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Masha Lopatova
Co - Owner Of Fashion IQ
Masha Lopatova is the co-owner of Fashion IQ in Moscow, Russia, business owner of Fashion IQ NYC, and an entrepreneur emphasizing the fashion business. Fashion IQ is a fashion and personal styling consulting firm operating globally with Russian talent that is becoming a remarkably dominant and strong leader out there. Masha didn't get her running start in the fashion industry, however, and originated with a productive career in Russian media.Masha matured in Moscow but relocated to London in order to study film. At St. Martin's College she earned a Masters Degree in TV and Video Production and quickly afterwards Masha came back to Moscow beginning a prominent career in Russian media. Her dad was a famous and adored basketball player and Masha utilized this as a catalyst to start a Public Relations Company targeted on representing sportsmens in Russia. This is where she met Andrei Kirilenko, a NBA basketball player, whom she would later marry.Andrei's basketball career carried them to the U.S. and it is here that they started their family. Subsequently, after buying a new house in the US, Masha directed her energy and passion in style by opening a small specialty shop. With the growth of her American shop, Fleur De Lis, Masha introduced another emporium and showroom in Moscow, Russia called Made in USA. Integrating her knowledge in the Russian sector and her associations with the American Apparel Industry, Masha started creating distribution alliances with American Contemporary labels seeking entrance into the Russian market. Masha skillfully imported and offered desired labels, which had historically been inaccessible, to the developing Russian fashion industry for the subsequent seven years. During this time period Masha had two sons, Fedor and Stepan, and adopted Sasha, her little girl, from Russia.All the hard work and energy she exerted into endorsing different brands in Russia inevitably returned Masha to her beginnings and she blended PR, consulting, and individual fashion into one company called Fashion IQ, which she started in Moscow, Russia. Fashion IQ concentrated heavily on collaborations with highly respected Russian stylists, fashion designers, and has developed into an agency to consider in the Russian fashion business. In 2013 Masha decided to take Fashion IQ to New York City, where she currently resides with her husband and children. Featuring, this time around, a bold Moscovian viewpoint of fashion trend to the US trade. Masha plans on growing more and will release her most recent venture Fashion IQ NYC in May 2014.


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A conference of world donors who have pledged aid to the Palestinian Authority has been postponed one month because of potential conflicts with meetings called to assess the situation in Bosnia.
The donors conference, scheduled to take place Saturday in Paris, has been postponed to Jan. 99, said E.U. diplomatic sources here.
According to these sources, the donors conference risked potential conflicts with a series of meetings on Bosnia that are scheduled to take place in London, Paris and Brussels during the next two weeks.
"Several countries, including the United States, have informed the French government that they would have difficulties to be present in Paris because of the Bosnia meetings," one of these sources said.
The United States had pledged 20,000 troops to serve as part of a 60,000 NATO- led contingent that will seek to enforce the terms of a peace accord for Bosnia initiated last month in Dayton, Ohio, and expected to be signed this week in Paris.
At the donors conference, participants are scheduled to established the amount of their contributions to the Palestinians, analyze the economic situation in the areas falling under Palestinian control and assess the 1996 budget of the Palestinian Authority.

subset: commoncrawl


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INDIANAPOLIS — Former Bucs first-round draft pick Anthony "Booger" McFarland was waived Wednesday by the Colts in what the defensive tackle's agent called a "disappointing" move by the team.
"I'd say I'm surprised, but, really, I'm not,'' Karl Bernard, McFarland's agent, told the Indianapolis Star. "This is the NFL, and nothing surprises me anymore.''
The newspaper said the Colts freed up approximately $8-million in salary-cap space. McFarland, 30, was due a base salary of $6.85-million. The team also released veteran linebacker Rob Morris, 33.
"It's a little disappointing because there was no attempt to redo the contract, and that's something Anthony would have been interested in,'' Bernard told the Star. "It's also disappointing because of how the team brass acknowledged his contributions when he played and the fact he's well ahead of schedule with his rehabilitation."
There was no comment by the team.
McFarland was the 15th overall pick by the Bucs and then-coach Tony Dungy in 1999 out of LSU. He was traded by the Bucs in 2006 to Dungy and the Colts. But McFarland tore a knee tendon in training camp during the summer and missed the entire season.
Myron Cope, voice of Steelers, dies at 79
PITTSBURGH — Myron Cope spoke in a language and with a voice never before heard in a broadcast booth, yet a loving Pittsburgh understood him perfectly during an unprecedented 35 years as a Steelers announcer.
The screechy-voiced Mr. Cope, a writer by trade and an announcer by accident whose colorful catch phrases and twirling Terrible Towel became nationally known symbols of the Steelers, died Wednesday at age 79.
Mr. Cope died at a nursing home in Mount Lebanon, a Pittsburgh suburb. He had been treated for respiratory problems and heart failure in recent months.
Mr. Cope's tenure from 1970-2004 as color analyst on the Steelers' radio network is the longest in NFL history for a broadcaster with a single team and led to his induction into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2005.
"It is a very sad day, but Myron lived every day to make people happy, to use his great sense of humor to dissect the various issues of the sporting world. … He's a legend," former Steelers Pro Bowl linebacker Andy Russell said.
PANTHERS DUMP CARR: Carolina cut ties with quarterback David Carr and brought back an old favorite, receiver Muhsin Muhammad. Carr was released a year after he signed a $6-million, two-year deal after a five-year stint as a starter in Houston. Muhammad prepares for his second stint with the club, a week after he was released by the Bears.
Browns: The team terminated the contract of defensive lineman Orpheus Roye.
Chiefs: The team informed four players, including starting cornerback Ty Law, that they would be released, the Kansas City Star reported.
Lions: Free-agent safety Dwight Smith signed a two-year contract. Smith played for the Bucs from 2001-04, setting a Super Bowl record in 2002 by returning two interceptions for TDs.
Titans: Receiver Justin Gage agreed to multiyear contract.
Vikings: Quarterback Kelly Holcomb, who went 0-3 as a starter last season while Tarvaris Jackson was hurt, was released.


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DOWNLOAD APK | MIRROR | google play


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Happy New Year 2013 from Steve and Sylvia
As 2012 draws to a close, it's been a wonderful year in Austin for me, Sylvia and our family. Shelly is doing well in her sophomore year at TCU. Caroline is doing well in her (also) sophomore year at Westlake High School. Our business finally picked up in 2012 to our busiest since 2008. And I, Steve lost 30 lbs! More on that below.
Thanks goes out to all of our friends, family, clients, customers, acquaintances and others. Without you, our lives would not be as wonderful as they are. We end 2012 with much gratitude.
Now for my shameless plug and request for support. No, it's not about business or leads or referrals. Something much more important. It's about health, fitness and curing cancer. Please read on …
I spent most of 2012 getting into better shape. I was becoming a fatty again, and as I approached age 50 in 2012, I wanted to get serious about my fitness and health. I started cold turkey in March 2012 getting up at 5AM (yes, 5AM!), 5 days a week, and going to the gym for morning workouts. I have continued that schedule ever since. Through exercise and better eating, I've lost 30 pounds and feel great as 2012 comes to an end.
But as 2013 begins, I feel like I hit a fitness plateau. The routine is getting old, and I feel myself slipping back to old habits. I want to push myself to another level. I need a new challenge for 2013.
I was not sure what that challenge would be, until New Years Eve, 2012. I'm going to run the LiveStrong half marathon in Austin this February!
A friend of mine, Kate Voth, has been battling melanoma for 8 years and recently learned that because of her cancer treatment, she may never be able to run again. Her passion in life is distance running. So, since Kate cannot run this race, a group of her friends decided to form a team and run it for her. I have now also joined Team Kate.
My personal goal is to raise
$1,000 $2,000 (I broke $1,000 in less than an hour. Wow!). I'm proud to have joined Team Kate to help raise money to fight cancer, and to challenge myself in my own fitness quest.
The money I raise will go to support programs and services, which inspire and empower people affected by cancer. If you or someone you know is diagnosed, these resources will help face the challenges of cancer, head on, and live life on your own terms.
Please support me as I make a difference in the cancer fight through my participation in Team Kate and LIVESTRONG.
Here is the link to make a donation, if you so choose.
If you want to go directly to the donate link, click here.
Thank you again for a wonderful 2012!


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Last week was National Infertility Awareness Week. In order to help break the silence that often accompanies a diagnosis of infertility, I want to share a bit of my experience and hopefully add to the conversation. Because, although I am a mom of twins, I am also infertile. This means, that in nearly four years of trying to make babies (and 10 years of not actively preventing the making of babies), my husband and I have made exactly zero babies...on our own. However, with the help of some fabulous doctors, a supportive family, and a faith that somehow held together through the emotional roller coaster of infertility, we eventually conceived and then I carried and birthed twins. And today, they are healthy (and very rambunctious and highly emotional) three-year-olds. Both of them. At the same time. Deep breath. (My "10 Essentials for Surviving Twin Toddler Parenthood" is another post; a post which I need someone else to write at present.)
