Phase change memory alloys: GST cell array characterization using picosecond ultrasonics

Phase change random access memory alloys (PRAM or PCM) are a class of non-volatile memory that is thought as viable alternatives to flash memory technology or to supplement other memory technologies depending on the end applications and its key performance requirements. Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ alloy (GST) is the most widely used chalcogenide material for PCM application, and has many unique properties, including strong temperature-dependent film properties, low thermal conductivity, and high electrical resistivity. Picosecond ultrasonics was used to make non-contact, non-destructive measurements of GST films on blanket wafers and directly on product wafers. On-product wafer measurements were made on various via array (0.5 μm and 1 μm between cell edges with CD size from 250 to 800 nm). Measurements have shown excellent correlation to cross-section SEM and were consistent with CMP polish times for both blanket and pattern wafer measurement. Excellent repeatability based on extensive measurements demonstrates the capability and reliability of picosecond ultrasonic technology. Picosecond ultrasonic measurements also provide rapid characterization across the whole wafer at production-worthy throughputs.     

The thermochemical behavior of some binary shape memory alloys by high temperature direct synthesis calorimetry

The standard enthalpies of formation of some shape memory alloys have been measured by high temperature direct synthesis calorimetry at 1373 K. The following results (in kJ/mol of atoms) are reported: CoCr (−0.3 ± 2.9); CuMn (−3.7 ± 3.2); Cu₃Sn (−10.4 ± 3.1); Fe₂Tb (−5.5 ± 2.4); Fe₂Dy (−1.6 ± 2.9); Fe₁₇Tb₂ (−2.1 ± 3.1); Fe₁₇Dy₂ (−5.3 ± 1.7); FePd₃ (−16.0 ± 2.7); FePt (−23.0 ± 1.9); FePt₃ (−20.7 ± 2.3); NiMn (−24.9 ± 2.6); TiNi (−32.7 ± 1.0); TiPd (−60.3 ± 2.5). The results are compared with some earlier experimental values obtained by calorimetry and by EMF technique. They are also compared with predicted values on the basis of the semi empirical model of Miedema and co-workers and with ab initio calculations when available. We will also assess the available information regarding the structures of these alloys.     

Martensitic transformation of Ti50Ni30Cu20 alloy prepared by powder metallurgy

Phase transformation behavior of Ti50Ni30Cu20 shape memory alloys prepared by powder metallurgy is analyzed with respect to the duration of mechanical alloying. The processed blends were studied by differential scanning calorimetry and room temperature X-ray diffraction. The martensitic transformations evidenced by thermal scans are discussed in correlation with the relative phase content obtained from the refinement of the X-ray diffraction patterns.     

Regulation of memory accuracy with multiple answers: The plurality option.

We report two experiments that investigated the regulation of memory accuracy with a new regulatory mechanism: the plurality option. This mechanism is closely related to the grain-size option but involves control over the number of alternatives contained in an answer rather than the quantitative boundaries of a single answer. Participants were presented with a slideshow depicting a robbery (Experiment 1) or a murder (Experiment 2), and their memory was tested with five-alternative multiple-choice questions. For each question, participants were asked to generate two answers: a single answer consisting of one alternative and a plural answer consisting of the single answer and two other alternatives. Each answer was rated for confidence (Experiment 1) or for the likelihood of being correct (Experiment 2), and one of the answers was selected for reporting. Results showed that participants used the plurality option to regulate accuracy, selecting single answers when their accuracy and confidence were high, but opting for plural answers when they were low. Although accuracy was higher for selected plural than for selected single answers, the opposite pattern was evident for confidence or likelihood ratings. This dissociation between confidence and accuracy for selected answers was the result of marked overconfidence in single answers coupled with underconfidence in plural answers. We hypothesize that these results can be attributed to overly dichotomous metacognitive beliefs about personal knowledge states that cause subjective confidence to be extreme. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Collaborative remembering in older adults: Age-invariant outcomes in the context of episodic recall deficits.

