Interfacial characterization of flexible hybrid electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Najafian, Sara; Amirkhizi, Alireza V.; Stapleton, Scott

2018-03-01

Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHEs) are the new generation of electronics combining flexible plastic film substrates with electronic devices. Besides the electrical features, design improvements of FHEs depend on the prediction of their mechanical and failure behavior. Debonding of electronic components from the flexible substrate is one of the most common and critical failures of these devices, therefore, the experimental determination of material and interface properties is of great importance in the prediction of failure mechanisms. Traditional interface characterization involves isolated shear and normal mode tests such as the double cantilever beam (DCB) and end notch flexure (ENF) tests. However, due to the thin, flexible nature of the materials and manufacturing restrictions, tests mirroring traditional interface characterization experiments may not always be possible. The ideal goal of this research is to design experiments such that each mode of fracture is isolated. However, due to the complex nonlinear nature of the response and small geometries of FHEs, design of the proper tests to characterize the interface properties can be significantly time and cost consuming. Hence numerical modeling has been implemented to design these novel characterization experiments. This research involves loading case and specimen geometry parametric studies using numerical modeling to design future experiments where either shear or normal fracture modes are dominant. These virtual experiments will provide a foundation for designing similar tests for many different types of flexible electronics and predicting the failure mechanism independent of the specific FHE materials.

All-inkjet-printed thin-film transistors: manufacturing process reliability by root cause analysis.

PubMed

Sowade, Enrico; Ramon, Eloi; Mitra, Kalyan Yoti; Martínez-Domingo, Carme; Pedró, Marta; Pallarès, Jofre; Loffredo, Fausta; Villani, Fulvia; Gomes, Henrique L; Terés, Lluís; Baumann, Reinhard R

2016-09-21

We report on the detailed electrical investigation of all-inkjet-printed thin-film transistor (TFT) arrays focusing on TFT failures and their origins. The TFT arrays were manufactured on flexible polymer substrates in ambient condition without the need for cleanroom environment or inert atmosphere and at a maximum temperature of 150 °C. Alternative manufacturing processes for electronic devices such as inkjet printing suffer from lower accuracy compared to traditional microelectronic manufacturing methods. Furthermore, usually printing methods do not allow the manufacturing of electronic devices with high yield (high number of functional devices). In general, the manufacturing yield is much lower compared to the established conventional manufacturing methods based on lithography. Thus, the focus of this contribution is set on a comprehensive analysis of defective TFTs printed by inkjet technology. Based on root cause analysis, we present the defects by developing failure categories and discuss the reasons for the defects. This procedure identifies failure origins and allows the optimization of the manufacturing resulting finally to a yield improvement.

Implementation and reimbursement of remote monitoring for cardiac implantable electronic devices in Europe: a survey from the health economics committee of the European Heart Rhythm Association.

PubMed

Mairesse, Georges H; Braunschweig, Frieder; Klersy, Katherine; Cowie, Martin R; Leyva, Francisco

2015-05-01

Remote monitoring (RM) of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) permits early detection of arrhythmias, device, and lead failure and may also be useful in risk-predicting patient-related outcomes. Financial benefits for patients and healthcare organizations have also been shown. We sought to assess the implementation and funding of RM of CIEDs, including conventional pacemakers (PMs), implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices in Europe. Electronic survey from 43 centres in 15 European countries. In the study sample, RM was available in 22% of PM patients, 74% of ICD patients, and 69% of CRT patients. The most significant perceived benefits were the early detection of atrial arrhythmias in pacemaker patients, lead failure in ICD patients, and worsening heart failure in CRT patients. Remote monitoring was reported to lead a reduction of in-office follow-ups for all devices. The most important reported barrier to the implementation of RM for all CIEDs was lack of reimbursement (80% of centres). Physicians regard RM of CIEDs as a clinically useful technology that affords significant benefits for patients and healthcare organizations. Remote monitoring, however, is perceived as increasing workload. Reimbursement for RM is generally perceived as a major barrier to implementation. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2015. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Attempted salvage of infected cardiovascular implantable electronic devices: Are there clinical factors that predict success?

PubMed

Peacock, James E; Stafford, Jeanette M; Le, Katherine; Sohail, Muhammad Rizwan; Baddour, Larry M; Prutkin, Jordan M; Danik, Stephan B; Vikram, Holenarasipur R; Hernandez-Meneses, Marta; Miró, José M; Blank, Elisabeth; Naber, Christoph K; Carrillo, Roger G; Greenspon, Arnold J; Tseng, Chi-Hong; Uslan, Daniel Z

2018-03-08

Published guidelines mandate complete device removal in cases of cardiovascular implantable electronic device (CIED) infection. Clinical predictors of successful salvage of infected CIEDs have not been defined. Data from the Multicenter Electrophysiologic Device Infection Collaboration, a prospective, observational, multinational cohort study of CIED infection, were used to investigate whether clinical predictors of successful salvage of infected devices could be identified. Of 433 adult patients with CIED infections, 306 (71%) underwent immediate device explantation. Medical management with device retention and antimicrobial therapy was initially attempted in 127 patients (29%). "Early failure" of attempted salvage occurred in 74 patients (58%) who subsequently underwent device explantation during the index hospitalization. The remaining 53 patients (42%) in the attempted salvage group retained their CIED. Twenty-six (49%) had resolution of CIED infection (successful salvage group) whereas 27 patients (51%) experienced "late" salvage failure. Upon comparing the salvage failure group, early and late (N = 101), to the group experiencing successful salvage of an infected CIED (N = 26), no clinical or laboratory predictors of successful salvage were identified. However, by univariate analysis, coagulase-negative staphylococci as infecting pathogens (P = 0.0439) and the presence of a lead vegetation (P = 0.024) were associated with overall failed salvage. In patients with definite CIED infections, clinical and laboratory variables cannot predict successful device salvage. Until new data are forthcoming, device explantation should remain a mandatory and early management intervention in patients with CIED infection in keeping with existing expert guidelines unless medical contraindications exist or patients refuse device removal. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Nondestructive SEM for surface and subsurface wafer imaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Propst, Roy H.; Bagnell, C. Robert; Cole, Edward I., Jr.; Davies, Brian G.; Dibianca, Frank A.; Johnson, Darryl G.; Oxford, William V.; Smith, Craig A.

1987-01-01

The scanning electron microscope (SEM) is considered as a tool for both failure analysis as well as device characterization. A survey is made of various operational SEM modes and their applicability to image processing methods on semiconductor devices.

European Symposium on Reliability of Electron Devices, Failure Physics and Analysis (5th)

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-10-07

Characterisation and Modelling WEDNESDAY 5th OCTOBER Session C Hot Carriers Session D Oxide States Session E Power Devices Workshop 2 Power Devices Session F...Medium Enterprises .......... 17 W2 Power Devices Workshop "Reliability of Power Semiconductors for Traction Applications...New Mexico, USA Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA SESSION E Power Devices El Reliability Issues in New Technology

Design of Stretchable Electronics Against Impact.

PubMed

Yuan, J H; Pharr, M; Feng, X; Rogers, John A; Huang, Yonggang

2016-10-01

Stretchable electronics offer soft, biocompatible mechanical properties; these same properties make them susceptible to device failure associated with physical impact. This paper studies designs for stretchable electronics that resist failure from impacts due to incorporation of a viscoelastic encapsulation layer. Results indicate that the impact resistance depends on the thickness and viscoelastic properties of the encapsulation layer, as well as the duration of impact. An analytic model for the critical thickness of the encapsulation layer is established. It is shown that a commercially available, low modulus silicone material offers viscous properties that make it a good candidate as the encapsulation layer for stretchable electronics.

All-inkjet-printed thin-film transistors: manufacturing process reliability by root cause analysis

PubMed Central

Sowade, Enrico; Ramon, Eloi; Mitra, Kalyan Yoti; Martínez-Domingo, Carme; Pedró, Marta; Pallarès, Jofre; Loffredo, Fausta; Villani, Fulvia; Gomes, Henrique L.; Terés, Lluís; Baumann, Reinhard R.

2016-01-01

We report on the detailed electrical investigation of all-inkjet-printed thin-film transistor (TFT) arrays focusing on TFT failures and their origins. The TFT arrays were manufactured on flexible polymer substrates in ambient condition without the need for cleanroom environment or inert atmosphere and at a maximum temperature of 150 °C. Alternative manufacturing processes for electronic devices such as inkjet printing suffer from lower accuracy compared to traditional microelectronic manufacturing methods. Furthermore, usually printing methods do not allow the manufacturing of electronic devices with high yield (high number of functional devices). In general, the manufacturing yield is much lower compared to the established conventional manufacturing methods based on lithography. Thus, the focus of this contribution is set on a comprehensive analysis of defective TFTs printed by inkjet technology. Based on root cause analysis, we present the defects by developing failure categories and discuss the reasons for the defects. This procedure identifies failure origins and allows the optimization of the manufacturing resulting finally to a yield improvement. PMID:27649784

Cryogenic Quenching Process for Electronic Part Screening

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sheldon, Douglas J.; Cressler, John

2011-01-01

The use of electronic parts at cryogenic temperatures (less than 100 C) for extreme environments is not well controlled or developed from a product quality and reliability point of view. This is in contrast to the very rigorous and well-documented procedures to qualify electronic parts for mission use in the 55 to 125 C temperature range. A similarly rigorous methodology for screening and evaluating electronic parts needs to be developed so that mission planners can expect the same level of high reliability performance for parts operated at cryogenic temperatures. A formal methodology for screening and qualifying electronic parts at cryogenic temperatures has been proposed. The methodology focuses on the base physics of failure of the devices at cryogenic temperatures. All electronic part reliability is based on the bathtub curve, high amounts of initial failures (infant mortals), a long period of normal use (random failures), and then an increasing number of failures (end of life). Unique to this is the development of custom screening procedures to eliminate early failures at cold temperatures. The ability to screen out defects will specifically impact reliability at cold temperatures. Cryogenic reliability is limited by electron trap creation in the oxide and defect sites at conductor interfaces. Non-uniform conduction processes due to process marginalities will be magnified at cryogenic temperatures. Carrier mobilities change by orders of magnitude at cryogenic temperatures, significantly enhancing the effects of electric field. Marginal contacts, impurities in oxides, and defects in conductor/conductor interfaces can all be magnified at low temperatures. The novelty is the use of an ultra-low temperature, short-duration quenching process for defect screening. The quenching process is designed to identify those defects that will precisely (and negatively) affect long-term, cryogenic part operation. This quenching process occurs at a temperature that is at least 25 C colder than the coldest expected operating temperature. This quenching process is the opposite of the standard burn-in procedure. Normal burn-in raises the temperature (and voltage) to activate quickly any possible manufacturing defects remaining in the device that were not already rejected at a functional test step. The proposed inverse burn-in or quenching process is custom-tailored to the electronic device being used. The doping profiles, materials, minimum dimensions, interfaces, and thermal expansion coefficients are all taken into account in determining the ramp rate, dwell time, and temperature.

Triggering Mechanism for Neutron Induced Single-Event Burnout in Power Devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shoji, Tomoyuki; Nishida, Shuichi; Hamada, Kimimori

2013-04-01

Cosmic ray neutrons can trigger catastrophic failures in power devices. It has been reported that parasitic transistor action causes single-event burnout (SEB) in power metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) and insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs). However, power diodes do not have an inherent parasitic transistor. In this paper, we describe the mechanism triggering SEB in power diodes for the first time using transient device simulation. Initially, generated electron-hole pairs created by incident recoil ions generate transient current, which increases the electron density in the vicinity of the n-/n+ boundary. The space charge effect of the carriers leads to an increase in the strength of the electric field at the n-/n+ boundary. Finally, the onset of impact ionization at the n-/n+ boundary can trigger SEB. Furthermore, this failure is closely related to diode secondary breakdown. It was clarified that the impact ionization at the n-/n+ boundary is a key point of the mechanism triggering SEB in power devices.

Towards Prognostics of Power MOSFETs: Accelerated Aging and Precursors of Failure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Celaya, Jose R.; Saxena, Abhinav; Wysocki, Philip; Saha, Sankalita; Goebel, Kai

2010-01-01

This paper presents research results dealing with power MOSFETs (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor) within the prognostics and health management of electronics. Experimental results are presented for the identification of the on-resistance as a precursor to failure of devices with die-attach degradation as a failure mechanism. Devices are aged under power cycling in order to trigger die-attach damage. In situ measurements of key electrical and thermal parameters are collected throughout the aging process and further used for analysis and computation of the on-resistance parameter. Experimental results show that the devices experience die-attach damage and that the on-resistance captures the degradation process in such a way that it could be used for the development of prognostics algorithms (data-driven or physics-based).

Remote management of heart failure using implantable electronic devices

PubMed Central

Morgan, John M.; Kitt, Sue; Gill, Jas; McComb, Janet M.; Ng, Ghulam Andre; Raftery, James; Roderick, Paul; Seed, Alison; Williams, Simon G.; Witte, Klaus K.; Wright, David Jay; Harris, Scott; Cowie, Martin R.

2017-01-01

Abstract Aims Remote management of heart failure using implantable electronic devices (REM-HF) aimed to assess the clinical and cost-effectiveness of remote monitoring (RM) of heart failure in patients with cardiac implanted electronic devices (CIEDs). Methods and results Between 29 September 2011 and 31 March 2014, we randomly assigned 1650 patients with heart failure and a CIED to active RM or usual care (UC). The active RM pathway included formalized remote follow-up protocols, and UC was standard practice in nine recruiting centres in England. The primary endpoint in the time to event analysis was the 1st event of death from any cause or unplanned hospitalization for cardiovascular reasons. Secondary endpoints included death from any cause, death from cardiovascular reasons, death from cardiovascular reasons and unplanned cardiovascular hospitalization, unplanned cardiovascular hospitalization, and unplanned hospitalization. REM-HF is registered with ISRCTN (96536028). The mean age of the population was 70 years (range 23–98); 86% were male. Patients were followed for a median of 2.8 years (range 0–4.3 years) completing on 31 January 2016. Patient adherence was high with a drop out of 4.3% over the course of the study. The incidence of the primary endpoint did not differ significantly between active RM and UC groups, which occurred in 42.4 and 40.8% of patients, respectively [hazard ratio 1.01; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.87–1.18; P = 0.87]. There were no significant differences between the two groups with respect to any of the secondary endpoints or the time to the primary endpoint components. Conclusion Among patients with heart failure and a CIED, RM using weekly downloads and a formalized follow up approach does not improve outcomes. PMID:28575235

Reliability of hybrid microcircuit discrete components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, R. V.

1972-01-01

Data accumulated during 4 years of research and evaluation of ceramic chip capacitors, ceramic carrier mounted active devices, beam-lead transistors, and chip resistors are presented. Life and temperature coefficient test data, and optical and scanning electron microscope photographs of device failures are presented and the failure modes are described. Particular interest is given to discrete component qualification, power burn-in, and procedures for testing and screening discrete components. Burn-in requirements and test data will be given in support of 100 percent burn-in policy on all NASA flight programs.

Failure analysis on optical fiber on swarm flight payload

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bourcier, Frédéric; Fratter, Isabelle; Teyssandier, Florent; Barenes, Magali; Dhenin, Jérémie; Peyriguer, Marie; Petre-Bordenave, Romain

2017-11-01

Failure analysis on optical components is usually carried-out, on standard testing devices such as optical/electronic microscopes and spectrometers, on isolated but representative samples. Such analyses are not contactless and not totally non-invasive, so they cannot be used easily on flight models. Furthermore, for late payload or satellite integration/validation phases with tight schedule issues, it could be necessary to carry out a failure analysis directly on the flight hardware, in cleanroom.

Collaboration of Miniature Multi-Modal Mobile Smart Robots over a Network

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-08-14

theoretical research on mathematics of failures in sensor-network-based miniature multimodal mobile robots and electromechanical systems. The views...theoretical research on mathematics of failures in sensor-network-based miniature multimodal mobile robots and electromechanical systems. The...independently evolving research directions based on physics-based models of mechanical, electromechanical and electronic devices, operational constraints

Outcomes associated with warfarin use in older patients with heart failure and atrial fibrillation and a cardiovascular implantable electronic device: findings from the ADHERE registry linked to Medicare claims.

PubMed

Hess, Paul L; Greiner, Melissa A; Fonarow, Gregg C; Klaskala, Winslow; Mills, Roger M; Setoguchi, Soko; Al-Khatib, Sana M; Hernandez, Adrian F; Curtis, Lesley H

2012-11-01

Warfarin use and associated outcomes in patients with heart failure and atrial fibrillation and a cardiovascular implantable electronic device have not been described previously. We hypothesized that warfarin is underused and is associated with lower risks of mortality, thromboembolic events, and myocardial infarction. Using data from a clinical registry linked with Medicare claims, we examined warfarin use at discharge and 30-day and 1-year Kaplan-Meier estimates of all-cause mortality and cumulative incidence rates of mortality, thromboembolic events, myocardial infarction, and bleeding events in patients 65 years or older, with a history of atrial fibrillation and a cardiovascular implantable electronic device admitted with heart failure between 2001 and 2006, who were naïve to anticoagulation therapy at admission. We compared outcomes between patients who were or were not prescribed warfarin at discharge and tested associations between treatment and outcomes. Of 2586 eligible patients in 252 hospitals, 2049 were discharged without a prescription for warfarin. At 1 year, the group discharged without warfarin had a higher mortality rate after discharge (37.4% vs 28.8%; P < 0.001) but similar rates of thromboembolism, myocardial infarction, and bleeding events. After adjustment, treatment with warfarin was associated with lower risk of all-cause death 1 year after discharge (hazard ratio: 0.76, 95% confidence interval: 0.63-0.92). Among older patients with heart failure and atrial fibrillation and a cardiovascular implantable electronic device, 4 of 5 were discharged without a prescription for warfarin. Warfarin nonuse was associated with a higher risk of death 1 year after discharge. Clin. Cardiol. 2011 DOI: 10.1002/clc.22064 Damon M. Seils, MA, Duke University, assisted with manuscript preparation. Mr. Seils did not receive compensation for his assistance apart from his employment at the institution where the study was conducted. This study was supported by a research agreement between Duke University and Janssen Pharmaceuticals. The authors have no other funding, financial relationships, or conflicts of interest to disclose. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Thermo-piezo-electro-mechanical simulation of AlGaN (aluminum gallium nitride) / GaN (gallium nitride) High Electron Mobility Transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stevens, Lorin E.

Due to the current public demand of faster, more powerful, and more reliable electronic devices, research is prolific these days in the area of high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) devices. This is because of their usefulness in RF (radio frequency) and microwave power amplifier applications including microwave vacuum tubes, cellular and personal communications services, and widespread broadband access. Although electrical transistor research has been ongoing since its inception in 1947, the transistor itself continues to evolve and improve much in part because of the many driven researchers and scientists throughout the world who are pushing the limits of what modern electronic devices can do. The purpose of the research outlined in this paper was to better understand the mechanical stresses and strains that are present in a hybrid AlGaN (Aluminum Gallium Nitride) / GaN (Gallium Nitride) HEMT, while under electrically-active conditions. One of the main issues currently being researched in these devices is their reliability, or their consistent ability to function properly, when subjected to high-power conditions. The researchers of this mechanical study have performed a static (i.e. frequency-independent) reliability analysis using powerful multiphysics computer modeling/simulation to get a better idea of what can cause failure in these devices. Because HEMT transistors are so small (micro/nano-sized), obtaining experimental measurements of stresses and strains during the active operation of these devices is extremely challenging. Physical mechanisms that cause stress/strain in these structures include thermo-structural phenomena due to mismatch in both coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) and mechanical stiffness between different materials, as well as stress/strain caused by "piezoelectric" effects (i.e. mechanical deformation caused by an electric field, and conversely voltage induced by mechanical stress) in the AlGaN and GaN device portions (both piezoelectric materials). This piezoelectric effect can be triggered by voltage applied to the device's gate contact and the existence of an HEMT-unique "two-dimensional electron gas" (2DEG) at the GaN-AlGaN interface. COMSOL Multiphysics computer software has been utilized to create a finite element (i.e. piece-by-piece) simulation to visualize both temperature and stress/strain distributions that can occur in the device, by coupling together (i.e. solving simultaneously) the thermal, electrical, structural, and piezoelectric effects inherent in the device. The 2DEG has been modeled not with the typically-used self-consistent quantum physics analytical equations, rather as a combined localized heat source* (thermal) and surface charge density* (electrical) boundary condition. Critical values of stress/strain and their respective locations in the device have been identified. Failure locations have been estimated based on the critical values of stress and strain, and compared with reports in literature. The knowledge of the overall stress/strain distribution has assisted in determining the likely device failure mechanisms and possible mitigation approaches. The contribution and interaction of individual stress mechanisms including piezoelectric effects and thermal expansion caused by device self-heating (i.e. fast-moving electrons causing heat) have been quantified. * Values taken from results of experimental studies in literature.

Ultrawideband Electromagnetic Interference to Aircraft Radios

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ely, Jay J.; Fuller, Gerald L.; Shaver, Timothy W.

2002-01-01

A very recent FCC Final Rule now permits marketing and operation of new products that incorporate Ultrawideband (UWB) technology into handheld devices. Wireless product developers are working to rapidly bring this versatile, powerful and expectedly inexpensive technology into numerous consumer wireless devices. Past studies addressing the potential for passenger-carried portable electronic devices (PEDs) to interfere with aircraft electronic systems suggest that UWB transmitters may pose a significant threat to aircraft communication and navigation radio receivers. NASA, United Airlines and Eagles Wings Incorporated have performed preliminary testing that clearly shows the potential for handheld UWB transmitters to cause cockpit failure indications for the air traffic control radio beacon system (ATCRBS), blanking of aircraft on the traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS) displays, and cause erratic motion and failure of instrument landing system (ILS) localizer and glideslope pointers on the pilot horizontal situation and attitude director displays. This paper provides details of the preliminary testing and recommends further assessment of aircraft systems for susceptibility to UWB electromagnetic interference.

Advanced Relay Design and Technology for Energy-Efficient Electronics

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-07-07

Estimates and Unique Failure Mechanisms of the Digital Micromirror Device (DMD),” in Proceedings of the IEEE Annual International Reliability Physics...Symposium (IRPS 󈨦), pp. 9-16, March 1998. [18] A. B. Sontheimer, “Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) Hinge Memory Lifetime Reliability Modeling,” in...Mechanisms of the Digital Micromirror Device (DMD),” in Proceedings of the IEEE Annual International Reliability Physics Symposium (IRPS 󈨦), pp. 9-16

Charge collection and SEU mechanisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Musseau, O.

1994-01-01

In the interaction of cosmic ions with microelectronic devices a dense electron-hole plasma is created along the ion track. Carriers are separated and transported by the electric field and under the action of the concentration gradient. The subsequent collection of these carriers induces a transient current at some electrical node of the device. This "ionocurrent" (single ion induced current) acts as any electrical perturbation in the device, propagating in the circuit and inducing failures. In bistable systems (registers, memories) the stored data can be upset. In clocked devices (microprocessors) the parasitic perturbation may propagate through the device to the outputs. This type of failure only effects the information, and do not degrade the functionally of the device. The purpose of this paper is to review the mechanisms of single event upset in microelectronic devices. Experimental and theoretical results are presented, and actual questions and problems are discussed. A brief introduction recalls the creation of the dense plasma of electron-hole pairs. The basic processes for charge collection in a simple np junction (drift and diffusion) are presented. The funneling-field effect is discussed and experimental results are compared to numerical simulations and semi-empirical models. Charge collection in actual microelectronic structures is then presented. Due to the parasitic elements, coupling effects are observed. Geometrical effects, in densely packed structures, results in multiple errors. Electronic couplings are due to the carriers in excess, acting as minority carriers, that trigger parasitic bipolar transistors. Single event upset of memory cells is discussed, based on numerical and experimental data. The main parameters for device characterization are presented. From the physical interpretation of charge collection mechanisms, the intrinsic sensitivity of various microelectronic technologies is determined and compared to experimental data. Scaling laws and future trends are finally discussed.

Developing the Surface Chemistry of Transparent Butyl Rubber for Impermeable Stretchable Electronics.

PubMed

Vohra, Akhil; Carmichael, R Stephen; Carmichael, Tricia Breen

2016-10-11

Transparent butyl rubber is a new elastomer that has the potential to revolutionize stretchable electronics due to its intrinsically low gas permeability. Encapsulating organic electronic materials and devices with transparent butyl rubber protects them from problematic degradation due to oxygen and moisture, preventing premature device failure and enabling the fabrication of stretchable organic electronic devices with practical lifetimes. Here, we report a methodology to alter the surface chemistry of transparent butyl rubber to advance this material from acting as a simple device encapsulant to functioning as a substrate primed for direct device fabrication on its surface. We demonstrate a combination of plasma and chemical treatment to deposit a hydrophilic silicate layer on the transparent butyl rubber surface to create a new layered composite that combines Si-OH surface chemistry with the favorable gas-barrier properties of bulk transparent butyl rubber. We demonstrate that these surface Si-OH groups react with organosilanes to form self-assembled monolayers necessary for the deposition of electronic materials, and furthermore demonstrate the fabrication of stretchable gold wires using nanotransfer printing of gold films onto transparent butyl rubber modified with a thiol-terminated self-assembled monolayer. The surface modification of transparent butyl rubber establishes this material as an important new elastomer for stretchable electronics and opens the way to robust, stretchable devices.

Very high-cycle fatigue failure in micron-scale polycrystalline silicon films: Effects of environment and surface oxide thickness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alsem, D. H.; Timmerman, R.; Boyce, B. L.; Stach, E. A.; De Hosson, J. Th. M.; Ritchie, R. O.

2007-01-01

Fatigue failure in micron-scale polycrystalline silicon structural films, a phenomenon that is not observed in bulk silicon, can severely impact the durability and reliability of microelectromechanical system devices. Despite several studies on the very high-cycle fatigue behavior of these films (up to 1012cycles), there is still an on-going debate on the precise mechanisms involved. We show here that for devices fabricated in the multiuser microelectromechanical system process (MUMPs) foundry and Sandia Ultra-planar, Multi-level MEMS Technology (SUMMiT V™) process and tested under equi-tension/compression loading at ˜40kHz in different environments, stress-lifetime data exhibit similar trends in fatigue behavior in ambient room air, shorter lifetimes in higher relative humidity environments, and no fatigue failure at all in high vacuum. The transmission electron microscopy of the surface oxides in the test samples shows a four- to sixfold thickening of the surface oxide at stress concentrations after fatigue failure, but no thickening after overload fracture in air or after fatigue cycling in vacuo. We find that such oxide thickening and premature fatigue failure (in air) occur in devices with initial oxide thicknesses of ˜4nm (SUMMiT V™) as well as in devices with much thicker initial oxides ˜20nm (MUMPs). Such results are interpreted and explained by a reaction-layer fatigue mechanism. Specifically, moisture-assisted subcritical cracking within a cyclic stress-assisted thickened oxide layer occurs until the crack reaches a critical size to cause catastrophic failure of the entire device. The entirety of the evidence presented here strongly indicates that the reaction-layer fatigue mechanism is the governing mechanism for fatigue failure in micron-scale polycrystalline silicon thin films.

Systematic Destruction of Electronic Parts for Aid in Electronic Failure Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Decker, S. E.; Rolin, T. D.; McManus, P. D.

2012-01-01

NASA analyzes electrical, electronic, and electromechanical (EEE) parts used in space vehicles to understand failure modes of these components. Operational amplifiers and transistors are two examples of EEE parts critical to NASA missions that can fail due to electrical overstress (EOS). EOS is the result of voltage or current over time conditions that exceeds a component s specification limit. The objective of this study was to provide known voltage pulses over well-defined time intervals to determine the type and extent of damage imparted to the device. The amount of current was not controlled but measured so that pulse energy was determined. The damage was ascertained electrically using curve trace plots and optically using various metallographic techniques. The resulting data can be used to build a database of physical evidence to compare to damaged components removed from flight avionics. The comparison will provide the avionics failure analyst necessary information about voltage and times that caused flight or test failures when no other electrical data is available.

I2 basal stacking fault as a degradation mechanism in reverse gate-biased AlGaN/GaN HEMTs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lang, A. C.; Hart, J. L.; Wen, J. G.; Miller, D. J.; Meyer, D. J.; Taheri, M. L.

2016-09-01

Here, we present the observation of a bias-induced, degradation-enhancing defect process in plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy grown reverse gate-biased AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs), which is compatible with the current theoretical framework of HEMT degradation. Specifically, we utilize both conventional transmission electron microscopy and aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy to analyze microstructural changes in not only high strained regions in degraded AlGaN/GaN HEMTs but also the extended gate-drain access region. We find a complex defect structure containing an I2 basal stacking fault and offer a potential mechanism for device degradation based on this defect structure. This work supports the reality of multiple failure mechanisms during device operation and identifies a defect potentially involved with device degradation.

An exploratory investigation of cumulative shock fatigue.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simonson, D.; Byrne, J. G.

1972-01-01

A simple device for producing cumulative shock loading in solids is described. The device uses a ballistic-impact-driven projectile to introduce high-stress waves into a solid. The impact time and load amplitude can be varied to produce fracture in one or several impacts in PMMA rods. The wavefront approached a square wave shape. Materials other than PMMA were loaded to failure to demonstrate the versatility of the device. Fracture morphologies observed with optical and scanning-electron microscopy are described.

A worldwide experience of the management of battery failures and chronic device retrieval of the Nanostim leadless pacemaker.

PubMed

Lakkireddy, Dhanunjaya; Knops, Reinoud; Atwater, Brett; Neuzil, Petr; Ip, John; Gonzalez, Elkin; Friedman, Paul; Defaye, Pascal; Exner, Derek; Aonuma, Kazutaka; Doshi, Rahul; Sperzel, Johannes; Reddy, Vivek

2017-12-01

The Nanostim leadless pacemaker (LP) met the primary endpoints in an investigational device exemption trial, and was shown to be fully retrievable percutaneously. In October 2016, St Jude Medical issued a worldwide alert of a battery malfunction that caused lost pacing output and LP communication. To report the battery failure mechanism and incidence and the worldwide patient management, including device retrieval experiences. The affected LP battery is a custom lithium-carbon monofluoride cell. These were returned after failure and underwent analysis assessing electronics and battery performance. Data were collected in ongoing clinical studies when LPs were abandoned or retrieved. Of 1423 LPs implanted worldwide, there were 34 battery failures, occurring at 2.9 ± 0.4 years with no instances of associated patient injury. Analysis of returned batteries revealed an increase in battery resistance caused by insufficient electrolyte availability at the cathode/anode interface. A total of 66 of 73 retrieval attempts were successful (90.4%; implant duration range: 0.2-4.0 years). The LP docking button was inaccessible in 6 patients, and the docking button detached from the LP during retrieval in 1 patient. There was 1 case of arteriovenous fistula and another case of the LP docking button migrating into the pulmonary artery. There were also 115 non-LP retrieval patients after the advisory who received an additional pacemaker, with no adverse device-to-device interactions reported. As with standard pacers, LPs can have critical battery failures. Chronic retrieval of LPs is safe and efficacious. Copyright © 2017 Heart Rhythm Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects Of Environmental And Operational Stresses On RF MEMS Switch Technologies For Space Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jah, Muzar; Simon, Eric; Sharma, Ashok

2003-01-01

Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) have been heralded for their ability to provide tremendous advantages in electronic systems through increased electrical performance, reduced power consumption, and higher levels of device integration with a reduction of board real estate. RF MEMS switch technology offers advantages such as low insertion loss (0.1- 0.5 dB), wide bandwidth (1 GHz-100 GHz), and compatibility with many different process technologies (quartz, high resistivity Si, GaAs) which can replace the use of traditional electronic switches, such as GaAs FETS and PIN Diodes, in microwave systems for low signal power (x < 500 mW) applications. Although the electrical characteristics of RF MEMS switches far surpass any existing technologies, the unknown reliability, due to the lack of information concerning failure modes and mechanisms inherent to MEMS devices, create an obstacle to insertion of MEMS technology into high reliability applications. All MEMS devices are sensitive to moisture and contaminants, issues easily resolved by hermetic or near-hermetic packaging. Two well-known failure modes of RF MEMS switches are charging in the dielectric layer of capacitive membrane switches and contact interface stiction of metal-metal switches. Determining the integrity of MEMS devices when subjected to the shock, vibration, temperature extremes, and radiation of the space environment is necessary to facilitate integration into space systems. This paper will explore the effects of different environmental stresses, operational life cycling, temperature, mechanical shock, and vibration on the first commercially available RF MEMS switches to identify relevant failure modes and mechanisms inherent to these device and packaging schemes for space applications. This paper will also describe RF MEMS Switch technology under development at NASA GSFC.

Even the Odd Numbers Help: Failure Modes of SAM-Based Tunnel Junctions Probed via Odd-Even Effects Revealed in Synchrotrons and Supercomputers.

PubMed

Thompson, Damien; Nijhuis, Christian A

2016-10-18

This Account describes a body of research in atomic level design, synthesis, physicochemical characterization, and macroscopic electrical testing of molecular devices made from ferrocene-functionalized alkanethiol molecules, which are molecular diodes, with the aim to identify, and resolve, the failure modes that cause leakage currents. The mismatch in size between the ferrocene headgroup and alkane rod makes waxlike highly dynamic self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on coinage metals that show remarkable atomic-scale sensitivity in their electrical properties. Our results make clear that molecular tunnel junction devices provide an excellent testbed to probe the electronic and supramolecular structures of SAMs on inorganic substrates. Contacting these SAMs to a eutectic "EGaIn" alloy top-electrode, we designed highly stable long-lived molecular switches of the form electrode-SAM-electrode with robust rectification ratios of up to 3 orders of magnitude. The graphic that accompanies this conspectus displays a computed SAM packing structure, illustrating the lollipop shape of the molecules that gives dynamic SAM supramolecular structures and also the molecule-electrode van der Waals (vdW) contacts that must be controlled to form good SAM-based devices. In this Account, we first trace the evolution of SAM-based electronic devices and rationalize their operation using energy level diagrams. We describe the measurement of device properties using near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy complemented by molecular dynamics and electronic structure calculations together with large numbers of electrical measurements. We discuss how data obtained from these combined experimental/simulation codesign studies demonstrate control over the supramolecular and electronic structure of the devices, tuning odd-even effects to optimize inherent packing tendencies of the molecules in order to minimize leakage currents in the junctions. It is now possible, but still very costly to create atomically smooth electrodes and we discuss progress toward masking electrode imperfections using cooperative molecule-electrode contacts that are only accessible by dynamic SAM structures. Finally, the unique ability of SAM devices to achieve simultaneously high and atom-sensitive electrical switching is summarized and discussed. While putting these structures to work as real world electronic devices remains very challenging, we speculate on the scientific and technological advances that are required to further improve electronic and supramolecular structure, toward the creation of high yields of long-lived molecular devices with (very) large, reproducible rectification ratios.

40 CFR 86.1803-01 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... operator prior to procurement. Auxiliary Emission Control Device (AECD) means any element of design which... components are those components which are designed primarily for emission control, or whose failure may... of design means any control system (i.e., computer software, electronic control system, emission...

40 CFR 86.1803-01 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... prior to procurement. Auxiliary Emission Control Device (AECD) means any element of design which senses... components are those components which are designed primarily for emission control, or whose failure may... of design means any control system (i.e., computer software, electronic control system, emission...

Monte Carlo simulation of particle-induced bit upsets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wrobel, Frédéric; Touboul, Antoine; Vaillé, Jean-Roch; Boch, Jérôme; Saigné, Frédéric

2017-09-01

We investigate the issue of radiation-induced failures in electronic devices by developing a Monte Carlo tool called MC-Oracle. It is able to transport the particles in device, to calculate the energy deposited in the sensitive region of the device and to calculate the transient current induced by the primary particle and the secondary particles produced during nuclear reactions. We compare our simulation results with SRAM experiments irradiated with neutrons, protons and ions. The agreement is very good and shows that it is possible to predict the soft error rate (SER) for a given device in a given environment.

Developments in Radiation-Hardened Electronics Applicable to the Vision for Space Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keys, Andrew S.; Frazier, Donald O.; Patrick , Marshall C.; Watson, Michael D.; Johnson, Michael A.; Cressler, John D.; Kolawa, Elizabeth A.

2007-01-01

The Radiation Hardened Electronics for Space Exploration (RHESE) project develops the advanced technologies required to produce radiation hardened electronics, processors, and devices in support of the anticipated requirements of NASA's Constellation program. Methods of protecting and hardening electronics against the encountered space environment are discussed. Critical stages of a spaceflight mission that are vulnerable to radiation-induced interruptions or failures are identified. Solutions to mitigating the risk of radiation events are proposed through the infusion of RHESE technology products and deliverables into the Constellation program's spacecraft designs.

Integrated circuit failure analysis by low-energy charge-induced voltage alteration

DOEpatents

Cole, E.I. Jr.

1996-06-04

A scanning electron microscope apparatus and method are described for detecting and imaging open-circuit defects in an integrated circuit (IC). The invention uses a low-energy high-current focused electron beam that is scanned over a device surface of the IC to generate a charge-induced voltage alteration (CIVA) signal at the location of any open-circuit defects. The low-energy CIVA signal may be used to generate an image of the IC showing the location of any open-circuit defects. A low electron beam energy is used to prevent electrical breakdown in any passivation layers in the IC and to minimize radiation damage to the IC. The invention has uses for IC failure analysis, for production-line inspection of ICs, and for qualification of ICs. 5 figs.

Integrated circuit failure analysis by low-energy charge-induced voltage alteration

DOEpatents

Cole, Jr., Edward I.

1996-01-01

A scanning electron microscope apparatus and method are described for detecting and imaging open-circuit defects in an integrated circuit (IC). The invention uses a low-energy high-current focused electron beam that is scanned over a device surface of the IC to generate a charge-induced voltage alteration (CIVA) signal at the location of any open-circuit defects. The low-energy CIVA signal may be used to generate an image of the IC showing the location of any open-circuit defects. A low electron beam energy is used to prevent electrical breakdown in any passivation layers in the IC and to minimize radiation damage to the IC. The invention has uses for IC failure analysis, for production-line inspection of ICs, and for qualification of ICs.

Understanding the failure mechanisms of microwave bipolar transistors caused by electrostatic discharge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Liu; Yongguang, Chen; Zhiliang, Tan; Jie, Yang; Xijun, Zhang; Zhenxing, Wang

2011-10-01

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) phenomena involve both electrical and thermal effects, and a direct electrostatic discharge to an electronic device is one of the most severe threats to component reliability. Therefore, the electrical and thermal stability of multifinger microwave bipolar transistors (BJTs) under ESD conditions has been investigated theoretically and experimentally. 100 samples have been tested for multiple pulses until a failure occurred. Meanwhile, the distributions of electric field, current density and lattice temperature have also been analyzed by use of the two-dimensional device simulation tool Medici. There is a good agreement between the simulated results and failure analysis. In the case of a thermal couple, the avalanche current distribution in the fingers is in general spatially unstable and results in the formation of current crowding effects and crystal defects. The experimental results indicate that a collector-base junction is more sensitive to ESD than an emitter-base junction based on the special device structure. When the ESD level increased to 1.3 kV, the collector-base junction has been burnt out first. The analysis has also demonstrated that ESD failures occur generally by upsetting the breakdown voltage of the dielectric or overheating of the aluminum-silicon eutectic. In addition, fatigue phenomena are observed during ESD testing, with devices that still function after repeated low-intensity ESDs but whose performances have been severely degraded.

Aging of electronics with application to nuclear power plant instrumentation. [PWR; BWR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Johnson, Jr, R T; Thome, F V; Craft, C M

1983-01-01

A survey to identify areas of needed research to understand aging mechanisms for electronics in nuclear power plant instrumentation has been completed. The emphasis was on electronic components such as semiconductors, capacitors, and resistors used in safety-related instrumentation in the reactor containment area. The environmental and operational stress factors which may produce degradation during long-term operation were identified. Some attention was also given to humidity effects as related to seals and encapsulants, and failures in printed circuit boards and bonds and solder joints. Results suggest that neutron as well as gamma irradiations should be considered in simulating the aging environmentmore » for electronic components. Radiation dose-rate effects in semiconductor devices and organic capacitors need to be further investigated, as well as radiation-voltage bias synergistic effects in semiconductor devices and leakage and permeation of moisture through seals in electronics packages.« less

Stroboscopic Imaging Interferometer for MEMS Performance Measurement

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-07-15

Optical Iocusing L.aser Fiber Optics I) c 0 Mim er Collimator - C d Microcope lcam. indo Cold Objcclive Splitte FingerCCD "Mount irnro MEMS PicL zStack...Electronics and Photonics Laboratory: Microelectronics, VLSI reliability, failure analysis, solid-state device physics, compound semiconductors

Investigation of short-circuit failure mechanisms of SiC MOSFETs by varying DC bus voltage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Namai, Masaki; An, Junjie; Yano, Hiroshi; Iwamuro, Noriyuki

2018-07-01

In this study, the experimental evaluation and numerical analysis of short-circuit mechanisms of 1200 V SiC planar and trench MOSFETs were conducted at various DC bus voltages from 400 to 800 V. Investigation of the impact of DC bus voltage on short-circuit capability yielded results that are extremely useful for many existing power electronics applications. Three failure mechanisms were identified in this study: thermal runaway, MOS channel current following device turn-off, and rupture of the gate oxide layer (gate oxide layer damage). The SiC MOSFETs experienced lattice temperatures exceeding 1000 K during the short-circuit transient; as Si insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) are not typically subject to such temperatures, the MOSFETs experienced distinct failure modes, and the mode experienced was significantly influenced by the DC bus voltage. In conclusion, suggestions regarding the SiC MOSFET design and operation methods that would enhance device robustness are proposed.

Radiation effects in spacecraft electronics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Raymond, James P.

1989-01-01

Effects on the internal spacecraft electronics due to exposure to the natural and enhanced space radiation environment will be reviewed. The emphasis will be placed on the description of the nature of both the exposure environment and failure mechanisms in semiconductors. Understanding both the system environment and device effects is critical in the use of laboratory simulation environments to obtain the data necessary to design and qualify components for successful application.

Effect of Electrostatic Discharge on Electrical Characteristics of Discrete Electronic Components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wysocki, Phil; Vashchenko, Vladislav; Celaya, Jose; Saha, Sankalita; Goebel, Kai

2009-01-01

This article reports on preliminary results of a study conducted to examine how temporary electrical overstress seed fault conditions in discrete power electronic components that cannot be detected with reliability tests but impact longevity of the device. These defects do not result in formal parametric failures per datasheet specifications, but result in substantial change in the electrical characteristics when compared with pristine device parameters. Tests were carried out on commercially available 600V IGBT devices using transmission line pulse (TLP) and system level ESD stress. It was hypothesized that the ESD causes local damage during the ESD discharge which may greatly accelerate degradation mechanisms and thus reduce the life of the components. This hypothesis was explored in simulation studies where different types of damage were imposed to different parts of the device. Experimental results agree qualitatively with the simulation for a number of tests which will motivate more in-depth modeling of the damage.

Shear-induced mechanical failure of β -G a2O3 from quantum mechanics simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

An, Qi; Li, Guodong

2017-10-01

Monoclinic gallium oxide (β -G a2O3 ) has important applications in power devices and deep UV optoelectronic devices because of such novel properties as a wide band gap, high breakdown electric field, and a wide range of n -type doping conductivity. However, the intrinsic failure mechanisms of β -G a2O3 remain unknown, which limits the fabrication and packaging of β -G a2O3 -based electronic devices. Here we used density-functional theory at the Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof level to examine the shear-induced failure mechanisms of β -G a2O3 along various plausible slip systems. We found that the (001 )/〈010 〉 slip system has the lowest ideal shear strength of 3.8 GPa among five plausible slip systems, suggesting that (001 )/〈010 〉 is the most plausible activated slip system. This slip leads to an intrinsic failure mechanism arising from breaking the longest Ga-O bond between octahedral Ga and fourfold-coordinated O. Then we identified the same failure mechanism of β -G a2O3 under biaxial shear deformation that mimics indentation stress conditions. Finally, the general stacking fault energy (SFE) surface is calculated for the (001) surface from which we concluded that there is no intrinsic stacking fault structure for β -G a2O3 . The deformation modes and SFE calculations are essential to understand the intrinsic mechanical processes of this semiconductor material, which provides insightful guidance for designing high-performance semiconductor devices.

RI 1170 advanced strapdown gyro

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

The major components of the RI 1170 gyroscope are described. A detailed functional description of the electronics including block diagrams and photographs of output waveshapes within the loop electronics are presented. An electronic data flow diagram is included. Those gyro subassemblies that were originally planned and subsequently changed or modified for one reason or another are discussed in detail. Variations to the original design included the capacitive pickoffs, torquer flexleads, magnetic suspension, gas bearings, electronic design, and packaging. The selection of components and changes from the original design and components selected are discussed. Device failures experienced throughout the program are reported and design corrections to eliminate the failure modes are noted. Major design deficiencies such as those of the MSE electronics are described in detail. Modifications made to the gas bearing parts and design improvements to the wheel are noted. Changes to the gas bearing prints are included as well as a mathematical analysis of the 1170 gas bearing wheel by computer analysis. The mean free-path effects on gas bearing performance is summarized.

Remote monitoring of heart failure: benefits for therapeutic decision making.

PubMed

Martirosyan, Mihran; Caliskan, Kadir; Theuns, Dominic A M J; Szili-Torok, Tamas

2017-07-01

Chronic heart failure is a cardiovascular disorder with high prevalence and incidence worldwide. The course of heart failure is characterized by periods of stability and instability. Decompensation of heart failure is associated with frequent and prolonged hospitalizations and it worsens the prognosis for the disease and increases cardiovascular mortality among affected patients. It is therefore important to monitor these patients carefully to reveal changes in their condition. Remote monitoring has been designed to facilitate an early detection of adverse events and to minimize regular follow-up visits for heart failure patients. Several new devices have been developed and introduced to the daily practice of cardiology departments worldwide. Areas covered: Currently, special tools and techniques are available to perform remote monitoring. Concurrently there are a number of modern cardiac implantable electronic devices that incorporate a remote monitoring function. All the techniques that have a remote monitoring function are discussed in this paper in detail. All the major studies on this subject have been selected for review of the recent data on remote monitoring of HF patients and demonstrate the role of remote monitoring in the therapeutic decision making for heart failure patients. Expert commentary: Remote monitoring represents a novel intensified follow-up strategy of heart failure management. Overall, theoretically, remote monitoring may play a crucial role in the early detection of heart failure progression and may improve the outcome of patients.

Characterization and reliability of aluminum gallium nitride/gallium nitride high electron mobility transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Douglas, Erica Ann

Compound semiconductor devices, particularly those based on GaN, have found significant use in military and civilian systems for both microwave and optoelectronic applications. Future uses in ultra-high power radar systems will require the use of GaN transistors operated at very high voltages, currents and temperatures. GaN-based high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) have proven power handling capability that overshadows all other wide band gap semiconductor devices for high frequency and high-power applications. Little conclusive research has been reported in order to determine the dominating degradation mechanisms of the devices that result in failure under standard operating conditions in the field. Therefore, it is imperative that further reliability testing be carried out to determine the failure mechanisms present in GaN HEMTs in order to improve device performance, and thus further the ability for future technologies to be developed. In order to obtain a better understanding of the true reliability of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs and determine the MTTF under standard operating conditions, it is crucial to investigate the interaction effects between thermal and electrical degradation. This research spans device characterization, device reliability, and device simulation in order to obtain an all-encompassing picture of the device physics. Initially, finite element thermal simulations were performed to investigate the effect of device design on self-heating under high power operation. This was then followed by a study of reliability of HEMTs and other tests structures during high power dc operation. Test structures without Schottky contacts showed high stability as compared to HEMTs, indicating that degradation of the gate is the reason for permanent device degradation. High reverse bias of the gate has been shown to induce the inverse piezoelectric effect, resulting in a sharp increase in gate leakage current due to crack formation. The introduction of elevated temperatures during high reverse gate bias indicated that device failure is due to the breakdown of an unintentional gate oxide. RF stress of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs showed comparable critical voltage breakdown regime as that of similar devices stressed under dc conditions. Though RF device characteristics showed stability up to a drain bias of 20 V, Schottky diode characteristics degraded substantially at all voltages investigated. Results from both dc and RF stress conditions, under several bias regimes, confirm that the primary root for stress induced degradation was due to the Schottky contact. (Full text of this dissertation may be available via the University of Florida Libraries web site. Please check http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/etd.html)

Fundamentals of Intrinsic Stress during Silicide Formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Özçelik, A.; van Bockstael, C.; Detavernier, C.; Vanmeirhaeghe, R.

2007-04-01

Silicides are a very useful group of materials which can be used to make electrical contacts to circuits in electronic devices with an extremely high performance. The stress in thin films is an increasingly important technological issue from the standpoint of reliability and performance in IC processing. Manufacturers of micro electronic devices have to control the stress levels in the contact films to avoid device failures. Phase transitions such as silicidation or even a simple rearrangement of atoms like relaxation in the metal film cause a difference in the volume of the film from its starting value. This volume change produces stress inside the film. In this work we analyzed the stress evolution during the silicidation reaction of some metals such as W and Mo by using a home built in situ stress system at the University of Ghent.

Remote Monitoring for Follow-up of Patients with Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices

PubMed Central

Morichelli, Loredana; Varma, Niraj

2014-01-01

Follow-up of patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices is challenging due to the increasing number and technical complexity of devices coupled to increasing clinical complexity of patients. Remote monitoring (RM) offers the opportunity to optimise clinic workflow and to improve device monitoring and patient management. Several randomised clinical trials and registries have demonstrated that RM may reduce number of hospital visits, time required for patient follow-up, physician and nurse time, hospital and social costs. Furthermore, patient retention and adherence to follow-up schedule are significantly improved by RM. Continuous wireless monitoring of data stored in the device memory with automatic alerts allows early detection of device malfunctions and of events requiring clinical reaction, such as atrial fibrillation, ventricular arrhythmias and heart failure. Early reaction may improve patient outcome. RM is easy to use and patients showed a high level of acceptance and satisfaction. Implementing RM in daily practice may require changes in clinic workflow. To this purpose, new organisational models have been introduced. In spite of a favourable cost:benefit ratio, RM reimbursement still represents an issue in several European countries. PMID:26835079

Reliability assessment of multiple quantum well avalanche photodiodes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yun, Ilgu; Menkara, Hicham M.; Wang, Yang; Oguzman, Isamil H.; Kolnik, Jan; Brennan, Kevin F.; May, Gray S.; Wagner, Brent K.; Summers, Christopher J.

1995-01-01

The reliability of doped-barrier AlGaAs/GsAs multi-quantum well avalanche photodiodes fabricated by molecular beam epitaxy is investigated via accelerated life tests. Dark current and breakdown voltage were the parameters monitored. The activation energy of the degradation mechanism and median device lifetime were determined. Device failure probability as a function of time was computed using the lognormal model. Analysis using the electron beam induced current method revealed the degradation to be caused by ionic impurities or contamination in the passivation layer.

Effect of Joule heating and current crowding on electromigration in mobile technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tu, K. N.; Liu, Yingxia; Li, Menglu

2017-03-01

In the present era of big data and internet of things, the use of microelectronic products in all aspects of our life is manifested by the ubiquitous presence of mobile devices as i-phones and wearable i-products. These devices are facing the need for higher power and greater functionality applications such as in i-health, yet they are limited by physical size. At the moment, software (Apps) is much ahead of hardware in mobile technology. To advance hardware, the end of Moore's law in two-dimensional integrated circuits can be extended by three-dimensional integrated circuits (3D ICs). The concept of 3D ICs has been with us for more than ten years. The challenge in 3D IC technology is dense packing by using both vertical and horizontal interconnections. Mass production of 3D IC devices is behind schedule due to cost because of low yield and uncertain reliability. Joule heating is serious in a dense structure because of heat generation and dissipation. A change of reliability paradigm has advanced from failure at a specific circuit component to failure at a system level weak-link. Currently, the electronic industry is introducing 3D IC devices in mainframe computers, where cost is not an issue, for the purpose of collecting field data of failure, especially the effect of Joule heating and current crowding on electromigration. This review will concentrate on the positive feedback between Joule heating and electromigration, resulting in an accelerated system level weak-link failure. A new driving force of electromigration, the electric potential gradient force due to current crowding, will be reviewed critically. The induced failure tends to occur in the low current density region.

Fault tolerance issues in nanoelectronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spagocci, S. M.

The astonishing success story of microelectronics cannot go on indefinitely. In fact, once devices reach the few-atom scale (nanoelectronics), transient quantum effects are expected to impair their behaviour. Fault tolerant techniques will then be required. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the problem of transient errors in nanoelectronic devices. Transient error rates for a selection of nanoelectronic gates, based upon quantum cellular automata and single electron devices, in which the electrostatic interaction between electrons is used to create Boolean circuits, are estimated. On the bases of such results, various fault tolerant solutions are proposed, for both logic and memory nanochips. As for logic chips, traditional techniques are found to be unsuitable. A new technique, in which the voting approach of triple modular redundancy (TMR) is extended by cascading TMR units composed of nanogate clusters, is proposed and generalised to other voting approaches. For memory chips, an error correcting code approach is found to be suitable. Various codes are considered and a lookup table approach is proposed for encoding and decoding. We are then able to give estimations for the redundancy level to be provided on nanochips, so as to make their mean time between failures acceptable. It is found that, for logic chips, space redundancies up to a few tens are required, if mean times between failures have to be of the order of a few years. Space redundancy can also be traded for time redundancy. As for memory chips, mean times between failures of the order of a few years are found to imply both space and time redundancies of the order of ten.

Capturing a failure of an ASIC in-situ, using infrared radiometry and image processing software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ruiz, Ronald P.

2003-01-01

Failures in electronic devices can sometimes be tricky to locate-especially if they are buried inside radiation-shielded containers designed to work in outer space. Such was the case with a malfunctioning ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) that was drawing excessive power at a specific temperature during temperature cycle testing. To analyze the failure, infrared radiometry (thermography) was used in combination with image processing software to locate precisely where the power was being dissipated at the moment the failure took place. The IR imaging software was used to make the image of the target and background, appear as unity. As testing proceeded and the failure mode was reached, temperature changes revealed the precise location of the fault. The results gave the design engineers the information they needed to fix the problem. This paper describes the techniques and equipment used to accomplish this failure analysis.

Statistics-related and reliability-physics-related failure processes in electronics devices and products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suhir, E.

2014-05-01

The well known and widely used experimental reliability "passport" of a mass manufactured electronic or a photonic product — the bathtub curve — reflects the combined contribution of the statistics-related and reliability-physics (physics-of-failure)-related processes. When time progresses, the first process results in a decreasing failure rate, while the second process associated with the material aging and degradation leads to an increased failure rate. An attempt has been made in this analysis to assess the level of the reliability physics-related aging process from the available bathtub curve (diagram). It is assumed that the products of interest underwent the burn-in testing and therefore the obtained bathtub curve does not contain the infant mortality portion. It has been also assumed that the two random processes in question are statistically independent, and that the failure rate of the physical process can be obtained by deducting the theoretically assessed statistical failure rate from the bathtub curve ordinates. In the carried out numerical example, the Raleigh distribution for the statistical failure rate was used, for the sake of a relatively simple illustration. The developed methodology can be used in reliability physics evaluations, when there is a need to better understand the roles of the statistics-related and reliability-physics-related irreversible random processes in reliability evaluations. The future work should include investigations on how powerful and flexible methods and approaches of the statistical mechanics can be effectively employed, in addition to reliability physics techniques, to model the operational reliability of electronic and photonic products.

Study of the enhancement-mode AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor with split floating gates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hui; Wang, Ning; Jiang, Ling-Li; Zhao, Hai-Yue; Lin, Xin-Peng; Yu, Hong-Yu

2017-11-01

In this work, the charge storage based split floating gates (FGs) enhancement mode (E-mode) AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) are studied. The simulation results reveal that under certain density of two dimensional electron gas, the variation tendency of the threshold voltage (Vth) with the variation of the blocking dielectric thickness depends on the FG charge density. It is found that when the length sum and isolating spacing sum of the FGs both remain unchanged, the Vth shall decrease with the increasing FGs number but maintaining the device as E-mode. It is also reported that for the FGs HEMT, the failure of a FG will lead to the decrease of Vth as well as the increase of drain current, and the failure probability can be improved significantly with the increase of FGs number.

Stretchable electronics for wearable and high-current applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hilbich, Daniel; Shannon, Lesley; Gray, Bonnie L.

2016-04-01

Advances in the development of novel materials and fabrication processes are resulting in an increased number of flexible and stretchable electronics applications. This evolving technology enables new devices that are not readily fabricated using traditional silicon processes, and has the potential to transform many industries, including personalized healthcare, consumer electronics, and communication. Fabrication of stretchable devices is typically achieved through the use of stretchable polymer-based conductors, or more rigid conductors, such as metals, with patterned geometries that can accommodate stretching. Although the application space for stretchable electronics is extensive, the practicality of these devices can be severely limited by power consumption and cost. Moreover, strict process flows can impede innovation that would otherwise enable new applications. In an effort to overcome these impediments, we present two modified approaches and applications based on a newly developed process for stretchable and flexible electronics fabrication. This includes the development of a metallization pattern stamping process allowing for 1) stretchable interconnects to be directly integrated with stretchable/wearable fabrics, and 2) a process variation enabling aligned multi-layer devices with integrated ferromagnetic nanocomposite polymer components enabling a fully-flexible electromagnetic microactuator for large-magnitude magnetic field generation. The wearable interconnects are measured, showing high conductivity, and can accommodate over 20% strain before experiencing conductive failure. The electromagnetic actuators have been fabricated and initial measurements show well-aligned, highly conductive, isolated metal layers. These two applications demonstrate the versatility of the newly developed process and suggest potential for its furthered use in stretchable electronics and MEMS applications.

Study of metal whiskers growth and mitigation technique using additive manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gullapalli, Vikranth

For years, the alloy of choice for electroplating electronic components has been tin-lead (Sn-Pb) alloy. However, the legislation established in Europe on July 1, 2006, required significant lead (Pb) content reductions from electronic hardware due to its toxic nature. A popular alternative for coating electronic components is pure tin (Sn). However, pure tin has the tendency to spontaneously grow electrically conductive Sn whisker during storage. Sn whisker is usually a pure single crystal tin with filament or hair-like structures grown directly from the electroplated surfaces. Sn whisker is highly conductive, and can cause short circuits in electronic components, which is a very significant reliability problem. The damages caused by Sn whisker growth are reported in very critical applications such as aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, and military weapons systems. They are also naturally very strong and are believed to grow from compressive stresses developed in the Sn coating during deposition or over time. The new directive, even though environmentally friendly, has placed all lead-free electronic devices at risk because of whisker growth in pure tin. Additionally, interest has occurred about studying the nature of other metal whiskers such as zinc (Zn) whiskers and comparing their behavior to that of Sn whiskers. Zn whiskers can be found in flooring of data centers which can get inside electronic systems during equipment reorganization and movement and can also cause systems failure. Even though the topic of metal whiskers as reliability failure has been around for several decades to date, there is no successful method that can eliminate their growth. This thesis will give further insights towards the nature and behavior of Sn and Zn whiskers growth, and recommend a novel manufacturing technique that has potential to mitigate metal whiskers growth and extend life of many electronic devices.

