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Background: Demand is growing for remote electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring systems in the COVID-19 era in Japan. This study describes initial experiences with a small wireless ECG monitoring device and the utility of delivery via the postal service for outpatient care in Japan. Methods and Results: Long-term ECG monitoring following postal delivery of the small ECG device was evaluated in 25 patients. The patients had no difficulties with either the postal delivery or self-fitting and wearing the devices. A median of 57 h monitoring per patient was performed. Arrhythmic events were detected in 8 patients. Most patients were satisfied with both the ECG devices and postal delivery. Conclusions: Postal delivery of ECG devices could be used in clinical practice to achieve less or no in-person contact during the COVID-19 era.

Background Early recurrences of atrial arrhythmias (ERAAs) after ablation may require therapeutic intervention. The optimal medical therapy that prevents ERAAs requires clarification. This study aimed to compare the incidence of ERAAs between patients who received or did not receive bisoprolol transdermal patches (BTPs) at 3 months postablation. Methods This single‐center retrospective study enrolled 203 consecutive patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) who had undergone their first ablation, comprising 59 in the BTP group and 144 in the non‐BTP group. Follow‐up assessments were conducted monthly for 3 months. We evaluated the incidence of ERAAs. Results During the initial 1‐week observational period, the rate of ERAAs was lower in the BTP group (5.0%) than that in the non‐BTP group (18.8%) (P = .013). At 3 months postablation, the rate of ERAAs was lower in the BTP group (6.8%) than that in the non‐BTP group (25.7%) (P = .002). The cumulative freedom from ERAAs was significantly lower in the BTP group than in the non‐BTP group (log‐rank: P = .003). Administering BTPs was an independent factor that protected against ERAAs (odds ratio 0.181, [95% confidence interval 0.059‐0.559], P = .003). Conclusion BTPs may prevent ERAAs after ablation., The patients who were administered bisoprolol transdermal patches (BTPs) immediately after atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation showed significant reductions in the incidence of early recurrence of atrial arrhythmias (ERAAs) compared with the patients who were not administered BTPs. The efficacy of BTPs at preventing ERAAs was confirmed not only immediately after ablation, but also during the short period after AF ablation.

Many complicated road intersections are seen while driving. In some, blind spots make it difficult for drivers or automated vehicles to discern moving objects coming from certain directions, possibly confusing drivers or autonomous vehicles wishing to cross or to turn at the intersection. To address this problem, we investigate detection and tracking of all moving objects at an intersection using a single 360-degree-view camera (3DVC). Through experiments, we develop methods allowing a 3DVC to capture the entirety of a four-way intersection when installed at one corner. This paper also presents image processing algorithms for detecting and tracking moving objects at intersections by processing images from the installed 3DVC. Experiments under varied conditions demonstrate that the proposed detection algorithm has a very high detection rate. We also confirm the tracking ability for moving objects detected using the proposed algorithm.

Vitamin D has an immune-modulating effect, related to the pathophysiology of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, few studies have focused on the difference between patients with asthma and COPD in the association of circulating vitamin D levels with clinical outcomes. We sought to investigate the associations of circulating vitamin D levels with health-related QOL (HR-QOL), severity, and exacerbations. Subjects included 152 asthma patients and 50 COPD patients. We measured plasma concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D3]. HR-QOL was assessed using the EuroQoL 5-Dimension (EQ-5D) and the 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) scales. Exacerbations were recorded during a one-year follow-up. Associations between plasma 25 (OH)D3 concentrations and outcome variables were evaluated using linear regression. Plasma concentrations of 25(OH)D3 were positively associated with the EQ-5D index value and the SF-12 physical component score in patients with asthma; however, such associations were not observed in patients with COPD. A significant association between severity and plasma concentrations of 25(OH)D3 was found only in patients with COPD. The hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) of plasma 25(OH)D3 concentrations (per 1 ng/mL decrease) for time to first exacerbation was 1.38 (1.10-1.75; p = 0.006) and 0.95 (0.87-1.03; p = 0.179) in patients with COPD and asthma, respectively. Lower concentrations of plasma 25(OH)D3 contributed to lower HR-QOL in patients with asthma, and were associated with severity and risk of future exacerbations in patients with COPD.

Atrial standstill (AS) is a rare condition characterized by the absence of electrical and mechanical atrial activity,1 first described by Cushny.2 The absence of P waves and bradycardia, along with a wide QRS complex, are seen on the electrocardiogram (ECG). The clinical course of AS varies greatly; the timeline can be persistent or transient, and the spatial distribution of the atrial lesion can be diffuse or partial.3, 4 In many cases, the AS appears initially in the right atrium (RA) and progresses to the entire left atrium. It occasionally complicates symptomatic sick sinus syndrome.5 We hereby describe a case of AS where a dual-chamber permanent pacemaker implantation was necessary owing to symptomatic sick sinus syndrome. An electrophysiological study (EPS) revealed inactivity throughout almost the entire RA, with the exception of the coronary sinus (CS). A permanent atrial lead was therefore placed in the CS.

Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and acute encephalopathy caused by enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli infection occur commonly in children, whereas adult-onset disease is rare. Here we report the case of a 24-year-old woman who developed acute encephalopathy and recovered without sequelae. She initially developed abdominal pain and diarrhea. On day 6, O-157 Shiga toxin was detected in her stool and she developed HUS. On day 11, acute encephalopathy developed and she required artificial ventilation. She was treated with steroid pulse therapy and plasma exchange (PE) and then discharged on day 53 without any sequelae. Globotriaosylceramide, a Shiga toxin receptor, is more frequently present on the cellular membranes of women than on those of men. Therefore, it is conceivable that adult women are at a higher risk of developing acute encephalopathy than men. Steroid pulse therapy and PE may effectively treat acute encephalopathy by reducing inflammatory cytokine levels in the blood; therefore, these treatments should be proactively considered.

Background: Some of atrial fibrillation (AF) drivers are found in lesser late-gadolinium enhancement (LGE) areas, as well as heterogenous ones. The atrial wall thickness (AWT) has been reported to be important as a possible AF substrate. However, the AWT and degree of LGEs as an AF substrate has not been fully validated in humans. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the AWT in lesser LGE areas on AF drivers. Methods: A total of 287 segments in 15 persistent AF patients were assessed. AF drivers were defined as non-passively activated areas (NPAs), where rotational activation was frequently observed, and were detected by the novel real-time phase mapping (ExTRa Mapping). Lesser LGE areas were defined as areas with a volume ratio of the enhancement voxel of

This paper presents an innovative process technology in solder resist (SR) thinning to form multi-stepped SR structures. The resist thinning (RT) process can thin down SR layer highly uniformly at a large panel scale. The RT process is also capable of SR patterning by combined with photolithography process to enable selective SR thinning. This paper first discusses the process mechanism and studies impact of process parameters. Comparison studies of the RT process against a standard development process were conducted to demonstrate uniform SR thickness reduction by the RT process. Additionally, variety of unique SR structures were demonstrated using the RT process to illustrate potential applications of the process to variety of packaging substrates, such as ultra-thin substrates, high-density substrates, and multi-chip module substrates.

This paper describes the development of a novel dry film-type dielectric material with low loss tangent (D f ) and the demonstration of a low-loss filter substrate using the dielectric material for high-frequency transmission applications. This paper also presents the evaluation results of the small filter characteristics of the substrate in the 28 GHz and 39 GHz 5G millimeter-wave (mmWave) band. We have recently developed a dry film dielectric material with outstanding electrical properties and excellent mechanical properties (Material P). This new material is based on polyphenylene ether (PPE) that has extremely low D f . PPE is commonly known as a thermoplastic polymer, henceforth a new chemical design was applied to modify the polymer structure into a thermosetting polymer. The new dielectric material can be processed at a low temperature about 200°C and is compatible to the standard substrate manufacturing processes, such as semi additive process (SAP). Material characterization revealed that D k /D f of Material P is 3.1 /0.0013 at 10 GHz, and glass transition temperature (T g ) is 200°C. In this work, RF filter performance of the Material P was characterized to demonstrate the benefit of the low loss material. As the reference, the performance of epoxy dielectric was additionally characterized and compared. Electrical characterization of the filter structures showed low transmission losses < 1.0 dB at 28 GHz and < 0.8 dB at 39 GHz with Material P, verifying applicability of the material for high frequency applications.

With the tremendous advances and increasing demand in 5G communications, the low-loss performance of RF device components becomes more critical. Two parameters that have significant impact on the low-loss RF performance are lower circuit conductor loss and dielectric loss of the build-up materials. Therefore, this study is focused on the loss tangent (D f ) of the dielectric build-up material and demonstration of its electrical reliability with a low-loss substrate for high-frequency transmission. This newly developed advanced low-loss dry film build-up material exhibits a D f values of < 0.003 at 39 GHz and is applicable to high frequency transmission. This build-up material also exhibits excellent electrical reliability required for advanced dielectric materials. For evaluation of the filter characteristics in the mm Wave band, a substrate with filter circuit structures was fabricated using the low loss dielectric material. Transmission characteristics of the filters were measured and demonstrated to have a minimum transmission loss of less than 1.18 dB at 39 GHz.

Assuming that the 0.6-&mu, m silicon-on-insulator (SOI) complementary metal&ndash, oxide&ndash, semiconductor (CMOS) technology, different Si-based temperature sensors such as metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) (n-channel and p-channel), pn-junction diode (with p-body doping and without doping), and resistors (n+ or p+ single crystalline Si and n+ polycrystalline Si) were designed and characterized for its possible use in 1-THz antenna-coupled bolometers. The use of a half-wave dipole antenna connected to the heater end was assumed, which limited the integrated temperature sensor/heater area to be 15 &times, 15 &micro, m. Our main focus was to evaluate the performances of the temperature sensor/heater part, and the optical coupling between the incident light and heater via an antenna was not included in the evaluation. The electrothermal feedback (ETF) effect due to the bias current was considered in the performance estimation. A comparative analysis of various SOI bolometers revealed the largest responsivity (Rv) of 5.16 kV/W for the n-channel MOSFET bolometer although the negative ETF in MOSFET reduced the Rv. The noise measurement of the n-channel MOSFET showed the NEP of 245 pW/Hz1/2, which was more than one order of magnitude smaller than that of the n+ polycrystalline Si resistive bolometer (6.59 nW/Hz1/2). The present result suggests that the n-channel MOSFET can be a promising detector for THz applications.

