Water and sediment quality in Qinghai Lake, China: a revisit after half a century.

Qinghai Lake, situated on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, is the largest lake in China. In this study, the water and sediment quality were investigated in Qinghai Lake, three sublakes, and five major tributaries. Both Na+ and Cl- were found to be the major ions present in Qinghai Lake and the three sublakes, while Ca2+ and HCO3- dominated the tributaries. Compared with historical data from the 1960s, the concentrations of NH4 (+), NO3 (-), and soluble reactive silica have increased considerably, likely caused by increased human activities in the area. Compared to the historical data, chemical oxygen demand has increased and lake water transparency has decreased, likely related to an increase in nutrient levels. Relatively high concentrations of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) were observed in Qinghai Lake sediments, although P fraction types and low water concentrations of these two indicate low possibility of transfer into the water column. The ratios of C/N suggest that the organic matter in the sediments are primarily from autochthonous sources. TN and total organic carbon in the sediment cores increased slowly up the core while TP and total inorganic carbon have been fairly constant

The Backend Processes Evaluation of Poly-Si(O_𝑥) Solar Cells: From TCO to Metallization

In recent decades, there has been increasing concern about the impact of climate change on the earth. Various countries are actively developing sustainable energy technologies, of which solar cell is one of the new energy sources with the most attention. This thesis is based on poly−Si(Ox) cells consisting of SiOx/poly−Si(Ox) passivating contact. Various methods have been investigated to mitigate the TCO (IWO) deposition induced passivation degradation and to optimize the screen printing process.First, approaches to reduce the passivation degradation due to IWO deposition were explored. The power density and working pressure in IWO deposition were optimized. With utilizing 1.23 W/cm2 power density and 5×10−3 mbar working pressure, the 𝑖𝑉𝑂𝐶 degradation was reduced to 4.7 mV for 𝑛+ sample (NAOS-SiOx) and to 7.9 mV for 𝑝+ sample after deposition of 75 nm IWO. Besides, hydrogenated amorphous silicon and AZO were used as buffer layers for the 𝑝+ SiOx/poly−Si(Ox) samples, finding that they were effective in reducing sputtering damage. Then, the optimal post-annealing condition was investigated, which turned out to be vacuum annealing at 400 ◦𝐶 for 30 min, recovering the 49 mV and 60 mV 𝑖𝑉𝑂𝐶 for 𝑛+ sample (thermal-SiOx) and 𝑝+ sample, respectively. Based on the above experiments, the first cells were prepared with a maximum efficiency of 17.4%.Second, the existing screen printing process in the lab was optimized. The 0.37% organic solvent was added into the silver paste, reducing the viscosity of paste. The snap-off distance was changed to 0.02 mm in order to improve the continuity of printed grids. Moreover, the squeegee speed was optimized to 30 mm/s, limiting the spreading of silver paste to 57.3 𝜇m, much narrower than the initial spreading distance of 155.3 𝜇m.Finally, a batch of poly−Si(Ox) cells were prepared by applying the above various optimized conditions. The cell with optimized IWO and optimized screen printing process performed best with an champion efficiency of 18.9%

An Alternative Micro LED Mass Transfer Technology: Self-Assembly

Micro LED display technology has been spotlighted as the most promising technology compared to LCD and OLED. Its excellent advantages include higher brightness, self-illumination, higher resolution, lower power consumption, faster response, higher integration, higher stability, thinner thickness, longer life, etc. In terms of the unique benefits, it is attracting increasing attention from industries. With the commercialization of Micro LED technology, the following hurdles are identified: wafer manufacturing, full color, bonding, and mass transfer. Among them, mass transfer is so far considered as the most severe bottleneck. Several mass transfer technologies have emerged, including fine picking and placing, roll printing, laser transferring, and fluid self-assembly, which aim to solve the mass transfer problems. However, the aforementioned first 3 types of technologies still rely on the pick-and-place process, which is limited when the Micro LED die dimension shrinks to smaller scales due to processability and equipment precision. Fluidity self-assembly, on the other hand, will not be constrained by the Micro LED size and machine accuracy in the mass transfer process, which received increasing attention from researchers. In the self-assembly of component level, gravitational attraction, magnetic /electromagnetic fields, and capillary force are considered the mainstream force to facilitate the assembly process. Therefore, the component self-assembly becomes a prospective substitute for the Micro LED mass transfer solution, which overcomes the problems of the trade-off between throughput and the placement accuracy of the pick-and-place technology.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Electronic Components, Technology and Material

