With an aim to develop a good coil winding insulation film, fillers of boehmite alumina in the shape of a roughly rectangular plate were added with ratios of 10 and 20 wt% to polyimide. The filler surface was untreated or treated with a methacrylic or an epoxy silane coupling agent. Such prepared polyimide nanocomposites were subjected to various tests to measure the tensile strength, elastic modulus, complex permittivity, and thermal conductivity. It was found that samples with fillers treated using the methacrylic silane coupling agent have the strongest adhesion at the filler/polyimide interfaces and the lowest dielectric loss factor at high temperatures. A positive relationship between the filler/polyimide adhesion and the thermal conductivity is also indicated. These findings are significant since they indicate that the adhesion status at the filler/polymer interface exerts a strong influence on the thermal and electrical conduction processes in the polymer.

The spatial resolution of a cable fault location method by frequency domain reflectometry was examined experimentally by giving two abnormalities intentionally along a 31.5-m coaxial cable. As a result, two clear signal peaks appear, which can locate the presence of two hot spots perfectly if they are separated by more than 30 cm at a position about 15 m from the cable end with a measuring device. In addition, a clear signal peak with a small shoulder is recognized if the two hot spots are 1 cm away. Although the abnormalities were given in this research by heating the cable using tape heaters, the spatial resolution should be theoretically similar for any type of fault in a cable as long as it changes the characteristic impedance of the cable. © 2021 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Broadband far-infrared absorption spectra were measured for pellets containing guanine or cytosine and an aqueous solution containing hairpin DNA with the two bases. When the solution was dried at 80 °C, the absorption increased around 540 cm−1. Quantum chemical calculations were conducted by assuming models simulating one, two, and three molecules of each base and another model representing the hydrogen bonding between the two bases. By comparing the spectra acquired experimentally and numerically, it has become clear that almost all absorption peaks appearing in a range from 16.7 to 650 cm−1 are due to skeletal and intermolecular vibrations. Two vibrational levels at 527 cm−1 in guanine and 524 cm−1 in cytosine decrease if hydrogen bonds are formed. Assuming that the two modes are causal vibrations of the 540-cm−1 absorption, the spectroscopic experiment catches that hydrogen bonds between guanine and cytosine in DNA are dissociated around 80 °C. © 2021 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.

For researching dielectrics, various spectroscopic analyses must be conducted. Optical absorption spectroscopy is one of such spectroscopic measures. Fourier-transform mid-infrared (FT-MIR) absorption spectroscopy, which uses MIR photons, is very popular and can detect intramolecular vibrations or vibrations of a relatively small chemical group occurring inside a molecule. In contrast, FT-far-IR (FT-FIR) absorption spectroscopy is suitable for the detection of vibrations of an entire molecule or those of a big chemical group. Furthermore, there is another piece of emerging absorption spectroscopy, called THz absorption spectroscopy. The THz spectroscopy is believed to be able to detect intermolecular vibrations. The pros and cons of THz and FT-FIR absorption spectroscopy as a characterization tool for dielectric materials research are discussed in comparison to FT-MIR spectroscopy, by showing several typical examples of experimental results acquired in the authors' laboratory.

We added nanofillers of MgO, Mg(OH)₂, SiO₂, and TiO₂ to epoxy resin by high‐pressure shearing at a content of 1 vol%. The glass transition temperature (T_g), dielectric properties, and mechanical properties were measured for these nanocomposites. As a result, T_g decreases in all the nanocomposites. When the filler is MgO or Mg(OH)₂, the increase of the real part (ϵ_r′) and that of the imaginary part (ϵ_r″) of complex permittivity are significantly suppressed at high temperatures by the filler loading. On the other hand, when the filler is SiO₂ and TiO₂, the suppression of the increase in ϵ_r′ and ϵ_r″ is not obvious. Furthermore, regardless of the filler material, the addition of nanofiller hardly affects the mechanical storage modulus at 200°C. These results indicate that the difference in filler material gives more significant effects on dielectric properties than on mechanical properties. © 2020 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.

We are developing a novel method to detect a fault in a cable and to locate its position. The method is based on frequency domain reflectometry and inverse fast Fourier transform. Its basic principle is that electromagnetic waves are reflected at positions where the cable's characteristic impedance is changed. In this presentation, the very high spatial resolution of this fault location method is demonstrated by showing plenty of experimental results taken using mainly co-axial cables insulated with low-density polyethylene.

It is important to know the higher-order structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) since DNA has been considered to be a candidate for an emerging dielectric material. Regarding this, terahertz (THz) and far-infrared (FIR) absorption spectra were measured for guanine, a constituent base of DNA. In addition, quantum chemical calculations using density function theory were conducted for three types of guanine models to simulate the acquired absorption spectra. As a result, it is clarified that the absorption peaks appearing in the FIR and THz ranges are assigned to skeletal or intermolecular vibrations.

It is important to know how the degradation proceeds in a polymer used for electrical insulation in power apparatus, especially in severe environments. Sheets of flame-retardant crosslinked polyolefin (FR-XLPO) were aged thermally at 100, 135, and 155 °C with or without simultaneous irradiation of 60Co gamma rays. They were then analyzed experimentally. The samples aged purely thermally at 135 and 155 °C show more obvious changes in mechanical and dielectric properties than the other samples. While the elongation-at-break (EAB) first increases and then decreases drastically in a relatively early stage of aging, the indenter modulus (IM) shows almost no changes. After that, in a later stage of aging, EAB has no room to go down, whereas IM goes up to high values. It seems that the radiation-induced formation of cross-linked structures makes the polymer harder, which mitigates the progress of damages induced by the aging. Consequently, EAB can be a suitable indicator of the aging of FR-XLPO in a relatively early stage, while IM can be an indicator usable in a later stage.

The fault location method that the authors are developing possesses a very high spatial resolution. If the characteristic impedance of a cable is changed, for whatever reason, the location method can find its position. In other words, this method can detect the changes in characteristic impedance. Since the characteristic impedance is a function of the permittivity of the cable insulation, this method can detect the change in permittivity of the insulation non-destructively without disassembling the cable. This paper demonstrates the above, taking a 30-m coaxial cable and a 2.5-m safety-related cable for use in a nuclear power plant as two typical examples.

For conducting research on dielectrics, various spectroscopic analyses must be conducted. Optical absorption spectroscopy is one of such spectroscopic measures. Fourier-transform mid-infrared (FT-MIR) absorption spectroscopy, which uses MIR photons is very popular and it can detect intramolecular vibrations or vibrations of a relatively small chemical group that is occurring inside a molecule. In comparison, FT-far-infrared (FIR) absorption spectroscopy is suitable for the detection of vibrations of an entire molecule or those of a big chemical group. Furthermore, there is another piece of emerging absorption spectroscopy, called THz absorption spectroscopy. The THz spectroscopy is believed to be able to detect intermodular vibrations. The pros and cons of THz and FIR absorption spectroscopy as a characterization tool for dielectric materials research are discussed.

Two kinds of bis-phenol epoxy resins, a soft one (SE) and a hard one (HE), were aged thermally with and without simultaneous irradiation of gamma rays. For each resin, glass transition temperature (Tg), thermal decomposition temperature, elongation at break, tensile strength, and flexural modulus were measured. The difference in Tg between SE and HE is significant, which exerts certain influences on their degradation properties. When aged, SE becomes hard and it is crosslinked, regardless of whether the simultaneous irradiation was given or not. Finally, SE becomes brittle. In contrast, the mechanical properties of HE are scarcely affected by the two aging processes. However, HE finally becomes hard if aged thermally, while it is decomposed by the irradiation.

Electrical penetrations (EPs) in nuclear power plants play important roles in keeping a primary containment vessel airtight and in connecting electrical cables from the inside to the outside. Safety-related EPs, which are categorized as “severe-accident (SA) equipment,” are required to maintain their intended functions under various SA environmental conditions after having been aged under the normal operating conditions throughout their service lives. To investigate the insulation performance of EPs in a SA environment, we tested two EPs that are equivalent to those used in pressurized water reactors in Japan. One EP specimen was pre-aged in a concurrent thermal and radiation environment at 100 °C and 100 Gy/h for several thousand hours to simulate the degradation induced during the designated service period. The other EP specimen was used without pre-aging. To simulate the degradation induced by radiation during a SA, the EPs were irradiated with gamma rays to a total dose of 500 kGy at a dose rate of 7 kGy/h. Subsequently, the EP specimens were exposed to saturated steam at 155 °C and 0.45 MPaG for 168 h. The electrical insulation resistance between the insulated cores of cables in each EP specimen were monitored during the steam exposure. The minimum insulation resistances that we measured during the steam exposure for EP specimens with and without the pre-aging are about 109 and 108 £1, respectively, confirming that they retain sufficiently good insulation performance.

For investigating the degradation mechanism of flame-retardant cross-linked polyolefin (FR-XLPO), sheets of FR-XLPO were aged thermally with and without co-irradiation of gamma rays. As a result of the analysis conducted thermally and electrically, FR-XLPO was found to be degraded severer when it is aged purely thermally than when aged with the co-irradiation of gamma rays. It seems that FR-XLPO becomes more resistive against the degradation and the following bond scission by the formation of slightly cross-linked structures.

The degradation appears obviously earlier in mechanical properties than in dielectric properties for many organic insulating polymers when they are aged under adverse environments. Regarding this, elongation-at-break (EAB), tensile strength (TS), and indenter modulus (IM) were measured for cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE), flame-retardant ethylene-propylene rubber (FR-EPR), cross-linked polyolefin (XLPO), silicone rubber (SiR), and soft epoxy resin (SER). As a result, it has become clear that EAB and IM are respectively good aging indicators in early and late stages of aging of FR-EPR and SiR. For SER, EAB can be a good indicator. In comparison, EAB and TS can be aging indicators of XLPE. However, EAB cannot be a good aging indicator of XLPO.

The degradation behavior of cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) exposed to heat and radiation was investigated, focusing on its changes in chemical structure and mechanical properties. Infrared absorption spectroscopy (FT-IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and tensile tests were conducted. At the aging condition becomes more severe, the absorption due to carbonyl groups increases. In accord with this, the elongation at break decreases exponentially, while the enthalpy of fusion due to the melting of crystals decreases. When XLPE is exposed to heat and radiation, it is oxidized, which lowers the crystallinity and makes the crystals smaller. As a result, the mechanical properties of XLPE become degraded.

Nanometer-sized boehmite alumina fillers, untreated and treated with two kinds of silane coupling agents were added by 20 wt% to polyimide sheets. As a result, it has become clear that the increase in real and imaginary parts of permittivity at high temperatures is suppressed by the addition of fillers treated with methacrylic silane coupling agent, compared to the addition of untreated nano fillers.

Isotactic polyacrylonitrile (iso-PAN) is synthesized via template polymerization using the two-dimensional layered space of a CoCl2 crystal as a template. Isotacticity of polyacrylonitrile reaches a meso/meso triad = 93% (mm = 0.93), which indicates a superior packing of polymer chains, leading to a high breakdown strength. Tacticity enhancement is correlated with the interatomic (metal-metal) distance of template -layered crystals. Due to a large dipole moment (4.3 D) of nitrile group and a high stereoregularity, iso-PAN demonstrates a high discharge energy density of 6.7 J/cm(3) at 660 MV/m, nearly six times that of atactic polyacrylonitrile (ata-PAN) and biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP), a commercially available dielectric polymer film. Moreover, it exhibits a charge-discharge efficiency of ca. 90% in a wide applied electric field range, which is higher than the efficiencies of ata-PAN and BOPP. These results suggest that iso-PAN, exhibiting a large dipole moment and high stereoregularity, is a promising candidate for high energy density and low loss capacitor dielectrics.

The soft epoxy resin (SE) and the hard epoxy resin (HE) used in the nuclear power plants were simultaneously given heat and radiation. The glass transition temperature (Tg), indenter modulus (IM), and complex permittivity were measured. The difference in Tg between SE and HE is very significant, which exerts a great deal of influence on the degradation of SE and HE. While the IM and complex permittivity of HE are hardly affected by the degradation, SE becomes hard and its charge transport becomes less active.

Silicone rubber (SiR), which meets the specifications of insulators in electric cables for use in nuclear power plants (NPPs), was degraded under various aging conditions. The samples were then examined by measuring mid-infrared absorption, elongation at break (EAB), and complex permittivity. As a result, it has become clear that cross-linked structures with siloxane bonds are formed under all the conditions. This degrades the mechanical properties, but the dielectric loss becomes lower. It has also become clear that measurements of EAB and complex permittivity are useful to monitor the aging status of SiR.

Polymeric insulation plays an irreplaceable role in a cable. Carbonyl index determined as the ratio of the infrared absorption around 1711 cm-1 due to carbonyl groups to a sample-dependent invariant reference band is often used to predict the lifetime or aging status of polymers. However, due to pre-existing carbonyl groups inside flame-retardant cross-linked polyethylene (FR-XLPE), it is not appropriate to use the carbonyl index to estimate its aging status. Instead, indenter modulus has come into our sight for showing a good monotonic change with the progress of aging. In this paper, sheet-shaped FR-XLPE samples were aged at 100, 135, and 155 °C for various aging periods from 800 to 2000 h. They were aged thermally or concurrently by heat and gamma-rays with a dose rate of 100 Gy/h. For these samples, various measurements were done to understand the aging behavior of FR-XLPE in different properties, including complex permittivity, conduction current, mid-infrared absorption, and indenter modulus. By analyzing the correlations among indenter modulus and other parameters, it has become clear that there are three different aging stages. At the first stage, cross-linking occurs in the sample, which causes a decrease in conduction current and the imaginary part of complex permittivity. However, when the aging enters the second stage, oxidative degradation becomes dominant, which gives a completely opposite change in these parameters. When the aging enters the last stage, the conduction current becomes stable, while the two parts of complex permittivity are still increasing.

We have demonstrated that frequency domain reflectometry (FDR) can locate the position of degradation or abnormality in a cable with the assistance of inverse fast-Fourier transform (IFFT). Although it is easily understandable that this FDR-IFFT method can be applied for a location attempt of a cable with more than one abnormality, we have not demonstrated this so well experimentally. Therefore, we heated two different positions on a coaxial cable of 31.5 m insulated with low-density polyethylene using two heating chambers with an effective chamber width of around 45 cm set at positions 19.7 and 24.7 m from the cable end connected to the analyzer. As a result, it is clearly indicated that the two positions can be located if we heated there only by 10 °C. In addition, the two positions at which the cable enters and goes out of the heating chamber can be recognized clearly. This means that the FDR-IFFT method we are developing exhibits a good spatial resolution in a way that the two positions with a mutual distance of 45 cm are clearly recognizable.

To examine the flame retardancy of polymer-insulated cables used in nuclear power plants, three types of safety-related cables insulated with SiR, FR-XLPE, and FR-EPDM were aged concurrently by heat and radiation. Furthermore, the cables were burned according to the procedures prescribed by two IEEE standards 383-1974 and 1202-2006. The changes appearing in the chemical structure and surface mechanical property were analyzed by measuring FT-MIR spectra and indenter modulus. As a result, it was confirmed that all the cables satisfy with the requirements of two IEEE Stds. Moreover, two IEEE Stds. give similar results as far as indenter modulus is concerned.

Several cables in safety-related systems in nuclear power plants are required to maintain their intended electrical insulating function while they are exposed to harsh environmental conditions in the primary containment vessel during assumed accidents. This must be satisfied even after the cables are operated for their full service period. For such cables, the behavior of their insulation under accidents is a matter of concern. In this research, after silicone rubber insulated cables were pre-aged by simultaneous thermal and radiation exposure, they were irradiated or exposed to high temperature steam to simulate the environmental conditions during the accident, or subjected to the combination of these conditions. The resultant changes in various properties were analyzed by instrumental analyses. As a result, it has been confirmed that the pre-aging and radiation exposure induce cross-linking and depolymerization of siloxane chains to produce cyclic siloxanes, whereas the steam exposure causes significant depolymerization and the generation of low-molecular cyclic siloxanes.

We already reported that a combination of frequency domain reflectometry (FDR) and inverse fast-Fourier transform (IFFT) is a powerful tool for locating the position where an abnormality or degradation occurs in a cable up to a length of around 1,000 m. In our previous research, we always set a single spot of abnormality. This paper shows that this method is also applicable if abnormalities occur simultaneously at more than one spot. A coaxial cable of 31.5 m, insulated with low-density polyethylene, was heated at two different positions using two heating chambers. Each heated portion was about 47 cm long. The portion closer to the measurement terminal was heated to various temperatures up to 100°C, while the other portion was heated to 100 °C. As a result, it was confirmed that the two portions can be located if the temperature of the heated spot is 10°C higher than the surroundings when the highest measurement frequency is above 800 MHz.

Effects of exposure to ultraviolet (UV) photons and thermal treatments on solution-processed amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (a-IGZO) films were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. As a result, oxygen vacancies obviously become more abundant in the films sintered at 250 or 300 °C by the exposure to 7.21 eV photons and less abundant by the subsequent thermal treatment at 250 °C in air. The drain current also clearly becomes smaller in a thin film transistor fabricated using the IGZO film in a manner opposite to the abundance of oxygen vacancies. That is, the drain current becomes smaller by the UV irradiation and returns to the original high value by the subsequent thermal treatment. This indicates that oxygen vacancies act as trapping centers or scattering centers of electrons. In addition, the reversible change of the drain current with the cycle of UV irradiation and the thermal treatment opens the possibility of the use of the IGZO films as a UV sensor.

© 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim Polar groups and the charge-transport capability play significant roles in the dielectric properties of organic polymers, and thus influence the electric energy density upon application as a capacitor material. Here, the dielectric properties and electric conductivity of a series of polymers containing 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) radicals are investigated. The neat radical polymer poly(TEMPO methacrylate) (PTMA) has a high dielectric constant but poor breakdown strength. Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is introduced as an insulating polymer with high resistivity on breakdown, along with molecular design of PTMA. Copolymers of TEMPO methacrylate and methyl methacrylate, P(TMA-r-MMA), exhibit high breakdown strengths but low dielectric constants. PMMA blended with TEMPO exhibits the highest electric energy density of 7.4 J cm −3 (that of PTMA is 0.48 J cm −3 as a control), with both a high dielectric constant (≈6.8) and a high breakdown strength (≈500 MV m −1 ). It benefits from long-range but not bulk charge transport in the blends, which is different from the bulk charge transport in PTMA and the short-range charge transport in P(TMA-r-MMA). These results indicate that the TEMPO moiety located in the high breakdown matrix leads to a high energy-storage density in the capacitor.

As a crystalline polymer, various properties of poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS) depend on its crystallinity. Evaluation of crystallinity of PPS is examined by terahertz (THz) absorption spectroscopy in this research. For sheets of PPS thermally annealed differently, sharp absorption peaks appearing at 3.2 and 4.2 THz are well proportional to the crystallinity estimated by X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) absorption spectroscopy. Therefore, THz absorption spectroscopy can be a good tool for estimating the crystallinity of PPS. Especially, it is useful for thick PPS sheets, for which FTIR spectroscopy in transmission mode is difficult to apply due to the saturation of absorbance. Since THz spectroscopy and FTIR spectroscopy are complementary in the vibrations that the two methods can detect, using the two methods should be effective to improve the accuracy of estimation of crystallinity. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46427.

In general, for organic polymer, crystallinity is an important influencing factor that determines various properties. In this paper, the possibility of estimating the crystallinity of PEN, PPS, and PEEK by terahertz (THz) absorption spectroscopy is examined. It has become clear that the three polymers exhibit respective sharp absorption peaks and that their intensities are well proportional to the crystallinity. Therefore, THz absorption spectroscopy can provide a good estimating tool of the crystallinity of organic polymers.

To detect biological substances such as bacteria speedily and accurately, a dielectrophoresis-assisted surface plasmon resonance (SPR) fluorescence biosensor is being developed. Using Escherichia coli as a target organism, an appropriate voltage frequency to collect E. coli cells on indium tin oxide quadrupole electrodes by dielectrophoresis is analyzed. Then, E. coli is stained with 4$,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI). To clearly detect fluorescence signals from DAPI-stained E. coli cells, the sensor is optimized so that we can excite SPR on Al electrodes by illuminating 405 nm photons. As a result, the number of fluorescence signals is increased on the electrodes by the application of a low-frequency voltage. This indicates that E. coli cells with a lower permittivity than the surrounding water are collected by negative dielectrophoresis onto the electrodes where the electric field strength is lowest.

Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) is attracting keen attention as a new spectroscopic tool for characterizing various materials. In this research, the possibility of analyzing the crystal orientation in a crystalline polymer by THz-TDS is investigated by measuring angle-resolved THz absorption spectra for sheets of poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene naphthalate), and poly(phenylene sulfide). The resultant angle dependence of the absorption intensity of each polymer is similar to that of the crystal orientation examined using pole figures of X-ray diffraction. More specifically, THz-TDS can indicate the alignment of molecules in polymers.

Aimed at detecting fluorescent-labeled biological substances sensitively, a sensor that utilizes near-field light has attracted much attention. According to our calculations, a planar structure composed of two dielectric layers can enhance the electric field of UV nearfield light effectively by inducing waveguide-mode (WM) resonance. The fluorescence intensity obtainable by a WM chip with an optimized structure is 5.5 times that obtainable by an optimized surface plasmon resonance chip. We confirmed the above by making a WM chip consisting of TiO2 and SiO2 layers on a silica glass substrate and by measuring the fluorescence intensity of a solution of quantum dots dropped on the chip.

We have developed an optical disk system for imaging transmitted light from Escherichia coli dispersed on an optical disk. When E. coli was stained using Bismarck brown, the transmittance was found to decrease in images obtained at λ = 405 nm. The results indicate that transmittance imaging is suitable for finding the difference in light intensity between stained and unstained E. coli, whereas the reflectance images were scarcely changed by staining. Therefore, E. coli can be selectively discriminated from abiotic contaminants using transmittance imaging.

Sheet-shaped poly(ether-ether-ketone) (PEEK), silicone rubber (SiR), flame-retardant (FR) ethylene-propylene-diene monomer rubber (EPDM), and FR crosslinked polyethylene (FR-XLPE) were aged thermally at various temperatures with or without concurrent irradiation of gamma rays. The degradation mechanism was examined extensively by instrumental analyses, while those in mechanical and dielectric properties were evaluated by measuring indenter modulus, elongation at break, tensile strength, electrical conductivity, and complex permittivity. The behavior and its underlying mechanism of degradation induced by heat and radiation are quite different among these polymeric insulating materials. All the four materials exhibit deterioration in mechanical properties at a much earlier stage of aging than that in dielectric properties. Therefore, mechanical parameters are important indicators that should be considered in the condition monitoring.

Flame retardant ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (FR-EPR) and silicone rubber (SiR) are two major materials for safety-related cables in nuclear power plants. For such cables, degradation of their insulation is a matter of serious concern. Regarding the above, sheets of FR-EPR and SiR were aged either thermally or concurrently by heat and gamma radiation and the resultant changes in various properties were systematically compared and analysed from various aspects by FT-IR, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry/differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA), and scanning probe microscopy (SPM), and by measuring indenter modulus, elongation at break (EAB), tensile strength (TS), and complex permittivity. As a result of the experiments, both FR-EPR and SiR become hard in a similar manner in both cases where the degradation was given by heat only or concurrently by heat and radiation. In both polymers, degradation induced cross-linking and breaking of chemical bonds were observed by FT-IR, DSC, TG/DTA. Furthermore, a contrastive difference in dielectric behavior between SiR and FR-EPR was also observed in complex permittivity.

Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), one of the superengineering plastics, is used for various purposes. Since PPS is a crystalline polymer, its various properties depend on its crystallinity. In this paper, the possibility of evaluating the crystallinity of PPS by terahertz (THz) absorption spectroscopy is examined. In addition to THz absorption spectra, X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD) were measured on sheets of PPS thermally annealed differently. As a result, it has become clear that sharp absorption peaks appearing at 3.2 and 4.2 THz are well proportional to the crystallinity estimated by XRD. Therefore, THz absorption spectroscopy can be a tool to estimate the crystallinity of PPS.

Aiming at detecting biological substances accurately and speedy, we are developing a dielectrophoresis-Assisted surface plasmon resonance fluorescence (SPRF) illumination biosensor. A sensing chip of the sensor has Al layers, which are used for electrodes and SPR excitation layers. In this study, we used Escherichia coli (E. coli) stained with 4', 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) as a target substance. First, the structure of the sensing chip was optimized to excite SPR on the Al electrodes by 405-nm light. Then, an emulsion with DAPI-stained E. coli was dropped on the sensing chip and illuminated by a 405-nm laser via a prism. When ac voltages were applied to the Al electrodes, the number of bright spots, due to fluorescence from DAPI-stained E. coli, increased on the electrodes. This result indicates that E. coli, which has a lower permittivity than the emulsion, was collected onto the electrodes where the electric field strength is lowest by negative dielectrophoresis. Therefore, we have succeeded in collecting target biological substances on the surface of the sensing chip and detecting them.

