Mechanical Abrasion by Bi-layered Pad Micro-Asperity in Chemical Mechanical Polishing

Pad asperities in chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) provide necessary forces for mechanical abrasion. This article investigates the abrasive behaviour of polishing pads at the asperity contact scale. A contact mechanics model predicts that compliant and soft asperities or rigid and hard asperities may solely achieve either large contact area or high indentation depth respectively, whereas bi-layered asperities can enable both the enlarged contact and deep abrasion. Hemispherical pad micro-asperities with precise dimensions, including the new bi-layered design, were fabricated using thermal reflow and micro-replica molding techniques and their polishing behaviours were experimentally compared using a pin-on-disk polishing setup.     

Room-temperature multiferroicity in NiFe2O4 and its magnetoelectric coupling intensified through defect engineering

The well-known ferromagnetic oxide, NiFe₂O₄, was studied as a potential candidate for room-temperature Type II magnetoelectrics. A spin canting as one of the essential requirements for Type II multiferroics was induced by breaking the stoichiometry, that is, intentionally subtracting Fe ions. We observed that Fe ions were first subtracted exclusively from the tetrahedral sites, leading to an increase in the magnetoelectric coupling owing to an increasing degree of spin canting. The enhancement in the magnetoelectric coupling culminated beyond the subtraction level of ~30 at.%, at which Fe ions started to be removed from the octahedral sites. Alongside, we observed that the subtraction of Fe ions gives rise to a ferroelectricity due to the formation of defect complexes that establish an internal bias field.     

Multilevel operation of GdOx-based resistive switching memory device fabricated by post-deposition annealing

Resistive switching memory has been studied actively for next-generation computing. Several binary oxides, such as HfO₂ and Ta₂O₅, are widely adapted as resistive switching layers; however, there are several limitations to obtaining an energy- and area-efficient operation with sufficient reliability. Rare-earth oxide materials exhibit interesting resistive switching properties because of their reactivities with active anion species. In this study, atomic-layer-deposited GdO_x films were investigated as an active switching layer for resistive switching memory. Post-deposition annealing of as-grown GdO_x films enhanced the tunability of the resistance states, which can be useful for the multilevel operation of nonvolatile memory and neuromorphic computing applications. The effects of the crystallization and hygroscopic nature of the GdO_x film are investigated for elucidating the change in the resistive switching characteristics and its underlying mechanism.     

Effects of different storage conditions on the metabolite and microbial profiles of white rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Food Science and Biotechnology - Microbial populations in white rice (Oryza sativa L.) samples stored for 6 months in open or closed conditions were studied and their metabolite profiles...     

Nonequilibrium Phenomena in Globally Coupled Active Rotators with Multiplicative and Additive Noises

We investigate noise-induced phase transitions in globally coupled active rotators with multiplicative and additive noises. In the system there are four phases, stationary one-cluster, stationary two-cluster, moving one-cluster, and moving two-cluster phases. It is shown that multiplicative noise induces a bifurcation from one-cluster phase to two-cluster phase. Pinning force also induces a bifurcation from moving phase to stationary phase suppressing the multiplicative noise effect. Additive noise reduces both effects of multiplicative noise and pinning force urging the system to the stationary one-cluster phase. The frustrated effects of pinning force and additive and multiplicative noises lead to a reentrant transition at intermediate additive noise intensity. Nature of the transition is also discussed.     

The Development of Intelligent Beamforming Antenna Systems for Stratospheric Platforms in the Millimeter-Wave Band

In this paper, we describe intelligent beamforming antenna systems that can be used in the millimeter-wave band for High-altitude platform systems. We have developed two antenna systems for the millimeter-wave band and have designed experiments to test the efficiency of the developed systems. One is a multi-beam-horn antenna that enables high-speed transmission, and the other is an array antenna that digitally controls antenna beams. These antenna systems are also designed to work in the stratosphere. We also describe our solutions to the problems of low temperature and low pressure and show that the two antenna systems can function well in the stratosphere through tests conducted on the ground.On April 1, 2004, the Communications Research Laboratory (CRL) and the Telecommunications Advancement Organization of Japan (TAO) merged to create NICT.Hiroyuki Tsuji received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Keio University in 1987, 1989, and 1992, respectively. Since 1992, he has been working in the Communications Research Laboratory, Independent Administrative Institution, Japan. In 1999, he was a visiting researcher at University of Minnesota. He is now a senior researcher of Wireless Innovation Systems Group in the Yokosuka Radio Communications Research Center of NICT (National Institute on Information and Communications Technology, reorganized from CRL in April 2004). His research interests are in array signal processing, particularly as applied to communications. He received the IEICE 1996 Young Engineer Award. He is a member of IEICE and IEEE.Masayuki Oodo was born in Osaka, Japan, on February 1, 1969. He received B.E., M.E. and D.E. degrees in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan in 1992, 1994 and 1997, respectively. In 1997, he joined the Communications Research Laboratory (CRL, now part of the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, or NICT), where he has been researching array antennas for wireless communication and frequency-sharing issues between HAPS and other systems. Dr. Oodo received the Paper Presentation Award from IEICE Japan in 1995, the Young Scientist Award from URSI in 1996, the Young Engineer Award from IEICE Japan in 1997, and the Young Engineer Award from IEEE AP-S, Tokyo Chapter in 1998. He is a member of IEEE.Ryu Miura received the B.E., M.E., and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering from Yokohama National University, Yokohama, Japan, in 1982, 1984, and 2000, respectively. He joined Communications Research Lab (CRL), Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, Tokyo, Japan in 1984, where he worked for research on mobile satellite communication systems using the Engineering Test Satellite, ETS-V. During 1991–1992, he was a visiting researcher in AUSSAT, Pty. Ltd. (now Optus, Pty. Ltd.), Sydney, Australia. During 1993–1996, he was a senior researcher in ATR Optical and Radio Communications Research Labs, Kyoto, Japan, where he worked for research on digital beamforming antennas for mobile communications. He is now a group leader of Wireless Innovation Systems Group in the Yokosuka Radio Communications Research Center of NICT (National Institute on Information and Communications Technology, reorganized from CRL in April 2004), where he works for R&D on wireless communication systems using stratospheric platforms. Dr. Miura is a member of IEEE and IEICE.Mikio Suzuki received a B.S. degree in electronic engineering from Keio University in 1970. He joined Mitsubishi Electric Corporation in 1970, where he researched and developed microwave integrated circuits and waveguide array antennas for defense radars and missiles. He is now at the NICT Yokosuka Stratospheric Platform Research Center, and his current research interests lie in the system design of applications for wireless communication systems using a stratospheric platform and the development of related communication equipment. He is a member of the IEICE of Japan.     

Laser Irradiation of Metal Oxide Films and Nanostructures: Applications and Advances

Recent technological advances in developing a diverse range of lasers have opened new avenues in material processing. Laser processing of materials involves their exposure to rapid and localized energy, which creates conditions of electronic and thermodynamic nonequilibrium. The laser‐induced heat can be localized in space and time, enabling excellent control over the manipulation of materials. Metal oxides are of significant interest for applications ranging from microelectronics to medicine. Numerous studies have investigated the synthesis, manipulation, and patterning of metal oxide films and nanostructures. Besides providing a brief overview on the principles governing the laser–material interactions, here, the ongoing efforts in laser irradiation of metal oxide films and nanostructures for a variety of applications are reviewed. Latest advances in laser‐assisted processing of metal oxides are summarized.