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3D sequential integration, such as CoolCubeź, allows to stack vertically layer of devices. Levels of interconnection, also called intermediate Back-End-Of-Line, are needed between successive layers of transistors to avoid routing congestion. Thus, thermal stability of the dielectrics must be studied in order to fulfil the CoolCubeź requirement: at least to be stable up to 500°C during 2h. Consequently, the stability of several barrier layers and oxide based materials has been studied through optical characterizations (ellipsometry, Fourier Transform InfraRed spectroscopy and ellipsometric-porosimetry). SiCO (k=4.5), in replacement of standard SiCNH (k=5.6) material as barrier layer seems very promising. Regarding the inter-layer dielectric stability, the state-of-the-art porous SiOCH (k=2.5) stays suitable for a thermal budget of 500°C, 2h. Display Omitted

A 32nm node BEOL integration scheme is presented with 100nm metal pitch at local and intermediate levels and 50nm via size through a M1-Via1-M2 via chain demonstrator. To meet the 32nm RC performance specifications, extreme low-k (ELK) porous SiOCH k=2.3 is introduced at line and via level using a Trench First Hard Mask dual damascene architecture. Parametrical results show functional via chains and good line resistance. Integration validation of ELK porous SiOCH k=2.3 is investigated using a multi-level metallization test vehicle in a 45nm mature generation.

Deposited on a porous a-SiOC:H intermetal dielectric (IMD), a dense a-SiOC:H cap was successfully integrated in a C45 dual damascene architecture. The paper demonstrates that, stopping the CMP with around 10nm of the cap left, the IMD integrity is preserved. As a consequence, a 3.5% decrease in RC delay, a 7.3% decrease in IMD integrated k-value and an increase of the time to failure by a 100 factor are reached relative to direct CMP. The cap also allowed to achieve straight lines and to improve the lines height uniformity as if CMP stopped on the IMD.

The formation of a copper silicide interfacial layer by surface reaction in a plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) system has been studied. Tri-methyl silane (TMS, SiH(CH"3)"3) has been employed as the Si source as an alternative to more conventional silane (SiH"4) approach. TMS precursor has been chosen due to improved control of Si penetration into the copper [S. Chhun, L.G. Gosset, N. Casanova, J.F. Guillaumond, P. Dumont-Girard, X. Fedespiel, R. Pantel, V. Arnal, L. Arnaud, J. Torres, Microelectronic Engineering 76 (2004) 106-112]. AFM, SIMS, light scattering, FT-IR spectroscopy and dielectric constant measurements were performed on various stacks to evaluate CuSiN formation. Resistance, leakage, and electromigration (EM) reliability characterization were performed on test structures based on 65nm design rules. Nitridation step in silicidation process was shown to have positive impact on EM reliability, minimizing the line resistance increase.

We study the effects of a strained contact etch stop layer (CESL) on fully depleted (FD) silicon-on-insulator (SOI) devices with ultra thin silicon channels. As expected from extensive simulation analysis, the electrical results demonstrate that in spite of the raised source/drain architecture, the stress is effectively transferred from the liner into the underlying channel. Using a tensile liner for the n-type metal–oxide–semiconductor field effect transistor (nMOS) and a compressive liner for the p-type metal–oxide–semiconductor field effect transistor (pMOS), transistor performance enhancements of 10% and 17%, respectively, were obtained. Moreover, with a tensile (/compressive) liner, tensile (/compressive) edge effects become dominant for short devices whereas the stress becomes less tensile (/compressive) for longer devices. Indeed, the balance between these two contributions and the strain level in the channel are highly dependent on geometrical parameters (W, Lgate).

Despite progress with diagnostic criteria, the type and timing of laboratory tests used to diagnose infective endocarditis (IE) have not been standardized. This is especially true with serological testing. Patients with suspected IE were evaluated by a standard diagnostic protocol. This protocol mandated an evaluation of the patients according to the modified Duke criteria and used a battery of laboratory investigations, including three sets of blood cultures and systematic serological testing for Coxiella burnetii , Bartonella spp., Aspergillus spp., Legionella pneumophila , and rheumatoid factor. In addition, cardiac valvular materials obtained at surgery were subjected to a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation, including PCR aimed at documenting the presence of fastidious organisms. The study included 1,998 suspected cases of IE seen over a 9-year period from April 1994 to December 2004 in Marseilles, France. They were evaluated prospectively. A total of 427 (21.4%) patients were diagnosed as having definite endocarditis. Possible endocarditis was diagnosed in 261 (13%) cases. The etiologic diagnosis was established in 397 (93%) cases by blood cultures, serological tests, and examination of the materials obtained from cardiac valves, respectively, in 348 (81.5%), 34 (8%), and 15 (3.5%) definite cases of IE. Concomitant infection with streptococci and C. burnetii was seen in two cases. The results of serological and rheumatoid factor evaluation reclassified 38 (8.9%) possible cases of IE as definite cases. Systematic serological testing improved the performance of the modified Duke criteria and was instrumental in establishing the etiologic diagnosis in 8% (34/427) cases of IE.