Rapidly growing research reveals complex yet systematic consequences of collaboration on memory in young adults, but much less is known about this phenomenon in older adults. Young and older adults studied a list of categorized words and took three successive recall tests. Test 1 and 3 were always taken individually, and Test 2 was done either in triads or alone. Despite older adults recalling less overall than young adults, both age groups exhibited similar costs and benefits of collaboration: Collaboration reduced both correct and false recall during collaborative remembering, was associated with more positive beliefs about its value, and produced reminiscence, collective memory, and some forgetting in its cascading effects on postcollaborative recall. We examine the role of retrieval organization in these effects. As environmental support may play a substantial role in healthy aging, the relatively preserved effects of collaboration on memory in older adults hold promise for testing judicious uses of group remembering in aging. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A core knowledge architecture of visual working memory: Correction to Wood (2011).

Reports an error in A core knowledge architecture of visual working memory by Justin N. Wood (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 2011[Apr], Vol 37[2], 357-381). The supplemental materials DOI is incorrect. The correct DOI for the supplemental materials is provided in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2011-06411-002.) Visual working memory (VWM) is widely thought to contain specialized buffers for retaining spatial and object information: a 'spatial-object architecture.' However, studies of adults, infants, and nonhuman animals show that visual cognition builds on core knowledge systems that retain more specialized representations: (1) spatiotemporal representations for object tracking, (2) object identity representations for object recognition, and (3) view-dependent snapshots for place recognition. In principle, these core knowledge systems may retain information separately from one another. Consistent with this hypothesis, this study provides evidence that these three types of information are subject to independent working memory storage limits. These results, combined with those from previous studies, indicate that VWM contains three specialized buffers for retaining spatiotemporal information, object identity information, and snapshot information. Thus, VWM buffers parallel core knowledge systems. This 'core knowledge architecture' links the study of visual working memory to the study of the biological foundations of visual cognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory capacity, selective control, and value-directed remembering in children with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Objective: The ability to select what is important to remember, to attend to this information, and to recall high-value items leads to the efficient use of memory. The present study examined how children with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) performed on an incentive-based selectivity task in which to-be-remembered items were worth different point values. Method: Participants were 6–9 year old children with ADHD (n = 57) and without ADHD (n = 59). Using a selectivity task, participants studied words paired with point values and were asked to maximize their score, which was the overall value of the items they recalled. This task allows for measures of memory capacity and the ability to selectively remember high-value items. Results: Although there were no significant between-groups differences in the number of words recalled (memory capacity), children with ADHD were less selective than children in the control group in terms of the value of the items they recalled (control of memory). All children recalled more high-value items than low-value items and showed some learning with task experience, but children with ADHD Combined type did not efficiently maximize memory performance (as measured by a selectivity index) relative to children with ADHD Inattentive type and healthy controls, who did not differ significantly from one another. Conclusions: Children with ADHD Combined type exhibit impairments in the strategic and efficient encoding and recall of high-value items. The findings have implications for theories of memory dysfunction in childhood ADHD and the key role of metacognition, cognitive control, and value-directed remembering when considering the strategic use of memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

新型的形状记忆合金／硅薄膜微驱动器

介绍了一种用硅微加工技术制作的ＮｉＴｉ／Ｓｉ 薄膜结构的双向微驱动器。它利用ＮｉＴｉ 形状记忆合金薄膜（ＳＭＡ） 大的相变回复应力和Ｓｉ 衬底膜的反偏置力产生有一定位移量的双向运动。对ＮｉＴｉ 薄膜进行合理的图形化后使得驱动器位移量增大,双向效应显著,响应速度提高。同时图形化后的ＮｉＴｉ 膜也是加热电阻,使驱动结构简单,所需功率减少。驱动器实际驱动面积为３ ×３ｍ ｍ２ 厚度为２０μｍ 。可产生的最大位移为５０μｍ ,最高驱动频率可达１００Ｈｚ。驱动功率可减小到２００ｍ Ｗ。经过１０００ 万次振动后,驱动膜无开裂,性能正常。它已被成功的应用于压缩型微泵,该泵最大流量达３４０μＬ／ｍｉｎ 。