A 3.3-V single power supply 16-Mb nonvolatile virtual DRAM using aNAND flash memory technology

A 3.3-V 16-Mb nonvolatile memory having operation virtually identical to DRAM with package pin compatibility has been developed. Read and write operations are fully DRAM compatible except for a longer RAS precharge time after write. Fast random access time of 63 ns with the NAND flash memory cell is achieved by using a hierarchical row decoder scheme and a unique folded bit-line architecture which also allows bit-by-bit program verify and inhibit operation. Fast page mode with a column address access time of 21 ns is achieved by sensing and latching 4 k cells simultaneously. To allow byte alterability, nonvolatile restore operation with self-contained erase is developed. Self-contained erase is word-line based, and increased cell disturb due to the word-line based erase is relaxed by adding a boosted bit-line scheme to a conventional self-boosting technique. The device is fabricated in a 0.5-μm triple-well, p-substrate CMOS process using two-metal and three-poly interconnect layers. A resulting die size is 86.6 mm², and the effective cell size including the overhead of string select transistors is 2.0 μm²     

Evolution of a unique flip-chip MCM-L package

Flip-chip (FC) packaging is gaining acceptance in the electronics packaging arena. More sources of bumped die and high density printed wiring boards (PWBs) laminates become available every day. Also, known good die (KGD) issues are being resolved by several companies, and design tools to perform FC packaging designs are becoming more available. This is the infrastructure FC packaging requires to become the packaging method of choice, particularly for >200 I/O applications. FC packages come in a variety of styles: FC plastic ball grid arrays (FC/PBGAs), FC plastic quad flat packs (PC/PQFPs), etc. Presently, the industry's drive is toward single chip packages on low cost laminates; i.e., organic substrates. Work is starting to occur in the area of multichip FC packages, due to the need to increase memory to microprocessor speed communication. In this article, a unique FC/MCM-L package is discussed. Part I will concentrate on the development and reliability testing of a one to four chip leadless FC/MCM-L package. Unlike traditional surface mount (SM) components that are attached to printed wiring boards (PWBs) with leads, the SM pads within the body of the package are used for attachment to a PWB. Collapsible eutectic solder domes are deposited on the SM pads by traditional screen printing. After reflow, these domes are used to connect the FC/MCM-L to the PWB. Challenges encountered during package design, PWB fabrication and first and second level assembly will be discussed. Part II of this article will focus on the extension of this FC/MCM-L package to a BGA second level interconnect. Change of FC attachment method, design enhancements, assembly, and reliability testing results will be presented     

HF RFID Reader Antenna with Loop Switch for Avoiding Magnetic Coupling

This paper studies the magnetic coupling between two adjacent loop antennas that are parallel to each other in a plane and presents a new practical method to avoid the resulting magnetic coupling interference. The study focuses on the high frequency radio‐frequency identification (RFID) system for casino applications, where several loop antennas are closely built into a game table to monitor gaming chips. In this case, neighboring loop antennas may severely interfere with each other by magnetic coupling, which leads to the malfunction of the RFID system. In this paper, we present a practical loop antenna with a new loop switch circuit for avoiding magnetic coupling. The loop switch circuit is integrated with a matching circuit and automatically operated by using an interrogating signal from a reader. We verified the validity of the proposed design by showing that an RFID reader with the proposed antenna can exactly and separately read the gaming chips placed on the different betting zones of a game table.     

Balanced RF Duplexer with Low Interference Using Hybrid BAW Resonators for LTE Application

A balanced RF duplexer with low interference in an extremely narrow bandgap is proposed. The Long‐Term Evolution band‐7 duplexer should be designed to prevent the co‐existence problem with the WiFi band, whose fractional bandgap corresponds to only 0.7%. By implementing a hybrid bulk acoustic wave (BAW) structure, the temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF) value of the duplexer is successfully reduced and the suppressed interference for the narrow bandgap is performed. To achieve an RF duplexer with balanced Rx output topology, we also propose a novel balanced BAW Rx topology and RF circuit block. The novel balanced Rx filter is designed with both lattice‐ and ladder‐type configurations to ensure excellent attenuation. The RF circuit block, which is located between the antenna and the Rx filter, is developed to simultaneously function as a balance‐to‐unbalance transformer and a phase shift network. The size of the fabricated duplexer is as small as 2.0 mm × 1.6 mm. The maximum insertion loss of the duplexer is as low as 2.4 dB in the Tx band, and the minimum attenuation in the WiFi band is as high as 36.8 dB. The TCF value is considerably lowered to ?16.9 ppm/°C.     

