Analysis of flow between a wafer and pad during CMP processes

In this paper, we summarize the development of a numerical model for the chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) process and experimentally investigate the effects of pad conditioning on slurry transport and mixing. A simplified two-dimensional numerical model of slurry flow beneath a stationary wafer was developed to determine the pressure and shear stress beneath a wafer. The initial results indicate that in the hydrodynamic regime a positive upward pressure is exerted on the wafer. We also examined three cases to study pad effects on slurry transport; polishing with an Embossed Politex pad, an unconditioned IC1000 pad, and a conditioned IC1000 pad. Cab-O-Sperse SC1 slurry was used in a 1:1.5 dilution with water. Mixing data show that conditioning has a negligible effect on the rate of slurry entrainment and mixing; however, conditioning has a large effect on the thickness of the slurry layer between the wafer and pad. Conditioning was found to increase the slurry thickness by a factor of two. In addition the gradients in slurry age beneath the wafer were compared among the three cases. The IC1000 pads supported a gradient in the inner third of the wafer only, while the Embossed Politex pad showed a linear gradient across the wafer implying it retains pockets of unmixed slurry in the embossed topography.     

Photorefractive polarization couplers in elliptical core fibres

Photorefractive polarization couplers written internally in germanium-doped elliptical core fibers at 488, 514, and 532 nm are reported. Complete power transfer between the orthogonal polarization modes of the fiber was achieved for couplers written at 514 and 488 nm, respectively. It is shown that the couplers are nonuniform in length because of the high photoinduced attenuation and also due to two-photon absorption. Polarization coupling of higher order modes is also demonstrated at shorter wavelengths where their polarization beat lengths match the polarization beat length of the fundamental mode at which the coupler was written.<>     

Statistics of differential rain attenuation on adjacent earth-space propagation paths

Forty hours of observations of the three-dimensional radar reflectivity structure of rain in the Montreal area were used to simulate the centimetre-wavelength attenuations occurring simultaneously over a multitude of earth-space propagation paths. The same data base had been used in a previous study which confirmed that the radar estimates of attenuation statistics are in good agreement with attenuation distributions measured independently by passive radiometers. Differences between the attenuations occurring simultaneously over pairs of paths to a common point at the ground were tabulated as a function of angular path separation, viewing direction, radio frequency, and system margin. These data are required for evaluating the possibility of interference at an earth station caused by a signal from an adjacent satellite. In this study, values of angular separation from 2 to 9 degrees, radio frequencies from 11 to 30 GHz, elevation angles from 5 to 30 degrees, and system margins from 2 to 10 dB were considered. It was found that the cumulative distributions of differential attenuation could be characterized effectively by the attenuation difference occurring during 1 % of the time that the carrier signal suffered some attenuation, but not an attenuation exceeding the system margin. It was also found that this characteristic differential attenuation could be expressed to good approximation as a simple analytical function of the system parameters.     

Combined phase singularity and wavefront analysis for optical maps of ventricular fibrillation

Much of the research into the mechanisms of ventricular fibrillation (VF) employs high-resolution mapping of electrical activation and recovery patterns. We previously developed a method for analyzing electrically mapped VF patterns that was based on identifying individual VF wavefronts. We now introduce a related method designed to take into account the information on repolarization that is present in optically mapped VF data. The new method first converts raw fluorescence data to an angular variable that tracks the phase of the mapped tissue through the depolarization-repolarization cycle. We define wavefronts in this context as isolines of phase that terminate either at boundaries or at singular points within the phase field. These singularities are the pivots of functional reentry and are important determinants of VF patterns. We parameterize VF by constructing data structures that describe wavefronts and singularities and also maintain wavefront-wavefront, wavefront-singularity, and singularity-singularity relationships. We describe one important application of this parameterization, which is to identify, localize, and characterize the importance of occurrences of propagation block during VF.     

Photolithographic Route to the Fabrication of Micro/Nanowires of III–V Semiconductors

Nano/microwires of semiconducting materials (e.g., GaAs and InP) with triangular cross‐sections can be fabricated by “top–down” approaches that combine lithography of high‐quality bulk wafers (using either traditional photolithography or phase‐shift optical lithography) with anisotropic chemical etching. This method gives good control over the lateral dimensions, lengths, and morphologies of free‐standing wires. The behaviors of many different resist layers and etching chemistries are presented. It is shown how wire arrays with highly ordered alignments can be transfer printed onto plastic substrates. This “top–down” approach provides a simple, effective, and versatile way of generating high‐quality single‐crystalline wires of various compound semiconductors. The resultant wires and wire arrays have potential applications in electronics, optics, optoelectronics, and sensing.     

