This thesis discusses two patterning techniques: Step and Flash Imprint Lithography, a nanoimprint technique, and patterning thin films utilizing electrohydrodynamic instabilities. Step and Flash Imprint Lithography, SFIL, is promising alternative approach to photolithography. SFIL replicates the relief pattern of a template in a photocurable liquid that has been dispensed on a substrate. The pattern is then crosslinked when the photocurable liquid is exposed to UV light through the template. In order to study the volume change in the created features upon exposure, a stochastic mesoscale model was formulated. This model allows the study of the possibility of defects forming, from under cured etch barrier, or particle contamination of the template. The results showed large defects should not occur regularly until the minimum feature size is below 3 nanometers. The mesoscale model proved to computationally intensive to simulate features of engineering interest. A base multiscale model was formulated to simulate the effects of the densification of the photocurable liquid as well as the effects of the polymerization on the feature integrity. The multiscale model combines a continuum model (compressible Mooney-Rivlin) coupled to the mesoscale code using the Arlequin method. The multiscale model lays the framework that may be adapted to the study of other SFIL processes like template release. Patterning thin films utilizing electrohydrodynamic instabilities allows for the creation of periodic arrays of pillar like features. These pillars form due to the electric field destabilizing the thin film. Prior work has focused on utilizing polymeric films heated above their glass transition temperatures. In order to decrease the process time in the pillar formation process, work was done to study photocurable systems. The systems which proved favorable to the pillar creation process were the thiol-ene system as well as the maleimide systems. Further work was done on controlling the packing and ordering of the formed pillar arrays by using patterned templates. The result of these studies is that control was only able to be achieved to the third generation of pillars formed due to the inability to fully control the gap over the entire active area. / text

The Bio J-FIL process has been demonstrated to be a viable method for manufacturing nanoscale, polymeric drug carriers. The process allows for precise control of the size and shape of the drug carriers. While the original process is sufficient for research scale projects, reliability issues have prevented it from being scalable to levels that could potentially be used for mass-production of the drug carriers. In this thesis, a detailed root cause analysis has been conducted to determine the cause of the reliability issues limiting the Bio JFIL process. A series of experiments with varying substrate and imprint fluid combinations were conducted to pinpoint the cause of imprint failure in the Bio J-FIL process. Upon determining the cause of failure, an alternative imprint process was investigated that sought to increase the variety of materials used in the process by utilizing an intermediary layer. This process is referred to in this thesis as the Bio JFIL-I process. The results using Bio JFIL-I indicated increased reliability over the standard Bio J-FIL process. Further refinement of the Bio JFIL-I process could also address additional issues with the Bio J-FIL process unrelated to process reliability. The Bio JFIL-I approach presented in this thesis is complementary to other approaches that have been recently pursued in the literature which are discussed in the thesis. / text

