Control Policy for a Manufacturing System with Random Yield and Rework

We develop a production policy that controls work-in-process (WIP) levels and satisfies demand in a multistage manufacturing system with significant uncertainty in yield, rework, and demand. The problem addressed in this paper is more general than those in the literature in three aspects: (i) multiple products are processed at multiple workstations, and the capacity of each workstation is limited and shared by multiple operations; (ii) the behavior of a production policy is investigated over an infinite-time horizon, and thus the system stability can be evaluated; (iii) the representation of yield and rework uncertainty is generalized. Generalizing both the system structure and the nature of uncertainty requires a new mathematical development in the theory of infinite-horizon stochastic dynamic programming. The theoretical contributions of this paper are the existence proofs of the optimal stationary control for a stochastic dynamic programming problem and the finite covariances of WIP and production levels under the general expression of uncertainty. We develop a simple and explicit sufficient condition that guarantees the existence of both the optimal stationary control and the system stability. We describe how a production policy can be constructed for the manufacturing system based on the propositions derived.     

Phase Conjugation in Saturable Absorbing Dye Films by Degenerate Four-Wave Mixing and Holographic Processes Using Nanosecond Pulse and CW Lasers

We report on the simultaneous generation of phase-conjugate signals by degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) and holographic processes using a nanosecond pulse and a CW lasers in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) films doped with four kinds of saturable absorbing dyes. For the pulse laser, of the four kinds of dye-doped PVA films, the erythrosine B-doped PVA and uranine doped-PVA films generate PC signals only by the DFWM process, while the other dye-doped PVA films generate PC signals simultaneously by not only the DFWM process but also the holographic process. Especially, the safranin T-doped PVA film generates strong PC signals by the holographic process. In contrast, all of the dye-doped PVA films generate the two types of PC signals for the CW laser. The fading of dye molecules is found to result in the generation of the holographic component of PC signals which governs the temporal behavior of the total PC signals.     

Electrical properties and memory effect in the field effect transistor based on organic ferroelectric insulator and pentacene

We have fabricated a field effect transistor (FET) based on an organic ferroelectric insulator and molecular conductor, and investigated the electrical properties and memory effects on the PEN-FET. We have observed a drastic change in the drain current at around the coercive electric fieldE _c of the organic ferroelectric insulator in not only a FET (PEN-FET) based on a pentacene (PEN) film but also a FET (IPEN-FET) based on an iodine doped PEN film. The magnitude of the change of the drain current for the IPEN-FET is 200 times larger than that for the PEN-FET. It is expected from these results that the PEN-FET (especially the IPEN-FET) is an improvement in such devices, since it operates at a low gate electric field accompanied by the appearance of the spontaneous polarization in the organic ferroelectric insulator. In addition, we have found that the drain current for the PEN-FET does not return to the initial drain current ofE _G =0 V/cm for more than one week, even if the gate electric field is changed to 0 V/cm from 500 V/cm(>E _c ). From these results, it is suggested that the PEN-FET becomes a memory device.     

Does in-source decay occur independent of the ionization process in matrix-assisted laser desorption?

The influence of the acidic and basic characters of constituent amino acid residues on the peptide fragment ions produced by in-source decay under matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) conditions has been studied using positive- and negative-ion experiments. Whereas the in-source decay spectra of peptides containing basic Arg and/or Lys residues near the N-terminus showed so-called c_n- and a_n-series ions in positive-ion mode, a peptide that has an acidic amino acid cluster near the N-terminus and a basic residue near the C-terminus characteristically formed y_n- and z_n-series ions in the positive-ion in-source decay spectrum. These results indicated that fragment ion series produced by in-source decay depend strongly upon the acidic and basic characters of the constituent amino acid residues and the near N- and C-termini. It was suggested that in-source decay processes occur intrinsically at NH–C^α and CO–NH bonds independent of the formation of molecular-related ions, and that the cleavages at the NH–C^α and CO–NH bonds occurred independently and were dependent on the matrix used.     

Scattering from very rough metallic and dielectric surfaces: a theory based on the modified Kirchhoff approximation

This paper presents a theory of scattering from very rough metallic and dielectric surfaces using the first- and second-order Kirchhoff approximations (KA) modified with the angular and propagation shadowing. The shadowing functions limit the single and double scattered waves which are illuminated and not shadowed by the surface. The theoretical results are compared with the Monte Carlo simulations showing the range of validity of the theory. The theory is applicable to the range where the RMS height is close to a wavelength and the RMS slope is close to unity, and the second medium is lossy. The second-order scattering includes two waves travelling in opposite directions on the surface, giving a physical explanation of the enhanced backscattering.     

Recording and reading of three-dimensional optical memory in glasses

We report on three-dimensional (3D) optical memory recording and reading in glass by femtosecond pulses. Optically induced dielectric breakdown of glass is a mechanism of recording. The formulae of dielectric breakdown presented are applicable, in principle, for any crystalline or amorphous dielectric material. Scaling dependences of the probabilities of multi-photon and impact ionization are given. The measured threshold of an in-bulk dielectric breakdown of silica was reproduced numerically by implementing the ionization potential of Si (8.15 eV) for calculations. Exact measures of focal spot size and pulse duration at the focus allowed us to evaluate the intensity of a pulse during recording of 3D optical memory bits with high accuracy. The readout of the 3D optical memory was carried out by the white-light continuum generated from the previously damaged sites (recorded memory bits). The mechanism of the readout was a four-photon parametric interaction. PACS 42.65.Jx; 42.65.Ky; 42.70.Ce; 42.79.Vb     

Design of a widely tunable laser with a chirped ladder filter

We theoretically investigated a digitally tunable laser with a chirped ladder filter and a ring resonator to obtain a wide wavelength tuning range covering the whole C- or L- band. The clear relation between the tuning range and laser structure, especially the ladder filter, is described analytically. The introduction of a chirped structure into a ladder filter is effective in achieving both wide tunability and a stable lasing mode. A numerical simulation based on multimode rate equations shows that a tuning range of over 40 nm and a mode suppression ratio over 40 dB can be achieved by introducing a chirped ladder filter.     

Superstring thermodynamics and its application to cosmology

The thermodynamics of superstring theories (SST-I, SST-II and heterotic string theory) and its application to the cosmology are studied. The free energy of superstring gas is calculated in the one-loop approximation and the stability of the extra torus dimensions is discussed. Assuming that the Einstein equation dictates the evolution of the universe, we show that matter dominated universe filled with massive particles would never be realized at the beginning of the universe, contrary to the naive expectation in the superstring cosmology.