UFT is a compound in which futraful (FT) and uracil are combined at a ratio of 1:4. UFT was given orally at a daily dose of 300-600 mg in a phase II study. Pooled data on a UFT phase II study of 438 evaluable patients, at 104 institutions revealed a response in carcinoma of the stomach (27.7%), pancreas (25.0%), gallbladder and bile duct (25.0%), liver (19.2%), colon and rectum (25.0%), breast (32.0%), and lung (7.0%). The mainly gastrointestinal toxicity resulted in anorexia (24.3%), nausea and vomiting (12.5%), and diarrhea (11.8%). On the other hand, hematological toxicity was rare and mild. To analyze the life-prolonging effect of the therapy, a cohort study was carried out in 438 cases collected in the UFT phase II study 5 years after the commencement of the therapy. The 50% survival time for 185 patients with gastric cancer was 185 days. The corresponding times in 54 patients with colorectal cancer and 49 with breast cancer were 227 and 505 days, respectively. A historical comparative study of UFT and FT, which was administered in the same institutions for equal evaluation, revealed that UFT had a significantly better effect than FT without more pronounced side effects with the equivalent dose schedule. In conclusion, UFT can be considered a useful against cancers over a broad spectrum, especially in gastrointestinal cancer.

Selete launched a development program on EUV lithography and related mask technology in April 2006. The program is based on the concept of "lithography design and integration." It covers a wide range of areas that require further effort to get EUVL ready for volume production and was formulated on the basis that the issues should be considered from a variety of standpoints, such as acceleration of the development of key lithographic components, verification that EUVL is actually suitable for mass production, the construction of mask infrastructure, and the improvement of EUV-specific reliability and productivity. Two exposure tools have been installed as basic infrastructure: the small-field exposure tool (SFET) and the full-field exposure tool (EUV1). The objectives of the SFET installation are acceleration of the development of resist materials and processes, optimization of the mask structure and materials, and the evaluation of the exposure tool technology with regard to such things as imaging performance, stability, and the lifetimes of the optics and source components. The objective of the EUV1 installation is to demonstrate that lithography integration is a viable path to making EUV lithography a practical production technology. We found that the SFET provides both excellent resolution and high tool activity. This high performance helps us to obtain a clear understanding of the current level of EUVL performance and enables us to learn many things that can be fed back into the development program in the beta stage. A 1st static exposure with the EUV1 resolved 30-nm dense and isolated lines and 30-nm holes. The potential resolution was found to be as good as 28 nm. Although progress was made regarding EUV resist sensitivity and LWR, further progress is needed. A tool for analyzing out-gassing in EUV resists was found to facilitate the development of both resist materials and contamination control measures for exposure tools. A prototype full-field actinic inspection system for mask blanks is now under development and should become operational in the 2Q of 2008. A mask protection engineering (MPE) tool was used to show that a dual-pod carrier is very effective in protecting a mask from particles. Mask pattern defect inspection technology using a DUV wavelength of 199 nm and defect repair technology based on an FIB for EUV mask fabrication are also being developed. This work was supported in part by NEDO.

No abstract

In the stress control of an X-ray mask absorber, the repeatability of control and stability are important. We found that the change in the stress in a Ta film resulting from annealing depends on the oxygen concentration in the film; the magnitude of the stress change is determined by the annealing temperature and time. Using this characteristic of Ta film, we have successfully controlled the stress in the Ta absorber to less than 5 MPa with good repeatability. In our mask fabrication process, Al2O3 film was used as an etching mask. We found that the Al2O3 film prevented the Ta absorber stress from changing in high-temperature atmospheres because the Al2O3 film prevented oxygen diffusion into the Ta film. Utilizing Al2O3 films, we succeeded in preventing changes in Ta absorber stress in the thermal processes after Ta stress control, such as frame bonding and resist baking. Consequently, we were able to precisely control the Ta absorber stress in X-ray masks with good repeatability and stability in a realistic X-ray mask fabrication process.

No abstract