In 1960's Gordon Moore predicted that the increase in the number of components in integrated circuits would exponentially decrease the relative manufacturing cost per component with time. The semiconductor industry has managed to keep that pace for nearly 45 years and one of the main contributors to this phenomenal improvement in technology is advancement in the field of lithography. However, the technical challenges ahead are severe and the future roadmap laid by the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors looks mostly red (i.e. no solution has been found to specific problem). There are efforts in the industry and academia directed toward development of newer, alternative lithographic techniques. Step and Flash Imprint Lithography (SFIL) has recently emerged as one of the most promising alternatives, capable of producing high resolution patterns. While it has numerous advantages over conventional photolithography, several engineering challenges must be overcome to eliminate defects due to the nature of contact imprinting if SFIL is to be a viable alternative technique for manufacturing tomorrow's integrated circuits. The complete filling of template features is vital in order for the SFIL imprint process to truly replicate the template features. The feature filling phenomena for SFIL was analyzed by studying diffusion of a gas, entrapped in the features, through liquid imprint resist. A simulation of the dynamics of feature filling for different pattern configurations and process conditions during the SFIL imprint step is presented. Simulations show that initial filling is pressure-controlled and very rapid; while the rest of the feature filling is diffusion-controlled, but fast enough that diffusion of entrapped gas is not a cause for non-filling of features. A theory describing pinning of an air-liquid interface at the feature edge of a template during the SFIL imprint step was developed, which shows that pinning is the main cause of non-filling of features. Pinning occurs when the pressure at the air-liquid interface reaches the pressure of the bulk liquid. At this condition, there is no pressure gradient or driving force to move the liquid and fill the feature. The effect of several parameters on pinning was examined. A SFIL process window was established and template modifications are proposed that minimize the pinning at the feature edge while still preventing any extrusion along the mesa (pattern containing area on the template) edge. Part of semiconductor manufacturing community believes that optical lithography has the capability to drive this industry further and is committed to the continuous improvement of current optical patterning approaches. Some of the major challenges with shrinking critical dimensions (CDs) in coming years are the control of line-edge roughness (LER) and other related defects. The current CDs are such that the presence or absence of even a single polymer molecule can have a considerable impact on LER. Therefore molecular level understanding of each step in the patterning process is required. Computer simulations are a cost-effective approach to explore the huge process space. Mesoscale modeling is one promising approach to simulations because it captures the stochastic phenomena at a molecular level within reasonable computational time. The modeling and simulation of the post-exposure bake (PEB) and the photoresist dissolution steps are presented. The new simulator enables efficient exploration of the statistical excursions that lead to LER and the formation of insoluble residues during the dissolution process. The relative contributions of the PEB and the dissolution step to the LER have also been examined in the low/high frequency domain. The simulations were also used to assess the commonly proposed measures to reduce LER. The goal of the work was to achieve quantification of the effect of changes in resist composition, developer concentration, and process variables on LER and the associated defectivity. / text

This thesis proposes the relevance of epigenetic research to feminist studies and gender studies, and vice versa, and asks how epigenetics speaks to the so-called sex-gender distinction. It also discusses what epigenetics could potentially tell us about ourselves, and our place in a world where we are all creatures of both nature and nurture. The author proposes that with its promise of insight into the relationship of the body to environment and experience over time, epigenetics could be an inextricable link between nature and nurture. Combining a modified version of diffractive analysis, and gender/sex as an analytical device, the author engages with epigenetic research and its representation in popular science and in the public imaginary. After discussing the striations of feminist discourse on permeable bodies, the author proposes epigenetics as another layer in the strata, placing epigenetics within feminist and gender studies literature and discourse. Noting that as research gains ground the way in which the public imagines and describes epigenetics gives shape to its materialization and development, this thesis asserts the urgent need for social sciences, and in particular feminist and gender studies, to engage in critical discourse

Orientador: Luiz Fernando Rolim de Almeida / Resumo: As plantas estão expostas à seca extrema e cada vez mais frequente devido aos cenários das mudanças climáticas. A superação dos períodos de estresse hídrico e a rápida recuperação com o retorno da estação chuvosa são características de ajuste importantes para o estabelecimento e distribuição dos vegetais. Para amenizar os danos causados pela seca e intensa radiação, o metabolismo vegetal dispõe de mecanismos bioquímicos, anatômicos e epigenéticos que auxiliam na eliminação de radicais livres, no transporte e reserva de água e garantem respostas mais rápidas à reidratação assim que a água estiver novamente disponível no ambiente. Neste contexto, estudos baseados na deficiência hídrica se limitam em expor plantas a apenas um ciclo de défice, o que não acontece normalmente no ambiente. Os vegetais armazenam informações de estresses precedentes que não se resumem a padrões de sinalização isolados, mas funcionam como marcas deixadas anteriormente que auxiliam nas respostas a adversidades futuras. Deste modo, as consequências da seca de forma recorrente relacionando o estresse e a reidratação pós-estresse ainda não são bem compreendidos. A espécie utilizada para este estudo foi a Copaifera langsdorffii Desf. que possui folhas com mecanismos anatômicos e fisiológicos para superação das alterações ambientais. É conhecida pelas propriedades medicinais por meio do óleo amplamente consumido pela população em geral. Copaifera langsdorffii que ocorre em ambientes de diferentes regimes híd... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Plants are exposed to extreme drought increasingly frequent due to climate change scenarios. Overcoming periods of water stress and fast recovery with the rainy season return are characteristics of important adjustment for the establishment and wide vegetables distribution. To mitigate the damages caused by drought and intense radiation, plant metabolism features biochemical, anatomical and epigenetic mechanisms that assist in scavenging free radicals, increase the transport and water supply and ensure faster response to rehydration as soon as water is available in the environment again. In this context, studies based on water deficiency are limited to exposing plants only in one deficit cycle, which does not normally happen in the environment. Vegetables store information from previous stresses that are not limited to isolated signaling patterns, but function as previously left imprint that assist in responses to future adversities. Thus, the consequences of recurrent drought form related to stress and post-stress rehydration are not well understood yet. The species used for this study was Copaifera langsdorffii Desf. which has leaves with anatomical and physiological mechanisms to overcome environmental changes. The species has medicinal properties through the oil widely consumed by Brazilian population. It is present in several vegetation types in Brazil and South America that have different water and light pattern. These factors, among others, make this one of the most im... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

