Laser induced copper electroless plating on polyimide with Q-switch Nd:YAG laser

The results of laser induced deposition of copper on polyimide substrate from copper electrolyte solution are reported. Unlike most work reported in the literatures where CW Ar⁺ lasers were used, a second harmonic (532 nm wavelength) Q-switch Nd:YAG laser was used for our experiments. The deposition process was conducted by laser-catalyzing of the polyimide surface and subsequent photothermal-accelerated reduction of copper-complex ions in an alkaline reducing environment. The characteristics of the deposited copper line were investigated in terms of laser beam scanning speed, and the number of scans. The surface morphology and chemical composition of the deposited copper were analyzed using field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDX). The optimum processing conditions have been identified. The copper deposit was found to adhere well to the substrate.     

Laser writing techniques for photomask fabrication using a femtosecond laser

Photomasks are the backbone of microfabrication industries. Currently they are fabricated by a lithographic process, which is very expensive and time consuming since it is a multi-step process. These issues can be addressed by fabricating photomasks by direct femtosecond laser writing, which is a single-step process and comparatively cheaper and faster than lithography. In this paper we discuss our investigations on the effect of two types of laser writing techniques, namely front- and rear-side laser writing, with regard to the feature size and the edge quality of a feature. It is proved conclusively that for the patterning of masks, front-side laser writing is a better technique than rear-side laser writing with regard to smaller feature size and better edge quality. Moreover the energy required for front-side laser writing is considerably lower than that for rear-side laser writing. Received: 22 May 2001 / Accepted: 14 September 2001 / Published online: 17 October 2001     

Long range relationship between Morse and Lennard–Jones potential energy functions

Arising from the use of the Morse function–which is well-known for its applicability for describing bonded interaction energy–in van der Waals systems, an attempt is made herein to express parameters of the Lennard–Jones potential function in terms of the Morse function to enable normalized comparison. In a departure from previous work where the parameter relationships enforce equal curvature at the minimum well-depth, the present approach replaces this rule with equal area above the curves for 1?≤?(r/R)?≤?∞. Results show good approximations of the Morse function to the Lennard–Jones curve and vice versa. Comparison with the previous relation for short range interaction shows that the present relations offer superior agreement with the Lennard–Jones function over a longer range. The conversion relations provide a cost-effective, less time-consuming and reasonably reliable method for obtaining Morse parameters from those of the Lennard–Jones function and vice versa.     

Spatial chaos aspects of laser-material interaction

In the past decade the understanding of stability and chaotic behaviour of nonlinear systems has made significant progress. Such systems include: structure of turbulence, oscillations in mechanical structures, multistable biological systems, etc. Laser machining is now an established industrial production method for: prototyping, small batch manufacture, cutting refractory materials and specialist applications such as micromachining. Within narrowly bounded limits, many models exist that can be used to predict the necessary machining control parameters such as cutting rate, power, pulse repetition frequency, etc. However, in an unconstrained machining process, chaotic phenomena can be observed to occur. The objective of this paper is to prove the existence of chaos, for the laser-material interaction, which can be described by Poincaré-Birkhoff-Smale horseshoes. Furthermore, to exploit the phase portrait of the process to predict the optimal laser machining control parameters.     

Enhanced coercivity in sponge magnets with three dimensionally ordered nanopores

Nanoporous magnets are new promising materials particularly useful in biological assays and ion separations. This letter deals with a simple method for making porous magnets composed of cobalt ferrite, where polymer colloidal spheres were used as sacrificial templates. Compared with the bulk congener the porous cobalt ferrite shows enhancements in coercive field and magnetization, which could be associated with the presence of nanopores ordered three dimensionally. Using the sponge magnet complete removal of magnetic Cu and Fe ions was achieved while partial removal was observed with porous silicate having the same size of nanopores.     

