A quality growth model and its application to initial production process control

During initial production of a new product prior to actual production, the decrease in the fraction defective of units produced can be observed as personnel gather experience and the faults in the product's design, manufacturing, etc. are removed. This paper discusses an initial production process control based on a quality growth model proposed here. The model describes a continuing reduction in the cumulative defect rate defined by the ratio of the cumulative number of defective units to that of produced units. A stopping rule is also investigated for determining when to discontinue the initial control of the production process and proceed to the actual production stage. Further, a numerical example of the application is presented.     

Medical image processing: An overview of and case study in the diagnosis of cardiac diseases

In this paper an overview is presented on R&D of medical imaging and image processing techniques in Japan during the last decade, focusing on case studies in the diagnosis of cardiac diseases.Various problems of image processing of left ventricular images obtained from x-ray, ultrasound and radionuclides are discussed. Also reviewed are boundary detection methods of left ventricular inner cavity and myocardium, analysis of left ventricular wall motion and various kinds of cardiac functions using conventional and newly developed methods, and display methods of these cardiac functions.Microcomputerized on-line image processing systems and a compound sector scan echocardiography using two probes developed for echocardiographic examinations are shown with some results in clinical applications.3-dimensional reconstruction methods of the left ventricle and other organs from multiple 2-dimensional images are shown with 3-dimensional shapes reconstructed from images by x-ray, ultrasound and radionuclides. Moreover, 3-dimensional functional images of the left ventricle are shown as well. Transferring the 3-dimensional consecutive left ventricular images during a cardiac cycle onto a CRT display under the control of a microprocessor, we can observe the pulsating 3-dimensional left ventricle on the CRT.     

Theoretical analysis of knock-out release of fission products from nuclear fuels

The knock-out release of fission products is studied theoretically. The general equations of knock-out release are derived, assuming that a fission fragment passing through the surface of nuclear fuels knocks out a local region of the surface with an effective thickness and an effective cross-sectional area. Using these equations, the knock-out release of fission gases is calculated for various cases. The conditions under which the knock-out coefficients (the average number of uranium atoms knocked out by one fission fragment) is obtainable are clarified by experiments on the knock-out release of fission gases. A method of determining the effective thickness and the effective cross-sectional area of a knock-out region is proposed.     

An application of the information theory to filtering problems

The purpose of this paper is to study the filtering problems from the viewpoint of the information theory. For a linear system it is proved that the necessary and sufficient condition for maximizing the mutual information between a state and the estimate is to minimize the entropy of the estimation error. Then we derive the Kalman-Bucy filter for both the discrete-time and the continuous-time systems by an application of the information theory. Furthermore, the approach is extended to the nonlinear dynamical systems with noisy observations and then the information structures of the optimal filter for a continuous-time nonlinear system are made clear, which has been presented as the interesting open problems by Bucy.     

Atomic Layer Epitaxy of Silicon

Two methods are proposed and demonstrated successfully for low temperature atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) of Si, where H atoms play essential roles. The first method is the use of H as a self-limiting factor. Trisilane (Si₃H₈) was used as source gas and the substrate temperature was modulated in order to alternate steps in an ALE cycle. When the temperature was less than 380°C in the adsorption step and more than 520°C in the desorption step, respectively, the grown layer thickness per cycle was 0.8 ML/cycle. The second method is the use of atomic H as an active reducer of a self-limiting factor. A clean surface was exposed to dichlorosilane (SiH₂Cl₂) as source gas to grow an Si monolayer covered with CI. Next, atomic H was injected to reduce CI from the surface. An ideal monolayer growth was obtained with the substrate temperature over 540°C.     

X-ray spectroscopy of highly ionised atoms of Ti through Zn in a dense plasma

X-ray spectra for several elements have been observed from a high-temperature plasma produced in a vacuum spark using a curved-crystal spectrometer. The transition wavelengths of the He-like resonance lines for Ti through Zn are determined for the first time under careful experimental treatments. The result is compared with theoretical predictions. The transition wavelengths of the Fe He-like resonance series lines up to 1s6p–1s² and the Kβ transition energies of Ti partially M-shell-ionised ions (Ti VI–XIII) are also determined. As a result, several satellite lines are found.