text:
Monday, December 10, 2012
Transgender Censorship At Work
Following the article is the rationale by Kveller which in reality is based on specious comments and a vicious attack on the former wife of Joy Ladin who is a Professor at Yeshiva University who so conveniently waited until he was tenured before changing genders which led to divorce.
Ms Benvenuto is far kinder than I would be to this piece of shit who feels he can write about his wife and family in his autobiography but his wife cannot write about some of the issues she faces on a daily basis. Christine Benevenuto is a published author of note and is well respected yet her words were censored and she was actually attacked verbally in NYC at a book reading by the transgender mafia that required police intervention and this is the real reason for her ex's anger.
Christine Benvenuto has written a book titled:
Sex Changes: A Memoir of Marriage, Gender, and Moving On
Amazon Link
This is the reason for the censorship and the further attempted censorship of her book by the transgender mafia. How dare anyone write a book that describes what the wife goes through when a husband that has never cross-dressed suddenly decides to change genders and in her case becomes hostile to her in subtle ways that nearly broke this shy Jewish woman. There are some indications he had father issues and said occassionally he wished he was a girl when they first met but it ended there. The book should give unsight into this.
How dare she write about her feelings and what this did to her. I have purchased the Kindle version of her book and am reading it and will publish a review.
Read this and tell me why you would censor this article. Now you know why. Now even Gender Trender knows the rationale behind the attacks on Christine Benevenuto. So now you know the rest of the story behind this attempt at censorship.
Reprinted unedited under Fair Use.
Dec 3 2012
Staying in the Same Town as My Ex
By Christine Benvenuto at 9:54 am
Recently, one of my children was referred to a new doctor. Somewhat unusually, my ex came along to the appointment.
The doctor entered the room where we sat waiting, introduced herself, and greeted my child. I introduced myself as my child's mother. "And who are you?" the doctor asked my ex. "I'm the other parent," my ex replied stiffly. "The other parent," the doctor echoed, laughing and nodding. I could see her assessing the situation, making the obvious assumption about our family composition: I had given birth to my child. Her "other parent" was my former lesbian partner. Half right. Sketching in our child's medical profile the doctor asked some questions about her brother and sister, and we provided the necessary information.
"But do they have the same father?" the doctor inquired. What she meant but didn't say was, "Do they have the same sperm donor?"
"Yes," we said in unison. What we meant but didn't say was, "Yes, and you are looking at him."
A funny thing happened on the way to my becoming a single mom.
My husband and I got together in our teens. More than 20 years and three children later, he decided to live the rest of his life as a woman. Our marriage melted along with his masculinity. I went through the anguish any woman might over the unexpected demise of a long and happy marriage. I faced the usual potpourri of dread–of penury, isolation–when I contemplated raising three children alone, the youngest still in diapers. Worse, I felt crushed by a sense that the reason for my marriage's demise said something so terrible about me it would be intolerable to remain in a place in which it was public knowledge. Exactly what it said, I wasn't sure. Maybe that was part of what made it so awful.
Everything was changing. I thought that where my children and I lived would have to change right along with it. But I love where I live. More importantly, my children are fiercely attached to it. They like that when my friends spot them in town without me, they want to know who they are with and what they are up to. They like knowing the trees that are tapped for our syrup and the chickens providing our eggs. They like noticing the way the flocks of turkeys who usually tie up traffic on our roads seem to go into hiding just before Thanksgiving each year only to reappear when it's safely over.
Still. Weren't we fighting a losing battle, hanging onto a place just because it was where we had once been happy? I couldn't go, but how could I stay?
Finally someone offered the most profound insight into my situation I have heard to date, uttering the words that set me free from this stalemate: "You aren't the first woman to marry a jerk, and you won't be the last."
She was saying I had nothing to be ashamed of. My ex's choices didn't reflect badly on me. When a guy dumps a wife and young children for another woman, people–the wife in question, certainly–are more likely to think, "What a jerk!" than, "What a hero!" Why should it be any different just because the other woman is the guy?
I've stayed–so far. As long I remain I can't ever get entirely away from my past, but then maybe I don't want to. It's mine, after all. Everything my eyes rest on, every Fall Foliage banner, every coffee shop and playground, recalls some moment of my children's lives, some treasure I never want to lose. I was happy before. I'm happy now. I've made a new life without leaving. Astoundingly, I've moved on without leaving home.
On the other hand, I also can't get entirely away from my ex's presence. There's no upside to that one. I can't know when, not if but when, my ex will pop up somewhere or sometime I least expect him.
Last December I was behind the wheel of a pickup truck, a little before 9 in the morning, after delivering my children to their schools. I was headed downhill on a narrow winding road, a horse pasture on the other side of the fence on my left. There is an entrance to the pasture at the bottom of the hill but few vehicles stop there. I was expecting a 40 mile an hour shot down the hill, through the tiny town center and up another hill to where I live, what National Public Radio calls my local member station muttering sedately at the outskirts of my attention all the while. Then two things happened.
My former husband was in the truck. That is, his voice was in the truck. His odd, grown-male-straining-for-the-uppermost-register-of-his-voice voice. Saying his name. Saying, "What the holidays mean to me is–."
I reached the knob in time to spare myself anything further. I didn't learn what the holidays mean to my ex. Presumably not celebrating with his family. Not the intention, unfulfilled yearly, to make it to the lighting of the town menorah. Not the intention, always fulfilled, to light every menorah we own at least one night of Hanukkah. Not the turns around a frozen pond in skates bought long ago for other feet. Not New Year's Eve in front of the fire, at least one child struggling to remain head up and eyes open. Not these things he isn't around for.
The radio station was engaged in a December campaign, trite but previously benign, of playing the voices of area residents saying Feliz Navidad or Happy Solstice. I was engaged in a December campaign of tuning them out. Why my former husband? How did they choose him? In their efforts to be inclusive did they feel that merely by airing his voice, regardless of what he said, they could have a demographic covered? I couldn't think about it right then. I was too busy stomping on the brake, trying not to rear-end the truck in front of me that had, in the split second I was devoting to my radio knob, stopped at the pasture gate. I just made it.
Usually the omnipresence of Bing Crosby and the Chipmunks is enough reason to avoid the radio this time of year. Now I had another. In subsequent days I had several opportunities to lunge for the dial. Friends caught the spot and shared their unique takes on it. "My husband said he heard your ex on the radio advertising himself," one reported. "Why would he be advertising himself?" she wondered. "My husband said whatever the reason was, if he gets any money out of it he hopes he will give some of it to his family."
So yes, my ex recurs like Christmas carols. But I don't have to let him drown out the rest of my life. I knew the holidays would soon be over, and the echoes of his voice along with them.
The following is the notice of censorship published by the Kveller website:
Dec 5 2012
A Note to Our Readers
By Kveller at 12:07 pm
Kveller has always prided itself on being a place where people can discuss the most challenging parts of life and parenting—infertility, death, and yes, divorce.
We have seen how much support, encouragement, and affirmation people feel when their voices are heard and their deepest disappointments and difficulties are shared and discussed.
The honesty and courage of our writers are what have made Kveller such a compelling and valuable website.
At the same time, the social utility of our articles is something we take seriously. We want Kveller to help people feel more confident, more secure, more understood. Unfortunately, our decision to publish "Staying in the Same Town as My Ex" in the form that it was in has undermined that effort, and thus we have decided to remove it from the website.
When it comes to issues that impact a historically (and currently) persecuted community it is our responsibility as editors to be extra sensitive to the exact language being used. Kveller and its parent organization MyJewishLearning are committed to honoring the identities and life experience of all people, including transgender people. We do not believe that this article was meant to be transphobic, but we do believe that our failures in the editing process created an article that could be read that way, which is not good for the writer, Kveller, and most importantly, the LGBT community, which Kveller and MyJewishLearning are dedicated to supporting and working with to create a more inclusive Jewish community.
58 comments:
Transgender censorship is just one of the tools they use to foister their twisted message on a gullable public. Their one sided biased view serving only the interests of themselves, is all they will allow to be heard. Any dissent is shouted down with cries of "Bigotry, trans-phobic, Hatred, ignorance" and a myriad of other squealing protests we have all heard many times over. Any dissent posted as comments on their blogs are dealt with by excluding the author from posting. Blogs like this one of Elizabeth is visited and their vitriol derails any discussion that does not pay homage to their cause, again with accusations of bigotry and trans-phobia.
It is truly about time those who are adversely affected by transgender stood firm and countered their aggression. My heart goes out to this poor woman, it is quite apparent she is in emotional pain and she has a right to have her viewpoint heard and heard in the places where the perpetrators of this type of mistreatment of innocent victims is positively encouraged, the TG blogs.
- December 10, 2012 at 8:04 PM
You GOTTA love this! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skKCrRH4xEE
- December 10, 2012 at 8:11 PM
- December 10, 2012 at 8:20 PM
I guess we shouldn't expect much from a bunch of anti freedom, authoritarian, woman hating transvestite men.
- December 10, 2012 at 10:24 PM
haha .. well, we have been there and done that eh!
Yep, time to catch up.
- December 10, 2012 at 11:21 PM
- Angel said...
Landin sounds like a world class jerk.
This passage from Christine's book really proved it for me...
I took it for granted that if Tom was really going to live as a woman, he would move away, or the children and I would move away. It went without saying that I wasn't going to attempt a fresh start in the small town in which we had lived together as a happy family, passing Tom on the street in a dress.
When I put this to Tom, he erupted. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm not leaving this house. I'm going to do what I want to do and I'm going to do it right here."
"But you want to make a fresh start," I spluttered. "We need one, too."
"You're not making a fresh start!" He was furious. "You have no legal right to the house or the kids. They belong to me. If you want to leave, go right ahead. But you're not taking the kids with you."
I was stunned. This was the emergence of the new Tom, one I'd come to know very well over the next several years. The one who intimidated and threatened, who laid down the law and expected me to abide by it. If Tom was becoming a woman, he had never seemed so male – a tyrannical bully he had never been in our marriage.
(Emphasis mine.)
