Epitaxial growth of silver on an Si(111) 7×7 surface at room temperature

The growth of silver deposited onto an Si(111) 7 × 7 surface at room temperature was studied by reflection high energy electron diffraction. The reflections of thin silver layers appear at a deposition thickness of 1 monolayer with a high background, and they develop into successive streaks with increasing thickness. The reciprocal lattice of silver is composed of concentric coaxial cylinders. The silver layers have the [111] texture structure in which they have preferentially the epitaxial orientation $\text{[01}\text{1}\text{]}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>Ag</mtext>}}\text{//[01}\text{1}\text{]}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>Si</mtext>}}\text{on (111)}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>Ag</mtext>}}\text{//(111)}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>Si</mtext>}}$. The grain size of the layers is about ten atomic distances in diameter. Each layer grows continouusly in thickness to give the stacking order of the f.c.c. structure. The growth mode for room temperature condensation is considered to be a special case of the Frank-van der Merwe growth mode.     

Particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and n-alkanes in recycled paper processing operations

The aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic fractions of dust collected in the vicinity of recycled paper processing operations were analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Total measured dust concentration (up to 8.73+/-2.02 mg/m3) fluctuated substantially in the different steps of paper manufacture. This was attributed to the type of the operation such as, the release of fibers and particles during paper cutting and the use of reactive chemicals and excessive water under high temperature and pressure during the bleaching and the water rinsing/drying step. Particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (from fluorene to benzo[ghi]perylene with mean concentrations from 3.8+/-0.5 to 41.4+/-0.4 ng/m3) and the unresolved mixture of branched, cyclic and unsaturated hydrocarbons (UCM) were measured in all samples while, n-alkanes from n-C20 to n-C27, were only observed in cutting and packaging areas (from 180.6+/-18.9 to 4297.9+/-794.9 ng/m3). The profile of occupational PAHs in bleaching and treatment of contaminated recycled raw paper was comparable to that observed for anthropogenic activities. The values of molecular diagnostic ratios indicated the contribution of oil residues and emissions from worklifts and other equipment used for pulp and paper handling. Total benzo[a]pyrene-equivalent (BaP) concentrations of particulate PAHs (varied from 323 up to 1104 pg/m3), provided evidence that workers were exposed to high quantities of PAHs as compared with exposures to urban air and other indoor settings, posing long-term threat to their health.     

Efficient global optimization applied to wind tunnel evaluation-based optimization for improvement of flow control by plasma actuators

A kriging-based genetic algorithm called efficient global optimization (EGO) was employed to optimize the parameters for the operating conditions of plasma actuators. The aerodynamic performance was evaluated by wind tunnel testing to overcome the disadvantages of time-consuming numerical simulations. The proposed system was used on two design problems to design the power supply for a plasma actuator. The first case was the drag minimization problem around a semicircular cylinder. In this case, the inhibitory effect of flow separation was also observed. The second case was the lift maximization problem around a circular cylinder. This case was similar to the aerofoil design, because the circular cylinder has potential to work as an aerofoil owing to the control of the flow circulation by the plasma actuators with four design parameters. In this case, applicability to the multi-variant design problem was also investigated. Based on these results, optimum designs and global design information were obtained while drastically reducing the number of experiments required compared to a full factorial experiment.     

Usefulness of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for treatment of fulminant myocarditis and circulatory collapse

Prognosis for fulminant myocarditis with cardiogenic shock refractory to conventional therapy is poor. This report describes mechanical circulatory support with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation as an effective alternative for treating fulminant myocarditis with circulatory collapse.     

Preparation and photoelectrochemical properties of Ti1−xVxO2 solid solution thin film photoelectrodes with gradient bandgap

A design of a gradient bandgap Ti_1−xV_xO₂ thin film electrode for wet-type solar cells is provided. The gradient bandgap film electrodes were prepared by heating stacked layers of varying V/Ti ratios using the sol-gel method. A composition gradient was observed for some of the samples by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy although it was not very large. For the Ti_1−xV_xO₂ film electrodes, conspicuous visible light photoresponse and photoelectrochemical stability were observed. The photocurrent increased with increasing bias potential. However, the photocurrent onset potentials of the Ti_1−xV_xO₂ film electrodes were more positive than those of TiO₂ film electrodes, probably owing to the high surface state density introduced by the diffusion of vanadium ions.     

