1. A method for filling a contact hole, comprising:
depositing a base layer in at least one contact hole under a protective gas atmosphere,
wherein the base layer comprises titanium nitride;
depositing a covering layer under gaseous nitrogen atmosphere in the contact hole depositing the base layer
wherein the covering layer comprises titanium nitride, and
wherein depositing the base layer under a protective gas substantially prevents the formation of nitride compounds in the titanium nitride at the bottom of the contact hole by reaction with nitrogen contained in the gaseous nitrogen; and
depositing a contact hole filling material comprising tungsten in the contact hole after depositing the covering layer,
wherein the covering layer at the bottom of the contact hole, has a thickness of less than about 10 nm.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the base layer or the covering layer (54) or both are deposited by directional sputtering.
3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising depositing an intermediate layer by directional sputtering in the contact hole after depositing the base layer and before depositing the covering layer wherein at least about eighty percent of the atoms of the intermediate layer comprise titanium atoms.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein depositing an intermediate layer comprises forming at least one region by sputtering from a nitride-free surface of a sputtering target under a protective gas atmosphere.
5. The method according to claim 2 wherein depositing a base layer comprises sputtering the base layer from the surface of a sputtering target, that is nitrided before depositing the base layer.
6. The method according to claim 3, wherein depositing the base layer and the covering layer and the intermediate layer comprises sputter deposition using the same sputtering target.
7. The method according to claim 1 further comprising forming the contact hole in a dielectric layer to expose an electrically conductive connecting section, wherein the connecting section comprises one of aluminum or an aluminum alloy as a main constituent.
8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising forming an auxiliary layer or the electrically conductive connecting section and etching a plurality of contact holes in the dielectric layer (18), wherein the electrically conductive auxiliary layer is used as a stop layer during the etching occurring.
9. The method according to claim 1 wherein depositing a contact hole filling material is deposited comprises depositing using tungsten hexafluoride.
10. The method according to claim 3, wherein depositing the base layer and the intermediate layer, comprises forming a composite layer at the bottom surface of the contact hole having a thickness of less than about 5 nm.
11. The method according to claim 1 further comprising forming the contact hole to have a diameter of less than about 1 \u03bcm, and to a depth of greater than 500 nm.
12. An integrated comprising:
at least one contact hole, in which a base layer and a covering layer (54) comprising titanium nitride are arranged,
wherein the base layer adjoins a connecting section comprising one of substantially nitride-free aluminium or an aluminium alloy arranged between the connecting section and the base layer, and
wherein the contact hole contains a filling material comprising tungsten, and
wherein the covering layer at a bottom of the contact hole has a thickness of less than about 10 nm.
13. The integrated circuit according to claim 12 further comprising an intermediate layer (52) arranged between the base layer and the covering layer, wherein at least about eighty percent of the atoms of the intermediate layer comprise titanium atoms.
14. The integrated circuit to claim 13, wherein the base layer and the intermediate layer comprise a composite layer at a bottom surface of the contact hole, having a thickness of less than about 5 nm.
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 stabilization system for a rotating load, the system comprising:
a mechanical bearing to continuously support a shaft of the rotating load so as to hold the shaft at a substantially fixed axis of rotation;
a magnetic stabilization assembly including a plurality of electromagnets arranged around the shaft;
a control circuitry for controlling a resultant magnetic field generated by the electromagnets such that the magnetic field acts on a ferromagnetic element of the shaft to reduce imbalance forces acting on the shaft.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the ferromagnetic element includes a rotor ring.
3. The system of claim 1, comprising a sensor to sense a vibration of the shaft, the control circuitry being configured to control the resultant magnetic field so as to minimize the sensed vibration.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry comprises an H-bridge or a power amplifier to drive the electromagnets to generate a desired magnetic field.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is configured to compensate for a previously measured variation in a dimension of a mechanical component.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the rotating load comprises a flywheel for storing energy.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the mechanical bearing comprises a bearing selected from a group of bearings consisting of a metal ball bearing, a hybrid ball bearing, and a ceramic ball bearing.
8. A flywheel energy storage system comprising a flywheel within an evacuable enclosure, the flywheel including a core rotatable about an axis of rotation and a plurality of rods, a proximal end of each rod being attached to a periphery of the core, the rods extending substantially radially with respect to the axis of rotation.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein the rods are attached to the periphery of the core in a staggered pattern.
10. The system of claim 8, wherein each proximal end is attached to the periphery of the core by holder that is configured to hold the proximal end by a mechanism selected from a group of holding mechanisms consisting of a press fit, a self-locking wedge, high shear-stress glue, and a collapsible ferrule.
11. The system of claim 8, wherein a distal end of a rod of said plurality of rods is weighted.
12. The system of claim 8, wherein a rod of said plurality of rods comprises fiberglass.
13. The system of claim 8, wherein a rod of said plurality of rods comprises a bundle of fibers wrapped around a column.
14. A flywheel energy storage system comprising:
a DC bus;
a plurality of flywheels;
a plurality of motorgenerator units, each motorgenerator unit being rotatably coupled to a flywheel of said plurality of flywheels;
a plurality of controllerinverters, each controllerinverter being electrically coupled to a motorgenerator unit of said plurality of motorgenerator units and to the DC bus; and
a central controller to control each controllerinverter so as to set a discharge rate for each of the flywheels when its motorgenerator unit is operating in a discharge mode, and to increase a voltage level of a voltage signal generated by the motorgenerator unit in the discharge mode.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein a controllerinverter of said plurality of controllerinverter comprises an H-bridge circuit.
16. The system of claim 14, wherein the central controller is configured to control a controllerinverter of said plurality of controllerinverters to operate in a discharge mode while concurrently controlling another controllerinverter of said plurality of controllerinverters to operate in a charge mode.
17. A flywheel energy storage system for storing electrical energy, the system comprising:
a flywheel including a rotatable mass and a shaft, the flywheel being enclosed within an evacuable enclosure, the shaft supported by bearings on opposite sides of the rotatable mass; and
an electric motorgenerator unit having a stator and a rotor, the rotor being fixed to the shaft in a cantilevered manner within the enclosure and being magnetically coupled to the stator, the stator being located outside of the enclosure.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein a distance between the rotor and the stator is adjustable.
19. The system of claim 17, wherein the stator is configured to couple to each of a plurality of rotors.
20. The system of claim 17, wherein the flywheel comprises lead enveloped in a shell that comprises carbon fiber.
21. The system of claim 17, wherein the flywheel comprises a plurality of glass fibers, each fiber being at least partially wrapped around a column of a plurality of columns that are arranged in a circular pattern that is centered on an axis of rotation of the flywheel, such that each fiber extends substantially radially outward from the axis when the flywheel rotates.
22. The system of claim 17, wherein the flywheel includes a structure with an eccentric mass distribution that is rotatable to adjust a balance of the flywheel.
23. The system of claim 17, wherein a section of the enclosure between the rotor and the stator comprises glass.