- December 11, 2012 at 12:22 AM
The comments on the GT Link were quite interesting. Besides that the gist of the article highlights just how truly disturbed and vindictive these misogynists can be.
- December 11, 2012 at 1:36 AM
- Elizabeth said...
The most disturbing to me was forcing his daughter Bibi to secretly play dress-up with him amd also secretly dressing in front of his 2 year old daughter when Christine was not around.
Another really disturbing item was when they were in divorce proceedings this weasel claimed in court he should have custody of the kids because Bibi needed training in being feminine and basically only he could do it because he suddenly was an expert on being feminine.
This book was the real reason behind all the bullshit this poor woman has gone through. I finished reading it and some of the shit he pulled was classic male.
- December 11, 2012 at 2:09 AM
Just when you think the TG have gone as low as they or anyone can possibly stoop and no-one not even them could possibly get lower, THEY DO! That comment in the quote posted by Angel is about as despicable as anything I have ever heard.
- December 11, 2012 at 6:51 AM
- Michelle Leanne said...
OK, So I am TOTALLY confused here. What the hell part of this article is even remotely trans-phobic or critical of this person's current trans status????
My ex will likely never refer to me with female pronouns and that is entirely HER right. She has always maintained that my voice is the ONLY way that she can still rationalize this situation because she always says that when we talk on the phone, she can still relate to the person she was so emotionally attached to. My ex was married to a male. A "he". We spent 30 years together and she will FOREVER retain the right refer to me in any manner in which SHE is comfortable. My history as a male in her life will never be erased by any change in my life and I would never try to force that change on her. I OWN my past. I OWN the impact I am having on her future. Her future does NOT require her to accept / change her past to protect me in any way.
I realize that my relationship with my ex may be very different from others but it seems that many of these people never truly loved or respected their partners. I find it absolutely disgusting that this person has used their position to mobilize protests and attacks against their ex partner from so many public third parties that have absolutely NO RIGHT to comment on the personal feelings written by an ex in their OWN and VERY VALID personal experiences. The ex made no accusations or any other negative comments. The entire article was written from HER perspective and is ENTIRELY valid.
Once again, I find that I am so DISGUSTED at my male history. This entire issue is just SO WRONG in SO MANY ways. I cannot accept the idea that this person actually managed to censor his ex simply for using the wrong pronouns. Completely invalidates her entire perspective and tries to force a change on the one person who should have a "free pass" for the rest of her life. HE never loved her at all. Yes "HE". "HE" absolutely disgusts me.
- December 11, 2012 at 8:54 AM
- Nicky said...
It's why Transgender censorship is a huge menace to society and to Intersex, Lesbian and Women's community. It clearly shows that people like Joy Ladin hate Freedom of Speech and hate bio women.
What's shocking here is that some of the TG borg have enabled Joy Ladin to silence his ex wife and label anything she say's as bigotry or transphobic. What the TG Borg is doing is Transgender censorship on anything that is critical of them. Which is why the TG Borg hates criticism and Freedom of Speech.
It's time that people need to stand up to the TG borg and take them down. Transgender censorship is wrong and people like Joy Ladin are Men who are bullying people.
- December 11, 2012 at 10:39 AM
- Black Swan said...
What fights us is so much bigger than what we are fighting for.
- December 11, 2012 at 3:03 PM
@BS you just don't get it do you. What we are fighting for is our own identity. The one the TG have stolen from us and perverted in the eyes of the public. I happen to think that is an issue worth fighting for.
I actually do not have a dog in this fight because my history is not known. Not everyone is that fortunate. Right now the whole world thinks we are all super transvestites and not women thanks to the TG Juggernaut. I fought long and hard thirty years ago endured misery you have no concept of despite your own trauma we discussed a year ago. I gave up a life some people dream of to enjoy the life I have now. I am not going to allow the likes of Colleen Francis or this dipshit Mr Ladin to pervert the authenticity of my life for his own self gratification without putting up some resistance. I intend to be a thorn in their side for as long as it takes. We owe at least that to the kids who come after us who deserve a life free of the stigma that is transgenderism.
This is about which sex you are and NOT what you identify as or what clothes you wear. Or have you completely misunderstood what you read in Caroline's book, the heroine you hold in such high esteem.
- December 11, 2012 at 6:17 PM
For once I must agree with BS. What we fight, the TG Borg and the LGBTg "we are all the same" mantra, is much muc bigger than a few women fighting to maintain their Right to Choose to NOT be associated with them.
- December 11, 2012 at 7:33 PM
Silencing dissenting opinion...
- December 11, 2012 at 11:46 PM
What I was referring to is what bedevils us individually and collectively; paralysis of unified action.
The only person you believe you have control over is you and your outcome. But it's myopic, as you know; impotence to effect change from silence. IMO RadFems have done far more damage than the TG. This left an opening for the TG to dominate the agenda; to hijack it, which plays into the RadFems hand. Long before the TG came to play the dominant feminist deemed us unworthy to declare ourselves female.
Instead of pointing the finger why not make your own voice and message louder? This will require some serious organizing yet none here are willing. You cannot lobby for change from a blog posting. You've seen what happened to Ashley Love.
Back on topic Joy Ladin has allies the enabled this travisty of censorship. Where was the organized opposition to the censorship?
- December 12, 2012 at 12:48 AM
I am happy with sitting by and watching the Tee-Gees and the RadFems destroy themselves.
It's not my fight, I have my life, I fixed my birth defect life goes on. I would rather deal with more pressing national issues like the economy and the united states destroying itself by fighting all these wars.
Watching the Tee-Gees fight with the RadFems is like watching 2 less than friendly schoolmates fight at a mall. It's enjoyable to see them make fools of themselves in public it makes me feel real good I am not a part of their silly and creepy lifestyles.
- December 12, 2012 at 8:29 AM
For those who got life in order, there is no change that needs to be effected. As such, the silence serves all that need be served. And of course, none of that has one whit of a tinker's damn to do with the censorship that Jay is trying to do to his wife (yes, if he is going to act male in the efforts to oppress Christine's work, then he can carry the other monikers as well).
It is unconscionable that the tee-gee brigade would try to shut down Christine's account of the marriage and the damage some middle-aged male who waits until he was tenured did to the family unit. Those interested in such discussions have every right to see it online and elsewhere.
Where is the organized opposition? Are you that blind? Forums such as this are one such place as was the outcry at places like Gallus' website. You certainly won't see it on the tee-gee websites because it gets in the way of their pink sparkly girly-girl view of magical unicorn land.
There was nothing 'transphobic' in the Kveller piece. But because it offended the mid-life crisis demographic, it was censored.
Quite frankly, I don't care about the 'damage' done to tee-gee's by 'radfems.' I may not agree with all of their positions, but I find them to generally be far saner in their positions than the tee-gee brigade. I tend to get along with a lot more of them as well. At least they call it like they see it and don't try to coddle the men playing basketball with young women or the men who get their kicks exposing male genitalia in locker rooms or, as we saw with Kveller, take umbrage with the men who would bring censorship efforts upon ex-wives who dare speak from experience.
And no this won't have a name publicly attached, so sign it simply as a voice of reason.
- December 12, 2012 at 11:49 AM
more of the, (icky), same...
- December 12, 2012 at 4:10 PM
- Black Swan said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- December 12, 2012 at 4:52 PM
@BS 12/12/12 4:52p
How typical of you and your tee-gee brigadiers...when faced with reasoned statements, you ignore all of them and instead regurgitate someone else's printed vomit. It is very easy to see how Elizabeth came to have her fill of you on each occasion you were let back in the door.
I guess you also missed the fact that Cerullo had admitted in a different local article to not even having READ Christine's book. That's right- an alleged member of academia was criticizing the views of Christine without ever even READING the book in its entirety (something that you too appear not to have done).
I don't need to 'evolve' nor am I in fear of perishing...well, unless it turns out next week that the Mayans were correct, in which case we are all screwed.
MOST here got life in order. We aren't the ones tilting at windmills like the tee-gees. We recognize those like Ladin who continue to act like men as they censor those who dare to speak the truth about the damage the mid-life men in crisis do to families.
still...a voice of reason
- December 12, 2012 at 5:08 PM
- Black Swan said...
@Anonymous December 12, 2012 11:49 AM:
Blogs are graffitti with punctuation. Unless your a personality they are pretty much useless lame ducks.
How do you balance your obvious conflict of interest with:
"Can a member of a dominant group (straight, white, cisgendered) write off the political implications of their own hateful language as being merely "personal" — particularly when they insert this language into the public domain in the form of a memoir or media interviews?"
"What if a heterosexual author described a spouse who came out as gay as a source of "creepy" revulsion — again, due to their sexual orientation? Today, we would regard such texts as racist and homophobic. Must we wait 20 years to see Benvenuto's depiction as transphobic?"
"Consider a white author describing an African-American former spouse as, "creepy, dark and disgusting to behold," specifically because they were African-American."
Family law matters shouldn't be barnicaled and bifurcated into political group hate speech, which IS deserving of censorship. And your reliance on the past (appeal to tradition) "Reagan-Bush PC" tropes to discredit nearly any critique of racism or sexism shows your antediluvian interlocutor. Trust me the world isn't flat anymore.
Source: http://www.gazettenet.com/opinion/columns/3302452-95/author-memoir-tracey-college?print=true
So, let me break your concentration camp; evolve or perish.
- December 12, 2012 at 5:15 PM
@Anonymous 5:08PM
How male of you, recalcitrant in the face of a well reasoned argument.
- December 12, 2012 at 6:34 PM
- Miz Know-It-All said...
So BS?
When are YOU going to come out of the closet? Time to shit or get off the pot isn't it? I mean if you really are dead set to be a transjactivist par excellence, well then do it! Own your past! Be proud of having been a penis owner! Stop lying about it when you are out there doing "your thing!" in Fact, why not show us by example what it means to be the trans-woman you seem to want us to be for you! After all, as you yourself said! Evolve or die! Well no time like the presence is there? Best get to evolving Hon!
- December 12, 2012 at 7:22 PM
FYI: Grace=Loonie Junie
BS is resorting to 'racist' bs.
