1. A device for sampling target tissue within a patient, comprising:
a coring component having:
a longitudinal lumen terminating in a distal opening; and
a distal region formed of one or more distally extending flexible blades each having a distal end positioned around said distal opening,
wherein the blades are configured to move toward each other when the coring component is penetrating into the target tissue along a longitudinal axis of the coring component;
wherein said blades are configured via the movement toward each other to substantially sever a tissue sample from the target tissue during penetration.
2. The device of claim 1, wherein said one or more blades are configured to penetrate
the target tissue such that a tissue sample having a cross-section defined by said distal ends of said one or more blades is received within said lumen of said coring component via said distal opening.
3. The device of claim 2, wherein each said blade has an approximate lunate cross-section along a lateral axis substantially parallel to said distal opening.
4. The device of claim 2, wherein said coring component comprises two or more elongate blades, at least one of said blades configured to flex inwardly towards a longitudinal axis of said coring component in response to penetration of the target tissue by said blades.
5. The device of claim 4, wherein a distal region of at least one of said blades opposing said lumen of said coring component comprises a beveled surface.
6. The device of claim 2, wherein said coring component comprises two or more elongate blades, each of said blades configured to flex inwardly towards a longitudinal axis of said coring component following penetration of the target tissue by said blades.
7. The device of claim 6, wherein at least one of said blades comprise a shape memory material responsive to a change in temperature that occurs following said penetration.
8. The device of claim 6, wherein at least one of said blades comprise a shape memory material responsive to an applied electrical current.
9. The device of claim 4, wherein said coring component comprises two or more separate elements defining said lumen, and wherein said elements are connected by a hinge arrangement.
10. The device of claim 9, wherein said hinge arrangement may be actuated so as to cause at least one of said blades to flex inwardly towards said longitudinal axis.
11. The device of claim 2, wherein said device further comprises an elongate catheter having proximal and distal ends and a lumen longitudinally extending there through, wherein said coring component is disposed at said distal end of said catheter, and wherein said lumen of said catheter that is operationally contiguous with said lumen of said coring component.
12. The device of claim 2, further comprising:
an anchoring element configured to secure the device to the target tissue.
13. The device of claim 12, wherein said anchoring element comprises an element disposed on a distal end of at least one of said one or more blades.
14. The device of claim 12, wherein said anchoring element is configured to be controllably extended from within said coring component to secure the device to the target tissue.
15. The device of claim 12, wherein said anchoring element is configured to be controllably extended around said coring component to secure the device to the target tissue.
16. The device of claim 14, wherein said anchoring element comprises an extendible needle.
17. The device of claim 12, wherein said anchoring element comprises an extendible needle.
18. The device of claim 11, wherein said anchoring element comprises a suction system configured to secure said catheter.
19. The device of claim 2, wherein said coring component further comprises at least one tissue retention feature configured to secure said tissue sample within said lumen of said coring component.
20. The device of claim 19, wherein said at least one tissue retention feature comprises:
a textured surface of a portion of at least one of said one or more blades adjacent said lumen of said coring component.
21. The device of claim 19, wherein said at least one tissue retention feature comprises:
an adhesive having an adhesion force that may be overcome with sufficient manual force.
22. The device of claim 19, wherein said at least one tissue retention feature comprises:
a barb disposed on at least one of said one or more blades adjacent said lumen of said coring component.
23. The device of claim 19, wherein said device further comprises an elongate catheter having proximal and distal ends and a lumen longitudinally extending there through, wherein said coring component is disposed at said distal end of said catheter, and wherein said at least one tissue retention feature comprises a suction system configured to provide suction via said catheter.
24. The device of claim 23, wherein said suction is provided through said coring component.
25. The device of claim 23, wherein said suction is provided around said coring component.
26. The device of claim 25, wherein a distal region of said sheath has a fixed radius of curvature.
27. The device of claim 2, wherein said blades are configured to anchor the device to the target tissue.
28. The device of claim 2, further comprising an endoscopic device having:
an elongate catheter having proximal and distal ends and a lumen longitudinally extending there through, wherein said coring component is disposed at said distal end of said catheter; and
a sheath configured to be inserted into the patient and configured to have said catheter inserted therein.
