Disclosed herein is the use of three-dimensional structure information to guide the process of modifying antibodies with amino acids from one or more templates or surrogates such that the antigen binding properties of the parent antibody are maintained and the immunogenicity potential is reduced when administered as a therapeutic in humans.

Antibodies in therapeutic use are being developed so they have an increased proportion of 'human' or 'humanized' features. Antibodies are composed of heterodimers of an immunoglobulin light chain and heavy chain. The two chains in combination dictate the antigen recognition properties of the antibody directed by the 'variable' regions of each chain. The antibody preserves the combinatorial recognition features to the antigen, yet may be delivered therapeutically as an altered, engineered, processed, or fragment polypeptide molecule, such as an antibody tetramer, Fab or (Fab)2, or as an immunoconjugate or fusion protein with other polypeptide and chemical entities providing additional properties.
Fully human antibodies are important therapeutic proteins. In these examples, human antibodies have been formed from a number of screening methods. These features have been created by generating new human antibodies as described in the examination of phage display library screening, and the use of immunization of transgenic mouse strains with embedded human antibody genes in place of the mouse antibody genes. These methods focus on the new derivation of human antibodies with similar antigen-binding properties to the non-human antibody. In cases where comparative analysis is possible between non-human antibodies directed against an antigen with those generated by either of the above methods, it is apparent that antigen binding affinity is ordinarily reduced. In addition these methods are limited by the utilization of incomplete human repertoire and antibody maturation capacity. Therefore, these methods suffer from requirements for continued refinements by recombinant engineering methods once a functional, but unsatisfactory human antibody is identified. Furthermore, these methods make no accommodation for the acquisition of immunogenic features of the new antibodies.
Methods are also in use to transform non-human monoclonal antibodies into therapeutic proteins without derivation of a new antibody. Humanized antibodies have been described that have improved properties indicating a reduced immunoreactivity in patients, and thereby making those reagents more useful for therapy, especially in prolonged exposure to the patient. Changes to the composition of the antibody that have been utilized are 'CDR grafting', a procedure where mouse or rat monoclonal antibodies are converted to another form where human framework substitutions are combined with the rodent CDR regions by molecular engineering approaches. A refinement of this strategy involves the recruitment of human variable gene sequences. U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,370 (the entire teaching of which is incorporated herein by reference) describes humanization strategies based on DNA sequence alignment between a parent antibody and similar human variable chains as an approach to replicate the antigen binding properties of a parent non-human antibody. This method does not specify the computational techniques necessary to evaluate the atomic coordinates of the antibody subfeatures, nor does it comment on the means to influence immunogenicity of component parts of the antigen-recognition features.
Since the source of the immunogenicity of non-human antibodies in human therapeutics is recognition by the human immune system of foreign protein sequences in the antibody polypeptides, an approach to reduce immunogenicity would be to reduce the amount of non-human protein sequence in a modified antibody while retaining those protein sequences that are essential for the antigen binding specificity of the parent antibody. The first of these alterations to antibodies to be employed were termed chimeric antibodies. The modifications consisted of replacement of the constant region domains of the parent antibody chains with human constant region domains, thus reducing the amount of non-human sequence by approximately half. However, these antibodies were shown to still have significant immune liabilities in the clinic (Hwang and Foote, 2005, Methods Vol. 36, p 3-10 and references therein, the entire teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference).
Other methods were subsequently developed to remove even more of the non-human sequence from the resultant modified antibody. These antibodies were termed humanized antibodies. In the method of complementarity determining region (CDR) grafting (U.S. Pat. No. 5,225,539 and Jones et al., 1986; Nature 321:522-525, the entire teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference), only those protein sequences of the parent antibody predicted to be essential for antigen binding are retained. The identity of these CDR sequences is first predicted from biochemical and x-ray crystal structure analyses of many antibodies, mostly derived from a mouse source (Al-Lazikani et al., 1997; Journal of Molecular Biology 273:927-948, the entire teaching of which is incorporated herein by reference). There are three CDR sequences in each chain of the antibody heavy and light chains. These six CDR sequences are grafted into equivalent sequence environments in a human antibody framework. This modified humanized antibody therefore only contains parental sequence in approximately 75 amino acid residues, which is a greater reduction of non-human sequence than the chimeric antibodies. Limitations of this method were revealed because the human framework chosen in humanization of a particular antibody may not be compatible with proper folding of the parent CDR sequences. An additional problem associated with these methods is that there are significant differences between mouse and human CDR, particularly in the heavy chain CDR3 (Zemlin et al., 2003; Journal of Molecular Biology 334:733-749, the entire teaching of which is incorporated herein by reference).
The method of Queen et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,370) further refines the process of CDR grafting. In this method, the human framework antibody is chosen by sequence homology to the parent antibody. In this way, the chances of proper folding are increased in the modified construct since the residues contacting the parent CDR sequences (Vernier residues) are more likely to be the same. Other contacting residues can be identified for modification in the framework region by identification of non-conserved residues in the sequence alignment of the parent antibody and the framework antibody as well as homology modeling of the parent and framework antibodies.
An even further reduction in the amount of parent antibody sequence can be achieved by using a method called specificity determining residue (SDR) grafting (Tamura et al., 2000; J. Immunol. 164:1432-1441, the entire teaching of which is incorporated herein by reference). In this method, CDR residues of a CDR-grafted, humanized antibody are systematically mutated and then analyzed for both ligand affinity and reactivity to sensitized sera samples. Once identified, the SDR residues important for binding are maintained, while those that are immunogenic are mutated. This method suffers from the need to experimentally identify the SDR residues.
An alternate method of reducing immunogenicity in the humanized antibody is modification of residues in the non-human antibody sequence that are predicted to be immunogenic but not critical for antigen binding based on solvent-exposed sites or folds (U.S. Pat. No. 5,869,619, the entire teaching of which is incorporated herein by reference). Others have mapped the solvent-accessible surfaces of antibodies by computer-instructed modeling (Zhang et al., 2005; Molecular Immunology 42:1445-1451, the entire teaching of which is incorporated herein by reference). These approaches have been utilized in combination with immunogenicity computer methods to delineate residues for recombinant engineering purposes.
In an alternative approach, a method (U.S. Pat. No. 6,881,557, the entire teaching of which is incorporated herein by reference) is used where the CDRs of the parent antibody are compared in amino acid sequence to candidate human CDRs to identify antibodies with most closely matched CDR loops. The residues in the human CDR region are then substituted with residues from the parent CDRs based on the linear alignments. This method is limited by the ability to match CDR epitopes without consideration of the framework residues, and does not incorporate three dimensional configurations of the CDRs.
The CDR grafting methods described above all rely on amino acid sequence information to determine which non-human residues should be grafted into the specific human acceptor antibody. Success of this technique resulting in a modified antibody with the desired antigen binding properties requires that the parental sequences are able to fold in three dimensions such that the spatial relationship of the key antigen binding residues is conserved between the parent and the modified structures. This being the case, utilizing information from the structure of the parent and potential human template antibodies should enable better decisions about which sequences from the parent antibody should be modified in the final antibody.
For instance, in the method described in U.S. Patent application 20040133357 (the entire teaching of which is incorporated herein by reference), the protein structure information of the parent antibody is solely used to guide assignment of an alignment of amino acid sequences of human antibodies. From these alignments, the amino acid variation at each position in the sequence is tabulated. Through modeling and energy minimization, the list of variants is filtered to include those variants that constitute a combinatorial library of antibody sequences. The method relies on screening for desired properties since the combinatorial libraries formed are large. Also, no structural criteria are elaborated and there is no computational refinement of this sequences based on additional protein structure considerations.
Another method utilizes homology models of the parent and human antibodies ( Luo et al., 2003: Journal of Immunological Methods 275:31-40, the entire teaching of which is incorporated herein by reference). In this method, a model was created of the murine parent as well as a human framework based on a consensus sequence used as a framework. The CDR structures in the human model were replaced by the corresponding murine model CDR structures. Through energy minimization calculations, residues important for CDR folding that were not optimized in the human framework were indicated. These residues were then altered in the model and then in the sequence to murine equivalents to improve the antigen binding properties of the modified antibody.
The structure can be even more informative if it is used to determine the exact human antibody frameworks with the best chance for successful grafting of parent CDR sequences. Yazaki et al. (Yazaki et al., 2004, Protein Engineering, Design & Selection, vol. 17, pp. 481-489, the entire teaching of which is incorporated herein by reference) outlined a structure-guided method for humanization of antibodies. Human or humanized antibody heavy chain or light chain structures that superposed well with the parental framework and CDR structures, were used as scaffolds for CDR grafting. A second filter of sequence identity was used to refine the selection, and energy minimization calculations identified residues for changes to alleviate unfavorable contacts. This method has the critical limitation of only aligning single protein chains to other single protein chains without consideration of quaternary structure. Importantly, the antigen binding site is made up from correct spatial arrangement of six CDR sequences from both the heavy and light chains. However, the structural information was not used to guide potential further reductions in the non-human sequence content of the grafted CDR.
The need for protein structure in humanization of antibodies is now evident for several reasons. Analysis of the amino acid sequences does not predict the folded protein state adequately, because small changes in the structure of the antigen binding site may result in large losses in affinity. Also, residues that are predicted to be solvent exposed may well be buried or critical for folding. It is evident that the most homologous human framework antibody by sequence alignment may not be the best scaffold for humanization. Although CDR loops superpose well in various structures when considered individually, the superposition is poor when evaluating the entire antibody chain (Bajorath et al. 1995; Journal of Biological Chemistry 270:22081-22084, the entire teaching of which is incorporated herein by reference). Further, large movements of the CDR positions arise from small changes in the junctional regions of the antibody. It is difficult to anticipate appropriate junctional residues and side chains based on sequence homology/alignment and evolutionary relatedness alone. Therefore, methods that incorporate the analysis of the three dimensional positioning of atoms in antibody variable regions will be the best representations and provide the most effective template for changes in antibody engineering. A method is needed to find the best three dimensional scaffold on which to build the antigen binding site, regardless of sequence variation.
Whereas protein structural information is a key advancement in the humanization process, improvements to the current methods are clearly necessary. A method is required that extends the current analysis in CDR grafting such that the two domains of the modified antibody are correctly oriented with respect to one another. In this way, the best human scaffold in terms of structure can be chosen for the CDR grafts, which should result in better conservation of the folded state of the CDR sequences after grafting, and improved affinity and specificity of the humanized antibody. A unifying method is needed for the consideration of the quaternary structure in the modification method in order to conserve the similarity to parent antibodies while improving the desired properties in the modified antibody. The overall folding of the modified antibody can be assumed to occur as independent elements for the framework and six CDR regions. Since the CDR fold locally into distinct classes, small changes between structurally similar loops are unlikely to disrupt the local folding of the loop. Thus, the structure can also be used to guide incorporation of a minimal amount of parent sequence into a human CDR sequence or framework region while maintaining the correct local folding of the loop as well as the affinity and selectivity for the antigen. The modified loops and framework may properly orient themselves with respect to one another, forming a binding site whose structure is conserved from the parent antibody, once fully assembled into a final structure containing elements from as many as seven human and one non-human structure. Additionally, structural information can be utilized to guide selection of residues for conservation of the binding properties of the modified antibody as well as guiding the selection of residues that can be mutated to form a library of potential humanized constructs that may have improved properties over the initial construct.

