Introduction: Introduction: Paramedics frequently make immediate life-altering decisions with minimal clinical information. This applies to their decision to treat an unconscious patient with naloxone when the history of an opioid overdose cannot be readily established. Among patients treated by paramedics with naloxone, our objective was to compare patient demographics, treatment interventions and clinical response between patients with and without a confirmed history of an opioid overdose. Methods: Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study design of consecutive patients treated with naloxone by paramedics between January 1, 2016, and June 30, 2017. Patients were classified based on whether paramedics did or did not document a history of an opioid overdose. Baseline characteristics, treatment interventions, and response to naloxone were compared between groups. Comparisons were done using a chi-squared or Fishers exact test. Results: Results: We identified 294 patients of whom 113 (38%) did not have a confirmed history of an opioid overdose. The groups were similar in gender, bystander CPR, and bystander administration of naloxone. There were no differences in the presence of pinpoint pupils, initial oxygen saturation, initial Glasgow Coma Score (GCS), respiratory rate, or time on scene. Both patient groups were managed similarly with respect to route of naloxone administration and the use of a bag valve mask. All patients who were intubated were in the no confirmed history group (n=5; p=.003). Post naloxone there were no differences in last recorded vital signs except the no confirmed history group was less likely to achieve a GCS 10 (57% versus 89%; p<.001). The overall post-naloxone development of agitation (9%) was moderate while the need for physical/chemical restraint (2%) was low with no differences between groups. All patients were transported to the hospital. Conclusion: Conclusion: A substantial proportion of patients who received naloxone did not have a confirmed history of an opioid overdose. These patients closely resembled those with a confirmed history with respect to demographics and physical characteristics. The primary difference was a lower proportion of patients with no confirmed history who achieved a post naloxone GCS 10. Despite a moderate development of post naloxone agitation, paramedics were able to manage most of these patients without the use of physical/chemical restraints.

Euclid is the next ESA mission devoted to cosmology. It aims at observing most of the extragalactic sky, studying both gravitational lensing and clustering over ~15,000 square degrees. The mission is expected to be launched in year 2020 and to last six years. The sheer amount of data of different kinds, the variety of (un)known systematic effects and the complexity of measures require efforts both in sophisticated simulations and techniques of data analysis. We review the mission main characteristics, some aspects of the the survey and highlight some of the areas of interest to this meeting.

The integration of biopolymers into hybrid electronics is one of the up to date issues in view of the achievement of fully bio-compatible devices. Among ‘hot topics’ in bio-polymer research, synthetic melanin or, briefly, “melanin”, has been recently recognized as a quite intriguing macromolecule thanks to its multifunctional optoelectronic properties. To date, melanin transport properties have been mainly enlightened on pellets, while optical absorption and conductivity properties have been investigated on melanin layers deposited on quartz and indium tin oxide/glass. The unavailability of suitable procedures to improve or promote adequate self assembling of melanin layer deposition onto substrate of interest in organic and solid state electronics (hybrid) like silicon substrates, prevent interesting studies on such structures. The reason stems basically on the difference between the hydrophilic nature of the melanin and the hydrophobic one of the supports (mostly of silicon). However, our group solved this issue and was able to tailor a melanin based metal/insulator/metal and metal/insulator/silicon structures, where synthetic melanin was embedded as the insulating part. This allowed to disclose interesting features related to data storage capabilities of melanin layers deposited on indium tin oxide/glass and silicon never investigated so far. In this work we show an overview on our recent mentioned results, and particular attention is paid on structures on silicon substrates. The use of pSi and nSi substrates and measurements under different environment conditions has enabled to gain insight into ambipolar electrical transport mechanisms, still unexplored. These results constitute a first important basic insight into melanin-based bio inspired structures and represent a significant step towards their integration in several kinds of hybrid organic polymer-based devices.

