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A high-quality HfGeOx interfacial layer (IL) was formed in a HfO₂/Al₂O₃/HfO₂/GeOx gate stack through thermal annealing. The diffusing of GeO into the HfO₂ layer led to the mixing of the GeOx and HfO₂ layers, as identified through energy-dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX). X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS) data for HfGeOx IL confirmed the formation of Ge-O-Hf bonds owing to the induced shift of the Ge3dox spectra to lower binding energies. The electrical and reliability data indicated that the capacitor with HfGeOx IL presented not only lower interface states density (Dit, approximately 7 × 1011 eV-1cm-2) but also less Dit increment (approximately 3 × 1011 eV-1cm-2) after stressing than did the capacitor without the HfGeOx IL. Moreover, the Ge p-metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor HfGeOx IL exhibited a high effective hole mobility (approximately 704 cm2/V s).

We propose a novel triple-gated single transistor comprising monolayer MoS 2 channel to accomplish basic logic-gate functions. The NAND and NOR computing are compatible in the same MoS 2 n-FET and switchable easily through top-gate bias setting (V LOW / V HIGH = 0.75V / 2V). Moreover, separated top- and back-gate (TG and BG) operations in proposed device also enable the modulation of ON-state resistance by 7 orders of magnitude with maintaining low OFF-state current. The electrical response in devices with various back-gate designs could be explained in terms of energy band diagram through TCAD simulation. In this work, the multi-gated MoS 2 n-FETs have successfully demonstrated good logic-gate operation and large ON-OFF ratio modulation, which provide a new perspective in device design for future logic and even in-memory computing applications.

In this paper, we fabricated TiN/HfO 2 -based gate stacks on epi- Si 0.5 Ge 0.5 substrates with remarkably low interface trap density (Dit) by optimizing the temperature and pressure in the annealing ambient. We found that oxygen in ambient play a subtle role in the resultant properties of the gate stack. During annealing, insufficient oxygen supply to the stack cannot effectively repair the slow oxide traps, while too much oxygen will cause excess SiGe surface oxidation and lead to higher Dit. For the first time, the impact of diffused oxygen during thermal processing on the electrical properties of the TiN/HfO 2 /IL/SiGe gate stack is systematically investigated.

OBJECTIVE Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) offers three-dimensional structures in assessing upper airway of patients. This study aims to compare the cone-beam computerized tomography scan measurements between children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and primary snoring. STUDY DESIGN Case-control study. METHODS This prospective study was conducted in a tertiary referral center. Thirty-six children with moderate-to-severe OSA (with apnea-hypopnea index [AHI] > 5 events/hour) and 36 age-, gender-, and obesity-matched children with primary snoring (AHI

This letter represents the first direct experimental demonstrations and mechanism proposal regarding abnormal palladium diffusion into germanium (Ge). Our experiments indicated that excess Ge atoms among palladium germanide alloy formation indirectly induce the abnormal out-diffusion of mass palladium atoms into Ge. Consequently, palladium germanide alloy on both n-type and p-type Ge form ohmic-like Schottky junctions. To identify this phenomenon, first-principle calculations and technology computer-aided design simulation were used to evaluate the electrical influence of palladium atoms in Ge. We discovered that the activated palladium atoms in Ge induce large midgap bulk-trap states, which contribute to a severe increment of trap-assisted tunneling current at the palladium germanide/Ge junction.

Immune checkpoint blockades were reported to result in clinical responses in inoperable and metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). This report describes an 87-year-old woman with recurrent cSCC that was initially responsive to cetuximab (the monoclonal antibody against epithelial growth factor receptor) but eventually became refractory to cetuximab and multiple subsequent salvage chemotherapy regimens. Next-generation sequencing of the tumor discovered three single-nucleotide mutations in TP53, copy number amplification in Src, and a heterozygous deletion in BRCA2. Because of the high mutation burden of her neoplasm (35.2 mutations per megabase), we treated her with a programmed death-1 (PD-1) checkpoint inhibitor, pembrolizumab, for 10 months. The tumor regressed 3 months later and complete pathological remission was achieved 10 months after starting treatment. As of writing, the patient has been disease free for 17 months after discontinuing treatment. This is the first reported case of heterozygous deletion of BRCA2 in cSCC. The high mutation burden and BRCA2 mutation might explain why this tumor was highly sensitive to anti-PD-1 treatment.

