Kinetics of AuSn4 migration in lead-free solders

The relatively fast diffusion of Au atoms in eutectic PbSn matrix is considered one of the contributing factors to the Au embrittlement problem. In this study, we further investigated the Au embrittlement problem in high-Sn solders. Experimentally, Sn3.5Ag (wt.%) spheres with 500-μm diameter were soldered over the Au/Ni soldering pads. It was found that some of the AuSn₄ needles that formed after reflow inside the solder migrated back to the solder/pad interface during thermal aging. However, the migration kinetics in high-Sn solders was slower compared to that in eutectic PbSn. The difference in migration kinetics of AuSn₄ in eutectic PbSn and SnAg was ascribed to the difference in the magnitudes of the Au flux and the Ni flux. In eutectic PbSn, the Au flux was much greater than that of the Ni flux, and the Au and Ni flux were in the same order of magnitude in eutectic SnAg. The relative magnitude of the Au and Ni flux changed in eutectic PbSn and SnAg because the homologous temperatures of PbSn and SnAg were different.     

Conductivity enhancement in transparetn ZnO films via Al-dopping produced by CW-CO2 laser-induced evaporation

Highly conductive transparent aluminium-doped ZnO (ZnO:A1) films were successfully deposited by CW-CO₂ laser-induced evaporation. Optimisation of evaporation parameters was based on laser power, substrate temperature, O₂ partial pressure in the vacuum chamber and amount of Al in the ZnO source pellet. ZnO:A1 films with an electrical resistivity as low as 6.6 × 10⁻²Ω·cm and an optical transmission of 80% at 500nm were obtained at laser power of 15 W, substrate temperature of about 200°C, O₂ partial pressure of 6—7 × 10⁻⁴ Torr and 5wt.% Al. Conductivity of ZnO films can be increased one order via Al-doping in ZnO films. The films obtained by laser-induced evaporation have compared quite favorably with the high quality films obtained by sputtering.     

Identification of intra-individual variation in intracranial arterial flow by MRI and the effect on computed hemodynamic descriptors

Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine - To determine the intra-individual flow variation in serially acquired studies, and the influence of this variation on subsequent...     

REACTIVE DIFFUSION BETWEEN Si AND NbC AT 1300℃

ＲＥＡＣＴＩＶＥＤＩＦＦＵＳＩＯＮＢＥＴＷＥＥＮＳｉＡＮＤＮｂＣＡＴ１３００℃Ｃ．Ｒ．Ｋａｏ（ＤｅｐａｒｔｍｅｎｔｏｆＣｈｅｍｉｃａｌＥｎｇｉｎｅｅｒｉｎｇＮａｔｉｏｎａｌＣｅｎｔｒａｌＵｎｉｖｅｒｓｉｔｙＣｈｕｎｇＬｉ，Ｔａｉｗａｎ）Ｊ．Ｗｏｏｄｆ...     

A blind watermarking method using maximum wavelet coefficient quantization

This paper proposes a blind watermarking algorithm based on maximum wavelet coefficient quantization for copyright protection. The wavelet coefficients are grouped into different block size and blocks are randomly selected from different subbands. We add different energies to the maximum wavelet coefficient under the constraint that the maximum wavelet coefficient is always maximum in a block. The watermark is embedded the local maximum coefficient which can effectively resist attacks. Also, using the block-based watermarking, we can extract the watermark without using the original image or watermark. Experimental results show that the proposed method is quite robust under either non-geometry or geometry attacks.     

miR-486-5p and miR-22-3p Enable Megakaryocytic Differentiation of Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells without Thrombopoietin

Megakaryocytes release submicron size microparticles (MkMPs) in circulation. We have shown that MkMPs target CD34+ hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) to induce megakaryocytic differentiation, and that small RNAs in MkMPs play an important role in the development of this phenotype. Here, using single-molecule real-time (SMRT) RNA sequencing (RNAseq), we identify the synergetic effect of two microRNAs (miRs), miR-486-5p and miR-22-3p (highly enriched in MkMPs), in driving the Mk differentiation of HSPCs in the absence of thrombopoietin (TPO). Separately, our data suggest that the MkMP-induced Mk differentiation of HSPCs is enabled through JNK and PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling. The interaction between the two signaling pathways is likely mediated by a direct target of miR-486-5p and a negative regulator of PI3K/Akt signaling, the phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN) protein. Our data provide a possible mechanistic explanation of the biological effect of MkMPs in inducing megakaryocytic differentiation of HSPCs, a phenotype of potential physiological significance in stress megakaryopoiesis.     