Review of Laser Sintering of Nanosilver Pastes for Die Attachment: Technologies and Trends

Nanosilver pastes have been regarded as the most promising die-attach materials for high-temperature and high-power applications due to their advantages such as excellent thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, high temperature resistance, and good shear strength. However, the common hot pressing sintering process for nanosilver pastes has the limitations of long sintering time and complicated sintering processes. Thus, laser sintering has been proposed as a rapid sintering method that attracts increasing interest due to its advantages of high energy density, fast temperature rise, easy densification, etc. In this review, the recent advances in laser sintering processes were summarized, including pressure laser sintering, backside sintering, and hybrid bimodal laser sintering. The effects of various laser sintering process parameters on joint performance, such as laser power, sintering pressure, irradiation time, and defocusing amount, were further discussed. The rapid sintering mechanism of laser sintering silver nanoparticles(AgNPs) was revealed, while microscopic explanations need to be further explored. This review provided ideas and methods for subsequent researchers to develop rapid sintering methods for power electronic packaging.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Electronic Components, Technology and Material

Lateral resistance of polyurethane-reinforced ballast with the application of new bonding schemes: Laboratory tests and discrete element simulations

To mitigate the ballast flight risk in the high-speed railway, this paper presents three new polyurethane bonding schemes which have negligible influence to tamping operations. With the application of these bonding schemes, a series of laboratory tests indicated that the polyurethane-reinforced ballast exhibited much larger lateral resistance than the ordinary ballast by 31% at least. Discrete element simulation results further demonstrated that the polyurethane improved the load-bearing capacity of the ballast at the particle scale through effectively restraining the particle movement. Therefore, the proposed bonding schemes ensure adequate lateral ballast resistance and are effective measures for improving the ballast performance.Accepted Author ManuscriptRailway Engineerin

Joint Analysis and Reliability Test of Epoxy-Based Nano Silver Paste Under Different Pressure-Less Sintering Processes

Recent years, the sintered silver paste was introduced and further developed for power electronics packaging due to low processing temperature and high working temperature. The pressure-less sintering technology reduces the stress damage caused by the pressure to the chip, improves reliability, and is widely applied in manufacturing. Currently, most existed studies are focused on alcohol-based sintered silver pastes while resins have been demonstrated to improve the bonding properties of solder joints. Hence, the performance and sintering mechanisms with epoxy-based silver paste need to be further explored. In this work, a methodology for multifactor investigation is settled on the epoxy-based silver paste to reveal the relationship between the strength and the different influence factors. We first analyzed the characteristics of commercialized epoxy-based silver paste samples, including silver content, silver particle size, organic composition, sample viscosity, and thermal conductivity. Samples were then prepared for shear tests and microstructure analysis under different pressure-less sintering temperatures, holding time, substrate surface, and chip size. Full factor analysis results were further discussed in detail for correlation. The influence factors were ranked from strong to weak as follows: sintering temperature, substrate surface, chip size, and holding time. Finally, a thermal cycling test was carried out for reliability analysis. Epoxy residues are one of the possible reasons, which result in shear strength decreasing exponentially.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Electronic Components, Technology and Material

Simulation, Prediction, and Verification of the Corrosion Behavior of Cu-Ag Composite Sintered Paste for Power Semiconductor Die-attach Applications

With the popularization of wide band-gap power modules in offshore wind power systems and water surface photovoltaic power stations, packaging materials face challenges of corrosion by salt, blended with high humidity. Copper-silver (Cu-Ag) composite sintered paste was proposed by researchers as a novel die-attach material for a lower cost and anti-electro migration ability. However, the potential difference between copper and silver forms galvanic corrosion in a high-humidity environment, resulting in accelerated failure combined with salt mist. To further promote the application of composite sintered materials, a copper-silver double-sphere galvanic corrosion model based on finite element simulation was proposed in this paper. The relationship between corrosion rate and time of different Cu-Ag particle size combinations under different sintering degrees was predicted by initial exchange current density. Through the electrochemical characterization of the sintered samples, the optimal combination of materials was further discussed. The accuracy of the model was also verified. The conclusions obtained from both the experiments and simulation work provide guidance for future anti-corrosion analysis, as well as the reliability improvement of novel composite sintered materials. Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Electronic Components, Technology and Material

