Author: claimsbot

1. A method for verifying the identity of an individual comprising the steps of:
transmitting from a customer system to a customer connector server a request for identity verification containing identification information provided by the individual to be identified;
at the customer connector server, identifying from the request for identity verification at least one verification service required to satisfy the request for identity verification;
selecting for each verification service, based on a first set of predetermined criteria, an appropriate data manager server from a plurality of data manager servers to manage the verification service;
transmitting to each appropriate data manager server a corresponding request for verification service;
at each appropriate data manager server, identifying from the corresponding request for verification service at least one data access service required to permit the identification information provided by the individual to be verified against identity information relating to the individual contained within the at least one data source;
selecting for each data access service, based on a second set of predetermined criteria, an appropriate data connector server from a plurality of data connector servers to manage the data access service;
transmitting to each appropriate data connector server a corresponding request for data access service;
accessing from each appropriate data connector server at least one data source in connection with each request for data access service;
verifying the identification information provided by the individual against the identity information relating to the individual contained within the at least one data source;
generating a response indicating whether the identity of the individual has been authenticated; and
communicating the response to the customer system.
2. The method for identity verification of claim 1 further comprising the steps of receiving at the customer connector server the request for identity verification and authenticating the source of the request for identity verification, prior to identifying from the request for identity verification the at least one verification service.
3. The method for identity verification of claim 2 wherein:
the request for identity verification includes encrypted header, input and output xml strings; and
the method further comprises the step of decrypting and de-serializing the header, input and output xml strings, after authenticating the source of the request for identity verification.
4. The method for identity verification of claim 3 further comprising the steps of creating incoming header, input and output data holders for the data obtained from the decrypted and deserialized header, input and output xml strings and loading data into the incoming header, input and output data holders.
5. The method for identity verification of claim 4 wherein the step of identifying from the request for identity verification the at least one verification service includes obtaining from the incoming header data holder an incoming service identifier associated with at least one verification service, and determining the at least one verification service based on the incoming service identifier.
6. The method for identity verification of claim 5 further comprising, after the determining step, the steps of:
creating outbound header, input and output data holders; and
loading data from the incoming header, input and output data holders into the outbound header, input and output data holders.
7. The method for identity verification of claim 5 wherein:
the first set of predetermined criteria includes the geographic proximity of each data manager server to the customer connector server and the responsiveness of each data manager server; and
the step of selecting for each verification service an appropriate data manager server, includes the step of retrieving for each verification service a list of data manager servers capable of managing the verification service and information pertaining to the geographic proximity and responsiveness criteria for each of the data manager servers on the list.
8. The method for identity verification of claim 6 further comprising the step of serializing and encrypting the outbound header, input and output data holders.
9. The method for identity verification of claim 8 wherein the corresponding request for verification service transmitted to each appropriate data manager server includes the serialized and encrypted outbound header, input and output data holders.
10. The method for identity verification of claim 1 further comprising the steps of receiving at the appropriate data manager server the corresponding request for verification service and authenticating the source of the request for verification service, prior to identifying from the request for verification service the at least one data access service.
11. The method for identity verification of claim 10 wherein:
the request for verification service includes encrypted incoming header, input and output xml strings; and
the method further comprises the step of decrypting and de-serializing the incoming header, input and output xml strings, after authenticating the source of the request for verification service.
12. The method for identity verification of claim 11 wherein the step of identifying from the request for verification service the at least one data access service includes obtaining from the incoming header data holder an incoming service identifier associated with at least one data access service, and determining the at least one data access service based on the incoming service identifier.
13. The method for identity verification of claim 12 further comprising, after the determining step, the steps of:
creating outbound header, input and output data holders; and
loading data from the incoming header, input and output data holders into the outbound header, input and output data holders.
14. The method for identity verification of claim 13 further comprising, after the steps of creating and loading, the step of verifying whether the requestor who initiated the request for identity verification has a valid subscription to the verification service requested.
15. The method for identity verification of claim 12 wherein:
the second set of predetermined criteria includes the geographic proximity of each data connector server to the appropriate data manager server and the responsiveness of each data connector server; and
the step of selecting for each data access service an appropriate data connector server, includes the step of retrieving for each data access service a list of data connector servers capable of managing the data access service and information pertaining to the geographic proximity and responsiveness for each of the data connector servers on the list.
16. The method for identity verification of claim 13 further comprising the step of serializing and encrypting the outbound header, input and output data holders.
17. The method for identity verification of claim 15 wherein the corresponding request for data access service transmitted to each appropriate data connector server includes the serialized and encrypted outbound header, input and output data holders.
18. The method for identity verification of claim 1 further comprising the steps of receiving at the appropriate data connector server the corresponding request for data access service and authenticating the source of the request for data access service, prior to accessing from each appropriate data connector server at least one data source.
19. The method for identity verification of claim 18 wherein:
