With the need to reduce vertical and lateral device dimensions, submelt laser and flash anneal either with or without prior spike rapid thermal anneal (sRTA) has recently attracted attention. It combines improved active area activation with reduced gate poly depletion for a process that is essentially free of additional diffusion. This paper will focus on process integration issues during implementation into 90 and 65 nm SOI logic technologies: Transistor parameter fluctuation and pattern effects, power density limitations and the impact on the reliability of ultra-thin gate oxides, compatibility with new materials such as SiGe, transistor scaling and performance enhancement

Appropriate balancing of the polysilicon dopant concentration and the physical gate dielectric thickness is required so as to accomplish a minimized capacitance equivalent thickness (CET) at low gate leakage (JG) and high reliability. Here, we investigate the impact of polysilicon predoping and physical gate-dielectric thickness scaling on the interaction of CET, JG and TDDB reliability for both NMOS- and PMOS-devices for physical thicknesses between 1.28 and 1.58nm. Furthermore, the impact of an additional N14+ ion implantation into the PMOS gate is investigated.

Laser anneal (LA) is one of the promising technologies for the 65nm technology node and below. Steep and shallow junctions with a high level of activated dopants are fabricated using laser irradiation. The short time at high energy prevents diffusion in the extension and in the poly silicon gate. However, this causes extension underlap and poly depletion. Another problem might be the high extension sheet resistance due to the shallow junctions, despite higher doping activation. We show a degradation of the universal curve (ID,off/ID,sat) for devices with LA in experiments and simulations. An analysis of the possible factors, which are responsible for the universal curve degradation is done by numerical simulations. Adjusting the threshold voltage by reducing the halo implantation dose improves the universal curve significantly. We have found an increase of about 27% in saturation current at the same off-state current and a gate delay improvement of the optimized transistor devices. Other approaches like deeper source and drain extensions to minimize the sheet resistance or a tilted source and drain extension implantation to get more overlap did not affect the universal curve significantly. Furthermore, we have investigated approaches to overcome the problems of laser annealed MOSFETs, which are easy to integrate into the current CMOS process.

It is commonly assumed that reducing the source-drain extension (SDE) junction depth is a key element for next-generation technology nodes. This can either be achieved by reducing the implantation energy or by reducing the thermal budget of the annealing process.In this paper, we will demonstrate that for transistors with an optimum balance between AC and DC performance a reduction in junction depth results only in very little improvement of the short-channel behaviour for spike anneals in the temperature range between 1050 and 1130 degreesC. On the other hand, reduced temperatures allow a reduction in in-die parameter variation and therefore improved product performance. There exists an optimum temperature which represents a compromise between reduced parameter variation and reduced dopant activation.For improved threshold voltage roll-off we introduced heavily doped low-energy halos, thus obtaining a physical gate length of 35 nm. The problem of increased drain resistance due to reduced activation at lower temperatures and counter-doping with high halo implant doses was solved by optimizing the lateral diffusion of the deep source-drain regions.All electrical data have been extracted from our triple-spacer transistor architecture, manufactured in 90-nm production technology. An outlook will be given for alternative device concepts, such as SPE and Laser anneal and asymmetric devices. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Just as the EEG reflects different wake and sleep stages, changes in pupil dynamics reflecting different levels of vigilance are also to be found. The literature contains numerous reports on experimental set-ups for the recording of the pupillogram. Interesting methods of signal processing are to be found in [7] and [5]. Currently, such recordings are being used to check the success of sleep therapy. A problem that still needs solving is the optimal handling of artifacts caused by blinking. The present article proposes a procedure for artifact detection by back-propagation networks, and subsequent reconstruction of the signal by an AR model. Estimation of the signal is first demonstrated by a test signal, and then by a corrupted pupillogram.

In a placebo-controlled double blind study, single oral doses of lofepramine (140 mg and 210 mg) and amitriptyline (100 mg and 150 mg) were given to 5 healthy volunteers. Heart rate, blood pressure, systolic time intervals, and electrical impedance cardiogram were recorded in supine and upright position for 8 hours after drug administration. In addition, plasma drug concentrations were measured simultaneously. Amitriptyline caused a more pronounced increase in heart rate, especially under orthostatic stress, than did lofepramine. Both drugs reduced total peripheral resistance; amitriptyline's effect was greater. A rise in blood pressure (supine position) and shortening of the electromechanical systole under lofepramine indicated an improvement of cardiac performance. In contrast amitriptyline, particularly, in the upright position, lowered blood pressure and lengthened electromechanical systole. Since both drugs have a comparable antidepressant activity, lofepramine is suggested to induce fewer untoward cardiovascular reactions than amitriptyline.

THE self-injurious behaviours (SIB) of Lesch–Nyhan children were studied during three learning paradigms: punishment, positive reinforcement and time-out from reinforcement following an attempt at self-injury. Punishment of self-injury by contingent electric finger shock failed to suppress these behaviours but positive reinforcement of non-self injury and time-out procedures were effective. The results stress the importance of environmental factors in the development and control of SIB and suggest the presence of an unusual learning defect which may be related to the specific enzyme deficiency in Lesch–Nyhan disease.

Four patients with Lesch-Nyhan disease were treated with L-5-hydroxytryptophan, alone, or in combination with carbidopa, and their effect on self-mutilatory behavior was compared to that observed during periods in which placebo was administered. Observation periods were carefully standardized because of the ease with which patient-observer interactions can influence the behavior of the Lesch-Nyhan patient. The dosage level was sufficient to produce undesirable side-effects (diarrhea and vomiting). No effect on self-mutilation was observed under test conditions in the hospital or in the natural environment of the home. These results contrast with previous beneficial effects reported by others.