Small Electronic Components Research Articles

Fine Detail

Waygate Technologies explains the growing role of next-generation radiography in the testing of semiconductors and the small electronic components used in consumer tech.

Connecting surface-mounted electronic elements with amber strand metal-clad conductive fibers by reflow soldering

Electronic yarns contain electronic components which are fully embedded into the conductive yarn’s structure before manufacturing smart textile garments or fabrics. To accept comprehensively the electronic textiles, it is essential to integrate the electronic components into/onto the conductive textile yarn without compromising the quality of the textile substrate. Therefore, one of the solutions is to create flexible and stretchable conductive yarn that contains a small surface-mounted electronic component embedded in the fibers of the conductive yarn. The purpose of this research work is to manufacture and subsequently evaluate the physical and electromechanical properties of amber strand (Toyobo’s p-phenylene benzobisoxazole fiber zylon) yarns with embedded surface-mounted device components. Using a benchtop reflow-soldering machine, the surface-mounted device component was successfully inserted into the amber strand conductive yarn. Then the developed electronic yarn was coated using thermoplastic polyurethane for encapsulation purposes. Furthermore, reliability tests of the electrical and mechanical properties of the electronic yarn (tensile strain and washing) were carried out. From the results it can be seen that the developed thermoplastic polyurethane encapsulated electronic yarn had a tensile strength of 37.38 N with a 4.1 mm extension. Furthermore, the relationship between the strain and washing action on the electrical resistance of the developed electronic yarn was experimentally investigated. The analytical finding shows that mechanical stress and laundry washing had a significant influence on the electrical resistance of the electronic yarn.

A Development of Welding Tips for the Reflow Soldering Process Based on Multiphysics

A reflow soldering process (RSP) is generally implemented in advanced manufacturing factories for welding small electronic components together to create a product using heat generated at the welding tip (WT). Improper WT design and operating conditions may lead to defects in some products; therefore, optimizing both is immensely significant in developing the RSP. Accordingly, this article proposes a successful RSP development based on multiphysics in a hard disk drive factory consisting of transient thermal-electric and structural simulations. First, a new shape series WT was designed, and a conventional shape, parallel WT, was considered as a case study. Then, they were assembled and experimented with the RSP actual operating conditions to collect essential data. Next, the heat transfer was determined using a transient thermal-electric simulation (TES). The simulation results showed uneven WT temperatures depending on applied voltages, time, and shapes, which were consistent with the experimental results. The higher the applied voltage, the greater the temperature generated at the WT. Finally, after using TES results as loads, the structural simulation showed WT total deformations, which could be consistent with actually occurring defects. The findings from this research are a new design of series WT and proper multiphysics methodology for developing the RSP.

Electrostatic discharge prevention system via body potential control based on a triboelectric nanogenerator

In modern society, electrostatic discharge (ESD) is frequently caused by humans charged with positive charges by contact electrification, wherein natural grounding is difficult. ESD not only makes our skin uncomfortable but can also lead to the destruction of small electronic components, fires, and explosions. Therefore, there is a continuous demand for technology, such as an ungrounded anti-static method, to prevent static electricity as the grounding method is inconvenient. This study demonstrates an ESD prevention system (EPS) using a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), which is ungrounded and does not require an additional power source. The developed EPS prevents ESD by supplying the negative charges generated from TENGs to the human body. Various factors were investigated to optimize the performance of the EPS. Using the TENG-based EPS, the electric potential that raised to 200, 500, and 1000 V was reduced to 0 V within 20, 31, and 38 s, respectively. Additionally, it succeeded in maintaining the electric potential of a body in a stable state by supplying negative charges generated by TENG, which is operated by the mechanical energy of the human body to compensate for the positive charges generated by contact electrification. This study provides a new design for ESD prevention devices that can be utilized in various industrial units, including semiconductors, petrochemicals, and chemicals, and for the general public.

