Correlative Framework of Techniques for the Inspection, Evaluation, and Design of Micro-electronic Devices

Trillions of micro- and nano-electronic devices are manufactured every year. They service countless electronic systems across a diverse range of applications ranging from civilian, military, and medical sectors. Examples of these devices include: packaged and board-mounted semiconductor devices such as ceramic capacitors, CPUs, GPUs, DSPs, etc., biomedical implantable electrochemical devices such as pacemakers, defibrillators, and neural stimulators, electromechanical sensors such as MEMS/NEMS accelerometers and positioning systems and many others. Though a diverse collection of devices, they are unified by their length scale. Particularly, with respect to the ever-present objectives of device miniaturization and performance improvement. Pressures to meet these objectives have left significant room for the development of widely applicable inspection and evaluation techniques to accurately and reliably probe new and failed devices on an ever-shrinking length scale. Presented in this study is a framework of correlative, cross-modality microscopy workflows coupled with novel in-situ experimentation and testing, and computational reverse engineering and modeling methods, aimed at addressing the current and future challenges of evaluating micro- and nano-electronic devices. The current challenges are presented through a unique series of micro- and nano-electronic devices from a wide range of applications with ties to industrial relevance. Solutions were reached for the challenges and through the development of these workflows, they were successfully expanded to areas outside the immediate area of the original project. Limitations on techniques and capabilities were noted to contextualize the applicability of these workflows to other current and future challenges

Advanced Process Monitoring for Industry 4.0

This book reports recent advances on Process Monitoring (PM) to cope with the many challenges raised by the new production systems, sensors and “extreme data” conditions that emerged with Industry 4.0. Concepts such as digital-twins and deep learning are brought to the PM arena, pushing forward the capabilities of existing methodologies to handle more complex scenarios. The evolution of classical paradigms such as Latent Variable modeling, Six Sigma and FMEA are also covered. Applications span a wide range of domains such as microelectronics, semiconductors, chemicals, materials, agriculture, as well as the monitoring of rotating equipment, combustion systems and membrane separation processes

Development of the MCM-D Technique for Pixel Detector Modules

Diese Dissertation behandelt eine Kupfer-Polymer basierte Dünnfilmtechnologie, die MCM-D Technik, und Ihre Anwendung zum Aufbau von hybriden Pixeldetektor Modulen. Das ATLAS Experiment am LHC wird über ein Pixeldetektorsystem verfügen. Die kleinste mechanische Einheit des Pixeldetektors sind Multichipmodule. Die wichtigsten Komponenten dieser Module sind 16 Elektronikchips, ein Kontrollchip und ein Sensor, der über mehr als 46000 Pixelzellen verfügt. MCM-D ist eine verbesserte Technologie um das notwendigen Signalbussystem und das Stromversorgungssystem direkt auf den Sensor aufzubauen. In Zusammenarbeit mit dem Fraunhofer Institut für Zuverlässigkeit und Mikrointegration, IZM, wurde der Dünnfilmprozess überprüft und weiterentwickelt. Das Vielschichtsystem wurde entworfen und sowohl für das Verbindungssystem als auch für die mehr als 46000 Pixelkontakte optimiert. Labormessungen an Prototypen haben gezeigt, dass ein komplexes Verbindungsschema für geometrieoptimierte Einzelchips durchführbar ist und vernachlässigbaren Einfluss auf die Leistungsfähigkeit der Auslesechips hat. Ein vollständiges Modul wurde gebaut; und es wurde nachgewiesen, dass sich die Technologie eignet um Pixeldetektormodule zu bauen. Weitere Tests beinhalten u.a. die Untersuchung des Einflusses von hadronischer Bestrahlung auf die Dünnfilmlagen. Einzelchipaufbauten wurden auch in einer Teststrahlumgebung betrieben und die Umsetzbarkeit der Sensoroptimierung konnte gezeigt werden. Es wird ein Überblick über das Potential und die Perspektive der MCM-D Technologie in zukünftigen Experimenten gegeben.This thesis treats a copper--polymer based thin film technology, the MCM-D technique and its application when building hybrid pixel detector modules. The ATLAS experiment at the LHC will be equipped with a pixel detector system. The basic mechanical units of the pixel detector are multi chip modules. The main components of these modules are: 16 electronic chips, a controller chip and a large sensor tile, featuring more than 46000 sensor cells. MCM-D is a superior technique to build the necessary signal bus system and the power distribution system directly on the active sensor tile. In collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration, IZM, the thin film process is reviewed and enhanced. The multi layer system was designed and optimized for the interconnection system as well as for the 46000 pixel contacts. Laboratory measurements on prototypes prove that complex routing schemes for geometrically optimized single chips are suitable and have negligible influence on the front--end chips performance. A full scale MCM-D module has been built and it is shown that the technology is suitable to build pixel detector modules. Further tests include the investigation of the impact of hadronic irradiation on the thin film layers. Single chip assemblies have been operated in a test beam environment and the feasibility of the optimization of the sensors could be shown. A review on the potential as well as the perspective for the MCM-D technique in future experiments is given

