ARCOR,a new photolithography technique with antireflective coating on resist

The multiple interference effect is one of the major causes of the fluctuation in critical dimension control (CD) and in mark detection for alignment. Suppressing this effect is critical for future photolithography. We propose a new photolithography technique called anti reflective coating on resist (ARCOR), which improves linewidth accuracy and overlay accuracy by suppressing multiple interference. ARCOR consists of relatively simple processes: A clear antireflective film is spun onto the resist prior to the mark detecting for alignment and exposure. The film is subsequently removed and the resist developed in the conventional way. ARCOR differs from ARC, which suppresses the reflection at the resist/substrate interface. ARCOR suppresses the reflection at the air/resist interface. ARCOR allows mark detection and exposure without light intensity-loss and multiple interference. The experiments mainly examine polysiloxane and perfluoroalkylpolyether as ARCOR materials. It is shown that linewidth accuracy can be improved from 0.3 to 0.03 μm. The signal-to-noise ratio of the alignment signal is drastically improved, and the overlay error is about half that of the conventional method. ARCOR is also effective for directly measuring the reflectivity at the resist/substrate interface, which is a key parameter of the multiple interference effect and the halation. Using ARCOR and a thin resist film, the measured ratio of reflected light to incident light indicates the reflectivity at the resist/substrate interface. Because, the probe light does not reflect off the resist surface and the intensity-loss at the resist surface is suppressed. With perfluoroalkylpolyether film, the measurement error is ～ 1.5%.     

Steam oxidation resistance of two-layered Ni-Cr and Al APS coating for USC boiler applications

Thermal spray of Ni-Cr and Al coatings was attempted on modified 9Cr-1Mo steel, to evaluate their steam oxidation resistance. Atmospheric plasma spray (APS) coatings of 50Ni-50Cr as undercoat and Al topcoat were attempted with the aim that the pores produced by 50Ni-50Cr undercoat can be filled with Al topcoat during the steam oxidation. The steam oxidized samples evinced the Ni and Cr diffusion towards the Al coating structure and changed the topcoat in to the Ni-Al intermetallics. Though the two-layered coating exhibited an excellent performance against the steam oxidation for the base steel substrate till 3000 h of test, the top layers of the coating underwent significant internal oxidation.     

High-temperature oxidation of pure titanium in CO2 and Ar-10%CO2 atmospheres

The oxidation behavior of pure titanium has been investigated in the temperature range of 1000 K to 1300 K in CO₂ or Ar-10%CO₂. Optical microscopy, electron probe microanalyses, and X-ray measurements on the oxide scales formed during oxidation indicate that their structures are nearly independent of temperature and the corrosion atmosphere. The scales consisted of two layers, an external one and an internal one, having a rutile (TiO₂) structure. The parabolic rate law was confirmed for growth of the external scale and the permeation depth of oxygen in titanium with apparent activation energies of 266 and 226 kJ/mol, respectively. The rate-determining diffusion species in the oxidation processes are discussed.     

Quenching stress in plasma sprayed coatings and its correlation with the deposit microstructure

Quenching stress arises within a thermally sprayed splat as its thermal contraction after solidification is constrained by the underlying solid. Dependence of the quenching stress in plasma-sprayed deposits of Ni-20Cr alloy and alumina on the substrate temperature during spraying was discussed in conjunction with the change in the nature of the interlamellar contact between splats. It was found by mercury intrusion porosimetry and observation of cross sections of impregnated deposits that the interlamellar contact is improved significantly by raising the substrate temperature during deposition from 200 to 600 °C. The positive dependence of the quenching stress on the substrate temperature in this temperature range was attributed to a stronger constraint against thermal contraction of sprayed splats after solidification due to the improved contact.     

Construction of living cellular automata using the Physarum plasmodium

The plasmodium of Physarum polycephalum is a unicellular and multinuclear giant amoeba that has an amorphous cell body. To clearly observe how the plasmodium makes decisions in its motile and exploratory behaviours, we developed a new experimental system to pseudo-discretize the motility of the organism. In our experimental space that has agar surfaces arranged in a two-dimensional lattice, the continuous and omnidirectional movement of the plasmodium was limited to the stepwise one, and the direction of the locomotion was also limited to four neighbours. In such an experimental system, a cellular automata-like system was constructed using the living cell. We further analysed the exploratory behaviours of the plasmodium by duplicating the experimental results in the simulation models of cellular automata. As a result, it was revealed that the behaviours of the plasmodium are not reproduced by only local state transition rules; and for the reproduction, a kind of historical rule setting is needed.     

