Flexible microelectronics: New application for thin‐film transistors in fingerprint sensors

Abstract— Thin‐film transistors (TFTs) are field‐effect transistors that can be used to create large‐scale‐integrated (LSI) circuits. The combination of high‐performance TFTs and transfer technology of the TFTs has the potential to foster the rise of a new flexible microelectronics industry. This paper discusses the current status of flexible microelectronics, using a TFT fingerprint sensor (FPS) as an example. Technology used in active‐matrix displays can easily be applied to the TFT FPS. TFT technology should not be confined to the display industry; its use should be expanded into the semiconductor industry. With the result presented in this paper, we declare a new era of flexible microelectronics open.     

信息时代最重要的基石——微电子

分析了国际国内微电子行业市场情况，着重阐述了微电子行业在信息时代的重要作用。最后，展望了国内微电子行业的发展前景。     

现代电力电子技术的应用及前景分析

现代电力电子技术是以高新技术知识为基础的一种知识密集型技术,电力电子技术与微电子技术的结合已成为当今技术发展的主流。因此它对生产和生活将像微电子技术那样起着变革性作用。它将使供电和用电系统发生革命性的变革。     

Eventual strong consensus with fault detection in the presence of dual failure mode on processors under dynamic networks

The fault tolerance capability and reliability of a distributed system can be enhanced if the Strong Consensus (SC) problem can be properly addressed. Most of the extant SC protocols are designed for static networks. Besides, the number of rounds of message exchange required by all of the extant SC protocols is determined by the total number of processors in the network rather than by the actual number of faulty processors in the network. Even if there is only a few or no faulty processor in the network, the SC protocols may waste a lot of time and memory space on many unnecessary rounds of message exchange. Thus, this paper revisits the SC problem in dynamic networks and uses two rules, Detection Rule for Malicious fault in dynamic network (DRM_dyn) and Early Stopping Rule for Strong Consensus protocol in dynamic networks (ESRSC_dyn), to reduce the time consumption and space complexity of SC protocols. DRM_dyn is a rule that detects malicious processors, and ESRSC_dyn is a rule that determines whether the messages collected are enough for reaching a strong consensus. To be succinct, the proposed SC protocol can not only work in dynamic networks consisting of both dormant processors and malicious processors (dual failure mode) but also ensure that all correct processors reach a SC value within fewer rounds of message exchange than required by the extant SC protocols.     

A comprehensive decision-making model for risk management of supply chain

Risk management of a supply chain (SC) has a great influence on the stability of dynamic cooperation among SC partners and hence very important for the performance of the SC operations as a whole. A suitable decision-making model is the cornerstone for the efficiency of SC risk management. We propose in this paper a decision-making model based on the internal triggering and interactive mechanisms in an SC risk system, which takes into account dual cycles, the operational process cycle (OPC) and the product life cycle (PLC). We explore the inter-relationship among the two cycles, SC organizational performance factors (OPF) and available risk operational practice (ROP), as well as the risk managerial elements in OPC and PLC. In particular, three types of relationship, bilateral, unilateral and inter-circulative ones, are analyzed and verified. We build this dynamic relation into SC risk managerial logic and design a corresponding decision-making path. Based on the analytic network process (ANP), a methodology is designed for an optimal selection of risk management methods and tools. A numerical example is provided as an operational guideline for how to apply it to tailor operational tactics in SC risk management. The results verify that this strategic decision model is a feasible access to the suitable risk operational tactics for practitioners.     

Euromicro ''86

Held in Venice, Italy, during September, this year's meeting emphasized VLSI and IC design and identified a ‘window of opportunity’ for Europe's microelectronics designers     

Serological proteome analysis to identify systemic candidiasis patients in the intensive care unit: Analytical, diagnostic and prognostic validation of anti-Candida enolase antibodies on quantitative clinical platforms

Systemic candidiasis (SC) is associated with high morbidity and mortality, because it generally affects patients with severe underlying diseases and its diagnosis is difficult and often delayed, resulting in delayed therapy. We used serological proteome analysis to screen serum anti‐Candida IgG antibody‐reactivity profiles in 24 patients under intensive care, 12 of which had confirmed SC (fungal cultures), and in 12 healthy subjects. A total of 15 immunogenic proteins from Candida albicans protoplast lysates were differentially immunorecognized by serum IgG antibodies from SC patients compared to controls. Two‐way hierarchical clustering and principal‐component analyses of these antibody‐reactivity patterns accurately differentiated SC patients from controls. Anti‐Eno1p IgG antibodies were found to be present at high abundance in SC patients and be an important molecular fingerprint in serum for SC diagnosis. Differential anti‐Eno1p IgG antibody reactivity was further validated by a tag capture ELISA and a Western blot assay in 45 SC patients and 118 non‐SC subjects. Both quantitative assays provided comparable analytical, diagnostic and prognostic performances, and verified initial proteomic‐profiling results. If confirmed in prospective cohort studies, these anti‐Eno1p IgG antibodies might be useful for SC diagnosis. However, these, at least as measured by these clinical platforms, appear to have limited prognostic value in SC patients.     

