High reliability bond program using small diameter aluminum wire

The program was undertaken to characterize the performance of small diameter aluminum wire ultrasonically bonded to conductors commonly encountered in hybrid assemblies, and to recommend guidelines for improving this performance. Wire, 25.4, 38.1 and 50.8 um (1, 1.5 and 2 mil), was used with bonding metallization consisting of thick film gold, thin film gold and aluminum as well as conventional aluminum pads on semiconductor chips. The chief tool for evaluating the performance was the double bond pull test in conjunction with a 72 hour - 150 C heat soak and -65 C to +150 C thermal cycling. In practice the thermal cycling was found to have relatively little effect compared to the heat soak. Pull strength will decrease after heat soak as a result of annealing of the aluminum wire; when bonded to thick film gold, the pull strength decreased by about 50% (weakening of the bond interface was the major cause of the reduction). Bonds to thin film gold lost about 30 - 40% of their initial pull strenth; weakening of the wire itself at the bond heel was the predominant cause. Bonds to aluminum substrate metallization lost only about 22%. Bonds between thick and thin film gold substrate metallization and semiconductor chips substantiated the previous conclusions but also showed that in about 20 to 25% of the cases, bond interface failure occurred at the semiconductor chip

Cross Recurrence Plot Based Synchronization of Time Series

The method of recurrence plots is extended to the cross recurrence plots (CRP), which among others enables the study of synchronization or time differences in two time series. This is emphasized in a distorted main diagonal in the cross recurrence plot, the line of synchronization (LOS). A non-parametrical fit of this LOS can be used to rescale the time axis of the two data series (whereby one of it is e.g. compressed or stretched) so that they are synchronized. An application of this method to geophysical sediment core data illustrates its suitability for real data. The rock magnetic data of two different sediment cores from the Makarov Basin can be adjusted to each other by using this method, so that they are comparable.Comment: Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics, 9, 2002, in pres

Network Mutual Information and Synchronization under Time Transformations

We investigate the effect of general time transformations on the phase synchronization (PS) phenomenon and the mutual information rate (MIR) between pairs of nodes in dynamical networks. We demonstrate two important results concerning the invariance of both PS and the MIR. Under time transformations PS can neither be introduced nor destroyed and the MIR cannot be raised from zero. On the other hand, for proper time transformations the timing between the cycles of the coupled oscillators can be largely improved. Finally, we discuss the relevance of our findings for communication in dynamical networks.Comment: 15 p

Space applications of Automation, Robotics And Machine Intelligence Systems (ARAMIS). Volume 3, phase 2: Executive summary

The field of telepresence is defined, and overviews of those capabilities that are now available, and those that will be required to support a NASA telepresence effort are provided. Investigation of NASA's plans and goals with regard to telepresence, extensive literature search for materials relating to relevant technologies, a description of these technologies and their state of the art, and projections for advances in these technologies are included. Several space projects are examined in detail to determine what capabilities are required of a telepresence system in order to accomplish various tasks, such as servicing and assembly. The key operational and technological areas are identified, conclusions and recommendations are made for further research, and an example developmental program leading to an operational telepresence servicer is presented

Space Applications of Automation, Robotics and Machine Intelligence Systems (ARAMIS), phase 2. Volume 1: Telepresence technology base development

The field of telepresence is defined, and overviews of those capabilities that are now available, and those that will be required to support a NASA telepresence effort are provided. Investigation of NASA's plans and goals with regard to telepresence, extensive literature search for materials relating to relevant technologies, a description of these technologies and their state of the art, and projections for advances in these technologies over the next decade are included. Several space projects are examined in detail to determine what capabilities are required of a telepresence system in order to accomplish various tasks, such as servicing and assembly. The key operational and technological areas are identified, conclusions and recommendations are made for further research, and an example developmental program is presented, leading to an operational telepresence servicer

Space Applications of Automation, Robotics and Machine Intelligence Systems (ARAMIS), phase 2. Volume 2: Telepresence project applications

The field of telepresence is defined and overviews of those capabilities that are now available, and those that will be required to support a NASA telepresence effort are provided. Investigation of NASA' plans and goals with regard to telepresence, extensive literature search for materials relating to relevant technologies, a description of these technologies and their state of the art, and projections for advances in these technologies over the next decade are included

Cytomegalovirus infection of the upper gastrointestinal tract following liver transplantation—incidence, location, and severity in cyclosporine- and FK506-treated patients

