1. A stream bank stabilization and stream crossing system comprising:
means to secure plant growth medium to a first inclined slope and a second, opposing inclined slope;
a first footing located laterally behind the first inclined slope, and a second footing located laterally behind the second inclined slope; and
a bridge deck supported by and crossing between said first footing and said second footing, the bridge deck constructed so as to permit light and rain to reach the plant growth medium secured to the first and second inclined slopes in an area beneath the bridge deck.
2. The stream bank stabilization and stream crossing system of claim 1 wherein the means to secure plant growth medium comprises:
a plurality of geotextile bags containing the plant growth medium; and
a plurality of uni-dimensional structures to resist forces pulling the bags away from the inclined slopes.
3. The stream bank stabilization and stream crossing system of claim 1 wherein the means to secure plant growth medium comprises:
a plurality of geotextile bags containing the plant growth medium; and
a plurality of two-dimensional structures to resist forces pulling the bags away from the inclined slopes.
4. The stream bank stabilization and stream crossing system of claim 1 wherein the bridge deck comprises a steel grid or mesh.
5. The stream bank stabilization and stream crossing system of claim 1 wherein the first footing comprises post-tension compatible blocks.
6. The stream bank stabilization and stream crossing system of claim 1 wherein the plant growth medium comprises a soil amendment product.
7. The stream bank stabilization and stream crossing system of claim 1 wherein the plant growth medium contains plant seeds.
8. A culvert comprising:
a compacted backfill slope;
a bridge support at least partially buried in the compacted backfill slope;
a retaining wall of horizontally- and vertically-linked bags of soil, said bags further secured to the compacted backfill slope and to the bridge support; and
a bridge having a travel surface comprising openings that permit light and water to pass through the travel surface, said bridge resting on the bridge support and passing above the linked bags of soil.
9. The culvert of claim 8, further comprising:
a layer of granular backfill or free-draining native soil between the linked bags of soil and the compacted backfill slope.
10. The culvert of claim 8, further comprising:
a horizontal step in the compacted backfill slope, said step to form a path passing beneath the bridge.
11. The culvert of claim 8 wherein the linked bags of soil are covered with a nonwoven geotextile material.
12. The culvert of claim 8 wherein the linked bags of soil are covered with a porous material that admits water and through which plants can grow.
13. The culvert of claim 8 wherein the linked bags of soil are covered with a material that can accept plant seeds applied by hydraulic seeding.
14. The culvert of claim 8 wherein the retaining wall comprises a linked bag of a water-filtering material.
15. The culvert of claim 8 wherein the retaining wall comprises a linked bag containing rocks.
16. The culvert of claim 8 wherein the retaining wall comprises a linked bag containing sand.
17. A method of constructing a culvert, comprising:
compacting soil of a stream bank at a desired crossing point;
embedding bridge footings in the soil;
laying courses of geotextile bags containing plant growth medium to form a retaining wall on the stream bank;
securing at least some of the geotextile bags to other geotextile bags;
securing at least some of the geotextile bags to the bridge footings; and
placing a water- and light-passing bridge deck to span between the bridge footings.
18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:
planting the retaining wall by hydroseeding.
19. The method of claim 17 wherein the bridge footings comprise integral utility chaseways.
20. A stream crossing comprising:
a bridge footing of post-tension-compatible concrete blocks embedded in a stream bank;
a first course of geotextile bags containing rocks;
a plurality of upper courses of geotextile bags containing a soil amendment mixture to support plant growth, at least some of the bags of the first course connected to at least some of the bags of the upper courses by spikes, and at least some of the bags of the upper courses connected to the bridge footing by a tether, the first course and the upper courses forming a retaining wall against the stream bank; and
a steel grid bridge deck adjacent the bridge footing, the bridge deck placed so as to permit some light and some rain water to reach the upper courses of the retaining wall under the bridge deck.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An at least penta-sided-channel type of FinFET transistor comprising:
a base;
a semiconductor body formed on the base, the body being arranged in a long dimension to have sourcedrain regions sandwiching a channel region,
wherein the channel has at least five planar surfaces above the base;
a gate insulator on the channel region of the body; and
a gate electrode formed on the gate insulator.
