HRTEM image simulations for the study of ultrathin gate oxides.

We have performed high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) image simulations to qualitatively assess the visibility of various structural defects in ultrathin gate oxides of MOSFET devices, and to quantitatively examine the accuracy of HRTEM in performing gate oxide metrology. Structural models contained crystalline defects embedded in an amorphous 16-A-thick gate oxide. Simulated images were calculated for structures viewed in cross section. Defect visibility was assessed as a function of specimen thickness and defect morphology, composition, size, and orientation. Defect morphologies included asperities lying on the substrate surface, as well as "bridging" defects connecting the substrate to the gate electrode. Measurements of gate oxide thickness extracted from simulated images were compared to actual dimensions in the model structure to assess TEM accuracy for metrology. The effects of specimen tilt, specimen thickness, objective lens defocus, and coefficient of spherical aberration (Cs) on measurement accuracy were explored for nominal 10-A gate oxide thickness. Results from this work suggest that accurate metrology of ultrathin gate oxides (i.e., limited to several percent error) is feasible on a consistent basis only by using a Cs-corrected microscope. However, fundamental limitations remain for characterizing defects in gate oxides using HRTEM, even with the new generation of Cs-corrected microscopes.     

Acid digestion of geological and environmental samples using open-vessel focused microwave digestion

The application of open vessel focused microwave acid digestion is described for the preparation of geological and environmental samples for analysis using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The method is compared to conventional closed-vessel high pressure methods which are limited in the use of HF to break down silicates. Open-vessel acid digestion more conveniently enables the use of HF to remove Si from geological and plant samples as volatile SiF4, as well as evaporation-to-dryness and sequential acid addition during the procedure. Rock reference materials (G-2 granite, MRG-1 gabbros, SY-2 syenite, JA-1 andesite, and JB-2 and SRM-688 basalts) and plant reference materials (BCR and IAEA lichens, peach leaves, apple leaves, Durham wheat flour, and pine needles) were digested with results comparable to conventional hotplate digestion. The microwave digestion method gave poor results for granitic samples containing refractory minerals, however fusion was the preferred method of preparation for these samples. Sample preparation time was reduced from several days, using conventional hotplate digestion method, to one hour per sample using our microwave method.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of benzodiazepines in human plasma

A simple and sensitive method for determination of benzodiazepines in plasma has been developed using high-performance liquid chromatography in a reverse-phase mode. The method is illustrated by application to plasma samples containing diazepam and N-desmethyldiazepam at concentrations which would be encountered during therapy, with limits of detection of 10 ng/ml and 2 ng/ml for diazepam and N-desmethyldiazepam, respectively.     

Effect of ionic additives on the elution of sodium aryl sulfonates in supercritical fluid chromatography

Addition of a small amount of polar solvent (i.e., modifier) to CO2 in packed column supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) has shown major improvements in both polar analyte solubility and interaction of the polar analyte with the stationary phase. Recently, the addition of an ionic component (i.e., additive) to the primary modifier by one of us has been shown to extend even further the application of SFC to polar analytes. In this work, the effect of various ionic additives on the elution of ionic compounds, such as sodium 4-dodecylbenzene sulfonate and sodium 4-octylbenene sulfonate, has been studied. The additives were lithium acetate, ammonium acetate, tetramethylammonium acetate, tetrabutylammonium acetate, and ammonium chloride dissolved in methanol. Three stationary phases with different degrees of deactivation were considered: conventional cyanopropyl, deltabond cyanopropyl, and bare silica. The effect of additive concentration and additive functionality on analyte retention was investigated. Sodium 4-dodecylbenzene sulfonate was successfully eluted using all the additives with good peak shape under isocratic/isobaric/isothermal conditions. Different additives, however, yielded different retention times and in some cases different peak shapes.     

