Immersion Lithography Defectivity Analysis at DUV Inspection Wavelength

ABSTRACT Significant effort has been directed in recent years towards the realization of immersion lithography at 193nm wavelength. Immersion lithography is likely a key enabling technology for the production of critical layers for 45nm and 32nm design rule (DR) devices. In spite of the significant progress in immersion lithography technology, there remain several key technology issues, with a critical issue of immersion lithography process induced defects. The benefits of the optical resolution and depth of focus, made possible by immersion lithography, are well understood. Yet, these benefits cannot come at the expense of increased defect counts and decreased production yield. Understanding the impact of the immersion lithography process parameters on wafer defects formation and defect counts, together with the ability to monitor, control and minimize the defect counts down to acceptable levels is imperative for successful introduction of immersion lithography for production of advanced DR's. In this report, we present experimental results of immersion lithography defectivity analysis focused on topcoat layer thickness parameters and resist bake temperatures. Wafers were exposed on the 1150i-α-immersion scanner and 1200B Scanner (ASML), defect inspection was performed using a DUV inspection tool (UVision TM , Applied Materials). Defect material analysis was performed for different defects. Higher sensitivity was demonstrated at DUV through detection of small defects not detected at the visible wavelength, indicating on the potential high sensitivity benefits of DUV inspection for this layer. The analysis indicates that certain types of defects are associated with different immersion process parameters. This type of analysis at DUV wavelengths would enable the optimization of immersion lithography processes, thus enabling the qualification of immersion processes for volume production

Molecular characterization of the intact mouse muscle spindle using a multi-omics approach

The proprioceptive system is essential for the control of coordinated movement, posture and skeletal integrity. The sense of proprioception is produced in the brain using peripheral sensory input from receptors such as the muscle spindle, which detects changes in the length of skeletal muscles. Despite its importance, the molecular composition of the muscle spindle is largely unknown. In this study, we generated comprehensive transcriptomic and proteomic datasets of the entire muscle spindle isolated from the murine deep masseter muscle. We then associated differentially expressed genes with the various tissues composing the spindle using bioinformatic analysis. Immunostaining verified these predictions, thus establishing new markers for the different spindle tissues. Utilizing these markers, we identified the differentiation stages the spindle capsule cells undergo during development. Together, these findings provide comprehensive molecular characterization of the intact spindle as well as new tools to study its development and function in health and disease

A Mutation in Intracellular Loop 4 Affects the Drug-Efflux Activity of the Yeast Multidrug Resistance ABC Transporter Pdr5p

Multidrug resistance protein Pdr5p is a yeast ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter in the plasma membrane. It confers multidrug resistance by active efflux of intracellular drugs. However, the highly polymorphic Pdr5p from clinical strain YJM789 loses its ability to expel azole and cyclohexmide. To investigate the role of amino acid changes in this functional change, PDR5 chimeras were constructed by segmental replacement of homologous BY4741 PDR5 fragments. Functions of PDR5 chimeras were evaluated by fluconazole and cycloheximide resistance assays. Their expression, ATPase activity, and efflux efficiency for other substrates were also analyzed. Using multiple lines of evidence, we show that an alanine-to-methionine mutation at position 1352 located in the predicted short intracellular loop 4 significantly contributes to the observed transport deficiency. The degree of impairment is likely correlated to the size of the mutant residue

Abundance and Diversity of Dockerin-Containing Proteins in the Fiber-Degrading Rumen Bacterium, Ruminococcus flavefaciens FD-1

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

AEgIS Experiment: Measuring the Acceleration g of the Earth's Gravitational Field on Antihydrogen Beam

The AEgIS experiment [1] aims at directly measuring the gravitational acceleration g on a beam of cold antihydrogen (H) to a precision of 1%, performing the first test with antimatter of the (WEP) Weak Equivalence Principle. The experimental apparatus is sited at the Antiproton Decelerator (AD) at CERN, Geneva, Switzerland. After production by mixing of antiprotons with Rydberg state positronium atoms (Ps), the atoms will be driven to fly horizontally with a velocity of a few 100 ms−1 for a path length of about 1 meter. The small deflection, few tens of μm, will be measured using two material gratings (of period ∼ 80 μm) coupled to a position-sensitive detector working as a moiré deflectometer similarly to what has been done with matter atoms [2]. The shadow pattern produced by the beam will then be detected by reconstructing the annihilation points with a spatial resolution (∼ 2 μm) of each antiatom at the end of the flight path by the sensitive-position detector. During 2012 the experimental apparatus has been commissioned with antiprotons and positrons. Since the AD will not be running during 2013,during the refurbishment of the CERN accelerators, the experiment is currently working with positrons, electrons and protons, in order to prepare the way for the antihydrogen production in late 2014

Inter-domain Communication Mechanisms in an ABC Importer: A Molecular Dynamics Study of the MalFGK2E Complex

ATP-Binding Cassette transporters are ubiquitous membrane proteins that convert the energy from ATP-binding and hydrolysis into conformational changes of the transmembrane region to allow the translocation of substrates against their concentration gradient. Despite the large amount of structural and biochemical data available for this family, it is still not clear how the energy obtained from ATP hydrolysis in the ATPase domains is “transmitted” to the transmembrane domains. In this work, we focus our attention on the consequences of hydrolysis and inorganic phosphate exit in the maltose uptake system (MalFGK2E) from Escherichia coli. The prime goal is to identify and map the structural changes occurring during an ATP-hydrolytic cycle. For that, we use extensive molecular dynamics simulations to study three potential intermediate states (with 10 replicates each): an ATP-bound, an ADP plus inorganic phosphate-bound and an ADP-bound state. Our results show that the residues presenting major rearrangements are located in the A-loop, in the helical sub-domain, and in the “EAA motif” (especially in the “coupling helices” region). Additionally, in one of the simulations with ADP we were able to observe the opening of the NBD dimer accompanied by the dissociation of ADP from the ABC signature motif, but not from its corresponding P-loop motif. This work, together with several other MD studies, suggests a common communication mechanism both for importers and exporters, in which ATP-hydrolysis induces conformational changes in the helical sub-domain region, in turn transferred to the transmembrane domains via the “coupling helices”

The application of omics in ruminant production: a review in the tropical and sub-tropical animal production context

The demand for animal products (e.g. dairy and beef) in tropical regions is expected to increase in parallel with the public demand for sustainable practices, due to factors such as population growth and climate change. The necessity to increase animal production output must be achieved with better management and production technologies. For this to happen, novel research methodologies, animal selection and postgenomic tools play a pivotal role. Indeed, improving breeder selection programs, the quality of meat and dairy products as well as animal health will contribute to higher sustainability and productivity. This would surely benefit regions where resource quality and quantity are increasingly unstable, and research is still very incipient, which is the case of many regions in the tropics. The purpose of this review is to demonstrate how omics-based approaches play a major role in animal science, particularly concerning ruminant production systems and research associated to the tropics and developing countriesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

The Large Hadron-Electron Collider at the HL-LHC

The Large Hadron-Electron Collider (LHeC) is designed to move the field of deep inelastic scattering (DIS) to the energy and intensity frontier of particle physics. Exploiting energy-recovery technology, it collides a novel, intense electron beam with a proton or ion beam from the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC). The accelerator and interaction region are designed for concurrent electron-proton and proton-proton operations. This report represents an update to the LHeC's conceptual design report (CDR), published in 2012. It comprises new results on the parton structure of the proton and heavier nuclei, QCD dynamics, and electroweak and top-quark physics. It is shown how the LHeC will open a new chapter of nuclear particle physics by extending the accessible kinematic range of lepton-nucleus scattering by several orders of magnitude. Due to its enhanced luminosity and large energy and the cleanliness of the final hadronic states, the LHeC has a strong Higgs physics programme and its own discovery potential for new physics. Building on the 2012 CDR, this report contains a detailed updated design for the energy-recovery electron linac (ERL), including a new lattice, magnet and superconducting radio-frequency technology, and further components. Challenges of energy recovery are described, and the lower-energy, high-current, three-turn ERL facility, PERLE at Orsay, is presented, which uses the LHeC characteristics serving as a development facility for the design and operation of the LHeC. An updated detector design is presented corresponding to the acceptance, resolution, and calibration goals that arise from the Higgs and parton-density-function physics programmes. This paper also presents novel results for the Future Circular Collider in electron-hadron (FCC-eh) mode, which utilises the same ERL technology to further extend the reach of DIS to even higher centre-of-mass energies.Peer reviewe