Quantitative Evaluation Method for Etch Sidewall Profile of Through‐Silicon Vias (TSVs)

Through‐silicon via (TSV) technology provides much of the benefits seen in advanced packaging, such as threedimensional integrated circuits and 3D packaging, with shorter interconnection paths for homo‐ and heterogeneous device integration. In TSV, a destructive cross‐sectional analysis of an image from a scanning electron microscope is the most frequently used method for quality control purposes. We propose a quantitative evaluation method for TSV etch profiles whereby we consider sidewall angle, curvature profile, undercut, and scallop. A weighted sum of the four evaluated parameters, nominally total score (TS), is suggested for the numerical evaluation of an individual TSV profile. Uniformity, defined by the ratio of the standard deviation and average of the parameters that comprise TS, is suggested for the evaluation of wafer‐to‐wafer variation in volume manufacturing.     

Simultaneous Optimization of Luminance and Color Chromaticity of Phosphors Using a Nondominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm

Acquiring materials that simultaneously meet two or more conflicting requirements is very difficult. For instance, a situation wherein the color chromaticity and photoluminescence (PL) intensity of phosphors conflict with one another is a frequent problem. Therefore, identification of a good phosphor that simultaneously exhibits both desirable PL intensity and color chromaticity is a challenge. A high‐throughput synthesis and characterization strategy that was reinforced by a nondominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA)‐based optimization process was employed to simultaneously optimize both the PL intensity and color chromaticity of a MgO–ZnO–SrO–CaO–BaO–Al₂O₃–Ga₂O₃–MnO system. NSGA operations, such as Pareto sorting and niche sharing, and the ensuing high‐throughput synthesis and characterization resulted in identification of promising green phosphors, i.e., Mn²⁺‐doped AB₂O₄ (A = alkali earth, B = Al and Ga) spinel solid solutions, for use in either plasma display panels or cold cathode fluorescent lamps.     

High efficiency red phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes using a spirobenzofluorene type phosphine oxide as a host material

High efficiency red phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes have been developed using a spirobenzofluorene type phosphine oxide (SPPO2) as a host material. The SPPO2 had a high glass transition temperature of 119 °C and a smooth surface morphology with a surface roughness less than 1 nm. The red device with the SPPO2 as a host showed a quantum efficiency of 14.3% with a current efficiency of 20.4 cd/A.     

Flexible Transparent Reduced Graphene Oxide Sensor Coupled with Organic Dye Molecules for Rapid Dual‐Mode Ammonia Gas Detection

Flexible chemical sensors utilizing chemically sensitive nanomaterials are of great interest for wearable sensing applications. However, obtaining high performance flexible chemical sensors with high sensitivity, fast response, transparency, stability, and workability at ambient conditions is still challenging. Herein, a newly designed flexible and transparent chemical sensor of reduced graphene oxide (R‐GO) coupled with organic dye molecules (bromophenol blue) is introduced. This device has promising properties such as high mechanical flexibility (>5000 bending cycles with a bending radius of 0.95 cm) and optical transparency (>60% in the visible region). Furthermore, stacking the water‐trapping dye layer on R‐GO enables a higher response as well as workability in a large relative humidity range (up to 80%), and dual‐mode detection capabilities of colorimetric and electrical sensing for NH₃ gas (5–40 ppm). These advantageous attributes of the flexible and transparent R‐GO sensor coupled with organic dye molecules provide great potential for real‐time monitoring of toxic gas/vapor in future practical chemical sensing at room conditions in wearable electronics.     

Power generation characteristics of a sandwich‐type self‐heating thermoelectric generator with spatially varying embedded heat source

Power generation characteristics of a sandwich‐type thermoelectric generator in which the heat source is embedded into thermoelectric elements are investigated. Our previous work on a similar concept only considered a uniform heat source distribution inside thermoelectric elements. In this work, the effect of the spatial distribution of a heat source is examined. In particular, the effect of the concentration of heat source near the one end, that is, the hot end, is intensively studied as a potential means of improving the efficiency of the device. Although the effects of heat source concentration in impractical cases without heat transfer limitations on the cold side remain ambiguous, it become clear that heat source concentration indeed has positive effects in more realistic cases with finite heat transfer coefficients imposed on the cold side. Because of the relatively low efficiency of typical thermoelectric generation, a significant amount of heat must be dissipated from the cold end of the thermoelectric element. Greater heat source concentration near the hot end leads to more effective utilization of available heat source, reduces the amount of heat rejected at the cold end, and lowers the hot end temperature of the thermoelectric element. Overall, it is suggested that heat source concentration can be used as a method to achieve more efficient operation and better structural integrity of the system. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modeling and simulation of 2D lithium‐ion solid state battery

The goal of the work presented here was to develop a simulation approach for studying the effects of materials and geometry on the performance of Li‐ion Solid State Batteries (SSB). Simulation provides the opportunity to explore, with ease, different material properties and cell geometries to optimize a Li‐ion SSB's performance. Simulations shown in this paper are time‐dependent and consider electrochemical reaction, heat transfer, the diffusion of Li‐ions and electrons in the electrolyte, and solid Li diffusion in the positive electrode. A 2D model was simulated and the results shown. The simulations were able to show discharge curves, heat flux, the concentration of Li‐ions, electrons, and solid Li at any time in the discharge cycle. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.