High-efficiency finishing process for metal mold by large-area electron beam irradiation

A new finishing process for metal molds by large-area electron beam (EB) irradiation is proposed in this study. In the large-area EB irradiation equipment used here, an EB with high-energy density is irradiated without focusing the beam, and so the EB with a maximum diameter of 60 mm can be used for melting or evaporating metal surface instantly. Experimental results show that the surface roughness decreases from 6 μmRz to less than 1 μmRz in just a few minutes under proper machining conditions. The corrosion resistance of metal mold surface also could be greatly improved by large-area EB irradiation. Furthermore, the surface roughness of tilting surface close to 90° could be well improved. Therefore, large-area EB irradiation method has a possibility to become a high-efficiency finishing process for metal molds.     

Oxidation of Fe (II) in sulfuric acid solutions with dissolved molecular oxygen

The oxidation of Fe(II) with dissolved molecular oxygen was studied in sulfuric acid solutions containing 0.2 mol . dm^-3 FeSO₄ at temperatures ranging from 343 to 363 K. In solutions of sulfuric acid above 0.4 mol . dm^-3, the oxidation of Fe (II) was found to proceed through two parallel paths. In one path the reaction rate was proportional to both [Fe²⁺]² and po₂, exhibiting an activation energy of 51.6 . kJ mol^-1. In another path the reaction rate was proportional to [Fe²⁺]², [SO_4-], and po₂ with an activation energy of 144.6 kJ . mol^-1. A reaction mechanism in which the SO_4- ions play an important role was proposed for the oxidation of Fe(II). In dilute solutions of sulfuric acid below 0.4 mol . dm^-3, the rate of the oxidation reaction was found to be proportional to both [Fe(II)]² and Po₂, and was also affected by [H⁺] and [SO_2- ⁴]. The decrease in [H⁺] resulted in the increase of reaction rate. The discussion was further extended to the effect of Fe (III) on the oxidation reaction of Fe (II).     

A Study of Shadowing on Indoor Visible-Light Wireless Communication Utilizing Plural White LED Lightings

White LED is considered as a strong candidate for the future lighting technology. We have proposed an optical wireless communication system that employs white LEDs for indoor wireless networks. In this system, LED is used not only as a lighting device, but also as a communication device. The transmitter has large optical power and large emission characteristics to function as lighting device. And the system has specific wireless channel impulse response differing from infrared wireless communication. In this paper, we discuss about shadowing effect on the system utilizing plural LED lightings including the performance of ISI based on the impulse response. We consider the downlink transmission based on TDMA and evaluate the shadowing effect caused by pedestrians with computer simulation. When the shadowing often occurs at 800 Mb/s, the performance of outage call duration rate and blocking rate are improved by using 3 LED lightings compared with 1 or 2 LED lightings. And, we show that the system with the optimal number of the LED lighting is robust against shadowing and can accommodate more calls. Toshihiko Komine was born in Shizuoka, Japan, on November 17, 1978. He received the B.E. and M.E. degrees in Information and Computer Science from Keio University, Yokohama, Japan, in 2001 and 2003 respectively. He is currently studying for the Ph.D. degree at Department of Information and Computer Science, Keio University. His current research interests are optical wireless communications and LED communications. Shinichiro Haruyama is a professor at Department of Information and Computer Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan. He received an M.S. in engineering science from University of California at Berkeley in 1983 and a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Texas at Austin in 1990. He worked for Bell Laboratories of AT{&}T and Lucent Technologies, U.S.A from 1991 to 1996, and for Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc. from 1998 to 2002. His research interests include reconfigurable system, system design automation, wireless communication, and visible light communication. Masao Nakagawa was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1946. He received the B.E., M.E. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Keio University, Yokohama, Japan, in 1969, 1971 and 1974 respectively. Since 1973, he has been with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Keio University, where he is now a Professor. His research interests are in CDMA, consumer Communications, Mobile communications, ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems), Wireless Home Networks, and Visible light Communication. He received 1989 IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Paper Award, 1999-Fall Best Paper Award in IEEE VTC, IEICE Achievement Award in 2000, IEICE Fellow Award in 2001. He was the executive committee chairman on International Symposium on Spread Spectrum Techniques and Applications in 1992 and the technical program committee chairman of ISITA (International Symposium on Spread Spectrum Techniques and Applications) in 1994. He is an editor of Wireless Personal Communications and was a guest editor of the special issues on “CDMA Networks I, II, III and IV” published in IEEE JSAC in 1994 (I and II) and 1996 (III and IV). He chairs the Wireless Home Link sub-committee in MMAC (Multimedia Mobile Access Communication Promotion Committee).     

Radiation damage induced in Si photodiodes by high-temperature neutron irradiation

Results are presented of a detailed study of the effects of high-temperature 4-MeV neutron irradiation on the performance degradation of Si pin photodiodes together with the radiation-induced defects, observed by deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). It was found that the dark current increases after irradiation, while the photocurrent decreases. After irradiation, two majority electron capture levels with (E _c–0.22 eV) and (E _c–0.40 eV) were induced in the n-Si substrate, while one minority hole capture level with (E _v+0.37 eV) was found. Additionally, the degradation of the device performance and the introduction rate of the lattice defects decreases with increasing irradiation temperature. For a 250 °C irradiation, the reduction of the reverse current is only 20% of the starting value. This result suggests that the creation and recovery of the radiation damage proceeds simultaneously at high temperatures.     

