Adsorptive and photocatalytic removal of phenol by layered niobates organically modified through intercalation and silylation

Layered hexaniobate K4Nb6O17 was modified with dodecylammonium ions and octadecyltrimethoxysilane molecules, which were held in the interlayer spaces by electrostatic interactions and covalent attachment to the layers, respectively. Interlayer spacing of the niobate was expanded by incorporation of the bulky organic species. Vapor adsorption isotherms of benzene and water indicated hydrophobic interlayer microenvironments of the organically modified niobates. Both of the modified niobates fairly adsorbed phenol dissolved in water. The photocatalytic activity of hexaniobate allowed the organically modified materials to photocatalytically decompose phenol upon UV irradiation. Decomposition time courses and quantitative analysis of phenol present in the system indicated that the phenol molecules adsorbed on the niobates were preferentially degraded. XRD and IR analyses of the modified niobates indicated that the silylated niobate was more durable than the ion-exchanged sample; the former kept the structure during the photocatalytic process while the latter was partly collapsed.     

Plate mode propagation losses in solidly mounted resonators

This paper investigates the acoustic losses of propagating eigenmodes through the acoustic mirror of a solidly mounted resonator (SMR) to clarify how resonator properties are influenced by reflection coefficients for the thickness shear (TS) wave as well as that for the thickness extensional (TE) wave. To this end, we analyze the effective acoustic admittance for several test structures with different mirror properties. Leaky modes are distinguished from plate-like modes and the propagation losses are quantified by calculating mode quality factors. The dependence of the propagation properties of leaky eigenmodes is compared with the mirror properties in terms of bulk wave transmission coefficients obtained by the one-dimensional Mason?s model. It is shown that the TE-like main mode couples with TS-like spurious modes, which then influence the leaky loss of the main mode as well. The coupling strength is strongly frequency-dependent and drastically changes with the mirror design. This result explains previous experimental results reported on SMR design.     

Thin films of single-walled carbon nanotubes promote human osteoblastic cells (Saos-2) proliferation in low serum concentrations

One strategy used for the regeneration of bone is the development of cell culture substrates and scaffolds that can control osteoblast proliferation and differentiation. In recent investigations, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been utilized as scaffolds for osteoblastic cell cultures; however, there are only a few reports describing the proliferation of osteoblastic cells on thin CNT films; in particular, the effects of serum concentration on cell proliferation have not been studied. In the present study, we prepared culture dishes with homogeneous thin or thick films of non-modified CNTs and examined the effect of serum concentrations on human osteoblastic cells (Saos-2) proliferation in these culture dishes. We demonstrated that the ratio of cell proliferation was strongly affected by the concentration of serum. Interestingly, single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) thin films were found to be the most effective substrate for the proliferation of Saos-2 cells in low concentrations of serum. Thus, thin SWNT films may be used as an effective biomaterial for the culture of Saos-2 cells in low serum concentrations.     

Self-Alignment of Optical Devices With Fiber for Low-Cost Optical Interconnect Modules

We propose a novel self-alignment process of optical devices with optical fiber. A vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) was automatically coupled with a multimode fiber (MMF) through the surface tension of a liquid adhesive within 1.5 s. Misalignment between the center of the VCSEL and the fiber was measured to be 15 mum, which is acceptable for coupling the VCSEL with the MMF. High-speed pulse modulation of the self-aligned VCSEL up to 5 Gb/s, as well as at 1 Gb/s, was demonstrated. The average optical output power was as high as -5.9 dBm at 1 Gb/s.     

Measurement and Analysis of Inductive Coupling Noise in 90 nm Global Interconnects

Inductive coupling is becoming a design concern for global interconnects in nanometer technologies. We present measurement results of the effect of inductive coupling on timing, and demonstrate that inductive coupling noise is a practical design issue in 90 nm technology. The measured delay change curve is consistent with circuit simulation results for an RLC interconnect model, and clearly different from those for a conventional RC model. The long-range coupling effect of inductive coupling, and noise reduction caused by ground insertion or decreased driver size were clearly observed on silicon. Examination of noise cancellation and superposition effects shown in measurement results confirm that the summation of delay variations due to each individual aggressor is a reasonable approximation of the total delay variation.     

High optical coupling efficiency using 45 °-ended fibre for low-height and low-cost optical interconnect modules

High optical coupling efficiency of more than 80% between an optical fibre and a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) has been achieved without use of a lens. A 45deg-ended fine-drawn optical fibre can be positioned closer to a VCSEL than a conventional multimode fibre. 12.5 Gbit/s/ch optical signal transmissions using a low-height optical coupling structure have been demonstrated with optical output power as high as +2.0 dBm without use of a lens.     