A hybrid approach based on fuzzy DEMATEL and FMCDM to predict success of knowledge management adoption in supply chain

Knowledge management (KM) adoption in the supply chain (SC) needs high investment as well as few changes in culture of entire SC. This study proposes a prediction framework based on the fuzzy decision-making trail and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making (FMCDM) for KM adoption in SC. This study first identifying the evaluation criteria of KM adoption in SC from literature review and expert opinion. Further, it uses fuzzy DEMATEL to evaluate weighting of each evaluation criteria's, after that FMCDM method uses to obtain possible rating of success of KM adoption in SC. The proposed approach is helpful to predict the success of KM adoption in SC without actually adopted KM in SC. It also enables organizations to decide whether to initiate KM, restrain adoption or undertake remedial improvements to increase the possibility of successful KM adoption in SC. This prominent advantage can be considered as one of the contribution of this paper. This proposed approach demonstrated with empirical case of a hydraulic valve manufacturing organization in India.     

Effects of Aliasing Errors on Microlithographic Image Computations

Recent advances in computational microelectronics have made it possible to compute the images of very large masks. Images of entire masks require many gigabytes of storage. It is therefore desirable to make storage requirements as small as possible. In this paper, we investigate the effects of reducing resolution to the point where some aliasing error enters the final answer. Due to the accuracy requirements of the microelectronics industry, we conclude that reducing resolution to improve storage requirements is not feasible.     

Prospects for WSI: a manufacturing perspective

A manufacturing cost model that describes the relationships among characteristics of modern manufacturing processes, investment costs to achieve these characteristics, and basic IC parameters, including both die size and minimum feature size, is used to explain major trends in the past 20 yr of microelectronics. Results from this model indicate that it is not possible to continue progress in microelectronics through minimizing feature size, that the drive toward larger dies will gain momentum and lead gradually toward wafer-scale integration (WSI), and that manufacturing costs will keep WSI from becoming practical in the immediate future. Active-substrate flip-chip multichip modules (MCMs) are presented as an alternative that may provide both the performance gain and cost efficiency required     

Ultra high aspect-ratio MEMS and NEMS on basis of fibrous composite technology

Indisputably, microelectronics is the mother of the MEMS/NEMS technologies. Unfortunately, the majority of developed MEMS and NEMS devices inherited from microelectronics technologies not only of merit but also deficiencies one of which is their planarity. Recently developed devices on the flexible base and also devices with the moving elements on the hinges, in principle, remain geometrically flat. With this micro- and nano-mechanisms (motors, actuators, sensors, etc.) they are not divided with the base (from silicon or another material) large part of which (volume and mass) functionally is not used and has usual of macro sizes (dimensions of a chip). As a result, these ultra modern planar technologies are helpless with the creation of powerful autonomous 3D-devices with the overall sizes ∼(1–10) mm³. The author makes the attempt to estimate the prospects for development and fabrication of topology complex 3D MEMS/NEMS, for example, flaying microrobot and elastic micro motor on the basis of fibrous composites—ultra high aspect-ratio glass structures with predetermined 3D micro- and nano-topologies and embedded wires.     

MEMS: small machines for the microelectronics age

In the past few years, the micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) industry has exceeded the $1-billion-a-year mark. Some economic forecasters estimate that the industry will surpass $14 billion by the year 2000. The reason for this tremendous growth is the enabling nature of MEMS, which give engineers and researchers the tools to build things that have been impossible or prohibitively expensive with other techniques. MEMS are micron- to millimeter-scale devices that can be fabricated as discrete devices or in large arrays. MEMS borrow much of their technology from integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing, providing three-fold benefits: miniaturization, multiplicity and microelectronics. First, miniaturization of the devices is inherent in the processing techniques. Modern microelectronics fabrication techniques are designed to build submicron-scale devices. By using the same techniques, engineers can easily leverage this technology to produce MEMS that are orders of magnitude smaller than their macroworld counterparts. Second, the use of photolithography techniques makes producing thousands or even millions of copies of a single device easy. Thus, single devices can be arrayed into systems to produce an effect impossible with discrete devices. Finally, because MEMS technology is so similar to IC fabrication technology, MEMS are integrable with microelectronics     

飞速发展的微电子技术

介绍了微电子发展的最新技术动态。     

CO_2激光器加工晶圆切缝控制工艺研究

晶体硅是当前最重要的半导体材料,主要用于微电子技术。随着微电子技术的发展,对晶圆的切割技术要求越来越高,而在实际切割中,对晶圆的切割十分注重于晶圆的切割宽度,以降低晶圆损耗。研究CO2激光切割机的脉宽、频率以及切割速度对晶圆切割宽度的影响,从而达到高效率、小宽度、高标准的激光切割加工。     

Behavioral modeling of clock feed-through and channel charge injection non-ideal effects in SIMULINK for switched-capacitor integrator