Engineered Elastomer Substrates for Guided Assembly of Complex 3D Mesostructures by Spatially Nonuniform Compressive Buckling

Approaches capable of creating 3D mesostructures in advanced materials (device‐grade semiconductors, electroactive polymers, etc.) are of increasing interest in modern materials research. A versatile set of approaches exploits transformation of planar precursors into 3D architectures through the action of compressive forces associated with release of prestrain in a supporting elastomer substrate. Although a diverse set of 3D structures can be realized in nearly any class of material in this way, all previously reported demonstrations lack the ability to vary the degree of compression imparted to different regions of the 2D precursor, thus constraining the diversity of 3D geometries. This paper presents a set of ideas in materials and mechanics in which elastomeric substrates with engineered distributions of thickness yield desired strain distributions for targeted control over resultant 3D mesostructures geometries. This approach is compatible with a broad range of advanced functional materials from device‐grade semiconductors to commercially available thin films, over length scales from tens of micrometers to several millimeters. A wide range of 3D structures can be produced in this way, some of which have direct relevance to applications in tunable optics and stretchable electronics.     

Ionic Hydrogels with Biomimetic 4D‐Printed Mechanical Gradients: Models for Soft‐Bodied Aquatic Organisms

Direct‐ink writing (DIW), a rapidly growing and advancing form of additive manufacturing, provides capacities for on‐demand tailoring of materials to meet specific requirements for final designs. The penultimate challenge faced with the increasing demand of customization is to extend beyond modification of shape to create 4D structures, dynamic 3D structures that can respond to stimuli in the local environment. Patterning material gradients is foundational for assembly of 4D structures, however, there remains a general need for useful materials chemistries to generate gray scale gradients via DIW. Here, presented is a simple materials assembly paradigm using DIW to pattern ionotropic gradients in hydrogels. Using structures that architecturally mimic sea‐jelly organisms, the capabilities of spatial patterning are highlighted as exemplified by selectively programming the valency of the ion‐binding agents. Spatial gradients, when combined with geometry, allow for programming the flexibility and movement of iron oxide nanoparticle–loaded ionotropic hydrogels to generate 4D‐printed structures that actuate in the presence of local magnetic fields. This work highlights approaches to 4D design complexity that exploits 3D‐printed gray‐scale/gradient mechanics.     

Temperature compensation of total power radiometers

This paper describes a new technique to compensate output variations of total power radiometers due to physical temperature changes of the instrument. This technique performs the correction without the addition of expensive microwave hardware required in Dicke switching or many other widely used methods. A characterization period, over which the input antenna temperature is known, indicates the appropriate output adjustment needed for a change in physical temperature of the radiometer. The method effectively corrects the output in an example radiometer system built with inexpensive commercially available parts. For a 30-K variation in physical temperature, the measured data shows an improvement from 60-K peak-to-peak error to 6.9 K with an average absolute error of 1.1 K.     

Clinical mastitis in primiparous Holsteins: comparisons of bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency carriers and noncarriers

The objective of this study was to determine the impact of bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency on clinical mastitis incidence, severity, and duration in Holstein cows. Genomic DNA from milk of 847 Holstein cows in six Pennsylvania herds was used to determine bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency genotypes (82 or 9.7% carriers). Data on clinical mastitis incidence, severity, duration, and pathogen involved were collected during first lactation for the project cows. One hundred ninety-four cows had one or more clinical mastitis episodes; milk samples from each quarter with clinical mastitis were collected at discovery of the episode and were cultured following National Mastitis Council recommendations. The overall incidence of clinical mastitis was significantly affected by sire and herd-year-season of calving. In addition, incidence of clinical mastitis tended to increase with age at first calving. Severity and duration of clinical mastitis were impacted by the pathogen involved. Incidence of clinical mastitis from all pathogens, from coagulase-negative staphylococci, and from coliform bacteria was not significantly related to bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency status. Carriers tended to have lower rates of mastitis from streptococci other than Streptococcus agalactiae when compared with noncarriers, but this result should be interpreted with caution because of the low frequency of mastitis from the streptococci. Bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency status was unrelated to severity or duration of clinical episodes. Bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency carriers are probably similar to noncarriers in resistance to clinical mastitis.     

Optical memory using a vertical-cavity surface emitting laser

Data are presented demonstrating optical switching and memory in a bistable vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL). Optical switching from lasing to nonlasing or from nonlasing to lasing in the vertical-cavity laser was demonstrated using an AlGaAs probe laser at ~0.78 μm