A hardware demonstrator for TD-CDMA

TD-CDMA is an air interface concept for third-generation mobile radio systems. It utilizes a combination of the three elementary multiple-access schemes: frequency-division multiple access (FDMA), time-division multiple access (TDMA) and code-division multiple access (CDMA). Multiple-access interference (MAI) and intersymbol interference (ISI) are combated by joint detection of all simultaneous signals of the same cell, achieving a high spectrum efficiency. The authors have been involved in the implementation of a first experimental hardware setup of a TD-CDMA mobile radio system. Important objectives of this project are the demonstration of the economic feasibility of CDMA receivers utilizing joint detection and the performance verification of TD-CDMA by measurement campaigns. The authors present a new way of modeling the TD-CDMA receiver in the form of a data-flow model. This model serves as a starting point for the systematic design of an efficient software architecture for TD-CDMA based on a multiprocessor system. The complete digital signal processing (DSP) of a mobile terminal or of a base station can be implemented on a single Texas Instruments digital signal processor TMS320C80. Measurement results obtained by first field trials are presented. The system parameters of the TD-CDMA demonstrator described are similar but not equal to those chosen for the time-division duplex (TDD) mode of the UMTS terrestrial air interface according to the ETSI decision taken in January 1998.     

Footprint study of ultrasonic wedge-bonding with aluminum wire on copper substrate

The effects of the process parameters of ultrasonic power and normal bonding force on bond formation at ambient temperatures have been investigated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive x-ray (EDX) analysis. A model was developed based on classical microslip theory¹ to explain the general phenomena observed in the evolution of bond footprints left on the substrate. Modifications to the model are made due to the inherent differences in geometry between ball-bonding and wedge-bonding. Classical microslip theory describes circular contacts undergoing elastic deformation. It is shown in this work that a similar microslip phenomenon occurs for elliptical wire-to-flat contacts with plastically deformed wire. It is shown that relative motion exists at the bonding interface as peripheral microslip at lower powers, transitioning into gross sliding at higher powers. With increased normal bonding forces, the transition point into gross sliding occurs at higher ultrasonic bonding powers. These results indicate that the bonding mechanisms in aluminum wire wedge-bonding are very similar to those of gold ball-bonding, both on copper substrate. In ultrasonic wedge-bonding onto copper substrates, the ultrasonic energy is essential in forming bonding by creating relative interfacial motion, which removes the surface oxides.     

Messmethoden zur Charakterisierung von Mikrowellenleistungstransistoren

For first try designs of microwave power amplifiers it is necessary to know the entire physical behaviour of the used components with high accuracy. The attention should be directed especially to the center component of these circuits, the power transistor, whose nonlinear characteristics have an essential impact on the behavior of the whole amplifier. This article gives an overview of current methods of measurement for microwave power transistor characterization. Furthermore a measurement system is presented, capable of characterizing microwave power transistors within a frequency range from 30 kHz to 8.7 GHz at bias current up to 7.5 A including self heating effects.     

Classification of rheumatoid joint inflammation based on laser imaging

We describe a classification system for a novel imaging method for arthritic finger joints. The basis of this system is a laser imaging technique which is sensitive to the optical characteristics of finger joint tissue. From the laser images acquired at baseline and follow-up, finger joints can automatically be classified according to whether the inflammatory status has improved or worsened. To perform the classification task, various linear and kernel-based systems were implemented and their performances were compared. Based on the results presented in this paper, we conclude that the laser-based imaging permits a reliable classification of pathological finger joints, making it a sensitive method for detecting arthritic changes.     

Progress on large area n‐type silicon solar cells with front laser doping and a rear emitter

We report on the progress of imec's n‐type passivated emitter, rear totally diffused rear junction silicon solar cells. Selective laser doping has been introduced in the flow, allowing the implementation of a shallow diffused front surface field and a reduction of the recombination current in the contact area. Simplifications have been implemented towards a more industrial annealing sequence, by replacing expensive forming gas annealing steps with a belt furnace annealing. By applying these improvements, together with an advanced texturing process and emitter passivation by atomic layer deposition of Al₂O₃, 22.5% efficient cells (three busbars) have been realized on commercial 156 · 156 mm² Czochralski‐Si. This result has been independently confirmed by ISE CalLab. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ray contribution masks for structure adaptive sinogram filtering

