Active‐matrix sensor in AMLCD detecting liquid‐crystal capacitance with LTPS‐TFT technology

Abstract— An active‐matrix capacitive sensor for use in AMLCDs as an in‐cell touch screen has been developed. Pixel sensor circuits are embedded in each pixel by using low‐temperature polycrystalline‐silicon (LTPS) TFT technology. It detects a change in the liquid‐crystal capacitance when it is touched. It is thin, light weight, highly sensitive, and detects three or more touch events simultaneously.     

Preliminary Heat-Capacity Measurements of 2D Solid 3He Adsorbed on Graphite Preplated with 4He

We describe preliminary resugts of heat capacity measurements of the 4/7 phase in two dimensional ³He adsorbed on graphite preplated with a ⁴He monolayer in a temperature range between 0.17 and 20 mK. In zero magnetic field, we observed a double-peak structure similar to that reported previously for the same phase in a different system (³He/³He/gr) in which the gapless quantum spin-liquid ground state is proposed. The exchange interaction deduced from the high temperature data is by a factor of 30% smaller than the previous one, presumably because of the smaller lattice constant for the ³He/⁴He/gr system. The present resugt provides strong evidence that such a peculiar temperature dependence of heat capacity is characteristic of the 4/7 phase. Application of magnetic fields up to 0.65 T on this phase does not seem to change appreciably the higher temperature broad peak at around 1.4 mK.     

Electroplating of zirconium and aluminum hydroxide thin films following anodic dissolution of corresponding metal anodes in organic medium

Zirconium (IV) hydroxide or hydrate oxide films, which are typically difficult to prepare by electrochemical methods using aqueous solutions, are easily fabricated in an acetone bath using Zr anodes as the metal sources and a metal-free solvent containing halide ions as the supporting electrolyte. This method is also confirmed to be applicable to aluminum anodes. In the early stage of electrolysis, anodic oxidation of the metal anode proceeds in the presence of water as an impurity in the solvent. Subsequently, pitting corrosion of the oxide film on the metal anode occurs as a result of the action of halide ions. The corrosiveness of the halogen additive appears to be an important factor determining the dissolution or deposition of metal species in this stage. That is, Br^– is more active for electrochemical dissolution of a passive oxide film on the anode compared to I^–. Finally, Zr species are deposited on the cathode surface via reactions with cathodically generated hydroxide ions. In these processes, the metal plate acts as a soluble anode and as a metal source for electrodeposition. The coating of Zr (IV) hydroxide film on a stainless steel substrate is shown to act as an effective barrier against electrolytic corrosion.     

Fabrication of micro sloping structures of SU-8 by substrate penetration lithography

In this paper, three-dimensional (3D) micro sloping structures were fabricated by ordinary mask pattern and diffraction phenomenon. Especially, we fabricated the structures with SU-8 negative photoresist and substrate penetration lithography. In this method, exposure is performed arranging in order of a mask, a substrate and the SU-8 resist. There is a gap that is equal to the thickness of the substrate between resist and mask. In narrow slit of mask, resist is less exposed than usual because of Fraunhofer diffraction. The amount of exposure depends on slit width so that the height of SU-8 resist can be controlled. A 173 μm height of structure was obtained in the case of 27 μm width slit and 24.2 μm height of structure was obtained in the case of 7.4 μm width slit. By using this method, high aspect ratio 3D SU-8 structures with smooth sloping were fabricated in the length of 100–300 μm and in the height of 50–200 μm with rectangular triangle mask pattern. In the same way, there is influence of Fresnel diffraction on edge of aperture so that micro taper structures were fabricated. A lot of taper structures were fabricated by the method to make the surface repellency. The contact angle was achieved more than 160° in this study.     

Redundancies in linear GP,canonical transformation,and its exploitation: a demonstration on image feature synthesis

This paper concerns redundancies in representation of linear genetic programming (GP). We identify the causes of redundancies in linear GP and propose a canonical transformation that converts original linear representations into a canonical form in which structural redundancies are removed. In canonical form, we can easily verify whether two representations represent an identical program. We then discuss exploitation of the proposed canonical transformation, and demonstrate a way to improve search performance of linear GP by avoiding redundant individuals. Experiments were conducted with an image feature synthesis problem. Firstly, we have verified that there are really a lot of redundancies in conventional linear GP. We then investigate the effect of avoiding redundant individuals. The results yield that linear GP with avoidance of redundant individuals obviously outperforms conventional linear GP.     