So, in no particular order, here is a list of essentials that helped (and still help) me face my infertility.
1. A Supportive Partner - Infertility can be very stressful on relationships, especially on the one with whom you are trying to conceive. For my husband and I, communication was key. While we of course had our arguments and ups and downs, being open about our feelings and there for each other (in different ways at different times) helped us to continue to like one another and to stay on the same team. (We're now learning how this was really excellent practice for co-parenting as well.)
2. Yoga - I met a dear friend and fellow twin mom in a "Yoga for Fertility" class. While we never would have imagined we'd one day bond over parenting multiples when we first met, it was so easy (and wonderful) to connect with someone through our similar treatments and experiences. I practiced yoga pretty regularly while trying to conceive (including at times when actually trying to conceive - pardon the metal imagery there), and I truly believe it helped keep my stress level in check at the very least.
3. Eating Healthy - My infertility seems to be related to my endometriosis. In order to try to keep the symptoms in check, I met with a nutritionist and tried to eat a well-balanced and nutrient-dense diet while undergoing treatment. While I cannot say definitively that this helped contribute to what was our successful IVF, I do believe it helped prepare my body (and my eggs?) to be in the best possible condition for the procedure.
4. Support Groups - Whether online or in person, the support from a community of folks also dealing with infertility can be invaluable. Often by no fault of their own, our friends and family who have not experienced infertility don't always know what to say or do (and sometimes inadvertently say hurtful or seeming insensitive things). I have found that it can be very healing to have a safe space to vent, share stories, and encourage one another.
5. Health Insurance - Thank goodness for heath insurance. I say this even though our plan does not cover any infertility treatments or procedures. So, yes, I am saying thank goodness for health insurance because once we spent a grand total of over $50,000 out-of-pocket, when we finally did get pregnant, our deductible was definitely met and the quality prenatal care we received for our twins was basically "free." I also share this as a means to say that there is action that needs to be taken in order to provide better coverage for infertility. The stress of financing your family and the prospect of a $10,000 negative pregnancy test is more than anyone should have to face, in my opinion. (And yes, those are really big numbers. But for many they are much higher. Ugh.)
6. Writing/Journaling - I actually returned to writing and started blogging as a way to process my emotions with infertility. I also found a lot of hope in reading the words of others going through infertility. I followed many women through their IUI and IVF cycles via their blogs, and I celebrated with them (and grieved with them) as they moved one step closer to holding their babies.
7. Finding/Keeping the Faith - To be clear, this is not to suggest, "If you just pray enough it will happen." What it is to suggest is that for me, my coming to believe that God did not will my infertility was freeing and healing. I am also grateful that I was able to come to terms with the fact that no matter how much I might have wanted a baby, I could not create a child by my own sheer will and determination. (Although, yes, my/our sheer will and determination was definitely a factor.) Through accepting the things I could not control and finding peace that God was with us in our trials, I feel that my faith was strengthened through our infertility. But I also believe that finding or keeping the faith through infertility will likely look different for each of us, and I think that is okay.
8. Crying - Acknowledging the pain and despair - particularly of a failed cycle - and allowing myself space to cry and sometimes even throw things (I usually tried to make sure the "things" were soft and not breakable...pillows I found to be particularly suited for this purpose) was crucial. And sometimes it just felt good, too.
9. Being Honest - This is a difficult one, but I found the more we let people know about our infertility, the more support we received. Yes, there were plenty of well-meaning but often off-putting, "Just relax and it will happen," comments. But, there were also lots of prayers, listening ears, and shoulders to cry on. Also, more often than we expected, we'd get a "Me, too" in response.
10. A Sense of Humor - Finally, when all else fails, and it often feels that all else does fail when battling infertility, a sense of humor can help lighten the load. The fact is, there are just so many aspects of infertility that are, shall we say, less than fun. Between the time in the stirrups, the shots in the rear, the "specimen collections," the vaginal probing, and more folks in white coats looking at you under the sheet than you can count, sometimes you just have to laugh. I'll never forget the time my husband called me up during his "collection" appointment. I answered the phone to a nervous, "Um, hey hun. I think I could use a little help here. What are you wearing?" I didn't know whether to find the nearest bathroom (I was at Panera at the time), laugh out loud, or die of embarrassment. Turns out he was already...ehem...finished, but thought it would make for a good laugh.
Ha. Haha.
So there it is. My personal list of essentials. What makes your list? How do you remember to take care of yourself and your relationships when the joy of trying to make a baby turns in the stress of trying to make a baby?
More from health


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When Merck & Co. Inc. announced it had decided to settle most of its estimated 60,000 remaining Vioxx claims for $4.85 billion, people wondered if this was a detour from Merck's previously announced strategy of fighting each case individually--and possibly an acknowledgment of that plan's failure.
But former Merck General Counsel Ken Frazier, who engineered the original strategy, refuted that suggestion in an investor conference call following announcement of the settlement. "No, we don't see this as a change in strategy," said Frazier, now president of Merck's global human health division. "In fact, we think this responsible resolution is the product of that strategy."
Specifically, because Merck took an informed gamble in the courtroom and won 11 of the 16 Vioxx cases that went to trial, it gained the clout to scale down the eventual settlement amount. It's a risky strategy, but as evidenced by the Vioxx settlement, it also can pay off big.
"The big story is there is real value in taking a litigation strategy that results in some number of cases actually being tried," says Richard Nagareda, director of Vanderbilt University Law School's litigation and dispute resolution program. "That's a real expense to any corporation. But the final price tag of the Vioxx settlement underscores quite dramatically that this strategy worked well for Merck."
Risky Business
Merck's problems began when a study surfaced in 2002 that showed its blockbuster painkiller Vioxx possibly elevated risk for heart attacks. Initially there was some scattered litigation as studies built up evidence against the drug.
But all hell broke loose on Sept. 30, 2004, when Merck voluntarily pulled Vioxx from the market after one of its own clinical studies seemed to back up the suspicions. Almost immediately the company was flooded with suits--and quickly realized it was facing thousands, if not tens of thousands, of cases.
"Right from the start, Ken Frazier, with the approval of the board and executive team, decided the only reasonable way to look at this was to examine the cases one by one," says Kent Jarrell, spokesperson for the Vioxx defense team. "You didn't have a signature illness or injury like fen-phen or asbestos. You had injuries--primarily heart attacks and strokes--that unfortunately are very commonplace in the U.S. but also have a variety of other causes."
Merck examined the cases by taking them to trial, which gave its legal team time to sort through the science and
clinical data. Discovery revealed the tenuous link between Vioxx and health problems that may have been pre-existing. That allowed Merck, despite some early losses, to defeat the more questionable claims and maintain a winning courtroom record. "Lawsuits [in the pharmaceutical and biological] areas tend to get ahead of the science," says Bob Schick, co-head of Vinson & Elkins' litigation section. "I think Merck made the right call in trying cases."
Of course, the risk of that strategy is that not every company will come out on top as Merck did.
"Winning a majority of cases is key to a strategy of trying a few in order to drive down the settlement amount," Nagareda says. "You are going to lose some cases. If your estimate of your chances is wrong, the price tag for any overall settlement would possibly go up."
But Merck had a strong case with respect to individual causation: It suspected from the start that it would be hard to distinguish a Vioxx-related heart attack or stroke from one that would have occurred even without taking
the medication.
"[The Vioxx settlement] does show that if a defendant really thinks it's not liable to all the people suing that defendant, they should take some of those cases to trial," Nagareda says. "But you have to be confident that you have a good case on the science to take a position that basically says to the plaintiffs' lawyers, 'We dare you to take these cases to trial.' "
Merck did just that, confident that the plaintiffs' bar would have a hard time showing individual causation--and in case after case, this proved to be true.
Blood in the Water
But it took more than confidence and a good record for Merck to negotiate a winning settlement--it took perfect timing. "Everything had to line up in a row," Jarrell says. "It's a clich?(C), but it really was the right agreement for the right time."
To begin with, three years of taking cases to trial allowed the statutes of limitation for new claims to run out in most states.
In addition Vioxx had been off the market for long enough--and its adverse health effects show up quickly enough after use--that latent claims down the road were not a factor. If future claims had been a possibility, the settlement could have made Merck a target for plaintiffs' attorneys rather than providing closure.
"Look at what happened to Wyeth in the fen-phen settlement where they immediately went to the settlement table," says Ted Frank, tort reform advocate and director of the American Enterprise Institute Legal Center for the Public Interest. "A settlement that was supposed to be a few billion dollars quickly ballooned to more than $20 billion."
