Two-dimensional poroelastic acoustical foam shape design for absorption coefficient maximization by topology optimization method

Optimal shape design of a two-dimensional poroelastic acoustical foam is formulated as a topology optimization problem. For a poroelastic acoustical system consisting of an air region and a poroelastic foam region, two different physical regions are continuously changed in an iterative design process. To automatically account for the moving interfaces between two regions, we propose a new unified model to analyze the whole poroelastic acoustical foam system with one set of governing equations; Biot's equations are modified with a material property interpolation from a topology optimization method. With the unified analysis model, we carry out two-dimensional optimal shape design of a poroelastic acoustical foam by a gradient-based topology optimization setting. The specific objective is the maximization of the absorption coefficient in low and middle ranges of frequencies with different amounts of a poroelastic material. The performances of the obtained shapes are compared with those of well-known wedge shapes, and the improvement of absorption is physically interpreted.     

Cosmological natural selection as the explanation for the complexity of the universe

A critical review is given of the theory of cosmological natural selection. The successes of the theory are described, and a number of published criticisms are answered. An observational test is described which could falsify the theory.     

Novel electronic structure of inhomogeneous quantum wires on a Si surface

A one-dimensional system of Si(111)-(5 x 2)-Au is explored using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. The chain of Si adatoms called bright protrusions (BP's) is found to be semiconducting with an evanescent state in the gap, which originates from adjoining metallic BP-free segments. A quantitative analysis shows that the evanescent state decays in inverse-Gaussian form, leading to an appearance of a parabolic BP chain, and scales to its chain length. Spatial decay of the state suggests a quadratic band bending and the existence of a Schottky-like potential barrier at the interface driven by charge transfer.     

Preference of sensory neural coding for 1/f signals

We investigated the influences of different types of temporal correlations in the input signal on the functions and coding properties of neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1). We found that the temporal transfer functions of V1 neurons exhibit higher gain, and the spike responses exhibit higher coding efficiency and information transmission rates, for the 1/f (natural long-term correlation) signals than for 1/f(0) (no correlation) and 1/f(2) (stronger long-term correlation) signals. These results suggest that the intermediate long-term correlation ubiquitous to natural signals may play an important role in shaping and optimizing the machinery of neurons in their adaptation to the natural environment.     

Synergistic effect of hydrogen peroxide production and sonochemiluminescence under dual frequency ultrasound irradiation

The synergistic effect of H(2)O(2) production and sonochemiluminescence (SCL) was studied under both orthogonal and opposite dual irradiation at the frequencies of 28, 584 and 970 kHz and at various acoustic powers. The largest reduction in H(2)O(2) production was observed under opposite dual irradiation at a 28/28 kHz frequency without considering the acoustic power levels. The largest enhancement was observed under dual irradiation at a frequency of 28/970 kHz. This enhancement might be due to the increased number of bubbles that underwent violent collapse by low frequency ultrasound (28 kHz). These results were also confirmed by observing the SCL. Under dual irradiation at relatively high frequencies (i.e., 584 and 970 kHz), the synergistic effect was high at low acoustic power levels. However, the effect tended to decrease (to the equivalent of the calculation from the result of each single irradiation) with increasing acoustic power. Unlike dual irradiation coupled with a frequency of 28 kHz, the inhibition effect was not observed under dual irradiation at relatively high frequencies. With respect to H(2)O(2) production, the production rate constants of H(2)O(2) followed the order of 584/584>584/970>28/970≈28/584>28/28 kHz, which resulted from the fact that the production efficiency of H(2)O(2) at an irradiation frequency of 584 kHz was considerably higher than that at other frequencies.     

Low dose 60Co gamma-irradiation effects on electronic carrier transport and DC characteristics of AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors

The impact of internal irradiation with secondary Compton electrons, generated by gamma-photons, on the characteristics of III-N/GaN-based devices was explored. N-channel AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) were exposed to gamma-radiation from a ⁶⁰Co source for doses up to 600?Gy. Temperature-dependent electron beam-induced current (EBIC) was employed to measure minority carrier transport properties. For low doses below ～250?Gy, the minority carrier diffusion length in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs is shown to increase by about 40%. This increase is likely due to longer minority carrier lifetime induced by internal Compton electron irradiation. An associated decrease in activation energy, extracted from temperature-dependent EBIC, was also found. The obtained increase in transconductance and decrease in gate leakage current indicate an improvement in performance of the devices after low doses of irradiation. For high doses of gamma-irradiation, above ～300?Gy, the performance of HEMTs showed a deterioration. The deterioration results from the onset of increased carrier scattering due to additional radiation-induced defects, as is translated in a decrease of minority carrier diffusion length.     