The patient dose in computed tomography (CT) imaging is linked to measurement noise. Various noise-reduction techniques have been developed that adapt structure preserving filters like anisotropic diffusion or bilateral filters to CT noise properties. We introduce a structure adaptive sinogram (SAS) filter that incorporates the specific properties of the CT measurement process. It uses a point-based forward projector to generate a local structure representation called ray contribution mask (RCM). The similarities between neighboring RCMs are used in an enhanced variant of the bilateral filtering concept, where the photometric similarity is replaced with the structural similarity. We evaluate the performance in four different scenarios: The robustness against reconstruction artifacts is demonstrated by a scan of a high-resolution-phantom. Without changing the modulation transfer function (MTF) nor introducing artifacts, the SAS filter reduces the noise level by 13.6%. The image sharpness and noise reduction capabilities are visually assessed on in vivo patient scans and quantitatively evaluated on a simulated phantom. Unlike a standard bilateral filter, the SAS filter preserves edge information and high-frequency components of organ textures well. It shows a homogeneous noise reduction behavior throughout the whole frequency range. The last scenario uses a simulated edge phantom to estimate the filter MTF for various contrasts: the noise reduction for the simple edge phantom exceeds 80%. For low contrasts at 55 Hounsfield units (HU), the mid-frequency range is slightly attenuated, at higher contrasts of approximately 100 HU and above, the MTF is fully preserved.     

Open‐Shell Donor–Acceptor Conjugated Polymers with High Electrical Conductivity

Conductive polymers largely derive their electronic functionality from chemical doping, processes by which redox and charge‐transfer reactions form mobile carriers. While decades of research have demonstrated fundamentally new technologies that merge the unique functionality of these materials with the chemical versatility of macromolecules, doping and the resultant material properties are not ideal for many applications. Here, it is demonstrated that open‐shell conjugated polymers comprised of alternating cyclopentadithiophene and thiadiazoloquinoxaline units can achieve high electrical conductivities in their native “undoped” form. Spectroscopic, electrochemical, electron paramagnetic resonance, and magnetic susceptibility measurements demonstrate that this donor–acceptor architecture promotes very narrow bandgaps, strong electronic correlations, high‐spin ground states, and long‐range π‐delocalization. A comparative study of structural variants and processing methodologies demonstrates that the conductivity can be tuned up to 8.18 S cm^?1. This exceeds other neutral narrow bandgap conjugated polymers, many doped polymers, radical conductors, and is comparable to commercial grades of poly(styrene‐sulfonate)‐doped poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene). X‐ray and morphological studies trace the high conductivity to rigid backbone conformations emanating from strong π‐interactions and long‐range ordered structures formed through self‐organization that lead to a network of delocalized open‐shell sites in electronic communication. The results offer a new platform for the transport of charge in molecular systems.     

Tensile Behavior of Single-Crystal Tin Whiskers

The growth of metallic (predominantly Sn) whiskers from pure metallic platings has been studied for over 50 years. While the phenomenon of Sn whiskering has been studied for decades, very little is known about the mechanical properties of these materials. This can be attributed to the difficulty in handling, gripping, and testing such fine-diameter and high-aspect-ratio whiskers. We report on the stress–strain behavior of Sn whiskers inside a dual-beam focused ion beam (FIB) with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Lift-out of the whiskers was conducted in situ in the FIB, and the whiskers were tested using a microelectromechanical system tensile testing stage. Using this technique, the whiskers had minimum exposure to ambient air and were not handled by hand. SEM images after fracture enabled reliable calculation of the whisker cross-sectional area. Tests on two different whiskers revealed relatively high tensile strengths of 720 MPa and 880 MPa, respectively, and a limited strain to failure of ～2% to 3%. For both whiskers, the Young’s modulus was between 42 GPa and 45 GPa. It is interesting to note that the whiskers were quite strong and had limited ductility. These findings are intriguing and provide a basis for further work to understand the effect of Sn whisker mechanical properties on short circuits in electronics.     

Mumford-Shah model for one-to-one edge matching.

This paper presents a new algorithm based on the Mumford-Shah model for simultaneously detecting the edge features of two images and jointly estimating a consistent set of transformations to match them. Compared to the current asymmetric methods in the literature, this fully symmetric method allows one to determine one-to-one correspondences between the edge features of two images. The entire variational model is realized in a multiscale framework of the finite element approximation. The optimization process is guided by an estimation minimization-type algorithm and an adaptive generalized gradient flow to guarantee a fast and smooth relaxation. The algorithm is tested on T1 and T2 magnetic resonance image data to study the parameter setting. We also present promising results of four applications of the proposed algorithm: interobject monomodal registration, retinal image registration, matching digital photographs of neurosurgery with its volume data, and motion estimation for frame interpolation.     

Reliability considerations of III-nitride microelectronic devices

The success of III-nitride optoelectronic devices paths the way towards emerging devices in microelectronics. These devices are currently at the threshold to commercialization, therefore reliability considerations are becoming increasingly important. This paper reviews the material and process technology of III-nitride microelectronic devices in the scope of reliability. Since statistical reliability data are lacking in the current state of research the review starts with a summary of how reliability can be designed into process modules being relevant for microelectronic devices. This includes a discussion of the most important issues of material growth, metallization, implantation, dry etching and surface passivation. The subsequent chapter focuses to microelectronic devices and highlights technological challenges that have to be met in order to obtain reliable devices. Finally, results of lifetime experiments (thermal aging) demonstrate that III-nitride devices have the potential for reliable operation even at elevated temperatures up to 400°C.