Quiet Clean Short-haul Experimental Engine (QCSEE) over-the-wing control system design report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

A control system incorporating a digital electronic control was designed for the over-the-wing engine. The digital electronic control serves as the primary controlling element for engine fuel flow and core compressor stator position. It also includes data monitoring capability, a unique failure indication and corrective action feature, and optional provisions for operating with a new type of servovalve designed to operate in response to a digital-type signal and to fail with its output device hydraulically locked into position.

Extended Pulse-Powered Humidity-Freeze Cycling for Testing Module-Level Power Electronics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hacke, Peter L; Rodriguez, Miguel; Kempe, Michael D

An EMI suppression capacitor (polypropylene film type) failed by 'popcorning' due to vapor outgassing in pulse powered humidity-freeze cycles. No shorts or shunts could be detected despite mildly corroded metallization visible in the failed capacitor. Humidity-freeze cycling is optimized to break into moisture barriers. However, further studies will be required on additional module level power electronic (MLPE) devices to optimize the stress testing for condensation to precipitate any weakness to short circuiting and other humidity/bias failure modes.

Detection of low frequency external electronic identification devices using commercial panel readers.

PubMed

Stewart, S C; Rapnicki, P; Lewis, J R; Perala, M

2007-09-01

The ability of a commercially available panel reader system to read International Standards Organization-compliant electronic identification devices under commercial dairy conditions was examined. Full duplex (FDX-B) and half-duplex (HDX) low frequency radio-frequency identification external ear tags were utilized. The study involved 498 Holstein cows in the final 6 wk of gestation. There were 516 total electronic identification devices (n = 334 HDX and n = 182 FDX-B). Eighteen FDX-B were replaced with HDX during the study due to repeated detection failure. There were 6,679 HDX and 3,401 FDX-B device detection attempts. There were 220 (2.2%) unsuccessful and 9,860 (97.8%) successful identification detection attempts. There were 9 unsuccessful detection attempts for HDX (6,670/6,679 = 99.9% successful detection attempts) and 211 unsuccessful detection attempts for FDX-B (3,190/3,401 = 93.8% successful detection attempts). These results demonstrate that this panel system can achieve high detection rates of HDX devices and meet the needs of the most demanding management applications. The FDX-B detection rate was not sufficient for the most demanding applications, requiring a high degree of detection by panel readers. The lower FDX-B rate may not be inherent in the device technology itself, but could be due to other factors, including the particular panel reader utilized or the tuning of the panel reader.

Effects of Lightning Injection on Power-MOSFETs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Celaya, Jose; Saha, Sankalita; Wysocki, Phil; Ely, Jay; Nguyen, Truong; Szatkowski, George; Koppen, Sandra; Mielnik, John; Vaughan, Roger; Goebel, Kai

2009-01-01

Lightning induced damage is one of the major concerns in aircraft health monitoring. Such short-duration high voltages can cause significant damage to electronic devices. This paper presents a study on the effects of lightning injection on power metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs). This approach consisted of pin-injecting lightning waveforms into the gate, drain and/or source of MOSFET devices while they were in the OFF-state. Analysis of the characteristic curves of the devices showed that for certain injection modes the devices can accumulate considerable damage rendering them inoperable. Early results demonstrate that a power MOSFET, even in its off-state, can incur considerable damage due to lightning pin injection, leading to significant deviation in its behavior and performance, and to possibly early device failures.

Synthetic devices for reconstructive surgery of the cruciate ligaments: a systematic review.

PubMed

Batty, Lachlan M; Norsworthy, Cameron J; Lash, Nicholas J; Wasiak, Jason; Richmond, Anneka K; Feller, Julian A

2015-05-01

The role of synthetic devices in the management of the cruciate ligament-injured knee remains controversial. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the safety and efficacy of synthetic devices in cruciate ligament surgery. A systematic review of the electronic databases Medline, Embase, and The Cochrane Library (issue 1, 2014) on January 13, 2014, was performed to identify controlled and uncontrolled trials. Trials that assessed the safety and efficacy of synthetic devices for cruciate ligament surgery were included. The main variables assessed included rates of failure, revision, and noninfective effusion and synovitis. Patient-reported outcome assessments and complications were also assessed where reported. From 511 records screened, we included 85 articles published between 1985 and 2013 reporting on 6 synthetic devices (ligament augmentation and reconstruction system [Ligament Augmentation and Reconstruction System (LARS; Surgical Implants and Devices, Arc-sur-Tille, France)]; Leeds-Keio [Xiros (formerly Neoligaments), Leeds, England]; Kennedy ligament augmentation device [3M, St Paul, MN]; Dacron [Stryker, Kalamazoo, MI]; Gore-Tex [W.L. Gore and Associates, Flagstaff, AZ]; and Trevira [Telos (limited liability company), Marburg, Germany]). The heterogeneity of the included studies precluded meta-analysis. The results were analyzed by device and then type of reconstruction (anterior cruciate ligament [ACL]/posterior cruciate ligament [PCL]/combined ACL and PCL). The lowest cumulative rates of failure were seen with the LARS device (2.6% for ACL and 1% for PCL surgery). The highest failure rate was seen in the Dacron ACL group (cumulative rate, 33.6%). Rates of noninfective synovitis and effusion ranged from 0.2% in the LARS ACL group to 27.6% in the Gore-Tex ACL group. Revision rates ranged from 2.6% (LARS) to 11.8% (Trevira-Hochfest; Telos). Recent designs, specifically the LARS, showed good improvement in the outcome scores. The mean preoperative and postoperative Lysholm knee scores were 54 and 88, respectively; the mean preoperative and postoperative Tegner activity scale scores were 3.3 and 6, respectively. Preliminary results for newer-generation devices, specifically the LARS, show lower reported rates of failure, revision, and sterile effusion/synovitis when compared with older devices. Level IV, systematic review of Level II through IV studies. Copyright © 2015 Arthroscopy Association of North America. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Remote monitoring to Improve long-term prognosis in heart failure patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators.

PubMed

Ono, Maki; Varma, Niraj

2017-05-01

Strong evidence exists for the utility of remote monitoring in cardiac implantable electronic devices for early detection of arrhythmias and evaluation of system performance. The application of remote monitoring for the management of chronic disease such as heart failure has been an active area of research. Areas covered: This review aims to cover the latest evidence of remote monitoring of implantable cardiac defibrillators in terms of heart failure prognosis. This article also updates the current technology relating to the method and discusses key factors to be addressed in order to better use the approach. PubMed and internet searches were conducted to acquire most recent data and technology information. Expert commentary: Multiparameter monitoring with automatic transmission is useful for heart failure management. Improved adherence to remote monitoring and an optimal algorithm for transmitted alerts and their management are warranted in the management of heart failure.

A technique for estimating the probability of radiation-stimulated failures of integrated microcircuits in low-intensity radiation fields: Application to the Spektr-R spacecraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popov, V. D.; Khamidullina, N. M.

2006-10-01

In developing radio-electronic devices (RED) of spacecraft operating in the fields of ionizing radiation in space, one of the most important problems is the correct estimation of their radiation tolerance. The “weakest link” in the element base of onboard microelectronic devices under radiation effect is the integrated microcircuits (IMC), especially of large scale (LSI) and very large scale (VLSI) degree of integration. The main characteristic of IMC, which is taken into account when making decisions on using some particular type of IMC in the onboard RED, is the probability of non-failure operation (NFO) at the end of the spacecraft’s lifetime. It should be noted that, until now, the NFO has been calculated only from the reliability characteristics, disregarding the radiation effect. This paper presents the so-called “reliability” approach to determination of radiation tolerance of IMC, which allows one to estimate the probability of non-failure operation of various types of IMC with due account of radiation-stimulated dose failures. The described technique is applied to RED onboard the Spektr-R spacecraft to be launched in 2007.

Simulation of irradiation exposure of electronic devices due to heavy ion therapy with Monte Carlo Code MCNP6

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lapins, Janis; Guilliard, Nicole; Bernnat, Wolfgang; Buck, Arnulf

2017-09-01

During heavy ion irradiation therapy the patient has to be located exactly at the right position to make sure that the Bragg peak occurs in the tumour. The patient has to be moved in the range of millimetres to scan the ill tissue. For that reason a special table was developed which allows exact positioning. The electronic control can be located outside the surgery. But that has some disadvantage for the construction. To keep the system compact it would be much more comfortable to put the electronic control inside the surgery. As a lot of high energetic secondary particles are produced during the therapy causing a high dose in the room it is important to find positions with low dose rates. Therefore, investigations are needed where the electronic devices should be located to obtain a minimum of radiation, help to prevent the failure of sensitive devices. The dose rate was calculated for carbon ions with different initial energy and protons over the entire therapy room with Monte Carlo particle tracking using MCNP6. The types of secondary particles were identified and the dose rate for a thin silicon layer and an electronic mixture material was determined. In addition, the shielding effect of several selected material layers was calculated using MCNP6.

Scanning electron microscope fractography of induced fatigue-damaged saline breast implants.

PubMed

Brandon, H J; Jerina, K L; Savoy, T L; Wolf, C J

2006-01-01

Breast implant strength and durability is presently an important topic in biomaterials science. Research studies are being conducted to determine the mechanisms and rates of failure in order to assess the in vivo performance of breast implants. Fatigue life is a measure of breast implant durability since fatigue failure is a potential in vivo failure mechanism. This study describes the characterization of the fracture surface morphology of breast implant shell regions that have failed due to cyclic fatigue. Saline breast implants were fatigue tested to failure using a laboratory apparatus in which flat plates cyclically compressed the implants. The implants were unimplanted control devices of both textured and smooth saline implants. The failure surfaces of the fatigued shells were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The morphological features of the failure surfaces are described for implants with short and long fatigue lifetimes. The details of both the inside and outside surfaces of the shell at the failure location are described. Two different modes of failure were observed in both the textured and smooth shells. These modes depend on the magnitude of the cyclic load and corresponding number of fatigue cycles at failure. The first mode is a tear in the shell of about 18 mm in length, and the second mode is a pinhole approximately 1 mm in diameter. Details of the surface morphology for these two types of failure modes and shell thickness data are presented herein. There was no significant change in the crosslink density of the shell as a result of fatigue.

Accelerated Aging with Electrical Overstress and Prognostics for Power MOSFETs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saha, Sankalita; Celaya, Jose Ramon; Vashchenko, Vladislav; Mahiuddin, Shompa; Goebel, Kai F.

2011-01-01

Power electronics play an increasingly important role in energy applications as part of their power converter circuits. Understanding the behavior of these devices, especially their failure modes as they age with nominal usage or sudden fault development is critical in ensuring efficiency. In this paper, a prognostics based health management of power MOSFETs undergoing accelerated aging through electrical overstress at the gate area is presented. Details of the accelerated aging methodology, modeling of the degradation process of the device and prognostics algorithm for prediction of the future state of health of the device are presented. Experiments with multiple devices demonstrate the performance of the model and the prognostics algorithm as well as the scope of application. Index Terms Power MOSFET, accelerated aging, prognostics

Users Guide on Scaled CMOS Reliability: NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Program Office of Safety and Mission Assurance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

White, Mark; Cooper, Mark; Johnston, Allan

2011-01-01

Reliability of advanced CMOS technology is a complex problem that is usually addressed from the standpoint of specific failure mechanisms rather than overall reliability of a finished microcircuit. A detailed treatment of CMOS reliability in scaled devices can be found in Ref. 1; it should be consulted for a more thorough discussion. The present document provides a more concise treatment of the scaled CMOS reliability problem, emphasizing differences in the recommended approach for these advanced devices compared to that of less aggressively scaled devices. It includes specific recommendations that can be used by flight projects that use advanced CMOS. The primary emphasis is on conventional memories, microprocessors, and related devices.

Comprehensive analysis of cochlear implant failure: usefulness of clinical symptom-based algorithm combined with in situ integrity testing.

PubMed

Yamazaki, Hiroshi; O'Leary, Stephen; Moran, Michelle; Briggs, Robert

2014-04-01

Accurate diagnosis of cochlear implant failures is important for management; however, appropriate strategies to assess possible device failures are not always clear. The purpose of this study is to understand correlation between causes of device failure and the presenting clinical symptoms as well as results of in situ integrity testing and to propose effective strategies for diagnosis of device failure. Retrospective case review. Cochlear implant center at a tertiary referral hospital. Twenty-seven cases with suspected device failure of Cochlear Nucleus systems (excluding CI512 failures) on the basis of deterioration in auditory perception from January 2000 to September 2012 in the Melbourne cochlear implant clinic. Clinical presentations and types of abnormalities on in situ integrity testing were compared with modes of device failure detected by returned device analysis. Sudden deterioration in auditory perception was always observed in cases with "critical damage": either fracture of the integrated circuit or most or all of the electrode wires. Subacute or gradually progressive deterioration in auditory perception was significantly associated with a more limited number of broken electrode wires. Cochlear implant mediated auditory and nonauditory symptoms were significantly associated with an insulation problem. An algorithm based on the time course of deterioration in auditory perception and cochlear implant-mediated auditory and nonauditory symptoms was developed on the basis of these retrospective analyses, to help predict the mode of device failure. In situ integrity testing, which included close monitoring of device function in routine programming sessions as well as repeating the manufacturer's integrity test battery, was sensitive enough to detect malfunction in all suspected device failures, and each mode of device failure showed a characteristic abnormality on in situ integrity testing. Our clinical manifestation-based algorithm combined with in situ integrity testing may be useful for accurate diagnosis and appropriate management of device failure. Close monitoring of device function in routine programming sessions as well as repeating the manufacturer's integrity test battery is important if the initial in situ integrity testing is inconclusive because objective evidence of failure in the implanted device is essential to recommend explantation/reimplantation.

Tricuspid Valve Dysfunction Following Pacemaker or Cardioverter-Defibrillator Implantation.

PubMed

Chang, James D; Manning, Warren J; Ebrille, Elisa; Zimetbaum, Peter J

2017-05-09

The potential for cardiac implantable electronic device leads to interfere with tricuspid valve (TV) function has gained increasing recognition as having hemodynamic and clinical consequences associated with incremental morbidity and death. The diagnosis and treatment of lead-related (as distinct from functional) tricuspid regurgitation pose unique challenges. Because of pitfalls in routine diagnostic imaging, a high level of clinical suspicion must be maintained to avoid overlooking the possibility that worsening heart failure is a consequence of mechanical interference with TV leaflet mobility or coaptation and is amenable to lead extraction or valve repair or replacement. The future of cardiac implantable electronic devices includes pacing and perhaps defibrillation without a lead traversing the TV. Copyright © 2017 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ultrawideband Electromagnetic Interference to Aircraft Radios: Results of Limited Functional Testing With United Airlines and Eagles Wings Incorporated, in Victorville, California

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ely, Jay J.; Shaver, Timothy W.; Fuller, Gerald L.

2002-01-01

On February 14, 2002, the FCC adopted a FIRST REPORT AND ORDER, released it on April 22, 2002, and on May 16, 2002 published in the Federal Register a Final Rule, permitting marketing and operation of new products incorporating UWB technology. Wireless product developers are working to rapidly bring this versatile, powerful and expectedly inexpensive technology into numerous consumer wireless devices. Past studies addressing the potential for passenger-carried portable electronic devices (PEDs) to interfere with aircraft electronic systems suggest that UWB transmitters may pose a significant threat to aircraft communication and navigation radio receivers. NASA, United Airlines and Eagles Wings Incorporated have performed preliminary testing that clearly shows the potential for handheld UWB transmitters to cause cockpit failure indications for the air traffic control radio beacon system (ATCRBS), blanking of aircraft on the traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS) displays, and cause erratic motion and failure of instrument landing system (ILS) localizer and glideslope pointers on the pilot horizontal situation and attitude director displays. This report provides details of the preliminary testing and recommends further assessment of aircraft systems for susceptibility to UWB electromagnetic interference.

Packaging Technology for Dielectric-Coating-Less Heavy Ion Radiation Testing of High-Voltage (HV) Electronic Parts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodworth, Andrew; Chen, Liangyu

2017-01-01

Testing high voltage (HV) electronic parts (greater than 300 V) for sudden event effects (SEE) caused by cosmic rays in the space environment, consisting of energetic heavy-ions, and neutron radiation in the upper atmosphere is a crucial step towards using these parts in spacecraft and aircraft. Due to the nature of cosmic radiation and neutrons, electronic parts are tested for SEE without any packaging and/or shielding over the top of the device. In the case of commercial HV parts, the top of the packaging is etched off and then a thin dielectric coating is placed over the part in order to avoid electrical arcing between the device surface and wire bonds and other components. Even though the effects of the thin dielectric layer on SEE testing can be accounted for, the dielectric layer significantly hinders post testing failure analysis. Replicating the test capability of state-of-the-art packaging while eliminating the need for post radiation test processing of the die surface (that obscures failure analysis) is the goal. To that end, a new packaging concept for HV parts has been developed that requires no dielectric coating over the part. Testing of prototype packages used with Schottky diodes (rated at 1200V) has shown no electrical arcing during testing and leakage currents during reverse bias testing are within the manufactures specifications.

Highly adhesive and high fatigue-resistant copper/PET flexible electronic substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Sang Jin; Ko, Tae-Jun; Yoon, Juil; Moon, Myoung-Woon; Oh, Kyu Hwan; Han, Jun Hyun

2018-01-01

A voidless Cu/PET substrate is fabricated by producing a superhydrophilic PET surface comprised of nanostructures with large width and height and then by Cu electroless plating. Effect of PET surface nanostructure size on the failure mechanism of the Cu/PET substrate is studied. The fabricated Cu/PET substrate exhibits a maximum peel strength of 1300 N m-1 without using an interlayer, and virtually no increase in electrical resistivity under the extreme cyclic bending condition of 1 mm curvature radius after 300 k cycles. The authors find that there is an optimum nanostructure size for the highest Cu/PET adhesion strength, and the failure mechanism of the Cu/PET flexible substrate depends on the PET surface nanostructure size. Thus, this work presents the possibility to produce flexible metal/polymer electronic substrates that have excellent interfacial adhesion between the metal and polymer and high fatigue resistance against repeated bending. Such metal/polymer substrates provides new design opportunities for wearable electronic devices that can withstand harsh environments and have extended lifetimes.

Health assessment of cooling fan bearings using wavelet-based filtering.

PubMed

Miao, Qiang; Tang, Chao; Liang, Wei; Pecht, Michael

2012-12-24

As commonly used forced convection air cooling devices in electronics, cooling fans are crucial for guaranteeing the reliability of electronic systems. In a cooling fan assembly, fan bearing failure is a major failure mode that causes excessive vibration, noise, reduction in rotation speed, locked rotor, failure to start, and other problems; therefore, it is necessary to conduct research on the health assessment of cooling fan bearings. This paper presents a vibration-based fan bearing health evaluation method using comblet filtering and exponentially weighted moving average. A new health condition indicator (HCI) for fan bearing degradation assessment is proposed. In order to collect the vibration data for validation of the proposed method, a cooling fan accelerated life test was conducted to simulate the lubricant starvation of fan bearings. A comparison between the proposed method and methods in previous studies (i.e., root mean square, kurtosis, and fault growth parameter) was carried out to assess the performance of the HCI. The analysis results suggest that the HCI can identify incipient fan bearing failures and describe the bearing degradation process. Overall, the work presented in this paper provides a promising method for fan bearing health evaluation and prognosis.

Health Assessment of Cooling Fan Bearings Using Wavelet-Based Filtering

PubMed Central

Miao, Qiang; Tang, Chao; Liang, Wei; Pecht, Michael

2013-01-01

As commonly used forced convection air cooling devices in electronics, cooling fans are crucial for guaranteeing the reliability of electronic systems. In a cooling fan assembly, fan bearing failure is a major failure mode that causes excessive vibration, noise, reduction in rotation speed, locked rotor, failure to start, and other problems; therefore, it is necessary to conduct research on the health assessment of cooling fan bearings. This paper presents a vibration-based fan bearing health evaluation method using comblet filtering and exponentially weighted moving average. A new health condition indicator (HCI) for fan bearing degradation assessment is proposed. In order to collect the vibration data for validation of the proposed method, a cooling fan accelerated life test was conducted to simulate the lubricant starvation of fan bearings. A comparison between the proposed method and methods in previous studies (i.e., root mean square, kurtosis, and fault growth parameter) was carried out to assess the performance of the HCI. The analysis results suggest that the HCI can identify incipient fan bearing failures and describe the bearing degradation process. Overall, the work presented in this paper provides a promising method for fan bearing health evaluation and prognosis. PMID:23262486

Multi-Center, Community-Based Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices Registry: Population, Device Utilization, and Outcomes.

PubMed

Gupta, Nigel; Kiley, Mary Lou; Anthony, Faith; Young, Charlie; Brar, Somjot; Kwaku, Kevin

2016-03-09

The purpose of this study is to describe key elements, clinical outcomes, and potential uses of the Kaiser Permanente-Cardiac Device Registry. This is a cohort study of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD), pacemakers (PM), and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices implanted between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2013 by ≈400 physicians in 6 US geographical regions. Registry data variables, including patient characteristics, comorbidities, indication for procedures, complications, and revisions, were captured using the healthcare system's electronic medical record. Outcomes were identified using electronic screening algorithms and adjudicated via chart review. There were 11 924 ICDs, 33 519 PMs, 4472 CRTs, and 66 067 leads registered. A higher proportion of devices were implanted in males: 75.1% (ICD), 55.0% (PM), and 66.7% (CRT), with mean patient age 63.2 years (ICD), 75.2 (PM), and 67.2 (CRT). The 30-day postoperative incidence of tamponade, hematoma, and pneumothorax were ≤0.3% (ICD), ≤0.6% (PM), and ≤0.4% (CRT). Device failures requiring revision occurred at a rate of 2.17% for ICDs, 0.85% for PMs, and 4.93% for CRTs, per 100 patient observation years. Superficial infection rates were <0.03% for all devices; deep infection rates were 0.6% (ICD), 0.5% (PM), and 1.0% (CRT). Results were used to monitor vendor-specific variations and were systematically shared with individual regions to address potential variations in outcomes, utilization, and to assist with the management of device recalls. The Kaiser Permanente-Cardiac Device Registry is a robust tool to monitor postprocedural patient outcomes and postmarket surveillance of implants and potentially change practice patterns. © 2016 The Authors. Published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wiley Blackwell.

VLSI (Very Large Scale Integrated Circuits) Device Reliability Models.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-12-01

CIRCUIT COMPLEXITY FAILURE RATES FOR... A- 40 MOS SSI/MSI DEVICES IN FAILURE PER 106 HOURS TABLE 5.1.2.5-19: C1 AND C2 CIRCUIT COMPLEXITY FAILURE RATES FOR...A- 40 MOS SSI/MSI DEVICES IN FAILURE PER 106 HOURS TABLE 5.1.2.5-19: Cl AND C2 CIRCUIT COMPLEXITY FAILURE RATES FOR... A-41 LINEAR DEVICES IN...19 National Semiconductor 20 Nitron 21 Raytheon 22 Sprague 23 Synertek 24 Teledyne Crystalonics 25 TRW Semiconductor 26 Zilog The following companies

Advanced Data Acquisition Systems with Self-Healing Circuitry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Larson, William E.; Ihlefeld, Curtis M.; Medelius, Pedro J.; Delgado, H. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Kennedy Space Center's Spaceport Engineering & Technology Directorate has developed a data acquisition system that will help drive down the cost of ground launch operations. This system automates both the physical measurement set-up function as well as configuration management documentation. The key element of the system is a self-configuring, self-calibrating, signal-conditioning amplifier that automatically adapts to any sensor to which it is connected. This paper will describe the core technology behind this device and the automated data system in which it has been integrated. The paper will also describe the revolutionary enhancements that are planned for this innovative measurement technology. All measurement electronics devices contain circuitry that, if it fails or degrades, requires the unit to be replaced, adding to the cost of operations. Kennedy Space Center is now developing analog circuits that will be able to detect their own failure and dynamically reconfigure their circuitry to restore themselves to normal operation. This technology will have wide ranging application in all electronic devices used in space and ground systems.

Charge coupled devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walker, J. W.; Hornbeck, L. J.; Stubbs, D. P.

1977-01-01

The results are presented of a program to design, fabricate, and test CCD arrays suitable for operation in an electron-bombarded mode. These intensified charge coupled devices have potential application to astronomy as photon-counting arrays. The objectives of this program were to deliver arrays of 250 lines of 400 pixels each and some associated electronics. Some arrays were delivered on tube-compatible headers and some were delivered after incorporation in vacuum tubes. Delivery of these devices required considerable improvements to be made in the processing associated with intensified operation. These improvements resulted in a high yield in the thinning process, reproducible results in the accumulation process, elimination of a dark current source in the accumulation process, solution of a number of header related problems, and the identification of a remaining major source of dark current. Two systematic failure modes were identified and protective measures established. The effects of tube processing on the arrays in the delivered ICCDs were determined and are reported along with the characterization data on the arrays.

A fully implantable pacemaker for the mouse: from battery to wireless power.

PubMed

Laughner, Jacob I; Marrus, Scott B; Zellmer, Erik R; Weinheimer, Carla J; MacEwan, Matthew R; Cui, Sophia X; Nerbonne, Jeanne M; Efimov, Igor R

2013-01-01

Animal models have become a popular platform for the investigation of the molecular and systemic mechanisms of pathological cardiovascular physiology. Chronic pacing studies with implantable pacemakers in large animals have led to useful models of heart failure and atrial fibrillation. Unfortunately, molecular and genetic studies in these large animal models are often prohibitively expensive or not available. Conversely, the mouse is an excellent species for studying molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular disease through genetic engineering. However, the large size of available pacemakers does not lend itself to chronic pacing in mice. Here, we present the design for a novel, fully implantable wireless-powered pacemaker for mice capable of long-term (>30 days) pacing. This design is compared to a traditional battery-powered pacemaker to demonstrate critical advantages achieved through wireless inductive power transfer and control. Battery-powered and wireless-powered pacemakers were fabricated from standard electronic components in our laboratory. Mice (n = 24) were implanted with endocardial, battery-powered devices (n = 14) and epicardial, wireless-powered devices (n = 10). Wireless-powered devices were associated with reduced implant mortality and more reliable device function compared to battery-powered devices. Eight of 14 (57.1%) mice implanted with battery-powered pacemakers died following device implantation compared to 1 of 10 (10%) mice implanted with wireless-powered pacemakers. Moreover, device function was achieved for 30 days with the wireless-powered device compared to 6 days with the battery-powered device. The wireless-powered pacemaker system presented herein will allow electrophysiology studies in numerous genetically engineered mouse models as well as rapid pacing-induced heart failure and atrial arrhythmia in mice.

Electronics reliability fracture mechanics. Volume 2: Fracture mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kallis, J.; Duncan, L.; Buechler, D.; Backes, P.; Sandkulla, D.

1992-05-01

This is the second of two volumes. The other volume (WL-TR-92-3015) is 'Causes of Failures of Shop Replaceable Units and Hybrid Microcircuits.' The objective of the Electronics Reliability Fracture Mechanics (ERFM) program was to develop and demonstrate a life prediction technique for electronic assemblies, when subjected to environmental stresses of vibration and thermal cycling, based upon the mechanical properties of the materials and packaging configurations which make up an electronic system. The application of fracture mechanics to microscale phenomena in electronic assemblies was a pioneering research effort. The small scale made the experiments very difficult; for example, the 1-mil-diameter bond wires in microelectronic devices are 1/3 the diameter of a human hair. A number of issues had to be resolved to determine whether a fracture mechanics modelling approach is correct for the selected failures; specifically, the following two issues had to be resolved: What fraction of the lifetime is spent in crack initiation? Are macro fracture mechanics techniques, used in large structures such as bridges, applicable to the tiny structures in electronic equipment? The following structural failure mechanisms were selected for modelling: bondwire fracture from mechanical cycling; bondwire fracture from thermal (power) cycling; plated through hole (PTH) fracture from thermal cycling. The bondwire fracture test specimens were A1-1 percent Si wires, representative of wires used in the parts in the modules selected for detailed investigation in this program (see Vol. 1 of this report); 1-mil-diameter wires were tested in this program. The PTH test specimens were sections of 14-layer printed wiring boards of the type used.

Modeling Failure and Reliability in New-Generation Devices

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-07-15

them to point of per- manen da=age. An airaft enploying GaAs MMIC rIar DU] reccivr can expet to have the receiveis damaged by a Dects cko= appoach to...znergUy. usng tannielwg electron spxtrIDopy, an 8. Julie E. Lawr=,-e Vic~tcr A. J. van Lintk and Jamnes P. th = au usn ba bandC~ dopulses In Pw Of Raymcmd

The SPS interference problem-electronic system effects and mitigation techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Juroshek, J. R.

1980-01-01

The potential for interference between solar power satellites (SPS) and other Earth satellite operations was examined along with interference problems involving specific electronic devices. Conclusions indicate that interference is likely in the 2500 MHz to 2690 MHz direct broadcast satellite band adjacent to SPS. Estimates of the adjacent channel noise from SPS in this band are as high as -124 dBc/4 kHz and -100 dBc/MHz, where dBc represents decibels relative to the total power in the fundamental. A second potential problem is the 7350 MHz, 3d harmonic from SPS that falls within the 7300 MHz to 7450 MHz space to Earth, government, satellite assignment. Catastrophic failures can be produced in integrated circuits when the microwave power levels coupled into inputs and power leads reach 1 to 100 watts. The failures are typically due to bonding wire melting, metallization failures, and junction shorting. Nondestructive interaction or interference, however, generally occurs with coupled power levels of the order of 10 milliwatts. This integration is due to the rectification of microwave energy by the numerous pn junctions within these circuits.

Physics-based process modeling, reliability prediction, and design guidelines for flip-chip devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michaelides, Stylianos

Flip Chip on Board (FCOB) and Chip-Scale Packages (CSPs) are relatively new technologies that are being increasingly used in the electronic packaging industry. Compared to the more widely used face-up wirebonding and TAB technologies, flip-chips and most CSPs provide the shortest possible leads, lower inductance, higher frequency, better noise control, higher density, greater input/output (I/O), smaller device footprint and lower profile. However, due to the short history and due to the introduction of several new electronic materials, designs, and processing conditions, very limited work has been done to understand the role of material, geometry, and processing parameters on the reliability of flip-chip devices. Also, with the ever-increasing complexity of semiconductor packages and with the continued reduction in time to market, it is too costly to wait until the later stages of design and testing to discover that the reliability is not satisfactory. The objective of the research is to develop integrated process-reliability models that will take into consideration the mechanics of assembly processes to be able to determine the reliability of face-down devices under thermal cycling and long-term temperature dwelling. The models incorporate the time and temperature-dependent constitutive behavior of various materials in the assembly to be able to predict failure modes such as die cracking and solder cracking. In addition, the models account for process-induced defects and macro-micro features of the assembly. Creep-fatigue and continuum-damage mechanics models for the solder interconnects and fracture-mechanics models for the die have been used to determine the reliability of the devices. The results predicted by the models have been successfully validated against experimental data. The validated models have been used to develop qualification and test procedures for implantable medical devices. In addition, the research has helped develop innovative face-down devices without the underfill, based on the thorough understanding of the failure modes. Also, practical design guidelines for material, geometry and process parameters for reliable flip-chip devices have been developed.

Fully digital data processing during cardiovascular implantable electronic device follow-up in a high-volume tertiary center.

PubMed

Staudacher, Ingo; Nalpathamkalam, Asha Roy; Uhlmann, Lorenz; Illg, Claudius; Seehausen, Sebastian; Akhavanpoor, Mohammadreza; Buchauer, Anke; Geis, Nicolas; Lugenbiel, Patrick; Schweizer, Patrick A; Xynogalos, Panagiotis; Zylla, Maura M; Scholz, Eberhard; Zitron, Edgar; Katus, Hugo A; Thomas, Dierk

2017-10-11

Increasing numbers of patients with cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) and limited follow-up capacities highlight unmet challenges in clinical electrophysiology. Integrated software (MediConnect ® ) enabling fully digital processing of device interrogation data has been commercially developed to facilitate follow-up visits. We sought to assess feasibility of fully digital data processing (FDDP) during ambulatory device follow-up in a high-volume tertiary hospital to provide guidance for future users of FDDP software. A total of 391 patients (mean age, 70 years) presenting to the outpatient department for routine device follow-up were analyzed (pacemaker, 44%; implantable cardioverter defibrillator, 39%; cardiac resynchronization therapy device, 16%). Quality of data transfer and follow-up duration were compared between digital (n = 265) and manual processing of device data (n = 126). Digital data import was successful, complete and correct in 82% of cases when early software versions were used. When using the most recent software version the rate of successful digital data import increased to 100%. Software-based import of interrogation data was complete and without failure in 97% of cases. The mean duration of a follow-up visit did not differ between the two groups (digital 18.7 min vs. manual data transfer 18.2 min). FDDP software was successfully implemented into the ambulatory follow-up of patients with implanted pacemakers and defibrillators. Digital data import into electronic patient management software was feasible and supported the physician's workflow. The total duration of follow-up visits comprising technical device interrogation and clinical actions was not affected in the present tertiary center outpatient cohort.

Start Up Application Concerns with Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Katz, Richard B.

1999-01-01

This note is being published to improve the visibility of this subject, as we continue to see problems surface in designs, as well as to add additional information to the previously published note for design engineers. The original application note focused on designing systems with no single point failures using Actel Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) for critical applications. Included in that note were the basic principles of operation of the Actel FPGA and a discussion of potential single-point failures. The note also discussed the issue of startup transients for that class of device. It is unfortunate that we continue to see some design problems using these devices. This note will focus on the startup properties of certain electronic components, in general, and current Actel FPGAs, in particular. Devices that are "power-on friendly" are currently being developed by Actel, as a variant of the new SX series of FPGAs. In the ideal world, electronic components would behave much differently than they do in the real world, The chain, of course, starts with the power supply. Ideally, the voltage will immediately rise to a stable V(sub cc) level, of course, it does not. Aside from practical design considerations, inrush current limits of certain capacitors must be observed and the power supply's output may be intentionally slew rate limited to prevent a large current spike on the system power bus. In any event, power supply rise time may range from less than I msec to 100 msec or more.

Digital mobile telephones and interference of ophthalmic equipment.

PubMed

Ang, G S; Lian, P; Ng, W S; Whyte, I; Ong, J M

2007-01-01

To assess the effect of mobile telephone electromagnetic interference on electronic ophthalmic equipment. Prospective audit with mobile telephones placed at distances of 3 m, 1 m, and 30 cm from, and in contact with, electronic ophthalmic equipment. Any interruption or cessation of the function of the ophthalmic device was assessed with the mobile telephones in standby, and in dialling or receiving modes. Any alterations of displayed digital figures or numbers were also assessed. A total of 23 electronic ophthalmic devices in two hospital ophthalmology outpatient departments were evaluated. All six mobile telephones used, and 22 (95.7%) of the 23 ophthalmic equipment evaluated had the Conformité Européene (CE) mark. No device showed any interruption or cessation of function. There were no alterations of displayed digital figures or numbers. The only effect of any kind was found with four instruments (1 non-CE marked), where there was temporary flickering on the screen, and only occurred when the mobile telephones were dialling or receiving at a distance of 30 cm or less from the instruments. This study shows that among the electronic ophthalmic devices tested, none suffered failure or interruption of function, from mobile telephone interference. Although not comprehensive for all ophthalmic equipment, the results question the need for a complete ban of mobile telephones in ophthalmic departments. It highlights the need for a controlled, objectively measured study of the clinically relevant effects of mobile telephones in the ophthalmology outpatient setting.

To ventricular assist devices or not: When is implantation of a ventricular assist device appropriate in advanced ambulatory heart failure?

PubMed Central

Cerier, Emily; Lampert, Brent C; Kilic, Arman; McDavid, Asia; Deo, Salil V; Kilic, Ahmet

2016-01-01

Advanced heart failure has been traditionally treated via either heart transplantation, continuous inotropes, consideration for hospice and more recently via left ventricular assist devices (LVAD). Heart transplantation has been limited by organ availability and the futility of other options has thrust LVAD therapy into the mainstream of therapy for end stage heart failure. Improvements in technology and survival combined with improvements in the quality of life have made LVADs a viable option for many patients suffering from heart failure. The question of when to implant these devices in those patients with advanced, yet still ambulatory heart failure remains a controversial topic. We discuss the current state of LVAD therapy and the risk vs benefit of these devices in the treatment of heart failure. PMID:28070237

Mechanical Circulatory Support Devices for Acute Right Ventricular Failure.

PubMed

Kapur, Navin K; Esposito, Michele L; Bader, Yousef; Morine, Kevin J; Kiernan, Michael S; Pham, Duc Thinh; Burkhoff, Daniel

2017-07-18

Right ventricular (RV) failure remains a major cause of global morbidity and mortality for patients with advanced heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, or acute myocardial infarction and after major cardiac surgery. Over the past 2 decades, percutaneously delivered acute mechanical circulatory support pumps specifically designed to support RV failure have been introduced into clinical practice. RV acute mechanical circulatory support now represents an important step in the management of RV failure and provides an opportunity to rapidly stabilize patients with cardiogenic shock involving the RV. As experience with RV devices grows, their role as mechanical therapies for RV failure will depend less on the technical ability to place the device and more on improved algorithms for identifying RV failure, patient monitoring, and weaning protocols for both isolated RV failure and biventricular failure. In this review, we discuss the pathophysiology of acute RV failure and both the mechanism of action and clinical data exploring the utility of existing RV acute mechanical circulatory support devices. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Printz, Adam D.; Lipomi, Darren J., E-mail: dlipomi@ucsd.edu

The primary goal of the field concerned with organic semiconductors is to produce devices with performance approaching that of silicon electronics, but with the deformability—flexibility and stretchability—of conventional plastics. However, an inherent competition between deformability and charge transport has long been observed in these materials, and achieving the extreme (or even moderate) deformability implied by the word “plastic” concurrently with high charge transport may be elusive. This competition arises because the properties needed for high carrier mobilities—e.g., rigid chains in π-conjugated polymers and high degrees of crystallinity in the solid state—are antithetical to deformability. On the device scale, this competitionmore » can lead to low-performance yet mechanically robust devices, or high-performance devices that fail catastrophically (e.g., cracking, cohesive failure, and delamination) under strain. There are, however, some observations that contradict the notion of the mutual exclusivity of electronic and mechanical performances. These observations suggest that this problem may not be a fundamental trade-off, but rather an inconvenience that may be negotiated by a logical selection of materials and processing conditions. For example, the selection of the poly(3-alkylthiophene) with a critical side-chain length—poly(3-heptylthiophene) (n = 7)—marries the high deformability of poly(3-octylthiophene) (n = 8) with the high electronic performance (as manifested in photovoltaic efficiency) of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (n = 6). This review explores the relationship between deformability and charge transport in organic semiconductors. The principal conclusions are that reducing the competition between these two parameters is in fact possible, with two demonstrated routes being: (1) incorporation of softer, insulating material into a stiffer, semiconducting material and (2) increasing disorder in a highly ordered film, but not enough to disrupt charge transport pathways. The aim of this review is to provide a bridge between the fields interested in electronic properties and mechanical properties of conjugated polymers. We provide a high-level introduction to some of the important electronic and mechanical properties and measurement techniques for organic electronic devices, demonstrate an apparent competition between good electronic performance and mechanical deformability, and highlight potential strategies for overcoming this undesirable competition. A marriage of these two fields would allow for rational design of materials for applications requiring large-area, low-cost, printable devices that are ultra-flexible or stretchable, such as organic photovoltaic devices and wearable, conformable, or implantable sensors.« less

Prognostics of Power Mosfets Under Thermal Stress Accelerated Aging Using Data-Driven and Model-Based Methodologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Celaya, Jose; Saxena, Abhinav; Saha, Sankalita; Goebel, Kai F.

2011-01-01

An approach for predicting remaining useful life of power MOSFETs (metal oxide field effect transistor) devices has been developed. Power MOSFETs are semiconductor switching devices that are instrumental in electronics equipment such as those used in operation and control of modern aircraft and spacecraft. The MOSFETs examined here were aged under thermal overstress in a controlled experiment and continuous performance degradation data were collected from the accelerated aging experiment. Dieattach degradation was determined to be the primary failure mode. The collected run-to-failure data were analyzed and it was revealed that ON-state resistance increased as die-attach degraded under high thermal stresses. Results from finite element simulation analysis support the observations from the experimental data. Data-driven and model based prognostics algorithms were investigated where ON-state resistance was used as the primary precursor of failure feature. A Gaussian process regression algorithm was explored as an example for a data-driven technique and an extended Kalman filter and a particle filter were used as examples for model-based techniques. Both methods were able to provide valid results. Prognostic performance metrics were employed to evaluate and compare the algorithms.

Mechanical failure modes of chronically implanted planar silicon-based neural probes for laminar recording

PubMed Central

Kozai, Takashi D. Y.; Catt, Kasey; Li, Xia; Gugel, Zhannetta V.; Olafsson, Valur T.; Vazquez, Alberto L.; Cui, X. Tracy

2014-01-01

Penetrating intracortical electrode arrays that record brain activity longitudinally are powerful tools for basic neuroscience research and emerging clinical applications. However, regardless of the technology used, signals recorded by these electrodes degrade over time. The failure mechanisms of these electrodes are understood to be a complex combination of the biological reactive tissue response and material failure of the device over time. While mechanical mismatch between the brain tissue and implanted neural electrodes have been studied as a source of chronic inflammation and performance degradation, the electrode failure caused by mechanical mismatch between different material properties and different structural components within a device have remained poorly characterized. Using Finite Element Model (FEM) we simulate the mechanical strain on a planar silicon electrode. The results presented here demonstrate that mechanical mismatch between iridium and silicon leads to concentrated strain along the border of the two materials. This strain is further focused on small protrusions such as the electrical traces in planar silicon electrodes. These findings are confirmed with chronic in vivo data (133–189 days) in mice by correlating a combination of single-unit electrophysiology, evoked multi-unit recordings, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy from traces and electrode sites with our modeling data. Several modes of mechanical failure of chronically implanted planar silicon electrodes are found that result in degradation and/or loss of recording. These findings highlight the importance of strains and material properties of various subcomponents within an electrode array. PMID:25453935

A Fully Implantable Pacemaker for the Mouse: From Battery to Wireless Power

PubMed Central

Zellmer, Erik R.; Weinheimer, Carla J.; MacEwan, Matthew R.; Cui, Sophia X.; Nerbonne, Jeanne M.; Efimov, Igor R.

2013-01-01

Animal models have become a popular platform for the investigation of the molecular and systemic mechanisms of pathological cardiovascular physiology. Chronic pacing studies with implantable pacemakers in large animals have led to useful models of heart failure and atrial fibrillation. Unfortunately, molecular and genetic studies in these large animal models are often prohibitively expensive or not available. Conversely, the mouse is an excellent species for studying molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular disease through genetic engineering. However, the large size of available pacemakers does not lend itself to chronic pacing in mice. Here, we present the design for a novel, fully implantable wireless-powered pacemaker for mice capable of long-term (>30 days) pacing. This design is compared to a traditional battery-powered pacemaker to demonstrate critical advantages achieved through wireless inductive power transfer and control. Battery-powered and wireless-powered pacemakers were fabricated from standard electronic components in our laboratory. Mice (n = 24) were implanted with endocardial, battery-powered devices (n = 14) and epicardial, wireless-powered devices (n = 10). Wireless-powered devices were associated with reduced implant mortality and more reliable device function compared to battery-powered devices. Eight of 14 (57.1%) mice implanted with battery-powered pacemakers died following device implantation compared to 1 of 10 (10%) mice implanted with wireless-powered pacemakers. Moreover, device function was achieved for 30 days with the wireless-powered device compared to 6 days with the battery-powered device. The wireless-powered pacemaker system presented herein will allow electrophysiology studies in numerous genetically engineered mouse models as well as rapid pacing-induced heart failure and atrial arrhythmia in mice. PMID:24194832

Differences in vaping topography in relation to adherence to exclusive electronic cigarette use in veterans

PubMed Central

Balestrini, Kira; Holt, Gregory; Mirsaeidi, Mehdi; Calderon-Candelario, Rafael; Whitney, Philip; Salathe, Matthias

2018-01-01

Background Understanding vaping patterns of electronic cigarette (EC) use is important to understand the real-life exposure to EC vapor. Long term information on vaping topography in relation to tobacco cigarette (TC) smoking cessation success has not been explored. Methods Observational non-blinded study where active TC smokers were asked to replace TC with EC over 4 weeks (replacement phase, RP) followed by exclusive EC use for an additional 12 weeks (maintenance phase, MP). TC use and EC compliance was monitored weekly. Subjects were classified as success or failure whether or not they completed the protocol. Vaping information was stored and downloaded directly from the EC device and averaged per calendar day for analysis. Results From 25 subjects that followed the protocol, sixteen succeeded in completing the RP and 8 the MP (32%). No significant differences in baseline characteristics were noted between subjects in the success and failure groups including markers of nicotine addiction, plasma cotinine levels or smoking history. Success subjects showed significantly longer puff duration (seconds per vape) and total overall vapor exposure (number of vapes x average vape duration or vape-seconds) in both study phases. Furthermore, subjects in the success group continued to increase the number of vapes, device voltage and wattage significantly as they transitioned into the MP. After an initial drop, subjects in the success group were able to regain plasma cotinine levels comparable to their TC use while subjects in the failure group could not. Cotinine levels significantly correlated with the average number of daily vapes and vapes-seconds, but not with other vaping parameters. Conclusion The topography of smokers who adhere to exclusive EC use reflects a progressive and dynamic device adaptation over weeks to maintain baseline cotinine levels. The higher inhaled volume over time should be considered when addressing the potential toxic effects of EC and the variable EC adherence when addressing public health policies regarding their use. PMID:29694428

Differences in vaping topography in relation to adherence to exclusive electronic cigarette use in veterans.

PubMed

Guerrero-Cignarella, Andrea; Luna Diaz, Landy V; Balestrini, Kira; Holt, Gregory; Mirsaeidi, Mehdi; Calderon-Candelario, Rafael; Whitney, Philip; Salathe, Matthias; Campos, Michael A

2018-01-01

Understanding vaping patterns of electronic cigarette (EC) use is important to understand the real-life exposure to EC vapor. Long term information on vaping topography in relation to tobacco cigarette (TC) smoking cessation success has not been explored. Observational non-blinded study where active TC smokers were asked to replace TC with EC over 4 weeks (replacement phase, RP) followed by exclusive EC use for an additional 12 weeks (maintenance phase, MP). TC use and EC compliance was monitored weekly. Subjects were classified as success or failure whether or not they completed the protocol. Vaping information was stored and downloaded directly from the EC device and averaged per calendar day for analysis. From 25 subjects that followed the protocol, sixteen succeeded in completing the RP and 8 the MP (32%). No significant differences in baseline characteristics were noted between subjects in the success and failure groups including markers of nicotine addiction, plasma cotinine levels or smoking history. Success subjects showed significantly longer puff duration (seconds per vape) and total overall vapor exposure (number of vapes x average vape duration or vape-seconds) in both study phases. Furthermore, subjects in the success group continued to increase the number of vapes, device voltage and wattage significantly as they transitioned into the MP. After an initial drop, subjects in the success group were able to regain plasma cotinine levels comparable to their TC use while subjects in the failure group could not. Cotinine levels significantly correlated with the average number of daily vapes and vapes-seconds, but not with other vaping parameters. The topography of smokers who adhere to exclusive EC use reflects a progressive and dynamic device adaptation over weeks to maintain baseline cotinine levels. The higher inhaled volume over time should be considered when addressing the potential toxic effects of EC and the variable EC adherence when addressing public health policies regarding their use.

Microfluidic stretchable RF electronics.

PubMed

Cheng, Shi; Wu, Zhigang

2010-12-07

Stretchable electronics is a revolutionary technology that will potentially create a world of radically different electronic devices and systems that open up an entirely new spectrum of possibilities. This article proposes a microfluidic based solution for stretchable radio frequency (RF) electronics, using hybrid integration of active circuits assembled on flex foils and liquid alloy passive structures embedded in elastic substrates, e.g. polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). This concept was employed to implement a 900 MHz stretchable RF radiation sensor, consisting of a large area elastic antenna and a cluster of conventional rigid components for RF power detection. The integrated radiation sensor except the power supply was fully embedded in a thin elastomeric substrate. Good electrical performance of the standalone stretchable antenna as well as the RF power detection sub-module was verified by experiments. The sensor successfully detected the RF radiation over 5 m distance in the system demonstration. Experiments on two-dimensional (2D) stretching up to 15%, folding and twisting of the demonstrated sensor were also carried out. Despite the integrated device was severely deformed, no failure in RF radiation sensing was observed in the tests. This technique illuminates a promising route of realizing stretchable and foldable large area integrated RF electronics that are of great interest to a variety of applications like wearable computing, health monitoring, medical diagnostics, and curvilinear electronics.

Radiation Hardness Assurance for Space Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poivey, Christian; Day, John H. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The space radiation environment can lead to extremely harsh operating conditions for on-board electronic box and systems. The characteristics of the radiation environment are highly dependent on the type of mission (date, duration and orbit). Radiation accelerates the aging of the electronic parts and material and can lead to a degradation of electrical performance; it can also create transient phenomena on parts. Such damage at the part level can induce damage or functional failure at electronic box, subsystem, and system levels. A rigorous methodology is needed to ensure that the radiation environment does not compromise the functionality and performance of the electronics during the system life. This methodology is called hardness assurance. It consists of those activities undertaken to ensure that the electronic piece parts placed in the space system perform to their design specifications after exposure to the space environment. It deals with system requirements, environmental definitions, part selection, part testing, shielding and radiation tolerant design. All these elements should play together in order to produce a system tolerant to.the radiation environment. An overview of the different steps of a space system hardness assurance program is given in section 2. In order to define the mission radiation specifications and compare these requirements to radiation test data, a detailed knowledge of the space environment and the corresponding electronic device failure mechanisms is required. The presentation by J. Mazur deals with the Earth space radiation environment as well as the internal environment of a spacecraft. The presentation by J. Schwank deals with ionization effects, and the presentation by T. Weatherford deals with Single particle Event Phenomena (SEP) in semiconductor devices and microcircuits. These three presentations provide more detailed background to complement the sections 3 and 4. Part selection and categorization are discussed in section 5. Section 6 presents the organization of the hardness assurance within a project. Section 7 discusses emerging radiation hardness assurance issues.

Extracorporeal liver assist device to exchange albumin and remove endotoxin in acute liver failure: Results of a pivotal pre-clinical study.

PubMed

Lee, Karla C L; Baker, Luisa A; Stanzani, Giacomo; Alibhai, Hatim; Chang, Yu Mei; Jimenez Palacios, Carolina; Leckie, Pamela J; Giordano, Paola; Priestnall, Simon L; Antoine, Daniel J; Jenkins, Rosalind E; Goldring, Christopher E; Park, B Kevin; Andreola, Fausto; Agarwal, Banwari; Mookerjee, Rajeshwar P; Davies, Nathan A; Jalan, Rajiv

2015-09-01

In acute liver failure, severity of liver injury and clinical progression of disease are in part consequent upon activation of the innate immune system. Endotoxaemia contributes to innate immune system activation and the detoxifying function of albumin, critical to recovery from liver injury, is irreversibly destroyed in acute liver failure. University College London-Liver Dialysis Device is a novel artificial extracorporeal liver assist device, which is used with albumin infusion, to achieve removal and replacement of dysfunctional albumin and reduction in endotoxaemia. We aimed to test the effect of this device on survival in a pig model of acetaminophen-induced acute liver failure. Pigs were randomised to three groups: Acetaminophen plus University College London-Liver Dialysis Device (n=9); Acetaminophen plus Control Device (n=7); and Control plus Control Device (n=4). Device treatment was initiated two h after onset of irreversible acute liver failure. The Liver Dialysis Device resulted in 67% reduced risk of death in acetaminophen-induced acute liver failure compared to Control Device (hazard ratio=0.33, p=0.0439). This was associated with 27% decrease in circulating irreversibly oxidised human non-mercaptalbumin-2 throughout treatment (p=0.046); 54% reduction in overall severity of endotoxaemia (p=0.024); delay in development of vasoplegia and acute lung injury; and delay in systemic activation of the TLR4 signalling pathway. Liver Dialysis Device-associated adverse clinical effects were not seen. The survival benefit and lack of adverse effects would support clinical trials of University College London-Liver Dialysis Device in acute liver failure patients. Copyright © 2015 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cardiac or Other Implantable Electronic Devices and Sleep-disordered Breathing – Implications for Diagnosis and Therapy

PubMed Central

Bitter, Thomas; Gutleben, Klaus-Jürgen; Horstkotte, Dieter; Oldenburg, Olaf

2014-01-01

Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is of growing interest in cardiology because SDB is a highly prevalent comorbidity in patients with a variety of cardiovascular diseases. The prevalence of SDB is particularly high in patients with cardiac dysrhythmias and/or heart failure. In this setting, many patients now have implantable cardiac devices, such as pacemakers, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators or implanted cardiac resynchronisation therapy devices (CRT). Treatment of SDB using implantable cardiac devices has been studied previously, with atrial pacing and CRT being shown not to bring about satisfactory results in SDB care. The latest generations of these devices have the capacity to determine transthoracic impedance, to detect and quantify breathing efforts and to identify SDB. The capability of implantable cardiac devices to detect SDB is of potential importance for patients with cardiovascular disease, allowing screening for SDB, monitoring of the course of SDB in relation to cardiac status, and documenting of the effects of treatment. PMID:26835077

Optical recording materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Savant, Gajendra D.; Jannson, Joanna L.

1991-07-01

The increased emphasis on speed of operation, wavelength selectivity, compactness, and ruggedization has focused a great deal of attention on the solutions offered by all-optic devices and by hybrid electro-optic systems. In fact, many photonic devices are being considered for use as partial replacements for electronic systems. Optical components, which include modulators, switches, 3-D memory storage devices, wavelength division multiplexers, holographic optical elements, and others, are examples of such devices. The success or failure of these modern optical devices depends, to a great extent, on the performance and survivability of the optical materials used. This is particularly true for volume holographic filters, organic memory media, second- and third-order nonlinear material-based processors and neural networks. Due to the critical importance of these materials and their lack of availability, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) undertook a global advanced optical materials program which has enabled it to introduce several optical devices, based on the new and improved materials which will be described in this article.

Cardiac or Other Implantable Electronic Devices and Sleep-disordered Breathing - Implications for Diagnosis and Therapy.

PubMed

Fox, Henrik; Bitter, Thomas; Gutleben, Klaus-Jürgen; Horstkotte, Dieter; Oldenburg, Olaf

2014-08-01

Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is of growing interest in cardiology because SDB is a highly prevalent comorbidity in patients with a variety of cardiovascular diseases. The prevalence of SDB is particularly high in patients with cardiac dysrhythmias and/or heart failure. In this setting, many patients now have implantable cardiac devices, such as pacemakers, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators or implanted cardiac resynchronisation therapy devices (CRT). Treatment of SDB using implantable cardiac devices has been studied previously, with atrial pacing and CRT being shown not to bring about satisfactory results in SDB care. The latest generations of these devices have the capacity to determine transthoracic impedance, to detect and quantify breathing efforts and to identify SDB. The capability of implantable cardiac devices to detect SDB is of potential importance for patients with cardiovascular disease, allowing screening for SDB, monitoring of the course of SDB in relation to cardiac status, and documenting of the effects of treatment.

Interfacing LabVIEW With Instrumentation for Electronic Failure Analysis and Beyond

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buchanan, Randy K.; Bryan, Coleman; Ludwig, Larry

1996-01-01

The Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Engineering Workstation (LabVIEW) software is designed such that equipment and processes related to control systems can be operationally lined and controlled by the use of a computer. Various processes within the failure analysis laboratories of NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) demonstrate the need for modernization and, in some cases, automation, using LabVIEW. An examination of procedures and practices with the Failure Analaysis Laboratory resulted in the conclusion that some device was necessary to elevate the potential users of LabVIEW to an operational level in minimum time. This paper outlines the process involved in creating a tutorial application to enable personnel to apply LabVIEW to their specific projects. Suggestions for furthering the extent to which LabVIEW is used are provided in the areas of data acquisition and process control.

Assessing the Risks Associated with MRI in Patients with a Pacemaker or Defibrillator.

PubMed

Russo, Robert J; Costa, Heather S; Silva, Patricia D; Anderson, Jeffrey L; Arshad, Aysha; Biederman, Robert W W; Boyle, Noel G; Frabizzio, Jennifer V; Birgersdotter-Green, Ulrika; Higgins, Steven L; Lampert, Rachel; Machado, Christian E; Martin, Edward T; Rivard, Andrew L; Rubenstein, Jason C; Schaerf, Raymond H M; Schwartz, Jennifer D; Shah, Dipan J; Tomassoni, Gery F; Tominaga, Gail T; Tonkin, Allison E; Uretsky, Seth; Wolff, Steven D

2017-02-23

The presence of a cardiovascular implantable electronic device has long been a contraindication for the performance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We established a prospective registry to determine the risks associated with MRI at a magnetic field strength of 1.5 tesla for patients who had a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) that was "non-MRI-conditional" (i.e., not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for MRI scanning). Patients in the registry were referred for clinically indicated nonthoracic MRI at a field strength of 1.5 tesla. Devices were interrogated before and after MRI with the use of a standardized protocol and were appropriately reprogrammed before the scanning. The primary end points were death, generator or lead failure, induced arrhythmia, loss of capture, or electrical reset during the scanning. The secondary end points were changes in device settings. MRI was performed in 1000 cases in which patients had a pacemaker and in 500 cases in which patients had an ICD. No deaths, lead failures, losses of capture, or ventricular arrhythmias occurred during MRI. One ICD generator could not be interrogated after MRI and required immediate replacement; the device had not been appropriately programmed per protocol before the MRI. We observed six cases of self-terminating atrial fibrillation or flutter and six cases of partial electrical reset. Changes in lead impedance, pacing threshold, battery voltage, and P-wave and R-wave amplitude exceeded prespecified thresholds in a small number of cases. Repeat MRI was not associated with an increase in adverse events. In this study, device or lead failure did not occur in any patient with a non-MRI-conditional pacemaker or ICD who underwent clinically indicated nonthoracic MRI at 1.5 tesla, was appropriately screened, and had the device reprogrammed in accordance with the prespecified protocol. (Funded by St. Jude Medical and others; MagnaSafe ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00907361 .).

The future of mechanical circulatory support for advanced heart failure.

PubMed

Marinescu, Karolina K; Uriel, Nir; Adatya, Sirtaz

2016-05-01

Mechanical circulatory support (MCS) has become the main focus of heart replacement therapy for end stage heart failure patients. Advances in technology are moving towards miniaturization, biventricular support devices, complete internalization, improved hemocompatibility profiles, and responsiveness to cardiac loading conditions. This review will discuss the recent advances and investigational devices in MCS for advanced heart failure. The demand for both short-term and long-term durable devices for advanced heart failure is increasing. The current devices are still fraught with an unacceptably high incidence of gastrointestinal bleeding and thromboembolic and infectious complications. New devices are on the horizon focusing on miniaturization, versatility for biventricular support, improved hemocompatibility, use of alternate energy sources, and incorporation of continuous hemodynamic monitoring. The role for MCS in advanced heart replacement therapy is steadily increasing. With the advent of newer generation devices on the horizon, the potential exists for MCS to surpass heart transplantation as the primary therapy for advanced heart failure.

