Abstract: This invention relates an inhibitory modulator of AQP4 protein regarding its transmembrane water transport properties, wherein the modulator selectively binds to the AQP4 protein, and inhibits AQP4 mediated water transport.

Abstract: A substrate processing method is useful for filling a hole formed in a substrate with conductive material. The substrate processing method includes forming a non-through hole in a substrate, and filling the non-through hole with conductive material by plating. The plating is performed using a plating solution containing solid particles.

Abstract: A plating apparatus can form a plated film having a more uniform thickness over an entire surface of a substrate and can securely fill interconnect recesses with the metal without forming voids in the embedded metal even when the substrate has a high sheet resistance in the surface. The plating apparatus includes a substrate holder for holding a substrate, a cathode portion including a cathode for contact with the substrate held by the substrate holder to feed electricity to the substrate, and an anode, partly or wholly having a high resistance, disposed opposite a surface of the substrate held by the substrate holder, wherein plating of the surface of the substrate is carried out while filling between the anode and the substrate held by the substrate holder with a plating solution.

Abstract: A plating apparatus can keep concentrations of components of a plating solution constant over a long period of time and can stably form a plated film having a more uniform thickness on a surface of a substrate while minimizing an amount of the plating solution used.

Abstract: The present invention provides a layer forming apparatus including a material vaporizing section 108 for producing a material gas containing a metal-organic material by heating and vaporizing the metal-organic material in a solid or liquid state under pressure ranging from 0.01 Pa to atmospheric pressure, a workpiece holding section 100 for holding a workpiece, a workpiece heating section 104 for heating a surface of the workpiece to a temperature higher than a decomposition temperature of the metal-organic material vaporized by the material vaporizing section, and a material supply section 109 for locally forming an atmosphere of the material gas on the surface of the workpiece. The material supply section 109 is operable to form a metal layer or a metal compound layer on the surface of the workpiece by exposing at least a portion of the surface of the workpiece to the atmosphere of the material gas.

Abstract: A substrate processing method forms a plated film which is thin and has a high flatness by covering the surface (outermost surface) of a substrate, excluding interior surfaces of recesses such as trenches, with a plating inhibiting material such as an SAM-forming molecular species. The substrate processing method comprises: preparing a substrate having recesses formed in a surface; attaching a plating inhibiting material for inhibiting plating to an outermost surface, which excludes interior surfaces of the recesses, of the substrate surface; and then carrying out electroplating of the surface of the substrate, thereby filling the recesses with a plated metal.

Abstract: According to the present invention, there is provided a plating apparatus which can deposit a metal plated film such as a copper layer selectively in fine recesses for interconnects, such as trenches or via holes in a circuit form.

Abstract: A plating apparatus employs a dipping method with good gas-bubble releasability and, by regulating the flow of plating solution in a plating tank, can enhance the in-plane uniformity of a thickness of a plated film. The plating apparatus includes a plating tank for holding a plating solution, a plating solution jet nozzle having a slit-like plating solution jet orifice for jetting the plating solution toward a surface to be plated of an object to be plated disposed in the plating tank, and a plating solution supply section for supplying the plating solution to the plating solution jet nozzle.

Abstract: A simple always-portable stethoscope for enabling accurate diagnosis. A radiation/light-receiving fiber (11) serving as a probe part for noninvasively irradiating a diseased part with near-infrared light is applied to the diseased part so as to measure, e.g., a change of the cerebral circulation blood flow. The change is hard as sound pulse modulation to examine the change of the cerebral function. For example, a light beam of three wavelengths ?=760, 800, 830 nm from a semiconductor laser light source (22) is applied to the diseased part, the reflection data from the diseased part is processed by a control device (21), and the doctor can make a diagnosis with the doctor's ears by hearing with a receiver (32) the change as the change of the frequency of the sound the pitch and volume of which are constant.

Abstract: This invention is a method of determining the concentration of any organic additive in a copper sulfate plating solution by using a cyclic voltammetric technique, comprising immersing a measuring probe in a copper sulfate plating solution not containing any organic additive and performing a plurality of times of potential sweeping prior to the analysis of any sample copper sulfate plating solution containing an organic additive. This invention is also a plating solution control system having a tank for preparing a plating solution, a station for determining the concentration of a surface active agent, a station for supplying a surface active agent and a control station, the station for determining the concentration of a surface active agent measuring the concentration of the surface active agent in a plating solution in the tank for preparing a plating solution.

Abstract: A copper plating film has a lower chlorine ion content. Circuit wiring of high electromigration resistance is formed by electroplating. In a method of copper plating using a leveler containing a nitrogen-containing high molecular compound, the leveler is dechlorinated prior to its use for plating. A plating apparatus has a tank for preparing a plating solution, a device for dechlorinating a leveler, a leveler supply station for supplying the dechlorinated leveler to the tank and a plating station. A method of forming fine circuit wiring includes forming a circuit with a phosphorus-doped copper plating layer on a substrate for an electronic circuit having a fine circuit pattern, a barrier layer and any necessary seed layer formed thereon.