Methods for humanizing antibodies and humanized antibodies made thereby


A measuring apparatus for optically measuring a distance to a target object is described. The measuring apparatus has a transmitting device for emitting periodically modulated optical measuring radiation towards the target object, a receiving device for detecting optical measuring radiation which returns from the target object, and an evaluation device for receiving and evaluating detection signals from the receiving device. The measuring apparatus also has a calibration device for calibrating the measuring apparatus, wherein the calibration device is designed to calibrate the measuring apparatus on the basis of detection of uncorrelated radiation which does not correlate with the modulated measuring radiation emitted by the transmitting device. In this case, the uncorrelated radiation may be in the form of background radiation. Alternatively, uncorrelated measuring radiation can be emitted by the transmitting device and can be detected by the receiving device.

The disclosure relates to a measuring device for measuring a distance between the measuring device and a target object with the aid of optical radiation. Such a measuring device is also designated as an optical distance measuring device and can be provided as a separate, for example handheld, device or in another device, for example a tool. In particular, the disclosure relates to an optical distance measuring device equipped with a calibration unit in order to be able to increase a measurement accuracy of the distance measuring device by calibrating an actual distance measurement.
Optical distance measuring devices are known which align a temporally modulated light beam in the direction toward a target object whose distance from the measuring device is intended to be determined. Returning light reflected or scattered back from the target object aimed at is at least partly detected by the measuring device and used for determining the distance to be measured. In this case, a typical measurement range is for distances from a few centimeters up to several hundred meters.
US 2007/0182949 A1 discloses a distance measuring device comprising a light source for illuminating the target object using continuously modulated light, a solid-state image sensor comprising an array of avalanche photodiodes, and a plurality of circuits for processing signals that have been output by the avalanche photodiodes, in order to provide data which are dependent on the light reflected from the target object onto the photodiodes. The circuits have a multiplexer designed to accumulate signals output by the avalanche photodiodes during different subperiods in different storage devices.
The avalanche photodiodes serving as photon counters in this case receive the light reflected back from the target object and also background radiation additionally present and generate at their output electrical pulses in each case, wherein the temporal pulse density correlates with the impinging light power. The read-out of the pulses from the avalanche photodiodes is effected with the aid of a multiplexer arrangement. The latter can be operated synchronously with a modulation of a laser used as light source in such a way that the pulses of the avalanche photodiodes increment different digital counters in a manner dependent on the point in time of the respective detection events, that is to say for example of a photon absorbed in the avalanche photodiode. A temporal period with which the light source illuminates the target object in a modulated fashion is in this case subdivided into a plurality of subperiods. A number of digital counters corresponding to the number of subperiods are provided, wherein, during each subperiod, a correspondingly assigned digital counter is in each case incremented in accordance with the detection pulses received during the subperiod. In this way, detection events can be accumulated over a measurement time. While an individual period can have, for example, time durations in the range of nanoseconds, the total measurement time can comprise many such periods and last, for example, several milliseconds or several seconds. By accumulating the measurement results in the digital counters, it is possible to record a type of histogram of the detection events relative to the temporal occurrence of detection events within subperiods. As soon as a modulation impressed on the modulated light emitted by the light source is present in the counter readings of the digital counters with sufficient statistical accuracy, it is possible, by means of a phase evaluation, to deduce a propagation time of the light between emission and detection and hence a distance between the distance measuring device and the target object. Such a principle of laser distance measurement is generally known by the designation "time of flight ranging" for example with continuous or pulsed modulation of the intensity of the laser beam.
An evaluation unit which operates in this way and which, within a distance measuring device, receives detection signals from a light-sensitive detector and evaluates them by registering the detection signals in a manner synchronized with a reference, that is to say accumulating them in accordance with their temporal occurrence relative to the periodicity of the modulated measurement light used, is also designated as so-called "binning architecture". Such a binning architecture can be realized for example with a delay locked delay line (DLL).
It has been observed that distance measuring devices which operate for example in the manner described above on the basis of photon counters, multiplexer arrangements and binning architectures cannot always yield satisfactory measurement accuracies.

