RF, DC, and Reliability Performance of MIM Capacitors Embedded in Organic Substrates by Wafer-Transfer Technology (WTT) for System-on-Package Applications

In this paper, radio frequency (RF), dc, and reliability performance have been studied on metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors embedded in organic substrates. The MIM structure including ~74-nm SiN dielectric was prefabricated on Si and then transferred onto organic substrates (FR-4) by wafer-transfer technology (WTT). The RF characteristics up to 30 GHz were investigated by equivalent lumped circuit modeling, showing that the parameters associated with the MIM layers including the main capacitance, parasitic inductance, and resistance were only slightly changed by the WTT process. The substrate-related parasitics were reduced as a result of the replacement of lossy Si with insulating FR-4 substrates. Excellent capacitance linearity, low voltage coefficient (~2.2 ppm/V²), and temperature coefficient (~38 ppm/degC) were obtained for capacitors on FR-4 substrates. Current-voltage and time-dependent dielectric breakdown tests verified that, after the harsh processes of WTT, the MIM structures maintained the intrinsic reliability as those originally fabricated on Si. This paper, along with earlier reports, proved that WTT presented a new dimension to realize embedded capacitors for high-density circuit board and system-on-package applications     

A flexible communications protocol for a distributed surveillance system

On-line surveillance for safety and security is a major requirement of public transport and other public places to address the modern demands of mobility in major urban areas and to effect improvements in quality of life and environment protection. The surveillance task is a complex one involving technology, management procedures and people. Visual surveillance based on Closed Circuit Television system is an important part of such systems, but visual processing is not sufficient and the geographical distribution of devices and management has to be taken into account. In this paper we present a surveillance architecture that reflects the distributed nature of the monitoring task and allows for distributed detection processes, not only dealing with visual processing but also with devices such as acoustic signature detection and mobile smart cards, actuators and a range of other possible sensors. The design uses ideas from control engineering and distributed communications networks resulting in a communications architecture based on CORBA and XML messaging. We have shown how to define a generic device/sensor model appropriate for the surveillance task and sufficiently flexible so as to allow for scalability, expansion and customisation of a practical surveillance task. The paper gives sufficient details on the protocols to show how intelligent detection modules can be integrated as part of this kind of system. The system components have been implemented and integrated in two major successful trials in metropolitan railway stations in London and in Paris, as part of a major EU-funded project (PRISMATICA).     

Effect of electrolyte composition on the active-to-passive transition behavior of 2205 duplex stainless steel in H2SO4/HCl solutions

Selective dissolution could occur in duplex stainless steels (DSSs) due to the difference in chemical composition between the two constituent phases. In this study, the effect of H₂SO₄/HCl composition on the selective dissolution behavior was investigated. The results indicated that there were two distinct peaks appeared in the active-to-passive transition region in the polarization curve. The peak appeared at a lower potential region was associated with the preferential dissolution of ferrite phase while that for austenite at a higher potential. In the concentration ranges of 0.25-2 M of H₂SO₄ and 0.25-2 M of HCl, the magnitude of the peak anodic current density and the resolution between these two peaks greatly depended on the composition of H₂SO₄/HCl. However, the anodic peaks corresponding to the respective dissolutions of ferrite and austenite became less distinguishable when the concentrations of HCl exceeded 1.2 M. Image analysis using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed to confirm the selective dissolution of each constituent phase after potentiostatic polarization at the respective anodic peak potential.     

The grafting of methyl methacrylate onto ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene fiber by plasma and UV treatment

In this study, ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers were treated with a gas plasma of argon for 5 min. The plasma-treated UHMWPE fibers were put into a methyl methacrylate solution with n-hexane or chloroform as the solvent and irradiated with a UV lamp. The UV irradiation time was changed. The surface topography that had a significant change on the fiber was seen by scanning electron microscopy. Infrared spectra (IR) and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) were also studied to probe the surface atomic chemistry and to identify the functional groups and their relative changes with treatment conditions. The grafting content was estimated by the titration of esterfication method. It was found that the grafting amount for the system with chloroform as the solvent is larger than that for the system with n-hexane as the solvent. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 65:365–371, 1997     

On using degenerated solid shell elements in adaptive refinement analysis

Three different degenerated shell elements are studied in an adaptive refinement procedure for the solution of shell problems. The stress recovery procedure expressed in a convective patch co‐ordinate system is used for the construction of continuous smoothed stress fields for the a posteriori error estimation. The performance of the stress recovery procedure, the error estimator and the adaptive refinement strategy are tested by solving three benchmark shell problems. It is found that when adaptive refinement is used, the adverse effects of boundary layers and stress singularities are eliminated and all the elements tested are able to achieve their optimal convergence rates. It is also found that the accuracy of the shell elements increases with the number of polynomial terms included in the stress and strain approximations. In addition, if complete Lagrangian polynomial terms are used, the element will be less sensitive to shape distortion than the one in which only complete polynomial terms are employed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Timing constraint specification and analysis

