Electrically conductive and mechanically elastic titanium nitride ceramic microsprings.

The structural and functional characterizations of titanium nitride (TiN) advanced ceramic microsprings (CMSs), with a coil diameter of several micrometers and synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) were investigated by microscopy techniques. The CMSs were sufficiently mechanically elastic for extension to more than 1.3 times their original size, and they spontaneously contracted to their original state on releasing the tension. To explore their application to a microdevice, a method of manufacturing TiN-CMS microcircuit elements was developed. The I-V plots of the elements indicated that the CMSs were as conductive as metals.

Embossed-carving processing of cytoskeletons of cultured cells by using focused ion beam technology.

The focused ion beam (FIB) technology has drawn considerable attention in diverse research fields. FIB can be used to mill samples at the nanometer scale by using an ion beam derived from electrically charged liquid gallium (Ga). This powerful technology with accuracy at the nanometer scale is now being applied to life science research. In this study, we show the potential of FIB as a new tool to investigate the internal structures of cells. We sputtered Ga(+) onto the surface or the cross section of animal cells to emboss the internal structures of the cell. Ga(+) sputtering can erode the cell surface or the cross section and thus emboss the cytoskeletons quasi-3 dimensionally. We also identified the embossed structures by comparing them with fluorescent images obtained via confocal laser microscopy because the secondary ion micrographs did not directly provide qualitative information directly. Furthermore, we considered artifacts during the FIB cross sectioning of cells and propose a way to prevent undesirable artifacts. We demonstrate the usefulness of FIB to observe the internal structures of cells.

Humidity-sensitive electrical conductivity of a Langmuir-Blodgett film of titania nanosheets: surface modification as induced by light irradiation under humid conditions.

Electrical conductivity of titania nanosheets was investigated for a single-layered Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) film deposited onto a comb-type electrode (5 or 10 microm (electrode spacing) x 8 mm (electrode width)). The photoresponsive electrical properties of the film were investigated by irradiating with a Xe lamp under various atmospheric conditions. The atmosphere was controlled by introducing either oxygen or nitrogen gases containing different amounts of water vapor. As a result, the LB film behaved as an insulator with little photoresponse under dry atmospheric conditions. It became conductive on illuminating with a Xe lamp under a wet oxygen atmosphere. Conductivity increased with the increase of irradiation time (0-30 min) to attain a stationary value in 1 h. The highest conductive state thus attained lasted for several hours in the dark. The impedance of the film was measured over the frequency range of 1 MHz to 50 Hz by varying the relative humidity of an atmosphere from 0 to 100%. The results were analyzed by assuming an equivalent circuit consisting of one resistance (R) with constant Warburg component (W) and one capacitance (C) in parallel. The R component depended remarkably on the relative humidity, while the C component stayed nearly at the constant value. The dependence of R on water vapor (PH2O) was expressed by R = A[PH2O]n with A = constant and n = -2.9. The results were rationalized in terms of the surface modification of titania nanosheets to hydrophilic nature under the illumination of UV light.