A CP Model for a Scheduling Problem with Limited Secondary Resources Compared to a DES Model

An efficient scheduling of bottleneck areas within the semiconductor manufactory gets more and more important. Due to the high complexity within the manufacturing area it is currently not possible to optimize the whole (or even a big part of the) factory at once. So mostly only work center specific optimization approaches are investigated. Typically scheduling problems only deal with two dimensions – jobs and equipment. But in some areas of semiconductor manufactory also a third dimension has to be considered – a limited secondary resource. In this paper a Constraint Programming model for such limited secondary resource problems is presented. Thereby the scheduling model also deals with setup matrices for the first and also secondary resource. The modeling of this CP model is shown in detail and the results are compared to a discrete event simulation using dispatching rules. The test data for the first tests are orientated on real production data

Advances in UV-lithographic patterning of multi-layer waveguide stack for single mode polymeric RDL

This paper describes design and advances in process development for UV-lithography of planar single mode waveguides with openings for out-of-plane coupling µ-mirrors. Improvements to multi-layer direct patterning of OrmoCore/-Clad material system using UV-lithography are presented. Near square core cross sections are achieved. However, non uniformity across 4” wafer is shown due to varying proximity and UV-intensity. Openings in full stack with steep sidewalls without residual layer are patterned. Reduction in stack thickness for very small exposure doses due to inhibition even under inert atmosphere is shown. 45° -µ-mirrors are integrated in these openings to manufacture a U-link via a single mode waveguide and two adjacent micro-mirrors. Optical characterization of U-link demonstrates the feasibility of hybrid lithography approach. However, non-uniformity of core cross-section leads to cross coupling of planar waveguides. Outlook to further research on UV-lithography of multi-layer waveguide stack and alignment with µ-mirror printing is given

Out-of-Plane Mirrors for Single-Mode Polymeric RDL using Direct Laser Writing

The growing demand for the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) need high-speed commu-nication within short-range distances. In the Back-End-Of-Line (BEOL), Single-Mode Waveguide (SMW) with micro-mirror shows the promising application as an Optical Redistribution Layer (O-RDL) connecting photonic-chip at the interposer-level. The presented study shows the potential application of the 2-Photon-Polymerization (2PP) process for fabrication of out-of-plane coupling elements (micro-mirror) for SMW using low-loss Ormocer® hybrid polymers. This fabricated micro-mirror uses as a coupling element to connect the light from RDL to chips or for inter-layer connections at Interposer level. To evaluate the processing time, structural quality, and resolution of the printed micro-mirror, two types of lenses (63x and 25x) and Ormocer® polymers (OrmoComp and OrmoCore) were used. The optimization of the process flow for the micro-mirrors for SMW applications will be described in detail

Hybrid lithography approach for single mode polymeric waveguides and out-of-plane coupling mirrors

This paper describes technology and process development for a hybrid lithography approach pairing UV-lithography for planar single mode waveguides with 2-photon-polymerization direct-laser-writing for out-of-plane coupling mirrors. Improvements to multi-layer direct patterning of OrmoCore/-Clad material system using UV-lithography are presented. Near square core cross sections are achieved. Minimum alignment accuracy at ≈ 3 μm is observed. Cut-back measurement on single mode waveguides shows attenuation of 0.64 dB cm −1 and 1.5 dB cm −1 at 1310 nm and 1550 nm respectively. Up to 2.5-times increase of shear-strength after thermal exposure up to 300 ◦ C is found using shear tests and compared for various surface treatments. Mechanical compatibility to reflow soldering is derived. An extensive study on the pattering of ORMOCER® using 2-photon-polymerization is performed. Flat 45 ◦ -micro mirrors with sub-10 μm dimensions are 3D-printed both in OrmoCore and OrmoComp. Outlook to further research on hybrid lithography integration approach is given

