Shift of redox potential and kinetics in Lix(MnyFe1−y)PO4

The relatively high redox potential in the olivine-type LiMPO₄ (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) materials has largely been explained by the M–O–P inductive effect which increases the ionic character of transition metal atoms. Here, we identify the additional perturbative effect that slightly but systematically shifts the redox potential. The substitution of iron by manganese in the olivine LiMPO₄ framework raises both of the Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ and Mn³⁺/Mn²⁺ redox potentials by ∼0.1 V. The overall volume expansion upon Mn substitution in the whole Li_x(Mn_yFe_1−y)PO₄ system possibly increases the average metal-oxide bond length and hence the ionicity of each transition metal. The voltage shift in a single cell is small but should be significant in a larger-scale battery where there exist a large number of series connections. The kinetic shift for each of the Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ and Mn³⁺/Mn²⁺ redox reactions is also investigated.     

3.5-mm-square InGaAs p-i-n photodiodes and their application tooptical-axis arrangement between 1.3-μm laser diodes and a SMF

InGaAs p-i-n photodiodes (PD) with 3.5-mm×3.5-mm-large photosensitive area have been fabricated using chlorine-vapor-phase-epitaxial (C-VPE) growth. They showed high responsivity of 0.95 A/W (λ=1.3 μm) and 1.2 A/W (λ=1.55 μm) and good homogeneity in the whole area. Long-term reliability was confirmed through high-temperature aging tests at 150°C up to 5200 hours. A PD with two pairs of parallel electrodes (PE-PD) was applied to optical-axis arrangement between 1.3-μm laser diodes (LD's) and a single mode fibre (SMF). The beam position of a LD was detected in error within ±20 μm using PE-PD prior to coupling of a LD beam into a SMF. Total inspection time was reduced to one third the original time     

Ambient pressure synthesis of La2LiHO3 as a solid electrolyte for a hydrogen electrochemical cell

The capability of La₂LiHO₃ as a H⁻ conductive solid electrolyte has recently been demonstrated, which has suggested the possibility of developing electrochemical devices based on H⁻ conduction. However, the performance of La₂LiHO₃ as a solid electrolyte has not yet been fully clarified. In this study, we prepared La₂LiHO₃ sintered pellets by a conventional solid-state reaction with LiH flux under ambient pressure and characterized the crystal structure and thermal stability (to moisture, ambient air, and oxygen) by neutron and X-ray diffraction measurements. The produced sintered pellets exhibited an activation energy of 69.2 kJ/mol, which is consistent with the value of the sample synthesized by the high-pressure method. The gas-sealing properties of the sintered La₂LiHO₃ pellets as the H⁻ conductive solid electrolyte were confirmed by measuring the electromotive force using a hydrogen concentration cell.     

Task transmission control with dynamic lightpath setup for constant processing delay in an optical grid

This paper proposes a task transmission control with dynamic lightpath setup in an optical grid. In our proposed method, a job manager changes the number of tasks in a resource manager dynamically so as to maintain a constant processing delay. It leads to effective utilization of computing resource. I‐PD control is applied to maintain efficient network management. Furthermore, in order to avoid frequent lightpath setup process, multiple lightpaths are established simultaneously by our proposed algorithm. Numerical results show the effectiveness of the proposed task transmission method. © 2012 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Controlled Polarizability of One‐Nanometer‐Thick Oxide Nanosheets for Tailored,High‐κ Nanodielectrics

An important challenge in current microelectronics research is the development of techniques for making smaller, higher‐performance electronic components. In this context, the fabrication and integration of ultrathin high‐κ dielectrics with good insulating properties is an important issue. Here, we report on a rational approach to produce high‐performance nanodielectrics using one‐nanometer‐thick oxide nanosheets as a building block. In titano niobate nanosheets (TiNbO₅, Ti₂NbO₇, Ti₅NbO₁₄), the octahedral distortion inherent to site‐engineering by Nb incorporation results in a giant molecular polarizability, and their multilayer nanofilms exhibit a high dielectric constant (160–320), the largest value seen so far in high‐κ nanofilms with thickness down to 10 nm. Furthermore, these superior high‐κ properties are fairly temperature‐independent with low leakage‐current density (<10^?7 A cm^?2). This work may provide a new recipe for designing nanodielectrics desirable for practical high‐κ devices.     

