An evaluation method of the fluctuation characteristics of photovoltaic systems by using frequency analysis

Short-time fluctuations in solar irradiance will become an important issue with regard to future embedded photovoltaic (PV) systems. However, when PV systems are intensively installed, fluctuation of total output in clustered PV systems is not remarkable because there is the smoothing effect of irradiance in certain areas. In this paper, a new estimation method of irradiance fluctuation, which is based on the combination of the Fourier transform and the wavelet transform methods, is described.     

Preparation and properties of CuInS2 thin film prepared from electroplated precursor

Thin CuInS₂ films were prepared by sulfurization of Cu/In bi-layers. First, the precursor layer was electroplated onto the treated surface of Mo-coated glass. Observation of the cross-section prepared by focused ion beam (FIB) etching revealed that the void-free film was initially formed on the top surface of the precursor layer and continued to grow until the advancing front of the film reached the Mo layer. The nucleation of voids near the bottom of the CuInS₂ film followed. To determine whether the condition of the Cu/In alloy influences the CuInS₂ quality we investigated the Cu/In alloy state using FIB. We found that the annealed precursor of low Cu/In ratio (1.2) has several voids in the mid position in the layer compared with Cu-rich precursor (1.6). The cross-sectional view of the Cu-rich absorber layer is uniform compared with the low copper absorber layer. Thin film solar cells were fabricated using the CuInS₂ film (Cu/In ratio: 1.2) as an optical absorber layer. It was found that the optimization of a sulfurization period is important in order to improve the cell efficiency. We have not yet obtained good results with high Cu-rich absorber because of a blister problem. This blister was found before sulfurization. So, we are going to solve this blister problem before sulfurization.     

Photoactive Electro-Controlled Visual Perception Memory for Emulating Synaptic Metaplasticity and Hebbian Learning

In bionic technology, it has become an innovative process imitating the functionality and structuralism of human biological systems to exploit advanced artificial intelligent machines. Bionics plays a significant role in environmental protection, especially for its low energy loss. By fusing the concept of receptor-like sensing component and synapse-like memory, the photoactive electro-controlled optical sensory memory (PE-SM) is proposed and realized in a single device, which endows a simple methodology of reducing power consumption by photoactive electro-control. The PE-SM is the system built with the stacked atomically thick materials, in which rhenium diselenide serves as a robust photosensor, hexagonal boron nitride serves as a tunneling dielectric, and graphene serves as a charge-storage layer. With the features of the PE-SM, it performs synaptic metaplasticities under optical spikes. In addition, a simulated spiking neural network composed of 24 × 24 PE-SMs is further presented in an unsupervised machine learning environment, performing image recognition via the Hebbian rule. The PE-SM not only improves the neuromorphic computing efficiency but also simplifies the circuit-size structure. Eventually, the concept of photoactive electro-control can extend to other photosensitive 2D materials and provide a new approach of constructing either visual perception memory or photonic synaptic devices.     

Quantum Oscillations of Thermoelectric Effects in a Pseudo-one-dimensional Electron Gas With a Spin–Orbit Interaction

We consider thermoelectric effects in a pseudo-one-dimensional electron gas (P1DEG) with a spin–orbit interaction (SOI). The SOI splits the dispersion relation of the P1DEG into subbands with an energy gap. We find quantum oscillations in transport coefficients, which coincide with the locations of the subband edges, as a function of the electrochemical potential.     

Extraction of a plasma time-activity curve from dynamic brain PET images based on independent component analysis

A compartment model has been used for kinetic analysis of dynamic positron emission tomography (PET) data [e.g., 2-deoxy-2-18F-fluoro-D-glucose (FDG)]. The input function of the model [the plasma time-activity curve (pTAC)] was obtained by serial arterial blood sampling. It is of clinical interest to develop a method for PET studies that estimates the pTAC without needing serial arterial blood sampling. For this purpose, we propose a new method to extract the pTAC from the dynamic brain PET images using a modified independent component analysis [extraction of the pTAC using independent component analysis (EPICA). Source codes of EPICA are freely available at http://www5f.biglobe.ne.jp/?kimura/Software/top.html]. EPICA performs the appropriate preprocessing and independent component analysis (ICA) using an objective function that takes the various properties of the pTAC into account. After validation of EPICA by computer simulation, EPICA was applied to human brain FDG-PET studies. The results imply that the EPICA-estimated pTAC was similar to the actual measured pTAC, and that the estimated blood volume image was highly correlated with the blood volume image measured using 15O-CO inhalation. These results demonstrated that EPICA is useful for extracting the pTAC from dynamic PET images without the necessity of serial arterial blood sampling.     

Male pheromone of swift moth,Hepialus hecta L. (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae)

(R)-6-Ethyl-2-methyl-2,3-dihydro-4H-pyran-4-one, (1R,3S,5R)-3-ethyl-1,8-dimethyl-2,9-dioxabicyclo[3.3. 1]non-7-ene, and (1R,3S,5R)-3-ethyl-1,8-dimethyl-2,9-dioxabicyclo[3.3.1]non-7-en-6-one represent the main components in the male pheromone of the swift moth,Hepialus hecta. The amounts of the three components were 40, 5, and 5 g per male, respectively. Structure elucidation of the compounds was based on spectroscopic data as compared to synthetic reference samples. The absolute configurations were determined by gas chromatography on chiral stationary phases; optically active samples served as reference compounds. Electrophysiological and behavioral experiments with natural material and synthetic samples clearly showed the three heterocyclic compounds to act as pheromones. (E, E)--Farnesene represents the main component of the scent secretion of maleHepialus humuli.     