Wyeth, the company behind the lethal diet drug combination, settled without considering the universe of possible claimants. The multibillion dollar global settlement only encouraged more plaintiffs to come forward with claims, many of them fraudulent. If Merck's handling of the Vioxx litigation stands as a model for containing such cases, the fen-phen situation serves as a cautionary tale.
"It was just blood in the water for the piranhas," Frank says. "Settling as early as they did and signaling they were willing to settle as early as they did really opened things up. ... Unless the claims are very clearly bound at an early stage, you have to fight it."
The provisions of the settlement itself also aim to avoid a Wyeth scenario. In the fen-phen settlement, Wyeth failed to adequately protect itself from weak or fraudulent claims. It had a broad system of analyzing claims that relied on auditing a randomly chosen 15 percent of the class. This encouraged even more plaintiffs to come forward.
Key to the Vioxx resolution agreement was the provision that each claim would be examined individually so that only the deserving claimants can win damages. "That was consistent with our litigation strategy from the beginning," Jarrell says.
Victorious Outcome
It was a strategy that Wall Street deemed a victory.
After Merck announced the Nov. 9 settlement, its stock rose more than 2 percent in a down market. A few years ago analysts were predicting the Vioxx fiasco would cost Merck $10 billion to $25 billion. Following the settlement, CNN reported some estimates had been as high as $50 billion.
Even factoring in the almost $2 billion it spent defending itself in the past few years, there's no question that Merck defied expectations.
"Merck's legal strategy was as successful as it could have been," Frank says. "To defend itself against all of those claims would have cost far more than the billions they're laying out for this settlement. Even if they had won every case, it would have cost this much."
Perhaps not surprisingly, Christopher Seeger, co-counsel on the Vioxx Negotiating Committee and founding member of Seeger Weiss, is hesitant to laud Merck's legal strategy. "They're getting a lot of credit for a strategy they didn't really implement," he says. "They put up a tough front, it was a hard-fought battle and we met every challenge and managed to win a few cases along the way."
But not enough cases.
"Merck brought home to plaintiffs' lawyers that these cases are going to be hard to win," Nagareda says. "That has a big effect on the ultimate price tag of any settlement."


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In Saudi Arabia's own direct communication to OPEC, the kingdom said November production was lower, at 9.49 million. The November Saudi amount was 550,000 barrels per day less than in August.
Therefore, Saudi Arabia appears to have cut back its oil production to 11.2 million barrels per day in the last week of November (in order to support a higher price for oil because of higher USA and Iraq production increases). The US increased oil (crude oil, natural gas liquids, ethanol and other liquids and refinery processing gains) production to pass Saudi Arabia in the first week of December (to 11.33 million bpd). The USA added 660,000 barrels per day since August.
11.33 million bpd for the USA and 11.2 million bpd for the Saudi Arabia swing producer. The USA became the number one oil (all liquids) producing nation in the first week of December. Based on simple math and what Saudi Arabia announced and what the USA reported via the Energy Information Administration.
Total Oil supply for the US for the days in the Week ending Dec 7 was 11.33 million barrels
US daily crude oil production added 35,000 barrels per day and natural gas liquids and renewable fuel added 99,000 barrels per day in the most recently reported week. Crude oil production is at the highest level in 18 years. Crude oil production is up nearly 1 million bpd since the same time last year.
All liquids of oil
All liquids or EIA Total Supply includes
Crude oil and condensate
Natural Gas liquids
Ethanol and other biofuel
Refinery gains
The EIA compared countries based on Total Supply (all of the above components)
Saudi reduced by 550,000 according to their statement to OPEC from August to November.
The US increased by 660,000.
Link to compare different countries production based on different oil definitions. Data is up to August currently. September should be up shortly so about 2.5 months for the November data to get put up.
In order for the USA to pass Saudi Arabia without refinery gains would require another 1.1 million bpd increase. The US would have to repeat what they did in 2012. The US increased crude oil by 1 million bpd and increased Natural gas liquids by 300,000 bpd.
If world oil demand stays relatively weak and Iraq also adds about 400,000 bpd in 2013., then Saudi Arabia might choose to cut back to about 8 million bpd. Although I doubt they would cut back below that level to support prices.
If you liked this article, please give it a quick review on ycombinator or StumbleUpon. Thanks


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The delegation evolved from the previous delegation for relations with the republics of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which established a working group for Central Asia in 1993. In 1994, a delegation for relations with Central Asia and Mongolia was constituted.
Parliamentary Cooperation Committees (PCCs) have taken place on a regular basis with Kazakhstan. Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan since 2000 and with Tajikistan since 2010.The PCCs are a key element of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreements (PCAs) which came into force on 1 July 1999 and with Tajikistan on 1 January 2010 and provide the framework for the relationship between the EU and the four countries. A key role of the PCCs is to review the implementation of the PCA. They have the right to request information from the Cooperation Council which supervises the Agreement. The PCCs can also make recommendations to the Council.
Regular interparliamentary meetings (IPMs) take place with Mongolia and Turkmenistan as PCAs have not been finalised with these two countries.


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Google Drive announces long-anticipated storage service
This week, Google has announced its new service -- Google Drive -- a much anticipated and rumored feature where account holder can have storage space in the "cloud." But already, there's hubbub over the language in the "terms of service" clause that many say would give Google rights to contents stored on the Drive. Google assures that the clause is standard legalese that gives the company the licensing rights it needs to deliver on services that users' request.
The service is impressive: Users can get up to 5 GB in Google Drive, 1 GB in Picasa, and 10 GB in Gmail for free. You can purchase additional storage space for a monthly fee -- prices range from $2.49 for 25 GB, $4.99 for 100 GB and up all the way to $799.99 for 16 TB. When you purchase more space, you automatically get upped to 25 GB for your Gmail account.
On Google Drive, you can create documents, spreadsheets and presentations, then share them with others. You can leave comments on anything stored on the Drive, meaning you can work together with others on projects. The Drive is searchable. It can recognize text in documents that are scanned in. The Drive even has image recognition so you can search for photos you uploaded by location or topic.
Beauty of cloud storage is that you can access it when you're on the go. You can install Google Drive and tap into it on your Mac or PC and Android phones or tablets. Apps for iOS devices not yet available but are in the works.
There are plenty of alternatives to Google Drive: Dropbox, iCloud and SkyDrive to name a few.Information Week came up with some notable services storage, backup and file-sharing needs.


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|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Aug 4, 2009
|Filing date
|Nov 10, 2005
|Priority date
|Nov 24, 2004
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Yaoling Pan, David P. Stumbo
|Original Assignee
|Nanosys, Inc.
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (58), Non-Patent Citations (4), Referenced by (12), Classifications (30), Legal Events (3)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/630,743, filed Nov. 24, 2004, which is incorporated in its entirety herein. This application is also related to co-pending and commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/674,060, titled "Large-Area Nanoenabled Macroelectronic Substrates And Uses Therefor", filed Sep. 30, 2003, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
Not applicable.
The present invention relates generally to the fabrication of nanoscale field effect transistors, and more particularly, to improved contact doping and annealing systems and processes for nanowire thin films used in, e.g., thin film transistors for various electronic applications.
The advancement of electronics has been moving towards two extremes in terms of physical scale. Rapid miniaturization of microelectronics according to Moore's law has led to remarkable increases in computing power while at the same time enabling reductions in cost. In parallel, extraordinary progress has been made in the other, relatively less noticed, area of macroelectronics, where electronic devices are integrated over large area substrates with sizes measured in square meters. Current macroelectronics are primarily based on amorphous silicon (a-Si) or polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin film transistors (TFTs) on glass, and are finding important applications in areas, including flat panel display (FPD), solar cells, radiofrequency identification tags (RFIDs), image sensor arrays and digital x-ray imagers.
While the current technology is successful in many perspectives, it is limited in what applications it can address. For example, there has been growing interest in the use of plastic as the substrate for macroelectronics due to plastic's light weight, flexibility, shock resistance and low cost. However, the fabrication of high performance TFTs on plastics has been extremely challenging because all process steps must be carried out below the glass transition temperature of the plastic. Significant efforts have been devoted to search for new materials (such as organics and organic-inorganic hybrids) or new fabrication strategies suitable for TFTs on plastics, but only with limited success. Organic TFTs promise the potential of roll-to-roll fabrication process on plastic substrates, but with only a limited carrier mobility of about 1 cm2/V�s. The limitations posed by materials and/or substrate process temperature (particularly on plastic) lead to low device performance, restricting devices to low-frequency applications. Therefore, applications that require even modest computation, control, or communication functions cannot be addressed by the existing TFT technology.
