Small Pitch Research Articles

Simulation and experimental study on surface modification of 6061‐T651 aluminum alloy by machine hammer peening

AbstractMachine hammer peening is a surface treatment technique employed to enhance the surface properties of the treated samples. In this present work, the theoretical analysis, finite element simulation and experiment of single peening are carried out to investigate the relationship between the machine hammer peening force and geometric dimensions of the single peening indentation deformation, including diameter and depth. The single peening experimental results are in accordance with theoretical and simulation analysis. The machine hammer peening experiment with grate tool path are done and the results including surface topography, surface roughness, surface hardness, x‐ray diffraction analysis and wear resistance are discussed. This work seeks to explore the effects of process parameters like machine hammer peening force, indentation and pitch spacing on surface roughness and hardness. The results reveal that the surface hardness and roughness are positively associated with machine hammer peening force and small indentation and pitch spacing lead to high hardness. The x‐ray diffraction analysis validate machine hammer peening is a mechanical treatment without new compound generated. The friction test results in an enhancement in wear resistance of treated samples.

First experimental confirmation of island SOL geometry effects in a high radiation regime on W7-X

Abstract This work characterizes the detachment behavior and radiation characteristics of the low
iota configuration in the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) stellarator. The island scrape-off layer (SOL) of the
low iota has a poloidal mode number of 6 islands surrounding the last closed flux surface (LCFS).
The island geometry of the low iota configuration is significantly different to that of the standard
magnetic field configuration, whose detachment characteristics have already been described in previous
work[2, 3, 4]. Experimental results show that the radiation pattern in the low iota configuration
is starkly different to that of the standard magnetic field configuration, with radiation concentrated
at the island SOL O-points, rather than the X-points. Additionally, this O-point localized radiation
pattern is associated with unstable detachment, with both radiation oscillations in experiments and the
lack of a self-consistent plasma solution at high radiated power fraction in EMC3-Eirene simulations.
EMC3-Eirene simulations are used to understand the radiation distribution. It was found that the O-
point localized radiation arises first from local impurity accumulation near the parallel flow stagnation,
which is located close to the geometrical center of the island (”O-point”). The local cooling in this
region leads to plasma condensation in the islands in closest magnetic connection to the divertor target
plates. The heat source to this region of the island, which is thermally isolated from the upstream heat
source in terms of parallel transport, must arise via perpendicular heat transport. This heat source is
expected to be large for the low iota configuration due to its very small internal island field line pitch.
This work highlights the importance (complementary to previous work, e. g. [5, 6]) of the internal
island field line pitch not only on the radiation pattern, but also the detachment performance of the
island divertor.

Viewpoint-dependent lighting on polygonal holograms using bump mapping.

Holograms can be observed from different viewpoints, because light waves can be encoded to propagate in multiple directions. Thus, accurate holograms for 3D display should model viewpoint-dependent light reflections. We proposed a new, to the best of our knowledge, hologram generation method for objects represented by polygonal meshes, whose lighting changes as the viewer moves, all while rendering smooth shading using low-poly objects. The proposed method leverages bump mapping and converts it into a bump-phase map encoding the propagation frequency and then spreads the reflected light wave so that only a specific viewpoint can receive them. Simulation experiments with small pixel pitches confirm the method's high computational performance.

Overview of the first Wendelstein 7-X long pulse campaign with fully water-cooled plasma facing components

After a long device enhancement phase, scientific operation resumed in 2022. The main new device components are the water cooling of all plasma facing components and the new water-cooled high heat flux divertor units. Water cooling allowed for the first long-pulse operation campaign. A maximum discharge length of 8 min was achieved with a total heating energy of 1.3 GJ. Safe divertor operation was demonstrated in attached and detached mode. Stable detachment is readily achieved in some magnetic configurations but requires impurity seeding in configurations with small magnetic pitch angle within the edge islands. Progress was made in the characterization of transport mechanisms across edge magnetic islands: Measurement of the potential distribution and flow pattern reveals that the islands are associated with a strong poloidal drift, which leads to rapid convection of energy and particles from the last closed flux surface into the scrape-off layer. Using the upgraded plasma heating systems, advanced heating scenarios were developed, which provide improved energy confinement comparable to the scenario, in which the record triple product for stellarators was achieved in the previous operation campaign. However, a magnetic configuration-dependent critical heating power limit of the electron cyclotron resonance heating was observed. Exceeding the respective power limit leads to a degradation of the confinement.

