An object is to provide a semiconductor device of which a manufacturing process is not complicated and by which cost can be suppressed, by forming a thin film transistor using an oxide semiconductor film typified by zinc oxide, and a manufacturing method thereof. For the semiconductor device, a gate electrode is formed over a substrate; a gate insulating film is formed covering the gate electrode; an oxide semiconductor film is formed over the gate insulating film; and a first conductive film and a second conductive film are formed over the oxide semiconductor film. The oxide semiconductor film has at least a crystallized region in a channel region.

Semiconductor device, and manufacturing method thereof

For 50 years the exponential rise in the power of electronics has been fuelled by an increase in the density of silicon complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) transistors and improvements to their logic performance. But silicon transistor scaling is now reaching its limits, threatening to end the microelectronics revolution. Attention is turning to a family of materials that is well placed to address this problem: group III-V compound semiconductors. The outstanding electron transport properties of these materials might be central to the development of the first nanometre-scale logic transistors.

Nanometre-scale electronics with III–V compound semiconductors

Screening for Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutations in Lung Cancer

This paper summarizes some of the essential aspects of silicon-nanowire growth and of their electrical properties. In the first part, a brief description of the different growth techniques is given, though the general focus of this work is on chemical vapor deposition of silicon nanowires. The advantages and disadvantages of the different catalyst materials for silicon-wire growth are discussed at length. Thereafter, in the second part, three thermodynamic aspects of silicon-wire growth via the vapor–liquid–solid mechanism are presented and discussed. These are the expansion of the base of epitaxially grown Si wires, a stability criterion regarding the surface tension of the catalyst droplet, and the consequences of the Gibbs–Thomson effect for the silicon wire growth velocity. The third part is dedicated to the electrical properties of silicon nanowires. First, different silicon nanowire doping techniques are discussed. Attention is then focused on the diameter dependence of dopant ionization and the influence of interface trap states on the charge carrier density in silicon nanowires. It is concluded by a section on charge carrier mobility and mobility measurements.

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Silicon Nanowires: A Review on Aspects of their Growth and their Electrical Properties

Process gas discharged from a bypass pipe to a gas exhaust system can be prevented from diffusing back to the inside of a process chamber without having to install a dedicated vacuum pump at the downstream side of the bypass pipe. The substrate processing apparatus includes a process chamber accommodating a substrate, a gas supply system supplying process gas from a process gas source to the process chamber for processing the substrate, a gas exhaust system configured to exhaust the process chamber, two or more vacuum pumps installed in series at the gas exhaust system, and a bypass pipe connected between the gas supply system and the gas exhaust system. The most upstream one of the vacuum pumps is a mechanical booster pump, and the bypass pipe is connected between the mechanical booster pump and the rest vacuum pumps located at a downstream side of the mechanical booster pump.

Substrate Processing Apparatus

Multiple myeloma occurs primarily in elderly patients. Considering the high prevalence of comorbidities, comorbidity is an important issue for the management of myeloma. However, the impact of comorbidity on clinical outcomes has not been fully investigated. We retrospectively analyzed patients with newly diagnosed myeloma. Comorbidities were assessed based on the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) and the Freiburg comorbidity index (FCI). The CCI is a summary measure of 19 comorbid conditions. FCI is determined by performance status, renal impairment, and lung disease. This study included 127 patients with a median age of 71 years. Approximately half of the patients had additional disorders at the time of diagnosis, and diabetes mellitus was the most frequent diagnosis (18.9%). The most significant factors for prognosis among patient-related conditions were a history of solid cancer and performance status (ECOG ≥ 2). The FCI score was divided into 3 groups (0, 1, and 2-3), and the CCI score was divided into 2 groups (2-3 and ≥4). FCI was a strong prognostic tool for OS (P > 0.001) and predicted clinical outcome better than CCI (P = 0.059). In conclusion, FCI was more useful than CCI in predicting overall survival in elderly patients with myeloma.

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Comparison of the Freiburg and Charlson comorbidity indices in predicting overall survival in elderly patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.

