Kth-Aggressor Fault (KAF)-based Thru-Silicon-Via Interconnect Built-In Self-Test and Diagnosis

Three-dimensional (3D) integration is a key technology for systems whose performance and power requirements cannot be achieved by traditional silicon technologies. 3D chips consist of two or more stacked silicon dies connected by short inter-die wires called Thru-Silicon-Vias (TSVs). Despite its potential, the poor reliability and yield, thermal management and testing issues remain major challenges of 3D integration. We address the TSV interconnect test challenge of 3D chips by using Interconnect Built-In Self-Test (IBIST) techniques. The proposed test strategy must sensitize structural faults like opens and shorts, and delay faults due to crosstalk. A possible approach is the well-known Maximum Aggressor Fault (MAF) model. Unfortunately, this model is too conservative and it leads to long test sequences and non-negligible hardware costs. Therefore, we present an alternative solution: the K^th-Aggressor Fault (KAF) model. In our model, aggressors of victim wires are neighboring wires within an optimized distance order K. The aggressor order K is technology-dependent and is determined such that the test times are minimal and the fault coverage is maximal. KAF-based IBIST implementation targeting TSV tests occupies three times less area than similar MAF-/marching-based implementations. We also propose a reconfigurable KAF-based IBIST implementation where tests can be performed using different aggressor orders K. Although the reconfigurable IBIST area is significant, interconnect tests during system lifetime can be performed using lower aggressor orders, reducing test duration and improving TSV availability.     

Radiation effect on the optical and electrical properties of CdSe(In)/p-Si heterojunction photovoltaic solar cells

The efficiency and radiation resistance of solar cells are graded. They are then fabricated in the form of n-CdeSe(In)/p-Si heterojunction cells by electron beam evaporation of a stoichiomteric mixture of CdSe and In to make a thin film on a p-Si single crystal wafer with a thickness of 100 μm and a resistivity of ～ 1.5 Ω·cm at a temperature of 473 K. The short-circuit current density (j_sc), open-circuit voltage (V_oc), fill factor (ff) and conversion efficiency (η) under 100 mW/cm² (AM1) intensity, are 20 mA/cm², 0.49 V, 0.71 and 6% respectively. The cells were exposed to different electron doses (electron beam accelerator of energy 1.5 MeV, and beam intensity 25 mA). The cell performance parameters are measured and discussed before and after gamma and electron beam irradiation.     

Transport of siRNA through Lipid Membranes Driven by Nanosecond Electric Pulses: An Experimental and Computational Study

The use of small interfering RNA (siRNA) is a blossoming technique for gene regulation. However, its therapeutic potential is today severely hampered by the lack of an efficient means of safely delivering these nucleic acids to the intracellular medium. We report here that a single 10 ns high-voltage electric pulse can permeabilize lipid vesicles and allow the delivery of siRNA to the cytoplasm. Combining experiments and molecular dynamics simulations has allowed us to provide the detailed molecular mechanisms of such transport and to give practical guidance for the design of protocols aimed at using nanosecond-pulse siRNA electro-delivery in medical and biotechnological applications.     

Ab initio study of the structural,electronic, elastic and magnetic properties of Cu2GdIn,Ag2GdIn and Au2GdIn

We preformed first-principle calculations for the structural, electronic, elastic and magnetic properties of Cu₂GdIn, Ag₂GdIn and Au₂GdIn using the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) scheme within the generalized gradient approximation by Wu and Cohen (GGA-WC), GGA+U, the local spin density approximation (LSDA) and LSDA+U. The lattice parameters, the bulk modulus and its pressure derivative and the elastic constants were determined. Also, we present the band structures and the densities of states. The electronic structures of the ferromagnetic configuration for Heusler compounds (X₂GdIn) have a metallic character. The magnetic moments were mostly contributed by the rare-earth Gd 4f ion.     

On the explicit formulas for zeta functions

In this paper, we study the properties of a large class of zeta functions that arises in geometric analysis and mathematical physics. They are attached to some elliptic operators. This method can be used to evaluate explicitly the special values of zeta functions of elliptic operators defined on some symmetric spaces.     

Multiplicity results for a Kirchhoff singular problem involving the fractional p-Laplacian

The aim of this paper is to study the multiplicity of solutions for a Kirchhoff singular problem involving the fractional p-Laplacian operator. Using the concentration compactness principle and Ekeland"s variational principle, we obtain two positive weak solutions.     

Flat orbits and kernels of irreducible representations of the group algebra of a completely solvable Lie group

We show that the kernel of an irreducible unitary representation π of the group algebra L¹(G) of a completely solvable Lie group G is given by the functions, whose abelian Fourier transform vanish on the Kirillov orbit Oπ of π if and only if this orbit Oπ is flat. This is a generalization of a result obtained before for nilpotent Lie groups.     

Type-definable groups in C-minimal structures

This Note studies type-definable groups in C-minimal structures. We show first for some of these groups, that they contain a cone which is a subgroup. This result will be applied to show that in any geometric locally modular non-trivial C-minimal structure, there is a definable infinite C-minimal group.     

Fluorimetric properties of a 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin: 9-methyl-benzo[a]phenothiazine inclusion complex in aqueous media. Analytical usefulness

The formation of an inclusion complex between 9-methyl-12H-benzo[a]phenothiazine (MeBPHT) and 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) was investigated in aqueous medium. A 12-fold fluorescence emission intensity enhancement was found for the complexed relative to the free analyte. MeBPHT forms a 1:1 stoichiometry complex with HP-β-CD. A formation constant of 460 (±100) M⁻¹ was calculated using the Benesi-Hildebrand method and fluorimetric data. The limit of detection was 7 ng ml⁻¹ for MeBPHT in the presence of HP-β-CD instead of 60 ng ml⁻¹ in the absence of HP-β-CD.