Abstract: A horn for vibratory solid-state ultrasonic welding of metals and similarly-behaved materials “self-levels” to produce wide continuous seams or large-area spot-welds between delicate workpieces without damage, even if the workpieces are not perfectly flat and parallel to the nominal toolface angle. The horn toolface flexes under pressure to conform to skew-angled workpieces because it is disposed on a tool head supported by a tool neck cut from the tool body. The tool head, the tool neck, or both are anisotropically compliant. When resonances are properly optimized for typical VSS modes of vibration, atypical but useful localized modes are excited at the compliant toolface edges, actually intensifying the bond energy where one might normally expect unwanted damping. Various design approaches optimize the characteristics of the tool head and tool neck to various materials and bonding configurations. The horns can be configured for use with existing ultrasonic welders.

Abstract: A multilayer conformal coating is optimized in both composition and geometry to protect the back and sides of a transparent-fronted thin-film solar photovoltaic panel or similar device from various damage mechanisms associated with long-term outdoor exposure without an additional backcap or edge frame. A “barrier stack” or “barrier layer” of inorganic moisture-barrier and chemical-barrier layers is applied to the back of the photovoltaic functional film stack, extending into a bare-substrate border zone around the functional stack edges. The barrier stack shields the functional stack from moisture and chemical invasion, and the coated border zone effectively seals the vulnerable edges of the functional stack. An “envelope stack” or “envelope layer” of thicker polymer films is applied over the mechanically delicate inorganic barrier stack and around the solar photovoltaic panel edges.

Abstract: Ferromagnetic alloys containing palladium suitable for use in magnetic devices and having improved resistance to corrosion contain from about 20 to 65 atomic percent palladium, up to 80 atomic percent iron and 0 to 55 atomic percent nickel. Magnetic films made of these alloys which contain 20 to 65 atomic percent palladium exhibit a magnetization, 4.pi.M, and a corrosion resistance equal to or better than Permalloy.