Remote maintenance monitoring system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simpkins, Lorenz G. (Inventor); Owens, Richard C. (Inventor); Rochette, Donn A. (Inventor)

1992-01-01

A remote maintenance monitoring system retrofits to a given hardware device with a sensor implant which gathers and captures failure data from the hardware device, without interfering with its operation. Failure data is continuously obtained from predetermined critical points within the hardware device, and is analyzed with a diagnostic expert system, which isolates failure origin to a particular component within the hardware device. For example, monitoring of a computer-based device may include monitoring of parity error data therefrom, as well as monitoring power supply fluctuations therein, so that parity error and power supply anomaly data may be used to trace the failure origin to a particular plane or power supply within the computer-based device. A plurality of sensor implants may be rerofit to corresponding plural devices comprising a distributed large-scale system. Transparent interface of the sensors to the devices precludes operative interference with the distributed network. Retrofit capability of the sensors permits monitoring of even older devices having no built-in testing technology. Continuous real time monitoring of a distributed network of such devices, coupled with diagnostic expert system analysis thereof, permits capture and analysis of even intermittent failures, thereby facilitating maintenance of the monitored large-scale system.

Advanced Data Acquisition Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perotti, J.

2003-01-01

Current and future requirements of the aerospace sensors and transducers field make it necessary for the design and development of new data acquisition devices and instrumentation systems. New designs are sought to incorporate self-health, self-calibrating, self-repair capabilities, allowing greater measurement reliability and extended calibration cycles. With the addition of power management schemes, state-of-the-art data acquisition systems allow data to be processed and presented to the users with increased efficiency and accuracy. The design architecture presented in this paper displays an innovative approach to data acquisition systems. The design incorporates: electronic health self-check, device/system self-calibration, electronics and function self-repair, failure detection and prediction, and power management (reduced power consumption). These requirements are driven by the aerospace industry need to reduce operations and maintenance costs, to accelerate processing time and to provide reliable hardware with minimum costs. The project's design architecture incorporates some commercially available components identified during the market research investigation like: Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) Programmable Analog Integrated Circuits (PAC IC) and Field Programmable Analog Arrays (FPAA); Digital Signal Processing (DSP) electronic/system control and investigation of specific characteristics found in technologies like: Electronic Component Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF); and Radiation Hardened Component Availability. There are three main sections discussed in the design architecture presented in this document. They are the following: (a) Analog Signal Module Section, (b) Digital Signal/Control Module Section and (c) Power Management Module Section. These sections are discussed in detail in the following pages. This approach to data acquisition systems has resulted in the assignment of patent rights to Kennedy Space Center under U.S. patent # 6,462,684. Furthermore, NASA KSC commercialization office has issued licensing rights to Circuit Avenue Netrepreneurs, LLC , a minority-owned business founded in 1999 located in Camden, NJ.

Lifetime evaluation of large format CMOS mixed signal infrared devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Linder, A.; Glines, Eddie

2015-09-01

New large scale foundry processes continue to produce reliable products. These new large scale devices continue to use industry best practice to screen for failure mechanisms and validate their long lifetime. The Failure-in-Time analysis in conjunction with foundry qualification information can be used to evaluate large format device lifetimes. This analysis is a helpful tool when zero failure life tests are typical. The reliability of the device is estimated by applying the failure rate to the use conditions. JEDEC publications continue to be the industry accepted methods.

ISHNE/EHRA expert consensus on remote monitoring of cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs).

PubMed

Dubner, Sergio; Auricchio, Angelo; Steinberg, Jonathan S; Vardas, Panos; Stone, Peter; Brugada, Josep; Piotrowicz, Ryszard; Hayes, David L; Kirchhof, Paulus; Breithardt, Günter; Zareba, Wojciech; Schuger, Claudio; Aktas, Mehmet K; Chudzik, Michal; Mittal, Suneet; Varma, Niraj

2012-02-01

We are in the midst of a rapidly evolving era of technology-assisted medicine. The field of telemedicine provides the opportunity for highly individualized medical management in a way that has never been possible before. Evolving medical technologies using cardiac implantable devices (CIEDs) with capabilities for remote monitoring permit evaluation of multiple parameters of cardiovascular physiology and risk, including cardiac rhythm, device function, blood pressure values, the presence of myocardial ischaemia, and the degree of compensation of congestive heart failure. Cardiac risk, device status, and response to therapies can now be assessed with these electronic systems of detection and reporting. This document reflects the extensive experience from investigators and innovators around the world who are shaping the evolution of this rapidly expanding field, focusing in particular on implantable pacemakers (IPGs), implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs), devices for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) (both, with and without defibrillation properties), loop recorders, and haemodynamic monitoring devices. This document covers the basic methodologies, guidelines for their use, experience with existing applications, and the legal and reimbursement aspects associated with their use. To adequately cover this important emerging topic, the International Society for Holter and Noninvasive Electrocardiology (ISHNE) and the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) combined their expertise in this field. We hope that the development of this field can contribute to improve care of our cardiovascular patients.

Development of automotive battery systems capable of surviving modern underhood environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierson, John R.; Johnson, Richard T.

The starting, lighting, and ignition (SLI) battery in today's automobile typically finds itself in an engine compartment that is jammed with mechanical, electrical, and electronic devices. The spacing of these devices precludes air movement and, thus, heat transfer out of the compartment. Furthermore, many of the devices, in addition to the internal combustion engine, actually generate heat. The resulting underhood environment is extremely hostile to thermally-sensitive components, especially the battery. All indications point to a continuation of this trend towards higher engine-compartment temperatures as future vehicles evolve. The impact of ambient temperature on battery life is clearly demonstrated in the failure-mode analysis conducted by the Battery Council International in 1990. This study, when combined with additional failure-mode analyses, vehicle systems simulation, and elevated temperature life testing, provides insight into the potential for extension of life of batteries. Controlled fleet and field tests are used to document and quantify improvements in product design. Three approaches to battery life extension under adverse thermal conditions are assessed, namely: (i) battery design; (ii) thermal management, and (iii) alternative battery locations. The advantages and disadvantages of these approaches (both individually and in combination) for original equipment and aftermarket applications are explored.

Long-Term Reliability of SiGe/Si HBTs From Accelerated Lifetime Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bhattacharya, Pallab

2001-01-01

Accelerated lifetime tests were performed on double-mesa structure Si(0.7)Ge(0.3)/Si npn heterojunction bipolar transistors, grown by molecular beam epitaxy, in the temperature range of 175 C-275 C. The transistors (with 5x20 sq micron emitter area) have DC current gains approx. 40-50 and f(sub T) and f(sub max) of up to 22 GHz and 25 GHz, respectively. It is found that a gradual degradation in these devices is caused by the recombination enhanced impurity diffusion (REID) of boron atoms from the p-type base region and the associated formation of parasitic energy barriers to electron transport from the emitter to collector layers. This REED has been quantitatively modeled and explained, to the first order of approximation, and the agreement with the measured data is good. The mean time to failure (MTTF) of these devices at room temperature under 1.35 x 10(exp 4) A/sq cm current density operation is estimated from the extrapolation of the Arrhenius plots of device lifetime versus reciprocal temperature. The results of the reliability tests offer valuable feedback for SiGe heterostructure design in order to improve the long-term reliability of the devices and circuits made with them. Hot electron induced degradation of the base-emitter junction was also observed during the accelerated lifetime testing. In order to improve the HBT reliability endangered by the hot electrons, deuterium sintered techniques have been proposed. The preliminary results from this study show that a deuterium-sintered HBT is, indeed, more resistant to hot-electron induced base-emitter junction degradation.

Implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy devices to monitor heart failure clinical status.

PubMed

Fung, Jeffrey Wing-Hong; Yu, Cheuk-Man

2007-03-01

Cardiac resynchronization therapy is a standard therapy for selected patients with heart failure. With advances in technology and storage capacity, the device acts as a convenient platform to provide valuable information about heart failure status in these high-risk patients. Unlike other modalities of investigation which may only allow one-off evaluation, heart failure status can be monitored by device diagnostics including heart rate variability, activity status, and intrathoracic impedance in a continuous basis. These parameters do not just provide long-term prognostic information but also may be useful to predict upcoming heart failure exacerbation. Prompt and early intervention may abort decompensation, prevent hospitalization, improve quality of life, and reduce health care cost. Moreover, this information may be applied to titrate the dosage of medication and monitor response to heart failure treatment. This review will focus on the prognostic and predictive values of heart failure status monitoring provided by these devices.

Impact of defects on the electrical transport, optical properties and failure mechanisms of GaN nanowires.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Armstrong, Andrew M.; Aubry, Sylvie; Shaner, Eric Arthur

2010-09-01

We present the results of a three year LDRD project that focused on understanding the impact of defects on the electrical, optical and thermal properties of GaN-based nanowires (NWs). We describe the development and application of a host of experimental techniques to quantify and understand the physics of defects and thermal transport in GaN NWs. We also present the development of analytical models and computational studies of thermal conductivity in GaN NWs. Finally, we present an atomistic model for GaN NW electrical breakdown supported with experimental evidence. GaN-based nanowires are attractive for applications requiring compact, high-current density devices such asmore » ultraviolet laser arrays. Understanding GaN nanowire failure at high-current density is crucial to developing nanowire (NW) devices. Nanowire device failure is likely more complex than thin film due to the prominence of surface effects and enhanced interaction among point defects. Understanding the impact of surfaces and point defects on nanowire thermal and electrical transport is the first step toward rational control and mitigation of device failure mechanisms. However, investigating defects in GaN NWs is extremely challenging because conventional defect spectroscopy techniques are unsuitable for wide-bandgap nanostructures. To understand NW breakdown, the influence of pre-existing and emergent defects during high current stress on NW properties will be investigated. Acute sensitivity of NW thermal conductivity to point-defect density is expected due to the lack of threading dislocation (TD) gettering sites, and enhanced phonon-surface scattering further inhibits thermal transport. Excess defect creation during Joule heating could further degrade thermal conductivity, producing a viscous cycle culminating in catastrophic breakdown. To investigate these issues, a unique combination of electron microscopy, scanning luminescence and photoconductivity implemented at the nanoscale will be used in concert with sophisticated molecular-dynamics calculations of surface and defect-mediated NW thermal transport. This proposal seeks to elucidate long standing material science questions for GaN while addressing issues critical to realizing reliable GaN NW devices.« less

Disease management: remote monitoring in heart failure patients with implantable defibrillators, resynchronization devices, and haemodynamic monitors.

PubMed

Abraham, William T

2013-06-01

Heart failure represents a major public health concern, associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. A particular focus of contemporary heart failure management is reduction of hospital admission and readmission rates. While optimal medical therapy favourably impacts the natural history of the disease, devices such as cardiac resynchronization therapy devices and implantable cardioverter defibrillators have added incremental value in improving heart failure outcomes. These devices also enable remote patient monitoring via device-based diagnostics. Device-based measurement of physiological parameters, such as intrathoracic impedance and heart rate variability, provide a means to assess risk of worsening heart failure and the possibility of future hospitalization. Beyond this capability, implantable haemodynamic monitors have the potential to direct day-to-day management of heart failure patients to significantly reduce hospitalization rates. The use of a pulmonary artery pressure measurement system has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of heart failure hospitalization in a large randomized controlled study, the CardioMEMS Heart Sensor Allows Monitoring of Pressure to Improve Outcomes in NYHA Class III Heart Failure Patients (CHAMPION) trial. Observations from a pilot study also support the potential use of a left atrial pressure monitoring system and physician-directed patient self-management paradigm; these observations are under further investigation in the ongoing LAPTOP-HF trial. All these devices depend upon high-intensity remote monitoring for successful detection of parameter deviations and for directing and following therapy.

Chemical failure modes of AlQ3-based OLEDs: AlQ3 hydrolysis.

PubMed

Knox, John E; Halls, Mathew D; Hratchian, Hrant P; Schlegel, H Bernhard

2006-03-28

Tris(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminum(III), AlQ3, is used in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) as an electron-transport material and emitting layer. The reaction of AlQ3 with trace H2O has been implicated as a major failure pathway for AlQ3-based OLEDs. Hybrid density functional calculations have been carried out to characterize the hydrolysis of AlQ3. The thermochemical and atomistic details for this important reaction are reported for both the neutral and oxidized AlQ3/AlQ3+ systems. In support of experimental conclusions, the neutral hydrolysis reaction pathway is found to be a thermally activated process, having a classical barrier height of 24.2 kcal mol(-1). First-principles infrared and electronic absorption spectra are compared to further characterize AlQ3 and the hydrolysis pathway product, AlQ2OH. The activation energy for the cationic AlQ3 hydrolysis pathway is found to be 8.5 kcal mol(-1) lower than for the neutral reaction, which is significant since it suggests a role for charge imbalance in promoting chemical failure modes in OLED devices.

Role of heat shock transcription factor 1(HSF1)-upregulated macrophage in ameliorating pressure overload-induced heart failure in mice.

PubMed

Du, Peizhao; Chang, Yaowei; Dai, Fangjie; Wei, Chunyan; Zhang, Qi; Li, Jiming

2018-08-15

In order to explore the role of macrophages in HSF1-mediated alleviation of heart failure, mice model of pressure overload-induced heart failure was established using transverse aortic constriction (TAC). Changes in cardiac function and morphology were studied in TAC and SHAM groups using ultrasonic device, tissue staining, electron microscopy, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-QPCR), and Western blotting. We found that mice in the TAC group showed evidence of impaired cardiac function and aggravation of fibrosis on ultrasonic and histopathological examination when compared to those in the SHAM group. The expressions of HSF1, LC3II/LC3I, Becline-1 and HIF-1, as well as autophagosome formation in TAC group were greater than that in SHAM group. On sub-group analyses in the TAC group, improved cardiac function and alleviation of fibrosis was observed in the HSF1 TG subgroup as compared to that in the wild type subgroup. Expressions of LC3II/LC3I, Becline-1 and HIF-1, too showed an obvious increase; and increased autophagosome formation was observed on electron microscopy. Opposite results were observed in the HSF1 KO subgroup. These results collectively suggest that in the pressure overload heart failure model, HSF1 promoted formation of macrophages by inducing upregulation of HIF-1 expression, through which heart failure was ameliorated. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Test strategies for industrial testers for converter controls equipment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oleniuk, P.; Di Cosmo, M.; Kasampalis, V.; Nisbet, D.; Todd, B.; Uznański, S.

2017-04-01

Power converters and their controls electronics are key elements for the operation of the CERN accelerator complex, having a direct impact on its availability. To prevent early-life failures and provide means to verify electronics, a set of industrial testers is used throughout the converters controls electronics' life cycle. The roles of the testers are to validate mass production during the manufacturing phase and to provide means to diagnose and repair failed modules that are brought back from operation. In the converter controls electronics section of the power converters group in the technology department of CERN (TE/EPC/CCE), two main test platforms have been adopted: a PXI platform for mixed analogue-digital functional tests and a JTAG Boundary-Scan platform for digital interconnection and functional tests. Depending on the functionality of the device under test, the appropriate test platforms are chosen. This paper is a follow-up to results presented at the TWEPP 2015 conference, adding the boundary scan test platform and the first results from exploitation of the test system. This paper reports on the test software, hardware design and test strategy applied for a number of devices that has resulted in maximizing test coverage and minimizing test design effort.

Floating compression of Ag nanowire networks for effective strain release of stretchable transparent electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pyo, Jun Beom; Kim, Byoung Soo; Park, Hyunchul; Kim, Tae Ann; Koo, Chong Min; Lee, Jonghwi; Son, Jeong Gon; Lee, Sang-Soo; Park, Jong Hyuk

2015-10-01

Manipulation of the configuration of Ag nanowire (NW) networks has been pursued to enhance the performance of stretchable transparent electrodes. However, it has remained challenging due to the high Young's modulus and low yield strain of Ag NWs, which lead to their mechanical failure when subjected to structural deformation. We demonstrate that floating a Ag NW network on water and subsequent in-plane compression allows convenient development of a wavy configuration in the Ag NW network, which can release the applied strain. A greatly enhanced electromechanical stability of Ag NW networks can be achieved due to their wavy configuration, while the NW networks maintain the desirable optical and electrical properties. Moreover, the produced NW networks can be transferred to a variety of substrates, offering flexibility for device fabrication. The Ag NW networks with wavy configurations are used as compliant electrodes for dielectric elastomer actuators. The study demonstrates their promising potential to provide improved performance for soft electronic devices.Manipulation of the configuration of Ag nanowire (NW) networks has been pursued to enhance the performance of stretchable transparent electrodes. However, it has remained challenging due to the high Young's modulus and low yield strain of Ag NWs, which lead to their mechanical failure when subjected to structural deformation. We demonstrate that floating a Ag NW network on water and subsequent in-plane compression allows convenient development of a wavy configuration in the Ag NW network, which can release the applied strain. A greatly enhanced electromechanical stability of Ag NW networks can be achieved due to their wavy configuration, while the NW networks maintain the desirable optical and electrical properties. Moreover, the produced NW networks can be transferred to a variety of substrates, offering flexibility for device fabrication. The Ag NW networks with wavy configurations are used as compliant electrodes for dielectric elastomer actuators. The study demonstrates their promising potential to provide improved performance for soft electronic devices. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr03814f

Designing Crane Controls with Applied Mechanical and Electrical Safety Features

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lytle, Bradford P.; Walczak, Thomas A.

2002-01-01

The use of overhead traveling bridge cranes in many varied applications is common practice. In particular, the use of cranes in the nuclear, military, commercial, aerospace, and other industries can involve safety critical situations. Considerations for Human Injury or Casualty, Loss of Assets, Endangering the Environment, or Economic Reduction must be addressed. Traditionally, in order to achieve additional safety in these applications, mechanical systems have been augmented with a variety of devices. These devices assure that a mechanical component failure shall reduce the risk of a catastrophic loss of the correct and/or safe load carrying capability. ASME NOG-1-1998, (Rules for Construction of Overhead and Gantry Cranes, Top Running Bridge, and Multiple Girder), provides design standards for cranes in safety critical areas. Over and above the minimum safety requirements of todays design standards, users struggle with obtaining a higher degree of reliability through more precise functional specifications while attempting to provide "smart" safety systems. Electrical control systems also may be equipped with protective devices similar to the mechanical design features. Demands for improvement of the cranes "control system" is often recognized, but difficult to quantify for this traditionally "mechanically" oriented market. Finite details for each operation must be examined and understood. As an example, load drift (or small motions) at close tolerances can be unacceptable (and considered critical). To meet these high functional demands encoders and other devices are independently added to control systems to provide motion and velocity feedback to the control drive. This paper will examine the implementation of Programmable Electronic Systems (PES). PES is a term this paper will use to describe any control system utilizing any programmable electronic device such as Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), or an Adjustable Frequency Drive (AID) 'smart' programmable motion controller. Therefore the use of the term Programmable Electronic Systems (PES) is an encompassing description for a large spectrum of programmable electronic control devices.

Management of radiation therapy patients with cardiac defibrillator or pacemaker.

PubMed

Salerno, Francesca; Gomellini, Sara; Caruso, Cristina; Barbara, Raffaele; Musio, Daniela; Coppi, Tamara; Cardinale, Mario; Tombolini, Vincenzo; de Paula, Ugo

2016-06-01

The increasing growth of population with cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) such as Pacemaker (PM) and Implantable Cardiac Defibrillators (ICD), requires particular attention in management of patients needing radiation treatment. This paper updates and summarizes some recommendations from different international guidelines. Ionizing radiation and/or electromagnetic interferences could cause device failure. Current approaches to treatment in patients who have these devices vary among radiation oncology centres. We refer to the German Society of Radiation Oncology and Cardiology guidelines (ed. 2015); to the Society of Cardiology Australia and New Zealand Statement (ed. 2015); to the guidelines in force in the Netherlands (ed. 2012) and to the Italian Association of Radiation Oncology recommendations (ed. 2013) as reported in the guidelines for the treatment of breast cancer in patients with CIED. Although there is not a clear cut-off point, risk of device failure increases with increasing doses. Cumulative dose and pacing dependency have been combined to categorize patients into low-, medium- and high-risk groups. Measures to secure patient safety are described for each category. The use of energy ≤6MV is preferable and it's strongly recommended not to exceed a total dose of 2 Gy to the PM and 1 Gy for ICD. Given the dangers of device malfunction, radiation oncology departments should adopt all the measures designed to minimize the risk to patients. For this reason, a close collaboration between cardiologist, radiotherapist and physicist is necessary.

Performance and Reliability of Bonded Interfaces for High-Temperature Packaging

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Paret, Paul P

2017-08-02

Sintered silver has proven to be a promising candidate for use as a die-attach and substrate-attach material in automotive power electronics components. It holds promise of greater reliability than lead-based and lead-free solders, especially at higher temperatures (>200 degrees C). Accurate predictive lifetime models of sintered silver need to be developed and its failure mechanisms thoroughly characterized before it can be deployed as a die-attach or substrate-attach material in wide-bandgap device-based packages. Mechanical characterization tests that result in stress-strain curves and accelerated tests that produce cycles-to-failure result will be conducted. Also, we present a finite element method (FEM) modeling methodologymore » that can offer greater accuracy in predicting the failure of sintered silver under accelerated thermal cycling. A fracture mechanics-based approach is adopted in the FEM model, and J-integral/thermal cycle values are computed.« less

On the fractography of overload, stress corrosion, and cyclic fatigue failures in pyrolytic-carbon materials used in prosthetic heart-valve devices.

PubMed

Ritchie, R O; Dauskardt, R H; Pennisi, F J

1992-01-01

A scanning electron microscopy study is reported of the nature and morphology of fracture surfaces in pyrocarbons commonly used for the manufacture of mechanical heart-valve prostheses. Specifically, silicon-alloyed low-temperature-isotropic (LTI)-pyrolytic carbon is examined, both as a coating on graphite and as a monolithic material, following overload, stress corrosion (static fatigue), and cyclic fatigue failures in a simulated physiological environment of 37 degrees C Ringer's solution. It is found that, in contrast to most metallic materials yet in keeping with many ceramics, there are no distinct fracture morphologies in pyro-carbons which are characteristic of a specific mode of loading; fracture surfaces appear to be identical for both catastrophic and subcritical crack growth under either sustained or cyclic loading. We conclude that caution should be used in assigning the likely cause of failure of pyrolytic carbon heart-valve components using fractographic examination.

Effects of space radiation on electronic microcircuits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kolasinski, W. A.

1989-01-01

The single event effects or phenomena (SEP), which so far have been observed as events falling on one or another of the SE classes: Single Event Upset (SEU), Single Event Latchup (SEL) and Single Event Burnout (SEB), are examined. Single event upset is defined as a lasting, reversible change in the state of a multistable (usually bistable) electronic circuit such as a flip-flop or latch. In a computer memory, SEUs manifest themselves as unexplained bit flips. Since latchup is in general caused by a single event of short duration, the single event part of the SEL term is superfluous. Nevertheless, it is used customarily to differentiate latchup due to a single heavy charged particle striking a sensitive cell from more ordinary kinds of latchup. Single event burnout (SEB) refers usually to total instantaneous failure of a power FET when struck by a single particle, with the device shorting out the power supply. An unforeseen failure of these kinds can be catastrophic to a space mission, and the possibilities are discussed.

In vitro characterizations of mesoporous hydroxyapatite as a controlled release delivery device for VEGF in orthopedic applications.

PubMed

Poh, Chye Khoon; Ng, Suxiu; Lim, Tee Yong; Tan, Hark Chuan; Loo, Joachim; Wang, Wilson

2012-11-01

Following bone implant surgery, prolonged ischemic conditions at the implant site often result in postsurgical complications like failure of osseointegration at the bone-implant interface which can lead to implant failure. Thus, restoration of the vascular supply is paramount to the proper development of the bone. High surface area mesostructured materials have been shown to be attractive candidates for bone regeneration to enhance cell adhesion and cell proliferation. This study uses hydroxyapatite, a naturally occurring mineral in the bone, fabricated to a range of suitable pore sizes, infused with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), to be progressively released to stimulate revascularization. In this study, several characterizations including nitrogen adsorption analysis, Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscope were used to evaluate the synthesized mesoporous hydroxyapatite (MHA). The results showed that MHA can gradually release VEGF for enhancing revascularization, which is beneficial for orthopedic applications. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Predicting device failure after percutaneous repair of functional mitral regurgitation in advanced heart failure: Implications for patient selection.

PubMed

Stolfo, Davide; De Luca, Antonio; Morea, Gaetano; Merlo, Marco; Vitrella, Giancarlo; Caiffa, Thomas; Barbati, Giulia; Rakar, Serena; Korcova, Renata; Perkan, Andrea; Pinamonti, Bruno; Pappalardo, Aniello; Berardini, Alessandra; Biagini, Elena; Saia, Francesco; Grigioni, Francesco; Rapezzi, Claudio; Sinagra, Gianfranco

2018-04-15

Patients with heart failure (HF) and severe symptomatic functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) may benefit from MitraClip implantation. With increasing numbers of patients being treated the success of procedure becomes a key issue. We sought to investigate the pre-procedural predictors of device failure in patients with advanced HF treated with MitraClip. From April 2012 to November 2016, 76 patients with poor functional class (NYHA class III-IV) and severe left ventricular (LV) remodeling underwent MitraClip implantation at University Hospitals of Trieste and Bologna (Italy). Device failure was assessed according to MVARC criteria. Patients were subsequently followed to additionally assess the patient success after 12months. Mean age was 67±12years, the mean Log-EuroSCORE was 23.4±16.5%, and the mean LV end-diastolic volume index and ejection fraction (EF) were 112±33ml/m 2 and 30.6±8.9%, respectively. At short-term evaluation, device failure was observed in 22 (29%) patients. Univariate predictors of device failure were LVEF, LV and left atrial volumes and anteroposterior mitral annulus diameter. Annulus dimension (OR 1.153, 95% CI 1.002-1.327, p=0.043) and LV end-diastolic volume (OR 1.024, 95% CI 1.000-1.049, p=0.049) were the only variables independently associated with the risk of device failure at the multivariate model. Pre-procedural anteroposterior mitral annulus diameter accurately predicted the risk of device failure after MitraClip in the setting of advanced HF. Its assessment might aid the selection of the best candidates to percutaneous correction of FMR. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Microscopic Perspective on Photovoltaic Reciprocity in Ultrathin Solar Cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aeberhard, Urs; Rau, Uwe

2017-06-01

The photovoltaic reciprocity theory relates the electroluminescence spectrum of a solar cell under applied bias to the external photovoltaic quantum efficiency of the device as measured at short circuit conditions. Its derivation is based on detailed balance relations between local absorption and emission rates in optically isotropic media with nondegenerate quasiequilibrium carrier distributions. In many cases, the dependence of density and spatial variation of electronic and optical device states on the point of operation is modest and the reciprocity relation holds. In nanostructure-based photovoltaic devices exploiting confined modes, however, the underlying assumptions are no longer justifiable. In the case of ultrathin absorber solar cells, the modification of the electronic structure with applied bias is significant due to the large variation of the built-in field. Straightforward use of the external quantum efficiency as measured at short circuit conditions in the photovoltaic reciprocity theory thus fails to reproduce the electroluminescence spectrum at large forward bias voltage. This failure is demonstrated here by numerical simulation of both spectral quantities at normal incidence and emission for an ultrathin GaAs p -i -n solar cell using an advanced quantum kinetic formalism based on nonequilibrium Green's functions of coupled photons and charge carriers. While coinciding with the semiclassical relations under the conditions of their validity, the theory provides a consistent microscopic relationship between absorption, emission, and charge carrier transport in photovoltaic devices at arbitrary operating conditions and for any shape of optical and electronic density of states.

Microscopic Perspective on Photovoltaic Reciprocity in Ultrathin Solar Cells.

PubMed

Aeberhard, Urs; Rau, Uwe

2017-06-16

The photovoltaic reciprocity theory relates the electroluminescence spectrum of a solar cell under applied bias to the external photovoltaic quantum efficiency of the device as measured at short circuit conditions. Its derivation is based on detailed balance relations between local absorption and emission rates in optically isotropic media with nondegenerate quasiequilibrium carrier distributions. In many cases, the dependence of density and spatial variation of electronic and optical device states on the point of operation is modest and the reciprocity relation holds. In nanostructure-based photovoltaic devices exploiting confined modes, however, the underlying assumptions are no longer justifiable. In the case of ultrathin absorber solar cells, the modification of the electronic structure with applied bias is significant due to the large variation of the built-in field. Straightforward use of the external quantum efficiency as measured at short circuit conditions in the photovoltaic reciprocity theory thus fails to reproduce the electroluminescence spectrum at large forward bias voltage. This failure is demonstrated here by numerical simulation of both spectral quantities at normal incidence and emission for an ultrathin GaAs p-i-n solar cell using an advanced quantum kinetic formalism based on nonequilibrium Green's functions of coupled photons and charge carriers. While coinciding with the semiclassical relations under the conditions of their validity, the theory provides a consistent microscopic relationship between absorption, emission, and charge carrier transport in photovoltaic devices at arbitrary operating conditions and for any shape of optical and electronic density of states.

The Development of Si and SiGe Technologies for Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Integrated Circuits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ponchak, George E.; Alterovitz, Samuel A.; Katehi, Linda P. B.; Bhattacharya, Pallab K.

1997-01-01

Historically, microwave technology was developed by military and space agencies from around the world to satisfy their unique radar, communication, and science applications. Throughout this development phase, the sole goal was to improve the performance of the microwave circuits and components comprising the systems. For example, power amplifiers with output powers of several watts over broad bandwidths, low noise amplifiers with noise figures as low as 3 dB at 94 GHz, stable oscillators with low noise characteristics and high output power, and electronically steerable antennas were required. In addition, the reliability of the systems had to be increased because of the high monetary and human cost if a failure occurred. To achieve these goals, industry, academia and the government agencies supporting them chose to develop technologies with the greatest possibility of surpassing the state of the art performance. Thus, Si, which was already widely used for digital circuits but had material characteristics that were perceived to limit its high frequency performance, was bypassed for a progression of devices starting with GaAs Metal Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MESFETs) and ending with InP Pseudomorphic High Electron Mobility Transistors (PHEMTs). For each new material or device structure, the electron mobility increased, and therefore, the high frequency characteristics of the device were improved. In addition, ultra small geometry lithographic processes were developed to reduce the gate length to 0.1 pm which further increases the cutoff frequency. The resulting devices had excellent performance through the millimeter-wave spectrum.

The effects of radiation on the outer planets grand tour

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1971-01-01

A handbook is presented which was designed to accompany an oral presentation on the effects of radiation on the outer planets grand tour (OPGT). A summary of OPGT radiation environments expected from natural sources and the radioisotope thermoelectric generators and basic radiation effects and processes are reviewed, and ionization and displacement effects are examined. The presentation summarizes the effects of radiation on miscellaneous spacecraft materials and devices. The annealing and hardening of electronics are described. Special emphasis is placed on microcircuits. Mathematical modeling of circuits affected by radiation and radiation environmental testing are discussed. A review of means of evaluating the performance and correcting failures of irradiated devices is also presented.

Length-scale and strain rate-dependent mechanism of defect formation and fracture in carbon nanotubes under tensile loading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Javvaji, Brahmanandam; Raha, S.; Mahapatra, D. Roy

2017-02-01

Electromagnetic and thermo-mechanical forces play a major role in nanotube-based materials and devices. Under high-energy electron transport or high current densities, carbon nanotubes fail via sequential fracture. The failure sequence is governed by certain length scale and flow of current. We report a unified phenomenological model derived from molecular dynamic simulation data, which successfully captures the important physics of the complex failure process. Length-scale and strain rate-dependent defect nucleation, growth, and fracture in single-walled carbon nanotubes with diameters in the range of 0.47 to 2.03 nm and length which is about 6.17 to 26.45 nm are simulated. Nanotubes with long length and small diameter show brittle fracture, while those with short length and large diameter show transition from ductile to brittle fracture. In short nanotubes with small diameters, we observe several structural transitions like Stone-Wales defect initiation, its propagation to larger void nucleation, formation of multiple chains of atoms, conversion to monatomic chain of atoms, and finally complete fracture of the carbon nanotube. Hybridization state of carbon-carbon bonds near the end cap evolves, leading to the formation of monatomic chain in short nanotubes with small diameter. Transition from ductile to brittle fracture is also observed when strain rate exceeds a critical value. A generalized analytical model of failure is established, which correlates the defect energy during the formation of atomic chain with aspect ratio of the nanotube and strain rate. Variation in the mechanical properties such as elastic modulus, tensile strength, and fracture strain with the size and strain rate shows important implications in mitigating force fields and ways to enhance the life of electronic devices and nanomaterial conversion via fracture in manufacturing.

Investigation of advanced fault insertion and simulator methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dunn, W. R.; Cottrell, D.

1986-01-01

The cooperative agreement partly supported research leading to the open-literature publication cited. Additional efforts under the agreement included research into fault modeling of semiconductor devices. Results of this research are presented in this report which is summarized in the following paragraphs. As a result of the cited research, it appears that semiconductor failure mechanism data is abundant but of little use in developing pin-level device models. Failure mode data on the other hand does exist but is too sparse to be of any statistical use in developing fault models. What is significant in the failure mode data is that, unlike classical logic, MSI and LSI devices do exhibit more than 'stuck-at' and open/short failure modes. Specifically they are dominated by parametric failures and functional anomalies that can include intermittent faults and multiple-pin failures. The report discusses methods of developing composite pin-level models based on extrapolation of semiconductor device failure mechanisms, failure modes, results of temperature stress testing and functional modeling. Limitations of this model particularly with regard to determination of fault detection coverage and latency time measurement are discussed. Indicated research directions are presented.

Ventricular assist devices and sleep-disordered breathing.

PubMed

Akkanti, Bindu; Castriotta, Richard J; Sayana, Pavani; Nunez, Emmanuel; Rajapreyar, Indranee; Kumar, Sachin; Nathan, Sriram; Majid, Ruckshanda

2017-10-01

Congestive heart failure is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States, and left ventricular assist devices have revolutionized treatment of end-stage heart failure. Given that sleep apnea results in significant morbidity in these patients with advanced heart failure, practicing sleep physicians need to have an understanding of left ventricular assist devices. In this review, we summarize what is known about ventricular assist devices as they relate to sleep medicine. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Self-heating and failure in scalable graphene devices

DOE PAGES

Beechem, Thomas E.; Shaffer, Ryan A.; Nogan, John; ...

2016-06-09

Self-heating induced failure of graphene devices synthesized from both chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and epitaxial means is compared using a combination of infrared thermography and Raman imaging. Despite a larger thermal resistance, CVD devices dissipate >3x the amount of power before failure than their epitaxial counterparts. The discrepancy arises due to morphological irregularities implicit to the graphene synthesis method that induce localized heating. As a result, morphology, rather than thermal resistance, therefore dictates power handling limits in graphene devices.

Experimental and theoretical analysis of integrated circuit (IC) chips on flexible substrates subjected to bending

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Ying; Yuan, Jianghong; Zhang, Yingchao; Huang, Yonggang; Feng, Xue

2017-10-01

The interfacial failure of integrated circuit (IC) chips integrated on flexible substrates under bending deformation has been studied theoretically and experimentally. A compressive buckling test is used to impose the bending deformation onto the interface between the IC chip and the flexible substrate quantitatively, after which the failed interface is investigated using scanning electron microscopy. A theoretical model is established based on the beam theory and a bi-layer interface model, from which an analytical expression of the critical curvature in relation to the interfacial failure is obtained. The relationships between the critical curvature, the material, and the geometric parameters of the device are discussed in detail, providing guidance for future optimization flexible circuits based on IC chips.

Design, Fabrication, and Characterization of Carbon Nanotube Field Emission Devices for Advanced Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radauscher, Erich Justin

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have recently emerged as promising candidates for electron field emission (FE) cathodes in integrated FE devices. These nanostructured carbon materials possess exceptional properties and their synthesis can be thoroughly controlled. Their integration into advanced electronic devices, including not only FE cathodes, but sensors, energy storage devices, and circuit components, has seen rapid growth in recent years. The results of the studies presented here demonstrate that the CNT field emitter is an excellent candidate for next generation vacuum microelectronics and related electron emission devices in several advanced applications. The work presented in this study addresses determining factors that currently confine the performance and application of CNT-FE devices. Characterization studies and improvements to the FE properties of CNTs, along with Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) design and fabrication, were utilized in achieving these goals. Important performance limiting parameters, including emitter lifetime and failure from poor substrate adhesion, are examined. The compatibility and integration of CNT emitters with the governing MEMS substrate (i.e., polycrystalline silicon), and its impact on these performance limiting parameters, are reported. CNT growth mechanisms and kinetics were investigated and compared to silicon (100) to improve the design of CNT emitter integrated MEMS based electronic devices, specifically in vacuum microelectronic device (VMD) applications. Improved growth allowed for design and development of novel cold-cathode FE devices utilizing CNT field emitters. A chemical ionization (CI) source based on a CNT-FE electron source was developed and evaluated in a commercial desktop mass spectrometer for explosives trace detection. This work demonstrated the first reported use of a CNT-based ion source capable of collecting CI mass spectra. The CNT-FE source demonstrated low power requirements, pulsing capabilities, and average lifetimes of over 320 hours when operated in constant emission mode under elevated pressures, without sacrificing performance. Additionally, a novel packaged ion source for miniature mass spectrometer applications using CNT emitters, a MEMS based Nier-type geometry, and a Low Temperature Cofired Ceramic (LTCC) 3D scaffold with integrated ion optics were developed and characterized. While previous research has shown other devices capable of collecting ion currents on chip, this LTCC packaged MEMS micro-ion source demonstrated improvements in energy and angular dispersion as well as the ability to direct the ions out of the packaged source and towards a mass analyzer. Simulations and experimental design, fabrication, and characterization were used to make these improvements. Finally, novel CNT-FE devices were developed to investigate their potential to perform as active circuit elements in VMD circuits. Difficulty integrating devices at micron-scales has hindered the use of vacuum electronic devices in integrated circuits, despite the unique advantages they offer in select applications. Using a combination of particle trajectory simulation and experimental characterization, device performance in an integrated platform was investigated. Solutions to the difficulties in operating multiple devices in close proximity and enhancing electron transmission (i.e., reducing grid loss) are explored in detail. A systematic and iterative process was used to develop isolation structures that reduced crosstalk between neighboring devices from 15% on average, to nearly zero. Innovative geometries and a new operational mode reduced grid loss by nearly threefold, thereby improving transmission of the emitted cathode current to the anode from 25% in initial designs to 70% on average. These performance enhancements are important enablers for larger scale integration and for the realization of complex vacuum microelectronic circuits.

Prognostics for Electronics Components of Avionics Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Celaya, Jose R.; Saha, Bhaskar; Wysocki, Philip F.; Goebel, Kai F.

2009-01-01

Electronics components have and increasingly critical role in avionics systems and for the development of future aircraft systems. Prognostics of such components is becoming a very important research filed as a result of the need to provide aircraft systems with system level health management. This paper reports on a prognostics application for electronics components of avionics systems, in particular, its application to the Isolated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT). The remaining useful life prediction for the IGBT is based on the particle filter framework, leveraging data from an accelerated aging tests on IGBTs. The accelerated aging test provided thermal-electrical overstress by applying thermal cycling to the device. In-situ state monitoring, including measurements of the steady-state voltages and currents, electrical transients, and thermal transients are recorded and used as potential precursors of failure.

Towards Prognostics for Electronics Components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saha, Bhaskar; Celaya, Jose R.; Wysocki, Philip F.; Goebel, Kai F.

2013-01-01

Electronics components have an increasingly critical role in avionics systems and in the development of future aircraft systems. Prognostics of such components is becoming a very important research field as a result of the need to provide aircraft systems with system level health management information. This paper focuses on a prognostics application for electronics components within avionics systems, and in particular its application to an Isolated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT). This application utilizes the remaining useful life prediction, accomplished by employing the particle filter framework, leveraging data from accelerated aging tests on IGBTs. These tests induced thermal-electrical overstresses by applying thermal cycling to the IGBT devices. In-situ state monitoring, including measurements of steady-state voltages and currents, electrical transients, and thermal transients are recorded and used as potential precursors of failure.

Optoelectronic Devices with Complex Failure Modes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnston, A.

2000-01-01

This part of the NSREC-2000 Short Course discusses radiation effects in basic photonic devices along with effects in more complex optoelectronic devices where the overall radiation response depends on several factors, with the possibility of multiple failure modes.

Nanowire growth process modeling and reliability models for nanodevices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fathi Aghdam, Faranak

Nowadays, nanotechnology is becoming an inescapable part of everyday life. The big barrier in front of its rapid growth is our incapability of producing nanoscale materials in a reliable and cost-effective way. In fact, the current yield of nano-devices is very low (around 10 %), which makes fabrications of nano-devices very expensive and uncertain. To overcome this challenge, the first and most important step is to investigate how to control nano-structure synthesis variations. The main directions of reliability research in nanotechnology can be classified either from a material perspective or from a device perspective. The first direction focuses on restructuring materials and/or optimizing process conditions at the nano-level (nanomaterials). The other direction is linked to nano-devices and includes the creation of nano-electronic and electro-mechanical systems at nano-level architectures by taking into account the reliability of future products. In this dissertation, we have investigated two topics on both nano-materials and nano-devices. In the first research work, we have studied the optimization of one of the most important nanowire growth processes using statistical methods. Research on nanowire growth with patterned arrays of catalyst has shown that the wire-to-wire spacing is an important factor affecting the quality of resulting nanowires. To improve the process yield and the length uniformity of fabricated nanowires, it is important to reduce the resource competition between nanowires during the growth process. We have proposed a physical-statistical nanowire-interaction model considering the shadowing effect and shared substrate diffusion area to determine the optimal pitch that would ensure the minimum competition between nanowires. A sigmoid function is used in the model, and the least squares estimation method is used to estimate the model parameters. The estimated model is then used to determine the optimal spatial arrangement of catalyst arrays. This work is an early attempt that uses a physical-statistical modeling approach to studying selective nanowire growth for the improvement of process yield. In the second research work, the reliability of nano-dielectrics is investigated. As electronic devices get smaller, reliability issues pose new challenges due to unknown underlying physics of failure (i.e., failure mechanisms and modes). This necessitates new reliability analysis approaches related to nano-scale devices. One of the most important nano-devices is the transistor that is subject to various failure mechanisms. Dielectric breakdown is known to be the most critical one and has become a major barrier for reliable circuit design in nano-scale. Due to the need for aggressive downscaling of transistors, dielectric films are being made extremely thin, and this has led to adopting high permittivity (k) dielectrics as an alternative to widely used SiO2 in recent years. Since most time-dependent dielectric breakdown test data on bilayer stacks show significant deviations from a Weibull trend, we have proposed two new approaches to modeling the time to breakdown of bi-layer high-k dielectrics. In the first approach, we have used a marked space-time self-exciting point process to model the defect generation rate. A simulation algorithm is used to generate defects within the dielectric space, and an optimization algorithm is employed to minimize the Kullback-Leibler divergence between the empirical distribution obtained from the real data and the one based on the simulated data to find the best parameter values and to predict the total time to failure. The novelty of the presented approach lies in using a conditional intensity for trap generation in dielectric that is a function of time, space and size of the previous defects. In addition, in the second approach, a k-out-of-n system framework is proposed to estimate the total failure time after the generation of more than one soft breakdown.

ESREF 98 - 9th European Symposium on Reliability of Electron Devices, Failure Physics and Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-10-19

Gap effects within a nanosecond time scale. Effective Density of States Because of the limited possibility of compact Mobility models to deal with the...brackets) and the dislocation source action mobility M. The force is the balance between the normal stress a,, on the dislocations and the osmotic The...on, the electromigration force acts theration kt. on the atoms and a transport to the anode side of the t It is the mobility term that accounts for

e-Screening revolution: A novel approach to developing a delirium screening tool in the intensive care unit.

PubMed

Eeles, Eamonn; Gunn, Hayley; Sutt, Anna-Liisa; Pinsker, Donna; Flaws, Dylan; Jarrett, Paul; Lye, India; Fraser, John F

2018-06-01

Delirium is common in the intensive care unit (ICU), often affecting older patients. A bedside electronic tool has the potential to revolutionise delirium screening. Our group describe a novel approach to the design and development of delirium screening questions for the express purpose of use within an electronic device. Preliminary results are presented. Our group designed a series of tests which targeted the clinical criteria for delirium according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Fifth Edition (DSM-5) criteria against predefined requirements, including applicability to older patients. Candidate questions, including tests of attention and awareness, were devised and then refined by an expert multidisciplinary group, including geriatricians. A scoring scheme was constructed, with testing to failure an indicator of delirium. The device was tested in healthy controls, aged 20-80 years, who were recorded as being without delirium. e-Screening for delirium requires a novel approach to instrument design but may revolutionise recognition of delirium in ICU. © 2018 AJA Inc.

Unstable behaviour of normally-off GaN E-HEMT under short-circuit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martínez, P. J.; Maset, E.; Sanchis-Kilders, E.; Esteve, V.; Jordán, J.; Bta Ejea, J.; Ferreres, A.

2018-04-01

The short-circuit capability of power switching devices plays an important role in fault detection and the protection of power circuits. In this work, an experimental study on the short-circuit (SC) capability of commercial 600 V Gallium Nitride enhancement-mode high-electron-mobility transistors (E-HEMT) is presented. A different failure mechanism has been identified for commercial p-doped GaN gate (p-GaN) HEMT and metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) HEMT. In addition to the well known thermal breakdown, a premature breakdown is shown on both GaN HEMTs, triggered by hot electron trapping at the surface, which demonstrates that current commercial GaN HEMTs has requirements for improving their SC ruggedness.

Review Of E-Beam Electrical Test Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hohn, Fritz J.

1987-09-01

Electron beams as a viable technique for contactless testing of electrical functions and electrical integrity of different active devices in VLSI-chips has been demonstrated over the past years. This method of testing electronic networks, most widely used in the laboratory environment, is based on an electron probe which is deflected from point to point in the network. A current of secondary electrons emitted in response to the impingement of the electron probe is converted to a signal indicating the presence of a voltage or varying potential at the different points. Voltage contrast, electron beam induced current, dual potential approach, stroboscopic techniques and other methods have been developed and are used to detect different functional failures in devices. Besides the VLSI application, the contactless testing of three dimensional conductor networks of a 10cm x 10cm x .8cm multilayer ceramic module poses a different and new application for the electron beam test technique. A dual potential electron beam test system allows to generate electron beam induced voltage contrast. The same system at a different potential is used to detect this voltage contrast over the large area without moving the substrate and thus test for the electrical integrity of the networks. Less attention in most of the applications has been paid to the electron optical environment, mostly SEM's were upgraded or converted to do the job of a "voltage contrast" machine. This by no means will satisfy all requirements and more thoughts have to be given to aspects such as: low voltage electron guns: thermal emitter, Schottky emitter, field emitter, low voltage electron optics, two lens systems, different means of detection, signal processing - storage and others. This paper will review available E-beam test techniques, specific applications and some critical components.

Electronic Structure of Low-Temperature Solution-Processed Amorphous Metal Oxide Semiconductors for Thin-Film Transistor Applications

PubMed Central

Socratous, Josephine; Banger, Kulbinder K; Vaynzof, Yana; Sadhanala, Aditya; Brown, Adam D; Sepe, Alessandro; Steiner, Ullrich; Sirringhaus, Henning

2015-01-01

The electronic structure of low temperature, solution-processed indium–zinc oxide thin-film transistors is complex and remains insufficiently understood. As commonly observed, high device performance with mobility >1 cm2 V−1 s−1 is achievable after annealing in air above typically 250 °C but performance decreases rapidly when annealing temperatures ≤200 °C are used. Here, the electronic structure of low temperature, solution-processed oxide thin films as a function of annealing temperature and environment using a combination of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, and photothermal deflection spectroscopy is investigated. The drop-off in performance at temperatures ≤200 °C to incomplete conversion of metal hydroxide species into the fully coordinated oxide is attributed. The effect of an additional vacuum annealing step, which is beneficial if performed for short times at low temperatures, but leads to catastrophic device failure if performed at too high temperatures or for too long is also investigated. Evidence is found that during vacuum annealing, the workfunction increases and a large concentration of sub-bandgap defect states (re)appears. These results demonstrate that good devices can only be achieved in low temperature, solution-processed oxides if a significant concentration of acceptor states below the conduction band minimum is compensated or passivated by shallow hydrogen and oxygen vacancy-induced donor levels. PMID:26190964

Alternatives for joining Si wafers to strain-accommodating Cu for high-power electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faust, Nicholas; Messler, Robert W.; Khatri, Subhash

2001-10-01

Differences in the coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) between silicon wafers and underlying copper electrodes have led to the use of purely mechanical dry pressure contacts for primary electrical and thermal connections in high-power solid-state electronic devices. These contacts are limited by their ability to dissipate I2R heat from within the device and by their thermal fatigue life. To increase heat dissipation and effectively deal with the CTE mismatch, metallurgical bonding of the silicon to a specially-structured, strain-accommodating copper electrode has been proposed. This study was intended to seek alternative methods for and demonstrate the feasibility of bonding Si to structured Cu in high-power solid-state devices. Three different but fundamentally related fluxless approaches identified and preliminarily assessed were: (1) conventional Sn-Ag eutectic solder; (2) a new, commercially-available active solder based on the Sn-Ag eutectic; and (3) solid-liquid interdiffusion bonding using the Au-In system. Metallurgical joints were made with varying quality levels (according to nonde-structive ultrasonic C-scan mapping, SEM, and electron microprobe) using each approach. Mechanical shear testing resulted in cohesive failure within the Si or the filler alloys. The best approach, in which eutectic Sn-Ag solder in pre-alloyed foil form was employed on Si and Cu substrates metallized (from the substrate outward) with Ti, Ni and Au, exhibited joint thermal conduction 74% better than dry pressure contacts.

Electronic Structure of Low-Temperature Solution-Processed Amorphous Metal Oxide Semiconductors for Thin-Film Transistor Applications.

PubMed

Socratous, Josephine; Banger, Kulbinder K; Vaynzof, Yana; Sadhanala, Aditya; Brown, Adam D; Sepe, Alessandro; Steiner, Ullrich; Sirringhaus, Henning

2015-03-25

The electronic structure of low temperature, solution-processed indium-zinc oxide thin-film transistors is complex and remains insufficiently understood. As commonly observed, high device performance with mobility >1 cm 2 V -1 s -1 is achievable after annealing in air above typically 250 °C but performance decreases rapidly when annealing temperatures ≤200 °C are used. Here, the electronic structure of low temperature, solution-processed oxide thin films as a function of annealing temperature and environment using a combination of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, and photothermal deflection spectroscopy is investigated. The drop-off in performance at temperatures ≤200 °C to incomplete conversion of metal hydroxide species into the fully coordinated oxide is attributed. The effect of an additional vacuum annealing step, which is beneficial if performed for short times at low temperatures, but leads to catastrophic device failure if performed at too high temperatures or for too long is also investigated. Evidence is found that during vacuum annealing, the workfunction increases and a large concentration of sub-bandgap defect states (re)appears. These results demonstrate that good devices can only be achieved in low temperature, solution-processed oxides if a significant concentration of acceptor states below the conduction band minimum is compensated or passivated by shallow hydrogen and oxygen vacancy-induced donor levels.

Radiation Testing Electronics with Heavy Ions-The Best Way to Hit a Target Moving Ever Exponentially Faster

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ladbury, Ray

2018-01-01

In 1972, when engineers at Hughes Aircraft Corporation discovered that errors in their satellite avionics were being caused by cosmic rays (so-called single-event effects, or SEE), Moore's Law was only 7 years old. Now, more than 45 years on, the scaling that drove Moore's Law for its first 35 years has reached its limits. However, electronics technology continues to evolve exponentially and SEE remain a formidable issue for use of electronics in space. SEE occur when a single ionizing particle passes through a sensitive volume in an active semiconductor device and generates sufficient charge to cause anomalous behavior or failure in the device. Because SEE can occur at any time during the mission, the emphasis of SEE risk management methodologies is ensuring that all SEE modes in a device under test are detected by the test. Because a particle's probability of causing an SEE generally increases as the particle becomes more ionizing, heavy-ion beams have been and remain the preferred tools for elucidating SEE vulnerabilities. In this talk we briefly discuss space radiation environments and SEE mechanisms, describe SEE test methodologies and discuss current and future challenges for use of heavy-ion beams for SEE testing in an era when the continued validity of Moore's law depends on innovation rather than CMOS scaling.

Anesthesiology Devices; Reclassification of Membrane Lung for Long-Term Pulmonary Support; Redesignation as Extracorporeal Circuit and Accessories for Long-Term Respiratory/Cardiopulmonary Failure. Final order.

PubMed

2016-02-12

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing a final order to redesignate membrane lung devices for long-term pulmonary support, a preamendments class III device, as extracorporeal circuit and accessories for long-term respiratory/cardiopulmonary failure, and to reclassify the device to class II (special controls) in patients with acute respiratory failure or acute cardiopulmonary failure where other available treatment options have failed, and continued clinical deterioration is expected or the risk of death is imminent. A membrane lung device for long-term pulmonary support (>6 hours) refers to the oxygenator in an extracorporeal circuit used during long-term procedures, commonly referred to as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Because a number of other devices and accessories are used with the oxygenator in the circuit, the title and identification of the regulation are revised to include extracorporeal circuit and accessories for long-term respiratory/cardiopulmonary failure. Although an individual device or accessory used in an ECMO circuit may already have its own classification regulation when the device or accessory is intended for short-term use (<=6 hours), such device or accessory will be subject to the same regulatory controls applied to the oxygenator (i.e., class II, special controls) when evaluated as part of the ECMO circuit for long-term use (>6 hours). On its own initiative, based on new information, FDA is revising the classification of the membrane lung device for long-term pulmonary support.

Processes in construction of failure management expert systems from device design information

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malin, Jane T.; Lance, Nick

1987-01-01

This paper analyzes the tasks and problem solving methods used by an engineer in constructing a failure management expert system from design information about the device to te diagnosed. An expert test engineer developed a trouble-shooting expert system based on device design information and experience with similar devices, rather than on specific expert knowledge gained from operating the device or troubleshooting its failures. The construction of the expert system was intensively observed and analyzed. This paper characterizes the knowledge, tasks, methods, and design decisions involved in constructing this type of expert system, and makes recommendations concerning tools for aiding and automating construction of such systems.

The Next Technology Revolution - Nano Electronic Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turlik, Iwona

2004-03-01

Nanotechnology is a revolutionary engine that will engender enormous changes in a vast majority of today's industries and markets, while potentially creating whole new industries. The impact of nanotechnology is particularly significant in the electronics industry, which is constantly driven by the need for higher performance, increased functionality, smaller size and lower cost. Nanotechnology can influence many of the hundreds of components that are typically assembled to manufacture modern electronic devices. Motorola manufactures electronics for a wide range of industries and communication products. In this presentation, the typical components of a cellular phone are outlined and technology requirements for future products, the customer benefits, and the potential impact of nanotechnology on many of the components are discussed. Technology needs include reliable materials supply, processes for high volume production, experimental and simulation tools, etc. For example, even routine procedures such as failure characterization may require the development of new tools for investigating nano-scale phenomena. Business needs include the development of an effective, high volume supply chain for nano-materials and devices, disruptive product platforms, and visible performance impact on the end consumer. An equally significant long-term industry need is the availability of science and engineering graduates with a multidisciplinary focus and a deep understanding of the fundamentals of nano-technology, that can harness the technology to create revolutionary products.

A Boundary Scan Test Vehicle for Direct Chip Attach Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parsons, Heather A.; DAgostino, Saverio; Arakaki, Genji

2000-01-01

To facilitate the new faster, better and cheaper spacecraft designs, smaller more mass efficient avionics and instruments are using higher density electronic packaging technologies such as direct chip attach (DCA). For space flight applications, these technologies need to have demonstrated reliability and reasonably well defined fabrication and assembly processes before they will be accepted as baseline designs in new missions. As electronics shrink in size, not only can repair be more difficult, but 49 probing" circuitry can be very risky and it becomes increasingly more difficult to identify the specific source of a problem. To test and monitor these new technologies, the Direct Chip Attach Task, under NASA's Electronic Parts and Packaging Program (NEPP), chose the test methodology of boundary scan testing. The boundary scan methodology was developed for interconnect integrity and functional testing at hard to access electrical nodes. With boundary scan testing, active devices are used and failures can be identified to the specific device and lead. This technology permits the incorporation of "built in test" into almost any circuit and thus gives detailed test access to the highly integrated electronic assemblies. This presentation will describe boundary scan, discuss the development of the boundary scan test vehicle for DCA and current plans for testing of direct chip attach configurations.

Electronic Adherence Monitoring in a High-Utilizing Pediatric Asthma Cohort: A Feasibility Study.

PubMed

Kenyon, Chén Collin; Chang, Joyce; Wynter, Sheri-Ann; Fowler, Jessica C; Long, Jin; Bryant-Stephens, Tyra C

2016-06-22

Inner-city, minority children with asthma have the highest rates of morbidity and death from asthma and the lowest rates of asthma controller medication adherence. Some recent electronic medication monitoring interventions demonstrated dramatic improvements in adherence in lower-risk populations. The feasibility and acceptability of such an intervention in the highest-risk children with asthma has not been studied. Our objective was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a community health worker-delivered electronic adherence monitoring intervention among the highest utilizers of acute asthma care in an inner-city practice. This was a prospective cohort pilot study targeting children with the highest frequency of asthma-related emergency department and hospital care within a local managed care Medicaid plan. The 3-month intervention included motivational interviewing, electronic monitoring of controller and rescue inhaler use, and outreach by a community health worker for predefined medication alerts. We measured acceptability by using a modified technology acceptability model and changes in asthma control using the Asthma Control Test (ACT). Given prominent feasibility issues, we describe qualitative patterns of medication use at baseline only. We enrolled 14 non-Hispanic black children with a median age of 3.5 years. Participants averaged 7.8 emergency or hospital visits in the year preceding enrollment. We observed three distinct patterns of baseline controller use: 4 patients demonstrated sustained use, 5 patients had periodic use, and 5 patients lapsed within 2 weeks. All participants initiated use of the electronic devices; however, no modem signal was transmitted for 5 or the 14 participants after a mean of 45 days. Of the 9 (64% of total) caregivers who completed the final study visit, all viewed the electronic monitoring device favorably and would recommend it to friends, and 5 (56%) believed that the device helped to improve asthma control. ACT scores improved by a mean of 2.7 points (P=.05) over the 3-month intervention. High-utilizer, minority families who completed a community health worker-delivered electronic adherence intervention found it generally acceptable. Prominent feasibility concerns, however, such as recruitment, data transmission failure, and lost devices, should be carefully considered when designing interventions in this setting.