For the purpose of using organic polymeric materials for electrical insulation, various additives such as antioxidants are added to prevent degradation or oxidative decomposition of the polymers. Therefore, it is desirable that we can identify antioxidants added in polymers by instrument analyses. In this research, terahertz absorption spectroscopy was conducted for nine kinds of antioxidants. The spectroscopy was also conducted for sheets of low-density polyethylene, to which each antioxidant had been added with different contents. As a result, it has become clear that each antioxidant has its own specific spectrum. In addition, for most antioxidants, the absorption intensity is proportional to the content of antioxidant added in LDPE. However, several absorption peaks change their spectral shapes when the antioxidant is in LDPE.

We have succeeded in detecting the degradation of cable’s polymeric insulation well before its continual use becomes risky. Degradation of organic polymers is mainly caused by oxidation if the ambience around the cable contains oxygen. When organic polymers are oxidized, polar carbonyl groups are formed, by which the permittivity is increased. This in turn decreases the characteristic impedance of a polymer-insulated cable. If we inject electromagnetic waves in a very wide frequency range into the cable and measure the ratio of reflected power to injected power, the information on the effects of the characteristic impedance changes is included in the frequency spectra of the ratio. If we do inverse Fourier transform, we can convert the data to a time domain. Therefore, we can know the degraded portion by multiplying the velocity of electromagnetic waves in the cable.

Silicone rubber (SiR) was gamma irradiated at 125, 145 and 185 °C or thermally aged at 220, 250 and 280 °C and the resultant changes in performance were evaluated. It has become clear from instrumental analyses that crosslinking via oxidation of silicon atoms and chain scission are induced by gamma rays. Furthermore, from the temperature dependence of real relative permittivity at high frequencies, the thermal expansion coefficient was found to become smaller with the increase in dose. These results can be understood well by the chemical and structural changes in SiR induced by the degradation.

Complex permittivity (ϵr' and ϵr"), conductivity (σ), and glass transition temperature (Tg) were measured for composites of epoxy resin and MgO fillers with various sizes in a wide temperature and frequency range. The effect of coaddition of nano-sized SiO2 was also examined. It has become clean that Tg decreases by the addition of MgO fillers, and its decrement becomes more with a decrease in filler size. Moreover, Tg decreases if the silica nanofillers are co-added. However, all the three important parameters for electrical insulation ability of polymers, namely ϵr', ϵr", and σ, decrease with the decrease in size of MgO fillers or by the addition of silica nanofillers at high temperatures and low frequencies. This is a very astonishing result, since it seems reasonable that a polymer with a high Tg should have a better insulating ability. Probably, the above-mentioned results indicate that the charge transport becomes more difficult, presumably resulting from the suppression of molecular motion with the decrease in size of MgO fillers and by the co-addition of SiO2 nanofillers. This indicates that the suppression of molecular motion becomes very strong if the filler size is small, making the carrier transport difficult even in polymers with low Tg.

The crystallinity of sheets of poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) was changed by thermal treatments conducted at 295 oC for various periods and their terahertz (THz) and Fouriertransform infrared absorption (FT-IR) spectra were obtained. As a result, it has been confirmed that an absorption peak appears at around 3.5 THz in the sheet samples that exhibit clear X-ray diffraction patterns at 20= 18.8, 20.8, 22.8, and 28.8o. In contrast, no obvious sample-dependent changes were observed in FT-IR spectra. The absorption at around 3.5 THz shows a shift in frequency to a degree proportional to the crystallinity. Its maximum intensity is also in proportion to the crystallinity. These results indicate that the absorption at 3.62 THz has a close relation with the crystallinity of PEEK This in turn means that the THz absorption spectroscopy can be used for estimating the crystallinity of PEEK.

The correlation between degradation-induced changes in two important indicators of mechanical properties, namely elongation at break (EAB) and indenter modulus (IM), is examined for flame-retardant ethylene propylene rubber (FR-EPR), silicone rubber (SiR), flame-retardant crosslinked polyethylene (FR-XLPE), and XLPE. The samples were degraded by heat or concurrently by heat and radiation. In the case that the polymers become hard after they were degraded, the two indicators show a good correlation. However, if they become brittle, their correlation is not good. Regarding this, their correlation is good in SiR, while it is not good in FR-XLPE and XLPE. In FR-EPR, the correlativity changes, depending on the aging condition and presumably its additives.

To examine electrical insulation behavior of cables under severe accident environmental conditions, safety-related low voltage cables used as severe accident management equipment were subjected to two tests that simulated two environments: 1) at 155 oC, which is the simulated highest assumed temperature when proper accident management measures are taken, 2) at 200 oC, which is the maximum durable temperature of a primary containment vessel. In addition, electrical insulation resistance was measured for the cables during steam exposure in the two tests. As a result, all the cables passed the acceptance criteria of the tests. The minimum volume resistivity of the cables during the test at 155 oC was around 108 Ωm, confirming that the cables have a sufficient insulation performance. On the other hand, the minimum volume resistivity during the severer test at 200 oC was around 105 Ωm due to the increase in leak current.

Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and its copolymers have excellent affinity for protons and contribute to proton transfer. In the present study, PEO and its copolymers, poly[(ethylene oxide)(20)-(propylene oxide)(70)-(ethylene oxide)(20)] (EO20PO70EO20, P123) and poly[(ethylene oxide)(106)-(propylene oxide)(70)-(ethylene oxide)(106)] (EO106PO70EO106, F127), have been found to significantly enhance the conductivity of polyaniline (PANI). After introducing these polymers, the conductivity of PANI is markedly promoted more than two orders of magnitude compared to that of PANI without additives, from 5.2 to 667 S/m. The molecular weight of PEO affects the conductivity of PANI/PEO. The mechanism by which these amphiphilic polymers are beneficial to the conductivity of PANI is studied experimentally and theoretically. The PANI/P123 prepared in the presence of PEO block copolymer shows gradually varying morphologies containing leaflike sheets, rodlike particles, and uniform chestnutlike sphere particles. This is similar to the morphology change of micelles with surfactant concentration. PEO, P123, and F127 are further found to have a positive effect on PANI as a material for sensors or supercapacitors, since high specific capacity and fast response rate are desired qualities in sensors and supercapacitors. (c) 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 45547.

Recently, attempts to use deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) as an industrially important substance have been emerging. For that purpose, easy and convenient determination of the high-order structure of DNA is desirable. In this research, we measured far-infrared absorption spectra of various synthetic single-stranded DNAs, each with an identical base in its nucleotides, and found that DNAs with different bases exhibit different spectra. We also demonstrated that the number of thymine bases on a single-stranded DNA can be estimated from the spectra.

Terahertz absorption spectra were measured for nine kinds of antioxidants. The spectra were also measured for lowdensity polyethylene sheets that contain each antioxidant with different contents. As a result, a fingerprint spectrum appears for each antioxidant, from which the antioxidants become distinguishable and their contents can be estimated.

Using THz time-domain spectroscopy, optical or dielectric absorption spectra were obtained for YAlO3(100) single crystals. A sharp absorption peak appears at around 3.4 THz only when the THz electric field is parallel to the sample's [011] axis. This peak should be due to a normal mode of vibration, to which Y largely contributes. (C) 2017 The Japan Society of Applied Physics

A waveguide-mode sensor with a planar sensing chip, consisting of two waveguiding layers and a glass substrate, is a promising candidate for a near-field illumination biosensor. Aiming at using fluorescent labeling induced by ultraviolet light, we optimize the structure of a waveguide-mode sensing chip, based on the mechanism for enhancing ultraviolet near-field light revealed by numerical calculations. Candidates of optimal materials are also presented. The chip optimized as above should be able to enhance the intensity of ultraviolet near-field light 25 times as high as an A1 surface plasmon resonance sensing chip. (C) 2017 Optical Society of America

Silicone rubber (SiR) is used as an insulating material for cables installed in a nuclear power plant. Gamma rays irradiated SiR sheets for various periods at temperatures of 145 and 185 degrees C, and the resultant changes were analyzed by examining complex permittivity spectra and surface potential decay characteristics. Three different processes, namely, instantaneous polarization, electrode polarization due to the accumulation of ions to form double charge layers at dielectric/electrode interfaces, and DC conduction caused by directional hopping of ions, contribute to the complex permittivity. By fitting the spectra to theoretical equations, we can obtain the dielectric constant at high frequencies, concentration and diffusion coefficient of ions and DC conductivity for the pristine and degraded samples. The instantaneous polarization becomes active with an increase of dose and ageing temperature. The thermal expansion coefficient estimated from the temperature dependence of dielectric constant at high frequencies becomes smaller with an increase in dose, which is in good agreement with the experimental results of the swelling ratio. Additionally, trap distributions are calculated from surface potential decay measurements and analyzed to explain the variation in conductivity. Trap energy increases firstly, and then decreases with an increase in dose, leading to a similar change in DC conductivity. It is concluded that generations of both oxidative products and mobile ions, as well as the occurrence of chain scission and crosslinking are simultaneously induced by gamma rays.

In radiation research facility, where heat and radiation are two crucial factors inducing material degradation, highly stable materials are required. In the present work, various properties of poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) exposed to heat and gamma rays in air are instrumentally investigated. If PEEK is aged by heat and gamma irradiation in air, chemical bond scission, oxidation, crosslinking, and char formation occur as competing mechanisms. The temperature plays a decisive role in degradation, while the irradiation accelerates it. The mechanical properties deteriorate much earlier than the dielectric properties with the progress of aging. This means that the mechanical properties can be an important condition monitoring factor compared to the dielectric properties for PEEK-insulated apparatus or cables. If PEEK is aged severely, its electrical conductivity increases dramatically, whereas both real and imaginary parts of complex dielectric permittivity decrease, showing a marked contrast to many industrially important polymeric insulating materials. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A highly sensitive biosensor to detect norovirus in environment is desired to prevent the spread of infection. In this study, we investigated a design of surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-assisted fluoroimmunosensor to increase its sensitivity and performed detection of norovirus virus-like particles (VLPs). A quantum dot fluorescent dye was employed because of its large Stokes shift. The sensor design was optimized for the CdSe-ZnS-based quantum dots. The optimal design was applied to a simple SPR-assisted fluoroimmunosensor that uses a sensor chip equipped with a V-shaped trench. Excitation efficiency of the quantum dots, degree of electric field enhancement by SPR, and intensity of auto fluorescence of a substrate of the sensor chip were theoretically and experimentally evaluated to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio. As the result, an excitation wavelength of 390 nm was selected to excite SPR on an Al film of the sensor chip. The sandwich assay of norovirus VLPs was performed using the designed sensor. Minimum detectable concentration of 0.01 ng/mL, which corresponds to 100 virus-like particles included in the detection region of the V-trench, was demonstrated. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Terahertz absorption spectra and X-ray diffraction patterns were measured for amorphous poly(ethylene naphthalate) (PEN) while the sample temperature was elevated from 25 to 230 degrees C then lowered back to 25 degrees C. Before the elevation of the temperature, PEN exhibited broad absorption with a maximum at around 2.6 THz. This absorption seems to originate from amorphous regions. As the sample temperature increases, PEN becomes crystallized in the form of alpha crystal. With this change in crystallinity, the 2.6 THz absorption becomes smaller, while another absorption peak at 2.05 THz, originating from crystalline regions, becomes larger. Furthermore, in the cooling process to 25 degrees C, the 2.05 THz absorption shifts to 2.15 THz and the lattice constants associated with this absorption become smaller. Therefore, intermolecular vibrations closely related to the crystal growth in PEN at high temperatures seem to be responsible for the THz absorption. (C) 2017 The Japan Society of Applied Physics

The effects of gamma-rays on the complex permittivity (epsilon,' and epsilon,") and electrical conductivity were compared between poly(ethylene naphthalate) (PEN) and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). Although both epsilon,' and epsilon," increase in PET with an increase in the total dose of gamma irradiation, such increases are hardly observed in PEN. The conductivity is always smaller in PEN than in PET. Therefore, it has been confirmed that charge transport is less activated by gamma irradiation in PEN than in PET. Together with experimental results obtained by ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis, it can be concluded that PEN has a superior anti-gamma-ray dielectric property to PET. (C) 2017 The Japan Society of Applied Physics

We improved the optical disk-based imaging system to make more precise images at low cost for safety enhancement applications to observe and detect micrometer-order hazardous substances collected on a large-area surface. An optical disk substrate with positioning marks is prepared, and a signal processor is developed to automatically construct an image using the marks. We successfully obtained an image of Escherichia coli dispersed on an optical disk sample surface with a laser-scanning interval of 0.40 mu m in the optical disk's radial direction; this interval is reduced from the 0.74 and 1.36 mu m intervals demonstrated in our previous papers. (C) 2017 The Japan Society of Applied Physic

With the aim of developing a sensor for rapidly detecting viruses in a drop of blood, in this study, we analyze the shape of a hole in a microfluidic channel in relation to the efficiency of sedimentation of blood cells. The efficiency of sedimentation is examined on the basis of our calculation and experimental results for two types of sedimentation hole, cylindrical and truncated conical holes, focusing on the Boycott effect, which can promote the sedimentation of blood cells from a downward-facing wall. As a result, we demonstrated that blood cells can be eliminated with an efficiency of 99% or higher by retaining a diluted blood sample of about 30 mu L in the conical hole for only 2 min. Moreover, we succeeded in detecting the antihepatitis B surface antigen antibody in blood using a waveguide-mode sensor equipped with a microfluidic channel having the conical sedimentation hole. (C) 2017 The Japan Society of Applied Physics.

The crystallinity of poly(ethylene naphthalate) (PEN) was changed by thermal annealing and its effects on terahertz absorption spectra and X-ray diffraction patterns were examined. As a result, the intensity of a relatively sharp absorption peak at around 2.2 THz was found to be proportional to the crystallinity. As a plausible cause of this absorption, a lattice vibration, a torsional vibration, or their combination mode associated with (010) planes in crystal α of PEN is proposed. Therefore, the crystallinity of PEN can be estimated from the intensity of this absorption.

Nowadays, trials to use even higher frequencies are pursued to realize high-speed wireless communications. In order to respond to such a trend, dielectric properties of insulating polymers at high frequencies have to be clarified, although the importance of clarifying low-frequency properties is still very high, especially for use as high-voltage insulators. In this regard, complex permittivity spectra from 10 mHz to 4.0 THz were obtained for various insulating polymers. The spectra obtained in the very wide frequency range are important, because they can be a valuable database and they provide various pieces of important information on dielectric characteristics. (C) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

If powder of iron is included in the insulation of a polymer-insulated cable during its manufacturing process, breakdown or a water tree would be triggered from there. In this study, we mixed powder of iron into a sheet of low-density polyethylene and measured spatial distributions of absorption at terahertz (THz) frequencies. As a result, it has become clear that the absorption increases in the whole range from 0.5 to 5.0 THz at the places where the powder exists, even if the sheet is covered with an opaque carbon-black-loaded polyethylene sheet.

Far-IR absorption spectra at frequencies from 0.5 to 21.0 THz were obtained for sheets of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) containing different contents of vinyl acetate (VA) from 12 to 60% with different thicknesses from 1.0 to 3.0 mm. As a result, EVA exhibits absorption at 2.5, 6.7, 10.5, 11-17, and 17-20 THz. Especially, the 2.5-THz intensity with a good proportionality up to 60% of VA content exhibits comparable accuracy to the IR method and is applicable for estimating the VA content in EVA sheets 2.0 or 3.0 mm thick, for which IR method is difficult to be applied.

Recently, attempts to use deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) as an industrially important substance have been emerging. For that purpose, easy and convenient determination of the higher-order structure of DNA is desirable. In this research, we measured far-infrared absorption spectra of various synthetic single stranded DNAs, each with an identical base in its nucleotides, and found that DNAs with different bases exhibit different spectra. We also demonstrated that the number of thymine bases on a single stranded DNA can be estimated from the spectra.

Recently, advanced "smart meters" have been introduced widely to electric power distribution lines. Since smart meters consist of many low-voltage electronic devices, their vulnerability to disturbances such as lightning surges is a matter of concern. Therefore, to establish an effective lightning protection countermeasure against these disturbances, we have been investigating the lightning failure aspects of electronic watt-hour meters (WHMs), which have a function similar to that of a watt-meter section in smart meters. In this paper, we explored countermeasures for improving the performance of WHMs against the lightning transient magnetic fields. At first, we examined the performance of WHMs by lightning impulse current tests. As a result, it has become clear that the increase in distance between a bus conductor and a processing unit and magnetic shield of a processing unit are effective in reducing the probability of failures caused by the transient magnetic fields. Next, we proposed a calculation method of the lightning failure rate of WHMs based on a lightning surge analysis. The calculation results indicate that the failure occurs more frequently by subsequent strokes than by first strokes or if the grounding resistance of a pole transformer is higher.

Polymers naturally have low thermal conductivity. Polymer composites with practical high dielectric strength are required to have relatively high thermal conductivity. When polymers are loaded with high thermally conductive inorganic micro-fillers, 88resulting composites have high thermal conductivity due to percolation effect of micro-fillers. However, they often suffer from reduced dielectric breakdown strength. In order to overcome this reduction, a certain nanotechnology method has been explored using nanofillers.

The effect of addition of nano-sized magnesia fillers to epoxy resin on the distribution of space charges is examined at various temperatures from 40 to 200 °C. Although the spatial distribution of space charges in the sample varies depending on temperature and filler content, magnesia nanocomposites exhibit a smaller amount of homocharge near the cathode than the unfilled epoxy resin at 40 and 80 °C. At 120 and 140 °C, although the polarity of space charge in the vicinity of the cathode becomes positive or hetero, its amount becomes smaller with the increase in content of magnesia nanofillers. This finding agrees well with the fact that magnesia nanofillers effectively suppress the formation of space charge in low-density or crosslinked polyethylene. As another distinctive feature, it has become clear that the addition of magnesia nanofillers effectively suppresses carrier transport, especially at high temperatures.

Gamma-ray induced changes occurring in ethylene-propylene-diene copolymer (EPDM) were analyzed through its complex permittivity spectra. First, four different processes, namely, instantaneous polarization, hopping of ions, segmental relaxation, and dc conduction are found to contribute to the complex permittivity. By fitting the spectra to theoretical equations, it has become clear that the instantaneous polarization and ionic hopping become active by the irradiation, indicating that generation of oxidative products and mobile ions and occurrence of chain scission are induced by gamma rays. Furthermore, since both the thermal expansion and the contribution of the segmental relaxation to the permittivity become less with an increase in dose, it is assumed that crosslinking is induced by the gamma irradiation.

Complex permittivity (epsilon(r)' and epsilon(r)") and conductivity were measured in a wide temperature range for dicyclopentadiene (DCP) resin and epoxy resin, which show glass transition at a similar temperature around 150 degrees C. Furthermore, space charge distributions remaining in the two resins that had been polarized in the same wide temperature range were measured at room temperature. As a result, it was found that epsilon(r)' epsilon(r)", and conductivity are much lower in DCP resin than in epoxy resin at almost all the temperatures and frequencies. A further analysis using complex electric modulus, which is the inverse of the complex permittivity, indicates that charge transport is much more difficult in DCP resin. Furthermore, while similar small amounts of homocharges appear in DCP resin at any polarization temperatures, a significant accumulation of heterocharges, most likely due to ions, is induced in epoxy resin in the vicinity of the cathode/sample interface at polarization temperatures above the glass transition temperature. These results indicate that DCP resin possesses superior stable dielectric behavior, especially at high temperatures.

Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) consists of zirconia and yttria and oxygen vacancies appear in accordance with the ratio of yttria. The oxygen vacancy would sometimes give annoyance, but it would be beneficial on other occasions, depending on its applications. Photoluminescence (PL) due to oxygen vacancies induced by photons with energies around 5.5 eV exhibits two decay time constants. As a possible reason for this, an oxygen vacancy changes its charging state from neutral to positive monovalent by losing an electron when YSZ is irradiated by ultraviolet photons. The PL decays either in a ms range or in a ns range, depending on whether the oxygen vacancies are neutral or positive monovalent.

Various properties of polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) are affected by its crystallinity. In this paper, the possibility of using terahertz (THz) spectroscopy as a tool to examine the crystallinity of PEN is studied. When THz absorption is measured while the sample temperature is being raised, an absorption peak suddenly appears at around 2.10 THz at 180 °C. By analyzing the THz spectra together with XRD patterns, we found that the 2.10-THz absorption has a close relation with the crystal form α of PEN and its intensity increases with the progress of crystallization. Therefore, THz absorption spectroscopy can be used for monitoring the crystallization of PEN.

Radiation resistance was compared between dicyclopentadiene (DCP) resin (P) and epoxy resin (E) by analyzing mainly their complex permittivity (epsilon(r)' and epsilon(r '')) and electrical conductivity. While both epsilon(r)' and epsilon(r)'' increase significantly in E with an increase in total dose of the gamma irradiation, no such increases are observed in P. The conductivity is always smaller in P than in E and the difference becomes larger with the increase in total dose. This difference becomes very obvious if we pay attention to electric modulus spectra. These results indicate clearly that P has a better gamma resistance than E.

Far-infrared absorption spectra were measured for low density polyethylene in a frequency range from 3.0 to 120 THz. When the polyethylene was cross-linked using vinyl silane, the absorption was found to increase in proportion to the cross-linking degree at 13.2, 30.9, and 32.7 THz, where absorption attributable to Si-O bonds appears. Therefore, the degree of cross-linking of polyethylene by vinyl silane can be estimated by far-infrared absorption spectroscopy.

A new method for estimating the content of vinyl acetate (VA) in ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) is proposed. It is a kind of optical absorption spectroscopy in a frequency range from 0.5 to 21.0 THz. Comparison of absorption spectra among sheets of EVA with differing contents of VA from 12 to 60% by weight and a sheet of low density polyethylene containing no VA revealed that the EVA sheets exhibit relatively sharp absorption at 2.5, 6.7, and 10.5 THz and rather broad absorption at 11 to 17 THz and 17 to 20 THz. All these absorption intensities are in proportion to the content of VA, up to certain contents, which enables us to estimate the content of VA in EVA quantitatively. Among them, the absorption at 2.5 THz measured by THz time-domain spectroscopy shows the best accuracy.

The authors have demonstrated that the estimation of the precise locations of points in cables aged thermally or mechanically or by the irradiation of gamma rays is possible by a combination of frequency domain reflectometry and inverse fast Fourier transform. This paper examines how this ability of fault location depends on the type, structure, and insulation material of the cable, using several kinds of polymer insulated cables such as a triple core cable insulated with flame-retardant ethylene propylene diene copolymer, a dual core cable insulated with silicone rubber, a dual core cable insulated with crosslinked polyolefin (XLPO), a coaxial cylindrical cable insulated with low density polyethylene, and a flat cord insulated by polyvinyl chloride (PVC). As a result, for cables with lengths from 16 to 72 m, the maximum sensitivity is attained when the highest frequency of the inputted electromagnetic waves is 1.0 GHz or higher for coaxial cables, but around 300 to 800 MHz for dual or triple core cables. For the location attempt of the position heated by a heater, cables insulated with PVC give higher signal intensities than those insulated with XLPO.

It is generally known that the dc breakdown strength of low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreases with as the thickness and temperature of the sample increase. The breakdown strength is influenced by the charge transport and electric field distortion, and is also related to the molecular chain displacement and fracture. This paper investigates mutual relations among the charge transport, molecular chain displacement, and thickness dependent dc breakdown of LDPE. A model that combines the dynamics of charge transport and molecular displacement (CTMD) is used to calculate the space charge accumulation, molecular chain displacement, and dc breakdown properties of LDPE with various thicknesses at various constant voltage ramping rates. It is assumed that breakdown occurs when the molecular chain displacement reaches a critical value. The simulation results show that the breakdown field as a function of sample thickness satisfies an inverse power law with a power index of about 0.43 for various voltage ramping rates. This is consistent with experimental results. The CTMD model considers both the distortion of electric field and the displacement kinetics of molecular chains, resulting in a power index closer to the experiment than that calculated only from the electric field distortion. Adopted a Williams-Landel-Ferry type molecular chain mobility in the CTMD model, the simulation results are consistent with the results calculated by applying experimental results on polyisobutylene and polymethyl methacrylate to the free volume breakdown theory. It is also found that the CTMD model with temperature-dependent molecular chain mobility controlled by piecewise Arrhenius equations can explain well the temperature dependent breakdown experimental results of LDPE.

The oxidation process induced in ethylene-propylene-diene (EPDM) copolymer by gamma irradiation was simulated by solving equations on chemical reactions and gas diffusion rates. As a result, distributions of oxidative products and gases and changes in material properties were clarified. All the oxidative products such as ketones, alcohols, and carboxylic acids, crosslinks between molecular chains, and chain scissions in EPDM increase with irradiation and they show concave spatial distributions inside the sample sheets. The simulation results demonstrates that EPDM becomes hard when it was irradiated by gamma rays and the increase in hardness is more significant at the surface of the sample sheet than its inside. Moreover, it was found that a low diffusion coefficient of oxygen in EPDM leads to the appearance of a clearer diffusion-limited regime of degradation. These simulation results are in good agreement with experimental results.

