July 29, 2002

In This Issue:
	NIST-Led Team Facilitates Search for New Microchip Materials
	Quantum Dot Isolation Provides Quantum Leap in Optical Engineering
	¿Estamos Progresando? Baldrige Questionnaire Now en Español
	Baldrige Winners Go On the Road in October
	Biometric Consortium Conference to Showcase Latest ID Technologies
	NIST Evaluates Ability of Models to Predict Thin-Film Properties
	New Phosphorus Dopant Reference Materials Coming from NIST

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Semiconductors

NIST-Led Team Facilitates Search for New Microchip Materials

New methods reported in the July 19, 2002, issue of Science by researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center and the University of Texas at Austin will aid the semiconductor industry’s search for new photosensitive materials needed to print integrated-circuit patterns with features less than 100 nanometers.

Using X-ray and neutron probes, the team directly measured the spatial location of the complex chemical processes used to sculpt the transistors, lines, trenches and other minuscule components of the silicon-chip landscape. The almost-molecular level view of a model system afforded by their methods enabled the researchers to link the reaction front along chemically amplified photoresists (light-sensitive polymer films that coat the silicon wafers used for chips) to the profile and composition of the final developed, or “printed,” structure.

In the Science paper, the researchers point out that, in 2003, the semiconductor industry aims to produce chips with feature sizes, or “critical dimensions,” that are smaller than 100 nanometers (billionths of a meter), as compared with 130 nanometers today. Reaching that target—and continuing the industry’s decades-long run of doubling the number of devices on a chip about every 18 months (known as “Moore’s Law”)—leaves almost no room for error.

“The critical dimensions must be controlled,” the team notes in the paper, “to within 2 to 5 nanometers which is comparable to the characteristic size of the (individual) polymeric molecules in the photoresists used to pattern the features.”

With the measurement methods developed by the NIST-led team, the semiconductor industry has a direct means to resolve this concern and other important unknowns.

For a copy of the Science paper, “Direct Measurement of the Reaction Front in Chemically Amplified Photoresists,” go to www.sciencemag.org. For technical information, contact Eric Lin, (301) 975-6743, eric.lin@nist.gov.

Media Contact:
Mark Bello, (301) 975-3776

 

Optoelectronics

Quantum Dot Isolation Provides Quantum Leap in Optical Engineering

Scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Optoelectronics Division have characterized the optical emission from a single, isolated “quantum dot,” an achievement that marks a major milestone toward the creation of a device that could emit single photons on demand. That technology eventually could lead to quantum-based radiometry standards and highly advanced cryptography systems. Better understanding of the charge carrier processes in quantum dots will help produce the next generation of optical devices such as laser diodes, photodetectors and optical amplifiers.

Quantum dots are electronic nanostructures that spatially confine electrons and restrict these electrons to a single state, similar to an individual atom. By isolating a single quantum dot and studying its optical emission, scientists can begin designing a single photon turnstile, a device for generating single photons on demand.

Once the turnstile is developed, NIST researchers will use it to measure optical properties at the single photon level. They also plan for the turnstile to provide an on-demand single photon source for quantum cryptography, an unbreakable form of cryptography that could guarantee the secure exchange of computerized information.

For more technical information on this development, contact Richard Mirin, (303) 497-7955, mirin@boulder.nist.gov.

Media Contact:
Fred McGehan, (303) 475-7000

 

Quality

¿Estamos Progresando? Baldrige Questionnaire Now en Español

The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award questionnaire—“Are We Making Progress?”—designed to help senior leaders assess how their organization is performing and focus improvement and communication efforts on areas needing the most attention—is now available in its Spanish version “¿Estamos Progresando?”

The easy-to-use questionnaire has 40 statements and asks respondents to check one of five boxes ranging from “fuertemente en desacuerdo” (“strongly disagree”) to “fuertemente de acueredo” (“strongly agree”). It is designed to be used in conjunction with the Baldrige criteria but can be used on its own. For example, one of the statements on leadership is “Yo conozco la misión de mi organización (lo que está tratando de lograr)” or “I know my organization’s mission (what it is trying to accomplish).”