Optical distance measuring device with calibration device


The present invention relates to apparatus, procedures and compositions for avoiding and reducing damage to low dielectric constant materials and other soft materials, such as Cu and Al, used in fabricating semiconductor devices. Damage reduction can be achieved by decreasing the role of mechanical abrasion in the CMP of these materials and increasing the role of chemical polishing, which can also improve material removal rates. Increasing the role of chemical polishing can be accomplished by creating a polishing slurry, which contains components that interact chemically with the surface to be polished. This slurry may or may not also contain soft abrasive particles, which replace the hard abrasive particles of conventional slurries. Use of soft abrasive particles can reduce the role of mechanical abrasion in the CMP process. Use of this slurry in CMP can reduce surface scratches and device damage.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to the chemical mechanical planarization of surfaces. More particularly, the present invention relates to the planarization of relatively soft materials, typically low dielectric constant materials as encountered in the fabrication of integrated circuits.
2. Description of Related Art
Fabrication of integrated circuits (xe2x80x9cICsxe2x80x9d) to improve performance and reduce costs involves complex analysis of materials properties, processing technology and IC design. IC""s consist of multiple layers of conducting, insulating and semiconductor materials, interconnected in various ways by conducting metallic channels and plugs (xe2x80x9cviasxe2x80x9d), including various dopants implanted into various materials for producing the electronic functionality desired of the IC. The near-universal trend in the manufacture of integrated circuits is to increase the density of components fabricated onto a given area of wafer, increase the performance and reliability of the ICs, and to manufacture the ICs at lower cost with less waste and fewer defective products generated by the manufacturing process. These goals lead to more stringent geometric and dimensional requirements in the manufacturing process. In particular, etching precise patterns into a layer is facilitated by the layer having a surface as nearly planar as feasible at the start of the patterning process. For the common case of patterning by means of photolithography, a planar surface permits more precise location and dimensioning for focusing the incident radiation onto the surface to be etched than would be possible with a surface having deviations from planarity. Similar conclusions typically apply for electron beam or other means of etching. That is, deviations from planarity of the surface to be etched reduce the ability of the surface to support precisely positioned and precisely dimensioned patterns. In the following description of the present invention we focus on the typical etching, planarization and photolithography processes as practiced in the manufacture of ICs. However, this is by way of illustration and not limitation, as those of ordinary skill in the art of etching will appreciate that the techniques of the present invention producing planar surfaces will have applicability in increasing the precision of etching by means other than photolithography. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the field of IC manufacture and may find applicability in other areas of technology requiring planar surfaces.
Chemical Mechanical Planarization (xe2x80x9cCMPxe2x80x9d) has been successfully integrated into integrated circuit multilayer manufacturing processes to achieve highly planar surfaces as described in text books (for example, xe2x80x9cMicrochip Fabricationxe2x80x9d by Peter Van Zant, 3rd Ed., 1997) and generally known in the art. We note that xe2x80x9cCMPxe2x80x9d is also used in the art to denote xe2x80x9cChemical Mechanical Polishingxe2x80x9d as well as xe2x80x9cChemical Mechanical Planarizationxe2x80x9d. We use CMP herein synonymously in either sense without distinction.
A typical CMP process is depicted schematically in FIG. 1. During a CMP process, the wafer, 1, is typically held inside a rotating carrier and pressed onto a rotating pad, 2, under pressure, 6, while an abrasive slurry, 5, (typically containing particles of abrasive such as SiO2, Al2O3, and the like) flows between the wafer and the pad. The slurry, 5, will typically contain reagents for chemically etching the wafer, 1, leading to chemical as well as mechanical removal of material. Thus, in the typical practice of CMP, material removal is effected by a combination of chemical attack and mechanical abrasion.
Typically, the wafer, 1, will be caused to rotate as depicted by 4 in FIG. 1, while the polishing pad will itself rotate (3 in FIG. 1). FIG. 1 depicts the polishing pad and wafer rotating in the same direction (for example, clockwise when viewed from above as in FIG. 1). However, this is merely for purposes of illustration and counter-rotation of wafer and polishing pad is also practiced. In addition to the rotation of the wafer depicted by 4 in FIG. 1, the wafer, 1, may be caused to oscillate in the plane of the surface being polished, substantially perpendicular to the direction of the applied force, 6. Such oscillation is depicted as 7 in FIG. 1.
The necessary parameters for polishing SiO2-based intermetal dielectric layers occurring in ICs have become well known in the semiconductor industry. The chemical and mechanical nature of polishing and wear of these SiO2-based dielectric layers (xe2x80x9cSiO2 dielectricsxe2x80x9d) have been reasonably well developed. One problem with the SiO2 dielectrics, however, is that the dielectric constant is relatively high, being approximately 3.9. Thus, to improve the electrical performance of ICs, it would be highly desirable to incorporate a low dielectric constant material into semiconductor structures while still being able to utilize the CMP systems for polishing the surface of the resulting dielectric material during the semiconductor wafer processing.
As the geometry of the integrated circuits continues to shrink, the intrinsic circuit delays will increase due to greater resistance in the metal interconnects and also due to undesired (xe2x80x9cparasiticxe2x80x9d) capacitance effects arising from the circuit interconnects. Strategies being developed to reduce the parasitic capacitance effects include incorporating metals with lower resistivity values, such as copper, and providing electrical isolation with insulating materials having low dielectric constants relative to the SiO2 dielectrics.
As described herein, xe2x80x9clow dielectric constant materialsxe2x80x9d may occur in numerous physical and chemical forms, including organic polymer materials, porous dielectric materials, whether organic or inorganic, and mixed organic and inorganic materials, whether porous or not (examples include FLARE, SILK, HOSP, NANOGLASS, ELK, and Polyimides). Typically these low dielectric constant materials are polymer dielectric materials which include unique chemical and mechanical characteristics, including a relatively high concentration of organic materials. However, low dielectric constant materials may also include relatively highly porous materials (typically inorganic) or materials exhibiting a mixture or combination of properties and characteristics (organic, polymeric, porous, inorganic, etc.). The low dielectric constant films can typically be deposited utilizing a variety of techniques including chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD) and spin coating. The polymer materials generally are mechanically soft and they readily exhibit plastic deformation and hence they easily can be scratched. In contrast, however, to their mechanical sensitivity, polymers are often chemically inert. The combination of the characteristics of the polymer dielectric materials makes use of a conventional aqueous based CMP process difficult.
Theoretically and practically, use of a hard CMP pad results in better planarity of the polished wafer while use of a soft CMP pad provides better surface qualities and uniformity of the polished films. The current generation of semiconductor devices (which are typically made containing tungsten and oxides) are typically planarized using CMP with an industry standard hard pad, such as the IC(copyright) pad, for primary planarization and a standard soft pad, such as the Politex(copyright) pad, for secondary buff polishing. However, using the standard IC(copyright) pad and the conventional abrasive slurries (SiO2, Al2O3, CeO2, and the like) to polish low dielectric constant materials, which typically are much softer than the conventional materials used in integrated circuits, tends to cause significant scratches on the polished surfaces of low dielectric films. Attempts to use soft pads like Polytex(copyright) pads to polish these soft materials have shown some success in avoiding severe scratches, but do not efficiently achieve good planarity in reasonable processing times. (S. P. Murkarka and R. Gutmann, 1994 Annual Report of the New York State SCOE, Semiconductor Research Corporation, Research Triangle Park, N.C. (1994)).
The abrasive particles typically used in conventional polishing slurries have a comparable mechanical strength, or hardness, to that of conventional device materials, such as oxide and tungsten. However, these particles"" mechanical strength is typically much higher than that of low dielectric constant materials and other soft materials used in more recent embodiments of ICs, such as copper or aluminum. During polishing, the hard abrasive particles tend to penetrate deeply into the films of these soft materials and cause severe scratches. Conventional CMP slurries are also typically composed of inorganic chemical components that are reactive to inorganic materials such as oxides and metals, but do not actively react with the organic polymers that typically form the low dielectric constant material layers on the surface being planarized. Therefore, when conventional CMP methods are used in an attempt to planarize low dielectric constant materials, mechanical abrasion dominates the process, resulting in increased scratching and device damage. These surface scratches in device wafers can cause severe problems for subsequent processing steps, and can significantly reduce yields.
Thus, current standard hard and soft pads, and conventional abrasive particles and slurries are not suitable for CMP of softer materials such as low dielectric constant materials. Successful incorporation of these low dielectric constant materials into viable submicron fabrication techniques will necessitate the development of CMP processes which are not currently available utilizing the SiO2-based CMP processes. Improved planarization of soft materials, typically low dielectric constant materials, is an important objective of the present invention.
The present invention relates to apparatus, procedures and compositions for avoiding and reducing damage to low dielectric constant materials and other soft materials, such as Cu and Al, used in fabricating semiconductor devices. Damage reduction can be achieved by decreasing the role of mechanical abrasion in the CMP of these materials and increasing the role of chemical polishing, which can also improve material removal rates. Increasing the role of chemical polishing can be accomplished by creating a polishing slurry which contains components that interact chemically with the surface to be polished. This slurry may or may not also contain soft abrasive particles, which replace the hard abrasive particles of conventional slurries. Use of soft abrasive particles can reduce the role of mechanical abrasion in the CMP process. Use of this slurry in CMP can reduce surface scratches and device damage.
Polishing pads with intermediate hardness are also included within the scope of the present invention. Such pads may be used with or without abrasive slurries and, when used with abrasive slurries, may be used with conventional slurries or with softer-than-customary abrasive particles (or coated abrasive particles). A balance is achieved between smooth surface finish and efficiency of polishing (material removal rate) by adjusting the polishing pad hardness to the surface to be planarized.
A two (or multi) step process is also envisioned within the scope of the present invention as a first planarization step (which may be conventional CMP or any of the improvements noted herein), followed by a buffing step. The subsequent buffing step(s) need not remove significant material as this has typically been accomplished by the preceding planarization step. Thus, the buffing step may be abrasive-free, utilize soft (or coated) abrasives and typically is gentler than a one-step process as the surface needs only to be buffed without substantial material removal as would be necessary for planarization.

Chemical mechanical planarization of low dielectric constant materials


A method is provided for fabricating a CMOS device. The method includes providing a semiconductor substrate having a first active region and a second active region. The method also includes forming a first trench on the first active region using a first barrier layer and a second substitute gate electrode layer to protect a gate region on the second active region, followed by forming a first work function layer and a first metal gate in the first trench. Further, the method includes forming a second trench on the second active region using a second barrier layer to protect the first metal gate structure, followed by forming a second work function layer and a second metal gate in the second trench.

With the continuously shrinking of the process node of the semiconductor process technology, the conventional metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) device which uses silicon dioxide as a gate dielectric layer and polycrystalline silicon (poly silicon) as a gate electrode layer have encountered problems such as the increase of leakage current and the depletion of the gate electrode layer. In order to solve these problems, materials with a high dielectric constant (high-K) are used to substitute silicon dioxide as the gate dielectric layer, and metals are used to substitute the poly silicon as the gate electrode layer (so called a high K metal gate, HKMG).
The problems faced by CMOS devices, such as high leakage current, depletion of the poly silicon gate and mobility degradation, etc., might be solved by the HKMG process. However, the performance of the CMOS devices fabricated by the HKMG process is often under-expectation, and cannot match design requirements. The disclosed methods and systems are directed to solve one or more problems set forth above and other problems.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp.


An interlocking shroud assembly for a turbine engine includes at least two shroud elements, each having confronting radial ends that define a split interface with axial fore, aft, and circumferential portions.

Turbine engines, and particularly gas or combustion turbine engines, are rotary engines that extract energy from a flow of pressurized combusted gases passing through the engine onto a multitude of rotating and stationary turbine airfoils. The stationary turbine airfoils can be supported by shrouds that are interlocked to form a circumferential casing to the turbine.


