Dimensional variation in production of high-aspect-ratio micro-pillars array by micro powder injection molding

Micro powder injection molding (μPIM) is one of the potential processes for the mass production of metallic microstructures and micro components. Here, μPIM is the miniaturization of conventional PIM, which involves four processing steps: mixing, injection molding, debinding and sintering. This paper looks into the feasibility and effectiveness of μPIM as a key mass production process for the fabrication of metallic micro components. For it to be an effective re-production process, it is imperative to examine how well parts can be duplicated/fabricated from a master mold. In this work, the dimensional variation of high-aspect-ratio micro-pillars arrays, in particular the dimensional shrinkage, global warpage, and surface roughness at each stage of the μPIM process for a range of molding pressures, are quantified and compared in detail. The sensitivity of the dimensional variation of the microstructures to the packing pressure is reported. The mechanism behind the dimensional variation is analyzed. PACS 81.20.Ev; 81.20.Hy; 81.70.Fy; 07.60.Ly; 81.05.-t     

Some geometrical aspects of semidefinite linear complementarity problems

This article studies some geometrical aspects of the semidefinite linear complementarity problem (SDLCP), which can be viewed as a generalization of the well-known linear complementarity problem (LCP). SDLCP is a special case of a complementarity problem over a closed convex cone, where the cone considered is the closed convex cone of positive semidefinite matrices. It arises naturally in the unified formulation of a pair of primal-dual semidefinite programming problems. In this article, we introduce the notion of complementary cones in the semidefinite setting using the faces of the cone of positive semidefinite matrices and show that unlike complementary cones induced by an LCP, semidefinite complementary cones need not be closed. However, under R₀-property of the linear transformation, closedness of all the semidefinite complementary cones induced by L is ensured. We also introduce the notion of a principal subtransformation with respect to a face of the cone of positive semidefinite matrices and show that for a self-adjoint linear transformation, strict copositivity is equivalent to strict semimonotonicity of each principal subtransformation. Besides the above, various other solution properties of SDLCP will be interpreted and studied geometrically.     

The Nature of Electronic Charge

Advances in gauge theories and unified theories have not thrown light on the meaning of electron. The problem of the origin of electronic charge is made precise, new insights gained from Weyl space are summarized, and the origin of charge in terms of fractional spin is suggested. A new perspective on the abelian Chern-Simons theory is presented to explain charge.     

Advances in constant-velocity Mössbauer instrumentation

A prototype of a programmable constant-velocity scaler is presented. This instrument allows the acquisition of partial Mössbauer spectra in selected energy regions using standard drivers and transducers. It can be fully operated by a remote application, thus data acquisition can be automated. The instrument consists of a programmable counter and a constant-velocity reference. The reference waveform generator is amplitude modulated with 13-bit resolution, and is programmable in a wide range of frequencies and waveforms in order to optimize the performance of the transducer. The counter is compatible with most standard SCA, and is configured as a rate-meter that provides counts per selectable time slice at the programmed velocity. As a demonstration of the instrument applications, a partial Mössbauer spectrum of a natural iron foil was taken. Only positive energies were studied in 512 channels, accumulating 20 s per channel. A line width of 0.20 mm/s was achieved, performing with an efficiency of 80%.     

Critical dynamics of the Potts model in several dimensionalities

We study critical dynamics of general q-state Potts models on d-dimensional hypercubic lattices. The master equation is formulated according to a theory recently presented by the author. A simple bond moving technique, followed by decimation, is used to obtain the dynamical exponents. Although this approximation yields poor results for the static exponents, the dynamic behaviour is closer to Monte Carlo simulations. We compare our results with those obtained with a different formulation of dynamics. A final discussion is included.     

Second order evolution equations with time-dependent subdifferentials

We study an abstract second order nonlinear evolution equation in a real Hilbert space. We consider time-dependent convex functions and their subdifferentials operating on the first derivative of the unknown function. Introducing appropriate assumptions on the convex functions and other data, we prove the existence and uniqueness of a strong solution, and give some applications of the abstract theorem to hyperbolic variational inequalities with time-dependent constraints.      

Time interval distributions of atoms in atomic beams

We report an experimental investigation of two-particle correlations between neutral atoms in a Hanbury Brown and Twiss experiment. Both an atom laser beam and a pseudo-thermal atomic beam are extracted from a Bose–Einstein condensate and the atom flux is measured with a single atom counter. We determine the conditional and the unconditional detection probabilities for the atoms in the beam and find good agreement with the theoretical predictions. PACS 03.75.Pp; 05.30.Jp; 07.77.Gx; 42.50.Pq     

Signed degree sets in signed graphs

The set D of distinct signed degrees of the vertices in a signed graph G is called its signed degree set. In this paper, we prove that every non-empty set of positive (negative) integers is the signed degree set of some connected signed graph and determine the smallest possible order for such a signed graph. We also prove that every non-empty set of integers is the signed degree set of some connected signed graph.     

On almost-sure versions of classical limit theorems for dynamical systems

The purpose of this article is to support the idea that “whenever we can prove a limit theorem in the classical sense for a dynamical system, we can prove a suitable almost-sure version based on an empirical measure with log-average”. We follow three different approaches: martingale methods, spectral methods and induction arguments. Our results apply, among others, to Axiom A maps or flows, to systems inducing a Gibbs–Markov map, and to the stadium billiard.     

Pressure recovery system for a high-power HF/DF laser: implementation practice

The matter of development of a high-performance pressure recovery system (PRS) for a high-power HF/DF laser is discussed. A sequence of design steps is proposed, which involves estimation of basic characteristics of PRS components with the help of one-dimensional integral and semi-empirical procedures; simulation, to be performed using three-dimensional non-stationary Navier — Stokes equations; experimental modelling aimed at verification of the calculation procedures and at refinement of obtained parameters; and a fullscale experiment. An ejector-type system providing for recovery of pressure from 12 Torr to atmospheric pressure in the gas-dynamic system of an HF/DF laser of several-tens-kilowatt power is developed. Matching conditions for parameters of individual PRS components as well as joint functioning of the PRS with a continuous chemical laser in an integral complex are analysed. Conditions for minimization of mass-dimensional characteristics of the laser-PRS complex necessary for the development of ground-based mobile systems are identified.