Hemagglutination is utilized for various immunological assays, including blood typing and virus detection. Herein, we describe a method of rapid hemagglutination detection based on a microfluidic channel installed on an optical waveguide-mode sensor. Human blood samples mixed with hemagglutinating antibodies associated with different blood groups were injected into the microfluidic channel, and reflectance spectra of the samples were measured after stopping the flow. The agglutinated and nonagglutinated samples were distinguishable by the alterations in their reflectance spectra with time; the microfluidic channels worked as spatial restraints for agglutinated red blood cells. The demonstrated system allowed rapid hemagglutination detection within 1 min. The suitable height of the channels was also discussed. (C) 2016 The Japan Society of Applied Physics

Most electric cables installed in nuclear power plants use organic polymers for their electrical insulation. Regarding this, degradation of the polymers could lead to fatal accidents. However, no truly reliable diagnostic methods that can detect the degradation of polymer insulation in electric cables have been established. Therefore, development of a reliable diagnostic method is very important. The present research shows that scanning probe microscopy can be a good tool to evaluate microscopic changes induced on the surface of flame-retardant ethylene propylene diene copolymer by its degradation.

<p>Electric cables play important roles for supplying power and for transmitting information and control signals. Therefore, their degradation may cause a serious problem. Silicone rubber (SiR) is widely used for electrical insulation in safety-related cables in nuclear power plants. In this paper, the ability of locating a degraded portion in a duplex cable insulated with SiR was compared between a system based on frequency domain reflectometry (FDR) being developed by the authors and a commercially available system called line resonance analysis (LIRA). Reflecting the fact that the FDR system can expand the measurement frequency range, FDR shows a higher sensitivity and a better resolution than LIRA. However, both methods cannot detect the degradation of SiR before its further use becomes uncommendable.</p>

Photoluminescence (PL) due to oxygen vacancies appearing in yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) decreases clearly by ion implantation in both bulky single crystal plates and thin multicrystal films. This indicates that segregation into Y2O3 and ZrO2 and change in charging state of oxygen vacancy occur similarly in the two substances despite big differences in their thicknesses and morphologies.

Overheating during the manufacturing process of a cross-linked polyethylene-insulated cable often induces brownish resin, which may become a starting point of breakdown and water trees. In this study, an XLPE sheet was overheated and cut to many pieces of squares with various sizes from 0.5×0.5 to 10×10 mm2. Then, each piece was sandwiched between two sheets of low-density polyethylene and its absorption intensity was measured at terahertz (THz) frequencies. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of absorption was measured in the form of a two-dimensional image by scanning the sample. As a result, it has become clear that the whole absorption increases in a range from 0.5 to 5.0 THz when the volume of overheated part becomes bigger. Moreover, the distribution of overheated parts can be visualized by the THz absorption imaging.

Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene (PP) exhibit a photoluminescence (PL) band, which emits photons with an energy of around 4.3 eV when excited by photons with energies around 6.4 eV. The origin of this PL band has been assigned to α, β -unsaturated carbonyl. In this paper, the appearance of PL was examined for four kinds of polyolefin and four kinds of biodegradable polymers. As a result, it has become clear that all the polymers show a PL band with a PL excitation spectrum and a PL spectrum similar to those of the above-mentioned PL band in LDPE and PP. The decay profiles observed for these PL bands indicate that they are fluorescence. Furthermore, the intensity of the PL becomes weak for all the four polyolefin samples and the polylatic acid sample if ultraviolet photons were irradiated to the sample. Quantum chemical calculations carried out by assuming a model of α, β -unsaturated carbonyl have revealed that the PL originates in the π∗to π transition of electrons in the carbon-carbon double bond.

The authors examined the possibility of terahertz (THz) absorption spectroscopy whether it can be used as a tool to estimate the content of talc in ethylene-propylene-diene copolymer (EPDM), an important factor determining the electrical insulation properties of EPDM-insulated power cables. For this purpose, absorption spectra were measured in a frequency range from 0.3 to 10.0 THz for EPDM sheets containing different contents of talc, a disk-shaped sample made of talc powder, and a similar disk-shaped sample made of a mixture of talc and high-density polyethylene. As a result, the whole absorption in the frequency range from 0.3 to 10.0 THz is increased by the addition of talc into EPDM sheets. More specifically, it has become clear that talc in EPDM induces absorption peaks at 3.05, 4.8, 5.1, 5.3, 6.9, and 7.8 THz. The integrated absorption coefficients calculated for these absorption peaks show a good linearity with respect to the content of talc. Therefore, by watching the increments of these absorption peaks, the content of talc can be quantitatively estimated.

Ion implantation is used for various purposes in manufacturing semiconductor devices such as MOS-FETs. In the present study, the effects of implantation of P+ or B+ ions on the structural change of single-crystal LaAlO3 were examined. The optical absorption edge located at approximate to 5.6 eV, which seems to correspond to the bandgap energy of LaAlO3, is hardly affected by the ion implantation. The X-ray diffraction peak intensity at 2=23.5 degrees is decreased by the ion implantation. The intensities of three sharp photoluminescence (PL) peaks detected at 1.62, 1.65, and 1.69 eV, which appear only when the samples are crystalline, become smaller by ion implantation. However, the intensity of a broad PL peak at approximate to 2.8 eV due to the oxygen vacancy, which is detectable in both amorphous and crystalline samples, hardly changes after the ion implantation. These results indicate that the ion implantation degrades the crystallinity of LaAlO3. (c) 2015 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

When single crystal YAlO3 was implanted with P+ or B+ ions, optical absorption increases significantly at energies slightly lower than the band gap energy, indicating that localized electronic states were induced. Furthermore, the ion implantation decreases the intensity of an X-ray diffraction peak and changes its position randomly, which indicates that the crystalline structure of the sample was deformed. The inten-sities of photoluminescence (PL) bands due to impurities of Cr3+ and Er3+ and those originating in self trapped excitons and antisites become smaller or disappear after the ion implantation. On the other hand, the intensity of the PL due to oxygen vacancies does not change. Such contrasting effects of the sample's crystallinity on the luminescence intensity are explained by the different manners of involvement of the crystal structure in the luminescence mechanism among these PLs in YAlO3. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Flame-retardant ethylene propylene diene copolymer (FR-EPDM) and silicone rubber (SiR) were aged by heat with or without concurrent irradiation of gamma rays. For these samples, chemiluminescence (CL) and infrared absorption spectra were measured. Although the CL intensity decreases with an increase in total dose of gamma rays both in FR-EPDM and SiR, this negative dose-dependence is weaker in FR-EPDM than in SiR. This is reasonable, since CL appears when a substance is oxidized. Namely, the CL intensity becomes weak if the sample was already oxidized. While FR-EPDM is an organic polymer that can be oxidized easily, SiR is an inorganic polymer with siloxane bonds. Moreover, carbonyl groups appear when FR-EPDM is degraded, while SiR forms mainly a crosslinked structure by bridging two silicons by one oxygen when it is irradiated by gamma rays. Such differences in degradation mechanism between two insulating polymers are reflected on their CL properties.

The ability of locating a degraded portion in a double-core cable insulated with silicone rubber (SiR) or in a coaxial cable insulated with low-density polyethylene (LDPE) was compared between a system based on frequency domain reflectometry (FDR) being developed by the authors and a commercially available system called line resonance analysis (LIRA). Both the FDR and the LIRA methods cannot detect the degradation of SiR before its further use becomes uncommendable in a nuclear power plant. However, for location trials of the degraded portion in the LDPE coaxial cable, the FDR method showed a higher sensitivity and a better resolution than LIRA.

We aged silicone rubber, which is widely used for electrical insulation of cables in nuclear power plants under various conditions. The surface of each sample was measured by an indenter and a scanning probe microscope (SPM) for non-destructive diagnosis. As a result, it has become clear that the surface of silicone rubber becomes hard with the progress of degradation in both cases of thermal aging and simultaneous aging by heat and radiation. The indenter modulus shows a good correlation with the elongation at break (EAB). On the other hand, the delay of phase angle measured by SPM exhibits a rather low correlation with EAB. Through the results of thermal analyses, it seems that the thermal aging without radiation induces cross-linking first, which is followed by bond break. However, bond breakage seems predominant over cross-linking in the simultaneous aging with heat and radiation.

Flame-retardant ethylene-propylene-diene copolymer (FR-EPDM) with the same additives as those used in nuclear power plants was analyzed by terahertz (THz) and infrared (IR) absorption spectroscopy, before and after the irradiation by Trays. As a result, it has become clear that THz spectroscopy can indicate the degradation of the FR-EPDM samples better than IR spectroscopy. Namely, the THz spectroscopy can indicate the oxidation of the samples, which is difficult by IR spectroscopy.

Cables installed in nuclear power plants are subjected to thermal burden and radioactive rays. Regarding this, if we want to monitor the integrity of a cable in a nuclear power plant continuously, we have to do measurements while the cable is heated and irradiated. In this research, we obtained frequency domain reflectometry signals for a 50-m long cable insulated with flame-retardant ethylene propylene diene copolymer (FR-EPDM) installed in an environment where heat and radiation were given simultaneously. Then, we separated signals originating in the degradation of the insulation from those due to heat and radiation. This result indicates that the separation of the signal arising from the degradation of insulation from other signals due to heat and radiation is in principle possible at least as far as FR-EPDM insulated cables are concerned.

The aging mechanism of silicone rubber, which is important for electrical insulation of cables, is examined from many aspects such as instrumental, chemical, electrical, and mechanical analyses. As a result, it has become clear that silicone rubber degrades by forming crosslinked structures via the formation of abundant siloxane bonds.

Dielectric properties of three kinds of liquid crystal polymers (LCPs) were investigated by measuring their thermal properties, thermally stimulated polarization and depolarization currents, and complex dielectric permittivity. To make clear the differences among the three LCP samples, complex electric modulus was introduced, which was found to be effective to suppress the effects of large conduction currents at high temperatures. Moreover, the slopes of the frequency dependence of [(r)' and ](r)'' are different below and above the phase transition temperature, indicating that the accumulation of charges occurs in front of the electrodes. The experimental results indicate that the phase transition has a significant influence on both the electrical conduction and dielectric relaxation for all LCPs. (c) 2015 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

When we implanted P+ or B+ ions into yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), its crystallinity was degraded. Concurrently, the photoluminescence at around 2.8 eV originating from two types of oxygen vacancies with one or two captured electrons became weak, indicating a decrease in the number of oxygen vacancies. Oxygen vacancies appear in YSZ as a result of the replacement of Zr4+ by Y3+ in ZrO2. Therefore, it seems that the separation of YSZ into ZrO2 and Y2O3 induced by the ion implantation is responsible for the decrease in the number of oxygen vacancies. Moreover, the intensity of the 2.8 eV photoluminescence returns to the value before the ion implantation if the sample is annealed thermally after the implantation at temperatures higher than the crystallization temperature of YSZ. The reaction opposite to the above seems to be induced by the thermal annealing. (C) 2015 The Japan Society of Applied Physics

To understand the effects of thermal annealing on a high-permittivity gate insulating material YAlO3, its single crystal was annealed at various high temperatures ranging from 900 to 1300 A degrees C and was examined by various instrumental analyses such as X-ray diffraction, infrared absorption spectroscopy, laser confocal microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. As a result, it was clarified that the crystalline YAlO3 takes at least three structures in a temperature range up to 1300 A degrees C. Namely, it is perovskite below 1160 A degrees C, at which the garnet structure starts to appear, while an unknown structure appears at 1250 A degrees C. On the other hand, the sample surface also shows drastic changes if the temperature exceeds 1160 A degrees C. Furthermore, many elliptical spots are induced after the annealing at 1200 or 1250 A degrees C. Moreover, hydroxyl groups are generated at 1300 A degrees C. It is desirable to take these structural changes into account in determining the annealing temperature of YAlO3 for various industrial purposes such as the manufacture of semiconductor devices.

Aiming at developing a portable and speedy blood test device, a microfluidic system is designed and developed. Blood is injected into a hole with a diameter of 3.0 mm and a height of 3.0 mm. When the blood sample is transported from the bottom to the top of the hole, blood cells sediment at the bottom and plasma is separated at the upper side. Using this system, approximately 1 μL pure plasma can be obtained when blood is injected at a flow rate of 0.70 μL/min for 15 minutes. Moreover, by retaining the blood in the hole for seven minutes, pure plasma can be obtained 11 minutes later.

A waveguide-mode sensor of the spectral-readout type can be used to detect changes in the complex refractive index in the vicinity of the surface of a sensing plate by observing the change in the spectrum of light reflected on the surface. The sensor's configuration can be simplified by adopting a parallel-incidence-type optical setup. To obtain a high sensitivity, the optimization of the sensing-plate structure, incidence angle, and detection wavelength band is essential for the sensor. In the present report, the results predicted by simulations are compared with experimental results in order to evaluate their validity. A discussion of the optimal design for the parallel-incidence-type sensor is also presented, according to the results obtained. (C)2015 Optical Society of America

Five typical insulating polymers and a carbon-loaded polyethylene were irradiated with 200-keV electrons, and the space charge distributions remaining in the polymers were measured. When the polymer film is short-circuited after irradiation, the amount of space charge gradually decreases monotonically. By analyzing such decay profiles, it becomes clear that the decay of the charges remaining after the irradiation is governed by the conductivity of the polymer. (c) 2015 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

We measured absorption spectra of unidirectionally stretched poly-epsilon-caprolactone (PCL) film in a range from 0.3 to 3.6 THz at temperatures from 10 to 300K. Several absorption peaks were observed, when the electric field of THz waves was set in directions parallel and perpendicular to the stretching direction. The absorption bandwidths became significantly broad at around 200K and above at least in two specific peaks. This temperature is close to the glass transition temperature of PCL. Further, it is shown by quantum chemical calculations that all the peaks obtained experimentally originate in skeletal vibrations of PCL. Therefore, it has become clear that a specific feature appears in the THz absorption spectrum of PCL associated with its glass transition. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.

ABO and Rh(D) blood typing is one of the most important tests performed prior to blood transfusion. Although on-site blood testing is desirable for expedient blood transfusion procedure, most conventional methods and instruments lack the required usability or portability. Here, we describe a novel method, based on the detection of hemagglutination using an optical waveguide-mode sensor, for on-site use. The reflectance spectrum of blood alone and that of blood mixed with antibody reagents was measured using the waveguide-mode sensor. Differences in reflectance by agglutinated and non-agglutinated blood samples were observed at the bottom of the spectral dips
due to differences in the manner in which red blood cells interacted with the surface of the sensor chip. Following the addition of the antibody, blood types A, B, O, and AB were clearly distinguishable and Rh(D) typing was also possible using the waveguide-mode sensor. Furthermore, the waveguide-mode-based measurement exhibited the potential to detect weak agglutination, which is difficult for human eyes to distinguish. Thus, this method holds great promise for application in novel on-site test instruments.

Nowadays, trials to use even higher frequencies are pursued to realize high-speed wireless communications. In order to respond to such a trend, dielectric properties of insulating polymers at high frequencies have to be clarified, although the importance of clarifying low-frequency properties is still very high, especially for use as high voltage insulators. In this regard, complex permittivity spectra from 10 mHz to 4.0 THz were obtained for various insulating polymers. The spectra obtained in the very wide frequency range are important, because they can be a valuable database and they provide various pieces of important information on dielectric characteristics.

Complex permittivity spectra were obtained in a wide temperature and frequency range from 20 to 200°C and from 10-2 to 105 Hz for polydicyclopentadiene resin (PDCPD). For comparison, two epoxy resins, one with a similar glass transition temperature (Tg) to PDCPD and the other with a lower Tg, were used. As a result, PDCPD shows much smaller values of εr′ and εr″ than the two epoxy resins in nearly the whole temperature and frequency range. The differences of εr′ and εr″ between PDCPD and the epoxy resin with a similar Tg are also significant at low frequencies and at high temperatures. The increase in εr′ is attributable to the accumulation of hetero space charges in front of the electrodes. On the other hand, the increase in εr″ is an indication of the increase in Joule heat caused by the enhanced charge transport. Therefore, the experiental results indicate that PDCPD possesses better electrical insulating properties than epoxy resin. Furthermore, analysis using complex electric modulus, which is the inverse of the complex permittivity, has revealed very clearly that both charge transport and dipolar orientation are much more difficult in PDCPD than the two epoxy resins.

In order to investigate space charge behavior and charge transport characteristics of epoxy resin, complex dielectric permittivity and conduction current were measured at various temperatures from 20 to 200°C. Space charge distributions polarized at these temperatures were measured at room temperature. At temperatures above 100°C, significant accumulation of heteropolar space charges, most likely due to ions, is seen around the cathode/sample interface. Furthermore, both the real and imaginary parts of complex permittivity increase to remarkably high values at these high temperatures. It seems that such increase in permittivity is ascribable to the electrode polarization due to the hetero-charge accumulation. These results indicate that the dielectric behavior in epoxy resin is mainly governed by the electronic charge injection at relatively low temperatures below 100°C and by the transport of ionic carriers at high temperatures above 100°C.

To achieve the aim of developing a new insulating substrate that can exhibit both high permittivity and high permeability, ferromagnetic iron nanoparticles were dispersed uniformly in epoxy resin. Measurements of the electrical conductivity, permittivity, and permeability indicate that the composite can be a good candidate for an insulating substrate with negligibly small eddy-current loss and sufficiently high permittivity.

For the purpose of estimating the content of vinyl acetate (VA) in ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), optical absorption spectra were measured in a frequency range from 0.5 to 21.0 THz for sheets of EVA containing different contents of VA from 12 to 60 % by weight and a sheet of low-density polyethylene containing no VA. As a result, it has become clear that EVA exhibits relatively sharp absorption at 2.5, 6.7, and 10.5 THz and rather broad absorption at 11 to 17 THz and 17 to 20 THz. All these absorption peaks and bands are in proportion to the content of VA, up to certain frequency-dependent contents. Using these proportionalities, the content of VA in EVA can be estimated quantitatively. Especially, the absorption at 2.5 THz shows a good accuracy similar to the method recommended by an international standard.

The authors have demonstrated that the estimation of the precise locations of points in cables aged thermally or mechanically or by the irradiation of gamma rays is possible by a combination of frequency domain reflectometry (FDR) and inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT). This paper examines how this ability of fault location depends on the type and structure of the cable, using several kinds of polymer insulated cables such as triple core cables insulated with flame-retardant ethylene propylene diene copolymer (FR-EPDM), dual core cables insulated with silicone rubber (SiR) or crosslinked polyolefin (XLPO), and coaxial cylindrical cables insulated with low density polyethylene (LDPE). As a result, for cables with lengths of 16 to 72 m, the maximum sensitivity is attained when the highest frequency of the inputted electromagnetic waves is 1.0 GHz or higher for coaxial cables, but around 600 to 800 MHz for dual or triple core cables.

Complex electric modulus is defined as the inverse of complex relative permittivity. In this paper, it is clearly shown by referring to the author's experimental results that electric modulus can be a significantly powerful tool for the analysis of dielectric behavior of various insulating polymers. The modulus is especially useful for the evaluation of dielectric relaxation and carrier transport processes at high temperatures in a relatively low frequency range.

Radiation resistance was compared between dicyclopentadiene resin (P) and epoxy resin (E) mainly by analyzing their dielectric properties. When the resins are irradiated by gamma-rays, their band gap energies decrease. This decrease is more significant in E than in P. Although electrical conductivity and both the real and imaginary parts of complex permittivity are increased very dramatically in E, no such increases are observed in P. These results indicate that P has superior radiation resistance to E.

Flame-retardant ethylene-propylene-diene copolymer, which is the polymer insulating material most abundantly used for safety-related electric cables in nuclear power plants, was irradiated with gamma-rays to certain designated doses from 500 to 1500 kGy at room temperature or 100 degrees C in air, and absorption spectra were measured at terahertz frequencies. A broad absorption is induced by the irradiation in a range from 0.5 to 3.1 THz. It is confirmed that this absorption is induced by oxidation, by comparing its frequency spectrum with spectra of polyethylene obtained numerically by doing quantum chemical calculations and experimentally by measuring its absorption at THz frequencies. Therefore, the degree of oxidation of this copolymer can be estimated by the intensity of the broad absorption at these THz frequencies.

A new research trend that regards deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) as a new dielectric polymeric material has been emerging in recent years. Especially for such application purposes, a simple easy-to-use method for determining the higher-order structure of synthetic DNA is desirable. From this viewpoint, we demonstrated in this research that far-infrared absorption spectroscopy can be a tool to determine the DNA higher-order structure and we calculated experimentally the integrated molar absorption coefficients per nucleotide with thymine at various frequencies. Therefore, using these coefficients, the number of thymine base on a single stranded DNA can be estimated by far-infrared spectroscopy.

The dc breakdown strength of low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreases with an increase in thickness and temperature of the sample. The breakdown strength is influenced by the charge transport and electric field distortion, and is also related to the molecular chain displacement and fracture. This paper investigates mutual relations among the charge transport, molecular chain displacement, and thickness dependent dc breakdown of LDPE. A model that combines the dynamics of charge transport and molecular displacement is used to calculate the space charge accumulation, molecular chain displacement, and dc breakdown properties of LDPE with various thicknesses at various constant voltage ramping rates. The model includes processes of charge injection, charge migration via hopping between shallow traps, charge trapping at and detrapping from deep traps, charge recombination, and molecular chain displacement. The simulation results show that the breakdown field as a function of sample thickness satisfies an inverse power law for various voltage ramping rates. This is consistent with experimental results. The model can also explain the result that the breakdown field increases with an increase in voltage ramping rate. It also demonstrates the negative correlation between the breakdown field and temperature, which is also in good agreement with experimental results.

Absorption spectra were measured in a frequency range from 3 to 18 THz for various single-stranded deoxyribonucleic acids (DNAs) containing adenine as their bases. Nine absorption components in total, most of which can be assigned to either phosphoric acid or adenine, appear in the range observed. From the dependence of each absorption on the number of nucleotides in one DNA, the integrated molar absorption coefficient per nucleotide with adenine was estimated.

Nowadays, trials to use even higher frequencies are pursued to realize high-speed wireless communications. In order to respond to such a trend, dielectric properties of insulating polymers at high frequencies have to be clarified, although the importance of clarifying low-frequency properties is still very high, especially for use as high voltage insulators. In this regard, complex permittivity spectra in an ultrawide frequency range were obtained for various insulating polymers. These spectra are important, because they can be a valuable database that provide important information on dielectric characteristics. Furthermore, by analyzing the temperature dependence of permittivity in a relatively low frequency range, thermal expansion coefficients of polymers were estimated.

A microfluidic system for a portable and speedy blood test device has been developed. In the system, blood is injected into a cylindrical channel with a diameter of 3.0 mm and a height of 3.0 mm from the bottom to the top. When the blood ascends the channel, blood cells sediment at the bottom and plasma is separated at the top. This system can be manufactured easily at a low cost by simply bonding two identical polydimethylsiloxane chips. Pure plasma can be obtained successfully from a very tiny amount of blood, less than a drop (9 μL).

Dielectric behavior was compared experimentally between polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate) (PEN). Due to their similar chemical structures, the two polymers exhibit many parallel dielectric properties. While the two polymers exhibit fairly similar thermally stimulated polarization and depolarization currents (TSPC and TSDC), the temperature at which TSPC or TSDC starts to increase rapidly is about 20 degrees C higher in PEN than in PET, mostly likely reflecting the difference in their glass transition temperatures (T-g's). At temperatures about 30 degrees C lower than T-g, the two polymers show a hump in their first-run TSPC spectra, probably originating from impurity or moisture. Both the real and imaginary parts of complex permittivity, epsilon(r)' and epsilon r '', increase significantly at temperatures above their T-g's for both PEN and PET, since molecular motion becomes active. Shoulders and plateaux clearly appear in epsilon(r)' and epsilon r '' spectra of PEN, which move toward higher frequencies with an increase in temperature. To further analyze them, complex electric modulus M* was introduced. As a result, it has become clear that electric conduction dominates the dielectric behavior of PET and PEN at temperatures above T-g, especially at low frequencies.