Advanced compensation technologies for large‐sized UHD OLED TVs

In this paper, we present novel organic light‐emitting diode (OLED) display panel compensation technologies for large‐sized ultra‐high‐definition OLED TVs considering variations of threshold voltage, mobility, channel size, OLED efficiency, and OLED uniformity. Using these technologies, we have successfully launched 55‐, 65‐ and 77‐in. ultra‐high‐definition OLED TVs.     

Relaxation approach to topology optimization of frame structure under frequency constraint

This paper deals with the frame topology optimization under the frequency constraint and proposes an algorithm that solves a sequence of relaxation problems to obtain a local optimal solution with high quality. It is known that an optimal solution of this problem often has multiple eigenvalues and the feasible set is disconnected. Due to these two difficulties, conventional nonlinear programming approaches often converge to a local optimal solution that is unacceptable from a practical point of view. In this paper, we formulate the frequency constraint as a positive semidefinite constraint of a certain symmetric matrix, and then relax this constraint to make the feasible set connected. The proposed algorithm solves a sequence of the relaxation problems with gradually decreasing the relaxation parameter. The positive semidefinite constraint is treated with the logarithmic barrier function and, hence, the algorithm finds no difficulty in multiple eigenvalues of a solution. Numerical experiments show that global optimal solutions, or at least local optimal solutions with high qualities, can be obtained with the proposed algorithm.     

Emergency response to the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants using mobile rescue robots

On March 11, 2011, a massive earthquake (magnitude 9.0) and accompanying tsunami hit the Tohoku region of eastern Japan. Since then, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants have been facing a crisis due to the loss of all power that resulted from the meltdown accidents. Three buildings housing nuclear reactors were seriously damaged from hydrogen explosions, and, in one building, the nuclear reactions became out of control. It was too dangerous for humans to enter the buildings to inspect the damage because radioactive materials were also being released. In response to this crisis, it was decided that mobile rescue robots would be used to carry out surveillance missions. The mobile rescue robots needed could not be delivered to the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) until various technical issues were resolved. Those issues involved hardware reliability, communication functions, and the ability of the robots' electronic components to withstand radiation. Additional sensors and functionality that would enable the robots to respond effectively to the crisis were also needed. Available robots were therefore retrofitted for the disaster reponse missions. First, the radiation tolerance of the electronic componenets was checked by means of gamma ray irradiation tests, which were conducted using the facilities of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). The commercial electronic devices used in the original robot systems operated long enough (more than 100 h at a 10% safety margin) in the assumed environment (100 mGy/h). Next, the usability of wireless communication in the target environment was assessed. Such tests were not possible in the target environment itself, so they were performed at the Hamaoka Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants, which are similar to the target environment. As previously predicted, the test results indicated that robust wireless communication would not be possible in the reactor buildings. It was therefore determined that a wired communication device would need to be installed. After TEPCO's official urgent mission proposal was received, the team mounted additional devices to facilitate the installation of a water gauge in the basement of the reactor buildings to determine flooding levels. While these preparations were taking place, prospective robot operators from TEPCO trained in a laboratory environment. Finally, one of the robots was delivered to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants on June 20, 2011, where it performed a number of important missions inside the buildings. In this paper, the requirements for the exploration mission in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants are presented, the implementation is discussed, and the results of the mission are reported.     

Polytetrafluoroethylene processing characteristics using high-energy X-ray

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) microstructures’ processing characteristics using X-ray photo dcomposition and desorption are studied in the highest energy region (2 keV to >12 keV). While the exposed surface states are seen melting and boiling from the remaining bubble structure of the irradiated surface, basic photochemistry of PTFE is also same as previous reports and high-aspect ratio structures are successfully formed. We developed new Ni stencil electroformed stencil masks and successfully fabricated first and practical example of PTFE micro fluidic parts. The characteristics of fabricated micro fluidic parts, a PTFE fluid filter for vertical fluid flow operation which works as passive valve, agreed with the calculated results. This suggests that the accuracy of patterning is adequate to apply this technique to fabricate microfluidic parts and other various microparts.