Pre-metal dielectric PE TEOS oxide pitting in 3D NAND: Mechanism and solutions

In 3D NAND, as the stack number increases, the process cost becomes higher and higher, and the stress problem becomes more and more serious. Therefore, the low cost and low stress plasma enhanced Tetraethyl orthosilicate (PE TEOS), compared to high density plasma (HDP) oxide, shows its superiority as pre-metal dielectric (PMD) oxide layer in 3D NAND. This paper explores the challenges in the application of PE TEOS in 3D NAND PMD oxide layer.In our experiments, both PE TEOS and HDP are employed as the PMD oxide for 3D NAND staircase protection. There is not any void found in the two oxide structures. However, oxide pitting is spotted in the subsequent diluted hydrofluoric acid wet etching in the PE TEOS split. Moreover, we observe that the top silicon nitride corrodes in hot phosphoric acid. We investigate the mechanism of PE TEOS oxide pitting and silicon nitride corroding, and propose two solutions: 1) HDP oxide + PE TEOS, and 2) PE TEOS + dry etching.Experimental results demonstrate that our solutions can well address the issue of PE TEOS oxide pitting and effectively protect the staircase structure. This work extends the application of PE TEOS oxide of which the cost and the stress are both low in 3D NAND.

Coherent finescale temperature structures characterised at high resolution by a fast thermistor on an ocean glider

<p>During the EUREC4A field campaign in 2020, three ocean gliders were deployed to the tropical North Atlantic, upwind of Barbados. We present preliminary results from this three week deployment, focusing on the finescale temperature and salinity variability below the pycnocline.</p><p>The three gliders completed a total of 580 dive cycles to 750 m in virtual mooring and bowtie patterns around a 10 km square. A research vessel occupied a 250 km meridional transect 2 km east of the glider square. The gliders and research vessel observed staircases in temperature and salinity from 300 m to 500 m depth, with a typical vertical scale of 50 m and temperature steps of 0.5 to 1.0 C. The staircase structure was observed by all three gliders’ temperature/salinity sensors and the research vessel's main CTD. The finescale (O 10 cm) vertical structure of the steps, was clearly resolved by a FP07 fast thermistor mounted on one of the gliders. The finescale layers of uniform temperature appear also to be uniform in salinity. These large stairsteps persisted for an average of two days before eroding, and were observed to be spatially coherent over at least 10 km. Smaller stairstep structures at the base of the pycnocline (O 10 m, 0.2 C) persisted throughout the observational period.</p><p>Halfway through the deployment, a density-compensated front moving through the region increased temperature at 400 m by 2 C. Simultaneous observations from the three gliders and research vessel enabled analysis of the evolution of this structure. The temperature change was greatest at 400 m, tapering to the limit of detectability at 200 m and 600 m. Along the edge of the front on the warm side, staircase structures were observed. These structures persisted for over a week before eroding.</p>

Crystal structures of (1E,4E)-1,5-bis(5-bromothiophen-2-yl)-2,4-dimethylpenta-1,4-dien-3-one and (E)-4-(5-bromothiophen-2-yl)-1,3-diphenylbut-3-en-2-one

The title compounds, C15H12Br2OS2, (I), and C20H15BrOS, (II), were synthesized by employing Claisen–Schmidt condensation of pentan-3-one and dibenzylacetone with 5-bromothiophene-2-carbaldehyde in the presence of methanolic KOH. Even though 1:2 products were expected in both of the reactions, 1:2 and 1:1 products were obtained as (I) and (II), respectively. In (I), the two methyl groups aretransto each other, 29.5 (7) and 28.7 (7)° away from the central carbonyl bond between them, whereas the two phenyl rings of dibenzylacetone subtend a dihedral angle of 53.09 (18)°. In the crystal of (I), C—H...O hydrogen bonds define molecular chains alongc. A second type of molecular chain is formed alongbby means of C—Br...π interactions. These two families of molecular chains are stacked by π–π interactions, forming a three-dimensional supramolecular architecture. In (II), similar C—H...O hydrogen bonds as in (I) define inversion dimers, whilst C—H....π interactions build a staircase structure along theaaxis.