Growth of β-Alumina (Na2O · 11Al2O3) Single Crystals by the Flux Method

The crystal-growth process and growth conditions of β-alumina (Na₂O · Al₂O₃) were investigated using the Na₂B₄O₇-Na₃AlF₆ flux method. β-Alumina (electric fusion brick) was used as both nutrient and seed. Weight loss of the flux varied widely for various runs: ≅ 10 wt% of flux evaporated at 100 h, ≅ 17 wt% at 150 h, and 43 wt% at 600 h. When β-alumina crystal was grown, only 20 wt% Na₂B₄O₇ was added to the Na₃AlF₆ flux. The linear growth rates of the β-alumina single crystal grown by an Na₃AlF₆-20 wt% Na₂B₄O₇ flux method at 1040°C and Δ t = 18°C were ≅ 1.0 × 10⁻³ mm/h ( a face) and ≅0.3 × 10⁻³ mm/h ( c face). The β-alumina single crystals grown were bounded by only c [001] and a [100] and were colorless and transparent.     

Transflective IPS‐LCD with improved reflective contrast ratio

Abstract— In order to improve the reflective contrast ratio of transflective IPS‐LCDs, a novel pixel design for a normally white reflective IPS has been proposed. In this design, the large‐inter‐electrode‐spacing layout using a novel driving method and a double‐layered electrode have effectively reduced the light leakage. By applying these two technologies, a transflective IPS‐LCD has been successfully demonstrated with a high contrast ratio (15:1) in the reflective mode and a wide‐viewing‐angle characteristic in the transmissive mode.     

High-power CW deep-UV coherent light sources around 200 nm based on external resonant sum-frequency mixing

We report pure continuous-wave (CW) high-power (>100 mW) deep-ultraviolet (DUV) light sources emitting around 200-nm spectral region based on singly resonant sum-frequency mixing (SRSFM). Efficient DUV generation is made possible by use of a Brewster-cut CsLiB/sub 6/O/sub 10/ (CLBO) crystal near noncritically phase-matched (NCPM) condition for the SFM of 1-/spl mu/m output of neodymium lasers. The CW radiation of fifth-harmonic wavelength of a neodymium laser at 213 nm was generated by the SFM of enhanced 1064-nm radiation with single-passing 266-nm radiation produced by external-resonant frequency doubling of a 532-nm green laser. With 1.8 W of 266-nm radiation incident upon a CLBO crystal, as much as 180 mW of CW 213-nm power has been produced. The sub-200-nm CW radiation with 140-mW power has also been achieved by SFM of 1064 nm with 244-nm radiation from a frequency-doubled Argon-ion laser in the CLBO crystal operated near the NCPM condition.     

Interactive segmentation of the cerebral lobes with fuzzy inference in 3T MR images.

Measurement of volume and surface area of the frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobes from magnetic resonance (MR) images shows promise as a method for use in diagnosis of dementia. This article presents a novel computer-aided system for automatically segmenting the cerebral lobes from 3T human brain MR images. Until now, the anatomical definition of cerebral lobes on the cerebral cortex is somewhat vague for use in automatic delineation of boundary lines, and there is no definition of cerebral lobes in the interior of the cerebrum. Therefore, we have developed a new method for defining cerebral lobes on the cerebral cortex and in the interior of the cerebrum. The proposed method determines the boundaries between the lobes by deforming initial surfaces. The initial surfaces are automatically determined based on user-given landmarks. They are smoothed and deformed so that the deforming boundaries run along the hourglass portion of the three-dimensional shape of the cerebrum with fuzzy rule-based active contour and surface models. The cerebrum is divided into the cerebral lobes according to the boundaries determined using this method. The reproducibility of our system with a given subject was assessed by examining the variability of volume and surface area in three healthy subjects, with measurements performed by three beginners and one expert user. The experimental results show that our system segments the cerebral lobes with high reproducibility.     

New Thin-Film Multijunction Thermal Converter Design for Improved High-Frequency Performance

New thin-film planar multifunction thermal converters (PMJTC) were developed to improve the high-frequency ac-dc transfer differences. The heater resistor and thermocouples of these PMJTCs were produced on different substrates: an AIN chip for the heaters and polyimide film for the thermocouples, using simple fabrication processes. The thermocouples were moved from the conventional high-potential heater position, and placed close to the ground electrode of the input circuit. This new configuration upgrades the performance of ac-dc transfer differences above 10 kHz by improving both the electromagnetic coupling between the heater and thermocouples and the output resistance of thermocouples. Using a high thermal conductivity AIN substrate, through which heat is conducted from the heater to the hot junctions of the thermocouples, almost the same sensitivity as that of PMJTCs on silicon is obtained.     

Responsiveness of electric resistance of polymer-grafted carbon black/alumina gel composite against solvent vapor and solute in solution

The carbon black/alumina gel composites were prepared by sol-gel reaction of aluminum isopropoxide in the presence of polymer-grafted carbon black. The electric resistance of the alumina gel composite from polymer-grafted carbon black was very sensitive to vapor of good solvent for grafted polymer on carbon black: the electric resistance of the alumina gel composite suddenly decreased in solvent vapor and returned to initial resistance when it was transferred into dry air. The effect of surface area and particle size of carbon black on the responsiveness was also investigated. In addition, the electric resistance of the alumina gel composite was found to respond to water and methanol in n-hexane and diethyl ether.     

Effects of light guides and optical filters for a high density lead glass counter

Effects of various light guides on energy resolution, position dependence of the output pulse and the hadron suppression factor were studied for a high density lead glass counter with particles of energies between 1 GeV and 16 GeV. The best hadron suppression factor was obtained for a configuration with a plastic light guide and a short wave cutoff filter at little expense to energy resolution. The energy resolution is worse at high energy and is dependent on the hit position of an incident particle for a BK7 light guide.