2. The FinFET transistor of claim 1, wherein:
the base includes
an inverted T-shaped semiconductor structure having a horizontal portion and a fin extending perpendicularly therefrom, and
one or more isolation structures formed on the horizontal portion of the inverted T-shaped semiconductor structure, the one or more isolation structures extending above the fin so as to define a recess in the one or more isolation structures above the fin;
the channel region of the body is located over the recess; and
the semiconductor body has a stalk that extends down into and at least partially fills the recess.
3. The FinFET transistor of claim 1, further comprising:
sidewall spacers formed to at least partially fill the recess in the one or more isolation structures, the sidewall spacers being sized such that at least a portion of the fin remains exposed to the recess.
4. The FinFET transistor of claim 1, further comprising:
sidewall spacers formed on the fin.
5. The FinFET transistor of claim 1, wherein the channel is strained.
6. The FinFET transistor of claim 5, wherein the base includes strain-inducing material and the semiconductor body includes strained material.
7. The FinFET transistor of claim 5, wherein the semiconductor body includes strained material and strain-inducing material.
8. The FinFET transistor of claim 5, wherein the cross-section of the channel includes at least seven planar surfaces.
9. The FinFET transistor of claim 8, further comprising:
sidewall spacers formed on the fin.
10. The FinFET transistor of claim 9, wherein:
the sidewall spacers are sized such that at least a portion of the fin remains exposed to the recess.
11. The FinFET transistor of claim 5, wherein:
the base includes
a base semiconductor structure having a fin extending perpendicularly therefrom and shoulder portions above which the fin extends;
one or more isolation structures formed on the base semiconductor structure, the one or more isolation structures extending above the fin so as to define a recess in the one or more isolation structures above the fin; and
the channel region of the body is located over the recess; and
the semiconductor body has a stalk that extends down into and at least partially fills the recess.
12. The FinFET transistor of claim 1, wherein:
the base includes
a silicon on insulator (SOI) structure, and
a silicon fin formed on the SOI structure; and
the channel region is formed on the fin and the SOI structure.
13. The FinFET transistor of claim 12, wherein the channel includes at least seven planar surfaces.
14. The FinFET transistor of claim 12, wherein the channel is strained.
15. The FinFET transistor of claim 14, wherein the base includes strain-inducing material and the semiconductor body includes strained material.
16. The FinFET transistor of claim 14, wherein the semiconductor body includes strained material and strain-inducing material.
17. The FinFET transistor of claim 1, wherein:
the channel region is formed of silicon;
the at least five planar surfaces include at least two beveled surfaces;
the at least two beveled surfaces exhibit at least one of a {1,1,1} surface and a {3,1,1} surface.
18. The FinFET transistor of claim 17, wherein:
the channel, in the cross-section, has at least seven planar surfaces;
the at least seven planar surfaces include at least four beveled surfaces;
the at least four beveled surfaces exhibit both of the {1,1,1} and {3,1,1} surfaces.
19. The FinFET transistor of claim 18, wherein adjacent beveled surfaces alternate between being the {1,1,1} surface and the {3,1,1} surface.
20. The FinFET transistor of claim 19, further comprising:
sidewall spacers formed on the fin.
21. The FinFET transistor of claim 19, wherein:
the sidewall spacers are sized such that at least a portion of the fin remains exposed to the recess.
22. The FinFET transistor of claim 1, wherein:
the channel includes at least seven planar surfaces;
the base includes
a silicon on insulator (SOI) structure, and
a silicon fin formed on the SOI structure; and
the channel region is formed on the fin and the SOI structure.
23. The FinFET transistor of claim 1, wherein the channel includes at least seven planar surfaces.
24. The FinFET transistor of claim 23, wherein:
the base includes
an inverted T-shaped semiconductor structure having a horizontal portion and a fin extending perpendicularly therefrom, and
one or more isolation structures formed on the semiconductor layer, the one or more isolation structures extending above the fin so as to define a recess in the one or more isolation structures above the fin; and
the channel region of the body is located over the recess; and
the semiconductor body has a stalk extends down into and at least partially fills the recess.
