This paper deals with the design and fabrication of a quartz-crystal resonator used in a thickness-monitor unit, measuring film thickness in a film-depositing system. A purpose-grown quartz crystal is cut to form the desired wafer. Two gold electrodes are deposited on both surfaces of the wafer to provide electrical contacts. The resonance frequency of the resonator, at room temperature, and th...

Background: Systemic sclerosis is an autoimmune connective tissue disorder which is characterised by cutaneous and internal organ fibrosis. Raynaud’s phenomenon is the earliest feature and may precede the onset of the disease by months to years. The heart, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, kidneys and other organs may be involved. Our aim was to evaluate skin thickness and echogenicity in systemic...

Successful application of sol-gel, metalorganic decomposition, or hydrothermal routes to ceramic thin films depends on the mechanical integrity of the precursor film. Above a critical thickness, a precursor film will crack or decohere from the substrate during drying. The cracking and thickness of thin metalorganic precursor films were simultaneously observed during drying using a standard opti...

The decrease in device dimensions is placing extremely tight constraints on many aspects of the CMP process. We outline four key areas that will provide significant steps toward attaining this level of control. In particular, we discuss the need for improved in-line surface topography metrology, and show that that high resolution profilometry appears to meet this need. We demonstrate the need f...

This paper describes the integration of an ultrasonic-based non-destructive testing (NDT) with wireless sensor networks (WSNs) to continuously monitor material integrity during run-time. NDT is a technique that allows the examination of material properties without causing any damage to the material in the process. A wireless sensor network facilitates the collaborative effort to monitor a certa...

PURPOSE To improve patient safety and treatment quality, verification of dose delivery in radiotherapy is desirable. We present a simple, easy-to-implement, open-source method for in vivo planar dosimetry of conformal radiotherapy by electronic portal imaging device (EPID). METHODS Correlation ratios, which relate dose in the mid-depth of slab phantoms to transit EPID signal, were determined ...

In this study we propose a novel monitor hydraulic automatic gauge control (HAGC) system based on fuzzy feedforward controller. This is used in the development of cold rolling mill automation system to improve the quality of cold strip. According to features/ properties of entry steel strip like its average yield stress, width of strip, and desired exit thickness, this controller realizes the c...