Complex Packaging Research Articles

Unearthing waste resources: Nano‐adsorbents from complex packaging waste for fluoride detoxification of water

AbstractThis study investigates the synthesis and characterization of Al2O3 nanoparticles derived from multilayered packaging (MLP) waste, specifically postconsumer coffee capsules, and evaluates their efficacy in fluoride adsorption from aqueous solutions. The nanoparticles were synthesized using a facile thermal degradation technique followed by leaching and precipitation processes. Characterization techniques, including inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectroscopy, XRF, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscope, confirmed the formation of γ‐Al2O3 nanoparticles with a cubic crystal structure. The adsorption process was found to be endothermic and spontaneous, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 9.60 mg/g. Kinetic studies revealed that the pseudo‐second order model best described the adsorption process, indicating a complex multistep mechanism involving both physisorption in the initial rapid adsorption and chemisorption in the latter slower phase. The Freundlich–Langmuir isotherm provided the best fit for equilibrium data suggesting a complex adsorption mechanism involving both homogeneous and heterogeneous surface interactions. The presence of competing anions, particularly carbonate and phosphate, significantly affected the adsorption efficiency. This research demonstrates the potential of upcycling MLP waste into valuable adsorbents for wastewater treatment applications, offering both environmental and economic benefits.

De vuelta a lo básico: la simplicidad del empaque y la percepción prémium

In a limited shelf space and with a wide product offering, the visual noise of packaging can be overwhelming. This study proposes that packaging with a simple design positively impacts the consumer: firstly, it is perceived as premium packaging, and secondly, it increases purchase intention. The methodology uses an intra-subject experimental design. Participants were randomly exposed to two product images, in this case, liquid milk: one with a simple packaging design and the other with a complex design. Next, they completed a survey where they indicated their perception of the product as premium and their purchase intention. The results support full mediation: compared to complex packaging, simple packaging increased the perception that the product is premium, which in turn increases purchase intention

Simplicity Matters: Unraveling the Impact of Minimalist Packaging on Green Trust in Daily Consumer Goods

This study delves into the complex dynamics of consumer attitudes toward sustainable products, particularly within the fast-moving consumer goods category, highlighting the significant correlation between elegant and minimalist design aesthetics and the establishment of green trust in sustainable product offerings. Interestingly, while visually complex packaging may capture visual attention, it does not generate higher levels of green trust compared to simpler alternatives within the same product category. The findings underscore the importance of simple packaging design in mitigating consumer skepticism toward manipulative intentions and enhancing trust in sustainable products. Furthermore, this research reveals that individuals with higher levels of expertise possess deeper insights in perceiving complexity as a potential form of manipulation, thereby exacerbating skepticism toward sustainable products. In summary, the research outcomes guide sustainable product packaging design, emphasizing alternative solutions to convoluted designs that may lead to confusion. The effectiveness of simple design expression in sustainable products is emphasized, fostering the transition toward sustainable business efficacy and long-term development.

Nano-optomechanical fiber-tip sensing

Nano-optomechanical sensors exploit light confinement at the nanoscale to enable very precise measurements of displacement, force, acceleration, and mass. Their application is hampered by the complex optical set-ups or packaging schemes required to couple light to and from the nano-optomechanical resonator. In this work, we present a fiber-coupled nano-optomechanical sensor that requires no coupling optics. This is achieved by directly placing a nano-optomechanical structure, a double membrane photonic crystal (DM-PhC), on the facet of a fiber, using a simple and scalable wafer-to-fiber transfer method. The device is probed in reflection and has a resonance at telecom wavelengths with a relatively broad spectral width of 3–10 nm, which is advantageous for a simple read-out and achieves a displacement imprecision of 10fm/Hz\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$10\\,{{\\rm{fm}}}/{\\sqrt{{\\rm{Hz}}}}$$\\end{document}. Using resonant driving and a ringdown measurement, we can induce and monitor mechanical oscillations with an nm-scale amplitude via the fiber, which allows for tracking the mechanical resonant frequency and the mechanical linewidth with imprecisions of 79 and 12 Hz, respectively, at integration times of 4.5 s. We further demonstrate the application of this fiber-tip sensor to the measurement of pressure, using the effect of collisional damping on the mechanical linewidth, leading to the imprecision of 9×10−4mbar\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$9\ imes {10}^{-4}\\,{\\rm{mbar}}$$\\end{document} with an integration time of 290 s. This combination of optomechanics and fiber-tip sensing may open the way to a new generation of fiber sensors with unprecedented functionality, ultrasmall footprint, and low-cost readout.