the request for data access service includes encrypted incoming header, input and output xml strings; and
the method further comprises the step of decrypting and de-serializing the incoming header, input and output xml strings, after authenticating the source of the request for data access service.
20. A method for verifying the identity of an individual comprising the steps of:
transmitting from a customer system to a business portal a request for identity verification containing identification information provided by the individual to be identified;
at the business portal, identifying from the request for identity verification at least one verification service required to satisfy the request for identity verification;
selecting for each verification service, based on a first set of predetermined criteria, an appropriate data manager server from a plurality of data manager servers to manage the verification service;
transmitting to each appropriate data manager server a corresponding request for verification service;
at each appropriate data manager server, identifying from the corresponding request for verification service at least one data access service required to permit the identification information provided by the individual to be verified against identity information relating to the individual contained within the at least one data source;
selecting for each data access service, based on a second set of predetermined criteria, an appropriate data connector server from a plurality of data connector servers to manage the data access service;
transmitting to each appropriate data connector server a corresponding request for data access service;
accessing from each appropriate data connector server at least one data source in connection with each request for data access service;
verifying the identification information provided by the individual against the identity information relating to the individual contained within the at least one data source;
generating a response indicating whether the identification information provided by the individual matches the identity information relating to the individual contained within the at least one data source; and
communicating the response to the customer system.
21. A system for verifying the identity of an individual comprising:
a customer connector server for connecting to a customer system and for receiving therefrom a request for identity verification containing identification information provided by the individual to be identified;
a plurality of data manager servers connected the customer connector server;
a plurality of data connector servers, each data connector server being connected to at least one data manager server of the plurality and being operable to access at least one data source containing identity information relating to the individual;
the customer connector server being operable to identify from the request for identity verification at least one verification service required to satisfy the request and to select for each verification service, based on a first set of predetermined criteria, an appropriate data manager server of the plurality thereof to manage the verification service; the customer connector server being further operable to transmit to each appropriate data manager server a corresponding request for verification service;
each appropriate data manager server being operable to identity from the corresponding request for verification service at least one data access service required to permit the identification information provided by the individual to be verified against the identity information relating to the individual contained within the at least one data source; each appropriate data manager server being further operable to select for each data access service, based on a second set of predetermined criteria, an appropriate data connector server of the plurality thereof to manage the data access service, and to transmit to each appropriate data connector server a corresponding request for data access service.
22. The identity verification system of claim 21 wherein the customer system includes a system selected from the group consisting of: (a) a point-of-sale system; (b) a financial services system; and (c) a risk management system.
23. The identity verification system of claim 21 wherein the plurality of data manager servers includes a first data manager server and a second data manager server; the customer connector server being connected to the first data manager server; the first data manager server being connected to the second data manager server and the second data manager server being connected to one of the data connector servers of the plurality.
24. The identity verification system of claim 21 wherein the at least one data source is selected from the group consisting of: (a) a database system; (b) a legacy records system; and (c) a web service.
25. The identity verification system of claim 1 wherein:
the at least one data source is managed by a data service provider; and
the selected at least one data connector server is physically located at a facility of the data service provider and resides behind a firewall of the data service provider.
26. The identity verification system of claim 1 wherein:
the customer connector server, the data manager servers and the data connector servers includes a server engine for coordinating and managing the performance of a plurality of request and response processing steps, and a plurality of frameworks configured for communication with the server engine;
the plurality of frameworks having resources which may be called upon by the server engine to perform at least some of the request and response processing steps.
27. The identity verification system of claim 26 wherein the plurality of frameworks includes an engine framework, a system development framework and a system portal framework.
28. The identity verification system of claim 27 wherein the customer connector server includes:
a main process manager module;
a communication service module for receiving the request for identity verification from the customer system and for returning responses to the customer system;
a request handler module for coordinating authentication of the source of the request for identity verification and creation of a first set of incoming data holders associated with the request for identity verification received from the customer system;
a customer handler module for creating a second set of outgoing data holders based on the first set of incoming data holders for transmission to each appropriate data manager server; and
a service locator module configured for communication with the customer handler module, the service locator module being operable to select the appropriate data manager and transmit to the appropriate data manager server the outgoing data holders;
each of the communication service module, the request handler module and the customer handler module being configured for communication with the main process manager module; the main process manager module being operable to coordinate the activities of the communication service module, the request handler module and the customer handler module.
29. The identity verification system of claim 28 wherein the server engine of the customer connector server further includes a heart beat service module configured for communication with the service locator module and co-operable therewith to transmit heart beat type messages to the plurality of data manager servers to measure the responsiveness of the plurality of data manager servers.
30. The identity verification system of claim 26 wherein the server engine of each data manager server includes:
a main process manager module;
a communication service module for receiving a request for verification service from the customer connector server and for returning responses to the customer connector server;
a request handler module for coordinating authentication of the source of the request for verification service and creation of a first set of incoming data holders associated with the request for verification service received from the customer connector server;
a service handler module for creating a second set of outgoing data holders based on the first set of incoming data holders for transmission to the appropriate data connector server; and
a service locator module configured for communication with the service handler module, the service locator module being operable to select the appropriate data connector server and transmit to the appropriate data connector server the outgoing data holders;
each of the communication service module, the request handler module and the service handler module being configured for communication with the main process manager module; the main process manager module being operable to coordinate the activities of the communication service module, the request handler module and the service handler module.
31. The identity verification system of claim 30 wherein the server engine of each data manager server further includes a heart beat service module configured for communication with the service locator module and co-operable therewith to transmit heart beat type messages to at least some data connector servers of the plurality to measure the responsiveness of the at least some data connector servers.
32. The identity verification system of claim 31 wherein the heart beat service module is configured for communication with the main engine process module and is operable to respond to heart beat type messages originating from the customer connector server.
33. The identity verification system of claim 26 wherein the server engine of each data connector server includes:
a main process manager module;
a communication service module for receiving a request for data access service from the at least one data manager server and for returning responses to the at least one data manager server;
a request handler module for coordinating authentication of the source of the request for data access service and creation of a set of incoming data holders associated with the request for data access service received from the at least one data manager server;
a data access module capable of accessing the at least one data source; and
an interface handler module configured for communication with, and operable to actuate, the data access module;
each of the communication service module, the request handler module and the interface handler module being configured for communication with the main process manager module; the main process manager module being operable to coordinate the activities of the communication service module, the request handler module and the interface handler module.
34. The identity verification system of claim 33 wherein the server engine of each data connector server further includes a heart beat service module configured for communication with the main process manager module, the heart beat service module being operable to respond to heart beat type messages originating from the at least one data manager server.
35. The identity verification system of claim 33 wherein the server engine of each data connector server further includes a cache database connected to the data access service module, the cache database capable of storing data extracted from the at least one data source.
36. The identity verification system of claim 35 wherein the server engine of each data connector server further includes a batch control manager connected to the data access service module and the at least one data source, the batch control manager being operable to periodically refresh the data stored on the cache database with more recent data extracted from the at least one data source.
37. The identity verification system of claim 21 wherein the first set of predetermined criteria includes the geographic proximity of each of the data manager servers to the customer connector server and the performance index of each of the data manager servers.
38. The identity verification system of claim 37 wherein the geographic proximity criterion in the first set of predetermined criteria is given priority over the performance index criterion.
39. The identity verification system of claim 38 wherein the performance index of each of the data manager servers is calculated based on the responsiveness of each of the data manager servers.
40. The identity verification system of claim 39 wherein the responsiveness of each of the data manager servers is determined using a heart beat strategy deployed jointly by the customer connector server and each of the data manager servers.
41. The identity verification system of claim 21 wherein the second set of predetermined criteria includes the geographic proximity of each of the data connector servers to the appropriate data manager server and the performance index of each of the data connector servers.
42. The identity verification system of claim 41 wherein the geographic proximity criterion in the second set of predetermined criteria is given priority over the performance index criterion.
43. The identity verification system of claim 42 wherein the performance index of each of the data connector servers is calculated based on the responsiveness of each of the data connector servers.
44. The identity verification system of claim 43 wherein the responsiveness of each of the data connector servers is determined using a heart beat strategy deployed jointly by the appropriate data manager server and each of the data connector servers.
45. A system for verifying the identity of an individual comprising:
a business portal for connecting to a customer system and for receiving therefrom a request for identity verification containing identification information provided by the individual to be identified;
a plurality of data manager servers connected to the business portal;
a plurality of data connector servers, each data connector server being connected to at least one data manager server of the plurality and being operable to access at least one data source containing identity information relating to the individual;
the business portal being operable to identify from the request for identity verification at least one verification service required to satisfy the request and to select for each verification service, based on a first set of predetermined criteria, an appropriate data manager server of the plurality thereof to manage the verification service; the business portal being further operable to transmit to each appropriate data manager server a corresponding request for verification service;
each appropriate data manager server being operable to identity from the corresponding request for verification service at least one data access service required to permit the identification information provided by the individual to be verified against the identity information relating to the individual contained within the at least one data source; each appropriate data manager server being further operable to select for each data access service, based on a second set of predetermined criteria, an appropriate data connector server of the plurality thereof to manage the data access service, and to transmit to each appropriate data connector server a corresponding request for data access service.