Low-density polyethylene, either cross-linked or not, was oxidized and its absorption spectra were measured in the terahertz (THz) range and infrared range. The absorption was increased by the oxidation in the whole THz range. In accord with this, infrared absorption due to carbonyl groups appears. Although these results indicate that the increase in absorption is induced by oxidation, its attribution to resonance or relaxation is unclear. To clarify this point, the vibrational frequencies of three-dimensional polyethylene models with and without carbonyl groups were quantum chemically calculated. As a result, it was clarified that optically inactive skeletal vibrations in polyethylene become active upon oxidation. Furthermore, several absorption peaks due to vibrational resonances are induced by oxidation at wavenumbers from 20 to 100 cm(-1). If these absorption peaks are broadened and are superimposed on each other, the absorption spectrum observed experimentally can be reproduced. Therefore, the absorption is ascribable to resonance. (C) 2014 The Japan Society of Applied Physics

Dielectric permittivity (epsilon(r)') was measured for films of low-density polyethylene (LDPE), poly(methyl pentene) (PMP), syndiotactic polystyrene (SPS), and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) in the frequency range from 10(-2) to 3 x 10(5) Hz. It was found that, in all the polymers, epsilon(r)' increases with an increase in temperature at frequencies below about 1.0 Hz when the temperature exceeds a certain polymer-dependent temperature. This is due to space charge polarization. At frequencies above about 1.0 Hz, epsilon(r)' was found to decrease with an increase in temperature for LDPE, PMP, and SPS. The reason for the decrease in epsilon(r)' is the thermal expansion of the film. Therefore, by analyzing the temperature dependence of epsilon(r)', the thermal expansion coefficients of the three polymer films were estimated. This method can be useful for estimating the thermal expansion coefficient of polymers, especially when the direct measurement of volume expansion is difficult. (C) 2014 The Japan Society of Applied Physics

Optical absorption spectra and photoluminescence spectra were obtained for eight kinds of polyolefin sheet samples using photons in a range from visible to vacuum ultraviolet (UV). Almost all samples were found to exhibit an absorption peak at around 6.5 eV and a luminescence band at around 4.3 eV. The luminescence was found to be induced by the absorption. Furthermore, it was found that successive absorption of UV photons weakened the luminescence intensity. It is assumed from these results that ,-unsaturated carbonyls are luminous and that the carbonyls are decomposed through the Norrish type II reaction by absorbing UV photons. Quantum chemical calculations were carried out using polyethylene models with and without an unsaturated carbonyl to verify the above-mentioned assumption. As a result, the model with an unsaturated carbonyl was found to have localized electronic states in the forbidden band. One of the differential energies between the states is close to the photon energy, by which the luminescence is induced. The bond length of a double bond, which is next to the carbonyl, was found to be longer at the excited singlet state than at the ground state. These results obtained by computation support the above-mentioned assumption of the luminescence center and its decomposition.

Complex electric modulus, defined as the inverse of complex relative permittivity, can be a significantly powerful tool for analyzing dielectric behavior of a polymeric insulating material, especially at relatively high temperatures, where complex permittivity usually becomes very high due to electrode polarization and carrier transport. In this paper, a typical example of the above is clearly shown by referring to an experimental result obtained for epoxy resin.

Complex permittivity spectra were measured for epoxy resin at various temperatures and numerically fitted to theories of electrode polarization (EP) and ac conduction. Complex permittivity at high temperatures fits the Cole-Cole relation for EP well, with the shape parameter relating to the electrode blockage coefficient for ions. The Debye length, ion density and mobility, hopping rate and distance, and other parameters controlling the charge transport can be obtained. Both the density and mobility of ions are thermally activated, and the sum of their activation energies is nearly the same as the activation energy of ac conductivity. It is indicated that the theory of power-law frequency response as a result of short-range hopping of ions is an extension of the EP theory above its peak frequency. On the other hand, the relaxation of ac conduction revealed by electric modulus and that of EP appearing at low frequencies are due to long-range hopping of ions. It is demonstrated that data fitting of complex permittivity to the theories of EP and ac conduction in combination with the electric modulus analysis is effective to estimate various characteristic parameters of charge transport.

In order to clarify the influence of high temperature annealing on a next-generation gate insulating material YAlO3, single crystal YAlO3 samples were annealed at various temperatures from 900 to 1300°C in air for about 12 hours. The crystalline structure was examined by X-ray diffractometry, while the surface profile was examined by atomic force microscopy and a surface profilometer. Furthermore, infrared absorption spectroscopy and optical microscopy were used. As a result, the following serial changes in structure were estimated. The perovskite structure of crystalline YAlO3 starts to collapse and Y3Al5O 12 (YAG) is formed by the annealing at 1160 °C. Then, it segregates to Al2O3 andYAlO3 after the annealing at 1300 °C. © 2014 The Institute of Electrical Engineers, Japan.

Chemiluminescence analysis was applied to evaluate oxidation of ethylene propylene diene copolymers (EPDMs), and the results were analyzed through comparisons with those of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) with or without antioxidant. If LDPE or XLPE is being oxidized, CL appears abruptly in a frequency range from 300 to 850 nm after a certain incubation time. This incubation time corresponds to oxidation induction time (OIT). In contrast to LDPE or XLPE, when EPDM samples are heated in air, a strong CL intensity is observable from its initial stage, even if the amount of antioxidant in the sample is high enough. However, after the CL intensity decays once, it increases gradually to a certain peak and then it decays again. We can regard the time at which CL shows the peak as OIT, because it shows a positive correlation with the weight content of antioxidant in the sample. Furthermore, after the EPDM samples were aged in different conditions, namely by heat alone, by gamma-rays alone, and by simultaneously given heat and gamma-rays, the dependence of OIT on the aging period was examined for each condition. The resultant dependence of OIT was found to agree with the dependence observed by measuring the elongation-at-break and also with the one measured by differential scanning calorimetry.

Ion implantation is used for various purposes in manufacturing semiconductor devices such as MOS-FETs. In the present study, effects of implantation of p(+) or B+ ions on the structural change of single crystal LaAlO3 were examined. The optical absorption edge located at about 5.6 eV, which corresponds to the band gap energy of LaAlO3, is scarcely affected by the ion implantation. The X-ray diffraction peak intensity at 2 theta = 23.5 degrees is decreased by the ion implantation. The intensities of three sharp photoluminescence (PL) peaks detected at 1.62, 1.65, and 1.69 eV, which appear only when the samples are crystalline, become smaller by ion implantation. However, the intensity of a broad PL peak at around 2.8 eV due to the oxygen vacancy, which is also detectable in amorphous samples, scarcely changes after the ion implantation. These results indicate that the ion implantation degrades the crystalline LaAlO3 However, as compared with YAlO3 with a similar perovskite structure, LaAlO3 is more resistant to ion implantation.

Through analysis of thermally stimulated polarization and depolarization currents (TSPC and TSDC), dielectric properties of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) are compared. Since the two polymers have very similar chemical structures, their dielectric properties are also similar. However, the temperature at which TSPC or TSDC starts to increase rapidly is about 20 degrees C higher in PEN than in PET. This difference is mostly due to the fact that the glass transition temperature T-g is higher in PEN. This means that thermal properties including the glass transition affect significantly the dielectric behavior of PET and PEN. At temperatures about 30 degrees C lower than T-g, the two polymers show a hump in their first-run TSPC spectra, probably originating from impurity or moisture. It is also clearly demonstrated that both PET and PEN can be reliable electrical insulating materials, especially at temperatures below their T-g's.

Inorganic fillers are very often added to ethylene-propylene-diene copolymer (EPDM), which is a typical rubber material used for electrical insulation, for the purpose of improving its various properties. Regarding this, although the content and dispersion of inorganic fillers exert a significant influence on the properties of EPDM, detailed research has been done scarcely. In the present research, talc and magnesium hydroxide were added to EPDM, and detection of the content and dispersion of fillers was tried by terahertz absorption spectroscopy. As a result, it has become clear that the content of talc can be estimated by the increase in absorption at 3.05 THz. The possibility of estimating the talc content from incremental values of three absorptions in a far-infrared range has also been confirmed, in addition to the 3.05-THz absorption. Furthermore, the dispersion of magnesium hydroxide fillers is likely to correspond to the scattering of absorption spectra at around 1.0 to 1.5 THz.

This paper demonstrates that the location in an electric cable where some mechanical distortion appears can be estimated very precisely by a method based on frequency domain reflectometry and inverse fast Fourier transform. A coaxial communication cable insulated by low density polyethylene or a triplex cable insulated with flame-retardant ethylene propylene diene copolymer was distorted at different positions, and electromagnetic waves in a frequency range from one to several hundred MHz or 1.5 GHz were transmitted through the cable. The ratio between the incident power and the reflected power was measured using a network analyzer. As a result, the position in each cable where the distortion was given can be located with a spatial resolution as short as 1.0 cm, which indicates high sensitivity of this method.

Complex permittivity spectra of polydicyclopentadiene resin and epoxy resin, and their composites with SiO2 microfiller were obtained in a wide temperature and frequency range. Both epsilon(r)' and epsilon(r)" at high temperatures above their glass transition temperatures (T-g 's) are much lower in polydicyclopentadiene resin than in epoxy resin, even though the two Tg(')s are almost the same. Furthermore, analysis using electric modulus has revealed that addition of the microfiller in epoxy resin suppresses dipolar orientation and charge transport However, both the dipolar orientation and charge transport seem to be difficult in polydicyclopentadien resin and its composite compared to epoxy resin and its composite.

This paper demonstrates that it is possible to locate very precisely a point showing a high temperature in a polymer insulated cable. The method is based on frequency domain reflectometry and inverse fast Fourier transform. The cables tested are a coaxial communication cable with a length of 32 m insulated by low density polyethylene and a flat in-house electric cord with a length of 21 m insulated by polyvinyl chloride. The cable or cord was heated at different positions for different lengths. The ratio between the powers of electromagnetic waves incident to and reflected from the cable was measured using a network analyzer in a frequency range from one to several hundred MHz or 1.5 GHz. The spectra obtained by the measurements were then analyzed by inverse Fourier transform. As a result, the position exhibiting a temperature higher than the adjacent points can be located with a spatial resolution as short as 2.5 cm. It was also confirmed that the sensitivity or spatial resolution can be improved by an increase of the highest measurement frequency.

Since electric cables play important roles such as power supply and information transmission, their degradation may cause serious problems. We have been trying to monitor the degradation of cable insulation by measuring the magnitude and phase angle of the impedance as a function of frequency in a very wide frequency range. The cables tested were insulated with ?ame-retardant ethylene propylene rubber or special heat-resistant polyvinyl chloride. They were partially damaged by peeling off their insulation layers, or partially aged by heat and gamma-rays. The impedance and phase angle were measured from a terminal of the cable. The difference in impedance between the damaged and sound cables is made clear by fast Fourier transform analyses, from which the damaged portion can be located. It can be clearly shown that this method has the potential ability to detect the degradation of cable insulation induced by physical damage, gamma-ray irradiation, and thermal aging. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 183(1): 18, 2013; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.22384

To clarify the feasibility of controlling the refractive index of a polymer by proton beam irradiation, we irradiated 1.0 MeV protons to a fluorinated polyimide film. Before and after the proton irradiation at a fluence between 1 × 1014 and 7 × 1016 cm-2, the film surface was scanned by a profilometer. It was found that the depth of a dent, which increases with fluence, was induced by the irradiation. The refractive index of the ionirradiated region was calculated using the Lorentz-Lorenz equation, substituting the depth of the dent and the projected range of the protons. When the fluorinated polyimide was irradiated at a fluence of 7 × 1016 cm-2, the refractive index increased by about 3.3%, which agrees with the increment in refractive index measured by spectroscopic ellipsometry. The increment in refractive index (0.21%) induced by the irradiation of protons at the fluence of 1 × 1015 cm -2 is comparable to the value (0.35%) observed when protons were irradiated to SiO2 glass at a similar fluence. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the ion irradiation to a polymer can be a good method for fabricating a high-performance polymer-based optical waveguide. © 2013 The Japan Society of Applied Physics.

Effects of nanofiller materials on typical dielectric properties of bisphenol-A epoxy resin were compared among three kinds of nanofillers, i. e. boehmite alumina, titania, and silica. In all the samples, the complex permittivity εr' and εr become significantly higher with an increase in temperature beyond 120 °C, especially at low frequencies. Such increase iinεr' and εr indicates the abundance of mobile charge carriers, which was verified by the space charge distribution measurements. All the samples show two peaks at 110 and 180 °C in the thermally stimulated depolarization current spectra. The lower-temperature peak is apparently caused by depolarization of dipoles induced by the glass transition, while the higher-temperature peak is due to the release of space charge. These characteristic properties appear more significantly in the nanocomposites with boehmite alumina and titania and less significantly in the nanocomposite with silica than in the neat epoxy esin. This indicates that the silica nanofillers give the best results as far as these properties cconcerned. The suppression of molecular motion by the addition of nanofillers seems to work effectively in the case of silica, while the nanofiller addition is likely to aaccelerate the motion of ionic carriers and/or that of dipoles in the case of boehmite alumina and titania. © 1994-2012 IEEE.

Partial discharge resistance was compared between newly developed polyetherimide insulating paper and conventional aramid insulating paper. Effects of water absorption on dielectric properties were also compared. The time to breakdown via partial discharges observed for the polyetherimide paper by applying a constant voltage was found to be about twice as long as that observed for the aramid paper, while the partial discharge charge amount per unit time is similar in the two papers. Moreover, the average area of degraded portions induced by partial discharges is smaller in the polyetherimide paper than in the aramid paper. The polyetherimide paper absorbs less water than does the aramid paper, when they are immersed in water at 27 and 80?C for the same period. Because of this, complex permittivity and conductivity increase more significantly in the aramid paper than in the polyetherimide paper. Therefore, especially in a humid condition, the polyetherimide paper is superior to the aramid paper. © 2013 The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan.

Thermal annealing was given to single crystal LaAlO3 and its effects were examined by measuring electron spin resonance (ESR) and optical absorption. When LaAlO3 was annealed at temperatures above 500°C in an oxidizing atmosphere, the intensities of ESR signals due to transition metal, likely ascribable to Fe3+, decreased. Concurrently with this, two optical absorption bands at 2.7 and 3.5 eV, attributable to a combination of a hole and a La3+ (or Al3+) vacancy, increased. These results indicate that thermal electron-hole generation is induced by oxidizing annealing and that the generated electrons and holes are then captured by Fe3+ ions and La3+ or Al3+ vacancies, respectively. It is also assumed that captured electrons and holes are released and recombine with each other by reducing annealing. © 2013 The Japan Society of Applied Physics.

To achieve the aim of developing a new insulating substrate that can exhibit both high permittivity and high permeability, ferromagnetic iron nanoparticles were dispersed uniformly in epoxy resin. Measurements of the electrical conductivity, permittivity, and permeability indicate that the composite can be a good candidate for an insulating substrate with negligibly small eddy-current loss and sufficiently high permittivity. © 2013 The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan.

Taking epoxy resin as an example, this research demonstrates that characteristic parameters of charge transport and accumulation are obtainable from complex permittivity spectra by carrying out theoretical analysis based on the electrode polarization theory. The real and imaginary permittivity of the electrode polarization satisfy the Cole-Cole relations well at and above 160°C. The shape parameter of the Cole-Cole arc is found to be an indication of ion blockage at the electrodes. Both the density and mobility of ions are thermally activated and the sum of the activation energies of these two thermal processes is nearly equal to the activation energy of ac conductivity in the same temperature range. This very reasonable result indicates the adequacy of electrode polarization analysis. © 2013 IEEE.

Recently, THz waves with frequencies from about 0.1 to 10 THz have emerged as a new scientific tool. In this paper, feasibility of locating degraded portions in polymer-insulated power cables by THz waves has been examined, using a compact system consisting of a quantum cascade laser and a THz camera with uncooled microbolometers. The degradation we examined is oxidation of cross-linked polyethylene and rust on copper. As a result, we found that the compact system is capable of detecting polymer oxidation. © 2013 IEEE.

Chemically cross-linked polyethylene irradiated by gamma-rays to certain designated doses from 100 to 800 kGy at 100 °C in air was analyzed by terahertz spectroscopy. A peak appears at around 1.3 THz when the sample was irradiated by gamma-rays. By referring to the infrared absorption spectra obtained for the same samples, the peak at 1.3 THz was found to be due to an oxidation-related dipole. It was found that this peak can be fitted to both the Debye and the Lorentz functions similarly. In addition, numerical analyses were carried out using the density functional theory. As a result, it was found that the 1.3-THz peak is likely to be ascribable to resonance. © 2013 IEEE.

This paper demonstrates that it is possible to locate very precisely a point showing a high temperature in a polymer insulated cable. A coaxial communication cable with a length of 32 m insulated by low density polyethylene or a flat inhouse electric cord with a length of 21 m insulated by polyvinyl chloride was heated at different positions for different lengths. The ratio between the incident and reflected powers of electromagnetic waves was measured using a network analyzer in a wide frequency range and the obtained spectra were analyzed by inverse Fourier transform. As a result, the position exhibiting a temperature higher than the adjacent points can be located with a spatial resolution as short as 2.5 cm. © 2013 IEEE.

Epoxy/AlN composites were prepared using high purity AlN particles with an average size of 1.1 mu m. AlN particles were surface-treated with three kinds of silane coupling agents and three kinds of surface-modifiers. Dielectric properties and thermal conductivity were evaluated. As a result, it was found that silane coupling agents with epoxy, mercapto, and amino groups create higher thermal conductivity than surface modifiers such as GO, POSS and hyper-branched polymer. A silane coupling agent with mercapto group and a graphene oxide surface modifier are promising at high and low loading levels, respectively. From the dielectric spectroscopy study, it can be said that interfacial conditions should be improved by finding out proper methods.

If a power semiconductor module becomes compact to enhance its wiring density, the electric field at its insulation part should become high. This in turn causes the increase in heat generation per unit volume. Therefore, epoxy resin with high thermal conductivity, a low thermal expansion rate and good anti-aging performance is required In this regard we made nano-micro composites (NMCs), namely epoxy resin samples containing both nano-silica filler having high insulating performance and micro-alumina filler having a high thermal conductivity, and observed electroluminescence (EL) and dissipation current waveforms under AC high electric fields for these NMCs simultaneously in order to examine the effects of addition of fillers with different sizes. As a result, it was found that both dissipation current and the number of EL pulses depend on the sample thickness. It was also found that the addition of alumina-micro filler alone into epoxy resin increases the number of EL pulses compared to the neat epoxy and that the NMC shows improved insulating properties. It was also confirmed that the relative permittivity is around 4 for the neat resin and the NMCs, independent of the thickness and the type of fillers.

Dielectric behavior of a typical liquid crystal polymer Vecstar was studied by measuring its dielectric permittivity, conductivity and other electrical properties. Dielectric spectra are analyzed combined with the thermal properties and thermally stimulated current spectra, and space charge distributions. Complex electrical modulus is introduced in the analysis of the permittivity spectra, which proves to be effective to suppress the effects of large conduction currents at high temperatures. Moreover, the slope of the frequency dependence of er' is different below and above 160 degrees C, which indicates that the Maxwell/Wagner polarization occurs inside the sample. The experimental results indicate that both the dielectric relaxation and electrical conduction are closely related with molecular motion and phase transition of the polymer. It is also shown that the polymer is an excellent insulating material in a wide temperature and frequency range.

Electrical insulation properties of low density polyethylene (LDPE) are still unclear, especially when it is degraded. In this regard, ultraviolet (UV) photons were irradiated to LDPE sheets at room temperature and 85 degrees C and their absorption spectra were measured at frequencies from 0.5 to 3.0 THz and from 18 to 105 THz. A very broad absorption band with its peak at around 1.6 THz appears by the UV irradiation. In accord with this appearance, the infrared absorption peak due to a carbonyl structure increases. Quantum chemical calculations were carried out using 3-dimensional models with and without carbonyl groups. As a result, the model with carbonyl groups was found to have optically active modes at about 1.7 THz. From these results, the increase in absorption at 1.6 THz is assumed to be induced by oxidation.

The possibility of nondestructive diagnosis of corrosion on a metallic shielding layer in a power cable by time-domain imaging and spectroscopic measurements using terahertz waves was examined experimentally. First, absorbance was measured in a THz frequency range for copper oxide, basic copper carbonate, and copper chloride. Next, two copper plates, uncorroded and corroded, were placed in contact with each other horizontally, and a terahertz wave was scanned over them in order to get two-dimensional images. When the plate is corroded to form either basic copper carbonate or copper chloride, the intensity of reflected wave becomes lower than when the plate is uncorroded. It seems that the terahertz wave was scattered more on the surface of the corroded copper plate and was absorbed by the corrosion. Therefore, this research indicates the feasibility of nondestructive diagnosis to detect corrosion on a shield metal in a power cable. (C) 2012 The Japan Society of Applied Physics

Effects of addition of nano-sized and micro-sized fillers into epoxy resin on its mechanical and dielectric relaxation phenomena were examined. The glass transition temperature (Tg) decreased when a small content of nanoclay modified by octadecylamine was added, but the decrease in Tg was suppressed when the nanoclay was modified by dimethyldodecylamine. On the other hand, Tg increased when an abundant amount of microsilica was added. At temperatures above Tg, both mechanical and dielectric relaxations were accelerated in samples with octadecylamine-modified nanoclay, while the acceleration did not occur in samples with nanoclay modified by dimethyldodecylamine. Both relaxations were restricted in composites with abundant microsilica. Therefore, co-addition of dimethyldodecylamine-modified nanoclay and abundant microsilica is adequate in order to make an epoxy resin composite with a high Tg and low dielectric loss. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn, 95(9): 19, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/ecj.11420

In this paper, the effect of the applied field frequency on the breakdown performances of cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) insulation was investigated. Three kinds of artificial defects, namely an inserted needle, a needle void and a knife void, were introduced into a 10 kV commercial XLPE cable, to simulate real defects that may be introduced during on-site service. Breakdown tests were conducted in transformer oil at room temperature using a frequency-tuned resonant test system in a frequency range from 20 to 300 Hz. It was found that the breakdown voltage of specimens with the inserted needle was sensitive to the applied field frequency, and the breakdown voltage showed a maximum value at about 240 Hz. However, for other two kinds of specimens with the needle void and knife void, the breakdown behavior shows a weak relation with the applied field frequency. The breakdown voltages of the specimens with the needle and void are 25 kV and 20 kV respectively. It was further found that side channels appeared on the flank of the main channel of the breakdown path in the specimen with the inserted needle, and the frequency dependence of fractal dimension D of the side channel in the breakdown path are similar to that of electrical trees before breakdown, which may consequently lead to the maximum value in the experimental results.

The interface between filler and matrix has long been a critical problem that affects the thermal conductivity of polymer composites. The effects of the interface on the thermal conductivity of the composite with low filler loading are well documented, whereas the role of the interface in highly filled polymer composites is not clear. Here we report on a systematic study of the effects of interface on the thermal conductivity of highly filled epoxy composites. Six kinds of surface treated and as received AlN particles are used as fillers. Three kinds of treated AlN are functionalized by silanes, i.e., amino, epoxy, and mercapto group terminated silanes. Others are functionalized by three kinds of materials, i.e., polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS), hyperbranched polymer, and graphene oxide (GO). An intensive study was made to clarify how the variation of the modifier would affect the microstructure, density, interfacial adhesion, and thus the final thermal conductivity of the composites. It was found that the thermal conductivity enhancement of the composites is not only dependent on the type and physicochemical nature of the modifiers but also dependent on the filler loading. In addition, some unexpected results were found in the composites with particle loading higher than the percolation threshold. For instance, the composites with AlN treated by the silane uncapable of reading with the epoxy resin show the most effective enhancement of the thermal conductivity. Finally, dielectric spectroscopy was used to evaluate the insulating properties of the composites. This work sets the way toward the choice of a proper modifier for enhancing the thermal conductivity of highly filled dielectric polymer composites.

Formation energies and energy levels of various neutral and charged defects in bulk rhombohedral LaAlO3 are calculated numerically in different equilibrium conditions under different oxygen partial pressures, using first-principles plane-wave calculations. The roles of such defects in electrical properties of LaAlO3 are also discussed. The results obtained by calculations show that the formation energy becomes low for oxygen interstitial if LaAlO3 is in an oxygen-rich condition. In contrast, an oxygen vacancy is easily formed in a condition where oxygen is deficient and metal elements are relatively rich, even if the oxygen partial pressure is high. These results explain well the concentration change of constituent elements in LaAlO3 under different treatment atmospheres. Furthermore, the calculations can interpret a large tunnelling current that is often observed in a metal-oxide-silicon structure using LaAlO3 as the oxide layer, since the O vacancy has an energy level near the valence band maximum of Si. (C) 2012 The Japan Society of Applied Physics

Dielectric properties of poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS), a kind of super engineering plastic, were investigated over a wide temperature range by measuring its frequency spectra of complex permittivity and thermally stimulated polarization and depolarization currents (TSPC and TSDC). Experimental results indicate that its permittivity and dielectric loss factor remain stable and maintain low values up to around 140 degrees C, despite the fact that its glass transition appears at a much lower temperature of 88 degrees C. As for TSPC and TSDC, a very small peak associated with the glass transition appears at about 110 degrees C. Furthermore, a much clearer TSPC peak due to orientation of dipole moments associated with the ether linkage induced by the cross-linking reaction appears at about 150-170 degrees C. The corresponding TSDC peak due to randomization of these dipoles is very small compared to the TSPC peak, since PPS was cross-linked during the high-temperature process in the TSPC measurement, which made rotation of the dipoles difficult. At temperatures higher than 150 degrees C, both the real and imaginary parts of the complex permittivity show significant increases with increase in temperature and decrease in frequency. This is attributable to the transport of the charge carriers. (C) 2011 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

When a Cl ion with energy of the order of megaelectronvolts collides with SiO2 glass, it penetrates the glass along a straight line. The region through which the ion passes and its vicinity, called the latent track, can be easily etched by hydrofluoric acid, resulting in the formation of a nanopore. With increasing ion energy, the nanopore radius first increases, reaches a maximum, and then decreases. In order to analyze this strange phenomenon, we investigated the radius of the region that melted upon ion irradiation, as one of the possible approaches. We calculated its radius using heat diffusion equations and compared it with the radius of nanopores. We found that both the radii depend on the ion energy in a similar manner. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Since electric cables play important roles such as power supply and information transmission, their degradation may cause a serious problem. We have been trying to monitor the degradation of cable insulation by measuring the magnitude and phase angle of impedance as a function of frequency in a very wide frequency range. The cables tested were insulated with flame-retardant ethylene propylene rubber or special heat-resistant polyvinyl chloride. They were damaged partially by peeling off their insulation layers, or aged partially by heat and γ-rays. Impedance and phase angle were measured from a terminal of the cable. The difference in impedance between the damaged and sound cables becomes clear by fast Fourier transform analyses, from which the damaged portion can be located. It can be clearly shown that this method has a potential ability to detect the degradation of cable insulation induced by physical damage, γ-ray irradiation, and thermal aging. © 2012 The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan.