During the formation of distinct bilayer NiGePt alloy, a phase-separation phenomenon was observed using microwave annealing and structural engineering. The microstructures of bilayer NiGePt [PtGe(Ni)–NiGe(Pt)] alloys fabricated with 10-nm Ni and various thicknesses of Pt (5, 10, and 15 nm) were characterized. Within the same thermal budget as microwave annealing, the diffusion of Ni exhibited stronger alloy formation ability with Ge and drilled through the Pt layer without resistance. The higher diffusivity of Ni atoms dominated the diffusion of Ni through the Pt layer to form a stable crystalline layer, NiGe(Pt). Ge diffused outwardly toward the Pt layer to form a PtGe(Ni) layer. This special phenomenon of bilayer alloy formation was elucidated using nanobeam electron diffraction by transmission electron microscopy in conjunction with energy-dispersive spectrometry. Comparing the differences in metal alloys between microwave and rapid thermal annealing, microwave annealing formed a bilayer alloy more apparently than rapid thermal annealing. The results and electrical characteristics indicated that a thicker Pt layer for forming a bilayer NiGePt alloy with alloy separation could also effectively improve the leakage current of NiGePt [PtGe(Ni)– NiGe(Pt)]/n-Ge Schottky junctions.

HfO2-based gate stacks with titanium (Ti) incorporated into a GeO x interfacial layer (IL) were fabricated on p-Ge substrates. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results, incorporating Ti, can efficiently suppress the GeO volatilization. This contributed to achievement of an equivalent oxide thickness of approximately 0.8 nm, a low interface states density $\text{D}_{\textsf {it}}$ of approximately 2.5 $\times \,\,10^{\textsf {11}}$ eV $^{-\textsf {1}}$ cm $^{-\textsf {2}}$ , and a smaller $\text{D}_{\textsf {it}}$ increment of approximately 1 $\times \,\,10^{\textsf {11}}$ eV $^{-\textsf {1}}$ cm $^{-\textsf {2}}$ after constant negative voltage stress at a field of 8 MV/cm. Therefore, Ti is appropriate for improving the quality of GeOx through high temperature annealing.

In this paper, we demonstrated the enhancement of thermal stability of nickel germanide (NiGe) alloy up to 600 °C by using titanium nitride (TiN) metal capping. A high ${I}_{ \mathrm{\scriptscriptstyle ON}}/{I}_{ \mathrm{\scriptscriptstyle OFF}}$ ratio of $2.9 \times 10^{5}$ was achieved by capping TiN metal on Ni for NiGe alloy formation at 600 °C. Detailed analyses were performed for realizing the mechanism for TiN capping on NiGe/Ge, including vertical element diffusion profile observation through depth-profiling X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), element diffusion distribution by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy mapping, and direct junction leakage current path detection by conductive atomic force microscopy. The experimental results indicated that TiN capping can reduce the risk of agglomeration and form a graded NiGe/Ge Schottky junction that is beneficial for suppressing the degradation of junction leakage. Subsequently, we compared the electrical performance of TiN/NiGe/n-Ge at various N/Ti ratios of TiNs. Based on the depth-profiling XPS results and electrical performance, TiN with an N/Ti ratio of approximately 1:1 can resist the Ni and Ge diffusion, which facilitates the suppression of the agglomeration process. However, the TiN capping layers with an N/Ti ratio of less than approximately 1:1 (Ti-rich) were not favorable for resisting Ni and Ge diffusion.

