Recent applications require vertical chip stacking to increase the performance of many devices without the need of advanced node components. Image sensors and vision systems will embed more and more smart functions, for instance, image processing, object recognition, and movement detection. In this perspective, the combination of Cu-to-Cu direct hybrid bonding technology with Through-Silicon-Via (TSV) will allow 3D interconnection between pixels and the associated computing and memory structures, each function fabricated on a separate wafer. Wafer-to-wafer hybrid bonding was achieved with multi-pitch design—1–4 μm—of single levels of Cu damascene patterned on 300 mm silicon substrates. Defect-free bonding, as far as the extreme edge of the wafer, was demonstrated on a stack with three wafers. Middle wafers thinning was done with grinding only and with a thickness uniformity (TTV) <2 μm to an ultimate thinning as low as 3 μm. Alignment performance was characterized by post-bonding for two superposed hybrid bonding interfaces. In our set of wafers, modeling the alignment with translation, rotation, and scaling components enables us to optimize the residuals down to 3σ < 100 nm. A process flow of thin TSV with a fine pitch of 2 μm for high-density vertical interconnect through a three-wafer stack was developed. Via-last TSV architecture was adopted with 1 μm TSV diameter and 10 μm thickness. Lithography, etching solutions, Ti/TiN barrier deposition, and void-free Cu filling solutions were demonstrated. TSV cross sections after CMP and connections with top and bottom Cu damascene lines show good profile control. Process developments are matured and can be reliably used in the fabrication of an electrical test vehicle including vertical interconnects associating multi-wafers stacking with a hybrid bonding process and high-density thin TSV applicable to low pitches (<5 μm).

Although panic disorder has been ranked as an ‘anxiety disorder', its close relationship to depression has been suggested in pharmacological and clinical studies. Validation of this hypothesis of similarity between panic and depression requires that their common psychological characteristics be clearly evidenced, especially from the cognitive/emotional standpoint. We assessed 13 depressive themes from Beck's Cognition Checklist, to explore negative automatic thoughts in three groups of patients defined, according to DSM III-R criteria, as: major depression (n = 16), panic disorder (n = 19), social phobia (n = 11). We found a strong similarity in the ordering and regrouping of the depressive themes, between depressive and panic disorder patients, and no similarity with social phobics. These results suggest that panic disorder cognitions may be closer to depressive cognition than social phobia cognition.

Platelet 5-HT levels were determined by fluorescent orthophthaldehyde assay in 33 panic disorder patients with and without obsessive compulsive symptoms (PD + OCS: n = 16; PD-OCS: n = 17) according to DSM III-R criteria, and compared With those of 38 healthy controls. Mean platelet levels were significantly lower in PD + OCS than in PD-OCS patients. The results are discussed in relation to serotonergic dysfunction linked to PD and OCS comorbidity.

In 2011 the IRSN conducted several assessments of atmosphericradioactive releases due to the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident (March11, 2011) and of their impact on Japan’s terrestrial environment.They were based on the IRSN’s emergency management tools and onthe abundant information and technical data gradually publishedin Japan. According to these assessments, the main release phaselasted from March 12 to 25, 2011 and impacted Japanese land in twoevents, the first on 15 and 16 March, in which the main radioactivedeposits were formed, and the second from March 20 to 23, whichwas less significant. The highest amounts of radioactive deposits werefound in an area extending upwards of several tens of kilometersnorthwest of the plant. Lower amounts were discontinuously scatteredin an area extending up to over 250 km away. Initially composedmainly of short-lived radionuclides, the deposits’ activity sharplydecreased in the subsequent weeks. Since the summer of 2011, cesium-134and cesium-137 have become the residual deposits’ main components.According to IRSN estimates, in the absence of protection, the dosesdue to exposure to the radioactive plume during the atmosphericrelease phase may have been potentially higher for people who remainedin coastal areas up to several tens of kilometers north and southof the damaged plant. Thereafter, people living up to 50 km northwestof the plant, outside the 20-km emergency evacuation zone, were potentiallymost vulnerable to residual radioactive deposits over time.

Thanks to infrared thermography, we have studied the mechanisms of CO2 captureby solid adsorbents (CO2 capture via gas adsorption on various types of poroussubstrates) to better understand the physico-chemical mechanisms that controlCO2-surface interactions. In order to develop in the future an efficientprocess for post-combustion CO2 capture, it is necessary to quantify the energyof adsorption of the gas on the adsorbent (exothermic process). The released heat (heat ofadsorption) is a key parameter for the choice of materials and for the design of captureprocesses. Infrared thermography is used, at first approach, to detect the temperaturefields on a thin-layer of adsorbent during CO2 adsorption. An analytical heattransfer model was developed to evaluate the adsorption heat flux and to estimate, via aninverse technique, the heat of adsorption. The main originality of our method is toestimate heat losses directly from the heat generated during the adsorption process. Then,the estimated heat loss is taken for an a posteriori calculation of the adsorption heatflux. Finally, the heat of adsorption may be estimated. The interest in using infraredthermography is also its ability to quickly change the experimental setup, for example, toswitch from the adsorbent thin-layer to the adsorbent bed configuration. We present thefirst results tempting to link the thin-layer data to the propagation speed of the thermalfront in a millifluidics adsorption bed, also observed by IR thermography.

In France, the mining and milling of uranium ore and the disposal of uranium mill tailings involved nearly 200 sites of very different nature. Being in charge of both the review of some remediation reports and the routine monitoring of the environment provides IRSN with selective data on most sites. The data collected by IRSN as well as those available from other data sources often remain incomplete therefore preventing IRSN from presenting a global view or answering some specific questions. In order to overcome this difficulty, it was decided, under the aegis of the Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development, that IRSN should develop a program of investigations organized in two parts: Part 1, called “State of knowledge" is aimed at assessing the amount of information available and at consolidating it into a user-friendly computerized database. The main goal is to identify the occurrence of significant enhanced radiological levels in the environment and to detect any lack of information concerning the various sites. This paper gives an overview of the information already collected. Part 2, called “specific studies" is aimed at fixing the gaps in the database by implementing new investigations on specific sites. It could lead to improvements in networks for the monitoring of radioactivity in the environment.

