Interfacial strength and chemistry of additive-free silicon nitride ceramics brazed with aluminium

Two kinds of additive-free silicon nitride ceramics were brazed with aluminium; one was with as-ground faying surfaces and the other was with faying surfaces heat-treated at 1073K for 1.8 ksec in air. The heat-treatment of the silicon nitride ceramics formed a silicon oxynitride layer on the faying surfaces and increased the brazing strength of the joints. A silica-alumina non-crystalline layer and a β′-sialon layer were formed successively from the aluminium side at the interface of the joints. The heat-treatment which made the former layer thicker is a necessary process in making reliable, strong brazed joints.     

Ecodesigns and applications for noble metal nanoparticles by ultrasound process

Ecodesigns for nano-sized noble metal particles were investigated by a new liquid-solid (metal oxide-alcohol) system. We have reduced noble metal oxides as low-emission starting materials by ultrasound and tried to fabricate various noble metal nanoparticles (Ag, Au, Pt, Pd) at room temperature, Noble metal oxides were investigated during decomposition. These reductions are ecologically clean, because many noble metal oxides are not toxic, and during decomposition, O/sub 2/ is evolved. By choosing suitable conditions, it is reasonable to expect that this simple sonochemical process can be extended to obtain nano-sized metal particles.     

Pulsed Electric Current Sintering of Silicon Nitride

Pulsed electric current sintering (PECS) has been used to densify α-Si₃N₄ powder doped with oxide additives of Y₂O₃ and Al₂O₃. A full density (>99%) was achieved with virtually no transformation to β-phase, resulting in a microstructure with fine equiaxed grains. With further holding at the sintering temperature, the α-to-β phase transformation took place, concurrent with an exaggerated grain growth of a limited number of elongated β-grains in a fine-grained matrix, leading to a distinct bimodal grain size distribution. The average grain size was found to obey a cubic growth law, indicating that the growth is diffusion-controlled. In contrast, the densification by hot pressing was accompanied by a significant degree of the phase transformation, and the subsequent grain growth gave a broad normal size distribution. The apparent activation energy for the phase transformation was as high as 1000 kJ/mol for PECS, almost twice the value for hot pressing (∼500 kJ/mol), thereby causing the retention of α-phase during the densification by PECS.     

Degradation by Sn diffusion applied to surface mounting with Ag-epoxy conductive adhesive with joining pressure

Shear and tensile tests were carried out on joints made with an isotropic conductive adhesive (ICA) consisting of Ag and epoxy: Sn–Pb plated components mounted on printed boards and tensile bars consisting of Sn plated Ni and Cu joined under various joining pressures. After 150 °C–100 h, shear strength degraded to 72% and Sn in the plating diffused slightly to the Ag fillers in the ICA for the component mounting. High joining pressure increased the initial tensile strength and volume percentage of Ag fillers in the ICA. After 150 °C–100 h, tensile strengths for all joining pressures degraded on average to 36% of the initial strengths. In the case of low joining pressures, an Ag–Sn intermetallic was formed at only the Ag–Sn contact points of the Sn/ICA interface; leading to reproducibility of the component mounting. The difference of degradation ratios between the mounted components and tensile bars could be explained by the offset of the Sn–Pb area at the component/ICA interface.     

A flexible videoconference system based on multiagent framework

We present a design and implementation of a flexible videoconference system (VCS) using multiagent computing technology. The proposed system, we named FVCS, aims to reduce the burden of the users under the operational environment with insufficient computational resources, such as the Internet environment with small-scale computers at homes and offices, by embedding flexibility to the conventional videoconference system. In this paper, we design and implement FVCS with knowledge-based multiagent framework to realize adaptability of FVCS. We also evaluate the adaptability of the prototype systems of FVCS based on an operational situation observed in its experiments. From the result of the experiments, we conclude that the multiagent-based design and implementation is reasonable for construction of FVCS.     

Acidic property of BEA zeolite synthesized by seed-directed method

The acidic property of a BEA zeolite prepared by a seed-directed synthesis (SDS) method without organic structure directing agent (OSDA) was analyzed by a method of ammonia infrared/mass spectroscopic temperature-programmed desorption. The number of Brønsted acid sites on the SDS-BEA zeolite was larger than that on a conventional BEA zeolite synthesized from using OSDA. The enthalpy of ammonia desorption, distributed mainly in a range between 115 and 145 kJ mol^?1, was in agreement with the acid strength region generated by isomorphous substitution of Si⁴⁺ by Al³⁺ in the BEA framework. These observations confirm that the microstructure around the incorporated Al in the SDS-BEA zeolite was equivalent to that in the conventional one.     

Sol–Gel‐Derived High‐Performance Stacked Transparent Conductive Oxide Thin Films

Single‐ and multi‐layer transparent conductive oxide (TCO) thin films exhibiting high performance, good packing density and low surface/interface roughness are deposited on silica glass substrates by the sol–gel method. The crystal and microstructural properties of the TCO thin films are evaluated as an alternate to films prepared by ultra‐high vacuum deposition. Tin‐doped indium oxide (ITO) thin films produced using a two‐step drying process showed low surface roughness because of dense packing structure not only horizontal but also vertical directions. As a result, electrical conductivity, carrier concentration, carrier mobility, and optical transmittance of 2.3 × 10³ S/cm, 8 × 10²⁰ cm^?3, 18 cm²/Vs, and over 98% at 500 nm, respectively, were achieved. A multilayer ZnO/ITO stacked structure was also fabricated using the sol–gel process. Our findings suggest that solution‐based methods show promise as an alternative to existing ultra‐high vacuum methods to fabricate TCO thin films.