Stress redistribution and damage in interconnects caused by electromigration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiras, Stefanie Ruth

Electromigration has long been recognized as a phenomenon that induces mass redistribution in metals which, when constrained, can lead to the creation of stress. Since the development of the integrated circuit, electromigration. in interconnects, (the metal lines which carry current between devices in integrated circuits), has become a reliability concern. The primary failure mechanism in the interconnects is usually voiding, which causes electrical resistance increases in the circuit. In some cases, however, another failure mode occurs, fracture of the surrounding dielectric driven by electromigration induced compressive stresses within the interconnect. It is this failure mechanism that is the focus of this thesis. To study dielectric fracture, both residual processing stresses and the development of electromigration induced stress in isolated, constrained interconnects was measured. The high-resolution measurements were made using two types of piezospectroscopy, complemented by finite element analysis (FEA). Both procedures directly measured stress in the underlying or neighboring substrate and used FEA to determine interconnect stresses. These interconnect stresses were related to the effected circuit failure mode through post-test scanning electron microscopy and resistance measurements taken during electromigration testing. The results provide qualitative evidence of electromigration driven passivation fracture, and quantitative analysis of the theoretical model of the failure, the "immortal" interconnect concept.

Using diagnostic experiences in experience-based innovative design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prabhakar, Sattiraju; Goel, Ashok K.

1992-03-01

Designing a novel class of devices requires innovation. Often, the design knowledge of these devices does not identify and address the constraints that are required for their performance in the real world operating environment. So any new design adapted from these devices tend to be similarly sketchy. In order to address this problem, we propose a case-based reasoning method called performance driven innovation (PDI). We model the design as a dynamic process, arrive at a design by adaptation from the known designs, generate failures for this design for some new constraints, and then use this failure knowledge to generate the required design knowledge for the new constraints. In this paper, we discuss two aspects of PDI: the representation of PDI cases and the translation of the failure knowledge into design knowledge for a constraint. Each case in PDI has two components: design and failure knowledge. Both of them are represented using a substance-behavior-function model. Failure knowledge has internal device failure behaviors and external environmental behaviors. The environmental behavior, for a constraint, interacting with the design behaviors, results in the failure internal behavior. The failure adaptation strategy generates functions, from the failure knowledge, which can be addressed using the routine design methods. These ideas are illustrated using a coffee-maker example.

Cantilever testing of sintered-silver interconnects

DOE PAGES

Wereszczak, Andrew A.; Chen, Branndon R.; Jadaan, Osama M.; ...

2017-10-19

Cantilever testing is an underutilized test method from which results and interpretations promote greater understanding of the tensile and shear failure responses of interconnects, metallizations, or bonded joints. The use and analysis of this method were pursued through the mechanical testing of sintered-silver interconnects that joined Ni/Au-plated copper pillars or Ti/Ni/Ag-plated silicon pillars to Ag-plated direct bonded copper substrates. Sintered-silver was chosen as the interconnect test medium because of its high electrical and thermal conductivities and high-temperature capability—attractive characteristics for a candidate interconnect in power electronic components and other devices. Deep beam theory was used to improve upon the estimationsmore » of the tensile and shear stresses calculated from classical beam theory. The failure stresses of the sintered-silver interconnects were observed to be dependent on test-condition and test-material-system. In conclusion, the experimental simplicity of cantilever testing, and the ability to analytically calculate tensile and shear stresses at failure, result in it being an attractive mechanical test method to evaluate the failure response of interconnects.« less

3D Printing of Materials with Tunable Failure via Bioinspired Mechanical Gradients.

PubMed

Kokkinis, Dimitri; Bouville, Florian; Studart, André R

2018-05-01

Mechanical gradients are useful to reduce strain mismatches in heterogeneous materials and thus prevent premature failure of devices in a wide range of applications. While complex graded designs are a hallmark of biological materials, gradients in manmade materials are often limited to 1D profiles due to the lack of adequate fabrication tools. Here, a multimaterial 3D-printing platform is developed to fabricate elastomer gradients spanning three orders of magnitude in elastic modulus and used to investigate the role of various bioinspired gradient designs on the local and global mechanical behavior of synthetic materials. The digital image correlation data and finite element modeling indicate that gradients can be effectively used to manipulate the stress state and thus circumvent the weakening effect of defect-rich interfaces or program the failure behavior of heterogeneous materials. Implementing this concept in materials with bioinspired designs can potentially lead to defect-tolerant structures and to materials whose tunable failure facilitates repair of biomedical implants, stretchable electronics, or soft robotics. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Cantilever testing of sintered-silver interconnects

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wereszczak, Andrew A.; Chen, Branndon R.; Jadaan, Osama M.

Cantilever testing is an underutilized test method from which results and interpretations promote greater understanding of the tensile and shear failure responses of interconnects, metallizations, or bonded joints. The use and analysis of this method were pursued through the mechanical testing of sintered-silver interconnects that joined Ni/Au-plated copper pillars or Ti/Ni/Ag-plated silicon pillars to Ag-plated direct bonded copper substrates. Sintered-silver was chosen as the interconnect test medium because of its high electrical and thermal conductivities and high-temperature capability—attractive characteristics for a candidate interconnect in power electronic components and other devices. Deep beam theory was used to improve upon the estimationsmore » of the tensile and shear stresses calculated from classical beam theory. The failure stresses of the sintered-silver interconnects were observed to be dependent on test-condition and test-material-system. In conclusion, the experimental simplicity of cantilever testing, and the ability to analytically calculate tensile and shear stresses at failure, result in it being an attractive mechanical test method to evaluate the failure response of interconnects.« less

3D analysis of semiconductor devices: A combination of 3D imaging and 3D elemental analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Bianzhu; Gribelyuk, Michael A.

2018-04-01

3D analysis of semiconductor devices using a combination of scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) Z-contrast tomography and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) elemental tomography is presented. 3D STEM Z-contrast tomography is useful in revealing the depth information of the sample. However, it suffers from contrast problems between materials with similar atomic numbers. Examples of EDS elemental tomography are presented using an automated EDS tomography system with batch data processing, which greatly reduces the data collection and processing time. 3D EDS elemental tomography reveals more in-depth information about the defect origin in semiconductor failure analysis. The influence of detector shadowing and X-rays absorption on the EDS tomography's result is also discussed.

Securing All intraVenous devices Effectively in hospitalised patients--the SAVE trial: study protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Rickard, Claire M; Marsh, Nicole; Webster, Joan; Playford, E Geoffrey; McGrail, Matthew R; Larsen, Emily; Keogh, Samantha; McMillan, David; Whitty, Jennifer A; Choudhury, Md Abu; Dunster, Kimble R; Reynolds, Heather; Marshall, Andrea; Crilly, Julia; Young, Jeanine; Thom, Ogilvie; Gowardman, John; Corley, Amanda; Fraser, John F

2015-09-23

Over 70% of all hospital admissions have a peripheral intravenous device (PIV) inserted; however, the failure rate of PIVs is unacceptably high, with up to 69% of these devices failing before treatment is complete. Failure can be due to dislodgement, phlebitis, occlusion/infiltration and/or infection. This results in interrupted medical therapy; painful phlebitis and reinsertions; increased hospital length of stay, morbidity and mortality from infections; and wasted medical/nursing time. Appropriate PIV dressing and securement may prevent many cases of PIV failure, but little comparative data exist regarding the efficacy of various PIV dressing and securement methods. This trial will investigate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of 4 methods of PIV dressing and securement in preventing PIV failure. A multicentre, parallel group, superiority randomised controlled trial with 4 arms, 3 experimental groups (tissue adhesive, bordered polyurethane dressing, sutureless securement device) and 1 control (standard polyurethane dressing) is planned. There will be a 3-year recruitment of 1708 adult patients, with allocation concealment until randomisation by a centralised web-based service. The primary outcome is PIV failure which includes any of: dislodgement, occlusion/infiltration, phlebitis and infection. Secondary outcomes include: types of PIV failure, PIV dwell time, costs, device colonisation, skin colonisation, patient and staff satisfaction. Relative incidence rates of device failure per 100 devices and per 1000 device days with 95% CIs will summarise the impact of each dressing, and test differences between groups. Kaplan-Meier survival curves (with log-rank Mantel-Cox test) will compare device failure over time. p Values of <0.05 will be considered significant. Secondary end points will be compared between groups using parametric or non-parametric techniques appropriate to level of measurement. Ethical approval has been received from Queensland Health (HREC/11/QRCH/152) and Griffith University (NRS/46/11/HREC). Results will be published according to the CONSORT statement and presented at relevant conferences. Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (ACTRN); 12611000769987. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Securing All intraVenous devices Effectively in hospitalised patients—the SAVE trial: study protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial

PubMed Central

Rickard, Claire M; Marsh, Nicole; Webster, Joan; Playford, E Geoffrey; McGrail, Matthew R; Larsen, Emily; Keogh, Samantha; McMillan, David; Whitty, Jennifer A; Choudhury, Md Abu; Dunster, Kimble R; Reynolds, Heather; Marshall, Andrea; Crilly, Julia; Young, Jeanine; Thom, Ogilvie; Gowardman, John; Corley, Amanda; Fraser, John F

2015-01-01

Introduction Over 70% of all hospital admissions have a peripheral intravenous device (PIV) inserted; however, the failure rate of PIVs is unacceptably high, with up to 69% of these devices failing before treatment is complete. Failure can be due to dislodgement, phlebitis, occlusion/infiltration and/or infection. This results in interrupted medical therapy; painful phlebitis and reinsertions; increased hospital length of stay, morbidity and mortality from infections; and wasted medical/nursing time. Appropriate PIV dressing and securement may prevent many cases of PIV failure, but little comparative data exist regarding the efficacy of various PIV dressing and securement methods. This trial will investigate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of 4 methods of PIV dressing and securement in preventing PIV failure. Methods and analysis A multicentre, parallel group, superiority randomised controlled trial with 4 arms, 3 experimental groups (tissue adhesive, bordered polyurethane dressing, sutureless securement device) and 1 control (standard polyurethane dressing) is planned. There will be a 3-year recruitment of 1708 adult patients, with allocation concealment until randomisation by a centralised web-based service. The primary outcome is PIV failure which includes any of: dislodgement, occlusion/infiltration, phlebitis and infection. Secondary outcomes include: types of PIV failure, PIV dwell time, costs, device colonisation, skin colonisation, patient and staff satisfaction. Relative incidence rates of device failure per 100 devices and per 1000 device days with 95% CIs will summarise the impact of each dressing, and test differences between groups. Kaplan-Meier survival curves (with log-rank Mantel-Cox test) will compare device failure over time. p Values of <0.05 will be considered significant. Secondary end points will be compared between groups using parametric or non-parametric techniques appropriate to level of measurement. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval has been received from Queensland Health (HREC/11/QRCH/152) and Griffith University (NRS/46/11/HREC). Results will be published according to the CONSORT statement and presented at relevant conferences. Trial registration number Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (ACTRN); 12611000769987. PMID:26399574

SU-E-T-447: Growth of Metal Whiskers Under External Beam Irradiation: Experimental Evidence and Implications in Medical Electronic Devices for Radiation Therapy Treatments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shvydka, D; Warrell, G; Parsai, E

2015-06-15

Purpose: Thin metallic protrusions, termed “whiskers,” have been identified as a cause of failure in devices ranging from satellites to pacemakers. For decades, lead was used in tin-based soldering alloys to suppress whisker formation. With the adoption of the Restriction of Hazardous Substances act and the expiration of its exemption on medical devices, including implanted medical devices (IMDs), electronic circuits are required to be lead-free as of July 2014. The effect of radiation on such soldering components remains unknown. Methods: We have irradiated a thin (150 nm) tin metal layer, deposited on a 3 mm thick glass substrate, with amore » 6 MeV medical linac (Varian TrueBeam) electron beam in five 2-hour long sessions. After receiving ∼10 kGy, whisker growth on the sample was assessed with scanning electron microscopy and compared to a reference sample not exposed to radiation. Results: After 10 hours of irradiation, the sample was found to develop intense whisker infestation, while the reference sample remained in its pristine as-deposited condition. Repeating the same irradiation schedule generated more and longer whiskers. The observed phenomenon can be explained through charge accumulation in the glass substrate, generating an electric field that promotes whisker growth. The observed substrate glass darkening under irradiation points towards development of color centers related to charge trapping. Experiments on the same type of samples with direct application of the external field in a capacitor-like setting also resulted in intense whisker growth. Conclusion: Extreme care should be taken in dealing with all electronic devices, especially IMDs, produced with lead-free solder and components, subject to radiation exposure. While in our experiments strong electric fields were intentionally generated to accelerate whisker growth over hours, in everyday use the circuit soldering may cause problems in a matter of days or months. Designated reliability testing under radiation must be conducted. This work is partially supported by NRC grant No. NRC-HQ-12-G-38-0042.« less

Analyses of Transistor Punchthrough Failures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nicolas, David P.

1999-01-01

The failure of two transistors in the Altitude Switch Assembly for the Solid Rocket Booster followed by two additional failures a year later presented a challenge to failure analysts. These devices had successfully worked for many years on numerous missions. There was no history of failures with this type of device. Extensive checks of the test procedures gave no indication for a source of the cause. The devices were manufactured more than twenty years ago and failure information on this lot date code was not readily available. External visual exam, radiography, PEID, and leak testing were performed with nominal results Electrical testing indicated nearly identical base-emitter and base-collector characteristics (both forward and reverse) with a low resistance short emitter to collector. These characteristics are indicative of a classic failure mechanism called punchthrough. In failure analysis punchthrough refers to an condition where a relatively low voltage pulse causes the device to conduct very hard producing localized areas of thermal runaway or "hot spots". At one or more of these hot spots, the excessive currents melt the silicon. Heavily doped emitter material diffuses through the base region to the collector forming a diffusion pipe shorting the emitter to base to collector. Upon cooling, an alloy junction forms between the pipe and the base region. Generally, the hot spot (punch-through site) is under the bond and no surface artifact is visible. The devices were delidded and the internal structures were examined microscopically. The gold emitter lead was melted on one device, but others had anomalies in the metallization around the in-tact emitter bonds. The SEM examination confirmed some anomalies to be cosmetic defects while other anomalies were artifacts of the punchthrough site. Subsequent to these analyses, the contractor determined that some irregular testing procedures occurred at the time of the failures heretofore unreported. These testing irregularities involved the use of a breakout box and were the likely cause of the failures. There was no evidence to suggest a generic failure mechanism was responsible for the failure of these transistors.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Chao; Santhanagopalan, Shriram; Sprague, Michael A.

Lithium-ion batteries are currently the state-of-the-art power sources for a variety of applications, from consumer electronic devices to electric-drive vehicles (EDVs). Being an energized component, failure of the battery is an essential concern, which can result in rupture, smoke, fire, or venting. The failure of Lithium-ion batteries can be due to a number of external abusive conditions (impact/crush, overcharge, thermal ramp, etc.) or internal conditions (internal short circuits, excessive heating due to resistance build-up, etc.), of which the mechanical-abuse-induced short circuit is a very practical problem. In order to better understand the behavior of Lithium-ion batteries under mechanical abuse, amore » coupled modeling methodology encompassing the mechanical, thermal and electrical response has been developed for predicting short circuit under external crush.« less

Exchange biased and closed-flux pseudo spin-valve materials, device applications, and electrical reliability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bae, Seongtae

Since giant magnetoresistance (GMR) and tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) spinvalve effects were developed for the last two decades after discovered, world wide researches on applying these effects for various kinds of solid state active devices has provided a strong impact on challenging new functional micro-magnetoelectronic devices. In particular, recently developed nano-structured magnetic spin-valve thin film materials for spin-electronic devices are now considered as building blocks of state-of-the-art electronic engineering. This research has been concentrated on developing and designing magneto-electronic solid state devices with high thermal and electrical stability using an alpha-Fe 2O3 and NiO oxide anti-ferromagnetic exchange biased GMR bottom spin-valves (BSV), NiFe/Cu/Co and NiFe/Cu/CoFe based closed-flux metallic pseudo spin-valves, and PtMn exchange biased TMR spin-valves. The category covering this research is divided into four main research steps. First is to investigate exchange bias coupling characteristics of alpha-Fe2 O3 and NiO oxide Anti-ferromagnetic materials (AF)/Ferromagnetic (F) layer systems for optimizing exchange biased BSV and to study magnetic properties of various kinds of magnetic thin films including single through multi-layered structures for the fundamental research on NiFe/Cu/Co and NiFe/Cu/CoFe closed-flux metallic pseudo spin-valves. Second is to develop and improve new kinds of BSVs and closed-flux metallic spinvalves by controlling process parameters in terms of crystalline orientation texture of AF and F layers, interfacial surface roughness, grain size (its size distribution), chemical composition, and kinetics of sputtering film growth. Third is to design, to fabricate, and to investigate the magnetic and electrical properties of magneto-electronic devices as well as their applications such as GMR magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), GMR read head, TMR read head, and new kinds of GMR solid state devices, which can be promisingly substituted for current microelectronic devices. Finally, the last is to focus on studying electrical reliability of GMR read sensor and GMR MRAM cell in terms of electromigration-induced failures of various kinds of magnetic thin films, which are currently used in GMR spin-valve materials, and is to investigate the effects of current (or voltage) induced dielectric breakdown in aluminum oxide tunnel barrier under various testing conditions on the electrical stability of real TMR read sensors.

Third-order polynomial model for analyzing stickup state laminated structure in flexible electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Xianhong; Wang, Zihao; Liu, Boya; Wang, Shuodao

2018-02-01

Laminated hard-soft integrated structures play a significant role in the fabrication and development of flexible electronics devices. Flexible electronics have advantageous characteristics such as soft and light-weight, can be folded, twisted, flipped inside-out, or be pasted onto other surfaces of arbitrary shapes. In this paper, an analytical model is presented to study the mechanics of laminated hard-soft structures in flexible electronics under a stickup state. Third-order polynomials are used to describe the displacement field, and the principle of virtual work is adopted to derive the governing equations and boundary conditions. The normal strain and the shear stress along the thickness direction in the bi-material region are obtained analytically, which agree well with the results from finite element analysis. The analytical model can be used to analyze stickup state laminated structures, and can serve as a valuable reference for the failure prediction and optimal design of flexible electronics in the future.

Wide-Temperature Electronics for Thermal Control of Nanosats

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dickman, John Ellis; Gerber, Scott

2000-01-01

This document represents a presentation which examines the wide and low-temperature electronics required for NanoSatellites. In the past, larger spacecraft used Radioisotope Heating Units (RHU's). The advantage of the use of these electronics is that they could eliminate or reduce the requirement for RHU's, reduce system weight and simplify spacecraft design by eliminating containment/support structures for RHU's. The Glenn Research Center's Wide/Low Temperature Power Electronics Program supports the development of power systems capable of reliable, efficient operation over wide and low temperature ranges. Included charts review the successes and failures of various electronic devices, the IRF541 HEXFET, The NE76118n-Channel GaAS MESFET, the Lithium Carbon Monofluoride Primary Battery, and a COTS DC-DC converter. The preliminary result of wide/low temperature testing of CTS and custom parts and power circuit indicate that through careful selection of components and technologies it is possible to design and build power circuits which operate from room temperature to near 100K.

Heart Failure and Frailty in the Community-Living Elderly Population: What the UFO Study Will Tell Us.

PubMed

Fung, Erik; Hui, Elsie; Yang, Xiaobo; Lui, Leong T; Cheng, King F; Li, Qi; Fan, Yiting; Sahota, Daljit S; Ma, Bosco H M; Lee, Jenny S W; Lee, Alex P W; Woo, Jean

2018-01-01

Heart failure and frailty are clinical syndromes that present with overlapping phenotypic characteristics. Importantly, their co-presence is associated with increased mortality and morbidity. While mechanical and electrical device therapies for heart failure are vital for select patients with advanced stage disease, the majority of patients and especially those with undiagnosed heart failure would benefit from early disease detection and prompt initiation of guideline-directed medical therapies. In this article, we review the problematic interactions between heart failure and frailty, introduce a focused cardiac screening program for community-living elderly initiated by a mobile communication device app leading to the Undiagnosed heart Failure in frail Older individuals (UFO) study, and discuss how the knowledge of pre-frailty and frailty status could be exploited for the detection of previously undiagnosed heart failure or advanced cardiac disease. The widespread use of mobile devices coupled with increasing availability of novel, effective medical and minimally invasive therapies have incentivized new approaches to heart failure case finding and disease management.

A study of charged particles/radiation damage to VLSI device materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Okyere, John G.

1987-01-01

Future spacecraft systems such as the manned space station will be subjected to low-dose long term radiation particles. Most electronic systems are affected by such particles. There is therefore a great need to understand device physics and failure mechanisms affected by radiation and to design circuits that would be less susceptible to radiation. Using 2 MeV electron radiation and bias temperature aging, it was found that MOS capacitors that were prepositively biased have lower flatband voltage shift and lesser increase in density of surface state charge than those that were not prepositively biased. In addition, it was shown that there is continued recovery of flatband voltage and density of state charge in irradiated capacitors during both room temperature anneal and 137 degree anneal. When nMOS transistors were subjected to 1 MeV proton radiation, charge pumping and current versus voltage measurements indicated that transconductance degradation, threshold voltage shifts and changes in interface states density may be the primary cause of nMOS transistor failure after radiation. Simulation studies using SPICE were performed on CMOS SRAM cells of various transistor sizes. It is shown that transistor sizing affects the noise margins of CMOS SRAM cells, and that as the beta ratio of the transistors of the CMOS SRAM cell decreases, the effective noise margin of the SRAM cell increases. Some suggestions were made in connection with the design of CMOS SRAMS that are hardened against single event upsets.

Investigation of abrupt degradation of drain current caused by under-gate crack in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors during high temperature operation stress

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zeng, Chang; Liao, XueYang; Li, RuGuan

2015-09-28

In this paper, we investigate the degradation mode and mechanism of AlGaN/GaN based high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) during high temperature operation (HTO) stress. It demonstrates that there was abrupt degradation mode of drain current during HTO stress. The abrupt degradation is ascribed to the formation of crack under the gate which was the result of the brittle fracture of epilayer based on failure analysis. The origin of the mechanical damage under the gate is further investigated and discussed based on top-down scanning electron microscope, cross section transmission electron microscope and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy analysis, and stress simulation. Basedmore » on the coupled analysis of the failure physical feature and stress simulation considering the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch in different materials in gate metals/semiconductor system, the mechanical damage under the gate is related to mechanical stress induced by CTE mismatch in Au/Ti/Mo/GaN system and stress concentration caused by the localized structural damage at the drain side of the gate edge. These results indicate that mechanical stress induced by CTE mismatch of materials inside the device plays great important role on the reliability of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs during HTO stress.« less

The pharmacotherapy of the HeartMate II, a continuous flow left ventricular assist device, in patients with advanced heart failure: integration of disease, device, and drug.

PubMed

Jennings, Douglas L; Chambers, Rachel M; Schillig, Jessica M

2010-10-01

Advanced heart failure continues to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the US. Patients with advanced heart failure have a poor prognosis without cardiac transplantation. The use of left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) as destination therapy for these patients is therefore expected to increase in the coming years as technology advances. The HeartMate II, a continuous flow implantable device, is currently the only LVAD that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for destination therapy in patients with advanced heart failure. The pharmacotherapy associated with this device is very complex and, therefore, the need for expertly trained clinical pharmacists to care for this expanding patient population will also likely increase. Unfortunately, most pharmacists are unfamiliar with the effect of LVADs on the physiology and pharmacotherapy of a patient's heart failure. The purpose of this article is to give clinical pharmacists an introduction to the most common pharmacotherapeutic issues for patients with LVADs and present practical solutions for managing common drug therapy problems.

Modes of failure of Osteonics constrained tripolar implants: a retrospective analysis of forty-three failed implants.

PubMed

Guyen, Olivier; Lewallen, David G; Cabanela, Miguel E

2008-07-01

The Osteonics constrained tripolar implant has been one of the most commonly used options to manage recurrent instability after total hip arthroplasty. Mechanical failures were expected and have been reported. The purpose of this retrospective review was to identify the observed modes of failure of this device. Forty-three failed Osteonics constrained tripolar implants were revised at our institution between September 1997 and April 2005. All revisions related to the constrained acetabular component only were considered as failures. All of the devices had been inserted for recurrent or intraoperative instability during revision procedures. Seven different methods of implantation were used. Operative reports and radiographs were reviewed to identify the modes of failure. The average time to failure of the forty-three implants was 28.4 months. A total of five modes of failure were observed: failure at the bone-implant interface (type I), which occurred in eleven hips; failure at the mechanisms holding the constrained liner to the metal shell (type II), in six hips; failure of the retaining mechanism of the bipolar component (type III), in ten hips; dislocation of the prosthetic head at the inner bearing of the bipolar component (type IV), in three hips; and infection (type V), in twelve hips. The mode of failure remained unknown in one hip that had been revised at another institution. The Osteonics constrained tripolar total hip arthroplasty implant is a complex device involving many parts. We showed that failure of this device can occur at most of its interfaces. It would therefore appear logical to limit its application to salvage situations.

Electrochemical Migration of Fine-Pitch Nanopaste Ag Interconnects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsou, Chia-Hung; Liu, Kai-Ning; Lin, Heng-Tien; Ouyang, Fan-Yi

2016-12-01

With the development of intelligent electronic products, usage of fine-pitch interconnects has become mainstream in high performance electronic devices. Electrochemical migration (ECM) of interconnects would be a serious reliability problem under temperature, humidity and biased voltage environments. In this study, ECM behavior of nanopaste Ag interconnects with pitch size from 20 μm to 50 μm was evaluated by thermal humidity bias (THB) and water drop (WD) tests with deionized water through in situ leakage current-versus-time (CVT) curve. The results indicate that the failure time of ECM in fine-pitch samples occurs within few seconds under WD testing and it increases with increasing pitch size. The microstructure examination indicated that intensive dendrite formation of Ag through the whole interface was found to bridge the two electrodes. In the THB test, the CVT curve exhibited two stages, incubation and ramp-up; failure time of ECM was about 173.7 min. In addition, intensive dendrite formation was observed only at the protrusion of the Ag interconnects due to the concentration of the electric field at the protrusion of the Ag interconnects.

Bending fatigue study of nickel-titanium Gates Glidden drills.

PubMed

Luebke, Neill H; Brantley, William A; Alapati, Satish B; Mitchell, John C; Lausten, Leonard L; Daehn, Glenn S

2005-07-01

ProFile nickel-titanium Gates Glidden drills were tested in bending fatigue to simulate clinical conditions. Ten samples each in sizes #1 through #6 were placed in a device that deflected the drill head 4 mm from the axis. The drill head was placed inside a ball bearing fixture, which allowed it to run free at 4000 rpm, and the total number of revolutions was recorded until failure. Fracture surfaces were examined with a scanning electron microscope to determine the initiation site and nature of the failure process. Mean +/- SD for the number of revolutions to failure for the drill sizes were: #1: 1826.3 +/- 542.5; #2: 5395.7 +/- 2581.5; #3: 694.4 +/- 516.8; #4: 261.0 +/- 138.0; #5: 49.6 +/- 14.9; #6: 195.9 +/- 78.5. All drills failed in a ductile mode, and fracture initiation sites appeared to be coincident with machining grooves or other flaws, suggesting the need for improved manufacturing procedures.

Reliability Prediction Models for Discrete Semiconductor Devices

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-07-01

influence failure rate were device construction, semiconductor material, junction temperature, electrical stress, circuit application., a plication...found to influence failure rate were device construction, semiconductor material, junction temperature, electrical stress, circuit application...MFA Airbreathlng 14issile, Flight MFF Missile, Free Flight ML Missile, Launch MMIC Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits MOS Metal-Oxide

A 100-Channel Hermetically Sealed Implantable Device for Chronic Wireless Neurosensing Applications

PubMed Central

Yin, Ming; Borton, David A.; Aceros, Juan; Patterson, William R.; Nurmikko, Arto V.

2014-01-01

A 100-channel fully implantable wireless broadband neural recording system was developed. It features 100 parallel broadband (0.1 Hz–7.8 kHz) neural recording channels, a medical grade 200 mAh Li-ion battery recharged inductively at 150 kHz, and data telemetry using 3.2 GHz to 3.8 GHz FSK modulated wireless link for 48 Mbps Manchester encoded data. All active electronics are hermetically sealed in a titanium enclosure with a sapphire window for electromagnetic transparency. A custom, high-density configuration of 100 individual hermetic feedthrough pins enable connection to an intracortical neural recording microelectrode array. A 100 MHz bandwidth custom receiver was built to remotely receive the FSK signal and achieved −77.7 dBm sensitivity with 10−8 BER at 48 Mbps data rate. ESD testing on all the electronic inputs and outputs has proven that the implantable device satisfies the HBM Class-1B ESD Standard. In addition, the evaluation of the worst-case charge density delivered to the tissue from each I/O pin verifies the patient safety of the device in the event of failure. Finally, the functionality and reliability of the complete device has been tested on-bench and further validated chronically in ongoing freely moving swine and monkey animal trials for more than one year to date. PMID:23853294

Ampoule Failure System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watring, Dale A. (Inventor); Johnson, Martin L. (Inventor)

1996-01-01

An ampoule failure system for use in material processing furnaces comprising a containment cartridge and an ampoule failure sensor. The containment cartridge contains an ampoule of toxic material therein and is positioned within a furnace for processing. An ampoule failure probe is positioned in the containment cartridge adjacent the ampoule for detecting a potential harmful release of toxic material therefrom during processing. The failure probe is spaced a predetermined distance from the ampoule and is chemically chosen so as to undergo a timely chemical reaction with the toxic material upon the harmful release thereof. The ampoule failure system further comprises a data acquisition system which is positioned externally of the furnace and is electrically connected to the ampoule failure probe so as to form a communicating electrical circuit. The data acquisition system includes an automatic shutdown device for shutting down the furnace upon the harmful release of toxic material. It also includes a resistance measuring device for measuring the resistance of the failure probe during processing. The chemical reaction causes a step increase in resistance of the failure probe whereupon the automatic shutdown device will responsively shut down the furnace.

Successful weaning of a left ventricular assist device implanted for ischemic heart failure.

PubMed

Beurtheret, Sylvain; Mordant, Pierre; Pavie, Alain; Leprince, Pascal

2010-10-01

We report the case of a patient stabilized under extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation after a refractory cardiogenic shock following myocardial infarction. Persistent left ventricular failure required secondary implantation of the left ventricular assist device (LVAD) HeartMate II. LVAD succeeded in the gradual recovery of myocardial contractility, allowing weaning of the device five months after implantation. Simultaneously, the patient beneficiated from coronary revascularization and resumed normal activity. This case emphasizes potential late recoveries after myocardial infarction complicated by left ventricular failure.

State-of-the-art implantable cardiac assist device therapy for heart failure: bridge to transplant and destination therapy.

PubMed

Park, S J; Kushwaha, S S; McGregor, C G A

2012-01-01

Congestive heart failure is associated with poor quality of life (QoL) and low survival rates. The development of state-of-the-art cardiac devices holds promise for improved therapy in patients with heart failure. The field of implantable cardiac assist devices is changing rapidly with the emergence of continuous-flow pumps (CFPs). The important developments in this field, including pertinent clinical trials, registry reports, innovative research, and potential future directions are discussed in this paper.

Mechanisms for fatigue and wear of polysilicon structural thinfilms

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Alsem, Daniel Henricus

2006-01-01

Fatigue and wear in micron-scale polysilicon structural films can severely impact the reliability of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Despite studies on fatigue and wear behavior of these films, there is still an on-going debate regarding the precise physical mechanisms for these two important failure modes. Although macro-scale silicon does not fatigue, this phenomenon is observed in micron-scale silicon. It is shown that for polysilicon devices fabricated in the MUMPs foundry and SUMMiT process stress-lifetime data exhibits similar trends in ambient air, shorter lifetimes in higher relative humidity environments and no fatigue failure at all in high vacuum. Transmission electron microscopy ofmore » the surface oxides of the samples show an approximate four-fold thickening of the oxide at stress concentrations after fatigue failure, but no thickening after fracture in air or after fatigue cycling in vacuo. It is found that such oxide thickening and fatigue failure (in air) occurs in devices with initial oxide thicknesses of ~4-20 nm. Such results are interpreted and explained by a reaction layer fatigue mechanism; specifically, moisture-assisted subcritical cracking within a cyclic stress-assisted thickened oxide layer occurs until the crack reaches a critical size to cause catastrophic failure. Polysilicon specimens from the SUMMiT process are used to study wear mechanisms in micron-scale silicon in ambient air. Worn parts are examined by analytical scanning and transmission electron microscopy, while temperature changes are monitored using infrared microscopy. These results are compared with the development of values of static coefficients of friction (COF) with number of wear cycles. Observations show amorphous debris particles (~50-100 nm) created by fracture through the silicon grains (~500 nm), which subsequently oxidize, agglomerate into clusters and create plowing tracks. A nano-crystalline layer (~20-200 nm) forms at worn regions. No dislocations or extreme temperature increases are found, ruling out plasticity and temperature-assisted mechanisms. The COF reaches a steady-state value of ~0.20±0.05 after a short time at an initial value of ~0.11±0.01. Plowing tracks are found before the steady-state value of the COF is reached, suggesting only a short adhesive wear regime. This suggests a predominantly abrasive wear mechanism, controlled by fracture, which commences by the first particles created by adhesive wear.« less

Mechanisms for fatigue and wear of polysilicon structural thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alsem, Daniel Henricus

Fatigue and wear in micron-scale polysilicon structural films can severely impact the reliability of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Despite studies on fatigue and wear behavior of these films, there is still an on-going debate regarding the precise physical mechanisms for these two important failure modes. Although macro-scale silicon does not fatigue, this phenomenon is observed in micron-scale silicon. It is shown that for polysilicon devices fabricated in the MUMPs foundry and SUMMiT(TM) process stress-lifetime data exhibits similar trends in ambient air, shorter lifetimes in higher relative humidity environments and no fatigue failure at all in high vacuum. Transmission electron microscopy of the surface oxides of the samples show an approximate four-fold thickening of the oxide at stress concentrations after fatigue failure, but no thickening after fracture in air or after fatigue cycling in vacuo . It is found that such oxide thickening and fatigue failure (in air) occurs in devices with initial oxide thicknesses of ˜4-20 nm. Such results are interpreted and explained by a reaction-layer fatigue mechanism; specifically, moisture-assisted subcritical cracking within a cyclic stress-assisted thickened oxide layer occurs until the crack reaches a critical size to cause catastrophic failure. Polysilicon specimens from the SUMMiT(TM) process are used to study wear mechanisms in micron-scale silicon in ambient air. Worn parts are examined by analytical scanning and transmission electron microscopy, while temperature changes are monitored using infrared microscopy. These results are compared with the development of values of static coefficients of friction (COF) with number of wear cycles. Observations show amorphous debris particles (˜50-100 nm) created by fracture through the silicon grains (˜500 nm), which subsequently oxidize, agglomerate into clusters and create plowing tracks. A nano-crystalline layer (˜20-200 nm) forms at worn regions. No dislocations or extreme temperature increases are found, ruling out plasticity and temperature-assisted mechanisms. The COF reaches a steady-state value of ˜0.20+/-0.05 after a short time at an initial value of ˜0.11+/-0.01. Plowing tracks are found before the steady-state value of the COF is reached, suggesting only a short adhesive wear regime. This suggests a predominantly abrasive wear mechanism, controlled by fracture, which commences by the first particles created by adhesive wear.

An Investigation in the Ames 40- by 80-Foot Wind Tunnel of a YT-56A Turboprop Engine Incorporating a Decoupler and a Controlled-Feathering Device

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rogallo, Vernon L.; Yaggy, Paul F.; McCloud, John L., III

1954-01-01

An investigation of a decoupler and a controlled-feathering device incorporated with the YT-56A turboprop engine has been made to determine the effectiveness of these devices in reducing the high negative thrust (drag) which accompanies power failure of this type of engine. Power failures were simulated by fuel cut-off, both without either device free to operate, and with each device free to operate singly. The investigation was made through an airspeed range from 50 to 230 mph. It was found that with neither device free to operate, the drag levels realized after power failures at airspeeds above 170 mph would impose vertical tail loads higher than those allowable for the YC-130, the airplane for which the test power package was designed. These levels were reached in approximately one second. The maximum drag realized after power failure was not appreciably altered by the use of the decoupler although the decoupler did put a limit on the duration of the peak drag. The controlled-feathering device maintained a level of essentially zero drag after power failure. The use of the decoupler in the YT-56A engine complicates windmilling air-starting procedures and makes it necessary to place operating restrictions on the engine to assure safe flight at low-power conditions,

A Thermal and Electrical Analysis of Power Semiconductor Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vafai, Kambiz

1997-01-01

The state-of-art power semiconductor devices require a thorough understanding of the thermal behavior for these devices. Traditional thermal analysis have (1) failed to account for the thermo-electrical interaction which is significant for power semiconductor devices operating at high temperature, and (2) failed to account for the thermal interactions among all the levels involved in, from the entire device to the gate micro-structure. Furthermore there is a lack of quantitative studies of the thermal breakdown phenomenon which is one of the major failure mechanisms for power electronics. This research work is directed towards addressing. Using a coupled thermal and electrical simulation, in which the drift-diffusion equations for the semiconductor and the energy equation for temperature are solved simultaneously, the thermo-electrical interactions at the micron scale of various junction structures are thoroughly investigated. The optimization of gate structure designs and doping designs is then addressed. An iterative numerical procedure which incorporates the thermal analysis at the device, chip and junction levels of the power device is proposed for the first time and utilized in a BJT power semiconductor device. In this procedure, interactions of different levels are fully considered. The thermal stability issue is studied both analytically and numerically in this research work in order to understand the mechanism for thermal breakdown.

Analysis of arrhythmic events is useful to detect lead failure earlier in patients followed by remote monitoring.

PubMed

Nishii, Nobuhiro; Miyoshi, Akihito; Kubo, Motoki; Miyamoto, Masakazu; Morimoto, Yoshimasa; Kawada, Satoshi; Nakagawa, Koji; Watanabe, Atsuyuki; Nakamura, Kazufumi; Morita, Hiroshi; Ito, Hiroshi

2018-03-01

Remote monitoring (RM) has been advocated as the new standard of care for patients with cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs). RM has allowed the early detection of adverse clinical events, such as arrhythmia, lead failure, and battery depletion. However, lead failure was often identified only by arrhythmic events, but not impedance abnormalities. To compare the usefulness of arrhythmic events with conventional impedance abnormalities for identifying lead failure in CIED patients followed by RM. CIED patients in 12 hospitals have been followed by the RM center in Okayama University Hospital. All transmitted data have been analyzed and summarized. From April 2009 to March 2016, 1,873 patients have been followed by the RM center. During the mean follow-up period of 775 days, 42 lead failure events (atrial lead 22, right ventricular pacemaker lead 5, implantable cardioverter defibrillator [ICD] lead 15) were detected. The proportion of lead failures detected only by arrhythmic events, which were not detected by conventional impedance abnormalities, was significantly higher than that detected by impedance abnormalities (arrhythmic event 76.2%, 95% CI: 60.5-87.9%; impedance abnormalities 23.8%, 95% CI: 12.1-39.5%). Twenty-seven events (64.7%) were detected without any alert. Of 15 patients with ICD lead failure, none has experienced inappropriate therapy. RM can detect lead failure earlier, before clinical adverse events. However, CIEDs often diagnose lead failure as just arrhythmic events without any warning. Thus, to detect lead failure earlier, careful human analysis of arrhythmic events is useful. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Risk assessment and comparative effectiveness of left ventricular assist device and medical management in ambulatory heart failure patients: design and rationale of the ROADMAP clinical trial.

PubMed

Rogers, Joseph G; Boyle, Andrew J; O'Connell, John B; Horstmanshof, Douglas A; Haas, Donald C; Slaughter, Mark S; Park, Soon J; Farrar, David J; Starling, Randall C

2015-02-01

Mechanical circulatory support is now a proven therapy for the treatment of patients with advanced heart failure and cardiogenic shock. The role for this therapy in patients with less severe heart failure is unknown. The objective of this study is to examine the impact of mechanically assisted circulation using the HeartMate II left ventricular assist device in patients who meet current US Food and Drug Administration-defined criteria for treatment but are not yet receiving intravenous inotropic therapy. This is a prospective, nonrandomized clinical trial of 200 patients treated with either optimal medical management or a mechanical circulatory support device. This trial will be the first prospective clinical evaluation comparing outcomes of patients with advanced ambulatory heart failure treated with either ongoing medical therapy or a left ventricular assist device. It is anticipated to provide novel insights regarding relative outcomes with each treatment and an understanding of patient and provider acceptance of the ventricular assist device therapy. This trial will also provide information regarding the risk of events in "stable" patients with advanced heart failure and guidance for the optimal timing of left ventricular assist device therapy. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Measurement of the response time of the delay window for the neutron converter of the SPIRAL2 project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Acosta, G.; Andre, T.; Bermudez, J.; Blinov, M. F.; Jamet, C.; Logatchev, P. V.; Semenov, Y. I.; Starostenko, A. A.; Tecchio, L. B.; Tsyganov, A. S.; Udup, E.; Vasquez, J.

2014-09-01

Research and development of a safety system for the SPIRAL2 facility has been conceived to protect the UCx target from a possible interaction with the 200 kW deuteron beam. The system called "delay window" (DW) is designed as an integral part of the neutron converter module and is located in between the neutron converter and the fission target. The device has been designed as a barrier, located directly behind the neutron converter on the axis of the deuteron beam, with the purpose of "delaying" the eventual interaction of the deuteron beam with the UCx target in case of a failure of the neutron converter. The "delay" must be long enough to allow the interlock to react and safely stop the beam operation, before the beam will reach the UCx target. The working concept of the DW is based on the principle of the electrical fuse. Electrically insulated wires placed on the surface of a Tantalum disk assure a so called "free contact", normally closed to an electronic circuit located on the HV platform, far from the radioactive environment. The melting temperature of the wires is much less than Tantalum. Once the beam is impinging on the disk, one or more wires are melted and the "free contact" is open. A solid state relay is changing its state and a signal is sent to the interlock device. A prototype of the DW has been constructed and tested with an electron beam of power density equivalent to the SPIRAL2 beam. The measured "delay" is 682.5 ms (σ=116 ms), that is rather long in comparison to the intrinsic delays introduced by the detectors itself (2 ms) and by the associated electronic devices (120 ns). The experimental results confirm that, in the case of a failure of the neutron converter, the DW as conceived is enable to withstand the beam power for a period of time sufficiently long to safely shut down the SPIRAL2 accelerator.

Left ventricular assist device management in patients chronically supported for advanced heart failure.

PubMed

Cowger, Jennifer; Romano, Matthew A; Stulak, John; Pagani, Francis D; Aaronson, Keith D

2011-03-01

This review summarizes management strategies to reduce morbidity and mortality in heart failure patients supported chronically with implantable left ventricular assist devices (LVADs). As the population of patients supported with long-term LVADs has grown, patient selection, operative technique, and patient management strategies have been refined, leading to improved outcomes. This review summarizes recent findings on LVAD candidate selection, and discusses outpatient strategies to optimize device performance and heart failure management. It also reviews important device complications that warrant close outpatient monitoring. Managing patients on chronic LVAD support requires regular patient follow-up, multidisciplinary care teams, and frequent laboratory and echocardiographic surveillance to ensure optimal outcomes.

Photoelectrochemically driven self-assembly method

DOEpatents

Nielson, Gregory N.; Okandan, Murat

2017-01-17

Various technologies described herein pertain to assembling electronic devices into a microsystem. The electronic devices are disposed in a solution. Light can be applied to the electronic devices in the solution. The electronic devices can generate currents responsive to the light applied to the electronic devices in the solution, and the currents can cause electrochemical reactions that functionalize regions on surfaces of the electronic devices. Additionally or alternatively, the light applied to the electronic devices in the solution can cause the electronic devices to generate electric fields, which can orient the electronic devices and/or induce movement of the electronic devices with respect to a receiving substrate. Further, electrodes on a receiving substrate can be biased to attract and form connections with the electronic devices having the functionalized regions on the surfaces. The microsystem can include the receiving substrate and the electronic devices connected to the receiving substrate.

Failure Analysis of CCD Image Sensors Using SQUID and GMR Magnetic Current Imaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Felt, Frederick S.

2005-01-01

During electrical testing of a Full Field CCD Image Senor, electrical shorts were detected on three of six devices. These failures occurred after the parts were soldered to the PCB. Failure analysis was performed to determine the cause and locations of these failures on the devices. After removing the fiber optic faceplate, optical inspection was performed on the CCDs to understand the design and package layout. Optical inspection revealed that the device had a light shield ringing the CCD array. This structure complicated the failure analysis. Alternate methods of analysis were considered, including liquid crystal, light and thermal emission, LT/A, TT/A SQUID, and MP. Of these, SQUID and MP techniques were pursued for further analysis. Also magnetoresistive current imaging technology is discussed and compared to SQUID.

Evaluation of the Linde Flow Warning Device,

DTIC Science & Technology

1965-12-30

the cause of the failure. It was not possible to disassemble the pressure switch or to determine the cause of failure. The warning device was...simple means of causing an actuat ion of a pressure switch . The sensing device used in the apparatus proved to be too del icate for the operat ion to

CONFIG: Qualitative simulation tool for analyzing behavior of engineering devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malin, Jane T.; Basham, Bryan D.; Harris, Richard A.

1987-01-01

To design failure management expert systems, engineers mentally analyze the effects of failures and procedures as they propagate through device configurations. CONFIG is a generic device modeling tool for use in discrete event simulation, to support such analyses. CONFIG permits graphical modeling of device configurations and qualitative specification of local operating modes of device components. Computation requirements are reduced by focussing the level of component description on operating modes and failure modes, and specifying qualitative ranges of variables relative to mode transition boundaries. Simulation processing occurs only when modes change or variables cross qualitative boundaries. Device models are built graphically, using components from libraries. Components are connected at ports by graphical relations that define data flow. The core of a component model is its state transition diagram, which specifies modes of operation and transitions among them.

Cardiac Effects of Lightning Strikes

PubMed Central

Khan, Sarosh; Ahmad, Mahmood; Fayed, Hossam; Bogle, Richard

2017-01-01

Lightning strikes are a common and leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Multiple organ systems can be involved, though the effects of the electrical current on the cardiovascular system are one of the main modes leading to cardiorespiratory arrest in these patients. Cardiac effects of lightning strikes can be transient or persistent, and include benign or life-threatening arrhythmias, inappropriate therapies from cardiac implantable electronic devices, cardiac ischaemia, myocardial contusion, pericardial disease, aortic injury, as well as cardiomyopathy with associated ventricular failure. Prolonged resuscitation can lead to favourable outcomes especially in young and previously healthy victims. PMID:29018518

Reliability Modeling of Critical Electronic Devices.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-05-01

form are given below: 1) Xn = K 7E = AS + B 2) Xn = K TTE = A(S)B 3) Xn = K TE = A exp(BS) 24 A- where Xn = predicted normalized failure rate 0 0 K...naval, sheltered NS 5 7.3 a,. naval, unsheltered NU 10 16.8 naval, undersea , unsheltered NUU 14 20.6 naval, benign, submarine NSB 4 6.0 naval, hydrofoil... undersea , launch USL 18 37.1 3 S missile, free flight MFF 9 12.6 airbreathing missile, flight MFA 11 17.6 space, flight SF 2 2.1 Notes: (1) includes bomber

Spectromicroscopic insights for rational design of redox-based memristive devices

PubMed Central

Baeumer, Christoph; Schmitz, Christoph; Ramadan, Amr H. H.; Du, Hongchu; Skaja, Katharina; Feyer, Vitaliy; Müller, Philipp; Arndt, Benedikt; Jia, Chun-Lin; Mayer, Joachim; De Souza, Roger A.; Michael Schneider, Claus; Waser, Rainer; Dittmann, Regina

2015-01-01

The demand for highly scalable, low-power devices for data storage and logic operations is strongly stimulating research into resistive switching as a novel concept for future non-volatile memory devices. To meet technological requirements, it is imperative to have a set of material design rules based on fundamental material physics, but deriving such rules is proving challenging. Here, we elucidate both switching mechanism and failure mechanism in the valence-change model material SrTiO3, and on this basis we derive a design rule for failure-resistant devices. Spectromicroscopy reveals that the resistance change during device operation and failure is indeed caused by nanoscale oxygen migration resulting in localized valence changes between Ti4+ and Ti3+. While fast reoxidation typically results in retention failure in SrTiO3, local phase separation within the switching filament stabilizes the retention. Mimicking this phase separation by intentionally introducing retention-stabilization layers with slow oxygen transport improves retention times considerably. PMID:26477940

The effects of the geosynchronous energetic particle radiation environment on spacecraft charging phenomena

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reagan, J. B.; Imhof, W. L.; Gaines, E. E.

1977-01-01

The energetic electron environment at the geosynchronous orbit is responsible for a variety of adverse charging effects on spacecraft components. The most serious of these is the degradation and failure of a complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) electronic components as a result of internal charge-buildup induced by the energetic electrons. Efforts to accurately determine the expected lifetime of these components in this orbit are hampered by the lack of detailed knowledge of the electron spectrum and intensity, particularly of the more penetrating energies greater than 1.5 MeV. This problem is illustrated through the calculation of the dose received by a CMOS device from the energetic electrons and associated bremsstrahlung as a function of aluminum shielding thickness using the NASA AE-6 and the Aerospace measured electron environments. Two computational codes which were found to be in good agreement were used to perform the calculations. For a given shielding thickness the dose received with the two radiation environments differ by as much as a factor of seven with a corresponding variation in lifetime of the CMOS.

Active stabilization of a diode laser injection lock.

PubMed

Saxberg, Brendan; Plotkin-Swing, Benjamin; Gupta, Subhadeep

2016-06-01

We report on a device to electronically stabilize the optical injection lock of a semiconductor diode laser. Our technique uses as discriminator the peak height of the laser's transmission signal on a scanning Fabry-Perot cavity and feeds back to the diode current, thereby maintaining maximum optical power in the injected mode. A two-component feedback algorithm provides constant optimization of the injection lock, keeping it robust to slow thermal drifts and allowing fast recovery from sudden failures such as temporary occlusion of the injection beam. We demonstrate the successful performance of our stabilization method in a diode laser setup at 399 nm used for laser cooling of Yb atoms. The device eases the requirements on passive stabilization and can benefit any diode laser injection lock application, particularly those where several such locks are employed.

Concept Developed for an Implanted Stimulated Muscle-Powered Piezoelectric Generator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewandowski, Beth; Kilgore, Kevin; Ercegovic, David; Gustafson, Kenneth

2005-01-01

Implanted electronic devices are typically powered by batteries or transcutaneous power transmission. Batteries must be replaced or recharged, and transcutaneous power sources burden the patient or subject with external equipment prone to failure. A completely self-sustaining implanted power source would alleviate these limitations. Skeletal muscle provides an available autologous power source containing native chemical energy that produces power in excess of the requirements for muscle activation by motor nerve stimulation. A concept has been developed to convert stimulated skeletal muscle power into electrical energy (see the preceding illustration). We propose to connect a piezoelectric generator between a muscle tendon and bone. Electrically stimulated muscle contractions would exert force on the piezoelectric generator, charging a storage circuit that would be used to power the stimulator and other devices.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Saxberg, Brendan; Plotkin-Swing, Benjamin; Gupta, Subhadeep

We report on a device to electronically stabilize the optical injection lock of a semiconductor diode laser. Our technique uses as discriminator the peak height of the laser’s transmission signal on a scanning Fabry-Perot cavity and feeds back to the diode current, thereby maintaining maximum optical power in the injected mode. A two-component feedback algorithm provides constant optimization of the injection lock, keeping it robust to slow thermal drifts and allowing fast recovery from sudden failures such as temporary occlusion of the injection beam. We demonstrate the successful performance of our stabilization method in a diode laser setup at 399more » nm used for laser cooling of Yb atoms. The device eases the requirements on passive stabilization and can benefit any diode laser injection lock application, particularly those where several such locks are employed.« less

Heart Failure and Frailty in the Community-Living Elderly Population: What the UFO Study Will Tell Us

PubMed Central

Fung, Erik; Hui, Elsie; Yang, Xiaobo; Lui, Leong T.; Cheng, King F.; Li, Qi; Fan, Yiting; Sahota, Daljit S.; Ma, Bosco H. M.; Lee, Jenny S. W.; Lee, Alex P. W.; Woo, Jean

2018-01-01

Heart failure and frailty are clinical syndromes that present with overlapping phenotypic characteristics. Importantly, their co-presence is associated with increased mortality and morbidity. While mechanical and electrical device therapies for heart failure are vital for select patients with advanced stage disease, the majority of patients and especially those with undiagnosed heart failure would benefit from early disease detection and prompt initiation of guideline-directed medical therapies. In this article, we review the problematic interactions between heart failure and frailty, introduce a focused cardiac screening program for community-living elderly initiated by a mobile communication device app leading to the Undiagnosed heart Failure in frail Older individuals (UFO) study, and discuss how the knowledge of pre-frailty and frailty status could be exploited for the detection of previously undiagnosed heart failure or advanced cardiac disease. The widespread use of mobile devices coupled with increasing availability of novel, effective medical and minimally invasive therapies have incentivized new approaches to heart failure case finding and disease management. PMID:29740330

Dopant mapping in thin FIB prepared silicon samples by Off-Axis Electron Holography.

PubMed

Pantzer, Adi; Vakahy, Atsmon; Eliyahou, Zohar; Levi, George; Horvitz, Dror; Kohn, Amit

2014-03-01

Modern semiconductor devices function due to accurate dopant distribution. Off-Axis Electron Holography (OAEH) in the transmission electron microscope (TEM) can map quantitatively the electrostatic potential in semiconductors with high spatial resolution. For the microelectronics industry, ongoing reduction of device dimensions, 3D device geometry, and failure analysis of specific devices require preparation of thin TEM samples, under 70 nm thick, by focused ion beam (FIB). Such thicknesses, which are considerably thinner than the values reported to date in the literature, are challenging due to FIB induced damage and surface depletion effects. Here, we report on preparation of TEM samples of silicon PN junctions in the FIB completed by low-energy (5 keV) ion milling, which reduced amorphization of the silicon to 10nm thick. Additional perpendicular FIB sectioning enabled a direct measurement of the TEM sample thickness in order to determine accurately the crystalline thickness of the sample. Consequently, we find that the low-energy milling also resulted in a negligible thickness of electrically inactive regions, approximately 4nm thick. The influence of TEM sample thickness, FIB induced damage and doping concentrations on the accuracy of the OAEH measurements were examined by comparison to secondary ion mass spectrometry measurements as well as to 1D and 3D simulations of the electrostatic potentials. We conclude that for TEM samples down to 100 nm thick, OAEH measurements of Si-based PN junctions, for the doping levels examined here, resulted in quantitative mapping of potential variations, within ~0.1 V. For thinner TEM samples, down to 20 nm thick, mapping of potential variations is qualitative, due to a reduced accuracy of ~0.3 V. This article is dedicated to the memory of Zohar Eliyahou. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modeling the Influences of Electrostatic Discharge in Materials on a Failures of Onboard Electronic Equipment in under Microgcrogravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grichshenko, Valentina; Zhantayev, Zhumabek; Mukushev, Acemhan

2016-07-01

It is known, that during SV exploitation failures of automated systems happens as the result of complex influence of Space leading to SV's shorter life span, sometimes to their lose. All of the SV, functioning in the near-Earth Space (NES), subjected to influence of different Space factors. Causes and character of failure onboard equipment are different. Many researchers think that failures of onboard electronics connected to changing solar activity level. However, by the numerous onboard experiments established that even in the absence of solar burst in magnetostatic days there are registered failures of onboard electronics. In this paper discussed the results of modeling the impact of electrostatic discharge (ESD), occurring in the materials, on a failures of electronic onboard equipment in microgravity. The paper discusses the conditions of formation and influence of electrostatic discharge in microgravity on the elements of the onboard electronics in Space. Developed technique using circuit simulation in ISIS Proteus environment is discussed. Developed the recommendations for noise immunity of on-board equipment from ESD in Space. The results are used to predict the failure rate on-board electronics with the long term of space mission. Key words: microgravity, materials, failures, onboard electronics, Space

Stretchable electronics based on Ag-PDMS composites

PubMed Central

Larmagnac, Alexandre; Eggenberger, Samuel; Janossy, Hanna; Vörös, Janos

2014-01-01

Patterned structures of flexible, stretchable, electrically conductive materials on soft substrates could lead to novel electronic devices with unique mechanical properties allowing them to bend, fold, stretch or conform to their environment. For the last decade, research on improving the stretchability of circuits on elastomeric substrates has made significant progresses but designing printed circuit assemblies on elastomers remains challenging. Here we present a simple, cost-effective, cleanroom-free process to produce large scale soft electronic hardware where standard surface-mounted electrical components were directly bonded onto all-elastomeric printed circuit boards, or soft PCBs. Ag-PDMS tracks were stencil printed onto a PDMS substrate and soft PCBs were made by bonding the top and bottom layers together and filling punched holes with Ag-PDMS to create vias. Silver epoxy was used to bond commercial electrical components and no mechanical failure was observed after hundreds of stretching cycles. We also demonstrate the fabrication of a stretchable clock generator. PMID:25434843

Exploding the Black Box: Personal Computing, the Notebook Battery Crisis, and Postindustrial Systems Thinking.

PubMed

Eisler, Matthew N

Historians of science and technology have generally ignored the role of power sources in the development of consumer electronics. In this they have followed the predilections of historical actors. Research, development, and manufacturing of batteries has historically occurred at a social and intellectual distance from the research, development, and manufacturing of the devices they power. Nevertheless, power source technoscience should properly be understood as an allied yet estranged field of electronics. The separation between the fields has had important consequences for the design and manufacturing of mobile consumer electronics. This paper explores these dynamics in the co-construction of notebook batteries and computers. In so doing, it challenges assumptions of historians and industrial engineers and planners about the nature of computer systems in particular and the development of technological systems. The co-construction of notebook computers and batteries, and the occasional catastrophic failure of their compatibility, challenges systems thinking more generally.

Solder joint aging characteristics from the MC2918 firing set of a B61 accelerated aging unit (AAU)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vianco, P.T.; Rejent, J.A.

1997-10-01

The B61 accelerated aging unit (AAU) provided a unique opportunity to document the effects of a controlled, long-term thermal cycling environment on the aging of materials used in the device. This experiment was of particular interest to solder technologists because thermal cycling environments are a predominant source of solder joint failures in electronic assemblies. Observations of through hole solder joints in the MC2918 Firing Set from the B61 AAU did not reveal signs of catastrophic failure. Quantitative analyses of the microstructural metrics of intermetallic compound layer thickness and Pb-rich phase particle distributions indicated solder joint aging that was commensurate withmore » the accelerated aging environment. The effects of stress-enhanced coarsening of the Pb-rich phase were also documented.« less

First-Principles Study on the Tensile Properties and Failure Mechanism of the CoSb3/Ti Interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

She, Wuchang; Liu, Qiwen; Mei, Hai; Zhai, Pengcheng; Li, Jun; Liu, Lisheng

2018-06-01

The mechanical properties of the CoSb3/Ti interface play a critical role in the application of thermoelectric devices. To understand the failure mechanism of the CoSb3(001)/Ti(01 \\bar{1} 0) interface, we investigated its response during tensile deformations by first-principles calculations. By comparison with the result between the perfect interface and the interface after atomic migration, we find that the atomic migration at the interface has an obvious influence on the mechanical properties. The tensile tests indicate the ideal tensile stress of the CoSb3/Ti interface after atomic migration decreases by about 8.1% as compared to that of the perfect one. The failure mechanism of the perfect CoSb3/Ti interface is different from that of the migrated CoSb3/Ti interface. For the perfect CoSb3/Ti interface, the breakage of the Co-Sb bond leads to the failure of the system. For the CoSb3/Ti interface after atomic migration, the breakage of the Sb-Sb bond leads to the failure of the system. This is mainly because the new ionic Ti-Sb bonds make the electrons redistributed and weaken the stiffness of the Co-Sb bonds.

