Direct Writing on Phosphate Glass Using Atomic Force Microscopy for Rapid Fabrication of Nanostructures

Rapid and cost effective fabrication of nanostructures is critical for experimental exploration and translation of results for commercial development. While conventional techniques such as E-beam or Focused Ion beam lithography serve some prototyping needs for nano-scale experimentations, cost and rate considerations prohibit use for manufacturing. Specialized lithographic processes [e.g. nanosphere lithography or interference lithography] are also powerful tools in creating nanostructures but provide limited shapes, positioning and size control of nanostructures. In this work, we demonstrated a liquid-free and mask-less electrochemical writing approach using atomic force microscopy (AFM) that is capable of making arbitrary shapes of silver nanostructures in seconds on a solid state super-ionic (AgI)x (AgPO3)(1−x) glass. Under ambient conditions. silver is extracted selectively on super-ionic (AgI)x (AgPO3)(1−x) glass surface by negatively biasing an AFM probe relative to an Ag film counter electrode. Both voltage controlled and current controlled writings demonstrated localized extraction of silver. The current controlled approach is shown to be the preferred writing approach to make repeatable and uniform patterns of silver on (AgI)x AgPO3(1−x), where x represents the mole fraction of AgI in the mixture and the control parameter that tunes the conductivity of the sample. We demonstrated current controlled printing of silver on two different compositions of the material (i.e. (AgI)0.125 (AgPO3 )0.875 and (AgI)0.25(AgPO3)0.75 ). Depending on the magnitude of the constant current and tip speed, line-width of the silver pattern can be ∼150 nm. The length of these patterns are limited to the maximum distance the tip can be moved using the AFM position controls. The substrate being optically transparent allows the use of this writing technique for rapid prototyping plasmonic devices. By using the patterned substrate as a template for replica molding of soft materials such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), this writing technique can also be utilized for high throughput nano-channel fabrication in biofluidics and microfluidics devices.

Design, Analysis and System-Level Modelling of a Single Axis Capacitive Accelerometer

The paper demonstrates the design and complete analysis of 1-axis MEMS capacitive accelerometer. The design is optimized for high linearity, high sensitivity, and low cross-axis sensitivity. The noise analysis is done to assure satisfactory performance under operating conditions. This includes the mechanical noise of accelerometer, noise due to interface electronics and noise caused by radiation. The latter noise will arise when such accelerometer is deployed in radioactive (e.g., nuclear power plants) or space environments. The static capacitance is calculated to be 4.58 pF/side. A linear displacement sensitivity of 0.012μm/g (g = 9.8m/s2) is observed in the range of ±15g. The differential capacitive sensitivity of the device is 90fF/g. Furthermore, a low cross-axis sensitivity of 0.024fF/g is computed. The effect of radiation is mathematically modelled and possibility of using these devices in radioactive environment is explored. The simulated noise floor of the device with electronic circuit is 0.165mg/Hz1/2.

CPI Stress Induced Carrier Mobility Shift in Advanced Silicon Nodes

Potential challenges with managing mechanical stress and the consequent effects on device performance for advanced 3D IC technologies are outlined. The growing need for a simulation-based design verification flow capable of analyzing and detecting across-die out-of-spec stress-induced variations in MOSFET/FinFET electrical characteristics is highlighted. A physics-based compact modeling methodology for multi-scale simulation of all contributing components of stress induced variability is described. A simulation flow that provides an interface between layout formats (GDS II, OASIS), and FEA-based package-scale tools, is also developed. This tool, can be used to optimize the floorplan for different circuits and packaging technologies, and/or for the final design signoff, for all stress induced phenomena. Finally, a calibration technique based on fitting to measured electrical characterization data is presented, along with correlation of the electrical characteristics to direct physical strain measurements.

STRETCHABLE Lab-on-Chip Device With Impedance Spectroscopy Capability for Mammalian Cell Studies

This paper presents the fabrication and testing of electric cell-substrate impedance spectroscopy (ECIS) electrodes on a stretchable membrane. This is the first time when ECIS electrodes were fabricated on a stretchable substrate and ECIS measurements on mammalian cells exposed to cyclic strain of 10% were successfully demonstrated. A chemical was used to form strong chemical bond between gold electrodes of ECIS sensor and polymer membrane, which enable the electrodes keep good conductive ability during cyclic stretch. The stretchable membrane integrated with the ECIS sensor can simulate and replicate the dynamic environment of organism and enable the analysis of the cells activity involved in cells attachment and proliferation in vitro. Bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEC) were used to evaluate the endothelial function influenced by mechanical stimuli in this research because they undergo in vivo cyclic physiologic elongation produced by the blood circulation in the arteries.