In-silico study of the impact of system design parameters on microcalcification detection in wide-angle digital breast tomosynthesis.

Accurate detection of microcalcifications ( ) is crucial for the early detection of breast cancer. Some clinical studies have indicated that digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) systems with a wide angular range have inferior detectability compared with those with a narrow angular range. This study aims to (1)provide guidance for optimizing wide-angle (WA) DBT for improving detectability and (2)prioritize key optimization factors. An in-silico DBT pipeline was constructed to evaluate detectability of a WA DBT system under various imaging conditions: focal spot motion (FSM), angular dose distribution (ADS), detector pixel pitch, and detector electronic noise (EN). Images were simulated using a digital anthropomorphic breast phantom inserted with clusters. Evaluation metrics included the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the filtered channel observer and the area under the receiver operator curve (AUC) of multiple-reader multiple-case analysis. Results showed that FSM degraded sharpness and decreased the SNR and AUC by 5.2% and 1.8%, respectively. Non-uniform ADS increased the SNR by 62.8% and the AUC by 10.2% for filtered backprojection reconstruction with a typical clinical filter setting. When EN decreased from 2000 to 200 electrons, the SNR and AUC increased by 21.6% and 5.0%, respectively. Decreasing the detector pixel pitch from 85 to improved the SNR and AUC by 55.6% and 7.5%, respectively. The combined improvement of a pixel pitch and EN200 was 89.2% in the SNR and 12.8% in the AUC. Based on the magnitude of impact, the priority for enhancing detectability in WA DBT is as follows: (1)utilizing detectors with a small pixel pitch and low EN level, (2)allocating a higher dose to central projections, and (3)reducing FSM. The results from this study can potentially provide guidance for DBT system optimization in the future.

Tilt-X: Development of a Pitch-Axis Tiltrotor Quadcopter for Maximizing Horizontal Pulling Force and Yaw Moment

In recent years, there has been a significant amount of research on tiltrotor multicopter unmanned aerial vehicles (TM-UAVs) in aerial robotics. Despite the varying frame types of TM-UAVs, they all still aim to decouple the propeller from the body, which means that the propeller’s attitude control is independent of the body’s attitude control. On the one hand, this solves the issue of multicopter unmanned aerial vehicles (M-UAVs) being limited by small roll and pitch angles, thereby improving flight performance. On the other hand, it addresses the drawbacks of M-UAVs as typical underactuated systems. However, the fact still remains that it cannot significantly change thrust direction, thus providing the necessary wrench direction for aerial manipulation. This paper presents a pitch-axis tiltrotor quadcopter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) design named Tilt-X, which can maximize horizontal pulling force and yaw moment when used as an aerial manipulator. This design contributes to tasks such as pushing, pulling, and twisting. The reliability of the design has been demonstrated through dynamic modeling and experimental validation.

Use of Electron Beam-Induced Current Technique to Characterize Transport Properties of Narrow-Gap-Energy Materials for IR Detection

The electron beam-induced current technique (EBIC) developed at CEA-Leti has been a valuable tool for studying the transport properties of minority carriers in HdCdTe. Indeed, previous work has demonstrated the use of this technique for estimating diffusion length from the exponential decay of EBIC as a function of junction distance, as well as direct measurement of the modulation transfer function (MTF) of small pixel pitch diodes. In this work, a modulated electron beam and a lock-in amplifier are used to measure the variation in current and phase shift with the scan distance to the junction. This work is focused on the estimation of the minority carrier lifetime from the linear evolution of the phase shift as a function of junction distance.