A high-quality HfGeO

We propose a new HfGeO x interfacial layer (IL) for the high- $\kappa $ gate-stacks on p-type germanium substrate with improved thermal stability as compared with that of conventional GeO x IL. We inserted an additional HfO2 layer after the formation of GeO x in the HfO2/Al2O3/GeO x /Ge gate-stack by using plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition. Through the use of post-deposition annealing and post-metal annealing, the new system exhibited greater thermal immunity and was stable up to 600 °C. We speculate that the improvement originates from the formation of HfGeO x through the combination of HfO2 and GeO x , according to the thermodynamic data. By incorporating Hf into interfacial layer, the fabricated high- $\kappa $ gate-stack with an equivalent oxide thickness of 1.2 nm, a low interface states density ( $D_{\mathrm {it}}$ ) of approximately $3.3 \times 10^{11}$ eV $^{\mathrm {-1}}$ cm $^{\mathrm {-2}}$ , and an impressive gate leakage current of approximately $ 2.2 \times 10^{\mathrm {-6}}$ A/cm2 at $V_{\mathrm {FB}} -1\text{V}$ .

This paper presents a high-performance Ge p-channel MOSFET (pMOSFET) with NiGePt as a ternary-phase alloy of Schottky source/drain (S/D) formed through low-temperature microwave-activated annealing (MWA). We fabricated a NiGePt alloy contact with uniform crystallinity through structural engineering and MWA. We clarified the phenomena of thermal reaction and diffusion for forming ternary-phase alloys using MWA properties such as thermal dynamics and ionic transportation. The ternary-phase NiGePt alloy is crucial for improving the off-leakage current of the junction. A lower process temperature is beneficial for eliminating surface roughness and reducing alloy agglomeration of the Schottky contact S/D. Consequently, the fabricated NiGePt/n-Ge Schottky junction exhibited a high effective barrier height ( $\Phi _{{{\textrm {Bn}}}})$ of 0.59 eV, resulting in a high junction current ratio of more than $10^{5}$ at an applied voltage of $|V_{a}| = 1$ V. In addition, we exploited the advantages of low-temperature microwave annealing to fabricate the pMOSFET, which includes a GeO2 passivation layer and a Schottky S/D. Our ternary Schottky Ge pMOSFET ( $L = 4~\mu \text{m}$ ) exhibited high $I_{{\mathrm{\scriptscriptstyle ON}}}/I_{{\mathrm{\scriptscriptstyle OFF}}}$ ratios of approximately $3.7 \times 10^{3}$ ( $I_{D})$ and $1.3 \times 10^{5}$ ( $I_{S})$ and a moderate subthreshold swing of 126 mV/dec.

We successfully fabricated gate stacks (ZrO2/GeO x /Ge) with a subnanometer equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) and low-leakage current on n-/p-Ge through plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (ALD). A 0.78-nm-thick GeO x was formed through plasma oxidation (i.e., in situ plasma interfacial passivation, followed by 3.48-nm-thick ZrO2 growth in the same ALD reactor). A subnanometer EOT of $\sim 0.9$ nm was achieved with a relatively high dielectric constant (roughly 30) of tetragonal-phase ZrO2. The gate leakage was $\sim 1 \times 10^{-4}$ A/cm2 at $\text{V}_{\mathrm {\mathbf {FB}}} - 1$ V, and roughly $5 \times 10^{-5}$ A/cm2 at $\text{V}_{\mathrm {\mathbf {FB}}} + 1$ V on p- and n-type Ge, respectively. Our ZrO2 stabilized in the tetragonal phase, when the post-deposition annealing temperature, was higher than 500 °C. Therefore, the proposed scheme is simple and effective for use in pursuing an ultralow EOT gate dielectric on Ge.

Early detection of neck lymph node (LN) recurrence is paramount in improving the prognosis of treated head and neck cancer patients. Ultrasound (US) with US-guided fine needle aspiration (FNA) and core needle biopsy (CNB) have been shown to have great accuracy for LN diagnoses in the untreated neck. However, in the treated neck with fibrosis, their roles are not clarified. Here, we retrospectively review 153 treated head and neck cancer patients who had received US and US-guided FNA/CNB. In multivariate logistic regression analyses, size (short-axis diameter >0.8 cm) (odds ratio (OR) 4.19, P = 0.007), round shape (short/long axis ratio >0.5) (OR 3.44, P = 0.03), heterogeneous internal echo (OR 3.92, P = 0.009) and irregular margin (OR 7.32, P

In contrast to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), central sleep apnea (CSA) in obese children has received lesser attention. As pediatric CSA is more prevalent than expected and adversely impacts health, this study aims to elucidate the major factors associated with central apnea index (CAI) and compare CSA between obese and non-obese children.Retrospective analysis was performed in a tertiary referral medical center. Children with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) ranging from 2-18 years old were enrolled. All participants completed history taking, otolaryngological examination and overnight polysomnography. CSA was defined as having CAI exceeding 1 h(-1). CAI and the prevalence of CSA were analyzed in children of different age groups, weight statuses and adenotonsillar sizes.A total of 487 cases were included. The prevalence of CSA was 13.3% (65/487). CAI was negatively correlated with age (r=-0.32, P0.001). Obese children had a significantly lower CAI than that of non-obese ones (0.20 ± 0.36 vs 0.48 ± 0.82 h(-1), P0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated a relationship between CAI, age and obesity as 'CAI=0.883-0.055 × Age -0.22 × (Obesity)'.In children with SDB, younger ones have a significantly higher CAI than older ones. Additionally, obese children had a lower CAI than non-obese ones.

This work demonstrates high-performance Ge p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (PMOSFETs) [1] with ternary-phase NiGePt alloy Schottky source/drain (S/D) by low-temperature microwave-activated annealing (MWA) [2]. Process flow of Shcottky junctions is shown in Fig. 1. Interestingly, the formed NiGePt alloy is nearly single crystalline. We found the formation of ternary-phase alloy NiGePt seems very helpful in suppressing the off-leakage of junction, as shown in Fig. 2. The fabricated NiGePt/N-Ge Schottky junction depicted an impressive effective barrier height (ΦBn) of ∼0.59 eV for electrons, leading to a high junction current ratio of >105 at the applied voltage of |Va|= 1 V. Slight increase with increasing deposited Pt thickness can be explained by the improved series resistance, as shown in Fig. 2. The lower process temperature of MWA as compared to the conventional thermal annealing is beneficial for eliminating surface roughness, reducing alloy agglomeration of Schottky contact S/D. As a consequence, we employed the advantages of low-temperature MWA to fabricate the Schottky S/D PMOSFETs. With forming gas annealing, the Ge PMOSFET (L = 4 µm) showed a very high output current of 33.5 µA/µm at VGS−VT= −2.4 and VDS = −2 V. Our ternary Schottky PMOSFET exhibited a high ION/IOFF ratios of ∼ 3.7×103 (ID) and ∼ 1.3×105 (IS), and a moderate subthreshold swing of 126 mV/dec, as shown in Figs. 3.

In this work, we investigated the influence of retrograde-well implantation on hetero-structure body-tied germanium (Ge) FinFET [1]. Using structural engineering, the retrograde well was fabricated prior to Ge epitaxy, which could avoid the activated temperature of dopant in Si substrate. With optimizing the implant condition, the p-Ge/n-Si hetero-structure junction exhibited high I ON /I OFF ratio and lower junction leakage (4 × 10−3 µA/cm2). Furthermore, we also make a comparison of planar and mesa junction structures, mesa junction exhibited lower junction leakage (6× 10−6 µA/cm2) as compared with the planar one mentioned before, which could be attributed to improvement in peripheral leakage due to dislocation within Ge and Si. Comparing the difference between retrograde-well and implant-free Ge FinFETs, the drain induced barrier lowering (DIBL) was considerably improved by 50 %. Our retrograde-well Ge FinFET exhibited a high I ON /I OFF ratio ∼ 8×103 (I S ) than the conventional Ge FinFET (I ON /I OFF ∼2×103).