Thousands of organizations use the Baldrige performance excellence criteria to assess performance on a wide range of key indicators, including leadership, customer and employee satisfaction, process management, and results. The criteria can help any organization align resources; improve communication, productivity, and effectiveness; and achieve strategic goals.

Both the English and Spanish versions of the questionnaire, and the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence (English only) are available at www.quality.nist.gov/Progress.htm and www.quality.nist.gov/Criteria.htm, respectively. They also are available by calling the Baldrige National Quality Program at (301) 975-2036.

Media Contact:
Jan Kosko, (301) 975-2767

 

Baldrige Winners Go On the Road in October

If you missed the opportunity in April to hear and talk to the five 2001 recipients of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, you’ll get a second chance this fall.

Representatives from Clarke American Checks Inc.; Pal’s Sudden Service; and the first winners in the education category—Chugach School District, Pearl River School District and the University of Wisconsin-Stout—as well as previous Baldrige Award winners, will be in Fremont, Calif. (San Francisco area) on Oct. 10, 2002, and in Dearborn, Mich., (Detroit area) on Oct. 23, 2002.

Each conference will begin with addresses by several of the 2001 winners, followed by presentations on each of the seven Baldrige performance excellence categories, and end with town halls where attendees can ask questions about the Baldrige winners’ experiences and best practices. The fee for advance registration (by Sept. 19, 2002, for California and Oct. 2, 2002, for Michigan) is $445; discounts are available for full-time faculty and groups of 10 or more.

For further information, go to the Baldrige Web site at www.quality.nist.gov, call (301) 975-2036 or send an e-mail to nqp@nist.gov.

 

 

Security

Biometric Consortium Conference to Showcase Latest ID Technologies

Systems using biometrics—automated methods of recognizing a person based on physiological or behavioral characteristics—are increasingly being used to verify identities and restrict access to buildings and computer networks. These systems incorporate technologies such as automated fingerprint matching or face recognition, and are expected to play an increasing role in arenas ranging from airport security to international border control.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is holding the Biometric Consortium’s annual fall conference, BC2002, to showcase recent advances in the field, discuss planned and potential applications of biometrics, and examine technological, standardization and security issues facing the biometrics community.
Speakers will include executives from the biometrics industry, university researchers, system developers and federal agency representatives.

The conference takes place Sept. 23-25, 2002, at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Va.

For more information, including a conference program and online registration, go to www.nist.gov/bc2002.

Media Contact:
Philip Bulman, (301) 975-5661

 

 

 

Electronics

NIST Evaluates Ability of Models to Predict Thin-Film Properties

A comprehensive study by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers has found significant differences among software packages that try to predict the electrical properties of ultra-thin dielectric films used in semiconductors.

Manufacturers grow or deposit ultra-thin dielectric films based upon silicon dioxide on silicon surfaces to give electronic chips their desired functionality. Many semiconductor companies have developed their own methodology and modeling software to measure the thickness of these films. This is an important step in the quest to make even smaller microcircuits because the oxide layer thickness must be reduced proportionally. Chip manufacturers currently are able to produce working dielectrics that are as thin as 1.5 nanometers—about the size of five atoms stacked end to end.

Engineers have observed that standard thickness measuring techniques do not work reliably for extremely thin layers, so they have turned to computer models to help identify where the current methods fail. Modeling has revealed that the behavior of films prepared at atomic dimensions is governed more by the laws of quantum physics than by the laws that apply to larger-scale objects. Therefore, this fact must be taken into account to understand the way electrons behave in tiny circuits.

The NIST study of ultra-thin film models looked at software suites available from a variety of university and corporate research groups. Institute scientists identified the relative strengths and weaknesses of each model examined, providing semiconductor manufacturers with a means of selecting the best software for their needs.
For technical information, contact Curt Richter, (301) 975-2082, curt.richter@nist.gov.

An article in the January 2001 edition of IEEE Electron Devices Letters, “A Comparison of Quantum-Mechanical Capacitance-Voltage Simulators,” details this research. An Adobe Acrobat version of the paper may be found at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/DynWel.jsp. Click on the “search by author” box, enter “Richter” and then click “C.A. Richter.” The article is the first link in the list.