Reduction of loading effect by tungsten etchback in a magneticallyenhanced reactive ion etcher

The plug loading effect occurring during the etchback of tungsten was investigated in a magnetically enhanced reactive ion etcher using SF ₆/Ar mixtures. It was found that while the plug loading effect is independent of varying SF₆/Ar flow rate ratio and magnetic field intensity, it is reduced under the condition of high selectivity of tungsten relative to TiN which was achieved at high chamber pressure and low RF power. It is proposed that when TiN is used as a glue layer, the W etch rate enhancement in the plug is mainly controlled by a local loading effect. Under the optimized etchback conditions the plug loss was successfully controlled without the tungsten residue left on severe topology     

Analysis of Electromagnetic Scattering from an Eccentric Multilayered Sphere

An exact analytic solution of a plane electromagnetic (EM) wave scattered by an eccentric multilayered sphere (EMS) is obtained. It is assumed that the layers are perfect dielectrics and that the innermost core is a perfectly conducting sphere. Each center of a layer is translated along the incident axis. All fields are expanded in terms of the spherical vector wave functions with unknown expansion coefficients. The addition theorem for spherical wave functions is used prior to applying the boundary conditions. The unknown coefficients are determined by solving a system of linear equations derived from the boundary conditions. Numerical results of the scattering cross sections are presented on the plane of φ=0 degrees and φ=90 degrees. The convergence of modal solutions and the characteristics of patterns are examined with various geometries and permittivity distributions     

Liquid crystal alignment properties of 2-naphthoxymethyl-substituted polystyrenes

The liquid crystal (LC) alignment properties of LC cells fabricated with films of 2-naphthoxymethyl-substituted polystyrenes with different contents of naphthoxymethyl side groups were investigated. The polymer films exhibited good optical transparency in the visible light region (400–700 nm). The LC cells made from the unrubbed films of polymers having more than 57 mol%?of 2-naphthoxymethyl containing monomeric units showed homeotropic LC alignment with a high pretilt angle of about 90^o. Good electro-optical characteristics, such as the threshold voltage, response time, voltage holding ratio and residual DC voltage were observed for the LC cells fabricated with the polymer having 100 mol%?of 2-naphthoxymethyl containing monomeric units as an LC alignment layer.     

General Method to Increase Carboxylic Acid Content on Nanodiamonds

Carboxylic acid is a commonly utilized functional group for covalent surface conjugation of carbon nanoparticles that is typically generated by acid oxidation. However, acid oxidation generates additional oxygen containing groups, including epoxides, ketones, aldehydes, lactones, and alcohols. We present a method to specifically enrich the carboxylic acid content on fluorescent nanodiamond (FND) surfaces. Lithium aluminum hydride is used to reduce oxygen containing surface groups to alcohols. The alcohols are then converted to carboxylic acids through a rhodium (II) acetate catalyzed carbene insertion reaction with tert–butyl diazoacetate and subsequent ester cleavage with trifluoroacetic acid. This carboxylic acid enrichment process significantly enhanced nanodiamond homogeneity and improved the efficiency of functionalizing the FND surface. Biotin functionalized fluorescent nanodiamonds were demonstrated to be robust and stable single-molecule fluorescence and optical trapping probes.     

Localized Electrochemical Deposition of Copper Monitored Using Real‐Time X‐ray Microradiography

We have developed a novel strategy for localized electrochemical deposition (LECD) to improve both the lateral resolution of the process and the porosity of the fabricated high‐aspect‐ratio microstructures. The strategy is based on accurately controlling the motion of the anode. Its implementation is made possible by the use of coherent, synchrotron X‐ray microradiography with high time and lateral resolution, enabling the observation of the copper LECD process in real time. Microradiography reveals a deposition mechanism that differs as a function of the distance between the electrode (anode) and the growing structure (cathode). Specifically, the interplay of migration and diffusion of the metal ions in the baths affects the deposition rate and the characteristics of the fabricated structure. This enables us to optimize the anode motion control and greatly improve the quality of the structure grown.     

Demonstration of a surface plasmon-coupled emission (SPCE)-based immunoassay in the absence of a spacer layer

The technique of surface plasmon-coupled emission (SPCE) involves the coupling of light which is emitted from a fluorophore into the surface plasmon of an adjacent thin metal film, giving rise to highly directional emission. We have combined the advantages of SPCE with the high light collection efficiency of supercritical angle fluorescence by carrying out an immunoassay on a paraboloid array biochip in the absence of the conventional SPCE spacer layer normally used to minimize metal quenching of the fluorescence. In this work, we have successfully demonstrated an SPCE-based assay by utilizing the protein assay layer as the spacer layer. A novel 3 × 3 injection molded polymer biochip with paraboloid elements was used. The paraboloid elements served to enhance the light collection efficiency while the top surface was coated with a gold layer to use excitation of surface plasmons and detection of SPCE emission. Theoretical modeling of the gold-protein layer structure showed that the surface plasmon resonance angles were located in the detection range of the paraboloid biochip. The polarization dependence of SPCE emission was also demonstrated. Finally, a human IgG sandwich immunoassay was carried out which exhibited a limit of detection of ~10 ng/ml using 3σ. The results demonstrate the potential of the SPCE-based paraboloid array biochip as a novel platform for high-throughput analysis of biomolecular interactions.     

Feedback-linearizing control of IPM motors considering magnetic saturation effect

This paper describes feedback-linearizing control of interior permanent magnet (IPM) motors which operate in magnetic saturation. First, we propose a current tracking controller for direct control of stator currents. Then, we explicitly characterize all torque controllers that can make the motor torque of an IPM motor exactly linear with respect to torque command even if magnetic saturation occurs. In particular, our torque controller contains a free function that can be used to achieve other control objectives as well as linear dynamic characteristics. Finally, the free function is chosen so optimal as to maximize power efficiency. The practical use of our control method is demonstrated through various simulation and experimental results.     

Organic field-effect transistor with extended indium tin oxide gate structure for selective pH sensing

In this study, organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) with extended gate structure were fabricated for selective pH sensing applications. Indium tin oxide (ITO) was used as extended gate electrode as well as an active layer for H⁺ sensing. The threshold voltage of the fabricated ion-selective OFET was varied by the changes in the electrochemical potential at the ITO electrode surface upon its exposure to buffer solutions with variable pH values. The sensor showed excellent linearity and a high sensitivity of 57–59 mV/pH in the pH range of 2–12. The selectivity of the ITO sensing layer to H⁺ ions was also investigated by measuring the interfering effect of Ca²⁺ and K⁺ ions in the buffer pH solutions. The results showed that the Ca²⁺ and K⁺ ions weakly interfere with the selective pH sensing of the ITO-extended gate OFET sensor device.     

On the interaction of methyl azide (CH3N3) ices with ionizing radiation: formation of methanimine (CH2NH), hydrogen cyanide (HCN), and hydrogen isocyanide (HNC)

Methyl azide (CH(3)N(3)) might be a potential precursor in the synthesis of prebiotic molecules via nonequilibrium reactions on interstellar ices initiated by energetic galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and photons. Here, we investigate the effects of energetic electrons as formed in the track of cosmic ray particles and 193 nm photons with solid methyl azide at 10 K and the inherent formation of methanimine (CH(2)NH), hydrogen cyanide (HCN), and hydrogen isocyanide (HNC). We present a systematic kinetic study and outline feasible reaction pathways to these molecules. These processes might be also important in solar system analogue ices.