We have developed a new and simple technique for thermal imaging with submicrometer spatial resolution using the atomic force microscope. The method is particularly unique for simultaneously obtaining thermal and topographical images of biased electronic devices and interconnects where there could be different materials and potential variations on a scan surface. Application to a biased metal-semiconductor field-effect transistor showed the heating under the gate and a hot spot between the gate and drain where the electric field is known to be the highest. Thermal images of a biased polycrystalline Al-Cu via structure showed the grain boundaries to be hotter than within the grain. With the development of electronic devices and structures in the submicrometer range, this technique can become very useful as a tool for thermal characterization and property measurement.

We demonstrate a new use of the atomic force microscope (AFM) for nanometer-scale lithography on ultrathin films of poly( methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) . The PMMA films were chemically modified as both positive and negative resists due to energy transfer from a highly localized electron source provided by metallized AFM tips. We, were able to fabricate a line pattern with 68 nm line periodicity with about 35 nm line widths.

The interaction of silicon wafers with alkaline solutions of octylphenol polyethylene oxide nonionic surfactants of different ethylene oxide chain length has been characterized at 25, 50, and 75°C. Wettability of silicon wafers was improved significantly at higher temperatures. Surfactants with long ethylene oxide chains exhibited less adsorption than surfactants with short ethylene oxide chains, and increase in solution temperature resulted in increased adsorption. Generally, the addition of surfactants to alkaline solution decreased the surface roughness of silicon; however, the degree of reduction of surface roughness was influenced by the length of ethylene oxide chain and conditioning temperature. ) unless CC License in place (see abstract). ecsdl.org/site/terms_use address. Redistribution subject to ECS terms of use (see 129.173.72.87 Downloaded on 2014-06-24 to IP

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