Bulk heterojunction organic solar cells utilizing 1,4,8,11,15,18,22,25-octahexylphthalocyanine

Bulk heterojunction solar cells utilizing soluble phthalocyanine derivative, 1,4,8,11,15,18,22,25-octahexylphthalocyanine (C6PcH₂) have been investigated. The active layer was fabricated by spin-coating the mixed solution of C6PcH₂ and 1-(3-methoxy-carbonyl)-propyl-1-1-phenyl-(6,6)C61 (PCBM). The photovoltaic properties of the solar cell with bulk heterojunction of C6PcH₂ and PCBM demonstrated the strong dependence of active layer thickness, and the optimized active layer thickness was clarified to be 120 nm. By inserting MoO₃ hole transport buffer layer between the positive electrode and active layer, the FF and energy conversion efficiency were improved to be 0.50 and 3.2%, respectively. The tandem organic thin-film solar cell has also been studied by utilizing active layer materials of C6PcH₂ and poly(3-hexylthiophene) and the interlayer of LiF/Al/MoO₃ structure, and a high V_oc of 1.27 V has been achieved.     

Investigation on the effectiveness of various methods of information dissemination aiming at a change of occupant behaviour related to thermal comfort and exergy consumption

These days the number of projects trying to urge a change in the occupant's behaviour towards a sustainable one is increasing. However, still less is known about the effect of such measures. This paper describes the findings of two investigations, a field measurement and an Internet-based survey, both including the dissemination of information about strategies for a high level of comfort without much energy usage. The focus was on the ability to quantify the effect of such measures on the heating and cooling behaviour. As a result, those who participated in a workshop were more likely to change their behaviour than those who received an information brochure only; whether this was due to the method employed or the type of participants could not be ascertained. However, the workshop participants reduced their cooling device usage by up to 16%. The concept of exergy was used to show how this reduction affects the exergy consumption of the cooling device, because it enables us to consider the qualitative aspect of energy as a quantity to be calculated. This showed that the exergy consumed by the workshop group was reduced by up to 20% comparing their behaviour before and after the information dissemination.     

Genetic algorithms (GAs) to evolve multiple-agent cooperative systems

In this paper, a microrobot soccer-playing game, such as that of MIROSOT (Microrobot World Cup Soccer Tournament), is adopted as a standard test bed for research on multiple-agent cooperative systems. It is considerably complex and requires expertise in several difficult research topics, such as mobile microrobot design, motor control, sensor technology, intelligent strategy planning, etc., to build up a complete system to play the game. In addition, because it is an antagonistic game, it appears ideal to test whether one method is better than other. To date there have been two different kinds of architecture for building such system. One is called vision-based or centralized architecture, and the other is known as robot-based or decentralized architecture. The main difference between them lies in whether there exists a host computer system which responds to data processing and strategy planning, and a global vision system which can view the whole playground and transfer the environment information to the host computer in real time. We believe that the decentralized approach is more advanced, but in the preliminary step of our study, we used the centralized approach because it can lighten any overload of the microrobot design. In this paper, a simplified layer model of the multiple-agent cooperative system is first proposed. Based on such a model, a system for a microrobot soccer-playing game is organized. At the same time a simple genetic algorithm (SGA) is used for the autonomous evolution of cooperative behavior among microrobots. Finally, a computer simulation system is introduced and some simulated results are explained. This work was presented, in part, at the Third International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics, Oita, Japan, January 19–21, 1998.     

Characterization of carbonaceous films deposited on metal substrates by liquid-phase electrodeposition in methanol

In this study, we report the characterization of carbonaceous films deposited on metal substrates by liquid-phase electrodeposition in methanol. The characterization of carbonaceous films by electrodeposition was examined by means of Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), atom probe (AP) and high resolution-elastic recoil detection analysis (HR-ERDA). From these results, it was found that the films deposited on the metal substrates were composed of the sp² and sp³ carbon contents, of which the ratio was about 7:3. Furthermore, the films by electrodeposition contained much hydrogen. The hydrogen contents in the surface were about 60 at.% and those in the subsurface were a few 10 at.%.     

Growth Mechanism of Monodispersed ZrO2 Particles

Monodispersed ZrO₂ seed particles which were prepared by hydrolysis of zirconium alkoxide solutions were allowed to grow by further addition of zirconium alkoxide and water under conditions in which new particles do not nucleate and grow. The particle growth mechanism is presumed to be a surface reaction in which the rate-determining step is a first-order polynuclearlayer growth mechanism. With this method of powder preparation, it is possible to precisely control the particle size, and it may be useful for applications in ceramic processing.     

Nano-structural Modification of Amorphous Carbon Thin Films by Low-energy Electron Beam Irradiation

CARBON-BASED MATERIALS have been regardedas one of the most important materials in nano-technology.Not only nanotubes and fullerenes but alsoa new form of carbon incorporating distinct graphiticconfigurations in amorphous carbon networks hasrecently attracted extensive interests in order toaccomplish high performances by combining diversephysical properties which arise from carbon structuresfl,2].In particular,the establishment of functionallyhybridized carbon systems with a thin film f…     

Optical and electrical anisotropies of polydiacetylene derivative film aligned by shear stress

The molecular alignment of polydiacetylene (PDA) derivatives and their optical and electrical properties of thin films based on PDA derivatives have been studied. The PDA derivatives were aligned depending on the direction of applied shear stress in the film. From measurements of the polarized absorption and current–voltage characteristics, the optical and electrical anisotropies have been observed, that was discussed by taking the PDA main chain alignment into consideration.     

数控机床的防碰撞系统

当今世界的制造业正面临着高附加价值加工的转换,复合加工机、5轴联动机床、5面体加工中心等最新加工设备层出不穷。但是在加工车间,随着这些以复合加工机为代表的机械结构的复杂化,机械运动和机械操作也越来越复杂。在机加工操作中,刀具和工件以及夹具的干涉、机床单元的干涉比以前更加易于发生,需要操作工小心和熟练地操作。因此,迫切需求让机床操作工安全操作的机床。     

Inhibition of nitric oxide synthase attenuates osmotic thirst in the rat

Changes in water intake after intraperitoneal injection of a nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor was studied in the rat. Administration of NW-nitro-L arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) at a dose of 50 mg/kg attenuated osmotic thirst induced by intraperitoneal injection of hypertonic saline, but did not affect spontaneous intake of water and thirst induced by subcutaneous injection of angiotension II. Pretreatment with L-arginine significantly attenuated the inhibition of osmotic thirst evoked with subsequent L-NAME. Administration of NW-nitro-D-arginine methyl ester (D-NAME) altered neither the spontaneous nor the osmotic drinking behavior. These findings suggest that NO may affect the osmotically induced drinking.