1. A method of forming a diode, said method comprising: forming adjacent well regions in a semiconductor layer, said adjacent well regions comprising: a first well region, having a first type conductivity; and a second well region, having a second type conductivity different from said first type conductivity, said second well region being positioned laterally adjacent to and abutting said first well region at an interface; and forming contact regions and at least one isolation region at a top surface of said semiconductor layer such that a first contact region, having said first type conductivity, is positioned within said first well region, such that a second contact region, having said second type conductivity, traverses said interface with a first end extending laterally into said first well region and a second end extending laterally into said second well region, said first end and said second end having different lengths, and such that an isolation region is positioned within said first well region between said first contact region and said first end of said second contact region.
2. The method of claim 1, said forming of said contact regions and said at least one isolation region comprising selectively adjusting a length of said first end of said second contact region from said interface to said isolation region so as to selectively adjust a reverse-bias breakdown voltage of said diode.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming a conductive field plate on said top surface of said semiconductor layer to reduce a reverse-bias breakdown voltage of said diode, said conductive field plate having a first sidewall aligned above said isolation region and a second sidewall opposite said first sidewall aligned above said first end of said second contact region.
4. The method of claim 3, said forming of said conductive field plate comprising forming any of a metal field plate and a doped polysilicon field plate.
5. The method of claim 1, said forming of said contact regions and said at least one isolation region further being performed such that an additional contact region, having said second type conductivity, is positioned within said second well region; and an additional isolation region is positioned laterally between and abutting said additional contact region and said second end of said second contact region.
6. The method of claim 1, said forming of said contact regions and said at least one isolation region further being performed such that said second well region laterally surrounds said first well region, said isolation region laterally surrounds said first contact region, and said second contact region laterally surrounds said isolation region.
7. A method of forming a diode, said method comprising:
forming adjacent well regions in a semiconductor layer, said adjacent well regions comprising:
a first well region, having a first type conductivity, in a semiconductor layer;
a second well region, having a second type conductivity different from said first type conductivity, in said semiconductor layer and positioned laterally adjacent to and abutting said first well region at an interface;
forming contact regions and an isolation region,
said contact regions comprising:
a first contact region, having said first type conductivity, at a top surface of said semiconductor layer within said first well region; and
a second contact region, having said second type conductivity, at said top surface of said semiconductor layer traversing said interface such that a first end of said second contact region extends laterally into said first well region and a second end of said second contact region extends laterally into said second well region; and
said isolation region at said top surface of said semiconductor layer within said first well region, and positioned laterally between said first contact region and said first end of said second contact region; and
forming a conductive field plate on said isolation region within said first well region and further extending laterally onto said first end of said second contact region within said first well region such that said conductive field plate has a first sidewall aligned above said isolation region and a second sidewall opposite said first sidewall, aligned above said first end of said second contact region within said first well region and offset from said interface so that said conductive field plate covers less than all of said first end of said second contact region within said first well region.
8. The method of claim 7, said second contact region being formed such that said first end has a predetermined length from said interface to said isolation region and said conductive field plate being formed so as to cover less than all of said first end so that said diode has predetermined reverse-bias breakdown voltage.
9. The method of claim 7, said conductive field plate being formed as any one of a metal field plate and a doped polysilicon field plate.
10. The method of claim 7, further comprising:
forming an additional contact region, having said second type conductivity, at said top surface of said semiconductor layer within said second well region; and
forming an additional isolation region positioned laterally between and abutting said additional contact region and said second end of said second contact region.
11. The method of claim 7, said well regions, said contact regions and said isolation region being formed such that said second well region laterally surrounds said first well region, such that said isolation region laterally surrounds said first contact region, and such that said second contact region laterally surrounds said isolation region.
12. A method of forming a diode, said method comprising:
forming adjacent well regions in a semiconductor layer, said adjacent well regions comprising: a first well region, having a first type conductivity; and a second well region, having a second type conductivity different from said first type conductivity, said second well region being positioned laterally adjacent to and abutting said first well region at an interface; and
forming contact regions and at least one isolation region at a top surface of said semiconductor layer such that a first contact region, having said first type conductivity, is positioned within said first well region, such that a second contact region, having said second type conductivity, traverses said interface with a first end extending laterally into said first well region and a second end extending laterally into said second well region, and such that an isolation region is positioned within said first well region between said first contact region and said first end of said second contact region,
said forming of said contact regions and said at least one isolation region comprising selectively adjusting a length of said first end of said second contact region from said interface to said isolation region so as to selectively adjust a reverse-bias breakdown voltage of said diode.