[Heart rate control in chronic heart failure patients received cardiovascular implantable electronic device therapy: effects of optimized medication].

PubMed

Gao, Y; Liang, Y C; Yu, H B; Yan, X L; Xu, B G; Liu, R; Wang, N; Xu, G Q; Wang, Z L

2018-03-24

Objective: To investigate the heart rate control situation of chronic heart failure (CHF) patients who received cardiovascular implantable electronic device (CIED) therapy, and to assess the heart rate control efficacy by optimized medication adjustment. Methods: We performed a perspective study in heart failure with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (HFrEF) patients who received CIED according to guideline recommendations, patients were enrolled from January 2012 to January 2017. Resting heart rate (RHR) recorded by electrocardiogram after 10 minutes' rest and medication usage within 1 month were recorded at baseline. RHR less than 70 beats per minute (bpm) was regarded as well controlled. β-receptor blockers and (or) ivabradine would be added in patients whose RHR were over 70 bpm. RHR after optimized medication adjustment was recorded during follow-up period. Results: One hundred and fifty patients were included in this study with average RHR (80.6±11.9) bpm. RHR was<70 bpm in 27.3% (41/150) patients at baseline and β-receptor blockers was underused in 80.7% patients (88/109) whose RHR was>70 bpm. The overall RHR decreased to (73.1±10.4) bpm and percent of patients with RHR<70 bpm increased to 70.0% (105/150) after up-titration of β-receptor blockers compared to baseline (χ 2 =52.958, P< 0.001). Ivabradine was added in the rest 45 patients and RHR was<70 bpm in 43 out of 45 patients after ivabradine use. The overall RHR decreased to (67.1±2.7) bpm and percent of RHR<70 bpm significantly increased to 98.7% (148/150) (χ 2 =44.504, P< 0.001 vs. up-titration of β-receptor blockers only). Conclusion: RHR in CHF patients who received CIED therapy is not ideally controlled in this patient cohort, individual up-titration ofβ-receptor blockers and ivabradine use may help to optimize RHR in these patients.

Characterization of electrically-active defects in ultraviolet light-emitting diodes with laser-based failure analysis techniques

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miller, Mary A.; Tangyunyong, Paiboon; Cole, Edward I.

2016-01-14

Laser-based failure analysis techniques demonstrate the ability to quickly and non-intrusively screen deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for electrically-active defects. In particular, two laser-based techniques, light-induced voltage alteration and thermally-induced voltage alteration, generate applied voltage maps (AVMs) that provide information on electrically-active defect behavior including turn-on bias, density, and spatial location. Here, multiple commercial LEDs were examined and found to have dark defect signals in the AVM indicating a site of reduced resistance or leakage through the diode. The existence of the dark defect signals in the AVM correlates strongly with an increased forward-bias leakage current. This increased leakage ismore » not present in devices without AVM signals. Transmission electron microscopy analysis of a dark defect signal site revealed a dislocation cluster through the pn junction. The cluster included an open core dislocation. Even though LEDs with few dark AVM defect signals did not correlate strongly with power loss, direct association between increased open core dislocation densities and reduced LED device performance has been presented elsewhere [M. W. Moseley et al., J. Appl. Phys. 117, 095301 (2015)].« less

Characterization of electrically-active defects in ultraviolet light-emitting diodes with laser-based failure analysis techniques

DOE PAGES

Miller, Mary A.; Tangyunyong, Paiboon; Edward I. Cole, Jr.

2016-01-12

In this study, laser-based failure analysis techniques demonstrate the ability to quickly and non-intrusively screen deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes(LEDs) for electrically-active defects. In particular, two laser-based techniques, light-induced voltage alteration and thermally-induced voltage alteration, generate applied voltage maps (AVMs) that provide information on electrically-active defect behavior including turn-on bias, density, and spatial location. Here, multiple commercial LEDs were examined and found to have dark defect signals in the AVM indicating a site of reduced resistance or leakage through the diode. The existence of the dark defect signals in the AVM correlates strongly with an increased forward-bias leakage current. This increasedmore » leakage is not present in devices without AVM signals. Transmission electron microscopyanalysis of a dark defect signal site revealed a dislocation cluster through the pn junction. The cluster included an open core dislocation. Even though LEDs with few dark AVM defect signals did not correlate strongly with power loss, direct association between increased open core dislocation densities and reduced LED device performance has been presented elsewhere [M. W. Moseley et al., J. Appl. Phys. 117, 095301 (2015)].« less

Surgical approach to end-stage heart failure.

PubMed

Klotz, Stefan; Scheld, Hans H

2011-02-01

End-stage heart failure is a challenging disease with growing incidence. With decreasing heart transplant rates worldwide organ preserving therapies become, again, of interest. The purpose of the present review is to examine the potential challenges of surgical therapies in patients with end-stage heart failure. The gold-standard for end-stage heart failure is and will be cardiac transplantation. However, due to organ shortage this therapy is limited to a few patients. Therefore implantation of ventricular assist devices (VADs) or long-term minimal-invasive partial support devices will increase. Improvements in device design with smaller devices, easier implantation techniques, and modified anticoagulation outcome and long-term success will likely improve. In addition, good quality of life as destination therapy is almost available. Organ conservation surgery (coronary artery bypass grafting and surgical ventricular restoration or surgical repair of mitral valve regurgitation) in end-stage heart failure patients could not prove the expected results. Transcatheter or minimal-invasive approaches of these therapies might become routine in the near future. Due to the overwhelming outcome rates, cardiac transplantation is the most established surgical therapy for end-stage heart failure. VAD therapy is increasing and minimized VADs might further open the market for destination therapy/permanent support.

One hundred fold increase in current carrying capacity in a carbon nanotube–copper composite

PubMed Central

Subramaniam, Chandramouli; Yamada, Takeo; Kobashi, Kazufumi; Sekiguchi, Atsuko; Futaba, Don N.; Yumura, Motoo; Hata, Kenji

2013-01-01

Increased portability, versatility and ubiquity of electronics devices are a result of their progressive miniaturization, requiring current flow through narrow channels. Present-day devices operate close to the maximum current-carrying-capacity (that is, ampacity) of conductors (such as copper and gold), leading to decreased lifetime and performance, creating demand for new conductors with higher ampacity. Ampacity represents the maximum current-carrying capacity of the object that depends both on the structure and material. Here we report a carbon nanotube–copper composite exhibiting similar conductivity (2.3–4.7 × 105 S cm−1) as copper (5.8 × 105 S cm−1), but with a 100-times higher ampacity (6 × 108 A cm−2). Vacuum experiments demonstrate that carbon nanotubes suppress the primary failure pathways in copper as observed by the increased copper diffusion activation energy (∼2.0 eV) in carbon nanotube–copper composite, explaining its higher ampacity. This is the only material with both high conductivity and high ampacity, making it uniquely suited for applications in microscale electronics and inverters. PMID:23877359

Evaluation of commercial ADC radiation tolerance for accelerator experiments

DOE PAGES

Chen, K.; Chen, H.; Kierstead, J.; ...

2015-08-17

Electronic components used in high energy physics experiments are subjected to a radiation background composed of high energy hadrons, mesons and photons. These particles can induce permanent and transient effects that affect the normal device operation. Ionizing dose and displacement damage can cause chronic damage which disable the device permanently. Transient effects or single event effects are in general recoverable with time intervals that depend on the nature of the failure. The magnitude of these effects is technology dependent with feature size being one of the key parameters. Analog to digital converters are components that are frequently used in detectormore » front end electronics, generally placed as close as possible to the sensing elements to maximize signal fidelity. We report on radiation effects tests conducted on 17 commercially available analog to digital converters and extensive single event effect measurements on specific twelve and fourteen bit ADCs that presented high tolerance to ionizing dose. We discuss mitigation strategies for single event effects (SEE) for their use in the large hadron collider environment.« less

One hundred fold increase in current carrying capacity in a carbon nanotube-copper composite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Subramaniam, Chandramouli; Yamada, Takeo; Kobashi, Kazufumi; Sekiguchi, Atsuko; Futaba, Don N.; Yumura, Motoo; Hata, Kenji

2013-07-01

Increased portability, versatility and ubiquity of electronics devices are a result of their progressive miniaturization, requiring current flow through narrow channels. Present-day devices operate close to the maximum current-carrying-capacity (that is, ampacity) of conductors (such as copper and gold), leading to decreased lifetime and performance, creating demand for new conductors with higher ampacity. Ampacity represents the maximum current-carrying capacity of the object that depends both on the structure and material. Here we report a carbon nanotube-copper composite exhibiting similar conductivity (2.3-4.7 × 105Scm-1) as copper (5.8 × 105Scm-1), but with a 100-times higher ampacity (6 × 108Acm-2). Vacuum experiments demonstrate that carbon nanotubes suppress the primary failure pathways in copper as observed by the increased copper diffusion activation energy (~2.0eV) in carbon nanotube-copper composite, explaining its higher ampacity. This is the only material with both high conductivity and high ampacity, making it uniquely suited for applications in microscale electronics and inverters.

Privacy and security of patient data in the pathology laboratory.

PubMed

Cucoranu, Ioan C; Parwani, Anil V; West, Andrew J; Romero-Lauro, Gonzalo; Nauman, Kevin; Carter, Alexis B; Balis, Ulysses J; Tuthill, Mark J; Pantanowitz, Liron

2013-01-01

Data protection and security are critical components of routine pathology practice because laboratories are legally required to securely store and transmit electronic patient data. With increasing connectivity of information systems, laboratory work-stations, and instruments themselves to the Internet, the demand to continuously protect and secure laboratory information can become a daunting task. This review addresses informatics security issues in the pathology laboratory related to passwords, biometric devices, data encryption, internet security, virtual private networks, firewalls, anti-viral software, and emergency security situations, as well as the potential impact that newer technologies such as mobile devices have on the privacy and security of electronic protected health information (ePHI). In the United States, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) govern the privacy and protection of medical information and health records. The HIPAA security standards final rule mandate administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and security of ePHI. Importantly, security failures often lead to privacy breaches, invoking the HIPAA privacy rule as well. Therefore, this review also highlights key aspects of HIPAA and its impact on the pathology laboratory in the United States.

Effect of different atmospheres on the electrical contact performance of electronic components under fretting wear

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xin-Long; Cai, Zhen-Bing; Cui, Ye; Liu, Shan-Bang; Xu, Xiao-Jun; Zhu, Min-Hao

2018-04-01

The effects of oxide etch on the surface morphology of metals for industrial application is a common cause of electrical contacts failure, and it has becomes a more severe problem with the miniaturization of modern electronic devices. This study investigated the effects of electrical contact resistance on the contactor under three different atmospheres (oxygen, air, and nitrogen) based on 99.9% copper/pogo pins contacts through fretting experiments. The results showed the minimum and stable electrical contact resistance value when shrouded in the nitrogen environment and with high friction coefficient. The rich oxygen environment promotes the formation of cuprous oxide, thereby the electrical contact resistance increases. Scanning electron microscope microscopy and electron probe microanalysis were used to analyze the morphology and distribution of elements of the wear area, respectively. The surface product between contacts was investigated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis to explain the different electrical contact properties of the three tested samples during fretting.

Twin-tailed fail-over for fileservers maintaining full performance in the presence of a failure

DOEpatents

Coteus, Paul W.; Gara, Alan G.; Giampapa, Mark E.; Heidelberger, Philip; Steinmacher-Burow, Burkhard D.

2008-02-12

A method for maintaining full performance of a file system in the presence of a failure is provided. The file system having N storage devices, where N is an integer greater than zero and N primary file servers where each file server is operatively connected to a corresponding storage device for accessing files therein. The file system further having a secondary file server operatively connected to at least one of the N storage devices. The method including: switching the connection of one of the N storage devices to the secondary file server upon a failure of one of the N primary file servers; and switching the connections of one or more of the remaining storage devices to a primary file server other than the failed file server as necessary so as to prevent a loss in performance and to provide each storage device with an operating file server.

Disaster preparedness for technology and electricity-dependent children and youth with special health care needs.

PubMed

Sakashita, Kazumi; Matthews, Wallace J; Yamamoto, Loren G

2013-06-01

Children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) are complex and often dependent on electrical devices (technoelectric dependent) for life support/maintenance. Because they are reliant on electricity and electricity failure is common, the purpose of this study was to survey their preparedness for electricity failure. Parents and caregivers of technoelectric CYSHCN were asked to complete a preparedness questionnaire. We collected a convenience sample of 50 patients. These 50 patients utilized a total of 166 electrical devices. A home ventilator, oxygen concentrator, and a feeding pump were identified as the most important device for the children in 35 of the 50 patients, yet only 19 of the 35 patients could confirm that this device had a battery backup. Also, 22 of the 50 patients had a prolonged power failure preparedness plan. Technoelectric-dependent CYSHCN are poorly prepared for electrical power failure.

System and method for floating-substrate passive voltage contrast

DOEpatents

Jenkins, Mark W [Albuquerque, NM; Cole, Jr., Edward I.; Tangyunyong, Paiboon [Albuquerque, NM; Soden, Jerry M [Placitas, NM; Walraven, Jeremy A [Albuquerque, NM; Pimentel, Alejandro A [Albuquerque, NM

2009-04-28

A passive voltage contrast (PVC) system and method are disclosed for analyzing ICs to locate defects and failure mechanisms. During analysis a device side of a semiconductor die containing the IC is maintained in an electrically-floating condition without any ground electrical connection while a charged particle beam is scanned over the device side. Secondary particle emission from the device side of the IC is detected to form an image of device features, including electrical vias connected to transistor gates or to other structures in the IC. A difference in image contrast allows the defects or failure mechanisms be pinpointed. Varying the scan rate can, in some instances, produce an image reversal to facilitate precisely locating the defects or failure mechanisms in the IC. The system and method are useful for failure analysis of ICs formed on substrates (e.g. bulk semiconductor substrates and SOI substrates) and other types of structures.

Numerical simulation of CTE mismatch and thermal-structural stresses in the design of interconnects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peter, Geoffrey John M.

With the ever-increasing chip complexity, interconnects have to be designed to meet the new challenges. Advances in optical lithography have made chip feature sizes available today at 70 nm dimensions. With advances in Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography, X-ray Lithography, and Ion Projection Lithography it is expected that the line width will further decrease to 20 nm or less. With the decrease in feature size, the number of active devices on the chip increases. With higher levels of circuit integration, the challenge is to dissipate the increased heat flux from the chip surface area. Thermal management considerations include coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) matching to prevent failure between the chip and the board. This in turn calls for improved system performance and reliability of the electronic structural systems. Experience has shown that in most electronic systems, failures are mostly due to CTE mismatch between the chip, board, and the solder joint (solder interconnect). The resulting high thermal-structural stress and strain due to CTE mismatch produces cracks in the solder joints with eventual failure of the electronic component. In order to reduce the thermal stress between the chip, board, and the solder joint, this dissertation examines the effect of inserting wire bundle (wire interconnect) between the chip and the board. The flexibility of the wires or fibers would reduce the stress at the rigid joints. Numerical simulations of two, and three-dimensional models of the solder and wire interconnects are examined. The numerical simulation is linear in nature and is based on linear isotropic material properties. The effect of different wire material properties is examined. The effect of varying the wire diameter is studied by changing the wire diameter. A major cause of electronic equipment failure is due to fatigue failure caused by thermal cycling, and vibrations. A two-dimensional modal and harmonic analysis was simulated for the wire interconnect and the solder interconnect. The numerical model simulated using ANSYS program was validated with the numerical/experimental results of other published researchers. In addition the results were cross-checked by IDEAS program. A prototype non-working wire interconnect is proposed to emphasize practical application. The numerical analysis, in this dissertation is based on a U.S. Patent granted to G. Peter(42).

SnO2-based memristors and the potential synergies of integrating memristors with MEMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zubia, David; Almeida, Sergio; Talukdar, Arka; Mireles, Jose; MacDonald, Eric

2012-06-01

Memristors, usually in the form metal/metal-oxide/metal, have attracted much attention due to their potential application for non-volatile memory. Their simple structure and ease of fabrication make them good candidates for dense memory with projections of 22 terabytes per wafer. Excellent switching times of ~10 ns, memory endurance of >109 cycles, and extrapolated retention times of >10 yrs have been reported. Interestingly, memristors use the migration of ions to change their resistance in response to charge flow, and can therefore measure and remember the amount of current that has flowed. This is similar to many MEMS devices in which the motion of mass is an operating principle of the device. Memristors are also similar to MEMS in the sense that they can both be resistant to radiation effects. Memristors are radiation tolerant since information is stored as a structural change and not as electronic charge. Functionally, a MEMS device's sensitivity to radiation is concomitant to the role that the dielectric layers play in the function of the device. This is due to radiation-induced trapped charge in the dielectrics which can alter device performance and in extreme cases cause failure. Although different material systems have been investigated for memristors, SnO2 has received little attention even though it demonstrates excellent electronic properties and a high resistance to displacement damage from radiation due to a large Frenkel defect energy (7 eV) compared its bandgap (3.6 eV). This talk discusses recent research on SnO2-based memristors and the potential synergies of integrating memristors with MEMS.

Patient engagement with a mobile web-based telemonitoring system for heart failure self-management: a pilot study.

PubMed

Zan, Shiyi; Agboola, Stephen; Moore, Stephanie A; Parks, Kimberly A; Kvedar, Joseph C; Jethwani, Kamal

2015-04-01

Intensive remote monitoring programs for congestive heart failure have been successful in reducing costly readmissions, but may not be appropriate for all patients. There is an opportunity to leverage the increasing accessibility of mobile technologies and consumer-facing digital devices to empower patients in monitoring their own health outside of the hospital setting. The iGetBetter system, a secure Web- and telephone-based heart failure remote monitoring program, which leverages mobile technology and portable digital devices, offers a creative solution at lower cost. The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility of using the iGetBetter system for disease self-management in patients with heart failure. This was a single-arm prospective study in which 21 ambulatory, adult heart failure patients used the intervention for heart failure self-management over a 90-day study period. Patients were instructed to take their weight, blood pressure, and heart rate measurements each morning using a WS-30 bluetooth weight scale, a self-inflating blood pressure cuff (Withings LLC, Issy les Moulineaux, France), and an iPad Mini tablet computer (Apple Inc, Cupertino, CA, USA) equipped with cellular Internet connectivity to view their measurements on the Internet. Outcomes assessed included usability and satisfaction, engagement with the intervention, hospital resource utilization, and heart failure-related quality of life. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize data, and matched controls identified from the electronic medical record were used as comparison for evaluating hospitalizations. There were 20 participants (mean age 53 years) that completed the study. Almost all participants (19/20, 95%) reported feeling more connected to their health care team and more confident in performing care plan activities, and 18/20 (90%) felt better prepared to start discussions about their health with their doctor. Although heart failure-related quality of life improved from baseline, it was not statistically significant (P=.55). Over half of the participants had greater than 80% (72/90 days) weekly and overall engagement with the program, and 15% (3/20) used the interactive voice response telephone system exclusively for managing their care plan. Hospital utilization did not differ in the intervention group compared to the control group (planned hospitalizations P=.23, and unplanned hospitalizations P=.99). Intervention participants recorded shorter average length of hospital stay, but no significant differences were observed between intervention and control groups (P=.30). This pilot study demonstrated the feasibility of a low-intensive remote monitoring program leveraging commonly used mobile and portable consumer devices in augmenting care for a fairly young population of ambulatory patients with heart failure. Further prospective studies with a larger sample size and within more diverse patient populations is necessary to determine the effect of mobile-based remote monitoring programs such as the iGetBetter system on clinical outcomes in heart failure.

Electronic Adherence Monitoring in a High-Utilizing Pediatric Asthma Cohort: A Feasibility Study

PubMed Central

Chang, Joyce; Wynter, Sheri-Ann; Fowler, Jessica C; Long, Jin; Bryant-Stephens, Tyra C

2016-01-01

Background Inner-city, minority children with asthma have the highest rates of morbidity and death from asthma and the lowest rates of asthma controller medication adherence. Some recent electronic medication monitoring interventions demonstrated dramatic improvements in adherence in lower-risk populations. The feasibility and acceptability of such an intervention in the highest-risk children with asthma has not been studied. Objective Our objective was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a community health worker-delivered electronic adherence monitoring intervention among the highest utilizers of acute asthma care in an inner-city practice. Methods This was a prospective cohort pilot study targeting children with the highest frequency of asthma-related emergency department and hospital care within a local managed care Medicaid plan. The 3-month intervention included motivational interviewing, electronic monitoring of controller and rescue inhaler use, and outreach by a community health worker for predefined medication alerts. We measured acceptability by using a modified technology acceptability model and changes in asthma control using the Asthma Control Test (ACT). Given prominent feasibility issues, we describe qualitative patterns of medication use at baseline only. Results We enrolled 14 non-Hispanic black children with a median age of 3.5 years. Participants averaged 7.8 emergency or hospital visits in the year preceding enrollment. We observed three distinct patterns of baseline controller use: 4 patients demonstrated sustained use, 5 patients had periodic use, and 5 patients lapsed within 2 weeks. All participants initiated use of the electronic devices; however, no modem signal was transmitted for 5 or the 14 participants after a mean of 45 days. Of the 9 (64% of total) caregivers who completed the final study visit, all viewed the electronic monitoring device favorably and would recommend it to friends, and 5 (56%) believed that the device helped to improve asthma control. ACT scores improved by a mean of 2.7 points (P=.05) over the 3-month intervention. Conclusions High-utilizer, minority families who completed a community health worker-delivered electronic adherence intervention found it generally acceptable. Prominent feasibility concerns, however, such as recruitment, data transmission failure, and lost devices, should be carefully considered when designing interventions in this setting. PMID:27335355

Concept and Development of an Electronic Framework Intended for Electrode and Surrounding Environment Characterization In Vivo

PubMed Central

Rieger, Stefan B.; Pfau, Jennifer; Stieglitz, Thomas; Asplund, Maria; Ordonez, Juan S.

2016-01-01

There has been substantial progress over the last decade towards miniaturizing implantable microelectrodes for use in Active Implantable Medical Devices (AIMD). Compared to the rapid development and complexity of electrode miniaturization, methods to monitor and assess functional integrity and electrical functionality of these electrodes, particularly during long term stimulation, have not progressed to the same extent. Evaluation methods that form the gold standard, such as stimulus pulse testing, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, are either still bound to laboratory infrastructure (impractical for long term in vivo experiments) or deliver no comprehensive insight into the material’s behaviour. As there is a lack of cost effective and practical predictive measures to understand long term electrode behaviour in vivo, material investigations need to be performed after explantation of the electrodes. We propose the analysis of the electrode and its environment in situ, to better understand and correlate the effects leading to electrode failure. The derived knowledge shall eventually lead to improved electrode designs, increased electrode functionality and safety in clinical applications. In this paper, the concept, design and prototyping of a sensor framework used to analyse the electrode’s behaviour and to monitor diverse electrode failure mechanisms, even during stimulation pulses, is presented. We focused on the electronic circuitry and data acquisition techniques required for a conceptual multi-sensor system. Functionality of single modules and a prototype framework have been demonstrated, but further work is needed to convert the prototype system into an implantable device. In vitro studies will be conducted first to verify sensor performance and reliability. PMID:28042815

Substantial harm associated with failure of chronic paediatric central venous access devices.

PubMed

Ullman, Amanda J; Kleidon, Tricia; Cooke, Marie; Rickard, Claire M

2017-07-06

Central venous access devices (CVADs) form an important component of modern paediatric healthcare, especially for children with chronic health conditions such as cancer or gastrointestinal disorders. However device failure and complications rates are high.Over 2½ years, a child requiring parenteral nutrition and associated vascular access dependency due to 'short gut syndrome' (intestinal failure secondary to gastroschisis and resultant significant bowel resection) had ten CVADs inserted, with ninesubsequently failing. This resulted in multiple anaesthetics, invasive procedures, injuries, vascular depletion, interrupted nutrition, delayed treatment and substantial healthcare costs. A conservative estimate of the institutional costs for each insertion, or rewiring, of her tunnelled CVAD was $A10 253 (2016 Australian dollars).These complications and device failures had significant negative impact on the child and her family. Considering the commonality of conditions requiring prolonged vascular access, these failures also have a significant impact on international health service costs. © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd (unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Intermittent output failure of a VVI device due to the disintegration of the generator.

PubMed

Böhm, A; Kayser, S; Pintér, A; Préda, I

2001-01-01

The metal case and the header of a Biovallees Coralite 247 pacemaker fell apart in a patient resulting in syncope due to myopotential inhibition. Upon recalling our patients with that type of device, we found a similar technological failure in 11 of 16 of them. This finding warrants a consideration for recalling that Biovallees device.

Outcomes of patients with right ventricular failure on milrinone after left ventricular assist device implantation.

PubMed

Tsiouris, Athanasios; Paone, Gaetano; Brewer, Robert J; Nemeh, Hassan W; Borgi, Jamil; Morgan, Jeffrey A

2015-01-01

Previous studies have grouped together both patients requiring right ventricular assist devices (RVADs) with patients requiring prolonged milrinone therapy after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. We retrospectively identified 149 patients receiving LVADs and 18 (12.1%) of which developed right ventricular (RV) failure. We then separated these patients into those requiring RVADs versus prolonged milrinone therapy. This included 10 patients who were treated with prolonged milrinone and eight patients who underwent RVAD placement. Overall, the RV failure group had worse survival compared with the non-RV failure cohort (p = 0.038). However, this was only for the subgroup of patients who required RVADs, who had a 1, 6, 12, and 24 month survival of 62.5%, 37.5%, 37.5%, and 37.5%, respectively, versus 96.8%, 92.1%, 86.7%, and 84.4% for patients without RV failure (p < 0.001). Patients treated with prolonged milrinone therapy for RV failure had similar survivals compared with patients without RV failure. In the RV failure group, age, preoperative renal failure, and previous cardiac surgery were predictors of the need for prolonged postoperative milrinone. As LVADs become a more widely used therapy for patients with refractory, end-stage heart failure, it will be important to reduce the incidence of RV failure, as it yields significant morbidity and increases cost.

Trends on band alignments: Validity of Anderson's rule in SnS2- and SnSe2-based van der Waals heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koda, Daniel S.; Bechstedt, Friedhelm; Marques, Marcelo; Teles, Lara K.

2018-04-01

Van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures are promising candidates for building blocks in novel electronic and optoelectronic devices with tailored properties, since their electronic action is dominated by the band alignments upon their contact. In this work, we analyze 10 vdW heterobilayers based on tin dichalcogenides by first-principles calculations. Structural studies show that all systems are stable, and that commensurability leads to smaller interlayer distances. Using hybrid functional calculations, we derive electronic properties and band alignments for all the heterosystems and isolated two-dimensional (2D) crystals. Natural band offsets are derived from calculated electron affinities and ionization energies of 11 freestanding 2D crystals. They are compared with band alignments in true heterojunctions, using a quantum mechanical criterion, and available experimental data. For the hBN/SnSe 2 system, we show that hBN suffers an increase in band gap, while leaving almost unchanged the electronic properties of SnSe2. Similarly, MX2 (M = Mo, W; X = S, Se) over SnX2 preserve the natural discontinuities from each side of the heterobilayer. Significant charge transfer occurs in junctions with graphene, which becomes p-doped and forms an Ohmic contact with SnX2. Zirconium and hafnium dichalcogenides display stronger interlayer interactions, leading to larger shifts in band alignments with tin dichalcogenides. Significant orbital overlap is found, which creates zero conduction band offset systems. The validity of the Anderson electron affinity rule is discussed. Failures of this model are traced back to interlayer interaction, band hybridization, and quantum dipoles. The systematic work sheds light on interfacial engineering for future vdW electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Degradation of HTL layers during device operation in PhOLEDs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sivasubramaniam, Varatharajan; Brodkorb, Florian; Hanning, Stephanie; Buttler, Oliver; Loebl, Hans Peter; van Elsbergen, Volker; Boerner, Herbert; Scherf, Ullrich; Kreyenschmidt, Martin

2009-11-01

Different analytical tools and methodologies are currently employed to determine degradation products of organic blue light emitting devices in order to identify the failure mechanisms which determine the lifetime of these devices. This article provides a deeper understanding of degradation mechanisms of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) during device operation. Degradation products of blue emitting devices containing 8% of the phosphorescent emitter iridium(III)bis(4,6-difluorophenyl)-pyridinato-N,C 2' picolinate (FIrpic) in a matrix containing bis(2-methyl-8-quinolinolato)(4-phenylphenolato)aluminium (BAlq) as electron transport layer (ETL), 4,4',4″-tri( N-carbazolyl)triphenylamine (TCTA) and N, N'-diphenyl- N, N'-bis(1-naphthyl)-1,1'-biphenyl-4,4″-diamine (α-NPD) were investigated using laser desorption ionization (LDI) coupled with a time of flight mass spectrometry (TOF/MS). Especially chemical degradation pathways of the hole transport materials TCTA and α-NPD were investigated. The comparison of experimental data of unstressed and stressed device revealed that new reaction products are formed during the device operation. The linkage of TCTA fragments to the α-NPD core in an interfacial reaction as well as a dimerization of TCTA itself was observed. Ten new reaction products could be characterized via LDI-TOF-MS. Some of these compounds might possess a negative influence on the drop of efficiency and lifetime of blue light emitting devices based on FIrpic.

Storage reliability analysis summary report. Volume 2: Electro mechanical devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, H. B., Jr.; Krulac, I. L.

1982-09-01

This document summarizes storage reliability data collected by the US Army Missile Command on electro-mechanical devices over a period of several years. Sources of data are detailed, major failure modes and mechanisms are listed and discussed. Non-operational failure rate prediction methodology is given, and conclusions and recommendations for enhancing the storage reliability of devices are drawn from the analysis of collected data.

Functional Interrupts and Destructive Failures from Single Event Effect Testing of Point-Of-Load Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Dakai; Phan, Anthony; Kim, Hak; Swonger, James; Musil, Paul; LaBel, Kenneth

2013-01-01

We show examples of single event functional interrupt and destructive failure in modern POL devices. The increasing complexity and diversity of the design and process introduce hard SEE modes that are triggered by various mechanisms.

Inherent Risk or Risky Decision? Coach's Failure to Use Safety Device an Assumed Risk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dodds, Mark A.; Bochicchio, Kristi Schoepfer

2013-01-01

The court examined whether a coach's failure to implement a safety device during pitching practice enhanced the risk to the athlete or resulted in a suboptimal playing condition, in the context of the assumption of risk doctrine.

Microcircuit Device Reliability Memory/Digital LSI

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-01-01

has been performed. Each failure event record reveals the particular device and test characteristics, as well as associated stress values and other...given by: « s logio (Vxp) where X0 is the observed failure rate Xp is the predicted failure rate « is the residual Values of « are then plotted...n...... ||^||tpMMMWiWMM*i»""l’’൓ iŕŕ" ’• of failures per point). Some "funnelling" in Figure 17 shows this, although there is a fair amount of

Single event induced transients in I/O devices - A characterization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Newberry, D. M.; Kaye, D. H.; Soli, G. A.

1990-01-01

The results of single-event upset (SEU) testing performed to evaluate the parametric transients, i.e., amplitude and duration, in several I/O devices, and the impact of these transients are discussed. The failure rate of these devices is dependent on the susceptibility of interconnected devices to the resulting transient change in the output of the I/O device. This failure rate, which is a function of the susceptibility of the interconnected device as well as the SEU response of the I/O device itself, may be significantly different from an upset rate calculated without taking these factors into account. The impact at the system level is discussed by way of an example.

Percutaneous Ventricular Assist Devices: New Deus Ex Machina?

PubMed Central

Arroyo, Diego; Cook, Stéphane

2011-01-01

The development of ventricular assist devices has broadened the means with which one can treat acute heart failure. Percutaneous ventricular assist devices (pVAD) have risen from recent technological advances. They are smaller, easier, and faster to implant, all important qualities in the setting of acute heart failure. The present paper briefly describes the functioning and assets of the most common devices used today. It gives an overview of the current evidence and indications for left ventricular assist device use in cardiogenic shock and high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention. Finally, extracorporeal life support devices are dealt with in the setting of hemodynamic support. PMID:22091361

Machines versus medication for biventricular heart failure: focus on the total artificial heart.

PubMed

Arabia, Francisco A; Moriguchi, Jaime D

2014-09-01

The medical/surgical management of advanced heart failure has evolved rapidly over the last few decades. With better understanding of heart failure pathophysiology, new pharmacological agents have been introduced that have resulted in improvements in survival. For those patients that fail to improve, mechanical circulatory support with left ventricular assist devices and total artificial hearts (TAHs) have served as a beneficial bridge to transplantation. The TAH has continued to play a significant role as a bridge to transplantation in patients with biventricular failure and more selected indications that could not be completely helped with left ventricular assist devices. Improved survival with the TAH has resulted in more patients benefiting from this technology. Improvements will eventually lead to a totally implantable device that will permanently replace the failing human heart.

Lightning prevention systems for paper mills

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carpenter, R.B. Jr.

1989-05-01

Paper mills are increasingly relying on sensitive electronic equipment to control their operations. However, the sensitivity of these devices has made mills vulnerable to the effects of lightning strokes. An interruption in the power supply or the destruction of delicate microcircuits can have devastating effects on mill productivity. The authors discuss how lightning strokes can be prevented by a Dissipation Array system (DAS). During the past 17 years, the concept has been applied to a host of applications in regions with a high incidence of lightning activity. With nearly 700 systems now installed, more than 4000 system-years of history havemore » been accumulated. Areas as large as 1 km{sup 2} and towers as high as 2000 ft have been protected and completely isolated from lightning strokes. There have been very few failures, and in every case, the cause of the failure was determined and corrected.« less

Predictive modeling for corrective maintenance of imaging devices from machine logs.

PubMed

Patil, Ravindra B; Patil, Meru A; Ravi, Vidya; Naik, Sarif

2017-07-01

In the cost sensitive healthcare industry, an unplanned downtime of diagnostic and therapy imaging devices can be a burden on the financials of both the hospitals as well as the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). In the current era of connectivity, it is easier to get these devices connected to a standard monitoring station. Once the system is connected, OEMs can monitor the health of these devices remotely and take corrective actions by providing preventive maintenance thereby avoiding major unplanned downtime. In this article, we present an overall methodology of predicting failure of these devices well before customer experiences it. We use data-driven approach based on machine learning to predict failures in turn resulting in reduced machine downtime, improved customer satisfaction and cost savings for the OEMs. One of the use-case of predicting component failure of PHILIPS iXR system is explained in this article.

Method for integrating microelectromechanical devices with electronic circuitry

DOEpatents

Montague, Stephen; Smith, James H.; Sniegowski, Jeffry J.; McWhorter, Paul J.

1998-01-01

A method for integrating one or more microelectromechanical (MEM) devices with electronic circuitry. The method comprises the steps of forming each MEM device within a cavity below a device surface of the substrate; encapsulating the MEM device prior to forming electronic circuitry on the substrate; and releasing the MEM device for operation after fabrication of the electronic circuitry. Planarization of the encapsulated MEM device prior to formation of the electronic circuitry allows the use of standard processing steps for fabrication of the electronic circuitry.

Nasal Jet-CPAP (variable flow) versus Bubble-CPAP in preterm infants with respiratory distress: an open label, randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Bhatti, A; Khan, J; Murki, S; Sundaram, V; Saini, S S; Kumar, P

2015-11-01

To compare the failure rates between Jet continuous positive airway pressure device (J-CPAP-variable flow) and Bubble continuous positive airway device (B-CPAP) in preterm infants with respiratory distress. Preterm newborns <34 weeks gestation with onset of respiratory distress within 6 h of life were randomized to receive J-CPAP (a variable flow device) or B-CPAP (continuous flow device). A standardized protocol was followed for titration, weaning and removal of CPAP. Pressure was monitored close to the nares in both the devices every 6 hours and settings were adjusted to provide desired CPAP. The primary outcome was CPAP failure rate within 72 h of life. Secondary outcomes were CPAP failure within 7 days of life, need for surfactant post-randomization, time to CPAP failure, duration of CPAP and complications of prematurity. An intention to treat analysis was done. One-hundred seventy neonates were randomized, 80 to J-CPAP and 90 to B-CPAP. CPAP failure rates within 72 h were similar in infants who received J-CPAP and in those who received B-CPAP (29 versus 21%; relative risks 1.4 (0.8 to 2.3), P=0.25). Mean (95% confidence intervals) time to CPAP failure was 59 h (54 to 64) in the Jet CPAP group in comparison with 65 h (62 to 68) in the Bubble CPAP group (log rank P=0.19). All other secondary outcomes were similar between the two groups. In preterm infants with respiratory distress starting within 6 h of life, CPAP failure rates were similar with Jet CPAP and Bubble CPAP.

The total artificial heart for biventricular heart failure and beyond.

PubMed

Kasirajan, Vigneshwar; Tang, Daniel G; Katlaps, Gundars J; Shah, Keyur B

2012-05-01

Treatment options for late-stage biventricular heart failure are limited but include medical therapy with intravenous inotropes, biventricular assist devices (Bi-VADs) and the total artificial heart (TAH). In this manuscript, we review the indications, surgical techniques and outcomes for the TAH. The TAH offers biventricular replacement, rather than 'assistance', as the device is placed orthotopically after excision of the entire ventricular myocardium and all four native valves. In contrast to patients with Bi-VADs, patients with the TAH have no postoperative inotrope requirements, arrhythmias or inflow/outflow cannulae-related complications. Additionally, patients participate in rehabilitation early after device placement and the development of a portable drive may facilitate hospital discharge in the USA. Furthermore, total heart replacement may be ideal for heart failure associated with unique anatomical and mechanical complications. The TAH is an effective therapeutic option for the treatment of patients dying of heart failure who may not be suitable candidates for left ventricular assist devices.

49 CFR 220.305 - Use of personal electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RAILROAD COMMUNICATIONS Electronic Devices § 220.305 Use of personal electronic devices. A railroad operating employee must have each personal electronic device turned off with... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Use of personal electronic devices. 220.305...

49 CFR 220.305 - Use of personal electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Use of personal electronic devices. 220.305... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RAILROAD COMMUNICATIONS Electronic Devices § 220.305 Use of personal electronic devices. A railroad operating employee must have each personal electronic device turned off with...

49 CFR 220.305 - Use of personal electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Use of personal electronic devices. 220.305... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RAILROAD COMMUNICATIONS Electronic Devices § 220.305 Use of personal electronic devices. A railroad operating employee must have each personal electronic device turned off with...

Mechanics of hard films on soft substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Nanshu

2009-12-01

Flexible electronics have been developed for various applications, including paper-like electronic readers, rollable solar cells, electronic skins etc., with the merits of light weight, low cost, large area, and ruggedness. The systems may be subject to one-time or repeated large deformation during manufacturing and application. Although organic materials can be highly deformable, currently they are not able to fulfill every electronic function. Therefore flexible electronic devices are usually made as organic/inorganic hybrids, with diverse materials, complex architecture, and micro features. While the polymer substrates can recover from large deformations, thin films of electronic materials such as metals, silicon, oxides, and nitrides fracture at small strains, usually less than a few percent. Mechanics of hard films on soft substrates hence holds the key to build high-performance and highly reliable flex circuits. This thesis investigates the deformability and failure mechanisms of thin films of metallic and ceramic materials supported by soft polymeric substrates through combined experimental, theoretical, and numerical methods. When subject to tension, micron-thick metal films with stable microstructure and strong interfacial adhesion to the substrate can be stretched beyond 50% without forming cracks. They eventually rupture by a ductile transgranular fracture which involves simultaneous necking and debonding. When metal films become nanometer-thick, intergranular fracture dominates the failure mode at elongations of only a few percent. Unannealed films show unstable microstructure at room temperature when subject to mechanical loading. In this case, films also rupture at small strains but by three concurrent mechanisms: deformation-induced grain growth, strain localization at large grains, and simultaneous debonding. In contrast to metal films, ceramic films rupture by brittle mechanisms. The only way to prevent rupture of ceramic films is to reduce the strain they are subject to. Instead of using blanket films that fail at strains less than i%, we have patterned ceramic films into a lattice of periodic, isolated islands. Failure modes such as channel cracking, debonding, and wrinkling have been identified. Island behaviors are controlled by factors such as island size, thickness, and elastic mismatch with the substrate. A very soft interlayer between the islands and the underlying polyimide substrate reduces strains in the islands by orders of magnitude. Using this approach, substrates with arrays of 200 x 200 mum2 large SiNx islands were stretched beyond 20% without cracking or debonding the islands. In summary, highly stretchable thin metal films and ceramic island arrays supported by polymer substrates have been achieved, along with mechanistic understandings of their deformation and failure mechanisms.

76 FR 45860 - In the Matter of Certain Electronic Devices, Including Wireless Communication Devices, Portable...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-01

..., Including Wireless Communication Devices, Portable Music and Data Processing Devices, and Tablet Computers... electronic devices, including wireless communication devices, portable music and data processing devices, and... electronic devices, including wireless communication devices, portable music and data processing devices, and...

49 CFR 220.303 - General use of electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RAILROAD COMMUNICATIONS Electronic Devices § 220.303 General use of electronic devices. A railroad operating employee shall not use an electronic device if that use would... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false General use of electronic devices. 220.303 Section...

49 CFR 220.303 - General use of electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false General use of electronic devices. 220.303 Section... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RAILROAD COMMUNICATIONS Electronic Devices § 220.303 General use of electronic devices. A railroad operating employee shall not use an electronic device if that use would...

49 CFR 220.303 - General use of electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false General use of electronic devices. 220.303 Section... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RAILROAD COMMUNICATIONS Electronic Devices § 220.303 General use of electronic devices. A railroad operating employee shall not use an electronic device if that use would...

What Reliability Engineers Should Know about Space Radiation Effects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DiBari, Rebecca

2013-01-01

Space radiation in space systems present unique failure modes and considerations for reliability engineers. Radiation effects is not a one size fits all field. Threat conditions that must be addressed for a given mission depend on the mission orbital profile, the technologies of parts used in critical functions and on application considerations, such as supply voltages, temperature, duty cycle, and redundancy. In general, the threats that must be addressed are of two types-the cumulative degradation mechanisms of total ionizing dose (TID) and displacement damage (DD). and the prompt responses of components to ionizing particles (protons and heavy ions) falling under the heading of single-event effects. Generally degradation mechanisms behave like wear-out mechanisms on any active components in a system: Total Ionizing Dose (TID) and Displacement Damage: (1) TID affects all active devices over time. Devices can fail either because of parametric shifts that prevent the device from fulfilling its application or due to device failures where the device stops functioning altogether. Since this failure mode varies from part to part and lot to lot, lot qualification testing with sufficient statistics is vital. Displacement damage failures are caused by the displacement of semiconductor atoms from their lattice positions. As with TID, failures can be either parametric or catastrophic, although parametric degradation is more common for displacement damage. Lot testing is critical not just to assure proper device fi.mctionality throughout the mission. It can also suggest remediation strategies when a device fails. This paper will look at these effects on a variety of devices in a variety of applications. This paper will look at these effects on a variety of devices in a variety of applications. (2) On the NEAR mission a functional failure was traced to a PIN diode failure caused by TID induced high leakage currents. NEAR was able to recover from the failure by reversing the current of a nearby Thermal Electric Cooler (turning the TEC into a heater). The elevated temperature caused the PIN diode to anneal and the device to recover. It was by lot qualification testing that NEAR knew the diode would recover when annealed. This paper will look at these effects on a variety of devices in a variety of applications. Single Event Effects (SEE): (1) In contrast to TID and displacement damage, Single Event Effects (SEE) resemble random failures. SEE modes can range from changes in device logic (single-event upset, or SEU). temporary disturbances (single-event transient) to catastrophic effects such as the destructive SEE modes, single-event latchup (SEL). single-event gate rupture (SEGR) and single-event burnout (SEB) (2) The consequences of nondestructive SEE modes such as SEU and SET depend critically on their application--and may range from trivial nuisance errors to catastrophic loss of mission. It is critical not just to ensure that potentially susceptible devices are well characterized for their susceptibility, but also to work with design engineers to understand the implications of each error mode. -For destructive SEE, the predominant risk mitigation strategy is to avoid susceptible parts, or if that is not possible. to avoid conditions under which the part may be susceptible. Destructive SEE mechanisms are often not well understood, and testing is slow and expensive, making rate prediction very challenging. (3) Because the consequences of radiation failure and degradation modes depend so critically on the application as well as the component technology, it is essential that radiation, component. design and system engineers work togetherpreferably starting early in the program to ensure critical applications are addressed in time to optimize the probability of mission success.

Long-term reliability study and failure analysis of quantum cascade lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Feng; Nguyen, Hong-Ky; Leblanc, Herve; Hughes, Larry; Wang, Jie; Miller, Dean J.; Lascola, Kevin

2017-02-01

Here we present lifetime test results of 4 groups of quantum cascade lasers (QCL) under various aging conditions including an accelerated life test. The total accumulated life time exceeds 1.5 million device·hours, which is the largest QCL reliability study ever reported. The longest single device aging time was 46.5 thousand hours (without failure) in the room temperature test. Four failures were found in a group of 19 devices subjected to the accelerated life test with a heat-sink temperature of 60 °C and a continuous-wave current of 1 A. Visual inspection of the laser facets of failed devices revealed an astonishing phenomenon, which has never been reported before, which manifested as a dark belt of an unknown substance appearing on facets. Although initially assumed to be contamination from the environment, failure analysis revealed that the dark substance is a thermally induced oxide of InP in the buried heterostructure semiinsulating layer. When the oxidized material starts to cover the core and blocks the light emission, it begins to cause the failure of QCLs in the accelerated test. An activation energy of 1.2 eV is derived from the dependence of the failure rate on laser core temperature. With the activation energy, the mean time to failure of the quantum cascade lasers operating at a current density of 5 kA/cm2 and heat-sink temperature of 25°C is expected to be 809 thousand hours.

Method for integrating microelectromechanical devices with electronic circuitry

DOEpatents

Montague, S.; Smith, J.H.; Sniegowski, J.J.; McWhorter, P.J.

1998-08-25

A method is disclosed for integrating one or more microelectromechanical (MEM) devices with electronic circuitry. The method comprises the steps of forming each MEM device within a cavity below a device surface of the substrate; encapsulating the MEM device prior to forming electronic circuitry on the substrate; and releasing the MEM device for operation after fabrication of the electronic circuitry. Planarization of the encapsulated MEM device prior to formation of the electronic circuitry allows the use of standard processing steps for fabrication of the electronic circuitry. 13 figs.

PDA survey of quality risk management practices in the pharmaceutical, devices, & biotechnology industries.

PubMed

Ahmed, Ruhi; Baseman, Harold; Ferreira, Jorge; Genova, Thomas; Harclerode, William; Hartman, Jeffery; Kim, Samuel; Londeree, Nanette; Long, Michael; Miele, William; Ramjit, Timothy; Raschiatore, Marlene; Tomonto, Charles

2008-01-01

In July 2006 the Parenteral Drug Association's Risk Management Task Force for Aseptic Processes, conducted an electronic survey of PDA members to determine current industry practices regarding implementation of Quality Risk Management in their organizations. This electronic survey was open and publicly available via the PDA website and targeted professionals in our industry who are involved in initiating, implementing, or reviewing risk management programs or decisions in their organizations. One hundred twenty-nine members participated and their demographics are presented in the sidebar "Correspondents Profile". Among the major findings are: *The "Aseptic Processing/Filling" operation is the functional area identified as having the greatest need for risk assessment and quality risk management. *The most widely used methodology in industry to identify risk is Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA). This tool was most widely applied in assessing change control and for adverse event, complaint, or failure investigations. *Despite the fact that personnel training was identified as the strategy most used for controlling/minimizing risk, the largest contributors to sterility failure in operations are still "Personnel". *Most companies still rely on "Manufacturing Controls" to mitigate risk and deemed the utilization of Process Analytical Technology (PAT) least important in this aspect. *A majority of correspondents verified that they did not periodically assess their risk management programs. *A majority of the correspondents desired to see case studies or examples of risk analysis implementation (as applicable to aseptic processing) in future PDA technical reports on risk management.

Cost-Effectiveness of Implantable Pulmonary Artery Pressure Monitoring in Chronic Heart Failure.

PubMed

Sandhu, Alexander T; Goldhaber-Fiebert, Jeremy D; Owens, Douglas K; Turakhia, Mintu P; Kaiser, Daniel W; Heidenreich, Paul A

2016-05-01

This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the CardioMEMS (CardioMEMS Heart Failure System, St Jude Medical Inc, Atlanta, Georgia) device in patients with chronic heart failure. The CardioMEMS device, an implantable pulmonary artery pressure monitor, was shown to reduce hospitalizations for heart failure and improve quality of life in the CHAMPION (CardioMEMS Heart Sensor Allows Monitoring of Pressure to Improve Outcomes in NYHA Class III Heart Failure Patients) trial. We developed a Markov model to determine the hospitalization, survival, quality of life, cost, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of CardioMEMS implantation compared with usual care among a CHAMPION trial cohort of patients with heart failure. We obtained event rates and utilities from published trial data; we used costs from literature estimates and Medicare reimbursement data. We performed subgroup analyses of preserved and reduced ejection fraction and an exploratory analysis in a lower-risk cohort on the basis of the CHARM (Candesartan in Heart failure: Reduction in Mortality and Morbidity) trials. CardioMEMS reduced lifetime hospitalizations (2.18 vs. 3.12), increased quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) (2.74 vs. 2.46), and increased costs ($176,648 vs. $156,569), thus yielding a cost of $71,462 per QALY gained and $48,054 per life-year gained. The cost per QALY gained was $82,301 in patients with reduced ejection fraction and $47,768 in those with preserved ejection fraction. In the lower-risk CHARM cohort, the device would need to reduce hospitalizations for heart failure by 41% to cost <$100,000 per QALY gained. The cost-effectiveness was most sensitive to the device's durability. In populations similar to that of the CHAMPION trial, the CardioMEMS device is cost-effective if the trial effectiveness is sustained over long periods. Post-marketing surveillance data on durability will further clarify its value. Copyright © 2016 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Intraoperative Transesophageal Echocardiography and Right Ventricular Failure After Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation.

PubMed

Silverton, Natalie A; Patel, Ravi; Zimmerman, Josh; Ma, Jianing; Stoddard, Greg; Selzman, Craig; Morrissey, Candice K

2018-02-15

To determine whether intraoperative measures of right ventricular (RV) function using transesophageal echocardiography are associated with subsequent RV failure after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. Retrospective, nonrandomized, observational study. Single tertiary-level, university-affiliated hospital. The study comprised 100 patients with systolic heart failure undergoing elective LVAD implantation. Transesophageal echocardiographic images before and after cardiopulmonary bypass were analyzed to quantify RV function using tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), tricuspid annular systolic velocity (S'), fractional area change (FAC), RV global longitudinal strain, and RV free wall strain. A chart review was performed to determine which patients subsequently developed RV failure (right ventricular assist device placement or prolonged inotrope requirement ≥14 days). Nineteen patients (19%) subsequently developed RV failure. Postbypass FAC was the only measure of RV function that distinguished between the RV failure and non-RV failure groups (21.2% v 26.5%; p = 0.04). The sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve of an abnormal RV FAC (<35%) for RV failure after LVAD implantation were 84%, 20%, and 0.52, respectively. No other intraoperative measure of RV function was associated with subsequent RV failure. RV failure increased ventilator time, intensive care unit and hospital length of stay, and mortality. Intraoperative measures of RV function such as tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion, tricuspid annular systolic velocity, and RV strain were not associated with RV failure after LVAD implantation. Decreased postbypass FAC was significantly associated with RV failure but showed poor discrimination. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Failure Detecting Method of Fault Current Limiter System with Rectifier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tokuda, Noriaki; Matsubara, Yoshio; Asano, Masakuni; Ohkuma, Takeshi; Sato, Yoshibumi; Takahashi, Yoshihisa

A fault current limiter (FCL) is extensively needed to suppress fault current, particularly required for trunk power systems connecting high-voltage transmission lines, such as 500kV class power system which constitutes the nucleus of the electric power system. We proposed a new type FCL system (rectifier type FCL), consisting of solid-state diodes, DC reactor and bypass AC reactor, and demonstrated the excellent performances of this FCL by developing the small 6.6kV and 66kV model. It is important to detect the failure of power devices used in the rectifier under the normal operating condition, for keeping the excellent reliability of the power system. In this paper, we have proposed a new failure detecting method of power devices most suitable for the rectifier type FCL. This failure detecting system is simple and compact. We have adapted the proposed system to the 66kV prototype single-phase model and successfully demonstrated to detect the failure of power devices.

49 CFR 395.15 - Automatic on-board recording devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... information concerning on-board system sensor failures and identification of edited data. Such support systems... driving today; (iv) Total hours on duty for the 7 consecutive day period, including today; (v) Total hours...-driver operation; (7) The on-board recording device/system identifies sensor failures and edited data...

neutron-Induced Failures in semiconductor Devices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wender, Stephen Arthur

2017-03-13

Single Event Effects are a very significant failure mode in modern semiconductor devices that may limit their reliability. Accelerated testing is important for semiconductor industry. Considerable more work is needed in this field to mitigate the problem. Mitigation of this problem will probably come from Physicists and Electrical Engineers working together

Dielectric Spectroscopic Detection of Early Failures in 3-D Integrated Circuits.

PubMed

Obeng, Yaw; Okoro, C A; Ahn, Jung-Joon; You, Lin; Kopanski, Joseph J

The commercial introduction of three dimensional integrated circuits (3D-ICs) has been hindered by reliability challenges, such as stress related failures, resistivity changes, and unexplained early failures. In this paper, we discuss a new RF-based metrology, based on dielectric spectroscopy, for detecting and characterizing electrically active defects in fully integrated 3D devices. These defects are traceable to the chemistry of the insolation dielectrics used in the through silicon via (TSV) construction. We show that these defects may be responsible for some of the unexplained early reliability failures observed in TSV enabled 3D devices.

Failure Mechanisms for III-Nitride HEMT Devices

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-11-19

rf plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on freestanding GaN substrates, J. Cryst. Growth 380, 14-17 (2013). ii) Conference presentations (Invited...1 eFinal Report – AOARD Grant FA-2386-11-1-4107 Failure Mechanisms for III-nitride HEMT devices 19 November 2013 Principal Investigators: Martha...aspects of III-nitride HEMT materials and devices. Energy-filtered imaging of unstressed and stressed Ni/Au-gated AlGaN/GaN HEMTs indicated that

Failure mechanism of THz GaAs photoconductive antenna

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qadri, Syed B.; Wu, Dong H.; Graber, Benjamin D.; Mahadik, Nadeemullah A.; Garzarella, Anthony

2012-07-01

We investigated the failure mechanism of THz GaAs photoconductive antenna using high resolution x-ray diffraction topography. From these studies, it was found that grain boundaries are formed during the high frequency device operation. This results in the segregation of gold at the boundaries causing electromigration of the metal between the gold micro-strips. This disrupts the photocurrents from being produced by femtosecond laser thus preventing terahertz beam generation from the photoconductive antennae leading to device failure.

Towards Accelerated Aging Methodologies and Health Management of Power MOSFETs (Technical Brief)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Celaya, Jose R.; Patil, Nishad; Saha, Sankalita; Wysocki, Phil; Goebel, Kai

2009-01-01

Understanding aging mechanisms of electronic components is of extreme importance in the aerospace domain where they are part of numerous critical subsystems including avionics. In particular, power MOSFETs are of special interest as they are involved in high voltage switching circuits such as drivers for electrical motors. With increased use of electronics in aircraft control, it becomes more important to understand the degradation of these components in aircraft specific environments. In this paper, we present an accelerated aging methodology for power MOSFETs that subject the devices to indirect thermal overstress during high voltage switching. During this accelerated aging process, two major modes of failure were observed - latch-up and die attach degradation. In this paper we present the details of our aging methodology along with details of experiments and analysis of the results.

The effects of additives to SnAgCu alloys on microstructure and drop impact reliability of solder joints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Weiping; Lee, Ning-Cheng

2007-07-01

The impact reliability of solder joints in electronic packages is critical to the lifetime of electronic products, especially those portable devices using area array packages such as ball-grid array (BGA) and chip-scale packages (CSP). Currently, SnAgCu (SAC) solders are most widely used for lead-free applications. However, BGA and CSP solder joints using SAC alloys are fragile and prone to premature interfacial failure, especially under shock loading. To further enhance impact reliability, a family of SAC alloys doped with a small amount of additives such as Mn, Ce, Ti, Bi, and Y was developed. The effects of doping elements on drop test performance, creep resistance, and microstructure of the solder joints were investigated, and the solder joints made with the modified alloys exhibited significantly higher impact reliability.

Evaluation of Google Glass Technical Limitations on Their Integration in Medical Systems.

PubMed

Martinez-Millana, Antonio; Bayo-Monton, Jose-Luis; Lizondo, Aroa; Fernandez-Llatas, Carlos; Traver, Vicente

2016-12-15

Google Glass is a wearable sensor presented to facilitate access to information and assist while performing complex tasks. Despite the withdrawal of Google in supporting the product, today there are multiple applications and much research analyzing the potential impact of this technology in different fields of medicine. Google Glass satisfies the need of managing and having rapid access to real-time information in different health care scenarios. Among the most common applications are access to electronic medical records, display monitorizations, decision support and remote consultation in specialties ranging from ophthalmology to surgery and teaching. The device enables a user-friendly hands-free interaction with remote health information systems and broadcasting medical interventions and consultations from a first-person point of view. However, scientific evidence highlights important technical limitations in its use and integration, such as failure in connectivity, poor reception of images and automatic restart of the device. This article presents a technical study on the aforementioned limitations (specifically on the latency, reliability and performance) on two standard communication schemes in order to categorize and identify the sources of the problems. Results have allowed us to obtain a basis to define requirements for medical applications to prevent network, computational and processing failures associated with the use of Google Glass.

Evaluation of Google Glass Technical Limitations on Their Integration in Medical Systems

PubMed Central

Martinez-Millana, Antonio; Bayo-Monton, Jose-Luis; Lizondo, Aroa; Fernandez-Llatas, Carlos; Traver, Vicente

2016-01-01

Google Glass is a wearable sensor presented to facilitate access to information and assist while performing complex tasks. Despite the withdrawal of Google in supporting the product, today there are multiple applications and much research analyzing the potential impact of this technology in different fields of medicine. Google Glass satisfies the need of managing and having rapid access to real-time information in different health care scenarios. Among the most common applications are access to electronic medical records, display monitorizations, decision support and remote consultation in specialties ranging from ophthalmology to surgery and teaching. The device enables a user-friendly hands-free interaction with remote health information systems and broadcasting medical interventions and consultations from a first-person point of view. However, scientific evidence highlights important technical limitations in its use and integration, such as failure in connectivity, poor reception of images and automatic restart of the device. This article presents a technical study on the aforementioned limitations (specifically on the latency, reliability and performance) on two standard communication schemes in order to categorize and identify the sources of the problems. Results have allowed us to obtain a basis to define requirements for medical applications to prevent network, computational and processing failures associated with the use of Google Glass. PMID:27983691

Stereoscopic Analysis of Silicone Breast Implant Shells Damaged by Surgical Instruments.

