New Challenges for Integrated Circuit Solutions

Integrated circuit solutions have been one of the enabling technologies, contributing to the success of wireless communications. As the focus of the new generation is moving towards higher bandwidths and new services and applications, challenges for the integrated circuit solutions are ever growing. Development focus has shifted from component design and optimization towards significant system oriented content captured both in the hardware platform and supporting software. This integrated approach challenges existing development models, and affects other disciplines related to wireless system development. This paper explores major challenges for integrated circuit solutions emerging from the system-oriented approach.     

Sub‐Micrometer Zeolite Films on Gold‐Coated Silicon Wafers with Single‐Crystal‐Like Dielectric Constant and Elastic Modulus

A low‐temperature synthesis coupled with mild activation produces zeolite films exhibiting low dielectric constant (low‐k) matching the theoretically predicted and experimentally measured values for single crystals. This synthesis and activation method allows for the fabrication of a device consisting of a b‐oriented film of the pure‐silica zeolite MFI (silicalite‐1) supported on a gold‐coated silicon wafer. The zeolite seeds are assembled by a manual assembly process and subjected to optimized secondary growth conditions that do not cause corrosion of the gold underlayer, while strongly promoting in‐plane growth. The traditional calcination process is replaced with a nonthermal photochemical activation to ensure preservation of an intact gold layer. The dielectric constant (k), obtained through measurement of electrical capacitance in a metal–insulator–metal configuration, highlights the ultralow k ≈ 1.7 of the synthetized films, which is among the lowest values reported for an MFI film. There is large improvement in elastic modulus of the film (E ≈ 54 GPa) over previous reports, potentially allowing for integration into silicon wafer processing technology.     

Comparison of different distortional hardening models suitable for the analysis of magnesium

HCP metals such as magnesium are characterized by a strong interplay between dislocation slip and deformation-induced twinning. These micromechanical processes result in a complex macroscopic behavior. More precisely, in addition to classical isotropic and kinematic hardening, the shape of the macroscopic yield function changes during deformation as well. This effect which is frequently referred to as distortional hardening is particularly pronounced in case of non-radial loading paths typical for most forming processes. Consequently, a physically sound distortional hardening is of utmost importance for several technically relevant applications. In the present contribution, three different of such enhanced hardening models are critically analyzed. Focus is on the modeling of magnesium. (© 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Capacity optimization and competition with cyclical and lead-time-dependent demands

Capacity acquisition is often capital- and time-consuming for a business, and capacity investment is often partially or fully irreversible and difficult to change in the short term. Moreover, capacity determines the action space for service/production scheduling and lead-time quotation decisions. The quoted lead-time affects the customer’s perceived service quality. Thus, capacity acquisition level and lead-time quotation affect a firm’s revenue/profit directly or indirectly. In this paper, we investigate a joint optimization problem of capacity acquisition, delivery lead-time quotation and service-production scheduling with cyclical and lead-time-dependent demands. We first explore the structural properties of the optimal schedule given any capacity and lead-time. Then, the piecewise concave relationship between the delay penalty cost and the capacity acquisition level is found. Thereby, an efficient and effective polynomial time algorithm is provided to determine the optimal capacity acquisition level, delivery lead-time quotation and service/production schedule simultaneously. Furthermore, a capacity competition game among multiple firms is addressed. The numerical studies show that capacity equilibrium often exists and converges to a unique solution.     

Synthesis and in vivo evaluation of 4-deoxy-4,4-difluoro-KRN7000

The synthesis of 4-deoxy-4,4-difluoro-KRN7000 starting from phytosphingosine is described. Key steps include a regioselective benzylation of azidophytosphingosine and a deoxofluor-mediated fluorination of the corresponding 4-ketone. This fluorination failed completely when the adjacent 3-OH was protected as benzyl ether but proceeded well when a benzoyl group was used. The biological evaluation reveals a bias toward Th1 cytokine induction upon Natural Killer T cell activation.     

High resolution characterization of DNA fragment ions produced by ultraviolet matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization using linear and reflecting time-of-flight mass spectrometry

A mechanism for the gas phase fragmentation of DNA during the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization process has been proposed by ourselves and others, in which the initiating event is nucleobase protonation, followed by base loss and backbone cleavage. The proposed mechanism predicts the structures, and hence the masses, of the fragmentation products; however in earlier studies the mass resolution was insufficient to confirm the identities of these ions. In the present study a high resolution mass spectrometer equipped with a reflectron and delayed extraction capability was employed to determine the exact masses of the fragmentation products obtained from a number of short model oligonucleotide analytes. The fragment ions observed were found to have masses consistent with those predicted in the proposed mechanism. An additional species is observed in the mass spectra which was unresolved from other ions in previous studies; this species is hypothesized to correspond to the addition of water at the site of base loss from the DNA.     

On zeta-functions associated to certain cusp forms. II

A formula for the mean value of multiplicative functions associated to certain cusp forms is obtained. The paper is a continuation of [4].     

Interaction correction to the conductance of a ballistic conductor

In disordered metals, electron-electron interactions are the origin of a small correction to the conductivity, the "Altshuler-Aronov correction." Here we investigate the Altshuler-Aronov correction deltaG{AA} of a conductor in which the electron motion is ballistic and chaotic. We consider the case of a double quantum dot, which is the simplest example of a ballistic conductor in which deltaG{AA} is nonzero. The fact that the electron motion is ballistic leads to an exponential suppression of deltaG{AA} if the Ehrenfest time is larger than the mean dwell time tau{D} or the inverse temperature h/T.