We propose a new device structure, namely CAA T-FinFET, for 10nm MOSFETs with using contact all around (CAA) structure. According to 3D simulation study, the CAA T-FinFET possess many advantages over the conventional FinFET structure, such as short channel effect (SCE) suppression by self-aligned oxide (SA oxide), parasitic leakage path isolation with body-tied bulk, source/drain series resistance reducing and fin to fin pitch scaling by contact all around process. Base on heterogeneous bulk for strain application, CAA T-FinFET has better electrical performance and easy process control. All these advantages are achieved by depositing a self-aligned oxide after isotropic etching in S/D region. Contact all around can efficiently solve the series resistance degradation and pitch scaling by replacing diamond-shape S/D stressor with the full contact metal. CAA T-FinFET has high potential to be applied to the varied heterogeneous substrate and high mobility channel (Ge and III–V) MOSFETs by SA oxide.

Tumors of the supraclavicular fossa (SC) is clinically challenging because of anatomical complexity and tumor pathological diversity. Because of varied diseases entities and treatment choices of SC tumors, making the accurate decision among numerous differential diagnoses is imperative. Sampling by open biopsy (OB) remains the standard procedure for pathological confirmation. However, complicated anatomical structures of SC always render surgical intervention difficult to perform. Ultrasound-guided core biopsy (USCB) is a minimally invasive and office-based procedure for tissue sampling widely applied in many diseases of head and neck. This study aims to evaluate the clinical efficacy and utility of using USCB as the sampling method of SC tumors. From 2009 to 2014, consecutive patients who presented clinical symptoms and signs of supraclavicular tumors and were scheduled to receive sampling procedures for diagnostic confirmation were recruited. The patients received USCB or OB respectively in the initial tissue sampling. The accurate diagnostic rate based on pathological results was 90.2% for USCB, and 93.6% for OB. No significant difference was noted between USCB and OB groups in terms of diagnostic accuracy and the percentage of inadequate specimens. All cases in the USCB group had the sampling procedure completed within 10 minutes, but not in the OB group. No scars larger than 1 cm were found in USCB. Only patients in the OB groups had the need to receive general anesthesia and hospitalization and had scars postoperatively. Accordingly, USCB can serve as the first-line sampling tool for SC tumors with high diagnostic accuracy, minimal invasiveness, and low medical cost.

In this paper, a method that entails using microwave thermal oxidation to form a high-quality gate dielectric on Ge through surface passivation at considerably low temperatures (

Objective: This study compared the results of combined and individual ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (oVEMP) and cervical VEMP (cVEMP) tests in healthy subjects and patients with unilateral vestibular hypofunction to confirm the effectiveness of the combined oVEMP and cVEMP test. Methods: Twenty healthy volunteers and 12 patients with unilateral vestibular hypofunction underwent individual oVEMP and cVEMP tests in a random order, and combined oVEMP and cVEMP test on another day. Results: Twenty healthy subjects had 100% response rates for oVEMPs and cVEMPs in both individual and combined stimulation modes. Significant positive correlations exist between individual and combined oVEMPs/cVEMPs in terms of latencies and amplitudes. In 12 patients with unilateral vestibular hypofunction, differences in abnormal percentages of oVEMPs or cVEMPs were non-significant. Additionally, the characteristic parameters of oVEMP/cVEMP among ears of healthy subjects, good and pathological ears of patients with unilateral vestibular hypofunction did not differ significantly, regardless of whether the individual or combined mode was used. Conclusions: The combined oVEMP and cVEMP test generates similar information to that obtained by individual mode, regardless of whether subjects are healthy or have unilateral vestibular hypofunction. Significance: Simultaneous oVEMP and cVEMP tests may be a convenient screening tool for assessing crossed vestibulo-ocular reflex and ipsilateral sacculo-collic reflex, which definitely shortens the diagnostic test time. Thus, it may favor the large diffusion of these techniques.

We report Ir/TiO2/TaN metal-insulator-metal capacitors processed at only 300degC, which show a capacitance density of 28 fF/mum2 and a leakage current of 3 times 10-8 (25degC) or 6 times 10-7 (125degC) A/cm2 at -1 V. This performance is due to the combined effects of 300degC nanocrystallized high-kappa TiO2, a high conduction band offset, and high work-function upper electrode. These devices show potential for integration in future very-large-scale-integration technologies.

Although atherothrombotic complications due to ovulation induction are well known in the literature, there is no previous report specifically on the presentation of a lateral medullary infarction. Recently, we have encountered a 36 years old woman with primary infertility having acute vertiginous attack after ovulation induction. Audiovestibular test battery revealed bilateral normal hearing, bilateral gaze nystagmus, rebound nystagmus beating toward the right side, loss of visual suppression with augmentation of caloric nystagmus in light on the left side, and delayed vestibular evoked myogenic potentials on the left side, which was subsequently confirmed as lateral medullary syndrome by MRI scan. In this patient, polycystic ovary syndrome plus high levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and estrogen, together with S protein deficiency may precipitate the occurrence of lateral medullary infarct after ovulation induction. Thus, in vitro fertilization treatment protocol has been terminated.

Objective To investigate the contributions of adenoid and tonsil size to childhood obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and the interactions between adenotonsillar hypertrophy, age, and obesity in children with OSA. Methods In total, 495 symptomatic patients were recruited. The patients were assigned to four groups according to age：toddler (age 1-3, n=42), preschool (age 3-6, n=164), school (age 6-12, n=200), and adolescence (age 12-18, n=89). All subjects had tonsil size graded by otolaryngologists, adenoid size determined on lateral radiographs (Fujioka method), and a full-night polysomnography. The apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), adenoid size, and tonsil size were compared in obese and non-obese children in the four age groups. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of adenotonsillar hypertrophy and OSA risk were estimated by multi-logistic regression. Results The AHI was positively related to tonsil grade (r=0.33, p