25. A method of forming an at least penta-sided-channel type of FinFET transistor, the method comprising:
providing a base;
forming a fin on the base;
epitaxially growing a body of semiconductor material, which includes a channel region, on the base,
at least the channel region, in cross-section transverse to a long dimension of the body, having five or more planar surfaces above the base;
selectively doping the semiconductor body to produce, in the long dimension, sourcedrain regions sandwiching the channel region,
forming a gate insulator on the channel region of the body; and
forming a gate electrode formed on the gate insulator.
26. The method of claim 25, wherein the epitaxially growing of the body includes:
varying materials of an atmosphere in which the epitaxial growth occurs in order to induce a strained semiconductor material in the body.
27. The method of claim 25, wherein the epitaxially growing of the semiconductor body includes:
forming a semiconductor body with strain-inducing semiconductor material and strained semiconductor material on the fin.
28. The method of claim 25, wherein the epitaxially growing of the semiconductor body includes:
forming the base with strain-inducing semiconductor material; and
forming the semiconductor body with strained semiconductor material on the fin.
29. The method of claim 25, wherein:
the forming of the fin includes
providing a semiconductor substrate,
forming a mask on the semiconductor substrate,
forming trenches in the semiconductor substrate aside the mask to obtain an inverted T-shaped semiconductor structure having a horizontal portion and the fin extending perpendicularly therefrom;
the providing of the base includes
forming isolation structures that fill the trenches, and
removing the mask such that a recess remains relative to the isolation structures and located above the fin; and
the epitaxial growing of the body includes
starting the epitaxial growth on the fin,
filling the recess with the inchoate body, and
expanding the inchoate body out of the recess onto the isolation structures such that the five or more planar surfaces of the body are located above the isolation structures.
30. The method of claim 29, wherein the providing of the base further includes:
forming sidewall spacers on the fin.
31. The method of claim 30, wherein the providing the base further includes:
sizing the sidewall spacers such that at least a portion of the fin remains exposed to the recess.
32. The method of claim 25, wherein:
the providing of the base includes
providing a semiconductor substrate,
forming a buried oxide (BOX) structure on the semiconductor substrate;
the forming of the fin includes locating the fin on the BOX structure; and
the epitaxial growing of the body includes
starting the epitaxial growth on the fin, and
expanding the inchoate body off the fin and onto the BOX structure such that the five or more planar surfaces of the body are located above the BOX structure.
33. The method of claim 25, wherein:
the body is formed of silicon;
the at least five planar surfaces include at least two beveled surfaces;
the at least two beveled surfaces exhibit at least one of a {1,1,1} surface and a {3,1,1} surface.
34. The method of claim 25, wherein the epitaxially growing of the body includes:
varying a temperature at which the epitaxial growth occurs in order that the cross-section of the body includes at least seven planar surfaces.
35. The method of claim 34, wherein:
the body is formed of silicon;
the body, in the cross-section, has at least seven planar surfaces;
the at least seven planar surfaces include at least four beveled surfaces;
the at least four beveled surfaces exhibit both of the {1,1,1} and {3,1,1} surfaces.
36. The method of claim 35, wherein adjacent beveled surfaces alternate between being the {1,1,1} surface and the {3,1,1} surface.
37. A multi-sided-channel FinFET transistor comprising:
a base;
a semiconductor body formed on the base, the body being arranged in a long dimension to have sourcedrain regions sandwiching a channel region,
the channel having above the base a polygonal silhouette featuring five or more sides;
a gate insulator on the channel region of the body; and
a gate electrode formed on the gate insulator.
38. The FinFET of claim 37, wherein the polygonal silhouette has six or more sides.
39. A method of forming an at least penta-sided-channel type of FinFET transistor, the method comprising:
providing a base;
forming a fin on the base;
epitaxially growing a body of semiconductor material, which includes a channel region, on the base,
the channel, above the base, having a polygonal silhouette featuring five or more sides;
selectively doping the semiconductor body to produce, in the long dimension, sourcedrain regions sandwiching the channel region,
forming a gate insulator on the channel region of the body; and
forming a gate electrode formed on the gate insulator.
40. The method of claim 39, wherein the polygonal silhouette has six or more sides.