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The high Tc superconductors (HTS) are characterized by magneto electric anisotropy due to their pronounced material anisotropy. It is expected to observe also some mechanical anisotropy. The mechanical properties of c-axis oriented and <110>-axis oriented films are reported. The two differently orientated films comprise an ideal case for comparative studies on mechanical anisotropy. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM) were used to study the films' surface. Nanoindentation and nanoscratch techniques were used to test the elastic behaviors and hardness of the films. Mechanical anisotropies was found, analyzed and discussed.

Specially formulated frit materials have been applied in thick film superconductors similar to the standard thick film materials in order to achieve processing parameters closely compatible with conventional thick film technology and alumina substrates. The applied frits have improved the adhesion and superconductor properties at the same time due to a superconductor bridge formation between the grains. Both YBCO and BSCCO systems have been analyzed. The results are promising.

The paper aims to present a comparative study of various thermocouple (TC) attaching methods for the proper measurement of soldering temperature profiling during vapour phase soldering (VPS). The heat transfer process during VPS is different from common methods, while the required heat for reflow is provided by the condensation. The condensate is a flowing layer on the board, where the dynamic behaviour also affects the local conditions on the surfaces. Temperature measurements based on TCs are also affected this way; it is important to investigate the process for deeper understanding.

Bare printed circuit boards (PCBs) were prepared for standard K-Type TCs attachment with industry standard materials: kapton polyimide tape, aluminium tape, SMD adhesive and high-temperature solder (HTS). Heating experiments were performed in a batch-type VPS oven with Galden LS240 fluid and fixed oven parameters.

According to the specific attachment requirements, HTS and Alu-tape are the suggested methods for better profiling reliability and repeatability. Alu-tape is the preferred all-around method, for fast, exchangeable, cheap, reliable and repeatable profiling in a VPS oven. It was presented that the heating factor (Q?) gives more reliable comparison overview; the time period-based comparisons may be affected by the thermal inertia, while heating factor also includes temperature conditions at the given time points.

The paper presents the reliability of the presented methods for VPS and present suggestions for the use of different TC ends and attaching materials during condensation heating of the PCBs. Also a new approach on profiling data evaluation based on the heating factor is presented and suggested for wider use.

An improved analytical model is presented to investigate the scattering properties of high T_c superconducting triangular antennas in multilayered configuration. The spectral method is used to study the scattering properties of superconducting triangular antennas. Galerkin method is used in the resolution of the electric field integral equation. The boundary condition for the electric field was used to derive an integral equation for the electric current. To validate the theoretical results, a study has been performed for perfectly conducting triangular patch on a single layer, with air gap, and cover layer. The computed data are found to be in good agreement. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

A spectral domain approach has been used for the numerical calculation of the characteristics of a high T_c superconducting microstrip antenna with an air gap and cover layer. Initially, the authors use an integral method of moment which enabled them to exploit the spectral tensor of green. The resolution of the integral equations of the electric field by the procedure of Galerkin makes it possible to lead to a system of equations homogenous. The authors have calculated the frequency of resonance and the radiation pattern of antenna.

The properties of the HTSTMA structure were stable at temperatures slightly lower than the critical temperature. Also computations show that the air separation can be adjusted to have the maximum operating frequency of the superconducting microstrip antenna. On the other hand, the bandwidth increases monotonically with increasing the air gap width. Therefore, HTS materials do offer efficiency improvements for antenna systems that can accommodate the added constraints of the superconducting environment. The calculated results have been compared with measured one available in the literature and excellent agreement has been found.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this subject has not been reported in the open literature; the only published results on the analysis of perfectly conducting triangular microstrip antennas.

Electro‐Science Laboratories Inc., whose thick film pastes and materials for the microelectronics industry are manufactured and distributed in Europe by Agmet Ltd of Reading, have announced that Michael Alan Stein was elected President with effect from 16 September 1988. At the same time Dr Sidney J. Stein was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate measurement and regulation of saturated vapour height level in vapour phase soldering (VPS) chamber based on parallel plate capacitor and retaining a stable saturated vapour level above the boiling fluid, regardless of the quantity and size of assembled components.

Development and realisation of capacitance sensor that sensitively senses the maximum height level of saturated vapour above the boiling fluid in the VPS chamber was achieved. Methodology of measurement is based on capacitor change from single air to a parallel plate, filled with two dielectric environments in a stacked configuration: condensed fluid and vapour (air).

