This note reports on an experimental demonstration of non-impact deposition for electrostatic micromanipulation of a conductive particle by a single probe. The experimental system consists of a probe, a 30-micrometers-in-diameter particle, and a substrate plate. The particle, initially adhering to the probe tip, is detached and deposited onto the substrate by rapid change of the probe-substrate voltage designed on the basis of calculation by a boundary element method. The feasibility is experimentally shown; furthermore, the method of modifying the voltage sequence to improve the rate of success by considering the finite slew rate of the power source is discussed.

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In this study, we demonstrated the improvement in the biocompatibility of titanium alloy by atmosphericpressure-plasma nitriding, in which the pulsed-arc plasma jet is sprayed onto a titanium alloy to form TiN surface. The deposition properties of calcium phosphate on different samples were compared after immersion in simulated body fluid to investigate hard-tissue compatibility. It was determined that the growth of the calcium phosphate layer on the nitrided sample was the most rapid. This result suggests that atmospheric-pressure-plasma nitriding has the potential to easily improve the hard-tissue compatibility of titanium alloy.

A basic research study for improvement of plasma-sprayed zirconia coatings has been conducted. The contact angle and surface tension of the molten manganese/zirconia-yttria ceramic system were measured at 1573 K by the sessile drop method, suggesting that molten manganese would spontaneously infiltrate open pores in zirconia coatings. Structure and elementary composition development of zirconia ceramics caused by reaction with manganese were examined by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), an electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA), and an X-ray diffractometer (XRD). Manganese not only stabilized cubic zirconia but also contributed to the growth and volume increase of zirconia particles. In this article, the mechanism of making zirconia coatings dense with manganese is discussed based on the results of experiments.

A basic research study for improvement of plasma-sprayed zirconia coatings has been conducted. The contact angle and surface tension of the molten manganese/zirconia-yttria ceramic system were measured at 1573 K by the sessile drop method, suggesting that molten manganese would spontaneously infiltrate open pores in zirconia coatings. Structure and elementary composition development of zirconia ceramics caused by reaction with manganese were examined by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), an electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA), and an X-ray diffractometer (XRD). Manganese not only stabilized cubic zirconia but also contributed to the growth and volume increase of zirconia particles. In this article, the mechanism of making zirconia coatings dense with manganese is discussed based on the results of experiments.