JTW Digest, April 11, 2024

Author

Eldar Syzdykov
April 11, 2024

Impact of Technology Sector on Nikkei 225's Daily Performance

On April 11, 2024, the Nikkei 225, a key stock market index in Japan, experienced a slight decline of 0.35%, closing at 39,442.63 points. This downturn was marked by a loss of 139.18 points from the previous day. The technology sector played a significant role in this movement.

The technology sector is heavily represented in the Nikkei 225, accounting for 50.32% of the total sector weights, indicating its substantial influence on the overall index performance. On this particular day, the technology sector had a negative impact, contributing to an 80.41 yen drop in the index's value. This decline suggests that technology stocks underperformed relative to other sectors.

Several major technology companies are listed in the top 10 components by weight in the Nikkei 225, including Tokyo Electron Ltd., Softbank Group Corp., Advantest Corp., KDDI Corp., TDK Corp., Fanuc Corp., and Terumo Corp. These companies span various sub-sectors within technology, such as electric machinery, communications, and precision instruments, highlighting the sector's diversity.

The significant representation of technology firms in the index underscores the sector's crucial role in the Japanese economy and its stock market. The day's performance indicates that fluctuations in technology stocks can have a pronounced impact on the overall market, demonstrating the sector's importance and influence.

Maruka Kogyo Develops Ultra-Thin Alloy Magnetic Material for Power Electronics Circuits

Maruka Kogyo, an automotive parts manufacturer, has successfully developed a new processing technology to create ultra-thin alloy materials that have excellent magnetic properties. The material, containing 6.5% silicon, is only 2 micrometers thick and is expected to be used as a magnetic core material for power electronics (PE) circuits in applications such as electric vehicles.

The company worked with Tohoku University and Toyota Institute of Technology to overcome the challenge of the alloy's hardness and brittleness, which had previously made it difficult to process. By using a liquid quenching method and cold-rolling, they were able to achieve the ultra-thin thickness without compromising the material's properties.

This new magnetic material is seen as an important advancement for PE technology, which has struggled to keep up with the rapid performance improvements of semiconductors. Maruka Kogyo is now working to further refine the processing and mass production capabilities to meet the growing market demand, especially in the expanding electric vehicle sector.

Tohoku University's "EAGLES Port" Enables Precise Drone Landings in Strong Winds

Tohoku University's Tough Cyber-Physical AI Research Center has developed a new multi-drone landing technology called "EAGLES Port" that significantly improves the landing performance of drones under windy conditions. 

Through wind tunnel tests, the research team demonstrated that EAGLES Port's horizontal landing approach, which replaces the traditional vertical landing method, can reduce landing time by an average of 35% compared to conventional techniques. It also greatly increases landing accuracy, allowing drones to safely and quickly land even in strong winds.

EAGLES Port's unique gate-like mechanism enables the horizontal landing, allowing drones to maintain their flight momentum during touch down. This not only improves speed and precision, but also enables multi-drone operations by providing a shared landing platform.

The successful test results mark an important advancement in overcoming the key challenges of drone landing in real-world conditions. Tohoku University plans to further optimize the EAGLES Port system and develop an autonomous landing capability, opening up new practical applications for drone technology across logistics, emergency response, and other sectors.

Efficient Wavelength Conversion with Two-Dimensional Nanomaterials and High-Q Microresonators

Researchers at RIKEN have developed a novel hybrid device that combines two-dimensional nanomaterials and high-quality factor (high-Q) microscopic optical resonators to enable highly efficient wavelength conversion, even with weak continuous-wave lasers.

The key innovation is the use of atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenide materials, such as tungsten selenide, which exhibit strong nonlinear optical properties. By transferring a single layer of this two-dimensional nanomaterial onto a high-Q silica microresonator, the researchers were able to significantly enhance the wavelength conversion process.

In experiments, the hybrid device was able to generate robust second harmonic and sum frequency signals when excited by continuous-wave lasers in the telecommunications wavelength band. This wavelength conversion occurred across a wide range, from the visible to near-infrared spectrum.

Importantly, the researchers found that the nonlinear optical effects could be precisely controlled by tuning the number of nanomaterial layers and their positioning on the microresonator. This level of tailorability opens up new possibilities for compact, efficient frequency conversion devices for applications in optical communications, sensing, and quantum technologies.

The successful demonstration of this hybrid nanomaterial-microresonator approach represents an important advance in the field of nonlinear optics, overcoming limitations of previous wavelength conversion techniques that required high-power pulsed lasers. RIKEN's innovative work paves the way for practical, low-power wavelength conversion systems.

NEC Develops AI-Powered Inspection System to Streamline Sleeve Pipe Installation

NEC Corporation has developed a new technology that streamlines the inspection process for sleeve pipe installations at construction sites. The key innovation is the ability to automatically compare on-site photographs with BIM (Building Information Modeling) data, without the need for additional AR (Augmented Reality) markers.