A method is disclosed for the operation of a high-power electron beam for the vaporization of materials in a target. With this method, static and dynamic deflection errors are corrected. First, the static and dynamic deflection errors are ascertained by means of a teach-in process for concrete spatial coordinates and concrete frequencies of the deflection currents and stored in a memory. For the later operation, this stored data is used in such a way that input geometric data for the incidence points of the electron beam is automatically recalculated into corrected current values which bring about the exact incidence onto the input points. A corresponding procedure takes place with the input of frequencies for the deflection current. The input frequencies are automatically corrected in terms of frequency and amplitude in order to eliminate the frequency-dependent attenuation effects. Both in the correction of the static and in the correction of the dynamic deflection errors it is guaranteed by suitable interpolation methods that even the spatial coordinates and frequencies not considered in the teach-in process are taken into account. Finally, a method is specified with which it is possible by mere specification of a power distribution on a crucible surface to control the electron beam such that the specified data is satisfied.

The present invention pertains to a method for the operation of a high-power electron beam employed for the vaporization of materials.
Metals and metal alloys of high quality can be produced by means of an electron beam melting process. The use of an electron beam as a heat source for melting metals and alloys has the advantage that very complex melting processes can be implemented, because the electron beam is deflectable and thus can reach different places on the surface of a metal block or a metal melt.
Nearly any material can be effectively vaporized with the aid of electron beam technology. The vaporization rate is roughly 100 times greater than that of the sputtering process. Apart from the standard processes with aluminum, materials with a high melting point and high vaporization temperature are of particular interest for the electron beam vaporization technique. Among these materials are, for instance, Cr, Co, Ni, Ta, W, alloys thereof or oxides like SiO.sub.2, Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, ZrO.sub.2, MgO. Electron beam technology also provides the required stable and uniform vaporization rates for reactive vaporization, such as Al+O.sub.2.fwdarw.Al.sub.2 O.sub.3.
A particularly important field of application of electron beam vaporization is represented by the coating of large surfaces with various materials, for instance the coating of magnetic tapes with CoNi alloys or the coating of films for the packaging of foodstuffs (See DE-OS 42 03 632 and the counterpart U.S. Pat. No. 5,302,208).
An additional field of application is the corrosion-preventive coating of turbine blades, where, for instance, a layer 100 to 200 .mu.m thick of MCrAlY is applied and an additional heat-attenuating layer of 100 to 200 .mu.m of yttrium or stabilized ZrO.sub.2 is added, so that the service of the turbine vanes is increased.
The main advantage of electron-beam coating lies in the high power density in the focal point of the electron beam, which may amount to as much as 1 MW/cm.sup.2. Due to this high power density, a high surface temperature results, so that even materials with a high melting point can be vaporized. Typically the focal point surface area is smaller than 1 cm.sup.2, so that only small vaporization zones are created. If therefore the electron beam is stationary or the speed with which it scans the surface to be vaporized is too low, the greater part of the electron beam energy goes into the depths of the material, which does not contribute to better vaporization.
The power distribution on the surface to be vaporized can be regulated with modern auxiliaries, whereby the layer thickness of the vapor-deposited material, for instance, can be optimized in a simple manner by changing the pattern of the beam scanning.
Layers applied by electron-beam vaporization are often less dense than comparable sputtered layers, and the properties of the layers can also be different. In order to improve the properties of the layers applied by means of electron-beam vaporization, additional plasma support can be added during the vapor-deposition process.
Due to the interaction of the electron beam with the residual gas particles, the pressure in a coating chamber and the spacing between the electron beam gun and the material to be vaporized, i.e., the beam length, must not exceed a prescribed value. For acceleration potentials of 20 to 50 kV, for instance, the pressure must not be greater than 10.sup.-2 mbar. The length of the electron beam should not exceed 1 m. If higher pressures or longer electron beam lengths are required, the acceleration potential should be increased.
A pressure increase at higher power levels can also be caused by the shield effect of material impurities, for instance, by H.sub.2 O or water of crystallization. Furthermore, some oxides break up in part into metal and oxygen. The pressure increase can change the layer properties or defocus the electron beam. The vaporization materials should therefore be optimized with regard to the shield effect of impurities and water.
Electron-beam guns with a power of up to 1000 kW and with acceleration potentials of up to 160 kV are available. For coating purposes, electron-beam guns with powers of 150 to 300 kW and acceleration potentials of 35 kV are generally employed. The electron-beam deflection and focusing are generally carried out by means of magnetic coils. Both the beam focusing and the beam deflection can be easily controlled by varying the currents flowing in the magnetic coil.
In general, scanning frequencies of more than 10 kHz are used in electron-beam welding. For coating applications, on the other hand, the customary frequency is around 100 to 1000 Hz, this frequency relating to the fundamental frequency. If harmonics are present, frequencies of, for instance, 10 kHz are included. Scanning frequency is understood to mean the frequency at which an electron beam moves back and forth between, for instance, two points on the surface of a crucible.
In the controlling of a high-powered electron beam, essentially the following aspects must be paid attention to: the power supply to the gun, the guidance of the electron beam inside the gun and guidance of the electron beam over the process surfaces.
Several methods of controlling a high-power electron beam are already known, in which there is provided a special deflection system (DE 42 08 484 A1) with sensors for detecting the point of incidence of the electron beam on a melt (EP 0 184 680, DE 39 02 274 C2, EP 0 368 037, DE 35 38 857 A1). Also, deflection systems with more than one electron beam (U.S. 4,988,844) or electron-beam positioning regulators with magnetic field sensors (DE 35 32 888 C2) have been proposed.
Also known is a control of a high-power electron beam carried out by means of a microprocessor, in which conventional hardware is operated by software that is designed for uniform beam dispersion and great flexibility in the carrying out of melting instructions or formulas (M. Blum, A. Choudhury, F. Hugo, F. Knell, H. Scholz, M. Bahr: Application of a New Fast EB-Gun Control System for Complex Melting Processes, EB Conference, Reno/USA, Oct. 11-13, 1995). The essential characteristics of the high-frequency controlled electron-beam system are a thermal camera and measuring unit for the element concentration in the gas phase. This control system can be applied in a variety of ways, for instance, for hearth melting of titanium or in drop melting of tantalum. It is also suited for simultaneous control of several melting furnace, which can be equipped with up to 5 electron-beam guns. With it, it is also possible to implement an electron-beam process with precisely defined surface temperature distribution even for asymmetric melting arrangements, for instance, in horizontal drop melting, where on one side, the material to be melted is supplied via a water-cooled copper trough, or in another electron-beam arrangement, where a high input energy results at one side due to the overflowing melt material. The control is also accomplished in this known arrangement by means of a conventional PC, which is operated by way of a software based on WINDOWS.RTM..
In a refinement of the above-described control of a high-power electron beam, an electron beam scanning and control system is used, with which the electron-beam scanning rate is directly controlled (M. Bahr, G. Hoffmann, R. Ludwig, G. Steiniger: New Scan and Control System (ESCOSYS.TM.) for High-Power Electron Beam Techniques, Fifth International Conference on Plasma, Surface Engineering, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, September 1996). This control system, which relies on so-called "internal intelligence," has two essential characteristics. One characteristic pertains to error compensation. Here the behavior of the electron beam is first "trained," wherein one starts on a screen with low power. After this "training process," the frequency attenuation and deflection errors of the electron-beam gun are automatically compensated for. A circular pattern of the beam remains a circle and not, say, an ellipse in the crucible, even at different angles of incidence. The size of this circle remains constant even if the scanning frequency is changed. The deflection error compensation is performed by applying a 2.times.n-dimensional polynomial function. The frequency attenuation is compensated with respect to amplitude and phase-angle rotation by application of the Fast Fourier Transform algorithm. Thus, not only geometric patterns, but even very precise patterns are compensated. Nonetheless, the system operates with a frequency limitation of 10 kHz, which permits cycle frequencies of up to 1 kHz. This minimizes the necessity of a frequency-attenuation compensation. Alongside the aforementioned error compensation, the direct input of the power compensation for a given surface is essential. With the known system, vapor-deposited layers of great uniformity can be achieved at a high speed. For a reactive Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 process, for instance, a coating speed of 10 m/sec is possible. Additional details on how the aforementioned deflection-error compensation and frequency-attenuation compensation are achieved were not given in the aforementioned presentation.
Starting from the above-described state of the art, it is an object of the present invention to make it possible to deflect the electron beam automatically and with error-compensation for preset scanning or power patterns.

Method for the operation of an electron beam

Balzers und Leybold Deutschland Holding AG


The invention provides a fading simulator method and a fading simulator by which the attenuation ratio is not varied and the fading characteristic of a wide band can be realized stably even when the notch frequency sweeps. A fading simulator is interposed between a transmitter and a receiver, and a signal from the transmitter is inputted to first and second path artificial circuits of the fading simulator. In the first path artificial circuit, the attenuation amount of a first variable attenuator is controlled to control the amplitude of the signal passing therethrough, and the signal is delayed by a first delay circuit. Meanwhile, in the second path artificial circuit, a variable phase shifter is controlled to control the phase of the signal passing therethrough, and the attenuation amount at a second variable attenuator is controlled in accordance with a signal obtained by addition of an amplitude characteristic leveling amplitude correction value to an amplitude control signal, whereafter the passing signal is delayed by a second delay circuit. The signals from the first and second path artificial circuits are composed by a composer, and the thus composed signal is inputted to the receiver.