In this paper, we report an advanced low-loss dry film build-up material applicable to high-frequency transmission, and evaluation of filter characteristics and dielectric characteristics in the mmWave band. The wireless communication standard is evolving from 5G to beyond 5G, and accordingly, it is critical to lower the loss tangent (Df) of build-up materials to enable high-speed transmission in signal paths. However, for high frequency filter applications, conventional materials such as epoxy and polyimide type build-up materials induce high insertion loss in the passband. This paper therefore introduces a lower-Df dry film build-up material (Material A) and investigates transmission characteristics of the same. To evaluate the insulation reliability and electrical performance of the material, test vehicles with precise copper patterns are designed and fabricated with a semi-additive patterning process (SAP) using the Material A. Each test board was fabricated to evaluate the insulation reliability and electrical performance of the material. By applying the Material A for SAP, over 5N/cm high peeling strength is achieved despite of the smooth surface. The material demonstrates an excellent insulation reliability between copper lines and between copper layers, specifically 300 hours of bHAST attributed to its low chlorine impurities. The dielectric property Df of the material is 0.0025 at 10 GHz. The electrical performance of lowpass filters and bandpass filters are measured by electrical analysis using microwave network analyzers system. These test boards demonstrate to achieve a low transmission loss of less than 1 dB at 28 GHz as a lowpass filter, and 1.05 dB at 28 GHz and 1.18 dB at 39 GHz as a bandpass filter. As a result of this excellent low transmission loss, this material has promising application potential for millimeter wave applications.

The objective of this study is to develop 3D food printer that can improve taste by means of creating food texture and can grant artistry which pastry chef perform by utilizing electrostatic inkjet printer high precision printing. There is a previous 3D food printer which utilizes Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) to print chocolate. This method is to melt the material by heat and then print the material layer by layer to shape. It can only represent a rough image of the object since its print precision is rough. Furthermore, the material it can use is limited. Therefore in this study, we utilize electrostatic inkjet printing technology. By utilizing electrostatic inkjet printing, it not only enables high precision printing and grants food artistry but it also optimizes inner structure. High precision food printing is one of the important element to create food texture. We manufactured the electrostatic inkjet chocolate 3D printer and investigated its basic property. Utilized electrostatic inkjet chocolate 3D printer to print chocolate on the edible film and transfer it to a complex free surface.

This paper presents the modeling, design, fabrication, and characterization of an innovative and miniaturized thin-film bandpass filter with coupled spiral structures in ultrathin glass substrates (30– $100~\mu \text{m}$ ). This filter is demonstrated for two applications: 3-D integrated passive devices and embedded thinfilm filters in RF modules. A compact filter design was achieved through an integrated resonant structure that effectively utilizes the inductive and capacitive coupling between metal layers on either side of an ultrathin glass substrate or organic build-up layer. The designed filters (layout area $150~\mu \text{m}$ device thickness) were fabricated on a 30- $\mu \text{m}$ -thin glass substrate using a panel-based low-cost approach with double-side thin-film wiring processes. The effect of process variations on the performance of the proposed structures was also studied. Furthermore, an improved WLAN filter is designed and demonstrated by employing specific structural modifications. The measured frequency response of the filters shows good model-to-hardware correlation, with very low insertion loss (0.6 dB) in the passband, and high adjacent-band rejection (>25 dB).

To improve the reliability of silicon carbide (SiC) electronic power devices, the characteristics of various kinds of crystal defects should be precisely understood. Of particular importance is understanding the correlation between the surface morphology and the near surface dislocations. In order to analyze the dislocations near the surface of 4H-SiC wafers, a dislocation analysis protocol has been developed. This protocol consists of the following process: (1) inspection of surface defects using low energy scanning electron microscopy (LESEM), (2) identification of small and shallow etch pits using KOH low temperature etching, (3) classification of etch pits using LESEM, (4) specimen preparation of several hundred nanometer thick sample using the in-situ focused ion beam micro-sampling® technique, (5) crystallographic analysis using the selected diffraction mode of the scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM), and (6) determination of the Burgers vector using multi-directional STEM (MD-STEM). The results show a correlation between the triangular terrace shaped surface defects and an hexagonal etch pit arising from threading dislocations, linear shaped surface defects and elliptical shaped etch pits arising from basal plane dislocations. Through the observation of the sample from two orthogonal directions via the MD-STEM technique, a basal plane dislocation is found to dissociate into an extended dislocation bound by two partial dislocations. A protocol developed and presented in this paper enables one to correlate near surface defects of a 4H-SiC wafer with the root cause dislocations giving rise to those surface defects.

