The lower dielectric constant (k) insulator is required for faster, smaller, and higher performance integrated circuit of the microprocessor and other advanced semiconductor devices that are so important to modern electronics and information technologies. Aromatic polyimides are among the candidate materials of low k due to their high thermal stability, mechanical strength and chemical resistance.

In this work, we show an 2,6-di-tert-butyl-9,10-diphenylanthracene core based novel polyimide which has been designed to have the lower polar imide concentration compared to that of conventional polyimides as well as the synthesis and characterization of its constitutional units, diamine and dianhydride.

Rodents respond to a chronic high-fat diet (HFD) in two ways: some readily become obese (obesity prone, OP) and others do not (obesity resistant, OR). Although several hypotheses have been proposed, the mechanisms underlying the inter-individual susceptibility to diet-induced obesity remain to be fully defined. In the present study, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) combined with matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight MS was carried out for identification of differentially expressed liver proteins in OP and OR rats fed a HFD, in an attempt to discover marker proteins involved in susceptibility and/or resistance to obesity in rat liver. The 2-DE analysis demonstrated that forty spots from 380 visualised spots were differentially regulated between the groups. Among these forty spots, twelve were differentially expressed proteins between OP and OR rats, reaching statistical significance. Of these, five proteins have already been linked to obesity; however, seven proteins involved in obesity susceptibility or resistance were identified for the first time in the present study. In order to validate the proteomic results and gain insight into the metabolic changes between the OP and OR groups, we further confirmed the expression pattern of some proteins of interest by Western blot analysis. Combined results of proteomic analysis with Western blot analysis revealed that reduced lipogenesis and increased fat oxidation were achieved in the livers of OR rats. In conclusion, the present proteomic study is an important advance over the previous steps required for identification of OP and OR rats, and should prove valuable in the search for the pathogenesis of obesity in humans.

There have been increasing interests in lithium rechargeable batteries, especially microbatteries, with rapid development of portable electronic equipments and MEMS(Micro electromechanical systems) technology. In this work, lithium manganese oxide, as a strong candidate for the battery materials, which is more abundant, stable in ambient state and less toxic than the other oxides such as lithium nickel oxides and lithium cobalt oxides, was deposited by rf magnetron sputter. The effect of thermal treatment on the microstructure and electrode characteristics of lithium manganese oxide cathode was investigated. In electrochemical experiment using liquid electrolyte, half-cell failure would be caused by manganese dissolution, degradation of electrolyte materials during charging/discharging process and so on. In this research we focus on interface reaction problem that would affect the cyclability and lifetime of microbattery. In order to reduce the interface reaction during operation, we introduce DLC(Diamond-like-Carbon) film that has high electrical resistivity, mechanical hardness and chemical stability. DLC film was deposited on sputtered lithium manganese oxide electrode by ECRCVD(Electron Cyclotron Resonance Chemical Vapor Deposition). DLC-top-layer LiMn2O4 film was more stable during charging/discharging reaction and higher discharge capacity in wide voltage windows than LiMn2O4 film.

We studied reverse leakage current in n+/p titanium-salicided shallow junctions using C49 Ti-silicide as a diffusion source. After Ti deposition, rapid thermal annealing (RTA) was performed to form the C49 Ti-silicide. Subsequently, arsenic ions were implanted and a 2nd RTA was carried out at 850 °C to form the low resistivity C54 Ti-silicide. In spite of no drive-in process following the 2nd annealing, the implanted As diffused well into Si substrate and the reverse leakage current of the n+/p junctions was reduced to two orders of magnitude lower. Since the high chemical affinity of As to Ti-silicide trapped the dopant in the silicide, it has been known that Ti or Ti-silicide cannot be used as a diffusion source. However, in this work, we found that the C49 Ti-silicide acted as a diffusion source of As ions. The reason of fast diffusivity is attributed to the generation of high tensile stress induced by As implantation.

The interaction and reactivity of Ti and Co with SiO2 and Si3N4 have been investigated. In the case of Ti salicide, SiO2 sidewall spacer showed no lateral silicide overgrowth and low leakage current between gate and source/drain up to silicidation temperature of 750 1C. However, Si3N4 sidewall spacer showed dopant dependence of the lateral silicide growth and leakage current. This discrepancy between SiO2 and Si3N4 and dopant dependence is closely related to the reactivity. For Co, lateral silicide overgrowth is greatly reduced. Instead, Co films on SiO2 and Si3N4 layer were agglomerated by annealing. An annealing at 1050°C caused not only agglomeration of Co film but penetration of Co agglomerates through the layers. Interestingly, the CoSi2 spike of B type epitaxial and twinned orientation was formed in the Si substrate by the penetrated Co source.