Research was carried out whether it is possible to detect water trees in a low density polyethylene sheet by terahertz light. The attenuation of the reflected intensity of THz light was observed on several points in the sample under a polyvinylchloride sheet. The intensity distribution of the reflected light agrees with the distribution of water trees in the sample. Therefore, the distribution of water trees would be detectable even if the trees are invisible to naked eyes. © 2012 The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan.

Optical absorption spectra and photoluminescence spectra were obtained for eight kinds of polyolefin sheet samples using photons in a range from visible to vacuum ultraviolet. Almost all samples were found to exhibit an absorption peak at around 6.5 eV and a luminescence band at around 4.3 eV. The luminescence was found to be induced by the absorption. Furthermore, it was found that successive absorption of ultraviolet photons weakened the luminescence intensity. It is assumed from these results that α ,β -unsaturated carbonyls are luminous and that the carbonyls are decomposed through the Norrish type II reaction by absorbing ultraviolet photons. Quantum chemical calculations were carried out using polyethylene models with and without an unsaturated carbonyl to verify the above-mentioned assumption. As a result, the model with an unsaturated carbonyl was found to have localized electronic states in the forbidden band. One of the differential energies between the states is close to the photon energy, by which the luminescence is induced. The bond length of a double bond, which is next to the carbonyl, was found to be longer at the excited singlet state than at the ground state. These results obtained by computation support the above-mentioned assumption of the luminescence center and its decomposition. © 2012 The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan.

The practical lifetime of a polymeric insulating material is determined in most cases by its partial discharge resistance at an operating temperature. Therefore, in this research, the partial discharge resistance was examined for eight kinds of polymer samples. An ac 500-Hz voltage with a designated value was applied to a sample sheet sandwiched between a pair of IEC (b) electrodes at 353K and 30% relative humidity for a designated period. The sheet surface degraded by partial discharges was then observed by a mechanical surface profilometer to measure the shape, from which the whole eroded volume was estimated. As a result, it has been clarified that polymers can exhibit superior partial discharge resistance when their melting point, molecular weight of chain repeating unit, density, weight ratio of benzene rings, and crystallinity are high.

This paper reports a result carried out in order to clarify the applicability of ion irradiation effects to polymer materials used for optical waveguides. We irradiated 950-keV He+ ions or 1.0-MeV H+ ions to a fluorinated polyimide film to a fluence between 1 × 10 14 and 7 × 1016 cm-2, and the film surface was scanned by a profilometer. The depth of a dent induced by the irradiation increases with an increase in the fluence. From the depth of the dent, the projected range of the He+ ions, and the Lorentz-Lorenz equation, the refractive index of the ion-irradiated region was found to increase by 2.9 %. This value agrees with the increment in refractive index measured by spectroscopic ellipsometry, which also increases as the fluence increases. Furthermore, the increment in refractive index, 0.21 %, induced by the irradiation of H+ ions to the fluence of 1 × 10 15 cm-2 is comparable to the value, 0.35 %, observed when H+ ions of a similar fluence were irradiated to SiO2 glass. Therefore, it is natural to assume that the ion irradiation to the polymer can be a good tool to fabricate a high-performance polymer-based optical waveguide. © 2012 IEEE.

Experiments were carried out using space charge distribution measurements as a major measurement method in order to find effective measures to suppress electrochemical migration (ECM) along the thickness direction of a printed wiring board (PWB). As a result, the following valuable knowledge was obtained. First, in a PWB consisting of paper/ phenol-resin composite and a copper electrode, the electrical resistivity of epoxy resin used as an adhesive layer to connect the composite and the electrode is usually higher than that of the composite. In such a case, ECM is easily grown in the PWB. The resistance against ECM was found to increase significantly if we use an adhesive layer with a similar electrical resistivity to the insulating material in a PWB. Another important fact is that the growth of ECM can be suppressed if silica nanofillers were added to epoxy resin in the case of an epoxy-based PWB. © 2012 IEEE.

Chemically cross-linked polyethylene irradiated by gamma-rays to certain designated doses from 100 to 800 kGy at 100 degrees C in air was analyzed by X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy and terahertz spectroscopy. It was found by infrared spectroscopy that the degree of oxidation increased when the sample was irradiated. By the terahertz spectroscopy, a peak appears at around 44 cm(-1) (similar or equal to 1.3 THz) when the sample was irradiated by gamma-rays. By carrying out the Cole-Cole analysis on the complex permittivity spectra associated with the peak at 44 cm(-1), the dipolar relaxation was found to exhibit a nearly single relaxation process. This suggests that the terahertz spectroscopy has a potential to detect the oxidative degradation of cross-linked polyethylene.

A new method called the broadband impedance spectroscopy (BIS), which is a kind of frequency domain reflectometry, is being developed as a reliable method for locating a degraded portion of a low voltage cable. The sensitivity of the BIS method is compared to that of the time domain reflectometry (TDR). In the first case, the sheath and insulation of a 50-m-long polyvinyl chloride insulated cable were partially peeled off. In the second case, cables insulated with silicone rubber, flame-retardant ethylene propylene rubber, or crosslinked polyethylene, each about 25 m long, were aged simultaneously by heat and gamma-irradiation in air. In both two cases, a clear peak indicating the damaged or aged portion appears in the BIS measurement, while no such a peak appears in the TDR measurement. Therefore, the BIS method is much superior to the TDR method for locating a degraded portion in a cable.

Chemiluminescence (CL) was applied to evaluate the oxidation of low density polyethylene and cross-linked polyethylene. The CL measurements done at a constant temperature revealed that the CL spectra always exhibit a clear incubation period or oxidation induction time during which no CL appears. The CL appearing in an early stage of oxidation seems to be due to excited carbonyls, while the CL due to singlet oxygen is only observable in the end stage. Skewness and kurtosis are effective parameters to analyze the change in CL intensity spectrum as a function of time.

In order to develop a truly reliable method for locating a degraded portion in a cable, we are developing a method based on the frequency domain reflectometry and inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT). The locating ability of this method was examined for three types of degradation given to three kinds of cables, each with a length ranging from 24.4 to 29.0 m. Namely, a vented water tree was simulated in a coaxial cable insulated with cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) by making a tiny hole filled with a NaCl solution, and gamma-ray-induced aging was given for a length of 80 cm of an XLPE-insulated triplex cable, while the mutual distance between the two conductors was expanded for 10cm in a cord insulated with polyvinyl chloride. Analyses by IFFT using the data obtained from 1 MHz to 100 or 110 MHz can locate all three types of degradation, but the resolution is poor. If the highest measurement frequency is ascended to 200 to 400 MHz, the resolution becomes better. Moreover, the spectrum indicating the degraded portion shows quite a good reproducibility unless the cable is moved. This means that this method can be a very sensitive degradation locating tool usable for real cable systems.

Through examinations of the applicability of novel terahertz spectroscopy to the diagnosis of integrity of polymeric insulated cables, the following important examples have been obtained. First, the attenuation of the reflected intensity of THz light was scanned over a low density polyethylene sheet with water trees under a polyvinylchloride sheet. As a result, its intensity distribution agrees with the distribution of water trees in the sample. Therefore, water trees would be visualizable even if they are invisible to naked eyes. Secondly, chemically crosslinked polyethylene sheets were irradiated by gamma-rays to certain designated doses. A peak appears at around 44 cm(-1) (= 1.3 THz) when the dose is higher than 200 kGy. Combining the results obtained by instrumental analyses, the 44-cm(-1) peak is likely to be due to oxidation-related dipoles. Thirdly, the reflected THz light intensities were compared among an uncorroded copper plate and three corroded plates with copper oxide, basic copper carbonate, and copper chloride. The last two corroded plates were found to exhibit absorption strong enough for the THz light to give clear images of corrosion.

The aim of this research is to find a way to achieve the epoxy composites with both high thermal conductivity and acceptable dielectric breakdown (BD) strength. As high thermal conductivity, low permittivity and low thermal expansion coefficient of filler can endow composite with higher thermal conductivity, higher BD strength and lower thermal expansion coefficient respectively, BN (boron nitride) with high thermal conductivity, low permittivity and low thermal expansion coefficient was adopted as main filler in the research. Thermal conductivity was investigated in this part. The BD strength of samples will be discussed in Part II. Neat epoxy and other 25 kinds of epoxy/BN composites were prepared by a hot press method. Most of BN fillers were surface modified with silane coupling agent through ethanol/water reflux method to improve thermal conductivity. The values of 2.91 W/m.K, 3.95 W/m.K and 10.1 W/m.K as thermal conductivity were obtained for the composites that was single-loaded with h-BN(hexagonal boron nitride), c-BN (cubic boron nitride) or conglomerated h-BN, respectively. They were further improved to 5.26 W/m.K, 5.94 W/m.K and 12.3 W/m.K, respectively, by adding extra smaller AlN (aluminum nitride) to fill the voids in sample. Thermal conductivity of samples changes with the ratio of cBN and h-BN when c-BN and h-BN were co-loaded. A value of 5.74 W/m.K as maximum was obtained at their ratio of 1 to 1 when total filler content is 80 wt%. A much higher value of 7.69 W/m.K was obtained by adding extra AlN. From the experiment data, it is concluded that the filler orientation in vertical direction of sample surface and the decrease of voids in sample are very important to obtain high thermal conductivity, and that the filler surface modification is also necessary to improve thermal conductivity especially for epoxy/c-BN composites, and addition of nano silica in small amount can also increase thermal conductivity if sample is prepared appropriately.

The aim of this research is to find a way to achieve the epoxy composites with high thermal conductivity and acceptable dielectric breakdown (BD) strength. A value 12.3 W/m.K is the highest thermal conductivity obtained for epoxy composite in Part I. Dielectric breakdown performances such as short-time dielectric breakdown strength (BD strength), partial discharge (PD) resistance and BD time for composites were investigated in the Part II. In general, micro filler inclusion will increase thermal conductivity and decrease dielectric breakdown performance. Influencing factors are considered to be the orientation of filler, the content of void space, the content ratio in the case of co-mixing, the addition of nano filler, and filler surface modification. Twenty six kinds of composites were prepared in consideration of the above influencing factors. There are two options for most appropriate ones among the composites evaluated in the research. One is an epoxy/conglomerated h-BN composite with co-loaded nano SiO2 and micro AlN filler. It has 12.3 W/m.K in thermal conductivity, 75.1 kV(peak)/mm in BD strength and 260 % of BD time for neat epoxy. It is most suitable when low BD strength and high thermal conductivity is needed. The other one is an epoxy/h-BN composite with co-loaded nano silica and AlN filler for requirement of very high BD strength but lower thermal conductivity. Optimum thermal conductivity is obtained if flaky h-BN filler is oriented in parallel to heat flow. Since it is difficult to realize full orientation, the use of conglomerated hBN filler is a suitable option. Optimum BD performance is obtained if void space is reduced by certain methods such as co-dispersion of different size fillers and addition of nano filler.

Optical planar waveguide-mode sensor is a promising candidate for highly sensitive biosensing techniques in fields such as protein adsorption, receptor-ligand interaction and surface bacteria adhesion. To make the waveguide-mode sensor system more realistic, a spectral readout type waveguide sensor is proposed to take advantage of its high speed, compactness and low cost. Based on our previously proposed monolithic waveguide-mode sensor composed of a SiO2 waveguide layer and a single crystalline Si layer [1], the mechanism for achieving high sensitivity is revealed by numerical simulations. The optimal achievable sensitivities for a series of waveguide structures are summarized in a contour map, and they are found to be better than those of previously reported angle-scan type waveguide sensors. © 2011 Optical Society of America.

By measuring electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra at the X-band frequency and absorption spectra from the visible to ultraviolet region at room temperature, it was confirmed that perovskite single crystal LaAlO3 contains Cr and Fe as impurities. When LaAlO3 is exposed to photons with energies higher than 4.5 eV, the intensities of ESR signals due to Cr3+ and Fe3+ decrease, which indicates that electrons released by the photon irradiation are captured by Cr3+ and Fe3+ . Concurrently with this, a broad optical absorption band at about 3.0 eV and two new broad and weak ESR signals appear. The former is attributable to a combination of a hole and a La3+ (or Al3+) vacancy, and the two weak ESR signals are assigned to the O- center and F+ center. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3641974]

Terahertz measurements were carried out to detect water trees grown in low-density polyethylene sheets. Water absorbs light at terahertz frequencies, fairly strongly at about 5.0 THz and rather weakly from 0.1 to 1.0 THz. Using the absorption at these frequencies, observation of water trees was tried according to the following procedures. First, we made a model sample, consisting of a polyethylene sheet, a water layer, and a copper plate, and terahertz light was irradiated to this sample vertically. The waveform and intensity of electric field of the terahertz light reflected by the sample clearly pointed out the presence of water layer beneath the polyethylene sheet by the reflection peak appearance time and the phase of reflected electric field. Secondly, water trees were grown in a polyethylene sheet, and terahertz light was scanned over the sheet. As a result, the intensity distribution of terahertz light reflected by the sample was in good agreement with the shape of the water trees. Observation of terahertz image was also carried out using the same polyethylene sheet with water trees over which a polyvinyl chloride sheet or a carbon-loaded polyethylene sheet was put to simulate the structure of a real cable. An image of water trees was also successfully observed. These results indicate that the terahertz spectroscopy can be a new characterization tool to observe the presence of water trees in a test sample taken from an aged cable.

A comprehensive experimental investigation of XLPE and its nanocomposite with fumed silica (SiO2) has been performed by CIGRE Working Group D1.24, in cooperative tests conducted by a number of members; covering materials characterization, real and imaginary permittivity, dc conductivity, space charge formation, dielectric breakdown strength, and partial discharge resistance. The research is unique, since all test samples were prepared by one source, and then evaluated by several expert members and their research organizations. The XLPE used for preparation of the nanocomposites was a standard commercial material used for extruded power cables. The improved XLPE samples, based on nanocomposite formulations with fumed silica, were prepared specifically for this study. Results of the different investigations are summarized in each section; conclusions are given. Overall, several important improvements over unfilled XLPE are confirmed, which augur well for future potential application in the field of extruded HV and EHV cables. Some differences/discrepancies in the data of participants are thought to be the result of instrumental and individual experimental technique differences.

Polymer nanocomposites are attracting attention as emerging insulating materials. We measured the thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) in low-density polyethylene (LDPE)/MgO nanocomposites while varying measuring such parameters as the temperature increase rate and the intensity of the applied electric field. A TSDC peak that spreads over a wide temperature range from 0 degrees C to 60 degrees C was observed in all samples. As the amount of MgO nanofiller increases, the TSDC peak height decreases. Furthermore, by adopting a partial heating method, the wide TSDC peak was resolved into several component peaks. Among them, the peak at about 12 degrees C was found not to appear in the base LDPE. Analysis of its initial rising portion indicated that the 12 degrees C peak had a fairly large energy depth of about 2 eV. These results indicate that charge carriers tend to be captured more strongly after the addition of MgO nanofillers. If these captured charge carriers induce homocharge layers in the vicinity of the electrodes, further space charge formation would be suppressed. This seems to explain the fact that the amount of space charge is smaller in nanocomposites with a proper addition of MgO than in the base LDPE. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 176(3): 1-7, 2011; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.21136

Dielectric properties of polystyrene (PS) were investigated by measuring electrical conduction current and frequency spectra of complex permittivity at temperatures from 20 to 199 degrees C. To clarify the effects of tacticity, the properties were compared among two kinds of syndiotactic PS (SPS) with different crystallinity values and one atactic PS (APS). Experimental results indicate that the two SPS samples show a high melting point of about 250 degrees C. The conductivity is lowest in SPS with the low crystallinity in the whole temperature range from 20 to 199 degrees C, while APS had a breakdown at 140 degrees C. Moreover, the low-crystallinity SPS shows the smallest permittivity values and the smallest increase in dielectric loss factor toward low frequencies among the three samples. The high-crystallinity SPS has alpha crystals. Since the density of alpha crystals is lower than the amorphous region, the charge transport and polarization are easier in the high-crystallinity SPS than in the low-crystallinity SPS. (C) 2011 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Poly(L-lactide) is attracting much attention as a biodegradable polymer. In this paper, effects of crystallinity on dielectric properties of PLLA are discussed. At 80 $C, which is above the glass transition temperature (= about 60 degrees C), the conductivity increases with a decrease in crystallinity. A thermally stimulated polarization current (TSPC) peak, which seems to be due to segmental-mode relaxation, appears in all the samples at temperatures around 65 to 70 degrees C, and it becomes smaller as the crystallinity increases. All the samples show two thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) peaks at around 65 degrees C and around 90 to 100 degrees C. The lower-temperature peak seems to be due to the segmental-mode relaxation, and the other due to the normal-mode relaxation. Moreover, all the samples show a drastic increase in the real part of the complex permittivity (epsilon(r)&apos;) and a peak in its imaginary part (epsilon(r).) at frequencies from 10(-1) to 10(4) Hz, depending on the measurement temperature. The crystallinity dependencies of the two parts are similar to those of the TSPC and TSDC peaks at around 65 to 70 degrees C. Therefore, the increase in epsilon(r)&apos; and the peak in epsilon(r)&apos;&apos; are ascribable to the segmental-mode relaxation. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn, 94(7): 1-8, 2011; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/ecj.10348

Epoxy composite is expected to become the substrate insulation of gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) that can replace ceramics if it has high thermal conductivity. Fillers with high thermal conductivity were added to the epoxy resin, while this composite often suffers from lowering in breakdown (BD) strength. In order to reveal the above phenomena and to clarify the breakdown (BD) mechanism, we carried out experiments using several electrode structures, i.e. an MB-PWB (metal-base printed wiring board) insulation simulated structure, a rod-to-plane electrode for PD erosion resistance, and a sphere-to-sphere electrode for BD strength. As a result, it was clarified that the IGBT insulation breaks down after successive partial discharges (PDs), and the BD strength of microcomposite decreases with increasing the content of micro-fillers, while PD resistance of microcomposite is improved with increasing the content of micro-fillers. A trial was made to raise the once-lowered BD strength by adding nano-Al(2)O(3) fillers. Above experiments were carried out for nanocomposites and nano-micro-composites. It was clarified that the nano-fillers can improve the PD resistance of composites obviously, while nano-fillers improve the BD strength of composite slightly. Such a phenomenon was found that the BD strength of composites was increased with the dispersion state of nano-fillers.

In order to study the generation mechanism of electrochemical migration in a printed wiring board, paper/phenol-resin composites with and without an adhesive layer, epoxy resin, and a laminate of epoxy resin and a paper/phenol-resin composite were aged at 85 degrees C and 85% relative humidity (RH) with and without application of a DC voltage, and the space charge distributions in the samples were observed by the pulsed electroacoustic method. In the case of the composite with the adhesive layer, a large amount of negative charge is induced at the interface between the composite and the adhesive layer on the anode. It was found that such formation of space charge enhances the electric field intensity at the anode. The reason for this is because the conductivity is much lower in the adhesive layer than in the composite. Electrochemical migration does not occur when the same electric field is applied to the composite without the adhesive layer, whereas it does occur if the adhesive layer was replaced by epoxy resin with a similar conductivity to the adhesive layer. These results clearly indicate that electrochemical migration generates because the electric field at the anode surface is enhanced due to the low conductivity of the adhesive layer. (C) 2011 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The optical reflectance of He-Ne laser light on a waveguide-mode sensor was measured as a function of light incident angle, in the case of either a metal (Au, Cr or Pt) film or nanoparticles being attached to the waveguide surface of the sensor. A dip appears in the reflectance spectrum as a function of incident angle at the angle where waveguide-mode excitation is induced. It is found that the dip moves toward a lower angle in the case that the attached metal is of a film shape, while it shifts toward a higher angle when the metal is an ensemble of nanoparticles. This difference in the direction of shift can be explained well by theoretical calculations using average refractive indices of the metal-containing layers. The present result indicates that one can estimate whether a metal nanostructure is film-like or an ensemble of spherical nanoparticles by the sensor.

Absorption spectra of LaAlO3(100) single crystals were measured at frequencies from 1.0 to 3.5 THz. A new absorption peak appears at similar to 3.0 THz after annealing at temperatures above 500 degrees C. Simultaneously, striped domains with widths ranging from about 20 to about 300 mu m in the original samples completely disappeared. Since oxygen vacancies are assumed to play an important role in the formation of domains, the absorption peak at similar to 3.0 THz seems to be related to oxygen vacancies. (C) 2011 The Japan Society of Applied Physics

Effects of addition of nano-sized and micro-sized fillers into epoxy resin on its mechanical and dielectric relaxation phenomena were examined. The glass transition temperature (T g) decreases when a small content of nanoclay modified by octadecylamine was added, while the decrease in T g is suppressed when the nanoclay was modified by dimethyldodecylamine. On the other hand, T g increases when microsilica was added abundantly. At temperatures above T g, both mechanical and dielectric relaxations are accelerated in samples with octadecylamine-modified nanoclay, while the acceleration does not occur in samples with nanoclay modified by dimethyldodecylamine. Both relaxations are restricted in composites with abundant microsilica. Therefore, co-addition of dimethyldodecylamine-modified nanoclay and abundant microsilica is adequate in order to make an epoxy resin composite with a high T g and low dielectric loss. © 2011 The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan.

Electrochemical migration growth along the thickness direction in a two-layered dielectric, consisting of an Al cathode, paper/phenol-resin composite, epoxy resin, and a Cu anode that simulates a laminated structure of a printed wiring board, was detected by the pulsed electroacoustic (PEA) method. The PEA signals obtained were analyzed using a numerical model on the generation and propagation of acoustic waves. Accumulation of positive charge appears in front of the Cu anode of the sample, in which the growth of electrochemical migration was observed by SEM-EDS. At the same time, the signal due to negative charge at the interface between the resin and the composite decreases significantly. This is ascribable to the progress of electrochemical migration in the thickness direction. The numerical analysis done by assuming that the conductivity of the epoxy resin layer near the anode was increased gives a good agreement with the PEA spectra. As for the charge on the anode, the PEA signal appears at the correct position when the anode material is semi-conductive polymer, while it appears as if the anode were inside the real anode when the material is Cu. In order to solve this puzzle, numerical calculations were carried out by the finite difference method. As a result, it has become clear that the discontinuity in the acoustic impedance between the epoxy resin and Cu electrode is responsible. © 2011 The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan.

Time-domain imaging and spectroscopic measurements were carried out using terahertz (THz) light in order to examine the feasibility of non-destructive corrosion diagnosis of a metallic shielding layer in a power cable. At first, the absorbance of the THz light was measured for various corroded copper, namely copper oxide, basic copper carbonate, and copper chloride. As a result, both basic copper carbonate and copper chloride were found to exhibit absorption clear and strong enough for the imaging. Next, a non-corroded copper plate and one of the corroded plates were placed on a metal plate without making an open interspace, and the THz light was irradiated and scanned in order to get two-dimensional images. When the plate is corroded to form either basic copper carbonate or copper chloride, the intensity of reflected light becomes small compared with the non-corroded copper plate. The reason for this seems that the THz light was scattered more at the surface of the corroded copper plate and was absorbed more by the corrosion. These phenomena indicate that non-destructive diagnosis to detect corrosion of a shield metal is possible. © 2011 IEEE.

It is known that syndiotactic polystyrene (SPS) exhibits good thermal stability in various mechanical properties due to its syndiotactic stereoregularity, while it maintains the versatility of atactic polystyrene (APS). The present paper reports experimental results conducted for the purpose of revealing various dielectric properties of SPS in comparison with other engineering and general-purpose polymers including APS. By examining the partial discharge (PD) resistance, electrical conductivity, and complex permittivity, it was found that SPS has a stronger PD resistance than low density polyethylene, polyimide, polyethylene terephthalate and polypropylene, and that the conductivity, permittivity, and dielectric loss factor are lower in SPS than in APS. By taking all the above-mentioned results into account, it can be concluded that SPS is an engineering polymer with superior electrical insulating properties.

