Microencapsulation of TiO2 Nanoparticles with Polymer by Rapid Expansion of Supercritical Solution

A novel preparation method is reported for the microencapsulation of TiO₂ nanoparticles by rapid expansion of supercritical solution with a nonsolvent. A suspension of TiO₂ nanoparticles in carbon dioxide containing a cosolvent and dissolved polymer is sprayed through a nozzle to atmospheric pressure. After rapid expansion, polymer microspheres were obtained. The microspheres do not tend to agglomerate, since the pure cosolvent is a nonsolvent for the polymer. The structure and morphology of microspheres were investigated by SEM, TEM and XRD. The obtained polymer microspheres are microcapsules of TiO₂ nanoparticles. The mean particle diameter and particle size distribution of microcapsules, could be controlled by changing the polymer concentration, pre-expansion pressure, temperature and injection distance. The polymer feed compositions are more effective than other factors on the control of particle size.     

Achievement of a 920-MHz high resolution NMR

We have developed a 920-MHz NMR system and performed the proton NMR measurement of H(2)O and ethylbenzene using the superconducting magnet operating at 21.6 T (920 MHz for proton), which is the highest field produced by a superconducting NMR magnet in the persistent mode. From the NMR measurements, it is verified that both homogeneity and stability of the magnet have a specification sufficient for a high resolution NMR.     

Optimum design of a distributed Bragg-reflector laser with optical loss in the corrugated waveguide

The distributed Bragg-reflector (DBR) laser with optical loss in the corrugated waveguide is analyzed by using the coupling mode theory. The threshold gain and the mode selectivity are given as a function of the optical loss, the coupling coefficient and the pumped length. These results show that the DBR laser has an optimum condition by considering the threshold gain and the mode selectivity.     

Measurement of temporal changes in vocal tract area function from 3D cine-MRI data

A 3D cine-MRI technique was developed based on a synchronized sampling method [Masaki et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Jpn. E 20, 375-379 (1999)] to measure the temporal changes in the vocal tract area function during a short utterance /aiueo/ in Japanese. A time series of head-neck volumes was obtained after 640 repetitions of the utterance produced by a male speaker, from which area functions were extracted frame-by-frame. A region-based analysis showed that the volumes of the front and back cavities tend to change reciprocally and that the areas near the larynx and posterior edge of the hard palate were almost constant throughout the utterance. The lower four formants were calculated from all the area functions and compared with those of natural speech sounds. The mean absolute percent error between calculated and measured formants among all the frames was 4.5%. The comparison of vocal tract shapes for the five vowels with those from the static MRI method suggested a problem of MRI observation of the vocal tract: data from static MRI tend to result in a deviation from natural vocal tract geometry because of the gravity effect.     

Self-Restoration Properties of VWP Networks by Spare Wavelength Optimization

The self-restoration properties in VWP networks are investigated with optimization about spare wavelength by simulations. Rapid restoration can be achieved by selection of rerouting path with long delay and no delay-limitation for new routes.     

Sliding acceleration of water droplets on a surface coated with fluoroalkylsilane and octadecyltrimethoxysilane

Both fluoroalkylsilane (FAS) and octadecyltrimethoxysilane (ODS) were coated on oxidized silicon wafers using soaking and CVD method. Smooth coatings with Ra values of less than 1 nm were attained. The slope of the sliding acceleration against the inverse of the droplet mass showed an inflection point. That point shifted to the direction of smaller droplets with decreasing FAS ratio to ODS. The water droplets’ length was increased when the sliding velocity was increased. Fluoroalkylsilane addition to ODS increases the interaction between water and the hydrophobic surface. Results showed that the sliding acceleration of a water droplet depends strongly on the surface ratio of these silanes.     

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterization of oxidated Si particles formed by pulsed ion-beam ablation

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is used to probe oxidation states of Si species in particles deposited using a pulsed ion-beam evaporation method. The effects of He ambient gas, ion beam intensity and post-treatments on the oxides composition and oxygen content have been studied. It is found that presence of He ambient gas led to a profound oxidation of Si species as compared to that prepared in vacuum at the same ion-beam ablation energy, i.e. both increase of SiO₂ component and oxygen concentration in the oxides coverage. The deposition in He also resulted in an increase of oxygen concentration even under lower ablation intensity, but a higher Si suboxides concentration. It is revealed that the reaction between Si and O was controlled by the ion beam intensity (temperature of Si plasma) and the gas ambient (collision probability of Si and O species). The difference in structure of oxide layers for samples obtained under various conditions is discussed based on the results of XPS analyses.     

Optical current transducers using flint glass fiber as the faraday sensor element

This paper describes development of the optical current transducers using flint glass fiber as the Faraday effect sensing element. Excellent polarization properties of the fiber with low birefringence are described, and the design and test data of a current transducer using the fiber manufactured for use in electric power facilities are reviewed. Experimental results on flexible characteristics of a scheme with round trip light transmission in the fiber is also reported.     

Measurement of non-DLVO force on a silicon substrate coated with ammonium poly(acrylic acid) using scanning probe microscopy

The repulsive force originating from steric hindrance of polymers in aqueous solvent was investigated using scanning probe microscopy (SPM). The contact angle (CA) of ammonium poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) solution on the Si surface was measured to estimate the state of the Si substrate. Results of CA measurement show that the Si surface was fully covered with PAA at 0.1 mass% in aqueous solution. The interaction force between the Si tip and the wafer was estimated using the SPM force curve mode. The force curve measured in the ion-exchanged purified water showed the typical relation predicted by Derjaguin-Landau-Verway-Overbeek (DLVO) theory. However, the force curve shape in the 0.1 mass% PAA solution was significantly different. Only a repulsive force was observed at less than about 4 nm of separation distance between the Si wafer and cantilever tip. This distance originated from the steric repulsions of PAA adsorbed onto the Si wafer and cantilever tip.     

Purcell effect of GaAs quantum dots by photonic crystal microcavities

We fabricate photonic crystal slab microcavities embedded with GaAs quantum dots by electron beam lithography and droplet epitaxy. The Purcell effect of exciton emission of the quantum dots is confirmed by the micro photoluminescence measurement. The resonance wavelengths, widths, and polarization are consistent with numerical simulation results.