Fabrication of Tunable Silk Materials Through Microfluidic Mixers

A common method to precisely control the material properties is to evenly distribute functional nanomaterials within the substrate. For example, it is possible to mix a silk solution and nanomaterials together to form one tuned silk sample. However, the nanomaterials are likely to aggregate in the traditional manual mixing processes. Here we report a pilot study of utilizing specific microfluidic mixing designs to achieve a uniform nanomaterial distribution with minimal aggregation. Mixing patterns are created based on classic designs and then validated by experimental results. The devices are fabricated on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) using 3D printed molds and soft lithography for rapid replication. The initial mixing performance is validated through the mixing of two solutions with colored dyes. The microfluidic mixer designs are further analyzed by creating silk-based film samples. The cured film is inspected with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to reveal the distribution uniformity of the dye particles within the silk material matrix. Our preliminary results show that the microfluidic mixing produces uniform distribution of dye particles. Because the microfluidic device can be used as a continuous mixing tool, we believe it will provide a powerful platform for better preparation of silk materials. By using different types of nanomaterials such as graphite (demonstrated in this study), graphene, carbon nanotubes, and magnetic nanoparticles, the resulting silk samples can be fine-tuned with desired electrical, mechanical, and magnetic properties.

Thermal Enhancement of an LED Light Engine for Automotive Exterior Lighting With Advanced Heat Spreader Technology

In recent years, light emitting diodes (LEDs) have become an attractive technology for general and automotive illumination systems. LEDs have been preferable for automobile lighting due to its numerous advantages such as long life, low power consumption, optical control and light quality as well as robustness for high vibration. Thermal management is one of the main issues due to severe ambient conditions and compact volume. Conventionally, tightly packaged double sided FR4 based printed circuit boards are utilized for both driver electronics components and LEDs. In fact, this approach will be a leading trend for advanced Internet of Things (IOT) applications in near future. A series of numerical models are developed to determine the local temperature distribution on both sides of a light engine. Results showed that FR4 PCB has a temperature gradient of over 63°C while the maximum temperature is 105°C. This causes a significant degradation of lifetime and lumen extraction as many LEDs are recommended to be operated below 100°C. In addition to FR4, Aluminum metal core and vapor chamber based advanced heat spreader substrates are developed to obtain thermal impact on the substrate due to a wide range of thermal conductivity of three boards. To mimic real application, two special flex circuits are developed for LEDs and driver circuit. 10 red and 6 amber LEDs at one flex-PCB, and driver components are populated on the other flex-PCB are mounted. Both flex circuits are attached each side of the substrate. Experimental results showed that the local hotspots occurred at FR4 PCB due to low thermal conductivity. Later, a metal core printed circuit board is investigated to minimalize local hot spots. High conductivity metal core PCB showed a 19.9% improvement over FR4 based board. A further study has been performed with an advanced heat spreader based on vapor chamber technology. Results showed that a thermal enhancement of 7.4% and 25.8% over Al metal core and FR4 based boards with an advanced vapor chamber substrate.

Effects of Linear Hysteric Material Damping and Shock Pulse Shapes for Uniform Board Response

Validation of surface mounted electronic devices for drop test performance is considered as one of the most challenging tasks for researchers to search for key dynamic parameters either by experimentation or by numerical simulation. It has not only become challenging task to capture some of the important parameters that affect board flexural rigidity, stiffness, dynamic stresses and strains, but also avoid stress concentrations near undesired locations resulting in non-uniform strain distribution throughout the test board. There is a requirement to simulate exact drop condition that quantifies high impact energy on the board and also control drop to improve the board surface stress/strain distribution measured should be independent from standoff stress region. In this paper, an effort to find the importance of viscous and linear hysteric damping characteristics on uniform board response has been made. The influence of damped responses during no ring impact has been analyzed. Two different types of computational models are developed and an approximate FEA numerical solutions are obtained to compare current JEDEC test board and alternative hexagonal boards at reduced computational time and challenging experimental cost. The effect of board responses with two types of linear damping models are considered to study the effect. An approach towards finding key parameters that affect stress/strain distribution under both free as well as constrained model has been made, with including different pulse shapes parameters into effect. Maximum board strains are validated and compared using Global FEA model and maximum stresses on the components are evaluated using cut boundary interpolation method. Comparative to empirical results data, an effort to improve uniform stress strain distribution of package solder joints has been made and results are correlated.