Various types of epoxy/BN composites were prepared to optimize material conditions for high thermal conductivity and high breakdown strength. The best composite was found to be epoxy/conglomerated h-BN/nano silica nano micro composite with thermal conductivity 12 W/m center dot K and BD strength 15 kV(peak)/0.2 mm. One of the most important factors to obtain high values of the two performances is to reduce void content. Surface treatment of fillers and nano filler addition are also useful.

Composites of organic polymers and well- dispersed nm- sized inorganic fillers, called polymer nanocomposites (NCs), have been attracting much attention as new electrical insulating materials. In this paper, experimental results on the typical dielectric properties, namely, complex permittivity (epsilon(r)'and epsilon(r) "), conductivity, and thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) are evaluated for bisphenol- A epoxy resin and its NCs with boehmite alumina, titania, and silica. The increase in epsilon(r) ' and epsilon(r) " and the magnitudes of the TSDC peaks as well as the increase in conductivity appear more significantly in the NCs with boehmite alumina and titania and less significantly in the NCs with silica than in epoxy resin. This indicates that the silica nanofillers give the best results as far as these properties are concerned. The suppression of molecular motion by the addition of nanofillers seems to work effectively in the case of silica, while the nanofiller addition is likely to accelerate the motion of ionic carriers and/ or that of dipoles in the case of boehmite alumina and titania.

We observed absorption spectra of poly-epsilon-caprolactone in a frequency range from 0.3 to 3.6 THz at temperatures from 10 to 300 K by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy and analyzed the spectra using density functional theory calculations based on the B3LYP functional. In the absorption measurements, the electric field direction of the THz wave was set in either parallel or perpendicular to the stretched direction of the sample. The spectra observed at 10 K differ significantly between the parallel and perpendicular THz waves, while such a difference is hardly seen at 300 K. The numerically analyzed results agree to some extent with the spectra. It is shown by the analysis of the vector components of the molecular vibrations obtained numerically that all the spectra observed in the THz region are assumed to be due to skeleton vibrations with vibrational period of either one or two monomer units.

Since electric wires and cables play very important roles of supplying electric power and transmitting information and control signals, their degradation may cause a serious problem. In the present research, we examined the applicability of the broadband impedance spectroscopy (BIS) to monitor the degradation of cable insulation. The BIS method is to measure the magnitude and phase angle of impedance as a function of frequency in a very wide frequency range. First, cables were aged partially by heat and gamma-rays. Further, a hole was drilled from the outer to inner conductors in some cables, and was filled with a NaCl solution in order to simulate a vented water tree. The difference in magnitude or phase angle of impedance before and after the aging becomes clearer by fast Fourier transform analyses, regardless of whether the aging was given by the gamma-rays or water trees. The location of the degradation was also possible without referring to the data before the aging. These results clearly indicate that the BIS method has a potential ability to locate the degradation of cable insulation induced by various kinds of damages.

Various interesting phenomena are induced in dielectric materials by swift-ion irradiation. This paper reports effects of swift-light-and swift-heavy-ion irradiation on SiO2 glass, rutile TiO2 monocrystal, and fluorinated polyimide, which are typical dielectric materials. We also demonstrate that ion-induced phenomena can be applied to fabrication of advanced waveguide-type optical devices such as a planar-lightwave- circuit-type directional coupler and a highly sensitive waveguide-mode biosensor.

More and more electronics are intended for use in adverse environments at high temperatures with high humidity. The spatial distributions of internal charge carriers, mainly due to ionic impurities that appear in hot and humid environments, are considered to affect the reliability of bulk insulation. Therefore, the authors examined space charge behavior inside paper/phenol-resin composites for printed circuit boards under DC voltages, focusing on the effect of the water absorption temperature. Both the sample weight and thickness were increased monotonically by immersion in water with an increase in the water temperature from 24 degrees C to 85 degrees C, indicating that the water absorption by the sample was temperature dependent. In the early periods of water absorption (up to 10 hours), the electric field decreased near the two electrodes and increased in the other regions. Furthermore, heterocharge formation was observed near the cathode as the water absorption progressed, becoming more significant at higher water temperatures. Ion chromatography analyses detected numerous ions such as Na(+), NH(4)(+), and Cl(-) from the water, in which the sample had been immersed for 100 hours at various temperatures. It is highly possible that these ions are responsible for the heterocharge formation. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 173(2): 1-7, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.20992

Tree initiation time was evaluated by a pulse detection system to detect a small PD (partial discharge) signal that might take place at first just after a tree was formed. Six kinds of materials were prepared for evaluation, i.e. base epoxy resin, microcomposite, two kinds of nanocomposites, and two kinds of nano-micro-mixed-composites. Lengths of trees detected were around 100 mu m in our experiments. As a result, it was clarified that the tree initiation time is prolonged by the nanofiller inclusion, but shortened by the microfiller filling. Furthermore, the co-addition of nanofillers to the microcomposite increases the tree initiation time again in comparison to the once-shortened time in the microcomposite. As for the PD erosion evaluated for the same materials, a good correlation was confirmed between the tree initiation time and PD resistance. This correlation indicates that the tree formation process includes PD erosion. Simulation results show that trees should propagate between fillers.

We have developed an optical system designed for detecting colored nanomaterials in aqueous solutions, using the concept of evanescent-field-coupled waveguide-mode sensors. In this study, we found that the waveguide modes induced in the sensor are intrinsically sensitive to a change in optical absorption, or a 'change in color'. The system detects less than one gold nanoparticle (diameter: 20 nm) adsorbed per square micrometer. It is also demonstrated that significant signal enhancement due to adsorption of molecules is achieved using a dye. The developed sensor rarely suffers from a drawback of impurity adsorption. The system is expected to be applied as an effective sensing tool for metal colloids, nanoparticles, and colored biomolecules in solution. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America

Effects of nanofiller addition on four typical dielectric properties, namely permittivity epsilon(r)&apos;, dielectric loss factor epsilon(r)", space charge accumulation, and partial discharge (PD) resistance were evaluated for polypropylene (PP) and its nanocomposites (NCs) with nanoclay. While epsilon(r)&apos; and epsilon(r)" are almost independent of temperature and frequency in the base unfilled PP, they are highly dependent on the two parameters in the two NCs. Namely, epsilon(r)&apos; increases significantly at temperatures above 20 degrees C and the frequency spectrum of epsilon(r)" shows at least one temperature-dependent peak. Furthermore, space charge appears abundantly in the two NCs compared to the base PP. These results indicate that plenty of mobile carriers and/or dipoles, probably resulted from the manufacturing process, remain in the two NCs. Notwithstanding the above-mentioned &apos;inferior&apos; insulating properties, the two NCs have an improved PD resistance compared with the base PP. Namely, the erosion depth on the surface induced by PDs is the smallest in the NC with the largest filler content, while it is the largest in the base PP. Such differences in the effects of nanofillers on different insulating properties are attributable to the fact that nanofillers can improve the PD resistance simply by their presence, while the chemicals needed for uniform dispersion of nanofillers may sometimes increase the permittivity and abundance of charge carriers.

It is often observed that the insulation structure for an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) suffers from dielectric failure, when the insulation is made of epoxy resin to which micro fillers with a high thermal conductivity were added. In order to reveal the above phenomena and to clarify the breakdown (BD) mechanism, we have carried out experiments using an MB-PWB (metal-base printed wiring board) insulation simulated structure. As a result, it was clarified that the IGBT insulation breaks down after successive partial discharges (PDs). It was also elucidated that BD strength becomes lower, when epoxy resin was loaded with high content of micro-fillers. A trial was made to raise the once-lowered BD strength by adding nano-Al2O3 fillers. Three kinds of experiments were carried out, i.e. an MB-PWB insulation simulated structure for dielectric failure, a rod-to-plane electrode for PD erosion resistance, and a sphere-to-sphere electrode for BD strength for four kinds of insulation samples, i.e. neat epoxy, 5-wt% nano-Al2O3/epoxy composite, 60-wt% micro-Al2O3/epoxy composite, and combined 2-wt% nano- and 60-wt% micro-Al2O3/epoxy composite. It was clarified that the nano- micro-composite is higher in both BD strength and PD resistance than the micro-composite. It should be noted that the addition of nano- fillers would provide an excellent approach that can increase the dielectric BD strength and time of micro-filled epoxy composites.

Partial discharge (PD) resistance of brodegradable poly-L-lactic acid (PELA) was examined at temperatures between room temperature and 70 degrees C namely at around the glass transition temperature of 57 C The PD activity becomes more pronounced at temperatures above 60 degrees C. reflecting that the permittivity increases in the rubber state Furthermore. we have changed the crystallinity of PLEA by drawing or annealing thermally, and have examined its effect on the PD resistance Although the depth eroded by a fixed per rod of PD degradation becomes shallower when the sample was crystallized by the drawing cm the heat treatment. its reduction ratio is almost equal to the reduction ratio of PD activities due to the decrease in permittivity Therefore, it is hard to assume that crystallizatron of PLEA improves its PD resistance to a unit amount of charge (C) 2010 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan Published by John Wiley & Sons. Inc

Electrical conduction and complex permittivity are examined in polyethylene terephthalate succinate, focusing on their relations to dielectric relaxation processes. Both the real and imaginary parts of the complex permittivity, namely, the dielectric constant epsilon(r)&apos; and the dielectric loss factor epsilon(r)&apos;&apos; increase with a decrease in frequency, especially at high temperatures. They are both ascribed to the transport of ionic mobile carriers. Namely, the carrier transport forms a conduction current that should contribute to epsilon(r)&apos;&apos;. On this occasion, if charge exchange does not occur at the two electrodes, heterocharge layers should be formed before the electrodes. This should increase the charge density on the electrodes, thus contributing to epsilon(r)&apos;. In addition to the increase in epsilon(r)&apos; and epsilon(r)&apos;&apos; due to mobile ions, two relaxation processes, one due to micro-Brownian motion of dipoles and the other due to orientation and magnitude change of the dipole moment induced by two end groups in the polymer main chain, are observed. Corresponding to these two relaxation processes, two thermally stimulated discharge current (TSDC) peaks appear. The two TSDC peaks as well as the increments in epsilon(r)&apos; and epsilon(r)&apos;&apos; become larger when the crystallinity of the samples decreases. (c) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 170(4): 1-8, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience. wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.20956

Epoxy-based nanocomposites (NCs) were prepared using clay modified by either primary amine or tertiary amine, and the effect of the difference in modifier on the thermal and dielectric properties of the NCs were discussed. The NC with clay fillers modified by the primary amine, 1C, shows a glass transition end temperature (T(eg)) at a temperature 20 C lower than the neat epoxy (N). This indicates that the resin of 1C is less crosslinked than that of N. On the other hand, the sample 3C, in which the clay was modified by the tertiary amine, shows a DSC spectrum close to that of N. Namely, 3C has a high crosslinking density similar to N. While the three samples show a relaxation peak in their dielectric loss spectra, the peak appears at high frequencies in 1C compared to N and 3C. Moreover, ionic conduction current flows more at high temperatures in 1C than in N or 3C. These facts are ascribable to the difference in their crosslinking densities.

Terahertz (THz) spectra were obtained for polylactide, and they were analyzed by numerical calculations based on density functional theory. An absorption band was observed at approximately 50 cm(-1), which becomes larger when the THz electric field is parallel to the sample drawing direction. An absorption peak with a similar directional dependence appears at approximately 40 cm(-1) in the simulation, which is due to normal-mode molecular vibrations parallel to the molecular helix. Since the 50 cm(-1) absorption decreases with an increase in crystallinity and the permittivity shows a step-like decrease, the molecular vibrations responsible for the 50 cm(-1) band seem to be subjected to strong damping in amorphous regions. On the other hand, another absorption peak at 65 cm(-1) with a positive absorption dependence on the sample&apos;s crystallinity is likely to be due to lattice vibration, since it does not appear in the calculations, which only deal with intramolecular vibration. (C) 2010 The Japan Society of Applied Physics

Photoluminescence (PL) spectra induced in LaAlO3 by ultraviolet (UV) photons were measured for two types of samples, i.e., single-crystal plates and thin films. The films, which were amorphous when deposited, became polycrystalline after being annealed at 800 degrees C or higher. When the excitation photon energy exceeded the band-gap energy of LaAlO3, three PL peaks appeared at approximately 1.60 eV in the single crystals and polycrystalline films deposited and annealed on a Si single-crystal substrate. When the films were deposited and annealed on a CaF2 single-crystal substrate, the in-plane lattice parameters became smaller and the energies of the three PL peaks shifted to higher values. This indicates that the three PL peaks are susceptible to a crystal field. Furthermore, the intensities of the three PL peaks did not depend on the measurement temperature. Taking these results together with their spectral shapes into consideration, the three PL peaks are due to the R-line luminescence resulting from Cr3+ impurities in LaAlO3. The detection of Cr3+ ions by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry failed, indicating that the Cr3+ content of the present samples is below 1 ppm. The fact that the PL peaks appeared in both the single-crystal plates and thin films obtained from different raw chemicals with different processes indicates that there is a strong possibility that the Cr3+ ions are present in Al ore. Another PL peak appearing at 2.8 eV in the single crystals was assumed to originate from oxygen vacancies. (C) 2010 The Japan Society of Applied Physics

Terahertz spectra were obtained for polylactide, and analyzed by numerical calculations based on the density functional theory. An absorption band was observed at around 50 cm(-1), which becomes larger when the THz electric field is parallel to the sample drawing direction. An absorption peak with a similar directional dependence appears at around 40 cm(-1) in the simulation, which is due to normal-mode molecular vibrations parallel to the molecular helix. Since the 50-cm(-1) absorption decreases with an increase in crystallinity and the permittivity shows a step-like downward change, the molecular vibrations responsible for the 50 cm(-1) band seems to be subjected to strong damping in amorphous regions. On the other hand, another absorption peak at 65 cm(-1) with a positive dependence on the sample's crystallinity is likely to be due to some lattice vibration, since it does not appear in the calculations that only deal with intramolecular vibration.

In order to study the growth of electrochemical migration along the thickness direction, paper/phenol-resin composite on printed wiring boards was aged at 85 degrees C and 85 %RH by applying of a dc voltage. Then, the sample was observed by a scanning electron microscope with a function of energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) analysis. Space charge distributions in the sample were also measured by the pulsed electroacoustic method. Signals of SEM-EDS showing the presence of Cu were observed on both the anode and cathode. This fact indicates that ionized copper moves toward the cathode inside the composite when an electric field is applied at high temperatures in a highly humid atmosphere.

The band gap energy was estimated experimentally by measuring the change in optical absorption intensity as a function of photon energy in a wide range from visible to vacuum-ultraviolet wavelengths for commercially available 11 kinds of insulating polymers. The absorption spectra as a function of photon energy measured by synchrotron radiation and by a spectrometer agree with each other at the photon energies where the two measurements were available. The band gap energy is quite high in linear polyolefin polymers. Namely, it is 6.9 and 7.0 eV for polyethylene and polypropylene, respectively. In these two polymers, the relative permittivity at 1 kHz is quite low in both polymers. On the other hand, the polymers with aromatic rings in their structures have low band gap energies and large permittivities. Namely, a negative relationship between the band gap energy and permittivity, which is well known for inorganic solids, is also seen in insulating polymers. Furthermore, to investigate the possibility of appearance of midgap localized states by the addition of nanofillers, absorption and luminescence spectra were examined for polymer nanocomposites based on polyethylene and polyamide. As a result, the nanofiller addition was found to give no influences on their band gaps.

Space charge distributions were investigated in multilayered dielectric films consisting of combinations of low-density polyethylene ( LDPE) and its nanocomposite (NC) with MgO nano-fillers during application of a dc electric field of 100 kV/mm at room temperature and 50 degrees C. At 100 kV/mm, a packet-like charge appears in LDPE, but not in NC. Similar behavior is also observed in multi-layered samples. These phenomena are explained by assuming that the nano-fillers effectively suppress the increase in conductivity induced by the high electric field, which agrees well with related work done previously by the authors.

Dielectric properties were compared between two kinds of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) composites prepared by adding near spherical MgO fillers with different diameters of around several ten nm and several mu m. In the whole range of temperature from 0 degrees C to 90 degrees C, the conductivity is decreased and the permittivity is increased by the addition of fillers, irrespective of their sizes. However, the decrement in the conductivity is more significant and permittivity increment is suppressed more in the case of the nm fillers. In addition, a drastic increase in dielectric loss factor, observed at low frequencies, is suppressed more significantly by the addition of the nm fillers. While the formation of packet-like charge, observed in LDPE, is suppressed by both fillers, the effect is far more significant in the nanocomposites. This means that the nano-fillers suppress the conductivity enhancement by the voltage application more effectively.

Silica glass was irradiated by swift heavy ions by selecting the ion species and its energy in order to induce the largest damaged regions. These regions were then selectively etched by hydrofluoric acid vapour to form nanopores on the glass surface. Subsequently, gold nanoparticles were embedded into the nanopores by vacuum evaporation, followed by thermal treatment. In the new plasmonic structure obtained with these procedures, the localized surface plasmon excitation wavelength induced around the gold nanoparticles was found to show a redshift, which agreed well with the theoretical calculation, when water was introduced into the nanopores. This indicates that the fabricated structure can be used as a sensing element to detect the adhesion of substances such as biomolecules to the nanoparticles by measuring the redshift.

By implanting protons into a cladding in the coupling region of a directional coupler of the planar-lightwave-circuit type at an acceleration energy that enables the protons to reach the center of the core, the coupling ratio of the coupler is changed periodically and continuously by increasing proton fluence. In the case of two optical waveguides formed in a planar lightwave circuit with a mutual spacing too large for optical coupling, proton implantation into the cladding between the waveguides induces optical coupling between them. These results indicate that the coupling ratio of a directional coupler can be controlled by ion implantation. (C) 2009 The Japan Society of Applied Physics

Tree initiation behavior of an epoxy nanocomposite with 5 wt % nanoclay (layered silicate) was investigated for ac voltage in comparison to neat epoxy resin without fillers. To shorten the time for experiments, 600 Hz was used instead of 60 Hz, as acceleration for tree initiation had been confirmed at 10 kVrms and 14 kVrms between the two frequencies. V-t characteristics for tree initiation rather than tree growth to bridge the electrodes were obtained for conventional type of treeing specimens with an embedded steel needle subjected to voltages from 2 kVrms to 14 kVrms. As a result, it was clarified that tree initiation V-t characteristics were improved by approximately one order of magnitude for the epoxy/nanoclay composite compared to the neat epoxy resin. Initial formation of trees is generally considered to be directly related to the fatigue of matter stressed by electric ac fields at comparatively low field strength. Experimentally obtained prolongation of tree initiation time especially at low electric field can be ascribed to the suppression of such a fatigue through an interaction of injected electrons with nanoscale filler particles or interfaces between nanoscale filler particles and their surrounding polymer matrices. Mechanisms for improvement of time to tree initiation are discussed on the basis of the above concept including a multi-core model that some of the authors have proposed.

We have proposed a novel grating-based optical reflection switch using a phase change material (PCM). The device switches on/off light or shifts the light propagation direction by switching the PCM grating between its amorphous and crystalline states. Thus, the switching status is non-volatile and the device is promising for realizing low power consumption. The device structure was designed and optimized by numerical simulations to obtain high switching efficiency. It is shown that there exists a parameter window where high efficiency is achievable. The static switching characteristics were confirmed by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations. The design scheme can also be applied to other planar dielectric gratings. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America

Partial discharge (PD) resistance was examined by applying a constant voltage to four different biodegradable polymers-poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA), polyethylene terephthalate succinate (PETS), poly e-caprolactone butylene succinate (PCL-BS), and polybutylene succinate (PBS)-and the results were compared with those of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and crosslinked low-density polyethylene (XLPE). The PD resistance is determined by the erosion depth and the surface roughness caused by PDs, and is ranked as LDPE approximate to XLPE &gt; PLLA approximate to PETS &gt; PBS &gt; PCL-BS. This means that the sample with a lower permittivity has better PD resistance. Furthermore, examination of the sample surfaces by a polarization microscope and a laser confocal microscope reveals that the PD resistance of crystalline regions with spherulites is higher than that of amorphous regions. Therefore, good PD resistance can be achieved by the sample with a high crystallinity and a low permittivity. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 168(2): 1-10,2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.20807

In order to utilize silver nanoparticles for various applications such as photocatalysts while maintaining their chemical stability, enhanced electric fields on the nanoparticle surfaces induced by localized surface plasmon excitation must be used effectively. For satisfying these requirements, an ultrathin silica coating with a thickness of only a few nm was formed around silver nanoparticles by a chemical reaction in a solution, while parameters such as the amount of sodium silicate and the number of dialysis procedures performed were changed. As a result, it was found that a key factor for obtaining stable thin-silica-coated silver nanoparticles is the conductivity of the solution. Using a solution with an appropriate conductivity above 2.7 mS/m, silica films can be coated on silver nanoparticles without causing deterioration of the plasmonic activity resulting from the aggregation of silver. (C) 2009 The Japan Society of Applied Physics

Biological self-assembly is a natural process that involves various biomolecules, and finding the missing partner in these interactions is crucial for a specific biological function. Previously, we showed that evanescent-field-coupled waveguide-mode sensor in conjunction with a SiO(2) waveguide, the surfaces which contain cylindrical nanometric holes produced by atomic bombardment, allowed us to detect efficiently the biomolecular interactions. In the present studies, we showed that the assembly of biomolecules can be monitored using the evanescent-field-coupled waveguide-mode biosensor and thus provide a methodology in monitoring assembly process in macromolecular machines while they are assembling.

Effects of nanofiller loading on the molecular motion and carrier transport in polyamide-6/mica nanocomposites were discussed by analyzing their complex permittivity spectra. As a result, the following four dielectric polarization processes were observed; space charge polarization, interfacial polarization at crystalline/ amorphous boundaries, alpha relaxation due to dipolar orientation, and beta relaxation due to rotation of amide groups bonded with water molecules. The enhancement of dielectric constant and that of loss factor due to abundance of mobile charge carriers are suppressed by the nanofiller loading. Furthermore, it was found that the relaxation time becomes longer by the mica nanofiller loading both for the dipolar orientation and for the rotation of amide groups. These results suggest that molecular motion that assists carrier transport is suppressed in nanocomposites, which indicates a strong interaction between the resin and filler.

It has been reported that elongated Au nanoparticles oriented parallel to one another can be synthesized in SiO(2) by ion irradiation. Our aim was to elucidate the mechanism of this elongation. We prepared Au and Ag nanoparticles with a diameter of 20 nm in an SiO(2) matrix. It was found that Au nanoparticles showed greater elongated with a higher flux of ion beam and with thicker SiO(2) films. In contrast, Ag nanoparticles split into two OF more shorter nanorods aligned end to end in the direction parallel to the ion beam. These experimental results are discussed in the framework of a thermal spike model of Au and Ag nanorods embedded in SiO(2). The lattice temperature exceeds the melting temperatures of SiO(2), Au and Ag for 100 ns after one 110 MeV Br(10+) ion has passed through the middle of an Au or Ag nanorod. Crown Copyright (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An optical fiber depolarizer was developed utilizing birefringence that was induced by ion implantation into a silica-core optical fiber. The implanted ions were protons, and their acceleration energy was chosen such that the protons reach only the center of the optical fiber core. To evaluate the depolarization effect, the degree of polarization was measured for various transmitted polarized lights with different polarization states. Several proton-implanted fibers were spliced, holding their slow axes at a mutual angle at which the degree of polarization was lowest. As a result, an optical fiber depolarizer that can reduce the degree of polarization of incident

Poly (L-lactide) (PLLA) is attracting much attention as a biodegradable polymer. In this paper, effects of crystallinity on dielectric properties of PLLA are studied. At 80 °C, which is above the glass transition temperature (about 60 °C), the conductivity increases with a decrease in crystallinity. A thermally stimulated polarization current (TSPC) peak, which seems to be due to segmental-mode relaxation, appears in all the samples at temperatures around 65 to 70°C, and it becomes smaller as the crystallinity increases. All the samples show two thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) peaks at around 65 °C and around 90 to 100°C. The lower-temperature peak seems to be due to the segmental-mode relaxation, while the other due to the normal-mode relaxation. Moreover, all the samples show a drastic increase in the real part of complex permittivity (ε r') and a peak in its imaginary part (ε r,") at frequencies from 10 -1 to 10 4 Hz, depending on the measurement temperature. The crystallinity dependencies of the two parts are similar to those of the TSPC and TSDC peaks around 65 to 70 °C. Therefore, the increase in ε r and the peak in ε r are ascribable to the segmental-mode relaxation. © 2009 The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan.

