As technology is advancing, larger and denser devices are being manufactured with shorter time to market requirements. Identifying and resolving problems in integrated circuits (ICs) are the main focus of the pre-silicon and post-silicon debug process. As indicated in the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS), post-silicon debug is a major time consuming challenge that has significant impact on the development cycle of a new chip. Since it is difficult to acquire the internal signal values, conventional debug techniques typically involve performing a binary search for failing vectors and performing mechanical measurement with a probing needle. Silicon debug is a labor intensive task and requires much experience in validating the first silicon. Finding information about when (temporal) and where (spatial) failures occur is the key issue in post-silicon debug. Test vectors and test applications are run on first silicon to verify the functionality when it arrives. Scan chains and on-chip memories have been used to provide the valuable internal signal observation information for the silicon debug process. In this dissertation, a scan-based technique is presented to detect the circuit misbehavior without halting the system. A debugging technique that uses a trace buffer is introduced to efficiently store a series of data obtained by a two dimensional compaction technique. Debugging capability can be maximized by observing the right set of signals to observe. A method for an automated selection of signals to observe is proposed for efficient selection. Investigation in signal observability is further extended to signal controllability in test point insertion. Noble test point insertion techniques are presented to reduce the area overhead for test point insertion. / text

Italian Polka is an experiment that builds a bridge between Music and the field of Costume Design. It explores the new relationship of integration and artistic possibility between Music, Costume Design, Dance, and Digital Art. This is also an attempt to participate in a new form of performing art: a combination of a live concert and a costume show. / text

Shrinking the feature size of very large scale integrated circuits (VLSI) with advanced lithography has been a holy grail for the semiconductor industry. However, the gap between manufacturing capability and the expectation of design performance becomes critically challenged in sub-16nm technology nodes. To bridge this gap, design for manufacturing (DFM) is a must to co-optimize both design and lithography process at the same time. DFM for advanced lithography could be defined very differently under different circumstances. In general, progress in advanced lithography happens along three different directions: (1) New patterning technique (e.g., layout decomposition for different patterning techniques); (2) New design methodology (e.g., lithography aware standard cell design and physical design); (3) New illumination system (e.g., layout fracturing for EBL system, stencil planning for EBL system). In this dissertation, we present our research results on design for manufacturing (DFM) with multiple patterning lithography (MPL) and electron beam lithography (EBL) addressing these three DFM research directions in advanced lithography. For the research direction of new patterning technique, we study the layout decomposition problems for different patterning technique and explore four important topics: (1) layout decomposition for triple patterning; (2) density balanced layout decomposition for triple patterning; (3) layout decomposition for triple patterning with end-cutting; (4) layout decomposition for quadruple patterning and beyond. We present the proof that triple patterning layout decomposition is NP-hard. Besides, we propose a number of CAD optimization and integration techniques to solve different problems. For the research direction of new design methodology, we will show the limitation of traditional design flow. That is, ignoring triple patterning lithography (TPL) in early stages may limit the potential to resolve all the TPL conflicts. We propose a coherent framework, including standard cell compliance and detailed placement, to enable TPL friendly design. Considering TPL constraints during early design stages, such as standard cell compliance, improves the layout decomposability. With the pre-coloring solutions of standard cells, we present a TPL aware detailed placement where the layout decomposition and placement can be resolved simultaneously. In addition, we propose a linear dynamic programming to solve TPL aware detailed placement with maximum displacement, which can achieve good trade-off in terms of runtime and performance. For the EBL illumination system, we focus on two topics to improve the throughput of the whole EBL system: (1) overlapping aware stencil planning under MCC system; (2) L-shape based layout fracturing for mask preparation. With simulations and experiments, we demonstrate the critical role and effectiveness of DFM techniques for the advanced lithography, as the semiconductor industry marches forward in the deeper sub-micron domain. / text

