Effect of Modified Metal/Passivation Interfaces on Stress Voiding in Interconnects+

1999 ◽  
Vol 563 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. E. Kalnas ◽  
R. R. Keller ◽  
J. M. Phelps ◽  
T. N. Marieb

AbstractStress and electromigration voids are believed to nucleate at the metal/passivation interface. In this study, modified interfaces were synthesized to experimentally elucidate the role of the interface on stress voiding for comparison with theoretical predictions. Interfaces were modified by depositing photoresist in a controlled manner on Ti/Algfi lines prior to passivation deposition. Stress voiding susceptibility was assessed in as-received lines as well as those subjected to storage anneals for 1, 5, and 25 days at 190°C to accelerate void formation. The global textures of all the lines were <111> fiber and were not significantly affected by the interface modification. Differences in stress voiding were attributed to the different interfaces. Higher ratios of voids in modified regions to voids in unmodified regions were observed both in as-received lines and those given a 1 day storage anneal due to the heterogeneous nucleation sites provided by the photoresist contamination in the modified regions. However, the void ratio appears to decrease exponentially with longer time anneals. Lowered driving force for void formation in the modified regions leads to less voiding with time, while higher driving force and a limited number of nucleation sites in the unmodified regions leads to more voiding with time. Local textures at a limited number of voided sites in modified and unmodified regions were identical to the global texture of the line. In our limited sampling, voids did not form in local regions of weaker <111> texture.

1986 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
pp. 724-732 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.W. Cahn ◽  
W.L. Johnson

Four types of phase transformation that involve the conversion of crystalline phases into more disordered forms are reviewed: melting, disordering of superlattices, amorphization by diffusion between crystalline phases, and irradation amorphization. In the review emphasis is placed on evidence for the heterogeneous nucleation of the product phases; in this connection, the role of surfaces, antiphase domain boundaries, dislocations, vacancies, and grain boundaries is specifically discussed. All of these features have been either observed, or hypothesized, to play a role as heterogeneous nucleation sites in one or more of the four transformations. An attempt is made to draw parallels between nucleation mechanisms in the various processes.


2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (9) ◽  
pp. 2154-2159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomoya Yamazaki ◽  
Yuki Kimura ◽  
Peter G. Vekilov ◽  
Erika Furukawa ◽  
Manabu Shirai ◽  
...  

Nucleation, the primary step in crystallization, dictates the number of crystals, the distribution of their sizes, the polymorph selection, and other crucial properties of the crystal population. We used time-resolved liquid-cell transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to perform an in situ examination of the nucleation of lysozyme crystals. Our TEM images revealed that mesoscopic clusters, which are similar to those previously assumed to consist of a dense liquid and serve as nucleation precursors, are actually amorphous solid particles (ASPs) and act only as heterogeneous nucleation sites. Crystalline phases never form inside them. We demonstrate that a crystal appears within a noncrystalline particle assembling lysozyme on an ASP or a container wall, highlighting the role of heterogeneous nucleation. These findings represent a significant departure from the existing formulation of the two-step nucleation mechanism while reaffirming the role of noncrystalline particles. The insights gained may have significant implications in areas that rely on the production of protein crystals, such as structural biology, pharmacy, and biophysics, and for the fundamental understanding of crystallization mechanisms.


2006 ◽  
pp. 20-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Ershov

The economic growth, which is underway in Russia, raises new questions to be addressed. How to improve the quality of growth, increasing the role of new competitive sectors and transforming them into the driving force of growth? How can progressive structural changes be implemented without hampering the rate of growth in general? What are the main external and internal risks, which may undermine positive trends of development? The author looks upon financial, monetary and foreign exchange aspects of the problem and comes up with some suggestions on how to make growth more competitive and sustainable.


2011 ◽  
Vol 162 (7) ◽  
pp. 209-215
Author(s):  
Jean-François Métraux

In the years since 2000, the authorities in charge of forests in canton Vaud have made some substantial changes as a reaction to the political decisions arising from the Swiss Forest Programme and the projected revision of the Federal forestry Law, as well as to the deterioration of the economic situation in forestry enterprises. This article gives a survey of the directions taken. Thus the canton recognises the primordial role of wood production as a driving force behind the creation of a multifunctional forest. The Service for Forests, Wildlife and Nature has invested a great deal in planning, and has redefined the management plan to be an instrument intended for forest owners and forest managers. The canton has innovated by introducing forestry groups and a scheme of equalisation of forestry costs between communes. Hence the conception of forestry management in canton Vaud is resolutely that of a multifunctional natural heritage.