How typical.
Calling people racist/bigoted IS hate speech and a bully tactic used to silence those who dare to speak out against totalitarian control tactics exemplifed by this censorship.
Are these not the same trans-bully bigots screaming for inclusion? Oh I forgot. Only those agreeng with their bigoted hatred are included. Those that disagree are pilloried, demonized and silenced.
- December 12, 2012 at 7:27 PM
@ Grace AKA Loonie June
"Recalcitrant" = Having an obstinately uncooperative attitude toward authority.
Who is the supposed "authority" this anonymous person is allegedly supposed to give way too? BS? Or because BS is delivering transgender doctrine? Is Transgender the supposed "Authority here? Is transgender the "authority" because it is male? Is that it? I think so, I think that is your intent.
Well you can all take your fucking misogyny and shove it!
- December 12, 2012 at 11:18 PM
- Elizabeth said...
These are comments taken from an interview given by Joy Ladin.
When the walls of her 'private concentration camp finally collapsed' in 2005, Ms Ladin's wife refused to approve of what she saw as the destruction and erasure of their lives together.
'Most literature on transsexuality implies that there is a moral obligation for others to recognize the supremacy of the transsexual's needs,' writes the professor.
But her wife was not like everyone else. Her 'courage' as a young adult to resist the moral decree that a woman should always put others' needs before her own - that had once been the object of her husband's admiration - now stood in the way of her acceptance of his true identity.
'Rather than swallowing her pain and focusing on my mine, she decided to fight for her life,' Ms Ladin explains in the book. 'If I had been faithless, she would be faithful.
'If I denied the reality of the man she loved, she would mourn and defend him.'
What a pompous arrogant and complete total piece of shit this bully is.
Never get in the way of a man and his dress.
- December 13, 2012 at 3:05 AM
- Miz Know-It-All said...
"If I denied the reality of the man she loved,[and married] she would mourn and defend him."
This is what gets me! I have zero issues with Joy transitioning and I am NOT going to judge her on that account!
But! If Joy really is a female, then by God she should understand what it means to be female in this situation! That she, Joy, is in the wrong totally! Having lied most horribly to her former wife! That she took from her, her husband, her community status as a wife, the father to her children, why he even tried to take her sexual preference! Well of course she is angry! That is HER RIGHT!
Joy needs to back the fuck off and honor that anger! It is hers to own and HER'S to swallow, not the other way round... But then again, men never see it that way do they? Having been trained from birth onto expect subservience, they put on a dress and play girl but still expect "the real women" to swallow their pain! Bull Shit!
Kinda speaks volumes about how much of a woman they really are doesn't it?
- December 13, 2012 at 4:56 AM
I also wait with baited breath for Black Swan to put her money where her mouth is and be the big tall out loud and proud trannie activist she claims to be.
Otherwise E shut the fuck up.
- December 13, 2012 at 11:36 AM
Most people are selfish s@#ts. We honor and respect the selfless because they are so rare.
- an old aunty
- December 13, 2012 at 3:04 PM
- Black Swan said...
I've just purchased Christine Benvenuto's memoir and reviewing it at the moment. Point of clarification: Isn't it true that Joy Ladin informed Christine Benvenuto that he identified as transsexual in college long before there engagement and marriage?
- December 13, 2012 at 4:10 PM
- Elizabeth said...
Jay Ladin said there were times he wished he had been born a girl. He never mentioned transsexual according to wife and he never cross-dressed during marriage.
- December 13, 2012 at 11:08 PM
It's painful to see this "charge" thrown out over and over again by Ladin and the closed-minded TG activists: that Ladin told his ex-wife from the very beginning that he was a she and so this is all Benvenuto's fault. What few understand and many are beginning to understand is that Ladin lies, constantly.
- December 14, 2012 at 2:27 AM
- Black Swan said...
@Anon Dec 12, 2012 7:27 PM:
It appears you agree with this RadFem review. I've reviewed both books:
>>Consider a white author describing an African-American former spouse as, "creepy, dark, and disgusting to behold," specifically because they were African-American.<<
"More like a white author describing a white former spouse now perpetually wearing blackface as, "creepy, dark, and disgusting to behold", specifically because they think they know what it's like to be black, and that IN FACT they are black *now* despite being white essentially their whole lives." From GenderTrender
http://www.amherstbulletin.com/artsleisure/2942204-95/benvenuto-husband-gender-book. Published Dec 5
http://www.gazettenet.com/opinion/columns/3302452-95/author-memoir-tracey-college?print=true. Published Dec 10
The problem is your claim the article's author Cerullo was not privy to the book prior to Dec 5, which is true. However, the article in question appears published on Dec 10, allowing plenty of time for Cerullo to review the book.
You can always spin a negative screed if you want to, but the "blackface" example is a false equivalent to racial struggle a priori. There is a better example.
Wait for it.....
- December 14, 2012 at 8:10 PM
- Elizabeth said...
@Black Swan
Joy Ladin condemns herself in every interview she gives. Comments implying the wife should support her husband because it is her duty and his pain his worse than hers. Also claiming most women support the spouse which is total bullshit.
Look, it is simple with you BS. You support everything the TG do and are basically an apologist for them regardless of their transgressions. Those of us that question them are transphobic, racist, etc. and you have called me all of those names and many more in the time I have allowed you to comment on my blog.
I am supporting Christine because I have an inkling of what she went through and I believe what she is writing is as truthful as she can recall because it is traumatic for a woman to go threw this.
Just for your information Cerullo has admitted he has not read it and has admitted he has no intention of reading it. There was nothing transphobic about the article that she was "asked" to write by an Editor at the Gazette and it was approved by all concerned for publication.
There is nothing transphobic in her book. It is an honest accounting of what happened to her from her perspective and she is certainly not claiming any higher moral ground. Her ex us the one that wants her words censored because it calls into question his self described heroism as an oh so brave transgender male bravely stepping forward to claim his real self when in fact he went behind her back with other women before he ever discussed this decision with her.
He was oh so brave but carefully waited until he was tenured at Yeshiva before coming forth. If he was brave he would have come forth but then he is typical of many late transitioning men.
His claims of suicide attempts as a child are total and complete bullshit. His claims that if he could not wear a dress he would die are typical of super transvestites but heck he is going to be one of your TG activist pals because he is not getting SRS from what I can tell.
I would suggest you take your TG apologist views and shove them up your ass but your head has been up there so long neither your ego or apologist views have room.
Read Ladin's essays where he says how brave he was walking the streets of NYC en femme risking being arrested and his position at Yeshiva. Of course he is too stupid to realize it is not illegal and he does not risk arrest but a hero needs his cause.
He claimed he took clorox bleach in a suicide attempt but eventually spit it out because he did not like the taste. It would not kill him but then he is a brave TG hero and stealing the narrative of those TS children that were suicidal makes for good copy. Also bleach would cause issues with irritation and blistering in the mouth but why worry about such details.
Now all that is left is for you Black Swan to be the heroine and out yourself and become another TG spokesman although somehow I do not believe you would be "ideal" as a spokesman and you know it.
- December 15, 2012 at 12:07 AM
@BS your entire screed, together with your completely unsubstantiated allegations have no basis in fact or, even reality.
IE: I never made any reference to Cerullo. At least TRY to get your facts straight. Your "arguments" *might* seem less ridiculous.
My postion stands. "Calling people racist/bigoted IS hate speech and a bully tactic used to silence those who dare to speak out against totalitarian control tactics exemplifed by this censorship...Only those agreeng with their bigoted hatred are included. Those that disagree are pilloried, demonized and silenced."
- December 15, 2012 at 12:54 AM
- Black Swan said...
@ Anonymous December 12, 2012 5:08 PM or...
@ Anonymous December 12 2012 7:27 PM or...
@ Anonymous December 15 2012 12:54 AM
"Up the shut fuck YOU MUST" Yoda
Sign your posts and no cufusion with occur.
Face facts you position nor opionion stands AT ALL, nor carries any weight in the real world except in you little mind. Intolerance of Intollerance is accaptable Intollerance. Its very entertaiing seeig you rely upon Reagan-Bush PC tropes. ROTHFL at YOU!
My position is Cerullo could have read the book, she had time in my example. You are qouting an article that published 5 days before her position paper. Post a link to your source or make an appoitment with Yoda above.
Kveller had every right to censor what they beieved to be or came to believe to be hate speech, nothing you say here changes that fact, so none of your Anonymous arguments holds or stands or is authority. It has been decided by this Jewish publication that that don't want any part of Intolerance of Transgender people. What about that do you not understand?
- December 15, 2012 at 2:11 PM
Hilarious! "Intolerance of Intollerance is accaptable Intollerance." ~BS
Thank YOU. You have just substantated my "Anonymous arguments".
Or can it be that in your drug addled mind, "Calling people racist/bigoted IS (NOT??), hate speech and a bully tactic used to silence those who dare to speak out against totalitarian control tactics exemplifed by (you and), this censorship.
OR...that only "Those that agree with YOU are NOT are pilloried, demonized and silenced."
Keep trying BS. Since you cannot impress us with your 'brilliance', your feeble attempts to baffle us with your bulls**t, is most entertaining.
- December 15, 2012 at 7:17 PM
I'm just wondering who you think you are to attempt your bully boy tactics. None here are one of the men you toss around for a living. There simply was nothing hateful about anything Christine wrote Jay Ladin just didn't like male pronouns used in reference to him. Since Jay has no intention of SRS male pronouns are entirely appropriate in my view. Christine is the wronged party here not Jay.
It's you who needs to wake up Eve
- December 15, 2012 at 9:17 PM
- Kathryn Dumke said...
Black Swan, I completely disagree with your views on this. While Kveller can make whatever editorial decisions it may chose to make, however, if they come about by a descent of hundreds of TG activist writing messages pressing a political correctness point, it becomes censure.
It is so interesting with Ladin, that he is neither disenfranchised in this divorce and the way it became about, nor is he disenfranchised in his life. Let's not forget he was an English professor at the Stern College for Women and has been for many many years, he continues to be in this position and now uses his position to disenfranchise not only Christine as a wife in an orthodox Jewish marriage but also denies and devalues the full weight of her anger over what befell her.