Ce travail, réalisé dans le cadre d'une thèse Allocation Couplée et un contexte inter-laboratoires fort : IRCCyN – IRENav – IFMA offrant de multiples ressources en productique et en hydrodynamique, vise à améliorer le processus de réalisation des hélices marines. Certaines des spécifications géométriques établies durant la conception perdent définitivement, lors de l'étape de définition de la stratégie de fabrication en finition, leur caractère fonctionnel au travers de leur traduction en paramètres liés à la machine d'usinage. Cette étude vise à proposer une alternative au polissage en renforçant les liens fonctionnels entre les propriétés de l'hélice et les paramètres géométriques des opérations de fraisage. La première partie du travail est consacrée à l'étude du processus de conception et de réalisation ainsi qu'au cycle de vieillissement des hélices marines. Les trajectoires d'usinage sont généralement obtenues par post-traitement du modèle numérique créé en C.A.O. ; passer directement des lois hydrodynamiques au trajet outil permet de mieux répondre aux exigences fonctionnelles des propulseurs marins. Ainsi des critères multiphysiques doivent être à la source de la spécification de l'état de surface, du format d'interpolation support des trajectoires et, dans le cadre d'une approche générique du processus d'usinage, du choix de l'ensemble des intervenants du processus de réalisation des hélices. Dans un second temps les relations entre les différentes activités du processus de fabrication des hélices sont restructurées et de nouvelles liaisons sont proposées entre les domaines dits « fonctionnel », « virtuel » et « physique » pour prendre en compte des contraintes fonctionnelles et ainsi aboutir à la mise en place d'un nouveau concept de génération de trajectoires d'usinage. Les lignes de frottements, signature hydrodynamique de l'hélice, sont suggérées pour supporter les trajectoires d'usinage. La complexité de ces données d'une part et celle de la géométrie hélice d'autre part nécessitent le développement d'une nouvelle stratégie de génération de trajectoires d'usinage. Ainsi, basés sur le formalisme de Bézier, des algorithmes d'interpolation sont proposés pour aboutir à des trajectoires continues au bord d'attaque, contrainte fonctionnelle incontournable et, chose essentielle, exploitables en usinage. Le passage par le bord d'attaque, lieu où la cavitation ne doit pas apparaître sous peine de se propager à l'ensemble de la pale, est l'objet de toutes les attentions. Les contraintes fonctionnelles insuffisantes en cet endroit sont, dans le cadre d'une approche multimétier, suppléées par des contraintes géométriques et des contraintes liées à la cinématique du centre d'usinage. Le trajet outil étant déterminé, une analyse de sa pertinence hydrodynamique est menée ; un découpage de la pale en zones d'application pertinente de la méthode est défini. Suite à cela, un modèle d'hélice de patrouilleur P400 de la Marine nationale est retenu comme cas d'étude. A partir de celui-ci, une étude expérimentale en bassin est mise en place en vue d'analyser, par comparaison avec une pale d'hélice étalon polie miroir, les effets de stries d'usinage orientées sur le comportement du fluide au voisinage d'une pale usinée selon la stratégie développée. Un fluide différent de celui d'évolution et une caméra rapide sont utilisés pour observer les modifications de comportement du fluide dues à l'état de surface dirigé. Les résultats de la campagne d'essais, qui reposent sur les techniques de traitement d'images, sont détaillés et analysés pour conclure sur les apports de la méthode en terme de coût et de temps de fabrication.

<p>Given a special focus on Design for Environment (DfE) methods and tools, the objectives of this thesis are to, <i>“Identify basic design-related requirements that a method or tool should fulfill in order to become actively used by engineering designers”</i>, and to <i>“Investigate how those basic requirements could be used to make DfE methods and tools more actively used in industry among engineering designers”</i>.</p><p>The research has shown that designers in general have three main purposes for utilizing methods and tools, of which the last two could be seen as subsets of the first one. The purposes are to: (1) <i>facilitate various kinds of communication within the product development process;</i> (2)<i> integrate knowledge and experience into the methods and tools as a know-how backup;</i> and (3) contribute with structure in the product development process. The low degree of follow-up implies a risk that methods and tools are used that affect the work within the company in a negative way. In order to be able to better follow-up methods and tools regarding both their utilization and usefulness, there is a need for a better definition of requirements for methods and tools.</p><p>Most of all designers’ related requirements are related to their’ aims to fulfill the product performance and keep down the development time. This can be concluded as four major requirements, that a DfE method or tool, as well as a common method or tool, must exhibit: (1)<i> be easy to adopt and implement, </i>(2)<i> facilitate designers to fulfill specified requirements on the presumptive produc</i>t, and at the same time (3) <i>reduce the risk that important elements in the product development phase are forgotten</i>. Both these two latter requirements relate to a method or tool’s degree of appropriateness. The second and the third requirements are related to the fourth requirement, which is found to be the most important: that the use of the method or tool (4)<i> must reduce the total calendar time (from start to end) to solve the task.</i> The conclusion is that DfE methods and tools must be designed to comply to a higher degree with the main users - in this case the designers’ requirements for methods and tools</p>

<p>For a company to be competitive today, one way is to create a natural feedback loop from the production department to the design department with information regarding the production systems ability to deliver a finished component. The purpose with this feedback loop is to create respect for tolerances and to more design for manufacturing and assembly. The studied company in this thesis work developed a quality program to reach a spiral of continuous improvements to reduce cost of poor quality (CoPQ) and to reach an improved quality level (PPM). The object of this work was to test and improve the quality program called The Zero Tolerance Program. Delimitations were made when the work was started and ongoing which led to that the impact on PPM could not be studied. The connection to CoPQ was difficult to obtain and could only be proved theoretically, not practically, due to the short timetable.</p><p>During the short amount of time the right root cause could not be found. The thesis work findings came to a number of identified Measurable Success Criteria and requirements which must be in place for the further progress of The Zero Tolerance Program.</p> / PREPARE

