a-Si alloy three-stacked solar cells with high stabilized-efficiency

a-Si alloy three-stacked solar cells have been studied to improve the stabilized efficiency of a-Si: H based solar cells. Based on the analysis by the individual characterization method of the component cells in stacked type cells, the a-Si :H middle cell was replaced with an a-SiGe :H cell. Furthermore, the optical confinement technology was improved to obtain a high-output current with thin i-layer thickness in the a-SiGe :H bottom cell. By this device design, the initial conversion efficiency was improved up to 12.4% and more than a 10% stabilized efficiency was obtained in a-SiC :H/a-SiGe :H/a-SiGe :H three-stacked cells. These cell characteristics were confirmed by measurements at the JQA Organization (the former JMI Institute).     

Effect of platelet-activating factor on lipoprotein lipase and blood lipids

We investigated the effect of platelet-activating factor (PAF) and of the PAF specific antagonist CV-6209 on plasma lipid metabolism, and particularly on post-heparin plasma lipolytic activity in male Wistar rats. Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity was enhanced by intravenous injection of PAF before intravenous injection of heparin when the PAF dose was low (0.2 μg/kg). PAF activated hepatic triacylglycerol lipase (HTGL) activity dose-dependently. Plasma triacylglycerols (TG) significantly decreased with the activation of LPL and/or HTGL. Plasma total cholesterol (TC) and phospholipid (PL) levels decreased at a low dose of PAF (0.2 μg/kg), but increased when higher doses were used. The PAF antagonist CV-6209 partially reversed the PAF induced effects on HTGL, TC and PL. Based on a paper presented at the Third International Conference on Platelet-Activating Factor and Structurally Related Alkyl Ether Lipids, Tokyo, Japan, May 1989.     

Characterization of the Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics x-ray telescope: preflight calibration and ray tracing

The x-ray properties of multinested thin-foil mirror x-ray telescopes (XRT's) on board ASCA, the Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics, were fully evaluated with an x-ray pencil beam.Scanning over the telescope aperture of 35 cm in diameter with an x-ray pencil beam, we found the effective area of a set of XRT's to be 325, 200, and 113 cm(2) at energies of 1.5, 4.5, and 8.0 keV, respectively. We derive the point-spread functions (PSF's) of the XRT's by measuring the image profile at the focal plane with an x-ray CCD. The PSF is found to exhibit a sharp core concentrated within 30 arcsec and a broad wing extended to 3 arcmin in half-power diameter. We also evaluate the contribution of stray light, which is caused by the single reflection of x rays by primary or secondary mirrors and by the backside reflection of the mirrors. To obtain the characteristics of the XRT in the energy region of 0.5-10.0 keV, incorporated with the measurements at discrete energies, we develop a ray-tracing method with the telescope design parameter, the PSF, and optical constants. In particular, we obtain the optical constants around the gold-atom M shell (Au-M) absorption-edge energies by measuring the reflectivity of our mirror sample, with monochromatized x-rays in the energy range of 2.0-3.5 keV from synchrotron radiation. Taking into account the PSF's and optical constants, we find that our ray-tracing program can reproduce all these XRT performances.     

Designing high-level decision making systems based on fuzzy if–then rules for a point-to-point car racing game

In this paper, fuzzy rule-based systems are applied to a point-to-point car racing game. In the point-to-point car racing game, two car agents compete with each other for taking waypoints. There are three waypoints in the car racing field, each of which is assigned a number that indicates the order to take. The control process of car agents is modeled as a non-holonomic system where there are two input variables (acceleration and steering) for controlling the position, angle and velocity of the car agents. Fuzzy rule-based systems are used to make a high-level decision where the target waypoint to take is determined. Since a fuzzy rule-based system for the high-level decision making is generated in the manner of supervised learning, a set of training patterns should be given for the construction of the fuzzy rule-based systems. In this paper we examine two methods to obtain such a set of training patterns. We also examine two representations of input vectors for the fuzzy rule-based systems. We discuss the effect of obtained training patterns and the input representation on the performance of the fuzzy rule-based systems. After discussing and analyzing the experimental results, we present an adaptive framework of fuzzy rule-based systems. The performance of adaptive fuzzy rule-based systems is then examined based on the results of their non-adaptive version. A series of computational experiments are performed to show the learning ability of the adaptive fuzzy rule-based systems.     

Fabrication of particle-free thin films by laser ablation combined with an electron beam

Particle-free silicon and nickel thin films were successfully fabricated by laser-ablating a melted section of their target surface, which gives a high evaporation pressure at the melting point. The influence of direct evaporation from a melted target was reduced negligibly by melting the target only locally with a focused electron beam (e-beam) and increasing the laser frequency. The silicon films fabricated by the present method, pulse laser deposition of a partially molten target, were able to firmly adhere to the substrates and withstood steel needle scratching, unlike e-beam-evaporated films.     

Parallel processing circuit of line image using neuristor

A simultaneous detecting circuit system of centers and lengths of some lines in one dimension is presented applying an electronic circuit model of the nervous axon with respect to signal transmission. This model consists of series of one basic section, and has functions of Neuristor. The circuit system has a paralell processing function. It is constructed by three layers. In the first layer each visual signal of lines is changed to electric pulse signal. In the second layer edges of each line are detected, and in the third layer these detected signals are converted into voltages which correspond to lengths of the lines. These functions were confirmed experimentally using its hardware.     

Quantification of dance movement by simultaneous measurement of body motion and biophysical information

The purpose of this research is a quantitative analysis of movement patterns of dance,which cannot be analyzed with a motion capture system alone,using simultaneous measurement of body motion and biophysical information.In this research,two kinds of same leg movement are captured by simultaneous measurement;one is a leg movement with given strength,the other is a leg movement without strength on condition of basic experiment using optical motion capture and electromyography (EMG) equipment in order to quantitatively analyze characteristics of leg movement.Also,we measured the motion of the traditional Japanese dance using the constructed system.We can visualize leg movement of Japanese dance by displaying a 3D CG character animation with motion data and EMG data.In addition,we expect that our research will help dancers and researchers on dance through giving new information on dance movement which cannot be analyzed with only motion capture.     

Critical issues for the manufacture of the ITER TF coil winding pack

Research and trials by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) focus on the remaining technical issues in the ITER TF coil winding pack (WP) manufacturing process. Specific issues include the feasibility of automatically measuring conductor length during automatic winding with a high degree of accuracy (±0.02%) and a fabrication process to comply with the demanding tolerances (up to 1 mm distortion in flatness and 1.5 mm in-plane shrinkage) of the radial plate (RP) due to cover plate (CP) welding. The authors developed a new technique to measure conductor length very accurately by combining an ordinary encoder and a newly developed optical system. A simulation based on test results of CP welding using a RP mock-up indicates that a flatness of 1 mm is achievable, but the in-plane shrinkage of the RP is approximately 5 mm. One possible solution is to fabricate the RP larger than required to allow for in-plane shrinkage. Another solution is to reduce the thickness or length of the welding. The feasibility of these solutions to most of the major technical issues suggests that it is time for full qualification testing of the fabrication process in a dummy double-pancake trial.