The fabrication of through silicon via (TSV) and multi-chip integration are the key technologies in 3D integration and Chiplets technology. Traditional Cu-Sn solid liquid inter-diffusion bonding (SLID) technology usually needs 20-30 minutes, and the total bonding time is directly proportional to the number of chips. In this study, TSV process is optimized to lower the sidewall scallop size and fulfill conformal Cu filling of TSV. Then chips used for three-chip integration are fabricated using the optimized semiconductor process. Finally, Cu-Sn Mechanical Interlock Bonding (MIB) technology is applied for three-chip bonding. The bonding process includes twice pre-bonding at room temperature and 200 degrees C respectively, and one-time annealing at the temperature of 260 degrees C. The total pre-bonding time is about 10 minutes and annealing time is 20 minutes. Resistance test results and cross-section image show electrical and mechanical interconnections have been built. The MIB technology has short total bonding time, which show great advantage in the multi-chip integration.

In this work, cobalt (Co) nanoparticles were successfully deposited in situ on graphene nanosheets (GNPs) via electroless plating, and epoxy (EP) resin/Co@GNP heterostructure composites were prepared by a magnetic field-aided solution blending technique. Effects of Co@GNP content and magnetic orientation on EP/Co@GNP composites' dielectric, thermally and electrically conductive, and thermomechanical properties were extensively investigated. Our findings showed it was the synergistic effect of the "point-surface" hybrid filler and magnetic orientation that jointly led to the formation of complicated heterogeneous network, which significantly improved thermally, electrically conductive and thermomechanical properties. Infrared thermal imaging (ITI) together with SEM cross-sectional morphological observations substantiated that the effective bridging of magnetically responsive Co@GNP under magnetic field further improved the heterogeneous network. Excellent thermal conductivity and dielectrical properties of the resultant EP/Co@GNP composites provided a facile way of obtaining high performance thermally conductive materials via magnetic orientation method.

In this study, polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) lithium battery (LIB) separators were prepared by nonsolvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) technique, and effect of vermiculite nano-sheets (VNs) on the performance of PVDF separator was studied by altering the proportions of VNs added. The microscopic morphologies of PVDF films were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), and it was found that the incorporation of two-dimensional VNs greatly improved the thermodynamic instability of PVDF/N, N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) solution, which further induced the formation of long finger-like pore structure, leading to improved porosity and electrolyte uptake rate of the prepared separators. Meanwhile, differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) analysis showed that the presence of VNs decreased PVDF's crystallinity and greatly improved the thermal stability of the separators primarily owing to VNs' two-dimensional structure as well as excellent thermal sta-bility. When the VNs content reached 7.0 wt%, the ionic conductivity of the separator increased from 0.300 mS center dot cm- 1 to 1.679 mS center dot cm- 1, coupled with significant improvement in both mechanical properties and battery performance. The present study provides a facile method for preparing LIB separators with high safety and superior performance.

Here, Ni@graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) nanohybrids are obtained via an interfacial reaction growth method and a series of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/Ni@GNP composites are prepared by a solution mixing-ultrasonic dispersion-hot pressing technology. The influence of Ni@GNP on the electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, dielectric, and thermal management behaviors of the composites is intensively investigated. The microcapacitors formed using Ni@GNP as plates and PMMA as matrix significantly improve the dielectric properties of the composites. Enhancement on thermal conduction and EMI properties of PMMA composites with increasing Ni@GNP content can be ascribed to the unique structure of Ni@GNP and it is the filler interconnection network that renders the composite's desirable thermally conductive and thermomechanical properties. A facile way of fabricating polymeric composites with satisfactory thermal conductivity and high-performance electromagnetic shielding is provided here. The obtained polymer composites display highly promising applications in the thermal management and EMI shielding of electronic devices.

In this study, HDPE/UHMWPE microporous films were prepared by blending UHMWPE and HDPE with DOP as the diluent via thermally-induced phase separation (TIPS) method. Morphological studies showed that the phase separation mode of the mixed systems was hardly changed in the presence of UHMWPE. Both average pore size and porosity of the blend films increased firstly and then decreased with increasing UHMWPE content. When UHMWPE content reached 1.5 wt%, both porosity and average pore size of the film reached their maximum values (with a porosity of 84.8% and an average pore size of 0.79 mu m). The addition of UHMWPE was found to not only enhance the thermal stability of the HDPE/UHMWPE blend films, but also greatly reduce their thermal shrinkage rate as well as the closed cell temperature, which made the diaphragms containing UHMWPE have good prospect for the application in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs).

BACKGROUND:Although expression of interleukin (IL)-34 is upregulated in active ulcerative colitis (UC), the molecular function and underlying mechanism are largely unclear.AIM:To investigate the function of IL-34 in acute colitis, in a wound healing model and in colitis-associated cancer in IL-34-deficient mice.METHODS:Colitis was induced by administration of dextran sodium sulfate (DSS), and carcinogenesis was induced by azoxymethane (AOM). Whether the impact of IL-34 on colitis was dependent on macrophages was validated by depletion of macrophages in a murine model. The association between IL-34 expression and epithelial proliferation was studied in patients with active UC.RESULTS:IL-34 deficiency aggravated murine colitis in acute colitis and in wound healing phase. The effect of IL-34 on experimental colitis was not dependent on macrophage differentiation and polarization. IL-34-deficient mice developed more tumors than wild-type mice following administration of AOM and DSS. No significant difference was shown in degree of cellular differentiation in tumors between wild-type and IL-34-deficient mice. IL-34 was dramatically increased in the active UC patients as previously reported. More importantly, expression of IL-34 was positively correlated with epithelial cell proliferation in patients with UC.CONCLUSION:IL-34 deficiency exacerbates colonic inflammation and accelerates colitis-associated carcinogenesis in mice. It might be served as a potential therapeutic target in UC.

OBJECTIVE:Interleukin- (IL-) 34 is a new type of cytokine with neuroprotective effects discovered in recent years. However, the relationship between IL-34 and vascular dementia (VaD) has not yet been elucidated. The purpose of this study is to determine whether IL-34 is involved in cognitive impairment of VaD.METHODS:From January 2017 to December 2020, 84 VaD patients and 60 healthy controls who attended Qingpu Branch of Zhongshan Hospital were prospectively included in the study. Once included in the study, demographic features of all research subjects are collected. They include age, gender, education, white blood cells (WBC), neutrophil, lymphocyte, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), fasting blood glucose (FBG), triglycerides (TG), and total cholesterol (TC). Meanwhile, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scale was used to assess the cognitive function of participants. The serum IL-34 level was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).RESULTS:There was no significant difference between the demographic features of VaD patients and healthy controls (p > 0.05). However, the serum IL-34 levels of VaD patients and healthy controls are 27.6 ± 3.9 pg/ml and 41.8 ± 6.0 pg/ml, respectively, and there is a significant statistical difference between them (p < 0.001). The results of bivariate correlation analysis showed that serum IL-34 levels were significantly positively correlated with MoCA scores (r = 0.371, p = 0.023). Further regression analysis showed that IL-34 was still correlated with MoCA after adjusting for demographic features (β = 0.276, p = 0038).CONCLUSIONS:Serum IL-34 levels in VaD patients were significantly reduced, which may be an independent predictor of cognitive impairment in VaD patients.