Flexible and highly sensitive triboelectric nanogenerator with magnetic nanocomposites for cultural heritage conservation and human motion monitoring

As an emerging high-entropy energy harvesting technology, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have received extensive research attention, and have expanded the application range in the era of Internet intelligence by rationally engineering triboelectric materials. In this report, we present a simple approach to fabricate magnetic TENGs (M-TENGs) based on composite films of carboxylated chitosan. The composite film has good biocompatibility and its saturation magnetization increases with the increase of the concentration of magnetic nanoparticles, to a maximum value of 29.4 emu/g. The M-TENG exhibited the maximum open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current of 168.2 V and 7.6 μA, respectively, with a maximum output power density of 107.5 mW·m−2. It can drive LED lights and small commercial electronic components. In addition, the assembled flexible M-TENG can be used as a self-powered human motion monitoring sensor with stable and sensitive response to continuous motion, which is a good candidate for monitoring human daily and clinical motion. Meanwhile, it is used as a sensor for real-time monitoring and protection of cultural relics by utilizing its magnetic properties and sensitivity, thus widening its application in preventing historical relics with cultural value from damages.

Micro Components Detection Using Deep Learning

Industries have to manufacture products in large scale with respect to time in order to compete others but while producing small electronic components goods in bulk where it is automated at some point. Sometimes due to malfunction in automation it produces defects in product which impact negatively in some percentages of production. So, we propose them with our project which will identify the product before getting out of manufacturing unit surveillance camera’s with highly trained model to specific task in detection can opt out defects from it. After placing them in required position they detect the products with defects or for particular detection which will make manufacturer hectic & complex work easy especially detecting micro components in it. In can be also cost reduction as we use raspberry pi. Infact all small industrial markets were facing issues to defects detection in small parts of electronic item like semiconductor with mobility devices. Are article is proposing a defect detection algorithm for micro components that are based on a single short detector network (SSD) and deep learning.

Footstep Power Generation

Abstract: Piezoelectric energy harvesting is the new upcoming green and clean energy which works on piezoelectric principle. The lost energies are being captured and restored by the transducer and piezoelectric sensor in to a battery. The vibrations and motions caused by humans and machines will be used and stored in battery are being used by the small and low power electronic component and wireless technology, starts being to develop recently and so, necessary steps are taken to develop and find a new power source from harvesting technique. The power and energy from different sources are commonly used and simple power harvesting circuits will replace the power supplies which is currently used. These materials harvest small amount of energy which are ignored and wasted in the surrounding but this energy can be useful for powering the small electrical components in a system. The research made to accumulate the power through this method and sources so an estimate amount of energy can be produced and stored. At the end of this project, the outcomes should be a stable power source to charge a battery and light a bulb of small watt and further can be used for multiple tasks and applications. Keywords: Energy harvesting, Piezoelectric sensors, Solid works Analysis

The Effects of Space Radiation on Small Satellites-General Structure of Cubesat and Internet of Space Things

Small satellites have started to be produced as a solution to the volume, weight and cost problems of traditional satellites. CubeSat as a small nano satellite whose production is gaining speed today, has contributed to research in space and satellite with the Internet of Things. CubeSat networks that can communicate each other in space are created with the development of the Internet of Things. The performance of satellites is attempted to be maximized with small satellites. Small electronic components of these satellites increase the sensitivity to space radiation. At the same time, the performance of the satellite is affected. More durable materials are being developed to minimize these impacts. In addition,satellites are tested for their durability by irradiating the satellite to be sent with close amounts of space radiation before it is sent into space. Signals that are important in satellite communication are affected by atmospheric conditions. In this context, the effect of the ionosphere which is the layer of the atmosphere on signals is mentioned. A compilation article about CubeSat networks that bring the concept of the Internet of Space Things to the fore, the effects of space radiation on small satellites, the materials that can be used on small satellites to reduce this effect and the radiation tests conducted has been written to address the lack of local resources.

From fabric to smart T-shirt: fine tuning an improved robust system to detect arrhythmia

Wearable electrocardiogram (ECG) systems should be comfortable, non-stigmatizing, and capable of producing high-quality data. Many different designs of wearable textile ECG systems have recently emerged. Some of them are not considered to be smart garments, whereas most of the others present only the electronic side of the system. Our research work introduces a comprehensive study for an improved single-lead ECG smart shirt to identify automatically premature ventricular contraction as a common form of arrhythmia. For artifact-free results, Marvelous Designer is implemented to design our optimized relaxed slim fit shirt. In addition, a weft-knitted fabric of 80% nylon–20% spandex is used to manufacture the outer part of the shirt. Moreover, lightweight and small size electronic components are integrated to the outer part via low-resistance dry textile electrodes and 100% cotton fabric as an inner layer for easy transmission of weak ECG signals.