This paper reports on one of the first demonstrations of the formation and metallization of 2–5- $\mu \text{m}$ lines and spaces by an embedded trench method in two dry-film polymer dielectrics, Ajinomoto build-up film and preimidized polyimide, without using chemical mechanical planarization. The trenches and vias in 8–15- $\mu \text{m}$ -thick dry-film dielectrics were formed by 308-nm excimer laser ablation, followed by the metallization of the trenches and vias by copper electrodeposition. A low-cost planarization process was used to remove the copper overburden with a surface planer tool. Using an optimized set of materials and processes, multilayer redistribution layers with 2– $5~\mu \text{m}$ trenches and vias were successfully demonstrated. Although thin film processes on silicon wafers have been able to achieve 40- $\mu \text{m}$ I/O pitch for interposers, the materials and processes integrated in this paper are scalable to large panel fabrication at much higher throughput, for interposers and high-density fan-out packaging at lower cost and higher performance than silicon interposers.

The recently developed multi directional scanning transmission electron microscopy (MD-STEM) technique has been applied to exactly determine the Burgers vector (b) and dislocation vector (u) of a threading mixed dislocation in a silicon carbide (SiC) as-epitaxial wafer. This technique utilizes repeated focused ion beam (FIB) milling and STEM observation of the same dislocation from three orthogonal directions (cross-section, plan-view, cross-section). Cross section STEM observation in the [1-100] viewing direction showed that the burgers vector have a and c components. Subsequent plan view STEM observation in the [000-1] direction indicated that the b=[u -2uuw] (u≠0 and w≠0). Final cross section STEM observation in the [11-20] direction confirmed that the dislocation was an extended dislocation, with the Burgers vector experimentally found to be b = [1-210]a/3 + [0001]c which decomposes into two partial dislocations of bp1 = [0-110]a/3 + [0001]c/2 and bp2 = [1-100]a/3 + [0001]c/2. The dislocation vector u is [-12-10]a/3 + [0001]c. This technique is an effective method to analyze the dislocation characteristics of power electronics devices.

Consumer demand for mobile services is expected to grow with the continued proliferation of connected devices including smartphones, wearables, and Internet of things. As a result, high-performance computing systems that support the core network and cloud infrastructures for these connected devices require unprecedented die-to-die bandwidth at low latency. To achieve next-generation performance requirements and to apply to commercial products, fundamental parameters for 2.5-D interposers are considered including: 1) high interconnect density at short interconnect length; 2) low power consumption; and 3) low packaging cost. The 2.5-D glass interposer described in this paper is superior to silicon interposer in cost and electrical performance, and to organic interposer in interconnect density. This paper describes a 2.5-D glass interposer as a ball grid array (BGA) package to achieve high bandwidth at low cost to improve bandwidth per unit watt signal power per unit dollar cost (BWF) compared to both silicon and organic interposers. Due to its high modulus and excellent surface finish, glass affords ultrafine line lithography to form high-density interconnects comparable to silicon, and the process described in this paper goes beyond silicon back-end-of-line processes by implementing a double-side semi-additive process (SAP) at increased copper layer thickness. This thicker metallization results in reduced conductor losses and improved bandwidth per channel compared to silicon. In addition, the low loss tangent of glass reduces dielectric losses in nets requiring through vias including clock distribution and high-speed off-package signals. Availability of glass in thin panel as well as in roll-to-roll formats beyond 500 mm in size reduces packaging cost compared to 300-mm wafer silicon interposer. The focus of this paper is on the integration of three enabling technologies: 1) advanced SAP for high-density redistribution layers (RDLs); 2) excimer laser ablation of RDL vias; and 3) fine-pitch thermocompression bonding with copper pillar die assembly—for a 2.5-D glass interposer at interconnect densities comparable to that of silicon to achieve terabit per second interdie bandwidth at highest BWF.

