Filler-induced failure mechanism in plastic-encapsulated microelectronic packages

Based on empirical data, the present work provides a model to prevent filler-induced reliability degradation in plastic-encapsulated LOC (lead-on-chip) packages. According to the model, the maximum size of the silica fillers included in the plastic package body should be smaller than one half of the inter-distance between the device and its overlying lead-frame. In particular, it is shown in the model that the spherical silica particles, which are sometimes trapped in the space between the top surface of the device and the bottom of the lead-frame during the encapsulating process, can induce huge compressive stress on a specific site of the integrated circuit pattern due to the thermal shrinkage of the plastic package body. Further, the present model suggests that tiny fillers squeezed beneath a large trapping filler might directly attack the brittle layer of the device pattern because the compressive force from the large filler particle can develop into huge compressive stress due to the reduced load-carrying area.     

Can Robots Manifest Personality?: An Empirical Test of Personality Recognition,Social Responses,and Social Presence in Human–Robot Interaction

Personality is an essential feature for creating socially interactive robots. Studies on this dimension will facilitate enhanced human–robot interaction (HRI). Using AIBO, a social robotic pet developed by Sony, we examined the issue of personality in HRI. In this gender-balanced 2 (AIBO personality: introvert vs. extrovert) by 2 (participant personality: introvert vs. extrovert) between-subject experiment (N = 48), we found that participants could accurately recognize a robot's personality based on its verbal and nonverbal behaviors. In addition, various complementarity attraction effects were found in HRI. Participants enjoyed interacting with a robot more when the robot's personality was complementary to their own personalities than when the robot's personality was similar to their own personalities. The same complementarity attraction effect was found in participants' evaluation of the robot's intelligence and social attraction. Participants' feelings of social presence during the interaction were a significant mediator for the complementarity attraction effects observed. Practical and theoretical implications of the current study for the design of social robots and the study of HRI were discussed.     

Thermo-acoustic instability in the horizontal Rijke tube

The instability curve of a Rijke tube system was obtained accurately by following different paths of heat power and flow-rate for three regions and by defining its locus from the criterion based on the measured sound pressure levels. The unstable limits in the region of flow-rate lower than that at the minimal power are compared with previous data. To observe the effect of turbulence on the unstable limits, inflow turbulence was introduced by placing a bundle of circular cylinders upstream of the heating part (50< Re_d< 700). The large-amplitude inflow fluctuation may delay the transition of the chamber acoustic mode to the unstable zone even at a sufficient power.     

Effects of potential and heat treatment on phase transition of alumina dielectric layer

The characteristics and growth behaviors of alumina dielectric layer formed by anodic oxidation were investigated. The aluminum oxide layer anodized at 400 V was predominantly amorphous alumina, but at the applied potentials more than 500 V, amorphous and crystalline γ-alumina were existed in anodic oxide layer and the ratio of γ-alumina increased with the increasing applied potential. During the heat treatment at 600^°C or higher temperature, amorphous alumina layer was transformed into the crystalline γ-alumina. The phase transition of anodic amorphous alumina into crystalline depends on anodic applied potentials and heat-treatment temperatures.     

Effect of storage temperature on phenolics stability in hawthorn (Crataegus pinnatifida var. major) fruits and a hawthorn drink

The stability of five major phenolics, namely (−)-epicatechin (EC), procyanidin B₂ (PC-B₂), chlorogenic acid (ChA), hyperoside (HP) and isoquercitrin (IQ), in hawthorn fruits and a canned hawthorn drink were evaluated during 6 months of storage in the dark at three different temperatures (4, 23 and 40 °C). HPLC with a diode-array detector was used to determine the contents of the individual compounds. The results showed that the studied phenolics in the hawthorn fruits and the drink were both stable at 4 °C and relatively unstable at 23 and 40 °C with varied extents of degradation. At room temperature (23 °C), marked degradations of EC and PC-B₂ were observed in both the fruits and the drink with around 50% and 30% decrease after a 6-month storage, respectively. A more significant decrease of the phenolics was observed at 40 °C, especially for EC and PC-B₂, which were almost completely degraded after a 6-month storage. HP, IQ and ChA were relatively stable at 23 °C, but unstable at 40 °C. Therefore, low-temperature storage is recommended for maintaining the quality and efficacy of hawthorn fruits and its preparations.     

Analysis of design and part load performance of micro gas turbine/organic Rankine cycle combined systems

This study analyzes the design and part load performance of a power generation system combining a micro gas turbine (MGT) and an organic Rankine cycle (ORC). Design performances of cycles adopting several different organic fluids are analyzed and compared with performance of the steam based cycle. All of the organic fluids recover greater MGT exhaust heat than the steam cycle (much lower stack temperature), but their bottoming cycle efficiencies are lower. R123 provides higher combined cycle efficiency than steam does. The efficiencies of the combined cycle with organic fluids are maximized when the turbine exhaust heat of the MGT is fully recovered at the MGT recuperator, whereas the efficiency of the combined cycle with steam shows an almost reverse trend. Since organic fluids have much higher density than steam, they allow more compact systems. The efficiency of the combined cycle, based on a MGT with 30 percent efficiency, can reach almost 40 percent. Also, the part load operation of the combined system is analyzed. Two representative power control methods are considered and their performances are compared. The variable speed control of the MGT exhibits far better combined cycle part load efficiency than the fuel only control despite slightly lower bottoming cycle performance.     

Kinetics of AuSn4 migration in lead-free solders

The relatively fast diffusion of Au atoms in eutectic PbSn matrix is considered one of the contributing factors to the Au embrittlement problem. In this study, we further investigated the Au embrittlement problem in high-Sn solders. Experimentally, Sn3.5Ag (wt.%) spheres with 500-μm diameter were soldered over the Au/Ni soldering pads. It was found that some of the AuSn₄ needles that formed after reflow inside the solder migrated back to the solder/pad interface during thermal aging. However, the migration kinetics in high-Sn solders was slower compared to that in eutectic PbSn. The difference in migration kinetics of AuSn₄ in eutectic PbSn and SnAg was ascribed to the difference in the magnitudes of the Au flux and the Ni flux. In eutectic PbSn, the Au flux was much greater than that of the Ni flux, and the Au and Ni flux were in the same order of magnitude in eutectic SnAg. The relative magnitude of the Au and Ni flux changed in eutectic PbSn and SnAg because the homologous temperatures of PbSn and SnAg were different.     

Setting-up a cost recovery system for the largest wastewater treatment plant in South-East Asia.

A tariff system has been set up for the largest wastewater treatment plant in South-East Asia, the Samut Prakarn Wastewater Treatment Plant south of Bangkok, which is currently under completion. Fully functional the plant will have a design capacity for 500,000 m3 per day and will service a combined residential and industrial area with approximately 600,000 residents and 2,300 factories. The tariff system, which includes a tariff model, is based on water consumption and BOD load. As background for setting the tariffs a comprehensive monitoring system including an industrial permitting system has been developed. The paper presents the background and rationale for setting up the system as well as the objective, scope and content of the tariff system and the industrial permit system. Further, the feasibility of introducing cost recovery systems, which is widely accepted in developing economies on the conceptual level and to some extent implemented at the legal and regulatory level, but has yet to be implemented at large, is discussed.