The term "Metal Matrix Nano-Composites (MMNCs)" broadly refers to a composite system that is based on metal or alloy substrate, combined with metallic or non-metallic nano-scale reinforcements. The main advantages of MMNCs include excellent mechanical performance, feasible to be used at elevated temperatures, good wear resistance, low creep rate, etc. In the recent past, MMNCs have been extensively studied, especially the method of fabrication as the processing of such composites is quite a challenge. Though a variety of processing methods have been explored and studied over the years, none have emerged as the optimum-processing route. The major issue that needs to be addressed is the tendency of nano-sized particles to cluster and also the challenge as to how to disperse them in the bulk melt. This work explored the feasibility of utilizing Lorentz forces to address both of these critical issues: clustering and dispersion. The work was carried out both theoretically as well as with accompanying validation experiments. The results indicate that Lorentz Forces may be viable and should be considered in the processing of MMNCs.

Este trabalho teve como objetivo principal a fabricação de fotodetetores do tipo Metal-Semicondutor-Metal (MSM) com corrente de escuro da ordem de 1 nA, responsividade da ordem de 0,1 A/W e razão fotocorrente/corrente de escuro de pelo menos 10. Estes valores asseguram que os fotodetetores obtidos tenham sensibilidade suficiente para serem utilizados em sensores ópticos integrados. Todos os materiais utilizados na construção dos fotodetetores MSM são compatíveis com processos convencionais de fabricação em microeletrônica, facilitando a integração com outros dispositivos em estado sólido. O semicondutor utilizado nos fotodetetores foi o silício, na forma monocristalina ou policristalina. Como material de eletrodo, foi utilizado o alumínio, o titânio ou o níquel. No processo de fabricação básico, foram utilizados apenas três etapas: deposição do filme metálico, fotolitografia e corrosão, confirmando a simplicidade de fabricação desse fotodetetor. Através da construção de dispositivos com diferentes geometrias e diferentes combinações dos materiais citados acima, foi possível verificar a influência que a estrutura cristalina do semicondutor, tipo de dopagem do semicondutor, geometria e material de eletrodo tem sobre o desempenho e o comportamento dos MSMs. O comprimento de onda de 632,8 nm foi utilizado na caracterização dos dispositivos, devido a sua disponibilidade e o desenvolvimento de guias ópticos utilizando esse comprimento de onda em trabalhos anteriores do nosso grupo de pesquisa. Os melhores resultados obtidos foram com as amostras de Si monocristalino tipo-p com eletrodos de titânio. Na amostra sinterizada à 250°C foi obtido um valor da corrente de escuro de 4,8 nA e, na amostra de referência, foi obtido um valor de responsividade de 0,28 A/W. / The goal of this work was the fabrication of Metal-Semiconductor-Metal (MSM) photodetectors with the following characteristics: dark current of about 1 nA, responsivity of about 0.1 A/W and dark/photocurrent ratio of at least 10. These values ensure that the photodetectors have enough sensitivity to be used in integrated optic sensors. All materials used in the fabrication of the MSM are compatible with conventional microelectronic manufacture process, so that the photodetectors can be more easily integrated with other solid-state devices. The semiconductor used in the photodetectors was silicon, in single crystal and polycrystalline form. As material of electrodes, aluminum, titanium or nickel had been used. The basic fabrication process consists of only three steps: metal film deposition, photolithography and etching, which confirm the simplicity of the fabrication of this device. Building MSMs with different geometries and making combinations with the materials cited above, gave the possibility to verify the influence that crystalline structure of the semiconductor, doping type of the semiconductor, geometry and electrode material have on the behavior of the photodetectors. The wavelength of 632.8 nm was used in the characterization of the devices, due to its availability and the development of optic waveguides using this wavelength in previous works of our research group. The best results were obtained with the samples fabricated using single crystal Si p-type with titanium electrodes. The sample annealed at 250°C had dark current value of 4.8 nA and, the reference sample had responsivity of 0.28 A/W.