High-resolution 3D ultrasonic imaging using high-frequency piezoelectric transmitter and ultra-multiple laser 2D scanning

In this paper, we extend a piezoelectric and laser ultrasonic system (PLUS) to a high-frequency version for high-sensitivity three-dimensional (3D) ultrasonic imaging by utilizing a unique characteristic of PLUS. PLUS combines a piezoelectric transmitter and a two-dimensional (2D) scan of a laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV). A high frequency can be used simply by adopting a high-frequency piezoelectric transmitter with a center frequency, such as 15 MHz, since the LDV has a broad bandwidth reception of 0–25 MHz. Furthermore, a 2D array receiver with a small interelement pitch can be achieved by precisely scanning a small laser irradiation spot. We experimentally demonstrate its 3D imaging capability for flat-bottom-hole and fatigue-crack specimens.

On the Lock-In Phenomena near the Transonic Buffet Onset of a Prescribed Pitching Airfoil

The limit cycle oscillation (LCO) in the transonic buffet on the fixed supercritical airfoil OAT15A under Ma = 0.73, AoA = 3.5° and Re≈3×106, is successfully simulated by means of the Reynolds Stress Model. Further, the buffet lock-in phenomena under prescribed pitch conditions near the buffet onset are also studied by evaluating the modified energy exchange based on the pitching component of the moment coefficients as well as the normalized relative phase map between the pitching component of the moment coefficients and the airfoil’s angular velocity. The zero energy transfer branches in the modified energy map fail to indicate the lock-in boundaries, while the normalized phase map generally outlines the lock-in boundaries for small pitch amplitudes near the buffet onset, which suggests that the lock-in occurs where the moment is in phase with the angular velocity at small pitch amplitudes near the buffet onset. For pitch amplitudes larger than 0.4°, the lock-in onset deviates from the phase shift, possibly due to the fact the instantaneous angle of attack can be lower than the buffet onset where the buffet phenomena may vanish.

11‐1: Invited Paper: MicroLED Displays for Augmented Reality Smart Glasses

Augmented reality smart glasses, in general, have highest requirements as compared with smart phones and watches. Its display must be of light weight (a few grams), tremendous brightness (millions of nits), low power consumption (hundreds of milliwatts), and extremely small volume (a small fraction of cubic centimeter) to allow fashionable smart glass designs that would be socially and aesthetically favored by consumers. We have been focusing on micrometer‐scale native semiconductor MicroLED integration, to create miniaturized panels and projectors, which can be seamlessly integrated into the frames of the smart glasses. Among many technical aspects of microLED displays, two key parameters will be emphasized here. First, a microLED panel must be bright and efficient at the same time, especially for red microLED panel with small pixel pitch, such as 2.5 µm. Second, a microLED technology must enable reasonable reliability at a high energy density of, such as 10 watts per square centimeter. Vertically stacked native semiconductors monolithic integration, quantum dots conversion, perovskites, etc., will be discussed, in a context of facing challenges in materials and device physics and fulfilling the two requirements. In addition, an image quality correction method on the waveguide‐microLED display module will be proposed.

Power performance of a model floating wind turbine subjected to cyclic pitch motion: A wind tunnel study

Wind tunnel experiments were performed with a miniature floating wind turbine model to study the effects of cyclic pitch motion on its power performance. The cyclic pitch motion was prescribed by two key parameters: pitch frequency and amplitude. The power performance of the turbine model was investigated at a frequency range of 0.1 − 5.0Hz and an amplitude range of 0 − 30°. Both the mean and time variation of the power production were analyzed, and the effects of the pitch parameters, i.e., the pitch amplitude and frequency, were investigated and discussed. The results show a clear periodicity of power variation and its dependence on pitch frequency and amplitude. For relatively small pitch frequencies (0.5 − 3.0Hz), the mean power and periodic power variation can be predicted based on the uniform and steady flow assumption. Compared to the power output in the baseline case of no pitch dynamics, cyclic pitch motions were found to cause higher power fluctuations, which were contributed by both the pitch motion and flow turbulence. Finally, the temporal variation of the free-rotation speed, used as an indicator of available aerodynamic power, is found to be periodic when the turbine is under cyclic pitch motion. This suggests the possibility of applying dynamic rotor control strategies to maximize power production.