The pencil edging diamond wheels used for lateral automotive glass grinding are composed of a mixture of metal powders (bond) and dispersed super-abrasive diamond grits (having a 100 μm average size). The metallic bond consists of a ductile alloy (sintered Ag+Cu+Ti powder mixture) and a hard skeleton (W and cast iron). The principal characteristics expected are a good wear resistance as well as a good cutting quality. In order to reproduce the industrial thermal cycle of the sintering manufacturing process in a traditional furnace, this cycle was simulated by dilatometric tests on green pellets of simplified metal powder mixtures. The aim was to determine the sintering behaviour of each component of the metallic bond.

The aging of the NC 19 Fe Nb alloy (Inconel 718), previously quenched from 990 °C, is characterized by a hardness peak at 650 °C, then a maximum in hardness at about 750 °C. Over this temperature, the hardness progressively decreases. In the 550–650 °C temperature range, TEM observations have revealed that β (Ni3Nb) precipitates are formed as long platelets parallel between them within the same grain, as well as extremely fine γ′[Ni3(Ti, Al)] particles responsible for the observed improvement in hardness. For a tempering temperature higher than 650 °C, a first hardening occurs after a 4 h treatment, which has been associated with the γ′ phase precipitation, with a more or less spherical shape. Beyond this time, a second hardening takes place linked to the γ″ phase precipitation (Ni3Nb, bct D022 structure), as thin platelet shaped, perfectly coherent with the matrix. The misfit between the γ and γ″ phases is about 3% in the 〈001〉γ″ direction and lower than 1% in the 〈100〉γ″ and 〈010〉γ″ directions. During a longer aging at 750 °C, the γ″ platelets progressively dissolve while β precipitates grow.

The high strength medium temperature and β metastable titanium alloy, β-CEZ, is designed for use in the compressor of a jet engine. The purpose of this research was to investigate how the thermomechanical treatments (forging or solutioning conditions and quenching) influence the microstructure. A series of various heat-treating steps were conducted in order to quantify the relationship between thermomechanical parameters and microstructural factors. The detailed characterization of microstructure was based on SEM observations of primary alpha platelets with the aid of an Image Analysis system. A pronounced influence of thermomechanical treatments on microstructure was found. Several parameters characterizing the microstructure of alpha platelets such as the area fraction, length, width, perimeter, surface, density, and aspect ratio, have been found to depend on the solutioning conditions. Furthermore, with the exception of the area fraction, these different microstructural parameters were found to be also governed by the forging conditions.

A continuous fibre reinforced SiC/TiAl composite has been prepared by arc spray and hot pressing. The as-fabricated fibre/matrix interface of monotapes and composites have been examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The arc-spray conditions result in a decohesion at the fibre/matrix interface.

The effect of additional elements (Si and Co) on the behavior of copper polycrystalline alloy under static and dynamic compression was studied. Relations between the deformation microstructure and the mechanical behavior have been investigated. In the Cu–Si alloys, the SFE depends on additional element content and the SFE level controls the dissociation of perfect dislocations into partial ones. In the Cu–Co alloy, Co induces precipitation and the dislocation repartition is uniform if the precipitates are coherent. When the precipitates become semicoherent, there is formation of dislocation walls around the precipitates.

In (α + β) titanium alloys, the interface between the α and β phases has been widely studied, and many conflicting results have been published concerning the formation of an interface phase having an hcp or fcc crystalline structure. Several authors consider that this phase is an artifact and consists of a titanium hydride formed during thin foil preparation for TEM examination. This paper reports examinations by TEM and STEM of heat-treated Ti–6Al–4V alloy and two titanium molybdenum aluminides. The formation of an α/β interface phase is discussed as a function of composition heat-treatment and thin foil preparations. Particularly, for Ti–6Al–4V in a nonequilibrium state, a strong concentration gradient was revealed in the α/β interface, and a metastable interface phase enriched in beta-stabilizers with an fcc structure has been clearly characterized.

We have analyzed the phase relationships in two titanium aluminides containing 3.4 at. % Mo with different aluminum compositions. The alloys were first homogenized in the β field, then cooled continuously at different cooling rates from 80 °C/s to 0.1 °C/s. The continuous cooling transformation diagrams (CCT) show that phase transformations and resulting microstructures are highly dependent on cooling rate. The microstructure consists of ordered α2 (DO19), ordered β0 (B2), and athermal ω (hexagonal) phases. The “tweed microstructure” is observed. The evolution of microhardness was determined as well as the relative partitioning of Al and Mo in (α2', α2) and β0 phases as a function of cooling rate.

Optical metallography, scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe analysis, and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize metallurgical grade silicon, produced in an electric are furnace. Coincidence fraction determinations were assumed to be Σ7 and Σ9 when grain boundaries are underlined by precipitated phases and Σ3 when they are not. The study of intergranular compounds was emphasized; ten compounds were found, the main ones being Si2Ca, Si8Al6Fe4Ca, Si2Al2Ca, Si2FeTi, and Si2.4Fe (α leboitc). The precipitation of these compounds was discussed according to the principal impurity concentrations in silicon. The crystalline structure of Si8Al6Fe4Ca was determined to be triclinic with a = 1.3923 nm, b = 1.3896 nm, c = 1.3900 nm and α = 92.4°, β = 110.3°, γ = 119.9°.