The Holter monitor is used to measure an electrocardiogram (ECG) signal while a subject moves. However, the Holter monitor is uncomfortable for the subject. Another method of measuring the ECG signal uses a smart shirt. We developed a smart shirt that has six electrodes on the chest and can measure a detailed ECG, obtained with unipolar precordial leads. The electrodes and wires of the shirt are made of conductive ink that is flexible and stretchable. The smart shirt is stretchable and fits the body well. However, because of the gap between the smart shirt and the body, electrodes V1 and V2 do not touch the body consistently. We developed a conductive foam block that fills this gap. We investigated the characteristics of the conductive foam block, and measured ECG signals using the smart shirt. The electrical resistance of the conductive foam block was reduced by pressure. This characteristic could be utilized to measure the ECG signal because the block was pressed by the body and smart shirt. We could measure the ECG signal using the smart shirt and blocks while the subject walked and could detect peaks of the ECG signal while the subject jogged slowly.

The breakdown of tip leakage vortex has been investigated on a low-speed axial compressor rotor with moderate blade loading. Effects of the breakdown on the rotor aerodynamics are elucidated by Navier-Stokes flow simulations and visualization techniques for identifying the breakdown. The simulations show that the leakage vortex breakdown occurs inside the rotor at a lower flow rate than the peak pressure rise operating condition. The breakdown is characterized by the existence of the stagnation point followed by a bubble-like recirculation region. The onset of breakdown causes significant changes in the nature of the tip leakage vortex: large expansion of the vortex and disappearance of the streamwise vorticity concentrated in the vortex. The expansion has an extremely large blockage effect extending to the upstream of the leading edge. The disappearance of the concentrated vorticity results in no rolling-up of the vortex downstream of the rotor and the disappearance of the pressure trough on the casing. The leakage flow field downstream of the rotor is dominated by the outward radial flow resulting from the contraction of the bubble-like structure of the breakdown region. It is found that the leakage vortex breakdown plays a major role in characteristic of rotor performance at near-stall conditions. As the flow rate is decreased from the peak pressure rise operating condition, the breakdown region grows rapidly in the streamwise, spanwise and pitchwise directions. The growth of the breakdown causes the blockage and the loss to increase drastically. Then, the interaction of the breakdown region with the blade suction surface gives rise to the three-dimensional separation of the suction surface boundary layer, thus leading to a sudden drop in the total pressure rise across the rotor.

The effects of binder chemistry on electrical-conductivity development, i.e., dynamic percolation, in carbon nanotube (CNT)-filled epoxy-based pastes during curing were investigated. The electrical resistivities of the pastes are influenced not only by the dispersivity of the CNT filler but also by the binder chemistry of the pastes. The electrical-conductivity-development kinetics are accelerated by introducing a reactive diluent, namely phenyl glycidyl ether, to the binder. As shown by alternating current impedance spectroscopy, the electrical-conductivity development is governed by the decrease in interfacial electrical resistance between the filler units. Electrical-conductivity development does not occur synchronously with the curing shrinkage of the binder; thus, the chemical state of the interface adjacent to the fillers is a key parameter for enhancing electrical conductivity. Thus, control of this interfacial chemistry is an essential concept for developing electrically conductive CNT-filled pastes.

With the shrinking of device sizes, the issue of controlling gate critical dimension (CD) is becoming increasingly important. In particular, the ability to find systematic defects and use that information in the design, optical proximity correction (OPC), and mask creation phases is becoming critical to improving circuit yield. Current critical dimension electron scanning microscopes (CD-SEMs) and macro inspection systems, however, fail to address this area in a practically usable manner - with CD-SEMs limited by their low throughput, and macro inspection systems limited by their low resolution. The NGR2100 die-to-database verification system introduces high-throughput, wide field of view (FOV) electron beam scanning technology to allow for mass gate measurement and analysis. Using the collected data combined with layout data and statistical analysis, the NGR2100 system categorizes and outputs the systematic CD errors existing on a wafer, which can be fed back to the design, OPC, and mask creation phases for true design-for-manufacturing (DFM) realization. This paper provides an overview of the NGR2100, the process involved for gate CD error detection, and presents an actual case in which the NGR2100 was used to collect and analyze data for a memory device.