The silicide formation for Ni/Pd and Pd/Ni bilayers on Si(100) substrates was investigated. X-ray diffraction and photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) depth profiling have been applied to study the phase formation of the silicide. We found that with addition of Pd into Ni/Si, a uniform layer of ternary Ni1−xPdxSi layer formed and kept stable for a wide temperature range. The lattice parameter of Ni1−xPdxSi as a function of Pd addition was calculated. The nucleation temperature of NiSi2 was delayed due to the addition of Pd. The higher the Pd addition, the larger the increase in NiSi2 nucleation temperature. We also studied the effect on the addition of Ni to the Pd/Si reaction. For pure Pd/Si reaction PdSi nucleated from Pd2Si at 750°C or above. For Ni/Pd/Si reaction, Pd2Si changed to Ni1−xPdxSi at temperature lower than 750°C due to the incorporation of Ni. The phenomena were explained by classic nucleation theory taking into account the effect of mixing entropy effect.

Evidence is presented that the nucleation of CoSi2 can be influenced by the presence of small amounts of other elements. The presence of trace amounts of Ti in the CoSi (originating from either a Ti capping layer or interlayer) causes an increase in the CoSi2 nucleation temperature. Moreover, the presence of Ti in the CoSi induces a preferential orientation of the CoSi2 : for an increasing amount of Ti, we observed a transition from polycrystalline CoSi2 over preferential (220) orientation towards epitaxial (400) CoSi2. We observed similar effects for other elements (e.g. Ta, W, C, Mo, Cr). We were able to explain these findings based on the heterogeneous nucleation of CoSi2.

It is generally known that nucleation effects strongly influence the CoSi to CoSi2 phase transition. According to classical nucleation theory, the small difference in Gibbs free energy between the CoSi and CoSi2 phase is responsible for the nucleation barrier. Adding elements that are soluble in CoSi and insoluble in CoSi2 will influence the entropy of mixing, and thus change ΔG. In this way, the height of the nucleation barrier may be controlled.

By depositing Fe or Ge (respectively replacing Co and Si in the CoSi lattice) in between the Co and the Si substrate, we were able to increase the nucleation barrier. In the presence of Ni, the nucleation barrier is lowered, and low-resistive disilicide is formed at lower temperatures.

We have studied CoSi2 formation in the presence of a Cr or Mo interlayer or capping layer. We shall show that, contrary to what was previously reported, Cr and Mo may be used as interlayers to grow epitaxial CoSi2. However, unlike for Ti, the thickness of the interlayer is very important. If the Cr or Mo interlayer is too thick (> 5 nm), polycrystalline CrSi2 or MoSi2 are formed first and epitaxial growth of CoSi2 becomes impossible. However, both XRD and random/channeling RBS results indicate that for a 2-3 nm interlayer of Cr or Mo, CoSi2 forms epitaxially on Si(100). For thinner interlayers, there is a preferential (220) and (400) orientation. This can be explained by the presence of Cr or Mo on the CoSi grain boundaries, which will affect the heterogeneous nucleation of CoSi2.

Ultra-thin epitaxial CoSi2 films formed by Co(3∼5nm)/Ti(1 nm)/Si(100) and Co(3∼5nm)/Si(lnm)/Ti(Inm)/Si are studied. The multilayers are deposited by ion-beam sputtering. Rapid thermal annealing (RTA) is used for silicidation. XRD, RBS, TEM, AFM, four-point probe, I-V and C-V measurements are carried out for characterization. The XRD spectra show the CoSi2 film formed by Co/Ti/Si or Co/Si/Ti/Si solid phase epitaxy has, epitaxial characteristic. XTEM shows that the film is continuous. RBS/Channeling shows that the formed CoSi2 has sharp interface with a minimum channeling yield of Co signal of 40%. AFM shows that the surface of ultra-thin CoSi2 film is smooth with a roughness of nearly 0.7 nm. The Rs∼T relationship shows that the CoSi2 films formed by Co/Si/Ti/Si reaction have the best thermal stability (stable up to 900°C). Those formed by Co/Ti/Si reaction are stable up to 850°C, while those formed by Co/Si reaction are only stable up to 750°C. By fitting the experimental I-V and C-V curves of the epitaxial CoSi2/Si Schottky diodes, barrier heights of around 0.6 eV and close to unity ideality factors are obtained.

