The analysis of thermal stresses in thermopiezoelastic semi-infinite body with an edge crack

Summary  Thermopiezoelastic materials have recently attracted considerable attention because of their potential use in intelligent or smart structural systems. The governing equations of a thermopiezoelastic medium are more complex due to the intrinsic coupling effects that take place among mechanical, electrical and thermal fields. In this analysis, we deal with the problem of a crack in a semi-infinite, transversely isotropic, thermopiezoelastic material by means of potential functions and Fourier transforms under steady heat-flux loading conditions. The problem is reduced to a singular integral equation that is solved. The thermal stress intensity factor for a crack situated in a cadmium selenide material is calculated. Received 20 March 2001; accepted for publication 18 October 2001     

Design and preparation of pulsatile release tablet as a new oral drug delivery system.

To achieve time-controlled or site specific delivery of a drug in the gastrointestinal tract, an orally applicable pulsatile drug release system with the dry-coated tablet form was developed. The system consisted of a less water permeable outer shell and a swellable core tablet; from such a system, the drug was expected to be rapidly released after a certain period of time on the basis of time-controlled disintegration mechanism. Various model disks of outer shell, consisting of hydrogenated castor oil and polyethyleneglycol 6000, were tested for their water penetration rate. The experimental results showed that water penetration proceeded obeying the boundary retreating mechanism, so that the lag time of the system could be controlled by changing either the thickness or the composition of the outer shell. The swelling force of various commercially available disintegrants was quantitatively compared, and it was found that carboxymethylcellulose calcium was the preferable disintegrant to be used for the core tablet. On the basis of the results of a series of fundamental studies, various pulsatile release tablets of isoniazide with different lag times were designed. In the in vitro dissolution test, typical pulsatile release was achieved for all the tablets prepared, and a good correlation was found between the observed lag time and the estimated lag time calculated from an empirical equation deduced from the thickness and polyethyleneglycol 6000 content of the outer shell.     

Vertical and direct integration of heterojunction phototransistors and laser diodes

An optoelectronic integrated device based on the concept of vertical and direct integration is described. Four types of integrated devices composed of multiple heterojunction phototransistors and laser diodes are developed and the devices successfully achieve thirteen functions: optical switching, amplification, thresholding, bistability, light-controlled optical bistability, light-controlled optical thresholding, tristability, set and reset functions in tristable states, set and reset functions in tetrastable states, and bistable and tristable flip-flop functions.     

Development of a two-color interferometer for observing wide range electron density profiles with a femtosecond time resolution

A two-color interferometer for preformed plasma characterization is developed. We observe the electron density distribution of preformed plasmas on a 5 μm-thick copper target irradiated with a high-intensity Ti:sapphire laser. The two-color interferometer extended the observable electron density region using a fundamental (800 nm) probe beam to cover the lower density region and a second harmonic (400 nm) probe beam to cover the higher density region, simultaneously. This characterization of the electron density distribution of preformed plasmas with femtosecond time resolution significantly contributes to the understanding of high-intensity laser–thin-foil interactions during high-energy electron, ion, and X-ray generation. PACS 52.38.-r; 52.50.Jm; 52.70.-m     

Effect of disorder outside the CuO2 planes on Tc of copper oxide superconductors

The effect of disorder on the superconducting transition temperature T(c) of cuprate superconductors is examined. Disorder is introduced into the cation sites in the plane adjacent to the CuO2 planes of two single-layer systems, Bi(2.0)Sr(1.6)Ln(0.4)CuO(6+delta) and La(1.85-y)Nd(y)Sr0.15CuO4. Disorder is controlled by changing rare earth (Ln) ions with a different ionic radius in the former, and by varying the Nd content in the latter with the doped carrier density kept constant. We show that this type of disorder works as weak scatterers in contrast to the in-plane disorder produced by Zn, but remarkably reduces T(c), suggesting novel effects of disorder on high-T(c) superconductivity.     

Genetic algorithm-based design method for multilevel anisotropic diffraction gratings

We developed a method for the design of multilevel anisotropic diffraction gratings based on a genetic algorithm. The method is used to design the multilevel anisotropic diffraction gratings based on input data that represent the output from the required grating. The validity of the proposed method was evaluated by designing a multilevel anisotropic diffraction grating using the outputs from an orthogonal circular polarization grating. The design results corresponded to the orthogonal circular polarization grating structures that were used to provide outputs to act as the input data for the process. Comparison with existing design methods shows that the proposed method can reduce the number of human processes that are required to design multilevel anisotropic diffraction gratings. Additionally, the method will be able to design complex structures without any requirement for subsequent examination by a human designer. The method can contribute to the development of optical elements by designing multilevel anisotropic diffraction gratings.     

Focal length measurement of a varifocal liquid lens with capacitance detection

This paper reports on a detailed deformation model of varifocal liquid lenses fabricated by Parylene-on-liquid-deposition (POLD), which can be applied to measure and adjust the focal length of such lenses without using extra sensors or sensing mechanisms. The lens was fabricated by encapsulating a liquid between a transparent electrode and a polymer film that was covered with a metal electrode. When voltage is applied to the two electrodes, the lens deforms due to the electrostatic force, and its focal length and the capacitance between the two electrodes change simultaneously. This characteristic enables the focal length of the lens to be adjusted and detected by measuring the capacitance change. The focal length of the fabricated varifocal liquid lens changed from 153.6 to 82.6 mm by applying 150-V. The focal length change of the liquid lens was calculated from the change in its capacitance. Finally, to confirm the efficiency of this varifocal liquid lens, we fabricated a confocal distance sensor using the lens for laser scanning and demonstrated that this system can be used to measure distances of 94–140 mm with an average error of 0.83 mm and a standard deviation of 0.77 mm.     

III–V based-semiconductor photonic crystals

Three-dimensional (3D) and two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystals based on III–V semiconductors are described. On the 3D photonic crystals, the development of complete photonic crystals at optical wavelengths and their applications to ultrasmall optical integrated circuits including 3D sharp bend waveguide are described. On the 2D photonic crystals, two-unique device and/or phenomena are demonstrated.