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 portable platform structure comprising:
at least two articulated platforms, the platforms being articulated so that the platforms are movable between an extended position where the platforms extend substantially in an end-to-end configuration, and a stow position where the platforms are folded so that the platforms are substantially aligned one above another; and
a plurality of supports articulated to the platforms;
wherein the platforms are articulated for a pivotal movement about 180\xb0, and
wherein the platforms comprise a first end platform, at least one intermediate platform, and a second end platform, one end of the first end platform being articulated to one end of the intermediate platform, and the other end of the intermediate platform being articulated to one end of the second end platform, the intermediate platform being pivotable 180\xb0 relative to the first end platform in a first rotational direction from the stowed position to the extended position, and the second end platform being pivotable 180\xb0 relative to the intermediate platform in a second rotational direction from the stowed position to the extended position, the second rotational direction being opposite to the first rotational direction, and
wherein a pair of wheels are rotatably mounted to the other end of the second end platform, and
wherein the supports include a first support foldably articulated to an outer end portion of the first end platform, a second support foldably articulated to an outer end portion of the second end platform, and third and fourth supports foldably articulated to intermediate portions of the platforms between the first and second supports, and
wherein the first support is pivotable substantially about 90\xb0 relative to the other end of the first end platform, the third support is pivotable substantially about 90\xb0 relative to one of the articulated ends of the first end platform and the intermediate platform, the fourth support is pivotable substantially about 90\xb0 relative to one of the articulated ends of the intermediate platform and the second end platform, and the second support is pivotable substantially about 90\xb0 relative to the other end of the second end platform,
further including a canopy frame detachably mountable to the platforms and the first, second, third, and fourth supports, and a canopy detachably mountable to the canopy frame.

