Abstract: A method of forming a semiconductor device includes forming a buried oxide (BOX) layer on a semiconductor substrate, forming a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) layer on the BOX layer, depositing a hard mask including one of silicon, a nitride, and a metal oxide on the SOI layer, removing the hard mask from a first region of the semiconductor device, performing a cleaning process on the semiconductor device, wherein the hard mask is not removed from a second region of the semiconductor device by the cleaning process, epitaxially growing a semiconductor material in the first region of the semiconductor device, and removing the hard mask from the second region of the semiconductor device.

Abstract: A sensor for detection of target nucleic acid comprising (a) a semiconductor nanostructure; and (b) a nucleic acid detection probe immobilized on the semiconductor nanostructure capable of hybridizing with the target nucleic acid, the detection probe comprising a polymer with a substantially non-ionic backbone.

Abstract: A method of forming a semiconductor device includes forming a buried oxide (BOX) layer on a semiconductor substrate, forming a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) layer on the BOX layer, depositing a hard mask including one of silicon, a nitride, and a metal oxide on the SOI layer, removing the hard mask from a first region of the semiconductor device, performing a cleaning process on the semiconductor device, wherein the hard mask is not removed from a second region of the semiconductor device by the cleaning process, epitaxially growing a semiconductor material in the first region of the semiconductor device, and removing the hard mask from the second region of the semiconductor device.

Abstract: An automated system is provided to support massive scale grid of machines in a rapid, multi-developer coding environment. The system has virtual testing environments that are created from template machines, supporting various software versions for various code branches. The grid is built by having a small subset of template machines (e.g. with Oracle 9g, 10g, and application server installations), images of the template machines, virtual machine instances created by applying one or more of the image templates, which then are used by the virtual testing environment. Upon receipt of code changes, changes are checked-out, compiled, tested on various test feeds on a virtual testing environment, which is destroyed and re-created after every test run. Any software version upgrades or bug fixes need to be applied only to the template machines. The number of virtual machines associated with any particular template machine is dynamically configurable to provision for optimal use of testing machines.