In MEMS fabrication micro-mechanical components have to be partially released from a substrate. Selectively etching away sacrificial layers, such that a free standing structure remains, is a widely used technique for this purpose. Free standing structures allow MEMS devices to induce or to sense mechanical movements or vibrations. During sacrificial etching lower etch rates than the blanket one...

A large scale experimental program using vertical and batter model piles in sand subjected to pull out loads has been carried out in a model tank of size 1m x 1m x 1m. Mild steel pipes of varying diameters, lengths, and shapes are used as model piles. A poorly graded river sand having specific gravity G= 2.67, Uniformity coefficient= 3.53, emax = 0.81, emin = 0.54 has been used as foundation me...

Fully-depleted SOI devices are being considered for low power applications due to their threshold voltage, sub-threshold slope and capacitance advantages over other technologies. However, the threshold voltage of a fully-depleted SOI device is a strong function of the silicon film and sacrificial oxide thicknesses. Thus, to fully realize the advantages of fully-depleted SOI devices in commercia...

We present three variations of the following new sorting theme: Throughout the sort, the array is maintained in piles of sorted elements. At each step, the piles are split into two parts, so that the elements of the left piles are smaller than (or equal to) the elements of the right piles. Then, the two parts are each sorted, recursively. The theme, then, is a combination of Hoare's Quicksort i...

During air-gap formation in interconnects, decomposition process of the sacrificial layer induces deformation of a low-k dielectric cap layer. For analysis of ensuing structural instability, a logistic kinetics model is introduced to describe the removal process of the sacrificial layer, and finite difference method (FDM) is applied to evaluate the deformation behavior of the cap layer. The ins...

The lack of long-term performance and durability data of composite piles is an important concern that must be addressed to permit confidence in use of these piles for long-term load-bearing applications. Consequently, a durability study was undertaken to assess the rate degradation of mechanical properties (strength and stiffness) of commercially available glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) ...

In this paper, inelastic pile-soil-structure interaction under static loading is presented by using finite element and boundary element methods. Linear beam column finite elements are used to model the piles and structural elements. Nonlinear soil is modeled by using nonlinear springs along the piles. Modified Özdemir’s nonlinear model is implemented for springs and systems of equations are cou...

Building upon the idea that humans may be a eusocial species (i.e., rely on multigenerational and cooperative care of young, utilize division of labor for successful survival), we conjecture that suicide among humans represents a derangement of the self-sacrificial aspect of eusociality. In this article, we outline the characteristics of eusociality, particularly the self-sacrificial behavior s...