Involvement of p85 in p53-dependent apoptotic response to oxidative stress

Reactive oxygen species have damaging effects on cellular components and so trigger defensive responses by the cell and even programmed cell death, although the mechanisms by which mammalian cells transmit signals in response to oxidative damage are unknown. We report here that the protein p85, a regulator of the signalling protein phosphatidyl-3-OH kinase (PI(3)K), participates in the cell death process that is induced in response to oxidative stress and that this role of p85 in apoptosis does not involve PI(3)K. We show that disruption of p85 by homologous recombination impairs the cellular apoptotic response to oxidative stress. Because the protein p53 is required for cell death induced by oxidative damage, we examined the relation between p85 and p53. Using a chimaeric p53 fusion protein with the oestrogen receptor (p53ER) to supply p53 (p53 is induced upon binding of p53ER to oestradiol) in a p53-deficient cell line, we found that p85 is upregulated by p53 and that its involvement in p53-mediated apoptosis is independent of PI(3)K. We propose that p85 acts as a signal transducer in the cellular response to oxidative stress, mediating cell death regulated by p53.     

Preparation of Au/ZnO nanocomposites by radio frequency co-sputtering

Au/ZnO nanocomposite films were prepared by co-sputtering of ZnO and gold wires. The composite films were transparent and red in color due to surface plasmon resonance absorption of small Au particles. The composite films were annealed at different temperatures in argon atmosphere to study the evolution of the size of Au particles and subsequent change in their optical properties. With the increase of annealing temperature, the size of the Au particles increased and the intensity of plasmon resonance absorption peak increased.     

Optical WDM transceiver module using wavelength-selective couplerand WDM-PD for optical access networks

A new optical wavelet division multiplexing (WDM)-transceiver module has been designed and fabricated for optical access networks. Conventional 1.3/1.55-μm WDM-coupler and Y-branch were replaced by a new wavelength-selective coupler in order to reduce module size. A new WDM-photodiode (PD), which was photosensitive to 1.3 μm light and transparent to 1.55 μm light, and a 1.55-μm PD were arranged in series along the optical axis. An MQW-FP-LD was used as a 1.3-μm transmitter. Fundamental characteristics were measured and discussed. Evaluation results, P_out of 0 dBm, responsivity of 0.36 A/W at 1.31 μm and 0.74 A/W at 1.55 μm, and IMD2 of -76.2 dBc, imply that this WDM-transceiver module design is promising to application for optical access networks     

Structures and Polymorphic Transitions of Triacylglycerols, SOS and POS Thin Films: A Study on Temperature Dependence

X-ray reflectivity (XR) and scanning probe microscopy (SPM) were used to examine the structures, polymorphic transitions, and surface morphologies of triacylglycerol (TAG), 1,3-stearin-2-olein (SOS) and 1-palmitin-2-olein-3-stearin (POS) thin films supported on Si substrates. The structural parameters: thickness, electron density, and surface/interface roughnesses of TAG thin films were determined by the nonlinear least-squares regression of XR profiles to reveal their temperature dependences. In the lower temperature regimes, we observed Bragg peaks without significant interference fringe patterns in the XR profiles. SPM at room temperature displayed isolated islands on TAG thin films with surface undulations. Whereas in the higher temperature regimes in which the Bragg peaks disappeared, the interference fringe patterns became prominent. The analyses of the XR profiles indicated the structural change in thin films from three layers to single layer on Si substrates with increasing temperature. However, the temperatures at which the structural change occurred were obviously different between SOS and POS thin films.     

Direct analysis method for probabilistic fracture mechanics

A new method for solving problems of probabilistic fracture mechanics (PFM) is proposed. A process of crack growth is reduced into an iterative integration equation with respect to the probabilistic distribution functions of crack geometry using approximate independence, which we have introduced. The integration equation which has a form of Stieltjes integral is solved by a numerical method. Some PFM problems are solved using the present method, and the results are compared with those by the MC method. Failure probabilities obtained from both calculations agree well. Execution time of the present method is shown to be remarkably short.