This paper reports on one of the first demonstrations of the formation and metallization of 2–5-μm lines and spaces by an embedded trench method in two dry-film polymer dielectrics, Ajinomoto build-up film and preimidized polyimide, without using chemical mechanical planarization. The trenches and vias in 8–15-μm-thick dry-film dielectrics were formed by 308-nm excimer laser ablation, followed ...

The residual stresses of the thin-walled injection molding are investigated in this study. It was realized that the behavior of residual stresses in injection molding parts was affected by different process conditions such as melt temperature, mold temperature, packing pressure and filling time. The layer removal method was used to measure the residual stresses at a thin-walled test sample by a...

We have studied sputter-deposited Ta, Ta s6 ‘t4, and Ta3&ir4N~e thin lilms as diffusion Sr barriers between Cu overlayers and Si substrates. Electrical measurements on Si n +p shallow junction diodes demonstrate that a 180-nm-thick Ta film is not an effective diffusion barrier. For the standard test of 30-min annealing in vacuum applied in the present study, the Ta barrier fails after annealing...

Heat pipes offer passive transport of heat over long distances without incurring a significant drop in temperature. Topological and microstructural details of the wick material embedded in a heat pipe help determine its thermal performance. A good understanding of pore-scale transport phenomena is crucial to enhancing heat pipe performance. In this study, pore-scale analysis of thin-film evapor...

Multilayer coating structure comprising a copper (Cu) layer sandwiched between titanium dioxide (TiO2) were demonstrated as a transparent heat reflecting (THR) coating on glass for energy-saving window application. The main highlight is the utilization of Cu, a low-cost material, in-lieu of silver which is widely used in current commercial heat reflecting coating on glass. Color tunable transpa...

Heat pipes offer passive transport of heat over long distances without incurring a significant drop in temperature. Topological and microstructural details of the wick material embedded in a heat pipe help determine its thermal performance. A good understanding of pore-scale transport phenomena is crucial to enhancing heat pipe performance. In this study, pore-scale analysis of thin-film evapor...

This paper reports on the recent work carried out as part of the EU funded NanoMend project. The project seeks to develop integrated process inspection, cleaning, repair and control systems for thin films on flexible PV films. based on CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Selenide CuInxGa (1-x)Se2). These films are fabricated on polymer film by the repeated deposition, and patterning, of thin layer mate...

This paper describes the fabrication of transparent electrodes based on grids of copper microwires using a non-photolithographic process. The process--"abrasion lithography"--takes two forms. In the first implementation (Method I), a water-soluble commodity polymer film is abraded with a sharp tool, coated with a conductive film, and developed by immersion in water. Water dissolves the polymer ...

The ability of dissolved potassium monocarboxylate salts to produce surface passivation and to inhibit aqueous corrosion of copper was studied. The electrochemical measurements indicate that the inhibiting efficiency of these compounds, with a general formula Cn-1H2n-1COOK or CnK (n=3...12), is dependent on the hydrocarbon chain length. The inhibiting efficiency was higher for a longer hydrocar...

Solar cell module reliability is inextricably linked to cell-level reliability. This is particularly so with thin-film technologies. In CdTe, reliability issues historically associate with back contact stability and the use of Cu as an extrinsic dopant. Using a simple approach by which identical cells are heated under open-circuit bias and 1-sun illumination, degradation activation energies of ...