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In 1558, the famous natural magician Giambattista della Porta was the first to allude to a method of transmitting secret messages by using manipulated magnetic compasses. Soon thereafter, this idea, known in modern historiography as ‘magnetic telegraphy’, was spelled out and advertised by many early modern scholars as a promising technology of communication by action at a distance. In 1609, Daniel Schwenter created the most sophisticated design for the fulfillment of this potential: two compass needles were to be magnetized in a highly codified procedure to establish a sympathetic bond between them. Used in a compass circumscribed by an alphabet, one needle would turn to a certain letter whenever the other needle was moved to that same letter. Through ‘sympathy’, it was thought that this could made to occur even over a distance of many miles. The idea’s first critic, the Jesuit, Leonardo Garzoni, was quick to dismiss it as charlatanry, and many later authors argued that the device could not work as there was no such ‘sympathy’ or magnetism between the two devices. Though only a fanciful pipe dream of natural magic, this pseudo-technology of a magnetic telegraph yet testifies to the imagination of early modern scholars in having prefigured the modern reality of instantaneous global communication.

Human beings can neither see nor feel magnetism, although its effects can be made manifest to sense experience through experiments. Since antiquity, philosophers have therefore often viewed magnetism as an “occult” force, for whose manifest effects a hidden cause had to be sought. Around 1300, scholars began to address the seemingly occult nature of magnetism not only through experimental investigation but also visually, attempting to represent experimental results in diagrams. Historical research on diagrams has been fairly negligent about the relation between diagrams and scientific practices, including experiments. This paper will try to redress the balance, by focusing on diagrams in manuscripts and printed texts between 1300 and 1700 that were produced in response to magnetic experiments. It will be argued that naturalistic and geometrizing forms of representation were combined in order to render experiments with magnetism understandable, replicable, and meaningful. This resulted in a visual style of diagram that oscillated between the abstract representation of invisible entities or powers and the concrete and performative depiction of actual objects or operations.

The investigation of magnetic phenomena played a crucial role for the emergence of an experimental approach to natural philosophy in the early modern period. William Gilbert’s De magnete, in particular, and Leonardo Garzoni’s Due trattati, are taken to herald this development. This article brings to light a contrasting approach to magnetism, by analyzing an extensive and hitherto unknown study on the magnet by the Vatican librarian Leone Allacci, and its relation to Giulio Cesare LaGalla’s Disputatio de sympathia et antipathia (1623). Allacci’s De magnete (1625) which survives in a single manuscript, offers a comprehensive literature review on early modern knowledge about the magnet in a variety of disciplines, including natural history, natural philosophy, navigational science, natural magic, and medicine. Allacci incorporates Greek Byzantine authors as well into his doxographical anthology, and he commends the Paracelsian ‘weapon salve,’ which was condemned by most Catholics at his time.

Paratexts, such as dedication letters or epigrams, in early modern printed books can be used by historians to situate a book’s production in its institutional and social context. We depart from the general assumption that two publishers or printers were in a relation of awareness of each other if they printed and put on the market two different editions that contain at least one identical paratext. In this paper, we analyze the circulation of the paratexts among the 359 editions of the “Sphaeracorpus.” First, we discuss the available data, the conditions to build a social network, and the latter’s characteristics. Second, we interpret the results—potential relationships among printers and publishers—from a historical point of view and, at the same time, discuss the sorts of potential relationships that this method can disclose. Third, we corroborate the historical results among different approaches, namely by using editions’ fingerprints and by investigating the book production of those printers and publishers tangentially involved in relevant relationships, but who fall outside the “Sphaeracorpus.” Finally, we identify local communities of printers and publishers and, on a transregional level, printers, and publishers who were observing and influencing each other.