29. The device of claim 28, wherein a distal region of said sheath has a fixed radius of curvature.
30. The device of claim 29, further comprising:
one or more components configured to controllably curve a distal region of said sheath.
31. The device of claim 2, further configured to deliver a treatment to the target tissue.
32. The device of claim 31, wherein said treatment comprises hemostasis of the target tissue.
33. The device of claim 32, wherein said coring component is configured to cauterize the target tissue.
34. The device of claim 32, wherein said coring component is configured to apply a hemostasis coating to the target tissue.
35. The device of claim 31, wherein said treatment comprises delivery of a therapeutic agent to the target tissue.
36. A device For sampling target tissue within a patient comprising:
a coring component having:
a longitudinal lumen terminating in a distal opening: and
a distal region formed of one or more distally extending flexible blades each having a distal end positioned around said distal opening,
wherein said blades are configured to penetrate the target tissue such that a tissue sample having a cross-section defined by said distal ends of said blades is received within said lumen of said coring component via said distal opening, and
wherein said blades are configured to substantially sever said tissue sample from the target tissue, and
wherein said coring component further comprises two or more elongate blades, each of which is configured to flex inwardly towards a longitudinal axis of said coring component toward each other when penetrating said target tissue by said blades, and
wherein said coring component further comprises at least one tissue retention feature configured to secure said tissue sample within said lumen of said coring component.
37. A device for sampling target tissue within a patient, comprising:
a coring component having:
a longitudinal lumen terminating in a distal opening;
a distal region formed of distally extending flexible blades each having a distal end positioned around said distal opening, wherein the blades are configured to move toward each other when the distal region is penetrating into the target tissue along a longitudinal axis of the coring component;
wherein said blades are configured to substantially sever said tissue sample from the target tissue via movement of the blades toward each other during penetration into the target tissue; and
an elongate catheter having proximal and distal ends and a lumen longitudinally extending there through, wherein said coring component is disposed at said distal end of said catheter, and wherein said lumen is operationally contiguous with said lumen of said coring component.
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 method of making integrated circuit thin film resistor structures each including a body section and a head section, the method comprising:
(a) forming a first dielectric layer having a planar surface over a substrate;
(b) providing a structure to reduce variation of head resistivity of the head section by
i. forming a first dummy fill layer on the planar surface of the first dielectric layer, and
ii. forming a planar second dielectric layer over the first dummy fill layer;
(c) forming a thin film resistor on the second dielectric layer;
(d) forming a first inter-level dielectric layer on the thin film resistor and the second dielectric layer; and
(f) forming a first metal layer on the first inter-level dielectric layer, a first portion of the first metal layer extending to a portion of the thin film resistor through a contact opening in the first inter-level dielectric layer.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein step (b)(i) includes forming the first dummy fill layer as a repetitive pattern of sections, and wherein step (c) includes forming the thin film resistor such that the repetitive pattern is symmetrically aligned with respect to multiple edges of the thin film resistor.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein step (b)(i) includes forming the first dummy fill layer to extend sufficiently far beyond ends of the thin film resistor to ensure that there is only a negligible amount of systematic resistance error due to misalignment error between the thin film resistor and the first dummy fill layer.
4. The method of claim 1 including forming a second interlevel dielectric layer on the first interlevel dielectric layer and the first metal layer.
5. The method of claim 4 including forming a second metal layer on the second interlevel dielectric layer and electrically coupling a first portion of the second metal layer through a via to the first portion of the first metal layer.
6. The method of claim 5 including forming a dielectric cap layer on the second interlevel dielectric layer and the second metal layer.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the first dummy fill layer is metal.
