Suppression of Power/Ground Inductive Impedance and Simultaneous Switching Noise Using Silicon Through-Via in a 3-D Stacked Chip Package

We have thoroughly investigated the advantages of a silicon through-via (STV) interconnection in decreasing the inductive impedance of a power distribution network (PDN) and suppressing simultaneous switching noise (SSN) in a 3-D stacked chip package. A double-stacked chip package with STV interconnections was fabricated and measured together with a similar double-stacked chip package with conventional bonding-wire interconnections. We successfully demonstrated that significant reduction of the inductive PDN impedance, from 1.66 nH to 0.79 nH, can be achieved by replacing the conventional bonding wires in the multiple-stacked chip package by STV interconnections. Furthermore, we have shown that the STV interconnections can considerably reduce high-frequency SSN, by more than 80%, compared to the conventional bonding-wire interconnections.     

New era for TFT‐LCD size and viewing‐angle performance

Abstract— Samsung has announced the development of a full‐high‐definition (1920 × 1080) 82‐in. TFT‐LCD panel using Super‐PVA (S‐PVA) technology, the world's largest TFT‐LCD. In addition to the size breakthrough, this product achieves 600 nits of brightness, a contrast ratio of over 1200:1, an angle of view of 180°, a color gamut of 92%, and an 8‐msec response time. Several key enabling technologies were developed to achieve these specifications, including two‐transistor direct‐driven independently controlled S‐PVA subpixels, non‐even‐area‐ratio subpixels for optimal off‐axis gamma, gate overlap driving for larger driving margin, new CCFL technology for higher color gamut, and advanced fabrication techniques including the use of Samsung's new Gen 7 line. Many of these technologies will be applied to other products within Samsung's LCD‐TV product line. Samsung's broader development efforts toward the overall LCD‐TV market, including production status of the Gen 7 facility, will be updated.     

Membrane filtration of chlorination and extraction stage bleach plant effluent in Indian paper Industry

The present study was carried out for the treatment of effluent from the chlorination and extraction stages of a bleach plant at an Indian pulp and paper mill. The effluents were taken from an integrated paper mill employing OCE_OPHH sequence for the bleaching of hardwood pulp. Effluent was treated via ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO). Thin film composite spiral-wound modules, having cross flow membranes composed of polysulfone and polyamide, were used in the study. Three initial inlet pressures were used for the UF and NF; 6.8, 10.3, and 13.7 bar. For RO initial inlet pressures of 10.3 bar, 13.7 bar and 17.2 bar, were taken in different trials. The retentate from each experiment was recycled back to the feed and retreated until the inlet pressure increased to the maximum cut-of pressure for each membrane. The UF permeate was fed to the NF, which was subsequently fed to the RO. Variations in the trans-membrane pressure and permeate flux were assessed. The removal of pollutants and fouling indices were obtained for each membrane at each initial inlet pressure.     

Microfluidic technologies for synthetic biology

Microfluidic technologies have shown powerful abilities for reducing cost, time, and labor, and at the same time, for increasing accuracy, throughput, and performance in the analysis of biological and biochemical samples compared with the conventional, macroscale instruments. Synthetic biology is an emerging field of biology and has drawn much attraction due to its potential to create novel, functional biological parts and systems for special purposes. Since it is believed that the development of synthetic biology can be accelerated through the use of microfluidic technology, in this review work we focus our discussion on the latest microfluidic technologies that can provide unprecedented means in synthetic biology for dynamic profiling of gene expression/regulation with high resolution, highly sensitive on-chip and off-chip detection of metabolites, and whole-cell analysis.     

A Facile Strategy for the Fabrication of Cell-Laden Porous Alginate Hydrogels based on Two-Phase Aqueous Emulsions

Porous alginate (Alg) hydrogels possess many advantages as cell carriers. However, current pore generation methods require either complex or harsh fabrication processes, toxic components, or extra purification steps, limiting the feasibility and affecting the cellular survival and function. In this study, a simple and cell-friendly approach to generate highly porous cell-laden Alg hydrogels based on two-phase aqueous emulsions is reported. The pre-gel solutions, which contain two immiscible aqueous phases of Alg and caseinate (Cas), are cross-linked by calcium ions. The porous structure of the hydrogel construct is formed by subsequently removing the Cas phase from the ion-cross-linked Alg hydrogel. Those porous Alg hydrogels possess heterogeneous pores ≈100 µm and interconnected paths. Human white adipose progenitors (WAPs) encapsulated in these hydrogels self-organize into spheroids and show enhanced viability, proliferation, and adipogenic differentiation, compared to non-porous constructs. As a proof of concept, this porous Alg hydrogel platform is employed to prepare core-shell spheres for coculture of WAPs and colon cancer cells, with WAP clusters distributed around cancer cell aggregates, to investigate cellular crosstalk. This efficacious approach is believed to provide a robust and versatile platform for engineering porous-structured Alg hydrogels for applications as cell carriers and in disease modeling.