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Articles and Columns

Paul Dumas

LURE, centre Universitaire Paris Sud, BP 34, F-91898 Orsay Cédex, France

Mark J. Tobin

CCLRC Daresbury Laboratories, Warrington, Cheshire WA4 4AD, UK

A.M.C. Davies

Norwich Near Infrared Consultancy, 75 Intwood Road, Cringleford, Norwich NR4 6AA, UK

Peter J Jenks, BSc, MRSC

the Jenks Partnership, Newhaven House, Junction Road, Alderbury, Salisbury,Wiltshire SP5 3AZ, UK. E-mail: [email protected]

E.A.H. Timmermans and J.J.A.M. van der Mullen*

Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, PO Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands. E-mail address [email protected]

Tony Davies,a Peter Lampen,b Maren Fiege,c Thorsten Richterc and Thorsten Fröhlichc

aExternal Professor, University of Glamorgan, UK. c/o Creon Lab Control AG, Europaallee 27-29 50226 Frechen, Germany
bISAS, institute for Spectrochemistry and Applied Spectroscopy, Dortmund, Germany
cCreon Lab Control AG, Europaallee 27-29 50226 Frechen, Germany

G.J. Price, G.W. Fraser, J.F. Pearson, I.B. Hutchinson, A.D. Holland, J. Nussey, D. Vernon, D. Pullan and K. Turner

Space Research Centre, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK. E-mail: [email protected]

Peter J. Jenks

the Jenks Partnership, Newhaven House, Junction Road, Alderbury,Wiltshire SP5 3AZ, UK. E-mail: [email protected]

David Chenery and Hannah Bowring

Smith & Nephew Group Research Centre, York Science Park, Heslington, York YO10 5DF, UK

T. Wirtz and H.-N. Migeon

Laboratoire d’Analyse des Matériaux, Centre de Recherche Public - Gabriel Lippmann, 162A, av. de la Faïencerie, L-1511 Luxembourg, [email protected]

 

Introduction

Glow Discharge Mass Spectrometry (GDMS) is one of the most powerful solid state analytical methods for the direct determination of traces, impurities and depth profiling of solids.1–5 Glow discharge mass spectrometers, which are commercially available with fast and sensitive electrical ion detection, allow direct trace elemental determination in solid materials with good sensitivity and precision in the concentration range lower than ng g–1.6

The International Spectroscopic Database (IS-DB) went live on 19 May 2003. Following over seven years fighting for funding and receiving the EU EuroSpec grant1 in 2002 the team are pleased to announce that the first version of the international digital archive for spectroscopic data was switched on for data deposition in May.

Peter J. Jenks

the Jenks Partnership, Newhaven House, Junction Road, Alderbury,Wiltshire SP5 3AZ, UK. E-mail: [email protected]

Luisa Mannina,a,b Anatoli P. Sobolevb and Annalaura Segreb

aUniversity of Molise, Faculty of Agriculture, 86100 Campobasso, Italy
bInstitute of Chemical Methodologies, CNR, 00016 Monterotondo Staz., Rome, Italy

Peter J. Jenks

the Jenks Partnership, Newhaven House, Junction Road, Alderbury,Wiltshire SP5 3AZ, UK. E-mail: [email protected]

Moore’s law* dictates microelectronics researchers to make integrated circuit (IC) devices smaller and to put them as close to each other as possible on a chip. This results in a better performance and a larger functionality of the chips. However, these devices also require a good electrical isolation from each other. This is in general done by the formation of a thick local oxide in the “field region” between the devices. In 1970, researchers from Philips1 invented the so-called LOCOS (LOCal Oxidation of Silicon) technique to achieve this isolation. Using a Si3N4 mask, the silicon is thermally oxidised in the nitride-free field regions. Figure 1 (left) shows a typical LOCOS structure. Although LOCOS seemed a perfect solution at that time, it came with a lot of problems, many of them related to mechanical stresses. Thermal oxidation of Si to SiO2 occurs together with a 125% volume expansion. As a result, the oxide grown in the field region, called the “field oxide,” exerts large forces on the surrounding silicon. Another major drawback of this technique is the so-called “bird’s beak,” caused by the lateral growth of the oxide under the nitride mask. This bird’s beak not only affects the intended device length, it also introduces large local mechanical stresses in the silicon, because of volume expansion, and it also deforms the nitride film. These stresses often resulted in the generation of dislocations in the silicon, which are quite harmful for the devices.

S.Y. Luk,a N. Patela and M.C. Daviesb

aMolecular Profiles Ltd, 1 Faraday Building, Nottingham Science & Technology Park, University Boulevard, Nottingham NG7 2QP, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
bLaboratory of Biophysics and Surface Analysis, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK

Alan Street

Technical Director, Oxford Instruments Superconductivity

Tony Davies

External Professor, University of Glamorgan, UK c/o Creon Lab Control AG, Europaallee 27–29, 50226 Frechen, Germany

Peter J. Jenks

the Jenks Partnership, Newhaven House, Junction Road, Alderbury,Wiltshire SP5 3AZ, UK. E-mail: [email protected]

A.M.C.Davies,a and Tom Fearn,b

aNorwich Near Infrared Consultancy, 75 Intwood Road, Cringleford, Norwich NR4 6AA,UK
bDepartment of Statistical Science, University College London, Gower Street, London