A prospective study of infective endocarditis (IE) was conducted between 1994 and 2000 in Marseilles, France, and included 170 definite cases diagnosed with the use of modified Duke criteria. Classification of IE based on the aetiological agent was related to epidemiological characteristics, including age, gender and the nature of the injured valve. Enterococci and Streptococcus bovis were identified more frequently in older subjects (p 0.02), and S. bovis was also associated with mitral valve infection (p 0.03). Streptococcus spp. were found to be associated with native valves (p < 10−3), whereas coagulase-negative staphylococci and Coxiella burnetii were associated with intracardiac prosthetic material (p

The origin of a leakage current in several failed NPN bipolar transistors has been identified by complementary advanced failure analysis techniques. After precise localization of the failing area by photon emission microscopy and optical beam induced resistance change investigations, a focus ion beam technique was used to prepare thin lamellae adequate for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study. Characterization of the related microstructure was performed by TEM and energy-dispersive spectrometry nanobeam analyses. It was identified as Ti-W containing trickle-like residue located at the surface of the spacers. Current?voltage measurements could be related to such structure defects and the involved conduction mechanism was identified as the Poole?Frenkel effect.

This paper presents the first 55 nm SiGe BiCMOS technology developed on a 300 mm wafer line in STMicroelectronics. The technology features Low Power (LP) and General Purpose (GP) CMOS devices and 0.45 µm2 6T-SRAM bit cell. High Speed (HS) HBT exhibits 320 GHz f T and 370 GHz f MAX associated with a CML ring oscillator gate delay τ D of 2.34 ps. Transmission lines, capacitors, high-Q varactors and inductors dedicated to millimeter-wave applications are also available.

A 32 nm node BEOL demonstrator using Trench First Hard Mask (TFHM) architecture is realized. The dual damascene process is performed with ELK dielectric at line and via level and with an adapted metallization in order to meet ITRS specifications. ELK k=2.3 & k=2.2 are studied in a TFHM architecture in order to prove its extendibility to ELK dielectric materials.

An Ultra Low-K (ULK) SiOCH porous dielectric with k=2.3 targeted for the 32 nm node is integrated at local and intermediate levels with the Trench First Hard Mask architecture currently implemented for the 65/45 nm nodes. Physical and electrical characterizations after integration show good barrier integrity, substantial gain in capacitance as well as good via chain functionality. The material exhibits similar interline leakage and breakdown field than the k=2.5 reference dielectric meeting specifications of the 32 nm node.

A full ULK (ultra low-k) integration using TFHM (trench first hard mask) architecture (Hinsiger et al., 2004) is demonstrated in a high density CMOS 45 nm device. 13 nm-pitch metal features have been resolved using a 193 nm immersion hyper-NA (numerical aperture) scanner and an optimized OPC (optical proximity correction) model. RC performance and yield results are presented for a fully-integrated 45 nm ULK backend. An overall speed performance enhancement of >10% has been confirmed within a microprocessor application at the 65 nm technology node when replacing Low-k dielectric (k=2.9) with ULK (k=2.5) material.

The down-scaling of CMOS interconnects increases dielectric reliability challenges. Porous ULK materials used in advanced interconnects may suffer from charge trapping and detrimental aging during bias-thermal stress experiments. We demonstrate that a threshold between charging and aging domains may occur for an injected electrical energy of 0.1 MJ/cm3. Electron injection in the dielectric induces hydrogen radical formation first. For more damaging current stressing, in-situ Auger experiments demonstrate that the degradation is mostly due to the modification around carbon bonds.

Basic physical properties as well as electrical and reliability performance of Infusion(TM) processing were evaluated. This approach, proposed as an alternative to CuSiN and electrolessly deposited Co-alloys, was shown to join the benefits of these two techniques without well-known associated drawbacks. Indeed, it is a uniform process, acting as an efficient Cu diffusion barrier, which does not require specific integration development. Different processes were introduced in a multi-level interconnect stack using ULK/USG stack as IMD, showing excellent electrical properties, and three times electromigration time-to-failure improvement with respect to standard SiCN barrier. However, it was shown that existing process conditions lead to some introduction of N atoms into ULK dielectric, showing there is still some room for process optimization in architectures using un-capped ULKs, to keep the benefits of EM improvement and aggressive effective dielectric constant.

As porous SiOCH is a widely used inter‐metal dielectric for 65 nm nodes and below, the control of its elaboration process by in‐line monitoring is necessary to guarantee successful integration of the material. In this paper, the sensitivities of several non‐destructive metrology techniques towards the film elaboration process drifts are investigated. It appears that the two steps of the process should be monitored separately and that corona charge method is the most sensitive technique of the review for this application.

