Although extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography offers the possibility of very high-resolution patterning, the projection optics must be of extremely high quality in order to meet this potential. One key metric of the projection optic quality is the contrast transfer function (CTF), which is a measure of the aerial image contrast as a function of pitch. A static microfield exposure tool based on the 0.3-NA MET optic and operating at a wavelength of 13.5 nm has been installed at the Advanced Light Source, a synchrotron facility at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. This tool provides a platform for a wide variety of research into EUV lithography. In this work we present resist-based measurements of the contrast transfer function for the MET optic. These measurements are based upon line/space patterns printed in several different EUV photoresists. The experimental results are compared with the CTF in aerial-image simulations using the aberrations measured in the projection optic using interferometry. In addition, the CTF measurements are conducted for both bright-field and dark-field mask patterns. Finally, the orientation dependence of the CTF is measured in order to evaluate the effect of non-rotationally symmetric lens aberrations. These measurements provide valuable information in interpreting the results of other …

An aberration monitoring technique based on lateral shifts of two-wave interference patterns in centrally obscured optical systems is presented, and simulations are used to evaluate the performance of such a technique. The technique is being explored as a convenient means for monitoring the aberration level in the 0.3-NA Micro Exposure Tool (MET) optic over time. A binary mask was designed for observing phase differences across the MET optic on cut-lines at 0, 45, 90 and 135 degrees across the pupil. The mask consists of 5 line-and space patterns in a dark field that measure the side-to-side phase difference across the pupil at 7 equally spaced radial points extending from 35% to 95% of the pupil radius. For near on-axis illumination the blockage of the zero-order creates a two-wave, interferometric pattern at the wafer with half of the period expected under normal imaging conditions. The optical path difference between the two orders produces an image shift of one full period of the (frequency doubled) interference pattern per 360 degrees of side-to-side path difference. Shifts on the order of 5 to 20 nm are expected and are measured using a reference target of an array of 5 medium sized dots. Aerial image …

Chemically amplified resists depend upon the post-exposure bake (PEB) process to drive the deprotection reactions (in positive resists) that lead to proper resist development. For this reason they often exhibit critical dimension (CD) sensitivity to PEB temperature variation. In this work the effects of variation in different aspects of the PEB step on post-develop CD are studied for two extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photoresists. The spatial and temporal temperature uniformity of the PEB plate is measured using a wireless sensor wafer. Programmed variations in the bake plate temperature set point are then used to measure the CD sensitivity to steady state temperature variation. In addition, the initial temperature ramp time is modified using a thin sheet of polyimide film between the wafer and the bake plate. This allows for measurement of the CD sensitivity to transient temperature variation. Finally, the bake time is adjusted to measure the CD sensitivity to this parameter.

Fluid flow in geothermal production and injection wells can be strongly affected by heat transfer effects with the formations surrounding the wellbore. Various techniques and approximations to model wellbore heat transmission have been presented in the literature. The objective of the present work is to develop a treatment of conductive heat transfer in the formations surrounding a wellbore that is simple, yet provides good accuracy for transient effects at early time. This is accomplished by adapting the well known semi-analytical heat transfer method of Vinsome and Westerveld (1980) to the problem of heat transfer to and from a flowing well. The Vinsome-Westerveld method treats heat exchange between a reservoir and adjacent cap and base rocks by means of a hybrid numerical-analytical method, in which temperature distributions in the conductive domain are approximated by simple trial functions, whose parameters are obtained concurrently with the numerical solution for the flow domain. This method can give a very accurate representation of conductive heat transfer even for non-monotonic temperature variations over a broad range of time scales. The only enhancement needed for applying the method to wellbore heat transmission is taking account of the cylindrical geometry around a flowing well, as opposed to the …

In contrast to substitution on the Co or Ce site, Sn substitution has a remarkably strong effect on superconductivity in CeCoIn{sub 5-x}Sn{sub x}, with T{sub c} {yields} 0 beyond only {approx}3.6% Sn. Instead of being randomly distributed on in-plane and out-of-plane In sites, extended x-ray absorption fine structure measurements show the Sn atoms preferentially substitute within the Ce-In plane. This result highlights the importance of the In(1) site to impurity scattering and clearly demonstrates the two-dimensional nature of superconductivity in CeCoIn{sub 5}.

The growth of titanium oxide nanoparticles on reconstructed Au(111) surfaces was investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Ti was deposited by physical vapor deposition at 300 K. Regular arrays of titanium nanoparticles form by preferential nucleation of Ti at the elbow sites of the herringbone reconstruction. Titanium oxide clusters were synthesized by subsequent exposure to O{sub 2} at 300 K. Two- and three-dimensional titanium oxide nanocrystallites form during annealing in the temperature range from 600 to 900 K. At the same time, the Au(111) surface assumes a serrated, <110> oriented step-edge morphology, suggesting step-edge pinning by titanium oxide nanoparticles. The oxidation state of these titanium oxide nanoparticles varies with annealing temperature. Specifically, annealing to 900 K results in the formation of stoichiometric TiO{sub 2} nanocrystals as judged by the observed XPS binding energies. Nano-dispersed TiO{sub 2} on Au(111) is an ideal system to test the various models explaining the enhanced catalytic reactivity of supported Au nanoparticles.