Anyone reading the article in the Huffington Post written by him with a critical mind, can see that it reinforces his view that his pain and struggle weighs more and in his view should weigh more than the pain he has caused Christine. When you look through the net he is described as the first transgender professor at an orthodox Jewish College. It is his banner. He describes his book in part about "attempting to save a strained (and then broken) marriage, and explores the process of transition in close detail". The entire sordid affair becomes "how to justify disenfranchising Christine's life and devalue her struggles" to elevate myself in the eyes of the reading public.
The man who "became" a woman is incapable of owning his life and his life's consequences.
Kveller became a party to this because of a misguided sense correctness.
Looking at Ladin's life show me how he was persecuted as they claim he was. When he was placed on indefinite leave from the College after coming out to them his lawyer wrote a letter and he immediately was re-instated. He retained his positioned as a tenured professor. He told Christine that she could leave but without the children when the marriage broke. Because he has a tenured position it was she who had to stay in the valley with her ex about town. He has sacrificed nothing but his wife (and children) on the altar of his own self elevation.
Do you see how shameless he is? Your defense of his position is as misguided as Kveller censure.
- December 15, 2012 at 9:26 PM
I find myself in complete agreement with You Kathrine. I can see little if any virtue in the actionas of either Kveller or Ladin. Both are either weighted or tainted with the stench of misogyny. What does that say about Black Swan? Indeed what does it say?
- December 16, 2012 at 4:44 AM
" Any critical thinking or arguments to the contrary = transphobia punishable by immediate censor and sanction. This is a good thing--trust me."
~Black Swan
- December 16, 2012 at 2:38 PM
- Black Swan said...
@Anonymous December 16, 2012 2:38 PM:
Oh please taking my argument out of context is spinning my statement. "It's hip to be Transgender now--no surgery required. Any critical thinking or arguments to the contrary = transphobia punishable by immediate censor and sanction. This is a good thing--trust me."
Read the entire post in context: Dec 12, 2012 11:54 AM
The Transgender movement is entering it's populous stage, yet CasandraSpeaks is attempting to barnacle the popular feminist trope upon me with the overused; Is it misogyny? "What does that say about Black Swan?" This question is an argument derailer in the making--completely off topic.
My conclusions to my research into radical feminism as it applies to the Kveller censorship letter: I do this by taking on the phrase "I'm a feminist" wear it for awhile and see how it fits--does it fit with my egalitarianism? Not really working is it. How are we ever going to move on from saying 'I'm a feminist' and then having to quickly add 'I don't hate men'? Its not possible, man hating is throughout the curriculum. The same with the feminists view of transsexuals/transgenders. No political movement falsifies so much of its actual history and data to make one group look like oppressors and another the victims and legislates against the oppressor group, because it loves the group earmarked as oppressors; guilty for being born with a penis. Feminism is a hate movement in its post-populous stage. Now reeling and spinning misogyny tropes and cliche's for cover.
I have to say, this is really one of the reasons why I'm an egalitarian, not a feminist. Even though feminist culture would like to claim everyone that believes in the virtues of gender equality is by default a feminist, feminism is more then that. From the SCUM manifesto, to statements about transgendered women that positively would fit right in at a Nuremberg rally, 'womyn born womyn', to the unconscious misandry inherent in articles and books I have read. The subtext of feminism is inherently anti-men, or anything that used to have a penis.
@Kathryn: I'm being an advocate for Kveller: All I'm saying is Kveller has exercised good judgement in not taking sides in a family law matter; it's close community religious publication. The Ex-spouses in this case are free to write elsewhere. Christine can also write for the Huffington Post or other publication who so chooses to publish her. Both have written books and both can speak publicly as they so choose. It wouldn't surprise me if Joy Ladin's Huffington Post article was a response to Christine's "Sex Changes." I'm sure the book received a boost in sales due to this publicity.
A different thread could discuss the reasons why the Transgender mobilization against Christine Benvenuto. I offered some here. Kathryn you know very well if you would read Ms Benvenuto's book that its a character assassination of Joy Ladin (referred to as "Tracey" in the book) for being transgender. Ms. Benvenuto would be reticent to engage in moralist condemnations if Tracey were she of a different race, sexual orientation or acquired physical disability.
- December 16, 2012 at 6:20 PM
- Kathryn Dumke said...
Black Swan
So you admit that your reaction to this is simply visceral. My way or the highway? I think what you just said means My Way! no options.
Where did I hear that last?
- December 16, 2012 at 7:13 PM
- Black Swan said...
Well Anonymous #1 and Anonymous #2:
If I've engaged in a thought terminating cliche' the onus is upon you to identify it and prove-up that I used it inappropriately. So fare you have not. Thus you are engaging in "poisoning the wll/begging the question" attacks. Otherwise we'll go in circles.
I'm very open to any discourse that doesn't rely on PC Tropes that halt critical thinking on the subject of comparing racial, homophobia or bigotry to the said example.
- December 16, 2012 at 8:05 PM
Well BS
It's a good thing if you don;t believe in the First Amendment and wipe your ass with the Constitution just like that freak in the White House does.
- December 16, 2012 at 9:26 PM
- Deena said...
I Haven't followed all the detailed arguments in this thread so please forgive me if I overstep on a few points.
First I would say to my very close friend Black Swan that I think Ladin is a typical male. He (or she) is trotting out the victim card when the victim in this is really the ex. You, BS, know my life story. Few do. I also know most of yours and you don't have the life experiences to be able to relate the dynamics of this specific set of circumstances. But, I respect your opinion. You see a wounded soul afflicted by an ex who is trans-phobic. I see a wife who discovered that the man of her dreams lied to her and was really female. For a woman that is a real catastrophic event. She is trying her best to describe it. My heart goes out to her.
To the rest of you who would criticize Black Swan I have a few words of advice. BS is a champion of those facing adversity. E may not always phrase things in the PC acceptable language but I assure you that BS has a heart of gold for the oppressed and condemned.
Why should I bother with these things? I believe each of us needs to understand that differences in perspective will always exist. We should not go to war over them but rather we should explore them and learn from each other.
Blessings to each of you during this season.
- December 16, 2012 at 10:02 PM
BS said: "Kathryn you know very well if you would read Ms Benvenuto's book that its a character assassination of Joy Ladin (referred to as "Tracey" in the book) for being transgender. Ms. Benvenuto would be reticent to engage in moralist condemnations if Tracey were she of a different race, sexual orientation or acquired physical disability."
I can guarantee you that Ms. Benvenuto's book is not a character assassination against Joy Ladin for being transgender. Ms. Benvenuto's book ends up being a description of the self-assassination of Jay Ladin's character by himself, during his transition. Ms. Benvenuto would be reticent and loathe to engage in moralist condemnations if Ladin were not an asshole.
@BS: You're like all the rest. You think you know Ladin or the situation or Benvenuto or her motives. You know nothing. What you write is just the latest form of masturbation for you.
- December 17, 2012 at 1:23 AM
- Elizabeth said...
@Black Swan
Lord, you are really pathetic. Her asshole ex husband runs around telling everyone how bad she "behaved" yet she has no right to write her own memoir stating her opinion? What a complete hypocritical nimrod you are.
You take his word as the gospel but her words are transphobic. Just a little history lesson. He was a man that married her, He was a man that fathered her children and no he never told her a thing about him being "transsexual" or cross-dressing because she never would have converted to Judaism and married him if he had and I believe her on that.
You have no life experience that allows you to relate to this woman. Have you ever been married to a man? I do not think so. Fucking some guy is not the same as a relationship. I find you so foolish that I almost want to ask do you have even the slightest clue what it means to live and works as a woman but then I know you do not.
You live in your fantasy world of Transgender Rights where anyone claiming they are women have the right to expose themselves in women's facilities because it is a learning moment. You do not fear men because quite frankly they fear you. It is not the same for 99.99% of us.
Now you support some self absorbed dickhead husband that transitioned in his 40's and claimed it was his wife's duty to support him because transsexual literature says she should. You both sound like freaking men and the sad part is I know you are a beautiful girl but you are most certainly not a women yet because you have not wised up.
Now you basically support book burning and censorship and claim family matters should stay in the courts so why didn't Joy Ladin leave them there because it was Joy Ladin that brought them forth and public but I guess the wife must grin and bear his slings and arrows because after all he was a man, actually still is and plans on staying that way.
You are a pathetic apologist for weak men but then that does work for you, doesn't it?
- December 17, 2012 at 2:16 AM
- Black Swan said...
@Elizabeth, You are correct I have never been married and do not know what it is like to have a husband. There I'm at a loss. I transitioned in my mid-thirties and have had a more successful career as a woman than I had in my formal male life. However, it doesn't recuse my positions because I somehow don't have experience as a married person with regards to Kveller's censorship.
It may have been premature, yet I'm open to rational understanding why in the first chapter of "Sex Changes" its OK for Christine to characterize her then husband as creepy or ugly. She also wastes no time in declaring he lost his moral compass "seemingly devoid of moral bearings." This statement "I thought we were forever" tells me she doesn't have her head on strait when it came to reality.
Admittedly I'm not done with her book but this will be an interesting discussion for your next thread/topic. I now have Joy Ladin's book in my Kindle and will review them both. I have taken neither Benvenuto's nor Ladin's comments and prose as gospel. As I'm sure the rest of your comments will be addressed in the next topic thread. I already know the standard of truth your applying to Ladin--he's a liar by virtue of transitioning in his 40's and doing so while married to his wife. In your world what should Ladin have done that would not meet your ire?
@Kathryn, This isn't a zero sum game, nor is it "my way or the highway." I do take umbrage with being condemned for defending Kveller's position with the "your either with us or against us" policy. This isn't about book burning at all--that's overreaching.
- December 17, 2012 at 3:15 AM
- Elizabeth said...