FPGA Implementation of Power-efficient Multipliers for Digital Signal Processing Applications

Background:: Higher power consumption raises chip temperature because it draws more current from the power source, which directly affects how long the batteries survive in portable devices. High temperature affects the dependability and functionality of a circuit, requiring more complex packaging and cooling strategies. One of the most significant challenges in VLSI design is power consumption. The power consumption of the circuit rises with both transistor density and chip complexity. In addition, one of the essential building blocks of hardware in the majority of VLSI applications and digital signal processing systems is the multiplier. Aims and objective:: This study aimed to design and compare array multiplier, Vedic multiplier, and Wallace tree multiplier using variable bit lengths. Methodology:: In this paper, authors designed array multiplier, Vedic multiplier, and Wallace tree multiplier using variable bit lengths. For comparison, the VIVADO tool was used to simulate and synthesize multiplier outputs. Results:: Wallace tree multipliers resulted in 31.153mW, 13.220mW, 4.099mW, and 0.988 mW of power dissipation for 16-bit, 8-bit, 4-bit, and 2-bit, respectively. The best multiplier was designed using different logic like AOI, OAI, NAND-NAND, and NOR-NOR and was compared based on power dissipation. It was observed that 2.256mW power dissipation was observed for NOR-NOR logic, which was minimal among other logics. Conclusion:: The 4-bit Wallace multiplier using NOR-NOR logic was used for FPGA implementation, which can be used in digital signal processing applications.

Modern Trends in Microelectronics Packaging Reliability Testing.

In this review, recent trends in microelectronics packaging reliability are summarized. We review the technology from early packaging concepts, including wire bond and BGA, to advanced techniques used in HI schemes such as 3D stacking, interposers, fan-out packaging, and more recently developed silicon interconnect fabric integration. This review includes approaches for both design modification studies and packaged device validation. Methods are explored for compatibility in new complex packaging assemblies. Suggestions are proposed for optimizations of the testing practices to account for the challenges anticipated in upcoming HI packaging schemes.

Snake-scale stimulated robust biomimetic composite triboelectric layer for energy harvesting and smart health monitoring

Extreme frictional wear of triboelectric layers severely hinders long-term sustainability of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) for efficient ambient energy harvesting. The state-of-the-art solutions necessitate sophisticated structural designs and complex packaging constraints, impeding the feasibility of TENGs for practical applications. Herein, inspired by the structures and compositions of snake scales, a biomimetic composite (BC) film is fabricated as a wear-resistant triboelectric contact layer. The successful formation of disulfide bond-facilitated cross-linkage of cysteine proteins in the keratin-based BC film promotes excellent mechanical resilience and durability, thereby solving the material abrasion challenges associated with solid-solid triboelectric layers. The BC film, with toothed microstructure, exhibits improved charge transfer, low friction, and consistent long-term stable outputs compared to commercial films. Furthermore, a self-powered BC film-based TENG is integrated into a bicycle for biomechanical energy harvesting, lightening warning signals for safer night ride with stable 300 V electrical output for at least 6 h. Moreover, a smart health monitoring system is further proposed by embedding TENG-based sensors into the bicycle saddle, accurately capturing the rider’s pelvic-saddle interactions on varying terrain slopes. By leveraging the unique biomechanical information, machine learning-assisted user identification and terrain slope data classifications are achieved with high accuracies, laying a foundation for futuristic smart healthcare applications. This work provides a strategy to reduce material abrasion by exploiting the unique characteristics of a biomimetic material, facilitating a basis for efficient environmental energy harvesting and smart sensing.

