Thermal and hygroscopic reliability of flip-chip packages with an anisotropic conductive film

Thermal and hygroscopic reliability of anisotropic conductive film (ACF) joints in relation to flip-chip bonding force was evaluated by thermal shock and constant temperature/humidity testing. The failure mode by thermal shock testing varied with increasing bonding force, i.e., (1) formation of a conduction gap between conductive particles and Au bump or Ni/Au plated Cu pad at low bonding force and (2) delamination of adhesive matrix from the plated Cu pad on the flexible substrate at high bonding force. The delamination initiated as a crack under a conductive particle and propagated sideward resulting in a complete delamination of the ACF from the Cu pad. However, delamination was observed between the ACF and Au bump on the chip side after the constant temperature/humidity testing for 500 h. A theoretical calculation was also conducted to predict the connection resistance of the ACF joint before and after reliability tests. The calculation showed the importance of the bonding gap between the electrodes.     

Converting a Protease Assay to a Caliper® Format LabChip System

The push for higher throughput screening coupled with the desire to use smaller volumes of material has sparked the development of new technologies. Caliper Technologies, Corp. (Mountain View, CA) has designed a microfluidics chip with unique properties yet to be fully exploited. The translation from a traditional plate-based assay to a microfluidic chip format has provided insights into assay development, screening data requirements, and the technology itself. Running a screen with this new technology presented challenges in throughput, signal acquisition from slow-conversion enzymes, the provision for a negative control, the translation of a time series into a single data point per compound, reagent adhesion in the channels, and fluid property mismatches. Overcoming these obstacles has resulted in a simple, robust system with significant savings in reagent use. Measures to improve throughput and generalize the system will be discussed.     

高速模数变换芯片的微机接口

讨论了通过编写高效率软件，变换和读数同步进行，外置高速存储器和数据通道宽度匹配等方法来提高Ａ／Ｄ芯片与微机的接口速度。     

Challenges for exploitation of physical vapour deposition in metal cutting

Abstract

The physical vapour deposition of hard coatings on cutting tools is an emerging technology with the capability of generating many different coatings with complex microstructures which have the potential for exploitation in a wide variety of applications. A current drawback to the cost effective exploitation of such coatings is the lack of knowledge concerning some aspects of chip formation and the tribological interactions occurring at the chip tool interface. This paper takes a step back to overview some of the materials science aspects of these issues and looks at the temperature profiles generated beneath uncoated and coated cutting tools in simple turning experiments. It is demonstrated that such experiments can lead to a clearer understanding of chip tool interactions and assist in the cost effective exploitation of speciality physical vapour deposition coatings designed for fitness for purpose.     

Genetic Dominant Variants in STUB1, Segregating in Families with SCA48, Display In Vitro Functional Impairments Indistinctive from Recessive Variants Associated with SCAR16

Variants in STUB1 cause both autosomal recessive (SCAR16) and dominant (SCA48) spinocerebellar ataxia. Reports from 18 STUB1 variants causing SCA48 show that the clinical picture includes later-onset ataxia with a cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome and varying clinical overlap with SCAR16. However, little is known about the molecular properties of dominant STUB1 variants. Here, we describe three SCA48 families with novel, dominantly inherited STUB1 variants (p.Arg51_Ile53delinsProAla, p.Lys143_Trp147del, and p.Gly249Val). All the patients developed symptoms from 30 years of age or later, all had cerebellar atrophy, and 4 had cognitive/psychiatric phenotypes. Investigation of the structural and functional consequences of the recombinant C-terminus of HSC70-interacting protein (CHIP) variants was performed in vitro using ubiquitin ligase activity assay, circular dichroism assay and native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These studies revealed that dominantly and recessively inherited STUB1 variants showed similar biochemical defects, including impaired ubiquitin ligase activity and altered oligomerization properties of the CHIP. Our findings expand the molecular understanding of SCA48 but also mean that assumptions concerning unaffected carriers of recessive STUB1 variants in SCAR16 families must be re-evaluated. More investigations are needed to verify the disease status of SCAR16 heterozygotes and elucidate the molecular relationship between SCA48 and SCAR16 diseases.     

