The introduction of SiOCH low-k dielectrics in copper interconnects associated to the reduction of the critical dimensions in advanced technology nodes is becoming a major reliability concern. The ...interconnect realization requires a consequent number of critical process steps 1. Since porous low-k dielectrics are used as Inter-Metal Dielectric (IMD) each process step can be a source of degradation for the dielectric. This paper describes critical process steps influencing the low-k reliability. All the processes affecting the dielectric's interfaces are also evidenced to degrade the low-k interconnect robustness. Some process examples as the direct chemical and mechanical polishing (CMP), the slurry chemistry and the TaN/Ta barrier etching are details in this paper. Moreover, some process options are given to strongly improve low-k dielectric reliability without degradation of its electrical performances.
38 nm SON P-MOSFETs are presented in this paper, completing the formerly presented SON NMOSFETs and thus demonstrating the electrical viability of the SON architecture for aggressive CMOS. ...Morphological results show that the SON architecture allows comfortable silicidation process leading to a large improvement of the performance. In particular, for the thinnest Si-channel (9 nm), extremely good subthreshold behavior is observed (with less than 60 mV of DIBL on a 38 nm transistor). The performances of the devices are excellent (360 /spl mu/A//spl mu/m Ion with 100 nA Ioff for a 38 nm PMOS device @-1.4V with T/sub ox/=20 /spl Aring/) and show large potential of the SON architecture for future CMOS generations.
For the first time, both GAA and bulk devices were shown to be operational on the same chip. Not all issues have been solved yet (gate materials, access resistance) but already the first-try results ...are very encouraging: I/sub on/=170 /spl mu/A//spl mu/m@1.2 V and gate oxide of 20 /spl Aring/. Thanks to the GAA intrinsic immunity to SCE, its DIBL was as small as 10 mV compared with 600 mV on bulk control devices. Calibrating a 2D simulator on this electrical data, the performance of the GAA was estimated to be at least 1500 /spl mu/A//spl mu/m@ 1 V with comfortable gate oxide of 20 /spl Aring/, once having corrected for the large R/sub access/ (/spl sim/3000 /spl Omega/), that was simply due to non-optimal mask layout used in this first device realization.
We report on 40 nm nMOS transistors with HfO/sub 2/ dielectric and polySi gate integrated into a damascene structure. We fabricated HfO/sub 2/ ALD layers with EOT down to 15 /spl Aring/, exhibiting ...leakage current more than two decades lower than SiO/sub 2/. Small mobility degradation on 2 nm EOT nMOSFETs was observed leading to the best performances (Ion= 680 /spl mu/A//spl mu/m @ Ioff=230 nA//spl mu/m) ever obtained with HfO/sub 2/ and polySi electrodes.
In this paper, the first SON (Silicon On Nothing) devices with metal gate are presented. Extremely thin fully depleted Si-films are recognized to be integrable with single-metal gate (mid-gap) due to ...their intrinsically low threshold voltage. In this work we present mid-gap CoSi/sub 2/ metal gate by total gate silicidation on SON transistors with Si-conduction channel thickness down to 5 nm. Due to its architecture and to the continuity between SD areas and the bulk, SON transistors allow deep silicidation processing down to the gate oxide, meaning that no more polysilicon is left. SON PMOS devices were performed with 55 nm CoSi/sub 2/ gate length with 5 nm of Si-channel thickness, and show excellent performances (350 /spl mu/A//spl mu/m I/sub on/ with only 0.1 nA I/sub off/ at -1.4 V with T/sub ox/=20 /spl Aring/). The polydepletion is of course suppressed and the gate resistance (<2 /spl Omega///spl square/) is very competitive for RF applications.
65 nm device manufacture using shaped E-Beam lithography Pain, L.; Charpin, M.; Laplanche, Y. ...
Digest of Papers Microprocesses and Nanotechnology 2003. 2003 International Microprocesses and Nanotechnology Conference,
2003
Conference Proceeding
In this paper, SRAM cell device manufacture using shaped electron beam lithography was developed. TEM view of SRAM cell was showed.
Serum beta2-microglobulin, the light chain of the HLA class I molecular complex, remains one of the best survival prognostic factors in multiple myeloma, but other HLA class I molecules might be of ...interest in monoclonal gammopathies. In this study, we evaluate total soluble HLA class I (HLA-Is) and soluble HLA-G (HLA-Gs) in 103 patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, 30 patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), and 30 healthy subjects, studying their prognostic value in multiple myeloma. In multiple myeloma patients, HLA-Is and HLA-Gs median values were 0.8 microg/mL and 28 ng/mL, respectively. Median HLA-Is concentration was higher in stage II and III multiple myeloma patients than in stage I multiple myeloma, MGUS, and control patients. Median HLA-Gs was significantly lower in healthy controls than in MGUS and multiple myeloma patients. A high level of HLA-Is (> or =2.1 microg/mL) was predictive of short survival (P = 0.017). For each given level of beta2-microglobulin, the relative risk of death was higher for patients with HLA-Is > or = 2.1 microg/mL than in patients with a lower level (P = 0.047). HLA-Gs, a marker of monoclonal gammopathy, was of no prognostic value, but the addition of HLA-Is to beta2-microglobulin produced an efficient prognostic score (P < 0.0001). HLA-Is is a new marker of multiple myeloma tumor load and provides additional survival prognostic information to beta2-microglobulin.
Human leukocyte antigen (HLA‐G), a class Ib major histocompatibility complex molecule, is potentially relevant in the immune response through its various immune cell functions. Its expression noticed ...in some malignancies has also been shown on macrophages and dendritic cells (DC) in tumoral and inflammatory diseases. As DC constitute a key component in the immune response, this work aimed at assessing the expression of HLA‐G at transcriptional and proteic levels during differentiation and maturation of the different DC subsets. We show that HLA‐G transcription was induced during CD34+‐derived DC differentiation and is associated with a cell‐surface expression in half of cases and with a substantial secretion of soluble HLA‐G in all cases. Results were very similar for monocyte‐derived DC, but there was still a weak HLA‐G cell‐surface expression and a lower level of secretion. On the contrary, HLA‐G transcription was weak in plasmacytoid DC without any HLA‐G cell‐surface expression and with a basal level of secretion. The mechanisms involved in HLA‐G expression appear transcriptional and post‐transcriptional. However, the amount of HLA‐G transcripts and the expression of the protein are not related. HLA‐G expression or secretion by DC may have negative consequences on the function of effective immune cells and also on DC themselves via the interaction with inhibitory receptors expressed by these cells. The capacity of DC to express or secrete HLA‐G should be studied in the context of cellular therapy using DC in addition to its suppressive action in immune response.
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