Laser-induced forward transfer as a potential alternative to pick-and-place technology when assembling semiconductor components

Fabrication technologies for the semiconductor industry have enabled ever smaller electronic components but now face a fundamental limit in their assembly. As the components get smaller and smaller, the difficulty of assembly increases. At the same time, the number of components per circuit board area is growing, as is the case with LED displays. This in turn calls for an increasing assembly rate. The conventional pick-and-place method can handle approximately 25–30 thousand dies per hour but has increasing limitations when component dimensions are reduced below 150 μm edge length. Laser-induced forward transfer is used as a potential alternative for an assembly of semiconductor components. This technique allows to transfer semiconductor components with an edge length of less than 150 μm to a target substrate. The current process is contactless, damage-free, and has sufficient placement accuracy. If this process is combined with the property of high-pulse repetition rates, it is possible to significantly increase the assembly rate of semiconductor components compared to the current limitations. The aim of this study is to characterize the flight properties of silicon semiconductor components of various dimensions in a laser-driven transfer process using optical imaging methods. This method allows to analyze velocity, the direction of fall, and acceleration of falling components. The results can be used to analyze the transfer behavior of various component sizes and to make estimates of the stability of the transfer process.

Forced Convection Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis of Architected and Three-Dimensional Printable Heat Sinks Based on Triply Periodic Minimal Surfaces

Abstract The drive for small and compact electronic components with higher processing capabilities is limited by their ability to dissipate the associated heat generated during operations, and hence, more advanced heat sink designs are required. Recently, the emergence of additive manufacturing techniques facilitated the fabrication of complex structures and overcame the limitation of traditional techniques such as milling, drilling, and casting. Therefore, complex heat sink designs are now easily realizable. In this study, we propose a design procedure for mathematically realizable architected heat sinks and investigate their performance using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach. The proposed heat sinks are mathematically designed with topologies based on triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMSs). Three-dimensional CFD models are developed using the starccm+ platform for uniform heat sinks and topologically graded heat sinks to study the heat transfer performance in forced convection domains. The overall heat transfer coefficient, surface temperature, and pressure drop versus the input heat sources as well as the Reynolds number are used to evaluate the heat sink performance. Moreover, temperature contours and velocity streamlines were examined to analyze the fluid flow behavior within the heat sinks. Results showed that the tortuosity and channel complexity of the Diamond solid-networks heat sink result in a 32% increase in convective heat transfer coefficient compared with the Gyroid solid-network heat sink which has the comparable surface area under the examined flow conditions. This increase is at the expense of increased pressure drops which increases by the same percentage. In addition, it was found that expanding channel size along flow direction using the porosity grading approach results in significant pressure drop (27.6%), while the corresponding drop in convective heat transfer is less significant (15.7%). These results show the importance of employing functional grading in the design of heat sinks. Also, the manufacturability of the proposed designs was assessed using computerized tomography (CT) scan and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging performed on metallic samples fabricated using powder bed fusion techniques. A visible number of internal manufacturing defects can affect the performance of the proposed heat sinks.

Inverse-Coefficient Problem of Heat Transfer in Layered Nanostructures

The rapid development of electronics is leading to the creation and use of small electronic components, including nanoelements of a complex layered structure. The search for effective methods for cooling electronic systems dictates the need for the development of methods for the numerical analysis of heat transfer in nanostructures. A characteristic feature of the energy transfer in such systems is the dominant role of contact thermal resistance at interlayer interfaces. Since the contact resistance depends on a number of factors associated with the manufacturing technology of heterostructures, it is of great importance to determine the corresponding coefficients from the results of temperature measurements. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the possibility of reconstructing the thermal resistance coefficients at the interfaces between layers by solving the inverse problem of heat transfer. The complex of algorithms includes two major blocks: a block for solving the direct heat transfer problem in a layered nanostructure and an optimization block for solving the inverse problem. The direct problem is formulated in an algebraic (finite difference) form under the assumption of a constant temperature within each layer due to their small thickness. The inverse problem is solved in the extreme formulation and optimized using zero-order methods that do not require calculating the derivatives of the optimized function. As a basic optimization algorithm, the Nelder–Mead method is used in combination with random restarts to search for the global minimum. The results of identifying the contact thermal resistance coefficients obtained in the context of a quasi-real experiment are presented. The accuracy of the solution of the identification problem is estimated as a function of the number of layers in the heterostructure and the measurement error. The results are planned to be used in the new technique of multiscale modeling of thermal regimes of the electronic component base of the microwave range, when identifying the thermal conductivity coefficients of the heterostructure.

