Determination of the stress level for voltage screen of integrated circuits

Voltage screen is a method to screen out products that suffer from defectivity related issues. A risk associated with voltage screen is that the applied voltage is too severe and damages the product. Most papers dealing with voltage screen determine the stress voltage by a general rule of thumb (focusing on one specific mechanism) without taking into account the particularities and the knowledge of the specific process.This paper describes a general approach to determine a safe level for voltage screening of products. In this approach, the onset of the wearout phase is not allowed to shift more than 1%. All the information needed to determine the voltage value is in general typically available from the process reliability tests performed as part of the process qualification.     

Axisymmetric peel test for adhesion measurement of polymer coatings

A novel axisymmetric peel test for measuring the adherence of coatings has been developed. The method utilizes a thin elastomeric membrane as a support for an uncured coating. Application of a pressure differential across this membrane brings the coating into contact with the substrate of interest, allowing it to cure while in contact with the substrate. The peel energy of the fully cured coating is determined by the measured peel force and by the geometry at the peeling front. Use of the test is illustrated with a model glassy polyurethane coating on an aluminum substrate. We show that the test is ideally suited for testing the effects of substrate preparation and cure conditions on the resultant coating adhesion. The upper limit on the adhesion strength that we were able to measure was about 50 J/m², a limit that is determined by the tensile strength of the coating. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012     

Prepositioning supplies in preparation for disasters

In this paper, we examine the decision of where to preposition supplies in preparation for a disaster, such as a hurricane or terrorist attack, and how much to preposition at a location. If supplies are located closer to the disaster, it can allow for faster delivery of supplies after the disaster. As a result of being closer, though, the supplies may be in a risky location if the disaster occurs. Considering these risks, we derive equations for determining the optimal stocking quantity and the total expected costs associated with delivering to a demand point from a supply point. We provide a sensitivity analysis to show how different parameters impact stocking levels and costs. We show how our cost model can be used to select the single best supply point location from a discrete set of choices and how it can be embedded within existing location algorithms to choose multiple supply points. Our computational experiments involve a variety of relationships between distance and risk and show how these can impact location decisions and stocking levels.     

Living With Martha Stewart Media: Chosen Domesticity in the Experience of Fans

In-depth interviews with 10 women who are Martha Stewart fans addressed the roles Stewart and her media products play in their lives and why and how they use her media products. Stewart and her media products appear to play 3 main roles in the lives of these women: They encourage the fantasy of an upper-class lifestyle of elegance and luxury while providing an escape from their daily lives; they validate the women's interest in domesticity by making domestic work respectable and seem important; and they foster creativity and feelings of accomplishment and pride among those who complete projects and recipes. In addition, the women were able to use Stewart's media products flexibly to fit individual schedules, budgets, tastes, and desires. This paper argues that the domestic fantasy of class mobility privileges appearance over substance and substitutes the look of luxury for the unattainable class ascension. However, rather than condemning fans for embracing this fantasy, it is necessary to understand the pleasures provided and desires met by Stewart's media products, as well as the contradictions in the lives of Stewart's fans.     

Characterization of a Multicomponent Lithium Lithiate from a Combined X‐Ray Diffraction,NMR Spectroscopy,and Computational Approach

An unusual lithium lithiate [Li(diglyme)₂][(diglyme)Li₂(C₄H₃S)₃], made up from three carbanions, two lithium cations, and a single donor base molecule in the anion and a single lithium cation, coordinated by two donor base molecules, is investigated in a combined study including X‐ray diffraction, NMR spectroscopy and computational approaches in solution and the solid state. While the multicomponent lithiate is the only species present in the solid state, solution NMR spectroscopy and computational methods were employed to identify a second species in solution. The dimer [(diglyme)Li(C₄H₃S)]₂ coexists with the lithiate in solution in a 1:1 ratio, the more the higher the polarity of the solvent is. Only the combination of this multitude of methods provides a firm picture of the whole.     

Model‐independent structure factors from powder X‐ray diffraction: a novel approach

Under the experimental condition that all Bragg peaks in a powder X‐ray diffraction (PXRD) pattern have the same shape, one can readily obtain the Bragg intensities without fitting any parameters. This condition is fulfilled at the P02.1 beamline at PETRA III using the seventh harmonic from a 23 mm‐period undulator (60 keV) at a distance of 65 m. For grain sizes of the order of 1 µm, the Bragg peak shape in the PXRD is entirely determined by the diameter of the capillary containing the powder sample and the pixel size of the image plate detector, and consequently it is independent of the scattering angle. As an example, a diamond powder has been chosen and structure factors derived which are in accordance with those calculated from density functional theory methods of the WIEN2k package to within an accuracy that allows a detailed electron density analysis.