I. Background/ Objectives For continuous MOSFET scaling, Ge is one of the most promising candidates due to its higher mobility than Si. But, Ge has lower activated carrier concentration that will induce larger source/drain resistance because of lower sloid solubility and density of state. Hence, metal source/drain with remarkably low resistance is attractive for high performance Ge MOSFET. Even so, poor thermal stability of alloy is a critical problem in process integration. In the previous studies [1]-[3], Ni Germanide (NiGe) shows an enough low resistivity, low formation temperature and feasibility for self-aligned fabrication. However, NiGe through high temperature (>500 °C) show a fatal agglomeration phenomenon that badly degrades the junction performance. In this study, we successfully demonstrate that NiGe with Ti or TiN passivation can suppress the degradation of NiGe alloy and depict excellent thermal stability up to 600 °C. An on/off current ratio of approximately 4x105and low leakage current are shown for the NiGe contact with covering Ti and/or TiN are obtained by 600 °C alloy formation. II. Experiment Details Fig. 1 shows the process flow and device structure. n-Ge (100) substrates with a resistivity of 0.04 ~ 0.6 Ω-cm were cleaned by cyclic diluted HF (1:20) and DI water to remove the native oxide. After the clean process, a 420 nm SiO2 film was first deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) for isolation. The contact window was defined by using photolithography, and the subsequent oxide etch was accomplished by using a buffer oxide etchant (BOE). Multi-layer metal deposition was accomplished without reaking the vacuum in sputter chamber, and metal lift-off process was performed. Post-deposition annealing (PDA) conditions at 200/300/400/500/600 °C were employed for 60 s in N2ambient by rapid thermal annealing (RTA). Finally, the metal electrodes were carried out by metal sputter. III. Experiment Results Fig. 2(a) shows the I-V characteristics for all junctions formed 600 °C. We find that NiGe without cover shows serious agglomeration, which can be clearly observed by the Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) image shown in the insert of Fig. 2(a). Compared to the Ni case, Ni/TiN or Ni/Ti/TiN cases show no degradation in off-current and enhanced on-current up to near one order of magnitude. Fig. 2(b) shows the electrical characteristics of on-/off-current for varied PDA conditions. Ni case is obviously degraded as the temperature increases. Compared to Ni case, Ni/TiN and Ni/Ti/TiN cases can successfully suppress the junction leakage and improve the thermal stability of NiGe. The electrical data reveal that Ni/Ti/TiN contact with 600 °C PDA shows the best on-current (approximately 4.4x102 A/cm2) and off-current (approximately 1x10-3 A/cm2). On-off ratio of Ni case is only of approximately 3x102, but Ni/TiN and Ni/Ti/TiN cases are of approximately 4x105. The current ratio can get the three orders enhancement on high temperature annealing at 600 °C. Fig. 3 shows the X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) spectra of the Ni/Ti/TiN case, and we can see Ni has already diffused into Ge but Ti show much less diffusion. So, the junction is still a NiGe/Ge one. IV. Conclusions In summary, we have successfully eased the high temperature degradation for NiGe by using TiN or Ti metal passivation. The high on-off current ratio (approximately 4x105) was arrived by performing Ti/TiN on Ni under high temperature. It is very straightforward to extend the NiGe application and enlarge the process window for high performance Ge device. References [1] Qingchun ZHANG et al., “Formation and Thermal Stability of Nickel Germanide on Germanium Substrate,” J.J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 44, No. 45, 2005, pp. L1389–L1391. [2] Mengrao Tang, Wei Huang et al., “Thermal Stability of Nickel Germanide Formed on Tensile-Strained Ge Epilayer on Si Substrate,” IEEE Elec. Dev. Lett., Vol. 31, No. 8, Aug. 2010. [3] Chawanda et al., “Thermal annealing behavior of platinum, nickel and titanium Schottky barrier diodes on n-Ge (100),” J. Alloys Compd., 492 (2010) 649-655. Figure 1

Objective: This study applied ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (oVEMP) tests in healthy subjects of various ages to measure the effect of aging on oVEMPs quantitatively. Study Design: Prospective study. Setting: University hospital. Subjects: Seventy healthy subjects with the ages ranging from 24 to 76 years were divided into 6 groups by decade. Each group consisted of 10 subjects in 1 decade except 20 subjects in the group of 60 to 69 years. Main Outcome Measures: All subjects underwent oVEMP tests using bone-conducted vibration stimuli. Results: All subjects in groups of 20-59 years showed 100% response rates of clear oVEMPs, while 22 (55%) of 40 eyes in group of 60-69 years and 8 (40%) of 20 eyes in group of ≥ 70 years had clear oVEMPs, exhibiting significant differences between those below and over 60 years of age. The mean nI and pI latencies also showed significantly prolonged in those over 60 years, whereas the mean nI-pI amplitude reduced significantly in subjects over 40 years. However, the asymmetry ratios of oVEMPs did not differ significantly among the age groups. Analyses between the age factor and characteristic parameters revealed that significant correlations existed between the age factor and the nI latency, pI latency and nI-pI amplitude, but not the nI-pI interval. Conclusion: Aging effect (> 60 years old) on the oVEMPs includes reduced response rate, prolonged nI and pI latencies, and decreased nI-pI amplitude. Thus, age factor should be taken into consideration when interpreting the oVEMP results.

We have studied the stress reliability of low-energy-bandgap high- metal-insulator-metal capacitors under constant voltage stress. By using a high-work-function Ni electrode (5.1 eV), we reduced the degrading effects of stress on the capacitance variation (DeltaC/C), the quadratic voltage coefficient of capacitance (VCC-alpha), and the long-term reliability, in contrast with using a TaN. The improved stress reliability for the Ni electrode capacitors is attributed to a reduction of carrier injection and trapping.