Crystallinity Control of Electroplated Interconnections for Improving Their Stability and Lifetime

In a three-dimensional (3D) packaging systems, the interconnections which penetrate stacked silicon chips have been employed. Such interconnection structure is called TSV (Through Silicon Via) structure, and the via is recently filled by electroplated copper thin film. The electroplated copper thin films often consist of fine columnar grains and porous grain boundaries with high density of defects which don’t appear in conventional bulk material. This unique micro texture has been found to cause the wide variation of physical and chemical properties of this material. In the TSV structure, the shrinkage of the copper thin film caused by thermal deformation and recrystallization of the unique texture during high-temperature annealing is strictly constrained by surrounding rigid Si and thus, high tensile residual stress remains in the thin film after thermal annealing. High residual stress should give rise to mechanical fracture of the interconnections and the shift of electronic function of thin film devices formed in Si. Therefore, the residual stress in the interconnections should be minimized by controlling the appearance of the porous boundaries during electroplating for assuring the longterm reliability of the interconnections. As the lattice mismatch between Cu and its barrier film (Ta) is as larger as 18%, which is the main reason for the fine columnar structures and porous grain boundaries, it is necessary to control the underlayer crystallinity to improve the crystallinity of electroplated copper thin films. In this study, the effective method for controlling the crystallinity of the underlayer was investigated by improving the atomic configuration in the electroplated copper thin film. The result showed that by controlling the crystallinity of underlayer, crystallinity of electroplated copper thin films can be improved, the mechanical properties of thin films was improved and thus, stability and lifetime of electroplated copper interconnections can be improved.

Experimental Measurement of Inter-Die Thermal Resistance in a Two Die 3D IC

Thermal modeling and temperature prediction in 3D ICs are important for improving performance and reliability. A number of numerical and analytical models have been developed for thermal analysis of 3D ICs. However, there is a relative lack of experimental work to determine key physical parameters in 3D IC thermal design. One such important key parameter is the inter-die thermal resistance between adjacent die bonded together. This paper describes a novel experimental method to measure the value of inter-die thermal resistance between two die in a 3D IC. The effect of heating one die on the temperature of the other die in a two-die stack is measured over a short time period using high speed data acquisition to negate the effect of boundary conditions. Numerical simulation is performed and based on a comparison between experimental data and the numerical model, the inter-die thermal resistance between two die is determined. There is good agreement between experimental measurement and theoretically estimated value of the inter-die thermal resistance. Results from this paper are expected to assist in thermal design and management of 3D ICs.

Design Optimization of Driveshaft and Universal Joint Using Finite Element Technique

Finite Element Analysis (FEA) has been performed on variety of a driveshaft and universal joints based on different shaft materials and shaft different operating angles. A driveshaft is particularly useful in applications such as taking of transferring torque from one piece of equipment to the other such as in vehicle of all kinds. A driveshaft transfers torque from the transmission to the rear end differential since these two pieces of equipment cannot be connected directly. The driveshaft has universal joints located on both ends of the shaft to allow for fluctuations in the angle of the transmission and rear differential. The driveshaft alone is composed of two parts, a female and male end, connected by a spline to allow changes in the length during operation. The driveshaft must be able to withstand the constant torque that is being applied throughout operation in order to increase safety for the operator and machine. Having a lower polar moment of inertia allows the driveshaft to turn with a lower torque value compared to a driveshaft with a higher moment of inertia. It is noted that driveshaft can be manufactured into a variety of lengths and diameters depending on the use and equipment it will be supporting. This paper describes a method of finite element implemented on variations of driveshaft and universal joints. Effect of material properties, geometry and operating angle of the driveshaft were considered for this numerical investigation. Five different materials such as structural steel, aluminum alloy, polyethylene, titanium, and carbon fiber with an outer diameter of 1.5 in of the driveshaft was used for this analysis. The effect of both metals and composite materials was observed. Based on the analysis it was found that a 15° operating angle allowed for the longest life cycle of the driveshaft, while the carbon fiber composite presented the highest stress resistance and safety factor, approximately 6 GPa of yield tensile strength and a safety factor of 15. It was also found that titanium had an equivalent safety factor of 15. However, the tensile yield strength of titanium was much lower than that of its composite counterpart. All of the numerical experimentation was done using the Finite Element Analysis software ANSYS. Material properties for all materials were preset in the software except the composite carbon fiber whose properties were easily found from other research papers and experiments. Based on the data collected and the general assumptions that the most effective drive shaft is the one that lasts the longest. It can be concluded that a driveshaft made of carbon fiber operating at an angle of 15° presents the optimum driveshaft design.