Abstract: A method of designing a lithographic mask for use in lithographic processing of a substrate is disclosed. The lithographic processing comprises irradiating mask features of a lithographic mask using a predetermined irradiation configuration. In one aspect, the method comprises obtaining an initial design for the lithographic mask comprising a plurality of initial design features having an initial position. The method further comprises applying at least one shift to at least one initial design feature and deriving there from an altered design so as to compensate for shadowing effects when irradiating the substrate using a lithographic mask corresponding to the altered design in the predetermined irradiation configuration. Also disclosed herein are a corresponding design, a method of setting up lithographic processing, a system for designing a lithographic mask, a lithographic mask, and a method of manufacturing it.

Abstract: A method for the production of a planar structure is disclosed. The method comprises producing on a substrate a plurality of structures of substantially equal height, and there being a space in between the plurality of structures. The method further comprises providing a fill layer of electromagnetic radiation curable material substantially filling the space between the structures. The method further comprises illuminating a portion of the fill layer with electromagnetic radiation, hereby producing a exposed portion and an unexposed portion, the portions being separated by an interface substantially parallel with the first main surface of the substrate. The method further comprises removing the portion above the interface.

Abstract: A method of operating a quantum system comprising computational elements, including an insulated ring of superconductive material, and semi-closed rings used as an interface between the computational elements and the external world, is disclosed. In one aspect, the method comprises providing an electrical signal, e.g. a current, in an input ring magnetically coupled to a computational element, which generates a magnetic field in the computational element and sensing the change in the current and/or voltage of an output element magnetically coupled to the computational element. The electrical input signal can be an AC signal or a DC signal. The computational element is electromagnetically coupled with other adjacent computational elements and/or with the interface elements. The corresponding magnetic flux between the computational elements and/or the interface elements acts as an information carrier. Ferromagnetic cores are used to improve the magnetic coupling between adjacent elements.

Abstract: A sensor is disclosed. In one embodiment, the sensor includes an insulating substrate comprising a first zone, a second zone, and an intermediate zone, where the intermediate zone comprises a portion of the second zone that overlaps the first zone. The sensor further comprises a first electrode in the first zone that comprises a first plurality of fingers of a conductive material, a second electrode in the second zone that comprises a second plurality of fingers of the conductive material that are interdigitated with the first plurality of fingers, a plurality of three-dimensional isolation structures, and a plurality of shadow zones, wherein each shadow zone is adjacent to at least one isolation structure and is substantially free of conductive material. The plurality of isolation structures may comprises hills and/or channels.

Abstract: Micromachined reference electrodes for use in miniaturized electrochemical sensors, and methods for fabricating such reference electrodes and electrochemical sensors, for example, as a part of a microfluidic system, are disclosed. Electrochemical measurements allow for inexpensive detection of a wide variety of (bio-)chemical compounds in solution. The reference electrode is one of the main parts of an electrochemical cell. The reference electrode, from which no current is drawn, has a stable, constant potential.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a large time constant steering circuit for slowly changing a voltage on a node between at least two discrete voltage levels. The present invention further relates to a slow steering current DAC comprising said large time constant steering circuit. The present invention further relates to an instrumentation amplifier device comprising a current balancing instrumentation amplifier for amplifying an input signal to an amplified output signal and a DC servo-loop for removing a DC-component from the input signal. The present invention further relates to an EEG acquisition ASIC comprising said instrumentation amplifier device.

Abstract: A system and method for motion detection and the use thereof in video coding are disclosed. In one aspect, a method of defining a region of motion within a video frame in a sequence of video frames comprises loading a current video frame and at least one reference video frame from the sequence, the reference video frame being different from the current video frame. The method further comprises applying filtering operations on the current and the reference video frame in order to obtain at least two scales of representation of the current and the reference video frame. The method further comprises determining for each of the scale representations a video-frame like representation of the structural changes between the current and the reference video frame. The method further comprises combining the video-frame like representations of different scales. The method further comprises determining one or more regions of motion from the combination.

Abstract: The present invention relates generally to a method and device of partial or complete functional restoration of the damaged nervous system by bridging a cavity in the central or peripheral nervous tissue and, more particularly to a system and method for repairing the nerve signal transduction by bridging of the cavity with microelectrode elements more particular microelectrodes for stimulation and microelectrodes for recording.

Abstract: Semiconductor process technology and devices are provided, including a method for forming a high quality group III nitride layer on a silicon substrate and to a device obtainable therefrom. According to the method, a pre-dosing step is applied to a silicon substrate, wherein the substrate is exposed to at least 0.01 ?mol/cm2 of one or more organometallic compounds containing Al, in a flow of less than 5 ?mol/min. The preferred embodiments are equally related to the semiconductor structure obtained by the method, and to a device comprising said structure.

Abstract: A dual workfunction semiconductor device and a device made thereof is disclosed. In one aspect, the device includes a first gate stack in a first region and a second gate stack in a second region. The first gate stack has a first effective workfunction, and the second gate stack has a second effective workfunction different from the first effective workfunction. The first gate stack includes a first gate dielectric capping layer, a gate dielectric host layer, a first metal gate electrode layer, a barrier metal gate electrode, a second gate dielectric capping layer, and a second metal gate electrode. The second gate stack includes a gate dielectric host layer, a first metal gate electrode, a second gate dielectric capping layer, and a second metal gate electrode.

Abstract: Ni3Si2 FUSI gates can be formed inter alia by further reaction of NiSi/Ni2Si gate stacks. Ni3Si2 behaves similarly to NiSi in terms of work function values, and of modulation with dopants on SiO2, in contrast to Ni-rich silicides which have significantly higher work function values on HfSixOy and negligible work function shifts with dopants on SiO2. Formation of Ni3Si2 can applied for applications targeting NiSi FUSI gates, thereby expanding the process window without changing the electrical properties of the FUSI gate.

Abstract: Anchor designs for thin film packages are disclosed that, in a preferred embodiment are a combination of SiGe-filled trenches and Si-oxide-filled spacing. Depending on the release process, additional manufacturing process steps are performed in order to obtain a desired mechanical strength. For aggressive release processes, additional soft sputter etch and a Ti—TiN interlayer in the anchor region may be added. The ratio of the total SiGe—SiGe anchor area to the SiO2—SiGe anchor area determines the mechanical strength of the anchor. If this ratio is larger than 1, the thin film package reaches the MIL-standard requirements.

Abstract: Methods for manufacturing micromachined devices and the devices obtained are disclosed. In one embodiment, the method comprises providing a structural layer comprising an amorphous semiconductor material, forming a shielding layer on a first portion of the structural layer and leaving exposed a second portion of the structural layer, and annealing the second portion using a first fluence. The method further comprises removing the shielding layer, and annealing the first portion and the second portion using a second fluence that is less than half the first fluence. In an embodiment, the device comprises a substrate layer, an underlying layer formed on the substrate layer, and a sacrificial layer formed on only a portion of the underlying layer. The device further comprises a structural layer that is in contact with the underlying layer and comprises a first region annealed using a first fluence and a second region annealed using a second fluence.

Abstract: A non-volatile memory device having a control gate on top of the second dielectric (interpoly or blocking dielectric), at least a bottom layer of the control gate in contact with the second dielectric being constructed in a material having a predefined high work-function and showing a tendency to reduce its work-function when in contact with a group of certain high-k materials after full device fabrication. At least a top layer of the second dielectric, separating the bottom layer of the control gate from the rest of the second dielectric, is constructed in a predetermined high-k material, chosen outside the group for avoiding a reduction in the work-function of the material of the bottom layer of the control gate. In the manufacturing method, the top layer is created in the second dielectric before applying the control gate.

Abstract: One inventive aspect relates to a digital sub-circuit suitable for embedding in an at least partially digital circuit for minimizing the influence of another digital sub-circuit on the at least partially digital circuit, the other digital sub-circuit being part of the at least partially digital circuit. The influence of the other digital sub-circuit may, for example, be the introduction of ground bounce by switching of the other digital sub-circuit. Another inventive aspect relates to an at least partially digital circuit comprising such a digital sub-circuit for minimizing the influence of another digital sub-circuit to the at least partially digital circuit and to a method for reducing the influence of another digital sub-circuit to an at least partially digital circuit.

Abstract: A method and device for performing a characterization of a description of the composition of an electronic system in terms of components used are disclosed. Performances of the components are described by at least two statistical parameters and one deterministic parameter. In one aspect, the method includes selecting a plurality of design of experiments (DoE) points, performing simulations on the selected DoE points, thus obtaining system responses, and determining a response model using the selected DoE points and the system responses. Selecting the DoE points includes making a first selection of a reduced set of chosen DoE points for the statistical parameters representing the statistical properties of the many possible statistical parameter realizations, and making a second selection of DoE points for the deterministic parameter representing the possible limited set of values that such parameter can take.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides a device including a MEMS resonating element, provided for resonating at a predetermined resonance frequency, the MEMS resonating element having at least one temperature dependent characteristic, a heating circuit arranged for heating the MEMS resonating element to an offset temperature (Toffset), a sensing circuit associated with the MEMS resonating element and provided for sensing its temperature dependent characteristic, and a control circuit connected to the sensing circuit for receiving measurement signals indicative of the sensed temperature dependent characteristic and connected to the heating circuit for supplying a control signal thereto to maintain the temperature of the MEMS resonating element at the offset temperature. The heating circuit includes a tunable thermal radiation source and the MEMS resonating element is provided so as to absorb at least a portion of the thermal radiation generated by the tunable thermal radiation source.

Abstract: A metal nanoantenna for use in a biosensing device is disclosed. The metal nanoantenna is arranged to exhibit at least two particle plasmon resonances or surface plasmon resonances (SPRs). The nanoantenna is for use in a sensor and allows detection at low concentration of biological components. In one aspect, the nanoantenna can have an asymmetric structural configuration and spectrally separated resonances. In one aspect, there is a location in its structure providing local electromagnetic field enhancement at all of the SPRs. The metal nanoantenna can be used for background free measuring of a quantity of a biological component.

Abstract: A method for introducing species into a strained semiconductor layer comprising: providing a substrate comprising a first region comprising an exposed strained semiconductor layer, loading the substrate in a reaction chamber, then forming a conformal first species containing-layer by vapor phase deposition (VPD) at least on the exposed strained semiconductor layer, and thereafter performing a thermal treatment, thereby diffusing at least part of the first species from the first species-containing layer into the strained semiconductor layer and activating at least part of the diffused first species in the strained semiconductor layer.

Abstract: A two-terminal organic light-emitting device structure is presented with low absorption losses and high current densities. Light generation and emission occur at a predetermined distance from any metallic contact, thereby reducing optical absorption losses. High current densities and thus high emitted light intensity are achieved by combining two types of conduction in one device: by combining space charge limited conduction and field-effect conduction or by combining ohmic conduction and field-effect conduction, thereby optimizing the current densities. This results in a very high local concentration of excitons and therefore a high light intensity, which can be important for applications such as organic lasers, and more in particular electrically pumped organic lasers.