An Innovative Understanding of Metal–Insulator–Metal (MIM)-Capacitor Degradation Under Constant-Current Stress

This paper provides a new understanding of metal-insulator-metal-capacitor-degradation behavior under a wide range of constant-current-stress conditions. It was found that capacitance degrades with stress, but the behavior of the degradation strongly depends on the stress-current density. At high stress levels, the capacitance increases logarithmically as the injection charge increases until dielectric breakdown occurs. At lower stress conditions, the degradation rate is proportional to the stress current and reverses after a certain period of time. A metal-insulator interlayer is observed using cross-sectional transmission-electron-microscopy micrographs, which possibly explains this reversal phenomenon.     

The function of vinylene carbonate as a thermal additive to electrolyte in lithium batteries

The role of vinylene carbonate (VC) as a thermal additive to electrolytes in lithium ion batteries is studied in two aspects: the protection of liquid electrolyte species and the thermal stability of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formed from VC on graphite electrodes at elevated temperatures. The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra indicate that VC can not protect LiPF₆ salt from thermal decomposition. However, the function of VC on SEI can be observed via impedance and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA). These results clearly show VC-induced SEI comprises polymeric species and is sufficiently stable to resist thermal damage. It has been confirmed that VC can suppress the formation of resistive LiF, and thus reduce the interfacial resistance.     

Synthesis of functionalized copolymer electrolytes based on polysiloxane and analysis of their conductivity

Functionalized siloxane-based solid polymer electrolytes were synthesized using a platinum-catalyzed silylation reaction. The ionic conductivities of these solid polymer electrolytes were measured as a function of the concentration of lithium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (LiTFSi) salt. The highest ionic conductivity and lowest activation energy of solid polymer electrolytes were observed to be 1.15 × 10⁻⁴ S cm⁻¹ (25 °C) and 3.85 kJ mol⁻¹, respectively. The interface property between electrolyte and electrode and thermal stability of the polymer electrolytes were found to enhance after they were functionalized with acrylate, and the functionalized electrolytes were observed to maintain a glass transition temperature as low as that of other siloxane compounds. Thus, modifications involving acrylate with ethylene oxide group substitution provide a route for carrier ions and enhance both the ionic conductivity and mechanical properties of the siloxane structure.     

Electrolytic oxidation of cuprocyanide electroplating waste waters under different pH conditions

The main purpose of this work was to investigate the electrolytic oxidation of cuprocyanide solution with various total cyanide to copper molar ratios ranging from 2.8 to 20 and under different pH conditions. In strong alkaline solution (pH12), cuprocyanide ions Cu(CN) _n ^/(n–1)– , wheren=2, 3 or 4, are directly electroxidized, and copper oxide precipitates on the anode. Cyanate ions, as well as nitrogen gas, were detected as the products and 0.30–0.43 g mol of total cyanide was destroyed per Faraday. For less alkaline solutions (pH<12), cuprocyanide ions first dissociated to free cyanide ions and then electroxidized. At a pH of 10.5–11.7, cyanate ion and brown azulmin polymer were produced in the anolyte. In the neutral solution (pH=7.0–8.6), carbonate and ammonium ions and azulmin were formed and 0.52–0.56 g mol of total cyanide was destroyed per Faraday. In weak acidic solution (pH=5.2–6.8), oxalate and ammonium ions and white oxamide were produced and 1.01–1.18 g mol of total cyanide were destroyed per Faraday.Nomenclature C _CN molar concentration of total cyanide (kmol m^–3) - C _Cu molar concentration of total copper (kmol m^–3) - C _d equivalent concentration of cyanide destroyed due to the formation of cupric oxide (kg m^–3) - C _f concentration of cyanide destroyed by dissociation of complex ion to free cyanide ion and then electroxidized (kg m^–3) - C _i initial concentration of total cyanide (kg m^–3) - C _t change of total cyanide concentration during electrolysis (kg m^–3) - F Faraday constant (96 487 C mol^–1) - K ₁,K ₂,K ₃ formation constant of dicyanocuprate, tricyanocuprate and tetracyanocuprate ions - R molar ratio of total cyanide concentration to total copper concentration (i.e.C _CN/C _Cu) - W weight of precipitates on electrodes or in anolyte (kg) - angle of incidence     

Calculation of the current density distribution of submicron copper electroplating based on uneven adsorption of poly(ethylene glycol)

Uneven adsorption of polyethylene glycol (PEG) along a submicron feature enabling the occurrence of void-free deposition has been identified and we have developed a simplified 1-D model to explain the phenomenon based on the distribution of hydrodynamic driving force along the trench depth. We also verified this new model based on the uneven PEG adsorption via an electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance study. The model shows that with only moderate PEG concentration, void-free deposition can be realized. Some parameters used in the modeling were developed from chronopotentiometry and rotating disc electrode experiments.     