RF-sputtered CrB2 diffusion barrier for Ni/Au Ohmic contacts on p-CuCrO2

Ohmic contacts to p-type CuCrO₂ using Ni/Au/CrB₂/Ti/Au contact metallurgy are reported. The samples were annealed in the 200–700 °C range for 60 s in flowing oxygen ambient. A minimum specific contact resistance of 2 × 10⁻⁵ Ω cm² was obtained after annealing at 400 °C. Further increase in the annealing temperature (>400 °C) resulted in the degradation of contact resistance. Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) depth profiling showed that out-diffusion of Ti to the surface of the contact stacks was evident by 400 °C, followed by Cr at higher temperature. The CrB₂ diffusion barrier decreases the specific contact resistance by almost two orders of magnitude relative to Ni/Au alone.     

Central neurocytoma: typical magnetic resonance spectroscopy findings and atypical ventricular dissemination

PURPOSE: Central neurocytomas (CNCs) are rare neuronal tumors that have a favorable prognosis and lower rate of recurrence compared with other intraventricular neoplasms. Although it may be difficult to distinguish CNC on conventional neuroimaging, typical MR spectroscopy (MRS) features have been reported. We describe the MRI and MRS features of CNC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eight patients with CNC were reviewed. Three patients underwent presurgical in vivo single-voxel MRS at short echo time (TE, 35 ms) and multi-voxel MR spectroscopic imaging at long TE (144 ms). The surgically resected tumor specimen of one of these patients was also studied ex vivo using high-resolution magic angle spinning (HRMAS) nuclear magnetic resonance. RESULTS: All eight tumors were located in the lateral ventricles. In six patients, CNC extended into the third ventricle, and in two patients the tumor showed further contiguous intraventricular dissemination into the fourth ventricle. In all three patients who underwent MRS, a characteristic metabolite peak was detected at 3.55 parts per million (ppm) at both long and short TE. HRMAS confirmed the presence of elevated glycine (Gly) at 3.55 ppm, without increase in the concentration of myo-inositol found at the same chemical shift. Elevated choline (at 3.2 ppm) was also seen in all three patients. CONCLUSION: On MRS, CNCs have a typical appearance with a metabolite peak at 3.55 ppm due to increased Gly, and this feature may be helpful in presurgical diagnosis. Although they are rare benign intraventricular tumors, in atypical cases, CNCs can show extensive intraventricular dissemination into the fourth ventricle.     

Room temperature diluted magnetic semiconductor synthesized by dual beam laser deposition

Diluted magnetic semiconductor Co-doped ZnO film has been synthesized by a dual beam pulsed laser deposition method. The magnetic, electrical, and optical properties of the Zn_0.985Co_0.015O_0.67 film are studied in this paper. The film shows ferromagnetic behavior with a coercivity of about 300 Oe at room temperature, and semiconductor behavior with carrier concentration of 2.2×10¹⁸ cm^-3, and a resistivity of 102 mcm. Structural investigations indicated that the film has similar lattice constants to that of ZnO. It is shown that the film exhibits excellent optical properties with a band gap energy of 3.31 eV, which is close to that of ZnO. The origins of the magnetism are also discussed. PACS 81.15.Fg; 75.50 Pp; 61.72.Vv     

Time-domain numerical computation of noise reduction by diffraction and finite impedance of barriers

A new time-domain numerical method is presented for the estimation of noise reduction by the diffraction and finite impedance of barriers. High order finite difference schemes conventionally used for computational aeroacoustics, and time-domain impedance boundary conditions are utilized for the development of the time-domain method. Compared with other methods, this method can be applied more easily to the problems related to nonlinear noise propagation such as impulsive noise and broadband noise. Linearized Euler equations in Cartesian co-ordinates are considered and solved numerically. Straight and T-shaped barriers with and without surface admittance are calculated. In order to assess the accuracy of this time-domain method, comparison with the results of SYSNOISE software (Ver. 5.3) are made. There are very good agreements between the results of the present time-domain numerical method and the boundary element method of the SYSNOISE software.