O objetivo desta pesquisa é confrontar os impactos da chamada \"revolução digital\" sobre o design de mobiliário no Brasil, em comparação com a produção e design tradicionais. Pretende-se verificar como estas tecnologias podem auxiliar no desenvolvimento de produtos mais adequados no que diz respeito à sua utilização e à sua significação, ao mesmo tempo em que se procura reconhecer se nossa cultura material está preparada para estas mudanças. Para tanto, optou-se realizar entrevistas com designers de gerações diferentes. O primeiro com raízes modernistas e carreira estabelecida no pós-modernismo e o segundo com raízes contemporâneas e atuante no campo do Open Design e fabricação digital. Verificou-se a necessidade de um trabalho sinérgico entre o artesanal e o digital para a criação de produtos diferenciados e adequados à sua contemporaneidade. / The purpose of this research is to confront the impacts of the so-called \"digital revolution\" on furniture design in Brazil, comparing it with the production and traditional design. The aim is verify if these technologies can assist the development of products with more suitable use and meaning, at the same time seeking to recognize if our material culture is ready for these changes. To do so, we conduct interviews with different generations of designers, one with modernist roots and established career in postmodernism and the second with contemporary and active roots in the field of Open Design and digital fabrication. It was found the need for synergistic efforts between the craft and digital aspects to create differentiated products and that are fitted for contemporaneity.

Multi electrode array (MEA) systems have evolved from custom-made experimental tools, exploited for neural research, into commercially available systems that are used throughout non-invasive electrophysiological study. MEA systems are used in conjunction with cells and tissues from a number of differing organisms (e.g. mice, monkeys, chickens, plants). The development of MEA systems has been incremental over the past 30 years due to constantly changing specific bioscientific requirements in research. As the application of MEA systems continues to diversify contemporary commercial systems are requiring increased levels of sophistication and greater throughput capabilities.

As opposed to current Intraoperative Ultrasound (IOUS) systems and their relatively large probes and limited superficial high frequency imaging, the use of a biopsy needle with an integrated transducer that is capable of minimally invasive and high-resolution ultrasound imaging is proposed. Such a design would overcome the compromise between resolution and penetration depth which is associated with the use of a probe on the skins surface. It is proposed that during interventional procedures, a transducer array positioned at the tip of a biopsy needle could provide real-time image guidance to the clinician with regards to the needle position within the tissue, and aid in the safe navigation of needles towards a particular target such as a tumour in tissues such as the breast, brain or liver, at which point decisions surrounding diagnosis or treatment via in vivo tissue characterisation could be made. With this objective, challenges exist in the manufacturing these miniature scale devices and theirincorporation into needle packages. The reliable realisation of miniature ultrasound transducer arrays on fine-scale piezoelectric composites, and establishing interconnects to these devices which also fit into suitably sized biopsy needles are two such hurdles. In this thesis, the fabrication of miniature 15 MHz ultrasound transducers is presented. The first stage of development involved the production of single element transducers in needles ~2 mm inner diameter, using various piezoelectric materials as the active material. These devices were tested andcharacterised, and the expertise developed during their fabrication was used as the foundation upon which to design a wafer-scale fabrication process for the production of multiple 15 MHz transducer arrays. This process resulted in a 16 element 15 MHz array connected to a flexible printed circuit board and integrated into a breast biopsy needle. Characterisation tests demonstrated functionality of each of the 16 elements, both individually and combined as an array. To explore potential applications for these devices, the single element transducers were tested in fresh and Thiel embalmed cadaveric brain tissue. Plasticine targets were embedded in these brain models and the needle transducers were tested as navigational real-time imaging tools to detect these targets within the brain tissue. The results demonstrated feasibility of such devices to determine the location of the target as the needle devices were advanced or withdrawn from the tissue, showing promise for future devices enabling neurosurgical guidance of interventional tools in the brain. The application of breast imaging was also considered. Firstly, Thiel embalmed cadaveric breasts were assessed as viable breast models for ultrasound imaging. Following this, anatomical features, with diagnostic significance in relation to breast cancer i.e. axillary lymph nodes and milk ducts, were imaged using a range of ultrasound frequencies (6 – 40 MHz). This was carried out to determinepotential design parameters (i.e. operational frequency) of an interventional transducer in a biopsy needle probe which would best visualise these features and aid current breast imaging and diagnosis procedures.