This invention relates to a fading simulation method and a fading simulator.
Digital radio communication sometimes suffers from an error caused by distortion in waveform arising from selective fading wherein the level drops in a particular frequency since it employs frequencies of a band wider than that of FM (frequency modulation) communication. Therefore, it is necessary to confirm a performance of a radio equipment with regard to fading in advance by way of testing, and to this end, a fading simulator is used in such a manner as seen in FIG. 14. Referring to FIG. 14, a fading simulator 82 is interposed between a transmitter 81 and a receiver 83. A transmission signal from the transmitter 81 is inputted to the fading simulator 82, in which waveform distortion similar to that which is caused by fading is applied to the transmission signal to artificially cause fading. The output of the fading simulator 82 is received by the receiver 83 thereby to conduct a performance test of the radio system with regard to fading.
FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a general construction of such fading simulator. Referring to FIG. 15, the fading simulator includes a distributor 91 for distributing an input signal. A first path 201 is formed from a circuit from the distributor 91 to a composer 98 by way of a first variable attenuator 92, a delay compensator 93 and a delay element 94 while a second path 202 is formed from another circuit from the distributor 91 to the composer 98 by way of an infinite phase shifter 95, a second variable attenuator 96 and another delay element 97.
Here, the first variable attenuator 92 attenuates the amplitude of a signal passing the first path 201, and the delay compensator 93 and the delay element 94 set a delay time for a signal passing the first path 201.
The infinite phase shifter 95 varies the phase of a signal passing the second path 202 to vary the notch frequency of fading. The second variable attenuator 96 attenuates the amplitude of a signal passing the second path 202. The delay element 97 sets the delay time of a signal passing the second path 202.
The composer 98 composes signals from the first and second paths 201 and 202. The fading simulator shown in FIG. 15 further includes a variable attenuator 99 for attenuating the amplitude of a signal composed by the composer 98 to vary the gain between the input and the output of the fading simulator.
The fading simulator further includes a control section 100 which includes phase control means 101, first amplitude control means 102, second amplitude control means 103 and level control means 104.
The phase control means 101 controls the infinite phase shifter 95 to control the phase of a signal passing the second path 202.
The first amplitude control means 102 controls the amount of attenuation of the first variable attenuator 92 to control the amplitude of a signal passing the first path 201. The second amplitude control means 103 controls the amount of attenuation of the second variable attenuator 96 to control the amplitude of a signal passing the second path 202.
The level control means 104 controls the amount of attenuation of the amplitude of a signal at the variable attenuator 99.
In the fading simulator of the construction described above, an input signal is distributed to the first and second paths 201 and 202 by the distributor 91. In the first path 201, the input signal is first attenuated in amplitude by the first variable attenuator 92, which is controlled by the first amplitude control means 102, and then delayed by the delay compensator 93 and the delay element 94. Meanwhile, in the second path 202, the input signal is first varied in phase by the infinite phase shifter 95, which is controlled by the phase control means 101, and then attenuated in amplitude by the second variable attenuator 96, which is controlled by the second amplitude control means 103, whereafter it is delayed by the delay element 97. The composer 98 composes signals from the first and second paths 201 and 202, and the variable attenuator 99 attenuates the amplitude of an output signal of the composer 98 to vary the gain between the input and the output of the fading simulator under the control of the level control means 104.
With the fading simulator of the construction described above, however, when a wide band is used, since an infinite phase shifter is used as a phase shifter, the second path 202 exhibits such a frequency amplitude characteristic as seen from the waveform of FIG. 16(b), which is different from such a flat characteristic as of a frequency amplitude characteristic of the first path 201 shown in FIG. 16(a). Consequently, there is a problem in that the frequency amplitude characteristic of the second path 202 described above varies the amount of attenuation when the notch frequency sweeps.
More particularly, where the difference in delay time between the first and second paths 201 and 202 is represented by .tau..sub.1, the amplitude ratio by .rho..sub.1, the phase difference by .theta..sub.1 and the amplitude of the first path 201 by A, the output amplitude characteristic A(.omega.) is given by the following equation: EQU A(.omega.)=A(1+2.rho. cos (2.pi.f.tau..sub.1 +.theta..sub.1)+.rho..sub.1.sup.2).sup.1/2
where f is a frequency.
Further, the condition for A(.omega.) to be minimized (for the notch attenuator amount to be maximized) is that 2.pi.f.tau..sub.1 +.theta..sub.1 =.pi., and in this instance, A(.omega.)=A((1-.rho.).sup.2).sup.1/2 =A(1-.rho.), and the attenuation ratio is given by A(.omega.)/A=1-.rho.. Further, if this is converted into dB (decibel), then 20log(A(.omega.)/A)=20log(1-.rho.).
If, for example, .rho.=0.97 (-0.26 dB), then as indicated by k in the waveform diagram of FIG. 16(c), the attenuation amount at a notch point f.sub.0 is given by 20log(1-0.97)=-30 dB.
Then, if .theta..sub.1 is varied so that the notch point is adjusted to f=f.sub.0 -.DELTA.f, then the amplitude characteristic of the second path 202 changes, when -1 dB from the point f.sub.0 as seen from FIG. 16(b), to -0.26 dB -1 , dB=-1.26 dB, that is, .rho.=0.86, and the attenuation amount then changes to 20log(1-0.86)=-17 dB as seen from j in FIG. 16(c). A similar subject occurs with an alternative case wherein the notch point is varied to f=f.sub.0 +.DELTA.f.

Fading simulation method and fading simulator


A high-precision positioning apparatus includes a fine driving unit for producing horizontal and small movements of a flat recording medium relative to an optical system, the medium being used for optically recording and reproducing information. The fine driving unit includes a frame-shaped unit body, a first driving frame inside the unit body, and a second driving frame inside the first driving frame and secured at a position adjacent to a magnetized portion of the recording medium. The first driving frame is movable relative to the unit body by fine driving devices in the horizontal direction of the recording medium, while the second driving frame is movable relative to the first driving frame by other fine driving devices in the horizontal direction of the recording medium and in the direction substantially orthogonal to the moving direction of the first driving frame, thereby producing horizontal and small movements of the recording medium.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to high-precision positioning apparatuses, in holographic memories, for precise positioning of recording media relative to optical systems. In particular, the present invention relates to a high-precision positioning apparatus for precise positioning of a roughly positioned recording-medium by producing small movements of the recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Memories widely used in, for example, computers, magnetically or optically write and read two-dimensional data to and from recording media. Examples of known magnetic memories include hard disks, while examples of known optical memories include CDs and DVDs. The quality of these memories has been significantly improved in terms of recording density so as to meet the demand for larger capacity. In addition, memories based on the hologram principle (hereinafter referred to as "holographic memories") have been developed to further increase capacity.
In a holographic memory, an encoded object beam and reference beam create interference on a recording medium to form a hologram, thereby allowing information to be stored. The object beam is applied to the-recording medium in the form of two-dimensional digital data, while the reference beam is applied to the recording medium to play back the stored information in the form of two-dimensional digital data. The recording medium and an optical system including the object beam and the reference beam thus require precise positioning. This positioning is achieved by horizontal movements of the flat recording medium while the optical system is kept fixed. An example of such a holographic memory is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-93157.
Card-type or disc-type recording media are used in known holographic memories. In the case of a card-type recording medium, sliders are provided in an X-direction and Y-direction so as to move the medium, relative to the optical system, in the X-direction and Y-direction orthogonal to each other. In the case of a disc-type recording medium, a motor is connected to the center of the medium to rotate the medium, while a slider for traversing the motor is provided to radially move the medium.
However, a known positioning apparatus for a recording medium in a holographic memory has the following problem.
To randomly access information, large movements of a recording medium, on a page-by-page basis of a hologram, are required. On the other hand, for precise positioning of the recording medium relative to an optical system, small movements of the medium are required. For providing such small movements, stepping of a motor or a slider for driving the recording medium needs to be minimized. However, large movements-using such a driving unit place a heavy load thereon. Therefore, providing both large and small movements of the recording medium by the same driving unit is difficult and raises costs associated with the positioning apparatus for recording media.


