Chip Performance

Miniaturized fluid handling devices have recently attracted considerable interest and gained importance in many areas of analytical chemistry and the biological sciences [50], Such microfluidic chips perform a variety of functions, ranging from analysis of biological macromolecules [51, 52] to catalysis of reactions and sensing in the gas phase [53, 54], They commonly consist of channels, valves and reaction... 

Herman, T. J., Love, S. L., Shafii, B., Dwelle, R. B. (1996). Chipping performance of three processing potato cultivars during long-term storage at two temperature regimes. American Potato Journal, 73,411 25. 

Similar conditions have been described for posthydrolysis of steam-exploded Douglas fir wood chips performed at 120°C, but longer hydrolysis time was required (15). Similar to our results, increasing catalyst also increased monosaccharide recovery and higher participation of degradation reactions. For corn cobs (36), a material similar to BSG, the posthydrolysis of OCL autohydrolysis was carried out at CS 1.66 (calculated from the reported operational conditions 125°C, 0.5% H2S04,165 min), a more severe condition than the optimal conditions determined in the present work for BSG. 

Figures 2 and 3 show that the DRAM chip perforMance has been iMproved even though the chip functionality has increased for the accelerated tests used by the seMiconductor industry. The 85 C/85X RH results are better because of a coMbination of iMproveMents in the chip design, the Manufacturing procedures and the epoxy encapsu-lent. The teMperature cycle test results, however, were priMarily improved by converting to a "low stress" epoxy encapsulant. The im-proveMent in the pressure cooker and the 125 C operating life (Figure 3) was also due to a coMbination of iMproveMents, including those in the epoxy encapsulant. These iMproveMents in device reliability are especially reMarkable when it is realized that the chip susceptibility to contaminants and stress has increased tremendously due to the 60-fold increase to functionality.

Herr et al. [137] developed a microfluidic chip for saliva-based analysis of proteins (see Fig. 15) [137], which allowed for automated measurement of total salivary metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8) concentration. The chip performed three tasks (1) enrichment of targets from saliva via a size-exclusion membrane inside... 

Point 1 was just discussed. Examples of new technology are the subsurface bulbUke nose on the front of tankers (which increased tanker speed at very low cost) and solid-state electronics. Moore s law states that the number of transistors on a given chip size (roughly a gauge of chip performance) doubles every 1.5-2 years. Some example numbers are 3,500 transistors/chip in 1972, 134,000 in 1982, 3,100,000 in 1993, and 7,500,000 in 1997. 

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