Contrasting effects of water-soluble and water-insoluble dietary fibers on bile acid conjugation and taurine metabolism in the rat

The effect of the type of dietary fiber on the bile acid and taurine metabolism was examined in rats. Diets containing 10% of various water-soluble fibers (citrus pectin, konjak mannan, guar gum) as compared to a fiber-free diet increased biliary excretion of total bile acids. In contrast, water-insoluble dietary fibers (cellulose, corn bran, chitin; 10% in the diets) as well as cholestyramine (5% in the diet) considerably, decreased bile acid excretion. Water-soluble dietary fibermediated increases in bile acid excretion were totally attributable to increases in glycine-conjugates. Thus, these fibers greatly increased by the bile acid glycine-to-taurine ratio (G/T). Excretio of glycine conjugates decreased more than that of taurine conjugates in rats fed various water-insoluble dietary fibers. As a results, G/T in rats fed water-insoluble fibers was significantly lowered as compared to G/T in animals fed a fiber-free diet. Cholestyramine did not affect the G/T ratio of bile acids. Fecal bile acid excretion and the activities of hepatic cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (EC 1.14.13.17) in rats fed various water-soluble dietary fibers approximately doubled as compared to the respective values for rats fed a fiber-free diet. Whereas cholestyramine greatly increased these parameters, water-insoluble fibers did not significantly affect them. Various water-soluble fibers decreased hepatic concentration and urinary excretion of taurine as well as the activity of hepatic cysteine dioxygenase (EC 1.13.11.20). In contrast, water-insoluble fibers considerably increased hepatic taurine concentrations and enzyme activities. The parameters for taurine metabolism were unaffected by cholestyramine. It was suggested that the types of dietary fiber affected hepatic taurine synthesis and thus modified bile acid glycine/taurine ratios.     

Polymerization of [2,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]acetylene and polymer properties

Summary [2,5-Bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]acetylene [BTFPA; HCCC₆H₃-2, 5-(CF₃)₂]polymerized with W, Mo, and Nb catalysts to produce methanol-insoluble polymers in high yields. The poly(BTFPA) produced by the W(CO)₆-based catalyst at 30 °C was soluble in p-(CF₃)₂C₆H₄, and had relatively high molecular weight ([]=0.352 dL/g in p-(CF₃)₂C₆H₄). The main chain of the polymer was composed of alternating double bonds, and the polymer was a dark brown solid. The temperature at which the weight loss of the polymer started was higher than 300 °C. The polymerization behavior and polymer properties for BTFPA are compared with those for phenylacetylene and [o-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]acetylene.     

A formation of compatible poly(vinyl alcohol)/alumina gel composite and its properties

A formation of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/alumina gel composite was investigated with a viewpoint of compatibility of the composite. An alumina sol was prepared from aluminium iso-propoxide (Al(iPro)₃). The alkoxide was hydrolyzed and the resultant hydrate was peptized to a clear sol with acetic acid. The composite were transparent in whole content of alumina. The effects of dispersed alumina on the sorption of water and mechanical properties of composite were examined. The composites containing PVA 40–50% are flexible. They are folded in various forms and can be drawn five times the initial length in humid state. The residues obtained by calcination to remove PVA at 600°C keep its original form and transparency.     

Lattice parameter determination of a strained area of an InAs layer on a GaAs substrate using CBED

All the six lattice parameters (a, b, c, alpha, beta and gamma) of a strained area of an InAs layer grown on a GaAs substrate were determined without any assumption of the crystal lattice symmetry from the higher-order Laue zone (HOLZ) lines appearing in one convergent-beam electron diffraction (CBED) pattern. The analysis was performed with three steps. Firstly, the parameters alpha and beta were determined from the deviations of the HOLZ lines from the mirror symmetry perpendicular to the [001] direction. Secondly, the parameter c was determined from the distance between the intersections of the HOLZ lines, which have the same h and k indices but different l indices. Finally, the parameters a, b and gamma were determined simultaneously from several distances between the intersections of the HOLZ lines. The lattice parameters determined for the strained area were a = 0.611(2) nm, b = 0.615(1) nm, c = 0.6119(7) nm, alpha = 89.5(1) degrees, beta = 89.0(2) degrees and gamma = 89.1(2) degrees. This result implies that the cubic lattice of InAs is elongated approximately in the [111] direction and the exact lattice symmetry is triclinic. The same analysis procedure was applied to another two specimen areas. It was found that the areas have orthorhombic distortions with lattice parameters a = 0.607(2) nm, b = 0.604(1) nm and c = 0.6085(7) nm for one area, and with a = 0.607(2) nm, b = 0.605(1) nm and c = 0.6065(7) nm for the other area. It is should be emphasized that the present analysis of lattice distortions is immediately applicable to the other semiconductors, such as Si, SiGe or GaAs layers, without assuming any crystal system.