Discrete {gamma}-ray spectra have been measured for nuclei populated in {sup 191}Ir(n{sub 4}xn{gamma}) with x{<=}11, as a function of incident neutron energy using neutrons from the 'white' neutron source at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center's WNR facility. The energy of the neutrons was determined using the time-of-flight technique. The data were taken using the GEANIE spectrometer. The cross sections for emission of 202 {gamma} rays of {sup 181-191}Ir were determined for neutron energies 0.2 MeV < E{sub n} < 300 MeV. Comparison with model calculations, using the GNASH reaction model, and with GEANIE results from the similar {sup 193}Ir(n{sub 4}xn{gamma}) reactions is made.

A large number of partial {gamma}-ray cross sections produced in neutron-induced reactions with neutrons in the energy range 1 < E{sub n}(MeV) < 200 have been measured over the past eight years. Partial {gamma}-ray cross sections are measured as a function of incident neutron energy using the time-of-flight technique. Reaction channel cross sections were deduced from these measurements with the aid of nuclear modeling. Enabling facilities are the intense 'white' source of neutrons at the LANSCE/WNR 60R 20-meter flight path, and the precision {gamma}-ray spectrometry of the Compton-suppressed Ge detector array GEANIE. The first focus of the measurements was on the {sup 239}Pu(n,2n) cross section, followed by a series of other experiments on nuclei throughout the periodic table, with an emphasis on neutron-fluence activation detectors (or 'RadChem detectors'). Representative measurements will be presented, along with the techniques. Experiments in progress and future plans are mentioned.

Comparative genomics provides the means to demarcate functional regions in anonymous DNA sequences. The successful application of this method to identifying novel genes is currently shifting to deciphering the noncoding encryption of gene regulation across genomes. To facilitate the use of comparative genomics to practical applications in genetics and genomics we have developed several analytical and visualization tools for the analysis of arbitrary sequences and whole genomes. These tools include two alignment tools: zPicture and Mulan; a phylogenetic shadowing tool: eShadow for identifying lineage- and species-specific functional elements; two evolutionary conserved transcription factor analysis tools: rVista and multiTF; a tool for extracting cis-regulatory modules governing the expression of co-regulated genes, CREME; and a dynamic portal to multiple vertebrate and invertebrate genome alignments, the ECR Browser. Here we briefly describe each one of these tools and provide specific examples on their practical applications. All the tools are publicly available at the http://www.dcode.org/ web site.

Dimensional changes related to temperature cycling of the {beta} and {delta} polymorphs of HMX (octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine) are important for a variety of applications. The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of the {beta} and {delta} phases are measured over a temperature range of -20 C to 215 C by thermo-mechanical analysis (TMA). Dimensional changes associated with the phase transition were also measured, and the time-temperature dependence of the dimensional change is consistent with phase transition kinetics measured earlier by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). One HMX sample measured by TMA during its initial heating and again three days later during a second heating showed the {beta}-to-{delta} phase transition a second time, thereby indicating back conversion from {delta}-to-{beta} phase HMX during those three days. DSC was used to measure kinetics of the {delta}-to-{beta} back conversion. The most successful approach was to first heat the material to create the {delta} phase, then after a given period at room temperature, measure the heat absorbed during a second pass through the {beta}-to-{delta} phase transition. Back conversion at room temperature follows nucleation-growth kinetics.

It has been established that microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) created from polycrystalline silicon thin-films are subject to cyclic fatigue. Prior work by the authors has suggested that although bulk silicon is not susceptible to fatigue failure in ambient air, fatigue in micron-scale silicon is a result of a ''reaction-layer'' process, whereby high stresses induce a thickening of the post-release oxide at stress concentrations such as notches, which subsequently undergoes moisture-assisted cracking. However, there exists some controversy regarding the post-release oxide thickness of the samples used in the prior study. In this Letter, we present data from devices from a more recent fabrication run that confirm our prior observations. Additionally, new data from tests in high vacuum show that these devices do not fatigue when oxidation and moisture are suppressed. Each of these observations lends credence to the '''reaction-layer'' mechanism. Recent advances in the design of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have increased the demand for more reliable microscale structures. Although silicon is an effective and widely used structural material at the microscale, it is very brittle. Consequently, reliability is a limiting factor for commercial and defense applications. Since the surface to volume ratio of these structural films is very large, classical models for …

We report an energy gap for hole photoexcitation in ferromagnetic Ga{sub 1-x}Mn{sub x}P that is tunable by Mn concentration (x {le} 0.06) and by compensation with Te donors. For x{approx}0.06, electrical transport is dominated by excitation across this gap above the Curie temperature (T{sub c}) of 60 K and by thermally-activated hopping below T{sub c}. Magnetization measurements reveal a moment of 3.9 {+-} 0.4 {micro}{sub B} per substitutional Mn while the large anomalous Hall signal unambiguously demonstrates that the ferromagnetism is carrier-mediated. In aggregate these data indicate that ferromagnetic exchange is mediated by holes localized in a Mn-derived band that is detached from the valence band.