Laser-Based Copper Deposition for Semiconductor Debug Applications

Abstract Laser-assisted copper deposition provides a key technology for analyzing complex packaging and integrated circuit challenges. Laser-based copper deposition techniques have been shown to be useful in combination with traditional FIB techniques to improve resistivity, deposition rate, and timing.

Low cost and eco-friendly form stable phase change material based on fly ash-expanded graphite binary supporting materials for large-scale application

The high cost and relatively complex packaging technology constrain the use of phase change materials (PCMs) in the field of thermal energy storage. Hence, in this study, the form-stable phase change materials (FSPCMs) of lauric acid (LA)/raw fly ash (RFA)-expanded graphite (EG) with a low cost were prepared via simple direct impregnation method by impregnating LA into RFA and EG, which was used to further enhancing heat transfer and package efficiency. Thus, the binary supporting materials-based eco-friendly FSPCMs were synthesized by using cheaper supporting materials RFA-EG for large-scale preparation of PCM. Subsequently, the fabricated FSPCMs have been characterized by analysis techniques such as SEM (scanning electron microscope) and BET (Brunauer-Emmet-Teller), FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), DSC (different scanning calorimetry), and TGA (thermogravimetry analysis) to determine the microstructure, chemical compatibility, thermal properties, and thermal stability. The results show that the maximum mass fraction of LA absorbed into RFA without leakage was up to 50 wt%. The SEM analysis showed that LA could cover the surface of RFA particles and the EG was dispersed in the space among RFA particles. And, the heat storage and release efficiency of LA/RFA-EG exhibited higher heat transfer efficiency than that of LA and LA/RFA. The phase change temperature and latent heat of LA/RFA-EG FSPCM were 45.73 °C and 85.34 J/g, respectively. The TGA demonstrated that LA/RFA-EG FSPCM presented good thermal stability. Compared to pure LA, the thermal conductivity of LA/RFA-EG (10 wt%) was up to 0.933 W/m·k, which increased by 478.46 % due to the introduction of 10 wt% EG and RFA. The heat-storing or releasing time of LA/RFA-EG was decreased by 60 % for the melting process and 76.92 % for the freezing process than that of LA, respectively. Using solid waste as the supporting material, the eco-friendly LA/RFA-EG with high absorption capacity and high latent heat was a promising candidate for the large-scale application of FSPCMs in thermal energy storage.

“More than a cliché”: Experiencing Hybrid Gifting in the Wild

Gifting is socially and economically important. Studies of gifting physical objects have revealed motivations, values, and the tensions between them, while HCI research has revealed weaknesses of digital gifting and explored possibilities of hybrid gifting. We report an “in the wild” study of a hybrid chocolate gift deployed as a commercial product. Interviews reveal the experiences of receivers and givers, as well as the producer's friction points and tangible benefits. We reveal how in hybrid gifts the digital elevates the physical while the physical grounds the digital. We discuss how hybrid gifts bridge the tension between receiver-preference and relationship-signalling motivations, the need to further strengthen the exchange and reveal stages of hybrid gifting, and to manage the privacy of sensitive personal messages. We propose to extend the concept of hybrid wrapping to include a finer-grained interleaving of digital into complex packaging and multi-layered wrappings to create more holistic gifting experiences.