8. The method of claim 2 wherein step (b)(i) includes forming the first dummy fill layer as a repetitive pattern of sections such that the repetitive pattern is symmetrically aligned in two orthogonal directions with respect to orthogonal edges, respectively, of the thin film resistor.
9. The method of claim 1 including forming a third dielectric layer on the first dummy fill layer, chemicallymechanically polishing a surface of the third dielectric layer, and forming the second dielectric layer on the chemicallymechanically polished surface.
10. The method of claim 9 including forming the second dielectric layer as a TEOS layer.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein the thin film resistor is SiCr and the first metal layer is TiN.
12. The method of claim 1 including forming a third dielectric layer on the substrate, wherein step (a) includes forming the first dielectric layer on the third dielectric layer, the method including forming a second dummy fill layer on the third dielectric layer.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein the first dummy fill layer is metal and the second dummy fill layer is polycrystalline silicon.
14. The method of claim 1 wherein thin film resistor is composed of material from the group including SiCr, alloys of SiCr, NiCr, alloys of NiCr, TaN, and alloys of TaN.
15. An integrated circuit thin film resistor structure including a body section and a head section having low head resistivity variance, made by the process comprising the steps of:
(a) forming a first dielectric layer having a planar surface over a substrate;
(b) providing a structure to reduce variation of head resistivity of the head section by
i. forming a first dummy fill layer on the planar surface of the first dielectric layer, and
ii. forming a planar second dielectric layer over the first dummy fill layer;
(c) forming a thin film resistor on the second dielectric layer;
(d) forming a first inter-level dielectric layer on the thin film resistor and the second dielectric layer; and
(f) forming a first metal layer on the first inter-level dielectric layer, a first portion of the first metal layer electrically contacting a portion of the thin film resistor through a contact opening in the first inter-level dielectric layer.
16. The integrated circuit thin film resistor structure of claim 15 wherein the first dummy fill layer is formed as a repetitive pattern of sections, and wherein the thin film resistor is formed such that the repetitive pattern is symmetrically aligned with respect to multiple edges of the thin film resistor.
17. The integrated circuit thin film structure of claim 16 wherein step (b)(i) includes forming the first dummy fill layer as a repetitive pattern of sections such that the repetitive pattern is symmetrically aligned in two orthogonal directions with respect to orthogonal edges, respectively, of the thin film resistor.
18. The integrated circuit thin film resistor structure of claim 15 wherein the first dummy fill layer is formed to extend sufficiently far beyond ends of the thin film resistor to ensure that there is only a negligible amount of systematic resistance error due to misalignment error between the thin film resistor and of the first dummy fill layer.
19. An integrated circuit thin film resistor structure including a body section and a head section having low head resistivity variance, comprising:
(a) a first dielectric layer disposed over a substrate, the first dielectric layer having a planar surface;
(b) a thin film resistor;
(c) an inter-level dielectric layer on the thin film resistor and the second dielectric layer;
(d) a metal layer on the first inter-level dielectric layer, a portion of the metal layer extending to a head portion of the thin film resistor through a contact opening in the first inter-level dielectric layer;
(e) a structure for reducing variation of head resistivity of the head section of the thin film resistor, the structure including a dummy fill layer on the planar surface of the first dielectric layer and a planar second dielectric layer over the first dummy fill layer, the dummy fill layer extending sufficiently far beyond ends of the thin film resistor to ensure that there is only a negligible amount of systematic resistance error due to misalignment error between the thin film resistor and the dummy fill layer.
20. The integrated circuit thin film resistor structure of claim 20 wherein the thin film resistor is composed of SiCr, and wherein the dummy fill layer extends sufficiently far beyond the ends of the thin film resistor to ensure that effects of stress associated with the portion of the metal layer on resistivity of the thin film resistor are negligible compared to effects of stress associated with the dummy fill layer on resistivity of the thin film resistor so as to reduce variance of the head resistivity.