Characteristics improvement of top‐gate self‐aligned amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide thin‐film transistors using a dual‐gate control

In this work, we have reported dual‐gate amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide thin‐film transistors (a‐IGZO TFTs), where a top‐gate self‐aligned TFTs has a secondary bottom gate and the TFT integration comprises only five mask steps. The electrical characteristics of a‐IGZO TFTs under different gate control are compared. With the enhanced control of the channel with two gates connected together, parameters such as on current (I_ON), sub‐threshold slope (SS^?1), output resistance, and bias‐stress instabilities are improved in comparison with single‐gate control self‐aligned a‐IGZO TFTs. We have also investigated the applicability of the dual‐gate a‐IGZO TFTs in logic circuitry such as 19‐stage ring oscillators.     

Portable library development for reconfigurable computing systems: A case study

Portable libraries of highly-optimized hardware cores can significantly reduce the development time of reconfigurable computing applications. This paper presents the tradeoffs and challenges in the design of such libraries. A set of library development guidelines is provided, which has been validated with the RCLib case study. RCLib is a set of portable libraries with over 100 cores, targeting a wide range of applications. RCLib portability has been verified in three major High-Performance reconfigurable computing architectures: SRC6, Cray XD1 and SGI RC100. Compared to full-software implementations, applications using RCLib hardware acceleration cores show speedups ranging from one to four orders of magnitude.     

Finding a needle in a haystack: an interactive video archive explorer for professional video searchers

Professional video searchers typically have to search for particular video fragments in a vast video archive that contains many hours of video data. Without having the right video archive exploration tools, this is a difficult and time consuming task that induces hours of video skimming. We propose the video archive explorer, a video exploration tool that provides visual representations of automatically detected concepts to facilitate individual and collaborative video search tasks. This video archive explorer is developed by employing a user-centred methodology, which ensures that the tool is more likely to fit to the end user needs. A qualitative evaluation with professional video searchers shows that the combination of automatic video indexing, interactive visualisations and user-centred design can result in an increased usability, user satisfaction and productivity.     

Spatial pavement roughness from stationary laser scanning

Pavement roughness is a key parameter for controlling pavement construction processes and for assessing ride quality during the life of a pavement system. This paper describes algorithms used in processing three-dimensional (3D) stationary terrestrial laser scanning (STLS) point clouds to obtain surface maps of point wise indices that characterise pavement roughness. The backbone of the analysis is a quarter-car model simulation over a spatial 3D mesh grid representing the pavement surface. With the rich data-set obtained by 3D scanning, the algorithms identify several dynamic responses and inferences (suspension, acceleration and jerk) at each point in the domain. Variability in the indices is compared for a ‘rough’ pavement and a ‘smooth’ pavement in the spatial domain for different speed simulations of the quarter-car model. Results show high spatial variability in the various roughness indices both longitudinally and transversely (i.e. different wheel path positions). It is proposed that pavement roughness characterisation using a spatial framework coupled with univariate statistics provides more details on the severity and location of pavement roughness features compared to the (1D) one-dimensional methods. This paper describes approaches that provide an algorithmic framework for others collecting similar STLS 3D spatial data to be used in advanced pavement roughness characterisation.     

Growth promotive conditions for enhanced eritadenine production during submerged cultivation of Lentinus edodes

BACKGROUND: Mycelium of the medicinal mushroom shiitake, Lentinus edodes, is a potential source for production of the blood cholesterol reducing compound eritadenine. To increase the mycelial biomass and in turn the production of eritadenine, a potential growth promoting substance in the form of a water extract of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) was added to the culture media. RESULTS: The hot water extract of DDGS was shown to considerably increase the growth of shiitake mycelia in bioreactor cultivations; the mycelial yield was 2–3 times higher than in the control, and the highest final biomass concentration obtained was 3.4 g L^?1. Further, by using shake flask cultures as inoculums the bioreactor cultivation time could be reduced by 1 week for some of the experiments. The highest final titer of eritadenine in the present study was 25.1 mg L^?1, which was about 2 times higher than in the control, and was also obtained when a water extract of DDGS was added to the culture medium. CONCLUSION: It was demonstrated that a water extract of DDGS promoted the growth of shiitake mycelia in bioreactor cultivations, along with enhanced eritadenine production. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Impact of the electrodeposition chemistry used for TSV filling on the microstructural and thermo-mechanical response of Cu

