Reduction of motion axis by sensitivity calibration of sensor in shape measurement instrument using normal vector tracing.

High-precision free-form surface mirrors are required for synchrotron radiation facilities in the scientific field and semiconductor lithography systems in the industrial field. Previously, we developed a nano-profiler with the goal of achieving a measurement accuracy of 30 nm. The nano-profiler scanned and measured the slope angle of the surface to be measured with laser light and calculated the shape from the angle information.

Surface modification and adhesive-free adhesion of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and silicone gel containing oleophilic SiO powder by plasma treatment.

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) has high-frequency characteristics and low transmission loss, and is expected to be used as a substrate material of printed wiring board for high-frequency applications. Meanwhile, silicone gel has superior properties such as attaching/detaching, weather resistance, and human safety. If the PTFE and silicone gel can be strongly adhered to, they can be applied to internet of things (IoT) devices that can be attached and detached freely.

Simultaneous measurement of fine pattern shape and overall shape by a nano-profiler.

Improving the optical performance and functions of mirrors and lenses requires manufacturing pattern shapes such as those of microlens arrays. In this context, various measuring devices have been developed to accurately measure the depth of shapes with a microscopic interferometer. However, with an interferometer, the number of pixels of a light-receiving element, such as a charge-coupled device, is limited; furthermore, when measuring a pattern shape, the measurement field of view becomes narrow.

Spiral scanning nano-profiler using normal vector tracing method.

Unlike interferometers that obtain data from the entire sample, three-dimensional (3D) measuring instruments acquire data from multiple points. A nano-profiler measures slopes at different points on the surface to determine the sample shape, while a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) utilizes contact or non-contact height displacement probes for taking measurements. Therefore, the 3D measurement time increases if the area to be measured is wide.

Flexible selection of the functional-group ratio on a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) surface using a single-gas plasma treatment.

During plasma treatment of polymers, etching occurs and functional groups are introduced on their surface. We assumed that controlling the etching rate would enable plasma treatment using a single gas to control the ratio of functional groups generated on a polymer's surface, although previous studies have indicated that several different types of functional groups are formed when the gaseous species are varied. In this study, we selected the base pressure (BP) as a parameter for controlling the etching rate and subjected polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) to plasma treatments using only He gas at various BPs.

On-machine self-calibration of rotary encoders in the normal vector tracing method.

We developed a nano-profiler to determine the shape from slope distribution data for highly accurate free-form surface shape measurement; for example, high-precision optical systems are required in the x-ray and semiconductor fields. An accuracy of ±0.2 µrad is required to achieve a shape measurement accuracy of 30 nm.

Adhesive-Free Adhesion between Plasma-Treated Glass-Cloth-Containing Polytetrafluoroethylene (GC-PTFE) and Stainless Steel: Comparison between GC-PTFE and Pure PTFE.

In this study, the effect of plasma treatment on glass-cloth-containing polytetrafluoroethylene (GC-PTFE) was investigated. Previous plasma studies investigated pure PTFE (which does not contain glass cloth) but not GC-PTFE. The effect of Ar + HO plasma treatment on GC-PTFE was investigated.

Effects of He and Ar Heat-Assisted Plasma Treatments on the Adhesion Properties of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).

Heat-assisted plasma (HAP) treatment using He gas is known to improve the adhesive-bonding and adhesive-free adhesion properties of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). In this study, we investigated the effects of He and Ar gaseous species on the HAP-treated PTFE surface. Epoxy (EP) adhesive-coated stainless steel (SUS304) and isobutylene-isoprene rubber (IIR) were used as adherents for the evaluation of the adhesive-bonding and adhesive-free adhesion properties of PTFE.

Strong Biomimetic Immobilization of Pt-Particle Catalyst on ABS Substrate Using Polydopamine and Its Application for Contact-Lens Cleaning with HO.

Polydopamine (PDA)-a known adhesive coating material-was used herein to strongly immobilize a Pt-particle catalyst on an acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS) substrate. Previous studies have shown that the poor adhesion between Pt particles and ABS surfaces is a considerable problem, leading to low catalytic durability for HO decomposition during contact-lens cleaning. First, the ABS substrate was coated with PDA, and the PDA film was evaluated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

Influence of air contamination during heat-assisted plasma treatment on adhesion properties of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).

Plasma surface treatment is typically not effective on fluoropolymers containing polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). It is reported that heat-assisted plasma (HAP) treatment at high temperatures (above 200 °C) under atmospheric pressure helium (He) plasma improves the adhesion properties of PTFE. In this study, we investigated the influence of the air concentration during HAP treatment on the adhesion properties of PTFE.

Improved Catalytic Durability of Pt-Particle/ABS for H₂O₂ Decomposition in Contact Lens Cleaning.

In a previous study, Pt nanoparticles were supported on a substrate of acrylonitrile⁻butadiene⁻styrene copolymer (ABS) to give the ABS surface catalytic activity for H₂O₂ decomposition during contact lens cleaning. Although the Pt-particle/ABS catalysts exhibited considerably high specific catalytic activity for H₂O₂ decomposition, the catalytic activity decreased with increasing numbers of repeated usage, which meant the durability of the catalytic activity was low. Therefore, to improve the catalytic durability in this study, we proposed two types of pretreatments, as well as a combination of these treatments before supporting Pt nanoparticles on the ABS substrate.

Adhesive-free adhesion between heat-assisted plasma-treated fluoropolymers (PTFE, PFA) and plasma-jet-treated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and its application.

Conventional low-temperature plasma treatment was reported to minimally improve the adhesion property of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), whereas heat-assisted plasma (HAP) treatment significantly improved the same. An unvulcanized rubber was previously used as an adherent for PTFE. This study aimed to achieve strong adhesive-free adhesion between PTFE and vulcanized polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) rubber.