An enhanced trench first hard mask (TFHM) backend integration architecture has been developed to facilitate straightforward ultra low-k (ULK) material insertion and to enable rapid yield learning at the 65nm technology node. Parametric, yield, reliability, and RC performance data are presented for the fully-integrated, improved TFHM 300mm ULK backend

Summary: Drug development for CNS disorders faces the same formidable hurdles as other therapeutic areas: escalating development costs; novel drug targets with unproven therapeutic potential; and health care systems and regulatory agencies demanding more compelling demonstrations of the value of new drug products. Extensive clinical testing remains the core of registration of new compounds; however, traditional clinical trial methods are falling short in overcoming these development hurdles. The most common CNS disorders targeted for drug treatment are chronic, slowly vitiating processes manifested by highly subjective and context dependent signs and symptoms. With the exception of a few rare familial degenerative disorders, they have ill-defined or undefined pathophysiology. Samples selected for treatment trials using clinical criteria are inevitably heterogeneous, and dependence on traditional endpoints results in early proof-of-concept trials being long and large, with very poor signal to noise. It is no wonder that pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are looking to biomarkers as an integral part of decision-making process supported by new technologies such as genetics, genomics, proteomics, and imaging as a mean of rationalizing CNS drug development. The present review represent an effort to illustrate the integration of such technologies in drug development supporting the path of individualized medicine.

A 45nm node BEOL integration scheme is presented with 140nm metal pitch at local and intermediate levels and 70nm via size. The dual damascene (DD) process is performed in a full porous low-k (k=2.5) at line and via level in order to meet RC performance requirements. Parametrical results show functional via chains and good line resistance and serpentine continuity at 45nm node dimensions. Copper resistivity and electromigration performances were investigated for line widths below 50 nm upon using ALD and PVD barriers

The spectral photoresponse of advanced interconnects is potentially interesting for the precise characterization of advanced interconnects, using standard comb test structures under illumination. This electro-optical method provides detailed information of the chemical composition of each layer of the dielectric stack via their bandgap. In addition, this non-destructive characterization is sensitive to internal strain, and is adapted to sub-32 nm generations

A hybrid CoWP/SiCN Cu passivation was integrated in a three-metal-level interconnect stack at 65 nm technology node using a porous ULK material (K=2.5). 5 and 20 nm thick Pd-free CoWP electroless barriers were evaluated using a standard trench first hard mask architecture (TFHM) integration scheme, with PVD, ALD or punch-through Ta-based metallization processes. This study evidenced strong interaction between CoWP and etching chemistries, inducing feature size modification. Results evidenced the successful integration of an ultra-thin electroless barrier with slight process tuning, whereas thicker one still requires specific etch process development or integration scheme modification

This work highlights a 65 nm CMOS technology platform for low power and general-purpose applications. A 6-T SRAM cell size of 0.69 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ with a 45 nm gate length is demonstrated. Electrical data of functional SRAM bit-cell is presented at V/sub dd/=0.9 Volt using a conventional nitrided gate oxide dielectric. A comparison between offset spacer and PLAsma Doping (PLAD) is made for the transistor characteristics with very promising V/sub th/-L/sub d/ and V/sub th/-W/sub d/ profiles measured. Lithography employed a combination of both optical lithography and e-beam imaging. The BEOL integration used a conventional low K dielectric with copper metallization.

The author presents two types of automatic inspection system (AIS) designed for the glass industry. The first type of system is designed for the dimensional inspection of flat glass pieces. Using a linear scanning system, lighting apparatus, and customized software, the AIS is fully integrated into the control system of the glass plant. Dimensions and tolerances are transmitted by the supervisor units, which adjust the cutting process according to the feedback data such as dimensions, broken corners, and straightness. The second type of system is a turnkey system for three-dimensional inspection of curved glass pieces (side and rear car windows). A variety of leading-edge technologies are implemented to provide a fully noncontact inspection system: vision software, high-speed handling system, metrology algorithms, laser lighting, etc. >

Q fever manifests as primary infection or acute Q fever and may become chronic in patients with underlying valvulopathy. Because Coxiella burnetii infection depends on host response, we measured tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-12, and IL-10 in patients with different clinical presentations of acute Q fever. Compared with control subjects, patients with uncomplicated acute Q fever exhibited increased release of the 4 cytokines. Their amounts were higher in patients with hepatitis than in patients with fever or pneumonia. In patients with valvulopathy, who exhibited the highest risk of chronic evolution, the amounts of TNF and IL-10 were higher than in patients without valvulopathy. TNF production was specifically enhanced in patients who developed Q fever endocarditis. These results show that acute Q fever is associated with cytokine overproduction. Persistent TNF amounts were associated with the occurrence of endocarditis in patients with valvulopathy, and that may be a marker of chronic evolution of Q fever.

If we use an experimental device with one plane parallel dielectric film and one plane parallel metallic film between two transparent media, we can amplify the luminous energy (homogeneous or inhomogeneous waves) in the dielectric medium, and obtain the Raman spectrum of the film or of a thin slice of 1000 A thickness.