Effects of underfill material properties on the reliability ofsolder bumped flip chip on board with imperfect underfill encapsulants

Three different types of underfill imperfections were considered; i.e., (1) interfacial delamination between the underfill encapsulant and the solder mask on the PCB (crack initiated at the tip of underfill fillet), (2) interfacial delamination between the chip and the underfill encapsulant (crack initiated at the chip corner), and (3) the same as (2) but without the underfill fillet. Five different combinations of coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) and Young's modulus with the aforementioned delaminations were investigated. A fracture mechanics approach was employed for computational analysis. The strain energy release rate at the crack tip and the maximum accumulated equivalent plastic strain in the solder bumps of all cases were evaluated as indices of reliability. Besides, mechanical shear tests were performed to characterize the shear strength at the underfill-solder mask interface and the underfill-chip passivation interface. The main objective of the present study is to achieve a better understanding in the thermo-mechanical behavior of flip chip on board (FCOB) assemblies with imperfect underfill encapsulants     

High capacity image steganographic model

Steganography is an ancient art of conveying messages in a secret way that only the receiver knows the existence of a message. So a fundamental requirement for a steganographic method is imperceptibility; this means that the embedded messages should not be discernible to the human eye. There are two other requirements, one is to maximise the embedding capacity, and the other is security. The least-significant bit (LSB) insertion method is the most common and easiest method for embedding messages in an image. However, how to decide on the maximal embedding capacity for each pixel is still an open issue. An image steganographic model is proposed that is based on variable-size LSB insertion to maximise the embedding capacity while maintaining image fidelity. For each pixel of a grey-scale image, at least four bits can be used for message embedding. Three components are provided to achieve the goal. First, according to contrast and luminance characteristics, the capacity evaluation is provided to estimate the maximum embedding capacity of each pixel. Then the minimum-error replacement method is adapted to find a grey scale as close to the original one as possible. Finally, the improved grey-scale compensation, which takes advantage of the peculiarities of the human visual system, is used to eliminate the false contouring effect. Two methods, pixelwise and bitwise, are provided to deal with the security issue when using the proposed model. Experimental results show effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed model     

Modelling quantisation error from quantised Laplacian distributions

Post-processing, restoration or transcoding of JPEG and MPEG compressed images require a quantisation error model of discrete cosine transform coefficients. A method is presented to recover the original probability density function (pdf) parameter from quantised data. Assuming that the original pdf of the coefficients is Laplacian. Quantisation errors are calculated from the Laplacian model     

Distributed sample acquisition-based fast cell search in inter-cellasynchronous DS/CDMA systems

We introduce a fast fell-search scheme based on the distributed sample acquisition (DSA) technique for inter-cell asynchronous DS/CDMA systems. The proposed DSA scheme enables the long-code acquisition extremely fast even without employing any passive matched filter which used to dominate synchronization circuit complexity in asynchronous DS/CDMA systems. In the DSA-based asynchronous DS/CDMA system, each base station spreads its DQPSK-modulated long-code generator information with an assigned short-period igniter sequence, and broadcasts it as a common pilot signal. A mobile station first identifies and acquires the igniter sequence of the cell group currently located, then detects the conveyed long-code generator information by despreading the acquired igniter sequence, thereby identifying and synchronizing the long-code of the current cell. The mean acquisition time of this proposed DSA-based inter-cell asynchronous DS/CDMA system, evaluated under the assumption that each of 512 cell-specific long-codes is a 10-ms segment (38400-chips for the chip rates of 3.84 Mchips/s) of complex Gold codes of period 2¹⁸-1 and the igniter sequence (or, group code) set is composed of 7 complex orthogonal Gold codes of period 256, turned out even shorter than that of the inter-cell synchronous DS/CDMA systems employing the conventional serial search method. Furthermore, simulation results showed that the DSA scheme employing a passive matched filter is much superior in terms of acquisition time and robustness, to the 3GPP W-CDMA synchronization scheme having comparable complexity     

Improved light-load efficiency for synchronous rectifier voltageregulator module

DC/DC converter with high efficiency over a wide load range is necessary for many low voltage applications, such as battery supplied systems and micro-processor power supplies-voltage regulator module (VRM). In order to improve the efficiency of low voltage converters, synchronous rectifier technology is widely used. The disadvantage of this technology is low efficiency at light load. This paper proposes a new technology, which utilizes the duty cycle signal, to improve light load efficiency with simple implementation. Since current sensors are not required, high density and high efficiency can be achieved that makes the whole circuit suitable for integration. In the paper, two application examples are given. Experimental results verified that the proposed control schemes significantly improve the efficiency of synchronous rectifier buck converters at light load     

Threshold voltage reduction model for buried channel PMOSFETs using quasi-2-D Poisson equation

A quasi-two-dimensional (2-D) threshold voltage reduction model for buried channel pMOSFETs is derived. In order to account for the coexistence of isoand anisotype junctions in a buried channel structure, we have incorporated charge sharing effect in the quasi-2-D Poisson model. The proposed model correctly predicts the effects of drain bias (V/sub DS/), counter doping layer thickness (x/sub CD/), counter doping concentration (N/sub CD/), substrate doping concentration (N/sub sub/) and source/drain junction depth (x/sub j/), and the new model performs satisfactorily in the sub-0.1 /spl mu/m regime. By using the proposed model on the threshold voltage reduction and subthreshold swing, we have obtained the process windows of the counter doping thickness and the substrate concentration. These process windows are very useful for predicting the scaling limit of the buried channel pMOSFET with known process conditions or systematic design of the buried channel pMOSFET.     