Sigma–Delta modulator ADCs used in signal processing applications usually, are implemented by switched-capacitor (SC) circuits and CMOS transmission gates due to its simplicity for implementation. Channel charge injection (CCI) and clock feed-through (CFT) are two major non-ideal effects existing in TG switches and SC integrators reducing modulator total SNR, its linearity and its total gain. This paper presents a precise model for SC integrator including CCI and CFT non-ideal effects in MATLAB SIMULINK environment which allows designers to perform time-domain behavioral simulations of switched-capacitor (SC) Sigma–Delta modulators. Evaluation and validation of extracted models were performed via behavioral and transistor-level simulations for modeled SC integrator, second and third order modulators using SIMULINK and Agilent ADS environments with a generic 0.18 μm CMOS technology. Non-idealities and nonlinearities effects are apparently observed by comparing the ideal modulator in behavioral analysis and actual modulator in circuit-level environment.     

Cardiovascular and metabolic responses of active sitting while performing work-related tasks

Abstract

Stability balls and active-balance sitting chairs have recently emerged as a way to reduce sedentary behaviours in office settings. The purpose of this study was to determine differences in caloric expenditure and heart rate between a standard chair (SC), stability ball (SB) and active balanced sitting chair (ST) while performing work-related tasks. Participants (n?=?20) performed a 10-minute randomised reading and typing task while sitting on the SC, SB and ST. For both the reading and typing tasks, heart rate (HR), caloric expenditure per minute and metabolic equivalents were all significantly greater (i.e. 6–13%; 19–40%; 18–39%, respectively) while using the ST when compared to the SC and SB. No significant differences were observed between the SB and SC for any of the comparisons. The ST produced a greater HR response and caloric expenditure than the SC or SB, indicating that active balanced sitting may be a feasible way to increase energy expenditure in an office setting.

Practitioner summary: The purpose of this study was to determine differences in cardiovascular and metabolic responses to various forms of office chairs. The key finding was that active sitting on a balance chair significantly increased heart rate and caloric expenditure as compared to a stability ball and standard chair.

Abbreviations: SC: standard chair; SB: stability ball; ST: active balanced chair; HR: heart rate; kcalmin: caloric expenditure per minute; MET: metabolic equivalents     

Ergonomics and international standards: history, organizational structure and method of development

Egonomics international standards were formally considered in 1973 by a symposium of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA) held at Loughborough University in the UK. Recommendations led to the establishment of ISO TC 159 'Ergonomics', with Germany (DIN) holding the secretariat. Six subcommittees (SC) were established and have worked towards standards. These have been rationalized to the present four subcommittees: SC1, Ergonomics guiding principles; SC3, Anthropometry and biomechanics; SC4, Ergonomics and human system interaction; and SC5, Ergonomics of the physical environment. The subcommittees have over 15 working groups (WG) covering over 50 work items that will lead to ergonomics ISO standards. Over 20 ISO standards have already been produced and a number have been reconfirmed at automatic five-yearly reviews. The organizational structure is presented as well as methods of standards production from proposed work item to international standard. European standards (EN) are produced under CEN TC 122 'Ergonomics', which has 11 working groups. How European Standards are produced and organizational links with ISO TC 159 are described.     

Linking analytic hierarchy process and social choice methods to support group decision-making in water management

The social choice (SC) theory is in close relation with multicriteria decision-making (MCDM), especially in group decision contexts. SC theory includes various voting systems while MCDM is represented by utility and outranking methods; among utility models, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is probably the most popular in group decision support. In this paper, we investigate two possible contexts in modeling decentralized decision problems in water management. The first is based on AHP only and two group aggregation techniques. The second one assumes the AHP application in subgroups, while at a group level, aggregation is performed by the SC voting procedures. Comparative analyses show good agreement of the results when two methodologies are applied as the decision support to the water committee of the San Francisco river basin in Brazil. The second methodology (called AHP + SC) is considered more promising for implementation in real-decision situations in water management.     

Mechanical stress measurements using micro-Raman spectroscopy

 The application of micro-Raman spectroscopy for measurements of mechanical stress in silicon microelectronics devices is discussed. The advantages and disadvantages of the technique are shown through different examples such as Si₃N₄ and metal lines, isolation structures and solder bumps.     

Predicting social cues during online discussions: Effects of evaluations and knowledge content

This study examined whether evaluations (agreements, disagreements), knowledge content (new ideas, justifications), or social cues (SCs) in recent messages affected a current message’s positive or negative SC during asynchronous, online discussions. Using statistical discourse analysis, we modeled 894 messages by 183 participants on 60 high school mathematics topics (typically eight people posted per topic) on a mathematics problem solving website not connected to any class or school. Results showed that recent agreements increased the likelihood of positive SC, whereas justifications reduced it. Disagreements increased the likelihood of negative SC, whereas new ideas reduced it. Meanwhile, recent positive or negative SCs did not affect the likelihood of a subsequent SC. Together, these results suggest that judicious use of positive SCs rather than negative SCs during disagreements can help students both construct knowledge and maintain social relationships.