2. A portable platform structure according to claim 1, wherein the canopy frame comprises a pair of first poles detachably mountable to the first end platform; a pair of second poles detachably mountable to the second end platform, a third pole detachably mountable to one of the first end platform and the intermediate platform, and a fourth pole detachably mountable to one of the second end platform and the intermediate platform.

3. A portable platform structure according to claim 2, wherein the other end of each of the first and second end platforms has a pair of holes for passage of the respective pair of first and second poles, and the one end of the first end platform has an opening for passage of the third pole, and the other end of the intermediate platform has an opening for passage of the fourth pole.

4. A portable platform structure according to claim 3, wherein the first, second, third, and fourth supports each have an opening for receiving one of the pairs of first and second poles or one of the third and fourth poles, respectively.

5. A portable platform structure according to claim 4, further including a first elongated support brace detachably mountable to the first support and a second elongated support brace detachably mountable to the second support to stabilize the structure from tipping.

6. A portable platform structure according to claim 5, wherein the first and second support braces each have an opening for receiving one of the pair of first and second poles, respectively.

7. A portable platform structure according to claim 6, wherein the canopy has a camouflage pattern.

8. A portable platform structure according to claim 5, further including at least one storage compartment detachably mountable to one side of the first and third supports, wherein the storage compartment is configured to store at least one of the canopy frame and the support braces.

What is claimed is:

1. A method for facilitating grading of a quiz on a computer system, comprising:
receiving responses to the quiz from at least one person taking the quiz;
storing the responses;
receiving a request from a grader requesting to grade the responses to the quiz;
retrieving the responses;
displaying the responses to the grader on a computer display;
receiving grading results for the responses from the grader; and
associating the grading results with the responses.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the responses to the quiz involves displaying the responses ordered by question, so that for a given question, responses to the given question are displayed together, thereby enabling the grader to grade all responses to the given question before grading another question.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the responses to the quiz are displayed so that the grader does not know the identity of a person who answered a given question.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the responses to the quiz involves displaying responses ordered by person, so that for a given person taking the quiz, responses to questions answered by the given person are displayed together, thereby enabling the grader to grade all responses for the given person before grading responses for another person.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising allowing the grader to select between grading by question and grading by student.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising allowing the grader to assign bonus points beyond points allocated for non-bonus questions within the quiz.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving grading results from the grader involves receiving textual comments from the grader in addition to scores.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the responses to the grader involves:
sending the responses across a network to a grader computer system operated by the grader; and
displaying the responses on the computer display of the grader computer system.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising making the grading results available to the at least one person taking the quiz.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a visual indication to the grader that allows the grader to differentiate between questions that have been graded and questions that have not been graded.
11. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method for facilitating grading of a quiz on a computer system, the method comprising:
receiving responses to the quiz from at least one person taking the quiz;
storing the responses;
receiving a request from a grader requesting to grade the responses to the quiz;
retrieving the responses;
displaying the responses to the grader on a computer display;
receiving grading results for the responses from the grader; and
associating the grading results with the responses.
12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein displaying the responses to the quiz involves displaying the responses ordered by question, so that for a given question, responses to the given question are displayed together, thereby enabling the grader to grade all responses to the given question before grading another question.
13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the responses to the quiz are displayed so that the grader does not know the identity of a person who answered a given question.
14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein displaying the responses to the quiz involves displaying responses ordered by person, so that for a given person taking the quiz, responses to questions answered by the given person are displayed together, thereby enabling the grader to grade all responses for the given person before grading responses for another person.
15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises allowing the grader to select between grading by question and grading by student.
16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises allowing the grader to assign bonus points beyond points allocated for non-bonus questions within the quiz.
17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein receiving grading results from the grader involves receiving textual comments from the grader in addition to scores.
18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein displaying the responses to the grader involves:
sending the responses across a network to a grader computer system operated by the grader; and
displaying the responses on the computer display of the grader computer system.
19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises making the grading results available to the at least one person taking the quiz.
20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises providing a visual indication to the grader that allows the grader to differentiate between questions that have been graded and questions that have not been graded.
21. An apparatus that facilitates grading of a quiz on a computer system, comprising:
a receiving mechanism that is configured to receive responses to the quiz from at least one person taking the quiz;
a data storage area for storing the responses to the quiz;
wherein the receiving mechanism is additionally configured to receive a request from a grader requesting to grade the responses to the quiz; and
a display mechanism that is configured to display the responses to the grader on a computer display;
wherein the receiving mechanism is additionally configured to receive grading results for the responses from the grader.
22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the display mechanism is configured to display the responses the quiz ordered by question, so that for a given question, responses to the given question are displayed together, thereby enabling the grader to grade all responses to the given question before grading another question.
23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the display mechanism is configured to display the responses to the quiz so that the grader does not know the identity of a person who answered a given question.
24. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the display mechanism is configured to display the responses ordered by person, so that for a given person taking the quiz, responses to questions answered by the given person are displayed together, thereby enabling the grader to grade all responses for the given person before grading responses for another person.
25. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising a selection mechanism that is configured to allow the grader to select between grading by question and grading by student.
26. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising a bonus point mechanism that is configured to allow the grader to assign bonus points beyond points allocated for non-bonus questions within the quiz.
27. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein in the receiving mechanism is configured to receive textual comments from the grader in addition to scores.
28. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the display mechanism is configured to:
send the responses across a network to a grader computer system operated by the grader; and to
display the responses on the computer display of the grader computer system.
29. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising an access mechanism that is configured to make the grading results available to the at least one person taking the quiz.
30. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the display mechanism includes a visual indicator that allows the grader to differentiate between questions that have been graded and questions that have not been graded.