Cholesteric liquid crystal phase variations within nanotubes: an in-depth analysis of the influences of twist radius and molecular pitch

ABSTRACT This study investigates the self-assembly and phase transitions of cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) when confined in nanotubes, specifically focusing on the variations in their molecular structures. A dissipative particle dynamics method was used to investigate how the changes in helix radius ( r LC ) and pitch ( P ) affect the behaviour of the LCs. For pitches of 24, 12, and 6, the orientation order parameter ( P 2 ) showed distinct trends during cooling. Smaller helix radii resulted in isotropic to nematic to smectic phase transitions, whereas larger radii resulted in a novel smectic phase with spiral structures (Sm s ). Circumferential local-order parameters ( P 2 r and P 2 z ) were introduced to better characterise the phases, and a disordered spiral-structure phase (Sm s 2 ) with local perturbations was observed. The transitions between isotropic, nematic, and smectic phases, highlighting the influence of the pitch and helix radius, were observed from the phase diagrams. Smaller pitches and radii prevented the formation of stable structures; however, specific combinations induced characteristic spiral structures in the smectic phase. These results provide new insights into the self-assembly of confined CLCs, which have potential applications in the design of photonic devices and LC-based sensors. This study advances our understanding of phase control in quasi-one-dimensional systems and highlights the importance of molecular variations in liquid crystal behaviour.

Correlations of Aerobic Capacity with External and Internal Load of Young Football Players during Small-Sided Games.

Aerobic capacity plays a crucial role in football performance, making it a focal point in training processes. Small-sided games (SSGs) are widely used in football training, but the relationship between aerobic capacity and running performance during SSGs remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate possible correlations between maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) and running performance in youth football players in SSGs (4:4, 3:3, 2:2, 1:1) with three different pitch sizes per player (150, 100, 75 m2/player). Sixteen male U15 football players participated in the study. Players underwent the Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test level 1, and their VO2max was estimated based on their performance. Subsequently, players participated in SSGs wearing GPS devices to measure internal and external load. Pearson or Spearman correlation was applied for statistical analysis depending on the normal distribution of the data. The results reveal that, for 4:4 and 3:3 relationships, larger pitches led to a greater impact of aerobic capacity (total distance (TD): 4:4, 150 m2/pl, r = 0.715, p = 0.002; 100 m2/pl, r = 0.656, p = 0.006; 75 m2/pl, r = 0.586, p = 0.017). In the 2:2 relationship, the opposite was observed, with more correlations appearing on smaller pitches (TD: 2:2, 100 m2/pl, r = 0.581, p = 0.018; 75 m2/pl, r = 0.747, p < 0.001). In the 1:1 relationship, correlations with VO2max, total distance, and speed were observed only on the larger pitch. In conclusion, the aerobic capacity of young football players can influence running performance indicators in SSGs. Therefore, aerobic capacity could serve as a criterion for team composition, making SSGs more competitive. Additionally, the variation in correlations in the 2:2 relationship and their limited presence in the 1:1 relationship may be attributed to technical-tactical factors, such as increased ball contacts and one-on-one situations typically occurring in smaller setups.

Resonant Interactions Between Relativistic Electrons and EMIC Waves Modified by Partial Shell Proton Velocity Distributions

AbstractResonant interactions of relativistic electrons with electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves were previously considered under the cold plasma approximation or in hot plasmas with bi‐Maxwellian distributions. Here, we examine their resonant interactions in hot plasmas with partial shell distributions and find that such distributions can significantly alter the dispersion relation of EMIC waves and thus the corresponding wave‐induced electron pitch angle scattering rates and loss timescales compared to those under the cold plasma assumption. Regardless of wave band and frequency, partial shell distributed hot protons tend to uplift the electron minimum resonant energy, and reduce (raise) the pitch angle scattering rates of electrons at low (high) energies and large (small) pitch angles. Correspondingly, the loss timescales lengthen for low‐energy electrons but shorten for high‐energy electrons. Such tendencies are generally more significant for lower‐frequency EMIC waves and larger shell temperature, anisotropic degree, and concentration.