13. The method of claim 12, said first end and said second end having different lengths.
14. The method of claim 12, further comprising forming a conductive field plate on said top surface of said semiconductor layer further adjust said reverse-bias breakdown voltage of said diode, said conductive field plate having a first sidewall aligned above said isolation region and a second sidewall opposite said first sidewall aligned above said first end of said second contact region.
15. The method of claim 14, said forming of said conductive field plate comprising forming any of a metal field plate and a doped polysilicon field plate.
16. The method of claim 12, said forming of said contact regions and said at least one isolation region further being performed such that an additional contact region, having said second type conductivity, is positioned within said second well region; and an additional isolation region is positioned laterally between and abutting said additional contact region and said second end of said second contact region.
17. The method of claim 12, said forming of said contact regions and said at least one isolation region further being performed such that said second well region laterally surrounds said first well region, said isolation region laterally surrounds said first contact region, and said second contact region laterally surrounds said isolation region.
18. The method of claim 12, said semiconductor layer being above an isolation layer on a semiconductor substrate.
19. The method of claim 12, further comprising:
providing a bulk semiconductor substrate; and,
forming a buried well region within said semiconductor substrate so as to form said semiconductor layer in an upper portion of said semiconductor substrate and isolated from a lower portion of said semiconductor substrate by said buried well region,
said first well region and said second well region being formed in said semiconductor layer above said buried well region.
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, comprising:
providing a composition comprising a substance selected from the group consisting of tumor cell debris, tumor lysate, tumor antigens and combinations thereof, wherein the substance is generated by a method comprising exposing tumor cells to microwave radiation to induce cell death; and
administering the composition to elicit a specific immune response in a mammal in need thereof.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the substance is tumor cell debris.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising administering a composition comprising at least one toll-like receptor (TLR) ligand.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the at least one TLR ligand is selected from the group consisting of TLR2 ligand, TLR4 ligand, TLR9 ligand and combinations thereof.
5. The method of claim 3, wherein the at least one TLR ligand is selected from the group consisting of Pam3cys, PolyI:C, lipopolysaccharide (\u201cLPS\u201d), ST-FLA, Gardiquimod, CpG ODN, TLR12 Agonist: Pam3CSK4, TLR2 Agonist: HKLM, TLR3 Agonist: Poly(I:C), TLR4 Agonist: LPS E. coli, TLR5 Agonist: Flagellin S. typhimurium, TLR62 Agonist: FSL1, TLR7 Agonist: Imiquimod, TLR8 Agonist: ssRNA40, TLR9 Agonist: ODN, and combinations thereof.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising administering a composition comprising toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands Pam3cys, lipopolysaccharide (\u201cLPS\u201d) and CpG ODN.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the composition further comprises at least one toll-like receptor (TLR) ligand.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one TLR ligand is selected from the group consisting of TLR2 ligand, TLR4 ligand, TLR9 ligand and combinations thereof.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one TLR ligand is selected from the group consisting of Pam3cys, PolyI:C, lipopolysaccharide (\u201cLPS\u201d), ST-FLA, Gardiquimod, CpG ODN, TLR12 Agonist: Pam3CSK4, TLR2 Agonist: HKLM, TLR3 Agonist: Poly(I:C), TLR4 Agonist: LPS E. coli, TLR5 Agonist: Flagellin S. typhimurium, TLR62 Agonist: FSL1, TLR7Agonist: Imiquimod, TLR8 Agonist: ssRNA40, TLR9 Agonist: ODN, and combinations thereof.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the composition further comprises toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands Pam3cys, lipopolysaccharide (\u201cLPS\u201d) and CpG ODN.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the tumor cell debris, andor tumor lysate, andor tumor antigens are from brain tumor cells.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the brain tumor cells are from a type of brain tumor selected from the group consisting of glioma, glioblastomas, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), oligodendroglioma, primitive neuroectodermal tumor, low, mid and high grade astrocytoma, ependymoma, oligodendroglioma, medulloblastoma, meningioma, pituitary carcinoma, neuroblastoma, craniopharyngioma and combinations thereof.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein the specific immune response reduces the likelihood of tumor recurrence, slows down the growth of the tumor, andor increases the survival time of the mammal.
14. A composition, comprising:
a quantity of a substance selected from the group consisting of tumor cell debris, tumor lysate, tumor antigens and combinations thereof, wherein the substance is generated by a method comprising exposing tumor cells to microwave radiation to induce cell death; and
a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
15. The composition of claim 14, wherein the substance is tumor cell debris.
16. The composition of claim 14, further comprising at least one toll-like receptor (TLR) ligand.
17. The composition of claim 16, wherein the at least one TLR ligand is selected from the group consisting of TLR2 ligand, TLR4 ligand, TLR9 ligand and combinations thereof.
