Thermal shock testing for assuring reliability of glass-sealed microelectronic packages

Tests were performed to determine if thermal shocking is destructive to glass-to-metal seal microelectronic packages and if thermal shock step stressing can compare package reliabilities. Thermal shocking was shown to be not destructive to highly reliable glass seals. Pin-pull tests used to compare the interfacial pin glass strengths showed no differences between thermal shocked and not-thermal shocked headers. A 'critical stress resistance temperature' was not exhibited by the 14 pin Dual In-line Package (DIP) headers evaluated. Headers manufactured in cryogenic nitrogen based and exothermically generated atmospheres showed differences in as-received leak rates, residual oxide depths and pin glass interfacial strengths; these were caused by the different manufacturing methods, in particular, by the chemically etched pins used by one manufacturer. Both header types passed thermal shock tests to temperature differentials of 646 C. The sensitivity of helium leak rate measurements was improved up to 70 percent by baking headers for two hours at 200 C after thermal shocking

What drives bank funding spreads?

We use matched, bank-level panel data on Libor submissions and credit default swaps to decompose bank-funding spreads at several maturities into components reflecting counterparty credit risk and funding-market liquidity. To account for the possibility that banks may strategically misreport their funding rates in the Libor survey, we nest our decomposition within a model of the costs and benefits of lying. We find that Libor spreads typically consist mostly of a liquidity premium and that this premium declined at short maturities following Federal Reserve interventions in bank funding markets. At longer maturities, credit risk explains much of the time variation in Libor, reflecting in part fluctuations in the degree to which default risk is priced in the interbank market. Our results are consistent with banks both under- and over-reporting their funding costs during the crisis but suggest that the incidence of this behavior may have subsequently declined

The Oxidizing Power of Cyanates and the Free Energy of Formation of Cyanides.

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An Innovative Approach to Tracking Sediment Transport along Roads

A study of sediment transport was carried out in the New England area of the United States where large quantities of sediments and other debris accumulate along roads. These sediments are mostly transported by roadway runoff and stormwater drainage structures, where present, tend to concentrate them. However, polluted sediments might also find their way into ecologically sensitive areas. Our research aimed at tracking the transport of these sediments as they move along a road. Further, we attempted to quantify the rate by which the sediments were transported. Glass microbeads in the size range of sand were released as a tracer of sediment transport at six comparable locations. Over a period of 10 months, their movement was tracked using microscopy. Our results indicate that this type of tracer was successful in following along the sediment transport. More research is required to establish this new method under different stormwater runoff regimes or different roadside maintenance conditions