@Black Swan
Well I was under the impression you transitioned earlier but now everything makes sense. You are another late transitioning know-it-all that is sure she has all the answers yet you have none and yes in some ways not having been a wife does recuse you from understanding Christine's position but I do not expect that will bother you. I cannot expect you to understand the bond and relationship that occurs in a marriage for a woman. Get a life and then talk about it because you talk about it like a man.
From her point of view as a wife in an Orthodox Jewish Marriage he did seem to have lost his moral compass and that is a valid view. He had an adverse result from whatever medication he was on and he was very sickly and he looked kind of weird as he had massive amounts of laser treatments with money the family could ill afford to spend.
Ladin is a liar based on his own words. From my viewpoint he could have done what many others in his position have done which is try and make it as easy for his wife s he could be he was an arrogant ass and it comes out in both his memoir and his interviews and writings.
If as he claims he knew he was transsexual and a cross-dresser before he married his wife why put a woman through that? Actually I have rarely heard a transsexual describe themselves as transsexual and a cross-dresser but then Joy was rather new at the new narrative Joy needed to be a transgender martyr and hero.
Were you married before you transitioned Black Swan? Did you have a serious boy-girl relationship before transition?
Regardless it is now apparent you are another mid life transitioner that after a few years playing girl thinks they have all the answers. You are a product of the Transgender community so I can see why you support them so vehemently regardless of what they do. They are you and you are them, one and the same. Makes your issues clearer to me.
You are clueless.
- December 17, 2012 at 9:44 AM
- Black Swan said...
Do you need Ammo to hurt me, do you really want to make me cry ?
- December 18, 2012 at 7:15 PM
- Elizabeth said...
@Black Swan
Greta Culture Club song if you change that to "Do you really want to hurt me, do you really want to make me cry"? I could ask you the same thing BS but then you have really tried to hurt me, haven't you?
I actually find you very interesting now that I know a little more. Your positions make more sense. They are still wrong but I am sure in your mind they are valid.
By the way if I wanted to hurt you I would have published the blog comment from your "real" account you posted when you seemed to be in a confused state.
- December 18, 2012 at 8:16 PM
- Elizabeth said...
@Black Swan
Greta Culture Club song if you change that to "Do you really want to hurt me, do you really want to make me cry"? I could ask you the same thing BS but then you have really tried to hurt me, haven't you?
I actually find you very interesting now that I know a little more. Your positions make more sense. They are still wrong but I am sure in your mind they are valid.
By the way if I wanted to hurt you I would have published the blog comment from your "real" account you posted when you seemed to be in a confused state.
- December 18, 2012 at 8:16 PM
How reationary. This culter club.
To think she could ever hurt the monster.
- December 18, 2012 at 8:37 PM
- Black Swan said...
The muse waxes you doesn't she? Transphobia is the crime against Ladin by portmanteau, thereby derivation ?other-phobia. All Liz needs to do is deny the crime and she is free to commit it. BTW that is denial.
- December 23, 2012 at 6:46 PM
- Stephanie said...
Real people, real identification, anonymous .....Why? ....Who can hurt you?....No one can hurt you unless you let them.
............................... Happy Holidays.
- December 25, 2012 at 8:24 AM
Stephanie... Using a real name is what you TG dimwits do, forever outing yourselves as men in dresses to the whole world. Transsexuals are entirely different. We have no desire to jump up and down screaming "Look at me! Look at me!". The whole point of our transition is to blend into society as women, nothing more, nothing less. That is something you will never know nor understand, so don't hurt yourself trying to figure it out.
No Stephanie, we will not give you the pleasure of being able to ruin us like you and the other tee gees have ruined yourselves.
- December 27, 2012 at 12:26 AM


text:
Contact Us
Browse by:
Modified RIE chamber for uniform silicon etching
Modified RIE chamber for uniform silicon etching
Patent Drawings:
(3 images)
Hendricks, et al.
Date Issued:
July 20, 1982
September 10, 1980
Hendricks; Charles J.
(Wappingers Falls, NY)
Hicks; William W.
(Wappingers Falls, NY)
Keller; John H.
(Newburgh, NY)
International Business Machines Corp.
(Armonk, NY)
Primary Examiner:
Weisstuch; Aaron
Assistant Examiner:
Attorney Or Agent:
Jordan; John A.
U.S. Class:
Field Of Search:
International Class:
U.S Patent Documents:
Foreign Patent Documents:
Other References:
A Galicki et al., "Plasma Reaction Chamber", IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, vol. 20, No. 6, Nov. 1977, p. 2211..
L. M. Ephrath, "Selective Etching of Silicon Dioxide Using Reactive Ion Etching with CF.sub.4 -H.sub.2 ", J. Electrochem. Soc.: SOLID-STATE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Aug. 1979, pp. 1419-1421..
J. J. Cuomo et al., "Device for Controlling Ion-Beam Size", IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, vol. 21, No. 7, Dec. 1978, pp. 3036, 3037..
A plasma enhancing baffle plate is employed in conjunction with the anode of an RIE system to provide uniform silicon etching. The baffle plate is conductively coupled to and provided in relatively close proximity to the anode to form a constricted chamber region between anode and baffle plate. With the constricted chamber open to the RIE chamber through aperture means in the baffle plate the total surface area of the anode is increased, such that when the system is biased to operate in an RIE mode an increase in the generation of neutral etching species is effected. Various aperture arrangements may be employed to provide different patterns of neutral etching species generation, in accordance with the peculiar characteristics of the system employed.
What is claimed is:
1. In a reactive ion etching system including anode and target cathode means adapted to be biased to create an ionized plasma within a reaction chamber having ion species andneutral etching species, the improvement comprising a plasma enhancing baffle plate electrically coupled to said anode and arranged to form a constricted chamber region between said anode and baffle plate with said baffle plate being at least as close tosaid anode than as to said cathode and with said constricted chamber region being open to said reaction chamber through aperture means in said baffle plate to permit said plasma to be generated within said constricted chamber region such that the totalsurface area of said anode is increased thereby acting to increase the creation and distribution of said neutral species.
2. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said aperture means comprise a plurality of apertures.
3. The system as set forth in claim 2 wherein said aperture means comprise a plurality of apertures decreasing in size from the central region of said baffle plate outwardly.
4. A reactive ion etching system for etching material through chemical and ionic action, said system including anode means and target cathode means adapted to be biased to form an electric field therebetween within a reaction chamber which actsto create a plasma containing ion species and neutral etching species, the improvement comprising;
plasma enhancing baffle plate means electrically coupled to said anode means and arranged to be a distance from said anode means no greater than half the distance between said anode means and said cathode means so as to form a constricted chamberregion between said anode means and said plasma enhancing baffle plate means, said plasma enhancing baffle plate means having aperture means therein which act to open said constricted chamber region to said reaction chamber and permit said plasma to begenerated within said constricted chamber region over an enlarged anode surface area such that there is an increase in the creation and distribution of neutral species within said plasma.
5. The system as set forth in claim 4 wherein said baffle plate means is arranged so as to be no greater in distance from said anode means than 25 percent of the diameter of said baffle plate means.
6. The system as set forth in claim 5 wherein said aperture means comprise a plurality of apertures.
7. The system as set forth in claim 6 wherein said plurality of apertures decrease in size from the central region of said plasma enhancing baffle plate means outwardly toward the periphery thereof.
8. The system as set forth in claim 4 wherein said aperture means comprise a plurality of apertures.
9. The system as set forth in claim 8 wherein said plurality of apertures decrease in size from the central region of said plasma enhancing baffle plate means outwardly toward the periphery thereof.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to reactive ion etching and, more particularly, to reactive ion etching using a modified reaction chamber which gives uniform silicon etching in batch processing silicon wafers.
2. Description of the Problem and the Prior Art
The clear trend in integrated circuit design is one of increasing density with a corresponding decrease in the minimum size of device features and interconnect structures. To economically fabricate devices with minimum geometric pattern sizes ina range of 1-2 microns, advanced technology manufacturing processes and tools are required. This is particularly true in the areas of pattern generation and pattern transfer to substrate material. Electron beam and X-ray lithography systems have beendeveloped to fill the need for the generation of fine patterns in photoresist materials. However, there is a need for process technology and manufacturing capabilities which will permit transfer of the patterns to the thin substrate materials with aminimum of distortion.
The more conventional approaches, such as wet chemical and low-pressure plasma etching, are insufficient to meet the new process technology requirements for transferring fine patterns because such etching techniques are essentially isotropicprocesses which result in a large amount of feature undercutting. Ion milling and sputter etching provide directional etching with little undercutting but suffer the disadvantages of photoresist degradation, charge damage, low etch rates, poorselectivity and redeposition in the etched feature. Reactive ion etching, on the other hand, is a directional etching technique which does not have the disadvantages incident the use of ion milling and sputter etching.
Reactive ion etching (RIE) has been shown to be widely applicable to a variety of thin film materials and compatible with commonly utilized photoresist systems. However, one of the difficulties encountered in RIE has been obtaining etch rateuniformities suitable for manufacturing semiconductor devices. Non-uniformity of etching has been addressed in a variety of prior art etching devices. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,148,705 to Battey et al. describes a plasma etching reactorarrangement for etching, for example, aluminum wherein the plasma is generated between a pair of closely spaced electrodes and a distributed impedance is provided in series with the plasma to assure uniform distribution of the ionizing current and theglow discharge of the plasma throughout the region between the electrodes. In another approach, Galicki et al. describe in the IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 20, No. 6, November 1977, page 2211, a plasma etch reaction chamber arrangement whichprovides a uniform flow of gas in the chamber.
A reactive ion etching chamber arrangement for the selective etching of silicon dioxide has been described by L. M. Ephrath in J. Electrochemical Soc.: Solid-State Science and Technology, Aug. 1979, pp. 1419-1421. Ephrath employs for thewafers an aluminum plate which is mechanically and electrically connected to a water cooled RF cathode. A grounded counterelectrode is placed in close proximity to the surface of the wafers to reduce the backscattering of aluminum.
A further plasma etch reaction chamber that attempts to achieve gas uniformity in a batch wafer processing arrangement is that described by Yamamoto et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,151,034.
In scaling up RIE chambers to form silicon-wafer large-batch processing tools for manufacturing, etch rate uniformity becomes even more of a problem because of the larger areas involved. In such tools, the etch rate of materials like silicon canbe relatively non-uniform. Typically, a non-uniformity of 35 percent has been observed in batch processing silicon wafers in a multi-wafer etching mode involving a dozen or more wafers. This nonuniformity of etch rate can occur even though the partialpressure of the injected gas, as well as the plasma density of the etching plasma, is uniform over the chamber volume. One explanation for this nonuniformity of etch rate is that although the etchant species is generated uniformly over the entirechamber volume/surface, the dominant loss occurs at the target, and thus an etchant species concentration gradient is created which leads to an enhanced etch rate at the outer edge of the target.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, uniform etching of batches of silicon substrates is achieved in an enlarged RIE chamber by providing a mechanism within the chamber for adjusting the etchant species concentration acrossthe target so as to be uniform. The mechanism is comprised of a plasma enhancing baffle plate (PEBP) placed in the general region above the target in such a way that it encloses a plasma volume between itself and the anode (non-target electrode). Thisenclosed volume is connected to the main chamber volume by providing apertures in the PEBP of various sizes, shapes and locations. The concentration of etchant species in the target region in the presence of the PEBP represents a significant increaseover that with no plate. The reason for this is the increased anode area represented by the PBEP increases the RF currents and, hence, ionizing currents in the region near the PEBP. In addition, since these currents must pass through the apertures inthe PEBP, they are constricted in the region of the apertures leading to a high rate of etchant species production at the aperture locations. By adjusting aperture size and location the etchant species density may be varied over the target to produce auniform etch rate.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved etching method and apparatus.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved reactive ion etch apparatus.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an improved silicon etching apparatus.
It is yet still a further object of the present invention to provide an improved RIE apparatus for batch etching silicon substrates.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved RIE apparatus for batch etching a large number of silicon substrates with etching being relatively uniform over the etching field from wafer to wafer.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a typical prior art RIE apparatus.
FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration of the RIE apparatus with a plasma enhancing baffle plate in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3 shows a top view in partial section of the RIE apparatus of FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 shows a plot of the silicon etch profile across the cathode target of an RIE apparatus, like that shown in FIG. 1, without the plasma enhancing baffle plate in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 5 shows a plot of the silicon etch rate profile across the cathode target of RIE apparatus, such as shown in FIG. 2, using a plasma enhancing baffle plate arrangement having one opening or perforation in the central region thereof.
FIG. 6 shows plots of the silicon etch rate profile for both the RIE apparatus of FIG. 1 and the RIE apparatus of FIG. 2 with latter having perforations diminishing in size from the central region thereof, like those shown in FIG. 3.
FIG. 1 shows a typical prior art RIE chamber 1 employing a "tophat" cathode target arrangement. As shown, anode 3 with interior surface 4 is grounded and cathode top plate 13 of cathode assembly 5 is coupled to RF source 7. The "tophat" cathodetarget assembly arrangement comprises a rounded brim portion 9 integral with wall portion 11 extending upwardly into the RIE chamber. Top plate 13 of the "tophat" is electrically insulated from wall portion 11 by insulating spacer 15 and held in placeby screws, one of which is shown at 17. A seal between the interior of the RIE chamber and atmosphere is achieved via O rings 19 and 21 on opposing sides of spacer 15. In addition, a seal between the interior of the chamber and atmosphere around thebrim portion of the "tophat" is achieved via O ring 23. As shown, pallet 27 rests upon top plate 13 and accommodates a plurality of workpieces 25, the latter typically being silicon substrates. Pumpdown of the chamber is achieved through port 29 whichis separated from the main chamber volume by screen 30. The gas inlet 31 and gas ring 33 permit introduction and distribution of the appropriate process gas into the chamber.
During operation of the system of FIG. 1, a plasma glow will exist within the interior plasma region 34 of chamber 1. To facilitate a clear understanding of the operation of prior art systems, the explanation to follow divides the interiorchamber plasma region into central plasma region 34A situated over cathode 13 and outer plasma region 34B situated nearer the chamber walls. During operation, plasma is separated from the inside chamber surfaces, including the surfaces of pallet 27,screen 30 and chamber wall 36, by a plasma sheath. The character of the plasma sheath is determined by its particular location within the chamber. The cathode plasma sheath 37 is the widest (typically.perspectiveto.1 cm), has a high potential dropacross it (typically 300-500 V d.c.) and is normally observed as a distinct dark region between the cathode and the plasma glow. The anode plasma sheath 38 and the wall plasma sheath 39 are generally the same for the system as configured, with athickness typically .about.1 mm and voltage drop of .about.20 V. The various dark spaces merge continuously into each other, as depicted near cathode edge 40. Although not shown in FIG. 1, it is to be understood that a plasma sheath also exists aroundgas inlet 31.
FIG. 2 shows the prior art RIE chamber shown in FIG. 1, modified in accordance with the present invention to include the plasma enhancing baffle plate (PEBP) 41 with upper surface 41A and lower surface 41B. For the sake of clarity ofexplanation, the gas inlet ring 33 has been omitted, but it is to be understood that the ring or some like form of gas introduction/distribution mechanism is provided within the chamber. The particular PEBP shown in FIG. 2 has a single large aperture 45connecting the enclosed plasma region 43 to the plasma region 34A. Aperture 45 permits the creation of an enclosed plasma in region 43 resulting in an anode plasma sheath 44 at both the surface of plate 3 and the upper surface 41A of the PEBP. Inaddition, a sheath is formed on lower surface 41B of the PEBP.
FIG. 3 shows, as an example, a top view of a typical baffle plate arrangement, such arrangement having more particular aperture design detail over that shown in FIG. 2. As can be seen, in FIG. 3, the PEBP apertures decrease in size radially,there being one large aperture 45 at the central region of the plate, akin to the PEBP of FIG. 2. Concentric with the central aperture 45 is a set of six apertures 46A-46F, each being approximately threesevenths in size to that of the central aperture. Concentric with apertures 46A-46F is another set of six apertures 48A-48F with the latter apertures being approximately one-half in size to the apertures 48A-48F. Also indicated by dashed circles is a possible wafer arrangement for RIE processing of anineteen wafer batch. It should be understood that the arrangement of wafers is for illustration only and does not imply any fixed relationship between the wafer arrangement and the aperture pattern. In fact, any wafer arrangement occupying the samegeneral area of the cathode would suffice for the purpose of this invention.
It should be further understood that, in accordance with the principles of the present invention, the relative sizes, shapes, density and pattern arrangement of PEBP apertures may be varied in accordance with the particular characteristics of theRIE chamber for which the PEBP is designed. Furthermore, asymmetric pattern arrangements of apertures, or arrangements for which the hole sizes vary with radius (e.g. increase, increase and then decrease), are within the scope of this invention. Inaddition, as will be described more fully hereinafter, an aperture arrangement or configuration is not necessarily unique for a given chamber but is to be designed such that it optimally compensates for the non-uniformity in etch rate of the particularchamber for which it is intended to be used.
The method of operation of PEBP 41 in FIG. 2 and the conditions under which its use is required to produce uniform etching will be best understood by reference to FIGS. 4-6.
FIG. 4 shows, as an example, the plot of the expected neutral fluorine concentration profile (F Concent.) across the cathode target 13 in the RIE apparatus shown in FIG. 1 under the conditions of etching silicon with CF.sub.4. This profile wasobtained through numerical calculation by assuming that fluorine is produced at a constant rate S in the entire plasma region 34A-34B of FIG. 1 by electron collisions with the gas CF.sub.4 injected through gas feed 31, and that fluorine is only removedby combining with silicon to form S.sub.i F.sub.X at the silicon wafers 25 on target cathode 13 or, alternatively, at the surface of pallet 27 where latter is, for example, constructed of silicon. The fluorine concentration density n at any point withinthe chamber then satisfies the diffusion equation:
where u is the net flow velocity of the fluroine, D is the diffusion coefficient, and V is the standard gradient operator. In addition, the continuity equation .gradient..multidot.nu=S is satisfied. These combined yield .gradient..sup.2 n=S/D(Poisson's equation) which can be solved by standard numerical techniques with the boundary conditions n=0 for fluorine removing surfaces, such as silicon, and .gradient.n=0 for chamber surfaces which do not remove silicon, such as stainless steel.
The shape of the fluorine concentration curve shown in FIG. 4 may be explained by the following simple model. Fluorine is produced everywhere within the plasma regions 34A and 34B shown in FIG. 1. Under steady state situations, the fluorineproduced in region 34B must diffuse into the target region 34A, where it is eventually removed by combining with the silicon. In order for this diffusion to occur, a fluorine concentration gradient is set up with the fluorine concentration increasingradially out from the center of target cathode 13.
The importance of the effect of fluorine species concentration on etch rate may best be understood by considering RIE etch mechanisms. Generally, in RIE there are two major elements: (1) a source of positive ions, such as CF.sub.3.sup.+,F.sup.+, which are accelerated across the cathode sheath 37 from the plasma region 34A to the exposed surfaces of wafers 25 and which provide energy to the etch process, and (2) a chemical species, such as F,F.sup.+, which can combine with the etchedspecies, such as silicon, forming a volatile compound, such as SiF.sub.4, which is removed by pumping via port 29. For some reactions these two species are the same. The relative importance on etch rate of the ion component versus the neutral componentin an RIE etch system will depend strongly on the etchant gas and the material being etched. For example, in RIE of silicon in a CF.sub.4 plasma, the etch rate depends strongly on the fluorine concentration (or other active fluorine radicals) while inRIE of SiO.sub.2 in a CF.sub.4 plasma the etch rate is dominated by ionic (most likely CF.sub.3.sup.+) concentration and depends much less on the neutral fluorine concentration.
