In this study, we propose a small high voltage power supply, which uses a half-bridge ZCS resonant and Cockroft-Walton circuit as its ESP (Electrostatic Precipitator). This power supply transfers energy from the ZCS resonant inverter to the step-up transformer. The transformer secondary is then applied to the Cockroft-Walton circuit for generating high voltage as a discharging source of electrodes. It is highly efficient because its amount of switching losses are reduced by virtue of the current resonant half-bridge inverter, and also due to the small size, low parasitic capacitance in the transformer stage owing to the low number of winding turns of the step up transformer secondary combined with the Cockroft-Walton circuit. Using this power supply, experiments have been carried out as a function of the switching frequency and duty ratio in order to investigate the smoke removal characteristics. From these results, the best operational condition is obtained at the switching frequency of 9 kHz and the duty ratio of 50% in this ESP.

In order to investigate the optimum conditions for the effective ozone formation in a dielectric barrier discharge, measurements of ozone concentration were carried out for various conditions such as the gap length, the dielectric material and the operating gas. It was found that the optimum discharge conditions differed exceedingly in the types of operating gases and dielectric materials. In dry air, dielectric material with low dielectric constant and thermal conductivity, which might contribute to the restriction of the gas temperature rise in the discharge region, proved effective in obtaining both high ozone yield and concentration. The optimum gap length was considered to be in the range of 600-800 mm. In oxygen, using a quartz glass disk as a dielectric material, the required condition to obtain the high ozone yield and concentration was expanded.

This paper presents the characteristics of transient and effective impulse impedances for deeply driven grounding electrodes used in soil with high resistivity or in downtown areas. The laboratory test associated with the time domain performance of grounding piles subjected to a lightning stroke current has been carried out using an actual-sized model grounding system. The ground impedances of the deeply driven ground rods and grounding pile under impulse currents showed inductive characteristics, and the effective impulse ground impedance owing to the inductive component is higher than the power frequency ground impedance. Both power frequency ground impedance and effective impulse ground impedance decrease upon increasing the length of the model grounding electrodes. Furthermore, the effective impulse ground impedances of the deeply driven grounding electrodes are significantly amplified in impulse currents with a rapid rise time. The reduction of the power frequency ground impedance is decisive to improve the impulse impedance characteristics of grounding systems.

The effects of ambient temperature on the discharge characteristics of Ne-Xe based micro discharge cells for ac-PDP (plasma display panel) have been studied. In ramp voltage driving, which is generally used as a reset method of PDP, two dissimilar modes of strong and weak discharge were found. As the interval between the former sustaining discharge and ramp voltage discharge becomes greater, the probability of a strong discharge increases. This suggests that a sufficient number of priming particles is necessary for initiating weak mode (Townsend discharge). It was discovered that under higher ambient temperatures, weak discharge occurs more frequently. The discharge time lag observed in square pulse driving of single cells becomes surprisingly smaller under higher ambient temperatures for the constant gas number density condition.

We have examined a technique of one-dimensional (1D) fluid modeling for radio-frequency Ar capacitively coupled plasmas (CCP) between unequal-sized powered and grounded electrodes. In order to simulate a practical CCP reactor configuration with a grounded side wall by the 1D model, it has been assumed that the discharge space has a conic frustum shape; the grounded electrode is larger than the powered one and the discharge space expands with the distance from the powered electrode. In this paper, we focus on how much a 1D model can approximate a 2D model and evaluate their comparisons. The plasma density calculated by the 1D model has been compared with that by a two-dimensional (2D) fluid model, and a qualitative agreement between them has been obtained. In addition, 1D and 2D calculation results for another reactor configuration with equal-sized electrodes have also been presented together for comparison. In the discussion, four CCP models, which are 1D and 2D models with symmetric and asymmetric geometries, are compared with each other and the DC self-bias voltage has been focused on as a characteristic property that reflects the unequal electrode surface areas. Reactor configuration and experimental parameters, which the self-bias depends on, have been investigated to develop the ID modeling for reactor geometry with unequal-sized electrodes.

In this paper, epoxy elasticity factors were investigated by TMA (Thermomechanical Analysis), DMTA (Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Analysis) and FESEM (Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope) to improve toughness and reduce brittleness of existing epoxy resin. Dumbbell shaped specimens were made and tested at rates of 0, 20 and 35phr (part per hundred resins). TMA temperatures ranged from -2$0^{\circ}C$ to 20$0^{\circ}C$. Tg (glass transition temperature) of elastic epoxy was measured by thermal analysis. Also investigated were thermal expansion coefficient ($\alpha$), modulus and Tan$\delta$ (loss factor). And we analyzed structure through FESEM, could find elastic-factors of elastic epoxy that is not existing-epoxy. In addition, we measured permittivity and Tan$\delta$ for investigation of the electrical properties of elastic epoxy. Permittivity and Tan$\delta$ depend on elastomer composition. Namely, permittivity and Tan$\delta$ increase according to the elastomer contents. For experimental analysis results, 20phr was considered an excellent specimen.

In this paper we examine the reflection characteristics of dielectric microstrip lines with open-ended termination containing an optically induced plasma region, which are analyzed by the assumption that the plasma is distributed homogeneously in laser illumination. The characteristics impedances resulting from the presence of plasma are evaluated by the transmission line model. To estimate theoretically the characteristic response of identical systems in the time domain, the Fourier transformation method is evaluated. The reflection characteristics of time and frequency response in microwave systems have been calculated using an equivalent circuit model.

In this paper, we present a novel integrated cell processor to handle individual embryos. Its functions are composed of transporting, isolation, orientation, and immobilization of cells. These functions are essential for biomanipulation of single cells, and have been typically carried out by a proficient operator. The purpose of this study is the automation of these functions for safe and effective cell manipulation using a MEMS based cell processor. This device is realized with a relatively simple design and fabrication process. Experimental results indicate that it can act as an efficient substitute for essential but very tiresome and repetitive manual work while contributing significantly to the improvement of speed and success rate of operation by facilitating cell manipulation. The cell viability test for the device is studied through the distribution of mitochondria in mice embryos and cultivation of cells for 86h.

We report highly improved yield strength of nickel thin film, prepared using electroplating. The micro-scaled nickel cantilever is found to have significantly higher yield strength than bulk nickel. For the yield strength test, the heights of the micro-scaled cantilever were varied up to 60 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ and electrostatic force was used for actuation. Stress of the bent cantilever was estimated using the FEM large deflection model. The yield strength of the thin nickel film is found to be over five times higher than that of the bulk nickel previously published. Results from this study indicate that metal microstructures can be used for MEMS applications requiring large deflection.