Advanced Problems and Solutions

With the wide adoption of nanometer technologies, it has become crucial for today's SOCs to use advanced test and diagnosis solutions. These solutions provide comprehensive detection of not only random defects, but also systematic and process variation defects often manifested under unique test corners. Moreover, with the adoption of FinFET technologies, these advanced solutions are extended to cover new FinFET specific defects. This keynote, besides discussing the key trends and challenges of advanced nanometer technologies, will cover solutions to handle the wide range of potential defects in today's SOCs. It will also address post-silicon analysis and yield optimization trade-offs using volume diagnostic, failure coordinate calculation, reconfiguration and repair. With the proliferation of high-density packaging, such as 2.5D and 3D-ICs, this keynote will also cover testing and diagnosis of dies and interconnects, via advanced test solutions based on IEEE test access standards.

Summary form only given. Every new semiconductor technology node provides further miniaturization and higher performance, thus increasing the functions that electronic products could offer. Although adding such new functions do benefit the end-user, but they also necessitate finer and denser semiconductor fabrication processes, which make chips more susceptible to defects. Today, as nanometer technologies are reaching defect susceptibility levels that result in lowering the manufacturing yield and reliability, and hence lengthening the production ramp-up period, and therefore the time to volume (TTV). The impact on manufacturability and TTV is very critical for the semiconductor industry. It puts the conventional IC realization flow at an impasse. In fact, every single phase in the IC realization flow has an impact yield and reliability, including the design phase, prototyping, volume fabrication, test, assembly, packaging, failure analysis and even the post-production life cycle of the chip. In order to optimize yield and reach acceptable TTV levels, the semiconductor industry needs to adopt advanced manufacturability optimization solutions. These solutions need to be implemented at different phases of the chip realization flow. The conventional semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure, i.e. the external equipment and processes, alone are insufficient to handle such advanced solutions; supplemental on-chip infrastructure is needed. To optimize manufacturability, the industry has recently introduced a range of embedded intellectual-property (IP) blocks, called infrastructure IP. These are meant for inclusion into IC design and utilized during the different phases of product realization. Semiconductor IP is well known for the last decade. Most of the known IP blocks, though, are functional ones, such as embedded processor, memory, analog, or FPGA cores. Whereas, infrastructure IP (I-IP) is not functional, i.e. does not contribute to the normal functionality of a given IC. Rather, I-IP is embedded in an IC solely to ensure its manufacturability and lifetime reliability. This role is similar to the infrastructure elements of a building, such as wiring networks or plumbing, which are independent from the actual function of the building. This paper introduces the key trends and challenges resulting in manufacturing susceptibility and field reliability that necessitate the use of such infrastructure IP. The paper discusses the yield optimization loops. And then, it concentrates on several examples of infrastructure IP for process monitoring, test & repair, debug & diagnosis, timing, and fault tolerance, while demonstrating their effectiveness in improving yield and reliability.

2 - Robust design of microelectronic assemblies against mismatched thermal expansion

The great interest in the business that can be generated by the IoT has led over the years to the development of a large number of communication technologies able to allow IoT smart objects to be wireless connected. Even though on the one hand such a multitude of technologies has enabled a wide range of applications, on the other hand, it has produced a growing heterogeneity in the IoT scenario. By considering the high-level IoT architecture, such heterogeneity can be overcome by using IoT gateways providing modularity, flexibility and scalability features. In the paper the role of an IoT gateway in the IoT architecture is first described, as well as main wireless communication standards adopted to connect IoT objects, then the AMBER board is presented as an advanced solution able to cope with network heterogeneity in the IoT scenario while providing all above reported features. Thanks to its design concept based on the support of Extender modules and System-on-Modules, AMBER is able to host multiple IoT wireless subsystems developed by a large number of vendors, as well as to increase over the time its computational capabilities, thus being able to accomplish more and more demanding tasks assigned to IoT gateways.

The oil and gas sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, making the integration of advanced IT solutions imperative for emission reduction. This study evaluates the effectiveness of integrating advanced IT solutions in mitigating emissions within the oil and gas industry. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative analysis through literature review and quantitative analysis via case studies and data analysis. The literature review identifies various advanced IT solutions currently available, such as Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Big Data analytics, and their potential applications for emission reduction in the oil and gas sector. Case studies are conducted to examine real-world implementations of these solutions by leading companies in the industry. These case studies provide insights into the challenges, benefits, and best practices associated with integrating advanced IT solutions for emission reduction. Furthermore, quantitative data analysis is conducted to assess the environmental impact of these IT solutions based on emission reduction metrics, such as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions and energy efficiency improvements. The findings indicate that the integration of advanced IT solutions holds significant promise for emission reduction in the oil and gas sector. IoT-enabled sensors enable real-time monitoring and optimization of operations, reducing emissions from production processes. AI algorithms enhance predictive maintenance, optimizing equipment performance and minimizing emissions from fugitive sources. Big Data analytics facilitate comprehensive emissions tracking and reporting, enabling proactive emissions management strategies. Overall, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of the potential of advanced IT solutions in reducing emissions in the oil and gas sector and provides valuable insights for industry practitioners, policymakers, and researchers alike.
 Keywords: IT, Emission, Reduction, Oil and Gas, Review.

