A study of roll‐printing technology for TFT‐LCD fabrication

Abstract— Recently, potential breakthrough technologies for low‐cost processing of TFT‐LCDs and new process developments for flexible‐display fabrication have been widely studied. A roll‐printing process using etch‐resist material as a replacement for photolithographic patterning was investigated. The characterization of the properties of patterns formed in roll printing, a method to fabricate cliché plates for fine patterns, and the design of a new formulation for resist printing ink is reported. The pattern position accuracy, which is one of the most important issues for the successful application of printing processes in display manufacturing was studied and how it can be improved by optimizing the blanket roll structure is explained. New design rules for the layout of the thin‐film‐transistor array was derived to improve the compatibility of roll printing. As a result, a prototype 15‐in.‐XGA TFT‐LCD panel was fabricated by using printing processes to replace all the photolithographic patterning steps conventionally used.     

Proteomic analysis of sera of asymptomatic,early‐stage patients with Wilson's disease

Wilson's disease (WD) is characterized by excessive accumulation of intracellular copper in liver and extrahepatic tissues, leading to significant oxidative stress and tissue damage. To date, several diagnostic biomarkers for WD such as serum ceruloplasmin, serum or urine copper levels and copper content in liver have been identified. However, these biomarkers may not be convincing for the diagnosis in some WD patients. To identify additional novel diagnostic biomarkers, we compared the serum protein profiles of asymptomatic childhood WD patients (n=20), without neurologic manifestation or liver cirrhosis, with normal controls (n=13). Fourteen spots, five up‐regulated and nine down‐regulated (>2‐fold), were differentially expressed in WD patients in comparison to normal control on 2‐DE. Among them, three spots were down‐regulated in both male and female WD. MS/MS analysis revealed that the three spots were complement component C3, complement factor B and alpha‐2 macroglobulin. By comparative proteome analysis, complement component C3, complement factor B and alpha‐2 macroglobulin, which are related to oxidative stress and inflammation, turned out to be good candidates for novel diagnostic biomarkers for early stages of WD.     

Characterization of magnetic materials using a scanning microwave microprobe

We investigated the electromagnetic properties of metals of iron, nickel, cobalt, aluminum, gold, copper, silver, and permalloy thin films on SiO(2) substrates using a near-field microwave microprobe. The electromagnetic properties of metal sheets were estimated by measuring the microwave reflection coefficient S(11) and compared with the theoretical values. We observed the hysteresis behavior of permalloy thin films on SiO(2) substrates using a near-field scanning microwave microprobes (NSMM) system. Experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical model of transmission theory. In order to better characterize the electromagnetic properties of metals and magnetic metals instead of the usual method, we take advantage of the noncontact microprobing evaluation capabilities using a near-field microwave.     

Room-Temperature-Processable Highly Reliable Resistive Switching Memory with Reconfigurability for Neuromorphic Computing and Ultrasonic Tissue Classification

Reversible metal-filamentary mechanism has been widely investigated to design an analog resistive switching memory (RSM) for neuromorphic hardware-implementation. However, uncontrollable filament-formation, inducing its reliability issues, has been a fundamental challenge. Here, an analog RSM with 3D ion transport channels that can provide unprecedentedly high reliability and robustness is demonstrated. This architecture is realized by a laser-assisted photo-thermochemical process, compatible with the back-end-of-line process and even applicable to a flexible format. These superior characteristics also lead to the proposal of a practical adaptive learning rule for hardware neural networks that can significantly simplify the voltage pulse application methodology even with high computing accuracy. A neural network, which can perform the biological tissue classification task using the ultrasound signals, is designed, and the simulation results confirm that this practical adaptive learning rule is efficient enough to classify these weak and complicated signals with high accuracy (97%). Furthermore, the proposed RSM can work as a diffusive-memristor at the opposite voltage polarity, exhibiting extremely stable threshold switching characteristics. In this mode, several crucial operations in biological nervous systems, such as Ca²⁺ dynamics and nonlinear integrate-and-fire functions of neurons, are successfully emulated. This reconfigurability is also exceedingly beneficial for decreasing the complexity of systems—requiring both drift- and diffusive-memristors.     

Study on reaction time depending on display parameters of gaming displays

Display technology plays a significant role in gaming and, thus, display parameters are an important consideration when choosing a gaming display. In general, interest in display parameters such as contrast ratio, response time, refresh rate, and input lag in gaming displays is very high. In this article, we studied the reaction time of gaming displays, as a measure of game performance, with respect to different contrast ratios, response times, and refresh rates. Contrast ratio and response time turned out to be the key factors influencing reaction time. The higher the contrast ratio is, the shorter the reaction time tends to be. In addition, the faster the response time is, the shorter the reaction time is. Displays with high contrast ratio and fast response time are advantageous in terms of reaction time, which is also expected to be more advantageous in a fast-paced real gaming environment.     

Pulse colliding in a self-mode-locked ring-cavity ti:sapphire laser

A new self-mode-locked ring-cavity Ti:sapphire laser is described that is self-mode locked in both unidirectional and bidirectional operations. We found that clockwise and counterclockwise pulses collide with each other at the Ti:sapphire rod when the laser is mode locked in a bidirectional operation. Spectrum narrowing and pulse broadening were found in bidirectional rather than unidirectional mode-locked operation. This is explained by the performance of a transient grating in the gain medium that restricts oscillation to a narrow spectral range.