Individual semiconductor nanowires (NWs) and single walled carbon nanotubes can be used to fabricate nanoscale field effect transistors (FETs) with electronic performance comparable to and in some case exceeding that of the highest-quality single-crystal materials. In particular, carrier mobility of 300 cm2/V�s has been demonstrated for p-Si NWs, 2000-4000 cm2/V�s for n-indium InP NWs and up to 20,000 cm2/V�s for single walled carbon nanotubes. These nanoFETs promise to push Moore's law to the ultimate limit—molecular level—with unprecedented performance.
Critical to the fabrication of nanoscale TFTs that can be applied to glass, plastics and other substrates requiring low process temperatures is a contact doping and annealing process to implant dopant ions into nanowires and to activate the dopant in the source and drain contact regions of the nanowires and to recover any crystal damage due to ion implantation. Plasma immersion ion implantation (PII) is a large-area and high-throughput doping tool, having many inherent advantages over conventional beam ion implantation. When introduced in the late 1980's, the technique was primarily used to enhance the surface mechanical properties of metals. More recently, the technique has been used for semiconductor processing, including formation of ultra-shallow junctions, selective metal deposition, synthesis of silicon-on-insulator substrates (SIMOX and Ion-Cut), hydrogenation of poly-Si TFTs, and for high aspect ratio trench doping. However, PIII has not to the knowledge of the present inventors been applied to the contact doping of TFTs based on nanowire thin films.
In addition, pulsed laser annealing (PLA) processes have been used in the fabrication of a-Si and poly-Si TFTs for active-matrix liquid-crystal display (AMLCD) applications. Pulsed lasers provide rapid heating and cooling of the a-Si and poly-Si films, without causing the underlying substrate to melt. In comparison to PLA, conventional furnace annealing tends to be very slow, has a high thermal budget, and is not compatible with plastic substrates. Alternatively, very rapid thermal annealing (VRTA) processes involve heating periods of the order of 1 second, and require high peak temperatures that are incompatible with low temperature substrates (for example, glass or plastic substrates). In contrast, PLA can yield TFT performance far superior to that achieved by furnace annealing and VRTA.
Rare-gas halogen excimer lasers have typically been used in conventional pulsed laser annealing processes for a-Si and poly-Si films because of their short wavelength in the UV band, and their ability to produce short high-intensity pulses. ArF (193 nm), KrF (248 nm), and XeCl (308 nm) are the gas mixtures most commonly used in these lasers for laser crystallization and annealing of a-Si and poly-Si thin films. Using lasers in the short wavelength (e.g., UV band) is advantageous for a-Si and poly-Si films because these films are highly absorptive in the UV, whereas most glass substrates are not. However, the use of shorter wavelength lasers (e.g., those which emit in the UV light range) is problematic when used with other substrates, such as polymers or plastics, which absorb highly in the UV range and can be thermally damaged (e.g., melt) when exposed to deep UV laser excitation.
The laser fluence also plays an important role in the uniformity of the resulting film following pulsed laser annealing. Typically, conventional laser annealing of a-Si and poly-Si films requires laser fluences on the order of about 250 mJ/cm2 or higher. At laser fluences below about 100 mJ/cm2, for example, the surface of a-Si and poly-Si films is not even melted, and some heating of the films is all that occurs. However, the thermal impact of such high laser fluences again can cause damage to the underlying low temperature substrate material.
Surprisingly, the inventor(s) of the present application have discovered that the melting threshold of nanowires is much lower than that for bulk Si, e.g., a-Si or poly-Si films, which indicates that nanowires (e.g., incorporated in NW thin films) used in NW-TFTs can be effectively doped and annealed using PIII followed by pulsed laser annealing at low laser fluences (e.g., laser fluences less than about 100 mJ/cm2, for example, less than about 50 mJ/cm2, for example, less than about 20 mJ/cm2, e.g., between about 2 to 18 mJ/cm2). Thus, such laser annealing can advantageously be performed using, for example, relatively long wavelength lasers (e.g., using Nd:YAG or Nd:YLF lasers having wavelengths greater than about 400 nm, e.g., greater than about 500 nm, for example) which are compatible with plastic substrates, and/or shorter wavelength lasers (e.g., excimer lasers) at low power settings, thus avoiding the deep thermal impact of UV absorption in polymer (and other low melting point) substrates. Using such PIII doping and pulsed laser annealing techniques, low resistance Ohmic contacts on nanowire transistors can be created (e.g., leading to improved transconductance and/or contact resistance) without using expensive conventional ion implantation and thermal annealing processes which can cause thermal damage to the underlying low temperature (e.g., plastic) substrates.
According to embodiments of the present invention, plasma ion implantation immersion (PIII) is used to dope nanowire and other nanoelement-based devices on substrates. For example, a method for doping portions of at least one nanowire on a specimen is disclosed which generally comprises: enclosing the specimen in a chamber, wherein the specimen includes at least one nanowire thereon having at least one exposed portion; coupling an electrical potential to the specimen; and sourcing a plasma into the chamber, the plasma including ions of a doping material; whereby the ions from the plasma implant the at least one exposed portion of the at least one nanowire. The specimen may include, for example, a flexible plastic substrate (or other low temperature substrate) that has a thin film of nanowires deposited thereon, whereby the PIII contact doping can be used, for example, to form drain and source contact regions in the thin film of nanowires.
According to other aspects of the present invention, a method for annealing at least one nanowire on a specimen is disclosed which generally comprises irradiating regions (e.g., doped source and drain regions) of the at least one nanowire (e.g., incorporated in a thin film of nanowires) on the specimen with a laser fluence of less than about 100 mJ/cm2, e.g., less than about 50 mJ/cm2, e.g., less than about 20 mJ/cm2. Because the laser fluence required to melt the nanowires is so low, advantageously the laser annealing can be performed using longer wavelength lasers such as a pulsed Nd:YLF (neodymium: yttrium lithium fluoride) laser or a Nd:YAG (neodymium: yttrium aluminum garnate) laser which emit visible light at wavelengths that are not readily absorbed by low-temperature (e.g., plastic) substrates (thus avoiding deep thermal impact), which lasers are readily commercially available, are relatively inexpensive, and are readily integrated into the nanowire device fabrication process flow. In addition, the laser annealing can also be performed with shorter wavelength lasers such as an excimer laser—despite the fact that plastic substrates are highly absorptive at lower wavelengths (e.g., in the UV light range)—because the laser fluence required to anneal the nanowires without melting the nanowires is low enough so as not to cause significant thermal damage to the underlying substrate. The laser preferably has a laser fluence of between about 2 and 18 mJ/cm2, for example, between about 6 and 14 mJ/cm2, e.g., to activate dopant ions in selected regions of the nanowire (e.g., source and drain regions) and/or to recover crystal damage in the nanowire following PIII ion implantation, without melting the nanowire (or the underlying substrate). The annealing may be used as part of a dopant activation process in fabricating a semiconductor device such as a transistor, a diode, a resistor and the like.
The regions of the at least one nanowire which are irradiated with laser energy may comprise source and drain regions, for example, or may comprise one or more gate regions. The at least one nanowire may be incorporated in a thin film of nanowires which is deposited (e.g., from solution) on the specimen. The at least one nanowire may comprise a core and at least one shell layer disposed about the core such as a native or deposited oxide layer. Selected portions of the at least one shell layer at the ends of the nanowire may be removed (e.g., by etching) at the source and drain regions to make metal contacts (or other suitable electrical contacts) to the at least one nanowire core.
The dopant ions may be implanted, for example, using plasma immersion ion implantation to implant dopant ions into the at least one nanowire prior to irradiating the specimen with laser energy. The method may optionally comprise irradiating selected regions of the nanowire with at least a second laser, such as an Ar laser, wherein the first laser causes nucleation of a semiconductor material of the nanowire, and the second laser maintains a temperature of the nanowire to repair any damage to the nanowire caused during the doping process. The specimen may comprise a low melting point material such as a glass or plastic substrate that is substantially transparent to the annealing laser, whereby the laser emits light of a wavelength that is not substantially absorbed by the specimen.
In a related aspect of the invention, a method for annealing at least one nanowire on a specimen is disclosed which generally comprises emitting a laser beam at regions (e.g., doped regions) of the at least one nanowire on the specimen to cause annealing of the at least one nanowire, wherein the laser beam has a wavelength in the visible light range. The method may comprise pulsing the laser beam to cause the annealing of the doped regions. The laser beam may be emitted from a laser source selected from the group comprising a Nd:YLF (neodymium: yttrium lithium fluoride) laser source or a Nd:YAG (neodymium: yttrium aluminum garnate) laser source (or other suitable long wavelength laser source). The laser beam preferably has a fluence of less than about 100 mJ/cm2, e.g., less than about 50 mJ/cm2, e.g., less than about 20 mJ/cm2, e.g., between about 2 and 18 mJ/cm2, e.g., between about 6 and 14 mJ/cm2.
