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The spectral response characteristics and carrier impact ionization coefficients of Si(sub 1 - x)Ge(sub x) photodiodes grown by MBE are determined. The ratio of electron and hole impact ionization coefficients is computed and is shown to agree well with published data from Si and Ge. The ratio attains unity at x = 0.45 representing a cross-over in the alloy system. Detailed measurement results having important photodetection applications are presented.

Hot-carrier reliability in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) devices can be significantly improved by incorporation of deuterium at the oxide/silicon interfaces is demonstrated. The role of vibrational heating mechanism is seen to be important in interface degradation of deep submicron silicon-on-insulator (SOI) devices.

A number of new phenomena are reported comparing with ac stress with the dec stress. In the initial stress period, the deuterium isotope effect is smaller for ac stress than for dc stress.

Research has revealed a strong isotope effect for degradation and transistor aging. It will be shown that these studies do, in fact, suggest that it is the channel hot electrons which cause most of the Si-SiO2 interface degradation related to positive threshold voltage shifts in n-metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors. The emission of charge carriers into the oxide is not required to explain all the positive voltage shifts related to interface charge.

The subcellular localization of vitamin E in the membranes of single, isolated neurons from a widely studied neurobiological model, Aplysia californica is studied using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). The concentration of vitamin E in the junction region between the cell soma and the low levels in the neurite itself is a new finding that is consistent with several reported roles of the molecule.

The influence of deuterium sintering on improving the reliability of complementary metal oxide semiconductor transistors with nitride sidewall spacers is studied. Comparison of electrical measurements and SIMS depth profiles suggest that the lifetime improvement of wafers with deuterium sintering at the Metal-1 and Metal-4 steps is directly related to the amount of deuterium present at the oxide/silicon interface.