Consistent melting behavior induced by Joule heating between Ag microwire and nanowire meshes.

The melting behavior of an Ag microwire mesh induced by Joule heating was numerically investigated and compared with that of the corresponding Ag nanowire mesh with the same structure but different geometrical and physical properties of the wire itself. According to the relationship of melting current and melting voltage during the melting process, a similar repetitive zigzag pattern in melting behavior was discovered in both meshes. On this basis, a dimensionless parameter defined as figure of merit was proposed to characterize the current-carrying ability of the mesh.

Numerical analysis of the electrical failure of a metallic nanowire mesh due to Joule heating.

To precisely examine the electrical failure behavior of a metallic nanowire mesh induced by Joule heating (i.e., melting), a previously developed numerical method was modified with regard to the maximum temperature in the mesh and the electrical resistivity of the nanowire.

Simulation of nanostructure production by electromigration considering specimen's shape.

Al nanowires have been successfully formed utilizing electromigration in the passivated Al thin film specimen. A numerical simulation of the nanostructure production method was recently developed based on the governing parameter for electromigration damage. The results of the simulation were verified through experiment.

Fabrication of Al microspheres by utilizing electromigration.

Aluminum microspheres with diameters of 4-7 microm have been fabricated by utilizing electromigration. In a passivated Al line with a slit at the anode end, atoms accumulated before the slit due to high current density and high substrate temperature are released from the pre-introduced holes in the passivation layer, and form microspheres with aid of surface tension. The spheres are formed at the specific range of the temperature at the anode end of Al line.

Residual-strain-induced nanocoils of metallic nanowires.

Metallic nanocoils are attractive nanowire (NW) structures, which are expected to have an application as small inductors, but have not been reported before. This study proposes a coating technique for permanently bending a straight, metallic NW into a helix. A physical vapor deposition is applied to oblique NWs standing on a substrate.

Potential of acoustic imaging in the detection of nanometer gaps.

The potential of the water-immersion and dry-contact acoustic imaging techniques for detecting nanometer gaps embedded in silicon is studied. The sensitivity for detecting gaps of over 10 nm in height is governed only by the lateral resolution of the imaging and is independent of the height of the gap.

Design and performance of a thin, solid layer for high-resolution, dry-contact acoustic imaging.

Compared to the usual water immersion case, more effective transmission and reception of high-frequency ultrasound through a thin, solid layer are reported. A theoretical model is presented to perform the signal amplification and the signal modulation toward the higher frequency components for getting the high-quality acoustic images without immersing the object to be imaged. Also, the thin, solid layers are designed from the theoretical model, and the transmission of high-frequency ultrasound is carried out through the layer/silicon interfaces with an applied pressure of about 0.

Dry-contact technique for high-resolution ultrasonic imaging.

To accomplish a high-resolution ultrasonic imaging without wetting a sample, the efficiency of the dry-contact ultrasonic transmission is discussed. In this study, a dry-contact interface is formed on a sample by inserting a thin film between water and a sample, and the pressure is working on the interface by evacuating the air between the film and the sample. A model of dry-contact ultrasonic transmission is presented to assess the signal loss accompanied with the transmission.