As front end transistor scaling by Moore's law faces economic and technical challenges, interconnect scaling by advanced packaging technologies has started to add value at system level for a variety of electronics applications including consumer, high performance computing and automotive. The focus on yield improvement at every node that has enabled transistor scaling is now becoming a very critical need for high volume manufacturing of advanced packaging technologies such as 2.5D interposers and high density fanout [1]. This paper describes the first demonstration of a novel atmospheric approach based on ozone as an alternative to vacuum-based plasma treatment for photoresist cleaning to enhance the re-distribution layer (RDL) yields in advanced semi-additive process (SAP) processes. The ozone process is applicable to wafers as well as large panels, and is suited for small feature sizes down to 1um that are required for interposers and future fan-out packages. Ozone process provides an environmentally friendly solution eliminating the need for hazardous chemicals used in wet cleaning processes and has the potential to significantly increase throughput and reduce process cost compared to plasma processing by eliminating the need for vacuum chambers. The goal of this research is to demonstrate the effectiveness and benefits of the atmospheric dry ozone process developed using an MKS Instruments ozone delivery system for electrolytic copper plating yield improvement and dry film resist (DFR) residue cleaning, for 1-10um RDL critical dimensions (CD). The paper will describe the process fundamentals and the manufacturing tools, and discuss the characterization by contact angle measurements to confirm wettability of the plating surfaces, as well as demonstrate improvement of fine line RDL plating quality. The ever-increasing requirement for higher computing power in both high power applications and low power hand held or wearable devices is driving the need for higher signal bandwidth connections between logic and memory chips enabled through advances in the packaging world. The wiring density and I/O pitch are scaled down to achieve high bandwidth interconnections on a package with limited routing space. Photolithography, electrolytic copper plating, and copper seed layer etch are three crucial defining the yield and minimum feature size of RDL in the SAP flow. With the feature size scaling down to 3 μm, the quality of the metallized copper structure is crucial for high performance applications. Traditionally, wet chemical cleans are used for improving copper plating yields. The wet chemical process uses hazardous chemicals such as trichloroethylene (TCE) that are not environmentally friendly. These processes may be substituted with an oxygen plasma treatment that can clean organic residues in DFR trenches and improve wettability of the seed layers prior to plating as well as DFR residues after copper plating and DFR stripping. However, such plasma treatment approach requires a vacuum chamber which limits its throughput and cost effectiveness for high volume manufacturing. This paper proposes a higher throughput alternative solution to the plasma treatment process for electrolytic copper plating. Since the ozone gas is generated from oxygen, and reduced to oxygen upon process completion, no hazardous gas is required, or discharged into the atmosphere. To demonstrate the applicability of the ozone treatment to wafer-scale and panel-scale processing, two different types of copper seed layers, physical vapor deposition (PVD) Ti-Cu, and electroless plated copper, were evaluated. The effectiveness of both ozone and oxygen plasma treatments were qualified against a control sample with no treatment. The 7 μm thick DFR was laminated on the copper seed layers, then patterned with a projection lithography tool, and a minimum feature size of 3 μm was resolved. After photolithography, the substrates were subjected to ozone or plasma treatments. The water contact angle measurements show significant wettability improvement on the surfaces of substrates with copper seed layer, DFR, and DFR mesh patterned on a copper seed layer. Copper plating quality was then compared between samples. Both the ozone and plasma treatments resulted in excellent copper metallization quality due to the creation of a hydrophilic surface. The effectiveness of the ozone treatment at 50 deg C was confirmed, thus minimizing any impact on DFR stripping. The ozone treatment was also applied to clean the DFR residues after resist stripping and our results confirmed that the ozone process removed any remaining photoresist residues from the copper surface. In conclusion, this paper proposed and demonstrated high throughput, atmospheric pressure ozone treatment as an innovative alternative to plasma treatment for cleaning the surfaces prior to electrolytic copper plating, as well as for photoresist residue removal after resist strip. The results show yield improvement of plated RDL and DFR residue cleaning. The ozone process does not use any hazardous chemicals or gases and also does not require any vacuum steps, which makes it environmental friendly and high throughput, and offers a promising approach for fine line RDL for interposers and fan-out packages in meeting the semiconductor industry roadmap needs.

We report a case of acyclovir encephalopathy in a 77-year-old man who was introduced to peritoneal dialysis three years earlier. He developed herpes zoster and was treated with acyclovir (ACV) at 800 mg daily per oral. Two days later, he developed consciousness disturbance, hallucinations and asterixis. Acyclovir was stopped and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) was switched to hemodialysis, which resulted in the resolution of his symptoms. Because the optimal dose of ACV varies among individuals depending on the bioavailability of ACV and metabolic enzyme activity, ACV encephalopathy can occur even when the acyclovir dose is modified according to the renal function of the affected patient. Because CAPD provides a poorer ACV clearance than hemodialysis, CAPD patients tend to have a higher risk of developing ACV encephalopathy and to recover more slowly. If CAPD patients develop ACV encephalopathy, a temporary change in the type of dialysis to hemodialysis should be considered.

This article analyzes redistribution layer (RDL) technologies needed for 2.5-dimensional (2.5-D) die integration on thin glass interposers and developed using low-cost processes. The design, fabrication, and characterization of a four-metal layer RDL buildup required for wide input/output (I/O) routing at 40-μm bump pitch and a two-metal layer RDL buildup fabricated directly on glass for high-speed, off-package signaling are described. Such RDL technologies are targeted at 2.5-D glass interposer packages to achieve up to 1 Tb/s die-to-die bandwidth and off-interposer data rates > 400 Gb/s, driven by consumer demand of online services for mobile devices. Advanced packaging architectures including 2.5-D and 3-D interposers require fine-line lithography beyond the capabilities of current organic package substrates. High electrical loss and high cost are characteristic of silicon interposers fabricated using back-end-of-line (BEOL) processes that can achieve RDL wiring densities required for 2.5-D die integration. Organic interposers with high wiring densities have also been demonstrated using a single-sided, thin-film process. This article goes beyond silicon and organic interposers in demonstrating fine-pitch RDL on glass interposers fabricated by low-cost, double-side, and panel-scalable processes. The high modulus and smooth surface of glass help to achieve lithographic pitch close to that of silicon. Furthermore, the low permittivity and low loss tangent of glass reduce dielectric losses, thus improving high-speed signal propagation. A semiadditive process flow and projection excimer laser ablation were used to fabricate four-metal layer (2 + 0 + 2) fine-pitch RDL and two-metal layer RDL directly on glass. A minimum of 3 μm lithography and 20 μm microvia pitch was achieved. High-frequency characterization of these RDL structures demonstrated single-ended insertion losses of −0.097 dB/mm at f = 1 GHz and differential insertion losses of −0.05 dB/mm at f = 14 GHz.