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 for fabricating an integrated semiconductor configuration, which comprises the steps of:
generating a main layer at a given temperature on one of a surface of a substrate and a base layer;
doping the main layer no earlier than during the generating step;
generating an oxide layer on the main layer by thermal oxidation at temperatures above 900\xb0 C. for less than 65 seconds, and carrying out the thermal oxidation as an initial processing step after the step of generating the main layer with a temperature at least substantially equal to the given temperature; and
structuring the main layer.

2. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises the steps of:
generating the oxide layer on a totally exposed surface of the main layer; and
structuring the oxide layer prior to the structuring of the main layer.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the base layer is an oxide layer generated on the surface of the substrate.

4. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises:
performing at least one of:
exposing the substrate in regions without attacking the substrate during structuring; and
exposing the base layer in regions without attacking the base layer during structuring.

5. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises the step of:
performing at least one of:
generating a dielectric layer after the thermal oxidation and before the structuring; and
structuring the dielectric layer before the structuring of the main layer.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the dielectric layer is selected from the group consisting of a nitride layer, a silicon nitride layer and an oxinitride layer.

7. The method according to claim 5, which further comprises performing at least one of the steps of:
generating an oxide layer after the generation of the dielectric layer and before the structuring thereof; and
structuring the oxide layer before the structuring of the main layer.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the oxide layer contains silicon dioxide.

9. The method according to claim 7, which further comprises the steps of:
creating a depression during the structuring of the main layer; and
integrating an electrically conductive layer into the depression.

10. The method according to claim 9, which further comprises the step of:
performing at least one of:
leaving a portion of the electrically conductive layer inside the depression and leaving another portion outside the depression;
conductively connecting the two portions;
isolating the two portions from one another; and
forming a control terminal of a storage transistor with the two portions.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the control terminal is a split gate terminal.

12. The method according to claim 10, which further comprises at least one of the steps of:
forming the substrate from a semiconductor material;
providing the main layer as a polycrystalline silicon layer; and
providing the base layer as an oxide layer generated on the substrate by thermal oxidation.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the semiconductor material is silicon and the oxide layer is a silicon dioxide layer.

14. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises the step of:
carrying out at least one of:
performing the thermal oxidiation for less than 35 seconds;
performing the thermal oxidiation for more than 3 seconds; and
performing the thermal oxidiation for 5 seconds.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the temperature for performing the thermal oxidation is under 1150\xb0 C.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the temperature for performing the thermal oxidation is above 950\xb0 C.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein the temperature for performing the thermal oxidation is substantially 1050\xb0 C.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein the thermal oxidation is carried out in a rapid thermal processing (RTP) apparatus.

19. A semiconductor configuration, comprising:
a substrate;
a base layer disposed on said substrate;
a structured polycrystalline main layer disposed on said base layer at a given temperature, said polycrystalline main layer being heated to a temperature above 900\xb0 C. for less than 65 seconds in a thermal oxidation process before being structured; and the thermal oxidation being an initial step, following a depositing of said polycrystalline main layer, to be carried at a temperature at least substantially equal to the given temperature; and
an isolation layer generated by thermal oxidation and disposed on said main layer.

20. The semiconductor configuration according to claim 19, further comprising a dielectric layer selected from the group consisting of a nitride layer, a silicon nitride layer and an oxinitride layer.

21. A memory unit, comprising:
at least one semiconductor configuration including:
a substrate;
a base layer;
an isolation layer generated by thermal oxidation; and
a structured polycrystalline main layer deposited at a given temperature, said main layer being heated to a temperature above 900\xb0 C. for less than 65 seconds in a thermal oxidation process before being structured, and the thermal oxidation being an initial step following the deposition of said main layer to be carried at a temperature at least substantially equal to the temperature.