Solid state electrochemical sensor for monitoring Mg in Al refining process

Novel solid-state electrochemical sensors have been designed using the Mg2+ cation conductors incorporating novel solid-state reference electrodes for in-line monitoring of Mg in molten Al during the refining process and also for in-line monitoring of Mg content in molten Al in the alloying process. In this paper we report the preparation of Mg2+ ion conductors, MgAl2O4 and MgZr4(PO4)6, by the solid state ceramic synthesis route, measurement of their electrical properties using ac-impedance spectroscopy and application of the above cation conductors for designing novel electrochemical sensors for monitoring Mg dissolved in molten Al. The activation energy for Mg2+ ion conduction in MgAl2O4 is 2.08 eV and in MgZr4(PO4)6 is 1.7 eV, respectively. The sensors have been found to respond rapidly to change in Mg content in molten aluminium around 1000 K.

Modeling of the Effects of Process Variations on Circuit Delay at 65nm

A novel methodology for modeling the effects of process variations on circuit delay performance is proposed by relating the variations in process parameters to variations in delay metric of a complex digital circuit. The delay of a 2-input NAND gate with 65nm gate length transistors is extensively characterized by mixed-mode simulations which is then used as a library element. The variation in saturation current Ionat the device level, and the variation in rising/falling edge stage delay for the NAND gate at the circuit level, are taken as performance metrics. A 4-bit x 4-bit Wallace tree multiplier circuit is used as a representative combinational circuit to demonstrate the proposed methodology. The variation in the multiplier delay is characterized, to obtain delay distributions, by an extensive Monte Carlo analysis. An analytical model based on CV/I metric is proposed, to extend this methodology for a generic technology library with a variety of library elements.

Evolution of 1/f α noise during electromigration stressing of metal film: Spectral signature of electromigration process

In this paper we report a systematic study of low-frequency 1/fα resistance fluctuation in a metal film at different stages of electromigration. The resistance fluctuation (noise) measurement was carried out in presence of a dc electromigration stressing current. We observe that in addition to the increase in the spectral power SV(f), the frequency dependence of the spectral power changes as the electromigration process progresses and the exponent α starts to change from 1 to higher value closer to 1.5. We interpret this change in α as arising due to an additional contribution to the spectral power with a 1/f3/2 component, which starts to contribute as the electromigration process progresses. This additional component SV(f) ∼ 1/f3/2 has been suggested to originate from long range diffusion that would accompany any electromigration process. The experimental observation finds support in a model simulation, where we also find that the enhancement of noise during electromigration stressing is accompanied by a change in spectral power frequency dependence.

Dielectric properties of (110) oriented PbZrO3 and La-modified PbZrO3 thin films grown by sol-gel process on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate

Highly (110) preferred orientated antiferroelectric PbZrO3 (PZ) and La-modified PZ thin films have been fabricated on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates using sol-gel process. Dielectric properties, electric field induced ferroelectric polarization, and the temperature dependence of the dielectric response have been explored as a function of composition. The Tc has been observed to decrease by ∼ 17 °C per 1 mol % of La doping. Double hysteresis loops were seen with zero remnant polarization and with coercive fields in between 176 and 193 kV/cm at 80 °C for antiferroelectric to ferroelectric phase transformation. These slim loops have been explained by the high orientation of the films along the polar direction of the antiparallel dipoles of a tetragonal primitive cell and by the strong electrostatic interaction between La ions and oxygen ions in an ABO3 perovskite unit cell. High quality films exhibited very low loss factor less than 0.015 at room temperature and pure PZ; 1 and 2 mol % La doped PZs have shown the room temperature dielectric constant of 135, 219, and 142 at the frequency of 10 kHz. The passive layer effects in these films have been explained by Curie constants and Curie temperatures. The ac conductivity and the corresponding Arrhenius plots have been shown and explained in terms of doping effect and electrode resistance.

Validation of Decision Tables Used in Process Control

Process control rules may be specified using decision tables. Such a specification is superior when logical decisions to be taken in control dominate. In this paper we give a method of detecting redundancies, incompleteness, and contradictions in such specifications. Using such a technique thus ensures the validity of the specifications.