Des études moléculaires et génétiques ont montré qu'une empreinte épigénétique, située au niveau du locus sexuel (mat1) de la levure Schizosaccharomyces pombe, initie le changement de type sexuel. La réplication unidirectionnelle du locus mat1 permet la formation de l'empreinte sur le brin Watson. Les éléments moléculaires qui forment et protègent l'empreinte durant le cycle cellulaire restent peu connus. Afin de mieux comprendre le mécanisme de formation et de maintien de l'empreinte, j'ai caractérisé le recrutement au niveau du locus mat1 d'acteurs précoces dans le changement de type sexuel. J'ai montré que la protéine Sap1 (switch activating protein 1) est préférentiellement recrutée à l'intérieur de la séquence SS13, une séquence qui stabilise l'empreinte. Les protéines Lsd1/2 (lysine specific demethylases) qui contrôlent la pause de la fourche de réplication à mat1 et la formation de l'empreinte sont spécialement recrutées au niveau de mat1 indépendamment de l'allèle présent. La protéine Abp1 (homologue de CENP-B) est enrichie à côté de mat1 mais n'est pas impliquée dans la formation/maintien de l'empreinte. De plus, j'ai établi la signature de l'empreinte par séquençage à haut débit. En utilisant cette signature, j'ai mis en évidence que les protéines Lsd1/2 et Sap1 immunoprécipitent les deux côtés de la chromatide qui porte l'empreinte ce qui suggère la formation d'une structure protective définie comme l'imprintosome. / Genetic and molecular studies have indicated that an epigenetic imprint at mat1, the sexual locus of fission yeast, initiates mating type switching. The polar DNA replication of mat1 generates an imprint on the Watson strand. The process by which the imprint is formed and maintained through the cell cycle remains unclear. To understand better the mechanism of imprint formation and stability, we characterized the recruitment of early players of mating type switch at the mat1 region. We found that the switching activating protein 1 (Sap1) is preferentially recruited inside the mat1M allele on a sequence (SS13) that enhances the imprint. The lysine specific demethylases, Lsd1/2, that control the replication fork pause at MPS1 and the formation of the imprint are specifically drafted inside of mat1, regardless of the allele. The CENP-B homolog, Abp1, is highly enriched next to mat1 but it is not required in the process. Additionally, we established the computational signature of the imprint. Using this signature, we show that both sides of the imprinted molecule are bound by Lsd1/2 and Sap1, suggesting a nucleoprotein protective structure defined as imprintosome.

This paper presents an investigation of the human need of being needed and how dependent we are of each other. I am dealing with my fears of temporary relationships, temporary meetings and the Individualized society, it is about the fast-paced  lives we live and how there is no time for stopping and taking care of each other and our surroundings.I use my craft to reconnect, talk about new or old relationships, and the impact relationships has on the development in one another. I discuss the perspective we have on time and where we have our focus in the moment. Connecting it to the slow movement, making time for the moment that we are in, everything happens in the present.

