Single‐layered retardation films with negative wavelength dispersion birefringence made from liquid‐crystalline monomers

Organic light‐emitting diode displays have a cathode composed of a layer of highly reflective metal. Reflection of external light from this layer can be suppressed with a broadband quarter‐wave plate. Although various types of quarter‐wave plate retardation films have been prepared by copolymerizing, mixing, or laminating multiple polymers, ideal wavelength dispersion has not been achieved with thin retardation films because of their relatively low birefringence and the complexity of the procedure required manufacturing them. In this study, we developed (i) new liquid‐crystalline monomers with negative wavelength dispersion birefringence that we used to obtain thin, single‐layered retardation films suitable for coating and (ii) retardation films with different molecular alignments. We found that the monomers showed high solubility and high regularity of molecular alignment, with less damage to the substrate and alignment films. We also investigated the wavelength dispersion and thermal stability of the films. We succeeded in developing retardation films that had a homeotropic alignment or a hybrid alignment with negative wavelength dispersion. These alignments can be used to obtain antireflection films with an improved viewing angle for organic light‐emitting diode displays or next‐generation thin displays.     

Gender differences in hand stability of normal young people assessed at low force levels

To examine gender differences in hand stability, finger position and force holding tasks at low force levels were conducted with 30 male and 30 female young adults. Total fluctuation was defined as the standard deviation of measured data and fluctuation and the 10-Hz component of the physiological tremor were compared between maleand female subjects. In all tasks, the total fluctuation and the 10-Hz tremor were significantly larger in male subjects than females. On average, the fluctuation was 1.3 times larger and the 10-Hz tremor was 1.6 times larger. The results of this study suggest that women have superior hand stability compared with men at low force levels. Finger length, maximal voluntary contraction and surface electromyography were also measured and factors related to gender differences in hand stability are discussed. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: Hand stability is crucial for precise manual operations. This study demonstrated gender differences in hand steadiness at low force levels. Though hand dexterity cannot be explained only by hand stability, the results of this study are useful not only for occupational aptitude tests but also for neuropsychological tests.     

New coprimeness over multivariable polynomial matrices and its application to control delay systems

This paper presents a new notion of coprimeness over multivariable polynomial matrices, where a single variable is given priority over the remaining variables. From a characterization through a set of common zeros of the minors, it is clarified that the presented coprimeness is equivalent to weakly zero coprimeness in the particular variable. An application of the presented coprimeness to control systems with non-commensurate delays and finite spectrum assignment is also presented. Because the presented coprimeness is stronger than minor coprimeness, non-commensurate delays are difficult to deal with in algebraic control theory. The “rational ratio condition” between delays, which can reduce non-commensurate delays to commensurate delays, proves to be both powerful and practical concept in algebraic control theory for delay systems.     

Tabu search for scheduling on identical parallel machines to minimize mean tardiness

This paper presents a tabu search approach for scheduling jobs on identical parallel machines with the objective of minimizing the mean tardiness. Initially, we consider a basic tabu search that uses short term memory only. Local search is performed on a neighborhood defined by two types of moves. Insert moves consist of transferring each job from one machine to another and swap moves are those obtained by exchanging each pair of jobs between two machines. Next, we analyze the incorporation of two diversification strategies with the aim of exploring unvisited regions of the solution space. The first strategy uses long term memory to store the frequency of the moves executed throughout the search and the second makes use of influential moves. Computational tests are performed on problems with up to 10 machines and 150 jobs. The heuristic performance is evaluated through a lower bound given by Lagrangean relaxation. A comparison is also made with respect to the best constructive heuristic reported in the literature.     

A knowledge assimilation method for logic databases

In this paper we consider a deductive question-answering system for relational databases as a logic database system, and propose a knowledge assimilation method suitable for such a system. The concept of knowledge assimilation for deductive logic is constructed in an implementable form based on the notion of amalgamating object language and metalanguage. This concept calls for checks to be conducted on four subconcepts, provability, contradiction, redundancy, independency, and their corresponding internal database updates. We have implemented this logic database knowledge assimilation program in PROLOG, a logic programming language, and have found PROLOG suitable for knowledge assimilation implementation.     