Some azo-dye reagents for the spectrophotometric determination of cadmium

2-[2-(5-Bromopyridyl)azol-4,5-dimethylphenol (BrPDMP) and 2-[2-benzothiazolylazo)-5-dimethylaminophenol (BTADAP) have been synthesised and compared, as reagents for cadmium, with the related dyes BrPADAP and BTDMP. The new dyes both form stable highly coloured 2:1 complexes with cadmium, with molar absorptivities (in o-xylene solution) of 3.8 x 10(4) 1.mole(-1).cm(-1) at 590 nm (BrPDMP) and 4.5 x 10(4) 1.mole(-1).cm(-1) at 600 nm (BTADAP). Cadmium can be determined by extraction under alkaline conditions with a solution of BTADAP in xylene. Beer's law is obeyed up to at least 16 mug of cadmium. A limit of detection of 0.15 mug has been estimated and a coefficient of variation of 3.3% at the 5 mug level was found. The only species which interfere seriously are Co(2+), Ni(2+), and Ca(2+). A 200-fold excess of zinc may be tolerated. The method has been applied to the determination of cadmium in water samples, plant materials and hair. Interferences were overcome by preliminary extraction into Aliquat/carbon tetrachloride. The acid dissociation constant of BTADAP (pK = 9.5) and formation constant of the cadmium-BTADAP complex (log beta = 15.1) have been determined.     

Determination of benzydamine and its N-oxide in biological fluids by high-performance liquid chromatography

A simple, sensitive and selective method for the determination of benzydamine in human plasma and urine, and for benzydamine N-oxide in urine, has been developed using high-performance liquid chromatography in the reversed-phase mode. The limit of reliable determination of benzydamine in plasma was 0.5 ng/ml and that in urine 1 ng/ml; the limit of reliable determination of benzydamine N-oxide in urine was 50 ng/ml. The method has been successfully applied to the analysis of these compounds in biological fluids after administration of intravenous and oral doses of benzydamine to human volunteers.     

Femtosecond study of Cu(H(2)O) dynamics

The short-time nuclear dynamics of Cu(H(2)O) is investigated using femtosecond photodetachment-photoionization spectroscopy and time-dependent quantum wave packet calculations. The Cu(H(2)O) dynamics is initiated in the electronic ground state of the complex by electron photodetachment from the Cu(-)(H(2)O) complex, where hydrogen atoms are oriented toward Cu. Several time-resolved resonant multiphoton ionization schemes are used to probe the ensuing reorientation and dissociation. Immediately following photodetachment, the neutral complex is far from its minimum energy geometry and possesses an internal energy comparable to the Cu-H(2)O dissociation energy and undergoes both large-amplitude H(2)O motion and dissociation. Dissociation is observed to occur on three distinct time scales: 0.6, 8, and 100 ps. These results are compared to the results of time-dependent J=0 wave packet calculations, propagating the initial anion vibrational wave functions on the ground-state potential of the neutral complex. An excellent agreement is obtained between the experimental results and the ionization signals derived from the calculated probability amplitudes. Related experiments and calculations are carried out on the Cu(D(2)O) complex, with results very similar to those of Cu(H(2)O).     

Copolymerization behavior of vinylimidazolium salts

Copolymerization studies of cationic monomers have been reported in the literature to yield wide variations in reactivity ratios and Q–e values, depending on the comonomer and the nature of the solvent. In this work are presented the copolymerization characteristics of a variety of vinylimidazolium salts in both water and ethanol solution. From these studies, the effect of solvent polarity, of substitution at the imidazolium 2-position, of the type of counterion, and of the hydrophilic–hydrophobic character of the monomeric salts could be ascertained. The results of the study are consistent with other related investigations, in that solvent polarity and comonomer both strongly affected copolymerization.     

Novel binding of beryllium to dicarboxyimidazole-based model compounds and polymers

The ligand 4,5-dicarboxyimidazole (H(2)DCI) and its methyl derivative 1-methyl-4,5-dicarboxyimidazole (H(2)MDCI) have been shown to bind to Be(II) forming a zwitterionic species that has been structurally characterized. A new dicarboxyimidazole-based polymer has been prepared and its Be-binding properties have been studied using NMR ((1)H and (9)Be) and fluorescence spectroscopy; it represents a rare example of beryllium binding to a polymer. Models of the mononuclear and polymeric Be(II)-binding sites have been studied using density functional theory (DFT), and the (9)Be NMR chemical shifts of these model materials have been calculated for the purpose of direct comparison to experimentally observed values. Differences in the binding modes of the mononuclear and polymeric species are discussed.