Heat and mass transfer during crystal growth

Quality of semiconductor and oxide crystals which are grown from the melts plays an important role for electronic and/or optical devices. The crystal quality is significantly affected by the heat and mass transfer in the melts during crystal growth in a growth furnace such as Czochralski or horizontal Bridgman methods. This paper reviews the present understanding of phenomena of the heat and mass transfer of the melts, especially instability of melt convection from the detailed numerical calculation, which helps to understand the melt convection visualized using X-ray radiography. Large scale simulation of melt convection during crystal growth is also reviewed.

Characteristics of flow instabilities of melt convection with a low Prandtl number (ratio between momentum and thermal diffusivities) are also reviewed by focusing on the instabilities of baroclinic, the Rayleigh-Benard and the Marangoni-Benard, from the points of view of temperature, rotating and/or magnetic field effects during crystal growth. Oxygen concentration in grown crystals is also discussed how melt convection affects.     

Determination of assigned configurational parameters for cross propagation in radical copolymerization of methyl methacrylate and trityl methacrylate

Summary Copolymer of methyl methacrylate-d₈(M₁) with a small amount of trityl methacrylate(M₂) was radically prepared in tetrahydrofuran and converted into the copolymer of methyl methacrylate-d₈ with a small amount of undeuterated methyl methacrylate by the selective hydrolysis of the trityl group and subsequent methylation with diazomethane. From the ¹H NMR spectrum of the derived copolymer the assigned coisotactic parameters ₁₂ and ₂₁ were determined to be 0.14 and 0.61, respectively. This may be the first example of the unequivocal determination of assigned configurational parameters in cross propagation for copolymerization.     

Asymmetric addition of thiol to diene polymer in the presence of optically active amines as catalyst

The asymmetric addition reaction of thiolacetic acid or benzylmercaptan to diene polymer (natural rubber, cis- and trans-1,4-polyisoprene, _cis-1,4-polybutadiene, various styrenebutadiene copolymers and alternating acrylonitrile-butadiene copolymer) by optically active catalysts such as d-bornylamine ([α]d?45.2°), l-aspartic diethyl ester (?11.2°), l-aspartic dibutyl ester (?5.3°) were carried out in benzene at room temperature to 90°C. The optically active polymers were obtained from natural rubber and cis-1,4- and trans-1,4-polyisoprene, but were not obtained from cis-1,4-polybutadiene, styrene-butadiene copolymers, and butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymer. The [α]²⁵_D value of optically active derivatives was ?0.1° ～ ?1.0° (in benzene), and the optical rotatory dispersion curves were found to fit the simple Drude equation.     

Preparation and Properties of Bi4 − x Nd x Ti3O12 Thin Films by Chemical Solution Deposition

Neodymium-modified Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂, (Bi, Nd)₄Ti₃O₁₂ (BNT) ferroelectric thin films have been prepared on Pt/TiO_x/SiO₂/Si substrates using metal-organic precursor solutions by the chemical solution deposition method. The BNT precursor films crystallized into the Bi layered perovskite Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ (BIT) as a single-phase above 600C. The synthesized BNT films revealed a random orientation having a strong 117 reflection, whereas non-substituted BIT thin films exhibited a random orientation with strong 00l diffractions. Among Bi_{4 – x}Nd_xTi₃O₁₂ [x = 0.0, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0] thin films, Bi_3.25Nd_0.75Ti₃O₁₂ thin films showed a well-saturated P-E hysteresis loop with the highest P_r (22 C/cm²) and a low E_c (69 kV/cm) at an applied voltage of 5 V. The Nd-substitution with the optimum amount for the Bi site in the BIT structure was effective not only for promoting the 117 preferred orientation but also for improving the microstructure and ferroelectric properties of the resultant films.     

Analysis of trichothecenes in barley tea and beer by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

A simple method for analysis of trichothecenes [Type A: diacetoxyscirpenol, neosolaniol, HT-2 toxin, and T-2 toxin, Type B: deoxynivalenol, nivalenol, fusarenon-X, 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol, 15-acetyldeoxynivarenol] in barley tea and beer using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) was developed. Trichothecenes were extracted with ethyl acetate-methanol (19:1). The solvent was evaporated to dryness and the residue was dissolved in water-methanol (3:1) for injection into the LC/MS/MS. The LC separation was performed with an octadecylated silica column at a flow-rate of 0.2 mL/min, using a mobile phase consisting of water, methanol and acetonitrile. MS/MS was used in multiple reaction monitoring, employing electrospray ionization (ESI-MRM). The recoveries of trichothecenes from drinks at 1 microg/L (Type A) and 10 microg/L (Type B) were 52.5-115.2% (barley tea) and 68.1-127.5% (beer). Five barley tea and ten beer samples were analyzed by this method. Trichothecenes were not detected in them. This method may have applications in quality assurance.     

Statistical thermodynamic analysis and designof DNA-based computers

A principal research area in biomolecular computing is the development of analytical methods for evaluating computational fidelity and efficiency. In this work, the equilibrium theory of the DNA helix-coil transition is reviewed and expanded, as applied to the analysis and design of oligonucleotide-based computers. After a review of the equilibrium apparatus for modeling the helix-coil transition for single dsDNA species, application to complex hybridizing systems is discussed, via decomposition into component equilibria, which are presumed to proceed independently. The alternative approach, which involves estimation of a mean error probability per hybridized structure, or computational incoherence, is then presented, along with a discussion of a special-case exact solution (directed dimer formation), and an approximate general solution, applicable to conditions of uniform fractional-saturation. In order to clarify the opposing nature of the predictions of these two models, simulations are presented for the uniform saturation solution for , as applied to a small Tag–Antitag (TAT) system, along with the behavior expected via isolated melting curves. By a comparison with the predictions of a recent, TAT-specific solution for , the views provided by these generalized approximate models are shown to define the opposing limits of a more general error-response.     

Reports of the DAS02 working groups

This document is a collection of four working group reports in the areas of digital libraries, document image retrieval, layout analysis, and Web document analysis. These reports were the outcome of discussions by participants at the Fifth IAPR International Workshop on Document Analysis Systems held in Princeton, NJ on 19-21 August 2002.Published online: 16 March 2004     

Inhibitory effect of high concentrations of ferric ions on the activity of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

The influence of high concentrations of ferric ions on the biochemical activity of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans was studied using intact cells. The specific oxidation rate of ferrous ions decreased with increasing ferric ion concentration. Lineweaver-Burk plots revealed typical competitive inhibition kinetics, because the slopes varied with the ferric ion concentration. A linear relationship between the slope and the square of the ferric ion concentration revealed that the iron-oxidizing enzyme system of A. ferrooxidans was competitively inhibited by about two molecules of ferric ion. The kinetic equation based on this inhibition model agreed with the experimental observation at a high ferric ion concentration where the bacterium is usually exposed in bioleaching and biooxidation plants.