It is to be understood that while the above discussion of etch rate non-uniformity due to concentration gradients of neutral etching species is directed to the examples of etching silicon using CF.sub.4, the problem of etch rate non-uniformitydue to concentration gradients of neutral etching species is general to any similar etching process, i.e. one for which the etch rate depends on the presence of a neutral species produced within the plasma. In fact, for such systems with a uniformplasma density, the etch rate will be proportional to the neutral species density.
In FIG. 4 there is also shown measured etch rate points using silicon wafers and CF.sub.4 as the etchant gas. Measurements were made (three measurement points per wafer) on five wafers arrayed along a diameter of a cylindrical target cathode,similar to that shown in FIG. 1. These etch rate points were obtained using a pressure of 40.mu., a flow rate of 25 SCCM, an RF power of 400 watts and an RF frequency on the order of 13.56 MHz. The batch uniformity in etching silicon under suchconditions was found to be .+-.39 percent. As can be seen, the series of points representing the measured silicon etch rate at various radial points on the cathode surface follow closely the calculated neutral fluorine concentration profile.
This close correspondence indicates that in order to achieve etch uniformity over a relatively large area, such as required in batch processing, it is necessary to increase the active species in the central region of the cathode target. Inaccordance with the present invention, it has been found, as hereinabove described, that by positioning plasma enhancing baffle plate (PEBP) 41 between the anode 3 and the cathode target 13, uniformity in silicon etching can be substantially increased.
As shown in FIG. 2, the PEBP is positioned in relatively close proximity to anode 3 to form region 43. The distance between the anode and PEBP may vary up to a distance equal to 25 percent of the PEBP diameter but should, in no event, be morethan 50 percent of the distance between anode and cathode. Thus, for a typical PEBP of 20 inches in diameter, the spacing between anode and PEBP should be no more than 5 inches but in no event more than half the distance from anode to cathode. Theminimum distance or spacing between anode and PEBP, on the other hand, should be no less than 10 to 20 Debye lengths since spacing less than this will start to extinguish the plasma. A typically good operating distance between anode and PEBP isapproximately one inch.
FIG. 5 shows a measured etch rate profile where a PEBP with only one large central perforation is employed, such perforation being akin to perforation 45 in FIG. 3. As can be seen, the etch rate sharply peaks to approximately 230 A per minute atthe central point of the cathode target, there being a sharp drop-off in etch rate approximately two inches from the center of the target. Typically, such an etch rate profile is achieved using a PEBP aperture diameter of from 1.5 to 2 inches with thehigh etch values observed on the target at the point opposite the center of the aperture. As described above, this enhanced etch rate is apparently due to an increased etchant concentration in the target region beneath the aperture. The reason for thisis postulated as follows.
The presence of the PEBP 41, in FIG. 3, leads to an enhanced plasma glow in the region 43 between the PEBP and the anode 3. One condition necessary for this enhanced plasma glow to occur is that the PEBP has apertures with opening dimensionsconsiderably greater than the plasma Debye length. Under such a condition, the plasmas in regions 43 and 34 are closely coupled and the anode area of the system is increased by the total surface area of the PEBP 41. This has two effects. First, manyRF field lines (and hence the ionizing currents responsible for producing both the neutral and ionized constituents of the plasma), which originally terminated at the outside of the chamber on grounded surfaces, now terminate on the added anode surfaces41A and 41B, leading to an enhanced neutral species creation rate in the chamber both just below the PEBP and in the enclosed plasma region 43 above. Furthermore, since the ionizing currents must pass through the apertures to reach anode surfaces 41Aand 4, the ionizing currents are constricted in the region of the apertures and the enclosed region 43, leading to regions of increased production of neutral species in both these regions.
These apertures now represent an enhanced source of etchant species which may be adjusted over the target area by adjusting aperture locations, number and sizes. It is clear that, in accordance with the above teachings, the effect of aperturearrangement on etchant species may be calculated and the aperture designed to produce high etch rate uniformity in accordance with the particular characteristics of the system.
However, it has been found simpler to use an empirical method to design the PEBP. For a given chamber geometry, a single aperture, akin to aperture 45, is employed in the PEBP as a starting point. From etch rate results similar to thosepresented in FIG. 4, the effect of this single aperture on the etch rate profile for the chamber design and plasma conditions is estimated. Then, a series of smaller holes akin to apertures 46A-46F and 48A-48F are added over target regions with thelowest etch rate, with the sizes estimated using the single aperture data. If needed, a further set of holes, akin to 50A-50F, may be added, again using data derived from the previously constructed design to set aperture location and size. Iterationsof this process are repeated until uniformity suitable for the particular RIE system in question is obtained. It has been found that, typically, three to four such iterations are required to reach an etch rate uniformity of five to eight percent over a19 wafer batch of silicon wafers etched in CF.sub.4.
FIG. 6 shows a silicon etch rate profile both with and without the use of a PEBP. The silicon etch rate profile without the use of the PEBP is designated "original profile" in FIG. 6. The profile characteristic shown in FIG. 6 with the use ofthe PEBP represents the results obtained using a baffle plate akin to that shown in FIG. 3, typically a plate 20 inches in diameter in a 28-inch diameter chamber. Typically, in such an arrangement a cathode target of 20 inches is employed and, as shownin FIG. 3, 19 silicon wafers of, for example, 82 mm dimension are closed-packed in the central region of the target cathode. An interelectrode spacing of approximately three and one half inches was utilized and the initial evacuation level typicallywould be 5.times.10.sup.-6 torr. A chamber pressure of 40 microns and a fluoride containing gas, such as CF.sub.4 flowing at 25 SCCM, may be employed. An RF power source operating at a frequency on the order of 13.56 MHz was used to deliver power onthe order of 400 watts, providing a DC voltage to cathode target 13 on the order of -300 volts.
The concentric rings of perforations extending outwardly from central perforation 45 act to spread or flatten the etch rate profile shown in FIG. 5 wherein only perforation 45 was employed. By so doing, the distribution of the etchant speciescaused by the perforations is further spread outwardly from the center of the target in a manner to compensate for the deficiency of species in prior art RIE chambers, as depicted by the profile in FIG. 4. Accordingly, this compensation acts to causethe etch rate to be more nearly uniform over the radius of the cathode target, as shown in FIG. 6.
It is clear from above discussion that specific baffle configurations may be designed to meet particular applications whereby the etch rate over the entire cathode target may be made optimally uniform. Although specific parameters have beengiven in the examples above, it is clear that different etchant species, flow rates, chamber pressures and RF power levels may be utilized. It should also be understood by those skilled in the art that although the description has centered on the use ofthe plasma enhanced baffle plate for etching applications wherein etching is dominated by neutral species, the plasma enhanced baffle plate may as readily be employed to attain enhanced uniformity in any etching application in which the neutral speciescomponent has an appreciable effect.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *
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text: If a property is an exceptional attractive investment, you will find it among these opportunities. This may be because of the very low asking price and sometimes with some adjustments a much higher price can be obtained when you sell it. Or if renting out the property enables a substantial return on investment. It may also be a wonderful business case to live and to work with a high scoring potential. Let us know what you are looking for. If the opportunities present themselves you want to be the first to be informed.


text:
Teenagers who have protested against cuts to youth services in Brighton and Hove have been invited to Downing Street.
Elijah Peart, Max Coles-Morley, Seb Royle, and Boudicca Pepper each asked Brighton and Hove City Council's Labour leader Warren Morgan about the impact of proposed cuts to youth services in Brighton and Hove.
He blamed the need for cuts on reduced grants from central Government and explained that cuts of £23m had to be made in the next year alone.
Cllr Morgan offered to take the four teenagers to Downing Street in early February, with them either taking a letter or petition setting out their concerns.
At a Policy, Resources, and Growth Committee meeting yesterday (Thursday January 19), he said: "There are huge demands on our budget that we have to meet."
He added: "We find ourselves in the position of not being able to afford such services.
"We would be investing in those youth services – not cutting them – if the government weren't taking tens of millions of pounds out of our budget each year.
"The government do need to listen – not just to politicians like me – but to young people like you who will be affected by this."
He said that he was inviting them to Downing Street to deliver their message to the government – 'so that they understand the impact that these cuts are having'.
The council said this week: "The proposal is for a significant reduction of £800,000 on a net budget that is currently just over £1 million which would lead to the overall budget being just over £200,000."
A consultation is underway until Sunday February 12.


text:
Changing Worlds offers creative arts workshops incorporating writing and story-telling experiences that embrace diversity, nurture pride in family heritage, and build community. Consider any or all of the following options for your family night, international night, arts or cultural festival!
Exploring our Histories, Sharing our Stories – great option for a large gathering!
This community activity fosters communication across generations within families and enables people of many backgrounds to discover unexpected connections and their commonalities. This event can be offered for groups up to 100 people or serve as "drop-in" stations for a larger event of over 150.
The event is structured to have your audience visit individual stations that offer participants starting points for the exploration of family heritage, migration and immigration history. Using a large world map at one station, participants place dots on a location to show former homes or ancestor homelands. Other stations can offer participants the opportunity to contribute words and/or images to a community heritage display that names their homelands and collects the personal stories of migration or immigration and/or important events on a timeline.
Total Cost: $500 for 2 hours (can service up to 100 people)
What Was It Like? – sharing family stories and making art together
This event begins with the Changing Worlds artists sharing icebreakers to prompt adult participants to share memories with others and/or have children ask questions to their parents or guardians about their significant childhood memories. Templates are provided to record participants' responses that can be shared with the larger audience later. This 45 minute opening session is followed by a 1 hour art-making workshop facilitated by Changing Worlds staff to connect the stories told to a meaningful artifact. Event planners may choose one of the following art-making workshops:
Create an accordion book to share a childhood story (as told by a parent to their child)
Make a comic strip in 3 – 4 sections with images, story and dialogue
Create a collage portrait that links past and present history
Total Cost: $500 for up to 60 people (approx. 25 families for a two hour workshop
Tree of Strength and Hope – mural making experience for large or small groups
In this workshop, every participant will contribute their own history to a collaborative mural that connects them to the other attendees in this workshop. The participants will rotate through three activity stations and contribute their images, creative writing and dates of significant events to a large paper mural of a tree. For the roots, symbols of their heritage will be placed; for the trunk, personal reflections on what is most important to them about their community and for the leaves, their dreams for the future.