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Sub-micron patterning is fundamental to the fabrication of numerous devices Traditional commercial manufacturing methods either lack the resolution needed to attain the appropriate size or are prohibitively expensive due to low throughput or the necessity of expensive equipment. Imprint lithography is a rapid, inexpensive alternative to making sub-micron features that can be tailored to work with a variety of materials. Imprint lithography, while traditionally used with pure polymers has been tailored to be used with nanoparticle-polymer hybrid films. This work has achieved high-fidelity pattern transfer onto polymer-nanoparticle hybrid films with feature sizes as small as 250 nm. The polymer-nanoparticle hybrid was fabricated by creating a liquid suspension of functionalized ZnO nanoparticles and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) in a solvent. The ZnO particles were functionalized by adding nonanoic acid in order to facilitate the dispersion of the particles in a non-polar solvent. This suspension was spread onto substrate, imprinted with a patterned stamp, allowed to dry, and was demolded. The final result was features ranging from 250 nm to 1 μm in size with good fidelity as determined by the accuracy of the feature replication and the surface roughness of the overall sample. The effect of the ZnO content as well as the method of combining the suspension components on the feature fidelity was studied. In general, it was found that feature fidelity is acceptable up to a dry-film composition of 15 vol% ZnO and that feature sizes above 500 nm were more tolerant of higher solids loading. The same imprint lithography method was also used to pattern a polymer-derived SiOC glass. The SiOC was shown to be have interesting shrinkage properties where the feature-level linear shrinkage was up to 5% more than that of the bulk. The features were shown to be stable during pyrolysis up to 1000°C and stable at operating temperatures up to 1000°C. A constant number Monte Carlo simulation was used to describe the suspension behavior to confirm the empirical results from the physical experiments. The effects of Van der Waals forces, steric stabilization, depletion flocculation, as well as the physical impediment of entangled polymer chains were considered. A similar agglomeration behavior was shown in the simulations compared to the physical experiments. This thesis shows that polymer-nanoparticle hybrid films are a compatible material for imprint lithography using appropriate suspension parameters. This is very important for a variety of applications and devices. Using imprint lithography to make these devices makes them cheaper and more accessible to the commercial market and can make a large number of theoretical devices a reality. / Ph. D. / Sub-micron patterning is an integral part of making many modern technologies such as memory storage devices or integrated circuits. As this technology becomes smaller and smaller, the limiting factor for making these devices has become the ability to manufacture effectively at the appropriate scale. Traditional commercial manufacturing methods lack the resolution needed to attain small enough features. Manufacturing methods that can make small enough features are often either extremely expensive or offer incomplete control of the feature morphology. Imprint lithography is a high-throughput, inexpensive alternative to making sub-micron features that can be tailored to work with a variety of materials. Imprint lithography is simple process in which a patterned stamp is pressed into a softened film of material in order to transfer the pattern of the stamp onto that material. Traditionally, imprint lithography works best with polymers and researchers have struggled to pattern nanoparticle-based materials. This work has achieved high-fidelity pattern transfer onto polymer-nanoparticle hybrid films with feature sizes on the same order as the polymer films found reported in literature. The polymer-nanoparticle hybrid was realized by creating a liquid suspension of functionalized ZnO nanoparticles and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) in a solvent. The ZnO particles were functionalized by adding nonanoic acid, allowing the normally polar particles to disperse in the non-polar solvent needed to dissolve the PMMA. This suspension was spread onto a glass substrate, imprinted with a patterned stamp, allowed to dry, and was demolded. The final result was the successful transfer of features ranging from 250 nm to 1 μm in size with good fidelity. The effect of the ZnO content as well as the method of combining the suspension components on the feature fidelity was studied. To help prove the broad applicability of this imprint method, it was adapted for use with polymer-derived ceramics. Additionally, a computer simulation was developed to help understand the behavior of the nanoparticle-polymer suspension during the imprint process.