A method for configuring multiple lifecycles, and associating each lifecycle with one or more subcategories of items includes receiving a request for a state change for an item in a current state; determining if the item's current state exists in the located lifecycle; wherein if the current state does not exist in the located lifecycle, the current state is updated with a series of update rules; determining if the current state has flags; wherein the flags are checked for one or more protection rules; generating a list of target states; receiving a user selected target state from the generated list; checking the selected target state for one or more associated protection rules; recording a state change for the selected target state in response to the satisfaction of the one or more associated protection rules, and if no protection rules are found; and propagating the state change.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to software, and more particularly, to a method for configuring multiple lifecycles, and associating each lifecycle with one or more subcategories of items whose descriptions are accessible in a database.
2. Description of the Related Art
Businesses, especially large-scale heterogeneous service-oriented businesses, manage a large number of different items that go through lifecycles composed of several clearly delineated states. Hardware assets may be specified, purchased, configured, deployed, and decommissioned; software may be designed, developed, tested, and installed; contracts may be negotiated, approved, and fulfilled. Businesses may manage these lifecycles by requiring approvals for items to enter or leave certain states, or they may require items in different states to be handled differently. Lifecycle issues are particularly critical in information technology (IT) service management, being a major component of accepted best practices for configuration management, as elaborated in the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL).

Method for management of dynamically alterable lifecycles in structured classification domains

International Business Machines Corporation


A control unit of a vehicle power control apparatus performs an operation described below. The control unit fluctuates a voltage of an alternating-current power output from a discharging terminal with a power supplier when the control unit detects that a receiving terminal of an alternating-current load or a charging terminal is connected to the discharging terminal, or that a supply terminal of an alternating-current power supply or the discharging terminal is connected to the charging terminal. Also, the control unit directs a notifying portion to perform a notifying operation when the control unit detects that a voltage of alternating-current power input to the charging terminal is fluctuating in the same manner that a voltage of alternating-current power output from the discharging terminal is fluctuating.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a vehicle power control apparatus provided with a charging terminal for storing power from an alternating-current power supply outside of a vehicle to a secondary battery, and a discharging terminal for supplying power to an alternating-current load outside of the vehicle, as well as a control method of power for a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, vehicles provided with a secondary battery (hereinafter referred to as an "onboard secondary battery") that stores electric power (simply referred to as "power" in this specification) to be supplied to an electric motor used as a power source, such as hybrid vehicles that run using a combination of an engine and an electric motor, or electric vehicles that run using an electric motor, are continuing to gain popularity.
Some of these kinds of vehicles are provided with a vehicle power control apparatus that is able to charge the onboard secondary battery from an alternating-current (AC) power supply outside the vehicle, and supply power stored in the onboard secondary battery to an alternating-current load outside the vehicle (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-27811 (JP 2009-27811 A). The AC power supply is a commercial power supply, for example, and the AC load is a home appliance, for example.
JP 2009-27811 A describes a plug that can be connected to an AC power supply or an AC load outside the vehicle. This plug is a plug that can be used for both charging and discharging. With the vehicle power control apparatus described in JP 2009-27811 A, when an AC power supply outside the vehicle is connected to the plug, AC power from the AC power supply is input from the plug, converted to direct-current (DC) power by a predetermined inverter, and charged to the onboard secondary battery. Also, when an AC load outside the vehicle is connected to the plug, power stored in the onboard secondary battery is converted into AC power by a predetermined inverter, and then supplied to the AC load from the plug.
In JP 2009-27811 A, as described above, a charging terminal that inputs power from an AC power supply outside the vehicle, and a discharging terminal that supplies power to an AC load outside the vehicle are formed with a single plug. The charging terminal and the discharging terminal can also be formed separately. For example, an idea to use an outlet of the same shape as an AC 100 V outlet as the discharging terminal, and use a plug that can be connected to the AC 100 V outlet as the charging terminal has been proposed (hereinafter, this proposal will be referred to as the "proposed example").
In the proposed example described above, if a user mistakenly connects the charging terminal to the discharging terminal, a cycle will be created in which power discharged from the onboard secondary battery is charged to the onboard secondary battery via the discharging terminal and the charging terminal. Power stored in the onboard secondary battery will be consumed due to power loss that occurs with this cycle. Therefore, there is a need to be able to detect this kind of improper connection, and be able to notify the user of the vehicle.

Vehicle power control apparatus and vehicle power control method


A zirconium-free neutral glass is provided that finds use in the pharmaceutical sector. The glass has a combination of alkali metal oxides of sodium, potassium and optionally lithium, and a controlled amount of aluminum oxide, which provides a zirconium-free and low-boron neutral glass having good hydrolytic stability, good acid and alkali stability and good devitrification properties. The glass includes the following components in % by weight:

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a zirconium-free neutral glass having a low boron oxide content and good hydrolytic stability for preferential use in the pharmaceutical sector.
2. Description of Related Art
In the pharmaceutical sector and for diagnostic and cosmetic applications, glass is employed as a packaging material on a large scale. Particularly the specific material properties thereof, such as high transparency, good mechanical properties and low permeability, in conjunction with good chemical stability, are crucial for the retention of the quality of medicaments, for example, and the efficacy thereof.
Containers for pharmaceutical, therapeutic, diagnostic and cosmetic purposes are generally in direct contact with the active ingredient contained therein and are therefore subject to strict demands. The containers, which may take the form, for example, of vials, ampoules, syringes or carpules, are therefore also referred to as primary packaging. During the storage of the active ingredients in the primary packaging, minimum loss of and no change in the active ingredients should occur. The quality of the contents must not be altered by direct contact with the primary packaging in such a way as to exceed the verified and stipulated limits. In each case, it has to be ensured that the glass material does not release any substances in amounts that impair the stability of the active ingredient or could even be toxic or harmful to a user in any other way.
Medicaments and other active ingredients are usually processed further and stored in dissolved form, especially on an aqueous basis. A particularly important property of a primary packaging made of glass is therefore the stability of the inner surface that comes into direct contact with the dissolved active ingredient and can be attacked thereby. This can cause various ions to be leached out of the glass surface and adversely affect the contents and active ingredient present therein. In order to rule out losses of action and especially health risks, therefore, generally as small an amount as possible of ions should be leached out of the glass. Since water-based solvents are the most commonly used, hydrolytic stability in particular is an important demand for the use of a glass as primary packaging. For acidic or basic solutions, corresponding demands on acid stability and alkali stability of the material of the packaging should be noted.
Hydrolytic class is also a basis for the classification of glass types for pharmaceutical uses according to the European Pharmacopoeia. Commonly used glasses are divided into classes. What are called type I glasses belong to hydrolytic class 1 and are also referred to as neutral glass. These also include the borosilicate glasses, which contain significant amounts of boron oxides, aluminium oxides or alkaline earth metal oxides.
It is known that an addition or increase in the proportion of boron oxide frequently leads to an improvement in hydrolytic stability, to lowering of the viscosity of the glass melt and to a reduction in the coefficient of expansion. Since these properties are particularly welcome for use as primary packaging in particular, the known glasses contain comparatively high boron oxide contents (up to 20%). Boron binds the alkali metal ions present more firmly into the glass structure. Because of the discovery that boron oxide is harmful to health, however, this concept is no longer justifiable. Boron oxide as an isolated substance is suspected of being teratogenic. This is of particular relevance for the production process of a glass, since complex health and safety measures are required when working with boron oxide as a starting component, and these increase the production costs of the end product. Boron components leached out of a glass could have an influence of toxicological concern on lifeforms.
Low-boron oxide (neutral) glasses are already known.
DE 4430710 C1 discloses a low-boric acid borosilicate glass having high chemical stability with the following composition in % by weight based on oxide:
SiO2>75,B2O31-<9,Al2O33-6,Li2O0-4,Na2O0-8,K2O0-6,MgO0-3,CaO0-3,BaO0-2,SrO0-2,ZnO0-3,ZrO20-3,SnO20-3,SnO0-3,TiO20-2,CeO20-2, andFe2O30-1, whereinSiO2 + B2O3>83,SiO2: B2O3 >8,SiO2 + Al2O3 + ZrO2>83,Li2O + Na2O + K2O5-10, andMgO + CaO + BaO + SrO + ZnO ≤3.
According to the information in DE 4430710 C1, the glasses specified in the examples attain hydrolytic class HBK1 (according to the obsolete DIN 12111). However, determinations conducted in the context of the invention by the more modern method according to the United States Pharmacopeia (USP, see below) showed that the glass examples disclosed, in respect of the limit for hydrolytic class 1, are only in the moderate range and are therefore not competitive pharmaceutical glasses. Chemical stability is achieved in the glass examples described by means of high contents of zirconium oxide/ZrO2 (up to 1.6% by weight) and/or relatively high boron oxide contents (up to 8.9% by weight).
The alkali metal content reported in the glass compositions specified by way of example is almost exclusively sodium oxide and lithium oxide. The sodium oxide content in the examples is above the inventive range. Potassium oxide is used only in example 5, but here in conjunction with a content of lithium oxide well above the inventive limit and a high zirconium oxide content. Measurements in the context of this invention have shown that such a composition gives rise to glasses having relatively poor values within the hydrolytic class HBK1 (high alkali metal ion release).
According to the disclosure of DE102010029975 A1, a low-boron oxide borosilicate glass having the following composition (in % by weight based on oxide) is described:
SiO2 70-79,B2O3  0-<5,Al2O3  1-<5,ZrO20.5-<5,TiO20.5-6,Na2O  1-6,K2O  3-8, andLi2O  0-0.5, whereinSiO2 +B2O3<83.
To achieve the hydrolytic stability, the neutral glasses described therein necessarily contain zirconium oxide and titanium oxide in balanced mass ratios. The zirconium content here is also coupled to the potassium content, in order to establish the physical and chemical properties of the compositions. The good chemical properties of these glasses are attributed to the required content of zirconium oxide, titanium oxide and potassium oxide, and the interaction thereof in the glass.
It is known that zirconium oxide as a stabilizing additive promotes the chemical stability of glasses. It is used specifically for that purpose in DE 4430710 C1 and DE 102010029975 A1. To increase hydrolytic stability, it is used in DE 102010029975 A1 as a necessarily required constituent in combination with titanium oxide and in combination with potassium oxide in specific ratios for achievement of a synergistic effect. However, zirconium as a constituent of a neutral glass in the pharmaceutical sector is problematic, since these glasses require special approval and zirconium can be an unwanted constituent because it can include, inter alia, small amounts of uranium oxides and other radioactive substances (e.g. thorium compounds).