Since antiquity, sources report that garlic deprives a magnet of itspower of attraction. Although in later centuries some authors disproved or questioned this effect by experience or trial, several, if not the majority of, writers referred to garlic and magnets as “enemies” until well into the seventeenth century. It will be argued that the probable textual origin of the “garlic effect” is a corrupt or ambiguous passage in Pliny’s Natural History, reading “al(l)ium” (garlic) instead of“aliud”(another) in one passage. With a focus on the early-modern period, it will be elucidated why so many authors did not doubt this physical effect, and some even presented causal explanations for it. It shall be emphasized, moreover, that magnetic attraction, and thereby also the garlic effect, was used as an important example or analogy since antiquity. This illustrative or explanatory use of analogies drawn from the garlic–magnet antipathy certainly goes some way towards explaining the longevity of this odd relation between the two substances.

Johannes de Sacroboscos (c. 1195–c. 1256) De sphaera, eine Einfuhrung in die Kosmologie aus dem 13. Jahrhundert, war mit uber 320 Drucken das am haufigsten edierte, kommentierte oder adaptierte astronomisch-kosmologische Handbuch der Fruhen Neuzeit. Wahrend die Rezeption und Verbreitung dieses Werkes im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert bereits vielfach untersucht wurden ist bisher ubersehen worden, dass diese vermeintlich unproblematischen Sphaera-Textbucher auch vielfach Gegenstand der katholischen Zensur wurden, obwohl sie gerade eine Kosmologie enthielten, die Katholiken als Bollwerk gegen den aufkommenden Kopernikanismus betrachteten. Vorliegender Aufsatz untersucht erstmals die Dynamik und Motive der zahlreichen praventiven und posthumen Zensuren der romischen und iberischen Index- und Zensurorgane mit Bezug auf diesen Kosmologietraktat. Von protestantischen Autoren verfasste Kommentare zur Sphaera waren zwar prinzipiell verdachtig, wurden aber selten pauschal verboten. Vielmehr wurden sie aufgrund ihres wissenschaftlichen Wertes meist genehmigt, nachdem geringfugige, theologiebezogene Expurgationen durchgefuhrt worden waren. Der Kommentar (1550) des katholischen Autors Mauro da Firenze (1493–1556) wurde hingegen wiederholt und prinzipiell verboten, weil er theologisch bedenkliche Gedanken enthielt. Die hier prasentierte Fallstudie soll zum einen die Wissensdynamik der fruhneuzeitlichen Sphaera-Tradition aus einem neuen Blickwinkel beleuchten, und zwar dem der Buchzensur. Zum anderen gewahrt ein buchbezogener Langsschnitt Einblicke in die Ideologie und Praktiken der katholischen Buchzensur, wodurch auch die bekanntermasen problematische Beziehung von Wissen und Religion in der vormodernen Zeit im Lichte einer Konfessionalisierung der Wissenschaften erscheint.

Johannes de Sacrobosco's (c. 1195-c. 1256) On the Sphere, a short introduction into qualitative cosmology written in the thirteenth century, was the most widely used textbook on cosmology in the early-modern period, being reprinted, re-edited or commented over 320 times. While the reception and circulation of this work in the sixteenth and seventeenth century is well known, one fact has so far escaped the notice of scholars: Sphaera textbooks were subject to several acts of ecclesiastical censorship in the early modern period, even though the content of this work promoted a cosmology that opposed the allegedly heretical implications of Copernicanism. This paper investigates for the very first time the dynamics and motives behind Roman and Iberian censorship in relation to this cosmology treatise. Editions and commentaries published by Protestants were generally regarded as suspect, but rarely prohibited across-the-board. Instead, they were usually approved for scientific use after expurgations had removed problematic theological passages. However, the commentary (1550) authored by the Catholic Mauro da Firenze (1493-1556) was prohibited repeatedly and completely because it contained theologically dangerous ideas. The case studies presented in this paper shall shed light on the dynamics of knowledge within the Sphere tradition from a new perspective, that of the Catholic censorship of books. Moreover, a longitudinal study based on a specific genre of books provides insight into the ideology and practices of early modern catholic book censorship, whereby the well-known problematic relationship between science and religion in the pre-modern period is seen in the context of a confessionalisation of science.

Electromigration-induced stresses play a major role in the analysis and the explanation of this important reliability degradation mechanism. It is generally assumed that the directed atomic transport generates tensile stress at the cathode end of an interconnect structure while compressive stress is generated at the anode end. At short on-chip metal interconnect lengths, the electromigration-induced stress gradient between the cathode and the anode counteracts the primary electromigration effect (i.e. the directed atomic transport), leading to the well-known Blech effect. In this study, Wheatstone bridge devices with 4 × 100 Cu interconnects are used in a configuration which is different from the usual application. All 400 Cu interconnects per bridge are wired in a parallel/series arrangement without the regular resistance tapping, disabling the original approach of a high detection probability of early failures. Instead, a very high statistical sampling for measurements of resistance increases occurring in each individual interconnect can be achieved, leading to an almost “perfect” resistance increase behavior as a function of stress time at elevated temperatures. Furthermore, at conditions close to, but above the critical current density • length product (jL)c, the linear drift portion as well as saturation effects at later times can be used to evaluate the critical product with statistical significance. Selecting the robust contact/M1 interface in a first proof-of-concept analysis, a value of (jL)c = (510 ± 110) mA/μm is determined for 40 μm long Cu(Mn) M1 interconnects with 45 nm width and 100 nm height.

Laboratory transmission X-ray microscopy with a spatial resolution of about 100 nm was used to image 3D interconnect structures and failures in microchips during mechanical loading, applied by a microDouble Cantilever Beam (micro-DCB) test. High-resolution 3D image sequences based on nano X-ray computed tomography (nano-XCT) are used to visualize crack opening and propagation in fully integrated multilevel on-chip interconnect structures of integrated circuits. The nondestructive investigation of sub-micron cracks during the in-situ micro-DCB test allows one to identify the weakest layers and interfaces, to image delamination along Cu/dielectric interfaces (adhesive failure) and fracture in dielectrics (cohesive failure), as well as to evaluate the robustness of Backend-of-Line stacks against process-induced thermomechanical stress.

This chapter discusses the philosophical pedagogy of Benet Perera (1535–1610) through an analysis and transcription of his treatise on the useful, error-free study of Christian philosophy, the Documenta quaedam perutilia iis qui in studiis philosophiae cum fructu et sine ullo errore versari student. It places Perera’s treatise within its historical context—that of the Jesuit Roman college of the 1560s—in order to elucidate how his promotion of his own idea of a Christian philosophy for schools provoked criticism among his fellow Romans Diego de Ledesma and Achille Gagliardi. It shows the position of Perera’s project within the multiple forms of Aristotelianism in the early modern period and how Perera was able to justify his own position as ‘sufficiently pious’ through his emphasis on philology as an approach to philosophy. Perera came up with a strictly Christian philosophy curriculum by integrating different trends of Aristotle’s philosophy into his own, even including approaches that were considered impious by some of his fellow Jesuits.

The time dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) in copper/ultra-low-k on-chip interconnect stacks of integrated circuits has become one of the most critical reliability concerns in recent years. In this paper, a novel experimental in situ microscopy approach using transmission X-ray microscopy (TXM) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) is proposed to study TDDB degradation and failure mechanisms. It combines electrical testing and imaging techniques. Low-dose bright field (BF) STEM inserting a small condenser aperture is chosen to reduce the beam damage of the dielectric material, while the electron spectroscopic imaging technique is used for the chemical analysis to detect the migration path of Cu atoms. This new experimental approach will contribute to an improved understanding of the TDDB effect.

Early-modern Jesuit universities did not offer studies in medicine, and from 1586 onwards, the Jesuit Ratio studiorum prohibited digressions on medical topics in the Aristotelian curriculum. However, some sixteenth-century Jesuit text books used in philosophy classes provided detailed accounts on physiological issues such as sense perception and its organic location as discussed in Aristotle’s De anima II, 7–11. This seeming contradiction needs to be explained. In this paper, I focus on the interst in medical topics manifested in a commentary by the Jesuits of Coimbra. Admittedly, the Coimbra commentary constituted an exception, as the Jesuit college that produced it was integrated in a royal university which had a strong interest in educating physicians. It will be claimed that the exclusion of medicine at Jesuit universities and colleges had its origin in rather incidental events in the course of the foundation of the first Jesuit university in Sicily. There, the lay professors of law and medicine intended to avoid subordination to the Jesuits and thereby provoked a conflict which finally led the Jesuit administration to refrain from including faculties of medicine and law in Jesuit universities. Towards the end of the sixteenth century, a veritable Jesuit animosity towards medicine emerged for philosophical and pedagogical reasons. This development reflects educational concerns within the Society as well as the role of commentaries on Aristotle for early-modern learning.

Benet Perera started his philosophical career with lecturing philosophy at the Jesuit college in Rome in 1558. Although numerous documents reveal that his lectures were highly appreciated by his listeners, it seems that around the year 1564 Perera’s teachings were criticized by two of his colleagues at Rome, Diego de Ledesma and Achille Gagliardi. They feared Perera would give too much value to the Arab philosopher Averroes and that Perera’s method of teaching would pose a danger to Christian doctrines by raising doubts whether those pious doctrines can be demonstrated within the framework of an Aristotelian philosophy. This article will shed light on the background of this affair by analyzing the questions of how Perera might have provoked the criticism and why his accusers were so keen on putting forward an investigation against Perera. It will become clear that Perera had rather philosophical motives for his method of teaching, whereas especially Ledesma had an explicitly pedagogical rationale for his ...

Background and Aims Adenoma detection is a highly personalized task that differs markedly among endoscopists. Technical advances are therefore desirable for the improvement of the adenoma detection rate (ADR). An automated computer-driven technology would offer the chance to objectively assess the presence of colorectal polyps during colonoscopy. We present here the application of a real-time automated polyp detection software (APDS) under routine colonoscopy conditions. Methods This was a prospective study at a university hospital in Germany. A prototype of a novel APDS ("KoloPol," Fraunhofer IIS, Erlangen, Germany) was used for automated image-based polyp detection. The software functions by highlighting structures of possible polyp lesions in a color-coded manner during real-time colonoscopy procedures. Testing the feasibility of APDS deployment under real-time conditions was the primary goal of the study. APDS polyp detection rates (PDRs) were defined as secondary endpoints provided that endoscopists' detection served as criterion standard. Results The APDS was applied in 55 routine colonoscopies without the occurrence of any clinically relevant adverse events. Endoscopists' PDRs and ADRs were 56.4% and 30.9%, respectively. The PDRs and ADRs of the APDS were 50.9% and 29.1%, respectively. The APDS detected 55 of 73 polyps (75.3%). Smaller polyp size and flat polyp morphology were correlated with insufficient polyp detection by the APDS. Conclusion Computer-assisted automated low-delay polyp detection is feasible during real-time colonoscopy. Efforts should be undertaken to improve the APDS with respect to smaller and flat shaped polyps. (Clinical trial registration number: NCT02838888.)

Managing the emerging internal mechanical stress in chips particularly if they are 3D-tscked is a key task to maintain performance and reliability of microelectronic products. Hence, a strong need of a physics-based simulation methodology/flow emerges. This physics-based simulation, however, requires materials parameters with high accuracy. A full-chip analysis can then be performed, balancing the need for local resolution and computing time. Therefore, effective composite-type materials data for several regions of interest are needed. Advanced techniques to measure FEA-and design-relevant properties such as local and effective Youngs modulus and effective CTE values were developed and described in this paper. These data show a clear orientation dependence, caused by the chip design.

Within a DFM type of methodology, the application of physics-based models for a multi-scale simulation of mechanical stress in 3D TSV-stacked products was proposed in [1]. Highly accurate multi-scale materials data are needed as input for this approach of simulation and for model validation. This paper focuses on the set of materials data for wafer-level and package-level structures, needed to feed a materials database that comprises the input parameters for simulation. Particularly the generation of materials data such as (local and effective) Young's modulus, Poisson ratio and (effective) coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) on several scales will be described. The nanoindentation method was developed further to measure local and effective elastic modulus values and Poisson ratio for micro-bump, TSV and BEoL stacks. TCAD simulations show significant influence of the copper microstructure on the charge carrier mobility in transistors [2]. To consider the orientation dependence of elastic properties of copper, nanoindentation with extremely low penetration depths was applied. A high-resolution in-situ technique was developed to determine “composite CTE” values for BEoL stacks. A free-standing cantilever containing the region of interest was extracted using the FIB technique, and imaged in a SEM at several temperatures. For model validation and calibration, local stress measurements are needed to determine the effect of the TSV/package-induced stress on the transistor performance. Due to the high resolution needed, the only direct technique to measure strain in transistor channels is TEM. For the first time, the strain in transistor channels will be reported as a function of the distance from the TSV, based on Convergent Beam Electron Diffraction (CBED) data.

Novel approaches for the determination of effective materials data such as Young's modulus and Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) are described for particularly defined building blocks of interconnect stacks of microelectronic products. These building blocks are simplified regions of interest needed for compact model-based FEA simulations. For these regions of interest, “smeared composite data”, e. g. for the Backend-of-Line (BEoL) stack, are determined. Effective CTE values for Cu/ULK on-chip interconnect stacks were determined for particularly prepared samples, measured at several temperatures in the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The experimental results show a significant effect of the Cu/ULK volumetric ratio on the CTE value, and an influence of the Cu line direction in the BEoL on the effective CTE value. The Nanoindentation (NI) technique was used to measure the in-plane effective Young's modulus values. Along with the CTE values, the effective modulus values are useful input for the analysis of the local and global stress in chips, particularly when they are stacked 3-dimensional.

The time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) in on-chip interconnect stacks is one of the most critical failure mechanisms for microelectronic devices. The aggressive scaling of feature sizes, both on devices and interconnects, leads to serious challenges to ensure the required product reliability. Standard reliability tests and post-mortem failure analysis provide only limited information about the physics of failure mechanisms and degradation kinetics. Therefore it is necessary to develop new experimental approaches and procedures to study the TDDB failure mechanisms and degradation kinetics in particular. In this paper, an in situ experimental methodology in the transmission electron microscope (TEM) is demonstrated to investigate the TDDB degradation and failure mechanisms in Cu/ULK interconnect stacks. High quality imaging and chemical analysis are used to study the kinetic process. The in situ electrical test is integrated into the TEM to provide an elevated electrical field to the dielectrics. Electron tomography is utilized to characterize the directed Cu diffusion in the insulating dielectrics. This experimental procedure opens a possibility to study the failure mechanism in interconnect stacks of microelectronic products, and it could also be extended to other structures in active devices.

Display Omitted We studied the TDDB-induced damage mechanism in Cu/ULK structures in-situ.The methodology combined TEM imaging, ESI analysis and in-situ electrical testing.Three major TDDB-induced damage mechanisms were observed.The breakdown spot depends on the materials, geometry and the degradation effects.The results highlight the importance of the quality of the deposition process for the Ta-based barrier. The time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) mechanism in Cu/ultra-low-k (ULK) on-chip interconnect structures has been raising serious reliability concerns for state-of-the-art microelectronic devices in recent years. An advanced experimental methodology, which combines transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging and an in-situ electrical test using a Hysitron PI95 TEM holder, was used to study TDDB-induced damage mechanisms and degradation kinetics in Cu/ULK interconnect structures. In flawless Cu/ULK interconnect structures with locally very thin Ta-based barriers, slow but massive Cu migration into the SiO2 layer was observed at the bottom corner of the M1 metal after the TaN/Ta barrier had been firstly ruptured by the Ta migration, driven by the high electrical field. More importantly, it was found that both the high electric field and the massive metal migration into the SiO2 can contribute to the final breakdown of the Cu/ULK interconnect structures. The final breakdown spot could be located either at the interface of the SiCN layer and the ULK material or in the SiO2 layer, which depends on the geometry, the kind of dielectric materials (particularly ULK) and the driving force (the high electric field). The results also highlight the importance of the quality of TaN/Ta barrier deposition process, especially at the bottom corner of the M1 metal, to ensure the functionality of the TaN/Ta barriers during the product lifetimes.

