Ion nitriding equipment can be categorized into two groups: cold-wall continuous direct current (dc) equipment and hot-wall pulsed dc equipment. This chapter focuses on these two categories along with other important considerations for ion (plasma) nitriding equipment and processing. Other important considerations discussed include the hollow cathode effect, sputter cleaning, furnace loading, pressure/voltage relationships, workpiece masking, and furnace configuration options. The chapter describes five methods of cooling parts from the process temperature to an acceptable exposure temperature after plasma nitriding. The chapter also presents some of the advantages of the pulsed plasma process.

This chapter discusses the principles of scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) as implemented using conventional scanning electron microscopes (SEMs). It describes the pros and cons of low-energy imaging and diffraction, addresses basic hardware requirements, and provides information on imaging modes, detector positioning and alignment, and the effect of contrast reversal. It also discusses beam convergence and angular selectivity, the use of application-specific masks, and how to generate grain orientation maps for different material systems.

This chapter presents a brief review of the history of brazing and soldering. It illustrates complicated soldering techniques and masterful goldsmith work, as demonstrated by the famous gold mask of the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun. The chapter includes the image of a painting from Egypt circa 1475 B.C. that shows a goldsmith soldering with a blowpipe. Numerous similar images have been found in the tombs of ancient Egypt that offer insight into the practices of gold workers from the period, including the use of processes such as smelting, forging, and joining with both brazing and soldering.

Stop-off coatings prevent nitriding of selected areas on components. This chapter discusses the processes, advantages, and disadvantages of stop-off techniques for gas nitriding, salt bath nitriding, and ion nitriding.

This chapter provides helpful guidelines for selecting a surface treatment for a given application. It identifies important design factors and applicable treatments for common design scenarios, materials, and operating conditions. It explains why heat treatments and finishing operations may be required before or after processing and how to estimate or predict coating thickness, case depth, hardness, and the likelihood of distortion. It also addresses related issues and considerations such as part handling and fixturing, surface preparation and cleaning requirements, processability, aesthetics, and the influence of design features.

Several limitations in achieving optimal gear performance with conventional nitriding have led researchers to work on a variety of novel and improved nitriding processes. Of these, ion/plasma nitriding offers some promising results, which are reviewed in this chapter. The chapter concludes with a case history describing the application of ion nitriding to an internal ring gear of an epicyclic gearbox.

Molding flasks and other supplementary equipment are essential for molding complex shapes at competitive production rates and costs. This chapter addresses the design aspects of molding flasks and accessories, the features and handling accessories of molding machines, core making machines and innovations for productivity and quality, and automated core-setting aids.

The orientation of the devices within a package determine the best chosen approach for access to a select component embedded in epoxy both in package or System in Package and multi-chip module (MCM). This article assists the analyst in making decisions on frontside access using flat lapping, chemical decapsulation, laser ablation, plasma reactive ion etching (RIE), CNC based milling and polishing, or a combination of these coupled with optical or electrical endpoint means. This article discusses the general characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of each of these techniques. It also presents a case study illustrating the application of CNC milling to isolate MCM leakage failure.

Transistors are the most important active structure of any semiconductor component. Performance characteristics of such devices within the specifications are key to ensuring proper functionality and long-term reliability of the product. In this article, a summary of the semiconductor technology from design to manufacturing and the characterization methods are discussed. The focus is on two prominent MOS structures: planar MOS device and FinFET device. The article covers the device parameters and device properties that determine the design criteria and the device tuning procedures. The discussion includes the effects of drain induced barrier lowering, velocity saturation, hot carrier degradation, and short channel on these devices.