The decarbonisation targets of the People’s Republic of China are ambitious. Their achievement relies on the large-scale deployment of variable renewable energy sources (VRES), such as wind and solar. High penetration of VRES may lead to balancing problems on the grid, which can be compensated by increasing the shifting flexibility capacity of the system by integration with energy storage, e.g., by installing additional electricity storage. Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS) is the most diffused electricity storage technology at the global level and the only fully mature solution for long-term electricity storage. China already has the highest PHS capacity installed worldwide and plans to increase it strongly before 2030. The present study, based on the data from the “Pumped Storage Tracking Tool” of the International Hydropower Association, investigates the potential for technological improvement of the existing and future PHS fleet in China. The aims of adopting advanced PHS solutions allow China to better cope with the task of balancing the VRES production. The potential for adopting advanced PHS solutions is evaluated through five different intervention possibilities (here referred to as scenarios). These scenarios consider revamping part of the operational Pumped Storage Plant (PSP) fleet and redesigning future installations that are already planned. As a result, considering all the major technical and authorisation process constraints, 4.0% (5.2 GW) of the 132 GW fleet expected to be commissioned before 2035 could additionally adopt advanced PHS in a high-potential scenario. Meanwhile in the medium and low potential scenarios, the quota can reach 11.1% (14.6 GW) and 26.2% (34.5 GW), respectively. Furthermore, policy recommendations are elaborated to promote, facilitate, and support the adoption of these advanced PHS solutions.

Developing a clear, compelling and differentiated value strategy is central to the success of any key account management (KAM) program, and KAM programs at life sciences organizations are no exception. Value strategies define the types of customer needs the KAM program will prioritize, and the basic offerings, advanced solutions and associated value propositions that will deliver mutual impact for the customer and the manufacturer. Life sciences leaders see the development of advanced solutions that meet their organized customers’ higher-order needs as one of the foremost investment priorities for increasing their organization’s impact—which requires a carefully designed and executed value strategy. This chapter defines the critical elements of value strategy and introduces a process for designing and implementing advanced solutions, emphasizing six critical insights.

AT on Buried LPG Tanks Over 13 m3: An Innovative and Practical Solution

Research into the molecular mechanisms of hereditary haemostatic disorders has provided significant insights into the fundamental mechanisms of the haemostatic system. Examples of such disorders include haemophilia A and von Willebrand disease. Meanwhile, findings from basic science research have enabled the development of new therapeutic approaches. One such approach is gene therapy for haemophilia.

Thanks to modern protective equipment and advanced medical solutions, many service members now survive severe limb injuries that in previous wars would have been lethal. Unfortunately, these injuries can be devastating, requiring amputation, reconstruction, and prosthetics to restore function. Military research and development has taken the lead in addressing these challenges, establishing advanced prosthetic solutions as a top priority to meet the needs of injured service members. One such solution is conceived as a manufacturer-agnostic, interoperable lower extremity gait system (LEGS) to restore ambulatory function. As envisioned, the LEGS system would be adaptively responsive and volitionally controlled by the user and configured to maximize component compatibility through the use of open standards. In this chapter, we summarize the primary concerns and considerations that were addressed as objectives through the LEGS initiative, emphasizing essential design features and componentry, including control, sockets, bus, power, algorithms, and the need for open source and open standards to support meaningful and efficient scientific and technical collaboration. Critical knowledge gaps, capability gaps, component limitations, and nontechnical considerations point to the need for additional research and development. These efforts will require significant funding, commitment, and convergence of scientific and engineering resources. We hope that the knowledge and ideas presented here and throughout this volume will stimulate further progress toward the successful realization of advanced solutions such as LEGS.

Many anonymous peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing systems have been proposed in recent years. One problem that remains open is how to protect the anonymity of all participating users, namely, reader, server and publisher. In this work we propose a novel solution for a P2P file sharing system. Our solution provides overall anonymity to all participating users.Servers in our system store shares of documents, and each share is reached through a rendezvous tunnel between the server and an address given by a hash of the document's name. To publish a document, the publisher first divides the document into shares, for each share finds the address of the entrance to the tunnel by hashing the document's name. Next, the publisher uses anonymous communication to reach the entrance of the rendezvous tunnel. We then use a random walk and an anonymous key exchange scheme to set keys along the rendezvous tunnel. The publisher finishes by inserting the shares into the servers through the rendezvous tunnels. A reader wanting to retrieve the document operates in a similar manner. The reader finds the address of the entrance to the rendezvous tunnels by hashing the document's name. Then, the reader uses anonymous communication to reach the entrance of the tunnels, retrieves the shares anonymously and reconstructs the document.The novelty of this work is threefold. First, we introduce an anonymous key exchange protocol secure against an honest but curious adversary. The anonymity of the protocol is proved on the basis of the Decisional Diffie Hellman (DDH) problem. Second, we propose two solutions to build the rendezvous tunnel: basic and advanced. The basic solution is straightforward, while the advanced solution is based on the key exchange protocol. In the advanced solution, the key exchange is done between the publisher and each user along the rendezvous tunnel. Third, the rendezvous tunnel is used as a building block for an anonymous P2P file sharing system that provides anonymity to all participating users.