Grinding Force Model and Experimental Study on Ultrasonic Assisted Spiral Grinding of Silicon Carbide Ceramic Materials

In order to reveal the mechanical properties of silicon carbide ceramic materials during the drilling process, based on the indentation fracture mechanics theory, a grinding force model of ultrasonic assisted spiral grinding for hole making was established, and the experimental results of ultrasonic assisted spiral grinding for hole making verified the mechanical model. The results showed that the experimental results had the same change trend as the predicted results of the established mechanical model, and the values were close to each other, indicating the accuracy of the established prediction model. The influence of different process parameters on the size accuracy of the hole inlet and outlet aperture after machining is analyzed. It is found that it should be selected as large rotation speed, moderate axial feed speed and small feed pitch to ensure the accuracy of the aperture and effectively suppress the aperture defects during ultrasonic assisted spiral grinding.

Defect Modes Generated in a Stack of Spin-Coated Chiral Liquid Crystal Layers

Nematic chiral liquid crystals (CLCs) are characterized by a helical arrangement of nematic LC molecules. A layer of CLC typically exhibits an optical reflection band due to Bragg reflection in the helical structure. When several layers of CLC are spin-coated and polymerized on top of each other without a barrier layer in between, defect modes can form in their reflection spectrum. By comparing experimental results and simulations, we investigate the origin of the defect modes, thereby revealing details on the behavior of the materials at the interfaces during deposition. Simulations show that these defect modes can originate from the migration of chiral dopant leading to a layer with a smaller pitch or from a discontinuity in the director orientation at the interface between two layers.

3D-integrated pixel circuit for a low power and small pitch SOI sensor

Targeting on low power consumption and high spatial resolution, the CPV-4 SOI pixel sensor has been developed. Its pixel circuit requires about 120 transistors to implement the analog-digital mixed signal processing functionality within a compact pixel area of 17 μm × 21 μm. By utilizing 3D vertical integration, sensing diode and analog front-end are realized in the lower-tier chip, while hit information storage and sparse readout are achieved in the upper-tier chip, thereby minimizing its pixel size and power consumption. This work presents the pixel circuit design and the test results on the completed 3D chips. The feature of SOI pixel process and the 3D integration are also highlighted in this article.

Discussion around IR material and structure issues to go toward high performance small pixel pitch IR HOT FPAs

Discussion around IR material and structure issues to go toward high performance small pixel pitch IR HOT FPAs

Boiling Heat Transfer On Biphilic Surfaces With Arrays Of Grooves

Experiments were carried out on biphilic surfaces made using technology consisted in the deposition (105℃) of fluorinated methoxysilane on a copper surface with arrays of grooves preliminarily created by laser ablation, as a result of which deposition the grooves became superhydrophobic. Grooves were two types: parallel grooves and groove lattice. Size of grooves was 30-43 um, pitch for parallel grooves was 1-1,5 mm and for grove lattice – 1 mm. The experiments were carried out on distilled water at atmospheric pressure. For all surfaces, a significant intensification of heat transfer has been achieved, compared with a smooth copper surface. It was shown, that boiling heat transfer depend only from pitch between grooves for both types of grooves. Dependence of heat transfer coefficient from size of grooves was not observed. Most efficient type of surfaces was groove lattice with smallest pitch.

Continuous wave laser fabrication of small pitch/size perovskite pixels realizes high-resolution color conversion micro-LED displays.

As a new generation of display technology, micro-light-emitting diodes (micro-LEDs) have been widely recognized owing to their excellent performance in brightness, contrast ratio, resolution, etc. This work proposes a continuous wave (CW) laser writing strategy to achieve perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) array with small pixel size and pitch, overcoming the processing difficulties and limitations of mass transfer. Since PQDs have highly dynamic surface ligand states and low ionic bond energy, suitable laser power can quench PQDs and form an array area. The use of low-power CW lasers in the laser direct writing process, on the one hand, greatly maintains the luminescence performance and edge flatness of each PQD array, and the pixel pitch (1.5 μm-9 μm)/size can be adjusted arbitrarily, which meets the high-resolution micro-display requirements. On the other hand, we found that after the low-power laser quenches the PQDs, its residual oxide can absorb photons, thus reducing the backlight leakage in color conversion micro-LEDs. Finally, red/green/blue three-color conversion micro-LED and laser projection displays were realized; these results provide a feasible strategy for next-generation micro-LED displays.