Ballistic electron emission microscopy (BEEM) and deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) have been used to study the effects of substrate damage introduced by an ion-milling process in PtSi/n-Si Schottky contacts. Argon ions with well-defined energies of 300, 500, 700, 1000, 1500 eV were used to sputter n-type Si substrates in an ion beam sputtering system before metal deposition and silicide formation. Histograms of the PtSi/n-Si Schottky barrier height (SBH) measured by BEEM show that the mean SBH decreases with increasing ion energy, which can be explained as a result of donor-like defects that are introduced by the ion milling treatment. From DLTS measurements, we found direct evidence for the presence of such defects.

In this work, we will show that a reactive Ti capping layer can reduce oxide layers that are present at the cobalt-silicon interface. We have used a thin, chemically grown oxide to have a well-controlled form of interfacial oxide layer. To study the silicidation reaction, isochronal annealing was done at various temperatures. Different sets of samples were made in order to investigate the influence of the thickness of the Co layer and its Ti cap. Titanium capping strongly influenced the silicidation reaction. We have found that already at moderate temperatures, Ti can diffuse towards the Co/Si interface, and can reduce the interfacial oxide there present, enabling CoSi2 formation. The CoSi2 thus formed has a preferential epitaxial orientation, and the process by which this epitaxy is attained may be explained by a combination of OME (Oxide Mediated Epitaxy) and TIME (Titanium Mediated Epitaxy).

Tungsten-carbon (W/C) Multilayer structures are used as X-ray mirrors and other optical elements. The optical properties of such elements are highly sensitive to changes in strain due to thermal processing. Sensitive curvature measurements were performed on 40A period W/C Multilayer structures on Si substrates using a two beam laser reflection technique. A compressive stress of approximately 1530 MPa was measured in these sputtered multilayer films. Thermal annealing to 500 C in air and under vacuum resulted in very little strain relaxation in the multilayers but X-ray diffraction data show a slight increase of the multilayer period. Significant strain relaxation, though, was observed when a 400Å W buffer layer was included. Thermal annealing of these samples to 400–500°C resulted in large strain relaxation due to the formation of a-W crystals in the buffer layer. Moderate oxide formation on air annealed samples as measured by SIMS was shown not to be a dominant mechanism of strain relaxation.

We have synthesized Si1−yQy layers and strained layer superlattices on Si (100) with C concentrations of up to a few percent using Solid Source Molecular Beam Epitaxy. The presence of C even in small quantities is known to disrupt the epitaxy of Si. We show that under conditions of high Si flux for a given C/Si flux ratio, defect-free epitaxy results. However, exceeding a critical C/Si flux ratio leads to disruption of epitaxy, initially via twinning and subsequently by amorphous growth. Growth temperature also plays a significant role in preventing twinning and islanding. Low growth temperature also suppresses the precipitation of β-SiC and leads to the formation of pseudomorphic Si1−yQy random alloys. The layers are characterized by X-ray diffraction, Secondary Ion Mass spectroscopy, and Transmission Electron Microscopy. We have also studied the thermal stability of strained layer superlattices and find that the layers are stable to about 800°C (for y = 0.003). Between 800°C and 1000°C, the layers relax by interdiffusion. Above 1000°C, silicon carbide precipitation occurs and the carbide layers nucleate and grow at high C content regions of the film.

GaAs has been encapsulated with sputter or electron-beam deposited, thin films of Si or SiGe and annealed in open tube oxygen ambients. The presence of oxygen increases the diffusivity of both Si or Ge in the substrate. Forming gas anneals reduce the diffusivity by orders of magnitude. The diffusivities are greater for sputtered films compared to electron-beam deposited material of the same thickness. And the diffusivity is greater for thicker films and for Ge-rich films whether sputtered or electron-beam deposited.

