Energy flow in light-coupling masks for lensless optical lithography

We illustrate the propagation of light in a new type of coupling mask for lensless optical lithography. Our investigation shows how the different elements comprising such masks contribute to the definition of an optical path that allows the exposure of features in the 100-nm-size range in the photoresist. (C) 1998 Optical Society of Americ

Low-cost PDMS seal ring for single-side wet etching of MEMS structures

We describe a new O-ring setup for wet-etching processes of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) . Our new low-cost approach using siloxane-based seal rings entails the single-side etching of silicon and silicon dioxide using potassium hydroxide and buffered hydrofluoric acid, respectively. With this approach, the wafer is not immersed into the etching solution, but only the side to be etched is in contact with the solution, hence the previously fabricated device elements on the other side of the wafer are not damaged. In one process for etching silicon the etch solution is heated by an infrared lamp. We describe the fabrication of various cantilever-based sensors, such as arrays of 0.8-um thick levers for a chemical/electronic nose, and 5-um-thick silicon cantilevers having piezoresistive sensors. Our technique has gooduniformity and process control and, in addition, eliminates mechanical stress on the fragile wafers incurred by wafer chucks, which are required for the conventional immersion approach. It has improved process yield and reduces the waste of chemicals

Channelling figurativity through narrative : the paranarrative in fiction and non-fiction

Contrary to wide-spread assumptions, metaphor in narrative is not a pre-established, extra-textual form appearing in different instances of discourse, but rather an event resulting from a strategic distribution of information in the narrative process. Hence, the appeal to conceptual cultural knowledge is to be considered as a consequence, and not as a prerequisite of metaphor interpretation. By means of the concept of the paranarrative, we highlight the rhetorical interconnectedness of metaphor with other figures of speech (such as metonymy) and we explore the narrative integration of diacritic forms of indirectness. In order to illustrate the terminology that can address these focal concerns, the paper discusses the relation between tropes and narrative, via selected examples from narrative texts (both fictional and non-fictional) written by Juli Zeh, Herta Müller, Jürgen Nieraad, and Siddhartha Mukherjee. As their common denominator, these examples channel through narrative figurative domains considered to be known intuitively to wit: personifications; iconic pars pro toto references to concentration camps; and metaphors for cancer in disease biographies