Packaging innovation scorecard

AbstractInnovation literature shows that the characteristics of a company's innovation processes determine their performance in different areas. In this study, we adopt a general conceptual model from innovation theory and apply it to packaging innovation. This helps identify and describe subprocesses in packaging innovation and how to measure their performance. It also links the packaging innovation process to the cost and climate performance of packaging. Based on the modified model for packaging innovation, the purpose of this paper is to develop and apply a scorecard for assessing the packaging innovation process.The first step in the methodology was the conceptual development of a model describing the packaging innovation process and a scorecard for assessing this process. The second step was to demonstrate and validate the scorecard in a case study covering packaging innovation at a major retail company. Data were captured from six semi‐structured interviews and two workshops, as well as observations and site visits.The conceptual model defines packaging innovation using seven interrelated subprocesses and their impacts on cost and climate performance. The scorecard that was developed in the research study describes how to measure the subprocesses and their output. The quality of each of the seven processes is measured on two to four dimensions. Each dimension can reach a score of one to four, where each score is clearly defined.The case study showed that the scorecard seems to be an effective way of measuring the complex packaging innovation process and identifying concrete ways to improve packaging innovation. The case study validated the scorecard and demonstrated how it can be applied. The application also showed how the case company performs in packaging innovation compared to best practice in each subprocess. The validation showed that the scorecard is sufficiently functional and useful, although it requires input from multiple sources. The usability could only be partly assessed—it showed promising value as a basis for formulating action plans—but future studies should validate the scorecard's long‐term usefulness in creating action plans and assess their impact.The theoretically‐based scorecard is novel in terms of assessing packaging innovation and its impact on packaging performance in supply chains. It links the packaging innovation process to performance and helps companies identify improvement possibilities. The paper shows how the scorecard helps address packaging issues strategically by measuring the activities conducted in the packaging innovation process. One limitation of the study is that the long‐term usefulness of the scorecard could not be validated, as the validation would take longer than the time available for this study.

Visual complexity = hedonic? Effects of visually complex packages on consumer perceptions and evaluations of products

This study investigates the effect of visual complexity in package design on consumer perceptions and evaluations of a product, with a particular emphasis on how product type (vice or virtue) interacts with this effect. Drawing on the cue utilization theory and Berlyne's optimal stimulation theory, the findings of five empirical studies across various product categories consistently indicate that visually complex packaging enhances evaluations of virtue (vs. vice) products by increasing hedonic utility. This research contributes to the existing literature on marketing and visual communication and provides practical insights for practitioners.

Low-voltage polymer transistors on hydrophobic dielectrics and surfaces

A set of unique features, including large-area solution processing on flexible and stretchable substrates, make polymer semiconductors a promising material choice for a range of state-of-the-art applications in electronics, optoelectronics and sensing. Yet, an inherent weakness of polymer semiconductors remains their low dielectric constants, increasing their susceptibility toward unscreened dipoles. These dipoles are particularly prevalent at polymer-dielectric interfaces with high-k dielectrics, which are essential for the operation of devices such as low-voltage field-effect transistors. This shortcoming can be addressed by using self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) to passivate surfaces that impact charge transport. However, SAM-treatment also increases the hydrophobicity of surfaces and therefore poses a challenge for subsequent solution processing steps and complex packaging of devices. Here, we report low-voltage polymer transistors processed by spin coating of the polymer semiconductors on highly hydrophobic SAM-treated aluminum and hafnium oxide dielectrics (contact angles >100) through fine-tuning of the interfacial tension at the polymer-dielectric interface. This approach enables the processing and detailed characterization of near-amorphous (indacenodithiophene-cobenzothiadiazole) as well as semicrystalline (poly(2,5-bis(2-octyldodecyl)-3,6-di(thiophen-2-yl)diketopyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione-alt-thieno[3,2-b]thiophen)) polymer semiconductors. We demonstrate polymer transistors that exhibit high on-currents and field-independent, charge carrier mobilities of 0.8 cm2 V−1s−1 at low operating voltages (<3 V).

Drosophila Glue: A Promising Model for Bioadhesion.

Simple SummaryBefore entering metamorphosis, the larvae of Drosophila flies expel a transparent glue from their mouth, which solidifies in contact with air within seconds and fixes the animal to a substrate (wood, leaves, fruits, stones, etc.) for several days until the adult emerges. This glue displays interesting adhesive properties, as it can adhere to various substrates with strengths similar to strongly adhesive commercial tapes. We review here the production, aspect, composition and role of this glue in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster and in other Drosophila species. The glue is made of several proteins, which have diversified rapidly during evolution. With the large diversity of substrates and environmental conditions where fly species undergo metamorphosis, Drosophila glue provides a large source of inspiration for the development of biomimetic adhesive materials. We propose several potential avenues of research for the future development of Drosophila-inspired adhesive materials.The glue produced by Drosophila larvae to attach themselves to a substrate for several days and resist predation until the end of metamorphosis represents an attractive model to develop new adhesives for dry environments. The adhesive properties of this interesting material have been investigated recently, and it was found that it binds as well as strongly adhesive commercial tapes to various types of substrates. This glue hardens rapidly after excretion and is made of several proteins. In D. melanogaster, eight glue proteins have been identified: four are long glycosylated mucoproteins containing repeats rich in prolines, serines and threonines, and four others are shorter proteins rich in cysteines. This protein mix is produced by the salivary glands through a complex packaging process that is starting to be elucidated. Drosophila species have adapted to stick to various substrates in diverse environmental conditions and glue genes appear to evolve rapidly in terms of gene number, number of repeats and sequence of the repeat motifs. Interestingly, besides its adhesive properties, the glue may also have antimicrobial activities. We discuss future perspectives and avenues of research for the development of new bioadhesives mimicking Drosophila fly glue.

