Single chamber compact two-phase heat spreaders withmicrofabricated boiling enhancement structures

Presents the thermal performance evaluation of a compact single-chamber two-phase heat spreader. The heat spreader setup has a central evaporator section with integrated fins for cooling along the edges. The evaporator employs a micro-fabricated three-dimensional (3-D) copper structure for enhancing boiling heat transfer. The thermal performance of the system was characterized at various power levels and condenser cooling conditions. The size of the boiling enhancement structure and effects of liquid fill volumes on performance were also investigated. Incorporation of the enhancement structure resulted in an improvement in the spreader thermal performance by decreasing the wall temperature at the evaporator by 8°C, for a power dissipation of 36 W/cm² at an air speed of 1 m/s. The maximum heat flux obtained based on a maximum evaporator temperature of 75°C for an air speed of 1 m/s was 42.5 W/cm². Variation in the liquid fill volume showed negligible effect on the maximum temperature at the evaporator, as long as the enhanced structure was fully flooded     

Reactive ion etching and characterization of p-silk ultra low-k film

Reactive ion etch (RIE) of p-SiLK, a spin-on polymer based ultra low-k (ULK) material with a k value of /spl sim/2.2 was characterized and its influence on electrical yield and dielectric breakdown is presented here. Material characterization was done using blanket films after curing and the effect of exposure to different conventional plasma etch gas mixtures was studied for surface composition, roughness and dielectric constant. Trench etch process was developed for 130-nm technology node for single damascene process integration. Dual hard mask approach was taken and two etch schemes viz., etching under hardmask and etching under photoresist were evaluated. In both schemes, trench etch profiles were near vertical and critical dimension (CD) control was within 10%. RIE lag and the carbon depletion at the sidewalls were found to be insignificant confirming acceptable etch process performance. Etching under photoresist scheme was found advantageous in terms of trench profile for isolated structures, reduced cycle time making the process cost effective and reduced post-CMP defects. However, from the comparison of electrical test results, etch under hardmask scheme showed higher electrical yield and better performance than etch under PR scheme. Although trench sidewalls were exposed to plasma during both schemes, sidewall damage did not contribute to overall leakage. The RIE process developed and the characterization results have confirmed the compatibility of material and RIE process for successful process integration.     

WLAN-GPRS Tight Coupling Based Interworking Architecture with Vertical Handoff Support

There have been parallel technological developments in wireless local network (WLAN) and cellular wide area network (WAN) technologies. This is evidenced by the boom in fast WLANs enabled devices, the spread of 2.5 G networks and the increasing emergence 3 G communication networks, applications and terminals. The prospects of integrating WLAN and cellular WAN technologies with support for seamless handoffs between the two heterogeneous have changed the mentality of researchers from considering WLAN technology as a threat to the future of wide area cellular networks to accepting the technology as a complementary solution. A number of architectures for interworking the two different network types have been proposed mainly based on the loose coupling interworking approach recommended by the ETSI. One of the main weaknesses anticipated with loose coupling architecture is excessive handoff latency, which may lead to data loss, traffic congestion and handoff failure. In this paper an architecture for interworking WLAN and the GPRS networks, based on the ETSI tight coupling approach, is proposed. Fredson Alfred Phiri holds a Master of Engineering Science (MEngSc) degree obtained from Multimedia University, Malaysia in 2005 and a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Malawi where he graduated in 2001. Mr. Phiri is currently working as a lecturer at the Polytechnic of Namibia (Namibia’s University of Science and Technology) where he also chairs the Electronics and Telecommunications (E-TEL) Research Group. He has previously worked as a lecturer at the University of Malawi, as a Telecommunications Engineer at Technocentre (Malawi), and as a Telecommunication Technician at the Malawi Telecommunications Limited (MTL). Mr. Phiri’s research interests include Integration of Mobile Data Networks, Network Programming and Powerline Communication. M.B.R. Murthy has obtained his B.E. (Electrical) from Andhra University, College of Engineering, Waltair, India, M.Sc (Engg) in Communication Systems from Regional Engineering College-Rourkela, India and PhD from Karnatak University, Dharwad, India. He has over 32 years of academic experience teaching under graduates and graduate students. He has vast research experience and has 43 publications in reputed journals and international conferences. He is a senior member at IEEE. He had six years of teaching and research experience at Multi Media University Malaysia. Currently he is Professor ECE and Dean PG engineering and R&D in GEC Gudlavalleru, India.     

Reliability modeling involving two Weibull distributions

In this paper, we study three different models, each involving two Weibull distributions, to model failure data. We carry out a characterization of the plots on Weibull plotting paper (WPP). This allows one to decide on the appropriateness of a particular model formulation to model a given data set. For each of the three model formulations, we discuss parameter estimation based on the plots and illustrate their application using real data.     

Entrapment neuropathies

Relative frequency of entrapment neuropathies was studied from amongst the patients referred to an electrodiagnostic medicine laboratory for electrophysiological studies. During the study period electrophysiological procedures were done on 650 patients with various peripheral nerve disorders. The entrapment neuropathies constituted 8.5%. Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) was the commonest entrapment neuropathy (83.6%). Diagnosis of CTS was established in 84 Patients referred with the diagnosis of CTS. Electrophysiological tests confirmed the diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome in 4 (15.4%) of the 26 patients referred with this diagnosis and in 5 (19.3%) of them the diagnosis turned out to be CTS. Diagnosis of cubital tunnel syndrome was not suspected clinically in all the 3 patients, they were referred with the diagnosis of ulnar neuropathy. In both the patients with tarsal tunnel syndrome the initial diagnosis was peripheral neuropathy.     

Data base design methodology for structural analysis and design optimization

A methodology to design data bases for finite element analysis and structural design optimization is described. The methodology considers three views of data organization-conceptual, internal, and external. Tabular and matrix forms of data are included. The relational data model is used in the data base design. Entity, relation, and attributes are considered to form a conceptual view of data. First, second, and third normal forms of data are suggested to design an internal model. Several aspects such as processing, iterative needs, multiple views of data, efficiency of storage and access time, and transitive data are considered in the methodology.     

Fracture Mechanics Model for Analysis of Plain and Reinforced High-Performance Concrete Beams

In developing a one-dimensional analysis and design procedure for reinforced concrete structures, research is generally based on yield phenomena and the plastic flow of steel in tension and concrete in compression. The ability of concrete to resist tension is considered in the form of tension stiffening or is completely disregarded. This procedure does not account for the influence of structural size in changing the failure mode and the stress distribution across the uncracked or cracked ligament. The key factor affecting this stress distribution is found to be the strain-softening modulus. This paper presents an improved model that is based on the fundamental equilibrium equation for the progressive failure of plain concrete beams. The concrete stress-strain relationship in tension is derived by calculating the peak tensile stress and softening modulus for different depths of beams on the basis of the fracture parameters obtained with the size effect law. Thus, the proposed model uses the peak tensile stress and the softening modulus, which vary depending on the size of the beam. To study the effect of the strength of high-performance concrete (HPC) on the concrete tensile stress-strain relationship, the experimental load-deflection plots of different-sized beams are compared with those obtained by using the proposed analytical model for eight different mixes made with locally available fly ash and slag. The model is also extended for lightly reinforced concrete beams, and the results are compared with those in the literature and are found to be in good agreement.