Excimer laser ablation of polyimide in a manufacturing facility

High power excimer laser ablation projection tools have been used successfully in IBM manufacturing for about four years. One hundred fifty W XeCL, 300 mJ per pulse and 500 mJ per pulse lasers, running at 500 Hz and 300 Hz, respectively, have been run successfully for over 2 billion pulses. Excimer laser projection ablation tools are very similar to photo-expose tools, and their similarities and differences are explained. The laser and its gas handling, beam delivery, beam homogenization, optics, debris, part handling, and maintenance are discussed.Presented at LASERION '91, June 12–14, 1991, München (Germany)     

Characterizations of Clifford semigroup digraphs

This paper characterizes directed graphs which are Cayley graphs of strong semilattices of groups and, in particular, strong chains of groups, i.e. of completely regular semigroups which are also called Clifford semigroups.     

Interference-free determination of thallium in aqua regia leaches from rocks, soils and sediments by D(2)-ETAAS method using mixed palladium-citric acid-lithium chemical modifier

The mixture of palladium (chloride) with citric acid and lithium is proposed as a new chemical modifier for the elimination of interference occurred during the determination of Tl in aqua regia extracts from rocks, soils and sediments by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry using instrumentation with deuterium-lamp background correction (D₂-ETAAS). Palladium was preferred to rhodium and platinum as to analyte stabilization, citric acid served as an effective reducing agent facilitating formation of Pd-Tl stable covalent bonds playing an important role in the analyte stabilization. Citric acid in addition helps to remove most of interfering chloride at low temperature. The further addition of Li increased significantly the robustness of chemical modifier against strongly interfering ZnCl₂ matrix by binding free chlorine into a more stable LiCl molecule. In the presence of the proposed chemical modifier the temperature for the final step of pyrolysis was adjustable up to 1000 °C, without any noticeable loss of volatile Tl species and the interference of the rest chloride matrix was significantly reduced. The application of the modifier to direct determination of Tl in aqua regia extracts from rocks, soils and sediments has ensured the characteristic mass and LOD value for the original sample 13 pg and 0.043 μg g⁻¹, respectively (10-μL aliquots of sample) and has enabled the use of matrix-free standard solutions for attaining accurate analysis. The accuracy was verified by the analysis of certified reference samples and by the comparison of results with those found by an inductively coupled plasma orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ICP-oa-TOFMS) method.     

Synthesis of VO2 (B) nanorods for Li battery application

Vanadium dioxide nanorods were synthesized through a hydrothermal reaction from V₂O₅ xerogel, poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) and lithium perchlorate (LiClO₄). The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electrochemical discharge–charge cycling in lithium battery. SEM images reveal the nanorods to have dimensions on the order of 1–3 μm in length and 10–50 nm in diameter. The measured initial discharge capacity of the lithium battery with a cathode made of VO₂ (B) nanorods was 152 mA h/g.     

Characterization of MoO3 nanorods for lithium battery using PVP as a surfactant

We synthesized MoO₃ nanorods using poly (vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) as a surfactant through the hydrothermal route for making a cathode for a lithium battery. Scanning electron microscopy images reveal the structures to have dimensions on the order of 1–10 μm in length and 50–200 nm in diameter. Analytical techniques such as X-ray diffractometry, Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and cyclic voltammetry were used to characterize the nanorods. The measured specific charge of MoO₃ nanorods prepared through a 15-day hydrothermal reaction was 156 mAhg⁻¹ during the initial discharge process.     

Effects of electric field and hydrostatic pressure on donor binding energies in a spherical quantum dot

The binding energies of a hydrogenic donor in a GaAs spherical quantum dot in the Ga_1−xAl_xAs matrix are presented assuming parabolic confinement. Effects of hydrostatic pressure and electric field are discussed on the results obtained using a variational method. Effects of the spatial variation of the dielectric screening and the effective mass mismatch are also investigated. Our results show that (i) the ionization energy decreases with dot size, with the screening function giving uniformly larger values for dots which are less than about 25 nm, (ii) the hydrostatic pressure increases the donor ionization energy such that the variation is larger for a smaller dot, and (iii) the ionization energy decreases in an electric field. All the calculations have been carried out with finite barriers and good agreement is obtained with the results available in the literature in limiting cases.     

Shear Viscosity Measurements in CBOOA

The anisotropic shear viscosity of the liquid crystal CBOOA has been measured by observing the flow through a flat capillary. Uniform alignment was maintained by application of magnetic fields up to 85 kOe. In the nematic phase, five different measurements were made to determine the five independent coefficients. In the smectic phase, when the smectic planes were parallel to the capillary plates, the flow was nearly Newtonian and the temperature dependence had an Arrhenius behavior. When the smectic planes were parallel to the velocity and to the velocity gradient. The flow was non-Newtonian and rheopectic. This non-ideal behavior is attributed to the existence of nucleation of dislocations that can become pinned at the capillary walls.     

How chemistry shifts horizons: element, substance, and the essential

In 1931 eminent chemist Fritz Paneth maintained that the modern notion of “element” is closely related to (and as “metaphysical” as) the concept of element used by the ancients (e.g., Aristotle). On that basis, the element chlorine (properly so-called) is not the elementary substance dichlorine, but rather chlorine as it is in carbon tetrachloride. The fact that pure chemicals are called “substances” in English (and closely related words are so used in other European languages) derives from philosophical compromises made by grammarians in the late Roman Empire (particularly Priscian [fl. ~520 CE]). When the main features of the constitution of isotopes became clear in the first half of the twentieth century, the formal (IUPAC) definition of a “chemical element” was changed. The features that are “essential” to being an element had previously been “transcendental” (“beyond the sphere of consciousness”) but, by the mid-twentieth century the defining characteristics of elements, as such, had come to be understood in detail. This amounts to a shift in a “horizon of invisibility” brought about by progress in chemistry and related sciences. Similarly, chemical insight is relevant to currently-open philosophical problems, such as the status of “the bundle theory” of the coherence of properties in concrete individuals.