18. The composition of claim 16, wherein the at least one TLR ligand is selected from the group consisting of Pam3cys, PolyI:C, lipopolysaccharide (\u201cLPS\u201d), ST-FLA, Gardiquimod, CpG ODN, TLR12 Agonist: Pam3CSK4, TLR2 Agonist: HKLM, TLR3 Agonist: Poly(I:C), TLR4 Agonist: LPS E. coli, TLR5 Agonist: Flagellin S. typhimurium, TLR62 Agonist: FSL1, TLR7 Agonist: Imiquimod, TLR8 Agonist: ssRNA40, TLR9 Agonist: ODN, and combinations thereof.
19. The composition of claim 14, further comprising toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands Pam3cys, LPS and CpG ODN.
20. The composition of claim 14, wherein the tumor cell debris, andor tumor lysate, andor tumor antigens are brain tumor cells.
21. The composition of claim 20, wherein the brain tumor cells are from a type of brain tumor selected from the group consisting of glioma, glioblastomas, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), oligodendroglioma, primitive neuroectodermal tumor, low, mid and high grade astrocytoma, ependymoma, oligodendroglioma, medulloblastoma, meningioma, pituitary carcinoma, neuroblastoma, craniopharyngioma and combinations thereof.
22. A kit, comprising:
a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient adapted for preparing a composition comprising a quantity of a substance selected from the group consisting of tumor cell debris, tumor lysate, tumor antigens and combinations thereof, wherein the substance is generated by a method comprising exposing tumor cells to microwave radiation to induce cell death, for administration to a mammal in need of treatment to reduce the likelihood of tumor recurrence; and
instructions for using the pharmaceutically acceptable excipient to prepare the composition for administration to the mammal.
23. The kit of claim 22, further comprising the composition comprising the quantity of the substance selected from the group consisting of tumor cell debris, tumor lysate, tumor antigens and combinations thereof.
24. The kit of claim 22, further comprising at least one toll-like receptor (TLR) ligand.
25. The kit of claim 22 further comprising one or more items selected from the group consisting of microfuge tube to maintain cells for freeze-thaw lysate procedure, phosphate buffered saline for the cells, 0.9% saline buffer for the cells, sterile plastic disposable forceps to manipulate cells into a microfuge tube, sterile water, 21-28 m gauge needle, 2 ml syringe to dissociate cells and cellular debris, 5 ml syringe to dissociate cells and cellular debris, Bradford dye, spectrophotometer cuvette for protein measurements, quantity of bovine serum albumin (BSA) for standardizing protein concentrations, and 2 ml microfuge tube to store a lysate sample at a known concentration.
26. A method, comprising:
providing a microwave probe;
contacting the microwave probe to a tumor to ablate the tumor and generate tumor cell debris or using the microwave probe to deliver microwave radiation to the tumor to generate tumor cell debris to elicit a specific immune response in a mammal in need thereof.
27. The method of claim 26, further comprising administering a composition comprising at least one toll-like receptor (TLR) ligand.
28. The method of claim 27 wherein the at least one TLR ligand is selected from the group consisting of TLR2 ligand, TLR4 ligand, TLR9 ligand and combinations thereof.
29. The method of claim 27, wherein the at least one TLR ligand is selected from the group consisting of Pam3cys, PolyI:C, lipopolysaccharide (\u201cLPS\u201d), ST-FLA, Gardiquimod, CpG ODN, TLR12 Agonist: Pam3CSK4, TLR2 Agonist: HKLM, TLR3 Agonist: Poly(I:C), TLR4 Agonist: LPS E. coli, TLR5 Agonist: Flagellin S. typhimurium, TLR62 Agonist: FSL1, TLR7 Agonist: Imiquimod, TLR8 Agonist: ssRNA40, TLR9 Agonist: ODN, and combinations thereof.
30. The method of claim 26, further comprising administering a composition comprising toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands Pam3cys, lipopolysaccharide (\u201cLPS\u201d) and CpG ODN.
31. The method of claim 26 wherein the tumor is a brain tumor.
32. The method of claim 31, wherein the brain tumor is selected from the group consisting of glioma, glioblastomas, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), oligodendroglioma, primitive neuroectodermal tumor, low, mid and high grade astrocytoma, ependymoma, oligodendroglioma, medulloblastoma, meningioma, pituitary carcinoma, neuroblastoma, craniopharyngioma and combinations thereof.
33. The method of claim 26, wherein the specific immune response reduces the likelihood of tumor recurrence, slows down the tumor growth, andor increases the survival time of the mammal.