In Situ Growth Rate Measurement of Selective LPCVD of Tungsten

The reflectance measurement during the selective deposition of W on Si covered with an insulator grating is proven tobe a convenient method to monitor the W deposition. The reflectance change during deposition allows the in situ measurementof the deposition rate. The influence of surface roughening due to either the W growth or an etching pretreatmentof the wafer is modeled, as well as the effect of selectivity loss and lateral overgrowth

A test chip for automatic reliability measurements of interconnect vias

A test circuit for electromigration reliability measurements was designed and tested. The device under test (DUT) is a via-hole chain. The test circuit permits simultaneous measurements of a number of DUTs, and a fatal error of one DUT does not influence the measurement results of the other DUTs. Measurements require only a few measurement instruments. Comparing the measurement results of a single DUT io the measurement results of the test circuit shows that the test circuit may be used for reliability measurements

Serial measurement of neuron specific enolase improves prognostication in cardiac arrest patients treated with hypothermia: A prospective study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Neuron specific enolase (NSE) has repeatedly been evaluated for neurological prognostication in patients after cardiac arrest. However, it is unclear whether current guidelines for NSE cutoff levels also apply to cardiac arrest patients treated with hypothermia. Thus, we investigated the prognostic significance of absolute NSE levels and NSE kinetics in cardiac arrest patients treated with hypothermia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a prospective study of 35 patients resuscitated from cardiac arrest, NSE was measured daily for four days following admission. Outcome was assessed at ICU discharge using the CPC score. All patients received hypothermia treatment for 24 hours at 33°C with a surface cooling device according to current guidelines.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The cutoff for absolute NSE levels in patients with unfavourable outcome (CPC 3-5) 72 hours after cardiac arrest was 57 μg/l with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.82 (sensitivity 47%, specificity 100%). The cutoff level for NSE kinetics in patients with unfavourable outcome (CPC 3-5) was an absolute increase of 7.9 μg/l (AUC 0.78, sensitivity 63%, specificity 100%) and a relative increase of 33.1% (AUC 0.803, sensitivity 67%, specificity 100%) at 48 hours compared to admission.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In cardiac arrest patients treated with hypothermia, prognostication of unfavourable outcome by NSE kinetics between admission and 48 hours after resuscitation may be superior to prognostication by absolute NSE levels.</p

Alpha-induced reactions for the astrophysical p-process: the case of 151Eu

The cross sections of 151Eu(alpha,gamma)155Tb and 151Eu(alpha,n)154Tb reactions have been measured with the activation method. Some aspects of the measurement are presented here to illustrate the requirements of experimental techniques needed to obtain nuclear data for the astrophysical p-process nucleosynthesis. Preliminary cross section results are also presented and compared with the predictions of statistical model calculations.Comment: Accepted for publication in Journal of Physics Conference Series, proceeding of the Nuclear Physics in Astrophysics IV. conferenc

Aristotle's <i>On Sophistical Refutations</i>

This is a so-called "untimely review," that is a review of a work by a renowned author from the past where the reviewer pretends that the work has just appeared to assess its value for current discussions

Investigation of photoneutron reactions close to and above the neutron emission threshold in the rare earth region

We have investigated the photoneutron cross section of the isotopes $^{148,150}$Nd, $^{154}$Sm, and $^{154,160}$Gd close to the neutron emission threshold in photoactivation experiments at the Darmstadt superconducting electron linear accelerator S-DALINAC. Naturally composed targets were activated with a high-intensity bremsstrahlung beam at various energies and the reaction yields have been determined by measuring the activity of the produced radioactive isotopes with HPGe detectors. The results are compared to two different statistical model calculations.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review

Long Term Performance Of Passive House Buildings

Long term experience with Passive House buildings is illustrated with two early large scale projects, a school and an office building located in Germany. Those were monitored in lump energy performance (school, commissioned 2004) and great detail (office, commissioned 2002) respectively. Moreover, they give an indication of the characteristics of such buildings subject to changes in usage intensity. Both buildings generally performed as expected with the school facing occasional overheating in the summer due to inflexible shading controls. Following an extension in schooling hours the addition of a canteen was required and the ventilation system was adapted to the changed usage. Nevertheless the building’s user comfort and energy performance remain high,despite exceeding the Passive House primary energy target slightly due to increased electricity consumption. The office likewise meets the calculated efficiency in operation. The ground coupled cooling worked well despite greatly increased internal heat gains due to unexpected usage. This extra heat input did not, however, exhaust the geothermal (passive) cooling capacity for the future. Thermal comfort proved near optimal at all times, despite a very simple control regime of the one-circuit concrete core activation system for heating and cooling. In the last section air tightness design and measurement experience in the UK and particularly the question of long-term stability of the airtight building envelope is assessed. It was found that measurement results are not only repeatable in relatively short intervals such as a few months. The data available suggests stability of the airtight envelope over many years. Attention is required as regards the leakage of party walls of terraced buildings which need to be integrated in the overall airtightness concept. A high permeability of party walls in terraced buildings with a common airtight envelope presents a challenge for measuring air tightness. Long-term series of airtightness measurements exist for the Kranichstein House in Darmstadt/Germany and prove the stability of the chosen airtightness concept. Moreover, results for 17 early Passive House buildings in Germany in eight locations and various construction types revisited in 2001 (1.4 to 10 years after the initial airtightness test) suggest stability of air tightness values over time. Great advances have since been made in materials and methods available and the general understanding in the industry. This is supported by a large sample of 2934 Passive House projects of varied construction materials, locations, sizes and usages that yielded an average air tightness test result as low as n50 = 0.41 h-1

Determination of 141Pr(alpha,n)144Pm cross sections at energies of relevance for the astrophysical p-process using the gamma-gamma coincidence method

The reaction 141Pr(alpha,n)144Pm was investigated between E_alpha=11 MeV and 15 MeV with the activation method using the gamma-gamma coincidence method with a segmented clover-type high-purity Germanium (HPGe) detector. Measurements with four other HPGe detectors were additionally made. The comparison proves that the gamma-gamma coincidence method is an excellent tool to investigate cross sections down to the microbarn range. The (alpha,n) reaction at low energy is especially suited to test alpha+nucleus optical-model potentials for application in the astrophysical p-process. The experimentally determined cross sections were compared to Hauser-Feshbach statistical model calculations using different optical potentials and generally an unsatisfactory reproduction of the data was found. A local potential was constructed to improve the description of the data. The consequences of applying the same potential to calculate astrophysical (gamma,alpha) rates for 145Pm and 148Gd were explored. In summary, the data and further results underline the problems in global predictions of alpha+nucleus optical potentials at astrophysically relevant energies.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, accepted in Phys. Rev.