One hundred and forty randomly selected liver transplant recipients were studied before and after primary orthotopic liver transplantation for the presence or absence of CMV enteritis. Following OLTx, 65 patients were treated with cyclosporine A and 75 were treated with FK506. The two groups were similar with regard to the incidence, location, and outcome of their upper gastrointestinal CMV infection. Prior to OLTx, only one patient had evidence of enteric CMV infection. The incidence of CMV enteritis post-OLTx was 27.7% in the CsA-treated group and 20% in the FK-treated group. During the first posttransplant month, no patient in the FK-treated group developed CMV enteritis, compared with 11.5% of the patients who were treated with CsA (P<0.05). Gastric CMV was found in over 80% of those positive for any organ in either group. In addition to CMV infection of the upper gastrointestinal tract, clinically evident CMV disease involved more nonenteric organs in the CsA-treated group than in the FK-treated group. In the CsA-treated group, CMV-negative patients had a statistically higher 1-year survival rate (100%) than CMV-positive patients (77.8%) (P<0.05). In the FK-treated group, no difference in survival was observed between CMV-positive or CMV-negative cases at 1 year. Of the patients on CsA, 20% received OKT3 for persistent rejection, as compared with 13% in the FK-treated group. The patients receiving both CsA and OKT3 had a higher rate of upper gastrointestinal CMV infection than did FK-treated patients who also received OKT3 therapy (38.5% versus 20%, respectively). Based upon these data, it can be concluded that (1) patients receiving FK have a lower incidence of enteric CMV infection; (2) following OLTx, upper gastrointestinal CMV infection presents later in FK-treated patients; (3) the stomach is the most frequently involved organ in the UGIT; (4) FK-treated liver recipients have less severe enteric CMV infection than do CsA-treated patients; (5) enteric CMV is not a major cause of mortality in liver trans lant recipients; and (6) in patients receiving FK, those who require OKT3 therapy do not appear to be at a greater risk for the development of CMV enteritis than those who do not. © 1992 by Williams & Wilkins

Hyperuricaemia in cyclosporin-treated patients: a GFR-related effect

Background Hyperuricaemia is a well known side-effect of cyclosporin A (CsA) treatment. The pathogenic mechanisms, however, remain controversial. There is no convincing evidence that hyperuricaemia is due to CsA-induced, impaired tubular handling of uric acid. The impact of diminished GFR in this particular context has never been investigated. Methods We prospectively studied plasma uric acid, inulin clearances, and fractional clearances of uric acid in two groups of CsA-treated patients (bone-marrow transplant patients, n=50; renal transplant patients, n=32), and one healthy control group without CsA (living related kidney donors, n=28). Bone-marrow transplant patients were examined before transplantation and 6, 12, 18, 24 months after transplantation, renal transplant patients 1 year after transplantation, and living related kidney donors before and 1 year after unilateral nephrectomy. Results After 1 year of CsA treatment, hyperuricaemia was found in 36% of bone-marrow transplant patients and in 53% of renal transplant patients. Thirty per cent of living related kidney donors were borderline hyperuricaemic 1 year after unilateral nephrectomy. The fractional clearance of uric acid, measured serially in bone-marrow transplant patients did not change significantly over time; it was, however, slightly higher during CsA treatment than after CsA withdrawal. Moreover, the bone-marrow transplant patients' fractional clearance of uric acid was not statistically different from the renal transplant patients' and the living related kidney donors' (values 1 year after transplantation/unilateral nephrectomy: bone-marrow transplant patients, 15.3±2.3%; renal transplant patients, 11.9±0.9%; living related kidney donors, 11.1±0.8%). The GFR at 1 year, measured by inulin clearance, was identical in the CsA-treated groups and slightly higher in the living related kidney donors (bone-marrow transplant patients, 51±6 ml/min per 1.73 m2 renal transplant patients, 49±3 ml/min per 1.73 m2 living related kidney donors, 61±2 ml/min per 1.73 min2). Conclusions There is no evidence for impaired tubular handling of uric acid, induced by a CsA-specific tubulotoxic effect. Hyperuricaemia in CsA-treated transplant patients can therefore be attributed to the cyclosporin associated decrease of GF

A versatile source of polarization-entangled photons

We propose a method for the generation of a large variety of entangled states, encoded in the polarization degrees of freedom of N photons, within the same experimental setup. Starting with uncorrelated photons, emitted from N arbitrary single photon sources, and using linear optical tools only, we demonstrate the creation of all symmetric states, e.g., GHZ- and W-states, as well as all symmetric and non-symmetric total angular momentum eigenstates of the N qubit compound.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure