Investigation of the ion dose non-uniformity caused by sheath-lens focusing effect on silicon wafers

The ion dose non-uniformity induced on the wafer surface by modal and discrete focusing effects is investigated for different plasma densities and implantation parameters. Measured impact radius agrees well with values obtained by simulation. The optical pattern observed on the wafer surface is correlated with the ion dose by FT-IR measurements. The applicability of a previously proposed vertical ring is demonstrated, the ring being able to considerably improve the ion flux uniformity by shifting the discrete focusing effect out of the wafer surface and reducing the modal focusing. Experiments are performed in an inductively coupled plasma produced in hydrogen.     

Debye-Waller parameters of diatomic crystals

The Debye-Waller parameters, the effective valuesB _eff, the dynamic component,B _d, and the static component,B _s, of each constituent atom and also of the bulk were measured for some diatomic crystals with NaCl- and zinc blende-type structures. The dominant effect of heavy constituent atoms on the dynamic component of bulk crystals was found, and the mean square displacement in bulk crystals was approximated well by the atomic mass averaged mean square displacements of the constituent atoms. A remarkable effect of structural defects onB _eff, particularly onB _s, was observed in NiO samples with different degrees of non-stoichiometry. The different extents of the SiC-forming reaction between solid carbon and fused silicon resulted in quite differentB _eff values; the larger theB _eff value the smaller the extent of the reaction.     

An efficient treatment technique for TMAH wastewater by catalyticoxidation

Developers used in photolithography contain toxic tetramethylammoniumhydroxide (TMAH) and this creates a problem of how to properly treat developer wastewater. We have developed a TMAH wastewater treatment technique that consists of a combination of two novel decomposition processes: pyrolyzing TMAH to TMA and decomposing TMA to N ₂, H₂O, and CO₂ by means of a selective oxidation catalyst for nitrogenous compounds. We have tested a system using this technique in long-term treatment of the actual wastewater and have found it to be sufficiently practical. The running cost of a treatment system using our technique would be about one-ninth that of disposing of the wastewater as industrial waste but about 2.3 times that of biological treatment. Compared with biological treatment, however, our system is tolerant to many treatment conditions and operation management is much easier. Furthermore, it occupies only about one-sixth the area of a biological treatment system     

Glucokinase is located in secretory granules of pancreatic D-cells

The effects of electrical stimulation, applied to the superior salivatory nucleus (SSN) or the cervical sympathetic nerve, on vascular permeability in nasal mucosa were studied in 16 cats. Plasma extravasation was quantified by using Evans blue. Vascular permeability in the cat nasal mucosa was increased by the electrical stimulation of SSN. Plasma extravasation induced by SSN stimulation was reduced by administration of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) antagonist, N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME). Administration of atropine did not affect increased vascular permeability by SSN stimulation. We conclude that neurogenic plasma extravasation in cat nasal mucosa evoked by the parasympathetic nerve is not mediated by cholinergic fibers but rather by nitric oxide.     

Development and application of the Fraunhofer-diffraction method for measurements of plasma density fluctuations using infrared lasers

This paper is concerned with systematic developments of the Fraunhofer-diffraction method for studies of plasma density fluctuations in high-temperature plasmas using infrared lasers, namely (i) development of the general theory of the Fraunhofer-diffraction method, (ii) measurements of fluctuations propagating in an azimuthal direction, (iii) measurements of fluctuation intensities, and (iv) application in measurements on high-temperature plasmas.     

An optical field-induced ionization X-ray laser using a preformedplasma scheme

Soft X-ray amplification by optical field-induced ionization (OFI) of a preformed plasma is investigated. A small-signal gain of 20 cm^-1 and a gain-length product of 4 at 13.5 nm on the Lyman-α transition in hydrogen-like lithium have been obtained using the modified OFI scheme. Experimental and numerical results ensure that we have produced a plasma with a significantly lower electron temperature than what is expected by an above-threshold ionization model. To explain the results, a two component plasma model in which relatively high temperature electrons are produced by OFI in a cold electron bath of the preformed plasma is presented. The model indicates that the average electron temperature of the OFI plasma rapidly decreases since a high-temperature part of the electrons escapes from the focal volume without interaction. The initial electrons produced prior to the field ionization, which survive after the OEI, also significantly contribute to the rapid three-body recombination. Based on the ionization-induced refractive index change, the pulse propagation of a high-intensity pump laser during the OFI is also discussed     

Assessment and treatment of liver disease in Japanese haemophilia patients

OBJECTIVES: To examine the efficacy of various parameters obtained by transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) as predictors of the onset of acute urinary retention in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). METHODS: From April 1993 to March 1997, 331 men aged 51 to 84 years with symptoms of BPH were enrolled in this study. Among them, 64 patients presented to our clinic because of acute urinary retention. TRUS was used to calculate the transition zone (TZ) volume, the transition zone index (TZ index = TZ volume/total prostate volume), the total prostate volume, and presumed circle area ratio (PCAR). To compare the usefulness of the various indices, the area under the receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curve was calculated for each index. RESULTS: There were significant differences in the American Urological Association (AUA) symptom score, total prostate volume, TZ volume, TZ index, and PCAR between patients with and without acute urinary retention, but no significant differences in age and quality of life score. In patients with acute urinary retention, the area under the ROC curve was 0.924 for the TZ index, 0.834 for the TZ volume, 0.753 for the PCAR, 0.684 for the total prostate volume, and 0.628 for the AUA symptom score. CONCLUSIONS: The TZ index is an accurate predictor of acute urinary retention in patients with BPH and may be a useful method for deciding between surgical intervention and antiandrogen treatment.     

Low-pass and high-pass filters using coaxial-type dielectric resonators

This paper proposes new low-pass and high-pass filters using coaxial-type dielectric resonators. The low-pass filter has a LC-type circuit structure and is composed of three inductances and two resonance circuits. The resonance circuits are the open-ended coaxial-type dielectric resonators whose length is λg/4. The high-pass filter has a CL-type circuit structure. Two high-pass filters are described, one of them is composed of three capacitances andtwo resonance circuits, the other is composed of five capacitances and four resonance circuits. The operating frequency range of the low-pass filter is 0.13–0.9 GHz and the cutoffency is 900 MHz, and the insertion loss is 0.3 dB. The corresponding quantities of the high-pass filter are 0.9–2.5 GHz, 900 MHz, and 0.3 dB, respectively.     

A novel treatment technique for DMSO wastewater

We have developed an efficient treatment technique for wastewater containing dimethyl sulfoxide [DMSO, (CH₃)₂SO], a compound used as a photoresist stripping solvent in semiconductor manufacturing processes. Generally, wastewater containing organic compounds can be treated biologically, but with DMSO wastewater, biological treatment is not available because noxious compounds are produced that harm the environment. Here, we present an effective DMSO wastewater treatment technique in which we add an oxidizing agent and irradiate the wastewater with ultraviolet light to prevent damage to the environment. The use of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) as an oxidizing agent in combination with ultraviolet irradiation causes DMSO to decompose promptly into methanesulfonic acid (MSA, CH₃SO₂OH). With continued treatment, the resultant MSA decomposes gradually into the inorganic compound sulfuric acid (H ₂SO₄). In this reactive route, no noxious compounds are generated. We confirmed that MSA can be biologically treated comparatively easily, and that by combining the initial ultraviolet irradiation/H₂O₂ addition treatment to rapidly produce MSA with a biological treatment to convert the MSA to H ₂SO₄, the total processing can be treated at very low cost. These treatment techniques make use of the characteristically high reactivity of DMSO and are very effective as a means of treating DMSO wastewater