Evaluation of RDBMS packages for use in astronomy

Tabular data sets arise in many areas of astronomical data analysis, from raw data (such as photon event lists) to final results (such as source catalogs). The Starlink catalog access and reporting package, SCAR, was originally developed to handle IRAS data and it has been the principal relational DBMS in the Starlink software collection for several years. But SCAR has many limitations and is VMS-specific, while Starlink is in transition from VMS to Unix. Rather than attempt a major re-write of SCAR for Unix, it seemed more sensible to see whether any existing database packages are suitable for general astronomical use. The authors first drew up a list of desirable properties for such a system and then used these criteria to evaluate a number of packages, both free ones and those commercially available. It is already clear that most commercial DBMS packages are not very well suited to the requirements; for example, most cannot carry out efficiently even fairly basic operations such as joining two catalogs on an approximate match of celestial positions. This paper reports the results of the evaluation exercise and notes the problems in using a standard DBMS package to process scientific data. In parallel with this the authors have started to develop a simple database engine that can handle tabular data in a range of common formats including simple direct-access files (such as SCAR and Exosat DBMS tables) and FITS tables (both ASCII and binary)

Data management of nanometre­ scale CMOS device simulations

In this paper we discuss the problems arising in managing and curating the data generated by simulations of nanometre scale CMOS (Complementary Metal–Oxide Semiconductor) transistors, circuits and systems and describe the software and operational techniques we have adopted to address them. Such simulations pose a number of challenges including, inter alia, multi­TByte data volumes, complex datasets with complex inter-relations between datasets, multi­-institutional collaborations including multiple specialisms and a mixture of academic and industrial partners, and demanding security requirements driven by commercial imperatives. This work was undertaken as part of the NanoCMOS project. However, the problems, solutions and experience seem likely to be of wider relevance, both within the CMOS design community and more generally in other disciplines

Secure, performance-oriented data management for nanoCMOS electronics

The EPSRC pilot project Meeting the Design Challenges of nanoCMOS Electronics (nanoCMOS) is focused upon delivering a production level e-Infrastructure to meet the challenges facing the semiconductor industry in dealing with the next generation of ‘atomic-scale’ transistor devices. This scale means that previous assumptions on the uniformity of transistor devices in electronics circuit and systems design are no longer valid, and the industry as a whole must deal with variability throughout the design process. Infrastructures to tackle this problem must provide seamless access to very large HPC resources for computationally expensive simulation of statistic ensembles of microscopically varying physical devices, and manage the many hundreds of thousands of files and meta-data associated with these simulations. A key challenge in undertaking this is in protecting the intellectual property associated with the data, simulations and design process as a whole. In this paper we present the nanoCMOS infrastructure and outline an evaluation undertaken on the Storage Resource Broker (SRB) and the Andrew File System (AFS) considering in particular the extent that they meet the performance and security requirements of the nanoCMOS domain. We also describe how metadata management is supported and linked to simulations and results in a scalable and secure manner

Integrating security solutions to support nanoCMOS electronics research

The UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funded Meeting the Design Challenges of nanoCMOS Electronics (nanoCMOS) is developing a research infrastructure for collaborative electronics research across multiple institutions in the UK with especially strong industrial and commercial involvement. Unlike other domains, the electronics industry is driven by the necessity of protecting the intellectual property of the data, designs and software associated with next generation electronics devices and therefore requires fine-grained security. Similarly, the project also demands seamless access to large scale high performance compute resources for atomic scale device simulations and the capability to manage the hundreds of thousands of files and the metadata associated with these simulations. Within this context, the project has explored a wide range of authentication and authorization infrastructures facilitating compute resource access and providing fine-grained security over numerous distributed file stores and files. We conclude that no single security solution meets the needs of the project. This paper describes the experiences of applying X.509-based certificates and public key infrastructures, VOMS, PERMIS, Kerberos and the Internet2 Shibboleth technologies for nanoCMOS security. We outline how we are integrating these solutions to provide a complete end-end security framework meeting the demands of the nanoCMOS electronics domain

A comparison of chilled DI water/ozone and CO{sub 2}-based supercritical fluids as replacements for photoresist-stripping solvents

Part of the Hewlett Packard Components Group`s Product Stewardship program is the ongoing effort to investigate ways to eliminate or reduce as much as possible the use of chemical substances from manufacturing processes. Currently used techniques to remove hard-baked photoresists from semiconductor wafers require the use of inorganic chemicals or organic strippers and associated organic solvents. Environmental, health and safety, as well as cost considerations prompted the search for alternative, more environmentally-benign, and cost-effective solutions. Two promising, emerging technologies were selected for evaluation: the chilled DI water/ozone technique and supercritical fluids based on carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}). Evaluating chilled DI water/ozone shows this process to be effective for positive photoresist removal, but may not be compatible with all metallization systems. Testing of a closed-loop CO{sub 2}-based supercritical CO{sub 2} Resist Remover, or SCORR, at Los Alamos, on behalf of Hewlett-packard, shows that this treatment process is effective in removing photoresists, and is fully compatible with commonly used metallization systems. In this paper, the authors present details on the testing programs conducted with both the chilled DI H{sub 2}O/ozone and SCORR treatment processes

Carbon dioxide-based supercritical fluids as IC manufacturing solvents

The production of integrated circuits (IC's) involves a number of discrete steps which utilize hazardous or regulated solvents and generate large waste streams. ES&H considerations associated with these chemicals have prompted a search for alternative, more environmentally benign solvent systems. An emerging technology for conventional solvent replacement is the use of supercritical fluids based on carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}). Research work, conducted at Los Alamos in conjunction with the Hewlett-Packard Company, has lead to the development of a CO{sub 2}-based supercritical fluid treatment system for the stripping of hard-baked photoresists. This treatment system, known as Supercritical CO{sub 2} Resist Remover, or CORR, uses a two-component solvent composed of a nonhazardous, non-regulated compound, dissolved in supercritical CO{sub 2}. The solvent/treatment system has been successfully tested on metallized Si wafers coated with negative and positive photoresist, the latter both before and after ion-implantation. A description of the experimental data will be presented. Based on the initial laboratory results, the project has progressed to the design and construction of prototype, single-wafer photoresist-stripping equipment. The integrated system involves a closed-loop, recirculating cycle which continuously cleans and regenerates the CO{sub 2}, recycles the dissolved solvent, and separates and concentrates the spent resist. The status of the current design and implementation strategy of a treatment system to existing IC fabrication facilities will be discussed. Additional remarks will be made on the use of a SCORR-type system for the cleaning of wafers prior to processing