An acoustic micrometer and its application to layer thickness measurements

The principle and system of the acoustic micrometer are described. Its basic performance, with respect to the stability, accuracy, spatial resolution, and temperature dependence, is also discussed. Gold layers electroplated on substrates of 42% Ni-Fe alloy were taken as test specimens in the present study. The measurable range of the thickness for gold layers covered from 1 to 20 mum when a frequency range of 10-200 MHz was used. Stability and accuracy were achieved to within +/-0.2% and +/-1%, respectively.     

Excitation of plate waves in thickness measurements of layers deposited on thin plates

Layer thickness measurements with an acoustic micrometer using pseudo-Sezawa waves in which ultrasonic waves are obliquely applied to a layered surface of a specimen have been proposed. A case in which the plate thickness of the specimen is so thin that it cannot be regarded as a half space is studied. A number of modes of plate waves are then excited in addition to pseudo-Sezawa waves. The plate waves, giving rise to the appearance of extra dips in the power spectrum of reflected waves, cause difficulties in the measurements. To prevent the excitation of plate waves, it is proposed that a mask of a sound-insulating material with a slit aperture should be placed on the layered surface of the specimen. Experiments and theoretical calculations, using lead frames of LSI chips as typical test specimens with thin substrates, were performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the present method in preventing the excitation of plate waves.     

Principle and application of ball SAW devices

A thin beam of waves usually diverges due to diffraction, which is a limitation of any device using such waves. However, a surface acoustic wave (SAW) on a sphere with an appropriate aperture does not diverge but is collimated, realizing ultra‐multiple roundtrips along an equator of the sphere. This effect is caused by the balance between diffraction and focusing on a spherical surface, and it enables realization of high‐performance ball SAW sensors. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 168(1): 41–51, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20817     

Oscillation of a tilted circular pad on a droplet for the self-alignment process

The seesaw-oscillation of a small circular pad on a single droplet was studied both numerically and experimentally. The circular pad with a diameter of 2.0–3.8 mm onto a water or glycerol droplet with a volume of 1–10 μL, and a bottom substrate with a smaller diameter than that of the pad were used in the experiment. The pad was then tilted and then the tilting fixture was quickly removed. The pad alternately oscillated and then finally stabilized in a horizontal position. The numerical model considering the surface tension and the viscous force of the droplet was developed and calculated using the same configurations as those in the experiment. The experimental and numerical data showed good agreement not only in terms of the oscillating frequency and damping ratio but the transient motion of the circular pad and instantaneous droplet surface shape.     

Ultramultiple roundtrips of surface acoustic wave on sphere realizing innovation of gas sensors

A thin beam of wave usually diverges due to diffraction, which is a limitation of any device using such waves. However, a surface acoustic wave (SAW) on a sphere with an appropriate aperture does not diverge but is naturally collimated, realizing ultramultiple roundtrips along an equator of the sphere. This effect is caused by the balance between diffraction and focusing on a spherical surface, and it enables realization of high-performance ball SAW sensors. The advantage of ball SAW is most fully appreciated when applied to a very thin sensitive film for which the multiple-roundtrip enhances the sensitivity, but the attenuation loss is not very large. It is exemplified in a hydrogen gas sensor that realizes a wide sensing range of 10 ppm to 100% for the first time, and realizes relatively fast response time of 20 s without heating the sensitive film.     

Development of Adsorption Steam Generator without the Fossil Fuels Consumption

Reducing CO2 emissions and restraining dependence on nuclear power generation are serious concerns in the prevention of global warming since the Great East Japan Earthquake. To do so, it is necessary to use and expand natural renewable energy source such as solar energy and to promote energy conservation. However, in high-latitude regions, it is difficult to directly and effectively use solar power due to on insufficient amount of solar radiation. If steam can be generated from warm water at less than 373 K, it is possible to obtain steam by solar water heaters from weak solar radiation and industrial waste warm water without the consumption of any fossil fuels. In this study, the authors have been developing a system which generates steam over 423 K from warm water at less than 373 K using an adsorption heat pump with zeolite. Therefore, bench-scale equipment which generates steam continuously and the experimental results are mentioned.     

Size Distribution Change of Titania Nano-Particle Agglomerates Generated by Gas Phase Reaction,Agglomeration, and Sintering

In the manufacturing of nanometer-sized material particlulates by aerosol gas-to-particle conversion processes, it is important to analyze how the gas-phase chemical reaction, nucleation, agglomeration, and sintering rates control the size distribution and morphology of particles. In this study, titania particles were produced experimentally by the thermal decomposition of titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) and oxidation of titanium tetrachloride (TiCl 4 ) using a laminar flow aerosol reactor. The effect of reaction temperature on the size and morphology of the generated particles was investigated under various conditions. The size distributions of agglomerates were measured using a DMA/CNC system. The size distributions of primary particles were measured using TEM pictures of the agglomerates sampled by a thermophoretic aerosol sampler. In order to model the growth of both agglomerates and primary particles simultaneously, a two-dimensional discrete-sectional representation of the size distribution was employed, solving the aerosol general dynamic equation for chemical reaction, agglomeration, and sintering. Qualitative agreement between the experimentally observed results and the simulation are satisfactory for the large variations in reactor temperature explored.     

Angular spectral approach to reflection of focused beams with oblique incidence in spherical-planar-pair lenses

The characteristics of the output signal from spherical-planar-pair (SPP) lenses in the ultrasonic microspectrometer (UMSM) are described. The angular spectral approach is used to obtain the mathematical formula of the output signal. Although isotropic specimens are assumed, anisotropic materials can be treated as well with a small modification. A 2-D approximation is introduced to analyze the specular reflection, the Rayleigh critical angular phenomenon, and V (z) of the specular reflection. Numerical calculations are also performed for specimens with copper substrate, steel substrate, and layered structures, by numerically integrating the 2-D formulas of the output signal. It is found that a ray optical treatment is a good approximation of the wave propagation in the SPP lenses. The incident angular dependence of a reflection coefficient can be estimated by tilting the sensor unit.     

Potential of a direct contact adsorption heat pump system for generating steam from waste water

An adsorption heat pump with a direct contact system for steam generation has been developed and the feasibility of the proposed system was confirmed both theoretically and experimentally. The basic cycle for the system has been proposed to use zeolite–water working pairs in the p‐T‐x equilibrium curve. To generate steam above 150°C from low‐energy level water at 80°C, a direct contact adsorption heat pump prototype was constructed. The experimental results show that steam could be generated by the direct contact system and the relationship between the amount of water adsorbed and the change in temperature with time is discussed. This study is expected to serve as a foundation for developing continuous adsorption heat pump systems for steam generation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Measurement of acoustic reflection coefficients by an ultrasonicmicrospectrometer

An ultrasonic microspectrometer (UMSM) was developed in order to evaluate the elastic properties of a solid specimen at a small spot on its surface. In this system, spherical-planar-pair (SPP) lenses were used, by which the acoustic reflection coefficient of a liquid/solid interface was measured as a function of the incident angle in the frequency range from 20 to 140 MHz. Using a specimen of fused quartz whose material constants were well known, the measurement accuracy was examined. The phase velocity of a leaky Rayleigh wave was obtained from the phase change of the reflection coefficient with 0.4% accuracy in this frequency range. For a specimen of steel with a large acoustic attenuation, bulk attenuation factors and their frequency dependence were successfully estimated by computer-fitting of the reflection coefficient. As an example of anisotropic materials, the reflection coefficient of X-cut quartz was also measured. Measured phase of the reflection coefficient was in good agreement with numerical calculation