Low-boron zirconium-free neutral glass having an optimized alkali metal ratio

Abstract: SiO2 72-82,B2O3  3-8,Al2O3  5-8,Na2O2.5-5.5,K2O3.6-8.4,Li2O  0-0.7,MgO  0-0.7,CaO  0-0.4, andTiO2  0-5, whereinLi2O + Na2O + K2O6.8-14.6, andK2O/Na2O ratio0.7-3.4.


A universal data management interface (UDMI) system includes a processing system generates a visual interface through which a user can access, manage, and manipulate data on plural different types of remote databases. The UDMI connects to multiple standard database management systems and to allow multiple users to access, manage, and manipulate data within each of the multiple standard database management systems. The UDMI also allows multiple virtual databases that reside in a single database to be available as a network service.

DBMS is a common method of storing, organizing, and manipulating data. DBMS can provide a reliable and transparent way to store large amounts of data. Although DBMS makes it easier to store, manage, and manipulate low-level data (binary data), DBMS is still complex to operate.
Many database administrators and software professionals use character-driven data interfaces. These interfaces provide freedom and power in data management and manipulation. However, these interfaces do not provide a transparent, human-friendly interaction with data. This is one reason for the use of visual interfaces that non-software professionals, computing devices, and communication devices can understand and interpret.
There are several problems associated with conventional visual interfaces. For example, access to data is limited to interfaces that are accessed through specialized software installed on the user's computing or communication device. This implies that users can access their data through devices that include this specialized software. Specialized software is software that is not pre-installed on a standard computing or communication device. For example, a web browser such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer, or software pre-installed ("usually comes with") on a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), mobile device (e.g., cell phone), or another computing or communication device is not considered to be specialized software. On the other hand, Crystal Reports is report generating software that does not come pre-installed with most computers; therefore, it may be considered to be specialized software.
DBMSs produced by competing companies are generally incompatible. Although most DBMSs use a standard Structured Query Language (SQL) to manage data, internal organization of different DBMSs may differ considerably. Furthermore, different DBMSs may implement different dialects of SQL. Thus, to implement multiple DBMSs different versions of SQL may be employed.


An end plug for a semiconductor device shipping rail has a unitary tolerance compensating portion. The tolerance compensating portion is preferably an end of the end plug which comes in contact with semiconductor devices located within a shipping rail or carrier. The end plug is dimensioned in a manner to provide a friction fit within the shipping rail, and in a preferred embodiment the tolerance compensating end has a hollow portion so that the end of the end plug that contacts the semiconductor devices can easily flex to compensate for stacking tolerance buildup and to act as a shock absorber.

This invention relates, in general, to semiconductor devices and more particularly, to an end plug for a shipping rail or carrier used in transporting semiconductor devices.
Typically semiconductor devices are transported in long tubular rails or carriers. The semiconductor devices are inserted through open ends of the tubular rails. In the past, the openings in the ends of the tubular rails were blocked by a pin which was inserted through the top of the rail. More recently with the widespread use of surface mounted devices the ends of the rails have been blocked by the use of a plug which is inserted into the tubular end of the rail. The plug forms a friction fit with the inside walls of the tubular rail so that it does not accidentally fall out. However, a problem arises due to the fact that there can be a buildup of tolerance of the length of the semiconductor devices. Therefore, with the tolerance buildup there may be a space or gap remaining between the end of the plug and the first semiconductor device which is adjacent to the plug. When this occurs the leads of the semiconductor device can become bent due to inertial impact against the plug caused by the semiconductor devices sliding within the rail or carrier. On the other hand, if the tolerance of the semiconductor devices is on the plus side the total length of the devices can encroach upon the space available for the plug and then when the plug is inserted into the tubular rail the leads of the semiconductor devices are damaged just from the insertion of the end plug into the tubular rail.
One attempt at solving the damaged lead problem was to insert a small piece of foam rubber pad into the tube or cavity of the rail and then to provide a vertical pin through the rail in order to retain the foam rubber pad along with the semiconductor devices. Another approach was to use an accordion design to provide a mechanism to compensate for the tolerance buildup problem. The accordion design approach was not very satisfactory due to the accordion portion of the plug folding against a wall of the rail or carrier and locking in place thus preventing the accordion plug from performing its desired function.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved end plug for a semiconductor carrier having unitary tolerance compensating means.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a tolerance compensating end plug which eliminates the need for additional packing material in the semiconductor device rail.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a tolerance compensating end plug which provides a cushion for the leads of a semiconductor device during transit in a shipping rail or carrier.


A decoy apparatus adapted for spontaneous and continuous movement in response to the wind and other external stimuli, the decoy apparatus includes a body and a head, the body includes an upper torso aperture aligned with a lower torso, and an open front end having at least one body slot. An end of the head includes at least one pivot connector designed to releaseably connect with one of the at least one body slots. The end of the head further includes a counterweight sized and positioned to balance the head with the body. The decoy further includes a support stake that is received through the upper torso aperture, passes through the body of the decoy, and extends through the lower torso aperture. A lower end of the stake defines a shovel portion that in application, is received in the ground surface. An upper end of the stake includes a slot used as an attachment point for a body harness. The body further includes at least a pair of apertures preferably disposed at lower ends of the body, the pair of apertures are further used as attachment points for the body harness. The body harness is centrally connected between the slot in the stake and each of the pair of apertures in the body.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a decoy apparatus for such as, but not restricted to bird hunters. Specifically, the present invention relates to the inclusion of wind activated motion to assist in a more lifelike presentation of the decoy.
2. Brief Description of Prior Art
Decoys are often used to influence bird behavior. Hunters use decoys to attract birds. Farmers use decoys to scare birds away from crops. Full-body decoys for attracting game birds is known in the art. Most game hunters will agree that the more realistic the appearance and behavior of an animal decoy the greater the probability that the game will be attracted to the decoy. As a result, decoy development has continued to grow.
There are a number of patents pertaining to movements in decoys. U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,421 shows a decoy that includes resilient strips that support the neck and back. The strips flex during changes in wind pressure to give movement to the decoy neck and body. As the neck and body of ′421 move together, the decoy movements are relatively stiff and unrealistic. U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,288 utilizes rubber bands between the neck and body. Movements of the head and neck are controllable to suit different wind speeds by changing the rubber bands.
As such, while the prior art full-body and/or shell decoys have improved in representing the animal to be decoyed in a stationary position, the prior art has generally failed in developing a decoy that appears to be active. In fact, in some cases, attempts to create decoy movement have resulted in decoys that can actually scare game away.
As will be seen from the subsequent description, the preferred embodiments of the present invention overcome these and other shortcomings of the prior art.


Examples of techniques for failure detection for central electronics complex (CEC) group management are described herein. An aspect includes issuing a first logical partition (LPAR) probe to a hardware management console (HMC) of a central electronics complex (CEC) group, wherein the CEC group comprises a plurality of LPARs. Another aspect includes receiving a first response packet from the HMC corresponding to the first LPAR probe, wherein the first response packet comprises health data corresponding to a first LPAR of the plurality of LPARs. Another aspect includes storing the health data corresponding to the first LPAR in a first health data entry corresponding to the first LPAR. Another aspect includes, for a second LPAR of the plurality of LPARs that was not included in the first response packet, updating a second health data entry corresponding to the second LPAR to indicate that the second LPAR is healthy.

The present techniques relate to computer systems. More specifically, the techniques relate to failure detection for central electronics complex (CEC) group management.
Business continuity requires that a user, such as a company, have a highly available information technology (IT) infrastructure. Cluster-based high availability solutions may provide high availability management. However, with the sprawl of IT infrastructure, cluster-based high availability management may be relatively complex to deploy and manage. An underlying physical infrastructure may be provisioned as a central electronics complex (CEC) group. CEC group management may provide high availability management for a group of computer servers that host a number of logical partitions (LPARs). The CEC is a building block of central processing units (CPUs), physical memory, and peripheral component interconnect (PCI) backplane that is interconnected. At the basic level, a CEC may be one or more physical servers. A CEC group may provide and monitor a relatively large number of CECs and LPARs (e.g., in the order of hundreds) in an IT infrastructure, and relocate individual LPARs, or entire LPARS within a CEC, in the physical IT infrastructure as needed.
LPARs are virtualized via virtual input/output servers (VIOSes). The physical computer resources of the CEC, including but not limited to memory and network adapters, are not dedicated to individual LPARs, but rather are shared among the LPARs via the VIOSes, which own the physical computer resources. Each VIOS may run within its own LPAR. A VIOS provides virtualized storage for its associated LPARs. Therefore, each VIOS needs enough storage space for the associated LPARs. The storage space may be provided by a disk storage system, for example, in a storage area network (SAN) environment; however, any other appropriate storage system or group of local disks may be supported and managed by VIOS.

