High-performance C60 and picene thin film field-effect transistors with conducting polymer electrodes in bottom contact structure

C₆₀ and picene thin film field-effect transistors (FETs) in bottom contact structure have been fabricated with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) electrodes for a realization of mechanical flexible organic FETs. The C₆₀ thin film FETs showed n-channel enhancement-type characteristics with the field-effect mobility μ value of 0.41 cm² V^?1 s^?1, while the picene thin film FET showed p-channel enhancement-type characteristics with the μ of 0.61 cm² V^?1 s^?1. The μ values recorded for C₆₀ and picene thin film FETs are comparable to those for C₆₀ and picene thin film FETs with Au electrodes.     

Modulator integrated DFB lasers with more than 600-km transmission capability at 2.5 Gb/s

The modulator integrated DFB laser diodes with more than 600-km transmission capability over normal fiber at 2.5 Gb/s, have been reproducibly achieved. The longest transmission length obtained in the experiment is as long as 800 km.     

Study of Superconducting Fault Current Limiter Using Vacuum Interrupter Driven by Electromagnetic Repulsion Force for Commutating Switch

Using a high-temperature superconductor, we constructed and tested a model superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL). The superconductor and the vacuum interrupter as the commutation switch were connected in parallel using a bypass coil. When the fault current flows in this equipment, the superconductor is quenched and the current is transferred to the parallel coil because of the voltage drop in the superconductor. This large current in the parallel coil actuates the magnetic repulsion mechanism of the vacuum interrupter. Due to the opening of the vacuum interrupter, the current in the superconductor is broken. By using this equipment, the current flow time in the superconductor can be easily minimized. On the other hand, the fault current is also easily limited by large reactance of the parallel coil     

Electron-microscopic imaging of single-walled carbon nanotubes grown on silicon and silicon oxide substrates

Direct imaging of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) suspended on pillar-patterned Si or SiO2 substrates is investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The suspended nanotubes are successfully observed by direct TEM imaging and it is seen that they have either individual or bundles of SWNTs. Low energy (< or =2 keV) SEM produces high contrast images of suspended SWNTs. On the contrary, when SWNTs contact a SiO2 substrate, they are imaged using electron-beam induced current. The image brightness depends on the length of SWNTs.     

Dual-Mode Space-Temporal Simultaneous Processing Equalizer

A tapped delayed line adaptive array antenna (TDL-AAA) and a space-temporal simultaneous processing equalizer (ST-SPE) are proposed as simple space-temporal equalizers based on minimum mean square error (MMSE) criterion. The ST-SPE has a compact hardware with a small number of taps compared to that of the TDL-AAA. The ST-SPE can reduce the computational complexity of the space-temporal joint equalization and it works effectively under the minimum phase condition such as appeared at line-of-sight (LOS) propagation environments at a high antenna height base station. However the ST-SPE cannot work under a non-minimum phase condition caused under N-LOS (non-line-of-sight). On the other hand, the TDL-AAA whose reference signal is synchronized at the center tap (TDL-AAA_C) can work even in the non-minimum phase condition. In this paper, we propose a dual-mode space-temporal simultaneous processing equalizer (Dual-mode ST-SPE) which has a simple configuration and also works in non-minimum phase condition. The Dual-mode ST-SPE can reduce the computational complexity compared to the TDL-AAA_C. Yoshihiro Ichikawa received the B.E. degree in department of communication engineering, in National Defense Academy in 1995, and M.E. and D.E. degree from Ibaraki University in 2001 and 2004, respectively. He joined the Japan Air Self Defense Force in 1995. His research interests are an adaptive algorithm, an antenna design, and an adaptive array antenna. Shigeki Obote received his B.E., M.E. and D.E. degrees in electrical and electronic engineering from Tottori University, Tottori, Japan, in 1996, 1998 and 2000, respectively. Since 2000, he has been with department of media and telecommunications engineering, faculty of engineering, Ibaraki University, Ibaraki, Japan, where he is currently a associate professor. His research interests are in adaptive array antenna and wireless communications systems. Kenichi Kagoshima received the B.E., M.E. and D.E. degrees in electronics engineering from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan, in 1969, 1971, and 1974, respectively. He joined the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) Laboratory in 1974 and researched and developed many kinds of radio communication antennas. Since 1997, he has been a professor at Ibaraki University, Ibaraki, Japan. Dr. Kagoshima was a Secretary and Treasure, Vice Chairman, and Chairman of the IEEE AP-S Tokyo Chapter in 1992, 1993, and 1994, respectively. He was a chair of antennas and propagation professional group of IEICE in 1999 and 2000. In 1973, he received the Yonezawa Prize for Young Engineers and 1998, best paper award from IEICE, respectively.     