Using a smartphone or tablet camera, workers can simply capture images of the installed sleeve pipes. NEC's proprietary BIM-2D image matching algorithm can then rapidly identify any installation errors of 5mm or less, by aligning the photographic data with the design specifications in the BIM model.

This eliminates the manual, error-prone inspection methods currently used, which require precise placement of AR markers to enable automated comparisons. NEC's system can account for variations in the height of the sleeve pipes, making the inspection process more robust.

The technology is expected to significantly improve efficiency and accuracy in construction site inspections, addressing pressing industry challenges like labor shortages and the need for thorough quality control. By integrating BIM data with on-site photography, NEC has developed an innovative DX (Digital Transformation) solution to streamline a critical aspect of the building construction workflow.

NEC plans to conduct further demonstrations of the system at construction sites during the 2024 fiscal year, with the goal of commercializing the technology to enhance construction site productivity and quality assurance.

High-Speed Shinkansen Track Monitoring System Developed by Kurabo and JR Central

Kurabo Industries, in collaboration with Japan Railway Central (JR Central), has developed a new monitoring system capable of accurately measuring the materials and condition of the Tokaido Shinkansen high-speed rail tracks while the trains are running at speeds up to 300 km/h.

The system, called the "Track Material Monitoring System," combines JR Central's expertise in orbit measurement technology with Kurabo's proprietary high-speed image processing software called "Track Analyzer." It utilizes a set of profile sensors and high-definition line scan cameras installed underneath the Shinkansen cars to capture detailed data on the track materials.

This advanced system can provide accurate assessments of the track conditions even at the extremely high speeds of the Tokaido Shinkansen, which reaches up to 300 km/h. Kurabo has previously applied similar high-speed inspection technology for highway surface monitoring at speeds up to 100 km/h.

JR Central plans to install the Track Material Monitoring System on its "Doctor Tokai" track inspection vehicle, which is used to survey conventional railway lines. Kurabo also aims to adapt the system specifications to be deployed on conventional lines and private railways in the future.

This collaborative development represents a significant advancement in rail infrastructure monitoring, enabling more efficient and comprehensive track inspections without disrupting high-speed train operations. The system is expected to be put into practical use after 2027 following further accuracy improvements.

Fujitsu, NTT, and Partners Achieve 100Gbps Wireless Transmission with Sub-Terahertz 6G Devices

Fujitsu, NTT DOCOMO, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT), and NEC have jointly developed a wireless device compatible with the sub-terahertz frequency band, which is expected to be a key technology for 6G mobile communications.

Through collaborative research and development efforts since 2021, the companies have successfully demonstrated wireless transmission at speeds of up to 100Gbps over a distance of 100 meters using the sub-terahertz band, which ranges from 100GHz to 300GHz.

This represents a significant advancement, as the current 5G networks have a maximum transmission speed of only 4.9Gbps. The use of the sub-terahertz spectrum offers much greater bandwidth capacity, enabling wireless speeds approximately 20 times faster than today's 5G.

The companies note that the demand for high-capacity wireless communication is expected to increase in the 6G era, making the development of sub-terahertz band devices crucial. The joint research aims to promote the global standardization and practical application of 6G technologies.

Going forward, Fujitsu, NTT DOCOMO, NTT, and NEC will continue their collaborative efforts to further refine the sub-terahertz wireless devices and explore various applications that leverage the exceptional transmission speeds enabled by this cutting-edge 6G technology.

Tosoh Develops Ultra-Strong, Lightweight Plant-Based Rubber Compound

Tosoh Corporation, a leading Japanese chemical manufacturer, has developed a new grade of chloroprene rubber (CR) that incorporates cellulose nanofiber (CNF) derived from plant biomass. This innovative compound, marketed under the "Skyprene SG series" brand, boasts remarkable improvements in strength and weight compared to conventional rubber materials.

CNF, which is one-fifth the weight of steel and over five times stronger, is used to reinforce the CR in this new product. By leveraging proprietary mixing and dispersion technologies, Tosoh has been able to uniformly incorporate the high-performance CNF into the rubber at the nano-level.

The resulting Skyprene SG series material offers significant benefits, including:

- 5 times the strength of conventional rubber compounds

- 1/5 the weight of traditional rubber

This plant-based rubber compound is expected to provide an environmentally-friendly alternative to carbon-based reinforcing additives currently used in rubber products. As a material that helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Skyprene SG series aligns with the growing demand for sustainable industrial solutions.

Tosoh has collaborated with industrial rubber belt manufacturer Bando Chemical Industries to develop and supply the new CNF-reinforced chloroprene rubber for use in power transmission belts and other applications. This represents an important advancement in the development of high-performance, lightweight rubber materials.