Permanent pacemaker implantation (PPI) following trans catheter aortic replacement (TAVR) is a frequent post interventional complication. Four-dimension computed tomography color map imaging (4D-CTCMI) may be able to show a His bundle and whether severe conduction disturbance occur after TAVR. The

Early recurrences of atrial arrhythmias (ERAA) after atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation may require therapeutic intervention. Optimal medical therapy for the prevention of ERAA, however, remains unclear. The bisoprolol transdermal patch (BTP) which is a novel transdermal β-blocker formulation

The aim of this study is to experimentally evaluate the computed tomography (CT) attenuation of water, saline, iced saline and water ice cubes in order to relate these measurements to low density findings of cadavers on PMCT. Comparing the fluids with the iced materials, the CT number was lower in iced (frozen, with gas) saline (fNaCl) and ice cubes (frozen, without gas) (fH 2 O) than in saline (NaCl) and tap water (H 2 O). The fNaCl, which contained small air bubbles, presented significant lower CT number than fH 2 O. The fNaCl and fH 2 O showed around −80 HU and the values were concordant with the theoretical result. In cases where low density is found when a cadaver is undergoing a CT examination at low temperature, including the freezing effect as a new differential diagnosis could result in more accurate PMCT interpretation.

This paper describes the design, fabrication, and characterization of a two-metal layer RDL structure at 40 um pitch on thin glass interposers. Such an RDL structure is targeted at 2.5D glass interposer packages to achieve up to 1 TB/s die-to-die bandwidth and off-interposer data rates greater than 400 Gb/s, driven by consumer demand of online services for mobile devices. Advanced packaging architectures including 2.5D and 3D interposers require fine line lithography beyond the capabilities of current organic package substrates. Although silicon interposers fabricated using back-end-of-line processes can achieve these RDL wiring densities, they suffer from high electrical loss and high cost. Organic interposers with high wiring densities have also been demonstrated recently using a single sided thin film process. This paper goes beyond silicon and organic interposers in demonstrating fine pitch RDL on glass interposers fabricated by low cost, double sided, and panel-scalable processes. The high modulus and smooth surface of glass helps to achieve lithographic pitch close to that of silicon. Furthermore, the low loss tangent of glass helps in reducing dielectric losses, thus improving high-speed signal propagation. A semi-additive process flow and projection excimer laser ablation was used to fabricate two-metal layer RDL structures and bare glass RDL layers. A minimum of 3 um lithography and 20 um mico-via pitch was achieved. High-frequency characterization of these RDL structures demonstrated single-ended insertion losses of −0.097 dB/mm at f = 1 GHz and differential insertion losses of −0.05 dB/mm at f = 14 GHz.

This paper aims to reveal the appropriate amount of training data for accurately and quickly building a support vector regression (SVR) model for micrometeorological data prediction. SVR is derived from statistical learning theory and can be used to predict a quantity in the future based on training that uses past data. Although SVR is superior to traditional learning algorithms such as the artificial neural network (ANN), it is difficult to choose the most suitable amount of training data to build the appropriate SVR model for micrometeorological data prediction. The challenge of this paper is to reveal the periodic characteristics of micrometeorological data in Japan and determine the appropriate amount of training data to build the SVR model. By selecting the appropriate amount of training data, it is possible to improve both prediction accuracy and calculation time. When predicting air temperature in Sapporo, the prediction error was reduced by 0.1°C and the calculation time was reduced by 98.7% using the appropriate amount of training data.

This paper describes the demonstration of 10-μm diameter interlayer vias with 3.5-μm wide re-distribution layer copper wiring in a unique dry-film polymer dielectric, ZEONIF ZS100 (ZS100), suitable for panel-based high-density organic and glass interposers. The uniqueness of polymer dielectric includes low dielectric constant, low dielectric loss, low moisture uptake, and low surface roughness. The dry-film polymer dielectric was laminated on thin and low coefficient of thermal expansion organic or glass cores using double-side vacuum lamination processes. The ultrasmall microvias were drilled with 248-nm KrF excimer laser. Metallization by electroless and electrolytic copper plating successfully achieved formation of fully filled vias and copper traces simultaneously without any chemical-mechanical polishing. The processes demonstrated in this paper enable interposers with much finer bump pitch than current organic package technology. In addition, the processes can be scaled to large panels leading to lower cost than the previous work in fine pitch Si interposers fabricated through back-endof-line wafer processes.

To realize higher spatial resolution than conventional SEM-based nano-probing system, a novel Electron Beam Absorbed Current imaging system was newly developed using a Hitachi HD-2700 200 kV dedicated STEM. Its specimen holder accommodates a mechanical probe for current detection and TEM grid specimen. This holder also has a micrometer-based coarse positioning and piezoelectric-elements-based fine positioning mechanism respectively for X, Y and Z-axis probe control. The absorbed current from the probe and the specimen are displayed as an image by STEM software via EBAC amplifier. We successfully made a probing onto FIB-prepared lamella specimen of semiconductor device to get an electrical contact. EBAC and EBIC images were clearly visualized in higher spatial resolution.

