Mollusk shells are often found in archeological sites, given their great preservation potential and high value as a multipurpose resource, and they can often be the only available materials useful for radiocarbon (14C) dating. However, dates obtained from shells are often regarded as less reliable compared to those from bones, wood, or charcoals due to different factors (e.g., Isotope fractionation, reservoir effects etc.). The standard acid etching pretreatment for mollusk shells is the most used in many 14C laboratories, although another protocol known as CarDS (Carbonate Density Separation) was introduced just over a decade ago. We compare these two methods with two newly proposed methods for intracellular organic matrix extraction. We applied all four methods to samples selected from different archeological layers of the well-known Upper Paleolithic site of Vale Boi, rich in mollusk specimens throughout the stratigraphic sequence. Here we compare our results to previous dates to determine which of these pretreatment methods results in the most reliable 14C dates. Based on the results of this study, all four methods gave inconsistent ages compared to previous dates and the stratigraphic attribution.

Silicon Nanowires (Si-NWs) are obtained by vapor-liquid-solid growth using an inductively coupled chemical vapor deposition system which works at temperatures lower than 400 °C. Gold nanodots are used as metal catalyst. The selective growth of Si-NWs on the gold nanodots is obtained by controlling the contribution coming from the uncatalyzed growth on the bare Si substrate. In this way the final NW length can be controlled, and it is not influenced by the thickness of the uncatalyzed layer. The important parameter ruling the NW growth is found to be the plasma power which governs the dissociation of the Si precursor gas. Final NW lengths of 1 μm are obtained at temperatures of 380 °C with a thickness of uncatalyzed layer equal to zero. Also the NW density is addressed in this work and it is optimised by increasing the gold equivalent thickness. The NW density is increased from 2.9×108 to 1.3×1010 cm-2, when the gold equivalent thickness passes from 1.8 nm to 2.2 nm.

In random wind-generated wave motion on the sea surface, extreme wave events have been shown theoretically to occur within groups with a well-defined configuration and time history that can be specified in terms of the space-time autocovariances of the surface displacement. The predictions of the theory have been tested in a field experiment in the Straits of Messina in which an array of nine wave gauges and nine pressure transducers supported by vertical piles provided space-time information on waves generated over a fetch of approximately 10 km. It was confirmed that the general configuration of the extreme wave groups measured was consistent with the theoretical predictions in terms of the measured space-time autocovariance. During the development stage of a group, as the height of the central (outstanding) wave grows to a maximum, the width of the wave front reduces to a minimum. As an individual wave passes through the group, its wavelength decreases as the wave height increases towards the apex, after which the wavelength increases again as the wave moves towards the front of the group and abates.

Formation of ultra-shallow junctions by excimer laser annealing (ELA) of ultra-low energy (1keV –250 eV) B implanted in Si has been investigated. High resolution TEM has been used to assess the as-implanted damage and the crystal recovery following ELA. The electrical activation and redistribution of B in Si during ELA has been studied as a function of the laser energy density (melt depth), the implant dose and the number of laser pulses (melt duration). Under appropriate ELA conditions, ultra-shallow profiles, extending to a depth as low as 35 nm with an abrupt profile (2.5 nm/dec), have been achieved. A significant amount of the implanted dopant was lost from the sample following ELA. However, the dopant that was retained in crystal material was fully activated following rapid re-solidification. We developed a theoretical model, that considers the dopant redistribution during melting and regrowth, showing that the fraction of the implanted dopant not activated during ELA was lost from the sample through out diffusion. The lateral distribution of the implanted B following laser annealing has been studied with 2-D measurements, using selective etching and cross-section TEM on samples where the implanted dopant was confined by using test structures including windows opened in silicon dioxide masks and patterned gate stack structures.

In this work we investigate the diffusion and the electrical activation of In atoms implanted in silicon with different energies, in the range 80-360 keV, after rapid thermal processing. Our investigation shows a clear dependence of In out-diffusion and electrical activation on the implant depth, being the electrically active fraction higher with increasing the implant energy for a fixed dose. The data are explained considering the balance between the local In concentration and the C background inside the silicon substrate and the formation of C-In complexes, which play a role in the enhanced electrical activation due to the shallower level they introduce into the Si band gap (Ev+0.111 eV), with respect to the rather deep level (Ev+0.156 eV) of In alone. In and C co-implantation has also been studied within this work, in order to confirm the key role of C in the increase of the electrical activation. A large increase of the electrical activation has been detected in the co-implanted samples, up to a factor of about 8 after annealing at 900°C. However, C precipitation occurs at 1100°C, with dramatic effects on the carrier concentration.