PubMed

Rapp, Derek A; Neaman, Keith C; Hammond, Dennis C

2015-07-01

Iatrogenic shell injury during the implantation and explantation of silicone gel breast implants may lead to eventual device failure. Identification of the patterns of injury caused by surgical instruments is important when attempting to characterize the cause of shell rupture. Understanding the true causes of device failure may help with its prevention. The purpose of this study was to microscopically characterize patterns of shell injury induced by various surgical instruments. Textured and smooth silicone gel implants were intentionally damaged with a variety of surgical instruments. Various scalpels and surgical scissors ranging in fineness were used to create full-thickness injuries in the implant shell. Optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were then used to image the injured area to determine patterns of injury. Full-thickness striations across the thickness of the shell could be seen with damage caused by scissors. The density of these striations correlated directly with the fineness of scissors used. No striations were seen with injuries caused by scalpels. Striations were only observed in injuries caused by scissors and suture needles. Striation density correlated with the coarseness of the cutting edge. No such striations were seen in shells damaged by a scalpel even when the angle of approach was changed. This difference can be of assistance in distinguishing between scissors versus scalpel injury of an implant shell.

Chinese medicine shenfu injection for heart failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Wen-Ting, Song; Fa-Feng, Cheng; Li, Xu; Cheng-Ren, Lin; Jian-Xun, Liu

2012-01-01

Objective. Heart failure (HF) is a global public health problem. Early literature studies manifested that Shenfu injection (SFI) is one of the most commonly used traditional Chinese patent medicine for HF in China. This article intended to systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of SFI for HF. Methods. An extensive search was performed within 6 English and Chinese electronic database up to November 2011. Ninety-nine randomized controlled trails (RCTs) were collected, irrespective of languages. Two authors extracted data and assessed the trial quality independently. RevMan 5.0.2 was used for data analysis. Results. Compared with routine treatment and/or device support, SFI combined with routine treatment and/or device support showed better effect on clinical effect rate, mortality, heart rate, NT-proBNP and 6-minute walk distance. Results in ultrasonic cardiography also showed that SFI combined with routine treatment improved heart function of HF patients. There were no significant difference in blood pressure between SFI and routine treatment groups. Adverse events were reported in thirteen trails with thirteen specific symptoms, while no serious adverse effect was reported. Conclusion. SFI appear to be effective for treating HF. However, further rigorously designed RCTs are warranted because of insufficient methodological rigor in the majority of included trials.

Interfacial Reaction and Shear Strength of SnAgCu/Ni/Bi2Te3-Based TE Materials During Aging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jing, Hongyang; Li, Yuan; Xu, Lianyong; Han, Yongdian; Lu, Guoquan; Zhang, Hao

2015-12-01

As a diffusion barrier layer, Ni is widely applied in power electronics packaging, especially in thermoelectric devices. This paper presents the variation of Ni diffusion barrier layer during aging and failure mechanisms of thermoelectric device joints. The thermoelectric joint consists of Sn96.5Ag3.0Cu0.5 (SAC305) solder and Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric materials such as Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 and Bi1.8Sb0.2Se0.15Te2.85 during service. The result shows that with the increasing aging time, Ni layer was constantly consumed by SAC305 and Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric materials simultaneously. The reaction products are (Cu,Ni)6Sn5 and NiTe or Ni(Bi,Te), respectively. Besides, the shear strength of SAC305/Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 joint or SAC305/Bi1.8Sb0.2Se0.15Te2.85 joint gets gradually decreased and thermoelectric conversion performance gets worse. Meantime, the different failure mechanisms are also compared between SAC305/Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 couple joints and SAC305/Bi1.8Sb0.2Se0.15Te2.85 couple joints.

Voltage- and current-activated metal-insulator transition in VO2-based electrical switches: a lifetime operation analysis.

PubMed

Crunteanu, Aurelian; Givernaud, Julien; Leroy, Jonathan; Mardivirin, David; Champeaux, Corinne; Orlianges, Jean-Christophe; Catherinot, Alain; Blondy, Pierre

2010-12-01

Vanadium dioxide is an intensively studied material that undergoes a temperature-induced metal-insulator phase transition accompanied by a large change in electrical resistivity. Electrical switches based on this material show promising properties in terms of speed and broadband operation. The exploration of the failure behavior and reliability of such devices is very important in view of their integration in practical electronic circuits. We performed systematic lifetime investigations of two-terminal switches based on the electrical activation of the metal-insulator transition in VO 2 thin films. The devices were integrated in coplanar microwave waveguides (CPWs) in series configuration. We detected the evolution of a 10 GHz microwave signal transmitted through the CPW, modulated by the activation of the VO 2 switches in both voltage- and current-controlled modes. We demonstrated enhanced lifetime operation of current-controlled VO 2 -based switching (more than 260 million cycles without failure) compared with the voltage-activated mode (breakdown at around 16 million activation cycles). The evolution of the electrical self-oscillations of a VO 2 -based switch induced in the current-operated mode is a subtle indicator of the material properties modification and can be used to monitor its behavior under various external stresses in sensor applications.

40 CFR 49.4166 - Monitoring requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... burning pilot flame, electronically controlled automatic igniters, and monitoring system failures, using a... failure, electronically controlled automatic igniter failure, or improper monitoring equipment operation... and natural gas emissions in the event that natural gas recovered for pipeline injection must be...

40 CFR 49.4166 - Monitoring requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... burning pilot flame, electronically controlled automatic igniters, and monitoring system failures, using a... failure, electronically controlled automatic igniter failure, or improper monitoring equipment operation... and natural gas emissions in the event that natural gas recovered for pipeline injection must be...

Ventricular assist devices in pediatrics

PubMed Central

Fuchs, A; Netz, H

2001-01-01

The implantation of a mechanical circulatory device for end-stage ventricular failure is a possible therapeutic approach in adult and pediatric cardiac surgery and cardiology. The aim of this article is to present mechanical circulatory assist devices used in infants and children with special emphasis on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, Berlin Heart assist device, centrifugal pump and Medos assist device. The success of long-term support with implantable ventricular assist devices in adults and children has led to their increasing use as a bridge to transplantation in patients with otherwise non-treatable left ventricular failure, by transforming a terminal phase heart condition into a treatable cardiopathy. Such therapy allows rehabilitation of patients before elective cardiac transplantation (by removing contraindications to transplantation mainly represented by organ impairment) or acting as a bridge to recovery of the native left ventricular function (depending on underlying cardiac disease). Treatment may also involve permanent device implantation when cardiac transplantation is contraindicated. Indications for the implantation of assisted circulation include all states of cardiac failure that are reversible within a variable period of time or that require heart transplantation. This article will address the current status of ventricular assist devices by examining historical aspects of its development, current technical issues and clinical features of pediatric ventricular assist devices, including indications and contraindications for support. PMID:22368605

78 FR 16865 - Certain Electronic Devices, Including Wireless Communication Devices, Portable Music and Data...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-19

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation No. 337-TA-794] Certain Electronic Devices, Including Wireless Communication Devices, Portable Music and Data Processing Devices, and Tablet Computers... certain electronic devices, including wireless communication devices, portable music and data processing...

Effect of a telemonitoring-facilitated collaboration between general practitioner and heart failure clinic on mortality and rehospitalization rates in severe heart failure: the TEMA-HF 1 (TElemonitoring in the MAnagement of Heart Failure) study.

PubMed

Dendale, Paul; De Keulenaer, Gilles; Troisfontaines, Pierre; Weytjens, Caroline; Mullens, Wilfried; Elegeert, Ivan; Ector, Bavo; Houbrechts, Marita; Willekens, Koen; Hansen, Dominique

2012-03-01

Chronic heart failure (CHF) patients are frequently rehospitalized within 6 months after an episode of fluid retention. Rehospitalizations are preventable, but this requires an extensive organization of the healthcare system. In this study, we tested whether intensive follow-up of patients through a telemonitoring-facilitated collaboration between general practitioners (GPs) and a heart failure clinic could reduce mortality and rehospitalization rate. One hunderd and sixty CHF patients [mean age 76 ± 10 years, 104 males, mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) 35 ± 15%] were block randomized by sealed envelopes and assigned to 6 months of intense follow-up facilitated by telemonitoring (TM) or usual care (UC). The TM group measured body weight, blood pressure, and heart rate on a daily basis with electronic devices that transferred the data automatically to an online database. Email alerts were sent to the GP and heart failure clinic to intervene when pre-defined limits were exceeded. All-cause mortality was significantly lower in the TM group as compared with the UC group (5% vs. 17.5%, P = 0.01). The total number of follow-up days lost to hospitalization, dialysis, or death was significantly lower in the TM group as compared with the UC group (13 vs. 30 days, P = 0.02). The number of hospitalizations for heart failure per patient showed a trend (0.24 vs. 0.42 hospitalizations/patient, P = 0.06) in favour of TM. Telemonitoring-facilitated collaboration between GPs and a heart failure clinic reduces mortality and number of days lost to hospitalization, death, or dialysis in CHF patients. These findings need confirmation in a large trial.

Privacy and security of patient data in the pathology laboratory

PubMed Central

Cucoranu, Ioan C.; Parwani, Anil V.; West, Andrew J.; Romero-Lauro, Gonzalo; Nauman, Kevin; Carter, Alexis B.; Balis, Ulysses J.; Tuthill, Mark J.; Pantanowitz, Liron

2013-01-01

Data protection and security are critical components of routine pathology practice because laboratories are legally required to securely store and transmit electronic patient data. With increasing connectivity of information systems, laboratory work-stations, and instruments themselves to the Internet, the demand to continuously protect and secure laboratory information can become a daunting task. This review addresses informatics security issues in the pathology laboratory related to passwords, biometric devices, data encryption, internet security, virtual private networks, firewalls, anti-viral software, and emergency security situations, as well as the potential impact that newer technologies such as mobile devices have on the privacy and security of electronic protected health information (ePHI). In the United States, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) govern the privacy and protection of medical information and health records. The HIPAA security standards final rule mandate administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and security of ePHI. Importantly, security failures often lead to privacy breaches, invoking the HIPAA privacy rule as well. Therefore, this review also highlights key aspects of HIPAA and its impact on the pathology laboratory in the United States. PMID:23599904

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Paulauskas, Tadas; Buurma, Christopher; Colegrove, Eric

Dislocation cores have long dominated the electronic and optical behaviors of semiconductor devices and detailed atomic characterization is required to further explore their effects. Miniaturization of semiconductor devices to nanometre scale also puts emphasis on a material's mechanical properties to withstand failure due to processing or operational stresses. Sessile junctions of dislocations provide barriers to propagation of mobile dislocations and may lead to work-hardening. The sessile Lomer–Cottrell and Hirth lock dislocations, two stable lowest elastic energy stair-rods, are studied in this paper. More specifically, using atomic resolution high-angle annular dark-field imaging and atomic-column-resolved X-ray spectrum imaging in an aberration-corrected scanningmore » transmission electron microscope, dislocation core structures are examined in zinc-blende CdTe. A procedure is outlined for atomic scale analysis of dislocation junctions which allows determination of their identity with specially tailored Burgers circuits and also formation mechanisms of the polar core structures based on Thompson's tetrahedron adapted to reactions of polar dislocations as they appear in CdTe and other zinc-blende solids. Strain fields associated with the dislocations calculatedviageometric phase analysis are found to be diffuse and free of `hot spots' that reflect compact structures and low elastic energy of the pure-edge stair-rods.« less

Endovascular stent-graft repair of failed endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

PubMed

Baril, Donald T; Silverberg, Daniel; Ellozy, Sharif H; Carroccio, Alfio; Jacobs, Tikva S; Sachdev, Ulka; Teodorescu, Victoria J; Lookstein, Robert A; Marin, Michael L

2008-01-01

Despite high initial technical success, the long-term durability of endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR) continues to be a concern. Following EVAR, patients can experience endoleaks, device migration, device fractures, or aneurysm growth that may require intervention. The purpose of this study was to review all patients treated with secondary endovascular devices at our institution for failed EVAR procedures. Over an 8-year period, 988 patients underwent EVAR, of whom 42 (4.3%) required secondary interventions involving placement of additional endovascular devices. Data regarding patient characteristics, aneurysm size, initial device type, time until failure, failure etiology, secondary interventions, and outcomes were reviewed. The mean time from initial operation until second operation was 34.1 months. Failures included type I endoleaks in 38 patients (90.5%), type III endoleaks in two patients (4.8%), and enlarging aneurysms without definite endoleaks in two patients (4.8%). The overall technical success rate for secondary repair was 92.9% (39/42). Perioperative complications occurred in nine patients (21.4%), including wound complications (n = 6), cerebrovascular accident (CVA) (n = 1), foot drop (n = 1), and death (n = 1). Mean follow-up following secondary repair was 16.4 months (range 1-50). Eighty-six percent of patients treated with aortouni-iliac devices had successful repairs compared to 45% of patients treated with proximal cuffs. Ten patients (23.8%) had persistent or recurrent type I or type III endoleaks following revision. Of these, four had tertiary interventions, including two patients who had additional devices placed. Failures following EVAR occur in a small but significant number of patients. When anatomically possible, endovascular revision offers a safe means of treating these failures. Aortouni-iliac devices appear to offer a more durable repair than the proximal cuff for treatment of proximal type I endoleaks. Midterm results indicate that these patients may require additional procedures but have a low rate of aneurysm-related mortality. Longer-term follow-up is necessary to determine the durability of these endovascular revisions.

Electrostatically focused intensified charge coupled devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walker, J. W.

1977-01-01

Work performed to develop intensified charge coupled devices (ICCDs) is presented. Four ICCDs, containing 100 x 160 arrays, were fabricated. Electron gains up to 3200 at 15 keV were achieved. Photocathode sensitivities ranged from 190 to 410 micro A/lumen. Dark currents varied from 11 nA/sq cm to 37 nA/sq cm. There was serious concern about the reliability of the bonding scheme for ICCDs due to occassional bond failure. Two solutions to this problem were developed. One involved a modification of the existing bonding technique, and the other was the development of a protected bond pad employing a barrier metal between the aluminum metallization and the gold bond wire. An accumulation process was characterized with respect to its most critical variable. This characterization led to the achievement of reproducible spectral response and the discovery and elimination of dark current increase associated with this process.

NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging Field Programmable Gate Array Single Event Effects Test Guideline Update

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berg, Melanie D.; LaBel, Kenneth A.

2018-01-01

The following are updated or new subjects added to the FPGA SEE Test Guidelines manual: academic versus mission specific device evaluation, single event latch-up (SEL) test and analysis, SEE response visibility enhancement during radiation testing, mitigation evaluation (embedded and user-implemented), unreliable design and its affects to SEE Data, testing flushable architectures versus non-flushable architectures, intellectual property core (IP Core) test and evaluation (addresses embedded and user-inserted), heavy-ion energy and linear energy transfer (LET) selection, proton versus heavy-ion testing, fault injection, mean fluence to failure analysis, and mission specific system-level single event upset (SEU) response prediction. Most sections within the guidelines manual provide information regarding best practices for test structure and test system development. The scope of this manual addresses academic versus mission specific device evaluation and visibility enhancement in IP Core testing.

NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) Single Event Effects (SEE) Test Guideline Update

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berg, Melanie D.; LaBel, Kenneth A.

2018-01-01

The following are updated or new subjects added to the FPGA SEE Test Guidelines manual: academic versus mission specific device evaluation, single event latch-up (SEL) test and analysis, SEE response visibility enhancement during radiation testing, mitigation evaluation (embedded and user-implemented), unreliable design and its affects to SEE Data, testing flushable architectures versus non-flushable architectures, intellectual property core (IP Core) test and evaluation (addresses embedded and user-inserted), heavy-ion energy and linear energy transfer (LET) selection, proton versus heavy-ion testing, fault injection, mean fluence to failure analysis, and mission specific system-level single event upset (SEU) response prediction. Most sections within the guidelines manual provide information regarding best practices for test structure and test system development. The scope of this manual addresses academic versus mission specific device evaluation and visibility enhancement in IP Core testing.

Trends and problems in development of the power plants electrical part

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gusev, Yu. P.

2015-03-01

The article discusses some problems relating to development of the electrical part of modern nuclear and thermal power plants, which are stemming from the use of new process and electrical equipment, such as gas turbine units, power converters, and intellectual microprocessor devices in relay protection and automated control systems. It is pointed out that the failure rates of electrical equipment at Russian and foreign power plants tend to increase. The ongoing power plant technical refitting and innovative development processes generate the need to significantly widen the scope of research works on the electrical part of power plants and rendering scientific support to works on putting in use innovative equipment. It is indicated that one of main factors causing the growth of electrical equipment failures is that some of components of this equipment have insufficiently compatible dynamic characteristics. This, in turn may be due to lack or obsolescence of regulatory documents specifying the requirements for design solutions and operation of electric power equipment that incorporates electronic and microprocessor control and protection devices. It is proposed to restore the system of developing new and updating existing departmental regulatory technical documents that existed in the 1970s, one of the fundamental principles of which was placing long-term responsibility on higher schools and leading design institutions for rendering scientific-technical support to innovative development of components and systems forming the electrical part of power plants. This will make it possible to achieve lower failure rates of electrical equipment and to steadily improve the competitiveness of the Russian electric power industry and energy efficiency of generating companies.

Device Longevity in a Contemporary Cohort of ICD/CRT-D Patients Undergoing Device Replacement.

PubMed

Zanon, Francesco; Martignani, Cristian; Ammendola, Ernesto; Menardi, Endrj; Narducci, Maria Lucia; DE Filippo, Paolo; Santamaria, Matteo; Campana, Andrea; Stabile, Giuseppe; Potenza, Domenico Rosario; Pastore, Gianni; Iori, Matteo; LA Rosa, Concetto; Biffi, Mauro

2016-07-01

The longevity of defibrillators (ICD) is extremely important from both a clinical and economic perspective. We studied the reasons for device replacement, the longevity of removed ICD, and the existence of possible factors associated with shorter service life. Consecutive patients who underwent ICD replacement from March 2013 to May 2015 in 36 Italian centers were included in this analysis. Data on replaced devices were collected. A total of 953 patients were included in this analysis. In 813 (85%) patients the reason for replacement was battery depletion, while 88 (9%) devices were removed for clinical reasons and the remaining 52 because of system failure (i.e., lead or ICD generator failure or a safety advisory indication). The median service life was 5.9 years (25th-75th percentile, 4.9-6.9) for single- and dual-chamber ICD and 4.9 years (25th-75th percentile, 4.0-5.7) for CRT-D. On multivariate analysis, the factors CRT-D device, SC/DC ICD generator from Biotronik, percentage of ventricular pacing, and the occurrence of a system failure were positively associated with a replacement procedure. By contrast, the device from Boston Scientific was an independent protective factor against replacement. Considerable differences were seen in battery duration in both ICD and CRT-D. Specifically, Biotronik devices showed the shortest longevity among ICD and Boston Scientific showed the longest longevity among CRT-D (log-rank test, P < 0.001 for pairwise comparisons). Several factors were associated with shorter service life of ICD devices: CRT-D, occurrence of system failure and percentage of ventricular pacing. Our results confirmed significant differences among manufacturers. © The Authors. Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Device monitoring strategies in acute heart failure syndromes.

PubMed

Samara, Michael A; Tang, W H Wilson

2011-09-01

Acute heart failure syndromes (AHFS) represent the most common discharge diagnoses in adults over age 65 and translate into dramatically increased heart failure-associated morbidity and mortality. Conventional approaches to the early detection of pulmonary and systemic congestion have been shown to be of limited sensitivity. Despite their proven efficacy, disease management and structured telephone support programs have failed to achieve widespread use in part due to their resource intensiveness and reliance upon motivated patients. While once thought to hold great promise, results from recent prospective studies on telemonitoring strategies have proven disappointing. Implantable devices with their capacity to monitor electrophysiologic and hemodynamic parameters over long periods of time and with minimal reliance on patient participation may provide solutions to some of these problems. Conventional electrophysiologic parameters and intrathoracic impedance data are currently available in the growing population of heart failure patients with equipped devices. A variety of implantable hemodynamic monitors are currently under investigation. How best to integrate these devices into a systematic approach to the management of patients before, during, and after AHFS is yet to be established.

Methods for synchronizing a countdown routine of a timer key and electronic device

DOEpatents

Condit, Reston A.; Daniels, Michael A.; Clemens, Gregory P.; Tomberlin, Eric S.; Johnson, Joel A.

2015-06-02

A timer key relating to monitoring a countdown time of a countdown routine of an electronic device is disclosed. The timer key comprises a processor configured to respond to a countdown time associated with operation of the electronic device, a display operably coupled with the processor, and a housing configured to house at least the processor. The housing has an associated structure configured to engage with the electronic device to share the countdown time between the electronic device and the timer key. The processor is configured to begin a countdown routine based at least in part on the countdown time, wherein the countdown routine is at least substantially synchronized with a countdown routine of the electronic device when the timer key is removed from the electronic device. A system and method for synchronizing countdown routines of a timer key and an electronic device are also disclosed.

Right Ventricular Failure Post LVAD Implantation Corrected with Biventricular Support: An In Vitro Model.

PubMed

Shehab, Sajad; Allida, Sabine M; Davidson, Patricia M; Newton, Phillip J; Robson, Desiree; Jansz, Paul C; Hayward, Christopher S

Right ventricular failure after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation is associated with high mortality. Management remains limited to pharmacologic therapy and temporary mechanical support. Delayed right ventricular assist device (RVAD) support after LVAD implantation is associated with poorer outcomes. With the advent of miniaturized, durable, continuous flow ventricular assist device systems, chronic RVAD and biventricular assist device (BiVAD) support has been used with some success. The purpose of this study was to assess combined BiVAD and LVAD with delayed RVAD support within a four-elemental mock circulatory loop (MCL) simulating the human cardiovascular system. Our hypothesis was that delayed continuous flow RVAD (RVAD) would produce similar hemodynamic and flow parameters to those of initial BiVAD support. Using the MCL, baseline biventricular heart failure with elevated right and left filling pressures with low cardiac output was simulated. The addition of LVAD within a biventricular configuration improved cardiac output somewhat, but was associated with persistent right heart failure with elevated right-sided filling pressures. The addition of an RVAD significantly improved LVAD outputs and returned filling pressures to normal throughout the circulation. In conclusion, RVAD support successfully restored hemodynamics and flow parameters of biventricular failure supported with isolated LVAD with persistent elevated right atrial pressure.

First permanent implant of the Jarvik 2000 Heart.

PubMed

Westaby, S; Banning, A P; Jarvik, R; Frazier, O H; Pigott, D W; Jin, X Y; Catarino, P A; Saito, S; Robson, D; Freeland, A; Myers, T J; Poole-Wilson, P A

2000-09-09

Heart failure is a major public-health concern. Quality and duration of life on maximum medical therapy are poor. The availability of donor hearts is severely limited, therefore an alternative approach is necessary. We have explored the use of a new type of left-ventricular assist device intended as a long-term solution to end-stage heart failure. As part of a prospective clinical trial, we implanted the first permanent Jarvik 2000 Heart--an intraventricular device with an innovative power delivery system--into a 61-year-old man (New York Heart Association functional class IV) with dilated cardiomyopathy. We assessed the effect of this left-ventricular assist device on both native heart function and the symptoms and systemic characteristics of heart failure. The Jarvik 2000 Heart sustained the patient's circulation, and was practical and user-friendly. After 6 weeks, exercise tolerance, myocardial function, and end-organ function improved. Symptoms of heart failure have resolved, and continuous decreased pulse-pressure perfusion has had no adverse effects in the short term. There has been no significant haemolysis and no device-related complications. The skull-mounted pedestal is unobtrusive and has healed well. The initial success of this procedure raises the possibility of a new treatment for end-stage heart failure. In the longer term, its role will be determined by mechanical reliability.

Recent advances in heart failure.

PubMed

Kassi, Mahwash; Hannawi, Bashar; Trachtenberg, Barry

2018-03-01

Acute heart failure continues to be a challenge as there is limited benefit of numerous agents that have been tested. Cardiac resynchronization therapy remains standard of care, yet timing and need for implantable cardiac defibrillator has been brought into question with the recent randomized trials. Several recent advances have been made towards management of heart failure both in drug and device therapy. The purpose of this review is to provide an update on the most important recent studies on heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Two new drugs have been added to the armamentarium for HFrEF; ivabradine and angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitors (ARNIs). Initial data from a new left ventricular assist device (LVAD) pump, the HeartMate 3 (HM III), have demonstrated no reports of pump thrombosis at 6 months, but stroke and right ventricle failure continue to be a challenge with comparable rates compared with the HeartMate II. Several large studies in HFpEF failed to show improvement in outcomes and management continues to be geared towards lifestyle modification and symptom relief. Newer therapies and devices have met with great success, yet there are several therapies that provide no benefit and even harm. A careful review of the recent literature remains instrumental to the effective management of patients with heart failure.

The fundamentals of extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation.

PubMed

Aghili, N; Kang, S; Kapur, N K

2015-02-01

During the past 50 years, pharmacologic advancements for cardiovascular risk factors and device innovation for the management of coronary disease, including acute myocardial infarction have radically changed the landscape of heart disease. At present, nearly 25% of individuals develop chronic heart failure after an acute myocardial infarction. It is estimated that nearly 2.6% of the American population suffers from heart failure. In the modern era, miniaturized continuous flow ventricular assist devices are now demonstrating nearly 75% 2-year survival rates with improved patient functionality. As a result, elderly patients with cardiogenic shock for whom medical treatment held minimal promise, may now be viable candidates for advanced mechanical therapies. Given this option, there is a need for more approaches to salvage patients from cardiogenic shock with percutaneously delivered mechanical circulatory support (pMCS) systems. The use of pMCS is growing and now includes patients with acute and chronic heart failure as well as patients undergoing high risk interventional and electrophysiology procedures. Each of these devices has a unique hemodynamic effect and therefore an in-depth understanding of device characteristics is required for optimal patient management. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is one of the earliest types of pMCS systems primarily used for cardiorespiratory failure. ECMO can be used in different configurations, which makes it a versatile hemodynamic support device for different patient scenarios. In this paper, the authors review different configurations, indications, and hemodynamic profile of ECMO in respiratory and cardiac failure patients.

Long-Term Reliability of High Speed SiGe/Si Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ponchak, George E. (Technical Monitor); Bhattacharya, Pallab

2003-01-01

Accelerated lifetime tests were performed on double-mesa structure Si/Si0.7Ge0.3/Si npn heterojunction bipolar transistors, grown by molecular beam epitaxy, in the temperature range of 175C-275C. Both single- and multiple finger transistors were tested. The single-finger transistors (with 5x20 micron sq m emitter area) have DC current gains approximately 40-50 and f(sub T) and f(sub MAX) of up to 22 GHz and 25 GHz, respectively. The multiple finger transistors (1.4 micron finger width, 9 emitter fingers with total emitter area of 403 micron sq m) have similar DC current gain but f(sub T) of 50 GHz. It is found that a gradual degradation in these devices is caused by the recombination enhanced impurity diffusion (REID) of boron atoms from the p-type base region and the associated formation of parasitic energy barriers to electron transport from the emitter to collector layers. This REID has been quantitatively modeled and explained, to the first order of approximation, and the agreement with the measured data is good. The mean time to failure (MTTF) of the devices at room temperature is estimated from the extrapolation of the Arrhenius plots of device lifetime versus reciprocal temperature. The results of the reliability tests offer valuable feedback for SiGe heterostructure design in order to improve the long-term reliability of the devices and circuits made with them. Hot electron induced degradation of the base-emitter junction was also observed during the accelerated lifetime testing. In order to improve the HBT reliability endangered by the hot electrons, deuterium sintered techniques have been proposed. The preliminary results from this study show that a deuterium-sintered HBT is, indeed, more resistant to hot-electron induced base-emitter junction degradation. SiGe/Si based amplifier circuits were also subjected to lifetime testing and we extrapolate MTTF is approximately 1.1_10(exp 6) hours at 125iC junction temperature from the circuit lifetime data.

New therapy, new challenges: The effects of long-term continuous flow left ventricular assist device on inflammation.

PubMed

Grosman-Rimon, Liza; Billia, Filio; Fuks, Avi; Jacobs, Ira; A McDonald, Michael; Cherney, David Z; Rao, Vivek

2016-07-15

Surgically implanted continuous flow left ventricular assist devices (CF-LVADs) are currently used in patients with end-stage heart failure (HF). However, CF-LVAD therapy introduces a new set of complications and adverse events in these patients. Major adverse events with the CF-LVAD include right heart failure, vascular dysfunction, stroke, hepatic failure, and multi-organ failure, complications that may have inflammation as a common etiology. Our aim was to review the current evidence showing a relationship between these adverse events and elevated levels of inflammatory biomarkers in CF-LVAD recipients. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Failure of the Laryngeal Mask Airway Unique™ and Classic™ in the pediatric surgical patient: a study of clinical predictors and outcomes.

PubMed

Mathis, Michael R; Haydar, Bishr; Taylor, Emma L; Morris, Michelle; Malviya, Shobha V; Christensen, Robert E; Ramachandran, Satya-Krishna; Kheterpal, Sachin

2013-12-01

Although predictors of laryngeal mask airway failure in adults have been elucidated, there remains a paucity of data regarding laryngeal mask airway failure in children. The authors performed a retrospective database review of all pediatric patients who received a laryngeal mask anesthetic at their institution from 2006 to 2010. Device brands were restricted to LMA Unique™ (Cardinal Health, Dublin, OH) and LMA Classic™ (LMA North America, San Diego, CA), and primary outcome was laryngeal mask failure, defined as any airway event requiring device removal and tracheal intubation. Potential risk factors were analyzed with both univariate and multivariate techniques and included medical history, physical examination, surgical, and anesthetic characteristics. Of the 11,910 anesthesia cases performed in the study, 102 cases (0.86%) experienced laryngeal mask failure. Common presenting features of laryngeal mask failures included leak (25%), obstruction (48%), and patient intolerance such as intractable coughing/bucking (11%). Failures occurred before incision in 57% of cases and after incision in 43%. Independent clinical associations included ear/nose/throat surgical procedure, nonoutpatient admission status, prolonged surgical duration, congenital/acquired airway abnormality, and patient transport. The findings of the study support the use of the LMA Unique™ and LMA Classic™ as reliable pediatric supraglottic airway devices, demonstrating relatively low failure rates. Predictors of laryngeal mask airway failure in the pediatric surgical population do not overlap with those in the adult population and should therefore be independently considered.

Understanding the C-pulse device and its potential to treat heart failure.

PubMed

Sales, Virna L; McCarthy, Patrick M

2010-03-01

The Sunshine Heart C-Pulse (C-Pulse; Sunshine Heart Inc., Tustin, CA) device is an extra-aortic implantable counterpulsation pump designed as a non-blood contacting ambulatory heart assist device, which may provide relief from symptoms for class II-III congestive heart failure patients. It has a comparable hemodynamic augmentation to intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation devices. The C-Pulse cuff is implanted through a median sternotomy, secured around the ascending aorta, and pneumatically driven by an external system controller. Pre-clinical studies in the acute pig model, and initial temporary clinical studies in patients undergoing off-pump coronary bypass surgery have shown substantial increase in diastolic perfusion of the coronary vessels, which translated to a favorable improvement in ventricular function. A U.S. prospective multi-center trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the C-Pulse in class III patients with moderate heart failure is now in progress.

Transcranial Doppler quantification of residual shunt after percutaneous patent foramen ovale closure: correlation of device efficacy with intracardiac anatomic measures.

PubMed

Sorensen, Sherman G; Spruance, Spotswood L; Smout, Randall; Horn, Susan

2012-06-01

Percutaneous, mechanical closure of defects of the atrial septum fails to completely resolve shunting in up to 20% of cases. Little is known about the factors associated with device failure. We measured the left atrial opening (X), right atrial opening (Z), tunnel length (Y), septum secundum, device-septum primum separation, and tunnel compressibility of the patent foramen ovale (PFO) in 301 patients with cryptogenic neurological events, PFO anatomy, and severe Valsalva shunting (Spencer Grade 5-5+). All patients then underwent percutaneous closure with the GORE®HELEX Septal Occluder device and were evaluated at 3 months for residual shunt by transcranial Doppler (TCD). Severe residual Valsalva shunt (TCD Grade 5-5+) was found at 3 months in 21 of 301 (7%) patients. X, Y, and Z were associated with failure with a high degree of statistical significance, whereas the width of the septum secundum, device-septum primum separation, and tunnel compressibility were not. An unanticipated finding was that 14 of 35 (40%) patients sized with a large balloon failed compared with 9 of 280 (3%) sized with a small balloon (P < 0.0001). In the multivariate logistic regression model, X (P = < 0.0001) and balloon size (P < 0.0001) were both strong predictors of failure. In an intracardiac echocardiography-defined PFO population, characterized by severe baseline Valsalva shunt and a high incidence of persistent (rest) shunting, association of six intracardiac measurements to closure device failure by multivariate logistic regression showed that the width of the left atrial opening was a strong predictor of residual shunting. An unanticipated finding was that use of a large sizing balloon was also strongly associated with failure. ©2012, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

SNS STRIPPER FOIL FAILURE MODES AND THEIR CURES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Galambos, John D; Luck, Chris; Plum, Michael A

2010-01-01

The diamond stripper foils in use at the Spallation Neutron Source worked successfully with no failures until May 3, 2009, when we started experiencing a rash of foil system failures after increasing the beam power to ~840 kW. The main contributors to the failures are thought to be 1) convoy electrons, stripped from the incoming H beam, that strike the foil bracket and may also reflect back from the electron catcher, and 2) vacuum breakdown from the charge developed on the foil by secondary electron emission. In this paper we will detail these and other failure mechanisms, and describe themore » improvements we have made to mitigate them.« less

Retention modeling for ultra-thin density of Cu-based conductive bridge random access memory (CBRAM)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aga, Fekadu Gochole; Woo, Jiyong; Lee, Sangheon

We investigate the effect of Cu concentration On-state resistance retention characteristics of W/Cu/Ti/HfO{sub 2}/Pt memory cell. The development of RRAM device for application depends on the understanding of the failure mechanism and the key parameters for device optimization. In this study, we develop analytical expression for cations (Cu{sup +}) diffusion model using Gaussian distribution for detailed analysis of data retention time at high temperature. It is found that the improvement of data retention time depends not only on the conductive filament (CF) size but also on Cu atoms concentration density in the CF. Based on the simulation result, better datamore » retention time is observed for electron wave function associated with Cu{sup +} overlap and an extended state formation. This can be verified by analytical calculation of Cu atom defects inside the filament, based on Cu{sup +} diffusion model. The importance of Cu diffusion for the device reliability and the corresponding local temperature of the filament were analyzed by COMSOL Multiphysics simulation.« less

A review of the physics and response models for burnout of semiconductor devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orvis, W. J.; Khanaka, G. H.; Yee, J. H.

1984-12-01

Physical mechanisms that cause semiconductor devices to fail from electrical overstress--particularly, EMP-induced electrical stress--are described in light of the current literature and the authors' own research. A major concern is the cause and effects of second breakdown phenomena in p-n junction devices. Models of failure thresholds are evaluated for their inherent errors and for their ability to represent the relevant physics. Finally, the response models that relate electromagnetic stress parameters to appropriate failure-threshold parameters are discussed.

Repair of major system elements on Skylab

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pace, R. E., Jr.

1975-01-01

In-flight maintenance, as conceived and pre-planned for the Skylab Mission, was limited to simple scheduled and unscheduled replacement tasks and minor contingency repairs. Failures during the mission dictated complicated and sophisticated repairs to major systems so that the mission could continue. These repairs include the release of a large structure that failed to deploy, the assembly and deployment of large mechanical devices, the installation and checkout of precision electronic equipment, troubleshooting and repair of precision electromechanical equipment and tapping into and recharging a cooling system. The Skylab experience proves conclusively that crewmen can, with adequate training, make major system repairs in space using standard or special tools.

Graphene-Based Flexible and Stretchable Electronics.

PubMed

Jang, Houk; Park, Yong Ju; Chen, Xiang; Das, Tanmoy; Kim, Min-Seok; Ahn, Jong-Hyun

2016-06-01

Graphene provides outstanding properties that can be integrated into various flexible and stretchable electronic devices in a conventional, scalable fashion. The mechanical, electrical, and optical properties of graphene make it an attractive candidate for applications in electronics, energy-harvesting devices, sensors, and other systems. Recent research progress on graphene-based flexible and stretchable electronics is reviewed here. The production and fabrication methods used for target device applications are first briefly discussed. Then, the various types of flexible and stretchable electronic devices that are enabled by graphene are discussed, including logic devices, energy-harvesting devices, sensors, and bioinspired devices. The results represent important steps in the development of graphene-based electronics that could find applications in the area of flexible and stretchable electronics. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

10 CFR 71.45 - Lifting and tie-down standards for all packages.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... that failure of any lifting device under excessive load would not impair the ability of the package to... its yield strength, a static force applied to the center of gravity of the package having a vertical... package must be designed so that failure of the device under excessive load would not impair the ability...

10 CFR 71.45 - Lifting and tie-down standards for all packages.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... that failure of any lifting device under excessive load would not impair the ability of the package to... its yield strength, a static force applied to the center of gravity of the package having a vertical... package must be designed so that failure of the device under excessive load would not impair the ability...

10 CFR 71.45 - Lifting and tie-down standards for all packages.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... that failure of any lifting device under excessive load would not impair the ability of the package to... its yield strength, a static force applied to the center of gravity of the package having a vertical... package must be designed so that failure of the device under excessive load would not impair the ability...

10 CFR 71.45 - Lifting and tie-down standards for all packages.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... that failure of any lifting device under excessive load would not impair the ability of the package to... its yield strength, a static force applied to the center of gravity of the package having a vertical... package must be designed so that failure of the device under excessive load would not impair the ability...

10 CFR 71.45 - Lifting and tie-down standards for all packages.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... that failure of any lifting device under excessive load would not impair the ability of the package to... its yield strength, a static force applied to the center of gravity of the package having a vertical... package must be designed so that failure of the device under excessive load would not impair the ability...

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cooke, Steven J.; Nguyen, Vivian M.; Murchie, Karen J.

The advent and widespread adoption of electronic tags (including biotelemetry and biologging devices) for tracking animals has provided unprecedented information on the biology, management, and conservation of fish in the world’s oceans and inland waters. However, use of these tools is not without controversy. Even when scientific and management objectives may best be achieved using electronic tags, it is increasingly important to further consider other factors such as the welfare of tagged animals (i.e., the role of training and science-based surgical guidelines, anesthetic use, inability to maintain sterile conditions in field environments), the ethics of tagging threatened species vs. usingmore » surrogates, stakeholder perspectives on tagging (including aboriginals), as well as use of data emanating from such studies (e.g., by fishers to facilitate exploitation). Failure to do so will have the potential to create conflict and undermine scientific, management and public confidence in the use of this powerful tool. Indeed, there are already a number of examples of where tracking studies using electronic tags have been halted based on concerns raised by researchers, authorities, or stakeholders. Here we present a candid evaluation of several factors that should be considered when determining when to tag or not to tag fish with electronic devices. It is not our objective to judge the merit of previous studies. Rather, we hope to stimulate debate and discussion regarding the use of electronic tags to study fish. Relatedly, there is a need for more research to address these questions (e.g., what level of cleanliness is needed when conducting surgeries, what type of training should be required for fish surgery) including human dimensions studies to understand perspectives of different actors including society as a whole with respect to tagging and tracking studies.« less

14 CFR 29.687 - Spring devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... STANDARDS: TRANSPORT CATEGORY ROTORCRAFT Design and Construction Control Systems § 29.687 Spring devices. (a) Each control system spring device whose failure could cause flutter or other unsafe characteristics...

14 CFR 27.687 - Spring devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... STANDARDS: NORMAL CATEGORY ROTORCRAFT Design and Construction Control Systems § 27.687 Spring devices. (a) Each control system spring device whose failure could cause flutter or other unsafe characteristics...

49 CFR 220.307 - Use of railroad-supplied electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RAILROAD COMMUNICATIONS Electronic Devices § 220.307 Use of railroad-supplied electronic devices. (a) General restriction. A railroad operating employee... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Use of railroad-supplied electronic devices. 220...

Biomechanical Comparison of Parallel and Crossed Suture Repair for Longitudinal Meniscus Tears.

PubMed

Milchteim, Charles; Branch, Eric A; Maughon, Ty; Hughey, Jay; Anz, Adam W

2016-04-01

Longitudinal meniscus tears are commonly encountered in clinical practice. Meniscus repair devices have been previously tested and presented; however, prior studies have not evaluated repair construct designs head to head. This study compared a new-generation meniscus repair device, SpeedCinch, with a similar established device, Fast-Fix 360, and a parallel repair construct to a crossed construct. Both devices utilize self-adjusting No. 2-0 ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and 2 polyether ether ketone (PEEK) anchors. Crossed suture repair constructs have higher failure loads and stiffness compared with simple parallel constructs. The newer repair device would exhibit similar performance to an established device. Controlled laboratory study. Sutures were placed in an open fashion into the body and posterior horn regions of the medial and lateral menisci in 16 cadaveric knees. Evaluation of 2 repair devices and 2 repair constructs created 4 groups: 2 parallel vertical sutures created with the Fast-Fix 360 (2PFF), 2 crossed vertical sutures created with the Fast-Fix 360 (2XFF), 2 parallel vertical sutures created with the SpeedCinch (2PSC), and 2 crossed vertical sutures created with the SpeedCinch (2XSC). After open placement of the repair construct, each meniscus was explanted and tested to failure on a uniaxial material testing machine. All data were checked for normality of distribution, and 1-way analysis of variance by ranks was chosen to evaluate for statistical significance of maximum failure load and stiffness between groups. Statistical significance was defined as P < .05. The mean maximum failure loads ± 95% CI (range) were 89.6 ± 16.3 N (125.7-47.8 N) (2PFF), 72.1 ± 11.7 N (103.4-47.6 N) (2XFF), 71.9 ± 15.5 N (109.4-41.3 N) (2PSC), and 79.5 ± 25.4 N (119.1-30.9 N) (2XSC). Interconstruct comparison revealed no statistical difference between all 4 constructs regarding maximum failure loads (P = .49). Stiffness values were also similar, with no statistical difference on comparison (P = .28). Both devices in the current study had similar failure load and stiffness when 2 vertical or 2 crossed sutures were tested in cadaveric human menisci. Simple parallel vertical sutures perform similarly to crossed suture patterns at the time of implantation.

Battery longevity in cardiac resynchronization therapy implantable cardioverter defibrillators.

PubMed

Alam, Mian Bilal; Munir, Muhammad Bilal; Rattan, Rohit; Flanigan, Susan; Adelstein, Evan; Jain, Sandeep; Saba, Samir

2014-02-01

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) deliver high burden ventricular pacing to heart failure patients, which has a significant effect on battery longevity. The aim of this study was to investigate whether battery longevity is comparable for CRT-ICDs from different manufacturers in a contemporary cohort of patients. All the CRT-ICDs implanted at our institution from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2010 were included in this analysis. Baseline demographic and clinical data were collected on all patients using the electronic medical record. Detailed device information was collected on all patients from scanned device printouts obtained during routine follow-up. The primary endpoint was device replacement for battery reaching the elective replacement indicator (ERI). A total of 646 patients (age 69 ± 13 years), implanted with CRT-ICDs (Boston Scientific 173, Medtronic 416, and St Jude Medical 57) were included in this analysis. During 2.7 ± 1.5 years follow-up, 113 (17%) devices had reached ERI (Boston scientific 4%, Medtronic 25%, and St Jude Medical 7%, P < 0.001). The 4-year survival rate of device battery was significantly worse for Medtronic devices compared with devices from other manufacturers (94% for Boston scientific, 67% for Medtronic, and 92% for St Jude Medical, P < 0.001). The difference in battery longevity by manufacturer was independent of pacing burden, lead parameters, and burden of ICD therapy. There are significant discrepancies in CRT-ICD battery longevity by manufacturer. These data have important implications on clinical practice and patient outcomes.

46 CFR 130.320 - Electronic position-fixing device.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Electronic position-fixing device. 130.320 Section 130... CONTROL, AND MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT AND SYSTEMS Navigational Equipment § 130.320 Electronic position-fixing device. Each vessel must be equipped with an electronic position-fixing device satisfactory for...

46 CFR 130.320 - Electronic position-fixing device.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Electronic position-fixing device. 130.320 Section 130... CONTROL, AND MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT AND SYSTEMS Navigational Equipment § 130.320 Electronic position-fixing device. Each vessel must be equipped with an electronic position-fixing device satisfactory for...

21 CFR 886.4400 - Electronic metal locator.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Electronic metal locator. 886.4400 Section 886...) MEDICAL DEVICES OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Surgical Devices § 886.4400 Electronic metal locator. (a) Identification. An electronic metal locator is an AC-powered device with probes intended to locate metallic...

21 CFR 886.4400 - Electronic metal locator.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Electronic metal locator. 886.4400 Section 886...) MEDICAL DEVICES OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Surgical Devices § 886.4400 Electronic metal locator. (a) Identification. An electronic metal locator is an AC-powered device with probes intended to locate metallic...

46 CFR 130.320 - Electronic position-fixing device.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Electronic position-fixing device. 130.320 Section 130... CONTROL, AND MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT AND SYSTEMS Navigational Equipment § 130.320 Electronic position-fixing device. Each vessel must be equipped with an electronic position-fixing device satisfactory for...

21 CFR 886.4400 - Electronic metal locator.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Electronic metal locator. 886.4400 Section 886...) MEDICAL DEVICES OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Surgical Devices § 886.4400 Electronic metal locator. (a) Identification. An electronic metal locator is an AC-powered device with probes intended to locate metallic...

46 CFR 130.320 - Electronic position-fixing device.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Electronic position-fixing device. 130.320 Section 130... CONTROL, AND MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT AND SYSTEMS Navigational Equipment § 130.320 Electronic position-fixing device. Each vessel must be equipped with an electronic position-fixing device satisfactory for...

21 CFR 886.4400 - Electronic metal locator.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Electronic metal locator. 886.4400 Section 886...) MEDICAL DEVICES OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Surgical Devices § 886.4400 Electronic metal locator. (a) Identification. An electronic metal locator is an AC-powered device with probes intended to locate metallic...

21 CFR 886.4400 - Electronic metal locator.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Electronic metal locator. 886.4400 Section 886...) MEDICAL DEVICES OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Surgical Devices § 886.4400 Electronic metal locator. (a) Identification. An electronic metal locator is an AC-powered device with probes intended to locate metallic...

46 CFR 130.320 - Electronic position-fixing device.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Electronic position-fixing device. 130.320 Section 130... CONTROL, AND MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT AND SYSTEMS Navigational Equipment § 130.320 Electronic position-fixing device. Each vessel must be equipped with an electronic position-fixing device satisfactory for...

Modelling of thermal shock experiments of carbon based materials in JUDITH

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogorodnikova, O. V.; Pestchanyi, S.; Koza, Y.; Linke, J.

2005-03-01

The interaction of hot plasma with material in fusion devices can result in material erosion and irreversible damage. Carbon based materials are proposed for ITER divertor armour. To simulate carbon erosion under high heat fluxes, electron beam heating in the JUDITH facility has been used. In this paper, carbon erosion under energetic electron impact is modeled by the 3D thermomechanics code 'PEGASUS-3D'. The code is based on a crack generation induced by thermal stress. The particle emission observed in thermal shock experiments is a result of breaking bonds between grains caused by thermal stress. The comparison of calculations with experimental data from JUDITH shows good agreement for various incident power densities and pulse durations. A realistic mean failure stress has been found. Pre-heating of test specimens results in earlier onset of brittle destruction and enhanced particle loss in agreement with experiments.

Bio-camouflage of anatase nanoparticles explored by in situ high-resolution electron microscopy.

PubMed

Ribeiro, Ana R; Mukherjee, Arijita; Hu, Xuan; Shafien, Shayan; Ghodsi, Reza; He, Kun; Gemini-Piperni, Sara; Wang, Canhui; Klie, Robert F; Shokuhfar, Tolou; Shahbazian-Yassar, Reza; Borojevic, Radovan; Rocha, Luis A; Granjeiro, José M

2017-08-03

While titanium is the metal of choice for most prosthetics and inner body devices due to its superior biocompatibility, the discovery of Ti-containing species in the adjacent tissue as a result of wear and corrosion has been associated with autoimmune diseases and premature implant failures. Here, we utilize the in situ liquid cell transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in a liquid flow holder and graphene liquid cells (GLCs) to investigate, for the first time, the in situ nano-bio interactions between titanium dioxide nanoparticles and biological medium. This imaging and spectroscopy methodology showed the process of formation of an ionic and proteic bio-camouflage surrounding Ti dioxide (anatase) nanoparticles that facilitates their internalization by bone cells. The in situ understanding of the mechanisms of the formation of the bio-camouflage of anatase nanoparticles may contribute to the definition of strategies aimed at the manipulation of these NPs for bone regenerative purposes.

Accelerated reliability testing of highly aligned single-walled carbon nanotube networks subjected to DC electrical stressing.

PubMed

Strus, Mark C; Chiaramonti, Ann N; Kim, Young Lae; Jung, Yung Joon; Keller, Robert R

2011-07-01

We investigate the electrical reliability of nanoscale lines of highly aligned, networked, metallic/semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) fabricated through a template-based fluidic assembly process. We find that these SWCNT networks can withstand DC current densities larger than 10 MA cm(-2) for several hours and, in some cases, several days. We develop test methods that show that the degradation rate, failure predictability and total device lifetime can be linked to the initial resistance. Scanning electron and transmission electron microscopy suggest that fabrication variability plays a critical role in the rate of degradation, and we offer an empirical method of quickly determining the long-term performance of a network. We find that well-fabricated lines subject to constant electrical stress show a linear accumulation of damage reminiscent of electromigration in metallic interconnects, and we explore the underlying physical mechanisms that could cause such behavior.

Effects of neutron and gamma radiation on lithium-ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, Jie; He, Dandan; Sun, Mingzhai; Li, Shimeng; Wen, Cun; Hattrick-Simpers, Jason; Zheng, Yuan F.; Cao, Lei

2015-02-01

Radiation induced deterioration in the performance of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries can result in functional failures of electronic devices in modern electronic systems. The stability of the Li-ion battery under a radiation environment is of crucial importance. In this work, the surface morphology of the cathode material of a commercial Li-ion battery before and after neutron and gamma ray irradiation was characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM). We found growth in the particle size of the cathode material in the range of 36-45% as a result of the irradiation. In addition, X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns revealed a disordering of the crystal structure occurring in the post-irradiation sample. All of these led to a 8.4% capacity loss of the battery for the maximum received irradiation dose (2.744 Mrad) at post-irradiation. The effects of the radiation on the Li-ion battery are discussed in this paper.

Tailoring therapy for ischemic cardiomyopathy: is Laplace's law enough?

PubMed

Adhyapak, Srilakshmi M; Parachuri, V Rao

2017-09-01

The burden of heart failure has long plagued the productive years of the population, with therapeutic advances in the timely treatment of ischemic heart disease decreasing its associated mortality. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and β-blockers have impacted heart failure therapeutics in a revolutionary way. The importance of blockade of the renin-angiotensin system and adrenergic stimulation are fully accepted concepts that apply in young and old, symptomatic and asymptomatic, borderline low and very low Ejection Fraction (EF), left ventricular failure and biventricular failure. Despite several interventions, both pharmaceutical and device based for the treatment of ensuing heart failure, the incidence is increasing in large proportions. Newer molecules like sacubitril show more promise. Despite these novel therapies, several patients relentlessly progress to a stage of advanced heart failure. The use of left-ventricular-assist devices has variable clinical benefit, with some patients progressing to heart transplantation.

Thermal electron-tunneling devices as coolers and amplifiers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Shanhe; Zhang, Yanchao; Chen, Jincan; Shih, Tien-Mo

2016-02-01

Nanoscale thermal systems that are associated with a pair of electron reservoirs have been previously studied. In particular, devices that adjust electron tunnels relatively to reservoirs’ chemical potentials enjoy the novelty and the potential. Since only two reservoirs and one tunnel exist, however, designers need external aids to complete a cycle, rendering their models non-spontaneous. Here we design thermal conversion devices that are operated among three electron reservoirs connected by energy-filtering tunnels and also referred to as thermal electron-tunneling devices. They are driven by one of electron reservoirs rather than the external power input, and are equivalent to those coupling systems consisting of forward and reverse Carnot cycles with energy selective electron functions. These previously-unreported electronic devices can be used as coolers and thermal amplifiers and may be called as thermal transistors. The electron and energy fluxes of devices are capable of being manipulated in the same or oppsite directions at our disposal. The proposed model can open a new field in the application of nano-devices.

Thermal electron-tunneling devices as coolers and amplifiers

PubMed Central

Su, Shanhe; Zhang, Yanchao; Chen, Jincan; Shih, Tien-Mo

2016-01-01

Nanoscale thermal systems that are associated with a pair of electron reservoirs have been previously studied. In particular, devices that adjust electron tunnels relatively to reservoirs’ chemical potentials enjoy the novelty and the potential. Since only two reservoirs and one tunnel exist, however, designers need external aids to complete a cycle, rendering their models non-spontaneous. Here we design thermal conversion devices that are operated among three electron reservoirs connected by energy-filtering tunnels and also referred to as thermal electron-tunneling devices. They are driven by one of electron reservoirs rather than the external power input, and are equivalent to those coupling systems consisting of forward and reverse Carnot cycles with energy selective electron functions. These previously-unreported electronic devices can be used as coolers and thermal amplifiers and may be called as thermal transistors. The electron and energy fluxes of devices are capable of being manipulated in the same or oppsite directions at our disposal. The proposed model can open a new field in the application of nano-devices. PMID:26893109

Device for detecting imminent failure of high-dielectric stress capacitors. [Patent application

DOEpatents

McDuff, G.G.

1980-11-05

A device is described for detecting imminent failure of a high-dielectric stress capacitor utilizing circuitry for detecting pulse width variations and pulse magnitude variations. Inexpensive microprocessor circuitry is utilized to make numerical calculations of digital data supplied by detection circuitry for comparison of pulse width data and magnitude data to determine if preselected ranges have been exceeded, thereby indicating imminent failure of a capacitor. Detection circuitry may be incorporated in transmission lines, pulse power circuitry, including laser pulse circuitry or any circuitry where capacitors or capacitor banks are utilized.

Device for detecting imminent failure of high-dielectric stress capacitors

DOEpatents

McDuff, George G.

1982-01-01

A device for detecting imminent failure of a high-dielectric stress capacitor utilizing circuitry for detecting pulse width variations and pulse magnitude variations. Inexpensive microprocessor circuitry is utilized to make numerical calculations of digital data supplied by detection circuitry for comparison of pulse width data and magnitude data to determine if preselected ranges have been exceeded, thereby indicating imminent failure of a capacitor. Detection circuitry may be incorporated in transmission lines, pulse power circuitry, including laser pulse circuitry or any circuitry where capacitors or capactior banks are utilized.

Extracorporeal Respiratory Support With a Miniature Integrated Pediatric Pump-Lung Device in an Acute Ovine Respiratory Failure Model.

PubMed

Wei, Xufeng; Sanchez, Pablo G; Liu, Yang; Claire Watkins, A; Li, Tieluo; Griffith, Bartley P; Wu, Zhongjun J

2016-11-01

Respiratory failure is one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity all over the world. Therapeutic options to treat respiratory failure remain limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate the gas transfer performance of a newly developed miniature portable integrated pediatric pump-lung device (PediPL) with small membrane surface for respiratory support in an acute ovine respiratory failure model. The respiratory failure was created in six adult sheep using intravenous anesthesia and reduced mechanical ventilation at 2 breaths/min. The PediPL device was surgically implanted and evaluated for respiratory support in a venovenous configuration between the right atrium and pulmonary artery. The hemodynamics and respiratory status of the animals during support with the device gas transfer performance of the PediPL were studied for 4 h. The animals exhibited respiratory failure 30 min after mechanical ventilation was reduced to 2 breaths/min, indicated by low oxygen partial pressure, low oxygen saturation, and elevated carbon dioxide in arterial blood. The failure was reversed by establishing respiratory support with the PediPL after 30 min. The rates of O 2 transfer and CO 2 removal of the PediPL were 86.8 and 139.1 mL/min, respectively. The results demonstrated that the PediPL (miniature integrated pump-oxygenator) has the potential to provide respiratory support as a novel treatment for both hypoxia and hypercarbia. The compact size of the PediPL could allow portability and potentially be used in many emergency settings to rescue patients suffering acute lung injury. Copyright © 2016 International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Degradation modeling of mid-power white-light LEDs by using Wiener process.

PubMed

Huang, Jianlin; Golubović, Dušan S; Koh, Sau; Yang, Daoguo; Li, Xiupeng; Fan, Xuejun; Zhang, G Q

2015-07-27

The IES standard TM-21-11 provides a guideline for lifetime prediction of LED devices. As it uses average normalized lumen maintenance data and performs non-linear regression for lifetime modeling, it cannot capture dynamic and random variation of the degradation process of LED devices. In addition, this method cannot capture the failure distribution, although it is much more relevant in reliability analysis. Furthermore, the TM-21-11 only considers lumen maintenance for lifetime prediction. Color shift, as another important performance characteristic of LED devices, may also render significant degradation during service life, even though the lumen maintenance has not reached the critical threshold. In this study, a modified Wiener process has been employed for the modeling of the degradation of LED devices. By using this method, dynamic and random variations, as well as the non-linear degradation behavior of LED devices, can be easily accounted for. With a mild assumption, the parameter estimation accuracy has been improved by including more information into the likelihood function while neglecting the dependency between the random variables. As a consequence, the mean time to failure (MTTF) has been obtained and shows comparable result with IES TM-21-11 predictions, indicating the feasibility of the proposed method. Finally, the cumulative failure distribution was presented corresponding to different combinations of lumen maintenance and color shift. The results demonstrate that a joint failure distribution of LED devices could be modeled by simply considering their lumen maintenance and color shift as two independent variables.

Electronics for Low Temperature Space Exploration Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patterson, Richard L.; Hammoud, Ahmad; Elbuluk, Malik

2007-01-01

Exploration missions to outer planets and deep space require spacecraft, probes, and on-board data and communication systems to operate reliably and efficiently under severe harsh conditions. On-board electronics, in particular those in direct exposures to the space environment without any shielding or protection, will encounter extreme low temperature and thermal cycling in their service cycle in most of NASA s upcoming exploration missions. For example, Venus atmosphere, Jupiter atmosphere, Moon surface, Pluto orbiter, Mars, comets, Titan, Europa, and James Webb Space Telescope all involve low-temperature surroundings. Therefore, electronics for space exploration missions need to be designed for operation under such environmental conditions. There are ongoing efforts at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) to establish a database on the operation and reliability of electronic devices and circuits under extreme temperature operation for space applications. This work is being performed under the Extreme Temperature Electronics Program with collaboration and support of the NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Program. The results of these investigations will be used to establish safe operating areas and to identify degradation and failure modes, and the information will be disseminated to mission planners and system designers for use as tools for proper part selection and in risk mitigation. An overview of this program along with experimental data will be presented.

21 CFR 886.5900 - Electronic vision aid.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Electronic vision aid. 886.5900 Section 886.5900...) MEDICAL DEVICES OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Therapeutic Devices § 886.5900 Electronic vision aid. (a) Identification. An electronic vision aid is an AC-powered or battery-powered device that consists of an...

