1. A device comprising:
a first semiconductor layer; and
a contact to the first semiconductor layer, wherein an interface between the first semiconductor layer and the contact includes a first roughness profile having a characteristic height of at least three nanometers and a characteristic width of at least 0.1 micron.
2. The device of claim 1, wherein the characteristic height is an average vertical distance between adjacent crests and valleys of the first roughness profile.
3. The device of claim 1, wherein the characteristic width is an average lateral distance between adjacent crests and valleys of the first roughness profile.
4. The device of claim 3, the interface between the contact and the first semiconductor layer further including a second roughness profile, wherein a characteristic width of the second roughness profile is at least five times smaller than the characteristic width of the first roughness profile.
5. The device of claim 1, the interface between the contact and the first semiconductor layer further including a second roughness profile, wherein the first roughness profile is configured based on adhesion of the contact to the first semiconductor layer and the second roughness profile is configured based on current spreading in the first semiconductor layer.
6. The device of claim 1, further comprising an interlayer located between the first semiconductor layer and the contact, wherein the interlayer comprises a plurality of islands, wherein the plurality of islands includes islands formed of at least one of: a metal, an oxide, a nitride, or graphene.
7. The device of claim 6, wherein a thickness of the interlayer is less than the characteristic height of the first roughness profile.
8. The device of claim 1, further comprising a second semiconductor layer located between the first semiconductor layer and the contact, wherein the second semiconductor layer is configured to improve an ohmic contact between the first semiconductor layer and the contact.
9. The device of claim 8, wherein the second semiconductor is laterally inhomogeneous and comprises a first plurality of regions of a first type and a second plurality of regions of a second type, wherein the first type includes a first material having a high conductivity, and the second type includes a second material transparent to radiation of a target wavelength.
10. The device of claim 1, the contact including a plurality of sublayers, wherein each sublayer includes a metal distinct from a metal of the other sublayers.
11. A device comprising:
a first semiconductor layer; and
a contact to the first semiconductor layer, wherein an interface between the first semiconductor layer and the contact includes a first roughness profile with a characteristic height and a characteristic width, wherein the characteristic height is an average vertical distance between adjacent crests and valleys of the first roughness profile, and is at least approximately three nanometers, and wherein the characteristic width is an average lateral distance between adjacent crests and valleys of the first roughness profile, and is within a range of approximately 0.1 micron to approximately fifty microns.
12. The device of claim 11, the interface between the contact and the first semiconductor layer further including a second roughness profile, wherein a characteristic width of the second roughness profile is at least five times smaller than the characteristic width of the first roughness profile.
13. The device of claim 11, the interface between the contact and the first semiconductor layer further including a second roughness profile, wherein the first roughness profile is configured based on adhesion of the contact to the first semiconductor layer and the second roughness profile is configured based on current spreading in the first semiconductor layer.
14. The device of claim 11, further comprising an interlayer located between the first semiconductor layer and the contact, wherein the interlayer comprises a plurality of islands, wherein the plurality of islands includes islands formed of at least one of: a metal, an oxide, a nitride, or graphene.
15. The device of claim 14, wherein a thickness of the interlayer is less than the characteristic height of the first roughness profile.
16. The device of claim 11, further comprising a second semiconductor layer located between the first semiconductor layer and the contact, wherein the second semiconductor layer is configured to improve an ohmic contact between the first semiconductor layer and the contact.
17. The device of claim 16, wherein the second semiconductor layer is laterally inhomogeneous and comprises a plurality of regions of a first type and a second type, the first type including a material having a high conductivity, and the second type including a material being transparent to radiation of a target wavelength.
18. The device of claim 11, the contact including a plurality of sublayers, wherein each sublayer includes a metal distinct from a metal of the other sublayers.
19. A method comprising:
fabricating a device, the device comprising:
a first semiconductor layer; and
a contact to the first semiconductor layer, wherein an interface between the first semiconductor layer and the contact includes a first roughness profile having a characteristic height of at least three nanometers and a characteristic width of at least 0.1 micron.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the fabricating includes:
depositing an interlayer over the first semiconductor layer;
patterning the interlayer;
depositing a metallic layer over the interlayer;
etching at least one of: the interlayer or the semiconductor layer using the metallic layer as a mask; and
depositing a reflective material into the etched regions.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein the metallic layer and the reflective material form at least a portion of the contact.
22. The method of claim 18, wherein the fabricating includes depositing a second semiconductor layer over the first semiconductor layer, wherein the second semiconductor layer is located between the contact and the first semiconductor layer.
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. A process for preparing a compound of formula (I):
26
or a tautomeric form thereof andor a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof andor a pharmaceutically acceptable solvate thereof, wherein:
T represents a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group and T1 is O or S;
which process comprises, treating a compound of formula (II):
27
or a tautomeric form thereof andor a salt thereof andor a solvate thereof, wherein T and T1 are as defined in relation to formula (I), with a microbial reductase obtained from an appropriate red yeast; and thereafter, as required, preparing a pharmaceutically acceptable salt andor a pharmaceutically acceptable solvate of the compound of formula (I) or a tautomeric form thereof.