Ce travail de recherche traite un problème qui joue un rôle très important pour le succès desprogrammes de fabrication : le tolérancement tridimensionnel, essentiel pour définir la géométried'une pièce mécanique assurant sa meilleure fonctionnalité dans un assemblage avec uneprécision optimale.Une méthode des chaînes de cotes angulaires tridimensionnelles a été développée. Cette méthodepermet d'une part l'optimisation du calcul des dispersions angulaires tridimensionnelles etd'autre part de valider la gamme de fabrication par la vérification du respect des tolérancesimposées par le bureau d'études en tenant compte des précisions des procédés utilisés.Cette étude est basée sur l'analyse de deux fonctions paramétrées qui sont étudiées pourdéterminer le défaut fabriqué : le défaut angulaire et la longueur projetée. Le défaut angulairereprésente le cumul des défauts angulaires générés par le processus de fabrication de la pièce. Lesdéfauts angulaires sont déterminés en fonction de la précision des machines outils. La longueurprojetée de la surface tolérancée est une caractéristique qui dépend uniquement de la forme de lasurface.Ensuite, à partir de ces deux fonctions paramétrées, le défaut fabriqué est déterminé puiscomparé avec la condition fonctionnelle afin de vérifier si la gamme choisie permet en fin duprocessus de fabrication de donner une pièce conforme.

Ces travaux de recherche ont été menés au sein d'une usine de fabrication de semi-conducteurs (appelée fab). L'allocation des capacités a été modélisée à l'aide de mesures et de méthodes permettant d'optimiser la flexibilité de répartition des capacités dans les ateliers. Ces travaux permettent de gérer efficacement les qualifications des produits sur les équipements dans la fab en donnant la possibilité aux ingénieurs de rendre plus flexible le travail des opérateurs. Les opérateurs ont besoin de flexibilité pour décider de la façon dont la charge de travail devra être allouée pour utiliser la capacité des équipements de manière optimale. De plus, l'intégration de l'évolution dynamique des en-cours, l'étude de l'optimisation de plusieurs qualifications sur plusieurs outils ainsi que de nombreux tests numériques sont présentés. Pour finir, des conclusions sont tirées et des perspectives de cette étude sont présentées.

This article reports the recent progress of re-search made in the Droplet-Based Manufacturing Laboratory at MIT. The study has been focused on obtaining a fundamental understanding of microdroplet deposition and applying the technology to various practical applications. Specific scientific contributions include the development of an analytical model for droplet splashing/recoiling, an in situ droplet size control methodology, and a study of microstructure design for spray forming. The research per-formed in the lab provides both fundamental knowledge base and practical process developments for a range of manufacturing applications, including electronics packaging, spray forming and freeform fabrication. / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)

Three dimensional (3-D) integrated circuits can be fabricated by bonding previously processed device layers using metal-metal bonds that also serve as layer-to-layer interconnects. Bonded copper interconnects test structures were created by thermocompression bonding and the bond toughness was measured using the four-point test. The effects of bonding temperature, physical bonding and failure mechanisms were investigated. The surface effects on copper surface due to pre-bond clean (with glacial acetic acid) were also looked into. A maximum average bond toughness of approximately 35 J/m² was obtained bonding temperature 300 C. / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)

The present dissertation takes the multi-faceted phenomenon of deception as its point of departure. The aim is to make a case for deception as a social phenomenon, and to frame theoretically and define the skills and abilities that make deception possible. A theoretical model based on a number of ideal types is constructed. The purpose of the model is to differentiate particular aspects of deception, and the model is illustrated with examples of actions of more or less well-known impostors. The examples were collected from a variety of sources, such as autobiographies and television programs. As a first step, the legal definition of deception, i.e. fraud, and statistics on crimes of deception in Sweden are presented. Different theoretical approaches are also discussed; deception as a personality trait, and deception as communication and interaction. In order to illuminate the social dimensions, it is emphasized that deception constitutes a particular type of relationship between deceiver and deceivee. This particular form of interaction exploits elementary forms, and it is also asymmetrical in terms of the intentions of the parties involved. The concept of social competence is used to describe the skills and abilities required for successful acts of deception. It is argued that the social competence of deceivers consists of three types: strategic, normative, and dramaturgic competencies. The strategic competency involves being goal-rational and strategic, for example, the ability to predict the actions of the potential addressee. In the normative competency, norms and reference to norms are used strategically. The dramaturgic competency represents an operationalization and enactment of the two other competencies, and resembles the preparation and performance of an actor. The different contexts in which deception can occur are also discussed. A preliminary typology is presented, with the aim of demonstrating the difficulties in drawing clear lines between various types of deception. The extended approach to deception also means that it can be viewed as a part of everyday social interaction. Finally, some thoughts on deception in the light of societal changes are presented. It is argued that the increasing demands on people to promote themselves in various ways in today’s society can be perceived as an invitation to deception and fabrication. These demands can generate feelings of inferiority and a fear of eventually being unmasked as an impostor, or a phony.