FPC‐free LCD panel with capacitive coupling for transmission of signals and power

Abstract— A flexible‐printed‐cable (FPC) free liquid‐crystal‐display (LCD) panel by using a capacitive‐coupling technique has been developed. A QQVGAeight‐color image was successfully displayed for the first time without attaching any signal or power cables to the panel. The receiving circuitry and capacitive‐coupling electrodes were integrated on the LCD panel using a low‐temperature polysilicon (LTPS) fabrication process. In the proposed digital coding method, the receiving circuit converts derivative waveform signals via the capacitive coupling to conventional logic‐level signals. The maximum data rate of 2.4‐Mbps × 3ch (RGB) was achieved. In addition, LTPS low‐capacitance diode bridge and regulator enabled us to obtain stable DC power of 2.4 mW on the panel from the AC‐power signal. This study is the first step towards integrating the wireless‐communication function on the display panel to achieve a high‐value‐added flat‐panel display (FPD).     

Clinicopathologic classification of congenital cystic dilatation of the common bile duct

From 1970 to 1975, 103 patients with a localized dilatation of the biliary passages were treated at the First Department of Surgery of Kyoto University Medical Center. Of the 103, 101 had congenital cystic dilatation of the common bile duct (Alonso-Lej type I). These dilatations were classified into two sub-types, "infant type" and "adult type," based on the anatomic location and clinical features. Infant type cyst was typically large cyst of the choledochus and most common in infancy and childhood. Adult type cyst was fusiform dilatation of the biliary tract, and most common in adults. Gallstones were seen in most of the patients with this type cyst.     

Solid-state electrochemical CO2 gas sensors based on sodium ionic conductors

The sensing characteristics of a solid-state electrochemical CO₂ gas sensor, expressed as PtO₂, Na₂O Na ionic conductor Na₂CO₃CO₂, O₂Pt were investigated in terms of a two-electron electrochemical reaction. The number of electrons for the cell reaction was higher than 2 and approached 2 with an increase in the operating temperature up to about 500 °C. The introduction of water vapour induced a lowering of the e.m.f. and a prolongation of the response time. The formation of sodium oxides in the Na₂CO₃ layer was considered as a possible cause of these water effects. The sensing characteristics recovered completely after the water vapour was cutoff. The e.m.f. reduction due to water sorption was depressed by using a densified Na₃Zr₂Si₂PO₁₂. A densified Na₃Zr₂Si₂PO₁₂-based electrolyte is preferable for use as a gas sensor with a fast response and high stability for detection of CO₂ in air.     

Ultrastructure of immotile spermatozoa obtained from infertile male patients

We sometimes experienced infertile patients whose sperms had no motility but were not stained by Eosin Y. In this paper we report five cases of so-called "immotile spermatozoa". The ultrastructure of sperm tails was examined by transmission electrone microscope (TEM). These cases were selected from the out-patient population who attended infertility clinic of our department. The semen analyses showed that all the cases had sperm motility below 1% and more than 90% of the spermatozoa were proven alive. Family history revealed that one case had an infertile sibling. None of them had situs inversus, bronchiectasis and chronic sinusitis which are classic trias of Kartagener's syndrome. They had no symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection which was caused by the abnormality in the flagella of the respiratory tract. The TEM pictures of sperm tails showed partial deletion of inner dynein arms in two cases, lack of central microtubular doublets (so-called 9 + 0) in two cases and disarrangement of microtubular doublets in one case. For the treatment of these cases there is no effective means but AID. However, the rapid progress of IVF-ET techniques and a report that the spermatozoa from Kartagener's syndrome had showed penetration into eggs encouraged us to think the micromanipulation of spermatozoa with IVF-ET as a hopeful option of the treatment in the near future.     

Ultra-sensitive high-speed density measurement of the “piston effect” in a critical fluid

In order to conduct a detailed investigation of the piston effect, the peculiar heat transportation phenomenon in critical fluids, an ultra-sensitive high-speed density measurement system was developed using a very thin heater, a sensitive interferometer and a large-capacity high-speed data acquisition system. As the first step of the investigation, an experiment was conducted to measure the velocity of sound in CO2 near its critical point. Short heat pulses suppressing the disturbance of natural convection were applied to a small cell filled with almost-critical CO2 fluid and were detected by the measurement system. Because the pulses propagated through the cell at the velocity of sound and were reflected several times between the cell walls, the velocity could be precisely determined by measuring the time intervals between successive reflections. The resulting velocity profile versus temperature showed good agreement with theoretical prediction and numerical simulations. This result validated the density measurement system, and it is considered that the measurement system will be a very effective tool for further studies on critical phenomena with the aid of numerical simulation.