Low damage processing and process characterization

Two novel plasma sources (one neutral source and one pulsed inductively coupled plasma source) and ashing process characterization were investigated. The primary goal was to characterize these source properties and develop corresponding applications. The study includes process damage assessment with these two sources and another continuous wave (13.56MHz) plasma source. A global average simulation of the pulsed discharges was also included.;The transient plasma density and electron temperature from the double probe analysis were compared with single Langmuir probe results with sheath displacement corrections in pulsed discharges (200Hz--10kHz). The equivalent resistance method can be used effectively to analyze these double probe data. The transient behaviors of the plasma density and electron temperature are in accord with the model of the discharge. The hyper-thermal neutral source based on the surface reflection neutralization techniques was shown to provide enough fast neutrals for ashing applications. The surface roughness of the post-cleaned wafer was less than 10A. Ex-situ and in-situ measurements yield typical removal rates of about 10 A/s without stream collimation. The removal rates at increasing pressures show a trade-off between creating higher density plasma, leading to a large initial neutral flux and attenuation of neutrals due to collisions. Changing the reflector plate changes the neutral energy without changing the discharge composition. A novel technique, combining momentum and heat flux measurements shows that neutral stream energy is 3--6 eV and the neutral flux is on the order of 1015 cm-2 s-1. The derived etch rates from the measured neutral flux and energy values and the experimental rates are in good agreement. Quasi-static capacitance-voltage measurements demonstrate that the low energy neutral source induces much less damage than other plasma sources. Most of the neutral process damage is caused by uv photons escaping from the plasma source zone. The process-induced damage vary with the reflector bias and rf power

Comparison of the Prophylactic Effect Between Acupuncture and Acupressure on Menstrual Migraine: Results of a Pilot Study

Background: Menstrual migraine (MM) is one kind of migraine associated with females’ menses. It is often associated with increased menstrual distress and disability, leading to decreased daily activity and quality of life. Purpose: To make comparisons between acupuncture and acupressure for preventing MM. Design: A randomized and controlled pilot study with three groups: verum acupuncture (VA) group, acupressure (AP) group, and control acupuncture (CA) group. The study lasted for seven cycle-months, with a 1-cycle-month baseline observation (T1), a 3-cycle-month intervention (three times per cycle-month) (T2-T4), and a 3-cycle-month follow-up (T5-T7). Outcome measures: number of migraine days, average and peak pain, total duration period of MM, and percentage of patients with ≥ 50% reduction in the number of MM days. Results: A total of 18 participants were included in the analysis (VA, n = 7; AP, n = 6; CA, n = 5). Both VA and AP were significantly more effective than CA for reducing MM days during intervention period. Both VA and AP tended to be more effective than CA for reducing peak pain of MM during intervention period. No significant differences for the outcomes were observed among VA, AP, and CA during follow-up period. No serious adverse events were reported. Conclusion: Results of the pilot study suggests that both VA and AP could be considered as alternative and safe prophylactic interventions for MM. Register ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02592681

V-Sphere Rubik's Bookcase Interface for Exploring Content in Virtual Reality Marketplace

In this work, we developed a new interface concept for content exploring in immersing Virtual Reality environments. In our shopping interface, we represent products as true 3D shapes with global illumination effects. This representation can provide more realistic and consistent Virtual Reality experience. Our shopping interface is really a giant spherical Rubik’s cube that consists of closed loops of book-shelves or cabinets. Users, who are located inside of this spherical Rubik interface will feel like they are in front of a spherical bookcase that consists of an infinite number of rows and columns. They can view the products by simply sliding rows horizontally and by sliding columns vertically. Further more, we discovered additional scenarios where users can grab the products by distance and examine their suitability by placing them into real environment. This new 3D interface concept can help to develop more realistic 3D interactive shopping framework in the future

V-Sphere Rubik's Bookcase Interface for Exploring Content in Virtual Reality Marketplace

In this work, we developed a new interface concept for content exploring in immersing Virtual Reality environments. In our shopping interface, we represent products as true 3D shapes with global illumination effects. This representation can provide more realistic and consistent Virtual Reality experience. Our shopping interface is really a giant spherical Rubik’s cube that consists of closed loops of book-shelves or cabinets. Users, who are located inside of this spherical Rubik interface will feel like they are in front of a spherical bookcase that consists of an infinite number of rows and columns. They can view the products by simply sliding rows horizontally and by sliding columns vertically. Further more, we discovered additional scenarios where users can grab the products by distance and examine their suitability by placing them into real environment. This new 3D interface concept can help to develop more realistic 3D interactive shopping framework in the future