Process characterization of a novel plasma based conformal doping technique was conducted for arsenic dopant in terms of silicon amorphization, fin integrity, doping conformality, sheet resistance and main effect of doping process parameters. Doping conformality, the ratio of doping at fin sidewall and top, was characterized by cross-section transmission electron spectroscopy (XTEM) and top-down secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) on fin structures. The residual post-anneal damage was also evaluated by XTEM. Sheet resistance (Rs) was used for studying dopant activation. The effect of main doping process parameters on thermal wave (TW), sheet resistance (Rs) and silicon fin amorphization was also studied.

Voluminous Paleozoic sandstone sequences were deposited in northern Africa and Arabia following an extended Neoproterozoic orogenic cycle that culminated in the assembly of Gondwana. We measured sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U-Pb ages of detrital zircons separated from several Cambrian units in the Elat area of southern Israel in order to unravel their provenance. This sandstone forms the base of the widespread siliciclastic section now exposed on the periphery of the Arabian-Nubian shield in northeastern Africa and Arabia. Most of the detrital zircons we analyzed yielded Neoproterozoic concordant ages with a marked concentration at 0.55-0.65 Ga. The most likely provenance of the Neoproterozoic detritus is the Arabian-Nubian shield; 0.55-0.65 Ga was a time of posttectonic igneous activity, rift-related volcanism, and strike-slip faulting there. Of the zircons, 30% yielded pre-Neoproterozoic ages grouped at 0.9-1.1 Ga (Kibaran), 1.65-1.85 Ga, and 2.45-2.7 Ga. The majority of the pre-Neoproterozoic zircons underwent Pb loss, possibly as a consequence of the Pan-African orogeny resetting their provenance. Rocks of the Saharan metacraton and the southern Afif terrane in Saudi Arabia (similar to1000 km south of Elat) are plausible sources of these zircons. Kibaran basement rocks are currently exposed more than 3000 km south of Elat (flanking the Mozambique belt), but the shape of the detrital zircons of that age and the presence of feldspar in the host sandstone are not fully consistent with such a long-distance transport. Reworking of Neo-proteorozoic glacial detritus may explain the presence of Kibaran detrital zircons in the Cambrian of Elat, but the possibility that the Arabian-Nubian shield contains Kibaran rocks (hitherto not recognized) should also be explored.

An equilibrium thermodynamic analysis of the Gibbs free energy in a non-hydrostatic stress field is applied to the formation of boron nitride thin films. The theory predicts a specific sequence of microstructures from non-oriented hexagonal boron nitride, through oriented hexagonal boron nitride and finally cubic boron nitride. It also predicts a threshold stress for cubic boron nitride formation. These predictions are in agreement with experimental observations reported here and made by others. The synthesis of cubic boron nitride in a new helicon wave plasma source is demonstrated. The operating parameters which produce the cubic phase are determined.

A helicon diffusion reactor is used for depositing and etching thick layers of silicon dioxide in order to manufacture planar optical waveguides using silicon technology.