The United States Sale of Trident to Britain, 1977–1982: Deal Making in the Anglo–American Nuclear Relationship

This article provides a comparative analysis of the sales of the Trident nuclear missile system to Britain by the Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan administrations. Both governments viewed the Anglo–American nuclear partnership as a tool within their wider foreign policy kit and utilised the sale of Trident to influence British defence policy. For these reasons, each administration saw the Trident sale as part of an Anglo–American transactional defence relationship. This exegesis deepens understanding of the United States perspective on Anglo–American nuclear co-operation. Moreover, it is relevant to current debates on the replacement of Trident because it highlights the ramifications of Britain’s technical dependence and raises questions about the concessions that may have been made, or will need to be made, to the United States in exchange for the latter’s assistance with replacement

A Dry Etch Approach To Reduce Roughness And Eliminate Visible Grind Marks In Silicon Wafers Post Back-grind

3D wafer packaging represents a significant component of the total wafer level processing cost. Replacement of the Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) process step with a corresponding dry etch can yield significant time and cost savings. Incorporating equipment already utilized in the 3D integrated wafer packaging process during the subsequent Through Silicon Via (TSV) reveal step, process efficiencies can be achieved, with overall die yields being maintained. Using dry etch technology to treat a 200nm rough back-ground silicon surface, a smooth surface with a peak to valley roughness of less than 6nm is demonstrated. This patented process differs from other dry etch smoothing techniques in that it aims to eliminate any visual grind marks rather than just reducing the surface roughness. The elimination of visible grind marks is critical in later optical inspection where they are falsely identified as defects. The quality of the surface is equivalent to that of a CMP processed wafer and as such, this process has been implemented in manufacturing replacing the CMP step. The novel process described combines a surface modification followed by a roughness reduction in an iterative manner to produce a smooth surface without visible grind marks post processing

Constraints on the implementation of concurrent engineering with suppliers in civil and defence design communities: differentiating design ethos

A thesis submitted to the Luton Business School, University of Luton, in fulfilment ofthe requirements for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophySuccessful Concurrent Engineering (CE) with suppliers requires a pre-disposition on the part of the prime company and the supplier to work in this manner. This thesis explores the impact of design ethos on the implementation of Supplier-inLoop (SIL) CE between an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and a first tier supplier. Design ethos for the purpose of this thesis is described as 'a characteristic manner or approach to constraints on SIL displayed by personnel involved in the design of new products'. This research employs a mixed-method to understand SIL constraints across industry sectors. A design ethos framework is developed and a military design community is characterised in terms of anomalies to the existing literature. These anomalies are then tested through a questionnaire and then interpreted in terms of the design ethos framework. The results of this comparison show that some characteristics are common to both the civil and military design communities and some are not. A case is made that design ethos, in the context of SIL, is primarily determined by: suppliers' aptitude, skill level and contracts; problems with data I information exchange mechanisms; existing processes, relationships and management support; supplier history; technological view of the product; external influences on the process; existing design milestones; visibility of supplier capability; and, continuity of service in terms of skill and data security. The research concludes that the implementation of SIL is directly impacted by design ethos, and that for SIL to be a success in the military sector design ethos must be managed in line with business objectives. The contribution to knowledge that this thesis provides is the insight it offers into the human issues associated with implementing concurrent engineering with external suppliers, and the identification of sector-specific issues as well as those which will benefit from cross sectoral learning. It is of value to military and civil OEMs for purpose of change management, also to their suppliers in understanding the different needs of military and civil customers when working in a concurrent engmeenng manner

The application of engineering measurement and three-dimensional (3D) computer aided engineering techniques to the study of medieval period European swords

This thesis details the programme of research undertaken by the author to investigate the use of engineering measurement and computer-aided engineering techniques for the modelling and analysis of medieval period ‘knightly’ swords. The sword has an iconic cultural status that transcends its primary purpose as a tool of war, featuring frequently and extensively in art and literature from early human mythology through to contemporary film and digital media. In Europe, the sword was arguably at its most influential, both practically and culturally, during the mid-late medieval period, and yet there has been limited understanding and a misinformed mythology around the iconic knightly sword that proliferated during this period. A resurgent interest, and associated research, in historical European martial arts has started to address this gap in understanding, and the use of engineering measurement and analysis techniques to inform historical research has been growing more generally in recent years. There is a clear benefit that such techniques can bring to create a more complete picture of historical artefacts in terms of their design, construction, and performance, and that was the focus of this research programme. Of course, surviving medieval swords are, relatively speaking, rare, valuable, and often fragile, and these factors presented some specific challenges when trying to access and study them. The original contribution of this work has been to overcome these challenges to develop and demonstrate a robust methodology for creating and analysing 3-dimensional models that accurately recreate the geometry and mass properties of historical artefacts. During the programme, consideration has been given to accuracy, repeatability, ease of acquisition and the constraints associated with this type of artefact, such that the methodology might be used beyond this specific programme of work. Having created these digital models, specific features have been analysed and simulated, and this approach has been applied to eight original medieval swords, providing new and interesting insights into their features, design, and original performance characteristics

Planned maintenance systems with respect to modern manufacturing strategies

To remain competitive in todays's increasingly automated environment, manufacturing industry must take a more proactive and strategic attitude towards maintenance. This thesis applies these concepts, as a case study? to Philips Components Durham an advanced manufacturing unit for colour television tubes. Consideration is first given to modern manufacturing strategies and the business objectives which the maintenance strategy must support. Recent organisational changes are then discussed and analysis made of the maintenance information systems infrastructure. Having related the maintenance department functional requirements to proprietary equipment management packages, the area of machine breakdown data collection is further discussed. To address the need for improved feedback on machine performance, a shop floor data collection and analysis system (Equipment Utilisation Improvement system) has been developed and commissioned. This system now provides more accurate and detailed information than was previously available. A further success of this system is that, as a pilot project, the system has highlighted many organisational and technical issues. These must be addressed before a more comprehensive equipment management package could be successfully implemented. Based on the knowledge gained from the implementation of this system, recommendations are made on the responsibilities for maintenance tasks, appropriate training for maintenance personnel and the further development of information systems to support the maintenance function