Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd

The critical temperature of MgB ₂ exceeds that of NbTi, making it a superior choice for superconducting applications. By utilizing liquid hydrogen instead of liquid helium for cooling MgB ₂ coils, the cost of cooling can be reduced greatly, particularly when combined with hydrogen technology. In addition, in cryogen-free magnets, MgB ₂ coils offer energy-saving benefits as the cooling efficiency increases with the operating temperature. The use of MgB ₂ wires in superconducting applications becomes feasible when considering cost advantages. The react-and-wind (R&W) method can reduce the manufacturing cost by eliminating the need for a furnace for coil heat treatment and enables the use of impregnated resins and supports without concerns regarding high-temperature durability. We fabricated an R&W MgB ₂ coil with a minimum radius of 55 mm. This paper presents the details of the fabricated coil and measurement results.

Nb ₃ Sn wires are used in many high-field magnets, such as those used in accelerators and nuclear fusion reactors. The react-and-wind (R&W) method, in which coils are fabricated using heat-treated wire, provides several advantages in the manufacturing of Nb ₃ Sn coils. For instance, no furnace is required for coil heat treatment, and impregnated resins and supports can be used without considering high-temperature durability. However, in R&W production, the degradation of the critical current owing to the strain in Nb ₃ Sn should be considered, including the strain caused by the windings. Recently, a polyvinyl-formal-coated CuNb-reinforced Nb ₃ Sn wire with a diameter of 0.88 mm was developed by Furukawa Electric Company. The wire has a small diameter among CuNb/Nb ₃ Sn wires and can reduce the strain caused by bending, enabling the fabrication of R&W coils with a small bending radius. We use the wire for manufacturing coils with a minimum radius of 55 mm via the R&W method and present the performance evaluation results.

Background [¹¹C]TGN-020 has been developed as a positron emission tomography (PET) tracer for imaging aquaporin-4 (AQP4) in the brain and used in clinical studies. Previously, [¹¹C]TGN-020 was synthesized through the acylation of [¹¹C]nicotinic acid, produced by the reaction of 3-bromopyridine and n-butyllithium with [¹¹C]CO2, with 2-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazole. In this study, to enhance the automated radiosynthesis efficiency of [¹¹C]TGN-020, we optimized its radiosynthesis procedure using our in-house developed ¹¹C-labeling synthesizer. Results [¹¹C]TGN-020 was synthesized via direct [¹¹C]CO2 fixation using n-butyllithium and 3-bromopyridine in tetrahydrofuran, followed by treatment of lithium [¹¹C]nicotinic acetate with isobutyl chloroformate and subsequent acylation with 2-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazole in the presence of N,N-diisopropylethylamine. The optimized process significantly improved the radiosynthesis efficiency of [¹¹C]TGN-020, achieving a high radiochemical yield based on [¹¹C]CO2 (610‒1700 MBq, 2.8 ± 0.7%) at the end of synthesis (n = 12) and molar activity (Am) of 160–360 GBq/μmol at the end of synthesis (n = 5). The radiosynthesis time and radiochemical purity were approximately 60 min and > 95% (n = 12), respectively. PET studies based on [¹¹C]TGN-020 with different Am values were performed using healthy rats. The radioactive uptake of [¹¹C]TGN-020 with high Am in the cerebral cortex was slightly higher than that with low Am. Conclusions [¹¹C]TGN-020 with high Am was obtained in reproducible radiochemical yield. Overall, the proposed optimization process for the radiosynthesis of [¹¹C]TGN-020 can facilitate its application as a PET radiopharmaceutical for clinical use.

In order to investigate effect of heating rate of short-time heat treatment using low-frequency induction heating on the magnetic properties of semi-processed electromagnetic steel sheets, magnetic properties of ring core samples were measured and the grain sizes were also measured by using a scanning electron microscopy. The results of the magnetic property measurements showed that the iron loss decreased at lower heating rate and higher attained temperature. The grain size measurements revealed that the secondary recrystallization was suppressed at higher heating rate. Furthermore, the eddy current loss and the hysteresis loss tended to increase and decrease, respectively, as the average grain size increased.