2. A process according to claim 1, wherein T represents a moiety selected from the list consisting of (Ia), (Ib), (Ic), (Id), (Ie), (If), (Ig), (Ih), (Ii), (Ij), (Il), (Im), (In), (Io) and (Ip):
28
wherein A1, A2, R1 and n are as defined in relation to formula (I) of EP 0306228;
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wherein R2, L1, L2 and L3 are as defined in relation to formula (I) of EP 0008203;
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wherein R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, W and n are as defined in relation to formula (I) of EP 0139421;
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wherein R1, R2 and R3 are as defined in relation to formula (I) of EP 0032128;
32
wherein A, R, R1 and X are as defined in relation to formula (I) of EP 0428312;
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when A, B, R and R1 are as defined in relation to formula (II) of EP 0428312;
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wherein R1 is as defined in relation to formula (I) of EP 0489663;
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wherein R1, R2, R3 and n are as defined in relation to formula (I) of EP 0155845;
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when R1 is as defined in relation to formula (I) of EP 0257781;
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wherein Ar, R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, n, U and W are as defined in relation to formula (I) of U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,888;
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when A, R1, R2 and X are as defined in relation to formula (I) of EP 0208420;
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when R1, R2, X, Z m and n are as defined in relation to formula (I) of EP 0177353;
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according to formula (I) of EP 0319189;
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wherein A, B, X, X1, X2, n and Z are as defined in relation to formula (I) of EP 0332331;
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wherein V, W, X, Y, Z, Z1 and n are as defined in EP 0332332; and
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wherein Q and X are as defined in relation to formula (I) of International Application No. WO 9218501.
3. A process according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein T represents a moiety selected from the list consisting of (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i):
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4. A process according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein T represents a moiety of formula (Ia).
5. A process according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein T1 represents S.
6. A process according to claim 1 for the preparition of a compound of formula (1):
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or a tautomeric form thereof andor a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, andor a pharmaceutically acceptable solvate thereof, wherein:
A1 represents a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic heterocyclyl group;
R1 represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an acyl group, an aralkyl group, wherein the aryl moiety may be substituted or unsubstituted, or a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group;
A2 represents a benzene ring having in total up to five substituents; and
n represents an integer in the range of from 2 to 6;
which process comprises, treating a compound of formula (2):
46
or a tautomeric form thereof andor a salt thereof, andor a solvate thereof, wherein A1, A2, R1 and n are as defined in relation to formula (1) with a microbial reductase obtained from an appropriate red yeast; and thereafter, as required, preparing a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, andor a pharmaceutically acceptable solvate of the compound of formula (1) or a tautomeric form thereof.
7. A process according to claim 6, wherein the compound of formula (1) is 5-(4-2-N-methyl-N-(2-pyridyl)amino)ethoxybenzyl)-2,4-thiazolidinedione, or a tautomeric form thereof andor a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, andor a pharmaceutically acceptable solvate thereof.
8. A process according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein an appropriate red yeast is a red yeast which provides the above mentioned reduction, including known red yeasts and those red yeasts which may be produced from known red yeasts by conventional methods.
9. A process according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein an appropriate red yeast is a red yeast from the species of the genera Rhodotorula, Rhodosporidium or synonyms thereof.
10. A process according to any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein an appropriate red yeast is Rhodotorula glutinis CBS 4406, Rhodotorula rubra CBS 6469, Rhodotorula rubra CBS 17 and Rhodotorula glutinis IFO 0869.
11. A process according to any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein an appropriate red yeast is Rhodosporidium toruloides CBS 14
12. A process for the preparation of a compound of formula (I) (the enantiomerically enriched compound (I)) wherein greater than 50% ww of said compound is in the form of a compound of formula (IA):
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or a tautomeric form thereof andor a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof andor a pharmaceutically acceptable solvate thereof, wherein T and T1 are as defined in relation to formula (I) and the ** carbon atom is an enantiomeric carbon atom, which process comprises reacting a compound of the above defined formula (II) with a microbial reductase obtained from an appropriate red yeast and wherein the reaction is carried out at an acidic pH; and thereafter, as required, preparing a pharmaceutically acceptable salt andor a pharmaceutically acceptable solvate of the enantiomerically enriched compound (I) or a tautomeric form thereof.
13. Enantiomerically enriched compound (I) or a tautomeric form thereof andor a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof andor a pharmaceutically acceptable solvate thereof, wherein greater than 50% ww is in the form of compound (IA)
14. A compound of formula (IA) or a tautomeric form thereof andor a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof andor a pharmaceutically acceptable solvate thereof, in optically pure form.
15. Enantiomerically enriched compound (I), or a tautomeric form thereof andor a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof andor a pharmaceutically acceptable solvate thereof, for use as an active therapeutic substance.
16. Enantiomerically enriched compound (I), or a tautomeric form thereof andor a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof andor a pharmaceutically acceptable solvate thereof, for use in the treatment of andor prophylaxis of hyperglycaemia, hyperlipidaemia, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and certain eating disorders.
17. A pharmaceutical composition comprising enantiomerically enriched compound (I), or a tautomeric form thereof, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, or a pharmaceutically acceptable solvate thereof, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier therefor.