Atomistic origin of high-quality “novel SiON gate dielectrics”

We have investigated the effect of the oxygen incorporation into SiN films by the first principles calculations. The calculated results show that the oxygen incorporation tends to generate defect states in SiN band gap by forming dangling bonds and floating bonds of Si. Based on the calculated results, it is also indicated that the high quality SiON film can be fabricated by suppressing the incorporation of O atoms into the SiN film, reproducing the reported experiments.     

CAD-compatible high-speed CMOS/SIMOX gate array using field-shieldisolation

A specific 0.5 μm CMOS/SIMOX technology was developed for a gate array/sea of gate (SOG) using field-shield (FS) isolation to overcome a pending problem of source-to-drain breakdown voltage (BV_ds) lowering. FS isolation is capable of improving BV_ds because surplus holes generated by impact ionization at the drain region are collected through the body region under the FS gate. BV_ds was maintained at a level of junction breakdown before reaching the punchthrough limitation at a gate length of around 0.3 μm using the FS isolation. The FS isolation technique was successfully applied to an SOG gate array on a SIMOX substrate. The gate array has the same area as that on the bulk-Si and is compatible to a conventional bulk-Si CAD system because the layout is basically the same. A 53-stage ring oscillator fabricated on the FS isolated SOG gate array exhibited 1.7 times higher speed operation than that on a bulk-Si counterpart, keeping low power consumption characteristics up to a drain voltage of 3 V     

Reduction of wave propagation loss by mesh in rectangular tunnels

The reduction of radio wave attenuation in rectangular tunnels is discussed. The attenuation of the dominant mode due to its field penetration into a lossy dielectric wall is reduced by means of the attachment of wire netting (mesh). First, a reflection coefficient from a mesh screen over a lossy surface is analytically evaluated. Then, based on a geometrical optical approach to the propagation model in tunnels, the attenuation of the dominant mode in a rectangular tunnel is derived using the reflection coefficient. The calculated attenuation constants are in good agreement with experimental ones obtained in a laboratory. Finally, the efficiency of attenuation reduction rate by the mesh shielding method is summarized as a function of spatial ratio of the mesh wire interval divided by the wavelength. It is shown that the efficiency of reduction rate by mesh is significant     

Solar cell efficiency tables (Version 31)

Consolidated tables showing an extensive listing of the highest independently confirmed efficiencies for solar cells and modules are presented. Guidelines for inclusion of results into these tables are outlined and new entries since July, 2008 are reviewed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Propagation characteristics in open-groove waveguides surrounded by rough sidewalls

The radio propagation characteristics in groove-shaped roads surrounded by rough surface sidewalls are presented. Typical sidewalls are snowpack in heavy snow regions or buildings in urban areas. In this analysis, such roads are modeled by a straight groove waveguide with statistically rough sidewalls. A simple geometrical optical approach is applied to calculate the field strength along the longitudinal direction of the road as well as transversely across the road. The theoretical results are compared with previously presented experimental results. The theoretical results show that the surface roughness causes an additional propagation loss in regions far from the transmitting point and that the field strength in the cross section exhibits a cosine distribution with a slightly changing magnitude. These theoretical characteristics agree with the experimental results.<>