Real‐time programmers have to deal with the problem of relating timing constraints associated with source code to sequences of machine instructions. This paper describes an environment to assist users in the specification and analysis of timing constraints. A timing analyzer predicts the best and worst case bounds for these constrained portions of code. A user interface for this timing analyzer was developed to depict whether these constraints were violated or met. A user is allowed to specify timing constraints within the source code of a C program. The user interface also provides three different methods for interactively selecting portions of programs. After each selection the corresponding bounded times, source code lines, and machine instructions are automatically displayed. Users are prevented from only selecting portions of the program for which timing bounds cannot be obtained. In addition, a technique is presented that allows the timing analysis to scale efficiently with complex functions and loops. The result is a user‐friendly environment that supports the user specification and analysis of timing constraints at a high (source code) level and retains the accuracy of low (machine code) level analysis. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application of factorial experimental design to demonstrate the influence of processing conditions on the fusion of poly(vinyl chloride)/chlorinated polyethylene/oxidized polyethylene blends

Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)/chlorinated polyethylene (CPE)/oxidized polyethylene (OPE) blends were prepared in a Haake torque rheometer at various temperatures, rotor speeds, and totalized torques. A 2³ factorial experimental design was applied to study the main two-factor interaction, and three-factor interaction effects of temperature, rotor speed, and totalized torque on the heat of fusion of PVC/CPE/OPE blends, which were examined using differential scanning calorimetry. The sequence of the main effects on the heat of fusion of PVC/CPE/OPE blends, in ascending order, is temperature < rotor speed < totalized torque. The sequence of the two-factor interaction effects on the heat of fusion of PVC/CPE/OPE blends, in ascending order, is temperature vs rotor speed < temperature vs totalized torque < rotor speed vs totalized torque. The three-factor interaction effect is not significantly related to the heat of fusion of PVC/CPE/OPE blends. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 73: 2755–2761, 1999     

Newtonian power curve and drop size distributions for vibromixers

Power input data are presented for a twin flat disk up-and-down moving (vibromixer) impeller operating in a small vessel with a range of Newtonian liquids. Vibromixer power number and Reynolds number are defined and are used to establish the Newtonian power curve for this type of mixer. Drop size distributions are presented for xylene-in-water dispersions under turbulent flow conditions in the vibromixer and are shown to vary with the maximum velocity of the disk (2πAf). The Sauter mean drop diameter of the distribution is related to the vibromixer Weber number, (We =ρ(2πAf)²D/σ), by an equation of the type d₃₂/D = C (We)^?3/5 with the coefficient C = 0.37.     

Year around distilled water production,energy, and economic analysis of solar stills—A comparative study

In this paper, a year around energy efficiency (EnE) and economic analysis of single slope solar still (SSSS), the single slope solar still with glass cooling (SSSSGC), the single slope solar still with basin heating (SSSSBH), and the single slope solar still with glass cooling and basin heating (SSSSGCBH) was carried out based on the distilled water production. The annual yield production from the SSSS, SSSSGC, SSSSBH, and SSSSGCBH were 476.16, 637.44, 970.24, and 1167.36 kg, respectively. The yearly yield produced from the SSSSBH and SSSSGCBH was increased by 50.92% and 59.21%, respectively, as compared with the SSSS. Moreover, the annual EnE of the SSSSGCBH was 28.75%. However, the EnE of the SSSS was 11.73%. Also, freshwater making cost is found to be 18.9, 24.9, 37.9, and 45.6 Rs/day for the SSSS, SSSSGC, SSSSBH, and SSSSGCBH, respectively, if the buying cost of freshwater is Rs 10.     

Investigation of the Burning Behavior of Cryogenic Solid Propellants

Cryogenic Solid Propellant (CSP)‐technology is a new approach to develop more powerful rocket motors. CSPs include the advantages of classical solid propellants to save weight as well as those of a high energy content and safety of modern liquid propellants. The charges consist of liquid and/or gaseous fuels and oxidizers, both frozen. Two main versions of CSP‐technology can be realised: 1. Mono‐CSPs show the burning behavior of solid propellants. Experiments with mono‐CSPs have been carried out under inert pressure conditions in a window bomb. Mono‐CSPs have a stable burning behavior with a constant regression rate which follows the Vieille's law under varying pressure conditions. 2. The advantage of high safety is obtained by assembling oxidizer and fuel in sandwich configurations. The grain geometry governs the burning behavior. Such systems can be externally controlled, e.g. by the heat from a gas generator or they can work self‐sustained. A Rod‐in‐Matrix burner shows self‐sustained combustion in an inert pressure atmosphere with overall burning rates in a similar range as solid rocket propellants which obey also a Vieille‐like pressure law. Disc stack burners have also been investigated, the combustion of which is strongly dependent on the disc thickness. For a short time Mach's nodes have been observed in the exhaust plume of a disc stack burner. Currently, the temperature ranges are limited to the boiling temperature of liquid nitrogen. Therefore, liquid oxidizers like H₂O₂ have been used. However, for the first time a propellant strand of polymer rods embedded in solid oxygen was prepared and burnt. The experiments with CSPs end in the combustion of a small rocket motor showing no serious technical obstacles. Simplified models based on the heat flow equation can simulate the burning characteristics of the frozen energetic materials including phase transitions.