Novel catalytic activity of nitrile hydratase from Rhodococcus sp. N771

Nitrile hydratase (NHase) from Rhodococcus sp. N771 is a non-heme iron enzyme catalyzing the hydration of various nitriles to the corresponding amides. We report a novel catalytic activity of NHase. When NHase was incubated with an large excess of commercially available isovaleronitrile, the charge transfer band from the sulfur ligand to the Fe atom shifted from 710 nm to 820 nm, but recovered within 4 min. Similar UV-Vis absorption changes were observed after the addition of isobutylisonitrile (iBuNC), a major impurity in commercially available isovaleronitrile, suggesting that NHase catalyzes the conversion of iBuNC to other compounds. The reaction product was identified as isobutylamine (iBuNH(2)) by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. NHase also converts t-butylisonitrile and 1,1,3,3,-tetramethylbutylisonitrile to the corresponding amines. Kinetic analysis of the conversion of iBuNC to iBuNH(2) showed a K(m) value comparable to that for nitriles, while the V(max) value was more than 10(5) times smaller than that for methacrylonitrile. This is the first report suggesting that NHase is a bifunctional enzyme catalyzing a reaction other than the hydration of nitriles.     

Compressive deformation behavior of ternary compound Cr<Subscript>2</Subscript>AlC

The compressive properties of ternary compound Cr₂AlC at different temperatures and strain rates were studied. When tested at a strain rate of 5.6 × 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹, the compressive strength decreases continuously from 997 ± 29 MPa at room temperature to 523 ± 7 MPa at 900 °C. The ductile-to-brittle transition temperature is measured to be in the range of 700 to 800 °C. When tested in the strain rate range of 5.6 × 10⁻⁵ to 5.6 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹, Cr₂AlC fails in a brittle mode at room temperature, whereas the deformation mode changes from a brittle to a ductile as the strain rate is lower than 5.6 × 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹ when compressed at 800 °C. The compressive strength increases slightly with increasing strain rate at room temperature and it is less dependent on strain rate when tested at 800 °C. The plastic deformation mechanism of Cr₂AlC was discussed in terms of dislocation-related activities, such as kink band formation, delamination, decohesion of grain boundary, and microcrack formation.     

High Level Oscillations With Narrow Linewidth in Magnetic Nano-Contact Spin Torque Oscillator With Synthetic AF Spin-Valve Structure

We investigated the current induced magnetization dynamics, so called spin torque oscillation, in magnetic nano-contact MR element with a synthetic antiferromagnetic type spin-valve structure under high in-plane applied magnetic field of 0.9-1 kOe. Very high level oscillation of 18 nVHz^-1/2 with narrow FWHM of 12 MHz was observed in the condition of negative applied current where electron-spin is injected from free layer to reference one. Applied current dependency on an oscillation frequency is a blueshift with good linearlity, and same dependency on level and FWHM is almost constant in the range of -10 to -14 mA, while applied field dependency on frequency shows redshift with two different slopes, -2.5 MHz/Oe in less than 1 kOe and -8.7 MHz/Oe in more than 1 kOe which field is smaller than the spin-flop field for the synthetic antiferromagnet, besides very clear and reasonable peak and bottom for oscillation level and FWHM are observed, respectively. It is thought that these magnetization dynamics are originated from synthetic antiferromagnet.     

Texture and electromigration lifetime improvements in layered Al-alloy metallization with underlying Ti by controlling water adsorption on SiO2 substrates

The effect of residual gas constituents and substrate temperature during Ti sputtering on the texture of TiN/Ti films deposited on SiO₂/Si substrates has been investigated. The Ti(002) and TiN(111) preferred texture of the films deposited at 350°C was found to be improved drastically by increasing the H₂O partial pressure from 1×10⁻⁹ to 3×10⁻⁸ Torr. Both of the Ti(002) and TiN(111) textures showed a similar H₂O partial pressure and substrate temperature dependence because of the epitaxial transfer between these planes. The improved Ti(002) texture was attributed to the self-assembly of Ti atoms on the SiO₂ surface, which had a low surface free energy due to the formation of surface OH groups. Two kinds of layered Al-alloy interconnects, AlSiCu/Ti/TiN/Ti and AlCu/TiN/Ti, were fabricated with the highly textured TiN/Ti film, and their Al(111) texture and electromigration lifetime were then evaluated. It was confirmed that both of the interconnects have strong Al(111) texture and longer EM lifetimes.