Three-dimensional analysis of molten steel flow in slab continuous casting mould with rotated ports in submerged entry nozzle

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to develop a three-dimensional (3D) analysis system capable of analysing the flow field of molten steel in the slab continuous casting mould with rotated ports in the submerged entry nozzle. The ultimate goal is to obtain the optimal design for the entry ports of the submerged nozzle, which can introduce favourable flow patterns to remove non-metallic inclusions and avoid entrapment of molten slag and casting powder to produce steel slab of high cleanliness. In this study, a computational fluid dynamics technique, Sola-Surf, is employed to conduct the 3D fluid flow analysis. The technique has the capability of treating fluid flow problems with a free surface that slightly vibrates. The slightly vibrating free surface presents fairly accurately the behaviour of the molten slag–casting powder layer in the continuous casting mould. The developed simulation system is then tested on a slab continuous casting mould to analyse the fluid flow behaviour of molten steel under various nozzle designs. The design conditions include submerged depth of the nozzle, tilted angle of the nozzle port, and rotated angle of the nozzle port. The results of the simulations show that of the various design factors rotation of the nozzle entry ports has the greatest effect on the flow pattern. It can prolong the residence time of the molten steel and stabilise the molten slag–casting powder layer, which is very favourable for obtaining continuous casting slag of high cleanliness.     

Adhesion of underfill and components in flip chip encapsulation

The underfill material is a polymeric adhesive used in flip chip packaging. It encapsulates the solder joints by filling the gap between a silicon die and an organic substrate or board. Within a typical flip chip structure, there are interfaces between the various components, namely, substrate, solder mask, flux residue, underfill encapsulant and die passivation layer, etc. Maintaining a good adhesion condition, both as-made and after temperature/humidity aging, is vital for these interfaces because of the expected performance of the flip chip device, where the underfill material is employed to enhance the reliability of the flip chip interconnect. We have studied the adhesion strength between the various components for different process variables as measured with the lap shear and die shear test configurations. The effects of the assembly factors, i.e. solder mask, flux residue, underfill, and die passivation, etc., were evaluated and the adhesion strength was found to depend greatly on these factors. The die shear strength of a passivated die assembled onto an organic board coated with a solder mask was much higher after using a no-clean flux on the solder mask than for the assembly without such a no-clean flux. The influence of some accelerated aging tests on the adhesion durability was also investigated. A die passivation layer of benzocyclobutene exhibited better capability in retaining the die shear strength than a passivation layer of silicon nitride or polyimide, especially for the initial aging period. The knowledge obtained in this study should provide insights into the interfacial adhesion in the flip chip assembly structure.     

Circulating Tumor DNA in Precision Oncology and Its Applications in Colorectal Cancer

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is a component of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) that is shed by malignant tumors into the bloodstream and other bodily fluids. ctDNA can comprise up to 10% of a patient’s cfDNA depending on their tumor type and burden. The short half-life of ctDNA ensures that its detection captures tumor burden in real-time and offers a non-invasive method of repeatedly evaluating the genomic profile of a patient’s tumor. A challenge in ctDNA detection includes clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), which can be distinguished from tumor variants using a paired whole-blood control. Most assays for ctDNA quantification rely on measurements of somatic variant allele frequency (VAF), which is a mutation-dependent method. Patients with certain types of solid tumors, including colorectal cancer (CRC), can have levels of cfDNA 50 times higher than healthy patients. ctDNA undergoes a precipitous drop shortly after tumor resection and therapy, and rising levels can foreshadow radiologic recurrence on the order of months. The amount of tumor bulk required for ctDNA detection is lower than that for computed tomography (CT) scan detection, with ctDNA detection preceding radiologic recurrence in many cases. cfDNA/ctDNA can be used for tumor molecular profiling to identify resistance mutations when tumor biopsy is not available, to detect minimal residual disease (MRD), to monitor therapy response, and for the detection of tumor relapse. Although ctDNA is not yet implemented in clinical practice, studies are ongoing to define the appropriate way to use it as a tool in the clinic. In this review article, we examine the general aspects of ctDNA, its status as a biomarker, and its role in the management of early (II–III) and late (IV; mCRC) stage colorectal cancer (CRC).     

Mechanical strength of chip scale package with various underfills under accelerated thermal condition

Abstract

The bending strength of chip scale package (CSP) with various underfills was evaluated under thermal shock condition. The maximum bending strength and deflection of package decreased with increasing number of thermal shock cycles. The bending strength of package increased with increasing glass transition temperature T _g and damping property of the underfill, while the bending deflection decreased with increasing T _g and damping property of the underfill.