Automated insertion of package dies onto wire and into a textile yarn sheath

Wider adoption of electronic textiles requires integration of small electronic components into textile fabrics, without comprising the textile qualities. A solution is to create a flexible yarn that incorporates electronic components within the fibres of the yarn (E-yarn). The production of these novel E-yarns was initially a craft skill, with the inclusion of package dies within the fibres of the yarn taking about 90 min. The research described here demonstrated that it is possible to produce E-yarns on an industrial scale by automating the manufacturing process. This involved adapting printed circuit board manufacturing technology and textile yarn covering machinery. The production process started with re-flow soldering of package dies onto fine multi-strand copper wire. A carrier yarn was then placed in parallel with the copper wire to provide tensile strength. The package die and adjacent carrier yarn were then encapsulated in a polymer micro-pod to provide protection from moisture ingress and from mechanical strain on the die and solder joints. The process was then completed by surrounding the micro-pod and copper interconnects with additional fibres, held tightly together with a knitted fibre-sheath. This prototype, automated production process reduced the time for embedding one micro-device within a yarn to 6 min, thus increasing the production speed, demonstrating that automation of the E-yarn production process is feasible. Prototype garments have been created using E- yarns. Further developments can include automated transfer of the yarn components from one stage of production to the next, enabling greater increases in speed of manufacture of E yarns.

Solid and Vapor Chamber Integrated Heat Spreaders: Which to Choose and Why

The performance and reliability of semiconductor electronics require that thermal management hardware be used to adequately cool devices, components, and packages. A vital component of many devices, including but not limited to PAs, CPUs, GPUs, and LEDs, is the integrated heat spreader (IHS). IHSs are implemented to spread the heat from the small electronic component to a larger area in order to facilitate sufficiently low thermal resistance active or passive cooling to the final fluid-cooled heat sink in the stack. One question that still needs to be addressed for electronics packaging is “Under what circumstances do vapor chamber heat spreaders outperform solid IHSs?” This paper is aimed at providing a straightforward approach to addressing this question, specifically during the early “scoping” design stage. Sufficiently accurate steady-state thermal network models for both solid and vapor chamber IHSs are proposed for estimating the overall stack resistance of a package, including TIM1, IHS, TIM2, and convective heat sink. In this way, the performance of both heat spreading technologies can be compared and contrasted over a range of geometric and operating parameters without having to resort to complex numerical models, which may require specialized expertise and/or be too expensive and time-consuming for early-stage design phases of electronic packages.

A dimensionally reduced order piezoelectric energy harvester model

Presently reduced power requirement for small electronic components have been the main motivation for developing vibration based energy harvesting. The ultimate objective in this research field is to provide an easy, sustainable and efficient technology to power such small electronic devices from the unused vibrational energy available in the environment. A comprehensive, reliable mathematical technique is thus in high demand which can model a piezoelectric energy harvester, predict its coupled dynamics (structural and electromechanical) accurately. The present work focuses on developing a mathematical model for a slender, piezoelectric energy harvester based on Variational Asymptotic Method, a dimensional reduction methodology. Variational Asymptotic Method approximates the 3D electromechanical enthalpy as an asymptotic series to formulate an equivalent 1D electromechanical enthalpy functional to perform a systematic dimensional reduction. For validation purpose, we have picked up experimental results for a bimorph PZT harvester, available in the literature. We have studied the extension-bending structural coupling along with the parameter dependence of the voltage, power output from the harvester and validated with the experiments. The present study provides a unique, accurate modeling technique which is capable of capturing material anisotropy, structural coupling and can analyse arbitrary cross section, surface mounted as well as embedded piezo layered energy harvester.