Transmission Characteristics of 90° Bent Photonic Crystal Waveguides

There are several key factors that affect the transmission characteristics of the 90° (L-shaped) bent photonic crystal waveguides. The first factor is the direct coupling efficiency from the incident lights into the waveguides. The second one is the bandgap deviations of the photonic crystals. And the third factor is the optical reflections in the bent corners. In this article, we compare three types of L-shaped bent photonic crystal waveguides. One is the original type, which has an abrupt right-angle bend. Another is an improved 90° bend with a 45°-mirror. The other is an L-shaped bent photonic crystal waveguide with a 45°-transitional section. We investigate their respective frequency responses and observe the improvements in the total transmission efficiencies provided by the latter types.     

Synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalline MgAl2O4 spinel by polymerized complex method

Ultrafine MgAl₂O₄ powder has been synthesized by a polymerized complex method. Heating of a precursor solution containing citric acid (CA), ethylene glycol (EG) and Mg and Al salts with a molar ratio of Mg/Al/CA/EG=1/2/8/32 at 180°C produced a transparent polymeric gel, which have been characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy and TG/DTA. The organic fraction was removed by controlled thermal treatments (350–1200°C) whereby the bimetallic oxide was formed. XRD analysis showed the presence of MgAl₂O₄ at 600°C. TEM observation showed that the spherical nanosized powders with good uniformity was obtained. Furthermore, these powders showed excellent sinterability, relative density up to 99.8% was achieved when sintered at 1550°C for 3 h in air without any sintering additive.     

Biochip fluorescence detection system with spatial and spectral separation

A novel optical arrangement for fluorescence detection that employs spatial separation as well as spectral filter to increase the signal to noise ratio is proposed. Using a prism and two mirrors, the elliptical laser beam of a laser diode, as an excitation light, is homogenized and the transmitted excitation light is separated from the fluorescence not to reach the collecting optics. Uncooled CCD can capture the fluorescence image of up to 40 fluorescently-labeled protein patterns without scanning or mechanical translation. This paper presents the simulation, construction and measurement results of the developed optical system. The measurements show that the combination of prism and mirrors converts the excitation light from the laser diode to uniform illumination on the specimen, and provides the separation between excitation and fluorescence light to give high signal to noise ratio. It is also possible to assay various protein concentrations ranging from 1000 to 10 ng/ml reliably. We believe that the proposed fluorescence detection system can be used to build a commercially valuable, low cost, hand-held or miniature fast detection device for point-of-care applications.     

Studies in crystal structure and luminescence properties of Eu-doped metal tungstate phosphors for white LEDs

The correlation between the crystal structure and luminescent properties of Eu³⁺-doped metal tungstate phosphors for white LEDs was investigated. Red-emitting A_4−3x(WO₄)₂:Eu_x³⁺ (A=Li, Na, K) and B_(4−3x)/2(WO₄)₂:Eu_x³⁺ (B=Mg, Ca, Sr) phosphors were synthesized by solid-state reactions. The findings confirmed that these phosphors exhibited a strong absorption in the near UV to green range, due to the intra-configurational 4f-4f electron transition of Eu³⁺ ions. The high doping concentration of Eu³⁺ enhanced the absorption of near UV light and red emission without any detectable concentration quenching. Based on the results of a Rietveld refinement, it was attributed to the unique crystal structure. In the crystal structure of the Eu³⁺-doped metal tungstate phosphor, the critical energy transfer distance is larger than 5 Å so that exchange interactions between Eu³⁺ ions would occur with difficulty, even at a high doping concentration. The energy transfer between Eu³⁺ ions, which causes a decrease in red emission with increasing concentration of Eu³⁺, appears to be due to electric multi-polar interactions. In addition, the Eu-O distance in the host lattice affected the shape of emission spectrum by splitting of emission peak at the ⁵D₀→⁷F₂ transition of Eu³⁺.