Recently polymer nanocomposite has been attracting much attention as an emerging insulating material. In this paper, we measured thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) in low-density polyethylene (LDPE)/MgO nanocomposite by changing measuring parameters such as the temperature increasing rate and the intensity of electric field applied. As a result, a TSDC peak that spreads over a wide temperature range from 0 °C to 60 °C was observed in all the samples. As the amount of MgO nano-filler increases, the TSDC peak height decreases. Furthermore, by adopting a partial heating method, the wide TSDC peak was resolved into several component peaks. Among them, the peak at around 12 °C was found not to appear in the base LDPE. By analyzing its initial rising portion, the 12-°C peak was assumed to have a fairly deep energy depth of about 2 eV. These results indicate that charge carriers tend to be captured more strongly by the addition of MgO nano-fillers. If these captured charge carriers induce homocharge layers in the vicinity of the electrodes further formation of space charge would be suppressed. This seems to explain the fact that the amount of space charge is smaller in the nanocomposite with a proper addition of MgO than in the base LDPE. © 2009 The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan.

Pulsed electroacoustic (PEA) method was applied as a nondestructive method to detect electrochemical migration in a sheet of epoxy resin and a sheet of laminate consisting of the same resin and a paper/phenol-resin composite. A significant decrease in the amount of negative charge was observed at the interface between the resin and the composite when the sample was the laminate. This is assumed to be due to the progress of electrochemical migration in the thickness direction. On the other hand, such a change in charge density was hardly observed when the sample was a sheet of epoxy resin. The electric field intensity in the epoxy resin layer in the laminate is assumed to be significantly enhanced, since the resistivity is much higher in the epoxy resin than in the composite. This seems to be the main reason why the electrochemical migration was induced only in the epoxy layer in the laminate. This means that observation of electrochemical migration in epoxy resin by the PEA method becomes possible by forming a laminate structure using the epoxy resin and paper/phenol-resin composite. © 2009 IEEE.

We have changed the crystallinity of biodegradable poly-L-lactide (PLLA) by drawing or by annealing thermally, and have examined its effect on the partial discharge (PD) resistance. Although the depth eroded by a fixed period of PD degradation becomes shallower when the sample was crystallized by the drawing or by the heat treatment, its reduction ratio is almost equal to the reduction ratio of PD activities due to the decrease in permittivity. Therefore, it is hard to assume that crystallization of PLLA improves its PD resistance to a unit amount of charge. © 2009 IEEE.

Epoxy resin often suffers lower dielectric breakdown strength if micro-fillers are loaded. It might be possible to raise the once lowered breakdown strength, if nano-fillers are added. In this paper, such performances were investigated on model specimens consisting of alumina (Al2O3). First of all, PD (partial discharge) behavior on the surfaces of samples was clarified in the insulation system consisting of a flat copper electrode attached on an epoxy substrate. Then, on the basis of finding, the breakdown strengths were investigated by using a sphere to sphere electrode structure with a flat sample inserted. Several materials consist of neat epoxy, 5%wt nano-Al2O3/epoxy composite, 60%wt micro-Al2O3/epoxy composite and 2%wt nano- 60% wt micro-Al2O3/epoxy composite. It was found that nano-micro- Al2O3/epoxy composite is higher in both dielectric strength and PD resistance than micro-Al2O3/epoxy composite.

Space charge distributions were investigated in two-layer dielectric films consisting of certain combinations of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and its nanocomposite with magnesia nanofillers at dc electric fields of 25 kV/mm and 100 kV/mm at room temperature. Space charge is formed at the interface of two different materials to maintain the continuity of current when the electric field is 25 kV/mm, while packet-like charge appears only in the LDPE at 100 kV/mm. These phenomena are explained by assuming that the nanofillers effectively suppress the increase in conductivity induced by the high electric field. Related work done previously by the authors is also briefly reviewed.

Tree initiation time was evaluated by a pulse detection system developed by the authors to detect a small PD (partial discharge) signal that might take place at first just after a tree was formed. Six kinds of material were prepared for evaluation, i.e. base epoxy resin, microcomposite, two kinds of nanocomposites, and two kinds of nano-micro-mixed-composites. Lengths of trees detected were around 100 mu m in our experiments. As a result, it was clarified that tree initiation time is prolonged by nano filler inclusion, but shortened by micro filler filling, and furthermore that nano fillers would help once-shortened time increase for micro filled epoxy specimens. PD erosion was evaluated for the same materials. It was confirmed that a good correlation exists between tree initiation time and PD resistance that is inverse to PD erosion. This correlation indicates that tree formation includes a PD erosion process. Detection of trees smaller than 100 mu m is required to clarify how a tree takes place at first.

Nano-clay and micro-silica mixed composites were made for use as insulating materials for switchgear. Observation of nano-clay dispersion and measurements of insulation breakdown properties under a homogeneous electric field were conducted of these composites. Moreover, simulations were carried out to estimate the curing reaction and rheological behavior of the composite in an automatic pressure gelation system. Experimental results demonstrated that these composites have suitable material characteristics for practical use in switchgear.

Effects of addition of micro-sized silica fillers and/or nano-sized clay fillers into epoxy resin on its dielectric properties were examined. The glass transition intermediate temperature (T-g) was found to show a decrease by the addition of a small amount of nanofillers, while it is increased by the addition of abundant microfillers with and without co-addition of a small amount of nanofillers. At temperatures above T-g, the samples with abundant microfillers were added have low conductivity, low dielectric constant, and low dielectric loss factor regardless of the co-addition of nanofillers.

Effects of nanofiller addition on four typical dielectric properties, namely permittivity epsilon(r)', dielectric loss factor epsilon(r)", space charge accumulation, and partial discharge (PD) resistance were evaluated for polypropylene (PP) and its nanocomposites (NCs) with nanoclay. While epsilon(r)' and epsilon(r)" are almost independent of temperature and frequency in the base unfilled PP, they are highly dependent on the two parameters in the two NCs. Namely, epsilon(r)' increases significantly at temperatures above 20 degrees C and the frequency spectrum of er" shows at least one temperature-dependent peak. Furthermore, space charge appears abundantly in the two NCs compared to the base PP. These results indicate that plenty of mobile carriers and/or dipoles, probably resulted from the manufacturing process, remain in the two NCs. Notwithstanding the above-mentioned 'inferior' insulating properties, the two NCs have an improved PD resistance compared with the base PP. Namely, the erosion depth on the surface induced by PDs is the smallest in the NC with the largest filler content, while it is the largest in the base PP. Such differences in the effects of nanofillers on different insulating properties are attributable to the fact that nanofillers can improve the PD resistance simply by their presence, while the chemicals needed for uniform dispersion of nanofillers may sometimes increase the permittivity and abundance of charge carriers.

Processes of tree initiation and growth in LDPE/MgO nanocomposites were investigated by using optical and partial discharge (PD) detection methods. They can be divided into three stages depending on tree length. The first stage corresponds to the initial growth of about 10 mu m and might be subtly affected by the filler content up to 1 phr. This might be influenced by Coulombic field formed around nano fillers. The second stage is interpreted as tree growth around 100 mu m, and is suppressed by nano fillers up to 2 phr, where trees grow by colliding with nano fillers. The third stage leads to final breakdown at which tree lengths are of 1 mm order, and are retarded by nano fillers up to 10 phr, where PD erosion processes are involved.

Frequency and temperature dependencies of the real part (epsilon(r)') and imaginary part (epsilon(r)") of relative complex permittivity were measured at electrical frequencies from 10(-2) to 10(5) Hz at temperatures from -80 to 200 degrees C for various kinds of organic insulating polymer films. Furthermore, frequency spectra were obtained at 30 degrees C in a frequency range from 0.4 to 4.0 THz for both parts. As a result, it was found that there are significant differences in both the temperature and frequency dependencies of epsilon(r)' and epsilon(r)", depending mainly on the polymer being polar or nonpolar.
By comparing terahertz (THz) time-domain spectra obtained for various polymeric insulating films such as polyamide and poly(L-lactide), it was found that the polar polymers have one or two distinct dielectric loss peaks around 2.0 and 3.0 THz. More specifically, among the polymers examined, only polyamide has both two peaks, while poly(L-lactide) and polyethylene terephthalate have only one peak. Nonpolar polymers show no peaks. Furthermore, it has become clear that er' approaches almost the same value of 2.3 at 3.8 THz in most polymers including polar ones. This agrees with the fact that only electronic polarization and atomic polarization associated with very light atoms such as hydrogen can participate in polarization at such high frequencies.

A terahertz time-domain spectroscopic study was carried out as an effective measure to analyze the mechanism that induces superior properties in polyamide-6 nanocomposites. The peak frequency of dielectric loss appearing at about 3.0 THz shifts to a lower frequency by the presence of clay nanofillers, while it is independent of the sample&apos;s mechanical drawing. Comparison of such behavior with X-ray diffraction spectra revealed that restriction of molecular motion is induced by the addition of nanofillers, which should play an important role in the superior properties. (C) 2008 The Japan Society of Applied Physics

We present a genuine experimental technique to fabricate silver nanoparticles with all ultrathin silica coating, thus making the nanoparticles chemically inert. The impact of the coating on plasmonic properties is experimentally quantified and compared with theoretical predictions. Furthermore, numerical simulations of the near-field enhancing properties of the nanoparticles are conducted. It is found that the coatings fabricated are sufficiently thin to make the plasmonic resonance wavelength shift negligible and for observing a significant field enhancement on the surface of the silica shell at the resonance wavelength. Application of such inert nanoparticles to sensitize the absorption of near-ultraviolet light is discussed.

Reduction in polarization dependent loss of a planar lightwave circuit was achieved by asymmetric birefringence formed by ion implantation, in which oxygen ions were implanted along a diagonal of a cross-section of the planar lightwave circuit. The induced birefringence has a slow axis along the line perpendicular to the diagonal. In the present research, a decrease in polarization dependent loss of up to 3.7 dB was obtained, indicating that the method is effective for reducing polarization dependent loss. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Photolurninescence (PL) spectra induced by ultraviolet photons were measured for Czochralski-grown lanthanum aluminate single crystals. Five PL peaks were observed at approximately 1.60, 1.64, 1.675, 2.0, and 2.8eV at 10K, and the 2.8eV PL disappears at 300 K. From PL excitation and vacuum ultraviolet absorption measurements. it is found that the 2.8 eV PL arises owing to the excitation of electrons to localized states in the band gap, and that PLs at approximately 1.60. 1.64, and 1.675 eV arise owing to the excitation of electrons to the conduction band. The 2.0 eV PL with a decay profile similar to that of the 2.8 eV PL is assumed to be caused by a process similar to that in the case of the 2.8 eV PL. [DOI: 10.1143/JJAP.47.7980]

Nature of electronic states in the energy band is investigated by means of optical absorption and photoluminescence induced by vacuum ultraviolet photons for polyamide-6/mica and low-density polyethylene/MgO nanocomposites. The nanofiller loading does not affect the absorption spectra of polyamide samples. Contrary to this, two absorption bands are induced at around 5.0 and 6.2 eV by the nanofiller loading in polyethylene samples, but they are due to absorption by the fillers. A luminescence band is observed at around 3.0 eV in polyamide samples, whereas three luminescence bands are observed at around 4.3, 3.7, and 2.9 eV in polyethylene samples. However, for all the luminescence bands, neither emission nor excitation energies change by the addition of nanofillers. Decay profiles of all the luminescence bands are essentially unchanged by the nanofiller loading. Moreover, no new PL bands are induced in the observed wavelength range. These results indicate that localized states, at least as far as the ones that can emit luminescence photons with intensities more than the sensitivity of the present research, are not induced by the nanofiller loading.

Professors Inuishi, Ieda and Yahagi were pioneers of research in dielectrics in Japan. Their philosophy was that in order to understand a certain property of a material or to clarify the mechanism of a phenomenon, research must be done with scientific rigor and a scholarly approach. Here, the author wishes to illustrate their philosophy through a number of examples of his own research on both inorganic and organic materials and on topics ranging from vacuum discharge, through defect centers in inorganic glasses, to the water tree degradation phenomena in insulating polymers. Finally he will make some comments upon the way in which fundamental research can be useful in an engineering context.

Evanescent-field-coupled (EFC) waveguide-mode sensors can be used to detect nucleic acids or proteins from the changes in the local index of refraction upon adsorption of the target molecule on a waveguide surface. We recently described an EFC waveguide-mode sensor in which nanometric holes on a waveguide film resulted in an improved sensitivity in the analysis of the interactions of biomolecules. In the present study, we have shown that sensitivity depends upon the diameter of the holes, where increase in diameter of holes increases spectral shift resulting in an improved sensitivity. Using this improved EFC waveguide-mode sensor, we could detect interactions between RNA and a small ligand, cyanocobalamin (vitamin 1312), and between RNA and a protein (human coagulation factor IXa). These two interactions were monitored on surfaces modified with biotin-streptavidin-biotin and N-(2-trifluoroethanesulfonatoethyl)-N-(methyl)triethoxysilylpropyl-3-amine, respectively.

When single-crystal yttria-stabilized zirconia samples are exposed to ultraviolet photons with an energy higher than 4.0eV, three paramagnetic centers are observed at g = 2.006, 1.97-1.95, and 1.91-1.86. With irradiation by ultraviolet photons, an absorption band and a photoluminescence (PL) band are also induced, showing respective peak energies at around 3.3 and 2.8 eV. The onset of the PL-excitation spectrum occurs around 4.0 eV. The induced absorption band and paramagnetic centers disappear with thermal annealing. By doing a numerical analysis on the experimentally obtained angular dependence of the signal at g = 1.91-1.86, it is determined that signals at g = 2.006 and 1.91-1.86 are due to the F(+) center and the T center, respectively, and that the signal at g = 1.97-1.95 has some origin other than the two ESR centers. Since two ESR signals at g = 2.006 and 1.97-1.95, the 3.3-eV absorption, and the 2.8-eV PL have the same onset energy at around 4.0eV, the reactions that induce them are triggered by electrons excited into the conduction band tail.

We examined the mechanism whereby nanoparticles of gold embedded in silica become elongated and oriented parallel to each other on ion irradiation. Elongation occurred for gold particles with radii smaller than 25 nm. The process was simulated by using a thermal spike model. For small-radius nanoparticles, ion irradiation raises the temperature above the melting points of both gold and silica, whereas for larger nanoparticles neither the gold nanoparticle nor the surrounding silica matrix is melted.

We developed a monolithic sensing plate for a waveguide-mode sensor. The plate consists of a SiO2 glass substrate and a thin silicon layer the surface of which is thermally oxidized to form a SiO2 glass waveguide. We confirmed that the sensing plate is suitable for high-sensitivity detection of molecular adsorption at the waveguide surface. In addition, a significant enhancement of the sensitivity of the sensor was achieved by perforating the waveguide with holes with diameters of a few tens of nanometers by selective etching of latent tracks created by swift heavy-ion irradiation. Possible strategies for optimizing the plate are discussed. (c) 2008 Optical Society of America.

An evanescent-field-coupled waveguide-mode sensor with a multilayer structure consisting of a dielectric waveguide, a thin reflecting layer, and a glass substrate illuminated under the Kretschmann configuration operates as a sensor that is capable of detecting modifications in the dielectric environment near the waveguide surface with superior sensitivity by measuring the change in reflectivity. The sensitivity of the sensor is strongly dependent on the optical constants of the reflecting layer. Numerical simulations show that a sensor having a reflecting layer with a small value of the real part of the complex refractive index shows a good sensitivity for both S- and P-polarized light. Materials with values of the real and imaginary parts of the complex refractive index of &gt; 4 and similar to 0.5, respectively, are suitable for use as reflecting layers when S- polarized light excites only the lowest order waveguide mode. The simulations were experimentally confirmed using sensors with Au, Cu, Cr, W, a-Si, or Ge reflecting layers deposited by radiofrequency magnetron sputtering by observation of specific adsorption of streptavidin on biotinyl groups using an S-polarized laser beam with a wavelength of 632.8 nm. From the results, guidelines are given for the fabrication of preferred sensor configurations.

Degradation profiles induced by partial discharges and those induced by oxygen plasmas are compared for polyamide/mica nanocomposites. Both the resistances to partial discharges and to plasmas improve with an increase in nanofiller content. On the other hand, the partial discharge resistance is not improved if gm-sized glass fibers are added to polyamide. In order to investigate these phenomena, the superior resistance mechanism of nanocomposites is discussed, focusing on the effects of the nanofillers on the bulk and surface structures of the resin. It was revealed from X-ray diffraction and permittivity measurements that the nanofiller loading increases crystallinity of the resin and restricts the molecular motion. This should enhance the resistance to degradation. Furthermore, observation results by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction revealed that the nanofillers had piled up themselves to form a layered structure on the sample surface in an early stage of degradation. Such a structure acts as a barrier against impact of charged particles and diffusion of gases such as oxygen, which should contribute to the improvement of resistance to degradation as its direct effect and also as its indirect effect by suppressing the oxidation of resin. Moreover, it was also revealed from scanning electron microscopy that the nanofillers impede the growth of surface cavities by partial discharges drastically.

Effects of the differences in the curing agent and filler dispersion method on the dielectric properties were examined for epoxy/clay nanocomposites. Irrespective of the clay dispersion method, relative permittivity and electrical conductivity are higher in the samples cured with the amine. Moreover, negative heterocharge accumulates in the vicinity of the anode in the amine-cured samples, whereas positive homocharge accumulates in the acid anhydride-cured samples. From the results of UV photon absorption and PL measurement, the bandgap or the energy at which the photon absorption increases drastically is smaller in the amine-cured samples than in the acid anhydride-cured samples. Ion migration can occur easily in the amine-cured samples whose electrical conductivity and relative permittivity are higher than the acid anhydride-cured samples. The curing agent gives the strongest effect, while the existence of clay affects secondly and the filler dispersion method has the weakest effect.

Frequency accelerated partial discharge (PD) aging of epoxy nanocomposite with 5 wt % additions of clay was investigated in comparison with that of epoxy without clay in terms of ID erosion depth. It was found that the change in the erosion depth is far smaller in specimens with clay than those without clay. The newly developed organic modification and solubilization methods give comparable PD resistance characteristics. The latter would be more resistant to PD's than the former, if specimens were prepared properly. It was clarified that nano-micro mixed composites were superior to the single nanocomposite. Nano segmentation with some interaction zone effect is proposed as a mechanism of improvement in PD resistance.

Properties of evanescent-field-coupled waveguide-mode sensors consisting of a multi-layer structure made of a SiO2 waveguide, a thin metal layer (Au, Cu, W or Ti), and a high refractive index glass substrate illuminated under the Kretschmann configuration have been theoretically and experimentally investigated. In all cases, reflectivity changes attributed to streptavidin combining to biotinyl groups were observed in close spectral vicinity of the waveguide resonances. The sensors with the Au and the Cu layers show superior sensitivity as compared to those with the W and the Ti layers, whereas the W and Ti layers show better thermal and chemical stability. The results indicate that the materials of thin metal layers should be chosen in accordance with the purpose of sensors and/or environment in which the sensors are used.

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) displays photocatalytic behavior under near-ultraviolet (UV) illumination. In another scientific field, it is well understood that the excitation of localized plasmon polaritons on the surface of silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) causes a tremendous increase of the near-field amplitude at well-defined wavelengths in the near UV. The exact resonance wavelength depends on the shape and the dielectric environment of the NIPS. We expected that the photocatalytic behavior of TiO2 would be greatly boosted if it gets assisted by the enhanced near-field amplitudes of localized surface plasmon (LSP). Here we show that this is true indeed. We named this new phenomenon "plasmonic photocatalysis". The key to enable plasmonic photocatalysis is to deposit TiO2 on a NP comprising an Ag core covered with a silica (SiO2) shell to prevent oxidation of Ag by direct contact with TiO2. The most appropriate diameter for Ag NIPS and thickness for the SiO2 shell giving rise to LSP in the near UV were estimated from Mie scattering theory. Upon implementing a device that took these design considerations into account, the measured photocatalytic activity under near UV illumination of such a plasmonic photocatalyst, monitored by decomposition of methylene blue, was enhanced by a factor of 7. The enhancement of the photocatalytic activity increases with a decreased thickness of the SiO2 shell. The plasmonic photocatalysis will be of use as a high performance photocatalyst in nearly all current applications but will be of particular importance for applications in locations of minimal light exposure.

Recently, polymer nanocomposite has been attracting much attention as an emerging insulating material. In this paper, we measured space charge distribution in low-density polyethylene (LDPE)/MgO nanocomposite at room temperature and 90 °C. At room temperature, while a huge amount of packet-like charge moving from the anode to the cathode is observed in the base LDPE, such packet-like charge is not observed in the MgO-added nanocomposites. On the other hand, at 90 °C, while injection of negative charge from the cathode is dominant in the base LDPE, the filler addition significantly suppresses the injection. As a consequence space charge is barely formed in the 2-phr MgO-added sample at the two temperatures. © 2008 The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan.

Polybutylene succinate, a kind of biodegradable polymer, shows thermally stimulated polarization current (TSPC) peaks at around -35 °C and 50 °C. The lower-temperature TSPC peak can be well explained by dipolar polarization. As for the higher-temperature TSPC peak, the permittivity increases more significantly with a decrease in frequency, and the increment in permittivity estimated from the TSPC area agrees with the difference in permittivity at a sufficiently low frequency and at a sufficiently high frequency. It is assumed that a hetero charge layer is formed in front of the two electrodes and that such space charge is responsible for both the higher-temperature TSPC peak and the permittivity increase. The dielectric loss factor also increases with a decrease in frequency, and the increment is in good agreement with the assumption that the dielectric loss is ascribed to conduction loss due to high conductivity at high temperatures. All the results indicate that mobile ions are dominant carrier species in polybutylene succinate. © 2008 The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan.

More and more electronics are to be used under various adverse environments at high temperatures with high humidity. Spatial distributions of internal charge carriers mainly due to ionic impurities that appear in hot and humid environments are considered to affect the reliability of bulk insulation. Therefore, the authors examined space charge behavior inside paper/phenol-resin composites for printed circuit boards under dc voltages, focusing on the effect of water absorption temperature. Both the sample weight and thickness are increased monotonically by the immersion in water with an increase in water temperature from 24 °C to 85 °C, indicating that the water absorption by the sample is temperature dependent. In early periods of water absorption up to 10 hours, the electric field decreases near the two electrodes and increases in the other regions. Furthermore, heterocharge formation is observed near the cathode as the water absorption progresses, which becomes more significant at higher water temperatures. Ion chromatography analyses detected a lot of ions such as Na+, NH4+ and CI" from the water, in which the sample had been immersed for 100 hours at various temperatures. It is highly possible that these ions are responsible for the heterocharge formation. © 2008 The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan.

Electrical conduction and complex permittivity are examined in polyethylene terephthalate succinate, focusing on their relations to dielectric relaxation processes. Both the real and imaginary parts of complex permittivity, namely dielectric constant σrand dielectric loss factor σr", increase with a decrease in frequency, especially at high temperatures. They are both ascribed to the transport of ionic mobile carriers. Namely, the carrier transport forms conduction current that should contribute to σr". On this occasion, if charge exchange does not occur at the two electrodes, heterocharge layers should be formed before the electrodes. This should increase the charge density on the electrodes, thus contributing to σr' In addition to the increase in σr' and σr' due to mobile ions, two relaxation processes, one due to micro-Brownian motion of dipoles and the other due to orientation and magnitude change of the dipole moment induced by two end groups in the polymer main chain, are observed. Corresponding to these two relaxation processes, two thermally stimulated discharge current (TSDC) peaks appear. The two TSDC peaks as well as the increment in σr' and σr" become larger when the crystallinity of the sample decreases. © 2008 The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan.

Recently poly(L-lactide) synthesized from starch is attracting much attention as a biodegradable polymer. In this paper, effects of crystallinity on dielectric properties of PLLA were studied by preparing four kinds of PLLA samples with different crystallinities. A thermally stimulated polarization current (TSPC) peak was found to appear in all the samples at temperatures around 65 to 70 °C, which is due to the glass transition. The magnitude of the TSPC peak was found to be in the reverse order of crystallinity. This is presumably because the segmental-mo de relaxation, which brings about the TSPC, is restricted more as the crystallinity increases. All the samples show two thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) peaks at around 65 °C and around 90 to 100 °C. The lower-temperature peak seems to be due to the segmental-mode relaxation, while the other due to the normal-mode relaxation. Moreover, all the samples show a drastic increase in the real part of complex permittivity and have a peak in its imaginary part at frequencies from 10 -1 to 104 Hz, depending on the measurement temperature. The crystallinity dependencies of the two parts are similar to those of the TSPC and TSDC peaks around 65 to 70 °C. Therefore, the increase in the real part and the peak in the imaginary part are ascribable to the segmental-mode relaxation. © 2008 IEEE.

Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy was measured as an effective procedure to analyze the mechanism that induces superior properties in polymer nanocomposites. The peak frequency of dielectric absorption appearing at frequencies 2.7 - 3.1 THz shifts to a lower frequency by the presence of nanofillers, which seems to be ascribable to the restriction of molecular motion at the interfaces between the polymer matrix and nanofillers.