Molecular biomarkers for the diagnosis of primary vitreoretinal lymphoma

Primary vitreoretinal lymphoma (PVRL) or primary intraocular lymphoma, a subtype of primary central nervous system lymphoma, often masquerades as uveitis. The diagnosis of PVRL requires identification of lymphoma cells inside the eye, which is often challenging due to the frequent necrosis and admixing of PVRL cells with reactive lymphocytes. Therefore, detection of immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) and T-cell receptor (TCR) gene rearrangements provide molecular diagnosis of B- and T-cell lymphoma, respectively. We retrospectively evaluated 208 cases with a clinical diagnosis of masquerade syndrome from 1998 to 2010. In 200 cases with molecular analyses using microdissection and polymerase chain reaction, we found that 110 cases had IgH gene rearrangement, 5 cases had TCR gene rearrangement, and 85 cases were negative for these two gene arrangements. The molecular data corroborated the cytopathological diagnoses of PVRL and uveitis in the majority of cases. Cytokine above the detected levels in the specimens were also measured in 80 of the 208 cases. A ratio of vitreous IL-10 to IL-6 greater than 1, suggesting PVRL, was found in 56/80 cases; 53/56 had the correct diagnosis. A ratio less than 1, suggesting uveitis, was found in 24/80 cases; 17/24 correctly confirmed the diagnosis. Moreover, the molecular data corresponded well with the clinical course of the diseases. The sensitivity and specificity of these molecular biomarkers for the diagnosis of PVRL are higher than 95%.     

Combined Speech and Channel Coding for Wireless Communications

In this paper, we propose acombined variable-rate code-excited linearly predictive (QCELP)speech coding and unequal error protection (UEP) channel codingsystem for wireless communications. In contrast to theconventional schemes, our system employs a concatenatedsuper-imposed rate-compatible punctured convolutional (SI-RCPC)channel coding scheme which can provide UEP with respect to notonly the bit-significance of speech packets but also the speechactivity and local channel characteristics. Verified by thesimulation results, the combined system achieves an averagetransmission rate less than 8 kb/s as well as an average 2 dBsignal-to-noise ratio (SNR) gain over the conventional equal errorprotection system.     

Assessment of the Wettability of Porous Electrodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

The wettability of lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO₂) and mesocarbon microbead electrodes in nonaqueous electrolyte is analyzed by a mathematical model of capillary liquid movement. Results show that wetting in the LiCoO₂ electrodes is difficult as compared with the MCMB electrodes at the same electrolyte composition. Wetting in the porous electrodes is controlled mainly by electrolyte penetration and spreading in pores. Electrolyte penetration is determined by viscosity. On the other hand, electrolyte spreading is controlled by surface tension. Organic solvent composition and lithium salt concentration may influence the wettability of porous electrodes due to changes in the viscosity and surface tension of the electrolyte. Increasing the amount of EC and/or lithium salts can cause poorer electrolyte spreading and penetration. Furthermore, careful pressure control has a positive effect on increasing the surface area of the solid–liquid interface. AC impedance data show that batteries with vacuuming prior to electrolyte filling may reach a maximum wetting in a few hours. If no vacuuming is applied, a few days are required to obtain sufficient wetting.     

The role of cuprous ion as corrosion inhibitor for copper in a chloride medium

A disconnected Al or Zn strip was found to possess corrosion-inhibition effect on copper in a chloride solution. Original assumption of a pseudo-cathodic protection mechanism was later experimentally proved to be unfounded. A chemical reason was proposed to explain the phenomena.     

Connection admission control for mobile multiple-class personalcommunications networks

In this paper, we investigate the connection admission control problem in mobile personal communications networks. Since user mobility and multimedia traffic are important factors in personal communications networks, in contrast to other studies on this aspect which either focused on only single-class call connections or ignored user mobility, our study directly addresses the connection admission control for multiple-class calls with user mobility. A generic class of coordinate-convex admission control policies is considered. An efficient numerical method is proposed to derive the connection-level quality of service (QoS), and is verified with computer simulation results. The results obtained show that, besides offered load, user mobility can have a great impact on the connection-level QoS. The proposed analysis may be employed in a network design tool for studying the admission control policy and for selecting system parameters to satisfy the required connection-level QoS