Simultaneous Dimensional and Analytical Characterization of Ordered Nanostructures.

The spatial and compositional complexity of 3D structures employed in today's nanotechnologies has developed to a level at which the requirements for process development and control can no longer fully be met by existing metrology techniques. For instance, buried parts in stratified nanostructures, which are often crucial for device functionality, can only be probed in a destructive manner in few locations as many existing nondestructive techniques only probe the objects surfaces. Here, it is demonstrated that grazing exit X-ray fluorescence can simultaneously characterize an ensemble of regularly ordered nanostructures simultaneously with respect to their dimensional properties and their elemental composition. This technique is nondestructive and compatible to typically sized test fields, allowing the same array of structures to be studied by other techniques. For crucial parameters, the technique provides sub-nm discrimination capabilities and it does not require access-limited large-scale research facilities as it is compatible to laboratory-scale instrumentation.

The effects of deforestation and urbanization on sustainable growth in Asian countries.

This study aims to determine the effects of deforestation, economic growth, and urbanization on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions levels in the South and Southeast Asian (SSEA) regions for the 1990-2014 period. The data was divided into five sub-panels. Three of them are income-based groups (namely low-, middle- and high-income panels), and the remaining two are South and Southeast Asian regions. The Pedroni cointegration test confirms a long-run relationship between deforestation, economic growth, urbanization, and CO2 emissions in the SSEA regions. Further, empirical results reveal the existence of a U-shaped relationship between CO2 emissions and economic growth for all panels (excepting low-income countries). This means that these countries can grow in a sustainable path, but they must be aware of long-term risks of this economic growth, as this sustainable path could be compromised when reaching the turning point of the "U". Moreover, our results suggest that deforestation and urbanization can aggravate environmental pollution in these regions and can further affect sustainable development in the long run. Besides, the most appropriate and cost-effective method to minimize CO2 emissions is found to be through the improvement of forest activities.

Sidewall crystalline orientation effect of post-treatments for a replacement metal gate bulk fin field effect transistor.

The crystalline orientation effect is investigated for post-treatments of a replacement metal gate (RMG) p-type bulk fin field effect transistor (FinFET). After post-deposition annealing (PDA) and SF6 plasma treatment, the hole mobility is improved. From low-frequency noise analysis, reduction of the trap density and noise level is observed in PDA- and SF6-plasma-treated devices. (100) sidewall-oriented FinFETs show a lower noise level because of fewer interface traps compared to (110) sidewall-oriented devices. SF6 plasma affects the interface traps, whereas PDA relatively more affects bulk oxide traps for RMG high-k last FinFET.