Smart Technologies for Precision Assembly

This open access book constitutes the refereed post-conference proceedings of the 9th IFIP WG 5.5 International Precision Assembly Seminar, IPAS 2020, held virtually in December 2020. The 16 revised full papers and 10 revised short papers presented together with 1 keynote paper were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The papers address topics such as assembly design and planning; assembly operations; assembly cells and systems; human centred assembly; and assistance methods in assembly

Micro/Nano Manufacturing

Micro manufacturing involves dealing with the fabrication of structures in the size range of 0.1 to 1000 µm. The scope of nano manufacturing extends the size range of manufactured features to even smaller length scales—below 100 nm. A strict borderline between micro and nano manufacturing can hardly be drawn, such that both domains are treated as complementary and mutually beneficial within a closely interconnected scientific community. Both micro and nano manufacturing can be considered as important enablers for high-end products. This Special Issue of Applied Sciences is dedicated to recent advances in research and development within the field of micro and nano manufacturing. The included papers report recent findings and advances in manufacturing technologies for producing products with micro and nano scale features and structures as well as applications underpinned by the advances in these technologies

Advanced Applications of Rapid Prototyping Technology in Modern Engineering

Rapid prototyping (RP) technology has been widely known and appreciated due to its flexible and customized manufacturing capabilities. The widely studied RP techniques include stereolithography apparatus (SLA), selective laser sintering (SLS), three-dimensional printing (3DP), fused deposition modeling (FDM), 3D plotting, solid ground curing (SGC), multiphase jet solidification (MJS), laminated object manufacturing (LOM). Different techniques are associated with different materials and/or processing principles and thus are devoted to specific applications. RP technology has no longer been only for prototype building rather has been extended for real industrial manufacturing solutions. Today, the RP technology has contributed to almost all engineering areas that include mechanical, materials, industrial, aerospace, electrical and most recently biomedical engineering. This book aims to present the advanced development of RP technologies in various engineering areas as the solutions to the real world engineering problems

Digital CMOS ISFET architectures and algorithmic methods for point-of-care diagnostics

Over the past decade, the surge of infectious diseases outbreaks across the globe is redefining how healthcare is provided and delivered to patients, with a clear trend towards distributed diagnosis at the Point-of-Care (PoC). In this context, Ion-Sensitive Field Effect Transistors (ISFETs) fabricated on standard CMOS technology have emerged as a promising solution to achieve a precise, deliverable and inexpensive platform that could be deployed worldwide to provide a rapid diagnosis of infectious diseases. This thesis presents advancements for the future of ISFET-based PoC diagnostic platforms, proposing and implementing a set of hardware and software methodologies to overcome its main challenges and enhance its sensing capabilities. The first part of this thesis focuses on novel hardware architectures that enable direct integration with computational capabilities while providing pixel programmability and adaptability required to overcome pressing challenges on ISFET-based PoC platforms. This section explores oscillator-based ISFET architectures, a set of sensing front-ends that encodes the chemical information on the duty cycle of a PWM signal. Two initial architectures are proposed and fabricated in AMS 0.35um, confirming multiple degrees of programmability and potential for multi-sensing. One of these architectures is optimised to create a dual-sensing pixel capable of sensing both temperature and chemical information on the same spatial point while modulating this information simultaneously on a single waveform. This dual-sensing capability, verified in silico using TSMC 0.18um process, is vital for DNA-based diagnosis where protocols such as LAMP or PCR require precise thermal control. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for a deliverable diagnosis that perform nucleic acid amplification tests at the PoC, requiring minimal footprint by integrating sensing and computational capabilities. In response to this challenge, a paradigm shift is proposed, advocating for integrating all elements of the portable diagnostic platform under a single piece of silicon, realising a ``Diagnosis-on-a-Chip". This approach is enabled by a novel Digital ISFET Pixel that integrates both ADC and memory with sensing elements on each pixel, enhancing its parallelism. Furthermore, this architecture removes the need for external instrumentation or memories and facilitates its integration with computational capabilities on-chip, such as the proposed ARM Cortex M3 system. These computational capabilities need to be complemented with software methods that enable sensing enhancement and new applications using ISFET arrays. The second part of this thesis is devoted to these methods. Leveraging the programmability capabilities available on oscillator-based architectures, various digital signal processing algorithms are implemented to overcome the most urgent ISFET non-idealities, such as trapped charge, drift and chemical noise. These methods enable fast trapped charge cancellation and enhanced dynamic range through real-time drift compensation, achieving over 36 hours of continuous monitoring without pixel saturation. Furthermore, the recent development of data-driven models and software methods open a wide range of opportunities for ISFET sensing and beyond. In the last section of this thesis, two examples of these opportunities are explored: the optimisation of image compression algorithms on chemical images generated by an ultra-high frame-rate ISFET array; and a proposed paradigm shift on surface Electromyography (sEMG) signals, moving from data-harvesting to information-focused sensing. These examples represent an initial step forward on a journey towards a new generation of miniaturised, precise and efficient sensors for PoC diagnostics.Open Acces

NASA Tech Briefs, September 1990

Topics covered include: New Product Ideas; NASA TU Services; Electronic Components and Circuits; Electronic Systems; Physical Sciences; Materials; Computer Programs; Mechanics; Machinery; Fabrication Technology; Mathematics and Information Sciences; Life Sciences