Suppression of photo-induced dilation in cyanide treated hydrogenated amorphous silicon films

Effects of cyanide (CN) treatment with hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films have been investigated. The decrease of ΔV/V was observed in cyanide treated a-Si:H films and the successive thermal annealing at 200°C after CN treatment induced the further reduction of the ΔV/V. XPS spectra show the indirect evidence that the cyanide species is present within 10 nm from the hydrogenated amorphous silicon surface. The results of CN treatment with a-Si:H solar cells are demonstrated.     

Flexural properties of moldings of rigid polyurethane made by reaction injection molding

Flexural properties of moldings made by Reaction Injection Molding (RIM), which are structural foams consisting of high density skin and low density core, were investigated by three-point bending tests. Two failure modes were observed in bending tests of the moldings made by RIM, and they are classified as follows according to the density ratio of skin layer to core layer: the opposite side of the skin layer to which load was subjected failed by tensile stress: and the same side of the skin layer to which load was subjected failed by compressive stress, causing wrinkling or buckling. Then the conventional composite beam theory was applied to the former failure mode and Hoff s buckling theory to the latter, and equations were derived to predict the flexural properties of the structural foams, which involved buckling from the flexural properties of solid construction. In addition, it has been shown that there exists a density distribution that maximizes the flexural strength of the moldings made by RIM with a given overall density. The results obtained here should be useful to the optimum structural design of moldings made by RIM.     

The role of prostate specific antigen in diagnosis of localized adenocarcinoma of the prostate. Nara Uro-Oncology Research Group

The number of cases of prostate carcinoma (PCA) is steadily inceasing in Japan. The clinical application of a reliable tumor marker, prostate specific antigen (PSA) for the diagnosis, as well as the increasing elderly population in Japan may account for this increase. The subjects were patients at the Nara Medical University and its affiliated hospitals; 1) 687 cases without PCA were evaluated for age-specific PSA and the incidence of abnormal PSA following urological manipulations, 2) 135 cases with histological proven BPH by transurethral resection of prostate (TUR-P) were examined for PSA density (PSAD) and positive PSA rate in BPH, 3) 135 cases receiving a needle biopsy with suspicion of PCA were examined for the efficacy of PSA and PSAD and other parameters, and 4) 459 PCA cases treated between 1988 and 1994, were examined for specific PSA and PSAD values by stage and degree of cell differentiation. The PSA assay used in this study was MARKIT-M PA (normal range < or = 3.6 ng/ml). The PSA was decreased gradually with age in non-PCA patients, and abnormal PSA was found in 5.5% of these patients following manipulations. The average PSA was 2.95 +/- 2.03 ng/ml in 130 BPH patients (mean age: 71.1 +/- 7.0 years old. and average prostate volume: 32.9 +/- 16.1 ml). And abnormal PSA level (more than 3.61 ng/ml) was found in 22.3%. The mean PSAD was 0.1.0 +/- 0.06, and PSAD was below 0.15 in 86.1% of these BPH cases. Among the 135 cases receiving a needle biopsy, 33 cases had PSA values between 3.61 and 10.0 ng/ml. Of these cases, PCA was found in 18.5% of the 27 cases with a PSAD below 1.5, and in 33.3% of the 6 cases with a PSAD over 1.5. PSA and PSAD were proportionally increased with stage, and a significant difference in the PSA value was observed between stage B1 and B2, and stage C and D (P < 0.05). However, PSA and PSAD values were not significantly correlated with the cell differentiation in PCA stage A2-C. In total, PSA was 18.1 ng/ml in well, 23.9 ng/ml in moderately and 35.9 ng/ml in poorly differentiated type PCA. The positive rate of PSA was 22.3, 65.4 and 83.5%, that of prostate acid phosphatase (PAP) was 10.0, 17.8 and 45.8%, and that of GSM was 25.0, 14.7 and 68.4%, in BPH, stage A PCA and stage BPCA, respectively. In conclusion, PSA is the most reliable tool in the diagnosis of localized PCA. However, the differential diagnosis of BPH and localized PCA is difficult when the PSA value is between 3.61 and 10.0 ng/ml, and accurate staging of localized PCA is difficult with PSA or PSAD alone. At present, it is necessary to use all possible tools for the early detection of localized PCA, and to perform the needle biopsy in all PCA-suspicious cases.     

Fe calculations of stress fields from cracks located at the fusion line of weldments

This paper investigates the stress fields for a crack located at the fusion line of a weldment. The strength mis-matching and the size of the HAZ were varied, and the corresponding distribution of the maximum principal stress was examined. The weld metal strength was globally overmatched with respect to the base material, but locally over- and undermatched with respect to the heat affected zone. Three cases of mis-match were compared, and it was found that reducing the strength of the HAZ lowered the maximum principal stresses.