Abstract: An acid copper plating solution comprises copper ions, an organic acid or an inorganic acid, chloride ions, a high molecular weight surfactant that controls the electrodeposition reaction, and a sulfur-containing saturated organic compound that promotes the electrocoating rate. The high molecular weight surfactant comprises two or more types of surfactants with different hydrophobicities. The plating solution is used for forming a plating film on a conductor layer.

Abstract: A plating apparatus is used for filling a fine interconnect pattern formed in the substrate with metal to form interconnects. The plating apparatus includes a substrate holder for holding a substrate, a cathode portion including a sealing member for contacting a peripheral portion of a surface, to be plated, of the substrate held by said substrate holder to seal said peripheral portion water-tightly, and a cathode for contacting the substrate to supply current to the substrate, an anode vertically movably disposed so as to face the surface, to be plated, of the substrate, and a porous member disposed between said anode and the surface, to be plated, of the substrate, said porous member being made of a water-retentive material, wherein said porous member has at least a hydrophilic substrate-facing surface which faces the surface, to be plated, of the substrate.

Abstract: The present invention provides a plating method which can embed copper in interconnect recesses, such as vias and interconnect trenches, having an opening width or size of several tens of ?m and an aspect ratio of at least 1.5. The plating method comprises: providing a substrate having interconnect recesses, whose surfaces are covered with a conductive layer, formed in a surface of the substrate; bringing the surface of the substrate into contact with a plating solution containing copper ions, an organic or inorganic acid, chloride ions, a polymeric surfactant for suppressing electrodeposition, a sulfur-containing saturated organic compound for promoting the growth of a plated film, and a nitrogen-containing polymer for flattening a surface of the plated film; and applying a voltage between the conductive layer and an anode immersed in the plating solution.

Abstract: The present invention provides a plating apparatus which uses an insoluble anode and which can perform plating of a substrate stably while preventing oxygen gas, generated due to the use of the insoluble anode, from causing defects in the substrate.

Abstract: A trap apparatus is optimum for trapping a material gas discharged from a vapor deposition apparatus for depositing in a vapor phase thin films of high-dielectric or ferroelectric such as barium/strontium titanates on substrates. The trap apparatus is disposed downstream of a vacuum process chamber. The vacuum process chamber is for processing a substrate. The trap apparatus is for trapping a component having a low vapor pressure contained in a gas discharged from the vacuum process chamber. The trap apparatus includes a trap container for introducing the gas discharged from the vacuum process chamber, and a cooling device provided in the trap container for cooling the gas to a temperature equal to or lower than a condensing temperature of a gas component which is contained in the gas and easily liquidized.

Abstract: For determining appropriately the direction of diffusive motion detecting gradient magnetic field to be applied for the measurement of the diffusion coefficient of a region of interest, a determining method produces three diffusion-weighted images by use of imaging pulse sequences which apply diffusive motion detecting gradient magnetic fields (MPG) along the x axis, y axis and z axis: (steps S1-S3). It composes an image from the diffusion-weighted images by allotting red color, green color and blue color to the images: (step S4). It sets a region of interest on the intensity-inverted image: (step S6). It determines the direction of diffusive motion detecting gradient magnetic field (MPG) to be applied for the measurement of the diffusion coefficient of the region of interest based on the hue of the region of interest on the intensity-inverted image: (step S7).

Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus forms a thin film of high-dielectric or ferroelectric such as barium/strontium titanates, or a copper film for wiring on a substrate, and has a gas ejection head for individually introducing at least two gases including a material gas and ejecting the gases toward a substrate to be processed. The gas ejection head has at least two gas passageways for individually introducing the two gases, and at least two temperature control devices for individually controlling temperatures of the gases flowing through the gas passageways.

Abstract: A chemical vapor deposition apparatus for depositing a thin film of highly dielectric materials for giga-capacity memory devices can reliably clean reaction products formed within the deposition chamber without sacrificing the production efficiency. The apparatus comprises a hermetic deposition chamber containing a substrate holding section for supporting a substrate, and a gas supply head disposed opposite to the substrate holding section for directing a gaseous feed material onto the substrate. There are provided a trapping member supporting device for supporting a trapping member so as to be opposite to a target cleaning area inside the deposition chamber, and a plasma generation device for generating a plasma between the target cleaning area and the trapping member supported by the trapping member supporting device.

Abstract: A compact vaporizer system is presented to produce a high quality vapor feed from a liquid feed to be delivered to a chemical vapor deposition processing chamber to produce thin film devices based on highly dielectric or ferroelectric materials such as BaTiO3, SrTiO3 and other such materials. The vaporization apparatus comprises a feed tank for storing the liquid feed; feed delivery means for transporting the liquid feed by way of a feed delivery path; a vaporizer section disposed in the delivery path comprising a high temperature heat exchanger having a capillary tube for transporting the liquid feed and a heat source for externally heating the capillary tube; and a vaporization prevention section disposed upstream of the vaporizer section for preventing effects of the vaporizer section to the liquid feed within the vaporization prevention section.