Search

Enhancing the mechanical reliability of metal interconnects is important for achieving highly reliable flexible/wearable electronic devices. In this study, Ag nanowire and Cu thin-film hybrid interconnects were explored as a novel concept to enhance mechanical reliability under bending fatigue. Bending fatigue tests were conducted on the Cu thin films and Cu/Ag nanowire/polyimide (CAP) interconnects. The increase in resistance was larger for the Cu thin films than for the CAP. The single-component Cu electrodes showed multiple crack initiation and propagation due to bending strain, which degraded the electrical conductivity. In CAP, however, no long-range cracks were observed, even after 300,000 cycles of bending, although a wavy structure was observed, probably due to the delamination of the Ag nanowires under repeated bending. Our study confirms that flexible Ag nanowire and metal thin-film hybrids can enhance the mechanical reliability of metal thin-film interconnects under bending fatigue.

Hong Kong as a small city has witnessed a drastic change in the number of short-stay and same-day tourists from Mainland China ever since the relaxation of the tourism policy began in the early 200...

Real estate education is a multi-disciplinary subject that requires students to have an all-round training and knowledge in such core areas as economic and finance, urban planning and urbanization studies, public policy, law as well as construction technology. These subject areas are dynamic in the sense that they keep evolving with changes in socio-economic as well as technological variables in the society. In addition, while real estate development itself is a geographically fixed commodity which implies local knowledge and regulations dominate the outcome, real estate analysis can be a much more global issue when local developers and investors desire to make an oversea investment decision to diversify investment risk. In such case, the ability for students to understand the intertwined relationship between the general principles of real estate development as well as actual market structures in other places becomes imperative. This problem-based learning ability can be enhanced with a pedagogical approach that injects training in self-initiated research, skillful communication technique and the ability to understand and analyse different socio-economic environments. In this paper, we will illustrate how an online discussion platform for students helps create a visual collaborative learning environment that enhances the learning outcomes of real estate education in a studio-discussion format, which transcends the physical constraints of arranging face-to-face meetings among students from different but related programmes. More importantly, real estate education that can prepare students with a more inter-disciplinary and internationalized basis of knowledge will be able to attract good students who aim at increasing their competitiveness in the global job market. By using the discussion forum based on the interactive environment created by Realtimeboard.com, this paper shows that students from different disciplines and cities can carry out real-time discussions on issues pertaining to urban development without the need to physically meet. The outcomes of our experiment shows that online collaborative learning platform can serve to underpin the pedagogical outcomes of real estate education in a cost-effective manner that both students and teaching staff benefit.

Rapid economic development in China has generated substantial demand for urban land for development, resulting in an unprecedented urbanization process. The expansion of urbanized cities has started to engulf rural areas, making the urban–rural boundary less and less conspicuous in China. Urban encroachment has led to a rapid shrinkage of the rural territory as the rural–urban migration has increased due to better job opportunities and living standards in the urban cities. Urban villages, governed by a rural property rights mechanism, have started to emerge sporadically within urbanised areas. Various approaches, such as state-led, developer-led, or collective-led approaches, to redevelop these urban villages have been adopted with varying degrees of success. This paper uses a case-study framework to analyse the state–market interplay in two very different urban village redevelopment cases in Guangzhou. By an in-depth comparative analysis of the two regeneration cases in Guangzhou, which started within close proximity in terms of geographical location and timing, we are able to shed light on how completely different outcomes may result from different forms of state–market interplay. It is found that a neoliberal policy approach that aims at coordinating state resources with market forces rather than discarding the state’s role provides a more satisfactory outcome in urban village redevelopment when there are a lot of stakeholders involved each with different agendas. The state maintains a good balance of the power-play in the process with a clear and supportive policy and regulatory guidance, leaving the market to function more effectively and satisfactorily in effectuating capital flow for the project, which helps to achieve sustainable outcomes.