Failure detection for central electronics complex group management

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


The claimed system and method allows for an electronic payment system to accept a single card that is both a debit card and a credit card. Further, a user may indicate a default value for the card regarding whether the card should be used as a debit card or a credit card.

Debit cards traditionally are separate from credit cards. A debit card removes funds from an account virtually immediately while a credit card accumulates a balance and a minimum payment must be made at periodic intervals. As a credit card had more risk due to the uncertainly of payment, a higher fee is associated with a credit card which is often borne by a merchant. In many countries, credit and debit cards have different numbering schemes which means credit and debit cards are usually separate. At the same time, there are places and systems where a single card may be both a debit card and a credit card. It may be up to the user to indicate whether a given transaction is meant to be a debit transaction or a credit transaction.
Modern payment systems have developed which hold credit and debit card data in a secure manner and allow a user to select one of many cards to make a transaction. However, most payment systems do not have the capability to accept a card that is both a debit card and a credit card.


Liquid degassing apparatus is provided wherein one or more porous, hydrophobic tubes are installed inside a vacuum chamber, each such tube having an atomizer located near its inlet end. As liquid to be degassed enters the tube, it is atomized and gas in the liquid passes out of the atomized liquid, through the porous tube and exits the vacuum chamber. The remaining degassed liquid exits the porous, hydrophobic tube through the downstream end of the porous tube and exits the chamber.

The present invention relates to liquid degassing apparatus. The object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism which makes it possible to efficiently remove gaseous components contained in various types of liquids.
The present invention provides a degassing technique for producing ultra-pure water and various types of chemical solutions and test solutions, etc., used in the electronics industry and elsewhere.
In cases where the admixture of air and other gases with ultra-pure water and various other types of liquids is undesirable, degassing is necessary. Various degassing mechanisms have been devised for this purpose. For example, (A) mechanisms in which the liquid that is to be treated is introduced to one side of a porous tube or porous film, and degassing is accomplished from the other side of the porous tube or porous film, and (B) mechanisms in which degassing is accomplished by causing ultrasonic waves to act on the liquid that is to be treated, are known.
In mechanisms of the above-mentioned type (A), the area of contact between the liquid and the porous body must be increased in order to increase the degassing efficiency. For this purpose, means such as reduction of tube diameter or lengthening of tubes, or folding of films into pleats, have been adopted. In all of these cases, however, the amount of gas permeation through the porous body itself is much greater than the amount of gas permeation required for degassing, so that the efficiency is greatly influenced by the velocity at which the gas travels (diffuses) from the interior of the liquid to the point of contact with the porous body. In other words, the large amount of air permeation through the porous body itself is not utilized to full advantage.
Furthermore, in mechanisms which accelerate the movement of gases by causing ultrasonic waves to act on the liquid, it is necessary to introduce a substitute gas after degassing in order to prevent reinvasion by gases in the air. Depending on the intended use, this exchange of gases may be effective in the removal of undesirable gases. However, such an exchange of gases is insufficient in almost all cases.
Furthermore, it is also possible to degas a sprayed liquid directly without using porous tubes. In such a case, however, only a water-sealed pump can be used, since the water droplets penetrate into the vacuum pump. The maximum vacuum pressure of such a pump is approximately 200 Torr, which is extremely low compared to the vacuum pressure of an oil-sealed pump. As a result, the degassing efficiency of such a mechanism is unavoidably poor.


A transaxle comprises a transaxle casing, axle, brake, brake arm, first and second link members, and relay arm. The brake includes a brake operation shaft pivotally supported by the transaxle casing for shifting between brake activation and inactivation states. A starting end of the first link member is connected to a manipulator, and a terminal end of the second link member is connected to the brake arm. The relay arm is pivotally centered on a first pivotal axis outside of the transaxle casing, and includes a first arm portion extended from the first pivotal axis to a first end and a second arm portion extended from the first pivotal axis to a second end. A terminal end of the first link member is connected to the first arm portion, and a starting end of the second link member is connected to the second arm portion.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a transaxle including a hydrostatic transmission (hereinafter "HST"), an axle driven by the HST, and a brake for braking the axle. Especially, the invention relates to the transaxle that serves as each of right and left transaxles carrying respective right and left axles of a zero-turn vehicle, e.g., a lawn mower.
Related Art
Conventionally, as disclosed in U.S. 2015/0007555 A1, there is a well-known hydraulic transaxle that serves as each of right and left transaxles carrying respective right and left axles of a zero-turn vehicle, e.g., a lawn mower. The transaxle includes an HST, an axle and a reduction gear train transmitting power from the HST to the axle. The HST includes a hydraulic pump for receiving power from a prime mover, a hydraulic motor for outputting power to the reduction gear train, and a center section. The hydraulic pump and motor are mounted on the center section and are fluidly connected to each other via fluid passages formed in the center section.
The transaxle also includes a gear-locking mechanism that includes a locking pawl serving as a parking brake for braking the reduction gear train and the axle. The gear-locking mechanism further includes a locking shaft and a brake (locking) arm. The locking shaft is pivotally supported by a transaxle casing of the transaxle so as to be rotatable relative to the transaxle casing. The brake arm is fixed on a right or left end of the locking shaft outside of the transaxle casing. The locking pawl is fixed on a portion of the locking shaft disposed inside of the transaxle casing. By rotating the brake arm and the locking shaft, the locking pawl engages to any one gear of the reduction gear train so as to stop the reduction gear train including the gear, thereby stopping the axle.
In the case where the transaxle serves as each of right and left transaxles equipped on a vehicle, the vehicle is also equipped with a brake control mechanism including a manipulator and link members interposed between the manipulator and the brake arms of the respective right and left transaxies. Therefore, each link member moves in response to operation of the manipulator so as to rotate the brake arm and the locking shaft relative to the corresponding transaxle casing.
As mentioned above, either the right or left end of the locking shaft is selected to have the brake arm thereon, so that either the proximal side or distal side of the transaxle casing of each of the transaxles in the vehicle is selected for locating the link member and the brake arm. However, it is of frequent occurrence that any member other than component members of the transaxle is disposed on the proximal side of the transaxle casing in the vehicle. Therefore, the transaxle is desired to be configured so as to prevent such another member disposed on the proximal side of the transaxle casing from interfering with the link member or the brake arm if the link member and the brake arm are disposed on the proximal side of the transaxle casing in the vehicle.


A brushless motor includes a first rotor core, a second rotor core, and a field magnet member. The first rotor core includes primary projecting pieces arranged along a circumferential direction at equal intervals. The second rotor core has the same shape as the first rotor core, and includes secondary projecting pieces arranged along the circumferential direction at equal intervals. The secondary projecting pieces are positioned between the primary projecting pieces that are adjacent to one another in the circumferential direction. The field magnet member is arranged between the first rotor core and the second rotor core. The field magnet member is magnetized along an axial direction to generate primary magnetic poles in the primary projecting pieces, and generate secondary magnetic poles in the secondary projecting pieces. A rotor includes the first rotor core, the second rotor core, and the field magnet member.

Conventionally, a motor of a so-called SPM (Surface Permanent Magnet) type is used as a motor for an electric power steering device. The motor of the SPM type includes a rotor and a plurality of magnets. The plurality of magnets is adhered to an outer circumferential surface of the rotor so that two types of magnets having magnetic poles of different orientations are alternately arranged in a radial direction along a circumferential direction. However, in the SPM type motor, when an abnormality occurs in the electric power steering device and the motor becomes inoperable, assist force is not generated by the motor. Instead, brake torque unique to a magnet type motor is generated. As a result, the steering wheel becomes heavy, and steering becomes difficult.
In this regard, taking into consideration that the SPM type motor may become inoperable due to an abnormality in the electric power steering device, a motor of a so-called IPM (Interior Permanent Magnet) type has been proposed in which two types of magnets having magnetic poles of different orientations in the radial direction are alternately arranged in the circumferential direction and embedded in the rotor (for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-236652). Specifically, in the IPM motor, the embedment of the magnets in the rotor decreases the brake torque that is unique to the magnet type motor generated in an inoperable situation. This results in the steering becoming lighter, and the steering becomes easier.
However, in an IPM type brushless motor capable of reducing the brake torque when the motor is inoperable, the number of magnets is determined in accordance with the number of the magnetic poles. This increases the number of magnets. Accordingly, in the brushless motor used in the electric power steering device, a motor that can replace the motor of the IPM type is desired.