A primary concern in recent nanocomposite research is practical application. In this study, various kinds of epoxy-based nanocomposites were made and their properties evaluated to determine their applicability as insulating materials for heavy electric apparatuses. Experimental results demonstrated that nano-fillers enhance insulation breakdown properties in nanocomposites. Moreover, nano- and micro-filler combinations were adopted as an approach toward practical application of nanocomposite insulating materials. These nano- and micro-filler mixed composites had the same low thermal expansion as aluminum, and insulation breakdown properties superior to those of conventional insulating materials. Consequently, an aluminum conductor and a vacuum interrupter were molded by the nano- and micro-filler mixed composites for the first time in nanocomposite research. ©2008 IEEE.

Two kinds of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) composites were prepared by adding semi-spherical MgO fillers different in diameter, one being around several ten nm and the other being several pro, and their dielectric properties were compared. At all the measurement temperatures, the conductivity is decreased and the permittivity is increased by the addition of fillers, irrespective of their sizes. However, the conductivity decrease is more significant and the permittivity increase is suppressed more in the case of the nm fillers. In addition, a drastic increase in dielectric loss factor at low frequencies is suppressed more significantly by the addition of the nm fillers. While the formation of packet-like charge observed in LDPE, which is assumed to appear at the front of the high-conductivity region that proceeds from one electrode toward the counter one, is suppressed significantly by both fillers, the effect is more significant in the nanocomposites. This means that the nanofillers suppress the increase in conductivity induced by the voltage application more effectively.

Several examples of terahertz; (THz) spectroscopic measurement results carried out for dielectric solids are reviewed, including THz time-domain spectra of polyamide-6 composites with nm-sized clay fillers obtained by the authors. For polyamide nanocomposites, it has become clear that the dielectric loss factor shows two peaks at around 1.9 THz and 2.7 to 3.1 THz. By referring to X-ray diffraction spectra, it is assumed that the origin of the former peak is the a-phase crystal in polyamide, and that the nanofiller loading suppresses a-phase crystallization. The latter peak shifts toward a lower frequency in the nanocomposites, which indicates that the presence of strong ionic bonds between the nanofiller and the polymer matrix restrains molecular motion and increases the relaxation time. This is believed to be the main reason of superior properties of the polymer nanocomposites.

Effects of nanofiller loading on the carrier transport and molecular motion in polyamide-6/mica nanocomposites were discussed by analyzing their complex permittivity spectra. As a result, the following four dielectric polarization processes were observed; space charge polarization, alpha relaxation due to dipolar orientation, and beta relaxation due to rotation of amide groups bonded with water molecules, in addition to interfacial polarization at crystalline/amorphous boundaries. The enhancement of dielectric constant and that of loss factor due to abundance of mobile charge carriers are suppressed by the nanofiller loading. These results suggest that carrier transport is suppressed by the nanofillers. Furthermore, it was found that relaxation time becomes longer by the mica nanofiller loading both for the dipolar orientation and for the rotation of amide groups. Molecular motion is considered to be restricted in nanocomposites, which indicates a strong interaction between the resin and filler.

A primary concern in recent nanocomposite research is practical application. In this study, various kinds of epoxy-based nanocomposites were made and their properties evaluated to determine their applicability as insulating materials for heavy electric apparatuses. Experimental results demonstrated that nano-fillers enhance insulation breakdown properties in nanocomposites. Moreover, nano- and micro-filler combinations were adopted as an approach toward practical application of nanocomposite insulating materials. These nano- and micro-filler mixed composites had the same low thermal expansion as aluminum, and insulation breakdown properties superior to those of conventional insulating materials. Consequently, an aluminum conductor and a vacuum interrupter were molded by the nano- and micro.-filler mixed composites for the first time in nanocomposite research.

Tree initiation behavior of an epoxy nanocomposite with 5 wt % nanoclay (layered silicate) was investigated in comparison to neat epoxy resin without fillers. To shorten the time for experiments, 600 Hz was used instead of 60 Hz, as acceleration for tree initiation had been confirmed at 10 kV(rms) and 14 kV(rms) between the two frequencies. V-t characteristics for tree initiation rather than tree growth to bridge the electrodes were obtained for conventional type of treeing specimens with an embedded steel needle subjected to voltages from 2 kV(rms) to 14 kV(rms) As a result, the n value in V-n proportional to t characteristics was confirmed to be 5.5 for neat epoxy and larger than 7 for nanocomposite. It was clarified that tree initiation V-t characteristics were improved by approximately one order of magnitude for the epoxy/nanoclay composite compared to the neat epoxy resin. To be precise, such an enhancement factor is one order at high field but even two orders at low field. Formed trees are field dependent. They are rather thick and short in shape at low field, but thin and long at high field. It is concluded from the analysis on the basis of interfacial models and other studies that initial trees are formed due to a PD erosion process at low field during a long time, but due to dielectric breakdown including charge trapping at high field for a short time.

In order to respond to soaring public concern about environmental protection, various biodegradable polymers have been developed. The present paper reports the electrical conduction and breakdown properties of various biodegradable polymers such as poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA), polyethylene terephthalate succinate (PETS), polycaprolactone butylene succinate (PCL-BS), polybutylene succinate (PBS), polybutylene succinate adipate (PBSA), and polyhydroxybutyrate/valerate (PHB/V) in comparison to those of low-density polyethylene (LDPE). While the permittivity and conductivity of PLLA and PETS are comparable to LDPE, those of PCL-BS and PBS are much higher. The conductivity is also higher in PBSA. This is because PLLA and PETS are in the glass state at room temperature, while PCL-BS, PBS, and PBSA are in the rubber state. Furthermore, PLLA and PETS show a strong temperature dependence of the conductivity, which is divided into two or three regions, and they also show thermally stimulated polarization or depolarization current around their respective glass transition temperatures. In contrast to the large difference in conductivity among different kinds of samples, all the polymers tested have almost similar impulse breakdown strength at room temperature. As for dc or ac breakdown strength, PLLA and PETS show a relatively higher strength than PCL-BS and PBS.

Birefringence can be induced in silica-based optical fibers by ion implantation. In the present research, protons were implanted in single-mode optical fibers with two different energies, one being the energy with which the protons can just reach the center of the optical fiber core and the other being a slightly lower energy. The degree of birefringence was evaluated by measuring reflection spectra of Bragg gratings formed at the proton-implanted region of the optical fibers. The results confirmed that birefringence is induced by unidirectional densification along the projected range of protons formed in the fiber core and by densification of the fiber cladding. The induced birefringence reached three to ten times higher than that of a conventional birefringent fiber. The birefringence caused by ion implantation can be a versatile tool for manufacturing various optical fiber devices. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The partial discharge (PD) resistance of three kinds of biodegradable polymers, namely poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA), polybutylene suceinate (PBS), and poly 6-caprolactone butylene succinate (PCL-BS), was studied in comparison to that of low-density polyethylene (LDPE). The polymers were exposed to PDs under the IEC (b) electrode system, and the PD resistance was judged by the surface erosion depth or the time to breakdown induced by PDs. As a result, the 'practical' PD resistance, which is the resistance to PDs under a constant voltage application, is ranked as LDPE &gt; PLLA &gt;&gt; PBS &gt;= PCL-BS, while the 'true' PD resistance, which is the resistance to PDs with a constant charge quantity, is ranked as PLLA congruent to LDPE &gt; PBS &gt;&gt; PCL-BS.

The control of the coupling properties of a directional coupler formed in a planar lightwave circuit by proton irradiation was examined. Irradiation of the cladding between the two cores that constitute the coupling portion causes an increase in the coupling coefficient, whereas subsequent irradiation of the entire coupling portion decreases the coupling coefficient. The change in the coupling coefficient results in changes to the coupling ratios, which depend on the irradiated area and fluence. By adjusting these, the desired coupling property can be obtained. This method can be applied in rectifying fabrication errors in any kind of optical device formed in a planar lightwave circuit. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structural and optical properties of silica glass induced by ion microbeam irradiation were studied using micro-photoluminescence (mu-PL) spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Ion microbeam irradiation was performed using microbeam lines of 3-MV single-ended or tandem accelerators with various ion species including H (+) He+, B3+, C4+, N4+, O4+, and Si5+ at energies of 1.7 to 18 MeV. The beam was focused to about 1 mu m and was scanned over the surface of high-purity silica glass with fluences of 10(13) to 10(18) ions/cm(2). The mu-PL spectrum in microbeam-irradiated silica shows two peaks at 540 and 650 nm. The mapping of the two PL bands reveals the distribution of defects induced along the track of ions. The compaction was observed in the form of groove at the surface of silica glass by AFM. The depth of the surface groove increases with increasing ion fluence and saturates at about several hundreds to 900 nm, depending on irradiated ion species. The mechanisms of structural and optical modifications of silica glass are can be understood in terms of energy loss due to electronic stopping and nuclear stopping powers. Refractive index changes with an order of 10(-4) to 10(-2) were estimated by a Lorentz-Lorenz relationship from the compaction. Technological implications of these results are also to be discussed. (c) 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.

The crystallinity of poly(L-lactic acid) was changed by thermal annealing and its effects on electrical conduction characteristics were studied. Low-crystallinity samples have a higher conductivity and a higher remaining charge quantity than high-crystallinity samples. The sample shows two thermally stimulated current (TSC) peaks at around T-g and about 20 degrees C higher than T-g when its crystallinity is low, while it shows only the former TSC peak when its crystallinity is high. The TSC peak at around T-g is attributable to the micro-Brownian motion that enables the orientation of dipoles in a direction perpendicular to the polymer main chain, whereas the high-temperature peak is attributable to the orientation and magnitude change of the end-to-end vector in the polymer main chain.

Effects of endothermic reaction associated with glass transition on the impulse, dc, and ac breakdown strengths of poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) and polyethylene terephthalate succinate (PETS) were studied experimentally. Impulse breakdown strength at first decreases monotonically with an increase in temperature for both PLLA and PETS. However, it increases and shows a hump when the temperature approaches a certain temperature that is slightly lower than the glass transition temperature. Then it decreases again. Moreover, it is shown that the degree of increment in impulse breakdown strength at this hump depends upon the crystallinity in PLLA. In the case of dc and ac breakdown, a similar local maximum as seen in impulse breakdown is not observed. Two possibilities, namely energy absorption and structural change both due to glass transition are discussed to explain the experimental results.

Swift heavy ion irradiation of dielectric materials forms latent tracks and selective etching of them results in the formation of well defined nanopores in the material. Irradiation of Au ions accelerated with 137 MeV followed by etching with vapor of hydrofluoric acid successfully formed nanopores with diameter of 30 nm and depth of 400 nm in a waveguide made of amorphous SiO2. In the present research, the nanopores were applied to improve sensitivity of an evanescent-field-coupled waveguide mode sensor that detects adsorption and/or adhesion of molecules at the surface of the waveguide and in the nanopores. Increase in the sensitivity was confirmed by examining the shift in the angular position necessary to excite the waveguide mode before and after adsorption of streptavidin to biotinyl groups. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

We have evaluated the irradiation effects by ion microbeam on silica glass for various ion species by means of a micro-photoluminescence technique. Defect generation and refractive index change were observed for silica at the area of 10 mu m x 50 mu m scanned by ion microbeam of H+, He+, N4+ C4+, O4+, and Si5+ With energy from 1.7 to 18 MeV. The mu-PL spectroscopy measurements were performed along the side surface perpendicular to the microbeam irradiated surface. Based on the comparison with a result of SRIM (stopping and range of ions in matter) simulation, the defect generation mechanism was discussed in terms of the energy deposition processes due to electronic and nuclear stopping powers. We conclude that the electronic stopping power is responsible for the defect generation at the track of ions. The effect of the nuclear stopping power is also not negligibly small at the end of range. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sensors based on surface plasmons or waveguide modes are at the focus of interest for applications in biological or environmental chemistry. Waveguide-mode spectra of 1 mu m-thick pure and perforated silica films comprising isolated nanometric holes with great aspect ratio were measured before and after adhesion of streptavidin at concentrations of 500 nM. The shift of the angular position for guided modes was nine times higher in perforated films than in bulk films. Capturing of streptavidin in the nanoholes is at the origin of that largely enhanced shift in the angular position as the amplitude of the guided mode in the waveguide perfectly overlaps with the perturbation caused by the molecules. Hence, the device allows for strongly confined modes and their strong perturbation to enable ultra-sensitive sensor applications. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America.

In this paper, the authors discuss one- and three-dimensional space charge distributions in glass fibre/epoxy resin composites. By the conventional pulsed electroacoustic (PEA) method, only a one- dimensional distribution of the average charge over a whole area parallel to the two electrodes can be observed. Therefore, the authors have developed a new PEA system capable of measuring a three-dimensional space charge distribution. Using this system, they measured the charge distribution in glass fibre/epoxy resin composites made of lattice-woven glass fibre and epoxy resin. It has become clear that spatial variation in signal intensity observed depends on the internal structure of the composite. There appear repetitious positions where a high charge density is observed on the same lateral cross section along the vertical direction in the composite. Such positions are consistent with the intersections of the glass fibres. Accumulation of mobile charge carriers or appearance of polarization charge due to mismatch of the ratio of the conductivity and permittivity between the glass fibre and the epoxy resin is thought to be responsible for the PEA signals.

The partial discharge (PD) resistance of three kinds of biodegradable polymers; poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA), polybutylene succinate (PBS), and poly E caprolactone butylene succinate (PCL-BS), was studied in comparison to that of low density polyethylene (LDPE). The polymers were exposed to PDs under the IEC (b) electrode system, and the PD resistance was judged by the surface erosion depth or time to breakdown induced by PDs. As a result, the 'practical' PD resistance, which is the resistance to PDs under a constant voltage application, is ranked as LDPE &gt; PLLA &gt;&gt; PBS &gt; PCL-BS, while the 'true' PD resistance, which is the resistance to PDs with a constant charge quantity, is ranked as PLLA congruent to LDPE &gt; PBS &gt;&gt;PCL-BS.

The properties of bulk insulation in printed circuit boards (PCBs) have become even more important, especially for those with a multilayered or embedded structure. In particular, the spatial distribution of internal charge carriers, mainly due to ionic impurities, is thought to affect the reliability of bulk insulation. Therefore, the effects of humidity and temperature on space charge distribution profiles in a five-layered composite of aramid paper and epoxy resin are studied in this paper. More charge carriers are induced at higher temperatures with humidity. A relative humidity of 55% is high enough to induce a saturated amount of charge carriers in the present samples at 40°C.

Partial discharge (PD) resistance was examined by applying a constant voltage for four kinds of biodegradable polymers, i.e. poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA), polyethylene terephthalate succinate (PETS), poly &epsilon;-caprolactone butylene succinate (PCL-BS), and polybutylene succinate (PBS), and the results were compared with those of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and crosslinked low density polyethylene (XLPE). The PD resistance is determined by the erosion depth and the surface roughness caused by PDs, and is ranked as LDPE &cong; XLPE > PLLA &cong; PETS > PBS > PCL-BS. This means that the sample with a lower permittivity has better PD resistance. Furthermore, observations of the sample surface by a polarization microscope and a laser confocal one reveal that crystalline regions with spherulites are more resistant to PDs than amorphous regions. Therefore, good PD resistance can be achieved by the sample with a high crystallinity and a low permittivity.

Three kinds of biodegradable polymers, poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA), polybutylene succinate (PBS), and polybutylene succinate adipate (PBSA), and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) as a reference were irradiated for 30 minutes by ultraviolet (UV) photons from a KrCl excimer lamp. It has become clear that the three biodegradable polymers are far more susceptible to UV photons than LDPE since they absorb UV photons very intensely in the vicinity of the irradiated surface. Space charge distribution profiles show that charge carriers are trapped near the irradiated surface. The conduction current increases by the UV-irradiation in all the biodegradable polymers. Instrumental analyses show that the samples were decomposed by photoinduced oxidation. Furthermore, the absorption spectra indicate the appearance of conjugated double bonds. Such structural changes induced seem to be responsible for the higher conductivity and the charge trapping.

The authors have examined the effects of superposition of a low-frequency ac voltage and a high-frequency ac voltage on the growth of water trees in polyethylene, and have made it clear that the number of voltage zero-crossings is a decisive factor of water tree growth. In the present research, a short-duration high-frequency (2 kHz) voltage was superposed repeatedly onto a continuously applied low-frequency (0.5, 1.0, 3.0 or 5.0 Hz) voltage in synchronous with the low-frequency voltage either at its positive and negative maxima or at each zero-crossing point. By applying such superposed voltages to a low-density polyethylene sheet with a water needle electrode and a counter plane electrode, the length of a grown water tree was evaluated. As a result, it has become clear that the water tree length is longer when the high-frequency voltage is superposed at each zero-crossing point of the low-frequency voltage. This result supports the above-mentioned assumption that the number of voltage zero-crossings plays a significant role in the growth of water trees. ©2007 IEEE.

In order to fully understand a certain property of a material or to clarify the mechanism of a phenomenon, research must be done with scientific rigor and a scholarly approach. The first three pioneers who introduced the rigorous scholarly approach into the field of electrical insulation research in Japan are Profs. Inuishi, Ieda, and Yahagi. Researchers and students have been inspired by their work and have been encouraged by this rich heritage by following in their footsteps. On this occasion of being awarded the Whitehead Memorial Lecture Award, the author is honored to introduce several examples of research done in his laboratory at Waseda University. ©2007 IEEE.

The properties of bulk insulation in printed circuit boards (PCBs) have become even more important, especially for those with a multilayered or embedded structure. In particular, the spatial distribution of internal charge carriers, mainly due to ionic impurities, is thought to affect the reliability of bulk insulation. Therefore, the effects of humidity and temperature on space charge distribution profiles in a five-layered composite of aramid paper and epoxy resin are studied in this paper. More charge carriers are induced at higher temperatures with humidity. A relative humidity of 55% is high enough to induce a saturated amount of charge carriers in the present samples at 40 degrees C.

Effects of the differences in the curing agent and filler dispersion method on the dielectric properties were examined for epoxy/clay nanocomposites. Measurements of permittivity, conductivity, and space charge distribution suggest that the curing agent gives a strong effect and the presence of nanofillers affects secondly, while the filler dispersion method gives a weak effect.

Electrical conduction properties of five biodegradable polymers, polycaprolactone, polybutylene succinate adipate, polybutylene succinate, polybutylene adipate terephthalate, and poly-L-lactic acid, are discussed in relation to their measured values of glass transition temperature, complex permittivity, and breakdown strength. Conductivity is high in the polymers with low glass transition temperatures, and is in good proportion to the dielectric loss factor of each sample. Breakdown strength is low in such polymers. These results are reasonable, since molecular motion is active, and dipolar orientation and carrier transport are activated, when the polymer is in the rubber state.

Differential scanning calorimetry, direct current, thermally stimulated polarization current, and complex permittivity were measured for inflation formed polybutylene succinate, tubular formed polybutylene succinate and tubular formed polybutylene succinate adipate, which are available on the market. Polybutylene succinate formed by the inflation method has the highest conductivity at all the temperatures. Furthermore, only this polymer shows a thermally stimulated polarization current peak around 50 degrees C, which is probably due to ionic impurities. In all the samples, both the permittivity and dielectric loss factor increase significantly with a decrease in frequency. This seems attributable to the motion of ions in the samples.

Frequency accelerated partial discharge degradation of epoxy nanocomposite with 5 wt % additions of clay (layered silicate) was evaluated by a rod-to-plane electrode system, and investigated in comparison with that of epoxy without clay. Comparisons were made as to erosion depth using a laser surface profilometer. It was found that the change in the erosion depth is far smaller in specimens with clay than those without clay. It was also found that the solubilization method using acid anhydride curing agent seems to give PD resistance characteristics superior to the organic modification method using amine and acid anhydride curing agents and even to the solubilization method using amine curing agent.

Electric cables in nuclear power plants have to function even after serious events such as a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). In most cables, organic polymers that are very sensitive to radiation are used. Nevertheless, much attention was not paid until recently. Under these circumstances, the Japanese government started an extensive research project to examine the degradation behavior of safety-related cables at three different temperatures with three different dose rates. An interim report published recently revealed that some cables would be unable to function after the LOCA test. In this paper, a brief outline of the interim report is described. Categorization of all the causes of malfunctions occurred in electric apparatus in all the Japanese nuclear power plants for recent about 40 years, revealed that there has been only one case of a slight malfunction of cable caused by degradation of polymer insulation, indicating that we don't have to worry so much. It is still very important to establish a proper condition monitoring method in order to secure much higher reliability.

To study the minimum particle size for a ferroelectric material at which ferroelectricity is retained, thin films composed of stoichiometric BaTiO3 nanoparticles were prepared by laser ablation of a Ba-Ti-O ceramic target using a differential mobility analyzer. Highly densified films of various uniform grain sizes were obtained after post-annealing at 600, 700, 800, and 900 degrees C in an oxygen atmosphere. The dielectric constants of the post-annealed films varied from 100 to 300, depending on the grain size from 65 to 136 nm. These values are comparable to those of BaTiO3 nano-granular films fabricated by metallorganic decomposition or the sol-crystal method. From the capacitance vs bias-voltage relationship and its hysteresis observed for the post-annealed films, it became clear that a phase transformation from paraelectric to ferroelectric occurs at a grain size of approximately 76 nm. It was also clarified from piezoresponse images of the post-annealed films obtained using a scanning probe microscope that ferroelectricity emerges in BaTiO3 nano-size grains at a grain size of approximately 55 nm.

In situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction studies have been performed on an optically transparent lithium-aluminosilicate glass-ceramic composite with nanometer-sized LiAlSi2O6 crystals embedded in a host matrix. The pressure-induced evolution of X-ray diffraction patterns was followed in compression up to 50 GPa and in subsequent decompression to ambient conditions. In the low-pressure range, the diffraction patterns illustrated a progressive shift and broadening of the diffraction lines consistent with a gradual densification of the LiAlSi2O6 phase. The unit cell volume of the LiAlSi2O6 nanocrystalline phase calculated for the compression sequence between ambient pressure and 12.5 GPa decreased by about 13.5%. At higher pressures, the diffraction patterns displayed considerable line broadenings indicating a partial amorphization of the nanocrystalline phase. Additionally, the patterns revealed the increasing presence of the ZrTiO4 phase which was nucleated in the host matrix prior to the crystallization of the LiAlSi2O6 main nanocrystalline phase. The diffraction pattern of the composite quenched from 50 GPa to ambient pressure conditions did not show full reversibility of pressure-induced changes. Despite the dominating presence of the broad diffraction bands, the diffraction pattern of the pressure-quenched material suggested that the decompressed structure carries at least a partial signature of the initial ambient LiAlSi2O6 phase. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The structurally damaged zone in titanium dioxide rutile single crystal induced by MeV-order heavy ions was observed using high resolution electronic microscopy (HREM). Stressed regions as well as amorphous regions were identified in the damaged areas. Both stressed and amorphous regions were etched with hydrofluoric acid. The thermal spike model was used to calculate the track radii variation versus electron stopping power. When the calculated lattice temperature did not exceed the melting point of rutile titanium dioxide (2130 K), no structural change introduced by ions, such as 90 MeV Cl, was observed by HREM. It was found that the radius of the lattice temperature over the melting point corresponded closely to the radius of the stressed region. It was concluded that both stressed and amorphous regions are the result of quenching by molten titanium dioxide. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Hafnium and zirconium silicate films were deposited on a silicon substrate and the effects of postannealing on their electrical properties were investigated. When the films are postannealed in nitrogen monoxide (NO), the leakage current becomes lower by more than one order of magnitude as compared with that of the as-deposited films. The capacitance-voltage (C-V) hysteresis width is also decreased drastically by the NO postannealing. From electron spin resonance spectroscopy, it is indicated that paramagnetic defects at the interface between the film and the substrate are responsible for the leakage current and the C-V hysteresis. It is also indicated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy that the postnitridation effectively terminates these interface defects and contributes to the improvement in electrical properties.

Two photoluminescence (PL) components with peaks around 2.8-3.0 and 3.8 eV were induced in hafnium silicates by the irradiation of synchrotron radiation photons at 8.0 eV, while two similar ones were induced in zirconium silicates around 2.7-3.0 and 3.8 eV. By examining PL excitation spectra, PL decay characteristics, and vacuum-ultraviolet absorption spectra, it is assumed that the origin of the PL component around 2.7(2.8)-3.0 eV is the same as that of the PL component around 2.7-2.9 eV observed in hafnia and zirconia. In the band gaps of hafnium silicates, zirconium silicates, hafnia, and zirconia, luminescent centers responsible for the PL components around 2.7(2.8)-2.9(3.0) eV have their respective upper and lower states with a certain constant energy difference that does not change by the hafnium or zirconium content. Electrons (or holes) excited by ultraviolet photons to tail states at the band edges first relax to the upper state of the luminescent centers, and then they are deexcited to the lower state, which induces the PL components. (C) 2006 American Institute of Physics.