Ultra-low-vibration pulse-tube cryocooler system – cooling capacity and vibration

This report describes the development of low-vibration cooling systems with pulse-tube (PT) cryocoolers. Generally, PT cryocoolers have the advantage of lower vibrations in comparison to those of GM cryocoolers. However, cooling systems for the cryogenic laser interferometer observatory (CLIO), which is a gravitational wave detector, require an operational vibration that is sufficiently lower than that of a commercial PT cryocooler. The required specification for the vibration amplitude in cold stages is less than ±1 μm. Therefore, during the development of low-vibration cooling systems for the CLIO, we introduced advanced countermeasures for commercial PT cryocoolers. The cooling performance and the vibration amplitude were evaluated. The results revealed that 4 K and 80 K PT cooling systems with a vibration amplitude of less than ±1 μm and cooling performance of 4.5 K and 70 K at heat loads of 0.5 W and 50 W, respectively, were developed successfully.     

XPS study of carbon nitride films deposited by hot filament chemical vapor deposition using carbon filament

Amorphous carbon nitride, a-CN_x, thin films were deposited by hot filament CVD using a carbon filament with dc negative bias voltage on the substrate. The effects of the negative bias and the filament components on the binding structure of the films are investigated by XPS. The composition ratio of graphite to amorphous carbon in the filaments affects the bonding structure of carbon and nitrogen in the films, although the nitrogen content in the films is almost same as 0.1. The nitrogen content in the films changes from 0.1 to 0.3 as the negative bias changes from 0 to − 300 V.     

Design of hybrid type’s optical pickup actuator for system stability in high density reading and recording

Recently, there has been a trend to have large capacity and high data transfer rate in optical disk drive. Pickup actuator also should have high performance for satisfying this trend. Since moving magnet type actuator has more simple and robust structure than moving coil type one, we designed moving magnet type to accomplish high flexible mode frequency. However, the driving sensitivity of moving magnet type actuator was low because of its characteristics as following. At first, moving parts including magnets are heavy and electromagnetic (EM) circuits are not closed-loop owing to yoke composed of paramagnetic materials. Therefore, in order to increase the driving sensitivity without the degradation of the other dynamic characteristics, EM circuits were redesigned by adding solenoid coils on existing mechanism. As a result, the hybrid type actuator composed of moving magnet type and moving coil type was suggested to obtain high sensitivities and high flexible mode frequency. Design variables of EM circuits and structure parts were decided through parametric study and design of experiments procedure. Optimization algorithm using variable metric method was used to improve performance. Based on these results, the final model was presented.     

Inhibitory action of conjugated C18-fatty acids on DNA polymerases and DNA topoisomerases

We reported previously that unsaturated linear-chain FA of the cis-configuration with a C18-hydrocarbon chain such as linoleic acid (18:2delta9c,12c) could potently inhibit the activities of mammalian DNA polymerases and DNA topoisomerases, but their saturated forms could not. There are chemically two classes of unsaturated FA, normal and conjugated, but only the conjugated forms show potent antitumor activity. In this report, we study the inhibitory effects of chemically synthesized conjugated C18-FA on mammalian DNA polymerases and DNA topoisomerases as compared with normal unsaturated FA. The conjugated alpha-eleostearic acid (18:3delta9c,11t, 13t) was the strongest of all the FA tested. For the inhibition, the conjugated form is crucially important. The energy-minimized 3-D structures of the FA were calculated, and both a length of less than 20 A and a width of 8.13-9.24 A in the C18-FA structure were found to be important for enzyme inhibition. The 3-D structure of the active site of both DNA polymerases and topoisomerases must have had a pocket to join alpha-eleostearic acid, and this pocket was 12.03 A long and 9.24 A wide.     

Effects of support method and mechanical property of 300 mm silicon wafer on sori measurement

This paper describes the effects of support methods and mechanical properties of 300 mm silicon wafer on sori measurement. A new supporting method, named three-point-support method, used in the sori measurement of a large diameter silicon wafer was proposed in this study to obtain a more stable measuring process. The wafer was supported horizontally by three steel balls on the vertexes of a regular triangle at the wafer edge. The measuring repeatability and anti-disturbance ability were compared between the proposed method and the conventional one-point-support method, in which the wafer is supported with a small-area chuck at the wafer center. The effects of friction between the supports and wafer surface for the three-point-support were also estimated. Finally, the influences of different mechanical characteristics at the front and back surfaces and the crystal orientation on sori measurement were investigated.     

Leaching behavior of gamma-emitting fission products and Np from neutron-irradiated UO2–ZrO2 solid solutions in non-filtered surface seawater

The gamma ray radionuclides Cs-137, Ba-140, I-131, Ce-141, Ru-103, Zr-95, and Np-239 were produced by neutron irradiation of UO₂–ZrO₂ solid solutions that were synthesized as simulated fuel debris under reducing and oxidizing conditions. The leaching ratio of radionuclides was investigated under atmospheric conditions at 25 °C for non-filtered natural surface seawater, as well as deionized water after filtration with a membrane of 0.45-µm pore size or that of nominal molecular weight limit of 3 kDa. The uranium molar concentration was affected by the oxidation state in the solid solution samples. The congruent dissolution of Cs, I, and Ba with the hexavalent uranium of U₃O₈ was facilitated in the seawater samples, whereas a lower leaching ratio of nuclides was observed in the deionized water samples. Neptunium-239, originally produced from uranium-238 in U₃O₈, showed behavior that was similar to that of Cs, I, and Ba. However, the dissolution of Np (as a parent nuclide of Pu-239) in the debris of UO₂ and UO₂–ZrO₂ was suppressed in the same manner as Zr(IV) and Ce(IV). The concentration exhibited no filtration dependence after 15 d, which shows that most of the leached nuclides can exist in their ionic form in seawater.     

Photochemical deposition of Ag nanoparticles on multiwalled carbon nanotubes

A simple method for preparation of Ag nanoparticle (NP)/multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composites using laser irradiation without a reducing agent is presented. Ag NPs were grown on MWCNTs by laser-induced photoreduction of [Ag(NH₃)₂]⁺. The larger the initial [Ag(NH₃)₂]⁺ concentration, the bigger the average particle size. XRD investigations revealed the well-crystallized structure of the nanoparticles.     

Novel rapid‐cure adhesives for low temperature using thiirane compound

We investigated improvement of workability (viscosity), storage stability, and curing ability of thiirane resin for adhesive applications. The viscosity of bisphenol‐F thiirane resin was lower than that of bisphenol‐A thiirane resin, especially at low temperatures, thus improving ease of handling. Addition of diphenyl decyl phosphite improved its storage stability to a level similar to that of bisphenol‐A epoxy resin. The curing of bisphenol‐F thiirane resin increased three times faster by adding 2,4,6‐tris(dimethylaminomethyl)phenol (DMP‐30) as a tertiary amine. In applications of this new thiirane resin as civil and architectural adhesives, a superior curing ability at low temperature was attained. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 82: 2953–2957, 2001