This paper addresses the optimization of ion implantation and rapid thermal annealing for the fabrication of shallow junctions and the activation of polycrystalline silicon gates in deepsubmicron CMOS transistors. Achieving ultrashallow, low-resistance junctions was studied by combining low-energy B and As implantation with spike annealing. In addition, experiments using B doping marker superlattices were performed to identify the critical physical effects underlying dopant activation and diffusion. The combination of high ramp rates (∼100 °C/s) and ∼1 s cycles at temperatures as high as 1100 °C can be used to improve dopant activation without inducing significant thermal diffusion after TED has completed. MOS capacitors were used to identify the implantation and annealing conditions needed for adequate activation of the gate electrode. In comparison to the conventional recrystallized amorphous Si gates, it was found that fine-grained poly-Si allows for the use of lower processing temperatures or shorter annealing times while improving the gate activation level. The fine-grained crystal structure enhances the de-activation of B dopants in PMOS gates during the thermal treatments following gate activation. Yet, the resulting dopant loss stays within acceptable limits as verified by excellent 0.18 μm device performance. The feasibility of spike annealing and poly-Si gate materials for 100-nm technology was proven by full integration using gate lengths down to 80 nm.

The transient enhanced diffusion (TED) during activation annealing of ultra low energy implanted boron (0.5 keV & 1 keV, 1×1013/cm2 & 1×1014/cm2) in silicon is investigated in detail. Annealing in the temperature range from 450°C to 750°C is either performed directly after implantation or after the removal of a surface layer before annealing. The kinetics revealed two regimes of enhanced diffusion ruled by different decay constants and different activation energies. The dependence of these two processes on implantation energy and annealing temperature is described and explained from the microscopical point of view. The annealings performed after surface layer removal, revealed that the defects responsible for the faster diffusion are located deeper than the defects responsible for the slower process.

We investigated the atomic transport properties and electrical activation of boron in crystalline epitaxial silicon after ultra-low energy ion implantation (0.25–1 keV) and rapid thermal annealing (750–1100 °C). A wide range of implant doses was investigated (3×1012-1×105/cm2). A fast Transient Enhanced Diffusion (TED) pulse is observed involving the tail of the implanted Boron, the profile displacement being dependent on the implant dose. The excess of interstitials able to promote enhanced diffusion of implanted boron occurs, provided the implant dose is high enough to generate a significant total number of point defects. The Boron diffusion following the fast initial TED pulse can be described by the equilibrium diffusion equations.

The electrical activation of ultra-shallow implants is hard to achieve, due to the high concentration of dopant and point defects confined in a very shallow layer that significantly contributes to the formation of clusters and complex defects. Provided a correct combination of annealing temperatures and times for these ultra-shallow implants is chosen, however, a sheet resistance 500 Δ/square with a junction depth below 0.1μm can be obtained, which has a noteworthy technological relevance for the future generations of semiconductor devices.

At the current pace of semiconductor technology development, transistor dimensions in advanced IC products will approach the range of a few tens of nanometers within the next decade. This presents a major challenge for our understanding of defects and diffusion in these tiny devices during processing. In response, an almost explosive growth in research on process physics has taken place at universities, national institutes and industry research labs worldwide. The central issue is the phenomenon of nonequilibrium diffusion driven by processing steps such as oxide growth, high concentration gradients of impurities, and annealing of damage caused by ion implantation. Nonequilibrium diffusion arises from perturbations to the natural thermal equilibrium concentrations of point defects - interstitial atoms and vacancies - in the silicon crystal. This paper gives a snapshot of our current understanding of the atomic-scale interactions between point defects and impurity atoms, extended defects and interfaces, as revealed by recent experimental and theoretical studies. The paper emphasizes the important role played by defect cluster ripening during transient enhanced diffusion and dopant activation.

The results of several recent experiments aimed at assessing the room temperature migration properties of interstitials (D) and vacancies (V) in ion implanted crystalline Si are reviewed. We show that combining the results of ex-situ techniques (deep level transient spectroscopy and spreading resistance profilometry) and in-situ leakage current measurements new and interesting information can be achieved. It has been found that at room temperature I and V, generated by an ion beam, undergo fast long range migration (with diffusivities higher than 10−1 cm2/sec) which is interrupted by trapping at impurities (C, O) or dopant atoms and by recombination at surface. Analysis of two-dimensional migration of point defects injected through a photolithographically defined mask shows that a strong I recombination (characterized by a coefficient of 30 μm−1) occurs at the sample surface. Moreover, we have found that the strain field induced by an oxide or a nitride mask significantly affects defect migration and produces a strong anisotropy of the defect diffusivity tensor. Finally, using in-situ leakage current measuremens, performed both during and just after ion irradiation, the time scale of point defect evolution at room temperature has been determined and defect diffusivities evaluated. The implications of these results on our current understanding of defect and diffusion phenomena in Si are discussed.

Our recent work on the room temperature migration and trapping phenomena of self-interstitials and vacancies in crystalline Si is reviewed. Spreading resistance profiling and deep level transient spectroscopy measurements were used to monitor the interaction of ion beam generated defects with dopant atoms, intrinsic impurities (i.e. O and C), pre-existing defect marker layers and sample surface. We have found that both interstitials and vacancies undergo fast long range migration which is interrupted by trapping at impurities and by recombination at defects or at the surface. Effective defect migration lengths as large as 5 μm at room temperature have been observed in highly pure, defect free epitaxial Si samples. A lower limit of 1×10−10 cm2/sec for the room temperature diffusivity of self-interstitials has been determined. Furthermore, by monitoring the migration and interaction processes of point defects injected through a mask, we have established that surface acts as an effective sink for the migrating Si self interstitials.