High-energy-density and low-cost calcium (Ca) batteries have been proposed as ‘beyond-Li-ion’ electrochemical energy storage devices. However, they have seen limited progress due to challenges associated with developing electrolytes showing reductive/oxidative stabilities and high ionic conductivities. This paper describes a calcium monocarborane cluster salt in a mixed solvent as a Ca-battery electrolyte with high anodic stability (up to 4 V vs. Ca2+/Ca), high ionic conductivity (4 mS cm−1), and high Coulombic efficiency for Ca plating/stripping at room temperature. The developed electrolyte is a promising candidate for use in room-temperature rechargeable Ca batteries.

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Effect of arc suppression on the physical properties of low temperature dc magnetron sputtered tantalum thin films J.The effects of ion bombardment conditions on the crystallographic and electrical properties of tantalum thin films grown on SiO 2 and Si have been systematically investigated in Ta thin film formation process employing low-energy (Ͻ100 eV͒ inert-gas ion bombardment on a growing film surface. It is demonstrated that the properties of Ta films are strongly dependent upon ion energy and ion flux as well as substrate materials. The bcc-Ta can be formed on SiO 2 by controlling impinging ion energy and normalized ion flux defined as the ratio of ion flux to Ta flux ranging lower than 20 eV and higher than 13, respectively, for Ar plasma. Based on these results, low-resistivity bcc-Ta thin films ͑14.8 ⍀ cm at 300 K͒ have been successfully formed. It is also experimentally shown that the irradiation by ions with different mass numbers has different effects on growing film properties, even if the energy or momentum of the ions is the same. When normalized ion flux is 26, bcc-Ta films can be grown on Si at ion energy lower than 30 eV for Ar ions and at ion energy ranging from 30 to 90 eV for Xe ions. The results also suggest that there are two cases where the phase transition from bcc to ␤ occurs. One is caused by defects induced by the recoil implantation of Ta atoms due to the excessive higher-energy ion bombardment and the other is induced by defects due to insufficient total energy input to a growing film surface by ion irradiation and resulting poor film quality.

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The surface flaw of a drawn wire has a significant influence on the quality of a product. High-surface-quality drawn wires and rods have been required for the manufacture of automobiles and machines. Wire breaks due to large surface defects are common problems in wire drawing. The authors carried out rolling and multi-pass drawing of a stainless-steel wire with an artificial scratch, and investigated the growth and disappearance of a scratch from both sides by experiments and Finite Element Analysis (FEA). When the scratch angle is small, the scratch side surfaces are pushed toward each other and the scratch becomes an overlap defect. In contrast, when the scratch angle is large, the bottom of the scratch rises, and the scratch is recovered satisfactorily. Furthermore, the scratch shape and the drawing conditions were varied, and the deformation state of a scratch was clarified.

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