This paper reports the demonstration of 2-5 µm embedded trench formation in dry film polymer dielectrics such as Ajinomoto build-up film (ABF) and Polyimide without using chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process. The trenches in these dielectrics were formed by excimer laser ablation, followed by metallization of trenches by copper plating processes and overburden removal with surface planer tool. The materials and processes integrated in this work are scalable to large panel fabrication at much higher throughput, for interposers and high density fan-out packaging at lower cost and higher performance than silicon interposers.

Interconnections between integrated circuits and print circuit boards are primarily achieved currently with organic packages at high I/O pitch. Organic packages, however, are limited by poor thermal and dimension stabilities for them to act as fine pitch interposers. To address these challenges, silicon interposers are being developed. Current silicon interposers, based on through-silicon via (TSV) techniques, suffer from high production cost, because of expensive CMOS-grade silicon, expensive TSV process and smaller wafer sizes. They also suffer from high electrical loss in spite of thin SiO 2 interfacial layers. This paper, for the first time, demonstrates a lower cost and higher performance silicon interposer. It is based on panel-based polycrystalline silicon with through-package vias (TPVs) and redistribution layers, and a simple and double-side process with thick polymer liner inside the TPV. Electrical modeling was carried out that shows the better electrical performance of polycrystalline silicon interposer compared with traditional single-crystalline silicon interposer. The polycrystalline silicon interposer test vehicles with up to four metal layers were demonstrated and characterized. The measurement results showed good electrical performance and matched well with the simulations.

This paper presents the design, analysis, and demonstration of an ultra-thin wireless local area network (WLAN) RF receiver module with chip-last embedded actives and embedded passives in a low-loss organic substrate using system-on-package approach. The overall thickness of the module, including the embedded dies, is 160 μm- more than 3× thickness reduction compared to current wire-bond and flip-chip packages. The receiver module consists of gallium arsenide low-noise amplifier (LNA) dies, chip-last embedded in an ultrathin, low-loss organic substrate, and connected to a substrate-embedded three-metal-layer band-pass filter (BPF) in close proximity. Full-wave electromagnetic simulation was performed on a 3-D model of the designed receiver module to obtain its two-port scattering parameters (S-parameters) and to study noise coupling between the power-supply network and the signal path. The receiver module was then fabricated, tested for yield of the BPF, assembled and characterized, and the measured results were correlated with simulation. The BPF dimensions in the package were 1.5 mm × 2.9 mm × 0.15 mm, and its measured pass-band insertion loss was 2.3 dB with more than 15 dB return loss. The receiver module (LNA + BPF) dimensions were 5.5 mm ×2 mm ×0.16 mm, and it had a measured peak gain of 11 dB with more than 30 dB attenuation in the adjacent-band, indicating excellent performance in a miniaturized form-factor.

A double-sided and ultrathin 3-D glass interposer with through package vias (TPVs) at same pitch as through silicon vias (TSVs) in silicon interposers is developed to provide a compelling alternative to 3-D IC stacking of logic and memory devices with TSVs. The 3-D IC stacking approach to achieve high bandwidth has several drawbacks, including the need for TSVs through the logic die, thermal management within the 3-D stack, and the high manufacturing cost associated with wafer-based TSV processing. This paper presents design, fabrication, and electrical characterization of small TPVs (15–40 $\mu{\rm m}$ in diameter) in 30- $\mu{\rm m}$ thin glass to achieve an ultrathin 3-D interposer. This paper also reports the first demonstration of ultrasmall TPVs in glass (15 $\mu{\rm m}$ ) with same dimensions as TSVs in silicon. The signal insertion loss and crosstalk behavior of TPVs in ultrathin glass were investigated and found to be superior to TSVs using 3-D electromagnetic simulations. In demonstrating the 3-D interposers, two process-related challenges were addressed in this paper, namely: 1) defect-free formation of ultrasmall TPV holes with diameters of 15 $\mu{\rm m}$ at 27- $\mu{\rm m}$ pitch and 2) TPV metallization with copper. The fabricated TPVs in ultrathin glass showed a good model to hardware correlation of signal transmission with insertion loss ${ at 20 GHz. The results in this paper suggest that the 3-D interposer concept can be a simpler alternative to 3-D IC stacking with TSVs to achieve high bandwidth between the logic and memory devices.

In recent years, energy conservation has become a major focus in the industrial sector. Many office buildings in Japan achieve energy savings by introducing highly efficient equipment and systems, such as high-temperature cooling water (14 °C), which increases heat source efficiency. However, such equipment requires adjustments to increase operational efficiency. In this case study, the efficiency of equipment using high-temperature cooling water was further improved through operation control optimization. The energy efficiency before and after the improvement was compared. The target building has chilled and hot water supplied to each floor from district heating and high-temperature chilled water supplied from cooling chillers on the rooftop. The energy consumption of two floors was evaluated: a subjective floor with equipment using high-temperature cooling water installed, and a common floor with a conventional system. After on-site verification, changes were made to the operation control of the cooling towers, condenser pumps, primary pumps, secondary pumps, and air handling units. As a result, the coefficient of performance of the water-cooled chiller and the whole system improved by 0.40 and 0.45, respectively. The flow rate of the air conditioning equipment using high-temperature cooling water decreased while maintaining an equivalent amount of heat extraction. In conclusion, the efficiency of the equipment was further improved by operation control optimization.

