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NiCo (10 at.% of Co) alloy was employed in the formation of metal silicide and germanosilicide as the contact layer which can be used as future complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor source/drain contact. The resistivity and structure evolution of NiCo silicide and germanosilicide were investigated, and the performance of the NiCo silicide is better than conventional NiSi and comparable with NiPt silicides, as well as NiPt germanosilicide below 700°C. The thermal stability and enhanced sheet resistance of NiCo silicide and germanosilicide were found to be up to 900°C and 700°C, respectively. The low sheet resistance at high temperature was attributed to the low-temperature CoSi by enhancing the thermal stability and uniformity of the Ge. The influence of Ge concentration was studied in different Si 1−x Ge x substrates, and the low sheet resistance can be reliable up to 650°C.

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Neonatal hypoglycemia may cause severe neurological damages; therefore, tight glycemic control is crucial to identify neonate at risk. Previous blood glucose monitoring system (BGMS) failed to perform well in neonates; there are calls for the tightening of accuracy requirements. It remains a need for accurate BGMS for effective bedside diabetes management in neonatal care within a hospital population. A total of 300 neonates were recruited from local hospitals. Accuracy performance of a commercially available BGMS was evaluated against reference instrument in screening for neonatal hypoglycemia, and assessment was made based on the ISO15197:2013 and a tighter standard. At blood glucose level < 47 mg/dl, BGMS assessed met the minimal accuracy requirement of ISO 15197:2013 and tighter standard at 100% and 97.2%, respectively.