone, methanol, tetrahydrofuran, and dioxane. A maximum percentage of grafting occurred at a certain concentration of the organic solvent in the mixed solvent. This was observed for the systems under both air and nitrogen. The grafting reaction under air exhibited an induction period, but the rate of grafting after the period was greater than that under nitrogen. The formation of poly(ethylene peroxide)s by photoirradiation seemed to be a factor for the accelerated photografting under air. On the basis of attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy of the grafted film, the MAA‐grafted chains of the sample prepared under air tended to penetrate more deeply inside the film than those of the sample prepared under nitrogen. The resulting grafted films exhibited a pH‐responsive character: the grafted films shrank in an acidic medium but swelled in alkaline medium. This was evaluated from measurements of dimensional changes in the grafted films. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 992–998, 2003     

A unified group technology implementation using the backpropagation learning rule of neural networks

Two engineering problems in implementing Group Technology are part family formation and part classification. Regardless of the approach adopted for the formation and classification, a critical problem is how to maintain consistency. The consistency problem can be addressed most effectively if the formation and classification is a single procedure rather than two separate procedures. A feedforward neural network using the Backpropagation learning rule is adopted to automatically generate part families during the part classification process. The spontaneous generalization capability of the neural network is utilized in classifying the parts into the families and creating new families if necessary. A heuristic algorithm using the neural network is described with an illustrative example.     

Monolithic SiGe Up‐/Down‐Conversion Mixers with Active Baluns

The purpose of this paper is to describe the implementation of monolithically matching circuits, interface circuits, and RF core circuits to the same substrate. We designed and fabricated on‐chip 1 to 6 GHz up‐conversion and 1 to 8 GHz down‐conversion mixers using a 0.8 µm SiGe hetero‐junction bipolar transistor (HBT) process technology. To fabricate a SiGe HBT, we used a reduced pressure chemical vapor deposition (RPCVD) system to grow a base epitaxial layer, and we adopted local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS) isolation to separate the device terminals. An up‐conversion mixer was implemented on‐chip using an intermediate frequency (IF) matching circuit, local oscillator (LO)/radio frequency (RF) wideband matching circuits, LO/IF input balun circuits, and an RF output balun circuit. The measured results of the fabricated up‐conversion mixer show a positive power conversion gain from 1 to 6 GHz and a bandwidth of about 4.5 GHz. Also, the down‐conversion mixer was implemented on‐chip using LO/RF wideband matching circuits, LO/RF input balun circuits, and an IF output balun circuit. The measured results of the fabricated down‐conversion mixer show a positive power conversion gain from 1 to 8 GHz and a bandwidth of about 4.5 GHz.     

Computational Implementation of Asymmetric Integral Imaging by Use of Two Crossed Lenticular Sheets

We propose an asymmetric integral imaging method to adjust the resolution and depth of a three‐dimensional image. Our method is obtained by use of two lenticular sheets with different pitches fabricated under the same F/#. The asymmetric integral imaging is the generalized version of integral imaging, including both conventional integral imaging and one‐dimensional integral imaging. We present experimental results to test and verify the performance of our method computationally.