Ensuring the preservation of the quality of wine during storage

The article presents the necessity for a detailed approach to the choice of packaging for wine, as well as assessing their quality level. It has been established that the transformation of the component composition of wine proceeds with different intensity depending on the type of packaging and leads to different consequences, mainly due to the occurrence of redox reactions, as well as the degree of gas exchange during storage. Complex packaging "package in a box" can become a source of premature oxidation of wines and the appearance of foreign synthetic inclusions in them.

(INVITED)Miniaturized lenses integrated on optical fibers: Towards a new milestone along the lab-on-fiber technology roadmap

Optical fibers and lenses are key components in many optical systems. Lenses used to couple light into the fiber or to tailor the output beam coming out from the fiber itself typically involve bulk optical schemes and complex packaging that limit the compactness and flexibility of the overall system. In the last years, new technological solutions based on the lab-on-fiber technology have been proposed to directly integrate optical components on the fiber end-face with a monolithic approach. In this review, we provide a detailed state of the art of the miniaturized lenses integrated on the end-face of optical fibers reported so far. The proposed devices have been divided into three main categories (refractive, diffractive and resonant including metasurfaces) according to their working principle. A critical discussion on the different categories of lenses is given, also providing a comparison in terms of ease of design and fabrication, application flexibility, compactness, scientific and technological maturity, and time to market.

Structural basis of soluble membrane attack complex packaging for clearance

Unregulated complement activation causes inflammatory and immunological pathologies with consequences for human disease. To prevent bystander damage during an immune response, extracellular chaperones (clusterin and vitronectin) capture and clear soluble precursors to the membrane attack complex (sMAC). However, how these chaperones block further polymerization of MAC and prevent the complex from binding target membranes remains unclear. Here, we address that question by combining cryo electron microscopy (cryoEM) and cross-linking mass spectrometry (XL-MS) to solve the structure of sMAC. Together our data reveal how clusterin recognizes and inhibits polymerizing complement proteins by binding a negatively charged surface of sMAC. Furthermore, we show that the pore-forming C9 protein is trapped in an intermediate conformation whereby only one of its two transmembrane β-hairpins has unfurled. This structure provides molecular details for immune pore formation and helps explain a complement control mechanism that has potential implications for how cell clearance pathways mediate immune homeostasis.

Novel in vitro Experimental Approaches to Study Myelination and Remyelination in the Central Nervous System.

