Rearrangeable multichannel free-space optical switch using polarisation multiplexing technique

A rearrangeable free-space optical multichannel switch using the polarisation multiplexing technique is examined. The switch consists of LCTV polarisation switches and routing elements. It is shown that the switch is suitable for network reconfiguration in parallel processing systems. A 32-channel prototype optical switch was constructed, and excellent switching performance and stable insertion loss were confirmed.<>     

Antigenic characterization of Chlamydia pneumoniae isolated in Hiroshima, Japan

The morphology and antigenic property of elementary bodies (EBs) of new Chlamydia pneumoniae YK-41 strain isolated in Hiroshima, Japan, were compared with those of C. pneumoniae strains TW-183 and AR-39, C. trachomatis L2/434/Bu strain and C. psittaci Cal 10 and Budgerigar-1 strains by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting techniques. In spite of a clear difference in EB morphology between the YK-41 and the other C. pneumoniae strains used, protein profile of the YK-41 strain in SDS-PAGE was similar to that of the other strains. However, some quantitative difference in 200 and 98 kDa peptides and a faint difference in SDS-PAGE pattern was also observed in the molecular masses from 42 to 50 kDa. Immunoblot analysis with the patient serum at the convalescent stage revealed the presence of genus-specific and species-specific antigens in YK-41 EBs: i.e., the major outer membrane protein and 73 kDa peptides were genus-specific and the peptides of 43, 46, 53, 60 and 98 kDa appeared to be C. pneumoniae-specific.     

Giant Rashba-type spin splitting in bulk BiTeI

There has been increasing interest in phenomena emerging from relativistic electrons in a solid, which have a potential impact on spintronics and magnetoelectrics. One example is the Rashba effect, which lifts the electron-spin degeneracy as a consequence of spin-orbit interaction under broken inversion symmetry. A high-energy-scale Rashba spin splitting is highly desirable for enhancing the coupling between electron spins and electricity relevant for spintronic functions. Here we describe the finding of a huge spin-orbit interaction effect in a polar semiconductor composed of heavy elements, BiTeI, where the bulk carriers are ruled by large Rashba-like spin splitting. The band splitting and its spin polarization obtained by spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy are well in accord with relativistic first-principles calculations, confirming that the spin splitting is indeed derived from bulk atomic configurations. Together with the feasibility of carrier-doping control, the giant-Rashba semiconductor BiTeI possesses excellent potential for application to various spin-dependent electronic functions.     

Antireflective porous layer formation on multicrystalline silicon by metal particle enhanced HF etching

Antireflection of silicon (Si) surface is one key technology for the manufacture of efficient solar cells. Metal particle enhanced HF etching is applied to produce uniform antireflecting porous layer on multicrystalline Si wafers that cannot be uniformly texturized by anisotropic etching with an alkaline solution. Fine platinum (Pt) particles are deposited on multicrystalline n-Si wafers by electroless displacement reaction in a hexachloroplatinic acid solution containing HF. Both macroporous and luminescent microporous layers are uniformly formed by immersing the Pt-particle-deposited multicrystalline Si wafers in a HF solution. The reflectance of the wafers is reduced from 30% to 6% by the formation of porous layer. The photocurrent density of photoelectrochemical solar cells using porous multicrystalline n-Si has a 25% higher value than non-porous Si cells.     

Experimental and Numerical Studies on Push-Up Load Tests for Sand Plugs in a Steel Pipe Pile

This paper focuses on the bearing capacity of soil plugs (internal shaft resistance) through fundamental research on the bearing mechanism of dry silica sand plugs. Push-up load tests on the dry silica sand plugs inside a model pipe pile and DEM simulations were carried out to investigate the plugging behaviour. The influences of the packing state of the soil plugs (the relative density), and the height of the plugs on the bearing capacity were investigated. Prior to the push-up load tests, element tests on the silica sand and DEM analyses were performed to characterise the silica sand and to determine suitable DEM analysis parameters. The experimental and DEM results clearly show that the push-up force increases significantly with the increase in the aspect ratio of the soil plug, H/D, and with the relative density of the soil plug. The DEM analyses show a good agreement with the experimental results when the push-up force is small. Furthermore, the DEM results reveal that only the density of the soil plug in the lower portion, adjacent to the pile tip, increases gradually with the increase in the push-up displacement as well as the increase in H/D. Hence, it is the lower portion of the soil plug that mainly controls the capacity of the soil plug.     

Approximate Numerical Analysis of a Large Piled Raft Foundation

An approximate method of analysis has been developed to estimate the settlement and load distribution of large piled raft foundations. In the method the raft is modelled as a thin plate, and the piles and the soil are treated as interactive springs. Both the resistances of the piles as well as the raft base are incorporated into the model. Pile-soil-pile interaction, pile-soil-raft interaction and raft-soil-raft interaction are taken into account based on Mindlin's solutions. The proposed method makes it possible to solve problems of large non-uniformly arranged piled rafts in a time-saving way using a PC. The method can also be used for the deformation analysis of pile groups by setting the soil resistance at the raft base equal to zero. The validity of the proposed method is verified through comparisons with existing solutions. Two case studies on settlement analyses of a free-standing pile group and a large piled raft are presented. In the analyses, applicability of the equivalent pier concept is also examined and discussed. The computed settlements compare favourably with the field measurements.     

Asymptotic stabilization with group-wise sparse input based on control Lyapunov function approach

This study proposes a novel stabilizing controller for nonlinear systems using group-wise sparse inputs. The input variables are divided into several groups. In the situations when the input constraints can be ignored, one input becomes active for each group at each moment. Our method improves energy efficiency, as sparse input vectors often reduce the standby power of inactive actuators. Large-scale systems, such as those consisting of multiple subsystems, often require the manipulation of multiple inputs simultaneously to be controlled. Our method can be applied to such systems due to the group-wise sparsity of the inputs. The proposed controller is based on the control Lyapunov function approach and includes Sontag's universal formula as a special case. The controllers designed in our method have best-effort property, which means even when a restriction for the decreasing rate of the Lyapunov function cannot be fulfilled, the controller minimizes the time derivative of the Lyapunov function within the input constraint. The effectiveness of the proposed method can be confirmed through simulations.