The unintentional and intentional incorporation of carbon has been investigated in order to understand both the growth kinetics as well as develop new and useful carbon doping sources. We present in this study a systematic investigation of the use of halomethanes during the MOVPE based growth of GaAs. We have used 13C tagged trimethyl gallium, AsH3, together with non-isotopically tagged halomethane sources, in order to determine the source and mechanism of the carbon incorporation. The carbon concentration was determined by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). The carbon incorporation in the unintentionally doped material is compared to that obtained with the series of halomethanes, CHxI4-x (x=0,2-4), the chlorine analogs, CHC13 and CCI4, and the bromine containing compounds, CHBr3 and CBr4 which are used to intentionally introduce carbon in the epitaxial GaAs. The incorporation of carbon is studied here as a function of the halogen/H ratio in the source material and on the halogen ligand on the carbon nucleus. The standard growth parameters of susceptor temperature and gas phase composition were varied in order to discern the useful growth parameter regimes for these compounds.

High levels (≃ 1018cm-3) of oxygen were introduced into GaAs by using dimethyl aluminum methoxide (DMAlM0) as an oxygen-bearing precursor during metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. Layers co-doped with oxygen and intentionally added silicon, both to concentrations of ≃ 1018 cm-3, were depleted of free carriers and had no measurable luminescence. Deep levels were present in layers grown with lower oxygen incorporation, but the compensation mechanism due to oxygen incorporation is not apparently tied to a specific defect level. The material with the electronic deep levels also possessed deep luminescence energy lines. All layers exhibited excellent surface morphology. For comparison, other layers were grown by introducing low levels of 02 and trimethyl aluminum during GaAs growth. The surface morphology of these layers was usually hazy and the layers did not exhibit the same well defined electrical and optical characteristics as the layers grown with DMAlMO.

Si atoms were recoil-implanted into GaAs by bombarding neutral (As+) or dopant (Si+) ions through a thin Si cap. The bombarded samples were subsequently rapid thermally or furnace annealed at 815–1000°C in Ar or arsine ambient. The presence of the recoiled Si in GaAs and resulting ni-doping was confirmed by secondary ion mass spectrometry and Hall measurements. It was found that sheet resistances of < 150 Ω/‪ can be achieved by this method. Capless furnace annealing in arsine ambient generally yielded better electrical results (especially for shallow implants, i.e., < 100 nm deep) compared to those obtained by RTA in an inert ambient with a Si cap. In the latter case, electrical activation deteriorated above 900°C due to high As loss and the deterioration was pronounced for shallow implants. Significant Si redistribution occurred during arsine annealing whenever the Si concentration (from recoil or direct implant) in GaAs exceeded 1×1019cm3 and the annealing temperature was > 850°C. Our present electrical data show that the recoil implant method is a viable alternative to direct shallow implant for n+ doping of GaAs.

The effects of tilt and rotation angle on implant channeling are explored for Si implants into (100)-oriented GaAs substrates using Monte Carlo simulations, SIMS profiling, capacitance profiling, and Hall measurements. It is shown that the 7° tilt angle often used to prevent axial channeling is not large enough, and 11–13° angles are required to obtain the sharpest and most reproducible implant profiles. Rotation angles have a much smaller effect on the profiles as long as the beam incidence is kept away from the < 110 > direction.

Magnesium implanted at high doses (1×1014cm−2 for a 120keV implant energy) into GaAs diffuses out of the crystal upon annealing. The outdiffusion is reduced, but not eliminated, when rapid thermal annealing is employed rather than furnace annealing. We have investigated various mechanisms that may explain this large outdiffusion. The high vapor pressure of the magnesium is not responsible for the outdiffusion since beryllium, which has a low vapor pressure, also outdiffuses. The presence of oxygen in the anneal ambient mostly leads to significant GaAs surface etching. The etching is more pronounced in the case of shallow energy and high dose implants, which suggests some oxygen- magnesium interaction mechanism. A high level of damage at the GaAs surface in the case of shallow magnesium implantation at high dose may also favor rapid outdiffusion of interstitial magnesium.