In another aspect of the present invention, a method of making a field effect transistor on an active device area of a device substrate is disclosed, which generally comprises: depositing on a device substrate at least one nanowire; implanting dopant ions into at least source and drain regions of the at least one nanowire to form source and drain contact junctions; and performing a laser thermal anneal with a pulsed laser having a fluence of less than about 100 mJ/cm2 to activate the dopant ions within the source and drain contact junctions. The pulsed laser may be selected, for example, from the group comprising a Nd:YLF (neodymium: yttrium lithium fluoride) laser, a Nd:YAG (neodymium: yttrium aluminum garnate) laser, or an excimer laser (such as a KrF laser). The pulsed laser preferably has a fluence of less than about 100 mJ/cm2, e.g., less than about 50 mJ/cm2, e.g., less than about 20 mJ/cm2, e.g., between about 2 and 18 mJ/cm2, e.g., between about 6 and 14 mJ/cm2. The step of implanting dopant ions may comprise, for example, using plasma immersion ion implantation to implant the dopant ions.
In another aspect of the present invention, a system is disclosed which generally comprises: a substrate comprising at least one nanowire deposited thereon; at least a first laser source that emits a laser beam with a fluence of less than about 100 mJ/cm2 to doped regions of the at least one nanowire on the substrate; and wherein the laser beam is pulsed to cause annealing of the doped regions. The system may further comprise a second laser source that emits a second laser beam at the doped regions. The doped regions may include a source and a drain region of the at least one nanowire, or one or more gate regions. The substrate may further comprise an optical buffer layer (e.g., which is substantially transparent to visible light) deposited on the substrate underlying the at least one nanowire, and a thermal buffer layer deposited above or below the optical buffer layer. The thermal buffer layer acts as a thermal buffer to dissipate any heat from the optical buffer layer to reduce the surface temperature of the substrate. The at least one nanowire may be incorporated within a thin film of nanowires which is deposited on the substrate.
Further embodiments, features, and advantages of the invention, as well as the structure and operation of the various embodiments of the invention are described in detail below with reference to accompanying drawings.
It should be appreciated that the particular implementations shown and described herein are examples of the invention and are not intended to otherwise limit the scope of the present invention in any way. Indeed, for the sake of brevity, conventional electronics, manufacturing, semiconductor devices, and nanotube, nanorod, nanowire and nanoribbon technologies and other functional aspects of the systems (and components of the individual operating components of the systems) may not be described in detail herein. Furthermore, for purposes of brevity, the invention is frequently described herein as pertaining to a semiconductor transistor device including nanowires. However, the present invention is not limited to nanowires, and other nanostructures such as nanotubes, nanorods, nanowhiskers, nanoribbons and the like may be used. Moreover, while the number of nanowires and spacing of those nanowires are provided for the specific implementations discussed, the implementations are not intended to be limiting and a wide range of the number of nanowires and spacing can also be used. It should be appreciated that the manufacturing techniques described herein could be used to create any semiconductor device type, and other electronic component types. Further, the techniques would be suitable for application in electrical systems, optical systems, consumer electronics, industrial electronics, wireless systems, space applications, or any other application.
As used herein, the term "nanowire" generally refers to any elongated conductive or semiconductive material that includes at least one cross sectional dimension that is less than 500 nm, and preferably, less than 100 nm, and has an aspect ratio (length:width) of greater than 10, preferably, greater than 50, and more preferably, greater than 100. Examples of such nanowires include semiconductor nanowires as described in Published International Patent Application Nos. WO 02/17362, WO 02/48701, and 01/03208, carbon nanotubes, and other elongated conductive or semiconductive structures of like dimensions.
While the example implementations described herein principally use Si, other types of nanowires (and other nanostructures such as nanoribbons, nanotubes, nanorods and the like) can be used including semiconductive nanowires, that are comprised of semiconductor material selected from, e.g., Si, Ge, Sn, Se, Te, B, C (including diamond), P, B—C, B—P(BP6), B—Si, Si—C, Si—Ge, Si—Sn and Ge—Sn, SiC, BN/BP/BAs, AlN/AlP/AlAs/AlSb, GaN/GaP/GaAs/GaSb, InN/InP/InAs/InSb, BN/BP/BAs, AlN/AlP/AlAs/AlSb, GaN/GaP/GaAs/GaSb, InN/InP/InAs/InSb, ZnO/ZnS/ZnSe/ZnTe, CdS/CdSe/CdTe, HgS/HgSe/HgTe, BeS/BeSe/BeTe/MgS/MgSe, GeS, GeSe, GeTe, SnS, SnSe, SnTe, PbO, PbS, PbSe, PbTe, CuF, CuCl, CuBr, CuI, AgF, AgCl, AgBr, AgI, BeSiN2, CaCN2, ZnGeP2, CdSnAs2, ZnSnSb2, CuGeP3, CuSi2P3, (Cu, Ag)(Al, Ga, In, Tl, Fe)(S, Se, Te) 2, Si3N4, Ge3N4, Al2O3, (Al, Ga, In) 2 (S, Se, Te) 3, Al2CO, and an appropriate combination of two or more such semiconductors.
In certain aspects, the semiconductor may comprise a dopant from a group consisting of: a p-type dopant from Group III of the periodic table; an n-type dopant from Group V of the periodic table; a p-type dopant selected from a group consisting of: B, Al and In; an n-type dopant selected from a group consisting of: P, As and Sb; a p-type dopant from Group II of the periodic table; a p-type dopant selected from a group consisting of: Mg, Zn, Cd and Hg; a p-type dopant from Group IV of the periodic table; a p-type dopant selected from a group consisting of: C and Si; or an n-type is selected from a group consisting of: Si, Ge, Sn, S, Se and Te.
Additionally, the nanowires can include carbon nanotubes, or conductive or semiconductive organic polymer materials, (e.g., pentacene, and transition metal oxides).
Hence, although the term "nanowire" is referred to throughout the description herein for illustrative purposes, it is intended that the description herein also encompass the use of nanotubes. Nanotubes can be formed in combinations/thin films of nanotubes as is described herein for nanowires, alone or in combination with nanowires, to provide the properties and advantages described herein.
Furthermore, it is noted that thin film of nanowires of the present invention can be a "heterogeneous" film, which incorporates semiconductor nanowires and/or nanotubes, and/or any combination thereof of different composition and/or structural characteristics. For example, a "heterogeneous film" can includes nanowires/nanotubes with varying diameters and lengths, and nanowires and/or nanotubes that are "heterostructures" having varying characteristics including core-shell nanowire/nanotube structures and nanowires/nanotubes having different compositions along the length of the nanowire/nanotube as is described, for example, in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/112,578 entitled "Methods of Fabricating Nanostructures and Nanowires and Devices Fabricated Therefrom," filed Mar. 29, 2002, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
In the context of the invention, although the focus of the detailed description relates to use of nanowire thin films on plastic substrates, the substrate to which nanowires are attached may comprise other materials, including, but not limited to: a uniform substrate, e.g., a substrate of solid material, such as silicon, glass, quartz, polymerics, etc.; a large rigid sheet of solid materials, e.g., glass, quartz, plastics such as polycarbonate, polystyrene, etc., or can comprise additional elements, e.g., structural, compositional, etc. A flexible substrate, such as a roll of plastic such as polyolefins, polyamide, and others, a transparent substrate, or combinations of these features can be employed. In addition, the substrate may include other circuit or structural elements that are part of the ultimately desired device. Particular examples of such elements include electrical circuit elements such as electrical contacts, other wires or conductive paths, including nanowires or other nanoscale conducting elements, optical and/or optoelectrical elements (e.g., lasers, LEDs, etc.), and structural elements (e.g., microcantilevers, pits, wells, posts, etc.).
By substantially "aligned" or "oriented" is meant that the longitudinal axes of a majority of nanowires in a collection or population of nanowires is oriented within 30 degrees of a single direction. Although the majority can be considered to be a number of nanowires greater than 50%, in various embodiments, 60%, 75%, 80%, 90%, or other percentage of nanowires can be considered to be a majority that are so oriented. In certain preferred aspects, the majority of nanowires are oriented within 10 degrees of the desired direction. In additional embodiments, the majority of nanowires may be oriented within other numbers or ranges of degrees of the desired direction.
It should be understood that the spatial descriptions (e.g., "above", "below", "up", "down", "top", "bottom", etc.) made herein are for purposes of illustration only, and that devices of the present invention can be spatially arranged in any orientation or manner.