As an alternative, Changing Worlds will provide this set-up for individual families to make their own tree, portraying family heritage and foundation in the roots, present day family or community life in the trunk and dreams for the future in the leaves. This is a 90 minute workshop that can serve groups of all sizes.
Total Cost: $500 for up to 100 people ($400 for groups less than 100 people)
Building Bridges through Dance
In this dance workshop, children and adults learn that hip hop is based on many different kinds of dance techniques found in Latin America, Africa and other parts of the world. The participants will learn some basic hip hop movement techniques from the Changing Worlds artists and then have the opportunity to share a dance movement they know. Bringing their talents and knowledge as a group, the artists will incorporate many of the movements learned in the workshop into a final community performance.
Total Cost: $500 for a 2 hour workshop (group of 30 participants maximum)


text:
Phillies Minor League Review: June 29-July 5
Players of the Week
Player - INF/OF Tyler Henson, Lehigh Valley...Henson, 27, batted .444 with a home run, 10 RBI, six runs scored, five doubles, four stolen bases and a triple last week on his way to Phillies Minor League Player of the Week honors. Henson went 3-4 with a home run, double and four RBI on June 30, setting the stage for his productive week. He went 10-26 in the four games that followed, recording multiple hits in three of them and multiple RBI in two. He raised his batting average 31 points in just seven games from June 29 to July 5, and was also named an International League All-Star. Henson was signed by the Phillies as a minor league free agent in 2011 after originally being signed by the Orioles and Jim Richardson following his selection in the fifth round of the 2006 draft.
Players of the Week
Player - INF/OF Tyler Henson, Lehigh Valley...Henson, 27, batted .444 with a home run, 10 RBI, six runs scored, five doubles, four stolen bases and a triple last week on his way to Phillies Minor League Player of the Week honors. Henson went 3-4 with a home run, double and four RBI on June 30, setting the stage for his productive week. He went 10-26 in the four games that followed, recording multiple hits in three of them and multiple RBI in two. He raised his batting average 31 points in just seven games from June 29 to July 5, and was also named an International League All-Star. Henson was signed by the Phillies as a minor league free agent in 2011 after originally being signed by the Orioles and Jim Richardson following his selection in the fifth round of the 2006 draft.
Pitcher - LHP Adam Loewen, Lehigh Valley...The 31-year-old Loewen was named Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week for the second time in three weeks after four dominant relief appearances for the IronPigs. In those four games, he combined to throw 6.0 innings, allowing just one hit and no runs or walks while striking out nine and collecting two saves. The southpaw has not allowed a run since May 17, and in his last 8.1 innings has surrendered one walk, one hit and has struck out 14 batters. Loewen was signed by the Phillies in April of 2014 as a minor league free agent, and was originally signed by the Orioles and Dave Jennings after being selected in the first round by Baltimore in the 2002 draft.
Lehigh Vslley IronPigs - International League North Division…36-49, 5th place…The IronPigs won six of their seven games last week, sweeping the first-place Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in a three-game set before taking three of four from the second-place Rochester Red Wings. After starting 4-13 against IL North opponents, Lehigh Valley has pulled to .500 against divisional foes for the first time this season.
Top hitting performers - INF/OF Tyler Henson was named Phillies Minor League Player of the Week after batting .444 in seven games with a team-high seven extra-base hits (five doubles, triple, home run) 10 RBI, six runs scored, four stolen bases and a 1.196 OPS…OF Aaron Altherr was 9-28 (.321) with five RBI, five walks, three doubles, a triple and six runs scored…C Gabriel Lino hit safely in all five of his games, batting .364 with four doubles, four RBI and four runs scored.
Top pitching performers - LHP Adam Loewen appeared in four games in relief, combining to toss 6.0 scoreless innings with just one hit allowed and nine strikeouts. His performance earned him Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week for the second time in three weeks…RHP Jason Berken turned in his longest outing since 2007 on July 5, tossing 8.2 innings of two-run ball to help Lehigh Valley to a win over Rochester...RHP Aaron Nola made two starts for the IronPigs, combining to throw 11.0 innings while allowing three earned runs (2.45 ERA) and striking out 10 batters…RHP David Buchanan lasted 6.1 innings and allowed just one run in his first triple-A start since May 17.
Reading Fightin Phils - Eastern League Eastern Division …43-39, 2nd place…Reading continues to put pressure on the Trenton Thunder for the top spot in the division after a 4-3 week which included a series win over New Britain. Reading currently sits just three games back of first place as they round out a series with the Thunder during the day on Monday.
Top hitting performers - OF Kelly Dugan is now hitting .341 with Reading after collecting 11 hits in 31 at-bats for the Fightins last week. He has multiple hits in 10 of 21 games since his promotion…1B Brock Stassi not only hit .364, but also walked 11 times in seven games, giving him a .576 on-base percentage for the week. He also scored six runs for the Fightins…3B Harold Martinez collected a couple of three-hit games on his way to a .389 batting average and four RBI in six games…C Andrew Knapp drove in eight runs while batting .316. Since being promoted to double-A, Knapp has hit safely in all eight games and has three multi-RBI games.
Top pitching performers - RHP Ben Lively surrendered just one run on six hits over 5.0 innings of work against New Britain on July 1…RHP Colton Murray made two multi-inning relief appearances, combining to throw 5.0 innings with no runs allowed and three strikeouts. Murray has held opponents scoreless in seven of his last eight outings.
Clearwater Threshers - Florida State League North Division…8-3, 1st place, 45-36 overall… The Threshers are in the middle of a hot streak, as they won five of seven games last week and have taken 14 of their last 17 dating back to June 17. They have not lost a series since being swept by Tampa June 4-6.
Top hitting performers - OF Andrew Pullin belted two home runs, drove in 10 runs and scored seven more while batting .323 over seven games. His home runs came on consecutive days, and he also recorded eight of his 10 RBI in those two games…C Chace Numata capped his week with consecutive three-hit games, helping him to a .357 average…C Willians Astudillo batted .348 with a home run, six RBI and three runs scored…1B Rhys Hoskins collected eight hits, walked four times, scored five runs and knocked in three more in seven games.
Top pitching performers - RHP Yacksel Rios pitched to a 1.80 ERA (two earned runs in 10.0 innings) and 0.70 WHIP (five hits, two walks) in his two starts combined. Opponents hit just .139 against him…RHP Victor Arano earned the win in his lone start after scattering four hits and allowing just one run in 6.0 innings July 1 against Tampa…LHP Matt Imhof threw 6.0 scoreless frames and yielded only one hit to Tampa in his start on July 3.
Lakewood BlueClaws - South Atlantic League Northern Division…5-6, T-4th place, 38-41 overall… Lakewood lost four straight contests to begin the week, but rebounded to win their series finale with Delmarva and the series opener with Hagerstown to salvage an otherwise tough week. The offense has been a bright a spot for the BlueClaws, scoring five runs or more in each of the last four games.
Top hitting performers - 1B Kyle Martin, the Phillies fourth-round pick in the 2015 draft, led the team with five extra-base hits (four doubles and a triple) and 16 total bases last week. He hit .357 with six runs scored…INF Damek Tomscha hit a home run and added three doubles, helping him to a .360/.429/.600 slash line last week with four RBI…LF Cord Sandberg was 8-24 (.333) with three RBI and two runs scored.
Top pitching performers - LHP Austin Davis came out of the bullpen for 4.2 innings and did not allow a run on June 29. He followed that up with a 3.0-inning, one-run relief appearance on July 3…RHP Tyler Viza struck out seven batters during a 7.2-inning, two-run quality start against Delmarva…LHP Elniery Garcia did not allow a run and surrendered just five hits in 7.0 innings during his start on July4…LHP Joey DeNato struck out three and allowed just one hit in 3.2 innings in relief.
Williamsport Crosscutters - New York-Penn League Pinckney Division…13-3, 1st place…It took Williamsport 16 games-just about a quarter of their entire season-to drop back-to-back games. That is how good the Crosscutters have been in the early part of the 2015 season. They won four more games last week and already lead the Pinckney Division by six full games over the Auburn Doubledays.
Top hitting performers - The Phillies 10th round pick in 2015, 2B Josh Tobias, posted four-multi-hit games as he batted .375 with a home run and six RBI for the Crosscutters…C Gregori Rivero hit .333 with a home run, three doubles, two RBI and a .667 slugging percentage.
Top pitching performers - RHP Jose Taveras lasted 6.0 strong innings and allowed just a run on two hits while striking out six in his start last week…RHP Alejandro Arteaga also allowed one run on two hits and struck out six in his 5.0-inning start against Auburn…RHP Franklyn Kilome let one unearned run cross the plate in 5.0 innings of work on July 3. He has allowed just one earned run in his first 16.2 innings this season (0.54 ERA).
GCL Phillies - Gulf Coast League, Northwest Division…9-2, 1st place… The Phillies started and ended the week with three wins, sandwiching a lone loss to the GCL Braves in between as they continue their strong start to the season. Pitching has certainly been a focal point during this hot stretch, as the team pitched two shutouts and had two more games with just one run allowed. They have surrendered only 24 runs in 11 games this season, which is fewest in the league by nine runs.
Top hitting performers - 1B Luis Encarnacion had 10 hits in 20 at-bats, including a home run and a triple. He drove in five runs and tallied 15 total bases…LF Cornelius Randolph, the Phillies first-round selection in the 2015 draft, hit safely in all but one of his six games. He doubled three times, drove in seven runs and reached base at a .423 clip…CF Juan Luis hit .294 with three runs, three stolen bases and a pair of doubles.
Top pitching performers - RHP Sam McWilliams started his season with 6.0-inning, two-hit, scoreless performance on June 30 against the GCL Astros…LHP Ranger Suarez has not yet allowed a run this season in 11.0 innings following a 6.0-inning scoreless start on July 3…RHP Ismael Cabrera made one start and appeared once in relief, combining for 5.0 scoreless frames with eight strikeouts.