Simulation and Verification or Cu@Ag Core-shell Sintered Paste for Power Semiconductor Die-attach Applications

With the increasing application of wide bandgap materials such as silicon carbide and gallium nitride in power devices, the working temperature of power devices has been pushed further. Therefore, it brings higher requirements for packaging materials. Sintered silver is a widely accepted chip connection material. However, silver suffers from high prices and electromigration. Therefore, a novel sintered material based on silver-copper core-shell structured particles raises the attention of researchers to solve this deficiency. To accelerate the development of new materials and their related processes, a four-sphere model of the silver-coated copper structure is established in this paper. The mathematical relationship between the porosity and thermal conductivity of sintered body and the actual sintering process was preliminarily established through the calculation based on a series of FEM simulations. The model was further validated through experiments. The modeling method and conclusion are utilized for future process adjustment, which is of great significance to accelerate the development, application, and reliability of new packaging materials.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Electronic Components, Technology and Material

Finite element modeling and analysis of ultrasonic bonding process of thick aluminum wires for power electronic packaging

Ultrasonic wedge bonding of aluminum (Al) wires is a widely applied interconnect technology for power electronic packaging. The joint quality of the wedge bonding is mainly affected by the process parameters and material properties. Inappropriate process parameters will lead to failure modes such as chip surface pit, metal layer peeling off, wire cracking, non-sticking to the pad, etc., which limits the long-term stability of power devices. In order to reach the desired reliability, the design of experiment (DoE) is generally deployed which is costly in terms of time and related materials. Therefore, simulation-assisted analysis is in demand to rapidly narrow down the process windows. In this paper, an ultrasonic bonding model involving thick Al wires (300 μm) was established based on the Finite Element Method (FEM), to optimize process parameters effectively with reduced time and cost. The model was designed in ANSYS utilizing the transient structural mechanics module with various stresses and ultrasonic power, to simulate the relative deformation of the bonded wires and the displacement against the substrate. The result was then verified by ultrasonic wedge bonding samples with 9 sets of process parameters. The stress distributions were simulated and analyzed with the failure modes of tensile strength tests, while the deformation of wires under various process parameters was measured and compared with shear strength tests. Further, the relationship between the failure modes of the joint and the deformation was then analyzed by Response Surface Method (RSM), and the regression equation of the wire deformation and related process parameters was established and fitted with the actual sample's data. Such analysis not only found the optimum range of the deformation of thick Al ultrasonic wire bonds but also quickly provided a range of optimized processes for Al thick wires applying ultrasonic wedge bonding techniques.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Electronic Components, Technology and Material

Finite Element Modeling for Thermal Conductivity of Cement-based Encapsulation Materials

With the trend of miniaturization and the increasing power density, the operating temperature of electronic devices keeps climbing, especially for wide band-gap semiconductors such as silicon carbide and gallium nitride. The high operating temperature up to 250℃ brings challenges to encapsulation materials since traditional encapsulation materials such as epoxy resins and silicone gels hardly bear temperatures above 200℃. Calcium aluminate cement (CAC) was proved to be a promising encapsulation material, which owns high thermal stability with its operating temperature of up to 300℃. Based on its satisfied thermal stability and low cost, the thermal conductivity of CAC was researched in this work with different ratios of 10-μm-sphere-Alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) fillers at different temperatures, which formed μm-scale CAC-Al 2 O 3 composites. In this work, we focused on the thermal conductivity of CAC-Al 2 O 3 composites aiming for encapsulation applications in power electronics packaging. The thermal conductivities of μm-scale CAC-Al 2 O 3 composites by the laser-flash method from room temperature to 350℃ were firstly measured. Results showed with an increasing content of fillers, the TC of CACAl 2 O 3 will increase accordinglyIt also illustrated that calcium aluminate cement was a high thermal stable encapsulation material with thermal conductivity over epoxy resins. Then, the Finite Element Model (FEM) was established and calibrated by experimental data for thermal conductivity simulation. The FEM model accuracy reached 90%. Such models for new filler materials are effective to minimize material development by actual experiments and characterizations, for CAC composite with different fillers. It also provides an alternative method in predicting other physical properties of composites such as coefficient of thermal expansion, porosity, etc.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Electronic Components, Technology and Material