Embodiments of the present invention are provided for improved contact doping and annealing systems and processes. These embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes, and are not limiting. Additional operational and structural embodiments for the present invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) from the description herein. These additional embodiments are within the scope and spirit of the present invention.
Co-pending and commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/674,060, titled "Large-Area Nanoenabled Macroelectronic Substrates And Uses Therefor", filed Sep. 30, 2003 describes methods and systems for high-performance large-area thin-film electronics that provide the electronic performance of a silicon substrate, but can be processed over large areas, at low-temperature, on flexible plastic substrates. The substrates described therein incorporate thin films of semiconducting nanowires deposited therein and configured to operate as transistors. These thin film transistors can also be referred to as nanobundle transistors (NBTs).
These thin film transistors allow the use of conventional semiconductor processing, such as CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) processing, to enable the formation of high-performance, low power, large-area electronics at low temperature on flexible substrates—a true semiconductor-on-plastic technology. Example NBTs have performance characteristics such as: mobilities exceeding 100 cm2/V-s, on-off current ratios greater than 106, on-currents of 1 mA and threshold voltages less than 1 V at device operating voltages of less than 5 V.
While NBTs are compatible with processing at low temperature and over large areas on flexible substrates, their source and drain contacts are typically made using conventional ion beam and high temperature thermal annealing semiconductor processes. Such source and drain contact forming processes are incompatible with low-temperature flexible substrates for NBTs. This step is typically the only processing step requiring a high temperature, and thus is a primary barrier hindering the use of flexible plastic substrates. Thus, novel low-temperature processes for forming ohmic contacts to nanowires transistors are desired.
Flowchart 100 of
In step 104, thermal oxidation is performed to grow a thin oxide shell layer conformally around the nanowires In a transistor application, the shell layer serves as an integrated gate-dielectric. In step 106, the nanowires are transferred to a substrate to form a uniform thin film. For example, step 106 can be performed at room temperature, or other temperature. The nanowires can be aligned relative to each other, or non-aligned. The nanowires can be densely packed, or otherwise packed as required by the particular application. In step 108, a gate is formed. For example, step 108 can be performed at a low temperature (<100� C.), such as using by standard thin film deposition and lithography processes. In step 110, a blank ion implantation is carried out to dope the gate and contact regions (e.g., source and drain regions). In step 112, a thermal annealing process is used to activate the dopant as well as to recrystallize the nanowire lattice structure to remove crystal damage caused during ion implantation. In step 114, a dielectric film deposition process is performed to passivate the device. In step 116, a via formation process is performed to open the contacts. In step 118, a metallization process is performed to form interconnects, as needed.
The steps of flowchart 100, except for step 106 (nanowire deposition), use traditional TFT (thin film transistor) fabrication technology. This is a benefit of NBT technology. For example, in a silicon material embodiment, because the semiconductor nanowires are made of silicon and the gate dielectric is made of SiO2, there is no need to change manufacturing processes. Using this process, NBTs with performance capabilities close to that of comparably doped crystal silicon MOS devices (e.g., transconductance of 0.75 μS/μm for p-MOS NBTs compared to 1.0 μS/μm for conventional p-MOS single crystal silicon devices) can be formed.
Having sufficient contacts to the source and drain regions of an NBT is fundamental to having desired device performance characteristics. For example, such desired characteristics include, for example, low series resistance and high transconductance. In conventional semiconductor processes, contact formation involves contact doping (e.g., step 110 of flowchart 100) followed by thermal annealing for recrystallization and dopant activation (e.g., step 114 of flowchart 100). Current methods for forming contacts in advanced semiconductor devices use low energy ion implantation and rapid thermal annealing. A low ion energy is necessary to control the dopant profile (i.e., a distribution of the dopant throughout the semiconductor) to allow for a very shallow junction formation (e.g., less than 50 nm). Rapid thermal annealing allows for a low thermal budget that minimizes the dopant diffusion, and allows for good junction profile control. In addition to these requirements for forming good contacts, in the case of nanowire macroelectronics, several additional factors are considered. These include:
Low ion energy is used for the formation of a shallow junction, and to control the dopant profile to avoid permanent damage of the lattice structure in the nanowire (as described above). For example, the dopant ions should not completely penetrate the nanowire(s) during ion implantation so that a portion of the underlying crystal structure is retained to facilitate recovery during re-crystallization.
Nanowires have a 3-dimensional structure. Conformal ion doping of nanowires is performed such that a uniform surface dopant is formed around the entire nanowire circumference. It is noted that conventional beam ion implantation typically results in inhomogeneous doping profiles because ions are implanted using a focused beam line, and thus it is difficult to uniformly dope a nanowire around its circumference using a beam.
It is desired to be able to apply the above-described techniques to large scale electronics applications, such as roll to roll processes. With current ion beam implantation method, there is an approximately linear process time dependence versus the size of the substrate. Thus, scaling to large substrates is not always economically viable.
A low process temperature is desirable for nanowire devices to be made on flexible, plastic substrates. Conventional semiconductor thermal processes (furnace annealing or rapid thermal processes) require high temperatures (e.g., greater than 500� C.) which is incompatible with plastic substrates.
Embodiments of the present invention overcome these above-described limitations. In embodiments, a plasma ion immersion implantation (PIII) process is used for contact doping. Furthermore, in embodiments, a pulsed laser annealing process (LAP) is used for recrystallization and dopant activation. These processes offer the following advantages, among others:
A low ion implantation energy (e.g., less than 5 kV, e.g., between about 1 and 2 kHz) at a duty cycle of between about 1 to 5 microseconds, e.g., between 1 to 3 microseconds, can be used. Thus, potential crystal structure damage to the nanowires can be better controlled. High dose rate implantation can be performed, for heavily and controllably doping the source/drain contacts for low contact and series resistances. A conformal doping profile can be achieved, for uniform surface carrier concentration in and around the nanowire. These processes are readily scalable to large format substrates, including roll to roll manufacturing processes. True low temperature processes can be achieved, enabling the use of flexible plastic substrates that cannot be processed in high temperature environments. Existing high density plasma systems can be leveraged for low cost system implementation.
These processes are CMOS technology compatible.
The following subsections describe in further detail example embodiments using a plasma ion immersion implantation (PIII) process for contact doping and a pulsed laser annealing process (LAP) for recrystallization and dopant activation. Additional operational and structural embodiments for the present invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) from the description below.
a. Embodiments for Forming Contacts Using PIII
According to embodiments of the present invention, PIII is used to dope nanowire and other nanoelement-based devices on substrates. For example, PIII can be used in step 110 of flowchart 100, instead of conventional doping techniques.
In the current example, plasma source 210 includes a microwave source 214, a gas source 216, and magnetic coils 218. For example, plasma source 210 can be a commercial, well-regulated 1500-Watt ECR (electron cyclotron resonance) 2.45 GHz microwave source. Gas source 216 provides the dopant material gas typically included with an inert gas. Microwave source 214 irradiates the gas into plasma form. For example, power can be coupled into a 6-inch diameter source chamber 202 using a TE10 rectangular to TM01 circular mode converter, which eliminates azimuthal plasma non-uniformity and provides increased radial uniformity over conventional coupling schemes. Other high density plasma instruments may also be used in practicing the PIII doping according to the methods of the present invention.
Plasma 220 expands from source chamber 202 into an 18-inch diameter, 30-inch long process chamber 204, where implantation takes place. Substrate 206 is implanted by plasma ions 222 generated in process chamber 204. Substrate 206 is held in chamber 204 by substrate holder 208, which is coupled to potential source 212. A substrate current (or charge per pulse) of ions 222 impacting substrate 206 can be monitored, such as by a Rogowski loop. Ion densities of 1010 to 1011/cm3 can be achieved at substrate holder 208 with a microwave power of 1000 watts. In the current example, a maximum dose rate is an approximately 1011/cm2-pulse, with pulse operation and 1016/cm2-sec with DC operation.
Because of the absence of ion transport optics and mass selection, PIII is capable of providing a high ion flux. It is also a non-"line-of-sight" process, as opposed to conventional beam ion implantation. Thus, this enables homogenous conformal doping profiles of non-planar surfaces such as nanowires. For example, a nanowire may be uniformly doped around its circumference using this technique.
There are numerous advantages and beneficial properties of PIII. For example, PIII is not subject to normal thermodynamic constraints such as impurity solubility. The equipment used for PIII is similar to that of a plasma etcher or deposition, and is much simpler than beam ion implanters. The implantation flux can be relatively high. Multiple processes, such as simultaneous and consecutive implantation, deposition, and etching, are possible by varying the instrumental parameters.
As described above, a step in making contacts to nanowires during the fabrication of NBT devices is the source-drain doping of the nanowires to create p+/n (or other p/n doping level) junctions. The PIII process can be varied to form the source-drain regions of nanowire FETs with low parasitic resistance using PIII.