Optimization of Gas Composition Used in Plasma Chemical Vaporization Machining for Figuring of Reaction-Sintered Silicon Carbide with Low Surface Roughness.

In recent years, reaction-sintered silicon carbide (RS-SiC) has been of interest in many engineering fields because of its excellent properties, such as its light weight, high rigidity, high heat conductance and low coefficient of thermal expansion. However, RS-SiC is difficult to machine owing to its high hardness and chemical inertness and because it contains multiple components. To overcome the problem of the poor machinability of RS-SiC in conventional machining, the application of atmospheric-pressure plasma chemical vaporization machining (AP-PCVM) to RS-SiC was proposed.

Drastic Improvement in Adhesion Property of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) via Heat-Assisted Plasma Treatment Using a Heater.

The heating effect on the adhesion property of plasma-treated polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) was examined. For this purpose, a PTFE sheet was plasma-treated at atmospheric pressure while heating using a halogen heater. When plasma-treated at 8.

Radiolytic Synthesis of Pt-Particle/ABS Catalysts for H₂O₂ Decomposition in Contact Lens Cleaning.

A container used in contact lens cleaning requires a Pt plating weight of 1.5 mg for H₂O₂ decomposition although Pt is an expensive material. Techniques that decrease the amount of Pt are therefore needed.

Competition between surface modification and abrasive polishing: a method of controlling the surface atomic structure of 4H-SiC (0001).

The surface atomic step-terrace structure of 4H-SiC greatly affects its performance in power device applications. On the basis of the crystal structure of 4H-SiC, we propose the generation mechanism of the a-b-a*-b* type, a-b type and a-a type step-terrace structures. We demonstrate that the step-terrace structure of SiC can be controlled by adjusting the balance between chemical modification and physical removal in CeO2 slurry polishing.

Fundamental research on the label-free detection of protein adsorption using near-infrared light-responsive plasmonic metal nanoshell arrays with controlled nanogap.

In this work, we focused on the label-free detection of simple protein binding using near-infrared light-responsive plasmonic nanoshell arrays with a controlled interparticle distance. The nanoshell arrays were fabricated by a combination of colloidal self-assembly and subsequent isotropic helium plasma etching under atmospheric pressure. The diameter, interparticle distance, and shape of nanoshells can be tuned with nanometric accuracy by changing the experimental conditions.

Profile measurement of concave spherical mirror and a flat mirror using a high-speed nanoprofiler.

Ultraprecise aspheric mirrors that offer nanofocusing and high coherence are indispensable for developing third-generation synchrotron radiation and X-ray free-electron laser sources. In industry, the extreme ultraviolet (wavelength: 13.5 nm) lithography used for high-accuracy aspheric mirrors is a promising technology for fabricating semiconductor devices.

Mechanism of atomic-scale passivation and flattening of semiconductor surfaces by wet-chemical preparations.

Atomic arrangements of Si(001), Si(110) and 4H-SiC(0001) surfaces after wet-chemical preparations are investigated with scanning tunneling microscopy. Their passivated structures as well as the surface formation mechanisms in aqueous solutions are discussed. On both Si(001) and Si(110) surfaces, simple 1 × 1 phases terminated by H atoms are clearly resolved after dilute HF dipping.

Structure and magnetic properties of mono- and bi-layer graphene films on ultraprecision figured 4H-SiC(0001) surfaces.

Monolayer and bilayer graphene films with a few hundred nm domain size were grown on ultraprecision figured 4H-SiC(0001) on-axis and 8 degrees -off surfaces by annealing in ultra-high vacuum. Using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy, reflection high-energy electron diffraction, low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), Raman spectroscopy, and scanning tunneling microscopy, we investigated the structure, number of graphene layers, and chemical bonding of the graphene surfaces. Moreover, the magnetic property of the monolayer graphene was studied using in-situ surface magneto-optic Kerr effect at 40 K.

Wave-optical evaluation of interference fringes and wavefront phase in a hard-x-ray beam totally reflected by mirror optics.

The intensity flatness and wavefront shape in a coherent hard-x-ray beam totally reflected by flat mirrors that have surface bumps modeled by Gaussian functions were investigated by use of a wave-optical simulation code. Simulated results revealed the necessity for peak-to-valley height accuracy of better than 1 nm at a lateral resolution near 0.1 mm to remove high-contrast interference fringes and appreciable wavefront phase errors.

Element array by scanning X-ray fluorescence microscopy after cis-diamminedichloro-platinum(II) treatment.

Minerals are important for cellular functions, such as transcription and enzyme activity, and are also involved in the metabolism of anticancer chemotherapeutic compounds. Profiling of intracellular elements in individual cells could help in understanding the mechanism of drug resistance in tumors and possibly provide a new strategy of anticancer chemotherapy. Using a recently developed technique of scanning X-ray fluorescence microscopy (SXFM), we analyzed intracellular elements after treatment with cis-diamminedichloro-platinum(II) (CDDP), a platinum-based anticancer agent.

Image quality improvement in a hard X-ray projection microscope using total reflection mirror optics.

A new figure correction method has been applied in order to fabricate an elliptical mirror to realize a one-dimensionally diverging X-ray beam having high image quality. Mutual relations between figure errors and intensity uniformities of diverging X-ray beams have also been investigated using a wave-optical simulator and indicate that figure errors in relatively short spatial wavelength ranges lead to high-contrast interference fringes. By using a microstitching interferometer and elastic emission machining, figure correction of an elliptical mirror with a lateral resolution close to 0.