Electronic structure and electrical conductivity of MgO protecting layer in plasma‐display panels: A tight‐binding quantum chemical study

Abstract— The tight‐binding quantum chemical molecular dynamics code, Colors, has been successfully applied to the electronic‐structure calculations of the MgO‐protecting‐layer model in plasma‐display panels (PDPs). The code succeeded in reproducing the band‐gap energy of the MgO crystal structure. The energy gap between the bottom of the conduction band (CB) and the top of valence band (VB) was 7.45 eV, which is in quantitative agreement with the experimental and previous theoretical results. The electronic structure of the undoped MgO model and Si‐doped MgO model was also calculated. The impurity level was 2.15 eV lower than that for the bottom of the CB. This result was in qualitative agreement with recent cathodoluminescence measurements. In addition, we have already succeeded in developing a novel electrical conductivity simulator using the spatial distribution of the probability density of wave functions obtained from the tight‐binding quantum chemical molecular dynamics code, Colors. The electrical conductivity of the MgO‐protecting‐layer model was estimated with and without an oxygen defect and a significant change in the electrical conductivity of the MgO‐protecting‐layer materials was observed with the introduction of oxygen defects.     

Fault-tolerant automobile steering based on diversity of steer-by-wire, braking and acceleration

Steer-by-wire (SBW) systems, which have no mechanical linkage between the steering wheel and front wheels, are expected to improve vehicle safety through better steering capability. SBW system failures, however, can cause hazardous driving situations. This paper introduces fault-tolerant architecture based on diversified steering mechanisms consisting of SBW backed up with steering by braking and acceleration during SBW failures. These backup steering functions are chosen according to driver's intention of deceleration and acceleration. A loss of SBW function during front-obstacle avoidance on a straight highway is investigated by driving simulator experiments. The results show that the driver can maneuver the vehicle by the steering wheel during the SBW failures. Both cost and volume increase by excessive redundancy within SBW is avoided by the diversified design, thus facilitating SBW application on new-generation vehicles.     

Photoluminescence properties of a hollandite compound K2Ga2Sn6O16

A hollandite compound K₂Ga₂Sn₆O₁₆ (KGSO) has photocatalytic activity, although little is known about the optical properties of the compound. To design a higher quality photocatalyst, studies on its optical properties are required. In this study, a KGSO powder and a SnO₂ (rutile structure) powder were prepared by the sol—gel method. Photoluminescence (PL) and PL excitation spectra of the two powders were measured. To our knowledge, this is the first report of PL from a hollandite compound. It was found that the band gap energy of the KGSO powder is 3.6 eV, the value of which is identical with that of the band gap energy of SnO₂. This was confirmed by the result of the photoacoustic spectrum of the KGSO. The shapes of the PL excitation spectra of the two powders agreed. Moreover, the PL spectra of the two powders have one broad band around 600 nm. From these results, one can conclude that the mechanism of PL of KGSO is the same as that of SnO₂. In air with ethanol, however, the time-course of the KGSO powder was different from that of the SnO₂ powder. By adding ethanol vapor in air, the PL intensity of the SnO₂ powder increased, whereas the PL intensity of the KGSO powder remained unchanged. By comparing the PL time-courses of the two powders with those of a commercial rutile TiO₂ powder, it was concluded that the photodesorption of O₂ in air with ethanol occurs on the SnO₂ powder, not on the KGSO powder. This was supported by the results of the inorganic carbon concentrations on the two powders. These results indicate that the behavior of O₂ on the KGSO surface during a photocatalytic oxidation is different from that on the SnO₂ surface during the oxidation.

© 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.     

An approach to the automation of the assembly of flexible belt-shaped objects

A robot system was developed for the assembly of flexible belt-shaped objects, and the assembly procedures employed by workers in using it were analysed. A multi-fingered hand was developed to hold the objects at several points, and to move them into the proper position for attachment to a part. In addition, an image processing method that can recognize the gripping positions on source objects and conditions after the source objects are attached is proposed.     

Improvement of a Real Gas-Sensor for the Origin of Methane Selectivity Degradation by µ-XAFS Investigation

Nano-Micro Letters - We have directly investigated the chemical state of the Pd species in a real μ-gas sensor device by examining the μ-fluorescence X-ray absorption fine structure. The...