Miniaturization of microelectronic

Thin semiconductor films (and other nanostructured materials) are widely used in many applications and, especially, in microelectronics. Current technological trends toward ultimate miniaturization of microelectronic devices require films as thin as less than 5 nm, that is, containing only several atomic layers [1]. Experimental deposition methods have been described in detail in recent reviews [2-7]. Common thin-film deposition techniques are subdivided into two main categories physical deposition and chemical deposition. Physical deposition techniques, such as evaporation, molecular beam epitaxy, or sputtering, involve no chemical surface reactions. In chemical deposition techniques, such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and its most important version, atomic layer deposition (ALD), chemical precursors are used to obtain chemical substances or their components deposited on the surface. 

Photochemical surface reactions of polymer systems are an important field not only from the point of view of micro-electronic materials processing, but also from a more general scientific and materials application perspective. We have reviewed our studies in this field, which include investigations of excimer laser ablation, studies of the photo-oxidation of polymer surfaces, and the use of surface cross-linking and surface polymer depositions for microlithographic applications. With the increasing miniaturization of microelectronic devices, the fundamental and the applied aspects of surface photochemistry of polymers becomes increasingly important. 

The miniaturization of microelectronic devices has been progressing rapidly for the last twenty years. For example, the accumulation of integrated circuits in an ultra-large-scale-integration (ULSI) progresses four times per every 3-4 years. (1)... 

The modem silicon-based microelectronics led to the miniaturization of electronic devices. However, delays caused by metallic intercoimec-tions became a bottleneck for the improvement of their performances. One possible solution of this problem is to use optical intercoimections for the transfer of information, and, therefore, silicon compatible materials and devices that are able to generate, guide, amplify, switch, modulate, and detect light are needed. Rare earth silicates with luminescent rare earths and compatibility with silicon may be a good choice for these applications (Miritello et al., 2007). Miritello et al. presented the study on nanocrystalline erbium silicate thin films fabricated on silicon/silica substrates. The obtained films exhibit strong photoluminescence emission around 1540 nm with room temperature excitation by 488 ran Ar laser. 

Miniaturization of semiconductor devices has been a continuous trend in the microelectronics industry. The decrease in minimum feature length reduces the overall device size, increases the packing density, and thus reduces the cost of... 

As the devices become more miniaturized in microelectronics industry, the required level of planarization calls for a more stringent thickness control, and the CMP process is expected to meet the planarity requirements. 

More specifically, an important question to be answered 1st in failure analysis of microelectronic devices what are the consequences of miniaturization and what Impact will further miniaturization have on the way an analysis is performed Simple questions such as - what technique should be used and what is a defect, would 1 know one if I saw one appear to have answers at one level of miniaturization but at another level the answers become more elusive and expensive to obtain directly by direct mlcroanalytical methods. 

Electrochemical sensors have been used as the basis or as an integral part of many chemical and biosensor developments. The introduction of microelectrode assembly added a new dimension to electrochemical sensors, and, consequently, to chemical and biosensor research. In recent years, the advancement of microelectronic fabrication technology has provided new impetus to the development of micro or miniature electrochemical sensors. 

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