Cell planning with capacity expansion in mobile communications: atabu search approach

The cell planning problem with capacity expansion is examined in wireless communications. The problem decides the location and capacity of each new base station to cover expanded and increased traffic demand. The objective is to minimize the cost of new base stations. The coverage by the new and existing base stations is constrained to satisfy a proper portion of traffic demands. The received signal power at the base station also has to meet the receiver sensitivity. The cell planning is formulated as an integer linear programming problem and solved by a tabu search algorithm. In the tabu search intensification by add and drop move is implemented by short-term memory embodied by two tabu lists. Diversification is designed to investigate proper capacities of new base stations and to restart the tabu search from new base station locations. Computational results show that the proposed tabu search is highly effective. A 10% cost reduction is obtained by the diversification strategies. The gap from the optimal solutions is approximately 1~5% in problems that can be handled in appropriate time limits. The proposed tabu search also outperforms the parallel genetic algorithm. The cost reduction by the tabu search approaches 10~20% in problems: with 2500 traffic demand areas (TDAs) in code division multiple access (CDMA)     

Sommerfeld and Zenneck wave propagation for a finitely conductingone-dimensional rough surface

Starting with Zenneck and Sommerfeld wave propagation over a flat finitely conducting surface has been extensively studied by Wait (see IEEE Antennas Propagat. Mag., vol.40, p.7-24, 1998) and many other authors. We examine propagation over a finitely conducting rough surface, also studied by many people including Feinberg (1944), Bass and Fuks (1979), and Barrick (see Radio Sci., vol.6, p.517-26, and vol.6., p.527-33). This paper extends the multiple scattering theories based on Dyson and Bethe-Salpeter equations and their smoothing approximations. The theory developed here applies to rough surfaces with small root-mean-square (RMS) heights (σ<0.1λ). We limit ourselves to the one-dimensional (1-D) rough surface with finite conductivity excited by a magnetic line source, which is equivalent to the Sommerfeld dipole problem in two dimensions (x-z plane). With the presence of finite roughness, the total field decomposes into the coherent field and the incoherent field. The coherent (average) field is obtained by using Dyson's equation, a fundamental integral equation based on the modified perturbation method. Once the coherent field has been obtained, we determine the Sommerfeld pole, the effective surface impedance, and the Zenneck wave for rough surfaces of small RMS heights. The coherent field is written in terms of the Fourier transform, which is equivalent to the Sommerfeld integral. Numerical examples of the attenuation function are compared to Monte Carlo simulations and are shown to contrast the flat and rough surface cases. Next, we obtain the general expression for the incoherent mutual coherence functions and scattering cross section for rough conducting surfaces     

Improved Hydrogen Capping Effect in n-Type Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells by SiN(Si-Rich)/SiN(N-Rich) Stacked Passivation

The effect of hydrogen capping of SiN(Si-rich)/SiN(N-rich) stacks for n-type c-Si solar cells was investigated. Use of a passivation layer consisting of Si-rich SiN with a refractive index (n) of 2.7 and N-rich SiN with a refractive index of 2.1 improved the thermal stability. A single SiN passivation layer with a refractive index of 2.05 resulted in an initial lifetime of 200 μs whereas the layer with a refractive index of 2.7 resulted in a high initial lifetime of 2 ms, but the layer degraded rapidly after firing. A stacked passivation layer with refractive indices of 2.1 and 2.7 had a stable lifetime of 1.5 ms with an implied open-circuit voltage (iV _oc) of 720 mV after firing. The thermally stable passivation mechanism with changing amounts of Si–N and Si–H bonding was analyzed by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Incorporation of the SiN _x stack layer (2.7 + 2.1) into the passivated rear of n-type Cz silicon screen-printed solar cells resulted in energy conversion efficiency of 19.69%. Improved internal quantum efficiency in the long-wavelength range above 900 nm, with V _oc of 630 mV, is mainly because of superior passivation of the rear surface compared with conventional solar cells.     

Unsupervised classification of polarimetric synthetic aperture Radar images using fuzzy clustering and EM clustering

Five clustering techniques are compared by classifying a polarimetric synthetic aperture radar image. The pixels are complex covariance matrices, which are known to have the complex Wishart distribution. Two techniques are fuzzy clustering algorithms based on the standard /spl lscr//sub 1/ and /spl lscr//sub 2/ metrics. Two others are new, combining a robust fuzzy C-means clustering technique with a distance measure based on the Wishart distribution. The fifth clustering technique is an application of the expectation-maximization algorithm assuming the data are Wishart. The clustering algorithms that are based on the Wishart are demonstrably more effective than the clustering algorithms that appeal only to the /spl lscr//sub p/ norms. The results support the conclusion that the pixel model is more important than the clustering mechanism.