On the treatment of boundary conditions by the method of artificial parameters

A procedure to deal with various boundary conditions in the Rayleigh-Ritz method is discussed herein, namely, the method of artificial parameters. The method is then applied to solve a simple string problem; results obtained compare very nicely with exact solutions.     

Muscle Wasting in Chronic Kidney Disease: Mechanism and Clinical Implications—A Narrative Review

Muscle wasting, known to develop in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), is a deleterious consequence of numerous complications associated with deteriorated renal function. Muscle wasting in CKD mainly involves dysregulated muscle protein metabolism and impaired muscle cell regeneration. In this narrative review, we discuss the cardinal role of the insulin-like growth factor 1 and myostatin signaling pathways, which have been extensively investigated using animal and human studies, as well as the emerging concepts in microRNA- and gut microbiota-mediated regulation of muscle mass and myogenesis. To ameliorate muscle loss, therapeutic strategies, including nutritional support, exercise programs, pharmacological interventions, and physical modalities, are being increasingly developed based on advances in understanding its underlying pathophysiology.     

Investigation of growth behavior of Al-Cu intermetallic compounds in Cu wire bonding

In this work, we investigate the intermetallic compound formation in Cu wire bonded device. Voids near the Cu side at the bond interface are clearly seen. Nevertheless, these voids do not seem to interfere with the function of the unit. High temperature storage test (HTST) results show that there are Al₂Cu and AlCu in the damaged unit while Al₂Cu and Al₄Cu₉ appear in the good unit. The results clearly show that the Al layer is exhausted in the damaged unit while those with Al₄Cu₉ on the Cu side pass HTST with unconsumed Al. Theoretical calculations indicate that AlCu and Al₄Cu₉ are energetically more favorable than Al₂Cu, which is consistent with the reported IMC forming sequence. Formation energy of AlCu is compatible but slightly lower to that of Al₄Cu₉, suggesting AlCu tends to be the most stable phase among all. The reason why the Al layer is completely consumed in one case and some Al layer remains in the other is due to the fact that the formation of AlCu requires more than twice the amount of Al than Al₄Cu₉ for the same amount of Cu consumed. The complete consumption of Al is proposed as the reason responsible for the failure of the damaged unit.     

An investigation into the effects of probing and wire bonding stress on the reliability of BOAC

This work describes two types of low stress bonding over active circuit (BOAC) structures applying a finite element analysis. The advantage of improving the chip area utility of the BOAC design is approximately 150–180 μm for each dimension. A 0.13 μm 2 Mb high-speed SRAM with fluorinated silicate glass (FSG) low-k dielectric was combined with these two BOAC structures as the test vehicles to evaluate the impact of the probing and wire bonding stress on the reliability. Initially, a cantilevered probe card was applied to probe the BOAC pads using the typical and the worse probing conditions. Before and after the circuits probing (CP1 and CP2) the experimental results were compared, including the 2 Mb high-speed SRAM yield and wafer bit map data. The difference between the CP1 and CP2 results were negligible for all probing split cells. Next, the cross-section of the BOAC pad under the probing area was investigated following the worst probing condition. In addition, the BOAC pads evaluate the bondability, including the use of ball shear, wire pull and cratering tests. Moreover, all BOAC packaging samples underwent reliability tests, including HTOL, TCT, TST, and HTST. All the bondability and reliability tests passed the criteria for both proposed BOAC structures. Finally, the immunity level of both proposed BOAC pads, for ESD-HBM (human body mode) and ESD-MM (machine mode), differed slightly from the normal pads. No performance degradation was detected. Accordingly, this work shows that both proposed BOAC structures can be used to improve the active chip area utility or save the chip area.