An easy air plate capacitor immersed in the saturated vapour above the boiling fluid can serve as a parallel plate capacitor owing to the conversion of the air to the parallel plate capacitor. A thin film of fluid between the two capacitor plates corresponds to the height of the saturated vapour, which changes the capacity of the parallel plate capacitor.

Introducing the capacitive sensor directly into the VPS work space allows to achieve a constant height level of saturated vapour. Based on the capacity change, it is possible to control the heating power. There is a lack of information regarding measurement of stable height of vapour in the industry, and the present article shows how to easily improve the way to regulate the bandwidth of saturated vapour in the VPS process.

A numerical analysis tool has been developed to study electromagnetic characteristics of high‐temperature superconducting thin film used for a resistive‐type fault current limiter (FCL) and coated conductor. It adopts the finite element method based on current vector potentials with thin‐plate approximation. Transport current, temperature dependence and strong non‐linearity of electromagnetic properties, and state transition of superconductor are taken into account by solving a three‐dimensional coupled problem of electromagnetic field, an electric circuit and thermal field. Then using this numerical analysis tool the current imbalance and current limiting characteristics of a FCL device, the influence of inhomogeneity of superconducting properties on them, and AC losses in YBCO coated conductor are studied.

This review paper aims to provide a better understanding of formulation and processing of anisotropic conductive adhesive film (ACF) material and to summarize the significant research and development work for the mechanical properties of ACF material and joints, which helps to the development and application of ACF joints with better reliability in microelectronic packaging systems.

The ACF material was cured at high temperature of 190°C, and the cured ACF was tested by conducting the tensile experiments with uniaxial and cyclic loads. The ACF joint was obtained with process of pre-bonding and final bonding. The impact tests and shear tests of ACF joints were completed with different aging conditions such as high temperature, thermal cycling and hygrothermal aging.

The cured ACF exhibited unique time-, temperature- and loading rate-dependent behaviors and a strong memory of loading history. Prior stress cycling with higher mean stress or stress amplitude restrained the ratcheting strain in subsequent cycling with lower mean stress or stress amplitude. The impact strength and adhesive strength of ACF joints increased with increase of bonding temperature, but they decreased with increase of environment temperature. The adhesive strength and life of ACF joints decreased with hygrothermal aging, whereas increased firstly and then decreased with thermal cycling.

This study is to review the recent investigations on the mechanical properties of ACF material and joints in microelectronic packaging applications.

Finite element (FE) models are considered for the penetration of magnetic flux in type-II superconductor films. A shell transformation allows boundary conditions to be applied at infinity with no truncation approximation. This paper aims to determine the accuracy and efficiency of shell transformation techniques in such non-linear eddy current problems.

A three-dimensional H – ϕ formulation is considered, where the reaction field is calculated in the presence of a uniform applied field. The shell transformation is used in the far-field region, and the uniform applied field is introduced through surface terms, so as to avoid infinite energy terms. The resulting field distributions are compared against known solutions for different geometries (thin disks and thin strips in the critical state, square thin films). The influence of the shape, size and mesh quality of the far-field regions are discussed.

The formulation is shown to provide accurate results for a number of film geometries and shell transformation shapes. The size of the far-field region has to be chosen in such a way to properly capture the asymptotic decay of the fields, and a practical procedure to determine this size is provided.

The importance of the size of the far-field region in a shell transformation and its proximity to the conducting domains are both highlighted. This paper also provides a numerical way to apply a constant magnetic field in a given region, while the source, on which only the far-field behaviour of the applied field depends, is excluded from the model.

The purpose of this paper is to study the reliability of sintered nano-silver joints on bare copper substrates during high-temperature storage (HTS).

In this study, HTS at 250 °C was carried out to investigate the reliability of nano-silver sintered joints. Combining the evolution of the microstructure and shear strength of the joints, the degradation mechanisms of joints performance were characterized.

The results indicated that the degradation of the shear properties of sintered nano-silver joints on copper substrates was attributed to copper oxidation at the silver/copper interface and interdiffusion of interfacial elements. The joints decreased by approximately 57.4% compared to the original joints after aging for 500 h. In addition, severe coarsening of the silver structure was also an important cause for joints failure during HTS.

This paper provides a comparison of quantitative and mechanistic evaluation of sintered silver joints on bare copper substrates during HTS, which is of great importance in promoting the development of sintered silver technology.