Peculiar sandwich-like π–π interaction regulating the nonplanarity of the model heme crystals

X-ray crystallographic analysis of bis(pyridine N-oxide) complexes of iron(III) porphyrinates has revealed that the two pyridine rings of the axial ligands correctly sandwich the porphyrin ring to induce the deformation of commonly observed S₄ saddled porphyrin ring.     

An evaluation of a modulated laser encoder

This paper introduces a new method of interpolation for sub-nanometer-resolution linear encoders. This method, called SPPE (scanning position probe encoder), uses high-order harmonics information obtained by a sinusoidal scanning pickup located on a periodic grating surface. The proposed encoder uses a current-modulated laser diode with diffractive grating optics. Since the electrical current changes the laser-diode wavelength, the interference light intensity is modulated as a sinusoidal scanning pickup on the scale grating. Phase-detection circuits can decode the position information in the pickup signal by using phase-locked loop techniques. The decoder achieves an interpolation rate of over 1/40,000 with interpolation errors of less than ±1 nm. A new interpolation-error measuring system was developed for the encoder. Finally, the evaluation results reveal that the presented encoder shows both high resolution and strong robustness.     

Synthesis of superconducting Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ single crystals using alumina crucibles with different purities

A self‐flux method is the simplest technique for synthesizing Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+δ (Bi‐2212) superconducting single crystals. However, the crystals are inevitably contaminated because of the Bi‐2212 stoichiometric melt reacting with the crucible material. In this paper, we investigate the nonsuperconducting subproduct that forms during heating in the self‐flux method for synthesizing Bi‐2212. This subproduct was identified as BiSr₂CaAl₃O₉ by X‐ray diffraction. Bi‐2212 crystal growth was performed using A1₂O₃ crucibles with three different purities (nominally 97, 99.7, and 99.9%). For both the 97 and 99.7% purity crucibles, the subproduct was observed in all five samples out of five, whereas for the 99.9% purity crucible, it was observed in only two samples out of five. Furthermore, the 99.9% purity crucible gave a much lower subproduct volume than the 97% purity crucible. The average superconducting critical temperature (T_c,zero) varied depending on the crucible purity; it was 89.6, 90.8, and 91.8 K for the 97, 99.7, and 99.9% purity crucibles, respectively. Finally, we fabricated Bi‐2212 stacked devices with intrinsic Josephson junctions (Bi‐2212 stack) using as‐grown crystals from the 97 and 99.9% purity crucibles. The Bi‐2212 stacks exhibited a highly hysteretic current–voltage characteristic even at liquid N₂ temperature and they had identical quality parameters for Josephson junctions (i.e., I_r/I_c and voltage jump V_j). We conclude that the subproduct formation has little effect on the electrical characteristics of a Josephson junction device at 77 K. © 2012 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A Method of Voltage Unbalance Compensation in a Y‐Connected Modular Multilevel Converter

A STATCOM is expected to be suitable for use as voltage control equipment for a distribution system that needs to be controlled to suppress the voltage deviation caused by an increase in the number of photovoltaic energy sources. A Y‐connected MMC is a promising alternative for the STATCOM circuit topology. However, it is known that the Y‐connected MMC cannot achieve capacitor voltage balance between phases with unbalance current output in order to compensate system voltage unbalance. To solve this problem, we propose a novel method to control the capacitor voltage for unbalance current output. The proposed control involves feedforward and feedback zero sequence voltage control. The feedforward control prevents capacitor voltage unbalance between phases, which is caused by the unbalance current that the Y‐connected MMC outputs. The feedback control cancels the remaining control error of the feedforward control. We verified the performance of this control through transient simulation. The Y‐connected MMC with the proposed control can realize capacitor voltage balance between phases even when the Y‐connected MMC outputs an unbalance current. Additionally, we determined the maximum unbalance current output produced by the Y‐connected MMC in relation to the rated capacitor voltage.     

New Fiber Optic Analog Baseband Transmission Plan for Color TV Signals

A new fiber optic baseband analog transmission plan is proposed. It arranges the original signal into a pulse train for driving the laser diode to generate baseband components at the transmitter. The receiver can be just the same as those used in conventional direct linear intensity modulation systems using light emitting diodes (LED). Advantages of this new plan are (i) potentially cheap fibers can be used, since the plan requires neither an extra wide bandwidth nor special light acceptance conditions, (ii) long repeater spacings can be attained, since abundant light can be coupled into fibers using laser diodes and also the simple structures required for fibers are suitable for realizing low transmission losses, and (iii) the transmitter and receiver can be quite simple. Some candidate pulse arranging plans for generating baseband components are investigated. A pulse frequency arranging plan and pulse width arranging plan seem to be promising for efficient picture transmissions. An experiment using pulse frequency arrangement proves the theory developed here to attain a color TV transmission using a 10 km long step index low-loss fiber for a signal to noise ratio of 44 dB. Future improvements are expected by redesigning the transmitter and receiver and also by improving the mode stability of laser diodes.