Plasma processing techniques are one of the cornerstones of modern semiconductor fabrication. Low pressure plasmas in particular can achieve high radical density, high selectivity, and anisotropic etch profiles at low temperatures and mild voltages. This gentle processing environment prevents unwanted diffusion and degradation of materials due to heat and lattice damage from ion bombardment. Pl...

cross-wafer standard deviation of Jc was typically ~ 5% for anodized wafers but was ≥15% for unanodized wafers (Figure 6). A low variation in Jc results in a higher yield of device chips per wafer with the desired current density. As a result of the improved cross-wafer distribution, the cross-chip uniformity is greatly improved as well; typically < 1% for anodized chips. Low cross-chip Jc vari...

The basicranium is the keystone of the primate skull, and understanding its morphological interdependence on surrounding soft-tissue structures, such as the brain, can reveal important mechanisms of skull development and evolution. In particular, several extensive investigations have shown that, across extant adult primates, the degree of basicranial flexion and petrous orientation are closely ...

CMOS-MEMS is a promising approach to achieve integration of microelectromechanical structures with circuits by using foundry CMOS services coupled with post-CMOS processing. The most significant benefit is the low cost of manufacturing the mechanical structures with CMOS. We report suitable conditions for post-CMOS processing by reactive ion etching (RIE) to define the mechanical structures. Va...

The MSc Intelligent Systems (IS) and the MSc Intelligent Systems and Robotics (ISR) programmes at De Montfort University are Masters level courses that are delivered both onsite and by distance learning. The courses have been running successfully on-site for 6 years and are now in the third year with a distance learning mode. Delivering material at a distance, especially where there is technica...

Activated Ras but not Raf can transform RIE-1 and other epithelial cells, indicating the critical importance of Raf-independent effector function in Ras transformation of epithelial cells. To elucidate the nature of these Raf-independent activities, we utilized representational difference analysis to identify genes aberrantly expressed by Ras through Raf-independent mechanisms in RIE-1 cells. W...

Our previous studies have identified a minimal Sp1-driven promoter region (nt -36/+116) directing NHE2 expression in mouse renal epithelial cells. However, this minimal promoter region was not sufficient to support active transcription of NHE2 gene in the intestinal epithelial cells, suggesting the need for additional upstream regulatory elements. In the present study, we used nontransformed ra...

Our objective was to implement the technology developed during the first year of this project to the fabrication of nitride-based optoelectronic sensor structures on silicon wafers. This objective has been reached through optimization of the MBE process, the Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) and device fabrication techniques. Control of the RIE process was improved using a miniature ORthogonal extract...