2000 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 429-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald R. King ◽  
Rachel Schwartz

This paper reports the results of an experiment designed to investigate how legal regimes affect social welfare. We investigate four legal regimes, each consisting of a liability rule (strict or negligence) and a damage measure (out-of-pocket or independent-of-investment). The results of the experiment are for the most part consistent with the qualitative predictions of Schwartz's (1997) model; however, subjects' actual choices deviate from the point predictions of the model. We explore whether these deviations arise because: (1) subjects form faulty anticipations of their counterparts' actions and/or (2) subjects do not choose the optimal responses given their anticipations. We find that subjects behave differently under the four regimes in terms of anticipation errors and departures from best responses. For example, subjects playing the role of auditors anticipate investments most accurately under the regime with strict liability combined with out-of-pocket damages, but are least likely to choose the optimal response given their anticipations. This finding implies that noneconomic factors likely play a role in determining subjects' choices.


Author(s):  
Andrea Harris

The Conclusion briefly examines the current state of the New York City Ballet under the auspices of industrial billionaire David H. Koch at Lincoln Center. In so doing, it to introduces a series of questions, warranting still more exploration, about the rapid and profound evolution of the structure, funding, and role of the arts in America through the course of the twentieth century. It revisits the historiographical problem that drives Making Ballet American: the narrative that George Balanchine was the sole creative genius who finally created an “American” ballet. In contrast to that hagiography, the Conclusion reiterates the book’s major contribution: illuminating the historical construction of our received idea of American neoclassical ballet within a specific set of social, political, and cultural circumstances. The Conclusion stresses that the history of American neoclassicism must be seen as a complex narrative involving several authors and discourses and crossing national and disciplinary borders: a history in which Balanchine was not the driving force, but rather the outcome.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 4484
Author(s):  
Ewa Filip ◽  
Lidia Skuza

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT)- is defined as the acquisition of genetic material from another organism. However, recent findings indicate a possible role of HGT in the acquisition of traits with adaptive significance, suggesting that HGT is an important driving force in the evolution of eukaryotes as well as prokaryotes. It has been noted that, in eukaryotes, HGT is more prevalent than originally thought. Mitochondria and chloroplasts lost a large number of genes after their respective endosymbiotic events occurred. Even after this major content loss, organelle genomes still continue to lose their own genes. Many of these are subsequently acquired by intracellular gene transfer from the original plastid. The aim of our review was to elucidate the role of chloroplasts in the transfer of genes. This review also explores gene transfer involving mitochondrial and nuclear genomes, though recent studies indicate that chloroplast genomes are far more active in HGT as compared to these other two DNA-containing cellular compartments.


Mathematics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 1221
Author(s):  
Giorgio Sonnino ◽  
Fernando Mora ◽  
Pasquale Nardone

We propose two stochastic models for the Coronavirus pandemic. The statistical properties of the models, in particular the correlation functions and the probability density functions, were duly computed. Our models take into account the adoption of lockdown measures as well as the crucial role of hospitals and health care institutes. To accomplish this work we adopt a kinetic-type reaction approach where the modelling of the lockdown measures is obtained by introducing a new mathematical basis and the intensity of the stochastic noise is derived by statistical mechanics. We analysed two scenarios: the stochastic SIS-model (Susceptible ⇒ Infectious ⇒ Susceptible) and the stochastic SIS-model integrated with the action of the hospitals; both models take into account the lockdown measures. We show that, for the case of the stochastic SIS-model, once the lockdown measures are removed, the Coronavirus infection will start growing again. However, the combined contributions of lockdown measures with the action of hospitals and health institutes is able to contain and even to dampen the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. This result may be used during a period of time when the massive distribution of vaccines in a given population is not yet feasible. We analysed data for USA and France. In the case of USA, we analysed the following situations: USA is subjected to the first wave of infection by Coronavirus and USA is in the second wave of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The agreement between theoretical predictions and real data confirms the validity of our approach.


2013 ◽  
Vol 668 ◽  
pp. 865-869
Author(s):  
Wan Wu Ding ◽  
Wen Jun Zhao ◽  
Tian Dong Xia

The influence of different solidified velocities on the structure of pure aluminum during the process of refinement by Al-5Ti-0.6C master alloy was studied and the impact mechanism was discussed. The results show that at the same solidified velocity, with the increase of the amount of Al-5Ti-0.6C master alloy, in the solidified structure of pure aluminum, columnar crystals will gradually decrease, while equiaxed crystals will gradually increase. But in the case when the level of addition is the same, the faster the solidified velocity, the greater the number of equiaxed crystals will be in the ingot microstructure. The formation of equiaxed crystals is the result of the dual role of dissociation of crystal particles and heterogeneous nucleation of “TiC particle---Ti transition zone”.


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