21 CFR 886.5900 - Electronic vision aid.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Electronic vision aid. 886.5900 Section 886.5900...) MEDICAL DEVICES OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Therapeutic Devices § 886.5900 Electronic vision aid. (a) Identification. An electronic vision aid is an AC-powered or battery-powered device that consists of an...

21 CFR 886.5900 - Electronic vision aid.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Electronic vision aid. 886.5900 Section 886.5900...) MEDICAL DEVICES OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Therapeutic Devices § 886.5900 Electronic vision aid. (a) Identification. An electronic vision aid is an AC-powered or battery-powered device that consists of an...

14 CFR 121.306 - Portable electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Portable electronic devices. 121.306... Portable electronic devices. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, no person may operate... electronic device on any U.S.-registered civil aircraft operating under this part. (b) Paragraph (a) of this...

14 CFR 121.306 - Portable electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Portable electronic devices. 121.306... Portable electronic devices. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, no person may operate... electronic device on any U.S.-registered civil aircraft operating under this part. (b) Paragraph (a) of this...

14 CFR 121.306 - Portable electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Portable electronic devices. 121.306... Portable electronic devices. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, no person may operate... electronic device on any U.S.-registered civil aircraft operating under this part. (b) Paragraph (a) of this...

14 CFR 121.306 - Portable electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Portable electronic devices. 121.306... Portable electronic devices. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, no person may operate... electronic device on any U.S.-registered civil aircraft operating under this part. (b) Paragraph (a) of this...

14 CFR 135.144 - Portable electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Portable electronic devices. 135.144... Equipment § 135.144 Portable electronic devices. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, no... portable electronic device on any of the following U.S.-registered civil aircraft operating under this part...

46 CFR 121.410 - Electronic position fixing devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Electronic position fixing devices. 121.410 Section 121... AND MISCELLANEOUS SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT Navigation Equipment § 121.410 Electronic position fixing devices. A vessel on an oceans route must be equipped with an electronic position fixing device, capable...

14 CFR 135.144 - Portable electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Portable electronic devices. 135.144... Equipment § 135.144 Portable electronic devices. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, no... portable electronic device on any of the following U.S.-registered civil aircraft operating under this part...

46 CFR 121.410 - Electronic position fixing devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Electronic position fixing devices. 121.410 Section 121... AND MISCELLANEOUS SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT Navigation Equipment § 121.410 Electronic position fixing devices. A vessel on an oceans route must be equipped with an electronic position fixing device, capable...

14 CFR 125.204 - Portable electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Portable electronic devices. 125.204... Equipment Requirements § 125.204 Portable electronic devices. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of... operation of, any portable electronic device on any U.S.-registered civil aircraft operating under this part...

14 CFR 125.204 - Portable electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Portable electronic devices. 125.204... Equipment Requirements § 125.204 Portable electronic devices. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of... operation of, any portable electronic device on any U.S.-registered civil aircraft operating under this part...

14 CFR 125.204 - Portable electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Portable electronic devices. 125.204... Equipment Requirements § 125.204 Portable electronic devices. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of... operation of, any portable electronic device on any U.S.-registered civil aircraft operating under this part...

46 CFR 121.410 - Electronic position fixing devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Electronic position fixing devices. 121.410 Section 121... AND MISCELLANEOUS SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT Navigation Equipment § 121.410 Electronic position fixing devices. A vessel on an oceans route must be equipped with an electronic position fixing device, capable...

21 CFR 886.5900 - Electronic vision aid.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Electronic vision aid. 886.5900 Section 886.5900...) MEDICAL DEVICES OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Therapeutic Devices § 886.5900 Electronic vision aid. (a) Identification. An electronic vision aid is an AC-powered or battery-powered device that consists of an...

14 CFR 125.204 - Portable electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Portable electronic devices. 125.204... Equipment Requirements § 125.204 Portable electronic devices. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of... operation of, any portable electronic device on any U.S.-registered civil aircraft operating under this part...

14 CFR 135.144 - Portable electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Portable electronic devices. 135.144... Equipment § 135.144 Portable electronic devices. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, no... portable electronic device on any of the following U.S.-registered civil aircraft operating under this part...

46 CFR 121.410 - Electronic position fixing devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Electronic position fixing devices. 121.410 Section 121... AND MISCELLANEOUS SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT Navigation Equipment § 121.410 Electronic position fixing devices. A vessel on an oceans route must be equipped with an electronic position fixing device, capable...

14 CFR 135.144 - Portable electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Portable electronic devices. 135.144... Equipment § 135.144 Portable electronic devices. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, no... portable electronic device on any of the following U.S.-registered civil aircraft operating under this part...

14 CFR 125.204 - Portable electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Portable electronic devices. 125.204... Equipment Requirements § 125.204 Portable electronic devices. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of... operation of, any portable electronic device on any U.S.-registered civil aircraft operating under this part...

14 CFR 121.306 - Portable electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Portable electronic devices. 121.306... Portable electronic devices. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, no person may operate... electronic device on any U.S.-registered civil aircraft operating under this part. (b) Paragraph (a) of this...

21 CFR 886.5900 - Electronic vision aid.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Electronic vision aid. 886.5900 Section 886.5900...) MEDICAL DEVICES OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Therapeutic Devices § 886.5900 Electronic vision aid. (a) Identification. An electronic vision aid is an AC-powered or battery-powered device that consists of an...

14 CFR 135.144 - Portable electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Portable electronic devices. 135.144... Equipment § 135.144 Portable electronic devices. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, no... portable electronic device on any of the following U.S.-registered civil aircraft operating under this part...

46 CFR 121.410 - Electronic position fixing devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Electronic position fixing devices. 121.410 Section 121... AND MISCELLANEOUS SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT Navigation Equipment § 121.410 Electronic position fixing devices. A vessel on an oceans route must be equipped with an electronic position fixing device, capable...

SU-E-T-245: Detection of the Photon Target Damage in Varian Linac Based On Periodical Quality Assurance Measurements

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gao, S; Balter, P; Wang, X

2015-06-15

Purpose: To determine the best dosimetric metric measured by our routine QA devices for diagnosing photon target failure on a Varian C-series linac. Methods: We have retrospectively reviewed and analyzed the dosimetry data from a Varian linac with a target degradation that was undiagnosed for one year. A failure in the daily QA symmetry tests was the first indication of an issue. The beam was steered back to a symmetric shape and water scans indicated the beam energy had changed but stayed within the manufacturer’s specifications and agreed reasonably with our treatment planning system data. After the problem was identifiedmore » and the target was replaced, we retrospectively analyzed our QA data including diagonals normalized flatness (F-DN) from the daily device (DQA3), profiles from an ionization chamber array (IC Profiler), as well as profiles and PDDs from a 3D water Scanner (3DS). These metrics were cross-compared to determine which was the best early indicator of target degradation. Results: A 3% change in FDN measured by the DQA3 was found to be an early indicator of target degradation. It is more sensitive than changes in output, symmetry, flatness or PDD. All beam shape metrics (flatness at dmax and 10 cm depth, and F-DN) indicated an energy increase while the PDD indicated an energy decrease. This disagreement between the beam-shape based energy metrics (F-DN and flatness) and PDD based energy metric may indicate target failure as opposed to an energy change resulting from changes in the incident electron energy. Conclusion: Photon target degradation has been identified as a failure mode for linacs. The manufacturer’s test for this condition is highly invasive and requires machine down time. We have demonstrated that the condition could be caught early based upon data acquired during routine QA activities, such as the F-DN.« less

Ventricular Assist Device and Destination Therapy Candidates from Preoperative Selection Through End of Hospitalization.

PubMed

Doty, Diane

2015-12-01

Mechanical circulatory support (MCS) devices offer advanced heart failure patients a potential long-term solution. MCS devices implantation is increasing related to the increased volume of heart failure patients, the shortfall of suitable donors, and the advanced technology and smaller size of the devices. To ensure a successful outcome, some key elements must be taken into consideration and managed: patient selection, preoperative preparation, intraoperative care, postoperative care, and posthospital education. The ultimate success of an MCS implantation relies on a multidisciplinary approach and excellent patient/caregiver education in each phase of hospitalization. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Limitations of the Outback LTD re-entry device in femoropopliteal chronic total occlusions.

PubMed

Shin, Susanna H; Baril, Donald; Chaer, Rabih; Rhee, Robert; Makaroun, Michel; Marone, Luke

2011-05-01

Subintimal recanalization for the treatment of femoropopliteal chronic total occlusions (CTO) occasionally requires re-entry devices to access the true lumen distally, but limited information is available on factors predicting the success or failure of these devices. We evaluated the Outback LTD re-entry device (LuMend, Redwood City, Calif; acquired by Cordis Corp, Miami Lakes, Fla). A retrospective review of patients with femoropopliteal CTO from August 2006 to August 2009 was performed. Age, gender, occlusion length, site of re-entry, and the angle of the aortic bifurcation were recorded. Procedural angiograms were used to assign a calcification score (none, mild, moderate, severe) at the re-entry site. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors predicting failure of re-entry into the true lumen. Of 249 CTOs treated, the re-entry device was used 52 times (20.9%): 47 superficial femoral artery (SFA) occlusions and 5 combined SFA and popliteal artery occlusions (33 TransAtlantic InterSociety Consensus II type C and 18 type D lesions). Of 48 procedures with available angiograms for review, the target re-entry site was at the adductor canal in 30 (62.5%), the above-knee popliteal artery in 13 (27.1%), behind the knee joint in 4 (8.3%), and the mid-SFA in 2 (4.2%). Patients (54% men) were a mean age of 73.1 years. Re-entry was successful in 34 attempts (64.5%). Causes of failure included inability to re-enter the true lumen in 11 (61.1%), difficulty tracking the device over a wire in 3 (16.7%), acute angle of aortic bifurcation in 2 (11.1%), mechanical failure of the device in 1 (5.6%), and difficulty tracking the device through the lesion in 1 (5.6%). Moderate or severe calcification at the site of re-entry was the only significant predictor of failure (odds ratio, 6.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.45-24.48; P = .01). An aortic bifurcation angle ≥40° did trend toward predicting success (odds ratio, 0.23; 95% confidence interval, 0.05-1.02; P = .054). Although the Outback re-entry device can be successful in extending the applicability of endovascular management to difficult femoropopliteal occlusions, it is not uniformly successful in current clinical practice. Significant calcification at the proposed re-entry site is a strong predictor of failure. Copyright © 2011 Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Thermomechanical Modeling of Sintered Silver - A Fracture Mechanics-based Approach: Extended Abstract: Preprint

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Paret, Paul P; DeVoto, Douglas J; Narumanchi, Sreekant V

Sintered silver has proven to be a promising candidate for use as a die-attach and substrate-attach material in automotive power electronics components. It holds promise of greater reliability than lead-based and lead-free solders, especially at higher temperatures (less than 200 degrees Celcius). Accurate predictive lifetime models of sintered silver need to be developed and its failure mechanisms thoroughly characterized before it can be deployed as a die-attach or substrate-attach material in wide-bandgap device-based packages. We present a finite element method (FEM) modeling methodology that can offer greater accuracy in predicting the failure of sintered silver under accelerated thermal cycling. Amore » fracture mechanics-based approach is adopted in the FEM model, and J-integral/thermal cycle values are computed. In this paper, we outline the procedures for obtaining the J-integral/thermal cycle values in a computational model and report on the possible advantage of using these values as modeling parameters in a predictive lifetime model.« less

Apparatus, system, and method for synchronizing a timer key

DOEpatents

Condit, Reston A; Daniels, Michael A; Clemens, Gregory P; Tomberlin, Eric S; Johnson, Joel A

2014-04-22

A timer key relating to monitoring a countdown time of a countdown routine of an electronic device is disclosed. The timer key comprises a processor configured to respond to a countdown time associated with operation of the electronic device, a display operably coupled with the processor, and a housing configured to house at least the processor. The housing has an associated structure configured to engage with the electronic device to share the countdown time between the electronic device and the timer key. The processor is configured to begin a countdown routine based at least in part on the countdown time, wherein the countdown routine is at least substantially synchronized with a countdown routine of the electronic device when the timer key is removed from the electronic device. A system and method for synchronizing countdown routines of a timer key and an electronic device are also disclosed.

NHLBI's program for VAD therapy for moderately advanced heart failure: the REVIVE-IT pilot trial.

PubMed

Baldwin, J Timothy; Mann, Douglas L

2010-11-01

Ventricular assist devices (VADs) are used to bridge heart failure patients to transplantation, to allow their own hearts to recover, or as permanent ("destination") therapy. To date, the use of VADs has been limited to late-stage heart failure patients because of the associated device risks. In 2008, a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) working group met to evaluate the treatment of heart failure using VADs and to advise the institute on how therapy for heart failure may be best advanced by clinical trials involving the devices. Recognizing the improvements in VAD technology and in patient care and selection over the past decade, the working group recommended that a trial be performed to assess the use of chronic VAD therapy in patients who are less ill than those currently eligible for destination therapy. The hypothesis proposed for the trial is that VAD therapy may improve both survival and quality of life in moderately advanced heart failure patients who are neither inotrope-dependent nor exercise-intolerant and have not yet developed serious consequences such as malnourishment, end-organ damage, and immobility. Based on the group's recommendations, NHLBI issued an RFP in 2009 for the REVIVE-IT Pilot Trail, which will serve to test the hypothesis and inform the pivotal trial. Published by Elsevier Inc.

77 FR 51572 - Certain Wireless Consumer Electronics Devices and Components Thereof; Institution of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-24

... Electronics Devices and Components Thereof; Institution of Investigation Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1337 AGENCY: U... importation of certain wireless consumer electronics devices and components thereof by reason of infringement... wireless consumer electronics devices and components thereof that infringe one or more of claims 1, 6, 7, 9...

21 CFR 25.34 - Devices and electronic products.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Devices and electronic products. 25.34 Section 25... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT CONSIDERATIONS Categorical Exclusions § 25.34 Devices and electronic products. The classes... substitutes. (c) Issuance, amendment, or repeal of a standard for a class II medical device or an electronic...

21 CFR 25.34 - Devices and electronic products.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Devices and electronic products. 25.34 Section 25... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT CONSIDERATIONS Categorical Exclusions § 25.34 Devices and electronic products. The classes... substitutes. (c) Issuance, amendment, or repeal of a standard for a class II medical device or an electronic...

46 CFR 28.260 - Electronic position fixing devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Electronic position fixing devices. 28.260 Section 28... Trade § 28.260 Electronic position fixing devices. Each vessel 79 feet (24 meters) or more in length must be equipped with an electronic position fixing device capable of providing accurate fixes for the...

46 CFR 28.260 - Electronic position fixing devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Electronic position fixing devices. 28.260 Section 28... Trade § 28.260 Electronic position fixing devices. Each vessel 79 feet (24 meters) or more in length must be equipped with an electronic position fixing device capable of providing accurate fixes for the...

14 CFR 91.21 - Portable electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Portable electronic devices. 91.21 Section... electronic devices. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, no person may operate, nor may any operator or pilot in command of an aircraft allow the operation of, any portable electronic device...

21 CFR 25.34 - Devices and electronic products.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Devices and electronic products. 25.34 Section 25... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT CONSIDERATIONS Categorical Exclusions § 25.34 Devices and electronic products. The classes... substitutes. (c) Issuance, amendment, or repeal of a standard for a class II medical device or an electronic...

14 CFR 91.21 - Portable electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Portable electronic devices. 91.21 Section... electronic devices. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, no person may operate, nor may any operator or pilot in command of an aircraft allow the operation of, any portable electronic device...

46 CFR 28.260 - Electronic position fixing devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Electronic position fixing devices. 28.260 Section 28... Trade § 28.260 Electronic position fixing devices. Each vessel 79 feet (24 meters) or more in length must be equipped with an electronic position fixing device capable of providing accurate fixes for the...

14 CFR 91.21 - Portable electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Portable electronic devices. 91.21 Section... electronic devices. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, no person may operate, nor may any operator or pilot in command of an aircraft allow the operation of, any portable electronic device...

14 CFR 91.21 - Portable electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Portable electronic devices. 91.21 Section... electronic devices. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, no person may operate, nor may any operator or pilot in command of an aircraft allow the operation of, any portable electronic device...

46 CFR 28.260 - Electronic position fixing devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Electronic position fixing devices. 28.260 Section 28... Trade § 28.260 Electronic position fixing devices. Each vessel 79 feet (24 meters) or more in length must be equipped with an electronic position fixing device capable of providing accurate fixes for the...

46 CFR 28.260 - Electronic position fixing devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Electronic position fixing devices. 28.260 Section 28... Trade § 28.260 Electronic position fixing devices. Each vessel 79 feet (24 meters) or more in length must be equipped with an electronic position fixing device capable of providing accurate fixes for the...

21 CFR 25.34 - Devices and electronic products.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Devices and electronic products. 25.34 Section 25... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT CONSIDERATIONS Categorical Exclusions § 25.34 Devices and electronic products. The classes... substitutes. (c) Issuance, amendment, or repeal of a standard for a class II medical device or an electronic...

14 CFR 91.21 - Portable electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Portable electronic devices. 91.21 Section... electronic devices. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, no person may operate, nor may any operator or pilot in command of an aircraft allow the operation of, any portable electronic device...

21 CFR 25.34 - Devices and electronic products.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Devices and electronic products. 25.34 Section 25... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT CONSIDERATIONS Categorical Exclusions § 25.34 Devices and electronic products. The classes... substitutes. (c) Issuance, amendment, or repeal of a standard for a class II medical device or an electronic...

Novel failure mechanism and improvement for split-gate trench MOSFET with large current under unclamped inductive switch stress

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Ye; Yang, Zhuo; Xu, Zhiyuan; Liu, Siyang; Sun, Weifeng; Shi, Longxing; Zhu, Yuanzheng; Ye, Peng; Zhou, Jincheng

2018-04-01

In this paper, a novel failure mechanism under unclamped inductive switch (UIS) for Split-Gate Trench Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET) with large current is investigated. The device sample is tested and analyzed in detail. The simulation results demonstrate that the nonuniform potential distribution of the source poly should be responsible for the failure. Three structures are proposed and verified available to improve the device UIS ruggedness by TCAD simulation. The best one of the structures the device with source metal inserting into source poly through contacts in the field oxide is carried out and measured. The results demonstrate that the optimized structure can balance the trade-off between the UIS ruggedness and the static characteristics.

Data processing device test apparatus and method therefor

DOEpatents

Wilcox, Richard Jacob; Mulig, Jason D.; Eppes, David; Bruce, Michael R.; Bruce, Victoria J.; Ring, Rosalinda M.; Cole, Jr., Edward I.; Tangyunyong, Paiboon; Hawkins, Charles F.; Louie, Arnold Y.

2003-04-08

A method and apparatus mechanism for testing data processing devices are implemented. The test mechanism isolates critical paths by correlating a scanning microscope image with a selected speed path failure. A trigger signal having a preselected value is generated at the start of each pattern vector. The sweep of the scanning microscope is controlled by a computer, which also receives and processes the image signals returned from the microscope. The value of the trigger signal is correlated with a set of pattern lines being driven on the DUT. The trigger is either asserted or negated depending the detection of a pattern line failure and the particular line that failed. In response to the detection of the particular speed path failure being characterized, and the trigger signal, the control computer overlays a mask on the image of the device under test (DUT). The overlaid image provides a visual correlation of the failure with the structural elements of the DUT at the level of resolution of the microscope itself.

Yield modeling of acoustic charge transport transversal filters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kenney, J. S.; May, G. S.; Hunt, W. D.

1995-01-01

This paper presents a yield model for acoustic charge transport transversal filters. This model differs from previous IC yield models in that it does not assume that individual failures of the nondestructive sensing taps necessarily cause a device failure. A redundancy in the number of taps included in the design is explained. Poisson statistics are used to describe the tap failures, weighted over a uniform defect density distribution. A representative design example is presented. The minimum number of taps needed to realize the filter is calculated, and tap weights for various numbers of redundant taps are calculated. The critical area for device failure is calculated for each level of redundancy. Yield is predicted for a range of defect densities and redundancies. To verify the model, a Monte Carlo simulation is performed on an equivalent circuit model of the device. The results of the yield model are then compared to the Monte Carlo simulation. Better than 95% agreement was obtained for the Poisson model with redundant taps ranging from 30% to 150% over the minimum.

Endocarditis in left ventricular assist device

PubMed Central

Thyagarajan, Braghadheeswar; Kumar, Monisha Priyadarshini; Sikachi, Rutuja R; Agrawal, Abhinav

2016-01-01

Summary Heart failure is one of the leading causes of death in developed nations. End stage heart failure often requires cardiac transplantation for survival. The left ventricular assist device (LVAD) has been one of the biggest evolvements in heart failure management often serving as bridge to transplant or destination therapy in advanced heart failure. Like any other medical device, LVAD is associated with complications with infections being reported in many patients. Endocarditis developing secondary to the placement of LVAD is not a frequent, serious and difficult to treat condition with high morbidity and mortality. Currently, there are few retrospective studies and case reports reporting the same. In our review, we found the most common cause of endocarditis in LVAD was due to bacteria. Both bacterial and fungal endocarditis were associated with high morbidity and mortality. In this review we will be discussing the risk factors, organisms involved, diagnostic tests, management strategies, complications, and outcomes in patients who developed endocarditis secondary to LVAD placement. PMID:27672540

Negative Thermal Expansion and Ferroelectric Oxides in Electronic Device Composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trujillo, Joy Elizabeth

Electronic devices increasingly pervade our daily lives, driving the need to develop components which have material properties that can be designed to target a specific need. The principle motive of this thesis is to investigate the effects of particle size and composition on three oxides which possess electronic and thermal properties essential to designing improved ceramic composites for more efficient, high energy storage devices. A metal matrix composite project used the negative thermal expansion oxide, ZrW2O 8, to offset the high thermal expansion of the metal matrix without sacrificing high thermal conductivity. Composite preparation employed a powder mixing technique to achieve easy composition control and homogenous phase distribution in order to build composites which target a specific coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). A tailorable CTE material is desirable for overcoming thermomechanical failure in heat sinks or device casings. This thesis also considers the particle size effect on dielectric properties in a common ferroelectric perovskite, Ba1-xSrxTiO 3. By varying the Ba:Sr ratio, the Curie temperature can be adjusted and by reducing the particle size, the dielectric constant can be increased and hysteresis decreased. These conditions could yield anonymously large dielectric constants near room temperature. However, the ferroelectric behavior has been observed to cease below a minimum size of a few tens of nanometers in bulk or thin film materials. Using a new particle slurry approach, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy allows dielectric properties to be determined for nanoparticles, as opposed to conventional methods which measure only bulk or thin film dielectric properties. In this manner, Ba1-xSrxTiO3 was investigated in a new size regime, extending the theory on the ferroelectric behavior to < 10 nm diameter. This knowledge will improve the potential to incorporate high dielectric constant, low loss ferroelectric nanoparticles in many complex composites. Finally, powder composite processing and impedance spectroscopy techniques were combined to investigate the SrTiO3/(Y2O3) x(ZrO2)1-x (STO/YSZ) oxide system. Thin film heterostructures of STO/YSZ are used in electrochemical energy devices due to their enhanced interfacial ionic conductivity. This work investigated whether this ionic conductivity enhancement could be observed in bulk sintered architectures, which may lead to new device designs for energy storage needs.

Monitoring patients with continuous-flow ventricular assist devices outside of the intensive care unit: novel challenges to bedside nursing.

PubMed

O'Shea, Genevieve; Teuteberg, Jeffrey J; Severyn, Donald A

2013-03-01

Ventricular assist devices provide therapeutic options for patients with severe heart failure who have exhausted available medical therapies. With restoration of organ perfusion with ventricular assist devices, the heart failure resolves and quality of life and functional status improve. The current generation of continuous-flow devices present novel challenges to the clinical assessment of patients by substantially reducing or nearly eliminating any palpable pulse. Patients therefore generally have inadequate arterial pulsatility for most noninvasive monitoring devices such as pulse oximeters or automated blood pressure cuffs to work accurately. This article describes the function of continuous-flow devices and how this function affects common monitoring options, as well as how to clinically assess recipients of continuous-flow devices to promptly identify those whose condition may be deteriorating or who may be receiving inadequate perfusion.

Performance and Reliability of Bonded Interfaces for High-Temperature Packaging. Annual Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

DeVoto, Douglas

2016-04-01

Current generation automotive power electronics packages utilize silicon devices and lead-free solder alloys. To meet stringent technical targets for 2020 and beyond (for cost, power density, specific power, efficiency and reliability), wide-bandgap devices are being considered since they offer advantages such as operation at higher frequencies, voltages, and temperatures. Traditional power electronics packages must be redesigned to utilize the full potential of wide-bandgap devices, and the die- and substrate-attach layers are key areas where new material development and validation is required. Present solder alloys do not meet the performance requirements for these new package designs while also meeting cost andmore » hazardous substance restrictions. Sintered silver (Ag) promises to meet the needs for die- and substrate-attach interfaces but synthesis optimization and reliability evaluation must be completed. Sintered Ag material was proposed as an alternative solution in power electronics packages almost 20 years back. However, synthesis pressure requirements up 40 MPa caused a higher complexity in the production process and more stringent flatness specifications for the substrates. Recently, several manufacturers have developed sintered Ag materials that require lower (3-5 MPa) or even no bonding pressures. Degradation mechanisms for these sintered Ag materials are not well known and need to be addressed. We are addressing these aspects to some extent in this project. We are developing generalized (i.e., independent of geometry) stress intensity factor versus cycles-to-failure relations for sintered Ag. Because sintered Ag is a relatively new material for automotive power electronics, the industry currently does not have a good understanding of recommended synthesis parameters or expected reliability under prescribed conditions. It is an important deliverable of this project to transfer findings to industry to eliminate barriers to using sintered Ag as a viable and commercialized die- and substrate-attach material. Only a few manufacturers produce sintered Ag pastes and may consider some processing conditions as proprietary. It is the goal of this project to openly explore and define best practices in order to impact the maximum number of power electronics module manufacturers and suppliers.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Guo, Rui; Gao, Liming, E-mail: liming.gao@sjtu.edu.cn; Li, Ming, E-mail: mingli90@sjtu.edu.cn

As the continuous shrinkage of the interconnect line width in microelectronics devices, there is a growing concern about the electromigration (EM) failure of bonding wire. In addition, an innovative Ag–8Au–3Pd alloy wire has shown promise as an economical substitute for gold wire interconnects due to the cost pressure of gold in the last decade. In present study of the Ag–8Au–3Pd alloy wire, the surface diffusion occupied the dominant position during EM failure, and the activation energy was found to be 0.61 eV. In order to reveal the failure mechanism, the cross-sections of the Ag–8Au–3Pd alloy wire during EM were preparedmore » by focused ion beam (FIB) micro-machining for electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis. The microstructure evolution of the Ag–8Au–3Pd alloy wire was characterized by the grain size and grain boundary. As a result, the EM failure originates in the atom transportation, which causes grain size increasing and atom diffusion on the wire surface. - Highlights: • The activation energy of Ag–8Au–3Pd alloy wire was obtained as 0.61 eV. • During EM, the silver atoms diffused from negative to the positive terminal on the wire surface. • The microstructure (grain size and grain boundary) was characterized by FIB-EBSD. • During EM, the atom transportation was found to cause grain size growth and atom diffusion on the wire surface.« less

Non-fullerene electron acceptors for organic photovoltaic devices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jenekhe, Samson A.; Li, Haiyan; Earmme, Taeshik

Non-fullerene electron acceptors for highly efficient organic photovoltaic devices are described. The non-fullerene electron acceptors have an extended, rigid, .pi.-conjugated electron-deficient framework that can facilitate exciton and charge derealization. The non-fullerene electron acceptors can physically mix with a donor polymer and facilitate improved electron transport. The non-fullerene electron acceptors can be incorporated into organic electronic devices, such as photovoltaic cells.

Follow-up of the original cohort with the Ahmed glaucoma valve implant.

PubMed

Topouzis, F; Coleman, A L; Choplin, N; Bethlem, M M; Hill, R; Yu, F; Panek, W C; Wilson, M R

1999-08-01

To study the long-term results of the Ahmed glaucoma valve implant in patients with complicated glaucoma in whom short-term results have been reported. In this multicenter study, we analyzed the long-term outcome of a cohort of 60 eyes from 60 patients in whom the Ahmed glaucoma valve was implanted. Failure was characterized by at least one of the following: intraocular pressure greater than 21 mm Hg at both of the last two visits less than 6 mm Hg at both of the last two visits, loss of light perception, additional glaucoma surgery, devastating complications, and removal or replacement of the Ahmed glaucoma valve implant. Devastating complications included chronic hypotony, retinal detachment, malignant glaucoma, endophthalmitis, and phthisis bulbi; we also report results that add corneal complications (corneal decompensation or edema, corneal graft failure) as defining a devastating complication. The mean follow-up time for the 60 eyes was 30.5 months (range, 2.1 to 63.5). When corneal complications were included in the definition of failure, 26 eyes (43%) were considered failures. Cumulative probabilities of success at 1, 2, 3, and 4 years were 76%, 68%, 54%, and 45%, respectively. When corneal complications were excluded from the definition of failure, 13 eyes (21.5%) were considered failures. Cumulative probabilities of success at 1, 2, 3, and 4 years were 87%, 82%, 76%, and 76%, respectively. Most of the failures after 12 months of postoperative follow-up were because of corneal complications. The long-term performance of the Ahmed glaucoma valve implant is comparable to other drainage devices. More than 12 months after the implantation of the Ahmed glaucoma valve implant, the most frequent adverse outcome was corneal decompensation or corneal graft failure. These corneal problems may be secondary to the type of eyes that have drainage devices or to the drainage device itself. Further investigation is needed to identify the reasons that corneal problems follow drainage device implantation.

A study of Mariner 10 flight experiences and some flight piece part failure rate computations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paul, F. A.

1976-01-01

The problems and failures encountered in Mariner flight are discussed and the data available through a quantitative accounting of all electronic piece parts on the spacecraft are summarized. It also shows computed failure rates for electronic piece parts. It is intended that these computed data be used in the continued updating of the failure rate base used for trade-off studies and predictions for future JPL space missions.

Irreversible bonding of polyimide and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) based on a thiol-epoxy click reaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoang, Michelle V.; Chung, Hyun-Joong; Elias, Anastasia L.

2016-10-01

Polyimide is one of the most popular substrate materials for the microfabrication of flexible electronics, while polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is the most widely used stretchable substrate/encapsulant material. These two polymers are essential in fabricating devices for microfluidics, bioelectronics, and the internet of things; bonding these materials together is a crucial challenge. In this work, we employ click chemistry at room temperature to irreversibly bond polyimide and PDMS through thiol-epoxy bonds using two different methods. In the first method, we functionalize the surfaces of the PDMS and polyimide substrates with mercaptosilanes and epoxysilanes, respectively, for the formation of a thiol-epoxy bond in the click reaction. In the second method, we functionalize one or both surfaces with mercaptosilane and introduce an epoxy adhesive layer between the two surfaces. When the surfaces are bonded using the epoxy adhesive without any surface functionalization, an extremely small peel strength (<0.01 N mm-1) is measured with a peel test, and adhesive failure occurs at the PDMS surface. With surface functionalization, however, remarkably higher peel strengths of ~0.2 N mm-1 (method 1) and  >0.3 N mm-1 (method 2) are observed, and failure occurs by tearing of the PDMS layer. We envision that the novel processing route employing click chemistry can be utilized in various cases of stretchable and flexible device fabrication.

Development and application of a modified wireless tracer for disaster prevention

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chung Yang, Han; Su, Chih Chiang

2016-04-01

Typhoon-induced flooding causes water overflow in a river channel, which results in general and bridge scour and soil erosion, thus leading to bridge failure, debris flow and landslide collapse. Therefore, dynamic measurement technology should be developed to assess scour in channels and landslide as a disaster-prevention measure against bridge failure and debris flow. This paper presents a wireless tracer that enables monitoring general scour in river channels and soil erosion in hillsides. The wireless tracer comprises a wireless high-power radio modem, various electronic components, and a self-designed printed circuit board that are all combined with a 9-V battery pack and an auto switch. The entire device is sealed in a jar by silicon. After it was modified, the wireless tracer underwent the following tests for practical applications: power continuation and durability, water penetration, and signal transmission during floating. A regression correlation between the wireless tracer's transmission signal and distance was also established. This device can be embedded at any location where scouring is monitored, and, in contrast to its counterparts that detect scour depth by identifying and analyzing received signals, it enables real-time observation of the scouring process. In summary, the wireless tracer developed in this study provides a dynamic technology for real-time monitoring of scouring (or erosion) and forecasting of landslide hazards. Keywords: wireless tracer; scour; real-time monitoring; landslide hazard.

Experience of the posterior lip augmentation device in a regional hip arthroplasty unit as a treatment for recurrent dislocation.

PubMed

Hoggett, L; Cross, C; Helm, T

2017-12-01

Dislocation after total hip arthroplasty (THA) remains a significant complication of the procedure and is the third leading cause for revision THA. One technique for treatment of this complication is the use of the posterior lip augmentation device (PLAD). We describe our experience using the PLAD including complication rates. A retrospective review of 55 PLADs (54 patients) was carried out following identification from electronic theatre records. Basic patient demographics, operative records and radiographs were collected and reviewed and data was analysed using Microsoft Excel. Failure of the PLAD was defined as further operative intervention after PLAD insertion and included: dislocation, implant breakage, infection and revision of the THA for loosening of either component. 55 PLADs were implanted in 54 patients with an average age of 77 years. There was a significant preponderance of females and a variety of surgical approaches had been used for the original hip replacement, including trochanteric osteotomy, posterior and antero-lateral. 9 (16%) patients had recurrent dislocations,1 (2%) failed secondary to screw breakage, 3 (5%) had and infection requiring intervention and 2 (4%) underwent further revision for aseptic loosening of the femoral component. The overall failure rate was 25% with 14 patients requiring intervention post PLAD. Our results are inferior to other published results and indicate that the PLAD should be used with caution for recurrent dislocations of the Charnley hip replacement.

Hypertension Canada's 2018 Guidelines for Diagnosis, Risk Assessment, Prevention, and Treatment of Hypertension in Adults and Children.

PubMed

Nerenberg, Kara A; Zarnke, Kelly B; Leung, Alexander A; Dasgupta, Kaberi; Butalia, Sonia; McBrien, Kerry; Harris, Kevin C; Nakhla, Meranda; Cloutier, Lyne; Gelfer, Mark; Lamarre-Cliche, Maxime; Milot, Alain; Bolli, Peter; Tremblay, Guy; McLean, Donna; Padwal, Raj S; Tran, Karen C; Grover, Steven; Rabkin, Simon W; Moe, Gordon W; Howlett, Jonathan G; Lindsay, Patrice; Hill, Michael D; Sharma, Mike; Field, Thalia; Wein, Theodore H; Shoamanesh, Ashkan; Dresser, George K; Hamet, Pavel; Herman, Robert J; Burgess, Ellen; Gryn, Steven E; Grégoire, Jean C; Lewanczuk, Richard; Poirier, Luc; Campbell, Tavis S; Feldman, Ross D; Lavoie, Kim L; Tsuyuki, Ross T; Honos, George; Prebtani, Ally P H; Kline, Gregory; Schiffrin, Ernesto L; Don-Wauchope, Andrew; Tobe, Sheldon W; Gilbert, Richard E; Leiter, Lawrence A; Jones, Charlotte; Woo, Vincent; Hegele, Robert A; Selby, Peter; Pipe, Andrew; McFarlane, Philip A; Oh, Paul; Gupta, Milan; Bacon, Simon L; Kaczorowski, Janusz; Trudeau, Luc; Campbell, Norman R C; Hiremath, Swapnil; Roerecke, Michael; Arcand, Joanne; Ruzicka, Marcel; Prasad, G V Ramesh; Vallée, Michel; Edwards, Cedric; Sivapalan, Praveena; Penner, S Brian; Fournier, Anne; Benoit, Geneviève; Feber, Janusz; Dionne, Janis; Magee, Laura A; Logan, Alexander G; Côté, Anne-Marie; Rey, Evelyne; Firoz, Tabassum; Kuyper, Laura M; Gabor, Jonathan Y; Townsend, Raymond R; Rabi, Doreen M; Daskalopoulou, Stella S

2018-05-01

Hypertension Canada provides annually updated, evidence-based guidelines for the diagnosis, assessment, prevention, and treatment of hypertension in adults and children. This year, the adult and pediatric guidelines are combined in one document. The new 2018 pregnancy-specific hypertension guidelines are published separately. For 2018, 5 new guidelines are introduced, and 1 existing guideline on the blood pressure thresholds and targets in the setting of thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke is revised. The use of validated wrist devices for the estimation of blood pressure in individuals with large arm circumference is now included. Guidance is provided for the follow-up measurements of blood pressure, with the use of standardized methods and electronic (oscillometric) upper arm devices in individuals with hypertension, and either ambulatory blood pressure monitoring or home blood pressure monitoring in individuals with white coat effect. We specify that all individuals with hypertension should have an assessment of global cardiovascular risk to promote health behaviours that lower blood pressure. Finally, an angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor combination should be used in place of either an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker in individuals with heart failure (with ejection fraction < 40%) who are symptomatic despite appropriate doses of guideline-directed heart failure therapies. The specific evidence and rationale underlying each of these guidelines are discussed. Copyright © 2018 Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Systems, methods, and products for graphically illustrating and controlling a droplet actuator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brafford, Keith R. (Inventor); Pamula, Vamsee K. (Inventor); Paik, Philip Y. (Inventor); Pollack, Michael G. (Inventor); Sturmer, Ryan A. (Inventor); Smith, Gregory F. (Inventor)

2010-01-01

Systems for controlling a droplet microactuator are provided. According to one embodiment, a system is provided and includes a controller, a droplet microactuator electronically coupled to the controller, and a display device displaying a user interface electronically coupled to the controller, wherein the system is programmed and configured to permit a user to effect a droplet manipulation by interacting with the user interface. According to another embodiment, a system is provided and includes a processor, a display device electronically coupled to the processor, and software loaded and/or stored in a storage device electronically coupled to the controller, a memory device electronically coupled to the controller, and/or the controller and programmed to display an interactive map of a droplet microactuator. According to yet another embodiment, a system is provided and includes a controller, a droplet microactuator electronically coupled to the controller, a display device displaying a user interface electronically coupled to the controller, and software for executing a protocol loaded and/or stored in a storage device electronically coupled to the controller, a memory device electronically coupled to the controller, and/or the controller.

Bone suture anchor fixation in the lower extremity: a review of insertion principles and a comparative biomechanical evaluation.

PubMed

Scranton, Pierce E; Lawhon, S Michael; McDermott, John E

2005-07-01

Suture anchors have been developed for the fixation of ligaments, capsules, or tendons to bone. These devices have led to improved fixation, smaller incisions, earlier limb mobility, and improved outcomes. They were originally developed for use in shoulder reconstructions but are now used in almost all extremities. In the lower leg they are used in the tibia, the talus, the calcaneus, tarsal bones, and phalanges. Nevertheless, techniques for insertion and mechanisms of failure are not well described. Five suture anchors were studied to determine the pullout strength in four distal cadaver femurs and four proximal cadaver tibias from 55- and 62-year-old males. Eight hundred ninety Newton line was used, testing the anchors to failure with an Instron testing device (Instron, Norwood, MA). The anchor devices were inserted randomly and tested blindly (12 tests per anchor device, 60 tests in all). Two anchors in each group tested failed at low loads. Both types of plastic anchors had failures at the eyelet. Average pullout strength varied from 85.4 to 185.6 N. Insertion techniques are specific for each device, and they must be followed for optimal fixation. In this study, in all five groups of anchors tested two of the 12 anchors in each group failed with minimal force. On the basis of this finding we recommend that, if suture anchor fixation is necessary, at least two anchors should be used. Since there appears to be a percentage of failure in all devices, the second anchor can serve as a backup. It is imperative that surgeons be familiar with the insertion techniques of each device before use.

A molecular shift register based on electron transfer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hopfield, J. J.; Onuchic, Josenelson; Beratan, David N.

1988-01-01

An electronic shift-register memory at the molecular level is described. The memory elements are based on a chain of electron-transfer molecules and the information is shifted by photoinduced electron-transfer reactions. This device integrates designed electronic molecules onto a very large scale integrated (silicon microelectronic) substrate, providing an example of a 'molecular electronic device' that could actually be made. The design requirements for such a device and possible synthetic strategies are discussed. Devices along these lines should have lower energy usage and enhanced storage density.

Left ventricular assist device and drug therapy for the reversal of heart failure.

PubMed

Birks, Emma J; Tansley, Patrick D; Hardy, James; George, Robert S; Bowles, Christopher T; Burke, Margaret; Banner, Nicholas R; Khaghani, Asghar; Yacoub, Magdi H

2006-11-02

In patients with severe heart failure, prolonged unloading of the myocardium with the use of a left ventricular assist device has been reported to lead to myocardial recovery in small numbers of patients for varying periods of time. Increasing the frequency and durability of myocardial recovery could reduce or postpone the need for subsequent heart transplantation. We enrolled 15 patients with severe heart failure due to nonischemic cardiomyopathy and with no histologic evidence of active myocarditis. All had markedly reduced cardiac output and were receiving inotropes. The patients underwent implantation of left ventricular assist devices and were treated with lisinopril, carvedilol, spironolactone, and losartan to enhance reverse remodeling. Once regression of left ventricular enlargement had been achieved, the beta2-adrenergic-receptor agonist clenbuterol was administered to prevent myocardial atrophy. Eleven of the 15 patients had sufficient myocardial recovery to undergo explantation of the left ventricular assist device a mean (+/-SD) of 320+/-186 days after implantation of the device. One patient died of intractable arrhythmias 24 hours after explantation; another died of carcinoma of the lung 27 months after explantation. The cumulative rate of freedom from recurrent heart failure among the surviving patients was 100% and 88.9% 1 and 4 years after explantation, respectively. The quality of life as assessed by the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire score at 3 years was nearly normal. Fifty-nine months after explantation, the mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 64+/-12%, the mean left ventricular end-diastolic diameter was 59.4+/-12.1 mm, the mean left ventricular end-systolic diameter was 42.5+/-13.2 mm, and the mean maximal oxygen uptake with exercise was 26.3+/-6.0 ml per kilogram of body weight per minute. In this single-center study, we found that sustained reversal of severe heart failure secondary to nonischemic cardiomyopathy could be achieved in selected patients with the use of a left ventricular assist device and a specific pharmacologic regimen. Copyright 2006 Massachusetts Medical Society.

78 FR 71643 - Certain Wireless Consumer Electronics Devices and Components Thereof; Commission Determination To...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-29

... Electronics Devices and Components Thereof; Commission Determination To Review in Part A Final Initial... sale within the United States after importation of certain wireless consumer electronics devices and... Electronics, Inc. of Seoul, Korea and LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc. of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey...

Comparison of Six Different Silicones In Vitro for Application as Glaucoma Drainage Device

PubMed Central

Windhövel, Claudia; Harder, Lisa; Bach, Jan-Peter; Teske, Michael; Grabow, Niels; Eickner, Thomas; Chichkov, Boris; Nolte, Ingo

2018-01-01

Silicones are widely used in medical applications. In ophthalmology, glaucoma drainage devices are utilized if conservative therapies are not applicable or have failed. Long-term success of these devices is limited by failure to control intraocular pressure due to fibrous encapsulation. Therefore, different medical approved silicones were tested in vitro for cell adhesion, cell proliferation and viability of human Sclera (hSF) and human Tenon fibroblasts (hTF). The silicones were analysed also depending on the sample preparation according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The surface quality was characterized with environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) and water contact angle measurements. All silicones showed homogeneous smooth and hydrophobic surfaces. Cell adhesion was significantly reduced on all silicones compared to the negative control. Proliferation index and cell viability were not influenced much. For development of a new glaucoma drainage device, the silicones Silbione LSR 4330 and Silbione LSR 4350, in this study, with low cell counts for hTF and low proliferation indices for hSF, and silicone Silastic MDX4-4210, with low cell counts for hSF and low proliferation indices for hTF, have shown the best results in vitro. Due to the high cell adhesion shown on Silicone LSR 40, 40,026, this material is unsuitable. PMID:29495462

Impact of Remote Monitoring on Clinical Outcomes.

PubMed

Varma, Niraj; Ricci, Renato Pietro

2015-12-01

Follow-up of patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices is challenging due to both their increasing volume and technical complexity coupled to increasing clinical complexity of recipient patients. Remote monitoring (RM) offers an opportunity to resolve some of these difficulties by improving clinic efficiencies and providing a mechanism for device monitoring and patient management. Several recent randomized clinical trials and registries have demonstrated that RM may reduce in-hospital visit numbers, time required for patient follow-up, physician and nurse time, and hospital and social costs. Furthermore, patient retention and adherence to follow-up schedule are significantly improved by RM. Continuous wireless monitoring of data stored in the device memory with automatic alerts allows early detection of device malfunctions and of events, such as atrial fibrillation, ventricular arrhythmias, and heart failure suitable for clinical intervention. Early reaction may improve patient outcome. RM is easy to use and patients showed a high level of acceptance and satisfaction. Implementing RM in daily practice may require changes in clinic workflow. New organizational models promote significant efficiencies regarding physician and nursing time. Data management techniques are under development. Despite these demonstrable advantages of RM, adoption still remains modest, even in health care systems incentivized to use this follow-up method. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Accelerated Implantable Defibrillator Battery Depletion Secondary to Lithium Cluster Formation: A Case Series.

PubMed

Aggarwal, Ashim; Sarmiento, Joseph J; Charles, David R; Parr, Alan R; Baman, Timir S

2016-04-01

Device failure from unanticipated and precipitous battery depletion is uncommon but can be life-threatening. Multiple mechanisms of battery failure have been previously described in the medical literature. However, in this current case series, we describe the largest cohort of patients (n = 4) with St. Jude (St. Paul, MN, USA) early implantable defibrillator battery depletion attributable to lithium cluster formation causing short circuit and high current drain. Clinicians must be aware of this occult cause of device failure and more studies are needed to determine its true prevalence. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Can amorphization take place in nanoscale interconnects?

PubMed

Kumar, S; Joshi, K L; van Duin, A C T; Haque, M A

2012-03-09

The trend of miniaturization has highlighted the problems of heat dissipation and electromigration in nanoelectronic device interconnects, but not amorphization. While amorphization is known to be a high pressure and/or temperature phenomenon, we argue that defect density is the key factor, while temperature and pressure are only the means. For nanoscale interconnects carrying modest current density, large vacancy concentrations may be generated without the necessity of high temperature or pressure due to the large fraction of grain boundaries and triple points. To investigate this hypothesis, we performed in situ transmission electron microscope (TEM) experiments on 200 nm thick (80 nm average grain size) aluminum specimens. Electron diffraction patterns indicate partial amorphization at modest current density of about 10(5) A cm(-2), which is too low to trigger electromigration. Since amorphization results in drastic decrease in mechanical ductility as well as electrical and thermal conductivity, further increase in current density to about 7 × 10(5) A cm(-2) resulted in brittle fracture failure. Our molecular dynamics (MD) simulations predict the formation of amorphous regions in response to large mechanical stresses (due to nanoscale grain size) and excess vacancies at the cathode side of the thin films. The findings of this study suggest that amorphization can precede electromigration and thereby play a vital role in the reliability of micro/nanoelectronic devices.

49 CFR 220.38 - Communication equipment failure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Communication equipment failure. 220.38 Section 220.38 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD... § 220.38 Communication equipment failure. (a) Any radio or wireless communication device found not to be...

49 CFR 220.38 - Communication equipment failure.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Communication equipment failure. 220.38 Section 220.38 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD... § 220.38 Communication equipment failure. (a) Any radio or wireless communication device found not to be...

System and method for interfacing large-area electronics with integrated circuit devices

DOEpatents

Verma, Naveen; Glisic, Branko; Sturm, James; Wagner, Sigurd

2016-07-12

A system and method for interfacing large-area electronics with integrated circuit devices is provided. The system may be implemented in an electronic device including a large area electronic (LAE) device disposed on a substrate. An integrated circuit IC is disposed on the substrate. A non-contact interface is disposed on the substrate and coupled between the LAE device and the IC. The non-contact interface is configured to provide at least one of a data acquisition path or control path between the LAE device and the IC.

78 FR 34669 - Certain Electronic Devices, Including Wireless Communication Devices, Portable Music and Data...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-10

..., Including Wireless Communication Devices, Portable Music and Data Processing Devices, and Tablet Computers... importing wireless communication devices, portable music and data processing devices, and tablet computers... certain electronic devices, including wireless communication devices, portable music and data processing...

Musculoskeletal impact of the use of various types of electronic devices on university students in Hong Kong: An evaluation by means of self-reported questionnaire.

PubMed

Woo, Eugenia H C; White, Peter; Lai, Christopher W K

2016-12-01

Despite the increasingly widespread popularity of electronic devices, there are limited comprehensive studies on the effects of usage and exposure to multiple electronic devices over extended periods of time. Therefore, this study explored the cumulative musculoskeletal implications of exposure to various electronic devices among university students. A self-reported questionnaire was administered in the university in Hong Kong and students provided information about the frequency and duration of electronic devices use, including computers, mobile phones and game consoles, and reported on any musculoskeletal pain or discomfort that may relate to electronic devices usage in the immediate 12 months prior to the survey date. A total of 503 university students (59% males and 41% females) aged 18-25 years completed the questionnaire. The results showed that 251 (49.9%) respondents reported upper limb musculoskeletal symptoms, particularly in the neck and shoulder regions. Among these, 155 (61.8%) indicated that their discomfort was related to electronic device usage. Statistically significant differences in exposure to electronic devices and musculoskeletal outcomes between genders were found (p < 0.05). The use of electronic devices and habitual postures were associated with musculoskeletal problems among university students in Hong Kong. This phenomenon highlights the urgent need for ergonomics education and recommendations to increase students' awareness of musculoskeletal wellbeing. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Current State and Future Perspectives of Energy Sources for Totally Implantable Cardiac Devices.

PubMed

Bleszynski, Peter A; Luc, Jessica G Y; Schade, Peter; PhilLips, Steven J; Tchantchaleishvili, Vakhtang

There is a large population of patients with end-stage congestive heart failure who cannot be treated by means of conventional cardiac surgery, cardiac transplantation, or chronic catecholamine infusions. Implantable cardiac devices, many designated as destination therapy, have revolutionized patient care and outcomes, although infection and complications related to external power sources or routine battery exchange remain a substantial risk. Complications from repeat battery replacement, power failure, and infections ultimately endanger the original objectives of implantable biomedical device therapy - eliminating the intended patient autonomy, affecting patient quality of life and survival. We sought to review the limitations of current cardiac biomedical device energy sources and discuss the current state and trends of future potential energy sources in pursuit of a lifelong fully implantable biomedical device.

Semiconductor Quantum Electron Wave Transport, Diffraction, and Interference: Analysis, Device, and Measurement.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henderson, Gregory Newell

Semiconductor device dimensions are rapidly approaching a fundamental limit where drift-diffusion equations and the depletion approximation are no longer valid. In this regime, quantum effects can dominate device response. To increase further device density and speed, new devices must be designed that use these phenomena to positive advantage. In addition, quantum effects provide opportunities for a new class of devices which can perform functions previously unattainable with "conventional" semiconductor devices. This thesis has described research in the analysis of electron wave effects in semiconductors and the development of methods for the design, fabrication, and characterization of quantum devices based on these effects. First, an exact set of quantitative analogies are presented which allow the use of well understood optical design and analysis tools for the development of electron wave semiconductor devices. Motivated by these analogies, methods are presented for modeling electron wave grating diffraction using both an exact rigorous coupled-wave analysis and approximate analyses which are useful for grating design. Example electron wave grating switch and multiplexer designs are presented. In analogy to thin-film optics, the design and analysis of electron wave Fabry-Perot interference filters are also discussed. An innovative technique has been developed for testing these (and other) electron wave structures using Ballistic Electron Emission Microscopy (BEEM). This technique uses a liquid-helium temperature scanning tunneling microscope (STM) to perform spectroscopy of the electron transmittance as a function of electron energy. Experimental results show that BEEM can resolve even weak quantum effects, such as the reflectivity of a single interface between materials. Finally, methods are discussed for incorporating asymmetric electron wave Fabry-Perot filters into optoelectronic devices. Theoretical and experimental results show that such structures could be the basis for a new type of electrically pumped mid - to far-infrared semiconductor laser.

Novel mechanism of premature battery failure due to lithium cluster formation in implantable cardioverter-defibrillators.

PubMed

Pokorney, Sean D; Greenfield, Ruth Ann; Atwater, Brett D; Daubert, James P; Piccini, Jonathan P

2014-12-01

Battery failure is an uncommon complication of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs), but unanticipated battery depletion can have life-threatening consequences. The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of a novel mechanism of battery failure in St. Jude Medical Fortify and Unify ICDs. Cases of premature Fortify battery failure from a single center are reported. A search (January 1, 2010 through November 30, 2013) for Fortify and Unify premature batter failure was conducted of the Food and Drug Administration's Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience Database (MAUDE). These findings were supplemented with information provided by St. Jude Medical. Premature battery failure for 2 Fortify ICDs in our practice were attributed to the presence of lithium clusters near the cathode, causing a short circuit and high current drain. The prevalence of this mechanism of premature battery failure was 0.6% in our practice. A MAUDE search identified 39 cases of Fortify (30) and Unify (9) premature battery depletion confirmed by the manufacturer, representing a 0.03% prevalence. Four additional Fortify and 2 Unify cases were identified in MAUDE as suspected premature battery depletion, but in these cases the pulse generator was not returned to the manufacturer for evaluation. St. Jude Medical identified 10 cases of premature battery failure due to lithium clusters in Fortify devices (9) and Unify devices (1), representing a 0.004% prevalence. The deposition of lithium clusters near the cathode is a novel mechanism of premature battery failure. The prevalence of this problem is unknown. Providers should be aware of this mechanism for patient management. Copyright © 2014 Heart Rhythm Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Failure mode and effects analysis of skin electronic brachytherapy using Esteya® unit

PubMed Central

Bautista-Ballesteros, Juan Antonio; Bonaque, Jorge; Celada, Francisco; Lliso, Françoise; Carmona, Vicente; Gimeno-Olmos, Jose; Ouhib, Zoubir; Rosello, Joan; Perez-Calatayud, Jose

2016-01-01

Purpose Esteya® (Nucletron, an Elekta company, Elekta AB, Stockholm, Sweden) is an electronic brachytherapy device used for skin cancer lesion treatment. In order to establish an adequate level of quality of treatment, a risk analysis of the Esteya treatment process has been done, following the methodology proposed by the TG-100 guidelines of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM). Material and methods A multidisciplinary team familiar with the treatment process was formed. This team developed a process map (PM) outlining the stages, through which a patient passed when subjected to the Esteya treatment. They identified potential failure modes (FM) and each individual FM was assessed for the severity (S), frequency of occurrence (O), and lack of detection (D). A list of existing quality management tools was developed and the FMs were consensually reevaluated. Finally, the FMs were ranked according to their risk priority number (RPN) and their S. Results 146 FMs were identified, 106 of which had RPN ≥ 50 and 30 had S ≥ 7. After introducing the quality management tools, only 21 FMs had RPN ≥ 50. The importance of ensuring contact between the applicator and the surface of the patient’s skin was emphasized, so the setup was reviewed by a second individual before each treatment session with periodic quality control to ensure stability of the applicator pressure. Some of the essential quality management tools are already being implemented in the installation are the simple templates for reproducible positioning of skin applicators, that help marking the treatment area and positioning of X-ray tube. Conclusions New quality management tools have been established as a result of the application of the failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) treatment. However, periodic update of the FMEA process is necessary, since clinical experience has suggested occurring of further new possible potential failure modes. PMID:28115958

The Effects of Oxidation Layer, Temperature, and Stress on Tin Whisker Growth: A Short Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahim, Z.; Salleh, M. A. A.; Khor, C. Y.

2018-03-01

In order to reduce the Tin (Sn) whisker growth phenomenon in solder alloys, the researcher all the world has studied the factor of this behaviour. However, this phenomenon still hunted the electronic devices and industries. The whiskers growth were able to cause the electrical short, which would lead to the catastrophic such as plane crush, the failure of heart pacemaker, and the lost satellite connection. This article focuses on the three factors that influence the whiskers growth in solder alloys which is stress, oxidation layer and temperature. This findings were allowed the researchers to develop various method on how to reduce the growth of the Sn whiskers.

78 FR 56245 - Certain Wireless Consumer Electronics Devices and Components Thereof; Notice of Request for...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-12

... Electronics Devices and Components Thereof; Notice of Request for Statements on the Public Interest AGENCY: U... wireless consumer electronics devices and components thereof imported by respondents Acer, Inc. of Taipei... Communications, Inc. of San Diego, California; LG Electronics, Inc. of Seoul, Korea; LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc...

Use of a vessel sealant device for cystic duct ligation in the dog.

PubMed

Marvel, Sarah; Monnet, Eric

2014-11-01

To compare a vessel sealant device to hemostatic clips for cystic duct ligation in a canine cadaveric model. Experimental. Hepatobiliary systems were collected from normal dogs. A microtip pressure transducer was inserted into the common bile duct and a 20-24 g intravenous catheter was placed in a hepatic duct. The cystic duct was ligated with 1 of 3 techniques: vessel sealant device (VSD), 10 mm medium Endoclips™, or 10 mm large Endoclips™ with 6 specimens in each group. Methylene blue was infused until failure, which was recorded as seal/clip failure or retrograde movement of methylene blue into the liver. Mean failure pressure of the medium endoclip group was significantly lower than the large endoclip group (P = .014). There was no difference between the failure pressure of the VSD group and the medium and large endoclip groups (P = .097, P = .34, respectively). Failure by leakage at the cut surface of the cystic duct occurred in 2 specimens in the medium endoclip group while all others failed by retrograde flow of the methylene blue through the hepatic ducts. The vessel sealant device appears comparable to large endoclips for closure of the cystic duct in an acute cadaveric model, while medium endoclips may not fully compress or span the diameter of a cystic duct in large breed dogs and leak at lower pressures. © Copyright 2014 by The American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

From Shuttle Main Engine to the Human Heart: A Presentation to the Federal Lab Consortium for Technology Transfer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fogarty, Jennifer A.

2010-01-01

A NASA engineer received a heart transplant performed by Drs. DeBakey and Noon after suffering a serious heart attack. 6 months later that engineer returned to work at NASA determined to use space technology to help people with heart disease. A relationship between NASA and Drs. DeBakey and Noon was formed and the group worked to develop a low cost, low power implantable ventricular assist device (VAD). NASA patented the method to reduce pumping damage to red blood cells and the design of a continuous flow heart pump (#5,678,306 and #5,947,892). The technology and methodology were licensed exclusively to MicroMed Technology, Inc.. In late 1998 MicroMed received international quality and electronic certifications and began clinical trials in Europe. Ventricular assist devices were developed to bridge the gap between heart failure and transplant. Early devices were cumbersome, damaged red blood cells, and increased the risk of developing dangerous blood clots. Application emerged from NASA turbopump technology and computational fluid dynamics analysis capabilities. To develop the high performance required of the Space Shuttle main engines, NASA pushed the state of the art in the technology of turbopump design. NASA supercomputers and computational fluid dynamics software developed for use in the modeling analysis of fuel and oxidizer flow through rocket engines was used in the miniaturization and optimization of a very small heart pump. Approximately 5 million people worldwide suffer from chronic heart failure at a cost of 40 billion dollars In the US, more than 5000 people are on the transplant list and less than 3000 transplants are performed each year due to the lack of donors. The success of ventricular assist devices has led to an application as a therapeutic destination as well as a bridge to transplant. This success has been attributed to smaller size, improved efficiency, and reduced complications such as the formation of blood clots and infection.