When dose matching occurs between ion implanters with sheet resistances (Rs), the implant tilt/twist angle is typically set to 7°/22°, at which ions incident with an off-axis and a dopant profile become stable in the case of a (100) Si wafer. This is attributable to dose changes and ion angle deviations (IADs) influencing Rs, owing to the channeling phenomenon close to the implant angle tilt of 0°. With decrease in the effective dose of the wafer, corresponding to the cosine of the tilt angle in certain single-wafer-type implanters that facilitates relatively high-tilt-angle implantation, the dose matching should be verified at a high tilt angle.

This study proposes a method to observe the angle distribution of ions in beams in the vertical direction driving a Si (100) wafer with only tilt/twist. Tilt/twist = 35.7°/10° were proven useful for observing the angle distribution in the vertical direction independent of that in the horizontal direction. This study proposes a method to observe the angle distribution of ions in beams in the vertical direction driving a Si (100) wafer with only tilt/twist. Tilt/twist = 35.7°/10° were proven useful for observing the angle distribution in the vertical direction independent of that in the horizontal direction.

The effect of arsenic contamination on BF2 implantation was evaluated based on sheet resistance (Rs). BF2 implant layers were individually formed at various energies on each of the arsenic contaminated wafers and the non-contaminated wafers. The dose was linearly controlled at standard ± 5%. Rs was then measured along the direction of dose modulation. The difference in Rs from no cross-contamination under the same BF2 energy increased at lower energies. It is speculated that more carriers were compensated by arsenic because the BF2 layer approached the arsenic layer. The tangential slope of the inversely proportional curve between carrier concentration and Rs should increase due to the compensation. This theory explains the reason that the difference in the slope from non-contaminated wafers increases with lower energy or greater difference in Rs. In conclusion, energetic dopant cross-contamination causes instability in the Rs quality control for shallow implant layers.

Background 4-(4-Cyanophenyl)-2-(2-cyclopentylidenehydrazinyl)thiazole (remodelin) is a potent N-acetyltransferase 10 (NAT10) inhibitor. This compound inhibits tumors and weakens tumor resistance to antitumor drugs. Moreover, remodelin has been found to enhance healthspan in an animal model of the human accelerated ageing syndrome. In this study, we synthesized C-11-labelled remodelin ([¹¹C]remodelin) for the first time as a positron emission tomography (PET) probe and assessed its biodistribution in mice using PET. Results [¹¹C]Remodelin was synthesized by the reaction of a boron ester precursor (1) with hydrogen [¹¹C]cyanide, which was prepared from the cyclotron-produced [¹¹C]carbon dioxide via [¹¹C]methane. The decay-corrected radiochemical yield of [¹¹C]remodelin was 6.2 ± 2.3% (n = 20, based on [¹¹C]carbon dioxide) with a synthesis time of 45 min and radiochemical purity of > 90%. A PET study with [¹¹C]remodelin showed high uptake of radioactivity in the heart, liver, and small intestine of mice. The metabolite analysis indicated moderate metabolism of [¹¹C]remodelin in the heart. Conclusions In the present study, we successfully synthesized [¹¹C]remodelin and assessed its biodistribution of radioactivity in the mouse organs and tissues with PET. We are planning to prepare tumor and inflammatory models in which overexpression of NAT10 is possibly induced and conduct PET imaging for these animal models with [¹¹C]remodelin to elucidate the relationship between NAT10 and diseases.

The beam envelope is not an equipotential surface in the traditional Kapchinskij–Vladimirskij (KV) potential, it would not be a good model in the case where the outer edge of the beam is close to the wall of the beam transport tube. Here, the “conductive potential” is introduced, where the beam envelope is the equipotential surface. The KV potential is a good model when there is a large distance from the beam to the inner surface of the beam duct, and the conductive potential is a good approximation when the beam is distributed close to the beam-duct wall. The actual beam is assumed to be somewhere in between these states. This hypothesis is confirmed by simulations, and simple notation for the combination of the two types of potentials has been obtained. It gives an appropriate space-charge force for any geometry between the beam and the beam channel wall.