Vortex chain size effect and negative resistance in pin-free superconducting films

We investigate the static and dynamic behavior of vortices in a pin-free superconductor. A diffraction pattern is observed in the critical currentJ _cvs. applied fieldH parallel to the surface of a granular Al film. When one vortex chain is formed in the film,J _cbecomes nearly equal to zero, which verifies that the sample is actually pin-free. An interaction between a radiofrequency current and moving vortices occurs, and theI–V curve shows peculiar nonlinear effects such as real negative resistance. The results are analogous to dc and ac Josephson effects.     

Multiple pulse-heating experiments with different current to determine total emissivity, heat capacity, and electrical resistivity of electrically conductive materials at high temperatures

A modified pulse-heating method is proposed to improve the accuracy of measurement of the hemispherical total emissivity, specific heat capacity, and electrical resistivity of electrically conductive materials at high temperatures. The proposed method is based on the analysis of a series of rapid resistive self-heating experiments on a sample heated at different temperature rates. The method is used to measure the three properties of the IG-110 grade of isotropic graphite at temperatures from 850 to 1800 K. The problem of the extrinsic heating-rate effect, which reduces the accuracy of the measurements, is successfully mitigated by compensating for the generally neglected experimental error associated with the electrical measurands (current and voltage). The results obtained by the proposed method can be validated by the linearity of measured quantities used in the property determinations. The results are in reasonably good agreement with previously published data, which demonstrate the suitability of the proposed method, in particular, to the resistivity and total emissivity measurements. An interesting result is the existence of a minimum in the emissivity of the isotropic graphite at around 1120 K, consistent with the electrical resistivity results.     

The effect of adding Ni and Ge microelements on the electromigration resistance of low-Ag based SnAgCu solder

Low-Ag-based Pb-free solder and its evaluation for electromigration (EM) reliability are research areas of active development. This paper studies the effect of adding Ni and Ge microelements on the EM behavior of low-Ag-based SnAgCu solder. Comparative measurements of the EM resistance of Sn1.0Ag0.5Cu (SAC) and Sn1.0Ag0.5Cu0.07Ni0.01Ge (SACNG) solders (in wt?%) were conducted. In these experiments, SACNG showed a higher EM resistance than SAC. It was concluded that adding Ni and Ge enhanced the EM resistance of low-Ag-based SnAgCu solders. This shows the same effect of Ni and Ge on the EM resistance as that which has been reported for Sn3.5Ag0.5Cu solder. An analysis of these observations suggests that grain boundary sliding plays a dominant role in stress relaxation and causes hillock growth. Based on this assumption, a possible mechanism was proposed to explain the effects of Ni and Ge on the EM resistance of SnAgCu solder.     

Microstructural evolution and mechanism of grain growth in magnesia ceramics prepared by high pressure and temperature with ultra-high heating rate

The fast densification method of combustion reaction plus quick pressing was adopted to prepare nanocrystalline ceramics.The densification process of magnesia compact with a particle size of 100 nm was investigated,under the applied pressure of up to 170 MPa,and the temperature range of 1740–2080 K with ultra-high heating rate(above 1700 K/min).High-purity magnesia ceramics with a relative density of 98.8%and an average grain size of 120 nm was obtained at 1740 K,and the grain growth during the densification process was effectively restrained.The characteristic morphology of evaporation-condensation was observed in the compact prepared at 2080 K,which revealed the actual process of mass transfer by gas diffusion.Moreover,the investigation on the microstructure evolution and mechanism of grain growth was carried out,on the basis of as-preserved nanocrystalline ceramics.The result indicated that the grain growth of the nanocrystalline MgO was controlled by the mechanism of evaporation-condensation rather than surface diffusion.Furthermore,the pressure had an influence of restraining the grain growth based on solid diffusion and strengthening the effect of gas diffusion with the increasing temperature.Under the particular conditions,there existed an appropriate temperature for the densification of nanocrystalline magnesia,while the excessive temperature would exaggerate grain growth and impede densification.