In this paper we show how the results of two preceding papers on the retarded solutions of Maxwell's equations may be transcribed to advanced solutions. We also give the results of the retarded surface integral for the advanced solution, and in the n · J = 0 case, also for the retarded solution, and the half sum and half difference of the advanced and retarded solutions.

The current legislative framework and the recent energy crisis ask for massive applications of renewable energy sources (RES) in the built environment to reduce energy demand, environmental emissions, and energy costs. The uncritical application of these policies, especially on architectural heritage, could generate serious conservation issues, compromising their heritage values, biodiversity, traditional appearance, and materiality. Thus, there is an urgent call to balance architectural heritage preservation with energy production using clear rules, policies, criteria, and heritage-compatible technologies. The present study aims at defining an updated overview of the application of solar, wind, geothermal energy, and bioenergy on architectural heritage. A deep literature review of the studies published in the years 2020–2023 has been performed, identifying main topics, challenges, advanced solutions, and future perspectives. Acceptability, design criteria, and cutting-edge technologies are also illustrated through case studies to better understand practical approaches.

PurposeUntil now, the usage and usability factors associated with AEC–FM standards have remained largely overlooked. This oversight could be a potentially significant factor in the adoption rates as well as effective utilization of such advanced solutions in the AEC–FM industry. Therefore, from a conceptual and theoretical viewpoint, the purpose of this paper is to address this gap in understanding and enhancing the usability aspects of standards such as construction operations building information exchange (COBie) over its spreadsheet representation. Besides, findings from this study and the proposed theoretical fundamentals to enhance the usability and functionality of COBie spreadsheet representation could potentially lay the foundation for a VisualCOBie approach.Design/methodology/approachThe iterative steps of design thinking and agile development are harmonized to form the main research methodology. Design thinking is useful in problem (re)formulation, and agile development is useful in iterative software development. The approach aims to identify and understand the needs and requirements of the AEC–FM users from the standardized approaches and associated IT solutions; and formulate the main features and functionalities of the proposed solution. The methodology supports the aim of generating a broad range of possible solutions instead of coming up with the “right” solution.FindingsDespite the standards and associated IT developments, the AEC–FM industry still suffers from inefficient information management. To date, most initiatives have focused on utilization of the outputs from different IT solutions in terms of accuracy and completeness of the data defined in the standards. This research found that well-established standards such as COBie and corresponding IT solutions are not merely technical issues, but it is equally important to understand how the end-users cognitively perceive and process them. The developed solutions need to address user point of view to facilitate wider utilization of these standards in practice.Research limitations/implicationsIn this research, Gestalt’s visual perception principles have been used to evaluate the usability issues of COBie spreadsheet. Although Gestalt principles provide a valid and proven viewpoint, there can be other cognitive principles that could also be taken into consideration.Originality/valueThe usage and usability factors associated with AEC–FM standards have remained largely overlooked, indicating a gap in the literature. This gap was considered as a potentially significant factor in the adoption as well as effective utilization of such standards and advanced solutions in the AEC–FM industry. By grounding the research in cognitive and usability perspectives of information exchange standards, the authors demonstrate how such theoretical underpinning can lead to innovative solutions.

In this paper we address the problem of preserving mining accuracy as well as privacy in publishing sensitive time-series data. For example, people with heart disease do not want to disclose their electrocardiogram time-series, but they still allow mining of some accurate patterns from their time-series. Based on this observation, we introduce the related assumptions and requirements. We show that only randomization methods satisfy all assumptions, but even those methods do not satisfy the requirements. Thus, we discuss the randomization-based solutions that satisfy all assumptions and requirements. For this purpose, we use the noise averaging effect of piecewise aggregate approximation (PAA), which may alleviate the problem of destroying distance orders in randomly perturbed time-series. Based on the noise averaging effect, we first propose two naive solutions that use the random data perturbation in publishing time-series while exploiting the PAA distance in computing distances. There is, however, a tradeoff between these two solutions with respect to uncertainty and distance orders. We thus propose two more advanced solutions that take advantages of both naive solutions. Experimental results show that our advanced solutions are superior to the naive solutions.Keywordsdata miningtime-series dataprivacy preservationsimilarity searchdata perturbation