A 60-GHz band planar dipole array antenna structure in a small wireless terminal is proposed for wide coverage area beamforming applications. Several substrates are stacked vertically by using 3-D system-in-package (SiP) technology, and the element antenna is installed on the substrates. A planar dipole antenna is used as an element antenna because it has a wider bandwidth than conventional patch antennas, which are widely used in 60-GHz band beamforming applications. Conventional dipole array antennas have a 1-D structure, or a 2-D structure arranged in multilayered substrate, resulting in narrow beamforming coverage area. The proposed structure has a wide beamforming coverage area because of the wide antenna spacing around 0.5λ0. Design using numerical and 3-D electromagnetic field simulation indicate that a 4×2 arrangement is a feasible structure for a small wireless terminal with wide coverage area. Measurement results show that the designed array antenna has a wide coverage area, covering 75 and 95 in the theta and phi directions, respectively, with gain exceeding 10 dBi. The proposed planar dipole array structure using 3-D SiP technology is feasible as a 60-GHz band 2-D beamforming antenna in small wireless terminals.

InGaAs surface nitridation effect on La2O3/InGaAs interface has been investigated. It was found that by controlling nitridation conditions such as temperature interface quality can be improved. Also a new covalent structure based on nitridated Si and La2O3 is proposed to reduce dielectric and substrate intermixing, thus improving the high-k/InGaAs interface. High electron mobility of III-V material, in particular InGaAs, has made them a promising candidate to replace channel in Si-based metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) [1]. In order to realize high performance III-V devices, the interface at high-k gate oxide and substrate surface must be improved [2]. Various interface control methods such as sulfur treatment and nitridation have been proposed in order to improve interface quality [3]. The most promising results have been reported on Al2O3-based capacitors which is a dielectric with covalent nature. However the low dielectric constant value of Al2O3 (k~9) makes it unsuitable for device scaling. In this study we have investigated the formation of a covalent interface by means of insertion and nitridation of a thin Si layer at La2O3/InGaAs interface. La2O3 (k~30) is recognized as a next-generation high-k material. A Si-doped n-In0.53Ga0.47As epiaxially grown on InP substrate was used. After oxide removal by HF, nitridation was performed by radical gun prior to La2O3 deposition for 5min. Amount of nitrogen dose was estimated at ~1.5x10 atoms/cm by SIMS. La2O3 layer was deposited by e-beam evaporation and W gate electrode was in situ deposited by RF magnetron sputtering. Post-metallization anneals (PMA) were carried out in forming gas (N2:H2= 97:3%) ambient. Fig. 1 shows capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristic of W/La2O3/In0.53Ga0.47As annealed in F.G at 370 C with (a) and without (b) surface nitridation at 200 C. Low frequency capacitance response in negative gate bias is suppressed for nitridated sample which is an indicator of improved interface. Optimum surface passivation was obtained for nitridation at a substrate temperature of 200 C (fig. 2). Performing Nitridation after a thin Si layer insertion (fig. 3 (a)) further improved the C-V characteristics of the device, evident from smaller frequency dispersion in accumulation condition (fig. 3 (b)). In conclusion, nitridation was shown to be an effective interface passivation method. Forming a LaO-Si-N structure with covalent nature further improved C-V characteristics of the capacitors.

Little is known about genetic risk factors for idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH). We examined whether a copy number loss in intron 2 of the SFMBT1 gene could be a genetic risk for shunt-responsive, definite iNPH. Quantitative and digital PCR analyses revealed that 26.0% of shunt-responsive definite iNPH patients (n = 50) had such a genetic change, as compared with 4.2% of the healthy elderly (n = 191) (OR = 7.94, 95%CI: 2.82-23.79, p = 1.8 x 10-5) and 6.3% of patients with Parkinson's disease (n = 32) (OR = 5.18, 95%CI: 1.1-50.8, p = 0.038). The present study demonstrates that a copy number loss within intron 2 of the SFMBT1 gene may be a genetic risk factor for shunt-responsive definite iNPH.

The metal/InGaAs Schottky devices with Ni, TiN and stacked Ni/Si were fabricated. J-V and C-V characteristics were measured and Schottky barrier height was calculated.

As buildings have become higher, it is likely to find the wind loads that is equal to or even greater than the design seismic loads. Therefore, it is important to estimate responses of high-rise buildings under fluctuating wind force. This paper presents contribution rate of higher mode wind response of multi-mass system for high-rise buildings by using a modal analysis in elasto range. Then, it shows that the wind responses are usually separated into the low and high frequency components, and the wind responses can be expressed as sum of them. The agreement between the predicted value based on coupling of two components and results of time-history analysis was finally confirmed.