Myelin is the lipidic insulating structure enwrapping axons and allowing fast saltatory nerve conduction. In the central nervous system, myelin sheath is the result of the complex packaging of multilamellar extensions of oligodendrocyte (OL) membranes. Before reaching myelinating capabilities, OLs undergo a very precise program of differentiation and maturation that starts from OL precursor cells (OPCs). In the last 20 years, the biology of OPCs and their behavior under pathological conditions have been studied through several experimental models. When co-cultured with neurons, OPCs undergo terminal maturation and produce myelin tracts around axons, allowing to investigate myelination in response to exogenous stimuli in a very simple in vitro system. On the other hand, in vivo models more closely reproducing some of the features of human pathophysiology enabled to assess the consequences of demyelination and the molecular mechanisms of remyelination, and they are often used to validate the effect of pharmacological agents. However, they are very complex, and not suitable for large scale drug discovery screening. Recent advances in cell reprogramming, biophysics and bioengineering have allowed impressive improvements in the methodological approaches to study brain physiology and myelination. Rat and mouse OPCs can be replaced by human OPCs obtained by induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from healthy or diseased individuals, thus offering unprecedented possibilities for personalized disease modeling and treatment. OPCs and neural cells can be also artificially assembled, using 3D-printed culture chambers and biomaterial scaffolds, which allow modeling cell-to-cell interactions in a highly controlled manner. Interestingly, scaffold stiffness can be adopted to reproduce the mechanosensory properties assumed by tissues in physiological or pathological conditions. Moreover, the recent development of iPSC-derived 3D brain cultures, called organoids, has made it possible to study key aspects of embryonic brain development, such as neuronal differentiation, maturation and network formation in temporal dynamics that are inaccessible to traditional in vitro cultures. Despite the huge potential of organoids, their application to myelination studies is still in its infancy. In this review, we shall summarize the novel most relevant experimental approaches and their implications for the identification of remyelinating agents for human diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

Fast and Accurate Recognition for Codes on Complex Backgrounds for Real-Life Industrial Applications

In the food and beverage industry, the existing recognition of code characters on the surface of complex packaging usually suffers from low accuracy and low speed. This work presents an efficient and accurate inkjet code recognition system based on the combination of the deep learning and traditional image processing methods. The proposed system mainly consists of three sequential modules, i.e., the characters region extraction by modified YOLOv3-tiny network, the character processing by the traditional image processing methods such as binarization and the modified character projection segmentation, and the character recognition by a Convolutional recurrent neural network (CRNN) model based on a modified version of MobileNetV3. In this system, only a small amount of tag data has been made and an effective character data generator is designed to randomly generate different experimental data for the CRNN model training. To the best of our knowledge, this report for the first time describes that deep learning has been applied to the recognition of codes on complex background for the real-life industrial application. Experimental results have been provided to verify the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed model, demonstrating a recognition accuracy of 0.986 and a processing speed of 100 ms per bottle in the end-to-end character recognition system.

Anisotropic and homogeneous model of heat transfer for self-heating ignition of large ensembles of lithium-ion batteries during storage

Self-heating ignition is a fire hazard in warehouses when stacking large quantities of reactive materials for storage, including lithium-ion batteries. Due to the heavy costs and dangerous fire risks, the thermal behaviour of large-scale LIB ensembles is usually studied by numerical methods. The state-of-the-art self-heating models on LIBs are either too computationally expensive to be applied to the predictions of large LIB ensembles, or capable of large ensemble predictions but missing important heat transfer characteristics like insulation in packaging. Based on four-step kinetics from the literature (Solid electrolyte interphase decomposition, negative-electrolyte reaction, positive-electrolyte reaction, and electrolyte decomposition), we have developed a 3D anisotropic homogeneous (Ani-Hom) transient heat transfer model that can incorporate complex packaging and is numerically affordable for large ensemble predictions based on COMSOL Multiphysics. The effect of packaging insulation is considered by using weight-averaged thermophysical properties and directional thermal conductivities. Lithium Cobalt batteries (LCO) are used as a case study. This Ani-Hom model was verified by comparing a box-scale simulation against an isotropic heterogeneous (Iso-Het) model from the literature. Both the predictions of temperature evolution and the heat generation agreed to within 5%, while the computational time of the Ani-Hom model is one order of magnitude lower than the Iso-Het model. The Ani-Hom model is then applied to LIB ensembles in four possible storage sizes, ranging from a single cell to a rack with around 10 million cells, with different packing configurations and spacing between cells. The model predicts that the presence of packaging insulation promotes self-heating ignition. A rack of this LCO LIBs is predicted to self-ignite at an ambient temperature of 45℃, which indicates that LIBs in a warehouse are vulnerable to fire hazards in warm environments. The presence of defects or abuse will even lower this critical ambient temperature. This work provides insights into the effects of complex insulation and spacing on self-heating ignition of LIBs during storage and contributes to a better understanding which can help mitigate such fires.