Microprocessor-controlled deposit

Farr, S.J., Rowe, A.M., Rubsamen, R., and Taylor, G., Aerosol deposition in the human lung following administration from a microprocessor controlled pressurised metered dose inhaler. Thorax, 50 639-644 (1995). 

Traditionally, pulmonary deposition of MDIs has been in the range of 10-20% [38-40], An increase in pulmonary deposition efficiency of MDIs has been achieved with the use of spacer devices [41-46], Aerosol deposition in the human lung has also been optimized after administration from a microprocessor-controlled pressurized MDI [47, 48], Improvement of pulmonary deposition of up to 40%... 

The procedure is depicted schematically in Figure 7.22. For example, uniform-size Cu clusters were produced and distributed evenly over an atomically flat Au(l 11) electrode surface (76). This example is of the type of deposition of a metal on a foreign metallic substrate and involves UPD (defined in Section 7.15) (80). The procedure was made fully automated through the use of microprocessors in controlling the x-, y-, and z-movements of the tip. Arrays of up to 400 individual clusters were made at a rate of 50 clusters per second (76). The average height of the Cu clusters was 0.8 nm (75,80). 

An automatic sample-spotting device has been developed, which uses a flexible fused silica capillary tube as the applicator and a motor-driven syringe to suck up and deposits onto the layer sample volumes in the range of 100 nL to 20 pL as spots or bands.Controlled by a microprocessor, it can be programmed to select samples from a rack of vials and deposit fixed volumes of the samples to selected positions on the plates. The applicator can spot a whole plate with various samples and standards without operator intervention. Moreover, the applicator automatically rinses itself between two sample apphcation sequences to eliminate carryover of samples. 

In the relentless quest for ever faster computer circuitry, the dielectric constant of the insulating layers between conductors on the chip is becoming a major issue. This constant should be as small as possible while the mechanical properties of the dielectric material must withstand the subsequent processing steps and ensure the integrity of the computer microprocessor. Nanoscale zeolite crystals, particularly pure silica zeolites, have been proposed as candidates for thin films with low dielectric constant (low k). As an example, suspensions of nanoscale crystals of the pure zeolite silicalite-1 (MFI-typc) were used for spin-on deposition of thin dielectric layers.[101] The as-deposited films were subsequently calcined at 450 °C in order to remove organic molecules and to consolidate the films. The authors report low dielectric constants (although the adsorption of humidity must be controlled) and satisfactory mechanical properties of their films. 

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