Systematic packaging design tools integrating functional and environmental consequences on product life cycle: Case studies on laundry detergent and milk

This study presents systematic packaging design tools integrating functional and environmental consequences on product life cycle. To design packaging for sustainability, the trade-offs between functional and environmental aspects of packaging throughout the product life cycle should be considered. However, it is difficult for packaging designers to understand the overall trade-offs because the extent of the design consequences on the entire life cycle of packaging and its contents is unclear. We developed two tools for packaging design: the Life Cycle Association Matrix (LCAM) and the Function Network Diagram (FND). The following three steps, based on literature reviews and interviews with industrial experts, were applied. Firstly, we listed the product functions and design variables related to the functions as the attributes allocated to the product life cycle. Secondly, the attributes were connected appropriately based on causal relationships. Lastly, we identified the factors to support decision making in the packaging design procedure. As a result, the LCAM depicts the design consequences on the life cycle, and the FND determines the stakeholders affected by the design consequences. Two case studies were demonstrated to analyze the trade-offs by using our tools. In the case studies, a liquid laundry detergent bottle and a milk carton were redesigned. The tools identified the design consequences and stakeholders affected by the redesign of the usability and protective function for the detergent and milk cases, respectively. The results showed the significance of understanding the design consequences on the product life cycle by integrating the functional and environmental aspects.     

Principled analytic classifier for positive-unlabeled learning via weighted integral probability metric

Machine Learning - We consider the problem of learning a binary classifier from only positive and unlabeled observations (called PU learning). Recent studies in PU learning have shown superior...     

Combustion synthesis of AlN doped with carbon and oxygen

Carbon-and-oxygen-doped AlN specimens were prepared by combustion synthesis using Al, graphite, and AlN. Graphite addition changed the product color from white to blue. By XRD, the lattice constant increased slightly with increasing carbon content. Blue AlN powder was synthesized with a molar ratio of the diluent AlN of 0.2-0.5 with a fixed graphite content of 0.05. At an AlN molar ratio exceeding 0.6, carbon was not successfully incorporated due to the lower reaction temperature. Calcination at 800°C in air removed residual graphite without changing the crystal structure or product color. Oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon analyses revealed that blue AlN powders contained 0.45-0.54 mass% carbon and 1.4-1.6 mass% oxygen, while the undoped AlN contained 0.021 mass% carbon and 0.94 mass% oxygen. The origin of the white-to-blue color change was investigated via reflection measurements. Blue AlN exhibits an absorption peak at 634 nm (1.96 eV). From first-principles electronic structure calculations, the C-doped AlN and carbon-and-oxygen-doped AlN with a 1:1 ratio could be classified as p-type, whereas the O-doped AlN and 1:3 carbon-and-oxygen-doped AlN were n-type. One reason for the absorption peak at 634 nm may be a transition from the conduction band to an upper unoccupied state. These results suggest the possible control of optical and electronic properties of AlN via carbon-and-oxygen doping.     

A cathode readout gas sampling calorimeter with conductive plastic tubes

We constructed and tested a prototype gas sampling electromagnetic calorimeter of the Pb-proportional tube sandwich type. The calorimeter uses conductive plastic tubes and cathode pad readout with a tower structure which resulted in reasonable energy and spatial resolutions for electrons in the momentum range 0.5–4.0 GeV/c; $\text{σ}{}_{\mathrm{E}}\text{E =}\text{21\%}\text{(E(}\text{GeV}\text{)}\text{)}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{, σ}{}_{\mathrm{x}}\text{= 6}\text{mm}\text{(at 3 GeV}$/c). This paper describes the test and the performance studied under various conditions.     

[110]-surface strained-SOI CMOS devices

We have newly developed [110]-surface strained-silicon-on-insulator (SOI) n- and p-MOSFETs on [110]-surface relaxed-SiGe-on-insulator substrates with the Ge content of 25%, fabricated by applying the Ge condensation technique to SiGe layers grown on [110]-surface SOI wafers. We have demonstrated that the electron and the hole mobility enhancement of [110]-surface strained-SOI devices amounts to 23% and 50%, respectively, against the mobilities of [110]-surface unstrained MOSFETs. As a result, the electron and the hole mobility ratios of [110]-surface strained-SOI MOSFETs to the universal mobility of (100)-surface bulk-MOSFETs increase up to 81% and 203%, respectively. Therefore, the current drive imbalance between n- and p-MOS can be reduced. Moreover, both the electron and the hole mobilities of the [110]-surface strained-SOIs strongly depend on the drain current flow direction, which is qualitatively explained by the anisotropic effective mass characteristics of the carriers on a [110]-surface Si. As a result, the [110]-surface strained-SOI technology with optimization of the current flow directions of n- and p-MOS is promising for realizing higher speed scaled CMOS.     

Improved direct bonding method of Nd:YVO4 and YVO4 laser crystals

We succeeded in the fabrication of bonded laser crystals composed of a neodymium-doped YVO₄ laser crystal (Nd:YVO₄) and its host crystals YVO₄ by a newly developed dry etching technique using an argon ion beam. The optical distortion caused by the bonded interface of size 5 mm × 6 mm was estimated to be 0.05λ at 633 nm. From the comparison of laser performance pumped by a laser diode, the bonded crystals could increase the laser output power by nearly twice that of the non-bonded crystals with the same degree of polarization of 99.2%. To analyze the mechanism of the enhanced reduction of the thermal load in the bonded crystals, numerical simulations with a finite-element method were also performed.     

Beam test of the CsI(Tl) calorimeter for the BELLE detector at the KEK-B factory

We studied the performance of a prototype electromagnetic calorimeter for the BELLE detector at the KEK proton synchrotron for an energy range of 0.25–3.5 GeV. The prototype consisted of an array of 6 × 5 CsI(Tl) crystals with 30 cm length (16.2 radiation lengths) and about 6 cm × 6 cm cross section. The scintillation light of each CsI(Tl) crystal was read out by two large-area PIN photodiodes and charge-sensitive preamplifiers attached at the rear face of the crystal. We measured the energy and position resolution for electrons and the e/π separation for two sets of matrix configurations: one corresponded to the center and the other to the edge of the barrel calorimeter. The overall performance measured by the test proves that the prototype calorimeter is satisfactory for the use in the BELLE detector.     

Bias-stress-induced increase in parasitic resistance of InP-based InAlAs/InGaAs HEMTs

The reliability of InP-based HEMTs is studied, focussing on how it is affected by the doped layer material and gate recess structure. Bias-and-temperature stress tests reveal that fluorine-induced donor passivation in the recess region, formed adjacent to the gate electrode, causes the source resistance (R_s) to increase at large drain bias voltages. The increase in R_s can be prevented by using InP or InAlP as the carrier supply layer material instead of InAlAs. On the other hand, the increase in the drain resistance (R_d) does not depend on the material of the carrier supply layer, which suggests that a mechanism different from that in the case of R_s should be considered. It is also found that a deep gate recess suppresses the increase in R_d after long-term stressing.