High-performance MIM capacitor using ALD high-k HfO/sub 2/-Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ laminate dielectrics

For the first time, we successfully fabricated and demonstrated high performance metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors with HfO/sub 2/-Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ laminate dielectric using atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique. Our data indicates that the laminate MIM capacitor can provide high capacitance density of 12.8 fF//spl mu/m/sup 2/ from 10 kHz up to 20 GHz, very low leakage current of 3.2 /spl times/ 10/sup -8/ A/cm/sup 2/ at 3.3 V, small linear voltage coefficient of capacitance of 240 ppm/V together with quadratic one of 1830 ppm/V/sup 2/, temperature coefficient of capacitance of 182 ppm//spl deg/C, and high breakdown field of /spl sim/6 MV/cm as well as promising reliability. As a result, the HfO/sub 2/-Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ laminate is a very promising candidate for next generation MIM capacitor for radio frequency and mixed signal integrated circuit applications.     

具有阻力特性材料的σ_f－σ关系及一种新的阻力曲线测定方法

通过对相变增韧陶瓷及一种可切削玻璃－陶瓷动态疲劳（恒应力速率）试验中高应力速率区断裂应力下降现象的理论分析，发现这种现象与材料的阻力特性（Ｒ－ｃｕｒｖｅ）密切相关。确立的σ_ｆ－σ理论关系能够很好地描述整个应力速率区间内的动态疲劳试验结果。高应力速率区σ_ｆ－σ在双对数坐标下为负斜率直线，直线斜率为（ｍ为阻力曲线ＫＲ＝ｋ（△ａ）~ｍ的指数），断裂主要由材料阻力行为控制；低应力速率区，σ_ｆ－σ在双对数坐标下为正斜率直线，直线斜率为　（ｎ为应力腐蚀指数），断裂主要由材料应力腐蚀行为控制。建立了测定材料阻力特性的一种新方法，分别用这种方法及压痕／弯曲方法对一种可切削玻璃－陶瓷的阻力特性进行了实验测定，两种方法所得结果有很好的一致性。     

Cooling and Solidification of Melted Drops in an Immiscible Cooling Medium

The cooling and solidification of melted drops during their movement in an immiscible cooling medium is widely employed for granulation in the chemical industry, and a study of these processes to provides a basis for the design of the granulation tower height and the temperature of the cooling medium is reported. A physical model of the cooling and solidification of the drop is established and the numerical calculation is performed. The influences of the key factors in the solidification, i.e., Bi number, drop diameter, temperature of the cooling medium, etc. are presented. The cooling and solidification during wax granulation in a water‐cooling tower and during urea granulation in an air‐cooling tower (spraying tower) are described in detail. Characteristics of the solidification and temperature distribution within the particle at different times are shown. The model and calculations can be used for structure design of the granulation tower and optimization of the operation parameters.     

Slow eroding biodegradable multiblock poloxamer copolymers

Biodegradable multiblock poloxamers (BMPs) with gel duration of 8 h to several weeks were prepared by varying their molecular weights from 4000 to 40 000 g mol^?1. The molecular weight of the BMP was controlled by changing the poloxamer to coupling agent ratio. Assuming a micelle packing model of the BMP gel, as in the case of a poloxamer gel, the micelle properties and critical gel concentration of BMPs were investigated on the basis of the scaling concept. The findings suggest that the control of molecular weight by hydrolyzable groups can be a facile approach to optimize the gel properties for biomedical applications. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Solution of Helmholtz equation by Trefftz method

The application of the Trefftz method for calculating wave forces on offshore structures is presented. Indirect and direct formulations using complete and non-singular systems of Trefftz functions for the Helmholtz equation are posed in this paper. An effective technique using different interpolation functions for the velocity potential and wave force are suggested to improve the computational accuracy of the wave force. The numerical examples show that the present method is highly efficient and accurate.     

Novel tiO2 nanocatalysts for wastewater purification: tapping energy from the sun.

Water treatment using TiO2 semiconductor as a durable heterogeneous photocatalyst has been the focus of environmentalists in recent years. Currently, we developed an inexpensive and highly efficient approach for synthesizing nitrogen-doped TiO2 with lower band-gap energy that can respond to visible light. Doping on the molecular scale led to an enhanced nitrogen concentration of up to 21.8%. Reflectance measurements showed the synthesized N-doped TiO2 nanoparticles are catalytically active with the absorbance that extends into the visible region up to 600 nm. The water purification potential of this new class of compound was evaluated by studying the photodegradation of Acid Orange 7 (AO7) and E. coli. Experiments were conducted to compare the photocatalytic activities of N-doped TiO2 nanocatalysts and commercially available Degussa P25 power under identical solar light exposure. N-doped TiO2 demonstrated superior photocatalytic activities in both chemical compound degradation and bactericidal reactions. The result of this study shows the potential of applying new generations of catalyst for wastewater purification and disinfection.     

Automating application software generation

Many approaches have been proposed to enhance software productivity and reliability. These approaches typically fall into three categories: the engineering approach, the formal approach and the knowledge-based approach. But the optimal gain in software productivity cannot be obtained if one relies on only one of these approaches. This paper describes the work in knowledge-based software engineering conducted by the authors for the past 10 years. The final goal of the research is to develop a paradigm for software engineering which integrates the three approaches mentioned above. A knowledge-based tool which can support the whole process of software development is provided in this paper.     

An experiment for showing some kind of artificial understanding

In this paper we design an experiment which can be depicted as a simple scenario, a very limited 'world'. In this world, there are an actor that can pursue a project and an observer that is keeping its eyes on the actor. We try to show in the experiment that the observer can to some degree understand the actor based on its knowledge and some metaphors, i.e. understand what the actor is doing and why. As the conclusion of this experiment, we try to show some features of 'understanding'. These are (1) that 'understanding' has to be based on some preliminary knowledge; (2) that 'understanding' is a process of incremental learning; (3) that, as for symbolic systems, some metaphors are necessary for mapping real entities into concepts in mind.     

Propagation of a quasi-shear horizontal acoustic wave in Z-Xlithium niobate plates [and conductivity sensor application]

It is found that an acoustic wave which is nearly polarized in the shear horizontal (SH) direction can propagate along the X axis of a Z-cut lithium niobate plate if the ratio h/λ, where h=plate thickness and λ=acoustic wavelength, is less than about 0.5. Attractive properties of this quasi-SH wave include: (1) phase velocity nearly constant for all values of h/λ; (2) ability to propagate in contact with a liquid medium; and (3) electromechanical coupling coefficient as high as 0.15. These properties make the wave attractive for use in a variety of sensor and signal processing applications. An example of sensor applications is illustrated by using the wave to measure conductivity of liquids (aqueous KCl solution). The frequency of a 12-MHz quasi-SH mode oscillator fabricated on a 0.48 wavelength thick Z-X lithium niobate plate is found to vary by more than 80 kHz for variation in KCI concentration from 0 to 0.15%