Planar MOSFET doping can form junctions as shallow as 10 nm to nanowires, for example. The nanowires present a non-planar surface (e.g. circular cross-section). In the case of PIII, implantation of ions occurs via a plasma, which by nature is inherently non-directional and will conform to a surface. In order to achieve doping control, the plasma gas pressure can be controlled to control the mean free path for ion-gas collision. This enables a randomization of the ion trajectories when the ions pick up kinetic energy traversing the plasma sheath. As a result, conformal implantation and doping profile uniformity across the wire depths after thermal treatment occurs. Alternatively, multiple bias waveforms can be used during the implant, to cause a variety of ion penetration depths. The resulting superposition of various ion penetration depths generates a more homogenous implantation profile across the nanowire cross-section.
In an example embodiment, a NBT device can incorporate a self-aligned or non-self-aligned poly-silicon gate. Using PIII, the processes for doping of both source/drain and gate can occur simultaneously. For a gate thickness of approximately 1000 Å or less, to achieve uniform doping across the poly-silicon layer, the ion penetration depth into the nanowires should be less than 500 Å in the contact areas. Control during the PIII process can be used to reduce or minimize parasitic effects, such as poly depletion. Furthermore, the grain structure of the poly-silicon gate can be controlled during the laser annealing processes to improve the doping efficiency to reduce the sheet resistance.
b. Embodiments for Laser Annealing Processes for Contact Regions
Pulsed laser annealing (PLA) processes have been used in the fabrication of poly-silicon thin film transistors (TFTs) for active-matrix liquid-crystal display (AMLCD) applications. In comparison to PLA, conventional furnace annealing tends to be very slow, has a high thermal budget, and is not compatible with plastic substrates. Alternatively, very rapid thermal annealing (VRTA) processes involve heating periods of the order of 1 second, and requires high peak temperatures that are incompatible with low temperature substrates (for example, glass or plastic substrates).
In contrast, PLA can yield TFT performance far superior to that achieved by furnace annealing and VRTA. According to embodiments of the present invention, PLA is used to anneal nanowire and other nanoelement-based devices on substrates. For example, PLA can be used in step 112 of flowchart 100, instead of conventional annealing techniques. Using PLA, high performance TFTs on plastic (or other material) substrates can be obtained.
With regard to doped nanowires, pulsed laser annealing or heating is used according to the present invention to recrystallize the nanowire material and activate the dopant distribution. After plasma ion implantation, damage to the semiconductor crystal structure occurs as the ions are incorporated into the lattice structure. Recrystallization includes moving atoms back into the proper atom sites, out of interstitial sites, to repair implantation damage caused during the doping process. Also, this process provides energy to drive solid-phase dopant activation, whereby the implanted ions chemically bond into lower energy interstitial sites of the semiconductor lattice for improving the electrical performance.
Thus, PLA is used to activate and repair damage to the source-drain contact regions of the NBTs caused during doping processes. In an embodiment, the high-mobility gate region of the NBT, which is not implanted during TFT fabrication, is already a perfect single crystal, and therefore does not require recrystallization. However, in alternative embodiments, PLA can be used to anneal gate regions.
The inventor(s) of the present application have made the surprising discovery that NW thin films used in NW-TFTs can be effectively annealed using laser annealing at lower laser fluences than for conventional bulk Si (e.g., a-Si or poly-Si), e.g., using laser fluences less than about 100 mJ/cm2, for example, less than about 50 mJ/cm2, e.g., less than about 20 mJ/cm2, e.g., between about 2 to 16 mJ/cm2 compared, thus avoiding the thermal impact of higher laser fluences in polymer (and other low melting point) substrates. Using such pulsed laser annealing techniques, low resistance Ohmic contacts on nanowire transistors can be created (e.g., leading to improved transconductance and/or contact resistance) without using conventional thermal annealing processes which require expensive laser equipment and which can cause thermal damage to the underlying low temperature substrates, e.g., by using longer wavelength lasers (e.g., Nd:YAG or Nd:YLF lasers etc. having wavelengths in the visible light range, e.g., wavelengths greater than about 400 nm, e.g., greater than about 500 nm) which are compatible with plastic substrates, and/or by using shorter wavelength lasers such as excimer lasers at lower power levels. Without being bound to a particular theory, it is believed that the laser fluence required for annealing nanowires is significantly lower than that for bulk silicon thin films (e.g., a-Si or poly-Si films) because the nanowires, due to their high surface to volume ratio, have a high thermal laser coupling efficiency in comparison to bulk based systems and good thermal confinement much like an adiabatic system.
When the pulse duration is short (e.g., less than 100 ns), the surface of target specimen 304 is not heated substantially. Because the temperature penetration depth in the surface is shallow (e.g., less than 0.1 μm), a thin buffer thermal isolation film can optionally be deposited on the target specimen substrate to prevent thermal degradation of the substrate. For example, the thermal isolation film can be deposited on the substrate prior to positioning nanowires (or other nanoelements) on the substrate. The thermal isolation film can be any isolating material, including alumna, silicon dioxide or other isolating material. Optionally, an optical buffer layer which is substantially transparent to visible light energy (e.g., BaTiO3, MgO2 etc.) may be deposited above or below the thermal isolation film to further help prevent thermal damage to the underlying substrate.
Note that an imaging device 310 may be present to aid laser source 302 in targeting specimen 304. For example, imaging device 310 may include a camera, charge coupled device (CCD), photodiodes, or other imaging device to capture an image specimen 304. Imaging device 310 can include a light source, such as a laser, to illuminate specimen 304 to create an image of specimen 304 to be captured. Imaging device 310 can include hardware, software, and/or firmware, including a processor, to process captured image information, and to provide/feedback location information to laser source 302. For example, a synchronized dye laser can be used to provide time-resolved imaging of the laser annealing process. A charge-coupled device (CCD) camera (not shown), or other image capturing device can receive the reflected light to generate positioning information. The positioning information can be generated by a computer coupled to the camera to provide target control.
In the embodiment shown in
To control the extent of heating due to PLA, the quantity, spatial-profile, time-domain and distribution of energy applied to the nanowires can be varied within the ranges provided. For example, the time domain of the laser pulse energy can be controlled at the nanosecond and ultra-fast (i.e., femtosecond) scales. In the case of nanosecond time scales, energy deposition and temperature evolution are basically driven by thermal processes. However, the cooling rate is typically very fast (e.g., approximately 1010 K/s), thereby assisting the recrystallization process. In contrast, femtosecond laser energy coupling with the lattice will occur through energy deposition to the carrier system and subsequent collisional energy transfer to the lattice.
Since a nanowire has a non-planar geometry, laser energy coupling into the nanowire material will depend on the nanowire size, the wavelength (and thus the intrinsic absorption penetration depth), the nanowire composition (e.g., the intrinsic SiO2 dielectric shell thickness) and the substrate properties. A nanowire scattering size parameter, χ, is calculated as follows:
The wavelength, λ, is expected to be below 1 micron. Electromagnetic theory modeling based on the finite domain time difference (FDTD) method can be used to quantify the laser beam absorption in the nanowire. In an example embodiment, nanosecond laser pulses at visible wavelengths (e.g., λ=532 nm) can be used. The absorption penetration depth will be tens of nm for the visible wavelengths, which is comparable to the nanowire diameter. Controlling lateral diffusion and segregation of the dopant during laser annealing is desired. Rapid thermal annealing (RTA) processes are limited to low electrical activation due to the solid solubility and undesired dopant diffusion that make it very difficult for abrupt and shallow junction formation. Laser annealing can be used to form a steep junction profile. In laser annealing processes, the dopant diffusivities are approximately eight orders of magnitude higher in molten silicon than in solid silicon, which is useful to form a uniform abrupt dopant distribution profile across nanowires. However, because the dopant distribution is completely confined within the nanowire, the lateral dopant profile between contact and channel is less controlled and potentially can cause issues such as channel modulation from lateral dopant diffusion. To address this problem, the temperature can be controlled such that it will not be necessary to melt the nanowires while still being able to activate the dopant and remove crystal damage in the contact areas.