고감도 그림자 무아레 기법을 이용한 모바일 전자부품의 변형 측정

모바일 기기 내부에 있는 전자부품들은 반도체 칩이나 그 밖의 여러 가지 재료로 구성되어 있다. 이러한 전자부품들은 매우 얇고, 구성된 재료들은 다양한 열팽창 계수를 가지고 있으므로 온도 변화나 외부 하중에 의해서 쉽게 굽힘이 일어난다. 그림자 무아레 방법은 비접촉으로 전체 영역에 걸친 면외변위를 측정하는 광학적 방법이지만 측정 감도를 <TEX>$50{\mu}m/fringe$</TEX> 이내로 하기 어려워서 반도체 패키지의 굽힘변형을 측정하기에는 적당하지 않은 면이 있었다. 본 논문에서는 그림자 무아레 기법의 여러 실험조건들을 최적화하여 <TEX>$25{\mu}m/fringe$</TEX>의 향상된 감도를 갖는 측정 방법을 구현하였다. 또한 이로부터 위상이동에 의해 기록되는 4장의 그림자 무늬를 영상 처리하여 감도가 4배 향상된 그림자 무늬를 얻어내고 이를 스마트폰의 소형 전자부품들에 적용하여 온도변화에 따라 발생하는 굽힘 변위를 <TEX>$5{\mu}m/fringe$</TEX>의 고감도로 측정하였다. The electronic components in mobile device are composed of electronic chips and various other materials. These components become extremely thin and the constituent materials have different coefficient of thermal expansion, so that considerable warpages occurs easily due to temperature change or external load. Shadow <TEX>$moir{\acute{e}}$</TEX> is non-contact, whole field technique for measuring out-of-plane displacement, but the measurement sensitivity is not less than <TEX>$50{\mu}m/fringe$</TEX>, which is not suitable for measuring the warpage of the electronic components. In this paper, we implemented a measurement method with enhanced sensitivity of <TEX>$25{\mu}m/fringe$</TEX> by investigating and optimizing various experimental conditions of the shadow <TEX>$moir{\acute{e}}$</TEX>. In addition, four <TEX>$moir{\acute{e}}$</TEX> fringe patterns recorded by the phase shift are processes to obtain a <TEX>$moir{\acute{e}}$</TEX> fringe patterns with a sensitivity four times higher. The measurement technique is applied to small electronic components of a smart phone for measuring warpage with a high sensitivity of <TEX>$5{\mu}m/fringe$</TEX> at room temperature and at the temperature of <TEX>$100^{\circ}C$</TEX>.

Modeling and Characterization of a Curved Piezoelectric Energy Harvester for Smart Paver Tiles

Abstract: The transformation of vibrations into low-power electricity has received growing attention over the past couple of decades. The goal in this research field is to power wireless sensors and other small electronic components by harvesting ambient mechanical energy. Piezoelectricity is arguably the most popular transduction mechanism for converting mechanical vibrations into electrical energy. As a promising concept of piezoelectric energy conversion, smart paver tiles are proposed to harness human steps for energy harvesting and a wide range of critical sensing applications ranging from security to healthcare. In this work, we explore the use of a curved piezoelectric transducer (specifically a THUNDER® configuration) for smart paver tiles both analytically and experimentally. Following the description of the smart paver tiles developed, an analytical model is developed and closed-form electromechanical frequency response functions are obtained. Experiments are performed for a range of excitation frequencies (1-10 Hz ), electrical load resistance values, and low force levels. It is shown that the first-order electromechanical model successfully represents the governing dynamics.

Relationship between Copper Patterns and Temperature Rise of Printed Circuit Board for Small Surface Mount Electronic Components in Terms of Constriction Thermal Resistance

Relationship between Copper Patterns and Temperature Rise of Printed Circuit Board for Small Surface Mount Electronic Components in Terms of Constriction Thermal Resistance

THERMO-VISCOELASTIC CHARACTERIZATION OF POLYMER LAMINATE FILMS

The investigated material - laminate is intended as a substrate for small electronic components, electrodes and printed circuits, which are processed onto the laminate prior to thermoforming. The placement of the electronic components and the connecting circuits must be carefully designed to prevent damage during the thermoforming. The thermo-viscoelastic behavior of a polymer laminate film was characterized by mechanical measurements to obtain data for material modeling. The strain was measured using digital image correlation. The film is anisotropic and is able to deform to strains up to 60%.

Concept and implementation of an agent-based control architecture for a cyber-physical assembly system

Today’s production companies are challenged with: the assembly of different product variants with lot size of one on a single assembly line and the increase of product variants. The implementation of reconfigurable assembly systems with a modular design is a solution, which allows a flexible adaptation to different product variants. However, handling different assembly modules via specific communication protocols is limited by the current centralized control concepts. Therefore, this paper presents a concept for an agent-based control architecture. This concept uses coherent information starting from the planning process of the assembly system until the system is put into operation allowing a decentralized control. The decentralized agents in each station act as mediators between the modules and the assembly memory database enabling the product autonomous control throughout the assembly system. Moreover, the agent manages the data transfer for the modules with different specific syntaxes via respective communication protocols since a standardized communication protocol does not exist in industry. The concept is verified in a test assembly line for the production of small electronic components.