We successfully fabricated the three-dimensional multibridge channel MOSFET (MBCFET) with the channel length of 240 nm by using epitaxial growth technology and damascene gate process. Its subthreshold swing is 60 mV/dec, a nearly ideal value, resulting from the thin body completely surrounded by the gate. And its current drivability is 4.6 times larger than that of a planar dynamic random access memory (DRAM) MOSFET. This outstanding performance of MBCFET originates from the vertically increased width due to the multibridge channel, and the enhanced mobility due to the reduced vertical electric field in the thin body.

Three-dimensional MBCFET as an ultimate transistor

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) have demonstrated some dramatic response rate and prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with activating EGFR mutation. However, PFS and overall survival (OS) among those patients who were treated with EGFR TKIs are inconsistent and unpredictable. In this study, we evaluated predictors of clinical outcome in EGFR mutant NSCLC patients treated with EGFR TKIs. A total of 148 patients who had metastatic or recurrent NSCLC with activating EGFR mutation treated with either erlotinib or gefitinib as a first-line (n = 10) and a second-line or more treatment (n = 138) were retrospectively reviewed. The median follow-up duration was 21.9 months (range, 1.1–62.5). The median PFS and OS for a total 148 patients were 10.6 months (95 % CI 9.0–12.2) and 21.8 months (95 % CI 18.5–25.1), respectively. The survival outcomes were similar between the first-line and second-line or more line of treatment of EGFR TKIs (P = 0.512 for PFS, P = 0.699 for OS). Although a high number of metastasis sites (3–6 vs. 1–2) were associated with shorter PFS and OS (median PFS 9.9 vs. 11.9 months, P = 0.019; median OS 16.4 vs. 22.2 months, P = 0.021, respectively) in univariate analysis, but not in multivariate analysis. According to the clinical and molecular markers by multivariate analysis, there were no significant differences in PFS. When PFS was dichotomized by median 11 months for 105 patients treated with EGFR TKIs as second-line therapy, no significant differences in any clinical or molecular features were found between longer PFS and shorter PFS groups. Despite the inconsistencies in PFS among EGFR mutant patients treated with EGFR TKIs, no significant differences of clinical features were noted, thereby suggesting a need for more understanding of the heterogeneity of underlying biology.

Is there any predictor for clinical outcome in EGFR mutant NSCLC patients treated with EGFR TKIs

In a method of fabricating a fin field effect transistor having a plurality of protruding channels, the fin field effect transistor is formed by forming a dummy gate pattern on a first hard mask pattern and a first insulating layer on a semiconductor substrate having an active region pattern, forming a source and drain region in a portion of the active region pattern, forming a plurality of vertically protruding channels between the source and drain region, forming a gate dielectric layer on the active region pattern having the plurality of protruding channels, and forming a gate electrode on the gate dielectric layer.

Method of fabricating a fin field effect transistor having a plurality of protruding channels

Despite the efficacy of decitabine to myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), there is a wide range of responses, and no definite predictive marker has been identified. This study aimed to describe the efficacy of decitabine and to identify potential predictors of response and survival in patients with MDS. We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of MDS patients at Samsung Medical Center between August 2008 and August 2011. The response assessment was conducted using the International Working Group (IWG) response criteria for MDS. We analyzed 101 MDS patients (total 613 cycles) who received decitabine for a median of four cycles. The overall response was 52.5% (n = 53/101). The median time to any response was two cycles with the median overall survival of 16.7 months. Patients who showed hematologic improvement had significantly longer survival than those who did not (9.8 vs. 22.9 months, p = 0.004). The difference in OS was evident in the Intermediate-2/High risk group (p = 0.002) but not in the Intermediate-1 risk group (p = 0.145). Multivariate analysis confirmed that platelet response (no platelet transfusions for at least 3 days) during the second cycle of treatment was an independent predictor for response, OS and Leukemia free survival. Based on the results of this study, for patients with hematological improvement, recovery of platelet count by the second cycle of therapy can be used as an early predictive marker of improved survival and an increased response rate.

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Sung-min Kim

Papers

Comparison of the Freiburg and Charlson comorbidity indices in predicting overall survival in elderly patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.

Three-dimensional MBCFET as an ultimate transistor

Is there any predictor for clinical outcome in EGFR mutant NSCLC patients treated with EGFR TKIs

Method of fabricating a fin field effect transistor having a plurality of protruding channels

Platelet response during the second cycle of decitabine treatment predicts response and survival for myelodysplastic syndrome patients.