MetaCook: FAIR Vocabularies Cookbook

One of the prerequisites for FAIR data publication is the use of FAIR vocabularies. Currently, tools for the collaborative composition of such vocabularies are missing. For this reason, a universal manual and software for user-friendly vocabulary assembly is being composed in the HMC-funded MetaCook project. The project includes 4 separate test cases from 4 labs across KIT and Hereon, which will help strengthen the software\u27s universality and applicability to various domains. The components described in MetaCook will be implemented in the form of multiple software tools. The first one, a Python-based web application called VocPopuli, is the entry point for domain experts. The software, whose first version is being developed at the time of writing, enables the collaborative definition, and editing of metadata terms. Additionally, it annotates each term, as well as the entire vocabulary, with the help of the PROV Data Model (PROV-DM) - a schema used to describe the provenance of a given object. Finally, it assigns a unique ID to each term in the vocabulary, as well as a hash-based ID the vocabulary itself. The second software tool will facilitate the transformation of the vocabularies developed with the help of VocPopuli into ontologies. It will handle two distinct use cases – the from-scratch conversion of vocabularies into ontologies, and the augmentation of existing ontologies with the terms from a given thesaurus. Both software tools will be used by two semi-overlapping user groups: domain experts will input, edit, and discuss vocabulary terms in their area of interest, while vocabulary and ontology administrators will oversee the vocabulary creation, and ontology transformation. Both the controlled vocabularies and the corresponding ontologies offer the possibility to enrich data documented in Electronic Laboratory Notebooks (ELNs). As the simplest solution, terms used within the ELN are linked to the IDs of the related vocabulary and ontology for an unambiguous definition. Additionally, an export of the defined schemes can be used to automatically create a structured form in the ELNs for documenting the described processes. The output from the developed tools will be exemplarily integrated into the ELNs Herbie and Kadi4Mat

Near-infrared autofluorescence induced by intraplaque hemorrhage and heme degradation as marker for high-risk atherosclerotic plaques

Atherosclerosis is a major cause of mortality and morbidity, which is mainly driven by complications such as myocardial infarction and stroke. These complications are caused by thrombotic arterial occlusion localized at the site of high-risk atherosclerotic plaques, of which early detection and therapeutic stabilization are urgently needed. Here we show that near-infrared autofluorescence is associated with the presence of intraplaque hemorrhage and heme degradation products, particularly bilirubin by using our recently created mouse model, which uniquely reflects plaque instability as seen in humans, and human carotid endarterectomy samples. Fluorescence emission computed tomography detecting near-infrared autofluorescence allows in vivo monitoring of intraplaque hemorrhage, establishing a preclinical technology to assess and monitor plaque instability and thereby test potential plaque-stabilizing drugs. We suggest that near-infrared autofluorescence imaging is a novel technology that allows identification of atherosclerotic plaques with intraplaque hemorrhage and ultimately holds promise for detection of high-risk plaques in patients

Architecture and Advanced Electronics Pathways Toward Highly Adaptive Energy- Efficient Computing

With the explosion of the number of compute nodes, the bottleneck of future computing systems lies in the network architecture connecting the nodes. Addressing the bottleneck requires replacing current backplane-based network topologies. We propose to revolutionize computing electronics by realizing embedded optical waveguides for onboard networking and wireless chip-to-chip links at 200-GHz carrier frequency connecting neighboring boards in a rack. The control of novel rate-adaptive optical and mm-wave transceivers needs tight interlinking with the system software for runtime resource management

Phosphorothioate backbone modifications of nucleotide-based drugs are potent platelet activators

Nucleotide-based drug candidates such as antisense oligonucleotides, aptamers, immunoreceptor-activating nucleotides, or (anti)microRNAs hold great therapeutic promise for many human diseases. Phosphorothioate (PS) backbone modification of nucleotide-based drugs is common practice to protect these promising drug candidates from rapid degradation by plasma and intracellular nucleases. Effects of the changes in physicochemical properties associated with PS modification on platelets have not been elucidated so far. Here we report the unexpected binding of PS-modified oligonucleotides to platelets eliciting strong platelet activation, signaling, reactive oxygen species generation, adhesion, spreading, aggregation, and thrombus formation in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, the platelet-specific receptor glycoprotein VI (GPVI) mediates these platelet-activating effects. Notably, platelets from GPVI function-deficient patients do not exhibit binding of PS-modified oligonucleotides, and platelet activation is fully abolished. Our data demonstrate a novel, unexpected, PS backbone-dependent, platelet-activating effect of nucleotide-based drug candidates mediated by GPVI. This unforeseen effect should be considered in the ongoing development programs for the broad range of upcoming and promising DNA/RNA therapeutics

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements