A sintered silicon carbide fiber-bonded ceramic, which consists of a highly ordered, close-packed structure of very fine hexagonal columnar fibers with a thin interfacial carbon layer between fibers, was synthesized by hot-pressing plied sheets of an amorphous silicon-aluminum-carbon-oxygen fiber prepared from an organosilicon polymer. The interior of the fiber element was composed of sintered beta-silicon carbide crystal without an obvious second phase at the grain boundary and triple points. This material showed high strength (over 600 megapascals in longitudinal direction), fibrous fracture behavior, excellent high-temperature properties (up to 1600 degreesC in air), and high thermal conductivity (even at temperatures over 1000 degreesC).
Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography is the leading candidate for the manufacture of semiconductor devices at the hp-22-nm technology node and beyond. The Selete program covers the evaluation of manufacturability for the EUV lithography process. So, we have begun a yield analysis of hp-2x-nm test chips using the EUV1 full-field exposure tool. However, the resist performance does not yet meet the stringent requirements for resolution limit, sensitivity, and line edge roughness. We reported on Selete standard resist 4 (SSR4) at the EUVL Symposium in 2009. Although it has better lithographic performance than SSR3 does, pattern collapse limits the resolution to hp 28 nm. To improve the resolution, we need to optimize the process so as to prevent pattern collapse. An evaluation of SSR4 for the hp-2x-nm generation revealed that a thinner resist and the use of a TBAH solution for the developer were effective in mitigating this problem. Furthermore, the use of an underlayer and an alternative rinse solution increased the exposure latitude by preventing pattern collapse when the resist is overexposed. These optimizations improved the resolution limit to hp 22 nm.
To understand a grain growth mechanism in Cu thin films that were deposited on rigid substrates by sputter deposition and subsequently annealed at various temperatures, microstructures of the Cu films with or without the rigid substrates were analyzed by x-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and electrical resistivity measurements. Significant grain growth (with bimodal grain size distribution) was observed during roomtemperature storage in the Cu films deposited on the Si 3 N 4 and rock salt substrates. However, in the free-standing Cu films, no grain growth was observed during room temperature storage. The present result suggested that the grain growth rates in the Cu thin films were strongly influenced by the existence of the rigid substrates, indicating stress (or strain) introduced in the films was a primary factor to induce the grain growth in the Cu films.
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