The research reported in this thesis is focused on the creation of a CAE system to support Reverse Engineering. It is centred around the computational representation of products (Product Model) and manufacturing capabilities (Manufacturing Model). These models are essential for modem and future software systems aimed to assist the design process, enabling data sharing among the participants who use various computational tools. Reverse Engineering is employed as a particular context and motivation for exploring the application of the models. The research builds on the achievements of the recently finished Model Oriented Simultaneous Engineering System (MOSES) project, undertaken jointly by Leeds University and the Department of Manufacturing Engineering of Loughborough University. MOSES' work on information modelling was analysed and combined together with the original proposals of the author to elaborate a suitable support to Reverse Engineering, applicable to redesign in general. A process for Reverse Engineering is proposed and documented and a data model driven CAE system to support it is specified. The CAE system includes a Product Model, a Manufacturing Model and two software application environments. The Product Model of the system is based on the information requirements of the Reverse Engineering process and is suitable for representing multi-component products, from different perspectives through its life cycle. The applications assist the characteristic activities of Reverse Engineering. In particular, the system is used for exploring the application of Product and Manufacturing Models in supporting Design for Manufacture. The theoretical research is tested by the use of a case study which explores the Reverse Engineering of a component. This work is supported by a prototype software instance of the CAE system. The case study component is an axle which forms part of a product designed and manufactured by a collaborating company.

Syftet med föreliggande examensarbete är att undersöka och kritiskt granska hur specialpedagogisk handledning används för att skapa en inkluderande skola för elever med Autsimspektrumtillstånd (Autism Spectrum Disorder - ASD).  Studien avser att särskilt undersöka hur fyra specialpedagoger arbetar med handledning som syftar till att bidra till att lärare utvecklar strategier/arbetssätt som skapar förutsättningar för lärande och delaktighet hos elever med ASD.    Resultaten i den tidigare forskning som granskas i föreliggande examensarbete hänvisar till att lärare generellt har sämre attityder gentemot elever med ASD ju högre upp i skolålder de undervisar. Samtidigt pekar andra studier på att lärares attityder och förhållningssätt gentemot sina elever och i synnerlighet de med ASD, är essentiellt för elevens akademiska framgång och sociala inkludering i gruppen. De visar även betydelsen av ett systematiskt tänk i lärande organisationer och de positiva effekterna av att ha ett mångfaldsperspektiv (som exempelvis i Universal Design for Learning).   Det teoretiska perspektiv jag utgår från är systemteorin med utgångspunkt i Antonovskys begrepp Känsla av sammanhang, KASAM, och i komplexitetsteorin. Metoden är kvalitativa forskningsintervjuer med fyra specialpedagoger i form av en kombination av samtal och intervju. Resultaten visar att den specialpedagogiska handledningen spelar en central roll i ett förändringsskapande av attityder och förhållningssätt gentemot elever. Resultaten visar även vikten av ett systematiskt helhetstänk i en organisation för att kunna arbeta framgångsrikt med inkludering av elever med ASD och deras förutsättningar för en tillgänglig undervisning.

Tillverkningsföretag med lågvolymsproduktion måste hitta lösningar för att förbättra effektiviteten som inte kräver stora investeringar för att göra verksamheten lönsam. I denna studie undersöks hur effektiviteten kan förbättras för plåtdetaljer genom förändring av tillverkningsmetoder samt omkonstruktion med avseende på produktion. Genom undersökning av ett specifikt fall behandlar studien hur konventionella tillverkningsmetoder såsom svetsning och kantpressning kan ersättas med plåtformningsmetoder. Metoderna tryckformning, flexforming och djuppressning har studerats och utvärderats. Studien visar att flexformning och sammanfogning med skruvförband resulterar i kortare tillverkningstid, lägre tillverkningskostnader och lägre kompetens samtidigt som god kvalitet erhålls. Däremot kan ersättningen av kantpressning medföra en kostnadsökning till förmån för arbetsmiljön.

This case study examined learning components and outcomes of the UDL Virtual Classroom project, a web-based professional development program that was a collaboration between educators in the United States and Jamaica. The study applied the HPL lens (NRC, 2000) in order to understand the ways that Jamaican educator-participants perceived the integration of learner-centered learning, knowledge-centered learning, assessment-centered learning, and community-centered learning in the program itself, and also examined the impact of these components, despite numerous hurdles, on teachers’ mindsets and practices and the engagement and performance of students in their schools and classrooms. The researcher’s intent was to address the contextual nature of teacher learning, which must contend with the challenges of meeting the needs of individual teacher-learners, as well as obstacles and real-world situations impacting the implementation of theories and strategies. A multi-case study design was used to gather data through observations, interviews, group meetings, and surveys. Findings were analyzed using qualitative methods, focusing on the experiences of participants both as adult-learners in the professional development program and as educators themselves as they returned to their own educational contexts to implement what they had learned. This study provided insights about strengths and challenges of hybrid learning, international resource-sharing, and long-term impacts of teacher learning.