Ga has been studied as an alternative p-type dopant to boron due to its higher solid solubility in germanium and silicon germanium. A key challenge in the ion implantation of Ga is the introduction of Ga atoms into the plasma chamber of an ion source. This study presents a novel vaporization method for Ga ion production using a high-temperature vaporizer and a tablet technique for Ga compounds. This method enables the production of a high beam current of Ga ions with a long lifetime. In the initial phase of improvement, a Ga ion beam current of 10.4 mA was observed with a 40 kV extraction voltage. A stable Ga ion beam current of 7 mA was achieved with a 30 kV extraction voltage over 850 min. The results in this study demonstrate the potential advantages of using a high-temperature vaporizer and tablet technique for Ga compounds.

The optimal design of a beam transport system is crucial for ion implanters, as it directly affects productivity, beam angle accuracy, and implantation uniformity. Achieving this optimization requires determining the initial state of the ion beam. This study investigates the emittance values and phase-space distributions of ion beams generated by an indirectly heated cathode ion source for high-energy implantation using BF3, AsH3, and PH3 plasmas. We adjusted various parameters in the ion implantation process, such as arc current, extraction gap length, and the magnetic field at the ion source, to accommodate a wide range of implantation conditions. In addition, we measured the emittance at different points, either at the front or back of the analyzing magnet, which separated the ion beam into individual species. These measurements provided comprehensive data on the initial conditions of ion implantation and offered insights into the effects of each parameter on phase-space distribution.

This study validated beam transport simulations using a test bench to enhance the productivity of high-energy ion implanters. The results confirmed the validity of the beam transport simulations in the low-current region. It is anticipated that a beam transport similar to that predicted by simulations can be achieved in an actual high-energy ion implanter. Consequently, the time required to establish an implantation process can be significantly reduced using simulations.

Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ion Technology’s single-wafer ultra-high-energy implanter (SS-UHE) was developed to meet the strict fabrication requirements of cutting-edge CMOS image sensors (CIS) and realize ion implantation with precise angle control using a unique technology. Advanced SS-UHE technology can be used to fabricate superjunctions (SJs) in SiC power devices. In this study, we investigated the high-energy channeling implantation of phosphorus into 4H-SiC using SS-UHE.

We propose a method to estimate the position of the opening center of a translucent bag by combining visual and tactile information, which is difficult to estimate accurately only by vision. We verify the proposed method using a 5-DOF arm-type robot equipped with a camera and a tactile sensor on its hand. In the visual estimation, the probability of the opening center of the bag is output as a probability distribution on the image from the input RGB image. In the tactile estimation, the position of the opening center is estimated from the tactile information obtained, and the area where the opening center of the bag cannot exist is estimated. By integrating these estimation results, the position of the opening center is estimated.

The ion source structure of MC3-II/GP was optimized to enhance the multiply charged ion beam. By optimizing the plasma size and position of the extraction surface, more than twice the P+++ beam current was achieved compared with that of the conventional source, and the source lifetime more than doubled under the same beam current conditions.

Nitriding is a beneficial surface hardening heat treatment to reduce CO2 emissions and shows a potential partially replace carburized steels adopted for sliding parts such as bearings and gears. Both the bending fatigue strength and pitting fatigue strength under high contact pressure were evaluated for nitrided JIS-SCM440H materials using two types of controlled-nitridings, i.e. γ' and e, and conventional gas nitriding. Not only the thickness of the compound layer but also its phase structure such as γ' and e significantly affected the 10⁷ cycles bending fatigue strength, where the γ'-nitrided material was the highest. On the other hand, almost no effects of the thickness and phase structure on the 10⁷ cycles pitting fatigue strength were detected in the materials. Compared to the carburized material, the γ'-nitrided material exhibited higher 10⁷ cycles fatigue strength in bending and pitting, but poor fatigue strength in the lower cycles range. The shape and size of the pores in the compound layer were altered during roller-pitching tests, although there was almost no reduction in the thickness of the compound layer. The pore size was reduced by pore closure, especially at higher contact pressures. Pore closure was more pronounced in the γ'-nitrided materials than in the ε-nitrided materials at lower contact pressures. The 10⁷ cycles pitting fatigue strength was improved after the pore closure, resulting from fewer defects.