CIRSE Vascular Closure Device Registry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Reekers, Jim A., E-mail: j.a.reekers@amc.uva.nl; Mueller-Huelsbeck, Stefan; Libicher, Martin

2011-02-15

Purpose: Vascular closure devices are routinely used after many vascular interventional radiology procedures. However, there have been no major multicenter studies to assess the safety and effectiveness of the routine use of closure devices in interventional radiology. Methods: The CIRSE registry of closure devices with an anchor and a plug started in January 2009 and ended in August 2009. A total of 1,107 patients were included in the registry. Results: Deployment success was 97.2%. Deployment failure specified to access type was 8.8% [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 5.0-14.5] for antegrade access and 1.8% (95% CI 1.1-2.9) for retrograde access (Pmore » = 0.001). There was no difference in deployment failure related to local PVD at the access site. Calcification was a reason for deployment failure in only <0.5% of patients. Postdeployment bleeding occurred in 6.4%, and most these (51.5%) could be managed with light manual compression. During follow-up, other device-related complications were reported in 1.3%: seven false aneurysms, three hematoma >5.9 cm, and two vessel occlusions. Conclusion: The conclusion of this registry of closure devices with an anchor and a plug is that the use of this device in interventional radiology procedures is safe, with a low incidence of serious access site complications. There seems to be no difference in complications between antegrade and retrograde access and other parameters.« less

CIRSE Vascular Closure Device Registry

PubMed Central

Müller-Hülsbeck, Stefan; Libicher, Martin; Atar, Eli; Trentmann, Jens; Goffette, Pierre; Borggrefe, Jan; Zeleňák, Kamil; Hooijboer, Pieter; Belli, Anna-Maria

2010-01-01

Purpose Vascular closure devices are routinely used after many vascular interventional radiology procedures. However, there have been no major multicenter studies to assess the safety and effectiveness of the routine use of closure devices in interventional radiology. Methods The CIRSE registry of closure devices with an anchor and a plug started in January 2009 and ended in August 2009. A total of 1,107 patients were included in the registry. Results Deployment success was 97.2%. Deployment failure specified to access type was 8.8% [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 5.0–14.5] for antegrade access and 1.8% (95% CI 1.1–2.9) for retrograde access (P = 0.001). There was no difference in deployment failure related to local PVD at the access site. Calcification was a reason for deployment failure in only <0.5% of patients. Postdeployment bleeding occurred in 6.4%, and most these (51.5%) could be managed with light manual compression. During follow-up, other device-related complications were reported in 1.3%: seven false aneurysms, three hematoma >5.9 cm, and two vessel occlusions. Conclusion The conclusion of this registry of closure devices with an anchor and a plug is that the use of this device in interventional radiology procedures is safe, with a low incidence of serious access site complications. There seems to be no difference in complications between antegrade and retrograde access and other parameters. PMID:20981425

Electron beam directed energy device and methods of using same

DOEpatents

Retsky, Michael W.

2007-10-16

A method and apparatus is disclosed for an electron beam directed energy device. The device consists of an electron gun with one or more electron beams. The device includes one or more accelerating plates with holes aligned for beam passage. The plates may be flat or preferably shaped to direct each electron beam to exit the electron gun at a predetermined orientation. In one preferred application, the device is located in outer space with individual beams that are directed to focus at a distant target to be used to impact and destroy missiles. The aimings of the separate beams are designed to overcome Coulomb repulsion. A method is also presented for directing the beams to a target considering the variable terrestrial magnetic field. In another preferred application, the electron beam is directed into the ground to produce a subsurface x-ray source to locate and/or destroy buried or otherwise hidden objects including explosive devices.

A Combination of Boron Nitride Nanotubes and Cellulose Nanofibers for the Preparation of a Nanocomposite with High Thermal Conductivity.

PubMed

Zeng, Xiaoliang; Sun, Jiajia; Yao, Yimin; Sun, Rong; Xu, Jian-Bin; Wong, Ching-Ping

2017-05-23

With the current development of modern electronics toward miniaturization, high-degree integration and multifunctionalization, considerable heat is accumulated, which results in the thermal failure or even explosion of modern electronics. The thermal conductivity of materials has thus attracted much attention in modern electronics. Although polymer composites with enhanced thermal conductivity are expected to address this issue, achieving higher thermal conductivity (above 10 W m -1 K -1 ) at filler loadings below 50.0 wt % remains challenging. Here, we report a nanocomposite consisting of boron nitride nanotubes and cellulose nanofibers that exhibits high thermal conductivity (21.39 W m -1 K -1 ) at 25.0 wt % boron nitride nanotubes. Such high thermal conductivity is attributed to the high intrinsic thermal conductivity of boron nitride nanotubes and cellulose nanofibers, the one-dimensional structure of boron nitride nanotubes, and the reduced interfacial thermal resistance due to the strong interaction between the boron nitride nanotubes and cellulose nanofibers. Using the as-prepared nanocomposite as a flexible printed circuit board, we demonstrate its potential usefulness in electronic device-cooling applications. This thermally conductive nanocomposite has promising applications in thermal interface materials, printed circuit boards or organic substrates in electronics and could supplement conventional polymer-based materials.

Encapsulation methods for organic electrical devices

DOEpatents

Blum, Yigal D.; Chu, William Siu-Keung; MacQueen, David Brent; Shi, Yijian

2013-06-18

The disclosure provides methods and materials suitable for use as encapsulation barriers in electronic devices. In one embodiment, for example, there is provided an electroluminescent device or other electronic device encapsulated by alternating layers of a silicon-containing bonding material and a ceramic material. The encapsulation methods provide, for example, electronic devices with increased stability and shelf-life. The invention is useful, for example, in the field of microelectronic devices.

14 CFR 29.687 - Spring devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Spring devices. 29.687 Section 29.687... STANDARDS: TRANSPORT CATEGORY ROTORCRAFT Design and Construction Control Systems § 29.687 Spring devices. (a) Each control system spring device whose failure could cause flutter or other unsafe characteristics...

14 CFR 29.687 - Spring devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Spring devices. 29.687 Section 29.687... STANDARDS: TRANSPORT CATEGORY ROTORCRAFT Design and Construction Control Systems § 29.687 Spring devices. (a) Each control system spring device whose failure could cause flutter or other unsafe characteristics...

14 CFR 29.687 - Spring devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Spring devices. 29.687 Section 29.687... STANDARDS: TRANSPORT CATEGORY ROTORCRAFT Design and Construction Control Systems § 29.687 Spring devices. (a) Each control system spring device whose failure could cause flutter or other unsafe characteristics...

14 CFR 27.687 - Spring devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Spring devices. 27.687 Section 27.687... STANDARDS: NORMAL CATEGORY ROTORCRAFT Design and Construction Control Systems § 27.687 Spring devices. (a) Each control system spring device whose failure could cause flutter or other unsafe characteristics...

14 CFR 27.687 - Spring devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Spring devices. 27.687 Section 27.687... STANDARDS: NORMAL CATEGORY ROTORCRAFT Design and Construction Control Systems § 27.687 Spring devices. (a) Each control system spring device whose failure could cause flutter or other unsafe characteristics...

14 CFR 27.687 - Spring devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Spring devices. 27.687 Section 27.687... STANDARDS: NORMAL CATEGORY ROTORCRAFT Design and Construction Control Systems § 27.687 Spring devices. (a) Each control system spring device whose failure could cause flutter or other unsafe characteristics...

14 CFR 29.687 - Spring devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Spring devices. 29.687 Section 29.687... STANDARDS: TRANSPORT CATEGORY ROTORCRAFT Design and Construction Control Systems § 29.687 Spring devices. (a) Each control system spring device whose failure could cause flutter or other unsafe characteristics...

14 CFR 27.687 - Spring devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Spring devices. 27.687 Section 27.687... STANDARDS: NORMAL CATEGORY ROTORCRAFT Design and Construction Control Systems § 27.687 Spring devices. (a) Each control system spring device whose failure could cause flutter or other unsafe characteristics...

Stochastic Model of Clogging in a Microfluidic Cell Sorter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fai, Thomas; Rycroft, Chris

2016-11-01

Microfluidic devices for sorting cells by deformability show promise for various medical purposes, e.g. detecting sickle cell anemia and circulating tumor cells. One class of such devices consists of a two-dimensional array of narrow channels, each column containing several identical channels in parallel. Cells are driven through the device by an applied pressure or flow rate. Such devices allows for many cells to be sorted simultaneously, but cells eventually clog individual channels and change the device properties in an unpredictable manner. In this talk, we propose a stochastic model for the failure of such microfluidic devices by clogging and present preliminary theoretical and computational results. The model can be recast as an ODE that exhibits finite time blow-up under certain conditions. The failure time distribution is investigated analytically in certain limiting cases, and more realistic versions of the model are solved by computer simulation.

Scanning electron microscope fractography in failure analysis of steels

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wouters, R.; Froyen, L.

1996-04-01

For many failure cases, macroscopic examination of the fracture surface permits discrimination of fatigue fractures from overload fractures. For clarifying fatigue fractures, the practical significance of microfractography is limited to an investigation of the crack initiation areas. Scanning electron microscopy is successfully used in tracing local material abnormalities that act as fatigue crack initiators. The task for the scanning electron microscope, however, is much more substantial in failure analysis of overload fractures, especially for steels. By revealing specific fractographic characteristics, complemented by information about the material and the loading conditions, scanning electron microscopy provides a strong indication of the probablemore » cause of failure. A complete dimple fracture is indicative of acceptable bulk material properties; overloading, by subdimensioning or excessive external loading, has to be verified. The presence of cleavage fracture makes the material properties questionable if external conditions causing embrittlement are absent. Intergranular brittle fracture requires verification of grain-boundary weakening conditions--a sensitized structure, whether or not combined with a local stress state or a specific environment. The role of scanning electron microscopy in failure analysis is illustrated by case histories of the aforementioned fracture types.« less

A Simple and Scalable Fabrication Method for Organic Electronic Devices on Textiles.

PubMed

Ismailov, Usein; Ismailova, Esma; Takamatsu, Seiichi

2017-03-13

Today, wearable electronics devices combine a large variety of functional, stretchable, and flexible technologies. However, in many cases, these devices cannot be worn under everyday conditions. Therefore, textiles are commonly considered the best substrate to accommodate electronic devices in wearable use. In this paper, we describe how to selectively pattern organic electroactive materials on textiles from a solution in an easy and scalable manner. This versatile deposition technique enables the fabrication of wearable organic electronic devices on clothes.

Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation with Concomitant Aortic Valve and Ascending Aortic Replacement

PubMed Central

Panholzer, Bernd; Cremer, Jochen; Haneya, Assad

2018-01-01

Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is nowadays a routine therapy for patients with advanced heart failure. We present the case of a 74-year-old male patient who was admitted to our center with terminal heart failure in dilated cardiomyopathy and ascending aortic aneurysm with aortic valve regurgitation. The LVAD implantation with simultaneous aortic valve and supracoronary ascending aortic replacement was successfully performed. PMID:29552039

Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation with Concomitant Aortic Valve and Ascending Aortic Replacement.

PubMed

Huenges, Katharina; Panholzer, Bernd; Cremer, Jochen; Haneya, Assad

2018-01-01

Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is nowadays a routine therapy for patients with advanced heart failure. We present the case of a 74-year-old male patient who was admitted to our center with terminal heart failure in dilated cardiomyopathy and ascending aortic aneurysm with aortic valve regurgitation. The LVAD implantation with simultaneous aortic valve and supracoronary ascending aortic replacement was successfully performed.

VHSIC/VHSIC-Like Reliability Prediction Modeling

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-10-01

prediction would require ’ kowledge of event statistics as well as device robustness. Ii1 Additionally, although this is primarily a theoretical, bottom...Degradation in Section 5.3 P = Power PDIP = Plastic DIP P(f) = Probability of Failure due to EOS or ESD P(flc) = Probability of Failure given Contact from an...the results of those stresses: Device Stress Part Number Power Dissipation Manufacturer Test Type Part Description Junction Teniperatune Package Type

Challenges for single molecule electronic devices with nanographene and organic molecules. Do single molecules offer potential as elements of electronic devices in the next generation?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Enoki, Toshiaki; Kiguchi, Manabu

2018-03-01

Interest in utilizing organic molecules to fabricate electronic materials has existed ever since organic (molecular) semiconductors were first discovered in the 1950s. Since then, scientists have devoted serious effort to the creation of various molecule-based electronic systems, such as molecular metals and molecular superconductors. Single-molecule electronics and the associated basic science have emerged over the past two decades and provided hope for the development of highly integrated molecule-based electronic devices in the future (after the Si-based technology era has ended). Here, nanographenes (nano-sized graphene) with atomically precise structures are among the most promising molecules that can be utilized for electronic/spintronic devices. To manipulate single small molecules for an electronic device, a single molecular junction has been developed. It is a powerful tool that allows even small molecules to be utilized. External electric, magnetic, chemical, and mechanical perturbations can change the physical and chemical properties of molecules in a way that is different from bulk materials. Therefore, the various functionalities of molecules, along with changes induced by external perturbations, allows us to create electronic devices that we cannot create using current top-down Si-based technology. Future challenges that involve the incorporation of condensed matter physics, quantum chemistry calculations, organic synthetic chemistry, and electronic device engineering are expected to open a new era in single-molecule device electronic technology.

77 FR 38829 - Certain Electronic Imaging Devices; Institution of Investigation

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-29

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation No. 337-TA-850] Certain Electronic Imaging Devices... States after importation of certain electronic imaging devices by reason of infringement of certain....usitc.gov . The public record for this investigation may be viewed on the Commission's electronic docket...

Healing of voids in the aluminum metallization of integrated circuit chips

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cuddihy, Edward F.; Lawton, Russell A.; Gavin, Thomas R.

1990-01-01

The thermal stability of GaAs modulation-doped field effect transistors (MODFETs) is evaluated in order to identify failure mechanisms and validate the reliability of these devices. The transistors were exposed to thermal step-stress and characterized at ambient temperatures to indicate device reliability, especially that of the transistor ohmic contacts with and without molybdenum diffusion barriers. The devices without molybdenum exhibited important transconductance deterioration. MODFETs with molybdenum diffusion barriers were tolerant to temperatures above 300 C. This tolerance indicates that thermally activated failure mechanisms are slow at operational temperatures. Therefore, high-reliability MODFET-based circuits are possible.

77 FR 60720 - Certain Electronic Devices, Including Wireless Commmunication Devices, Portable Music and Data...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-04

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation No. 337-TA-794] Certain Electronic Devices, Including Wireless Commmunication Devices, Portable Music and Data Processing Devices, and Tablet Computers... communication devices, portable music and data processing devices, and tablet computers, imported by Apple Inc...

The effect of filler parameters on the healing of thermal conductivity and mechanical properties of a thermal interface material based on a self-healable organic-inorganic polymer matrix

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhong, Nan; Garcia, Santiago J.; van der Zwaag, Sybrand

2016-08-01

Thermal interface materials (TIMs) are widely used in all kinds of electronic devices to handle the heat dissipation and the mechanical anchoring of the heat producing component. The aging of TIMs may lead to delamination and internal crack formation causing a loss of heat transfer and mechanical integrity both leading to premature device failure. In the present work, a novel TIM system based on a self-healing organic-inorganic polymer matrix filled with spherical glass beads is presented which is capable of healing both the thermal conductivity and the mechanical properties upon thermal activation. The effect of particle volume concentration (PVC) and particle size on tensile strength and thermal conductivity healing behavior is investigated. The results show that a higher PVC increases the mechanical property but decreases mechanical healing. For the same PVC, bigger particles lead to lower mechanical properties but higher thermal conductivities and higher mechanical healing efficiencies.

A Tamper-Resistant and Portable Healthcare Folder

PubMed Central

Anciaux, Nicolas; Berthelot, Morgane; Braconnier, Laurent; Bouganim, Luc; De la Blache, Martine; Gardarin, Georges; Kesmarszky, Philippe; Lartigue, Sophie; Navarre, Jean-François; Pucheral, Philippe; Vandewalle, Jean-Jacques; Zeitouni, Karine

2008-01-01

Electronic health record (EHR) projects have been launched in most developed countries to increase the quality of healthcare while decreasing its cost. The benefits provided by centralizing the healthcare information in database systems are unquestionable in terms of information quality, availability, and protection against failure. Yet, patients are reluctant to give to a distant server the control over highly sensitive data (e.g., data revealing a severe or shameful disease). This paper capitalizes on a new hardware portable device, associating the security of a smart card to the storage capacity of a USB key, to give back to the patient the control over his medical data. This paper shows how this device can complement a traditional EHR server to (1) protect and share highly sensitive data among trusted parties and (2) provide a seamless access to the data even in disconnected mode. The proposed architecture is experimented in the context of a medicosocial network providing medical care and social services at home for elderly people. PMID:18615200

Efficient Actor Recovery Paradigm for Wireless Sensor and Actor Networks

PubMed Central

Mahjoub, Reem K.; Elleithy, Khaled

2017-01-01

The actor nodes are the spine of wireless sensor and actor networks (WSANs) that collaborate to perform a specific task in an unverified and uneven environment. Thus, there is a possibility of high failure rate in such unfriendly scenarios due to several factors such as power consumption of devices, electronic circuit failure, software errors in nodes or physical impairment of the actor nodes and inter-actor connectivity problem. Therefore, it is extremely important to discover the failure of a cut-vertex actor and network-disjoint in order to improve the Quality-of-Service (QoS). In this paper, we propose an Efficient Actor Recovery (EAR) paradigm to guarantee the contention-free traffic-forwarding capacity. The EAR paradigm consists of a Node Monitoring and Critical Node Detection (NMCND) algorithm that monitors the activities of the nodes to determine the critical node. In addition, it replaces the critical node with backup node prior to complete node-failure which helps balancing the network performance. The packets are handled using Network Integration and Message Forwarding (NIMF) algorithm that determines the source of forwarding the packets; either from actor or sensor. This decision-making capability of the algorithm controls the packet forwarding rate to maintain the network for a longer time. Furthermore, for handling the proper routing strategy, Priority-Based Routing for Node Failure Avoidance (PRNFA) algorithm is deployed to decide the priority of the packets to be forwarded based on the significance of information available in the packet. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed EAR paradigm, the proposed algorithms were tested using OMNET++ simulation. PMID:28420102

Efficient Actor Recovery Paradigm for Wireless Sensor and Actor Networks.

PubMed

Mahjoub, Reem K; Elleithy, Khaled

2017-04-14

The actor nodes are the spine of wireless sensor and actor networks (WSANs) that collaborate to perform a specific task in an unverified and uneven environment. Thus, there is a possibility of high failure rate in such unfriendly scenarios due to several factors such as power consumption of devices, electronic circuit failure, software errors in nodes or physical impairment of the actor nodes and inter-actor connectivity problem. Therefore, it is extremely important to discover the failure of a cut-vertex actor and network-disjoint in order to improve the Quality-of-Service (QoS). In this paper, we propose an Efficient Actor Recovery (EAR) paradigm to guarantee the contention-free traffic-forwarding capacity. The EAR paradigm consists of a Node Monitoring and Critical Node Detection (NMCND) algorithm that monitors the activities of the nodes to determine the critical node. In addition, it replaces the critical node with backup node prior to complete node-failure which helps balancing the network performance. The packets are handled using Network Integration and Message Forwarding (NIMF) algorithm that determines the source of forwarding the packets; either from actor or sensor. This decision-making capability of the algorithm controls the packet forwarding rate to maintain the network for a longer time. Furthermore, for handling the proper routing strategy, Priority-Based Routing for Node Failure Avoidance (PRNFA) algorithm is deployed to decide the priority of the packets to be forwarded based on the significance of information available in the packet. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed EAR paradigm, the proposed algorithms were tested using OMNET++ simulation.

The Influence of Sn Orientation on the Electromigration of Idealized Lead-free Interconnects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Linares, Xioranny

As conventional lead solders are being replaced by Pb-free solders in electronic devices, the reliability of solder joints in integrated circuits (ICs) has become a high concern. Due to the miniaturization of ICs and consequently solder joints, the current density through the solder interconnects has increased causing electrical damage known as electromigration. Electromigration, atomic and mass migration due to high electron currents, is one of the most urgent reliability issues delaying the implementation of Pb-free solder materials in electronic devices. The research on Pb-free solders has mainly focused on the qualitative understanding of failure by electromigration. There has been little progress however, on the quantitative analysis of electromigration because of the lack of available material parameters, such as the effective charge, (z*), the driving force for electromigration. The research herein uses idealized interconnects to measure the z* of electromigration of Cu in Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC305) alloy under different experimental conditions. Planar SAC 305 interconnects were sandwiched between two Cu pads and subject to uniaxial current. The crystallographic orientation of Sn in these samples were characterized with electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and wavelength dispersive spectroscopy (WDS) before and after electromigration testing. Results indicate that samples with the c-axis aligned perpendicular to current flow, polycrystalline, and those with a diffusion barrier on the cathode side all inhibit the growth of intermetallic compounds (IMC). The effective charge values of Cu in SAC 305 under the different conditions tested were quantified for the first time and included in this dissertation. The following research is expected to help verify and improve the electromigration model and identify the desirable conditions to inhibit damage by electromigration in Pb-free solder joints.

Advanced technique for ultra-thin residue inspection with sub-10nm thickness using high-energy back-scattered electrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Jin-Hee

2018-03-01

Recently the aspect ratio of capacitor and via hole of memory semiconductor device has been dramatically increasing in order to store more information in a limited area. A small amount of remained residues after etch process on the bottom of the high aspect ratio structure can make a critical failure in device operation. Back-scattered electrons (BSE) are mainly used for inspecting the defect located at the bottom of the high aspect ratio structure or analyzing the overlay of the multi-layer structure because these electrons have a high linearity with the direction of emission and a high kinetic energy above 50eV. However, there is a limitation on that it cannot detect ultra-thin residue material having a thickness of several nanometers because the surface sensitivity is extremely low. We studied the characteristics of BSE spectra using Monte Carlo simulations for several cases which the high aspect ratio structures have extreme microscopic residues. Based on the assumption that most of the electrons emitted without energy loss are localized on the surface, we selected the detection energy window which has a range of 20eV below the maximum energy of the BSE. This window section is named as the high-energy BSE region. As a result of comparing the detection sensitivity of the conventional and the high-energy BSE detection mode, we found that the detection sensitivity for the residuals which have 2nm thickness is improved by more than 10 times in the high-energy BSE mode. This BSE technology is a new inspection method that can greatly be improved the inspection sensitivity for the ultra-thin residual material presented in the high aspect ratio structure, and its application will be expanded.

Biventricular support with the Jarvik 2000 axial flow pump: a feasibility study.

PubMed

Radovancevic, Branislav; Gregoric, Igor D; Tamez, Daniel; Vrtovec, Bojan; Tuzun, Egemen; Chee, Hyun Keun; Moore, Sheila; Jarvik, Robert K; Frazier, O H

2003-01-01

Patients with congestive heart failure who are supported with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) may experience right ventricular dysfunction or failure that requires support with a right ventricular assist device (RVAD). To determine the feasibility of using a clinically available axial flow ventricular assist device as an RVAD, we implanted Jarvik 2000 pumps in the left ventricle and right atrium of two Corriente crossbred calves (approximately 100 kg each) by way of a left thoracotomy and then analyzed the hemodynamic effects in the mechanically fibrillated heart at various LVAD and RVAD speeds. Right atrial implantation of the device required no modification of either the device or the surgical technique used for left ventricular implantation. Satisfactory biventricular support was achieved during fibrillation as evidenced by an increase in mean aortic pressure from 34 mm Hg with the pumps off to 78 mm Hg with the pumps generating a flow rate of 4.8 L/min. These results indicate that the Jarvik 2000 pump, which can provide chronic circulatory support and can be powered by external batteries, is a feasible option for right ventricular support after LVAD implantation and is capable of completely supporting the circulation in patients with global heart failure.

49 CFR 220.311 - Railroad operating employees in deadhead status.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

...) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RAILROAD COMMUNICATIONS Electronic Devices... controlling locomotive may use an electronic device only if the employee is not using the device in such a way... controlling locomotive must have each electronic device turned off with any earpiece removed from the ear— (1...

77 FR 44671 - Certain Wireless Consumer Electronics Devices and Components Thereof; Notice of Receipt of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-30

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Docket No. 2904] Certain Wireless Consumer Electronics Devices and.... International Trade Commission has received a complaint entitled Certain Wireless Consumer Electronics Devices... importation, and the sale within the United States after importation of certain wireless consumer electronics...

78 FR 23593 - Certain Mobile Electronic Devices Incorporating Haptics; Termination of Investigation

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-19

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation No. 337-TA-834] Certain Mobile Electronic Devices... this investigation may be viewed on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at http://edis.usitc.gov... mobile electronic devices incorporating haptics that infringe certain claims of six Immersion patents. 77...

Institutional Cost Comparison Between Heart Transplants and Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantations.

PubMed

Chimanji, Neeraj; Kilic, Arman; Hasan, Ayesha; Higgins, Robert S D; Whitson, Bryan A; Kilic, Ahmet

2016-12-01

Increased numbers of end-stage heart failure patients and improved technology have led to increased use of left ventricular assist devices as a viable alternative to heart transplants. Given the current economic climate, we compared costs of heart transplant versus device placement. Medical records of patients who received heart transplants or left ventricular assist devices were cross-referenced with institutional financial data. The device cohort was limited to those receiving durable (not temporary) devices. Index admission, 1-year readmission, and overall 1-year charges were compared using standard statistical methods. Of 184 identified patients with end-stage heart failure surgical therapy, 121 received left ventricular assist devices, 43 had heart transplants, and 20 received left ventricular assist devices as bridge to heart transplant; these latter patients were excluded from our analyses. At index admission, mean charges were $863 433 ± $398 427 for device patients and $725 877 ± $488 685 for transplant patients (P = .05). One-year mean readmission rates were similar (4.65/transplant patient and 4.53/device patient; P = .94), with corresponding 1-year survival rates of 87.8% and 78.0% (P = .04). Total readmission charges during year 1 were $169 732 ± $242 366 for device patients and $201 682 ± $297 565 for transplant patients (P = .08), with corresponding overall charges at 1 year of $1 029 732 ± $450 498 and $927 559 ± $562 404 (P = .49). During the first year, heart transplant and left ventricular assist device placement have similar costs. Initial index admission costs seem to favor heart transplant, with device pump costs accounting for some of the difference. From a 1-year survival perspective, heart transplant may be more effective; however, with lack of suitable donors, left ventricular assist devices are valuable in the armamentarium of advanced heart failure surgical options.

Electroluminescent devices formed using semiconductor nanocrystals as an electron transport media and method of making such electroluminescent devices

DOEpatents

Alivisatos, A. Paul; Colvin, Vickie

1996-01-01

An electroluminescent device is described, as well as a method of making same, wherein the device is characterized by a semiconductor nanocrystal electron transport layer capable of emitting visible light in response to a voltage applied to the device. The wavelength of the light emitted by the device may be changed by changing either the size or the type of semiconductor nanocrystals used in forming the electron transport layer. In a preferred embodiment the device is further characterized by the capability of emitting visible light of varying wavelengths in response to changes in the voltage applied to the device. The device comprises a hole processing structure capable of injecting and transporting holes, and usually comprising a hole injecting layer and a hole transporting layer; an electron transport layer in contact with the hole processing structure and comprising one or more layers of semiconductor nanocrystals; and an electron injecting layer in contact with the electron transport layer for injecting electrons into the electron transport layer. The capability of emitting visible light of various wavelengths is principally based on the variations in voltage applied thereto, but the type of semiconductor nanocrystals used and the size of the semiconductor nanocrystals in the layers of semiconductor nanometer crystals may also play a role in color change, in combination with the change in voltage.

[Analysis of telemetry, on-line and non-telemetry data for characterization of the physical activity of patients with heart failure].

PubMed

Melczer, Csaba; Melczer, László; Goják, Ilona; Kónyi, Attila; Szabados, Sándor; Raposa, László Bence; Oláh, András; Ács, Pongrác

2017-09-01

Several studies have demonstrated that the prevalence of heart disease can be accounted for between 0.4 and 2% in developed countries. The present study aimed to use the PA% of the telemetry data to estimate the 6-minute walk test result. A total of seventeen patients with heart disease; 3 females and 14 males; age: 57.35 yrs ± 9.54; body mass 98.71 ± 9.89 kg; average BMI 36.69 ± 3.67 were recruited into the study. Using the two sets of values describing physical performance, linear regression was calculated providing a mathematical equation, thus, the Physical Activity % value is used to estimate the distance traveled over a 6-minute walk test. On further data analysis, we have come to the conclusion that the distance walked during the six-minute-long test may be measured by PA% from the data of CRT device. With our method, based on the values received from the physical activity sensor implanted into the resynchronisation devices, changes in patients' health status could be monitored telemetrically with the assistance from the implanted electronic device. Orv Hetil. 2017; 158(35): 1390-1395.

Experimental study of interfacial fracture toughness in a SiN(x)/PMMA barrier film.

PubMed

Kim, Yongjin; Bulusu, Anuradha; Giordano, Anthony J; Marder, Seth R; Dauskardt, Reinhold; Graham, Samuel

2012-12-01

Organic/inorganic multilayer barrier films play an important role in the semihermetic packaging of organic electronic devices. With the rise in use of flexible organic electronics, there exists the potential for mechanical failure due to the loss of adhesion/cohesion when exposed to harsh environmental operating conditions. Although barrier performance has been the predominant metric for evaluating these encapsulation films, interfacial adhesion between the organic/inorganic barrier films and factors that influence their mechanical strength and reliability has received little attention. In this work, we present the interfacial fracture toughness of a model organic/inorganic multilayer barrier (SiN(x)-PMMA). Data from four point bending (FPB) tests showed that adhesive failure occurred between the SiN(x) and PMMA, and that the adhesion increased from 4.8 to 10 J/m(2) by using a variety of chemical treatments to vary the surface energy at the interface. Moreover, the adhesion strength increased to 28 J/m(2) by creating strong covalent bonds at the interface. Overall, three factors were found to have the greatest impact on the interfacial fracture toughness which were (a) increasing the polar component of the surface energy, (b) creating strong covalent bonds at the organic/inorganic interface, and (c) by increasing the plastic zone size at the crack tip by increasing the thickness of the PMMA layer.

Extended write combining using a write continuation hint flag

DOEpatents

Chen, Dong; Gara, Alan; Heidelberger, Philip; Ohmacht, Martin; Vranas, Pavlos

2013-06-04

A computing apparatus for reducing the amount of processing in a network computing system which includes a network system device of a receiving node for receiving electronic messages comprising data. The electronic messages are transmitted from a sending node. The network system device determines when more data of a specific electronic message is being transmitted. A memory device stores the electronic message data and communicating with the network system device. A memory subsystem communicates with the memory device. The memory subsystem stores a portion of the electronic message when more data of the specific message will be received, and the buffer combines the portion with later received data and moves the data to the memory device for accessible storage.

Electronic devices containing switchably conductive silicon oxides as a switching element and methods for production and use thereof

DOEpatents

Tour, James M.; Yao, Jun; Natelson, Douglas; Zhong, Lin; He, Tao

2015-09-08

In various embodiments, electronic devices containing switchably conductive silicon oxide as a switching element are described herein. The electronic devices are two-terminal devices containing a first electrical contact and a second electrical contact in which at least one of the first electrical contact or the second electrical contact is deposed on a substrate to define a gap region therebetween. A switching layer containing a switchably conductive silicon oxide resides in the gap region between the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact. The electronic devices exhibit hysteretic current versus voltage properties, enabling their use in switching and memory applications. Methods for configuring, operating and constructing the electronic devices are also presented herein.

Electronic devices containing switchably conductive silicon oxides as a switching element and methods for production and use thereof

DOEpatents

Tour, James M; Yao, Jun; Natelson, Douglas; Zhong, Lin; He, Tao

2013-11-26

In various embodiments, electronic devices containing switchably conductive silicon oxide as a switching element are described herein. The electronic devices are two-terminal devices containing a first electrical contact and a second electrical contact in which at least one of the first electrical contact or the second electrical contact is deposed on a substrate to define a gap region therebetween. A switching layer containing a switchably conductive silicon oxide resides in the the gap region between the first electical contact and the second electrical contact. The electronic devices exhibit hysteretic current versus voltage properties, enabling their use in switching and memory applications. Methods for configuring, operating and constructing the electronic devices are also presented herein.

Performance evaluation and comparison of three-terminal energy selective electron devices with different connective ways and filter configurations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Wanli; Zhang, Yanchao; Yang, Zhimin; Chen, Jincan

2018-02-01

Three-terminal energy selective electron (ESE) devices consisting of three electronic reservoirs connected by two energy filters and an electronic conductor with negligible resistance may work as ESE refrigerators and amplifiers. They have three possible connective ways for the electronic conductor and six electronic transmission forms. The configuration of energy filters may be described by the different transmission functions such as the rectangular and Lorentz transmission functions. The ESE devices with three connective ways can be, respectively, regarded as three equivalent hybrid systems composed of an ESE heat engine and an ESE refrigerator/heat pump. With the help of the theory of the ESE devices operated between two electronic reservoirs, the coefficients of performance and cooling rates (heat-pumping rates) of hybrid systems are directly derived. The general performance characteristics of hybrid systems are revealed. The optimal regions of these devices are determined. The performances of the devices with three connective ways of the electronic conductor and two configurations of energy filters are compared in detail. The advantages and disadvantages of each of three-terminal ESE devices are expounded. The results obtained here may provide some guidance for the optimal design and operation of three-terminal ESE devices.

Device therapy in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction-cardiac resynchronization therapy and more.

PubMed

Duncker, D; Veltmann, C

2018-05-09

In patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), optimal medical treatment includes beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors/angiotensinreceptor-neprilysin inhibitors (ARNI), mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, and ivabradine when indicated. In device therapy of HFrEF, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) have been established for many years. CRT is the therapy of choice (class I indication) in symptomatic patients with HFrEF and a broad QRS complex with a left bundle branch block (LBBB) morphology. However, the vast majority of heart failure patients show a narrow QRS complex or a non-LBBB morphology. These patients are not candidates for CRT and alternative electrical therapies such as baroreflex activation therapy (BAT) and cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) may be considered. BAT modulates vegetative dysregulation in heart failure. CCM improves contractility, functional capacity, and symptoms. Although a broad data set is available for BAT and CCM, mortality data are still lacking for both methods. This article provides an overview of the device-based therapeutic options for patients with HFrEF.

Performance Enhancement of Organic Light-Emitting Diodes Using Electron-Injection Materials of Metal Carbonates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shin, Jong-Yeol; Kim, Tae Wan; Kim, Gwi-Yeol; Lee, Su-Min; Shrestha, Bhanu; Hong, Jin-Woong

2016-05-01

Performance of organic light-emitting diodes was investigated depending on the electron-injection materials of metal carbonates (Li2CO3 and Cs2CO3 ); and number of layers. In order to improve the device efficiency, two types of devices were manufactured by using the hole-injection material (Teflon-amorphous fluoropolymer -AF) and electron-injection materials; one is a two-layer reference device ( ITO/Teflon-AF/Alq3/Al ) and the other is a three-layer device (ITO/Teflon-AF/Alq3/metal carbonate/Al). From the results of the efficiency for the devices with hole-injection layer and electron-injection layer, it was found that the electron-injection layer affects the electrical properties of the device more than the hole-injection layer. The external-quantum efficiency for the three-layer device with Li2CO3 and Cs2CO3 layer is improved by approximately six and eight times, respectively, compared with that of the two-layer reference device. It is thought that a use of electron-injection layer increases recombination rate of charge carriers by the active injection of electrons and the blocking of holes.

77 FR 14422 - Certain Consumer Electronics and Display Devices and Products Containing Same; Notice of Receipt...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-09

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [DN 2882] Certain Consumer Electronics and Display Devices and... the U.S. International Trade Commission has received a complaint entitled Certain Consumer Electronics... importation of certain consumer electronics and display devices and products containing same. The complaint...

76 FR 72439 - Certain Consumer Electronics and Display Devices and Products Containing Same; Receipt of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-23

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [DN 2858] Certain Consumer Electronics and Display Devices and.... International Trade Commission has received a complaint entitled In Re Certain Consumer Electronics and Display... importation of certain consumer electronics and display devices and products containing same. The complaint...

49 CFR 220.315 - Operational tests and inspections; further restrictions on use of electronic devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... restrictions on use of electronic devices. 220.315 Section 220.315 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RAILROAD COMMUNICATIONS Electronic Devices § 220.315 Operational tests and inspections; further restrictions on use of electronic...

46 CFR 184.410 - Electronic position fixing devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Electronic position fixing devices. 184.410 Section 184.410 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) SMALL PASSENGER VESSELS (UNDER... Electronic position fixing devices. A vessel on an oceans route must be equipped with an electronic position...

46 CFR 184.410 - Electronic position fixing devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Electronic position fixing devices. 184.410 Section 184.410 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) SMALL PASSENGER VESSELS (UNDER... Electronic position fixing devices. A vessel on an oceans route must be equipped with an electronic position...

46 CFR 184.410 - Electronic position fixing devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Electronic position fixing devices. 184.410 Section 184.410 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) SMALL PASSENGER VESSELS (UNDER... Electronic position fixing devices. A vessel on an oceans route must be equipped with an electronic position...

46 CFR 184.410 - Electronic position fixing devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Electronic position fixing devices. 184.410 Section 184.410 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) SMALL PASSENGER VESSELS (UNDER... Electronic position fixing devices. A vessel on an oceans route must be equipped with an electronic position...

46 CFR 184.410 - Electronic position fixing devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Electronic position fixing devices. 184.410 Section 184.410 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) SMALL PASSENGER VESSELS (UNDER... Electronic position fixing devices. A vessel on an oceans route must be equipped with an electronic position...

Acoustic enhancement for photo detecting devices

DOEpatents

Thundat, Thomas G; Senesac, Lawrence R; Van Neste, Charles W

2013-02-19

Provided are improvements to photo detecting devices and methods for enhancing the sensitivity of photo detecting devices. A photo detecting device generates an electronic signal in response to a received light pulse. An electro-mechanical acoustic resonator, electrically coupled to the photo detecting device, damps the electronic signal and increases the signal noise ratio (SNR) of the electronic signal. Increased photo detector standoff distances and sensitivities will result.

Stuttering

MedlinePlus

... to use over a long period of time. Electronic devices Some people who stutter use electronic devices to help control fluency. For example, one ... in unison with another person. In some people, electronic devices may help improve fluency in a relatively ...

Improving hemodynamics of cardiovascular system under a novel intraventricular assist device support via modeling and simulations.

PubMed

Zhu, Shidong; Luo, Lin; Yang, Bibo; Li, Xinghui; Wang, Xiaohao

2017-12-01

Ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are increasingly recognized for supporting blood circulation in heart failure patients who are non-transplant eligible. Because of its volume, the traditional pulsatile device is not easy to implant intracorporeally. Continuous flow LVADs (CF-LVADs) reduce arterial pulsatility and only offer continuous flow, which is different from physiological flow, and may cause long-term complications in the cardiovascular system. The aim of this study was to design a new pulsatile assist device that overcomes this disadvantage, and to test this device in the cardiovascular system. Firstly, the input and output characteristics of the new device were tested in a simple cardiovascular mock system. A detailed mathematical model was established by fitting the experimental data. Secondly, the model was tested in four pathological cases, and was simulated and coupled with a fifth-order cardiovascular system and a new device model using Matlab software. Using assistance of the new device, we demonstrated that the left ventricle pressure, aortic pressure, and aortic flow of heart failure patients improved to the levels of a healthy individual. Especially, in state IV level heart failure patients, the systolic blood pressure increased from 81.34 mmHg to 132.1 mmHg, whereas the diastolic blood pressure increased from 54.28 mmHg to 78.7 mmHg. Cardiac output increased from 3.21 L/min to 5.16 L/min. The newly-developed assist device not only provided a physiological flow that was similar to healthy individuals, but also effectively improved the ability of the pathological ventricular volume. Finally, the effects of the new device on other hemodynamic parameters are discussed.

Encapsulation methods and dielectric layers for organic electrical devices

DOEpatents

Blum, Yigal D; Chu, William Siu-Keung; MacQueen, David Brent; Shi, Yijan

2013-07-02

The disclosure provides methods and materials suitable for use as encapsulation barriers and dielectric layers in electronic devices. In one embodiment, for example, there is provided an electroluminescent device or other electronic device with a dielectric layer comprising alternating layers of a silicon-containing bonding material and a ceramic material. The methods provide, for example, electronic devices with increased stability and shelf-life. The invention is useful, for example, in the field of microelectronic devices.

Transcatheter Interatrial Shunt Device for the Treatment of Heart Failure: Rationale and Design of the Randomized Trial to REDUCE Elevated Left Atrial Pressure in Heart Failure (REDUCE LAP-HF I).

PubMed

Feldman, Ted; Komtebedde, Jan; Burkhoff, Daniel; Massaro, Joseph; Maurer, Mathew S; Leon, Martin B; Kaye, David; Silvestry, Frank E; Cleland, John G F; Kitzman, Dalane; Kubo, Spencer H; Van Veldhuisen, Dirk J; Kleber, Franz; Trochu, Jean-Noël; Auricchio, Angelo; Gustafsson, Finn; Hasenfuβ, Gerd; Ponikowski, Piotr; Filippatos, Gerasimos; Mauri, Laura; Shah, Sanjiv J

2016-07-01

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), a major public health problem with high morbidity and mortality rates, remains difficult to manage because of a lack of effective treatment options. Although HFpEF is a heterogeneous clinical syndrome, elevated left atrial pressure-either at rest or with exertion-is a common factor among all forms of HFpEF and one of the primary reasons for dyspnea and exercise intolerance in these patients. On the basis of clinical experience with congenital interatrial shunts in mitral stenosis, it has been hypothesized that the creation of a left-to-right interatrial shunt to decompress the left atrium (without compromising left ventricular filling or forward cardiac output) is a rational, nonpharmacological strategy for alleviating symptoms in patients with HFpEF. A novel transcatheter interatrial shunt device has been developed and evaluated in patients with HFpEF in single-arm, nonblinded clinical trials. These studies have demonstrated the safety and potential efficacy of the device. However, a randomized, placebo-controlled evaluation of the device is required to further evaluate its safety and efficacy in patients with HFpEF. In this article, we give the rationale for a therapeutic transcatheter interatrial shunt device in HFpEF, and we describe the design of REDUCE Elevated Left Atrial Pressure in Heart Failure (REDUCE LAP-HF I), the first randomized controlled trial of a device-based therapy to reduce left atrial pressure in HFpEF. URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT02600234. © 2016 American Heart Association, Inc.

[Artificial organs].

PubMed

Raguin, Thibaut; Dupret-Bories, Agnès; Debry, Christian

2017-01-01

Research has been fighting against organ failure and shortage of donations by supplying artificial organs for many years. With the raise of new technologies, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, many organs can benefit of an artificial equivalent: thanks to retinal implants some blind people can visualize stimuli, an artificial heart can be proposed in case of cardiac failure while awaiting for a heart transplant, artificial larynx enables laryngectomy patients to an almost normal life, while the diabetic can get a glycemic self-regulation controlled by smartphones with an artificial device. Dialysis devices become portable, as well as the oxygenation systems for terminal respiratory failure. Bright prospects are being explored or might emerge in a near future. However, the retrospective assessment of putative side effects is not yet sufficient. Finally, the cost of these new devices is significant even if the advent of three dimensional printers may reduce it. © 2017 médecine/sciences – Inserm.

75 FR 34484 - In the Matter of: Certain Portable Electronic Devices and Related Software; Notice of Investigation

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-17

... Devices and Related Software; Notice of Investigation AGENCY: U.S. International Trade Commission. ACTION... of certain portable electronic devices and related software by reason of infringement of certain... after importation of certain portable electronic devices or related software that infringe one or more...

Stripper foil failure modes and cures at the Spallation Neutron Source

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cousineau, Sarah M; Galambos, John D; Kim, Sang-Ho

2011-01-01

The Spallation Neutron Source comprises a 1 GeV, 1.4 MW linear accelerator followed by an accumulator ring and a liquid mercury target. To manage the beam loss caused by the $H^0$ excited states created during the $H^-$ charge exchange injection into the accumulator ring, the stripper foil is located inside one of the chicane dipoles. This has some interesting consequences that were not fully appreciated until the beam power reached about 840 kW. One consequence was sudden failure of the stripper foil system due to convoy electrons stripped from the incoming $H^-$ beam, which circled around to strike the foilmore » bracket and cause bracket failure. Another consequence is that convoy electrons can reflect back up from the electron catcher and strike the foil and bracket. An additional contributor to foil system failure is vacuum breakdown due to the charge developed on the foil by secondary electron emission. In this paper we detail these and other interesting failure mechanisms and describe the improvements we have made to mitigate them.« less

Stripper foil failure modes and cures at the Oak Rdige Spallation Neutron Source

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Plum, M.A.; Raparia, D.; Cousineau, S.M.

2011-03-28

The Oak Ridge Spallation Neutron Source comprises a 1 GeV, 1.5 MW linear accelerator followed by an accumulator ring and a liquid mercury target. To manage the beam loss caused by the H{sup 0} excited states created during the H{sup -} charge-exchange injection into the accumulator ring, the stripper foil is located inside one of the chicane dipoles. This has some interesting consequences that were not fully appreciated until the beam power reached about 840 kW. One consequence was sudden failure of the stripper foil system due to convoy electrons stripped from the incoming H{sup -} beam, which circled aroundmore » to strike the foil bracket and cause bracket failure. Another consequence is that convoy electrons can reflect back up from the electron catcher and strike the foil and bracket. An additional contributor to foil system failure is vacuum breakdown due to the charge developed on the foil by secondary electron emission. In this paper we detail these and other interesting failure mechanisms and describe the improvements we have made to mitigate them.« less

Method for integrating microelectromechanical devices with electronic circuitry

DOEpatents

Barron, Carole C.; Fleming, James G.; Montague, Stephen

1999-01-01

A method is disclosed for integrating one or more microelectromechanical (MEM) devices with electronic circuitry on a common substrate. The MEM device can be fabricated within a substrate cavity and encapsulated with a sacrificial material. This allows the MEM device to be annealed and the substrate planarized prior to forming electronic circuitry on the substrate using a series of standard processing steps. After fabrication of the electronic circuitry, the electronic circuitry can be protected by a two-ply protection layer of titanium nitride (TiN) and tungsten (W) during an etch release process whereby the MEM device is released for operation by etching away a portion of a sacrificial material (e.g. silicon dioxide or a silicate glass) that encapsulates the MEM device. The etch release process is preferably performed using a mixture of hydrofluoric acid (HF) and hydrochloric acid (HCI) which reduces the time for releasing the MEM device compared to use of a buffered oxide etchant. After release of the MEM device, the TiN:W protection layer can be removed with a peroxide-based etchant without damaging the electronic circuitry.

Predicted reliability of aerospace electronics: Application of two advanced probabilistic concepts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suhir, E.

Two advanced probabilistic design-for-reliability (PDfR) concepts are addressed and discussed in application to the prediction, quantification and assurance of the aerospace electronics reliability: 1) Boltzmann-Arrhenius-Zhurkov (BAZ) model, which is an extension of the currently widely used Arrhenius model and, in combination with the exponential law of reliability, enables one to obtain a simple, easy-to-use and physically meaningful formula for the evaluation of the probability of failure (PoF) of a material or a device after the given time in operation at the given temperature and under the given stress (not necessarily mechanical), and 2) Extreme Value Distribution (EVD) technique that can be used to assess the number of repetitive loadings that result in the material/device degradation and eventually lead to its failure by closing, in a step-wise fashion, the gap between the bearing capacity (stress-free activation energy) of the material or the device and the demand (loading). It is shown that the material degradation (aging, damage accumulation, flaw propagation, etc.) can be viewed, when BAZ model is considered, as a Markovian process, and that the BAZ model can be obtained as the ultimate steady-state solution to the well-known Fokker-Planck equation in the theory of Markovian processes. It is shown also that the BAZ model addresses the worst, but a reasonably conservative, situation. It is suggested therefore that the transient period preceding the condition addressed by the steady-state BAZ model need not be accounted for in engineering evaluations. However, when there is an interest in understanding the transient degradation process, the obtained solution to the Fokker-Planck equation can be used for this purpose. As to the EVD concept, it attributes the degradation process to the accumulation of damages caused by a train of repetitive high-level loadings, while loadings of levels that are considerably lower than their extreme values do not contribute- appreciably to the finite lifetime of a material or a device. In our probabilistic risk management (PRM) based analysis we treat the stress-free activation energy (capacity) as a normally distributed random variable, and choose, for the sake of simplicity, the (single-parametric) Rayleigh law as the basic distribution underlying the EVD. The general concepts addressed and discussed are illustrated by numerical examples. It is concluded that the application of the PDfR approach and particularly the above two advanced models should be considered as a natural, physically meaningful, informative, comprehensive, and insightful technique that reflects well the physics underlying the degradation processes in materials, devices and systems. It is the author's belief that they will be widely used in engineering practice, when high reliability is imperative, and the ability to quantify it is highly desirable.

Semiconductor-based, large-area, flexible, electronic devices

DOEpatents

Goyal, Amit [Knoxville, TN

2011-03-15

Novel articles and methods to fabricate the same resulting in flexible, large-area, triaxially textured, single-crystal or single-crystal-like, semiconductor-based, electronic devices are disclosed. Potential applications of resulting articles are in areas of photovoltaic devices, flat-panel displays, thermophotovoltaic devices, ferroelectric devices, light emitting diode devices, computer hard disc drive devices, magnetoresistance based devices, photoluminescence based devices, non-volatile memory devices, dielectric devices, thermoelectric devices and quantum dot laser devices.

Semiconductor-based, large-area, flexible, electronic devices on {110}<100> oriented substrates

DOEpatents

Goyal, Amit

2014-08-05

Novel articles and methods to fabricate the same resulting in flexible, oriented, semiconductor-based, electronic devices on {110}<100> textured substrates are disclosed. Potential applications of resulting articles are in areas of photovoltaic devices, flat-panel displays, thermophotovoltaic devices, ferroelectric devices, light emitting diode devices, computer hard disc drive devices, magnetoresistance based devices, photoluminescence based devices, non-volatile memory devices, dielectric devices, thermoelectric devices and quantum dot laser devices.

[100] or [110] aligned, semiconductor-based, large-area, flexible, electronic devices

DOEpatents

Goyal, Amit

2015-03-24

Novel articles and methods to fabricate the same resulting in flexible, large-area, [100] or [110] textured, semiconductor-based, electronic devices are disclosed. Potential applications of resulting articles are in areas of photovoltaic devices, flat-panel displays, thermophotovoltaic devices, ferroelectric devices, light emitting diode devices, computer hard disc drive devices, magnetoresistance based devices, photoluminescence based devices, non-volatile memory devices, dielectric devices, thermoelectric devices and quantum dot laser devices.

Heart failure patients utilizing an electric home monitor: What effects does heart failure have on their quality of life?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simuel, Gloria J.

Heart Failure continues to be a major public health problem associated with high mortality and morbidity. Heart Failure is the leading cause of hospitalization for persons older than 65 years, has a poor prognosis and is associated with poor quality of life. More than 5.3 million American adults are living with heart failure. Despite maximum medical therapy and frequent hospitalizations to stabilize their condition, one in five heart failure patients die within the first year of diagnosis. Several disease-management programs have been proposed and tested to improve the quality of heart failure care. Studies have shown that hospital admissions and emergency room visits decrease with increased nursing interventions in the home and community setting. An alternative strategy for promoting self-management of heart failure is the use of electronic home monitoring. The purpose of this study was to examine what effects heart failure has on patient's quality of life that had been monitoring on an electronic home monitor longer than 2 months. Twenty-one questionnaires were given to patients utilizing an electronic home monitor by their home health agency nurse. Eleven patients completed the questionnaire. The findings showed that there is some deterioration in quality of life with more association with the physical aspects of life than with the emotional aspects of life, which probably was due to the small sample size. There was no significant difference in readmission rates in patients utilizing an electronic home monitor. Further research is needed with a larger population of patients with chronic heart failure and other chronic diseases which may provide more data, and address issues such as patient compliance with self-care, impact of heart failure on patient's quality of life, functional capacity, and heart failure patient's utilization of the emergency rooms and hospital. Telemonitoring holds promise for improving the self-care abilities of persons with HF.

Flat panel ferroelectric electron emission display system

DOEpatents

Sampayan, Stephen E.; Orvis, William J.; Caporaso, George J.; Wieskamp, Ted F.

1996-01-01

A device which can produce a bright, raster scanned or non-raster scanned image from a flat panel. Unlike many flat panel technologies, this device does not require ambient light or auxiliary illumination for viewing the image. Rather, this device relies on electrons emitted from a ferroelectric emitter impinging on a phosphor. This device takes advantage of a new electron emitter technology which emits electrons with significant kinetic energy and beam current density.

Robust and Soft Elastomeric Electronics Tolerant to Our Daily Lives.

PubMed

Sekiguchi, Atsuko; Tanaka, Fumiaki; Saito, Takeshi; Kuwahara, Yuki; Sakurai, Shunsuke; Futaba, Don N; Yamada, Takeo; Hata, Kenji

2015-09-09

Clothes represent a unique textile, as they simultaneously provide robustness against our daily activities and comfort (i.e., softness). For electronic devices to be fully integrated into clothes, the devices themselves must be as robust and soft as the clothes themselves. However, to date, no electronic device has ever possessed these properties, because all contain components fabricated from brittle materials, such as metals. Here, we demonstrate robust and soft elastomeric devices where every component possesses elastomeric characteristics with two types of single-walled carbon nanotubes added to provide the necessary electronic properties. Our elastomeric field effect transistors could tolerate every punishment our clothes experience, such as being stretched (elasticity: ∼ 110%), bent, compressed (>4.0 MPa, by a car and heels), impacted (>6.26 kg m/s, by a hammer), and laundered. Our electronic device provides a novel design principle for electronics and wide range applications even in research fields where devices cannot be used.

40 CFR 240.209-3 - Recommended procedures: Operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... operation during such emergency situations as power failure, air or water supply failure, equipment... devices such as hard hats, gloves, safety glasses, and footwear should be provided for facility employees...

Can the Seattle heart failure model be used to risk-stratify heart failure patients for potential left ventricular assist device therapy?

PubMed

Levy, Wayne C; Mozaffarian, Dariush; Linker, David T; Farrar, David J; Miller, Leslie W

2009-03-01

According to results of the REMATCH trial, left ventricular assist device therapy in patients with severe heart failure has resulted in a 48% reduction in mortality. A decision tool will be necessary to aid in the selection of patients for destination left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) as the technology progresses for implantation in ambulatory Stage D heart failure patients. The purpose of this analysis was to determine whether the Seattle Heart Failure Model (SHFM) can be used to risk-stratify heart failure patients for potential LVAD therapy. The SHFM was applied to REMATCH patients with the prospective addition of inotropic agents and intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) +/- ventilator. The SHFM was highly predictive of survival (p = 0.0004). One-year SHFM-predicted survival was similar to actual survival for both the REMATCH medical (30% vs 28%) and LVAD (49% vs 52%) groups. The estimated 1-year survival with medical therapy for patients in REMATCH was 30 +/- 21%, but with a range of 0% to 74%. The 1- and 2-year estimated survival was

Predictive factors for the failure of endoscopic stent-in-stent self-expandable metallic stent placement to treat malignant hilar biliary obstruction

PubMed Central

Sugimoto, Mitsuru; Takagi, Tadayuki; Suzuki, Rei; Konno, Naoki; Asama, Hiroyuki; Watanabe, Ko; Nakamura, Jun; Kikuchi, Hitomi; Waragai, Yuichi; Takasumi, Mika; Sato, Yuki; Hikichi, Takuto; Ohira, Hiromasa

2017-01-01

AIM To investigate the factors predictive of failure when placing a second biliary self-expandable metallic stents (SEMSs). METHODS This study evaluated 65 patients with an unresectable malignant hilar biliary obstruction who were examined in our hospital. Sixty-two of these patients were recruited to the study and divided into two groups: the success group, which consisted of patients in whom a stent-in-stent SEMS had been placed successfully, and the failure group, which consisted of patients in whom the stent-in-stent SEMS had not been placed successfully. We compared the characteristics of the patients, the stricture state of their biliary ducts, and the implemented endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedures between the two groups. RESULTS The angle between the target biliary duct stricture and the first implanted SEMS was significantly larger in the failure group than in the success group. There were significantly fewer wire or dilation devices (ERCP catheter, dilator, or balloon catheter) passing the first SEMS cell in the failure group than in the success group. The cut-off value of the angle predicting stent-in-stent SEMS placement failure was 49.7 degrees according to the ROC curve (sensitivity 91.7%, specificity 61.2%). Furthermore, the angle was significantly smaller in patients with wire or dilation devices passing the first SEMS cell than in patients without wire or dilation devices passing the first SEMS cell. CONCLUSION A large angle was identified as a predictive factor for failure of stent-in-stent SEMS placement. PMID:28974893

Predictive factors for the failure of endoscopic stent-in-stent self-expandable metallic stent placement to treat malignant hilar biliary obstruction.

PubMed

Sugimoto, Mitsuru; Takagi, Tadayuki; Suzuki, Rei; Konno, Naoki; Asama, Hiroyuki; Watanabe, Ko; Nakamura, Jun; Kikuchi, Hitomi; Waragai, Yuichi; Takasumi, Mika; Sato, Yuki; Hikichi, Takuto; Ohira, Hiromasa

2017-09-14

To investigate the factors predictive of failure when placing a second biliary self-expandable metallic stents (SEMSs). This study evaluated 65 patients with an unresectable malignant hilar biliary obstruction who were examined in our hospital. Sixty-two of these patients were recruited to the study and divided into two groups: the success group, which consisted of patients in whom a stent-in-stent SEMS had been placed successfully, and the failure group, which consisted of patients in whom the stent-in-stent SEMS had not been placed successfully. We compared the characteristics of the patients, the stricture state of their biliary ducts, and the implemented endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedures between the two groups. The angle between the target biliary duct stricture and the first implanted SEMS was significantly larger in the failure group than in the success group. There were significantly fewer wire or dilation devices (ERCP catheter, dilator, or balloon catheter) passing the first SEMS cell in the failure group than in the success group. The cut-off value of the angle predicting stent-in-stent SEMS placement failure was 49.7 degrees according to the ROC curve (sensitivity 91.7%, specificity 61.2%). Furthermore, the angle was significantly smaller in patients with wire or dilation devices passing the first SEMS cell than in patients without wire or dilation devices passing the first SEMS cell. A large angle was identified as a predictive factor for failure of stent-in-stent SEMS placement.