Managing the emerging internal mechanical stress in chips, particularly if they are 3D stacked, is a key task to maintain performance and reliability of microelectronic products. Hence, a strong need of a physics-based simulation methodology emerges. This physics-based simulation, however, requires material parameters with high accuracy. A full-chip analysis can then be performed, balancing the need for local resolution and computing time. The key for an efficient simulation of a 3D stacked IC is a comprehensive database with material properties for multiple scales of the affected materials. Therefore, effective “composite-type” material data for several regions of interest are needed. Advanced techniques to measure FEA- and design-relevant properties such as adhesion properties and effective CTE values are presented.

This study captures the time-dependent dielectric breakdown kinetics in nanoscale Cu/low-k interconnect structures, applying in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging and post-mortem electron spectroscopic imaging (ESI). A “tip-to-tip” test structure and an experimental methodology were established to observe the localized damage mechanisms under a constant voltage stress as a function of time. In an interconnect structure with partly breached barriers, in-situ TEM imaging shows Cu nanoparticle formation, agglomeration and movement in porous organosilicate glasses. In a flawless interconnect structure, in-situ TEM imaging and ESI mapping show close to no evidence of Cu diffusion in the TDDB process. From the ESI mapping, only a narrow Cu trace is found at the SiCN/OSG interface. In both cases, when barriers are breached or still intact, the initial damage is observed at the top interface of M1 between SiCN and OSG.

The aim of the present study was to determine the influence of gingival dimensions on the development of gingival recession following placement of artificial crowns. The study population consisted of 11 periodontally healthy patients in whom 44 maxillary anterior teeth and/or premolars had to be crowned. A total of 36 teeth (82%) had, after crown placement, a mean intracrevicular crown margin of 0.57 +/- 0.47 mm. Thirty-nine teeth without restorations served as controls. Immediately after incorporation, as well as after 3, 6, 9, and 12 months, periodontal examinations were carried out. Gingival thickness was determined sonometrically and averaged 1.25 +/- 0.40 mm. Mean periodontal probing depth was 1.80 +/- 0.54 mm. Twelve months later, crowned teeth had experienced a mean attachment loss of 0.17 +/- 0.99 mm as compared to an attachment gain of 0.18 +/- 0.46 mm at control teeth. At test teeth, the gingival margin had receded a mean of 0.43 +/- 0.74 mm. In multivariate analyses considering the correlated structure of the data employing generalized estimating equation methods, crown placement was identified as a major factor for attachment loss and development of gingival recession. In addition, a shallow probing depth and narrow band of gingiva negatively influenced the level of periodontal attachment. The present results point to the importance of a more detailed periodontal diagnosis of the dentogingival region before placement of artificial crowns.

An in situ transmission-electron-microscopy methodology is developed to observe time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) in an advanced Cu/ultra-low-k interconnect stack. A test structure, namely a “tip-to-tip” structure, was designed to localize the TDDB degradation in small dielectrics regions. A constant voltage is applied at 25 °C to the “tip-to-tip” structure, while structural changes are observed at nanoscale. Cu nanoparticle formation, agglomeration, and migration processes are observed after dielectric breakdown. The Cu nanoparticles are positively charged, since they move in opposite direction to the electron flow. Measurements of ionic current, using the Triangular-Voltage-Stress method, suggest that Cu migration is not possible before dielectric breakdown, unless the Cu/ultra-low-k interconnect stacks are heated to 200 °C and above.