In this study, the role of electrodeposition chemistry on thermo-mechanical behavior of different Cu-films is examined. For this study, three different Cu electrodeposition chemistries were analyzed using Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (TOF-SIMS), Focused Ion Beam (FIB), Laser Scanning method, Electron Backscattered Diffraction, and the Nano-indentation techniques. It is found that the level of impurity in Cu-films, resulting from the used electrodeposition additives, has a significant impact on their microstructural and thermo-mechanical behavior. Cu-films having high impurity content showed residual stress levels that are three times higher than the less impure Cu-films. This implies that the use of such impure electrodeposition chemistry for the filling of TSVs will result in high residual stresses in the Cu–TSV, thus inducing higher stresses in Si, which could be a reliability concern. Therefore, the choice of the used electrodeposition chemistry for the filling of TSVs should not be limited only to the achievement of a void free Cu–TSV, as consideration ought to be given to their thermo-mechanical response.     

Development of novel tunable light scattering coating materials for fiber optic diffusers in photodynamic cancer therapy

To homogenize light emitted from fiber optic diffusers for photodynamic therapy (PDT), novel coating materials with tunable properties were designed. A class VI medical grade UV‐curable acrylic resin for biomedical applications was used for the polymer matrix, and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) was added to the resin as a scattering agent. UV‐curability of coatings containing TiO₂ was significantly influenced by the grade and surface treatment of the TiO₂ studied. Despite using a free‐radical system without inert gas protection, all samples demonstrated considerable thermal postcuring. A novel TiO₂ surface treatment methodology was developed based on unsaturated alkoxyorganosilanes combined with unsaturated carboxylic acids for compatibilizing TiO₂ for use in the resin material studied. By adjusting the concentration of the surface‐modifying agent, the scattering efficiency and UV curability can be controlled by decreasing the effective particle size and enhancing the dispersibility of the powder filler within the resin. This modification will enable fine‐tuning of the effective size of TiO₂ particles to the wavelength of laser light to be scattered to maximize scattering efficiency in photodynamic cancer therapy and possibly also in other forms of cancer treatment (interstitial laser hyperthermia or interstitial laser photocoagulation). © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

A comparison of creativity and innovation metrics and sample validation through in-class design projects

This paper introduces a new perspective/direction on assessing and encouraging creativity in concept design for application in engineering design education and industry. This research presents several methods used to assess the creativity of similar student designs using metrics and judges to determine which product is considered the most creative. Two methods are proposed for creativity concept evaluation during early design, namely the Comparative Creativity Assessment (CCA) and the Multi-Point Creativity Assessment (MPCA) methods. A critical survey is provided along with a comparison of prominent creativity assessment methods for personalities, products, and the design process. These comparisons culminate in the motivation for new methodologies in creative product evaluation to address certain shortcomings in current methods. The paper details the creation of the two creativity assessment methods followed by an application of the CCA and MPCA to two case studies drawn from engineering design classes.     

A comparative study of schedule nervousness among high-tech manufacturers across the Straits

High-tech firms are facing multiple challenges in a competitive market. Among the multiple challenges, scheduling nervousness has been a critical issue concerning the high-tech manufacturers. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between the various schedule nervousness determinants (relationships with business partners, internal operation) and to study the impacts of schedule nervousness on the individuals dealing with scheduling issues in the supply chain (i.e., collective efficacy), among the high-tech manufacturing firms in the region (Hong Kong and Taiwan). A research framework linking schedule instability and contributors (suppliers/customers and internal operation) and individuals (perceived efficacy) is applied. The study sheds light on the relationships between scheduling instability and various determinants in the supply chain.