Laser activation annealing of the NBT devices at low laser fluences occurs locally, and is confined to the nanowires such that a low temperature plastic substrate will not be damaged. In addition to modifying the laser pulse parameters, a passivation layer (or layers) can be used on the nanowires to act as a thermal buffer (or barrier) to prevent the heat from directly transferring into the substrate. Additionally, the passivation layer can be selected such that it reduces the thermal stress induced at the interface between nanowire and passivation dielectric layer.
c. Example PIII and Laser Annealing Process Steps Embodiments
The resulting Si/SiO2 core/shell nanowires 504 can be removed and deposited at ambient temperature on a device substrate 508 coated with an SiO2 layer 510 (e.g., approximately 6000 A thick) as shown in
Nanowires 504 can be deposited (e.g., in a thin film of nanowires in solution) onto the substrate, and then TFT devices can be fabricated. Any type of thin film transistor device can be fabricated including, for example, flexible or rigid displays, radiofrequency identification tags, beam-steering antenna arrays, smart cards and the like. Collections of nanowires can be easily assembled onto any type of substrate from solution to achieve a thin film of nanowires. Aligned and non-aligned, and composite and non-composite thin films of nanowires can be produced in a variety of ways, according to the present invention. Randomly oriented thin films of nanowires can be obtained in a variety of ways. For example, nanowires can be dispersed into a suitable solution (e.g., ethanol or other solution). The nanowires can then be deposited onto a desired substrate using spin-casting, drop-and-dry, flood-and-dry, or dip-and-dry approaches. These processes can be undertaken multiple times to ensure a high degree of coverage. Randomly oriented thin films of nanowires/polymer composites can be produced in a similar way, providing that the solution in which the nanowires are dispersed is a polymer solution.
Aligned thin films of nanowires can be obtained in a variety of ways. For example, aligned thin films of nanowires can be produced by using the following techniques: (a) Langmuir-Blodgett film alignment; (b) fluidic flow approaches, such as described in U.S. Ser. No. 10/239,000, filed Sep. 10, 2002 , Lieber et al. U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. U.S. 2002/0130311, filed Aug. 22, 2001 and in U.S. Ser. No. 60/605,454 entitled "Processes for Manufacturing, Harvesting and Integrating Nanowires into Functional Nanowire Based Devices," filed Aug. 30, 2004, the entire contents of which are each incorporated by reference herein; and (c) application of mechanical shear force (e.g., using a gravure coater). For example, mechanical shear force can be used by placing the nanowires between first and second surfaces, and then moving the first and second surfaces in opposite directions to align the nanowires. Aligned thin films of nanowires/polymer composites can be obtained using these techniques, followed by a spin-casting of the desired polymer onto the created thin film of nanowires. For example, nanowires may be deposited in a liquid polymer solution, alignment can then be performed according to one of these or other alignment processes, and the aligned nanowires can then be cured (e.g., UV cured, crosslinked, etc.). An aligned thin film of nanowires/polymer composite can also be obtained by mechanically stretching a randomly oriented thin film of nanowires/polymer composite.
The thin film of nanowires, when deposited on the substrate, can be used instead of amorphous silicon or organic thin films in conventional electronic devices to achieve improved device behavior, while allowing for a straight forward and inexpensive manufacturing process. Through the use of thin films of nanowires, the present invention is particularly adapted to making high performance, low cost devices on large and flexible substrates. The thin film of nanowires as described herein may be formed in a wide range of possible surface areas. For example, the thin films of nanowires of the present invention can be formed to have functional areas greater than 1 mm2, greater than 1 cm2, greater than 10 cm2, greater than 1 m2, and even greater or smaller areas.
The thin film of nanowires may include a plurality of individual nanowires closely located together. The thin film of nanowires can have a variety of thickness amounts that are equal to or greater than the thickness of a single nanowire. For example, the nanowires of thin film of nanowires are aligned such that their long axes are substantially parallel to each other. Note that in alternative embodiments, the nanowires of thin film of nanowires are not aligned, and instead can be oriented in different directions with respect to each other, either randomly or otherwise. In an alternative embodiment, the nanowires of the thin film of nanowires may be isotropically oriented, so that high mobility is provided in all directions. Note that the nanowires of thin film of nanowires may be aligned in any manner relative to the direction of electron flow in order to enhance performance as required by a particular application.
In the embodiments described herein, the nanowire(s) 504 of thin film of nanowires are single crystal semiconductor nanowires that span all the way between source electrode 524 and drain electrode 522 (e.g., see
In an embodiment, a thin film of nanowires can be formed to have asymmetric mobility. For example, this can be accomplished by asymmetrically aligning the nanowires of the thin film of nanowires, and/or by doping the nanowires in a particular manner. Such asymmetric mobility can be caused to be much greater in a first direction than in a second direction. For example, asymmetric mobilities can be created on the order of 10, 100, 1000, and 10000 times greater in the first direction than in the second direction, or to have any other asymmetric mobility ratio between, greater, or less than these values.
Next, with reference to
The nanowires 504 of thin film of nanowires can be doped in various ways to improve performance. Although the nanowires 504 are shown herein as being doped on device substrate 508, the nanowires can also be doped prior to deposition on the substrate. Such single crystal nanowires 504 can be doped into either p- or n-type semiconductors. A nanowire 504 can be doped differently along portions of its long axis, and can be doped differently from other nanowires in the thin film of nanowires. A nanowire 504 can be a uniformly doped single crystal nanowire, or doped according to a core-shell structure to include a doped surface layer, which can have varying thickness levels, including being only a molecular monolayer on the surface of nanowire 504. Such surface doping can separate impurities from a conducting channel of the nanowire, and suppress an impurity-related scattering event, and thus may lead to greatly enhanced carrier mobility. For example, when nanowires are doped according to the core-shell structure, "ballistic" transport may be achieved inside the nanowires. "Ballistic" transport is where electrical carriers are transported through a nanowire with essentially no resistance.
Next, the pulsed laser annealing process described herein using a pulsed laser having a laser fluence of less than about 100 mJ/cm2, e.g., less than about 50 mJ/cm2, e.g., between about 2 and 18 mJ/cm2, can be used for solid-phase recrystallization and dopant activation in the source and drain region of the nanowire(s) 504. The laser annealing can be performed, for example, using a Nd:YAG or Nd:YLF laser having wavelengths greater than about 400 nm, e.g., greater than about 500 nm, or by using shorter wavelength lasers such as excimer lasers (e.g., a KrF laser commercially available from Lambda Physik, Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) at lower wavelengths (e.g., around 248 nm). Collections of nanowires manufactured with these materials are useful building blocks for high performance electronics. A collection of nanowires orientated in substantially the same direction will have a high mobility value. For example a thin film of nanowires used in a semiconductor device can be formed to include 2, 5, 10, 100, and any other number of nanowires between or greater than these amounts, for use in high performance electronics. Note that nanowires can also be used to make high performance composite materials when combined with polymers/materials such as organic semiconductor materials, which can be flexibly spin-cast on any type of substrate. Nanowire/polymer composites can provide properties superior to pure polymer materials.
A thermal oxide/nitride passivation layer 516 (e.g., an oxide such as AlO, a nitride such as SiN, etc.) can then be deposited on the annealed nanowire(s) 504 using standard lithography techniques, and vias 518, 519, and 519 patterned in the passivation layer (e.g., using lithography, photoresist strips, etc.) where it is desired to deposit gate contacts, and source and drain electrical contacts to the nanowires. Note that in the embodiment shown in
As shown in
The above process steps can be applied to a variety of substrates, including flexible substrates or rigid substrates, using a variety of deposition techniques such as roll-to-roll processing, ink-jet printing, micro-contact printing and the like. For example, roll-to-roll processing is the process of creating electronic devices on a roll of flexible plastic or metal foil. Large circuits made with thin-film NW TFTs and other devices can be easily patterned onto these large substrates, which can be up to a few meters wide and 50 km long. Some of the devices can be patterned directly, much like an ink jet printer deposits ink. The above PIII and laser annealing process steps described herein can be easily adapted to a roll-to-roll process as shown, for example, in
The embodiments described herein, when applied to nanowire TFT technology, enable the manufacturing of transistors with performance characteristics comparable or exceeding that of transistors fabricated from traditional single-crystal silicon on very large flexible substrates. This enables ultra-large scale, high-density electrical integration, and provides a true silicon-on-plastic technology. The potential applications of this technology, including military applications, are very broad and include the development of a variety of unique applications, including RF communications, sensor arrays, X-ray imagers, radiofrequency identification tags, flexible or rigid displays, phased array antennas, electronics and more.
For example, incorporating nanowire TFTs into Large Area Electronic Reflectors (LAER) enables the electronically morphing of "any" surface into a parabolic antenna for directed high gain RF transmission or reception. This is similar to making a roof top physically shaped to optimally protect a house from water while the electronic shape of the roof top would operate as a very large satellite dish. Convex shapes could be made to be electronically concave and thus increase the efficiency of the transceivers, thus reducing the power required to operate them or increase their life or range. Furthermore, the bladder of an airship (such as a blimp) can be made to operate as a very large morphing antenna aperture. Such an airship is a low cost solution for launching a high altitude electronic surveillance/communicator. Embedded TFTs that operate in RF frequencies on the surface of an airship bladder reduce the weight and increase the performance of the air ship.
While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art that various changes in form and detail can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.
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